global conversation at this time on al-jazeera. al-jazeera. where every. at least five people are dead after gunmen attacked a five star hotel in the afghan capital kabul.

know that i'm more or less is al jazeera five g.m.t. live from doha also coming up. he says it's sauces and offensive against kurdish positions inside syria. to go shooting with this white house is like negotiating with jell-o. . deep political divisions in the united states where a stalemate between republicans and democrats is a government shutdown. and protesters and romania are confronted by riot police during anti corruption demonstrations. afghan special forces are battling gunmen who stormed a five star hotel in kabul and took hostages five people dead six others

a wounded security forces shot dead two attackers but two more still inside the building sixteen people have been rescued from the hotel the u.s. embassy recently warned of possible strikes against high profile targets well joining us from kabul is much talk to him a political analyst and specialist on regional security so where twelve hours into the situation that the intercontinental hotel is there any sign that this siege is being brought to an end. when. the fighting has stalked right now as we hear from the minister of interior but the security forces are moving. with a lot of caution to make sure that there are no further casualties because so many people are inside the hotel so they are dealing with this situation with extreme caution and that's why when cannot be very much show to whether all the attackers have been eliminated or not and he's such

a high profile target that in the capital of a security like well this is something that really is questionable because the security has been very tight around the italian inside the hotel you have to go through at least two checkpoints before entering the main lobby where one checkpoint gives you. the full body search and then just ahead of entering into the main lobby one has to go through the again a comprehensive body check so security situation cuties pretty tight even the i don't do hotel area to five hundred meters have been cleared for security reasons i mean it's it's a bar there nobody is allowed around the area which that used to be a picnic area nobody is allowed just because of the summer two thousand and eleven attacks they have really taken the security so the question really is that how can such sophisticated attack can take can take place and the rumors around it is that

there must be some sort of support for the attackers i don't waste looking at the security arrangements around don't get inside the hotel it's pretty impossible to to enter to enter the premises with so much of ammunitions and arms any indications at this early stage who might be responsible for this attack. well it's pretty difficult to really. really finger pointers any any of the groups because right now the number of attackers and the number of militant groups have multiplied in the country but in the past how can the groups have been responsive before undertaking such. such as sophisticated attacks however in the recent past the the i is what i saw on the slavic state have also been engaged in such attacks should say only time will tell and nobody has taken responsibility as of yet but

given the history of the. such kind of protection one can. the names that quickly come to mind maybe how many groups are the i stress on ok many thanks for bringing us that update from kabul now a new front in syria's war has opened is launched an operation that gets us back to terry encouraged by p t fighters in the african region frames the offensive as part of why is a battle against kurdish separatists in southwest came and president says the next target will be beach that's the syrian town that was recaptured from iceland twenty sixteen by kurdish led force also backed by the u.s. boss opposed by stephanie deca has more from the border. shortly before sunset on saturday turkey launched its air campaign on. turkish officials had said all week that the operation was imminent. much of the president. spoke just a few hours before the jets took off. this corridor will step by

step starting from the list after the operation has to factor started in the field this will be followed but. the promises made about the kids have nobody can say anything with 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 shelled specific locations on the mountain and 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 and this is just one of the locations that the turkish army is shelling out free in is 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 and reinforce 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. ji 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 wants to pulled out a few hundred military personnel that had enough money in shortly after the campaign started and russia controls this air space 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.

the controversial spending bill will be up for another vote on monday on friday the senate failed to agree on the legislation forcing a government shutdown republicans and democrats are blaming each other for the deadlock like how to reports. house democratic minority leader nancy pelosi was the monger thousands of people protesting near the white house her presence at the moment no longer needed on capitol hill when to go see a chanst between senate democrats and republicans on the new wording of a stopgap funding bill fell apart democrats were quick to blame the president and right wing forces within his administration negotiating with this white house is like negotiating with jell-o. it's next to impossible as soon as you take one step forward the hard right forces the president three steps back but republicans in turn accuse the democrats and schumer in particular of negotiating in bad days like that so mr she was going to

