america tonight exclusive investigation: drugging dementia only on al jazeera america a government reshuffle in egypt. eight ministers are replaced including the interior minister. ♪ hello, you are watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also ahead, up in flames escalating violence forces 11 of libya's oil fields to be shut down. exports down pollution up. we look at how china's slowing economy will effect global markets. and secret surveillance allegations u.s. police are collecting data from phones

around the globe. ♪ first egypt's interior minister has been sacked as part of a government reshuffle. he's being replaced by leading figure in the national security agency. he is one of eight ministers who have been forced out of their force. the new leaders have now been sworn in by president al-sisi, they include the ministers of culture, education, housing, and communications. joining us now here in the studio for more on this reshuffle in egypt is a resident fellow at city university in new york. thank you very much for speaking to us again, yaya. what are we to make first of the removal of the interior minister? he was a figure in the other government, the previous

government. what message is this current government trying to send by sacking him? >> as i said before i guess it's a message targeting the audience, they are dissatisfied with the performance of the former interior minister, and i believe the message is trying to calm -- is trying to calm down the public after this -- this -- this massive illusion of security internally speaking. >> so it's not necessarily trying to get rid of the remanents of the morsi government? >> i don't believe so. and considering the fact that the man was appointed and named as deputy prime minister for security. i mean it's -- it's a post that equals security advisor, one of the chief security advisor for the president, president fattah al-sisi. >> what about the timing yaya of the reshuffle itself? eighty ministers have been

removed just days before the economic summit. >> well it proves one thing that there is something seriously wrong in egypt. it means that -- that egypt is really going through a critical juncture. i mean for the people in charge to make such reshuffle at this very critical moment days before that very important conference, to rehabilitate the economy, which is actually going down the drain, i believe it gives one message, that we are going through a critical juncture. >> right. yeah, because the tourism minister is one of those who has been replaced. >> exactly. >> let's talk about the new man in the interior ministry. what can you tell us about him? he's a part of the national security agency. what does is this agency and what can you tell us about this new man? >> well it's a shadowy

apparatus, and i don't know what message al-sisi is trying to send here because most of the interior ministers that come from that shadowy apparatus, it's a negative message. they are known for flagrant human rights violations. they don't have a very good history in sticking too human rights. so i believe this is yet another negative message sent by the decision-maker in egypt. >> all right. very good to hear your thoughts on this cabinet reshuffle which was announced today by the egyptian government. in other worlds news now, libya's recognized parliament in tobruk has announced its forces are halt air strikes for three days to help peace talks. let's speak to hashem ahelbarra who joins us live from rabat

now. hashem what is the restriction there saying they will halt air strikes to give these talks a chance. what does the other side say? >> reporter: well, i have been talking to members of the tripoli government and they said that they welcomed that decision, but they remain very cautious, because they say some of the installations in tripoli were targeted today by forces loyal to general hafta, but overall the general sentiment is this is good news positive step forward, and we are expecting them to converge in the building you see behind me. the format will be like this. there will be two separate rooms, two separate meetings the international recognized government in one room, and the tripoli government in another one. the united nations special representative will shuffle back

and forth talking to both parties. they have three issues on the agenda. national unity government if that happens they will declare southeast -- ceasefire across the country, and drafting of a new constitution. they say they are optimistic but it is going to be a long way to go. >> i was going to ask you, because after the talks in morocco, they are scheduled to meet in algeria, i understand. what is the purpose of the meeting in algeria? and how hopeful are people there? and do you get a sense they can achieve anything in rabat to start with? >> reporter: basically the international community and the united nations are enforcing this new formula, where you have parallel meetings. representtives of both governments, meeting in different locations. after the rabat meetings.

you will have meetings by tribal leaders, local communities in algeria. there is also going to be a meeting in brussels and there is a talk about a meeting in egypt, to try to agree on some sort of political settlement. but then again you have to take into account that if -- if there's a break through here in rabat that could have a knock-on effect for the meetings to happen in the coming days in different capitols. if there's no break through here in rabat, if talks fail they are just going to have competing negative impacts on both delegations. the international community made it quite clear to the libyans that there is no time to waste, they have to get their act together. thank you for that. the escalating violence in libya has now forced the national oil company to shut down production at 11 oil fields.

