for even those who managed to escape their country haven't truly been able to escape the war. he ruled for nearly half a century a controversial political figure in the cold of the middle east and one who was never far from crisis at home or abroad. in a two part series al-jazeera world tells the story of king hussein of jordan episode two on a night fate. at this time on al-jazeera. we understand the differences and the similarities of cultures across the world. so no matter where you call home i'll just bring you the news and current affairs that matter to. al-jazeera.

direct talks at very high levels really high level. u.s. president confirms washington is engaging with north korea's reports emerged of a secret visit to pyongyang by donald trump's nominee for secretary of state. alleging that this is al jazeera live from doha it was a coming up cheap intimidation that's what taiwan is calling china's military drills underway off the islands coast. u.n. chemical weapons inspectors prepared to enter duma to examine the site of a suspected chemical attack. and mother and wife to u.s. presidents barbara bush has died at the age of ninety two.

the head of the cia has reportedly made a secret visits to north korea the groundwork is being laid for a possible summit between u.s. president donald trump and north korean leader kim jong un u.s. media say mike pompei went to pyongyang two weeks ago just after he was nominated as secretary of state if confirmed it would be the highest level u.s. visit in almost two decades john thune talking north korea with the japanese prime minister shinzo his florida state the u.s. president confirmed washington and pyongyang on gauged in high level talks. direct talks at very high levels really have a us with north korea. and i really believe there's a lot of good will lot of good things are happening see what happens as they always see one of us because ultimately it's the years result that counts not the fact

that we're thinking about having a baby having. urges there is diplomatic editor james bays has more from the north korean capital pyongyang north korean officials are not commenting on all confirming the visit of. to this city all of the information at this stage is coming from the u.s. side but this is the highest level visit for a serving u.s. official since secretary of state madeline albright came to pyongyang in the year two thousand the u.s. doesn't have diplomatic relations with north korea there is no embassy here members of the diplomatic community have told me though they are aware that there is a channel of communication of negotiation ongoing between the u.s. and north korea but tween the cia and the north korean intelligence service they clearly are looking at the possibility of a meeting between the supreme leader kim yong and president trump the possible

things that could be discussed possible things that could happen at the end of that meeting for example three american citizens who are held in jail here in north korea the americans want them to be released but also have been talking about the possible venues for a meeting could it be in europe could it be here in pyongyang could it be down in the demilitarized zone between north and south korea are there other places to be mentioned mongolia for example as preparations are made for possible trump kim sun that north and south korea are getting ready for their own meeting next week so says it could pursue a formal end to the korean war kathy novak has more from seoul. one of the reasons that this upcoming meeting between the south korean president and the north korean leader kim jong un is so notable is because these two been are leaders of two countries that remain technically at war an armistice not a peace treaty marked the end of hostilities in the korean war in one nine hundred

fifty three so going into the summit the south korean government is keen to discuss denuclearization and also how to promote peace on the korean peninsula so now the suggestion is that one of the items that could come up for discussion between wingy and kim jong un could be how to transition from that armistice to a more long lasting peace agreement and the us president donald trump has suggested he has given his blessing for the two koreas to discuss this but it may not alternately be a decision that can be made at the into korean summit that is because south korea was not actually a signatory to the armistice that was signed in one nine hundred fifty three it was the united states that ledley allies in the united nations command that signed the armistice with north korea and china so the suggestion may be that if in and kim jong un do discuss this it may lay the groundwork for the summit that is expected between kim jong un and donald trump who may be more in a position to make

a concrete agreement to move on from that armistice taiwan's defense ministry has accused china of using cheap verbal intimidation to straighten the island china has conducted live fire drills in the taiwan strait for the first time in two years china's state media say it's a warning against any push for independence the area has been on the taiwanese control forty nine china is worried about the u.s. seeking closer ties with taiwan which beijing sees as a breakaway province taiwan's president urged the government to remain vigilant while she's on a visit to africa. well you know i also asked our national security team to closely monitor the neighboring area during my visit approved and report to me on the first instance for appropriate responses i'm reiterating that maintaining peace stability and prosperity across the taiwan strait is the primary duty of our government it confident and determined to defend our national security and i can assure my people

