he hopes that it will help unload political baggage but jacky rowland reports from paris . >> nicholas sarkozy is back in the lime limelight. he's reinventing the center right party that he leads and he's unapologetic of the choice of his name. >> the others have less right to call themselves republican. we have saved the republic time and again. >> the name is designed to have a broad appeal, but sarkozy is also reaching out to the far right to people who might otherwise might vote for the national front. >> the republic says to the citizen to have rights you need to fulfill your duties, and above all the republic says to religions the republic respects you, but you must respect the republic. it's not the republic that has to adapt itself to you but you who has to adapt yourself to the french republic. >> the party has changed its name five times in the past 70 years. but this new name is the most radical break with tradition. the last time that sarkozy ran for president in 2012, he's rebranding his party. away from the party congress nicholas sarkozy's fellow citizens are citizens ar

jacky rowland, al jazerra brussels. >>> in southeast asia as well.y people are fleeing conflict and really just violence, many of the migrants are rohingya muslims who are a minority in myanmar and escaping sectarian violence. minute stprerz ma layer indonesia and thailand are to meet on wednesday to discuss the influx of migrants. >>> former thailand prime minute officer is to face trial in the country's court on tuesday f found guilty she faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. she has denied the charges against her saying they are politically motivated. >>> the u.s. government is to ban the use of some military equipment by the local police forces. the decision announced by president obama comes after a spate of mass demonstrations against police brutality in baltimore and ferguson. alan fisher explains. >> reporter: after 14 years the us a. is winding down its foreign wars but so much of the equipment used in iraq and afghanistan is now finding it's its way onto american streets. in ferguson when the death of a young black man sparked protes

jacky rowland, al jazerra brussels. >>> still ahead on the program protests turn violent in southwest over a proposed railway line. plus rescuers struggle to look for survivors after a deadly landslide kill several in colombia. thursday... $36. for this kind of money i really don't give a s**t. >> a real look at the american dream. only on al jazeera america. >> part of our month long look at working in america. "hard earned". ♪ ♪ >>> held going, you are watching al jazerra. the top stories. yemen's exiled president hadi will address a conference in riyadh shortly where political and tribal figures have been discussing the conflict. saudi-led air strikes are continuing across yemen after a 5-day humanitarian ceasefire end odd sunday. >>> the united nations says close to 25,000 people have fled the iraqi city of ramadi after isil fighters took control of it on monday. isil released this video of what appears to be ramadi after it was captured. thousands of shia in litsch a are now at a nearby base preparing a counter offensive. >>> 11 afghan police officers have been sentence today a y

jacky rowland, al jazerra brussels. >>> still ahead on the program protests turn violent in southwestver a proposed railway line. ♪ ♪ >>> and thousands rally in support of macedonia's prime minister following calls for his resignation. >> you gotta do somethin', you know? try to keep your head above water. >> sunday... $38. thursday... $36. for this kind of money i really don't give a s**t. >> a real look at the american dream. only on al jazeera america. >> part of our month long look at working in america. "hard earned". [beeping] ooo come on everybody, i think this is my grandson. [lip syncing] ♪little girl you look so lonesome oh my goodness. ♪i see you are feeling blue ♪come on over to my place ♪hey girl ♪we're having a party happy birthday, grandma! ♪we'll be swinging ♪dancing and singing ♪baby come on over tonight ♪ ♪ >>> hello again, i am nick clark here say quick run through of the top stories here on al jazerra. 11 afghan police officers have been sentence today a year in prison for failing to help a woman who was attacked and killed by a mob. the 27-year-old was accused of

