online. afghanistan releases 65 prisoners who the u.s. says poses a major security threat. >> hello, live in doha with the world news from al jazeera. also ahead - strengthening tie, the head of egypt's military is in russia to reduce cairo's reliance on usa. >> warnings of genocide as a mass grave is found in the central african republic capital. >> poking fun at a serious

business. how thai people are seeking light relief after more than three months of protests. >> hello. afghanistan released 65 prisoners despite condemnation from the united states. afghan president hamid karzai ordered their release from a detention facility. washington says the ipp mates pose a threat to international forces and should be prosecuted under afghan law. bernard smith joins us from north-west afghanistan. that is a decision that is likely to strain what is already difficult relations between the u.s.-led forces and the afghan government. >> there's no surprise. the americans are furious about this. there has been a flurry of press

releases from afghanistan. and from the pentagon and the united states condemning the afghan government for going ahead with the release of these prisoners, the u.s. military describes these as taliban fighters, and they say they have evidence that many of these people, these men are responsible for planting roadside bombs. they have explosive residue from the fingers of a lot of these men, they have biometric evidence that they say puts them at the scene. these men are released to go and kill again. >> what does this do then for the timetable of withdrawal for foreign forces there? that is something that is very much hanging in the balance, isn't it? >> well, what it does is it complicates and strainings relations between the u.s. and the afghan government. the afghan government is yet to

sign a security pact with the u.s. military. that will allow some american troops to stay in afghanistan beyond the drawdown at the end of 2014. it's hamid karzai resisting signing the pact. his cabinet and the afghan parliament are in favour of signing it. it further strips relation shans between the two. hamid karzai wants the taliban on his side. the release of these prisoners are effectively trying to woo the taliban or the members of the taliban showing that karzai is ready and wants to work with them. >> live from us there, bernard smith. thanks for that. >> the head of egypt's military abdul fatah al-sisi is in moscow to strengthen ties with moscow and reduce cairo's reliance on the united states for aid. the trip is een as an undeclared

campaign by abdul fatah al-sisi for the egyptian residency. washington suspended aid. most of the aid goes to the military. >> the egyptian counterparts sat for talks. the first foreign visit for abdul fatah al-sisi, this is a field marshal. take us though how significant the trip is. >> i think it's significant on a number of levels. first of all, as you say, the first foreign visit. he has chosen to come to moscow. moscow has been courting egypt. sergei lavrov and the defense secretary went to cairo last november and were talking about the possibility of closer ties then. today we are having a reciprocal arrange. the egyptians come to moscow.

well informed sources talk about a $2 billion arms deal between russia and egypt. its significance because it shows shifting alliances. egypt has been closely tied to the us. they have suspendedate, but we see egypt move closer to russia. egypt says it's seeking to diversify. commentators are drawing the line. russia are filling a gap that america has created. >> as we mentioned there, abdul fatah al-sisi is part of a delegation that includes foreign ministers from both of those countries as well. >> it's a nice format. 2 plus 2 it's described as. we have the foreign ministers,

fatimah and sergei lavrov in one room, and in a separate room the defense minister. they are due to have a news conference in the next half hour. i understand that abdul fatah al-sisi will not be at the conference. he may not be there. the language has been warm in the opening statements. defence secretary of russia said, "we support your efforts", this is abdul fatah al-sisi's effort, "to fight terrorism. we believe your efforts to establish stability in the country of egypt are being effective". and it was said that these talks were based op solid foundations. >> paul brennan live in moscow. a bomb attack on a police

van left 11 officers dead. it happened in karachi. we have more. >> a deadly attack on a police bus and the eastern part of karachi city leaves 11 killed. many wounded. the bus was attacked as it left a training area. a car with explosives rammed on to the side. there were a number of civilian charities. many were said to be in serious condition. no one as tape responsibility, and it happened at a time when there has been a number of attacks over the past few days. the taliban, pakistan distanced itself from the attacks.

it appears that the splinter groups may be active. >> the u.s. secretary of state secretary of state john kerry arrived in seoul. he's hoping to diffuse interpretations between american allies and budget in the east and south china sea. we'll be looking at ways of starting efforts to rid north korea of its nuclear weapons program. >> the americans to hold tritalks with syria. they'll try to breathe life into the failing talks. the russian foreign minister and a syrian counterpart met. they have come to a mutual understanding on how to advance dialogue. it follows the resumes of a u.n. backed humanitarian operation. some have been allowed to leave

the city. >> international aid groups are warning that the fighting in the central african republic amounts to ethnic cleansing. the u.n. chief ban ki-moon said the violence could split the country and appealing for france to send in help. >> a grim discovery in the capital bangui. african union peacekeepers uncover a mass grave at a military camp believed to have been used by muslim seleka rebels. >> translation: i smelt it and told myself it couldn't come from a small animal. i reported it to my superiors and they told me to search. i found this. >> seleka militia, backed by senior politicians creased power. christians were under attack. things have changed.

