what do you make of it all zeina khodr? >> well this is really opening the door to some very critical days ahead. you know comparing the situation to what happened a few years ago, while at the time the police blamed for not making the fans leave the stadium. from what i have seen so far, the opposite has happened but the result in both cases will be the same. the ultras played a big role whether it's in the revolution back in 2011 to ask hosni mubarak. they played a big role during the ministry and they were ruling a big role. and played a role in the ousting of former president mohamed mursi. and then they were completely marginalized. so i think that this will bring to the forefront all the issues and will underline an issue that has been on the lips of many egyptians for many months now, and that is the brutality of the egyptian police. excessive use of force. many people in the aftermath of the ousting of former president mohamed mursi, had sometimes rationalized it saying that it's something needed to bring some sort

zeina khodr is there. is there a unified position in ukraine among the western allies. >> the short answer to that is no. we heard after angela merkel made her statement, one off the other people ask her why don't you support the idea of floating around by the americans to provide the ukrainian government with some sort of military support in the form of maybe defensive weapons such as anti-terrorist missiles. and she said bluntly, i don't think by helping the ukranian military i don't see how that would deter president vladimir putin, or make him think that he is losing in eastern ukraine. she went on to say that the separatists in the east had a continue flow of weapons, and she thought adding more would insinuate the situation, and would be like pouring oil on the fire. you don't see unified position there. you know there is what is said publicly that we all heard about. there's a flurry of diplomacy on the sideline. after her making the statement angela merkel met with the ukranian president petro pora

zeina khodr, al jazeera iraq. >>> still to come. be india and its ruling prime minister 80 million and counting the hack that could be the biggest ever cyber attack of information. information. >> the death toll could be much higher than anyone'd known. >> posing as a buyer to get in there. >> 10,000 people are already dead mr. president, who should answer for those people? >> welcome back. a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. the houthi rebels have fired in the air to disperse rebels in the capital city sa that. there have been protests after the shia group took over, there is warning of further action if the houthis do not return to negotiations. >>> german french and russian leaders have held negotiations in moscow an negotiations will continue on sunday with an aim to producing a document to bring an end to the fighting. >>> the white house cannot confirm if a female american hostage has been killed in an air siege raid in rah ca. raqqa. >> document meant to highlight the country's priorities for next two years. white ho

as zeina khodr reports who will control the area once i.s.i.l. has been forced out? >> reporter: they hide their faces because their families live under the rule of the islamic state of iraq and the levant. these men are being trained a few kilometers outside the city they want to recapture. they call themselves the sons of mosul. some of them have never been in battle. christians yazidis kurds arab sunnies, they say they have come together to fight a force,. >> we're going to fight together. >> this general has served in saddam hussein's army. many like him found themselves without a place in iraq. commanders and fighters were birth about how they were treated after the fall of saddam. these men say the armed group doesn't represent them but neither does the shiez militia. the fight to push out i.s.i.l. from the city of mowlz may be a while away. it's not just a question of being ready militarily. the battle for iraq's second largest city will require a political decision. these men may represent many communities but iraq's shia are not among them. there is still li

zeina khodr is on the ground. it's not going to be easy is it? >> for months he has been trying to broker a deal in aleppo city. what he calls a freeze in the fighting. there has been little progress since october. shuttling between the damascus deposit and rebel groups in turkey. there is little details emerging from his meetings in turkey. we're not sure which rebel groups he is holding talks with but like you mentioned the syrian government promised to stop air and ground bombardment for six weeks. but he is not under any illusions, it is going to be difficult. he needs to get them to say yes we will stop target fire to the west of aleppo, because aleppo city is divided. what he hopes to do is reduce the violence and suffering of the people. allow aid in but starting a political process and he wants this process to start in aleppo. but like you said, very little progress. you talk to rebel commanders, they say we don't trust the government. if we don't agree to a truce here the government will just shift its forces to another front. much furth