jacky rowland now reports. >> jean pierre is in love.passion that has consumed him for much of his adult life and the object of his obsession is a car. this is the citroen ds. the name means goddess in french. for enthusiasts like jane jean pierre the car demands devotion. >> it's a car unlike any other. with a lie level of level of comfort that could not be found anywhere else. >> president de gaulle adapted it as his official vehicle and the presidential palace had a fleet of them for celebrations. the distincttive design and sleek lines make it popular for collectors. they have come out for their 60th anniversary. when these cars first appeared on the streets of paris 60 years ago they caused a sensation. it was as if a flying saw certificate hadsaucer when it arrived. it was like a futuristic design, a space age design very much a part of the atmosphere of confidence that characterize the post-war period. the car included many technical innovations, headlines that swivel as the car turns the corner and the suspension system that caut

jacky rowland, al jazeera south of paris. >> singer mansel maloe beat all competitions with the song heroes. a record number of countries took part in the event this year including australia 200 million viewers were thought to be tuned into the event on tuition which was screened live in china for the first time. >> this is "techknow". a show about innovations that can change lives. >> the science of fighting a wildfire. >> we're going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity, but we're doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science... >> oh! >> oh my god! >> by scientists. tonight... the digital divide. >> if you had the world's fastest internet, what would you do with it? >> the promise of the digital superhighway. lightning fast hook-ups to the web, but not for most of the

jacky rowland al jazeera, just south of paris. >> much more over on our website, the degrees addresso click on to is www.aljazeera.com. and plantations in north and south america. today slavery is illegal on every country on the planet. but the truth is, slavery did not die in the 19th century. it is alive, it is thriving, and it it is bigger than ever.

jacky rowland al jazeera, just south of paris. >> well, it's also the 60th anniversary and many havef in dress rehearsals in vienna. >> the show is expected to be watched by 200 million people around the world. the first time that australia is among the finalists. it was given a wildcard because of its strong fan base. much more on most of our stories at our website. the address is www.aljazeera.com. www.aljazeera.com for your international news. >> i'm russell russell in the pacific northwest. >> it's exactly the habitat that has been missing for 100 years and that they desperately need.

. >> jacky rowland has more on that story from brussels. >> for the first time we've heard conquer concretect figures. already the united kingdom said it's not going to opt in to the scheme and there are other countries who have expressed concern about the number of migrants they're being asked to accept notably france and spain. now at the moment we're talking about a figure of 40,000 migrants from syria and eretrea which the e.u. is hope to go redistrict redistribute. and another 20,000 individuals who are at the moment outside of the e.u. but at the e.u. refugee agency has identified as in need. however, some aid agencies said this is a minuscule number when you bear in mind that from the conflict in syria alone there have been millions of refugees who are particularly in neighboring countries like turkey jordan and lebanon. and they think that the e.u. rich western countries should be stepping up and taking responsibility. >> one of the key announcements is a referendum whether the u.k. should remain part of the european union. we have more from the house of parliament. the queen's spee

. >> al jazeera's jacky rowland has the latest from brussels. >> e.u. ministers are looking to adopt a comprehensive package on the issue of migration. now that the military aspect to that fighting the people smugglers, but there is the longer term plans to address the migration, and also a humanitarian side to protect refugees. now, on the military side a lot would depend on what kind of u.n. security council resolution might be achieved that would be looking at operations within international waters in the mediterranean and also naval operations within libyan territorial waters. the e.u. has ruled out any forces on the ground in libya. in many ways it's actually the humanitarian side of the plan that is attracting most controversy within europe itself given the fact that a lot of countries there is quite a lot of hostility towards the idea of migrants. now the e.u. would ideally establish a mechanism where approximately 20,000 migrants would be given --while the plan might be there in principle nailing down the details could be a lot more difficult. >

