that's our show for today. > praying for the victims of a taliban attack. pakistan begins three days of mourning after a school massacre you're watching al jazeera, live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up, the u.s. secretary of state talks to the arab league as palestinians call for an end to the israeli occupation much violence on the streets of haiti, the prime minister quit. they want the president out as well and so near, yet so far. the migrants living on france's streets, who can't make it to

britain we are getting reports that gunmen in afghanistan's helmand province targeted a branch of cab ill bank in lash doc gar. the incident has been confirmed, and a number of attackers have entered the bank. straight to jennifer who tells us what she is hearing. >> it's happened not lodge ago in the capital of helmand grovins, lashkar gar. the attackers going after the bank. two bombs have gone off. we don't know the number of attackers. it's near the end of the month, afghan police men have been going to the bank to get their salaries. perhaps the reason it's a tart.

we know that the gunfire is ongoing, they don't know how many attackers have gotten inside the bank or, indeed, how many are inside the bank. as i said, it's never the end of the afghan month when salaries are available in bank accounts, and the government spokesman says the afghan police men have been going to that branch. >> i know information coming in, it's a developing situation at the bank, but any idea on whether there has been casualties? >> we don't - we know there's a large explosion, it's in the center of lashkar gah, near the government's office, himself, the governor's compound himself, but it is very, very soon after what has happened. details are sketchy, we are trying to get more information on the ground, but we know the

fighting is going on. it's the latest in a series of attacks, the taliban aiming to destabilize the government of ashraf ghani, and in parliament, they have called in the acting ministers, because there is no sitting cabinet right now. called in all the acting ministers to talk about the deteriating security situation, the least of way a large taliban offensive - that has been going on for several days. a lot of concern about the security situation, the latest attack, no one has claimed responsibility. the newest in a series of attacks across afghanistan. >> we'll cross back to you as the scory develops a drone strike killed nine taliban surge ents in taliban, that happened on tuesday.

local police say foreign troops targeted a group and sherzad province pakistan started three days of mourning after a taliban attack on a school in peshawar. the prime minister nawaz sharif decided to lift a ban on dath penalties for prisoners facing terror-related charges. this comes after the attack on tuesday that killed 141 people. 132 of them from students. many aged between 13 and 15. pakistani taliban claimed responsibility, and the group says that it was retribution for the army's campaign targetting the group in north waziristan. the incident is considered to be the worst attack in pakistan things 2006, when suicide bombers targeted a welcome for the former prime minister benazir bhutto. >> reporter: vigils were held for children and staff members who were killed at army public school.

many in pakistan feared the taliban's revenge on the army for launching a military campaign against the group. no one thought the target would be a school. >> translation: the firing started suddenly. we ran to our classes. that were six or seven attackers. they were entering the classrooms and shooting students one by one. >> more than 130 children are dead in one of the worst attacks in pakistan's history. some of the student were laying on the floor, terrified, listening to the gun fire. some managed to contact their families. >> my brother called me after he was shot, saying terrorists were taking over the school. >> i've been shot. my other brother was shot in the head. >> this student says he was in the school hall, saw some shot

dead, said the teacher was shot and body set on fire. >> outside the hospital parents check the list to see if parents were there. >> the taliban says it was under attack in north of waziristan. >> translation: they burnt our homes, we were forced to put our homes on fire. we advised the comrades, if there's an underaged child, ooep if he's a pakistani chief's son. he should be given a way out. there's a primary section that we hit. >> in the offensive against the taliban, the military says it killed more than 1800 fighters, destroying camps and weapons depots. >> the government and the army began the operation against mill stands. the results are good. it will continue. >> eight hours after it started,

the siege was over. all nine taliban gunmen were killed. the group proved its point and more pakistani individuals were killed. >> scott heidler as the latest from peshawar. >> special tease -- peshawar is not a normal city as the dead are buried. across the road from me there are two graves to be dug, of course, for the victims. all the shops closed in the city. traffic is not normal, there's less than normal traffic, and the city is in a state of mourning. >> we know that the prime minister is meant to be holding a meeting with regional leaders off pakistan. sometimes now to discuss the way forward with the taliban. what has come out of that meeting. >> the meeting is still on. it's unprecedented. it was a lot of bickering and

uncertainty before the attack. after the attack the prime minister called an emergency meeting for all the opposition parties. they have gathered in peshawar. we expect an important announcement out of there as well. shock, understandably on behalf of the government when the attack took placement now we know that there's reports that there has been a drone strike in afghanistan. report coming in saying nine taliban members were killed in the drone strike. is there a connection with the drone strike and the situation in peshawar and the attack on the school? >> it is significant. it happened in the province, close to the border, most of the drone strikes are inside pakistani territory. this one is on the afghan side of the border, and we are receiving four pakistanis killed in that. it appears to be a significant

