>> these families have suffered enough. they should never field ignored or victimized by their own government. >> the white house reveals more than 30 americans are being held hostage as it changes policy to allow families to pay ransoms. hello, you're watching ankle live from london. also coming up, boston bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev apologies apologizes for the lives he took as he is sentenced to death.

the united arab emirates continues support. and does greece's debt talks come to a premature end? hello a situation for 30 citizens being held hostage across the world could change dramatically with the white house easing its stance on families who pay ransoms. pattypatty culhane pat reports from washington, d.c. >> families very two things, the horror of their experience and the government was inept and in

some cases threatening. >> they were up front about what they can orer and will not they can and cannot do or will and will not do. >> there are 30 americans being held hostage overseas. families ignored even bullied threatened with prosecution if they paid ransom. the new policy does not explicit say that it's legal for families to pay now. instead the white house will only say no family has ever been process prosecuted for it. the government will horde a task force to handle hostages and their families. the president is promises more information will be shared but one thing will not change. >> as president i also have to consider our larger national security. i firmly believe that the united states government paying ransom to terrorists risks endangering more americans and funding the

very terrorism that we're trying to stop. i firmly believe that our policy ultimately puts fewer americans at risk. >> the new policy will do exactly that. >> the concern that i have is that by lifting that long-held principle you could be endanger endangering more americans here and overseas. >> ultimately i think you are likely to at least marginally increase the incentives for people to kidnap americans. >> after they were incentivize ing further hostage taking, white house officials could not really answer. instead said: >> we're not going to' families abandon families. we'll work with them. >> words too late for those workers and their families. but now they can fight to get families members back and not fight their own government.

>> well, i agree with this new policy change. there is no question, and this is a softening of our position towards the terrorists. the government said that it will not negotiate it will not make concessions but eventually will negotiate with them. we will talk to them and communicate with them and even facilitate to pay some ransom. the office reason in my opinion that's a bad strategy. what are the main counter terrorism strategy is to deny these groups of funds. the treasury department has a wall when it comes to counterterrorism because all organizations at their root need

financial backing. and when this change in strategy we're making it easier for these groups likely groups like like islamic state and al qaeda to continue. >> dzhokhar tsarnaev was sentenced to death by a judge. three people died and 264 were injured when two bombs went off at the boston marathon finish line in april 2013. well breaking his silence for the first time in more than two years, 21-year-old tsarnaev said that i'm sorry for the lives i've taken the suffering that i've done and the damage i've done irreparable damage. i pray for your relief, your healing, your well-being, for your strength. the prosecutor district

attorney said that the sentence was fair but that tsarnaev was hiding his actions behind religion. >> what i was struck more was by what he didn't say. he didn't renounce terrorism. he didn't denounce violent extremism. he couched his comments in line with allah and allah's views which gives it a religious term. there was nothing as you heard the judge say in the courtroom there was nothing about this crime that is islam-associated. that's what i was struck by more. that is not what islam is all about. so when individuals utilize that, it is a radicalized view of that ideology. it's a radical ideology that is not at the heart of what is truly a peaceful and loving religion. >> some of the victims also spoke after the sentencing.

>> he said he was remorseful. i find that heart to believe. i came to the trial and i never really saw that at all from him. it really does not change anything for me because what he took from me i'm never going to be able to regain nor what he took from my family or from any of us as well. >> a sincere apology would have been nice. a simple believable apology would have been great. there was nothing simple about what he said. there was nothing sincere. >> i was actually really happy that he made the statement. as i said in my personal impact statement i have forgiven him. i have come to a place of peace and i genuinely hope that he does as well. for me to hear him say that he's sorry, that is enough for me. and because i have hope and i

have faith in humanity, including him i hope that his words were genuine i hope they were heartfelt. i hope they were as honest as you heard from the survivors. i have no way of knowing that, but i'm going to take it on face that what he said was genuine. >> staying in the u.s. the body of south carolina senator clemente pinynckney is lying in state. president obama is due to speak at his funeral on friday. the governor of alabama ordered the confederate flag to be tan down attaken down at the

capitol. it was used by pinckney's killer and used as a symbol of hate. in mogadishu a bomb cake on a convoy of cars by armed group al-shabab. one car was carrying officials from the united arab emirates although none of the officials were injured. >> witnesses say there was a large explosion completely destroying a pickup truck carrying somali security forces. the truck was part of a convoy carrying diplomats. a suicide-bomber had rammed his car into the convoy. members of the armed group al-shabab are claiming responsibility for the attack. >> the uae had donated military hard aware. so al-shabab calls them a legitimate target.

