denzel washington, samuel l. jackson, and wesley snipes. they all presented me my oscar. and during my speech i made a couple statements. one's that the entertainment industry is way behind sports, as far as diversity goes. it's easier for african american person to be president of the united states of america than president of a hollywood studio or tv or cable network. >> and why does that matter? >> because image... images matter. and if we're not in the position, we're not in the room then we don't really have a say. if... here's the thing, we go... i'm... i'm glad we got black stars. that's great. but they're not really in the... woven into the fabric of decision... decision-making in... in hollywood, or the networks. and also this is beyond hollywood. it's television, it's newspapers, it's magazines. we have to be in those positions where we have a vote... you have a part of the decision. we have a say. and we're... and that's not the case now. >> but here you are, you know, all these years later. does it still frustrate you that it... nothing's changed? >> i can't s

tom ackerman, al jazeera, washington. >>> the berlin film festival is underway and this year the organizers are trying to do more to include some of the 10s of thousands of refugees who now call the german capital home. almost 80,000 arrived in berlin last year. and this edition of the festival is focusing on getting them involved. as well as appearances from a-listers like george clooney and spike lee there are also free and discount the tickets for asylum seekers and a range of films looking at the risks people take trying to get to europe. meryl streep is the head of the jury, that will hand out the coveted golden beara ward for best film. >>> and just a quick reminder that we are keeping an eye on a news conference. where conjure i, sergei lavrov and stefan dee m de mistura on e talks have you been having in munich. >> this week on talk to al jazeera, katrina adams, she sits atop u.s. tennis as chairman of the board, ceo, and president of the united states tennis association. >> it's been 133 years since we were founded, so it is an honor to be the first... i don't think i have to fight

al jazeera join us live from washington, d.c. roz, tell us more about the reaction from washington. >> well, not only did the spokesperson say that assad was delude first degree he thinks he can stay in power no matter how long it takes to take control of syrian territory. they also said that assad really has no legitimacy and should have left yesterday. that said, the u.s. is going to be focused on trying to, one, implement the temporary cessation of hostilities, which is their temperature of a cease-fire. and then try to work on some sort of peace accord. and then try to get to a transitional government. but as you said, lauren, deluded was the first word out of his mouth and that is summarizing how the obama administration looks at syria. what is also interesting is whether or not the u.s. believes in a russia can be a trustworthy partner and can be trusted to increase the amount of pressure on damascus to do the right thing, to have the assad government step aside and try to get this peace process under way. well again, laure

my guests are with me in washington. and bruce, you were just about to say... >> yeah, i think that the partisanship in congress is so extreme, they don't care, it's all about winning for that particular time and day. and it's all driven totally bipartisanship, and it's a joke for the united states. they will be hoisted, and they don't care about that, it's quite it discerning. >> you said, jp, you don't think that we'll get to that. so what happens? outside pressure? the very fact that, the people that they want to please, they will be on the outside. >> they will feel pressure as this debate broils, but senator lindsey graham said that he's open to this. and senator graphly started to walk back his position today. so for good reason, it would be unprecedented and unconscionable for the senate to not perform its duty in this context, and i think that the pressure will continue to build and affect the outcome here. >> a lot of times, certainly in the recent political eruptions, people have been talking about defending th

connection i loo like to point out that this is unfortunate that from the chinese perspective while we see washington doing all it can to ask china to cooperate fully are it won the d.p.r.k.'s nuclear wep programme, the -- weapon program, the united states is keeping up discretion. other countries, to which the united states is not a claimant, and the contradictory actions are not helpful at all. they hep to finally and firmly get on to the same page to deal with the threat of d.p.r.k. weapons program. >> china could do more to pressure the north koreans if it wanted to, given the huge economic and political influence it has with pyongyang. >> definitely. china will do its best and exercise its leadership role in this connection. on the other hand. china doing everything itself, china has proposed and initiated and sponsored the six party talks. it is not working at present, doesn't mean that it's not necessary to resume and restore the 6-party network. on the other happened, the united states adopted policies confusing to the chinese people. >> thank you so much, victor gow >>> when abbing weano --

