right. here is a very important force of information for many people around the world when all the cameras are gone i'm still here go into areas that nobody else is going to talk to people that nobody else is talking to and bringing that story to the forefront. the nuclear button is put on the desk in my office at all times. kim jong un threatens the u.s. but offers talks with saul.

and sam is a down this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up iran's president breaks his silence over days of demonstrations saying people are free to protest but not commit violence. in israel's governing coalition calls for the alex ation of parts of the occupied west bank land the palestinians want for a future state i. welcoming in the new year's spectacular fireworks around the world as people celebrate the arrival of two thousand and eighteen. north korea's leader has issued a new warning to the united states saying his country's nuclear forces are no longer a threat but a reality kim jong un also used his annual new year's address to reach out to south korea he says pyongyang has weapons capable of reaching the entire u.s.

mainland and the launch button is on his desk he also warned washington north korea has now completed its pushed. to become a nuclear force it's time to start mass producing nuclear warheads but the defiantly there made some unusually friendly remarks about south korea saying the path to dialogue with sol is open that he hopes ties will improve with when the two countries. should actively create an atmosphere to move forward with the national reconciliation and reunification improving ties between the north and the south is an urgent issue that not only the north and so want but everyone else wants it's a grave matter to which the entire korean nation needs to put its efforts towards resolving contacts and dialogue between the north and the south will expand exchanges on cooperation and we should dispel mutual misunderstanding and distrust and take responsibility and our role as the main agent for the unification.

florence louis has more now from seoul. the speech was very closely watched by analysts and its neighbors because it offers an opportunity to get some direction as to what the leadership of this very secretive state of north korea could be thinking of course what the world is most concerned about is north korea's nuclear ambitions and they can join reiterated some claim that he's already made in november that north korea has completed its final push to become a nuclear force and when he made this claim first in november it was when north korea had fired its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles and kim jong un also said in his speech on monday that north korea will call for the deployment and mass production of nuclear warheads and miss else. who did the u.s. mainland is within the range of our nuclear strike and the nuclear button is put on the desk in my office at all times they should clearly understand that this is

never a trash sort of reality but what weapons experts say is north korea may not yet have the technology to miniaturize a nuclear warhead attach it to a weapon that can really enter the earth's atmosphere and the only way to know this for sure is if north korea were to conduct an atmospheric nuclear test now kim jong un did not make any specific mention of such tests but the key message here is that that north korea is a nuclear state even though the outside world may not have any way of knowing that at this stage the u.s. should think twice about starting a war with north korea but despite the very belligerent tone he struck with the u.s. he did offer an olive branch to south korea now analysts say this could be a tactic to buy itself more time while it balance its nuclear weapons technology and it's also perhaps a ploy to drive a wedge between the u.s. and south korea who are traditional allies robert kelly is an associate professor of political science a national university he says it simply on young's interest to improve relations

with saul. the north has a genuine interest in at least reasonably decent relationships with south korea a reason we didn't relationship with south korea that is to say that the north korea misses the days and south korea used to give it assistance and aid and subsidies and stuff like that it was known as the sunshine policy which was continue which was begun under previous liberal presidents and the stop open north korea the current liberal president of south korea bring that back so i think the north koreans are entirely content to have the relationship they have with the united states right now the nukes in the tension and all that obviously with donald trump that's not going to change and they'd like to find a way than to go along with some of the other players the north has done this for a long time sort of playing one off the other off the other right and so if you will the americans are giving you a hard time to go to the south and i don't really see any change what we see in two thousand and seventeen i am genuinely concerned right i mean the more the north koreans build the more missiles the more nuclear weapons they have the more tests they do and stuff like that the more sites they have it's of the more the pressure raises in the united states to do something more dramatic than sanctions and stuff

