the tragic loss of life twice evict and on al-jazeera. venezuela's military commanders lined up in support of president nicolas maduro saying efforts to replace him amount to a cool. i'm fully back to watching al-jazeera live from doha also ahead the afghan taliban appoints one of its founders join negotiations with the us. a un specialist on executions head to heads to turkey to look into the matter of saudi. class. in phnom penh where opposition members could be about to attempt

a comeback something that may result in their arrest. venezuela's president has hit back at his opponents at home and abroad with backing from the military and while powers like russia and china by the u.s. and its latin american allies are demanding that nicolas maduro be replaced by opposition leader one has declared himself interim president or a challenge will tell us more about russia's response shortly first alison there are reports on the venezuela colombia border. one of to the other venezuelan regional military commanders took to the airwaves to the clear loyalty to president nicolas maduro saying that the opposition efforts to replace him with the transitional government were an attempted coup. a position reiterated by the country's defense minister blood by between. the people of venezuela that

a coup is being carried out against. institutions against our democracy against our constitution against our president nicolas maduro the legitimate president of the bully varian republic of venezuela it was a show of unity and strength for the embattled government of nicolas maduro and it came the day after the largest anti-government demonstrations in the country since two thousand and seventeen in after the younger position leader why don't proclaim themselves illegitimate interim president outside been a number of countries including the united states have backed away those claim to legitimacy and in tears the u.s. secretary michael insisted moderate time was up the time for debate is. the regime of former president nicolas maduro just illegitimate. his regime is morally bankrupt. economically incompetent and it is profoundly corrupt the president

answered ordering all venezuelan diplomats home from the united states in giving us diplomats in venezuela seventy two hours to leave other world powers like russia and china came to my rescue warning the u.s. against external intervention in the country. it is another flagrant interference into internal affairs of a sovereign state which as you know there has been several attempts to oust him from power including attempts on his life just. here in the border city of the thousands of venezuelans keep crossing into colombia on a daily basis in search of food medicine and basic health services they can't access back home they say they receive the latest news from venezuela with a mix of hope and wariness i look at we needed this to happen to bring about change and unfortunately it will take more. country. is not an option.

local n.g.o.s say twenty's. six people have been killed since the latest wave of protests against my doodle began four days ago the president called for dialogue with the opposition but if you see any alternatives to more turmoil in coming days listen and get the. well russia is pointing the finger firmly at the united states at the moment we've heard both from sergey lavrov the foreign minister and also the kremlin lavrov says that once again we are convinced that the united states which is paranoid that someone was interfering in their elections without any evidence is itself trying to decide on the fates of other nations and simply interferes in their internal affairs venezuela is not the first case it's just that venezuela in there in that country the interference was especially flagrant he also said that we call on the venezuelan opposition not to become poor ones in someone else's very dirty criminal game earlier the kremlin spoke and said that madeira has not as yet

asked russia for any particular assistance asked whether moscow might grants nicolas maduro political asylum if it came to that well the kremlin said that mr madeira is the legitimate president of venezuela and therefore we consider that question to be inappropriate well there is a legitimate question though which is what might russia do there are strong ties between russia and venezuela russia considers whether as well or an ally it lends it billions and billions of dollars as house china they're also military ties between the two countries only recently russia sent to long range strategic bombers to venezuela as support basically in a show of force against western countries the united states could russia intervene militarily while it's too soon to tell that i think it certainly will try and defend mr maduro in the united nations as to whether there might be any.

overt military action militarily overtly i think that's perhaps at the moment unlikely but covertly there are things that russia could do it has private military contracts is a group called particularly which is used in ukraine and syria and at the moment is active in places like the central african republic so there is a possibility that it could be considering using that outfit to help out nicolas maduro in venezuela. in other world news the afghan taliban has named a co-founder to lead his political office in qatar abdul ghani baradar is expected to join negotiations with the us which look to be gaining momentum the talks in doha where originally scheduled to run for forty eight hours but have been going on for four days now other senior leaders have also been put into the taliban's negotiating team habeeb why dyke is a national security analyst and a founding member of transparency afghanistan he says appointment shows

