they've been battling over the town of yabroud for the past few days. authorities of investigating the backgrounds of pilots and passengers in that missing malaysian jetliner, international teams expanding the search as the data suggestion the plane flew for seven hours after its last radio contact. i did could have reached the indian ocean or southern asia. >> grizzly bears did a pretty quick demonstration of their power, demolishing a mock camp site. they knock down the tent, there goes the sleeping bag and then the cooler are all destroyed in a matter of seconds. the point was to show of destruction can be prevented if a camp site is set up safely. >> i would suggest having your camp site spread out a little bit, store your food at least 100 yards from where you're cooking and another 100 yards from when you're sleeping. >> food should be hung higher than 10 feet in a tree and campers shouldn't even leave food out. thanks for watching aljazeera america. you can follow us on line at aljazeera.com or on twitter. >>> hi, i'm lisa fletcher, and you in "t

government forces in syria have captured the si of yabroud. if true, a significant move for the president. >> and search for the miss ing plane. >> growing anger at venezuela's government after an ultimatum from the president. >> voters in crimea are casting their ballots in the controversial referendum seen as legitimate by russia, but illegal by ukraine and its western allies. voters have two option, both of which propose a caning to have the region -- change your to have the region as governed. they have a choice of answering yes or no. are you in favour of the reunification of crimea as part of the russian federation. or are you in favour of restoring the 1992 constitution, and the status of crimea was part of ukraine. supporting the second option would grand crimea more autonomy. jacky rowland is live in the crimean capital simferepol. how does it look like it's heading now? >> well, certainly there's a lot of enthusiasm for the referendum, certainly if this particular voting station is anything to go by. there were people lining up outsi

you mentioned yabroud earlier, to just be taken by the syrian army.ut you can see that from the main road. just to move chemical weapons up and down roads when there is fighting, maybe half a mile away. it is not too surprising it is delayed. but i can't really imagine the government of damascus [indiscernible] 03/17/14 03/17/14 patrckburn, thank you for being with us, middle east correspondent for the independent. we will have a link to your piece including your last, "an unhappy anniversary: why the end of bashar al-assad is as far away as ever -- and how syria's rebels lost the plot." as we turn now to our last segment come the latest on leaks from edward snowden, and intercept.org reported last week the national security agency has traumatic week expanding its ability to covertly hack into computers on a mass scale are using automated systems that reduce the level of human oversight in the process. intercept revealed the nsa has masqueraded as a fake facebook server to infect a target's computer and exfiltrate files from a hard drive. joining us n

assad forces have made a huge strategic victory capturing the town of yabroud just north of damascus. this shows syrian soldiers on the outscoresser skirts and yabroud, which was an important weapons supply route for the opposition. >>> turkey houses over 600,000 syrians while egypt and iraq has taken in 100,000 syrians each. these are the numbers of those who have officially registered, and lebanon has the highest number at 1 million. we visited a camp there where many syrians are worried they will never be able to go back home. >> reporter: a syrian refugee woman never thought they would give birth to her youngest child in lebanon. her parents and siblings became refugees here but she was brought into this world as one. >> i feel sorry for her because whatever she'll have it will be less than what her siblings have. she'll be deprived of warm heat, clothes, and healthcare. >> those who have been in exile the longest are the most pessimistic. they've been living in a kented community for over a year and a half. >> we have no hope for the future. >> his son tells him he wants to retur

according to them, they've captured yabroud. for the syrian forces, it will give them security to a vital road linking damascus to homs. it also will tighten the government siege on rebels in the damascus countryside. >> what does this tell us about the state of the opposition right now? it appears that the government has the upper hand, that assad's forces are winning the war. is that a fair assessment? >> i think it is a fair assessment, because it's all coming based on news coming from the ground. the rebels seem to be losing their strongholds one after the other. now, we have been speaking with activists and they are saying the fighters in yabroud are scattered across the region, some have flown back sorry, escaped back to lebanon. there seems to be confusion and disarray. however, i'd like to remind you that during the last year of fighting, when government forces captured another strong hold for the rebels, then the rebels said well, we've lost a battle, but we didn't lose a war. based on the statement from the s.n.c.'s he

