the cia torture report the agency director defendses what they call enhanced interrogation techniques used after 9/11. >> it is our considered view that the detainees who were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques provided information that was useful. ♪ ♪ hello and welcome to al jazerra. i am elizabeth in doha. also on on the program. sierra leone imposes a two-week lockdown in a remote region after a surge in ebola

infections. fears of an ecological disaster in bangladesh after an oil spill. and north korea accused after a haka tack which laid bare company secrets at a major hollywood studio. ♪ ♪ the head of the cia has defended their techniques. he says they acted within the law and says information from detainees helped track down osama bin laden. patty culhane reports. >> reporter: in unprecedents news conference, a sign of just how much pressure the cia feels. their director invited the media to their head quarters to try to explain the torture that happened at secret prisons like this one.

119 men held. 26 of those were innocent. >> in a limited number of cases agency officers used interrogation techniques that had not been authorized, were abhorrent and rightly should be repute 80ed by all. >> reporter: but because of the 500 plus page report we know what the cia bosses authorized. confinement in a wooden box with insects. one man held like this for a total of 11 days. water boarding, sleep did he depravation team them awake for a week, forcing them to stands naked with arms held found days. the cia insists the people who were tortured gave critical information that helped find osama bin laden and thwart attacks, but they haven't crediting the enhanced techniques for that now. >> the cause and effect relationship between the application of those e.i.t.s and the provision is unknown and unknownable.

>> reporter: the senator who released the report disagrees, diane feinstein reported this response: >> reporter: a former cia agent backs that up saying the cia has the time line wrong. >> all the that was we got that was actionable intelligence that helped us identify the plots or terrorists i believe we did it way before water board he go. >> reporter: the cause and effect matter to his the american people. and in polls if torture should be used the majority say no. unless american lives can be saved. then the majority seem to side with the cia. patty culhane, al jazerra, washington. the u.s. of representatives have beaten a midnight deadline and approved a trillion dollar

budget. it's going to face questions. but they avoid the threat of a government shutdown. two gomes have exploded in nigeria. they used -- at left 17 people were kid. the explosions happened as both the ruling political party and the opposition named their candidates for the president chaps election in february. now a report from lagos. >> reporter: the race for nigeria's presidential election is. the opposition party has named a the jenas its candidate. >> we have to restless cure on you dear country nigeria from those who have led us in the current state of insecurity, poverty, sectarian divide, and hopelessness among our people. >> reporter: the former military ruler was seen as the fave rift party's leadership and many governors. leading an as tear life his

reputation on corruption is widely need to be what nigeria needs now. but some say it's hard to forget the background of the 72-year-old who previously ran for the post three times. when he seized power in 1983 as military ruler, overthrew a civilian president. at the time he justified the coup as a move against a corrupt government. his reign wasn't the brightest when it came to press and workers' freed ups. the convention started late wednesday night. five were vying for the taert ticket, including two governors, a publishers and former vice president. the cop contenders, muslims from the north. taking on the ruling party's sole candidate president goodluck jonathan. the pdp has not lost an election since 1999. [ inaudible ]

>> reporter: 57-year-old jonathan, a christian from the south has had a challenging year between boko haram's violence and slicing prices, he's been under heavy script. but still retains widespread support and patronage. the race between a candidate from the largely muslim north versus the incumbent from the mostly christian south is raising concerns. the words and actions of the presidential candidates over the coming weeks will determine the tone of the he lexer the for weeks the ruling party and opposition have been trading blame over various failures, specifically boko haram's violence, the concern is this would further divide nigerians ahead of a vote many worry could lead to violence. one policeman killed and two others wounded in kenya.

