can around but that's a philosophical question it's not allowed but you do socially connect and i some conscious level we are creating this new kind of entity. on al-jazeera. this is al-jazeera. hello malcolm i'm peter dhabi you're watching the news hour live from my headquarters here in tow are coming up in the next 60 minutes. the u.s. embassy in iraq is besieged by angry crowds donald trump blames iran and sends in reinforcements. north korea's leader talks of a new strategic weapons as the u.s. needs to stop its hostile policy. sproat battle into the new year to

save homes and lives in australia the military is on standby as lightning starts even more bushfires. and stepping into a new decade across the world the year 20 twentieth's pressured in with spectacular celebration. the u.s. has flown marine reinforcements into its rocky embassy after angry protesters tried to storm the compound president trump is blaming iran but it's denied any part in what's been going on hundreds of people marched into the heavily fortified green zone in baghdad and besieged the embassy compound on tuesday morning they pelted the building smashed doors and set fires they're angry at u.s. air strikes carried out on iraqi soil and in syria targeting the hezbollah brigades an iranian backed group 27 people were killed in the strikes which of anger at the

iraqi government to describe them as an attack on its sovereignty simona 14 begins our coverage with this report from baghdad screens. oh angry and determined they marched across the river tigris through unmanned checkpoints into the heart of the fortified green zone thousands of members of the iranian backed popular mobilization forces and their supporters surrounded the compound of the u.s. embassy to deliver a stern warning notice on a night out there this is a message to trump and to the american embassy and consulates in baghdad. watch out you have touched our soldiers and our brothers they set fires at the outer gates as they tried to get inside the embassy grounds the situation appears to be escalating now with hundreds perhaps thousands of members of the popular mobilization for setting the leads to the close of the u.s. embassy there filming stones there burning ceased the trying to climb the wall to

reach the u.s. embassy compound and they're chanting anti-american slogans they're demanding the waves roll off american troops from iraq. the action is in response to u.s. airstrikes that killed dozens of fighters from the hezbollah brigades which form part of the popular mobilization of forces it all began as a funeral procession to honor those killed crowds pay their respects as the bodies passed by and vowed to avenge their deaths and the how there are those although not all of this character the act was carried out by the u.s. and israel they will pay a high price we will take a strong stand and we will not forget the blood of the martyrs as long as there's breath inside of us we will tell them that we are here on the streets and we are here to stay and there will be an aggressive response to their bases are not saying the top pm of the year supported this march including hard money the leader of the biggest bloc in parliament and there is a bullet an insurgency after the u.s.

led invasion in 2003 they pledged to use both military and political means to expel u.s. troops that are now. part of the dharma this embassy has proved its conspires against iraq this is the embassy where they spy on iraq and where they lead to destruction of iraq this is where the saboteurs are supported the u.s. embassy is located in the heavily fortified green zone for months iraqi security forces have guarded it against anti-government protesters but this time they appear to have orders to stand down the prime minister has condemned the attack on the embassy but the fact that these crowds have been allowed to reach the embassy gates appears to signal the government's implicit endorsement of the message they're trying to send iran has strong relations not only with the security groups that we talk about that we've been talking about but also with the political groups with the institutions with state and state actors inside iraq and across the political

spectrum from. and kurdish groups. through loud speakers crowds in tahrir square who've camped out for months to protest against the government and iranian influence renounced any connection to the group that entered the green zone this attack on the u.s. embassy could turn into a diplomatic crisis many fear it could be the beginning of an escalating proxy war between the u.s. and iran on iraqi soil see want a full teen al-jazeera baghdad. let's cross live now to gabriel is on the in washington where donald trump has been tweeting about tuesday's rusticate 1st things 1st what more do we know about this new troop deployment to the middle east . well it's 750 u.s. soldiers that are being sent to the middle east immediately according to this pentagon these are soldiers

a battalion of soldiers from the 82nd airborne of the u.s. army one of the more battle tested divisions of the u.s. army they are being sent there are immediately presumably to kuwait although the pentagon would not confirm that make no doubt about it these are soldiers that are going to or could be sent immediately in to baghdad should the security situation deem it warranted the pentagon also saying that more troops are put on standby for possible deployment to the region in the next few days how many more troops the pentagon won't say however at least one media organization in the united states is estimating that they are hearing that it could be as many as $4000.00 u.s. troops that could be sent to the region but the pentagon not giving that number but clearly this is a major escalation by the united states and by the pentagon sending these troops there in the wake of the disturbances outside the u.s.