have to up his game a little bit be a little bit more honest with the president states if we received roberson it from the president himself posted multiple tweets one reading democrats holding our military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration this is the one year anniversary of my presidency and democrats wanted to give me a nice present president trump him self well he's canceled a visit to his florida clubhouse where he was going to celebrate the anniversary of his inauguration along with those willing to pay up to one hundred thousand dollars a plate more significantly perhaps it appears he's also canceling his trip to the world economic forum in davos where global leaders gather each year. a year ago on this night the newly inaugurated president was dancing at his inaugural party but the insistence on doing things his way have left americans contemplating an indefinite freeze of many government services mike hanna

al-jazeera washington. bill schneider as a professor of public policy at george mason university and a political analyst he joins us live from washington d.c. which has had that they might report that trump has canceled his trip to davos is he concerned that he's going to be blamed for this shutdown well he should be he's the president of the united states and it's his job to make government work he was elected because he's an outsider not a politician not a professional politician but he's been missing in action through this entire crisis he couldn't even. get the minority leader of the united states senate to make a deal he seemed very powerless in all this and i think americans are going to conclude that he's not a very effective president if he can't even make a deal work now so is going to have an effect later this year in midterm elections or do you think people will have forgotten all about this plan and well it might

have an effect depends on what happens how quickly the this situation is resolved the government opens how the economy's doing there are a thousand variables that affect the midterm election and this is very far in advance of that election i'll tell you that we had the last shutdown in two thousand and thirteen which looked very bad for republicans but in two thousand and fourteen republicans won a sweeping victory in congress people forget very quickly is there a political will to find a solution well what's happened is that both parties are have become captured by their bases the republican base are hard line conservatives who refuse to accept any kind of illegal immigration even immigrants who are brought to the united states his children they want seven hundred thousand of them deported and the progressives on the democratic side just don't want to make any deal with donald trump because they don't want to do anything that could make shop look like a winner and the leadership of both parties are being held captive by their bases

including president tromp so what happens next. well there was a deal in the making there is the possibility of a deal i should say there's a democrat. and republican or two republicans really lindsey graham and jeff flake who have the makings of a deal the problem is both sides will have to make concessions and we'll have to see if they'll do that will democrats say will democrats agree to allowing the president to accept immigrants without deporting them and the same time give him funding for the war that's likely to be critical to the deal if democrats will make that deal and give any funding for the wall and this could go on for quite some time. sixteen days to two to come to fruition so let's see how long this one last thanks very much for joining us here still ahead on al jazeera. women rally across.

the talented. into political action. and once a symbol of pride now and i saw efforts for a bicycle comeback in china face a bumpy ride. hello the first proper winter storm is just blowing through the levant it started off being noticed in turkey this is eastern turkey and this clearly is a sound strong whipped up i think the sun comes from further south the syrian desert region possibly egypt and the whole lot swept east was such that iraq had a similar sort of view but twelve hours later and this is the un killing remains of that storm producing snow on this picture in the northwest of iraq now behind it

all the skies are clear the wind has drops from very cold by morning by day we should see at about eighteen in baghdad and beirut and even aleppo is up to about thirteen so much as the snow would have melted but it was a cold night and the wind has dropped however i suspect the next thing is already brewing so looks like you end up with a windy day this is come monday with the cloud already gathering and that might be windy enough for once again to pick up the sand there orange i think probably unlikely in the arabian peninsula the change to a northerly breeze means a drop in temperature in doha and abu dhabi and twenty one by day it's much warmer further west it always is so meccas up to thirty two or even thirty three degrees now remains dreiser a good part of northern africa but you have the familiar line of rain that still there from angola across to madagascar where it's quite heavy.

look the arrival of refugees is debated in european parliament. but the journey itself is little understood. to syrians document the route that is claimed so many lives searching for sanctuary padawan people in power on al-jazeera. hello again you're watching out there as a reminder of our top stories this hour at least five people have been killed and six injured up to gunmen stormed a five star hotel in kabul. forces have been battling to take control of the

