pro-russian rebels say they have surrounded the strategic town of debaltseve in eastern ukraine something which ukraine itself denies. good to have you with us, i'm david foster. you're watching al jazeera coming up life. anwar ibrahim jailed after a conviction for sodomy. the ruling party bjp the anticonstruction adne party.

plus. >> i'm imtiaz tyab, in the occupied settlement of hebron imposing taxes on their palestinian neighbors. >> pro-russian separatists in eastern ukraine says they have surrounded a town called debaltseve. many believe are strategically important. fight arers have caught off the main supply road into this government-held down which is in between the separatist towns of luhansk and donetsk. the ukrainian army denies this happening. says there is still fighting going on. charles stratford in the opportunity of ooglegorsk, i don't know if you can determine if the town is taken over by the

pro-russians but there is a battle going on i would guess. >> just to clarify we are in a town yanakev-e near the town of debaltseve. we have just spoken to a separatist commander here, and he indeed tells us that debaltseve is completely surrounded by separatists. the ukrainian military are denying this and saying there are ongoing battles in and around the main supply route. we were on that supply route yesterday in a town called addnenosk. has been the only road in and out and this is where humanitarian corridors are set up to try to pull civilians out. basically a state of disarray, they wanted out of the area, and

they were calling heavy weaponry back, into positions where we were not when we got into debaltseve. this separatist commander says sparse he knows, there are no separatist in debaltseve yet there is still ukrainian military inside. the situation is very fluid. the commander tells us he has no direct contact with separatist fighters on the front line and certainly not on this side of debaltseve. it is very difficult to verify everything but everything we have been reported is consistent to what seems to be going on. >> charles if it were to be taken by them, what would it mean to the larger conflicts?

>> reporter: this town is of massive strategic importance to both sides. it is a big rail hub which basically connects separatist territory, with the rest of the territory, a finger that juts into dpr controlled territory and the scene of intense fighting over the last weeks of huge significance. and as we've seen in recent weeks separatists have been making gains. there have been a number of towns around debaltseve that have fallen. we've spoken to separatist commanders in recent weeks who said they were not interested in pushing really to peace until they had taken that town. so it just shows how important it is. and as an indication as we expect we're going towards that area now of the intensity of fightingings that seems to be

going on. >> charles i know you watch events both sides of the border, you're specifically in that part of ukraine but i just wanted to tell you something interfex, the news component has put out. 2,000 troops have been sent to this area, the timing quite interesting. >> there have been reports on both sides of buildup of troops and a massive recruitment drive that separatists have wanted to increase numbers the ukrainians also have announced a similar recruitment drive. separatist controlled area,

their teams have been a lot more organized than they were a few months ago and determined to continue their fight. it would not be surprising at all to hear reports like that. there is a greater sense of confidence if you like among the separatists. they honestly do feel if they have the ukrainian troops on the run and certainly what we saw yesterday on the ukrainian side, the general atmosphere amongst the ukrainian troops not to put it too bluntly but a kind of panic. that is consistent to what we see is going on at the moment. >> charles stratford, thank you so much. now to malaysia, where anwar ibb rim hymn has lost his bid of

appeal from a sodomy charge. malasian government has released a statement. anwar ibrahim his charge was brought by a private individual not the government. we call on parties involved to respect the legal process and the judgment. let's hear now from phil robinson. civil rights watch. he says the item is a black mark on the government of malasian. >> the government has got their man, put anwar away foyer five years. they have put the political opposition in disarray and essentially they have left a

very black mark on human rights issues in malaysia. what political opposition would be by the tom police officer and top minister of malaysia prior to filing charges. they have tried to maintain this idea that it was an individual pursuing a case but the malasian government threw all their power behind it. special prosecutor brought in by the government for this final trial. >> india am adne party are surprised the country with a incredible victory. narendra mowed pledged indian support. liddy dutt joining us from new

delhi. the congratulation he coming from narendra modi. a big city, capital city, but what does it mean for indian politics as a whole? >> well absolutely. as you have mentioned looks like a victory for am adne party. what this means for the idea that the party has set up ae-an easier goal, those demands still stand, if delhi can do it, it would be interesting what other states could do it. is this interesting in the way the newer parties are perceived in india as the am adne stays

control. voters in india tend to vote differently on a national scale or a state based level. because prime minister modi was projected into the bjp it tends to move tornado one in the center. they do vote on very separate points in both state and national elections so it will be interested to see how much this changes. >> let me ask you about this lidy. the aap i used the words it's an anti-is corruption party but security for women action against corruptions we mentioned. does this mean there's going to be achange of tack necessitated for bjp which had been pretty much pro-corporate. is it going to have to go back

to its socialist roots to address the issues the other party is addressing? >> not specifically. these are delhi issues acknowledge be the party has focused on what delhiates have looked for for years. for the bjp nationally this doesn't change their agenda as such they have been very pro-development, pro-business. what may change for bjp is the way in which they engage prime minister modi on a state level and how they prepare the state's visions in line with the national political agenda. that may change. but the drawing board we are not expecting a big change in the way of the bjp. this is a state election, this

is what counts for millions in their neighborhoods. >> liddy dutt, thank you very much. new envoy in syria and damascus, in the government there. he expels to meet the prime minister moalem says he expects to are meet and discuss the rebel groups. in damascus, the foreign minister will not be accepting ground troops to fight fence the reckless. >> we are not in knead of foreign ground troops to enter syria. >> retain areas around mosul

iraq's second biggest city. israelhas been controlled by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. any pictures have emerged at the moment prior to a strm peed outside a football stadium in egypt. as the crowd surges forward the metal collapse he. the egyptian authorities have launched an investigation. well the egypt prime minister ibrahim pladof, two

