both in informally and in the senate's case there are a couple of key votes that they believe that mohammed bin solomon was in fact behind the murder of jamal on october second and that they believe that he is basically exerting his defacto rule of saudi arabia in a very heavy handed way to say the least there are bipartisan concerns about his respect for human rights about his ability to rule the country fairly there are concerns about the pressure on political activists and on journalists among others and so it's not going to be enough plus let's also not forget the bear the now former foreign minister of saudi arabia is someone who is extremely well known here in washington he had been here some form or fashion for the last twenty years and so there are many on capitol hill and in the think tank community and in the u.s.

government really large who are very familiar with him who have worked with him who have met with him who may have socialized with him as he was in a number of roles representing the saudi government and so there's going to be a real raised eyebrow i would think when congress returns in the coming week to what the u.s. government is doing with its relationship with saudi arabia all rosalynn thanks a lot roslyn jordan lifers in washington. a lot more ahead on this new health care meltdown in greece how a shortage of staff and medical equipment is crippling the system. and hand me your weapons one u.s. city offering cash in return but will it bring down gun violence. and later in school roger federer lands his first big prize of the new tennessee's.

rob reynolds has more on the story we were telling you about before from washington d.c. a. recent unannounced visit to iraq and the reaction that's been getting. president donald trump got a warm welcome from u.s. troops during his brief visit to iraq. we came to al assad to share our eternal gratitude for everything you do to keep america safe strong and free. accompanied by first lady malani a trump the president shook hands with service members at an air base one hundred sixty kilometers from baghdad he posed for selfies and signed autographs including one on a make america great again campaign cap he bragged about the defeat of eisel on his

watch two years ago when i became president there were a very dominant group they were very dominant today they're not so dominant anymore the visit came amid continuing fallout from trump's abrupt decision to pull out all u.s. forces from syria our presence in syria was not open ended and was never intended to be permanent trump said the withdrawal from syria would be strong deliberate and orderly he also met with military commanders i think it's an opportunity for him to explain to his generals on the ground and the troops on the ground what the syria withdraw all means and most importantly hear from those generals how they plan to execute that withdrawal trump said the u.s. has no plans at all to pull out of iraq. a day earlier during a phone call with the commander of the air base in qatar trump asked about the

ongoing blockade of qatar by saudi arabia and the u.a.e. together with egypt and bahrain so how are they doing it cutter how are they doing getting together with saudi arabia and u.a.e. you know we don't track in a certainly the political followings of saudi arabian u.a.e. with regards to cutter but i will tell you they're fantastic comics this is trumps first visit to u.s. troops in a conflict zone during his twenty three months in office the visit is likely to quell critics who say he should have followed the example of his predecessors presidents bush and obama who visited troops in harm's way earlier in their terms rob reynolds al jazeera washington iraq m.p.'s have condemned president unannounced trip today country politicians in baghdad saying only parliament has the right to decide if u.s.

forces remain in mount khan has moved from baghdad. the u.s. president's visit to iraq was just three hours long but it has had an impact here in baghdad now there was supposed to be a meeting or a phone call between the iraqi prime minister. and president donald trump that didn't happen because they couldn't agree on the parameters of that meeting what was supposed to be discussed within that meeting president the u.s. president donald trump made a commitment to his troops. basically and he said that they would remain in the country however he hasn't actually discussed that with his iraqi counterpart so far the iraqis are actually right now debating on what the future role should be within iraq itself there is a commanding control base here there is a forward operating bases here and they've been using them as part of their campaign in syria however they're now withdrawing from syria and this concerns iraq

ease because they feel that there are still pockets of eisel fighters both in the west of iraq and in syria itself and if there's no u.s. presence there then that may mean that may well mean that those pockets of ice will fight as can regroup and that might become a problem for iraq however the real concern here is one of politics there doesn't seem to be any play strategy coming from the u.s. president other than withdraw withdraw but not withdraw out of iraq itself and like i say the iraqis are debating what kind of future role the u.s. may well have here in this country douglas ollivant is a senior fellow at the new america think tank and former u.s. national security council director for iraq he says he says security concerns contributed to trump's failure to meet with the iraqi leadership. well i think the devil was in the details here mark the reports we have were that you know trump

