iraqi troops drive isil out of a major town. a u.n. report says the group is committing war crimes on a large scale in syria. ♪ hello, this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up. [ explosion ] flashes in the west bank despite israel lifting restrictions on muslims praying at al-aqsa mosque. seven months after kidnapping more than 200 schoolgirls, boko haram seize the town they came from. and scientists start drilling into the comet they

landed a spacecraft on, but will the battery last long enough to send the results back? ♪ hello. a u.n. panel has accused islamic state of iraq and the levant of subjecting syrians to a rule of terror in areas it controls. the four-member team interviewed more than 300 people who fled or live under isil control. they heard has isil hat beheaded, shot, and stoned men, women, and children in public, displaying the mutilated bodies of men as a warning to others. the morality police has enforced his interpretation of islamic law with public flogging. isil beheaded a female dentist who had been treating male patients. and children have been shown

videos of mass executions to desensitize them to violence. boys under 18 have also been used to carry out executions. the group have committed acts of extreme violence. >> executions, amputations and lashings in public spaces have become a regular occurrence. the display of mutilated bodies has only further terrorized and traumatized syrians, in particular children. the paper documents shocking violations against civilians, and note the particular violations committed against syria's women, children, and minority communities. the group has also attacked journalists and activists, trying to communicate the lady suffering of those living under its yolk. the so-called isis has committed war crimes and crimes against

humanity. the abuses, violations, and crimes committed by the so-called isis against syrians have been deliberate and calculated. at least 15 were killed in iraq's capitol after a car bomb exploded. an iraqi security source says it went off near a theater in bagdad. the u.s. says it has launched 16 air strikes against isil targets in iraq over the last two days. iraqi forces say they have retaken the town from the armed group. the army is closing in on the nearby oil refinery. imran khan reports from bagdad. >> reporter: it might not look like much, but this small act of iraqi pride sends out a loud message. this is the beiji town council building that isil captured and used as a base. in some ways this military operation has been a blew print

for future battles with enhanced cooperation. >> translator: we are proud of that collective effort and the perfect combination of security apparatuses for this battle in particular, which including forces coming together. >> reporter: with such team work, newer and more sophisticated weaponry has been put to use. here members arm an american-made missile battery. a quick calculation, and isil positions in the north come under fire. [ explosion ] >> reporter: the iraqi army are still facing stiff resistance from isil fighters, and their confidence has been boosted by an audio recording released on thursday by their leader. in that audio report recording he says that no amounts of american-made weaponry will be able to defeat the group.

but those words ring hollow here as the iraqi army patrols wind through the streets of beiji. in anbar and another province, however, isil is still a formidable enemy. and in mosul it is still an occupying force. but many iraqis are hoping that soon iraqi armor like this will be driving through all of the territory that isil has taken since june. to yemen now and dozens have been killed in the latest of heavy fighting between houthi rebels and sunni tribesmen. at least 25 houthis and 10 tribal fighters have died in the fighting, which began on thursday afternoon. the houthis say the village is now under their control. vie lont con frontations are taking place in the occupied west bank between palestinians and the israeli police.

the unrest came despite israel lifting age restrictions on muslims allowed to pray at al-aqsa mosque. >> reporter: this palestinian protest was planned. [ explosion ] >> reporter: so too was the israeli response. [ explosion ] >> reporter: and although both sides here are well practiced in their confrontations with each other, this latest violence is a stark reminder of how high tensions remain. the protest followed the lifting of prayer restrictions at the al-aqsa mosque compound by the israeli government. it was hoped the concession, which has been the source of major palestinian anger in recent weeks would help calm tensions. tensions that lead to the deaths of six people. you can see israeli security forces trying to disperse the crowd. let me just get out of the way to show you, again, this is, of course a scene that has been

going on here at the check point. the check point, of course, a police which has seen frequent confrontations between israeli security forces and palestinians, and yet here we are again with even more clashes. but the situation at the al-aqsa mosque come pound in occupied east jerusalem was very different. the city's holiest site which has seen regular c con -- confrontations in recent weeks was peaceful asking around 40,000 muslims of all ages offered prayers. >> translator: the palestinian reaction was strong. they told the israelis that al-aqsa is a red line not to be crossed. the israelis got scared and

adopted the decision not to close the mosque because of the unified stance of all palestinian factions. >> translator: this is jerusalem. the land of peace and all religions must be respected in the city. everyone has to practice his religion freely without any troubles from the israeli army. >> reporter: it would appear for now that the israeli government doesn't want further troubles either, but the reason protests like this are likely to continue is because of israel's decades long illegal occupation of palestinian territories is nowhere near ending. al jazeera continues to demand the release of its three journalists who have been detained in egypt for 321 days. they are appealing against their convictions and jail sentences of seven to ten years.

