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tv   News  Al Jazeera  May 21, 2015 9:00pm-10:01pm EDT

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[ ♪♪ ] good evening and welcome to al jazeera america, i'm antonio mora. >> and i'm barbara serra. tonight the west is easing fears over a russian invasion of the baltics. n.a.t.o. is considering a request by the three states to station troops in the region. >> it would violate a pact in
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russia, both agreed that the alliance would never put permanent bases in former soviet countries. the dilemma comes as e.u. leaders gather in the latvian capital to discuss the eastern ukraine crisis and russia's aggression. >> n.a.t.o. carried out exercises in the baltics, reassuring the region that they will not face a fate like crime. >> reporter: it's a drill, but the intention is real enough. the pilots have 15 minutes from the alarm sounding to take to the skies. they were scrambled for real 150 times last year to shadow russian aircraft over the baltics. the current lead nation in this n.a.t.o. mission is norway, backed up in lithuania by the italians. this, they say, is all about reassuring the tiny baltic states that they won't let the
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russians do to them what they did to ukraine. >> we show them our presence presence by being up there and show them that we are near and that we are on alert. we are airborne within 15 minutes, and there's basically a show of force, and show them that we are here. >> lithuania looks at ease but lithuania is bringing back conscription. the military here has been war gaming scenarios about a ground invasion, as well as an air war. should they fight the russians on the streets of viel nia or in the countryside to protect the capital. as well as having russia to the east, there's the enclave to the west. the trains carrying oil and russian troops pass straight through. fields surrounded. >> as well as calling on n.a.t.o. to defend the skies,
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this country, with estonia and latvia requested a standing n.a.t.o. army of 3,000. that is a real test of n.a.t.o.'s stated commitment to protecting the countries. >> we are asking them to be together with us. if the rotational process will continue on the ground the same as we have with the air mission, it will be good. >> reporter: of course the russians say it is hysterical scair mongering. we asked but were refused an interview with their ambassador in viel ni as. a diplomat said to me "some people say we have our hand in everything." in propaganda terms that's no match it n.a.t.o.'s policy to journalists. >> n.a.t.o. admits there's never been a single incident of the russian war plane breaching the air space of any of the baltic states for all that these pilots practice the stuff over and over again, just in case
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they say, they ever have do it for real. >> reporter: privately some n.a.t.o. officials say it looks strange to spend so much effort for preventing an air or ground war. they think it's unlikely. set against a western narrative against a leader they prefer not to take any chances n.a.t.o. was formed in 1949 after the north atlantic treaty which had an agreement that n.a.t.o. countries would help each other if invaded. originally it was 10 europe een counties and canada and the u.s. six times members were added bringing it to 28. four others are looking to join. macedony bosnia montenegro and georgia. the u.s.ied -- u.s. carried out
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drills, part of a 2-week long joint training mission with the country's army. moscow was wrapping up military drills in the mediterranean. and concluded its first joined naval enters with china. both practised drills and operations. we'll bring in ambassador robert hunter former ambassador. pack in 1987 you helped it draft the n.a.t.o. pack stating that the alliance would not put bases in former n.a.t.o. countries, it's what n.a.t.o. said it was considering. looking at the wording it says reinforcements may take place in defense of offensive threat. do you think there's a realistic threat of russian aggression towards latvia michael makuei
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leuth and estonia. >> firstly, the -- latvia lithuania, and estonia. >> firstly, the document signed in 1997 it said in the current and foreseeable variant n.a.t.o. would do certain things and wouldn't do other things. one could say the security environment has changed with the russian seizure of crimea and what they have been doing with the little green men in ukraine. now, as your report said it may be unrealistic to think that russia would go so far as to attack any one of the n.a.t.o. allies particularly the three baltic states but you want to make sure there's no miscalculation by mr vladimir putin, by holding exercises, by having air policing by training by having forces ready to go and by having what n.a.t.o. calls a rapid action plan being able to move within about
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48 hours of 5,000 troops in that direction if it becomes necessary. we hope it won't become necessary, but it's important for the russians to know they won't be able to do anything by stealth, and if they do t will not be an accident. >> you mentioned the risk of miscalculation on behalf of the russians. is there a risk that what n.a.t.o. is doing may have the opposite effect, whereas instead of a deterrent may be seen as a provocation. >> the rest can argue until they are blue in the face. the fact is they broke the agreements that they signed the act, the agreement in 1994, whereby ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for provinces by britain, the united states and russia of their protection, their sof renity. the fact it that what n.a.t.o. is doing, is nearly showing that
