with this documentaries that open your eyes al-jazeera. a countdown to peace the u.s. and taliban inch closer towards ending 18 years of war with a final agreement just 8 days away. this is al jazeera live from london also coming up iran elects a new parliament in a vote where hardliners could cement their grip on power. forced to flee the u.n. says a surge in violence in booking a fast so is displacing more than 4000 people a day. and italy shuts down public spaces in 10 towns after a cluster of coronavirus cases emerges.

18 years of war in afghanistan could end in a little more than a week a deal that calls for a 7 day reduction of violence is now in effect and after that the taliban says it will sign a peace deal with america u.s. involvement in afghanistan began in 20011 month after the $911.00 attacks washington launched air strikes and a ground invasion to remove the taliban from power within $12000.00 american soldiers are still in afghanistan thousands more from nato allies and partners countries are also there some 2400 american troops have been killed since the operation began and the u.s. is estimated to spent more than one trillion dollars during its mission. joins us live from washington d.c. so a lot is resting on this reduction of violence do we know what will be judged to be

enough of reduction we don't know lauren and that is perhaps the biggest obstacle to getting to a signing ceremony in doha on february 29th both sides the united states and the taliban have agreed that there needs to be a significant reduction of violence. not just by the taliban but a reduction in the number of offensive strikes by the u.s. military and by the afghan military it's not clear one what the numbers are to constitute a significant reduction number 2 it's not clear exactly who's monitoring and who can be considered the impartial arbiter in order to make this judgment and so that is perhaps the biggest problem 3 it does not apparently account for any rogue actions and how both how all 3 of these parties would actually account for them during this 7 day period one thing that both the u.s.

and the taliban have agreed though is that this is a significant moment and that both sides need to try to take the best advantage of it that they can and if the deal does go ahead what kind of times can we are looking at in terms of any potential drill down of u.s. troops. well that's the other big question donald trump of the u.s. president campaigned back in 2016 on the fact that he would bring u.s. forces home from not just iraq but from afghanistan as well because he said the country has been involved in too many wars for too many years certainly that would get him not just applause but also get him votes in the 2020 election but on the flip side there is considerable concern here in washington about removing too many u.s. forces because of the concerns that the afghan military just isn't strong enough to adequately defend its country both from internal and external threats fact the

pentagon has noted just as recently as a week ago that he would be comfortable john dropping the number of u.s. troops in afghanistan from about 12000 or so right now to about 858600 any lower than that it's thought could imperil the afghan militaries ability to further develop its capabilities and to not need the support from the united states or from other militaries for that matter jordan thank you very much. i've. closed it closed and iran's parliamentary elections the result is expected to change the face of the country's legislature as thousands of moderate and reformist candidates were barred from running said baker reports from tehran. he said it's a religious jew to vote and iran's supreme you didn't lead by example casting the

1st ballot and servant the conservatives have much of their support base they followed through. by the hour show that. this is the 1st time i'm voting my reason to vote is to have a share in the future of my country and help it. voting doesn't solve any problems and conditions could deteriorate if we don't vote we should vote for the way it is so the new lawmakers can fix some problems. this 88 year old says he has been voting for 70 years as an added value in trouble i have voted from the very 1st election in the islamic republic 81 parliamentarian toughing disqualified from standing of the reformist hopefuls also told they cannot stand ins elections it means conservatives could benefit from a lower turnout and lack of opposition and this will have also repercussions for you when a foreign policy and i think this will bring more support from the parliaments side for ukraine and regional policies but more importantly it will decrease the chances

for the life the hood of any direct negotiations between iran and the united states there are those who have stayed away upset at a lack of change and an economy reeling under us sanctions are solomon right. i voted every year but i saw no effect to convince me to vote this time i finished my studies i have a bachelor's and finished ministry service but there's no job for me for what i see no reason to want. now to ban it i know i'm not voting because previous lawmakers did nothing they had no effect in the country so i didn't vote it's not me alone many to vote. results are expected later in the week. at this polling station where we have permission to film it's been relatively busy but there are others across the city that were quiet but we weren't allowed to film a lower turnout relieve whoever wins this election with the task of rebuilding confidence and trust in the system i said big al jazeera the. south sudan's