that. agent brian has more from beijing beijing has given no official reason as to why this large scale military drill is happening now in the narrow strait of water that separates china from taiwan but of course this military drill comes at a time of heightened trade tensions between washington and beijing as well as deepening concern in china over the growing interaction between taipei and washington in the past few months we've seen a current gresham delegation visit taiwan we've also seen the house of representatives pass the taiwan travel act if that becomes law it would allow high ranking government officials from taiwan to visit the united states also in may officials from taiwan and the united states a jew to meet in taiwan to discuss arms sales and the united states is also beefing up its trade representative office in taiwan so all these factors a feeding into the deepening frustration and anger here in china and of course this

military drill in the straits of taiwan comes just less than a week after china held large scale a large scale military display in the south china sea involving its new aircraft carrier the leone ng that display was watched over by president xi jinping who warned that now was the time for china to strengthen its military especially its navy. to michael cole is a senior at nonresident fellow at the china policy institute at the university have nothing and he joins us now from taipei good to see you is this something taiwan should be worried about these drills well first of all it needs to be said that the drills are not large scale and they are pretty routine the last one that was held in that part of the taiwan strait was in september two thousand and fifteen we've also seen about twenty different military exercises and sorties in the past year and a half involving a transits near

a taiwan and into the west pacific so this is all part of the growing security environment and challenge that taiwan faces but there's absolutely nothing difference in terms of the exercises that are being well the timing is certainly interesting because presidents eye is currently on the on the state visit to africa but the thing is these drills are again they're routine they're normally held these are these are tailor redrill that are being held in a part of jim province now the latest intelligence and a case that there are no no knowing present in the number of soldiers were mobilized and there are no naval ships or aircraft involved either much of the rhetoric that has surrounded that exercise pointing out that it is a time long story warning against taiwan independence came from. a retired commentators in china who are already known for their hawkish importunately international media seems to have seized upon that rhetoric and maybe more than

there actually is about that so what is the status now of the relationship between china and taiwan and what breaks the status quo just continue as before. well it's the status quo as before the government in type is striving for increased international space for taiwan but well within the constraints of of what is known as the status quo or recent increases an engagement united states for example under the taiwan relations act also occur on their washington's what kind of policies so there is no crossing of red lines in beijing that would warrant a sudden increase in military action against or against taiwan jameco thank you very much thank you sir is ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will end to duma on wednesday if it's safe enough

he says a u.n. security team is at the site and will independently decide on access for an open team the investigators will look into a suspected chemical attack on april the seventh it won't sign blame syria state media earlier reported that weapons experts had entered the former rebel enclave when you. today the u.n. security team and to do around three pm in order to assess the security situation on the ground if the security team to you and security team decides to the situation is sound in duma then a fact finding mission will begin its work in duma wednesday the decision for the arrival of the fact finding mission is the decision of the un on the old peace. and the russian military says it found a chemical weapons stockpile in duma that belongs to the rebels

a russian state media released this video describing the items as chlorine and components for making mustard gas russia's previously published information on syria that turned out to be fake moscow has repeatedly accused rebels of chemical attacks senator joins me live from beirut zana what is the status of the inspections now and the russian allegations. well jane it is still not clear if and when those chemical weapons inspectors will enter like you mentioned late on tuesday both syrian state television as well as the russian foreign ministry they reported that the inspectors are carrying out their mission and spec to the site of that alleged chemical weapons attack a few hours later we heard from the u.s. state department saying that they had no information that the team. and then we heard from the syrian u.n. envoy. clarifying that the team that is in a u.n.

