former bosnian serb leader is found guilty for crimes against humanity. ♪ you are watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up, the hunt is on for this suspect in the brussels airport attack, and there are reports that another bomber is on the run. syrian government forces retake control of two isilings positions in palmyra.

and the dutch legend passes away at the age of 68. ♪ we begin with breaking news out of the hague why a judge has just found former bosnian serb leader guilty of war crimes. and what he is facing is several charges, including two counts of genocide over his role in the bosnian war which left a hundred thousand people dead. emma hayward is following the proceedings. joining us from the hague, emma just give us more details about what you are hearing right now. >> reporter: well, dareen the judge arrived in court at about 2:00 and said he was just going to give the findings of what had happened in this trial, which has lasted now for nearly eight years, and what the judge said

was that he was not guilty of genocide in relation to the municipalities, but was -- was to be responsible for various crimes against humanity. he has also been describing what happened in the siege of sarajevo. you remember that went on for months on end, and he said during that time, civilians had been deliberately targeted, and there was simply no way he could have not known what was happening during that time when civilians were dying every day. >> emma, while i have you with us, let me ask you what the atmosphere is like there, and how it was before those proceedings started. >> it was extremely emotional, and that of course is not surprising. this is the most high profile case that this court, which was set up more than two decades ago has heard. i was talking to one man who

spoke to me, and he had tears in his eyes, clearly very emotional. another man who became something of a symbol of the war here, appeared on british tv in a concentration camp, and when i asked him what today meant for him, he said if he didn't get the verdict he wanted what would happen if there was another one of these men in the future. but he is seen as a hero in some areas, where they see him as something as a scapegoat that selective judgment is being handed out by the court behind me. >> thank you very much, emma. we're joined on set by a journalist who covered the bosnian war. let's get your thoughts on the news coming in now. we understand he has been found guilty for crimes against

humanity. your reaction to this verdict, and also tell us what you know of him. you met him back in 1991. >> yes, i met him in 1991, and that was shortly after the massacre, the very infamous massacre that was committed by the serbs from serbia in the eastern province of croatia. and i met him at a time -- and that was month before the war broke out in bosnia, and i asked him -- one of the things i asked him about was what did you think about the massacre? and i was really struck by his answer because in his answer he said that it's all about nationalism and patriotism. those people have been trying to prevent the crime which in his view was the disintegration of

the former yugoslavia, and that's why when i published the interview, i said let's have a look at the criminal hopeful. and he turned out to be a criminal. >> the judge at the u.n. is now saying that he does bare individual criminal responsibility for the three-year siege of sarajevo, so it's interesting that he says -- he bares individual responsibility, because this is something that cardich as fought all along. >> let me say this. i totally disagree with this saying. of course he bares responsibility, but not only himself. i mean there were other guys in this crime. they were accessories in this crime at the time. so it -- you know, the idea of -- of trying to limit this crime only to one person, i think, this is not helping, and

this is not serving justice. and by the way -- i mean -- >> but he is the one that is on trial now, so the focus is on -- is on him understandably. >> but the fact that he is the one on trial now doesn't negate the truth. because he is not the only one responsible for this. there were gangs of -- you know, serbs who -- who played as officials, some of them head of state, some others military, military top brass. so it was not him only who was responsible for this. and let me tell you something also. i mean justice is actually sold out to punish the perpetrators, but also to send a message for tomorrow's criminals and murders, not to be born today, and this is not happening

through the trial. yes, it's good that he is being sentenced, but it's not serving the purpose. the deep wounds in -- in bosnia is not going to be healed only bypassing this verdict on to him, and the proof of that is the head of the serbs in bosnia, three days ago he opened a new hospital named after caradich, because he thinks he is a martyr and is sacrificing himself on behalf of all of the serbian people. >> all right. thank you. you were looking at the latest picture, that is -- live pictures, rather, and that is the verdict being read out at the hague. latest pictures, excuse me. so that is the verdict being read out at the hague against him. and just another line dropping right now that the u.n. judge is saying that he did order the

