and i want to finally we're going ask about that but that's the ball is a ball not i see more listeners are thought of that the set says their last digits are the same wonder whether the double leg up as a bunch is a bitch on the bottom in the first episode of a two part series al-jazeera investigates the world of performance enhancing drugs . sports doping the industry use at this time. it's. where ever you. al-jazeera.

and welcome to the al-jazeera news hour live from my headquarters in doha the elizabeth braun i'm coming up in the next sixty minutes with the u.n. general assembly set to vote on a resolution critical of the u.s. stance on president trump issues a warning. divided. on thursday in an election many horror of spain secession crisis. poland's president finds to curb judicial independence triggering a possible confrontation with the e.u. . i first last. and the un special envoy is told to stay out of myanmar.

u.s. president donald trump has threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that vote in favor of a draft united nations resolution against his decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. says the way member states vote will be noted the one hundred ninety three we have a body will hold of rare emergency special session on thursday at the request of our been muslim countries mike hanna reports from the u.n. . security council staff pose with the secretary general for an annual photograph is called then it's business as usual in the chamber like most other member states those represented here unwilling to comment publicly on the extraordinary letters sent by u.s. ambassador nikki haley ambassador did you receive the letter from hillary about the years many letters and the majority view apparently summed up by one representative who was willing to comment on our position in this case has been very clear we had

the opportunity to express ourselves in the security council so so that's our very strong and prince principled position sweden was one of the fourteen council members who voted in favor of the jerusalem resolution monday the veto by the us is accompanied by an angry statement from the about. what we witnessed here today in the security council is an insult it won't be forgotten what some would regard as a thinly veiled threat driven home in a letter circulated to all member states regarding the photo taking place in the general assembly thursday as you consider your vote the ambassador writes i want you to know that the president and the u.s. take this vote personally she continues the president will be watching this vote carefully and has requested i report back on those countries who voted against us president trump made clear what the possible consequences could be they take

hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars and then they vote against us while we're watching those approach let them vote against us will save a lot we don't care. but privately many un members are outraged at the letters bullying and threatening tone and what was to be a vote condemning attempts to unilaterally change the status of jerusalem may gain even added significance in november more than one hundred fifty nations voted in favor of the resolution declaring all israeli actions in jerusalem as null and void as it was an occupying power a similar result in the general assembly thursday would also be a sweeping international rejection of president trump and his policies mike hanna al-jazeera united nations let's get more on the snellen bring in ali jacobs and new york is a part of the truman national security project very good to have you with us on al-jazeera mr jacobs just how unprecedented is this kind of behavior by u.s.

ambassador to the u.n. and the president of the u.s. it's pretty unprecedented but then again everything about this president is unprecedented you know for him to challenge countries and say he's going to deny the foreign aid to them that's his domestic politics that's part of what he ran on in the twenty six ten twenty sixteen campaign was america first so this speaks directly to his base directly to his domestic politics priorities and doesn't speak to them even though the u.s. foreign aid budget is only something like you know one percent of the total budget . right so the form part of the foreign aid budget is as you said it's you know barely one percent but the vast majority of americans believe that it's twenty five percent or more so the the base that he's talking to they think that it's a significant amount of money is it up to the trumpet ministration or is it up to congress to review any changes to the foreign aid budget and would congress support cutting aid over this issue do you think. the state their requests would go from

the president to the state department the state department then would make the policy and would have to get funding or defunding from the from the congress for it i can't imagine that the senate would start slashing budgets of foreign aid to ords countries that vote to vote on this issue against what the president's wishes are there are too many senators particularly on the foreign relations committee who who strongly believe in multilateral diplomacy and foreign aid despite the fact that they may not be huge fans of the u.n. particularly of the un's treatment of israel but also the same way that so many people think that the foreign aid budget is over twenty five percent something like seventy five percent of the american public highly approve of foreign aid so there's a lot of contradictory data and contradictory thoughts but this is really a move on the domestic front but it's also a move to see exactly where other countries may stand on this it will be very

interesting to see what saudi arabia and some of the other arab countries do. well how do you expect saudi arabia to vote on this and. and i and other countries too there was one council diplomat who said that canada hungary the czech check the public might bow to u.s. pressure will be interesting to see which countries on how certain countries vote on this. right i mean if you go back to the two thousand and twelve general assembly resolution to upgrade palestinian observer status the vote was something like hundred thirty eight to nine and the nine countries were the u.s. the israel the czech republic and a bunch of you know countries in the south pacific i think tomorrow we may see something a little bit different israel has been working very hard over the last few years to improve relationships with other countries particularly at the u.n. to try to avoid these kind of blockbuster blow out votes but in particular saudi

