> one of the most powerful shia clerics in iraq says a national emergency government must be formed to stop the country from falling apart. . >> welcome to al jazeera live from doha. also on the program - devastated and outraged. an al jazeera journalist always the conviction in egypt a gross injustice. a bomb explodes at a busy mall in nigeria. witnesses describe a scene where 21 were killed.

and why millions of homes are sitting empty in china. >> he once led an army against u.s. forces. now muqtada alsarreder agrees with washington. the president of the kurdish region will meet turkey's leader in the next hour. iraq's prime minister nouri al-maliki says those that are calling for a unity government are trying to stage a coup. muqtada al-sadr is making his case for unity. >> translation: the iraqi government must fulfil the demands of the sunnis and stop excluding them, because they have been marginalized for so long. they need to rush the formation of the national government. with new names and all

backgrounds. >> our correspondent imran khan joins us live from backdad. increasing calls for a unity or emergency government now. is nouri al-maliki feeling the pressure here? >> it has to be said that the pressure he's feeling about the national unity or an emergency government is coming from him. what the americans said to prime minister nouri al-maliki is that they wanted the constitutional process to be pushed forward. that they wanted the government to be formed as quickly as possible. nouri al-maliki in his speech on wednesday said this is forcing pressure on us to form an emergency government. those are his words, emergency government. no one else used them. suddenly this has become a thing in iraqi politics. people are saying yes, let's form this idea of a national

government. oddly the words come from prime minister nouri al-maliki. muqtada al-sadr is a key shia cleric. he has had problems with prime minister nouri al-maliki in the past. during the elections he was outspoken, saying maybe prime minister nouri al-maliki's time has come. we need to choose an another leadership. now we need to get rid of nouri al-maliki, and need an inclusive government. these words are strong and they will be taken series. he is shia. they are natural allies. this speech chose that there's a huge rift between what nouri al-maliki wants and a lot of people that may be his ally would like to see. >> meanwhile, the british foreign secretary william hague is visiting. what will his message to malarky be -- nouri al-maliki be. >> much the same as americans, they'll be looking for the

constitutional process to be formed, to get a government to allow them to go after islamic state of iraq and levant and the sunni rebels. what kind of help they can give. we heard from the u.k. defense secretary saying we are willing to look at any requests that the iraqis might give to us. what we don't want to do is get involved militarily, it looks like the international community have the same messages about forming the government. that will be seen by many iraqis, meddling in the politics of iraqs. they are saying we need hep and need you to put pressure oosh on the americans to deliver the heavy equipment and stay out our politics. imran khan joining us from baghdad. one of three al jazeera staff anyoned in egypt spoke out. peter greste, along with mohamed

fadel fahmy and baher mohamed are into the third day of their prison sentences after being falsely convicted on monday. the cairo judge found them guilty of having ties to a terrorist organization and airing false news. the verdict has been condemned around the world. the offed presented being -- evidence presented being called farcical. peter greste says he will fight his conviction.

the sentencing of al jazeera staff is continuing to be condemned, people came together as part of a campaign to free them. there was a surprising

participant. >> reporter: standing room only as people backed into the united nation, sharing the conviction of three al jazeera journalists. 179 days in detention, and facing years more after the sentencing in cairo. >> what we want to do is raise their plight and try to get ideas from you on how to get them out. >> reporter: at least 17 countries were represented, surprisingly egypt's deputy u.n. ambassador. >> i'm not in a position to comment on the verdict. by the provisions of our constitution, i am bound to refrain from doing so. the judiciary is independent. >> ambassador, if you are independent from your judiciary, why don't you criticise what is blat andly an -- blatantly an outrageous sentence. >> by virtue of the constitution i cannot entertain the liberty to comment on a verdict issued

by the judiciary. >> the egyptian representative said the appeals process would take months, months during which the is speakers urged the campaign to not die down. >> there is a place for quiet diplomacy. maybe that time has passed. there's a place for back channels. we are not diplomats, we are journalist, and the only two channels at our disposal are channels, papers and blogs. >> as the meeting wrapped up it was pointed out that a free press and due process was recognised as universal human rights bit the united nations. >> in this case, the detention of journalists with a process that was not a due process was important to our members and board to make a unified statement. >> ban ki-moon, u.n. secretary-general was deeply concerned and it could impact

stability in egypt and the lives of three al jazeera journalists. pressure has been growing on canada's government to help free mohamed fadel fahmy. mohamed fadel fahmy, who has also been sentenced to 7 years gaol is a dual canadian-egyptian citizen. stephen harper says their concerns are known. >> we have been clear about the verdict and the process from the beginning. we expressed those to the authorities. we have attempted and attempted to provide consular service, wherever possible - obviously there are some difficult circumstances here. but the egyptian authorities are very aware of the position of the government of canada. we will continue to weres that position going -- press that position going forward. for more about your journalists and the campaign to

