... rejects the appeal of a death sentence against an opposition leader found guilty of war crimes. >> welcome, i'm here in doha. >> central african republic buries its dead as fears grow. the country could descend into civil war. >> breaking down barriers. protesters address pressure on the thai prime minister to resign. >> lying in state.

nelson mandela's coffin goes back to the heart of south african government. first, bangladesh's supreme court rejected an appeal of a death sentence given to opposition leader abdul quader mollah. he was due to be put to death on tuesday. he was convicted for crimes during the 1971 war of independence. >> david chater is in the capital of qatar. what is the reaction to the reprieve being taken away. >> as expected the reaction is clash on the street, violence. we have report that an activist

was killed. 15 people were injured in the divisional town. there has been a bomb explosion across the capital city. it's ongoing. in the last three weeks we had violence across bangladesh. maybe the capital city was calmer than the rest of the division. part of the reason is the pollittizizing of the jamal islamic. all this comes in the backdrop of when the united nation assist trying to broker a negotiation between the opposition and the ruling party >> you'll have to explain more about what jamal-e-ilami - what the party is and why the death sentence imposed on mollah is

having such a backlash in bangladesh. >> jamal islami has been there since 1947 onwards. they have taken part with collaboration with pakistan when we had a civil war here. a lot of members were involved in peace committee and auxiliary police. many of them were members involved in killing bangladeshis and freedom fighters. many were accused, many couldn't be convicted. after 40 years the government decided this needs to be put to an end as part of an election manifesto. the war crimes tribunal was formed. if you ask everywhere, everyone wants a due process and those who are found guilty to be sentenced. there's a lot of controversy in the due process of the war crime

and not allowing the jamal islami party to participate in the elections. all this, the opposition says is more of a political vendetta than a true sense of war trial trial that should be done in a due process. most public, depending on the political spectrum tells you they do want a trial. then this comes in a period when the election polarisation between the parties has been intense. 300 have been killed in this country. people are paranoid. they think it's like a microlevel civil war and feel it will spill over. >> so the people's fears in bangladesh. the former thai prime minister and the opposition leader has appeared in court. he and his deputy are accused of

ordering a crackdown in 2001 against a party holding power. they are leading protests against yingluck shinawatra. protesters removed barbed wire outside the house. pead -- opposition leader called on people to support him. >> this is day three of the protest declared on monday after a mass rally of the anti-government protesters. no sign that yingluck shinawatra or her party is preparing to step down or leave the caretaker administration role, which is what the protesters are calling for. there were a group of protesters that jumped the wall. they are calling on police to leave the compound. we understand negotiations are under way at that point at the

moment. all eyes are on the military. the protest leader calls on the military to take a stand and stand by the people, people that support him and his side of thai politics. he wants a meeting with them. there's no indications that the military exceeded to that. there's a report that they rejected it. we spoke to military spokespeople who say they are considering the top brass to meet with yipingluck shinawatra and people around them. it's significant if the side of the anti-public protesters is taken. they have stepped back from the fray, learning the lessons of the 2006 military coup and will mediate, but they are not going to publicly take one side or the other. >> the u.s. says it's considering sanctions against

ukraine after riot police tried to force protesters off the streets. they have been protesting on viktor yanukovych's u-turn against a deal with e.u. the president said he will not use force on peaceful protesters again. >> the russian president vladimir putin has started to deliver his annual state of the union address. these are live pictures from moscow where he's speaking. his speech will be presented to the joint session of parliament. he's expected to outline his country's position on a number of issues. let's lisp in to some of what he has to say. trance trans-i -- >> translation: i consider the most important task to clarify provisions of self of governing,

strong independent authorities, authorities. it should be guarantee in 2014. it is the 150th anniversary of a famous land reform. this is the development of this lands allowing russia to make the breakthrough to find an educated person to conduct reforms, including agricultural reform and restructure the government. now this long local government can be a strong resource. that's vladimir putin talking about domestic issues.