first, send troops back to yabroud at the risk of losing more fighters.econd, the safe stronghold. the problem is they would brace for a decisive victory. it could be the one to decide the future of the country. >> ibrahimi would like to pressure president assad to attend a third round of peace talks in gentlemen knee geneva. with the gains on a the ground would he want to waste his time? >> he would definitely go with more leverage. the opposition until a few weeks ago said we are going into the third round for a more transitional government. now i was talking to the same people and they're saying, you know what, we've been abandoned by the western backers, we'll just go. >> thank you very much. >> there has been an explosion in libya, reports of a car bomb in the eastern city of ben ga b. five people have been killed. many injured. >>> ros, what does the u.s. pentagon say about this operation. >> reporter: they're basically saying that the u.s. government was requested by libya and by cypress for help in trying to regain control of the tanker, which had

thpeople have become increasingy angry as many have fled south from yabroud. yabrod was a stronghold until it feel. stephanie decker. >> it's been tense here since sunday when the rebels stronghold of yabroud fell to the syrian army. >> we knew there would be retaliation. we knew the fighters would come and react against us. we lost some to these car bombs and rockets, and we had to close the road. >> reporter: but the road closure has hit this makeshift clinic hard. the wounded often brought here and the with the roadblock those seriously injured could not be delivered to the hospital. >> we have 130 wounded since yabroud fell. unfortunately, the road was closed to humanitarian cases. we ran out of medical supplies. we hope the road will stay open so the most extreme cases can get treated. >> reporter: the role of the army now is to try to maintain calm, carrying out patrols. the government has made it clear that calming the security situation is it's top priority. the tomorrow alasl lies nestled in the mountains. it's a long porous border, a no man's land an

now, yabroud lies within an area called alcalamoon.overnment has been trying to take control of that area. the reason is to secure the capital damascus. now, with controlling the yabroud that will give more control to government forces on a land route that links the cap fall of damascus with the province of homs up to the coastline of latakia and that is the stronghold and birth place of president bashar al-assad. also, the fall of yabroud means, for the syrian opposition, it means they have lost control on areas near the capital damascus, and it will allow government forces to tighten the siege on the areas in damascus countryside. >> all right. thank you so much. thank you for being with us from istanbul. >> seven were killed and dozens injured in a stampede in nigeria's capital. thousands looking for jobs packed into the stadium to apply pore work with the immigration department. large crowds broke down gates and the stampede broke out when some applicants staged towards center stage. >> it's the last weekend before the n.c.a.a. tou

yabroud fell on sunday and a few more villages have been taken. they carry out air strikes in the no man's land. they are making headway in the north. a worrying development. they are seeing so many fighters crossing into lebanon. >> a suicide attack in a cafes in baghdad killed at least 12 people, it was on wednesday night in a mainly shia neighbourhood. the killings brought the death toll across the country on wednesday to 46. more than 700 people were killed in violence. >> coming up on the program, a second opposition leader is arrested in venezuela, as the death toll rises. and their homes have vanished. victims of the floods and land slides struggling to find shelter. >> good to have you with us. these are the top stories on al jazeera. australia is investigating two objects found in the southern indian ocean that could be the debris of the missing malaysian airline flight. the australian maritime safety authority says these are the satellite images of the objects. additional military planes and ships have been deployed to search the area. >

