. >> the islamic state began a major offensive capturing huge areas of eastern syria and northern iraqthe american led coalition launched air strikes against isis targets and the us sent thousands of so-called military advisers to the ground in iraq. but president obama insists he will not send us combat troops. >>> israel invaded the gaza strip over the summer. the conflict fueled by the killing of three israeli teenagers by palestinian militants. the fighting ended with a cease fire. >> in the town of ferguson missouri protests turned violent after the police shooting of an unarmed teenager michael brown. a grand jury decided not to bring charges against officer darren wilson that sparked new violence in ferguson and protests all across our country. >>> in august, robin william took his own life at the age of 63. his suicide put a new spotlight on depression and mental health. >> in pennsylvania a huge manhunt for eric matthew 14. the 31-year-old survival lift accused of shooting two state troopers killing one of them. u.s. marshals finally captured frein at the end of october after

. >>> government forces in north eastern syria have launched a new assault on kurdish-held territory.oke out where government forces are trying to set up new checkpoints kurdish forces have controlled much of the region since a syrian army withdraw three years ago. five civilians were reportedly killed in the fighting. kurdish fighters say they have seized vehicles, ammunition and weapons from the army in a counter assault. >>> the united nations says it's planning an offensive against rebels in the eastern part of democratic republic of congo. the fdlr fighters were given until january 2nd to stoppedder or face military action, as malcolm webb reports from a u.n. camp some rebels have lane down their weapons but many more remain at large. >> reporter: these fighters from the rwandan fdlr have been on the run since the genocide in 1994 now they have surrendered they hold a parade in the u.n. camp where they now stay. they are among a minority of fighters who came out with their families before the january 2nd deadline. congress so and the u.n. say they will attack those in the bush. w

they have eastern syria and yemen.hink that, while there are many reasons for which these terrorists behave as they did, one thing that al-qaida would very much like to do is see a civil war in europe between the muslim minority and the christian majority, which then would make the mainstream muslims have to turn to them. >> there's one that says they didn't say anything to al-qaida. there's a question at this point about whether these were two, certainly, disaffected brothers doing this by themselves or do they have serious questions, which looks like it's more and more posz. if it is the latter, that's what it reads to you. that these were done perfectly. >> yes, these young men were born in france. they know exactly the significance of what they did. they know what the reaction is lick e likely to do. they want to make an object lesson of those editors and cartoonists, but, more importantly, they wanted to strepgten the french right, the far right and the national front in hopes that they could create the kind of po

. >>> the islamic state began a major offensive capturing huge areas have of eastern syria and northern american led coalition launched air strikes against isis targets, and u.s. said thousands of so-called military advisors to the ground in iraq. but president obama insists that he will not send u.s. combat troops. >>> in the town of ferguson missouri protests turned violent after the the police shooting of an unarmed teenager michael brown. a grand jury decided not to bring charges a against officer darren wilson. that sparked new violence in ferguson, and protests all across the country. >>> the the 2014 elections ended with a g.o.p. bang. republicans winning control of the senate, and adding to their large majority in the house. >>> washington ended the year with a contentious fight over immigration reform. president obama announced a plan to use executive authority to shield at least 4 million immigrants from deportation. republicans say that they are considering their options to block enforcement of that action. >>> looking ahead to 2015 we're waiting to see if the president of th

. >> the islamic state began a major offensive capturing huge areas of eastern syria and northern iraq coalition launched air strikes against isis targets and the us sent thousands of so-called military advisers to the ground in iraq. but president obama insists he will not send us combat troops. >>> israel invaded the gaza strip over the summer. the conflict fueled by the killing of three israeli teenagers by palestinian militants. the fighting ended with a cease fire. >> in the town of ferguson missouri protests turned violent after the police shooting of an unarmed teenager michael brown. a grand jury decided not to bring charges against officer darren wilson that sparked new violence in ferguson and protests all across our country. >>> in august, robin william took his own life at the age of 63. his suicide put a new spotlight on depression and mental health. >> in pennsylvania a huge manhunt for eric matthew 14. the 31-year-old survival lift accused of shooting two state troopers killing one of them. u.s. marshals finally captured frein at the end of october after he'd spent six w

