head into riyadh. in between, i'd go and visit friends who were also working for the company in other compounds. you were told quite categorically that it was a dry country. i found that it wasn't really that difficult to get hold of alcohol. one of the very first parties i went to was on a compound. like most in the village it was surrounded by its own walls with a very large steel double gate. so you were completely self contained in there. people in bikinis sunning themselves by the pool. you would just forget that you were in saudi arabia. >> gordon, how are you, man? wine? >> i thought, whoa, where's this come from. i'd love a drink, thank you. >> enjoy it. >> apart from being there for the exceptionally good wages i regarded this as a sudden bonus. people were brewing their own homemade wine and making their own beer. so i had a glass of wine in my hand. followed by another one. it wasn't particularly nice wine. but it was drinkable. i thought, i can make it better than that. i looked at it as a

nic robertson live in riyadh.r your reporting. >>> we move on to iran and its first major election since last year's nuclear deal. the country's interior ministry says reformists may take all 30 available seats in parliament. the votes are still being counted. former iranian president rafsanjani and the current president rouhani are leading the other important race, the powerful assembly of experts. our senior international correspondent, fred pleitgen, has more on the early results in that country. >> reporter: the results for iran's elections are slowly coming in. and if they stand, this could be a resounding victory for the moderates and the reformers here in this country. we have to keep in mind that there were two elections that took place here. one was for the council of experts, a religious body that will vote for the next supreme leader. that was an important election that took place, and for the tollway tehran race, there could be 12 of 15 available seats, leaving three for the conservative forces. now th

and the interests of riyadh in tehran. >> translation: another question. is there any intention to develop this initiative into a sort of mediation to end the differences between iran and the kingdom of saudi arabia. is there any understanding about this? is there any intention, the minister of saudi arabia is explaining and translating the question to his counterpart from switzerland. >> translation: we don't have any ambition without more discussion, but if there is a desire from both iran and the kingdom of saudi arabia to do more than that, we will be willing to do that and we will discuss it with quite-- we are open to do more, but for the time being, it is not a mediation, it is only a will to do the basic things of the consulate and we have discussed this with both foreign ministers in both countries before any sdengs to the offer and-- extension to this offer and we need to discuss things with our partners in both parties. if you allow me, i would like to add something regarding your question and the question given to me. the aim to give switzerlan

riyadh has consistently said it won't cut production unless non-opex producers cooperate. south career's president says north korea doesn't want peace. park geun-hye has been addressing parliament about ongoing provocations from pyongyang. a long range rocket was launched into orbit last week which was carrying a satellite but it was said it was testing missile technology >> reporter: the message giving by park geun-hye that south korea had been used to the constant threats about nuclear shower, nuclear war from pyongyang, turning zeoul into a sea of fire that they have been incensetive to this. in the light of the fourth nuclear test by north korea and because of this last most recent missile test, as they here term the rocket launch which north korea says was a peaceful satellite launch from the weekend before last, she said now is a time for shift in action that south korea is willing to take. that's why she says the government took the decision to close the joint industrial complex last wednesday. south korea has hundreds of thousands of dollars into that plant. she sa

riyadh has also urged its citizens to leave the country.week saudi arabia decided to withdrawal about $4 million of military aid to lebanon. it also expressed concern that lebanon has not supported it enough against regional rival iran. the travel warning comes despite attempts by the lebanese prime minister to reinstate his support from riyadh. let's talk to mohammed jamjoom. so why is all of this happening? >> reporter: i would first add we just heard in the last few minutes that qatar is the latest gcc country that is warning its citizens from traveling to lebanon now. really supporting the position of saudi arabia and the other gcc countries that have issued these travel warnings, trying to ensure that their citizens don't come to lebanon or if they are in lebanon leave as soon as possible. it is happening because essentially lebanon is one of the front lines in the proxy war that has been going on between saudi arabia and iran for dominance here. a lot of this goes back to last month, which is when the saudi embassy in iran was stormed

the humanitarian issue has been declared in the riyadh statement, the announcement in riyadh, and also in geneva. this is an international resolution which has been signed by all the members. unfortunately, some of the countries which have signed to the resolution are the ones that are committing these crimes. and attacking. we know all these issues which have been indicated by the -- >> hnc which is behind negotiating committee syria's main opposition group which has been meeting with the u.n. envoy staffan de mistura, with those talks ending the civil war in syria. we can cross live to our correspondent, diplomatic editor james bays listening to saloman meslec there. they asked him point bed questions, whether they are officially part of the negotiations, he didn't exactly answer very clearly to many of those questions. >> reporter: absolutely and that's because he doesn't want to answer that question. because remember all of the things they said before they even got on the plane to come to geneva, initially they said we're not getting on the plane until these things are actually del

