>> egypt's highest criminal court orders a retrial for three al jazeera journalists jailed in cairo for over a year. ♪ hello, you are watching al jazeera live from doha. also ahead, at least 36 people are killed in a stampede at a new year's celebration in shanghai. north korea's leader says he is open to talks with south korea. from fiber optic fashion to eyes in the sky, we check out the hottest tech toys for 2015.

♪ we begin in egypt where the first day of the new year has offered the prospect of a resolution for three al jazeera journal journalists who spent all of last year in jail. but they will remain in custody. the retrial could get underway within a month, but there's no telling how long it could take. their lawyers say they will seek bail for the three who were falsely accused and convicted of spreading propaganda in support of the muslim brotherhood. >> reporter: they never saw a minute of freedom in 2014 and with the start of a new year they remain imprisoned. despite an appeals court in cairo, granting the retrial, baher mohamed, peter greste and

mohammed fahmy are still behind bars. the judge said it was not in his power to grant bail. >> translator: we welcome the court's decision to accept the appeal of our journalists, but at the same time we demand that they are immediately released. everything is politicized, their arrest and the verdict against them were also politicized. >> reporter: the arrests of the three al jazeera staff were initially assumed to be a short-term thing. a mixup. but as time passed it became more and more clear that the egyptian authorities under the new government had other intentions. peter greste, a veteran correspondent who was an africa specialist, but by his own admission knew little as egypt was clearly as amazed as shocked by the idea that he was linked to terrorists. and of course exactly the same could be said for his team

team -- mohammed fahmy and baher mohamed. the hashtag freeajstaff went viral, and in the u.s. and elsewhere journalists came out to state was a threat to the entire journalistic community trying to report from egypt. the trial failed to come up with anything against the three men which could even vaguely been said to incriminate them. video of video sheep herding. >> translator: today the session presented individual individualindividual -- video evidence. >> reporter: eventually in june and to the fury of much of the world, the men were convicted

and jailed. for the men's families it was the lowest point of a desperate year. >> it still reminds in my memory as just an awful, awful nightmare. >> it was a farce. no witnesses appeared in the trial. i wonder how they were indicted and then sentenced in the first place. there isn't a single piece of evidence against them. >> reporter: world leaders including president obama denounced the ruling. >> we have been clear both publicly and privately that they should be released. >> reporter: the egyptian government stood behind the court, arguing it was now up to the appeals process to determine what should happen next. and now that a retrial has been ordered there is hope that this morehorrible ordeal will be over

soon. well earlier we spoke to peter greste's brother andrew. he says while he is disappointed that bail wasn't granted, the retrial is a step in the right direction. >> i'm sure he'll also be encouraged by the fact that he has been granted a retrial, and it's an opportunity for egypt to correct massive injustice. he is holding up okay but it's a tough 12 months. it's difficult conditions, and he's having to look out -- you know look after himself physically and mentally to make sure gets through this ordeal so he is determined that the whole -- the whole prison experience isn't going to break him mentally so he is, you know working on looking after himself in that regard but it is a difficult place to be.

prison conditions are tough, and it's not the easiest place to endure. so he's okay but he wants [ inaudible ] like all of us do. we were told it would be a week or ten days before we actually get a written explanation of the court's decision so we'll have to, you know review all of that and make decisions from then on. obviously it is a disappoint, you know, when someone you love is locked up in prison and there is some small glimmer of hope that they might be released even if it was on bail and that -- that doesn't come about. of course he's disappointed by realistically and logically we were warned by legal advisors that it's highly unlikely it would have been granted. >> we spoke to a associate

professor at harvard university. he says the decision doesn't signal a shift in the egyptian political environment. >> i don't think that this represents a fundamental shift of the policy of the egyptian state towards journalism. this court is a pretty unusual court, and it's long been considered consider highly independent. and it ruled that the conviction was procedurally incorrect, and so it has ordered a new trial. but i don't think this signals a broader shift in the egyptian political environment. the judiciary is composed of multiple actors. if your viewers think back to all of the drama that happened

from 2011 to 2013 the supreme constitutional court dissolved the parliament and made all of these rulings that seemed to stand against the muslim brotherhood government. in that court was appointed largely by the president of the country. the court of caseation is judges appointing other judges. so they are more likely to challenge the government and take decisions that they know will be politically unpopular, because they don't serve at the pleasure of the president. so if you are looking for a slight bright spot there remains in this court which is highly independent and can serve as the nucleus as a kind of rule

of law in that country, but that is something that is really long term and i think if we focus on the particulars of this case the bright spot is simply that it looks like the reporters are at least a little bit closer to an eventually resolution of this case. the problem, of course is that there are hundreds if not thousands of other egyptians who are currently in prison on what are political charges, and this development really doesn't say anything about them or their fates. moving to other news now. it has been a tragic start to 2015 in china. at least 36 people were killed and dozens more injured in a stampede during new year's celebrations in shanghai. >> reporter: a night of revelry quickly turned chaotic. this is the scene of what started out as a new year's celebration. instead the injured lay on the ground run down in a stampede.

