have a great day. june the next generation is watching. world leaders are urged to agree a meaningful deal at the u.n. climate conference in paris. hello, welcome, you're watching al jazeera live from doha. also coming up: turkey's prime minister remains defiant about shooting down a russian plane. a message of reconciliation in a conflict zone. pope francis breaches peace in

the central african republic. >> plus, it's off limit to say journalists, but al jazeera finds out what life is like at a prison for refugees turned away by australia. welcome to the program, our top story, the p president called for a meaningful deal at the u.n. climate conference in paris. barack obama said the next generation is watching. negotiators at the conference in paris will try and forge a deal to limit global warming in order to prevent potentially disastrous climate change. nearly 150 heads of state and government were attending this opening day of talks. in total, 25,000 official delegates hope to secure a legally binding accord for every country to cut carbon emissions.

this needs to come into effect for the year 2020 when current commitments from the kyodo protocol run out. nick is covering the conference live. over to you. >> welcome to the conference center here north of paris. we're finally up and running, at long last after all the expectations and anticipation. let's see how the next few weeks develop in the search for this elusive climate change deal. as you say, the world leaders have arrived. they've been talking all morning, delivering their rallying statements to the other leaders. it's been interesting to see what they have to see. first up was president barack obama. let's listen in. >> i've come here personally as the leader of the world's largest economy and the second largest emitter to say that the united states of america not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we

embrace our responsibility to do something about it. >> that's president barack obama, very pleased to say right now we have the white house press secretary josh earnest who joins us here on al jazeera. welcome. >> good to see you. >> the president there addressing the other world leaders, how confident is he of this conference being successful? >> well, what we have seen is we have seen countries around the world take the steps that they have previously beenun willing to take. we've seen significant commitments from more than 180 countries which gives us optimism that there is built up momentum behind finally coming to the kind of agreement that will cut carbon pollution and cut climate change. we have to make sure countries are transparent to doing that. that is a key to us getting an agreement in the end. there's no question that we have

come farther than before. >>. i think the united states is going to drive a hard bearingen encouraging people to be ambitious, insisting that we set up a mechanism for being able to verify the people looking up to them. i think it's important to come out of this is an acknowledgment that we are not going to solve this problem based on one meeting, but we can take an important step. we should build into that agreement a schedule for reevaluating this commitment every five years or oh so. i think we'll find as we build momentum in terms of implementing these kinds of commitments, that we've made more progress than before and thanks to technological innovation, it will actually become clear that five years from now, there is even more we can do. >> there is a paris agreement, josh, the problem is that if it's lylely binding, it won't get accepted in the united states. >> we want to make sure when people are making commitments, the international committee can

verify they are followed through on. >> what does that mean? >> they are transparent about what steps they're taking and transparent about basically publishing data to indicate however they have come. we need to be candid about that, that's certainly something we have done in the united states and we need other countries following through. >> how will it be pleased in the united states if it wouldn't be ratified by congress. >> what we would essentially be doing is making commitment that is we would make public and also in public, being clear about what progress is being made. we would want other countries to do that. >> really, the president has come to the end of his term. that could be a republican president next time around to say i don't like this, i'll throw it out and that's the end of the legacy. >> that is not something the american people would support. we have seen a growing recognition on the part of the american people that it's important for the united states to use our influence around the

world, our influence as the greatest leader in the world. four years, skeptics of climate change policy suggesting that it would be foolish for the united states to begin to impose things that -- steps that would cut carbon pollution, because they essentially wouldn't have the desire to impact if the rest of the world isn't willing to go along with it. we are seeing the rest of the world is willing to make these kinds of commitments. that creates customers all around the globe for renewable energy, whether solar or wind energy, energy officials. right now, those companies that are investing in that type of technology or innovation has countries around the world they can sell to. there is tremendous economic opportunity and the next penalty is not going to want to flush that down the drain. >> josh earnest, thank you. back to you in the studio. >> just before you go, one quick

thought, how have they managed to turn this around. 2009 was that in denmark a little bit messy. now everyone seems to want pretty much the same stuff. >> well, copenhagen was such a disaster, they had to move on from there, but certain things were put in place that gave people the initiative to start the slow process of trying to reconcile the differences and that is this idea of countries coming up with their observe emissions contributions, what they're prepared to do to reduce emissions. as we've seen, all those contributions add up to three degrees c., which is still too much. that's what they are working on to resolve. that was the starting point. since then, there's been a little bit of progress where you reach this point where people think we might be on the brink of getting a deal that doesn't actually achieve the two degrees target, but puts us at the beginning of the road to get us there some point down the line. >> nick, thank you very much.

