. on al jazeera america . >> our alliance is sound. our friendship is strong, and with your efforts it will get even stronger in the years to come. >> prime minister netanyahu says there is no end in the relationship between israel and the u.s. >> also ahead on the program. [ gunfire ] >> the iraq steps up a major offensive to recapture the city of tikrit from the islamic state in iraq and the levant. the u.s. secretary of state warn further consequences much roar

if the cease-fire is not fully put in place within the next few hours. and name about leader of namibia receive the african award and prize. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu insists relations with the united states are strong. he's visiting washington, where he's giving a speech at a lobby. on tuesday the prime minister will address the u.s. congress. he's expected to make his case about the nuclear are iran. he was inviteed to make his address without obama's knowledge. >> the united states and israel will continue to stand together. because america and israel are more than friends. we're like a family. we're practically--now

disagreements in the family are always uncomfortable. but we must always remember that we are family. [applause] rooted in a common heritage, up holding common values, sharing a common destiny. that's the message i came to tell you today. our alliances are sound. our friendship is strong, and with your efforts it will get even stronger in the years to come. >> tom ackerman joins us from washington, d.c. tom, benjamin netanyahu, during his speech to aipac went to great lengths to show that the u.s.-israeli relationship is very strong despite the recent tensions. tom, can you hear me? >> i can now yes.

>> tom sorry, i was just saying that benjamin netanyahu during that speech to aipac an hour or so ago went to great lengthens to make a case and show that the relationship between israel and the u.s. is a strong one despite the tensions with president obama. >> yes, more over what he tried to disfuse was the office tension between republicans and democrats over the actual invitation given by the republicans to netanyahu and said that did he not intend to disrupt the solid bipartisan alliance the coalition always supporting israel in the u.s. congress. yet, nevertheless, his very presence here tomorrow on tuesday with the absence of the vice president the noted absence of the vice president at least 20 or 30 democrats intending to stay away, including five or six jewish

democrats, that really underlines the fact that this really does tend to disrupt the relationship particularly since those people have the perception that netanyahu in his intent to keep this deal with the iranians from ever happening is actually splitting the democrats from the republicans, and undermining president obama, who has said repeatedly that while he will not allow iran to develop inuringa nuclear weapon, he also does not want to see the prospect of these proceedings to undermine the relations. >> he's expected to speak more about the nuclear deal with iran but he already talked about that at the aipac speech just a short while ago saying that any nuclear deal could threaten israel's survival.

will this resonate with people in washington, those who have been listening to his speech, and will it have an affect on negotiations with iran over his nuclear program? >> well, in switzerland secretary of state kerry today made a reference to that and said he does not want to see--he hopes that netanyahu will not make specific reference to some of the terms of the deal and the israelis have been privy to some of the details of the negotiations for fear that that would also disrupt the negotiation and would perhaps cause their collapse. the question here is what kind of detail will netanyahu go into as he speaks to congress. congress is contemplating further sanctions against iran. iran has warned if those sanctions do happen, then that ends the prospect of any kind of deal. so there is--there is a potential clash here, and the question here is if

obama--rather if netanyahu does become more proactive in underlying the israeli position that america is willing to go into to agree to with iran threatens the survival of israel then that would forebode a lot more serious difficulties in the relationship between the two countries. >> tom ackerman in washington, thank you very much, indeed. >> now u.s. secretary of state has threatened further consequences for russia if the ukrainian cease-fire is not fully implemented within a matter of hours. john kerry's address to the human rights in geneva. the u.n. said that more than 6,000 people have died there since fighting in april. >> i reiterate the urgency of

russia's leaders and separatist that they back implementing the full measure of the commitments under the minsk agreements, and to implement them everywhere, including in debaltseve, outside of mariupol and other key strategic areas. i underscored this morning that if that does not have happen, if they continue to be these broad swaths of non-compliance or there continues to be a cherry picking as to where heavy equipment will be moved back from without knowing where it's been moved to, or if the osce is not able to adequately be able to gain the access necessary then there would be inevitably further consequences that will place added strain on russia's already troubled economy. >> well, sergei lavrov fired back saying ukraine must do nor