intercontinental hotel afghanistan's interior ministry says one hundred people have been rescues. turkey has begun an air and ground offensive in the african region and northern syria is an enclave for syrian kurdish why p.g. fighters backed by the u.s. has condemned what it calls brutal aggression. and the u.s. senate will try again on monday to vote for a deal to fund the government politicians failed to agree on the spending bill on friday leading to a shutdown. of hundreds of thousands of women a marching across the u.s. against president organizers hope that encourage more women to vote and run for office in november midterm elections muslim jordan has more. growing up momentum for political action a gear 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. just every human should have like equal rights and i do think that it has kind of injected a more civic activism among people and that's a good thing i think that it's easy for people to come complacent about their their rights and about to marcus 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 see 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 all the local governments what's going on affecting the 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 and exercise one's for cement rights it's also a. 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 tens of thousands of romanians have protested against changes to the judicial system demonstrations say amended laws will make it harder to prosecute officials for corruption the ruling party has been implicated in several fraud cases and a hawk sophomore. if the palmer was hoping the snow storms raging across from mania would deter protesters from marching they were to be disappointed tens of thousands gathered in book arrest braving the rain and the cold and hostile police presence to show their opposition to anti groff legislation the protests were organized after the ruling social democrats o.p.'s the pasta last month which could make it harder to prosecute crime and high level corruption has been a controversial issue in romania since the government was sworn in a year ago. it doesn't mean that he's perfect i came here to live in a free country that is not full of corrupt people i want these assassins and the

marquis of people because he skated the revolution into the country i'm going to fight i come here because we want to correct politicians and justice in romania. a protest march followed another event for we can remain here with the president speaking out of to a second felt government so another prime minister ousted m de cheese after i weighed all the arguments taking into account the actual situation in parliament i decided to give the social democrats one more chance and to designate the person they proposed to mrs duncan. not. done chiller would be the third prime minister and eleven months the first woman to ever lead the government she still has to be approved by the parliament most controversially she's considered a very close ally to the p.s.t. leader liviu drag he was convicted for ballot rigging and faces charges of abuse of office his two year prison sentence was suspended if the current anti graft

legislation is passed the case against him would be dropped down jell-o. was brought in after her predecessor stepped down on monday after falling out with the party head deeply embarrassing because the japanese prime minister was on a state visit to remain at the time his meeting with his counterpart was quickly scrapped and a day with the president was fast forwarded instead meanwhile the european union has spoken out and urge or mania to do more to prevent and tackle high level corruption. remain a joint european union in two thousand and seven and is subject to special monitoring of the judiciary and the rule of law over ninety two remaining former ministers deputies and senators have been indicted by the council of europe's anti corruption unit since two thousand and six but brussels has been accused of being too soft on the former soviet state the scale of the protest is nothing new and remain is history tens of thousands took to the streets in one thousand nine hundred nine in the mass uprising which led to the downfall of the communist

dictator nicolae ceausescu memories of that revolution seem rife nearly thirty years later the new prime minister is set to be sworn in in early february perhaps her first task is appeasing the marchers. al-jazeera. thousands of women have marched in tiger's capital to protest against president for gaskin day fourteen opposition parties began with the demonstrations in september demanding the president step down. came to power in two thousand and five after the death of his father protesters want the end of his family dinner city which has ruled for more than fifty years the north korean delegation has arrived in south korea ahead of next month's winter olympics in pyongyang chiang inspection teams visit was delayed by one day without explanation sending twenty two athletes to the games breakthrough followed talks earlier this month the first official meeting in two years. pope francis has condemned the killing of women which he says has to latin

america into the most violent place on the females he also spoke out against drug violence during mass in the northern peruvian city of true hey oh my and sanchez reports his 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 it 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 justice to be able to

extradite he got the fact through germany's social democrat party is meeting later on sunday's decide whether to stop formal talks with the chancellor to form a coalition government yesterday. from his position to an alliance has divided the policy as dominant came reports from berlin. these are trying times for the social democrats once they were the dominant force in german politics and the legacy of their first post-war chancellor behind remains palpable but so do their present electoral problems their current leader martin short's now finds himself proposing another grand coalition with anger merkel one he himself opposed in the autumn it's a position many in his party are struggling with. surveillance that of thirty we are concentrating on finding a majority in favor of the result of exploratory talks as the basis for a coalition deal at the party congress on sunday that's my task to get

