u.s. diplomats bill richardson defends himself after resigning from a myanmar advisory board on the hinge of refugees. bowing to pressure the entire u.s. gymnastics board plans to resign in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal involving a former team doctor. president obama's warning the turkey's operation against kurdish fighters in syria could be extended to the border with iraq al jazeera has traveled with the turkish army as it continues its offensive to sweep fighters from the region the move risks a possible confrontation with the kurdish y p g militia it's a group backed by the united states and nato ally seventy deca and a cameraman jamil bassil have this report from the city of us us. as we enter syria it is the free syrian army flag that flies high here we're on a media trip into as organized by the turkish authorities they take us close to where there's been fighting with a y p g a kurdish armed group turkey calls a terrorist organization turkish forces are trying to push it out of the region of africa the front line is just a few kilometers west of here both turkish troops and th

u.s. diplomats to seek treatment. this meeting included state department officials testifying on how the united dates responded to the attacks, the health and personnel affected and the potential causes. the cuban government has denied their role in the incident. this is about 1.5 hours. subhis hearing on the crime, civilian security, democracy, human rights and global women's issues is going to come to order. the focus of the meeting is the u.s. attacks on cuba. we have one government panel testifying here and we thank you for coming here today. the assistant secretary of state for the bureau of western hemisphere affairs. the diplomatic assistant director of international programs of the department of state, and the medical director at the bureau of medical services for the department of state, thank you all again for being here. there are two goals. the first is to establish the facts. second is to conduct oversight over the conduct and the activities of the united states state department. here are the facts as wil

u.s. diplomat bill which is and slams me unwisely to on sun suchi for her handling of the refugee crisis. america is the place to do business. donald trump sells his america first visions of business elites in davos but he also wishes a star in warning against unfair trade practices. and we'll tell you why growing numbers of young people have turned up in the french port of cali with the hope of crossing over to the u.k. . we begin inside northern syria where al jazeera is travelled alongside the turkish army as they continue their offensive to sweep kurdish fighters from the region president reagan to an earlier war and operation olive branch could push all the way east to the front here with iraq move risks a possible confrontation though with the kurdish y.p. greenmail why p.g. militia now that's a group of fighters backed by their fellow nato ally the united states stephanie decker and hard cameraman jamil basso have this insight from the city of. as we enter syria it is the free syrian army flag that flies high here we're on a media trip into as as organized by the turkish authoritie

u.s. diplomats in cuba. including the state department response and medical treatment of the personnel affected. held by the senate foreign relations committee. this is an hour and a half. >>> this hearing of the subcommittee. civilian security democracy human rights and global women's issues will come to order. and the title of the hearing is tax on u.s. diplomats in cuba. response and over sight. we have one government panel testifying today with the following three witnesses who are here. and we're grateful if r you joining us here today on behalf of the executive branch. the acting assistant secretary of state. for the bureau of western hems fear. todd brown. the department of state. and the medical director of the bur reof medical services. for the department of state. thank you all again for being here. there are two goals to the hearing today. the first, is to accompliestabl facts of what occurred. the second is conduct over sight over the conduct and the activities of the united states state departme

u.s. diplomat jerry dorentes he was baffled and concerned and denied any responsibility but u.s. officials were caught off guard by the way he addressed the matter devoid of the indignant how dare you accuse us of this attitude the u.s. has come to expect from their leaders. and there was something troubling that may have gone down in cuban soil. subsequently that's not the position they've taken. this is what the article reports. this suggests to me potentially castro is aware of rogue elements within his own government that may have been behind this, whether you want to call them hardliners other people feel they'd be in a stronger position if this opening had not occurred or increased u.s. presence and perhaps people concerned about an increased u.s. presence in light of the planned transition theoretically supposed to take place this year. i'm not asking you about anything classified because i don't think such a thing would be classified. mr. palmieri, have we seen reports raul said it wasn't us but could have been someone within us who did this? has raul castro ever said to

