palestinian president mahmoud abbas has already accepted. a zoo in the philippines is letting visitors get up close and personal with the snakes ... and, it's supposed to be relaxing! the zoo is offering snake massages. guests lie down while 13-foot

today he invited mahmoud abbas and shimon peres for talks at the vatican. do you think this is a step in the right direction? >> of course. alls we blame religion dividing people and now we'll prove it brings people together. that's one thing. second thing, it's not political, but when you have people oppressed. when you have people who want scruz, and this is -- justice, and this is the teaching of the book and what the faith is about. to bring pass and justice. it's not political, it's humanitarian and justice. that's why i don't consider it's political. he's not taking sides. by coming and recognising three countries, jordan, palestine and israel. >>> sir robby added that he doesn't thing the pope's trip was replyicly -- politically motivated. >>> firefighters in arizona are battling tough conditions. the fire is about 5% contained and eb gulfed -- engulfed more than 13,000 acres. >> we could say that the rain was a light drizzle. it was not a downpour enough to have a major effect on the fire itself. what it did do is slow down the ground crews on their

both shimon per es and mahmoud abbas accepted the offer.he pope also made an unscheduled visit to the concrete wall that separates israelis from palestinians. israelis have elected the barrier in what they call an anti-terrorist measure. palestinians protest the wall, saying the israelis are restricted their freedom of movement, and occupying their land. the pope is now in israel. he's scheduled to meet both jewish and islamic religious leaders. he will also hold talks with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >>> the may grand sumo tournament ended its 15-day competition on sunday. our sumo reporter joins us now with a complete sum up. so hiro, what's your take on the tournament? >> shery, it couldn't have turned out any better. the hunt for the cup went down to the wire. mongolian yokozuna grand champion entered with sole possession of the lead. all he needed to do on sunday was win one more to clinch the championship. other than his defeat on day 11, hakuho has been perfect. he seems to have locked in another emperor's cup. in the

mahmoud abbas has power among the palestine authority. president shimon peres is a symbolic gesture. he a man within the israeli government that called for peace negotiations, he's more open to it than, say, other politicians within the israeli side. >> thank you. that report from jerusalem on the pope's visit. >> now, as floodwaters recede in the balkans residence face new difficulties, on one town on the serbian-boss ni jp boarder, an e -- bossy non border an evacuation has been planned. >> reporter: when the cliffs fell away there was little warning. those living below are told the worst is yet to come. after last week's record rain fall experts say the entire hill will, at some point slide down. they say that could dam the riff, the border between bas nia and serbia, flooding the villages on both sides, potentially. >> translation: there's a risk it will fall, the mountains could fall. i know there is danger for me and the people that pass through here. >> it could happen. the ground up the hill could slide into the river, and it coul

pope francis today invited palestinian president mahmoud abbas and israeli president shimon peres to the vatican next month to pray for peace. both accepted, it happened during the second day of the pope's middle east trip spent largely in the palestinian territories. allen pizzey has more. >> reporter: the papal visit was a massive boost for the palestinian's claim to statehood. the israeli-palestinian conflict the pope said was increasingly unacceptable. but he wasn't taking sides in it. the time has come, francis went on, for everyone to find the courage to be generous and creative in the service of the common good. >> reporter: in an unscheduled stop he left his pope mobile to utter a prayer at the massive wall for security which palestinians complain cuts up their land. then the mass in bethlehem's manager square the pope sprang another surprise, an invitation to president mahmoud abbas and shimon peres to come to my house in the vatican to pray together for peace. both accepted. francis later visited with children from a nearby refugee camp and heard their tales of hardship. th

let me ask you first about the pope's invitation to mahmoud abbas and perez to come to rome. how much of a surprise is that, and how is it being seen by people that you're talking to there? >> reporter: well, it was a surprise to us, the reporters. both governments said this is an idea that was floated beforehand. now, what's happened diplomatically on the two sides is that they've both walked away from the table. this happened really acrimoniously last month. neither side has been talking to each other since. so the pope realized this was the situation here and tried to get an olive branch circulating between both sides, which means sometime next month, the presidents of the two countries are going to be meeting, not clear what they're going to be talking about, how much politics will be on the table. officially, this is a meeting of talking, reflection and prayer. but hopefully, it will lead to some sort of revival of peace talks here eventually. >> that indication went to mahmoud as and a perez, not to benjamin netanyahu. it that make it seem -- does that have implications