zeina khodr, al jazeera barrett. beirut. is. >>> students who just left a nearby school an police and medics in nearby fallujah say at least ten died after shelling by the iraqi army. iraqi troops have been trying to drive i.s.i.l. troops out of mosul for more than a year. >>> destabilizing syria obama hosted at the white house he described qatar as a strong partner in the fight against the armed group. >>> human rights watch says it has proof syria's government has used barrel bombs to attack rebel held areas. it says more than 6,000 civilians have been killed by barrel bombs last year. our diplomatic editor james bays has more. >> human rights watch says the number of attacks has been increasing including the use of improvised munitions like these the so-called barrel bombs. almost exactly a year ago in a rare moment of diplomatic unity the u.n. security council passed the resolution on humanitarian access in syria. that resolution says all aerial attacks including barrel bombs had to stop. but the human rights watch resea

zeina khodr reports. >> forced out of his home town by al qaeda. ten years back he is back. nor is an iraqi kurd. he took part in the fight against islamic state of iraq and the levant formerly an al qaeda aligned group. al qaeda fighters were formerly in the town, they are no longer here and there are some who blame them for allowing the i.s.i.l. takeover. >> the civilian they were al qaeda. they help them give them water food give them -- take them inside houses. they go up to take it to the kurdish house or the peshmerga house they blow, they burn it. >> reporter: the kurds believe this land is theirs but they are not only force on the ground. they are cooperate being with shia militia men they have government backing to fight i.s.i.l. you but they have been accused of working outside the law and changing the demography in many areas. we have met the forces based in this town they refused to appear on camera but what they told me is that they are going to allow people to return but on condition that they did not take part in the fighting alongside i.s.i.l. the kurds say t

> as zeina khodr said the crisis in ukraine is one of the top issues at the global summit. the fighting. thousands are dead. as charles stratford report millions are bearing the brunt. you may find some of the pictures in a story from donetsk disturbing. >> reporter: donetsk barely survives. separatist fighters. they are civilians, incident people with no role in the conflict. >> translation: there's a lack of space. bodies are on top of each other. we have received 213 since march last year. 500 bodies since the beginning of last year. women children that stood alone. >> leaders flew to moscow. few braved the streets of donetsk. sounds echoed throughout the city. >> at the point close to the airport. the intensity of the shelling it shows how difficult it is to maintain a truce. fighters had little math in this afrt. >> we have seen peace talks. i don't trust them. when we offer them peace talks, users have to... >> it is the old and infirm. cued for food handoutsment this is a daily scene in the capital of this people's republic. >> pensions benefits for inval its are not

. >> al jazeera's zeina khodr so live at the conference. petro porashenko says it could work is there broad agreement that this franco german peace proposal is the way forward to bring peace? >> i wouldn't say there is broad agreement. you probably will have people giving it a chance. we saw it clearly from the question that as a german chancellor was asked and those questions was about why they were reluctant to provide military aid to the government. she repeated more than once that basically she provided military aid to the ukranian government it would push the president vladimir putin to think that he was losing eastern ukraine. providing military aid is a thought that is floating around in washington. the kind that they are talking about is antitank missiles. something the german chancellor so far stood firm against. just now, the russian foreign minister started making his statement a few minutes ago. so we'll have to hear from him what was the position of vladimir putin after the talks he held yesterday in moscow with angela merkel a

we have good head way in resolving that >>> let's bring in zeina khodr. she has been there for us. there has been meetings with the secretary of state john kerry. what are we hearing about that? >> well neither side is revealing the details of the discussions. what we do know is that both times they met, the discussions were lengthy. they lasted about 90 minutes, from the work of the iranian foreign minister the sanctions and the way they are going to be is of prime concern to the iranian side. he said that in november 2013 interim agreement, there was no mention of a gradual easing of the sanctions which seems to be the positions favourite by the obama administration. he said that the end of the nuclear talk resolution of the talks should bring a total listing of the sanctions. he underlined that the sanctions are only hurting the iranian people and are hurting the global economy. shortly after he spoke, the cer took -- secretary of state john kerry took to the podium and did not mention iran at all. as we speak now, john mccain is speaking and has mentioned iran at length and has

