>> nigerian military had prior warning of a boko haram attack. more than 230 schoolgirls were kidnapped. i'm judy with aljazeera live, top stories, ukrainian forces and pro russian separatists clash. and meanwhile, vladimir putin makes his first appearance since russia's annexation of crimea. and the first day of community

service, but is he paying the fair price? the nineeria military had a warning of the boko haram attack that led to the abduction of 230 schoolgirls. they were given two hours warning but failed to act. >> this could have been avoided. a police officer and a state mp have told aljazeera that aljazeera's military ignored warnings that boko haram was about to attack this school. it left the islamic extremist group free to kidnap more than 200 girls. and sources said that just 17 soldiers were on duty in the area when boko haram fighters turned up. >> the number of fighters, they

had to flee for their lives. and they fled to the bush. and it's as shocking of a revelation. we have been repeatedly calling on the nigerian authorities to provide adequate security for the people of nigeria, and especially for schools, because the schools are vulnerable tarts in the last couple of years. >> the nigerian slow response has led to protests across the country. this was in legas on friday. nigeria's president, goodluck jonathan said that he admits he doesn't know where they are. the specialists from the u.s. and the uk are now in nigeria to help with the search. bernard smith, aljazeera. >> live from abuga, and a shocking claim, if it's true,

and all of our sources say it is, what is the nigerian government saying about this? >> well, the nigerian government and the presidency and the military are yet to respond to the claiming made by amnesty international that there was an advanced warning of this attack. we managed to get to the spokesperson directly over the phone, and he referred us to the military spokesperson, saying that it's on security matters that the military will respond to any questions that the military may have, and the information minister has given an interview to the media and he says that any claiming made by amnesty will be investigated. >> and this is just one more heartbreak for families who are still protesting, still wanting, begging the government top find their missing children. >> . >> that's right, it will

naturally shock the parents of the missing girls, and every nigerian, many are asking if it's possible that the military could possibly ignore an sos from the community. people don't understand how it is, that thousands of soldiers have been deployed to the area to do the work of protecting lives and property. and they could have gotten a call and advanced notice about something happening, and saying to act. >> . >> what's interesting about what amnesty are saying, when the claims came through, the army tried to get reinforce wants together, but they were simply unable to get more soldiers to join them, and in the end, only 17 soldiers went to the school, and they were out manned and out gunned. is this the state of the nigerian army and baca haran?

>> it does seem possible since the story broke. what they're saying over and over again, in kind of attack is new to nigeria, this brand of terrorism is a whole new thing for them, and they're trying to deal with t it's not clear to get to some of these locations, and i don't think that the military would use these others excuses of an explanation of what may have gone down in trying to respond to some sos call. but for many people, they will be angered if these revelations are correct. because millions of dollars are

spent every year in nigeria, particularly in that area, and many would have found it inexcusable that a call for help, if there was a delay of any kind, given the vast amounts of cash that are pumped into trying to secure the area. >> thank you very much for that indeed. >> several people are killed after more violence in pro russian forces and separatists in eastern ukraine. more on the events. >> the police operation this morning, a clear attempt by the authorities to stop what they started two days ago. many people have loyalty to them. on friday, the authorities went for the police headquarters. the fighting, the gun battleses

subsided but the building itself was on fire. reports of several people dead and many more injured. the day after russia's victory over the nazis in world war ii. with pro russian sentiments. several thousand rushed to the square, speaking of solidarity with moscow. >> fascists killed people here in donetsk in world serie world. and now they're killing people in odessa. it's a message to the people behind me. >> in donetsk, pro russians are in official control. drawing parallels between the nazis and the current government in kiev. >> today fascism raises it's face again.

we will never recognize those authorities. >> in kiev, there was tight security as the acting prime minister and other members of the interim government teamed their victory day commemorations. >> escalating the situation, this problem is against those who want terrorism. we have started a nation-wide dialogue a few weeks ago, and we believe that the country will be united. >> ukraine doesn't look very united at the moment. paul brennan, aljazeera, donetsk. >> meanwhile, russia's president is in crimea for victory day celebrations since they annexed the region from ukraine in march. and reporting. >> on warships, vladimir putin arrived with the black fleet

after attending victory day celebrations in moscow, referring to the annexation of crimea two months ago. >> interpreter: i'm sure that 2014 will go down into the annals of the whole country when the nations living here firmly decide to be with russia. >> the president got to see a parade featuring yes and helicopters. and earlier in the day, veterans watched by 10s of thousands of people. victory day is a big deal in russia. but here in sevastopol, they're celebrating when the city was liberated. and crimea is now part of the russian federation. many spectators view the breakaway by eastern ukraine as well. >> now i understand what they felt during their victory day, and when peaceerns to ukraine,

