online they've resorted to charity their soup kitchens around the d.c. area and across the country that are reaching out to federal workers and there has been some creative. funding maneuvers done by the t.s.a. as a leader that are that is are at has freed up at least five hundred dollars as a bonus to give to these workers for this week however all of these are just a band-aid solutions because come the first of february which is in a mere two weeks time if this shutdown continues till then that is when people of course pay their rents they pay their mortgages and that is if this situation continues we can expect the smattering of protests across the country to really explode into something massive thank you for now i do joe castro there in washington. at the news hour live from london. police fire water cannon and take gas to break up

a ninth saturday of yellow vest protests in france colombian stage and night protest to shine a light on the chief prosecutors alleged links to a corruption scandal. i mean spore proof that even the world's best ski jump like an asian restruck to stay on it's. an eighteen year old saudi woman who fled her family over fears for life has arrived in canada mohammed out of the noon flew from thailand to toronto via seoul when canada agreed to give her asylum off to intervention from the un this several days after she barricaded herself in a hotel room at bangkok airport to avoid deportation and took to twitter seeking help and protection my counterpoints now from toronto. the long and arduous journey from saudi arabia over the eighteen year old states through the

arrival doors accompanied by the canadian foreign minister the size of the media contingent a reflection of the massive public interest generated a few everyone. now. and hearing green media accounts really want needing to leave this season right at home but she's very moment and they are interviewing and so she would prefer not to question today so you can see the syrian crazy thing. and see if you know when to go. home then run. back through the doors to begin the first phase of the new life the wish to go to college and study architecture the canadian decision to grant sanctuary is likely to worsen already fractured relations with saudi arabia back in

august saudi arabia severed diplomatic ties following canadian criticism of the kingdom's human rights policy then in october the murder of jamal khashoggi saw an upsurge in demands for canada to counsel a multibillion arms deal with saudi arabia this deal is now being reviewed. the foreign minister though insists that the protection of human rights is more important than diplomatic relations or any trade deal with any c.r. mr kerry. or a place like that would. he were involved in those conversations as treaties and canada. that you bring able to be. supermom refuse to grant you keep the plastic you in a cigar and offering two percent recently last year it was the small stage from a hotel room in thailand that. couldn't century the power of social media confirms

that an example perhaps for others seeking their freedom by county al-jazeera toronto. or rafael can in story has emboldened many saudi women who've been tweeting under a hash tag translating as saudi women demand to overthrow the government one of them rights many women in saudi arabia are unable to leave the country yes women can drive but most guardianship laws remain and this was activist mona al to how we who campaigned for a half round mohamed. mock my words is going to start a revolution in saudi arabia go on social media now and watch the accounts off so many young saudis are seeing rob you have shown us that we can do this. many pointed out but it was social media that led to run huffs rescue this twenty years just as social media gets denigrated but instances like this unveils its positive

role in empowering voices speaking truth to power and bringing about social change . well joining me now is yesman mohamed one of the people who helped campaign for aha she escaped her own family off to being forced into marriage and is the founder of free hearts free minds an organization which helps individuals who've left islam she joins me live via skype from vancouver thank you very much for speaking to us you helped to bring the story of noon to the attention of the world you what is your reaction now you're relieved that she's been granted asylum in canada absolutely over the moon and i'm so happy that she's safe and i'm extra happy that she's here in canada with me it was very scary for a while there because just a couple years back dina haile was going through the exact same situation where she was tweeting madly from the philippines saying please help me and we weren't able

to help her and she ended up being duct taped and put back on a plane back to saudi arabia and nobody has heard from her since so as soon as this started we all got that sense of deja vu and we all felt this frantic sense that we need to react strongly swiftly thousands of people weren't sleeping or just tweeting all night long trying to get the attention of anybody lawyers journalists human rights people to support the huff and thankfully this is a very very happy ending to that scary story and it's interesting that you mention the case of dina ali and that concluded in a very different way the valve obviously been some passionate views on twitter that this could possibly herald will prompt some sort of change for the struggles facing saudi women but given the internet given the kind of inconsistency with the way these cases are approached is that perhaps overoptimistic. i don't think it's over