president salva kiir has dissolved his cabinet in preparation for a new unity government care is also appointed the rebel leader rick machar as 1st vice president the 2 former rivals will lead the new government from saturday in a tent to end years of conflict which is left over $400000.00 people dead. is in juba where she says the south sudanese people will finally see change on the ground . ahead of forming what has been termed as the revitalized transitional government of national unity on saturday south sudan's president on friday issued several decrees relieving the ministers of the government from their positions as well as relieving the 1st vice president and vice president one eager from their posts now the president also issued more decrees the most prominent being appointing the head of the opposition leader rick machar as for his vice president according to a peace deal that was signed in 2008 between the whirring sides 2 and 5 years of

conflict he also issued decrees that saw the return of. as vice president and one ego also as vice president now this all comes as part of a deal that was signed between the various opposition parties and the government in 2018 and a conflict that started in 2013 which has led to at least 4 100000 people being killed and more than 2000000 displaced within the country and some in neighboring countries but just because the 2 sides and or all the sides have said that they are trying to meet a deadline that doesn't mean all the issues are resolved the most outstanding issue between the sides had been the number of states that has been resolved by the president last saturday when he announced that the country. we'll be returning to the former number of 10 states along with 3 administrative areas but then the issues of security arrangements still remain to be outstanding between the various sides that will in just a matter of hours be partners in the government they have said that they are going to agree to try to resolve these issues after the formation of the government to

make sure that they do not miss another deadline and let's not forget that february 22nd is already dead 3rd deadline the 1st initial deadline had been in maine 2019 and then that was postponed to november 29th team but due to several outstanding issues that had not been resolved between the warring sides they had to push it to february 28th seems so people on the streets of south sudan are saying that they're looking forward to a government formation so that they can see the impacts of the peace deal that has been signed in 2018 but is yet to be reflected on the ground there saying that the economy has suffered a lot since the conflict started and they want to make sure that peace comes to their country so that they can try to go back to their normal lives 313 when the war started attacks on civilians in booking a fast so displacing more than 4000 people a day that's according to the un's refugee agency which says armed groups are carrying out raids with increasing frequency many who've escaped have reported

murders rapes and the pillaging of villages 700000 people have fled their homes in 12 months nearly a quarter of those have left in just the past 3 weeks in stark language the un has warned that fighting in northern syria could end in a bloodbath has been continuing in province where the airstrikes it in the town of some in near the front line government forces assisted by russian air cover have been steadily gaining ground in the region which is the last held by the rebels in a phone conversation turkey's president richard the one who's urged russia's vladimir putin to rein in syria's move to avert a humanitarian crisis. regime in france means that close to a 1000000 people have fled towards turkey and they're now in desperate need of assistance reports and how tie it take it border with syria asim is the head of an extended family his origin only from the town in the south

of italy when the town was have a. sim and his family fled a few days ago they arrived here in a rebel held village in the countryside north of it destitute he's planning to join the thousands of poor and displaced syrians living in olive orchards here in it live city. i need at least 5 turns for my large family their dog me to buy them but each cost around $250.00 in pinellas fatima malise from hellfire a town in the rural hama when syrian government troops advanced closer to her village she says the family left a rebel stronghold in aleppo fatima's husband was killed 3 years ago now she lives in this brick built by turkish charities with financial contribution from germany. the place doesn't provide any protection from the rain and cold but when i remember

what we went through and the day to bombardment this feels fine for me and for my kids this is what it looked like. in some other 3 months ago civilians converged on this town north of it live hoping for shelter food and warmth but when some of those attacked a few days ago the displaced dishpan till their turns and flat. the school this struggle to set up is now deserted for now thousands of syrians seem destined to continue their long journey looking for shelter and these for the hundreds of thousands of people who have recently been uprooted by the fighting the only way they can go home is if there is a ceasefire agreement one that guarantees syrian government forces will and the military campaign but cease fire agreements have never lost long in syria and this explains why people have lost hope in international efforts to solve the crisis

diplomatically. i tie to the head on now to syria russia denies claims it's already trying to interfere in the 2020 u.s. election in favor. and one particular democrat candidate. and police are deployed to germany's mosques as the government warns the threat of far right attacks remains high. hello again it's good to be back well here across the northern part of australia we all watch in the gulf of carpentaria very carefully notice all the clouds right there in the next few days we do expect to see a developing sight clone and it's going to move very slowly but it is going to intensify a lot of coastal rain a lot of coastal storm surge are going to be a big problem here across much of the north but notice over here towards queensland

