[ clapping ] amid the chaos - libya's rival parties agree to form a unity government the the deal is facing challenges. reassuring americans. >> at this moment our intelligence and counterterrorism professionals do not have specific and cred ill information about an attack on the homeland president obama visits the national counter-terrorism center in virginia to underscore

u.s. preparedness no holding back - russian president vladimir putin uses his year-end speech to trash turkey, praise donald trump and paint a rosy picture of his country's economy broken dreams. after five years, how the arab spring failed to deliver what so many hoped for. good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera's international hour. tonight the road to peace in libya. after four years of chaos and conflict, the two major factions have signed a peace deal agreeing to form a unity with the 9-member council of hardliners within the two factions already rejected it, saying they want more time to come up with their own

initiative. we have the details of today's historic peace deal. >> it was smiles and applause in the moroccan town. the libyan politicians started to work together to repair a fractured nation. under the patronage of the u.n., the two rival governments sat side by side. noticeably absent, the bosses. the head of the tobruk-based government and the rival administration decided not to support the deal. they were urged to reconsider. it's important that those that are not here, that they come and that they join the process. >> but the process is far from clear. important questions are unanswered, like where the new unity government will be based and how libya's unruly militias will be brought into line. the community is worried about

the rise of the local branch of i.s.i.l. in the city of cert. >> translation: we'll take the hand of libyans willing to reconcile with others. and we'll support them to pull ourselves out of the crisis we find ourselves in. >> we were happy about the step. god willing, after the year and a half of conflict, all we want is safety and security. >> for the libyans, it may be elusive. >> the country has been divided since the uprising of muammar gaddafi. rival governments showed limited authority, undermined by the internal divisions. accountable armed groups called the shots on the ground and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. can this deal signed in morocco

bring libya back from the brink? >> this agreement is to end the 18 month period where libya had two rival governments, sovereign institutions and two capitals, and is an ament to replace it with an internationally recognised body. it is not what is happening. it's adding a lay are of confusion, instead of two governments. libya has three. this comes at a time when western powers are concerned about refugees streaming into europe. many of whom lead from libya aria, and are or worried about -- from libya, and are worried about i.s.i.l. where are using it to their advantage. >> so it's been agreed, giving it a single entity it can deal with. it's hailed was a big step forward. fault lines remain. joining us now is a visiting fellow with the institute's transitions forum, an analyst

focussing on tunisia and libya. good to have you with us. is this a big step forward as said, or more of a baby step towards uniting the country? >> on the face of it it looks like a positive development. you know, this has been 18 months where you have had two rival governments as jason pak, the analyst mentioned in the package, but rather than a unity government, this looks like a third government. and, you know, a problem is that the international community seem to be more positive about this and pushing for this more than some of the libyans were. you know, you had - in rome, 17 countries that came together to support this deal before the libyans did today. >> why do you think that is? >> is that because of i.s.i.l., and because so many refugees have used libya as a lunching point to get to the european union? >> that seems to be one of the

reasons. i think the fact that you have had this country falling apart on europe's border for this long, has frustrated many europeans and the americans as well. and there's a real push to try to find some sort of solution. there has been many who have been warning about the risks of pubbing a solution about libya, itself is ready. in fact, this week they are in malta, publicly to agree that they ops the dialogue, rather than support the libyan led dialogue, that they were themselves a separate track. >> libya has scores of armed factions, it has the one parliament in tripoli, the one in tub rook is secular, i.s.i.l. is gaining power, and now you have a decision, a third

division. how do you see this playing out. >> well, the u.n. mediate juror, the snu u.n. mediator said that libya is united in consensus. >> that is not necessarily the case. many libyans are concerned about i.s.i.s. and the fact that it is gaining ground. it's not a priority, much of the political violence doesn't have to do with violence, there are dozens of groups controlling the politics since the uprising in 2011. the challenge is if there's a unity government, how will they get control of the groups and develop a monopoly over the use of power. >> and some raised the people involved in the presidential council and the new leadership are strong enough and well enough known to be able to take control. >> some of he is are new games an the libyan political scene.

