did into these stories and go behind the scenes at aljazeera.com/techknow. follow our expert contributors on twitter insta graham google+ and more. >> this is aljazeera america. let's get you caught up on the top stories. japan's prime minister reacts with outrage to the alleged killing of a japanese hostage by isil. >> president obama embarks on a visit to the world's largest democracy. >> in syria how the millions displaced by the violence are

coping. great to have you with us. we have new information about an on line video claiming the murder of a japanese hostage held by isil. isil demanded a $200 million ransom for the release of two japanese can that captives. the deadline passed thursday. the video posted included an audio recording claiming the death of one of the hostages along with a photo that allegedly showed the murdered hostage. for more, we are joined from tokyo. the japanese prime minister has spoken within the hour, all but confirming the hostages death. what did he say? >> that's right, he was on the sunday morning show, the national broadcast of nhk. this was the main topic of discussion. he said that the japanese government was still trying to authenticate images posted just

before midnight japanese time last night but he went on to say that unfortunately we cannot help but say that the credibility appears to be high, and so that is as you say as close as japan has come to confirming the death of one of these two men. we saw this video when it came out last night different from previous isil videos claiming executions in that it was a still of the captive holding a picture in which it appeared to show that the body lying on the ground. the man's father has been speaking to the station this morning, saying that having heard that my son is killed, i feel extremely sorry that this has happened. i feel speechless, full of sadness. he apologizes for the inconvenience caused by his son's actions and thanked the

japanese government for their actions. the father believes his son has been killed in this horrible way. this is what the prime minister said after this video has been uploaded. >> i have no words to expression the pain the families are going through. those sorts of terrorist attacks are outrageous and unforgivable. i condemn these acts. >> this video i've watched it through, it is this still image over which there's an audio track which purports to be the voice of this freelance journalist in which he talks directly to his wife, directly with a message for the government saying that the $200 million ransom demand has now been dropped and that instead, isil wants the freedom of a woman held in amman jordan

who was held in the hotel bombings in jordan. authorities say her suicide bomb belt did not go off and she has been in captivity sense then. in this video he says that his captors will allow his freedom in exchange for hers. i listened to this, the voice does seem a bit odd. his mother, she says that it doesn't sound like his son's voice, but she also does confirm that it is him in the image and that his demeanor appears worrying. >> his face looked extremely nervous. i think he feels gravely about what is to come. i think that's what it is. this is no time to be optimistic. >> it's important to point out japan has not offered troops in

the international battle against isil. any chance this incident could influence a change in policy? >> certain nations have said no, there are no plans to join the u.s. led military operation and in a british newspaper leading on friday, the -- that was a proprietary paper for showing how japan would answer questions in an event like this. it said that japan's constitution would rule out any kind of strike against isil. the prime minister has reinterpreted part of japan's constitution to free up some of the military from the restriction of that constitution. some say he might argue further as a result of all this that

japan needs to act abroad. others say this is the kind of thing that happens when japan does as it did announce that it's assisting in the fight against isil, even in a humanitarian level that it's citizens become targets north carolina way. >> president obama also responded to the news about the reported death of a japanese hostage, calling it a brutal murder adding we will work together to bring the perpetrators of this murder to justice and take decisive action to degrade and ultimately defeat isil. >> eastern ukraine on edge after rocket attacks killed 27 people. pro-russian separatists are fighting for the port city and rejecting peace talks with ukraine. >> in another setback the separatists say they have taken control of a city northwest of donetsk. the attacks hit a market, injuring close to 100 people.

>> in kiev, dozens gathered in independence square to honor those killed. mariupol has seen little fighting, but if captured would be a strategic asset. we have a report from donetsk. >> sirens ring out across the city a warning that more attacks. this amateur video shows residential apartments, windows blown out across the road from another building in flames. this woman's body is in the rubble a man close by. ukrainian soldiers patrol the street. >> there's a lot of damage to residential damage antmarket. they hit the moment people were buying groceries. you could see the bodies over there. >> ukrainian military said pro-russian rebels launched attacks on the port city of mariupol. it is of great strategic significance lying on the sea a major city between russia and