like that right so north koreans just aren't signal pull over slowdown in any way which raises the possibility of course the americans will eventually strike iran's president hassan rouhani is urging calm off to four days of anti-government protests he's appeared on television saying people can demonstrate violence is unacceptable sunday's rallies was smaller than the previous night out of the government blocked access to some social media sites pizza shop has the latest. after four days of anti-government demonstrations it's the president's first public reaction trolled kathy iranians have the right to protest but can't lead to violence he said. it should be clear to everyone that we are people of freedom and according to the constitution and citizens' rights people are free to express their criticism and to protest however we need to pay attention to the manner of criticism and protest it should be in such a way that it will lead to be improvement of the people and the state. he was also

quick to criticize president trump for his tweet about iran. this man who today in america wants to simplify people has forgotten but a few months ago he called the nation of iran terrorists this video of protest posted on social media has been blocked by the iranian government the ban follows a nationwide demonstration since thursday government ministers said the video encourage more people to join the rallies. we all saw how they misuse cyberspace and promoted violence trained systematic riots toward weapons and explosives crafting simulated protesters to fight the police and encourage the burning of houses and stores these people are surely not part of our people iran's state television has reported that some social media sites and messaging apps have been blocked to maintain what it termed peace and from the government warnings that iran's revolutionary guards corps was prepared to deploy what was described as an

iron fist if the demonstrations continued their commander said the protests have degenerated into people chanting political slogans and burning public property. protests took place again on sunday but the extent of those is still unclear video posted from the city of durham on saturday night show demonstrators dragging away one of those injured state television in tehran said two people were shot dead but denied that police or the army were involved. in the clash that took two lives no bullets were shot from police and security forces the people gathering was meant to end peacefully but the presence of the agitators unfortunately this happened and resulted in the deaths of two protesters. the protests will have rattled the government they weren't just limited to terror on but took place across the country the only question now is whether they can gather momentum and how long the

government is prepared to put up with this challenge to its authority peter sharp al jazeera. a bath milani is the director of iranian studies at stanford university he says president rouhani is facing opposition not only from the public but also from within government. i think they are very worried clearly they are worried and one of the points that i think needs to be added is that mr rouhani did an interview with iranian radio television it was supposed to be broadcast tonight they decided not to broadcast so they censored the president of the country they did not alarm to talk because i think some in the regime don't think that. approach to appease the people is really right they want to use that aren't just a natural the iron fist is going to work i think some of them know that using the iron fist might well infuriate more people and these are not the kinds of people

that the regime can afford to lose these are the working class these are the poor these are the most as after that they have now claimed for thirty seven years to be champing. protests demanding the resignation of the president of the democratic republic of congo of turn violent i've placed seven people were killed and dozens arrested by security forces after catholics called for peaceful demonstrations shelob ellis reports. the in the democratic republic of congo catholic worshipers pray this sunday they pray with a political purpose they want president joseph kabila goal setting was fantastic he was very good these guys looking to get. started. was. their prayers were heard by security forces in kinshasa twenty seventeen ended as it began kabila second term as

president ended in december twenty sixth saying he refused to step down and the un says congolese security forces killed forty people who protested the decision four hundred sixty were arrested. one year on they marched after mass twelve a lot of boys and priests were among the dozens arrested tear gas was fired into churches was the hospital is filled with protesters once more so goes the human that always says if your term is over give opportunities to others to run your son of the country you belong in the senate give others the opportunity to lead maybe they'll do it better than you did. catholic bishops brokered peace talks between the opposition and government with the agreement that could be low would leave office at the end of twenty seven tame but he's still in power and now the catholics and the opposition are united how do you see me coming

in shook england because it's not just simply because we have come in we have come here in order to find ways to pray for all we mission. opposition voices can be heard by ending the fractured country from all corners even in the troubled east a thriving battleground between rebels security forces say they use of force is justified one police officer was killed and this police station was torched by protesters it only got there so we are in need of peace i assure all of our government authorities that our city government is in peace people should sleep calmly because we as professional police we are doing our job. the president kabila says he was staying in power until december twenty eighth saying because of delays in voter registration. meanwhile mosts appeared to becoming increasingly impatient charlot dallas al-jazeera. the largest party in israel's

