>> everyone time i think about those kids it gets me mad. >> invoking the memory of children killed in a mass shooting an emotional u.s. president outlines his actions to tighten gun control. hello there, i'm barbara serra. also coming up on the program. venezuela's opposition takes control of congress but three short of their super majority. at least 36 refugees die as two boats sink of turkey's coast. and the slow and quiet disaster

unfolding in senegal's seawaters that washes away entire fillages. >> hello, and thank you for joining us. the u.s. president barack obama has announced new plans to make it hard for buy a gun, by passing his political opponents in congress who have consistently blocked such reforms. the so-called executive ored include closing i wil a legal loopholloophole that does not require the back grown check of the buyer.

>> this just doesn't happen. >> every time i think about those kids it makes me mad. >> the president remembering the children killed in their classroom in new town, connecticut. >> anna march toes green is loving, genius, smart, brilliant talented little girl who loved to show how much she loved her family and he every day. >> now if people want to buy a gun online or at a gun show, they have to get a background check. a bill to do that couldn't get through the u.s. senate immediately after the new town shooting. >> the gun lobby may be holding congress hostage right now, but they cannot hold america hostage. >> the next president could simply throw it out and

republican candidates like ted cruz are promising to do that. >> we don't beat the bad guys by taking away our guns. we beat the bad guys by using our guns. >> the president is asking for more money for mental healthcare and adding agents to speed up background checks. he'll likely face a fierce fight in congress. >> there were more than 3 million guns sold in the u.s. just last month. still green says he's optimistic that there can be a solution. >> it takes time, momentum, and constant dedication to the cause, and i feel like there are so many--my family included, who are dedicated to seeing fewer gun deaths in america. so we won't stop. >> neither will those opposed to any changes. meaning this is a fight that is far, far from over. patty culhane, al jazeera, washington. >> well joining us now from

new york, his brother was a victim of a random shooting in los angeles, sir. first of all your reaction. what do you make of these plans announced by barack obama. >> of course its good news in many ways. we're all heartened in many ways that this is an initial first step in the right direction. that said it's still a ways ways away from where we hope things will lead. >> you mentioned it's a step in the right direction. what would in your case be the ultimate aim? how much gun control would you want to see? president obama was keen to stress that it was not incompatible to have more gun control and still respect an american's right to bear arms. where do you stand on that? >> well, i mean, being the minority as you mentioned in

introducing me, you know, my brother was murdered in los angeles in '92, so i have a personal connection to the issue, which may put me in the minority in the u.s. but you know, as the president said stay, 90% of americans support the universal background checks. and many nra members, in fact, support background checks, yet the nra is resistant to it. i think if we could get into legislation in place that better reflects the will of the people and the will of mra members themselves, we would be much farther long. we'll never get rid of all gun problems entirely, but as the president often stresses we are alone monk democracies in the world in terms of having a

number of gun-related desks that we do. it's a throw numbercal compared to other countries, so i think we should look at other models, other european models at a path greatly reducing gun violence. >> we heard from ted cruz and republican white house hopeful he was saying that guns also save people so when you have a gun you can defend yourself. his view is important because a lot of republican party white house hopefuls have said if they get into office they'll rip up the new restrictions. what do you make of that key argument which is outside of the u.s.--is it really fully understood? it seems a bit mysterious of that argument that could save people and also guess going to you had a gun, your brother had a gun, it could have saved his life. what do you make that have?

>> sort of denied science and deneed the historical problems and it's a problem here every study, every new piece of data that is produced indicates that, in fact, in the last month o. this is another time that the republicans are pandering to their base, and not looking at the facts and the empirical evidence.

>> republican candidates are dismissing president obama's plans, yet every time there is a shooting they say it's not a gun issue but mental health issue, and i don't hear any republicans applauding the president putting money in the mental health, and they're dismissing the data and what can be done. >> thank you very much for your views. we appreciate your time and sharing your opinions and experiences with us. new york writer. thank you so much. >> let's go to venezuela where the new parliament has been sworn in. there has been a power struggle with the socialist president. for the first time in 16 years the national assembly will be

controlled by the center right opposition. the coalition for democratic unity won a two-thirds majority last month, but not all of them have been able to take their seats after a challenge in court by supreme courters of president maduro's socialth party. outside parliament demonstrations have been held by both supporters and opponents accusing each other of subverting democracy. virginia lopez is in the capital for us. >> on monday, the the supreme court was saying it has to investigate what pro government candidate has claimed were fraudulent votes. this has been questioned severely by the opposition who claims that a judicial coup and

strategy by the government to strip them of a super majority. understandably the mood was quite tense. all 112 opposition legislatures were allowed in but only 109 were sworn. the opposition has promised to challenge this decision, and they say that they will remain defiant and will rule with the super majority that people in december's polls. >> the united nations says that the civilian death toll from nine months of war in yemen has reached nearly 2,800. the latest figures shows during the cease-fire 81 people were killed in violence just in december. anothesince the war began 2795 civilians have died.