embassy in baghdad and i think what this shows is clearly one thing that the pentagon and the trumpet ministration do not trust the iraqi security forces to protect american lives or protect the u.s. embassy in baghdad and clearly this shows that the pentagon is worried about how things could potentially turn worse in the coming days and they want us troops very close in the region to deploy to that embassy should it be necessary so gave the trumpet ministration clearly ramping up the rhetoric against iran as well bud i mean when that the region where i'm sitting right now we're now into 2020 you guys not quite yes in washington 2019 donald trump spends a lot of time saying we're getting out of the middle east we're getting out of the middle east and we're not swiss sending more people into the middle east. they are sending very very mixed messages i mean this is a president that clearly does not like to get deeply involved in affairs of

other countries when it comes to troop deployments he wants to pull troops out we've seen that in northern syria there's a whole host of other areas as well so there are some mixed messages here clearly but what you are seeing is really the trumpet ministration really backed in a corner here the u.s. only has about $5000.00 troops in iraq and those are at the at the request or at of the iraqi officials there. but these are troops that are in mostly in a training role there not necessarily combat troops per se only $100.00 marines were able to be sent to the embassy. early on tuesday to help buffer security there so now you're seeing him send more troops back to the region because the situation is quite frankly very delicate and very volatile there and there's not a lot of options for trump he's clearly signaling iran's sent out

a tweet late tuesday saying iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost or damage incurred at any of our sit the sillies they will pay a very big price this is not a warning this is a threat that a tweet from the president united states the big question now is what does he plan to do with this threat and there's no clear answer to that yet do buildings very much will stay with us story max abrams is a professor of political science at northeastern university in boston he thinks the situation could escalate very quickly. trump has indicated that he's willing to escalate even further and the iranian militia groups whatever you want to call them have also been quite clear that this is not the effort they called off the operations against the embassy but there are still outside in the green zone

intense and their leadership says that they're going to continue pushing against u.s. forces even attacking them in so far as the united states leaves iraq and the not really for sealed by washington d.c. certainly there will continue to be some sort of both u.s. diplomatic presence never mind the $5000.00 plus u.s. troops in the country and so i don't see any end to this i think i see things getting worse but i also don't think that trump was an all out war against iran and iran is smart enough not to want it all out war against the u.s. as well i think that d.c. is very clear on this that any attacks by the popular mobilisation forces are seen as attacks by iran itself. and so there is no plausible

deniability when attacks can be linked up to the militia groups there basically seemed as coming directly from tehran however that doesn't mean necessarily that there needs to be a direct consequence to competition between the u.s. and iran for example another tide of president somebody's life bernie sanders or always bit war they might be more inclined to say you know what our this is in iran neighborhood the iraq project has been a failure since 2003 eighth's and sure iran is projecting power but that doesn't mean that the u.s. needs to stay there in large numbers and to escalate against iran. the death toll in australia's bushfires has now risen to 122 people were killed protecting their homes in the state of new south wales for all those in victoria are missing more than 200 farmers in a burning across australia southeast threatening several times. choking

on smoke with arnie a hose to protect to. face destroyed. head on with her father sure they fought for 5 hours saving their house cars and garden in rural victoria. the professionals are struggling to. thousands of firefighters are battling to contain the wildfires scorching the states of victoria and new south wales an area home to more do 13000000 people with once the front hit the wind just picked up the name has just took off and that was the everything they just went wolf was always going to come. and the conditions now draw everywhere you know what. international help is arriving this weekend the u.s. will have seems nearly 100 firefighters canada has sent more than 60 the strain

military is using planes and helicopters to douse flames preparing for possible war back to ations. on the ground police are trying to keep people out of fire zones areas that rowan change suddenly with the wind. west of us. and it's actually cut through one of the subways comes for on a short. thousands of residents along the east coast have been pushed to the water's edge if not the fires along the beach. and i think. all the right. in sydney the mayor was determined the show must go on for the new year the spectacle was granted an exemption to a statewide fireworks ban despite a petition signed by nearly 300000 people calling for them to be cancelled. it is

the most beautiful place in the world to celebrate that's why people say it's on their bucket list i want to come to straight to do that but it's on the international calendar and it is a really important to the economy. the cost of this bushfire crisis is yet to be quantified more than $1000.00 homes and thousands of hectares of farmland destroyed what are the animals the university of sydney estimating nearly half a 1000000000 have been killed we are absolutely stretched right across new south wales we've got fars burning from the queensland border all the idea on to the victorian border across the great dividing range. and the heat of summer has you to arrive bellus al-jazeera. last more still to come here on the news for you including our own. protesting on into 2020 the defiance is set to continue in hong kong and so is the crackdown. allegations of forced abortions we'll speak to ethnic kazakhs who say they were detained along

