al assad regime what kind of relationship does hadr al abadi have with bashar al assad? >> reporter: it's a very interesting dynamic. not only do we have the iranians backing bashar al assad and providing assistance on the ground whether it's through hezbollah or through some of their other proxies, but also remember we have the iranians providing assistance to the iraqi government and to the iraqi security forces. no secret has been made of this. iran does have advisers boots on the ground on the front lines in iraq's battle against isis effectively putting them in some sort of indirect alliance with the united states in that battleground as well. the new prime minister of iraq is in a very tenuous and tricky situation where he does need to continue to maintain those channels of communications with damascus because baghdad and damascus at the end of the day are both facing the same challenge of trying to rid their territories of isis. but iraq also has to continue to maintain a relationship with the united states one that is very vital at this stage because as we know w

says syrian president bashar al-assad must be part of a solution to end fighting in the country and opposition says he is the problem. youtube turns ten, we take a look at how the video sharing site has changed the internet over the last decade plus. >> i'm daniel lack in canada yukon territory and looking at how scientists are studying the amazing athletes in this ultra endurance race the yukon ultra to learn how conditions might be for humans in space. ♪ fighting is intensifying in eastern ukraine hours before a new ceasefire is due to take effect pro-russian separatists and ukraine army are battling near the town and these images claim to show a build up of russian artillery northeast of the junction town and tweeted by the u.s. ambassador jeffrey piat on friday and said we are confident these are russian military and not separatists, ukraine president had this to say about the latest violence. >> after what this is of minsk it's not just an attack of ukraine, this is an attack of minsk results and without explanation because unfortunately after minsk the defense operation of russia inten

president bashar al-assad must go. al jazeera. >> former prime minister has made a rare visit after his father's assassination. the case has deeply affected the country. >> it was an assassination that langed lebanon. prime minister hariri killed in a car bomb in the heart of downtown beirut. at the time, a belief that it would lesson lessen its influence. >> increasing sectarianism that happens, and it's extremely important that at the route of this was not so much the hariri assassination as it was the 2003 invasion of iraq. that's the point that it really began. once the iraq war was over, as far as the military damage and the u.s. damage militarily, that moved to lebanon and syria and it was manifested in what came to be the hariri assassination. >> it a direct impact on the had some identify with radical groups. there have been street battles between those who support the resolution many will tell you the increasing violence and divisions hear come down to the state, more specifically the politicians. not doing en

bashar al-assad must be part of the fighting in syria and say he is part of the prove. and poverty could lead to former rebel fighters taking up arms again. ♪ and let the fun begin it's time for brazil's biggest party, the rio carnival. ♪ well far from less is what we might think with fighting intensifying in eastern ukraine hours before a's fire is due to come in effect proseparatist and army are battling in particular near the town here. these images are said to show a build up of russian artillery to the northeast of the town and tweeted by the u.s. ambassador to ukraine jeffrey on friday he said we are confident these are russian military not separatists. the ukraine's president had this to say about the latest violence. >> after this this is not just attack of ukraine civilian this is attack of the minsk results and we don't have explanation because of the defense operation of russia intensified significantly. >> reporter: so where is the fighting in eastern ukraine as the clock ticks down to what could be a ceasefire? these are the areas currently held by sepa

we know that turkey has been pushing for bashar al-assad to be toppled. what are the implications for the regional neighbours? >> first of all, bashar al-assad is in no position to do anything to turkey anyway. so bashar al-assad is - the civil war is essentially controlling not much of - not all of the territory. what the regime says at this stage is irrelevant. i want to say one think. it's not just the desecration of the tomb but there were 38 soldiers protecting the hostages, that is important. the tomb itself - people don't realise it the tomb was relocated to where it is now, from another location. it was in the 1970s. she was not in its original location to begin with. income, it was only symbolling. it was not - no knowledge for is to be there. >> i want to turn the conversation back to the largest picture. the turkish troops entered syria through kobane. we know they were secured by the kurdish troops by i.s.i.l. fighters. are we seeing turkey and the kurds putting the historic differences aside and uniting against a common enemy. >> i don't thin

