obviously we're having problems with phil ittner's live shot coming out of switzerland. we'll try to reestablish that communication shortly. the pentagon has been under fire for how it handles sexual assaults, and today the senate begins a measure that could change how those cases can handled. >> what is at stake dell is whether or not the military should have per view over sexual assault cases. kristin gillibrand wants to get it out of the hands of the commanders. here is senator gillibrand on abc sunday explaining why. >> we want to make sure the men and women who serve our military, have a justice system deserving of their sacrifice. they are literally giving their lives for our values and country, and they should haven't pa justice system that is bias and has unfairness. >> she says her amendment would keep cases from being swept under the rug. there is a completing bill that keeps it in the chain of command. what that bill would do, is it would make it a crime to retaliate against someone who is a victim of sexual assault. it would also take it out of commander's ab

phil ittner thank you. live in geneva after days of negotiations, no deal reache reh iran over its nuclear program. we'll take a quick break and we'll be right back after this. ♪ >> hello, welcome to al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz live in new york. talks about iran's nuclear program end the tonight without an agreement. but concrete progress has been made. those talks in geneva wrapped up earlier tonight, and there is still no deal this evening. we have negotiations under way after days of negotiations, though, no deal. phil ittner is covering all of this p phil, what, if anything, was accomplished today? >> well, jonathan, i think what's been accomplished today is at least a beginning, substantive talks have been conducted in geneva in which there has been real substantive talks between the irans and the p-5, something that the diplomats here in geneva say is a real break through in the fact that the iranians are here and willing to be talk, or have been here and willing to talk and there is since

phil ittner joining us live from geneva where john kerry has just arrived, and phil, the senior leaders are gat ering. are we expecting anything to happen any time soon? >> well, dell, it doesn't look like today, but it is interesting to note we have heard from the state department that secretary of state kerry has canceled his travel plans. he was scheduled to go to algeria and morocco and he will be doing that. he will be staying here. so you have a lot of heavy hitters trying to get this started. but there is still an awful lot of work to be done. >> there are still some very important issues on the table that are unresolved. it is important for those to be properly, thoroughly addressed. i want to emphasize there is not an agreement at this point in time. we hope to try to narrow those differences, but i don't think anybody should mistake that there are some important gaps that have been to be closed. >> phil, important gaps that need to be closed. do we know what those are? >> well, there are a number of outstanding issues that apparently are on the table here on the iranian side o

al jazeera's phil ittner is there. this is the third time, is it going to be a charm? >> tit is going to be difficult. that is directly from an u.s. official. the official saying if this was easy it would have been done a long time ago. nevertheless, there remains a sense of optimism on the ground here within geneva. there are a number of things outlined in that press briefing, not least of which they have had their first meeting of all the dignitaries, the delegations along with iranians today. they break out, a break from that, and they go into a series of bilateral meetings. that's in you the u.s. officialg they have not rested on their laurels in the last ten days since the last meeting, but there have been a number of talks amongst the leaders and foreign ministers. >> before those comments by iran's supreme leader and then that optimism faded. what is the impact you're seeing there? >> reporter: well, there is deep concern over those statements but there is also an understanding much of what was said was for the domestic audience. the speech was given in front of

phil ittner joints us live from geneva. are they close to a deal? >> it sounds from all indications we are getting from pretty much behind closed doors that they are really down to the wire. it could be the make or break moment. because it's that, it could go either way. there's some talk that it's pessimistic. there's some talk saying that they are 90% there. there's just a few issues outstanding, not least of which the statement that's just recently come out from a high-ranking member of the iranian delegation, a deputy foreign minister that days any document that does not include the wording that iran has the inalienable right to enrich iranian will be unacceptable to the iranian side. it's down to wording - what is going to be in this potentially historic document. and they haven't decided yet, and it could, as i say, go either way. >> so no deal is reached, what happens next? >> well, general as you mentioned john kerry plans to go london tomorrow. also we heard from the high-ranking iranian member that they are putting a finite time on this sa