. >> let's bring in zeina khodr. iran's nuclear programme very much top of the agenda there. what has come out of the meeting today, behind closed doors? >> not much has come out of what was said by the foreign minister. they have two meetings they were lengthy, and they were substantial. we do not have much details. but from what the iranian foreign minister said when he took to the podium earlier today, it's clear that the issue of sanctions and how to lift the sanctions is of great concern to the iranian side. he said that there was no talk about easing sanction meaning a gradual lifting of sanctions, when there was an interim agreement signed in november 2013. he said that the solution has to come also with the immediate lifting of sanctions against iran. he said that the sanctions are harming the international economy, the global economy, as much as they are harming the iranian people and if the purpose of the sanctions were to deter iran from developing the programme, it didn't work because at the beginning of all there, there were 200 centrifuges in iran and now there

zeina khodr, al jazerra northern iraq. >>> we have a lot more to come here at al jazerra including. >er: i am rob reynolds in los angeles with the latest on an outbreak of measles that began in disneyland. >>> and all cook lovers paradise, why this indian book fair draws big crowds in the lit rare i capitallal capitallal cap. cap. coverage on al jazeera >> sunday night. >> 140 world leaders will take the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. ♪ ♪ >>> hello again let's have a look at the top stories here at al jazerra. the u.s. secretary of state john kersey on his way to ukraine to hold talks with president poroshenko about the worsening violence in the eastern part of the country. the u.s. is considering whether to arm keif in order to help it in its battle with the pro-russia separatists. investigations are underway in taiwan to find out why a plane crashed shortly after take off

s push for a ceasefire in aleppo with zeina khodr. how is it playing out, any news? >> no, nothing tangible. this is a plan produced in october. for the past few months he's been should have lipping between -- should have lipping between damascus and tuckey. -- turkey. his office is not devolving who he is talking with. we understand syria's government is prepared to stop air and ground forces for six week the opposition will have to stop targetting the west. the west is controlled by the government, and east by the rebels. they want to freeze the fighting. it will reduce violence and ease the suffering of civilians, allow the aid in and he's hoping to start some political process, there's no political process in syria. like i mentioned, no tangible process. afterwards, if they get the support of the rebels they'll need to go to damascus to set the state on when this sco-called freeze will take effect. >> what sort of impact is the plan likely to have on i.s.i.l. who continue committing atrocities getting closer to aleppo? >> i.s.i.l. controls territory in syria and

now to zeina khodr in beirut. the kidnapping of christians, what can you tell us. >> activists reported that the islamic state of iraq and levant captured christians from villages in the north-east province, now they are revising the number to 220. they have been speaking to community leaders, families on the ground and as you imagine, the community is worried, conflicting reports on their whereabouts. we understand they were taken to an i.s.i.l. strong hold. they control 30% of that province strategic province bordering iraq allowing the group to move between iraq and syria. we don't know if they killed the people if they are alive or if i.s.i.l. is ready to engage in a prison swap. so far the group has not made demands. >> as far as the battle against i.s.i.l. how is that going. what protection is being made? >> well, like i mentioned, i.s.i.l. controls 30% of the province, they cannot afford to lose the territory. it means a major supply route that links the stronghold to a stronghold in iraq. mosul will be cut