it means a major hit to the economy as our correspondent reports. >> reporter: an attack on the oil facility last month has left it inoperable. it is one of several oil fields that have been targeted in recent weeks, most of them by frighters linked to islamic state of iraq and the levant. they destroyed equipment on wednesday. on monday an oil field and pipeline carrying crude came under attack. and these facilities were also hit last month, at least 14 people were killed in one oil field. in a country plagued by war in recent years, libya's oil industry is a prime target. production has fallen from 1.6 million barrels a day, to less than 300,000 barrels a day. there have be so many attacks that the national oil corporation says it won't be fulfilling its contract.

libya's two rival governments are still in a power struggle. a delegation from one of them the court-installed tripoli government was at this airport when it was targeted in an air strike. >> translator: we are here at the airport. as we were going to rabat for the national dialogue meeting, unknown war planes carried out air strikes. this is yet another attempt to present us from going to the meetings, and to sabotage the effort of the libyan government. >> reporter: the airport was hit by forces loyal to the internationally recognized tobruk government. talks are resuming in morocco, but expectations of a solution are low. >> translator: we have asked for dialogues since the beginning. dialogue based on fixed foundations, recognizing the legitimacy of the parliament is a read line and that's irreversible. >> reporter: in the meantime the country's oil belt is going

up in smoke. the underspecial envoy to syria has suggested his plan for a salt to fighting in aleppo to get relief to civilians in need is faltering. he made the comment in an address to a london think tank. and government forces in aleppo reportedly developed a barrel bomb in the east of the city. iraqi government forces have retaken villages on the outskirts of tikrit but have not yet launched an assault against isil fighters inside the city. the offensive which includes shooia militias and sunni fighters is aimed at driving isil out of the province.

>> reporter: for this man, it's the battle cry of this fighter. this is the base of operations for iraq's shia militias on the eastern front of the battle for tikrit. at a command center nearby interior minister a leader of the militia confers with the man who was given control of the hezbollah brigades. they have combined with iraqi police, special forces and army units, for the biggest offensive since isil ceased parts of iraq last june. the troops are backed by iraqi air strikes, but it has been a slow advance to tikrit. this is a trip wire for a roadside bomb laid by isil. an explosives team detonates this one, one of hundreds they have found along the road. 30 kilometers southeast, iraqi

security forces make their way passed abandoned fields. >> translator: we are still advancing. we have reached 50 kilometers in depth through the rough terrain. we have expelled isil from more than 15 agricultural villages as you can see behind me there's farmland and desert. we have expelled isil from this area. >> reporter: most civilians have fled months ago. and left their crops in the fields. security forces here too have detonated more than 200 roadside bombs, sometimes by shooting at them. isil built sand berms. the bulldozers are dismantling them. it has been four days since the start of the offensive, and fighters are still clearing villages along the way to tikrit. the main battle won't begin

until troops reach the city. and a series of bombings in the iraqi capitol have killed at least 11 people and injured at least 19 others. one bomb ripped through an outdoor market in an eastern suburb of baghdad, killing three civilians, another bomb killed three soldiered in the northeast. ahead on al jazeera, the clock is ticking on peace talks for south sudan. plus venezuela marks two years since the death of hugo chavez we'll take a look at why the former president is still popular. ♪ >> ray suarez hosts "inside story". weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america.