release them visit aljazeera.com/freeajstaff. >> now a suicide bomber has blown himself up in his hotel room in the lebanese capital beirut. it happened when security forces raid the the hotel as part of an provision. the explosion caused a fire in the hotel. lebanese security forces detained a second suspected bomber. at least 21 people were killed in a bomb attack near a shopping mall in the nigerian capital. it last happened as people were ready to watch nigeria play. a suspect has been arrested. and staying in nigeria, boko haram has been blamed for the reported abduction of 90 people, including 60 women and children in the north-eastern borno state. the nigerian government is disputing whether those kidnappings happened. >> andrew simmonds reports from

the state capital. >> reporter: beyond the vigilante checkpoint a road leading to a no-go area, where boko haram has a big presence. it was a commander from this state-run civilian task force who was first to report a mass kidnapping, posted 60km into the zone. now the state governor who employs the me says an inquiry is underway, but there needs to be checks on eyewitness report. here at the state capital's displaced people's center where the food cues are bigger, no one is surprised by reports of abductions. aside from hunger, there's unrest, anti-y and fear. >> the -- anxiety and fear. food, shelter and safety is needed. they want assurances for the future - where do they go next,

who will look after their security and who stands accountable for all that has gone wrong. this wom sp is from a -- woman is from a village attacked by boko haram. her husband was killed with others. she said the nigeria army was near r nearby. >> if they had come, we would have been happy. they should have saved him. they are the ones who are supposed to protect us. >> this person is from a noiburing village -- neighbouring village and believes the federal government and army has been negligent. >> we are nlent. when we -- minute. when we -- innocent. when we report an attack they rarely come. if they do come they shoot aimlessly. every day we hide - morning, noon and night.

>> there's a growing feeling of hostility not just to boko haram, but to the army and politicians. the people want to go back to their old way of life. throughout the region, there's no prospect of normality returning. we'll have more on the top story - iraq. our correspondent hoda abdel-hamid is joining us live. describe to us where you are. >> well, i'm in a youth building in erbil. around me it is packed with people that arrived overnight. now, they all come from a town called tarakort along the disputed areas, not far from mosul. that town has come under mortar attack, heavy mortar attack,

prompting thousands and thousands of people to flee in the middle of the night. we are on the second floor of this building. there are big rooms around, and they are packed with families, young people, babies as young as two weeks old. now, we have - they are all christians, many fled baghdad and mosul. now they came to the north. quit petrified. when you ask who was attacking your child. they will tell you we don't know, but not very far from there. we are in the area last week, there are checkpoints of the sunni rebels, and they say these are members of the islamic state of iraq and levant. we haven't seen, we can't confirm that. they were living in fear at the time and wondered as a christian minority, what would be the future.

many said "we don't want to go home. we want to get out of iraq, try to go somewhere safe, because we are a minority. at the moment the sectarian war is not ours. and no one is paying attention. >> hoda abdel-hamid in erbil in iraq. coming up on the programme, a mass grave in texas. researchers find plastic bags stuffed with bodies in a town near the mexican border. plus... ..remembering the first world war and the lead up to the 100th anniversary. we are in an east belgium city that was destroyed, but is now a symbol of peace.

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good to have you with us. these are the top stories on al jazeera. one of iraq's powerful shia clearics says a national emergency government must be formed to stop the country falling apart. muqtada al-sadr is calling for an inclusive government to stop the sunni uprising. al jazeera correspondent peter greste released a statement vowing to fight his conviction in egypt. he was imprisoned along with his colleagues mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed. they were falsely accused of helping the muslim brotherhood. and have been imprisoned since december. 21 were killed in a bomb attack near a busy shopping mull in abuja. it happened as people were getting wered to watch gustav

nyquist -- nigeria play in the world cup. the lawyers for a sudanese wom woman freed on monday after an appeals court has been stopped from leaving the country. she was due to fly to the u.s. but was detained at the airport of the khartoum and is being questioned over travel documents. >> they accused her of committing two crimes - providing false information to the authorities, and obtaining a fake travel document. because she was - she was emergency travel document from south sudan embassy. we requested them to release miriam, but they have refused.

they have said that they need more time. they need 24 hours. that's is absolutely not acceptable. >> the russian senate voted to revoke vladimir putin's right to order military intervention in ukraine. it was at vladimir putin's request. it's an act of goodwill to further peace efforts in ukraine. ukraine's government agreed to a limited ceasefire, due to expire on friday. ukraine's president threatened to end the ceasefire after a military helicopter was shot down, killing nine. >> britain and the u.s. threaten new sanctions over russia, continuing conflict. the warning was issued. >> human rights lawyer has been killed in benghazi, shot several

times inside her home. the gunmen fled after the murder. she was a founding member for libya's national transitional council. libyans went to the polls on wednesday, despite fighting in the country. fewer than half the registered voters showed up. they are trying to elect a unity government to end hostilities. u.s. authorities are investigating a mass grade. more than 100 bodies have been removed. many stuffed into bags and piled on top of each other. andy gallagher reports. >> reporter: the sacred hearts cemetery is supposed to be a place for dignified burials. what researchers found was a mass grave. bodies stuffed into shopping bags or piled on top of each other. it's thought they are illegal immigrants who died crossing the

