on a visit to washington this week the south korean president moon j. in press the u.s. to pass to lift sanctions to encourage for the talks in ending the north's nuclear program or robert kelly is a professor of political science and diplomacy at national university he says the u.s. may be making unrealistic demands on north korea. actually the north koreans have been saying this for a long time their own standard expression here is that the u.s. pursues a hostile policy towards north korea and only when the united states stops treating north korea as an enemy state to be eliminated would it be possible of them to denuclearize and have normalization stuff like that so we've heard this kind of language from north korea for a while it's new to have a deadline right the sort of idea that if this is a had by the end of the year you know who knows what is i mean does that mean they're start launching missiles again or are testing nuclear weapons that's kind of new the idea of an ultimatum from doesn't respond to that kind of thing particularly well so i imagine the american administration will simply blow that off but you know they have been meeting now for what you know to a year and a half now eighteen months and not a whole lot is come of it i mean at some point we're going to keep doing these summits got to get something in the debate on north korea because the sequencing

right sort of who's supposed to step first and this is undercut negotiations with north korea for a while again if the idea is to have this huge step with north koreans give up everything they're just not going to do that first exchange for big promises that's why he's go for smaller steps first where if one side feels of the other cheats it's not such a big loss or you get around the sequencing problem by having each deal be smaller and then grow into it but as long as you insist on sort of these massive all or nothing deals i mean you race huge trust problems like you just mentioned then you get a stalemate which is where we are now the international criminal court has rejected a request to open an investigation into possible war crimes in afghanistan judge's signs of a lack of evidence and state cooperation prosecutors had wanted to examine the role of afghan security forces the taliban and u.s. troops during the eighteen years of conflict richard dicker is from human rights watch he says the i.c.c. has decision is incomprehensible. i don't believe each year everything from my reading of the judge's decision they essentially.

just use on its head and say yes crimes were committed we in the eyes he sees. it we're no do a mess to trials addressing the. these alleged crimes and but nonetheless they are dismissing the prosecutor's request to me it's in concrete and civil by way of the judicial decision we've seen again and again that justice for poor crime is of mass slaughter in the use of rape as. a weapon of war bringing some justice to victims who endure those acts is essential to a meaningful and durable peace and that's what the

i.c.c. prosecutor tempting to provide that judges in mrs since have turned her request to do so now but perhaps the ramifications extend beyond afghanistan and to the point where if you perpetrate these most terrific crimes but don't mess to situation is such that investigations may not be feasible then there will be no effort by the international criminal court whether it's in afghanistan or another country. time for a short break here on out as hero when we come back we'll have reaction on the ground in libya as the war honey for howto threatens to push deeper into the capital. the u.s. president says he's considering sending illegal immigrants to cities controlled by his political opponents or that stay with us.

hello again and welcome back we're here cross united states we have been watching this big storm system and it has the characteristics of a winter to the north and spring to the south first of all up here towards the north where we have seen some blizzard conditions across much of the area by the time we get to saturday of things finally make their way towards the northeast it is going to be the canadian maritimes that are dealing with the remnants of that very snowy and cold and windy situation but down here towards the south we're going to be watching what's happening in texas very carefully because that system is going to be developing and this is going to bring some very severe weather across much of the southeast and with that we do expect to see tornadoes damaging hail as well as large hail and winds across much of the area snow will also be a problem anywhere from chicago all the way up towards toronto and that is going to

cause some problems at the airport across much of the caribbean looking quite nice not a lot of rain in the forecast temperatures are going to hover into the low thirty's for the bahamas into the high twenty's for you with nasa at about twenty eight degrees there not much of a change over the next few days but rain down here across much of panama and then as we go towards rio de janeiro course we did see flooding early in the week rain is back in the forecast and by the time we get to sunday that rain could be heavier and a temperature of thirty degrees. methamphetamines for me and a flooding into countries across asia. one zero one east asks why all four cots aid to stop the mess. on al-jazeera. whether someone telling someone it's very red. i think it's how you approach. it is

a certain way of doing it you can just. try out. welcome back top stories here on al-jazeera the head of sudan's military transitional council has stepped down and been replaced by another general the opposition welcome the move but they continue to demand a civilian lead of ministration. algerian protesters also want more change police arrested more than a hundred people in the capital they want the interim president. to quit. the north korea's leader says a breakdown in talks with the u.s. could revive past tensions conjunction called for the u.s. to show the right attitude. to u.s.

