p.g. fighters whom it considers to be terrorists the u.s. sees the fighters as allies helping it in its fight against i saw in a phone call trump told turkey's president earlier want to exercise caution or risk conflicts with u.s. forces. january twenty fifth marks the seventh anniversary of the egyptian revolution that brought down president hosni mubarak downtown cairo is in lockdown with security forces sealing off all entrances to tahrir square the focal point of the uprising al-jazeera is but smith has been speaking to some of the people who were there seven years ago i i chance of down with mubarak wants have been enough to earn a beating from egypt's feared security services that on january twenty fifth twenty eleven the police made only a half hearted attempts to stop hundreds of thousands of egyptians packing tahrir square in cairo to demand the resignation of president hosni mubarak idle raman farris and ali have joined those protests seven years ago for what and then. we used to say that the revolution is coming that it was out dri

p.g. fighters backed by the u.s. mascot has condemned what it calls brutal aggression. and the u.s. senate will try again on monday to vote for a deal to fund the government alderson's failed to agree on the spending bill on friday into a shutout. tens of thousands of romanians have protested against changes to the judicial system demonstrates any amended laws will make it harder to prosecute officials for corruption their willing party has been implicated in several fraud cases and a hoax. if the palmer was hoping the snowstorms raging across from mania would deter protesters from marching they were to be disappointed tens of thousands gathered in book arrest braving the rain and the cold and hostile police presence to show their opposition to anti graft legislation the protests were organized after the ruling social democrats o.p.'s the past in the last month which could make it harder to prosecute crime and high level corruption has been a controversial issue in rumania since the government was sworn in a year ago. they tell me i came here to live in a free country that is not fu

p.g. fighters and correct considers the y. p.g. to be allies of kurdish insurgents who for decades have force against the turkish state within its own borders to actually wants to prevent kurds from gaining their own independent territory ankara has promised an unrelenting campaign. book. bitter terrorist elements will be cleansed from this region. and our brothers came to our country from syria to save their lives but not being able to return there and continue their lives. hideout in order. had their positive role of sorts and regardless of the price. we will tear down the terra cotta door that they are trying to establish in the region. the attacks russia has pulled back its ground troops from the region washington back to the kiddish y p g militia during the war against so cool the state but is now refraining from direct criticism while urging turkey to quote exercise restraint in its military actions the us has also said it takes to legitimate security concerns seriously. well there's some tough talk coming from turkey yet it

p.g. fighters who are backed by the u.s. the wife e.g. says airstrikes have killed at least nine people republicans and democrats are blaming each other for the u.s. government shutdown all nonessential services will stop unless the senate agrees in a funding deal and settle the vote for monday this comes as president donald trump marks his first anniversary in office. women are corralling across the us exactly a year after they marched in anger at president trump's inauguration protests are taking place in washington d.c. new york sacramento and other cities organizers hope that encourage more women to vote and one for office in november's mid-term elections. u.s. vice president mike pence has arrived in jordan as part of a regional tour earlier he was in egypt where he met president abdel fatah how sisi to discuss security and the israeli palestinian peace process plans who's expected to visit israel as well said the u.s. is still committed to a two state solution. pope francis has condemned the killing of women which he says has turned

p.g. fighters and correct considers the y. p.g. to be allies of kurdish insurgents who for decades have force against the turkish state within its own borders and turkey wants to prevent kurds from gaining their own independent territory but ankara has promised an unrelenting campaign. book that. terrorist elements will be cleansed from this region as well that story and our brothers who came to our country from syria to save their lives will be able to return there and continue their lives. high out in orders for a greater. part of the price we will tear down the terror they are trying to establish in the region tattoed quoted or no but. the attacks russia has moved back its ground troops from the region washington back to the kurdish why p.g. militia during the war against so cool the islamic state but is now refraining from direct criticism while urging turkey to quote exercise restraint in its military actions the u.s. has also said it takes turkey's legitimate security concerns seriously. russia as you heard in the report resp

p.g. fighters who are regarded. as terrorists. well let's break it down and look at how power is actually distributed in the border region the areas here in yellow are held by various kurdish militias and here is of course the african region the latest flashpoint in syria where turkey is carrying out its military operation it is receiving backing from syrian rebel groups in the area shown in green turkish time to reportedly closing in on the city of zawiya as well to the east as you can see off a friend and then intends to turn his attention to be the syrian kurds have already asked the u.s. led coalition for support that to get into because washington for its part has called on turkey quote to limit its offense in scope president early on has shot back telling the u.s. to worry about its own campaigns in iraq and afghanistan and he takes a closer look now at the troubled relationship between the two nato allies. unbelievable is this real and nato member telling daddy you know i mean i mean come on behave yourself oral point a gun

