open your eyes at this time on al-jazeera. al-jazeera explores prominent figures of the twentieth century and how rivalries influenced the course of history steve jobs a much better market to build up like real fan stuff bill made software what it is today will change the world to high tech visionaries breakthroughs inspired the digital revolution jobs and gates face to face at this time on al-jazeera. afghan special forces battle gunmen inside a five star hotel in kabul at least fifteen people are reported to have been killed or injured.

on robotics and this is all just here a lie from doha also coming up a new front in the syrian conflict turkey launches an offensive against kurdish positions in northern syria. deep political divisions in the u.s. where the stalemate between republicans and democrats forces a government shutdown. and we're at the finish line of one of the world's toughest off road in children's faces. gunmen have stormed a five star hotel in afghanistan's capital and taken hostages the afghan interior ministry says special forces are battling attackers at the intercontinental hotel it comes just days after the u.s. embassy warned of possible strikes against high profile targets jennifer glass has this update from

a couple. afghan special forces have been clearing the hotel floor by floor trying to find the gunman and get and evacuate staff and guests from the intercontinental hotel the siege started about nine o'clock on saturday night when at least four gunmen attacked the hotel it's unclear how they got into the hotel that is something that's going to come under investigation the hotel was very busy on a saturday night a wedding party was ongoing we also know that a number of guests were in the hotel delegates for a conference to be held on sunday so a very busy time it's unclear exactly how many people were in the hotel we know that several people were trapped at the time of the attack special forces entered the hotel to go after the attackers they turned off the electricity at the intercontinental hotel is a heavily guarded hotel one of the two five star hotels here in the afghan capital and it's considered a rather safe place for foreigners and prominent afghans to gather to hold weddings

to hold conferences to hold gatherings and so this attack really shows how uncertain the security situation is here in the afghan capital it's the latest in a series of attacks in the last few weeks here on a cultural center on other gathering places as the afghan government comes under increasing pressure to try and show that it can keep security in the capital that has been a main complaint of afghan citizens that the afghan government cannot keep its people safe and as we find out exactly how bad the casualty count is in this attack on the intercontinental hotel again i think the government and its security measures will come under scrutiny a new front in syria's war has opened turkey has launched operation all of brunch in the freeman region and northern syria it's an enclave for syrian coders why puji fighters who are backed by the u.s. city and rebels backed by turkey are also reported to have mobilized and. freeing

turkey's president says the next target will be the town of man bays that's where it was recaptured from my soul in twenty sixteen by a kurdish led force also backed by the u.s. but opposed by turkey stephanie decker has more from the turkish syrian border. shortly before sunset on saturday turkey launched its air campaign on a fleeing turkish officials had said all week that the operation was imminent. much of the president. spoke just a few hours before the jets to call them. we would wipe out this corridor or step by step starting from the west africa operation has defectors started in the field this will be followed by ben being since the promises made up and kept so far nobody could say anything when we do what is necessary. throughout the morning along turkey's western border with the turkish army had brought in bulldozers

gravel and concrete blocks appearing to build up their defenses along the border with syria. tank shell specific locations on the mountain for hours later this mountain would be targeted by airstrikes the army made us move from this position a few hours before the campaign officially began this is just one of the locations that the turkish army is shelling a freeness pretty much surrounded turkey to its west and north and there's also been a build up inside syria by free syrian army fighters to the east about three now those are the rebels that turkey supports. turkey had reinforced the f.s.a. with thousands more men over the last few days these buses drove the fighters across the border into syria they will be part of a ground offensive against the y.p. the kurdish group turkey considers to be a terrorist organization it is also however the group the americans consider their best ally in fighting eisel the international dimensions are vast russia and now instead pulled out the few hundred military personnel that had enough money in

shortly after the campaign started and russia controls this airspace meaning turkey could not be flying their planes without russia's consent turkey says it is only targeting what it calls terrorists but there are already reports coming out of africa in that civilians have been affected it seems syria seven year war is entering yet another phase stephanie decker al-jazeera on the turkey syria border. as a policy analyst at the out of center washington d.c. he says turkey wants to show its as big a player in syria as russia and the u.s. . it's not going to be a big if occasion i don't think turkey can can really go in and and and the change the dynamic without any sort of desert approval or discussion with the with russia i think turkey is a big is ecological ward trying to basically show everyone that they are ready to serious in this in this. approach and hopefully they are aiming maybe