jacky rowland reports. >> reporter: the european union is sometimes considered slow but on the subject of migration it acted quickly, starting an offensive in the mediterranean against people smugglers. >>> the european union is sometimes accused of slow. on the subject of migration it reacted quickly. it started a military operation against people smugglers. >> hopefully at the next foreign affairs council in june, we may be ready to adopt a launch. hopefully we can launch operations in the coming weeks. in the meantime, the work in the security council of of the yairtions will continue. >> images like these spurred leaders into action. it involves civilians and intelligence. the u.n. security council will need permission if it is to seize and destroy ships. >> it's about networks, border control and migration. the european union is working on how to respond to this. one of the problems is that there might be foreign fighters, terrorists trying to hide, to blend in among the migrants >>> a key stage on the route for the people smugglers is libya. the libyan security forces uncovered a

jacky rowland al jazeera, brussels. >> about 20,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in thelogne in what has been called the biggest evacuation in post water history. they have created a 1,000-meter radius exclusion zone after the discovery of a world war ii bam in thebomb in the suburbs. they were ordered to clear the area. >> the special thing about this find that the bomb is very large with the weight of 1,000 kilograms. 60% that have weight is explosives. if it were to explode a massive area would be effected. >> madagascar's parliament will release its president now it will be decided by the constitutional court. the president came to power in january of last year. his critics say he has not delivered on economic promises. >>> in india a severe heatwave has killed more than a thousand people most of the deaths have been in the southern states. a red alert has now been issued in those states. in some areas temperatures have climbed to 50 degrees celsius every day for the last five weeks. but there is relief in fight. forecasters say that monsoon rains should hit india in

jacky rowland joined them. jean pierre is in love.consumed him for most of his adult life. a passion that consumed him for much of his life, and the object of his obsession is a car. this is the citroen daes, it means goddess in french. for enthusiasts. the car commands religious devotion. >> it was really a car unlike any other, with a high level of comfort that you couldn't find anywhere else. >> the daes was a symbol of french national pride. the president adopted as an official vehicle, and the palace had a fleet of them for ceremonial occasions, the car retains cult status. the destinctive design and sleek ines make it popular with collectors, and they came out in their hundreds to celebrate its 60th anniversary, when the cars appeared on the streets of paris, they caused a sensation. it was as if a flying saucer arrived in the champs elysees. people had not seen anything like it before, it was a futuristic design, a space-age design, part of the atmosphere of optimism and confidence that characterised the post-war period. the ca

jacky rowland reports. >> reporter: the extra money pledged by the european union is a recognition thatsis in the central african republic is far from over. the money will be spent on humanitarian aid and promoting security and availability. >> we're not a shamed to ask for this assistance because we don't have the means. we have begun to give hope to the people of the central african republic. >> reporter: the central african republic remains volatile. french and african police oversee a fragile police. nearly half a million people are homeless in the country. the muslim minority in particular are paying the price of the violence. >>> another half million people have fled over the border to chad cameroon and the democratic republic of the congo. here they are living in refugee camps. this is the lean season in central africa and food stocks are dangerously low. mothers and their children are most at risk of starvation. health workers say infant mortality has reached crisis levels and it's still months until the next harvest. when there's a lack of food and other basic supplies people t

jacky rowland reports from a motor racing track south of the french capital. >> it's not exactly formulafor fans of the french vintage car, it's as good as it gets. 800 citroen doing laps of honour of the race track to the south of paris. it may be difficult for us to imagine, but when the cars appeared on the streets in 1955 it was as if a flying sourcer landed. they look futuristic and embodied the feeling of confidence and optimism about the future in the period directly after the second. and they were associated with the french president. he had his fleet of cars and chose it as his cars. they had various technological innovations innovations, and it was something new at the time. as for the enduring popularity it could have something to do with the feeling of confidence in the period. in these days where france is less certain, it would be anxious about the future and it gives them a feel-good factor >>> if you would like to find out more you can keep up to date with new, analysis and features, that's on the website at aljazeera.com.