. >> father thomas reese joining us from washington, d.c. father, thank you so much for being with us. >> workers are trying to identify the bodies of rpg peope getting caught in a fire. >> fire lasted for several hours according to witnesses. topo chico is known for being overcrowded. rescue workers evacuated victims, some with burns. the governor spoke to the press. >> translator: we have ruled out the use of firearms, security was set up around the rest of the prisons in the saits. >> family members tried to break their way in. several hours later, family members were still waiting for answers. >> translator: i don't know, middle east help us! the woman director with all due respect, come out and confront us, give us the names, please, the names, that's it. where is she? >> reporter: in recent years deadly prison riots have become common. pope francis is set to arrive in mexico on friday. he is planning to visit a prison on the northern border city, that used to be controlled by drug cartels. adam rainey, al jazeera, mexico city. >> hundr

what many people hilliary clinton represents, a political elite and establishment type politics in washington. something in a they're tired of, and that's why so many gravitated to bernie sanders, and that's her challenge as she moves to the new hampshire primary to try to overcome that, but he's trailing him right now, significantly. >> what do you think is going to be the difference between that and what you see in iowa? >> well, in terms of the voter design amics, if you will, iowa is a rural state. and it has a very large christian population, and you don't see that large evangelical vote that came out very strong for republican, ted cruz, giving him a victory here in iowa, but he may not see the results translate into new hampshire. and it's quite often that we see a completely different result in new hampshire. many say that they can push the so-called reset button in new hampshire and reenergize their campaign. that's what hilliary clinton is going to try to do, but we could see very different results. right now, donald trump is leading in very high numbers in new hampshire, but he may

. >> mike viqueria in washington. secretary of state john kerry says peace talks are still under way, but the syrian government stepped up its assault on aleppo. al jazeera's disloard haal jazes more. >> the suffering continues, tens of thousands of syrians are again on the move. those who have arrived to the turkish border are not being allowed in. these people are from the northern country side of aleppo, many came on foot, many came with nothing. there is no safe area for these people as the government pushes ahead with a major offensive in the province. >> translator: we left our homes because of the bombings by the russians, the iranians, bashar and the shia army, we wand erdogan to let us in. >> reporter: for now, there is no indication that the gates will be opened. officially, turkey has an open door policy for syrian refugees but strict conditions have been put into place, and turkey has been under a lot of pressure dealing with the 2.5 million syrians in the country. >> but under pressure villages and towns

that it's that hard, that we're even discussing this is a measure of how, unfortunately, the ranker in washington has prevented us from getting basic work done. this would be a good moment for us to rise above that. i understand the pressure that republican senators are under, and the fact of the matter is the issue here is that the court is now divided on many issues. it would be a deciding vote. senators are going to be under pressure from various constituencies and many of their voters to not let any nominee go through no matter who i nominate. but that's not how things are supposed to work. that's not how our democracy is supposed to work. i intend to nominate in due time a very well-qualified candidate. if we're following basic precedence, then the vote will be taken and ultimately they will be confirmed. justice kennedy when he was nominated by ronald reagan, in ronald reagan's last year in office a vote cass taken, and there were a whole lot of democrats, i'm sure, who did not agree on kennedy's issues, but they did the right thing and confirmed him. they certainly didn't mount a filibuste

circuit has a couple sitting on the bench in washington. that is known as a stepping stone or waiting room for the supreme court. others, there is speculation, we might as well say it, their talking about attorney general loretta lynch, because she has this possibility. she is an african-american, she has been confirmed by the senate. there would likely be objections raised, republicans could look bad in the offing, so all of these kinds of calculations go into it, but to answer your question, if he's going to succeed in actually getting someone confirmed, it would likely be someone moderate, seen as a serious member all right sitting on the federal bench. >> al jazeera's mike viqueira for us in washington, mike, thank you. >>> to syria, at least 21 have been killed in airstrikes in idlib and azaz. seven of them were at doctors without borders supported hospital. another eight of missing. the aid groups there said it was a deliberate attack. >> the eastern province area has been destroyed and seven people killed. eight are still missing fro

