his own life? >> the jail. >> some people might be scared to speak out but i'm not. i'm telling the truth. >> no negotiating. >> taking the decision to bring a temporary pause, temporary pause. they did not end, and it's not a failure of the talks. >> the syrian peace talks are suspended just three days after they tried begin. fighting intensifies. syrian government forces close in on opposition controlled areas in aleppo in what rebels describe as the strongest assault yet.

on alert: >> translator: we strongly warn that the north has severe crisis if it goes on for a missile launch. >> pressure begins on north korea rocket launch. >> i was raped many times, my daughter was also raped. >> former military officers in goodmaguatemala go on trial fore forcing individuals into sexual slavery during civil war pap. good evening i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america's international news hour. we begin tonight with what is becoming a diplomatic crisis to end the war in syria. the united nations backed peace talks are on hold once again. the u.n. envoy has suspended the

talks for three weeks. until the syrian government and russia halt their recent military exploits. heavy bombardment from russian airplanes and combat troops from hezbollah and iranian backed shia politica militia. secretary of state john kerry, diplomatic editor james bays is in geneva with more from the postponed talks. >> the u.n. special envoy came out to announce after only two days, the syrian talks are over. >> i'm making the decision to make a temporary pause, temporary pause, they did not end, it is not failure of the

talks, they came and said, both sides insisted in the fact that they are interested in having the political process started. >> reporter: you said nothing about the military escalation by the syrian government and the russian bombardment. haven't they basically bombed your talks? >> i.am not refraining to military activities. >> so he gave me no direct answer to my question. there is no doubt what ended these talks, this onslaught. the main syrian opposition block were finally persuaded to fly to geneva last weekend after given assurances by their allies and the u.n. that measures would be taken to ease the suffering of the communities in syria. but unless things change, the

opposition will not be returning next month. the idea of complications negotiations like these is to build trust. however, opposition leaders have told me there's very little of that, they don't trust the russian or the syrian regime aand they don't trust the u.n. or the united states. james bays, geneva. several aid workers have been killed and displaced from their homes around aleppo. zeina khodr has more. >> reporter: opposition fighters made their last stand in an area vital for their survival. but they face difficulties, on what was an unprecedented assault. government troops and their allies managed to advance, cutting through rebel held territory in the north of syria.

they reached two terrorist towns lifting the siege on the predominantly shia communities. the offensive has managed to cut off rebels inside aleppo city and severe supply license from the turkish border. >> this is only road, the only life line for the free syrian army. we have no other life line apart from this border. >> the northern aleppo country side had been the only remaining stronghold for groups linked to the sphrearm. free syrian army.

the heavy fighting and bombardment forced people to head towards the turkish bother in search of safety. hundreds are camped out in the open. the offensive also caused civilian casualties many of them as a result of the strikes. the fear now is further government advances towards the border and that would completely seal off the only life line for the opposition in aleppo province. over recent weeks the rebels have lost territory on strategic fronts as russia's military intervention changed the dynamics on the ground. opposition groups will not enter any negotiations from a position of strength. what is becoming clear is that the syrian government and its allies are negotiating on the battlefield. the struggle for aleppo has long been called the mother of all battles. it is about winning, syria's second largest city. it is about winning, syria's north. for the government, this is another strategic battlefield

gain that could be the beginning of winning a war at least against the moderate opposition. zeina khodr, al jazeera, aleppo city. kremlin says a violation of the open skies agreement that allows countries to fly unarmed surveillance over the countries of signatories. when turkey shot down a war plain outside ankara. zagal, al jazeera america's national security contributor and joins us from washington. doug, good to see you. >> good evening antonio. >> the u.n. special envoy keeps insisting that the talks are not at an end, but now talks have