the stampede started just before midnight. police say they are still investigating the cause. >> translator: we were downstairs and wanted to move up and those who were upstairs wanted to move down we were pushed down by the people coming from above. all of those trying to move up fell down on the stairs. >> reporter: witnesses reported seeing coupons being thrown into the crowd. pictures of the coupons have appeared on social media. the area has restored old buildings and narrow streets. a laser display had been planned here. the one in 2013 attracted some 300,000 people. but a week ago the local government canceled the show to improve traffic flow. it is a gather place for major events, so people went there anyway apparently in the

thousands. it seems that whatever it was, it wasn't enough control. north korea's heard is proposing high-level talks with the south. kim jung un made the offer during his traditional new year's speech. our south korean correspondent heir has the reaction from seoul. >> reporter: kim jung un used his new year's speech to strike in part a conciliatory tone. this time raising the stakes of possible summit with the south korean leader. >> translator: the atmosphere and environment is there, there is no reason not to hold the highest level summit. >> reporter: but he also said such talks couldn't take place while south korea carried out military drills with the u.s. and reaffirmed his country's nuclear weapon's policy. >> translator: we proved clearly

that we strengthened our national defense based merely on the nuclear deterrence and saved the finances the life of the country strongly. >> reporter: kim's briefing suggested initial talks this month. and the south korean leader's own message was she promised to lead to charn and event yulely reunification. she said she would be willing to meet kim jong un but only if it offered the prospect of real progress. it's the 70th of anniversary of the end of the second world war, which means the end of japanese colonial rule, and the beginning of the north-south divide. if there is a summit it would be the third. after the earlier meetings in 2000 and 2007. but getting to that stage would be fraught be difficulty.

the main obstacle remains. south korea wants to see the north take steps toward nuclear still ahead for you on al jazeera this half hour the search for victims of the airasia crash continues in indonesia's java sea. and he claims he can treat diseases like aids but can gambia's president cure his country's ills? ♪

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welcome back. you are watching al jazeera. let's update you on our top stories. egypt's highest criminal court has ordered a retrial for three al jazeera journalists who have been jailed in egypt for more than a year. a date hasn't been set and it's not clear how long the retrial will take. mourners have laid flowers at the site where 36 people were killed in a stampede in shanghai. and north korea's leader is proposing high-level talks with the south. he said such talks could not take place while south korea carried out military drills with the united states. in other stories we're following, emergency crews working to recovery bodies from the airasia plane crash have found two more bodies in the java sea. only eight bodies have been

recovered so far. for the relatives of the victims, it's a painful wait. >> reporter: more than 24 hours after bodies were found floating in the ocean, rescuers have failed to spot more victims of the ashirasia crash. meanwhile relatives are starting to become frustrated. joseph and his wife are waiting for four days for news about their 23-year-old son. >> yeah my son was going there with his friends, five of his friends, i think. to celebrate the new years over there. and my other son living in singapore, so they were going to meet over there. and now he's stuck in the ocean. >> reporter: they have come from their hometown to put up the

pressure. >> of course i'm feeling frustrated. >> reporter: taking too long. >> taking too long. that's right. we are hoping they can do it much faster than that. >> reporter: it's a painful wait for the relatives here at the police headquarters. while the airline is trying to support them as much as possible, they are now growing impairment. despite earlier reports saying a shadow of the plane was seen underwater rescuers have not managed to locate it plus the black box has not been located. >> yeah it's useful. we tried to give them a nice level, so that's why it's very difficult, so you will have to proceed very very slowly -- if you -- like if you use the very fast ship the noise of course will interfere with the signal and everything. that's a difficulty.

that's a handicap. >> reporter: two victims found on wednesday were taken to an island. they have brought here for identification. out of respect for the air disaster, new year's celebrations were canceled. this did not stop thousands of people to gather some lighting candles to pray for the victims. many were hoping to celebrate the new year in singapore. the true scale of the flood disaster in malaysia is being revealed as water slowly starts receding. more than 100,000 people are still in temporary shelters. our correspondent has more from the biggest hospital in the region hit hardest by the floods. >> reporter: this is the main hospital here the capitol of the state, one of the worst flood-affected areas in malaysia. now the south say that they had

