violence perhaps we needed to create for their atmosphere if not dealt with properly and if the election commission does not come up with absolutely acceptable . results and acceptable a verdict in favor of the political parties. placing some sort of. so i know it's going to jump you what's your feeling about this. the these allegations a vote rigging i think these are. documented and since these are well documented i believe that election commission will have to give a very careful consideration into these allegations and perhaps their abuser lockpicks as well so some of the allegations might be not true but some of the allegations certainly deserves critical attention from not only from the election commission but also other institutions. in the electoral process all right

appreciate. your perspective from dhaka thanks a lot still ahead here on al-jazeera decisively with yemen's war we'll have the latest on a u.n. cease fire deal in the data. hello again welcome back we are cross north asia we are seeing a mix of clouds and snow across parts of japan and that's really going to continue over the next few days let's go to the forecast map as we go towards monday a little bit of snow up here just to the north of sendai temperatures you have five degrees there down towards osaka eight but as we go towards tuesday that's we start to see a little bit more in terms of rain coming in from the west for parts of the korean peninsula though it is going to be a cool day here in seoul us lots of sun in your forecast with

a temperature there of zero pm yang about minus four issue or high as you come down here across parts of china we are going to see some clouds up here towards the north making the way a crushing high now look he to bed down for over the next few days just a little bit cooler there temps are there of about seventeen degrees same over towards taipei seventeen degrees in your forecast we are going to be seeing the rain starting to make their presence across parts of taiwan over the next few days but up towards shanghai it is going to be a partly cloudy day with a temperature of eighty degrees there and then here across the south china sea we are watching one system developing you can see the air of low pressure right there a tropical depression could become a tropical storm over the next few days we'll be watching a very carefully but we do expect to see some very heavy rain across parts of vietnam for the philippines things are improve human illa with a temperature of thirty. my main mission every weekly news cycle brings a seemingly simple breaking stories and then of course there's donald trump town

through the eyes of the outstanding east that's right out of a hamas script that calls for the annihilation of israel that is not what that phrase means. listening post as we turn the cameras on the media focus on how they were caught on the stories that matter the most in bad news a free palestine a listening heist on al-jazeera. and again you're watching al-jazeera reminder the top stories this hour and there have been delays reported in some parts of the democratic republic of congo where voters are choosing who will succeed president joseph kabila about one point three

million people from three districts have been excluded from voting. polls have closed in bangladesh's general election least four people are confirmed to have been killed and there are reports of more deaths the election commission is reportedly investigating allegations of vote rigging. rescuers in india are stepping up efforts to find fifteen miners have been trapped underground for over two weeks navy divers have now joined the search but hopes are fading for the teenage workers in the flooded coal mine in the northeastern state of michaela. is more. a leap of faith underground rescue crews are on a race against time hoping for a miracle. fifteen miners have been trapped inside an illegal coal mine since december thirteenth a few helmets have been recovered but so far no signs of life. poppy until we have checked every corner would not assured that the trapped miners had

died nearly one fourth of the ninety meter deep mine in the east hills got filled with water when flash was from a nearby river rushed through a lack of proper draining tools delayed earlier rescue plans leading to heavy criticism against the government specialized indian navy divers have since been called in and more equipment is now available police a fire anybody does the services the rescuers of odisha fire emergency services have brought ten high pressure pumps we've already started the instalment process because. environmental concerns let's well mining ban in two thousand and fourteen in the state of meghalaya. it's illegal but still common known as rat holes illegal coal mines operate under dangerous conditions with no emergency plans the workers are often children and teenagers accidents are frequent with little or no losses in food or water for the miners chances of survival are slim the indian navy divers

personally inspected the area with my divers they assess the situation from the water surface level and i think they will be able to map out a good plan they are staying positive and so are we a challenging rescue mission with time and aunts against it but families and rescue teams are clinging on to hope. so the young al-jazeera. sudan's parliament is due to vote on its two thousand and nineteen budget as the country continues to grapple with antigovernment protests demonstrations over the last eleven days of called for president omar bashir to step down people are angry with the high price of basic food and fuel the government says nineteen people have been killed there rights group amnesty international has put that figure higher at thirty seven. rebel forces in yemen are reported to have started to leave the port city of data after nearly four years of war it's a sign that more humanitarian aid could soon be delivered to thousands and as this

