>> announcer: this is al jazeera ♪ >> hello and welcome to the news hour. i'm in doha with your top stories. russia announces amnesty for over 20,000 prisoners. >> mohammed morsi is to stand trial for terrorist acts.

i'm jo with the sport. seven of spain's top clubs face investigations over illegal match fixing. hello, there are hopes that some of russia's most high profile prisoners could be home for christmas. pussy riot and the green peace protesters are among 20,000 prisoners included in the amnesty. although that is just a fraction of the half a million people being held in jails let's get more. >> there are 30 green peace activists. they will be hoping this is the

end of a particularly nasty three months. they were picked up while protesting an oil drugging rig. they spent nearly two months in jail before they were moved to st. piecersberg, and finally a couple of weeks ago, green peace raced the -- raised the necessary bail, $60 million. they have been speaking in st. petersburg. here is what they had to say. >> we spent in jail for doing nothing wrong, and now we are deemed guilty but granted amnesty, and 26 of us will be able to go home sooner or later,

but what does that mean for our russian colleagues. >> there is no amnesty for the arctic. these companies need to be stopped. >> how is this amnesty being received in russia peter? >> well, there are 26,000 people who will be receiving this amnesty. minors, women over the age of 55, men over the age of 60, pregnant women, men and women who used to serve in the armed forces, even some people who took part in the rescue operations at chernobyl. we understand the amnesty will come into force tomorrow and last for a period of six months. the decree drafted by vladimir

putin himself to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the russian constitution. >> all right. peter thank you very much. egypt's former president mohammed morsi will stand trial for committing terrorist acts in in egypt. he was forcibly removed from power by a military coup and arrested in july as you recall. peter joins us from cairo with more details on the charges. >> yeah, the charges are very, very serious indeed. the charges of espionage, and communicating with foreign organizations to carry out acts of terror inside egypt. and they include giving out secrets to national defense carrying out military exercises to achieve the aims of the

muslim brotherhood, and overall safety of the country. this is in effect a series treason charges, and treason in egypt carries the death penalty. >> and what is the reaction? >> we have spoken to morsi's lawyers who say so far they haven't received formal details of the charges. they say that morsi and his co-accused have been questioned by the prosecutors but that they haven't been given access to mohammed morsi, so they are still waiting on the final details. we also haven't heard a response from mooresy's supporters, but i expect many are see these as

trumped up charges. we'll need to see what they say of course, but i think this will very much be an attempt to silence the opposition. over 40,000 people have been forced by the-- from their home due to torrential rains in in gaza. >> reporter: after days of torrential rain, many parts of the gaza strip looks like this. hundreds of buildings have been damaged and thousands of people have had to leave their homes. this is one of them. he went back to check the damage. he says his home and livelihood are ruined. >> translator: i returned to my

home f after five days of rain. the storm caused serious damage. i need at least $15,000 to repair my house. look at this equipment, everything ruined. the un has provided aid to about 8,000 people all of them palestinian refugees. many were trapped in their homes by the rising waters. and it is only now that this man was able to enter his shop. >> translator: we have been trying for a week, only today i have managed to return to my store and found everything ruined. i can't sell any of my goods because of the flooding. i need at least $12,000 to get my store fit for use. >> reporter: more than 1.5 million people live in the gaza strip with no proper infrastructure. there is a shortage of almost everything here.

gaza has had it tough since hamas won elections in 2006. israel, and certain powers have refused to recognize the victory by hamas. people remain vulnerable to wars, political fighting, and the bitter chill of the winter rains. much more to come up on the al jazeera news hour, including -- first violence now disease. the malaria crisis praying on children in the central africa republic. and in sports european champion looks to become world champions in morocco. jo will have the details a little later.

