month just to be sure but sphargs. so far, so good. you can talk to us on twitter or facebook and come back, we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow. >> ankara explosion. >> the purpose of this attack is to intimidate our country and to inflict fear into our citizens mind. >> world leaders president erdogan promises retaliation. military buildup? >> there is every evidence, every day that there has been an increase in militarization at a point in time or another. >> tensions rising between the

u.s. and china over security and sovereignty in the south china sea. lost to the sea. >> i'll never forget, she was wearing a pair of pink sweat pants with a mickey mouse patch. >> the unintended victims of the refugee crisis, washing ashore and buried without ever being identified. too near and too far. >> hundreds of thousands gather to see pope francis on the mexican side of the border but u.s. worshipers are kept away. >> good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america's international news hour. we begin tonight in ankara, the turkish capital was the scene of another deadly bombing on wednesday, at least 28 people are confirmed dead, 61 others were wounded.

investigators say a car packed with explosives blew up next to a group of military buses. turkey's leaders have promised a forceful response. president recep tayyip erdogan said his country was more than ever entitled to use its self defense. a mini summit was cancelled. al jazeera's sonia gallego has more. >> the capital of turkey rocked by another explosion. the governor of ankara says this was caused buy car bomb to target a convoy of service vehicles, and the country's military headquarters. security officials say initial signs indicate that the

kurdistan workers party the pkk may be behind the attack. >> translator: the purpose of this attack is to intimidate our country and to inflict fear in our citizens minds. our security forces government and citizens should be united because the terrorists are aiming to divide us. >> reporter: it's not been an isolated incident. in the past four months there has been four bombings in turkey. a saudi born suicide bomber blew himself up in istanbul in january. ten died in that attack. the bomber was believed to be inspired by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. and last october, two bombs exploded outside ankara's central railway station. more than 100 people were killed in those blasts, one of the deadliest attacks of its kind in the country's modern history. turkey is facing a critical point as it attempts to maintain

control over its security. mired in regional tensions it has been trying to establish a no-fly zone in neighboring syria. and it's even hinted that it might send ground troops there as well. meanwhile, ankara has launched artillery attacks on positions in northern syria. one group the ypg controls almost all of the northern border with turkey. turkey's national warned of artillery attacks in northern syria, another bitter conflict played out in this war torn region. sonia gallego, al jazeera. national security contributor doug ol va onvant os us.

hello doug. good evening, antonio. >> i.s.i.l. has been blamed for recent bombings in ankara and istanbul. which do you see is the more likely culprit? >> i would say i.s.i.l, by just a very small percentage, but the pkk can't be ruled out. that it's a suicide bomb is an i.s.i.l. signature as we've all learned but pkk is certainly a plausible culprit. and we do have to remember that in a very, very distant third there are also these maoist, several maoist groups of turks themselves, unlikely but still possible. >> we heard sonia gallego say initial signs point to the pkk. but wouldn't turkey be inclined to blame it on the pkk given war that turkey is fighting against kurdish groups in turkey and across the border in syria?

>> absolutely, you are saying the conspiracy theorists say they're blaming it on pkk, that's crazy talk, making it out to be pkk, even though they can't determine who it is, that is more plausible. >> but wouldn't pkk want to escalate matters further? >> i think if the pkk were in strict control probably not. but it's not clear to me if they really have control over all of their factions. this could be a rogue version, the pkk version of say the real ira so to speak, a much more extremist faction within the group. >> it wouldn't be surprised if i.s.i.l. were retaliating? >> not at all. the turks also have a problem with islamists, as your piece said, been inspired by i.s.i.l. this is very plausible.

>> assuming i.s.i.l. responsibility, is there a chance that turkey might be responsible in changing its actions in syria. >> i don't think so. turkey is going to see its self interests first dealing with what it views as its kurdish problem and second probably avery distant second dealing with the assad regime an even more distant third. >> instability in turkey would be one of the worst possible scenarios not only in the fight against i.s.i.l. but with respect to the syrian civil war and the refugee crisis because turkey has taken in far more syrian refugees, two and a half million, more than any other country. >> not to mention they are a nato country. instability in turkey would be something of great concern to the united states, nato, eu, the