russian ann sector of the national security and defense council would the attacks were committed by the russian military. he said the russian penalty vladimir putin was responsible. putin has blamed the recent jump surge in violence on what he says are those who issue criminal orders. the attacks come days after the ukrainian military with drew from donetsk airport after more than eight months of fighting. the separatists took control of this ukrainian military post, around 30 kilometers outside donetsk thursday, and they have continued to launch attacks from northern areas of the city that had been a warning. >> these attacks should come as no surprise, rebel leader here saying that he'd had enough, that efforts are calling and putting into place some kind of truth and threatening a multi-pronged attack out of the next that would take in that area including mariupol city. we now hair from local and international journalists attend ago ceremony in commemoration for the people killed in a bus

attack earlier this week that rebel leader said the battle for mariupol has begun. al jazeera donetsk. >> for more on the situation in ukraine, i welcome timothy fry. good to have you with us. >> my pleasure. >> after four months of a shaky ceasefire, here we are with fighting again. what caused this to eignite? >> a cease fair has gone on largely in fiction there's been low level conflict throughout the last four months. the last few weeks nato has been reporting increased russian transfer of technology, weapons in many cases servicemen to help with the rebels in their ability to inflict pain on the ukrainian army. it's been a big shift in russian policy over the last few months. >> as we mentioned the donetsk airport fell to rebels. how significant that was? >> well, not really materially, because the april had been

completely destroyed but symbolically it was important. this was an item that president poroshenko put a lot of political capitol on defending. >> what does this mean about the geo graphical scope. >> it means the scope is expanding. it's a reach for the rebels to say that they will be able to project their power all the way to mariupol without substantial russian aid on the level we haven't seen thus far. the real tragedy is that the ukrainian government has not shown the ability to defeat the rebels as long as the russians are involved. at the same time, the rebels haven't shown the discipline or capability to really inject power or create stable governance that would allow a peace plan to exist unless the russians are going to step in in large scale. >> what about reports that the russians will be stepping up their troop presence?

>> we'll see. at the same time that russia is increasing its influence over the separatists within russia, the war is not very popular in the sense that public opinion has shown that the russian people are not willing to sacrifice russian regular soldiers to fight in ukraine, at the same time that they back the separatists, have been very critical of the government, it seems the public would be very sensitive to casualties. >> what is the end goal of the rebels at this point? >> the rebels is to continue serving their real masters i think in moscow. they are locals who are fighting and who are fighting to expand their territory but i think the real goal here is for russia to signal its resolve to the west that it's willing to raise the stakes so that when the sides

eventually sit down at the bargaining table despite the collapsing economy that we've seen in russia, that russia can dictate terms over what a future peace agreement will look like. >> what is the international community says response to the event? >> it's interesting condemnation of the attack on mariupol has been widespread from sweden to germany to the osc to the u.s. this escalation might be the kind of shock that might unify europe into taking a much more hard lined stance. >> poroshenko made an people at davos. did that foul on deaf ears? >> the foreign creditors would like to see the ukrainian government to demonstrate their commitment to economic reform absent that, people are unwilling to throw money into ukraine, given the rampant corruption and given a lot of

disarray within the government. >> do we really know what's going on within the ukrainian government? >> it's very difficult to say. there was a budget, a key budget agreement reached in late december passed late at night and many of the deputies complain they don't know what's actually in the budget. there was some details that were leaked later that there were some special provisions in the budget that really increased the size of the deficit so there's a lot of uncertainty about what's going on within ukraine. >> continued violence, what lies ahead? >> i'm afraid we are going to see a continuing violence because i don't think the ukrainian government is in a position to defeat the rebels and i don't think the rebels are in a position to control enough territory so that they could be a strong rich at the bargaining table. >> timothy fry appreciate your insight. >> president obama and the first lady have boarded air force one and right now flying to india.

the president is headed there for a three day state visit scheduled to arrive tonight and on the agenda, talks on energy initiatives and manufacturing deals. white house correspondent patty calendar has in has a preview from washington. >> as u.s. president barack obama leaves for india his first tabbedding of fortune country's national day and the first time india has asked a u.s. president to be a guest as they celebrate republic day. as the president and foreign minister watch the parade, the u.s. hope is this will result in more business for u.s. countries, including defense contractors. >> there seems to be a real momentum in the relationship that had not been there in the last several years a momentum to not only really on a strategic standpoint, but from an economic and commercial standpoint. >> the obama administration has long put the focus on india.