first violence in south sudan has spread beyond the capitol. hundreds of people have died in fighting since sunday, and there is evidence the violence is splitting along ethnic lines. thousands of people are hiding in un compounds, too afraid to go home. >> reporter: afraid for their lives. these people are k looking for a safe place to hide from the fighting. a message from the government, go home. >> translator: when you came here you were looking for peace. now there is no fighting. now we are telling you that everyone should go back to your house. listen to me, listen to me, listen to me. >> reporter: the people didn't want to listen. how can you say that? one of them asked. >> translator: other people come in and ask him to speak a certain language, and if he

couldn't speak, they can take him out of his house and kill him. >> reporter: thousands of people have taken refuge inside un compounds, thousands more are waiting outside. at least three women have given birth at this base. and officials say they are running out of food. sanitation is becoming an issue. if the crisis goes on much longer, they may be unable to cope. >> thousands of individuals have taken shelter in the two bases, which is quite trying for the means in terms of medical, food, and so -- medical support, food, water, and -- and protection. >> reporter: soldiers are mainly fighting along ethnic lines. they -- some are loyal to the president and some are loyal to

the vice president. >> ten of his followers have been arrested, so there is nobody there to -- to undermine the security of the capitol of south sudan. >> reporter: an unknown number of people have been killed. circumstances on the ground remain in flux, and it's the people of south sudan who are caught in the middle. we'll being joined live from nairobi, and we understand there has been an offer made by the south sudan president for talks. what do we know? >> yes, we cannot independently verify this report but the news agency is saying that the president spoke to reporters a short while ago saying that he is willing to sit with his former deputy and essentially

talk to him, but, quote, i do not know what the results of the talks would be. still it is an interesting offer, seeing that this is exactly what the international community has been asking of him over the past few hours. it was a very direct message from ban ki-moon and john kerry both of whom have asked the president to reach out to his rivals and take all necessary measures to end the fighting. of course it remains to be seen how genuine the offer is, given that just two days ago he has called him a, quote unquote, profit of doom. and we have seen remarks today describing him as an illegal president and accusing him of

repeatedly violating the constitution. >> he reportedly said this alleged coup was a misunderstanding. what does that exactly mean? >> yes, those remarks were made reportedly in an interview with the pairs-based sudan tribune website, and he essentially distances himself completely from any attempt to wage a coup saying he has no knowledge of or involvement in any such attempted cue. saying that the president is trying to settle score with his political rifles to crack down on decent, and this started as a misunderstanding among the presidential guards. his reference to the presidential guards specifically is very interesting. because observers will say this was a force that was created to report directly to him not to

the military, so essentially throwing the ball back to the court of the forces loyal to the president rather than those loyal to him. now of course the circumstances -- the real story of what, aboutly happened on monday still remains quite unclear. >> and while this happens people sheltering in un compounds as violence continues. thank you. now the humanitarian crisis in the central african republic is worsening. andrew simmons is in the northern town where it's not just fighting but disease that is now threatening communities. >> reporter: mapping out the immediate future for security in a city that is paralyzed by fear. the french army patrols give some reassurance, but for now the only way of reducing the violence is by trying to keep christians and muslims apart.

this is the muslim settlement beside a school. even with the big security presence, no one will consider going home again, and nobody feels safe. here is the center, abandoned. it's a no man's land. the christians in a majority live in a sprawl beside the catholic church, 36,000 in all. and like the muslims on the other side of the city, no one knows what will happen next. there is some consensus that disarming the attackers on both sides is the answer, but with revenge in the air after an unknown number of killings, some want to keep a defense. >> what is most difficult will be disarming [ inaudible ] because there are a lot of

[ inaudible ] mistrust. >> reporter: and it isn't only the violence that threatens the people, the central african republic's long history of coups and county coups has always had a festering humanitarian element. and now there is another killer? this 18-month-old baby has just tested positive for malaria, and the boy decide. with people taking refuges in places like this without mosquito nets, the outbreak is at record levels. >> we have 90% of the children that we test actually appear to be sick with malaria on top of other diseases they might have at the same time. >> reporter: so many threats to

life, and this is a city where no one can call anything their own anymore. andrew simmons, al jazeera. the african union is appealing for help in somalia as around 10,000 people have been left homeless by floods. the extreme weather badly damaged the road. many people are without food and water. the eu is threating italy with legal action over its treatment to migrants after a shocking video was aired on television. lauren? >> yes, the video showed migrants in the cold being stripped and sprayed for scabies. it is prompting the european commission to investigate italy. the major said it makes the

center look like a concentration camp. but migrants say they have received much worse treatment than that shown in the video. >> reporter: these are the shocking images bringing shame to italy. it shows stripped naked migrants in the reception center of lampedusa being sprayed for scabies in the courtyard. >> no dressed -- >> reporter: the footage was leaked to an italian news cast by a syrian migrant who said they are being treated like animals. but they said they saw the treatment as necessary evil. >> because it's medicine