a commitment to the peace process a lot but are there is a senior. taliban official who was serving and pakistani prisons for the past so many years he was a close confidant to lead more omar served us a deputy to moamar he is somebody who all was favored negotiations in peace talks and therefore de pakistani government put him in prison years back and here he has this is anti pakistan narrative a decision time favoring crees and in a strong supporter of the peace process i think this is an excellent move by the taliban this shows their commitment that they are committed to this whole notion of peace one thing is for sure the united states had to talk to the

taliban after seventeen years they realized that the local partner they have in the form of the african government it has got activists to call of deterrence not of the option it failed to absorb the general african public indulged in massive corruption lacking good governance and this caused a whole set of problems for the united states president of on the star. the un special rapporteur for arbitrary killings says she will travel to turkey next week to head an independent international inquiry into the murder of saudi journalist. agnes calmar will look at the circumstances of the crime and the responsibility of any state or individual suspected of being involved show report her findings to the un human rights council in june. this is a visit by a special aperture a day work independently of us and and they can follow their own guidelines in

terms of their dealing with topics such as in this case the topic of extrajudicial executions you're aware of the position of the secretary general about the need for a full and transparent investigation and he continues to stand by that diplomatic editor james spader's looks at the significance of the un special rapporteur wars investigation. let's put this into context there's been for many months a call from human rights groups for a powerful inquiry or a commission of inquiry set up by one of the main bodies of the un the general assembly the security council all the human rights council that is not what this is this is an initiative of dr agnes keller mamma she holds an important un position as the special rapporteur on judicial executions arbitrary killings and summary killings now under the existing remit she can visit anywhere she wants and that's what she's doing she's going to turkey she is independent she is international

because she's a u.n. experts so this in those terms is an independent international inquiry it's also worth noting that any special rapporteur when they go on a trip anywhere around the world at the end of it right so report to the human rights council she so she will be representing a report but this is not a formal commission of inquiry having said that saudi arabia should be worried about this because she has already said in fact in the interview with me in november that given the senior figures that were involved in the killing she believes on the information that's publicly available that saudi arabia is culpable for the death more anti-government protests are expected across sudan on friday this comes as activists say at least two more people have been killed during demonstrations there's it's rallies were. carried out kerry carried on rather through the night where's some of the most widespread since the unrest began last

month the government says twenty nine people have been killed since december but rights groups say the figure is much higher. i'm a senior national says it's obtained new reports the female activists being tortured in a detention facility in saudi arabia last year the rights groups reveal similar testimonies of sexual abuse by people who had been jailed british politicians and lawyers want to visit them but haven't received a response from riyadh reports from london. on camera these are some of the saudi activists the british politicians and international law is a demanding access to they want to investigate allegations that the women are being illegally detained and tortured the women some of them academics were campaigning for the right to drive in the relaxing of male guardianship rules they say they've been given electric shocks whipped water boarded and sexually harassed in unofficial detention centers inside the kingdom are two sides to this story and what i want us to be able to do is to be able to fairly report. on both and come to

a judgment about. the progress of human rights in saudi arabia the request comes as the saudi government struggles with the international fallout from the killing of jamal khashoggi the journalist was killed by a saudi hit team in the kingdom's consulate in istanbul in october. britain is saudi second most important partner for arms sales and security but the murder of khashoggi has put the human rights record under scrutiny it seems as though the torture took place merely to humiliate the women merely to teach them a lesson. to perhaps make them afraid to talk and say anything once they once they leave detention saudi arabia denies the allegations of mistreatment but this panel are insisting on visiting the women themselves that is being sent that saudi arabia is not responding to the requests the campaign to say they will

publish a report on january twenty ninth detailing the evidence collected by human rights watch and amnesty international if sad refuses to comply charlie rangel al-jazeera london. still ahead on al-jazeera why the democratic republic of congo's new president takes just the care he had to stop his inauguration speech. last climate change campaign is appealed to best leaders at the world economic forum in davos. by the springtime flowers of a mountain lake. to the first snowfall on a winter's day. hallowed stormy in the central mediterranean at the moment you can see the circulating cloud and it's pushing up through the jane right up through eastern europe it's exceedingly cold in moscow minus thirteen so why we're inserting this bit of moisture he gets no out of it and that's the case for eastern