west in general. >> could we is a see a point we turkey's nato membership could become a liability to the united states? >> under the treaty, an attack on any member state is treated as an attack on all. but no one's really invoked that for terrorist-style attacks. the british didn't for the ira for example. it would be difficult to see how turkey could bring everyone, other nato members in to attack the pkk. we have all acknowledged the pkk is a listed terrorist group by the united states, i believe by the europeans as well. it's hard to see what more nato could do. >> there was some talk in france of invoking article 5 and it wasn't. how much of a powder keg is the region becoming? turkey and russia has been at each other's necks ever since turkey shot down a russian plane

near its border. are you among those who think this could become a broader regional or even a world conflict? >> i don't think that's the way we're going to see this play out. i agree, that there is a lot more stability, instability in the region and probably a lot more instability coming, a second round of arab spring style revolts, based on the real root causes of instability in the region. the islamism, the authoritarian government, the lack of economic opportunity, the youth bulge, all these things, together, make the region extremely unstable. >> doug olivant always good to have your being thoughts, thanks. >> pleasure antonio. u.n. con invoices in syrian have arrived at several besieged towns, to bring food and water to several besieged towns.

zeina khodr reports. >> it is a step forward, much needed aid reaching those trapped, it was agreed on by those meeting in munich last week. the government towns of kafraya and fua, and among them madaya, where 40 people died of malnutritious sincmalfliks. >> 450 people need urgent medical help but own ten were taken to hospitals outside. >> the latest aid deliveries will bring aid to thousands. there is no deal to ensure that supplies will continue to be delivered. and not all besieged areas

across syria have been reached. >> why doesn't the area of homs get aid? the u.n. resolution says all areas, aren't they agreeing to ceasefire before aid can enter? >> the northern area of homs has been a battle ground for months. the u.n. has said food shortages are likely to get worse for the 120,000 to live there. the last u.n. convoy to reach that area was in october. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon says starvation amounts to war crime. using the tam tack tinge when they -- tactic when they are unable to hold or take territory. now the opposition controlled east of aleppo city where tens of thousands of people live is close to being besieged.

there is no sign that the pause in the fighting will happen at the end of this week as agreed. an international task force will hold its first meeting on friday to discuss the practicalities of a cessation of hostilities in syria. for any of that to happen they first have to reach a consensus who is the legitimate opposition and who is on the list of terrorist groups. zeina khodr, al jazeera, southern turkey. >> doctors without borders says the attack on hospital workers, appeared to be deliberate and believes the syrian government or russia to be responsible. more than two dozen others were killed, the russian government last denied responsibility. new video released today shows the dramatic rescue of three people who were trapped for 30 hours after the strike on that hospital. you can see the woman covered

with dust and blood but still conscious pulled to safety. rescue operations are still underway for two more hospital staffers. concerns for iraqi fighters, more than 500 sunni arabs are caught near the town of sinjar. imran khan reports from baghdad. >> back in november, kurdish peshmerga forces took back sinjar. it had been occupied by i.s.i.l. since august of 2014. it was seen as a crucial victory against the group but not for everyone. sunni arabs in villages like these found themselves trapped. kurdish peshmerga forces became suspicious believing they were i.s.i.l. sympathizers. there were reports they refused to allow them into kurdish territory.

550 sunni arabs are facing a desperate situation. >> around mid november of last year about 1800 individuals who -- arab sunnies had fled from their villages, in ta toof. talafar. >> generalize of the topic of the report when i.t. says that peshmerga are surrounding the arab sunni civilians. i have cases of hundred of thousands of civilians and i have cases on a daily basis, even today, the civilians have passed lines of peshmerga areas. >> it is clear there is significant tension. what we have been told off the record by some sources within the kurdish region is these

people aren't being allowed to move because they are seen as having collaborated with i.s.i.l. whatever the truth of the matter is it just goes to show you that all sides here eye each other with suspicion. imran khan, al jazeera, baghdad. i.s.i.l. cash storage and distribution sites, air strikes have paid off. about ten storage sites were struck last month in a campaign that's also targeting the group's oil production. a u.s. treasury official has said cash flow issues have forced i.s.i.l. to cut fighters' salaries. satellite imagery appears to show that china has deployed a surface to air missile system on a disputed island in the south china sea. the pentagon responded by saying the militarization of the south china sea must stop. al jazeera's national security correspondent jamie mcintire has more on china's move.

confirming presence of chinese spas to air missile batteries on woody island which china claims as its disputed territory. a disputed archipelago in the south china sea, which vietnam taiwan and china all claim. the deployment of chinese hq 9s and missile systems with a range of 125 miles drew an immediate rebuke from the u.s. which says putting military hardware on a disputed island reneg reneges ae made by xi jinping in the rose garden. >> he said china will not militarize in the south china sea. but there is every evidence every day that there has been an increase of militarization of one kind or another.

