as far as we are concerned, things have not changed in sri lanka. just new faces but the same policy. and we want the military in sri lanka, they still have sexual violence torture intimidation all that happening in northeast of sri lanka. >> is there still a big military presence there? >> yes, a huge presence, we want to visit all that because there is another problem with the investigation. people will not come forward to give evidence, witness protection will be a problem. people will give evidence and sunlt they will disappear. >> how do you take this forward now that the president has in your opinion gone back on what he said before and defied the human rights council it is in the end just his decision isn't it? >> it's an international agreement. >> without his approval nobody can proceed with it. >> well the u.n. human rights council high commissioner is, we believe is he going to sri lanka next month. he can press sri lankan government, understand what co-sponsorship means and he should ask to fully implement the resolution and also if mr.

sri lanka goes through a probe into what happened. in an interview with al jazeera the president now rejects any foreign involvement. >> translation: we will always act in accordance with the sovereign ultimately of our country and the constitution. for this work we can get foreign technology in certain areas but we do not need outsiders. we have an unbiassed independent judiciary in this country. >> reporter: but the report by the presidential commission has raised the possibility that war crimes and krams against humanitarian-- crimes against humanitarian were committed by both the tam il fighters and fighters in the sri lankan army against tam il civilians >> crimes that are set out has to be investigated. not that we admit it was committed. it should be investigated >> reporter: thousands of tam ils are still missing. this woman laf saw her husband in 2006. he had gone out to the market and never returned. >> translation: people told me that he was caught at the check point, but when we asked, they said he was released. others sai

. >>> and we look at sri lanka where people are returning to land handed back after the war with the tamil tigers. >>> hello, again. talks aimed at ending the war in syria are underway without the attendance of opposition delegates. >>> and the u.n. is promising a full investigation following claims of sexual abuse by european soldiers in central african republic. >>> republican presidential contenders in the u.s. have squared off in their last debate before monday's vote in iowa state. the party's most prominent presidential hopeful was notable by his absence. alan fisher reports. >> reporter: the final debate before the first vote, and the front runner missing. donald trump no-show had to been the subject of the first question. >> let me say, i'm a maniac, and everyone on this stage is stupid fat and ugly, and ben you are a terrible surgeon. now that we have gotten the donald trump portion out of the way -- [ laughter ] >> reporter: this is shaping up to be a battle between outsiders and the main britishment, lead by marco rubio. >> this campaign is about the greatest country the w

everyone living here was expelled and the sri lanka army moved in. now both barely recognize the house they grew up in. >> translator: we were really sad the first time we saw it. we kept on looking and then we left. this was a sitting room. visitors used to come here. it was always alive and nice. the only thing left is this painting. everything else is gone, everything is broken. >> reporter: six years after the war with the tamil tigers ended, the socials are gradually pulling back. about 700 hectares were returned last year. the land is now overgrown and needs to be cleared, and there is no water. still they are glad that after so many years, they got their property back, a first step towards national reconciliation, even though many say the government needs to do much more. many members of the tamil tigers are still in jail. others like this woman's husband were detained after the war ended. he is going through a government-sponsored rehabilitation course, but she doesn't known when he'll be back home. >> translator: all of this time, my husband

sri lanka called for an indigestion with the help of international investigators. in an interview, they now reject any foreign involvement. >> we will always act in accordance with the sovereignty of our country and the constitution. for this work we can get technology in certain areas but we definitely don't need outsiders. we have an unbias judiciary in this country. >> but the report by the presidential commission has raised the possibility that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed by fighters and soldiers against tamil civilians. >> the crimes that were set out as to be investigated. not that we say those allegations have been committed. they should be investigated. >> thousands of tamils are still missing. this woman last saw her husband in 2006. he had gone out to the market and never returned. >> people told me that he was caught at the checkpoint. but when we asked they said he was released. others said that they saw two bodies on that day. so much time has gone by. i don't think anyone will have a solution. but i can't give up. >> for thos

