south korean president mungy. a in use the games to reboot intercalary and relationships. the so-called peace olympics included a joint women's hockey team athlete celebrating korean nationalism by marching under a unified flag as well as a visit by kim yo job the sister of the north korean leader she arrived with an invite for mood to visit yeah. it's a two hour test it was a good olympics as it were so concerned about it last year but it went so well many north koreans came and i wish this could lead to unification. it was interesting he was an honor for us to host it i really enjoyed it. even the choice of olympic venues was symbolic gang one province is divided between the north and south. if the tension continues tourists don't come so peace is very important to our economy north korea participated in the olympics and this has become a basis for establishing a base here and that means a lot to us. for the russians the games and did as they began marching without their flag two of their athletes were disqualified after testing positive for banned drugs four years on fr

koreans kim jong has quickly become a power broker in another historic moment south korean president mungy in greeted her at the opening ceremony before she sat near u.s. vice president mike pence the two didn't appear to exchange greetings then the moment many had been waiting for north and south korean athletes marched under a unified flag as a celebration of ethnic nationalism it's the first time they've done that at an international sporting event in eleven years moon said the winter olympics offer a meaningful opportunity for a world divided by conflicts to unite critics say the north korean charm offensive is only intended to advance its agenda and mosconi it was decided to look nice for a vial of this option if you would use chance chances is that president krom view authorizing me to take a ration bought as a program of ease that main ship fundamentals have not changed. i determined to have an end of this i.c.b.m. into continental body stick missiles capable of delivering a nuclear strike as a continuum for united states in the runup to the games the north koreans have absorbed muc

high profile north korean delegation it's meeting right now with president a south korean president mungy in at the blue house the presidential blue house and this visit is already historic it is replete with symbolism skeptics doubt that it will result in a substantive seismic shift between the two koreas but that is certainly the hope president moon is pushing engagement with north korea he is the son of growth korean refugee parents so clearly this is an issue dear to him and he's hoping to use the pyongyang winter olympics as a launching pad for reconciliation all eyes are on kim jong un sister kim jong there is a document at the table she is sitting at in front of her and it's only going to feed speculation that inside that document with a letter from the north korean leader and that perhaps the north korean leader is going to extend an invite to president moon and you can hear right there if they'll stay for a performance by north korean troops but peter the interest it's one of two performances by this north korean are true and the interest in south korea will be great that more th

right well we're seeing pictures of she and president mungy and shaking hands ahead of the opening ceremony there are more images of. president moon kid kim jong as well as kim young the second in command in the north korean regime as long as as well as vice president mike pence all sitting in the same room watching the ceremony together so it's certainly a big deal this is the first time that a family member of the ruling kim clan has ever come to south korea and read this and leave the delegation from the u.s. headed by vice president mike pence was there any diplomatic will clinton if. well local media is reporting that at a dinner reception that was held prior to the opening ceremony vice president pence made a very brief appearance he more or less avoided it mr kim young who's. basically the second man in charge in north korea. tenses office says that there was a scheduling conflict but it's being read here is more or less a snub now that the olympics have begun jason is it a sense of excitement on the korean peninsula which is they ran down. the hostile division between the north and

kim jong un sr tell south korea's president he's invited to a summit in the north korean capital and mungy in said he'd be willing to go to pyongyang if conditions are right. it's good to have you with us. israel has struck what it says were iranian targets inside syria after an israeli fighter jet was shot down by syrian forces as the two pilots in the jet were parachuted to safety and were taken to the hospital with one of them in serious condition the incident was sparked by an iranian drone that allegedly entered israeli airspace from syria and it's the most serious confrontation between israel and syria in yours. and it's really jet inflames an angry reaction from the army and two very different versions of what happened early saturday morning. the key question didn't iranian surveillance drones stray into israeli territory from a base in syria triggering a deadly response from israeli fighter jets syria says its allies drone was near the israeli border on a standard intelligence mission but israel disagrees it has released this unverified video which it says shows the drone in israel

and is promising new more aggressive sanctions against the north he met with south korean president mungy in following on his warning not to allow pyongyang to quote hide behind the olympic batter and today a kim jong only presided over a military parade a show of force after sending athletes and performers all over the border while that move is seen as either a bit too thought relations with the south or a ploy to provoke the u.s. . north korea and the united states are still sending mixed messages a day before the twenty eighteen winter games how despite signaling it was willing to talk north korea hasn't traded the same for the olive branch quite yet pyongyang staged a massive military parade marking the founding of its armed forces. addressing his troops north korean leader kim jong un called on his military to be on the ready to repel quote invasive forces. much further south yang is trying to put its best foot forward sending kim yo jong sister of the north korean leader as part of their olympic delegation shall be the first member of the north's ruling family to cross the demilitar