. >> the islamic state began a major offensive capturing huge areas of eastern syria and northern iraqon launched air strikes against isis targets and the us sent thousands of so-called military advisers to the ground in iraq. but president obama insists he will not send us combat troops. >>> israel invaded the gaza strip over the summer. the conflict fueled by the killing of three israeli teenagers by palestinian militants. the fighting ended with a cease fire. >> in the town of ferguson missouri protests turned violent after the police shooting of an unarmed teenager michael brown. a grand jury decided not to bring charges against officer darren wilson that sparked new violence in ferguson and protests all across our country. >>> in august, robin william took his own life at the age of 63. his suicide put a new spotlight on depression and mental health. >> in pennsylvania a huge manhunt for eric matthew 14. the 31-year-old survival lift accused of shooting two state troopers killing one of them. u.s. marshals finally captured frein at the end of october after he'd spent six weeks on

syria under the control eastern syria under the control of isis. they are sure, we all are quite sure iran is moving out to build a nuclear system to deliver it. i would be uneasy particularly given the fact that the level of support by this country for saudi arabia has been less than it should be for over a decade lou. lou: and discussion of the mosul offensive, we have been treated to reports variously from u.s. intelligence sources, from the pentagon, from nato countries to arab states in point of fact, mosul has been taken, it has been lost, it has been taken, it has been lost. i mean, it is one of the most confusing aspects of the islamic state's offensive in iraq that i've seen. >> yep. lou: what do you make of it? >> message for the pentagon mosul is in isis hands and hasn't lost control. you can argue they have isolated mosul to some degree. this is the psychological heartland for isis. this is the crown jewel of the looming isis empire. if the iraqis are able to regain mosul, that will have an enormous psychological impact on the dominance

so is we have taken this in eastern syria and northern iraq, we have seen this girl and we have a massive propaganda machine behind them, what they are doing is putting out all of their contents with videos or images trying to recruit supporters on platforms like twitter. neil: obviously they have a sophisticated appreciation of this technology, but why these venues? >> and allows certain encryption that is not there or a public platform. although i think that some of these politicians are missing -- the fact that we really will not have access to all of their content and information unless we open up a much wider ability to tap into the regular every day citizen messages and information that are encrypted and i highly doubt that snap chat or any of the other platforms would allow for that kind of encryption of their concepts. >> the bigger issue seems to be this is where and how they recruit and i don't think a lot of the public officials appreciate the magnitude of that. >> i think it's a many headed hydra. it's not simply snap chat but what we found initially and sharing all of their c

because in fact the islamic state depends upon certain tribal elements in the anbar province and in eastern syria they are playing a level of politics which is not completely transparent to us. now, i don't think they're going to get their way, but we're going to have to wait and see. i think eventually if the pilot's indeed alive they will send proof of life and will go through with the exchange. but that's just really total speculation. >> and a lot of people are asking, michael weiss, if they have proof of life why didn't they send it before when the japanese government was asking for it? >> it's very bad sign. isis has a propaganda magazine it puts out. the last issue they conducted an interrogation with the jordanian pilot couched as an interview and made him confess to all of his sins and sort of admit to the sort of the nature of the coalition and sort of trade secrets. the interrogation ended with them saying to him do you know what happens to you now? he said yes i die. they probably wouldn't have done that unless they intend to kill this man. so the fact there's no proof of life i take

and of course isis has emerged not vacuum that was created in central and eastern syria. one thing that i think is very very important that people keep an eye on in 2015 is how the iranians decide to play that cards. not just on the nuclear file but also on the wider regional conflagration that is engulfing significant parts of the middle east. obviously they've been significant destabilizing force over the years. but partly because of the oil price change but not only because of that. also because of popular pressure inside iran. i think it's very important to see them as having an absolutely pivotal sense of-- set of decisions to make in 2015. >> ifill: indira, do we have to worry now in this post snowden era as much about cyberwarfare as old-fashioned warfare. >> cyberwarfare as we see it with the close of this year with the hack of sony which may or may not have been the result of the north korean state depending on whose intelligence you believe, has turned out to be the cheapest form of warfare since the bow and arrow. i do think that there is a lot of potential for

