yazidis because they are yazidis, shia because they are shia.s is the message it conveys to children under its control. it is entire world view is based on eliminating those who do not subscribe to its perverse ideology. there is no question in my mind that if daesh succeeded establishing so-called caliphate -- >> we'll leave secretary's rememberkies remarks. -- secretary kerry's remarks. this is forum on influence of the u.s. this is institute for research. this is just getting underway. . .

he was the nephew of sheikh nimr al-nimr, widely seen as the spiritual leader of the shia uprising. >> narrator: for the saudi government, sheikh nimr was a dangerous shia revolutionary, with ties to their arch-enemy iran, inciting his shia followers at demonstrations. >> (translated): my brother sheikh nimr became an icon. that's the reality. he had a big effect on a whole generation of young people. this might not please some people in power in our country, but that is the bitter truth. >> narrator: sheikh nimr tapped into resentment among the youth in the east of saudi arabia. but now, protests began to spring up across the country as discontented sunnis also took to the streets. for activists like yasser, who is sunni, it felt like the moment they had been waiting for. >> (translated): we all really felt that the time had come when we'd be done with the tyranny that has ruled for decades. we felt victory was within our grasp. so it was a big disappointment after all we'd done. it was frustrating, shameful, and very sad. >> narrator: in 2012, saudi authorities cracked down hard, ro

the-- shia militias. it is sunni area. this was the aftermath of a suicide bombing on monday at a funeral attended by commanders from a shia militia. at least 40 people were killed. >> translation: in a video leaked online the governor is heard blaming the breakdown in security on iraq's prime minister. >> reporter: he said his decision to take responsibility from the police and give it to the military have political and sectarian motives. the mesh is accused of using this attack as an excuse to force sunni civilians from the area. it did the same thing in january when the suicide bombing of a cafÉ killed 42 mainly shia people. there were reprisal attacks, including the fire bombing of nine sunni mosques. civilians from all communities are the victims of the violence. much of the man power is dedicated now to areas north of baghdad where it's trying to dislodge i.s.i.l. again here they work together with shia militias. the aim is to tighten the arm's grip around the i.s.i.l.-held northern city of mosul. in other areas the

again, here, they worked together with shia militias. the aim is to tighten the army's grip around the i.s.i.l. held northern city of mosul. in other areas the army works with sun eep fighters. but in the area where shia militia are in control, sun eep civilians fear further attacks >> reporter: >>> one of three students arrested on charges of sedition in india has been released from jail. they were accused of using anti national slo begans at a university event-- slogans at a university event. >> reporter: back on campus this time to a hero's welcome. the student leader addressed the crowd with passion and energy that betrayed his 21 days in jail. >> translation: i believe in the constitution of the country. i believe in the laws of the land and i have full faith in our judiciary. i also believe in the fact that changes need. things shall change and change will come one day. >> reporter: it was here at the university that he was arrested on sedition charges for allegedly holding an event in which anti indian slogans were used. there wer

this is one of the most revered shia clerics from a long line of revered shia clerics.y leading a militia that rose up against american and iraqi forces and now a mainstream political figure. for weeks he has been rallying his supporters, hundreds of thousands of them at a time in public squares here and lately near the entrance to the green zone. where iraqi and foreign diplomats work and it's heavily protected. he's threatened his followers will actually storm the green zone if these political did he plants are not met. instead of that he appeared today and told them they showed great discipline they had to continue doing that and they were to stay put. instead, he said, he would go in to the green zone. now, the reason this is significant is that he railroad rarely leaves, this is one of the few case where his his followers have seen him up close. people were weeping as he spoke. he went in to the green zone, he was kissed and greeted by senior iraqi security officials. and he sat down on the sidewalk. that, again, speaks volumes. he says he is a man of the people, s

shia labeouf was in it. enough said. >> oh, oh. >> i got ya, shia. >> disney, no shia, okay? harrison, yes. >> wasn't that his son? >> he can get a new son. >> who is the daddy? >> maybe a grandson. >> i didn't see that coming and neither did shia labeouf. thinking, well, gosh. >> shia probably doesn't remember he was in it. >> poor shia. i'll make it better for him. i'll transition to this cute baby seal. >> named shia. >>> this is at a japanese aquarium. capturing a lot of hearts. so adorable. all fluffy, born february 21st, still lives with her mom. they say baby seals lose the fluff within eight weeks. >> they say. >> they like to have a cute animal video to end on here, to get away with shia labeouf. fuzzy and cute, it'll be better. >> you and labeouf, it is on. >> you know, it's also fun to go to a theater with him, too. >> the meme of him is hilarious. >> wow. >> >>> anyway, we have wind blowing from minnesota to cleveland, our friends in cleveland, ohio. we've got 38 million people under some sort of a wind warning or advisory. thing. look at the airport delays, from

