follow the commonwealth heads of government meeting on al-jazeera. getting to the heart of the matter if will stuff like injury the turkish cypriot leader calls you today and says let's have talks with you except facing the realities what do you think reunification of look like there are people think the peace for unification is the only option for prosperity of south korea hear their story on talk to al-jazeera. al-jazeera. where ever you want.

passing the baton raul castro hands over keep his presidency to his prodigy miguel diaz can now. hello again about his their life and also coming out south korea says the north may be willing to give up his nuclear weapons even if the u.s. doesn't withdraw its troops from the peninsula plus. russian officials are working with the syrian regime to deny and to delay these inspectors. the rhetoric between the u.s. and russia ratchets up over a suspected chemical attack in duma. and tens of thousands of protesters demonstrate against france's labor reforms.

cuba has a new president ending nearly six decades of castro rule miguel diaz canal was sworn in on thursday taking over from the eighty six year old raul castro a latin america editor lucien human reports from the cuban capital have. a historic moment without the storage shift chapter but with a similar script. under-supply was president raul castro passed on the baton to his chosen successor can is clearly not be governing alone. or going to the generational fidel and raul remains intact comrade army general role castro will remain the first secretary of the communist party and as such will lead the major decisions of our country now and in the future. the u.s. canel is

a communist party cater cording to castro has passed all the tests of. loyalty to the cuban revolution. but the real end of the castro era will take another three years from. when the eight party congress and the gradual and orderly transfer of our main responsibilities is made to the new generations it is then my health allows that i will become just one more soldier along with the cuban people defending this revolution. on the streets there was no commotion and little excitement. i magine there won't be any drastic change anytime soon but something will change for better or worse. i'm not watching this i hope there's a change for the better and that's what we are for. with an israel and subsidies almost gone. to transform cuba's ailing soviet style economy it's a why were we generally means that he knows how the world loses. knows the

mechanics of the system but is taking over added difficult time a renewed tensions with washington under president donald trump and while the us can and does represent a generational shift here in terms of the crucial relationship of cuba's powerful northern neighbor it's a back to the old cold war days you see in yemen al jazeera. well i've been speaking to philip brenner who is a professor of international relations at the american university in washington he thinks kevin's want someone with a new perspective. boast of the country has been born since one thousand nine hundred fifty nine and in fact a majority of the national assembly. the majority of actually the central committee is now younger than he is going out so i think that their people are ready for

a new generation i don't think they want the older generation to continue ruling what was interesting is that he picked as his vice president a person of the older generation salvador belters mesa seventy two years old but i think that was a bow to the older generation he picked a man who is not personally charismatic has no personal authority it was more symbolic to make him the first vice president the south korean president lee in says the north has expressed its commitment to complete the new cries ation and this comes as president trump has warned he'll walk away from planned talks with north korea's leader if they are not truthful when the meetings expected to take place next month all in early june the cia director and secretary of state nominee mike pompei are held a secret meeting with kim jong un. this month as part of an effort to lay the groundwork for talks if i think that it's

a meeting that is not going to be fruitful we're not going to go if the meeting when i'm there is not fruitful i will respectfully leave the meeting and will continue what we're doing or whatever it is that will continue but something will happen. while many details of that planned meeting is still unclear a diplomatic editor james bays is inside north korea he has the latest. there's clearly plenty for both sides to continue to discuss one of the things they must work out is the venue for this historic summit where are they going to meet could it be here in pyongyang and some diplomats i've spoken to say that might be giving too much to the north korean side for a u.s. president to actually step foot in this country could it be in the the militarized zone where that intra korean summit is taking place in one week's time could it

perhaps be in china in beijing again diplomats saying that that would effectively give china a seat at the table something the u.s. may not like there are other countries neutral countries that are offering to be a venue for the talks we have norway we have sweden one in the region that's been mentioned is the capital of mongolia battle then you get to what they might get out of a first summit most observers hope that there would be after a big meeting a process an ongoing process to deal with all the details but both sides would probably want something out of a meeting of this level and certainly the u.s. will be concerned about the three u.s. citizens of korean descent who are being held prisoner here in north korea president trump has already mentioned them and the fact that he's working to get their release russia has denied accusations that it is trying to delay