phil ittner live in geneva. thank you. >> i was to bring in kelsey davenport, a nonproliferation analyst with a think tank arms control association. i liked your perspective on this. what do you think is the big sticking point? >> it's too soon to tell whether we'll reach an agreement in the next two days. the right to enrich uranium is likely something that is holding up progress on the deal. iran wants an agreement to say it has the right to enrich uranium and the united states, and its negotiating partners do not believe that the nuclear nonproliferation treaty gives states a right to enrich uranium. that is likely something that it holding up the deal. >> i thought there would be a compromise, they'd agree to disagree and iran can enrich in small doses. >> that could be what we see. foreign minister mohammad javad zarif indicated that some language to that effect may be worked out. the supreme leader said iran's right to enrich uranium needs to be protected. it remains to be seen how they work out the langua

phil ittner gins us live from geneva. phil, where are we today? >> well, dell, there have been a lot of meetings behind closed doors, but as you mention, we do hear there is a draft resolution that is being fine tuned. primarily today the center point of the talks have been around the eu meeting with the irani iranian -- delegation. but we did hear there has been some progress. >> it is not your classic bilateral, it was a real meaningful substantial negotiation, trying to drill down into the details and try to narrow the differences that still existed after the last round. >> so it is also interesting to know we did get a message from the u.s. delegation, they said there has been no bilateral meeting between the u.s. and iran today. very interesting. it is possible they have been in those meetings with the eu, but no one on one talks today. dell. >> phil, thank you very much. ♪ >> i'm dave warren. we're talk about a volcanic eruption happening off of the coast of japan. this is an image but there is dramatic video. you can see that below the wa

phil ittner joins us live. what is the latest? >> well, this is a marathon session in geneva. the documents, we are led to believe, are sitting around the table trying to hash out the final points, the last few contentious issues that stalled the negotiations here. it is an indication of how serious they take the issue. the fact that they are well into the middle of the night and still talking shows us that they are going to try to use every minute, every hour as they go into sunday to try to find a resolution. >> that raises another question - is there a deadline. could they pick up the talks tomorrow morning? >> well potentially. human endurance is so good for so long. they may have to call. they have said they'll take every hour. but you know, it's 2 in the morning, as you mentioned. they do say that certainly sunday will be the cut-off time. we heard from the iranian delegation. it's midday sunday. we know that secretary of state john kerry does plan to go to london later sunday. so this can't go on forever, certainly. will they take time to take a breather and come back?

. >> let's turn to our phil ittner, who is standing by live in geneva. i was struck by how inclusive the agreement seems to be. secretay of state john kerry making it clear that this will freeze if not roll back iran's nuclear ambitions. >> yes, that's right. the other thing is you really get a sense of why this was so hard to hash out. the just sheer number of specific issues - whether it's the amount of money and the sanctions, where the sanctions would be alleviated, what centrifuges would be shut down, the various enrichment levels. secretay of state john kerry clearly outlining the various fine points of this deal. it's no wonder it took so long to hash out this deal. he also, in his press conference, went out of his way to assuage the fears of those who will look upon this agreement as cap ittualation or defeat and went out of his way to as wuj the fears of israel. there's also, of course, been the earlier press conference by the iranian foreign minister who also indicated that there needs to be an effort to change the perception of iran and that t

phil ittner is live in geneva where the leaders have been meeting. and you have been reporting that something seems afoot, what do you get that feeling? >> well, dell, there's an an awful lot going on here behind closed doors, people keeping their cards very close to their chest. but we have had seen a canceling of a short trip that was planned to go over to italy, and he stayed here to have a series of bilateral meetings, and that's a very interesting shift in the way these talks have been conducted in the past. it does seem as though there is something happening, and there is a mood of cautious optimism here dell. >> phil there are hard liners on both sides of this issue, phil, what are they saying? >> yeah, any kind of agreement that is reached here, they are going to have to go back to their individual countries, of course in the u.s. we're already hearing talk in congress about more sanctions not less and in iran we're seeing hard liners, of course that massive demonstration -- anti-american demonstration around iran. but it's not just iran and

phil ittner joins us live. do yohave you gotten an update h how this is going? >> well, richelle, we're just now hearing from the iranian delegation and it appears as if they're preparing to leave today in the talks without an agreement. however, they are also saying that they will return in a week's time, this third round, this may be the round that the first step is kicked off. it's been a flurry of activity over the last 48 hours. a marathon session, and more talks today. an awful lot of meetings going on here. as william hague has said with this being such an important issue there is a need to keep up the pace. >> real momentum has built up and there is concentration on these negotiations. so we have to do everything we can to seize the moment and seize the opportunity to reach a deal that has eluded the world. the world has been unable to reach for a very long time. now here at the press center we are seeing an awful lot of activity and apparent preparation for some sort of press conference. so something is emanant here in gentlemen knee have, whether or no