arabia in the relationship that's the saudis have really tried to court with donald trump it could make tomorrow it could make tomorrow really interesting i have no idea what the saudi arabians will do if they decide to abstain which i think is probably i can't imagine they would vote against it but if they choose to abstain how many other arab countries decide to join them it's a big question and one that i'm sure the saudi or saudis themselves are trying to figure out right now and if the general assembly votes along the same lines as the boys in the van the one hundred fifty countries voted in favor of you know that resolution declaring or an israeli actions in jerusalem or not and void because that is an occupying power can or will the u.s. go ahead with its vision for diversity and do you think given that those days vote is nonbinding. the u.s. is going to go on a go go through with this one of the reasons i think trump and haley are pushing back so hard is because this is a domestic policy decision this is the fulfillment of

a twenty two year old law that congress passed on huge bipartisan majorities is a wildly popular law here in the united states and presidents have just had to kind of keep kicking the can down the road the fact that donald trump finally filled what a twenty two year old law was rick was requiring him to do isn't really news the idea that other countries should influence the way that america makes their decisions is really insulting to a lot of americans particularly this president mr jacobson it is great as a way to get your thoughts your and fives and to the sally jenkins joining us live from new york thank you. let's move on to some of the news from the u.s. now the white house and republican members of congress a celebrating the passage of donald trump's massive tax bill but critics say the billable only help the wealthy and hurt the poor committee how could it has more from washington d.c. . with nearly every republican lawmaker at his side donald trump did not pass up

his chance to enjoy his first legislative victory after almost a year in office it's always a lot of fun when you win the passage of the most dramatic changes to the u.s. tax code in thirty years i always say the most massive but it's the largest tax cut in the history of our country and the reform but tax cut the tax reforms are controversy big cuts to corporate tax rates from thirty five to twenty one percent democrats say will benefit the wealthy at the expense of ordinary americans it's a ponzi scheme. the tax cuts are going to be meaningful for work and family than every day americans and the jobs will never materialize republicans argue the cuts will make the united states more competitive with countries like china with similarly lower corporate tax rates it's hoped this will encourage companies to do

business in the u.s. and bring back jobs a key trump campaign promise but while this legislation is about reforming taxes it is also about winning donald trump failed to deliver on a campaign promise to repeal and replace the affordable care act or what many americans call obamacare it's a frustration donald trump has lamented for months. passing the tax legislation now allows trump to claim victory on both tucked inside the tax reforms is a repeal of an obamacare requirement called the individual mandate that force the president says americans will start to see tax relief as early as february the g.o.p. tax scam is a minor mental job but many americans remain skeptical most members of congress did not have time to read the hundreds of pages of changes to the hastily passed tax legislation thank you very much everybody and according to most polls two thirds of

americans are doubtful the tax changes will have any positive impact on their lives kimberly help get al-jazeera washington. to spain now and there's an anxious wait ahead of thursday's and the action and caution on your watch could decide the region's future madrid course that volatile hot across a session leaders in a last really declared independence and of top call pan hall takes a look at what's become spain's whilst political crisis since the end of the franco dictatorship. massive protests erupted in boss alona a spanish paramilitary police raided regional government offices cattle on officials were arrested as madrid tried to stop preparations for the secession referendum days away that. democracy must be defended with smiles and flowers when not violent all we want to do is vote and vote in peace.

spanish security forces dragged away voters from the polling stations catalans bloodied and beaten the referendum went ahead the spanish government insisted it was illegal that a cry. they stole materials they violate that human rights they were injured people that east a crime an overwhelming majority voted to break away but turnout was low. the spanish king made a rare t.v. address condemning the result of some lawful this response then it's the responsibility of the legitimate powers of the states to guarantee constitutional law and order. spanish unionists rallied for huge counter-demonstrations. yes we are the silent majority we must show that there are many moral for us and those who want to divide catalonia. polish jews demand the