algearian president has been admitted to hospital in the french town. the status of his condition is so far unknown. the 77-year-old leader is known to be in poor health after suffering a mini stroke last year in paris. since then he has rarely been seen in public. ♪ the head of a pharmaceutical firm in india and his son have been arrested over botched sterilizations and the deaths of 18 women. 16 of the patients are still fighting for their lives. on thursday police arrested the doctor who. approximated the operations. he blamed bad quality drugs for the deaths. >> reporter: the arrests of the director of a local manufacturing company and his son in the capitol shows just the widening of this

investigation into the deaths of more than 12 women from a sterilization camp last weekend. what really seems evident now is that the investigation is going beyond the surgeries, beyond the operation process, and towards postoperative care. what drugs were given, and what has transpired since they left the facility. we have been following this story for some days now, and outside the shock and just sheer reactions of horror regarding the deaths and what has taken place here is a resurgent debate about family planning in india, women's health, and how the government will now tackle these very important issues, big challenges that the country has had to deal for some time now, and work into more modern and newer processes when it comes to family planning.

now thousands of nigerians are fleeing a northeastern town after it was captured by boko haram. it's the latest in a series of gains by the armed group. armed civilians backed by the army are reportedly trying to retake the town attacked late on thursday afternoon. it's the town where the group kidnapped 276 schoolgirls seven months ago. 219 of them are still being held at an enclave of mainly christian families. more than 5,000 people in eight different countries have now died of ebola. and 5,177 people are now dead out of 14,413 cases in total. it comes as health officials in mali are desperately trying to track down ander quarantine more than 250 people. four are now confirmed dead from ebola in mali with two more

suspected. football's african cup of nations will go ahead in january despite the fear of ebola. with ecuadoral guinea named as the new host. the original host nation was thrown out of the tournament earlier this week after asking for the event to be delayed because traveling supporters might spread ebola. it kicks off on january 17th. still ahead this half hour, why immigration is checking to be the next big bet -- battle between president obama and the congress. now it appears that scotland prefers independence. could another referendum be somewhere on the horizon?

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♪ hello again, a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. a u.n. panel has accused isil of subjecting syrians to terror. iraq's army claims to have taken back the oil town of beiji from the armed group. israeli forces have clashed with palestinians in the occupied west bank, despite the removal of age restrictions for muslims to pray in al-aqsa, mosque. we're joined now from the

ni nigerian capitol. what is the latest now and is there any government attempts to retake the town from boko haram? >> well, security forces are saying that they are planning to retake the town, probably they will launch that offensive from a town which was also overrun by the boko haram fighters some months ago, before it was retaken by the military. this is the focus of the international attention when like you said nearly 300 girls were kidnapped several months ago, and to prove a point that the nigerian military or security forces are capable of retaking areas seized by boko haram. >> is there any suggestion that the government is going to change its strategy in dealing with boko haram, given the kind of problems it has had so far in trying to reign them in?

>> well, initially the government left the option of dialogue, and you remember last month they said some form of a ceasefire agreement has been reached with boko haram. and then boko haram came out to deny the fact that there was any agreement. now some government officials are talking about taking the dialogue option off of the table and probably launch a military offensive. but it's difficult to see how that could be achieved in a very short while. they are fighting on so many fronts at the same time. remember, boko haram attacked [ inaudible ], so also this week we saw a suicide bomber going into a school to attack a school, killing nearly 50 students, and the issue of fighting in [ inaudible ]er -- borno state is still going

on. and we heard of a female suicide bomber attempting to attack another school. so it is difficult, the military is trying to put out too many fires at the same time. it's not clear how they are going to achieve that initiative. >> thank you very much indeed. u.s. participate barack obama has urged myanmar's leaders to continue with the country's democratic reform process despite the difficulties involved. the president after talking with the opposition leader. she said myanmar's reform process was facing difficulties and warned against complacency. >> our reform process is going through -- let us say a bumpy patch. but this bumpy patch is something that we can negotiate with commitment, and with the help and understanding of our friends from all over the world. >> it's clear how much hard work remains to be done, and many

difficult choices still lie ahead. the process for reform is by no means complete or irreversible. >> on the home front, barack obama has refused to back down on planned changes to immigration policy. shaping up to be the president's first big battle with republicans. obama is expected to use his executive powers by the end of the year to lift the threat of deportation from up to 5 million undocumented migrants. the plan will affect 3.3 million immigrants who have lived in the u.s. for at least five years and who's children are already legally resident. and it would be extended to more than a million migrants who came to the u.s. as children. although such move would anger republicans, immigrants rights says the obama administration has deported around 2 million in five years. the u.s. president said he always planned to push ahead

with immigration reform before the end of this year. >> over a year to go ahead and at least give a vote to the senate bill, they failed to do so, and i indicated to speaker boehner several months ago if in fact congress failed to act, i would use all of the lawful authority that i possess to try to make the system work better. and that is going to happen. that is going to happen before the end of the year. let's get the latest from washington. earlier the president of guatemala, and other countries met with joe biden to discuss immigration. what came out of that? >> the presidents of central american countries where there has been a huge influx of unaccompanied child migrants. the plan was announced at the

end of september that the u.s. will now from december have in-country processing for children who's parents are legally residing in the u.s. let's put that into some context here. right now the u.s. has about 4,000 refugee slots for all of latin america. 4,000 people are allowed to be classed as refugees from latin america. usually several of those slots go to cubans. that number is not going to be raised, and if you'll remember -- we had some pretty startling figures from september of last year to october of this year, 68,000 unaccompanied children from central america crossed the border. so that plan doesn't seem like it will be terribly significant to stem the crisis of child migrants from central america.

