and the similarities of cultures across the world. it's unlikely to travel to the birthplace of the music. of this time to. minimize military admits for the first time that its soldiers killed rangar muslims whose remains were buried in a mass grave. in

this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up the e.u. teheran and russia defend the iranian nuclear deal as u.s. president donald trump ponders reimposing sanctions. continue to noisy against austerity more than two hundred people arrested while the prime minister urges calm . and mudslides and flooding away homes in california more than a dozen people have died and more remain missing. amnesty international say an admission by min mas military that its soldiers killed ten good muslims is just the tip of the iceberg it's pushing for an independent investigation into other alleged atrocities the remains were found in a mass grave in rakhine state last month the army's commander in chief has vowed to take act. against the soldier is thought to be the military's first public

admission of wrongdoing since it launched a crackdown in rakhine in august scott heide is live for us in bangkok scott this admission it's a reversal isn't it as a minute you put out a report of embassy soldiers conducted no wrongdoing absolutely genya they said they conducted over weeks internal investigation into their soldiers actions during those several weeks in august and september when the. attacks happened and then what happened after that there have been accusations of villages being burned so they did an internal investigation and they said back in november that their soldiers did nothing wrong there was no wrongdoing no actions by their soldiers that was what they're supposed to be doing obviously so we see the statement now that's been issued on the facebook page of the commander in chief saying that there was wrongdoing in fact and not just outside of what they're supposed to be doing

but there are murders there are ten people who were murdered ten revenge they were murdered murdered discovered in this mass grave so yes it's a reversal of sorts but what's going to be interesting is moving forward jane is this the first of several other discoveries that they have now on earth found in rakhine state that will show that there could have been other wrongdoings by those soldiers on the ground in rakhine state but right now again yes it can be looked at as a reversal an admission that yes there was in fact wrongdoing by the on mars soldiers during those couple of weeks and august and september of last year and will discuss some way to address international concerns over what actually took place in a kind. it's obviously it's going to i would say that it's going to increase the pressure even more so that is because if the military is taking this step now reversing itself from its internal investigation now what does that indicate are there more graves like this in your kind say because it's very difficult to know for certain because independent investigators journalists

independent international organizations have been very restricted and pretty much barred from going anywhere and conducting investigations in rakhine state so we really don't know outside of what the miller military is telling us what exactly happened in there what's interesting though again with this statement on facebook is that there's an indication of what might be something we'll see more of because there are you know we've heard these i wouldn't accounts of shootings and killings and murders but there haven't really any bodies so this could indicate that this is what might happen down the line when there are more investigations international independent investigations in rakhine state but so far there have been very few because of limited limited access into a kind state thank you for that scott had staying with me and there is growing international pressure on the government to release two voices journalists japan's foreign minister is expected to raise the case during a three day visit and. accused of violating

a colonial era secrecy law and face fourteen years in prison stratford reports. the two journalists were arrested on december the twelfth. they've been covering the crisis in rakhine state where hundreds of thousands of revenge of muslims have played a crackdown on the myanmar military thirty one year old while alone and. twenty seven are accused of being given classified documents by two policemen prosecutors have charged them under the country's official secrets act which carries a maximum sentence of fourteen years in jail. this is unacceptable i want to tell you that they are charging us like this to stop us finding their actions are wrong and unfair. is facing heavy international criticism over its treatment of the ranger the latest crackdown was sparked after a really good rebel group attacked police posts killing

a number of policemen in august rights groups saying the myanmar killed nearly seven thousand men women and children in the following few weeks and more than six hundred fifty cells and ranger have fled into neighboring bangladesh with the u.n. accusing me of ethnic cleansing the government has denied any wrongdoing but refused any independent investigation and banned journalists from going to rakhine state oh i don't want me out we have tried to sting today about the two journalists because we have permission to do this we are here because as you heard why lone shouted from the police car asking us to support him. the case is cast a spotlight on myanmar's difficult transition to democracy after nearly five decades of military rule analysts say it illustrates deteriorating press freedom and the number of cases against journalists have focused attention on the civilian government of nobel prize winner on song suchi her administration shares power with