head of the cattle and government declared independence but delayed implementation calling instead for negotiations it is the mandate of the people that catalonia should become an independent state in the form of a republic over the next three weeks spanish judges arrested keith separatist leaders accusing them of plotting rebellion and spanish prime minister mariano rajoy completed the crackdown shutting down this regional parliament disbanding the cattle and government and imposing direct rule from madrid if you. they have broken the law and the rule of law two of the basic principles of the european union they have to bribe the representatives of the opposition of their right to exercise control in government imagine if i decided to close parliament so nobody could question me that would be a scandalous situation but this is what's happening and this is what's still

happening. days later poos demanded part of his cabinet fled to belgium other catalan government ministers were jailed some later freed on bail they jailed us only to the fenn our i.d.'s and that the done share. the turmoil has polarized catalans and spaniards alike the choice in thursday's election season start to make up. or break up. al jazeera boss alone there. are plenty more ahead on the news hour and clothing it's time to turn around the struggling economy that's the message from zimbabwe's president as he addressed the nation. another setback but this time of the e.u. is highest court and russia's banned from pallant exporters up held box they get

another month to prove their athletes should be allowed to compete in chad that's coming up in sports but peter. poland's president has accused you of lying about his country's plan traditional reforms the a who has triggered a legal mechanism that could see the country stripped of its voting rights within the blog brussel says the laws are a threat to democracy natasha buckley has more it was a message of defiance from warsaw to the european poland's president signing into law two bills reforming the judiciary something the e.u. had warned against saying the changes threatened poland's democracy was arms of provides ahmed i think we're introducing very good solutions in poland i believe we're introducing solutions that will improve the justice system that will make people finally regained faith in justice regain faith in polish courts and regain

faith in the justice system just hours earlier the e.u. had taken an unprecedented step to try and stop poland forging ahead with the controversial reforms it launched article seven of the lisbon treaty a process that could lead to poland losing its e.u. voting rights sadly concerns of deep within a period of two years a significant numbers of laws have been adopted thirteen in total which put at serious risk the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers simple right since coming to power in twenty fifty. poland's rightwing law and justice party has been a look ahead with the e.u. for its drive to tighten immigration and media laws analysts say the ease latest move is unlikely to put government in a word to talk. law and justice the governing party in parliament is riding high in the opinion polls i think that they are very adept at turning the battle good

brussels to their own advantage they can say it's just an unelected bureaucrats are trying to undermine our national sovereignty so they say we're perfectly content to see this one reckless way through over the past months pollution opposition protesters have voiced their anger at a government thing is increasingly authoritarian. the e.u. has given poland three months to address its concerns it may then consider suspending broadswords voting rights but for that to happen all member states would have to agree and the problem for the e.u. is that hungary has already made it clear that it would veto such a move it's actually butler al-jazeera now the european union has given a firm deadline for the u.k.'s transition out of the blog must be completed by the end of december two thousand and twenty coinciding with the end of the e.u.'s current seven year budget back that will officially happen in march two thousand and nineteen for the two sides have

a great transition period for fall and during which the u.k. will continue to apply in huge roles. it's important i think that we have the same position legally as the european union and that's why we've accepted the amendment my rival friend the member for west dorset but i can assure my honorable friend and to the house we would only use this power in exceptional circumstances for the shortest possible time and an affirmative motion would be brought to the house. now that is highest court has ruled that the car holding at the transport company and must be regulated accordingly argued that it's an online platform and should be subject to the same rules as taxi outlets the san francisco based firm operates in more than six hundred locations offer a low cost transport to millions of users but it's also been accused of unfair competition the back of a ports from london it's a judgment with big implications for other companies the european court of justice

ruled that is a taxi service and not a technology firm as the company insists it may have to comply to the same regulation as other transport firms rules that can be sent to coventry level. the long running court case was first brought by taxi drivers in spain with a backlash against being explosive. thousands of taxi drivers took to the streets accusing the company of unfair competition there were similar scenes in several other cities this was paris and this demonstration brought central london to a standstill and deliberate on has been under mounting scrutiny after a driver with previous criminal convictions allegedly murdered a british embassy work of this month. here in london had its license revoked back in september for breaching operating rules including its handling of alleged sex attacks still there were three and a half million users here and many were angry with that decision part of the company's ensuring appeal is that is sufficient and cheap money cheaper than

traditional black cabs for now it's been allowed to continue operating in the capital while it appeals the decision. the european courts ruling isn't legally binding but it does send a message to other high tech firms is one of several companies facing legal battles in recent years b.m.p. another san francisco based firm allows people to rent out their homes to visitors but cities such as barcelona and berlin want to regulate usage to avoid driving up rents and forcing out locals experts say it's important to uphold regulation without stifling innovation if you look at many of the new take firms yes they have a new way of delivering things but the main reason they're making money is often by getting around roles techs regulation the kind of things that the average companies have to apply with the digital revolution to advancing at breakneck speed now the law needs to pick up the pace knave al-jazeera london. myanmar has blocked