>> the somali government is getting support from the 2 thousand africa union force which is fighting al-shabab. it wants to overthrow the government and is behind many similar attacks. on sunday four al-shabab fighters were killed as they tried to detonate a car bomb and shoot their way through a national intelligence training center. at shah babb has lost territory to government forces since an offensive began to push them out last year. caroline malone, al jazeera. >> isil says it's destroyed two ancient shrines close to the city of palmyra. the destruction comes after months after isil fighters destroyed priceless artifacts in mosul and in iraq. now, u.s. senate has approved special fast-tracking powers to president obama giving him the authority to create

trade deals and sent them straight to congress without debate. critics say that deal is shrouded in far too much secretly. we have the latest now from washington, d.c. tomorrow, tell us more about what these fast track trade powers allow president obama to do? >> what it does give him is the short to continue to negotiate a treaty with the 11 other pacific rim partners and these by the way institute about 40% of the world's total trade. and within the remaining you're navy of his administration or the at least another four years of his successors administration will allow them to submit the

treaty to the senate without the ability of the senate to make any kinds of changes or even to fall the final vote produce final outcome that he has been fighting for for most of his administration. >> so the ttp deal would be very significant. why is it surrounded in controversy, though? >> the main opposition is from the labor unions in the united states and their supporters in the congress. all of them say that given the lessons that they've learned from previous large trade agreements like multi lateral agreements like nafta the north american free trade agreement and u.s. workers as opposed to u.s. businesses were absolute losers in this. all it did was accelerate the

abandonment of their workers and basically cause millions of american workers to lose their jobs. in addition to that there is opposition contending that the treaty provides for continued secrecy not just in the final terms of the treaty, but also in allowing investors, for example to or other countries partnered countries to keep secrets some of the conditions of trade agreements. so both the labor unions and some conservative republicans who also object to the fact that obama has given for powers by virtue of getting this authority, they combine to constitute the opposition. but there is one final last gasp when that treaty finally reaches the senate for an up or down vote it only needs a simple majority, but they're still hopeful that if the terms are

onerous enough that they'll have the votes to defeat it. >> tom ackerman in washington, d.c. thank you. still to come for you on the program, calls for top colombian general to be brought to justice for the killing of 3,000 civilians passed off as rebels. and fearing for their lives. meet the women who were held hostage by armed groups and still don't feel safe years later.

>> welcome back. here on al jazeera.

let's update you on the top stories. the u.s. has changed it's hostage policy so families who pay ransom for the released of loved ones will no longer face the threat of prosecution. the white house revealed that currently 30 americans are being held hostage abroad. dzhokhar tsarnaev addressed the court for the suffering he caused. and u.n. senate has approved fast tracking powers for president obama that will be easier to push forward the trans-pacific partnership trade agreement. france has responded in outrage to revelations at the wikileaks website that u.s. spied on on president françois hollande and two of his

predecessors. neave barker reports from paris. >> the u.s. ambassador to france summoned to explain on the spying on three french presidents. >> i said this is, one this is unacceptable. two, we want to know if these practices have ceased, and three, to ask if this was only used in relation to the president or more generally. while we understand that there might be surveillance concerning terrorists this has nothing to do with listening in on the heads of allied states and friends by asking the ambassador by giving answers rapidly. >> earlier in the day president françois hollande would discuss the revelations. hollande said that the country would not tolerate actions that threatened it's national security. the claims reported in the

french daily and on the wikileaks website said that the eavesdropping happened between 2006 and 2012. paris said that it will now send a special intelligence team to the u.s. to investigate matters further. the country's prime minister promised to do everything in probable to limit the diplomatic fall out. >> the united states must not only admit the danger that it has had on our premiums but it must do everything quickly to repair the relationship between our allied countries and between the united states and france. >> many people feel that the new spying revelations are revelations are deliberately designed to protect the french citizens from the homegrown violence witnessed here five

months ago. but now there is a blind spot that raises the question that france needs security to protect itself from its friends as well as it's enemyies independent. >> president françois hollande and president barack obama have reportedly spoken by phone. but with wikileaks promising more revelations to come, france may decide on a cautious approach. neave barker, al jazeera, paris. >> key talks aimed at preventing greece from defaulting on its debts have been halted earlier than expected. >> laurence lee reports from brussels. >> is this the moment that future of greece is decided. prime minister tsipras arrived in brussels with barely a word. but by the time the finance