>> translation: we were talking about the ex-seleka. when the behaviour started, these are criminal acts and we should punish them. >> the defence minister visited troops. 1600 of them. the u.n. scrern ban ki-moon says its not enough and is appealing to france to send in more help. the interim president of the car wants help. catherine samba-panza asked for a un-peacekeeping mission to join the 6,000 peacekeepers already there. >> i have addressed the population in its entirety to draw their attention to the desire some have to provide the country. i restate my firm willingness to to give away a single bit of the central african republic

territory. >> muslims make up 15% of the population. as attacks increase, so too does the number of people leaving those areas. >> at least 2,000 people have been killed and another 1 million, a quarter of the country's population have been forced out of their homes. >> central africa is a humanitarian catastrophe. an ethnic clepsing is taking police. it must be stopped. people are being killed and massacres taking place. people have been forced to leave their homes. there's a big number of refugees abroad. the international community needs to mobilise. >> a plea for the victims of this crisis, almost a year after it began. still ahead on al jazeera - their survival depends on a solution. world leaders gather in london

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>> hello, again, you are watching al jazeera. a reminder of our top stories. afghanistan released 65 prisoners despite american condemnation. afghan president hamid karzai ordered their release from a detention facility. the head of egypt's military abdul fatah al-sisi is in moscow

as part of an total to strengthen ties with russia. he's there with the foreign minister. it is seen by many as part of an undeclared campaign for egyptian presidency. >> many killed near a training center at karachi. >> wildlife leaders are meeting in london in a few hours time to discuss ways to eradicate the illegal wildlife trade. thousands of endangered animals are killed every year for ivory, horns and fur. >> this was the scene last october in zimbabwe's national park. elephant corpses, more than 300 killed by poachers for their touching. they used a killing method.

lions, high heenas, and others in contact with the water perished as well. conservationists estimated that 50,000 african elephants died for their ivory, an illegal trade that doubled since 2006. poaching for horns is an epidemic. the quest for tiger parts has reduced numbers. >> in london an international conference of political leaders will try to agree on a card-nated global response. some of the species like china and vietnam, key destinations, worth $10 million a year. >> forces that are destroying some of the world's endangered species. for this week we are seeing the

creation of an equally powerful alliance. >> the chain of responsibility is a long one. during a 2012 investigation into rhino poaching i saw the appalling results for myself. >> there it is. >> i met poachers and the families of dead poachers, villagers for whom a few hup dread dollars is a fortune. i was told that the middlemen, cross-border traders and officials could earn more than that. the true value of the horn is in the markets of asia, where it's claimed to have miracle medicinal properties. >> ryan o'horn has the -- rhino horn has the same chemical make-up as a finger nail. where to start? security and law enforcement or regulated forms of strayed or awareness and education campaign in places where the body parts end up. for a number of species survival

depends on a solution. >> while in kenya, park rangers came up with a novel way to protect lions. the big cats in nairobi national parks will be fitted with colours, alerting when they wander out of the park, hopefully to stop herds men tracking and killing them. >> mexican police has seized guns and rocket launches. the hall from a cartel liberated from the knights templar. adam raney reports. >> one of mexico's top vim lanty leaders -- vigilante leaders claiming victory. they have liberated a group from the knights templar. over a sell ebb ratty lunch near

this key up to he tells me the fight is inspiring others. >> translation: the gof should worry about doing its job. if not, at any given time there'll be an uprising that they won't control. >> the business hub for the farm belt is the only place that the farmers turned vigilantes can sell their crops. for years the cartels controlled it. insisting that the vigilantes are a front for rival gangs. there are signs businesses are picking up. >> this man says things were slow when the gang extorted shopkeepers. >> on the surface it's clear that things changed in the market town. all the shops were closed under threat from the knights templar. what is not clear is if the army, police and vigilantes took the town back for good.

>> with the push comes claims of human rights abuses. at least 40 complaints have been made in the past month. >> translation: there has been reports of illegal and arbitrary detentions, people beaten and mistreated. >> their leaders are looking to the next challenge - work projects and social development, like the bridge that collapsed months ago, cutting off a road. >> flapinged by supporters -- flanked by supporters, they sound like politicians. >> translation: we rid ourselves of the knights templar, we need projects and businesses so that people can get good jobs. we are done with the knights , and are moving on. we are free from them. what we need now in the villages is public works projects. >> they have a brighter future. perhaps that's what vigilantes are selling more than anything

