prominent leaders we shed light on the troubles afflicting venezuela today. the big picture the battle for venezuela coming soon on a. twenty years of china's transformation. through one young girl's journey. from birth to adult hood. two decades following the development of a life and nation. five years on rewind returns to the story of k k the girl from joe. at this time on al-jazeera. this is al-jazeera.

you're watching the al-jazeera news our life my headquarters here in doha coming up in the next sixty minutes the european union commits fifty three million dollars to additional aid for the palestinians following the u.s. decision to withhold funds. to reexamine our military detention policy and to keep open the detention facilities in guantanamo bay. also multiple promises for the u.s. military that president state of the union address the kuantan of obey prison is to stay open indefinitely. and you have a government remains besieged by separatists inside the presidential palace an aide and aide operations have been suspended in the port city. also we'll tell you about why the largest retail market for ivory has shut its doors to the trade story and the impact of hong kong.

welcome to the program the european union is giving an extra fifty three million dollars in aid to palestine following the u.s. decision to withhold funding that use foreign policy chief frederick made the announcement at a donors meeting in brussels the u.n. has warned that guards economy is on the verge of collapse. we know the more we can achieve progress on the ground the more this can help prevent violence and the more this can help also as you call it a process so in this context we believe it is important that the palestinian authority is committed to the unites the west bank and gaza on the one single and legitimate authority there is a need for the international community to recommit to common strategy of building the institutions that will ultimately lead to a negotiated two state solution and there is also a need for a comprehensive in supporting and the resumption of p.a.

control in gaza now the implications of the current shortfall in funding to support palestinian refugees are being felt across the middle east the u.n. relief and works agency for palestine. operates in five areas jordan lebanon syria the gaza strip as well as the occupied west bank including east jerusalem almost six million registered refugees receive basic aid and social services that rely heavily on outside funding row are set up to seven hundred two schools in the region with more than five hundred thousand students half of them are girls the aid doctors see nine million patients in one hundred forty three primary health clinics every year christopher gunness is the chief spokesman for our he's warning the funding crisis will lead to further radicalization in refugee camps. under from united states of largest single state owner sixty million we were expecting up all

the three hundred fifty million that leaves a hole in our budget of two hundred ninety billion dollars and that's just imperative contribution to the overall debt it's so of course very pleased that donors are stepping forward and are coming forward in light of our isolates global fund raising and that's good but let's not make any mistakes or let's not have any illusions about this the task ahead is very very we are deeply in debt it's an unprecedented a national crisis and we're really going to in the international donor community step up because what's at stake is nothing less instability in at least having five hundred thousand children on the streets of the middle east not in u.n. schools at a time when it's themis groups are in full group mode i think we can all agree that that is not a good thing that does not contribute to a sense of stability and dignity in this region. appeal for unity at home and

a message of strength and power abroad doll comes to live in his first state of the union speech highlighting what he sees as the successes of his administration as outlined a plan for tougher immigration policies and a powerful military has well as a stronger nuclear deterrent program from washington d.c. alan fischer reports. oh donald trump has got to go for a president who wants to unite the country his journey to the capitol in washington was marked by protests below. the president of the united states inside a much warmer welcome for donald trump. the state of the union traditionally when a president leaves oak his vision for the future the state of our union is strong for donald trump a chance to look back at the tumultuous first year he boasted about his economic successes since the election we have created two point four million new jobs

including the eve of including two hundred thousand new jobs in manufacturing alone but he talked about cutting black unemployment is a stormy reaction from some democrats the row over immigration help close down the government earlier this month he appealed to democrats to what with him and republicans to finally sort the issue so let's come together set politics aside and finally get the job done. and as he talked about to migration there were audible boos under the current broken system a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives under a player he talked about the battle against eisel claiming huge success pledging there was more to be done and of the need to invest more in america's military and a line not trailed by the white house the president revealed

a new policy on the detention camp a guantanamo being cuba overturning a decision by barack obama i just saw i. prior to walk in there and order directing secretary maps to keep open the detention facilities in guantanamo bay thanks after u.n. board which criticized the u.s. decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel it was a clear threat to those who stood against his administration i am asking congress to pass legislation to help ensure american foreign assistance dollars always share american interests and only go to friends of a now and thank there was no mention of the russia investigation but there was mention of iran and north korea but the president ended with a familiar message and it's the people who are making america great again the

democrats reply came from the son of a famous family congressman joe kennedy his great uncle was president john kennedy their record is rebuke to our highest american ideal the belief that we are all worthy that we are all equal that we all count donald trump wanted to bring the country together and believes this speech will help democrats want to see if his actions his intention alan fischer algis you know washington. well some use his state of the union speech to attack the iranian government he's urging congress to address what he calls fundamental flaws in the iran nuclear deal the iranian that foreign minister zarif responded on twitter by saying trump again confirms his ignorance of iran and to the region everyone knows where he stands and it's certainly not with the rain ians serif sarcastically added that his virtuous democratically elected clients in our region may cheer but not those on the

