and comfort during their golden years. > >> this is aljazeera live from doha, and also on the program, iraq's war comes to erbil. a suicide bomber killed six people in what was the country's most secure city. citizens in an isil execution video, the u.n. discusses how to stop the foreign fighters to

syria. and man under arrest. first, on aljazeera, breaking news from the afghan capital of kabul. we're hearing reports of a loud explosion in kabul this wednesday evening. initial reports indicate that the target is kabul's high security international zone, which is known as the greenvillage. and let's bring in correspondent, abdul a abdullahd what more can you tell us about the explosion? well, the police sources tell us that a huge explosion took placer? near greenvillage, and it's a place where it houses foreign contractors, and there was a

suicide attack two days ago in the same area. now, this explosion was followed by several gunshots, gunshots. an explosion could be heard across the city. afghan intelligence have also said that taliban have increased their terrorist attacks by up to 70% in the past 45 days. and now, we have seen four explosions in kabul city in the past two weeks. some police and afghan officers have warned that taliban's activity is increasing, and cities are being targeted. >> abdul a. tell us more about the area where the explosion occurred this evening. i understand, as you said, that it's in a highly secure zone of kabul. but what sort of government

buildings incidentslations are in the city then? >> mostly contractors, and there's a military camp, and there's a military and government installation in those areas. >> is the airport far? or not in the same area? >> the airport is in the same area, but where this attack happened, the airport seems not to be under any threat for now. >> okay, and i'm also reading here, abdullah, that the initial explosion was so powerful that the power was cut in some parts of kabul. can you confirm this? are there areas in the afghan capital that don't have electricity right now? >> that's true.

in that area, where this explosion happened, people have told us that they have power cut after the explosion, and they are hearing gunfire. some houses and some windows are damaged in that area. now, the police told us that special forces have reached the area, and for a while, gunfire has been stopped, and they're not heard. there are some embassies and other important military installations and they're warning people to take cover. >> do you know, abdullah, whether the situation is still ongoing? we heard of course an explosion followed by gunfire, and do you know this if the gunfire is still continuing in the greenvillage?

>> the gunfire is continuing, and we don't know if it's police fire or a group attack! say that it's a group attack against green village. many foreign contractors, so the situation is police say that they have sent special forces to the area, they're trying to control, butiances say that it's not yet. >> abdul a. thank you very much for that update. more from cub kabul, where we're hearing reports of a large explosion in the afghan capital this morning. it happened in the high security green village zone. and we'll bring you more information on this breaking news if and when it becomes available. israel has demolished the home of a palestinian who drove

his van into a home, killing two people. and critics say that it's a collective punish. stefanie dekker reports. >> reporter: this was the home of a palestinian man who rammed his car into a crowd of people waiting at a light rail station in jerusalem a few weeks ago. a woman and a baby were killed. and now the forces have demolished his family home. >> this is collective punishment. you can't punish a whole family for the actions of an individual. the situation is only getting worse. we have no hope. >> this is the inside of the family home. the israeli forces are trying to remove the rest of the families living inside of the apartment blocks, leaving it in rubble. the israeli prime minister made it clear that those who attack israelis will have their homes

demolished and it will serve as a deterrent. >> as a nation, we'll settle the score of every terrorist. and we have proven that we'll do so. they have attacked and they are not succeed. we are in a battle over jerusalem, the eternal castle. >> the israeli activists took to the streets in response to attack on a synagogue which killed five people. an axe, a knife and a pistol. >> we continue let them hang around among us, work with us, and then slaughter us. >> in occupied east jerusalem, palestinian protesters fought with the police. fire and smoke were seen coming from the neighborhood where the attackers were from. the emotions are running high after israeli forces raided the homes of two men and arrested the members of their families. in the last weeks, jerusalem has witnessed a spate of violence, particularly in sites

sacred to jews and muslims. they demanded the rights to pray there, which has angered palestinians. it has created not only a security challenge, but also one with the peace negotiating efforts. >> we are against the killing of innocent people. memberships, israelis, doesn't really matter. and this is not really helpful for, you know, the peace process, and for trying to help the situation and the tension in jerusalem. >> in iraq, people have been killed by a suicide bomb in erbil. and until now, it had been relatively secure. >> fire crews on-site after an attack. a car packed with explosives at

the gate of the governor's compound. it happened in erbil. the car exploded, sending shrapnel and a thick cloud of black smoke. the governor was in his office at the time of the attack, and he said that isil is a force that they need to deal with. >> we are pushing it back, and the ability to protect. they were working very hard. >> attacks like these are rare in their part of iraq. there have been two since 2013. already two questions are being asked. how can a vehicle like this so full of explosives get so close to a government building? how can it happen? particularly when the iraq

