tv News Al Jazeera March 24, 2015 12:00am-12:31am EDT
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u.n. brokered talks to resolve the crisis in yemen to be held in doha. hello, i'm here from doha. also ahead - binyamin netanyahu apologises. the israeli prime minister says he regrets remarks about israeli palestinians. returning - no progress on greece's bailout as the prime minister meets with the german chancellor. plus, the death penalty in the u.s. utah reintroduces the firing
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squad. hello, the u.n. special envoy to yemen says talks aimed at resolving the crisis will be held in qatar. houthi fighters are in tiaz the third-largest city. the escalating violence is pushing the country towards civil war. >> reporter: this is a country on the brink of civil war. the residents of taiz are not going quietly. thousands protesting against the advance of houthi fighters. they are fired on and tear gassed. >> yemen's third largest was taken on sunday with buildings under houthi control. yemen is increasingly divided between a north controlled by the houthis, backed by iran and a south dominated by supporters
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of ousted president abd-rabbu mansour hadi. now the country's foreign minister is appealing for help from the council, to hold back the houthi advance. >> translation: nobody wants to be pulled into action on the ground. the majority of us consider it a final option. however, if we felt compelled and the ministers felt it necessary, we would go ahead with the plan. this is what a g.c.c. force could look like set up to respond to military aggression against member states qatar, saudi arabia and the united arab emirates. a force 100,000 strong. this conflict made fighters of every day men. here tribal forces gathered to threaten houthi forces against entering their territory, and adding might to the fight could force yemen into sectarian war, with foreign powers backing
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opposite sides. speaking in riyadh the saudi prime minister hopes it can be peacefully resolved. conflights will take necessary steps. >> translation: the legitimacy of yemen represented by general abd-rabbu mansour hadi. we hope it will be resolved peacefully. we are ready to respond to demands. >> >> reporter: either way, for those in the middle each day of fighting increases poverty in libya, a field commander with the shoa council has been killed by forces. a main rebel commander fought president muammar gaddafi is forces in the 2011 revolution. a fighter jet belonging to the dawn militia has reportedly
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been shot down. they backed the tripoli-based government that is not recognised by the u.n. or international community. it's not clear who or what brought the aircraft down. one pilot has been captured, another kill. after the 2011 revolution ousting muammar gaddafi. the misrata brigades became powerful, seizing weapons to the main leader. they are the main force in the alliance that took over the capital. their support is key it a deal on a national unity government. zeina khodr reports from misrata. >> it has long been criticized for acting as an independent state. it has been accused of using military force for political gain and labelled as an extremist strong hold. misrata denies that. there is no doubt that this city in central libya is not only
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powerful within the borders, its influence extends beyond. misrata is located to the east of tripoli. to a large extent the government relies on the libyan dawn military alliance to stay in power. misrata's brigades are the military base and political power that seized the capital last year. misrata has thousands of fighters constituting a large armed group. it acquired massive quantities of weapons, since misrata, just like the armed forces didn't disarm, nor did they unite with other forces. violence escalated and there seems to be a realisation among members of the parliament the general national congress that there is no military solution to this conflict. >> within the g.n.c. there were
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voices voices i considered as extremists. there are a lot who recognise the only way to make peace in libya is to have dialogue with all sides. they have a red line. they are at war with the forces that back the government. misrata and allies accused khalifa haftar of being a dictator and accuse them of underlying peace talks when it mounted an offensive. they have not succeeded. >> he makes statements. he said the same thing. he has not been able to take it. we say take benghazi first, and talk about drip. >> rival factions talk not face
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to face. the international community is trying to bring about liberty. libya is at a critical juncture and violence is worsening along the front lines that divide the country. >> the u.s.-led coalition fighting the islamic state say it's carried out eight air strikes in syria and six in iraq. they suffered heavy losses. local media reports say a prominent i.s.i.l. leader and six body guards were killed in the shelling. >> a syrian regime air strike killed five people. call killed belonged to the same family. a town has been under rebel control since late 20. it's important strategically as it links to the countryside. in aleppo 13 civilians were killed by mortars fired by rebel
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forces. among the dead in the neighbourhood were four children. anythingses children's fund estimates over 11,000 children died since the conflict began. top envoys are in france asking for support posing a deal with iran. israel said the agreement would be bad and dangerous. france played a key role that stalled parts of iran's nuclear programme. israel wants is to be dismantled not just frozen. >> we think it's a good deal. we thought the goal should be to neutralize the threat not putting it under threats. we thought it was a good deal.
