on al-jazeera. in the past seven years over three million homes destroyed. and eleven million people displaced. syrians made homeless by war share their stories. in the ruins of a dream at this time on al-jazeera. lol this is al jazeera. hello again i'm peter w. watching the news our live from our headquarters here in doha coming up in the next sixty minutes a mass exodus more than twelve thousand residents flee

a town in eastern pewter as the syrian army advances we'll have a live update. russia's foreign ministry describes as insane the british government's accusations that moscow organized a nerve agent attack on a former spy and his daughter in england. no longer in play the leading u.s. toys retailer toys r us is filing for bankruptcy losing the battle to online retailers. also this hour jussi on a country an increase in the number of women joining the afghan police force. more than twelve thousand people are leaving eastern ghouta in syria as government forces close in on the last major opposition stronghold near damascus they going to territory held by president bashar al assad's army and its allies it is the largest

number of people to leave since the assault on eastern cusa was launched last month and it's happening as a twenty five truck aid convoy enters the area the syrian red crescent says it's aiming for the town of duma and contains enough supplies for just over twenty six thousand people for a month used to be in the syrian opposition is biggest piece of territory close to the capital but it's been split into three encircled pockets by the syrian government offensive we. two correspondents covering the story joining us live here on the news island fish who is on the turkey syria border and zena holder is in the kazakh capital a stana which is hosting talks on the syrian conflict show jewels to kick off tomorrow let's start with alan alan eastern get us right up to speed difficult picture i know but what do we know. well in the southern part of eastern and the area that has been encircled as you see by syrian government forces aided by the russian military we saw what started out as

a trickle but suddenly became a flood over the last few hours a few hundred people beginning to leave the area that is no increase in the thousands and people are moving into government controlled areas we thought this me happen this has been something that the russians have done in previous occasions in other parts of syria when the been assisting the syrian government forces been circling the area essentially cut it off and then use their military power to get a political solution which includes moving people out of that area in the north another area that's been encircled this time we're seeing trucks go and a number of them it's the second time we've seen them go in in a week you remember the first time with forty six trucks go in but thirteen couldn't be unloaded no we're hearing they're still fighting going on on the ground in areas of eastern ghouta but these two areas seem to have different looks to be in one case the getting in and the other place the getting people out and stay

close because we're going to cover another aspect of what's going on there another battlefront in this conflict turkey says it may not hand back the city of affluent the syrian government once its military operation is over the turkish government says it expects to clear a stream of kurdish fighters very soon alan what sankyo trying to achieve here. well first of all it's going to achieve the taking of afrin city itself and we know that they've encircled the city they've cut off all the roads except one road south and their intention always was as they stated was to move the white p.g. the country's militia to east of the euphrates and the intention was that the operation through african region don't to afrin city itself was part of that code named operation all of brunch so what the turks are saying no goes against what they were saying just a month ago when they said they recognize that this was syrian sovereign territory the no saying we will hold this territory and we will not give it back to syria at

the end of this operation as we know and as we've discussed concerns elsewhere but they will be worried about this this is something that would go against international law something that would also upset the united nations now we've had the european parliament have told turkey that they've got to pull out of our friend just in the last though we've heard from the talkies president who said they'll continue to hold our friend as long as they warrant this could well just be a bargaining chip at the start of the process here they may want some security guarantees from syria but they'll want them from syria when they're in a position to be able to enforce them and as we've seen at the moment that's not the case thanks allan zana holder joins us live now from the council capital astonished which is hosting talks on the on going war in syria now officially into its eight year of the turks there and if they are how significant how important is that. well yes the turks are here the turkish foreign minister is

going to meet his russian and iranian counterparts tomorrow they are going to be of course discussing syria but preparing for an agenda for the summit of the three leaders later in april it will be held in istanbul now this is sometimes called a loose alliance because these three countries have come together they're all influential players in syria they all have you know sort of way to to say what the hell is what what is going on in syria but these groups turkey as well as the iranians as well as the russians they do not see eye to eye in a free and for example where there are differences disagreements have emerged for example russia gave turkey the green light for two reasons it wanted to damage the relationship with the united states between turkey and the united states and its wanted to force the kurds to surrender the territory and give it to the russian government and of course you have the iranians who are not very happy with turkey's role in africa and they're not very happy that turkey is increasing its influence

in northern syria so these three countries not seeing eye to eye but holding on to this alliance even the russian president vladimir putin himself has said that you know we have agreements and those agreements are working but we have differences and we each have our different interests but we have to respect each other interest so they're going to come together here and ask them out tomorrow and of course there's such differences are going to be discussed will check in with you a little later i'm sure in the meantime thanks very much well today thursday marks seven years since the uprising that sparked the syrian civil war priyanka gupta traces the timeline of this conflict. the syrian civil war began with peaceful antigovernment protests against president bashar al assad whose family ruled the country for more than forty years in march twenty levon it was the torture of fifteen schoolchildren in the southern province of there are for writing anti government graffiti that led to the first series of mass demonstrations four months

