>> earlier four ukrainian police officers were killed during a shootout with rebels outside of the city. nick spicer reports. >> reporter: ukraine's interior minister said that it all started with an attack on ukrainian forces and ensuing gun battles killed soldiers or fighters, they wouldn't say which. tanks roll through the city. some with the flag of the self

styled donetsk. >> if they storm, honestly i have a sharpened shovel at home, and i'll come out with it. i don't have a machine gun. i asked but they won't give it to me. we have very few weapons. we are unarmed but people will come out. my wife will come out, who is russian, by the way. >> they say things on tv like they don't plan to attack us, but they keep the troops. why are they keeping them here? something for us to kill each other? our people are killing each other. >> reporter: ukraine's president said just a few days ago that the government h felt helpless. now it's engaged in a war fruit with risks. they have a battle on their hands. protesters have reinforced

barricades around city administration building and continue to did demand a referendum on auto my. >> the armed group boko haram have claimed responsibility for abduction of school girls. this comes as the nigerian first lady is accused of telling families that they abdicated the stories to make her husband look bad. the first lady even ordered their arrests. >> reporter: well, the new video by the leader of boko haram lasts for one hour, and in it they say they are behind the abduction of hundreds of girls from the northeast of nigerian and he said he's going to sell them on the market. this video won't surprise many, many have thought that boko haram might be behind this

attack. they have attacked in this way before, but we have not seen this scale of kidnappings. the ideology of the group is that western education is wrong. now on the issue of arrests of women who are protecting over the mismanagement of fin finding these girls, they were summoned to a meeting with the nigerian first lady, and it was pointed out that some of them were protesters, and they ordered their detention and arrests. they were kept overnight in a cell in a police station, and they say at the meeting with the first lady they were accused of boko haram. industsympathizers, they were ad of embarrassing the nigerian president by holding these protests. two of them have been

released, one has remained in detention. we talked to the president office and they say that they don't think that the story is true. >> the authorities in kenya are investigating two bomb attacks on crowded buses in the capitol of nairobi. three people were killed and 60 injured. this was on sunday. this followed two explosions on saturday which killed four people. a frenchman has been killed in yemen's capitol, it happened close to the french embassy. gunmen open fired on a diplomatic vehicle carrying the man who is working for the e.u. mission. two others were wounded. in iraq a suicide car bomb has left at least three people dead. it targeted a restaurant on the main highway between baghdad. the u.n. estimates 600 civilians were called across iraq last month. at least 22 people including children are dead after two

boats capsized off the coast of greece. they were close to the island between turkey and greece. survivors say 60 people were packed on the boat. 14 were dead and the bodies of another four people were recovered at sea. we have more from athens. >> authorities have found a total of 22 drowned bodies in the eastern ey aegean sea. most of them came in a boat 10 meters long overfilled with 60 people. there are 36 survivors, and there is an unknown number at this time of people who are missing. so we don't know exactly the total number of people who were on those boats to begin with. but the survivors were found on a rubber dingy, and on the up turned hull of the motor yacht.

the majority drowned were found inside the motor yacht which seemed to have capsized for unknown reasons. the weather was calm. authorities tell us there was no distress signal from the vessel. it is a working theory among the authorities that perhaps there was a panic on board that caused a large shift of people from one side of the boat to the other. this is, of course, the second incident involving a high number of fatalities. there was a boat incident in january which saw nine afghans drown possibly because of a panic on board which led the boat on that occasion to capsize. authorities are particularly worried because there is a growing trend of an increase in the number of vessels and the number of people being intercepted across the aegean.

the average was 1,000 people a month. now it's up to 150 1500 for the month of april. >> almost all the soldiers accused in the biggest rape trial in the history of the democratic republic of congo have been cleared. 130 women accused soldiers of raping in 2010. >> rape survivors are disappointed that any two people have been charged with the crime of rape. 26 people in total are going to jail. 13 people have walked free, they are all officers bringing further criticism that there seemed to be i a impunity.