media is reporting that days before the libyan warlord leave to have to launch an offensive to seize the capital saudi arabia promised to help pay for the operation we know in the ground at least five civilians were killed on thursday while would up the wall has the latest now from tripoli. these protesters have come from all over the capital tripoli here in the main square to denounce the military offensive launch it by forces loyal to the warlord khalifa haftar the protesters here say that they completely reject their telly tarion and military rule by the world in order to tell if the have to they say that have to this forces one to take over the capital tripoli in order to impose military rule in the west of the country the also say that in twenty eleven they use up against dictatorship against their telly terry and all of them are going to get daffy and they also say that they are now rising up against military rule by the world the have to work planes loyal to the

world a lot of money for have to targeted several locations in and around tripoli including their disability and also it targeted a location in the western coastal city of us who are injuring two people the united nations and if these agency has won it that around fifteen hundred fifty g.'s or migrants are trapped because of the recent conflict but in a section of state might pompei it was reported to have held talks with the saudi crown prince the guardian is reporting the pump had been so mom to cut ties with a close adviser a link to the murder of the journalist. about tapes out all khatami has recently been sanctioned by the u.s. fears alleged role in the killing was in jordan has more from washington d.c. . according to the guardian newspaper the u.s. secretary of state mike pompei o has told the saudi crown prince that he needs to

cut all ties with his close political adviser and former social media chief south honey the renews paper says that mike pompei o told mohamed bin solomon that. ongoing presence is undermining saudi credibility when it comes to the investigation of the murder of the saudi journalist jamal the last october that goes to the fact that u.s. intelligence has said that mr al how tani was very likely involved in the planning and carrying out of mr household she is murder and it also has suggested that thomas al how tani is very much involved in ongoing efforts to or press political dissidents within the saudi kingdom so far the state department has given a no comment response to the guardian al-jazeera has also reached out for comment on this report about the prom peo pressure allegedly to make mr solomon give up this or all qahtani as

a close political advisor iran is officially protesting the u.s. decision to designate the islamic revolutionary guard corps as a terrorist group in a letter to the united nations its foreign minister said the move could have dangerous consequences. the reports in the capital tehran. was flag burning in death chants a usual friday protest in to her but this time one name featured more prominently than usual. it would have seemed impossible but attacking the islamist revolutionary guard corps one of iran's most important institutions has made u.s. president donald trump even more unpopular just days after the u.s. decision to designate the entire i.r.g.c. as a foreign terrorist organization thousands of iranians came out to support their troops supposedly have the i.r.g.c. is the core of the country of course our army is good to the i.r.g.c. is more popular at the base had he handed i've something to tell trump in his administration you have designated the i.r.g.c.

a terrorist group but soon you will change the white house to a mosque in iran's leaders have said the latest move is another attempt to divide iranians trump has often said the revolutionary guard has a track record of selling violence in the middle east and suppressing its own people but it stage managed events like this there are no counter protests no alternate narratives the i.r.g.c. is far too strong to criticize opened up close but the fervor in this crowd can be taken as a fair measure of the national support the group enjoys the american decisions a brand new organization this terrorist has in iran by all accounts be a public relations opportunity for the r.g.c. to rally their supporters in the country and to strengthen what was already a very powerful position in iranian society tens of thousands of fighters millions of volunteers and a hold on iran's industrial economy nearly every aspect of life is somehow influenced by the i.r.g.c.