the u.n. special envoy from entering the country yankie lee was due to visit in january to assess the state of human rights including abuses against muslim. state police said the lack of cooperation suggested something terrible is happening and called on the government to reconsider more than six hundred fifty thousand refugees have fled to neighboring validation since august to escape a military crackdown. there's a lot of big words that have been. lied to there's this incident a lot of kind of strong very strong condemnation but it doesn't seem like the military government is taking heed to any of this. was disappointing to. the international community could not want to come up with the stronger resolution the security council. it was

a presidential statement but that having said that that was an improvement we've come so far we have never i wear the first person and the last president would never do. me or my i would choose to go down this path it was opening up it was the road to democracy the transition the ration of the people you know all of this point to success story for me but i'm really deeply. disappointed and they're ready saddened by the this decision. to deny cooperation with my mandate over there you know the human rights mechanisms and most of wall to silence people who speak out about these kind of we're jealous of these to you that i'm now with hollande has voted to amend the constitution and

a controversial move which would allow president yarima seventy to stand for election again the better removes the age gap of seventy five years on the president and alan famine to three of all seventy to further extend has three decades and challenge but only a two opposition politicians were detained as they tried to enter parliament for the second day of debate on the issue of seventy is already one of africa's longest serving natives. but only a ugandan journalist jack a chemical spoke to al-jazeera about comparisons that are being made between uganda and zimbabwe during the thirty seven year will of robert mugabe. i think that it was something that was expected and i think that many ugandans are worried about uganda moving to where. and maybe that's where we're going to go i do not know but . in terms of the reaction to being moved i don't think that uganda and politics

is that much you are but also because one thing for us is that politics is the main source of employment and it's not a sob it's a source of employment so and also the one time session of all politics makes italy to be unpredictable because then it's subject to highs. so i think that i wouldn't rush to compare the two now the new head of south africa's ruling a.n.c. party has vowed to pursue radical economic transformation in his first address since his election several polls are expected to become president often actions in two thousand and nineteen because of the a.n.c. dominance evolve to rejuvenate the economy and stamp out corruption the union leader and businessman also promised to tackle abuse of power within the agency's own ranks the people thought country wanted to see that lived up to its promise it is true to its mission they want to

see that lives their fair use it as far as this holds fast to the principles that have long defined it as the movement all for people they wanted a and c. that views this public office not just truth vested interests but to a truly developmental state. zimbabwe's new leader amazon guard one has use his first state of the nation address to declare his country as open to foreign investment about improve the economy and clamp down on corruption following robert mugabe's thirty seven year reign how tough that has more from harare. zimbabwe as new leader says it's no longer business as usual his government is going to introduce pro-business policies to attract investment and revive the ailing economy government will soon end robust engagement and reengagement program

with the international community in our continued to be due to rejoin the community of nations. my government is committed to open a zimbabwe. meant by building a free and transparent economy which ability is zimbabweans and is coming to outsiders. told zimbabweans he's going to improve the rule of law and democracy as well as tackle corruption he came to power last month after the military intervened and roberts mugabe resigned many zimbabwe's including the opposition are watching president and i was very closely to see if he delivers the main thing people want jobs and the economy to improve opposition members say they hope the new president means what he says but they are skeptical there are still cash

shortages and food prices keep rising they feel managua has surrounded himself with the same people who helped keep mugabe in power for thirty seven years we look at the levels. and. this is what people are living and we. dream the dream. and since the. character the new administration is trying to mend relations with the international community some imposed sanctions in the early two thousands of accusations of human rights abuses political analysts say if elections next year are free fair and credible and whoever wins is democratically elected that could show signs of stability and encourage investors to release much needed funds they have to be as democratic as possible because of the elections and said it will have

a close eye on this particular election because they're obviously not keen on having the status of a person who got in via a military intervention as a president in the sort of improving zimbabwe's fortunes and international standing will take time but when i got one has only a few months to prove his leadership will be radically different from his former boss robert mugabe. al-jazeera. still ahead. why to allow him entrance. reacts to the death of an archbishop who helped protect. children. of the skew that story coming out.

