♪ ♪ >> fighters skiesed in military kuhn forms kill at least a zest people in kne nigeria. hello and welcome you are watching al jazerra. it's good to have you here with us also in this program. syria's deputy prime minister says the war has reached a stalemate and the government is ready to back a ceasefire. the death toll rises to 97 as storm manuel lashes mexico. an entire village is destroyed by landslide. and opposition parties boy scott

swaswaz i land's election as the president's prepares to marry his 14th wife. ♪ ♪ we begin nigeria with rebels killed eight jeff people. here is the latest. ahmed, give us some more details about what happened. >> reporter: well, actually, the gunmen dressed in military uniforms attacked some days ago killing 14 people in the town and three security officers and set more than 100 buildings on fire including government buildings and hous houses. i military officer i spoke to

this morning said many are red following the attack but can't give specific numbers. what he is telling me is that the rebels, like you said set the roadblocks on the highway linking other neighboring states and started willing drivers and passengers in vehicles. including people trying to stop the violence that day. so the insurgents, the military said responded to the distress calls by the people and then attacked the insurgents on the road and on the pay highway before they escaped. he said if that attack. the military killed many of them. locals are saying more than 150 insurgents came in fair vehicles. >> ahmed, give us a bigger picture of the situation there. as i understand there were more security personnel on the ground

specifically for their, what is the picture there now? >> reporter: well, there has been a state of emergency declared in three states, including where the attack took place and a neighboring state where another attack took place two days ago. and a state in the northeast as well. since the launch of the state of emergency it has calmed down a little bit in the first few months or so and the situation escalated in the last three weeks with various attacks launched by the insurgents. and many people were killed. numbers of them. there was a pair militar paramiy organizations and also identifying the suspects and handing them over to the militarism but these insurgents seem to have regrouped if the last few weeks and start ahead tacking the governments and those vigilanties who are

accused of identifying their members and handing them over to the authorities for prosecution or impress think. now the situation looks like it's escalating after sometime. for you that update. rescue workers are scrambling to find survivors after mudslides buried dozens the people. two tropical storms detroit roads and buried villagers, so many 97 people are known to have tied. we have this report from the capital of mexico city. >> reporter: this is result of days of torrential rains, dozens of bridges and roads laid to waste. thousands of homes destroyed. tens of thousands of people made homeless. people wait anxiously for emergency rations, flown in by mexico's military. many have gone without food or water for days. and are desperate for help.

>> we just want medicine and support. something to eat. >> reporter: more than 1 million people have been affected by two tropical storms that slamed in to mexico last weekend. rescue teams are finding more bodies as they reach isolated areas. survivors say the mudslides came out of nowhere. >> i was walking down a street near a store when i heard a loud noise and i just stood there and i saw how the dust and dirt began to billow up. it was like black smoke and it turned like a windmill. when i saw it was coming down i started running. >> reporter: the flooding brought other unwelcome surprises. crocodiles were spotted in the streets of alka pole co, one of the country's primary tourist destinations heavy rains washed them out of the a lagoon giving people something else to worry about.

the government is appealing to mexican to his help out. food banks have been set up across the country. we are here at a selection center and more than 30 million tons of foods and other goods have been collected things donated by individuals and companies and volunteers are going through sorting the things so that they can go out in an airlift in areas where they are really needed. some say the government was unprepared and has not done enough to help them. it's the most vulnerable paying the price. >> the queue is kilometers long, elderly people, pregnant well, sick children. >> reporter: but with more storms bearing down on mexico the government's work here far from over. david mercer, al jazerra, mexico city. >> a typhoon is bearing down on taiwan. weather officials issued

warnings think it's expected to make landfall on saturday with winds of up to 175-kilometers an hour. ♪ ♪ >> now we are hearing that at least 20 people have been killed in an attack at a military camp in yep en. al qaeda and the a rape i don't know peninsula expected to be behind the two car bombs, it happened in the south. information is coming in and we'll bring you the latest when we get it. syria now where the deputy prime minister says the civil war has reached a stale made. he told the guardian newspaper in the u.k. that neither the government or opposition are currently capable of winning the conflict. he also called to an end of external helps if they agree to stop. battling the free syrian army for control of a borden town have agreed to immediate

ceasefire and the fire led turk toy shutdown the crossing with syria. here is more. >> reporter: one of the oldest and most established free syrian army brigades in nort northern a the only one large enough to attempt an toned a dangerous standoff between two newer opposition armed groups, the northern storm brigade and al qaeda a quill yachtsalal-qauda . at first they kept their distance. where they had imposed a kerr true and banned any filming, at least seven people were killed during fighting overnight and many injured. hospital tajes were tang. a large refugees camp during the more more powered in to turkey.