afu reported that only half of the legislator from the government in tobruk or tripoli were there at the signing. when you look at who the people are, you have to have a question mark over them. >> what needs to be done by the international community. the u.k. said that it's willing to send 1,000 troops to help libyans and force the accord as part of a 6,000 strong it altian led -- italian led force. do you think that will help? >> that's a recognition that in order to support the new government, there'll have to be a military component. there's local ceasefires on the ground, especially in western libya, that have taken part organically, rising up organically, and focussing on those ceasefires may be more fruitful than pushing for a

unity government, being a third government in the mix. >> given the chaos, you have to hope something positive happens. good of you to join us. thank you. >> a breakthrough in peace talks to end the war in yemen, a deal brokered by tribal leaders lead to a prisoner exchange. more than 550 prisoners were released. but in switzerland, u.n. sponsored peace talks are struggling. on the third day of negotiations a deal was reached to allow the humanitarian aid in the city of tiaz. it will continue. the u.n. security council made a push for a coordinated effort to check off founding streams for i.s.i.l. ban ki-moon says too few nations forced the sanctions and other measures, to keep money flowing to the group. and builds on the council's actions calling to an end to oil

deals for i.s.i.l., kidnapped revenues. we look at how i.s.i.l. is funded. >> u.s. air strikes targetting i.s.i.l. oil fields. refineries, tank trucks and border footholes for the black market oil trade. a strategy aimed at a pillar of i.s.i.l.'s economy, in which analysts say it's starting to bite. >> the price of woil in raqqa doubt, we saw new taxes imposed a couple of days ago, and other measures of creating revenue. >> analysts estimate i.s.i.l. brings in there 80 million a month, 43% from oil, and the rest from taxing individuals in the areas, in the state.

>> it's a large number for a terrorist organization. >> one that has to pay armed fighters, while providing assists in territories encompassing half of syria and a third of iraq. it's explained how the oil revenues have been squeezed, the population it controls has been squeezed harder. >> the islamic state of iraq and levant charges caliphate to leave. it goes up for the young men of fighting age and less for bin else. >> exit attacks result from a strategy designed to degrade the group from the bottom up. the local military commanders and forces live a lot better and are paid better than the average citizen. >> in the long run that

structure could bring down i.s.i.l. from within. in the short term the group has plenty of muscle to make up for the loss of oil revenue by pummelling the civilians it controls. one of the first americans accused of recruiting for i.s.i.l. pleaded guilty. they admitted to trying to recruit a local rochester man. >> he is a naturalized citizen born in yemen, and the plea bargain calls for a sentence of 23 years in prison. the 21-year-old has been accused of plotting to kill members of the u.s. military and possessing illegal firearms, those charges were not part of the plea agreement president obama is trying to ease concerns about security, saying intelligence and counterintelligence officials have no threats, everyone needs

to stay vigilant during the holidays. the president's assurances come amid questions over his response fmpt >> reporter: heading into the heart of the holiday season. president obama sought to reassure an anxious public. >> our intelligence and counterterrorism professionals do not have specific and credible information about an attack on the homeland. >> at the amount president obama warned of the difficulty in unearthing plots by loan attackers. >> because they are smaller, self-initiating, self-motivating, they are hard are to detect. making it harder to prevent. >> with security topping the list, the president took heat from the republicans, on the campaign trail. and in congress. >> with the present policy and lack of strategy, there'll be other attacks on the united states. >> in 2009. critics said the white house was

unprepare when the underwear bomber tried to bring down a plane on christmas day, while president obama was on his annual family vacation in hawaii. as he prepares to leave friday for the same trip and in the wake of the bombings of san bernardino and others. president obama has a rare oval office address, a train to the pentagon, to meet with the strategy team and an agency where they share information in an effort to thwart attacks. among the officials fbi director james comey, who counselled employees, spending time to tell them they should not be afraid. i.s.i.l. and others do not pose a threat to america. a message echo by the president. >> anyone trying to how many