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there are some limits if mr vladimir putin decides to go further. in fact, the very fact that the secretary of state john kerry went to sochi in russia last week and met with mr vladimir putin, at a time when there were sanctions against russia and shows an effort by the west by the united states to say "look, we are going to keep you from doing anything untoward what you have done, but we don't want a new cold war. it's your choice if these things get bad and go to worse. and i hope mr vladimir putin gets that message, because otherwise he will be in worse shape, and, quite frankly, than what russia is today. >> n.a.t.o. is based on the principle of collective offenses, in article 5, an attack on one nation is an attack on all members. considering the current climate, i.s.i.l.'s advances in the middle east, do you think if it
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came it it russia would start a war. like estonia are you confident that that would be the reality? >> i'm confident and i'm - about n.a.t.o. of a whole. i was there at the headquarters last friday. i'm confident in the united states i hope in vladimir putin understands that one reason for the air policing the manoeuvres about everything else is to try to underscore to mr vladimir putin that we are paying attention, and if indeed he were to miscalculate it would be the worst miscalculation of his life. i have no doubt whatsoever. after all if n.a.t.o. fails to stand up to what it's committed to, it will be giving up being an alliance. in its entire history, n.a.t.o. never failed to do what it said to do.
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>> we have seen differences in relation to russia between the u.s. and western european countries that may have energy links, that mean russia would antagoize them further. do you feel it could be a possibility of the u.s. to bear the brunt of any potential fight with russia. >> i don't think so at all. there are differences of view about what to do how much sanctions, what to do whether you arm the ukrainians or not with lethal weapons, there's some internal disagreements. one thing that has always happened when push came to shove. every single ally has pulled together. >> no alley having once agreed to take action which is what the n.a.t.o. treaty requires. no ally failed to step up to the mark. if they didn't do it they may have their head on a chopping
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block. there's no exceptions to what i just said. >> i guess there's a lot of countries want to join. thank you for sharing your views with us. turning to the fight against i.s.i.l., almost a year has passed since i.s.i.l.'s advances made the threat to the region and the world is clear. beginning in 2014, the group began catching territory in iraq and syria. in the fall the u.s. coalition countered with an air campaign, their advances have slowed. >> three months later i.s.i.l. momentum seemed all but over as they captured seized territory. two months of that they were back on the offensive, this time overwraping anbar's ramadi. zeina khodr has the latest. >> reporter: there's a new front line in anbar province in the east of ramadi there's a fears fight. i.s.i.l. took some towns in the district. forces loyal to the government
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are trying to prevent the armed group from getting closer to a main base a few kilometres away. the islamic state of iraq and levant has not lost its momentum, days after seizing the capital ramadi. there are those that believed the armed group may not want to grab territory, it wants to drain the resources of its opponents. >> does i.s.i.l. want to settle or to be a moved group. this is the idea of to be a moving combat or let's say a moving group that you are threatening so many fronts especially when the defensive forces are not equipped or ready. >> shia militia commanders are moving some troops from the front lines across iraq to anbar, this is part of preparations for the promised
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counteroffensive. these men are known as the popular mobilization force, and they will lead the fight in the sunni province they were called in after regular forces and anbar's local police were not able to hold off the i.s.i.l. assault. >> there's a shortage of government soldiers in kambah and authorities are asking for volunteers to join. the prime minister also says that they will speed up the training of the local police and arm and recruit sunni tribesman. it is not the first time haider al-abadi makes a promise to integrate sunnis into the security forces. many are skeptical that the plan will work because there has been a long time opposition from shi'a politicians. >> shia militia men are seen fighting along side army
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shoulders. this has been waged by iraqis, and there's not a shi'a war. >> there's a need to create a nonsectarian army. attempts in the past failed. the country is at a dangerous crossroad. multiple front lines iraqis need to unite now more than ever people the loss of ramadi called into question the u.s. strategy of iraq and the credibility of baghdad's government. mike viqueira joins us from washington. how troubling are the developments in iraq for the white house and baghdad? >> good evening. in an interview with the atlantic magazine president barack obama exists that the u.s. led coalition is not losing the war. across the it administration, there's an insistence that the opposite is happening, progress is being made. but a caution that victory could take years to achieve.