receiving end of their tyranny and weapons including he have any children. well trump also called russia and china rivals of the united states beijing as his bank saying that the u.s. needs to be a better partner. only found that we hope the u.s. will cast away the cold war mentality of the us some ideology view china the china u.s. relationship in a correct way and get along with china focus on cooperation properly have the differences and maintain a steady growth of bilateral relations let's go straight over to our white house correspondent kimberly helka to use in washington d.c. there's always reaction after a state of the union we got some of it was less than twenty four hours ago kimberly i was wondering how now that the dust has settled what the media is saying what politicians are beginning to talk about. well the media the politicians responses are fairly predictable what donald trump tried to do but what many believe he did not achieve is really moving the dial in terms of his own popularity

the president's approval ratings are standing at about thirty eight percent according to most polls. this is really the last year most people have felt that they don't particularly like donald trump but if he accomplishes what they need him to accomplish then that's ok and so many of sort of been looking at the down time speech this first state of the union kind of like this he managed to sell his successes he managed to sell the fact that there is historic unemployment lows the stock market is high people are starting to see bigger paychecks for the first time in more than a decade that was all well and good but what they generally didn't see a movement on and there's agreement on this is donald trump's popularity has not changed in any way and the other thing that donald trump set out to accomplish but it doesn't appear he succeeded on was the issue of unity this is still a country deeply divided along economic lines along racial lines but there are a polarized politically is just getting further and further apart and it doesn't

seem that that gap was bridged at all is as a result of just one speech and of course with so many issues that we've been discussing since he spoke less than twenty four hours going to talk about guantanamo bay the fact that he says it's not going to close it does raise questions about those that are still props some even a new additions if donald trump has his way. right and this is the really big news that came out of that speech kind of tucked in there but certainly this is the one that a lot of people are going to want to sink their teeth into including al-jazeera to try and get more clarity in terms of that because you remember this was a major campaign promise for barack obama that guantanamo bay cuba prison would be closed because of course the concern being that those that the united states is labeled as enemy combatants have been held there sometimes for more than a decade without charge denied the due process that the united states has typically been known for at a foundation of its democracy so as a result there has been grave concern for human rights activists about this ongoing

indefinite detention barack obama deciding alternately that this wouldn't be close because there was a concern about bringing some of those that have been named enemy combatants to the united states but they discussion about even adding to those is certainly going to be concerning for many human rights activists but also many members of congress on capitol hill and many americans who feel that it doesn't represent what america is about of course one thing that is bubbling underneath all of this and it's in the back of many people's minds this is talk of midterm elections and how donald trump is befalling how the republican party is perceived and in fact how the state of the union address will go down with the masses across the u.s. . it's interesting because when you look at it at the political level as i was standing there in statuary hall capitol hill last night what i noticed is there were an awful lot of republicans who have been fearful about what those midterm

election results will look like in november and as a result have decided not to run again they were all parading around the cameras offering their insights and and being fairly critical of this administration it gives you the sense that there is this feeling even amongst members of the republican party that the midterm elections are not going to be good for the republican party and that's historically true so it's going to be a challenge given the fact that donald trump has taken what many republicans would consider very bold controversial steps in terms of his policies that the republicans will be able to hang on to control of both the house of representatives and the senate so certainly there is that feeling among politicians but then i guess my kind of taxicabs gauge to talk to sort of the ordinary people and get their take on things they don't see it as being quite as dire there are many that are feeling relatively positive despite sort of the media hype and spin that you suggest or that has been suggested so as

a result it really is unclear at this point you know it's not until november a lot can change between now and then but certainly from the political level there are many that are concerned that those midterm elections will not be good for the republican party keeping a very close eye on it of course with you can be for the moment thank you. well placed more ahead here on the al-jazeera news hour including some of these afghan refugees have lived in pakistan for generations but the deadline for them to leave is just hours away. forcing britain britain's prime minister heads east in the hope of securing a free trade deal with beijing. and one of the most deadly strikers in the world football makes a big money move touch others got bad news and spoke. to british lawyers have submitted a review of human rights in saudi arabia to the huon human rights council saudi

arabia is currently chairing the council but is facing growing criticism over a wave of a rest and detentions it's accused of arresting political and. free speech activists and detaining them without charge. is one of the report's authors he hopes it will encourage countries to put pressure on saudi arabia to change its behavior. we were commission to look into exactly what has happened and present illegal reports on as an army recommendation is that step should be taken by the general assembly to suspend the government of saudi arabia from the human rights council it being completely contradictory and ironic for a government with systemic curtains of abuse as we've highlighted in the report to be sitting on the council and previously to have have chaired the council we are hoping it will go overnight as many states to recognise the problem and to confront