strike. >> iran says it asked australia 14 years ago to extradite the man at the center of the sydney hostage scene on charge of fraud. australia rejected the request. on the ground surrounding the siege, it had been covered by flowers. investigations have revealed that the gunman had a criminal history in australia. as well as in iran. prime minister tony abbott has announced an urgent review into the incident. >> we need to know why the perpetrator of this horrible outrage got permanent residency. we do need to know how he could have been on welfare for so many years. we do need to know what this individual was going with a gun licence. we particularly need to know how someone with such a long record of violence, such a long record of mental instability was out on bail after his involvement in a

particularly horrific crime. >> we do need to know why he seems to have fallen off the security agency's watch list. secretary and don't of new south wales, prime minister and cabinet here at the welt level. we have commissioned our secretaries to conduct an urgent review. >> five people have been injured during turbulence on an american airlines flight going from sole to dallas. the pair had to make a landing at an airport as 14 asked for medical treatment after the incident. four passengers and a crew member were hospitalized with nonlife threatening injuries itch. >> the egyptian army says 17 so-called terrorists died during a raid in northern sinai. the operation destroying vast areas of olive farmland. the president voiced concerns

over military campaign, which they say do not differentiate between civilians and others. >> palestinians hope a u.n. security measure will present a proposal calling for an end to occupation. giving israel two years to withdraw from palestinian-occupied land. james bays, diplomatic editor, has the latest from new york. >> we have the palestinians saying since the weekend, that on wednesday, they'll be in new york submitting their resolution. the reality is this, the palestinians can't submit a proposal, it's not a member of the security council. the only people to bring a resolution to the security council are the 15 members of the security council, and that's why certain countries are key. they are the countries that have involved with the palestinians and involvement with this matter. >> first of those countries is

jordan, the arab group member on the security council. are they going to submit a resolution on wednesday. i put that to jordan's deputy ambassador a few hours ago, and he said we're talking with the partners. the french also a come up with their own draft of the resolution, and we have seen some of the language in that draft. the palestinian draft talks about a time line for the end of occupation, the french a time line for negotiations. french diplomatic sources are making it clear to me that they are not going to put forward a resolution that does not have consensus. they are trying to find something that everywhere agrees with, they are not going to produce a resolution and submit a resolution to the security council, that the u.s. will veto, which i think leaves us in more ditch loam assy for -- diplomacy for now u.s. secretary of state john

kerry is urging consensus on the political parties in haiti. thousands are on the streets, demanding the resignation of the president. the prime minister stepped down on stunned. we have this report from port-au-prince. >> this was the first test of whether the resignation of the prime minister will apiece the voters. >> nothing short of martelly's departure will do. >> on the weekend. the prime minister resigned. organizers dismissed the idea. >> we are talking about la moth, we want martelly to resign. >> this man out of prison, these protests must continue to ensure martelly does not feel he can rule by decree once parliament is dissolve. that is something that is a long

way off. >> translation: the president never wanted to rule by decree. that explains the ongoing negotiations. martelly is not the only actor. discussions are under way between him and the heads of both chambers in parliament. it's a way for him to find his way out of the crisis. >> the situation suspects ruling by decree is the plan. that's why they'll mobilize. >> martelly had all his time to organise elections. >> reporter: the marchers were met by tear gas, as they took the protest to the gates of the presidential palace, it's difficult to see how the shows are forced even with staunch u.s. support still ahead on al jazeera -

space jet grounded. oil companies refuse to do business with one of india's biggest low-cost airlines. russia's currency under pressure after falling to record levels against the dollar.

top stories on al jazeera - a branch in afghanistan's helmand province has been attacked by a number of gunman. there were two explosions and the attackers have entered the bank three days of mourning

started in pakistan after the taliban killed 141 people. prime minister nawaz sharif said he'll lift a ban on death penalties for terrorism related cases. australia prime minister announced a review into monday's deadly siege in sydney. approximately address questions including why the hostage taker was allowed out on bail russia's emergency interest rate rise to 17% failed to stop the ruble hitting lows. vladimir putin blamed the crash on the west. market analysts say a combination of western sanctions and plunging oil prices is what is dragging the ruble lower. rory challands reports. >> like a fox chewing off a leg. a huge interest rate hike is a savage attempt to solve a

problem. >> 17% is the rate for banks who need their profit. for the final borrowers it will be about 22%. at this rate the investment protest stops for most market players, except a few profit industries. at general, if the rate persists, it will stop. >> reporter: the pain that it is likely to inflict on the economy may be in vain. it brought a few hours of respite. before tuesday morning was over, it continued the tumble. there's not much that individual russians can do about this. this website advocates a little calm. watch the ruble fall against the dollar and euro in real time. a titanic cartoon showing a ship

hitting an iceberg before a ruble and a barrel of oil slip beneath the waves. >> i'll never let go. >> reporter: "i dropped a ruble down there. let me down further, i can't see the bottom." despite the black humour, this is no laughing matter. the mortgages these people have is in dollars. this is a rare display of public anger on the streets. the kremlin will watch closely to see it doesn't spread. >> they'll take my flat. i have to pay $2,828 every month. it's unbearable how much it costs. also, i have to pay insurance. it grows so quickly my mum and daughter will be on the street soon. >> reporter: blink on the streets and the currency boards changed. russians can't see the bottom. they know they are not there yet