the united states is not talking to bashar al assad. we probably informed syria through third parties when the air campaign was beginning. any sort of major changes to the air campaign get communicated but as he said there's no tactical details. there's no coordination in the air space. the fact that planes haven't shot at each other is simply explained by the fact that they're told not to shoot at other planes. isis doesn't have an air force. there's no reason to shoot at anything in the sky. >> it is kind of strange if you step back and look at it. here's the leader of a country, syria, and he's not even being informed what's happening in his own skies, not by the united states or by jordan. >> well, of course we -- our president has said that bashar al assad must go. he's a president of a country who's committed war crimes. i don't think the united states or our allies are going to communicate too much with him over our actions to destroy isis on his turf. >> he could complicate things though right? because in that same interview wit

and western position that bashar al-assad has to go. again it's confusing foreign policy. >> it's very confusing and confusing because there are no good sluices in this area. we are beginning osee progress on the ground, it is beginning to trend in the right direction. you don't have many of those ingredients right now in syria. there are a lot of questions and a lot of fingers being pointed about what could or could not have been done better in the last couple of years in syria. the real question is what do you do now? i'm not sure it's a bad thing that we have seen a bit of softening from the administration about the opening sort of preconditions for having a conversation between folks in damascus and in other capitals. >> i want to bring it back to the beginning, valerie amos, 12 million refugees, what is the time we're looking at? >> years perhaps decades. if you look at bosnia, iraq, any of the place we looked at in africa, we'll talk about decades to get these people home and resettled. >> hardin, thank you. >>> a dangerous game,

al assad shows no signs of bowing to his critics. >> reporter: arguably president bashar al assad is perhaps more confident at this stage it would seem from that interview in bbc than he has been in recent times maintaining his position that he will not cooperate with the united states whom he says is backing terrorists. that's how bashar al assad refers to the syrian opposition the syrian rebel groups. also saying that the information that's being shared is not tactical information. it's not any sort of specifics and all of that coming through third-party nations such as iraq. this was a broad ranging interview. one of the key points that was brought up is this issue of the barrel bombs. with the war on isis then a been taking place, a lot of attention is on that terrorist organization and very little attention has been on the reality that the syrian regime continues to bombard various neighborhoods with these barrel bombs. in the interview, assad denied the fact that his government is using this indiscriminate weapon. >> what about barrel bombs? you don't deny your forces use them.

and western position that bashar al-assad has to go. again it's confusing foreign policy. >> it's very confusing and confusing because there are no good sluices in this area. we are beginning osee progress on the ground, it is beginning to trend in the right direction. you don't have many of those ingredients right now in syria. there are a lot of questions and a lot of fingers being pointed about what could or could not have been done better in the last couple of years in syria. the real question is what do you do now? i'm not sure it's a bad thing that we have seen a bit of softening from the administration about the opening sort of preconditions for having a conversation between folks in damascus and in other capitals. >> i want to bring it back to the beginning valerie amos, 12 million refugees, what is the time we're looking at? >> years perhaps decades. if you look at bosnia, iraq, any of the place we looked at in africa we'll talk about decades to get these people home and resettled. >> hardin, thank you. >>> a dangerous game, am

bashar al-assad must be part of the solution to end fighting in the country and opposition says he is the problem. also this hour understand of protesters take to the streets in bahrain to mark four years for the start of the uprising call r for political reforms. and let the fun begin, it's time for brazil's biggest party, the rio carnival. ♪ fighting intensifying in eastern u rain -- ukraine hours but a ceasefire is to take effect pro-russia separatists on the outskirts of the town today, the government has become the main focus of the combat. these images are said to show a build up of russian artillery to the northeast of the rail way junction town and tweeted by the u.s. ambassador to ukraine on friday and said we are confident these are russian military and not separatists. and these are the areas currently held by the separatist fighters rebel stronghold of donetsk has seen shelling after the ceasefire deal announced and also been reports of shelling and live fire in the rebel held town of lohansk and one of strategic importance is a rail way town linking them to russia and g