an area of rain we're going to be watching this area of rain potentially is going to be bringing flooding in the 3 day forecast we do expect to see well over $425.00 millimeters of rain and so the flooding will continue maybe even towards parts of the northern area of new south wales down towards the south though the temperatures are on the way up for melbourne take a 3 day forecast start here on saturday a 22 degrees sunday a very warm day at 31 and on monday coming back down to about 26 degrees there well here across the northern part of japan we are going to watch you one storm that is coming out of china across the sea of japan and with that we are going to be seeing a lot of snow over the next few days here on saturday not too bad we are going to see some rain towards the south but as we go towards sunday that storm pushes up here a little bit more towards the northeast and it's really going to be here across the western part of japan we see the highest levels of snow but tokyo not a bad day for you with the temp there of 16.

in 2009 a torch a victim of the brutal arjen time the denon regime confronted his interrogator tortured is no no no no no i wasn't torturing to i was in target has justice now been sad for the atrocious crimes committed decades alyea i didn't touch you as you would telling me and investigation into the dark history of argentina why didn't think to me in the end rewind interrogating it. on al-jazeera. well again or one of the top stories here now to syria

a 7 day reduction of violence agreement between the u.s. and taliban has come into effect it's seen as a significant step towards lasting peace for the war torn country. votes are being counted or in iran's parliamentary election with a result expected on saturday that will see a more conservative legislature elected after thousands of candidates were barred from running. south sudan's president salva kiir dissolved his cabinet in preparation for a unity government with rebel leader react machar to attempt to end a conflict that has killed more than 400000 people. the kremlin has denied claims it's interfering in the upcoming 2020 us presidential election to boost donald trump's chances according to u.s. media reports intelligence officials warned members of congress last week that russia was meddling in the vote russia has repeatedly denied the u.s. intelligence community's assessment that it interfered in the 2016 presidential election it's going after john hendren in washington d.c.

john tell us more about where this all came from. well last week on february 13th the acting director of national intelligence did something the person in that position does often and that is brief members of congress about recent threads and on this occasion joseph mcguire spoke to members of the house intelligence committee among others well that infuriated president donald trump who reportedly were rated mcguire that is according to a report in the washington post and he was particularly upset because among the people that were being briefed was the head of the house intelligence committee which happened to be adam schiff he's a democrat who also led the impeachment effort against trump and trump was worried that schiff would weaponize that information he has always been sensitive about the accusation that russia helped him win in the 2016 election and he was equally skeptical on this occasion and he spoke about it in a rally in nevada today this is a little of what he had to say. i see these phoneys these that did nothing

democrats they said today that cotton wants to be sure that trump gets elected here we go. here we go again did you see it still aren't people who are i was told i was after tonight i was told a week ago they said you know they're trying to start a rumor it's just information that's the only thing that good us is not good at anything else they get nothing done do not think democrats did just that. once to make sure i get elected. adam schiff that democratic member of congress tweeted on thursday that it appeared that mr trump was in his words again jeopardizing our efforts to stop foreign meddling with his objections to that briefing and we are also told that bernie sanders has been informed that his campaign is part of a target of the effort but in

a positive way that the russians are actually trying to help sanders in order to cause some disarray in the democratic primary here in the united states sanders has issued a statement he was just speaking moments ago to reporters on us television from nevada but he also issued a statement to the washington post which reported this saying i don't care frankly who putin wants to be president that is flatter me or putin my message to putin is clear stay out of american elections and as president i will make sure you do well the white house says it is mere coincidence that the president is replacing his acting director of national intelligence with richard grinnell the ambassador to germany a vocal trump advocate but also someone without really any real intelligence experience sanders meanwhile says he believes all of this information about his campaign was deliberately leaked the day before the nevada primaries in order to harm him to 100

thank you very much indeed. gymnase interior minister says the far right poses the country's biggest security threat that comes after 9 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at 2 she was on wednesday extra police in our patrol to mosques train stations and afterwards don't make a report so how now when the attack took place. as. for many these friday prayers have a particular resonance wednesday night's murders have taken their toll on the congregation or several were killed others wounded those who were not fearful erma damia says he worries for his children's safety that it kinda. papa my son said to me daddy i feel afraid if i go outside will someone try to hurt me. that sentiment is widely shared among han ours muslim community and across this