plus running out of room in sri lanka. the forest is disappearing. israeli prosecutors have charged a justish man with the murder of a palestinian family in an arson attack. a miner has been charged as being an accessory to the murders last july. three family members, including an 18 month old boy were killed in the occupied west bank the. the only survivor was a four-year-old boy boy. charles stratford joins us. bring us up to spee with everything that has happened so far, charlie. >> reporter: this is being reported by israeli radio. they're saying that, as you say, a court has charged a jewish man with murder. it's also reporting that another man has been indicted as an accessory to murder. it is important to recognise here that there has been a complete media ban in relation to reporting this case, or reporting this investigation since it started. that attack in late july molotov cocktails thrown into a house in the occupied west bank. an 18 month old boy died in that attack. his parents later died of their injuries in hospital. as i say, the gov

al jazeera, sri lanka. >> and you can see the full interview with the sri lanka president on "talk to al jazeera" 0430 gmt on saturday. >>> freezing temperatures are causing major disruptions across east asia. travel is difficult in japan after a cold front brought heavy snow. temperatures in the southwest dropped to as low as minus 4 cell 4 degrees celsius. in vietnam animals are dying from the cold and suffering from the extreme drop in temperature. >>> the plummeting temperatures are making life miserable for survivors of last year's earthquake in nepal. despite $4 billion posted for reconstruction thousands of people are still living in tents. >> in laprax the weather is unpredictable. this village was near the epicenter of the earthquake that took the lives of 9,000 people last april. the entire village had to be moved 1,000 meters uphill on to this plot of government land. surveyors had given it a red certificate, meaning it was in danger of being swept away by landslides. but no storms have brought biting cold and made the lives of villagers miserable. a primary schoolteacher w

looking for light in sri lanka. we celebrate the night when light overcame the darkness, when romo returned from exile, principal returned from longer in the grips of the demon king. abducted according to mythology. many are vanished. it is becoming history. when the government commits atrocities with impunity, keeps people's faith a mystery to my agrees to reform without accountability where is the light? what can we see? suffered abuses in the evil robbers custody. many are now being tortured at the hands of the police

on sri lanka the government is cracking down. authorities destroy millions in elephants touch. >> this haul had been concealed among sacks of plastic waste, backed in a container moving through the port of colombo. >> to other reports. we had no way to have the information, unless it is downloaded. without difficulty. >> essentially, on the international market, ivory fetches as much as 3,000 a kilo, and one can imagine one and a half tonnes of ivory. in terms of the sri lankan authorities, they set up to driveway the ivory, the clergy had the blessings on the elephant. in different to what happened years ago. essentially asking that responsibility and custody of the tasks be travelled to his crete air yacht. the -- secret air yacht. the government not encouraging the trade, and all 359 tusks were going through it over the course of the day. the resulting fragments that come out of the crusher will be weighed up. essentially bagged up and taken to an industrial incinerator. very much what the central team thinking behind this is

including the legacy of sri lanka's civil war and looking at rebuilding a nation torn apart by a long and bloody conflict plus we report on a tragedy that highlights the plight of thousands of migrants in southeast asia and in sport find out what happened to this player after he hit and nhl official and farrah will have all the details. ♪ ♪ hello again you are with al jazeera and these are the top stories the u.n. says talks aimed at ending the war in syria will go ahead on friday and some opposition figures will attend those talks despite others within the opposition insisting they won't take part. the u.n. says it is alarmed over new allegations of child abuse by european soldiers in the central african republic, some of the alleged victims identify french and jordan troops as their abusers. the world health organization warns the zika virus is spreading explosively in the americas and the mosquito-borne disease could affect four million people within a year. all right our main story today are the efforts to get talks going in geneva on the syrian war. here in the studio with me

we're in sri lanka where wildlife is under threat. we will tell you why >>> saudi arabia has severed diplomatic ties with iran after demonstrators targeted the embassy on saturday night. they were protesting after saudi arabia executed a proposal entity shia cleringic. nimr al-nimr was among 47 men put to death. >> reporter: the saw deembassy ablaze in tehran. they lash out while nimr al-nimr was executed on terrorism charges. the saudi government says it made repeated requests for iran to protect the embassy. they were ignore in order. in response the kingdom has cut diplomatic ties with tehran. >> we are determined not to allow iran to undermine our security. we are determined not to let iran mobilise or create or establish terrorist cells in our country or in the countries of our allies. >> reporter: the execution of nimr al-nimr has prompted protests among shia communities across the middle east. nimr al-nimr and the other men, including al-qaeda preacher. faris al-zahrani, were charged with plotting and carrying out terrorist att

