head to the big stories that could dominate the headlines in twenty eighteen. december on al-jazeera. in syria thousands have disappeared without a trace. forcibly taken from their families when the most terrible thing in syria is to be. this has been the invisible weapon of the syrian dictatorship of a mother sometimes i thought it would be better to die than continue to be surely after it and go to. the disappeared of syria at this time on al-jazeera. a missile was launched. a little while ago from korea i won't tell you take care of

it un security council to hold an emergency meeting after north korea launches its longest range ballistic missile. and i mean this is out there live from doha and also coming up in the program but frontis addresses a gathering during his first visit to me and ma but avoids making any reference to the workings of. the u.s. jury acquits the man accused the mastermind of the two thousand and twelve and. the most serious charge. and boom time for a bit coin is the crypto currency such as pasta ten thousand dollars. so then the u.n. chief terrorist has condemned north korea's latest missile launch the u.n. security council is to hold an emergency meeting on wednesday u.s.

space scientists say the missile tested has a capability of hitting anywhere on the united states mainland it reached the highest altitude ever achieved by north korea and to come on intercontinental ballistic missile reports now from washington d.c. . the pentagon says it was an intercontinental ballistic missile that north korea launched on wednesday its first such missile test in more than two months. the missile flew about a thousand kilometers before splashing down in the sea of japan tokyo. you cannot it. i believe the international community needs to be united and to fully implement sanctions against north korea japan will not back down in the face of provocation but maximize pressure on north korea as was washington i won't tell you that we will take care of it we have general mattis in the room with us and we had a long discussion. it is a situation that we will handle the bottom line is the continued effort to build

threat. threat that danger to world peace regional peace and sort of united in response south korea test fired its own missiles a show of force against its northern neighbor. at the state department official said secretary rex tillerson left a meeting with the king of jordan in order to consult with allies and at the united nations a sense of a long arm if it was launched you know towards the island over japan. if you fail you know economy because it would be of course an even greater. danger to ships to airplanes the u.n. security council recently passed two resolutions imposing new sanctions on young as punishment but analysts say this latest launch shows pyongyang doesn't care about international opinion and part of that is i think to signal to beijing you know

pushes too hard because we were not going to back down and we could go a little crazy you know it might not be so good for you either at the request of the u.s. japan and south korea the u.n. security council will meet later on wednesday to discuss this latest missile launch by north korea at most it's going to give member nations a chance to express their dismay with refusal to comply with international law and international resolutions it's going to take a lot more diplomacy than just one meeting in order to resolve this crisis rosalyn jordan al-jazeera at the state department well steve in nigeria is an associate professor of politics and international studies at the international christian university and he says the timing of the test is important coming after the chinese communist party conference donald trump's tour of asia. koreans are tested at this particular time because they understand that shooting isn't in a very powerful position after the ninety party congress is not willing to put more

pressure on the north koreans. they he also view the kim regime of use what's happening in south korea and the souring relations with japan and south korea as a potential this or between these two countries in terms of the cooperation with the north china and the united states are not seeing eye to eye on these particularly on north korea and we do have the russian continued trade and deepening trade relations with north korean north koreans of all stakeholders within the region are fractured they're not working together nor cooperate in any synergize way to put pressure on the north and as a result the north has been able to continue to expand its missile and missile technologies and development the international international community community need to work together in a unified way to deal with the north korean and what we see right now with the major stakeholders are not being north korea in the same way and seeing it as a the same urgency and secure a security challenge of the united states and japan and south korea now that the

head of the catholic church pope francis is in the mirror most largest city of yangon he'll be delivering a mass to thousands of people many have lined the route to greet him as he was brought into the venue on tuesday francis called for respect for the rights of all ethnic groups to see appeared alongside the country's leader in terms of she thought he avoided any direct mention of the wreckage it was a minority but now it's all across what it's called hyde lou joins us from yangon and scott the pope has had to tread a very very delicate path here hedley. absolutely now again hit the masses still going on here tens of thousands of people have gathered at the grounds here in central yangon to see the pope some even slept out overnight hundreds slept out overnight so they could come into this venue he came in probably about an hour and a half ago going on two hours now he rode his kind of trademark popemobile through that large crowd of tens of thousands behind me so they could all get

