a group of more than fifty countries is preparing to officially asked the un security council to refer the crisis in syria to the hague the move could pave the way for the war crimes prosecutions by the international court the backers of the initiative gross violations have taken place during the twenty two month conflict and everyone responsible should be held to account it follows the latest round of mediation talks in geneva where russia the us and the top peace envoy to syria reiterated their commitment to a peaceful solution to the crisis and as a relentless fighting rages on some western experts claim damascus might be hiding a stockpile of roll you money i'm a political analyst believes that that statement should be taken with a pinch of salt. there's a lot of noise about it there was a bombing in two thousand and seven the israeli jets bombed the site in syria claiming that it is a nuclear site there was no indication yes the i.a.e.a. visited the site the i.a.e.a. said that there were traces of uranium of depleted uranium but they did not confirm that there was any quantity or

. >>> diplomats have agreed to urge the un security council to punish north korea for its latest mission law firm. japan's lead envoy in the six-party talks on north korea's met his south korean counterpart in seoul on thursday. >> thank you so much for waiting. >> we agree that security council on behalf of the entire community must take the appropriate action sooner than later. >> both sides decided to cooperate in rallying support from other countries to urge new sanctions against pyongyang. south korea sits on the security council as a nonpermanent member. he also sought south korea's support for progress in the abduction issue. the japanese government says at least 17 citizens were abducted by agents from north korea during the 1970s and 1980s. >>> chinese people commented online that the editors used the paper to force their frustration. the weekly publication issued a correction on thursday to fix three glitches from the new year's edition. it said standard processes should be corrected and followed every step of the way in editing and publishing. it added that the staff is more a

. >> the un security council is holding emergency talks on the crisis in mali. 30 soldiers have been killed after a bottle with rebels in the north of the country. fighters have to push the rebels out. the crisis began in march of last year when a coup allowed rebels to seize the north of the country. they are demanding an independent homeland. let's take you to the united nations. james joins us from there. what is it of the security council is discussing. >> they are discussing what to do about this and syria situation -- this serious situation. they have been meeting for an hour. this has only been decided on in the last couple hours as they realize the severity of the situation. it is nine months since the group of rebel groups took northern mali, some with links to out-of. this is the heaviest fighting since nine months ago. they are pushing forward, and it is reported they have taken some 50,000 people, and that is moving to the center, causing deep concern among the security council. they had already had plans. they already authorized 30,000 african soldiers who are going to n

. >> the un security council imposed sanctions on two iranian firms last month accused of supplying arms to the syrian government. the syrian prime minister visited teheran last week. iran has not confirmed it is supplying the government with weapons, but the opposition has told al-jazeera that they are concentrating their efforts on trying to cut off all supplies to regime coming into the country by sea. >> still to come on the program, neck-and-neck -- the polls are closed as germany's ruling coalition tries to stave off defeat. can endangered animals be saved from extinction? one in thailand and germany -- one group in thailand certainly hope so. >> welcome back to your international weather forecast. finally getting some clear air down toward rio de janeiro. the clouds are moving toward the northeast and you can see a break in the rain as we go toward monday. 27 degrees there. a little cooler than what we have seen. lower temperatures with el salvador seeing about 31. 30 degrees and rainy conditions. toward central america, unfortunately for honduras, we still see showers along the c

. >> also on monday, in germany gave up its seat on the un security council after wrapping up the 2 -two-year term as a nonmember. allies weremany's disappointed when the country abstained on a vote to authorize a no-fly zone over libya. among germany's achievements was an initiative which really -- which led to climate change being recognized as a threat to international peace and security. >> as tuesday began, people and many parts of the world celebrated start -- people in many parts of the world celebrated the start of the new year. australia had a fireworks display in sydney's famous harbor. 10 hours later, germany welcomed the new year. the country's biggest street party was held at the brandenburg gate. revelers were treated to a concert featuring big-name bands, including the pet shop boys. and in brazil, more than 2 million people saw in the new year on the famous copacabana beach in rio de janeiro. ♪ one of the last major cities to welcome in 2013 was new york. hundreds of thousands attended the festivities in times square, with traditional music and plenty of smooching. ♪ >