americans need to know that we are strong and resilient. we will not be terrorized more than 20 have been killed in the latest crackdown. the president has said p.k.k. members will be anile asted and military operations will continue until p.k.k. areas are cleansed. up to 10,000 security forces are deployed and are using tanks and machine guns. chancellor mercosur announced that germany will back the european commission's plan to set up a border guard agency. >> she threw support behind plans. the agency should have the power to unilaterally deploy guards to

those overwhelmed by the refugees. roughly a million people entered the e.u. by way of the mediterranean sea. >> president obama notified congrens yesterday of an am $2 billion deal to sell weapons to taiwan >> china says it will not do business for those involved in the sale. the white house says there's no need to have any consequences on those involved. >> the annual news conference by vladimir putin, what he had to say about turkey and even donald trump. >> and allegations of peace keepers sexually abusing children.

al jazeera's peter sharp has this report from moscow. >> reporter: this was a relaxed performance from a president na looked like he was enjoying himself at this annual event. and he didn't dodge the big questions. president bashar al-assad, he

said, will stay on. >> translation: i have said on many occasion, and i want to repeat it, that we will never agree that someone outside should impose of idea of who should rule another country. it doesn't fit with commonsense or international law. >> secretary of state john kerry told me about this. our position has not changed. the syrian people have to determine who should use them. >> russia's expanded presence will continue support for bashar al-assad's forces as long ag the syrian army continues its operations. >> vladimir putin returned again and again. it wasn't unfriendly, it was hostile. >> reporter: our people died when they shot down the plane. >> if it was an accident and the turks znd know it was our aircraft. they would have apologised.

it doesn't happen. n.a.t.o. started getting involved. was it necessary. >> a surface to air missile system was in place, and he warned turkey not to cross into syrian air space. >> this week's talks it moscow, vladimir putin said, confirmed that the russian plan was similar to america's. vladimir putin was blunt about russia's eroding relations with turkey. vladimir putin used crude language and said he wondered who rush awe should down a rush -- turkey shot down a russian jet. there was one person he praise said. donald trump. >> reporter: he is a bright

person. >> talented without doubt and wants to shift to a solid relationship with russia, how can we not welcome that. >> vladimir putin appeared to return the favour. trump was called the front runner in the u.s. presidential election. we are joined from washington d.c. the chief economic advisor to vladimir putin, from 2000 to 2005, and was vladimir putin's personal representative to the g8 and is a senior fellow at the cato institute. i have to start with the trump comments. what is vladimir putin trying to do, injecting himself into the presidential race? >> i don't think it's a real intervention into the race. it hay come later. clearly he expresses support from mr trump, and is referring

to positive comments that trump made about vladimir putin. it could be, using the wards of trump. a productive relationship. >> now, regarding the trump comments, a russian american journalist who is no friend of vladimir putin is quoted as saying vladimir putin respects fighters, aggression and not calm and deliberation. he wants a manly adversary. in that way do you think the trump comment were a non-too subtle dig at president obama? >> mr president obama is not participating in the presidential election next year. it's a hards interpretant in this way. definitely among the candidates for presidency, mr trump looks like the best possible choice for vladimir putin, it is not a big surprise that he supported

him. >> his comments about bashar al-assad staying on in syria, and the harsh comments about turkey and president recep tayyip erdogan, what do they mean, because we are on the verge of syrian talks beginning in new york. do they indicate is that the u.s. and russia may not be getting closer on syria after all? >> it is important. in view of mr kerry's visit to moscow. the press conference with sergey lavrov and vladimir putin, sergey lavrov repeated three times the agreement reached with mr john kerry is to have conversations in the united syrian opposition with the president bashar al-assad. this is a new development. it has never been discussed before. it looks like it's a new

achievement in the russian u.s. flegs. it looks tactically like it's been supported by the american side. >> vladimir putin painted a rosy picture of the economy. is that wishful thinking and do the russian peel believe him. on one hand he's corrects. for several months he allowed a food study to grow. in november, russian output went doing. and the crisis that was mentioned. it's ahead of us again. it's important to look how russian population ractedz to the words. today an opinion poll has been

published. 80% of russian people think that russia is in the midst of the crisis. >> ukraine has all but been forgotten. i know you've said this the world does that at his own peril. you believe it would agree with the middle east and other members of the soviet bloc. >> correct, and vladimir putin's attitude towards ukraine has been, again, reflected in his words. he spent time discussing how ukraine was manipulated and led by foreigners in the united states. it was, according to mr vladimir putin, the united states sent many to so-called - to lead and to manage ukraine and the ukraine can economy.

