[indiscernible] >> we speak with the al jazeera journalist at al jazeera headquarters in doha, qatar. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. new figures have confirmed 2012 was the hottest year on record for the continental united states. on tuesday, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration announced an average temperature for 2012 of 55.3 degrees, one degree above the previous record and 3.2 degrees more than the 20th century average. temperatures were above normal in every month between june 2011 and september 2012, a 16-month stretch that has not occurred since the government began keeping track in 1895. among a number of other milestones, 2012 also saw the second most extreme weather on record. the news comes as across the globe, australia is dealing with record shattering heat. we will go to australia for more on this story after the headlines. the obama administration has launched a review of offshore oil drilling in the arctic following a cascading series of blunders and mishaps by the oi

important to focus on al jazeera itself. i completely understand the criticism and the point of view that you're reporting, but the fact is that al jazeera stands all around the world as a highly respected international muse-gathering organization, and its climate reporting has been outstanding. far better than what's available now. i hi that its addition to the u.s. media landscape is going to be a big net positive. >> but regardless of al jazeera's virtues or any other other aspect of what al jazeera does, isn't there something inherently hypocritical about taking money and a lot of money from an oil producer because that's basically what qatar is and qatar owns al jazeera? >> well, more gas than oil, but the point you are making is one that i understand very clearly. i do disagree with it. we can talk about qatar. it's one of our strongest allies in the arab world. we have a military base will. we very robust intelligence cooperation. it has been described by secretary clinton as part of the solution. not part of the prob

al-jazeera is al-jazeera from the american point of view. that's why the american people will reject this television station. i hope they have trouble staying on the air. >> what does it do to al gore's legacy? there are still people who love him and believe in his climate change fight and think he should have been president back in 2000. that exchange with matt lauer which is so telling does it do anything to his legacy? >> i think it does. when it comes from someone like matt lauer who is kind of an easy going interviewer. he is not the most con frn tationnal he bit into al gore in my opinion and showed the hypocrisy that is al gore. i do think al gore has devastated his legacy. when he was someone thought of in american history as walking away. remember back in 2000 what happened? he came within 500 points of winning the election. people thought highly of him and how he dealt with it and i think he has destroyed that. >> i wonder if he was expecting that. he may have got more than he bargained for. matt lauer gave people a hard time unexp

formemer vp al gore selling his current tv to al-jazeera. current tv to al-jazeera. 's making a green with many of my patients still clean their dentures with toothpaste. but they have to use special car in keeping the denture clean. dentures are very different to real teeth. they're about 10 times softer and may have surface pores where bacteria can multiply. polident is designed to clean dentures daily. its unique micro-clean formula kills 99.9% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains, cleaning in a better way than brushing with toothpaste. that's why i recommend using polident. [ male announcer ] polident. cleaner, fresher, brighter every day. back to cavuto on siness. i'm jamie colby, keep it on fox. fox. >> all is well for the al's, al-jazeera, scooping up al gore's current tv in a deal. al-jazeera is owned by the state oil production 68% of its economy. not very green if now what i mean. insiders say that gore tried to close the deal before the new year kicked in to avoid getting hit by the higher taxes. and charles, so you see, double hypocrisy? >>

you're watching al-jazeera live from london. also coming up, foreign forces on guard as rebels in the central african republic paint another town. shots are fired as rioters confront police in northern ireland and making the desert grow, technology helping israeli farmers turn saltwater into harvest gold. thank you for joining us. venezuela has re-elected diosdado cabello. some opposition politicians say power should pass to cabello if chavez is too ill to take the oath of office. ministers remain adamant machavez will not be replaced. >> this is clear leadership by chavez who is so responsible, we've studied the worst-case scenarios. we have a president who has been elected from 2013 to 2019 and has been re-elected and that term will be fulfilled. >> the vice president insists the supreme court can swear in chavez at a later date. >> already on the 10th of january, the new constitutional period begins and he continues his functions and he can take the oath of office as stipulated in the constitution. >> let's go live to caracas

if you had that on the table. >> i wouldn't deal with al jazeera. >> you wouldn't? if i said on the factor i'm for higher taxes as al gore did, i wouldn't try to jam the thing call me craze. >> i'm not going to call you crazy i'm going to call you very well off. >> i wouldn't do it. >> i understand what you are saying here but you are fine. >> president obama has now got to deal with immigration reform, all right? >> right. >> what do you think is he going to do? >> i think he is going to get immigrationcally? >> specifically what i think is going to do people stay here. get in line pay their taxes it will get through because if not the republic party will cease to exist. >> do you think it will be total amnesty? i don't think it's going to be amnesty. i think they have to pay a fine and pay taxes. >> bill: that's all a fine and taxes what do you want to do line them up and shoot them? >> bill: no. i don't want to line them up and shoot them. i have a very reasonable plan. you would register. the government could when he can you out. then if you checked out as a law