how interested is president bashar al assad? he's been talking to jeremy. jeremy is now in the lebanese capitol beirut and joins us from there. quite an interview, jeremy. >> reporter: yeah. i think they chose this particular time because bashar al assad is feeling comfortable. i think they have chose this particular time because bashar al assad is feeling more secure now. i think because the americans are bombing islamic state, taking care of that particular problem for him. but, it's been a long time since the bbc interviewed him, 2010 to be precise is when we spoke to him. there were a lot of questions to ask and a lot to answer. you have lost control of large areas of syria, the jihadist group that calls itself islamic state emerged. there are perhaps 200,000 syrians dead millions lost their home through an envoy. they have called it the most serious humanitarian crisis. has syria become a failed state? >> no as long as the government and the state institutions -- cannot talk about failed states. talking about losing control is something completely diff

"the guardian" is focusing on what bashar al-assad is up to as well. he is portraying himself as part of the common fight against isis according to this editorial and he is getting away with it. the smooth images captured on a bbc camera must not distract us from the lies of a war criminal, according to the bbc. he is ever part of the problem not the solution. >> people covering the news are actually becoming the news. >> this is happening in the u.s. it is happening at nbc. they have suspended brian williams for six months without pay. brian williams is one of the star anchors for nbc. he draws about 9.3 million viewers per night. he was one of the most trusted names in america, but his credibility has plummeted in recent days after he acknowledged that he exaggerated his role in a helicopter incident and iraq. it is a little bit of a complicated, weird story. >> that is the nbc logo behind brian williams, it is not just psychedelic colors behind him. >> it is a peacock. he will be gone for six months. analysts say it will be difficult for him to boun

what do you about the brutality of bashar al assad? is it going to be turks, juror jordanian jordanians, american troops interspersed? maybe. but right now it's not looking like many good options in syria. >> assad did an interview with the bbc in which it was suggested that there was some coordination going on, not that the u.s. told assad's forces where u.s. fighters were going to be flying but that maybe iraq or some other country was serving as an intermediary. i would assume that's necessary so that the planes aren't crashing into each other. >> it's possible. and it's possible that coordination is happening. but there's a huge psychological advantage for assad to say that. he is demoralizing the free syrian army believe and they should believe the united states is on their side the moderate rebel opposition. if they're under the impression that the united states is in any way coordinating with bashar al assad that would be very demoralizing to them. he's try to convince them as it is that the united states is backing him. and if

and the bashar al-assad regime as distasteful as it was, could control things inside. after the united states left iraq. similar assumptions were made. we have seen both prove untrue. we see fragmentation politically, ethnically within the societies tear them apart. as the fragment cakes within the society occurs. it is also starting to occur. my colleague correctly noted an influence in southern and eastern jordan. that's the economic dislocation from indigenous tribes. and the population that competes for jobs, resources, water and services. all of these things - you lay them on top of one another, and you get a level of complexity that we have not seen in the region in decades. add on top of that the break down of institutions and assumptions that used to govern that part of the world over the space of 50 or 60 years, and you have a dynamic and unsettling situation. jordan could be next, and i.s.i.s.'s desire is that jordan be next. >> thank you both. that's all for this edition of "inside story". we want you to talk back to your television, visit our facebook page

. >> as dash retreats to syria, we continue the fight and to put pressure on the bashar al-assad regime there's no place for a brutal dictator. the fight against violent extremists will not be decided on the battlefield. we have to remain deeply committed to this fight. those not yet committed need to commit to the fight. it is unrelenting. >> sounds there like john kerry wants more countries to join the coalition in the fight against i.s.i.l. >> well certainly that's the message coming out of here that this is a global threat and needs to be countered in a global way, that all countries are not spared from the threat and give a long list of achievements. so far there has been 2,000 air strikes, about a fifth of the territory is under i.s.i.l. chrome that it was lost by the group. he said that some of the controls have been retaken. he did say that unless there is a global approach meaning it has to start in schools, there has to be economical and political reform then it will continue and persist, and maybe the group will change into an area in the past where it turned into i.s.i.l. wh

