>> rows process in the gaza strip after an egyptian court declares hamas a terrorist organization. >> this is al jazeera. i'm rob matheson in doha. offering an olive branch to turkey. remembering boris nemtsov. who was gunned down. and the cotton way of life.

>> thanks for being with us. egypt has joined western organizations to declare hamas a terrorist organization. egypt is now the first arab nation to effectively ban hamas within its borders. hamas says, a dangerous precedent has been set. the secretary-general of u.n. has arrived to hopefully make egypt reconsider. five months after mohamed morsi was ousted in a military coup. fighters in north sinai who have been attacking egyptian securities forces. >> the court's decision is shocking dangerous and targets

the palestinian people. egypt which is trying to ex port its external crisis. this will not have any effect on hamas's roles that has all the respect of the muslim world. >> he says the ruling was expected. >> i think today's ruling is not at all surprising, if you've been following events in egypt. on the one hand you have of course a tremendous -- you have an official exan campaign by the regime, and hamas is of course an offshoot of the muslim brotherhood. and this is an extension of war on the muslim brotherhood. and in a sense as was stated by someone else this is sort of exporting egypt's domestic

dysfunction, really, to neighboring palestinian politics. but also we've seen another pattern in egypt which is a very erratic and highly politicized judiciary since the coup in -- a year and a half ago. >> an egyptian court has sentenced the spiritual guide of the muslim brotherhood and 13 others to life in prison. mohamed badi was taken outside the headquarters in 2013. badi had already been given the death penalty and another life term in two other cases. the jailed leader of turkey's kurdish separatist movement has called the group to end their 30 year struggle. appealed to the pkk to lay down their weapons. despite last year's ceasefire there is sporadic fighting in

southeastern turkey where the pkk has been fighting for more autonomy. a lot to do with turkish insecurities. >> i think i.t. plays an important role. i think in terms of the pkk's armed group. but that same empowerment of pkk in syria especially what happened in kobani, that also becomes a source of fear for turkish government, bass turkish government doesn't want to see pkk to expand its territorial influence in syria. at the same time, doesn't want to see the same repeated in syria in terms of the fragmentation what happened if iraq. i think as certain, this is something positive for the pkk but you -- i also want to remind you that it was the -- very much

the barzani's peshmerga who came to rescue kobani. pkk were effective but they couldn't resist i.s.i.s. you have a lot of factors involved in syria but turkish government doesn't want pkk to expand in terms of syria. i.s.i.l. targets in iraq and syria in the last 48 hours at least three of the strikes targeted northeast syria that's where i.s.i.l. fighters have kidnapped 250 assyrian christians. fighting for the survival of their communities. they are demanding weapons to defend themselves. zeina khodr reports from beirut. >> sut of these refugees are

from iraq, some from syria. all of them are asirrian christians. they gathered in beirut to speak in one voice. their message was clear. this minority community in the middle east believes its future is threatened. >> this is a conspiracy to put the indigenous people of the region the asirrians from their historical home land. they are going to fight back until there is left blood we won't surrender. >> there is a heightened sense of concern after hundreds of asirrian christian families were displaced, in the northern city of hasaqi. some of them managed to escape to tell their story. >> there was a massacre. they came to our villages at night. they burned people in their home.

they took our women and children. why isn't it helping us. >> there is also anger and defiance. the asirrian christian community says it is time to take up arms and it is asking the world for weapons. >> do the christians deserving todeserve tobe protected? we as a christian we want to hold the arms with the lebanese army with the iraqi army with the egyptian army. >> people here fear the is yet to come. already hundreds of christians have fled from this area. another episode much of persecution. last year, thousands of christians was were forced to flee.

it's a similar story in neighboring syria. christians say they will no longer be forced out of their areas. they say they intend to fight back and they want the international community to help them do just that. zeina khodr, al jazeera beirut. >> opposition soldiers in russia will be marching on sunday in memory of boris nemtsov. a white car abandoned by the gunman is being searched for forensic evidence. linking the suspects to opposition groups rallying for support. victoria gatenby has more. >> this was boris nemtsov hours before he was killed. it was the final interview he ever gave. on the bridge where nemtsov was shot dead thousands of people

came to pay their respects. among the crowds there were several opposition politician he. >> i would say this is not only a blow to the opposition. it is a blow to the whole russian society. it is a blow to russia. if political views are punished this way then this country has simply no future. >> he was a good open bright man who dedicated all his life to the task of creating a normal country in russia. he wanted this very much. >> reporter: nemtsov was killed just two days before he was to lead an opposition march in moscow. now there's anger within the opposition movement and some have called his death a an execution. those who knew the opposition leader said the government did nothing to protect him when he received threats. >> translator: he was big

