>> ukrainian troops pull out of the strategic town of debaltseve surrounded by pro-russian rebels. >> also coming up: >> the red cross under fire in myanmar. the president declares a state of emergency. after bombing isil targets in libya and killing some civilians, egypt wants the u.n.

military intervention. >> we are now into oscars week. many here are asking where are hollywood's missing latinos. >> ukraine's president says troops pulled out of the eat he were town of debaltseve in a planned and peaceful way. they were surrounded by pro-russian rebels. fighting for the town continued despite a ceasefire. debaltseve's become a key prize for the pro-russian separatists. it's at the supervision of two major highway that is link separatist territories in the east. it's a rail hub which is important for delivering coal supplies. loss of the town represents a serious defeat for ukrainian troops. >> i don't know, our commanders didn't tell us whether it's a retreat for rotation. he just told us to change our

position because our unit had been staying there quite a long time and we had quite a lot of losses. they took the decision that we should leave our position. >> the ukrainian president is on his way now to meet the troops, who were defending debaltseve. >> today we have taken new defensive lines and during talks with the leaders of the united states of america and the european union, we demand add hard line response by the world to the brutal violation of minsk agreements by russia on the ceasefire regime and the beginning of withdrawal of armments. we will prepare odors and coordinated actions. now i'm going to the front line to meet those who left debaltseve and i have a high honor to shake their hands and to thank ukrainian heros. >> president poroshenko also announce that had he'll hold a conference call with his german, french and russian counterparts within the coming hours.

sergey lavrov said the separatists are ready to pull out heavy weapons from the front lines. >> a ceasefire is in place and almost front line areas in ukraine, in some areas separatist's say they are ready to pull out heavy weapons. the only exception is the town of debaltseve. we are very concerned about what's going on there. >> an associate professor at the kiev academy thinks the agreement is in at that time jeers there's no doubt in anyone's minds with the exception of the russians that there are russian troops on the ground and they are better equipped with more troops and high weaponry than most european nato countries. minsk is in at that timers. the ceasefire line drown and signed by putin and by the separatist leaders was specifically included debaltseve on the ukrainian side. it has nothing to do with

shelling. we're talking about invasion with up wards of 100 tanks. we're talking about heavy weaponry we're talking about this place. the town of debaltseve has been completely flattened. yes, it's strategic and important, but this is not the way you behave if you have signed a ceasefire agreement. the agreement is in at that timers. the question is what are we going to do bit. there's going to be one person on the moscow side that's going to be very happy in the conversation today and three outraged world leaders, one from france germany and the ukrainian president asking wait a second, your signature is not worth the paper that it's written on. >> a red cross convoy attacked in myanmar. the president declared a state of emergency in the region where government troops are trying to drive out mnda rebels, saying their fighting for the rights of the chinese minority who run a

largely autonomous strip on the border with china. recent fighter appears to be triggered by the return of the leader from exile in china. it's the first widespread unrest in the region since 2009. it forced the group's rebel leader and tens of thousandses of people from the area to take ref final in china. we have a report. >> a barrage of bullets brings this red cross vehicle to an abrupt halt. it was part of the convey attacked on tuesday in myanmar's eastern region where a new wave of fight has gone broken out between rebels and government forces. >> unless there is a ceasefire called, there will be more attacks. in the resistance experience, red cross trucks have been used by the burma army to attack the

resistance. >> two red cross volunteer workers were injured in the attack, one suffered head wounds. the other had injuries to the abdomen. both are now in stable condition in hospital. the president of the myanmar red cross released a statement saying: >> the humanitarian situation that's emerging from the violence is similar to that of five years ago when thousands of ethnic chinese residents fled, taking ref final. 30,000 refugees have reportedly made the same trek after recent fighting. china is calling for dialogue. >> we want to use this opportunity to once again call on all sides involved in the clashes in myanmar to exercise restraint and avoid the situation escalating further to

ensure peace and stat of the border and avoid affecting security on the chinese side. >> now three months of martial law is being imposed by myanmar's government, a sign that the fighting is not expected to end anytime soon. al jazeera. >> in syria at least 150 people have been killed within the past 24 hours during fighting in and around the city of aleppo. the syrian observatory for human rights say they include 70 pro government fighters and 80 rebels. the syrian government is willing to temporarily suspend all aerial bombardments over aleppo. it's syria's biggest city and former financial hub and it's been reduced to rubble. the syrian government said it will decide when to suspend bombing in the ancient city.