later in july defectors from syria's military amounts a formation of the free syrian army with the aim of overthrowing the assad regime the country was heading towards a civil war in june twenty fourth seen. the announced the creation of a so-called eisel caliphate consisting of parts of syria and iraq as attacks in syria iraq and overseas prompted the formation of a u.s. led military coalition next year in september russia and to the conflict directly say it's targeting iso and troops it calls terrorists but what it really did is dramatically alter the battle lines in favor of its ally bashar al assad q robert has areas like if to the lead there are homes came under government control twenty seventeen saw the final push against isis by the u.s. led coalition forces which forced to to retreat from what strongholds of rock and a resort into small pockets inside syria which brings us to now by the syrian

government is trying to push opposition forces from key rebel enclave near the capital damascus over twelve hundred people have been killed in eastern go-to since february well as priyanka mentioned there the start of the uprising began when a group of children screen and sacrificed sea on a wall in the southern city of daraa some of us yes name was one of the boys involved this is his story. my name is. and i'm twenty one years old i was fourteen when the revolutions in the arab world started we used to follow the news on t.v. one day some friends and i wrote on a wall it's your turn doctor us security agencies threaten my father with the arrest of all members of our family if i wasn't handed over to the police within twenty four hours they also told him if he did hand me in nothing would happen

except to sign a pledge not to write words like that again instead myself and twenty of my friends spent three months in prison and we suffered all forms of torture and had nightmares our families did everything for us to be released when we were eventually returned to our families other people welcomed the release near the alimony mosque by protesting and chanting against the regime after that i joined the free syrian army i fourteen battles and i've been injured i got married and have two daughters i live a normal life but this will always be my way either to be a martyr or to achieve victory but we will never retreat ok on the significance of us talk now to simon maven simon is a lecturer in international relations at the university of lancaster in the u.k. he joins us from there now let's just talk for a second simon about specifics the peace talks so-called in a stana kicking off tomorrow are those talks about peace talks are the talks about talks or are they talks about reducing the levels of violence i think that talks

about all kinds of things to be honest i think obviously the ultimate goal is is to talk have conversations about bringing peace but before we can even get to that we need to to have. syria generally and you have to have talks to try and increase levels of trust and i think there is this lack of trust that is fundamentally missing within the context of the syrian conflict ok without any form of trust then it's impossible to have dialogue ok we have the iranians and the turks in a stand as of now they are exactly precisely not see eye to eye over the issue see of freen and does that speak to a wider agenda where you have external actors who will not to get to the stage of having talks about peace talks even though they turn up at the discussions about the peace talks exactly i think is the presence of external actors that

are to make sure that things don't get talked about when they when they perhaps should be talked about obviously the conflict has escalated and join in all of these regional agendas and these regional actors and they are incredibly reticent to give up on their goals which obviously makes it incredibly difficult for the people of syria to move anywhere given that the issues have become securitized by people outside the state so clearly the key thing here the pinch point assume would be pressure pressure on those external actors but equal pressure sure being applied like that leadership in damascus if that pressure is to come where will it come from now because the europeans are kind of thinking about brics it the americans are thinking about make america great again donald trump kind of you know always second guessing where he should go in a week or a month or so so where's that pressure going to build from shore. i think it has to be a cumulative type of pressure pressure coming from a number of different sources on

a number of different actors we can't just see that the u.s. can apply pressure as you've just rightly rightly suggest that the u.s. has its own agendas europe has its own agendas and russia will certainly not put pressure on its ally bashar al assad so that suggests to me that we have to find every inch of different actors who can exert pressure on their own groups on their own allies on their own networks and hope that all of these different types and sources of pressure can coalesce together with the aim of bringing peace unfortunately they are all underpinned by competing agendas competing regional or geo political aspirations and that is seemingly sacrifice in the lives of syrians and the very future of syria it has done for the past seven years to the tune of over five hundred thousand deaths and eleven million people displaced from their homes and fundamentally a generation of syrians of our lives destroyed so many people killed so many people displaced so many people now in effect permanent refugees we're now officially into

year eight yes twelve months from now do you think we'll be having this same conversation. unfortunately a person mr me says that yes we will because at present i can't see a way out of this i can't see a way through which all of these different actors and their agendas can be met in a way that is palatable for all of the different actors that have a stake in this conflict and that suggests that we have to find some kind of creative response there has to be a creative mechanism through which pressure can be can be applied either through carrots or sticks to these read these regional and global actors because we cannot let this continue any further there is a saying after wonder that that the international community said never again while now in syria it's a case of never mind people have forgotten and are ignoring events in syria which

