>> a mixed reaction across cairo as hosni mubarak is cleared of all charges, but he won't be getting out of jail soon. you're watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up the taliban carried out an attack on the afghanistan capitol. we'll go live for the latest. an election and resignation in taiwan raises questions about the island's future relations with china.

we're on the road in india where an experiment in education is proving to be a success. egypt's attorney general is looking into whether he can appeal a verdict that saw hasy mubarak cleared of all charges. this was the reaction inside the courts after the verdicts were handed down. it comes after a foreign minister and six aides were also cleared of all charges. the judge said that the president should not have been

standing trial in the first place. it also cleared six of his aids on similar charges. corruption charges against mubarak and two sons were also thrown out on a technicality, and mubarak and salam were cleared of selling creep gas to israel. but the reports had been mixed. >> it was called the trial of the century egypt, and it ended with a controversial verdict. one that supporters of the deposed president celebrated. three years forced out of office, mubarak saw the case against him thrown out by the presiding judge. mubarak had been charged with conspiring to kill protesters in 2011. >> it is not suitable for a

former president to be taken to a criminal court according to the terms and traditions of the criminal law, and the even those crimes mentioned in the accusation list. >> the court cleared mubarak's interior minister. the judge ruled out that there was not enough evidence to show that they had killed or conspired to kill protesters. there were more than 800 people killed in the revolution, but the court said that it had papers for 238 deaths. the verdict shocked the victims' families. >> the verdict is wrong. we don't deserve this from the egyptian judiciary. >> some were in tears. others chanted down with the military regime. but some supporters were jubilant. >> thank god now president mubarak has his rights back.

>> this ruling could only raise questions about the independence of egypt's judiciary and influence of the government. shortly after mubarak reside he was found guilty of stealing public money. in 2012 the deposed president along with his interior minister were sentenced to life for cup policety in the killing of protesters. al sisi went on to win the presidential election, raising fears among many in egypt that members of his regime would walk free. some are accused of making a

political decision. >> this means a death certificate for the revolution. it is not a trial of mubarak but a trial of the revolution. to answer the question of who killed the protesters, it did not answer that. >> several protesters were killed while anti-coup protests are continuing. mubarak would remain under house arrest. >> hahosni mubarak denied. >> it was an incident verdict. we cannot change this.

when i heard the previous ruling i lost, this time i was just waiting. i felt indifferent. it is all in the hands of god. >> to other news now, the taliban has claimed responsibility for the explosion in the afghan capitol. a foreign guesthouse under attack. now in the south of the country the taliban had also attacked the camp base. british forces handed over the base in helmand to the army in late october. in kabul two british embassy employees were killed. we are in kabul, charles, is it fair to say that taliban announced stepping up their

attacks? >> sorry, i didn't hear your question exactly. i'll give you news that just broke. the kabul police chief going on local television and saying two of these attackers are still in this building here in central kabul. it's believed that they're wearing afghan military universities. we also heard from witnesses that left the area after that attacks began, and they're reporting that this is a foreign ngo. the ngo they're reporting is in that compound. it is the third attack specifically on a foreign target. and a second attack on the same day at a foreign ngo here in kabul. yes, it certainly seems as if

the taliban are keeping their promises. they said they would in stepping up their attacks against foreign targets. >> move away from the attacks in kabul now, and talk about the attack tha that is still ongoing. the question is how were the taliban able to breach such a secure area? >> well, that's right. we literally herself from government officials who say, yes, that attack is ongoing now. it's been two nights since that attack began. officials saying that the taliban approached camp bastion for cover there. it is a massive fortification, something built by the foreign forces in 2005. it was used as a main lo

logistics for nine years. it was handed over to afghan forces only last month. it is a classic example of how brazen and how brave the taliban seemingly are in attacking these giant great military installations. the same goes for here, this ongoing attack in kabul. kabul is like a fortress. there are security forces and check points all over the city, and the taliban are still mana managing to get in. >> thank you. for updating us on the situation in afghanistan. now the islamic state in iraq and the levant have carried out a suicide-bomb attack on a a border boast between turkey and syria. [ gunfire ] kurdish fighters backed by peshmerga would take control of the crossing. meanwhile, the fighting in kobane continues.