stephan is hopeful. >> the government of syria has indicated to me its willingness to halt all aerial bombing all airally bombing all sorts all types of airally bombing and artillery shelling for a period of six weeks all over the city of aleppo. from a date which we'll be announcing from damascus, i plan therefore to proceed to both damascus and hopefully to aleppo as soon as possible. >> kurdish peshmerga forces killed several isil fighters near erbil. kurdish forces prevented isil from taking over two villages in the region. one kurdish fighter was killed. coalition planes were involved in the offensive. >> the u.n. security council

meets later in new york for an emergency session on libya. egypt is pushing for military intervention and working on a draft resolution with members of the council but western countries want a political solution. egypt's foreign minister has been speaking to our diplomatic editor, james bays. >> egypt on the diplomatic offensive, foreign minister with the u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon hours after his boss, president al sisi hinted at the idea of a u.n. backed military intervention led by his country. after a meeting with ambassadors, including the u.s.'s representative samantha power, in an interview with al jazeera, he clarified his proposals, suggesting initially they were limited to expanded support for the tdbruk government. >> is the possibility of boots on the ground something that should be under consideration? >> i think all measures should be under consideration, it is up

to the international community to define what is the best course of action to deal with this threat. i will not prejudge or jump to any conclusions. it is up to us to forge a collective understanding and commitment that should not exclude any form of support of the legitimate government. >> the u.n. security council will meet to hear a presentation by the foreign minister on wednesday. other ambassadors including those also fighting isil say the egyptian proposal is worth examining, but international law must be followed. >> it isn't an issue today of egypt alone. it's more than egypt. it's more than coalition similar to the coalition of iraq. this requires legal process that the security council has to deal with. >> for now egypt is going down

the u.n. route but international law is something that president al sisi ignored in the past. easy ordered bombings in libya on a number of occasions including in recent days with no u.n. authorization at all. james bays, al jazeera president united nations. >> the international community is called upon to act on the crisis in libya saying italy is willing to do its part. >> we are ready to contribute to the efforts of monitoring the ceasefire peacekeeping infrastructure rehabilitation and military training to initiate them into the army. the deterioration of the situation on the ground and the increasing terrorism leads to the worsening of the polite to the thousands of people who flee by the sea on boats that arrive on our shores. in this regard, the data available is clear and shows that the number of migrant arrivals has increased

significantly in respect to last year. >> in denmark attending if you didn't rely of the two killed in saturday's shooting. the 37-year-old was a volunteer security guard killed outside the city's main synagog. a film director was killed attend ago free speech forum. the danish government of palestinian descent was later killed by police. >> still to come here at al jazeera: >> nothing makes sense in this city anymore. >> what many streets look like in a city in northern nigeria after years of attack by boko haram. >> now i know that the finish is near then i can finally have a hot shower and a warm bath. >> we're with the winner of the yukon arctic ultra marathon.

>> every monday night, al jazeera america brings you conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> it's nice to be doing something everybody is so aware of. >> is anybody doing this better? >> "talk to al jazeera". coming up next. only on al jazeera america. >> hello again, let's have a look at the top stories. the ukrainian president poroshenko said troops are pulling out of the strategic town of debaltseve in an organized manager. the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov said pro-russian separatists are ready to withdraw help weaponry from the front line. >> fighters affiliated to libya