a compromise will happen in the last minute now there's this question between the russians or the americans but but i mean it's just to see how u.s. policy is much weaker if you remember just last year. ration deployed u.s. troops and then a bit as the answer to turkish threat no. one is reading the word to members after so at the end what he wants is to control the area west of the affronts he doesn't want to see good scroope beyond that point so he want to go back to this relay that he felt that the u.s. are not supporting him russia maybe is not supportive also he was trying to create but these options are limited so he's hoping that at some point in the coming week as as a free as under siege that he would have this compromise and he would take a free and in return for it live for the syrian regime a lot of things he invested a lot of the syrian war and now he's not getting anything out of it so he needs

this buffer zone he needs the third the syrian refugees in turkey to come back to it he need to have this new he says a part of the syrian point that's being divided everybody got the spot somehow except turkey and israel which are still resisting the new russian u.s. agreement. syrian government air strikes have killed at least twelve people in eastern go to near the capital damascus shelling is thought of hit a market in duma strikes also targeted the tons of hostile and urban which are under rebel control. republicans and democrats are trading blame for the us government shutdown non-essential agencies are closed until the senate agrees on a funding bill if no deal is reached by monday hundreds of thousands of employees will not return to work kimberly hall could has the latest

a frustrated white house marking one year in office not with the celebration but instead with government confusion at a hastily called press briefing republican white house officials accuse their democratic rivals in congress of refusing to agree to a short term deal on the government we have now agreed to reduce that to three weeks we think that that is a concession are part of social media president trub posted multiple tweets pointing at democrats holding our military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration this is the one year anniversary of my presidency and the democrats wanted to give me a nice present the courageous stand listening to the american people the last government shutdown nearly five years ago lasted sixteen days this time lawmakers in the u.s. congress return to work on saturday the goal passing legislation to fund the

government before federal workers are scheduled that monday morning but it's next to impossible to strike a deal with the president because he can't stick to the terms. so here we are on the first anniversary of the president's inauguration mired in that trump. the white house says there will be no discussion on immigration a till the government is reopened democrats insist there will be no funding deal unless protections for more than three million people brought illegally to the united states as children are passed. outside the white house on the lawn of the national mall and dozens of cities across the united states including new york and los angeles mostly democratic supporters attending a planned women's march protested the republicans down but the standoff is a political gamble for both parties polls show

a majority of americans support democratic efforts to reform immigration but a majority also believe it should not mean a shutdown in the end whatever deal is struck this is not how donald trump planned to mark his first year as president kimberley health at al-jazeera washington. well political historian james de boys says it will be difficult for trump all his party to avoid being blamed for the shutdown. well the challenge of course is this is the first time there's ever been a government shutdown when one party is controlled all three levels of government the presidency the white house the presidency that the house of representatives and the senate usually there's been one party controlling one and one party the other so really it's going to be difficult for the republican party to try to cast off responsibility for this they're trying very hard calling it the schumer shutdown but of course that's becomes problematic yes you need to get sixty votes to

basically clear a budget in the senate but quite frankly the republicans haven't even to get all of their own party to vote for this so when you have donor trump as a private citizen and as a candidate saying that in the event of a shutdown the president is always responsible difficult to try and get him away from his own words which time and again kids coming back to damn him well president donald trump has canceled plans to attend his one year anniversary party in florida proceeds from the fund raising gala at his monologue the rest all will be split between the republican national committee and trump's reelection campaign alan fischer has more from florida. well there are two things that don't really wanted to do this weekend one was come to florida and play golf the other was to be the star attraction at a big event at his monologue a resort where his friends and supporters would gather and tell him what a great job he was doing one year into the presidency well he's not chasing a golf ball around he's busy playing hardball in washington and you know with the event at mar

