i doubt it's very chaotic and and we will have to see how long american troops stay in northern syria and how quickly they get pulled out my my hunch is that it'll take some time that europeans will stay behind as well already we're seeing syrian military being positioned in commission us the very north along the border so the syrian military is scrambling to try to take up the vacuum nobody wants turkey to invade northern syria this would be very disruptive it would lead to a war with the kurds means the kurds to police one of syria when he pulled his army out in two thousand and twelve to protect the cities in the west he handed the whole region over to the y.p.s. the kurdish militia so he has been working with the kurdish militia in the same with the americans did because they both found the kurds very useful to policing yes region. people that just are just interrupt you for

a second when it comes down to that relationship early ninety's saddam hussein invaded kuwait fast forward a year or two from that the united states implicitly says to the kurds granted in iraq we will support you it will look up to rise up and they rose up the u.s. walked away phosphor which where we are today the united states has spent the past few years saying to the kurds we can work with you we will look after you oh by the way we're walking away if you're a kurdish politician or a kurd in that region be it in syria or indeed in iraq because that kind of crosses borders as well what are you thinking about u.s. involvement in your region right now now there's no doubt that kurds are very upset that they're not going to have an independent kurdistan in the north of syria and they hoped america could deliver that them. but we have to you know if we look at this in a larger context there is an independent kurdish region in the north of iraq today because america interceded made

a no fly zone back them up the iraqi constitution states that the three provinces in the north which are all kurdish are autonomous they have their own army they teach kurdish near schools the kurds of northern iraq no longer speak arabic and syria could go the same way and of course they were hoping that the problem here is that there are two million kurds in northern syria they have no airforce they're very poor america would have had to stay in northern syria from now to eternity in order to guarantee them protection against the turkish army the syrian army and others who have threatened to intercede and clearly trump it not want to get america into another position where he was promising somebody something he could not deliver on and look at afghanistan we've been there for what seventeen years and we're withdrawing and and there's going to be

a time mendus thump for the people who depended on the united states because we promised them something we could not deliver ok we'll have to leave it there i'm afraid to thank you so much for joining us from norman oklahoma you're very welcome just two days after the announcements of that u.s. troop pullout by donald trump there are reports of the turkish army is sending soldiers to the syrian border president as joshua was hinting at the threaten to strike kurdish on groups why p.g. targets in northern syria many fear the american pullout from syria could not lead to a power vacuum on the ground in hala reports now from the turkey syria border. these syrian refugees have been living in this turkish border town for three years they say they can't return home as long as their towns and villages are controlled by the syrian armed group the why peachey while fighting eisel the why p.g. backed by the u.s. had taken control of predominantly arab and mixed areas across northern syria their

residents say those territorial gains are about creating a kurdish state an accusation denied by the wipe each. of those fields. in two thousand and fifteen the white b.g. enter tel aviv under the pretext of fighting isis but they forcibly displaced the autopen looted their homes they started to impose the kurdish language and what they call democracy close like preventing us from practicing religion. the y.p. she could lose the autonomous enclave government in north eastern syria a plan to pull out of american troops will leave it vulnerable the group controls an area rich in oil and agricultural land valuable economic assets for the government and to mask this which is struggling under sanctions president bashar assad has repeatedly said he wants to retake this corner of syria either by negotiation or force the y.p. gee maybe trying to cut a deal. the u.s. is no longer planning a rapid pullout turkey has reportedly convince president donald trump to coordinate

the withdrawal also that there will be no vacuum u.s. and turkish officials will meet in washington on january the eighth it seems ankara wants the enclave to be handed over to representatives of arab majority towns that have been under the control of the white. turkey believes the y.p. g. is linked to the outlawed kurdistan workers' party the p.k. k. which has been fighting for self rule in south east turkey. turkey doesn't have that authority or ambitions in syria and they want to end the subsurface project there and it wants to end the threat along its southern border it will cooperate with the syrian opposition who will convene to give up its agenda and couplings with. a military option is still on the table president to tell you border guard says a new operational strategy to eliminate both the y.p. g. and i still is being worked on turkey and the u.s.

