al jazeera. every year. the turkish tanks free syrian army has moved into a freeness it fights kurdish forces. the whole robin this is al jazeera live more headquarters here in doha also coming

up in the next thirty minutes a state of emergency is lifted but the tension between sri lanka's sinhalese and muslim communities is far from over. also the polls are open in russia in an election considered a foregone conclusion for president but it could help decide the country's leader after a lot of. and four years after one of the worst ever breaks in sierra leone the disease still lingers in the west african country. welcome to the program there are reports of gun battles in the center of syria's northern town of. kurdish y p g fighters attempt to repel advancing turkish backed forces. free syrian army fighters entered the town earlier supported by turkish army airstrikes and artillery shelling now it comes almost three months after

turkey launched its cross border operation to push back kurdish forces from its border let's join andrew symonds our correspondent in the turkey syria border we spoke to us earlier and drew and there seems to be movement on the military front it's a very fluid situation what more can you tell us. it's a very fluid situation it's also a very violent situation in terms of the free syrian army pushing overnight into saturday morning it started around one thirty perhaps a little earlier according to some reports we're hearing and the free syrian army with told initially it's unclear exactly where there were about before they pushed forward from the southeast they came in large numbers with turkish military backing them up all the way in the sky and also on the ground a lot of turkish warplanes involved in this

a lot of surveillance now head of this operation taking place the free syrian army many years ago in this seven year old conflict didn't have the resources they have in this situation they had a nato army giving them all the backup they needed and they went through they took the center of the city from all the reports we're hearing and local media turkish media reporting now that the y.p. g. have withdrawn in ma any parts of the city although we're still hearing about clashes so whether or not they've withdrawn in large numbers small numbers unclear there is something of a fog over this whole operation and that's because both sides want the media's know what they want them to know the truth is somewhere in the middle indeed enough you talk about also consumes the civilian population andrew because nobody can pabst tell us what is happening to them or what has happened to them.

we'd like to hear more details and analysis of what's happened with the civilian population we've seen pictures of large numbers evacuating the city we've heard varying numbers from several sources about the magnitude of this exodus is being described. by some but we've also heard the reports propaganda or otherwise that human shields have been used by the y.p. g kurdish fighters nothing to back that up it would seem in terms of evidence but the united nations is very concerned about the rows of those reports on the united nations is also extremely concerned about the number of civilian deaths because we have reports for example that this city hospital was hit on friday by turkish warplanes then the next day we see pictures from the turks showing pictures all of

the hospital intact with no damage then we see from the syrian observatory for human rights pictures of a damaged building which it says as the turkish hospital that is one will snapshot of how it's been hard to cover this conflict but right now we're seeing definitely the turks on the free syrian army inside that city the exact level of control is unclear but certainly this looks to be fast moving now as far as the civilians are concerned it would seem that the vast majority are out of the city but we can't prove that we're not sure of it and we're not sure where even where they are right now in terms of precise locations will be coming throughout the day andrew as we get more on the situation across the border from you in turkey thank you. we decide. because president has lifted a state of emergency

a nationwide curfew was imposed twelve days ago following unrest between sinhalese and muslim communities muslim owned businesses and a mall squirt set on fire joining those riots the violence began when a group of muslim men were accused of killing a man belonging to the majority similar buddhist community orbited smith is live for us in the northern city of jaffna on the island of sri lanka i mean why has the state of emergency stayed on for longer than initially planned it was supposed to just seven days well so when the violence first broke out now two weeks ago the government the police particularly were criticize initially for being slow to slow to stop the violence spreading to slow to stop the attacks on mainly muslim own shops and businesses so in response to that initial criticism impose this nationwide state of emergency right from the capital colombo all the way up here in jaffna and they also as part of the state of

emergency blocked or shut down access to. facebook and other social media platforms because the government says it was messages of incitement to violence towards a muslim minority being spread on social media the spread so quickly in social media that was behind this violence but it was the case that when the state of emergency imposed those blocks from social media put in the violence reasonably quickly subsided but what's happened is that the security forces have asked the government to keep the state of emergency in place because it's giving them greater powers bru arrest and detention for questioning suspects they wanted to keep those powers to do that they now say they pretty much can finish their investigations ten suspects are in custody so now they're happy for the state of emergency to be lifted so of course but it will be a concern for the government about what to do next when such incidents potentially could arise in the future do they have a plan. well one of the things the government says it's