security team and not the chemical weapons inspectors and japanese saying that the fact finding mission could start their mission on wednesday if it is safe so it is still not clear we haven't heard from the o.p.c. w. but they really divulged little details about their operational activities nor have we heard from the united nations confirming whether or not their security team actually went in to do more so a lot of ifs really that chemical weapons attack that the. attack happening on the seventh of april so approximately twelve days ago and the team arriving in syria on saturday and the russian government and the syrian government have been blamed for preventing the team from entering an accusation both moscow and damascus has denied now the o.p.c. w.'s mandate will not apportion blame they will determine if a chemical weapons attack actually happened but we're not expecting any retaliatory action because the west already took that action on the basis of the proof that they said they already had identified it thank you. still ahead to on al-jazeera.

this is the normal life for my situation syrian refugee girls face forced marriages as the civil war drags on plus mom mom i will be out of the old in with a new cuba prepares to open a new chapter. hello the european weather story is rather a nice one if you like and more for the spring warms the rockies as long as you're living west of minsk this massive cloud he is though it doesn't actually produce much rain is indicating a change in the time because under the sod that we've just turning into a northerly flow the rain disappears east of here as we breeze means it's below twenty for most of the eastern part and then beyond where us look at the rest of

your sport the clouds virtually no on and the temperatures were up above twenty for the most part i suspect we're up near the twenty four twenty five mark for long term we get to thursday warmest in paris similar story or dancer west and central europe dyadic ten in kiev i'm afraid this is the disappointing side of europe that given that's where we are where all the action is not very much happening in the madrid. you know either there remains the last distribution means a few showers in the gulf of sidra up toward southern italy and an obvious circulation in the middle of libya which means it will be quite hot i think that for forty forty one they for a time then that breeze mousie's woods takes the dust with it if you're on the north coast of africa and enjoying the sunshine it's particularly halt in morocco.

again you are watching elitism out of our top stories the u.s. president's nominee for secretary of state has reportedly made a secret visit to north korea cia chief mike pompei as trip comes as preparations

are being made for a possible summit between donald trump and north korean leader kim jong un. china is holding military drills in the taiwan strait for the first time in two years state media say it's a warning against any push for independence taiwan's defense ministry is calling this quote cheap verbal intimidation. syria's ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will enter doom on wednesday if it's safe enough he says a u.n. security team is at the site the o.p.c. double investigators will look into a suspected chemical attack on april the seventh but won't assign blame. the syrian war in its eighth year life for many refugees is only getting more difficult that's pushing some parents to marry off the door says as soon as they can. report some jordan's capital amman where child marriage is on the rise among syrian refugee girls. was almost fifteen and living in

a syrian refugee camp when her parents told her she was engaged she fought with them for days before she agreed to marry she's now sixteen has a five month old daughter and another baby on the way she says she loves her husband but their lives are hard they work ten hours a day every day at a factory. people say to me when you are still young you have a baby and you are mad at this. this is the normal life for my situation and i'm ok with that more than seven years into the syrian war life is becoming increasingly difficult for refugees forced to flee to countries such as jordan poverty is the primary reason driving families to marry off their girls according to statistics from jordan's court system child marriage among syrian refugees primarily girls is on the rise in twenty fourteen fifteen percent of all syrian marriages included

a child bride now it's thirty six percent last year jordan's chief justice issued new stipulations allowing girls the right to demand a marriage contract with conditions including completing their education and working but the united nations children's agency unicef says girls need even greater protection and what we would like to do more is the convention as it really work with boards work with religious leaders and really promoting the right of. education that we need to break the cycle of poverty and prevent them from dropping out of school and going into our lives but most says her biggest regret is dropping out of school at the age of ten she hopes early marriage in her family stops with her generation. i wish i could have continued my studies this is my destiny

i want to let my daughter gets married young she needs to be twenty five or so it's too much responsibility. when asked about her dreams for the future fatma says she just wants to live in one room independently from her in-laws natasha going to name a man. engineers for southwest airlines will inspect the company's entire fleet after an engine broke apart mid-flight smashing windows and killing a passenger the forty three year old woman who died was partially sucked out of the broken window before the passengers pulled her back in the u.s. national transportation safety board says a preliminary examination of the engine showed signs of metal fatigue a new way of detecting malaria is being credited with causing the number of people have died from the disease in senegal scientists have developed technology that's seen cases dropped by twenty percent. it's