takeover before that massacre happened. so what he understand has happened to this point is that he has been found guilty for crimes against humanity. we're covering the story and will bring you all of the latest information. for now, though, we will turn to other news, and it seems a second man believed to have taken part at in the bombing at the metro station is still on there appears to have been three bombers at the airport. two are now dead. but this man, you see is believed to be on the run after his explosives failed to detonate properly. his identity is unknown. of the two suspected attackers who died at the airport this man was born in morocco but grew up in brussels. he was already a suspect in the paris attacks. and the other bombers has

identified as this man. he had been deported from turkey after being detained at the syrian turkish border last june. his brother is believed to have carried out the suicide bombing at the metro station. he was also a paris suspect. meanwhile a court appearance of the man police say is a key suspect in the paris attacks has been postponed after abdeslam's lawyer now says his client no longer wants to contest his extradition to france. he was arrested last week. he allegedly told investigators that he originally planned to commit a suicide bombing at france's main stadium last november, but then, quote, backtracked. here is what his lawyer has been saying. >> translator: i think we have to communicate that he wants to be extradited to france as soon as possible. the case here is a small piece of the puzzle, and he wants to explain himself in france.

it will only take two weeks for him to go to france. we will follow his wish and work closely with him. i told you he is collaborating and he will protect his confidentiality. i have nothing more to say. >> let's cross over to brussels and bring in dominic kane. tell us about the latest on the investigation dominic into the brussel bombings. >> reporter: dareen, a fundamental question for the police and authorities is was there a fifth suspected suicide bomber who was carrying out the attacks here in brussels? because that is what has been reported. there is certainly evidence that seems to suggest that there was a second person in the mallbeck metro station. as the train was leaving, setting off his device. but he was seen on cctv in the

metro station talking with another individual with an identical sack to his. the question will be is this another suspect, is this something else who is on the run, because if he is, that means there are potentially two suicide bombers on the run now in brussels. because we know that of the three people seen on the cctv footage from the airport, the third person on the right of the image, wearing the hat, the glasses, that person whose device did not detonate the way it was intended, he fled the scene and is on the run, and we know that at the federal cabinet level in belgium there was a cabinet meeting and the interior minister and justice minister, offered their resignations to the prime minister, and that he decided not to accept those resignations. >> so dominic as those searches go on, we also understand that

e.u. ministers are set to meet. what do we expect out of that meeting? >> reporter: well, that's right, dareen, the interior and justice ministers of all e.u. member states are here in the european capitol in brussels today to meet to discuss this to see perhaps what they can come up with. what solutions at a european level can be brought in to reassure citizens about the safety of this area. the question will be what they can do tangibly. because we have the military on the streets, trying to reassure people, and certainly in this city center, there have been many police and soldiers milling around while there has been a minute of silence, about half an hour or so ago to commemorate the victims. so the military is clearly in evidence, but the question will

be whether that is enough to deter the people who have been plotting attacks such as the ones we saw here in brussels and what we saw in paris last year. so we will see what emerges from that meeting later this afternoon. >> dominic thank you for that update from brussels. violence continues in syria between government and opposition fighters despite an ongoing ceasefire. the opposition has killed 20 members of the pro-government forces. and others have been killed in air strikes which hit the damascus countryside. earlier government forces took over two isil positions palmyra. isil has held palmyra since may, demolishing several ancient structures and artifacts.

our correspondent is near the syrian border with more. >> reporter: syrian state television said syrian army soldiers are inside palmyra mainly from the western side. however, those reports were denied by activists inside palmyra. they say the fighting is fierce. isil has called on the people inside palmyra to leave because the fighting was approaching to the center. now the government sent enforcements about three days ago. earlier in the month, they started to regain palmyra which fell to isil last year. the importance of palmyra, aside from the historical aspect, it's location is very key. to the north is raqqa, and that's an isil strong hold. to the east another province in syria which is mostly controlled by isil and its neighbors iraq, so the road between them is very key to isil.

