>> colombia announces a break through in peace talks with farc rebels after five decades of conflict. hello i'm darren jordan in doha with the world news from al jazeera. also on the program, pope francis calls for urgent action on climate change while meeting at the white house. >> we can go back home. >> jailed journalists mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed are pardoned in egypt. and the volkswagen boss quits as

the cheating scandal garts steam. gathers gathers steam. >> talks on the longest running latin american conflict. lucia newman reports. >> an image speaks larger than a thousand words. juan manuel santos shaking hands with the leader of the farc rebels is one that colombians could not have dreamed of. >> on the 26th of march of 2016, at the very latest, exactly six months from now, we'll say good-bye for good to the longest war in colombia.

>> colombian government and rebel negotiates reached a deal to guarantee punishment of perpetrators of gross violations and war crimes, including members of the farc. >> translator: those who refuse to recognize responsibility will be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison. >> it is up to us now to multiply efforts to reach consensus on a bilateral ceasefire and to turn into a legal political movement. >> reporter: removing the last stumbling block to end 40 years of war but displaced more than 6 million colombians and killed an estimated 220,000 others. cuban president raul castro who has hosted the peace talks was jubilant. >> translator: we've advanced

further than ever before and though there are still enormous difficulties to overcome we now have the certainty they will be overcome. are. >> reporter: the announcementcas draiseaddressed the issue. saying we have no worry about the road to reconciliation. powerful groups who are opposed to the peace process from the extreme political left to the right including sectors of colombia's military and in a country historically catholic as colombia, the pope's blessing is seen as an antedote. >> if the accord is signed within a year, it will not be enough. the final agreement must be approved 50 colombia people before the farc lays down its

weapons and the process of readjustment can begin. lucia newman, al jazeera, colombia. the group was set up in 1964 as a peasant army fighting to reduce the gulf that still divides the rich and poor. the rebels have held hostages in secret camps there for years. estimates that the farc takes in 500 to $600 million annually in little dre drug trade. >> a milestone. >> they're ready to come to terms on most of the issues that they have been discussing that they established from the beginning, the rural reform, that's political participation, that's the drug problem and now it's the most difficult problem, which was how to deal with all

of the horrors of the war, both sides committed crimes and so there was a lot of discussion on how they were to be held accountable for that. the far right and the military, some military are hes tants to be placehesitant to beplaced onh the farc but the country in general finds that a truth commission will be a good solution for what is needed to begin building a peace process. this is only the accord we have to begin the process of building peace and that's the main challenge. >> the head of the roman catholic church has called for urgent action on climate change. pope francis made the remarks in

an address at the white house. he also warned the institutions of marriage and family need to be producted. patty culhane reports. >> it is clear that pope francis is going to take on controversial topics while in the united states bringing up the priest sex abuse scandal with u.s. bishops. >> translator: and we have to hope the crimes never repeat themselves. >> reporter: that fell far short for some of the victims. still across the country this pope is overwhelmingly popular. that was clear 50 welcome that greeted him as he began his day at the white house. 11,000 invited guests to witness the pageantsary. renown for humble living he riefd ihearrived in a fiat not l

limo dealimousine. the generosity of your spirit, a leader whose moral authority comes not just through words but also through deeds. >> reporter: pope francis is clearly going to try to use that authority to spur action, focusing most of his remarks on climate change. >> when it comes to the care of our common home we are living at a critical moment of history. we still have time to make the change needed to bring about a sustainable and integral development. >> convincing the president he already believes in climate change unlike many in the opposition party. overwhelming popularity to

convince his followers that they need to act, push their lawmakers to do more. >> i don't see the pope's comments and the pope's visit in the near term having any effect on republican positions on immigration reform or climate change. mainly because republican members of congress and frankly most republicans running for the presidency now, they don't have any political incentive to shift. >> elevating junipero serra to sainthood, angering some who said the 19th century monk sanctioned.