his first state dinner held in honor of modi's predecessor. one priority, changing india laws to make it easier for the u.s. companies to build power plants and getting india to commit to steps battling climate change. the u.s. is down playing expectations of a major environmental announcement. >> there is no chance to the u.s. and india are going to strike a bargain akin to what the u.s. and china did. the economy is too poor and far behind china to commit to such targets. >> the obama administration is aware this trip could be interpreted as more than a three day visit. they insist he isn't choosing sides between india and pakistan because president obama has never been to pakistan and is the first president to

visit india twice while in office. al jazeera washington. >> officials in india won't say why, but security is expected to be unusually high this weekend. we have more from new delhi. >> and unprecedented blanket of security is covering new delhi during the president's visit. this is because security officials are telling us that there is a higher per accepts of court risks in the coming days. authorities are purposefully vague about their arrangements, but we understand american as well as indian security forces are going to be deployed. we understand that around 1600 american security forces, including members of the c.i.a., as well as the navy seals and the secret service will be on the ground on the indian side. we're expecting 90,000 members of the paramilitary forces, as well as daily police to be deployed in deli.

now, this is central deli where president obama the first lady and india's prime minister are going to watch monday's republic day parade. there's a seven layer security cover that we expect around this particular area. authorities tell us that snipers will also be placed in high rise buildings surrounding oxford. they say cct cameras will be closely monitored by both u.s. and indian security officials. the last thing the indian government wants is for anything to go wrong. >> president obama will head to saudi arabia tuesday to pay respects to the royal family following the death of king abdullah. french president hollande arrived in the saudi capitol

today. dignitary came in person to express respect. >> in keeping with tradition there was no formal swearing in ceremony for the king salman. it was during the funeral king abdullah that regional heads of state were able to meet the man who now leads one of the gulf's richest and motor influential nations. shortly after ascending the throne. the new king said he would maintain the same policies as his predecessors. >> we are going to continue with the approach of father, king abdullah. we are going to continue to implement the koran and character of the prophet mohammed into our legislation. >> one of his first acts as king

was to set the change of succession. by royal decree, his half brother has been affirmed as the immediate successor but king salomon appointed his nephew as second deputy crown prince. he is a powerful figure behind saudi security policies. >> he was interior minister and an expert on counter terrorism. i think that's a signal that the kingdom, under king salman is going to be very focused on internal security and regional security. >> it's a region in tran cushion. the king's rein begins against the backdrop of a war in syria advance of isil and turmoil in yemen, all concern to saudi arabia long seen as a pillar of

stability in the arab world. al jazeera. >> coming up, we're taking a deeper look at the state of the syria crisis and millions displaced by the violence. what's next for the region? >> they're not running yet but were talking like candidates in iowa today. we'll hear from some republican presidential hope was straight ahead. ahead. >> fault lines ferguson: race and justice in the u.s. one hour special only on al jazeera america

>> the crisis in syria it's been four years since the syrian uprising against bashar al assad led to the on going civil war in the country leaving nearly 200,000 dead, many more wounded and displaced millions of others. many sought ref final in turkey, jordan and lebanon. lebanon is struggling to cope with over a mill syrian refugees having trouble to find space to bury those who died. we have more.

>> when her husband was hit by a car and died, the family had to find some way to bury him. it wasn't easy. the town's main cemetery was full. very welly the lebanese owners of a plot in another cemetery agreed to let them use it. >> back home in syria, you could bury the dead anywhere, but here now, it's very hard. we didn't know what to do with his body. >> at least he's been buried near their refugee camp. >> we're lucky to have him close by so we can visit his grave but my brother always says when we return to syria, we will take his bones home with us. >> the united nations says 1,100 registered syrian refugees have died in lebanon since the war started. unofficially the number is believed to be much higher. in lebanon most reef gees don't have enough money to pay for all

the associated funeral costs however the plots are usually paid for by charities. >> a man died, and when we went to several local cemeteries, they refused to bury him. they didn't tell us why but once they know we are refugees, they say you can't bury him here but if you use a private as i am terry you have to have money. if you don't have money to eat how can you pay a burial? >> sending a body across the border costs at least $2,000. >> the syrian can't be buried in the christian areas, which is they don't allow it. there is no place for the muslims to be buried.