security people didn't want him to leave assad air base or only wanted him to go to the u.s. embassy neither of those words mix up the meeting location with the iraqi government they wanted him in iraqi government building and so the two sides simply couldn't agree on the venue so president trump invited the iraqi prime minister to come to washington where the easier it's been another roller coaster day for u.s. markets was stocks falling sharply on thursday the dow jones dropping more than four hundred points on its opening that's a day after a rally a saw it reach its largest ever one day game the markets have been volatile in recent weeks a government shutdown and u.s. china trade war are being blamed on patricia sabga is economics and global affairs analyst she joins us now via skype from new york thanks very much for being with us so help us try to make sense of this in as much as possible you know down four hundred points one day up

a thousand points the day before the week before that it had its worst weekly selloff in more than a decade i believe what's going on here. so there are many many factors at play here but if we're going to take a step back and take a look at the overriding issue hanging over the markets right now it's really uncertainty and that's the one thing that markets hate more than anything else is uncertainty and if we take a look at that as art light has we can trace that to all the things individual issues that are weighing on market sentiment right now you mentioned for example the u.s. china trade war that is something that can negatively impact both the chinese and the u.s. economies but also the global economy as well simply because of the ripple effect through global supply chains you also have concerns over rising interest rates and concerns over slowing global growth when you add into that mix then any other little bit of uncertainty or bad news and then what you can see is

a stark sell off for today for example we got a reading on consumer confidence for december and it was much lower than most people expected now that's really key for the u.s. economy because roughly two thirds of u.s. economic growth is down to consumer spending and we consumers feel great about the economy than they really tend to open their wallets and spend more and that helps grow the economy when they're not feeling so confident however they tend to not spend as much and so that could be a negative indicator going forward and stock markets around the world tend to take their cues from from wall street's what what what does that mean for the rest of us and for the rest of us how how worried should we be. you know in terms of taking a look at where we are right now there's a couple of things to to bear in mind yes other global stock markets to take their cues from the united states a couple of things though to keep in mind which is about eighty five percent of trading volumes it's really it's on autopilot ok these are these are trading

algorithms and other formulas and models based index funds so what that can do is it can really exacerbate and exaggerate moods in the market it's also the end of the year as well where you can have a lot of readjusting a portfolios now if you were thinking though about where is the u.s. economy where is the global economy so the u.s. economy is still projected to grow next year albeit at a slower rate and a lot of economists are now predicting that the u.s. could enter possibly enter a mild recession by the end of twenty nineteen or early twenty twenty now there's all sorts of implications for global markets of course because again we live in a globalized economy and what happens to the u.s. and what happens to china really does matter to the rest of the world so if you are i mean what what what what are the what are the prospects for this going down even further or is it really anybody's guess at this point it really is anybody's guess when this when this period of volatility is going to end or how long it continues

and whether we're going to continue to get exaggerated moves but exaggerated moves do tend to become more the norm these days again that goes back to what i said so many trades been on autopilot and many analysts feel that now we're in this era now where so many trades are computerized that it really is exaggerating moves and sentiment yet and just as we're talking to you patricia just looking at the big board we're now back into four hundred territory down four hundred again so it really is very much an often down scenario at the moment cliche talking to us which is a saga join us there from new york thank you. now the no go zone in near an erupting volcano in indonesia has been widened and the alert level raised their sphere another massive eruption will cause a second tsunami at least four hundred thirty people were killed when a five metre high wave flooded coastal communities on saturday rob mcbride reports