jacky rowland has the latest from brussels. >> reporter: for the first time we have heard concrete figuresgrants that the european commission is asking individual member states to accept. the key word is asking. this is a voluntary scheme. the united kingdom has said it is not going to opt into the scheme. and other countries have expressed concern about the number of migrants they are being asked to accept notably france and spain. at the moment we're talking about a figure of 40,000 migrants from syria, and eritrea, which the e.u. is hoping to redistribute out there member states over the next two years. there are also plans as well to offer refuge to another 20,000 individuals who at the moment are outside of the e.u. but the united nations refugee agency have identified as being in need of protection. however, some aid agencies have said this is still a minuscule number when you bare in mind that from the conflict in syria alone there have been millions of refugees who are in particularly in neighboring countries like turkey jordan and lebanon. and they think the european union, these

jacky rowland has the latest from brussels. >> for the first time we've heard concrete figures exact numbers of migrants that they're asking individual states to accept. the key word here is asking. this is not quota. the u.k. has said they would not opt in to the scheme. and there are other countries who have said they will not accept, notably france and spain. we're talking about a figure of 40,000 migrants from syria and eiretrea which the e.u. is hope to go redistribute across to member states as well. and they're offering refuge to 20,000 individuals who are outside of the e.u. but the united nations refugee agency has identified as in need of protection. we're looking at a total of 60,000 people. however, some aid agencies have said this is still a minuscule number when you bear in mind that the conflict in syria alone there have been millions of refugees who are particularly in neighboring countries like turkey and jordan and lebanon they think that the european union should be stepping up to the mark and taking on more responsibility. >> columbia's farc rebels say one of thei

jacky rowland reports at a motor racing track south of paris. >> it's not exactly formula one but foris car is as good as it gets. it's doing laps of honor on this racetrack just south of paris. it might be difficult for us to imagine now but when these cars first appeared on the streets back in 1955 it was as if a flying saucer had landed. they looked very futuristic, very space angle and in many ways they embodied that feeling of confidence and optimism about the future in the periods directly after the second world war. they were associated with the french president. he had this fleet of cars they also had various technological innovations, a fancy suspension system that was something very knew new at the time. as for their enduring popularity 06 years later it may have something to do with that whole feeling of confidence in that post-war period. and these days in france where people are less certain more anxious about the future, this car could give a more feel-good factor. >> let's get to more cars. >> we'll start with gorm la formula one. it's hamilton's first pole possession i

jacky rowland reports from a motoring racing track south of the french capital. >> it's not exactly formula 1, for fans of the french vintage car, it's as good as it gets. 800 citroen doing laps of honour of the race track to the south of paris. it may be difficult for us to imagine, but when the cars first appeared on the streets in 1955, it was as if a flying saucer landed. they look futuristic, and space aged and kind of embodied the feeling of confidence and optimism about the future in the period directly after the second. and they were associated with the french president. he had his fleet of cars, and chose it as his cars. they had various technological innovations, and it was a fancy suspension system, that was rl something new at the time. as for the enduring popularity, 60 years later, it could have something to do with the feeling of confidence in the period. in these days, where france is less certain, it would be anxious about the future, and it gives them a feel-good factor from cars to sport. here is jo to fill us in >>> i think we are starting at good looking cars in formula

jacky rowland, al jazeera. >> 12 people have been arrested conclusion with a fire at a home for the elderly in china. two remain in critical condition in hospital in the central province. we have this report. >> this is all that remains in the rest home. this is one of the poorest areas in china. the evening meal had been eaten and most residents had gone to bed. some are very frail and so would have had little chance of escape from the flames and smoke. many did make it to safety, but by tuesday night rescue crews were involved in an operation to recover bodies burned beyond recognition. it's only two years since 11 people died in a fire at another home for the elderly. the cause of this latest blaze is still not known but china's president had an investigation promising anyone found responsible will be punished. adrien brown, al jazeera in central china. >> a major air defense exercise is underway in southern russia. combat readiness is being tested. russia has held drills since the annexation of crimea. larger drills planned in december. that coincides with fighter jet exercises in swede