a majority or those are trying to get a majority for their positions but that is the competition within the democratic party. and there are several prominent elements in the competition already espied a groups in two of the sixteen states have voted against another grand coalition and the parties youth movement is vociferously opposed to the moment cutting back on its energy we're not just leading the fight against another grand coalition we're convinced that what we're doing is showing the s.p.d. the best way to become stronger in the future to be the strongest left leaning party in our society but some people in our party seem to think that we have an eternal guarantee to be the largest group in parliament up but we don't. this internal party dispute right now conceals the fact that this party's election performances have been falling and some might say failing for more than fifteen years. a glance at the latest opinion polls shows how bleak the situation is just

eighteen percent the s.p.d. is less popular now than in september's general election nearer to the parties in third and fourth place than to angle americans christian democrats for the as pretty as the sunday vote is definitely a very crucial decision that might as well decide the fate in the medium term for the prettier the party as a whole in principle delegates will be voting purely about whether to enter formal negotiations with the christian democrats in practice it seems like a battle for the party's political soul dominic came out zero berlin well one of the world's toughest off road enjoins events has reached its conclusion stage around the argentinian city of cordoba but this year's dakar rally to an end of the last two weeks calls bikes quads trucks and u.t.v. buggies have been racing through thousands of grams as unforgiving terrain in three

countries race started in peru and passed through bolivia before heading into argentina in the car categories spain's color sainz has won the title first second . and somewhat slower the bicycle was once the only form of transport for most chinese people's wealth grew the symbol of prestige was soon overtaken by cars now it's making a comeback with bike sharing operations booming at his age and brown reports the industry is in serious trouble. for some the humble bicycle has become a menace across beijing clusters of discarded rental bikes covers sidewalks. bike sharing began two years ago the selling point was that it was cheap and you could leave them wherever you wanted but that's the problem say many who live here which is that you should see both sides yes it's really convenient and ecological

but it's a disaster with this huge amount to you see all of it's definitely a waste because the occupy public spaces during peak times it takes pile up at bus stops according to the government china has more than twenty three million shared bicycles recent photographs on social media show numerous dumping grounds for abandoned bikes the operators insist there are clear rules about where to park them and it's not their fault it's not happening you can hire a bike like this for just seven cents for half an hour there are also other obvious benefits it's good exercise and better for the environment than driving but there's also one obvious problem excessive oversupply now the inevitable zur curd several operators have gone bust with one owing investors almost sixty million dollars. the city of fear engine has a long history of bicycle production despite the overcapacity these are destined

for the rental sector china's free market policies made this private factory possible now the owner hopes the communist government can come to the rescue. we believe the government should do more to help the amount of shared bikes should be on the basis of a city scale just forty years ago you knew you'd made it when you had a bike along with a watch radio and sewing machine it was a family's most valuable possession a symbol of pride now for some it stands as a symbol of national waste a dream brown al-jazeera beijing. this is out there these are the top stories at least five people have been killed six injured after gunmen stormed a five star hotel in kabul afghans paschal forces have been battling to take

control of the internet intercontinental hotel two attackers have been killed but two more are still inside the building one hundred people have been rescued security analyst says the hotel is usually heavily guarded they have really taken the security for the question really is that how can such sophisticated attack can take place and there are rumors around is that there must be some sort of support for the attackers otherwise looking at the security arrangements around or get inside or tell it's pretty impossible to to enter. into the premises which so much of ammunitions and arms turkey has begun and ground offensive in the african region in northern syria as an enclave for syrian kurdish y p g fighters who are backed by the u.s. says as flights have killed at least six people. the u.s. senate will try again on monday to vote for a deal to fund the government politicians failed to agree on the spending bill on

friday leading to a shutdown republicans and democrats a blame each other for the deadlock women are rallying across the u.s. to mark one year since president took office organizers hope that encourage more women to vote and run for office in the midterm elections. vice president mike pence has arrived in jordan as part of a regional tool he was in egypt where he met president. security on the israeli palestinian peace process is expected to visit israel as well so that the united states is still committed to a two state solution. tens of thousands of romanians have protested against changes to the traditional system. demonstrators say the amended laws will make it harder to prosecute officials for corruption that still needs the president's approval. says has condemns the killing of women which he says in america it's the world's most violent place for females he also spoke out against

drug violence during mass in the northern caribbean city of. there's i had lines more news here on al-jazeera after people and power. al-jazeera expose prominent figures of the twentieth century. influenced the. market you. want to ban the boom made software. breakthroughs inspired the digital revolution. and face to face at this time on al-jazeera.