u.s. diplomat quits me an advisory panel on the crisis. save the children charity suspends its operations in afghanistan following an attack that killed three of its staff plus. london looking at the work of one of the greatest living photographers of our time a master of manipulation. a court in brazil has upheld the conviction against former president there's enough to silva for corruption and money laundering it's a major setback for his plans to run again for the presidency but he insisted he will seek reelection in october that is about reports on the southern city of port or leg. these people are standing by. they're convinced he will be brazil's next president despite a court's ruling that makes it almost impossible for him to run. the risk distance will never die we lost the battle but not the war president twenty eight hundred nine. hundred. ninety eight. again on wednesday an appeals court upheld his conviction for corruption and money laundering even increase the sentence to twelve years and one month one of the judges said ther

u.s. diplomat quits a key advisory panel on the range of prices. hello i'm adrian finnegan this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up on the run a spike in violence forces thousands of people to flee the democratic republic of congo. brazil's former president says he will run in this year's election despite a course of holding a corruption conviction against him plus. i'm andrew symonds in the occupied west bank and i'll be explaining why palestinians are getting excited about the introduction of three g. all their smartphones it's a ten year old technology. government has been dealt a big blow to the credibility of its handling of the hinge a refugee crisis a former u.s. diplomat has quits an international advisory board aimed at resolving the turmoil in rakhine state bill richardson who was once considered a close friend of sense suchi accuse the me and leader of lacking moral leadership on the issue he branded the panel set up by suit a whitewash calling it a cheerleading operation for the government it was very unhappy and distressed righ

u.s. diplomat quits an advisory panel on the right. brings his america first agenda to the world economic forum in davos plus. celebrations ensued on after a group of migrants kidnapped by smugglers and libya is rescued. a new military front opened by turkey in the syrian war could further complicate peace talks in vienna. for the past six days he's been attacking kurdish forces in the northern syrian region of afraid they want to push the fight says who's they say a terrorists out from the area and create a buffer zone on the border and the special envoy for syria says the ninth round of talks comes at a very critical time in the conflict a correspondent joins us live from vienna what are we hearing from the talks so far . we're actually hearing not very much what we do know is that the meeting between the u.n. envoy to find the minister and the syrian government delegation is now over but we haven't heard any comment at the end of that meeting it lasted about two and a half to three hours now in about an hour you will have the opposi

u.s. diplomat quits the visor a panel on the edge of crisis on the run a spike in violence forces thousands of people to flee the democratic republic of congo plus. i'm challenging and london looking at the way of one of the greatest living photographers of our time a master of manipulation. the new military front opened by turkey in the syrian war could further complicate the un backed peace talks in vienna for the past six days turkey's been attacking y. p.g. kurdish forces in the golden syrian region of afrin they want to push the fighters who they say are terrorists from the area and create a buffer zone along turkey's border the un special envoy for syria says the ninth round of talks come at a very critical time in the conflict let's go live out of the al-jazeera is what a need is there so hala who is in vienna so far. well certainly. both delegations are here in vienna and the government delegation actually arrived at the u.n. building behind me just a short while ago in a chewed starting talks with the u.n. envoys to funded mistura then later in the day you will have the opposition

u.s. diplomat quits a key advisory panel although hinge a crisis. hello i'm adrian for the get this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up on the run a spike in violence forces thousands of people to flee the democratic republic of congo. a morning commute in italy turns into chaos leaving two people dead and dozens more injured. egypt marks seven years since the revolution the pled to hosni mubarak's downfall. government has received a big blow to the credibility of its handling of the hinge refugee crisis a former u.s. diplomat has quit an international advisory board aimed at resolving the turmoil in rakhine state bill richardson who was once considered a close friend of aung san suu kyi she accused the meum alida of lacking moral leadership on the issue he branded the panel set up by suchi a whitewash calling it a cheerleading operation for the government. i was very unhappy and distressed by down sunset she reaction to my plea that this issue of the reuters journalists being treated fairly and rapidly and that brought almost an explosion o

u.s. diplomatic corps? ambassador to panama, he had given his resignation in december, but clearly because of his problems with the trump administration. he had said that, you know, if he was duty bound to resign if he couldn't follow the president no matter what part he was for many years. but on these comments by the president, look, it's very difficult for u.s. diplomats right now. they are being called in by the host governments. not only botswana and haiti, but also senegal and others, the african union putting out a very tough statement. i think what u.s. diplomats are trying to tell their host governments is we affirm the u.s. commitment to your country. we respect all nations, and, you know, the relationship, the cooperation the u.s. has with these countries transcends what the president does or doesn't say. so pretty much, just ignore it. focus on the relationship that we have that transcends any president and any comments of this president. >> madeleine albright tweeted out this statement here, "i

