>> they were made up of four by four pickups. there were personnel carriers and buses carrying some of the fighters. some of the vehicles were also

carrying what seemed to be boxes of ammunition and there were also cannons that were being towed by some of these vehicles as well. so it was around about four hours ahead heading north. we still have not gotten confirmation as yet as to whether the plane that was reported was going to be flying here to turkey. we hear that plane will be carrying fighters itself. the convoy certainly we saw those heavy weapons and quite as i say a sizable convoy there heading north towards the turkish border. >> now, charles, with all these fighters leaving the area, are there fears that this could happens undermine the defenses in northern iraq? >>reporter: well, kurdish region here has a border of over 1,000 kilometers and there are

constant as to whether or not there will be some impact. we speak to kurdish fighters here daily and hear the problems they have in defending that border. the kurds make no bones about actually asking the coalition forces for greater weapons, more powerful weapons, in a bid to try and defend that huge border. we know the forces going to fight in khobani is relatively small. winter is around the corner and there are questions as to whether or not air strikes will still be possible when there is so much cloud cover around this area. so although those forces are quite small, it begs the question as to what kind of impact it will have on defending this area of iraq when the pressure and challenges are already so great. >> all right. thank you, charles.

syrian kurdish fighters say they desperately need help to prevent isil from taking full control of khobani. al jazeera has been given full access. >>reporter: on syria's border with turkey, a tank used by isil fighters shells a kurdish position just meters away. only air strikes from the u.s.-led coalition have stopped them from falling under isil control. but the relentless fighting is taking a told on the line that divides peace from war, injured kurdish fighters turn to turkey for help. turkish special forces take no chances. turkey has been in conflict with separatist kurds for more than 30 years. it's why the government won't allow arms through to khobani.

it's worried that they could one day be turned on the turks. help is offered on purely humanitarian terms. when ambulance drivers get a call that injured are waiting for them, they race down here. once they're on the scene, they have just seconds really to treat the injured as quickly as possible. move them into the ambulance. and take them into turkey for treatment. but it's very dangerous down here and they cannot hang around. this fighter has suffered shrapnel wounds and needs emergency surgery. every day, the number of kurdish fighters dwindles. for both these men, their fighting days could well be over. even if they fully recover, the turkish authorities won't let them back into khobani.

they'll have to be smuggled in across what is now a much tighter front. the situation in khobani is just a small part of one of the greatest humanitarian disasters in human history. 1.1 million people are now living in refugee camps in lebanon. another million are in turkey. and more than 600,000 are in jordan. while around 200,000 are in iraq. 140,000 are in egypt. in the german capital of berlin, representatives of 40 countries met to discuss the crisis. >>reporter: several called it the biggest humanitarian disaster of our time and the flow of refugees from syria is threatening more disaster, political and economic, in the

countries where they are sheltering. for example, the syrian conflict has caused lebanon's population to jump by more than a quarter straining water supplies schools and hospitals. >> people keep fleeing from the country. that's why today's conference in berlin intends to send a message of solidarity to the refugees and the countries accepting them. >>reporter: a political deal was needed in syria and there was concern because the conflict has changed shape. seeing isil spilling the violence over the border into iraq. this is a treatment center in berlin. around 100 of them now have fled syria. an increasing number have come from iraq. this kurdish grandmother remembers when isil came to her

village in iraq. >> we had a peaceful life in our village. and then the war broke out and isil came. they forced us to convert. since we didn't want to, they killed people in front of the children. shooting and decaptating them. >>reporter: proof if it was needed that the politicians always seem to be struggling to find a solution that seems to have no end in sight. intense fighting in libya continues southwest of the capital. the libyan coalition is trying to take a crossing. they have fighting a group mostly who are linked with the general khalifa. the u.n. is calling for a cease fire. in lebanon, soldiers say

they have secured a neighborhood in the northern city of tripoli. at least eight civilians and 11 soldiers were killed friday. some of the thousands forced to leave are now returning. tunisia's former ruling party has admitteded its main rival will likely win seats in parliament. but they are describing sunday's election as a success. they will need to enter into a coalition to form a government. final results are expected wednesday. egypt is relocating people along the border with gaza to widen a security zone. residents have been told to leave before their homes are destroyed. in march a three-month state of emergency was in effect in the

sinai region after 31 soldierings were killed in the area on friday. al jazeera's acting director general has repeated the demand to release three journalists from prison. they have now been detained for 304 days on charges widely regarded as politically motivated. comments follow interpoll's -- international arrest warrant against another al jazeera journalist. while al jazeera says the decision send a clear message to egypt's justice system. >> i believe it means that since he is found to have been sentenced on political reasons, not for any crime he committed. it also means that the kinds of accusations that journalists are having all across egypt are

