rhode island is reporting up to a foot. we'll keep updating you through the day. back to you dell. >> rebecca thank you very much. i'm del walters. you are watching al jazeera america. ♪ a gun and bomb attack in libya's capitol at a hotel popular with foreigners and diplomats. ♪ you are watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. i -- also ahead, the new greek cabinet is sworn in. the u.s. president is in saudi arabia to meet the new king and talk about the conflict and challenges on his doorstep. plus . . . ♪ >> after protests over the

mysterious death of a prosecutor the president of argentina calls for the scrapping of its spy agency. ♪ a gun and bomb attack at a major hotel in libya's capitol has left at least 11 people dead. gunmen stormed the core ren thia hotel. victoria reports. >> reporter: the attackers set off of a car bomb outside of the hotel. masked men stormed the building wearing bullet-proof vests. it was a gun battle lasting several hours. it came to an end after they blew themselves up. >> this was a multi-pronged attack that involved a car bomb in the parking lot of the hotel,

and also reports that an rpg was fired earlier this morning, and the gunmen swarmed the hotel. this was a very well-coordinated attack, an audacious attack on one of the most popular hotels in the city. >> reporter: a group linked to the islamic state of iraq and the levant has claimed responsibility for the attack but al jazeera cannot independently verify this statement. the hotel in the libyan capitol is popular with government officials and foreign diplomats. there has been violence and rivalries among militias since the uprising that toppled moammar gadhafi. libya is now under the control of two rival governments each supported by armed groups engaged in daily fighting. analysts say this attack could derail peace talks taking place in geneva. both governments have tried to

attempt to get some kind of political scores and politicaling point scoring among both the gnc has already come out and said this is -- you know this is the work of the former regime and it's already coming out from members of the hor, that this is just a case and story of the muslim brotherhood, and the other islamists that are in charge. in july foreign airlines stopped lying to libya, when the armed group, libyan dawn took control of the airport. commercial flights resumed on saturday, but the attack on this luxury hotel is a reminder that the situation on the ground is dangerous. the new greek government has been officially sworn in. the prime minister has set himself on a collision course with the european union, saying it's too unrealistic to expect the country to pay its debt in full. greece's new finance minister will try to convince germany that restructuring the bailout

is the only way to turn around the economy. he is a 53-year-old professor at the university of athens. he is likely to take a hard line on debt relief but he wants greece to stay in the euro zone. barnaby phillips has the latest from athens. >> reporter: he's chosen a cabinet that has a range of opinions from right to left within his own movement which is quite diverse. of course he had to make a concession to his opposition partners and the defense ministry that's a job he very much wanted but i think the most attention, as you were saying will be on the finance ministry on economic management. the finance minister is an economist with a brilliant mind but he is also going to have to

be very diplomatic to be successful to convince the euro zone to write off part of the debt. and if they will be able to head in a new economic and financial direction. the french prime minister has been speaking about the new greek government and the effect on the euro zone. he said europe's roll is to accompany greece on the path of growth and not to speculate about a breakup. >> translator: a common objective is growth and the stability of the euro zone and i clearly repeated here that the question of exit of greece from the euro zone does not arise. greece we need remember has its own place within the euro zone. participate barack obama has arrived in saudi arabia to visit the new king. he cut short his visit to india

to pay his respects to the family of king abdullah. as the new king begins his reign saudi arabia is facing several challenges. at home they have to crack down on dozens of people suspected of having linked to isil. and there are threats along the eastern border with iraq. isil formally announced its desire to conquer saudi arabia. and as the fighting continues over in syria, saudi arabia has been spending millions training rebels trying to overthrow president bashar al-assad. while over in yemen the rise of shia houthi rebels there as lead to the fall of the prosaudi government. and regional rival iran is suspected of backing the houthis. a has played out not just in yemen but also in syria, lebanon, iraq and bahrain, with each side supporting opposing