welcome back we'll look at the weather across the americas this time you see this area of snow across parts of the west will see some snow extending towards the great lakes upper parts of the midwest meanwhile across the eastern seaboard it's looking dr not particularly warm but reason enough conditions and then heavy on through into friday see this area of rain developing in the south so dallas could see some storms too in the course of the day little bit of snow working its way further towards the east for up more western areas snow is tending to die out seattle in washington state should be largely dry and fine but it should be dry across the desert southwest so let's head down into central parts of america and here we've got one to two showers coming off the caribbean side but really apart from panama costa rica nicaragua is a largely dry picture across the rest of the region and the same really goes across

the islands of the caribbean a lot of draw a fine weather here with temperatures generally around the thirty degree mark so at that stage not a great deal of change still those showers coming in on the easterly winds so when i came a to see or wanted to downpours let's head into south america and here we have plenty of showers around the amazon basin extending through parts of ecuador and through peru and colombia further south still looking pretty warm and asuncion in paraguay heise here twenty nine. forced to flee from syria to lebanon many refugee mothers risked childbirth in terrible conditions delivery is very difficult here in the bin and it's costly i can't go back to syria now because of the war but one lebanese woman is committed to helping them. become friends with every woman. she is important to me.

there are a few g.'s midwife at this time on al jazeera world. al jazeera is award winning programs to take you on a journey around the globe. experts analysis. it's all about who's in charge who controls the resources and documentaries that will tell in your eyes it's a technology story it's a business story it's a social story and it's a political story all wrapped into one it's unpredictable television that truly inspires only on al-jazeera. good to have you with us on the al-jazeera news our go to our top stories u.s.

president all tromped has threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that watch and favor of a draft a u.n. resolution opposing has decision to recognize traversal and as israel's capital the white house and the republican controlled congress has held of waiting america's biggest tax reform bill and thirty years the controversial legislation means big cuts to corporate tax rates a critics say will mainly benefit the wealthy at the expense of ordinary americans and poland's president has accused you of lying about his country to plan judicial reforms at. follows the traveling by the interview of a legal mechanism that could see the country stripped off its voting rights but in the blog says the laws are a threat to democracy. it's been a thousand days since the conflict in yemen began the palace trouble between the whole thing's a shia rebel and president mentor harvey backed by a saudi led coalition has turned into a regional confrontation thousands of people have been killed and millions are on

the brink of famine. reports. was walking out of her father's cement factory north of the capital sana'a when the building was hit by an strike the blast waves twisted her back she's now struggling to walk doctors say her spine was damaged during the attack while her life has been shattered by the conflict in her country dreams of graduating and becoming doctor and i used to go to school and fit my life was beautiful because i could walk and right now i can't walk to school i can only go to the wheelchair i used to be able to sit in the chair at my desk and write but now when i try to write my hand hurts i used to love writing but now i can't even hold a pen. for the conflict in yemen shows no sign of abating on tuesday the who thiis fired a ballistic with science two was the subject capital of riyadh they say they were

targeting a meeting of senior officials at the royal palace saudi arabia accuses iran of supplying the houthi as with the messiah and as the conflicts continue there are fears of a wider regional confrontation the healthy remain defiant and. we face a war carried out by ten countries and there are attempts to create more divisions and chaos but that has failed and we still lead the front against the aggressors. meanwhile the fighting rages near the capital sana'a forces loyal to president i would. are struggling to break her three defense lines civilians caught in the fighting. thousands of people have been killed since the start of the conflict into thousand and fifteen and you know my hope is that two thousand and eighteen

comes along with peace and end of aggression and blockade imposed on my country but i also hope that all the parties come together and build a democratic state. millions of the yemenis struggle to find food and shelter the country which faces the world's biggest humanitarian crisis is also a politically divided effort by the international community to negotiate a settlement suffered a setback earlier this month when the country's alstad leader. was killed by the whole thing. but for many yemenis like neuron to have suffered the most in this conflict and and to the fighting can't come soon enough about al-jazeera. now a new investigation in iraq has found the number of civilians killed in the battle to push i sort of morsel is ten times higher than previously thought the associated press studied more records from october two thousand and sixteen through to july of