beyond iran's borders the revolutionary guard helped push eisel out of iraq and syria supports hezbollah in lebanon and recruits trains and supports groups in yemen pakistan and afghanistan it's a major player in the region one that america now considers a terrorist organizations. tasneem good of deciding to libel the g. say a terrorist group was stupid americans know they shot themselves in the foot with this act they have put the security of american forces all around the world especially since forces at permanent risk. in a letter of protest to the united nations iran's foreign minister condemned the trump white house accusing the u.s. of raising tensions to uncontrollable levels he warned of dangerous consequences and said responsibility for whatever comes next would rest on the shoulders of america and its allies in the region perhaps a reminder that iran considers american activities to be the most destabilizing force in the middle east or perhaps

a warning to the international community that iran's patience is running out at the same bus robbi old is here at the horizon. the world health organization says an above the outbreak in the democratic republic of congo does not constitute a public health emergency of international concern as the latest. health workers a set up clinics in east and democratic republic of congo to treat hundreds of ebola patients doctors in beni a working to identify the symptoms as soon as they can we're examining the patients earlier than we've seen them previously and so. these patients may not have developed disease yet so it's something that they need to be followed long term to ensure that they don't develop complications or i inflammation and i think we're all still learning for. drivers and the eye disease an eye color complications blurry or reduced vision or in some cases even blindness this has become

a common problem for nearly twenty percent of vive is. in the eastern town of the temple some families have been separated by the disease and survivors are doing what they can to help. no one else can take care of kids whose parents are affected by the outbreak. and able to take care of her daughter because she's suffering and contra affecting her kids she's safe in my hands as i was cured and i can't be affected again some have been sharing their experience of ebola to help others stay healthy. i've decided to raise awareness so that i can save the lives of my brothers and sisters who are doubting that ebola exists throughout testimony we're telling people it's real but the disease is still not under control in fact it's spreading since last october over a thousand cases have been reported eighteen new cases were identified just this week and fighting between on groups in the east have hampered efforts to contain

ebola the red cross says it's also affecting people's trust in the medics who can help them the level of mistrust that we're seeing in the community is an operational challenge and it can stem from the last of the conflict in the region and this is the first time this region is. an outbreak of ebola in a while and it's for this reason that we are putting community based approaches to saving five ferals as well as community feedback systems at the core of our response not only into your sea but as part of our containment protests across south sudan rwanda uganda and burgundy working through the volunteers to replace community efforts at the core of what we do it's only by understanding the beliefs of the community that we can build trust and stop this outbreak this is the second worst outbreak since the virus was discovered in one thousand nine hundred seventy six it's swept through west africa in twenty fourteen spreading to the u.s. u.k. and spain killing at least eleven thousand people which is why finding

a solution to reverse the latest epidemic is becoming even more critical for him mohammed al jazeera. u.s. president donald trump is mulling over a plan that would punish political rivals for their perceived the action of the mexican border john hendren as a story from washington d.c. . president donald trump says he's considering releasing migrants detained at the border into so-called sanctuary cities across the u.s. will bring them to sanctuary city areas and let that particular area take care of it if it becomes a reality the controversy will plan would be aimed at mostly democratic mayors in cities where police and local authorities declined to enforce u.s. immigration laws except in cases where the federal government has specifically requested help california certainly is always saying oh we want more people and they want more people in their sanctuary cities well we'll give them more people we can give a lot we can give them an unlimited supply and let's see if they're so happy that

the president cited california cities such as san francisco home to the speaker of the house nancy pelosi who fired back at the president just another. notion that is unworthy of the presidency of the united states and disrespectful of the challenges that we face as a country as a people to address who we are a nation of immigrants the mayor of another sanctuary city oakland california expressed outrage these are human beings families told her and to use them as political pawns in a game of then dick deafness just takes this administration to a whole new low level mayors say without the designation many undocumented immigrants declined to cooperate with police and other city officials for fear of being deported national security experts describe the idea floated by the president is clearly illegal he might be acting out of frustration he has been repeatedly