>> on the second day of his visit to the middle east, pope francis met with palestinian leader mahmoud abbas and then made an unannounced visit to the barrier israel erected that surrounds much of bethlehem. he invited abbas and shimon peres for a meeting at the vatican next month. both accepted the invitation. the pope will complete his trip with a visit to jerusalem. >>> in brussels flowers were left outside the jewish museum where four were gunned down yesterday. police are investigating it as a hate crime. >>> for much more about today's voting in ukraine, we're joined from kiev by "news hour's" margaret warner who is inside the central election commission there. we heard about poroshenko's win. why is this margin of victory so significant? >> hari, it's huge because the more and more we talk to voters here in ukraine, the more and more there was a groundswell that this country's in such difficult and desperate shape that it needs a new president now. it can't even afford to wait three more weeks to have a runoff. and so i talked to voters who had different emotional voices between the c

that's the palestine president mahmoud abbas there, going off to greet the pope. >> earlier on both men met and spoke about the situation in the middle east. the pope had stopped and prayed as the barrier walls, that many palestinians say is the symbol of israeli occupation. we will, of course, bring you more from bethlehem and manger square, later in the day. there's more the come on al jazeera. >> i'm andrew thomas in tasmania, australia, on an experiment to chip and track these. they hope to find out why the numbers worldwide seem to be in terminal decline. >> and from agony to ecstasy in extra time in the unprecedented final showdown. >>> welcome back. a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. the presidential election has begun in ukraine. this is despite fighting in the east. pro-russian separatists promised to stop people voting. >> anti-coup protesters in thailand defy a warning by the army to stay off the streets. soldiers have been fighting with demonstrators they tried to arrest in bangkok. newspaper editors have been summoned for talks with military leaders >>> the united

in his meeting with president mahmoud abbas, francis recognized the territories as, quote, the state of palestine. then he made an unannounced stop at a graffiti covered section of the concrete separation wall, praying at the barrier that palestinians say essentially makes them prisoners but israel insists is necessary for its security. >> excuse me. >> reporter: that wall is why claire anastas fought her way through the crowds of bethlehem's manger square to see the pope. carrying a poster asking him to save her house, which is surrounded by the wall. >> reporter: what do you see when you look out your windows? >> i see only walls and cameras and israeli towers. >> reporter: but perhaps the biggest surprise came during the mass in the square. when francis invited abbas and israeli president shimon peres to the vatican to pray for peace. they accepted. vera baboun is bethlehem's palestinian mayor. do you feel more optimistic tonight that change is possible than you did this morning? >> yes. peace, in order to hear its clap, it needs two hands. one hand can never clap. >> reporter: it

in his meeting with mahmoud abbas, he recognized the territories as the state of palestine. and an unannounced stop at the concrete wall. and praying at the wall that they say makes them prisoners that israel says is necessary. that's why claire fought her way through the crowds to see the pope. carrying are poster asking him to save her house, which is surrounded by the wall. what do you see when you look out the windows? >> i see walls and crams and israeli towers. >> reporter: but perhaps the biggest surprise came during the mass in the square. when francis invited abbas and israeli president to come to the vatican to pray for peace. they accepted. it's not just the divide between the palestinians and the israelis that divides the pope, but a divide within christianity itself. he prayed with the leader of orthodox christians on the site where christ was crucified, the latest act of unity between two churches once separated for 900 years. >> anne thompson from jerusalem. >>> the white house may have outed the cia's top officer in kabul. the officer's name was included on a