u.s. diplomat who quit an international advisory panel on the range a crisis of pursuing his own agenda bill richardson a former close friend of mammals leader unsexy chief resigned from the group while it was making its first trip to russia and state he said c.g. like more leadership and that he didn't want to be part of a whitewash tensions came to a head when richardson raised the case of two voices reporters who were on trial in myanmar i was very unhappy and distressed right downtown through the reaction to my point that this issue of the reuters journalists being treated fairly and rapidly. that brought almost an explosion on her part. saying there were issues relating to be a peripheral secrecies act that this was not my charter as a member of the advisory board and was very heated that during that week i don't want to be part of a whitewash. and i felt as best good that i resign

u.s. diplomat and me among his government bill richardson says he resigned from an advisory role to leader aung san suu kyi when he feared that a hinge of crisis was being whitewashed the u.s. gymnastics board has agreed to resign after a former team doctor was jailed for sexually abusing female gymnasts the u.s. olympic committee told the board to step down after it was criticized for the way it handled decades of abuse claims that he nasser is serving up to one hundred seventy five years in prison for assaulting young gymnasts under his care. venit opposition leaders have condemned the supreme court's decision to block their coalition from registering in upcoming elections the court's ruling comes just days after the madieu dominated constituent assembly announced that the poll would be held in april that's months ahead of schedule critics say madieu is depriving people of a free and fair election and those are the headlines the news continues here on al-jazeera after inside story i'll see in about twenty five minutes but i. the parting shot to me on mars leader from a veteran u.s. diplo

u.s. diplomat quits an international advisory panel tackling the range of crisis calling it a whitewash. now there are reports that u.s. president donald trump will support a path to citizenship for young immigrants who were brought to the states illegally by their parents it means about one point eight million so-called dreamers in the u.s. will be protected from being deported back to their homelands the white house says the plan could attract enough votes to pass the senate. weeks of heavy rainfall in france of cause widespread flooding in the country's north and east rescue workers have evacuated residents from their homes paris is on flood alert as the river sand is rising fast the city's mayor is blaming climate change for recent spells of extreme weather as natasha reports. stranded restaurants and submerged bridges as the river seine in paris continues to rise its pedestrian eyes banks have disappeared usually bustling with cyclists and now a no go zone and the city is on flood alert no see you get within we have overcome for some hate waves into floods going over six majors one i

u.s. diplomat bill which is a different quit in a fine three panel on the range of prices he was fired we talked to the man himself live on the program. fire at a hospital in south korea kills thirty seven people officials admit there was no sprinkler system. and the message misunderstood my kids to send on kalie after most read that it's become easier to enter thank you ok. one welcome to the program u.s. president all trump is taking his america first message to the world's elite addressing the world economic forum and devil see declared the u.s. open for business and one that washington would no longer turn a blind eye to what he described as unfair trade practices he also used the speech to attack the media or to prosecutors james phase has more now from davos. as the band played a president trump stood somewhat quickly beside the man who founded the world economic forum klaus schwab his vision for almost half a century open world trade is not at all with the president's america first policy taking the role of salesman in chief trump declared no america first does not mean america alo

u.s. diplomat bill which. of the million mark government is lying when it says he was fired from an advisory panel on the range of prices. on sunset ci of failing to show political leadership. now a fire in a hospital in south korea has killed at least thirty seven people including patients and nurses in an intensive care unit firefighters in the southern city of mary managed to rescue dozens of others who were trapped by the flames kathy novak explains that from seoul. the fire started in the emergency ward at about seven thirty in the morning it quickly spread to other parts of said john hospital and took firefighters more than an hour to bring under control and another two hours to extinguish. all of we stop the fire from spreading from the first floor to the second floor during the initial phase and therefore also prevent a different spreading to the rest of the building. despite the rescue effort patients and medical staff were killed most were suffocated by inhaling toxic fumes about one hundred patients