egypt presses for a u.n. military intervention. >> myanmar's president has declared a state of emergency. >> police killed during an attack in an opposition rally several others injured in nigeria. a number of bomb attacks are ahead of next month's presidential elections. >> the leader of boko haram has vowed to disrupt the election. it was supposed to take place last week, but is postponed following more boko haram attacks. one of the cities in the northeast of nigeria which has been particularly tarted by boko haram has had businesses hit. some let dentist are refusing to

leave. >> this is what many streets look like after five years of attacks by boko haram. hardly any new jobs created these days, and many of the existing ones are disappearing. this man may lose his job as a mechanic. >> nothing makes sense in this city anymore. i used to earn the equivalent of $50 in two to three hours to take care of my family. some days, i go home with empty pockets, because our customers can't afford to drive their cars any longer. many resort to taking taxis or tricycles. >> he is not sure how he will be treated elsewhere. many people from the city are accused of being boko haram.

>> a this is the big have the market. over the past year, it's been attacked by boko haram at least five times. business has been tough here, but despite the constant threat, they insist on keeping the market open. >> many stores remain closed, because of lack of business. those that are open, few customers come to buy. he hasn't solid a bag in five days. >> most of the customers are coming from chad and cameroon, but surely we don't see them now. >> the supplies in his store will continue to gather dust until normalcy returns. >> the day has been a good one for this man. he made about $6 in nine hours. it isn't much, but enough to buy a few supply that is will make his family happy.

he's not sure when he will make that much again. >> thousands of people in this busy city often go to sleep less fortunate. despite the situation they chose to stay. >>ing bangladesh, the war crimes tribunal sentenced another leader to death. he is a former m.p. previous sentencings have led to protests. so far the convictions are said not to be based on proper evidence. >> the trial of thailand former prime minister is set to begin thursday. she faces criminal charges for a corruption scheme. >> she has already been improvement for dereliction of

duty. now the former prime minister is to appear in court on criminal charges over the same populist scheme to support rice farmers. if convicted, she could be jailed for 10 years and effectively banned from politics for life. it's been less than a year since the general's military takeover, which was to law space for negotiations between those four and against the family. >> we did it to protect the dignity and honor of the thai people. we can't step back anymore. we must stop fighting and keep working for reconciliation. >> the criminal charges take the crack down on them further than ever before. >> without any concession or compromise, then it's not reconciliation. we can see clearly now we don't want to use severe materials but certainly, there's a political effort to keep one

side out and down and to enable the other side to go on. >> at this market in her hometown we found vendors who are strong supporters of the family. >> of course, this is not the way to reconcile people in the country. what they are doing is actually totally against it. we don't want to reconcile with them anyway. >> this is where the ancestors are kept. in the context of thailand's deeply polarized society it's more about politics than justice. >> every night it was armed soldiers in plain clothes that would come to watch and record this play that explores the issue of freedom of expression. martial law has meant opposition voices being silenced. >> she is only one of the many

cases. it's just that everyone knows about her, because she's in the spotlight and reconciliation won't happen until they accept that people can think differently and allow them to express their views freely. >> despite the military's promises, any hope of reconciliation has left thailand's political stage. >> prosecutors opened a criminal investigation against hsbc. europe's biggest bankers had its offices searched in geneva following allegations it helped clients evade taxes. the swiss public prosecutor is looking into allegations of aggravated money laundering. hsbc declined to comment. >> millions of chinese people around the world are preparing to usher in the year of the sheep. some 3 billion people are leaving the capitol to make the trip home by train and air.

>> you need to be patient when you travel in china especially at this time of year, when it becomes a country in motion. they are part of the world's largest annual migration. it will take 25 million migrant workers home often to see their children for only the first time in a year. for many, the coming year of the sheep is tinged with uncertainty. factory workers especially worry that the slowdown in the economy is far from over, so some of not returning. >> i will never come back to the city to work in my life. it's meaningless. we come far away trying to earn a higher salary, but everything's too expensive. nothing's left. >> the chinese place great importance on the zodiac calendar, but there's a debate whether it's the year of the sheep at all since the chinese use the same word for sheep and goat. >> of all the zodiac signs this