stymied on immigration whether it's his travel ban funding for a border wall or in his case the opposition of democratic mayors his own department of homeland security described this idea is floated and rejected but it's a pointed reminder that he is adept at using the considerable resources of his office to strike back at critics. trump statement came amid an unusually early start to the two thousand and twenty presidential election one in which he is expected to again make immigration his signature issue john hendren al jazeera washington. top a quick check of the headlines here on al-jazeera the head of sudan's military transitional council has resigned to step down after continued pressure from protest as it were placed by another general. on. the amalia

will be this is for the benefit of the nation without having to look at special interests spiegel's small that might preclude its progress we all have to say that this country has great people and a great many i would like to recommend you work together and hope that you would reach a solution very speedily i would also hope that this decision is not misinterpreted . i wish my brother six is in what is beneficial to our country. a peaceful and honorable country the main opposition group welcome the change calling in alf's resignation a victory for the will of the people but continues to demand a civilian led transitional council. but he said our dearest capital of arrested more than a hundred people during protests calling for the interim president abdul carbon solid to quit and say eighty officers were injured north korea's leader says a breakdown in talks with the u.s. could revive past tensions kim jong un called for the u.s. to show the right attitude kim said he would give the u.s.

until the end of the year to make his decision adding that he's keen to hold a third meeting on a visit to washington this week the south korean president moon jane pressed the u.s. to partially lift sanctions to encourage further talks on ending the north's nuclear program the international criminal court has rejected a request to open an investigation into possible war crimes in afghanistan judges that a lack of evidence and state corporation prosecutors had wanted to examine the role of afghan security forces the taliban u.s. and u.s. troops during eighteen years of conflict last month u.s. secretary of state might pompei or said washington would revoke or denied visas to i.c.c. staff investigating such allegations for the wiki leaks co-founder julian assange is could face a renewed investigation into a rape allegation in sweden the charges were dropped in twenty seventeen but prosecutors are reviewing the case he could not be extradited to the u.s. over his alleged role in one of the largest ever leaks of government secrets in twenty ten. well those are the headlines the news continues here on al-jazeera

after wonder what he said you've done so much about that. we understand the differences. and the similarities of cultures across the world so no matter how you take it al-jazeera will bring you the news and current affairs the much it to you is iraq. record breaking amounts of methamphetamines are being seized across asia. massive calls of pills and crystal meth are flooding the region. some of it reaching as far north as japan and as far south as a stray aliya in new zealand. where does it all come from me and maher the biggest meth producer in the world. a world has lost the war against

drugs. one on one east travels to the borderlands of me and mark twain vesta gate what's driving asia's meth through and why authorities are powerless to stop it. this is the so-called golden trying a border region known for its beauty and the tories for drugs. behind these mountains is me and maher we're standing in thailand and over there is a highway making it really easy for traffickers to bring drugs over the border and straight to the cities of thailand it's a perfect combination of geography infrastructure supply and demand.

were on the frontline of the drug war. joining a thai military patrol trying to stop the massive flow of methamphetamines coming across the border. colonel. is the leader of the unit on patrol. he's been on the job for less than a year but he's overseeing some of thailand's biggest and most violent busts. we have to make them realize. can't come into our country. will face tough enforcement. right through. the unit covers more than thirty

kilometers of the border. many encounters end up in gun fights. killed five traffickers during a bust a few months ago but they are always more willing to take their chances. traffickers with backpacks full of meth can run across the border in just a few minutes. how much they bring in depends on the size of the backpack a. small one can carry one hundred thousand. two hundred. but backpacks are just one way to traffic mess and the staggering amount is coming in authorities estimate that they're only catching about twenty percent of it. seven million pills just in this province alone this year. in the past three months

seized sixty percent of the entire amount we seized last year. another way they try and stop the flow of drugs is at checkpoints along these border provinces. time military and police search buses and trucks where large stashes can be hidden. the checkpoints are designed to catch traffickers by surprise and today the authorities have had a big win. this is what three hundred kilograms of the crystal meth looks like the soldiers carry out bundle after bundle for the camera. known on the streets as this high purity form of the drug is the most expensive kind if it reached australia these drugs would be worth one hundred eighty million dollars. got a. look at you know if you. don't if you did that call.