they carried out another three suicide attacks in the southern part of the town. in northwest syria fighters from al nusra front are trying to take control of the a strategic town. it's on the main road, and currently in government hands. we have the latest. >> reporter: gofthis is close to the major northern city of aleppo and lies on the turkish border. controlling it would bring a strategic advantage. >> during the beginning of the fighting we managed to take control over the district, and fighters are now on the outskirts, they're going to take full control over the whole town. >> assad's opponents are using a mixture of weapons to counter

the barrel bombs and airstrikes. it's a theme repeated across many parts of the country. in and around damascus fighting continues. the countryside, the east of the capitol, the fighting is in the east of the town. the intensity of the combat is clear. in the isil-controlled city of raqqa, daily strikes have killed 100 people in the past five days alone. aid agencies estimate more than three years of civil war have killed more than 200,000 people. many more have been wounded or driven from their homes. much of the infrastructure of syria is in ruins. this is in idlib province, one home to 30,000 people, but not now.

al jazeera. >> nigeria's president has vowed to bring to justice those responsible for friday's mosque attack. 100 were killed, and many more were injured. >> witnesses say that the scene after the explosions was one of absolute pandemonium. bodies were strewn across the area. people ran in different directions. one witness said that there was a stampede as people tried to escape the scene, and it's believed that that caused more fatalities. angry young men went to the streets to vent their frustration of what they say is the inability of the government to stop boko haram. there weren't enough emergency workers to deal with so many victims. at one hospital seriously injured patients were being treated on any available

surface, even in the corridors outside. many of the victims were worsh worshipers attending friday prayers and included children. they the nigerians have been urged to protect themselves from any threats referring to boko haram. boko haram has been sustaining losses in attempts to hold on to seized areas. but reports from the north shows how the group appears intent on sending a message. it is able to strike at will in some of the country's most crowded areas. >> much more to come, including hoping to strengthen the vatican ties with islam. pope francis makes a key visit.

>> you're watching the al jazeera news hour. i'll remind you of our top stories. [applause] >> egypt's attorney general is looking into whether he can appeal a verdict that saw former president hosni mubarak cleared of all charges. he has been accused of conspiring to kill protesters during the 2011 revolution and also of corruption. there has been a taliban attack on the afghan capitol. 26 taliban fighters and eight

afghan soldiers were killed in intense fighting. nigeria's president has vowed that the perpetrators of friday's mosque attack will be brought to justice. more than 100 people were killed as they prayed in the city's main mosque. the arab league is meeting in cairo to discuss the latest tensions in jerusalem in access to holy sites. they held discussions with ara arab's secretary general ahead of the meeting. a political adviser for palestinian president macmedia abbasmahmood abbas. thank you for joining us. they say they will demand a revolution against the israeli occupation, but no such action has been taken so far. why has there been such a delay? >> although i--this sound is not so clear, but what i understand

from your question is the speech in front of the foreign ministers in cairo regarding the decision already have been taken from the arab league for the recognition by the security counsel and palestinian of the 1967 occupied palestinian territories, including jerusalem and it's capitol. something which was already taken by the general assembly in 2012. because i think that-- >> i'm going to try and interrupt you, and i do hope that the sound is a lot better. my question really is why has there been such a delay on the plo's part to go to the u.n. security council in terms of demanding a resolution against

the israeli occupation? >> you ask the delay. the delay about what? >> the delay about the plo saying that they wanted to take resolution to the u.s. security council against israeli occupation. why has there been such a delay? >> yes, to end the israeli occupation. the recognition of the palestinian state-- >> yes, the question is, sir, the question is why has there been such a delay? why is it taking so long? i believe mahmood abbas has been talking about this for a year at least. >> why so long? because already in 2012 when the general assembly accepted palestine as a non-palestine

state there was an american suggestion about negotiations, which took place nine months. we take this from the americans and minister kerry to try his best that we can arrive with the israelis in negotiations to an agreement. but when we discovered that the israelis are not ready to continue, they refused to release the palestinian prisoners, you the fourth group of prisoners to be released. i cannot say that we delete. what happened again is the procedure, which was taken o on 2012 to 2013 to accept the

negotiations. when everything field we will go to the security council, and we hope that they will not use the veto, and we'll see about the future. >> thank you very much for being with us. we appreciate your time. political adviser for palestinian president mahmood abbas. we move on to other news. hope francis is in istanbul in his second leg of a three-day visit to turkey. [ protesters ] >> the pope was accepted by bartholomew i. the pope is currently holding a mass at the cathedral of the holy spirit. the premiere of taiwan has resigned after his ruling party was defeated in local elections.