a high of 31. >> a reminder of the top stories on al-jazeera. france is confident the military mission against rebels in northern mali will be complete within one week. the u.n. security council will be meeting in the coming hours will -- where they will approve the intervention of west africa syforces. this video shows the. a stopper it was attacked in don knapp in syria. rebels in myanmar said three civilians have been killed in the latest attack by government soldiers. four other wounded. an explosion have killed seven villagers in afghanistan. they died trying to recover the bodies of four soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with nato troops. they may have been wearing suicide vests, but that has not been confirmed. afghan president hamid karzai says his country will be more secure when international troops leave. speaking to journalists in kabul, karzai says it will take eight-nine months out of a hand over the country to deceit -- to decide they will have community prosecution. tunis is marking two years since the overthrow of the last pre

but al-jazeera. >> right. al-jazeera raised our eyebrows, al, mr. gore, tries to sell this thing before december 31st because he's going to make a profit of on his stake. >> megyn: how much. >> don't know, but he's going to take 100 million out of the 500 million dollar sale price because he owns 20%. >> megyn: that's his share, 100 million dollars. >> not all of that is profit, but he will have made a profit. if he could have completed the sale before december 31st he'd pay a lower tax rate on that profit than he has by selling it in 2013. so, here you have a leftist scrambling to avoid the very tax which the left wants to impose on rich people. >> megyn: which ironically, were the clinton tax rates and who was vice-president when clinton was president, al gore. there it's coming together. >> you've got it. >> megyn: okay. but there is some controversy in al-jazeera being the heir apparent to this, you know, now al-jazeera, going to be maybe, al-jazeera america, and in 40 million homes potentially. time warner, says, not on our cable. what's the re

al jazeera will buy up the channel and will replace it with al jazeera. the purchase has very little to do with current itself but rather the fact that current was a struggling cable channel that appeared in a lot of homes and that gives al jazeera access. al jazeera had trouble finding space on american cable. it does have a really good ipad app which allows to you watch al jazeera english but now al jazeera on cable. markets had the best day of the year yesterday. something i can say no matter what because it was the first trading day of 2013. hampton pearson, it was a good day. good morning. >> reporter: you got that right, scott. looking ahead now we have futures a little lower after that monster market rally yesterday. investors reacted to the fiscal cliff deal in washington and fund managers using the opportunity to pour new money into stocks. dow posted the best point gain after for the first trading day of the year and best percentage gain since 2009. now we do get data today on unemployment, private sector jobs, and the minutes from the last fed

al-jazeera has changed the politics. region, in some ways good and in some ways bad. >> sean: how long ago were they calling terrorists martyrs? >> well, let's see, it was before 9/11. >> sean: okay, so, we're supposed to believe that they really changed? they were the voice of bin laden and al-qaeda, where the tapes always went? >> look, the issue is what is the evolution? are they better than they were and do they present-- >> they're not terrorist sympathizers anymore so that's a step up? >> they are sympathetic with the people they believe are oppressed, whether they're oppressed by arab rulers, oppressed by israelis. >> sean: but it's the same owners that allowed terrorists to be called martyrs, why do i believe if they've changed it's only-- >> they haven't changed, they've only gotten smarter. they've gotten smarter in terms of packaging and branding and attract more bees with honey than vinegar, of course they're not going down that road anymore. they want credibility in the west and now, selling to al gore, they

al jazeera teams reached the outskirts of the capital. this is what they saw. >> on the face of it, this is another game of street football. the truth is, these lives are far from ordinary. these are opposition rebels, taking a break from putting the government forces in the suburbs of damascus. even the seemingly normal pastime is a chance. >> while we play, there are those guarding the highway. this is a form of exercise for us. >> a few kilometers away, the bombardment is relentless. the rebels seem encouraged by the territorial gains that have made in recent weeks. >> we have managed to liberate 95% of the region of the damascus suburbs. we have taken control of several military check points, and captured a number of airports bases in the area. >> there are a number of front lines in the battle for damascus suburbs. al jazeera accompanied some of the rebel fighters as they were guided through holes in blown out his walls. it is the safest way to move from house to house and avoid government snipers. >> the rebels may be heavily outgun