to pursue a course towards peace peace. >> the grave you man tearan situation should be given the highest priority to insure the fund mental rights of has people. the ukrainian government must remove the blockade of this region restore social benefits, banking and movement towards the other parts of the country. these were set out in the minsk agreement, and the implementation must not be delayed. >> al jazeera's barnaby phillips has more now from geneva. >> we saw yet again from geneva how differently the united states and russia interpret the conflict in eastern ukraine. really from diametriccally from opposite opposition. but there were glimmers of progress in the remarks. there was talk of the withdraw of heavy weaponry. john kerry was more guarded and

spoke about cherry picking on the parts of the separatists. they were withdrawing on some parts, their weapons and some areas they were not allowing osce observers to see what is going on. and he reiterated the possibility of the united states imposing further economic sanctions against russia if it felt the minsk agreement was not being closely followed in the coming days. >> and in other news the iraqi arm has began a major operation to capture the city of tikrit from the els els. the iraqi military is not alone in this operation. the armies backed by 2 2,000 sunni fighterrers. >> today, god willing we'll start an important military

campaign to liberate the citizens of the province including samarra and tikrit and other areas in the province from islamic state. our goal is to liberate people from the daesh. we should protect the citizens and their properties. >> we follow the developments from the iraqi government of baghdad. >> prime minister abad di this afternoon is briefing members of parliament of how that operation is going and it has a huge political component as well. iraqi military officials say they have launched a three-prong offensive. they're no longer on the defensive. that's coming from the south the north and west of tikrit. tikrit is the first big city and the first big test that iraqi forces are facing. part of the reason why it's such a test is that it's a major

sunni center. it's saddam hussein's hometown, and not only that, in the past few hours iraqi officials say they've retain the city of aldor. that's are hussein ended up hiding when he was found. and it's the base of operations for support for a group that has allied itself with isil, former saddam loyalists. they say they've retain that town but tikrit itself is still another matter. >> the price for african leadership has been awarded to the outgoing president of namibia. the president won the $5 million prize, which has only been give out four times in eight years. it recognizes democratically elected leaders who led well and . we learned why the award has not been given every year.

>> our prize was given four times in the last seven or eight years. now it is a prize for excellence in leadership, and we're not lowering our standards. it is people who come in and do an excellent job. that's the benchmark. how many many leaders have won in the last eight years. this is excellence. it is not common. now i accept that we have some challenges in africa. i don't have issues. but we are moving forward. 95% of african people today live under better government societies than 10 years ago. it's not perfect. and it's not by wide margin.

but it's improvement going forward. they move forward one step at a time. >> free at last, but it's not quite home. we meet former guantanamo detainees struggling to adapt. and we visit a red-light district to see if the criminalizing of prostitution affect the hiv.

>> weeknights on al jazeera america. >> join me as we bring you an in-depth look at the most important issues of the day. breaking it down. getting you the facts. it's the only place you'll find... the inside story. >> ray suarez hosts "inside story". weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. >> welcome back. our top stories on al jazeera.

israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu have denied reports of strained relations with the u.s. he is in washington where he's just addressed a jewish lobby. netanyahu will speak to the congress, which has upset many democrats. secretary of state john kerry said he wants a fully implemented cease-fire in ukraine within hours or there will be further consequence force russia. more than 6,000 people have died since fighting began in april in eastern ukraine. [ explosion ] >> iraq has launched a major operations to recapture the city of tikrit from the islamic state in iraq and the levant. it has been in the hands of isil since june of last years. more on our top story. denying reports of strained

