>> egypt's former president hosni mubarak has all charges dismissed by a cairo court. targeting sunni muslims in their campaign against isil. silent adoration, the head of the roman catholic church visit the iconic blue mosque as he tries to build bridges between muslims and christians. plus the shops in the town of

ferguson reopen for business. protesters demand justice for michael brown. >> thank you for joining us. a cairo court threw out charges that mubarak conspired to kill protesters. the former leader is still serving a three year term. while protesters are angry at the verdict they stand at the square where 800,000 people are thought to be killed by security forces in 2011 before mubarak was ousted. the victims' families were outside of court to hear the

verdict. we have the report. [applause] >> reporter: it was called the trial of the century in egypt, and it ended with a controversial verdict. one that supporters of the deposed president celebrated. three years after he was forced out of process, and one retrial later mubarak saw the case against him thrown out by the presiding judge. the charges were that he conspired to kill protesters in january 2011. >> it is not suitable for a former president to be taken to a criminal court according to the terms and conditions of the criminal law or to consider the things he did wrong within his political responsibilities, even those crimes listed in the charges list.

the court said it had legal papers for only 238 deaths. the verdict shocked the victims' families. >> the verdict is wrong. we don't deserve this. some were in tears. others shouted down with the military regime. some of mubarak supporters were jubilant. >> thank god. shortly after mubarak resigned, he was found guilty of stealing public money. in 2012 and his interior minister was sentenced to life for the killing of the demonstrators.

but in 2014 the court upheld an appeal on technical grounds and ordered a retrial. after that decision the current president al sisi went on to win presidential elections, raising fears that members of his regime and party would walk free. some accuse the court of making a political decision. >> the judge said that the nation has overcome the revolutionary phase. this means that the death certificate of the revolution. this is not a trial from mubarak and his interior minister. it is a trial of the january revolution. the court, which is supposed to be just and answer the question who killed the protesters, he didn't answer that. >> several protesters were killed while anti-coup protests are continuing. the government has deployed the

army and police to clamp down on demonstrators. >> thank you for joining us. let's look at it from a purely legal point of view. it is difficult to divide the leaguety from the politics, but from a legal point of view what do you think of the decision and the reasons that the judge gave, not enough evidence, legal papersel over 238 deaths. >> there is no way to separate the legal because the judge looked at the evidence before him, the witnesses and the documents within the court. yes, he jumped the gun and said this is not a legal issue this is a political issue. then he went further by saying

that--by praising the coup d'etat. he said that about the revolution. even in the way he has warned the audience not to make any noise while reading the verdict. >> going forward what impacts do you think this decision will have not just for mubarak but egypt as a whole? >> it will up hold any myth of independence of the judiciary in egypt. it will uphold any myth that- that that the militarys have an jean agenda ine judiciary. any part is duplicity in it. the judge has granted them

immunity, that no president in the future should be tried by the courts in egypt. that's why he described the case of mubarak. and said he it should an political one. >> we saw protest over this decision on friday. we saw other protests and some deaths across egypt. it's an incredibly divided society right now. i mean, going forward where do you see it ending up? >> the majority has the power, and this decision-- >> we've seen the demonstrations, but not of the similar crise sizes of months ago. are there some who understand

the leaguety, but prefer the stability after so much instability. >> this is a problem of the west. the west sacrifice democracy for security. >> i'm asking if people in egypt are willing to do that. >> we have to wait and see. indeed, it is a further fact that will intensify also who argue in the west will support security in terms of the democracy. we've seen that. history has shown that. there is a security, and a lot of security. and the west we end up in our part of the world we sacrifice--we sacrifice democracy for security, but we end up with no security and no democracy. >> thank you so much forever

your views. >> well, meanwhile al jazeera continues to demand the release of its three journalists who have now been detained in egypt for 336 days. mohamed fahmy, bader mohammed, and peter greste were jailed over false allegations that they helped the outlawed missouri. they're appealing against their convictions and jail sentences. they were sentenced for seven years, and bader mohammed was sentenced an extra three for a spent bullet he had picked up from a protest. >> let's go to iraq where a group of sunni politicians have accused shia militias of revenge attacks. they say sunni muslims and their properties are being targeted. it's a campaign to push isil out of the area. we have reports now from baghd baghdad.

>> reporter: this was supposed to be an operation that showca showcased iraqi unity against isil. the iraqi army, air force and peshmerga forces work together, but some sunni members of parliament accuse of shia militia unit working along side iraq's army of revenge attacks against sunni. >> what is taking place during the last few days could be considered crimes committed by the militias which prevented citizens from going back to their homes in clear attempt to bring demographic change, and they have arrested dozens of people, destroyed mosques and demolished homes just for revenge. >> a human rights group released this video accounting for one attack in a mosque in august. many are fearing that the role could divide iraqi security forces along sectarian lines.