armed groups. this man says obama's visit underscores the close relationship between the u.s. and saudi arabia. >> well i think this is a critical -- it's a very nice gesture on the part of the president. to go to saudi arabia which has been an ally for decades, and underscores the very close relationship we have had, and one i expect us to continue to have over the years. are there problems? yes. and there are a few areas in region particularly. and it's in those areas that the united states and saudi arabia i think will be working very closely together particularly with the daesh or isil threat. i know king salman. i found him a very compassionate person a very solid thinker, a very open to discussions. i think you are going -- the

president is going to find he has a very good partner in king salman. in yemen, the presidential chief of staff has been released by houthi fighters. he was kidnapped earlier this month. and this was followed by houthi fighters expanding their control over the capitol sana'a. and the resignation of the president. our correspondent has more on who is in charge >> reporter: an houthi is now yemen's most powerful man. his fighters control the city of sana'a, and a strong hold in the north. they are also expanding south. the shia houthis were a minority calling for religious and political freedoms. but he isn't the only influential man in yemen. former president saleh remains popular. these are his supporters on the

streets, denouncing a united nations travel ban on their leader last year. saleh had dismissed accusations that he wants to return to power. but this is his son a general. he was groomed to succeed his father, but the whole family was driven out of power during the 2011 anti-government protests. the protests were mainly staged by the opposition known in yemen as the joint meeting parties. it's a coalition of seven political factions lead by the sunni isla party. it is active in tribal areas in the south. the houthis and sala accuse isla of creating a sectarian divide in places like this province

where tribesmen say they are ready to fight the houthis. or the port city aden. for the time being the political impasse continues. a situation that can only improve if yemen's main political factions agree to share power. the president of argentina has gone on national television to deny a coverup in the mysterious death of a prosecutor. alberto nisman was found shot in the head hours before he was supposed to give testimony on the bombing of a jewish center in 1994. she has called on congress to dissolve the spy agency. faiz jamil has more. >> reporter: after more than a week of controversy and protests argentina's president has announced major shakeup in the intelligence service. >> translator: i have taken the

decision for the secretary to be dissolved and for a federal agency of intelligence to be created whose direction will be led by a general director and a sub director. they are appointed by the executive, but require the agreement of the senate to function. >> reporter: prosecutor alberto nisman was found dead in his apartment last week a day before he was supposed to testimony into an -- inquiry of the bombing of a jewish stern. he accused president fernandez in a coverup plot? order to sign a oil deal. some analysts say the spy agency operates with too much autonomy and has a murky history, the president responded to the allegations that she and her government are involved in a coverup. >> translator: no one is going to blackmail me. no one is going to intimidate

me. i am not afraid of them. nay can say what they like make the acquisitions that they want to let the judges call me may the prosecutors denounce me it doesn't bother me. but they are not going to move me. >> reporter: police are continuing their investigation into the death of prosecutor nisman and the bill to revamp the spy agency will be send to congress. it will restrict the contact and influence between government officials and the new zealand. faiz jamil, al jazeera. still to come on al jazeera, the nigerian solders who say they were sacked for refusing to fight boko haram. we have eradicated smallpox polio is in the end game 95% reduction in mealses. >> a global health partnership appeals for more donors but are some children dying because they can't get cheap vaccines?

>> the stream, >> your digital community

>> you pick the hot topics and express your thoughts the stream it's your chance to join the conversation only on al jazeera america ♪ hello again, the top stories on al jazeera, in libya, at least 11 people have been killed in a gun and bomb siege at a major hotel. gunmen stormed the corinthia hotel in tripoli which is popular with diplomats and foreign workers. the new greek cabinet has been sworn in. the leftist leader's finance minister now has a job of talking to the european union. yemen's presidential chief of staff has been released by houthi fighters. he was kidnapped days before the