hoda abdel hamid, al jazeera, in northern sri lanka. >>> for more on the political situation in sri lanka you can -- talk to al jazeera will be meeting with the president, and you can see that here on al jazeera on saturday 4:30 gmt. as well as on monday it will be repeated at 1430 gmt. >>> china is amending its law on wildlife protection. conservationists are not happy. they are saying the draft law gives too much weight to businesses breeding formally wild animals for profit. >> reporter: once running free, now in captivity, the siberian tiger, and the south china tiger used to roam china in much larger numbers. but only a dozen of these subspecies are estimated to survive in the wild. now china is revising its law on wildlife protection. but conservationists say some of the proposed amendments are worrying. in particular, the provision that allows wildlife to be hunted for captive breeding, and other special services. >> it's not natural, first. and also they are going to -- probably going to influence and damage the wild population of the wild animals. >> reporter: captive animals can

. >> still to come here on al jazeera, we're in sri lanka where wildlife is under threat. we'll tell you why. >>> on canada's east coast, the bay has the highist and most vigorous tides, i'll look at a project to generate clean electricity from the ebb and flow of the tidal waters behind me. >> hello again, this is al jazeera. here's a quick reminder of top stories. israeli prosecutors charged a jewish man with murder over an arson attack on a palestinian home in the west bank. three family members including an 18 month boy died in the attack in july. >>> 40 people arrested after demonstrator set fire to the saudi embassy in tehran, angry as saudi arabia's execution of a saudi clutch eek and 48 others. >>> six suicide bombers targeted a camp in particular receipt. >>> a human chain has been formed to highlight the suffering in a besieged city in yemen. houthi fighters are fighting for control of taiz. citizens are appealing to the united nations to help end the siege and allow vital supplies in. pro-government forces backed by saudi arabia have set up their own blockade at

sri lanka, the government trying to protect threatened wildlife. england cricketer ben stokes blasts into the history books. robin will have the details in sport. >> new moms forced to choose. >> the united states does lag behind other countries on this. >> now a revolution in workers' rights... >> my story is so many peoples' story. >> that could decide the election. >> it can be different. >>> back and a reminder the top stories here afghanistan has come under attack. local officials say they heard explosions and attacks when gunmen entered. two israelis are being charged in connection with an arson attack in the occupied west bank. demonstrators, angry about the execution by saudi arabia at the prominent sheik cleric. to mexico, a mayor was shot dead 24 hours after starting her new job. 100 kilometers of mexico city. she was sworn in as mayor of mexico city on friday and was dead on saturday, shot and killed at her home detectives suspects nine people were involved in her murder. two were killed at the scene. police officers and soldiers chased

lanka all kinds of gold. by gold, i mean video selfies. this video was posted on instagram. the doctor will own these pictures because the supreme can take his own pictures. >> oh, my gosh, they're cute. i love how curious they are about the camera. >> let's just relieved that none of them is doing duck lips. >> i just want to point out that monkeys don't shoot vertical video. >> everybody can learn from this. if primates can do it, we can do it. >> look at those shots, the composition is great, the lighting is great. >> now they're famous. >> they're mastered instagram and facebook. it's just them looking at the camera. >>> besideodybuilder bradley martin wants to live as many weights as>> where do we sign up? >> his instagram account has many followers i think in part because of some of the workout videos he's sharing. girls sitting on him. >> i can do that, if you guys want to help. >> who are you asking here? >> you. >> knew it. >> he has a bunch of crazy videos. in this one, the girl is on his shoulder.