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>> israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu backtracked over comments in the lead up to the elections this month. opponents called his remarks racist. binyamin netanyahu warned that a right wing government was in danger. >> reporter: there was jubilation at likud party headquarters as the numbers stacked in the prime minister's favour. now, binyamin netanyahu negotiates his way to forming a new governments. comments made to get there are coming back to hount arab voters will vote in droves. >> israeli palestinians make up 20% to israel's population. critical the comments racist and divisive. he posted this on facebook.
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>> i know the things i said a few days ago offended israel's arabs. i have no intention. i regret this. my actions as prime minister including the investments in the minority sectors prove the onside. ... ..there have been claims against binyamin netanyahu on charges of incitement and rejection of policy. >> he didn't call the leadership. he apologises because there's international criticism, including from the united states. is this actions or words. we demand a real apology on the ground, meaning equality to the arab population. the u.s. came out swinging over the campaign promise that there'll be no palestinian state on his watch... ..
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jamal benomar announced that talks on the crisis will be held in doha. escalating violence is pushing the country towards civil war. a fighter jet belonging to the dawn militia has been shot back over the city of zintan. it's not clear who or what brought the aircraft down israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu backtracked over comments made in the lead up to the election warping that arab were voting in drones greek prime minister alexis tsipras met with the angela merkel for talks on a greek bail out extension. on a first official visit to berlin alexis tsipras warned greece will not be able to make
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payments without help. german chancellor angela merkel said she wanted their economy to grow. >> reporter: a first visit to germany for the greek prime minister. some media outlets called it a show down in the chancellor's office. but alexis tsipras was received with the usual pomp and circumstance. once inside alexis tsipras spoke of the need to reach agreements on a european level. there was a strong message for his own people. >> the difference is between the two countries bring shadows. the repatriations are not just material, it's ethical. it's not just about greece but for the greek and german people that spilt a lot of blood to deal with naziism. >> angela merkel repeated the message she's given grease for many months. >> we want greece to be strong economically. we want them to have growth and come out of this high
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unemployment and we certainly want to make sure that this very high youth unemployment can be overcome and structure reforms are necessary for this a solid budget is necessary and a functioning administration is necessary. i think that is clear for both countries. behind all this is the reality that german economic strength is helping to keep greece afloat. potentially costing taxpayers many billions. now a growing number of people say they have had enough. >> we can help to solve the problem. the greeks must want this too. to give them more billions making their woes worse. you buy time. that is right. no one can seriously expect that we'll see that money again. >> buying time can only go so far. alexis tsipras has indicated greece could default on its debt
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within weeks. it helps to explain why he came to the german capital to try to build bridges with the leader of europe's economic powerhouse. on the face of it there has been no tangible progress. the u.k. has introduced new measures to counter what it calls islamist extremism. among the proposals, bans to groups and the government could close mosques that welcome or host extremists. the government plan includes an investigation of shia court. the announcement comes before elections in may now, afghanistan's president ashraf ghani is on his first visit to the u.s. since assuming power last year. he spent the first day at camp david in talks with the u.s. secretary of state. on the agenda the long-term survival of afghanistan. rosalind jordan has this update. >> u.s. secretary of state john
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kerry, and defense secretary ashton carter spent all day meeting with afghan president ashraf ghani, and the chief executive officer abdul ghani at a place for the signing of treaties, camp dazed. the purpose was to find practical ways that the u.s. could support afghanistan as it tries to become more self-sufficient. this is what the secretary of state john kerrry had to say about the meetings. >> huge challenges remain we all know that. there is good news in afghanistan. life expect si has rich by 20 years. health care access increased dramatically. the number of children in schools rose from some 900,000 who were just boys to 8 million now, with 40% of them girls. >> the question on everyone's
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mind is how much longer u.s. forces would stay in afghanistan, and if they'll stay beyond 2016. that's the deadline that president obama set for pulling out all except a small security team for the u.s. embassy. the fares of the spread of i.s.i.l. into afghanistan as well as a lack of peace treaty with the taliban has many worried about the future security. the just as the afghan president. >> the question of numbers is a decision for the president of the united states. and that decision will be made by the president. what we emphasised and agreed is strategic partners. we are bound by common interests and will act together to ensure safety of the paits. that is the important scarrings.
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numbers are a means, they are not an end to themselves. >> u.s. officials stress that the meetings were about building the long-term economic and security relationship with afghanistan, saying the question of the future of u.s. forces in that country will be the main topic of discussion at the white house on tuesday. >> the u.s. state on utah will carry out the firing squad when drugs are not available. the law was signed. approving their use, sourcing the drugs used for capital punishment is difficult as manufacture you ares refuse to supply them. it's left some looking for alternatives. utah state representative sponsored the bill for executions by firing squad. other states will follow suit. >> in utah we used the firing squad recently as 2010.
