crack in the system". only on al jazeera america. there were some women and chirp. >> egypt's president defends his country's attacks on isil-linked fighters in libya. hello there. i am barbara sara. you are watching from london. also coming up on the program: an explosion kills two people in eastern ukraine as the country marks one year since the fall of vict victor yanukovych. yements president makes his first major public appearance

since fleeing the capital, sanaa, plus... >>. >>. >> reporter: i am phil lavelle at the ausc-arizona in hollywood. the question being asked by some: who do these awards really represent? thank you for joining us. he job description president abdel abdel fattah al sisi has defended his position, target. the attack targeted those linked to the it'slamic state in the lee vant. in the keynote address broadcast, he said the operation was planned meticulously to avoid civilian casualties. he also thanked gulf neighbors, saudi arabia the united airrab emirates and bay ran and kuwait and he accepted innocent young people may be locked in egypt's

prisons, a matter that he urged the interior ministry to look in to. let's hear a little more of what president sisi had to say about the egyptian strikes in libya. >> we launched an offensive against 13 targets. these targets were subjected to strict and accurate surveillance in . intelligence information was gathered in absolute secrecy and. >> joining us here on al jazeera you were following the speech there by sisi. what did you make especially starting with the point he was making about the egyptian attacks in libya? >> reporter: >> obviously we are hearing a defense of those attacks, particularly in the light of some reports that came out that there were civilian casualties. as you know human rights watch

reported names of six alleged civilian deaths in the in eastern libya as a result of those strikes, although there has been very little hard information coming out of that city as a result of the lack of institutions on the ground there and the lack of any international organizations or media to verify that but obviously, we are hearing a defense of the overall policy of a military response to the spectacular murder of egyptian citizens. >> it was a very interesting in the speech obviously, the focus was on these attacks. the focus has been on that for the past couple of days since they happened. but there was also quite a lot, i guess, for a domestic audience. do you think that a domestic audience an egyptian audience would have been won over by what they heard from their president? >> there is already broad support from what we can tell

for sisi's decision to strike in libya. the murder, the killing of the at least 20 egyptians, coptic christianses from upper egypt shocked a great many people here, particularly in the coptic community but really all across egypt a, and there has been some dissent, some opposition but those voices have been somewhat muted and, in general, there has been a great deal of support for that decision and i think we can expect that to continue especially as long as the policy remains what it was last monday with those airstrikes in the city of derna. i doubt very much we are going to see any kind of sustained response or any kind of involvement of ground forces. >> just moving away from the air strikes and, i guess, to more domestic egyptian issues it was

interesting when he mentioned the use, potentially innocent use in egyptian prisons and that he urged the interior ministry to look into. what did you make of that? who do you think that was trying to appeal to? >> yes, ma'am. >> was the one surprise really in this speech which was expected to be about international issues and this that particular issue of political prime ministers and the wrongly accused youth did, this is something that's been in the news for months years really, since sisi came to power following the military takeover in july 2013. there have been thousands of people who have been detained in a political crackdown on critical opponents, particularly islamists but also activists who are associated with the popular uprising, the revolution that swept hosni murbarak from pour

in 2011. tomorrow, there is expected to be a verdict in the trial of several prominent activists from that movement including ali da ali da dat, a prominent face of the january 25th movement who are said to be sentenced in a trial over a protest that happened in 2013. so this is coming at a very charged moment when several -- when very famous very well known faces of the revolution are about to -- are standing trial and facing very severe jail sentences for political activism and for voicing opposition to the current political status quo. >> time magazine journalist thank you for sharing your views with us here on ashingsdz. now, let's go to our correspondent, hot hoda in tunisia over the board from libya. hoda, good to see you.