learned is it is an issue that has troubled governments all over the world governments who try to balance the need the desire to keep freedom of speech to respect freedom of speech and expression and the desire to stop inflammatory material incitement to racial hatred incitement to violence being spread over social media the government says social media was largely responsible for this rapid outbreak of violence in the future it's going to keep a much closer eye on what is being distributed on what's on facebook on viber these sorts of methods of communication indeed facebook has been called in to meet with the sri lankan government last week it said it will work with the sri lankan government to make sure that messages inciting racial violence are not allowed to be spread on its platforms so. leave it there bernard thank you. they said to russia now where the polls have opened for the presidential election

which is widely expected to hand landed near putin a fourth term in power meaning that he could leave the country until twenty twenty four according to russia's calls to choose a new president can run beyond two consecutive terms but it's unclear who will emerge to replace putin's lawrence lee has more from. whatever you think of him there's no denying that a lot of mir putin has made russia important again here he was in two thousand and four winning a second term as president against a field as hopeless as the one this year but then russia's opinion on world affairs didn't count for much but as he said during this campaign people are listening now . his own leadership has been designed to guarantee a continued direction for russia down a very definite path making sure there is a voice in the world as loud as that of the united states at home his admirers say his achievements have been enormous commitment to. one putin came to power it was hard for us to understand that in our government american advisers were working why

were they telling us what to do nobody was talking to russia about solving global problems our country is putin's life and therefore russia's life is our president actions which in recent years made russia's presence felt have been utterly polarizing the annexation of crimea turning the syrian war to the advantage of the asset regime cost russia heavily putin never look comfortable at g eight meetings at the best of times now russia is absent western sanctions and the total mismanagement of russia's oil and gas wealth left most of the world's biggest country impoverished while a small clique in moscow grabbed all the money it is striking how putin's popularity is very often it is strongest in places which is seen almost no material benefits from his nearly twenty years in power you don't you go to show how potent identity politics and nationalism can be and they remain putin strongest cards.

and so the people who run russia are coming up against a problem putin is presented as the only man to keep russia great but after this term is time supposed to be up so what who comes next yes if you had a report in the one you would already have with one option is that after twenty twenty four he changes the constitution as they did in kazakstan in china and he stays on as long as he is capable or in the next two or three years he will pass power on to someone acceptable. unless he decides to stay on forever putin will have to use this last term to cement a legacy from the look of it it will lean heavily towards militarism and even greater hostility to the west it is after all what putin does best horsley al-jazeera moscow. well the result of the russian election may look like a foregone conclusion but there are seven other candidates vying for a share of the vote among the most high profile is the thirty six year old the

glamorous t.v. host is likely to boost voter turnout for that reason critics have accused her of being a putin stooge campaigning to give greater legitimacy to the election a charge that she strongly denied he's one of the candidates that has caused some alarm in the kremlin is the communist party's powerful routine in life he's been critical of russian governance but avoided attacking putin personally vladimir sure north scheme is an ultra nationalist who's consistently supported putin and the united russia party this will be his sixth bid for the presidency but in twenty twelve he took just six percent of the vote grigori yavlinsky is arguably the most liberal candidate the economist ran against putin back in two thousand and has his frequently criticized the president and called for more political freedom but really challenges our correspondent in the south of the country in service to poll the largest city in crimea which russia annexed from the ukraine four years ago

what would ask perhaps first how voters feel they're considering they've been really at the center of a major domestic and perhaps even international storm for some years. you know what exactly i crimea is a special case i think in this russian election and several stop or is a special case within crimea this is been the how you move russia's black sea fleet . decades it's always been a russian majority city so people here feel very strongly that this is a celebration as some of the votes of told us this morning we're seeing whole families coming out one man even said that he had traveled all the way from haifa in israel. and vote for his particular candidate so this is kind of seen as a completion over of an electoral cycle four years ago russians here in crimea

