. >> jane arraf has more. >> reporter: he has gathered his followers this baghdad for the third weeka row. they chanted they would defend iraq with their blood and souls, and held up signs calling for a clean sweep of government. and it was clearly his rally. he appeared in a video address calling on the government to do three things as a goo will gesture. he said the prime minister should give lands previously given to corrupt officials to the needy. he said they should be given free electricity. and they shouldn't bare the brunt of the economic crisis caused by corruption. now he has also given the prime minister a deadline by the end of march to either come up with a new government, or he says he will send his followers into the heavily guarded green zone. the home of government offices and diplomatic missions. he has told those diplomatic missions that they shouldn't be afraid, that they won't be attacked but it is still very clearly a threat. there have been protests before that have head to abadi urging for reforms and trying to cut down on corruption, this is an indication of

ambassador bashar al jane arraf. jaffray. but staffan de mistura said no plan b for syria. says he plans to move quickly to issues of substance. >> the mother of all issues, political transition. >> ambassador jaafrrey says the role of bashar al-assad is nonnegotiable. >>> the framework is very important to achieve substantive success. >> reporter: the main opposition block will pete mr. de mistura on tuesday. a clear change meaning the removal of president assad but their spokesman admits the other side is never likely to accept that. >> we know the mentality we're dealing with because it is not only a suffer of five years, it is a suffer of 42 years in the role of assad the father and then the son. >> getting these talks restarted was hard enough. but now, they must deal with the most difficult core issues. james bays, al jazeera at the united nations in geneva. >>> tuesday marks five years since the syrian conflict began with peaceful protests against the government. opponents of the assad regime said they had no choice but to take up arms against fierce crack down. al j

that was jane arraf in iraq. in syria, syrian forces say they are in control of palmyra. not only strategically important, but symbolically. forces control the desert stretching to the iraqi boarder to the south. and it opens access to the isil stronghold. mohammed jamjoom has more. >> reporter: a significant advance against isil in syria. according to state media, government forces backed by russian air power recaptured the ancient city of palmyra after days of fighting. while there has been no confirmation, the syrian observatory for human rights said the bulk of i.s.i.l.'s forces in the city had retreated. >> translation: following a series of large-scale operations, the units operating in homs, backed by the syrian forces fulfilled their missions in the city of palmyra. they gained control over the mountains and ridges, and killed large numbers of terrorists and destroyed their bunkers and military gear. isil took over palmyra, a world heritage site last may. and began a campaign of destroying ancient sites and staging mass executions. palmyra used to attract tins of

from baghdad, here is jane arraf. >> reporter: we're near the entrance to the green zone behind layerscurity and blast walls there's a city within a city. iraqi's first started demonstrating there to protest against u.s. occasion, but now it's the iraqi government they are protesting against. a cleric set a deadline of later this month for the prime minister to make serious changes. if that doesn't happen, he says his political block will withdrawal its support of the government, and instead of demonstrating here, he'll send his followers inside. he of course was the one who's militia fought against iraqi forces as well as american forces. he has since emerged as a major political figure, but there is still a threat behind demonstrations like this. iraqi security forces could clash with his supporters. a lot of people here are young and jobless, and they form a major start of his constituency. they are also the one that's would be the most effected if this economic crisis continues. corruption has been going on for more than a decade, but now that iraq has no cash to cushion the blow,

. >> al jazeera's jane arraf cents this update from baghdad. >> reporter: this was seemingly a very simpleesture: a few small steps into the green zone. but it carries huge political ramifications and speaks volumes. this is one of the most revered shia clerics from a long line of revered shia clerics now, a mainstream political figure. for weeks, he has been rallying his supporters, hundreds of thousands of them at a time, in public squares here and lately, near the entrance to the green zone. the green zone is where iraqi officials and foreign xlomats live and work and it's heavily protecteddiplo