obviously, you have been there a couple of. you have been following fallout of those strikes by egypt. what did you make of the president's words regarding those attacks in libya? >> reporter: i thought it was quite significant that he actually started his one-hour long speech by tackling that issue. he was obviously speak can to the egyptian people. i mean he used very strong words. he said that he had to take revenge, and i think by the word "revenge," he also meant regaining the order of the country, that he could not face going and paying condolences to the coptic community or to the families of the victims of the isil beheading in libya unless he had done that. and then he spoke quite clearly to the international community. he repeated more than once that the army egypt's army was noto an offensive army. it was there to defend the

country, that the strikes were carried out after meticulous study. there were 13 strikes based on solid intelligence on the ground. he said that there are no civilian casualties even though that is up to debate. we have seen pictures of at least seven casualties including some children, some in egypt say those children were killed elsewhere, but the reality is that when you have earlier aefrl bombings, it is more likely than not that you will also have some civilian casualties. i think he was trying to recomport the enter narm community. there was a lot of concern of what was egypt going to do next. the white house had voiced concern. the united nation voiced concern. some within the arab league voiced concern. and he was trying to say that it was only for defensive purposes. now, what is going to happen next, we don't know. there is a lot of egyptians who live inside libya. some have been kidnapped recently in the south.

others are reported miss but we can't confirm that. but certainly, some are leaving. cot another event like the one that just -- the killing of 21 coptic christians happen again? it could very well be. how will he react of affect and how much will that destabilize the country? it was a very polarizing issue, those air strooikdz. you recognize government in tobrok welcomed it. the court-appointed government in tripoli clearly condemned it. not once but several times, so highly policyaverizing issue. it has destabilized a little bit the country in the sense that there was a political track going on by all accounts, the factions have started meeting some sort of xhop ground and then came those air strikes and why the gap became wider, again, maybe sisi was trying to also assure the libyans that there woert be any strikes again if no

egyptian is in harm's way in libyan. >> hoda del-hamid. thank you. fighters claiming loyalty to isil say that they are behind bomb attacks on the iranian ambassador's residence in libya's capitol, tripoli. one bomb exploded outside the security gate. the second was lobbed into the grounds of the property. it's the latest diplomatic mission to be targeted in tripoli where most embassies have been shot since last year. >> . syrian government airstrikes in the rebel-held city of dhouma have killed six people. the bombardment caused buildings to collapse where people had been taking shelter in the offensive. outside the capital forecastats has been under attack by military warplanes for weeks. hundreds of turkish trooped

launched a military raid and a move that damaskas has described as aggression. it was to evacuate appear ottoman too many. hundreds of years, the site was the final resting place of suliman shah who lived from 1178 to 1236. he was the grandfather of the founder of the ottoman empire. about 600 soldiers and 100 tanks went through the syrian city of kolbani before raiding the tomb about 35 kilometers south of the turgish border evacuated about 40 troops guarding the site and remained the remains. >> there was a new site to house it closer to the turkish border. from istanbul bernard smith reports pitch that is an ottoman

shrine. it was left under turkish controlled when the french drew the boarders of modern syria in 1921. suhliman was the grandfather of the first ottoman emperorer. citing increased fighting the turkish government decided to evacuate 40 or so troops stationed at the shrine. >> turkish troops entered certain i can't with 100 vehicles. 39 tanks and 57 armored vikdz and 572 solids. around 2230 gmt, our troops reached suliman shah out post completed their task quickly and a relynchous ceremony was held. >> the turkish flag was planted

where suliman's raimdz will be reburied. it simymbolically still in syria. the spot is up against the boarder. within sight of turkeyts military. by dawn, the operation was over. the government in ankara said it was all done without cooperation with the syrian kurds who control the border. nor was the syrian government in damascus involved. the turkish government has no appetite to involve its military in the war in syria. it might have needed to pull its troops out in the shrine to avoid the risk that isil attack them, so forcing turkey's hand. it comes as turkey and the u.s. agreed agree to train free syrian army fighters here, the first time turkey has agreed to take such an o vert role in the battle against isil. bernard smith, al jazeera, istanbul. >> a former brigadier general for the turkish army abdul

somisdork said despite the inaction in the syrian city of kobane, this time it was justified to enter the country. >> the two situations, kobane and this one is completely different. and the kobane was, was an incident. beyond turkish national interests, beyond turkey national borders. this operation was executed to, in a sense, to fasttrack turkish military from a very serious threat. in turkey thicker to conduct this operation and actually there is a sound international law basis which is 1921, ankara agreement in this respect. any intervention on the circumstance side in kobane case was illegal, from international, you know, law perspective. but the recent operation to extract the turkish military from this tomb was completely