. is the first tentative step which yemenis hope could lead to a new future. the fighters have controlled the part of the data for much of the almost four year conflict. these pictures show some boarding trucks and leaving reportedly to be redeployed around the city it's part of an agreement reached the talks in sweden and in her data hosted by the united nations who the rebels backed by iran and yemen's government supported by a coalition led by saudi arabia and the united arab emirates have also agreed to uphold a cease fire in the city and i was delighted today because of the thing and we won these kind of that official. came late but god willing the ceasefire will hold and the. god willing the ceasefire who died a continues people need security and safety in this country. yemen's coast guard will continue the day to day operations at the port as they have done while it's

been under who control the united nations will have overall responsibility and pro-government forces are expected to back away from the areas they'd seized on the southern edge of the data in june. the deal says so-called military manifestations should be removed from the city but the fighters who leave the port are expected to stay. as the fighters who used to protect the port will be redeployed to protect the city according to the sweden agreement. the governor of creditor appointed by the yemeni government says the who have simply handed responsibility for the port to allies within the coast guard and the management. the next key step for yemenis will be to transport much needed food equipment and medical supplies to starving and. six civilians who've been caught in the fighting. rot matheson disease. jordan's prime minister. is in baghdad for a two day visit iraq's prime minister. says the two leaders have been discussing

the situation in northern syria where u.s. troop pullout has led to growing instability. following the u.s. decision to pull out of syria we have been considering the consequences that may arise as a result of this move we have come to agree that a political solution is the only tow for solving any crisis and the region and the development as the top priority in order to cement regional time as well those two leaders aren't the only ones discussing syria's future turkey has made a deal with russia to coordinate after u.s. forces withdraw the turkish military has sent tanks to its southern border with syria i'm going to as rip off took his tongue scrolling to syria. unca has been bolstering its military positions along its southam border as it prepares for what it calls a full fledged offensive on the cottage held city of mumbai is syria syrian rebels

back by tuckey also on the move inside areas of syria under techies sway and along the eight hundred twenty two kilometer border between the two countries kaddish forces a miles from friday that they had been forced to cut a deal with the regime of president bashar assad after they were abundant by donald trump or nonstop the complete withdrawal of u.s. troops from syria a little over a week ago here syrian troops deployed in support of cottage forces us seen on the edge of mom beach their deployment creates a government buffer achi across north from syria which fully separates the tukey and its proxies from the kurds but they are yet to enter the city of money bitch as they claimed on friday. we haven't seen any movement of the syrian army in miami beach all we see are the military council of money huge numbers the conflicting reports from them but perhaps sure the cales thoughts likely to ensue and of the

sixty to one hundred day timetable for the withdrawal of u.s. troops with the remaining fighting forces in syria come bling to replace them in moscow on high level turkish deliberation led by foreign minister children children's health talks with the russian foreign and defense minister as they discuss the situation in syria as u.s. forces flip it to withdrawal. of us incentives an understanding was reached on how military representatives of russia and turkey will continue to coordinate the states on the ground under new conditions with a view of finally rooting out terrorists threats in syria. we discussed the latest developments in syria with regards to the u.s. decision to withdraw from the country we exchanged views. and how we can coordinate our efforts from now on we stressed our resolve to fight against terrorist organizations we have a common will to clear all terror organizations from syrian lands. to also result

to respect serious to the total integrity something the same. government forces in areas of the east. with the city and. with the u.n. back political process. is now trying to shape is what i asked the un is already looking to rebuild the country the u.s. troops pull out. up any other regional. tuckey something opponents came to come to. south korea's president has received a letter from the north korean leader kim jong il and for talks in the new year president office says that kim was sorry he couldn't make a visit to the south before the end of two thousand and eighteen came a maiden met three times this year and made a series of goodwill gestures to south korea and say kim has asked to meet me several times. from abroad has the latest now from seoul. the presidential office