in iraq you had a majority shia being oppressed by a minority, sunni saddam hussein. once you take that out of syria, iraq it's just chaos. you have to separate them, like we separated yugoslavia, i was there in the '90s as a navy officer, there's peace because we killed the leaders and imprisoned them and made them seven different countries. the same should be in syria and iraq. >> the general argued that same last week, you would have these three states an alawite shia and sunni area, is there any way turkey would be open to any kind of partition like that that would establish an independent kurdish land? >> well turkey wouldn't be for that but right now if you look at what's going on in syria and iraq, the kurds already have their own area there. turkey is a little different story, the pkk the terrorist group that are part of the kurds, over the decades with turkey they wouldn't want to have the kurds have their own land in turkey but wouldn't be so much against it if it was another land. america has much more for turkey. turkey believe it or not is being destabili

. ♪ you're watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha, also ahead iraqi shia cleric stages sit in baghdad heavily fortified green zone demanding government reform plus. >>> i'm reporting from the first dam to be constructed on the lower may-cong river and they say it has to help to help boost the economy. >>> india cricket with the nation after they book a spot in the national final of the t20. ♪ thousands of antiblasphemy protesters holding rallies in pakistani capitol islamabad for a second day staging a sit in a day after police fired tear gas on demonstrators near parliament, on sunday 25,000 people gathered to protest against the execution of mumtaz qadri who was hunged last month for criticizing the governor and blasphemy laws and passing to kamal hyder from islamabad to taught us through the scene right now in the capitol, kamal. >> reporter: well, right now i can tell you that access to the red zone is now blocked. these people are sitting in the square which is a shouting distance from parliament, possibly less than 100 meters from where they are located. of course

>>> the iraqi shia cleric al-sadr stages a sit-in in baghdad's heavily fortified green zone demanding government reforms. ♪ ♪ >>> hello and welcome you are watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. pakistan's prime minister visits some of the 70 victims of the bomb attack in lahore. brussels disburses right wing protesters marching for tuesday's attacks. plus. >> reporter: i am wayne hay reporting from the first dam to be construct odd the lower mekong risk the controversial project but one that the laos government says has to happen to boost the economy. >>> our top story. an influential iraqi shia cleric has stepped up a protest for political reforms by camping out inside baghdad's ford fight government area. he entered the green zone a week after thousands of his supporters began a sit-down protest outside. you met the prime minister hider al badi toll present his demands, to help tackle allegations of corruption. live now to baghdad and al jazeera's correspondent jane arraf. he's playing a canny game here. month big protests no big marches. just get the white plastic

this is strategically important for the shia militia. the area is predominantly sunni but it is i.s.i.l. that has been the most destabilizing force recently. this was the aftermath of a suicide bombing on monday at a funeral attended by commanders from a shia militia. at least 40 people were killed. >> translation: in a video leaked, the governor is blaming the breakdown of security on the prime minister. >> reporter: he said the prime minister's action of taking responsibility from the police and give if to the militia is bad. they have forced sunni people from the area. it did the same thing in january when the suicide bombing of a calf ee killed 42 shia people. there were the fire bombing of nine sunni mosques. it is civilians from all communities who are the main victims of the violence. much of the iraqi army's man power is dedicated to marries north of baghdad where it is trying to dislodge i.s.i.l. they work together with shia militias. the aim is to tighten the grip around mosul. in other areas the army works with sunni fighters,

iran, the main backer of the lebanese shia group condemned the declaration. al jazeera's mohammed jamjoom has more on a move that has called hezbollah reckless and hostile. >> reporter: the gulf council calling hezbollah a terrorist organization is significantly. many say it will have a wide-ranging impact across the region >> this is a big deal. saudi arabia is putting order within the alliance. as we know in previous times, the kingdom of saudi arabia, along with bahrain, and the emirates have already designated hezbollah as a terrorist organization. now what we have is the addition of kuwait, qatar and especially the sultan of oman. >> an escalation indicating how lebanon, where hezbollah is based. finds itself on the front lines of a regional power struggle. coming as it does, less than two weeks after saudi arabia announced it was cutting 4 billion in aid. and a week after citizens were warned against travelling to lebanon, and urged citizens in lebanon to leave. a decision called a mistake, underscores the regional decision between saudi arabia and iran

