voices that we haven't heard before... i think al jazeera america is a watershed moment for american journalism buddies and debris from the missing airasia plane have been located in the java sea. ♪ welcome, you are watching al jazeera, i'm jane dutton in doha. russian opposition leader calls for putin's government to fall after receiving a guilty verdict in a political charged trial. shots fired outside of the presidential palace in gambia while the president is abroad. and kurdish peshmerga

fighters hold off isil fighters from the oil rich city. ♪ we begin with the latest developments on airasia flight debris and bodies have been shotted in the java sea off of indonesia. the indonesian president has offered his condolences to the families. he spoke to the nation from where the flight took off. several bodies have been recovered. scott heidler has the latest. >> reporter: on the third day of waiting, finally news of their loved ones but not the news they wanted. >> translator: we will find things belongings bodies of the passengers of the plane, and we are sure that everything will be brought back into our base. >> reporter: they found the debris in bodies in sector seven, one of 13 areas being

searched on tuesday. it was just 10 kilometers from where the air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane on sunday morning. it's early evening, and any minute the president is expected here at the airport. on his way here he flew over the area where the bodies and debris were discovered. now he's going to meet with the families. with so many indonesians on board, this was a tragedy for the nation. and the waiting took its tool across the country. it will take some time before all of the bodies can be recovered and brought back to the airport where the plane took off on sunday. then the difficult process of identifying bodies and then months if not years before an investigation can determine what brought the flight to the

bot.com of the sea. a distress call has been sent with armed passengers aboard. it is carrying between 400 and 600 passengers bound for croatia. the greek maritime authority is sending a helicopter and ships to the area. >> reporter: we have spoken to both the merchant marine ministry and the defense ministry here in athens to find out more. neither ministry will confirm either that a distress call was sent or the presence of armed men on board. they won't do that until they have more information, until the navy frigate and the navy helicopter arrive at the scene. they believe these ministry sources that this is a ship in

distress in bad weather, in greek waters northwest in the sea. it is said as you mentioned there to be carrying between 4 and 600 people. it is thought that these are undocumented migrants. this was a boat according to media reports called the blue sky m heading originally on a course to croatia. there are some reports that it has changed course and is now headed to the italian coast. the italian coast guard is investigate whethering there were undocumented pass againers on a ship that caught fire. they feel more people might be missing. some 400 people were res -- rescued from the ship. a military plane brought 45 people near athens. russian opposition leader is

calling for putin's government to be destroyed. the court found him guilty of stealing money in a politically-charged trial. peter sharpe has more. >> reporter: he arrived in court in moscow with state prosecutors calling for a ten-year term for the political activist instead he and his brother were sentenced to three and a half years. with alexei receiving a suspended sentence. his supporters climb the trial is another attempt by the kremlin to curb discent in russia. while depriving him of a long jail term that would only increase his credibility and popularity creating a mandela situation. he has been one of the most vocal opponents of vladimir

putin. calling them a bunch of crooks and thieves. but in february he was placed under house arrest. his wife and his brother always by his side during their frequent court appearances. throughout his trial he has remained defiant. >> translator: this hunter, which has laid their hands on everything in russia and is building capitalism will sooner or later fall. >> reporter: the kremlin denies influencing the judiciary, but he blames the political establishment for attempting to silence him. if it has been trying to keep him quiet, it clearly has not worked. he has become one of the biggest challenges to president putin's grip on power. the kremlin will be hoping that the suspended sentence instead of the ten years in jail that the prosecution was looking for will help diffuse the planned mass protest by his supporters.

the defense analyst and columnist explains why the timing of this verdict is so sensitive. >> russia is heading into a serie -- very serious economic crisis, a recession. it is going to be very hard on the russian public. the level of living is going to fall, and the kremlin is very afraid this may translate into protests. first economic but maybe political, so they are trying to soothe the waters to keep him pinned down. but they are actually right now plans to decrease the price of vodka, which it seems they are really concerned. they want the russian people to get at least something, not to go to the streets under any pretext, because if they begin with a small preticket that can snowball.