north korea's leader kim jong un has extended a rare invitation to the south korean president mungy isn't to visit pyongyang the moon is hosted kim sr for talks in seoul on the sidelines of the winter olympics she's the first member of the kim family to visit south korea since the nine hundred fifty korean war. chairman kim jong un's on voip kim yo junk delivered a letter expressing a willingness to improve relations she also delivered a message from kim jong un that he is willing to meet president moon in the near future and that he hopes president moon visits the north at a convenient time when they're under modi has been making the first official visit by an indian prime minister to the palestinian territory he's met palestinian president mahmoud abbas in a trip to the west bank as part of a three nation tour to strengthen ties with the middle east earlier he laid a wreath on the tumor former palestinian leader yasser arafat's. donald trump's block the release of a democratic party rebuttal to a republican memo on russian meddling in the election the bloc no challenges last week's repu

how about the side of kim jong the north korean leader sr shaking hands with south korean president mungy in right under the nose of u.s. vice president mike pence if stealing the show was pyongyang's intention the media played right into its hands offering extensive coverage of the delegation from the north wherever they light the the flame. are going to be geopolitics in the mix but these games given where they are and the governments involved have taken an olympic politics to another level or a starting point this week is pyong chang south korea. not every picture tells the story not every image is worth a thousand words but the right one in the right place time and context can pack a bigger punch than one hundred soundbites for a million tweets and images like this with athletes from two countries entering the olympic stage under one flag. it's a great photo op it makes for some good pictures it does give bring a sense of potential and the sense of optimism at least briefly for that sports event but it doesn't necessarily mean unification is around the corner of course there's an elem

korea's leader kim jong il on saturday she extended a rare in the tasting to south korean president mungy and to visit pyongyang. votes are being counted in sri lanka where a record number of women are vying for seats in three hundred forty local governments a new law requires females to fill a quarter of those positions the president and the prime minister rule nationally in a coalition but they have campaigned separately for their own party. and south africa's ruling party the african national congress is due to hold a special meeting on monday pressure is mounting on president jacob zuma to resign before his second term ends next year many are calling for a swift transition of power after he was replaced by soon as leader of the n.c. those were the headlines the news continues on al-jazeera of the talked about as a statement that's a water bottle. this is really an attack on a food itself is a lot of a sudden the standing of what free speech is supposed to be about the context of hugely important setting the stage for a serious debate after front at this time on al-jazeera. and. you wi

arafat's north korea's leader kim goldman has extended a rare invitation to the south korean president mungy him to visit pyongyang moon hosted kim sr for talks in seoul the sidelines of the winter olympics at least nineteen people have been killed in a double decker bus toppled over in hong kong witnesses say the bus was going much faster than usual. one of the most controversial public figures in northern ireland is retiring in fein leader gerry adams is being replaced by mary lou mcdonald he was considered the spokesman for the irish republican army in its thirty year was when british rule of northern ireland since then these played a pivotal part in the peace process those are your headlines the news continues after upfront stay with us here announcer zero. after you. he's been called one of the most wanted political fugitives of twenty nine team that's former georgian president mikheil saakashvili faces possible extradition to his home country from his new country ukraine i'll ask him if he's prepared for life behind bars and later i'll talk to the somali refugee turned u.s. politician

north korean leader came with the first ever invitation kim jong un is asking south korean president mungy in to come to pyongyang at a convenient time soon little newlands key president moon said early talks between north korea and the united states are essential to improve relations here just north korea to be more proactive to move forward to have a dialogue with the united states. it's unclear when that might happen the u.s. and north korea have rebuffed lose attempts so far if an interesting meeting transpires it will be the first time kim jong un has met with the south korean president since assuming power in twenty eleven the last time leaders from the north and south met was eleven years ago during a summit in. jordan because of all the global attention i believe for unification will be brought forth the government is making efforts and i think people are rooting for it organizers of the olympics say they've been moved by the diplomatic breakthrough it was quiet on the story a moment. and something that as you know the i.o.c. has been generally working for since probably two thousa