it's not the usual challenge that shia cleric has presented in the past. we will remember when he had his followers rise up and fight iraqi forces and american forces in the streets. he then renounced violence and became a mainstream political figure, but this is every much a challenge to not essential ly te prime minister, but the political system as it stands. i spoke to a senior member of the block and he said a meeting between the prime minister and he did not take place. they are hoping for meetings, but that again is tricky. the cleric is in a tent at the entrance to the green zone. he is not likely to go and see the senior officials. they will have to go to hichlt all of that ask still being worked out, but meantime in parliament, members of the parliament are meeting. there is a push there to gain support for a major cabinet over haul. by the fact that he is sitting there in a tent at the entrance of the green zone does put enormous pressure on the iraqi prime minister >>> one remembers back in 2003/2004 he was the bad boy, particularly as far as t

hopes to do by bombing these mainly shia targets, particularly civilian targets. it aims to encourage a back lack in which there would be sunni groups and shia groups fighting each other, which was similar a few years ago. so far it hasn't happened yet, it but there are fears it could start again. it's what understandpins these attacks, an attempt to destabilize the government and show these things. one of the things to note in this is that this football match was organized by one of a former shia militias now under the command of the iraqi government security forces who were extremely controversial and certainly a target of i.s.i.l. >>> if i.s.i.l. is behind the issues in the area, is it too early to say that the caliphate is beginning to shrink? >> reporter: not too early. if you look at the land mass, huge areas of territory that i.s.i.l. rolled in and controlled with armoured vehicles and complex attacks, if you look at those, that has shrunk by up to on 40%. there are clearly losing territory, including major citi citi cities. what they have not lost is the a

yazidis, because they are yazidis, shia, because they are shia. this is the message it conveys to children under its control. its entire world view is based on eliminating those who do not subscribe to its perverse ideology. there's no question in my mind that if daish succeeded in establishing a so-called caliphate, it would seek to destroy what remains of ethnic and religious mosaic once thriving in the region. i want to be clear. i am neither judge nor prosecutor nor jury with respect to the allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing by specific persons. ultimately it must be brought to light by independent investigation, and competent court or tribunal. the united states will strongly support efforts to direct can be document and observe and analyze the documents of a truce cities and see to it that pepper traitors are held accountable. i hope my statement we will ensure victims that the united states recognizes and confirms the despicable nature of the crimes that have been committed against them. second, i hope it

this is one of the most revered shia clerics from a long line of revered shia clerics and formally leading that rose up against american and iraqi forces and now a mainstream political figure and for weeks he has been rallying supporters hundreds of thousands of them at a time in public squares here and lately near the entrance to the green zone, the green zone are where iraqis and officials live and work and heavily protected and say they will storm the green zone if these political things are not met and he appeared and said they shown great discipline and had to continue doing that and had to stay put. instead he said he would go into the green zone. the reason this is significant is that he very rarely leaves, one of the few cases where followers have seen him up close and people were weeping as he spoke. he went in the green zone and was kissed and greeted by senior iraqi security officials and he sat down on sidewalk. that again speaks volumes. he says he is a man of the people, he is speaking for all of iraq and this is a way to put pressure on the iraqi government. he says he inten

primarily car bombs against innocent shia, marketplaces and assistant civilians. i was at an aqi leader, a predecessor who wanted to ignite a shia-sunni war which it successfully did by bombing in the cities and selecting targets. isis wants to do the same thing. and unfortunately, the main beneficiary of such attacks with attacks against civilians and militia attacks against sunni civilians is militant and extremists and iran-backed militia groups. unfortunately, what we've seen out of this white house is all tactics and no strategy. absent of broader political framework all the military resources in the world and obviously the united states has the best intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance capabilities and the best special operations forces in the world. all those resources could have been expended in iraq during the bush administration. but u.s. involvement is not going to achieve anything. >> the belgium prosecutors have charged some suspects. thousands of people have been coming to the heart of belgium's capital to la floral tributes. suicide-bombers de