minister had arrived it had become abundantly clear that all the concessions that mr. tsipras offered, it was not enough for the creditors of the you're central bank and international monetary fund. they want more cuts, more taxes or both, and there is no way on earth that mr. tisipras can sell all that at home. >> we measure the value of the agreement in price obviously it's about politics, and it's about money. i would be very surprised if we were to get a deal tonight. there has been a lot of back and forth at the political level. we have not seen the concrete proposal yet and we have to deal with it very carefully based on the parliamentary mandates. >> back in the country which gave the world the philosophy of

stoicism many people still seem to think that things might end up okay, but yet they got used to things not being okay at all so maybe nothing shocks any more. >> i think that the situation will improve, but we'll still go through a difficult time. >> it's better the way we are even if it means we are a bit strapped. at least this way there is a path that leads somewhere. there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. >> bear in mind, too that the bill athens is trying to pay now is less than a third of what it's supposed to pay back over the year. it's impossible, really, to see how they could conceivably do it. perhaps the only optimism in any of this is the greek government, the greek people, and also they say they want greece to stay within the eurozone, but countries like germany which are

only asking for more austerity and the greek country who say they cannot take any more so they break up with nothing left to address. they'll try again on thursday and probably again and again. laurence lee al jazeera, brussels. >> the police in armenia have been accused of using excessive force to break up protests. dozens of people were right when water canons were used to disperse hundreds of people protesting against the 22% hike in electricity prices. >> this is not about a protest against russia. this is a protest against a russian company that has gone too far. it has a a monopoly on the

electricity supply here. a third of the armenian population live below the poverty line. n. protesting ] >> the police tried to fire water canons at the protesters. but instead of keeping people away it's had the opposite affect. >> move to go colombia now where there were calls for senior army officers to be brought to justice. there was the killing of 3,000 civilians and passed off their bodies as rebel fighters.

800 low ranking soldiers have been convicted for the killings, but not a single high-ranking officer has been punished. human rights watches called for two army leaders. >> false positive killings amount to one of the worst episodes of mass atrocity in the western hemisphere in recent years. there is mounting evidence that many senior army officers, their responsibility for their atrocityies. yet the army officials in charge at the time of the executions have managed to escape justice and descended to the top of the military command including the head of the army and armed forces. >> the fight against ebola looks like it's far from over with a news of a fresh outbreak in

sierra leone's capital freetown. liberia was declareed ebola free in may. but the deadly virus is on the rise again in guinea because of people moving around. the last of the protest camps have been cleared away after nine months of demonstrations. protesters were angry for prance of beijing to vet candidates. fighting in the southern philippines have affected generations of people. more than 150,000 have been killed and millions made homeless, and many women caught up in the fighting are afraid of being kidnapped by rival chance. in the first of a they were report, we have reports from bec fromasilan. >> this woman's world is torn

apart by shame. she was abducted with other female members of her family. they were taken by gunpoint and held hostage for almost a week. the details of their capture too painful to share. >> where do we go for our situation? the military? the police? we fear for our lives because we're kidnapped victims. we're women in the middle of the war. this is part of our culture. >> it was a dispute between warring chance here. a century's old practice. this is basilan. an island in the southern-most part of the philippines long held back by war and poverty. clan wars can last for generations. women and children are at the heart of it.

abduction of women is one of this war's biggest shame. women are either used as a bargaining chip forced into marriages or used as payment for dowries. >> very few women come forward and file cases against their abductors here. the process of the courts is slow and the women find themselves more polarized. women are used to resolve disputes. blood money is exchanged and the women are left to cope on their own. >> i think we need to work in communities. one way is educating them, informing them about their lives and how to a to heal.

>> the organization to help women caught up in armed conflicts. they're offered counseling. they must not be seen as a commodity, and educating men is just as important too. but changes may not happy any time soon. and until then women are bound to suffer silently. al jazeera southern philippines. >> in our second part of the report, they look at the growing threat of armed groups as they recruit children to become fighters. that's this thursday on al jazeera. now we're used to seeing pictures of the northern lights of iceland and the arctic circle. but on tuesday night there was a rare and dazzling display over the state of minnesota. the light show comes courtesy of a solar flair that was emitted earlier this week. a second solar storm will bring a complete performance a few hours from now.

this one should be seen across more of northern america as well as australia. it's all good news. the storm may affect power supplies. but it makes for great viewing. www.aljazeera.com for more on what we're covering. largest oil and gas producer in part because of what's happening here in north dakota where advances in fracking have unlocked crude oil in the bakken shale formation in the western part of the state. north dakota is now producing more than a million barrels of oil a day. ten years ago there were fewer than 200 oil-producing wells in the bakken. now there are more than 8,000. >> they call it boomtown usa this is where all the money is. it's crazy the amount of money you can make here.