riyadh also expressed concerns that lebanon has supported it enough against ice regional rival iran.l warning by saudi arabia comes despite attempts o reiterate support for riyadh. >> reporter: it really breaks down along partisan, along sectarian lines, you have sunni politicians here that have publically urged saudi arabia to reconsider it's decision. not just in trying to recall citizens from lebanon or urging them not to travel here, but also in trying to get saudi arabia to reconsider its decision to no longer fund the lebanese military here when it comes to that articles deal. then you have politicians that are allied with hezbollah who have continued to support iran, have continued to support hezbollah and have been critical of what the saudis are doing here in the last few days. when it comes to the average lebanese citizen when uh-huh serra lot of frustration, a lot of citizens here feel like they are really caught. they say the government has come to a complete standstill, this country has gone without a president, for example, for two years because of the political gridloc

who are the other groups that are not labeled as terrorist and now the syrian opposition both in riyadhere in turkey are very, very skeptical about this whole thing. >> translator: hour main concern the opposition is both russia and regime are not serious about their commitment to the cessation of facilities including i.s.i.l. and al-nusra by regime and allies to keep slaughtering civilians and trying to finish off the real syrian opposition and al-nusra front in the agreement can be another excuse to continue the destructions of our cities, this is why we need real guarantees by the international community that all the parties will be truly commits to the ceasefire. we don't want this to be another trap for the real opposition will fall into and risk all what we have accomplished for the same of the syrian people. >>> okay omar that is the line coming out of riyadh grouping and intriguing listening to and a snapshot on the thinking in damascus and their stance is we know we still have a solid, firm friend in the russians despite the comments from the u.n. ambassador from moscow working

let's turn to diplomatic editor nic robertson joining us from riyadh.any response from the high negotiating committee, obviously keeping a close eye to see if russia and syria are holding up to their end of the bargain? >> reporter: yeah, we can be sure they're watching it very closely and reading the nuances of it and understanding and perhaps having the most of which rebel groups have agreed with them, 97, they say, have agreed to the cease-fire, those who haven't they're associated with, if they're associating themselves on some part of the battlefield with al qaeda/nusra front. they'll have a very nuanced view of it. what we've seen in the past that is typical of what's emerging today from them is qui etd. they've made that position very clear. they have said that they -- that they're willing to observe the cease-fire but they don't want russia and the syrian government to use it as a pretext to take more territory on the ground. that they want this to be a very transparent protest. they want independent monitoring of the cease-fire and for any viol

the one part and also, obviously, on the other side, they will then facilitate iranian interests in riyadh. so that's what the swiss have offered. the swiss - there was a question posed as to whether switzerland was offering its mediation services to mediate between saudi arabia and iran and the saudi foreign minister was cat gorical and say there was no need for nemediation at this stage. he said there would be a containing in iranian policy and he listed a host of accusations against iran which he said needed to change in order for relations to improve. the other important thing that was raised was the possibility of saudi getting involved still further in the syrian conflict because, of course, saudi jets have now massed in the air base and the saudi authorities have indicated their willingness to take part in any kind of ground operation, but there the foreign minister said that when the coalition led by the united states would make a decision with regard to ground operations, then saudi arabia would be willing to take part. he said that was a decision yet to be made. that's the basic

regime of damascus the high negotiations committee having a first full committee the main block in riyadha number of hours. >> thank you and we go to uganda because main opposition leader there warned elections will not be free and fair but promised supporters that he will win, he was detained and released twice in rallies on monday, police fired tear gas at supporters and some of them threw rocks and one man died in the violence and he is mounding his fourth challenge who has been in power for 30 years. malcolm web is our correspondent covering elections in the uganda capitol campala and despite being derailed somewhat yesterday in terms of adjusting his supporters still seems to be rather upbeat. >> this is the final day of campaigning with a lot of momentum and he is in compala and the crowd is supported and there are a lot of support there in the capitol city and in the areas and meanwhile they have a couple of rallies in the capitol with the prime minister the challenger in the race and a big day of campaigning the campaign has to end today with three days to go before they head to t