an army that still controls all security policy and other key leaders of government but she has not personally denounced the action of the army in rakhine japan's foreign minister is expected to raise. the case when he visits myanmar on january the eleventh. the japanese government has conveyed his concern about this matter to the government of myanmar freedom of speech basic human rights and the rule of law are immutable common values shared by the international community and it is important for all nations to safeguard these values. the two reporters have been working for the reuters news agency there will turn to the court on january the twenty third for legal arguments when lawyers will decide whether to accept the case under a legal system described as having changed little since colonial times with his insistence of reporters innocence their families have suggested they were set up

and missed international the u.s. and the european union have called for their release. al-jazeera. european powers will meet an iranian delegation on thursday head of a deadline to reaffirm the twenty fifteen nuclear deal russia confirmed its support on wednesday when foreign ministers sergey lavrov and mohammad javad zarif met in moscow to rein in the negation is now in brussels to meet powers that helped broker the deal agreement needs to be signed of every ninety days and the u.s. president has until friday to decide if he'll sanction. as the deadline for the iran nuclear deal approaches the world's once again second guessing trumps next move. is taking over the middle east the u.s. president's repeatedly threatened to tear up the agreement that was so far he's reluctantly kept it alive. it was

a moment in international diplomacy seven countries signed the agreement at a time of heightened tensions across the region some of iran's neighbors have been talking about a possible military strike against the country. iran's made no secret of its arsenal of russian ballistic missiles israel and washington's middle eastern allies feared it also had an active nuclear weapons program. iran insisted its nucular agenda was purely civilian but under the deal it agreed to end research in return for the partial lifting of sanctions allowing it to access global financial markets and crucially sell its oil. as part of america's commitment to the deal congress requires the u.s. president to confirm every ninety days that iran's up holding its part of the agreement trumps recertified the deal several times so far but things could be about to change last october he announced a new iran policy iran is not living up to the spirit of the

deal i am announcing a new strategy to address the full range of iran's destructive actions it's a strategy many iranians believe is motivated simply by trump's growing support for israel i think on the trump u.s. and israeli interests are closely aligned and i think tom's main problem with iran is that a class of for that simple reason so for that reason i would also add that should iran and israel's relationship improve which is not on the horizon any time soon you would see major changes in the wrong with. trump's refusing to recertify the deal until congress amends it he's called for sanctions on iran's revolutionary guard which he described as a corrupt personal terror force of iran's leader. he also wants to extend time limits on the country's nuclear research and could tell its missile program but as congress didn't draw up the deal it's not down to them to change it any alterations

it makes to the president would be in breach of the international agreement. it leaves donald trump with two choices recertify the deal and keep it alive reject the deal violate the agreement and almost inevitably trigger an international crisis need parker al-jazeera. violence is fed again between police and protesters in five cities during a wave of. rallies more than two hundred thirty people have been arrested during four days of demonstrations protesters are angry over the government's planned price and tax hikes the opposition is calling for the twenty eight hundred budget to be scrapped to prime minister urged calm saying the economy will improve this year one of the boys. we would like to send a message to the protesters no matter what the government undertakes its top priority is improving economic and social conditions and ensuring the trust in the

country and its institutions the government wants open dialogue regarding their demands millions of dollars worth of jewelry is believed to have been stolen in an armed robbery in paris police say five people smashed a window of a jewelry store at the ritz hotel wednesday evening three people were arrested at the scene two other suspects escaped on scoot. still ahead on al-jazeera the warring impact of flooding on a cholera outbreak in democratic republic of congo. last colombia's peace process with its last active rebel group is in danger of falling apart. i know that we've been hearing about all the snow across parts of europe but there's also been some very exciting ice sculptures as well these pictures are from