voted overwhelmingly in that referendum that most countries in the world saw as the thinnest of democratic veneers on and it'll be illegal anik sation that's not the way is viewed here of course so they see this is a sort of completion of that cycle we've gone through a referendum parliamentary elections and now crimean voting for the first time in a russian presidential election of course you might see many are celebrating there is a minority that will not be celebrating there always is in any election. absolutely i mean crimea has a population a sizable population but it is a minority of. muslim tartar sauce and they have long been complaining about repressions disappearances and other harsh tactics being used by crime is new russia north or its east to keep them

down and keep them from causing too many sort of separatist problems now they say in this election they are being coerced to come out and vote it doesn't really matter they say who they're expected to vote for but just to show that they're being a part of this presidential election system that that that in itself gives this thing legitimacy in the eyes of the kremlin will continue to follow the follow the voting process through the day with you and our correspondents across russia for the moment thank you. well still ahead here on al-jazeera moscow expels twenty three british diplomats the same number of russians the u.k. ordered house in a row over the poisoning of the former spy on the world health organization rules on a mass vaccination. program as a diptheria outbreak takes hold in yemen those stories after the break.

from the waves of the sales. to the contours of the east. hello and welcome to international weather forecast many northern parts of europe in the grip of really cold air and a big area of high pressure bringing cold air in from the east but for the rest the year is very mixed picture with the paris of low pressure bringing rain some places snow so still surf more western parts of the u.k. through the main of sunday temperatures a really strong in many places subzero right through the day coming south as though you see temperatures rising we've got some snow again over the alps and some snow further towards a some quite heavy snow as well across rumania bulk area through into ukraine as i move the forecast on to monday the cold air just begins to get cutoffs as a slow warming taking place but you notice around southeastern parts of still the risk of some really heavy rain and again it's a move into remaining

a risk of some pretty heavy snowfall heading down into north africa certainly for more eastern areas is looking fine and temperatures certainly come up for a car there thirty four degrees many areas though experiencing western winds for the risk of some showers and temperatures some of below average as sixteen degrees f. achiness and algiers central parts of africa some beefy storms all the way from kenya across towards gabon see some further showers across parts of west africa highs of thirty one in akra. the weather sponsored by cattle and he's. facing realities growing up when did you realize that you were living in a special place the so-called secret city getting to the heart of the matter why is activist in jail just because she expressed herself hear their story on talk to al-jazeera at this time.

welcome back to al-jazeera i'm so whole robin a reminder of our top stories turkish president recipe the one has declared the northern syrian town of a free to be entirely under the control of his forces there comes almost three months after turkey launched a cross border operation to push back kurdish forces from its border. also sri lanka's president has lifted a state of emergency a nationwide curfew was imposed twelve days ago following unrest between sinhalese and muslim communities the violence began when a group of muslim men were accused of killing

a member of the majority similar buddhist community. but to me putin has also cast his ballot for russia's presidential election seven other candidates also vying for share of the vote but it's widely expected that putin will win a fourth term in office that means he'll leave the country for the next six years. staying in europe u.k. prime minister trees may say she's considering what to do next after russia announced it would expel twenty three british diplomats the same number ordered to leave the united kingdom the diplomatic tit for tat follows the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter in england many accuse moscow of being behind the agent attack journal reports now from moscow. after days of waiting it took barely ten minutes for british ambassador laurie bristow to be handed russia's written response we gave russia the opportunity to explain healthy material to

salzburg and we asked russia to declare that material that particular to the organization the probational chemical weapons russia did neither therefore we announced seven steps russia today has informed me of the steps that russia will be taking in response to that. the decision to remove twenty three british diplomats from russia mirrored u.k. prime minister to resign may's own statement on wednesday expelling twenty three russian diplomats from london the countermeasures didn't stop with the expulsion of british diplomats from the embassy here they were as well what the russians would call asymmetrical measures to match to reason may's promise of looking more closely at the sources of russian money in the u.k. so britain's diplomatic presence in russia will be further reduced by the closure of its consulate in st petersburg russia second city and the operations of the government funded british council will cease a charity that promotes british culture abroad the russian government has long