governing coalition has passed a resolution urging the party's leaders to push for israeli sovereignty over parts of the occupied west bank that's land the palestinians want for a future state jhoom has more from west jerusalem. now that the live cooed central committee has voted in favor of imposing israeli sovereignty over illegal settlements in the occupied west bank the question is what comes next many members of the likud central committee in the run up to this vote had thought that this was a binding resolution they had said so which in effect would mean that it would force that would compel a prime minister benjamin netanyahu and the rest of the likud party to try to take this to the knesset to try to get it passed into law we've spoken to many analysts the however who say that this in fact is not a binding resolution and that there is no way that such an inflammatory resolution would actually get to the knesset in its current form we've also spoken to arab

members of parliament and they've said that if this resolution were to go to the knesset in its current form that that would really signal an end to the peace process that it would really mean that there was no more attempt to try to find a two state solution to the crisis here now what is important also is what exactly is prime minister benjamin netanyahu going to do next is he going to endorse this what is he going to say many more questions at this hour than answers about a lot of other analysts that we've spoken with throughout the day in the run up to the vote have said that they really believe that this is more of a cynical political calculus a way for the likud central committee to really rally the faithful especially at a time when just weeks ago u.s. president donald trump recognized israel's capital whatever does happen next though this is a tense time and this vote may add another element of uncertainty at a time when there is already so much uncertainty. still ahead on al jazeera losing their faith in south korea churches and temples trying to find new ways to bring

people back to religion plus. two thousand and eighteen is election year here in brazil in a country that struggling with its corrupt politicians and economic strife could be hoping that something is going to change. hello we've got a good westerly flow in our weather across europe at the moment say cloud and right moller rather coming in from the atlantic some of the stormy conditions having said that we'll see some very wet some very windy weather coming into western parts of france just pushing in across the northwest corner of your visit go on through the next couple of days then temperatures around eight o nine celsius there for london and pass a very heavy rain the possibility of some localized flooding that see western parts of france some wet weather today went to italy turning to snow over the high ground

just around the alps and will make its way further east which as we go through tuesday big downpours a possibility then across much of the balkan solemn hospitalising the weather by this stage running at around thirteen degrees celsius has our model weather as you can say ten celsius there for london in paris as we go on through choose their fair amounts of wet weather coming game with a possible system snow over the scottish mountains meanwhile some cloud also it's pushing its way into northern parts of algeria's to go on through the course of monday that cloud will ease a little further race was for tuesday just pushing into libya nine hundred fourteen try their for car in a westerly wind top temperature of nine hundred two for about but the feeling rather chilly in a northerly breeze. the

final session. welcome back you're watching al-jazeera time to recap our headlines now north korea's leader says the path to dialogue with south korea is open he says he hopes

will improve says don't use nuclear weapons if the launch button is on his desk the brain activists are calling for a fifth day of protests on monday thousands of rallied against poverty and corruption in the biggest demonstration since two thousand and nine president has done rouhani is warning violence on except. israel's governing likud party has passed a resolution calling for the annexation of large parts of the occupied west bank and the palestinians want for a future state the prime minister is not bound to follow the. activists are holding an annual march calling for universal suffrage organizers are expecting about ten thousand people to attend the rally several politicians in favor of a more open system more recently disqualified from positions in the legislature hong-kong offer rates on a different political system to the chinese mainland to the sick used beijing though of interfering in the territories affairs difficult holland joins us now

live from hong kong so how's turnout shaping up there. as you can see it's getting pretty low here. the rally the process march will be the right spot in a few minutes and then do. you know why people are not surprised that there was a good turnout the day i started maybe a couple of. the most so far many people joining a long list for too long there really. many people save twenty seventh you know it's been a very very tough year. especially with china tightening its grip on the city and so they say many people are just an illusion there have been many to tuscon on presidents and a number of protests in twenty seventeen and they don't seem to have yielded anything except even more than a year old and harder sconce from the beijing authorities so