>> each of these two groups wanted to enter the area controlled by the other. one has been in the hands of the free syrian army for a long time. groups that came from damascus and iraq wanted to storm the city because i've long-standing dispute. >> reporter: it's also believed the al qaeda linked fighters wanted local people to hand over two doctors working in a makeshift field hospital. allegedly calling them surprise. and liberals, reports say the islamic state of iraq has taken one of them seen in this video, but the whereabouts of the second, thought to be a german national, is not known. locals who fled to the turkish border protested against foreign fighters coming to their town. with banners reading you don't belong to us. and we don't belong to you. and jihaddists, you came to help us, not to kill us. this conflict has serious implications. if the free syrian army loses control of the area, then that means an al quada linked group

controls a major border post with turkey. and now militias set up to fight the assad regime are at war with each other instead. anita a al jazerra. >> the iranian president has urged other world leaders to take advantage of the opportunity for better relations with iran. writing the washington post he says his government is ready to accommodate discussions between the syrian government and the opposition. now he has also invited talks about iran's disputed nuclear program. but israel remains spectacle about the motives. iraqi interpret terse who insisd the u.s. are worried that time is running out for them to be granted u.s. visas. the interpreters and their families were promised visas for their services. john has more. >> reporter: there is an unbreakable bond between military men that you tend not to find among a sil civilians.

and this may be why. time and his iraqi interpret were targeted half a does times while on doubt any iraq. now retired from service he asked us not to use his last name. what do you do after you have been blown up and survived? >> it happens so often you don't think about. >> reporter: working with the u.s. arm any iraq was okay at first but soon it got dicey one of his sons was hurt when their car was blown up in the driveway of their home. >> he got burned on his arm and leg passing through the ball of fire. >> reporter: so went today bring his family to live in america. tim pulled out the stops to get a visa for iraqis who had worked for and with the u.s. >> we could not and i emphasize could not have accomplished our mission without him or his fellow interpreters.

>> reporter: five years ago congress authorized 25,000 u.s. vehicleses visa for his iraqs be only issued 25% of them. now time is running out. unless congress acts by the he want of. the month laying these the law expires. they say: lawyers working on behalf of the iraqis who work with the u.s. military and still seeking visas say thousands could be shutout. >> this wouldn't be the mess it was if the state department and homeland security had done this expeditiously when the legislation was passed. now we are in a position where men and women who served as anbly as our own troops are poe

10ly ipotentially in threat of . >> reporter: tim says looking at those who risks their lives and their families lives for americans should be a number one priority for the government. >> you know, darn it, if we can put a man on the moon we can get these guys over here. that's how i feel. >> reporter: at least he and his family are safe in the u.s., grateful to the town that's made them so welcome. >> i never forgot. it's imprinted in my mind of my kids and my mind and my i wife. something we couldn't have in iraq. >> reporter: he just wants his countrymen who also risked their lives for the u.s. to live the dream too. john, al jazerra, connecticut. >> in south africa government commission in to the killing of minerminors has been haunt halt. coming up house police are accused of fabricating evidence.

pigmy elephants have found a sanctuary.

faultlines investigates why so many babies are dying in america's inner cities. >> lot a times programs and stuff all they care about is numbers. they don't care about people. >> faultlines: america's infant mortality crisis.