asaad forces have been fighting offer the town of yabroud. it's near the lebanese border. al jazeera's correspondent reports that government forces are gaining ground there. >> rebel defenses are crumbling in yabroud. short of ammunition and reinforcement, major armed groups left the city north of damascus, leaving behind the bodies of dozens of fighters killed in the fighting that has been going on for weeks. now it's the syrian army backed by hezbollah fighters who are in control. they are seen here clearing areas and moving to the center of the city. most of the rebels are believed to have retreated to neighbouring towns. >> most of the city has been destroyed. all kinds of rockets and barrel bombs have been used. the town has been turned into a pile of rubble. few are trying to resist. the world has left us alone, and the situation is catastrophic. >> yabroud was a rebel strong hold. it was also a crucial weapons transit route. war in syria is shifting in president bashar al-assad's favour. his army backed by air force, hezbollah fighters, militias from iran and iraq a

it's come after the fall of yabroud on monday. let's go to stefanie dekker, joining us from the lebanese capital, beirut. what is happening on the border there? >> it's an ongoing tense situation. what we know is 300 fighters crossed into lebanon. this is the med evil castle. it's close. you can see these areas are a valley. it looks on to the syrian side. it's close. they have crossed. there was low moral. they tried to retreat. what we are hearing is there are syrian, lebanese, palestinians, and from our source, and a lot of areas are armed. there is fighting ongoing between lebanese supporters on this side and the syrian army, we are hearing two houses have been burnt down in the area because of the shelling. so people are saying it's incredibly tense, and there's a highway interest tripoli, which is a port city in lebanon, the second largest city where there has been a lot of violence. 15 people have been killed. it's now blocked. people are very concerned. the bigger picture is that the syrian government is making head way in

and lebanese military has been deployed to the border as rebels flee fighting in yabroud. the latest stronghold to fall. we now have that report. >> reporter: in this video posted a missile destroys a tank near yabroud. rebels say the fight is far from over. but for the government the recapture of the city is just another sign rebels are losing the war. here syrian defense minister with top military commanders with what was for months the rebel's biggest stronghold in western syria. but there is no time for celebration. he has shown a map of rebel positions and he gives orders to launch an attack. with the west secured and rebels losing ground in the center this is where the next big battle may take place. the west of the suburbs of damascus, these are major rebel strongholds, but this time armed groups may not get enough weapons and fighters to hold out. as rebel fighters ban to attack a base, a town northeast of the capitol of damascus. this commander is asking his men to shell the area and pave a way for the unit to storm the building. tanks join the fight but the gover

yabroud is a rebel hold. it is a weapons transit route. in syria is shifting in president bashar al-assad's favour. his army backed by air force, hezbollah fighters, militias from rain and iraq, are launching a major offensive across the country. which recapturing, asaad controls the west. the army is consolidating its gripe on homs province, and a battle is underway. a major supply route for the army. >> a wave of shelling in aleppo could be a sign that the army is determined to win the war in the north. >> the opposition says without advanced weapons from their western and regional backers, fighting will continue for years, and more people will die. >> syria's civil war is forcing its wounded into enemy territory, and the injured are crossing the border into israeli occupied land. the two countries have been enemies. syrian patients need help from israeli doctors. their story in their own words. >> this is a severe injury, because he had open fracture of the bone and we lost his articulation here. >> next week he'll be back in syria, whe

assad forces made a huge strategic victory capturing the town nort of yabroud just northf damascus. it was the last rebel-held area near the capitol. since the war began, many have registered as refugees in neighboring countries. these are just the numbers of those who have officially registered and there could be far more. lebanon has the highest amount of syrian refugees at 1 million. many syrians are worried they will never be able to go back home. >> a syrian refugee never thought they would give birth to her youngest child in lebanon. only a week long is one of lebanon's newest syrian refugees. her parents and siblings became refugee here but she was brought into this world as one. >> i feel sorry for her because whatever she has it will be less than what her siblings had. she'll be deprived when it comes to heat and clothes and healthcare. >> reporter: they have been in exile the longest. they have been living in a tented community for over a year and a half. >> the war has prevented us from having any dreams or plans for our lives. we survive not knowing what will happen to u