p.g. fighters who are banked by the u.s. the white b.g. says air strikes have killed at least nine people the u.s. senate will try again on monday to vote for the deal to fund the government that failed to agree on the spending bill on friday leading to a shutdown of non essential services and some tourist attractions republicans and democrats are blaming each other for the deadlock. woman a rallying across the u.s. to mark one years since president donald trump took office organizers hope will encourage more women to vote and run for office in november's mid-term elections. u.s. vice president mike pence has arrived in jordan as part of a regional tour earlier he was in egypt where he met president abdel fattah el-sisi to discuss security and the israeli palestinian peace process pens who's expected to visit israel as well said the u.s. is still committed to a two state solution. tens of thousands of romanians have protested against changes to their judicial system. demonstrators say the amended laws will make it harder to prosecute offic

p.g. fighters which it considers to be terrorists the u.s. sees the fighters as allies helping is in its fight against isis the former doctor for the u.s. gymnastics team has been given a prison term of up to one hundred seventy five years for sexual assault very nasser pleaded guilty to being accused by more than one hundred fifty women including several u.s. olympic gold medalists of those the headlines the news continues here on out is the era of the inside story next. we understand the differences. and the similarities of cultures across the world so no matter how you take it al-jazeera will bring you the news and current of the matter to al-jazeera. is the president of egypt scared of the competition sami annan is the latest contender forced out of the race for the presidential election in long the army's fluent chief of staff is under arrest and the former prime minister has also been forced to drop out this is inside story. hello there and welcome to the program i'm laura kyle it doesn't look like many or should that be any challenges a

p.g. fighters out of the african district in syria this northwest corner. that plans to create a so-called safe so thirty kilometers deep to protect its border kurdish forces say the turkish offensive is a slap in the face considering the success they've achieved in the fight. again stars all the syrian democratic forces all the s.d.f. is affiliated to the wire p.g. fighters under attack a friend and then the statement the us about coalitions said over the last twenty four hours it's lost a number of what it calls martyrs in fighting against i still which it says is it's only enemy the s.d.f. calls the turkish offensive sudden and of warranted says the syrian people need to focus on political reconciliation and rebuilding the country certainly decker's is our correspondent on the turkey syria border and joins me now from there what seems to be happening in africa at the moment because it's very unclear about where the turkish offensive is focusing its attack and whether they might have even entered ground troops at the moment. well they have entered just pa

p.g. considers the y.p. g a terrorist group but its fighters have been a key ally for the u.s. elsewhere in syria stephanie decker has more from. the turkish army is steadily increasing its presence along this stretch of the syrian border present one has been threatening to attack the kurdish run area baffling for almost a week now there has been sporadic shelling. inside africa and thousands marched on thursday in protest to turkey's aggression how the feeling of the us is the goal of this large demonstration is to send a message to the world and especially to turkey concerning the turkish threats we will not be a fright. in the human body we came here to protest against the attacks on africa and we will stand by a free and outreach that. is one of three autonomy as kurdish enclaves controlled by the syrian kurdish p y d party and its armed wing the y p g turkey sees the y.p. g. is an offshoot of the kurdistan workers' party or p k k which it together with the us. when europe consider a terrorist organization but the white b.g. has been working with the u.s. to push ice a lot

p.g. fighters turkey considers terrorists. well i want to try and show know how power is actually distributed in the border region the areas in yellow here are held by various kurdish militias and it's here in the african region the latest flashpoint in syria where we're talking about is where turkey's carrying out its military operation it is receiving backing from syrian rebel groups in the areas shown in green in the center turkish tanks have reportedly been closing in on the city of as well i'm sure then intends to turn its attention here to be sure is how the situation we think is playing out as it stands the syrian kurds have already asked the u.s. that coalition for support washington for its part has called on turkey quote to limit its offensive in time and scope president heard one shot back telling the u.s. to worry about its own campaigns in iraq and afghanistan and we've been trying to takes a closer look now at the troubled relationship between the two nato allies. unbelievable is this real a nato member telling d