the shia are very suspicious of the americans, especially the shia militias that say any combat troops on the ground here constitute an enemy and they will need to be fought. the sunnis have a good relationship with the u.s. and they remember when america helped fight al-qaeda in iraq. they want to get back to that strong relationship. the kurds have a good relationship with the u.s., but they're slightly suspicious. they would like the u.s. to help them become more independent of baghdad than they already are. because of that three-pronged approach, a lot of iraqis are very frustrated because their politicians are giving them mixed messages. what they say is it doesn't matter who is in the oval office, the policy towards iraq never changes. >> reporter: there was a poll done recently asking russians which of three political systems they preferred. the current way of doing things, the old soviet system or western democracy. it was western democracy that was the least popular. add to that the cunt russia tv coverage of syrian crisis and domestic affairs and russians are not particular l

shia community. one thing i.s.i.l. tries to do is foster sectarian violence with the idea that if they launch enough attacks on sympathy targets, it will restart that cycle of sunni groups against shia group and the country will devolve again into civil war >>> thanks very much. greek also had found plans for a potential attack on brussels airport in two athens apartments in 2015. according to new reports it included a map of brussels airport. it says that it informed the belgian authorities. the attacks killed 31 people and injured hundreds in brussels airport and the metro station on tuesday. officials say the airport won't open until at least next tuesday. our correspondent joining us live. for the government who have been long accused of playing catch up and not succeeding in that sinister game, quite embarrassing for them, this revelation out of athens. >> reporter: yes. it is just another revelation that we're hearing about, intelligence and security, slip-ups in the months leading up to these

the fact is that daesh tells christians because they are christians, shia because they are shia. this is the message that is controlled and the entire worldview is based on eliminating those that do not subscribe to its perverse ideology. there is no question in my mind if they succeeded in establishing the so-called caliphate, it would seek to destroy what remains of ethnic and religious once thriving in the region. i want to be clear i am neither judge or prosecutor or jury with the act of genocide, crimes of humanity and ethnic cleansing by specific persons. ultimately, the facts must be brought to life by an independent investigation into the legal determination made by the competent court or tribunal but the united states will support the efforts to collect, document, preserve and analyze the elements of atrocities and we will do all we can to see that the perpetrators are held accountable. i hope that my statements today will assure that the united states recognizes and confirms the despicable nature of the crimes that have been committed against them. second, i hope it wil

they intentionally wanted to ignite a soony shia war which it successfully did. and what we clearly see now is that isis wants to do the same thing. and the main beneficiary of such attacks both against innocent shia civilians and sunni civilians. >> as a special assistant to five u.s. ambassadors in iraq. let me ask you about u.s.' plan. the americans saying that they stationed 200 marines in mahmo mahmood, and the u.s. saying this is to provide security for iraqi forces and send advisers for those who are preparing to liberate mosul from isil. to what extent is this an expanded michigan by the u.s.? does it sound like the beginning of more presence for u.s. forces in the country? >> unfortunately, what we're seeing repeatedly out of this white house over the last several years is all tactics and no strategy in that absent broader political framework, obviously the united states has the best intelligence, reconnaissance, capabilities and special operations forces in the world. all those resources could, expended into iraq by the bush administration. but absent a

, baghdadi's predecessor wanted to ignite a shia-sunni war. then the bombing in february 2006. what we clearly see now is that i.s.i.s. wants to do the same thing and unfortunately the main beneficiaries of such attacks both against innocent civilians and al qaeda and i.s.i.s, and a lot of these extremists, iran-backed shia militia groups. >> let me ask you about the u.s. plans, the americans saying they have stationed 200 marines in an outpost near mamud, and publicly at least them saying this is to provide security for advisors who are preparing to go into mosul and liberate if you may mosul from i.s.i.l. to what extent is this an extension of forces in u.s. in the country? >> unfortunately, away we have seen repeatedly identity o repes white house is all strategy no tactics.. the best special operations forces in the world, ail those resources could be expended into iraq. absent a broader political framework, if anything is going to be counterproductive because those resources are going to only advance and embolden i.s.i.s.'s strategy which

minister von der leyen: they support the shia, the sunni are supported by us.e try not to start to divide this country with sunni or shia but to stick together. what we are telling the kurds is that we expect them to stick to the central government as well as we tell the central government that we expect them to teach sunni and shia together. that is the precondition to be supported by the coalition against terror. withie: what is the plan syria? you have these hostilities. is that working as far as you know? minister von der leyen: it is working. since 10 to 11 to 12 days by now, a short the bank, it gives us hope. knock on wood as it stays it is. syria is different from iraq because you can see what happened. those who are supposed to fight in thehave no unities approach on how to fight eiffel. -- isil. russia together with a side -- assad, the regime, not only to fight isil but the coalition we support -- charlie: yes and the united states -- minister von der leyen: the coalition of terror. we see and solve that the turks were not only fighting eiffel -- isi