>> we must not under estimate the major role. the forces have played in supporting the iraqi security apparatus, liberating the key towns. there has been no response to the allegations by any of the shia militia groups so far. iraq's government insist that the shia militia groups are under the direct control of the army. however these latest allegations will remind some of the height of the sectarian violence which nearly tore iraq apart i in 2006-7-8. now they're asking for these latest allegations to be investigated sooner rather than later. >> in syria the rebel group al nusra front is battling for control of a strategic town near the city of aleppo. forces are fighting government forces, who currently hold the town.

we have the report. >> reporter: an al nusra shell government positions. it is close to the major northern city of aleppo and lies on the main road from aleppo to the turkish border. controlling it would give a strategic advantage. >> during the beginning of the fighting we managed to take control over the district, and the fighters are now on the outskirts. and there we're going to take full control over the whole town. >> assad's opponents here are using a mixture of heavy and light weapons to encounter the government's use of barrel bombs and airstrikes. it is a theme that is repeated across many parts of the country. [ explosions ] in and around damascus fighting continues, and in the countryside, the east of the

capitol the rebels say they're repelling government attacks, the intensity combat is clear. while in the isil-controlled city of raqqa daily government strikes have killed 100 people in the past five days alone. aid agencies estimate more than three years of civil war has killed more than 200,000 people. many more have been wounded or driven from their homes. as here in homs. much of the infrastructure of syria is in ruins. this is in the idlib province once home to 30,000 people, but not now. age. >> the arab league will present a draft resolution to the u.n. security council setting a time frame to create a palestinian state. a committee will set up including kuwait, mauratania and jordan. mahmood abbas held discussions

with arab league secretary general in cairo. well, still ahead on al jazeera, keen for a comeback. the former french president nicolas sarkozy will you win back the keys to the country. and we look at taiwanese election.

>> now a reminder of the top stories in al jazeera. an egyptian judge has dismissed

all the charges against president hosni mubarak. a group of sunni politicians in iraq has accused shia militias of revenge attacks. they say sunni muslims and their property are being targeted. and the arab league will present a draft resolution to the u.n. security council setting a time frame to create a palestinian state. to afghanistan where taliban fighters have attacked the foreign non-government organization compound in the capitol of kabul. the army base has also been targeted by gunmen in helmand. we have this update. >> reporter: a source of afghan supreme court forces who has been down on the scene in a target in kabul reports a number of foreigners both wounded and killed in this latest attack,

also one afghan wounded. now the anterior military spokesperson has also told us that this ngo was targeted in this attack, was apparently involved in the education sector. we have no more details than that at this stage. this is the latest in three attacks. on foreign targets here in kabul, and over the last three days. that is despite a mastiff increase in security across the capitol city the taliban climbed responsibility immediately and describing what they said was a compound housing christian trying to convert muslims. they have vowed to continue their attacks on foreign targets very unhappy with recent security agreements approved by parliament here, which would see foreign forces staying in the country and training afghan forces in 2015. >> nigeria's president says security forces will hunt down those responsible for attacking

a mosque and killing more than 100 people. bombs exploded as the faithful were praying, in northeastern city that has been targeted by the armed group of boko haram. we have reports from the nigerian city. >> there weren't enough emergency workers to deal with so many victims, as this specialist hospital many were being treated on any available surface, even in the corridors outside. the explosions outside of the mosque on friday was one of pandemonium. there were gunshots fired, bodies were strewn across the area, and a witness said that a stampede caused more fatalities. angry young men took to the streets over what they said was the inability of the government to stop boko haram as violence. they burned tires and attacked police cars but police forces ultimately contained them.

many of the victims were worshipers attending friday's prayers, including children. some of them would have heard the traditional ruler giving his address last week. he urged nigerians to defend themselves against any threats, a reference to boko haram, and a swipe at the government's handling of the radical group's actions. >> they're seeing the efforts on northern nigeria where the majority are muslims. this seems to be largely a continuation of attacks against traditional leaders in northern nigeria, in an attempt to drive a wedge between them and the local population. >> the government and military said that boko haram have been sustaining losses. >> but some see if a as a deliberate show of force by boko haram as the country gears up for elections next year.

al jazeera, northeastern niger nigeria. >> there has been a significant rise in the death toll from west africa's ebola outbreak. the "world health organization" latest figures show that the virus has killed nearly 7,000 people. that's a jump of 1200 from the previous set of figures, which were only released on wednesday. the head of the catholic church has prayed along side the grand musfi. we have repo istanbul. walking into the mosque pope francis did what many before him have done. he paused to take in the impressive architecture.