this year it found up to eleven thousand civilians were killed and that's a significantly higher number than the one given by iraqi prime minister heather and a barbie he says around one thousand two hundred sixty civilians died the a.p. investigation found one third of the deaths were due to bombardments by either the us led coalition or iraqi forces it blamed on final violent assault for another third of the death it couldn't be determined by more records what side was responsible for the remainder of those killed when lori hadn't as international security correspondent at the associated press and one of the report's authors and she spoke to al-jazeera about their findings we spent four months compiling records both from the morgue in mosul and comparing them against multiple databases from. governmental organizations including iran's amnesty international ground body

count and a u.n. report that came out recently and what we found was that there was a significant under-reporting of the number of civilian dead in mosul in the nine month battle to drive and i still. the priest accused of covering up thousands of cases of sexual abuse in the roman catholic church and boston massachusetts has died roslyn jordan takes a look back at the life of cardinal of the end of the law. once upon a time watchers of the roman catholic church thought cardinal bernard law the head of the church in boston would become the first pope from the united states instead log died in disgrace in rome on tuesday age eighty six vilified because of how we handled decades of allegations of sexual abuse by priests under his supervision sexual abuse survivors had nothing but scorn for law when they heard the news

bernie law was a cruel selfish bastard. because he knew what was going on secret church documents uncovered by the boston globe and other news media revealed that laud routinely moved priests from church to church when they were accused of sexually abusing children he was never prosecuted for his actions defense lawyers say law should have been he could have created commissions with victims to educate priests and supervising priests about the evils of sexual abuse but none of that was done it was all just window dressing it was an empty apology church observer said laws decisions shocked parishioners and the general public it was the practice to protect the institution rather than the innocence of children and so these priests were moved from parish to parish without telling law officials or even telling the new parishes the uproar was so intense and the media coverage so

relentless that law resigned as archbishop in two thousand and two cardinal law came to this convent in maryland just outside washington d.c. he served as the chaplain for about a year then he was off to rome where he served as the head of one of the historical churches there as well as serving on several key vatican committees. the most important the one that chooses the new pope law helped elect pope benedict in two thousand and five but because he had reached retirement age in two thousand and eleven was not involved in the election of pope francis who has tried to deal with the ongoing fallout from the scandal rather than conduct law's funeral services at the vatican francis will conduct the burial ceremony in a statement released after last death was announced francis said quote i raise prayers for the repose of his soul that the lord god who is rich in mercy may welcome him in his eternal peace the survivors in boston say law deserves no such

thing i hope he gets what he deserves in help rosalyn george. washington. took over now where the president is facing a congressional vote that could remove him from office of a corruption allegations. has denied accusations that he had business ties with a massive brazilian building firm. the company has been at the center of a bribery and corruption scandal that's cause political upheaval across south america let's get more on this now with our correspondent. who is joining us live from leave us a president on the verge could be on the verge of being removed from office marianna how a peruvian is reacting what's happening with. i

do. apologize we have lost our connection with our correspondent in lima so let's move on for now syrians displaced from former stronghold and rocker said they're being pressured into returning to their destroyed homes parents they are worried about their children stepping on on exploded bombs asama been jarvey the reports. saying that it's not easy salvaging your clothes from rubble but the family has little choice their home and rocco was hit by a near strike as i said was driven out they've been living in displacement camps but life was so tough there they've been back. over some period her children could step on a mine on an unexploded munition he kept on i'm from the l. mission that neighborhood i'm constantly worried about the young children it's difficult to live here there's nothing with no house outside now after the fall of isis the fact the capital the people of iraq not complain no one is helping them i

would have thirteen children and he says the camp management that i need told him to go home and then we'll look at this the house is gone there's nothing left nothing to eat or drink we need something to survive i was once home to more than a quarter of a million people after nearly five months of fighting eighty percent of the city is destroyed or and doctors without borders says during the battle nobody cared about the villian and the coalition inflicted a deluge your fire on the city reconstruction is estimated to cost billions of dollars but since isis defeat in october few have announced the building this to foot the bill or even provide basic infrastructure health care and education the ancient city was a crown jewel of empires dating back more than two thousand years it's never been leveled like this before beyond the river euphrates was isis capital iraq which was under their control since two thousand and fourteen now the city has been taken over by kurdish led forces but it remains in ruins and i said elements are still

being cleared of fighters continue to discover rep and dumps faisel to leave guns and ammunition from the syrian army. generally the area is safe but there are some mice a weapons left to protect the people we are doing mining of the city we are here to protect civilians for the displaced arab population find you mean it's hard to believe people wouldn't comment on camera but many say they're under another occupying force kurdish white b.g. fighters deny accusations that defense arabs from their towns and villages. but unless there's a serious push to rebuild and rehabilitate. the risk of fostering some of the group like i saw. on the western bank of the euphrates river. french president emanuel says syria as president has made enemies of millions of his own people followed comments by a bashar asad accusing powers of supporting terrorism and serbia earlier french