shia suni relations deter rated and the vacuum ultimately was filled by isis. i think we want to sustain some forces in afghanistan for the foreseeable future for counterterrorism and training purposes. and the afghan government wants even more numbers of u.s. forces than we are willing and a broader mission for that force. we wanted only for counterterrorism operation. >> people would call a lightfoot print today. >> very much so. planning to reduce from around 10,000 to about 5, by the end of the year. i think there are a lot of people and i would include myself in that group that think he should maintain the current level until the next administration has had a chance to refew-- review the situation in av be ---- afghanistan, the region and then decide what it ought to do. >> you were also the ambassador of iraq, as i mentioned afterwards. when you look back at your time there, mr. the things that you like to do over, or were there mistakes or were the things that the u.s. could have done better, could the united states have developed a better relationship w

charlie: so the part against mosul, are they going to be shia muslims?inister von der leyen: i think they will be shia muslims with the central government of iraq. charlie: what about iranians? minister von der leyen: well, in iraq, without any doubt, iran is playing a role too. charlie: what role are they playing? minister von der leyen: they support the shia, the sunni are supported by us. we try not to start to divide this country with sunni or shia but to stick together. what we are telling the kurds is that we expect them to stick to the central government as well as we tell the central government that we expect them to teach sunni and shia together. that is the precondition to be supported by the coalition against terror. charlie: what is the plan with syria? you have these hostilities. is that working as far as you know? minister von der leyen: it is working. since 10 to 11 to 12 days by now, a short period, it gives us hope. we should knock on wood that it stays as it is. syria is different from iraq because you can see what happened. those who a

shia cleric has threatened to withdraw support in parliament. if the prime men sister stunt make the sweeping reforms he promised last year. he claim officials in the zone which is home to iraqi government ministries and diplomatic missions were stealing money while they're suffering the consequences of the economic crisis and corruption. >> translation: part of the corruption is the ministry of education. everyone knows that in the ministry itself and with all the unemployed teachers in order to get a job you need to pay at least 15,000 u.s. dollars. >> reporter: the ministry denies the charges and says it has a hiring freeze. even leading religious circulars are fed up - shall skol lars are fed up. the shia says he will stop giving sermons demanding reform because the government isn't listening. the iraqi prime minister is in a tough position now. if he pushes too hard to reshuffle cabinet or arrest corrupt officials he could risk losing support from political blocks he need but he could also lose support if he doesn't implement those reforms

they've been living the sunni shia conflict. they've been living in the arab persian conflict, sometimes the conflict between cities of regional conflicts. they've been living in conflict. it would be very easy for someone to come along and say remember what it's like. give me all your right and i make all of that go away. another thing that's interesting is that it's also a believe that is spreading in the middle east that the united states is on football for all of this. the u.s. is responsible for the sunni shia conflict. we didn't kill the early catalysts. the thousand years for the declaration of independence. we did not help create this divide. if you live in baghdad and you've been looking at the last 15 years or so, the members of a memories of that saddam hussein was lake are receiving. the sunni shia divide his daily and you can pick a date to when you remember that beginning in 2003. see how they could make a mental assist the nation. but americans can agree that the sunni shiite divide even though that chronologicall

it. >> tensions are high in eastern iraq where isil killed 40 people during a suicide attack at a shia funeral monday. militias reiterated to leave the town immediately. since january, they have been carrying out reprisal attacks on sunnies. five were killed and two kidnapped on monday. >>> the u.s. led anti isil coalition carried out 21 airstrikes on key positions in iraq and syria. 14 were in iraq, focusing on mosul and fallujah. on the ground, shia militias launched an operation to try to dislodge isil fighters in the western desert. >>> rebels attacked a city, five attackers died two after detonating suicide explosives. two civilians have been killed and 19 injured with that that number is expected to rise. no group that claimed responsibility for the blasts in afghanistan. >> according to an afghan government spokesman it took security forces 15 minutes to end this attack. it left five of the attackers dead. one blew himself up in a car packed with explosives at the entrance to the security cordon leading to the indians consulate. one detonate his suicide vest and three others wer

