Skip to main content

tv   News  Al Jazeera  February 12, 2016 12:00am-12:31am EST

12:00 am
we have agreed to implement a nationwide cessation of hostilities to begin in the target of one week's time world leaders agree on a plan to stop the violence in syria and to speed up humanitarian relief. hello. this is al jazeera live from doha. also on the program, hillary clinton has faced off against her rival bernie sanders in their second one-on-one debate.
12:01 am
at least 49 inmates have been killed in a prison riot in northern mexico. >> we have to detected gravitational waves. we did the and landmark discovery that could change the way scientists think about our universe. we begin with the war in syria. world powers have agreed to take steps to scale back violence in syria after having talks in munich. hopeful it will happen in a week but it will not happen with i.s.i.l. and al-nusra. supplies will be sent by air to some besieged cities as early as next week. all of these steps will be monitored by a u.n. task force headed by russia and the u.s.
12:02 am
our diplomatic editor james bays reports >> reporter: 19 delegations, the sponsors of international peace efforts in syria gathering in an effort to get things back on track. the most important meeting happened several hours earlier on 915th floor of the same munich hotel. this is where russian foreign minister and john kerry came face-to-face. if you look at those face $, you can tell from the very start this was a difficult meeting. the russians proposed a ceasefire from march 1, but the u.s. said that would mean three weeks more aerial bombardment and called for it to begin as early as this weekend. when they finally addressed the media, it was in the early hours of the morning. it was clear neither man had got exactly what he wanted, but instead they announced an ambitious target of just one week in which to stop the violence.
12:03 am
>> we have agreed to implement a nation-wide cessation of hostilities to begin in one week's time. that's ambitious, but everybody is determined to move as rapidly as possible to try to achieve this. this will apply to any and all parties in syria with the exception of the terrorist organizations d.a.e.s.h. and al-nusra. >> reporter: they said a joint task force will go will be set up to arrange the cessation of hostilitys and another one of getting humanitarian aid to those in most desperate need would meet for the first time in a matter of hours in geneva >> this is the list of the areas and the people who are in need, and the numbers of them. now, the ifg told us, told the u.n., you are in charge of launching this initiative with our support >> reporter: this was a very
12:04 am
long and often difficult series of meetings. what they've achieved reads well on paper, but the big test now will be turning it into reality on the ground. james bays. al jazeera let's go to an associate professor at the university of denver. he says this agreement isn't a break through >> if russia was serious it could announce a stop of the bombardment. they haven't done so. russia lamed that it was intervening in syria, but all the evidence suggests that it is not bombing i.s.i.s.'s positions but rebel held positions in the western part of syria. why should we take russia's word, its commitment, when it has a clear track record just in the conflict of syria of contradicting its stated claims.
12:05 am
so i don't think that there's anything positive. it's interesting to note that they did not use the word "ceasefire". it is cessation of hostilities which is an ambiguous term which means they can do whatever they want and the international community will have to live with it. i think we are headed toward a greater disaster beyond the tragedy that has characterised syria for the last five years the latest on developments inside syria. our correspondent reports near the turkish-syrian border. >> reporter: the syrian opposition has lost more ground in the northern province of aleppo. the military air base was not recaptured by government troops and their allies. it was taken by the kurdish armed group the y.p.g. and its arab allies. syria's opposition say the y.p.g. has been taking advantage of the government's offensive to expand areas under its control
12:06 am
in aleppo. >> translation: y.p.g. militia from the start of the revolution has been working through its own interests. it created an autonomous area. it never recognised the syrian revolution, but it used it to create its own state. >> reporter: the capture of the air base means the y.p.g. is close to the main rebel held border crossing with turkey. this has increased concern in turkey which considers the group and its political wing the pyd a terrorist organization. >> translation: pyd has been the unstoppable winner. it will stretch all the way to the west. it is on not logical for turkey to carry out military operations against the pyd in syria while i.s.i.l. has a press. this will draw a recollection from u.s. and russia. >> reporter: the y.p.g. and its ally are partners of the coalition against i.s.i.l. turkey has criticized the u.s. for accepting the group as allies.