patty live for us in washington, d.c. >> can use artificial contraception. he made the comments on a flight back to rome after his tour of mexico. the pontiff was also asked about his feel but the pope said anyone that wants to build a war is not christian. at the end of the day, they are a political animal, but at least i am a human being. well, maybe. and a person who only thinks about making again and again. doshal trump is not a nice person. >> donald trump is a very nice person, and i am a very nice person. he is questioning my faith, i was very surprised but i am a christian, and proud of it. for a religious leader, to question a person's faith, is ridiculous. i am proud to be a christian and as president, i will not allow christianity to be consistly attacks and weakened unlike what is happening now with our current president. to palestinians have been shot after stabbing two israelis near jerusalem. one of the israelis has died of his injuries. they entered in the occupied west bank, armed with fives. they said to attack two before being shot by an u

say the way the discussion is currently framed in washington, away from the campaign trail but still, in terms of looking at future military capabilities, one side says we are still the largest, most modern, strongest military in the world. and the other says, there aren't enough forces and capabilities to deal with all of the threats in the world. middle east, russia, south china sea, north korean peninsula. so both of those have merits. it's a question of where the united states should deploy and use its military resources, are we actively engaged in military operation he ors or are we deteg pad things from happening? as mark noted it would be great in our european partners could be a little bit more generous in terms of resourcing their security. in ways that actually the rebalance of the pacific has been quiek successful at completely reengaging the primacy of the u.s. security relationship in asia pacific, vietnam, the philippines, japan, very much engaged in the national security framework in asia pacific since the obama initiative was announced in australia in 2011. but to your

and she is hoping after this campaign, washington finally, realizes it. patty colhane, al jazeera, washington. >> more to come for you this half hour. dozens of minors and rescuers have died after a coal mine collapse in russia's remote north. also, how india's graffiti artists are brightening communities by turning shipping containers into works of art. >>> welcome back let's take you through the top stories. both russia and the assad regime have been acceused of continuin attacks in some areas of syria despite a cessation of hostilities. at least 50 people have died in an isil attack in the predom nantly shia neighborhood north of the iraqi capitol. greece is warning the number of refugees on its soil could more than triple next month because of a cap imposed by balkan countries further up the migrant route. ireland's prime minister said his ruling coalition can't stay in countpower. he may have to form a new coalition with his party's biggest rival. al jazeera's neev barker is in dublin and sent this update. >> reporter: it has been a defendant

and this is a great fear in washington. this would deny the areas of theibility of ships to deploy without the threat of the used force. >> taiwan's offered a mandate to cool relations with beijing. he's called for self restraint. >> in the south china sea, it's a region everyone pays close donation to. especially on the issue of dispute over sovereignty. it's a tense situation. we call on all sides to stick to the principle of resolving dispute in the south china sea. self restraint is important. >> tensions between the two largest powers extend to the korean peninsula. after north korea's test, the rocket launch, they were in talks with shi'a about deploying a system here on the territory. that's something beijing is opposed to, seeing it as a threat to its own military. >> it's hardly a side effect. those in washington want to pressure china to rein in its ally. >> there was a show of force over the southern half of the peninsula. merge's stealth fighters demanding a commitment to defend its ally in the face of north kor

