>> massive explosion in the capitol of somalia 2m.p.'s among those killed in an al shabab attack on a hotel. >> you're watching al jazeera with me, date foster. coming up, more violence in libya, three bombs explode killing 25 people in the east of the country. >> the mayor of venezuelas capitol arrested, accused of plotting a coup. >> trying to make a difference in war torn iraq with music for the people.

>> the armed group al shabab said it was behind two explosions in somalia's capitol. 11 died in the attack on a hotel in mogadishu. two were members of parliament. we heard this from a person who witnessed the events, a short while ago. >> i was in the mosque when the first blast went off. i escaped with the hotel's rear exit and saw people lying dead on the ground. i couldn't believe it. i was shocked. >> here's an update from the somali government spokesman. i spoke to him a short while ago on al jazeera. >> al shabab have attacked a hotel and then they killed some innocent in a mosque inside that hotel. so far, we are trying to get the

confirmation -- we are going to fight the terrorism. >> libya, 25 people have been killed in explosions in the town in the east town cubar. there were three car bomb attacks east of benghazi. the targets included a police station and a pet troll station. the u.s. and britain have rejected libya's call to lift a weapons embargo. the british fortune secretary said a national unity government must be in place first. the government in libya recognized by the u.n. made the appeal before the security council two days ago. neighbors algeria and tunisia warned against foreign military

intervention, saying it will escalate fighting between rival militia. our correspondent is in tunisia close to the libyan border. she sends us this: >> we do have confirmed that there was at least two car bombs, one that targeted a police station and one a gas station. the significance of the area is that it's in eastern libya but it's also the hometown of the speaker of the dissolved parliament, or if you want to put it another way now the parliament in tobruk. people i spoke to say that could be in retaliation of the egyptian airstrikes in the sense that the government in

tobruk welcome assistance. >> the phone call is from more than a year ago. it was when sisi was not the president, he was then defense minister of egypt. >> now to syria and turkey said it and the united states want to start training moderate syrian rebels on turkish soil next month. syria's information minister said if the u.n. wants a ceasefire in aleppo to succeed it has to get the countries that back the rebels onboard. we have a report. >> the moderate syrian opposition which is battling both isil fighters and president

bashar al assad's forces is about to get some much-needed help. the united states military said it's identified 1200 syrian opposition fighters for potential training. the turkish government will provide an equal number of trainers to work alongside their american counterparts. the agreement was signed on thursday. >> we are better off and the region is better off. this is the start and we have a lot of work ahead of us. >> the turkish government says the opposition fighters could also target president bashar al assad's forces. >> these forces will fight against islam state as well as other terrorist organizations in the field. >> the deal with turkey is part of a broader program to train syrian fighters opposed to isil. u.s. officials say a deal for a training facility in jordan is eminent and locations in saudi arabia and qatar could be ready within the year. on the ground, the battles continue.

these are fighters from the shamir front battling forces in aleppo. they just gained control of farmland in the north of the city. >> god is greatest, thanks to god, the heroes of the sharia front managed to liberate our farmland and expelled gangs from here. >> the united nations is trying to end the fighting in aleppo. it hopes the truce will ease the suffering of the people, allow aid in and possibly lay the groundwork for a political process. until now, opposition fighters haven't been convinced. >> syria's information minister says countries like saudi arabia qatar turkey and jordan which have supported opposition groups must convince them to comply with the ceasefire. >> the success of any effort related to the war on syria dependency on the capacity of the parties that finance the armed terrorist groups.