john kerry says he wants to see further reduction in violence and more humanitarian assistance flowing into syria. he is pressing sergei lavrov during a meeting in moscow. he is also expected to discuss the future of president assad during talks later with president putin. hoda abdel hamid is following the story there. how much can he press the russians when it comes to this political transition in syria? >> reporter: well, we still don't have any details about what happened during that meeting. if not for the words of the spokeswoman of the foreign ministry, and she just said it was a very long meeting that lasted about four hours. she said they went through details about a transitional goc

government. details about a new constitution, but she did say in the end all of the details will emerge, once the two men, john kerry, and sergei lavrov will hold a press conference. that should happen in a couple of hours. in the meantime they are heading to the kremlin where there is a meeting with vladimir putin. but john kerry is seeking for russia to put pressure on the government in syria, for the government to tackle seriously the core issue of these geneva talks which is really the interim go, the transitional government. obviously they are at odds over the role of bashar al-assad where he should have a role or not in a future government. but the details, if they reach any kind of agreement, this is something we don't know yet.

>> we were reporting that government forces have taken position of two isil positions in palmyra. what are the russians saying about that, and their own participa -- participation. >> reporter: well those advances would not have been possible without the russian air strikes despite announcing a draw down about two weeks ago just as the geneva talks were starting, and taking the whole world by surprise, russia continued air strikes. vladimir putin said they would go down from 60 to 70 a day, to 20 to 30 a day. and over the past few days we have been hearing that there was ongoing air strikes in and around the palmyra area. now this is something russia had always said that it will continue bombing those groups that it said -- that are

terrorist organizations by the u.n. i.e., isil and al-nusra. in the past people were saying it was not targeting these groups. russia said it will continue with that pressure, and we have been watching also the russian media over the past few hours, and they have been reporting that the government forces have arrived there. they have reporters on the ground there. they have been saying they were on the hills surrounding palmyra. they did not report that actually the government forces entered palmyra. but were in the hotel quarters of palmyra. >> okay. thank you. al jazeera has learned the next round of syrian talks are start in geneva on the 9th or 10th of april. the latest negotiations are being adjourned. james bayes sent this update from geneva. >> reporter: these talks have been underway for almost two

weeks, and on the key issue, political transition no progress at all, the syrian government has not properly engaged the opposition says on that issue. now the u.n. special envoy will announce a next date for these talks. we are told it is likely to be the 9th or 10th of april. in that puts the syrian government under pressure. also putting them under pressure, i think, is this paper, that staffan de mistura is giving to both sides. interesting the title of the paper, essential principles of a political solution in syria. almost exactly the same title the syrian government gave at the beginning of these talks. what is key is what has been agreed by the international community. the idea of a transitional government leading syria after

18 months to free and fair elections, and that's the issue that the syrian go hasn't engaged in, in these talks over the last two weeks. coming up on al jazeera, will it be the union jack or the silver fern. new zealanders decide to do with their flag of 114 years. ♪ find fantasy shows. when it comes to the things you love,

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to change this county, and we will change the world. >> monumental decisions. >> mr. president, there's a one and three chance of a second great depression. >> first-hand accounts from the people who were there. >> their opinion was shocking. >> the challenges. >> he said, "i am president of the united states and i can't make anything happen." >> the realities. >> he stood up and said, "that's it, i'm finished." >> our american story is written everyday. it's not always pretty, but it's real... and we show you like no-one else can. this is our american story. this is america tonight. a u.n. judge has found dario

kordic guilty of human rights violations. a verdict is being delivered for his role in the bosnian wars. police in belgium are looking for a suspect who was seen just before the explosions on tuesday. there are also reports that a suspect involved in the metro bombing is also at large. syrian forces have taken two positions held by isil in palmyra. that was backed by russian air strikes. video is emerging of a palestinian who attacked an israeli soldier being shot dead as he lay incapacitated on the ground. as ambulances arrived and soldiers milled around, one soldier off camera appears to