. >> thanks for joining us there from washington, d.c. >>> a court in paris has fined an oil giant $825,000 for corrupting officials in iraq's oil for food program. they were found guilty after initially being cleared of all charges in 2013. under the program, iraq was allowed to sell oil in exchange for goods that met basic needs, but they found that baghdad used the trade to ill us it is charges. >>> victoria gatenby reports, these men still face trial next month. >>> after 92 days behind bars, this was the moment the two were freed. turkey's constitutional court has ruled that their detention was unlawful and violated their personal liberty and safety as well as their freedom of express. but this is a first step in what is likely to be a long campaign to clear their names. they still have to answer charges of spying in court next month. >> translator: this is a trial of press freedom. we got out, but more than 30 colleagues are still in prison. i hope this ruling will pave the way for their freedom as well. we'll continue to fight until this concentration camp that you see behind me beco

let's go to my colleague rosiland jordan joining us live from washington, d.c. i know we're expecting to hear pretty soon on camera from the state department. what have you heard from them so far? what are they saying about what happened in libya? >> reporter: well the state department has been putting all of the questions to the pentagon and the spokesperson there, peter cook, should be briefing any moment now, david. what we are expecting to hear him expand on is the statement from the past hour, which he said the u.s. believes but can't confirm that the isil leader in libya was apparently killed in this air strike. pentagon courses have told al jazeera that two u.s. air force f15-e's screaming eagle fighter jets left the u.k. and carried out these air strikes west of the capitol tripoli. there are multiple reports indicating that at least 30 at this training camp were killed, perhaps as many as 50 people. we may get more incite from peter cook in the next few minutes about the success of these air strikes. however, it is important to stress, david, that the u

the proposal is now being studied by washington, but the secretary of state has said that the air strikes on aleppo and the surrounding region are making it harder to hold talks. >> well, there is no question, and i have said this before publicly, that russia's activities in the aleppo, and the region right now, are making it much more difficult to be able to come to the table and to have a serious conversation. we have called on russia again, to join in the effort to bring about an immediate cease fire and to bring about full humanitarian access. that is what this meet willing be about, and this meet willing tell a lot about the road ahead, we are not behind to what is happening. we are all very very aware of how critical this moment is and russia needs to contribute in significant ways to sustaining the ability of the opposition and others to come to the table let's go p to washington, d.c., my colleague is there, so we know what john kerry thinks about the bombing, by the russians but what does he and what do his team at the state department think about this idea of a peace plan, do th

al jazeera is live for us in washington. john, tell us a little bit about what is going on in this plan. >> hello. >> hello. >> well, first of all, you have to say this is a little bit of political theater. we go through this every february, and it is the same. people get tesh bly excited the budget is coming and we have pictures of the budget arriving here in the congress. can't wait to see the budget, there it is. look at all of that, facts full of facts and figures and then it disappears the everybody goes well that's it, then, jolly good. now this is fiscal 2017 being delivered just a few hours ago, all those books you will see them will be poured over by members of congress. the president says that book there contained a lot of things that are very dear to him, like education, criminal justice reform, and job creation a little bit more than five call 2015 was. that's the big one, the president wants to slap $10 per barrel of oil, as a tax, in order to get a clean transportation system. raising $320 billion. well, i am t

mike viqueira reports from washington >>> justice antonin scalya's remains are in the washington area arriving in a snow tomorrow in the night. >> i don't believe the president should appoint someone. >> almost from the moment of his passing the fight has been escalating, becoming a struggle that that could leave the supreme court with eight justices. >> republicans want to turn the november election to a nominee. insisting that any nominee by president obama should be blocked. >> we are one justice away from losing our federal rights in this country. we are one justice away from a radical 5 justice liberal majority >>> mr obama has ignored that call and says he'll go his constitutional duty to fill the vacancy. who would he nominate. first a jurist on the bench. a person sitting on the court of appeals, considered a stepping stone to the supreme court. he was confirmed for the seat by the senate three years ago. meric garland is the chief judge of the d.c. court. his name came up on previous lists, and paul watford confirmed to the bench on the ninth circuit of 2012. all three were m