zeina khodr, al jazeera beirut. >>> first time that happened since u.n. backed ceasefire went into effect ten days ago. our paul brennan is in the heart of the region and it appears the fighting has stopped. >> reporter: i've come to an area just to the west of donetsk city center which has been used by the separatist forces, to launch attacks against the ukrainian forces in that direction. as you can see the debris is all around. let's have a look at this box here. this box would have held some shells for a 122 millimeter either the d-30 which is a towed field gun or the d-32, which is a howitzer. as you can see this whole area now is deserted and the scrapes are ready they haven't been filled in but there's no evidence that they have been used in recent days at all. and it does give strength to the idea that both sides do appear to be drawing back. the donetsk people's republic have staged photo opportunities. there is an important sticking point with that. the dpr people are not saying where those guns are being withdrawn to. and according to the minsk

zeina khodr reports now. >> reporter: in 2005 this man was forced out of his town by al qaeda, he is back now in jalawla. he is an iraqi kurd taking part in the battle for the islamic state of iraq and levant, a former al qaeda-aligned group. i.s.i.l. fighters may have been defeated the sunni population is no longer here. some blame the i.s.i.l. takeover for blaming that. >> they helped to give mem water, food. they have taken inside houses. they are going upwards into the peshmerga house. >> they couldn't believe this land is theirs they are not the only force on the ground. they are cooperating with the popular force. they have been accused of operating outside the law and changing the demack raffy in many areas. >> we met areas in the down. they refused to appear on camera they allow people to return in the fighting alongside i.s.i.l. the kurds deny that they are punishing sunnis. the commander says they are cleared from home-made improvised devices. the diyala province was a stronghold for years. and many were supporters. 95%, and other groups were not targetting their families.

zeina khodr reports. for two days the oil field belonged to the islamic state of iraq and levant. the attack was part of a major offensive. last friday i.s.i.l. fighters fought the stronghold. they laid claim to kilometres of territory where there are many oil installations. it was from - if we can't, we talk the oil field. initially they made progress. it captures grounds. commanders have to call in reinforcements. the anti-terrorism unit had to deploy. they were helped by the arab tribes in the villages. many left. i.s.i.l. recruits them by telling them the kurds are the enemy. >> the arab villages are empty. it shows the deep suspicions that exist. >> kirkuk has a massive amount of oil. that's why the players are vying for the city. for now, the kurdish and regional government put aside their differences. they reached an agreement to share oil. most of it is pumped in kirkuk. it's one of the smaller fields. production has been temporarily suspended because of damage. the iraqi government's budget fear is based on the region producing 200,000 a day on kirkuk. all the support, an

zeina khodr reports. >> for two days the oil field belonged to the islamic state of iraq and levant. the attack was part of a main offensive. i.s.i.l. fighters pushed out from their strong hold. they laid claim to kilometres of territory, where there are many oil installations. >> it was very serious. actually was four or five fronts, if we count the oil field. and initially they did maying progress. kurds captured the ground with the help of air strikes, but lost a lot of men. commanders had to call in reinforcements. the terrorism unit had to deploy to kirkuk. >> they came and took the whole area. they were help by arab tribes and villages. many left. i.s.i.l. recruits them saying the kurds are the enemy. >> we cannot confirm that the arab villages are empty. it shows deep suspicions that exist between the communities. >> kirkuk has a massive amount of oil. many are vying for control of the city. the government in baghdad and kurdistan regional government put aside differences, reaching an agreements to share revenue from the oil production in the north. >> most of it is pumped in

more from zeina khodr monitoring developments from beirut. deuce, activists reported that syrian christians were captured by the islamic state of iraq and levant in hasaki. they put the number at 90 at the time. they revising it saying that they've been in contact with community leaders as well as activists on the ground family members, and say 220 syrian christians are host edges, and their whereabouts are not known. there are conflicting reports. some say that i.s.i.l. took them to a strong hold of shaked adde south of the city. the community, as you can imagine is worried about the fate. they don't know if they are alive or ted. i.s.i.l. have not made demands and it's unclear if they'll be exchanged in a prisoner swap. we under arab tribal leaders on the ground are trying to mediate a deal to release these people. this is not the first time i.s.i.l. captured people. they captured hundreds if not thousands. this is the first time they captured a large number of cifrtians. >> the -- christians. the envoy has arrived in aden, hours after the