been postponed for three weeks. >> they have been postponed for three weeks primarily because no one agrees on anything. everyone would like the fighting to stop but beyond that, there is no agreement between the combatants and all the outside powers that are involved. >> does it seem likely that there will be any kind of significant agreement? if not, it would seem that they're doomed, both sides are insisting on things that the other side is not willing to. >> i would assume the assad regime and the russians could sufficiently change facts on the ground that the opposition has to co come to the negotiating table. >> it's become clear that the government and the russians and its other allies are negotiating on the battlefield. so you think the government is going to keep trying to do what

it can to strengthen its hand? >> absolutely. that's what you do in a war. is try to maximize your facts ton ground and then when and if negotiations come about, you have a greater position of strength. occupying territory is the currency when it comes to pending negotiations. >> that's not what you do when you want a ceasefire? >> well, no. that's the point. everyone kind of sort of wants a ceasefire but they want to win even more. the rebels want a ceasefire but they want assad gone even more. assad wants oceasefire but wants to remain in power even more. those are obviously incompatible goals. >> it would seem fair at least to me, that the opposition would want ceasefire before good faith talks would take place. but the question is when have assad and putin been fair and could the opposition be playing into the regime's hands?

much worse could be three weeks from now. >> the issue of course is that this war has gotten so complicated that everyone has a legitimate case against everyone else. the regime's case is, let me get this straight, you want us, the russians to stop bombing, ant antitank missiles to the russians? it's so difficult to put any conditions on any negotiations. >> how does it get untangled? what can the international community do to turn the screws on assad or vladimir putin? >> i think screws are going to be on all the international powers, the russians and the iranians on one side and the saudis and the turks on the other. your screws, as you put it, good analogy, couldn't be put to

these four powers to get their two sides to come to the center then we have a real problem. this leaves aside all the issues of the kurds and the turks which are complicated even further. >> the assad regime, some opposition leaders say they will not talk about a resolution until the resolution does not include assad. >> maybe assad will go some day but only when the russians say he will. >> what do you predict? i'll put be in the position of predicting what's going to happen. >> i think it depends on what unfolds on the battlefield in the coming three weeks. if the regime and the russians have a good three weeks we may have to see the rebels come to the table three weeks from now. >> and the talks were part of a process outlined in a u.n.

resolution including a drafting of a new constitution and elections. more wishful thinking? >> i think anyone who thinks there's going to be elections in syria in the next three to five years is probably much more optimistic than i am. >> i think than most people. but in the meantime, people are fetting killed angetting killedf suffering. doug always good to see you. >> absolutely. >> the eu has agreed to pay more than $3 billion for refugees in turkey. the goal is to make their living conditions comfortable enough that some refugees will stay and not try to make their way to europe. until now they failed to agree how to pay. some settlers in southeastern turkey that peace will be the only thing to make

them stay. the exodus began with the lifting of a curfew that was in place since december 9th. i.s.i.l. is monitoring activity in libya, pressure secretary josh earnest has said, president obama would not hesitate to take unilateral action to protect people, i.s.i.l. has been protecting libya's oil infrastructure and has established a stronghold in the city of sirte. japan is on alert after a planned flight launch by north korea which i it sees as a thinly disguised atomic test. al jazeera's harry fawcett reports from seoul. >> when north korea last launched a long range slight, it

>> north korea testing ballistic missiles is a violation of security decision he for our country. >> north korea's announcements confirms, pyongyang says the first stage of the rocket will fall to the west of south korea. discarded parts of the fuselage will drop further south before the third stage will drop into the sea north of the philippines. japan says it will shoot down the rocket if any of it threatsens any part of its soil. demanding north korea rethink its plan. we strongly warn that the north will pay a strong price.

only on the korean peninsula but also in this region and around the world. >> reporter: previous prelaunch announcements by north korea have promoted similar rounds of rhetoric, but pyongyang has simply pressed ahead with its plans. certainly, south koreans have become familiar with this turn of events. >> china and the u.s. don't care that much so i have great concerns. >> translator: if they launch they launch, i don't feel it's a threat. >> reporter: south korea is promising severe punishment pushing for more strict sanctions this time around. putting pressure on china to punish its ally for ignoring beijing's calls for restraint. picking the very day that a senior chinese official touched down to announce a rocket

launch. harry fawcett, al jazeera, seoul. emergency in several counties because of the zika virus, coming couple florida, puerto rico, uruguay. >> and australia's high court rules the deal to detain asylum seekers on a pacific island is constitutional.