is leading to more deaths more this placements and more casualties it's a devastating tragedy simon made on the at lancaster university thank you very much . also ground still to cover for you here on the news hour including these stories we'll look at why unilever has chosen the netherlands over the u.k. for its new headquarters. plus researchers find bottled water may not be as pure as the marketing suggests. in sport roger federer's perfect start to the tennis season he's here with that story. russia's foreign minister says it's only a matter of time before moscow orders the expulsion of british diplomats that's in retaliation to the news yesterday twenty three russian embassy staff being expelled by the u.k. government which holds moscow responsible for last week's nerve agent attack on a former russian spy and his daughter in england lavrov says the british

accusations are intended to distract the public's attention from the problems with leaving the european union his spokeswoman earlier called them completely insane and accused the u.k. of drumming up anti russian hysteria or is it me can use my site we see an attempt to use the mechanisms of the security council to once again feel the anti russia hysteria we call once again on the u.k. to provide all materials at their disposal regarding this incident as they call it let's get more on the russian response now john a hole has this update from moscow. well we are getting bits and pieces of additional information from the russian government albeit as yet no concrete response spelled out the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov addressing an unrelated forum in moscow a short while ago i was asked by a member of the media whether he was willing and ready to start expelling british diplomats in response to the british moves in london he said absolutely and soon i

promise you that he called the allegations against russia absolutely boorish and an example of russophobia in the meantime dmitri peskov the russian president's spokesman has said that you can and you can expect an answer from us any time you won't have to wait long but he pointed out that russia considers britain's position absolutely irresponsible and simply doesn't understand british britain's position and what seems to be happening here is that russia is increasingly falling back settling on a position to do with correct procedure correct obligate obligations being fulfilled in terms of the chemical weapons convention membership of the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons in terms of which russia believes a sample of this nerve agent must be submitted to the o.p.c. w. all members to the convention must have time to consider it and russia must have ten days worth of time to give its considered response britain essentially has

jumped the gun as far as moscow is concerned it stands ready to cooperate with any investigation but it won't be dictated to that is russia's position currently as we await further details on what its concrete response may be. well from moscow to salzburg the british prime minister to resign may has been to souls with the sites of the attack last week she thanked the rescue teams there who attended the scene in that city in the west of england circus cripple and his daughter yulia with found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping center after being exposed to a soviet era nerve agent they remain in a critical condition barnaby phillips joins us live here on the news hour i guess it's a measure of how significant the magnitude of what happened barnaby that the british prime minister went to souls for a today. well certainly the intended imagery from the british is to spread the message across the world yes that this is something of the british government is extremely concerned about they're also as you would expect very

keen to play up support from western allies and in the last few minutes there's been a joint statement i'll read a couple of lines to you peter we the leaders of france germany the united states and the united kingdom abhor the attack that took place on the fourth of march the use of a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by russia constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in europe since the second world war it's not assault on u.k. sovereignty a clear violation of the chemical weapons convention a breach of international law it threatens the security of us all this is the message that britain hopes is getting home to moscow that yes we are in the era of breck's it and yes donald trump is perhaps sometimes an unreliable partner to other countries in the west but at the moment britain does not stand alone and that is the intended message on that idea of britain not

standing alone i noticed just now as we're having our conversation barnaby the u.s. the u.k. france and germany all demanding complete disclosure from russia over the so-called spy attacks it's a reason may may be one step closer to getting that multilateral support but she wants we've had twenty four hours to digest what mrs may was saying this time yesterday inside the house of commons looking at the broader issues here in london in the u.k. is this beginning to feel like the beginnings the start of a new cold war. well. in some ways peter yes i mean the relations between britain and russia are very very bad and by far the worse they have been since the dissolution of the soviet union but of course relations to in britain and russia have been in the deep freezer for the last decade as well so we're starting from

a pretty low basis before march the fourth you know we had the murder of alexander litvinenko we've had all sorts of bilateral raul's and all sorts of disagreements between britain and russia over over the past few years so i wouldn't want to say it's it's new i think of course there are distinctions with the cold war as well. russia is not the soviet union from britain's point of view it doesn't territory dominate all of eastern europe it doesn't at least from the british point of view i have a coherent ideology with which it is challenging the west it is not seen as as the carrier of an alternative political philosophy but rather something of a gangster state of you see what i mean so there are those distinctions i think a lot of british commentators believe that economically russia is weak the sorts of debates that are going on in britain are on the lines of are we playing into the russian's hands by retaliating and playing up this rao days before an election is

this exactly what vladimir putin intended so we're hearing those sorts of debates at the same time and we've been saying this a lot in recent days but it does bear repeating even now you know britain yes they expelled forty percent of the russian diplomatic corps but they do not want to break off relations entirely the fact of the matter is that russia no it's not the soviet union but it remains a considerable international players our viewers know its influence from syria to a. on to north korea simply cannot be ignored it holds a veto on the security council and britain needs a bilateral relation with the russian state even as it distrust and dislikes the current leaders of russia intensely burnaby thanks very much one of the largest companies in the u.k. is closing down its office in london and moving its corporate h.q.