i don't know what happens in syria, i read the newspaper, and there's speculation that bashar al-assad stays. but i think, my personal view would be a restructured government without him would have wider government acceptance and send a message that people that gas their own people and have been engaged in a civil war where their own people are targets don't deserve to lead countries. >> you are vocal about the fact that while all of this goes on and we are very focused and battle fatigued in america, pakistan is a place you think we have to watch. >> i wrote an op ed recently that basically says we have got to have some brain cells on the pakistan problem. pakistan has nukes. this is not iran that may have nukes. pakistan has nukes. >> interestingly, it's not a failed state, it's an ally. >> it's not a failed state, it's an ally. it has a week civil government which is trying to become stronger and has a military with an intelligence service that no one would say is always on our side. >> right. >> it's not just because i watch "homeland" on tv. >> it's pressing. >> i have some experi

and the bashar al-assad regime as distasteful as it was, could control things inside. after the united states left iraq. similar assumptions were made. we have seen both prove untrue. we see fragmentation politically, ethnically within the societies tear them apart. as the fragment cakes within the society occurs. it is also starting to occur. my colleague correctly noted an influence in southern and eastern jordan. that's the economic dislocation from indigenous tribes. and the population that competes for jobs resources, water and services. all of these things - you lay them on top of one another, and you get a level of complexity that we have not seen in the region in decades. add on top of that the break down of institutions and assumptions that used to govern that part of the world over the space of 50 or 60 years, and you have a dynamic and unsettling situation. jordan could be next and i.s.i.s.'s desire is that jordan be next. >> thank you both. that's all for this edition of "inside story". we want you to talk back to your television visit our facebook page and

i don't know what happens in syria, i read the newspaper, and there's speculation that bashar al-assad stays. but i think, my personal view would be a restructured government without him would have wider government acceptance, and send a message that people that gas their own people and have been engaged in a civil war where their own people are targets don't deserve to lead countries. >> you are vocal about the fact that while all of this goes on, and we are very focused and battle fatigued in america, pakistan is a place you think we have to watch. >> i wrote an op ed recently that basically says we have got to have some brain cells on the pakistan problem. pakistan has nukes. this is not iran that may have nukes. pakistan has nukes. >> interestingly, it's not a failed state, it's an ally. >> it's not a failed state, it's an ally. it has a week civil government, which is trying to become stronger, and has a military with an intelligence service that no one would say is always on our side. >> right. >> it's not just because i watch "homeland" on tv. >> it's pressing. >> i have some ex

i read the newspapers, and there's speculation that bashar al-assad stays. my personal view is a government without him would have wider public acceptance and send a message that people who gas their own people and have been engaged in a civil war where their own people are targets with barrel bombs and cruel countries. >> you are vocal about the fact that while all of is going on and we battle fatigued. pakistan is a place to watch. i wrote an op-ed that says we need brain cells on the problem. pakistan has nukes, it's not nukes. >> it's not a failed state, and it's an ally. >> it's not a failed state, it's an alley. it has a weak civil government, trying to become stronger, and has a military with an intelligence service that no one would say is always on our side. it's not just because i watch homeland on tv. >> it's pressing. problem. >> it's not clear that the pakistani military is on the side of the pakistani go. . >> that's right. >> this is hard to handle. sometimes america does business with the i.s.i. >> absolutely. there are able leaders of the i.

