tonight. talk to us or come back and we will have more of america tonight tomorrow. protests ee rupt across brazil as president rousseff is trying to protect her predecessor of corruption charges you're watching al jazeera live from doha. also coming up, a syria's war has talks in geneva, we see what lying ahead for the fragmented opposition. south africa's president is under more pressure to resign after allegations of influence of a wealthy family.

the peaceful giants caught in the cross-fire of africa's conflicts protesters have filled the streets of several brazilian cities furious about the latest allegations against the president. she has named her predecessor as her chief of staff, an appointment critics say is designed to shield him from prosecution. >> reporter: thousands of protesters are back at the streets, some at the palace and others across the country's large cities. it is at the appointment of lula. he was credit ted of lifting millions out of poverty is now facing charges of fraud and

money laundering in relation to petrobras. taking the post gives him immunity. she says that's not why she gave him that position >> translation: i am sorry. he is coming and going to help. we're going to be helping the anies ral stability and inflation >> reporter: a federal judge who was leading a wider corruption released details of a conversation between her and lula. >> reporter:

although she and lula have denied allegations of wrongdoing, demonstrators say they've had enough. not just the system, but the entire system. the corruption into petrobras has been ongoing for two years. it has brought down 100 officials and politicians. it could bring down the president as administration. but she says she is doing what ask best for brazil. many people don't agree. some politicians are already leaving the coalition government. brazil is in the midst of a worst recession it has seen in decades and people feel the president's leadership is not confident enough to get them out regional and international powers are waiting to see if kurdish controlled areas of northern syria will declare an autonomous region.

a top kurdish official said that an announcement is imminent and they will form a fed raying. it has drawn criticism from both the syrian government and the opposition. >> reporter: the syrian border town was almost taken by i.s.i.l. until the kurdish fighters of the y.p.g. beat them off. with hindsight that victory was crucial in the proposal for a federal system in the areas it and its political wing control which would stretch all the way to the border with iraq. on the turkish side of the border there is evidence to support the ybpg and in the condition that people lives, there's backing for occurred autonomy in syria >> translation: i support the initiative. they deserve to have a home. nobody recognises under the circumstances. they hit us wherever we are >> reporter: kurds across the border have stolen the initial tich. it is the timing of this that is

so extraordinary, not only on day three of geneva have the kurds management to insert themselves back into the talks, the announcement also comes just a few days before kurdish new year on march 21. could it be that the kurds want to announce autonomy in syria as part of their new year's celebrations. the proposals have come across opposition. many say partitioning off the kurdish area went entirely against the aims of the revolution as being one syria for all, irrespective of ethnicity or religion. >> translation: this announcement is a tyranny, especially because it has come from the y.p.g. they're a group on the terrorist list. >> translation: the occurred are making themselves enemies of the syrian revolution. the kurds are part of the syrian people like everybody else.

it's unacceptable. >> reporter: the kurdish delegations holding these talks have tried to offset these arguments by claiming their block would be a home for turkmen ar arab citizens and that their federalism could be a model for the rest of syria to follow. they have something to agree about, they all insist that partitioning syria is a mistake which could make things worse still than they have been the u.s. has added its voice against the idea of a kurdish autonomous region. they're saying it would be a threat to syria's reunification >> we won't recognise any self autonomous or self-rule, semiautonomous zones in syria. your broader question is, as i said, really this is something

that needs to be discussed and agreed upon by the relevant parties in geneva the u.s. secretary of state has told his russian counterpart that the need for a political solution in syria is urgent. he spoke to lavrov on the phone and spoke maintaining the truce while the opposition continues to engage in those talks, questions remain about its future. in the last five years dozens of armed groups and political fronts have been formed. so far they haven't been able to achieve the democratic transition they originally set out for. >> reporter: they want to carry from these areas to homs. gains have been reversed in

recent years. fighters have fled from homs, what was once their strong hold. raqqa is now the capital of the islamic state in iraq and the levant. syrian opposition groups say the lack of will to removed bashar al-assad including the united states contributed to their losses. the strongest groups fighting in syria are the ones that have pledged allegiance to i.s.i.l. or al-qaeda. many soldiers and officers deeffected early on, but the creation of the opposition free syrian army had limited success to responding to the government's brutal actions. more organized grouped like al-nusra were able to take large parts from government forces, but dozens of other groups have also sprung up, including some declared as terrorist organizations. those who left syria joined others in exile to join a

democratic coalition. they started recording casualties. faced with criticism of not being inclusive, another body called the syrian national coalition was formed. none of these groups had much sway over the escalating fighting on the ground. the high negotiations committee was formed in saudi arabia with the hopes of representing the opposition groups. even that did not manage to bring together all the fighting groups. the opposition says that while their friends held meetings, others sent weapons and fighters to back bashar al-assad. a fractured opposition couldn't do much to stop the killing of hundreds of thousands or the displacement of millions. but as soon as partial truce gave syrians a chance to come out, they used it to remind the world there is still opposition against the regime the saudi-led military