officials blamed as the government for failed talks aimed at ending the civil war most of us have brought the venezuelan city of san cristobal to a standstill and protests against fuel shortages hundreds of drivers blocked main roads and out of the city the angry at huge queues for fuel with someone who was complaining they had to wait eight hours to fill up venezuela has huge oil reserves and the lowest prices in the world the government blames the shortages on people smuggling fuel over the border to colombia where it can be sold at a profit mexico state prosecutor says a bus crash that killed twelve people on the yucatan peninsula was caused by driver negligence and excess speed the tour bus was carrying thirty one passengers when it flipped over on a flat stretch of road no other vehicle was involved in the incident most of those on board were tourists eight u.s. citizens a canadian and two swedish nationals are among the dead. a mexican journalist has been shot dead at

a school where he was attending his six year old son's christmas party thirty four year old. reporter who wrote regularly on security and drug stories in the southeast invader crews state the state security coordinator has confirmed a lone gunman shot him dead and front of dozens of parents and children he's the twelfth journalist to be killed in mexico the seer. now al jazeera journalists around the world are calling for the release of our colleague mark with a saying who is being detained in egypt and prison for a year of staff of the hour but channel based at al-jazeera is headquarters in doha been showing their support for hussein by marking the date was taken into custody while visiting family security services say he's under investigation but have not referred him to a court. and versions opposition leader jeremy coleman has also urged egypt to release her saying calling has and president completely wrong one message to the presidency is. please release my mother saying but also please release of the

journalists that are being held merely try to report the truth of what is going on without knowledge of the truth how do we know where we're all going to imprison journalists is completely wrong denying people the opportunity to understand what is happening in a particular society is completely wrong stand together everyone around the world for the necessity of the freedom of speech that is the right to know the right to know what journalists are finding out for us when they are style has more. standing in solidarity with mahmoud hussein at al-jazeera headquarters in doha journalists from around the world showed their support for hussein who has been held in any gypsum prison for a year the correspondent is accused of crimes ranging from incitement to broadcasting fake news with the aim of spreading chaos trendall is the managing

director of al-jazeera english he says the allegations against hussein are false it's quite outrageous that but his imprisonment has been extended i believe that every forty five days they extended his detention and it's now right into a year so it's it's really outrageous and of course we call for his freedom of the law as we do hold journalists who were unjustly imprisoned before working at network headquarters in doha hussein was based in al-jazeera is now closed bureau in cairo his family says his physical and mental health have deteriorated considerably over the past year and that he's been denied adequate medical attention for a broken arm my father is emotionally and mentally distressed because he feels that he was there underdogs and behind the bars because connecting and crying the coverage of hussein's case by gyptian media has also had a major impact on his family shortly after being arrested he was paraded on

national television which branded him a terrorist my sisters and brother face social stigma everything in their schools is the one constant that they are sons and daughters of protest and they are not sure fingering egypt they are not safe each one of us is not safe human rights and press freedom groups have also condemned hussein's arrest it's unclear when or if nothing new hussein will be released from prison but the message to his egyptian jailers from him his family and all his colleagues at al-jazeera remains the same free mahmud because. journalism is not a crime. detention is the latest. target. in the country a year and a half ago ibrahim the former editor in chief of al jazeera arabic was sentenced to death in the for endangering national security accusations. egypt also in prison.

on charges of spreading false news in a case that was widely condemned by international media and politicians alike they were freed after being held in prison for over a year and while it's unclear what will happen to mahmoud hussein the demands for his release will continue until he's free. and.