live in washington, d.c., with the latest, so roz, how quickly might these flights get going? >> well, depending on how all of the bureaucratic paperwork gets done, u.s. officials are anticipating that the flights could stater as early as this fall. perhaps soon after labor day. again, it is about the details that have to be worked out both here in washington through a number of federal agencies including the department of homeland security. the transportation department, and the fresh surery department, as well as with cuba's civil aviation authority they signed the deal, they now have 15 business days to get in their applications and the department of transportation says that it is going to try to approve the u.s. airline travel arrangement to and from the island as quickly as possible. >> so what is this saying for americans? >> well, it doesn't mean that you are going to be able to just go ahead book some space at an abb or at a hotel and go on vacation for a week. what this does mean, is that if you want to go to cuba, to take part either doing official -- or sanctioned b

>> very few people in washington predicted the rise of trump. unlike the rest of the country, the capitol region wasn't impacted as much by the great recession. houses still have value and wages are high. >> if you're from a community of color, only have a high school education, come from the rust belt, if you work in manufacturing, things have been really tough and they haven't gotten that much better for you. >> at this cafe, she is surrounded by people who have started over after losing jobs and income to the recession. she understands why people are angry. >> i'd like to punch him in the face. >> she still doesn't understand how these are the candidates she has to choose from, including the party she belongs to, the democrats. >> i'm so frustrated, so frustrated that i've almost stopped thinking about it. i want to cry. i want to cry for the choices that americans are facing today. >> she doesn't know who she'll vote for in the end, but she's sure of one thing. donald trump will not be president of the united states. >> americans will come t

reaction now and speak to ross lynn jordan in washington, d.c. the u.s. wanted of course an immediate end to the hostilities, a ceasefire immediately, so how satisfied are they with what was agreed in munich? >> well, basically, they were able to achieve what they did not want to give to the russians, which was until the end of february, the beginning of march before a ceasefire could take effect. while the u.s. eye deli would want the hostilities to stop at this moment, at least having a week is much better than letting the russian military carry out airstrikes on behalf of bashar al assad's government and go after opposition fighters for three weeks. so it's not perfect, but it is something that the u.s. can at least live with, according to officials. what's also worth stressing is that the fact that this does seem to be bringing new life to u.n. security council resolution 2254, which allows for human aid, which allows for this ceasefire, too, which does allow for the efforts of the syrian government and the syrian opposition to try to talk about a way

well to discuss the situation in egypt, i am joined from washington. he is with the middle east and north africa division of human rights watch, thank you for joining us here on al jazeera. so first of all, what do you make of the deaths in especially considering that he disappeared on january 25th, which is the anniversary of the revolution, and that it since transpired and was also working there as a journalist? >> well, that's the thing, we don't have confirmed information so far, about what happened. what we know is the context is very troubling and raising question, that same day of the revolution, in egypt, and during that same day, more than 5,000 homes and apartments were raided in kairo alone. by the recognition of the police itself. they said that the houses they raided were owned or occupied by people they suspected of various wrongdoings. and only because they were related one way or another to the january 5 revolution. so there is a mas.sive crack down it might have been linked to this. >> of course as you say there's a lot we don't know a

washington's statements are conflicted on the ypg. it's a sign of weakness to act with a terror organization like the ypg in the fight against daesh. >> reporter: but on the ground the u.s. continues to provide air cover to the ypg and its ally, the syrian democratic forces as they push deeper into isil-held territory. the kurdish fighters are closing in on a main supply route that isil also known as daesh uses to move between its strong holds in syria and neighboring iraq. >> it's not about choosing sides here. there's no doubt about turkey's membership in the coalition. obviously there's no doubt about our commitment to a fellow nato ally, and there's also no doubt that some of the strongest fighters against daesh inside of syria have been kurdish fighters. >> reporter: but they have not only been taking territory from isil. they also have been taking ground from opposition groups backed by turkey. for turkey that is a red line. ankara wants to prevent further ypged a vabss particularly close to its border. ankara considers that a t