entirely to the netherlands unilever says the decision is not because of brics it but it is expected to be a blow to british business sentiment as the government there as we've just been hearing negotiates breaks it i.e. leaving the e.u. the anglo dutch company already has headquarters in rotterdam the firm makes a huge range of popular supermarket items soap shampoo soup ice cream and mayonnaise so a nigga has more now. after a year long review the decision now has been made to take the company back to the house the corporate headquarters of a company that is back to the netherlands it has previously been headed here in london as well as right to die. in the review questions have arisen that some make it more streamlined how to make the company more focus the c.e.o. of the company who coleman has insisted that it has to do with that and that relatively few of the jobs of seven thousand three hundred jobs at a base to are going to relocate back to the netherlands also what is another factor in this to be considered here is the fact that there was

a hostile takeover bid by the u.s. food giant cross tie ins last year and if it continues to be remain if it continues to remain in london london's. laws surrounding hostile takeover bids are loose so where as they are much tougher in the netherlands therefore the risk of that is less but also what can't be ignored as well is this juggernaut of bricks and that continues with all the uncertainty that's surrounding it it doesn't really look good for two reason man the optics certainly are very good for that to try and get companies to stay here certainly big companies like this it is an enormous company it is listed on on the london stock exchange and to have that is considered a something of a bit of an embarrassment for the u.k. in this context however the c.e.o. maintains that it has nothing to do with brics it but certainly to go from britain and to be seen to go right back on to the heartland of the e.u. is not going to be considered necessarily as a very good thing for the u.k.

economy. toys r us will sell or close all of its u.s. stores putting thirty thousand jobs at risk it's also shutting down its remaining seventy five outlets in the u.k. the company filed for bankruptcy last year after racking up five billion dollars in debt it dominated the toy business in the eighty's in the ninety's but it's been struggling to compete with online retailers such as amazon. as a retail supply chain specialist and professor kast business school in london he says this was expected it's been obvious for a while the business model hasn't changed whereas and it's on has really taken over and in countries like the u.k. the tax system is definitely very much in favor of companies like amazon so. toys r us had to fight battles both on the supply chain and on the business model and again on taxes so could not possibly survive consumers will buy wherever they can

buy so conveniently so consumers in a way haven't changed kids out still kids and they will buy toys and people will buy clothes or jewelry or whatever and they will buy at a good price and good service and if you can do that better then then the store chains that the store chains cannot survive. ok time for you weather here's richard we'll talk about more snow in the states that's right a week away from spring but at least another two major storms could develop across the united states peter so there's the current software imagery that of course is the low pressure center which is binns was spiraling around for quite some time bringing severe weather conditions with it but towards the west and it's first of all this one had across west that moment and the next one approaching the coast which is going to result in further falls of snow across many areas let's concentrate on the northeast for the moment we did see anything up to seventy five centimeters of snow in places as

a result this low but you can see have left the winds on there and it you've got to get right up into labrador before you really start to pick up anything strong in the way of winds further towards the winds are all from the west and things are quiet down but it has been pretty fraught these shots are from vermont where even the u.s. military is getting caught in avalanches no serious injuries to report but nevertheless quite a nasty situation but as a run this sequence you see now we've got milder weather coming subsea cold specially a fairly brisk winds but as to say you got to get right up in the far north before you see any snow that but you can see the snow developing behind me across parts of the west extending into wards the midwest sort of put towards the bigger picture is here that we're going to see heavy falls a snow developing over the coming days richard many thanks still to come here on the news hour we will not allow land grabs we will not allow a land invasion is. from south africa's president as australia offers to help the

republic's white farmers. a major port deal with to buy leads to a heated debate in the somali parliament. and spoke of the elements he takes center stage again as possible stay on target for a six champions league title. in bolivia like everywhere connectivity as paramount for infrastructure in the pan and some foreign corporation is too many remain offline now a politician and tech activists are building a homegrown solution connect one of you and secure the nation's technological sovereignty. geeks the citizens network at this time does heal. your perceptions. documentaries from around the globe or the league sounds like that plane coming down. felix

journalism. debates and discussions there's a lot of misunderstanding and distortion even the only argument i find against that is all. history. see the world from a different perspective on al-jazeera. blog and let's just recap our top stories for you so far today more than twelve thousand people are leaving eastern ghouta in syria as government forces close in on the last major opposition. stronghold near damascus crossing on foot to government held territory nearby it comes the twenty five aid convoy entered the