>> the syrian government said it's prepared to suspend aerial attacks on aleppo for six weeks in a trial ceasefire. >> opposition groups won't guarantee president assad's forces won't take advantage of a lull in the fighting. al jazeera. >> u.s. military commanders are preparing iraqi and kurdish forces to recapture the city of mosul from isil fighters. an official in washington said the operation involving 25,000 soldiers is planned for april or may. the u.s. will provide training and air support but there's been no decision on whether there will be u.s. troops on the ground. mosul, iraq's second largest city has been held by isil since june of last year. we have more from baghdad on what could be street to street fighting in mosul. >> for the last month the ground has been prepared for an all out assault against mosul

city itself, coalition airstrikes cutting off a major supply route and kurdish peshmerga forces have taken bridge heads in preparation for this assault. the iraqis have learned from defeats and say they are much better prepared to take on isil fighters. there is a big issue that nobody seems to be talking about and that's one of civilian casualties. in the places that the iraqi army has taken from isil fighters, the civilian population had fled. that's not the case with mosul. there are a million civilians within the city itself, effectively held hostage by isil. this is going to be a street to street battle and we've seen isil be able to repel iraqi army forces before, so civilian casualties are going to be a very big issue for the iraqis. the prime minister said at the

very outset of the american help offered, we do welcome this help, but need to avoid civilian casualties. >> this man who is one of the biggest opposition figures in venezuela, the player of caracas has been arrested. the president maduro accuses him of plotting a coup. he joins lopez, one of the main opposition leaders already in prison for a year. we have more. >> this is the moment when the mayor of caracas a leading venezuelan opposition figure was led away by security forces. the insignia of venezuela's intelligence agency is seen. aids to the mayor said the men did not identify themselves or give any reason for the arrest. hours later, hundreds gathered outside the headquarters in the capitol, demanding the mayor's release. his wife spoke to al jazeera. >> i hold president maduro

personally responsible for my husband's safety. >> after the arrest, the president took over national television airwaves. he then accused the mayor and others of plotting to topple the socialist government last week. >> antonio ledesma was captured under orders of the prosecutor's office to be investigated according to venezuela justice for the crimes committed against the peace of the country and the security of the constitution. >> maduro said the plotters had the backing of the u.s. government. the u.s. state department called that claim baseless and false. the venezuelan government also cites plots to overthrow it without producing hard evidence. it's been a year since major protests broke out against the government, which has faced massive food shortages and spiraling inflation. one of the country's main opposition leaders lopez has spent a year in prison. on wednesday hundreds of people gathered to mark that anniversary and protest again.

>> al jazeera. >> europe's finance minutes are meeting on greece's loan repayment. greece's new anti austerity governments asking for more time to pay back european creditors. it wants at the moment to extend the current deal for six months, not on the existing terms. athens blaming the bailout for pushing the greek economy into rediscretion and worsening unemployment. berlin said greece's loan extension request is a good signal. greece has until february 28 to work out a deal, when its $273 billion bailout expires leaving the government and banks without financing. >> coming up on the program the u.n. says yemen's warring parties agree to form a council to govern the country until a final settlement is reached.

>> why these turkish m.p.'s got into a brawl in parliament about a bill about fighting and violence.

>> al shabab said it was behind two explosions in somalia's capitol. 11 died in the attack on a hotel in mogadishu, two of them m.p.'s. >> 25 are killed in three car

bomb attacks tares include ago police station and a pet patrol station in libya. >> germany refused greece's request for more time to pay debt but now says the request is a good signal. >> the ukrainian president petro poroshenko called for u.n. peacekeepers to help implement a ceasefire in the east of the country. a truce was called sunday, but this hasn't stopped the fighting there. poroshenko concerned about the town of debaltseve which ukrainian troops with drew from on wednesday. >> i'd like to add that the situation is getting more exacerbated because with the support of the russian army, militants virtually wiped out debaltseve from the surface of the earth and now debaltseve reminds me of the moon

landscape. >> paul brennan is our correspondent that in region. this is what he sent us from donetsk. >> the shell that caused this crater arrived at 11:00 p.m. thursday night. that's almost to the hour exactly five days after the minsk ceasefire deal supposedly came into force. this is northern donetsk. the shell sprayed the side of this residential block with shrapnel, metal. there is a smear of blood on the doorstep. it is mercifully not human, it was a dog caught in the blast. it's not the first time that this particular block has been hit by a shell. it's happened before. it probably won't be the last,

but for the residents here, it's almost the last straw. there's a woman who lives on the ground floor, natalia, she wouldn't speak on camera, but she's been here 10 years. she endured the previous explosions that were happening in this area, but she's given up. she's moving out. she's moving down to south donetsk. it does give a lie to those who say that the only place the ceasefire is not being observed is in the town of debaltseve. it's happening here in donetsk it's also happening down towards mariupol, as well. frankly, the people here don't care who is firing first, who is responding to their opponents. all they want is for the guns to fall silent. >> a marsh deadline for a final deal in iran's nuclear program. john kerry will join the discussions on sunday and monday. there was in a interim deal in late 2013 for iran to suspend its nuclear program for a year in exchange for easing sanctions. >> rival political factions in yemen agreed to what they call a people's transitional council to help govern the country.