zeina khodr is in beirut. talk us through the plan and what is on the agenda. >> well he ha been trying for months to get the wars sides to agree to a truce in aleppo. he calls it a freeze in fighting. he wants to reduce violence. ease the suffering of the people allow aid to reach the city. there has been little progress on the ground. they have been shuffling between turkey and rebel forces. his office is not divulging much detail on who he is sitting with. we understand the syrian government agrees to a six week truce during which they halt air and artillery bombardment. what they want is for them to agree they'll do the same. it targets the west of aleppo with rocket fire. this will be difficult. this is seen as the only game in town. there's no political associations. they are hoping the fighting will allow the process to begin. >> yet no one is talking to i.s.i.l. and they continue to commit at rosties. >> yes, the president of i.s.i.s. - they do control territory in syria. and like yesterday, they captu

zeina khodr reports. >> reporter: for two days the oil field south-west of the city of kirkuk belonged to islamic state of iraq and levant. the attack on the habaz installation was part of an i.s.i.l. offensive. last friday i.s.i.l. fighters pushed out from their strong held taking kilometres of territory. >> it was a great influence. they did make progress. >> kurds recaptured lost ground over the u.s.-led coalition. they lost a lot of men. commanders had enforcements from other provinces. they had to deploy to kirkuk. >> they came from the area helped by the arab tribes in the villages many left and recruit them by telling them we are kurds. >> we cannot independently confirm that because the arab villages are empty, but it shows suspicions na exist between the communities. >> kirkuk has many players, they are vying for control of the city. the central government in baghdad and the kurdistan government in the north have taken back control. most of the oil is in kirkuk this is a small field. production has been suspended because of the damage caused by the fighting of the iraqis. losi

zeina khodr reports. syria's kurds have been at war with the islamic state. i.s.i.l. fighters were defeated. now kurdish forces are trying to defeat them. they have retaken some areas and lost villages. u.s. coalition air crafts have been targetting the kurds. it is a projoints in north eastern syria. home to kurds, arabs and christians and where i.s.i.l. controls pockets of territory. it is strategic for i.s.i.l. and the fight against the armed group, bordering territory by the group. there's a splay line that i.s.i.l. uses to move from capital in the syrian city to the iraqi city of mosul, a strong hold in northern iraq. what is happening now is there's a fight against i.s.i.l. if controls about 30% of the province. kurds are fighting on the front, and regime soldiers in the province are attacking them on the front. i.s.i.l. cannot afford to lose her, it needs to keep supply lines open >>> it borders the city of sinjar, where iraqi kurds have been engaged in fighting with the islamic state of iraq and levant. the crossing is in sinjar it connects syria to iraq and i

remains, as zeina khodr reports, hundreds of sunni muslim fighters from mosul are preparing for an assault to take back the city from i.s.i.l. >> they hide their faces because their families live under the rule of the islamic state of iraq and levant. these men are being trained a few kilometres outside the city they want to recapture. they call themselves the sons of mosul. some of them have never been in battle. christians yazidi kurds, arab sunnis they have come together to fight an enemy that destroyed the city's history and the lives of its people. >> all the communities live there, and people inside are waiting for us to liberate them. we'll fight together. >> this general served in it's an's army. when it was dissolved in 2003 many found themselves without a job and without a pleas in the new iraq. commanders and fighters are bitter about the way they were treated after the fall of saddam. the grievances were exploited by i.s.i.l. the men say the armed group doesn't represent them. neither does the shia militias who are leading the fight against i.s.i.l. >> the fight to push out i.s