>> but xi's pledge was before the u.s. sent the destroyer curtis wilbur within ten nought call miles to in the words of the pentagon, challenge china's excessive military claims. arguing it has every right to set up what china's foreign minister called, limited, self defense facilities on the islands and reefs where chinese troops are stationed. the obama administration has been increasingly concerned by china's growing territorial claims in the south china sea which also includes building up roofs and, the u.s. takes no position on the sovereignty route but as he wrapped up a meeting of southee asian countries in california, ending the construction and militarization in in any areas.

>> any disputes must be resolved peacefully through legal means such as the upcoming arbitration ruling under the u.n. convention of the law of the seas which the parties are obligated to respect and abide by. >> in a meeting, defense secretary ash carter said china's unilateral actions were forcing china to beef up its military posture and making a negotiated resolution more difficult. >> we will continue to be as we have been for seven years the pivotal military power there but it's also having the effect of turning everyone who might otherwise be perfectly willing to work with china, in security terms, as we would in principle, it is turning them against china. >> reporter: despite the potential threat that surface to air missiles could in theory pose to military and civilian aircraft the pentagon does not

believe cloin is seeking a military confrontation. secretary of state john kerry says he will have some serious conversation west china in the coming days and he hopes to persuade its leaders that jurisdictional conflicts should be resolved through negotiation not through bullying and force. antonio. >> jamie mcintire at the pentagon. we'll have more in our next half hour, including how they may be leading other countries in the region to build up their militaries. coming up pope francis's mass of compassion for latin america and all over the world. plus evading iran's morality police the app helping women avoid patrols cracking down on dress code violations.

pope francis has just wrapped up his historic trip to mexico with the visit to the border city of juarez. the pontiff made immigration the central theme today. he prayed for the siks 600,000 o have died making the crossing. heidi zhou-castro joins us now from ciudad juarez. this was expected to be a controversial visit. >> reporter: it was, antonio, not just here at the u.s. mexico

border but the pope's message today was one of compassion, for reaching out to the fellow man and of helping fulfill the duty of those who are fleeing their own countries in search of a life of peace and of dignity. a historic image with its feet planted in mexico, pope francis issued his blessing across the border, over the u.s. border fence into the immigrant community on the american side of the rio grande. the plight of the migrant was the center of the pope's mass. >> translator: in this place i want to deploy divine mercy, the gift of tears, the gift of conversion. >> juarez was at the height of the immigrant trade, the pope acknowledged the suffering endured on those journeys, the hundreds of miles traveled over deserts and mountains. >> a terrible burden and

terrible new hampshire justifies, kidnapped, extorted. >> a lot of us want to come and cross over. we do it at the risk of our own safety. >> reporter: francis asked for compassion and compared the plight of librarian migrants to those of the world. a humanitarian crisis, a humanitarian tragedy. >> translator: we don't want statistics. we want to measure by names by stories. >> reporter: meanwhile on the american side the pope's message was filtered through a simulcast at the sun bowl stadium. due to security concerns, roadblocks prevented people from seeing the pope with their own eyes. >> we couldn't see the pope. >> too near and too far. >> reporter: the realities of a divided border that even the pope could not erase.

and here in mexico, a crowd of about 200,000 people did hear the pope's mass in person. his message bringing many of them antonio to tears. he is not only the first latin american pope, but he is the first pope to ever visit this border region. >> the pope also visited a prison, a rough one, today. what did he say to the inmates there? >> that's right, prior to coming here he was at a prison meeting with about 700 inmates, in juarez, known until recently as the murder capital of the world. the pope saying not to dwell on the sins of the past but on focusing on changing for today, nct contributing tin fact speakg the cycle of violence. >> the pope briefly lost his temper, an enthusiastic admirer

pulled at his hand, making him fall on the stroller of a child. the response was just a human reaction. break news tonight, an historic announcement is expected tomorrow at the white house. reports say president obama would visit cuba next month. the visit would mark a historic point after the u.s. opened its embassy in havana. it's been 80 years since a sitting u.s. president visited china. >> i'm scott heidler, we'll tell you about how buildup in the south china sea raises concerns. and a referendum to remove from office.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm antonio mora. coming up in this half hour of international news a russian bomber approaches british air space sending u.k. bom scrambli. but first a look at the stories making headlines across the u.s. in our american minute. gary southern last been