riyadh says it won't reduce production unless non-opec producers cooperate >>> reporters without borders has rejected allegations and is calling for reporters release. they were detained after covering clashes. the protest took place on the 5th anniversary of mass demonstrations. south korea's president says her communist neighbor has proven it doesn't want peace. park geun-hye has been addressing parliament in seoul about the ongoing provocations from pyongyang. last week north korea launched a long range rocket into osht which it says was carrying a satellite. seoul says it was covering for testing of missile technology. >> reporter: the message from park geun-hye was that south korea had got used to the threats coming from pyongyang about nuclear attack and nuclear shower and war turning the city into a sea of fire. now in the light of the fourth nuclear test by north korea and because of this last most recent missile test, the rocket launch which north korea was a peaceful satellite launch from the weekend before last, it is now a time to shifting in action that south korea is willin

one area where saudi and iran found common ground is around oil and riyadh is trying to stabilize itar low and the state of texas they will see what other solutions can be found and john is in houston. >> reporter: the storm clouds over houston are a fitting back drop for the brain trust here and the world oil leaders agree on one point there is no hope of a quick fix for oil prices and international energy agency had a forecast saying it won't return to the 80 barrel range until 2018. >> 2016 we will see the oil prices being weak but with 17 we are seeing this starting in the markets and 1718 the price. >> reporter: crude is 145 a barrel at the peak in 2008 to 30 leading to 300,000 layoffs worldwide and panic in the industry. >> dozens of companies on the brink of bankruptcy in the united states, these are little companies in shell country, you're looking at venezuela government at 180% inflation and 6% contraction in the economy and looking at companies like chevron that never posted a loss so we are in a historically bad moment in the oil industry. >> mexico's president say low pr

riyadh says it won't reduce production unless nonopec producers cooperate >>> journalists have been detained whilst covering clashes between shia protesters and government forces. protests took place on the fifth anniversary of mass demonstrations led by bahrain shia majority. south korea's president says its communist neighbor has proven it doesn't washing peace. park geun-hye has been addressing issues on ongoing oppositions from pyongyang. last week a rocket carrying a satellite was launched >> reporter: the message given by park geun-hye had the country being used to threats from pyongyang, nuclear attack, shower and war. south koreans have become incensetive to this language and to north korean provocations. now in the light of the fourth nuclear test by north korea and because of this most recent missile test, as they here term the rocket launch, which north korea says was a peaceful satellite launch from the weekend before last, she said time for a shift in action that south korea is willing to take. that's why she says the government took the position to close the joint industrial co

they are the real handlers and masters of the group >>> riyadh hijab from the opposition say the regime is responsible for the alfailure of the geneva talks. >> translation: someone who wants a political solution and wants negotiations wouldn't carry out these kind of attacks on people there and let them starve to death. we know the regime drove the negotiations in geneva to a failure and will do it again in this political process. we came to geneva and were keen to make it a success and prove that we were serious about it, but it seems he doesn't want it to be a success >>> iraq is responsible for two attacks in ramadi which left 13 soldiers dead. the fighters are inclining to-- clinging to one sigh. in fallujah thousands of civilians are trapped and basic supplies are running out. >> reporter: it is the second largest city, very important and under occupation by i.s.i.l. for over a year now. what people inside that city are telling us is that the situation is incredibly dire. there are no fruits or vegetables in the markets. we're hearing that there's very little medical supplies and

warning de mistura, questioning the legitimacy of the opposition, the riyadh delegation, saying they were not syrians, but soldiers of the saudis and turks. it was this is our moment. he declared the beginning of the end of the syrian conflict because the syrian army is on the march throughout syria, he says. >>> riot police used force to remove protesters from a macedonian border crossing. taxi drivers blocked the railway line close to the border with greece. the drivers protested against police directing people to trains and buses for their onward journey. in january, 62,000 refugees arrived in greece and dozens of buses parked along the highway during the protest at the border >>> germany german chancellor angela merkel is under pressure to limit numbers of refugees arriving. a poll found 80% of germans don't think she has the refugee situation under control. placing her popularity at a 4-year low. she called for the border to be strengthened. >> reporter: need to protect the external boarders, we want to keep schengen. if we otherwise the source of our wealth will be in dangerser