the government about the situation in the jails and in that way put pressure on the need for real change not suppose of reform but real change and then what we are hoping of course that depends on the states in the general assembly is that that suspension will act as a major lever on the government there to clean up their act and to make a proper new start study led coalition plans have carried out several air strikes in yemen its capital sanaa toggling who theat rebel weapons stores that explosions assault in the area north of the city people living there say these strikes resulted in flying shells and explosions yemen's internationally recognized government remains besieged by succession it's inside the presidential palace that eighty eight operations in the southern port city have been suspended succession its forces backed by the u.a.e. took control of aden on tuesday. russia and syrian government forces have been

bombing towns in italy province and i strike hit an open marketplace in a city on shoes day at least twelve people were killed and dozens injured there's been a renewed syrian at russian military offensive this week targeting hospitals and markets in rebel held areas. the united nations is worried about civilians in the northern syria area of free turkey has been attacking the kurdish region for more than ten days now a free man is controlled by the white peachy a syrian kurdish group that turkey considers a terrorist organization stephanie decker reports. solidarity with the people of africa this protest is in the kurdish run area in northeast syria where people say they feel betrayed going on and then i go in for we condemn the turkish state we condemn russia because had it not been for russia giving the green light turkey would not have been able to attack a free russia and turkey your fate and will be at the hands of the heroes of the

wipe e.g. just like the end of ice. in africa and funerals are held for fighters from the people's protection units or y p g. turkey considers the y.p. g a terrorist organization but fighters from the kurdish group across syria make up the backbone of the u.s. backed syrian democratic forces crucial and the most effective in the battle against ancyl. this is said to be video gin that is an area close to the border with turkey that has been heavily targeted sources have told al jazeera that most people in these areas have fled due to the heavy bombardment. and the u.n. estimates around fifteen thousand are now displaced inside the region of africa. we're also told there been civilian casualties after random shelling in turkey denies this and says it only targets why peachey positions turkey's offensive is now well into its second week the village where the smoke coming from it is inside

syria now turkey has been shelling these border areas on a daily basis i was also supported on the ground by free syrian army fighters this is the syrian rebels that target with the ports and they have a presence here in turkey along the border. we spot a few free syrian army fighters on the side of the road they are rarely seen this openly in turkey turkey has brought. many of these f.s.a. fighters from syria they are now waiting along the border for orders to advance we managed to speak to one of them who tells us the battle won't be easy record that. we're facing quite a few challenges first the weather didn't help us as it was foggy and raining second the why p.g. has advanced snipers that's why we are taking it slow and trying to control these mountains first. turkey say with the moment is to secure its border area with afy in. airstrikes and artillery can be heard all along this area but we're told that the y.p. g a well prepared and know the terrain this could be a long and difficult fight stephanie decker al-jazeera on the turkey syria border.

well the one point four million afghans are expected to lose the right to stay in pakistan after the government said it a little longer extends a refugee status their legal status officially expired on december the thirty first but the pakistani cabinet extended the stay by one month some of spent the last thirty five years living in pakistan to hundreds more from a refugee camp near the main city in the area of push our. ongoing tension to rid the united states and worsening relations between one it's gone and bug it has created a new problem for the of one refugee the buggers going to their deeds refugee camps spread across the country catering to about one point four million registered of one refugee and an equal number of undereducated refugee have become much security threat pakistan is pushing pressure now that the these refugees should be taken

back into atlanta sun and so that once that is done then we will be more able to say that we are not allowing any sentries within its own territory or than three point five million afghan refugees who have been living in pakistan for the last thirty or forty years now and also and taliban and other actors which are militarily active against the afghan government odd part of that whole refugee community that lives and they go back and forth and that pulls in pakistan into this because they're dead from here they're in first grade i got a bridge to use as a treaty and then carry out attacks across the country the interior minister and your intelligence chief of run it on our radio head and project down gosh they're rising tensions between their two countries a bugger to be telling their avalon counterparts they did it's time for the aged every two years to go back but they don't care if you are a jeweler just to get an issue the biggest problem at the moment is that there is

the winter break. all the centers are temporarily suspended and cashman centers in afghanistan and repack creation centers in fact as far as funds are concerned there is donor fatigue there are competing priorities so yes that does prove to be a challenge that unites our faces and yes it does appeal to the international community to continue to provide assistance to the afghan refugee situation as a bug or county government is likely to give a few more months for the repaired creation of the of around refugee but if people complain that they cannot go back to our country torn apart by conflict and go back to a country were nothing to offer to them was the look was so moody. we can't afford to go back to war torn country where we have no shelter no jobs and above all no