french campaign was never intended as a substitute for an african led contingent deployed under un security council resolution france has also asked for more logistical assistance from the un in the ongoing conflict one of baseball what activists john rees says the mali intervention shows that western powers haven't learned from similar campaigns such as libya and against. the constant attentions of the imperial powers have generation after generation worsen the problem not made it better i'm surprised that they don't bore themselves by repeating this line we've heard it over afghanistan we've heard it over iraq we've heard it over libya and we should recall that right at the beginning of this process more than a decade ago the head of the security services in britain warned that then probably as to tony blair that the interventions in afghanistan and iraq would spread the threat of terrorism not reduce it that warning has proved. absolutely correct there was no al qaida in iraq before we invaded it there it's not al qaeda had not spread to pakistan in the way that it has since the invasion of afgh

britain and the united states in particular really double crossing china and russia at the un security council for regime change it was only after that that you had a massive flow of weapons out of libya into the hands of the rebels which basically took a low intensity conflict and threw it into a much greater crisis where the rebels outgunned the mali an army and so suddenly as the result of one badly flawed regime change policy in libya we have instability spreading to many parts of the african continent and beyond so it's a kind of a supreme irony that the french are being asked to come in and clean up a mess that they themselves helped create. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said stopping iran from building nuclear weapons will be his top priority if he wins in the upcoming election the spyder iran denying the allegations it's viewed as a major threat in israel and reports many israelis are already preparing for war. mushroom clouds confusion hysteria this is israel's last day according to a young filmmaker who wants to shock his country into taking action i've created more t

french campaign was never intended as a substitute for an african led contingent deployed under un security council resolution france has also asked for more logistical assistance from the un in the ongoing conflict former pentagon official michael maloof sas france could be drawn into a lengthy afghanistan like scenario. this demonstrates how the. in the maghreb in the islamic magreb basically are coordinating their activities and this is part of an overall our overall. qaida plan to basically take that northern part of africa as a stepping stone into europe itself and there's been threats in paris already by mali ns and and what's really tragic is the fact that the united states trained a lot of these. now terrorists who basically defected from the government and and know many of our activities and know how we operate from a special forces standpoint and can use them against us these troops are very well trained they were involved not only in libya but also but also in mali and and they basically turned they were tory eggs and now they've joined forces with the a.q.i.m. which is al-qaeda in the i

this coming just hours after the un security council adopted a resolution condemning a december the 12thet launch, the u.n. voted to tighten sanctions against north korea. washington suspects pyongyang is seeking to mount a nuclear warhead on eight this missile capable of striking on the west coast of the united states. the norse and national defence commission warned of an " upcoming all out action " that would target the united states, " the sworn enemy of the korean people ". north korea is known for their threats, but the united states and the rest of the world is concerned about the upcoming nuclear test. north korea's new long-range missile. >> the house of representatives has approved a bill to suspend the nation's 16.4 trillion dollar debt ceiling through may the 18th. the bill will prevent the u.s. from going into default. senate majority leader harry reid said said the senate will also pass the bill. president obama is expected to sign on to set when it reaches his desk. >> today, the board of trustees will meet to discuss ways to save san francisco city college. the school is

shape twenty twelve in creating turmoil into our wild and africa wild warning against using the un security council to justify foreign interventions also. bring these revenge it is not so great britain or the uk so group. online video footage showing muslims enforcing the own shari'a law is in london threaten to escalate it see the ethnic tensions. to the question how when and why the government can track its citizens the f.b.i. responded with it's so our u.s. civil liberties group demanding to know exactly how americans are being monitored and receive a blank reply leaving them ever more in the dark. you're watching us here live from moscow it's good to have you whether it's. now the u.k.'s prime minister is threatening to leave the european union apart pledging to give the british people a vote on whether to leave if brussels doesn't agree to some major changes that will happen only if his party wins the next election and the landmark speech david cameron hit out at the union's ever closer integration saying it should recognise the diversity of its members and not a snuff it out and for more now