a visiting fellow at the department for war studies at kings college london joins me. we are listening to some internal issues from the president. what are the big regional and international issues? >> well, firstly, of course, for the president, domestic issues come first. this is the most thing front. and this is how he is judged by the public. national and regional fronts he has big challenges and big successors to claim. one was the situation in the middle east, and africa, where russian role is more active and it's making really visible impacts on global politics. regionally ukraine is very much dominating our screens. also, president putin managed to expand his project in building

customs union, failing a way to economic space. and to the process of some kind of economic and social integration. >> you started by saying that local issues he's dealt with and is currently dealing with at the moment. what are the domestic issues for mr putin and russia? >> first big domestic issue is russianisation. if we look at modernization as a tech knoll ogeiccal thing, there's -- technological there has been a big investment, trying to build russia's society. we also see that there is not that much more progress on a political and structural modernization and reforms. they are weak personnel

potential there. this is the problem how to do this governing elite. which is competent and professional. the other domestic issue is still this lingering problem with the position who are in prison after the protest of the election. an amnesty was declared. should they plead guilty, should they apologise. that's very much a nuisance. it's embarrassment for russian international front. and third large issue is terrorism. what happened to it. we have seen - this kind of

group proliverates to this kind of challenges. we have seen terrorist actions last year. that is not going away, despite whatever measures they are doing. >> thank you very much. let's go back and see vladimir putin. there he is. he's continuing his state of the union address and we'll be listening. anna in particular and in doha to what he has to say and we'll tell you what that was. growing fears that sectarian violence in the central african

republic could lead to the civil war. 500 people have been killed in fighting between rival muslim and christian militias. that's in bangui. soldiers are trying to separate and disarm rival militias. nazanine moshiri has more from the capital. >> we are at pk12. a few days ago it was manned by seleka forces. it's under french control. we heard the commander giving orders to his troops. he told them to search any vehicle. disarming still going on, despite the deaths of two french soldiers. as we travelled in the armoured personal carrier things were tense inside. francis hollande, the president was here to boost morale. he told his troops that they are

here to protect civilians and present further carnage. people going market, people feeling safer to be able to go out. there's thousands of people who are seeking protection in churches, at the airport. in mosques. we have seen a lot of injured people in the main hospital and dead bodies brought to the mosque. and the big challenge for the french force is to convince people - both muslims and christians - they are here for them. >> more to come in this next half hour, including. >> i'm on a cotton plantation in the niger delta. they used to call this egypt's white gold. now it is facing a threat.

. welcome back, you are watching al jazeera america. time to remind you of the top stories. bangladesh's supreme court rejected an appeal against a death sentence given to abdul quader mollah, one of a number of people from the jamat-e-islami to be convicted of war crimes. >> protesters are rallying outside the thai prime minister's office in an attempt to pressure her to resign. >> it comes as security forces have been called in to support the opposition movement. >> vladimir putin is delivering

his state of union address and is expected to outline the government's position on domestic and foreign affairs. south africans continue to pay their respects to nelson mandela. his body has been delivered to the union building in pretoria so people can pay their respects one last time. he'll be buried in the ancestral home of the eastern cape. >> the party that nelson mandela led has received criticism for not doing enough. one of the biggest critics is winnie mandela. mike hannah went to meet her. >> winnie mandela is a potent force, a member of the a.n.c. executive committee and a member of parliament. her voice is deeply influential. she insists the struggle to which she dedicated a lifetime is not over. the battle against apartheid may

have been run, but the establishment of democracy is to be achieved. >> we have made tremendous gains, it is true. we attained political freedom. i think we are still very, very far. even though we have these political gains. if you are a south african, you know that the situation, the political situation in the country today is far from what we fought for. >> what can be done? what areas do you think we need to address? >> we inherited the heels of apartheid. it will take time. we were bruised.

the wrongs of the party will take another generation to rectify. then we shouldn't be complacent. the frustrations you see out there, when people are demonstrating, the eruptions taking place over the country, the people are saying they have waited for too long. >> and while the struggle may not be over winnie mandela is enjoying the fruits of what has been achieved, a garden planted by her hand, and her great-grandchildren growing up in freedom. the years of struggle, she says, were all worth it. >> absolutely. absolutely. i would relive this struggle 100 times more if at the end of it i would achieve precisely what we

achieved. as the african national congress, the liberation of south africa and the liberation of my people. that's all it was with. and to this day, i will sleep in my last sleep a very contented person, because i achieved what i fought for. kenya is marking a 50th anniversary of independence from great britain. celebrations started early in nairobi as part of the golden jubilee. fireworks beforehand lit up the night sky as people celebrated, but this morning it rained and the celebrations were a bit muted. thousands gathered to witness the union flag come down on