. [ ♪ music ] [ singing ] >>> as you can see there too is the head of the palestine authority, mahmoud abbashere, who earlier met with the pope as well. both had given a press conference. we will, of course, continue to bring you more out of bethlehem. >>> still to come on al jazeera - we report from inside a child improvement center in bangladesh, where children are beaten and tortured. >> after the flooding comes water borne diseases. >> mandatory minimums >> the whole goal is to reduce gun crime, now we've got people saying "this isn't fair"... >> does the punishment always fit the crime? >> had the person that murdered our daughter got the mandatory minimum, he wouldn't have been out. >> the system with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america >> now inroducing, the new al jazeea america mobile news app. get our exclusive in depth, reporting when you want it. a global perspective wherever you are. the major headlines in context. mashable says... you'll never miss the latest news >> they will continue looking for suvivors... >> the potential for energy production is huge... >> no noise, n

but it didn't take long for pope francis to dive into middle east politics today meeting with mahmoud abbas and the head of the palestinian authority. the situation here in palestine is unacceptable he said. and he stopped at the israeli barrier and stop there had to pray. he said it was deeply moving. later today he moves to jerusalem to meet with bartholamew i where he believes jesus was crucified and a very historic meeting of the two religious leaders. back to you. >> conner, thank you so much. >>> happening right now, ukrainians are going to the polls to vote for a new president following months after ousting president yanukovych. in eastern ukraine, half of the 34 polling stations have already been shut down by armed men. >>> and finally, a little bit of good news for you for our heroes. the white house announcing it will allow more veterans to get health care outside veterans affairs facilities despite recent revelations that there are secret lists and backlogs. the new plan will be released later this week. >>> and kurt busch is pulling double duty today. the nascar driver is attemp

his aides sail he'll visit mahmoud abbas, the head of the palestinian state.op of the trip changed with photos taken of pope francis stopping at the separation barrier, the separation wall that separates bethlehem from israel. it was an unscheduled stop and a lot of people are talking about those photos being powerful reminders of what they go through. and the palestinian officials feel strongly about that. it highlights the plight of palestinians as well. >> we understand that the pope will take a step in the next couple of hours to promote christian unity. tell us about that. >> yes, this is the official reason that pope francis is here. it was 50 years ago behind the walls that you see behind me that the catholic church and the orthodox church ended 900 years of not talking to each other. at that time the heads of the catholic church and the orthodox church met for the first time. it's a celebration or marking of that anniversary. pope francis will meet the spiritual head of the orthodox christian in the head of the hopy seppual kerr, the site jesus is beli

. >> palestinian president mahmoud abbas, meeting comes after unity agreement between fatah. >> syrian national coalition as the legitimate representative of the syrian people. full diplomatic honest and rights. the u.s. had ordered the closing of the syrian embassy in march. >>> libya has confirmed its new prime minister. ahmed matig, reversed decision former prime minister abdalla fini resigned last week siting security reasons. >>> nora ministry said opened fire, two others were wounded. there's been chaotic scenes at the site of friday's landslide in afghanistan. warning shots were fired after trucks arrived with supplies, and villagers say nearby are taking are supplies meant for them. desperate disprit need of help. the u.n.'s coordinator has visited and said many afghans are suffering. >> this is the year where we see the most industria instrumental, over 130 people have died in addition to blood mad to the people that have -- in addition to the people who have died here, i think our focus really has to be in the months ahead on how we make sure those people who have been displa

he will also meet with palestinian president mahmoud abbas and israel president benjamin netanyahu. >is jerusalem trip also includes a visit to the church of the holy sepulcher. one of the religion's most sacred site. john schifrin has the story. >> how old is this document? >> it is 1261. >> a deed to documents don't only unlock his family's past. >> this is the sultan's stamp. >> this is sultan's stamp. this is written also in gold. >> they unlock the past, present and future of christianity's most sacred spot. >> until now. >> for 1,000 years. >> each sultan gave your family a new document, right? >> yes. >> jerusalem's leaders have bee stowed his family with unending trust. >> element a thousand years ago. >> yes. >> he is muslim but holds a key to the church of the holy sepulcher. a place where jeef jesus was bed to be lain to rest and resurrected. >>> salah hudeen a muslim sultan protected the church. he handed over the keys to the same family charged with the care of nearby mosques. through the alleys of jerusalem's oldest city, jawad carries the key to the church's front door.