area on the day the conflict went into its eighth year. turkish government says it expects to clear out free in of kurdish fighters very soon and may not have the city back to the syrian government office military operation ends there thousands of civilians are leaving off being surrounded by turkish forces and free syrian army fighters. prime ministers a reason may has been to the site of last week's nerve agent attack on a former spy and his daughter in the city of seoul spring a short time ago the u.k. france germany and the u.s. issued a joint statement holding moscow responsible for the attack south africa's criticize an australian government minister for saying white south african farmers should get special visas because of what he called horrific circumstances at home president. has vowed to speed up redistributing land from wealthy whites to poor blacks but he says this will be done legally on the seventy five percent of farm land is still

owned by whites more than twenty four years after the end of apartheid i can say now that we will not allow land grabs we were not allowed land invasions and those who are tempted to resort to such activities must be warned in advance that we will not allow it because it is illegal but apart from being illegal it begins to violate the rise of other south african citizens in rental is the spokesman for the refugee action coalition in brisbane and he says the offer of the home affairs minister peter dutton highlights the australian government's racist attitude towards refugees. i think i think the racism of the coalition government a strike there is very very clearly on the sly that's exactly what it is it's astounding ypocras say and and it is clearly you know races that we've often joke that if they're well you know white zimbabwean has a white south african farmers arriving in but it's

a mistrial there would not be mandatory detention. ethiopians going to sudanese when they're somalis when they're from iraq or afghanistan the attitude is very very different that bites are turned around they're expelled to euro and and medicine it is astounding that the saudi government rices them i think has been recognised internationally and how it's treated refugees and nap heated up was taken up another step to get this by the prices money internationals this is a this is a government that is in very difficult electoral circumstances in astrology and i would lose an election and there will be an election in the next next few months i will lose it dramatically and opted out and comments are buried under zinedine for domestic political the domestic political audience he died i have been pitching to a rice's fight in australia will some time now that i've been you know criminalizing you know sort of sudanese refugees or being now references about you

know african gangs allow there's been you know no substance so that in terms of the experience in the striving community about it it's a think a very very deliberate ploy to appeal to or isis but in the context of a government which is declining in the polls and a desperate late feeling that rice is not to try and maintain some popularity. now it is far from plain sailing for a major shipping company in dubai to develop a container port in the horn of africa region d.p. world had its long term contract in djibouti council last month now employees in somalia have voted to ban the immoralities from a major investment in the breakaway state of somaliland mohammed though has that story from a goodish. heated debate in somalia's upper house of parliament senators debate a motion on the recent signing of a deal between the united arab emirates if you appear on the bric enclave of somaliland to operate the portal. where the buildout aims to ban the dubai ports

world from somalia quickly sailed through the law house it's proving to be contentious in the senate whose fifty four members represent the interests of somalia six federal states which include somalia. government fair ethiopia why are we not talking about ethiopian interference in our affairs while we are talking about the u.a.e. and dubai ports world when ethiopia took a nineteen percent stake in berbera port in the deal signed in dubai recently the port operator took a fifty one percent stake in the port of but better so money land retained thirty percent while the remaining nineteen percent goes to thier peer. somalia and the u.a.e. has frosty relations even before the ports deal was signed somali government leaders say it's because of somalia's refusal to side with countries including the u.a.e. which are blockading qatar saudi arabia the united arab emirates and other countries cut the ties with qatar last year they insist that others in the horn of

africa follow their. feet to the somali federal government which offered him a new trial in the crisis against most of its one of. the somali government blames the u.a.e. for halting the leaders of the six federal states and encouraging them to side with the blockade in countries. causing a serious challenge to somalia's already struggling state building process right now you know. it's true we are passing through tough times but it is true our economy is not doing well but we shall never allow foreigners to take advantage of our weaknesses and interfere with ourselves rainer. barely two months something he was appointed somalia's foreign minister has been given the responsibility of dealing with the fallout from the port deal we have no problem with investment in sunlight and importance on some outlet however we would not. negotiate a compromise on the seventeen that in an interview with somebody so milans

a relatively small portal but it but i exported livestock to the middle east and imports food and other items including from landlocked ethiopia or bought said to change as d.p. world says it's prepared to invest up to four hundred forty three million dollars to develop the port for somaliland the dubai ports deal is not only our financial windfall but also a vote of confidence and that is a major problem for somalia which view somaliland as its sovereign territory mohamed atta while just publishes somali. now the crown prince of saudi arabia will be in washington next week to discuss defense cooperation the kingdom is the biggest importer of u.s. arms in the world and is expanding its military procurement the saudi led air campaign in yemen is now entering its third year of creating what the u.n. calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis and a hot stuff of course now on the battleground on the saudi yemeni border. the