with weaker muslims in china. with paul the disappearance of a footballer's father colombia's world cup midfielder demands from the head of the country's army. the north korean leader kim jong il has promised to launch quote a new strategic weapon soon south korean media says mr kim has accused the white house of making gangster like demands the nuclearization talks between pyongyang and washington are deadlocked they have been since october the u.s. secretary of state mike pompei o has called mr kim's comments. deeply disappointing report bright joins us live now from so rob from pyongyang's perspective is or are these comments from kim jong un actually signaling or trying to signal to the pentagon and the white house look the door is not completely closed here week we can room find room

to maneuver. i think so peter these statements obviously have been long awaited here we knew that there was this end of year deadline for the u.s. to come up with concessions to get things moving again obviously that has passed and so we everyone has been expecting to see what exactly will be the new path that north korea chooses to take so they had but their statements at this special session of the workers party of career which have been carried extensively this new year's day morning on north korean t.v. kim jong un has basically said that this moratorium on longer range weapons testing and possibly even nuclear testing has come to an end and we will see what happens but as you mentioned that the north korean leader did say that just the scope and the depth of this testing of what it gets of the development of its. arsenal

depends upon the attitude of the u.s. so it does seem to be leaving open just very slightly although you do get a sense that this is now a final warning from north korea of the possibility that there could be some kind of dialogue at some point in the future north korea enters 2020 still believing that it has some leverage in this election year over donald trump but when you look at these statements although it isn't quite to the same kind of believe durance of the past when you compare these statements with the heady days of the singapore summits by the meeting between donald trump and kim jong un which was all very historic some 18 months ago and the signing of a piece of paper is flimsy as it was talking about the new clear eyes ation of the whole korean peninsula it does seem to leave all that now in tatters peter is the region now waiting to hear from the white house. i think so as you mentioned there we have a statement from mike pompei

o who was speaking on television in the u.s. just as they were getting the statement from the north korean news agency saying that yes there is disappointment but they're hoping that there will be so north korea will choose a path of peace and prosperity instead of conflict i think the next step is waiting to see just how north korea carries through any of its threats of renewed testing of course where in the run up to christmas we were all expecting the that they may have been some launch of a longer range i.c.b.m. intercontinental ballistic missile the same sort of weapon systems that brought the whole of the korean peninsula to the brink of war 2 years ago and of course that didn't materialize so i think or the next step is in north korea's court to see just how they follow through if they will embark back on their path of longer range missile testing or even nuclear testing and to see what reaction they get not only

from the united states but also of course neighbors here russians and also the chinese who have been having their own summit meetings with kim jong un and of course have been calling for relief of the sanctions the north koreans will be very careful not to try to undo the diplomatic work that it's been building with its north east asian neighbors peter rob many thanks. own kong's new year celebrations were scaled back due to security concerns with months of violence and tea government protests thousands still gathered across the financial up including along the waterfront calling for more freedoms from beijing the bigger problem has more from hong kong. these are the scenes that defined 29000 for hong kong protesters shielded by umbrellas blockading roads and confronting riot police. a call to disrupt new year's eve celebrations kept many people away from

areas normally packed with revelers tourists and shoppers but some still ventured out to ring in a new decade and mingled with those chanting slogans on the harbor from a mall. i hope that it will be a peaceful year and everyone will be more cheerful mass antigovernment protests were sparked by a proposed extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be sent from hong kong to mainland china for trial after much opposition the bill was withdrawn but the demands of protesters had already widened into calls for more democracy and investigation into the use of excessive force by the police. since large scale demonstrations broke out in june nearly 6500 people have been arrested and police have fired more than 11000 rounds of tear gas. the press has are now in their 7th month and in the run up to 2020 they have lessened in

intensity and in size but not in frequency their marches and rallies almost every day and there still is widespread support while the government has acknowledged it's been a year effect xyzzy and the chief executive kerry lamb has promised to rebuild the city there is no sign of conceding to any of the demands. of. the new year's eve demonstrations included human chains in many popular entertainment districts and there were clashes and manchaca main plash point where some of the more radical protesters lost roads set off fireworks and disrupted traffic. some took a more festive approach these protesters were offering free hugs but not softening their stand in the peaceful moment and that's what they want and. like me we find that the protests to be continued in trying to safety because this equation is

actually getting more serious here and yet so we are going to fight for what you want in the next year indicating that hong kong may need to brace itself for yet another turbulent year maybe go palin are just there hong kong. china's president xi jinping says he sincerely hopes for the best for hong kong and its people in his new address he said a prosperous and stable long kong is the aspiration not only of the territories people but also the expectation of mainland china well has been global condemnation about china's treatment of weaker muslims and other testimonies of ethnic kazakhs revealing harrowing details inside detention camps as well in part 2 of a special series a summer binge of aid spoke to some of them who say they feel there's nothing they can do to bring the alleged abusers to justice. on this wall in the in kazakhstan are the faces of people who were held in china relative say they're being held in