. >> phil ittner. thank you very much. let's wrap this up for a moment. negotiations appears to be gaining momentum. iran said there is accomplices they simply will not budge. they said that they will not compromise on the red line, it's right to enrich uranium. the united states and other powers say there is no right to enrich. iran said it wants to use enriched uranium for medical and research purposes but that can also be used to nuclear weapons. which is why leaders want to say they want to stop that. the p5+1 wants iran to allow greater access to its facility. iran wants the economic sanctions to end. >>> afghanistan's loya jirga or tribal council continue to deliberate it's future. >> reporter: today was the final day for delegates at the jirga to study and debate this bilateral security agreement. tomorrow they're expected to give their opinion on it publicly to the president of afghanistan. now, senior source from the government involved in the jirga has told al jazeera is that we're likely to see the edition of one line or one clause to this secu

phil ittner joins us now. it's been going on for three days. that in and of itself is significant, phil, so where do things stand now? >> well, richelle, it does look as though things are winding down. we're hearing reports from inside the iranen delegation that they expect talks will end today, and that is in accord and an agreement has not met. that they could reconvene in about a week. now there has been a flurry of activity here in geneva in the last 38 hours or so with john kerry flying in, and other major players on the diplomatic stage. the british foreign minister said with this being such a vital issue on the global stage it is important to keep up the pace. >> real momentum has built up in these negotiations. there is now a real concentration on these negotiations. and so we have to do everything we can to seize the moment and seize the opportunity to reach a deal that has alluded the world, the world has been unable to reach for a very long time. >> now as you mentioned richelle we're expecting some sort of wrap up press conference w

. >> they, indeed, are not there yet, phil ittner. thank you so much. >>> in pakistan thousands gathered for an anti-drone rally this morning and they blocked one of the main roads leading into afghanistan. the road one of two that nato uses to carry military supplies between the two countries. afghanistan's loya jirga co convened in kabul again. they're considering a deal that allows the u.s. to stay in their country until 2024. >>> the at this hour kish ambassador to egypt has been expelled by cairo. a spokesman said the turkish government has been working to undermine egypt's interim government. turkish president responded by saying, i hope our relations will get back on track. >>> it's been two weeks since typhoon haiyan swept through the philippines where the number of casualties has now reached more than 5200. countless families have been torn apart and millions of children have lost their parents. we have reports from tacloban. >> reporter: it is rare to see caesar smiling these days. the seven-year-old says he misses his famil

phil ittner thank you so much. >>> eboni deon has a look at weather for us. >> tracking haiyan as it continues to move onto the china sea. as it does it will continue to weak 7. still at this time it's a category 3rd hurricane as it closes in just along the coast of vietnam. as yet next the 24, 48 hours the for a strong tropical storm storm. those winds are going to be coming down but we're expecting a lot of rainfall. we're seeing mostly clear conditions but i'm tracking an area of low pressure that is bringing in winds on the backside of that low. we have winds over 20 miles an hour where with we do have wind advisories interest. most of the showers have been on the lighter side, so travel carefully. we do have a winter storm warning for the northern rockies. we could end up with six inches of snow in the higher elevations. but right now it's clouds with rain along the coast line in ebony, thank you. when we come back. indigenous tribes gather in brazil. that's next. >> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey in new york. here are your headlines. negotiators in genev

all the steps outlined by phil ittner are important. they'll lead to the ability for the international community to watch iran more closely and it would be impossible for rain to build a nuclear weapon below the radar, if all the steps are followed. the inspections are a key part. six months is the time line and if everything goes it will be an opportunity to move forward on a deal that could go further. >> what happens if iran doesn't lie up to these commitments? >> there's a rolling back or minimising of sanctions, $6 billion to $7 billion. they'll be out the window and boosted. that's what the u.s. is threatening. president obama is stressing diplomacy at this moment. >> ultimately only diplomacy can bring about a solution to the challenge posed by iran's nuclear program. as president and commander in chief i'll do what i can to stop iran having a nuclear weapon. i have an obligation to solve these peacefully. >> some k acting with sceptize im, calling for legislation that would put deeper sanctions in place if iran does not make goo