they are in the sunni area, where they feel more comfortable to be in. >> there's one place where the bodies of syrian refugees are welcome, here in the cemetery. it was bought by a kuwaiti charity, but it's quickly filling up. >> most syrian refugees arrived in lebanon expect to go stay a few months. now many of them will never return home. nicole johnston, al jazeera becca valley in lebanon. >> refugees have spilled into lebanon and jordan. while the humanitarian crisis threatens the countries stability, so do different factions in what is a wider conflict. >> since august, the u.s. and coalition forces launched nearly 2,000 airstrikes against isil. yet the group still controls large areas of iraq syria. isil fighters are also reportedly massing along sir i

can't see borders threatening to launch attacks near the hometown of hezbollah. meanwhile, syrian president bashar al assad remains in power, aided by iran's revolutionary guard and russia. fighting has been spilling over into lebanon. al-nusra took responsibility for twin bombs in targeting allies of president bashar al assad that killed nine people in tripoli. the scale of the crisis is overwhelming. half of the population's 7.6 million syrians are internally displaced and more than 3 million have become refugees after fleeing the country, threatening the stability of other countries. over a million refugees have

flooded lebanon which only has a population of 4.5 million spread among a very fragile balance of christian muslim and jewish groups. since syria's conflict began in 2011 israel has launched airstrikes often targeting weapons systems believed bound for hezbollah. after israeli airstrikes killed several hezbollah fighters last week the leader claimed the group has rocket that is can hit any part of israel. meanwhile in nearby jordan, according to the u.s., there are 640,000 syrian refugees. the jordanian government says the total is double that. even the smaller number would be a staggering burden and a small relatively poor country faced with low water, high energy costs. >> for a deeper look, i want to bring in director of the center

for middle east studies. it's great to have you with us. >> good to be here. >> here we are i guess the greatest challenge for the west is what to do now what to do with bashar al assad. are there any viable options at this point? >> it's important the international community continue to give large sums of money to help the refugees get food, warm clothing and some mod come of decent housing. we've had a number of scares, because the u.n. agencies, the world food program in particular has said that they don't have enough money and they've several times announced this, they've cut off feeding about a 1.5 people in december. the international community came up with the money but it's always touch and go. it's hard to run a consistent program without real funding way ahead of time. >> what type of humanitarian aid

is arriving? >> the word foot program is feeding 4 million to 5 million sir jen as month inside syria and of course uncr has registered 3.8 million refugees outside of the country the biggest number in turkey, but then lebanon and in jordan, 650,000, ruffle. there's a lot of -- most of the aid is coming from the local countries. in lebanon very few are staying in refugee camps and many are trying to find jobs around lebanon and particularly in beirut and it makes it very difficult for local workers who have to compete with them. >> i want to talk more about these refugees and especially lebanon. ronnie currie is the senior fellow at harvard, also the

director of the think tank based in beirut. we spoke to him about challenges syrian refugees face inside lebanon. >> they've settled in open fields they rent rooms, they go to hotels, they do whatever they can to survive and they get aid from international relief agencies the u.n., locals relief groups, all kinds of different people support them, but there's tensions because of the refugees in terms of they take jobs away in some cases from lebanese, refugees tend to work for lower wages often working i am legally without a permit reducing income and wages for other lebanese. they deal in some cases where there's totally unregulated living conditions, you end up with environmental pollution and problems with the underground water system being affected because of lack of any kind of

sanitation control. there are stresses on the health system on the education system, on the water system, electricity in some cases and you're start to go get evidence from surveys that have been done that there is resentiment and security fears by lebanese, some lebanese against their syrian reef reef--refugees. >> how is the situation different in turkey. >> turkey is a monstrous country of 800 million people. it can absorb them. it's the 17th largest economy in the world so it is much better equipped to absorb 1.5 syrian lebanese than lebanon in a country of 4.5. it's one of out of every five lebanese today is a syrian