than the atrocities of the bashar al-assad regime. >> reporter: iraq and syria fighting i.s.i.l. on its home turf welcome the measure. >> we are pleased to see that the council has moved finally in the right direction, towards establishing and setting a wider train work to combatting terrorism. >> this resolution shows the security council is united. when it comes to fighting i.s.i.l. and other groups affiliated with al qaeda. some of the weapons are not new. it raises the stakes >>> the president of the opposition syrian national coalition wants international help to stop the syrian government shelling of douma outside the capital damascus. there's reports of a rise in civilian casualties. you may find some of the images disturbing. >> it's a city on the brink of destruction. chaos in douma can be seen on the faces of residents struggling to survive air strikes. douma has seen a rise in casualties since the syrian government launched an offensive last week. activists say more than 200 have been killed half in the last few days. the onslaught prompted the president to call on the

bashar al assad must be involved in a short-term solution to end the fighting. he said he wasn't talking about a long term political solution and the geneva communique remains the basis of a u.n. plan to end the war. it calls for a transitional government possibly including members of the current government. >> there is an important dialogue that we need to have. he is still president of syria. there is a government. there is a large part of syria which is under the control of the syrian government and i will continue having very important discussions with him because he is part of the solution. >> people living in the syrian city zuma have called for international help to stop government shelling. some have been protesting a government offensive on therel held areas almost two weeks old. 200 people have reportedly been killed. and talks between the syrian government and opposition fighters have broken down in homs. they say they won't accept government demands to put down their arms -- the rebels that is -- in exchange for civilians. >> reporter: this has been

al assad. >> boko haram baling inside nigeria, the armed group attacked chad. >> i'm very proud of every single moment i spent in prison for the sake of freedom of expression. >> out on bail, al jazeera journalist baher mohammed and mohamed fahmy are now with their families. >> a shia mosque has been attacked in the pakistani city, at least 19 people have been killed. this is the second serious attack on a mosque in two weeks. >> they clothes the busiest time of the week, friday prayers. a small group of men wearing suicide vests entered the building and shot at worshipers, even throwing grenades. one blew himself up, killing the most number of people. another attacker was held down by some of the worshipers until he was shot by officers. according to a local police chief, this was a courageous decision that prevented many for deaths. the people were caught in the middle of a long running violent campaign by the pakistani taliban. it wants to him pose a strict version of islamic law and wants more control and said this is revenge for the killing of one of its men in december. >> the tali

last week forces fighting for bashar al-assad and hezbollah and iran said they took part of aleppo and took parts of assad and killing his men and taking some prisoners they say. >> translator: rite you we freed the gangs from assad and iranians. >> reporter: and lost men to al-news yeah an al-qaeda affiliated group and fighting for control of aleppo and withdrew but remains a threat from positions nearby and they have important supply routes for both rebel and government forces wins in aleppo would be important for any side in the fight. >> it's a big city the biggest in syria, it's the commercial heart of the country and has incredibly strategic links to turkey in the north, to the heart land and the center and towards lebanon, towards the i.s.i.l. controlled areas and kurdish areas in the east so it's an important, symbolic issue that they are willing to fight to maintain their control or the areas they control because the city is divided. >> reporter: cultural heritage being wiped off and show what is left of the old city one of the country's world heritage sites. aleppo has become

. >> the moderate syrian opposition which is battling both isil fighters and president bashar al assad's forces is about to get some much-needed help. the united states military said it's identified 1200 syrian opposition fighters for potential training. the turkish government will provide an equal number of trainers to work alongside their american counterparts. the agreement was signed on thursday. >> we are better off and the region is better off. this is the start and we have a lot of work ahead of us. >> the turkish government says the opposition fighters could also target president bashar al assad's forces. >> these forces will fight against islam state as well as other terrorist organizations in the field. >> the deal with turkey is part of a broader program to train syrian fighters opposed to isil. u.s. officials say a deal for a training facility in jordan is eminent and locations in saudi arabia and qatar could be ready within the year. on the ground, the battles continue. these are fighters from the shamir front battling forces in aleppo. they just gained control of farmland i