prior warning that the floods were coming their way, and they were able to take measures to mitigate the damage. they evacuated this low-lying building which is the peed -- pediatric to the dental wing, and moved patients to an area that wasn't affected by the flood. the cleaning crew hasn't managed to come here yet, so you can see the absolute damage the floods have caused in this room. this doctor is the director of the hospital. doctor, can you tell me -- you were here for the 20 04 floods. how does this flood compare. >> this flood is more -- more serious. and the [ inaudible ] is more worse, and it costs more damages, and this is what we are [ inaudible ] to combat right now. >> reporter: can you tell me

sir, that your main priority is to get the hospital up and running again. how long do you think it will take? >> well, we talked to them yesterday, but we could don't it because of the limited water supply that come through our hospital. >> reporter: so the main priority is to make sure that the hospital is up and running again for patients. this may take a few days but the staff is working long hours to get it back up on its feet. three bomb attacks have killed 11 people. also in gom bay, a female suicide bomber was killed as she tried to enter a military base. gambian president is back in the country after a failed coup attempt. some gambian dissidence in senegal believe more unrest is

likely. >> reporter: relief finally safe, across the border in senegal. this man left gam -- gambia in the middle of the night. >> translator: the gunfire didn't last long. the military are everywhere, i have been so scared. >> reporter: this last failed attempt to overthrow the president proves just how powerful he is. >> translator: he has strength no other has. he may even harm us here. >> reporter: al jazeera got rare access to the reclusive heard in 2007. his herbal potions are professed to have a cure for aids infertility among women and even asthma. but many hiv patients have died after being advised to stop taking antiviral drugs.

he has also been accused of stifling freedom of speech. at the border most dissidents would not talk to us on camera. fearful of reprisal on their loved ones. but their leader they say is extremely gentle and kind they say. we tried to enter into the country, but we were refused. tourists are welcomed though. this is peak season. >> whenever gambia makes headlines it's for bad reasons. about cutting off heads of homosexuals, or about his normal antics against the west. i think there is a global thirst and hunger for something to happen in gambia. >> reporter: gambian dissidents

in senegal have not lost hope. they say it's matter of time before yaw -- yayahya jammeh loses power. syrian president has visited the embattled district on the outskirts of damascus. the twitter account said i wanted to personally thank the soldiers who were fighting there. fighting is ongoing in western libya, near the air base. fighters belonging to the dawn of libya group are trying to secure the base. bad water has prevented forces from conducting air strikes. lebanon's former prime minister has died at the age of

80. he first served between 1990 and 1992 but was forced to resign when the lebanese pound crashed. he was forced to resign for a second time after the assassination of the prime minister. saudi arabia's king has been admitted to hospital for health tests. his half brother is next in line for the thrown. israel's high court has rejected a petition to ban the demolition of homes belonging to palestinians. it includes the homes of two men who killed five israelis in a

synagogue. petro poroshenko says 2014 was the most difficult year since 1946 when world war ii ended. in the east soldiers rang in the new year on the battlefield. they have been fighting pro-russian separatists there since april. meanwhile the people of lithuania have started spending their new currency. at the stroke of midnight they became the 19th country to join the euro zone. politicians hope the switch will boost trade, investment and the economy. it has been 24 years since they gained independence from the soviet union. every year new innovations and technology are introduced into our lives. as the new year begins what gadgets can be look forward to in 2015. >> reporter: flexing its muscles for the first time.

this fabric has fiber optic sensors woven into it. this opens up the possibility of it being used in many more areas, including fashion garments. >> fashion changes radically and quickly, but once it is integrated into fabric that can be replaced though fabric can be updated seasonally. >> reporter: also taking off is the use of drones. as prices have dropped, they have become increasingly popular,. >> very very few of these drones are licensed which leads to the prospect of 12 year old boys using these things on the top of box of flats, which as we

have already seen with drones being very close to aircraft there's a lot of concern. >> reporter: from the smart wheelchair which monitors the user's health and the mechanical health of the chair itself to smart cities where the data from millions of sensors is analyzed and responded to in real time helping manage traffic and the use of utilities like water. '2015 is expected to see runs of sensors and devices next over the internet. and revenue streaming when people use the internet to correct directly with others. it could be a ride in a car, or letting someone else use their home or flat. >> their software matches demand to supply. so people that have a home that they don't use, or they can go away for the weekend, and allow

someone else to use that and monitize that. >> reporter: 2015 is also expected to be the year when biometic readers like this one are widely introduced for banking, and a huge increase in the encryption of data. both will help boost online security. now there have been traditional celebrations to welcome in the new year as you would expect. an estimated 1 billion television viewers also tuned in to watch the start to 2015. this dubai, they saw an led display light up a building. in london thousands gathered there along the banks of the river thames hundreds of

fireworks were launched from the farris wheel. and nearly 2 million people saw in the new year in rio. rio hosts one of the biggest parties in the world.