sentenced to 30 days in jail and a $20,000 fine, the spill of mchm contaminated drinking water for 300,000 people in nine west virginia counties. federal investigators say they have uncovered stock piles of food and explosives at the malheur wildlife refuge. the fai fbi has expressed conces buildings could be booby trapped. overhauling systems that are in place to create cyber security. the president has created a panel on cyber security, hopefully delivering a report by december on how to secure systems. u.s. secretary of state john kerry has said he would have

talks with chinese, considering, making their way into the area, al jazeera's scott heidler joins us from the singapore air show. scott, a military buildup could mean big sales there. >> reporter: absolutely, antonio. and this air show, the defense exoantsd of this air show, i've been coming here for the last six years has grown every year. now defense for the united states is a very big industry. $70 billion last year so obviously there's a great deal of focus on what's being sold, what's being displayed here but there's a distinct military buildup in the region. sky over the south china sea is becoming crowded. several nations including vietnam, the philippines and malaysia are accusing china of moving in on their sovereign territory. china refutes this saying 90% of the south china sea is theirs. but what's undeniable is that

the steadily increasing tension has led to a military buying spree. >> i think china's military expansion, its increases in its defense spending and its actions in the maritime area, have in fact triggered something of an arms race. >> reporter: a united states military footprint in the region is not new. but it's been steadily growing over the last several years. >> militarization of the south china sea and particularly the artificial islands that will be used for military purposes by china is a concern for the united states. but it doesn't pose an existential threat. >> but the u.s. wants its presence felt. general lori robinson commands all forces in the region and

presents a statement at the air show. >> what we're doing as team america and being out here to show our commitment to the region. >> reporter: and part of that show of strength in the region is this, the p-8 poseidon. the united states frequently flies them over disputed territory. >> whether it's singapore the philippines all over asia pacific, we can pretty easily within the short span of time, put one of our jets there and support our regional allies. >> the philippines, a long time united states ally has taken its dispute with china to the hague. it's buying $100 million of military equipment to boost their security. the region could remain one of the defense industry's dream marts for years to come --

markets for years to come. and antonio it's really yes supporting the u.s. allies in the region but it's also about commerce, it's also about money. the waters where the disputed territories are, $5 billion in trade go up and down, that's part of the reason the united states wants to make sure there's freedom of navigation there, antonio. >> talking about those u.s. allies scott it's thought just china and the u.s. who are increasing their military presence in the region. >> reporter: no, it's not antonio, and obviously they're probably doing some shopping at the singapore air show because there's a big defense component. nations like vietnam, vietnam has a distinction confrontation if you will, political confrontation over territory. it became obit physical a couple of years ago when two ships collided, they have purchased, they just got the last of five

submarines. 100 billion of defense weapons and supplies are being purchased 50 philippines a purchase they have not seen in years. obviously you could hear the aerial display at the air show has just started antonio. >> scott heidler, reporting from singapore, thanks. we're joined by gordon chang, contributor to the daily beast. always good to have you with us. this is reportedly the most advanced surface to air missile deployment in the south china sea area. why this? it is clearly an escalation. >> clearly. the hq 9 is essentially the russian s-300 and eventually they're going to get s-400 and it's going to be more advanced. what they're trying to do is close off the air space of the south china sea. in the east china sea in november 2013 they declared

their air defense identification zone. they're probably going to do the same in the south china sea but before they do that they want all these antiair missile batteries so they can enforce it. >> these areas are disputed, only claimed by vietnam where they put the surface to air missile system but also other islands are claimed by a half dozen countries in the area.and this is a time when china is trying to project its economic influence throughout the region. so why alienate its neighbors? >> really what they're doing is creating a lot of enemies as you pointed out. you have all the nations surrounding the south china sea, what's interesting there is the united states is there because we defend the global commons but now china and india is interested in the south china sea. this coalition is much more powerful than china is. >> military. >> mill tarlmilitarily and othe.