peace so how we are going to survive we want to go back happily one situation allows. many of one refugee there already come back from up running down complaining that their government is not doing enough. more than five hundred people were killed in two bomb blasts in the somali capital mogadishu three months ago believe that parents of new homes have had to be found for sixteen hundred all phones so media bill reports. medina mohammad plays with her three month old grandson has and his grandmother is looking after him because his mother was one of the hundreds killed in the twin bomb attacks in mogadishu last october i've passed and was just eleven days old when the bombs went off as well as has since mother two of medina's other daughters and niece were killed their bodies were never found. the most difficult thing is that i've been left with twenty

children to look after i'm really old now and a calm provide for them a come with them houses can do anything for them the only real surviving right now is money from the well wishers prays not enough for all of us. the truck bomb blast and a second attack later the same day killed five hundred and ninety people injured hundreds more and orphaned at least one thousand five hundred and forty children i know in most cases their extended families are looking after them no one claimed responsibility for the attacks but police suspect all shabaab fighters may have planned it the truck bomb blast completely devastated this area where a popular hotel once stood since the last summer business owners have come back running a makeshift restaurant some of the customers here were injured in the explosion but people here say they want to support the hotel that for them it's

a show of defiance there is small is part of a local fund raising group as the injured were rushed to hospital the group began collecting money to help them families and local businesses affected five million dollars was raised very remarkable this city has gone. in a great city and problems so are going to be able to get all of them together every problem came. this was not for the international community or other peoples or other governments can be a form of i'm going to help each other. following the explosions tens of thousands took to the streets condemning the attacks. latina and her grandchildren are a small part of a large community of survivors still in recovery she says despite the pain and loss all have family can do is move on from al-jazeera mogadishu u.k.

prime minister treason may is in china to discuss trade relations on day one the two countries have signed around a dozen deals may have said the ships to sign a free trade agreement with china in the future as a dream brown reports from beijing. britain's relationship with china is complicated by history. this is the remains of beijing's old summer palace ransacked and looted by british and french troops more than one hundred fifty years ago chinese people are taught not to forget it. we should try every way to get with things back from britain their old china's national treasures they're ours that britain should return the things they looted from china because they belong to china while as she embarks on a three day tour of china to resume a will have larger concerns than historic grievances she's here on

a mission to increase british trade with china that need is growing quickly following britain's decision to leave the european union she should have to call this chinese leader that she's ok i love her garment he's ok and he we all she can you know pro white any i mean if wants to have a stable and a smooth spreadsheet. and you specially were doing the practice process there will not be any negative impact on china britain relations thirteen billion dollars worth of trade deals was signed on wednesday significantly the prime minister said in spite of her earlier reported reservations britain would now cooperate with china on its one belt one road initiative president xi jinping spent project. a joint media conference with china's premier league was dominated by questions about britain's future after brics

a way to turn in to ensure that we get the best deal for the united kingdom and that means it is it will be a deal that will ensure that we take that control of our money orders and that we're also able to maintain a good trading relationship with the e.u. for the future because that is good for both the united kingdom and for the european union they well when she. was no matter what changes may happen in the u.k. as relations with other parts of the world china will remain committed in its policy of developing friendly relations with the u.k. and i have faith in the brighter prospects of china and u.k. ties. to reason may won't be going to hong kong the former british colony returned to china more than twenty years ago and where colds are growing for her to address concerns about threats to political reform judicial independence and human rights may said that a so-called golden era in relations but now intensified the outcome of her visit

will determine by just how much adrian brown al-jazeera beijing. well it's time for the weather here's richard news of stormy weather heading for new zealand but it doesn't quite look like it from the map is quite a contrast because i have some really warm weather the last couple days were protections even temperatures touching forty degrees but certainly up to thirty six on location just north of christ church as the winds come over the southern alps then dry out and those temperatures rise so impressive temperatures but things very much change in an ace twenty four hours we've got this mess really of a cold front coming in from the west and the remnants of a tropical cyclone fabien affair he managed to produce a vast amount of rain across parts of you caledonia in towards the solomon islands but now as it moves across new zealand are concerns as to how much rain he's going to produce over the next twenty four hours so it is quite a combination of weather systems certainly very warm air still associated spite

some very heavy rain but i'll run the sequence and you see this area of rain gradually sinking towards the south also pulling in quite a bit of sharing to put it across the north and that eventually it does begin to clear away and up but stays then if you like that the air behind that cold front brings in much colder air from the southwest which eventually takes you down towards antarctica so you just got a high of twenty degrees there for wiling to and now across in australia also seeing temperatures of flopping around for melbourne in recent days up close to forty degrees now we're looking at temperatures of twenty one and what a cool flow coming from the southwest we look you see anything more than twenty degrees in sydney. thanks very much richard well still ahead here on al-jazeera the german government is being questioned in parliament over a controversial test clean diesel and it happens only once every one hundred fifty sky watchers get to cast their eyes on what's called the super blood blue moon. and in spall the houston rockets james harden makes n.b.a.