internment camps but beijing called reeducation camps to counter what it calls extremism. was held in such a camp she didn't talk about her experience until after she'd been awarded citizenship in kazakhstan she says abuse she suffered has scarred her for life and she frequently suffers headaches. when i was crossing the border they saw i am using whatsapp i was detained and sent for thera medical test they found i am pregnant and forced me to abort after the abortion they isolated me in a clinic they gave me some medicine which they said was for tuberculosis i don't know what it was members of the turkey community accuse chinese authorities of using abortions as a weapon against muslims either women afraid to reveal their identities have also told al jazeera about abuse at the camps the relative safe haven in kazakhstan is only for its nationals and does not apply to ethnic conflicts or chinese nationals and that's among the causes creating empty china sentiment inside cars because.

dozens of people were arrested in neutral tunnel munty during in mt sinai demonstration in september these men crossed illegally into gaza to stand after the reportedly freeze terrorist meant by chinese authorities. and where i get him only now risk being sent back to china activists see events like this fuel and to sign a sentiment and kazakhstan should not roll over for its powerful neighbor if it nick. juice prosecutes its mass massively prosecuted for example in russia in europe israel states they will talk against of its government was different any it doesn't in the world this analysts working with a government funded think tank says the china kazakhstan relationship is a delicate subject the message china's internal affairs but is sometimes if you take take into account the united nations motions. we go in. answer position was quite pragmatic and we abstain from voting. on. this motion so we have more

independent stance and about the same time where realize the geopolitical realities so i believe it's. a style diplomacy where we try to sustain the relation the same time show our case some question why should kazakhstan oppose china with which it shares a 700 kilometer border with other muslim majority countries support beijing earlier this year more than a dozen member countries of the organization of islamic cooperation or i.c. signed a statement in favor of china's policies commenting on internment camps the chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman has said the reagan ethnicity is part of the big family consisting of 56 ethnic groups in china tightly united together like the seeds of a pomegranate they're living a better life and fully enjoy freedom and rights china also enjoys friendly and close relations with the vast majority of muslim countries in the world. many of because exceed china's violating human rights on a large scale in the name of fighting terrorism they say their next generation has been killed before birth and their muslim identity is being systematically erased

yet they argue there is no leader from the islamic world standing up to support them. some of a job with al-jazeera and marty kazakhstan. still ahead here on the news hour for you he's been accused of corruption many times over but will 2020 finally see south africa's former president stand trial. also ahead will meet colombian youngsters risking their lives in one of the world's most dangerous excrete school. and in the proper sport 3000 kilometers apart tennis rivals preparing for a tournament with a big difference. hello the crowd has been streaming steadily eastwards across central areas of china but the good news that it is taking with it those rain showers so not

a bad at all generally on wednesday temperatures not double figures in shanghai some good sunshine 20 degrees in hong kong and also a much drive picture generally trolls much of taiwan we got a few showers into northern sections of luzon and also these coastal as of it now in the shadows tending to stand the picture as we go into thursday but that is when we will see more showers into more northern and central areas of the philippines from there we had a tools the south across into indonesia and fairly widespread here rain here we have also right across into western borneo but really it's much heavier father to the south so if any tried they generate through the mill a peninsula and across into somalia it's going to be java where we see the heavy rains as we go through wednesday on thursday so at 28 in jakarta about a wet couple of days ahead and then from there we head across towards india the story has been about the cold and also the focus we've been impacting areas to the north end but take you to new delhi and that fold has been very dense and very very

slow cicadas so this is what has been looking like to several days now there is no real change in the full cost but generally but mild on wednesday with a high of 70. the pollution is palpable. delis shares the symptoms of many modern metropolis but its unique features have been gotten a crisis. people in power investigates the toxic mix feeding the city's invisible killer and asks why more is not being done to relieve its citizens the least deadly aired on al-jazeera. when the news breaks and the moment today the current government has lost trust the people they cannot do anything because the protests are against them when people to be cut by thought well the represent the lofty goals for opponents of rex it's drawing the conservatives al-jazeera has teams on

the ground it now hopes that meeting in paris will push politicians to create a competent and credible government to bring new moon documentaries and lighting on am and on line. welcome back you're watching live from your headlines so far this hour additional u.s. troops have arrived in baghdad secure the u.s. embassy after it was targeted by protesters demonstrators are angry over u.s. air strikes in iraq and syria on sunday a powerful iranian backed group. lightning strikes started bushfires in the