suspected it of being a cover for british intelligence it is though what in diplomatic speak might be described as a measured response what seems their russian does not want to. refresh wanted to ask then the rest by british. in the event of more severe way with the americans they could exploit more they could. actually the british mission and moscow. russia is sending a message with its. rhetoric continues but no more serious action in london theresa may chose to double down russia's response doesn't change the facts of the matter the attempted assassination of two people on british soil for which there is no alternative conclusion other than that the russian state was culpable the british government may be emboldened by a show of support from allies like france and germany along with new sanctions

aimed at russia by the united states russia meanwhile may be looking for ways to calm things down joe the whole al-jazeera moscow. was it asia pacific now where southeast asian nations gathered at the assy and summit in sydney saying that north korea's nuclear and missile development is a threat to the region in a statement the group called on killing young men to comply with its international obligations australia is hosting the two day summit for the first time despite not being part of the ten nation bloc it's looking to strengthen political and trade ties in the region amid china's rising influence while andrew thomas has more from sydney. well this is the sydney declaration emailed out at exactly the moment when the summit we showed you the end there are no particular surprises and it reflects really the key themes of this as the end summits that unequivocally condemns in the strongest possible terms terrorism there's a nod to the importance of maintaining trade and investment and resisting all forms

of protectionism in the current environment it talked about the south china sea although interestingly doesn't mention china by name specifically as a threat to peace in that region one analyst i spoke to said that if china when mentioned by name it would mark a particularly significant communique it's not mentioned by name and then this document also talks about north korea here's what australia's prime minister malcolm turnbull had to say about north korea at the end of the summit. we look further joint commitment to respond strongly and resolutely in the face of the grave concerns we share about north korea's reckless and illegal nuclear missile programs as much as anything though this was about getting all the leaders of the se and countries together and getting that together in australia a country of course that isn't formally part of as i am and these countries want to speak with one voice particularly when it comes to china and other regional concerns and on that score this summit will be seen as

a success at least four people have died as a fire at a hotel in the philippines capital manila now rescuers are trying to reach a number. of people trapped inside the building guests were evacuated is reported some were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation it's all the fire broke out in an area where renovations were being carried out. now a new video has emerged of the moment a newly built pedestrian bridge collapsed in the united states killing at least six people the dash cam pictures taken on the road at florida international university in miami show how in a split second the bridge crashed onto vehicles below the university says engineers met hours before it collapsed and concluded a crack in the structure was not a safety concern. for the world health organization is racing to vaccinate people in yemen against a rapidly spreading outbreak of diptheria about one thousand three hundred people

have been infected and more than seventy have died since the disease was first detected six months ago. as more. children and desperate parents from a disorganized queue at this medical clinic in santa money not for a potential life saving vaccination against that area local health workers are in force in the world health organization must vaccination program to counter the rapid spread of the disease across the country they've inoculated over two and a half million children aged between six weeks and fifteen years old there's been a diff the outbreak in yemen since late last year and there are now almost thirteen hundred cases of to syria including more than seventy deaths most governorates most areas of the amman have been affected by this to syria outbreak dip there is a serious bacterial infection that affects the mucous membranes of the throat and nose once infected toxins are released and spread through the bloodstream causing

the thick gray coat into the nose throat tongue and blocks away. eighty percent of the sufferers of children and young adults under twenty five years old there is common in many developing countries where sanitation is lacking. these facilities here a basic yemen's health system has almost collapsed after nearly three years of war most workers have not been paid this year fairly fifty percent of all health facilities are functioning there's also a devastating cholera outbreak diphtheria outbreak and a cholera outbreak but symptoms of a failing health system because people are not that's an aged because they do not have access to safe water because their sanitation has been ruined by war all of these are symptoms of a collapsed hell system and this is in truth due to the war and this will only improve once there is peace. peace looks a long way off yemen is engulfed in a war between government forces helped by saudi led coalition against iranian

