jeffery. there you see him in gan -- gandhi. he had a brain hemorrhage in london and passed away at the age of 86, greatly mourned. aljazeera.com for more on all of the world's headlines. aljazeera.com. ♪ russian president vladimir putin vowing to find and punish those responsible after his government now confirms it was a bomb that brought down a russian passenger jet over egypt. a manhunt in france, looking for two suspects connected to friday's attacks. and concerns over refugees. the top republican in the house now joining 26 governors saying no to syrian migrants in the u.s. ♪

this is al jazeera america live in new york city. i'm del walters. russia is on the offensive today, bombing isil targets inside syria. the russian military launching cruise missiles and bomber strikes at raqqa. those attacks happening after russian officials confirmed it was a bomb that brought down that passenger jet over egypt. >> translator: we will not wipe away the tears. this will stay with us forever. but will not stop us from finding and punishing those responsible. al jazeera's rory challands has more from moscow.

>> reporter: in a televised address on tuesday, we heard very strong language from vladimir putin, words like retribution, punishment, and destruction, and then later in the day, we saw that essentially being put into practice. vladimir putin visited a new shiny command center, defense ministry war room, essentially where he was given the latest information and update on what had been going on over the last few hours in syria, the strikes that had been ordered by the russian president and carried out. the strikes we have been told, about 34 cruise missiles at least being launched, a large long-range strategic bombers doing some of that work, also some of these cruise missiles coming from naval else haves. it has been reported that a

submarine was involved in one of these attacks in raqqa. we understand that 140 particular targets were hit. most of those were isil, we're being informed, but some of course as russia has been doing for the last few weeks or so, were hitting against other groups, groups that the united states at least considers more moderate. egypt not yet responding to russia's conclusion that it was a bomb that brought down the plane. jamie mcintyre live today at the pentagon and what has been the reaction in washington to this news that russia is confirming that it was a bomb that took down their plane last month? >> reporter: this isn't been an official reaction, but i can tell you from the officials i have talked to, that there's no surprise here. this was the operating theory all along, and the united states was being very cautious because it didn't have access to the forensic evidence that the russians did.

one official said it's a duck. this attack had all of the earmarks of a bomb on board the plane. now of course there will still be some debate about which faction of isil might have been responsible, but it doesn't really change the overall conclusion that this was an act of terrorism. >> how are these air strikes that russia is carrying out different than what moscow has been doing inside syria now for a month? >> reporter: the pentagon has been plain -- complaining that most of the strikes have been against the groups fighting bashar al-assad. the pentagon people this morning said it looks like most of these air strikes in raqqa were against isil targets. you may remember a couple of missiles went astray. and they said it looks like all of them hit their intended targets this time. the u.s. says that is a good

thing, but they still see coordinating can russia is going to be difficult, because they believe that russia has a completely different motive and agenda. >> and there are reports that russian officials gai the u.s. notice ahead of the strikes today, is this a sign we could be seeing closer cooperation? >> reporter: yeah, they did give notice to the u.s. combined air operations campaign headquarters, which is in qatar, that's where the air operations are run out of. so the u.s. knew who was happening. but the pentagon made a point of saying these were not coordinated, they were simply informed of them. so i'm not sure it's a sign that you will see increased cooperation. french president hollande said he would like to see more

cooperation with the u.s., he would like to meet with president putin and president obama to see if he can facilitate that. >> jamie thank you very much. the white house saying that french president hollande will visit washington, d.c. next week. >> we have to step up our efforts to hit them at the core, where they are planning these things. and also, obviously to do more on borders and in terms of the movement of people. but the level of cooperation could not be higher. we have agreed even to exchange more information and i'm convinced that over the course of the next weeks, daesh will feel even greater pressure. they are feeling it today, they felt it yesterday, they felt it in the past weeks. we also heard from the

british prime minister today david cameron suggesting his country taking steps to join the u.s. and france in those air strikes over syria. and france is deploying more than 100,000 police and soldiers across the country as belgium is raising its security threat level to severe. in that manhunt continuing for two key suspects in this case. a car was found today that may have been used in the attacks. and germany arresting several people today in connection with the plot as well. adam raney has been following the events for us live in paris. what is the latest adam in terms of all of the security developments? >> reporter: the latest thing we have been seeing in france is the brother of this fugitive, his brother mohammed has been speaking on french television, calling on his brother to turn himself in. he says he never saw him as a