u.s. diplomat bill richardson calls me an ass lead up powerless and afraid of the bill a free hand. china's ban on ivory forces craftsman to find new ways to use their skills. against those stories in just a moment but first some breaking news out of afghanistan there's been an explosion in the capital kabul that happened close to the old interior ministry and several embassies these are the latest pictures from the area we understand that been several casualties it comes just a week after an attack on the intercontinental hotel in the city lived out of kabul and al-jazeera isabella shah who. what more can you tell us. they're doing it was nonstop here in kabul and the really big calm day a sunny day but. that the city was jolted with with a heavy explosion we could feel that the doors were slammed here we were like kilometers away from this explosion site now we spoke to some police sources there that they're telling us that they explosion happened on the road to the old into did ministry a building now there are two checkpoints heavy guarded checkpoints now the secure the police s

u.s. diplomat bill richardson denies he was asked by myanmar's government to step down from advisory board on the rating a crisis. president . is warning that turkey's operation against kurdish fighters in syria could be extended to the border with iraq al jazeera has traveled with the turkish army as it continues its offensive to sweep fighters from the region the move risks a possible confrontation with the kurdish militia a group backed by the united states a nato ally seventy dechen a cameraman jamil bustle of this report from the city of. as we enter syria it is the free syrian army flag flies high here we are on a media trip into as organized by the turkish authorities they take us close to where there's been fighting with the kurdish armed group turkey calls a terrorist organization turkish forces are trying to push it out of the region about the front line is just a few kilometers west of here both turkish troops and the free syrian army are taking part but on. i'm not sure that. one of the f.s.a. fighters why he is involved in turkey's operation for some it seems it's personal. be

u.s. diplomat quits a kid. on the rank of crisis. in this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up brazil's former president says he will run in this year's election despite a court upholding a corruption conviction against. save the children charity suspends its operations in afghanistan following an attack that killed three of its stuff plus. later in the program i'll be explaining why a british film about. not going down well russia. meanwhile is government has received a further blow to the credibility of its handling of the rangar refugee crisis off the top us diplomat quits an international advisory board aimed at resolving the turmoil in rakhine state bill richardson who was once considered a close friend of an son suchi accused the me and my leader of lacking moral leadership on the issue he branded the panel set up by suchi a whitewash calling it a cheerleading operation for the government i was very happy and the stress right down from the reaction to my point that this issue of reuters journalists being treated fairly a

u.s. diplomats stationed in havana. it's entirely possible that they could have escalated that pattern of harassment and caused these incidents. in whatever case, they are responsible for the safety and security of u.s. diplomats stationed in havana under the vienna convention, and they have failed ton live up to that responsibility. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. udall. >> thank you very m uch, mr. chairman. i obviously care, like you do, very much, and i think all of us here, about our personnel overseas, and if they get harmed and making sure that they get adequate medical personnel. and, doctor, you seem to suggest that they get the care and that some of the care you were drawing lines, some may be workmen's comp., others may be that they were not serving in the line of duty, something along that line. of the 24 cases which of those would you say are workmen's comp.? with the off-duty? were all of them off-duty or some of them on-duty situations in the hotel, the two hotels and at the residence

u.s. diplomat described as a friend of leader on song suchi abruptly left after a heated exchange with her on her part richardson said that he left the commission because it was a whitewash and that on song suchi lacked moral leadership government officials said that they dismissed him because he was here only to pursue his own agenda the remaining member of the commission rebuffed richardson's resignation saying the ma'am our government is both serious and listening to the commission will obviously didn't check with us before he made that statement and i think it's very unfortunate. he didn't join most of the proceedings. since through the years ago and. in any case it was not the intention. of the advisory board to make final conclusions this week one member of the kofi anon commission from myanmar gave us his view of richardson's departure and the need for better transparency is a meant to be reckoned with i think this is a little bit of a drawback but we can move on we should take criticism and if there is anything that we need to correct we should do that and if there is nothing wrong

