. >> an investigation into 50,000 ghost soldiers. iraq's prime minister examines payments to troops who do not exist. hello, welcome to al jazeera live from doha. i'm veronica pedrosa. also coming up on the programme, charging the barricade. the most violent confrontation so far between police and protesters in hong kong. freed by the f.a.r.c., a columbian army general's release to peace negotiations can continue. >> children at risk in nigeria, they fled from violence only to

lose their families. the iraqi government's investigating the existence of 50,000 so-called ghost soldiers, false names on the defence ministry role. it's likely the corrupt officers are claiming extra salaries. at a time when iraq needs its army more than ever, corruption has been revealed on a grand scale. 50,000 soldiers, the equivalent of four full divisions are either not turning up to work or simply don't exist. some officers may be pocketing the money, claiming for soldiers than they have. whatever is going on. iraq's prime minister wants to find out and stop it. >> translation: i'm sad we paid

the salaries during the period, all the salaries, iraq doesn't have the money. while our soldiers have been fighting, some are killed. these are people that received salaries and are not present on the ground. >> army recruits earn about $600 a month. ghost soldiers could be costing iraq at least $380 million a year. this could be the tip of the iceberg. iraq's army is under scrutiny now more than ever. in tune. four army additions collapse when they were confronted by soldiers from the islamic state of iraq and levant. corruption is a reason for the collapse, with i.s.i.l. controlling large parts of northern iraq, the army is under pressure to perform. it needs more money. a quarter of iraq's budget next year goes to defense and security. that's a 7-fold increase on last year. >> actually, 23 billion usd

cannot meet the demand. the i am not needed a more than this. we need more numbers the neat support. >> the u.s. plans to give iraq 1.6 million to arm and train soldiers, kurdish peshawar fighters and tribes. some in washington may be wondering how wisely the money will be spent. >> at least 25 i.s.i.l. fighters have died in u.s.-led coalition air strikes in mosul, iraq. kurdish forces say they have taken control of five key villages close to the town, on the road between i.s.i.l. held mosul, and erbil, the capital of the kurdish region, i.s.i.l. commanders say they have gained territory near the oil refinery. dozens of soldiers are reported to have been killed in a long-running battle for control

of the oil refinery. >> pope francis called on leaders to issue global condemnation of terrorism. the head of the roman catholic church was speaking to reporters on his way back from turkey. the popt if was on a 3-day -- pontiff was on a 3-day visit from the middle east. he urged an end to the persecution of christians in the region. >> it is true that when one sees these terrorist acts, not in this region, but in africa, there is this rehabilitation. if this is islam, i'm going to get angry. so many muslim people are offended. many say but we are not this, because the koran is a book of peace. it's a prophetic book of piece. it is not islam. >> to hong kong, and it saw some of the worst violence since protests began. press moved in to clear a

protest site. demonstrators want the people of hong kong to choose their candidates in the 2017 election without interference from beijing. rob mcbride reports. >> reporter: as morning rush hour approaches, the police move in, scattering protesters, demolishing their tents. hundreds of officers in riot gear forced the demonstrators off the road. outside the main government buildings. the morning access followed a night of clashes on the streets of hong kong during the 2-month long struggle. pitched battles around the main government headquarters in the main admiralty district, home to the demonstrate's main hostage site. student leaders called for a big turn out. what they said would be a new tactic, telling protesters to

come prepared with goggles and masks. then they revealed they would try to parr lease the government by laying siege to all the entrances of the government headquarters. police were just as determined to break the blockade using baton charges and pepper spray. >> demonstrator numbers surged out of the frustration of not winning concessions out of two months of this campaign. and out of anger at losing the occupation sites in the kowloon distribute of hong kong. demonstrators are determined that the main sites on hong kong island will not go the same way columbian peace talks are expected to restart after f.a.r.c. freed an army general. he and two others were tape hostage. we have this report. >> reporter: the release of general ruben satar is the potential trigger for the peace

talks to resume. after two weeks in the hands of f.a.r.c. rebels in the jungle, the general and two other officials were handed over to the international red cross. >> it was very emotional, when the colleagues found these people. they were looking forward to meeting the relatives. it was very emotional moment. because of the process - the peace process, as well as on this fact, on this release. >> he was abducted in this village, the highest ranking officer captured in 50 years of conflict. the president immediately suspended the talks. but in a statement on sunday, he said the quick release restored the right climate for the negotiations. nonetheless, f.a.r.c. representative in havana said resuming the dialogue may not be automatic. >> we invite president santos,

with his heart in his hand, to consider that we cannot continue the style of peace in the middle of the war. it's time for a bilateral ceasefire, for armour cities, so no incident in the battlefield justifies interrupting a beautiful process. >> for the f.a.r.c. decision to suspend the talks was unfair given an agreement that any incident on the ground would not affect the dialogue. >> they are very clear of saying if you are not happy, with us carrying out military actions, we need to agree on a bilateral ceasefire, something they have been asking for and the government has been unwilling to agree on because of the previous lessons of previous peace processes. bilateral ceasefire will not be on the table. there could be ab agreement to scale back the conflict to avoid incidents. among the peace negotiators, they will fly to havana and try

to set the date for the resumption of the talks. something think could happen as soon as possible uruguay's ruling party candidate is returning to his old job as president. early results showed he secured 53% support. the opposition candidate conceded defeat. he was president from 2005 to 2010 and was cd itted with promoting economic growth and slashing poverty. daniel schweimler reports from the capital. >> reporter: the official results have not been announced br supporters began streaming on to the streets. the 74-year-old doctor represents the broad front, a left-wing coalition introducing several progressive policies, alleviating policy and abortion.

