keep it here on al jazeera. ♪ tunisia declares a nationwide curfew after protests result over unemployment. ♪ hello there, i'm felicity barr and you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up germany's chancellor urges turkey to help diffuse the refugee crisis. we're live on the east coast of the united states as the nation brace itself for a huge blizzard.

hello, tunisia's government has imposed a nation-wide curfew after protests over unemployment spread to towns and cities across the country. it is the worst unrest since the 2010 uprising that lead to the arab spring. hashem ahelbarra reports. >> reporter: a family mourning its son. he was frustrated over lack of job opportunities. he climbed an electricity pole and threatened to commit suicide. he was electrocuted. his death sparked anger nationwide, and he has become the symbol of a younger generation that feels increasingly let down by its government. >> translator: my son died. the government is responsible. it breaks my heart. those responsible for his death

should be held accountable. they destroyed a whole family. >> reporter: he was relentlessly hunting for a job to look after his parents and seven brothers and sisters. his father is a retiree and struggles to make ends meet. >> translator: by brother was put on a list of people eligible for government jobs. then his name was taken off of the list. he was dreaming of a job. >> reporter: this neighborhood is called karma. it's one of the poorest areas here, and is where he spent most of his life. after the revolution that ended the regime five years ago this month, he was hopeful life would improve and the poor and unemployed would get a better chance. here anti-government sentiment is on the rise. karma, and other poor areas have

become the focal points of spontaneous mass protests. anger spoon spread through this week with unemployed young people protesting in towns and major cities. they all say the government brakes its promises. the government is under growing pressure to show it is on top of the situation and show its people it cares about their problems, but at the same time, it runs on a tight budget and may not be able to fund programs for jobs across the country. hashem ahelbarra, al jazeera. tunisia's prime minister has been in paris meeting the french president. france has promised $1 billion to help create jobs. >> translator: the situation is calming down. it's an economic problem, and people are demanding jobs. we have a program to try to resolve this problem. that's one of the main goals of this government.

we don't have a magic wand. the situation now is under control. ♪ at least 42 people, including at least 17 children have died trying to the aegean sea to greece. rescue teams are searching for others who may still be at sea. the greek coast guard said two boats sank on their way to turkey. there have been more arrivals on the greek island of lesvos. the refugee crisis and the issue of immigration is high on the agenda at the world economic forum. >> translator: we will have to face the refugee crisis caused by geopolitical situations in the middle east and africa for a

long time. we won't be able to solve the problem of syria in a few days. we have to live with this. it's part of our lives now. it's this challenge and the feeling that europe could break up in a short time. >> it's also the focus of a summit between germany and turkey. angela merkel wants to stem the flow of people arriving, giving turkey aid to try to crack down on people smugglers. nadim baba has the latest from berlin. >> reporter: what was striking in the press conference that angela merkel gave alongside the turkish prime minister after their meeting was that she stressed the need for germany and europe to continue meeting its obligations under international humanitarian law. germany took in more than a million refugees and migrants in 2015 and merkel is under intense pressure to reduce the number of new arrivals, but so far even

some of her coalition partners say she should do so, she says that is not going to happen. she says germany needs to work out a way of fining out a way of allowing migrants and refugees to arrive legally, so that they don't have to take that dangerous trip across the mediterranean. >> translator: we have once again heard about terrible numbers of people dying in the seas between turkey and the e.u. children as well. and we cannot allow the illegal traffickers to have supremacy here. and that people endanger their lives. people take their money when they don't have the best interests of these human beings in their minds. that's why we have to make sure this illegal immigration is changed into legal immigration. >> reporter: the turkish prime minister was at pains to stress that his country has already started taking action to make

life easier for syrian refugees in turkey. he also hinted that people coming through turkey from other countries will be finding it harder to make their way through turkey into the european union. because he says tougher visa restrictions will be applied for people coming from countries like pakistan and afghanistan. that's something that many analysts have been pointing out, that despite all of the efforts and money pledged to help turkey and countries to help people from syria, there are so many hundreds of thousands fleeing conflict and poverty in other places, and until germany puts a cap on new arrivals, it really is at the mercy of those countries in the region to stop the flow of migrants and refugees. angela merkel is treading a very lonely path right now. some are warning if it continues like this, the very structures of the european union are under threat. many eyes will be on the e.u.

summit to see whether angela merkel can get any kind of solidarity from her fellow leaders. proposals in denmark to start confiscating cash and valuables from newly arriving refugees has been widely criticized. in switzerland the refugees are being ordered to hand over the money they rife with. paul brennan is in switzerland and sent this report. >> reporter: filmed on his mobile phone this is where abdullah has made his temporary moment in switzerland. the refugee camp unit is an underground dormitory previously used be i the swiss army. 50 men sleep her at night. and during the day they are shut out. abdullah fled syria last autumn after his two brothers were