florida's governor has declared a health y in four counties after confirming nirch case nine casea virus in the state. all cases were believed to have been contracted outside the u.s. the centers for disease control has added tonga to its list and ireland today reported its first two cases of the virus. both patients had recently returned t from from countries where the zika virus was prevalent. counties are where the main known zika patients live. al jazeera april andy gallagher reports on the steps health officials are taking in miami.

>> miami has long been known as the gateway to the americas and it's a reputation borne out by the international airport. every day more than 40,000 passengers go to or from latin america and the cri caribbean. being a busy transportation hub makes it vulnerability. officials voice their concerns that miami's international airport may not have the resources to cope with the zika virus. but experts we spoke to says it will be getting back to scientific basics this will help the most. >> most experts expect to see transmitted cases in the united states. >> studying infectious diseases for years, there is nothing new how communities the adapt and respond to the zika virus. florida already has programs in place to respond to the aedes

aegypti virus. accurately diagnosing those who fall ill. >> to me it's getting back to the diagnostics, trying to get a perfect diagnosis on every patient everywhere in the world. >> business as usual, officials have no plans to implement any special measures to combat the zika virus. but say it's people who will make the biggest difference. >> we are appealing to the public to homeowners to property owners to do their job. they are called to play a major role right now in preventing the disease gets established in our county, by eliminating every single accumulation of water around home. >> as yet there are no federal guidelines in response to a potential outbreak of the zika virus in florida. that may change as the weather gets warmer but officials say its education programs and the

public's role that will be most crucial. andy gallagher, al jazeera, miami, florida. >> about 20 cases have been reported in priek wit in puertoe town of fajardo, especially hard hit. >> fajardo has oproblem and the mayor is on edge. >> this is a problem that affects the future of our families. >> approximately 20 case et cetera of the zika virus in preekpuerto rico, one-third aren fajardo. >> fumigation it works on the adult population but it does not take care of larvae, it does not take care of the eggs. but it does give unfortunately the community a false sense of security in the sense that then they don't do what they need to do. >> reporter: while health

officials monitor standing water and sanitation in the neighborhoods searching breeding spots they cannot catch them all. this is someone's pool here in puerto rico and one of the hardest hit areas. you can see it's not very well maintained. this is what scientists are so concerned about. you see the affiliate here. what you're actually seeing on top of this water is mosquito larvae. i mean you scoop this up and there is breeding ground for these mosquitos that cause the zika virus. in puerto rico's capital of san juan, doctors are alerting pregnant patients because of the potential correlation between the zika virus and microcephaly, a rare neurological condition in which children are born with unusually small or deformed heads. all they can do is ask the women to wear long sleeves and use mosquito spray. >> i never encounter anything like this. the closest i can recall something like this i have to go back to 1980 and i wasn't even

in medical school by that time when a problem came out and we had a -- when hiv came out. i compare that level. >> the doctor says misinformation and lack of communication from health officials is to blame for some of the panic. for christina gonzalez who is due next month the lack of information is troubling. >> more information, and information about prevention, we know that the mosquito is in puerto rico since forever and we know about dengue and chikungunya but this one is like another whole story because we know that it can maybe, can affect the baby. >> though there have not been any reports of pregnant women contracting the zika virus in puerto rico, health officials in the small village and around the

island are just beginning to wrap up their warnings here as the world health organization says there could be up to 4 million cases of the virus in the americas by the end of 2016. robert ray, al jazeera, san juan, puerto rico. health officials met in uruguay today to coordinate the response to the outbreak. teresa vo reports. >> health workers have expressed a worry about the lack of research and information available regarding the zika virus. here in montevideo, they agreed that attacking the the mosquito that causes dengue, chikungunya and zika virus, is necessary.