palestinian president mahmoud abbas has already accepted. zoo in the philippines is letting visitors get up close and personal with the snakes ... and, it's supposed to be relaxing! the zoo is offering snake massages. guests lie down while 13-foot pythons are out on their bodies. then, the snakes slither around the guest ... giving them a 15- minute massage. zoo keepers watch over the guests to make sure the snakes do not harm them. how much would you pay for that? >> how much would i pay to get out of that? >> a thing we all have dreams about last night. we don't need the real thing. >> what were you dreaming about? you must have a lot of demons heading in there. >> 67 degrees right now wind out of the southwest at 7 mi.. dew 0.55. it's 60 degrees right now. 63 degrees in bartlett. temperatures are on the warm side. another warm day comes. satellite shows we are dry. we are headed to the memorial day parade i think we will be dry before lunchtime. but in the afternoon we do have potential for scattered showers. scattered storms look like th

pope francis on a three-day whirlwind tour and embraced mahmoud abbas and the pope offered to host aummit at the vatican and invited the israelis and palestinians. >>> in the u.s., firefighters are getting better control over a wildfire in arizona but it could still double in size before they fully contain it. the fire near sedona has already burned more than 13,000 acres. and the 9/11 memorial museum was meant to be a tribute to those who died that day. but for some of the families who lost loved ones, it's become a source of added pain all because of a party. they found disrespectful. here's alexandra field. >> reporter: jim riches lost his son jimmy a firefighter on 9/11 but won't set foot in the museum meant to honor the victims. >> totally horrible. dancing on the son's graves and crossed the line. >> reporter: the latest, headlines of a vip cocktail party at the museum the same week it opened. another affront to some who are already fuming over the museum's gift shop, the plans to open a restaurant and a $24 admission fee. >> i think it's now become a money machine and a revenu

. >> palestine president mahmoud abbas held closed door talks with israel's chief peace negotiator livni in london. there's confusion about the status of the talks. on thursday, the prime minister said live ni was representing herself, not the government. let's get more on this. it's from the jerusalem post. he joins us live from jerusalem. so secretive that the talks came out now, that took place on thursday. what have you heard about them. was anything achieved? >> reporter: we have no idea what was achieved in the peating. livni is discrete, believing it's the key to enable the peace process to restart and move forward. i don't think it can be coincidental that tzipi livni, john kerry and others are in london at the same time, at a time when israelis want the peace process to continue, and for it to continue she needs to persuade a deal to be made with her, and not hamas >>> the israeli government stepped back saying she's doing it on her own, it's nothing to do with the israeli government. is it because of hamas? >> reporter: i think it's because the israeli government made a decisio

however, president mahmoud abbas of the palestinian authority said that he feels comfortable negotiating with president shimon peres, and it's an indication that pope francis thinks a meeting can move this peace process forward. otherwise vatican officials say the invitation wouldn't have been given. >> thank you nick schifrin. >>> meanwhile a large-scale manhunt is underway in belgium, after the deadly shootings at the jewish museum. three were killed, another in critical condition. authorities release this surveillance footage, and the shooter acted alone and ask the public for any or all information. a crowd of 2,000 people gathered outside the museum to pay tribute to the victims. prosecutors say they are unclear as to whether anti-semitism was a motive in the shootings. >>> speaking of shootings, authorities in southern california identified all the victims in friday night's killing free. the santa barbara sheriff's office says the three me stabbed to death were students at the university of california, santa barbara. two lived with the suspect. and that is elliot rodger. police say