killed over 40 people at a shia funeral on monday. it included a senior commander from the main pro-government militia. shia militia groups reiterated their call on wednesday for sunni families to leave the town immediately. since january, they have been carrying out reprisal attacks on sunnis. five civilians have been killed and two were kidnapped from the eastern province on monday alone. the european union is planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on aid to alleviate the refugee crisis. there is a humanitarian crisis developing on the greece-macedonia border where the build up of refugees continues. a report from our correspondent. >> reporter: it is slowly become a near permanent settlement. expanding by the day. the newly arrived trying to find a spot for what could be a long wait, while some of those who have been here for a while bring some sort of normality to their lives, but many are clearly distressed. exhausted and worried. those sitting on the tracks hope to keep up the pressure, but very much aware that the ri

embassy was stormed by protesters and protester against saudi arabia's execution of the prominent shia cleric-nimit-nimit and accused them of punishing lebanon. >> translator: does saudi arabia have the right to sanction the lebanese army and

it is a shia political organization with an armed wing. they support government of president bashar al-assad. in the group has several seats in the lebanese parliament and ministers in the national unity government. the arab league and the six-member gcc have been wrapping up pressure on less which was backed by iran. the two nations are on opposing sides in conflicts in syria and also in yemen. this is about intensifying the pressure on hezbollah. can they with stand this added pressure? >> hezbollah has changed nationally the pressure on hezbollah and iran has been for a long time america considered hezbollah as a terrorist group. however, the fact that this divide between the state and iran is a political divide. however hezbollah has been playing an increasing role and dealing with this divide by continuous involvement in activities. since 1983 they started the first with support of bombings in kuwait. they continue, and all these series have reached a point of a breakdown. the question is where will this lead us, and unfortunately, al

shia. >> poor shia. i'll transition to this cute baby seal. >> named shia. >>> this is at a japanese aquarium. capturing a lot of hearts. so adorable. all fluffy, born february 21st, still lives with her mom. they say baby seals lose the fluff within eight weeks. >> they say. >> they like to have a cute animal video to end on here, to get away with shia labeouf. >> if shia was that kwuz cute, it'll be better. >> you and labeouf, it is on. >> you know, it's also fun to go to a theater with him, too. >> the meme of him is hilarious. >> wow. >> >>> anyway, we have wind blowing from minnesota to cleveland, our friends in cleveland, ohio. we've got 38 million people under some sort of a wind warning or advisory. we're going to be watching this thing. minneapolis, green bay, chicago, indianapolis, detroit and cleveland. the winds will be blowing. we're going to be looking at a little leftover winter, too. the low pressure system moving to the canadian mer type aritimes. u.p. of michigan, heavy snow. pushes to

iraq's shia leader, the government has new representatives in the government. >>> hotel. emergency workers in india are still trying to to rescue those, 100 meter section collapsed on a busy road in north calcutta. rescue teams believe many more are still trapped beneath the rubble. they are using sniffer dogs and special cameras to see if there are any trapped. divya gopalan is there. tell us what you know. >> reporter: that's right, femmfelicity. there is a huge slab of the runway that's fallen on the ground and part of it hang over the fly over. so whacell. what this equipment is trying to do pulling the iron girders and owner debris, they believe a mini bus was under that debris, trapped around midday, quite a few hours ago when that part of the bridge collapsed. it is very, very slow going. the efforts are chaotic mainly because the area is very congested. they close to the flyover. as far as maneuvering these machines they have to be very careful. they don't have to just go at it. it's a lot slower than it should be. >> horrific scenes there divya, as the fight, the

i think the shia soft targets are those traditional ly shia cities will have to step up their security, again away from the where the iraqi security forces are because they can't be in all places at all times. they are going to have to figure out a way to improve security in those softer places >>> how will they do that? >> i think first they're going to have to improve their check point security. it consists along the road networks. they are going to have to stop and inspect trucks. these fuel tankers, things that move with relative ease now will likely come to a little bit of a halt here. you're hurting the civilian economy and creating friction for the civilians. that will create a problem. there's this trade-off whether they want to do that and feel safe and secure. they will look to do all they can to step up intel reports, stop to see if they see anything suspicious. they will have to get the locals involved to have a greater presence to avoid these attacks happening in the future >>> how do you think locals would feel about that? would they be willing? >> i think they're going t