troops chased rebels out of the king central turn of corner aided by the french military the un security council call for a speedy deployment of international forces to battle the rebels could seize the north of the country last april and since made significant advances president alarmed announced friday that the intervention in mali would quote last as long as necessary from space independent journalist robert it believes that the french foreign policy though contradicts itself. i think that as long as the french people are to gaza by the consequences of this sort of intervention they generally favorite this as a great military tradition in france and they've grown accustomed to interfering other people's countries but if you if the minute it starts to get nasty i think you'll find they'll be a very quick a reversal of public opinion the sort of islamic extremists they're very tough soldiers and they've grown tougher over the last twenty years and if france starts to find these people have been armed as a result of the intervention in libya and all the arms of the swilling about in the in the s

and at least ten civilians including three children have been killed in the days fighting the un security council called for a swift a deployment of foreign troops to battle the rebels who had seized in the north of the country last april and have since made significant advances far inland on friday french president the president francois hollande said france would only help mali within a un framework france based independent journalist robert harness believes that french foreign policy contradicts itself. i think as long as the french people are to gaza by the consequences of this sort of intervention they generally favorite because there's a great military tradition in france and they've grown accustomed to interfering other people's countries but if you if limited starts to get nasty i think you'll find they'll be a very quick a reversal of public opinion the sort of islamic extremists they're very tough soldiers and they've grown tougher over the last twenty years and if france starts to find that these people have been armed as a result of the intervention in libya and all the arms of the sw

russia has criticized a petition to the un security council which calls for the international criminal court to look into alleged war crimes in syria the document signed by dozens of countries was sent on monday wolf a law i'm joined live in the studio by eagle so you know what what is the russian foreign ministry's objection to this well international organizations including the united nations confirm that the syrian atrocities and really tens of thousands of people lost their lives throughout this conflict these atrocities are being committed by both sides both the government which often uses excessive force and the rebels which often take to the most radical methods like terrorism kidnapping and so on and the need for all those responsible for the deaths of civilians is evident but the reason why moscow is does not support the idea of referring the syrian crisis to the international criminal court is moscow says doing it at this point will hourman any peace efforts because for both sides of this conflict knowing that they'll be prosecuted as soon as they put their weapons down is no

russia has criticized a petition to the un security council which calls for alleged syrian war crimes to be referred to the international criminal court the documents signed by dozens of countries were submitted by switzerland on monday or did you get a position of reports. many international organizations including the united nations confirm that the syrian atrocities and tens of thousands of people have been killed throughout this conflict or these atrocities are committed by both sides with the government troops often using excessive force of rebels taking to the most extreme measures like terrorism kidnapping and saw and so it's evident that all those responsible for the deaths of civilians have to be punished but the reason why moscow does not support the idea of preferring of the car flipped to the international criminal court right now is because it says doing it at this time will whore any peace efforts this is the official quote on the screen of the foreign ministry the sea untimely and counterproductive because their main goal right now is to get both sides of the conflict t

the un security council has passed a resolution condemning north korea's missile launch in december the council accused pyongyang of conducting a long range rocket attached new sanctions are to be imposed on targeting the individuals companies and government agencies to do and has already imposed sanctions after the communist state conducted nuclear. jordanians are heading to the polls in a parliamentary election boycotted by the largest opposition party the muslim brotherhood is the first time the prime minister will be chosen and not appointed by the cane but the opposition claims it's an imitation campaign so while islam is not fighting for votes they're promising mass street protests and there's a report it may well result in be kind of unrest became the managed to avoid during the arab spring. beneath the calm facade here in jordan as a simmering crisis the kingdom has remained relatively stable amid the wave of regimes falling in the arab spring wednesday's parliamentary elections are part of the reform efforts undertaken by the government in an attempt to quell popular dissatisfa

french campaign was never intended as a substitute for an african led contingent deployed under un security council resolution france has also asked for more logistical assistance from the un in the ongoing conflict a little analyst alex corbell expects the conflict to escalate and spread across the region resulting into willing public support for president alarmed. i don't believe that the public will continue to support please don't postpone indeed you need. me to repercussions in mali because when he was elected sixty four percent of the french public. considered that. the folks who don't. would not be able to take an international crisis compared to thirty percent for ex president sarkozy so i believe that. the public support is temporary and that sooner or sooner or later the french public will realize that it's and this is all it said and this is a rework a costly war and. much more than planned when you do a military intervention in a free country it triggers consequences that are not planned and visconti to release willy will expend in mali in nigeria in neighborhood countries and when we l