legal. yemen's president hadi has and on television in adden for the first time if weeks. he had fled from sanaa where he had been under house arrest since being forced from power by houthi rebels. his supporters want him tom clarify his position on the houthi take over and his legitimacy as president. the governor of aen says president hadi owes it to the people to stay in. >> president hadi insists that he will continue to carry out his political duties because he has an obligation towards the citizens and the voters in order to implement the transitional phase and the outcome of the national dialogue. this is the important issue that he is concerned with because he always reiterated that the time has has come to deal with the central government that struggles because of the differences of the varieties parties and it is always about

one thing: sanaa and the neglect of all of the other cities in the other districts. he will call for the government of kaliv baha with any of the ministers who can attend until the house arrest imposed on the prime minister listen lifted. coming up in the next 15 minutes, al shabaab fighters call for attacks on shopping malls in north america and europe. and we are in ukraine where huge crowds have marked a year since their former president was forced from power. and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera

part of our special black history month coverage on al jazeera america

>> tuesday on "the stream". >> selling cocaine was my purpose. >> they had been trafficking on behalf of the united states government. >> renowned filmmaker marc levin discusses his new movie "freeway: crack in the system". "the stream". tuesday, 12:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

welcome back. a reminder the top stories on al jazeera. the egyptian president abdel fat a al sisi defended his position for launching airstrikes the attack targeted isil-linked fighters blamed for killing 21 egyptian coptic christians. >> hundreds of turkogluish troops launched a raid a move that damascus has described as a flagrant agress. their mission was to evacuate a historic ottoman too many that sits on a strip of land controlled by turkey. yements president has and on t.v. in aden for the first time after escaping house arrest in the capital, sanaa. the governor said president hadi owes it to the people to stay in. >> members of al shabaab, al-qaeda-linked group based in

somalia have called for attacks on shopping malls in the united states candidly and europe. in september 2013, members of the group attacked the westgate mall in the kenyan capital, nairobi killing 77 people. in a newly released message, the organization calls on muslims to attack shopping malls in the west. the targets include the world's 5th largest, the mall of america in minnesota and europe's largest small in london. in the response to the threat from the al shabaab, the u.s. homeland security chief, jeh johnson urged shoppers to be careful and said meyers had been taken to step up security. >> we have to be vigilant so we ramp up stewart there a call for an attack on locations in canada and europe and so in response to that i ramped up the presence of the federal protective service at federal buildings a couple of months ago. i am sure that security at this particular mall will be enhanced

in ways visible and not visible. >> it's becausefollowing the story for us we heard jeh johnson saying security will be stepped up in many ways. how worried do you think the add miles per hourstration is about this threat from al shabaab? >> well, it's not a new concern that somali americans are a target for recruitment by al shabaab, particularly in the state of minnesota, in the minneapolis area, the home for the largest concentration of somalis in the united states. this particular video, specifically the language, is after talking about the possibility of a attacks, the implications of them the video went on to say one could only imagine the implications. all it takes is a man of firm determination and a few days ago, an f.b.i. agent speaking at a white house conference to counter extreme violence

extreme terrorism pointed to the fact that al shabaab has been actively recruiting through social media and through videos in the minnesota area. so far spainth without discussions although 20 or so young somali men have been known to go to somalia to fight, to join the ranks of al shabaab. one of them reportedly died in syria. so there is -- right now we have been told by reporters who are on the scene in minneapolis that there is no particular heightened vigilance that is spaifrnth to the eyeapparent to the eye at the mall of america which is one of the leading not only a large shopping mall but also one of the leading tourist straksz in the united statesatracks in the united states but as the secretary of homeland security mentioned and as the mall, itself said in a statement, there are -- they are vigilant in ways that can be seen and not

be seen. so right now it is not deterring anybody from shopping at the mall and right now its business as usual so far as we can see to the naked eye in manyp minneapolis. barbara? >> tom ackernan washington. tom, thank you. >> a girl thought to be as young as 7 has killed five people and injured 19 during a suicide bombing in northeast nigeria. >> that's according to witnesses of the attack in the town of potiskum. it's the latest violence in a region where the armed group boko haram has been highly active. at least 48 people have died after a passenger ferry capsized in bangladesh. the ship reportedly hit a cargo vissel on the adima river northwest of dhaka. rescue yours have saved 50 people and are severaling for survivors. it's believed up to 150 people were on the boat when it sank.