[ cheers and applause ] >> so my dad is from sri lanka, sri lanka and he's the one i think who taught me about story-telling. so it's not fact checked, this story. so my dad came from sri lanka in plane as the beatles. he flew from london to new york on the same plane as the beatles and he says he heard a little party going on up front, butow what's happening. and this is the days when you would -- it's not jetway, there's a staircase out to the runway, right? >> seth: sure.op of the staircase and there's a crowd and he says to the lady, wow, they treat foreign students here so well! [ laughter ]is not true. >> that is true. first -- >> seth: is it true? okay. [ laughter ] so you know as a writer, you went through -- and this really broke my heart when i heard this.t draft of this book, 600 pages -- >> 604. >> yeah. yeah.ad it -- explain how you lose -- i mean, first of all -- yeah. >> i mean, how -- really, explain it to me. it's crazy. probably the last person this will ever happen to in the digital age, right? >> seth: yeah. >> so i was living in chili, and i didn't have any intern

. >> sri lanka's president is due to begin addressing parliaments. the government wants the electoral system amended as well as more emphasis made on ethnic and religious reconciliation. correspond manel fernandez is standing by. manel, this is partly of a form that is hoping to kick off. >> that's right, fauziah, very much a pillar of the campaign when he wanted to come to power he did promise that the issues that stayed with this constitution would be addressed. he's made some progress during the past year with the few amendments but now brings the process to bring in a new constitution for this country. with me i have a constitutional expert to tell us more. behind us in the parliament we have the new government just finishing a year yesterday in office. can you tell us exactly what is going on in parliament today and what are they hoping to do? >> the prime minister is going to introduce a resolution seeking to convert parliament into a constitutional assembly, so the constitutional assembly can lead the process on deliberating upon the substance

media reports say the world's three largest blue star sapphires are from sri lanka. more than 200-million people voted for their favorites on tv and in the movies... it's all part of the 46th annual people's choice awards... the ceremony happened wednesday night. among the winners, sandra bullock for "favorite movie actress." nbc scored big with "the voice" for "favorite competition tv show" and jimmy fallon for "favorite late night talk show host." there was an awkward moment when someone crashed the stage as the hosts of "the talk" were accepting their award for "favorite thank you for watching wavy news 10 midday. log on wavy-dot-com for the latest on your local headlines. wow. the internet is crazy fast here. i know, right? it's so nice to have everyone over. hi hey. mmm. i just laid an egg. does anybody want it? joey, you want some gasoline? yes, please. mom, guess what? i married a clown and we're having tiny little clown babies. mhm. i just bought a hammer. with internet fast enough for everyone, your guests might get a bit carried away.

the world's three largest blue star sapphires are from sri lanka. nigel: britain's prince george is growing up fast. the third in line to the british throne started school yesterday. prince william and his wife, kate, marked the occasion by releasing two photos. george is two and a half years old, and is seen here outside the school building. the royal couple announced he would be attending school in norfolk. that's close to where the family lives. the school has said prince george will receive the same treatment as the other kids. gabrielle: very cute. , addition at illinois's brookfield zoo. lily, the zoo's 11-year-old grey seal, gave birth to a female pup on january 2nd. the pup weighs just over 30 pounds. staff there estimate that she will triple or quadruple her weight in the next month. mom and baby will remain out of public view to allow them some time to bond. nigel: matter of time, it was. gabrielle: it has been a while since we heard that. a couple weeks. nigel: "star wars: the force awakens" has become the highest-grossing domestic movie

father is from sri lanka. and your mother is from montana. >> that's right. >> seth: and they're here tonight? is that correct? >> they are, that's right. >> seth: want to say hello to them? there we are. hey guys. [ cheers and applause ] >> so my dad is from sri lanka, my dad's from sri lanka and he's the one i think who taught me about story-telling. so it's not fact checked, this story. so my dad came from sri lanka in 1964 on the same plane as the beatles. he flew from london to new york on the same plane as the beatles and he says he heard a little party going on up front, but he didn't really know what's happening. and this is the days when you would -- it's not jetway, there's a staircase out to the runway, right? >> seth: sure. >> he comes to the top of the staircase and there's a crowd and he says to the lady, wow, they treat foreign students here so well! [ laughter ] >> seth: that is not true. >> that is true. first -- >> seth: is it true? okay. [ laughter ] i believe him. so you know as a writer, y