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>> yes, the loss of ramadi is a setback, the white house admits. but i.s.i.l. has made gains. >> we are making progress in degrading the capability of i.s.i.l. rejection of calls for an iraq overhaul. >> if every time there's a set back, what would that have looked like. that's not commonens is. >> there's one bright spot. the retreat wasn't a chaotic route. as we saw in mosul last year. plans are under way to rally the iraqi army. still, the official says it would be delusional not to take a serious look at what happened. it was a 4-day assault by seasoned and motivated i.s.i.l. fighters. including 30 suicide blasts from
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heavily armoured vehicles. 10 of way had the explosive power of a bomb in the city. the u.s. is pledging 1,084 antitank systems due to arrive within two weeks. but some republicans say that is not enough. the white house insists that no new strategy is needed and the policies have been a success. it's incredible. things need to change. >> the loss of ramadi came despite the backing of american airpower and support were advisors. there are 3,000 americans in iraq none in a combat role. >> we need more american trainers for their controllers, to make sure the iraqi army can win an engagement against i.s.i.l. >> the white house is considering changes, but despite the loss of ramadi the area controlled by i.s.i.l. has been reduced by 25% since the start
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of coalition air strikes in august. there'll be no radical change in policy and no american combat boots on the ground. >> this is what a military conflict looks like and what a tenacious adversary looks like. and that is why the president and his team takes seriously the challenge. >> and you recall that when the coalition air strikes began joan john boehner and others insisted that the president come forward and ask congress for consultations, what the strategy was and how they'd approach the fight against i.s.i.l. it was called an authorisation of the use of military force. the president came forward with the proposal. congress can't pass it it's up to the president to carry the fight and up to him to make policy thank you, mike viqueira from washington d.c. ambassador, iraq's ambassador to the united states joins us from washington d.c.
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good to have you with us. let's begin with ramadi. how was it allowed to fall? are you disappointed with the iraqi forces or are you not getting enough support with the coalition? >> it is what you said a disappointment, a set back. we need to look at all the issues the type of support we have been receiving, operational, that people were involved with on the ground and making sure that the lessons learnt - there has to be a sense of urgency about ramadi. >> what do you know about the situation in ramadi now, with door to door searches and i.s.i.l. >> certainly they want to project fear so locals who have been against them who have been resisting under a year now, are no longer a threat. the faster we retake anbar,
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ramadi, the faster we convey a message to the people that this is an iraqi fight against i.s.i.s. not a sectarian fight. >> let's talk about that. the plan to re take ramadi seems to revolve around shia militias and it's seen as problematic because iran is primarily sunni. are they under the control of iraqi government or upped the control of iran who -- under the control of iran who trained them. >> people pick up the arms based on sistani. that is in the framework of the state. the situation followed on a sign that they are working under the government and the direct command and control of the prime minister. >> the people mobilization versus the iraqi militias. why is there a shortage of iraqi government. >> let's correct that.