else. that's a strong message in this corner of mexico. >> four people have been killed including a police officer during ongoing anti-government protests. demonstrators spilled on to the streets of karachi. concrete was thrown at riot police. two big cable television companies in the u.s. are about to become one. comcast, on thursday, is set to announce it's snapping up time warner cable in a deal valued at $5 million. the regulators will look at the impact on consumers. anti-government protesters in thailand are camped out in bangkok, trying to force the government to step down. a low-budget show is helping to lighten the move, attracting hundreds of thousands in a

country not known for satire. wayne hay reports. >> in thailand it's difficult to escape politics. it's dragged on to the streets where protest leaders scream for governments to go. media organizations are devoted to pop out propaganda from one side to the other. it's heavy stuff. it's becoming boring. that's why these guys are popular. brother-in-law taking a lighter satirical look at politics. political satire is not seen. the show is attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers. >> right now it's like a goldmine for us. a goldmine for materials for the show. >> money from advertising is flowing. the company behind the show says it's making a profit.

>> i never thought so many people would watch it. it's like, oh, my god, i'll have to take responsibility. >> their brand of analysis is welcomed by some of those. it's believed there needs to be more political satire on tv. >> society and thai politics needs it. the satire helps in critiquing the government in the ways that it is sometimes sarcastic, funny and serious. >> indeed, there is a serious side to the hosts of shallow news indepth. like others, they worry where the country is heading. >> the end game may be bad. no one knows how it will end. the situation will escalate. only then will things improve. >> in the meantime they'll shine

light on the glomy world of thai politics, doing things like performing a dance to stop a staging of a coup. >> bad weather battles flood-hit areas. large parts of southern england are under water. hundreds of homes have been swamped after the river thames burst its banks. emma stapes joins us centre staines in southern england. what is the latest there? >> it is very difficult. as you can imagine. the river behind me is slowing. last night you couldn't see that no fishing sign. the river has dropped slightly here. it's good news for many of the residents which have been badly affected by the flooding. there were people evacuated by the floods. last night it was tough.

winds measured around 170 k/hr in north wales. pictures in the europes of people blown over by the force of the wind. the bad storm left a lot of disruption. tens of thousands of homes without power. the rail network disrupted. people were stuck on trains in moreland in north yorkshire. the situation is dismal. it's not as bad as it was. any rain and we expect more rain to come. >> indeed, there has been a lot of anger in some communities about what they see as a slow response from the government, from local authorities. is there a sense that they are - that they understand that and it is improving? >> i think over the last

few days there has been boots on the ground. you have to remember that some of the communities. days, weeks, since around christmas time. they are struggling. the government is trying to say that it will do all it can to try to bring the crisis under control. the assistant chief of defense called this an unparalleled natural crisis. they are dealing with a problem. here in spain, you can see that life goes on. traffic moves around and in lots of areas of roads are closed. the weather is going to get worse over the next few days. it will bring more and more misery. >> for the moment, emma haywood live in spain in a flood-hit area. >> an ice storm in the deep

south the united states dumped heavy snow and ice across the region, crippling travel, drowned grounding flights. the weather was blamed for 13 deaths. travel in georgia and carolina. storms are headed north-east into virgin and washington d c. >> belgium's parliament is to vote on whether assisted suicide for terminally ill chilled, it's at the moment limited to children of 18 years eel. >> the mep's hockey team begins their title. ice hockey is a watched olympic with canada and the u.s. playing for gold often. >> daniel lack explains why one person will watch with interest. >> this is called hockey down.

since 192 it's produced eight olympic hockey stars, seven medallists. as you learn from banners and signs, tjochi and tj marvin are in sochi. that's a big thing for a town with 20,000 people. >> everyone talks about the boys, where they are now and what they are doing. the whole community is proud of them and what they have done. >> hockey is everything here. for decades people have loved a game. longer winter is a proud tradition and a relatively isolated location. it's a quite place to live. not too much traffic. >> plenty of excitement at the local arena fire up the crowd for a junior tournament. the high school girls are

defending a 5-year wins streak. the coach says it helps to live in a hockey mad town. >> do you have the coaching? do you have the available ice time? you know, do you have the tradition? is it possible, can you belief this it? i think we have the right environment. >> henry won silver with team usa in japan in 1972. during the opening sorry mopy he had a message -- ceremony he had a message from his home town. >> i remember getting a telegram from everybody. it was six feet long and all the names of the people that i knew from this small town. talk about having a lump in your throat. >> in an age of emails, skype and social media, it's easier to support players who are far away. that is what the people of hockey down will be doing for

the next view weeks. >> two towns, two teams, divided loyalties at the arena. not when team usa takes to the ice in sochi. that's when every player, men and women, is a home-town hero. >> old man winter is putting a chill on our economy. and we'll have a rude awakening with heating bills climbing as the thermometer dips. and workers have the power to change the face of the auto industry in the south. i'm ali velshi. this is real money.