catherine soi, al jazeera. >>> north korea says it has detained a u.s.nt for committing a hostile act and wanting to destroy the country's unity. he entered the country on a tourist visa. harry fawcett has more from seoul. >> reporter: well, this news came through on the north korean state media, saying that north korea has detained a u.s. citizen, a student for a supposed hostile act against the state. also the report saying that that about was tolerated and manipulated by the united states government. the u.s. embassy here in seoul is only saying that it is -- confirmed it has seen these media reports. it is referring any other questions to the state department in washington, but there has been some corroboration from a tour agency based in china, which says that this man was on one of their tours in north korea and was detained on january 2nd. they say they are acting closely with the swedish embassy which looks after u.s. interests in north korea, also with the north korean ministry of foreign affairs and the u.s. state department trying to get this

catherine soi has the latest where the african union has been holding its summit. >> reporter: the decisioncan union leaders to cancel plans to deploy troops to burundi was the biggest news to come out of the a.u. summit. leaders gathered here in ethiopia decided to push for a political solution. >> translator: the heads of state expressed satisfaction at media efforts by the pred of uganda who will continue in this dialogue which we want to be an inclusive dialogue. >> reporter: this followed days of discussion on what to do about the violence in burundi that has killed more than 400 people. it was triggered by the president's decision to seek and win a controversial third term. previous attempts at such political dialogue have not been successful. burundi's foreign affairs minister says his government is committed, but will not negotiate with those it calls criminals and coup plotters. >> if the a.u. does not [ inaudible ] how then do you ask the members of the assembly who has agreed to those agreements to move way from that and start talking to the coup makers? >> reporter: a lie-level

al jazeera's catherine soy has been monitoring the au's peace and security meeting in ethiopia. >> viability armed groups still hold large territories and are carrying out deadly attacks in places like burkina faso recently. grave danger now. they deliberated on better ways of sharing counterterrorism, intelligence, also, on the agenda was south sudan and the formation of a traditional unity government there. the process seems to be on shaky ground following the decision by the government to create 28 states up from 10. the armed opposition led by riek machar says that was not in the spirit of the peace agreement and want it dropped. now burundi is high on the agenda and will still be high on the agenda in coming days. heads of state will be considering options to solve the crisis there. expected to decide on the deployment of the au peace keepers without the governments consent. people who follow burundi or au affairs say many heads of state will be reluctant to endorse such a move. the main state push more aggressively for political dialogue between all warring groups, a talk that seems to

catherine soi reports. >> reporter: the military honored its soldiers killed in southern somalia.d just been deployed to the base when the gunmen attacked using vehicles that has benefited with explosives. >> we commit to you our country -- >> reporter: many soldiers have said to have died in the blast. their remains have been difficult to identify. it has been a week since the base was overrun by al-shabab fighters. several families were at this memorial service. some inconsolable. james's brother is still missing. >> we have been told that there are some soldiers -- a group of soldiers that are still missing. maybe they ran away. they go to the bush and hide nch >> reporter: military commanders say that special forces are carrying on search and rescue missions and have killed the man that lead the attack. but we still don't know how many soldiers were killed or may still be missing. the government is facing heavy criticism for its silence as to details on the attack. the fact that the troops seem to have been caught completely off guard is particularly embarrassing for the milit

catherine soi, al jazeera, nigh rebee. >>> the world health organization says more than a quarter of million people have been living under a virtual seize in ta'izz since november. >>> also in ta'izz, an al jazeera news team has gone missing as they covered events there. the correspondent and crew members were last seen on monday evening. they are leave today have been kidnapped. al jazeera is calling for their immediate release. >>> the government of myanmar has begun releasing more political prisoners as it winds down its time in office. more than 50 have been freed on friday, and there may be more to come in days ahead. >> reporter: there were emotional reunions as inmates walked free from prison. some had been held for years for their activism for having voiced opposition to the governments. but their joy at freedom was mixed with sadness for the political prisoners left behind. >> translator: the government is releasing prisoners separately. i want all of the activists, political prisoners, students, farmers, and workers, still left in the prison. >> reporter: the current govern