the town of yabroud is a strong hold. they took that on sunday. many refugees crossed into the no man's land and rockets fired into some towns. there was a car bomb that went off, and a lot of tension caused by the war. >> people or concerned much the situation is tense. the interior ministry said on wednesday the road to asal should be open. >> the u.n. human rights investigator says it will have evidence of war crimes in syria, identifying suspect from the opposition and the syrian government after interviewing thousands of victims, witnesses and defectors. it include armed opposition groups, military and officials. three years into the war offer syria and the grand city of aleppo lies in ruins. many fled, others stayed saying they are not giving up. >> the beqaa neighbour hood in aleppo under fire. the result - rubble across the road. smoke rising all around. badly damaged buildings, and injuries. survivors shout to others above "come down." it must be hard to know which way to no. many other neighbourhoods here have been hit before. last month

government is reportedly going after armed rebels, they have been battling over yabroud, the last major rebel-held town. >> i'm jonathan betz, those are the headlines. "america tonight" weekend starts now on al jazeera america. snoop thanks for joining us nor "america tonight", the weekend edition. i'm chen . >>-- i'm joie chen. heroin has been called a crisis. nowhere is the pain of addiction felt more acutely than the communities of vermont, seeing the number of opiate deaths double. and where the number of addicts seeking treatment rose 800% sips of the year 2002. "america tonight"'s adam may reports on those addicted in vermont. >> people here do not make enough money to get buy. they'll get rid of food carts. they'll go without food, they'll steel from friends and family to get one mosh. >> heroin is spreading through rural america, striking small towns like rutland, vermont. >> no matter what, 24/7, you are plotting in your head on how to get the next high. it's an every day struggle, an every second struggle. >> vermont ranks number two in the country for people seeking treatment

the city of yabroud is the last opposition hold in syria. but it does not seem to be the end of the conflict or the suffering. we talked to some of the families who are living in lebanon. >> reporter: a refugee syria sye never thought they would give birth to her youngest child in lebanon. her parents and siblings became refugee he is here but she was brought into this world as one. >> i feel sorry for her because whatever she has it will be less than what her siblings have. she'll be deprived of warmth, clothes. >> reporter: they have listened in a tented community for over a year and a half. >> the war has prevented us from having dreams or plans for our lives. we just survive the day not knowing what will happen to us tomorrow. all our hopes and ambitions and plans have been shattered because of this war. we have no hope for the future. >> reporter: his son tells him he wants to return to syria because he's unhappy here. but he said they can't return because syria is too dangerous. over 2.5 million syrians have been registered as refugees

before that, the government had taken several areas around yabroud including highways linking the olds. >> sexual assault charges are expected to be dropped against brigadier general sinclair, accused of having a three year affair with an army captain who was one of his subordinate. the case against him has seen a lot of twists in recent weeks. >> his 27 year career spanned two war zones in afghanistan and iraq. the general's court martial could have landed the general in prison for the rest of his life. sinclair is a married father of two. he agreed to plead guilty to drastically reduced charges. among the mother serious charges dropped, the sexual assault of his former mistress of three years, a 34-year-old female captain under his command. another charge dropped, that he threatened to kill his accuser and her family. sinclair will avoid having to register as a sex offender. the court martial is only the third for a general in more than 50 years. it closes a two year case plagued with problems including the revelation that the prosecution's star witness, general sinclair's former mi

shy shiaresidents have been pust of the strange hold of yabroud. >> reporter: the stand off is somewhat over. lebanese special forces arrived and set up. it's been tense since sunday when the rebels stronghold of yabrud fell back to fighters. >> we knew that the fighters would come to us and react against us. we lessons from thes lost sons r bombs. >> reporter: the closure has hit this makeshift clinic hard. the wounded often brought here. and with the roadblock those most seriously injured could not be transferred to better equipped hospitals. >> the road was closed. we ran out of medical supplies. six civilians died because of the siege. we hope that the roads will stay open so most extreme cases can be treated. >> reporter: carrying out patrols. the government has made it clear that security situation is it's top priority. the town lice nestled within the town of the border. it's a long porous border, it's a no man's land. but those who have lived all their lives hearsay they don't want trouble with their shiite neighbors. >> we used to work together perfectly, but there were always