fighters. the military has i'm no friend of the y. p.g. they recruit young boys and girls that's why my brother in laws fled after in a move to stumble four years ago the weapons provided to those fighters by the us scares me my village is the closest to afrin we don't feel at peace while our people are there. the wife is in control of the land just beyond us war the us reckons its fighters are key to wiping out eisel in syria that infuriated turkey which considers the y.p. g. to be an extension of the p.k. k. a kurdish group which turkey the us the european union deemed a terrorist organization. never a friend for turkey six years ago after the syrian war. president put out a serious policy we can't go back to syria we came here and worked in farming with other refugees from the highest mountains from aleppo everyone wants peace in syria and africa because it's the civilians that get tom the most many kurds living in religious near the border avoid t.v. cameras some have relatives and a friend where military action is planned and the villa

p.g. fighters as a grave threat to their security turkey says that is why its forces are massing at the border prompting this warning from the u.s. we would call on certainly on the turks to not take any actions of that sort here's what caused the concern this statement from the u.s. military writing quote the coalition is working jointly with the syrian democratic forces to establish and train the new syrian border security force the statement repeatedly refers to training a border security force thirty thousand strong raising concerns in turkey that they could have no thomas region now secretary tillerson says it isn't a border force that in his words has been mis portrayed mis described former u.s. ambassador to syria robert ford says that's ridiculous that the us trained force would have course control the border they're just ignoring the turkish concern they know what their concerns are they just don't care basically they're making a bet that turkey will not walk too far away from its longstanding alliance with the united states they are making that bet the us but in the turkey's leaders

p.g. fighters around a village there are so the air campaign is active we've been hearing jets in the sky throughout the day we've been hearing shelling coming from a position just over there from a turkish beige also heavy military. machine gun fire so it is a very active campaign this sort of ground offensive that everyone's been talking about elizabeth we do know a lot of fighters of the f.s.a. have been mobilized both inside syria and along the border we had that entry point in the north and also here there's another jet in the sky that we can hear now but the massive sort of force hasn't really moved in and we also heard from the prime minister in terms of strategy he was saying that this was going to be an operation in four phases and they were going to try and secure a sort of a thirty kilometer safe zone inside but certainly the y.p. g. fighters they know the terrain well they are from there they're very well trained they will be a formidable fighting force however of course when you have superiority in the sky as turkey has with their jets that is a real advantage and even before

p.g. fighters and that is coming from kurdish sources stephanie thank you very much for that from al that stephanie deck and with the latest from the turkish syrian border let's go over the challenges now he's joining us live from moscow what are the russians saying. about what's happening in a very. well the russians like the americans i think finding the developing battle sphere in northern syria incredibly complex and the russians like the americans trying to balance various different. partners so the russians have you know fairly decent relations of course at the moment with the turks with. the syrian government all of those entities are actively hostile in greater or lesser extent to each other so basically the big question that the russians are still not answering is how much permission they gave to the turks for this operation there was a high level delegation since moscow last week. chief of staff of the armed forces and the intelligence boss came here to moscow and the assumption is that they were seeking essentially russian permission for the operation to begin we don't know how

p.g. fighters who turkey considers to be terrorists. god willing in the coming days we will continue the operation to purge our southern border from terror for which the first step was taken with you freely shelled operation and now i with a frame. we expect america to support turkey and its legitimate adverts we expect our friends to display an attitude of perfect to them and this issue of survival let are so sensitive and so critical for our country generally after an operation i hope these powers will not give rise to error by appearing on the same side as the terror organization. more than twenty people have been taken to hospital after parts of an upper floor and into the stock exchange building collapsed daybreak and rubble fell from a balcony all to people in the lobby below. two suicide bomb blasts in baghdad have killed at least twenty six people wolf a talent is a feared among the ninety five wounded in that square in the iraqi capital all roads to the square have been closed. meanwhile trump first told journalists that he's n

p.g. fighters is angered nato member turkey which is fighting kurdish separatists in its own country turkey has repeatedly threatened to capture areas under kurdish control and is warning of an imminent attack on the syrian city of afrin. several people are in hospital after a suspected chemical attack in the rebel held area of eastern guta the damascus suburb which was designated a deescalation zone has come into heavy bombardment as government forces seek to take it back from rebel fighters aid workers at the scene say the victims are being treated for suffocation from what they suspect is chlorine gas. hundreds of people have protested in the capital to mark seventy years since the revolution that sparked the arab spring many of the issues which brought people to the streets back then are still causing problems today anger has risen over new austerity measures after a year of rising prices the government has promised more assistance for poor families but many say it's not enough cash sent this update from the chinese capital to. four minutes in asean this is a moment of national pride pa