catherine soy, al jazeera, nairobi. >> amnesty international says children as young as search are working in mines in the democratic republic of congo. the cobalt is used in lithium batteries and cell phone brands, the group is suspected of processing the mines and have been alerted to the practice. >> burkina faso is slowly coming to terms with the attack last weekend in the capital. one of the poorest countries in the world, burkina faso just emerged from a political crisis. it hopes to improve the country's economy. the new government is in crisis mode. >> the people of burkina faso have a history of struggle. we force against colonialism and dictatorship. this won't break us. >> many died in the assault on a hotel and a coffee shop popular with foreigners and aid workers. this imedical workers say that it's attack on this relatively small country. the burial date for the burkinas that have been killed have begun. they have held talks with their friends and relatives. this man was injured in the attack that also claimed the lives of some of his colleagues. >> people have different dema

catherine soy has more. >> the remains of some of the soldiers killed by al shabab fighters in somalia's get toe region are brought back home. the fighters overran a military base on friday, killing many soldiers and abducting several others. these soldiers had only been there for a fortnight following a routine troop rotation of the african peacekeeping mission. two other deadly attacks on troops happened last year during similar rotations. >> most tactical errors caused by the massive complete changeover of a battalion or company occupying a business captured by al shabab. this tactical error happens because there isn't a smooth handledover and transition from the previous battalion into the new one. >> the attack appears well timed to take advantage of the troop rotation when fresh troops arrive. >> military commanders are not revealing details of the attack. we don't know how many soldiers were killed, abducted or may still be missing. families are not receiving much information and the continued presence of kenyan troops in somalia is once again the focus of debate. >> a satirical c

catherine soi, al jazeera. >>> do stay with us on the news hour, this is coming up in a moment.he u.s. state of iowa are getting ready to vote in the first caucus of election year and we will tell you why they have picked such an unusual way of choosing the person they want in the white house. >>> and chelsea's march to the fa cup last 16 is rocked by major announcement from their captain. ♪ ♪ >>> the top stories. up special envoy severe i can't says he is optimistic the talks in geneva aimed at ending the war in syria will succeed. that is despite mechanics of the opposition delegation saying they they will leave if their demands are not met. >>> meanwhile, isil, which isn't represented at the talks, says it was behind a triple bomb attack in the syrian capital which killed at least 50. >>> and at least 86 people have been killed in an attack in northeast nigeria i can't remember the country's military is blaming boko haram. >>> more on the top story the diplomatic effort to bring entry to the war in syria. as many as 400,000 people it's estimated are trapped by the fighting an

catherine soi sentence this update on the gathering. >> reporter: security in the region has been a defendant big part of the agenda at this african union summit. leaders, african heads of state have been talking about terrorism in africa, ways of working together, better cooperation, sharing intelligence. south sudan has also been on the agenda in the formation of aegovernment. the deadline has come and gone. the biggest issue, perhaps, is the burundi and the situation there. the commission has a report on the situation. this will become the position that are going to come out of here. heads of state will be discussing and perhaps voting on the floiment of troops to bur underi with or without the government's consent. the government has rejected any such move. a lot of people i am talking to say that many heads of state will be reluctant to end the suddenly move because burundi is it has an elected government, even if that is contested. burundi is a true contributing company. very important, very delicate. a lot of people are saying that perhaps what will happen is that the heads of state wi