now it is the biggest test of public opinion before the 2016 presidential vote. in the capitol city, some voters say that the ruling party's pro china policy was a factor in their decision. dominick cane reports. >> reporter: foufor weeks they have led the opinion poll often with a double-digit lead over his rival. when the time came to cast his vote, he seemed pensive. but the mandate from the people of taipei is clear. he campaigned as an independent, but his political views are close to those are close to the opposition. saturday his kinds were swept into office across taiwan. >> it's an overwhelm victory, and the divisions have meant

that people within taiwan don't trust it any more. >> the defeat the rival is this man, sean yen. he campaigned on the one china doctrine, something that many reject. students participated in a sit-in protest at parliament that lasted for 28 days. that is something ddp supporters say their party will not do. >> to normalize trade relations is very important. however, putting all of our investment in china or only concentrate in our trade in china may not be healthy for taiwan. it's like putting all eggs in one basket. >> although the demonstration was for local government, analysts say it will have a much

wider effect. >> people in hong kong have had very close connections given what has gone on in hon hong kong. >> but president this election has been disasterrous. his party's pro china policy now appears to be a vote loser. the premiere of his government has resigned, and he is now facing a much stronger opposition two years out from the germ election. dominick kane, al jazeera. >> france's president nicolas sarkozy is tipped to win on saturday. it's a position that is seen as a potential springboard back into high office. paul brennan joins us now from paris. paul, despite past legal

tussles, sarkozy seems to be quite popular. at least within his party. >> well, yes, the polls done in advance of this leadership election here on saturday do indicate that sarkozy does have a sizable majority of the card-carrying membership of the unp willing to back him. not forgetting two and a half years after he lost the presidency to françois hollande and he vowed back then that you'll never hear from me again. he was going to change his life and do something else all together. he said that politics has drawn him back in. he feels that he is needed, but the question mark is not whether he will win because it looks like a forgone conclusion, but by how much he will win. that's critical. at the moment the latest poll gave him 63% of the vote.

that's down 10% from a month ago. all the political analysts here in paris and across france are saying unless he can get 75% or in the region of that, that frankly his authority will not be sufficient to allow him to go for that french presidency in 2017. >> that's something that he would want to have happen, to go for that french presidency. however, does france want him back as their president? >> many people caesar cosy not having changed at all. he still has the same mannerisms and appears to be making policy off the cuff. he has vowed to repeal the law of same-sex marriage. he did it in response to a heckler at a rally.

you can see how many people don't believe that he has changed from the first time around when they ousted him effectively as france's president. although he seems to be keen on getting back in, is there is a key question mark of whether france is ready. >> thank you for speaking to us from paris. india has seen a technological revolution fueled by scientists and researchers emerging from its universities, but many children still do not get a chance to fulfill their potential. we have reports from towns where people are trying to do just that. >> reporter: it's not every day that children get an opportunity like this. but when they do, the possibilities seem endless. >> i like these classes because we get to work on experiments with our own hands. i want to do these experiments

over and over again. i want to learn more about science and when i grow up i want to be a doctor. >> her teacher here in the town is just 15 years old. he is from india's growing middle class, and goes to a private school. to help india's poorest children see and feel the world around them he created the icube science club. >> we have labs, and we can learn them, but they don't have an opportunity to do practicals. that's how we really learn science. >> so far more than 15,000 children and 120 schools in the northern state have had the chance to see and do thanks to the i-cube science club. their teachers see a difference. >> if the students are able to use science they'll be able to

think more creatively. this is good for the country. they're india's future scientists and doctors. >> but in a country where the standard of education often depends on who can afford it, these are distant dreams for many. the indian government said that science and innovation must be the building blocks for a prosperous india, but with some struggling to learn the basics, some believe that the curriculum needs to be rethought. which perhaps means doing away with a system that is long been based on memorizing text books. >> you they're able to ensure that the element of curiosity, the element of inquiry is really encouraged from an early age. >> you and as india looks to

showcase it's scientific talents to the world, these programs are a gentle reminder that the grassroots of learning also needs to be nourished. >> a quick reminder you can keep up-to-date with all the latest news on our website >> the united states is in the midst of the worst drug addiction epidemic in its history. but it's not a crisis of illegal drugs. it's one of prescription painkillers - oxycodone, hydrocodone, and other legal narcotics, all related to opium. collectively, they are called opioids. >> these are the opioid painkillers. and prescriptions for drugs like these have more than quadrupled over the last 15 years - to the extent that the us now consumes more than 80 percent of the global supply of these drugs. >> overdoses from prescription