australian state of victoria hundreds of people remain trapped on a beach there for a 2nd day the state of new south wales has also been badly hit. the north korean leader kim jong un to develop what he calls a new strategic weapon denuclearization talks between pyongyang and washington stalled in october. the united nations and government forces in the central african republic have declared in a tourist neighborhood in the capital bangui a weapons free zone the area known as p.k. 5 recently saw days of fighting between a militia and local traders the armed group was given a deadline to disarm which has now passed reports from. i shore force by united nations troops in an effort to avoid an all out war between traders and their former militia protectors in bungay speech to 5 neighborhood the area was once described as one of the most volatile districts in the country. now the united

nations has stepped in calling on both sides to this. matter. anyone seen with arms will be arrested disarmed or neutralized if he or she resists the population shouldn't take long to their hands it's the responsibility of a new sky and local forces we will also occupied control bases of self-defense groups for government forces this is the 1st time they're setting foot in 5 says 2014. no we should pretend about the current situation if one is a traitor you're a traitor if you're a militia man who reintegrate you to work last week clashes broke out between traitors and the local militia protecting them of accusation of extortion more than 40 people were killed days later the traders vow to chase the militia out of the area that a collaboration of the p q 5 never hold as a weapons free zone came just hours before

a deadline so running out all arms in the neighborhood expired traders who had relied on militia men for protection told them that they need to surrender all weapons in their possession or freeze an all out war now assured that side order has been on anyone seen carrying a gun and this never. does i mean fighters which the united nations want to carry out is something no one was able to do in 5 since the outbreak of civil war in 2030 in some residents wary of the bloodshed hope this time it will be different. our message is clear people should really be careful we're going to make sure no one is using guns to hold people to ransom did this you people are fed up and disappointed with what the vigilante they're doing that's why they want the presence of international and local forces to take charge and get in t. everyone safety. for now a bloody confrontation on new year's eve is averted but no one knows for how long

this peace will who are arming the breeze al-jazeera by the game can be as president adama borrow has created a new political party which could allow him to run in future elections barrow has formally read just at the national people's party naming himself as its leader his relationship with his previous party had been getting worse amid widespread protests calling for him to step aside barrows 3 a mandate as interim president ends later this month and then golan court has frozen the assets of africa's richest woman as part of an investigation into allegations of corruption isabel dos santos is the daughter of the former president eduardo dos santos assets owned by her husband and a business associate have also been frozen the encoding government has accused them of causing state losses of around a $1000000000.00 for santos says the freeze is politically motivated ok let's return to one of our top stories north korean leader kim jong un's threat of

a new strategic weapon quote young chicken bone is a research fellow at universities institute for north korean studies he joins us live from seoul are we just about to see north korea carry through imminently on more tests. i don't think so there might be a good year so when we celebrate our new year happy new year because they has basically issue a warning to the united states and other countries so what does it mean by a near stranger weapons that can be a new types of nuclear war has an intercontinental or some missiles but we can there are a lot the possibility that north korea may be tempted to transfer dangerous nuclear materials or missiles to our some possible buyers in other areas areas of the world they will be a critic critically damaging to the nonproliferation regime of the intern

international society. responded in seoul rob mcbride making the point to us just a little earlier here on the news that there is this other meeting of the workers party of north korea but this time around the meeting is a lot bigger with many more delegates in attendance how significant is that. you're absolutely correct on like the previous a plan arms which are used together about 200 party members at this time almost 1000 gather it in coming out to attend the meeting which did not last one or 2 days but this time 4 days so basically those from leader kim jong un wanted to approach the entire population personally to deliver the message that north korea is indeed in a very very urgent crisis situation there is

a big military exercise being planned in the spring between the united states and south korea does that focus minds on all sides and does it basically create a closing window of opportunity not even so much for the u.s. or south korea but very clearly for north korea. you can say that and that is why i thought that north korea would not take any action that would be regarded by the united states that north korea indeed has crossed the red line because there is a small window of opportunity for diplomacy and dialogue between washington and pyongyang to have and this much has forced the fests i'm talking about the 1st couple of months of the new year 2020 prior to the beginning of the regular annual massive military exercises conducted by the u.s. forces south korea and south korean military ok we have to leave the dock to young

should grown men in seoul thank you very much. in europe the french president emanuel micro has called for calm across the country in his new year's address there has been widespread disruption for almost a month amid anger over planned pension reforms that's prompted lawyers teachers and even musicians to go on strike but our reports from paris. it was an unusual protest against the french government's planned pension reforms members of the paris opera orchestra played a concert to demonstrate against the proposals. we wanted to show that our job is to play music and it makes us all happy deaf we've been forced to strike for a month and cancel $45.00 performances for needy for weeks people including lawyers health workers and even ballerinas have demonstrated against the government's plans fearing their pensions will be reduced and they'll be forced to work longer