. >> jane arraf reporting there. stay with us if you can.k at the announcement that the e.u. will give $700 million in emergency aid to help trapped refugees inside europe. >>> and the rare archaeological discovery in the jordan valley. a 4,000 year old relic found by a keen-eyed seven year old. find fantasy shows. when it comes to the things you love, you want more. love romance? get lost in every embrace. into sports? follow every pitch, every play and every win. change the way you experience tv with x1 from xfinity. >> that harmony, that politeness and that equilibrium that japanese people call "wa." at the other side of history, fukushima's heroes were not enough. people have lost their trust, especially in the authorities. the myth of nuclear energy, of it being economic, safe and clean has been swept away. >>> hello again, threat's go through the top so stories. president obama has welcomed the u.n.'s resolution to expand sanctions against north korea. the u.n. security council voted unanimously in imposing them. >>> the republican don

let's hear from jane arraf who explains more about the operation. >> reporter: jordanian authoritieses this as a successful attempt to foil what would have been a major attack by isil-related groups on jordanian military and civilian installations. this centered around a overnight raid where security forces and policebacked by attack helicopters closed in on a residential compound in the palestinian refugee camp. seven fighters were killed some wearing explosive belts according to official media. a police officer was also killed and more than 30 were arrested. jordan has said that because of its proximity to syria and iraq, and it's general proximity to conflict in the region, it has a serious threat from isil. officials indicated that they are in fact jordanian, and has been as well as a threat from the syrian conflict, very much a home grown threat from jordan for many years. >>> the gcc has named hezbollah as a terrorist organization. the move by the six of nations deepens a growing rift with lebanon, where hezbollah is a political power. this was the day after a speech by the hez

jane arraf reports now from baghdad. >> reporter: this was seemingly a very simple jes gesture it, awteps in in to the green zone but carries huge political ramificationses and speaks volumes. this is one of the most revered shia clerics from a long line of revered shia clerics. formerly leading a militia that rose up against american and iraqi forces and now a mainstream political figure. for weeks he has been rallying his supporters, hundreds of thousands of them at a time in public squares here and lately near the entrance to the green zone. where iraqi and foreign diplomats work and it's heavily protected. he's threatened his followers will actually storm the green zone if these political did he plants are not met. instead of that he appeared today and told them they showed great discipline they had to continue doing that and they were to stay put. instead, he said, he would go in to the green zone. now, the reason this is significant is that he railroad rarely leaves, this is one of the few case where his his followers have seen him up close. people were weeping as he spoke. he w

live now to baghdad and al jazeera's correspondent jane arraf. he's playing a canny game here.th big protests no big marches. just get the white plastic chair and you sit down an and say i am not moving. >> reporter: there have been actually huge protests in the run up to this. you are right it wouldn't seem dematic aikman would simply walk in to the green zone and sit down but it's it is incredibly politically dramatic. he has been at the entrance of the green zone where iraqi government officials and foreign embassies are locates. he has been in that tent since he went in yesterday. telling the supporters that although he told them they should storm the green zone if a deadline wasn't reached for a new government. he was going to do it on their behalf. it was a very quiet sort of storming. he went in, but in very telling detail, he was greeted effusively by the head of security of the green zone who actually kissed his hand. so it's an indication of how much power this man actually has. now, today, he met with prime minister hider al badi last night and today his supporters s

jane arraf, al jazeera, bagged. >>> two men documented covert turkish arms shipments to syria. the government has accused them of trying otopple it. many in the west say the charges are really an attack on freedom of expression. on friday britain's consul general in istanbul lee turner seen on the right attended the trial and took a selfie with one of the suspects and sent out messages of support on his official twitter account. turkish president recep tayyip erdogan said others would have kicked turner out of the country for his actions. >>> a controversial suspension bill, prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been pushing the bill. it would allow members of the knesset to be suspended. imtiaz tyab has more from east jerusalem. >> reporter: this was the scene inside the parliamentary offices of israel constitutional law and justice committee. it just announced a bill allowing for expulsion of sitting mps if enough lawmakers were in favor of it. these israeli-palestinian members of parliament were escortout of thescorted out of . joint list a coalition of israeli-palestinian p