p.g. fighters backed by the u.s. has condemned what it calls brutal aggression. and the u.s. senate will try again on monday to vote for a deal to fund the government politicians failed to agree on the spending bill on friday leading to a shutdown. of hundreds of thousands of women a marching across the u.s. against president organizers hope that encourage more women to vote and run for office in november midterm elections muslim jordan has more. growing up momentum for political action a gear into the presidency of donald trump thousands marched in washington and across the nation on saturday. not just against the president and his policies but also in support of their favorite causes reproductive rights gender equality and racial and economic justice black rights human rights women's rights. just every human should have like equal rights and i do think that it has kind of injected a more civic activism among people and that's a good thing i think that it's easy for people to come complacent about their their rights and about to marcus in general and i think you know this th

p.g. fighters on the move has angered russia which still has troops in syria as well as nato member turkeywhich considers it a terrorist group chalons has more. sleep but russia's foreign minister had a stark rebuke for the us on monday speaking at a media conference in moscow surrogate lavrov said the creation of a zone controlled by u.s. backed rebels risks syria's territorial integrity turkey's president also opposes the plan he's attacking reports of the u.s. backed kurdish border force russia type says turkey will launch its own military operation against the kurds in the northern syrian city of africa. now the united states has confessed that they are forming a terror army along our border what we have to do is to strangle this terror army on our borders before it is born. turkey has fought kurdish factions inside its borders for decades and doesn't want to see them gaining more power in neighboring syria bucks in northern syria the americans have long been supporting some kurdish forces this is a predictable turkish escalation against us steps to concretize our military part of the

p.g. fighters as terrorists and hospital safety procedures in south korea are being reviewed after a fire killed at least thirty seven people including patients and nurses at an intensive care unit in the southern city of rio a writer's managed to rescue dozens of others who were trapped. and president trump is promising a plan that could give citizenship to undocumented immigrants brought to the u.s. as children but that's only of democrats agree to funding a mexico border wall that could mean one point eight million so-called dreamers would be protected from deportation to the country of their birth white house says the proposal could attract and now for votes to pass through the senate had a kahane has more from washington d.c. the president was under pressure democrats republicans in the congress were saying we have no idea what you're for on this issue so he's put forward this proposal democrats already rejecting it nancy pelosi saying this is a part of the trump administration's attempt to make america white again they will be against twenty five billion dollars for border wall and

p.g. fighters the u.n. saying that they have blocked all the roads out of a free in the only way people really have to go is into government held area of aleppo there are also reports as you mentioned some of those who did manage to get out. were pushed back so this is sort of the sonora you have you have a free which is pretty much surrounded i would say from the west and north you have turkey then you have you know free syrian army fighters to the east and also turkish troops and other fighting groups to the south of it so it's a very difficult situation now what the u.n. says is five thousand people displaced from these border areas and we can hear the shelling ongoing as i'm talking to you now it is it's been going on for the last couple of days so it is an intensive campaign not just from the ground but also from the air and that's why you're seeing these people trying to flee to safety on the other hand elizabeth it's freezing as you can see it's wet it's raining we were blessed with water proofs and

p.g. fighters who are backed by the u.s. by b.g. says as strikes have killed at least nine people. the u.s. senate will try again on monday to vote for a deal to fund the government all titians failed to agree on the spending bill on friday leading to a shutdown republicans and democrats blame each other for the deadlock women are rallying across the u.s. to mark one year since president took office organizers hope they'll encourage more women to vote and run for office in november's midterm elections. u.s. vice president mike pence has arrived in jordan as part of a regional tour he was in egypt where he met president sisi to discuss security and the israeli palestinian peace process hence he is expected to visit israel said that the u.s. is still committed to a two state solution. tens of thousands of romanians have protested against changes to the judicial system demonstrators say the amended laws will make it harder to prosecute officials for the ruptured. pipe from says has condemned the killing of women which he says has latin america into the world's most violent place of fe