they are gaining in eastern syria, central syria, and northern syria and attacking in damascus whereped offensive in iraq they are on the move and on the march in syria. it tells us there is something not right with our strategy. we have not come to grips fixing it and getting on wit. the longer we drag it out more radicals will be inspired and motivated to kill people in their own countries unfolding every day before our eyes. martha: isn't it true the more leverage isis gains, the more sway they gain with some other islamic groups so they're trying to pull everybody over to tear side, their goal, correct me if i'm wrong, to move into eastern libya, to lebanon and conceal all of that power in order to grow? the other big motivation is to do attacks in the west to draw attention away from what's going on in this region in iraq and syria, correct? >> oh, you just put your finger right on it. in their annual report, some 400 pages i may add, much of it in color, they do indicate that they do intend to dominate arab muslim lands in the region. that is their caliphate they have right now

carried out more than a dozen or airstrikes in and around islamic state roast the fact of the eastern syriais to have this round of coalition in the city and ices militants captured a jordanian pilot of the jet when dollar and area back on december 2nd before activists say they're released 13 colleges strikes in the latest round no word yet on any possible injuries. that the bay area a suspected the you i driver is behind bars is morning in connection with the democrats and is a 580 in oakland this happen this around to see your seven marasca when it slammed into a pole and high-speed the warmer writing in the past the sea was killed in the car she faces charges of vehicular manslaughter >>will tran: in addition to the acid in oakland as a soldier about officer arrested 35 people on suspicion of the you live between 6:00 p.m. new year's eve and 6:00 a.m. new year's day the sea its fees maxwell with the new year the average homes will go of nearly 6% according the action and will have protocols all san jose restaurateur source of food trucks like to stop using foam containers or styrofoam th

-- if it's proven true it is stunning and apparently there's a group that rock is the town in eastern syriaperates from. what is the group for taking 13 teenagers out? >> well isis enforces a medieval version. tv is not a part of that. they were simply watching television. they behead them and they amputate them for very minor offenses. this is the harsh brutality of isis. this is actually the true story. on their social media, bill, they glamourize and romanticize themselves. this is the downer narrative. what is life like under isis? facts are, if you're living in the islamist state, they don't know how to govern the state. they don't provide any services. garbage is left on the street uncollected. services aren't being provided. utilities, water, electricity is in short supply. the economy is in the tank. inflation is unbelievable. things that cost $10 cost $1.50. all systems are closed including universities. only schools open are the schools that indoctrinate their law. >> if that's all true then, it's just a question of time before the public turns against them. >> the public that is

that fighting broke out earlier today between the army and gunmen close to the country's eastern frontier with syria. speaking off the record, when security officials said that nine militants and three soldiers have been killed in the firefight. not immediately clear if the militants along to any of the syria-based jihadist groups. staying in lebanon, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of the northern city of tripoli earlier on today to protest against french satirical magazine charlie hebdo, which depicted as satirical picture of the prophet mohammed in its latest issue. government forces fired warning shots and tear gas to disperse those crowds, which chanted, "down with charlie." pakistan and iran also saw large protests. when a victory jihadist gunmen who carried out the attacks in paris are earlier on this month was to be buried at a conservatory around 20 kilometers south of the french capital. his country of origin was mali, but they refused to accept his body. he killed a policewoman and for hostages between the seventh and ninth of january before being shot dead in a standoff with p

they believe that this is the power that holds their grip in places like eastern syria and iraq. they need to continue to show that they have brutality as a part of their governance model or they will lose grip. >> the guy holding the knife threatening to kill these two, it's the same so-called jihadi john that was in other videos the same british accent. apparently u.s. and other intelligence agencies they know who he is but they are not releasing his name, right? >> that is correct. >> why? >> i have high confidence they know exactly who he is. part of that is you don't want to disrupt any activities in that lineage, if you will. he has associates he has people he's talked to he's had places he's visited and they don't want to disrupt any of that in order to continue to gain intelligence of value that could ultimately lead to him being brought to justice. >> everybody stand by. we have much more to discuss. the war on terror continues. the war against isis. there are new developments on that front as well. ♪so nice, so nice♪ ♪sweet, sweet st. thomas nice♪ ♪so nice, so nice♪ ♪st