when it was boisterred by the meeting in panama by president obama and jacky rowland. >> the directorhn hopkins university's center for strategic and international studies, and served at the department of state and joins us from d.c. it's good to see you, carl. the u.s. took cuba off the sponsors of terrorism. it's a big demand the cuban government as been allowed to open. is it time to make concessions for this to work? >> that's a great question. i would say to you that the concession for them was beginning conversations in the first place. they really were not looking forward to this. this was more out of necessity than out of choice. they saw themselves really pressed internationally because they have a failing economy, and a need to attract investment. their chief bank roller venezuela is in serious economic straights and unable to priffed them with capital they need. they are involved in the relations with the united states. it's not because of their wanting to do this as much as they need to do it. >> a criticism of the obama's announcement that it would move forward normalizin

jackie rowland, al jazeera. >>> a major air defense exercise is underway in southern russia. 12,000 soldiersing their combat readiness, russia has repeatedly held drills since the annexation of the crimea region in ukraine. that coincides with fighter jet exercises in sweden norway and finland. they are testing military coordination in the region near russian territory. >>> lawyers for green peace india have gone to court to challenge the government's decision to block its bank accounts. the judge has postponed his ruling until wednesday. the government says green peace india violated foreign funding rules and is acting against the country's interest. >> reporter: coal helps ingia meet more than 50% of the country's need and the government wants to mine more of it. but the activist is concerned about environmental and human rights relations. the government barred her from traveling to london to speak against plans by a british based company. they wanted to open a coal mine in the central indian state. >> we were trying to amplify voices of indian citizens against foreign corporate registered

jacky rowland reports from paris. >> there has been warnings in paris, but the british prime minister may be pursuing a ricky strategy with this tour of european capitals during which the warning warned european leaders that britain could vote to lead the e.u. in a referendum if there isn't fundamental change to some of the aspects in which the way the e.u. is run. in fact one member of the ruling socialist party in france wept as far it to describe wh david cameron was doing as a threat or blackmail if you like to leverage the situation to gain room for manoeuvre by warning, threatening his counterparts if in fact there are not changes, then the u.k. might leave. in france a certain amount of concern. the next stop on his tour is germany, and there he may find more of a meeting of mines with german chancellor angela merkel. the german and british point of view is on issues like finance and the economy are more closely aligned. german chancellor angela merkel said there's no question of renegotiating freedom of movement within the e.u. rite of the european citizens to work throughout

. >> jacky rowland joins us live from brussels. tell us more about the operation they are planning. >> the plan would be to identify capture and destroy vessels used by the people smugglers. there are a number of complications there. for a start any kind of aggressive action of this type, destroying vessels particularly if it was to take place in the territorial waters of another country, for example libya would really require a u.n. security council resolution, and you had rising that, and although some officials don't anticipate opposition within the security council you couldn't rule out the possibility that russia might raise some questions. beyond that, even once the u.n. security council resolution were obtained and we don't know what the detail of that would be, there's the practicality of operating within the waters. they plan to seek the cooperation of the libyan authorities, but in response, you could ask for which libyan authorities, because there isn't a school libyan authority now that control the whole of the country,

. >> jacky rowland has more on how cameron's visit was received in france. >> reporter: there have beenparis that the british prime minister may be pursuing a very risky strategy with this tour of european capitals during which he is warning european leaders that britain could vote to leave the e.u. in a referendum if there isn't fundamental change to some of the aspects of the way in which the e.u. is run. in fact, one member of the ruling socialist party here in france actually went as far as to describe what mr. cameron was doing as a threat. a blackmail if you like, to leverage his position in negotiations to gain more room for maneuver by warning threatening his counterparts that if, in fact, there aren't changes, then the u.k. might leave. so certain in franz a certain amount of concern about what the british prime minister is hoping to achieve. the next stop on hour hospital is germany and there he may find more of a meeting of minds with chancellor merkel. certainly the german point of view and the british point of view on issues such as finance business the economy are more clo