baseless and are politically motivated. therefore, it makes the whole world understand that the egyptian authorities are looking for ways to imprison journalists in order to oppress the media in order to frighten journalists by accusing them of all kinds of things like what happened with our three journalists. it means that the accusations of these three also are the same thing, they are politically motivated. we always felt and we are convinced that these accusations are false. our journalists have been doing their job. only their job. not more. and none of them has committed any crime. we hope that the egyptian authorities will realize that the rest of the world is understanding what's going on and reacting positively towards

al jazeera and certainly the egyptian authorities have to rethink what they are doing in order to keep the -- their legal system in particular clean and away from any political pressures. there's more to come on the program. we report from madrid on what's being called the biggest anticorruption scandal in spanish history. plus, more on the lava inching ever closer to homes in hawaii. hawaii.

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welcome back. kurdish fighters are apparently on their way from iraq to help defend khobani against isil. the convoy has already begun its journey by road. jordan's foreign minister has told the international community his country is struggling to cope with the rising number of refugees from syria. governments from 40 countries are in berlin now discussing the current crisis. interpol has -- not to call for the arrest of another al jazeera journalist. the uke says it will not support search and rescue operations for migrants stranded

in the mediterranean sea. they say it only encourages people from north africa to attempt to cross. it is estimated that over 3,000 migrants have died on the risky journey this year alone. earlier, i spoke to nathan gill, a member of the european parliament for the right wing uke independence party and he bes european countries need to deliver a consistent message to potential .k. independence part bes european countries need to deliver a consistent message to potential migrants. >> where is that money going that they're given every year? they're saying now that they want to stop financing and helping search and rescue in the mediterranean. seems to me it's probably the wrong decision because ultimately the government represents the british people

and our ethos and our take on the world. and we are compassionate people and always want to say they can help people in need. but we also have to make sure that the message is strong to people who get on the boats in the first place is that there is no place for them here. ausa makes it very clear to anybody who tries to enter illegally that they will not be allowed to stay there. thus, stopping people from getting on the boat in the first place. we need to be very firm with our message to people that if you enter europe illegally, you will not be allowed to stay. up until now, the message is blurred. people know that if their boat gets into trouble, they'll be helped and taken straight to italy and then be allowed to enter europe and stay there. police in spain are questioning dozens of politicians arrested in a $300 million corruption case. the probe is the latest in a

string of scandals that have hit spain's political parties, banks, football clubs, and even members of the royal family. >>reporter: it's almost a daily event here. another politician in court. this time it's the former general secretary of the ruling popular party. he's accused of corruption while in office. across the street, angry pensioners make their feelings known. they've suffered personally from the misdeeds of banks and politicians and their frustration is clear. >> we are the leading country in the world for corruption. there are 5 million people unemployed, mothers have got nothing to feed their sons with, and people are being evicted from their houses. meanwhile, the government is stealing money. >>reporter: detectives are still questioning another prominent conservative and the latest

arres arrest. police raided town halls and company offices. it's the main concern in spain second only to the country's high unemployment is a volatile cocktail in next year's elections. >> the party feels indignant and condemns any type of corruption. secondly, all party members involved will be suspended immediately. >>reporter: the crisis is now almost beyond politicians' control. the prime minister has tried to play down the extent of corruption. but senior conservatives and socialists are now accused of trading influence for favors. mexican authorities

investigating the case of 43 missing students have found another mass grave. the students are feared dead after going missing following a confrontation with police. glaxo-smith klein has received the green light to test the experimental ebola vaccine. some of those who will receive it are health workers headed for west africa where the virus has killed the largest number of people so far. it's based on a genetically modified chimp virus. afghan president is in china right now. here's more from kabul. >>reporter: china is afghanistan's biggest business investor.

thanks to a $3 billion deal for the rights to this copper-rich area outside kabul. but there are no chinese miners here. the roads and railways have not started. security concerns have stalled the project. in china, the president of afghanistan is hoping to revive this deal and chinese investment in his country's minerals worth annest meated $1 trillion. afghanistan wants chinese products. he travels to china once a year to buy goods shipped through neighboring pack stand. he hopes someday they'll arrive by truck. >> we can make a route from afghanistan directly to china. this is the first of what we need for the future. >>reporter: but the border is in a remote corner of afghanistan