poland turning off the rim many and then this of course this is the next stressed of rain so more flooding in turkey and greece and snow up in remaining in the backwash winds i think be quite potentially damaging down domination coast so that's all the action behind it is quiet but it is warming up in london to ten degrees on friday but that's also the direction where the next suspect arrowhead of weather will come in and it snow will move forward as you can through germany into austria notably temperatures are rising surprising researchers snow that will then turn to rain and slush but a quarter unpleasant all this time that's storm is still circulating in the jian producing yet more rain and that's true for turkey rest for that and greece because it does mean that well you've had it pretty surprisingly wintry nigerian to near zero recently it's on its way in that general direction but on friday it still looks quite windy not very warm but not as what is it has been so little better

come saturday. the with sponsored boycotts on race. where the online. couldn't you for them to do this or if you join us on the senate all of us have been colonized in some form or some fashion this is a dialogue we are talking about a legal friend to me you have seen what it can do to somebody to people using multiple drugs including a funnel and some people or see everyone has a voice from the us your boss your twitter and you could be on the street join the global conversation amount is zero. zero zero again you're watching al-jazeera

a reminder our top stories this hour of venezuela's military has reiterated its support for president nicolas maduro saying attempts to remove him amount to a cool opposition leader one consider amnesty if maduro goals quietly the afghan taliban has named one of its co-founders as the leader of this political office in qatar abdul ghani baradar is expected to join negotiations with the u.s. which appear to be gaining momentum and more anti-government rallies are expected across don on friday activists say at least two more people were killed during protests some very state which carried on through the night. of the democratic republic of congo's new president says he is ready to tackle the challenges that lie ahead by building a country where everyone has a say but people are impatient to see how he will deal with the weak economy and corruption from a military force from can. a riving at the palace of the nation to be sworn into office security. set to become the democratic republic of congo's fifth president

since independence from belgium in the one nine hundred sixty s. . for many congolese the ceremony matters deeply in a country having dealt with decades of conflict and violence it's the first peaceful handover of power since independence and a symbol of change after eighteen years of rule under joseph kabila. last month's election was bitterly fought the country's new president came with a message of reconciliation national unity. we want to build a strong congo in its cultural diversity we will promote its development in peace and security a condo for each and every one everybody will have his or her own place. in the formal ceremony soon turned into a celebration there were loud cheers from the thousands of people would gathered on the lawns of the palace of the nation throughout the proceedings and it continued

people here excited about the message coming from the new president felix just a katie one of unity for my remark i am very happy to hear myself and the new president calling for unity this will help us to live in a very good society without discrimination. that we are here to welcome our new president and we ask him to please address our problems from the street all the way up to help children get off the streets and find jobs is. the demand as is a feeling of joy because he is the first time for me to see a peaceful transition in my country and a significant first to see this example which will help in our future but not everything went according to plan it was confusion and panic as the president fell ill during his address we were told to stop filming. i soon after the president resumed his speech no official explanation was given but the people we spoke to here said the president was simply. overcome by the occasion

just one african head of state was seen at the ceremony kenya's president of. the african and european union said expressed concern about the way the election was conducted but did recognize the outcome. however little can take away from the optimism many feel with the new president now sworn in that mood will be tested in the months to come as felix security deals with the challenges facing the democratic republic of congo for me to malaya alleges iraq and. the u.s. senate has again failed to end the partial government shutdown the republican and democratic parties trying to pass competing bills but neither had enough votes doesn't donald trump is refusing to fund the government departments until he gets billions of dollars for a wall along the mexican border mike hanna has more from washington. well as expected neither bill in the senate to receive the necessary sixty votes however it

was significant that the bull drawn up by the democratic party was supported by six republican senators who crossed the floor there's a sign perhaps of a splintering within the republican party however there is discussion continuing the senate leaders meeting for a number of hours to try and find some form of compromise however president trump remains adamant that he will not accept any funding legislation that does not include money for his wall and said he would be extremely unhappy if government reopened without such funds being provided well i wouldn't be happy with it i would really happy but we have a lot of alternatives artist that we have everybody look for the most part people agree with i say everybody i would say almost everybody we have to have border security we have to have a wall in order to have border security you cannot have border security with all we can play games and we can talk about technology we can talk about drones flying are