in an agree nate attack the governor of aden's bodyguards were killed. government forces recently r retaptured from houthi rebels. in the midst of war and turmoil in yes, ma'am's capital of sanaa an arts exhibition has opened. it's the first of its kind, and for many absentists to express the conflict going on around them. >> at first glass this could be an art gallery in london, but this is sanaa. you can see the fighting, the turmoil and the loss. >> it reflects the way the fear

people feel in yemen. they're trying to get away from the constant death and destruction. >> the conflict began in 2014 when houthi fighters backed by troops loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh and supported by iran launched a repel i don't know and took control. they're up against forces of president abd rabbuh mansur hadi, which has had the backing of saudi arabia-led coalition airstrikes. the exhibition is the first of its kind. >> much of the art reflects the shelling and bombardment, women and children have been the main victories. >> u.n.-brokered talks have suffered a setback.

the coalition announced on saturday that it was pulling outs of the cease-fire that began in mid december. without a clear path to peace, people lik are determined to express themselves and the turmoil that they see. al jazeera. >> one u.s. soldier has been killed in southern afghanistan after coming under he have more rather and small arms fire. two other u.s. soldiers were wounded in hel helmand province where heavy fighting has taken place. well, earlier the pentagon gave more details about what happened. >> earlier today u.s. service member was killed and two u.s. service members were injured when they came under fire while conducting a train advise and assist mission on the ground in hel helmand province. a number of afghan forces were injured as well.

two medevac helicopters were sent to provide assistance. one of those was waved off. the second landed safely with sustained damage to its rotor blades. the helicopter remains on the ground. this is an ongoing situation. there is still a fight going on in the immediate surroundings, and we'll provide nor details as they become available. >> well, still ahead in the program, armed occupation u.s. ranchers take their protests to a fourth day. and in las vegas where tech giants and start ups have gathered to showcase the latest technology.

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>> time now for a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. >> every time i think about those kids it gets me mad. >> u.s. president barack obama has spoken of his angler at the death of child victims of gun violence as he unveils plans to assure background checks are carried out on anyone buying a gun. venezuela's new parliament has been sworn in amid a power struggle between the center right and socialist president nicolás maduro. an u.s. soldier has been killed in afghanistan after coming under heavy mortar and small arms fire in helmand, province. bahrain has join saudi arabia in stopping all flights.

kuwait has recalled its envoy to iran. on saturday protesters attacked the saudi embassy in tehran over the kingdom's execution of the dissident cleric nimr al-nimr. russia and turkey has offered to mediate between the two countries. well, saudi arabia's foreign minister said that current tension also not effect political negotiations on syria. the syrian opposition has made a list of demands ahead of u.n. brokered peace talks scheduled for later this month. they say they want to see confidence-building steps from the syrian government including an immediate end from the bombardment of opposition-held areas. >> the civil war in syria is almost five years old, and it's estimated a quarter million syrians have been killed. u.n.-backed talks to end the fighting and restore the peace

are due to start later this month. but syrian opposition leaders want confidence-building measures from the government before the talks begin. they want syrian government forces to stop bombarding opposition-held towns and cities. they're calling for political prisoners to be released, and they want humanitarian aid to be delivered to those in desperate need. >> you can't really enter negotiations while people are being slaughtered en masse. at least stopping this onslaught with the sign by the regime to tell the opposition that it is serious about the negotiations. >> the various groups who make up the syrian opposition are fighting on the front lines against the syrian government and it's allies such as iran and russia. however, the opposition lack an unified command and are very different visions for the future of syria. last month opposition leaders met for three days in the saudi capital of riyadh to try to unify the opposition before scheduled talks with syrian

government leaders. >> the riyadh conference last month show that it is possible for independence faction leaders, rebel leaders as well as politico applications to come together and form a platform. but how can they go to the table when the situation on the ground is so divorced from the reality or unreality of what has taken place in geneva. >> even if they can't find common grounds, talks with the government to try to end the war will be difficult. the opposition said it won't bargain with president bashar al-assad and we manslaughter that he leave before the transitional government comes to power. foreign ministers who make up the support groups say assad's future is not pre-determined. while there is a sense of urgency among many parties to end the civil war the reality is that all of them may not be ready to do so. victoria gazenby, al jazeera.