history tatyana how about story and sports so do stay with us here for the al-jazeera news on. the scene for us where they're on line what is american sign in yemen that peace is possible but it never happens not because the situation is complicated but because no one cares or if you join us on set there are people that are choosing between. eating this is a dialogue i want to get in one more comment because this is someone who just posted a story join the global conversation at this time on al-jazeera. the

arab country. the jews are obsessed with a reminder of our top stories the european union is giving an extra fifty three million dollars in aid to palestine following the u.s. decision to withhold funding donors matter in brussels after a un warning that guards economy is on the verge of collapse. yemen's internationally recognized government remains perceived by secessionists inside the

presidential palace in aden made operations in the southern port city have been suspended succession its forces backed by the took control of on tuesday. also u.s. president donald trump has given his first state of the union address urging republicans and democrats to unite to implement his tougher immigration policies and a one point five trillion dollars infrastructure plan. now let's move to africa now where the kenyan government has declared the opposition movement a criminal group it follows a mock inauguration ceremony held by opposition leader raul loading on cheese day in which he called himself the people's president he says the twenty seventeen presidential election was stolen from him due to voting irregularities the

government has warned his actions could amount to treason well the government issued a statement and that was witnessed who park as a well choreographed attempt to subvert or overthrow the legally constituted government of the republic of kenya accordingly the government took a decision to shut down the concert media houses until further notice as it launches a full investigation into the serious a breach of security. germany's government is facing questions in parliament over allegations of top carmakers exposing human and animals to toxic diesel fumes humans and monkeys were reportedly made to inhale diesel exhaust fumes by research groups funded by vaults fog and daimler b.m.w. also walk and has already suspended a high ranking executive in response to a public outcry following the revelations well dominic cain is a lead and it seems that at least this carmaker is in hot water the government have to try and find a way they don't they to maneuver and handle some very awkward questions i mean

what do we expect from today's sessions. well that's all could questions indeed very much though certainly since the revelations about these tests that you were just referring to in the introduction so i feel the sense of anger and revulsion at the news of the tests that was that what were carried out on behalf of the three car makers you referred to is widespread here in germany and very serious questions being posed in the media well clearly very serious questions will be posed in parliament as well point to make is that this government will be answering the questions remain to the acting coalition government so in itself this government is a little bit shaky and this is perhaps the last thing that they would have wanted to do face questions on given the fact that they're in the middle of trying to negotiate another government so clearly difficult questions and questions about well who knew what when and who allowed this to go ahead and of course those are the questions that they need to ask about the issue of collusion and what the

public will want to know is how it works how big business can manage to influence government decisions that advice the versa. well that's right and certainly already one environmental group has said that it believes that america's government is effectively in league with the major motor manufacturers the environment help group here in germany there their head as it were was saying precisely that to reporters earlier on so you have the sense that there is a lobby in this country that really believes that the the the senior ministers are too closely aligned with the most of manufacturers the point to make is that the proximity between ministers and the motor manufacturers what we saw evidence of that late last summer when angela merkel and sigma garware for the social democrats were able to agree a deal with the car manufacturers about the reduction of emissions from cars things

like nitrogen dioxide the fine dust particles as well particulates rather which are emitted by diesel cars well an agreement was reached and the companies did pledge to reduce their emissions by as much as thirty percent so whilst there are those who argue that the government there is as i said there are some who say that they are effectively in cahoots with the car firms likewise the government and the main parties might say well look we are able to force them to make reductions to make commitments to it so there are two sides to that to that equation it is the ramifications of what's happening in germany germany really run deep and wide across europe with other manufacturers their respective governments all foreign manufacturers working in foreign countries because you know governors are looking over their shoulders now into their ministries does the actually have we did anything wrong can we be sued in the court saw will our names be tarnished. by such incidents that we're seeing in germany.