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there's entities tribes were working with government with central government with people mobilization forces. there are units that are sunni, i think the fight we all have is now it needs to be clear, this is not a sunni-shia problem. there may be sectarian narratives in the region we are not denying that. the scale of the destruction that i.s.i.s. is causing. it has already caused the sunnis more problems more than 2 million sunni arabs, based on your division you talked about are displaced. they are the first victim of i.s.i.s. >> because the success is mostly in areas populated by sunnis going back to the iraqi forces in general, the reality is there has been troubles integrating the security forces to have sunni, shia and kurds. former prime minister maliki was
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blamed for the poor performance of the security forces because he made the army sectarian, firing experienced sunni officers. is that part of the problem you see now? >> i think a year has passed since that and serious incidents have taken place. serious destruction to the fabric of the society by i.s.i.s. - ethnic cleansing and others. we need to move away from that focus and focus on the issues that we have. >> let's look at the preps, the fall of ramadi caused a humanitarian crisis with tens of thousands fleeing. why were so many not allowed to enter baghdad for days. >> we have to look comprehensively. you have already had high migration internally within the country, moving north, moving to baghdad, to niger and others. the government looks at every
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citizen as an iraqi, we need to cover the accomodation of refugees, and have a numbering, and some kind of understanding where these people are so they can go back we can provide services, these are logistic operational obstacles, there are no strategic drivers behind them. >> iraq's ambassador to the u.s. pleasure to have you with us. >> thank you for having me. >> government forces are making progress on houthi forces in yemen. >> and threatening peace efforts to bring a peace to the fighting. >> history could be made in ireland as same-sex marriage is on a national ballot. start weekday mornings with al jazeera america. open your eyes to a world in motion.
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[beeping] ooo come on everybody, i think this is my grandson. [lip syncing] ♪little girl you look so lonesome oh my goodness. ♪i see you are feeling blue ♪come on over to my place ♪hey girl ♪we're having a party happy birthday, grandma! ♪we'll be swinging ♪dancing and singing ♪baby come on over tonight [baseball crowd noise] ♪ ♪ [x1 chime] ♪
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♪ [crowd cheers] oh! i can't believe it! [cheering] hi, grandma! ♪ malaysia's prime minister ordered four navy ships to the rescue of thousands of migrants at sea. it's the first official recoup effort after many rohingya and
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bangladeshis started a journey. many are believed to be stranded at sea without food and water. the prime minister met with u.s. officials visiting the region. the state department spokeswoman said the u.s. is deeply concerned about the vulnerable migrants. myanmar agreed to attend a conference next week, to formulate a plan to deal with the flood of immigrants. we look at the plight of some migrants at a makeshift camp in aceh in indonesia. >> reporter: they all thought they were going to die. when they were rescued after 4 months at sea, they couldn't believe it. doctors examined the migrants and said the conditions were bad. most are dehydrated malnoushished, they have -- malnourished, they have infections and ciiteses. authorities here in aceh are struggling to take care of them. >> translation: we thought we had died and would meet god almighty soon.
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we lost all hope of survival indonesia and malaysia agreed to accept several thousands migrants. many are at sea. the reality on the ground is that they are not actively rescuing anyone that is stranded in the boats, until they get a direct order from jakarta to shaken the policy to change the way etch was entering the territory. this means that time is running out for thousands said to be at sea, and looking at the condition of those who just arrived a day ago. it's clear that there's no time to lose. steph vassian there. more than 900 migrants were rescued by french and italian vessels in the mediterranean. officials say one person died. the migrants were taken to sicily for medical treatment. this adds to tens of thousands rescued in the mediterranean in recent weeks. it was celebration day for
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same-sex couples in rome on thursday. the city is recognising civil unions for the first time. 17 same-sex couples registered for the civil unions at rome's city hall there's a ban on same-sex marriages in the country ireland faces that issue tomorrow when it becomes the first country to hold a referendum on legalizing same-sex marriage, according to polls it's expected to be tight. campaigners were on the streets arguing both sides. major political parties are backing the yes campaign. we spoke with an openly gay senator who spearheaded the movement to legal ace same-sex marriage. >> we feel quietly confident that now it will pass. even though the polls have started to narrow a little bit. never once has it gone below 65%, and the irish people who are freedom fighters and are compassionate and fair and
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we'll become the first country in the world to do it that way. >> the vote will change the irish constitution to allow same-sex marriage the u.s. and cuba take a step forward in repairing diplomatic relations. >> how both sides are working hard to iron out circumstanceses and did thes. >> a diplomatic twist playing out in the heart of new york city's times square.