on inside story, we bring together unexpected voices closest to the story, invite hard-hitting debate and desenting views and always explore issues relevant to you. ♪ ♪ >> hello again, let me take you through our top stories in al jazerra. the no nigeria rebels disguised in military uniforms have shot and killed dozens of people. witnesses say fighters set up checkpoints outside the town and gunned down motorists as they tried to escape. rescue workers in mexico are scramble to go find survivors after a mudslide buried dozens of people. mexico has been lashed by two

tropical storms causing the worst flooding in decades and syria's deputy prime minister says there is deadlock in the civil war. he told a british newspaper that neither the military nor armed groups could currently win the conflict out right. okay, let's now go get i some me from the breaking news in yemen where we hear there has been a series of coordinated attacks from -- against the military with mean people dead. can you give us some more information? >> reporter: yes. accord to this local sources they said that at least 20 [inaudible] attacks against the

military [inaudible]. and this incident facing a political problem tend of the [inaudible] different political parties in the dispute about t the -- issues on the -- and also the [inaudible] the system of the country and about the [inaudible] >> thank you very much. an update of what's happening in yemen.

we are also hearing from the a s agency 10 soldiers have been killed and we'll bring you more information on that as we get it. in other news, opposition parties are boycotting elections in swaziland the small mountain state is africa's last absolute monarchy and the king is preparing to marry his 14th wife and here is a report. >> reporter: the king said he recently had a vision from god telling him that swaziland, it's a marriage between the ballot box and the mourn arc, he says when people go to vote in elections like this one, for example, they are telling the king how they would like to see the country run and that's how it holds him accountable and that's how swaziland becomes transparent but not everyone agrees with the system, they are saying that a swaziland is still

a country that has a lot of issue police cat parties are banned if anyone has spoken out against the royal family has been arrested or forced in to exile, some people are willing what challenge the system they are running at candidates hoping to be m.p.s trying to challenge things and change things from within. the concern is that in the past some of those who manage to go in were swallowed up by the system it's what the king wants not necessarily what the ordinary people of swaziland. >> a government commission in to the killing of minors has been halted because police are being accused of fabricating evidence. 34 striking miners were killed at a mine 13 months ago. bernard smith has this report. >> reporter: it was the most brutal use of police force in south africa in the almost 20 years since the end of apartheid. 34 striking miners were shot

down when police opened fire on them in august 2012. the violence was the culmination of months of fighting at the platinum mine near johannesburg. south africa's president set up a judicial inquiry in to the killings. now that inquiry is accusing the police of lying and fabricating evidence. in a statement, the commission said we have obtained documents which give the impression that they are co connecticut trier justice documents but which appear to have been constructed after the events to which they refer. we have obtained document that demonstrate that the south african police services version of the events is not the truth. we have to to say the material we have found has serious consequences for the further conduct of the work of this

commission. >> we can only hope that the head commissioner will start subbing the communications that went on between the police and their minister. and between the minister and other ministers and cabinet minute meetings, none of the correspondence between the nine and the the 16 account of august which was the fatal day of the shooting from the government has been supplied. >> reporter: they made the statement after a computer hard drive given given to them by a police officer who had been giving evidence. it's suggestion spendsed the investigation until. the police service itself hasn't made any statements. bernard smith, al jazerra. >> the storming after town west

of cairo on thursday went according to plan, he said that the police arrested 55 suspects in-house to house raids. security forces entered the town as a part i've nationwide crack down, the area has been off limits to the police since an angry crowd burned down their police station killing 11 officers in august. caroline kennedy the daughter of the former u.s. president john f. kennedy could become the new ambassador to japan. she has been formally nominated for the role and now needs senate approval. she says she would be humbled to carry forward her father's legacy. the oil field services halliburton has pleaded guilty to destroying evidence related to a spill in the gulf of mexico they were fined $200,000 given a probation, the 2010 disaster was the worst in u.s. history.

green peace says russian coast guards have stormed one of their ships in the arctic. the russian action came after green peace activists tried to climb onto an offshore drilling platform on wednesda wednesday. the environmental group says warning shots were fired and 29 of its activists have been arrested. he's one of the most famous scientists in the world. and now professor steven hawking is the star of his own moving. he's releasing a documentary showing how he copes day-to-day balancing an amazing mental ability with extreme physical disability. al jazerra had a look. >> reporter: think of cambridge, think art, think science, think history. but movie premiers, think again. yet this is no ordinary film. this is no ordinary man. >> there is nothing like the eureka moment of discovering something that no one knew before.