he's throughout to run a private military company and travel frequently to syria and other middle eastern countries. a man who appeared to be him posted pictures on facebook of his activities in iraq and syria. he made his last update in july. sources with anti-government sources say that's when they take him to a battlefield. he got separated about 35 kilometers from the city of aleppo. negotiations to free limb were held, but not during the last month because of intense fighting. nhk world's editor in chief knows one of the captives she shared her story earlier with gene otani. >> you and i both know kenji kenji goto. >> i've known him for decades. people close to kenji haven't known his whereabouts since last october. this disturbing image is genuine, this is the first proof in months that he is still alive. it breaks my heart to see him in this horrific situation. but it offers some hope. >> he has contributed a number of reports to nhk world in the past. >> he's come to this studio to talk about what he has covered. he is last report as we just saw was aired in late october. he was i

yukawa is thought to run a private military company and travel frequently to syria and other middle eastern countries. a man who appeared to be him posted pictures on facebook of his activities in iraq and syria. he made his last update in july. sources with anti-government forces in syria say that's when yukawa asked them to take him to a battlefield. they say he got separated from their men during a fight about 35 kilometers from the city of aleppo. the sources say negotiations to free him were held but not during the last month, because of intense fighting. nhk world's editor in chief joins me now in the studio. miki you and i both know kenji goto in person. >> yes, and i've known kenji for almost two decades. we both have been covering conflicts and wars disasters around the world. people close to kenji haven't known his whereabouts since last october. and this disturbing image i see of him if this is genuine, this is the first proof in months that he is still alive. so it breaks my heart to see him in this horrific situation. but it offers some hope too. >> goto has contributed a numbe

syria. >> now to eastern ukraine were heavy fighting is continuing with civilian casualties on both sides. rocket attacks and the shelling of a cultural center in donetsk have killed at least six people. david has the latest from kiev. >> in eastern ukraine, the fighting intensifies and the death toll mounts. the latest scene of a rocket attack. a humanitarian aid center and nearby trolley bus. bodies sprawled on the street and in cars. the snow stained with blood. each loss is wrenching. for locals, it can happen at any moment. >> people started hiding. i drove closer and some people started to run towards me to get away as fast as they could. it turns out, they were running away from the area of the bombing. i started moving from behind the trolley bus. there was a second or third explosion. >> throughout eastern ukraine violence is spreading. this footage shot by russian television shows the moscow-backed rebels in nighttime combat. this is a vicious war. the west says russia is fueling the fighting, which moscow denies. that the rebels are well armed and the fighters move easily into u

the clouds that are moving over here from west to east - we talk about syria at the eastern end of the mediterranean - a lot of refugee camps are on the turkish border as well as to the lebanese border. i want to show you what the low area of pressure will do. slowly making its way through. unfortunately we have more of a cut off system here. so system after system is going to be turning in this area. as we go into the next couple of days it will be a combination of rain in the lower elevations and snow in the higher elevations. we expect to see 3-4 inches of rain but it will be snow and colder temperatures to the north. a little less between 4 and 6. the break we have now will end. we'll see more snow coming into play and, paul the temperatures overnight will go down to about 20 degrees, it 15 degrees, and during the day times we see about 35 38. not much of a change unfortunately. back to you. >> thank you. coming up, russia's new rules for driving. how they could impact short people gamblers and possibly transgender people. we explain. plus lower gas prices may be good for driver's

not just from individuals that are here but those individuals who travel to places like syria and other middle easterninspired to carry out plots following the names, causes ideas, of some of those groups taking root in syria. >>> some good news to report in the wake of the deadly boko haram crisis in africa. at least two dozen of the 80 people kidnapped this weekend by militants in cameroon were set free this morning. an official telling cnn that the hostages broke away while soldiers were chasing the insurgents "back to nigeria from where they came." we're joined now with the latest from there. >> on sunday morning, boko haram militants crossed the border into cameroon and razed two villages to the ground and took captive 80 people many of whom were children but cameroon's army and one particular battalion, the mobile intervention battalion, gave chase and managed to free at least 24 of them. so as you say, that is some good news and it comes as chad has sent 2,000 troops into cameroon to try and assist that country in its efforts to combat boko haram which since january launched far more brazen att