i read the newspapers and there's speculation that bashar al-assad stays. my personal view is a government without him would have wider public acceptance and send a message that people who gas their own people and have been engaged in a civil war where their own people are targets with barrel bombs and cruel weapons don't deserve to lead countries. >> you are vocal about the fact that while all of is going on and we battle fatigued. pakistan is a place to watch. i wrote an op-ed that says we need brain cells on the problem. pakistan has nukes, it's not iran that may have pakistan has nukes. >> it's not a failed state, and it's an ally. >> it's not a failed state, it's an alley. it has a weak civil government trying to become stronger and has a military with an intelligence service that no one would say is always on our side. it's not just because i watch homeland on tv. >> it's pressing. >> i have experience with the problem. >> it's not clear that the pakistani military is on the side of the pakistani go. . >> that's right. >> this is hard to handle. somet

syrians to go in andight against bashar al assad. does that mean we won't protect him against the barrel bombing of bashar al assad who already killed well over 200000 syrians? it is really kind of convoluted and i would say maybe call it an uncertain trumpet. >> are you going to be one of those proposing for broader authority for the president and the resolution as it gets debated? >> i think we should not restrain the president of the united states. the congress has the power of the purse. if we don't like what the commander in chief is doing, we can cut off his funds for doing so. but to restrain him in our authorization of him taking military action, i think frankly it is unconstitutional and eventually leads to 535 commanders in chief. >> let me ask you this larger question. you're somebody that you've been pushing hard to see a little more military presence in some of these countries, to increase the security. but as richard outlined if you don't have -- if you don't have the iraqi government ready with a political solution, if

. >> turkey's relations with syria, it's been opposed to the bashar al assad regime since the civil war began four years ago. it's condemned syria's crackdown on protestors since 2011. ankara has trained fighters from the free syrian army on its soil. turkey is not part of the u.s. led coalition against isil but in september its parliament authorized action against isil. turkey announced it will help to train moderate requireian fighters to fight isil and the bashar al assad regime. let's go to chase winter, a political affairs analyst on turkey joining us live from washington d.c. syria calls the turkish operation an act of flagrant aggression. it says that there will be consequences. is syria in a position to respond? what form might that response take? >> well, i think it's important to point out this isn't the first time turkey has gone into either pull out troops or reinforce troops. in this area of control the syrian government doesn't have much control in the area, and along the border to the village in the north near the syrian border, that's largely controlled by the ypg the sy

bashar al-assad must be involved in a short-term solution to end the fighting. he emphasized he wasn't talking about long-term plans he insists that the geneva communique remains the basis of a u.n. plan to end the war. it calls for a transitional government possibly including members of the current government. >> it is an important dialogue that we need to have. he is still president of syria. there is a government there. there is a large part of syria which is under the control of the syrian government. and i will continue having very important discussions with him because he is part also of the solution. >> now, talks between the syrian government and opposition fighters have bring down in homs. the rebels say they won't accept government demands to put down their arms in exchange for insuring the safety of civilians. here is more. >> reporter: this has been the scene in this neighborhood in homs for several days. constant bombardment by regime force is his a clear sign that that -- of where the negotiations with the rebels stand. the government has asked the

why would bashar al-assad agree to this? a help so extremely important to him? why would he stop the fighting there? what we gain from that? >> well, several reasons. one, he probably sees that he's not going to be able to eliminate the rebels single handedly. he relies heavily on the a rypiens, on hess bowl arc the new national defense militias that have been created in syria and he's still unable to really make a big breakthrough in aleppo. they tried hard the last two weeks north of aleppo and gained some ground, lost some ground, lost a lot of men and some prisoners apparently, including talk of iranian and hezbollah prisoners in rebel hands of that's one main reason. the second one is he wants to appear to the international community to be a man of peace and democratic transition, that has been his line all along. and very few people believe him. but this is something that is important for him in public relations terms, the other thing is there are several other major battles going on or starting around the country. the south is now a huge new -- it is a hu