fighters attacked a security camp in the coast the county there. the search is underway for the attackers. sierra leone has impressed a two-week lockdown in a remote region after healthcare workers discovered a surge in ebola infections. 87 bodies have been buried in 11 days and authorities fear that ebola data on sierra leone under represents the situation. it has killed more than 6,500 people in west africa. sierra leone recently over took liberia as the country worst affected by the disease. environmental activists say an oil spilled in bangladesh is an ecological ca as it roug cat. two oil tanker clearedded. coll. activists say the spill

threatens, fish and a rare species of dolphins. let's go live there. 350,000 liters of oil have been spilled. what has been the impact? >> reporter: well, what we know so far at least 350,000 liters of oil has been filled and this is a very thick. this is a stretch that goes all the way back to bay the bengal, one of the largest stretch of mangrove forest in the world and the habitat for some of the most en dangered species in the world like from dolphin, then there is a special type of crocodile which is not found anywhere else in the world. and hundreds varieties of birds and aquatic fishes over here. we haven't seen any dead animals yet, but you can see behind me dark patches all across the

shoreline of the mangrove forest. those are the oil slicks that are worked ashore by the tide. once the high tide comes in that could damage the aquatic fish life here according to some people we spoke. the local fishermen said they are worried because their livelihood depends on the shallow water fishing in the ground. so they are worried about the impact of the oil spill. we haven't seen any operation to salvage the oil. the government did say that they are going to use a local fishermen to use sponge and sack to salvage some of the oil spill. but we haven't seen any effort by the government yet to clean up this mess. >> we have heard that the navy inland water transport department and coast guard are trying to control the spill. has the government said what they are doing? >> reporter: well, so tha far ty are saying they are going to pay "x" amount of money for local

people who can salvage some of this oil. and the petroleum corporation which is government run they say the same thing, we will competent you if you can bring this oil from the shoreline or in the water by how they are going to do it, what equipment they will use, that's not been clear to us. they did salvage the dunk enviesal, it's been age erred near a sands bank in the shoreline. the sank ware foy the dolphins is here. the more time we pa wait the moe damage. the government is going to shop the channel being used by commercial vehicles, that's good, because it shouldn't have been used the environmental assists and activists have been saying these river channel that his cross the mangrove forest shouldn't be used by commercial vehicle because there is another channel which is for the commercial vehicle. but because it is filtered they cannot use that, so they have

been using this as a bypass road and it's danger to the whole ecological system here. >> thank you very much. join us from the bangladesh. there has been an attack on the israeli embassy in athens, at least 2 20 shots fired from a car at the building. no information yet on who might be behind the attack. the palestinian authority has postpone aid meet to go decide on the response to the death of a minister, thousands attended the funeral. he died after a confrontation with israeli soldiers in the occupied west bank. the cause of his death is disputed. meanwhile the chief palestinian negotiator says he's planning to end security cooperation with israel. now more from the area. >> reporter: the funeral was held with full government honors at the headquarters of the palestinian presidency. thousands of mourners joined the

president before joining a procession to a nearby cemetery for the burial. there the crowd grew even larger. as people came out to pay their last respects to the palestinian minister who was perhaps best known for leading grassroots campaigns against israel's occupation of the west bank. >> he was a real human being and a human rights defender. in the moment he got his new position he was trying to motorcycle i'd have us to where the palestinian violence would stop. he was talking to the palestinian youth to come and participate in his activities. >> reporter: people, young and old, who once stood with him at protests, now follow his casket to his final resting place. for many here, he wasn't just the politician, he was a man of the people. who fought for the rights of palestinians until his final breath. but questions remain over how he

died. he collapsed on wednesday shortly after he was hit and grabbed at the throat by an israeli soldier while attending an olive tree event in the occupied west bank. according to a pal stun yell pathologist who carried out the autopsy alongside jourdain yell health officials the cause of death was a blow to the body. and not of natural causes. but an israel i pathologist who was also present disagreed. saying he had a bad heart and that's ultimately why he died. >> the autopsy this morning showed very clearly no doubt he was murdered. is he was executed by the israeli arm irrelevan army. >> reporter: but they were unclear too fast what exactly that means. president mahmoud abbas says all options are being discussed including approaching the united nations or suspended security cooperation with israel. whatever happens, the israeli military has already sent more

troops to the occupied west bank. in anticipation of possible unrest. a move that could further increase tensions. al jazerra, in the occupied west bank. still ahead, isolated by the west, and its economy under pressure, russian president vladimir putin turns to an old friends. and a dangerous legacy we talk to the villagers in china still living with chemical weapons from world war ii.

