start on the next. malcolm webb, al jazeera, uganda. i want to see that movie. you can find out more about everything we have been talking about on our program on the website. the address is on your screen right now, aljazeera.com. ♪ ♪ investigators confirm malaysian airlines mh-17 was brought down by a missile. police are calling today's attacks in israel the worst yet. and it is debate day for the democrats, what they are saying to voters trying to win them over. ♪

this al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm del walters. the families of the victims of malaysian airplane right 17 finally receiving the long-awieted report into the crash. dutch investigators confirming it was a russian-made missile that brought down the plane in eastern ukraine, all 298 on board died instantly. the boeing 777 was flying from amsterdam to kuala lumpur when it crashed. lisa stark has been following the story since the crash itself. lisa a finding of fact, but not necessarily fault. >> reporter: absolutely. that is still to come, del. there is an ongoing criminal investigation and that may wrap up next we're, that hopes to assign blame who fired the missile. but dutch safety investigators

made it clear that all of the evidence they gathered points to one fact, that in fact it was a russian-made buk missile that took down this plane, a warhead exploding right near the cock t cockpit. >> as a result of the detonation, the forward section of the airplane broke off after which the airplane broke up in the air. the tail section probably crashed before the center section nch the center section which also contained the engines hit the ground upside down and caught fire. >> reporter: now again, they did say that this was fired from eastern ukraine, which of course at the time, and even still is in the middle of a separatists battle from the ukrainian capitol, but they did not assign any blame. the u.s., however, in a statement from the white house did go a step further, ned price said:

and he added that the u.s. is committed to seeking justice for this tragedy. >> and lisa as i indicated, we were on the air a year ago talking about this. you have been on the crash now since day 1. anything that stood out in your mind when you were listening to the report today from the safety board? >> reporter: one thing that was interesting is that the board -- there had been a lot of questions, of course when this plane was shot down, why it was even in that air space. this was a war zone. the board said 160 planes had traversed that area in that very day, and three other planes were in the area when mh-17 was shot down. they said ukraine should have closed this air space and it failed to do so. >> and also that pushback from russia releasing its own

findings into the crash of mh-17, what did we learn about that? >> reporter: right, the missile manufacturing held its own news conference today and released some fairly dramatic video of a test it did of firing a buk missile at what was the cockpit area of an aircraft. they said based on their own testing and assessment that it would not have be that type of missile. the dutch strongly disagree. >> lisa stark for us as we see those images from the russian showing them blowing up the plane. lisa thank you very much. meanwhile the russian arms maker that makes the buk missile that downed the jet liner is contradicting those dutch findings. rory challands is in moscow with more on their pre-emptive strike. >> reporter: what we heard were two arguments from this arms

manufacturer. the first was that the missile that was launched, and they admitted, pretty much that it was a buk, came from an area that was not in control of the rebels in eastern ukraine at the time. now initial reports and various investigations have suggested that the missile was launched from a village in eastern ukraine. now they say that is not the case. it was launched from a different village that was outside of the control of the rebels. the other claim that they made in this press conference earlier today, the type of missile that was used, the type of buk missile was a version that is old, and because it is old, it is no longer in commission in the russian military. so by implication what essentially they were saying is that the rebels in the east of ukraine were not to blame, and the russian military was not to

blame for supplying the rebels with something that apparently they didn't have. >> that is rory challands for us in moscow. 43 of the 298 people on board that flight were from malaysia. officials there say they want to prosecute, the quote, trigger-happy criminals who shot down the jet. our correspondent is in call koala pore. >> reporter: some families stayed back leer in the country, including one of the wives of one of the cockpit crew who said the report wasn't going to bring her husband back or bring those that perpetrated the crime to justice. the transport ministry also said they were going to continue their work with investigators in ukraine and the northerlands, and would continue with the government to pursue a under-backed international

tribunal that would bring those behind and responsible for bringing down mh-17 to justice. their intentions to do that through the security council earlier in 2015 failed, but they are not going to give up, and the prime minister spoke to his dutch and australian counterparts on tuesday. to hear their views about how they should move the investigation and potential tribunal forward. malaysia airlines has been through the mill. it lost a few months earlier in 2014 mh 370, a flight headed to beijing. it had had shred nearly a third of its work force and we'll see a rebranding of the airline. whether that changes perceptions for the nation traveler has yet to be seen, but for the most with those two flights uppermost in people's minds and the

consequence of what happened to those passengers foremost in people's minds, it seems hard to see how they can come back from this. jerusalem's mayor demanding the israeli government put palestinian neighborhoods on lockdown after the latest attacks there. three israelis were killed today. the worst of the attacks happening in occupied east jerusalem, where police say two palestinians boarded a bus and started shooting the passengers. the funeral for one of the israeli men who died is underway. andrew simmons has this report. >> reporter: this a bedrock of the palestinian-israelis. it is a town that symbolizes political resistance over the if years of palestinian descent and frustration at israeli rule. what has been happening here is