al jazeera, washington. >> al jazeera joins us live now from washington, d.c. hi there, what else did obama said and what is the reaction? >> republicans hate the plan, they say it came in late, and oversteps legal authority. that have already been signed into law. democrats say that this plan is long overdue, and that they are going to do what they can to try to get it enacted. but the democrats are the minority here, so julie it is going to be probably a very tough fight for the obama administration. but the president did say as he was outlining the plan, was that the 46 people who have not been charged with any crimes but are still at guantanamo will get a hearing. to find out if they pose a threat, then if they are deemed not a threat they will then be tran fenced to another country away from guantanamo bay. or give them rehabilitation, that sort of thing. the president also said would be moved to continue the trial in that particular legal system. that is something which is not sitting well particularly with republicans on the hill. and as we heard in the

patty culhane is in washington. this won't be the first time the two men have shaken hands, but the symbolism of obama bridging that gap of the decades by going to havana is quite something. >> reporter: it really is going to be historic. i know we often say that when it comes to the president, but the last u.s. president to set foot on the island, calvin coolidge, way back in 1928. so this is what presidents do. this is his last year in office, so he going to travel the globe to cement what he sees as key points of his legacy. and the white house firmly believes that changing the direction with cuba after 50 years is going to be a key part of what people remember him for. we are told he will meet with raul castro, and then meet with cubans from different walks of life. what exactly does that mean? is he going to sit down with people who are opposed to the castros. he said he would not step foot on the island unless he saw a change in their human right's record. critics say they haven't had that change, and the pres

you can go with washington deal makers. or we can stands together with a proven consistent constitutional conservative and bring back morning in america. >> of course, the washington deal maker referred to there is marco rubio. he good get some of the evangelical voters, but not enough to make april different. -- an a difference. >> the political establishment he here, they went all out to stop ted cruz. he is within a hair of second place. >> his point, of course, that all of the establishment, the political establishment here, went for marco rubio and so ted cruz did so well, he has plenty of ground to move on, and the campaigner manager told reporters that they're finding it easier to get their message out. we did talk to a couple of supporters. some said they were not disappointed, but one said he was and he said to us, well, i was hoping god would work a miracle >>> let's bring in our correspondent mary snow, and former white house aid. we got news that the associative press is not going to call a second place finisher

. >> let's get more from our correspondent who joins us from washington, d.c. this is directly aimed at the u.s., and the u.s. led coalition. perhaps trying to spur them into reaction, what action has there been to this? >> well, the reaction has been very general, both coming from here at the state department, as well as apparently from the defense secretary ash carter. he is on a visit to the west coast of the u.s., to meet with troops out there, but he did say that he is seen these reports barbara, and that certainly the saudi proposal will be discussed when defense ministers gather in brucellas week from thursday, to discuss the on going war against isil. here at the state department, the news from brigadier general came out during the daily press briefing and i asked the spokesperson for the department's reaction and while he couldn't address the details of this proposal from the saudi military, kirby did say that the u.s. welcomes any and all forms of participation, from the saudi government as well as from the other members of the 66 member coalition. ho

fear in washington, that this washington, that this would deny these areas of the ability of u.s. navy ships and other navy ships to deploy freely without the threat of the use of force. >> taiwan's president-elect is due to take office in may with a mandate to cool recently improved relations with beijing. she's called for self restraint. >> i think the south china sea is a region that everyone pays close attention to especially on the issue of the dispute over sovereignty in the south china sea. it is a comparatively tense situation. we call on all sides to stick to the principle that resolving the dispute in a peaceful manner. self restraint is most important. >> the tensions between the world's two largest powers in the region extend to the korean peninsula as well. after the rocket launch, the u.s. is in talks with south korea about deploying a missile system known as fad. that is something beijing is opposed to, seeing it as a direct threat to its own military interest. >> some in washington want to pressure china to reign in its ally from pyongyang. american f 22 stealth fa