p.g. fighters myanmar's army has been accused of using gang rape as a weapon of war and that campaign of ethnic cleansing against range of muslims it comes as a former u.s. diplomat quit an international advisory panel tackling the range of crisis calling it a whitewash bill richardson a former close friend of mammals leader and sang suu cheap resigned from the group as it was making its first trip to the country's rock kind state after months of protests in india the controversial bollywood film but marvet has finally been released some cinemas decided against showing the film for fear of a backlash from hindu nationalists who say it disrespects the history by depicting a romance between a hindu queen and a muslim cane and people fleeing the eastern democratic republic of congo reporting a surgeon killings rapes and abductions by armed groups the u.n. says violence has pushed more than ten thousand people into neighboring uganda since the beginning of december our program face to face continues now looking at the relationship between che guevara and fidel castro i'll be back with the news hour

p.g. fighters turkey has condemned the move as it fights kurdish separatists within its own borders kurdish turkish forces have repeatedly threatened to capture areas under kurdish control and are warning of an imminent attack on the syrian city of afrin let's go now back to sin and who is a life for as in antakya on the turkish syrian border what exactly are these border forces going to be used for what kind of area are they going to be stationed and why is the u.s. backing them. well sarah sorry. the u.s. planning to station these troops to turkey iraq and syria iraq border according to the u.s. perspective these forces will be stationed for providing security and stopping the infiltration of the radical groups to the area so this is the u.s. plan and they're planning to use as the forces there most of these forces but of course this is not a well comes by turkey because turkey claims that the white p.j. the syrian kurdish fighters group are an offshoot of the p.k. k. they could disarm workers party and not only turkey but also the u.s. and the you either you have listed the p.k. k. as a

p.g. fighters who are backed by the u.s. why p.g. says airstrikes have killed at least six people the u.s. senate will try again on monday to vote for a deal to fund the government politicians failed to agree on the spending bill on friday to a shutdown republicans and democrats blaming each other for the deadlock. u.s. vice president mike pence has arrived in jordan as part of a regional tour earlier he was an egypt where he met president of the. security and the israeli palestinian peace process who will also visit israel says the u.s. is still committed to a two state solution. a north korean delegation has arrived in south korea ahead of next month's went to. check chang is sending gang rather sending twenty two athletes to the games the diplomatic breakthrough followed talks earlier this month now tens of thousands of romanians have protested against changes to their judicial system demonstrators say the amended laws will make it harder to prosecute officials for corruption that still needs the president's approval. spain's carl

p.g. fighters backed by the u.s. why p.g. says air strikes have killed nine people. republicans and democrats are blaming each other for the u.s. government shutdown all non-essential services will stop. unless the senate agrees on a funding deal it's happening as president donald trump marks twelve months since taking office. while president transfers here in the white house has seen some big changes in u.s. foreign policy since coming to office thomas managed to offend u.s. allies ford's new alliances and reverse key policy decisions our diplomatic editor james bays takes a look back at a turbulent year abroad is the world a safer place one year after president trump took office the answer is almost certainly no but is that the trumpet ministrations fault the situation on the korean peninsula is more dangerous because of north korea's nuclear test and missile launches but many believe president trump's responses including at this podium in september made things much worse. the united states has great strength and patients but if it is forced to defend itself or its

p.g. fighters backed by the u.s. says airstrikes have killed at least nineteen people damascus has condemned what it calls brutal aggression. the u.s. senate twelve try again on monday to vote for a deal to fund the government but failed to agree on a spending bill and friday leading to a shutdown of nonessential services. president trumps first year in the white house has seen big changes in u.s. foreign policy since coming to office times monies to offend u.s. allies forge new alliances and reverse key policy decisions diplomatic editor james bays takes a look back at a turbulent year abroad is the world a safer place one year after president trump took office the answer is almost certainly no but is that the trumpet administration's fault the situation on the korean peninsula is more dangerous because of north korea's nuclear test and missile launches but many believe president trumps responses including at this podium in september made things much worse. the united states has great strength and patients but if it

p.g. fighters in the last few days the white p.g. says it's killed over thirty seven turkish soldiers and also you know blew up three armored vehicles these things are impossible to confirm and constant you get the sort of information coming out so it really is a puzzle that through sources you have to sort of weave together and you sort of backtrack it with what the u.n. is hearing to finally get a picture and i think one thing we are clear about is that the civilians are going to be facing the most challenges as this war moves forward leave it. with you through the day thank you. well bad weather has been hampering turkey's fighting it's also led to some tragic deaths in neighboring lebanon over the weekend fifteen syrian refugees were found frozen to death while trying to cross the mountainous. correspondent for us live in the bekaa valley in lebanon i mean the deaths of these syrians zaina highlights really the desperate situation the displaced are experiencing and the issue of people trafficking abusing the desperate reality tha