transport workers strike has disrupted rail bus and airline services the french president has been under pressure as a break his silence over the protests in his new speech he try to diffuse the crisis. make no mistake on this important subject that so close to french people hearts and identity i hear their fears and anxieties i also hear many lives the manipulation must always right come doesn't mean backing down but respecting each other's differences my only compass is and will be the interests of our country macrame hope that his speech will end the protests but workers at this trade union meeting in paris said they wouldn't back down many of the workers gambled here have been on strike since the beginning of december and they say that the only thing they would persuade them to go back to work in their protest would be if the government was describing its pension reform plans they said we started to strike

and we plan to finish it because as long as the government doesn't restore to reform we'll continue to strike we're not the only ones this analyst says that my. has failed to convince some people that the reforms are necessary has not managed to isolate the strikers because. you know the pension system is everybody's problem and he hasn't been convincing enough i think the lack of trust in the politicians words in france at the moment is very deep and that's the main problem when my core say don't worry everything will be ok you're not going to lose in this reform people don't trust him. mccraw has a record of pushing through controversial reforms but this one is proving particularly challenging the government says the changes would modernize the pension system make it fairer and save public money it will resume negotiations with trade union leaders next week but with neither side showing any sign of backing down the talks are unlikely to be made us the tasha butler to syria paris.

2 decades ago let it be a putin was handed the acting presidency on a surprise new year's eve speech by the then president boris yeltsin 20 years later mr putin has brought russia increased influence around the world but it appears to have come at a price mr explains now from some petersburg. unpredictable not making compromises and using swift decisive moves that's how to me a put in slate coach described his young pupils judo skills at an exhibition at his former sports cool in st petersburg but anatoly words could easily describe the president's leadership style and even today in his late sixty's put in likes to be seen throwing judo champions on the mat maintaining his image as a strong fit much old leader. my father said to me when he congratulated him after his inauguration was remember it's like sports when you

attack remember your defense when you're on defense. it's a lesson putin seems to have taken seriously during his 2 decades in power and dominated by his goal to make the russia great again he's improved the lives of millions of russians suffering from the collapse of the soviet union and provided some stability but also he went to war in georgia in 2008 annexed crimea in 2014 and backed separatists in the east of ukraine that same year. has played a decisive role in the war in syria and has become increasingly involved in other conflicts around the world i. wouldn't 0 and maybe even as example is peter the great when the 17th century managed to expand the russian empire. and invasions now 3 centuries later put in like a modern day. russia has risen from the ruins of

a collapsed soviet union like the great wooden is holding a tight grip on society and some say his victory has come at a great cost. since decision to hand over the presidency to putin was a serious miscalculation says filmmaker. who followed put in close. join his 1st year and make this put in swiftness of. those people who came up with this excess supply and want to treat putin as we know him of course not they were looking for. who would as yeltsin said in my film deal with daily affairs while important things would be done by important people this was the scenario what happened to that scenario we have been watching in the past 20 years . i could

not guess that russian russian voters would be so spineless and soft to surrender without a fight not only power but their own freedoms like that forever. in russia. a growing opposition against potential has been met with growing repression but while tens of thousands took part in street protests a few months ago put in still has a large army of fans growing up and put into russia these young judo player see the president as a role model and while he has only 4 years to go until the end of his last official term put an end game is as unpredictable as his judo moves step faster than al-jazeera st peter's square. corruption scandals in south africa are expected to remain in the headlines in 2020 whether or not the former president jacob zuma ends up in court he's denied charges against him and is appealing

a trial on deals made during his presidency and the next part of al-jazeera series looking at the biggest stories of 2020 we examine now how soon as time in office has shaped the country we see today i mean the miller reports now from johannesburg . corruptions estimated by south africa's government to ft cost the economy $700000000000.00 for many former president jacob zuma is the symbol of that corruption he was forced to resign during his 2nd term in february 28th as a series of scandal surrounding him and the governing african national congress party intensified. zuma repeatedly says he's done nothing wrong. because a recruited by certain people and by his against me. state owned companies were allegedly mismanaged and looted to benefit zuma and his

associates from the passenger rail agency which is bankrupt to south african airways which is close to collapse thousands of workers went on strike last month protesting job cuts they say are the direct result of corruption the state owned power utility eskom is also in trouble leading to rolling blackouts nationwide the manager of the spake reinsulate so says the power cuts have cost thousands of dollars in lost business and bakers jobs are threatened if they continue. to form a senior managers at eskom have been charged with corruption the blackouts have been disruptive and of course the economy millions of dollars not only were businesses left in the dark but here in soweto as twist area restaurants and shops had to shut their doors when protests broke out while zuma hasn't been charged for alleged crimes during his time in office he's facing a fraud and corruption trial related to