. the new exclusion zone around the volcano means no one is allowed to approach within five kilometers but the greater concern is for the people living along the coasts on either side of the sunda strait. they've again being warned to stay back between five hundred meters and one kilometer from the shoreline while commercial planes have been ordered to avoid the area all kind of cash is a mix euro and gas and it's classic rock programs and minerals and all kind of glass and it's very very scratchy or in et so the dangers of that going up into the atmosphere so planes if there is a large rips in the ash cosigner the planes are flying that can honestly be a hazard for airlines the increased warning level comes as a blow to the thousands of people displaced by the tsunami of wanting to return home many seeking shelter on higher ground where even a few meters above sea level officer

a greater sense of security. schools and community centers in the town of level one have been turned into makeshift homes giving a feeling of semi permanence. most of these people rely upon the sea for their livelihoods by got. there mostly fishermen they can go to sea because their boats are gone so they can make a living. and many don't know if the houses they fled from are still standing but we haven't been back to see the condition of our homes because we are still a freight. cracka towers latest eruptions will do nothing to ease those fears macbride al jazeera north west java indonesia. united nations ceasefire monitors have hosted the first face to face talks between hooty rebels and pro-government forces in yemen both sides accuse each other breaking a nine day old cease fire in the port city of data rob mattson reports.

patiently hoping for peace the people of the yemeni city of hard data are putting their faith in a fragile truce as nearby a meeting is held between forces loyal to president abdurrahman so hardy and who feel. the conflict is now in its fourth year more than sixty thousand people have been killed in the fighting some of them and sometimes it's a man you're born in two thousand and one thousand we want to see peace love and brotherhood among all yemenis we also hope for perspire a-t. we are counting on god and on our politicians we don't want more war. the united nations is coordinating the talks it's armored vehicles carrying members of the yemeni government have only been able to get through after rebel fighters cleared mines from the road leading to where the meeting was to be held. the whole fees in the yemeni government which is backed by a coalition led by saudi arabia and the u.a.e.

blame each other for repeatedly breaking a cease fire which has been in place in her data since december the eighteenth the city is a key port on the route for yemen's much needed supplies of medicines food and fuel millions are said to be close to starvation it's estimated as many as eighty five thousand children have died from malnutrition. next year we hope the city will enjoy peace and security we also hope that services such as transportation an oil will be available. delegates of wednesday's meeting are said to have agreed on a process for withdrawing pro-government troops from her data and handing control to a local committee they're also reported to have agreed to stop fighting in and around the city the u.n. representative for monitoring the cease fire retired dutch general patrick come out says the meeting on wednesday has made progress but until the gun battles and the

bombings and peace in her data still hangs in the balance rob matheson. all right still ahead when we come back keep your fruit and vegetables a palestinian ban on imports in response to an israeli policy but what will it mean . to draw more tourists to the region. and. we've had a lot of heavy snow in parts of turkey recently this is what they looks like at the moment plenty of wintery weather around these pictures all from ankara sharing a bit of a winter wonderland really that area of wet weather hasn't quite finished with this

just yet it's still been bringing some heavy rain over the east coast of the mediterranean in his grantley edging its way eastward so a mixture of rain and snow here as we head through the day on friday and on saturday that will continue its journey eastwards behind it it will be a bit cooler than it has been so a maximum temperature in baghdad just a fifteen degrees enforcing kuwait will get to around nineteen now here in doha away to the south of all of that so don't expect any wet weather but the winds will be picking up during friday not too bad on saturday looks like it will be quite a breezy day so our temperatures topping just around twenty three or twenty four but feeling cool thanks to that wind there's a good deal of cloud to the south of us that will be over the u.a.e. and oman there as we head through the next day or say i mean for the towards the south and there's plenty of hope weather here in that hot weather is sparking of quite a few thunderstorms so particularly over the northern parts of south africa it could be pretty miserable here over the next few days very humid very hot with a few thunderstorms that roll the way eastwards jo'burg may casualty as we may in

devon. in the first episode of science in a golden age i'll be exploring the contributions made by scholars during the medieval islam and the period in the field of. professor germany. brings the brilliance of the past from one. point credible almost doesn't look real all we've done is look up a month from a room and then allow it to come through the small old. one of science and go into marriage on. al-jazeera. where every. getting to the heart of the matter how can you be a refugee after you while it borders between five safe countries facing realities