we'll celebrate their victory day. >> reporter: the day is especially poignant for veterans like evan. he's proud to remember that era, but he's thinking about more recent events here. [ speaking russian ] >> interpreter: crimea became russian without any force. there are stories of people with arms, and it's nonsense. >> reporter: to commemorate the defeat of fascism, many people before that a similar struggle is underway in ukraine. the appearance of their president made this patriotic case of special portion. al qaeda fighters ambushed a convoy and there are fears of reprisal after liberal strongholds in the area. in egypt, protests outside

of a university campus in cairo. five students have been reported. alleged police abuses and the upcoming presidential election, they're taking place if a number of cities and towns. three aljazeera english journalists have been held in an egyptian prison for 132 days. they are falsely accused of conspiring with the muslim brotherhood. it's been declared a terrorist organization by egypt. and on a hunger strike for 109 days. aljazeera rejects all of the charges and is demanding their immediate release. holding their first face-to-face talks in december. both sides have accused each other of breaking a fragile truce agreement back in january, and rebels are accusing the

government of launching more attacks. >> . >> we are receiving reports of violences, so we're taking this opportunity to inform the world that the president is not serious about the solutions to the conflict. with the military option, that's why his forces are on the offensive everywhere. >> the u.n. has accused both sides of crimes against humanity, including mass killings and gang rapes. >> . >> the army quickly split into factions, much of the violence has been along ethnic lines. thousands of people are being killed in fighting, and an estimated 5 million people are in desperate need of aid. a meeting is taking place in ethiopia's capital. >> ceremonies are taking place

really soon, and this has been some sort of breakthrough in conversations with both the president with the prime minister of ethiopia. now, drawing up the agreement, which we had the opportunity to see a little. an immediate ceasefire, and a stop to all of the conflict going on in south sudan, so people who are displaced in different parts of the country and who need help. again, there's the issue of finding a final solution to the conflict that is a political solution. the mediators have put in a transitional government, which brings those in the current conflict. but all parties in south sudan. all political parties in south

sudan. >> still to come here on aljazeera: the downfall of the thai prime minister. and now they want the rest of the government to leave office too. >> and sarajevo's famous librairieses from the ashes more than 20 years after it was destroyed in the civil war. that's after the break.

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well, what are you waiting for? you could literally be done with the test by now. now you could have done it twice. this is awkward. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business. >> welcome back here to aljazeera. now to our stop stories now. the nigerian military had

advanced warning in the boko haram attack that led to the abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls. and the security forces were given two hours notice, but failed to act. there has been renewed fighting between ukrainian troops and separatist in the eastern ukraine. up to 20 people have died in clashes with the police headquarters, which was set on fire. and south sudanese rebels have accused the government of law firming more attacks. meeting in the first face-to-face talks since the conflict began in december. italy's former prime minister, has started out to help an old people's home. he remains a political force.

>> a four time prime minister and now a first-time convict, serving the community. on friday, beryl us coney started at this home for the elderly in milline. he will have to come here for at least four consecutive hours a week to help elderly patients affected by alzheimer's. a measure that's separating italians. his neighbors think that he's a victim of a conspiracy. >> i voted for him and will continue to because he deserves t. >> he will continue, and he's

the head of the biggest party. the latest poll shows that up to 20% of italians will vote for him in the upcoming elections, making his party the third biggest in italy. he's surprised by how much the sentence has hurt his popularity. >> it's rare to find a prime minister who has been sentenced for tax fraud, who is now doing community service, and at the same time remains a big player in politics. i'm surprised by the reaction of the italians. >> in the days leading up to friday, berlusconi has continued to criticize it, calling it ridiculous. and they warn that if he continues to defame, they will revoke the community service and force him to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest. >> the italian navy has rescued 900 more migrants from boats off

of the coast of sicily. the navy spotted the vessels, trying to stay afloat. pregnant women and children and a newborn were among the rescued. more than a thousand have been rescued this past week alone. >> . >> the african congress has maintained its commanding lead with 99% of the votes counted. 62% of the vote. they have dominated the mistakes since the end of apartheid in 1994. more from pretoria. >> the african congress has delivered a resounding victory. national executive told me that they want to tell me exactly where they lost those supporters, where they lost those votes, and they're going to go over all of the data, and all of the provincial results as well to fig out exactly where that happened and where the key issues are in that area. they have delivered a strong

mandate to push ahead with the plan. a massive infrastructure to create growth and jobs. a big success story of the election, the democratic alliance. 30% more than the last election, and the newcomer, the eff. they campaigned on some very radical policies, nationalizing the country's mines and banks, and seizing without compensation. they are sure to be a dynamic voice in politics over the next five years. the one number that all of the parties are pleased about are is the viter timeout, the 73% of the registered voters in south african. many of them taking part in the fledgling democracy. anti-government protests in