by saudi arabia comes despite attempts by the lebanese prime minister to reinstate his support for riyadh. many in lebanon are deeply worried about what is happening. >> reporter: it really breaks down along partisan and sectarian lines. you have sunni politicians here that have publicly urged saudi arabia to reconsider its decision. not just in retrying to recall citizens from lebanon or urging them not to travel here, but also in trying to get saudi arabia to reconsider its funding of the military here when it comes to the arms deal. then you have politician who is are applied with hezbollah who have continued to support iran and continued to support iran and hezbollah, and who have been critical with what the saudis are doing here in the last few days. when it comes to the average citizen you hear a lot of frustration. this is something i've heard many times in the past covering lebanon that as much as i have. a lot of citizens feel they're caught. they say the government has come to a complete stand still. this country has gone without a president for two years because of the politica

riyadh offered to send in ground forces into syria to take on isil but has left the final decision on when that will happen to the u.s. led coalition. >> the syrian regime has to open the way for the humanitarian support and aid immediately, and the syrian regime has to stop the military attacks against the civilians, including the bomb barrels that are being used. this has to be stopped immediately. the syrian regime has to be involved in the political process in order to start the political transitional period in syria. >>> while syria's opposition coordinator called for an end to the violence to allow real change to happen in syria, according to him, the former syrian prime minister was speaking at a conference in munich. >> we have gotten used to conferences and words put into hope, but what we need is action, and action is that i see is that russia is killing syrian civilians. you ask me if i accept the ceasefire or cessation of hostilities, i ask you why is the onus on the opposition and whether it has preconditions for negotiations? i would like to see a single day of a cessati

speaking to the russian news agency one spokesperson said any ground intervention by riyadh without theconsent of the syrian government would be illegitimate. rory challands has the story from moscow. >> reporter: let's recap what has been happening. we know that the syrian rebels are taking an absolute pounding at the moment from this offensive launched by government forces backed up by massive russian air support. in disgust, the rebels and the opposition have left talks in geneva. at the same time, over the last few days the russians have become increasingly aware of reports that first the turkish and now the saudi arabiians might be preparing to send ground forces into the syrian conflict. n now essentially this looks like the gaun -- gauntlet is being put down for russia. the u.s. said it would welcome saudi participation in the war. the justification for the incursion would be fighting isil. but the more likely reason is to support their favored side in the conflict. now if that sounds familiar, that's because it's the same sort of language that the russians used. essentially this

the announcement comes despite attempts by the lebanese prime minister to reinstate its support for riyadhudi arabia has accused lebanon of failing to back it in its ongoing dispute with its regional rival iran. >>> still to come on the program, the plummeting oil prices. can industry leaders find a way to turn things around? >>> and why a popular chocolate bar is being recalled in more than 50 countries. all of that and more after the break. ♪ when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call, a small business expert will answer you in about 30 seconds. no annoying hold music. just a real person, real fast. whenever you need them. so your business can get back to business. sounds like my ride's ready. don't get stuck on hold. reach an expert fast. comcast business. built for business. ♪ >>> welcome back. reminder now of our top stories here on al jazeera. u.s. president as given congress his plan to close the controversial military prison, guantanamo bay, saying the facility is confrere to his country's values on law. >>> the

to places like riyadh, baharain. >> in the early goings, it was wall-to-wall planes. planes would be holding until a plane took off. december, wend actually went into a second peak. we went into the same thing, hauling the maximum use of strategic forces. >> the allies began planning a military offensive to liberate kuwait. general swarts goff was commander and chief of the allied forces. he called for an intense air campaign to clear the way. >> fundamental for any campaign is to seize control of the air. >> experts helped make the most successful air campaign in history. >> our mission was to expel that army from kuwait. all, we knew that we needed to operate in iraqi airspace. to do that, we would have to take apart and disrupt its ability to stop us coming in. we would have to disintegrate the defense set up. general was the director of campaign plans before the war, and committed fighter and attack aircraft during the war. >> the targeted strategy from the start was to take down his ability to command and control his military. concernedviously most about taking i

the chinese president visited riyadh last month. rishaad: we'll take a break and come back. india dismissing wild claims about the country's banking system. mumbai toding over to find out what he is saying to reassure investors. the yen stores. -- sewers. ars.oresd ♪ havead: japanese officials stepped up expressions of concerns about the soaring yen as it threats to cut exports and profits overseas. tokyo is wisdom tree japan chief executive. havethe soaring yen, we things down 5% today. have the wheels finally come off? >> look, we have clearly a big crash test for abenomics going on here. this comes at a time when global markets, this is not just risk but fear on, fear that policy makers have become impotent and cannot act anymore, and that is making markets very attractive for anybody who is a fundamental investor. rishaad: let me tell you something. lines saying negative interest rates won't have a large effect on people's lives. saying that the negative rate is clearly having an effect. what kind of affect is he talking about? , the reality is that you do have long-term