optimistic so in my organization free hearts free minds we work with a lot of people like you mentioned that are have left us some but are stuck in muslim majority countries and it is saudi arabia and women who really feel like the situation that they're in right now is so brutal is so dire that they're willing to take unbelievable risks to escape and even if their chances want out of one hundred they're willing to take it of course you know rough is a success story and they know of the other stories they know of the two girls that were duct taped and thrown into a river in new york they know of all of these situations and those stories scare them but knowing about rough and knowing that she succeeded is going to give them that boost that they need in order to you know find the courage and find the strength to work for their own freedom to fight for their own freedom and it's not just women in saudi arabia but it's women in iran as well who are being imprisoned

for removing the scarf off of their head it's women in pakistan it's women in iraq it's women in egypt it's women in in all of those countries where they're fighting for their basic rights and they feel like they're not being heard either in their countries or by the western and international community so rough is a success story because it lets them know that they are being heard yes and it is important to highlight the plight of women in different parts of the wild and in different countries in the region but i suppose in this particular part of the region there is now it's definitely cost the spotlight on this restrictive male god the issue of god the unshipped will yes absolutely women in saudi arabia have a completely different circumstance than any of the other women that i've mentioned it is the worst possible situation they are actually living in an open air prison and women have guardians like you mentioned they have to have a male guardian that gives them permission for anything they can even leave the

home without this male guardian giving them permission to do that they can't open a bank account they can't. you know go to the doctor they can't do anything in fact they need their male guardians permission in order to go to the police station to report that they are being abused in some cases by their male guardian so it's an absolutely repressive barbaric law that these women are willing to risk their lives to escape thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us yes mean mohammad thank you for having me. well now some news from ecuador where a fire at a drug rehabilitation clinic has killed seventeen people and left twelve others injured the blaze in the country's largest city was started by patients who set mattresses alight while trying to escape police looking to arrest the owners and operators of the building three people have been killed by huge explosions spot by

gas leak at a bakery in paris two of the dead were five fighters searching for the cause of the leak and the third was a spanish national thirty seven others were injured in the blast ten of them seriously. well in all the developments around eighty four thousand al of us protests have been out on the streets of france on the night weekend of demonstrations against the government police five water cannon and tear gas at the protesters near the arc de triomphe and paris interior ministry says more than two hundred forty people were detained the protesters are angry at the french president's economic reforms. as promised billions of euros in tax relief is due to launch a national debate on choose day to address protesters concerns and sent us this update from paris. thousands of protesters marched across paris and they have congregated here the arc de triomphe just behind me which has become something of a symbol of this yellow vests movement and police are at the moment firing tear gas they're trying to move people away from this area dispersed the crowd so if you

look behind me you can see the police there there are eighty thousand police deployed across the country security has been boosted as the government tries to crack down on what they say some or the most violent elements in the protests so far they have been peaceful most of the protesters are of course peaceful and that's why the police are here to try and control and manage the situation but it has been very difficult for them over the past few months to see these protests have been very unpredictable now the government response has been politically to try to offer protesters more concessions more financial concessions they're launching a big national citizens' dictate to get people move of course in politics next week but people here say that's not enough what they want are more taxes to be scrapped they say they want more to be done for poor people they say the president only cares about the rich. protests of a different kind here in the u.k. three days before the british parliament votes on the government breaks it deal

a country remains deeply divided over the imminent break with the e.u. left wing protest as of march to london demanding another general election and in northern england a separate event urge the government to grant another referendum on the issue paul brown reports well. with just days to go and so teresa mayes bracks a deal is voted on the volume and the tension is cranking up. this demonstration in london attracted a wide array of left wing protesters with a wide range of political grievances this was anti austerity not a brics it rally at all but it's certainly bret's it which has brought matters to a head. on three years of ashes starting they want to push us over the age into our present montijo price ritual signage our economy southwards robert services so the solution is very straightforward on shoestring