a lago initially it was postponed on friday the trip to florida perspire and on friday afternoon but just in the last couple of hours it has been completely canceled his places horsed will be taken by son eric and his wife laura is very popular with some supporters very public popular with republicans in general but when you're paying one hundred thousand dollars for a peer of tickets which is meant to get you a big meal an open bar and a picture with the president of the united states or if you've paid two hundred fifty thousand dollars for the open bar a big meal and a round table with the president of the united states you may feel slightly cheated that the president of the united states isn't actually there and many of those who are heading to mar a lago are hard headed business people so they may or see look we want some of the money back no republican national committee and the committee to reelect donald trump as president they're expected to split the proceeds from the event they're expecting to get somewhere in the region of a couple of million dollars so they obviously want to keep as many people coming to

the event as possible but donald trump will be very upset one that hasn't been able to play golf and to that he's missed the chance to be the center of attention at his monologue or resort with everyone telling him how wonderful he is. still ahead on al-jazeera. women rally across the u.s. to mark a year into trump's presidency and they want to turn the i go into political action . and we examine the widening gap between rich and poor in iraq. by the skyline of the main. or off the coast of the italian riviera. hello a look swarm of the should do for the middle of winter for china hong kong's a twenty two shanghai as it ten we've been feeding more secure in some rain forming

here right not stale noises might even reach shanghai that looks rather find a picture on monday but it certainly isn't cold twelve in shanghai this time in twenty four in hong kong no real sign of proper winter here to the sas it's more or less as it should be the west is weather's like it's been indonesia through summer sort of ways as well but these white top shells are showing a bit of interest in the vietnamese coast proper possibly come by idea and increasing the malaysia and even southern thailand up through the gulf aton the money to get a shower to in bangkok monday's little bit unusual but there you go but is stirring of the atmosphere around delhi has meant that although the picture is still a foggy and smoky one in the morning and it's cold at night quality isn't quite as bad as it was twenty four hours ago so you can start up a little bit even though it's quite a car as you see but unfortunately the weather is really set to change dramatically as you well know for a long time the same is true of the arabian peninsula

a bit of a breeze coming down of the north means dire house stuck at twenty one degrees but otherwise by. the way this is sponsored by qatar airways. he's here in the case here that it became one of the thinking in parliament i still in afghanistan for some taliban fighters a new call to arms for taliban leaders to try to do their story change. to see if there was such outrage see the sun come up islam they were only allowed such unprecedented access myself and the taliban at this time on al-jazeera.

you're watching al-jazeera a reminder of our top stories this hour gunmen have stormed a luxury hotel in afghanistan's capital kabul taking hostages the interior ministry says two of the gunman have been killed a special forces attempt to take control of the intercontinental hotel. turkey has begun an air and ground offensive in the african region in northern syria it's an enclave for syrian kurdish why p.g. fighters backed by who are backed by the u.s. ally p.g. says airstrikes have killed at least nine people. republicans and democrats have blaming each other for the u.s. government shutdown all non-essential services will stop unless the senate agrees on a funding deal it's happening as president donald trump marks a year since taking office. while hundreds of thousands of women across the u.s. so marching against president trump organizers hope they'll encourage more women to

vote and run for office in november's mid-term elections roselyn jordan has more. drumming up momentum for political action again into the presidency of donald trump thousands marched in washington and across the nation on saturday not just against the president and his policies but also in support of their favorite causes reproductive rights gender equality and racial and economic justice black rights human rights women's rights. every humans have like equal rights and i do think that it has kind of injected more civic activism among people and. and that's a good thing i think that it's easy for people to come complacent about their their rights and about that to markus in general and i think you know this this is a wake up call women apparently have heard the call one report says that nearly four hundred women have announced they want to seat in the house of representatives

while forty nine are running for the senate and even though there are only fifty states nearly eighty women are now running to be governor i have friends who are running for office for local office and i've seen people create organizations it is it is really a change and that's very heartening to say the newly elected mayor of charlotte north carolina urged marchers in that city to seize the moment we're all here because we care deeply about the wellbeing of women and we want to promote a safe and productive environment for women that means equal pay for equal work some marchers say trump's presidency has underscored the need to take politics seriously finally people understand that you have to vote not only for the presidency but you have to vote for your congressman you have to vote in local sections you have to vote for these people who are in office for so long what we often forget is though the local governments what's going on affecting their day to