you about this earn vitation that has come as something of a surprise as well, an invitation to mahmoud abbas and to the president of israel? >> abbas. has always distinguished between his ability to talk to netanyahu, abbas's aids talk about having more constructive dialogue. husband aides are saying they look forward to this meeting much more than they look to any meeting with prime minister netanyahu. >> we are watching the life shot of the pope, pope francis in his military helicopter. tell us a little bit about the next stop on this trip because it's so important for him. isn't it? to retain a sense of balance so that both communities feel that they are not being snubbed. >> it's absolutely about a sense of balance, and not only will the pope visit mount hertzel. he will go to the western wall. he will go to the holocaust museum that marks the millions of jews killed in the holocaust. he will have the event that actually he is here to do. we are always talking about politics, especially because of what the pope has done. but he said and his aides say he is here for an event tonight about

the official purpose for which the pope has invited both mahmoud abbas and shimon peres is to have an prayer for peace, but obviously i think the working assumption here is that the two men find themselves together in a neutral space, both leaders quickly accepted the invitation and although the vatican won't officially confirm, it looks as though this will happen in early june. the hope is that they will also have perhaps some conversations about restarting the peace process that broke down a month ago. look, i think it was the inevitable that the first pope in history named francis, after st. francis, the legendary peacemaker of the middle ages, was going to want to try to bring peace, and there's no more intractable conflict on the global stage than the israeli/palestinian conflict. francis had beth abbas and peres in meetings at the vatican individually and established what he regards as good rapport with both of them. so he's hoping that he can get something done here. >> it's interesting because the pope did lament the fact that the u.s.-mediated peace talks last month failed.

extended formal invitations to the israeli president, shimon peres, the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas, to come to the vatican for a peace initiative. you were the middle east special envoy for a few years. obviously, that peace process looks grim now. what advice would you give the pontiff? >> well, he's done pretty well without my advice so far. he's won over the most admired persons in the world already. done a remarkable job and i think captured the imagination of not just catholics but people around the world because of his personal humility and his willingness to wade in issues, as he is doing in this case. i think it is a good gesture. i hope it will lead to an improvement in relations just seeing the leading palestinian and israeli political officials standing there with the pope, hopefully praying together. i think sends a positive signal about the possibility of israelis and palestinians and other arabs living together. so i commend the pope. i encourage him. i strongly encourage the leaders on both sides to do what they have to do to move this process forward. wolf, let me a

earlier pope francis met palestinian president mahmoud abbas and called on iranians and palestinians to live side by side as neighbours. >> translation: the time has come for everyone to find the courage and be generous creative in the service of common good. peace that rests on the right of two states to exist and live in peace for security why and a recognisable order. >> we can talk to our correspondent in bethlehem. you have been following the pope's progress throughout bethlehem today, hadn't you? this is probably a perfect example of how to avoid politics when you are in the occupied territories. >> absolutely. pope francis, before he came out he emphasised that the trip is first and foremost as a christian piil grim. it didn't stop the poll techs, he had a meeting with palestine presidents. he'll be meeting with leaders. when he got into the pope mobile. he made an unexpected stop. he stopped at the separation barrier. this is a wall that by men palestinians have been called an apartheid wall, but by the israelis, it's called a security fence. the pope got out of his vehicle,

still buzzing over that invitation with the israeli president, shimon peres and palestinian leader mahmoud abbas. they will be going to the vatican. we'll see what results that has at this point. delia gallagher, thank you so much. >>> a huge wildfire is expanding in alaska, the blaze on the kenai peninsula has grown to more than 218 square miles, churning through -- look at that -- churning through dry brush. >> oh, wow. >> high winds really fueling this thing. the fire has now forced more than 1,000 structures to be evacuated. fire crews have as far away as montana have been brought in to help with this fight. luckily, so far, no reports of damage or injuries from this blaze, but smoke can be seen as far north as anchorage, some 60 miles away. >> wow. >>> in arizona, crews making progress in their fight against a huge fire near sedona. the slide fire is now 25% contained after consuming more than 14,000 acres. some of that's the result of back fires to burn out dry tinder fueling the blaze. authorities lifted a pre-evacuation order for nearly 3,000 residents nearby. >> it's early in the season