syrians to go in and fight against bashar al assad. does that mean we won't protect him against the barrel bombing of bashar al assad who already killed well over 200,000 syrians? it is really kind of convoluted, and i would say maybe call it an uncertain trumpet. >> are you going to be one of those proposing for broader authority for the president and the resolution as it gets debated? >> i think we should not restrain the president of the united states. the congress has the power of the purse. if we don't like what the commander in chief is doing, we can cut off his funds for doing so. but to restrain him in our authorization of him taking military action, i think frankly it is unconstitutional and eventually leads to 535 commanders in chief. >> let me ask you this larger question. you're somebody that you've been pushing hard to see a little more military presence in some of these countries, to increase the security. but as richard outlined, if you don't have -- if you don't have the iraqi government ready with a political solution,

president bashar al assad is not saying the u.s. is giving him direct tactical information. the u.s. is saying it's not disclosing any sort of specifics whatsoever. but assad did also go on to say it's not just necessarily through iraq but through other nations, that there are indirect sort of messages being passed. this, again, is a very delicate situation for the united states. it's finding itself when it comes to syria and whether or not it is communicating with the government of bashar al assad but also in iraq where it's finding itself in this sort of uneasy allegiance when it comes to yet another key player in the region and that is iran. because you also have iranian advisers on the battlefield in iraq. this is a battlefield that the u.s. at this stage is very heavily involved in as we know quite well. so a very delicate situation all around at this stage. a lot of rhetoric being put forward. again, behind the scenes presumably a lot is also playing out, brooke. >> arwa damon with the perspective, thank you as always. just into us here at cnn, a new development in the

part of it is can you get the russians to withdraw support from bashar al assad. how would you do that? well you're dealing with russians in ukraine right now and they're not being helpful. from putin's perspective, he probably sees it as the opposite play. he says because the americans need us to help on iran because they don't have a ground force in syria, they're actually relying on us and therefore we can put ukraine further and the americans won't stop us because they're afraid they'll lose our cooperation elsewhere in the world. he's playing it that way. this is difficult. you can't always lay everything out in advance. you do have to get the authorization to use ground troops in there because you don't want people to say on the other side i have no problems. the americans can't possibly get here because they are prohibited. i would like it to be pretty wide open in terms of geographic limits. i think the president recognizes he's going to need to put people working more closely forward with the ground troops. i think we have found through our experience in

i believe it must have something to do with bashar al-assad as well. i don't think it's going anywhere. martha: what's next. he presence this plan. he tells us this is what the goal of the united states is. what are you going couplew to him with. >> we have been having hearings with him about the situation. we have had the smartest people in america frank george schultz to general jack keane and others who see a lot on your program and all of them have arctic late that we don't have a strategy to succeed, not to mention the iranian threat which is now widespread, the latest of course in yemen. so we just have to keep pressing to get this president and this admin sphrietion recognize there is a direct threat to the united states of the america. that's what the head of the british mi5 said in a speech a few weeks ago. susan rice says she does not believe this group presence an a threat to the united states. >> they he pose a direct threat to the united states. it's only logic these people who are europeans. all they have to do is go home and get on an ai

a key to ending the war the violence escalates and easing tensions the syrian president bashar al-assad needs to be part of the solution. a fragile campaign in ukraine in jeopardy fears fighting breaks out killing more than 2 dozen people and it's party-time. brazil kicks off carnivale celebrations. five days of nonstop parties. >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy. >> and i'm antonio mora. we begin tonight in argentina where officials are renewing an investigation into argentina's president kirchner, following up on a bombing of a jewish community center moreover two decades ago. >> who was lind the behind the bombing is still unclear. today a prosecutor reaffirmed accusations that kirchner held back blame. both kirchner and tehran deny it. >> aflalberto nisman died before he could prevent his evidence. >>> allegations will not go away. the allegation is they covered up iran annually involvement in the 1999 attack on a jewish center in buenos aires the government has always vee mentally denied those rks -- vehemently denied those accusations. >> translator: one has to dis