and assist al jazeera's jane arraf reports, asylum seekers are struggling to cope. facing discrimination and deportation. >> reporter: this person game here to escape the war in sudan. he and his wife, and six week old triplets live at a parking garage. she is 22. her 12-year-old sister and 10-year-old brother were killed in fighting in darfur. here they rely on the kindness of neighbours for food. sometimes we eat one meal a day. at night the babies can't sleep. there is not enough food, i can't produce milk. >> reporter: he was a university stood in sudan, he can't legally work here. the food programme offers limited help. others receive occasional aid. >> we can't stay in darfur, i don't know where some of my family is, i asked to make sure there was a u.n. office to protect us. deportation followed protests. they set up a protest camp outside the u.n. agency, to demand more aid and resettlement. protests are illegal without a permit. returning refugees violates international law. jordanian security sources puts them on buses. they took them to the airport in fle

jane arraf has more from baghdad. >> reporter: some had waited a lifetime for this moment. shia cleric mukhtar al-sadr, normally seen on video, standing in front of them in baghdad, promising a new era. >> translation: my beloved followers who live in luxury, forget about the poor and insist there's no sign of corruption, but i insist otherwise. >> reporter: across the city, sadr's followers had been waiting for his word to storm the green zone. a barricaded neighbourhood where iraqi officials and documents live and work. instead, sadr diffused the threat, but seized the spotlight. >> translation: i'm the representative of the people by the grace of god. i will sit in the green zone and you sit outside the green zone. everyone remain in their tents and stay in their places. >>> his followers obeyed. iraqi military officials led sadr through concrete barriers. toll a tent. an iraqi army general in charge of green zone security kissed his hand. sadr says he will leave only when there's a new cabinet. the prime minister haider al-abadi said he is trying but will need a few day

jane arraf, al jazeera, baghdad. >> a campaign to retake the country's second largest city was launched earlier this week. iraqi ground forces are being backed up by u.s. is backed coalition fighters. and experts are assessing the damage that i.s.i.l. did to the world heritage site in palmyra. now that it's been recaptured by syrian forces backed by russian air strikes. these are the first images of the ancient ruins from palmyra where i.s.i.l. has been in control for a year. the damage isn't as bad as many had feared. well it's be a different story outside. a number of start facts were smashed before the arm grouped fled the area. the antiquities are thousands of years ago old and most redate the time. >>> robert carter explains why i.s.i.l. destroyed certain monuments but left others intact. >> they've been very selective in what they've chosen to destroy so they've chosen most notable elements which represent something they wish to destroy ideologically. while at the same time they are trying to create as much shock as possible. so by choosing these very be prominent monday poouments

. >>> jane arraf reports now. >> officials say the security operation in the north of jordan stopped planning for major tack by an i.s.i.l. affiliate. jordan's special forces and police backed by attack helicopters descended on erbid, jordan's second largest city, some wore suicide belts, according to officials, a jordanian official was killed during raid. >> they are a terrorist group connected to terrorist organizations and planned to disrupt the security of the country and its people. >> the operation continued into the morning as security forces sealed roads into the area. the crack down follows the arrest of 13 people a week ago in the same neighborhood. they were allegedly linked to the group that was targeted on tuesday. jordan's officially news agency says they floond carry out attacks on civilian and military targets destabilizing national security. it's impossible to confirm but the targets were said to be restaurants government buildings and even a skill in erbid. >> translator: they chose erbid because they could be more secure there. >> 100,000 syrian refugees, those kil

jane arraf reports. >> reporter: this person came to jordan three years ago to escape war in sudan.traded danger for hardship. he and his wife and their six--old triplets give in a working lot. his sister and brother were killed in the fighting in dar r darfur. >> translator: sometimes we just eat one meal a day. at night the babies can't sleep because they want milk and there is known. >> reporter: he can't legally work here. while the world food program offers limited help to syrian refugees, and poor jordanians, other refugees get only occasionally aid. >> translator: i left and came to jordan for protection. >> reporter: he learned not to complain too much, when jordan sent back more than 400 refugees to sudan in december. the deportations followed months of protests by some of the 3,500 sudan refugees. while protests are illegal without a permit, returning refugees from the countries they fled from violates international law. they say security forces put them on buses, telling them they were going to be resettled. instead they took them to the airport and flew them back to suda