good to have you with us. i am elizabeth in doha. these reports top stories on al jazerra. the director of the cia has admitted abhorrent techniques were used by the agency, but says the majority of cia officers acted within the law. general brennan says the information from detainees helped track down osama bin laden. authorities in sierra leone have imposed a two-week long down in the k.o k co know distr. 87 bodies have been buried over 11 days. an oil spill in dang los angeles fresh. two oil tankers collided and the world's largest main grove forest is in danger. bang los angeles fresh 40% fewer mothers are dieing in

childbirth compared to a decade ago. many rural communities still lack facilities. as as this report states, relief may soon be ahead hasn't. >> reporter: she is in her third prime minister and still takes care after the love household chores, taking care not do anything that requires too much exertion, but that wasn't always the case. >> i didn't know anything at all about what i should or shouldn't do for the first few months. i was picking up heavy things around the house, i wasn't eating vegetables. i didn't know i needed to eat more nutritiously. >> reporter: her home in a village and because she lives in a village, she is half as likely to deliver her baby at a healthcare facility and twice as likely to be under weight during her pregnancy compared to women who live in cities. today bangladesh faces a major problem when it comes to distribution of healthcare services. qualified doctors simply refuse to take postings in rural areas, mean that go if villagers wants

good medical care they have no choice but to come to the hospitals in the capital. to bridge this gap, the government is turn to go simple solutions, health workers come and set up a voice mail and text message service too rural subscribers and there is a help line you can call if something goes wrong. he says there is a pressing need. >> every year almost 4 million women become pregnant in bangladesh in the rural areas we don't have enough people to reach all of them. but mobile phones have reached almost every house in the country already. >> reporter: she receives voice mail and text messages every week, each one giving her advise about her latest stage of pregnancy. she lynnses to them with her husband who also find them helpful. >> translator: at first el try i nervous about the pregnancy because it's our first, we had no idea what we are doing, but now we are less scared because we know more.

>> reporter: as they look forward to the birth of their first child they are in unfamiliar territory. but they take comfort in knowing that with their weekly messages they know that help is only a phone call away. russian president vladimir putin is visiting india where he sign aid number of deals to improve trade, energy and defense cooperation. his visit comes as the russian economy is suffering due to international sanctions and falling oil prices, now here is more. >> reporter: facing increased pressure in the west because of the ongoing crisis in ukraine, the timing of this meeting between russian president vladimir putin and the i indian prime minister in new delhi is significant. and the message from moscow is clearings we still have friends that we can rely on. >> translator: our bilateral relations have been elevated to the level of specially

privileged extr strategic partnp and they continue to develop dynamically. >> reporter: this is the 11th annual india-russia summit that putin has attended and it's his first visit to indian since the election victory in may. his trip to new delhi comes after that of the chinese presidents and before a scheduled visit by u.s. president barack obama in january. >> international relations is changing. however, the importance of that relationship and its place in india's foreign policy will not change. >> reporter: moscow's focus appears to be helping new delhi to meet its growing energy needs. india has announced that it will build at least 10 new nuclear reactors with russia's helpful each of these russian-built nuclear reactor reactors has a y of 1,000 megawatts with just one of these reactors in currently

in practice, the indian authorities say power production has already increased by a fifth. new delhi and moscow have agreed to work more closely across a whole host of sectors and for the prime minister these deals are about level i thinkin i ri a does best. that includes cutting and polishing diamonds, india processes more than half of the world's spry of the pleasure gem. up until now they have been forced to buy most of their russian diamonds from antwerp, israel and dubai. new direct links between russian minors and indian manufacturers could be worth billions of dollars. >> our partnership has built up a fairly modern polishing. the best in the world. that's our partnership. it's the nay natural. we have the biggest producer miner and they have the biggest polisher. >> reporter: historically russia has been one of the india's

biggest defense suppliers, providing it with the bulk of its military equipment. the prim prime minister has cond that is unlike toy change. >> a relationship with india is always within where india doesn't try to be. [ inaudible ] so far. it is so therefore in that report also it's a good relationship, it's one of the fastest possibly fastest growing economies in the future through democracy. >> reporter: new delhi and moscow may not share the same political ideals, but when it comes to securing their respective futures, they seem to be in sync. al jazerra, new delhi. palestinian president mahmoud abbas has supported egypt's crack down on smuggling tunnels linking gaza to the sinai peninsula he says he supports any action cairo takes to protect itself from armed groups. egypt's military says they use the it ups in smuggle in arms, and food.