refugee. this is a very precarious situation. the animosity's have grown. we've seen a number of syrian workers thrown out of building windows, vigilantes attacked them while they're sleeping. there is some real nastiness that is crotching up, because tensions are amiss. when i was last in lebanon every taxi driver complained, because the syrians were coming in and driving taxis and doing work for half the price destroying the market for low end, unskilled labor. you could see them on every street corner, people waiting to be picked up for jobs. it's a desperate situation. >> we talked about humanitarian aid and the lack of response. with conditions worsening are syrians giving up on the west? >> yes. i think syrians have largely given up on the west. not entirely, of course, they keep hope that go somebody's going to intervene but i think they realize now with president obama's campaign against isis,

that there isn't going to be real help. he says he's going to train and equip and there are evidently already begun to train and equip soldiers in turkey, qatar and saudi arabia. the first 5,000 are supposed to be produced by next year. it's not a number that's going to change the balance of power anytime soon. it's quite clear that the united states is counting on the survival of assad in damascus and the major cities of syria because should he fall tomorrow, the u.s. is worried al-qaeda will sweep in and grab these capitol cities and then it would be almost impossible to dislodge them. the united states, even though don't like assad they see him in some ways as a bullwark against extremists grooms that

are targeting americans. >> how much danger is there for children to become radicalized and join extremist organizations? >> there's a very big danger, especially in lebanon which you're highlighting here. the palestinian about 400,000 were chased out of israel, palestine in 1948, more in 1967, but they became -- their injustices only festered in refugee camps in lebanon jordan and syria. they became radicalized with the p.l.o. p.f.l.p. and many other group that is began and in many ways pioneered terrorism in the middle east, in order to try to

do something about their unjust situation and bring world focus on them. the same thing is going to happen with syrians and the syrian problem is so much bigger than the palestinian problem. with one out of five lebanese today a syrian refugee who has nothing in these camps and in squatter neighborhoods. it's going to become -- it's going to become explosive -- >> for those children, as well. we talk about the winter months bringing freezing temperatures across syria certainly bad news for the internally displaced people there. i want to take a quick pause because the u.s. is urging for urgent help, as you mentioned. >> it's freezing cold in aleppo and this man is desperately trying to keep warm. without wood and fuel, he can't. i has no choice but to use

whatever he can find. >> we have no money, so that forced to break our furniture for heating. we have no relatives here. we have all gone away. >> aleppo used to be a big city for business, but all that is covered with rubble and thick snow. most neighborhood's have no electricity. diesel and gas has increased three fold. even if available people can't afford it. a few clinics look after the sick but haven't got enough supply to say really help them recover. winter is killing people. >> they died as a result of the harsh cold, this is the indirect cause of death but the direct cause was respiratory and cardiac arrest. >> tents aren't much of a shelter. a dozen of people have died from the cold in syria including a baby. the u.n. said it's getting worse. >> the hospital says there's an

increase in respiratory and infectious diseases among children due to weather conditions. >> freezing conditions swept the middle east last week. refugees were living in camps in jordan and turkey, and here in lebanon, nine syrian refugees died. the weather that improved, but the united nations say people living in camps are still suffering. >> in the syrian countryside around homes there isn't enough bread to go around. activists blame the government for preventing truckloads of wheat from leaving the bakery, leaving hundreds have thousands of people without bread. >> it's been six days without wheat. people are grinding barley, corn and animal feed, using pasta anything to make bread. >> a bitter wind whims the streets of aleppo, a did he say lot place and there's likely

many months of winter and war left to endure. nicole johnston, al jazeera beirut. >> when you hear these stories what do you think for the most part why this humanitarian crisis has been overlooked? >> well, getting into aleppo is extremely difficult because aleppo is surrounded by one side on isis, another by must are a and the other the government, which is increasingly trying to surround the city. for western aid convoys to get in there is extremely difficult. there's great in security. we've seen aid people who have been working around the aleppo kidnapped and heads cut off by isis. it's not just the syrian government making life difficult. it's everybody. the environment is very hard for n.g.o. said to get into aleppo and people have done without