syria north korea's leader kim jong il has extended a rare invitation to the south korean president mungy and to visit people young the two countries have been holding talks on the sidelines of the winter olympics in china u.s. president donald trump is blocked the release of a classified democratic party memo on the investigation into alleged russian meddling in the twenty sixteen election it rebuts a republican memo that accuse the f.b.i. and the justice department of bias the president says the document should be made public because of national security concerns there in ramadi is making the first visit by an indian prime minister to the occupied palestinian territories the one day trip to the west bank as part of a three nation tour to strengthen ties with the middle east earlier he discussed the israeli palestinian conflict with jordan's king abdullah nobody's expected to meet the palestinian president mahmoud abbas later on saturday. egyptian state media says the country's security readiness has been raised to its highest level after the military launched an operation against groups

north korea's leader kim jong un saturday she extended a rare in the taishan to south korean president mungy and to visit pyongyang. votes are being counted in sri lanka where a record number of women are vying for seats in three hundred forty local governments a new law requires females to fill a quarter of those positions the president on the prime minister rule nationally in a coalition but they have campaigned separately for their own party. and south africa's ruling party the african national congress is due to hold a special meeting on monday pressure is mounting on president jacob zuma to resign before his second term ends next year many are calling for a swift transition of power after he was replaced by soon as leader of the n.c. those were the headlines the news continues on al-jazeera after talked about a serious statement that's what about. this is really an attack on a food itself is a lot of a sudden the standing of what free speech is supposed to be about the context of hugely important setting the stage for a serious debate after front at this time on al-jazeera. you mean the

north korea's leader kim jong un has extended a rare invitation to the south korean president mungy and to visit pyongyang the two countries have been holding talks on the sidelines of the winter olympics in china. turkey's military is establishing a new position in syria's in the province of spot of efforts to expand the so-called deescalation zone the state news agency says troops have been deployed to todd to come on russian forces are expected to position themselves six kilometers outside the town and they want to create a line dividing syrian government forces and opposition fighters to prevent contact rebel held it libya's been the site of intense bombardment and ground fighting in recent weeks. egyptian state media says the country's security readiness has been raised to its highest level after the military launched an operation against groups in the sinai peninsula president abdel fattah el-sisi told the army to use brute force to restore security after an attack on a mosque in the venda that killed more than three hundred people shops and schools in north on a closed until furt

indians north korea's leader kim jong un has extended a rare invitation to the south korean president mungy and to visit pyongyang moon hosted kim sr for talks in seoul on the sidelines of the winter olympics that of her name has more from going long. in the presidential blue house in the capital seoul relations between the two koreas continued to thaw the meeting had two firsts kim jong is the first member of the ruling family to cross into the south since the korean war the sister of the north korean leader came with the first ever invitation kim jong un is asking south korean president moon jay in to come to pyongyang at a convenient time soon when that's all know it's key president moon said early talks between north korea and the united states are essential to improve relations north korea to be more proactive to move forward to have a dialogue with the united states. it's unclear when that might happen the u.s. and north korea have rebuffed lose attempts so far if an interesting meeting transpires it will be the first time kim jong un has met with the south korean president since assu

korea's leader kim jong un on saturday she extended a rare invitation to the south korean president mungy in to visit kyung young the delegation has been holding talks with the south korean government on the sidelines of the winter olympics that iran is marking thirty nine years since its islamic revolution hundreds of thousands of people are taking part in mass rallies and president rouhani has been speaking in tehran freedom square nine hundred seventy nine revolution so the overthrow bashar monarchy and the creation of the islamic republic was in bus driver joins us live now from the iranian capital tehran zain how important are these rallies almost the mood like on the streets. well there and this year the anniversary of the revolution comes after a time multi was time for iran both internally we've seen. political protests opposition protest against the government counter protest by people who support the government externally iran has been involved in the protracted conflict in syria and has been cementing its regional prowess across the region president rouhani speech focused very

perhaps to drive a wedge between the united states and south korea for south korea's part president mungy in is doing everything he can to seize this moment to rebuild the relationship between the two koreas meanwhile an appeal by forty seven russian athletes and coaches to take part in the games has been rejected the court of arbitration for sport dismissed their case the russians had appealed against their exclusion by the international olympic committee over the twenty four scandal at the sochi games. almost one hundred seventy russian athletes have been cleared to compete the u.s. government is officially shutdown for the second time in three weeks that's after the senate's adjourned without holding a vote to pass a budget the agreement struck by republican and democratic leaders in the senate has faced stiff resistance from both camps christen salumi has more from washington . they may have missed their deadline but senate leaders are pushing forward with a vote on a massive spending package they were delayed by a procedural matter and one stubborn senator rand paul of kentucky a con