roslind jordan has more now from washington, d.c. >> u.s. military officials were not pleased to learn about the decision to deploy two missile batteries on an island near vietnam. on wednesday the sect of state john kerry also indicated he's not pleased with the situation. >> we'll have further serious conversation on this, and our hope is to troy to resolve the jurisdictional issues of the south china sea not through unilateral action, not through force, not through militarization, but through diplomacy and by working with the over countries and claimants in trying to resolve these differences. >> the obama administration position has always been that it's not taking sides on who has territorial claims in the south china sea. that said, the u.s. is also very concerned about china's efforts to expand its military influences over that region, and it is trying to basically send a message to beijing that this will not be tolerated. but what the u.s. is prepared to do about it, that's another question. >> well, pope francis has arrived in juare

i think the republican power holders, the insiders in washington, are fearful about ted cruz taking the nomination because they don't think he can get elected, to win. you will see pots and pots of money from washington, from rich conservatives being thrown at marco rubio because he looks like a win. there have been a race between chris christie, jeb bush, marco rubio and john kasich. marco rubio looks like he stands out, but he has to do good in new hampshire. the question is what is going to happen when the democrats go to the south and the west where there are a lot of minority voters, african-manner voters and latinos who don't know much about bernie sanders and likely to be loyal to hillary clinton >>> representatives from 23 nations are meeting in rome and taking part in a day-long meeting discussing how to cut off i.s.i.l.'s funding as well as the success of the air strikes. our correspondent gives me. take us through what we can expect from the meetings today. >> reporter: this is an attempt by the international coalition of international key players to have a coalition against

and saying we had no word from washington, let's go straight live now to washington and speak to al jazeera's roslyn jordan at the u.s. state department for us. roslyn what have they or haven't they been saying there officially or off the record? >> reporter: well, i asked the department spokesperson john kirby about the saudi military's announcement a short while ago and i'm going to read a rough paraphrase of what he had to say during the daily press briefing and this is what john kirby had to say, he has not seen the brigadier general's comments and he is not at liberty to speak to a sovereign country's military decisions but kirby goes on to say in general we meaning the united states want members of the coalition to look for ways to do more and general additional resources to go after da'esh are welcome but he hasn't seen the brigadier general's comments to another television network and so wants to take a closer look at the plan to see exactly why or the saudis are making this recommendation now. and whether this could be workable because except for the fact that the u.s. military has s

kimberly halkett, al jazeera, washington. >>> a we hostage -- reminder you can find out much moo moore -- more on our website, aljazeera.com. >> the warm blue waters off the coast of hawaii, a scene of incredible beauty but a world in transition. ironically this piece of coral, delicate as fine china, is also a sign of trouble. >> today, we are facing the potential loss or massive degradation of all of our reefs. >> down here, climate change is

we are joined by a russian specialist at the washington institute for news policy. thank you for speaking to us. we know that the warring parties in syria have to sign up. how will moscow use its influence to make sure that happens. >> well, you know, if you step back for a little bit. let's look at what happens when the february 12th truce is implemented. since it was great upon. russia continued bombing and bashar al-assad essentially said he will stay until he regains territory. i am sure that we'll see major changes. >> so what happens between now and friday, because nothing - everyone agrees that they will abide by it. what is different about this deal is we have specifics in terms of times and date. we have to agree time, what will moscow do for its part to make sure it happens? >> well, moscow can do several things. it could say that, or try to ask bashar al-assad to cooperate. he is not cooperating. in fact, i have seen several such matters saying that, look, where moscow is trying to cooperate, but bashar al-assad is being difficult. i'm skeptical of this,

lavrov said that washington was studying that proposal. let's get more on this developing story, joining us live from washington, d.c. is al jazeera's rosiland jordan, we have been hearing in the last hour the secretary of state has been talking about the issue of syria, ros. what did he have to say? >> well, what the secretary of state john kerry was meeting with the egyptian foreign minister at the u.s. state department in the past hour on tuesday, and he was asked about the ongoing situation to end the syrian civil war, and the fact that peace talks have been suspended until february 25th, and basically the secretary repeated his criticism of moscow, one that he has been making in several days. let's listen to what john kerry, the u.s. secretary of state had to say about the russian role in the syrian civil war. >> well, there's no question, and i have said this before publicly, that russia's activities in aleppo and the region right now, are making it much more difficult to be able to come to the table and to be able to have a serious