same-sex marriage, and the production and sale of marijuana. . >> we will not defraud you. we take over the presidency with the aim of working hard and fulfilling the progress of a programme. >> earlier he cast his vote in a ramshackle community hall in the neighbourhood where he grew up. counting is done manually. the result was never in doubt. >> the rain abated in time for the celebrations. >> for the next president, a new dawn. you' you'ro guyans -- uruguayans want more of what they know. his main challenger, the son of a former president, will have to fight another day. despondency in his camp.

>> translation: people have worked. unemployment is the lowest history. people have health, education will improve. people are happy. you can see that. >> reporter: he knows how to rule. he has done it before and will do it again. >> reporter: he becomes president in march. he'll have plenty to dal with then. that's then. when the party is over breaking news. in nigeria, gun me believed to be boko haram fighters have attacked the state university of damaturu. joining us on the line is our correspondent. what is the latest? >> well, what we understand is that the boko haram fighters that came from the bush overnight, but didn't start their attack until the

early hours of the morning. residents heard gunshots and believe the fighters targeted the state university. it is the capital of yoby state, the states where boko haram has been active, and where the government improved a state of emergency to deal with the ongoing matter there. >> students and staff fled to the bush. that the military appears to have been engaging the fighters heavily, and is believed that the gun fire that is heard are the military's attempts to push back the fighters. the gun fire movement away from the campus into the bush where the fighters may have fled. now, this only goes to show how boko haram is intensifying the braze ep attacks for the past few months, they have been going after remote villages and towns

on the broader areas. once again seeing them target main cities. this is not a small village, it's a capital, the state. we saw them two days ago, we saw them attack the capital, borno state and the major northern city. indicative of how boko haram are essentially ratcheting up pressure and attack on various targets. >> thank you for that. on the line from abuja. more details as we get them on the breaking story. we'll pause for a break. still to come... >> we are losing time. all the glacier going to the water, is going to the sea we'll take you high in the andes mountains where there's a global warming crisis. stay with us.

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> this trial was a sham... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy,

let the journalists live.

hello again. you're watching al jazeera. a reminder of the top stories, iraq's government is investigating the nonexistence of 50,000 soldiers in the army. they are called so-called ghost charges. the prime minister is examining why so many troops who do not exist are being paid. hong kong sees some of the worst violence since protests began two months ago. police moved in to clear a site. >> columbian peace talks are expected to restart after

f.a.r.c. rebels cleared an army general. in egypt the mass trial of nearly 500 people arrested during a military crackdown is due to resume. the trial relates to demonstrations near the mosque in august last year, and could see death sentences handed down to the defendants. hundreds were killed when egyptian police cleared people from two protest sites. the same court handed sentences to 78 youths last week. al jazeera demanded the release of journalists, held for 338 days. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed were gaoled on false charges of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they are appealing against their convictions. peter greste and mohamed fadel fahmy were sentenced to three years in prison.

baher mohamed to an extra three for having a bullet in his possession, which he picked up at a protest. >> vladimir putin is trying to cope with western sanctions because of the fighting in ukraine. bernard smith reports from istanbul, on the position for expanding their alliance. >> reporter: business is booming at this fruit and vegetable wholesale market. exports to russia are up by 450% this year. thanks to russia's ban on imports from the european union. >> we want turkish leaders to talk about peace with russia and the world to increase trade. russia is a good market for us. they can sell us gas, and we sell them fresh produce. >> reporter: trade between russia and turkey was words $32 billion. both sides want to increase it

to $100 billion a year. business doesn't seem to be affected by the significant political differences between the two countries. russia is the principle backer of the syrian regime of bashar al-assad. turkey wants him gone. moscow sports the creek cypriot government attempts to support gas reserves. turkey believes that turkish cypriots should be involved. russia and turkey are looking for now alliances in business and diplomacy. >> despite the many differences between the two countries, they need to maintain and improve their relationship. vladimir putin and recep tayyip erdogan under this. they criticized each other in the past. they spoke out and vladimir putin criticized recep tayyip erdogan. but energy needs keep them together. >> reporter: from the gas that cooks the kebabs to the gas that

fuels its factories, 65% of the gas comes from russia. it is rising. with multibillion trade like that, political differences are easily glossed over pro-russian political groups appear to have a strong lead or the pro-european parties in the elections in moldova. the countries boarded on one side by ukraine, facing its own internal struggle obvious closer ties to the e.u., or moscow. robin forest walker joins us. what percentage of a vote has been counted and what is the significance if these indications bear out the? >> well, we are getting a slightly different picture now that most of the votes came in. there was a strong lead at the beginning of the night, last night, with the pro-russian

groups, parties, doing well. now it's clearer who has won. those promoss coe won their share of the vote. the other parties on the list. the communists did well. the pro-european parties collectively, three of them could form a coalition government because it looks as if they may have just squeezed in enough votes if they get themselves together, forming an alliance, they'll have more than 50% of the vote, which could mean that moldova will remain on track to stay with europe, continue reforms and head to closer integration with the european union. >> what does the pro-russian enclay say about that, how will it react. will it put pressure on people in moldova.