the defense said that the trial was fair, the right people went to jail, and almost normally where there is no justice at all, it was the first trial of its kind, it was still slightly better than nothing. >> at least 21 opposition fighters have been killed in syria's largest city aleppo. another nine people were killed in the city. they died as a result of rocket steaks from hospital-held areas. government bombing has killed five people. this shows the aftermath of an airstrike. 20 people were also injured. libya has confirmed it's new prime minister in parliament. the deputy speaker initially claimed he had not received

enough votes and declared the vote invalid. the prime minister had resigned three weeks ago citing security reasons. an gunman open fired in pakistan. it's the main route for afghanistan for everything from food to fuel, no one has claimed responsibility. there are reports of a shooting in afghanistan where hundreds were killed and many more remain missing. fighting broking out when 15 afghan army track trucks arrive. 14,000 are homeless and still in desperate need of help. >> reporter: the convoy of aid makes the slow journey up to the disaster area. since industry th friday the sud

been live until tents. tension is so high on friday morning there were reports of gunfire and those homeless still have not received help. >> six members of my family are under the mud. we are in a tent we made ourselves. we have not received blankets or food yet. >> reporter: others have complained about the government response to the disaster. >> after the landslide we are in huge misery. we have received no assistance, and the women and children in this area are all ill. so far no one has showed any sympathy for us. >> on monday a local member of the afghan parliament came to see the devastation for himself. he handed out money to some of the most needy. this is one of the poors part of afghanistan where access to electricity and roads is almost

non-existent. >> we're trying to work with the government to develop a solution that will mitigate the risk of future disaster like this. this is a region of afghanistan that is very prone to these natural disasters with the landslide and flooding over the past few days. >> reporter: the afghan government has said that it has enough resources to be able to deal with the disaster itself. but in this buried village the people are less shore. [♪ singinsure. [♪ singing ] >> reporter: dominick cane, al jazeera. >> a new report said there have been dozens of human rights violations carried out in venezuela since protests began. >> in miami where classical music stars of tomorrow are training. but today they are giving back.

>> hello again. this is al jazeera live from doha. these are the stories making headlines. an ukraine military helicopter has been shot down. the armed group boko haram have claimed responsibility for the abduction of hundreds of nigerian school girls. they have released a video

threatening to sell the girls. in the democratic republic of congo soldiers were convicted of violations, 11 others were acquitted. although many people believe the organization is a neutral authority on human rights some inside venezuela do not. march yana sánchez has our reports. >> reporter: he spend his days reading and reporting. on the night of march 20th he was walking home when national police guards chased him. i was running. three guards surrounded me. pushing me, kicking me. you raised my hands to surrender. one put his boot on me and shot

me. >> the rubber bullet pierced his left leg. he said it went on for six hours before he got medical help. >> they made me walk, my leg hurt. i was in a lot of pain. they made me wipe the floor with my t-shirt. i was about to faint. only then did they send me to the doctor. >> reporter: the human rights watch report documents dozens of cases where protesters were beaten and tortured. it said 45 people suffered serious human rights violations and 150 were abused by security forces during the protests. it said that victims were unarmed and were not engaging in acts of violence when arrest: most detainees were denied basic rights and lawyers while

detained. >> reporter: almost all human rights cases perpetrated during the protest will bee will be pr. many of the security forces are being detained and are under investigation of poor treatment. >> reporter: amonthe report basn testimonies, photos, medical reports and judicial rulings. it said forces acted violently in detaining demonstrators and punishment for their political views. but martinez denies participating in protests that day. while recovering from his wounds he's at home in police guard. he's facing five charges, among them associated with crime and resisting arrest.

he could face up to five years in prison. the "world health organization" has warned that polio is reemerging as a blow threat. one of three countries where the disease is still prief of prevalent. afghanistan and nigeria are the other two, and now cases have been reported in syria. al jazeera has obtained the first images of jailed reporter abdullah al shamy. the pictures were taken on saturday while he was being transported to court. he has been bun on hundrede on r 105 days. he has lost a third of his weight. this image taken before his arrest shows him in normal health. al shammy celebrates his 26th birthday today.