and it could be ten years before any road is built. this used to be kabul's version of chinatown. they left last year because of uncertainty over the election. the president is not only trying to revive the countries' business relationships, he's also looking to security. >> we are seeking the chinese support to use its leverage or to convince pack stand that it's in the interest of all the countries in the region. >>reporter: afghans are hoping their new president will deliver security and prosperity. they will be watching this visit to their asian neighbor to get a sense of his foreign policy and whether it can bring them the changes they want. jennifer glass, al jazeera, kabul. he's been leading the country since 2009 took the oath of office at parliament in the

capital. he is facing difficult times ahead as tanya paige reports from the capital. unemployment is high and demands for diamonds which is botswana's main export are down. >>reporter: they're among the one in five people here who are unemployed. some have children to support and are desperate for full-time jobs. trains rumble in the background and building projects here are signs the economy has grown. despite their hardship, most still support the bdp. >> i've always voted for them and i can't change because my tribe always has. it's the president's tribe. i believe i will benefit in the future although i have not yet. >>reporter: botswana

consistently ranks among the best-governed countries in africa but still struggle where the economy. they rely too much on diamonds and simply there are just not enough jobs for the growing number of unemployed. but the mood here is up beat. the president has just been re-elected for another five years. but the bdp's majority has beencast. >> our future can never be secure as long as too many of our patriots remain either jobless or underemployed. moving forward, she shall therefore accelerate our efforts to make sure that there are developments within our education and training institutions and that they are better in line with our needs. >>reporter: they have been accused of being authortarian.

for now, most people are happy to stick with what they know. tanya paige, al jazeera. a new report names and shames countries losing the fight for -- iceland once again takes the top spot as the country achieving the most equality. the u.k. came in below the u.s. rwanda was seventh. yemen came in last in economy, education, health, and politics. france appears to be making progress towards greater gender equality but there's still a long way to go. >>reporter: in france, there's never been a better time for a woman to enter government.

women now take an almost equal number of places at the cabinet table as men now in france. there's a ministry for women's rights with brand new gender equality laws considered among the most come prehencive anywhere. but is it enough? >> our main message to the government is for them to invest in the rights of women. we have a very good law which has been promulgated and which is progressive. we need to further attack the inequalities between men and women. >>reporter: in august, france passed a bill that attacks all gender equalities at once. >> it really is sweeping legislation. tackling the wage gap, domestic violence, gender inequality, commerce, politics. and it goes further encouraging men to take paternity leave,

bans sexism in the media. that's contributed to improving france's standing in the world's rankings for gender equality. but there's a long way to go. women in france earn on average 25% less than their male counterparts. they hold about a quarter of seats in the legislature. and only 3% of french chief executives are women. there may be -- in the workplace, many women, like this entrepreneur, still feel outnumbers. >> i think there is still a long way to go. for example, if i try to enumerate my women friends, it's very difficult to make a long list. whereas if i enumerate my male entrepreneur friends, that would go a long way. >>reporter: the law may be increasingly on the side of

women. but attitudes will take longer to change. al jazeera. paris. lava from a volcano in hawaii is now only meters away from buildings in one town. dozens of people have been forced to leave. here's the latest. >>reporter: an molten river creeping towards people's homes. this lava flow first oozed out on hawaii's big island four months ago. it's now crawled its way to a remote hawaiian town. >> it's now or never. you pack and you have to get out. >>reporter: civil defense officers have been encouraging people to heed evacuation warnings. >> we want to make sure that the residents were prepared because we'd seen a change in the flow rate advancement over the last day and a half and we want them

to be ready. >>reporter: several roads are now closed and crews are working to protect power poles by wrapping them in concrete. but some people are hoping they will be spared by the red hot lava now wider than a football pitch. >> i have my trailers ready but i'm not putting anything on them until the guy across the street's house is burning. >>reporter: the volcano has been erupting for more than 30 years. typically, the lava has flowed towards the south and ended up in the ocean. this time though, it's moving north and people are in its path. before we go, we have some pictures of a rather bizarre incident involving the british prime minister. david camron was leaving a press conference in leeds when a man literally bumped into him. it happened quickly so we'll slow down the video. it seems at first he had been

shoved by a protester but police say the man was just jogging without paying attention. the man himself says he was on the way to the gym when he accidentally ran into what he called a bunch of men in suits. and a reminder, you can always keep up to date with the news on aljazeera.com. >> a new business is rising in america's rocky mountain west. and sales promise to be brisk. >> i want to get $100 bucks dj shorts and $100 bucks of the tahoe. >> this past january, licensed shops in colorado began selling recreational marijuana to anyone 21 years of age or older. >> whoo that smells nice >> prices range from $14 to $25 a gram. >> what's the difference between the ultimate. i need the kemba andhe