. >> offto sri lanka, where people are returning to land which has been handed back after the civil war with the tamil tigers >>> and paul laurie, the golfer, could make history if he keeps up what he's doing. new claims of child abuse by peacekeeping soldiers in the central african republic emerged. soldiers from france and georgia, who were there under a european union mission are said to be identified by victims, there are allegations against troops operating directly under the flag. gabriel elizonda reports from new york. >> reporter: embroiled in scandal once again. six new allegations have surfaced of sexual misconduct against children by foreign peacekeeping troops in the central african republic. the incidents are alleged to have taken place in the capital bankee, at a -- bangui at a camp for displaced people. four teenage girls, between 14 and 16, say they were sexually assaulted by european union peacekeepers. three said it was from a georgian contingent taking part in the mission. troubling allegations were made against french troops, the youngest victim, a 7-year-old girl sa

you were born in sri lanka. what was the state of the country at that time? chamath: i was born in 1976. i think the civil war broke out in the early 1980's between the tamil hindu minority and the ethnic senegalese buddhist majority. both my parents are buddhists. my dad was in the civil service. my mom was a nurse. my dad was able to insinuate himself to get posted to the sri lankan high commission in canada. i think we were six when myself, my sister, and my parents immigrated. emily: had the war started by then? chamath: it had started. my dad proudly talks about how he was a communist organizer. when he spoke out about that, there was a huge pushback. pushback from the government that said you can't talk like this. so there was a lot of pressure on my father to the point where he could not reasonably return to sri lanka without his life or our life not being in some kind of jeopardy, so we filed for refugee status. the canadian government, out of the goodness of their heart, gave us refugee status, and then we stayed, and literally, like, life as we knew

in sri lanka, the president stopped housing projects around the oldest nature reserves. environmentalists want more commitment to stop forests being destroyed there. we have this report from the national park in sri lanka's north-west. >> nature in all its beauty. a century ago, 80% was covered by forest. today it's less than 30%. other parts of the country's oldest and largest nature reserve suffered from encroachment, as the population expands. over 1,000 hectares of forests adjoining the reserves have been cleared for housing in recent years, provoking an outcry from environmentalists. these are the pictures filmed by them, showing the extent of the deforestation. >> the lack among the population is a problem. they don't understand that these are the reserves and must be protected. it's the main reason the areas are under threat. >> the outcry prompted the office to halt land cleared for housing in the area. as the population grows and progresses, forests like this, and the animals in them face increasing threat. environmentalists say they must be protected to ensure

in terms of the sri lanka authorities here, the ceremony to destroy the ivory the clergy and is custom and blessings on the dead elephant in difference with what happened a couple years ago when the former president wrote to customs asking that responsibility and custody of the tusks be transferred to his secratarite but will not encourage contraband and the crusher will see the 359tusks going through it the course of day and then it will be weighed up, essentially bagged up and will be taken to an industrial incinerator where they will be burned. now very much what the central sort of theme and thinking behind this is showing that there is no value essentially for contraband and that poaching and the international trade will not be encouraged. >> british explorer attempting to cross antarctica alone without help has died, 55-year-old henry became ill with a bacterial infection and was 50 kilometers to the end of his adventure. more news on our site al jazeera.com. velshi. "on target" tonight. donald trump has taken a big lead in iowa. across the country he could run the table for the

sri lanka was covered by forests, today less than 30%. even with part of the country's oldest and largest nature preserve has suffered from encroachment as the country's population expands. over 1,000 hectares of forest adjoining the preserve have been cleared for housing, provoking a huge outcry from environmentalists. these films show the extent of the deforestation. they don't understand these are the preserves and must be protected. it's the main reason these areas come under threat. >> the outcry is to halt any further land being cleared for housing in the area. >> as the population grows and progresses, forests like this and the animals in them face increasing threat. environmentalists say they must be protected the for long term survival. environmentalists say land ordered to be deforested should be used for development rather than clearing remaining forests. changes course they say would be disastrous, not least for wildlife. >>> the species are endangered categories. if he don't take action, we may tend to lose some of these spec