we want to treat my. labor is not seeking to overturn bricks it's unfair to try to deliver a different rex's i what is clear effort size by all the different events taking place across the u.k. this recount that there is still no single coherent principle everybody can unite behind. in the northern city of sheffield campaigners for another referendum have been pressing their case you have the right to be heard and they must listen to the voice of the people as people now look at rex's understand what it means and realise that this great country in truth has made a terrible mistake and at the same time government minister chris grayling warned that the biggest mistake would be not to go through with grex it we risk a break with the british tradition of moderate mainstream politics that goes back to the restoration in six hundred sixty he told the daily mail newspaper it will

open the door to extremist populist political forces in this country of the kind we see in other countries in europe. opposition figures quickly denounced grillings comments as gutter politics but the route illustrates the bitter divisiveness of the current political climate and the uncertainty how this will be resolved. al-jazeera central london. demands are growing in colombia for the chief prosecutor to resign now. martinez is accused of covering up bribery linked to south america's biggest ever corruption scandal. from bogota. holding flashlights housings of colombians gathered in various cities demanding their country's attorney general steps down. is accused of covering up the regularities and bribes paid in colombia where the brazilian construction giant target rich at the center of the biggest corruption scandal in the region we

colombians are tired of seeing the powerful steal money and nothing happening our institutions our justice system a kept captive and we want them back i security forces were unable to prevent protesters in front of the attorney general's headquarters taking down the offices flag and burning it i in two thousand and fifteen was the legal advisor of colombia's biggest financial group owned by luis carlos said immune to the country's richest man. partner with the rich winning a one point six billion dollar contract to build a major modern way but in a series of documents. then the auditor of discovered more than thirty million dollars in illegal payments and informativeness about them yet in a dramatic twist pisano is son in a third witness have since died and what are said to be suspicious circumstances well martina's became the man in charge of investigating the crimes other branches

admitted in a plea bargain with the united states the partnering up justice being. seven million u.s. dollars in bribes to colombian politicians but that's just a fraction of the total amount of bribes it has allegedly paid hearing and yet turney general denies any prior knowledge of the payments and continues to reject calls for his resignation. prosecutors have pressed charges against high ranking officials in a number of countries including former presidents while in colombia only mid-level officials have been charged matter dina's has recused himself from two related cases that many fear a complete and impartial investigation will not happen in colombia as long as he remains in office. the issue is that practice financed the presidential campaigns of the two most important political parties in colombia they paid x. ministers congressman if you turn a general falls the entire structure falls with him. just days ago

peru's attorney general resigned under increasing public pressure after he dismissed two leads prosecutors in the scandal the most powerful political backers continue supporting him but it's unclear if he'll be able to withstand the growing calls for his removal. still ahead for you on the program. i still the last stand the u.s. and kurdish forces launch an attack on the enclaves for maining syrian holdouts south africa's ruling a.n.c. kicks off its first election campaign was still run a post says later on this and more jobs to woo voters. and later in sport liverpool and to stay in control of the race for the premier league title son albeit with that story.

have others yet more snow on the way for central and southeastern europe but i don't think the current the same extent we've just had you can see is to cloud tumbling down from the north starts with a cold coming from plenty of moisture has been brought up before not quite as much as we've seen before so the picture on sunday will still be snowing on the northern side of the out some tickets and sits in the trust to austria germany may even touch suddenly poland breaks of largish rain or snow course given the temperature is likely for the size in for example be a bulls noon it's a government across ukraine but the driving force actually is turning for a northerly to more of a westerly look at the temperatures in london and paris twelve eleven degrees and the driving force continues so we got yet more snow to come so i was fairly rapidly said that it might leave a meter on the outs probably less than that for the south again talking about the

balkans or the operations for example and rain is maybe more prevalent down domination coast and certainly in the coast of turkey where it is to flooding and temps are risen to some degree five or six degrees a bit too high for significant snow off to that the consequence is still a windy cloudy and wet one throughout the mediterranean from argyria all the way to the levant disappointing. in the next episode of science in a golden age exploring the contributions made by scholars during the medieval islamic period in the field of engineering. the heights of sophistication in mechanics at the time was the extravagant elephant cloak. written around eight fifty a.d. the book contains a range of ingenious inventions and contraptions science from