. >> aljazeera's phil ittner joins us from geneva. phil, this is the third such meeting of the so-called p5 plus one. are they any closer to a deal? >> they came very close last time. this is not seen as another round, but a continuation, a further session from the session that ended about a week and a half ago when they got so very close. we do know a little bit more about what those sticking points are that are keeping the two sides from an agreement, and on the western side of things, it seems the french are championing, in particular, the issue of the iraq heavy water plant with iran, producing plutonium as a byproduct of its production and the standing surplus, the stockpile of enriched uranium iran already has. that seems to be where they have they are impasse. if they can get pass that and there is cautious optimism today, that would signal what could be a ground-breaking agreement between the sides. >> iraned supreme leader seemed to take a harder line overnight. could this affect the talks? just moments ago, the french govern

al jazeera's phil ittner was in geneva as the development unfolded. >> a result after a long night. p5+1 and iran struck an historic deal. the importance of which hinted by the u.s. president's unusual for a saturday late night address. >> today that diplomacy opened a new path to a world that is more secure. a future in which we can verify that iran's nuclear program is peaceful, and that it cannot build a nuclear weapons. today's announcement is a first step. it achieves a great deal. >> we have halted the progress. iranian nuclear program. >> in awkward timing the iranian prime minister spoke in geneva at exactly the same time. >> i believe it is important that we all of us seat the opportunity to end an unnecessary crisis and open new horizons, based on respect for the rights of the iranian people and removal of any doubts about the exclusively peaceful nature of iran's nuclear program. >> under the deal iran agreed to halt you'll enrichment and will neutralize its stockpile. it will halt progress on its enrichment capacity, meaning it won't install centrifuges. it won't increas

. >> aljazeera's phil ittner is live in geneva, good morning, phil. how are both sides approaching this negotiation, does the u.s. have hopes that anything will be achieved soon? >> well, stephanie, both sides seem to be coming to the table here in geneva with cautious optimism that something may actually come of these talks. there's an awful lot of talk about concrete steps and a first step that would lead to a further process with the ultimate goal of a verifiable atomic program within iran that does not include a weapons enrichment program. there is hope here in the air in geneva, but a very clear should understanding that this is not going to be easy no matter what. stephanie. >> phil, there are hard-liners in both camps. we heard from netanyahu. how much do these voices affect the negotiations? >> very much, we had a background briefing with a senior member of the u.s. delegation last night and that official said that they were hopings the delegation here was hoping congress would not push for further sanctions, thought that would be counter prod

aljazeera's phil ittner joining us now. can a deal get done and how will they resox the major differences to achieve it? >> obviously that is the question on hand here. now, the delegates who have arrived in geneva and started their first full day of talks today still remain optimistic, saying the also mere is positive. they don't know if they'll reach an agreement of course until one is actually signed. it's not a done deal. the u.s. delegation gave a background briefing last night saying they are still hopeful, still working. until there's actually some ink on paper, it's not a done deal. >> statements from iranian officials seem to echo a hard line stance iran bill not back down on its nuclear rights. are these comments affecting talks? well, you know, thomas, obviously, those statements that are being made not only here in geneva by the iranian delegation, but back in iran by the supreme leader which are quite aggressive and very controversial and critical of the west, those statements are obviously on the radar here, b

. >> aljazeera's phil ittner, thank you. >> washington lawmakers working to stop discrimination. >> a bill is working its way nothing the senate. >> a candidate for governor looks to silence detractors. the revelation he's made about his personal life and why he says it has no effect on his ability to lead. >> a hedge fund giant strikes a deem with the u.s. government, agreeing to pay the largest fine ever for inside training. >> good morning. welcome back to aljazeera america. >> coming up, the story of a transgender man and who you bill in the senate could help him land a job. >> the senate debating that bill today. first, let's look at what temperatures we can expect across the nation today with nicole. >> definitely the biggest contrast this morning is the midwest where we were talking about that system turning to snow. along with that, we have the frontal boundary through the area, so that dividing the air masses, the colds, 20's and third's, ahead of that in the warm, more temperatures in the 50's this morning. as we get through the rest of the country today, the mild spot is go