well certainly the scrutiny that the german cafe is face now is all the greater because of previous scandals previous incidents the point to make here is the media that the population of germany is still reeling to a certain extent from what was called diesel gate the idea of the defeat devices which were put into which were inserted into vehicles to allow them to appear to pass to comply with emissions regulations that that previously existed that is the thing which has stuck as attached itself particularly to going but also to other firms and so that is the prism through which people view these latest revelations here in germany the question then would be how that applies itself to other manufacturers outside clearly no other fat manufacturer that we are aware of has has subjected either humans or animals to the sorts of tests that the e.u. g.t. group puts the animals and humans through in this current instance here in germany

e.u. g.t. being the name given to the group that was acting under the auspices of b.m.w. daimler and and fox wagon so clearly there are issues for those three companies but there's also the wider issue here in germany about the way that the german car industry is perceived about how ethical it is in the regulations that complies with that certainly sent shock waves through through the political classes the question would be what sort of rep implication these revelations would have on the perception of the german car industry on a wider scale well we'll look forward to certainly hearing what the politicians have to say. as they have that meeting for the moment thanks don. the shops in hong kong are being banned from selling ivory but not for almost four years now parliament's giving traders until the end of twenty twenty one to phase out selling elephant tusks all of its traders will face a ten year prison sentence if they break the new law room what environmentalist say

is one of the world's largest ivory markets did your part and has more. hong kong complied with the global ivory ban in one thousand nine hundred eighty nine but still allows the sale of i way obtain before then now according to conservationists this is opened up somewhat of a new poll which allows the sale of both all the new ivory products openly in shops across the city this new government bill aims to address that. i think the most important is to pre-convention. a good standard solution that the ivory changeset been using for decades to smuggle a lot of freshly polish supply rethink elite. into the local market masquerading as leaving my brain the ivory trade has been particularly lucrative in the past couple of decades thanks to the mainland chinese tourists who see african ivory as a symbol now the number of shops in traders have decreased significantly since the one nine hundred seventy s.

but there are still dozens of merchants who have licenses to sell in trees they say from before the one nine hundred ninety s. i'm really worried that our future generations cannot even see the african elephants in existence of this world and it really hurts me on cost of biggest trade place for the ivory and i wasn't sure and also so we don't want them to get killed that's why we care about them the complete ban of r.b.s. been debated ad the legislative council many times are here the main argument for the ivory trade. craft and it's a traditional part of chinese culture and vibrant solicitor calling on the government to speed up the process even though this latest bill banning all commercial i worry merchants will be given time to get rid of their stock which means all called will not be free of the ivory trade so twenty twenty two. let's go back to president trump state of the union address which had a series of promises for the american military says he wants to take on america's

and the bees with much power just before his address he signed an executive order to keep the guantanamo bay military prison open indefinitely the facility in cuba was established during america's so-called war on terror face multiple allegations of torture abuse and illegal detention. trump wants to be examined military detention policy and is urging congress to ensure that america has the power to detain those it calls terrorists wherever they are found he also wants congress to boost military spending and modernize and strengthen america's nuclear arsenal as an act of deterrence mark shanahan is a lecturer in politics and international relations at the university of reading in the united kingdom and joins me from there now good to have you with us on the program just overall what did you make of presidents president trumps state of the union addresses with specific focus on sort of the military undertones.

well a couple of points i think the one thing we learned was that he knows now how to read the scripts. and there were two very distinct parts to this address that he gave so he was fairly soft and bypass when dealing with domestic issues but what came across ever so strongly was this america first when it comes to foreign policy it's not going to win him friends around the world he's making it very very clear that those countries that the u.s. sees as friends will be treated well but anybody else is going to be faced not by diplomatic or even economic sanctions but potentially by military threats and this is what boosting up the military is needs to have an enemy and the enemy is the other it's the unknown it's something outside the shores of the u.s. where we spoke to our correspondent kimberly how to washington d.c. she said this was the big news the the the state open of guantanamo bay will be a very controversial decision made by him guantanamo has been controversial

specially after the september the eleventh scenario which is also be thousands of people die in new york and in the aftermath of that was the detention of so many from across the world and the incarceration and can collusion by other foreign governments in helping the united states the friends perhaps that donald trump is talking about. indeed but donald trump's strategy is very very simple he either does the things that he said on the campaign trail and one of those was boosting the military and being strong militarily his other strategy is to roll back anything that president obama had put in place and if you think obama tried throughout his eight years to close guantanamo down never quite succeeded so in the mind of donald trump actually keeping it open beefing up its presence showing the enemies of the nation and colluding with those countries who will work with him to do that is

a major policy statements it's about being militarily strong and of course we're seeing the rhetoric as well added to that regardless of the state of the union address in the way that he's virtually attacking both iran over the nuclear deal and the ongoing tense situation on the korean peninsula there many analysts that we've had here on al-jazeera do suggest that you know he would he would like to have a war what's your impression. he may like to have a war he clearly doesn't understand the war and the implications of war my impression is that he is hollow doubts the diplomatic service terribly that there are so many jobs that the state department are left unfilled and he surrounded himself with generals when trump was on the campaign trail he was talking about withdrawing from global engagement global military engagement it was taking people out of afghanistan it was taking people out of the syrian conflicts but here he is putting more forces in