a golden marriage with jim alkaloid on al-jazeera. and monday put it world on. u.s. and british companies have announced the biggest discovery of the city west africa but what to do with these untapped natural resources is already a source of heated debate nothing much has changed they still spend most of their days looking forward to for the dry river beds like this one five years on the syrians still feel battered or even those who managed to escape their country have been truly unable to escape the your. secret minder of the top stories for you now in the democratic republic of congo

presidential candidate lot tougher us ask the constitutional court to order a recount of votes in the election he is challenging the victory of his opposition rival felix tisha katy the new york times says the f.b.i. opened an investigation into u.s. president donald trump back in two thousand and seventeen it followed his dismissal of james comey as head of the bureau which prompted concerns trump might be working on behalf of russia and the united states government shutdown has entered its twenty second day making it the longest in american history and. one hundred thousand federal employees are going without pay as republicans and democrats failed to reach an agreement on a border war with mexico. when other stories we're following united states and kurdish forces are attacking last long held in syria even as the u.s. begins to withdraw from the country the coalition stepped up as strikes on the eastern town of had seen where remnants of i.c.l. a hold up the offensive is expected to take two to three months from on techie's

border with syria mohamad reports. heavy fighting in this town city. the last sliver of london remaining within isis control is under our talks. to cut its lead city and democratic forces as d.e.f. by in a final push all eyes still fighters from their last remaining stronghold in this town city. as their commanders say they're making some progress backed by u.s. strikes which have been stepped up since donald trump announced the withdrawal of american troops from city problem of this storage is full of weapons and ammunition we took from i saw fighters after days of fighting here this assault on my sil is the final chapter of a conflict that began more than four years ago when the group says parts of it out on city and declared a holiday. it out to government forces declared victory over i still in december

two thousand and seventy and this by thought analysts say their ideology is also very much alive in the region he truly it was pushed back. your logic. the sunni complaints they have been totally run over anybody. that ukraine should be still ready. and therefore radicalism over the i.s.i. . house eat roots and. that's why it has been totally it legally. fighting between the s.t.'s and i still is centered around the town of hygiene on the banks of the euphrates river close to the syrian border with iraq the hygiene area was once home to sixty thousand people most fled to live in make shift comes for the displaced as renewed fighting intensifies more people are joining them here dozens of the newly displaced wait for tents and blankets in the

bitter cold and some say they fled on foot because they heard the u.s. coalition warplanes bumping vehicles. on the frontlines as their fighters are preparing for launched look their estimate the fighting hygiene will last two to three months not may seem like a surprisingly one time given the size of but any of them dealing with are still hell cities with populations three times greater fell within days the difference is that in both bottles us and fighters threaten to kill every three to troops and from one hundred prisoners in order to cross for a day to. this time the retreat is. one hundred other world visitor doesn't meanwhile at least fifteen hundred syrian refugees in camps in lebanon and being displaced again a snowstorm is adding to the misery of more than three million refugees who fled

the conflict in syria snow and ice blanketed many of the tents at this camp in lebanon's bekaa valley so many except for when television makeshift camps are just plastic sheeting for warmth lebanese government doesn't allow refugee settlements in this area. well now the political limbo in lebanon is provoking growing anger about the economy and the rising cost of living the lebanese haven't had a proper government for eight months or sessions can't agree on how power should be divided in a sectarian society and protesters are accusing the can take a government of using intimidation to silence dissent so honda reports from beirut . all marsh baro is struggling to pay the bills for his mother's cancer treatment the twenty seven year old is not receiving help from the state that is why he joined this protest against the caretaker government which is not making important decisions access to free and proper health care is just one of the many problems face oh. i am an employee with

a low salary and i cannot afford to hospitalized my mother every month they didn't admit her in the hospital also she needs four different by distance and the ministry of health only provides three i have to choose whether to eat or pay for her treatment. protesters have rallied outside government ministries demanding what they call their basic rights because. nobody cares about it and. move it to the ministry of. because people are in the throes of hospital it is hard to attract crowds in a country controlled by sectarian political parties many lebanese rely on them for jobs and financial support and it seems intimidation tactics are being used to keep people silent we were distributing brochures about. us and try to. stop us from. the world bank