thanks to john joining us on the phone from riyadh, and peter from bloomberg intelligence. i want to point out that crude dollars a barrel. coming up next on "bloomberg market forecasters making adjustments. we hear from wells fargo ahead. on tougheningari u.s. banking laws. and why goldman says it is time to sell. ♪ vonnie: welcome back to "bloomberg markets." i'm vonnie quinn. time for a look of the bloomberg business flash. challenge --st the the deal valued at $18 billion. the companies can pursue the suit in court. in puerto rico, a last-minute bill to approve restructuring the heavily indebted public power company. they also wish to diversify energy resources. court is the to bill were not approved by today's deadline. new construction in manhattan's park avenue. the least entitles the hedge fund to a view of central park. they plan to pay three and two dollars per square foot for the space, a new record. on the newtart work tower before securing any tenant commitment. that is your business flash. let's head to our markets desk where julie hyman has the latest. julie?

. >> saudi arabia says it's prepared to send troops to fight i.s.i.l., a spokesman said riyadh is ready to send ground forces. it's the first time the kingdom indicated a willingness. the saudis are part of a coalition. russia accuses turkey of planning to send troops into syria. turkish officials say aleppo is threatened and they have the right to take any measures. officials argue that russia is trying to divert attention from their own crimes. it could set >>> syria and their opposition will not agree to sit at the same table. the bashar al-assad government has not gone far enough to land the ground work for peace. we have more from geneva. >> the day after peace talks broke down in geneva, it's clear how much harder it will be to get all the parties in the syrian conflict back to geneva on february 25th as stefan de-mistura had stated to the press yesterday evening. they have no intention of coming back until demands are met. until aid is getting in, and political prisoners are released. these are the conditions they said have been stipulated in the u.n. security council resolution.

negotiator, on his way to geneva from saudi arabia, and i'm told on monday, to expect the arrival of riyadhe head of the high negotiating committee, an indication that the opposition is getting close to making a final decision. >>> suicide bombings in damascus threaten to derail peace talks. a car bomb and two suicide bombers devastated a neighbourhood, at least 60 people died. the islamic state claimed responsibility. secretary of state john kerry said peace talks must succeed. >> while battlefield dynamics can affect negotiating leverage, in the end there's no military solution conflict. without negotiations, the bloodshed will drag on, until the last city is reduced to rubble and every home, form of infrastructure and semblance of civilisation is destroyed. >> for more on the peace talks we want to bring in international affairs contributor joining us from ann arbor michigan. thank you for joining us. do you think with the conflict, that the peace talks have a chance of success? >> well, the chances of these talks succeeding are between slim and none. >> and why is that? >> the - well, t

. >> that sweet shop, it's big news in the capital of riyadh.omething wrong with that mascot. there is no veil. because there is no veil, it's a violation of the virtue code, therefore, he feels it's a guy dressed as a woman, ended up in the back of the squad car because it's a violation of sharia law. >> come on. >> if you let one mascot go, they're all going to go crazy. we've been all over this. >> cover yourself. wait. we go to get to this quickly. top doppelgangers. let's see a couple of them. who do we have first? >> who looks alike? the first one would be, this is megyn kelly. >> my long hair. >> one of the people from -- that's elsa. >> who do we have next? >> eric boling and david hasselhoff. i asked the people of twitter who i look like and came up overwhelming with this. >> stand by. the drama. >> that's anderson cooper and somebody else. >> let's see. okay. >> will smith. pretty overwhelming. i oftentimes get tables in restaurants -- >> i can see some resemblance there maybe in the ears. >> you have to adjust your set. if you have to

negotiator, on his way to geneva from saudi arabia, and i'm told on monday, to expect the arrival of riyadh, the head of the high negotiating committee, an indication that the opposition is getting close to making a final decision. >>> two italian coast guard ships rescued migrants off of libya. coast guard transported them to a port in sicily. >> in the last nine months, more than 230 people fled the african nation of burundi. now, african leaders decided not to deploy 5,000 peacekeeping troops to the country. catherine wambua-soi has more from the african union summit in ethiopia. >> reporter: a plan to deploy troops to burundi was the biggest matter to come out. leaders decided to push for a political solution. >> the heads of state expressed satisfaction at mediation efforts by the president in uganda, who will continue with the dialogue, which we want to be an inclusive dialogue. >> this follows days of discussion on what to do with the violence in burundi, which killed more than 400 people. it was triggered by president pierre nkurunziza's decision to seek and win a third term. previo