yeardayvisit by russian president vladimir putin. canadian government is calling for the immediate release of mohamed fahmy who is a candidate citizen and in jail for 409 days now. along with baher mohamed. to raise the case of mohamed fahmy with the highest level of the egyptian leadership. the case she went on, raised the situation with mohamed fahmy in the last 19 days. we understand it's an upsetting day for the family and we continue to call for his immediate release. now, mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed refuse to be

connecticuted with the muslim brotherhood and a third prisoner, peter greste, has been unconditionally released. collecting taxes from its palestinian neighbors but palestinian members say they will not pay up. >> abdel jabbary are an illegal settlement neighbors his home. the charges he received were a tax called a rnona i don't get any services from the israeli settlement. everything here, the land, the

water, all the it is are provided by the hebron municipality. >> his land is rounded by israeli settlements. 12 years ago israeli settlers constructed this structure on his property. he took it to court and the judge said it should be removed. this ruling makes it uncertain that jabbary, part of a long and well documented campaign of harassment by the settlement council. governor of hebron, tells me palestinians who live close to slemghts aresettlements, are routinely harassed to push them off their

lands. >> we see this as a dangerous situation. something as evidence to the international criminal court and other organizations. told us anyone who lives within the settlement's boundaries are subject to tax but with the proosks court ruling in jabbedy's favor he is will not be required to pay. bus he values more, his peace of mind. >> the battle ground is butter and flier and the vensian victim of food shortages. shortages. and passengers go on board for the new shape of thing coming to

connect the capital and its people in ethiopia. . .

>> the new al jazeera america primetime. get the real news you've been looking for. at 7:00, a thorough wrapup of the day's events. then at 8:00, john seigenthaler digs deeper into the stories of the day. and at 9:00, get a global perspective on the news. weeknights, on al jazeera america . >> top stories here on al jazeera. pro-russian separatists say they have surrounded the town of debaltseve. they cut off the supply line between the towns of donetsk and luhansk.

anwar ibrahim has been convicted of sodomy, his appeals have all fallen through. are congratulation of the aap leader and opposition pleerd leader arvin kegewal. presidential vote scheduled for february 14th in nigeria pushed back six weeks. on monday the national security advisory told al jazeera opposition leaders will be driven out at the time of the vote. international coalition also being formed to get boko haram out of its stronghold. on monday, niger voted to send in troops, chad and cameroon,

reeseing its leader abu bakar sh shakar. >> hearing from ash-har quraishi. >> nothing is more important than raising his children in a safe community. working as a jail guard carlos says they he will be an asset to the the community. there i think community policing is a very important part of the community. >> following the police shooting of michael brown in august many

criticized the department for its lack of diversity. 4 you out of 53 police officers are black. six months after brown's death there are three officer openings including the one who shot brown, darren wilson. >> we're in the fishes stages of the hiring. we are setting up the testing date, we have a really good contractor that's given us a test to use which looks at a number of different factors including the tendency of being bieftd. >> the department remains under the like row scope. refined their ticketing and court procedures. >> we just had to recognize what the problems are and try to address them. six months is the time we've had so far and i think we have done a lot. >> today conversations about how to improve policing and race

relations in the community are frequently ignored. effort to cultivate relationships early on. be there have been a number of initiatives, plans and meetings hoping to dell with the issue presented but here along west florison afternoon is itch for depaid. >> they have stopped harassing medium so many but at the same time it's like you're still rookd look add like you are a suspects. >> some people can move forward some won't. i think it start with us, i think it start with the people. >> i want to see what you reading. >> ferguson police department hopeful.

>> we should be serving them and protecting them without them trying to pick us off. >> reporter: railroads >> reporter: ash-har quraishi, ferguson missouri. >> the transit system here is a milestone. many people have come here to see the railroad tested. kabeda says he will not miss the fast trip. >> they'll only use the train for a few years but i'm glad my children and grandchildren will benefit. >> the light rail trains will have a capacity to carry up to

60,000 people over times. they could use the overcrowded and overbetterred overburdened are method of transportation. >> there was a famine here two decades ago. and not just the railway but there's construction everywhere here. mostly backed by chinese investments. mega hydroelectric dam if ethiopia wants to develop like others did. but some analysts feel it's relying too deeply. >> you have to be very very careful. what happens is, it's not the

law but your own domestic capacity to generate savings and revenue. >> government officials insist that the country is well within its means and has been taking manageable low interest long term loans. >> we are not only taking the loan we are taking the technology also, our people, our are contractors are working with chinese. so after short time we are going to contract by ourselves. >> many ethiopians, hope the benefits will trickle down to them. katherine soy addis amountbaba

ethiopia. >> are. >> my friend asked me to go to india with him. he said i would be fine. i went with him and this is what happened to me. i found out only 24 hours later now my heart burns i have no appetite and my entire body is swollen. >> he was only asked to donate blood on his trip to india but his traffickers took his kidney. he was given $100 and told to go back home. only three criminal cases have been registered so far. >> only the three cases we have had so far after their organs were trafficked. there is a strong network of traffickers and we can only track them at a level.

>> some who traffic their kidneys get plastic surgery to cover their scars. just as one man started counting another interjected saying they could face repercusses. and many are wary of outsiders. >> some hope the media attention has brought embarrassment to the village. traffickers have moved to other district and women are now the new targets. the organ transplant act of nepal only allow close referlts relatives

can donate kidneys. but the demand for kidneys remain high. as long as the traffic is available the traffickers are not far away. central nepal, al jazeera. jazeera. reading writing and politics. jeb bush says it's time to loosen the grip of politics on the education system. >> it's going to take a big political fight, monopolies don't go lightly into the night. >> whether she agrees that it's time to get tough on teachers. >> they