former vp al gore selling his current tv to al-jazeera. 's making a green with a company that's definitely not green. some smelling hypocrisy over the timing of this. >> we're live from america's news headquarters, hi, i'm jamie colby. right now there's a possible developing hostage situation in aurora, colorado. police receiving reports of shots fired inside a town house early this morning and when they arrived, an armed man barricaded himself inside. officers are saying there may also be three or four more people in that home. hostage negotiators on scene and they are in contact with the suspect. last july of course, aurora rocked by tragedy when another gunman stormed a theater showing the batman movie, the dark knight rises" and killing and injuring more. and america's food companies, the most comprehensive set of regulations in decades. an estimated 3,000 people a year killed by contaminates in food. back to cavuto on business. i'm jamie colby, keep it on fox. fox. >> all is well for the al's, al-jazeera, scooping up al gore's current

he always -- he also seems to agree with al jazeera's view. he said, for instance, curement tv goals to give voice though those who are not typically geraldo to. speak truth to power to. provide independent and diverse points of view and to tell the stories that no one else is telling. al jazeera, like current, believes that facts and truth lead to a better understanding of the world around us. in a few months, one imagines that millions of americans will be able to decide for themselves whether they agree with al gore and al jazeera. jon? >> jon: that will be interesting. jonathan hunt, thanks. the syrian government and rebel firefighters reportedly battle it out today near a key military base. [explosion] activists say the syrian military launched the air strike seen in this amateur video. fox news cannot independently confirm. meanwhile dozens of people reportedly are feared dead after a car bomb exploded at a gas station near the capital of damascus. civilian civil war has killed more than 60,000 people since the uprising of bashar assad s

the united states plans to -- al jazeera live from doha. 60% of young people do not have a job, the unemployment rate at its highest in 40 years. plus -- >> in egyptian -- in a community in southern thailand, resisting pressure to find another new home. >> china is calling for calm and restraint after north korea said it is planning a new nuclear attack. the announcement was made days after the u.n. increased sanctions against north korea following a rocket launch last month. harry fawcett has more. >> if north korea's recent rocket launch was regarded as an act of defiance at the u.n., the security council resolution said that from peon yang reform p'yongyang there was more to come. >> we're not hiding from the fact that the various satellites and long-range rockets we will fire and the high-level nuclear test we will carry out are targeted at the united states. >> this was both a return to the kind of fiery anti-u.s. rhetoric that has been notable by its actions during kim jong-un's first year in power and the confirmation that a third nuclear test was in the works. that confirmation comes as

is and al jazeera english is. al jazeera aired osama bin laden clips. english has won several awards for reporting. they are very different. i think what al jazeera is trying to do and it is owned by qatar which is odd for al gore to be sending tote government that produces oil and he is mr. global warming. i find that odd, but he has done it. what they are trying to do is reach a larger american audience, but will that happen? i think they have a big pr uphill battle going forward for two reasons. the ratings were terrible and lousy and internet sites had better ratings than current. i can see why they would have those problems. not sure whether or not the carriage will continue. >> there has been this charge and i heard from conservatives and even some liberals and democrats on the other side. al jazeera insights radical elements in part in the middle east. is that a fair assessment? >> it's called the terror network. earlier osama bin laden appeared on it and that's where that cams from, but al jazeera english

the government of qatar owns al jazeera. executives hope to double the number of their employees in the u.s. to more than 300. al thani believes al jazeera can make an important contribution to u.s. al jazeera launched its english news channel in 2006. it gained international attention forgoing behind the scenes during the iraq war. reporters asked tough questions about u.s. military operations and about the u.s.-led occupation. viewers make up almost 40% of all online viewing. the network's anti-u.s. image has kept tv companies from carrying it or cable tv companies from carrying it and english language programs can only be viewed in select u.s. cities. >>> japanese researchers have announced break throughs that could potentially be used in the fight against cancer and aids. the two groups of scientists have succeeded in using ips cell technology to make immune cells that can better fight the diseases. a team led by a professor from the university of tokyo extracted the t cells from the blood of people infected with hiv. th

