this effort will take time. it will require focus, but we will succeed. >> in for the long haul the u.s. and other world leaders promise to wipe out the islamic state of iraq and the levant. ♪ hello from al jazeera's headquarters in doha i'm jane dutton. also ahead, 13 civilians are killed after a shell hits a bus in ukraine. and massive spending spree to help boost the euro zone

economy. and we're in havana where historic talks are underway between cuba and u.s. officials. ♪ we begin in london where leaders from 21 countries have been meeting to try to find a way to eradicate islamic state of iraq and the levant. u.s. secretary of state, and others lead discussions. they have agreed to increase their support to the iraqi government. thank colludes more training for iraqi soldiers. u.s. secretary of state john kerry say progress has been made but coalition forces still have a long way to go. >> this effort will take time. it will require focus, but we will succeed. tomorrow i will travel to davos

switzerland, and i think the prime minister is going today, and at that time i'll speak in greater detail about our global efforts, global efforts that are necessary to prevent and combat violent extremism. but for now let me just underscore this. this is a huge task with no shortcuts. >> the iraqi prime minister welcomed the extra support in his push against isil which he referred to using the arabic term daesh. >> i am very glad i have heard of a lot of commitment in this fight against daesh. this is quite important for the iraqi people and very important for our military. we have -- in the last month, i have seen an increase in the air campaign against daesh positions in terms of numbers, and effectiveness. many countries take part in this program, and in this campaign and reconnaissance, and the

actual bombing of daesh targets. >> let's bring in simon mcgregor-wood who was at that news conference in london. tell us more about what was said there, simon. >> reporter: i think there were messages that the coalition as represented by the american the british, and the iraqis at the press conference wanted to make sure we all understanding; that this is now a global issue. don't forget this is only two weeks after the shootings in paris. the europeans want to stress they think this is as much a european problem as it is a middle east problem. there were as many here from europe as middle eastern country. they were keen to stress there is unity of purpose in this coalition. this is a smaller coalition group of 20, the bigger 60-group met in brussels a few months ago. this meeting we were lead to

believe is a chance to take stock. it's a progress report on how best to degrade and defeat isil. we saw from philip hammond a commitment to continue the underpinning of the iraqi armed forces. that was something that john kerry was very strong on and lots of lists on weapons, new m16s arriving the iraqi prime minister was clear that he had come looking for help and that he was not disappointed. on the european dimension to this it was interesting that the first question to philip hammond concerned something that is very much to the forefront of european politicians, how to stop the recruit -- the recruitment of foreign fighters particularly from europe swelling the ranks of isil and this is what he has to say in response to that question. >> we need to identify people at

risk of trying to go to syria and iraq intervene as early as we possibly can, divert them away from that course of action. if they continue down that path we need to make sure we have the powers and capability to intercept them at the point of exit. we need to work with our partners in europe because many of these people are transiting through points in europe. turkey is doing a fantastic job of intercepting people who are seeking to get across the border into syria. >> simon you also touched very briefly on tackling the route cause there, which is change politically in syria and iraq. >> yes, exactly. i think it's relatively straightforward for these foreign ministers to talk about what they are doing to boost the military response. we had lots of detail from john kerry as i said over 2,000 air strikes, the creation of new

iraqi units, lots of new weapons arriving in anticipation of the much-more complicated ground combat that has not yet started. but many say isil is a symptom of much deeper and intractable political problems the vacuum that exists in syria, the disenfranchisesment of many moderate sunnis in iraq. there was lip service i would say paid to those issues. they say our cooperation, our reinforcement of the iraqi military is contingent on iraq getting its house in order, and more can be done but we're happy with the progress made so far. but scant detail on what has been done to address these very serious deep-seeded problems that many believe gave rise to isil in the first place. >> all right. let's leave it there. we're going to talk about this a