a close look at him and then he went up to the stage where he still is now he delivered a short homily and one message that he came of it came across through that is he said that the people of myanmar your country of myanmar has been a victim of anger and wrath and he said that the only way for a positive future is through pete obviously again we're going back to these very broad messages that we heard when he was speaking after leaders meetings in a bit or this nation's capital yesterday yesterday was a little bit more of an allusion to what was going on in in the or kind state and with the range of crisis today is much more broad strokes he also mentioned that you know he's delivering this message not just to the christians about three million in country or the catholics about seven hundred thousand and country he said he's delivering this message to all people of myanmar that peace is the only way forward as i now say had to be very careful what was his main concern in how he approaches will it more about fears of repercussions against catholics within man

well. there was this the idea that range is a name that the government and a lot of the people in myanmar don't use so it's a very sensitive topic they are viewed the ranger are viewed as by the government a lot of people in myanmar as illegal bangali migrant they don't consider them to be part of myanmar that's why it's a delicate issue in the past the pope has referred to them as the region has said that they are peaceful people and that they are being oppressed because of their beliefs so that's what he was saying coming in today there was concern how hard he would push that message while in. country because it's such a delicate issue and yes there was concern that there could be kind of backlash in other groups that don't believe that there are part of the any more ember leave that the way the government has handled it is the right way to go there was concern about that he did deliver a message but not as strong as he had before he came in country so yes he had to really kind of walk that fine line you know acting yes as

a religious leader but also as an artful diplomat. well as the pope conducts mass there in yangon him in ma scotland thanks very much. the man accused of masterminding the two thousand and twelve benghazi attack has been acquitted of the most serious charges against him. that was captured by american forces in two thousand and fourteen u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans were killed in the attack on the u.s. diplomatic compound she everton's he has this report. the attacks on the state department and cia compounds in benghazi libya on september the eleventh twenty twelve have been a rallying point for republicans who accuse them secretary of state hillary clinton of not doing enough and then lying about the incident that led to the death of four americans including ambassador christopher stevens we were misled that there were supposedly protests and then something sprang out of that an assault sprang out of

that and that was easily ascertained that that was not the fact but but the american people could have known that within days and they didn't know that with all due respect the fact is we had four dead americans was a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night or decided they'd go kill some americans what difference at this point does it make. i was detained in twenty fourteen the government accused him of being a ringleader in the attack prosecutors presented testimony that khattala had called for attacks on americans however his defense lawyers say he was a bystander who arrived on the scene after the attack a point conceded by the prosecution in addition a key prosecution witness was paid seven million dollars for his testimony and having been detained in twenty fourteen could tell i was held at sea for almost two weeks his defense lawyers say he was deprived of sleep and had no legal counsel after five days of deliberation the jury found him guilty of one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to terrorists one count of

providing material support or resources to terrorists one count of maliciously destroying and injuring dwellings and property and placing lives in jeopardy and one count of using and carrying a semiautomatic weapon during a crime of violence but he was acquitted of the federal murder and other charges he faces decades in prison she has. the foreign ministers from the u.k. saudi arabia the u.a.e. and oman have met in london to try and find a peaceful solution to the war in yemen britain's foreign secretary boris johnson called the crisis the number one impending humanitarian catastrophe and urged countries to work together paul brennan this report no defining breakthrough moment from these talks this forum that's been held here in london but an indication from the u.k. of the urgency of the matter and recognition according to the foreign and commonwealth office at least from the saudis the u.a.e. oman and the u.s. and of course the u.n.

about the humanitarian plight being faced by the yemeni civilians three million of whom have been displaced tens of thousands of whom have been killed over the past three years and this blockade of the past two and a half weeks causing real genuine hardship now although the blockade is being eased the trickle of humanitarian supplies which have been able to get into yemen is hardly enough to feed the starving thousands of the those affected by cholera as well and aid agencies are extremely worried about the deteriorating situation there the foreign office minister from the u.k. has spoken in the wake of the meeting to say that the saudis understand the urgency of delivering humanitarian aid but at the same time they also want to have security from the kind of missiles that we saw fired from the hutu rebels that said there is a recognition of the great urgency although resolving the situation will be dictated by events on the ground and that includes the delivery of humanitarian aid