a very large rally. i'll just give you an idea of the extent of it. probably 2 to 3,000, at least, and they have been listening to a number of speakers, amongst them members of the joint list, that's a combination of parties, palestinian-arab parties in the israeli charl. 13 members, the highest in a long time, represented the third biggest block in parliament. now this is important because it is really a litmus test of political barometer if you will, on all that is happening right now. we have a situation that is virtually out of control. netenyahu said he is taking new measures to confront the situation. i put to a number of members of the parliament from here from the joint list, what their standing on it was. they said peaceful resistance

was the best way, but they refused to condemn the sort of attacks that have been going on right across israel, particularly in occupied east jerusalem and west of the city as well. what we're seeing here, really, is a rousing call, but peaceful at this stage. the strike that was called in this region, the northern region is, they say, 95% support. we went through the city earlier and saw every single shop was shut. but of course the palestinian authority, a strike wasn't called there. that is going on as normal in ramallah and also in occupied east jerusalem it would seem. but the situation is one of resistance and fear, but right now the security forces are not coming anywhere near this demonstration. if they did it might be a different story. >> that is andrew simmons

joining us from northern israel. the taliban saying it has now pulled out of the afghan city of kunduz after weeks of intense fighting there. a spokesperson saying it is withdrawing to protect civilians. the strategic city fell briefly to the group last month. at least 60 civilians were killed. hundreds were injured in the fighting that follows. turkey warning russia saying they will not tolerate kurdish territorial gains close to its border with syria. they say advances would fuel separatists am beneficiaries among kurds. the democrats are taking center stage in las vegas this evening. it will be their first debate of the primary season, and as david shuster reports the stakes are huge. >> reporter: coming in to tonight's democrat ick debt bait, some analysts say the

pressure may be the greatest on hillary clinton. polls suggest clinton has fallen behind vermont senator bernie sanders. >> wow! >> reporter: and now nationally at least one poll indicates a majority of democrats view clinton as dishonest. she has begun to say she was wrong to use a private email system as secretary of state, though she has always been lashing out as congressional republicans. >> this committee was set up as they have admitted for the purpose of making a partisan political issue out of the deaths of four americans. i would have never done that. >> reporter: democratic strategists say clinton needs to continue to fire up her party about republicans, while reminding voters of her government experience. bernie sanders has captivated the left ring thanks to his loud blasts and wealth and inequality.

>> the greed of wall street and the greed of corporate america is destroying the great middle class of this country. >> reporter: the challenge for sander according to strategists is to make in roads with democratic moderates. many consider his left-wing policies too extreme and don't see him as very presidential. former maryland governor, martin o'malley is also to the left of hillary clinton, and when it comes to being presidential and hitting the political establishment, strategists consider o'malley straight out of central casting. >> the presidency is not some crown to be passed between two families. it is an awesome and sacred trust. >> reporter: o'malley has barely registered in the polls, but if sanders stumbles, o'malley could benefit the most. and jim webb is also looking to

kick start his campaign. but he is not known for his public speaking. >> i enjoy challenges, and certainly we have many facing america. >> reporter: as it stands analysts say to keep an eye on clinton and sanders and watch to see if o'malley can somehow break through. david shuster, al jazeera. and a programming note for you, we invite you to tune in for our special coverage of that democratic debate. at 11:00 pm eastern time, a wrap up on the facts. a classified report on torture revealing alleged abuses against suspects. now the aclu is suing two of the people believed to be responsible. crews in california continue to fight wildfires and they may be getting help from an unlikely source.

the aclu is suing two sick gists accused of designing the cia's enhanced interrogation program. it is said the men were paid at least $80 million for their work. the lawsuit is being brought on behalf of this man and two others. >> every day is punishment. every day was a problem for me. better to die. >> reporter: the aclu says they were subjected to what the cia called enhanced interrogation techniques and what the aclu and

senate investigators say is torture. the lawsuit names two psychologists, james mitchell and john bruce, they are described as the architects of the program. mitchell spoke to al jazeera america last fall when reports first surfaced saying he had been involved. he did not confirm or deny any role in the interrogations but said, quote: he later admitted to wise news that he was part of the program, but would not comment about his role. but he did say this when asked whether water border was torture. >> i think you can do it in way that constitutes torture, and you can do it in a way that