may be in agreement on what happens next but there are other players in syria including russia that will also want its interests secured. a check on the turkey syria border. the kurdish group that was being backed by u.s. forces on the ground in syria the syrian defense force or s.d.f. says it's still fending off attacks. the armed group said this video on friday showing their fighters taking on ice on the of the eastern city of hygiene the area is a source last military stronghold inside syria. plenty more still to come for you here on the news hour including. city in south korea turned into a leading tourism hub. and really doing their best to keep the pressure on tally in league leaders you venters action from syria coming up in the schools you.

know the u.s. president donald trump also dealing with the impact of another government shutdown it's the third one this year and it's likely to last until after christmas this is the result of a political stalemate in congress over funding for mr trump's planned mexico border war the president is demanding five billion dollars for the project but democrats are refusing to give in the deadlock leaves parts of the federal government without funding over the holiday period eight hundred thousand workers will carry on without pay or they'll be put on to unpaid leave the shutdown was one of the factors that led to a sell off on markets around the world wall street closed on friday with some of the worst weekly falls in a decade the u.s. china trade dispute and last week's interest rate hike by the federal reserve are also being blamed well here's what top senators from both the parties have been saying about the current standoff republicans in the house and so i don't believe

the house's provision for five billion dollars in border funding plus additional disaster funding was completely original i was glad to vote that legislation yesterday. my colleagues are not proud to stand with the american people on this subject for the safety of american families and the health and security of our communities but this time. the. democrats have rejected that reasonable request they've refused to meet present drop half way and provide even one fifth one fifth of the resources for the border they were willing to provide just a few months ago make no mistake the trump shutdown is not about border security all of the proposals we've made contain over a billion dollars in new border security money the same amount allocated last year by both parties and even the president agreed to and the trumpet ministration has

barely even spent any of the border security money from last year so the trump shutdown isn't over border security it's because president trump is demanding billions of dollars for an expensive ineffective wall that the majority of americans don't support well john hendren has been fillin events in washington. the two sides seem far apart in the government shutdown president trump met with republican leaders in the white house if he is negotiating with democrats he is not doing it at that meeting and the senate came into session and a bit of senate seat or the republican leader mitch mcconnell came out in a red christmas sweater saying he hoped that they could wrap up business and everybody could go on to their christmas holiday but that does not seem likely to happen terribly soon and that is because democrats know the president does not have

the votes in the u.s. senate in order to pass his five billion dollars in border wall funding that he wants for the southern border you need a supermajority in the senate in order to pass legislation like that and he simply does not yet have the votes of the two sides remain at an impasse and chuck schumer the democratic leader told the president speaking on the floor of the senate if you want to open the government you must abandon the wall and he went on to say the wall will come not today not next week not next year so it does seem like the two sides are far apart at monday and tuesday are holidays the full impact of the government shutdown probably will not be felt until wednesday and of course democrats may simply wait until january third that is when democrats take over control of the u.s. house of representatives and at that time they believe that they can definitively stop funding for the president's wall so the democrats believe time is on their

side. protesters have a tank police officers during demonstrations in the french capital paris fighting broke out when demonstrates a started throwing objects at the offices one policeman took out a gun to disperse the crowd that had the opposite thanked the crowds rounded the officers who were forced to flee on their motorbikes simple yellow vest protests began on five weeks ago while up in arms against plans to increase fuel tanks on diesel those plans were scrapped and smith is with the protesters in paris. this has been an all day protest march nonstop through the street. from owning right now the day they've been far away. to follow them all the way as police try to block various through as low as for the happen a couple of more come in stations but they all of us protesters have wanted it to be peaceful and they try to make sure that everybody has stayed on the right side

of the law there are about a thousand people left at this time of the day number similar to last week and many people here that we've spoken to not at all interested in the concessions present manual from how to make they say they don't go far enough that too little too late and they will keep protesting right into the new year. sudan's government says at least ten people have been killed and dozens more were injured during four days of protests against the rising cost of food and fuel the state of emergency has been declared in some cities and some schools and universities have been suspended his hip a morgan. this is one of the main markets in battery north of the sudanese capital how to shoppers here see all the pretties for sale have one thing in common. a. cross is a hard tomatoes used to cost seven pounds and now it costs forty pounds oh my god i will everything is expensive the prices have been going up and there are so many