killed. but now he is wondering whether he made the right choice. >> i cannot stay like this. really, if i have to live like this, i'll stay in syria and die one time. but here every night i am dying. >> reporter: mohamed arrived from iraq last october. he was left with 3,400 dollars in his pocket. >> translator: they told me we'll keep in, unless you choose to go back to iraq. i was very angry. that money wasn't mine. it was borrowed from a friend, and he is now threatening to kidnap either my brother or my father. >> reporter: of the 45,000 refugees taken in by switzerland, the $1,000 franc rule was used just 112 times. the problem is by taking it

away, the refugees money, it risks trapping them in a cycle of dependency on state handouts. across europe, though, compassionate attitudes towards refugees are shifting to alarm. >> translator: notetive for taking this money is to cover part of the costs of having them in switzerland. it also means we can prevent tension between those who have money and those who don't. >> reporter: switzerland is one of the top ten richest countries on the planet. the economy is table, and the numbers of refugeeses relatively low. >> we're very concerned that there seems to be a race to the bottom by european countries trying to make themselves as unattractive as possible, trying to be as nasty and cruel as

possible, with the intention of trying to make asylum seekers go somewhere else. >> reporter: last year the european union agreed to reallocate 160,000 refugees. but 300 have been moved so far. refugees like abdullah and mohamed are left unsure what to do next. paul brennan, al jazeera, switzerland. and still to come on the program, police in somalia say 22 people are now known to have died in an al-shabab attack on a beach side cafe. and new hope for autistic children of poor families in south africa. ♪

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♪ welcome back. and a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera, a nation-wide curfew has been imposed in tunisia, where there have been wide-spread protests over lack of jobs. two boats have sank off of the coast of greece. and the refugee crisis is the main focus of a summit between germany and turkey, with turkey's prime minister calling for more help from the european union. now the east coast of the united states is preparing for what could be a huge blizzard. the state of virginia is already seeing heavy snowfall, as

washington, d.c., new york, and other cities have salting machines and snowplows on stand by. residents are being warned that road and air travel could come to a complete stand still. robert ray is live in charlotte in north carolina right now. what is going on where you are, robert? >> reporter: yeah, felicity, good evening to you. it is getting very windy here. we're seeing big-time gusts, but that is nothing compared to what is going to happen later tonight. but there has already been a few inches of snow here. there is sleeting rain, which is causing ice pack. you are not going to see vehicles on the road like you are seeing right now. and you are not going to see people walking around. this will eventually come to a shutdown. charlotte and the entire state

of north carolina. there are four people who have lost their lives in north carolina alone. and you talk about how do you keep the streets open? well, they have dropped over 10,000 tons of salt on the roads this morning, just in the past 7, 8 hours since the storm began. that is a lot of salt. what about the wider region? how is that suffering? >> reporter: yes. the biggest brunt of this storm will be the blizzard that will begin in the next few hours. the epicenter is washington, d.c., they are expecting over two feet of snow and 30 to 40 mile an hour wind gusts. that will cause drifts that are 6, 8-feet high in some areas. look at tennessee, nashville, country music, they are getting slammed right now.

their interstate shut down. new york city dropping literally over 200,000 tons of salt later today, because they are expected to get perhaps even a foot of snow by tomorrow. the biggest issue is power outages, and making sure people stay off of the roads. because we know a couple of years ago the storm that caused a lot of fatalities and a lot of people to lose the power, and we're expecting to see that over the coming days. certainly in the mountainous regions, like in north carolina, they will losing power as we speak right now, felicity. >> robert ray, in charlotte, thanks so much. the governments of mali and burkina faso have come together to fight armed groups in the country. al jazeera's correspondent is on the mali burkina faso border.

>> reporter: this is a camp for malian refugees. about 500 families who fled the 2013 french military intervention in northern mali live here. this woman is one of them. she has no plans to return home any time soon. >> translator: there was nowhere to go back to. our land is a battleground. >> reporter: she is referring to the armed group that has recently stepped up its attacks in mali. in the three years since the french troops have entered the

region, the group has factioned. pressure from 3,500 french troops stationed in mali seems to have finally brought the factions together. late last year, the leader once again pledged allegiance. since then the group and its affiliates have stepped up attacks on targets beyond their traditional bases. in the hotel in the malian capitol. last week, they killed 30 people in an attack on a luxury hotel and a cafe. most of the victims were foreigners. they have shown the ability to carry out attacks that are planned and carried out across borders. people living along the burkina faso's border with al-malikily

-- mali are now living in fear. the governments have agreed to work together. >> translator: what we are forced to do now is coordinate our anti-terror measures, exchange intelligence, and strengthen border security. that requires close military and strategic cooperation. >> reporter: analysts however, doubt mali and burkina faso can effectively tackle al-qaeda militarily. >> translator: mali and burkina faso are facing numerous challenges. they are both just emerging from political crises, and their militaries are not well trained or equipped. >> reporter: once again the two nations will be depending on the military might of france to stem the threat from armed groups. as many as 22 people have

been killed on a bomb attack in somalia's capitol. members of al-shabab stormed the ar area. attackers rammed a car into a restaurant before entering the building and shooting at customers. >> reporter: and the president of kenya has promised to destroy al-shabab. he vowed to defeat al-shabab after visiting soldiers who were recently injured in fighting against the armed group. al-shabab claimed it killed 100 kenyan soldiers when it attacked an army base last friday. >> the friday attack has only renewed our determination to destroy al-shabab and all terrorist groups that threaten kenya. every kenyan must understand that this is a war that requires