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welcome back to al jazeera america i'm barbara serra. and i'm antonio mora. coming up in this half hour of international news - protests in chile, as the president tries to address the country's trouble. >> and a week before talks, no sign of peace in yemen first a look at the stories across the u.s. in the american minute the senate is moving forward
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with a bill giving president obama fast-track authority to negotiate trade deals, sweeping way for a pacific trade agreement that is a top priority of the president. senators will look at amendments, a vote tomorrow. a vote in the senate to reform government surveillance programs is this week. ed freedom account will limit bulk collection of phone records. and the patriot act finishes this week unless extended the man driving the gyrocopter pleaded guilty to flying an aircraft through restricted aircraft. we'll hear from him at 11. >> tomorrow, diplomats from u.s. and cuba meet for a scan day. parties met -- second day. parties met to discuss restoring
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ties. they are talking concessions but will the cubans do what is necessary. >> reporter: the fourth round of talks with cuba and the united states underway. both sides report there's a positive atmosphere with a focus on re-establishing diplomatic ties and the reopening of the cuban as well as united states embassies. there are major hurdles that both sides need to overcome. from the cuban stand point there's a concern about u.s. democracy reforms, that there be pro-democracy reforms, something that the cuban officials said may, by their perspective be illegal. the other main issue for cuba is that involving the controversial detention center guantanamo bay, returned to cuba. this is something the united states said it will not discuss at this point. cuba is looking for a lifting of the u.s. embargo, something complicated and could involve
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the u.s. congress. there is the property claims in cuba seized during the cuban resolution, and how the property owners will be compensated. a lot of challenges ahead. both sides reporting they see things moving forward. there's a warming of relations. when it was boisterred by the meeting in panama by president obama and jacky rowland. >> the director of the americas program at john hopkins university's center for strategic and international studies, and served at the department of state and joins us from d.c. it's good to see you, carl. the u.s. took cuba off the sponsors of terrorism. it's a big demand the cuban government as been allowed to open. is it time to make concessions
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for this to work? >> that's a great question. i would say to you that the concession for them was beginning conversations in the first place. they really were not looking forward to this. this was more out of necessity than out of choice. they saw themselves really pressed internationally because they have a failing economy, and a need to attract investment. their chief bank roller venezuela is in serious economic straights and unable to priffed them with capital they need. they are involved in the relations with the united states. it's not because of their wanting to do this as much as they need to do it. >> a criticism of the obama's announcement that it would move forward normalizing relations is the u.s. got little in return.
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especially when it came to commitments from cuba to respect human rights. the white house spokesperson emphasised that. is the u.s. changing its tune. do you think we'll push on that front? >> i think the united states is going to push these issues. the question is how you go about this. we are at a very early stage of this normalization. the issues of human rights expropriated properties opening markets and democracy are issues consistent with who we are as a country, and, of course we are going to be pushing these things forward. but the way we go about this is important as well. and what you see, i think, is that in the short term we are trying to get sort of the engine going of this normalization, and i think that as we have developed these relations, as
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you have an increase of trade, goods and services flows of americans going to cuba i think you'll see a different kind of environment insofar as the opening up or... >> but how do we get there, how do we get the engine going, when we here how cubans want problems on lifting the embargo, that's out of the administration's hands and the status of guantanamo. aren't they nonstarters in the short term? >> you have to understand these are negotiating points and everyone is talking about big objectives and you have to pay objective to incrementalism. >> you can get nowhere when you talk about the objectives. >> yes but look at the last five months. you have had the terrorist list revoked, exchanges of prisoners, embassies starting to ep up. it's imminent.