the southern parts of germany is in the mountains and you can see the ice there that's collected this is what happens with two days of freezing rain and quite a stiff wind now clearly that's beautiful but if you want to move your car might be a bit of an issue and it also might be an issue if you were to read the sign post so things are changing across europe and fortunately they're improving this whole system is edging its way eastwards and under that there's not a great deal of very heavy rain behind it that's also something of a break and it looks like generally things are calming down in the south so things are going to start winding up again as we head through thursday and into friday that's what we've got this is larry of low pressure developing and it looks like it's going to bring us some very strong winds that to the southern parts of italy and some heavy downpours as well elsewhere there as you can see generally a lot quieter now warsaw there at zero and force in paris will be getting to around seven degrees now across the other side of the mediterranean of course we had the

snow across the sahara recently that's long gone instead the showers are just moving away towards the north but they'll be back for friday who will see some or all the heavy downpours.

again you're watching al-jazeera mind of the top stories this hour amnesty international says an admission by me and military that its soldiers killed ten random muslims is just the tip of the iceberg their remains were found in a mass grave in rakhine state last month european powers on meeting the reigning delegation on thursday head of a u.s. deadline to reinforce the twenty fifteen nuclear deal russia reaffirmed its support for the agreement on wednesday. violence is fed again between police and protesters and five thousand is in cities during the wave of anti austerity rallies protesters are angry at the government's planned price and tax hikes more than turning thirty people being arrested. forty five people are being killed and thousands left homeless after flooding in democratic republic of congo aid agencies say the conditions are worsening

a cholera outbreak has more. this was an unceremonious funeral at a local community center mourners gathered somebody to bury the latest victims of the flooding. balance easily the lightweights of the child's coffin as they lay its body to rest the latest casualty after five days of heavy rains poured through the capital kinshasa last week. we are really very sad today my sister lost five children because of the rain she's inconsolable we will bury them today we thank everyone who came to support us. away from the crowd these mothers sit together offering some comfort to each other as their children buried their neighborhood stands in ruins as more fortunate digs through the debris seeking my sister my son dishes like this all i have left are those two chairs that you see over there everything is gone if i had not been at home i would have lost my children but because i was at home i was able to get out with my children. over five thousand

people have been left homeless and anger is mounting against the government who they accuse of doing little to protect them from the devastation of. these the floods that brought such misery the trencher showers coupled with the poor sewage system flush makeshift shanty homes down the city's slopes will start to say most of the deaths were caused by drownings and landslides. kinshasa is the third most densely populated city in the world and it currently counts twelve million residents aid agencies and warning these floods and mudslides and likely to antagonize the waterborne and cholera outbreak in the capital and in previous weeks we registered around twenty cases per week on average right now we're getting more than one hundred cases each week in kinshasa nearly four hundred fifty have been registered the u.n. says the democratic republic of congo is experiencing its worst cholera outbreak in twenty years the disease has killed over one thousand people over fifty five

thousand cases reported across the country since july. unsanitary conditions and lack of clean drinking water these cases nic set to rise. at least seventeen people are dead to often mudslides cheered by heavy rain destroyed homes and swept away cars in southern california a massive rescue operation is underway to find more than a dozen people who are still missing and to reach hundreds of others stranded in the disaster zone rob reynolds reports from one to change. the day after disaster struck montecito mud and storm water covered highway one hundred one the main road connecting los angeles and santa barbara were crews and heavy trucks fire engines and police cars were the only vehicles plying the normally busy highway which could now remain closed for days the force of tuesday's mudslide smashed metal barriers and swept cars downstream from the canyons above residents describe

a terrifying night of poor in the rain and roaring flood the sound with boulders and huge boulders because after storms like this you go down the creek and there's bull is the size of votes wagons left behind eighty year old bernard sandler and his wife tried to walk to a pharmacy to get his heart medicine but they got stuck in thick unyielding mud two hours later was still standing up to our middle of our thigh. and my wife almost fell and i thought she would die and i have actually. been married fifty seven years as mark. felt that. many of the roads in the narrow canyons around this area are so badly damaged the only way to rescue stranded residents is by helicopter. a u.s.