12:07 am
the obama administration has made it clear this policy is not going to change. the y.p.g. also enjoys good relations with russia. it is a complicated alliance on the ground in skir i can't. officially the damascus party and the y.p.g. are not allies. it is clear if there is any coordination if the offensive against the opposition in aleppo, but what is clear is that the government and the y.p.g. are both heading towards aleppo's border crossing with turkey. the bordertowns close to that crossing have received tens of thousands of syrians displaced by the ongoing military operation. turkey continues to be criticized in not allowing them to enter. it is argued that the refugees can stay in a safe zone which would serve turkey's national security's interests by acting as a buffer and keeping the regime away from its doorstep
12:08 am
u.s. presidential hopefuls hillary clinton and bernie sanders have faced off in the second one-on-one democratic debate in milwaukee. they clashed over several issues, including campaign funding, immigration and health care. our correspondent is reporting on that. who came out on top, if anyone? >> reporter: it really seemed that hillary clinton was trying to change the dialogue. she has been for a while now been responding to senator sanders who has really been able to gain some t, raction with income equality and to do things differently in politics. indirect attacks on hillary clinton who represents the political establishment as the former first lady, her husband a former president, but there were a lot of domestic issues that were discussed along those themes of inincome equality,
12:09 am
especially whether or not that was the reason for systematic racism, and there was the dispute about health care. >> that's a promise that cannot be kept. it is really important now that we are getting into the rest of the country that both of us are held to account for explaining what we are proposing because especially with health care, this is not about matdz. this is about people's lives and we should level with the american people about what we can do to make sure they get quality affordable health care. so >> let us level with the american people. secretary clinton has been going around the country saying bernie sanders wants to dismantle the affordable care act, people are going to lose their medicaid. i have fought my entire life to make sure that health care is a right for everyone. i am not going to dismantle anything
12:10 am
>> reporter: this was not the only point of contention between them. there was also a very big dispute over who has been most supportive of america's first black president, president obama. hillary clinton accusing bernie sanders of not being loyal, of criticizing the president, even name calling, calling him weak. that was probably the biggest response by bernie sanders in terms of his frustration towards his main rival, accusing her of what ee called a low blow, saying he has been very loyal to obama and he will continue to do so, but that doesn't mean that there sometimes will be differences of opinion. the bottom line, the sparring between these two indicated just how competitive this race has come, especially for hillary clinton who one was seen as the inevitable candidate now finds herself following the leave of bernie sanders on many of these key issues and heading into some very difficult contest where there is no longer a guarantee of the support she wants counted on thank you for that.
12:11 am
a view from a professor of political science at the university of california. he is with us live. thanks for being with us. what did you make of the debate tonight? hillary clinton needed to be particularly attentive to women voters and younger voters without sounding patronising. did she do it? >> i think she did achieve her goals. she showed that bernie sanders' talking points don't have a lot of depth sometimes and she was anal to push him and expose that lack of depth. she was also able to demonstrate a gate knowledge of foreign policy and he was playing catch up on some of those issues who else did the candidates have to reach tonight and did they do it? >> well, the next two primaries and caucuses for the democrats take place in nevada nevada and
12:12 am
south carolaina. each needed to reach out to those communities while notice alienating white voters. i think they will succeed, but gen clinton will have a better approach. she had identified nelson mandela and made a compelling case for putting him on that list was there anything that that wasn't debated tonight that should have, perhaps, been? >> quite a few things, in fact. the next president is going to have to face a divided congress, our decisions with congress. he is going to have to fate an electorate that's divided. he has donald trump and bernie
12:13 am
sanders getting support in the electorate. so the next president will face pretty unsurmountable battles. the candidates presented themselves as being able to comblish their goals-- accomplish their goals in the short-term. that is necessary for a campaign what is the road ahead for these two look like now. is this rivalry going to continue. is it going to be a neck and neck race between the two. >> i would suspect it would go on at least through march and possibly through april. secretary clinton has to demonstrate that she can, in fact, win and win decisively in some of the larger states, certainly in nevada and south carlina is important. i think bernie sanders's campaign will decline. if on the other hand secretary clinton doesn't do as well as
12:14 am
she expects to in nevada, the democratic race will be a free-for-all at that point. it is possible we will see new candidates get into the mix thank you for that. at least 49 people have been killed in a prison riot in north-eastern mexico. it is believed that the violence at the prison began after inmates set fire to their mattresses. >> reporter: witnesses say the fire and riot began just after midnight on thursday. dozens of prisoners were killed before authority was taken back. the fire lasted several hours. it is the largest prison in the state and known for being over crowded. some were evacuated with burns. >> we have proved there were not any jail breaks.