gunfire has been heard near the presidential palace in gambia. they are quoting diplomatic sources, saying that a military coup was foiled. the long-time president is out of the country visiting france. andrew simmons has covered events in gambia and gave his assessment of what is going on. >> predawn it is reported that a large number of presidential guard officers and privates attempted to take over the presidential palace. the president is away overseas one report suggests he is in france others that he could be in the middle east. and this fighting was quite prolonged. sources mainly in senegal, suggest there have been a number of deaths and injuries but everything is very sketchy, and now we're hearing that in fact

the whole thing has been quashed, and that there is now a situation where whoever was mounting the coup has actually failed, it appears. but we're not clear on this. we have no official confirmation yet. pakistani police are rearrested the main suspect of the 2008 mumbai attacks. the court suspended his detention order for allegedly planning and carrying out the attack. but before he was freed from jail police arrested him on tuesday on another case. peru's government has proposed a new low it says will help young people's unemployment. >> reporter: young peruvians who feel they have been left behind in a tough economy are ensuring their frustration is still heard. carrying signs saying they won't be slaves, and sometimes

clashing with police thousands have been protesting for more than a week. they are angry about a new labor law. they say exploits the struggling youth. >> translator: the fundamental rights of young people are being assaulted. >> reporter: the new youth labor law is designed to get more young people on the payrolls but protesters say they will still lose money. so encourage hiring businesses can reduce benefits. the president says the law will especially help people between the ages of 18 to 24 with minimal training or experience get jobs. official figures show that age group has an unemployment rate four times higher than people 30 to 65 years old. we cannot allow the government through their inaction and the few measures they have taken to reactivate our economy to claim it as an effect on us young

people with this law. with this abusive measures that violate the labor rights of the young. >> reporter: protesters want the government to enable a law that help business. still to come we'll tell you why or how people in china are having trouble accessing their gobble email accounts. police in the united states are looking at ways to make eyewitness testimonies more reliable. ♪

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again the top stories on al jazeera. indonesian president has offered his condolences to the families of passengers on board airasia flight. debris was found in the java sea on sunday. and putin's biggest political opponent received a suspended sentence to he won't spending time in jail. shots have been fired near the presidential palace in gambia. iraqi security forces say they have retaken a town from isil fighters. security forces aware strikes were used to target the armed

group. isil has occupied the town's northern half since june. they consider the town strategically important because it contacts to a key highway. and in the city of kirkuk while isil and peshmerga fighters battle for control of the area access to roads have been cut off. we look at the economic strain on people living there. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: on the front lines outside of the city of kirkuk contact between kurdish peshmerga forces and the islamic state of iraq and the levant is regular. the peshmerga use sandbags and protection and -- there is a fair amount of in coming fire here. isil displayed their trademark black flag. >> translator: the distance between us is very small.

they are always trying to push forward. so far the peshmerga lines have held but isil fighters have been unrelenting in their operation to take oil-rich kirkuk. the kurdish forces have had to adopt some drastic measures. fighting has also come with its own humanitarian impact. this is the road that links kirkuk to the west. it is now totally closed. and peshmerga fighters said they had to do that to protect themselves from isil bombings. >> translator: we have lost many men to isil car bombs. we have also captured their spies around our positions. we have no intention to reopen this road. >> reporter: on the other side of the blockade in one of the sunni villages we saw a queue of stranded vehicles. as far as these people are

concerned kirkuk now belongs to them. control of kirkuk is a huge victory for kurdish forces. but ordinary life is far from normal. this man operates this restaurant and says business is bad. >> translator: i have secured my restaurant, but it's the general insecurity and the fighting that is keeping customers away. people are too afraid to venture out. >> reporter: kurdish peshmerga fighters entered kirkuk after the army abandoned its posts seven months ago. in a country where history and past grievances play a key and violent part of the presence kirkuk represents an era of fault line. for now, though it remains firmly in the grip of the kurdish forces.

syrian activists say there have been intense government attacks in the northern countryside. activists are reporting heavy aerial attacks and arterial shelling. and activists say around 20 people have been injured in government attacks in the northern homs countryside. government helicopters reportedly dropped three explosive barrels over the rebel held town. most injured are said to be in critical condition. the greek president has given a mandate to hold a snap election next month after parliament failed for the third time to agree on a new president. the popular anti-austerity

party is leading in polls. it says that it will renegotiate the bailout terms if it wins the elections. politicians in haiti have reached a tentive agreement to end the political protests around the country. the two houses of parliament seeks to establish a consensus government. the agreement comes after the prime minister was forced to resign earlier this month. internet service providers in thailand have been given new censorship powers. they can now block websites considered to be national security threats or against the monarchy. previously they needed a court order to do so. the new laws always apply to social media website. google has been blocked in china. and thousands are users are

unable to access their email. >> reporter: this woman has been trying to access her google email account, but hasn't been able to do it for many days. google says its servers have seen a sharp drop of users from china. people were able to k assess their gmail by alternative sources. some businesses that use gmail as their corporate email are also facing problems. >> translator: i don't have the knowledge about what you just mentioned. please check with the internet information office. what i can tell you is that china consistently welcomes and supports foreign investors legally conducting business in china. >> reporter: we contacted the chinese information office and officials refused to comment. in the newspaper they blamed google. it says:

china wants foreign firms to do business through local partners and keep data on chinese soil and companies like google refuses such firms. china continues to clamp down on what it considers a conspiracy. that conflict is hurting chinese users. that is more than 600 million people. many people are resorting to virtual private networks a software they allowses users to bypass restrictions. >> translator: of course it is very inconvenient. the only solution is to use vpn to check your emails. what can you do? >> translator: because it always has some problems. it is not as stable as chinese email account. >> reporter: a strictly controlled internet is what the chinese government considers crucial to maintain power.