catherine soi sent this update. >> reporter: the heads of state will be meeting in this hall, will bedering a report that will be abled by the chairperson on [ inaudible ] on the situation in burundi. and they are going to be talking about the deployment of au peace keepers to burundi. this is a very controversial issue. the burundi government has rejected the move. so they will consider the option of sending in troops even without the consent of the government. there are provisions that mandate the au to do this. a lot of people who follow burundi affairs and the au affairs will tell you that many heads of state will be reluctant to do such a move, because burundi has an elected government, an elected president, even if those elections are contested. so perhaps what the heads of state will do is to call for a more aggressive -- for an all inclusive talks, a political dialogue that will be able to move any country forward, lobby groups and human rights groups as well are calling for targeted sanctions, perhaps suspension from the au. so it will be very interesting to see what kinds of

catherine soi, al jazeera. >> south sudan has an abundance of oil but it is actually making a loss fromroducing it. the country has been paying sudan from which it separated in 2011. that's the price, anna cab he will reports. >> the streets of juba are quieter than usual. the drop in global oil prices is hitting south sudan hard. >> in the past, it would have been enough to feed you. now, it's only enough to buy water. two pounds used to be enough to buy sugar. now, you have to buy sugar for six pounds. >> when south sud ane gained independence from sudan, it inherited the majority of the oil fields. because both countries relied on oil revenue, a financial agreement was drawn up. south sudan agreed to pay sudan $3,000,000,000 over a period of three and a half years. the government has to pay about $10 for every barrel it trans ports through sudan. while transport costs aren't uncommon, the south sudanese have to pay $15 for every barely it will trans ports as part of its transitional financial agreement. and with south sudan's grade of oil currently trading at about $20 and costs at $

catherine soi has been monitoring the days event in ethiopia. >> the heads of state discussed terrorism in the continent, violent armed groups holding large territories, and deadly attacks in count lis like burkina faso, and al-shabab poses grave danger. they deliberated on better ways of sharing count terrorism, intelligence, and also on the agenda with south sudan, and the transformation of a unity government. the process seems to be on shaky ground following the decision by the government to create 28 states up from 10. the armed opposition led by ria march ard said it was not in the spirit of the peace agreement. burundi is high on the agenda, and will be in the coming days. the heads of state will consider options to solve the crisis, and they are expected to discuss and decide on the deployment of the peacekeepers with or without the government's consent. if they endorse that approval from the security council will be needed. people that follow burundi say that heads of state will be reduct and to do such a move. the main state push aggressively for a political dialogue between al

catherine soi sent this update from the ethiopian capitol. >> reporter: the heads of state who will beng in this hall will be considering a report tabled on the situation in burundi, and that is going to determine a lot of decisions they are going to make. they are going to be talking about the deployment of a.u. peace keepers to burundi. the burundi government has rejected such a move, so the heads of state will be considering different options, including the possibility of sending in troops even without the con sect of burundi's government. saying there are provisions within the construction of the a.u. that mandate the a.u. to do this. but this also has to be approved by the u.n. security council. a lot of people follow burundi affairs, and the a.u. affairs will tell you, though, that the heads of state -- many heads of state will be reluctant to make such a move. burundi has an elected government, even if those elections are contested. so perhaps what the heads of state will do is to call for a more aggressive peaceful -- all inclusive talks, political dialogue that will be able to

catherine soi sent this update. >> reporter: the heads of state who will be meeting in this hall willnsidering a report that will be table by the chair pern of the a.u. on the situation in burundi. and they are going to be talking about the deployment of a.u. peace keepers to burundi. this is a very controversial issue. the bush rundy government has rejected such a move, so the heads of state will be considering different options. there are provisions within the constitution of the a.u. that mandate the a.u. to do this, but then for that to happen the heads of state have to endorse such a move, and it also has to be an proved by the u.n. security council. a lot of people who follow burundi and a.u. affairs will tell you that many heads of state will be reluctant to endorse such a move because burundi is a sovereign country with an elected government and elected president. so perhaps what the heads of state will do is call for a more aggressive peace -- for all inclusive talks, a political dialogue that will be able to move the country forward, lobby groups and human rights groups as w