i should also.out that last year was also a good year for democracy and such countries as nigeria, sri lanka, burma, and there were significant elections as well in venezuela, argentina, the central african republic and elsewhere. all of this is not an end unto itself. ititself. it is a means by which we move to achieve our goals and to secure the values and interests of the united states and make us more secure and offers greater economic opportunity. and all of this sets the stage for what will surely be a challenging,a challenging, extremely busy but i am convinced very promising 2016. on the joint comprehensive plan of action i talked this morning with foreign ministers are brief not only on the subject of the implementation but on the relationship between saudi arabia and the region and he ran, but the foreign minister made it clear to me that they intend to complete their obligations with respect to implementation day as rapidly as possible and we are currently engaged ourselves in making certain we are prepared and i think it could come without being specific sooner rather than

. >>> cameraman and wildlife biologist alex put a camera in the river in sri lanka and got by gold, i mean video selfies. this video was posted on instagram. the doctor will own these pictures because the supreme court has ruled that a monkey can take his own pictures. >> oh, my gosh, they're cute. i love how curious they are about the camera. >> let's just relieved that none of them is doing duck lips. >> i just want to point out that monkeys don't shoot vertical video. >> everybody can learn from this. if primates can do it, we can do it. >> look at those shots, the composition is great, the lighting is great. >> now they're famous. >> they're mastered instagram and facebook. it's just them looking at the camera. wants to live as many weights as he can. >> where do we sign up? >> his instagram account has many followers i think in part because of some of the workout videos he's sharing. he actually has a couple of girls sitting on him. >> i can do that, if you guys want to help. >> who are you asking here? >> you. >> knew it. >> he has a bunch of crazy videos. in this one, the girl

. >> reporter: the the drug king pin we sri lankaed what it was like to be on the run. me, it's normal pressure," he said in spanish -- i have to be careful for now if a few cities penn asked guzman what what the outlook for the drug business, will it grow? >> guzman said, no, it will not end. as time goes by, we are more people, it will not end. >> reporter: but guzman's freedom independented, five of his men were killed in the shootout, but he managed to escape through intricate tunnels. a tip that lead to his arrest in a stolen car. he is now being held in the july. >> it's more than all of the eyes of the world put on him >> reporter: u.s. authorities working to get his extradited to face murder and drug traffic charges in at least six states. press. penn dismissed criticism over his interview with the drug kingpinch >> officials say it can take months to extradite him back to the united states. >>able we have a link to the video on our website. >> >> ashley is joining us, now, it's a cold start to this tuesday. >> is a lot of 40s in the bay area. a few sots flirting with the freez

sri lanka wants to drop a new constitution to ease racial tensions. the prime minister called for a parliament to be converted into a constitutional assembly. sri lanka forces and 10 mill tiger rebels are cute -- tamil tigers are accused of for crimes. forrball jackpot still up grabs. the total price is now one $.3 billion. it is only expected to grow before wednesday. the odds on winning are more than 292 million to one. rishaad: last year saw a flurry of aircraft deals. worth around at least $16 billion. for $7.6quired avalon billion. avalon's ceo is with me. what is the rationale? and this is the chinese company buying a european one. they are the largest container leasing company in the world. aviation is core to their heritage. fourth-largest airline operator in china. aircraft leasing is now the most important source of financing for aircraft on a global basis. rishaad: why the pressure to merge? was the opportunity to bring their strategic positioning in the aerospace sector. we were a public company. we are merging the best of east and west. r

in terms of sri lanka authorities here, the ceremony to detroit the ivory the clergy here, very much indifferent with what happened a couple of years ago, essentially asking that the responsibility and custody of the transferred to his secretary, however, the present government making it very clear that they are not going to encourager trade of contra band, the crusher behind me will see all of these 359 tusks going through it. the results fragments that have come out of the crusher will be weighed up essentially bagged up and will be taken to an industrial understand sin ray tor where they will be burned. now very much what the strap sort of thinking about this is showing there's no value essentially for contraband and that poaching and the international trade will be discouraged. the leading stock markets dropped by more than 6%. shares sell across all a agent asies and newer growth sectors like technology. it is the fist time the japanese emperor has set foot there, since the philippines was lick rated from japanese occupation fighting for justice. traumatized and ashamed of being