bashar al assad's forces have been heavily shelling the area after capturing yabroud. >> hundreds of fighters have crossed into lebanon from syria. there are civilians amongst the group. in the early hours thursday, many fighters tried to retreat to lebanon from a mid evil castle on the outskirts of homs. the foreign fighters also join a palestinian group based here in lebanon. it's a very tense situation. groups in lebanon are exchanging fire with the syrian army, trying to open a passageway for people to get out. two houses were burned down in this area that overlooks syria. we're told by activists that as some of these fighters have come in armed, this is all after confirmation, it's an unclear picture at the moment, but certainly very tense. the bigger picture its that the syrian government is making headway in securing the border with lebanon. they are taking more villages on the border, carrying out air strikes in this no man's land, wimp is causing concern in lebanon of many fighters coming into the country. >> local medical sources in egypt have told aljazeera that at least 1

they're escaping syrian government forces who captured the syrian town of yabroud on sunday. it was the rebels' last stronghold in the border region. president obama today worked to keep israeli-palestinian peace negotiations afloat. at a white house meeting, he pressed palestinian president mahmoud abbas to make tough decisions. abbas, in turn, made no public concessions, but he agreed on the need for a settlement. >> ( translated ): we don't have any time to waste. time is not on our side, especially given the very difficult situation that the middle east is experiencing and the entire region is facing, and we hope that we would be able to seize this opportunity to achieve a lasting peace. >> woodruff: the president met two weeks ago with the israeli prime minister. secretary of state john kerry is trying to get a framework for peace talks by late april. >> woodruff: wall street vaulted ahead, due partly to relief that things remained calm in crimea today, and partly to strong factory output last month. the dow jones industrial average gained 181 points to close at 16,247.

they've been battling in yabroud, the last town. >> next "lockerbie - what happens next."'re watching: lockerbie: what really happened >> three years ago al jazeera began investigating the conviction of abdelbaset al megrahi, the only man found guilty of the bombing of pan am flight 103 over lockerbie in scotland. in the run up to last december's twenty-fifth anniversary of the bombing, we repeated two films that cast grave doubts on megrahi's conviction. now, we can reveal the results

before the fighters fled, yabroud was one of the last rebel-held towns. it's difficult to say how great the games made by the army and pro-government forces across the country are. in june last year, government forces and hezbollah fighters recaptured the town of qusair, close to the border. the military then launched assaults on homs. the army has taken control of a number of previously rebel-held areas in damascus. and rebels have lost ground in and surrounding the major cities of hamas and aleppo. a pro-government tv station aired these pictures, showing soldiers on the 900-year-old citadel's embattlements. the latest in a stripping of victories after three years of a conflict that has killed more than 140,000 people. >> in just the past week of fighting 21 people have been killed in tripoli. the ban an same-sex marriage in michigan gets overturned. we'll tell you why the state's attorney-general wants to turn it back. >> pope francis puts the mafia on notice, saying they could be making a deal with the devil if they don't change your their ways. >> an

helping the syrian president fight opposition groups and were part of the retake of a strategic city of yabroud. it carried out the attack. >> what is clearly going on is the battle inside syria is paralleled by a battle inside lebanon, in which the salafi groups which established themselves into lebanon - several of the sellaify groups are fighting against hezbollah, and some of them, like the brigades in lebanon say as long as hezbollah is fighting in syria, supporting the asaad government, they'll fight against hz in lebanon. >> hezbollah is dominant in southern parts of lebanon. there has been deadly attacks in the area, since admitting sending fighters to help bashar al-assad. last month bombings killed eight and injured more than 120 others. just like the attack in bell beck, civilians are caught up in a surge of violence, mirroring the war fought next door. >> the syrian government says it's in full control of yab road the last rebel strong hold. bashar al-assad's forces launched a full offensive. most of the 40,000 that lived there were forced to leave. before that the government took a