country if i get is. the question that we are all asking especially the affected people of the muslim faith in our land is what has to happen next in order for something like this to happen many among the wider community also feel revulsion at the attacks carried out on wednesday the floral tributes here in the main market square a clear sign of the rejection of the violence of the far right. but there's no doubt this atrocity has shocked the political classes and forced the government to act. the police open since we will increase the police presence across germany and we will increase the protection of sensitive institutions especially in mosques. meanwhile the investigation into the murder is concentrating on his social media postings and what was on his computer his office is admit he contacted them several months ago as an attention seeker but no action was taken this is comments were not openly racist they are clear his motivation for wednesday's murders was from the

far right separately the f.t. party has caused its own controversy by including a link to the murderous manifesto in a tweet while saying it deplored the shootings the far right party has itself now been condemned for its link to the site the current christian democrat leader says the f.t. is to blame for creating a basis for exactly the kind of thinking that led to the shootings but back in higher now such thoughts pale in comparison with the suffering of the victims and their relatives many of whom had come to germany with the hope of a new life and instead found themselves targeted by a racist murderer dominic cain al-jazeera hanau. italy has ordered the closure of public spaces in 10 towns after the number of corona virus cases quadrupled in just one day 14 new infections have been reported in the wealthy northern lombardi region with another 2 in next door beneteau it's not known if the 2 clusters of

cases are connected many of the represent italy's 1st cases of secondary infection when they caught the virus locally without travelling to china. the south korean city of daegu is in a state of lockdown with millions of people to stay indoors schools closed and some mass gatherings banned 204 cases have now been confirmed in the country and 2 people have died right mcbride reports from daegu. the city of daegu is at the center of an outbreak of the corona virus that has the whole of south korea worried with nearly all of the new cases of infection linked to this church a branch of the shin changi church of jesus it's believed people attending services here became infected some of whom then travel to other towns and cities in south korea infecting more people daegu and the neighboring city and now the focus of a national effort to contain the outbreak children hooked into the government will

take special measures by designating the daegu enchong areas as special care as zones as a sudden hike in numbers of the confirmed cases have been reported from there it's thought many of the new cases of infection were due to one woman member of the church who also travelled widely around daegu city before finally being diagnosed the man has ordered everyone to remain at home bringing the city of 2 and a half 1000000 to a virtual standstill special medical centers have been set up to treat the expected increase in new cases in the capital seoul preventive measures are being taken while other branches of the shin challenge the church of jesus have been closed. and large scale rallies that usually take place at the weekends have been banned. with the spread of the virus we plan to take momentous measures in order to protect the elderly who are vulnerable to this contagious disease so will ban the use of public squares where many citizens gather back in daegu people anxiously wait to

see if this outbreak has been contained or if this is the start of something bigger usually on a friday evening this downtown shopping going to entertainment district would be packed with people on this evening it's nearly deserted as most tuesdays stay away and wait to see what happens next rob mcbride al-jazeera daegu south korea. in china several health and communist party officials have been fired after hundreds of people were infected by the corona virus while inside prison most of the 258 cases are in 2 jails in chandon and provinces 271 cases of also been reported in prisons in who bay province the epicenter of the outbreak but officials did not say when they were diagnosed the government says preventive measures were poorly carried out. kuwait has barred all flights to and from iran amid concerns of the

spread of the corona virus to more people have died from the illness there bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 5 iran is the 1st country the middle east to report fatalities from the virus it has 13 other confirmed cases. face masks have become a part of everyday life in countries hit by the corona virus in the philippines hundreds of massed couples tied the knot at a mass waiting in the city of buffalo and couples had to fill out forms declaring their health status for the past 14 days as well as their travel history the philippines has reported 3 cases and one death from the virus. european union leaders have failed to agree on the block's next budget after a 2nd day of fraught talks the french president emmanuel michaels says he deeply regrets they could not reach a deal or the german chancellor angela merkel says the differences between the $27.00 nations were too big denmark austria sweden and the netherlands dug in their heels becoming known as the frugal 4 nations insisting that spending wasn't top one