he walked in and prayed along side the grand mufti. presenting the pope with a gift of a blue tile the mufti told the pontiff we are in need of prayers. the world really needs prayers. outside curious tourists and a few turkish christians waited for a glimpse of the world's leader of catholics. >> we all very glad that the pope is visiting us. >> security has been tight. local media reporting that 7,000 police officers were on duty during this visit. >> francis' every word and gesture closely scrutinized as the pope tries to build bridges

between islam and christianity. then once this was christianity's most significant church in what was the capitol of the busie byzantine empire. today it is a museum. as the pope left more symbolism. francis is being driven around in a modest rental car, turning down the offer of an turkish armored mercedes. >> you demonstrators in the u.s. are said to begin a week long protest march after the killing of michael brown. there is outrage that a grand jury decided not to charge the white police officer darren wilson, who shot the unarmed black teenager in the town of ferguson. that's where this 193 kilometer march is starting.

participants are calling it the journey of justice. they say it will take seven days to reach their destination, the governor's mansion in missouri's capitol of jefferson. we're in ferguson to see the marchers set off. remind us exactly--i know they're going to the governor's mansion in the capitol, but really, what is this march all about? what are the people hoping that it will achieve? >> well, you know, it's going to start right here where we're standing, and this is the neighborhood not only where michael brown lived with his family, but where he was shot dead in august. you can see behind me the memorial that has grown spontaneously in the middle of the street. another one on the side of the street. this has been the focus for much of the emotion of this particular incident. so right now today the marchers are coming from a church in the city of st. louis by bus, and we're told that others are coming from other parts of the

state. they'll arrive here, and probably pay their respects and then head off on this march. this march of justice, the journey for justice, they're calling it. they're trying to highlight racial profiling not just here in ferguson but elsewhere. singling out african-american young men like michael brown. they'll demand that civil rights laws are enforced, and creating laws when police may use deadly force. we're awaiting the marchers and organizers. a few protesters have gathered. most will come by bus and start out later this afternoon. >> we'll be checking in with you throughout the day to see how the march develops. daniel in ferguson, missouri, thank you. >> now former french president nicolas sarkozy has taken a step back in front line politics

winning back the leadership of the conservative party. those results were announced just a few moments ago. this win brings in closer to returning to the presidency where he lost to the socialists françois hollande. and staying in france, there have been clashes in the city of leone. there were fights with police. the election is to be announced on sunday. >> taiwan's second highest ranking leader has resigned after his ruling. the party was defeated in local elections. the leader is a man who campaigned as an independent with strong ties to the opposition. >> for weeks he has led the

opinion polls, often with a double budge double digit votes. >> at this point it's the end of the elections with the start of taking responsibility for me, i will be more cautious, modest, and will be fighting bitterly to realize the campaign promises under the supervision of civilians. >> the core campaign as an independent, but his political views are close to those of opposition. saturday's vote has seen it's candidates swept. >> michael: office across taiwan. >> i think the election is overwhelming victory. i think it shows that the kmt has not been performing well, and divisions in the kmt meant that people within tie want don't trusta trust it

any more. >> this man, shawn yen, as kmt party candidate he favored closer ties with beijing based on the acceptance of the one china doctrine, something that many young taiwanese reject. this year thousands of students staged a sit-in protest in parliament that lasted 38 days. they were angry at a new prospect of a trade deal with the mainland. that's something that ddp supporters say their party will not do. >> to normalize trade relations between taiwan and china is very important. however, to only concentrate trade relations with china may not help people of taiwan. it's like putting all eggs in one basket. >> analysts say it will have a much wider effect. >> people in hong kong have been paying very close attention to the elections here given what is

going on in hong kong with the umbrella movement, but other countries and other regions in southeast asia as well have been showing keen interest. >> for some this election has been disastrous. >> the result of the election today shows that they were facing a very frustrating defeat. i must apologize to our party members and supporters. we failed you. >> his kmt party's pro china policy now appears to be a vote losing. the premiere of his government has resigned, and he is now facing a much stronger opposition two years out from the general election. dominick kane, al jazeera. >> and australian police have seized 3 tons of illegal drugs in the country's biggest bust ever. the drugs have a street valley of over $1 billion u.s. they were hidden in a container

shipped from germany. and you can find out more on that and other stories we've been covering here on our website. the address, www.aljazeera.com. parts of the country, with little hindrance from the authorities. now tens of thousand of rohingya, are housed in primitive camps under government armed guard, while others have tried to flee oversees to malaysia. but as jason motlagh reports, the refugees are being exploited and abused by people traffickers, while aid agencies and governments are failing to protect them.