a weapons deal in the ninety's which were dropped before he became president and later reinstated it's not yet clear if his trial will proceed in february as he fights to stay out of court by petitioning the supreme court of appeal zoom us testified at a government inquiry into corruption but says he's too ill to return to see him through jacob zuma has 2 terms as the president is you know the weakness within the governing party the insane you know the fact that the a.n.c. has been up for sale you know the patronage networks you know that operate in the state and in the in 'd c. and that also shows you just how deeply entrenched you know the. problem is many are skeptical they'll get the answers on corruption they're looking for in the year ahead they expect further delays in the justice system and face the certainty that a vital state owned companies will require more bailouts to stay afloat costing taxpayers more than they can possibly afford. to hannah's book

and on thursday we'll continue our series with a look at what 2020 has in store for europe and the u.k. after that. bangladesh's main opposition party is demanding a rerun of the last election it says the 20 vote was in free or fair 10 via choudhry was among protesters in the capital dhaka. this is the product protest by the united opposition alliance and the leftist parties and bangladesh across the country their main protest. 11 parliamentary elections took place on december 2018 months. every day people are facing various kinds of problems and the government is unable to soviets this government is unelected and illegitimate they should let go of the power and hold an election a democratic process on the same by the leftist party united tried to brought out

a process heading towards the prime minister's office was confronted by the police and there was a major clash at least dozens of people were injured and freeway been. granted under he not in bangladesh there is no democracy now the present government is unelected and illegitimate we all rejected the last election and demand a new election under a neutral caretaker government yesterday police attacked us in a peaceful protest rally many were injured which is why we are here to protest. for our part the government is saying they came here with the public mandate the election was free and fair although it's making them nervous that i want to hear my dad moved on by the opposition party against the government right now considering love to face red without knowing a crisis and what's going on across the border i mean they are last thing they want to see a political movement in bangladesh. teenagers in colombia risking their lives writing

modified pushbike stones tea party ways it's the country's more extreme version of gravity by taking a sport invented in the u.s. many youngsters say it helps them to forget the troubles in the neighborhoods and listened around p.s.g. reports now from. as night falls in the in a group of teenagers ride their modified bikes down these vertiginous roads they crouch to increase speed passing trucks in cars at up to 100 kilometers an hour. called gravity bikes they're columbia's more extreme version of an already dangerous sport invented in the united states and for many youngsters from poor crime ridden neighborhoods on the hills around the city it has become a deadly pastime 17 year old model is one of them all up and i don't know if you're always thinking about the risks people crashing getting killed and the serious accidents we all suffer i know i need to think and understand i can kill

myself but we keep doing it because it's our passion. to go faster the bikes are rebuilt often from scratch riders personalize them and attach weights to the frame to make them heavier pedals and chains are removed to reduce friction. to get to the top of the hills riders latch onto passing trucks at times using homemade hooks on a line. marlin has survived 3 close brushes with death and proudly shows his scars his friend tattooed on his belly the name of a cousin who died in a gravity bike accident in. the town. on the outskirts of maybe even as a band to practice out right. 3 of marland's writing companions this year and serious accidents have been. so much so that this call where most of them said he had started safety campaigns and also donated helmets that nobody really seems

to be using. the school psychologist says most of the kids come from broken homes and some fall into drug abuse their bikes becoming a way of demonstrating their value in courage you know i know but i guess you get me if you ask them. they'll say they do it for the adrenaline the desire to experiment but the truth is they are often dealing with depression parental absence so becomes a self destructive way of excusing from their reality. no night nobody here likes to crash the fall nor ruin the bike that was built with so much sacrifice and time but it's our lifestyle and we don't have any other safer place to do it. understands he needs to take more precautions but says he won't be dissuaded by listening. still to come here on the news a brotherly love for the boxers the most valuable player in the n.b.a. shocks his own family with his brilliance all we'll explain when we come back.