>> do you think it will escalate? >> it definitely will escalate. >> what will that mean? >> not only defense systems, anticruise missiles, and d f 21d ballistic missile used against ships. all of these islands not only woody island but down in the explealts as weapon. splealts a spratleysin thesprat. >> a day later we have found what they have got a defensive system in an area that's disputed by a bunch of countries. >> china could be a very powerful country in the region but for what you've just talked

about, alienating countries after countries. south korea was closer to china than it was to the united states. you have the south korean president going to the military parade last year. >> we were wondering why that was happening but now it seems to be going in the different direction. >> the south koreans are furious, that happened just a couple of weeks ago and so what we are seeing is south korea move very close to the united states, which is exactly what beijing doesn't want and we're seeing this country after country. >> on the other hand, beijing is directly snubbing the united states. secretary kerry cait came out and said what -- came out and said that china is making direct contradictory actions defense their statements with the united states. >> and at a time when china needs the international

community more than ever. its economy is tumbling and much more difficult to when china is opposing countries in the region because of these missile defense battery and also all the other things that china is doing at the same time. >> forget supporting acknowledge you have general kane coming out what should the united states do more sanctions? >> more freedom of navigation operations, where we take ourships and sail them very close to these reclamations, we are seeing the united states working veriful more closely, the quad, japan, united states, india and australia, a real organization that is going to be a backbone of the antichina coalition in the south china sea. >> how dangerous does that get when we start sending ships right by islands that china is

claiming where they have built missile systems? >> it could get very danger are you russ as china starts these phon-ops. , we can't allow the chinese to kilo it off, although no one wants to do this, they're being backed into it and that is really the story of china creating these enemies. >> at a time when the chinese economy is slowing down so much why then this kind of adventurism? this geographic and military expansion? not cheap. >> not cheap. i think there's disunity in the chinese political system, where you have the military becoming so much more powerful and maybe they are on occasion able to dictate terms to xi jinping. i don't think they are acting in close coordination with other elements of the chinese central government. you have this disunity and

therefore policy that is not coherent. i think people think xi jinping is really strong but there is a lot of evidence to suggest he's not. >> gordon chang, always good to have your insights. >> thank you. >> two russian supersonic bombers were escorted across the black sea. iran is showing no indication that it intends to join opec's efforts to freeze oil production. welcomed the attempt to stabilize the global market and boost the price of crude but tehran stopped short this in saying it would limit its output in the coming months. opec's envoy has said it would be illogical for iran to freeze

production. in an attempt to save his country's country from collapsing, venezuelan president nicholas maduro, increases price of gasoline the first time that price has gone up in 17 years. >> reporter: president nicholas maduro took much needed economic measures this afternoon. he announced the rise of petrol prices and announced an easing of some of the fixed prices of certain food items. people here are expecting that these measures will somehow ease the tension that has been building up over the last couple of years. it's very common to see people lined up for hours outside food shops and even then going in to find that shelves of bare. economists suggested by freeing up stringent or strict price controls food would again start

appearing on market shelves. but perhaps the most meaningful decision that president maduro took was to raise the price of gas or gasoline. this is first time in 20 years that a venezuelan president has decided to raise the price of petrol, people took to the streets and rioted for three days or more, this was the first time in venezuela which was considered to be the longest standing democracy that an event of this nature occurred. in that event, whole idea of raising the price of petrol has been pretty much taboo. it is unclear whether it will have the similar effects. president maduro has asked for people to remain calm but the magnitude of this decision is such that as soon as president maduro announced this increase as much as 6,000 percent was to take place, people started

rushing to petrol stations to fill up their gas, one last tank of the cheapest gas in the world or whether they were somehow afraid of repeat of events of 27 years ago of looting and violent protest in the street. >> virginia lopez, reporting from caracas. the man who narrowly lost to maduro, flee enrique capriles. >> the only thing that interests the government is to stay in power so let's throw down the gauntlet and see who can endure the most, nicholas maduro or we, acting in a referendum to remove him. >> two million signatures would be needed for recall to move ahead. he said the opposition would

easily surpass that number. coming up the unidentified victims of the refugee crisis. the tragic story of asylum seekers who drown searching for a better life without anyone knowing who they were. also fighting outside an indian court, student leader held for said itio sedition cha. whether u.k. will stay in or exit the eu.

>> a powerful tribute to refugees who lost their lives trying to reach europe. chinese artist and activist ai weiwei has put up 14,000 life jackets in berlin. wants to draw attention to the crisis. 14,000 drown at sea trying to reach europe. 3700 of them died, one of them eludes official record keepers, the number of people whose deaths were not recorded, either because no one survived their ship wr shipwreck or no oe searched for them. john siropolous reports.