p.g. fighters there at least five thousand people have been displaced in five days of fighting ankara wants to create a thirty kilometer deep buffer zone to protect its border with syria the turkish president says two hundred sixty eight fighters have been quote neutralized in the operation so far but the can kurds say that's an exaggeration while the turkish president and the u.s. president have had a telephone call they've been talking about matters of common interest we can talk to our correspondent. joe castor who's in washington d.c. first of all tell us about this telephone call because each side is differing from the other as to what exactly went down. that's right according to the white house description of this call between president donald trump and turkish president heard of on is that trump in full sized his concern of this escalation of violence at the turkish kurdish border and warned against risking a military conflict between the u.s. and turkish forces there now as you mentioned turkish forces have been firing artillery across the border into the northern syria in recent da

p.g. turkey considers the wipe e.g. a terrorist group but its fighters have been a key ally for the u.s. elsewhere inside. stephanie decker has more from takeo. the turkish army is steadily increasing its presence along this stretch of the syrian border present to one has been threatening to attack the kurdish run area of africa and for almost a week now there has been sporadic shelling. inside africa and thousands marched on thursday in protest to turkey's aggression how the wealthy and that's the goal of this large demonstration is to send a message to the world and especially to turkey concerning the turkish threats we will not be a fright. you know we came here to protest against the attacks on offering we will stand by african and our troops the wife. is one of three autonomy's kurdish enclaves controlled by the syrian kurdish p why do party and its armed when the y p g turkey sees the y p g as an offshoot of the kurdistan workers' party or p k k which it together with the u.s. in europe consider a terrorist organization but the white p.g. has been working with the u.s. to push ice

p.g. fighters into regards as terrorists as always with turkey it is important to remind ourselves about where we're talking here this is our friend very very close to the turkish border now the distance from there all the way to the iraqi border we're talking give or take six hundred kilometers so it's not an insignificant amount at all stephanie decker our correspondent has been inside syria in a place called just east of often. we're in the syrian city. and this is an area that is part of sort of eastern with their operation are not pretty you know you can feed life is pretty much normal here who was a lot of children in these areas were in the turkish press tour so to speak they're very keen to show us their operations here what is striking is the influence and the presence turkey has here also when it comes to its military now the f.s.a. the free syrian army fighters they're the ones at the front line coming around this sort of as we've been speaking to some of them as well they say they're committed to this fight this is the fighting not pretty in the fight that turkey says is targeting

p.g. fighters that's a group they deem a terrorist organization away from its borders now we've understand from the turkish military that they've dropped leaflets over the last couple of hours in the areas of africa urging people in civilians to not support the why p.g. but from what we understand certainly speaking to some sources inside is that it is a very difficult situation for those civilians particularly because of the shelling and the airstrikes of course also there is no you know it's an ongoing conflicts of people are scared there's no aid coming in to the area so these are some of the challenges and briefly also you know while you talk about those those talks turkey here is using the free syrian army fighters to lucius offensive we've seen the moving around here today they have bases along this border so just give indication that you know the foreign countries with syrian fighters all taking part in this operation it's certainly just an indication of how complicated syria's war is for the moment so for leave of course that situation does develop stuff back of us on the take the

p.g. kurdish fighters to turkey is outlawed p k k party which has fought for autonomy for decades it strongly criticized the us for arming and funding the white p.g. which has played a significant role in the battle against eyesore. u.s. secretary of state rice tell us and says he'll take tokens concerns into account but in a speech about syria there was no talk of stopping support for cut its groups but let's be clear the united states will maintain a military presence in syria focused on ensuring isis cannot reemerge our military mission in syria will remain conditions based we cannot make the same mistakes that were made in two thousand and eleven when a premature departure from her iraq allowed al qaeda in iraq to survive and eventually morph into isis. it was that vacuum that allowed isis and other terrorist organizations to wreak havoc on the country pope francis has called on chile's young people to embrace the values of solidarity during a visit to the pontifical catholic university in chile in santiago he told students that they should not accept injustices all the earlier the pontif