in seoul won't reveal too many details about the exact contents of this two page letter but it is being warmly received here by south korean officials president moon j.n. indeed has responded on social media thanking kim jong un personally there had been hopes that kim jong un would be visiting south korea it would be an historic visit the first by our north korean leader indeed since the korean war and that that visit would take place during this year that was the stated intention when the two leaders met in pyongyang for their third summit in september but it wasn't to be the case even as late as last week some people were predicting that the visit might be taking place on the thirtieth and thirty first clearly that's not happening but this letter does now lead to speculation that the visit will take place possibly as

early as the new year q and on to chairman kim expressed regret towards the fact that his visit to seoul did not take place as was agreed between the two leaders in pyongyang chairman kim expressed a strong willingness to visit soln has been monitoring the situation kim also stated that he's willing to meet often with president moon in two thousand and nineteen to divans discussions on the peace and prosperity of the korean peninsula and to resolve together the issue of the nuclearization officials are still confident about the general direction of into korean relations last wednesday a groundbreaking ceremony indeed took place between north and south korea for a planned project to reconnect road and rail links across the d.m.z. separating the two koreas so in conjunction with this letter south korean officials are still confident that the whole reconciliation process is still on track. of a mother of a guatemalan boy who died while in u.s.

custody says his son was healthy when he left home eight year old philippe gomez a long as it was from a remote village about four hundred kilometers west of guatemala city he and his father were detained by u.s. border agents on december the eighteenth along says his son reported he was doing well every time he called home. i could never have imagined this he was happy when he left he called me and said he was at the border and he was having chicken for dinner after prayer they hope when he left he said i'm a little young now but when i arrived am going to grow up i will study and look for a job and i'm going to send you money and buy clothes for my mom. the u.s. president has blamed the rival democratic party for philippe's death as well as that of another guatemalan child in u.s. custody this month donald trump criticize what he labeled the pathetic immigration policies of the democrats he says the flow of asylum seekers from central america would stop if they approve funding for his border war. well migration was

a key part of the whole troll presidential campaign and it's inspired to do feature heavily when he heads out on the trail next year as part of our series looking ahead at what we think will be major issues in two thousand and nineteen can we help that report so what else we can expect from the white house. in the u.s. election season begins very early. i am a socially running i'm running for president i am a candidate for president in twenty one thousand the campaign for the white house will officially begin expect a crowded field of candidates on the democratic side as they try to take back the presidency from donald trump in two thousand and twenty. will be helped by some fresh faces and capitol hill in january democrats will take over the house of representatives in the u.s. congress for the first time in eight years it will also be the most diverse group in u.s. history with the highest number of women including the first two muslim american women and the first to native american women it was no solution no collusion there

is absolutely no solution but the new congress will also bring in many people who want more investigations into tribes businesses and financial transactions with foreign governments particularly russia one of those people is california congressman adam schiff who's expected to take over the house intelligence committee he's promised to probe trump's business dealings and make them public i have no business whatsoever with saudi arabia couldn't care less any inquiry will look into that claim and u.s. ties with saudi arabia riyadh has come under heavy scrutiny following the murder of . killed in the saudi embassy in istanbul in october democratic lawmakers in the house of representatives may press to hold the crown prince accountable even though the royal palace has denied it this is the f.b.i. continues its investigation into trump's alleged campaign ties to foreign governments. that investigation has already netted his former campaign manager

deputy campaign manager and former national security advisor among others. another meeting between north korean leader kim jong un and trump is also in the works white house officials have indicated it could happen as early as february last june the two men made history in their first meeting in singapore. but since then pyongyang has reportedly built up its nuclear program contrary to what trumpet hoped the white house is also expected to unveil its peace plan to help resolve the dispute between israel and the palestinians given the israeli elections in twenty nineteen the trumpet ministration is said to be in discussions with israeli officials on the best time to unveil the proposals kimberley health al-jazeera the white house.