things you can buy and then there is the bread crisis. the bread crisis sparked protests around the country when the government announced its plan to raise the price of a loaf from once a nice pound to three there were demonstrations the government reacted by announcing a state of emergency in some cities curfews and others and it tried to block social media platforms including facebook twitter and what's happened dozens of people have been arrested. the protesters are not just frustrated at the rising cost of bread in the past year inflation has risen to almost seventy percent in january the dollar was worth thirty. now it's almost worth if this isn't nice pounds which means higher market prices and people have to queue at banks to get their cash which with inflation barely cover their knee. the government has been using live ammunition and tear gas to disperse the crowds this is they're trying to solve the economic crisis but won't tolerate protesters damaging public property but. the government did acknowledge there is

a crisis we did not tonight and we are working on resolving these issues when it comes to economic crises these things are not magically resolved overnight it takes time there are more than one party involved more than just one factor or another. president omar al bashir has ruled for almost thirty years he's been reelected several times most recently in twenty fifteen when most opposition parties boycotted the vote now some opposition groups are calling for a change in the way the country's government eat. his lunch we need a new type of for regime a new system a new leadership the issue here is not who's ruling sudan but how to govern this nation first we need a new recipe for peace we need a national transitional unity government real consultations when it comes to the constitution. to protest on a scale not seen before dear time as president sudanese people seem to have lost patience and want to see an improvement in their living conditions sooner rather

than later morgan al-jazeera. iran's revolutionary guards have conducted military drills in the strategic strait of hormuz the passageway for nearly one third of all oil traded by sea the annular showcased combat helicopters and drones on friday the iranian army trailed a u.s. aircraft carrier that into the gulf iran is under increasing pressure. in the u.s. after the trumpet ministration renewed sanctions on iran over its nuclear program. a un team has now landed in yemen to observe the departure of saudi government forces and you see fighters from the data the two sides agreed to a cease fire in the port city during their disk discussions in sweden the area is the entry point for most food aid into a country enjoyed years of war new parker reports. arriving in aden the head of a united nations monitoring mission patrick is a retired dutch general with experience of some of the world's worst conflicts the

t.-r. c sri lanka and cambodia other members of the u.n. team touched down in yemen's capital sanaa the group will be heading to the strategic port city of the day where they're tasked with monitoring a franchise cease fire and overseeing the vital reopening of the port a gateway for food and aid supplies into a country where millions of people are in desperate need of both. the general for sure has an expertise in this domain and we know that he will meet with the other side very soon after that god willing the mission of the observers that had data will start. in her day her life is returning to the city streets the ceasefire between saudi u.s. backed government forces and hooty rebels is seen as the first significant breakthrough in peace efforts since the war started in twenty fourteen and. we look forward to the ceasefire we hope it's going to be observed not only here but nationwide. and. we hope the saudi led coalition will learn

a lesson after four years of war we haven't halted all retreated even if forty years pass we will never budge you're abandoning our basic principles of dignity freedom and independence. the monitoring mission comes a day after the un security council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the deployment of observers to data following negotiations in sweden the warring sides also agree to a prisoner swap of some sixteen thousand detainees. the u.n. calls yemen the world's worst humanitarian disaster has killed an estimated sixty thousand people as many as eighty five thousand children may have starved to death because. it's hoped that by bringing stability to her day to. the rest of this ravaged country by eventually follow. still to come here on al-jazeera the fog rebel commander in colombia who refuse to accept

a landmark peace deal comes to a dramatic end. and in sport leo will explain why this haircut cost anger among sports fans worldwide. binny's pink skies by the time. or is the sun sets in the city of angels. hello again welcome back to international weather forecasts we're here across china we are seeing some spotty showers politically down here towards hong kong and those are going to lead to some clouds as we go towards the beginning of the week so here we start on sunday clouds in the forecast rain as well twenty one degrees there up towards shanghai though it is going to be mostly the clouds we're going to be talking about getting better by the time we get towards monday but over here towards taipei it's going to be quite rainy weeks back to see attempts there of about twenty degrees well also very rainy across parts of the philippines this has

been the trend over the last several days we think it's going to be continuing by the time we go towards the beginning of the week there are those clouds right there making their way towards the northwest so for manila that is going to mean very heavy rain in the forecast at least for the next two days and there could also be some localized flooding so a temperature a few of about twenty seven degrees pretty much staying the same as we go towards sunday maybe a little bit warmer there also some rain coming back for parts of thailand where it's been fairly nice over the last few days but there is that rain showers extending all the way down towards parts of malaysia as well as make a way over here toward sri lanka well the rain is also going to be a prick problem we do have a tropical wave in the bamberg all of that has been quite stationary bring a lot of clouds across the region we do expect to see a temperature there of about twenty nine degrees and a rainy day for you with a temperature of twenty eight. the weather sponsored by cats on race. in the first episode of science in a golden age i'll be exploring the contributions made my school is doing them and even