why such countries at colombia there have been no births of babies with microcephaly. >> we have no doubt that the cases of the outbreak of microcephaly that exist in brazil have been caused by the zika virus. the only information we have received is that the zika virus alone is enough to cause microcephaly or other factors involved. >> also expressed the need to protect borders and airports and provide information to the public about this disease. officials agreed that cooperation is crucial and committed themselves to start working together to find a vaccine that will prevent people from getting infected. >> teresa vo reporting from

montevideo. both said they're working on vaccines, their announcements follow french drug maker sinofy who said yesterday it is launching a zika virus project. original name zica was short for zippy car. the company says it sounds too similar to the zika virus. it plans to come up with a new name in a few weeks. coming up. what passengers and the airline are saying about a hole that was blasted in the plane. >> a case of war time sexual slavery of mayan women.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm antonio mora. coming up in this half hour of international news, 12 countries and the trade deal, but it has hurriedles to come. but first a look at the stories making headlines across the u.s. in our american minute. in maryland, president obama told muslim americans, you belong here. it was his first visit as president to a u.s. mosque.

the house committee opened hearings on the water crisis in flint, michigan. lawmakers are trying to figure out who's responsible for the lead contamination of the city's water supply. lawmakers push blame on epa and democrats point fingers at the city officials. long line of showers and thundershowers are expected to linger into the overnight hours in the u.s. federal officials are not willing to confirm that a bomb caused problems with a smal somi

jet. courtney kealy reports. >> moment after an explosion tore a hole in an airlines airbus a-21. recorded this scary scene from his seat as the plane flying at 11,000 feet turned back to mogadishu to make an emergency landing. >> i saw kind of a space of a small part of the plane missing that air was floating in and out and the oxygen masks started to drop above us. so everything looked a bit more critical. then after a while, me and others, everyone realized that there was something happening in front of us. i was terrified and most people were terrified and of course people responded differently to that kind of a shock. >> reporter: what the passengers didn't see initially was the large hole, about three feet in diameter, in the plane's fuselage. the serbian pilot who

successfully landed the plane told reporters he believes it was the result of a bomb but officially the somali government blamed the damage on a pressurization problem. in a statement on its website dalo airlines, the national carrier of just djibuti. >> adjacent to the african union's main base of 22,000 troops who are battling the armed group al shabaab an al qaeda affiliate. courtney kealy, al jazeera.

attack happened outside damascus gate in jerusalem's old city. the officer was shot in the head after asking palestinian men to show identification. israelis returned fire killing all three men. representatives of 12 countries have signed the trorvel transpacifitroaivelcontc partnership. wayne hay has the story. >> protestors say he they'll continue to oppose it. one of the most contentious parts of the tpp, allowing private businesses to effectively sue a government, taking them to a private tribunal outside the court

system if the government passes legislation that the business feels breaks the rules of the tpp, goes against the spirit of the deal. the settlement is part of many free trade agreements but because this deal is so large involving so many countries and therefore, so many businesses, people on the streets have been protesting the tpp say they simply cannot accept the deal. >> wayne hay reporting. united nations says decision runs counter to both the spirit and letter of the law. al jazeera's degga has the story. >> treatment t for pregnancy complications.

her baby was born in australia, now she and her one-year-old face deportion back to naru. it was not illegal for the woman to be held in a prison camp on naru and the deal is valid under the constitution. lawyers for the woman say she's by therly disappointed. they believe the government should step in. >> the stroke of a pen is all it would take our prime minister or immigration prime minister, do the decent thing and let these people stay. >> it's not just a security consideration but a moral one as well. >> what i can say is this, our system of deterrence remains robust and has recently been reinforced to deal with immediate and enduring threats to our maritime security and

sovereignty. >> unicef says it's disappointed with the ruling and has called for the government to intervene. >> this is an important moment for the australian government to say it's going to take a reasoned reaction to what has happened, it's empowered to make decisions for these children and their families. >> the latest agreement was likewise rejected by the staple court in 2014. according to the government, by the end of 2013, 1459 asylum seekers were being held offshore. now this ruling will mean another 33 infants, 91 children and at least 150 adults currently in australia could be added to that number if the immigration minister chooses to deport them.