handsome, bright and talented. the very kind that they kill. we needed him very much. >> this is a new spiral in russia's deconsent descent into a fascist state. the murder of a brilliant politician. >> before his death nemtsov was working on a report in which he believed that russia had been directly involved in the separatist movement in ukraine. the rally on sunday to mourn a man who attempted to hold the government accountability. victoria gaints bee, al jazeera. gatenby, al jazeera. >> borist nemtsov a big friend of ukraine and a patriot has

been killed. he built the kind of relations between our countries that i would like to see. to me indemnify is a symbol of a russian citizen that connects ukraine and russia and sincerely respects ukraine. >> volunteers have delivered a much needed humanitarian aid to a town in eastern ukraine not far from the front lines. the town of poposna has been left battle-scared. 90% of notices who live there have fled, those who remain are too old or too poor to leave. still to come, is israel's prime minister about to rub salt in the wound? >> individuals in government who want to control. >> and why it's a confusing picture for tv viewers in kenya.

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>> 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. >> welcome back the top stories here on al jazeera. palestinians are speaking out after egyptianan courts declares hamas a terrorist organization. the top kurdish separatist

is asking its people to stop their protests being that's lasted 30 years. protest against russia's policy in ukraine. now on tuesday israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu will be the second foreign leader in u.s. history to address the u.s. congress for a third time. the first was winston churchill. exposing cracks on the consensus on israel that once proved to be unbreakable. kimberly halkett reports. >> one increasingly strained. this man john boehner top of the house of representatives invited benjamin netanyahu to address the u.s. congress without knowledge of the white house.

>> the american people and both parties in congress have always stood by israel. >> the threat that boehner and other hard line lawmakers say the u.s. faces is with iran over its nuclear program. iran is working towards a nuclear weapons program threatening israel's security that's why it's expected netanyahu's speech will urge congress to impose tough new sanctions. more than 30 members of congress say they'll boycott the speech, undermining the white whiteing the white house's deal to secure a deal over sanctions with iran. those in congress who take issue with israeli settlement expansion in violation of international law and last summer's assault on gaza have in

the now kept relatively quiet. but exposed in congress and among the six million jews who live in the united states. >> what i'm seeing is that the block who says support for israel support for whoever the government is, is shrinking so i think we're at the beginning point of a transition. and i think what netanyahu is going to do on tuesday is rub salt in the wound. >> another jewish organization j street has taken out a full page ad in a national newspaper arguing that waiting out the policy will harm the u.s.-israeli partnership. it's damage that may already be surfacing. the u.s. president won't address apac this year and less senior obama members will attend. on tuesday joe biden will be

conspicuously absent. kimberly halkett washington. widely criticized for how he handled an investigation into the disappearance of 43 students five months ago. it's the first major shuffle in mexico's current cabinet. relations between venezuela and the united states has taken a turn for the worse. president nicholas maduro has announced that all americans will need a vee is visa to visit in future. now, the latest in our global series in the falling price of cotton. we turn to the world's biggest exporter, the united states. prices have fallen partly because of stockpiling in china.

concerns are growing and andy gallagher is reporting from texas where farmers are facing an uncertain future. >> on the high plains of the texas panhandle a crop that occupy those who live here all year round. cotton has been planted in this field since the 18th century and many have the close contact with the land. >> 1884 they came out here in a covered wagon. >> cotton farmers are now in serious trouble. the price of a bale of cotton is the lowest its been in years. has him questioning his family legacy. >> i don't know if my family want to be on the farm because of the cost. i don't know if i'll be able to take. it's going to be a hard pill to

swallow that i'm the last on the land. >> the real possibility that after generations they will no longer farm this land for cotton. if that pattern repeats itself, the effects could be catastrophic. >> can run anywhere from 30 to 50,000. >> don runs a cotton gin that caters to local growers. >> a lot of guys are making decisions about what they're going to do. a while ago i said it's going to be pretty tough. what's going to be the best option for them financially and get the economics right and everything has to fall into place. >> the u.s. exports more cotton than any other nation. prices will stay down for at least the rest of the year and whilst many farmers are looking to grow other crops this part of texas known ascot ton country

remains vulnerable. >> this economy in the lubbock area and the country as a whole depends on cotton. if it carries on for a couple of years it could have a very significant effect. judge if prices stay low he may not be able to work this land much longer. andy gallagher, al jazeera o'donnell, texas. gls >> now to britain. the british based pegida, patriotic europeans against the islamization of the west, met by 2,000 demonstrators opposed to their presence. right wing antiimmigration supporters have rallied in rome. the northern league demands that the country does more to keep out foreigners.