u.s. diplomat todd hines a good he's the author of what europe can learn from truong. it's trying to get let's talk about brags that has been a for the past year and a half a very traumatic experience for the e.u. what can the europeans and the brits learn from trump about rex. well you know one of trump's main kind of emphases in foreign policy or when he looks at the world as the united states as part of the world is that donald trump sees as most americans traditionally have seen it the world is made up of sovereign nations with governments that are elected by the sovereign people trump sees as most americans traditionally have seen it the world is made up of sovereign nations with governments that are elected by the sovereign people and that sovereignty national sovereignty is deeply connected with democracy i mean if you look at the you're a peon union i know very intelligent europeans very politically interested europeans astute europeans who do not understand the european union it's simply too far away and even if the intent might be to be democratically account

u.s. diplomats needed to understand which can be complicated. enterprising political officer thought to create a who iso be able to track who, who is the cousin of home? brown this piece of mailing paper, tech did up on the wall in his office and started with the vietnamese president, and started charting out his political family relations as well as the interrelations with his prime minister. handyhart became a pretty tool and pretty popular among his fellow officers. vietnam and came back to washington, d.c. for his next post, this chart was left for use by his colleagues. thankfully, this survived and almost didn't. >> in 1975, south vietnam completely collapsed. the american embassy was hastily evacuated. ofre is the conic figure helicopters landing on the roof. for american personnel in these bases you have to make a snap decision what to take. you are also in a helicopter. but this family chart was one of the things that an american diplomat grabbed. and thes salvaged political officer who created it had no idea. his colleague, weeks after

u.s. diplomat thank you. pressure is mounting on the israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu after recording involving his son was leaked to the press. forgive me if i'm. coming over because. i was afraid of those. dollars are. going to go marching. in that recording yes in yahoo could be heard chatting to the son of israel gas tycoon be my man outside a strip club yet appeared to suggest that the prime minister helped the to secure a twenty billion dollars business deal the conversation took place in twenty fifteen and was aired on national t.v. on monday night middle east expert believes the leak is a major blow for the prime minister this is not the first case that we are speaking about corruption in the family of binyamin netanyahu as the prime minister of israel all these were it may lead to the woodrow will of confidence and that's the main threat for binyamin netanyahu that's why they're trying as a family to play with words showing that it's not. a fact but it was just a matter of a guy who was hang

u.s. diplomat bill richardson says on some suit she lacks moral leadership and resigns from an international advisory panel of the door hinge or crisis while they bicker what about the plight of hundreds of thousands of refugees this is inside story. hello and welcome to the program i'm. frustration over me and morris handling of the raw hinder crisis has boiled over into an argument between on some suit she and her friend now critic bill richardson the former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. resigned from an advisory panel set up by the government after accusing it of trying to whitewash the crisis and in his resignation letter richardson accused members of being a cheerleading squad for the government richardson was then accused by the government of having his own agenda his criticisms raise further doubts about a deal to repatriate nearly seven hundred thousand rohinton refugees stuck in bangladesh scott heiler has more from yangon. if you listen to government leaders in myanmar this week was supposed to see a trickle of britain's refugees returning to these new repatriation centers in rakhine

u.s. diplomats to brief them on. what is going on the turkish foreign minister discussed the operation with rex tillerson over the phone obviously a lot of countries are watching on some of them weren't aware this was going to happen it's quite a few of them off guard russia has been watching closely and is called on all sides involved to remain calm and to actually calm down developments the russian ministry of defense has said that irresponsible u.s. actions in syria award has been the trigger for this situation now especially the creation of kurdish enclaves and an uncontrolled supply of weapons to the region as for the predominantly kurdish syrian democratic forces they've released a statement saying that they harbor no hostile intent towards turkey and that they would only take measures in their own defense in the event of hostile operations against their people the militia operation no. and that brings you right up there with our top story our because in a very short break couple of minutes of about the headlin

u.s. diplomat thank you very much and to thank you. thank you. well it's not just jails that are giving the french authorities a headache drug related crimes are becoming so bad in parts of the paris metro the train drivers are reportedly refusing to stop at certain stations once according to a union representing the capital's metro and bus network artesian challenger when ski went underground to see what those fears a based on. for most parisians the metro is a staple of life with its winding tunnels and lines that stretch across the city it's often the easiest way to get from a to b. but down in the underground the gritty underbelly of the capital is being exposed drug related crime and violence has been a long standing issue in paris as metro but now the unions representing the train drivers say it's inspiring out of control dealers and muses including those taking crack cocaine a new role god thing they've doing. lighting up metro drivers is so fearful of attacks at some stations many are choosing to longer stop there a survivor more force of