backed coup theory rebels as the conflict continues so does the suffering of millions of yemenis trapped in a situation the u.n. has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis. well to another medical concern now in west africa where people are still trying to recover from the a bowl or break four years ago the epidemic killed thousands of people in sierra leone survivors now complain that they're not getting the help that they need evidence or a support from the city of waterloo where some are still dying from health complications linked to the disease. they fought and survived one of the most fatal viruses treat west africa indicate a group of survivors of the twenty fourteen airball outbreak are working on an awareness strategy to help others instead of your they say the disease is still killing people three years after the country was declared

a ball of free. the. complications leads to that there you know there are fifteen of the survivors in the country and that one is too bad there is also need to get on there for even probably in the country it's have that if we don't have proper care sierra leone will be i mean we risk because members mill survivors some are still there that i have a fragment of the virus and yes i'm in what i appeared in seventy two once after the first outbreak in guinea in march two thousand and fourteen it killed thousands dozens already dying before help arrived this cemetery in waterloo is dedicated to victims of the disease thousands of them are buried here some sort of loon is believed many could have been saved if one of funds received by government had been used properly this symmetry is

a constant reminder of one of several yawns darkest moment. activists and survivors still struggling to recover. court demanding accountability on how fourteen million dollars of money meant to fight the disease vanished the history of that many strikes one striking. idea rich that the victim survivors get just what it will are we have to strike again that our government is prepared that our government judicious and manages whatever funds their side to respond to the virus that is what we do it is a government official told of just leader but they've not received communication on the matter from the regional court. government says more than four thousand people died here activists say the numbers are higher. for now their biggest challenge is dealing with the health complications and the stigma of having contracted the virus

. said of young. south africa's new president sauron the posers in zimbabwe to meet his opposite number. the visit is aimed at strengthening economic political and social relations earlier visited the president of mozambique. now for a taste of pure decadence the world's most expensive chocolate the treat to treasures gone on display in the portuguese downer of it us as the limited supply of thousand of these bomb bombs worth almost ten thousand dollars each but they may be worth the price tag as they are covered in edible gold. you're watching are just there i'm still robin these are our top news stories the turkish president recipe or the one who has declared the northern syrian town of a free to be entirely under the control of his forces it comes almost three months

after turkey launched the cross border operation to push back kurdish forces from its border. because president has lifted a nationwide state of emergency it was imposed twelve days ago following unrest between sinhalese and muslim communities the violence began when a group of muslim men were accused of killing a man belonging to the majority similar buddhist community. putin has cast his ballot for russia's presidential election seven other candidates are also vying for a share of the vote but it's widely expected that putin will win a fourth term in office u.k. prime minister treason may say she's considering the next steps after moscow announced it would expel twenty three british diplomats it's in response to the same number of russian diplomats being ordered to leave the u.k. britain has accused the kremlin of being behind the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter southeast asian nations gathered at the assay

and summit in sydney say that north korea's nuclear and missile development is a threat to the region and a statement the group called on pyongyang to comply with its international obligations strayer is hosting the two day summit for the first time despite not being part of the ten nation block. we will joint committee to respond strongly and resolutely in the face of the grave concerns we share about north korea's reckless and illegal nuclear missile programs these four people have died at a fire at a hotel in the philippine capital manila rescuers are trying to reach more than a dozen people trapped inside the building several guests have already been evacuated a new video has emerged of the moment a nearly build pedestrian bridge collapsed in the united states killing at least six people these dash cam pictures taken on the road at florida international university in miami the university says engineers met hours before the collapse and

completed a crack in the structure was not a safety concern as the news headlines are back with more in half an hour next talked to al jazeera. a global economic superpower that's underperformed in the world of football one on one east explores how china is now spending billions in its quest to conquer the beautiful game. at this time on al-jazeera. you mentioned world called the. sea. cyprus has long had an important geopolitical position in the mediterranean but it's been at the center of an ethnic disputes and nine hundred seventy war which is dividing the island the republic of cyprus is controlled by greek cypriots and is recognized by the international community in fact it became a member of the european union in two thousand and four the northern part of the

island is ruled by the government of the south the north side.