war zone in northern syria turkey's offensive against kurdish fighters is showing a few signs of letting up turkish forces are targeting why p.g. kurdish fighters who they call terrorists and presume is to force the y.p. g. out of a freeman created thirty kilometer deep buffer zone to protect the border with syria turkish president has just said that two hundred sixty eight fighters have been neutralized by his forces now a free man is surrounded by turkish and free syrian army forces to the north east and west and syrian government forces to the south many civilians are trying to escape through the syrian government held areas they're hoping to get to and on plave inside aleppo city controlled by kurdish forces human rights activists say government forces are blocking their escape stephanie decker has the latest from the turkey syria border. there is heavy shelling going on now along this western border with and this is in line with what the u.n. finds it's finding that a lot of people have fled from the border areas because of the shelling around five thousand people according to their sources on the ground also very very di

would take them a convoy of buses as part of a military operation against syrian kurdish fighters known as the why p.g. in the syrian town of a free in turkey calls them a terrorist group has intensified shelling on nothing in recent days and turkish officials say an offensive is imminent spokesman for us to get terrorists is warning against increased military activity in the region we've seen the reports of shelling in africa we reiterate or call on all concerned parties to avoid further escalation in any acts that could deepen the suffering of the syrian people all parties must ensure protection of civilians at all times under any circumstances. joins us live now from the turkey syria border stephanie what activity is saying that. when the last hour or so we've heard about two or three. bodies of shelling just landed around that way were around less than a kilometer away from the syrian border also i'll just step out of shot and that there was some tanks that were just sort of maneuvering around their base i mean nothing major certainly when it comes to the political rhetoric that we've heard that t

p.g. kurdish fighters to turkey's outlawed p k k party which has fought for autonomy for decades and strongly criticized the u.s. for arming and funding the white b.g. which have played a significant role in the battle against deisel u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson says he'll take these concerns into account but in a speech about syria there was no talk of stopping support for cut his troops but let's be clear. the united states will maintain a military presence in syria focused on ensuring isis cannot reemerge our military mission in syria will remain conditions based we cannot make the same mistakes that were made in two thousand and eleven when a premature departure from air iraq allowed al qaeda in iraq to survive and eventually morph into isis it was that vacuum that allowed isis and other terrorist organizations to wreak havoc on the country pope francis has held mosques in the southern chile and yet another catholic church has been set on fire as one of at least ten that have been set ablaze in the past week the pontiff stop in the out of of egypt is seen as the most complex of h

p.g. kurdish fighters to turkey's outlawed p k k party which has fought for autonomy for decades strongly criticized the u.s. for arming and funding the white p.g. which has played a significant role in the battle against i saw u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson says he will take talkies account concerns into account but in a speech about syria there was no talk of stopping support for kurdish groups the united states hears and takes seriously the concerns of our nato ally turkey we recognize the humanitarian contributions a military sacrifices turkey has made towards defeating isis towards their support of millions of syrian refugees and stabilizing areas of syria it is helped liberate we must turkey's close cooperation in achieving a new future for syria that ensure security for syria's neighbors you know hit on site is a research fellow at the middle east research institute is joining us now from arlington in the u.s. states over genia thanks very much for being with us why is afrin so important to turkey. please one of the three johnsons of the current study consulate sees two thous

passes out of preparations for a turkish military operation against kurdish fighters as the white p.g. in the syrian town of our free turkish army has intensified its shelling on the area in recent days and says an offensive is imminent. egypt's president after fattah el-sisi has announced he is running for a second he swept to power after leading the military coup to his predecessor mohamed morsi in two thousand and thirteen cc's main challenger will be former armed forces chief of staff. u.s. vice president mike pence is on his way to the middle east for a three day trip to discuss moving the american embassy in israel to jerusalem the u.s. decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital provoked international anger will go to egypt jordan and spend two days in israel where he will address palm and palestinians have made it clear he is not welcome. and facebook is launching a two for members to identify news sources that are trustworthy chief executive mark zuckerberg wants a prioritize what he calls high quality news saying there's too much sensationalism and misinformation in