border. scientists fear there may be worse to come. >> what i'm terrified of is that we'll start fining the bodies of children. that there'll be so many that can't make it. there are too many that are not doing well as it is. >> more than 100 bodies have been exumed. identities are unknown. >> officials say what happened is a humanitarian crisis on an international scale. there's a sense of shame from rah community that genuinely cares about the plight of migrants. an investigation is being launched but without resources the problem continues. 33 bodies this year have been recovered from the area. >> reporter: it's an issue that pan is aware of. >> seven, eight gallons have been picked up. >> he spent his days making sure water stations are stocked, in the hopes that those making

crossings will find them. a local funeral home paid to bury the bodies is under investigation. their priorities are clear. >> number one is to reunite the remains with the loved ones. the other thing is to ensure this never ever happens again. >> the remains are being september to forensic laboratories for identification. it will be a long and complex process. this is one of four police officers in brooks county and says his department is overwhelmed by the numbers trying to cross the border. >> all you do is put a band-aid on a big situation and add the influx of women and children - well, you are in for something that is beyond your control. >> reporter: for those seeking a new life in the u.s. it has become a symbol of the risks involved. the manner in which the people were laid to rest is making a bad situation worse.

the u.s. economy has shrunk the most since the recession. for the first three mons of this year -- months of this year it fell by 3%. it's blamed on the harsh weather. storms kept people at home out of the shops. analysts say the economy is recovering. new york state fraud prosecutors filed charges against barclays, saying they misled customers about their private trading platform. barclays said it's taking the allegations seriously. >> now, property developers in china say 50 million homes are vacant. it is a worrying sign for a country recovering from a property bubble. economists fear another real state slump. adrian brown has more. >> reporter: china's property market is a scary place.

a few years ago the market here had seriously overheated leaving the government to tighten the lending criteria for banks, leading to a number of property developers going bust. walking away from projects and left millions upon millions of homes standing empty. chinese who have money and want to by property are doing so, but doing it overseas, in the united states, canada, britain, australia and new zealand, because they believe the markets are safer places for their investments, with no faith in china's economy. in the past property has been a principle source of invest. because people didn't trust their stock markets or banks. on top of that we have seen property prices fall on average by 10% during the past few months. construction across the country is down 20%. there is a common overhanging all of this. that is the shadow banking

sector. the unregulated banking sector. economists say that this sector is exposed to loans totalling $7 trillion u.s. yes, $7 trillion u. the worry is if half the loans can't be repaid, this country will face a nightmare scenario. investigators looking into the disappearance of the mair lanes flight mh370 believe the plane was on autopilot when it crashed. australian officials say after further analysis of satellite data they are shifting the search south. the focus is on an area 1800km off the west kest of australia -- coast of australia. flight mh370 vanished on route from kuala lumpur to beijing. with 279 passengers on board. [ ♪ theme ]

now, e.u. leaders gather in a belgium town as part of the commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the first world war. saturday is 100 years since the assassination of the archduke. that led to the july crisis and the outbreak of war on 28 july. by the time it ended on 11 november 1918, more than 37 million people, military and civilian had been killed. simon mcgregor-wood attended the commemoration. >> reporter: at 8 o'clock every night here they pay homage to the dead. at the gate there are 54,000 names of british and allied soldiers who died near here, but have no known grave. almost 100 years later hundreds come to remember them. >> i think it's important to keep the memory alive of all the

men who sacrificed their lives for all of us. >> reporter: today the ancient town is smart and prosperous. back then it was reduced to rubble. nearby the two opposing armies dug in and the carnage of trench warfare began. there were five battles, and here gas was used. and where men drowned in mud. it's in the farm land outside that you become aware of the scale of the sacrifice of those who fought in the world's industrial war. this is the british and allied cemetery. there are 12,000 individual games. on the wall therefore 35,000 names of soldiers whose bodies were never found. don't forget this represent one small sector in a bigger battlefield. in four years of fighting 550,000 soldiers died. this is the main german

cemetery. the final resting place for more than 44,000. today people come from all over the world to remember. brian and gail fraser are from australia. they have german and british ancestry, so, like many, they remember the dead from both sides. >> it was unbelievable that there are so many cemeteries here. i did not expect this many. it's just futility. it's absolute futility of what happened. all the young lives. we have children who are older than some of these, and it's just terrible. >> reporter: today it city is styled as a city of peace, 2001ed with hir orb -- it's twinned with hiroshima in japan. it was a war that was meant to end all wars. a sobering list of all the walls

fought since and today. and a reminder that you can always keep up to date with all the news on our website that you can see on the screen at aljazeera.com. >> hello, i'm ray