>> let's wrap up some of the top stories for you today. turkey's prime minister has refused to apologize for the shooting down of the russian jet on tuesday. he did expression regret and he welcomed the idea of dialogue. he spoke after a meeting with the nato secretary general in brussels. >> does this unfortunate incident clearly does not rest with turkey by any means. we have no intention whatsoever to escalate the situation. we are ready to talk at every level in order to prevent further similar cases on turkish border-syrian border, not the border of any other country. >> our correspondent with more out of istanbul. >> turkey may be sucking its willing to talk, but the kremlin

at the moment doesn't seem interested. it has rejected calls for a talk between talks between vladimir putin and turkish president erdogan on the sidelines of the summit in paris. russia said there will be no talks until turkey apologizes for downing that russian jet with that with the turkish prime minister said we are not going to apologize for doing our job and seemed to have the backing of the nato secretary general in saying that, as well. the sanctions russia is threatening will start to bite in january. 90,000 turkish workers in russia, their work permits aren't going to be renewed. at the end of the year, they'll of to come back. agricultural products will not be transported from turkey to russia. these free arrangements will end for turks wanting to go to russia and the expected holiday period that starts at the end of december when russians start booking their holidays, it's likely that that is going to be

severely impact. there will be no more packaged tours. they took a hilt with the falling value of the ruble, but now looks like russians are not going to be able to holiday unless some sort of accommodation is reached between turkey and russia before the end of the year. >> more than 44 people have been buried in the syrian town targeted in an air strike on sunday. activists accused russia of carrying out the attack. a warning you may find some of the images in the report disturbing. >> one after the other, they kept coming. people in the town had to bury multiple bodies in one grave after dozens were killed in an air strike on sunday. they had to use an excavator to dig a hole big enough to bury all the bodies. >> we could not count all the dead bodies after some were torn to shreds, we put every three or four bodies in one bag.

>> the make that market was packed with shoppers when it was bombed repeatedly. people blame russia for the attacks. >> it is the largest market in the city. the russian air strike left about 44 killed, more than 70 injured. people here are bread winners and want to make a living. it was a large gathering of people from the countryside as they came here for shopping. >> idlib province wasn't the only one hit. this father is looking for his daughter, he said was studying in the house. while an activist was filming, another air strike. [ explosion ] >> it's not clear how many first responders or civilians were killed or injured in the second attack. the syrian opposition has accused russia of carrying out attacks in rebel held areas to support bashar al assad. the government said it's targeting isil, but civilians are also being killed.

these picture are from isil controlled area. activists say more strikes and barrel bombs have hit the countryside in damascus, and aleppo. back in idlib, syrians have bum used to picking themselves up after attacks. many born after the conflict are still too young to understand why grownups can't stop fighting. >> al jazeera. >> two israeli men have been convicted of killing a palestinian teenager last year. 16-year-old muhammed was kidnapped in occupied east jerusalem and burnt alive. a third suspect, the and would ringleader has yet to be convicted. here is stephanie decker. joanne insanity plea at the last hour. this man is accused of masterminding the murder of a palestinian teenager. the two minors accused alongside him were found guilty of murder,

but the judge needs to assess ben david's state of mind at the time. >> we are surprised at the this last minute insanity plea. the suspect's lawyers said it's manipulation. he can't get away with this crime which he reenacted in detail for the police. we don't believe he's insane. the crime was well planned june this is surveillance footage from the moment of the kidnapping in july of last year. the three israelis took him from his neighborhood in occupied east jerusalem. they beat him and burned him alive in a forest. after their arrest, they told israeli security services they did it in retaliation for the murder of three teenage israeli settlers in the occupied west bank a month before. the murder ignited the palestinian street with violent confrontations on a daily basis. it was the spiral of violence that men believed sparked israel's war in gaza last summer. outside the court, security was tight. >> it's taken a year and a half