looks like from mr vladimir putin, that it is a burning issue that ukraine is choosing its own way for development and revolution, independent from kremlin. >> former economic advisor to vladimir putin. appreciate you joining us. the united nations holds a special session. now the u.s. hopes to prevent mass atrocity, and the u.s. says it will not happen on the condin n tinnent's oil. >> and several years we look at why the dream of democracy in the arab springs fell short in mean countries.

welcome back to al jazeera america coming up in this half hour of international news, protesters take to the streets of argentina, as the peso losses 30% of value well look at the stories making headlines across the u.s. in the american minute. a former neighbour of the san bernardino killers was arrested. he had been identified as the alleged buyer of two guns used by the couple. among other things, he is charge said with conspireing to provide material to terrorists

defense secretary ash carter met, and was forced to respond to reports that he used a personal email to send work-related messages. former secretary of state hillary clinton's use of personal email accounts was a focus. the federal bureau of investigation looking into the email use. cov nal c.e.o. -- controversial c.e.o. martin shkreli - he was arrested. he is known for raising the rice of a life-saving drug from $13.57 to $750 a pill. procedures say he rans his companies like a ponzi scheme the african union and the u.n. tomb -- took steps to

avoid a civil war. the opposition ran for and one a disputed third term in office. the the african union sent in investigators, they heard reports of arbitrary killings, and targeted assassinations and unexplained arrests. it will not allow another genocide to take place. the the u.s. is asking the u.n. to intervene. >> today's special session is an attempt to prevent. that is a key word, mass atrocities to focus attention and providing expert assistance in the region, before it is too late. >> burundi's government says people's spheres of a genocide are unfounded. citizens voted yes to a referendum. sebbing terium violence erupted in 2015.

they created a senate and established an intolerance for religious fundamentalism. allegations that peacekeepers sexually abused young children. they were alleged to have traded food for threat. grossly mishandled the allegations. the child rape claims from passed from one female inbox to another, with no one willing to take responsibility. >> ban ki-moon has been presiding over the united nations for nine years. he has zero tolerance for exploitation and abuse. and the report shows us that that is more slogan than reality. >> u.n. secretary bangui mon acknowledged the report. five years ago, a tunisian

street vendor lit himself on fire as a mo trest. mohamed bouazizi's self-sacrifice is seen as the act that set off the arab spring. we go to where it began, talking to people who knew him before he changed the course of history. >> this man says his cows yins was -- cousin was trying to sell fruit did vegetables. pt police kept moving him on. he didn't have a permit. the family relied on his income. the police took his cart and scales. when he tried to meet with them. they refused. >> reporter: he wanted to earn money to get married and help the family. corruption, harassment and poverty prevented him from

achieving his ambitions. >> praption he was humiliated after a police woman slapped him. or hopeless about the future. whereverway the reason he decided he wanted to die. outside the officers of the officials who treated him. his friend was close by. >> he set himself on fire, he felt discriminated against. >> he was in front of the municipality building, saw him on fire. saw home surround him. >> ho ma'amed felt lonely, was suffering a lot. no one was there to listen to his concerns or worries. >> his friends and family took to the streets. they were the first to upload it on facebook. >> we raised slogans like employment is our right.