a small lifesaving effort to combat africa's biggest killer in the year barely visible our mosquitoes carry a parasite last september record just as fourteen year old niece woke up in this bed suffering from pains in her stomach it took her to the doctor who sent her back home saying she contract had malaria then followed an intense fever aches and nausea i mean i never recovered. the doctors diagnosed her too late she was a child just fourteen years old full of life she was just days away from graduating from middle school when she suddenly died. every two minutes a child dies of malaria worldwide the fight against the parasite starts here in this hospital lab indycar. is called. the parasite sent to professor and in a coma as a child now he's doing everything he can to save other children from suffering his

team developed an early detection kit just an hour the machine can recognize even the tiniest amount of parasite in the blood he says this is key to stopping malaria the parasite often goes undetected. and if you live off the minute an infected this. humans can not only act as a reservoir to the parasite but also spread it when bitten by mosquitoes during a malaria outbreak although senegal and five other african countries have reduced malaria according to the u.n. two thousand and sixteen saw five million more cases most were in sub-saharan africa the this is coming and coming but normal. human a lot of people indycar researchers and health policy makers gathered to discuss ways to eradicate the parasite altogether some discussed the use of

traditional plants others wait to beat a parasite that has become resistant to drugs and so there is a sense of urgency with scientists gathered here sharing new techniques and research in order to help african countries come closer to eliminating malaria at stake is protecting the hundreds of millions of people across the world for who fighting malaria is a daily battle the close hawk al-jazeera to car but in the hunt looks at the scale of the problem around the world. it's preventable and curable and yet malaria kills an estimated four hundred forty five thousand people every year the latest figures from the world health organization show there were around two hundred eleven million cases in two thousand and fifteen but that went up by five million the following year a backward step the un's health agency is warning after years of progress malaria

is a debilitating disease caused by parasites and transmitted through mosquito bites patients may suffer from fever tiredness vomiting and headaches but without proper treatment it can progress and to a severe illness ninety one percent of those who die from malaria are in africa seventy percent of them a children under the age of five what's new about these findings from the w.h.o. is that they went on the impacts that conflict and instability is having on the global fight against malaria nigeria for example one of the worst countries affected it's long been fighting boko haram the democratic republic of congo also features prominently millions of people there have been displaced by years of interests not conflict but yemen is moving up the list it's in the grip of a civil war and now a malaria epidemic and venezuela to once an example of progress well a political and economic crisis there has reversed that around three point two

billion people that's almost half the world's population are at risk of malaria the challenges are enormous not the least of which is finding the money to deal with it the w.h.o. gets around two point seven billion dollars a year to meet its goals in the next two it needs more than twice that. one family's dominance of cuban politics and nine hundred fifty nine communist revolution is coming to an end the successor to president raul castro will be chosen on the way in say a latin america editor innocent human reports from havana. barring the unthinkable eighty six year old president rolled castro will be handing over power for the first time in six decades to a cuban who doesn't carry his last name and who was born after the one nine hundred fifty nine revolution that he hoping to power only four generations of cubans live in this have an apartment grandmother daughter ianna granddaughter another and her

two children only eighty five year old elsa remembers a time when cuba was not ruled by fidel castro you know where you're going to know when the revolution triumphed everyone was happy because there were high expectations. but like the beautiful decaying city of havana the expectations began to crumble cubans had free education and health care but they became isolated economically and technologically under a one party communist system oh twenty six year old plans to join millions of other cubans who've emigrated very little young people are hungry for something else to have access to things we don't have to be paid a decent wage. some say raul castro a pragmatist came to power too late after ill health forced his elder brother fidel