rebels have gained ground taking areas belonging to bashar al-assad killing his men. >> translation: now we are in a village and we freed the down from asaad's gangs and the iranians. >> reporter: many men were lost some belonging to al nusra front, an al qaeda-affiliated group. al qaeda is fighting for control. it withdrew from some suburbs, but remained a threat. it has important supply roots for the rebels and government forces. winning the battle in aleppo would be psychologically important for any side in the fight. >> it's a big city. the biggest in syria, it has incredibly strategic lengths to turkey in the forth. to the heartland in the center towards lebanon, to i.s.i.l. controlled areas kurdish areas in the east. it's an important symbolic issue that the government and the rebels are willing to fight to maintain their control or the areas that they control, because the city is divided. >> cultural heritage is being wiped out. these images taken from a drone camera shows what little is left in the old city one of the six u.n.e.s.c.o. sites. it is a difficult place to live -

says yrntlez president bashar al-assad must be part of the solution. u.s. says he's the problem. >>> renews a probe into a coverup by president kris chris areina kirsh inner. battle is getting worse near debaltseve. the rail railway junction, near the rebel stronghold of donetsk. there is also shelling in luhansk. >> this is not just an attack of the ukrainian sector, but the minsk result. after minsk the offensive operation of russia, intensified significantly. >> at least 25 have been killed since the ceasefire was signed. charles stratford reports from the front line there. >> ukrainian tanks behind me are in a support position for what is believed to be 8,000 ukrainian soldiers in the town of debaltseve. separatists say they have surrounded the town. become a major stronghold, if the separatists take control of debaltseve, it will give them a direct route via rally way to russia. ukrainian fighting close by. everything is destroyed said this ambulance driver, you can't get into town and there are dead bodies on the road. we pushed up further towards deb

for example, the cousin of the syrian dictator bashar al-assad who is under sanctions for corruption. >> it is unacceptable and with the help of swiss banks. >> venezuela, u.s., and france follow. they denied he customers were evading taxes and says it completely changes the way it operates. >> the statistics office released a final talley of export figures for 2014. traders in frankfurt were listening up. >> they argue well for the future. the economic engine for the eurozone. also for all the big industrial shares. not only here in frankfurt there are big worries over greece. after the note to austerity they worried they may go bankrupt. it is resurfacing here in the financial markets. a very -- very big worry for the people here. >> in germany the dax did close down more than 1.5%. they took a somewhat smaller head. over in new york, the dow is currently down as well by more than .5%. it is climbing slightly against the dollar. >> we have been reporting on the press conference and one of the other issues was the controversial free-trade agreement between the u.s. and the eu. >> the

said that resolution in syria must involve bashar al-assad. this comes after meeting with syria earlier this week. >>> truce between head of ukraine government and pro-russian separatists. the taliban said it has attacked a shia mosque killing 20 people in northwestern pakistan. it happened during friday prayers in. >> friday prayers and what should have been a day of rest ended up like this. according to the people at the time all men wore suicide vests and brought in grenades. >> three terrorists entered the mosque. two of them exploded themselves, and a third one god killed due to police violence. >> the people are caught in the middle of a long running campaign. it wants to impose a strict version of islamic law and wants more control. like other attacks it targeted shia muslims a minority community. >> during the prayer there were two explosions, one after the his or her. then armed men came in, and later he blew himself up. >> back in december in an attack in the same city that shocked many people both in pakistan and abroad. 150 people

al-assad, might we on the list. >> all this propaganda aims at stabilizing the syrian government misleading the public. they did it in the past they will do it in the future. they asked for the situation in syria to be referred to the international criminal court. that will never happen. for the first time it's asking for the urgent consideration of the idea of setting up an ad hoc tribunal. in other words, a special court for syria >>> still ahead. when we come back tens of thousands of people displaced in myanmar as the army continues the offensive on ethnic rebels. plus... >> i'm phil lavelle in los angeles, a long way from russia as the city is ready for the oscars, find out why edward snowden is causing a stir on this side of the pacific ocean again. >>> hello again - the top stories on al jazeera. europe has granted greece a crucial extension to its massive debt bailout ending weeks of tension, coming at the cost of concession including a commitment to spell out reforms. at least 45 have been killed in several explosions in eastern libya, five were egyptians. they last took place 250k