[ inaudible ] you get out of our body. it is cold. >> reporter: most migrants we spoke to say they didn't find being hosed down in plain view. what they are mostly concerned about is what they claim to be another form of torture they had to endure upon their arrival here. this migrant claims that italian authorities often take their fingerprints by force by hitting them with sticks and threatening them with tasers. the european commission threatened italy with legal action for possible breach of the eu's rules. in this the meantime hundreds of migrants keep coming despite the unfavorable season. on tuesday more than a hundred people were rescueded off of the coast. they will now be hosted in italy's reception centers in the

hopes that scenes from this video won't be repeated. joining me now via skype from sicily is the project coordinator for doctors without borders italy, and trains doctors at migrant reception centers. can i ask you, first of all, this treatment of scabies would that be routine? >> well, not really. honestly, i'm not constantly in the center, because as a doctor without boarer, we just have a visit -- monthly visit, so we don't work there, but i have been there five time, and i have never seen such treatment as i saw in the video. normally the treatment has been done in -- in the toilet, so of course the person has to be naked, but in in a private place with the nurse normally who -- who do the treatment, not

in that way that we saw in the video. >> but what kind of conditions are there in these camps. you were there just after one of the shipwrecks. what was it like? >> yes, i was there in that week just after the shipwreck, and -- well, the condition were very bad for most of the hosts because they were not enough places and rooms for people, so most of the people -- more than half were outside, living outside. they had some plastic shelter to repair from the rain, so the conditions were verier poor at that time, but unfortunately, most of the time the center is overcrowded, so this is unfortunately a quite routine situation. >> and why do you think the conditions are so bad? i know you say it's overcrowded. but is that justification, or

could things be done better? >> well, the fact that the center is often overcrowded, it is a problem. but evening with the overcrowded center, things could have been done better. even now you can still ensure the dignity of people, even when you are overcrowded. you can give shelter and try to ensure privacy to people and to preserve their dignity. >> you talk about preserving dignity, we heard from our correspondent who said they didn't mind so much about the treatment for skabyes, but what they didn't like was being beaten up for fingerprinting. >> yes, this is a problem not

only in lampedusa, but anywhere, because many don't want to be identified. so many people now start to refuse to be identified, and this -- yes, it's a common problem. i never saw myself the use of violence for indication, but it is something that we heard several times, but i repeat i never saw it myself. >> okay. thank you very much indeed for taking the time to talk to us. >> you are welcome. >> ukraine said the bailout deal will bring stability to the economy, but has done little to bring peace into the country. under the terms of the deal russia will buy $15 billion worth of ukrainian bonds and cut

the price of natural gas. opposition still want the president to resign. rory has more on how they plan to get the government out. >> reporter: behind the scenes there is a lot of work going on. the opposition leaders here are trying as hard as they can to woo as many parliament tarns over into their faction. they think they are very close to winning enough mp's to be able to carry a vote of no confidence against the government. the opposition say they are as close as five votes to that number. now the people here in the square are of course very unhappy about what happened yesterday in moscow. they think that ukraine is handcuffing itself to russia. they are very displeased with

that. the ukrainian government is still saying that even though it is signing these deals with russia, the door to europe, as far as they are concerned, is still open. >> i'll be back later with more from europe, including the death of the great train robber after years of life on the run and just a few years in jail. the diplomatic row between india and the united states shows no signs of dying down. india says they will bring her back at any cost and preserve her dignity. kat turner has the story. >> reporter: outside the u.s. embassy in new delhi, police see the removal of barricades.