or the -- the higher body which has been tasked with negotiations, which was the body that met in riyadh couple of weeks ago, or just over a month ago to agree on things. but even them -- within them, it is a loosely formed body, in the sense they do not sing in unison. and that's it is a fragile ceasefire, or cessation of hostilities as it has been called to say the lease. >> okay. jamal thanks very much. >>> for many of those who have been forced to leave their homes in syria, they are not optimistic that the ceasefire will succeed either. >> reporter: in northwestern syria, not far from the border with turkey, a new wave of refugees reaches the town of azaz. these civilians, hundreds of mainly women and children escape the government's offensive in aleppo in recent days. >> translator: this truce is an open game, the world is conspiring against us. this is a deal between the russians and americans. >> translator: what is this talk of a truce? since when have ceasefires worked? okay. so if these people went back and got hit, who is going to be responsible? we are going to stay here. we

the riyadh group. it was difficult to get them to talk to people. i'm instreaked what the new element will be, for the cessation of hostilities. >> we know that there are many stakeholders represented in the international syria support group. but it's what united states and russia have been talking about. and yes, the operation is quite right. what is happening on the ground, the balance of power is in favour of the syrian government because of russian military and prevention. the opposition worried that it's not only weakened on the ground. but it is weakened on the negotiating table. you heard the secretary of state say we have come under criticism in the syrian conflict, yes. the opposition criticized the united states saying what pressure are you exerting, what are you going to stop the russian air strikes, to stop the opposition being weakened. and kerry making it clear that they don't see a solution, and there's no end. russia accused of pushing ahead with the conflict. it seems the international community, the west, wants to find an end to th

riyadh accuses lebanon of being influenced by hezbollah which the kingdom has imposed sanctions on. our correspondent joins us live from beirut. it is just part of what seems to be a part of reorientation of saudi policy. tell us about that. >> reporter: the word used a second ago was right, escalation. by every stretch of the imagination this has been escalation after escalation, these past few days. you've seen saudi arabia really expressing its anger very publicly about how powerful hezbollah has gotten in lebanon. now you see saudi arabia and the saudi backed yemen regime government also making these accusations, these very public accusations that hezbollah, as they say, is not just assisting militarily the houthi rebels in yemen, but that they are training them and that they are helping them plot attacks inside yemen and inside of saudi arabia. now this is certainly not the first time that saudi arabia has levelled charges towards hes and iran, that they are assisting the houthi rebels in yemen. but now they are stating that they have evidence. yemen's government has said that

. >> secretary says the state will be having an intense conversation with amtrak to begin the riyadh resolve some of these issues. >> reached out to amtrak for response we will update you with what they have to say when we hear back. >> internal audit mbta's overtime uncovered the agency had no standard policies and procedures for regulating overtime. the audit shows some employees were pulling their own overtime high earners city employees take instead overtime six nights and weekends on it did not turn up any findings of fraudulent conduct mbta said that working to develop policy that will track and manage overtime. the two people charged with dealing drugs and how to get done in a babies bassinet. arraigned in court.both base drug trafficking charges and gun charges. after police said they found the norfolk street home. officers also gave us this photo here that shows a loaded handgun tucked in the seat of the bassinet at the scene. police did not say if the child lives in the home. fire officials try to figure out the fire that destroyed a former mill was intentionally set. arson

travel warning comes despite attempts by the lebanese prime minister to reinstate his support for riyadht's go to mohammed jamjoom in beirut for us. so why is all of this happening? >> reporter: lauren we should add also first that qatar has become the latest gcc country to add its name to that list of countries urging its citizens not to travel to lebanon, and if they are here urging them to leave lebanon nflt it's happening for several reasons. the first of which is really what happened in january when the saudi embassy in iran was stormed. that was a reaction to a -- to a shiite cleric who has been excluded. iranians has protested that decision, and because of the anger about that execution, the saudi embassy was stormed. there has been a lot of condemnation by gcc countries towards iran. saudi arabia cut ties with the iranian government. other gcc countries downgraded their relationship with iran in the wake of that happening. lebanon is at the forefront of the proxy war that has been going on sometime for regional dominance. lebanon is a country with deep sectarian divisions. one is