me by. not. by but look. that up when you i. get. a number or more i'm going. to. say there's a you know this is a for money it's with thailand's narcotics control board he tracks the patterns of trafficking. he says in more than thirty years on the job he's never seen a time when so much crystal meth is being seized this year there has been on average a bust every week or so forth. if you include. the two thousand two hundred. is. just in the past four months just.

so how does that compare to last year is that an increase. by a lot. triple. and for the producers seizing this amount is that a big hit for them. the money. to push more and more. bring twenty. the drugs the do make it across the border get distributed among dealers. the trade is so lucrative it outweighs the threat of life sentences. this former dealer agreed to meet with us if we disguised his voice and appearance. crap out of there before i would buy the pills for two dollars fifty and then i sell it for nearly four dollars. for five years he sold thousands of these red pills

a day they're known locally as you. just see. him they delivered the drugs to me and back. at first they gave me small bags of two hundred pills leg off and then it was two dollars pills at the. sympathy and then four thousand and then up to ten balls in the. law does it take two so. it doesn't take long. just a day. his profit on ten thousand pills could be as much as thirteen thousand dollars did you ever think that what you were doing was hurting other people and if you did why did you continue going to the leg of. their first i thought this was wrong. but after a while i was making money so i didn't think too hard about it i'm going to make it . the demand for meth across asia has never been higher.

growing economies are being fueled by workers grinding away at menial jobs. many laborers used which means crazy medicine to help them work long hours while those who can afford it use the pricier crystal meth or ice to party hard. stories about meth addiction are regularly in. the new guys. don't call one p.n. by now was all. but all. that was happy. and it's all nonsense. what a weapon. wow yeah. oh yeah by a wide angle bro i absented you. but i thought i. but the majority of users are everyday people tip is

a single mother who works several jobs to support her two children who live with her parents. she says she regularly uses the stimulating combination of methamphetamine and caffeine to help her concentrate at work. it's like i become super focused on what's in front of me i stay on task until another day or night i'll just sit there on to it but then i thought you know. it's easy to get a bath before i'd have to go to the dealer twice first to place my order and then i'd have to wait hours if not days to go pick it up and now i can pick it up right away. each pill costs three dollars tip says many people she knows have become users. in some cases users can work in exchange

for their pills they have one here some people just work it off by doing manual labor they don't have to pay for it. tip uses almost every day but denies she's the nat act. even though i use i never let my kids see it never let them have it never even seen it. in myanmar meth. cheap and large scale estimates vary between two and six billion. that's more than the number of coffees starbucks serves. most of it. which has ready access to precursor chemicals from china. into thailand where the finished product is then trafficked to other countries.

for meth labs thanks to decades of civil wars. in the state controlled by armed groups both rebels and government forces. the drug trade is a huge moneymaker for all sides. the most powerful of the rebel groups is the united states army they used to be famous for their heroin smuggling. and thailand think they're now in the meth business. journalists are rarely given access. but they have recently appointed a spokesperson. hi my name is kind words al i am recorder from al-jazeera and you have time to answer a couple of questions. he surprisingly upfront about drugs being produced in wa territory but insists that it's all in the past.

are going to go dark. ok started a lot of chill. out there are do you think there are any labs and your territory right now there are corrupt. party there are. a whole bottle o. . make a big. drug efforts with sporadic raids in televised drug burnings their true involvement in the meth training is difficult to prove. the only one allowing us to see for ourselves is the shan state army south. it is shocking.