as well as preventing any further rocket attacks. so that here in algeria the u.n. security council meeting to address the grim business of people trafficking in libya. and fixing zimbabwe struck me a quantum me what business and it's a new president. how are the weather's not looking too bad across eastern parts of the u.s. east in areas of canada as well hey we've got a nice area of high pressure in china so that's keeping things reasonably settled central coming through a cloud and right there really wet weather the area of concern remains up towards the pacific northwest pos of washington state western areas of washington state a state of emergency has been declared here because of the heavy and flooding rains

that continue to pollo weigh in on the pineapple express and whether that's a way to british columbia more of that as we go on through thursday. struggling to reach around eight degrees celsius for the south san francisco twenty five for a little bit of cloud coming in that class into central pass what's the weather over towards the last. across the eastern seaboard new york getting up to nine degrees celsius and optically woman at least it will be sunny. coming into the caribbean on places say there's a fair amount of cloud at the moment generally of the weather ferocity the heavy rains that we've seen recently starting to ease for jamaica easterly winds will push a little further west which as we go on through thursday weather coming back into cuba but a rash of showers the central america. from

mother to daughter an ancient craft kept alive by a bustling matriarch. from start to finish. all traditions intertwined with new designs making this family's place unique in tunisia has rich tapestry. the threat at this time. and again you're watching al-jazeera let's have a reminder of our top stories the u.n. security council is to hold an emergency meeting on wednesday after north korea's

latest myself and japan says it's the highest altitude achieved by north korean missiles. the man accused of masterminding the two thousand and twelve and godsey attack has been acquitted on the most serious charge for the games that. was captured by american forces in two thousand and fourteen u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans were killed in the attack on the u.s. diplomatic compound. at the catholic church pope francis in me in moscow lodges and . delivering a mass to thousands of people francis is treading a difficult diplomatic line during his visit having to avoid any direct mention of the engine was in the minority over six hundred thousand were injured and fled to mustn't oldest after a military crowd. now the the international airport on the indonesian island of bali remains closed for a third day is. continues to spew volcanic ash the second biggest in indonesia i suspect is a closed until thursday about one hundred thousand people living near the volcano

have been told to leave their homes and scientists warn that a major eruption could happen at any moment let's bring now to our correspondents that vastly joins us live from the foot of the mountain at the volcano what is the latest how's the mountain looking. well i'm going to i'll go my mt i will miss completely confident clouds at the moment the weather has been very bad here in the area i was a psycho loon actually and also that has changed the direction of the wind going to the west now so all the ash the ash that's been erupting from the volcano for the last couple of days is now going to a different direction also rocks up to four kilometers has been thrown out of the crater but so far a life i has yet to arrive from the volcano mark mind is already building up inside the crater up to the to the highest level and you can actually see the

pressure building up and the tremors were recorded on tuesday which actually according to folks on a los focus on the largest say that this is an over option that could be very imminent a very big eruption but the problem with this volcano is that there are no scientific data of the latest a very major eruption here in one thousand nine hundred sixty three so it's very unpredictable at the time actually there was a the very first we call a russian an optical scan kilometer so a lot of people are very worried about this and that's why the authorities are saying that the whole area has to be cleared of people and their cattle and at the moment though still a few people are quite reluctant to leave actually going to syria or because there's no way of knowing when or indeed if she will actually blow it must be very difficult to persuade people to leave the area because ultimately you might not dirt all. exactly it has a huge impact on their life of course if they have to evacuate they can't work on

their land their and their cattle is left behind and actually two months ago radio thought you had already cleared the whole area they said everyone had to evacuate because at that time they thought the market was going to erupt didn't happen for people went back home and of course now they are a lot more reluctant to leave their homes again because it could actually take a few months nobody knows nobody can predict or it's that thanks very much indeed. on that situation in the meantime thank you mr snow now the u.n. security council held an emergency session on human trafficking in libya evidence emerge of hundreds of people being auctioned for as little as four hundred dollars mike hanna reports now from new york. a small crowd of african ex gather outside the libyan embassy in protest against the practice of modern day slavery. none here disputes that libya is now a failed state but many argue that those who are affected the overthrow of the