jane arraf has the story. >> officials say the security operation in the north of jordan stopped planning for a major tack by an i.s.i.l. affiliate. jordan's special forces and police backed by attack helicopters descended on an apartment building on eerbid, jordan's second largest city. a jordanian captain was also killed in the raid. >> translator: this group is misguided and misleading. they're a terrorist group connected to terrorist organizations and have planned to disrupt the security of the country and its people. >> reporter: the operation continued into the monk as security forces sealed roads into the area. the crack down follows the arrest of 13 people a week ago in the same neighborhood. they were allegedly linked to the group that was targeted on tuesday. the camp has been home to palestinian refugees for more than six decades. jordan's news agency said authorities broke up a cell connected to i.s.i.l, destabilizing national security. it's impossible to confirm but the targets were said to be government buildings and businesses. >> it's not a place authorities would expect t

. >> jane arraf reporting from iraq. stay with us, we'll look at the man chipping away at clinton's lead. bernie sanders celebrating a triple victory. let's look at nigeria's difficulties with cancer, a country where many who are diagnosed just won't survive. and why rival football fans in turkey are uniting behind one cause. we'll have the details if you stay with us here on the al jazeera newshour. >>> in syria i.s.i.l.'s 10 month rain over the city of palmyra is over. syrian government forces say they are in full control of the city. the recapturing of palmyra is symbolic and strategic victory for bashar al-assad. taking control of palmyra means government forces control the surrounding desert all the way to the iraq boarder in the south, and opens up access to the isil strong hold of deer azar, and the self-declared capital rehabilitationar. omar -- raqqa. omar has this update. he is across the boarder. >> reporter: people in palmyra told al jazeera that forces are in the city, 1km from the city center. whoever contr

from the capitol, jane arraf reports. >> reporter: it was a challenge and a warning. security forces had banned this demonstration just a few meters from the so-called green zone where iraqi officials and diplomats work. but the rally went ahead, and security stood back and watched. this are followers of a shiite cleric, he is part of iraq's political landscape, he is influenti influential, and his supporters are perhaps the last people security forces want to battle. he said he was giving the government one last chance. >> translator: in a final attempt i call on all political parties to begin dialogue with its people, their representatives to remove this nightmare and the corrupt government. >> reporter: sutter has set a deadline for the end of this month for the prime minister to implement reforms he promised last year. if that doesn't happen, he said his political block will withdraw confidence in the prime minister, and he says his followers won't just demonstrate at the gates. >> if they don't meet our demands we'll end terer this green zone. >> reporter: the co

jane arraf, al jazeera, baghdad. >> japan's controversial new security law goes into effect tuesday. it makes it possible for japan to participate in armed conflicts overseas since world war ii and it is facing opposition not just from neighboring countries but from within japan as well. rob mcbride reports now from tokyo. >> it is an issue that has provoked demonstrations on the streets and fierce debates in the japanese parliaments. opponents say changes that will allow japanese soldiers to fight overseas undermine article 9 of japan's unique constitution that commits the country to passvi passivism. >> the same article that has banned japan exercising its right of collective self defense for decades in the period. all the sudden reaching the opposite conclusion. >> the new laws give a new interpretation to collective self defense allowing japan's soldiers a more robust role in piece keeping missions and to work more closely in overseas operations with troops from its ally, the united states. opponents fear that could draw japan into foreign wars. the prime minister says giving the

our correspondent jane arraf is there and explains more. >> reporter: authorities are describing thisa successful attempt to foil what would have been a major attack by isil-related groups on jordanian civilians and military installations. this centered on an overnight raid where special forces closed in on a residential compound in the palestinian refugee camp. seven fighters were killed, some wearing explosive belts. a police officer was also killed and more than 30 people were arrested. jordan has said because of its proximity to syria and iraq, it is at risk of serious threats from isil. and isil sympathizers here in jordan. they were described as outlaws by jordanian official, indicating -- because it didn't say they were a different nationality, that they are in fact jordanian, and that has been very much home-grown threat here in jordan for many years. >>> the gulf cooperation council has formally designated hezbollah as a terrorist operation. the move by the block of six gulf nations deepens a growing rift with lebanon where hezbollah is a leading political power. in 2013, the