coast guard jayhawk helicopter rescued a maroon family of five including a newborn baby and two pet dogs on wednesday afternoon local authorities gave an update we realized that this is going to be a long and difficult journey for all of us and for our community and we ask for your patience we ask for your understanding and i ask you for your prayers people here i've lived through nature's one two punch first wildfires then floods california. they've seen it all that's an attitude that will no doubt be valuable in the days ahead as the cleanup continues robert oulds al-jazeera to seeto california u.s. president donald trump insists any immigration reform must include funding for a border war with mexico his immigration policies are under pressure on tuesday

a federal judge blocked the government from ending protection for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the u.s. as children. the u.n. is accusing syrian government forces and their allies of killing at least eighty five civilians in eastern in the past ten days alone the area has come under heavy bombardment despite being an agreed deescalation government forces are seeking to retake territory under rebel control the un says at least thirty children were among those killed around four hundred thousand people live in east and go to which has been under government siege for more than four years. colombia's rebel group is edging the government to resume talks the president suspended negotiations when rebels launched attacks after a cease fire expired leaders say the incident should not derail the peace process. from bogota. a historic three months long ceasefire now over and in the worst way

as the rebels resumed attacks in colombia many hoped for an extension of a truce which this five violations have been considered a success but on wednesday colombia's last active rebel group perpetrated four attacks wounding two colombian marines and affecting an important oil pipeline colombian president juan manuel santos spoke forcefully against them. laura the government deplored the decision to restart its terrorist attacks on the general public the armed forces and on parts of the national infrastructure we were always i repeat always ready to extend the cease fire with the l.n. and negotiate very quickly a new cycle of talks even it will she. inexplicably not only rejected this process but chose to restart their terrorist attacks on the very day that they were obliged to initiate the new round of negotiations. from quito where peace talks had

been expected to resume yolen leaders said they were hopeful the talks could restart but then explain the reasoning behind the attacks let me say that we're going to shooting table was making progress during the cease fire so we maintain the decision to give continuity to what we achieved but we need a new ceasefire the time becomes the difficulties of the first woman. president santos immediately recalled to the recently appointed negotiators for consultations experts say the failure to extend the cease fire shows deep divisions among the leadership this. week in the lame. will win. the match in this sense is not only the probably what will happen with the cease fire is what will happen with the table and the general process between the government and the. the talks have long been complicated by

a lack of confidence between the parties in few tangible results and we can now expect the colombian military to start a bombing campaign in rebels areas a full blown return of the of still it is that will make very difficult to resume the talks at least for now listen to. protesters in greece a fourth police said during a rally against planned austerity measures the government has been debating more benefit cuts and measures to make it easier for banks to repossess homes from people in debt to answer oculus has more from athens if the government has its word such protests will become a thing of the past the new bill submitted to parliament puts all foreclosures of property on line that means people who are in danger of losing their homes because they owe money to a bank all the taxman will no longer have anything to gain by protesting outside a court such forms of protests have been

a. active in the past forcing courts to cancel auctions and notaries public to go on strike which made auctions impossible but banks are on a schedule to liquidate thirteen billion dollars worth of property this year and next once this obstacle is removed the environmental threat from china's hydroelectric dams has dominated talks at the mekong river summit in cambodia considered as the most important waterway in china and southeast asia millions of people in the region depend on the river for their livelihoods and as when he reports many a wide chinese power projects will destroy the meccan. china wants to play an increasingly assertive role in southeast asia and is using hydro diplomacy to get there this was the second summit for leaders of the land sung mekong cooperation a group started by china three years ago it brings together nations where the mekong river or land sung as it's known in china runs through we have

a five year plan that is an obvious one of the key outcome document for the summit and in that five year action plan combined with what we call the diplomatic relation it's enough to give a good picture of where the make lunch i have come up to now and where we intend to take forward how you can in the next five years the make on runs for almost five thousand kilometers and is a vital source of food and transport for around sixty million people but it's also becoming a resource that governments in the region increasingly want to tap into. china has already dams the upper reaches of the river to generate electricity while laos has to under construction and at least seven more planned environmentalists worry about the effects the dams will have on the ecosystem the chinese projects have been blamed for problems downstream like severe drought particularly in vietnam where