low cost indian carrier spice jet grounded its fleets after oil companies refuseded to give them the fuel it needs to operate the planes. thousands of passengers have been stranded. they explain what has happened with passengers, including those in new delhi. >> we have come back from the domestic airport. it's chaos over there. hundreds of passengers waiting to hear what is going on. they are angry, because the airline itself has disclosed information to them. the spice jet counter at the airport was not closed. there were not staff on hand to provide information or to help them with on board travel. passengers told us they were allowed to do on-line check ins and purchase tickets as of

yesterday. without the airline warning them that this could happen. they are very, very angry, and are waiting to hear from the airline itself about what they are going to do to help them. aviation analysts that i spoke to this morning say it's unlikely that the airline will be able to recover from this. they have total liabilities mounding to 314 million. now, the civil aviation ministry is trying to prevent the airline from going under. the ministry may ask indian bangs to extend loans to spice jet, mounting to 94 million. they are trying to prevent the airline from going under. however, customer confidence has, of course, been shaken. customers have been inconvenienced over the last few weeks with flight delays and cancellations. it will be difficult for the airline, even if it gets up and running, to attract passengers

it's three years since the death of north korea's former leader kim jong-il, and the official mourning period is coming to an end, making the way for kim jong un to further consolidate his grip on power. whilst in office ha has conducted nuclear weapons tests and executed top officials, including his uncle. an analyst says kim jong un's public faces are different from his father's. >> on the surface kim jong un indicated that he is trying to carry on his father's legacy and also that of his grandfather kim ilsun. as a leader over the last few years, we have seen that kim jong un developed a still different from that of his father. kim jong-il almost never spoke in public. he was a very shy kind of person, uncomfortable in the limelight, even though he was worshipped as a god.

kim jong un has had a robust presence, giving speeches, photographed kissing babies, meeting and greeting people. he tried to inject a youthful energetic feel to the leadership, as well as clearly at least tinkering with some of his father's policies, raising the penalty that he may be interested in economic reform. i was there last year, and it was evident that you saw more cars, traffic jams, people with cell phones, more restaurants, money class emerging and recent travellers backing that up. kim jong un made it clear that improving the economy is a priority. the challenge is if he takes this too far, if he opens up to foreign investment it risks undermining the system that he's

at the top of. >> spanish and moroccan police arrested several suspects of a network they say were trying to recruit women from i.s.i.l. the group was based in morocco. four women, including a minor were arrested. another arrest was made in the mainland city of barcelona. we have more. >> in total, seven people were detained in morocco and across the border in spain. according to a statement issued by the ministry of interior. the two leaders were arrested. more were arrested in another area. most of the people detained were female. according to the statement, their role was to recruit women that would go to join i.s.i.l. in syria and/or iraq.

the role according to the statement would be to marry fighters or carry out alternatived attacks on the front line there. this is not the first time that such sales are dismantled, specially in the towns of delta, and it has to do with a lot to do with special status. they are spanish enclives on more okayian tert -- moroccan tert ci, and some refer to it as europe border with africa. it's easy for people to travel the strait of gibraltar, go to turkey, into syria, there's an estimated 5,500 to 2,000 moroccan fighters joining the battlefield, and the majority of them are thought to be from the two towns. african leaders are calling on

the western countries warning that neighbouring nations could be destabilized. two rival governments have been competing for power. fighters from the libyan dawn coalition launched an offensive to seize oil companies. two terminals in the nearby areas have been forced to be shut down. >> the chaos in libya is a reason behind a flood of migrants. many travelling to france, and are hoping to make it to britain in search of work and a better life. for thousands, the thannel port is the end -- chanel port is the end of the road. >> the port of calais, the closest french town to england, on a clear day the english coast and the iconic cliffs of dover are visible. for the 2,500 migrants holed up, that is their destination.

as numbers grow, tensions increase. a member of the local council owns one not far from the migrant's camps. >> translation: business has gone down in calais, people are scared to come to the area, with migrants on the streets. >> reporter: it's scenes that this that people are uncomfortable with. the number of women doubled. new conflict in africa and the middle east sends n influx of refugees into europe. criminal activize are rising. a police officer says it is a small number involved in activities. >> the police workload tremendously increased.

investigating the incidents takes a lot of our time, and there aren't enough of us to deal with the workload. >> not everywhere dislikes the presence of the migrants. this is part of a group of volunteers, assisting the migrants with food and clothes. >> if you get to know the migrants, they are not scary, they are nice people. they are nice, and not so very nice are in every slice of a population. people from calais included. >> the migrants have their own tails. stories of horror, not lost in the battle to survive. they complain. police violence, and lack of shuman right. this egyptian migrant had to have five stitches on his head after police beat him with batons. he was trying to bored a lori

headed for britain. this violence does little to deter the migrants. they believe a better life awaits them across the channel. it's a hope fuelled by desperation >> the russian ruble is tanking and western sanctions over ukraine. later the cost of flying. how come it has not dropped with the price of oil? that's inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. you know you've got a le