zeina khodr has more from erbil. >> another mass grave was found in the sinjar area, in the north-west of iraq along the syrian boarder. fighters cleared the area from explosives booby trapped explosives and discovered a grave, and reports of 25 bodies have been found, believed to be from the yazidis community - men, women and children. according to officials, some of the bodies had gunshot wounds others were slaughtered. we have to remember that i.s.i.l. some members of the islamic state of iraq and levant took over the sinjar area last august and were accused of killing hundreds of yazidi and kidnapping scores of women and children. their fate is unknown. in december the peshmerga forces with the help of u.s. coalition air strikes managed to push into the mountains, pushing into the area. they were unable to take sinjar city. it's an important area for i.s.i.l. it's a main supply line between iraq and syria crossing sinjar city. another mass grave, the conflict in northern iraq continues. the 1,000km front line. the community pays a heavy price. >>> a syrian government jet targeted r

zeina khodr, al jazerra northern iraq. >>> today iraq's capital ended its long-time curfew put in placeprotect residents from attacks. just hours before multiple bombings in baghdad killed more than three dozen people. officials are still investigating who was behind the bombings, jane arraf has more from baghdad. >> reporter: this is baghdad's square and it is did he have in thedefinitely acelebration. soldiers politicians coeds a biker gang riding harley davidsons are all here. even children up way past their bedtime. this is really the first time in more than a decade that people have been able to celebrate a small return to normal life. no longer will they have to rush home to get home before midnight midnight. the end of this curfew declared by iraqi government. it was imposeed in 2003 by the u.s. military to prevent looting. it continued for more than a decade because of the bombings. the bombings certainly haven't gone a way. in the past 24 hours there have been at least two suicide bombers killing more than 35 people. but here in baghdad and downtown earlier the streets have bee

zeina khodr has been speaking to a victim beheaded by i.s.i.l. >>> sammy doesn't understand what happened to his father beheaded by the islamic state of iraq and levant. he was a kurdish peshmerga fighter captured in june. his wife can't speak. she is in shock. but they are proud of their father, because he died defending their land. >> they killed our father killing him in a brutal way. we asked the leaders to bring back the body. >> he belonged to the tribe. his is a few kilometres. the killer was identified as a kurd. iraq's kurds are at war with i.s.i.l. the armed group has kurds in its ranks. there are no numbers, but i.s.i.l. says it had a kurdish unit. >> i'm very angry. what made me angry is that a kurd killed him. >> reporter: the suicide bomb are was an iraqi kurd. erbil, the captain said it was a strategy and he wants to turn kurds against each other in a relatively peaceful kurdish tradition. >> they find problems in the community, and distribute it against the community, to stay against the court. they will try using different things to do it. >> kurd appear in i.s.i.l. propa

zeina khodr has the story. >> reporter: in the heart of kir coot in broad daylight. the islamic state of iraq and levant made its presence felt. dressed in black, detonating a car bomb outside the hotel. before storming the empty building. the attack on friday destabilized a security situation in the northern city. it was part coordinated assault, that involved i.s.i.l. fighters west and south-west of kirkuk. peshmerga soldiers told us that they ended the siege after a 2-hour gun battle but the arm men detonated their belts instead of being captured. it was a fierce fight. >> the i.s.i.l. fighters a good vantage point to cause chaos in the kirkuk city center. >> kurdish commanders say i.s.i.l.'s objective was to capture the city of kirkuk. it failed to do that but managed to send a message. the armed group wants to show it has not been defeated especially since it suffered setbacks on the battle grounds. >> kirkuk has been a dangerous city. various people have laid claims. friday's attack wasn't the first time i.s.i.l. tried to take control. i.s.i.l. wants kirkuk. th

zeina khodr has the story. >> the islamic state of iraq and the levant made its presence felt. three armed men dressed in black detonated a car bomb outside the kasir hotel. before storming the empty building. the attack on friday destabilized the security situation in this northern city. it was part of a coordinated assault that involved the i.s.i.l. fighters attacking kurdish peshmerga positions west and southwest of kirkuk. kurdish peshmerga soldiers told us they ended the siege after a two hour gun battle. but the armed men preferred detonating their exploifer explosive belts rather than getting captured. kurdish commanders here say i.s.i.l.'s objective was to capture the city of kirkuk. it failed to do that but the armed group wants to show it hasn't been defeated. especially since it suffered recent setbacks on the battle grounds. kirkuk has long been a dangerous city. over the decades years various groups have laid claim to it. >> it is a matter of time before kirkuk would be theirs. >> kurds did lose ground, it was an aggressive attack. the worst in months. >> i.s.i.l.