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that used to be our main source of the death penalty, it's something we use in the pass. and arkansas has a bill putting them with the firing squat. i think you see a lot of states move in that direction. venezuela's minister is looking for sanctions against the united states. he'll hand deliver the list of names to member states attending the summit of the americas. we have more from caracas. >> the red flag government supporters gathered to demand president obama withdraws an executive order declaring venezuela a threat to the u.s. president nicolas maduro is hoping to gather 10 million sits at home and abroad to achieve
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the goal. >> obama. rescind your order. we have to get obama to backtrack on the order. it is a sword here. so that the empire can do what they please. but, no. >> to many in venezuela, the order is an affront to national sovereignty. over a million have taken to twitter or facebook or gone to public squares along the country, asking obama to sign it. >> we will defend with our lives. obama made a mistake. we are a peaceful country, we want to keep it that way. we will not allow him, because he thinks he's the god of the world to do with him as he pleases. government critics see little use behind the order, seeing the law as a godsend giving the government a perfect distraction away from a tanking economy.
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abroad ecuador argentina and others closed ranks behind venezuela. in a meeting the decision was announced as meddling, by president obama. who the winner is in this impasse remains to be seen. >> what does this seek? it's not clear if they want a confrontation or reconciliation especially because of actions leading up to the american summit where regional issues thu be discussed, particularly of an historical moment where cuba joins for the first time. it looks like they want to divert attention through confrontation. >> it will be the first time they attend the summit of america. it was considered that the focus would be the focus of island between the united states. the recent diplomatic spat may shift it elsewhere. with ties between the u.s. and cuba, the region could see the
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end of half a century of geopolitical stand off. many feel it could be a new beginning. farm workers in an important agricultural region have gone on strike for the first time in years, wanting better wages and workers from those that ship tonnes of fruit and vegetables to the united states and other places. more from san quinn tin valley. >> the buses taking fruit pickers are usually packed. this week they are half empty, many on strike. this man came hoping to escape extreme poverty. 30 years later, he says he and his family do not earn enough to
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survive. we are protesting out of necessity. >> the are they are really low. >> it's the most basic necessity. >> we don't have electricity or running water. in the nights we have to use candles. >> when the protest started last week things turned violence and there was luting. things are sense. there are pans of armed police. fruit rights for harvesting are rodding away. >> this is what we suffered for the strike. we lost half a crop that we would have harvested. >> this man says he and other producers in the region do not
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get paid enough by mexican or american companies to give workers the raise that they are demanding. >> in the 14 years i had the fruit farm i have never seen something like this. it depresses me. i feel like not planting and doing something else instead. with the rest of the harvest under threat it's vital for both sides to find common ground with the nest round of negotiations, which happen on wednesday. >> in hong kong land is squares, and it's tough to have your own house. private developers are eyeing the open spaces to meet the growing command. it's worries environmental groups, as rob mcbride reports. >> it is house hunting hong kong style. for the winners, a chance to buy a 40 square meter unit for a million dollars in a block
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that hasn't been completed. hong kong a relying on private developers to meet tarts of half a million in the next 10 years. >> the curtain government increases the supply so there'll be sufficient supply the question is where to build. environmentalists fear hong kong's country, until now, free from development, will suffer. >> it belongs to the people a small group of land developer. they want money and destroy the environment. >> already home to hong kong's airport, which is about to get a third run way and an adjoining newtown, the island is seen as a prime tart for development. that is before the government has exploited redevelopment options in existing areas, according to green groups.
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>> the government is having newtown planning. massive, like large piece of ain't land. starting from zero. >> the government is well aware that any talk of building in hong kong's bases are inflammatory. balancing that with the need for new homes, in a city that faces a housing crisis. kent and his wife married. they have been saving but have no choice but to move in with her parents in their small apartment. >> all we can do is save. i have no idea how long it will be. before we'll have enough to buy our own place. >> reporter: like many of their generation, it will be years before they have a down payment to enter a draw for a flat. pope francis has said that
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the one thing he misses is not week able to slip out to get a pizza. so on his one day visit to naples pizzeria owner enzo made the pope's wish come true running to the motorcade, handing him a pizza more on the website as always. >> the united states is in the midst of the worst drug addiction epidemic in its history. but it's not a crisis of illegal drugs. it's one of prescription painkillers - oxycodone, hydrocodone, and other legal narcotics, all related to opium. collectively they are called opioids. >> these are the opioid painkillers. and prescriptions for drugs like these have more than quadrupled over the last 15 years - to the extent that the us now consumes
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