♪ welcome back. a recap of our top stories on al jazeera. egypt's interior minister mohammed ibrahim has been replaced as part of a government reshuffle. eight new ministers have been forced out of their posts. libya's national oil company has shutted down production at 11 oil fields because of escalating violence. the u.n.-recognized government says it will halt air strikes for three days in support of peace talks. and u.n. special envoy to syria has suggested that his plan for a six-week halt to fighting in aleppo is faltering. returning now to one of our main stories this half hour the

u.s. secretary of state john kerry has said he is not seeking a quote, grand bargain with iran. he was referring to possible nuclear deal with tehran. kerry made the comments after meeting ministers from gulf corporation council nations in the saudi capitol. he has assured leaders that washington will not ignore their concerns while it pursues an agreement with iran. jacky rowland has more details now from the city where the nuclear negotiations have been taking place. >> reporter: the secretary of state has had to reassure various of the united nations regional allies about this dialogue with iran. we have obviously heard already about the concerns that israel has about the talks about iran's nuclear program, but it's equally fair to say that saudi arabia, and other gulf countries are also very concerned. they are concerned about

anything which could see iran their rival growing in influence in the region. to john kerry has been saying this is specifically a process about getting a deal on the iranian nuclear program. he is trying to reassure regional allyies. he is saying any deal has to be a good thing for other countries in the region. and he is trying to reassure them this doesn't mean the u.s. and iran are going through some kind of general grand bargain. it doesern mean the u.s. is going to become complacent about other aspects of iranian policy in the region because not only the israelis but also the gulf arabs are concerned about iran's activity, and saudi arabia and other countries will want to be sure that any agreement with iran is not going to enhance it's ability to increase its influence in the region where these countries feel that it's being expansionist, and even

aggressive. the world's second largest economy is slowing down. in china, exports are falling, and people are being encouraged to buy more locally made goods. >> reporter: they streamed into the great hall of the people. nearly 3,000 deputies here for their annual report. what were their priorities? >> translator: i want migrant workers to enjoy the same treatment as urban citizens. >> translator: what i care most about is the air. everyone has to breathe. ♪ >> reporter: inside they would devote time to both subjects, but the center of his speech the economy. managing from the export dependent growth of recent decades to a more mature slower growing target. the growth target down from last

year's 7.5% to 7%. >> translator: with downward pressure growing, and deep-seated problems surfacing, the difficulties we are to encounter in the year ahead may be even more formidable than those of last year. >> reporter: tightened banking relations, create 10 million new urban scombrobs, and restrict urban unemployment to below 4.5%. this new 7% target represents appropriate growth levels in pursuit of moderate prosperity in a time of downward pressure on the economy. but it is an acknowledgment that they believe the slowdown is set to continue at a time when declining property prices and record debt levels present unpredictable threats. >> translator: real estate enterprises, especially banned debt in the finance industry. it's definitely worse.

some people even think the economy will collapse soon. >> reporter: and china's worsening pollution has been part of the price paid for the growth, but they are recognizing that the cost has become too high. >> translator: the environmental pollution is a blight on people's quality of life. and a trouble that weighs on their hearts. we must fight it with all of our might. >> reporter: the ability to fight potential enemies will also be increased. the budget going up by 10.5%. it's the economic forecast that will garner the most attention though. the trick for the government is to ensure that amid the slowdown it's people continue to feel wealthier, and amid environmental hazards, healthier. harry fawcett, al jazeera, beijing. south sudan's rival leaders

have less than five hours to sign a peace deal. catherine soy reports. >> reporter: this woman still can't talk about her father not without choking up. he was a pastor that was shot dead here in juba at the start of the conflict. she and her family never found his body. she has a message for political leaders. >> the leaders, both of them what they need to do is look at this innocent blood -- who voted for them? for them to be where they are today, they need to look at what they are losing the citizens they are losing and the loss the country is going through. >> reporter: the president and rebel leader are expected to sign a comprehensive peace agreement that will include power sharing. people are hoping for a deal but cautiously so.