it's another sign that democratic relations with washington are deteriorating. indian authorities have reportedly asked offices to return their identity cards that have stopped them from flying out of the country. it has become one of the top stories in the indian media. tension between the two countries has been steadily escalating. officials say this woman was handcuffed as she dropped her daughter off at school, and was later strip searched and placed in jail with drug addicts. perhaps india shouldn't hold its breath for an apology. >> there are no indications that anything but appropriate

measures were followed, but we do know this is sensitive. we are looking into it. we can only speak for part of it, but we're looking to into what happened. >> reporter: this is the heart of the dispute with. the console general. she reportedly brought a housekeeper from india, and was only paid $3.31 an hour. it also claims that she submitted false documents to secure a visa for the housekeeper. >> she was paying her employee exactly what she should have been paying her. i'm not going to get into the details of the facts of the case at this time. this is an ongoing case and we

will litigate it at the time. >> neither side is showing any signs of breaking down. the lower house in india has approved a new anti-corruption law which allows politicians and civil workers to be prosecuted. the law is good news for the prominent anti-corruption activist who has now ended his nine-day hunger strike, but has been campaigning for a long time for that bill. >> still ahead, weapons inspectors reveal how they plan to disarm syria's chemical weapons arsenal. and we look back at the life of ronnie bait. and find out if this nhl player managed to walk away from

a compression hit. jo will be here after the break. night with the combatants in their training base.

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hello again the top stories. the russian parliament has passed a general amnesty that could free over 20,000 prisoners from jail. egypt's public prosecutor has ordered mohammed morsi and 34 others to stand trial for committing terrorist acts in egypt. south sudan's president has offered talks with his rivals in this an effort to end days of violence. hundreds have died since sunday in the violence, and the violence has spread beyond the capitol. the syrian city is enduring its fourth straight day of air

strikes. >> the activists say it is a terrible situation. it is the fourth straight day of government air strikes. what they are being hit with is what they are calling barrels. it's barrels loaded with explosives that come down and create a lot of damage. doctors without borders say the hospitals are really struggling to try to cope with the number of the injureded. in the fourth day of air strikes there are at least 100 people that have been killed including children. and they are calling on the international communities to do something to end the government's offensive. >> reporter: the activist you refer to, do they believe this is now an escalation, and if so why at this particular point? >> well, what the activists are

saying, and political analysts is that the government is pushing forward trying to capture as much as possible the territory being held by the rebels now, before the start of negotiations next month in geneva. they want to have the upper hand and be in this a strong position. and the opposition forces realize that, that's why we're seeing an attempt to try to counter this offensive. but everyone knows it is a prush forward trying to gain as much momentum on the ground so on the negotiating table they will have to give the least concessions. but the rebels feel they are being let down by the international community. they see when the russians and americans and international community cooperate and pressure

the government they can accomplish a lot. they were able to accomplish the destruction of chemical weapons are, and the chemicals themselves. they say how come that effort is not being pushed. >> okay. thank you. well an al jazeera investigation has found evidence that intelligence exacted by torture in a libyan jail may have been used in the british jail system. let's go to lauren for more on that. >> a leading libyan politician says he was forced to give information. juliana has this report. >> reporter: this is one of moammar gadhafi's most infamous

prisons. saudis say they were brought her and tortured with the help of the british intelligence. these allegations form the basis of a lawsuit against the british government. according to the lawyers, the men and their families were pons in a deal instruct with briton in 2004. on the same day, it was announced a $1 billion deal for gas exploration rights in libya. it wasn't until after gadhafi's fall that the role of the british was discovered. when the rebels came to tripoli they ransacked all sorts of buildings, such as this one. it was in the office of a spy chief that they found a stash of documents which revealed the collaboration between british

and libyan intelligence services. he says he was pressured to give up information about libyans living in britain. >> translator: sometimes they would come to me with the questions and answers already done, and force me to sign it. they would mention names to me and say these people supported armed activities. >> reporter: some libyans have since returned to tripoli and we managed to track down one of them. he tells us that he was arrested and that the information used by british interrogate fors came from libya. >> translator: many times during the questioning they would accuse me of terrorism, so they brought all of the documents they had, many of which they left out in the open, and it with us clear what was from libya. >> reporter: he want us to meet his family. after his release from prison, he was essentially placed under

house arrest and his family suffered from the treatment by the british police. >> translator: they could search the house any time they wanted, and they always chose to come at night, knocking really hard on the door and scaring my wife and children. >> reporter: one of the things he is hoping to reveal is the flow of information between british and libyan intelligence agencies. and more on that investigation, watch people in power as it examines the relationship between the uk and libyan secret service. the great train robber, ron ronnie biggs has died at the age