for this partial verdict to be reached. questions remain will the ringleader be found guilty and how will he be sentenced. >> palestinians have little trust in the system. the final verdict will be announced in three weeks and the sentencing for the minors will follow in january. whatever decision is reached, it could have a direct impact on that an already tense situation on the ground. stephanie decker, al jazeera in occupied east jerusalem. >> now, pope francis has wrapped up his three nation five day african tour. he spent his last day in a divided neighborhood in the central african republic. here's gerald tan. >> under intense security, pope francis vent u.s in a volatile area to meet leaders.

the neighborhood is surrounded by armed christian groups. speaking inside a mosque, pope francis repeated calls for both communities to unite. we say no to hatred. >> many say the pope's visit is important. years of division in central african republic have divided communities along religious lines. the violence has forced nearly a million people from their homes. >> god willing, if central africans listen to what the pope says, for he is a servant of god, if we listen to that, peace will return. >> the tour that taken pope francis to kenya and uganda. he is here despite security warnings from the french to underscore the need for national reconciliation.

>> to all those who make unjust use of weapons of the world, arm yourselves instead with righteousness. >> never before has the head of the roman catholic church visited an active conflict doan. some reward it as a chance for hope during troubled times. al jazeera. >> you're watching al jazeera. still to come. puerto ricans changing the face of politics in the united states as they escape economic woes back home. >> going for gold, we'll meet people in india who are skeptical about government plans to tap into their precious investment. sure, tv has evolved over the years.

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>> 147 word leaders are taking part in negotiations aiming to limit global warm to go two degrees celsius. >> turkey's prime minister has again refused to apologize for the shooting down of the russian jet last week. he made the comments after meeting with the nato secretary general. >> 16-year-old muhammed was kidnapped and then burnt alive. a man has been convicted of his

death. >> a car bomb killed 13 iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint. >> votes have been counted in burkina faso's elections. hundreds of thousands cast their ballot. the president was ousted last year after 27 years in power. initial results are expected in the next few hours. >> a judge in new guinea will decide if a prison set up for refugees in legal. the jail was created to hold people trying to seek asylum in australia, however, human rights groups have criticized the way to detainees are treated. andrew tomas now reports from the island. >> journalists and cameras are banned, but by boat, you can get close to the regional processing center, or what is more accurately a prison for nearly a thousand men is right on the coast. the refugees locked inside want to talk. some have bribed guards for

phones. >> what do you hope is going to happen? >> i have learned that hope, this word is deleted in my category. i have seen people religious before, now are atheists. if there were a god, he would have served us by now. we are human. we are not animals. >> the prison was established as a deterrent, along with another for families in another pacific island country. australia's government said people taking boats seeking asylum would be turned around at sea or deported to countries with no prospect of ever living in australia. the policy worked. the boats of refugees have almost entirely stopped coming to australia but the less is that people are still lobbed up in there more than two years after arriving on australian soil. >> we did manage to drive past security guards and through the facility. those we've talked to say

conditions inside are terrible. in the past, prisoners have sewn their lips together in protest. last year during unrest inside, outsiders broke in and beat one man to death. genuine refugees have been reds. they live in a transit center. it's still guarded, but they can leave and walk to the local town. so far, only one man has left mannis island. he said he fled after uncovering corruption. an australia friend bought him a plane ticket to papua, new guinea. he's about a start a low paying job. >> i'm happy that i could leave there to here, but i'm getting happiness when i'm getting out from terrible situation to bad situation. at the moment, i'm in bad situation. >> papua, new guinea is too poor with too much crime. other refugees on the island hope a legal case will go their

way if the imprisonment and transfer is declared unconstitutional. >> we seek the release of all refugees back to australia. we ask for the australia that government to compensate them. >> new guinea says the policy has been a success, but those locked up don't see it in quite the same way. al jazeera, new guinea. >> the number of people leaving puerto rico for the u.s. mainland has reached the highest level that it's been at for 40 years. puerto rico has a population of 3.5 million people, but national debt stands at $72 billion. that's more than $20,000 of debt per person. on top of that, puerto rico has more than $44 billion of unfunded pension liabilities. that weak economy has led to high unemployment, as well as