a thousand more troops to go into afghanistan and just seems to be heightening first of all the rhetoric but secondly the military presence around other conflicts or potential conflict areas and this is very very dangerous it is dangerous because i doubt he is fully aware of the implications of what he might be doing. well for the moment mark shannon it's been a pleasure speaking to you and thanks very much for insight on the subject of president trump on the state of the union address thank you. the ceremony has been held in vietnam to mark the fiftieth anniversary of what became known as the ten offensive nine hundred sixty eight on the eve of vietnam's lunar new year holiday tet soldiers from the north launched a war donated attacks on more than one hundred cities in the south it was an event that ultimately led to the united states withdrawing from the war as weight hail reports. government and communist party leaders gathered in city to remember the

tet offensive it was a celebration in a city that used to be called saigon the capital of south vietnam that was defended by southern troops and the united states allies during the vietnam war. but fifty years ago as vietnamese were preparing to celebrate the lunar new year communist soldiers from the north launched a surprise attack on saigon and other cities in the south the timing wasn't a coincidence many south vietnamese soldiers had gone home to visit family for the tet holiday the north saw an opportunity to defeat the enemy and spark an uprising in saigon that it hoped would result in the overthrow of the u.s. backed government in the short term the attempt failed and the north soldiers were forced to retreat minus around fifty eight thousand who were killed but ultimately the tet offensive was seen as a turning point in a long and costly war in the united states it fueled antiwar sentiment the year

after the tet offensive the u.s. began a gradual withdrawal from the that was completed in one thousand nine hundred seventy three despite the signing of a cease fire and peace accords the walk into and only ended in one thousand nine hundred seventy five when the north took saigon. today vietnam remains unified under a communist government it views the anniversary of the tet offensive as a mark of heroism not because of what it did or didn't achieve initially but with the victory that it led to wayne hay al jazeera. or. a celestial event known as the super blue blood moon is gracing the night skies here are the latest pictures from los angeles the three part lunar eclipse means that the moon appears much bigger brighter and redder than usual it's the first time in decades that the event has taken place where rob revels joins us now from the griffith observatory in los angeles and people there must be very excited at what they're seeing with their very own eyes. oh indeed so hale a lot of gasps

a lot of boos and awe and laughter as people observe the moon turn this incredible shade of blood red you can see the moon over my left shoulder very dimly because we're in the middle of totality you know but you could see it better with the live feed from the observatory telescopes one of the things that was striking was that many people said seeing something like this is kind of humbling that it makes human beings feel that they are you know in a sense a perspective of their place with all the politics and all the turmoil throughout the world to see an event like this puts things in perspective i'd like to introduce our guests know laura danley astronomer ph d. and one of the very many fine scientists who work here at the griffith observatory

of laurel one of your jobs was to live feed this events all around the world during using your sophisticated equipment tell me what that was like for you well right now we've got a live feed going on on live stream of the moon we've carrying it all through totality from the beginning through the very last when the moon sets and then we'll put a time lapse available on our you tube channel so we're following it very closely it looks gorgeous and mainly it's just thrilling to know that millions of people are seeing it around the world and we're able to share it with the world now this is called a lunar trifecta by some people what makes this so special so fascinating well you've heard blood moon and that's kind of what we're talking about blood moon just means it's a lunar eclipse and then a lunar eclipse it turns kind of a blood oranges you've commented then it's also a super moon or it's close to

a super moon because the moon is closer to. earth than usual so it appears bigger and then the third part of it is a blue moon and that's because it's the third full moon in the month and third the second full moon of the month so we've got a super blue blood moon and that's kind of an exciting combination explain why it appears red instead of just when the shadow of the earth falls over it you'd expect it to just go dark but it stead it goes this is a beautiful shade of red that's because sunlight is filtering through earth's atmosphere and that's turning the light red it filters out the blue and lets the red through just like a sunset looks red because the blue is scattered away and the red comes through so we like to say sometimes that during a lunar eclipse you're seeing if you were on the moon you'd be looking at all the sunrises and sunsets on earth it's all just that filtered light amazing and finally . throughout history people have observed these events.