gadhafi government six years ago must share responsibility for the consequences of the political vacuum that was created among them the abuse of migrants and refugees who fled their native lands. just up the road the security council discusses what is to be done. calls for a strong expression of condemnation from the security council the horrific images emerging in recent weeks. they underscore the urgency of improving our global policy to tackle the scrooge and put an end to this human tragedy. the un's refugee chief proposes immediate measures but says funds as well as words must be deployed strengthening refugee protection and offering solutions along the routes. including in chad that me share is key but dramatic funding gaps persist especially in

sub-saharan africa some ninety percent of refugees and migrants attempting to get to europe pass through libya and it's the most vulnerable who are the prey. they sell africans over there in libya they sell men even fifteen year old libyans or they're in a car they're armed the coming kidnap you and the so you've heard seventy to one hundred fifty dollars and then others will resell you. soon as you arrive in libya the first thing that happens is that you are taken away and sold under discussion in the security council the possibility of sanctions against individuals and entities and of applying the full range of international law including the use of the international criminal court but the session ends without resolution it could be weeks even months before the u.n. security council agrees on concrete measures to stop slavery but those suffering in africa and their contacts in new york my adamant even today.

mike hanna al-jazeera york. the reuters news agency is reporting that a senior saudi princes has been released after more than three weeks in detention over corruption charges prince mathias been there was reportedly freed after reaching what officials called an acceptable agreement is reported to have paid more than one billion dollars in settlement with the national guard minister the son of the late king abdullah and was once considered a contender for the throne. yes vice president might present says president donald trump is actively considering when and how to move the u.s. embassy in israel to jerusalem in june trump signed a legal waiver that keeps the embassy in tel aviv palestinians say that move the embassy would pre-judge one of the most sensitive issues in the conflict the status of jerusalem undermining america's role as a mediator and while for the past twenty years congress and successive

administrations have expressed a willingness to move our embassy as we speak. president donald trump is actively considering when and how to move the american embassy in israel from tel of the. curious from. the french president has promised a new relationship with africa and then one micron told students in bikini that he wants france to deal with the continent on the basis of equality and not the past but demonstrators on the streets of the capital showed that not everybody is convinced national has more now from what to do. was national pride runs high among the students in the kenya fastener but there's little affection for france the former colonial ruler. wants to fix what he calls from his image problem in africa which is why he chose to speak and why do you know first. i'm like you from a generation that never knew africa as

a colonized continent i am from a generation for whom one of the great political memories was the victory of nelson mandela this is the history of our generation was. promised a new french african relationship based on equality rather than past time he talked about youth security and jobs and said he'd do more to rescue migrants trapped in libya but it was not scripted question and answer session which captured people's attention i. would say. he touched on many subjects close to us and became a fast so he said africans must find they are the solutions and put themselves first. to do it it doesn't just mean it is certainly very persuasive but i don't really believe politicians let's give him the benefit of the doubt and see action there's no doubt that in all my. students i have seen the first instance that he

did. right first the. demonstrators and police clashed in the city center others chanted for macro to go home activists say many people are fed up with a succession of french leaders who come to africa only to serve their own interests . we want. to govern how we want withdraw its troops we don't need it sound basis here and the french and pillaging our country are not wanted because they are not helping us or our young people. knew that this trip would be a challenge that doing away with decades of mistrust was never going to be easy believes it's important to me forward whether these young people agree is another matter natasha butler. picking

a faster. zimbabwe's new president has opened a three month window for the return of stolen public fund. says those individuals and companies that have illegally stashed money abroad have until the end of february to give it back and god has promised to tackle corruption following the garveys thirty seven year rule well the people of zimbabwe are looking to the new president to bring the country back from the brink of economic disaster and for business owners the need for help is critical and has this report. this manufacturing industry like every aspect of zimbabwe's economy is on its knees and a man who is under pressure. ask him what president was new cabinet should prioritize and the list is long with investment and jobs at the top since two thousand and warm he's had to lose half of his work but to stay afloat he's diversifying and taking on smaller contracts. he hardly needs