doing business with al jazeera. period. end of discussion. last word, leslie. >> okay. i cannot disagree with you regarding the birthday party and what happened to that little girl. that is horrific. but i can say that we, as a nation, have made enemies and allies back and forth of people in the past like bin laden and qaddafi. both terrorists and that we as americans are hypocrites in the sense every time we buy an iphone because we are buying it from a communist country that has human rights violations. so i think there is a fine line between politics and business and i think that al gore is being secured for the sale because of that. >> bill: here is my prediction. no one will buy gore's book. it will be a tremendous -- >> -- i disagree. >> bill: okay, leslie, dinner. dinner at what some swell restaurant in beverly hills going to cost you a couple hundred bucks. i say gore doesn't sell 20,000 copies of that dopey book. >> it's a deal. you are coming here march 1st on tv going to buy me dinner? i will find a good

and al jazeera english. i want to thank hannah armstrong, although we had trouble understanding her, from the capital of mali, bamako. when we come back, we will be talking about vietnam, the heads of the foreign-policy establishment that had been nominated by president obama, chuck hagel to head defense and john kerry to become secretary of state, both fought in vietnam. we will look at vietnam and talk to the author of an explosive new book. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron matÉ. >> we are less than a week away from president obama second term inauguration. to the leading figures nominated dead the foreign policy establishment have their political roots in the vietnam war. chuck hagel, tapped by president obama to the secretary of defense, is a former army sergeant. if confirmed, will become the first vietnam war veteran to head the pentagon. obama's secretary of state nominee, john kerry, became one of the

al-jazeera is really respected. that is one al respected. he's become a depressed exjock who sits at bar and just ruminates over his past. i figured out why he is depressed. i have a chart. the world stopped getting warmer 16 years ago. there are no category three storms that hit the u.s. since 2005. there were a third fewer u.s. wildfires in 2012. and finally, the natural gas boom has led to lowest fossil fuel emission since 1992. the world isn't going his way. it e's irrelevant, he is over, he's done. but he's rich. >> dana: one of my favorite columnists is holman johnson and he wrote this. mr. gore must flaw the image of himself as a lonely voice with sinister conspiracy to account for his open failure. had he and his advocates been less sanctity moanous, they might seize the high ground now. i worked in energy for a long time before coming here. big oil companies have thrown in the towel and said okay, fine, climate change here is a bunch of money. we will fun the rams. the science has not kept up with it. american taxpayers are asked to

you are watching al-jazeera live. also ahead, more protests in egypt after the president declares a state of a emergency in three cities. mourning the death of 230 people killed in a nightclub fire. and plucked to safety from floods in australia, helicopter crews are saving young and old. the french army says that paratroopers have taken control of the northern part of the city of timbuktu. special forces parachuted down to check on checkpoints on key access routes to the city. jackie is with the french army at timbuktu airport. how significant is this all, jackie? >> in terms of capturing timbuktu, it would appear to be the beginning of the end. late on sunday, as you mentioned, paratroopers landed in the more rigid in the north. they really are consolidating their hold, not just on the airport, but on the area around it. the information that we are getting is that we will not see advanced bother from the airport for a few hours yet. in terms of getting information on what is happening inside the city itself, we have

this is al jazeera, live from our headquarters in doha. and china decides to reform its controversial labor camps. we speak to one man who had a very lucky escape. exclusive pictures from northern me and mark, wher -- northern myanmar. and nasa has found 461 new plants that could support life as we know it. u.s. president barack obama has made controversial choices for two of the top jobs in his government. is nominated chuck hagel for defense secretary and john brenan as dia director. both of them must now be approved by the u.s. senate. now this report. >> with his second term soon to begin, president obama is putting the finishing touches to his national security team. introducing the men that he wants to lead the pentagon and the cia. >> these two leaders have dedicated their lives to protect our country. i urge the senate to confirm them as soon as possible. >> both nominees face difficult questions before they are confirmed in the u.s. senate. table seems perfect for the pentagon. a decorated combat veteran in vietnam and a former re

al jazeera. >> chad is to 10 -- sent 2000 soldiers to mali to fight rebels. they send ground troops to confront the rebels. armored vehicles have arrived 400 kilometers north of the capital. when the campaign is over is expected the french will target further eastern rebels. >> france gears up for a long military campaign -- mali's president has been visiting the men and women fighting his country lost battles. at the aircraft, -- airport, he met some of the hundreds of soldiers france has sent to mali to fight the rebels. >> this conflict is not only about mali. this is an aggression against the entire humanity, an assault on liberty. >> france says it has intervened in mali at the request of the president. >> this decision that i took last friday was necessary. if this choice had not been made, the question would not be when -- it would have been too late. mali would have been entirely concord by terrorists and would be in a dominating position. >> but the french have yet to gain the upper hand. five days of effort have done little to rebut the gains made b