>> reporter: the subject is professor steven hawking. one of, if not the, most famous scientist of his generation. and this is his story. his words, his idea, his life. full, uncensored reality tv the life of a scientist through a microscope. >> i have lived over two-thirds of my life with the threat of death hanging over me. >> i think he felt that now is the time to do it in his own words and talk as candidly as he can and as revealing as he can about what has affected him and what is amazing him. he was -- he was very afternooning of. >> reporter: steven hawking is adored, loved evening, just here at the university of came bridge but many parts of the world and of course it's his research and theories have that made him a household name. but for many people who are not academic, it's also the fact that he has achieved so much while also suffering so much. and that means that he is no longer just a scientist, by his own admission, he is now also a

celebrity. this is, after all, a man who took center stage during the opening of the 2012 paraolympics. >> welcome professor steven hawking. [cheering and applause] >> reporter: he's been on chat shows, the simpson, evening star trek for a man obsessed with space, honors do in the get much bigger. >> you are bluffing? >> i don't think again, albert. i think my celebrity has a lot to do with my condition. the wheelchair makes me instantly recognizable. i fit a stereo type of a disabled, though i am not a genius like einstein. >> reporter: when steven hawking was diagnosed, he was given just three years to live. that was 50 years ago. his book, a brief history of time became 11 of sciences best ever sellers, his movie itself is brief. just minutes, but gives the world a glimpse in to his

history, his time. phil, came ridge, al jazerra. >> smoking could be banned in prisons in england and wales. now the move is likely to be controversial as some 80% of prisoners smoke. but it will begin next year. a complete began is expected by 2015 because it fierce that prison staff may demand compensation over the health hazards of passive smoking. the first sank ware foy orphan pigmy elephants is opening. it's a refuge for animals fast losing their natural habitat but funded by the very industry which activists is causing harm to wildlife and the environment. andrew thomas has this report from borneo. >> reporter: take away the people and she's alone. so far the only pigmy elephant at the malaysia first sanctuary. the expectation is there will be 50 injured elephants joining miss rock oh, company for her,

but that demand is a worrying sign to the wildlife. the center was officially opened by a government minister, but it's mainly money from the palm oil industry paying for it. the very industry some accuse are doing more to damage wildlife than any other. you are the main sponsor of this problem. your involvement part i've guilty conscience? >> definitely not. what we have done is that we are -- there is a realization that we cannot live in isolation, i think it's a realization that we should be part of the overall effort. >> reporter: it is still possible to see striking wildlife down the river, though the chance of seeing an elephant in the wild is highly unlikely. there are thought to be fewer than 2,000 left, no one quite knows how many there once were, loss of habitat tat is to blame, first it was logging, then rubber, now what were once rain forests are palm oil plantations they cover 20% of the entire state. around the river, that proportion rise to his 85%.

for kilometer after kilometer after kilometer, this is all you see. palm oil trees. it's fruit and their seeds are crushed, processed and the oil used in hundreds of thousands of products. from the air, you see the scale. at ground level, the trucks rumble by with relentless predictability sometimes animals are not just pushed out but hurt. 14 pigmy elephants were found dead in january, it's us specced they ate bait to kill smaller animals, considered pest on his the plantations, one baby survived, he's been named yo and now lives in a into where he will probably be until he dies, there are other threats too. >> they get caught by hunting snares and cause horrific injuries and basically it destroys the elephant. so this sanction ware document actually for this group of elephants. >> reporter: financial support

for the sanctuary is welcome, but everybody those in the palm oil industry say in the past, they have been part of the problem. andrew thomas, al jazerra, malaysia. >> okay, you can always keep us to date on our website you'll find that at br* aljazerra.com. >> was this an opportunity to really measure the methane, at so many sites what did you find out that either surprised or didn't surprise you? >> we found the equipment on the well pads were leaking a lot more than we had anticipated. and we were positively surprised that the equipment was so effective, and so those are -- that's -- you know, a mixed bag. we have something that reaffirmed the positive nature of what was happening but the need for additional activities. >> thank you so much. when we come back, more on this study and frac-ing safety? general.