>> xi jinping has been visiting seattle, washington, committed to financial reforms and an open economy. >> translator: during my current visit to the united states, i intend to have an in depth exchange of views with president obama, and other american leaders, and the cross section of american society. i want to deepen the friendship between american and chinese people. jaild al jazeerjailed al jaa journalists mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed have been freed. we continue to demand their sentences be overturned, john terret has more. >> it's been a long time coming but al jazeera producer baher mohamed and freelance

photographer mohamed fahmy have pen freed at last. >> we can go home and enjoy my life and that's it. >> reporter: a pardon by abdel fatah al-sisi marking their long ordeal when they were arrested in december 2013 along with peter greste, al jazeera media said, we're delighted for their release it's hard to celebrate because this shouldn't have happened in the first place. egypt sentenced or charged at least 41,000 people between july 2013 and july 2014, a report from the committee to protect journalists in june says egyptian haegypthas the largestd bars since keeping record. sentenced the team to seven to 10 years, then last january the court of castation threw out

their convictions and ordered a new trial. egypt allowed for greste to be deported to his native australia. but the other two were unable to leave genera egypt, they were sl serving a kind of sentence. their plight inspired a huge round of support. >> we have agreed publicly and privately that they should be released. >> last month, the court ordered them back to prison, justice denied. arrest of mohammed, fahmy and greste damaged egypt's reputation abroad. now, he has beens been able to close the case.

just before president sisi was mend to address the united nations, but it may take mohammed a canadianto a while to get back here. it is the start of the muslim holiday of eade. >> a number of others were convicted in absentia. sue turton. >> at least in the eyes of the law we need to be able to fly in and out of countries that have extradition treaties with egypt, or just the fear that we may be arrested and put on a plane and sent back to egypt. >> in a statement, we urge the egyptian authorities to quash their cases and let them too get on with their lives. for now, everyone at al jazeera

is just happy to see the closure. >> moasmed has beemohamed fahmyn pardoned! >> reporter: in one portion of this long running saga. john terret al jazeera. fms. >> i'm daniel schwindler, which ones? maybe this one.

>> welcome back. a quick recap of the top stories here. talks to end the longest running conflict in latin american history has reedge have reachedr break through. the head of the roman catholic church is called for action on climate change. the pontiff responsive bishops in child sex abuse scandal. jailed al jazeera journalists, mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed have been freed by egyptian president abdel fatah al-sisi. other al jazeera journalists who were sentenced in absentia were not pardoned. we continue to demand their

sentences be overturned. emergency talks in brussels, leaders also pledged an extra $1 billion in aid, dealing with the tuesday deal of mandatory quotes of member states to relocate 120,000 refugees. urging states to stop their squabbling. >> it is clear the gradest tide of migrants and refugees is yet to come. we need to change our policy of open doors and windows. now the focus should be on processional protection of external borders and assistance to refugees and the countries in our neighborhood. in light of this, leaders have agreed on increased help to lebanon, jordan, turkey and other countries in the region. >> germany's chancellor gicialga

merkel. >> i'm satisfied with today's results although we know the comprehensive solution steps are not in place we have made a necessary step forward. it was important at th at the cl meeting to gain a better insing ounderstanding of the matter at hands of the items we need to tackle which is why we're going to adopt the steps just mentioned. >> volkswagen ceo martin winterkorn has resigned. scandal set volkswagen's chairs plummeting. rob reynolds reports. >> reporter: a trio of volkswagen executives made the

announcement. ceo martin winterkorn is out. >> part of this is the offer of dr. winterkorn to step down. he had no knowledge of the manipulation of emissions. >> reporter: winterkorn issued a statement saying he took responsibility and volkswagen needs a fresh start. executives said they were conducting an internet investigation,. >> we have had the impression that criminal acts have played a role here. we make sure that the people concerned will be prosecuted. >> reporter: germans including those who live in volkswagen's hawrgz city voltsberg are

concerned about their reputation for solid products. >> that is scheming, machinations, criminal dealing if you ask me, like a mafia. >> it just can't be true that such a global firm ruins their image like this. >> translator: i am disgusted because they should be role models. just imagine, this type of manipulation is hatching at the very top and such hues descent. >> an attorney is taking action on behalf of volkswagen owners. >> the assumption is the owner would be harmed to the entire purchase price. the impact here is just massive. >> german prosecutors plan a criminal investigation and in the u.s. also, vw could face