relations with the u.s. usually aipac conference is an opportunity for the administration--the u.s. administration to publicly support israel, but this visit has been a controversial one. >> it has been, it is america's ambassador to the u.n. issamantha powers went out of her way to talk about the great relations with the state of israel and condemned the united nations for being not respective of israel and the the same thing occurred in geneva. everyone in washington is going out of their way saying that we believe in a stronger relationship with israel. what is going on is interesting. netanyahu is saying i'm not to blame in the strained relationship. and the obama administration is saying we're not to blame, it's

prime minister netanyahu. both sides are trying to maintain support for the relationships, but both sides are undermining the relationship as well. >> where does the problem lie? is it between net are a ya hoo netanyahu and obama? because we've known for years that they're not the best of buddies or policies. >> it is an overwhelming agreement that is israeli obnoxiousness towards their patron, towards their support center washington, the obama administration in the way in which netanyahu pushed himself into american politics. and the way that they maneuvered with speaker boehner in order to have netanyahu basically undermine the president. while netanyahu says i'm not here to undermine the president that's exactly what did he. he undermined both the president and the presidency of the united states. this is not something that you do as an ally. just not as an ally. this is not something that you do as a patron, the country

without which israel probably could not make it. >> of course, he talked about iran. that is to be expected. he's going to talk about iran even more tomorrow when he addresses the u.s. congress and he's portraying this nuclear deal with iran as a bad deal before it's signed. the deadline, of course, is at the end of march. do you think what he says, netanyahu, will change people's mind in washington and will have effect on negotiations with iran. >> it absolutely will not. it will have the opposite effect because officials are not going to have israeli prime minister dictate what is in the best interest of the united states. i think here is where the entire situation lies fully. this is about not the personal issue between obama and netanyahu. this is not about the bilateral relations. this is about a strategic mindset. the united states is about a superpower. probably the world's only superpower. it is the one trying to take care of the issues with syria iran yemen.

it has a lot of responsibility responsibilities. it cannot act as such with israel's mindset. israel throws its wait around, throws it's military around, lebanon, elsewhere in the region, it cannot afford to act like israel. it cannot afford to act like an aggressive country that will not be seen in political issue and military problem. hence obama has been trying to since 2009 to 2013 to decouple the mindet america's mindet from israel's mindset. what they're say something very simple. we support israel wholeheartedly wholeheartedly, burr we're not going to embrace israel's mindset because we are a superpower. we have different responsibility and different prisms. we don't see iran the way israel does. >> thank you very much. you can read more about the

u.s.-israeli relationship, and prime minister netanyahu's visit to washington on our website at www.aljazeera.com. now in syria isil has released 21 christian hostages but the group is holding 200 christians. they were abducted in northeastern syria. and the coalition of syrian rebels has disbanded after days of fighting with the al nusra front. the infighting was distracting the opposition from battling the syrian regime. the rebel group had received weapons and training from the united states and qatar. from beirut we have this report. >> reporter: they lost many men in the fight and the hazzem movement appears to to have collapsed. they died fighting al-qaeda

affiliates in the western countryside of aleppo. a few days ago al nusra front declared all-out war on the group, accusing it of kidnapping and killing its fighters. it is a charge the u.s.-backed group denies. but hazzem has decided to disband. they began to advance on front lines in recent days because of opposition infighting. the fighting in aleppo was not the first confrontation with al nusra. al nusra pushed the hazzem group out of idlib. it is based in the rebel-controlled north. it is the first to receive weapons from the u.s. but it's links with the west only earned it enemies on the ground. the fact that the hazzem movement no longer exists is a set back to arm and train a rebel force.

this is not the only obstacle that the obama administration is facing. it's finding it hard that the force it wants to train is will be used to fight the islamic state in iraq and the levant. for the opposition the priority should be fighting the government. syrians and opposition-controlled areas are worried. the rebel infighting coincides with government efforts to control aleppo city and cut off supply lines to turkey. >> we call on the rebels to stop fighting each other. we should go to the front lines and fight the regime instead. we're being attacked by militias. they're trying to lay siege to aleppo. >> hazzem was one of the few rebel groups that the obama administration entrusted in syria. some of its individual members may still join. but if and when that u.s. forces are ready it will face opposition not just from the government and isil, but from within rebel ranks.