al jazeera's zeina khodr is there with more on the conference and its pivot towards tehran. >> reporter: on the final day of the munich security conference a temporary shift in focus. from talks about the conflict in ukraine, the delegates address an issue, iran's nuclear programme and the impact in negotiations. the country's foreign minister stressed that it is time to reach a deal but pushed a key demand. >> sanctions are a liability. you need to get rid of them. unless - particularly politicians, until they dom the realisation that sanctions are a liability and need to be listed we will not have a solution. i think we have made good head way in resolving that. >> also discussed was the upheaval across the middle east with the former u.n. secretary-general kofi annan taking the stage. >> the radicals are leading the middle east astray. if they think their ideology which will destroy the muslim world's erstwhile greatness. on the contrary history teaches us closed societies dictate, open societies are the ones that prosper. >> reporter: it follows comments on the iraqi prime minister

. >> now back to zeina khodr. i.s.i.l. has been grabbing headlines around the world. we have seen nadim outlining the efforts against the group. what is expected to come out of the summit on i.s.i.l.? >> well i.s.i.l. ordered the spread south in munich it is the focus of all the talks today. john kerry was at the podium a short while ago. he showed up describing the effort against i.s.i.l. tlds been more than 2,000 air strikes, according to a fifth of the territories under i.s.i.l. control has been retaken. he said that the problem is not just i.s.i.l. or nabil al-dahab, as he calls it meaning the arabic acronym in the middle east to describe the group. he said that the world is facing global criminal anarchy, and that that has to be tackled from all sides. let's listen to what the secretary of state had to say. >> as daesch retreats to syria we'll continue the fight. we'll put pressure on the bashar al-assad regime because there's no need for a brutal dictate yore. the fight against final extremists will not be decided on the battlefield. we have to remain deeply com

zeina khodr reports. >> reporter: on the final day of the conference a shift in content. from ukraine, another issue addressed - iran's nuclear programme and the impasse in negotiations. the country's foreign prime minister stressed it is time to reach a deal but pushed at key demands. >> sanctions are a liability, you need to get rid of them if you want a solution and unless particularly some politicians, unless they come to the to the realisation that sanctions need to be lifted we will not. that is the single issue, i think we made good head way in resolving that. >> the secretary of state john kerry met twice on the side of the conference a march deadline to reach an agreement on the nuclear programme is fast approaching, but so far little progress has been made. speaking to a u.s. network john kerry was pessimistic that a break through was imminent. >> the only breakthrough i see is you have the outlines of the agreement. if we are not able to make fundamental decisions that have to be made over the course of the next weeks literally, i think it would be impossible t

zeina khodr, al jazerra northern iraq. >> well, we can now go to baghdad to speak to our correspondentthe city where it's just gone midnight and the long-time curfew has been lifted jayna rav is there it's been 10 years since people have been able to move about in the city at this time of night. what's the mood? >> reporter: well, pretty jubilant here in the square. it's also been more than 10 years, it's been since the 2003 invasion. one of the council i just spoke to said it's time it's been way too long the curfew has been in place. behind me you can see some of the baghdad bikers, they have ridden on harley davidsons. we were downtown early where the streets are full of people shopping and it is the first time really in more than a decade that they can stay out at late as they want to. jonah. >> of course all of that said, jane, we have had more than one reminder on saturday of the fact that the streets are not in fact safe in baghdad. what is the rational of the government here? >> reporter: well, it's a new government. it really wants to make the point that it wants to get life b