>> this is al jazeera. >> these are the stories we are covering in detail. vigilante justice in pakistan. a man killed for allegedly desecrating the koran. foreign forces, rebels in the central african republic take yet another town. the venezuelan government says president chavez could begin another term even if he is too ill to be sworn in. despite what you see, these are fished out of water. they are living in the israeli desert. he was killed by a mob, allegedly for desecrating the koran. him was in police custody when angry villagers drag him from his cell, beat him to death, and set his body on fire. police in pakistan are still trying to find out who he was. we went to the province where it happened. warnings, there are images in this report, you may find disturbing. this man was taken from the police station in pakistan. he was murdered for allegedly desecrating the koran. >> police officials describe hundreds of villagers came to the police station. they took the man from behind these bars. they took him to the second floor, dropped his body, and se

middle east-based al-jazeera is buying san francisco's current tv. john is live in san francisco with what he learned about the acquisition. john. >> maureen, this is the san francisco headquarters of current tv which now has an uncertain future. late this afternoon we confirmed that the tv network has been sold for $400 million. >> current tv sits across from the home of the san francisco giants, but it's failed to score big with viewers. now, it's been sold to a well-known middle east-based network. in a statement today cofounder and former vice president al gor said we are proud and pleased that al-jazeera has bought current tv. >> they don't want current. they want the cable slot that current has. >> professor ed is the new dean of uc berkeley graduate school. he said the network had trouble gaining viewers, but because it reaches current or at least it's placed on the cable and satellite lineups could be exactly what al-jazeera need sdmrs they've had a very very difficult time getting traction in the american cable system. initially that was bec

i think he thinks i am much more dangerous than al jazeera. he is that insane. >> bill: now, does it trouble you at all that he was almost the president of the united states? that it was just by the supreme court one vote that kept him out? >> on many levels, yes. on many levels, yes. but what is disturbing in this particular case is that here's a guy who used to wear a flag lapel pin and then gets in bed, again, with an organization that cnn said in march of 2002 th are hiding information about usama bin laden that would be good for the united states. an organization that on the weekend has a regular, you know, like a jesus show except it's all about mohammed, where they are talking about oh, please, allah, give me the courage to stone the jews to death. i mean. >> bill: what's the name of that show? sticks and stones can break your bones i think. >> and al jazeera will kill you. >> bill: i have got to go. i heard one rumor i don't know whether you know it's true or not. al gore doesn't wear a flag lapel pin anymore. he wears lapel of an oil

al-jazeera says it will use "current tv"'s base to launch "al-jazeera america." meanwhile, time warner satisfies it is dropping "current tv" as a result of -- says it is dropping "current tv" as a result of that deal. it will be part of five new u.s. bureaus operated by al- jazeera. according to the times some shows may be dissolved this spring. that includes the war room with former michigan governor jennifer granholm and the gavin newsom show hosted by california's lieutenant governor. >>> google executive chairman eric schmidt is reported to be planning to go on a private humanitarian mission to north korea. former new mexico governor bill richardson is leading the trip that could happen this month. a group of north korean officials visited google headquarters in 2011. google is refusing to comment on the report about schmidt's trip. >>> secretary of state hillary clinton back home finally after being treated for a blood clot in her head. she was smiling as she walked out of the hospital alongside her husband, the president bill clinton and chelseaer that daug

. ♪ >> this is al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also ahead -- [chanting] >> celebration in islamabad. anti-government protests end after a deal is struck. a city paralyzed by water. the army and police are called in to help thousands surrounded by floods in jakarta. and confessions of a sporting superstar. lance armstrong's interview with oprah winfrey about to be broadcast. ♪ >> hello. one of the biggest international hostage crisis in decades appears to have come to an end 36 hours after it began. algerian security sources are reporting 30 hostages and 11 kidnappers were killed in a military operation at a gas plant in the east of the country. while the hostages included algerians as well as foreigners from at least nine countries including the u.s., britain and japan. algeria says those behind the attack include egyptians and others. they launch admit operation because the armed group threatened to blow up the gas installation. we report from washington. >> the algerian military decided to end the stage, the consequences of th

and al gore selling the ad to al-jazeera. >> he academy at lookout for bill clinton. he got the girls and glory. he is a bitter. we have seen that. this takes al gore's -- it takes it to new level. he a selfish and greedy. we know algae steer ra did after 9/11. >> bill: they say bin laden is a great guy. >> the troops in iraq. our guys were fighting there. >> do you know where the word quizlichk came from. >> norway, victor quizling and. >> bill: and the nazis appointed him there. >> al gore. >> one concern i have what happens to the current one. they are like the star wars barb. where are they going to find work. >> they will be given burke kas and go over to al-jazeera and with the thing over the mouth, just the eyes that is all you are going to see. >> there is a silver lining to this thing. [ laughter ] >> what about gore taking the oil money. al-jazeera was oil money. >> that could be greedy, hearts in the right place but their heads are up their butt. he doesn't to have explain anything. he doesn't have to play the hire gains tax, unbelievable. >> sticking it to