pre-scientific civilizations and so forth is there anything that in ancient times was learned about the relationship between the earth and the cosmos by observing these events but i think in ancient times people really didn't know what the cause was and that's what made it so sort of terrifying especially if it turns this blood red color but you know at this phenomenon has been going on you know on earth long before people were even here it kind of ties us to geological history and to enter project history to the history of humankind and now we modern people know what it is but that doesn't make it any less beautiful thank you very much laura laura danley from the griffith observatory so again the celestial events so hill putting human kind in its place indeed and something fascinating thanks will. well it sounds full of history and thank you very much to how one of the most highly

anticipated deals of the january transfer window has been completed austin will have signed me on from but as the adult men to seventy nine million dollars they go on international comes to the english premier league with an impressive scoring record he noted ninety eight times and one hundred forty four percent as league games he was also the twenty fifteen african football of the year sixth place arsenal could do with him after a three one loss to relegation threatened swung the on tuesday. well a new spending record for the january period was officially said in the e.p.l. on tuesday top of the table man city added athletic bilbao defend a port to their roster taking the spending total up to three hundred fifty six million dollars that has over fifty million higher than the previous mark set in two thousand and eleven twenty three year old report joined city for a club record fee of eighty million dollars of course goes to the. program to be special in many senses but. i think he's intelligent he will be he will

reproduce the situation but he has to leave the individually you know for the english players the young players will come in the premier league always will be you know all will be patient because he doesn't come for three months he goes for four or five years that is what it is in morocco the semifinals of the african nations championship are coming up on wednesday this is the biannual twenty minutes of footballers that are based in africa the unlikely story is libya who will take on host in the first game in casablanca despite the turmoil in that country that they actually won this tournament in twenty fourteen the second semi was the sudan take on nigeria and america. we're just four days away from the super bowl fifty two when the new england patriots will face the philadelphia eagles and patriots talk about tom brady is still trying to brush concerns are for an injured throwing hand the forty year old to win a pair in his eighth super bowl has given little away about me and rebought and f l media reports say he's had twelve stitches removed my hand it's getting better i

mean it's not quite where i want to be. so i'm just trying to protect it the best way i can i was obviously very important. part of my body for a quarterback so i just wanted to be as healthy as possible for for the game on sunday so. it's an arm or just made of for me. it's a great glove it's got a lot of recovery in it and that's what i need this time i want to fight brady's injury status the philadelphia eagles head coach is still very wary of the competition as they either have a super bowl title we do. you know how our players handle this week in a limited distractions and eliminate the noise and. how well they preparing and get themselves ready to go well ahead of that game u.s. president donald trump is thinly reiterated his criticism of n.f.l. players who chose to kneel during the national anthem to protest racial inequality sparked a political and social debate at the start of the season with those views trump was

making his first state of the union address in washington d.c. on tuesday he was praising a twelve year old who places flags on the graves of u.s. veterans when he added these comments to rush things reverence for those who have served our nation reminds us of why we salute our flag why we put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance and why we proudly stand for the national anthem. for me usa gymnastics team talk to larry nasa will be heading back to court in michigan on wednesday with fifty seven more victims to confront him the disgraced doctor who's been found guilty of sexually abusing young gymnasts will be sentenced in a third trial this one relates to the molestation of three minus while he was walking at a friend's jim nussle was given up to one hundred seventy five years in jail last week on seven separate accounts of sexual assault well there are nine dates to go

until the winter olympics begin in pyongyang an event that will see north and south korean athletes walk together at the opening ceremony as a further sign of unity on wednesday a group of a south korean skiers who didn't make the cut for p.r. china departed for a ski resort in the north that they were holding a joint training session between the two countries. the houston rockets james harden has become the first ever player in the n.b.a. history to post as a sixty point triple double that means sixty points ten rebounds and eleven assists this achievement while taking on the orlando magic eclipsed calvin murphy's fifty seven on the front tries all time list a record murphy posted back in one thousand nine hundred seventy eight and harden did this with a three pointer in the final minute of the game houston went on to beat orlando one fourteen to one hundred seven. for now more light of five thanks very much touch

the other. and of course i'll be back with more news on the other side of the break do stay with us from tatiana being on the news out same thanks for your time at your company. i am doing this for the benefit of saddam people. so bad they see me important there are guys. who witnessed documentaries that open your eyes. at this time on al-jazeera. more than seven decades ago a country was split into really big break with dick cheney and now the time bending

show to being myopic all it took was a pan a map and a collapsing empire when the british had to draw a line they pulled his servant who had never been to india before al-jazeera examines the violent birth of india and pakistan and asks what the future holds for these nuclear neighbors partition borders of blood at this time the extremely remote location of this rainforest used to offer its protection but recently that's changed. the forests around palmy zero are disappearing fast as they have been right around papua new guinea we have lost everything we fool we have been here two years ago we would just a new year and a new government a big tree or maybe looking at the birds flown at all the troops papua new guinea as more of asia pacific remaining rainforest than any other country but special agricultural business leases threaten them they were supposed to be issued to

agricultural companies to clear land they intended to follow. he's supposed to avoid emotion and reports like this but this scene is just profoundly depressing. took my breath away i mean just look at it this is a landscape. the european union commits fifty three million dollars in additional aid to to palestine following the u.s. decision to withhold funds.