very difficult to see what happens next the senate leader mitch mcconnell says discussions are ongoing there is as well increasing speculation again about the possibility of president trump declaring a national state of emergency however the senate has finished proceedings it will reconvene again friday but no end in sight to this ongoing partial shutdown. a prominent gay congressman in brazil has stepped down and fled the country saying he's getting too many death threats gene willis has been an outspoken critic of president giant bossom narrow who has a history of making homophobic comments while a swan another term but told the media he has no plans to return to brazil is said to be replaced by another openly gay politician who is currently serving on rio de janeiro city council was exiled members of come body is banned opposition party have told they're planning to return within the next few months more than one hundred of them were barred from politics in the run up to the twenty eight

thousand election many fled fearing arrest when he reports from numpad. highlighting the political divide the ruling cambodian people's party is having new headquarters built by the chinese just down the road the offices of the banned opposition cambodian national risk you party are abandoned many of its key members left the country but of valuing to return even if it means they'll be arrested for a price that we had to pay. a price that it's worth paying the opposition was accused of conspiring with foreign countries to overthrow the government and was dissolved by the course that led to the party of prime minister hoons in winning all seats in last year's election his spokesman says those who have committed crimes must face justice. for them to them we have overcome them to come back but they have a biggish and i'm going to respond to the core. one opposition member who didn't

have a chance to flee was party leader kim was under house arrest in phnom penh awaiting trial for treason plain clothes police keep a close watch outside in response to the turmoil cambodia's largest export market the european union has started a six month investigation that could see phnom penh lose tariff free access for its goods remove all of that would. impact one that can be awarded to to adapt quickly the e.u.'s move came after intense lobbying by example politicians and activists the government has made some concessions like amending a law to allow banned opposition members to re enter politics but they have to apply to the prime minister or interior minister and they have to accept that the original court decision to ban them was correct they basically have to ask for a pardon something most of them are prepared to do they believe the threat of economic punishment could provide an opportunity for negotiation and reconciliation

we will. know by. the more. convinced that our people want us back. to. who has been in power for thirty four years and is in charge of a defacto one party state is unlikely to back down completely and reinstate an opposition that could be a threat to his rule wane hey al jazeera phnom penh. greek police have fired tear gas to disperse crowds gathered outside parliament to protest against a deal over the name of neighboring macedonia some chanted traitors as politicians inside the building debated the controversial issue for a third day there arguing over whether to ratify the un brokered agreement under which macedonia will change its name to north macedonia this is to differentiate it from a greek province called macedonia john psaropoulos is in athens and explains why

greeks are upset about the agreement. a few thousand protesters gathered outside parliament on thursday evening to tell the government that they do not want the precipice agreements the macedonian name change deal to be decided in parliament they wanted to go to referendum two thirds of greeks agree with them in a new poll out today they also try to keep this protest peaceful however they will not ultimately successful hundreds of young hooded how did you work out that outside parliament alongside them they were evidently looking to make trouble or at least some of them were eventually they succeeded firing flares and fireworks at the police who were guarding the parliament compound those police responded with tear gas and there ensued a small pitched battle on the avenue outside the parliament compound eventually

that peaceful protest and a violent protest were. ended by the police action the police have now taken control of the area in front of parliament again around the same time as that happened the debate inside the chamber ended with the leader of the opposition and the prime minister they have been locked in mutual recrimination about whether syria has respected greek red lines and foreign policy tradition on the macedonian issue the opposition conservatives. the government has crossed red lines by recognizing macedonian ethnicity and language and nationality and this they say will create problems in the future rather than sold this problem the government says it's kept absolutely so those redlines that the former yugoslav macedonian side has made formal concessions on the greek side and that in fact the