u.n. mediator for yemen said it's an important step towards a final agreement. we have more. >> yemen's political factions reach a deal forming the transitional council. it's a new chamber in parliament which along with the house of representatives will be yemen's highest legislative authority. >> this council will be in charge to lead the country for the next two years. the representation within this council will be 50% southerners 30% women and 20% youth. the detail of the distribution of these seats have not been agreed on, so this deal is an initial deal, and very far from a final deal. >> yemen's political crisis continues. the main factions are yet to agree on a presidential council which is going to be the highest

executive body, an interim government, how to reform the army and police and ban armed militia the. but the houthis who control the capitol say the committees won't disarm and they will have the upper hand in the areas they control. the sunni majority remain skeptical with bribes man gathering in the al-qaeda stronghold. they are form ago new force to defend their city against shia houthis. in the predominantly south anti houthi sentiment is on the rise. in the city, protestors take to the streets to denounce the houthi takeover. the growing opposition to houthi's rising influence is something many believe could trigger a wider military confrontation that may spin out of control. al jazeera. >> they've been fighting again

in turkeys parliament over a bill aimed at cracking down on violent protests. the second time there's been a fight over controversial legislation this week. opposition leaders accuse the ruling party of trying to create a police state. >> myanmar's chinese minority is being displaced by the thousands in fighting. an armed group saying it represents the interests of the people in the northwest region are fighting government troops. refugees are fleeing to the neighboring china province. we have this from the border town. >> for some 30,000 refugees who have said to have fled myanmar to china during the last 10 days, many have come here, being accommodated in what is normally a convention center, a place

where trade fairs are held. 25,000 people are being accommodated here, getting water, they are getting food, and of course shelter but none of them knows how much longer they will remain, because the fighting is still going on across the border. the ethnic chinese are fighting the army of myanmar. now some rebels have appealed to china to provide aid because say, we're ethnic chinese but china has said there is no way that will happen, but myanmar is not so sure. a few days ago a government minister said china should do all that it can to prevent chinese soil being turned into a base for terrorists to launch cross border aids into myanmar. that is the sort of link that will enrage beijing.

china scoffed at notions it will provide aid. a few years ago china was probably the only friend myanmar had. that is a friendship now tested here on the border between these two countries. >> thailand's military government's been holding a public forum to hear critics of its plan to boost domestic energy production. our correspondent veronica pedestrian degrees is a is in bangkok. >> taking on thailand military government energy reform activists protest against the government plan to hold a round of hearings. >> we are here today to protect resources which belong to everyone in this country. concessions not the right answer to conserve our energy. the government say there is not much left. if there is not much left, why would you want to open for concession? >> people are very aware of the energy. i don't think the government should break the promise they

made to the people. people are smarter these days. >> many of the energy activists here have protested against the previous government of prime minister yingluck. the succeeding military junta announced it would stick with yingluck's plans. the people want the government to switch to a production sharing contract system and delivered and open letter about their demands, saying it is better for the country. >> gatherings of more than five people are actually banned under martial law in thailand, but the people here are saying that they want to have a say in a resource that belongs to everybody and that this isn't actually a protest. >> since the protest, the prior administration delayed the bidding until next month. the prime minister is calling for calm, inviting differences to be worked out off the streets and in government house. the forum held friday has taken