radical. he never would have imagined that his brother would have done this. in fact he had two brothers that are allegedly involved in one of these attacks. one of them died when he detonated a suicide bomb vest. we are seeing him gave statements just as apartmented allegedly rented by his brothers have been found by investigators. they are combing those apartments looking for clues and another car that was ditched before he allegedly arrived over the border of belgium has been found here. so there is a lot going on in this search. also there is a second fugitive suspect that french officials are looking for. a new suspect. we don't have a name on that person yet, but that has just been reported. >> how are people you are

talking to there reacting to this promise to step up security? >> reporter: well, overall people are trying to show they want to get back to their life, but they are on edge. also businesses are concerned, specifically restaurants, theaters, in just a couple of hours a campaign is going to kick off here asking earn to go to the local bistro. we'll be speaking to restaurant owners and seeing if they fill the seats that have been perhaps not as full as they were since this attack on friday, because these attacks many took place in restaurants where people were enjoying an evening out in paris, and we have seen some of these bistros, some not, some people enjoying that time, but clearly there is concern as there was in the u.s. after the 9/11 attacks, that this isn't just going to be an attack that

impacts people's lives with the violence, but also could impact the economy here. so they are calling on people to get out and show support for these local businesses. >> adam thank you very much. glen carl saying that the issue in dealing with attacks like the ones in paris isn't identifying the suspects but balancing privacy and security. >> the challenge always is we know someone might be harboring possibly dangerous ideas, but until somebody acts, it's illegal to detain one of those cases. president hollande is trying to address that in france now, but that raises the issue that america and all free societies have to wrestle with, which is the balance between civil liberties and the need for security. >> and carl saying he and other intelligence officials should be most concern about isil's shift from establishing and holding

territory to launching these global attacks that we see now. president obama is in the philippines for the a-pac meeting. arriving in manila overnight. it's at a time of stepped up tensions with china over disputed territories in the south china sea. >> the united states has been committed to the security of this region for more than 70 years. we have a treaty obligation to the defense of our ally, the philippines. you can count on the united states. >> reporter: president obama plans to meet with the leaders of the 12-member trans-pacific partnership group. dangerous weather hitting the northern plains and rockies today. there are blizzard warnings in effect. a bit further to the south, tornados leaving behind trails of destruction. more protests expected in

minneapolis today. more than 50 demonstrators were arrested last night following this. they shut down the intersection for more than two hours. they say they are angry over the shooting of jamar clark by police. the mayor and police chief calling for a federal investigation now. stopping syrian refugees before they reach the u.s. another top republican joins the ranks of governorings trying to keep them out of the country. and balancing your privacy and your security. ♪ ♪

a moment of silence and prayer on the floor of the

senate. the senate passing a resolution on monday condemning friday's attacks, pledging to stand in solidarity with the people of france. paul ryan this morning introducing legislation to strengthen the fight against isil. he called the attacks an act of war. he says he is worried that isil members could soon sneak into the country pretending to be refugees. >> our nation has always been welcoming, but we cannot letter riss take advantage of our cam passion. this is a moment where it's better to be safe than sorry. >> his bill he says would force the obama administration to come up with a stronger stance against isil. governors in at least 26 states are saying no to syrian refugees.

as al jazeera's bisi onile-ere reports, michigan was one of the first to express its objections. >> we're going to suspend things until we have a chance to talk to the department of homeland security. >> rick sneijder is suspending the state's efforts to take in more syrian refugees. the concern, refugees could pose a threat to u.s. security. >> most people are not terrorists, and we need to be thoughtful about helping people around the world. this is just to be prudent to make sure that some terrorist element is not entering our country. >> reporter: not long after his announce l, several other republican governors followed suit, the move is an about face for the governor who just two months ago welcomed the refugees. >> we have also been a diverse state. and it's just not closing doors. it sends a really strong message

that puts blame on innocent people. >> reporter: this former state representative is with take on hate. as governor of the state with one of the largest middle eastern populations in the u.s., she says he missed the mark. >> governor snyder could have took the lead of how we can do it right through partners through syrian americans that are currently here. that can keep us safe. instead we took a complete extreme position that is i think is un-american. >> reporter: so far it's estimated that more than 4 million syrians have left the country since the crisis began. 1600 have come into the u.s. the obama administration says the pledge to take in more syrian refugees in the next year, still stands. the state department is looking into whether states can block refugees on their own. >> it's incumbent on us moving

forward as we strive to reach this target of at least 10,000 for 2016, to work with state and local governments to address their concerns about a resettlement program. >> reporter: syrian american who has family in syria says he is concerned for those two may not find a way out. >> we never give up. we're going to lobby the governor, the administrators of michigan and the united states to bring more refugees. governor snyder has asked the u.s. department of homeland security for a full review of its procedures and clearances. in the meantime, he says about 20 syrian refugees now headed for michigan will not be turned away. bisi onile-ere, al jazeera, detroit. and most of the critics of

