was a white house fellow in 2011 and 2012. that is our show today i'm ali velshi thank you for joining us. have a great weekend. >> the right to die. canada's highest court strikes down a ban on assisted suicide. the implications the decision could have on this side of the border. concern and skepticism. u.s. tries to verify claims an american hospital contaminating died in a coalition air strike. a young woman who devoted her life to ending the suffering of others. school segregation 60 years after brown versus board of ed.

still debate debating integration. a cell phone captures the scary moment when a jet airplane catches fire in mid air. good evening i'm antonio mora. this is al jazeera america. canada's highest court calls it a human right. the justices there say citizens who are terminally ill have the right to die. john terret joins us and john this is a groundbreaking decision, the first of its kind in north america. >> you know antonio you're right. no other court has ever ruled this way in north america. that being said, a handful of countries around the world do allow some form of assisted suicide. that is to say if patients are incurable, suffering and have given their consent. those countries are belgium the tiny nation of lux lux luxembourg.

something activates are cheering. >> this is a case about real people with serious illnesses through a change in the law can find some peace and comfort in knowing that they have a choice. >> reporter: on friday, canada's supreme court gave people that choice, striking down a ban on doctor assisted suicide. from lee carter, that brings some form of rm relief. >> today her journey is complete, with the supreme court of canada granting canadians the rights she was denied. >> the nine justices have given federal and provincial governments a year to craft

laws. after that the law will stand. >> this is a momentous day a historic day a day i think that we as canadians can celebrate. >> reporter: but others opposed the ruling including so-called dying with dignity bills that have passed in parliament. one doctor telling al jazeera last year it's her job to save lives not take them. >> they want to redefine our profession and want to institutionalize in quebec killing patients and calling it health care. >> highly charged debates four states vermont montana washington and oregon, allow some form of doctor assisted suicide. >> i will die upstairs in my bedroom that i share with my husband. with my mother and my husband by my side. >> last year, brittany maynard

changed the face of there right to die in the u.s. maynard suffering from frequent seizures and stroke like symptoms died, weeks after she told the world she would take her life. >> if all my dreams came true i would somehow describe this -- but i most likely won't. >> well, maynard's death launched a passionate debate here. assisted suicide on their books unresolved. our friends in the north may well spark another discussion too. antonio. >> stephen fletcher has been leading the call nor the supreme court to discuss the issue. joins us from ottawa,

mr. fletcher pleasure to have you join us. you are a quadriplegic, you have spoken out to the right to physician assisted suicide. one argument you made to me sounds counterintuitive but you would argue that this could actually lead people to live longer. >> people with a terminal illness or a degenera tiff disease such as als are so terrified of what will happen in the future when they're bedridden that instead of risking that fate, they are ending their own lives. or going to places like switzerland to have their lives ended by a physician in that country.

so while allowing for physician-assisted death it will allow, will provide people with the peace of mind that they will not have that horrific death that they will have an option to die with dignity. >> there are critics who are worried this could be abused. are you concerned that there could be a slippery slope and that this could be taken too far? >> there are abuse he happenings happening already. you know with people trying to, you know the morphine drip is increased just that much. and so on, to a fatal level. or you know, we have people you know starving themselves to death. and all sorts of things that are definitely not the way canadians envision end of life.

so what this supreme court ruling does, it empowers a competent individual to have power over their soul. now, it doesn't solve all the terrible circumstances it doesn't deal with dementia or people under the age of 18, for example. and i don't know if -- that there is any answers to those questions. >> you've worked closely with families impacted by this ruling. what kind of a reaction have you gotten from them today? >> well, i met actually, today the family that this ruling is named after. and they were very, very pleased. and i think appreciated that their loved one did not die in

vein. that she has left a legacy, so that what she went through other canadians moving forward will not have to go through that. which is dying without assistance. >> canadian member of parliament stephen fisher. pleasure to have you with us. thank you. >> thank you. >> five people are now in federal custody accused of trying to support i.s.i.l. three are bosnian immigrants living in rockville illinois and utica new york. alleging they bought firearms and uniforms and other gear trying to move them overseas.