says seventy percent of the population of six million people earn less than ten thousand dollars a year many find it hard to make ends meet because of the high cost of living public anger is growing as economic conditions worsen fiscal reforms are needed but has been without a functioning government says elections politicians are fighting overseas but many here believe even if those politicians agree on the government's formation little will change the same political elite remain in charge nonsectarian civil society groups are trying to make a difference to the system has been here for decades that's true that's correct they were very powerful they know how to play within the system they know how to turn things into their advantage by playing on sectarianism we will never accept defeat we will always make the same pressure we always work on next and next and next elections we will get somewhere for now the balance of power is not in their

favor they can only hope their appeals for change are heard. beirut. south africa's ruling african national congress has launched its manifesto for elections in may addressing a rally in durban possibly to several rival posts a promise to create more jobs and tackle racial inequality a vote is being seen as a test of whether on the post has managed to reverse a decline in the andes popularity since taking over from jacob zuma last year for me to many reports from durban the south africa's president and leaders of the african national congress aim to shore up support. at the climax of a week of unofficial election campaigning. at the launch of the party's manifesto cyril ramaphosa continued to play out the idea of a new dawn for south africa. as the african national congress we launched our twenty nine. election manifesto. we do so

at a crucial moment in the history of our nation. after a period of our general certainty we have i added a moment of oath and the promise of a new beginning for a party modest not only by corruption scandals but infighting between rival factions aligned to either roma or former president jacob zuma the a.n.c. has used this event to highlight some of its achievements as the last election and its future plans for south africa but for many here it's much of the same from a new party president competing with the formal eda he's popular in this province there were concerns about how reports i would be received was in a tall is the home of former president zuma who resigned last year trying various corruption scandals involving him in the a.n.c. thunderous applause greeted zuma as he entered the stage with distinctly few

a cheers for the president from reporters presidency however appears to have regained some support nationwide one survey shows sixty one percent support for the ruling party its closest competitor the democratic alliance trails with fourteen percent the manifesto appears to continue previous government policies including free university education for students from poor and working class backgrounds and promising a more inclusive economy pick lowing lead being the big one how dare i let the bible was the raw data bieber was all there probably could have access to health and education but the emphasis on what has gone wrong to deal with the quality of those services is what is wanted. from a force or acknowledge that corruption has weakened south africa's public institutions and went on to say it would not be tolerated as the a.n.c. winds up its one hundred seventh birthday celebrations and the launch of its plans

ahead of the general election in may delivering results such as improving the economy and creating jobs remains a priority so does a united front with factionalism remains a major threat to the agency's election success. al-jazeera been president to tell . the mayor of a remote town in canada has appealed for help after more than forty harp seals became stranded on the town's streets but came a short reading to him by the arm in newfound land during the high tide of january third they've taken over roads driveways and parks for more than a week officials say many of the seals apparent distress after being on able to find their way back to the water at least two have been killed after being run over by vehicles. it's nearly three months since an earthquake and tsunami destroyed parts of the indonesian island of aid has been pouring into the region but there are complaints that a lack of coordination is hampering the distribution of it and thousands of

survivors are also still living in tents. step brings us this report. the name of this small fishing boat sums up the mood in tragedy so five two waves as high as palm trees on september twenty eight well many other boats were destroyed like the one owned by hamidi for months he has not been able to earn a living. because my boat and nets are damaged i cannot work and just sit here doing nothing i'm disappointed but i can only wait and see what the government will do for me. others are not so patient has started to rebuild his house right by the sea after his village was destroyed his community moved to the hills many now have returned to restart their business selling dried fish despite a government plan to relocate them to safer areas. when i'm in the hills i can only eat and sleep here because krishna's already been coming in i have to work. the

government plans to build temporary houses for fifteen hundred families but survivors complain the construction process is too slow after living in tents for months of private growing impatient extreme heat and the rainy season making it unbearable to live here despite the outpouring of help the bible say it's taking too long for their life to return to normal. eight from all over the world has reached the area but some promise donations have yet to arrive a government adviser was in charge of rebuilding after the indian ocean tsunami in two thousand and four blames a lack of coordination and too many regulations.