so then this is al jazeera these are the top stories the votes is in the democrats a republic of congo choosing who will succeed president joseph kabila has been in power for seventeen years about one point three million people from three districts have been excluded from voting in a decision that calls protests ahead of hope when incumbent president as you could be mrs exclusion is not a problem. my only concern is that we have this very heavy rain. and cold before that time out might be wrong but a pretty best bet is very clear that whatever time out and when but what do you think the critics i think that they don't believe anything. because of. timely attention but this clear that they shouldn't aphelion fans and noise different if you. well one of the main opposition it kind of it simonton for us' says all eligible voters in the congo must be able to do the same and reboot the

house to watch those who have a look too and cut them to vote and each single putting station house to open and people are still here we are monitoring it and we know that some day as we are having problems. everything is going peacefully now the people of. you know beneath the people of you me because all of. this out of committees you have to sleep. polls have closed in bangladesh's general election at least four people are confirmed to have been killed there are reports of more deaths the election commission is reportedly investigating allegations of vote rigging the warring sides in yemen have begun handing over responsibility for the port of her data to united nations forces are being redeployed as part of a un backed deal all right europe state with the headlines got more news here on

al-jazeera right after inside story. abandoned by the u.s. and threatened by turkey the kurds turned to bashar al assad for protection and the syrian army says it's now in control of the kurdish held city of monti but is it how would that change the dynamics of the nearly eight year long war and how will ankara react this is inside story.

hello and welcome to the program i'm richelle carey the northern city of one of the last remaining flashpoints in syria's war and yet another example of the complicated syrian jigsaw puzzle it was under the control of kurdish forces but syria says its army is now in the city for the first time in six years at the invitation of the kurds u.s. backed kurdish group considered a terrorist organization by turkey there is an all out offensive on monday by turkish forces that fear has heightened after president trumps shop decision to withdraw american troops from syria turkey and russia now say they have agreed on coordinating with each other to fight with they called terrorism and syria so why is monday so important the city lies northeast of aleppo and just thirty kilometers south of the turkish border it's considered one of the strategic areas for the kurds who hold almost thirty percent of syria it was captured by the main u.s.

backed syrian kurdish group the wife two years ago turkey wants to prevent the kurds from consolidating their hold on. syrian territory and forming forming that is an autonomy region on its border coalition forces including u.s. and french troops remain on the outskirts of the city but the americans are set to leave. let's bring in the panel now joining us on skype from istanbul limit chelate managing editor of the daily newspaper in moscow to me tree babich political analyst at recess a gun you news agency and in beirut allies for hot retired lebanese army general and strategic analyst all of you welcome to the program so apparently this request by the white p.g. for syrian forces to return took american officials by surprise what should they have been surprised and well i mean i don't think they should've been

surprised they should have known their partner on the ground much better but given the fact that this is a terrorist group i don't think it's rising for anyone for them to be aligning or attempting to align with one wherever they can or who are or whoever they would find support from. the same time the u.s. should be surprise that they're aligning or they are it seeking support of assad regime which the u.s. has been you know. directly or in directly trying to get rid of the from from the from the beginning and a side and assad regime which has been supported by russia which the us sees as the main wireless you saw yes they shouldn't have been surprised but it comes as a surprise because i mean i think they alternately. turned a blind eye to what the y p g's actually is in syria or whether the p.k.

kate is in the region as a whole so they may have been surprised by this but i don't think it's very sport they should be so surprised for the fact that once the us pulls out its support the white b.g. will seek new alliances in the region to ensure it can maintain its position on the ground ok and to be clear that what you're saying that that is the position of turkey that's how they characterize the way in the p p a p k k everyone doesn't necessarily but that is definitely what the position of turkey is so dimitri let me ask your your thoughts on this the should the u.s. have been surprised that the way fiji made made this move i mean what options did they have once the us decided that they were were going to announce they were going to pull out. well i think only the inattentive readers or western press should be surprised because if you'll look even at the news like new york