poverty. december 1, puerto rico is due to make a debt repayment of $354 million, but many analysts say that is likely to be missed. the government has been in talks with its creditor to say restructure the debt, but so far, they've ended without agreement. >> most people leaving puerto rico resettle in florida. the in flux could change the political landscape there. >> for years, kiss same my has been referred to as little puerto rico. the bakery has long been it's most popular taste of home. there's nothing small about this puerto rican community. central florida is home to around 400,000 migrants from the island and growing at a pace not seen in decades. carol poe and her family arrived just weeks ago, driven from puerto rico by a deepening financial crisis. >> the situation over there is hard, and here you have more opportunities.

i came here july 3 and the fourth had an interview, started working the seventh. now it's better. >> one of the first things carol did when she moved was register to vote. puerto ricans are u.s. citizens by birth. with an estimated thousand families arriving each month, that's significant. >> it's the highest concentration of puerto ricans in the i-4 corridor. >> both political parties are keenly aware of the growing voice this community has, and voters are asking some searching questions. >> a lot of them are paying very close attention to where the candidates stand on helping puerto rico in order to support that candidate. >> this part of central florida has always been considered pivotal in any general election, but this latest wave of migration could make it more important.

when puerto ricans do so, it could be in high numbers. most have no political affiliation, making their votes more vital. >> that is something local republican party representatives are acutely aware of. with so many independent voters up for grabs, there is a unique opportunity. >> that can be a blueprint for future elections. if the election is close in florida on the line, what we do here in osceola county could decide who we have as the next president. >> florida is now poised to become the state with the largest number of puerto ricans in the u.s. it is thought the exodus will continue for sometime to come. with a growing number of new arrivals comes growing political influence, something that may help those left behind. al jazeera, kissimmee, florida. >> turning our attention to india, where the government is trying to convert massive amounts of gold held privately intel pells and people's homes into hard cash, it began issuing gold backed bonds today, but the

people of india don't seem to be buying that idea. we have the story. >> gold is big business in india. it's used in daily life, and on special occasions as security and a sign of prosperity. now, the government wants some of that wealth to be put into the financial system. it has created several new mechanisms, such as depositing gold in exchange for interest. people here will need persuading to hand over the most precious of metals. even those who think it's a good idea. >> it sounds good, but most people don't know bit. we'll only put our gold in if we believe our family will benefit. >> gold holds a special significance in indian culture. it's far from being a mere commodity. >> here, they want to be able to touch and feel gold in their hands and be able to see it. it's not just gold.

it's the god of wealth. people take special care of their gold and mothers pass their gold on to their daughters. >> that's why many believe some of the new gold programs haven't caught on. >> getting indians to part with their gold hasn't been easy. less than 500 grams in deposits have been started so far, with others having a look warm reception. indian temples amounted homes hold an average of gold worth about $800 billion. analysts belief even a fraction of that is put into the financial system would make india one of the world's top economies and could fund roads and building, but those in the gold sector say the government program isn't working. >> the did he post rate is between 7% and 8%, but the

goldie post rate is only 2.5%. that's too low. if it was higher, maybe the scheme would be successful. the government wants people to convert, so the labor charges are born by the customer. it seems the government has nat made these calendar operations before launching the scheme. this is why it's not working. >> any goldie posted would have to be melted down and processed at the owner's expense. that with widespread ignorance about the gold programs means people aren't able to weigh the programs benefits to themselves or the country. >> now a memorial is held for the man who was the world's first rugby superstar. thousands of people gathered in the stadium for the service. he died november 18. he was 40 years old.

he was the star of the 1995 rugby world cup because of his combination of sides, speed and power. that same year, he was diagnosed with a kidney illness it is thought contributed to his death. more news on our website, aljazeera.com. >> jury selection begins in one of the officers charged in the death of freddie gray in baltimore. this is the moment we finally determined we would save our planet. >> president obama joins dozens of world leaders in paris as scientists warn time is running out to limit global warming. as millions head home, wicked weather sweeps across the country, leaving some areas water logged and others coated in ice.