international inspectors from getting to the site of a suspected gas attack in syria the team from the organization for the prayer mission of chemical weapons arrived in syria last saturday it is still waiting for access to the area in duma near the capital damascus more than forty people were reportedly killed in the alleged attack almost two weeks ago. nice to see. it's absolute rubbish a lie that russia prevents inspectors from entering duma we don't know. what made them think that from the beginning we were sincerely interested in sending o.p.c. w. inspectors there we made public statements and that moreover we contacted the syrian side so that all documents including visas were provided to the inspectors as soon as possible. we have credible information that indicates that russian officials are working with the syrian regime to deny and to delay these inspectors from gaining access to duma we believe it is an effort to conduct their own staged

investigations russian officials have worked with the syrian regime we believe to sanitize the locations of those suspected attacks and remove incriminating evidence of chemical weapons use this far as i know their discussions are still going on with. our colleagues in damascus and all other interested parties. to ensure that the team can go in we are working hard to have them go in safely as possible and as quickly as possible saving miles is the director of the win without war project at the center for international policy and he says the a.p.c. . is important but it is only a first step. we can't get around the fact that the syrian government and their russian allies control the territory we're talking about so clearly there's a lot more blame on their side but we should also take

a step back and understand that this investigation in itself is barred from a siting responsibility so we need those inspectors to get access unfettered immediate access we also need to take a step back and realize this investigation by itself won't help advance accountability in and of itself we need to see solutions that advance an end to this conflict certainly we are going to need a long term process of accountability here that process of accountability is needed going to need the kinds of fact finding missions that the o.p.c. w. has bravely been attempting to do for a number of years but none of that is going to meet none of that's going to be possible until we end the fighting until we end the conflict we can't allow the fighting between the russians and the americans their war of words we can't allow that to be the impediment here because let's face it if we're waiting for the u.s. and the russia to become friends the only thing that's going to happen is the people of syria are going to continue to suffer and listen a war that needs to end right now where the tough was over syria between the u.s. and russia come as president security adviser john bolton held his team with

russia's ambassador. correspondent now in washington d.c. so john bolton what we call say into the job really grasping the nettle. that's right and it was a big question martine when john bolton was first announced as the new national security advisor what impact that would have on the ministration stance on russia and now there is some indication that now in his second week on the job that bolton has been pushing for a more aggressive response here the white house says that he met with the russian ambassador in the white house today and during that meeting expressed hopes for the both countries to have improved relationships but also laid out a series of needs that the u.s. has for russia to address before the relationship can improve and that it on top of that list would be addressing the election meddling in the two thousand and sixteen

u.s. presidential elections as well as the attack on the former russian spy in the u.k. and the situation in ukraine and in syria now it is not unheard of not uncommon in fact for trump to undercut his advisors after they've made a public statement we just saw that earlier this week with the ambassador to the u.n. but the fact that this information today was released directly from the white house is some indication that bolton is more aggressive stance does have the in ministrations backing so is there any discernible difference between the approach. of the president when it comes to russia. well it's notable that this announcement did not come from trump himself and in fact he has not tweeted about it the last news that trump made on russia came from earlier this week when he cancelled those sanctions that were set to be put in place against russia and then of course last

month he famously congratulated russian president vladimir putin on his reelection win as well as invited him for a potential meeting in the white house so that said there is a disconnect between what trump has publicly said about russia and that of his national security advisor john bolton but these two men are said to be very close that is the reason trump hired bolton in the first place and it still remains to be seen if anything comes of this meeting between bolton and the russian ambassador what measures trump may sign off on one one measure that bolton has championed in the past would be more aggressive retaliatory measures in cyber warfare between the u.s. and russia. reporting live from washington thank you. still to come here at al-jazeera. protests in a coastal village that's become a symbol of the palestinian struggle with israel plus. a morning from the i.m.f.