phil ittner is in geneva for the latest. >> reporter: the mood here in geneva is no longer a question. it is no longer cautious optimism. there is a real sense of anticipation that a deal is imminent. the news that secretary of state john kerry is expected to fly in, expected here in the morning saturday morning has are the t atmosphere that there is a deal ready. and it is the wording of the agreement, not the substance, that has been gone ove over and over. the question whether or not iran will get sanction relief on some sort of agreement on two primary issues seems to be afoot. those two primary issues include the iraq nuclear heavy water plant that produces plutonium as a by-product. the other major issue that has been outstanding is the surplus of enriched uranium. we are on the first step, a six-month trial period that would ultimately lead to a final and complete resolution of this issue. nobody is saying that this is the last, they're saying this the first step, but this important first step looks as though it's about to happen. >> afghan president ha hamid kai is rejecting t

. >> thank you, phil ittner in geneva. >> john terret. >> reporter: why do we really care? >> why do we care? >> reporter: because ordinary people are really hurting. because you know, there is little doubt that the reason these talks are taking place in geneva at all right now is because iran's economy is really in a bad way. in the past seven years the u.n. the european union have all imposed crippling sanctions against individuals and companies and entities that have literally wrecked iran's petrol economy, and we're feeling the pinch. iran's economy is the 21stageest economy in the world by gdp or growth. of course it's dominated by gas and oil production but there are 40 industries listed on the tehran stock exchange. but the effect of the sanctions has been to seal iran off from the rest of the world. it cannot easily import or export materials for a long time. it was assumed that the materials that iran needs to keep going was coming illegally from china to the east. however, i think that either to have gone away because right now the trade at iran's ports have seize

phil ittner has our report. >> it was the european union that seems to take center stage today here in geneva. one on one talks between the representative kathryn ashton and the iranian delegation were predominately what happened here. we do know from the u.s. that there was no by lateral directly between the u.s. and iran today. however, it's all together possible that the u.s. joined in meetings between ashton and her iranian counter part. so there's -- it's been interesting to note, the dynamics and the makeup of the talks. also been interesting to learn that there is apparently a draft agreement. now that agreement is far from a completed text. we are told they are would recollecting on the finer points. but the fact that they are working on the language of a potential signed agreement, leads many to believe that actually there is some significant progress being made. >> female workers aren faking out across several midwest states. they are working to determine who will receive help. the national weather service says at least 55 tornadoes touched down, and most in one day this year

i want to brick in aljazeera's phil ittner. good morning to up, phil. iran's foreign minister say a deal could be in the works. secretary of state john kerry's coming in along with the french foreign minister and british foreign secretary. would this suggest a deal is imminent and what exactly is on the table here? >> well thomas, i think the fact that all these big hitters are coming into town does lead to the sense of optimism here on the ground in geneva that's been here basically since the start. what's on the table, we don't know exactly. a couple of things have been floated, on the iranian side they would give up part of their eye rain yum enrichment program. whether totally given up is unlikely, but lower it from 20%, close to a weapons grade. it's been floated the idea that they would be more transparent in what they're doing, and that there would be a cap on the centrifuges that are used. on the western side, there is an idea of an easing of sanctions. there's no talk of getting rid of all sanctions yet, there would be bank accounts held by hig

. >> phil ittner life in london. everyone horrified by this, they must be on pins and needles in london. >> del, this is a highly anticipated court case. that killing of lee rig by on the streets of london back in may of this year shocked the country. while this is a high profile case, it is far from the only incident causing concern. this is not why 22-year-old florida student came to london, but three days after arriving to study abroad, a gang of young men attacked him for drinking an open bottle of beer in a predominantly muslim area, leaving him with facial scars he will carry for life. the crime echos the muslim patrols where self appointed patrollers attempted to enforce muslim you. >> this is a muslim area. >> their vision would ban drinking, gambling, homosexuals or women dressed inappropriately. the organize nicers have now halted the patrols but not before self arrests for a variety of crimes. >> a cofounder of the patrols said they offer a solution to the vices of the west. >> pornography, abortion, and t