he has been held without charge, without access to lawyer or medical treatment. journalists were held at a distance by egyptian police, so the recording is of poor quality. take a listen. >> three al jazeera english journalists are also detain in egypt. they have been held for 128 days. they are accused of falsifying news and conspiring with the muslim brotherhood. al jazeera rejects all charges

and is demanding their immediate release. media corporations and human rights groups are in paris to discuss ways of improving conditions for journalists around the world. the annual press freedom gather something setting targets on reducing violence on journalists and combating censorship. 167 journalists are in prison around the world and 16 have been killed so far this year. now to south africa where platinum miners are in the midst of one of the country's longest strikes. they have been off the job for nearly four months and received a wage offer. >> reporter: striking platinum miners clayne they can't look after their families. they say an entry level worker earns $500 a month. they want double that.

and they say they are not going back to work. >> miners operators say they cannot afford to increase wages. >> they had the responsibility and could narrow it into two, one, to fight for better conditions of their workers, and better salaries and wages. the second one is to insure that they're protected that they don't lose their jobs. so you can't get on to a strike that at the end will make your workers lose their jobs.

>> reporter: they say most of their employees want to go back to work, but there are reports of intimidation against miners who want to end the near four-month-old strike. they say all that time with no pay has been hard on the miners and their families. >> this strike is not protected. if the assumption that each workers is supporting close to seven or eight people in the household this has a wider total impact. >> he also asks the employers to meet the unions halfway. but this is a dispute that is leading for little compromise. >> nine acrobats have been seriously injured after a circus stunt went wrong in the u.s. the curtain drops to reveal eight acrobats hanging like a human chandelier, but the ropes

snapped. some thought it was part of the act. three of the acrobats remain in critical condition. firefighters in the state of oklahoma are battling a wildfire. high winds and dry conditions are fully the fire which has destroyed several homes north of oklahoma city. firefighters are trying to contain the flames which broke out on sunday. hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in brazil for gay rights parade. they're calling for crimes motivated by homophobia to be criminalized. they have slowly been establishing rights to protect gay people.

australia is changing its adoption system to make it easier to adopt abroad. we have reports from sydney. >> reporter: when she was nine months old she was adopted from thailand where she was living in an orphanage, but their story is unusually. even adoptions that do happen and normally the results of years of bureaucracicy and heart attack. >> they seem to go on and on and on it got to the county where i think everybody was just getting warn out. >> reporter: so australia's government has announced agreements with a number of other vince t countries to simpe adoption of their children.

>> australia. >> i hope this is significant new hope for parent children wit parents. >> reporter: for those who are trying to adopt from abroad, the overall is a welcome. >> less complication, less negativity. a streamlined approach. i think all of those things will make the whole process a better one. >> reporter: as we forgive them-- >> reporter: but others are concern: for a long time in australia adoption was a dirty word. the government apologizing to aboriginal children who were stolen from their parents and babies who were forcebly adopted because their birth parents weren't married. some are concerned that not all

countries that australia has agreement with are signatories. >> it may be that children have experienced trafficking and have been trafficked into country adoption stream. there may be children who were separated from their families but they're not genuine orphans. >> reporter: there are thousands of australian couples desperate to adopt. australia's government is edging forward but only too aware of the risks. andrew thomas, al jazeera. >> now in the new world symphony opened it's doors a few years ago its goal was to train young musicians. but they've done so much more to bring music to the masses. we have reports that music comes to those who might otherwise not

have archons to learn. >> reporter: if you want to meet the stars of tomorrow, these are some of the most gifted young musicians on the planet. hand picked, these musicians will spend the next few years refining their skills before joining orchestras and ensembles. this does not mean that this is for those wealthy. the talented musicians aren't just restricted to the inside of this multi-million dollar facility. >> when he's not studying the clarinet, brad is teaching in one of miami's poorest neighborhoods. >> to me it's a reminder of how important it is for musicians to give back not only your

community, but really everyone because that's what it's all about. we're about sharing something with people. >> music programs in state funded schools in the u.s. are often the first to face cuts as budgets tighten. but at this high school the band is thriving and it's partnership with the symphony has been a big help. >> this has been big for our growth of the music organization. you can see the difference in the amount of love that they have. >> reporter: the highlights come later this year when they get to perform on miami beach. for many it's their experience with the musicians that has kept them going. >> it's been a great experience. >> reporter: the new world symphony continues to pull in

the crowds and impress with its musical prowess. but these musicians are also working hard to keep clas classl music alive. >> a reminder that you can keep up-to-date with all the news all the time on our website. >> the far north of europe - a place of extraordinary beauty - home to an astonishing array of