is regards as the least desirable, the goat and sheep meek creatures followers and not leaders so not a good year in which to be born, which is why hospitals expect fewer births this year. >> probably about 20% drop. if i see other women talking to them, they say they are going to skip the year of sheep and have the baby the year after. >> whether superstitious or not there's no denying the sudden improvement in air quality. with poll looting factories closed down for at least the next week, the skies are clear and blue. for many, that's the best new year gift of all. al jazeera beijing. >> the traditional route to the top of the world's highest mountain is about to change. an alternative route to climb mount everest is being created because of the avalanche risk. 16 climbers were killed last year now mountaineers will have

to avoid that danger area. >> competitors started to cross the finish line at the end of the 690-kilometer yukon arctic ultra marathon, the extreme endurance race through the freezing wilderness of northern canada. it includes athletes on foot, mountain bikes and contract country skis. we were near the finish line in dawson city. >> there you have it, the finisher first place in the foot section of this race is from italy. at the very last minute, drama here, one of the mountain bikers of germany he came along and waited and crossed at the same time. they've come a remarkable distance. it's a finish at night. many of them have gone through the night to get here. many more are on the trail.

for now everyone is celebrating this finish. >> this remarkable man has led this race throughout. not only that, he has come more than 690 kilometers in less than 10 days. that is just incredible. this is a race that was not actually finished before 2009. people tried but didn't make it. now people are doing it in less than 10 days, an unbelievable athletic feat. when i asked him earlier whether or not he felt good about it, he was a little bit unconcerned. >> i wouldn't say i am an athlete. i'm a normal person, but now i know that the finish is near, then i can timely have a hot shower and a warm bath. >> that's probably the thought that keeps almost anyone who's still in this race going. about 10 people still are heading for the finish line, roughly, give or take a few. mountain biker already finished. we await the first cross country skier.

those will be the top finishers. simply finishing this event is victory in and of itself. >> another item of sorts is darren clark named as the european captain for the 2016 ryder cup. they beat the u.s.a. in scotland last year. the northern irish man will lead a european team that's won six of the last seven matches. >> to hollywood and the countdown for the oscars sunday. some in the la keep know community wonder why more of them are not in the movies. we have more. >> you can't move for film star faces in hollywood. they are everywhere. can't say the same for latino stars, they are much harder to find. >> here's the thing. latinos view more movies than any other ethnic group in the whole country.

three quarters go to the cinema once a month and account for a quarter of all cinema sales in this country. this place does not reciprocate when it comes to casting. more than three quarters of roles go to white actors. as for latino talent, try nearer 4%. considering la keep knows make up a pretty significant part of this countries population, 17% here in los angeles the number is almost double, it does beg one question, what is hollywood's problem? >> they are too white. >> that is the verdict from this long time film and theater director, who sister yo types very much to blame. >> the executives, the only relationship they have is to their maids maybe to their gardner and the stereotypes they have created themselves about you know, latinos in the united states, the drug dealer, the prostitute.

>> dianna knows all about that. >> gang leaders, who canners there was always the made and servant. >> she spent third years on the stage on the hunt for those elusive big screen breaks. >> we don't exist in television and film. we are one out of every six americans in the united states now, the largest minority, we outnumber blacks and yet you look at film and television and you do not see latinos. >> there are some success stories, the hit movie "real women have curves." this is her latest and this is her powerful mental to others. >> it's sad to be the loser in somebody else's story because in a white man's story i get to be the servant of the loser and i say no. that's what i teach people to say no, challenge that story that you live in, ok? you do not get to be the loser. it takes so much dignity to be who we are because in somebody else's story we're the loser. i'm going to show you that i'm

the winner. >> to some, the red carpet comes calling, for many mary mains a dream and is likely to stay that way at least in the short term. al jazeera, los angeles. >> you can find more about the oscars and rest of the day's news on the website. piegelman. >> i was trying to figure out as an incredibly self centered human, how did i get on this man it when my bairnts supposed to be dead. >> art spiegelman, had a brother he hadn't met. he had a brother that had been