little bit more with my guest in doha, but i want to bring you breaking news out of yemen. the government has offered its resignation to the president. that comes as the u.n. envoy is in sana'a to meet with representatives to find a solution to the political crisis. houthi rebels are still surrounding the presidential palace in sana'a despite an agreement being announced between the two sides on wednesday. so you basically have a city under siege there. the houthi rebels not wanting to step down but possibly circumvent this. we're going to talk about that a little bit later, the fallout that that's likely to have. i want to -- i'm going to go back to -- to isil talks very quickly and -- and talk about what the iraqi prime minister was saying about the oil price and the fact that the oil price is so low, and the sort of

impact that that's having on his government and how difficult it is to deal with isil under those circumstances. you wonder how that is going to change considering that oil is being as used as a weapon to flush out isil. >> yes, the price will affect the iraqi government because it will have a major problem with finance. isil has used basically oil to get more funds, basically with declining of oil, with military operation against all of these bases in -- in western part of iraq and in syria, of course the performance of isil militarily will be affected because of the oil prices. so basically the oil prices will have ramification on the iraqi government and on isil and this likely to happen now, actually no need to wait for -- for the future. and i think the -- the message

which he was trying to convey in the conference is he is appealing to the international community to be aware of this and be able to support the iraqi government. because any dely in that will empower isil against the iraqi government. and basically he does want this to happen. of course speaking to all of that the major issue is what is happening inside iraq. the political atmosphere how the iraqi government can change the political atmosphere. try to bring more iraqis to the table, to the political scene rather than as relating them or marginalizing them. >> again, dealing with the root problems. >> absolutely. because without dealing with this all other measures or steps will not be solving the problem. it will be just sort of quick action but there will be no impact on the route of the

problem. >> you have a catch-22 problem here don't you because the more coalition forces get involved even though john kerry said there are five arab nations working alongside, it is going to create anger. >> absolutely. basically with more involvement, it will be more anger, basically more radicalization and basically you will fee fighters coming to the front to fight with isil. and this is the situation in europe. the last example, which was basically the action against japan, the threat of killing two japanese because of the involvement of japan. so any country involved will be under threat of isil. and i think the concern is actually how they can handle this crisis because basically more anger, more fighters will go to fight with isil. and i think this will require a lot of effort and the security effort border monitoring and

all of those methods, and i think with what is happening now, i think the message the prime minister of turkey convey conveyed this morning, he said we cannot control the border 100%. because basically people come to turkey with a tourist visit. anyone enter turkey you cannot know where he or she will want to go. you cannot control that. now there is a network that takes them to iraq and syria. so it's hard for the government to handle this 100%. they there will be a little hold and i'm not sure the government is sincere 100% of exchanging information for security reasons. >> absolutely. but as john kerry said it is going to be hard and long f, but they 'em seem to be focused. the prime minister of ukraine is accusing pro-russian

separatists of killing 13 people after a shell hit a bus in donetsk. it is one of the deadliest attacks in the east for months. >> reporter: life stopped dead again in donetsk. this time a bus hit by a shell or mortar some passengers died in their seats. others were thrown into the road. >> translator: they called me and told me my wife was killed. i haven't seen what happened. i just came. i saw them putting her into a car. >> reporter: his wife's body was then dumped into a van. these dead now bring the total killed in the conflict to over 4,800. brought out on to the same street a ukrainian colonel captured in recent fighting. [ shouting ] >> reporter: paraded by pro-russian rebels and then

stepped on by civilians. ukraine's prime minister ironically marking unity day in kiev had this to say. >> translator: russian terrorists today have committed a horrible act against humanity. and responsibility for that lays on the russian federation. >> reporter: so much blood has been shed in donetsk since the start of the conflict particularly here at the region's airport, once the pride of the city now obliterated. ukrainian forces battled for months to keep this from falling into the hands of these pro-russian rebels. but they lost too many men. >> translator: a decision was taken to withdraw from the territory of the airport terminal to new positions. fierce fighting continues at this moment. yesterday 16 ukrainian servicemen were captured. >> reporter: as the fighting escalates, calls for a ceasefire were discussed in berlin.

no break through on troop withdrawal but some progress made. >> translator: there has finally been an agreement that the demarcation line as stated in the minsk agree will be the line from which heavy weaponry has to be withdrawn. >> reporter: but on the ground they have seen no withdrawn of weapons yet. the european central bank will inject money into the economy to economy. it hopes that what is known as quantitative easing will improve confidence in the euro. quantitative easing is a term we have heard a lot about, but what does it mean? and how does it affect you and me.