of 84. >> i think it's one of the most fantastic books that has ever been written, and if you don't buy it, you have got to be crazy. >> reporter: there are few convicted criminals who's name divide people as fiercely as ronnie biggs. this was that crime. the great train robbery of 1963. biggs and accomplices held up mail service. and got away with 120 bags of cash. inside $65 million in today's money. biggs was jailed and got 30 years. he was out after two. his escape simple and audacious. he climbed over the prison wall using a hope ladder. so began 26 years not so much on

the run, more a gentle stroll. when biggs became more than a criminal, but a real life celebrity. he had a son in in brazil, which meant couldn't be sent home. movies were made of his life, but by the time 2001 arrived, biggs knew his options were limited. with his health starting to fail, he came home. >> if i go back to england, i go back to what appears to be in the papers 28 years of imprisonment. >> reporter: biggs was behind bars once again. he stayed there for eight years until his poor health lead to release on compassion grounds. he had served just a third of his sentence and taken 25 years

to do it. he died? london. for ronnie biggs crime did pay, at least for a while. a masterpiece estimated to be worth $1 million will be raffled for charity. tickets have been available online for $137 each. that's the news from europe. back to doreen in doha. lauren, virtual currency bitcoin as lost value. authorities have raised concerns that the virtual currency could be used for money laundering. jeremy bonnie is the product mappinger at coindesk.com. so is that a valid concern on

behalf of china? >> i think the money laundering thing has been one aspect of it, but one of the major sites that was used for illicit purposes was silk road, and a lot of people thought it was significant for bitcoin, but when it shut down it had very little impact on the bitcoin system as a whole. >> explain bitcoin for our viewers, jeremy, what exactly is it? and why is it becoming so popular? >> it's essentially a digital currency, so it exists only electronically. and the strength of it really is in the technology behind the payment network. it provides something that is a lot faster and cheaper to transfer money to people around the world. so it's way more cheaper, for example, than doing an international bank transfer

which can take up to a week and will quite costly. >> this move by china's central bank, could this sort of be a catalyst that stops this bitcoin rally? >> i don't really think it is going to have that big of impact, to be honest. china has really helped bitcoin to grow a lot, but it really has just been for the last few months. but there's a lot more to it than just that. there are countries all around the world using bitcoin, and i don't think we have seen the end of bitcoin in china. china has a history of cracking down on technologies, so we may see a resurgence but with perhaps an element of government control. >> do you see a point where there could be government regulation in in bitcoin? >> i -- i think certainly.

if you look at china's history with the internet, they spent, you know, years building up a service that would -- you know, effectively put up this firewall and census certain things on the internet. and they enforce that very strictly. so i think they have been taking their time with bitcoin and watching what is happening, but i think they see the value of it as a payment network and problem want to have a part of that. >> thank you, jeremy. astronauts on board the international space station are preparing to carry out some space walks to repair the station >> reporter: more than 300 kilometers above earth the

international space station is the largest and most expensive space station ever built. on wednesday one of two cooling systems had to be shut down. engineers on the ground had tried to find a way to bypass what was a faulty valve inside of a pump. but now they decided to replace the pump, and at least three space walks are needed to do this. >> all right. i'm ready. >> reporter: a similar pump was replaced in 2010, the same job then turned out to be more difficult than expected. these latest space walks will be the first since july. >> i feel a lot of water on the back of my head. >> reporter: that's an italian astronaut that had problems with his space suit and his space

walk had to be suspended. urgent need to repair the station means they have been forced to oop prove the space walks. the mission will have to wait until the new year and until the station's cooling problems are fixed. getting a little help from their government, but does that mean top spanish clubs get an unfair advantage? details coming up in sports right after the break. ♪ >> from our headquarters in new york, here

nearly 70 years after it disappeared a key piece of nazi evidence has been turned over to the u.s. holocaust museum. it is a handwritten account from one of the most important members of the third reich. >> reporter: this is the writing of a nazi ideologue. hundreds of pages. the piece of history formally turned over to the u.s. hol museum by customs enforcement. he joined the nazi party before hitler. he laid out the racial philosophy. >> he had a very rigid understanding of the world. he thought that he figureded it out in -- immediately after the