two people have been killed and another 10 wounded in the eastern ukrainian city of karkiv. a blast we want off next to a march, which was one of many national events marking a year since the ousting of former president victor yanukovych joan jonah hull reports. >> reporter: in the eastern city of kharkiv, people gathered for a peace march. then. ... a bomb blast. more lives lost. the authorities are treating it as an act of terrorism, they say, instructed by russia. some will fear that the war in the east may spread further into the country. in kiev another march remembering the street protests a year ago and their victims. president poroshenko was joined at the head of the march by some people leaders and other lower-level guests.

it wasn't the turnout he may have hope for after prolting the crowds on friday that presidents and prime ministers would attend. but the doors of the european union remained wide open to ukraine and that there will be victory in the east. >> president poroshenko is under immense pressure. the state of the economy and huge losses in the east demand a response. internationally, he is expected to hold the line in a shaky cease-fire despite repeated transgressions by the other side. for now many believe the president is doing all he can. >> i think he does his best. of course, there are different ideas of what he could do better. but i wish him good luck because it's very difficult situation and if somebody knows what to do else, let them go and do themselves. >> something more could be done, but he is doing his best in the circumstances in which our country is under different

circumstances, you can do this you can do that and history has no? >> the u.s. ambassador agreed that there is no real idea what will happen if the cease-fire fails. >> there is no reason why russia should feel threatened by a ukraine which is moving towards europe which is developing higher standards of democracy, transparency in goverance. >> yet there is talk in your country of possibly arming ukraine against russia. >> william, it's the russian government, which has been engaged in this extraordinary campaign of aggression. >> the president showed his guests the captured armor and artillery that the government says is material evidence of russian aggression on ukrainian soil. what he cannot show either the international community or his own people is a way out of ukraine's problems. jonah hull al jazeera, kiev. meanwhile can both the army and separatists in eastern ukraine have begun withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line in accordance with the

minsk cease-fire agreement. tanks departed the front line town under the agreement both sides have to pull back their large guns and rockets up to 70 kilometers away from the conflict line. for something totally different, hollywood is gearing up for the biggest in that in its awards calendar. the ausc-arizona, of course. the coveted best picture looks between the dark comedy kwapings "birdman" and the coming-of-age drama, "boyhood." the block busters aren't on the list e phil lavelle takes a look at why. >> reporter: the red carpet is ready. no, not that one. this one. they are all town in fact as hollywood prepares and fans go crazy for the ausc-arizona. parties everywhere. film is fuel for this places. it's all people are talking about as sunday earning approaches. there is a big night ahead.

>> oscar goes to? >> one of these, here are your best picture nominees. eight of them, loads of choice. see anything missing? the year's top-grossing films. >> that's what. say for example, "transformers: age of extinction" a billion dollars, the latest hobit film hundreds of millions of dlarnlingz and " gal e" was up there, too, but they are not in the best picture category which raises the question if the films the masses watch are not there but the films the academy likes are, who do the ausc-arizona represent. >> if you look historically the first "star wars" was nominated for best picture. it isn't against that kind of movie. did hasn't had equal representation. i think you can look at at a time other way way and say you can give a platform to these smaller films they would never get

movies. >> them being nominated whereas the block busters have such a big machine behind them they don't need any help. >> reporter: for those who don't get a nomination look on therated into as makers of the hit "lego movie". >> too honest for the economy? right? they couldn't take our message. something like that. >> this ceremony is watched worldwide. it is hugely influential. it's clearly doing something right even if the makers of those who don't get a look-in perhaps think otherwise.

phil lavelle, al jazeera, hol lookingwood. >> lots more on all of the stories we have been covering here on al jazeera on our website. the address on your screen right now, aljazeera.com. afghanistan's future grows increasingly uncertain as years of foreign aid and intervention come to an end. in the jostling for money and power, competing forces are fighting for the wealth buried deep in the hindu kush mountains. that wealth is precious rubies which fetch a handsome sum especially when smuggled across the border. i'm steve chow. on this edition of 101 east, we look at the lives of afghan ruby miners who are risking it all chasing crystal dreams.