repeating here we go again except for the fact that in this case we have china actually voting with un security council resolution twenty eighty seven that is imposing some new some more sanctions on north korea and condemning their satellite launch last month and this is potentially interesting because right now of course china is in its leadership transition so this potentially means that china might be coming around a little bit and it might be more amenable to some sort of action on north korea because we might remember back in two thousand and ten they tried to block the last u.n. security council resolution so this is really it doesn't seem to be as you say a possible possible changing of the tides there or perhaps even a regional shift with china changing its position on this against north korea china supporting as you say these u.n. sanctions against north korea but what are your thoughts though on this promise from pyongyang of more nuclear tests in the past you and i have spoken here about say you've referred to south southeast asia as a boiling pot do you think it can actually fit in an atom

. >> the un security council approved sanctions last month, accused of supplying arms to the government. the syrian prime minister last week, i ran promised to enhance relations between the countries. it has not confirmed it supplying the government with weapons. we have been told it is concentrating its efforts on trying to cut off all supplies to the regime coming into the country by sea. >> we have gained exclusive access to a syrian rebel group. they have allowed us to film them in training. >> this is a syrian rebel group. young men, many of whom never have picked up a gun before, learn the tactics of urban warfare. in an army base captured by rebels, the state -- they simulate these charming of military. >> the aim is to ensure our fighters are prepared in battle. we must be familiar with all tactics. >> among the weapons fighters are being trained to use, r p g's, proving to be invaluable to rebels. complaining of a lack of fire power question whether training is a waste of what little they have. others say real training is essential. >> preparing the fight is more important than

chief called this truly shocking and calling on international community now, in particular the un security councilhe blood shed it will be a big day tomorrow in newtown, connecticut. children of sandy hook elementary return to school for the first time since the dqfépwer 14th massacre. they will not be returning to old campus, staff and volunteers spent winner break moving into a school renamed sandy hook. they tried to create the campus, putting desks and supplies where kids are used to seeing them, teachers skpairnts students tour that had new campus today. >> they're coming in. so excited to see teachers and this -- students completes a circle. that is what is missing right now. get lg students back. >> the former principal came out of retishlt to oversee the school. counselors will be on hand. 20 first graders, a principal and five others were killed by the gunman who then killed himself. >> number of fbi background checks for americans to purchase a gun set a record in december, following that connecticut school shooting. the fbi conducted mer than 2.7 million background checks last month alo

just this week for the first time ever both russia and china joined the rest of the un security councilpassing unanimously a solution expressing concern about what the north koreans are doing and saying. that may not be very much in substance, but those presidents joining us suggests that these countries might -- if we are skillful -- might become partners in trying to warn the north koreans not to overstep the limits of rationality. >> jennifer: so you have written a lot about the potential for the u.s. to sort of lose its hold on being the number one global power. you just talked about china or russia. do you see them potentially step going that vacuum? is there a real risk of u.s. decline? >> no, what i have said is that the united states is no longer a [ inaudible ] power. we are no longer capable of imposing our will by the use of force. i think the ten year war in afghanistan showed that. iraq showed that. and vietnam showed that, but we are still the number one power in the world, and will be so for a long time to come, so we are not threatened at this stage by china, nor any lon

they are angry after the united states supported the un security council's move on tuesday that expandedsanctions against them for last month's rocket lawn. . on television a statement from the government of north korea saying they would settle the problem was problems with the united states with force not with words. >> a new phase of the anti united states struggle that has lasted century after century will target against the united states, the sworn enemy of the people. >> reporter: they have conducted two nuclear tests prior. one in 2006 and one in 2009. as for a rocket launch united states officials say that could happen at any time. we will hear more from the statement when i see you next. live in washington. >> happening right now john kerry is at his first confirmation hearing. he is expected to face mostly friendly questioning before the senate foreign relations committee. he has been on the committee for 28 years, chaired it for the past four. he is expected to be confirmed by his colleagues. current secretary of state also there as you can see to express her support for kerry