lavant has made threats against the city. saying that they would send a volley of suicide bombers to irbil. >> wanted french government has confirmed that two of its it citizens appeared in the latest execution video post bid isil. the you knew security council is meeting now, and james, what would we know about the french citizens in the isil video, and how does it relate to what is being discussed at the security council? >> with the foreign fighters, meeting on that chair with president obama back in september. the ball ambassador, deena, is briefing the security council right now u. and we'll hear from all of the members of the security council. but as you say, back in the national capitals, there's a great deal of effort by the

intelligence agencies to try to identify these 15,000 foreign fighters that the u.n. now are fighting in iraq and syria. the french say that from the most recent isil, they have identified of the nationals in the video. these are brutal videos, but also worth commenting on the fact that they're very high, technical television quality. and that helps the intelligence agencies as they pour over every single frame of these videos. we have also been hearing that the security council, the briefing from the ambassador, gary quinlin, and also the chairman of the al qaeda committee of the security council, again warning that the foreign fighters, at the end of the fighting in iraq and syria, return home. >> there's a high-risk that these battle hardened, radicalized recruits who transferred their skills and peace and security in years to come.

they have come from over 80 countries with large groups from the middle east and europe and central asia. >> and the meeting of the security council, which is being chaired by the council, they have been talking about the ideology of isil and how to counter the violent extremism. and they have also been talking about the financing of isil, and we have one fact, which i thought was interesting. the oil revenues that isil is getting from oil production in iraq and syria. they're estimating that it's between $846,001.6 million every single day. >> that's incredible. thank you very much, live from the united nations. the syrian airforce have launched more than 15,000 strikes -- 1,500 strikes across the country in the past month.

this is according to the syrian authority for human rights. 396 civilians why killed in the strikes, and barrel bombs were used extensively. the government airstrikes have increased and the u.s.-led coalition are striking isil since september. a cuban doctor said that two sierra leone victims helped him contract the disease. he will be sent to geneva for treatment. and meanwhile, the world bank said that the economic cost of the disease will be far less than it was feared. >> another ebola victim is taken away for burial. in sierra leone's capital, moments like this have become almost routine. this is city has one of the most intense areas of the outbreak. 80% of the health workers infected by the virus here have died from it.

now, a cuban doctor who came to fight the outbreak has been himself diagnosed with it. there have been positive developments, the world health organization is developing two faster and cheaper tests for the virus. >> we are now planning to have this test in the coming six, two categories. one is a pregnant-type test. which is 15 minutes only, and the other is an integrated test that takes around one hour. >> the number of new cases in liberia and new guinea has recently stabilized and is now faulk, and that has helped to transform the impact on the economies across sub saharan africa. just last month, the world bank feared that the virus could cost the country $32 billion. and now they say that the true cost may only be a ten the of that. but the world bank said that

the fear of ebola has hurt the tourism sector. dealing with the outbreak has concentrated in other countries, and trying to find an effective treatment. on wednesday, the gets foundation legend pledged $5.7 billion. and leading filming and music stars have launched a silent stare campaign to highlight the fact that the inaction in the face of ebola has had. dominic caine, aljazeera. >> he won't sit down with pro russian rebels, and america freezes as a storm glitches a meter of snow in a single day.

>> welcome back. a reminder of our top stories on aljazeera. there has been an attack in the capital of kabul. targeting the green village with contractors. israel with a crackdown on palestinians in repeat attacks in jerusalem. the home has been destroyed. and the jerusalem municipality has approved 178 new homes in the occupied west bank. in iraq, six people have been killed in an attack in

erbil. now, an initiative by states to ease diplomatic issues in the region has taken affect. egypt has taken steps to normalize ties with qatar. returning them to doha. they have been in qatar support. they say that dohar was interfering in their internal affairs. the mother and sister of two jailed egyptian pro democracy activists have ended a six-day hunger strike. human rights groups have spoken concerns about the wellbeing of many of them. here's what it looks like inside of one of the prisons. >> video said to be smuggled inside of one of egypt's prisons showed men with barely an inch to move inside of their packed cell. for months, inmates have

complained about torture and waiting too long for their day in court. egyptian actives group alleges more than 19,000 political prisoners went on a hunger strike on tuesday. on social media, their supporters spoke out as well. we will go on hunger strike. >> from prison cells to the streets of egypt and europe, people have held hunger strikes over the last few months, drawing attention to the misery inmates say that they're enduring. >> i'm on a hunger strike with solidarity with an inmate who has been kept since august. >> reports of torture inside of the egyptian prisons are steadily emerging. goeses of people are said to be held inside of secret military

prisons where they are allegedly forced to confess to crimes that they didn't commit. and a few prisoners shared their experiences with aljazeera. >> they said that they would bring my mother here and rape her in front of me. because of all of the torture and the threats made, i said i will say whatever you want. >> the egyptian government has not responded to allegations. human rights groups say thiazines morsi was removed, 190 people have died inside of the prisons because of poor conditionconditions and if conds don't change, that number could grow. >> and aljazeera continues to demand the release of our three journalists who have been inside of egypt for 230 days. they are falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. and they are appealing their convictions. >> police in india have