the people in transnistria are not able to take part in this vote. it's a protect rate under russian control with 1500 russian troops stationed there since the conflict. russia, itself, has been opposed to moldova's pro-european trajectory. it was opposed to the government here signing the association agreement this year, which frees up moel dova to have free trade with europe, and very much approved of the parties that supported going in the other direction, joining the russian customs union which would have kept open those ties, the trade with russia, and as a lot of analysts say, maintaining the influence in moldova as it has an important influence here and the wider region. >> thank you very much for the first time a woman is to head the organization that

represents the french-speaking world. a former canadian governor general was chosen at a beating at the international organise agency of the francophonie in senegal. we have this report. >> reporter: it took two days of negotiations behind closed doors, but in the end the canadian was chosen as the head of the the international organization. she is the first woman to lead the organization. her appointment was divisive. it took time to reach a consensus because it was thought that the francophonie can't be produced. 64% of french speakers are in africa. >> the french president faced criticism by some.

as political interference, the former colonial power. a perception he tried to change. >> it's cop tains african soldiers. they fought in the army during the second world war. >> france will aspect the responsibilities. that's why i want to repair the injustices and salute the army of those killed by the defense. >> the soldiers were made the prisoner of war, following release by the french pay masters. senegalees call it a massacre. >> it took several years to recognise the smacks. it comes in the middle of an

economic influence in the former colleagues. >> this was a paratrooper. he said there was power. >> translation: we need to produce products globally, and then sell them back to us. this has to change. >> the future of the francophone organizations rests on economic development. between those that have the know how and those with resources. africans home combining the two will herald in an area of economical partnership a kenyan policeman has been shot dead and another wounded near the refugee camp near the north-east. police believe the armed group is behind the attack, happening a week after the somali rebel

group attacked a bus, killing 28 passengers. >> swiss voters rejected a call for drastic immigration cuts. three and four voters rejected the so-called echo pop initiative, calling for slash immigration quotas. political parties campaigned against the proposal. warning that it would hurt the economy. >> an arab jewish school where palestinian children and israeli children studied together has been set on fire. jewish nationalists are suspected of starting a blaze. >> tensions have been high in jerusalem after a recent spike in violence over access to the al-aqsa. >> we are making great efforts. we will not tolerate attacks from any side, and will not

tolerate setting fire to the bilingual school. we condemn the attempt and with unity to restore quiet and enforce the law and order in all parts of jerusalem. >> religious leaders in peru have been praying for pret. a vigil was held in the capital for what environmentalists say have been the victims of climate change. peru is on the front line, home to 70% of the world's glaciers, but they are disappearing. environment editor nick clark reports high up in the mountains. >> reporter: for centuries across the peruvian andes. here, a bus hipping center, an hour's flight from the center. the markets are fall of produce. the mountain's water source is

disappearing. >> the refers run fast, for the glaciers that free them and walk away. >> it's a popular place for tour: ben jam jib is a glaciologist. and remembers the pass over in the heyday when people skied here. >> it was one only glacier until the houses. >> all the way down. >> yes, all the way down. >> we walk where once ice, hundreds of meter deep lay. now the glassier re-seeded all the way back to the face of the mountain. >> we are losing time. all the glaciers that are going in the water, glaciers that are going, is going to the sea. >> it's a stunning site, full of danger. new lagoons of melted ice are forming, increasing threats of ice and flooding. >> this glassier is melting at

an incredible rate. it could be gone in 30 to 40 years. all the nation's tropical glaciers are disappearing at increasing rites, creating a problem for those who rely on this as a water source. >> down the mountain the crops are ripening. the farmer runs a successful organic farm. things are changing. >> translation: we see climate change in the last four years. it's harder and our soil dries out quickly. there's cold winds from the mountains, plants have less resistance to climate change. >> nicholas is working with the changes, he built a reservoir so he can manage his water supply when the rivers run low. farmers started to adapt to the effect of climate change. the future here and across the

world is a looming uncertainty. >> and a reminder that you can keep up to date with all the news on our website. the clashes in hong kong are the main story. aljazeera.com. >> my cohost is bringing in your feedback throughout the show. we have been talking about this all morning and feeling quite disturbed about it. this idea that just about anything can be hacked. >> very disturbing it isn't like the simple days in the '80 a less where matthew broderick tapped in to i psalm air computer and played tick tack toe. now they can hack in to medical equipment doctors using facebook saying this is the first i am hearing of medical hackers. the idea of disabling equipment i use to keep patience alive