many are worried that a signature on a dotted line does not necessarily mean lasting peace. they want a binding deal and commitment from their leaders. a power struggle between the president and his former deputy sparked the civil war more than a year ago. the supporters have been fighting each other ever since. the two are under intense pressure to sign the deal but there's little sense of conciliation between both sides. >> the rebel wanted [ inaudible ] to power. it's not about the political reform. it's not about political settlement. of the people -- of certain people, that think they are being marginalized. >> reporter: this man speaks for the rebel group. >> the negotiation has refused to deal with the actual root cause of the problem. the government says the cause is one thing. and we say the cause is one thing. i think at the very least he should have said okay let us

agree to disagree. let us agree that you speem have disagreed on what the problem is, so that at least we have an agreement moving forward when we are talking. >> reporter: politics aside, this community worker have been compiling names of tens of thousands of those that died in the conflict. they want to create a memorial here. they say they just wan their country to get out of limbo. venezuelans are marking the second anniversary of hugo chavez's death. his successor continues to face huge economic challenges. virginia lopez reports. >> reporter: it's been two years since venezuela's hugo chavez died of cancer. his absence is still keenly felt. for some taking on a religious fervor. but for others sadness has

given way to dissolutionment, the oil-rich nation stayses the highest inflation rate in the world, chronic food shortages, and a sense that the golden years of the revolution are over. continuing shortages of anything to milk to auto parts hit this woman twice as hard. she must stock her beauty parlor and often returns home empty handed. >> i think if chavez hadn't died maybe things in the country would be working better and not like they are now. our situation is critical. we have to queue for hours. we can't find basic products. >> reporter: and yet only a few doors away another shop owner says life here is still business as usual. >> translator: the revolutionaries, we are still [ inaudible ] some are unhappy with some things in the process, but i think it's because they

are not seeing things clearly. they are unhappy, and so they think it's maduro who isn't doing things well. >> reporter: as people gear up to celebrate two years of chavez's death, many here feel the country has wavered under his successful. charisma can't been handed down and unless the president succeeds in tackling the economy, analysts fear his support base will continue to weaken. >> translator: there's a weakening in the support that the president once had. the revolution is no longer giving answers to economic needs. eight out of ten venezuelans think the country is heading in the wrong direction. even though it still continues to be a strong cultural and political force.

the weaknesses have more to do with his economic policies and the absence of any message. >> reporter: this may serve as a destruction from every day violence and tension with the united states. now to allegations that local u.s. police departments are secretly collecting data from phones in the u.s. and overseas. it's believed to be through a device known as string ray. >> reporter: last summer louise was hoping for a quiet night in her sarasota florida home. it was anything but. >> i was washing my dishes and all of a sudden i see this man with an assault rifle pointing at my face with a flashlight or white light. >> reporter: the man turned out to be a police officer who entered her home at gunpoint. after more than 30 minutes louise and her boyfriend were let go with no explanation.

>> no apologies, nothing. >> reporter: louise contacted a lawyer and learned she had been the latest victim of a secret police surveillance device known as stingray. >> we're committed to helping customers access, analyze, and store information. >> reporter: today it is believed more than 100 local and state police agencies are using the device often without judicial oversight. >> reporter: data images you need them now, without question. without delay. >> reporter: the stingray mass ka raids at a mobile phone tower, tricking a suspect's personal device into granting police secret access to records, texts, and other personal data. we tried talking to the sarasota police department about the use of stingrays in florida, but it refused our request for an interview.

the u.s. marshall service another law enforce agency also declined to comment. that's because the u.s. federal bureau of investigation has instructed police departments not to disclose use of the invasive technology. >> i don't want to say too much about that because i don't want the bad guys to know how we might be able to find them. >> louise was not a bad guy. she was an innocent person who was victimized by stingray surveillance. we don't invade people's privacy in homes without a warrant. second, there's a presumption of innocents in this country. >> reporter: that is protected under u.s. law, but on the day her home was envieded louise wondered -- >> what kind of rights do we have? is that what they do to the american people come in and almost kill you. >> reporter: that's why louise and others around the u.s. are

working to further expose the stingray technology that the u.s. government is trying just as hard to keep a secret. and a reminder that there's plenty more news on our website, as well as analysis and features. the address, aljazeera.com. >> adults can buy recreational marijuana legally in colorado today, and reformers hope it's the beginning of a wave that will sweep across america. but in places like louisiana in the southern united states legalization is off the agenda. the state has the country's highest incarceration rate. >> marijuana prosecutions are very common in louisiana.