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you had four round of discussions. the question is how do you maintain momentum and move the momentum in relation to larger issues and more freedom and democracy and dissent on the island. how do you deal with the issues that are important for the united states and cuba. >> a quick last question in - if all this moves forward, how quickly will things change for the better inside cuba is this. >> i think someone is talking about a pid term change. the next 18-2 years. i do think that the next - what we do during this period the trust that we build, and the incremental steps that we do take will make a difference in moving along to the big erissues. the issue of the embargo is there, the issues of human
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rights, access to markets are there, and what we do in the next 18-24 months will be important in creating the basis, the framework for progress going on in the midterm. >> carl from the center of international studies, good to have you with us. we invite you to join us sunday for more coverage of the potential diplomatic breakthrough in "the week ahead". sunday night 8:30 eastern president obama hosts tunisia's newly elected president at the white house. the meeting was intended to show u.s. support for the country's transition to democracy. the u.s. pledged to triple aid to tunisia, and ends decades of dictatorship in 2011, promoting the uprising known as the arab spring. tunisia increased security measures following the attack on the museum in which 21 tourists
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in tunisia. a report now on what led one young man in that attack. >> this is how waleed likes to remember his cousin. he used to spend his summers at this family farm and he described a young man that studied french and enjoyed going to weddings he worked at a travel agent. in march 18th yas eem and another gunman attacked the capital's museum. in three hours they killed 22 people mostly foreign tourist. his cousin said they were close, and there were no signs of what he was planning. but he has his theories about why he did it. >> it is a feeling of oppression, of our identity among some arabs in muslim. there are international groups and weapons barons exploiting
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the feeling among the youth. turning them into the hands that carry out his dirty work. >> tunisian authorities say yas eem and hundreds received military training and blames the recent attacks on ansar al-sharia, a group linked to al qaeda. tunisia's president is in the u.s. to talk about libya, and to ask for help. >> military assistance may improve security here but it will not solve the problem of why so many tunisians are joining armed groups. the deposit estimates around 3,000 young people are fighting in syria, libya, and iraq this man advises the government on what he calls religious security. he says people should be arrested and re-educated before they join the groups. >> what led the people to
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practice terrorism is total ignorance of the religion. they have psychological problems. they'll be violent or sadistic in their nature the authorities estimate up to 20,000 tunisians are ready to fight for armed groups abroad. the government is taking a tough stance. it also needs to deal with the root causes of why it's own citizens are willing to kill or risk being killed in the name of religion in yemen, nurses loyal to exiled president abd-rabbu mansour hadi say they've made gains. peace talks are due to take place thursday. hashem ahelbarra reports from the saudi capital re-arted. >> reporter: -- riyadh. reporter: government troops gain ground in joef. it borders sadr the power base
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of the houthis. if it falls into government hands, approximately be the most significant loss for houthi rebels since they took over. these were vehicles seized by tribesman loyal to the president abd-rabbu mansour hadi. fighting continues across the country. in the city of taiz the houthis back the soldiers loyal to the former president, have intensified their campaign to capture yemen's third-largest city. >> translation: we are ordered by our allegiance norms and morals to defend yemen. >> reporter: the saudi-led coalition ramped up air strikes against houthi positions in sadr and the capital. these are some of the weapons air dropped to government troops in the southern province, as the fighting picks up international
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effort are underway to bring together warring accesses. saudi arabia said iran was not welcome. >> the last time i checked iran is not a member of the g.c.c. not a member of the arab says is not a permanent member of the security council, i don't see what is the point. why not invite brazil, others to the conference there is no place for iran in the consultations in geneva they have not played a constructive role and cannot be rewarded by having a seat at the table. >> the growing political giffed could under mine chances for a deal in g geneva. international aid agencies warned the ongoing crisis will affect millions of people across