>> the un said a letter will be delivered to the un security council requesting that syria be referred to the international criminal court . this would open up prosecution for war crimes and it is a significant step, but will not do much to end the violence in syria that continues day in and out as it has now for nearly two years. rebels have taken an important military air base in northern syria and syria military was using to launch air strikes . rebels say they control the air field. they have captured ammunition and weapons. they say it will help to limit the number of air strikes that the syrian air force can lnchh on civilians. the ability to launchh air strikes is a cruciall part of the syrian regime to fight the rebels. but the rebels faced a set back outside of damascus, where the syrian military retaken a suburban neighborhood that was under the control of rebels. both sides seeing the victory and progress and both sides setting a set back in the battlefield in syria. this comes as the russian foreign ministers that he continue to back a peace effort, but not one that forces

nations to halt funding to terrorist networks through the sanctions regime established by the un security council resolution. al qaeda's weakened financial state is traceable in part to designations of al qaeda financiers. during the past few years, they 1267 regime came under attack because of increased judicial scrutiny, particularly in europe, with critics arguing it does not provide adequate due process protections for those so designated. in the last year, we have worked diligently with partners on the security council to seek a solution to this problem. these negotiations culminated with the passage in june of security council resolutions 1988 and 1989 which strengthen the mandate on one person to respond to criticism about the regime's fairness and transparency. going forward, we hope to see the european union or individual european governments established designation mechanisms able to withstand european courts due process concerns. many terrorist networks, including al qaeda, a loss, and hezbollah have established a legitimate charities that have exploited legitimate ones. the united sta

if iran emerges from this process, joined by other members of the un security council, with their military nuclear capabilities, the psychological and strategic balance in the region will be transformed. the countries of the region and elsewhere will look to the development of nuclear weapons for their own security. nonproliferation as an international goal will be ended or jeopardized. western strategy will be severely damaged. it is essential that the united states and its allies define what they mean by iranian nuclear military capability. and what they mean by the term unacceptable. >> fareed, let me start with you. the credibility of western strategy will be severely damaged. your president in of the context of this recent election had to walk towards a red line on iran. very close to our resolution tonight. about the ability to assemble devices as opposed to working device. as the train already left the station? is u.s. position able to walk back from what dr. charles krauthammer and general amos yadlin are arguing? >> first of all, how you argue with that accent? he was my debate pa

there was a un security council resolution that called for its mission and authorized all available means. in syria, there is no such security council resolution that would provide the legal underpinnings for an operation in syria similar to what was conducted in libya. great question, but there are significant differences. syria is not in my region. i am a long, long way from being a syrian expert. that is how i kind of see the difference. >> thank you, dr. scott. general. on the president of it organize nation called a constituency for africa. we work on public policy here in the united states to build support for africa. my father always told me i should support my country. rather than go to vietnam, i opted for the peace corps. having said that, there are a lot of people who have a conception. the bulk of the people in the public domain do not feel that africacom is --they are saying that the real googgoal is not necessarily security. we see the drone allah see in africa -- we see the donor policy in africa. -- drone policy in africa. one question is -- how do you measure success? how

if iran emerges from this process, joined by other members of the un security council, with their militarylear capabilities, the psychological and strategic balance in the region will be transformed. the countries of the region and elsewhere will look to the development of nuclear weapons for their own security. nonproliferation as an international gold -- goal will be ended or jeopardized. western strategy will be severely damaged. it is essential that the united states and its allies define what they mean by iranian nuclear military capability. and what they mean by the term unacceptable. , let me start with you. the credibility of western strategy will be severely damaged. your president in of the context of this recent election had to walk towards a red line on iran. very close to our resolution tonight. about the ability to assemble devices as opposed to working device. as the train already left the station? is u.s. position able to walk back from what dr. charles krauthammer and general amos yadlin are arguing? >> first of all, how you argue with that accent? he was my debate partner

. >> [indiscernible] >> a un security council resolution -- if the united nations adopted an international resolution with an arms embargo -- >> or say there is no arms embargo. >> than it does to any nation or the european union's to still have it. >> does the prime minister discuss the treaties with the governments of the middle east? >> he frequently raises it with leaders of other countries. i an not really able to say the records of the meetings that he has had with specific leaders in the middle east. that is confidential for obvious reasons. the prime minister does raise the arms treaty internationally. >> [indiscernible] what can you say on the public record? >> it is important to bear in mind that no country voted against -- they are holding a conference at the end of march. the specific attitudes, they have not been the most trouble some countries. would you like to expand on that? >> i think there is a generic concern -- their concern is the treaty would not make it more difficult for them to acquire weapons that they need for giving themselves defense. we have reassure them it