latest battle damage the saudi army in the most volatile area at the three year war against who thiis in yemen both forces have suffered heavy losses but the terrain suits hoofy fighters this rugged region of hundreds of kilometers of mountains and valleys has turned into an open battleground funeral says saudi soldiers have. become common since the conflict began saudi media says the army has lost seven hundred men here a puff military losses saudi's defense ministry is paying condolence fees to the families of the dead soldiers this graph shows how the so-called martyrs fund is swelling. we don't have accurate statistics but the sniper kills between six to eight saudi soldiers and mercenary as we destroy from three to five military vehicles every day who see losses have also been significant with saudi warplanes helping the kingdoms cause the air force controls the skies above nearly all areas of military operations in yemen you had to produce in the following video you'll

see your coalition aircraft targeting yemeni homemade missile platform near the yemeni saudi border the yemeni rockets were aimed at saudi cities and villages warplanes from a coalition of countries led by the saudis a target whose the attempts to breach the kingdom's border whose the leaders haven't released the precise take all but the number of dead is in the thousands in the town of side their main stronghold despite their losses the who things have managed to obtain more sophisticated weapons including ballistic missiles capable of reaching riyadh was a launch like this towards the saudi capital the lead to blockade on yemeni ports and airports stopping vital humanitarian aid agencies described yemen as the world's largest humanitarian crisis united nations says a record twenty two million yemenis are in need of food aid more than eight million threatened by severe hunger and disease to cholera has infected more than a million yemenis and syria is another threat facts the saudi crown prince will

want to avoid when he visits washington next week. people smuggling suspects have been arrested in libya the police have issued two hundred five warrants for trafficking torture and murder suspects including members of libya's security services and staff at african embassies video emerged last year of african migrants and refugees being sold at slave markets in libya foreign ministers from three countries are meeting in the italian capital rome to discuss a funding crisis at the u.n. agency for palestinian refugees representatives from jordan sweden and egypt are in room for talks with the un secretary general and the chief of the agency that helps more than five million palestinian refugees is experiencing one of his worst financial crises ever the us the biggest donor decided in january to cut millions in funding slovakia's president is asking the deputy prime minister to form a government after the prime minister resigned robert fico was under pressure to

step down and protests over the murder of a journalist yan quote she ask have been investigating alleged links between government figures and the italian mafia that led to widespread anti-government rallies the interior minister stepped earlier this week thousands of hunger ariens are rallying in support of the prime minister viktor orban out of next month's parliamentary elections or ban is set to give a speech as the country celebrates the anniversary of the eighteen forty eight revolution against the austrian empire the prime minister's party is at odds with the e.u. on his use such as refugees and migration but opinion polls show it's well ahead of its rivals supporters of the main opposition party are also staging a rally. tiny bits of plastic have been found in some of the best selling brands of bottled water researches in new york tested two hundred fifty bottles imported from nine countries and found an average of ten plastic particles per liter each particle is about the width of a human hair they tested samples including every on nestle and aquafina earlier i

spoke to molly bingham she's the chief executive of orbit media a u.s. based nonprofit media collective that published the research. basically the science on how consuming micro plastics impacts our bodies is really nascent and the answer to that is still very unclear however i think what is clear is that we as people around the world are consuming plastics and micro plastics in the water and probably in the food that we eat and that it's important given the ubiquity of micro plastics in the environment and in our consumption that large institutions that research human health step up and start to figure out what that means and i'm happy to see this morning that the w.h.o. is done exactly that and announced that they will be doing a full review of the impact of human health on micro plastics in water so this study was specifically designed to answer one question which is that in the bottled

water that you consume that the consumer purchases i think exactly that question is where is it entering the product is it in the water table from all of these sources is it in the production process is it in the opening in the bottle that is something that i think it would be wonderful to do further research on it would be great for the brands themselves to release their research and numbers on this is well we'd love to see that if you had a bottle of mineral water in front of you right now or a bottle or a bottle of you know where i'm going with this and a bottle of filter the idea of. which would you drink the bottled water that comes out of the ground or do selectively pool all the filtered water that's been through a mechanical process everyone in the world relies on water to survive and some of us in cities or locations where the tap water is potable drink bottled water as a luxury i think presuming that it is better for us or it is cleaner than the tap

water however two point one billion people don't have access to potable water and they rely on bottled water for their consumption and obviously there are other contaminants in the water with. the tap water or other water that people drink that might be more problematic for our health or more immediately problematic for health personally you asked me a question i'm sitting in london i would take a glass of tap water we all have to eat and drink to survive of course but it does feel doesn't it as if we getting to the stage where one wants to see what can i drink what can i eat we're told not to not to consume salmon from certain locations in the world because of mercury in the water now we're being warned about plastic in our drinking water wherever the drinking water comes from it's all rather depressing yes well i think what this points to is the profound interdependence of our commons the air the soil and the water and when we are contaminating the air or the soil or the water in one place it tends to impact our impact entire human

societies so i think we as a as a human. community need to really think about how we treat our environment and recognize that it impacts us. this is the first. direct. significance. about. you know. known as the japanese. in the united states.