new gang of thieves. we spoke out against injustices. that was the beginning. >> within weeks there was protests. mohamed bouazizi's flight resonated with so many people. >> after staying in hospital mohamed bouazizi died. 10 days later the president fled the country. >> i remember how things were after the revolution. people stood together. unfortunately proms sis were made. failing to keep them. we hope the region gets a share of development and the state reaches out to people. people are tired of the days of change of the revolution, many say life is more easy, it gives

freedom and dig nitty that alluded the young man all of his life. in the year since mohamed bouazizi's death, free election has taken police in some countries, as it has shown, the move to democracy has stalled if not second. courtney kealy has more of the "in context" segment. >> reporter: five years after the arab spring began, the dreams were unrealized. some managed to used their leaders. changes to government brought few closer to democracy. n.a.t.o. air strikes hurt the rebels. the countries ha two rival governments and the fight looks more like the first act of a long civil war. >> reporter: in the chaos of

libya, i.s.i.l. tries to cease ground. has 2,000 to 3,000 fighters, and the central leadership sees it as staging attacks. >> in egypt two presidents have been overthrown. wakasi mubarak and his elected successor, mohamed mursi. the leader now, abdul fatah al-sisi came down hard on dissent. he is reviving the state that the revolution tried to change. >> the prot tests in yemen were hijacked by more powerful groups. the president, ali abdullah saleh, was deposed during the arab springs, but is a powerful figure. his group battled for control. houthis overran large parts of the country in 2014, including the capital, sanaa, they are

part of the battle for power. the saudi-led coalition started air strikes to try to defeat them. it is seen as a regional conflict between saudi arabia, and arch rival iran. the arab springs tragic result it the almost complete disintegration of syria. more than 200,000 syrians have been killed, millions displaced, causing an exodus to europe, part of the worse crisis since world war ii. president bashar al-assad is in power, supported by russia and islamic state of iraq and levant. islamic state of iraq and levant or i.s.i.l. grew. it has drawn thousands of foreign fighters. multi national collision continued air tricks and countries are embroiled in the conflict. >> tunisia has gone further than

any other country. the fledgeling democracy is not secure. this year's nobel peace prize was awarded. the nobel committee credited them for staving off a civil war. two attacks killed gozens and virtually -- dozens and virtually shut down the tourism industry. >> and tunisia is believed to export more fighters than any other country. >> james is a professor of middle eastern history and author of the arab uprisings, what everyone needs to know, and joins us from los angeles. good to have you with us. let's start with basic questions. has the arab springs failed to fulfil its promise, but failed

spectacularly. >> we are involved in a process that began 30 years ago. there has been mass demonstrations for democratic rights. human rights. this is a culmination. process. it's ongoing. there's mane uprisings taking place. we are in the midst of a long process. it took europe a long period of. >> that's an important question, should we judge the middle east through the lens of the west. the truth is that democracy has only taken hold in europe over the past half century, and today

some are iffy. >> we have to remember starting in december of 2010, going through-march and further on, people have been protesting mumman rights for comb okay rahsy, there's protests going on. it's not over. >> should we stop using the term arab spring and use wh you use as the title of your backs - arab uprising. >> absolutely. i was specific in not using the words arab springs. it gets hope up and they were stashed. egypt, syria, other places in the world. it restricts a single season. it's a long process of what we

are involved in britain's telegraph interviewed a woman saying: a sad but accurate description? >> it is. we run the list of countries. syria has a civil war. half the prewar population has been externally displaced. many regimes will not go without

a fight. it was one part of the regime. the most volatile, and maintaining the rights of the military. these things are in place. are you hopeful? >> yes, i am hopeful. one of the problems that the middle east is facing, that no one is talking about is the state of the economies, that the middle east is the region that is the second least globalized. they are spold t told about the way to implement their policies, they created anger over jobs

lost and cross-examine egrowny capitalism, lack of employment, and this is a solution that the i.m.f. is attempting to impose on the region. >> prosecutor professor of european negotiations. the force awakeneded the creativity of one forecaster in the u.k. how many star wars references did she slip into her report.

now our global view segment, a look at how news outlets across the world are reacting to various event. it's been written: the jerusalem post:

ireland's independence says - raising interest rates is a good thing for the u.s. saying that it had weathered the financial crisis and had an advantage over its neighbours because of the falling euro. >> the u.s. and cuba announced the ru knewal of diplomatic ties. following five decades of strained relations continuing after the end of the cold war. despite the ties, many say not much is changed. they continue to lead by the thousands.