charges of wire fraud and lying to regula regulators. >> there should be some prosecutions and corporate executives that knew this and ought to be going to jail. >> volkswagen has already paid a heavy price for this, fines looming over it but the biggest cost to the company cannot be measured in dollars or eurozone. that is, the loss of its reputation. rob reynolds, al jazeera, wolvesburg, germany any. >> the funeral of a young woman has sparked protests in hebron. teenager hadil el hashamon on tuesday. girl was moving somewhat from the checkpoint when she was shot

at close range hypothesis israeli army said she tried to stab a soldier. vladimir putin has attended the opening of moscow's central mosque one of the largest in europe. peter sharp records from moscow. >> the moscow cathedral mosque, sun splashed in golden marble. they say it's one of the largest in europe. can hold 10,000 of the faithful as they come to prayers. there are now 2 million muslims in moscow aloaner. leaders from around the world attended the ceremony led by president putin, among them mahmoud abbas and recep tayyip

erdogan. the grand mufti has plans to build a bigger one outside the capital. pledge allegiance to i.s.i.l. are conducting a low level insurgency against the state. the kremlin hopes the mosque will be a symbol of good, and represents russia's own efforts to develop muslim religious education. resonate in the middle east especially in areas where the kremlin is anxious to improve its standing. >> at the moment, putin wants to do something in arab direction, muslim direction it is necessary for him because of situation in the middle east, because of general political situation, global situation. >> appreciation of the cathedral

will be just as important in moscow as it will in the regions abroad where the kremlin is anxious to improve its standing. >> the new mosque is a vehicle that helps russia reposition itself in the middle east as it expands its military footprint in syria. it's a tool for negotiation, it's a sign of good intention, and as mr. putin tries to pretty other countries ipersuade othere east to join his coalition against i.s.i.l. peter sharp, al jazeera, moscow. coup leader from burkina faso says he regretted the people admitting he didn't have the support of the people. nicholas stark reports from

ouagadougo. >> presidential guards are no longer in charge and no longer visible in the capital. life is slowly returning to normal with shops closed for a week, ali is trying to stock up on basic necessities. >> we mope peace is going to last. we have come out to buy things. for us this is a cause ever celebration. >> after being held hostage by the coup leaders for a week, burkina faso interim leader appears. >> ends to all correctly presidential election for a new burkina faso. >> but can he do so with coup leader general dendarse still in charge of the presidential guards. behind closed doors negotiations still continue between the coup leader and the army.

but without michel kafando. general jendari in a statement says that he apologizes again to the nation saying that this coup was a complete waste of time. the end of the coup and the return to relative stability is something all have been waiting for. it is uncertain though how long this will last. ahead are elections where after three cowps and 2 coups and 27 h the same leader, residents will soon be able to choose who they really want. al jazeera, ouagadougo. unions opposing reforms that would make it easier for firms to fire employees. under currents law, workers can only be sacked if they are

accused of embezzlement. a currency crisis, added to her growing unpopularity. daniel schwindler reports. >> after a round of meetings, president rousseff managed to veto, assuring savings of more than $31 billion. some contentious issues were postponed for another day. i have been telling the opposition and the governing coitiocoalition parties, we neee united to solve our mutual problems. >> we don't think society should

pay for the mistakes made by the government. >> to protest here and here and here, outside the minute industries leaning the i'l isle. >> we'll suffer the consequences of what she's trying to do. >> what's happening last night is a political game in which we the workers lose. >> the cops agree often by the very same people who voted the president into office less than a he year ago. the latest moves were disienld to shift blame from a corruption center and ask questions right to the very top and to instill confidence in an economy, at its

lowest level in dates. for now, corruptions are tough ones, limited, guaranteed to alienate large sections of the society, which has very deep roots. daniel schwindler, al jazeera. >> pilgrims will take part in the symbolic tirg of the devil, one of the most important parts of the hajj. now, happy birthday to you. it's one of the world's most famous songs and now it belongs to no one. judge. >> a judge has ruled that warner dhap el nwarnchapman has no owne

song. keep up to all the latest news at aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. >> on "america tonight": keeping the faith even when his love was rejected. >> the problem is that he is a hole owe sexual. letters. >> why is this permitted. >> "america tonight" merritt merritt's lori jane gliha. >> and the pope's words offer comfort. is he asking too much? >> the pope's message is one of