killing more than 40 people at a shia funeral on monday. shia militia groups have called for sunni families to leave the town immediately. since january they have been carrying out attacks on sunnis. five were killed and two were killed napped on monday alone. the european union planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on aid to alleviate the refugee crisis. it follows a warning from the u.n. that there is a humanitarian crisis developing on the greece-macedonia border where a build-up of refugees continues. >> reporter: it is slowly becoming a near-permanent settlement, expanding by the day. the newly arrived trying to find a spot to prepare for a long wait, while those who have been here for a while are turning to normalitys. people are aware that the riot that unfolded here on monday did not help their cause. some like this man have been stranded for 12 days now. >> translation: we should have been warned that they're only letting a small number of people in. it's our friends in our countries that give us the news. we don't know

with a large shia minority, pakistan must avoid sectarian tensions and tried to avoid taking sides in the dispute between saudi arabia and iran. pakistan faces chronic fuel shortages and it is important for the country to complete a gas pipeline project with iran on the western border. security in afghanistan remains unstable and the economy is weak. many young people are pessimistic about the future and are fleeing to europe and other regions. >> the eastern city of jalalabad is home to about one million people. this 27-year-old man studied business administration at the university. he wanted to work at the bank, but there were few job openings in that field and he has no political connections. he has not been able to find a full time job. he can barely live on the $50 he earns in a part-time job he has in the store. >> i applied and failed to get a simple position. now i think it's impossible to work at a bank. >> he has bigger worries than job hunting. that's the worsening security situation. a series of terror attacks and the shootings have plagued them over the last six months. a

shia because they are shia. this is the message it conveys to children under its control. it's entire worldview is based on eliminating those who do not subscribe to its perverse ideology. there is no question in my mind that if daesh succeeded in establishing a so-called caliphate it would seek to destroy what remains of ethnic and religious mosaic once thriving in the region. i want to be clear, i am neitheri am neither judge nor prosecutor nor jury with respect to the allegations of genocide. crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing by specific persons. ultimately the full facts must be brought to light by an independent investigation and through former legal determination made by a competent court or tribunal. but the united states will strongly support efforts to collect, document, preserve, and analyze the evidence of atrocities and we will do all that we can to see the perpetrators are held accountable. i hope that my statement today will assure the victims that the united states recognizes and confirms the despicable nature of the crimes that have been committe

. >> this is one of the revered shia clerics. formerly leading a militia rising up against american forces. now a mainstream political figure. for weeks he's rally hundreds of thousands of supporters in public squares and near the green zone is where diplomats live and work and is presented. he has said that his followers will storm the green zone. instead of that, he appeared today saying that they had showed great discipline, and they will to continue to do that and were to stay put and he would go into the green zone. this is one of the few cases where followers have seen him up close. people were weeping as he spoke. he went into the green zone. he was kissed and greeted by senior iraqi security officials and sat on the side walk. that speaks volumes, he said he's a man of the people, speaking for all of iraq. this is a way to put pressure on the government, and intends to stay until reforms are made. the iraqi government, the prime minister wants reforms, there's a lot of political resistance to reshuffling the cabinet he ha

the shia side is certainly pursuing nuclear arsenals. the sunni side does not like that.u will not see any cooperation in the foreseeable future in opec as far as production. saudi arabia will continue to put up barrels of oil on the market and will continue to compete for market share with iran in asia. i know we have gotten some bullish headlines out of china today, but that is clearly a sign that something is still wrong in that part of the world. that when you have saudi arabia and he ran competing in a market , in a market that is in the doldrums, it does not spell higher prices. carol: you don't think the middle east competing, at some point, they will not see that it is hurting them to go so low? at some point, is there a breaking point? stephen: there is, but it goes beyond the economics at the standpoint. as i referenced before, we have sunni and shia chasm in opec. the stakes have never been higher. in many respects, saudi arabia cannot and will not finance iran's growing hegemony. also, the inelasticity for oil is falling. because we are introducing substitutes

this is one of the most revered shia clerics from a long line of revered shia clerics now, a mainstreamolitical figure. for weeks, he has been rallying his supporters, hundreds of thousands of them at a time, in public squares here and lately, near the entrance to the green zone. the green zone is where iraqi officials and foreign xlomats live and work and it's heavily protecteddiplo> again speaks volumes. he says he is a man of the people. he is speaking for all of iraqi. this is a way to put pressure on the iraqi government. he says he plans to stay there. the ramie government, the prime min