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the country. >> yemen's key factions say they welcome the geneva talks, but are divided i have its agenda government loyalists want the talks to recognise abd-rabbu mansour hadi as legitimate leader. the houthis, on the other hand insist the talks should acknowledge their growing political influence amnesty international says qatar is not moving fast enough to improve conditions for migrant workers, the report saying over the past year progress has been made on five of nine issues. 1.5 million migrant workers are expected, and the number will grow by another million. among the unresolved issues there's no system to ensure workers are paid regularly or at all. they often cannot get permits to leave the country or change jobs. employers can confiscate passports. the qatari government disputes
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main of amnesty's accusation a london taxi driver is the first person convicted of iraq war crimes in a british court. the 38-year-old was found guilty of making bombs with the intent to kill u.s. soldiers. he was charged with building explosive devices planted along a road. one was linked to the death of sergeant first class randy johnson u his armoured vehicle was destroyed by a blast leaving four soldiers with industry. prosecutors matched the finger prints to those found on two bombs. deadly protests continue in burundi with people demand the president we stepped down. >> police have been caught on camera beating women who wanted their opinions heard and chile's president delivers a state unfortunate union speech as violent protests
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broke out on the street. per cent
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intense battles in burundi between protesters and policeful hundreds have been fleeing violence and arrest every day. we have more from bujumbura. >> reporter: women in burundi tried to protest. police were termed to stop them. the women are against the president's bid for a third term. >> translation: we need peace, we want to be heard, why are you beating u what have we done we don't want people to die because of the selfishness of our leaders. >> reporter: the police eventually leave. defeated the women are too distraught to protest. the police have shown they mean business. the capital has not been peaceful for weeks. thursday, police and members of
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the presidential guard dispersed people trying to march to parliament, where the president was swearing in new ministers. at least one person was killed. people say they are tired of the violence and death, they are begging the international community to intervene. >> this person has been killed in front of us. president obama and the rest of the world need to rise up and be seep. >> there's a heavy security presence in some parts of bujumbura. many say they are not feeling safe. a man was shot and killed in this neighbourhood. after that happened protesters were scared and ran away. they say it's becoming difficult to come onto the streets. government officials say nearly 200 people have been arrested since the protest against president pierre nkurunziza began a month ago. many have been injured or killed. despite this burundians say they will not stop until the president gives up plans to hang on to power
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election campaigning ended. ethiopian citizens will cast their ballots in parliamentary and regional elections. the ruling party is expected to take chrome. the ethiopian revolutionary democratic front won all four elections since taking power in 1991 protestors clash with police during the state of the union address this chile. emotions were high as large crowds expressed discontent over political scandals. and according to lucia newman it comes at a time when the president's approval ratings are plunging. >> reporter: protesters and riot police played cat and mouse on the treats for hours, even as president michelle bachelet delivered her state of the nation address. a mixture of students, trade unionists, and representatives of everyone dissatisfied with the way the government is
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handling the country came out to protest. riot police in full year outfom nmed demonstrate -- outnumbered depositors who nevertheless refused to back down. >> violence clashes during the presidential address are almost a tradition. this year the atmosphere is charged. exactly a week ago there was a protest here and as demonstrator scribbled graf eat i, the man above fired on the crowd, killing two students with i'm standing. as bliss held back protesters michelle bachelet gave her speech. >> chile is going through an important transformation. we have the opportunity to build, among everyone, a better country. >> reporter: no one here was listening. >> translation: this is a