times or the washington post or the french newspapers but it's like a listing of all there has been diminishing. the assad regime for years and in reality they were not that is the whole truth the assad regime may not be perfect but they would turn it if it's terrible and then return it if it is the slimmest the so-called islamic state and. you know all the militant groups such as . strained others not are they real i think are they surprising that kurds but that's that comparison are made and i hear you so i will just it won't take i want i want time before i absolutely don't take a long time so even if you read the thank you really of the western press you will see that stajan from two thousand and thirteen the western press started to acknowledge that the main enemy is over mr asada are actually they saw him it's

very cruel dangerous people and all the truth is that the united states european union has been hiding is that. your forces are feared by the kurds in the north of syria they are despised by the syrian government forces by a lot of sunni arabs so it's not surprising that when the kurds were food before the option. all very well known governments or mr erdogan they have chosen the government of mr assad asked for that official position of turkey as far a center as understand it's not so crude as. the previous speaker has presented it where our host and now the turkish foreign minister the turkish. minister of defense here in moscow and they say that together with russia and with iran during you will continue to walk in on the new constitution of syria and let

me remind you that the turkish foreign minister trouble for goya few days ago said that if mr also elected. all honest election without turning just kind of this turkey will recognize that there's a huge shift in the position of ok mr bout that ok reminder that me started on it was a friend of the president also been killed themselves and their well ok mr babbitt you said it wouldn't take long but i want to get this to far and i want elias to have some say so and then if you've been listening to what dimitri said i'd appreciate your take on that his saying that bashar al assad is the best alternative for syria. the white b.g. is kurdish organization a military security and even a business that it was created at the end of my twenty eleven when. even starts in syria they were equipped trained and organized by the united states and supported

in their war against isis by the united states or pains for a long time and the kurds did not imagine one day that the united states will abandon them and some day now happened that the united states abandoned them without telling them where they do they go so it was. in front of the kurds to choose either the turks which means that they are committing suicide all of the less danger or the minimum danger from the syrian central government where they were. seven years ago citizens of this government i think that is the normal start not the in front of the kurds in north in syria but to invite this year an army to enter. strongholds in north in

syria that would be the minimum danger that they will receive. that you say that that there really is no taking over of mandy's right now because there is still the presence of turkish and some u.s. forces there he said that that's actually not realistic to what extent does turkey and the u.s. still have a presence there. well turkey and the united states they still do have troops in the members in the greater members area and it is not very realistic because in the sense that if if if we think of an as assad force or as and assad rupe or military as a whole is willing to confront with the united states and turkey at the same time in a measure i think that's will create further problems and i think russia is also aware of that and that's hence why today in today's meeting toki and russia were agreed on some of the key things in being

a territorial integrity or or animation of terrorist groups yes the russian government does not recognize wife egypt the terrorist group but it also does not want to make sure there's no one to take a position where it will confront would toki on a hard level tookie has been a key ally in syria for russia given the fact that we also have done the s four hundred deal as well as the energy related project that turkey and russia has ricky is already a key ally for forward the russian government sought the russian government will ensure and give assurance to turkey that assad regime does not take such risky steps that will turn the situation on the ground into a more complex and more. you know to escalate the tensions as far as took his position on assad turkey i mean. i think was misread when it comes to his

position he's he's put his or his position on assad is that if assad is elected in a fair free elections and and all the parts spacious very inclusive and in an ideal case if he is elected of course tokyo will respect the decision. of all the syrians and trick you will not ever see in that however i mean such cases very unrealistic at the moment given the fact that thousands and thousands of people were killed by the assad regime and also millions have been displaced of course at the end of the day it is syrians as a whole without exclusion of any group if they decide it is not turkey is place or anyone's place to criticize their decision ok to me we're with. just one a what will come back we'll come back i want to bring an end to metering in this because he talked a lot about russian i met a dmitri as in moscow so who taught you talk touched on this

a bit earlier but what role does russia play and making sure that this doesn't escalate and become more complicated as the met said you know it's a possibility but he doesn't think is likely what role does russia play in that dmitri well i think i don't disagree with the mismatch. on the main points i think that the russia and turkey and now are indeed allies in the region beast or syria because. if you are just forget the lies from the western press or russia never want that just mr rasa to stay in power whatever happens russia's position is that syrians themselves should elect they would guy.