were taken in a convoy of buses as part of a military operation against syrian kurdish fighters known as the y p.g. in the syrian town of are fleeing in turkey calls them a terrorist group the army has intensified shelling on three and in recent days officials say an offensive is imminent stephanie decker joins us live from the turkey syria border how does the war look now. well there's quite a bit of activity that we've seen happen here over the last hour or two bulldozers being brought in gravel also a lot of cement blocks i'll just step out of the way in that jimmy will show you how close we are to syria less than a kilometer away you'll probably see a slight watchtower this is along that turkey has built with syria and then that syria just further up ahead now villagers here tell us there was sporadic shelling overnight from a base just behind us but far less than has been here over the last couple of days and you did mention reinforcements also in terms of the free syrian army that turkey supporting and this is some of the. some of the cars coming back without the concrete blocks that we've s

p.g. militia now that's a group of fighters backed by their fellow nato ally the united states stephanie decker and hard cameraman jamil basso have this insight from the city of. as we enter syria it is the free syrian army flag that flies high here we're on a media trip into as as organized by the turkish authorities they take us close to where there's been fighting with the kurdish armed group turkey calls a terrorist organization turkish forces are trying to push it out of the region about the front line is just a few kilometers west of here both turkish troops and the free syrian army are taking part you know i'm not sure that you will see one of the f.s.a. fighters why he is involved in turkey's operation for some it seems it's personal. we're fighting the white b.g. because they betrayed us and especially because they took over my city. i've been displaced along with many of my neighbors for two years living in the camps there are such bad conditions especially now in the winter. what our target escorts are telling us is that the front line with the y p g with the kurdish fighters is just

its border with syria it's part of a military operation threatened against syrian kodesh fighters known as the y. p.g. based in the town of a fleeing the army has intensified shelling enough seen in recent days and says a ground assault could happen soon lebanese army soldiers have found the bodies of nine syrian refugees who froze to death trying to cross the border into lebanon they died during a snowstorm in a mountainous area near the border crossing patrols are looking for others caught in the storm and arrested two syrians on people smuggling charges and those are the headlines the news continues here on al-jazeera after inside story life and. the u.s. withhold aid for palestinian refugees the trumpet ministration says the u.n. agency responsible for the money needs reform palestinians say they are being punished for defying the u.s. over jerusalem so with humanitarian aid being used for political blackmail this is inside story. welcome to the program. or to give it its full title the united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributi

to fight eisel with the bulk of its fighters from the y. p.g. . turkey would not have dared to shell our cities or villages or commit crimes against our children without russia violating their ethical obligation towards us and giving the green light to turkey to fly their jet fighters over offer in skies therefore russia is required to provide an explanation of the circumstances around the turkish aggression against our people. an explanation may be hard to come by the politics of syria's roar are being played out behind closed doors the war however is as active as. it's been really difficult to get information out of africa and because the culms have been so bad but we have managed to speak to some sources who tell us that life inside the city of offering itself is pretty normal they say the y.p. g. is adamant that they are not going to give up the city or the region they do tell us however that from the border going to jews the people who live there many have moved further into because of turkey's relentless shelling and that is something that w

p.g. militia is clearly linked to this group is accuse its fighters of entering turkey to support the p.k. k. in their operations now that is a claim that is hotly demarked annoyed by the militia but claims that this group a poses a clear and present danger and it says it's a terminal to route it from its positions in the south in northern syria. and the defense minister that you mentioned dorothy's also said that there is no option now for a ground offensive to target the wife b g now turkey just encroach under siege in terror you wonder why did the repercussions of such a move when according to turkish prime minister been in the yield room today he says that turkey has international law on its side it says that when a country is facing such a major terror threat in his words then the country has a right to remove it but there are major threats to this operation given the fact that syria the muskets regime has warned that any incursion into syria will be treated as a hostile act and will be resisted militarily the united states yesterday the pentagon spokesman called on turkey to refrain

with syria as part of preparations for attack this military operation against kurdish fighters known as the white p.g. in the syrian town of a green. has intensified its shelling on the area and recent days and says ago ground assault could help him soon. and a cafe royal who was a close ally of saudi arabia says the gulf diplomatic crisis be manufactured and recording obtained by al-jazeera shake up to eleven. accuses saudi arabia and the u.a.e. of fabricating the rift with cattle to seize doha as well. the thirty fifth annual sundance film festival is underway in park city in the u.s. state of utah at the wells leading so case for independent films this is event has been overshadowed by the industry's recent scandals of a sexual misconduct reports. this year's sundance film festival comes at a moment of cultural change one of the main topics of discussion the fallout from the harvey weinstein sexual misconduct scandal the rise of the me too movement and the demands for more representation by women in the film industry is kind of a tipping point because it's changing the order of things so that wome