the pain starts from the very beginning of the. providing context housing is not just about four walls and a roof hear their story and talk to al-jazeera. hello again you're watching al-jazeera reminder of our top stories this has been a surprise government reshuffle in saudi arabia announced the name of king seven men the foreign minister idealogy bad has been replaced by ibrahim a former finance minister. donald trump has returned home after a surprise visit to iraq the u.s. president and first lady malani a trunk met with troops at the last said air base west of baghdad

a trip follows criticism of trump's fadia to visit soldiers in overseas combat zones since taking office. u.s. ma. hits of falling sharply again on thursday the dow jones dropping more than four hundred points on opening the markets have been volatile in recent weeks a government shutdown and u.s. china trade war are being blamed. protests have fled in the democratic republic of congo after plans were announced to exclude several opposition strongholds from sunday's presidential election police fired tear gas in beni and goma earlier the electoral commission suspended voting in those areas until march it said it was because of violence and in a bowl or outbreak the government is also expelling the european union ambassador after it renewed sanctions against government officials that a congolese opposition activists or ketone gomo says there's been what he calls a cynical disregard for democracy. what is happening isn't

a complete or an acceptable and a government how to lend a value of inclusive when it come into the country the value of the election in our country killing old interest it is and when they are calling them to recognize them to be elected to elect the leader of the choice is completely unacceptable where they come in to try to use another form of a delay tactic just to west people time let me and fifty underbelly of people of congo mr kabila and the regime have been in power sense to two thousand and one we have a view and we've been a witness things different form of abuse and that this has included a different sort of bricktop the law and the use of force in an old interest it isn't asking them to respect develop a constitution on the one where he is in kinshasa for a summer what more are we hearing on these protests. one interesting thing we had in the interest of your family where there were protests today from several eyewitnesses we're told that in some places well most of the

protesters were broken up by police firing in the air in some places have police allowed protesters to keep their very block intact and just elated to them making hand signals indicating that they support opposition candidates martin fraley who's very popular in that area and his supporters believe that the reason why those areas of being excluded from the from the election unrest and protests have been who who mark of this election ever since it was originally due to happen in twenty sixteen and before that had people were protesting for elections take place for president kabila to step down and those protests are often met with violence from the police we interviewed president joseph kabila just a short while ago and i asked him about the people who died in the people who'd been detained in the crackdown on those protests in the last year's best take a listen to what he had to say. talking of protests and the like i don't want to go

back into what happened. in the past. and the electoral process is always a sensitive issue and i was just stating that even if it will game between two clubs you have tensions that rides so during an electoral process you have tensions the most important thing is to have the necessary police force that's where equipped in order to give you that at one given point in time we did not have that capacity but we've been building that capacity and they led to. the campaign itself took place with minor incidents i could have wanted to have taken place without any incidents but this is politics. so much on what's behind the decision to expel the e.u. ambassador from congo. the foreign minister specifically said it was

because of sanctions against ramadani shadowy is the former. home the flairs minister who was placed on a sanctions list now he's the presidential candidate of the ruling coalition why he's widely seen to be president joseph kabila is chosen successor in this election is meant to go ahead on sunday but previously in his position as home affairs minister the european union rights activist and others say he claimed he was one of several officials have played a key role in violently suppressing the pro-democracy movement in those protests and in other incidents as well throughout the last few years and the government here has been very vociferous and very critical about those the sanctions ever since they were first applied saying that they're interfering with congo's sovereignty and waiting to hear what was once again in union about this expulsion of a member of an ambassador such a critical time just

a couple of days before it's highly controversial election was meant to take place malcolm thank you malcolm where in kinshasa our israeli fruit vegetables and poultry will no longer be available in palestinian shops the palestinian authority stopping imports after israel's agriculture minister ordered a similar ban on imports from the occupied west bank the decision comes despite israeli warnings that the palestinian economy won't be able to withstand the cuts stuff about who the secretary general of the palestinian national initiative and a former palestinian information minister he says the decision is too little too late. it's just response to an israeli measure the israelis are decided to prevent palestinian product digital bills food stricken and other things from entering israel and so the palestinian authority responded in the