the wind out of the sails of the protests. security was tight to prevent any further public demonstrations at the seat of government. the energy activists met with government officials in a rare public consultation under the current martial law. the prime minister said he hopes the forum creates understanding and that it will be the last on the issue. al jazeera bangkok. >> the journalist who helped edward snowden to expose the n.s.a.'s mass surveillance program said she believes he will be able to go home one day. we caught up with her ahead of the academy awards where her film about snowden is up for an oscar. >> a security services insider on the run with top secret information on the other side of the world. they love this kind of film at the oscars, but this is not fiction. citizen four is up for best documentary approximate this year. >> my name is edward snowden. >> this is him the man who

infuriated the u.s. national security agency by revealing its mass surveillance program. this is the story his story from the start filmed by the journalist he contacted to help him. >> we were given instructions where to heat, it was in a public area in a mall, and that we were told we should be there at a certain time and a man would walk by working on a rubik's cube. that was the first meeting. we were surprised, he was much younger than we thought he would be. >> the film showed caution as he revealed secrets. here an intermittent fire alarm visibly spooks him. this is a man who knows his reflations will have repercussions. yet on the whole he remains calm and unrepentant. >> would he do the same thing again? >> he says no regrets. he wanted people to know what the government is doing and i think he feels that he's accomplished that. he feels that in a democracy that programs like this

shouldn't happen in secret. >> do you still believe that you are being watched? >> you know, i don't have -- you don't know those things, right is this these are intelligence community that is work behind the scenes. i've heard sources that said that my communications are, you know lit up like a christmas tree. >> snowden's actions would change his life forever going back home to the u.s. was out of the question. he fled to russia, although she doesn't believe he will stay there for the rest of his life. >> i hope europe comes forward germany, there's a lot of support there. i hope another country will offer him asylum. >> do you think he will ever come back to the u.s.a.? >> i think he will. i think he will. >> security around the film has as you would imagine been pretty tight. it was edited in germany because filmmakers were concerned the f.b.i. would take their footage away and the footage was held on highly in crypted hard drives. there was an effort to take the oscar nomination away and another for prosecuting the

filmmakers for aiding and abetting edward snowden. it's here in hollywood, it is at the oscars. edward snowden might not be popular with everybody but he's not going away anytime soon. al jazeera, los angeles. >> while iraq is beset by in-fighting and the continued war with isil, a tradition of music is kept alive to entertain people, to help them calm down, perhaps. we have more now from baghdad. >> unexpected things happen when the conductor visits. on this day he's playing his cello at a home for senior citizens. one resident had a friend who played recorder 50 years ago. after he died, he kept the recorder and taught himself to play to keep his friend's memory alive. the wood is cracked now and the he is blind but the music is as moving as ever. there are decades of memories

here wrapped up in these melodies. asking for a traditional song, she tells us later she hasn't seen her daughter in seven years. her late husband a teacher was an am for amateur musician. >> he used to play the violence. we even had german violins but in the 1990's, we had to sell it. >> he normally place grander venues, the company conductor of iraq's orchestra. he could live anywhere, but wants to make a difference here. he also found add music school, but found the most effective way to spread the love of music is just to go out and play. >> i head to these places almost

every other day of the week, between hospitals senior houses, the streets of baghdad churches whatever, the book market, the fish bucket, whatever is possible to create the exposure. >> across town, he has turned a little used community affairs building into a center for music classes for young people. they include tuition-paying students and residents of an orphanage. they're still learning the basics here, but many of the lessons are outside the classroom. a lot of these people have only ever known war. music gives them an escape and the realization that life can have other possibilities. it's brought this community center back to life, as well. in a spare room, the part time musicians figure out what they're going to play. they give lesson to say any of the kids who want them. they all have day jobs, but they

say their music has been supported and they are trying to give that back. they all hope instead of playing with guns, more kids will play guitar. >> aljazeera.com your destination or all the news and headlines. aljazeera.com. >> i think it's incredibly >> i think it's incredibly important not to important not to sexualize the sexualize the female characters in female characters in entertainments that are made for very little kids. entertainments that are made for there is not good reason why you will. very little kids. there is not good reason why you will. >> the >> the actor found the institute actor found the institute that represents female that represents female representation on screen. >> unless a character is having representation on screen. >> unless a character is having sex wi