dorsa jabbary, al jazeera. carnival events are starting to happen. >> a team of party goers puts the final touches to their costumes. for them, mid winter means only one thing, carnival. lady's night, this year the claims of sexual assault of women on new year's every are on a lot ofness women's minds. >> to look who was guilty and who wasn't guilty and i guess it's not the best way to say all the refugees are bad people because that's not true. >> reporter: in an effort to reinforce that view the authorities have been handing out leaf lets to recent refugees

and migrants. pointing out the do's and don't's and people welcomed the idea. >> this doesn't have to be. >> why? >> because there are some people who not feel good, bad for those people. >> but if awareness campaigns are the gentle part of official policy then the tougher site has been drafted in show. what happened in this city on new year's eve has changed public opinion not just here but across germany. where most a majority of people were certain, now there are doubts. >> many people are asking the question what will happen during carnival, wheys going to happen,

to make ou our cologne safer? the answer, cologne will act and not just in the city center. >> i find the situation is more tense, i'm not feeling entirely safe. for me as a woman it's an unpleasant feeling. >> i was surprised at the amain station, one is more aware than usual. >> reporter: back at the carnival evens are in full swing. pleasing the crowd here seems relatively simple. but on the political stage it's a different matter. opinion polls say that whether the government can perform them is another question, dom 96

cane, al jazeera. in context segment. former guatemalan soldiers, forcing women into sex. indigenous women from daniel mercer reports from guatemala city. >> reporter: now they have a chance to tell their story. all of these women say they were taken as sexual slaves in 1982. petrona said she was held on an army base and repeatedly raped over the period of six days. some say the abuse lasted for sick years. >> they told us to take a rain shower, then the fat man came and he would rape us. i was raped many times, my daughter was also raped.

>> guatemala's community is punishing to try get money for their land. >> this, marks the first time in national history, that a national court will hear a case of war time sexual slavery. guatemala's 36 year civil war ended in 1996, and left some 200,000 people dead. a ur u.n. fest committee found culpability. there are still signs of weakness the biggest being the stalled genocide trial of former

guatemalan dictator efrian. but the couple of weeks are over. grave human rights abuses, people who are connected not just to crime of the past but criesmsigns of agreement. >> the u.s. ambassador's presence on the trial's opening day shows who's really in charge. >> the united states really has the wait. and they're guiding the judicial process to treat it to him in place which is against the army. >> the sexual slavery trial is expected to leas three months. to at least three weeks.

kelsey al ford jones, kelsey, very good to have you where us. it is truly never happened before, a court trying two military officers for charges of sexual slavery. why did it take this long? >> this is a case of massive month portion, talking about crimes he over 15 women for, it required an immense building of evidence of finding witnesses who would be willing to testify and going through the process with the women thestles, in a place where, 30 years after these violations were committed, a lot of fear by the women and

by pleks of th members of the cn speaking out because the power structures who committed these crimes 30 years ago, remain culpable today. the u.n. peace, and on top of that, their husbands disappear, why are only two officers being tried? >> well, this is the beginning of a longer process. i believe the intention would be to move up the shane of command. first, a civilian who was on the part of the mit tri hierarchy, who was in charge of the civilian armed patrols, which were forced into frols, with the civilian in the community to,

forced disappearance of a number of men in the community. and the lieutenant colonel is being charged with running the base. there are, they may also face trial. >> now only 11 women were involved in this trial. they were far from the tonal victims. >> 80. i mean the u.n, across the country as a tool of war. unfortunately, even in that truth commission process the issue of sexual violence and rape was not really talked about. many women did not bring it up and many of the vectors actually den ask about it, it wasn't until 2009 and 2010 in which women really began to come forward and talk about what happened. most women still today have remained silent about what happened to them.