operation in yemen may soon be coming to an end. that's according to a spokesman for coalition and that coalition intervened a year ago saying that the next phase will be stabilization as well as reconstruction. speaking to a french news agency general didn't specify a when the mission would be complete. the coalition to prevent houthis and the forces loyal to the former president from taking control of the country was formed in march last year. it aimed to restore the president. nigeria's president says he believes that the end of the boko haram front is in end. at least 22 people were killed by two female suicide bombers. the army says the first bomber targeted a mosque and a second blew herself up close by a few

minutes later. boko haram has been tarred in a joint campaign. in south africa opposition parties are calling for a judicial inquiry into the president's relationship with a pelthy family. on wednesday the deputy finance minister admitted that he was offered a promotion to become finance minister by a member of the ghouta families. they are said to have ties with the prnd

they make sure that their faith of the of the constitution and they have people's trust that they come before a judge they will get an honest hearing. >> reporter: this could be the only time the public hears from the judge. when the supreme court judge died in february, the republican said he wouldn't approve anyone because obama is in his last months of office. their leader reaffirmed the republican's plan to do nothing >> it is the president's constitutional right to nominate a supreme court justice and it is the constitution's right to

withhold the exercise. >> reporter: obama called on the republicans to call what he said was the right thing >> it will not only be an aborigine by days of the duty, it will indicate a process for nominating and confirming judges that is beyond repair. it will mean everything is subject to the most partisan of politics. everything. >> reporter: a political observer says obama isn't going to get what he wants. >> once they've taken a position here that says i'm not going to vote, i will not confirm this seat, it is hard to get them to flip their position p and only doing it because of political considerations is not something that is a strong position to take heading into an election. >> i am grateful beyond words for the honor you have bestowed

upon he. >> reporter: he begins his visits with senators. it may take more than that to persuade them to give minimum a hearing localities more coming up, including-- lots more coming um. two suspects still on the run after raids in brussels where weapons and an i.s.i.l. flag is found. plus looking at why indigenous australians are not living as long as the rest of the population. lieu lieu

the top stories on al jazeera. there have been nationwide protests against brazil's president after shia pointed her predecessor to a cabinet approach. the saudi-led military operation in yemen may soon be coming to an end. the next phase will focus on stabilization and reconstruction. in south africa opposition parties are calling for a judicial inquiry into the president's relationship with a wealthy family. on wednesday the country's deputy finance minister admitted that he was offered a promotion to become finance minister by a member of the ghouta family. leaders from the e.u. and turkey will meet later on thursday to finalise a deal that they hope will solve the refugees crisis. the most controversial proposal is to send new refugees arriving in greece back to turkey. for each migrant returned, one

syrian asylum seeker will be resettled in the e.u. they have been asked to double the amount of refugees to 6.7 billion dollars. turkey wants visa free travel for its citizens. any deal won't make much difference to those stranded in greece. thousands stuck at the border have broken out in fights and scuffles. after trucks awith aid and food arrived people swarmed the trucks nearly 14,000 refugees remain at the camp and an official says the following. >> we hope to do our best, but

it is important to don't give the supplies in the same time for all the people because it is not enough. the people that really needs don't - cannot reach these things and we can make by. these people are here a big portion of the makeshift french refugee camp known as the jungle has been cleared. authorities began demolishing the camp three weeks agoment some refugees living there have been on hunger strike since then. many are hoping to somehow cross the clish channel and get to the u. u.k.-- english >> nobody can hear us, nobody can do anything for us. this way our voice could be heard belgian police are searching for two suspects following tuesday's raid in brussels.

one man who was killed in the shoot out has been identified as an algerian national. he was found with an i.s.i.l. flag and rifle. >> reporter: specialists police officers and forensic teams carefully examine the participate where gunmen had opened fire just hours earlier. aiming to try to establish exactly what they were doing there. by daylight those who witnesses events unfollowed were still trying to-- unfold were still trying to understand what happened in the house opposite theirs >> you heard a lot of shooting, you at some time heard an explosion too and i really didn't know what was really happening. >> reporter: police have identified the gunman was shot dead during the operation. he was an algerian living in

belgium illegally. >> next to the body there was a rifle and a book on islam and a flag of i.s.i.s., also 11 further rifles and many shell casings. no explosives were found. >> reporter: when belgian and french police investigating the paris attacks arrived at the apartment in forest, they expected to carry out a routine search of an empty apartment. instead, they ken counter fear $resistant resulting in a standoff lasting several hours. two people are still on the run. this is the back of the property where two of the suspects are thought to have been able to get out. making their escape in that direction. what's not known is how he is linked if at all to the paris attacks where 130 people were killed. it is known, though, that the paris plat was planned in