the announcement comes despite attempts of the lebanese prime minister to reinstate his support for riyadhi arabia accuses lebanon of failing to back it in its on going dispute with iran. >>> libyan security forces have confirmed the arrival of french special forces. 180 solders have landed in the international airport east of benghazi. in the last few days they stepped up attacks on isil and rebel groups in benghazi. >>> thousands of people are marching in india's capitol, furious about the suicide of student who was allegedly the victim of cast discrimination. there is also anger over sedition charges against six students in what they believe is an ongoing crackdown on freedom of so speech. faiz jamil reports from new delhi. >> reporter: they came in the thousands from around the country, protesting the suicide of a pro-graduate student from the southern city who claimed to be a victim of cast-based discrimination. he was in the lowest cast, who used to be known as untouchables. his death resinates with students across india, but especially with other minorities. >> translator: we have c

main opposition block has been removed from this resolution as has referenced to the meetings in riyadh, which obviously brought the hnc together. that's also been deleted. it's not clear why that happened, but clearly it happened in negotiations between the u.s. and the russians. >> that's something that is interesting that preceded this vote. we know that the russians and the americans need to work together to establish the territory where you do have the groups that sign up to the deal, and of course, those groups that are not party to this truce. that's where it could get messy. >> that's where it gets extremely messy. they talk about delineation of the various groups who are not part of this deal, who everyone can continue to bomb and remember how much international actors are now involved in syria. the groups that are not covered by the cessation of hostilities are isil and jabhat al nusra. isil in many ways is the easier of the two with regards to this cessation of hostilities deal because i think most people agree where they are on the map. i don't think there is a major disagre

this just happened, so i think there are probably thinking about it in ankara and riyadh and washington as well >>> how close are proceed assad forces to skiering the border. we know they've been cutting off supply lines, but will they be in control of the border? >> i can't tell. i don't know the specifics of the military thing on the ground, but we can say that the situation in aleppo is very serious for the opposition. they used to have two roads out of aleppo. they now have one and assad's army and its allies are trying to cut that route. that would be extreme brave for the opposition >>> we have peace talks in geneva coming up on february 25 at the end of this month. could we see military gains, the reality on the ground translating into some sort of political settlement? we've been told that there is no military solution to this conflict, it has to be done through diplomacy, but it seems events on the ground are moving a lot faster than the ability of the international community to respond to them. >> reporter: i guess that's the russian plan, assad's plan to impose the reality on

continue to deliver assistance across yemen according to need using the de-confliction method in riyadhcluding those to and from sub national offices in ibb, adan and elsewhere. mr. president humanitarian assistance must be complemented by efforts to revive the economy and flow of much-needed commercial goods. given the heavy dependance of yemen on imported food and fuel, it will be critical to ensure inspections in line with security council resolution 2216, that they do not adversely impact the flow of commercial shipping into yemen of basic items that yemeni civilians rely on to survive. i am pleased to report that the united nations verification and inspection mechanism, has now been formally launched. the mechanism must now contribute towards continued improvement of imports into yemeni ports outside of the control of the government of yemen. the secretary general has formal i will requested the government of yemen and the saudi-lead coalition to appoint representatives to sit on the steering committee. all united nations member states have been informed. the mechanism will operate

the main rebel factions is likely to agree but with conditions and due to meet in the saudi city of riyadhay and russia says saudi arabia supports the proposal while iran's president rouhani has been consulted and turkey said the ceasefire is not building if its own security is threatened. davis lewen head of policy and research at henry jackson society and foreign policy think tank and joins us now from london and good to have you with us so looking at the detail and they say the devil is in the detail are there too many loophole force the serious fire and what is your prediction for it? >> unfortunately i think that the ceasefire as the phrase goes is not worth the paper it will be written on if indeed it's written. since it's clearly the case the reality of what is behind it do not in any way match the diplomatic expectations in this case and you will get the iranian russia assad access continued to carry out its plan to win this war as they see it and they will call the elements that they attack terrorists no matter that they may well be the moderate rebels fighting bashar al-assad in

drug and repair our new york judge refused to release her from her contract stars like demi and are riyadh has spoken out and support of our but she's doing more get her to the $50,000 >>james: a lot of discomfort the trend is we had closer to the high-technology category by the end of the week with sure you have those matters on hand ready for the kids. >>james: with delicate and low 60s by to the afternoon >>james: the winds also come from the market direction that we pretty key we will explain that what we have right now live look are all in the creek we have a lot of four is right now they would need to be bundled up before they head out to school you can see mostly green showing 60 for lunch how we have a few pockets of 70 degree weather come into play by 3:00 with the peak temperature widespread subsidies. >>james: i will explain that coming up in the 7 day around the bay forecast. >>robin winston: if you have that into san francisco this morning the slow traffic charges into the maze right at the foot of the mayor's looking better in the carpool lane. mostly heavy from the bottle in