>> reporter: quantitative easing one of those awful financial jar dan terms which can sometimes get oversimplified into being called money printing. we start at any given central bank which creates money. just a few key strokes on the computer and billions are there. that money is used to buy up assets mostly government bonds and in turn those banks start lending out to the businesses to the consumers, and so the cycle begins. that's how the money is injected. that is how spending increases, and in theory interest rates go down and inflation rises. it's deceptively simple and it does work. we have seen it in the united states the u.k. japan, and now the european central bank as well. the issue is that it's a finite source. eventually quantitative easing itself has to be eased. plus it's not the man or woman on the high street who feels it

i first it's markets and investors who feel it first. the thing is stagnation in the euro zone has gone on for years. and it seems that the powers that be have finally recognized that and decided to get spending. make sure you stay with us on al jazeera, we'll report from democratic republic of congo where ruling party politicians are denying claims the president is trying to cling to power. we'll be back in a moment. ♪

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hello again, the top stories on al jazeera. in yemen the government has offered its resignation to the president. it comes as the u.n. envoy meets in sana'a to try to find a solution to the crisis. members of the coalition agree to increase their support to iraq to fight the islamic state of iraq and the levant. at least 13 people have been killed after shelling hit a bus in the eastern ukrainian city of donetsk. the prime minister blamed pro-russian separatists, but the separatists deny being behind the attack. the japanese government says it is in a race against time to try to save two hostages held by isil. a video appears to show fighters threatening to kill the men if they don't receive a

$200 million ransom. the deadline for the payment is believed to expire early on friday. harry fawcett reports from tokyo. >> reporter: less than a day remains before the deadline given bow isil to save these lives of these two men. the price for their safe return according to their captors, $200 million. japan's government says it will not give in to terror but is trying to open lines of communication with the hostage takers. >> translator: the japanese government is prepared to consider all possible ways to save the hostages. >> reporter: one is a freelance journalists who says he was asked by isil to be a witness at a trial last september, but he returned from syria without even being able to see the captive. he says the government has failed to use his contacts after separate accusations that he was trying to help a japanese

student join the group. >> translator: i think the situation is almost hopeless isis has always made certain to kill the people they threaten to kill in the videos. >> reporter: japan's prime minister says his country needs to play a bigger role in international security. this international crisis represents a major test here at home of his more muscular foreign policy. for his detractors it's a sign of what can happen when you play a bigger role on the world stage. the publish message is that japan's recent announcement of aid for the fight against isil is humanitarian not military in nature. >> most of what i think you hear

the administration saying now is not really aimed at islamic state, but aimed at the japanese publish. and he has to show he cares. he is trying. that he's not taking everything off of the table. >> reporter: isil has a history of videoed threats followed by videoed killings. cuban and u.s. delegates are sitting down for a second day of high level talks. the most senior u.s. official is visiting cuba since 1980. gabriel has more from havana. >> reporter: historic talks really kicking off here in the cuban capitol of havana. we saw top dim diplomats from both the state department and cuba arriving here.