that we all be united as a nation and that we stand shoulder to shoulder to face the enemy of humanity; that we should not be deterred no matter the challenge that they try to push our way. north korea says it has detained a u.s. student for committing a hostile act and wanting to destroy the country's unity. he entered the country on a tourist visa. harry fawcett has more from seoul. >> reporter: well this news came through on the north korean state media saying that north korea had detained a u.s. citizen, a student, for a supposed hostile act against the state. also this report saying that that act was tolerated and manipulated by the united states government. the u.s. embassy here in seoul

has confirmed that it has seen the media reports. it is referring any other questions to the state department in washington. but there has been some corroboration from a tour agency based in china, which says this young man was on one of their tours and he was detained on january 2nd. they say they are acting closely with the swedish embassy, and also with the north korean ministry of foreign affairs, and the u.s. state department trying to get this man released. he is not the first u.s. citizen to be detained in north korea. in 2014 three citizens were released. there have been instances of missionary activity. one tourist left behind a bible in a hotel. these kinds of things have gotten people in trouble in the past. also last year there was a south korean student with a u.s. green card. he was detained after crossing

illegally into north korean territory from china. he was kept for six months before being handed back over to south korean authorities here. so this isn't the first of its type, but certainly this is a new development, a new u.s. citizen reportedly detained inside of north korea. more than 30 civilians have been killed in russian air strikes in two villages under the control of isil. they targeted villages in the east. the u.k.-based syrian observatory for human rights says at least 13 children are among the dead. many more have been wounded and the death toll could rise. a new state-run still for children living with autism has opened in the south african township. it is a first for this low-income community where parents can't afford to cater to the special needs of their children. >> reporter: this woman says she noticed something was wrong with

her daughter nine months after she was born. >> the doctors didn't tell me, like she was autistic. he just said to me she was brain damaged. it broke my heart very bad. like i couldn't tell my parent, my family or my husband. >> reporter: she will be 16 soon. her mother now understands that autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. she is excited because she got a place at a different kind of school. parents don't pay school fees here. south african officials say it is the first state-run school for autistic children in the township. many schools cater to children with different disabilities, but not for children with autism. >> parents would rather keep

their children at home. we just see either hyperactivity, a kid that can't communicate or interact with other people. >> reporter: there are also private schools in south africa, but are often well equipped and well run, providing speech and occupational therapy. >> learners with autism are very visual learners. they don't process verbal information very well, but they process visual information better. and it's much beier to have the learners together so you can make the correct adaptations. >> reporter: but facic fees are roughly $400 a month. that's too expensive for this woman. her 9-year-old daughter had a bad experience at a public school. >> i found that they would pull on her leg on the chair, like a

dog. and i was crying. i was crying, really -- it was very painful. >> reporter: the school has 64 students. with time officials hope similar state-run facilities for these children can be opened in other areas. the largest independent film festival in the u.s. has kicked off. tens of thousands are expected to catch a glimpse of the sundance film festival entrants this year. rob reynolds takes a look at some of the standouts. >> reporter: the rocky mountain air in this small resort town is full of expectation. independent filmmakers from 37 countries are showing off their artistic creations to an estimated 45,000 eager cinema fans and perspective film studio buyers. >> it's a bucket list item for me. >> i think people are pulled here because they know this is where the best content in the

world for film is. >> reporter: 120 films will be screened this year, are culled from more than 4,000 submissions. the focus is on narrative. >> to me the most important thing is the story. and storytelling is what it should be about. >> reporter: among the most talked about films this year, "christine", a dark drama about a female journalist trying to break into the male-dominated world of 1970s tv news. the israeli produced film "sand storm" tells the story of a bedouin family and its struggle to reconcile his traditions and beliefs with contemporary sexual relationships. "birth of a nation" takes its name from the blat anthdly racist 1915 silent epic, but tells the story of the bloody slave are bell i don't know in

virginia lead by african american folk hero. and there's buzz about "new town" by kim sneijder. it takes on the wrenching debate over gun violence, focusing on grieving families that lost children in the sandy hook school master. and the legendary german filmmaker is back with "lo and behold" an off-beat look at the digitized interacted world humanity has made and which is remaking humanity. they are waiting to see if this year will surpass 2014 when the drama failed to win big audiences. >> that shows there is a big difference between the bubble of the sundance film festival and what main stream audiences will be interested in. you can be sure many of these

filmmakers are hoping their labor of love will be the next "blare witch project." rob reynolds, al jazeera, park city, utah. and you will find much more on many of our stories on our website, that's what it looks like. and the address is aljazeera.com. ♪ forecasters are warning some 70 million people to prepare for what could be an historic snowfall. >> i guess they are wanting to get a little publicity, but that's a dying paper. >> donald trump returns fire after being slammed by conservatives. and an abrupt ending to the first federal trial over gm's faulty ignition switches. plus an american student wound up