about trade disputes between the u.s. and china and what they could mean for the global economy. by the springtime flowers of a mountain lake. to the first snowfall on the winter day. how i would got some rather wet weather pushing into western parts of china over the next day or two easing over into central areas think face deposit stage and we try twenty six hours is a rather cloudy humid day there on friday for hong kong sasa day well with those southerly winds is just pushing the wet weather a little further north was still a few showers along the spells of right i have towards the southwest and going to join up with the odd that we have into northern parts of vietnam but essentially i think it should be largely dry sunshine the showers as per usual across southeast

asia central and southern parts of the philippines being slim seeing some lively showers as we go on for the heat of the day and that's going to be the case as we go through friday probably gathering a little more to southern areas as we call on into friday off and a little bit wet weather there into the gulf of thailand moving across the mountain west the weather here from time to time the usual stuff really just going on to join up with a wet weather that we have sliding across the bingo a little area of cloud there into southern parts of india into sri lanka still a chance of want to those live the showers up into the northeast of india but they are making their way up into where bangladesh the far northwest of india still seeing some wet weather that will ease as we go through sas day haul snuff in new delhi thirty five. there with sponsored by qatar and me so. with its leaders in jail the greeks. were nice on the line mothers and daughters of the imprisoned leaders to represent them. the women behind the fearsome run to

a nationalist party going to do. when you see him not to do you know what exactly does that mean it means not for most golden doing goals a witness documentary on al-jazeera. tougher to take a look at the top stories here about me president says he'll continue with the socialist revolution after almost six decades of castro rule miguel diaz canel was sworn in on thursday he takes over from a six year old raul castro. south korea's president says the north claims it will

give up its nuclear program without a precondition of removing u.s. troops from the south the comments remain and follow a warning from president jump that he's prepared to walk away from talks with north korea's leader if they're not truthful. russia has denied accusations from the u.s. that it's trying to delay international inspectors from getting to the sides of a suspected gas attack they're still waiting for access to the area in duma almost a week after they arrived in syria. where more protests are expected along gaza's border with israel on friday as palestinians continue weeks of demonstrations ahead of a key anniversary may the fifteenth is when they'll mark seventy years since the start of the palestinian exodus. which led to the first arab israeli war and the formation of the state of israel. was on thursday thousands of israel's arab minority rallied in protest as the country

celebrated its seventieth anniversary demonstrators gathered at a small coastal village which has become one of the symbols of the palestinian struggle sorry force it was there. for thousands of people arriving here in this field near the town of athlete this is designed to symbolize the right of return by palestinians to the original homes their original villages which they lost so many of them hundreds of thousands of them in the creation of the state of israel in one nine hundred forty eight it is a moment known by palestinians as the nakba the catastrophe that using this day the day that israel celebrates its seven shit on a verse three to make this point the mormon might be here in solidarity with all these people demonstrating for their right to return their independence is a catastrophe so this is about for we're here to remember and to teach our children so they will keep the memory alive. i believe.

that he was more than five hundred villages with demolition. people who were displaced and people who were killed this is catastrophe humanitarian political heritage historical and national. the message this year is every year is that the independence of israel is called the catastrophe for the palestinians but this year it's being uttered with an extra feeling because this is the seventh year anniversary of nine hundred forty eight it's also the year in which donald trump intends to move the u.s. embassy to what he calls israel's capital jerusalem a lot of movies. we all praise the historic decision by president trump to recognize jerusalem as our capital and to move the embassy there of the world's biggest power thank you mr president thank you america good. luck was the israeli

prime minister kicking off national celebrations after sunset on wednesday their celebrations which have continued throughout thursday with a ceremony at the president's residence also military fly past over jerusalem and indeed millions of israelis taking to the parks and the beaches to celebrate a national holiday a very different picture here of course where that same historical legacy is viewed through an entirely different prism a prism of pain and catastrophe seventy years on. in yemen forces loyal to the former president ali abdullah saleh of fighting with their former his the allies for control of a kiev post the battle for the red sea port of el maka is the first of its kind between the two sides since the hoof is killed in december accusing him of betrayal the change in allegiance by princella forces and started even more complexity to a three year conflict has killed ten thousand people and displaced three million