the mekong comes to an end but some believe china's role in creating the land sung make on cooperation could be positive this can be a great chance for china to take. real leadership with sustainable sustainability and their chairing. a little benefit. beijing also sees the mekong as a key piece of its belton road infrastructure and transport initiative linking china with the rest of asia and europe. it's pouring billions of dollars into projects in southeast asia like the construction of a high speed rail way when it's completed it'll connect china with laos and thailand developments on the mekong are also moving ahead quickly too quickly for some the concern is that not enough is known about the potential impacts of so much manmade intervention on one of the world's great waterways wayne hay al jazeera

bangkok. rights groups are worried that cambodia's general election later this year will not be free and fair the government has dissolved the main opposition party and restricted the activities of non governmental organizations one of us is looking ahead to the major stories for twenty eighteen bride reports from. twenty eighteen twenty five years since the united nations organized election meant to set cambodia on the path to democracy after years of civil war. today critics say it is starting to resemble a one party state dominated by prime minister. he has been in power for more than thirty years and could be virtually unopposed at the next election in july we don't have a democracy some call flawed the market. it will survive better for the marquis cambodia's democratic journey has been deeply troubled political intrigue and then

fighting sometimes leading to buy land clashes between factions but the country has generally held to the democratic vision planned for it until that is the latter part of twenty seventeen. the opposition leader was arrested at the beginning of september for allegedly plotting with foreigners to overthrow the government the supreme court then use that allegation to dissolve his party the c.n. r.p. . the government says the party was a threat to democracy not the other way round. up we create problems and then they never listen to a king they never listen to them it's a state situation they are a beta for. the political crackdown was accompanied by what rights groups say was a clampdown on civil society with the closure of a leading newspaper and restrictions on the activities of non-government

organizations. all allegedly smoothing the way to the election most observers expect the the crackdown and the tensions to happen right before the election that's not the case as usually happen in the middle of the in the middle of the of the of the term and then it's starting to actually cause harm before the election as twenty eighteen starts send those the protests from abroad will mostly be forgotten and the changing skyline in phnom penh is a reminder of the chinese investment which now protects him from the risk of the u.s. and europe withdrawing funding allowing him to consolidate power with an election victory seen as a stamp of legitimacy rob mcbride al jazeera. and again the top stories on al-jazeera amnesty international is calling for an

independent investigation into alleged atrocities by me and my military follows the army's admission for the first time that its soldiers killed ten rangar muslims found buried in a mass grave the u.n. accuses me on mars military of ethnic cleansing which it denies scott hadley has more from bangkok. it's going to increase the pressure even more so that is because if the military is taking this step now reversing itself from its internal investigation now what does that indicate are there more graves like this in rakhine state because it's very difficult to know for certain because independent investigators journalists in the pendants international organizations have been very restricted and pretty much barred from going anywhere and conducting investigations in rakhine state so this could indicate that this is what might happen down the line when there are more investigations international independent investigations in rakhine state european powers will meet and the rainy and

delegation on thursday head of a u.s. deadline to re endorse the twenty fifteen kid deal russia reaffirmed its support for the agreement on wednesday the agreement needs to be signed off every ninety days violence is fed again between police and protesters in five cities during a wave of anti austerity rallies protesters are angry at the government's planned price and tax hikes more than two hundred thirty people have been arrested at least seventeen people are dead after mudslides triggered by heavy rain destroyed homes and swept away cars in southern california a massive rescue operation is underway to find more than a dozen people who are still missing and to reach hundreds of others stranded in the disaster zone. u.s. president donald trump insists any immigration reform must include funding for a border war with mexico his immigration policies are under pressure on tuesday

a federal judge blocked the government from ending protection for undocumented immigrants who have brought to the u.s. as children. those are the headlines the news will continue on al-jazeera but first gets to have it inside story. al jazeera. and for you. investigating apple prosecutors in france want to know why the company slows down its old i phone it's claimed it could be a ploy to get users to upgrade lawsuits are also under way in the u.s. so i will have this impact on consumers trust and apple products this is inside story.