now in afghanistan more crimes of violence against women were reported last year than ever before however noodles often fail to punish the guilty critics blame the difficulty in changing conservative attitudes but a record number of young women are defying convention and death threats and they're joining the police force tony burke he has that story from kabul this the latest batch of young hopefuls sitting the afghan police entrance exam seventy young women were included in the four thousand applicants the highest number to date it's a korea about honor and survival and. i want to join the place to help defend my country and fight for the rights of my people and the rights of women the war in afghanistan has touched many but few as hard as samir and her family her two sisters nor all hire

a menorah were police officers in fiza bad in badakhshan province as they drove to work with their mother the taliban stop their car drag the young women out and strangled them their bodies were dumped in the river they were targeted because they were police. i couldn't do anything my daughters were screaming help me mother help me it was terrible the family had to flee the province after receiving death threats samir a still clutches the cord used to kill her sisters despite what happened she's determined to join up. i am scared of the taliban and we even they say yes they will kill us perhaps they might riddle me with bullets or strangle me i can't go home anymore so i am determined to join the police for the memory of my sisters and to serve my country. females in the security services are often treated more harshly by the taliban which has consistently opposed women's rights those rights of steadily improve for some women in afghanistan mainly in the cities

but not as fast as many would have liked the drawing up of the new penal code left out a section about penalising violence against women and a draft law aimed at making the houseman to women an offense has been left untouched for a year younger than i am they deliver speeches and play politics with their words and the women of afghanistan are tired of the empty promises and lies changing lives is one thing but changing we could serve their mindsets in much of the country is quite another was there for the murder freedom and support for some women in the country today but even so the number of cases of physical and sexual abuse the great swimming is not fairly there raising. last year saw an increase of eleven percent in those cases and two thousand three hundred women and girls committed suicide because of abuse but in reality those figures are said to be much higher because many women are too scared to report violence to a male dominated police force samir a sisters were victims not only of war but also

of deep rooted discrimination it seems clear that long after the last bullet has been fired the women of afghanistan will still be fighting a battle tony berkeley al-jazeera kabul time for sports news with andy thank you so much pizza will leno messy was center stage once again as possible and moved into the quarter finals of the european champions league he scored twice in a three no one of a chelsea the last sixteen tie was poised at one one after the first leg in london but messi pretty same ahead within three minutes in spain and that has set up madame ballet for number two the argentinian completed a four one aggregate win in the second half his two strikes making him the fastest player to score one hundred champions league goals. but. he played like his personality responsibility to the team he knows he must step up during key moments and that is his responsibility we know he brings something extra to the team and we enjoyed watching him play like everybody does you're fortunate

to be seeing one of the all time greats. now when you have a deal. to make a great compliment. to me see i think that it's right it's right to do. a super super super dog lawyers because we're talking about a player that in every season is able to score sixty goals a three one victory any stumble gave barn eunuch an eight one aggregate win over bush by last winning this title in twenty thirty quarter followed your coming up on friday eight games in the europa league later on us let's go to the favorites to win this competition they take a three lead into the second leg of their last sixteen tired lokomotiv moscow english side are still there hoping to salvage something from their season that so up after the first leg against ac milan the winners of this trophy will qualify for

the next season's champions league. you pay me. to have a chance to qualify for the court to finally know me learned as well. and the mundane. your vast and your many view of all the french teams some good french team should have many good teams in the competition maybe vision a door for higher level were never there when at the brawn this is well we are ready we were born radio then we have to play against another team we know it's going to be difficult but in football and in the sport in general there's nothing better than giving all of yourself and changing the course of history we came here but i already started a week ago saying we're not coming here just for fun or for a little journey and we know it's going to be difficult now if you believe the stats roger federer is playing his best tennis in more than a decade the world number one moving into the last eight indian wells with his fifteenth straight win of the year his best starts were season since two thousand

and six this straight sets victory one of the biggest sort of the south side of the four majors came against france's german shaadi the city secure all to equal his best ever starts with the win in the courses that are also in for a record six indian wells title next up to hit south korea's chunkier i and argentinian succeed juan martin del potro but his compatriot leonardo mayor in three sets del potro the highest seed left in his half of the draw next up to him is germany's philipp kohlschreiber. a twenty year old japanese player and i am me i was soccer continued her impressive run in the women's draw i saw competing czech number five seed carolina press given in straight sets to move into the semi and the world number forty four has already been some very sharp over and i've lost a lot of danske at this point. i feel worthless or was a little bit easier than the actual marriage. saw. the