others. the french interior ministry says almost one hundred twenty thousand people have attended rallies across the country against president mackerel riot police used pepper spray and tear gas against protesters in paris it's allays in a series of demonstrations by public sector workers and students against the president's planned reforms from paris his natasha. there was some clashes between protesters and police but overall the march in paris was peaceful public sector workers and students were united in anger against the government's plans to reform public services and universities they say the changes would reduce their rights. where parents. will fight for our beliefs we may not win but we won't surrender and it's a very big issue in all of it we support the royal workers and the social movements this chair much injustice we have to mobilize people against the president's reforms it was a similar picture in some other cities across france including math say and we are

the government wants to overhaul the national rail company law s.n.c.f. which is deep in debt and scrap some stuff benefits rail workers say that's unfair that the benefits of compensation for unsociable hours and low pay for the government needs to stop treating us like fools by saying that they are open to dialogue each time the president or a minister speaks they say we're ready to talk about everything but we won't change our mind our concept of dialogue the french president says that these reforms are necessary to reduce high unemployment cut debt and create opportunities but he must convince the french public of his agenda which is why over the past few days he has been on something of a charm offensive michael is given to read television interviews and on wednesday in eastern france he spoke to protesting grell workers oh. i respect people and i've always respected the rail workers i've never insulted darrelle workers we need

this reform and safe needs it some analysts say the protests are macros biggest political test since being elected media a year ago in america cannot back down on his reforms because if it backs down in front of the strikers from the railway company it's over for him he cannot reform or anything else until the end of his mandate. recent opinion polls suggest the tide is turning in favor with more people supporting the reforms than the strikes but that's unlikely to deter trade union leaders rel workers a promising growing strikes for several months a few people here intend to give up their fight in time some. of the al-jazeera paris. so far because the president has cut children's trip to the u.k. to deal with violent protests back home cyril ramaphosa has called for calm in northwest province where demonstrators are demanding the region's lead to step down

they accuse super pellow of corruption and are demanding better jobs and housing along with improved roads and hospitals president obama poser was attending a meeting of commonwealth leaders in london. this is in these president omar al bashir his father his fallen minister after he spoke out about the government's failure to pay its diplomats ever him grandeurs said embassy staff hadn't been paid in months and that sudan had fallen behind in paying rent for many of his supply mattick missions sudan is short of foreign currency and is facing an economic crisis the central bank has been forced to devalue the sudanese pound twice since january the prospect of a global trade war has the international monetary fund concerned the spring meetings of the i.m.f. and world bank bank are under way in washington and officials warn trade disputes will only exacerbate long term structural weaknesses in the global economy she have

returns the reports. bankers and finance ministers from the i.m.f. one hundred eighty nine member countries are meeting in washington on the tenth anniversary of the global financial crisis the phone's world economic outlook is optimistic about growth over the next couple of years there warns that aging populations lackluster productivity and the possibility of a global trade war will lead to a downturn so countries in our view should work together to resolve disagreements without using exceptional measures the i.m.f. chief economist named the impulse for protectionism on the inequality that's been an integra feature off globalization however he insists the trading system is not to blame public optimism about the benefits of economic integration has been eroded over time by longstanding trends of job and wage polarization coupled with persistent subpar growth in median wages many households have seen little or

no benefit from growth. now these trends in our view are more due to technology than to trade over others argue it's precisely the floor to decades old economic prescriptions of the i.m.f. and world bank for the lead to such disillusionment with global capitalism they tend to force governments to cut spending on health care and pensions for example on education and this is all over the world and they also tend to promote macro economic policies that will slow the economy unnecessarily and they're doing that right now as the world economy is actually growing pretty well now ten years after the global financial crisis the i.m.f. is warning that once again stock markets and risky assets overvalued unsustainably and could crash causing devastation for those who never felt the benefits of what was called the recovery it often seems of meeting like this that despite the