agreement. will definitively defend those greek red lines soaring temperatures in australia has sparked more than fifty bushfires across the southern island state of tasmania hundreds of firefighters have been brought in from other parts of the country to help contain them they hate ways from ted imagine see warnings in other cities temperatures are forecast to reach forty four degrees celsius in melbourne the hottest in a decades now is a very different story on the other side of the world where parts of niagara falls have frozen in basically cold windy conditions but that isn't been coming from around the world to get a look along the border between canada and the us the particularly cold weather is expected to last for at least another two weeks meanwhile the un secretary general antonio terrace has warned the world is running out of time to contain climate change and says more political will is desperately needed he spoke in at the world economic forum in davos switzerland john hall is there. hi on the world economic

forum agenda this year is climate change recognized now by many decision makers here is both a threat to the planet and in the business of mitigating its effects and opportunity so high above devils climate scientists have made camp to explain how fast melting arctic ice affects weather patterns and rising sea levels so we think about these extreme weather events that we're starting to see more happening more frequent and more persistent around the globe a lot of this is tied to what's happening in the arctic today sixteen year old griffith earn burke has joined them the young swedish activist spent a day a week throughout two thousand and eighteen protesting for government action against climate change we are facing the biggest crisis human face and what we do now what we do or don't do right now we reflect my entire life and the lives of my children and grandchildren the point about an event like this isn't just to show

off a bunch of scientists and activists braving subzero temperatures they do that sort of thing all the time it's a way of bringing home to the davos elite the reality and urgency of climate change among them of course the sort of people who can make real change happen leading climate change negotiator christiana figueres was a key figure in bringing about the recent paris agreement she believes big business is finally listening i were beginning to understand that climate change is the biggest threat that humanity faces but it is all sound at the same time wrestling with climate change harmonizing investing into public infrastructure putting in. actually. and if they are listening it's despite the trumpet ministration pulling out of the paris accord. speired i think it gave an opportunity for businesses to go faster i think cities are also growing faster we have to act and business can act much faster than government reason perhaps for optimism that out of crisis

comes opportunity and in opportunity there is hope join all al-jazeera at davos switzerland. and as always much more news on our website at al-jazeera dot com the very latest on all our top stories on there al jazeera dot com. hello again i'm fully back to go with the headlines on al-jazeera venezuela's south proclaim leader one guy says he would consider granting amnesty to president nicolas maduro if he helps to restore democracy the u.s. and its latin american allies are demanding nicolas maduro be replaced by quite ill a door has accused washington of trying to stage a coup in the afghan taliban has named one of its co-founders as the leader of its political office in qatar abdul ghani baradar is expected to join negotiations with the u.s. which appear to be gaining momentum habeeb wabac is

a national security analyst if things smaller baradar is appointment shows a commitment to the afghan peace process a lot but are there is a senior. taliban official who was serving and pakistani president for the past so many years he is somebody who all was favored negotiations in peace talks is to pakistan not active in a decision time favored increase and in a strong supporter of the peace process i think this is an excellent move by the taliban this shows their commitment that they are committed to this war of peace the un special rapporteur on executions agnes connemara will travel to turkey next week to head an independent international inquiry into the murder of saudi journalists. shall report her findings to the un human rights council angel.

more anti-government rallies are expected across sudan on friday activists say at least two more people were killed during protests on thursday which carried on through the night the government says twenty nine people have been killed since december but wise groups dispute that figure and say it's much higher the u.s. senate has again failed to end the partial government shutdown now in its thirty fifth day a republican and democratic parties try to pass competing bills but neither had enough votes president donald trump is refusing to fund government departments until he gets billions of dollars for his mexico border wall. you're up to date with headlines on al-jazeera much more on our website at al-jazeera dot com the stream is up next stay with us each year childhood ends for an estimated fifteen million girls globally omeri before the age of eighteen. young girls compelled to marry after fleeing the war in syria

share their stories and talk to him just zero. hi anthony ok and i'm really going to do a update on the war in syria it's a show that you our community voted for so join us with your syria related comments and questions live on you tube or on twitter stream. my name is the marker for the boy on the beach and you are. a big thanks to everyone who voted in last week's twitter poll to help us choose today's topic you can follow us to stream to look out for future polls so today we're looking at some of the latest headlines from the war in syria and the pullout of u.s. troops.