al jazeera, beirut. >> an explosion near supreme court in cairo has killed at least one person according to egypt state media. 11 other people were injured including a policeman. the target of the attack in cairo is still in fear. now an avalanche has hit in afghanistan. it's described as one of the worst to hit in years. rescue efforts still continue in the eastern province of panjshir. they've been able to access some remote villages that have been cut off for a week. when uruguay released detainees from guantanamo base in september, it looked like a new start for the men. but they still struggle to to

adapt. >> after more than 12 years detained at the u.s. guantanamo base he was delighted to be offered a new home in uruguay. it was a country he knew little about, but he knew it was a long way from the life he had been living. as a prisoner, never charged with any crime but with no home to return to. >> i want to stay in uruguay to rebuild my life. if i didn't, what would i do? i've asked for the americans to sent me back to tunisia but they refused. >> he would like to work for a restaurant in montivideo, serving arabic food. he would also like to be reunited with his mother. >> when we were in guantanamo uruguayan authorities made many promises, but these promises haven't been fulfilled.

>> one of the other men have moved out of the house donated by the uruguayan trade movement movement and now lives in a nearby hotel. he said it was too crowded 37 the costs are covered by the government here and the united nations refugee agency. their resettlement was a priority for president mujica, who just left office. his successor is reported to be lessen shoes was tick about the project. they were reticent to talk but it seemed to me that there was plenty to be said. the obvious message that came through was that they want to be reunited with their families as soon as possible. syrian says he's desperate to be reunited with his family. highways been to argentina to talk about the men's plight and would like to travel more to publicize their case. meanwhile, it's a case of waiting and waiting.

>> i don't know about the future, the future for us is unknown. only god knows the future. >> it's a future in a foreign land which is no longer so sure that it wants them, and where the men are struggling to learn the language. while relieved to be away from guantanamo freedom is also fraught with difficulties. al jazeera montivideo. >> now so south africa where 60% of sex workers are hiv positive. that's why the government needs to decriminalize the profession. they say a change may help to protect sex workers. >> sex workers services cost about $2.50. but some men pay more so they don't have to wear a con dome. 60% of south africa's sex workers are hiv positive, but

many don't get help because their trade is illegal. so some human rights groups want sex work decriminalized. they argue the law isn't in tune with the reality the government encourages con dumb use by some police use them as prove of criminality and brings their use to an an abrupt end. >> sex workers fear condoms because that almost says i'm a prostitute and i risk being arrested. >> she did not report being raped to the police because she didn't think that they would take her seriously. she's hiv positive, too, but the prevention program for sex workers that is due to start this year won't work. >> it will only work when sex work is decriminalized because we're too afraid of the stigma from nurses. >> the law reform committee will

make its recommendations soon on whether the law should be change: there is some resident. south africa is a largely conservative society but it has taken a more liberal stance on other issues. both abortion and same-sex marriage is legal here. the deputy of justice said that the current situation does not work. >> it's criminalization in africa but it's not working. there are a variety of factors that need to be looked at, and we ultimately will do what is right. >> many people will take some convincing but south africa's unenviable status of having the highest hiv. >> on a lighter note, the annual religious festival known as the festival of color has kicked

across india. people cover each other with colored pigment and women beat men with wooden sticks all in the name of fun. it celebrates the passing of winter and ushering spring. it's all on our website at www.aljazeera.com. >> a new business is rising in america's rocky mountain west. and sales promise to be brisk. >> i want to get $100 bucks dj shorts and $100 bucks of the tahoe. >> this past january licensed shops in colorado began selling recreational marijuana to anyone 21 years of age or older. >> whoo that smells nice >> prices range from $14 to $25 a gram. >> what's the difference between the ultimate. i need the kemba and the kemba a. >> in a november 2012 ballot