it's time for sports now here's painter thank you very much russian paralympians will need to wait until january before learning if they're allowed to compete at next year's winter games in pyongyang chairing a decision was expected from the international paralympic committee on friday but while the ban on russian competitors has been up held they've been given an extra month to meet the criteria required to lift the suspension this includes the world anti-doping agency reinstating russia the international olympic committee are only allowing russian athletes to compete as neutrals in february's of the big games. well the athlete's preparation for pyong chang is hotting up with less than two months to go now the women's alpine ski circuit continued in france on wednesday with the first ever world cup the ladies' parallel slalom event a new format but

a familiar winner in the shape of mikaela shiffrin the american beat back is path of law by for hundreds of a second to claim her second race win in as many days it sees shifrin increasingly at the top of the overall world cup standings to two hundred and ninety one points . chelsea are on their way to the english league cup semifinals the current premier league champions softball moved by two goals to one on a wednesday as you would expect but a shock result bristol city have a limited manchester united also by two golds to one now former world cup winning striker remark rio is planning to run for president of the brazilian football confederation in an effort to help clean up corruption in the sport in east country the fifty one year old is currently a senator in his home state of rio de janeiro and has played an active role in leading corruption investigations the news comes just days after marco polo del

narrow the current c.b.s. president was given a ninety day suspension by the firm it's alleged he is involved in an ethical conduct there's been some good news for the peru national team in the build up to next year's world cup they captain paolo good arrow will be able to play in russia after fifo catty's ban for failing a doping test from one year to six months the thirty three year old who plays a brazilian side flamingo had been suspended after testing positive for a stimulant found in cocaine following a world cup qualifier in october that will now finish in may just over one month before the start of the tournament. elsewhere rex asinine brasier daughter and claire thomas of that ski has decided to hang up his boots the thirty seven year old who currently plays a sponsor prague announced his retirement on wednesday results the one to take up with arsenal he was also capped at one hundred five times by his native czech republic well one athlete coming out of retirement is twenty thirteen wimbledon winner marion bartoli she says she has unfinished business in tennis of the injury

forced to stop playing four years ago the frenchwoman called it quits just a month after winning her only grand slam title now thirty three bartoli is hoping to return at the miami open in march beyond that she has her sights set on playing at the olympics in twenty twenty as well as winning another major trophy for more on the earlier i spoke to sophie former player from france who no commentator on women's tennis she says bartoli faces a tough physical challenge to get back to the top but there after her shock retirement we shouldn't be too surprised about written. i think mentally we know that she's a warier and she's proven this day in and day out on the tour winning a titles winning a grand slam title and i think that physically with all she went through throughout the last two years especially year ago with the illness and the weight gain and the

weight loss i mean it's been like so difficult for her she's. she's still plying and you know the funny thing is you know i interviewed her about two weeks before she retired and that was after wimbledon back in two thousand and thirteen and there was absolutely no reason for her to quit she didn't have that in our mind so it was such a shock for everybody so surprised i don't think we should be surprised by anything that happens these days on the tennis tour with the likes of all the older player i would say like the federer and the cyrano williams who is now trying to come back after giving birth to her of her first child so young bartoli is a great story again for the woman stays association i think that it's embracing this what we have to expect in two thousand and eighteen is you know an amazing field from the number one up to the number ranked more and more to a leader who is going to look for walker to get into tournament's and it's exciting i mean what's not exciting about that i mean you have pretty much

a lot of players who are looking to maybe be the contender and be the new winners here in grand slam we had four different grand slams winner last year which is pretty amazing and it's a testimony anything to the depth of women's tennis and how good it is and how good they are out there. turkey's state run news agency says that prosecutors are seeking a four year jail sentence for n.b.a. player in askance and he's accused of insulting to accuse president through a chip tayyip erdogan in a series of tweets last year cancer place of new york knicks and would be tried in absentia he is known supporter of in the us based cleric blamed by turkey for last year's failed coup while north korea's largely isolated from the international community football is one the reno way they have been trying to stay in touch with a women's national team won the east asian football to have a chip for a third straight time last week in the north korean news agency supplied this

footage of the team being greeted upon their return at pyongyang international airport. and that's all the sport for me another update coming up again later and that's it for this news hour but i will be back in just a couple of minutes with another full news bulletins and reminder you can always keep up to date with all the news on our website any time at al-jazeera dot com.

when the news breaks it was an announcement few were expecting to hear by announce my resignation as prime minister from the lebanese government and the story builds over and i can't stop thinking about the bullets my life when people need to be heard a mass exodus hundreds of thousands of rolled in just have fled ethnic cleansing in me marva bangladesh al-jazeera has teams on the ground to bring you more award winning documentaries and live news on air and online my name is some people saying that my feelings at any program that they're not real but if i think the real then

they are real don't you think south america was designed to be the world's most advanced autonomous android which is one of the more advanced robots in the world can around but feel that's a philosophical question it's not a lot of what you do socially connect on a subconscious level we are creating this new kind of entity. this toy. and i do. some of it i like.