they are focusing primarily today on reestablishing diplomatic ties and they need to have embassies to do that. so they really are going to be talking about these fundamental basic things on how to establish diplomatic offices in each country. that is really the first step before they can go beyond that. but both sides are really trying to manage expectations. this is going to be a long process. these are two countries who have had no diplomatic ties for over 50 years now. and this is not going to be solved in a matter of days. both sides saying this is just one of many steps that will be happening over the coming days weeks, and perhaps even years to really reestablish all ties but the first step and this is what was so critical today was really starting to get the discussion going on the diplomatic ties,

and then everything can flow from there. but very historic. we haven't seen high level talks like this in over 35 years, so there is certainly a lot at stake here. cuban americans are watching the developments closely. around a third of miami's population is cuban, and many fled to the united states because they opposed the inequalities of fidel castro but some are becoming more optimistic about a new chapter. >> reporter: at miami's only dentally owned cuban american radio station, the phone lines are lighting up. many aren't afraid to air their opposition to a change in u.s.-cuba relations. but the station's managers say some have more moderate but cautious views. >> perhaps the only positive thing that might come out of

this, is the mantra of the cuban government that the u.s. embargo is the whole reason for their problems that might fall apart in their face. >> reporter: excitement is tempered by a realization that annen to the embargo will need congressional congressional approval a move not likely to happen overnight. there is one company here in miami that has seen significant developments since that historic announcement in december. >> i mean the front reds are just looking super cheap. >> reporter: this is the office of a base infund that trades under the stock market symbol cuba. they have been investing in companies that could benefit from better relations with cuba

and since december shares have risen dramatically. >> i remember the movie jaws and the actor sees the shark for the first time coming out of the water, and he said we're going to need a bigger belt. and that's exactly how i felt. >> reporter: but for local leaders like the mayor of miami the questions remain unanswered. >> i feel bad as an american. and i feel worse as a cuban american because the united states is the leading country in human rights and yet we're not demanding anything from cuba. >> reporter: for this community more than any other moves to normalize relations will have a big impact and while most have accepted it is now out of their hands, they are paying close attention to what the future holds. we're going to talk more about that breaking news coming to us from yemen.

i'll going to bring you a visiting scholar from the middle east center and joins me on the line from sana'a. thank you for joining us. any idea if the president will accept this resignation, and why have they taken this measure? >> well probably not, but however, it doesn't mean that the cabinet might not insist on it. it's a clear example of how bad things have escalated. i guess the current cabinet was somehow the last seed of hope in yemen, especially with the new face of the prime minister and many people who are thinking of the new cabinet to lead and now the escalation has gone really badly. obviously in the better of resignation, the cabinet said it cannot take responsibilities for the actions of others inside of yemen, which is a clear finger towards the houthis who are now

in the capitol -- >> but doesn't this remove them then from the political process? >> i mean they were [ inaudible ] by a political process, and they were [ inaudible ] with promises to get some space to do their jobs within it. and it clearly has escalated today, because they obviously don't have power. it's one of the worst possible scenarios that can happen. >> i was going to ask you about the fallout of this we know the u.n. envoy to yemen is in sana'a meeting with representatives, why do you think he was not able to allow this from happening? >> i mean this was -- this collapse is obviously a clear example of the last -- the two or three years negotiating process is actually [ inaudible ]. it's why things have gone this way. but clearly there is very little the cabinet thinks it can do at

the moment in it does not have power over its own building then i guess that's one of the scariest things that can happen. but even while the president's popularity has gone really low, a lot of people are seeing hope in the cabinet and the prime minister and with that -- >> you are saying this is a disaster but what do you think is likely to happen next? there doesn't seem to be an effective political process. the houthis are getting increasingly confident as they take over the capitol. >> i don't know but it is all based on the intentions of the houthis. clearly 24 hours after the peace agreement that was signed yesterday, they still didn't withdrew from the presidential palace therefore, it does not seem very [ inaudible ]. >> all right. thank you very much for talking us through these developments coming to us from yemen.

the fact that the government has offered its resignation to the president. obviously we're going to discuss this more in the next bull it will in the next half an hour or so, but you can keep up to date with all of the news by logging on to our website, the address, aljazeera.com. a new way young women are paying for college raises some eyebrows. and this artificial intelligence goes where only the movies once did, dozens of prominent scientists and (accucapnt trial version) investigators warn that more attention must be paid to safety. why they are conce