u.s. diplomat and minimize government bill richardson says he resigned from an advisory role on the rangar crisis after a telephone conversation with leader and son see. venezuela's opposition leaders have condemned the supreme court's decision to block the coalition from registering in upcoming elections the ruling comes just days after the constituent assembly set up by president nicolas maduro announced the poll would be held in april that is months ahead of schedule as the headlines of news continues but right now it is talk to. al jazeera. and for you. you can. see. the miami plunge in the southern europeans birthplace of the soviet union's nuclear weapons program. today it reprocess the spent nuclear fuel but fifty years ago my ex offered to be the world's third worst nuclear accident the.

he's one of america's most experienced diplomats a former u.s. politician and reportedly a friend of the suci but bill richardson sudden departure from an advisory panel on the hinge of crisis shows just how much that relationship may have soured i don't want to be part of a white war. and i felt as best that i resign immediately richardson said he didn't want to be a part of what he described as a cheerleading operation for suchi aimed at validating hiromi range of policies rather than honestly investigation the actions of me and miles military richardson was an international heavyweight on the team member panel chosen he says by suchi herself he quit before the panel made its first visit to western rakhine state dismissing that as just a photo opportunity the u.n. estimates more than six hundred eighty thousand range of muslims fled a military crackdown from late august last year survive a spike of atrocities including mess murder rape entire villages raised me and maintains it was responding to attacks from mom groups suchi one celebrated as a

u.s. diplomat and me in mars government bill richardson said he resigned from an advisory role on the crisis after a heated exchange with leader and son suchi all remaining members of the usa gymnastics board have agreed to step down after former team doctor larry nasser was jailed for sexually abusing female athletes the athletic director at michigan state university where nasa worked also resigned the university is now the focus of a federal investigation the u.n. says at least thirty refugees and migrants fleeing the war in yemen have drowned near the city of aden since the boat carrying somalis an ethiopian capsized when people smugglers on board opened fire donald trump has told the world economic forum that the u.s. will not turn a blind eye to unfair trade practices those are the headlines the news will continue after risking it all. it's the school election and the candidates are pulling out all the stops so i can move i mean you have let him actually live on farms and gifts. as i say in this telling me as i'm apparently society i am good for a vote at this time on al jazeera. extra

u.s. diplomat quits an advisory panel on the hangs a crisis. a morning commute and it's lead to unstick tale soft train derailed leaving two people dead and dozens injured. and i'm far as small with the sport tennis world number one small know how it is through to her first australian open final she'll face second seed caroline wozniak if he survived a labor fight back in her semi final in melbourne. the new military front opened by turkey in the syrian war could further complicate un backed peace talks in vienna the past six days turkey's been attacking y e p g kurdish forces in the northern syrian region of the brain they want to push the fighters who say they're terrorists from the area and create a buffer zone along turkey's border the un special envoy for syria says the ninth round of talks comes at a very critical time in the conflict to speak not to hold up to her and she joins us live from vienna so what is there so far. well certainly as you said the funding is to i said that these were critical talks we also heard similar comments fro

u.s. diplomats bill richardson has accused me and mark of trying to whitewash the crisis he resigned from an advisory panel sparking a rift with cheese government scott hyde has more from young gone. if you listen to government leaders in myanmar this week was supposed to see a trickle of britons are refugees returning to these new repatriation centers in rakhine state they said from tuesday the centers were open and ready to receive but the other country in this equation bangladesh said incomplete paperwork for the refugees is causing a delay no word on just how long some human rights groups think it's much more than paperwork the fundamental problem is that all these operations and set up these plans and. these negotiations have been done leaving the refugees outside the door and they haven't been consulted they haven't been talked to and many of the refugees are simply too afraid to go back anywhere near the burmese military also this week the launch of a new commission to follow up from a group headed by former u.n. secretary general kofi anon it's members both from myanmar and abroad

u.s. diplomat quits a key advisory panel on the hinge of crisis.