constitutes training. >> reporter: the lawsuit says they were subjected to extreme methods, like starvation and sleep deprivation, and this man says he still suffers from the effects of what he went through. >> enough to make you crazy. >> reporter: he was never charged or accused of any crime. five years later he was released the military acknowledged in a later that he poses no threat to the united states. and on this subject earlier i talked to steven watt, a senior attorney with the aclu's human rights program. i asked him about the lawsuit and if he thinks those two psychologists will be punished for creating the program? >> they were independent contractors to the cia. so they weren't -- they worked with the cia. they conspired with the cia, but they were independent contractors. >> so you think the agency is

just going to hang them out to dry? >> what the government has done in past lawsuits that we have been involved in is assert what is called the state secrets privilege, and they basically said that any litigation of this case -- torture cases is harmful to u.s. national security interests, and will reveal means and methods of intelligence gathering, harm u.s. relations with foreign powers. there was a 6,000 page report that sets out the basis of our claims. it sets out who designed the torture program, and that our clients were tortured, it actually names them. so for the government in this case to step in and assert state secrets privilege, that would be absurd. the senate report has got extensive details of their involvement in designing the program and implementing it, and

experimenting on 119 individuals. that's -- you know, it's unprecedented, that's a land mark report about the cia and the cia's involvement with mitchell and jason. >> before that program was terminated back in 2009 the company formed by the psychologistser receivered more than $180 million from the cia. flint, michigan is moving forward with its plans to change their source of drinking water. it's all part of a $12 million proposal to stop using the flint river as the city's drinking water source. last week it declared a public health emergency after it found rising levels of lead in the water supply. wildfires are spreading across the rockies today. forcing the evacuation of dozens

of people living in the area. california says it needs help battling its historic wildfires, so it's turning to prison inmates. >> reporter: inmates have been helping to fight wildfires in california since 1946. it is the oldest such program in the nation. >> the priority has always been the safety of the public, the safety of our own employees as well as being able to respond to national disasters, and the work that these inmates do on a daily basis. >> reporter: but now prison officials are proposing to allow inmates convicted of violent programs into the program. >> maybe we can include them because of their good behavior over the last ten years or so in prison. >> reporter: a shrinking prison population has contributed to

the lowering number of inmate firefighters. >> we have had a record year this year, that only eclipsed the record of wildfires that we had last year. so if that's the trend for the future, we want to make sure that we have enough inmates available to fight those fires. >> reporter: arsonists, six offenders, gang members, and those serving life sentences for murder would still be excluded from the program. but some are worried. >> my concern is the safety of our fire captains with one person managing such a large group of inmates without any additional help. >> reporter: some residents are concerned so. >> that just worries me greatly. i have two young kids and i don't know what the crimes have been, and what they -- what they are convicted of, and what they are capable of doing. >> reporter: and while only non-violent of ferns have been allowed in the program so far, there have been criminal

incidents over the past ten years. most of which involved assaults. yet some residents would welcome any help against the raging fires. >> i suppose in a moment of crisis, i probably wouldn't be checking somebody's credentials and i would just be thankful they are protecting our property and homes. apple news has been blocked in china. and some users is apple giving in to chinese censorship.

♪ the world's two largest beer makers could soon be getting bigger. agreeing in principle to a major deal. $104 billion to be exact. that wo would bring together the toep u.s. brands, bud and miller. if approved they would control about a third of the world's beer. anheuser-busch already drawing attention from the justice department for reportedly trying to crush smaller competitors. there are now questions that apple is blocking an app for chinese consumers. >> reporter: news isn't supported in your current region. these screen shots were captured

by an american entrepreneur who travelled to china. >> apple seems to have put code into the app that detects when the phone connects to mainland china phone network, and then it disables the app on your device as opposed to it being blocked by some third-party. >> reporter: other users report the same problem. one user writes: that sort of scared me, because if you think about the implications of that, you realize that a company could put any sort of code on your device and you wouldn't have any say in it. >> reporter: sales in china topped $13 billion in the third quarter. five years ago google pulled out of china in part over censorship disputes. the company is now reportedly in talks with china over a new app

store with apps approved by the chinese government. a warning today from scientists on the effects of climate change. the an arctic ice shelves could collapse in just 85 years from now. it would mean a dramatic rise in sea water. it blames greenhouse gas emissions for the problem. and the hubble telescope is taking pictures of a destroyed star. it lies about 200 light years away from earth. it formed 8,000 years ago after the star died in an explosion. thanks for joining us. i'm del walters. the news continues live from london next. and check us out tonight for our special coverage of the democratic debate. a wrap-up focusing on the facts,

who got it right, who got it wrong, what the voters are saying. says he will use all means available to end the spiraling violence. hello there, you are watching al jazeera live from london. russia's space arms maker rejects the finders oof a dutch are effort that a missile brought down m h. 17 in ukraine. a warning that the war in yemen has tripled the the number of children at risk of starvation. plus. the uganda film director