waters for days at end. it's terrible, i just came from a memorial service here in oklahoma for people who's parents just died in aleppo at age of 80, but had been going through miseries with no water and trying to find fuel. it was a miserable situation all around and there's no end in sight and that's the scary part about it. >> no end in sight when, if the dust settles what does the area hold for its people? >> i don't think the refugees are going home and that's the real challenge for the region, because syria is locked into a civil war today. many of the supporting nations like the united states or russia iran, saudi arabia, are going to help their proxies not lose and give them enough money to not lose, but not enough so

they can win. this is a recipe for an intractable award. america's bombing the other half of the country where al-qaeda and isis dominate today. it's not a rosy picture and when you can't see how there will be a peaceful solution anytime soon or an effort to rebuild economically. the close to four mill refugees, probably more, will be locked out of the country for a lock time to come. >> jonathan, appreciate your time and the deeper look. >> pleasure. >> president obama is headed to india tonight for talks on energy programs and manufacturing deals. coming up, details on how india's hoping the u.s. can help a transition and a green technology.

stay with us.

>> welcome back. president obama arrives in i understand i can't tomorrow. it will be his second trip to the country during his term in office the first for an american president. it's the first time a u.s. president has been invited to attend the country's parade. the u.s. and india are trying to aid their economy. defense and security issues will also be discussed. >> in light of climate change concerns india is manufacturing away from coal and hopes the u.s. will help with new technology. the country is diversifying its electricity supply with solar energy. we have a report. >> every time he turns on the light, he saves money. he spent nearly $1,500 setting

up this micro solar unit, but says it's been worth it. >> to in vest in this, you save $400 every year. that means you recover investment in four to five years. after that, it is all profit gee saw the long material benefits and was willing to make the initial investment. not everyone is. >> electricity is still relatively cheap with two thirds of india's power needs met by readily available coal. advocates for solar power are convinced that the current preference for coal generated power will change. >> there is technology with high are costs they may have higher footprints, but technology -- it reduces cost. >> the hope in several indian states is for feeds of solar panels like this to become more

common. 900 megawatts is already produced. they hope for solar to be 80% of production by 2022. as challenges in developing technology continue, a lot of land is required. some critics worry they'll encroach on agoly sensitive land. that's disputed. >> it is having no other application, they cannot be done any other thing. >> environmentalist said there is no such thing as wasted land in india. he suggested smaller rooftop units on family homes and government buildings. >> for india solar energy should be decriminalized and used on existing land use which means large solar based plants,

which is going to require huge amounts of land is not something india can afford. >> the government is trying to respond with this solar plant built over an existing canal. right now there aren't many plants like it. >> patel's own experience suggests no matter how small the power plant it pays to go solar. >> the european central bank is unveiling a new program to give the economy a boost. they plan to pump 1 trillion euros into the economy to help government tackle sagging growth and a lack of jobs. >> we need sustainable growth in europe that also has to be with the probable, entrenched unemployment, people being dragged out of the labor market, we are seeing the whole base

weakened and this cannot last. >> a prolonged period of low oil prices could further improve the global economic outlook. >> in iowa, potential gop candidates lined up to speak today at the freedom summit in des moines. presidential hopefuls appeared to be trying to drum up support. they took turns pitching what they want to see happen in american politics. >> weaver cut attaches in wisconsin, reduced spending, balanced the budget, we took the power away from the big government special interests and put it firmly in the hands of the hard working taxpayers. >> we need to be the party that says we are for fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets, all those are right but not enough. they're not enough. we need to be pro growth, but

also need to be pro worker. we get the senseless object stakes from washington out of the way. that means tax reform and regulatory reform. it means sending the locusts of the e.p.a. back to washington. >> a lot of talking but we should point out no one has formally announce add run for president from either party. >> coming up on aljazeera america, we head to the snowy hills of park city, utah for day three of the sun dance film festival.