many travelling through mex i don't. heidi zhou-castro reports. >> reporter: it's two in the morning, the light is bright. >> there's always open doors. the nonprofit helps cubans find transportation and temporary shelter. the office is at the foot of the international bridge. on this night, they take the watch. across the country numbers are higher. 43,000 cubans enter the u.s.

under a cold war prove yings allowing them permanent status. clawedio was resting. immigrants from other countries have to sneak across. she tells me she had to say political asylum. she left taking a boat to the border, and says she left cuba because she disagreed with the communist government and hopes to find opportunities in the u.s. she came now because she feared the warming of relations between cuba and the u.s. will pud an end to the war allowing cubans

to enter. she's not alone, there has been an exodus from cuba, and they've been flying to places like ecuador and journeying to places on land. nicaragua closed the borders, preventing the movement north. the situation has been blamed on the u.s. situation policy. here on the u.s. border, that policy had its share of critics as well. catholic social services runs this shelter to refugees who end up detained and deported. >> it is unfortunate because these families both in these cases are coming from the same type of environment. fleeing violence, persecution or gang violence, poverty and looking for a better way of living. they are still taking the same approach of this group as refugees versus this group as

not. this is a political climate. >> a spokesman for u.s. customs tells al jazeera they have no plans. they were determined to cross the bridge to begin a new life in the united states brazil's supreme court helped president dilma rousseff in a fight against impeachment. ruling that the impeachment committee was not valid and should have been chosen by an open vote. it says the senate has the authority to re view ground. they vote to impeach for budget laws last year, giving a better clans to block impeachment. the new president rafael marquez

is thereforing on his campaign -- delivering on his campaign proposition. we have this report from buenos aires. the president has been in power for a week. there's already thousands on the streets, protesting against some of his policies. >> government is benefitting the rich, and not the poor. it's a new president. they have started to unravel controls, trade restrictionses and subsidies implemented by predecessors. the new government evaluated currency, an commission overhaul needed to lure entertainment and jumpstart the economy. affected by high inflation and a lack of growth. >> facing strong political opposition. those policies of cristina

fernandez de kirchner. people fear the policies will cost more in inflation. and they'll protect the most vulnerable. for the middle class sectors they are announcing tax exemptions. this week they are hur buying to fulfil government positions and named two supreme court judges without going through the usual channels, his critics accuse him of being un-democratic. the new president is not afraid of opposition. those that are saying that now there's a wave of right wick politics in latin america, i think they are making a mistake in argentina, our government will not be a neogovernment. we are proposing agreements, and

proposing to continue taking care of crisis, we are going to protect those that need them the most. >> argentina's economic collapse in 2001 continues to be present in the country. many are wary about the consequences, the radical changes and what they'll bring about china issued its second ever red alert to smog. beijing is expected to be hardest hit by the pollution, the alert banning vehicles from roads, shut down construction and rendered schools close. the u.s. government considers 200 and above to be very unhealthy. star wars "the force awakens" hits theatres and people are getting into the spirit. even weather producer on britain's channel 5. count the puns it will be luke far out the

west you see a glimmer of sup shine if you're lucky. the breeze is strong and tonight the weather strikes back. a game area pushing in to the west. don't be a trooper, take care on the roads, difficult driving continues, if you are forced to awaken early, we'll be on the dark side. far, far away to the south-east of the england there's a new hope for sunshine developing in the afternoon. >> scientists discovered what looks like a light sabre in space. an image of a young star 1300 light years away. is clues jets of gas. that's it for this international news hour. in the next hour, the arrest of pharmaceutical c.e.o. martin

shkreli. how he took from one company to pay another. that's next.

i good evening i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america. >> they need to know that we are strong, and resilient. that we will not be terrorized. >> reporter: reassurance and warning. president obama talks about anti-terror efforts and the possibility of future attacks. under arrest - prosecutors fired terror related charges against a friend the san bernardino shooters, accusing him of planning other attacks. and a year after the u.s. announced plans to reannounce ties with cuba, what has changed and what stays the