to resign pradelle castro is still glorified here as the supreme leader of the cuban revolution but it is our gastro who will be remembered for introducing some of the most long awaited reforms to the communist system and the decade that he has been at the helm none of these reforms though include easing even slightly the one party states absolute grip on political power. and while castro's attempts to improve cuba's socialist economic model have fallen far short of their mark his main objective now is to ensure political continuity with the communist party dictating policy guidelines and that's the way he likes it that's that's the style . he was known to have been a fan of style political decision making process. and so not surprisingly on the eve of what will be the end of the nira on the streets of cuba's capital there's

a sense that little is about to change to see an human and just have an. past and present american presidents have paid tribute to form a thursday to barbara bush has died at the age of ninety two her son george w. bush said she was a fabulous first lady who would be missed did any former president jimmy clarke said her work to promote literacy gave countless families the skills to thrive and don't trump raised a strong aversion to country and family i don't say she looks back at her life. however bush often dismissed her popularity saying it was simply because she looked like everybody's grandmother with her signature white here in peril necklace but she will be remembered as one of only two women in u.s. history to be married to a president so help me god and the mother to one officer present united states she was just sixteen years old when she met george h.w. bush at a christmas dance both born to privilege she would later drop out of college in

mali the young navy pilot home from world war two they would settle down in texas so he could make his fortune in the oil business but the growing family would soon face tragedy the three year old daughter died after a fight with leukemia she said she clung to her children even more after that four boys and another girl would grow up watching their father's political career which would ultimately lead to the white house leaving harv the role of disciplinary and you're just so you know anything they do is all right. but someone has to be sure that. standards are captain he leads by example by denying something. and i am the enforcement there's no question about it. there was no question over loyalty either anyone who did criticize her children or even more so husband would quickly face her quick wit to an icy stare she didn't want a husband or her son george to run for the presidency admits she didn't think he

would when she made news when speculation time to another son jeb the question. is the best qualified person to run for president. as i think all my enemies all his brothers all and their other family i refuse to accept that this great country isn't raising. other wonderful people thank you all for that warm welcome or look to be triac of a political dynasty the first wife to speak at a political convention but beyond the campaign she wasn't known to give either a husband or son political advice in office she advocated for family literacy but mostly she prided herself on a family that she said was a true legacy i think and i hope if i have a legacy other than being the enforcer that it will be. along with george

a great family that will be remembered along with the woman at the center of it. and these are the top stories the u.s. president's nominee for secretary of state has reportedly made a secret visit to north korea cia chief mike from paris trip comes as preparations are being made for possible some of the tween donald trump and north korean leader kim jong un trump has confirmed washington and pyongyang engaged in high level talks diplomatic editor james faces more from pyongyang. the u.s. doesn't have diplomatic relations with north korea there is no embassy here members of the diplomatic community have told me though they are aware that there is a channel of communication of negotiation ongoing between the u.s.

and north korea between the cia the north korean intelligence service very clearly looking at the possibility of a meeting between the supreme leader kim yong and president trump china's holding military drills in the taiwan strait for the first time in two years state media say it's a warning against any push for independence taiwan's defense ministry is calling this cheap verbal intimidation china is worried about the u.s. seeking closer ties with taiwan which it sees as a breakaway province syria's ambassador to the u.n. says chemical weapons inspectors will enter duma on wednesday if it's safe enough he says a u.n. security team is at the site and the russian military says it's found a chemical weapons stockpile in duma that belongs to the rebels russian state media are released this video describing the items as chlorine and components for making mustard gas russia's previously published information on syria that turned out to

be fake southwest airlines will inspect its entire fleet after an engine broke apart mid-flight smashed a window and killed a passenger the forty three a woman who died was partially sucked out of the broken window before the passengers pulled it back in the u.s. national transportation safety board says a preliminary examination of the engine showed signs of metal fatigue those are the headlines inside stories up next. just is interesting seeing. some journalists decided to sacrifice their integrity for our own in the media opinion the listening post this time on al-jazeera. they moved to britain more than a hall for a century ago but now some members of the so-called wouldn't rush generation facing possible deportation but was.