scholarly discussions about mustering the global economy and ensuring prosperity for all those overseeing the current framework of globalization are doomed to repeat pos mistakes she ever time see al-jazeera washington. security forces are hunting for fighters who killed two journalists and their driver near the border between colombia and ecuador two people were taken hostage shelob ellis reports. hunting rebels in the jungle colombia had hopes these days were over. colombian in equatorial forces a searchin for rebel known as enemies to make should five hundred fighters loyal to his group a spinoff from the revolutionary armed forces of colombia all fuck. scene here refused to get behind the twenty sixteen peace deal with colombia that ended nearly fifty years of fighting the middle rank commander is one of twelve hundred

fuck linked rebels still waging war with the government. it's really a pretty strange this is an effort of persistence we may not find out here today but it could be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow in a week or two we're not going to rest or stop this offensive. the manhunt began last friday after group kidnapped civilians the government released this proof of life video of the husband and wife on choose day. last month to work with during journalists and their driver waltzer kidnapped the family's appeal took watcher for the release unsuccessfully the ecuadorian government says they did the bodies haven't been recovered. we have our armed forces and also colombian armed forces on the other side of the border this generates greater security and each time the area of influence of the gaucho is being reduced. but on a political level the violence has become too much for ecuador the side fought

dissidents like watch this the ellin colombia's master. ecuador has been hosting peace talks to get them to follow or fuck into disarmament after fourteen months of negotiations it hasn't worked elian rebels continue to stage attacks. because i have asked the foreign minister of ecuador to put the brakes on the conversations and put the brakes on our role as guarantor of the peace process well that does not commit to ending terrorist actions on wednesday colombia wristed one of those commanders was sent to. the mission to find his boss on the colombia ecuador border is proving more difficult both governments say they want negotiations and a peace deal but for now it's guns that are doing the talking shelob ls al-jazeera . queen elizabeth has urged commonwealth leaders to appoint her son prince charles as the next head of the association of former british colonies she made the appeal

at the formal opening of the commonwealth heads of government meeting in london leaders from fifty three countries representing a third of the world's population are in attendance the queen has been head of the commonwealth since one nine hundred fifty two. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations and we'll decide that one day the prince of wales should carry on the important work started by my father in one thousand nine hundred forty nine by continuing to treasure and reinvigorate our satiation and activities i believe we will secure a safer more prosperous and sustainable world those who follow us and you find out more about the commonwealth and indeed the rest of the daisies as ever on the al-jazeera website.

half a second look at the top stories here it out as iraqi busy president says he'll continue with the socialist revolution after nearly six decades of castro rule miguel diaz canal was sworn in on first say he takes a verse from eighty six year old raul castro. south korea's president says the north claims it will give up its nuclear program without a precondition of removing u.s. troops from the south the comments from moon in the follow a warning from president trump that he's prepared to walk away from talks with north korea's leader if they're not truthful the meeting is expected to take place next june next month aw early june. russia's denied accusations from the us that it is trying to delay international inspectors from getting to the site of a suspected gas attack they still waiting for access to the area in duma almost

a week after they arrived in syria well the forty people were reportedly killed in the alleged attack almost two weeks ago. it's absolute rubbish a lie that russia prevents inspectors from entering duma we don't know what made them think that from the beginning we were sincerely interested in sending o.p.c. w. inspectors there we made public statements of that moreover we contacted the syrian side so that all documents including visas were provided to the inspectors as soon as possible thousands of arab israelis are valid in protests on the seventieth anniversary of the creation of israel known by palestinians as nakba all the catastrophe. was. demonstrators gathered at a small coastal village which has become one of the symbols of the palestinian struggle south africa's the president has cut short his trip to the u.k. to deal with violent protests back home cyril ramaphosa there is calling for calm

in northwest province where demonstrators are demanding the region's leaders step down. thousands of students of marched in the chilean capital santiago demanding an end to profit making in higher education riot police used pepper spray and water cannons to disperse demonstrators as the first mass student rally under the new government of president sebastian pinera right you're up to date those are the headlines coming up next here it is there it's inside story. the end of an era for cuba new president and for the first time in nearly so.