u.s. diplomat resigned from an advisory council after a heated exchange with leader aung san suu kyi bill richardson said he feared that the crisis was being whitewashed man mark hughes's him of pursuing his own agenda turkish security forces arrested fifty thousand refugees on the land border with jordan greece refugees are becoming increasingly desperate and turning to smugglers for different routes lawrence lee has an exclusive report. is done will isn't well known as a gathering point for refugees yet there is all the evidence you need that a significant smuggling operation is based here. in the central districts of x. arrive people from all kinds of places. looking a fast so eritrea sri lanka pakistan nobody wants to tell you much about their plans but they do spend a lot of time on the phones all the refugees are tried the same thing how the deal is done in the nearby coffee houses smugglers charge up to two thousand dollars and one day turns tonight some of those smugglers will tell you just how big the trade is. we do three trips a week there are others working two of the trip eve

u.s. diplomat bill richardson calls me and maz leader powerless and afraid of the military plus. gives the survivors first and foremost the department this university in my family an opportunity. to heal more fallout from the u.s. gymnastics sexual abuse scandal the entire governing body resigns also. the internet is information now we have the internet is money new money meets old money the world's financial elites discuss the future of digital currencies including bitcoin. we begin in syria where a cease fire has gone into effect in the besieged area of eastern ghouta there the capital damascus it was brokered by russia the area is the last remaining rebel stronghold near damascus and has been under siege by government forces for almost five years now it comes a syrian opposition members say they will boycott talks that russia is hosting in salt cheap next week that decision announced a u.n. sponsored negotiations in vienna which have been extended for a day there's been no breakthrough meanwhile turkish forces continue their operation against kurdish fighters in africa in nort

u.s. diplomats trying to maintain the peace. so these comments are being received in africa as another example of how far removed from diplomacy indeed, the usual patent of united states administrations in dealing with this continent. >> thanks so much. we appreciate the context there. >>> another story developing at the white house, the president refusing to confirm whether he has talked directly to kim jong-un. instead, teasing the possibility he did in an interview with the wall street journal. he says i don't want to comment on it. i'm not saying i have or haven't. i just don't want to comment. but he did say he probably has a quote, very good relationship. >> expressed an openness to negotiating with north korea. he's also promised to destroy the regime with fire and fury if the missile tests continue. the president now suggesting the stop and go is intentional. you'll see that a lot with me and then all of a sudden somebody's my best friend. i could give you 20 examples. i'm a very flexible person. >> when we asked a senio

u.s. diplomats. also a former protest to the u.s. embassy in pretoria.avid mckenzie is joining us from johannsburg. tell us more about the impact of these comments there in africa. >> reporter: certainly the impact has been widespread and the outrage has been almost universal. at this hour, the head of the u.s. embassy in south africa is meeting with south african officials which can only be seen as a dressing down of that diplomat. and it is extremely unusual to have this situation of governments, particularly in africa, explicitly criticizing the president of the united states. and the south africans case, they say they want to -- the representative to explain the statement that african countries alongside with haiti and el salvador constitute shit-holes where migrants are undesirable. it is largely symbolic, but it is a powerful symbol because the state department, of course, is working across africa and the u.s. military is also in key parts of the continent in the war against terror. so this outrage and this ongoing saga is not helpful to those amer

u.s. diplomat bill richardson has quit an advisory panel set up to tackle the ranger refugee crisis richardson said he feared the panel had was becoming a cheerleading operation for myanmar's government as decision raises new doubts about efforts to repatriate seven hundred thousand rippin jim muslims who fled myanmar last year yes present donald trump is expected to arrive in davos switzerland later today for a much discussed visit to the world economic forum but first the focus is on britain with a speech by prime minister theresa may that will certainly touch on the exit from of britain from the european union the w.'s been facility is in davos he says it's dealt all she'll be as outspoken about drugs as her predecessor david cameron. cameron stepped down as prime minister in twenty sixteen after that disastrous british vote to leave the european union i was quite surprised to learn that he even show his face again here in davos and he's been caught of the sidelines saying to a billionaire businessman that it was a mistake the referendum but that it wasn't a disaster what certainly was a di