i.s.i.l.'s claim that an american hostage died in syria killing kayla mueller. her family says they're still hopeful she alive. i.s.i.l. offered no proof of their death. >> reporter: antonio i would characterize this as deep concern. deep security with f-16s and f-22s. the monitoring group site intelligence posted this on its website which i.s.i.l. tweeted to support its latest claim that 26-year-old american aid worker kayla mueller was buried in the rubble killed in an air strike from a jordanian f-16. officials confirm that several air strikes hit rah raqqa syria but

a weapons storage facility was the target. and u.s. officials express skepticism of the information from the same group that are releaseed false information of a jordanian pilot while later having video of him burning alive. >> we have no way to confirm i.s.i.l.'s claims. >> after jordanians were shocked by the brutal execution of the captured pilot and the u.s. central command released fresh videos on thursday in which jordan played an outsized role in what's called i.s.i.l.'s

storage and staging area. purr of him in full military garb looking resolute has gone viral. a small unit of crack special forces, it is not a super-power like the u.s. so when the king met with u.s. senators just after learning of the pilot's murder he made an impassioned appeal for more arms in a closed door session. >> jordanians are ready to fight. and about the red tape i couldn't believe all i heard yesterday, all the red tape they have to go through to get something ton front lines to help them defend them. >> prestrike intelligence indicated there were no hostages at the bombing facility today. if it may turn out that kayla mueller was there she may have been moved there just before or just after the attack. it may be impossible to do the kind of investigation that would

provide any real answers. antonio. >> thank you. houthis are in full control of the yemen government. the u.s. and the united nations condemned the actions and both are refusing to recognize the new government. the u.n. security council is calling for the immediate release of yemen's president prime minister and cabinet all of whom are under house arrest. pressure is mounting on vladimir putin tonight to stop the fighting in ukraine. germany's angela merkel and francois hollande of france met with putin in moscow today. they are trying to encourage him to accept a new peace deal. france called the talks constructive and substantive. on sunday merkel and hollande will hold a conference call with putin and ukraine's president. once again the scene of

fears battles in donetsk. charles stratford reports. >> not separatist fighters, civilians, incident victims with no role in this conflict. >> there is a lack of space bodies lie on top of each other we have received 2800 dead since march of last year, 500 bodies sing thesince the beginning of the year. women and children people who lived alone. >> another attempt and securing a truce. few people braved the streets of donetsk. the sound of nearby shelling echoed throughout the city. we're at a separatist controlled checkpoint close to the airport. now the intensity of the shelling and the repeated fatal yours of previous calls for a ceasefire shows just how difficult it is to maintain any truce. the fighters we spoke to at this checkpoint had little faith in this latest piece effort. >> translator: we have already

seen peace talks and i don't are trust them anymore. when we offer them peace talks the ukrainian army use them to enforce their positions. glsh >> reporter: this has become a tal scene. in the self proclaimed donetsk people's republic. >> all social benefits, pensions benefits for invalids have not been done anymore. to benefit ordinary people. we are not considered human we are being eliminated. >> shelling indiscriminate recently local authorities say at least five people were killed when a shell landed close to this hospital. just controlled by the ukrainian army it is the civilians that are suffering the most. charles stratford, al jazeera donetsk. president obama's new national security strategy is

taking a tougher stance on russia. susan rice outlined the plan today, saying the u.s. should not be seen as the sole protecter around the world. >> we are already providing military assistance to ukraine. we have not taken a decision yet to up that, the nature of that assistance to include lethal defensive equipment. it's something that is under consideration. but obviously, it is -- it's a significant step. and we will want to do so in close consultation, and in coordination with our partners. >> rice also said russia is feeling the economic strain of sanctions from the u.s. and its allies. in nigeria the number 1 security concern is boarm. andecialgboko haramand in niger it

killed 90 fighters after the group attacked a local town. >> for days chaddian soldiers have been strengthening their position after taking over the town from boko haram fighters. inside nigerian territory chaddians are helping. it took days of fighting to push out fighters. >> we were fighting intensely that is why they dropped their weapons and ran away. >> translator: we liberated n ombaro. you would realize we have liberated all of them. >> reporter: the nigerian military has not been able to stop boko haram's attacks. towns and villages around lake chad border all four countries. witnesses from the town of boso in niger, second territory in

niger to come under attack in days. boko haram attacked the chaddian army killing more than adozen soldiers. the next day the attack cameroonian troops, killing at least three soldiers and a number of civilians. death has drawn in nigeria's neighbors and the african union into the conflict. they are now discussing a united strategy in cameroon. trying to put together a multinational task force. >> we're going to work on the structure of the operation elaborate a plan that will ensure logistical support in general terms it will be the management of this operation that will determine the deployment of forces on the ground and propose to the united nations security council.