a slamming it period in the field only takes. professor jim. brings the brilliance of the pasta line. last point credible almost doesn't look real all we've done is block out the light from the room and then allow it to come through the small hole served one of science in a golden age on al-jazeera. the globe in the united states i learned that the first amendment is really key to being a good thing freedom of the challenge is going to be. managed well and for the resources that are available what makes al-jazeera story is that we just don't tell you what the subject of the story wants to know the government is not going to do the one thing the demonstrators want to apologize for that's what al-jazeera does we ask the questions so that we can get closer to the truth.

welcome back this is the al-jazeera news hour still be with you today from your headlines at least forty three people have died after a tsunami hit the coast of indonesia and struck areas all along the swim straight from two of the country's biggest islands of java and sumatra a local disaster management agency says six hundred people were injured. the top u.s. official in the fight against his quick spur the president from sudden decision to pull troops out of syria brett mcgurk departure follows the resignation of the u.s. defense secretary james mensa's. the american. government remains partially shut down after politicians failed to break an impasse on budget spending the senate has now been adjourned until thursday. december the twenty third marks two years since al jazeera correspondent what hussein was put in

a jail in egypt he was arrested at cairo international airport on his way to see his family his case has been delayed and has never been referred to a court he's one of at least twenty five journalists in prison egypt reporters without borders says that under president abdel fattah el-sisi his leadership there's been a witch hunt against reporters in egypt is ranked one hundred sixty first out of one hundred eighty countries in the world press freedom index this year jail nineteen journalists were reporting what it calls false news well markets imprisonment has been repeatedly extended despite many calls for his immediate release kucha lopez for the young has the story. for two years saying has been locked inside an egyptian prison his right to trial denied his legal rights reject it the al jazeera journalist for cairo in two thousand and sixteen to visit his family after he landed he was questioned and detained has been in solitary

confinement ever since without being formally charged he suffered a broken arm and was refused proper medical treatment egyptian prosecutors accuse the qatar based journalism broadcasting what it describes as false news and of receiving foreign funds to defame state institutions he strongly denies the allegations and so does al jazeera echoing international outrage the u.n. has been calling for his release rights groups have reported an unparalleled crackdown on adoption journalists since the military deposed the first democratically elected president mohamed morsi in two thousand and thirteen the suppression has increased under former general now president of delta tal sisi the committee to protect journalists. at least twenty media workers are being held in the gyptian presence but hussein's detention has breached egypt's own penal code since he's been held without trial for more than eighteen months the maximum period

allowed for anyone being investigated for a crime he should have either been released or taken to court neither has happened two years in his family and others are left waiting for justice katia lopez leon al jazeera well this year a total of fifty five journalists have been killed around the world according to reporters without borders afghanistan was the most dangerous country for journalists fifteen were killed nine of them in a single day during a double bombing in kabul eleven died in syria in air strikes or artillery fire but that number is lower than in previous years as the war in yemen entered into its third year eight journalist side in airstrikes or as a result of mistreatment in prison mexico india and the u.s. round the top six countries with a total of twenty one deaths that figure includes five people working for the maryland newspaper the capital because that when a gunman opened fire in their offices on june the twenty ninth they were among the

journalists named as time magazine's person of the allison bethel is executive director of the society of professional journalists also work to the international press institute in austria she joins us now on skype from indianapolis allison baffle why is this getting bad. for many rate and i think that there's a decreasing lack of respect for the work that journalists do and their role in a democratic society a government many heads of government think looting here in the united states have targeted journalists as being the enemy of the people if you will and i think that that is. made it easy for people to target journalists and i also think this rhetoric about fake news has spiralled out of control and you have a lot of people who believe that journalists make up stories rather than tell the

truth it's easier to jail a journalist today than i think it was even twenty years or ten years ago ok so clearly for you i'm not wishing to put words in your mouth but as far as what happened at the capitol gazette is concerned there is a short line of connection between accusations of fake news and somebody getting a gun and walking into a newspaper office. yeah well yeah i you're not putting words in my mouth i agree with that i think that in the case of the capital is that which was. very tragic and clearly the largest single attack on journalists deadly attack on journalists probably in u.s. history or at least in recent history we see that people have a total disrespect for journalists and for what journalists do we are seeing here in the united states many journalists attacked in coverage when they go out to