claudio lavanga reports. >> this is northern league on a southern charm offensive. on sat the anti-europe and anti-immigration party held a party where they were least popular, rome. stealing from the industrialized rich north of italy to finance the poorer south. but its new leader says that rather than breaking up the country, he wants to unite it under his leadership. >> i'm sicilian but i think we should all be united against europe. >> salvini is the only politician who is trying to do something for all italians let alone the northern league. >> the party increased from 6% to 30% and is now the most popular right wing party in

italy. but he wants to essentially want to make the league less northern and more national. >> to broaden its base the northern league is partnering with other right wing movements including the neofascist group and france's national party. but many in rome have not forgot forgotten years of antiimmigration law they passed led by sharif yo sylvio berlusconi. feelings were still rung running

high. >> the partnership with the neofascists you must be stopped. >> first major rally in roam, theromeconvince parties from all over the country to fly its flag. claudio levongo rome. election in lesotho because the deputy prime minister was accused of staging a coup. >> they riefd at the polling boothsarrived at the pollingbooths early. the collapse of their coalition group last year. >> we have been struggling in the country for quite a while and hopefully whoever takes over government will implement policies that will change a life of a man down on the crowd.

>> 75% of the population lives in rural often remote areas of the country known as africa's mountain kingdom. they're the ones who suffer the most. >> translator: we don't have running water. we have no electricity. we draw water from open wells which are contaminated. we want the next government to bring all these services here to us. >> reporter: all the opposition leaders including the incumbent prime minister are promising to help them. >> their standard of living can definitely raise from the what's happening today to them to a higher level at least i can guarantee that at the end of my five years if i get it now everybody will have three meals a day. >> reporter: the u.n. has identified lesotho as one of the most undeveloped countries in the world. one in nine children won't make

it to their fifth birthday. almost a quarter of them suffer from hiv and opposing alleged coup last year. but the army stayed in its barracks last year to avoid fear of violence and the polls ran better than expected. >> the security concerns, that were there at the beginning have not -- have all been taken care. of. we hope the parties will accept the outcome of the elections as they've promised and then the country has to go through the post-election process so we hope it will be managed proper reply and efficiently. >> these voters say they want a government that can finally get past the political and focus on the people's needs. they hope the government can

produce the kind of government that's been missing so long. erica wood, al jazeera lesotho. 24,000 people were forced to leave after heavy rains last week. now, turning on the tv in kenya can be a bit of a waste of time. viewers often see only a blank screen after the government switched the broadcasting signals from analog to digital. haru mutasa describes why. >> some don't have electricity or televisions in home. but they watch the tv in here with a confusing message. >> staying in the darkness is frustrating. we don't know what's happening in the rest of the cup. we can't even watch the news. >> the communications system in

nairobi switched from analog to digital. >> there's nothing some of us even think of getting rid much our televisions. >> the trio of stations which didn't make the switch say they apply to make their own content. but only two were licensed. the government owned and the chinese owned netwa group. they say they are worried about censorship. >> translator: being seized upon by individuals in government who want to control what kenyans will see on their television screens and what they will not. >> the government has no interest in controlling what's going out. what is happening is that the migration value chain has

changed. as opposed to what happened during the analog era where broadcasters could be able to own their own infrastructure in order to distribute their content, this time round all broadcasters are distributed on a common carrier. >> going digital means people will have more choice, say government officials access to international channels not just kenyan broadcasters. these are the only two kenyan channels you can watch at the present. one of them is a state broadcaster. and the digital decoder cost over $40 and they can't afford it. the challenge is to make sure nobody remains switched off. haru mutasa, al jazeera nairobi. >> calling this the horse easter. the holiday falls in the first

sunday of april. tests their horse's strength and speed. and a reminder, you can keep up to date with all the news on our website and get a background to all these stories on aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. [ ♪ music ♪ ] this week on "talk to al jazeera." author, globe trotter and commentator on race and culture, taiye selasi. >> there is a sense that certain people have to explain their presence. to say that racism is not that race isn't felt. >> the london born, twin daughter of african parents raises the question where are you from?