if iran emerges from this process, joined by other members of the un security council, with their military nuclear capabilities, the psychological and strategic balance in the region will be transformed. the countries of the region and elsewhere will look to the development of nuclear weapons for their own security. nonproliferation as an international goal will be ended or jeopardized. western strategy will be severely damaged. it is essential that the united states and its allies define what they mean by iranian nuclear military capability. and what they mean by the term unacceptable. >> fareed, let me start with you. the credibility of western strategy will be severely damaged. your president in of the context of this recent election had to walk towards a red line on iran. very close to our resolution tonight. about the ability to assemble devices as opposed to working device. as the train already left the station? is u.s. position able to walk back from what dr. charles krauthammer and general amos yadlin are arguing? >> first of all, how you argue with that accent? he was my debate pa

iran said to the security council, not by the zionist movement, but to the security council, the un watchdog, because they cheated and lied, nuclear weaponization, they found high levels of -- they did not let the head of the program. they know exactly where they are going. >> i want to be conscious of our time. we need to get to closing statements so that we can have a final audience vote before and 9:00. a me give you the last word before we move to closing statements. >> there are many reasons why they would want nuclear capability. or an actual bomb. it has to do with regime survival. if what you are saying is true, then sanctions and diplomacy will not work, and we are back to the argument. do we want to go to war? are we going to agree that we can handle this question mark you said that aggressive sanctions may work. international pressure may work. according to you, they have already made the decision that they're going to do this, because it goes down that they do not want to face serious, iraq, and libya. if that is the case, the only option on the table is that we detain and deter

the syrian president bashar assad is not going anywhere the un arab league mediator laughter brahimi told the united nations security council that assad may be able to hold on to power for now he also warned that syria was breaking up before everyone's eyes and also admitted that there had been no progress made in efforts to establish talks over a political transition now we're hearing the same kind of message come from example from the french foreign minister who has warned that syria risks falling into the hands of islamised militant groups last week france also said that there was no sign that the syrian president assad was about to be overthrown so we certainly witnessing this kind of concern being expressed by the international community it does reverse previous statements where we heard numerous people saying that assad could hold on to power for a long time jordan's king abdullah for example has also said that assad is consolidating his grip for now so what we're witnessing is western concern over the growing strength of jihadist militants who are fighting autonomously in the disorganized ranks of the anti assad rebe

hold rebel advances it comes after the un's call for a swift deployment of international troops to the country of massive clashes nike central town the security council's already approved plan to deploy three thousand african soldiers in spring islam is captured northern mali they have since claimed for their advances to. after friday prayers thousands of sunni muslims have rallied in iraqi cities against the shiite leadership sectarian and rest as a ruptured in recent weeks with sunnis enraged by what they see as the second class treatment the focus of appears to be towards the prime minister who was elected after the u.s. toppled saddam hussein nouri al maliki's critics say he's a new dictator in the making. the tourist hacker group anonymous has petitioned the white house to recognize the temporary crippling of web sites as a legal form of protest known as d.d. o. s. attacks bombarding sites until they seize up for a short while could become comparable to street rallies if the so-called activists get their way international human rights lawyer stanley cohen told us that such actions are a form of free speech which should not be repressed. when barac

advances it comes after the un has called for a swift deployment now of international troops in the country following massive clashes in central town the security council's already approved a plan to deploy three thousand african soldiers in spring islam is captured northern mali they've since claimed further advances to. after friday prayers thousands of sunni muslims have rallied in iraqi cities against the shiite leadership in unrest as ruptured in recent weeks with sunnis enraged by what they see is this second class treatment the focus of frustration appears to be towards the prime minister who was elected after the u.s. toppled saddam hussein critics say he's a new dictator in the make up. secrets from our planet's prehistoric past could now be uncovered soon after russian research has managed to retrieve ancient ice from antarctica is because subglacial lake wasn't easy to get hold of though they had to drill down over three kilometers to get to lake stock which had been sealed up for some twenty million years tom barton told my colleague to buy more say it's not just any old frozen lake. not all ice is the same we consistent pictures here from la