and many other governments including france spain, south korea, russia and the united states also applies some regulations or internet monitoring. internet freedom across the globe continues to face major challenges. in the philippines, flash floods and landslides triggered by tropical storms have killed at least 29 people. the tropical storm dumped heavy rains on monday destroying bridges and highways. thousands of residents were forced to take shelter at evacuation centers. a senior korean air executive who resigned after a row over a bag of nuts is waiting to see if she will be charged with breaching air safety and workplace regulations.

>> reporter: it's becoming a familiar and unwelcome or reel for this woman. a reaction to her blistering of nuts wrongly served in a cap bin. she shouted at the chief, ordered the plane back to new york and had the man thrown off. she stands accused of breaking workplace laws. though extraordinary level of interest in this case stems not just from the fact that it all started over an agreement over a battle of nuts but also hierarchy in this society. she made a public apology earlier this month. she is a the elite of the elite. >> this is one instant that grabs some of the public's

attention. but i hear almost every month a similar instance that happens within the corporation that does not actually end up in this kind of big incident. >> reporter: it also highlights the problem with cozy relations. on monday the transport ministry admits some of the officials tried to hamper the investigation. eight will be disciplined. she awaits trial for offense which could see her to a prison sentence. a london health worker has been transferred to the hospital after contracting ebola in sierra leone. earlier this year the royal free hospital successfully treated a british aid worker who had been diagnosed with the virus in

sierra leone and then flown home for treatment. the number of ebola cases in the three-worst affected countries has passed. 20,000 more than 7,800 people have died from the virus. sierra leone is the worst-affected country with more than 9,000 cases and 2500 deaths. eyewitness misindication is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions in the united states. tom akerman reports from massachusetts, the state at the forefront of reform. >> reporter: dennis mayor is a happily married father of two, but the 19 years he spent in prison for rapes he did not commit are never far from his mind. nor is the realization that the victims were so mistaken in picking him as their attacker. >> i was trying to reason why it

all happened? how could they misidentify me. the first victim said i didn't have a mustache the second said i did. >> reporter: mayor is among 321 men who have been exonerated thanks to scientific testing more than 70% of those wrongful convictions relied to some degree on inaccurate eyewitness testimony. jennifer was sure he man she sent to jail committed the crime. >> i can remember thinking to myself, if that's wrong, be bobby pool raped me and it wasn't ronald cotton then maybe

everything i thought was true is not true. >> reporter: they have recognized the fallibility of eyewitness indication. the police chief trains his officers in how to avoid misidentifying witnesses. >> i'm going to leave the room. >> reporter: they tell the victim to pick out a face from an array. it allows us to testify we couldn't have said or done anything, because the officer showing the photographs had no idea which one of the photos was the suspect. >> reporter: the national academy of sciences also recommends that witnesses be asked how confident they are. >> it's takt that we not wait because the longer the wait the further chance of misindication.

>> reporter: tom akerman, al jazeera, massachusetts. to india where the pressures over modern economy are threatening the unique architectural heritage of a wealthy trading community. >> reporter: inside this palace lies the history of a family proud of its century's old traditions. from hand carved doorways to it tall marble. this is a testament to the success of one man who traveled ice to earn a living. 75-year-old is now the keeper of his grandfather's legacy. >> translator: this house is for my whole family. years ago we all lived here. but to make money by children left. >> reporter: 80% of these

properties built in the 17th and 18th centuries are locked up only springing to life for big occasions like weddings. many of these houses lie in a state of ruin because of property disputes and a lack of work in the area. they built palaces like this one in more than 60 villages but few retain their old spend dor, maintaining a palace costs about $20,000 a year and that's money they claim that many owners would rather invest elsewhere. and when owners decide it's time to sell the foundations of their historic homes come here. it's a painstaking job giving these artifacts a new lease of life. but this man says reselling them helps to keep the history alive. >> translator: people from all over india as well as some foreigners come to me to buy artifacts. but it's hard for me to manage

demand because i never know when supplies matching a buyer's needs are coming. >> reporter: this is the center of this trading community's power. but conservativeist opens a new program encouraging locals to document its history will help restore this region to its full glory. >> translator: there is a lot of media attention on these homes. and i think that's one thing that will keep them happy and they will protect their houses as they do their temples. >> reporter: but for those who are still here the past is sacred and he says he will stay until his grandchildren are ready to unlock their family history. ♪