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protest by the social movements that do not feel represented by what michelle bachelet is saying. >> the president recognises that she has a serious credibility problem, and made a number of proposals to win back confidence, as a sign carried by the protesters reads, we don't believe michelle bachelet any more, meaning the president will need to do more than make proposals to recover the last popularity thousands and uruguay held a silent protest in the capital. it was organised by relatives of some 200 people who disappeared under the nation's military dictatorship between 1973 and 1985. protesters held photos and banners of the missing, demanding answers and calling for an end to impunity with the perpetrators. >> there was a remarkable imaging in the sky, a solo halo
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sending cities above the capital of independence monument. a solar halo is common but rarely noticed. it happens when sunlight passes through ice crystals. creating a colourful ring. >> it's beautiful. wow. diplomats are wrestling with technicalities. >> u.s. and cuban athletes square off on a wrestling mat in new york's times square. >> and tomorrow story of a japanese video game that concurred the world. pacman's 35th anniversary, tomorrow at
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now our global segment. a look at how news outlets react. tony abbott is under fire to his response to the south-east asian migrant crisis. the made line in "sydney morning herald," tony abbott advocates leadership with negative slogan when asked about providing
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refuge with displaced "rock newman show", he plied: "the peninsula" from qatar uses a cartoon to take a swipe at kim jong un depicting the dictator with cut outs of people behind him wearing targets. reports surfaced of kim ordering executions for failing to give soldiers the required amount of rice. "the telegraph" a yes vote could force the church to change. beside attitudes changing all of which the catholic church opposed, priests have lost the right to moralize amid child sexual abuse in the church after decades of mutual mistrust, americans and cubans are scaring off in the middle of
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the city. team u.s.a. is hosting team cuba in a wrestling match. morgan radford was there, and had the story. laying it on the mat. times square is the stage for historic wrestling match between team u.s.a. and cuba. >> it's the first time u.s. and cuban athletes competed in a sport since a change in relations. it's the first time that the cuban wrestling team has come here to new york. >> wrestling brings the countries that don't come along on the big stage. >> tony is a top-ranged wrestler ready to swallow his nerve and show off his moves. >> what is the winning move for tonight? >> i'm good. >> there's a lot more to it. especially for the cuban team that feels this opportunity is about national recognition. >> reporter: what does it mean for you to be in the u.s. new?
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>> translation: for us after a period of time it's a good moment. it's years since we have an opportunity like this, now that we have it we have to take advantage of it this is an american gold medallist competeing in cuba and says wrestling is a great equalizer. >> bringing cuba to new york to america, it shows that we are the same it's about getting along. maybe not the leaders are the same but the sport of wrestling is the same. >> this is not the first time wrestling has been used for diplomacy. the iranian and russian teams compeated at grand central terminal in an effort to reinstate wrestling as an olympic event. this time around both are showcasing sometimes. men's freestyle, women's and grecho roman. >> so while the diplomats
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wrestle in d.c. fighters are on the map. proving diplomacy in sport can go hand in hand. the united states beat cuba winning 9-4 a statute unveiled in havana under a canadian bull. it was sold in 1961 during the height of the gold war, and became the father of the country's milk cow hurt. busy bull. at the time the cuban government provided a litre of milk to all children up to the age of 7. a canadian lawyer paid $100,000 for the bronze sculpture. >> important to cuban - milk and agriculture that they teach about it in the school. >> really. >> yes. >> that's it for this edition of "al jazeera america"s international our. thanks for watching. "america tonight" is next. >> we leave you with rolling
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stones who played a surprise context. they begin a tour starting in san diego. still going strong. [ ♪♪ ] on "america tonight" - he was on board before decriminalizing was cool. correspondent adam may with the leader once nicknamed mayor smoak. >> how do you think the war on drugs affected inner cities like baltimore? >> i think that the way in which the country conducted the war on drugs has done more harm than good. is cutting class a crime? it is in texas, where "america tonight"s lori jane gliha found more than 100,000 kids landed in criminal court just for skipping