12:15 am
there was security around the prison. >> reporter: family members gathered outside the prison and started to tray to break their way in. several hours after authorities took control, family members were still waiting for answers. >> translation: i don't know. please help us. come out and confront us. give us the names. please, the names. that's it. where is she? >> reporter: in recent years deadly prison riots have become common in mexico where drug gangs are often housed in the same facilities. the pt is due to visit a prison that used to be controlled by violent drug cartels just ahead here on al jazeera, upping the anti, both sides-- ante. both sides retaliate between north korea and south korea. >> reporter: i'm in south africa
12:16 am
where a trial is causing so much tension.
12:17 am
the conference call. the ultimate arena for business. hour after hour of diving deep, touching base, and putting ducks in rows. the only problem with conference calls: eventually they have to end. unless you have the comcast business voice mobile app. it lets you switch seamlessly from your desk phone to your mobile with no interruptions. i've never felt so alive. make your business phone mobile with voice mobility. comcast business. built for business.
12:18 am
welcome back. the top stories. the world powers of agreed to acisation of hostilities in syria within a week. countries will head a task force to speed up the delivery of aid to besieged syrian cities. u.s. presidential hopefuls hillary clinton and bernie sanders have taken part in their second one-on-one debate.
12:19 am
the two candidates clashed over election campaign contributions, immigration and health care. at least 49 people are believed to have died in a riot at the prison in north-eastern mexico. the trouble began when rival groups got into a fight. relatives gathered at the prison and are demanding answer. zchlt uma has been interrupted while making his annual state of the nation address. - zuma. he is under growing criticism for what opponents are calling corrupt activities and bad decision-making. on friday four white farmers accused of killing two black farm workers appeared in court in south africa. families of those killed say the men were going to ask for money that was owed to them. however, the farmerss say this were being robbed and acted in self-defence. >> reporter: when the police told this woman that her son
12:20 am
samuel had been shot and killed, she was devastated. she says earlier that day samuel had told her he was going to collect his salary from his boss, a south african farmer. >> translation: they didn't just shoot him. he was tortured. when i saw his body it looked like he had been hacked by a knife, cut in many cases and then someone ran over him with a car. >> reporter: more details will come out during the trial. some farmers in the area say they heard there was an attempted robbery >> this is nothing to do with racist. all the farmers were at their homes after the election, after a day's work. they get a call, they respond. everything was 100%. so to people who lose their lives, when wrong it is not for me to say. it must be investigated. >> reporter: in south africa
12:21 am
violence on farms is common and the problem appears to be getting worse. many farms are isolated and far from police stations. farmers are taking extra precautions. they have their own farmers neighborhood watch and patrols. the civil rights organization says that last year there were 318 violent incidents on farms. 64 farmers and workers were murder. so far there has been 26 reported attacks in january. six people have been killed. some experts say the reasons for the violence are complicated. >> we believe there is more to it. it's not only about race. obviously, race does play a role due to the history of our country, and huge inequality in our country. also we believe that the economy that puts people under strain and causes frustration and then an outflow of it. an outflow is violence, crime and security issues that affect all south africans.
12:22 am
>> reporter: whether in latest incident was something that began over argument as wages >> translation: i want them to pay >> reporter: or was criminally motivated, it won't bring her son back. she said he was a farm worker and wants someone held accountable for his death south korea has cut off power and water supplies to an tril complex in north korea. the jointly run industry park is the latest flash point as the relationship between the two neighbors deteriorate >> reporter: as of midnight, south korea cut off the electricity supply that having a knock-on effect of cutting off the water supply. north korea says it is turning that industrial complex, that very important symbolic joint venture between on north and south korea into a military zone. also cutting off the military and civilian hot lines.