>> ten or 11 years old, 30 kilometers down the coast, a woman was later found bopping in thbobbing inthe water possibly e wreck. >> we aged a woman 25 to 35, in a state of decay, completely naked, it was an all of sight, she had her arms and legs, but no face, only skull. >> 160 found in greek or turkish waters this year. the island acts as a net for bodies stirred up from the depths. turkish frui fruit jews, antinaa pills. even in death there are degrees of misfortune. some are listed as missing but never found. some are found but remain

unidentified, like the girl who washed up on this beach. and there are those who are never sought and never found. the sea has simply claimed them without a trace. along the mediterranean, people have been spoken as being eaten by fish. >> we have a serious problem with this. many of my customers won't eat fish because of this. other people have told me the same. it's been very difficult to selfish. >> these unmarked graves mark the final resting place for a young girl, a woman whose only distinguishing marks were five gold bracelets buried with her. dna samples may identify them. one young girl haunts this surgeon. >> she was wearing pink overcoat

and again her facial features were not visible. were -- had been lost to the sea. >> this is all we know about one little girl who took the perilous sea crossing into europe. she is among the unnamed dead. john siropolous, al jazeera. now to our global view segment with a look at how news outlets across the world are reacting to various events. >> u.k.'s the independent, shows the agency can't be trusted, the paper accuses the fbi of using its power to look into americans' lives and using the specter of rad catalyzed muslims to overstep its purposes. the tech sector should continue the fight oprotect people's data. germany's der spiegel says, weapon against europe, argues by aiding assad and attacking its

own people, russia is funneling millions into europe weakening european countries and exacerbating societal conditions. acting in the knowledge that compassion is one of the most extreme. tensions between russia and turkey that are ready to explode, how proassad iran and antiassad saudi arabia, are entering their own cold war and how russian vice president dimitri medvedev, all sides must think closely about their next moves. india's supreme court has intervened in the bail hearing of a university student who faces charges of sedition. demanding an investigation into why police didn't take charge

after violence and scuffles broke out, a hearing was supposed to be held andy indian slogans were used. , in iran, women are using smartphones to out-smart the morality police. an app helps women. al jazeera's ines ferre reports. >> in this youtube video a woman avoids arrest. to enforce the islamic female dress code. a new app is aimed at helping citizens avoid confrontations like that and get away from those patrols. >> this is very important to see how people are frustrated by years of the use of moral police on the street to stop people and warn them or fine them. or even take them to jail for the way they dress up.

>> reporter: much like ways lets you warn guess speed traps in the country, the morality app lets people know where the paroles are s -- patrols are soy can avoid the area. the creators of this app told a human rights group more than a thousand users were using it within hours of its release but it was blocked by the government within a day. still users have found ways to get around the ban and download it. it is also seen as sending a message. >> how people are using social media applications to challenge government restrictions. >> reporter: a human rights group says by march of 2014 the guidance patrol handed out almost 2 million warnings.

ines ferre, al jazeera. a clutch of little known songs from around the world is being preserved by the smithsonian. al jazeera's tom ackerman went for a visit. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: in the sounds of this year's grammy rock winner, alabama shakes: ♪ ♪ >> reporter: you can hear echos of blues legend, leadbelly. or paramount records reissued and won a grammy for best box set. smithsonian authentic american music to the widest public audience. through recent cds including

melodies from the virgin islands and mexican ma mariachi out of california. >> the total value of recorded music has declined, but for smithsonian folk ways, the revenues we require to support our nonprofit mission. >> reporter: but the smithsonian also keeps a vigilant guard over the musical past of the u.s. and more than 180 other countries. these shelves hold the 22 albums of moses ash, acquired by smithsonian, growing the collection to 3200 albums, 45,000 tracks in all. >> now is the most optimum time to preserve it. >> reporter: tracks threatened by the ravages of time so dave

walker's job is to save them. like this tape of soviet protest songs, recorded a decade ago. >> it is interesting to preserve on basis of fragility and content. not only for immediate use but for future generations. >> the smithsonian staff say they intend to do the same for other nations and to keep it all for posterity. tom ackerman, al jazeera washington. >> that's it for this international news hour on al jazeera america. in the flex hour. the presidential poll three days before the biggest contest in the race.

i'll be back in two minutes.

>> good evening i'm antonio mora. this is allejandr al jazeera am. talking directly to the voters. marco rubio, ted cruz and ben carson talk to the people while donald trump participates this a separate event tonight. and the message to hillary clinton to voters in chicago. late word from the warehouse that president obama is expected to visit the communist island cuba soon. apple versus fbi, the fbi is