you could argue that abu dhabi and riyadh are on the same page.nt out of the uae, is it what the saudi's are saying? let's talk about where crude goes from here. let's bring back our guests, andreas utermann, simon derrick. we started with this slide in oil. ae markets have clearly moved little bit from there. how critical is that oil story as we put it back into the banks and the global economy? andreas: it depends what is causing the sliding oil question -- in oil. there is the demand question. is it the question of lacking demand, or china has come off the boil? if you believe the supply side story, and some of the u.s. shale production being taken out, it is less of a concern for the market. it is very difficult. we are kind of more on the supply story side, and we think the oil price is probably going to stabilize around here and maybe age back up towards $40. that is a tenuous argument. you can't go much beyond that. then the other producers come back in. tom: very tenuous. this is an approximation of oil, inflation-adjusted. higher disposab

have a different riyadh and abuom home -- this is not homogeneous. representative cook: they've been a focus. it is right on their border. i understand. mr. mcgurk: we consider isil most fundamental threat. >> thank you. i yield back. >> thank you. mr. higgins. higgins: thank you. isil has proven to be effective fundraising. estimates they were raising about $3 million a day. revenuesy through oil and then through territorial could tax theey people and provided services and tax and provide protection and a corruptoperating society where by they could gain of revenue. known about isis funding from the sunni-arab particularly saudi arabia who i think views the threat to them iranian territorial gains in iraq clearly with the direct in syria under a government which is a very anti-shiite. my question is: saudi arabian helping to finance terrorists activity? mr. mcgurk: we don't see any indications of that. saudis have been close partners for sometime. what makes them different is they don't really rely on outside financing and funding. when there was so

secretary kerry was most recently in riyadh to meet with his counterparts from the gcc states to hear their concerns. they've been supportive of the deal as well, but they also want us to remain focused on iran's destabilizing activity in the region. and of course, we will be. >> thank you, gentlemen. >> thank you, ranking member engel. in the 1990s, previous c.i.a. directors confirmed in congressional testimony that north korea was selling missiles and technology to iran. and 2013, former state department official david asher testified before our committee that a cooperation agreement signed in 2002, between north korea and iran was the keystone, his phrase, for the north korea-designated nuclear reactor built by iran proxy, syria, which was destroyed in 2007. and throughout the years, there have been a litany of reports confirming iran/north korea collaboration on nuclear and ballistic missile technology. as well as the presence of iranian and north korean scientists and technicians. at the test of these weapons in their respective countries. the united states has repeatedly sanctio

secretary kerry was in riyadh to their counterparts. they've been supportive of the deal. focusedt us to remain on iran's destabilizing activity in the region. we will be. mr. engel: thank you, gentleman. engel.k you, mr. the cia directors confirmed in congressional testimony that missilesea was selling and technology to iran. in 2013 former state department david asher, testified before our committee that a agreement signed in 2002 between north korea and was the key stone, his phrase for the north korea reactor builtlear by iran proxy which was in 2007. throughout the years, they had been a litany of reports confirming iran, north korea nuclear andn on ballistic missile technology as the as the presence of north korea scientists and technicians at the test of these weapons in their respective countries. the united states has repeatedly korean andnorth iranian entities for their issues.ation on these reports now indicate that iranian scientists were again korea'sfor north nuclear test in january. so i have several questions that.d to ambassador mull, what u.s.n't it -- u.

you have have a different conversation from riyadh and abu dhabi -- this is not home homogeneous. >> i'm looking at the resources going into yemen. >> it is right on their border. i understand. we consider isil the most fundamental threat. >> thank you. i yield back. >> thank you. mr. higgins of new york. representative higgins: thank you. isil has proven to be effective at fundraising. estimates they were raising about $3 million a day. originally through oil revenues and the sale of oil through the black market and then through territorial gains where they could tax the people and provided services and tax and provide protection and basically operating a corrupt society where by they could gain a lot of revenue. how much is known about isis funding from the sunni-arab countries, particularly saudi arabia, who i think views the threat to them iranian territorial gains in iraq clearly with the direct involvement and in syria under a government which is a very anti-shiite. my question is: saudi arabian influence in helping to finance isis terrorists activity? mr. mcgurk: we don't see