12:23 am
the defense ministry here in south korea saying it is possible that north korea might wish to turn the zone into a full fledged military base. that is something that they are watching out for. they have so far observed no abnormal military movements within the area. there is also some evidence of the economic fallout of all this developing as well here in south korea at least. the business owners of the 124 south korean businesses that operated inside the complex, they say that the entire responsibility of economic fallout of this lies with the south korean government. the government has talked about assisting with insurance payments, assisting with delaying loan repayments and making other representations to banks and other people that the companies may owe money to. the companies say what they want is full government financial assistance. they say that a special law may well need to be enacted to make sure that that happens
12:24 am
the u.s. city of ferguson is facing action to force it to adopt police reforms. in 2014 there were violent protests after the shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer. >> reporter: the city of fers son says all it wants is a better deal. >> the city is and will be willing to stay at the negotiating table because our goal is to get this agreement done >> reporter: the justice department is saying no deal. >> there residents of ferguson has suffered the depravation of their constitutional rights, the rights guaranteed to all americans for decades. they have waited decades for justice. they should not be forced to wait any longer. >> reporter: the shooting of unarmed black teenager michael brown by a white police officer filled the streets here and across the u.s. with protesters
12:25 am
and police for months adding to a national movement against police violence. it is a lesson the prosecutor says ferguson hasn't learned. the elected leaders say it is too expensive costing up to 3.7 million dollars in the year to retrain police. >> this agreement is something that we can meet financially. it's something that also still achieves the constitutional policing which is, obviously, the reason we're having the issue here. we felt that these changes were immaterial to meeting the goals. >> reporter: the changes will allow the city to dissolve the police department and form a new
12:26 am
one that won't have to abide by the new agreement. >> reporter: the agreement says the police deliberately violate the rights of their citizens, stopping them without cause, targeting black people, using excessive force and using the criminal justice system to raise money. just ask anybody here paying a ticket at court they will say it's true >> you will get taken for anything. they will pull you over in some neighborhoods. it just depends on where you're going >> reporter: more than a year after the death of michael brown, the city is considering its options as the people of ferguson and the nation wait try getting your head around this. designtists have-- scientists have confirmed the issue of ripple waves. >> reporter: space and time are
12:27 am
the two basic elements of the universe that once seemed indistinct until einstein changed our perception. in a movie one could travel through a collapsing star and black home where time and space meld into a fourth dimension. scientists have seen a merging of two black holes many years ago and the ripple that resulted. >> the star in which time speeded up and slowed down, a storm in which the shape of space was bent in this way and that way. >> reporter: last september two facilities located on opposite sides of the u.s. detected the wave which lasted just a fraction of a second. the laser instruments that picked it up could hear it as a
12:28 am
chirp. >> that's the chirp we've been looking for. this the signal we have measured. >> reporter: in the next few years scientists from ipd i can't,ity lee and japan-- india,ity lee and japan will-- italy will investigate at their own facilities. they have an antenna dedicated to wave inspection. >> we will hear things that we never expected and as we open a new window, we will see things that we never saw before. >> reporter: phenomenon that einstein envisioned a century ago now observed by his successors we need someone with a big brain to explain this. we spoke to an astro anies cyst-- prycist.
12:29 am
>> if you think about what you know about astronomy, you're imagining a picture of the sky. this is unlike anything that we've seen before. this is not a telescope. what the instrument does is it records the shape of space time. it is like recording a ringing drum. it plays it back to us as sound. they discovered the collision of two very big black holes that caused the shape of space to ring like a drum over a billion years ago. we've just picked up the you can co of that recording. every time we see something like this, this was the most powerful event we have ever detected since the big bang. it is something like a hundred billion trillion times the power that comes out of the sun but it didn't come out in light but in these rip emand space time. we have this opportunity now for the first time to start to
12:30 am
record the sounds that are rum businessmening space from all of these kind of cataclysmic events. it is a very exciting time. it might be like the first time galleleo pointed the telescope in the sky okay. i think i understand. plenty more news and video on our website aljazeera.com jazeera america [ ♪ ] >> thanks for joining us on "america tonight". i'm joie chen. a political leader determined to solve america's immigration problems with a simple solution. round up those that crossed into e