. >> director for the center of strategic studies in washington, d.c. he believes the syrian government is benefiting from tense relations between the u.s. and turkey. >> the u.s. is involved, with the ypg, and it does not accept the turkish dissention o designn restraining the ypg from moving west from kobani into the 98 kilometers that is not controlled by the kurds. on the other hand, the russian he encouraging the kurds to run east into that corridor where overt 60,000 refugees have been gathered. the only beneficiary of that this kind of confusion is bashar al-assad sitting in damascus. hiss force he have made a lot of headway in the recent weeks, the aleppo turkey connection has been cut by the heavy russian bombing over the last couple of months.the opposition is circled in aleppo and the turkish focus is not so much helping the opposition, but in conflict not with assad's forces but with ypg the kurdish group. >> u.s. jeth hav jets have strut i.s.i.l. fighters, among them was gunmen involved in the tunisian attack. >> near the libyan town close

. >> rosiland jordan joins us live now from washington, d.c. hi, there, ros. so what else did obama say, and what has been the reaction so far? >> reporter: well, the president also said that closing guantanamo essentially will remove what he calls a stain on the u.s.'s reputation around the world; that it is impossible for the u.s. to talk about human rights and about rule of law when guantanamo still exists. he pointed out that isil or daesh is using the images of people in the orange jumpsuits in their own propaganda videos. we have seen this several times when they have killed western hostages, and the president said that he wants to remove that sort of incitement, another way, as it were of trying to defeat isil. the reaction here on capitol hill is falling as you might expect along partisan lines. democratic legislatures say that they support the president's efforts to close guantanamo, however, republicans, including the senate majority leader are very much opposed. >> it would be illegal under current law to transfer a foreign terrorist at guantanamo i

that's hardly an unintended side effect, seoul and washington want to pressure china to reign in its ally in pyongyang. on monday stealth fighters were demonstrating what it calls defending its ally in the sew of force. harry fawcett, al jazeera, seoul. >>> more on the bombing in the turkish capitol, ankara now. turkish tv saying the explosion took place near a van carrying military personnel in the turkish capitol. so it would appear the turkish military was the target of the attack. let's bring you some of the pictures we're getting. the news agency says the explosion happened near military lodgings, and turkish police say the blast was caused by a vehicle exploding. there you can see large plumes of smoke, a lot of activity in the area that has been the target of the attack. police are on the scene. the ambulance is on the scene. you can hear sirens are whaling. and security forces are there as well. and it would appear there is a fire also raging there in ankara, where a vehicle exploded. zana hoda is monitoring the developments for us. and we have an update from the governor of

roslind jordan is in washington, d.c. she has the latest. >> the obama administration is facing criticism from many quarters about what it is doing or not doing to try to end the civil war inside syria. the u.s. argues what it is trying to do is expand the work against isil to help eliminate the health of isil, and it is using all diplomatic means to resolve the civil war inside syria. in particular the u.s. is very reluctant to do what such as the turkish president, and the outgoing foreign minister have been suggesting which is a morrow bust military engagement. inside syria. the obama administration has been very reluctant to do that because it is conscious of starting another war in the middle east. now at one point the presidential envoy dealing with the coalition is that the u.s. is very much looking to support other members of the coalition particularly those from airplane countries who want to do more to defeat isil and who want to find a diplomatic solution to the civil war. he was very diplomatic on wednesday th