percent of europe's economic output. a popular opposition party in thailand has been dissolved by the country's constitutional court it ruled that future ford had violated electoral law by accepting a loan of $6000000.00 from its leader it's the 4th major opposition party to be dissolved in less than 15 years when he reports from bangkok. there was anger and sadness as supporters gathered at the headquarters of the future forward party to watch the verdict the constitutional court judges ruled that the opposition party be dissolved and that 16 leaders banned from politics for 10 years . the case surrounded the more than $6000000.00 given to the party by its leader tom anton jiang room ruling kid the party said it was a loan which was being paid back and therefore exempt from laws in thailand that restrict the amount of money that can be given to a political party by an individual the judges disagreed and ruled that it was

a donation while in excess of the legal limits future forward says it will now become a political movement and fight on the call of god don't glide out they wanted to destroy us this is the time to prove them wrong we have to become stronger they want to stone posts into the ground before this is the time to stand firm it's not the time to be said to cry we don't have time for. this body delved into areas that others have and like going to reform one of the most powerful political forces in thailand the military but their ideas proved popular with many thais perhaps too popular and the military and the courts moved against them. the election last year the 1st since a 2014 coup was also future forwards 1st and it won more than $6000000.00 votes. it was an outcome that perhaps surprised the military that had spent the preceding years devising a new political system that many believe was designed to maintain its grip on power

it now seems inevitable that thailand's fight for democracy will wants. again be taken to the streets your language and your women we can't live like this thailand is going backward we have no choice but to stand together please come out people we cannot only rely on turnout sworn anymore this was the 4th major opposition party to be dissolved by the court in 13 years most of future forwards m.p.'s will be able to continue in parliament under a different party name but the ban on the leaders will increase the majority of the government which perhaps coincidentally faces a vote of no confidence next week when hey al-jazeera bangkok the french government has launched a campaign to combat a mounting infestation in paris's homes and hotels the culprit bed bugs the growth of international travel has been blamed for the number of mites rising along with a resistance to insecticide the ministry of housing campaign includes an emergency

hotline and dedicated website one candidate in this year's election for mayor of paris has promised to clean up the capital in 100 days and to most or if you any time on our website address that is. dot com. taylor with the top stories on our jazeera a 7 day reduction of violence agreement between the u.s. and the taliban has come into effect in afghanistan it's seen a significant step towards lasting seen as a significant step towards lasting peace in the war torn country if it's successful both sides say they'll sign an accord paving the way for talks between the taliban and other afghan groups more than 12000 american soldiers still in afghanistan 1st in jordan as more. we don't know what is the standard for nuff of

a reduction in violence and that is the rub because that essentially gives the united states the ability to say well there won't be a signing ceremony on february 29th because the taliban have not held up their end of the deal multiple u.s. officials have been else this question both within the state department and at the pentagon and no one wants to put a figure on how much violence is enough for the deal to go forward and for the signing ceremony to go forward rescreen the u.s. and the taliban iranians have been electing a new parliament that set to become more conservative the result is expected to change the face of the country's legislature as thousands of moderate and reformist candidates were banned from running voting hours were extended several times because of long lines at polling stations. attacks on civilians and because a faster a displacing more than 4000 people a day that's according to the un's refugee agency which says armed groups are

carrying out raids with increasing frequency many who've escaped a reported murders rapes and the pillaging of villages. italy has ordered the closure of public spaces in 10 towns after the number of corona virus cases quadrupled in just one day 14 new infections have been reported in the northern lombardy region with another 2 in next over an atoll it's not known if the to trust is a connected. meanwhile the south korean city of daegu is in a state of lockdown with millions of people urged to stay indoors schools closed and mass gatherings banned churches thought to be at the center of the outbreak. to stay with us here on out as they're counting the cost is next at a future without coal that's watching other.

and i want to clock this is kind of the cost of al-jazeera all week you look at the world of business and economics this week. 2 nations taking different approaches to carbon emissions despite unprecedented bush foz australia pushes ahead with a controversial coal projects or on the ground with the community that stands to benefit from the country's biggest money. germany plans to eliminate coal powered stations the government's accused of breaking its promises to replace coal with more environmentally friendly sources of electricity. and shipping the unseen polluter.