>> the bodies of 36 refugees have found two locations. trying to reach the greek island of lesbos turkish coast guards have rescued several people and are looking for more survivors. here is jonah hull. >> it's the first week of a new year. the warm summer long gun and the refugees' journey getting harder. off the coast a rubber dinghy has capsized, the passengers thrown to their fate. dozens in two incidents would never arrive. their bodies rushed back ashore on the beaches of turkey. >> we heard a boat sank and hit the rocks. i think these people died when they were trying to swim for the rocks. we came to help. >> but there wasn't much to be

done. the turkish coast guard dispatched three boats and a helicopter to search for survivors. eight people were rescued, including one man who emerged from the freezing waters on his own. it's estimated 1 million refugees and migrants entered greece through its outlying islands through 2015 traveling on to central and northern europe as part of the biggest humanitarian crisis on the can't meant in two decades. >> migrant refugees continue to enter greece at a rate of 2500 a day from turkey, which is close to the average through december. we see the migrant flows are continuing through the winter, and obviously the fatalities are continuing as well. >> this is where most are heading the greek island of lesbos gateway to the european union. but despite efforts to improve

conditions here international volunteers say that the refugees welcome can be a harsh one. >> there is stealing. there is raping. there is death. there is--there are knives here. there are guns here. those things happen here. >> so, the fate of even those who survived the sea cross something uncertain. many will eventually find safe harbor. here on the greek shore their ordeal has just begun. jonah hull, al jazeera. >> the leaders of a government run nature reserve say they will leave when they are demands are left. the protesters at the national wildlife reserve in oregon p now

the group calling itself citizens for constitutional freedom says the government was taken from ranchers and they want it back. we have the latest. >> you can see that they have it blocked. the usa behind me, you see a couple of guys milling around there. that's the main entrance. that truck they have there is completely blocking it. you also see this watchtower over t my right shoulder. they watch over the different birds and animals around here. but now they have armed anti-government protesters there watching over this area. now this press conference that they held here, there wasn't a lot new, but they gave the message that they do not plan to leave any time soon. what they say is that they're going to start collecting contract where is they say dozens of farmers or ranchers here in this area have been illegally kicked off their land.

that according to the group. and they say that they're going to fight now to get that land out of the government's hands and back in to the hands of the ranchers. >> gabriel elizondo reporting there. china's central bank has spent a billion dollars to stop the sell off of shares in stock markets. worried investors drop their shares when stocks plunged by 7%. let's go to senegal now where islands around the low-lying delta are fast disappearing beneath rising seas. thousands of people living there are becoming climate change refugees. >> the suits, it has become a daily ritual.

>> starting in the living room the memories were confronting. the children once played here. this is what remains of the kitchen where her mother shared her recipes. >> i'm scared that more of our lives will disappear washed away in this water that just won't stop rising. it is a close and rising disaster the brackish water has destroyed patty fields. villages thought this was an unusual tide from a far away storm, but then someone gave it a name. climate change. since then government officials, aid agencies and environmentalists have come to the island offering solutions.

they built a wall to keep the water from coming in but it wasn't strong or high enough. the newly planted trees are no match for the tied. mormany say it is too late. these islands are disappearing, and people here are now leaving. most of the men have moved to the capital o to find work. according to the red cross there are more climate refugees than political refugees in the world. among them these people from the island.

they're already on the move searching for a better place to live. >> tech giants and tiny start ups have converged in las vegas to showcase their latest digital developments at the consumer technology fair. this year's theme is wearable technology. here is rob reynolds with more. >> this is the electronic show in 2016 being held in las vegas, and if you can see behind me exhibiters are frantically trying to set up all of their stands and booths to show off their wear wares. there are 150,000 people attending this show including exhibiters, buyers and the media. now one of the big interesting aspects is the automatic industry and it's connection with technology. chevrolet will unveil a new version of its volt car that

will be able to go 122 kilometers without a recharge. ford is showing off new technology as well. this sync dashboard smart system that will sync up with androids, iphones and use the mapping apps and other apps in the car itself so that you can merge area car with your smart phone. volkswagen is exhibiting here a new electric car. perhaps in a way trying to change the conservation away from the scandal that emerged when the company was caught cheating in the united states and resulting in the u.s. justice department announcing it would sue the company although it's not seeking any criminal charges against executives. and finally all of these companies and companies like google, uber are all looking at driverless cars. that's going to be the big thing in the future. and the chief shyists hearsay

that the experts expect 100,000 fully autonomous driverless cars on the united states by the end of this decade and perhaps as many as a million by 2030. >> well, we'll see. more on the website. i deeply believe in having an extreme bias towards reality. >> in her youth, she traveled europe and the near east, and worked as a nude model and danced burlesque. >> so much of women, so much of what our virtue is supposed to consist of is maintaining this sort of, like, pearly, innocent purity.