>> the sun dance film festival kicked off this week. for decades it's been a major showcase for independent filmmakers but business is changed by social media.

rob reynolds is in park city, utah. it's day three. with all this technology, how is digital changing the way movie and television productions are made? speaking of technology and the lights. [ laughter ] >> hi, thomas. the digital revolution in films is certainly a hot topic here amid the cold of this mountain village. it is very important for independent filmmakers of the kind who show their films here at sun dance, because it allows them to reach new audiences in new ways. >> the streets of this old west town are full of filmmakers and producers hoping their independent movies will be hits. increasingly the sign of success is not top billing on a cinema marquee. on line video on demand and high quality television knelt works

are competing with the traditional theatrical film release. last year was the worst for ticket sales in north america in 20 years. >> it's only going one direction. i think that when you have a generation of consumers that are being conditioned to get things when they want how they want, that the industries are going to have to figure out a way to make that work. >> i felt that something was not right. >> a to work comedy called transparent by amazon won this year's golden globes award for the best series, the first time it went to a top show that never aired on a traditional t.v. channel. >> there's no this morning stigma that tell advice is a lesser quality project. you have had a lot of a lift actors, as well as filmmakers being willing to and even having sort of a certain type of cache.

>> sony's film, the interview is said to ever led north korea to hack the computer system with disastrous results but it may have stumbled on a new release model by releasing it on line. it took in $15 million in its first weekend. video on demand is a lifeline for independent films. the vast majority of people who wind up seeing the 123 pictures at sun dance this year will watch on line. that's good for filmmakers and viewers. >> unless you live in a major market a lot of times you don't get the opportunity to go see them, if you don't have a local art house theater. certainly that's a great avenue for these nor moderately budgeted movies and these smaller movies to sort of ever this alternative release option. >> for consumers it's not just a matter of wider choice and

more convenience. it's also a question of cost. >> of course, as everyone in this country and overseas knows it can be pretty pricey to take a family of four to the local multi-plex. you'll spend $50 or more even without the popcorn. with bit more money spent, you can enjoy an entire year of films from the comfort of your own living room. >> kind of weigh the options you got the popcorn the coke, candy, all that good stuff. rob, thank you. >> coming up on al jazeera what could be worse than damaging a priceless artifact like king tut's burial mask? find out stay with us.

>> a recall is announced that

affects 87,000 sedans. the cooling fan resistor could overheat and increase the risk of fire. >> results facing its worst drought since 1930, affecting industry and the government is criticized for not responding fast enough. we have a report. >> the bed of brazil's river lies cracked and burned. water levels have plunged under searing temperatures. >> we are experiencing the worst water cries in the history of the southwest since the recording of the levels began. >> water is provided to the north, as well. rationing hasn't been introduced even though parts of the country only have limited amounts. >> a strategic reserve won't be

enough to get to the end of the year. it's urgent that measures be taken now. they can't be postponed. >> in sao paulo people are being charged if they use a lot of water or given discounts if they use less. industry and agriculture are limited in supplies. >> the factory has to stop if we don't have water. our machines only work if we have cold water. >> there was a water shortage in my workplace for several days and today no electricity. >> the hydroelectric power plants have barely enough water to operate. brazil is importing electricity. authorities didn't react far enough because they didn't want to alarm people ahead of a local election. they insist there is enough in other reservoirs to avoid

rationing for another six months. >> one of the world's most famous ancient egyptian artifacts was accidentally damaged during a botched restoration. officials in cairo say king tut's beard was knocked off by workers last year. they were ordered to fix it quickly and used a glue that was more damaging, leaving a messy and very visible gap under the chin. the ministry of an particular wilts is investigating the incident. >> finally this evening weavers are hoping to impress u.s. first lady michelle obama. they've been crafting using silver and gold thread a garment. they hope the first lady will wear the gift and boost their business. that's going to do it for us. i'll be back with another hour of news at 11:00 p.m. eastern.

stay tuned "consider this" starts right now. >> a state of the union full of swagger, but was it realistic? two key house members join us. >> the man who published controversial cartoons of the prophet mohammed in denmark joins us, still facing assassination threats from terrorists a decade later. >> the deadly fight to keep mountain gore relevant las from extinction. welcome to "consider this. those and more stories straight ahead. >> the shadow of cries has passed. >> president obama provided democratic witness a roadmap. >> during the state of the union