the egyptian army says it killed 12 suspected fighters. attacks against security forces in is nigh have intensified since the former president mohamed morsi was deposed last year. al jazerra continues to district attorney members the release of our three journalists who have now been held in prison in egypt for 349 days. peter greste, mohamed fahmy and bahar mohamed were jailed on false charges of hous helping oe loud muslim brotherhood and they are appealing their convictions. on saturday china will mark the 77th anniversary of the massacre. more than 300,000 chinese were killed by the japanese army in 1937. decades after the went of world war ii people in a remote corner of china are still falling victim to it the chemical weapons left behind. adrian brown reports. >> reporter: across the frozen landscape of northeast china lies the destructive legacy of

another country. it's a bomb. one of 700,000 the japanese government admits to. more than half of them in this province. >> translator: they are everywhere. sometimes we find them when we dig the land. >> reporter: his son was badly under -- he was badly burned after stepping on a shell 10 years ago and can't understand why this one hasn't been removed. >> translator: of course we worry. how can we not. it could kill us if we excellently touch it. >> reporter: nearby, a father of another victim, he tells me his son was playing with friends beside this now frozen stream. he saw a steel tube lying in the water's edges and trying to retrieve it thinking he could maybe sale it for scrap. instead chemicals inside caused serious burns to his hand and left him with a long and so far fruitless battle for compensation from japan's government.

>> translator: how can i not be furious. the japanese left all these chemical weapons in our soil. not only killed our ancestors but also going to harm our children and our next generations. >> reporter: japan admits its retreating army left behind weapons that contain chemicals, including mustard gas and cyanide. this is the entrance for a secret military facility where some of those knew missions are being destroyed under japanese supervision. but the chinese government says it's not happening fast enough. it's been estimated that at least 2,000 chinese people have fallen victim to japanese chemical weapons. most surviving with burns and other injuries. tokyo says it's so far found and destroyed at least 4,000 of these munitions but that's still a small percentage of what its army left behind here.

tokyo promised to destroy as many of its weapons as possible by 2012. now almost 70 years after the second world war ended it's still asking for more time. adrian brown, al jazerra, in northeast china. now, a multi million dollars cyber heist worthy of a hollywood thriller. last month hackers broke in to sony pictures security system revealing sensitive information. it's not known who did it. but as rob reynolds reports, there is no shortage of suspects. >> reporter: the hack attack stole enormous amounts of sony's confidential information. and brought the studio giant to its knees overnight. data made publically available on the internet, included financial documents, e-mailed transcripts, unreleased movies, and the salaries, tax identification numbers and personnel files of 3,800 sony employees. including ceo michael linton and all of the company's senior

management. sony has asked the fbi to investigate. the hackers, who call themselves guardians of peace, have not been identified. but some cyber security experts and u.s. officials suspect north korea. the regime in pyongyang is furious over sony's soon to be released comedy the interview in which stars seth rogan and james franco obtain an interview with north keyon leader kim jong un only to be persuaded by the cia to use the opportunity to assassinate him. >> the cia would love it if you could take him out. >> huh? >> take him out. >> like for drinks? >> like to dinner? >> take him out on the town? >> no, take him out. >> you want us to kill the leader of north korea? >> yes. >> what? >> reporter: north korean state media called the film an act of war and warned of merciless retaliation. the malware used by the hackers was written in korean and

pyongyang phrased the cyber assault as a righteous deed. no matter who did it, the hack has caused enormous disruption and embarrassment. at one of the world's biggest movie makers. zone had i to shutdown its entire system leaving workals to scribble communication with his pen on paper. hacked e-mails included insulting reference to his movie stars, director scott rude inning called actress and humanitarian activist angelina gee lee jolie a minimally talen. michael far bender was said to be not famous enough for reading roles. and wrote e-mails was president obama with a racist tone, suggesting that he would only like films with african american themes or cast members. like 12 years a slave or the butler. pascal formally apologized. besides damage to sony's reputation, leaked personal information could imagine the company liable to lawsuits.

under california's strict privacy and data protection laws. rob reynolds, al jazerra, los angeles. just a reminder that that story and the rest of our news can always be found on our website. aljazerra.com. unemployment is dropping and millions of americans are still feeling down because they say no matter how much they hustle, they can't get ahead. paycheck to paycheck, it's inside story. ♪ hello, i am ray swarez. to