what officials say was an imminent plot killing two armed suspects with ties to syria during a fierce firefight in the eastern city of vivier. the raids followed last week's terror spree in paris that left 17 dead. today at least 10 people allegedly connected to gunman amedy coulibaly were arrested. coulibaly claimed to have advertise to the "islamic state." british prime minister david cameron says europe and the u.s. face a major threat from islamic extremists. >> we have to be vigilant and we have to take all the steps we can to beat this evil. >> reporter: prime minister cameron meets with president obama at the oval office today with talks on terror and islamic extremism high on the agenda. secretary of state john kerry is in paris to show washington's support. he met with president francois hollande this morning and placed wreaths at the site of last week's deadly attacks. susan mcginnis, cbs news, washington. >>> caltrain stopped in burlingame for two hours after a southbound train slammed into a small car stuck on the tracks about 6:00. the car was driven by a nanny who accidentally turned on the trac

syria withdrew in 1961, complaining of egyptian domination. but the dream of arab unity endures, as evidenced by summit conferences which are held frequently among middle easterneads of state to discuss and attempt practical solutions to their problems. there are problems aplenty problems left from the long and bitter past, problems such as the ever present an explosive deadlock with israel woven into the violet fabric of the present, bubbling from which the course of the future depends. notably, the challenge to tame the desert. and make its rich oil deposits work for the benefit of all the people instead of the relatively few who enjoy those rewards now. as it moves to meet these problems, the world feels the stirring as centuries ago, men felt the stir of great events in the desert lands were history began. ♪ >> this year c-span is touring cities across the country, exploring american history. next, he look at our recent visit to austin, texas. you're watching american history tv, all weekend, every weekend on c-span3.

syria. security forces raided a suspected terror hideout in eastern belgium last night and say islamic militants came out shooting before police killed two of them and arrested a third third. authorities found assault rifles, bomb making materials and police uniforms at the seep. they believe the sus -- at the scene. they believe the suspects were hours away from carrying out a large-scale attack on belgium police. officials say they have found no link between the plot in belgium and the attacks in paris last week that killed 17 people. secretary of state john kerry visited the french capital and said americans stand in solidarity with france against islamic extremists. >> i wanted to express to you personally the sheer horror and revulsion that all americans felt. >> reporter: friday hundreds turned out in paris to celebrate the life of the editor killed in the newspaper massacre at charlie hebdo. marley hall, cbs news. >>> police evacuated a train station in paris today because of a bomb threat. the paris prosecutor's office said ten people were arrested in antiterrorism raids in the region. a

iran is building a nuclear empire that would include western afghanistan eastern or all of iraq, the heart of yemen, syria and probably lebanon. putin is rebuilding his crack pot czarist empire. while this is all going on you have islamist state caliphate. and our president tells us everything is hunky-dory. >> as i said earlier in the broadcast, for all the world, it sounded like he was saying mission accomplished. >> i heard you raise that. and i've done the same thing. and remember, how the media tore bush apart over that. president obama has said mission accomplished again and again. accomplished in iraq. accomplished in afghanistan. yemen was great. i'll tell you a friend of mine inside on the yemen deal, got a text from him this afternoon. he is in despair. he said get our people out now. i hope that's too alarmist. now, this administration is only concerned with its domestic image. it does not take the world seriously. but the world takes us very seriously. and, lou i'll tell you, i don't think the sky is always falling. but we are facing trifect who just today they ran a trial in the russian media

officials say was an imminent plot killing two heavily armed suspects with ties to syria during a fierce firefight in the eastern city of viervers. it follows last week's terror spree in paris that left 17 dead dead. british prime minister david cameron says europe and the u.s. face a major threat from islamic extremism. >> we have to remain extremely vigilant and we have to take all the steps we came to beat this evil. >> reporter: prime minister cameron meets with president obama at the oval office today with talks on terror and islamic extremism high on the agenda. secretary of state john kerry is in paris to show washington's support. he met with president hollande this morning and placed wreaths at last week's deadly attacks. >>> in april the army will begin allowing women to be trained to be rangers. as many as 60 women are scheduled to participate. the two-month combat school is considered one of the first steps toward entering the military's special operations field. this is the latest decision in the pentagon's push to open as many combat jobs as possible to women. >>> the settlement has been reached in

eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> one of 6 fighters killed in annitsisi airstrike in northern syria, a field commander and the father of i amad killed in 2008. isil released around 200 mostly elderly captives in northern iraq. those released are receiving medical attention and have been placed in a camp for the displaced. boko haram has carried out a cross border raid in northern cameroon kidnapping 60 people from several villages. more on the attack on hezbollah from al jazeera's rula amin. give us a bit of the context for this. >> reporter: hezbollah will react at any place any time and in whatever way so they will -- this has been their way. there are speculations they will react but not necessarily immediately. they will have a calculated reaction that will try to senditsis the message that hezbollahts leader was trying to make two days ago. he did say that they are ready and that israel should not mistake their engagement in the crisis in syria that they won't be able to confront israel again. he said we are ready and don't test us. this is the message that hezbollah will try to send israel again today. today's

the eastern mediterranean whether we're talking syria or turkey is in an elevation that does get their winters and get them fairly hard in this particular area. i want to show you what we expect over the next days. syria off to the east and part of the mediterranean, we have another snowstorm coming across parts of turkey. here across the northern border, we are going to be getting some very heavy snow. very heavy rain is going to be a big problem for parts of turkey. most of the refugee camps are located along the border with turkey, as well as down here across parts of lebanon. we don't expect this to get better. this is where they don't have the water or heating fuel and are living in tents. >> even shoes incredible. >> kevin, thank you very much. >> 10,000 french true thats are protecting possible targets across the country. >> despite the security there nearly 4 million turned out to remember the victims of last weeks terror attacks. we'll talk with one who joined that march in paris. >> hundreds of migrant arrive in italy, floating in a boat and several dingies. >> the new york c

iran is building a nuclear empire that will include western afghanistan, eastern or all of iraq, bahrain part of yemen, also have syria and probably yemen. putin is rebuilding his crackpot czarist empire. and while this is all going on, you have the islamic state caliphate. and our president told us that everything is hunky-dory. everything is fine. lou: the page has been turned. the crisis is over. as i said to karl rove earlier in the broadcast, it sound like he was saying mission accomplished for all the world. >> i heard you raise that. and i've done the same thing. remember how the media tore bush apart on that. president obama said michigan accomplished again and again. it's accomplished in iraq. it's accomplished in afghanistan. yemen was great. and i'll tell you a friend of mine who is inside on the yemen deal got in touch this afternoon and he is in despair. he said get our people out now. i hope that's too alarmist. but this administration is only concerned with its domestic image. it does not take the world seriously, but the world takes us very seriously. lou, i'll tell you i don't think the sky is always

eastern yemen. it was the first this year. in syriaish fighters have retaken a key town on the turkish border from islamic state forces. the kurds, backed by u.s. air strikes, say they gained full control of kobani today, after four months of fighting. also in syria, president bashar al-assad said the american-led air strikes need to be cleared with his regime. "foreign affairs magazine" quoted him as saying: if you want to make any kind of action in another country, you ask their permission. a new left-wing leader, alexis tsipras, was sworn in as prime minister of greece today. his anti-bailout party came from the political fringe to win big on sunday, setting up a confrontation with germany and the european union. we have a report from james mates of independent television news. >> reporter: an audience with the country's president and one of the youngest, certainly the most unlikely prime minister in greek history, is asked to form a government. just short of an overall parliamentary majority, tsipras party of the far left has forme

eastern town. they killed two men in a gunfight. officers arrested 15 people. some of the group's members had fought in syria. investigators who took part in the raids found four automatic rifles materials for making bombs and police uniforms. >> all i can confirm that there were plans to assassinate policemen in the street or at the police buildings. >> german authorities arrested two men in berlin. they were attempting to recruit young men. french media say authorities are intear gating 12 people detained in connection with last week's incidents. authorities want to establish how the three gunmen got the weapons and vehicles they used. >>> japan's prime minister is on a tour to meet leaders in equip, jour dan and the palestinian territories. he is expected to announce support for the global fight against islamic state. >> translator: based on our principal of proactive contribution to peace, i will tell the leaders japan will provide support in the non-military field. i hope my visit contributes to peace and stability in the region. >> he will speak about his national security policies in his first stop egy

eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> you you're watching inside story on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. as syria descended into deadly civil war and remained there 3 million people fled the country. 3million. lebanon took in a million refugees and now says it can take no more. they said, we have enough. there is no capacity to host more displaced. that's our focus on this edition of the program. lena, if they can't go to lebanon where will they go? >> highly likely they would go to jordan or to turkey. these are the only other two countries surrounding syria that the refugees can head to, and which actually have been coping better than lebanon with the refugee situation, mainly because there are less refugees going into that those countries compared to those heading to lebanon. >> but jordan shares with lebanon that it's small, smaller than syria, poorer than syria was before the civil war. it could appoint come where they may say no more? >> yes, absolutely. to grind on and more and more people see syria, of course jordan is going to bear the brunt of this. right now jordan is coping better tha

eastern border with iraq. isil formally announced its desire to conquer saudi arabia. and as the fighting continues over in syriaarabia has been spending millions training rebels trying to overthrow president bashar al-assad. while over in yemen the rise of shia houthi rebels there as lead to the fall of the prosaudi government. and regional rival iran is suspected of backing the houthis. a has played out not just in yemen but also in syria, lebanon, iraq and bahrain, with each side supporting opposing armed groups. this man says obama's visit underscores the close relationship between the u.s. and saudi arabia. >> well i think this is a critical -- it's a very nice gesture on the part of the president. to go to saudi arabia which has been an ally for decades, and underscores the very close relationship we have had, and one i expect us to continue to have over the years. are there problems? yes. and there are a few areas in region particularly. and it's in those areas that the united states and saudi arabia i think will be working very closely together particularly with the daesh or isil threat. i know king salm

syria and iraq. there are 60% of the middle eastern population arab population are under 30 most of them are college graduates and they do not have jobs. it's a crisis of employment. it's much easier much more efficient and something all of us can do, frankly, to encourage employment training encourage factories building encourage investment economic opportunities investments in these countries as a way to proactively stabilize the situation. >> so jamie, zainib makes an incredibly important point i don't think is discussed enough. jamie, what is your take on that in terms of the limitations? >> well i think i completely agree with what zainib said about youth unemployment a lack of opportunities in the mid east. but i think we have different recruits different motivations. this doesn't explain the radicalization process of some of the western fighters western youth, youngsters jihadi brides going to syria and iraq. some of them do not come from core or hardscrabble backgrounds. along the british recruits had jobs were university or could have gone to university and chose to be radicalized instead.

syria withdrew in 1961 complaining of egyptian domination. but the dream of arab unity endures, as evidenced by summit conferences which are held frequently among middle easternds of state to discuss and attempt practical solutions to their problems. there are problems aplenty problems left from the long and bitter past, problems such as the ever present and explosive deadlock with israel woven into the violent fabric of the present, bubbling from which the course of the future depends. notably, the challenge to tame the desert. and make its rich oil deposits work for the benefit of all the people instead of the relatively few who enjoy those rewards now. as it moves to meet these problems, the world feels the stirring as centuries ago, men felt the stir of great events in the desert lands were history began. ♪ >> here are some of our featured programs for this weekend on the c-span networks. on c-span tonight at 10:00, on book tv's afterwards, bret stephens argue our enemies and competitors are taking advantage of our situations abroad. democratic representative from new york steve israel about his novel about a salesman and a top-secret government surveilla

syria earlier this month. >> woodruff: russian-backed rebels in eastern ukraine expanded their push today to seize more territorye, more artillery fire smashed into donetsk itself. reports varied on civilian casualties, but ukraine's military said five soldiers were killed in the last 24 hours. >> ifill: the number of new ebola cases in west africa fell below 100 this week, for the first time since june. the world health organization reported today it's the strongest sign yet that the epidemic is subsiding. in all, more than 8,800 people have died since the outbreak began. >> woodruff: the u.s. senate today passed a bill to approve the long-delayed keystone x.l. oil pipeline-- 62 to 26. nine democrats joined 53 republicans, supporting the project to carry oil from canada to the gulf coast. president obama has threatened to veto the bill, and that prompted appeals from both sides after the vote. >> we don't agree on everything obviously. but there are things we can work on together. and we are working to build the right kind of energy plan for this country to get the energy security and there will be more work to