end of world war i and stuck to this belief right through the end. >> reporter: the belief was that jews were germany's most deadly enemy. he notes . . . historian says rosenberg who helped orchestrate the looting,ridlooting looting,looting, worries about his competitors. >> there is a sense of frustration you can see in the pages of the diary. >> reporter: but hitler does anoint him to oversee the areas in russia. he says hitler hold him, rosenberg, now your greatest

hour has come. his own words were used against him at the nuremberg trials. getting the document to the holocaust museum after it vanished has been a tail worthy of a spy novel. the journal was taken by an american war crimes attorney who smuggled it into the u.s. after his death in the 1990s, his estate turned over nazi documents to the holocaust museum, but not the diary. the hunt was on. it k toob years to find it in in buffalo, new york. homeland security investigators and the u.s. attorney's office swooped in. >> it's part of history. to be able to return an actual document that was part of the history of this world is pretty amazing. >> reporter: the diary is now ready for historians to decipher

and the public. the museum has put the entire document online. now here is jo. >> thank you. the european government has launched legal proceedings from bahs low that and madrid who say they are getting illegal funds, which provides them with significant advantages. they are among seven clubs being invest stateded. the spanish government says there is nothing illegal about the money being given to the clubs. >> this investigation has been coming for sometime. you look up the background of this, and eyebrows are being raised in the eu for years about how madrid and barcelona as well, they can keep pouring

money in, and of course it's a bit of a myth that the money raised from things like ticket sales and paying customers and shirt sales this accounting for the incredible spending. and that is not true the answer from the eu is that we need to investigate this, and of course seven clubs are involved. if they are being propped up unfairly, the eu wants to know why. for more on that story head to our website, check out aljazeera.com/sport. and you can also get in touch with your team there using twitter and facebook. european champions will find

out who they will face in the final of the fifa world cup. this is the german's side very first appearance in the competition. it took them 40 minutes to get off of the mark. frank with their first goal. they doubled their lead shortly afterwards making it 2-0 before halftime. then they made sure of the result scoring a third after the break as they edged closer to their fourth trophy of the year. the other sport is up for grabs between casablanca. in the nba the l.a. lakers beat the memphis grizzlies.

kobe bryant averaged 12 points per game. pow gasol owned the night, the lakers took the win, 96-92, but continue to sit well below the playoff bar. kevin durant lead the thunder in the game. nate robertson put up 10 consecutive points in his back to back 3-pointers. and the win would go to oklahoma city. in the nhl the detroit red wings fell to the ducks. there was a close call in the first as he was taken hard into boards by kyle quincey.

quincey was ejected from the game. there was a 4-goal first period in the i doing 2nd. anaheim won. alex ovechkin was able to give the capitals a 1-goal lead. and then a goal by tom wilson may have turned the game in flavor of the flyers. the flyers received a power play, and then they went en route to the 5-2 win. the only goal of the night for phoenix came in the 3rd. two goals from max pacioretty,

3-1 montreal the finals. there was a party through the night in perth after they won 3-0. it's special, not just for the group but to a lot of people. through the people who have supported us through the highs and lows of international cricket. so yesterday's result was a huge thank you. the inquiry into what went wrong is well underway. >> it would be so simplistic just to say that people were out of form. but we have been outplayed in all three departments, and when we reflect on the way we prepared, and -- and the way we've taken on the opposition in the series, honestly we can say

we have been outplayed in all areas. >> they are playing in their first test match following the retirement of the prolific batsman. to tennis. the australian open champion has added six-time grand slam winnerer boris becker to his ranks. he will travel to tournaments starting in melbourne where he hopes to defending his grand slam title. and that is it for sport. >> do say with us on al jazeera. for our viewers in the united states, it's back to your regular programming on al jazeera america. for our international viewers

we're back in just a moment for all of today's top stories. do stay with us. ♪ >> al jazeera's investigative unit has tonight's exclusive report. >> stories that have impact... that make a difference... that open your world... >> this is what we do... >> america tonight weeknights 9et / 6pt only on al jazeera america

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters, these are the stories we are following for you. a compromised budget bill expected to come before the senate today. people fleeing the violence in south sue sdan, looking for refuge. a diary from hitler's inner circle recovered and turned over to the holocaust museum. ♪ that bipartisan budget deal now on the brink of passing the senate somet