thailand. gatherition in bangkok, and they want the entire government to step down. >> the main leader of the antegovernment movement has called it the final push. he said this before. and the tactics are the same. the prime minister offices and several television stations. >> i'm here to kick them all out because the cabinet ministers are still here, i want them all gone. >> the protests have been largely peaceful, despite as a group, they're trying to force their way into a government compound in north bangkok. the courts forcing him to step down as prime minister, after finding her guilty of abuse of power. one of her deputies has replaced

her as leader. the protesters see him, brother and former premier was ousted in 2006. they have been holding demonstrations in the capital for the past six months. bangkok's largest park has been turned into a camp, home of protesters from all over the country. some of the protesters have been camping here since early this year. many say they will stay as long as it takes, until they see a change in government. the caretaker government wants to hold elections in july. since 2001, largely because of its populist policies. protesters say that it won't solve the crisis. >> it will be the same thing. >> they want to put in place an

unelected government that will be entrusted with reforms. before the elections are held. pro government supporters say that's undemocratic, and they will hold a counter-rally on saturday, raising the stakes in thailand's protracted power lay. aljazeera, bangkok. >> china is promising to help africa build high-speed rail ways. chang is in angola on a four nation tour, and he said that it will help to promote stability across the continent. china signed a $13 billion contract in nigeria to help railways. it pledged $2 billion to help to ease power shortages. the deal is worth more than $5 billion for an energy project. more from nairobi which is the last stop.

♪ these students are singing in mandarin, preparing to perform for china's prime minister. they are all aware of how important his resist is for kenya. >> i studied for two years now. >> after years of studying the language, they hope to turn their hard work into jobs for chinese companies, based in kenya. >> this is one of the opportunities for a career. >> their teacher is excited too. >> we realize that actually there are so many opportunities for them. ranging you know, we have so many companies being established in kenya. and to realize that the chinese people are one, and people who can speak the language. >> many students at nairobi university see their economic future tied to china. the place where young kenyans come to learn mandarin is not just one or two classes here at

nairobi university. it's an institute. and all of the classes are in chinese, and there's a lot of chinese culture in these corridors, but on the stairway, it's a clear indicator of why so many young kenyans want to learn mandarin. there are many photographs of young kenyan business people in china, selling their products. china has been building business products across china for years, and china has been also building it's soft power with media outlets across the cantnent. but some experts warn that countries like kenya need to maintain business relations with other countries. >> the approach to engaging other countries is that it gives the businesses their relationship, the kind of what do you call, the cushioning in

case things go bad. >> but for a new generation of kenya's professionals, their dreams are in the east. aljazeera, nairobi. >> he's a consultant in government. and he said there are risk when's it comes to chinese doing business in africa. >> there's no due diligence against corruption, and they're not known for promoting democracy. it's not something that they promote in their country, and they're not likely to promote it in africa. they are on economic gain on their part. and we are the ones responsible for ensuring that as far as we take advantage of the new global political situation, we are also careful not to abandon the most fundamental social values that we hold dear, like democracy and corruption. >> a european union military

force is now operating on the streets of the capital of the central african republic. estonian soldiers conducted their first patrol. 150 soldiers from france and estonia. it was one of the lasting midges of the balkan's war. sarajevo city hall in flames, and now more than 20 years later, the landmark building has finally risen from the ashes. >> he remembers the night when he and his fellow firefighters received word that the city hall was alight. and by the tame they came, it had turned into a fireball. >> it was a difficult painful moment. it was late at night and we couldn't see anything. we managed to enter through the front door, the roof was in

flames, and the supports were about to collapse much. >> they had bombed the city hall. and the fir fighters believed that accelerants had been used, and it was impossible to extinguish the flames with water. >> one woman was crying, and i walked up to her and asked why she was so sad. and she told me, part of sarajevo is burning and part of me is burning and it was a very difficult moment for me. >> the building housed the library with books and manu scripts. 2 million books and many priceless manu scripts had turned to ashes. >> it was one of the biggest losses to bosnia's culture ever. >> during the 19th century, the communist government turned it into a library, and it was a favorite haunt of university students until the war broke out in 1992. now after millions of dollars of

restoration work, sarajevo's building is open to the public. >> don't forget that you can get the latest on all of the day's developing stories and the news on our website. the address, aljazeera.com. >> in 2009 peace came to sri lanka after 26 years of civil war. >> government troops had crushed the tamil tigers - a guerrilla force which had waged a brutal insurgency seeking self-rule for the tamils c a minority making up about 12 percent of sri lanka's population mainly living