with its leaders in jail agree clear nazi party were nice on the lives mothers and daughters of the imprisoned leaders to represent them. the women behind the fearsome rightwing nationalist party going to do not try to when you say mean not to do you know what exactly does it mean it means nationalist golden dawn girls a witness documentary on al-jazeera do you support the mosque this. information indicates that you have or associate. at least has the potential to be biased in a number of different ways there truly are for jurors for the computer to get around who's checking those offices who commit those data entry is wrong to be saying that your son mission is wrong to. kill becoming a suspect before the actual crime and in-depth examination into preventative

policing pre-crime on al-jazeera. time for sports is paul. thank you very much colombia's world cup football and one from on by can tatto has demanded answers from the new head of the country's army it concerns the disappearance of his father more than 20 years ago can tara was 2 years old when his father haim a went missing in 1990. 5 his family allege that he disappeared after falling out with the commander of the base where he was doing his military service that commander was eduardo zapatero who was sworn into the top military post on monday

can terror has now asked to meet zapatero the case is one of many taken up by colombia's national center for historical memory which claims more than 80000 people were forcibly disappeared between 158-2015 in one large city. i join in the feeling and pain of the content of family i want to tell one foot in undocking terrell that i also respect him that you are our football idol and that the doors of my army commander are always open for you and your family. scottish club glasgow rangers have demanded action after claiming that their colombian star alfredo loss was racially abused by celtic fans were sent off after diving to try and win a penalty the end of rangers' $21.00 when he made justice to the crowd as he walked off on sunday scottish police are investigating. english premier league players won't get much chance to celebrate the turn of the decade there are 9 more games on new year's day pep guardiola as manchester city host everton who as of last week

have collar once a lottery in charge is the italians the lowest profile club in some 20 years after spells with the likes of ac milan and real madrid but pep thinks carlo will make efforts and great again he conducts one of the greeters and more experience to use in europe the least he's huge in when that happens because you are in incredible manager so we don't think it's incredible news for english football his bike. he can make incredible job there in order to hear those fixtures for you arsenal the money and i said probably the pick of the bunch if you're wondering where league leaders liverpool are they play on thursday. to the n.b.a. and there were some brotherly love for the milwaukee bucks as they ended the year high at the top of the eastern conference with a win over the chicago bulls milwaukee star player until the comp all was back in action after a back injury the reigning m.v.p.

scored 23 but it wasn't that wild the crowd this dunk absolutely astonishing his teammate and older brother than us is unfair to kabul a man known as the greek freak still managing to surprise his own family bucs winning 123202. plans to slash the amount of time it takes to play cricket much have been cautiously backed by the sport's founding country england the world governing body the i.c.c. is looking at proposals to cut test matches from 5 days to a mere 4 after 2023 the english cricket board is tentatively agreeing test matches have been played over 5 days for the past 140 years but only a 3rd of matches in the modern game now require a 5th day the world's top tennis players are preparing for the 1st tournament of 2020 the new a.t.p. cup team event but in very unusual circumstances world number one rafael

a dollars in perth in western australia where he'll lead spain in their group 3 and a half 1000 kilometers away in brisbane big rival rich is with serbia after the group stage the team's all had to sydney for knockout matches the tournament begins on friday and has a $15000000.00 prize fund. that story support for now will have more later on. half the world is already into a new decade 2020 was ushered in around the world i. want to be 1st place just celebrate was new zealand where a fireworks display was launched from the sky in oakland. those celebrating in the chinese city of shanghai were treated to a unique spectacle more than 2000 groves took off from the banks of the hung few river performance ending with them forming the numbers joining the count to 2020. and we'll leave you with this scene in one of the most famous streets anyplace in

the world paris was packed with party revelers we looked on as the on the trail to ring in the new year that's it for me peter told me from everyone here in doha from us to you have a great new year with. the scum of the world of al-jazeera. the best films from across on network of channels under 106 boys going to go to none of them have citizenship fresh perspectives and new insights to challenge and change the way we look at the world. how just 0 world. on al-jazeera. was the last time you were out on the streets protesting whether online you feel the weight of the system when you walk through each and every love billboard layer further and further into the jail or if you join us on saying retention has to start from day one whether again you're in detention or you're incarcerated this is a dialogue everyone has

a voice so far there are studies that support our coverage will be varying accounts but i want to give people the reason for joining the global conversation amount is iraq. ruins that speak of a rich history the ones raised from this palace 1600 years ago this. says the old town of change of the door to the sacred value of the past and to the century of much of the true ancient traditions are still being embraced here today that may change less than 2 kilometers away bulldozers are never laying the ground for a controversial new airport that's expected to shuttle millions of tourists to historic sites the airport should then be in the sacred folly she share has culture and traditions for thailand's but the big powers want it because it's the door to much with mutual inductance a kind of who is poor is divided among them i would be in favor of an airport if more people come and make business with us but only if it will preserve our

environment and our ruins some farmers like it look east they believe their lives may change is that it will bring development to our community and country. the u.s. embassy in iraq perceived by angry crowds startled trump claims iran and sends in reinforcements. hello i'm adrian for the good this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up north korea's leader talks of a new strategic weapon and says the hostile policy from the u.s. must stop. desperate battle into the new year to save homes and lives in australia the military on standby as lightning starts even more bushfires.

stepping into a new decade across the world be a 2020 is ushered in with the.