december 12th, 1963, as kenya became independent. a photo journalist experienced the birth of an independent kenya. here is the story of his words. >> i came from india in 1947. second generation. i became a photo journalist accidentally. on the day of independence, although we had gone through everything, we went - the atmosphere was electric. i had to pinch myself. they switched off the sport lights when the flag came down. then as the kenya flag started to come out, and the crowd, they

did things that had gone wrong immediately after independence, tribal had to make a difference, started coming up. letting the poor people benefitting. i was extremely positive with the new constitution. absolutely blatant what is happening at this moment now. complete disregard of the human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of expression. i think everything is right. all we need is people stick to the constitution. is this asking too much? this benefits all.

the leadership, et cetera, other one day people will project the leadership. >> security forces have been september to some cities in argentina after several nights of looting. gangs ransacked shops and attacked people since police went on strike. 10 have been killed, hundreds injured. police abandoned the conditions for better pay. >> some have been stranded in some parts of the city. there has been mudslides in 14 neighbourhoods. >> a global campaign to stop malaria has saved many lives. the world health organization added that results were down to better funding and commitment. >> this is a proven investment.

for a $5 bed net, a test and a malaerial treatment we saved 3.3 million lives. we can save more than that, we can save every life from malaria. this one is called egypt's white gold and has been cultivated in the country. international competition and a lack of investment caused a decline. factories have been forced to close. >> this woman has been at work since sunrise, picking the cotton all day, earning her less than $5. as she explains, this is all she knows. >> i have been doing this ever since i was a child. we spent all day picking cotton. >> cotton was the cash crop in the nile delta and elsewhere. now the area of lands devoted to

it is less than a quarter of what it was 20 years ago. >> october is the month in which egypt's cotton is collected and processed. the product in this field represents around $1,000 in value. the farmer will only get half of that. cultivating the cotton requires good irrigation, fertilisers and pesticides to keep the soil healthy. in a good year the costs can be recouped. not this year. the harvest is poor. >> it's bad this year. the seeds are not strong. we don't have enough fertilisers. all the costs were about breaking even. >> the bails of cotton gathered around egypt will end up in factories like this one. here, too, declining demand has had its effect.

tens of thousands of tex tile workers lost their jobs as factories shut down. >> in one 3-month period cotton exports fell by 40%. retail stores like this one in cairo attract fewer customers. this man stocks only 100% egyptian cotton. demand for her product is down. >> all the prices go up. this badly affects selling. if i compare between this year and the year before, the year before is better than this year. >> the best egyptian cotton is priced around the world for this quality. with cheap imports, plummeting demand some fear that egyptian cotton may one day become a thing of the past.

in australia the high court revoked a law allowing gay couples to marry in the capital territory. the ruling may represent a legal step forward. >> legally married last week, now told it's not valid of the australia's high court struck down the landmark law that allowed the country's first day weddings to take place. >> this is devastating. in less than a week we have been married and we've been unmarried. at least on a legal level. >> to cherish into love so long as you both shall live. >> more than two dozen couples took their vows when the legislation came into effect. although it's been reversed the decision provides for the possibility of gay marriage in the future. >> there was some confusion before today as to whether the national parliament had the power to make laws for same-sex

marriage. it's been clarified. the high court said yes, the national parliament can. in fact, it's a matter now of waiting for the moment where the national parliament is controlled by a party that has the political will to implement same-sex manrriage, and then we'll see it in australia. same-sex marriage is seen in 15 countries. the netherlands led the pack, becoming the first nation to recognise gay marriage. 10 others followed suit. this year gay rights saw a boost. four countries, brazil, france and new zealand legalized same-sex marriage along with several states. that debate was growing louder. in australia acts visits say they'll take the fight to parliament to press for marriage

equality on a national level. >> that's the home page of our website that you are looking at now, with the bangladesh politician to be executed as the top story. and this is "real money." >> this is "real money" and you are the most important part of the show. join our live conversation for the next half hour on twitter @aj real money. there is good news for american women who are just starting their careers. the gender pay gap which has