a reminder of hyperinflation and the national currency that's long gone but things haven't got any better. very stressful when you come to the end of the month you need don't even need to make sure that these guys have what their sell out is you can look to for the predict the next ten days from now what are you going to be doing part of a derelict industrial landscape ziska still works as one of many state owned companies that's gone bankrupt that means this firm now has to import steel. and it's galvanizing business using molten sink to coat steel is a big loss maker this company galvanises fifty metric tons of steel pump month just to break even it needs to do three hundred tons a month it's remarkable this company manages to stay afloat this man believes he

could start to fix things opposition politician tendai biti finance minister in the national unity government from two thousand and nine to two thousand and thirteen we trusted by the mugabe and created a monster so we can trust the zanu p.f. in in one else i'm talking about a transitional process an inclusive transitional process in the respect of which key people including and in particular. so could zanu p.f. tick the boxes on the moans from western powers to attract investment by including opposition figures in its government they should not doubt their own business community by giving them the wrong advice about taking those books we would take them our selves we would be created to make zimbabwe the modot democratic nation period emanuel chimedza wants to believe that statement if things don't change soon he only has to take a look down the road to see what the future holds. hundreds simmons' al-jazeera

harare. the cryptocurrency bitcoin is hotter than ever with investors this price has already increased more than a thousand percent in the past twelve months and now it's edging closer to another milestone reynolds has this report. but a year ago you could buy one bitcoin for about seven hundred thirty dollars in currency exchange sites online now the same bitcoin is worth nearly ten thousand dollars why most likely it is because there's a lot of speculators that have seen the rapid price rise and bitcoin and decided that this would be a good gamble for them to get in there have been signs the financial world has become more accepting of the virtual currency japan has recognized it as an official method of payment and the world's largest derivatives exchange operator c.m.e. group plans to start offering bitcoin futures before yours and bitcoins market capitalization is now larger than giant reality based companies like walt disney

and i.b.m. investors have taken notice point base a popular online trading platform now has more than thirteen million users up more than three hundred thousand in the past week alone some financial experts see the rapid run up in bitcoins price as a classic symptom of economic delusion bitcoin as a speculative bubble the only question is when it's going to burst and who is going to be left holding the bag in the end the people that are holding it will hold something that is worth nothing but going trading at historically been extremely volatile with the price spiking and crashing as it did in two thousand and thirteen in two thousand and fourteen and bitcoin has also been linked to crime as hackers narcotics sellers and child pornography peddlers prefer the anonymity it provides for illicit transactions robert oulds al jazeera los angeles.

are just trying to recover the headlines here on al-jazeera and the u.n. security council is to hold an emergency meeting on wednesday after the latest in a series of north korean missile tests and south korea's president is chairing a national security meeting off of the u.s. to the intercontinental ballistic missile launch from north korea japan says the rocket reached the highest altitude yet before landing in its waters. the man accused of masterminding the two thousand and twelve and galaxy attack has been acquitted on the most serious charges brought against him i'm going to i will have tyler was captured by american forces in two thousand and fourteen u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans were killed in the attack on the u.s. diplomatic compound. the head of the catholic church but francis in largest city of young dawn delivering a mass to thousands of people francis is treading a difficult diplomatic line during his visit having to avoid any direct mention of the reply was a minority. u.n.

security council has held an emergency session on human trafficking in libya evidence has emerged of hundreds of people being auctioned for as little as four hundred dollars france has called for sanctions to be imposed on the traffickers u.s. vice president might paint says president donald trump is considering when and how to move the u.s. embassy in israel to jerusalem in june trump signed a legal waiver that keeps the embassy in tel aviv the palestinians say that the move would pre-judge one of the most sensitive issues in the conflict the status of jerusalem undermining america's role as a mediator and while for the past twenty years congress and successive administrations have expressed a willingness to move our embassy as we speak president donald trump is actively considering when and how to move the american embassy in israel from tel aviv to. the international airport on the indonesian island of bali is

expected to remain closed until thursday is mount a good continues to spew volcanic ash about one hundred thousand people living near the volcano have been told to leave and scientists warn that a major eruption could happen at any moment all right you're up to date we've had lunch got more news here and i'm sure right off to my chin it's. news has never been more available but the message is a simplistic and misinformation is rife the listening post provides a critical counterpoint challenging mainstream media narrative at this time on al-jazeera.