cover protests or events their equipment being taken away they're being beaten and hospitalized it's quite a horrible you know when i worked in at the international press institute in vienna we often heard of these sorts of incidents and and places around the country and of course it's very alarming to see it happen in the united states where freedom of the press is enshrined in the constitution is part of this full suit caused by the rise of how can i describe it you know around the world we're seeing more authoritarian tough guy you presidents and prime ministers who like to attack the press they don't necessarily say fake news but they kind of damage or shrink the ecosystem of journalism so journalists can't operate in a world where they can ask honest impartial questions they can't speak truth to power without getting a hugely negative reaction from the only that president or that prime minister.

yeah absolutely if you discredit and journalists then you. make the people the citizens of the country you handicap them in some way so that they are not able to learn about the truth so they're not able to see where things are being done and then are not right on behalf of the people so if you're able to silence a journalist by discrediting him or her it's to your benefit so that you're able to do things that are illegal in some cases or are that benefit people in power rather than the average citizen and we've seen that it's far back it's fifty sixty seventy years where leaders. try to silence journalists in order to promote their own agenda so if

a journalist says the scene is not credible and you jail or journalists omar fine of journalists or even shut down the whole media outlet then you're allowed to spread propaganda and of their very horrible things what are the chances in your mind that most hussein will be released by the egyptian authorities. well you know how i think that we had for a long time very critical mass where people were pushing hard for journalists and my colleagues who were crowded zero to be released from prison and unfortunately i think a lot of silent his resulted in the last year or two where we don't hear much pushback from. of course from journalists

but from citizens at large about journalists being jailed in egypt and in turkey so my hope is that we can really push going into the new year and the end of this year to have mahmoud released it's it's not even he's being held and he's being held not even in regards to what egyptian law rules is correct. and so i am hoping that we will see a relief. being released in the new year that's my hope they're not and i know that the united nations is very concerned it's grain gaining more traction here in the united states with people getting on board to sort of push people meaning journalist and i think a shogi the death of show is really brought to the forefront for a lot of people. what's happening with journalists that in capital is that what's

happening with journalists internationally so i'm very hopeful that he'll be released ok i listen both we must leave it there but great to talk to you thank you so much for joining us from india to talk to you thank you ok bye bye and bye bye. government turns raids and shut down and see the new station it comes a week off to similar operations at nongovernmental organizations and a newspaper the director of the one hundred percent news channel new gilmore appeared in court accused of terrorism and now the president daniel daniel ortega has been accused of silencing his critics to control antigovernment protests that killed more than three hundred people since april at least fifteen people have been killed in two car bomb attacks in somalia's capital mogadishu a journalist among the the first explosion targeted a military checkpoint near the presidential palace the country's intelligence agency says the perpetrators of the attacks have been arrested his pull to judge him. the first car bomb exploded at

a military checkpoint soldiers and civilians among the dead. moments later there was a second explosion also a car bomb bodies were scattered on the street just a few hundred meters from the somali presidential residence in mogadishu. and of course look at me i was at the scene of the attack at first i saw a vehicle driving back and forth and we tried to stop people walking here and there and then within the blink of an eye the vehicle exploded causing havoc. i was walking to my workplace and suddenly there was a huge explosion there was smoke everywhere and people were screaming there were bodies all over the place the next time i was conscious i was at the hospital my leg was broken and i also lost my hand i was working to feed my five children i'm their only breadwinner what was my crime to deserve this who is going to feed my children now the. police say government officials had been travelling in the area earlier in the day now the road is covered with charred cars and debris but we know

today up in mogadishu somalia and. international. station in the area and it is getting a blaze. mogadishu's offered targeted by the al qaeda linked group al-shabaab its members want to dislodge the government and impose islamic law the group maintains a foothold in some regions of somalia but it was forced from mogadishu in two thousand and eleven to get. thousands of somalis many of them civilians have died in the decade long battle between al shabaab and government forces pull chatterjee on al-jazeera. now after months of hunting him in the colombian jungle security forces have shot and killed the former guerrilla known. one time far commander

refused to surrender in part of as part of the twenty sixteen peace deal he was accused of drug trafficking extortion and murder. by senior ministers colombia's prison.