america's refugees program, republicans. but immigration advocates say the vetting process is strong enough. >> the fact of the matter is we really have really robust security clearances. and folks in the refugee resettlement world know this, so it's kind of surprising that this process would be attacked. the american resettlement l process is different than the european process. we don't have syrian refugees showing up at our land borders. they are specifically brought here by the united states through, you know, heavy security clearance checks through the department of homeland security, through the state department, with the fbi, and it takes over two years or even more for folks to actually arrive here, and there's multiple security clearances. it's not easy, and actually the resettlement process would be

the most unlikely point for a terrorist to enter the united states. >> the u.s. has only accepted about 1500 syrian refugees since the war began in 2011. one of the key questions following the paris attacks is how were the attackers able to coordinate without being spotted? they may have strong encryption technology. and jake ward explains what that is. >> reporter: if someone wanted a secure application to communicate plans for an attack, they would have no end of options. what's app would be a logical first choice. the app may have been used by the paris attackers. in the aftermath of the bangkok bombings in august, it was discovered that the cull tripts used what's app to communicate. it's not because it's the preferred means of communication for bad guys, it's the preferred

communication for billions of people. the world uses what's app to send 30 billion messages a day. in its early days what's app had a somewhat weak security reputation, so after the company was acquired by facebook in november 2014, it implemented a new form of encryption. when i send a message on what's app, my phone does the encrypting, and the phone on the other end does the decrypting. it doesn't involve a central server, as a result, it does not have access to my message. that also mean there is no back door or master key that it can offer to the intelligence community. it is that kind of encryption

that has members of the intelligence community complaining that it makes their jobs more difficult if not impossible. the cia director described it this way. >> intentional gaps that have been created and the ability of security services to protect the people that they are asked to serve. >> reporter: david cameron even called for banning encrypted messaging apps in britain. a move struck down by the high court in england. it's important to remember while we have discovered again and again that people use these apps to plot violence, it's always in retrospect that we find that out. efforts are incredibly difficult to monitor? >> it's really difficult to pick a signal that small out of a huge haystack like that. and even if they could, there is

nothing that would prevent terrorists from starting to use their own code words. a russian effort to warn the united states about tamerlan tsarnaev that should have stopped him at jfk airport was missed because his name was misspelled in a database. so the problem doesn't seem to be a matter of gathering information, it's a matter of what to do with it? and still ahead, finding distraction through soccer. the french national team getting ready to play england. the first time they take to the field since the attacks in paris. and these are the images coming to us live from france. the memorials continue to grow as does the outrage and the response. ♪

there's been another major set back for those daily fantasy sports sites. a new judge turning aside their request to keep operating, after the state attorney in new york ruled that the two main sites are gambling. the judge makes a final decision

next week. and just a few hours the french national team taking to the soccer field in england. they are playing a friendly game against the british. and as john henry smith reports, security will be tight and hearts heavy. >> reporter: inside wembley stadium, the 23 members of france's national soccer team went through their normal preparations for a game that will be anything but normal. >> there will be a lot of emotion from us, from the players. >> reporter: the french national team was on the pitch friday night when the attacks began in paris. this time there will be beefed up security inside and outside the stadium, with armed officers on alert. fans are being asked to arrive early to go through the security checks. similar steps have been imposed at sporting events around the

world. as for the match at wimbley, france's coach said he gave each player a chance to skip the game, none has. one man's sister escaped the attack at the concert hall where dozens were killed. and this man's cousin was one of the 129 people who died in paris friday night. >> the last three days were a bit dramatic, and i think we were in mourning all together. >> reporter: and the british fans will join in that mourning, singing along to the french national anthem, displayed onning giant video screens so that all can sing along. >> it will be an opportunity for us to -- to show character and through that game, and -- and we will share this moment with all of the english people.

>> reporter: john henry smith, al jazeera. two icons of baseball set to receive the nation's highest civilian honor, yogi berra and willie mays will be awarded the presidential medal of freedom. also for the first time ever, the oxford word of the year, not a word, it's an mow ji. the runners up are dark web, that untraceable part of the net that can only be found by special software, and on fleet, and lumbersexual, a young man

who dresses in lumber jax style. these images coming to you live from paris where they still continue to heal. russia says it's military will work with the french if asked in the wake of the paris attacks. vladimir putin seeks what he calls retribution against those who bombed a russian passenger jet over egypt. ♪ hello, i'm david foster. you are watching al jazeera live from london. also in this program, back home again, yemen's president returns to his country from exile for a second time. we will meet the firefighter who has undergone the world's most