powerful sister a north korean leader kim jong un ended its visit by joining south korean president mungy at a concert by a north korean our troops on saturday she extended a rare potations for president moon to visit the north the british foreign secretary has urged me on mars later on sochi to allow the un to supervise the return of her head to refugees or is johnson made the pally after visiting displaced muslim villagers and rakhine state and nephew camps in bangladesh. to be honest i'm not sure she really understands the full horror of what has happened i don't think she's been in a helicopter to see what we have seen today and really what i was trying to get eva to is the importance of her leadership i believe in hard i believe in her leadership i think she's done incredible things in her life i'm very sad to see what's happening to them and i would to see the direction the country is going headed south africa's ruling african national congress says party leaders are preparing to finalize a deal that will result in president jacob zuma leaving office so most under increasing pressur

third winter olympics has officially opened with an extravagant ceremony in south korea president mungy indicated the two thousand and eighteen winter games opened with fireworks going off over. nearly three thousand athletes from ninety two countries entered at the sold out stadium during the opening ceremony of the games have to overcome multiple hurdles ahead of winter sports most prestigious event the i.o.c. and the athletes will be looking to put all their troubles behind them and kick off the olympics with a bang. and we have met her but from your sports with us here in a studio matt what did you make of these opening ceremonies but i thought they were spectacular this is the kind of pageantry that we don't often see outside of something like the eurovision song contest you know fireworks hundreds of dancers acting out somewhat inscrutable tab started out with a group of kids spending some quality time with tiger not a real tiger thank goodness and they went in kicked off the athlete's parade that kicked off with nigeria because nigeria happens to be the first equivalent letter in

koreans kim jong has quickly become a power broker in another historic moment south korean president mungy in greeted her at the opening ceremony before she sat near u.s. vice president mike pence the two didn't appear to exchange greetings then the moment many had been waiting for the. north and south korean athletes marched under a unified flag as a celebration of ethnic nationalism it's the first time they've done that at an international sporting event in eleven years moon said the pyong chang winter olympics offer a meaningful opportunity for a world divided by conflicts to unite critics say the north korean charm offensive is only intended to advance its agenda and norsk any us decided to look nice for a vial of this option if you would use chance chances that president krom be authorizing me to take a ration bot as a program of ease that made fundamentals have not changed most canadians are determined to have and of missed i.c.b.m. into continental body stick missiles capable of delivering a nuclear strike as a continuum for the united states in the run up to the games the north kor

reporters about that warship sinking today but north korea in the past has denied involvement president mungy in has asked the public to look toward the future to see how engagement with north korea is a good step toward improving intercooler relations and establishing peace on the peninsula now days after the united states announced its largest package of sanctions against north korea we are now hearing from the north koreans an official with the foreign ministry is saying that the united states is now trying to undermine any improvement in into a korean relations that it views this quote blockade as an act of war and that the united states has brought the threat of war to the closing ceremony and it is the closing ceremony on sunday i mean if we can put politics aside i mean how people feel about the games have the politics somewhat taken over the story overshadowed events here. there's no question elizabeth that a lot of people thought that north korea hijacked the spotlight from south korea this was south korea's first time to host a winter olympics they spent thirteen billion dollars to

power lympics coming up and then of course in the background is the ongoing dialogue of trying to get mungy in the south korean president on a visit to north korea which would be a very significant development and while all these things are taking place there nobody seems to want to derail this old rock the boat we are not likely to see for example any more launches of missiles or nuclear tests from the north even the militaries of south korea or in the united states they have suspended military operations just while the olympics took place they said they would be resume now it's always a very contentious subject it's always certain to rile a very angry north korea when these exercises take place there does seem to be maybe speculation an unofficial agreement that maybe they'll push back the deadline of when these next exercises start so there does seem to be a willingness on all sides to keep this moving as you mentioned there the big question will the united states get on board especially with their preconditions that any dialogue must first. must first have a commitment from north korea

but i think now that the invitations been made for the summit all kinds of questions arise should mungy him go should he go unconditionally should he insists that north korea should also talk to the u.s. well those kinds of questions will be vigorously debated i think between the allies and in the south korean media there's a lot of talk right now isn't there about this idea of a re-unification although i'm sure that since distant as ever but that if there was a bit of progress you know at this summit what could that potentially look like. well in my view not a lot i hate to sound pessimistic and i must say i wish the koreans didn't do is file everything under reunification ratio is a best that the end of an incredibly low road let's talk about reconciliation but even that is difficult because everybody's hands are now tied by a whole raft of u.n. security council resolutions because especially in the last two or three years comptroller and that's been firing off the stick missiles and doing your head tests like there's no tomorrow should be concrete i get it two koreas used to have an