a lot of people have been shown up to there still are a couple of thousand here who say they're here because they still are exercising their right to protest something the rest of china i think so often have on how is the brutal general hobbling still passionate about political reform though. you know you added twenty four to that was quite the passion we saw a lot of hong kong say fired in these demonstrations expressed their views and hope that compound could become a democratic. parts of china as was promised when the handover happened in one thousand nine hundred seventy two turn from british colony soon back to mainland china but over the years there's been a systematic erosion of democracy here of people's rights here many of the democracy activists say they have just seen as heightening a french role in the city and each time they push back the authorities have been

pushing back harder and so yes people are still passions and wondering about their future people i spoke to said they're ok but they're worried about their children in the future but many people think it's absolutely a few teil now to be shouting and marching because it seems that every time they do express their views china pushes back harder against them. or i will leave it there for now thanks so much to figure paula. south korea's clergy is going to have to start paying income tax this year religious leaders had been exempt for more than six decades some priests and monks have been paying income tax on a voluntary basis but others are resisting calling it interference in religious affairs the reforms are coming into force at a time when south koreans are moving away from religion partly because the church is seen as archaic and out of touch but as tony berkeley reports from seoul new

efforts are being made to reverse that trend. well it's no bigger than an office but this is the soul baptist church there are almost eighty thousand protestant churches in the country many a small is this for the last fifty years christianity has been a big part of south korean life along with the united states south korea is the biggest exporter of missionaries in the world more than ten thousand south korean preachers are active in one hundred sixty countries for me and for my my own and for my pastor said in. two priests the first in the planets first then next one is that we tried to communicate. in south korea though that message is being ignored christianity is the major faith followed by buddhism but young people are moving away from all religions the latest survey shows that fifty six percent of the population now describe themselves as non-religious. one of these or that i think people need someone to rely on but i usually go to my family friends and

girlfriend so i don't really feel the need to be religious. some believe church leaders and priests live affluent lifestyles with no financial transparency and are out of touch with modern society. it seems south korean religions have failed to maintain the moral and ethical trust of the border and many especially young people have decided to leave their religion that that's one of the main reasons for all denominations in south korea wrestling with the problem of how to stop the religious decline and how to adapt to a fast changing world without sacrificing their principles and values that's won't be easy but faiths are desperately searching for ways to modernize and become an important part of korean society once again. less archaic methods are being adopted including discussions and lectures in informal settings and technology is being

introduced. phone apps have been developed so sermons and scriptures are easily accessible and more and more modern thinking churches are using live streaming video of services. once more popular than christianity here has suffered the most only fifteen percent of the population actively follow the faith now temples are offering temple stays for people to enjoy good food and meditation in peaceful surroundings as a way of reintroducing them to the faith. they may be considered gimmicks and gadgets but it may be the last chance for faith to stop koreans from losing their religion completely tony berkeley al-jazeera seoul. that is the next part of our series looking ahead to two thousand and eighteen that we had to brazil now it's emerging from a recession and struggling with the fallout from corruption scandals this hope elections could bring renewal gentleman reports from the c.f.a. in brazil. brazilian politics is in the doldrums forty percent of

the congress are under investigation for corruption the president's ratings are in single digits and his reforms a stuck but next year brings elections and the promise of change. i say to many of brazil's poolroom feast that means hope for the return of former president luis inacio lula providing he can be corruption charges his leftist government was known for helping the working class examples of one leader for us with lower income the best president with lula he did more for us he offered us social programs like bosso familiar improvement in the region for the schools for the children and peace . in more affluent south paolo many echoed the view of months ago they see both lula disclosed his chum and judge i had balsa not a right winger who's pro-gun and anti gay is dangerous populists. but imo it

was that the biggest concern is the polarization these days i work in the financial market and all that really a fact shares in commodities prices and we're worried because so far there is no other candidate that could challenge those two. that worry has reached professor cram of the sousa as he walks the corridors of power in the brazilian congress he sees a stagnant political scene so we need kill personally a fan and about all of these corruption and about the fact that all of these called all of these speeches up all talk a on you kind of society ideal kind of brazil one you kind of perspective it it all feels that ok deadline this is only the third decade of democracy in brazil after a military dictatorship and people say that in the early years election night it was like a huge party but corruption and mismanagement of really ground that down and now. many here the country's political dinosaurs have taken over that party for