arrested a controversial guru after a stand off and an operation involving thousands of officers. five bodies have been found inside of the compound. they tried to stop the police from gaining access to the compound. joining us from the outskirts of new delhi with more, first of all, how did this arrest finally come about after 12 days? >> well, it came rather unceremonyiously. for days, as you mentioned there, supporters had surrounded the compound, not allowing the police to come in, and when the police and supporters did finally meet, there were clashes and violence, and five people were found dead. those five bodies, we're not sure how they died, or what the cause was, but today, the police finally stormed the chamber where the guru was hiding. and the support up a bit of a

fight, but the police easily overwhelmed the forces and he is in detention. >> why are they so adamant that he not be arrested? >> well, he's actually out on bail for a 2006 incident where allegedly his supporters opened fire on a number of villagers. the high court, the capital city of the state, had ordered him 43 times to appear in court over the last four years, but every time, he either didn't show up or tried to make an excuse, and earlier this week, the high court again said that he never appeared. and the police had until friday to produce him in court. and that put the pressure on the authorities to finally produce him. one of the things, the authorities said that these charges were completely made up and they were made by his

rivals, trying to defame him. and they said that the police were working for these rivals. and they were trouble to get him a medical clear so he could miss court. but with all of the pressure in the court and on the police, the police finally said that enough is enough, and they stormed the compound. >> interesting story, and intriguing story. thank you for joining us live from new delhi. thank you. ukraine's prime minister has held out with negotiations with russian separatists. he called on kiev to open a line of dialogue with the rebels. >> we will not hold direct negotiations with russian terrorists. i translate into russian, and we will not hold direct negotiations with mercenaries. if you want peace, abide by the minsk deal. in order to have peace, we need a deal that's accessible to the whole world.

we need guarantees. >> harry has more now from the southern port city of mariupol in ukraine. >> these reports go over kiev over the recent days and weeks, and i think that it reflects anger over what they see as the breach, september 5th, and the ceasefire has been holding, and the leaks that they declared, the people's republics, held on november 2nd, they broke the accord, and they are angry with russia for having recognized those elections. there's equal anger on the other side. and we spoke to an official in donetsk on tuesday, saying that they cut off officially any payments to state services, and also threatening to take away access to the central bank and banking services for their region.

in the midst of all of this, the low level fighting good goe, especially in the airport around donetsk, and we had video emerge taken by a local television station, and a drone being sent up over the airport. and damage and devastation, fighting and shelling going on. as the ukrainian positions are trying to hold onto the airport. and donetsk, the people's republic trying to force them out. they're very clear from that, and what is concerning people here, it's that these isolated outbreaks of fighting will be replaced by a wilder breakdown of the ceasefire, and were that to happen now, mario pole could be in the cross-hairs. >> 1.2 meters of snow have

fallen on buffalo, and the officials say that it could top 6 feet today. these pictures are from henry he wanta, new york, where the roads are closed because of lake effect snow. temperatures in all 50 states are freezing, including in hawaii. the unseasonably cold blast of snow went to kentucky, forcing churchill downs to cancel a horse race. in honduras, a beauty queen has been found murdered just days before she was due to compete in the miss world pageant in london. the bodies of her and her sister were found buried in a mountainous region. honduras has a murder rate of 90 per 100,000. it's a staging post for

u.s.-bound cocaine from south america. >> adrien brown reports o on the end of what locals are calling -- >> beijing, this time last week. clean air and clear skies. it gave people a phrase, apec blue, but of course it was never going to last. and today, the smoky skies returned. during the submit, china's president, ping, said that there could be more apec blue days. days earlier, his government shut down polluting factories and reduced the number of cars on roads in half. >> we have the consequence of the pollution, the impact of pollution here for so long, i think that there's a clear signal from the policy making circle that this kind of air

quality is not acceptable anymore. >> in beijing today, the official air quality index was 392, and the reading from the u.s. embassy, which they trust more, reached 334. in other words, extremely hazardous to help. for millions of beijingers, it mental a return to stinging eyes and itching throats. >> what can you say about this awful weather? you have to live with it. >> too many cars, too many factories around beijing. this is why we have such smog. >> people here are worried. the world bank says that china's rapid industrialization causes 470,000 premature deaths each year. the pact commits china to cure

its carbon emissions by 2030. and 7 and a half million people could have died here because of the air they breathe. adrien brown, aljazeera, beijing. >> a reminder that there's plenty more news on the website. aljazeera.com. >> its been six years since the financial crash that sent the global economy into a tailspin. devastating the us housing market. predatory lending and a poorly regulated financial system were at the root of the crisis. but now, housing sales in some parts of the country have picked up. >> it really started in 2010, 2011 in the wake of the housing bust and the foreclosure crisis that ensued. >> there were markets that were totally devastated. >> you had an unbelievable number of foreclosed homes. >> afo