score is a little bit surprising. but also i feel like i was really focus. it was also not surprising. i saw a couple face world number one simona halep in the last fall the pair of met three times before its heart winning on each occasion how it was taken to three sets by croatia's petra martic a became three six three in the decide. the funding formula one world champion lewis hamilton says he's super relaxed about his future in the sports the thirty three year old is answering the final year of his contract with miss eighty's but has yet to agree a new deal a full time title went along with teammate valtteri bottas getting ready for the new season which starts in melbourne next week. i don't stop early i don't stop premature that's for sure and so i really don't know what my time is i could probably states i'm forty if i wanted to but i don't think i'm going to do that i could stay i want to two more years but into your two more years time will i still

have the excitement that i have now going into another season i really can't tell you. now what exists just be much more time for me to really focus on the things that matter because you know what we're going to start with a new team you have all the new people to get to know how the team works how the new car works you know there's so months things around and now it's being more straightforward and feel very confident or very healthy and good to go. and the baseball player known as the japanese babe ruth is not having an easy time of it it's just a life as a major league star with the los angeles angels show hey i'm told he was signed by the angels in december he's highly prized because in japan he excelled as both a pitcher and hitter and here he is taking a page for blog. during his latest game for his new team and was hitless into bats so far tony has enjoyed seven strikeouts and three walks in nine days. ok

sport throughout the day but that is it for now that's going to hurt in the morning isn't it and he told you later thanks very much now one of australia's biggest shows is celebrating a milestone the first time it has an artistic director from japan curator a memory cutter oka says her choices reflect sydney the modern multicultural sydney and retirements went along to take a look. sidney's held a not be an alley almost every two years since one thousand nine hundred seventy three but some of our critics say this year is sydney's twenty first represents a coming of age old libyan ollie's previous artistic directors have been west and other australian european or american this be and ali is the first with someone from asia curating monica to ocala who normally runs a gallery in tokyo sees the significance and how it reflects a broader changes in australia since the b. and ali began so this is not a zero but this is not europe either it's interesting to see the demographics of this country and city and how you capture. this entire team through the lens of the

. one nine hundred seventy three view of the first b. and ali was also the year the queen both britain's and australia's open sydney's new opera house the crowd in this old footage is exclusively white until nine hundred seventy three white australia was official policy that changed soon after and australia sent to become far more multicultural today more immigrants arrive from china and india than from any european country the art scene reflects that so that doesn't seem to rattle this be an erroneous in calculating something that is being percolating. and sort of that being away since. since the late seventy's maybe eighty eight b.n. ali is showing out in six ten years across sydney chinese artist ai weiwei ways work in response to the global refugee crisis is the standout piece on cockatoo

island a film a shipyard and one time prison in the middle of sydney harbor. unlike some permanent galleries like london's tate modern which have been built within the shelves of former industrial buildings this has been a space is still very much roll the floors around even there a cracks in the windows and this machinery it's still covered in dust tie artist in his one canvases from the ceiling of a former workshop where ships were once made and repaired first he talked with the q i really live and good luck. to keep me disappear even critics who don't like most of the b.n. ollie's ott say the setting is dramatic even sometimes the most but now or or you know sort of gutless piece can look quite interesting in one of these places in boris from the interest of the buildings alan thinks the ben ali's ought suffers from being too commercial it's not as political as it once was but arts can reflect

rather than campaign and this year's been ali reflects the changing face of australia under thomas al jazeera sydney when we come back in a couple of minutes we'll get the very latest from our correspondents covering what's going on in syria and also the so-called peace talks in the capital astonished as he said. eight candidates but only one likely winner but he may putin's tight grip on the kremlin as under eighteen years now and when the russian people votes on march the eighth there is every indication that they will return him to is for presidential to. follow the russian elections here on al-jazeera. what makes this moment this era we're living through so unique this is really an attack on truth itself is a lot of misunderstanding

a distortion even of what free speech is supposed to be about the context it's hugely important level right to publish if you have a duty to be offensive or provoke it's all about what is' people do setting the stage for a serious debate. up front at this time on al-jazeera. we're here to jerusalem bureau coverage israeli palestinian affairs we cover this story with a lot of intimate knowledge we covered it with that we don't dip in and out of this story we have a presence here all the time apart from being a cameraman it's also very important to be a journalist to know the story very well before going into the fields covering the united nations and global diplomacy for al-jazeera english is pretty incredible this is where talks happen and what happens there matters. what went wrong in society that opened up the space for the image get out but it is the european parliament that's not accountable and it's impossible for the people to bear the

school end up our people don't want to take one of the lead i defo find a stronger man our song woman who was getting the growth of rejectionism of this world because the model doesn't work europe's forbidden colony episode two at this time on al-jazeera. a mass exodus more than twelve thousand residents flee a town in eastern guta as the syrian army advances we'll have a live update.