>> the united nations security council, the council remains concernedden that boko haram is undermining the peace and stability of the central african region but as the consultation goes on so do the attacks. forward hood massacre, the military had resisted because the medal is normally only handed out for injuries in a war zone. 13 people killed and 32 wounded when former army major nidal hasan opened fire at the base. decades after the desegregation began it still persists. and a passenger looked out the window and saw that frightening

sight. sight. talk to al jazeera part of our special black history month coverage on al jazeea america

>> the pilots of the transasia plane that weren't down in taiwan may have inadvertently turned off an engine before the plane crashed. at least 35 people died when the plane cart wheeled into a highway and then a river. aviation officials say one engine shut off then the pilots turned off and restarted another negligence not clear why.

this is not what you want to see out your window. an engine on fire. passengers said they heard a bang right after takeoff and one of them recorded this on a cell phone. the plane turned back and landed without trouble, it is not clear what caused this. brown versus board of education, declared unconstitutional 61 years ago but one town is grappling with how to integrate its schools. jonathan martin has that story. >> in robinson tennessee two middle schools are miles apart. at greenbriar, most are white. at springfield most are black or hispanic. >> there is nothing about rice. the concern is taking kids out of school where they're comfortable with. >> i believe it is about race. >> what are you doing?

>> my kids don't get honestly they don't get the same education as some of the other kids do. >> reporter: federal investigators found the district never implemented an immigration integration plan it implemented in 1970. in the count seat of springfield noticed the segregation within schools and brought it to the attention of the department of justice. >> it is a drag-over from the civil rights era. we have people that have that civil rights bull connor defiant attitude in robinson county. >> with two children attending middle school in the city, stacy's concern is that majority white schools are receiving better resources. >> they have top-dollar everything. you come to springfield middle school you have an auditorium that's condemned. you have just as many kids in trailers as you have in actual classrooms. >> the department of justice agreed finding the district

often used portables to alleviate overcrowding. even with predominantly white schools in the same cluster. investigators say officials have engaged in a long history of segregation. cody and jessica's children will be reassigned to other places. >> it's more of a stress on us to get them to school. >> mixing student populations might affect their child's safety, in fact parent opposition has been so long, the school district has avoided voting on the mandate for several months. the county can withdraw its

funding, $9 million. they have been advised not to speak publicly because the district is negotiating with the department of justice. in the past several families have criticized. >> this is the moral thing odo. >> james hubbard says he just hopes the sool board will school board will look beyond what's popular and finally do what's right. jonathan martin, springfield tennessee. the war memorial in greenwood lists soldiers as white or colored. state law prohibits altering monuments without order. the memorials should remain as a sign of our segregated past. jobs are being added at the fastest pace since the 1990s.

we'll have the numbers next. also a single solar flare could leave half the planet in the dark. now scientists have a plan to prevent that from happening.

>> after five years of sluggish recovery from a deep recession the u.s. job market is booming. the labor department says more than a quarter of a million jobs were added in january. the department also boosted the job numbers from november and december. that makes it the best three months stretch of hiring since 1997. the jobless rate though did go up slightly as more people have begun job hunting again. more than 2 dozen sea ports on the west coast will be closed for business this weekend. terminal operators say because of an ongoing slow down by the dock workers union. the head of the pacific maritime association says the ports can shut down permanently in the nest next five to ten days if a contract dispute is not resolved, more than 50% of the

country's imports and experts go through those ports. a satellite that will give advance warning against solar storms. as dominic kane reports. >> a combination of gas mass and energy erupts from the surface of the sun. while it may look spectacular it can cause substantial damage here on earth. the electromagnetic radiation admitted by solar storm disrupts mobile communications computer systems and power grids. scientists have long wanted to develop an advanced warning system. now, they think they have. a satellite called the deep space climate observe industry or discover will be launched on sunday and sent around 1.6 million kilometers towards the sun. >> this is all about environmental intelligence. and if we can get the extra warning time, the 50 to 60 minutes warning time that this

will give us that lets us provide environmental intelligence to decision makers like satellite operators or electric grid operators who can use those moments to take precautionary measures to eliminate troubles that a solar storm may create. >> the collapse of the hydroquebec power network in 1989. that solar storm left 6 million people in the dacialg for nip dark for nine hours. >> these events from the sun are huge in scope. any such event would affect the entire hemisphere. across borders continents and everything. these are big events and really a global collaboration to try to protect society from the potential effects. large solar storms rarely hit our planet but scientists hope that the discover launch will

marine they're both forewarned and forearmed. dominic kane. al jazeera. >> i'm antonio mora. inside story is next. next. >> hello i'm ray suarez. after a quiet spell eastern ukraine is at war again. and talking about arming the ukrainian army. while the west weighs its options, a high stakes diplomatic mission happens in kiev. >> if i recall there mustfirst of all there must be an i