al-jazeera will launch a new channel, al-jazeera america. >>> no surprise. all that snow really is adding up in the sierra. >> first measurements were taken near echo summit. in a good near, the snowpack provides a third of the water used by california homes, farms and industries. >>> it doesn't seem as if we're going to be adding very much to that over the next several days. >> i just want to ask you again, how cold was it? >> um, i forgot. it brought a chill to my heart. i can tell you that. >> they were milking cows and they got ice cream. starbucks is serving ice cream on a stick. it was 28 in livermore. and it was so-called that union square froze over. the ice rink will be closing down this weekend. people were out and about after high today of 56 and a low of 43. what do you notice about this picture here? the embarcadero, the holiday lights, they were just shut off about an hour ago, ending the holiday season here in the bay area. what is not ending is the cruel temperatures. currently 38 in redwood city. 36 in livermore. 33 in santa rosa. it will no

from al-jazeera and also kind of al gore's really. feelings here does he really practice what he preaches were to go back in time and kind of see his his investment was some of the very green companies that he has profited from he mentally in fact he may be the first carbon billionaire as some have claimed really interesting stuff there and also going to end the show with talking about a pac biggest israel lobby in the country some say that it dictates u.s. foreign policy and really kind of pave the way he leaves the show here in the u.s. are we talking about really breaking it down is it really is powerful some people say what influence do they really have what's really going on there all that and more definitely stay tuned bring a lot of interesting stuff coming up thanks abbi for that update that's coming up in just a half hour but that is going to do it for the news right now for more on the stories we covered you can also head on over to our youtube channel that's youtube dot com slash our team america we post everything there an

hello and welcome to al jazeera. we are live in delhi. friends and mali -- french and mali forces have taken control, but concerns arise about revenge accounts. shell is convicted of one account, but acquitted on four other charges. liftoff -- south korea launches this rocket into space after two previous, high-profile failures. an international donors' conference is underway right now in kuwait, hoping to raise $1.5 billion to fund aid projects for refugees displaced by the continuing conflict. let's go straight to al jazeera 's diplomatic editor, joining us from kuwait. are the pledges coming together? >> the pledges are coming together. we have certainly seen some very large amounts of money coming in, starting with kuwait itself, where this is being held. they pledged 300 million dollars. word is that is also being matched by -- $ 300 million. word is that is also being matched by others. if all the information is true, we are close to the $1 billion mark. add up the other pledges from other nations and some of the you and officials a

this is how jazeera live from =doha -- doha. remembering the victims of a sunken cruise ship one year after the accident in italy. as pollution in beijing goes off of the scale, 20 million residents are being urged to stay indoors. tba -- wonach's former leader has a -- egypt's former leader has won a retrial. our reporter is live in cairo. both mubarak and the prosecutors have won an appeal for a retrial. both parties wanted this. is that unusual? >> no, it is not unusual at all. this court is known to be a meticulous establishment. it looks at the procedures of the previous court, of the prosecution, and it does throw out previous convictions on procedural grounds. this does not come as a surprise at all. this means hosni mubarak will be having a fresh, new trial in which both files -- both sides can introduce new evidence. >> what was the court's's problem but the prosecution last time? what measures will be taken to ensure they have been stronger case this time? >> the court session today was quite brief. we will be keeping

hello, this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up -- at least 16 people are killed in a u.s. drone strike in northern pakistan. tension over the indian flag continues in northern ireland as streets prepare for more protests. and as orthodox christians celebrate christmas, we speak to the egyptian pope. the international community has been quick to condemn syrian president bashar al assad's plan for peace in war-torn countries. the first speech called "beyond hypocritical." addressing supporters, described the opposition as terrorists and slaves of foreign power. he went on to support the national dialogue to end the 21-no conflict. assad these talks could create a national charter on syria's future, which he put to a referendum. while the opposition dismissed the proposals saying they're aimed at wrecking current diplomatic efforts. we frort amman's neighboring jordan. in an opera house in central damascus, packed with cheering supporters, the syrian president gave his first speech since june last year. he did not reve