the announcement by the vice president came at a meeting with the leaders who say they have a plan to address the root causes of migration, undocumented migration. having said that, though, the small print has to be looked at very carefully. for what we have seen so far, it does seem to be more of the same. the sort of things that actually contributed to the migration crisis. more free trade agreements. more liberal economic plans, which even members of congress here in washington have said has distributed to displacement of communities, as well as more money for the security forces and as we have covered extensively the security forces in these countries have a terrible record of human rights issues, and killings.

and this has contributed to a sense of instability in these countries which makes people want to flee in the first place. anti-government protests in italy turned violent in several cities across the country. they were protesting changes to the labor law and education budget. >> reporter: beating the drum for students and workers' rights. on friday thousands of disgraunt led italians staged demonstrations in 20 cities across the country. students, the unemployed, migrants and union members united against the proposed job and education reforms. >> translator: italy offers no future to our generation. our students along with temp workers, the unemployed and those who lost their job have no future perspective. something has to change or we will also be forced to leave

this country. >> reporter: this demonstration in central rome was the biggest of several forms of protests staged all across the countries. it brought rome and italy to a stand still even if for just a few hours. tension rose. the same scene was repeated outside of a german embassy, and in northern italy, protesters clashed with the police. >> translator: i'm 40 years old, and i lost my job. i want to know how i can have a dignified life. all i want is to work, provide for my children, pay for my mortgage. doing this in italy these days is difficult if not impossible. >> reporter: more demonstrations are expected in the doing days and weeks, including a general strike planned for early december. italy's long road to economic recovery is likely to be paved

with protests. in ukraine, one soldier and a five year old child have dyed in different attacks in the past 24 hours. the ukrainian military said that were killed in battling between government forces and rebels. ukraine's president has said its army is ready to defend the country, but there is still chance to resolve the crisis peacefully. >> translator: there are no grounds for panic. we have developed and brought to life within the last two months serious steps in preparation of our armed forces and other divisions for the defense of ukraine. we think the problems of some districts could be resolved by political and peaceful means only. at the moment there are forces and means at our disposal to defend the state. two months ago the scottish national party lost the

referendum for independence against the united kingdom. but now membership has more than tripled since september's vote. lawrence lee is in perth and looks at the chances of another referendum. >> reporter: for a movement which lost any vote on becoming independent the scottish nationalists are amazingly confident. they are in perth where the party is holding its annual conference. and no, they do not think talk of independence has gone away for a generation. >> reporter: 58% of people are in favor of another referendum within five years and 66%, a massive two-thirds of people, are in favor of another referendum within ten years. so any talk of the september's referendum being the settled role of the people of skodland is clearly nonsense. >> reporter: perth voted no to independence by some distance, yet now many of the 55%, the

silent majority, people like fiona admit they might have gotten it wrong. >> the 55% i think there are a portion of them that questioned whether they made the right decision. i probably was one of them watching what happened in the immediate aftermath. >> 81% of the rest of the u.k. would really love scrollland to stay in the united kingdom. >> reporter: in the days before the vote, the no to independence was offering solemn vows. >> english votes for english laws -- >> reporter: yet in hours the prime minister was talking about more powers for england. the word you hear all the time here is betrayalal. the two months since the vote have seen politic descend into a sort of chaos with all kinds of bickering, but almost no sense that politicians in england want

to at tend to scotland's future in the way they promised before the vote. opinion polls suggest that if there was another referendum now, they would vote for independence. if the u.k. voted to leave the european union, this man would want another chance to leave the u.k. what is your best for when there might be another referendum here? >> i would say 2018. >> reporter: in september the english media pleaded with the scots not to leave. by november scotland isn't even a story. and the second part of his series, lawrence lee takes a look at the little england policy and how i plays into the

broken promises of the scotland referendum. europe crease comet probe has started drilling down into the surface. but scientists are facing a race against time because of rapidly drank batteries. it is believed to be next to a cliff that is blocking its solar panels. mission control in germany is hoping it can transmit its sample information before power runs out. >> this will be very, very exciting because we are not sure whether the batteries are -- still have enough energy so we can transmit the data when we get the context again this evening. france's two-day tiger hunt has been downgraded to a search for an unknown wild cat. around 200 policemen and members of the armed forces are still looking for the anmy, but they say it is definitely not a

tiger. it was sited close to the disneyland paris theme park. experts now believe it might be a lynx. it looks like an interesting footprint. we'll update you when you get anymore information about that. ♪ lives, we'll explore the intersection of hart ware and huge -- hardware and humanity. let's check out the team. marita davison is specialising in ecology. tonight, what are the scientists at monsanta up to. we go into their lab.