shia rebel group expanded their control of the capitol sana'a. two rockets have been fired from syria into the israeli occupied goland heights. israel responded by firing 20 shells. no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. let's get more now from our correspondent joining us from west jerusalem. tell us more about whether there's any -- been any official statement on this attack. >> reporter: well doreen although the -- neither the israeli government nor the army have publicly come out and said this some outlets are quoting unnamed senior army sources are claiming that hezbollah is responsible for the rocket attacks on tuesday, and that israel holds responsible the syrian government for attacks coming from its territories. as well we heard something from

netenyahu -- benjamin netenyahu, the prime minister this evening, who didn't explicitly blame hezbollah or even mention hezbollah, but he said those who play with fire will catch fire. he said this during a ceremony honoring international holocaust remembrance day. earlier on tuesday, two rockets confirmed by the army here in israel as being -- targeting the goland heights. they they landed in open areas, didn't cause damage or casualties rocket sirens did sound in several northern communities in the goland heights, and these rockets were launched from a distance of 7 kill only meters and responded with 20 shells so as to send a signal that israel will not accept or allow attacks like these. that said a spokesperson from

hezbollah said they will neither confirm nor deny any activity carried out in the goland heights. this would be the first cross border incident after the incident from nine days ago, which was blamed on israeli, that killed nine hezbollah leaders, and they vowed to gain revenge. western sources at the time said the site of the attack was a cell that was plotting to send hezbollah operatives into israeli territory. >> it sounds like a ratcheting up of the rhetoric considering this comes after the wake of the attack in punatra. >> correct. and there has been a lot of that violence in recent years, when -- especially after the war

in syria started. attacks of -- by hezbollah, and attacks by israel inside syria. the attack i mentioned was the seventh time that israel was blamed for carrying out air strikes inside syria. there has been a lot of tension along that border especially with hezbollah and iran because an iranian general was killed in this last attack vowing to retaliate, so the army has really raised the alert area in that level. sometimes closing roads and asking people not to leave their homes. >> okay. thank you. iraq's government says the shooting of a plane at bagdad international airport was an accident. an army training exercise went wrong. six airplanes have suspended their flights to bagdad. jane reports from the iraqi capitol. >> reporter: more than 150 passengers were on the fly dubai

plane when it was hit by gunfire as it landed. no one was injured, but the plane was damaged. security sources said the gunmen appeared to be a sniper in an area just beyond the airport. but iraq's transport minister had a different explanation. >> translator: what happened in the airport yesterday was just an accident. the members of the security forces came here and suspected everything, and everything seems to be already. >> reporter: for state-owned iraqi airways it was business as usual. international domestic flights took off as scheduled. but it was a different matter for international airlines. all by iran suspended flights in and out of the airport. >> there is generally not a problem with the airplane between 500 and a,000 feet, because the tra yekry of the

bullet going such a bar -- far distance is not really controllable. >> reporter: military operations including u.s. air strikes have largely removed a concern of security. it's a huge airport complex. it includes a military airport. nearby is a training base for special forces and other iraqi security personnel. with the roads in and out of the country still not secure bagdad's airport is iraq's lifeline for business and other travelers. compared to other threats this is not seen as a major security crisis, and those threats have been mortars and rockets fired at the airport at the planes as well as fighting in the perimeter. iraqi security officials and western officials as well say they believe the area is relatively secure but shots

actually hitting an airplane as well as the iraqi government explanation have raised serious questions among anyone iraqis or foreigners intending to fly into bagdad. hundreds of nigerian soldiers have been sacked for refusing to fight boko haram. military commanders say they disobeyed orders. the troops say they were given the wrong weapons or lacked the proper equipment. >> reporter: these nigerian soldiers are meeting a lawyer to try to fight their dismissal from the army. they say they were sacked because they were not ready to die fighting boko haram. and they alledge military bosses didn't give them enough weapons, so they withdraw under the orders of their commander. >> we were not given the necessary weapon and equipment that was shoot us to fight boko