day i think engagement either if it's local and running the war with more more voters is going to help us the telestrator say this is what democracy looks like but in the united states it's not just enough to take to the streets an exercise once for cement rights it's also about getting involved in the political process and the organizers hope that's the legacy of this year's women's march rosalyn jordan al-jazeera washington. u.s. vice president mike pence has arrived in jordan as part of a regional tour earlier he was in egypt where he met president of the sisi to discuss security and the israeli palestinian peace process last month the u.s. coast angered by deciding to recognize that jerusalem as israel's capital tennis is expected to visit israel as well said the u.s. is still committed to a two state solution. but i assured him that even as president trump made that decision

a decision that i will reaffirm in jordan and reaffirmed in israel before the end of this trip that will also reaffirm what president trump also said that we're absolutely committed to the two preserving the status quo with regard to holy sites in jerusalem that we are that we've we we we have come to know a final resolution about boundaries or other issues that are to be negotiated between the parties and if the parties agree i reminded president el-sisi that president trump said that if the parties agree we will support a two state solution tens of thousands of romanians have protested against changes to their judicial system. the confronted by riot police before marching towards parliament demonstrators say the amended laws will make it harder to prosecute officials for corruption the legislation was passed last month and now needs the approval of president klaus hotness. recent

anti-government demonstrations in iran exposed the growing divide between rich and poor while a small percentage of the population enjoys a luxurious lifestyle millions of iranians are struggling to make ends meet in twenty seventeen iran's government set the poverty line about four hundred eighty dollars a month for household thirty three percent of the population lives below that line that's more than twenty four million people but it's also a struggle for many living just above that line the median income from an average household is about eight hundred eighty five dollars that's just two dollars more than the minimum they need to get by that means that for most iranians there's virtually nothing left to say for the future same bus ravis spoke to some of tons most vulnerable people. buzzard made herself laura says the hardest part of his job is getting people interested in classical music. it makes it more difficult to find work we have

fans so naturally we have few opportunities to perform and. still so for a says he loves his work and does not need the money so i want out of the streets are not a bad place when you can change the way people feel for a second a minute an r. and you get back a lot of positive energy from the street. but not everyone of the streets is there by choice. say the makes about five dollars a day selling flowers fifteen when business is good with eight mouths to feed he says it's better than nothing it is she i have a diploma but i don't have a job my cousin has a master's degree and he doesn't have a job either the situation in the country is bad officials to do something they give lots of promises and we vote for them and then they take office and forget us say the wants the same as millions of iranians a house he can afford

a steady job and cheaper prices for everyday goods but he's not hopeful that things will get better any time soon big cities like to her own are experiencing a real estate boom luxury buildings and luxury brands are popping up on almost every major street but the very urban development that is bringing the rich and poor closer together is the same thing that is pushing them apart more after you. for the last fifty years the status of a people's financial situation has been getting better what is harmful is a gap that's being created between poor and rich people and that self awareness that is being created in the middle class of a society is more dangerous than poverty itself we don't have people who are deeply paul like other countries but the gap between the poor and rich people makes the feeling of being held back more extreme it's the kind of discontent that helped fuel anti-government protests last month. and could be the impetus for more unrest in the future. the hum of this from the north of the country he came to her on to

make enough money to send home to his wife sister and mother. he doesn't like what he does and makes at most only ten dollars a day doing. what should i say i haven't seen my family in a month i haven't paid my rent or the gas bill well the power bill or the lotto bill i'm not able to earn enough money business is bad so people don't pay us. a song that many iranians know all too well about a man who is tired desperate and praying for help. to her. pope francis has condemned the killings of women which he says have turned latin america into the most violent place on earth for females the leader of the catholic church also spoke out against drug violence during mass in the northern peruvian

city of to heal and he's visited a areas devastated by floods and landslides last year but as my anna sanchez reports the pope's visit in peru is being overshadowed by his handling of a clergy sex abuse scandal in chile. well peruvians are much focused on the pope's trip here to leon's have been reacting to the pope's last comments before he left a few days ago where he said that the victims allegations that. protected sex abuse paedophiles in it were calumny and slander. like a snowball for the pope and now his top adviser on sex abuse scandal. from boston has rebuked the pope's comments he said that he didn't doesn't understand why the pope has those words slander and. those words in fact cause a great pain to the survivors of sex abuse cases by