catherine soi, al jazeera. >>> we have this if you stay with us here on al jazeera in just a moment. secret u.s. officials say e-mails sent through hillary clinton's home serve every did contain sensitive information of course the ancient secrets revealed as a historic church undergoes its first proper renovations in 1500 years. ♪ ♪ >>> and these are the global headlines this hour, turkey's president is demanding talks with his russian opposite number after a russian jetta ledge italy violated turkey's airspace once again. >>> syria's main opposition group has arrived in geneva to take part inter directly, that is, in the u.n.-brokered talks aimed at ending the civil war in syria. >>> the u.n. secretary general has told leaders they should not use legal loopholes to cling to power. he was at the african union security summit in ethiopia. >>> the influential new york times newspaper is backing hillary clinton's campaign for the democratic party's nomination. shrieking her as, quote, one of the most deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history. but the scandal which conti

let's cross over to catherine soi. know they are discussing about -- we know it's -- excuse me -- catherine, discussing burundi. what else is expected to come out of this meeting? >> ( knowledge they have been discussing bur underi since yesterday, friday. the security council fails to made you cone consensus. heads of state have been talking about it. they will be talking about it tomorrow, sunday. so basically what they -- what the issue is meds of state will be deliberating and it may be voting on a position to send this peacekeeping troops to burundi with or without the commission of the burundian government. we know burundi's government and the parliament have rejected such a move. a lot of people we are talking to say many heads of state will be reluctant to endorse such a move. burundi with peoples have al president, even if that is contested. it's interesting to see how all of this plays out. bur underi is contributing country. the president said, hills, is not here but he has sent a hi high-level delegation le

catherine soi sent us this update on the talks in the ethiopian capitol. >> reporter: the heads of state will be meeting in this hall will be considering a report that will be tabled by the chairperson of the a.u. on the situation in burundi, and that is going to determine a lot of decisions they are going to make. they are going to talk about the deployment and a.u. peace keepers to burundi. the burundi government has rejected such a move. so they will consider different possibilities, including sending in troops without the consent of burundi's government. then for that to happen, the heads of state have to endorse certain moves that have to be approved by the u.n. security council. a lot of people who follow burundi and a.u. affairs will tell you that the heads of state will be reluctant to [ inaudible ]. burundi is a sovereign country. it has an elected government and elected president, even if those elections are contested. so perhaps what the heads of state will do is call for all-inclusive talks, a political dialogue that will be able to move the country forward. lobby groups and

catherine soi, al jazeera. >>> with me now in the studio is the director of the africa research groupmarco has a doctorate in politics and international studies and has held positions at the u.n. and the british foreign office. thanks so much for coming in to the studio. how likely is it, do you think, that the african union would approve of troops going in to burundi without the permission of the burundi president? >> that's a difficult one. and without the president's permission, it is unlikely that a stand-alone mission would be approved. so other areas might have to be investigated such as east african stands by force deployments or something like that. just to try to get around the issue you of not being invite ed in by the host government. >> which countries would back the idea of actually going to another african country without that country's president's permission. some of them are worried, aren't they? they are worried about setting a precedent for something that could then happen in their own nation. >> absolutely. so the majority will not be keen to authorize something. th

catherine wambua-soi has the latest from ouagadougou where the summit is being held. >> reporter: a plan to deploy troops to burundi was the biggest matter to come out. leaders decided to push for a political solution. >> the heads of state expressed satisfaction mediation by the president in uganda, who will continue with the dialogue, which we want to be an inclusive dialogue. >> this follows days of discussion on what to do with the violence in burundi, which killed more than 400 people. it was triggered by a decision to seek and win a third term. previous attempts at such political dialogue have not been successful. the foreign first minister said the government is committed, but will not negotiate with coup plotters. >> how do you ask a member state, which agreed to those instruments, to move away and. >> a high level delegation will be sent to burundi, and too to have authorities accept the deployment of troops. some are critical of the failure to deploy peacekeepers. a lot hinges on leaders. 54, a lot have issues. they would not want to see a decision putting them in a bind as wel