themselves. it was the will footage is trying to get fresh talent vote he set up a program which public policy experts who train would be congressmen from all walks of life it's paid for by own troopers crowdfunding the only rule though career politician of the political system is very entrenched so our plan is through this program to help to challenge the status quo and break this vicious cycle of decline in brazilian politics. that will be tough the candidates from still have to run with this stablish parties in brazil the pendants are allowed but if a discredited political class is to change. the speed the stone john homan. twelve people have died in a plane crash in northwest costa rica the plane was carrying ten foreigners and two

crew it took off near the village of in the province crashed in the mountains caused the crash not yet known the world is ringing in two thousand and eighteen with spectacular fireworks displays across the globe the u.n. secretary general and don't know what that is used the occasion to urge world leaders to heal divisions among people christian serving takes a look at some of the most colorful celebrations. two thousand and eighteen got off to a colorful start down under in new zealand and australia there are a rainbow of fireworks lit up the sydney harbor bridge in celebration of that country's legalization of gay marriage. in tokyo the color was white japanese revelers released helium balloons each one containing a wish or a prayer for the new year. they were looking ahead to the two thousand and eighteen

winter olympic games in south korea and hoping for peace with their neighbors to the north where ballistic missile tests have aroused international fears of a fireworks display of another kind it's one of many international conflicts the united nations secretary general called on world leaders to solve. i mean going to loads the red alert for our world's conflicts if they print a new they injures have emerged global and science is about nuclear weapons are the highest since the cold war and climate change is moving faster than we are inequalities are growing and we see only fit for all asians of human rights i urge leaders everywhere to make these new year's resolution nettled togethers bridge the divides rebuild trust by bringing people together around common goals unity is the best. there were a few signs of conflict on this holiday in the middle east just a spectacular laser light show in dubai.

and no obvious divisions in europe for hundreds of thousands of people came together to party from london to rio de janeiro with its party on the copacabana beach. or mexico city it's fireworks. i. i and no one knows how to celebrate new year's like new york new. revelers braved bone chilling cold terrorist threats and a blizzard of confetti to ring in two thousand and thirteen sharing one thing that is universal this holiday the hope of even better days to come kristen salumi al-jazeera video. and let's take you through some of the headlines here now does iran now north

korea's leader says the path to dialogue with south korea is open kim jong un says he hopes ties will improve and he says he only used nuclear weapons if threatened to launch is on his desk. we should actively create an atmosphere to move forward with the national reconciliation and reunification improving ties between the north and the south is an urgent issue that not only the north and so want but everyone else wants it's a grave matter to which the entire korean nation needs to put its efforts towards resolving contacts and dialogue between the north and the south will expand exchanges on cooperation and we should dispel mutual misunderstanding and distrust and take responsibility and our role as the main agent for the unification iranian activists are calling for a fifth day of protests on monday thousands of rally big games poverty and corruption the biggest demonstration since two thousand and nine president hassan rouhani is warning that violence is except of all. the protests demanding the

resignation of the president of the democratic republic of congo turned violent at least seven people were killed and dozens arrested by security forces after catholics called for peaceful demonstrations they want joseph kabila to hold new elections. the largest party in israel's governing coalition has passed a resolution calling for the alex ation of large parts of the occupied west bank to land the palestinians want to build a future state on prime minister benjamin netanyahu isn't bound to follow the vote by his record r.t. . hong kong activists are holding an annual march calling for universal suffrage organizes expecting about ten thousand people to attend the rally several politicians in favor of a more open system recently disqualified from positions in the legislature. and the world is ringing in two thousand and eighteen with spectacular fireworks

displays xico city is the latest city to welcome in the new year. its inside story next stay with us. twenty seventeen has been full of stories that have changed the global political landscape and al-jazeera has been there to cover them all. joining us as we look back at some of our most memorable interviews of the yeah this special edition of talk. at this time. of his was no longer after russia helped him turn the tide but also the military gains what kind of political settlement is possible this is inside story.