>> right, willing to mete out justice to the victims of the civil war. >> if i recall, any victim of any crime deferential a crime depend humanity anhument 30 thed their per serves not th, for tre for truth-telling and for accountability in guatemala, have prioritized cases. former attorney general claude yoclaudeyoa, this is a positiver

guam. >> the u.n. truth commission has discovered that the u.s. provided a lot of training advice during the civil war. >> the u.s. bears ep immense responsibility, many of the guam military operations would not as a strong ally in the force against comawnism particularity and it's important to recognize that the u.s. was supporting these campaigns as they happened. they had the information about what was going on. they snooub about the extensive attacks again can thing here in the u.s. ideally we would have account ability processes,

justice processes moving inform, heeb. what we do have is the up and down of the u.s. embassy, to move forktd in, present of at the beginning of this trial to slow support for this very important case and as kind of a statement in support ever judicial independence. >> kelsey alford jones, good for you to bring light to this important case, thank you. the indigenous community, ruled the sami village on near house, haws the right, 2100 miles in lapland. the swede irk government is

expected to appeal the ruling. south african president jake onzuma says he wants to pay for upgrades to his private home. critics have criticized, improvements such as a swimming pool and an amphitheater. the president offered to pay back the money to put the problem behind him. but his opposition plans to take the issue to the constitutional court next week. adding to expanding waist lines and a rapidly rising obesity rate. and a small country is setting its sights on an enormous frontier. how luxembourg happens to support the exploration ever of

asteroids. wr

is. >> bad weather has stranded tens of thousands of people traveling for the lunar new year. many are stuck at a major rail station in southern china. authorities offered free upgrades to high speed trains for 10,000 passengers. the lunar new year runs from february to early march.

now to our global view segment with a look at how news outlets across the world are reacting to various events. paper argues the u.s. had the best recovery from the recent recession of any of the large economies. unemployment is down. zika virus e-zika spread around the globe may be the new norm for diseases. sars and ebola was a disturbing wakeup call, and now the world health organization has declared zika a global emergency. thanks to globalization the prairp says the spread of diseases will - only get hardero fight. large parts of iraq and syria are being captured from i.s.i.l.'s grasp. but good chance it will have to do it all again, in libya, where there's similar internal chaos

as syria. off the radar report, malaysia has a big problem. it is the most obese in southeast asia. sahil has more from kuala lumpur. >> the country's love of rich foods and sweet treats have led to a weight crisis. new figures show that rising dramatically in the last 20 years. malasians do know their diet isn't perfect. >> i try to eat more vegetables and make my own juice. >> i'm very careful what i eat. but i'm also eating too much, lack of exercise and exercise is extremely important. >> in 1996, just 4.4% of

malaysia's population was classed as obese. ten years later that had skyrocketed to 14%. now, the figure is running at almost 18%, which means more than 5 million malasians. the number of overweight people is also at record levels at 30%. >> i think the solution must be educating yuceducating young pe. they will become adults 20 years later, three will become healthy adults, legal risky less overweight and better malasians. >> doctors say almost half the country has high cholesterol and a fifth was suffering from diabetes. diabetes is a problem that many developed countries face. the government has an uphill struggle in trying to persuade the public it's about watching

what you eat and the amount that you eat that will lead to a healthier lifestyle. sahil raman, al jazeera, kuala lumpur. nurturing asteroid mining, luxembourg's economy minister says the law will stimulate economic growth on earth and offer new horizons in space exploration. two russian cosmo nawt cosmonaud a flash drive into space containing messages commemorating 70th anniversary of victory day, the flash drive will eventually reenter earth's atmosphere and burn up. that's it for the international news hour of al jazeera america,

i'll be back in two minutes.

>> good evening, i'm antonio mora. this is al jazeera america. >> i will stop them from perpetuating an agenda on america that's bad for our democracy. >> i would love for trump to be the candidate. >> you're not muslim and american, you're muslim american. another round of storm damage from the deep south to upstate new york,