brussels. - plot. four months off questions about the security issues leading up to the attacks and belgium remains at the heart of the investigation one person has died and more than 35 have been injured in a building collapse in south west china. it happened at a construction site in the city. doctors at the hospital say the injured were hit by falling debris australian $on average have a longer span than almost anyone else in the world, but that is not the case for indigenous people who live at least 10 years less than other australians. a national campaign to address this started a decade go. andrew tom has been assessing the impact >> reporter: in the south of sydney natalie bell is seeing the midwife who are seven months ago delivered her baby. the service with mid wives to

understand how indaughter-in-lawi indaughter-in-lawing aboriginal beliefs differs. >> they get to know everything about your history. >> reporter: eight years ago aboriginal or indigenous infants died at almost double the rates of nonindigenous ones. addressing that became a target for the government under an initiative called closing the gap. simple changes like treatments away from hospitals have helped >> sometimes getting to hospital can be off putting for a woman who hasn't been in the system before. we have inclines in the community, home visits, we also offer transport if women can't get them i will pick women up >> reporter: thanks in part to initiatives like this one, the infant mortality gap australia wide is on track to be half it was by 2018. it is a success story, but a rare one of seven closing the

gap targets only two were on track to be achieved. aboriginal people die 10 years earlier than others on average. they are likely to be unemployed as ever and school attend abs levels lack significantly >> there's much work to be done to meet the targets. today i want to reaffirm my government's commitment commitment to reducing the gap. >> reporter: this has been released to mark the day. 1500 events are due to take place on australia. the disadvantage is to be kept high profile over a million cars are off the roads in mexico's capital as smog blankets the city for a fourth day. residents have been offered free subway and bus rides. pollution levels have reached the highest level in 130 years

washington dc's metro rail system will start up again on thursday. it has shut down for security checks. it affected many workers scrambling for other transport. >> reporter: the 91 metro stations were idle as main tennance workers inspected all cables to the trabs after a tunnel fire raised safety concerns. it is not the first non-weather closure since it opened 40 years ago. it has forced 700,000 communitiers to search for alternative transportation. >> you will have to move back and get off the drive. >> reporter: all in all the situation might have been worse because all nonemergency government workers will offer the opportune of taking this as an unscheduled leave day or working from home. passengers have become accustomed to drank breakdowns

>> it's not the worst but it's not the best >> there's a lot of work to be done. i think it's just sort of a sign that there's an ageing system and we need to replace the cars and replace the structure. >> reporter: government resources have failed to keep up with the challenge >> the sheer growth that the country is going to experience, i think, is a troubling trend given how much we're investing and how we're investing today >> reporter: officials say u.s. neglectful with its infrastructure. the society of civil engineers writes the energy grid, roopdz and aviation is in poor condition. a report warned that a large proportion of the country's water supply quoteis approaching or has already reached the end of its useful life". as witness to the crisis in flint michigan where corroded pipes led the city to swach its water source to a dangerously polluted river. by one estimate the u.s. would

need more than 3 trillion dollars to tackle the infrastructure needs in the next five years. where the money would come from is a question that both the federal and state governments are struggling to address distinguished by its light colored spots, the west african jiraffafe roamed the region before draught and poaching decemated them. >> reporter: on the lookout for the last giraffes. this is the northern tip of the natural reserve. some a50 kilometers south of the capital. the african savanahs stretch out as far as you can see. a herd shows up in the distance grazing on their favorite acacia trees. there was a time when these giraffe roamed across the reap john from senegal to lake chad.

draught and hunting reduce $them to a small group found only in niger. authorities have been trying to protect this species. they're proud of their result. >> translation: in 1996 we mp just 50 of them. now as we speak we have 452. >> reporter: tree toyed get a closer look, but as we approach we were told not to disturb them. the one you can see behind he is not the biggest one in this park. the biggest one is called sidho. it is famous and you can spend an entire year looking for him because this is a very large park. actually more than the size of lebanon. about 11,000 square kilometers. nature here is quiet and beautiful and the giraffe seems to share both qualities >> translation: it is a peaceful animal. if you don't make a noise, you can come less than 15 metres away from it. it is very curious.

i love them as if they're my own pets. there was one that carried my name. unfortunately he died. >> reporter: some people living in the area hardly share this affection. >> translation: we don't see any use to them. they just destroy our craps and eat the trees. we lived here for a long time before them. now they are a problem for us and there's nothing we can do about it. >> reporter: another problem affecting both people and giraffe consisted of two years of drought. tourism has also been on the decline. >> translation: at the beginning we made some connection. we used to have lots of visitors but not any more >> reporter: at the entrance of the reserve tour guides don't have much to do for most of the day. there is concern that violence in the area and draught could

reverse the success niger has made in preserving one of the natural wonders just a reminder you can keep up-to-date with the latest news on our website at aljazeera.com ♪ in war torn afghanistan it's not the conflict but taliban that women fear most. it's their own families. a shocking majority of afghan women are abused, they are beaten, raped, or even coerced into marriage by the people they love the most. help.