same manner but in reality the vast majority of palestinian products are brittle from reaching israel while israel is selling no less than five point two billion dollars of products in the palestinian territories so in my opinion the palestinian authority should have responded more civilly and more strongly by declaring total boycott because it is not acceptable that israel prohibits palestinian products while palestinians are importing other israeli products or provisional results from madagascar's presidential election show the former officeholder andry rajoelina has won with more than fifty five percent of the vote was up against another former president marc ravalomanana now he's alleging fraud and wants an investigation into the december nineteenth constitutional court has nine days to declare a final result. hundreds of people have rallied in taiwan demanding tax reforms.

be the demonstrators call for changes to tax collection policies outside the ministry of finance many have gotten tax bills sent in error or asking for too much money activists say appeals costs too much and tax collectors sometimes hound them for payments even after court decisions in their favor. an explosion in the greek capital has injured two people including a police officer the blast happened outside a church in athens just before a morning service the officer was investigating reports of a suspicious package a church caretaker was also hurt and taken to hospital nine neither injuries are thought to be life threatening. greek doctors are warning about the chaos in some public hospitals surgical supplies are running out operations are being postponed and there's severe staff shortages johnson reports from the town of patra.

it takes several pieces of equipment to install an intravenous line in a patient needles taps catheters and rubber gloves must be sterile and discarded after use these are the cheapest of materials for one of the simplest of procedures there are no apparent shortages here at the outpatient clinics of st and asked hospital in part that are but staff say appearances are misleading. to start to we had a budget of sixty to sixty five million euros for the crisis but today outright it is fifteen to eighteen million this creates enormous problems back up at the bottom the hospital is also short staffed this doctor says there are just two nurses for the outpatient clinics serving the city of two hundred thousand seat a c. medicine and most days this room is full of stretchers with a queue of more outside shouting and pushing to get in and they come from towns all over the region it can be as fix we can barely walk in there shortages have shut

down clinics in smaller regional hospitals so same town that is also takes in patients from the broader region of more than a million people this hospital had a staff of twelve hundred before the financial crisis of two thousand and eight it is now down to thirteen hundred and fifty and at least fifty doctors are urgently needed these trends and personnel and materials reflect the broader cuts in government health funding and just the past three years it has fallen from seven billion dollars to four point two billion that means greece is spending less than ten percent of its budget on health care the european union averages over fifteen percent it's driven many who can afford it into private healthcare he went only here for financial reasons of course national health doctors are more experienced than private sector doctors but when the moment you arrive here you're tied up for hours patients get wary there are lots of people in line the dedication of the doctors and nurses who remain in the public sector has been rewarded with

a forty percent. pickups during the crisis and no government has tightened spending more than that controlled by the city's a party which has made a point of producing even higher than credit with which to repay the country's debt next year's budget contains a further reduction in salaries for hospital stuff a move which will.

callie must much is saying is now being held in pretrial detention for two years what is his crime. why hasn't he been tried yet why hasn't justice been applied in this case is he detained because he's a journalist as journalism become

a crime have moles become a tool to silence weiss's of truth we will continue our news coverage with professionalism and impartiality our work will remain credible and accurate but journalism is not a crime incarcerating journalists is not acceptable we demand the immediate release of all colleague mahmoud to say and all journalists attained in a gyptian jails free mahmoud's and all his colleagues we stand for press freedom. hoping for better living standards and more security the people of bangladesh both cost their votes in a general election with special coverage from across the country we'll assess what direction the nation could take. bangladesh elections on al-jazeera.

again now an incredible forty thousand people were killed in gun related deaths in the united states in twenty seventeen the worst rate in twenty years several cities are trying to tackle gun violence with some turning to cash for guns schemes and getting weapons off the streets but with gun ownership so widespread in america there's concern these campaigns a little more than p.r. stunts john hendren reports if you know if you start to get a job in one of america's deadliest cities police are trying to even beyond. to reduce.