haram. we were given ak47, rpg with bomb. which [ inaudible ]. so while we used the rpg bomb it doesn't explode. we have mortar and the mortar bomb. [ inaudible ] that was supposed to be given to be issued to the units were not issued to us. >> reporter: the military says the men were not told to withdrawal and had adequate weapons, but -- disobeyed orders. hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on this fight. the military is also facing other problems. hundreds of other soldiers have been sacked sentenced to death for mutiny and accused of corruption all of this when there seems to be the greatest need for soldiers to fight. boko haram's leader claimed

responsibility for an attack on on the 3rd of january. >> in defending these soldiers i have much more with respect to the crisis the military is going through. >> reporter: and so these soldiers hope to win their case despite their predicament, they are optimistic that their former colleagues will beat boko haram. >> the military are winning the war because some weapons, i think, were removed from the front line some weapons that we were demanding for in the past were brought. >> reporter: winning their case will be difficult. no soldier has ever won a case against the military in these circumstances. european union leaders are tlenting new sanctions against

russia as fighting intensifies in eastern ukraine. charles stratford is in donetsk. >> reporter: these ukrainian troops are moving towards rebel-held territory about 40 kilometers away. the ukrainian government has declared a state of emergency in those areas, and state of alert. right the way across ukraine. as we headed north towards donetsk the roads became increasingly deserted. the ukrainian military were moving tanks and heavy weaponry into position. rebel-held territory is about five kilometers up the road behind me. the soldiers here are telling us they are coming under fire every day and every night. the villagers here say they can hear the fighting and many have left the area increasingly concerned for their safety. >> translator: of course we are

afraid. there is nothing to look forward to. the fighting means it is difficult for us to work and for our children. >> translator: people are scared. they don't know what is going to happen on this side or the other. people are suffering. >> reporter: it's pretty obvious over the last couple of days there has been a dramatic worsening of the security situation. donetsk is behind us we have been stopped by the ukrainian military on a number of different roads as we try to get to donetsk. we have also heard shelling. and all of the while, the rebels are still vowing to push forward and take more territory. the rebels stopped us from filming their check points but close by we saw a number of destroyed ukrainian tanks. on arriving in donetsk, rebel tanks carried fighters through the streets. holocaust survivors are remembering the dead of the 70

anniversary of the liberation auschwitz. more than a million jews, home sexuals, priests, and the disabled were murder there during the second world war. cuba's former president has given his first public reaction since agreement was reached with the united states to restore diplomatic relations. [ applause ] >> a letter from fidel castro was read out at havana university. while he didn't fully trust the u.s. he did think the two nations should work together. very few organizations can say they have averted 7 million deaths in the last 15 years, but the global health partnership, known as the gavi alliance says it has done just that. and having just been given $7 billion it is hoping to

vaccination millions of more children. >> reporter: childhood vaccinations have long been identified as a cost-effective way to improve the health of a population. but for many of the world's poorest countries, that cost is still too high. and that's why the gavi alliance was founded 15 years ago. it started with $750 million from the bill and melinda gates foundation. then many other agencies too now back the organization. its goal is to find resources to improve access to vaccines to the poorest countries. now members of the alliance have been meeting in berlin. >> polio is in the end game. 95% reduction in measles.

we have healthier lives and stronger communities and economies as a result. this is the power of vaccines. no other intervention touches so many lives on earth. >> reporter: but the charity doctors without borders, which vaccinates hundreds of thousands of people in poor countries each year says it doesn't get access to the cheaper vaccines negotiated by gavi instead it says it is forced to pay much higher prices. >> the best and most important vaccines to save childrens lives are being rolled out in some low-income countries with gavi support. but the prices of these vaccines are not sustainable, and we truly believe they can go much lower. >> reporter: having got the $7.5 billion it was looking for, the gav -- avenuevy alliance

says millions of children can be vaccinated and prevent the death of a further 5 to 6 million of the world's poorest children. more on that story and the other day's top stories on aljazeera.com. .. . >> hi, i am lisa fletcher, and you are in the stream. measles cases multiply. from the recent disneyland outbreak. plus sweat 16 and getting the right to vote? a growing movement taking root in cities across the country. later online movement. reacts to. what it means for the future of hacking.