shoot at the palestinian man's head. [ gunfire ] >> as ambulances arrived and soldiers -- i do beg your pardon. after that van passes, as you can see, blood can be seen pouring from the man's head. the israeli military says it is examining the video. crossing over to stephanie decker who is joining us from west jerusalem following that story for us, stephanie. and has the israeli government or the military said anything else besides they are examining that video? >> reporter: yes, we have a statement from the israeli army that soldier is sus peck pecked -- suspended, and they said this suggests a great breach of values, which is not how the army works. and they are taking this very

seriously. that video is incredibly dramatic. two palestinians attempted to stab a soldier in hebron, this the occupied west bank, they likely injured the soldier. one of the palestinians was shot dead on the spot, and this palestinian as you see is lying on the ground. he had been shot but posed no threat. and the video clearly shows a soldier cocking his gun and appearing to shoot him. you hear the shot, and then you see blood pouring from his head. this video was taken by an israeli human rights group, and it is of course something that will anger the ground. it is being widely circulated on social media. especially in hebron. palestinians often doubt the army's account, whether people attempted to stab or not. often the army shoots these palestinians dead, so it is an incredibly sensitive situation.

this video will do nothing to appease people, and questions will be raised of whether more of these incidents have happened and haven't been caught on video. but the israeli army is taking this very seriously, and are investigating any incident. >> what do we know about the palestinian man who was shot in the head? >> reporter: we don't have much information. we're hearing they are two brothers. this is not confirmed. they are from hebron. they are in the 20s. but again, confirmed by palestinian officials who exactly they are. this is something we have been seeing on a regular basis in hebron. it has been a flash point because it is such a sensitive city. you have settlers living very close to the palestinians. they are often harassed, so what

human rights groups will tell you, that this is a desperation results of decades of occupation, these palestinians will try to attack soldiers, so yes, very difficult but exact confirmation as to who he is, we don't know yet. >> okay. stephanie thank you for that update. new zealanders have voted to stick to tradition and keep their flag. carly flynn has more on the results from auckland. >> reporter: a disappointing turnout, and a disappointing result. those who wanted the flag to change, refusing to concede defeat. >> the current flag has won the day. we think we'll have a new flag in time to reflect the fact that we're an independent country in the south pacific. [ applause ] >> a let down too for the prime minister who has lead the campaign for change. >> you can't be a sore loser about these things.

i think you have just got to say that those who wanted the change gave it a go. it might not have worked, but actually we're a stronger country for it. ♪ >> reporter: for more than 1.2 kiwis there are celebrations that the current design will continue itself 114-year reign. >> it's what the majority want, and they will go home tonight delighted. >> i'm so pleased. it's a brilliant result. well done new zealanders. >> reporter: the new design ditched the flag, despite new zealand still having strong links to england. the prime minister says the turnout proves it was a discussion worth having. >> we have had enormous discussion, probably ever school

child in new zealand has had a discussion about the flag and what it means, and we have done something no other country in the world has done. >> reporter: this man was part of the consideration panel, and says the discussion is far from over. >> i think there will be some other suggestions that will be promoted over time. >> reporter: this wasn't the outcome the new zealand prime minister and this crowd wanted, but it's one, 1.2 million kiwis voted for. the prime minister doesn't like being on the wrong side of public opinion, but it would seem on this occasion, he got it wrong. one of the greatest-ever football players has passed away. he was 68 years old. the dutchman's family announced that he died peacefully from cancer. in that happened at his home in barcelona. the former star was voted the

world's best player on three occasions. he guided the netherlands to the world cup final. that happened in 1974. you can read more about his life on our website, aljazeera.com. following leads police identify a third suspect in the brussels bombings, but with one man still on the lose, new details about possible fifth attacker. and found at sea, a missing tug boat pulled from the depths of the pacific after disappearing 95 years ago. ♪