in an extraordinary gesture, he's invited mahmoud abbas and others to join him in the vatican and prayor peace. and they have accepted. martha? >> our thanks to terry. >>> now to the growing scandal at the department of veterans affairs, outrage over delays in life-saving care. this weekend, president obama is demanding answers. abc's jim avila has the latest. >> reporter: the white house scrambling to contain a spreading scandal at the va, sending a mr. fix-it, deputy chief of staff, rob nabors, to the fee mix va, where it all began. the president calling his veterans affairs secretary to the oval office and promising veterans anyone cooking the books to hide long visits to see a va doctor will be punished. >> i want every veteran to know we're going to fix whatever is wrong. i'm going to keep on fighting to deliver the care and the benefits and the opportunities that your families deserve. >> reporter: it's a scandal that has traction across political parties and tv channels. >> a real scandal! jimmy, drop 'em! woo! >> reporter: whistle-blowers coming forward to expose secret lists t

. >>> pope francis is on a visit to the holy land and he met p palestinian leader mahmoud abbas. the pontiff celebrated mass in jordan promoting a message of up itty. this is his first trip to the holy land as leader of the roman catholic church >>> belgium's terror alert has been raised after a deadly shooting in brussels. three people were killed, another injured when that man started shooting. two of the victims were israeli. the shooter is still out there somewhere. >>> in thailand, several hundred protesters are demonstrating in the capital city bangkok. the junta overthrew the government in a coup thursday and dismissed the senate. >>> what did he say and what does it tell us about him and why he did this? avo: wherever your journey takes you the expedia app helps you save with mobile-exclusive deals download the expedia app text expedia to 75309 expedia, find yours if yand you're talking toevere rheuyour rheumatologistike me, about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain. this is humira helping me lay the groundwork. this is humira helping t

both palestinian president mahmoud abbas and shimon paris say they will come to the vatican.e greeted abbas today and will meet privately with benjamin netanyahu in jerusalem. >>> a senior at sacramento state got a surprise visit on her graduation day. her brother came home from afghanistan to be at the ceremony. ashley mcdaniel thought photographers had gathered to watch her receive her diploma so she was shocked when her younger brother army specialist anthony mcdaniel was there waiting for her. >> just happened to be the best time, perfect, college graduation, haven't seen her forever so the best experience ever. hardest part about being away was being away from family. not being able to see family, not be able to talk to them every day, hug them, face-to- face conversation. >> anthony mcdaniel spent four months in afghanistan and now stationed at fort riley in kansas. >>> friday's deadly rampage is drawing comparison to another incident in the same area. the similarities being found between elliot rodger and a man who called himself the angel of death. >>> and tracking yo

during an outdoor mass, he invited palestinian president mahmoud abbas and the israeli president to theican to discuss the embattled peace process. according to the associated press, the two leaders have agreed to go to the vatican next month. the meeting would be the first public high-level talks between israelis and palestinians in a year. but we should note that the meeting right now does not include the israeli prime minister netanyahu, who's criticized other israelly leaders for reaching out to abbas after he reconciled with hamas. the pope has called this a strictly religious pilgrimage, but every move is being watched for political significance. during a meeting today, he openly endorsed a palestinian state. before celebrating mass in manger square, he made an unscheduled stop to pray at the wall that divides bethlehem from jerusalem. tomorrow, the pope will be in jerusalem where he will say mass on mt. zion, which has been claimed as the site of the last summer. the pope has refused to use a bullet proof car, and he's traveling with both a rabbi and an imam, making his trip the