clergymen this has of course has caused a national uproar in chile and peruvians. also are waiting for the pope to react to one case here of a very powerful religious leader here. who prosecutors say has committed. against young adults and children he is living in rome has been protected by the vatican the pope has only order to intervene in this powerful religious organization. critics here say that they are waiting for the pope to not talk about war and people here critics of the pope are we are expecting the vatican. prosecutors and the justice to be able to extradite back to peru. jamaica's government has declared

a state of emergency in parts of the country's northwest because of violent crime police and soldiers have been given extra powers in and around montego bay more than three hundred murders were committed in the area last year tourists have been warned to stay in their resorts the measures will last until february fifteenth the toughest race in world motor sport has ended in the argentinian city of cordoba the veteran spanish driver carlos sense won the dakar rally beating his greatest rival the seven time champion stefan peter hansal he lost the lead after hitting a tree that reports from. it's only the taking part that counts for others only victory will do and then there are those off to two grueling weeks to some of the toughest to reign on the planet just glad it's a with time now to reflect on what might have been for me was a mistake on the role of the circle caught on to first bob i push

a lot but in the first couple days in the cigar. where we started we were just so much by that for me. more than three hundred cars trucks motorbikes quad bikes and buggies plus a huge support network from around the walls covering nine thousand kilometers is a logistical and environmental challenge and since the race debut in one nine hundred seventy eight seventy competitors and spectators it being killed in accidents you'll deny this say they've worked to improve safety and to protect the routes no one died this year what's a relief it must be to being off the nine thousand. three and some of the rough mr raymond of a weather condition known some woman a machine your dad said take that he would have made it here. this is the tenth year that has been run in south america

a supposedly temporary measure after the two thousand and eight race was canceled following the killing of four french tourists on the planned route in mauritania. is the motor capital of argentina and these fans will give it up easily meanwhile the challenge is great for the races as it was in africa to get a little bit lost. it's it's change really really quick but at the moment looks not so bad for me. no one the motorbike race well the veteran spanish driver carlos signed repeated his two thousand and ten victory in the car category as they pack up dakar two thousand and eighteen planning is already underway the next year's race in south america. argentina. this is al jazeera these are the top stories gunmen have stormed

a luxury hotel in afghanistan's capital kabul taking hostages the interior ministry says two of the gunman have been killed a special forces attempt to take control of the intercontinental hotel jennifer glass has more from kabul. the seat started about nine o'clock on saturday night when at least four gunmen attacked the hotel it's unclear how they got into the hotel that is something that's going to come under investigation and the hotel was very busy on a saturday night a wedding party was ongoing we also know that a number of guests were in the hotel delegates for a conference to be held on sunday so a very busy time it's unclear exactly how many people were in the hotel but we know that several people were trapped turkey has begun an air and ground offensive in the free in the region in northern syria it's an old place for syrian cody's why p.g. fighters who are backed by the u.s. the wife e.g. says airstrikes have killed at least nine people republicans and democrats are

blaming each other for the u.s. government shutdown all nonessential services will stop unless the senate agrees in a funding deal and settle the vote for monday this comes as president donald trump marks his first anniversary in office. women are corralling across the us exactly a year after they marched in anger at president trump's inauguration protests are taking place in washington d.c. new york sacramento and other cities organizers hope that encourage more women to vote and one for office in november's mid-term elections. u.s. vice president mike pence has arrived in jordan as part of a regional tour earlier he was in egypt where he met president abdel fatah how sisi to discuss security and the israeli palestinian peace process plans who's expected to visit israel as well said the u.s. is still committed to a two state solution. pope francis has condemned the killing of women which he says has turned latin america into the most violent place and for females the leader of

the catholic church also spoke out against drug violence during mass and the northern provia and city of tokyo and he visited areas devastated by floods and landslides last year those are the headlines the news continues here on al-jazeera after inside story by now. the u.s. government shuts down over the failed budget deal of the day president trump celebrates his first year in office workers are told to stay home democrats and republicans trade insults but who's willing to blame and what does it mean for trump's administration this is inside story.