this is al jazeera. hello and welcome to the news hour i'm martine denise in doha. coming up in the next few minutes, an abandoned ship is towed to the italian port. and we speak to victims of turkey's land mines.

new year, new pay, which countries are raising their mix wage. now an italian navy commander has told al jazeera he's worried more ships carrying migrants will appear. rescued from a cattle ship set adrift by its crew. the third migrants ship off of the coast of italy in the last two weeks. >> they have spent many days at sea. coming off the azadeef a ship designed to carry cattle not

people. so many european politicians now lack. >> translator: we need to create humanitarian corridors to allow these people to arrive in europe in a way other than by greedy speculators. >> after it transpired, the traffickers simply abandoned the ship at sea. it was the second in several days after another vessel had to be rescued close to the coast before it too became wrecked. the commander told al jazeera he believed the crew had deliberately disabled the ship before abandoning it. they are now digesting the assumption that this the the

traffickers new strategy. >> it is deliberate. they have no respect for human life. >> you think they may do more like this? >> we expect there can be other -- there can be new cases. we worry this. we worry there will be new cases. >> reporter: herdings rfgzherding refugees around it affords them the opportunity to move people by the hundred into europe at a time in the winter where small boats and dinghies simply would not be able to cope with the waves. that is now a huge problem for europe's border agencies. >> they're all safe now but there's a muj problem huge problem

now for frontex. 20 tbean 15 has begun the year with this issue. >> trying to escape the civil war from syria looks set to continue. what's the plan? >> well, we need to do more to ensure that people are rescued. ant the italian coast guard is doing a fantastic job. but the new issue the fact that traffickers are using bigger boats, crammed with refugees,

the italian navy has had to carry operations in the high seas which are very risky and dangerous as well. so this just shows the callousness and the disregard of the smugglers for the people they are transporting. >> this is an indication of the desperation of the situation of the people coming as i said before primarily from yours syria trying to cross the mediterranean. what does u.n.hcr trying to do, making life better for refugees? >> we need to do several things, we need too know that refugees from syria for instance or other countries such as lebanon jordan turkey are handled

correctly, and safe legal ways for some of these refugees to continual to europe through resettlement programs through humanitarian schemes through student recess, family reunification. some of these schemes have already been explored and implemented in europe but more needs to be done. recently states agreed or pledged to receive 100,000 syrian refugees this year and they very encouraging and we would like to see more steps taken in this direction. >> but there's also been a backlash hasn't there between european countries a time of austerity in most of europe and there is the right wing backlash the 18th immigration

faction he, what is per seeferred to be a flooding of refugees coming primarily from these conflict zones? >> immigration is a very divisive subject in europe and we understanding there are concerns about immigration of foreigners. but what we must remember is the number of refugees arriving in europe is just a tiny portion of those who have already fled and arrived in other countries. we need to do our utmost to help the countries who are receiving the brunt of the exodus. jordan lebanon turkey, iraq, and so on. europe must play a part in that, we know there are concerns about immigration and we must ensure that there are mechanisms to ensure that those refugees who are escaping war and persecution

will receive the help that they need. in the case of economic migrants we are not against peurp having europe having a migration policy but not one that will put the migrants' lives at risk. >> thank you. financial aide to palestine may be affected if it joins the international criminal court. the palestinian ambassador to the u.n. has now formally handed in if documents for membership. kristin saloomey reports.

>> it is a peaceful option. it is a civilized option. it is an option that anyone who uphold the law should not be afraid of. >> reporter: if the palestinian leadership has its way, the court will investigate israel's 2014 invasion of gaza, which resulted in the death of 2,000 civilians. how far back and to what incidents the court's authority will ultimately apply is open to debate. palestinians could also be charged with war crimes including firing rockets into israel and while most countries already recognize palestine as a state, israel doesn't. >> very upset because of the unilateral step. israel says that palestine is

not an independent state yet so they don't have the right to go to icc right now and israel expect that icc will reject the application. leve les mans. u.s. led peace talks broke down earlier this year, but unilateral actions like this will hinder further negotiations. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon says they will consider further steps. it could take 60 days before these sanctions kick in or whether the icc will even take up a case kristin saloomey, al

jazeera, united nations. crews feel they may have located two large pieces of wreckage from the airasia plane crashed. 30 bodies have been record so far. sony pictures attack last month, the obama administration insists north korea was to blame. pyongyang has denied involvement. the cyber attack is felt to be in retaliation against sony's film "the interview." more from tom ackerman. >> reporter: these sanctions

basically cut off ten individuals associated with the north korean government as well as their intelligence agency and a north korean arms dealer from any kind of access to the world bankingbanking institutions but it is just a supplement to the multilateral sanctions dated from the time the city council imposed them in reaction to north korea's nuclear activities. one thing that will be noted though is there are people in the cyber security community in the united states who are still not convinced the north koreans were behind this. they basically accept the north korean government's denial of the hacking and they say there is evidence to believe the actual culprit was a disgruntled ex-sony employee.

however, it is confident it is indeed the source of the hacking is north korea. >> we have a lot more to come here at al jazeera including men who are risking their plieives in mineslivesin mines just to make ends meet. and in are sport novak djokovic makes his first appearance of the season. now as the civil war continues in syria more than 1 million people who fled are now calling turkey home. but crossing that border has been a devastating journey for some. they have been killed or maimed by land mines and the turkish

government says it's too early to try to clear mines now. >> reporter: at 13 years old fasal mustafa should be running are and playing with others his age but he can't. he ran into a mine field a turkish mine field. >> someone told us to cross under the border wire, fatah said. my brother was killed. i lost my legs. there are more than 600,000 mines along the border with syria. they were planted decades ago to prevent illegal border crossings according to the government. behind me where you can see the cars in the distance is the buffer zone between syria and turkey and that is a mine field and there are perhaps as many as

2,000 people there. but they're unwilling to come into turkey because they're not allowed to bring their cars or their cattle with them. turkey joined the land mine ban treaty in 2003. but it was slow to start clearing and fencing off mined areas. then the war in syria started. >> translator: i find what happened to this boy gripping. i would like to add that on september the 19th i was at the border all day. if i had only opened one corridor from kobani we would have had hundreds of casualties. but as a responsible governor i ordered a number of corridors. >> the governor is talking about the initial days on the kobani

are issue. >> we all have no future. we lots all of our property that we built up over 50 years. >> after seeing this video of fatal, the governor has promiseed to make sure he gets further treatment and that he be fitted with prosthetic legs. we will keep an eye on fatal. al jazeera turkey. >> we speak with this gentleman live from london. thank you very much indeed for speaking with us. post conflict a lot of the time you think of places like angola

mozambique. tell me about the laying of mines on the border with syria. >> first of all thank you for inviting me. we are looking at a very local situation but it is a part of a larger problem. think of people living in the eureka here, or across the channel calais, and people here are horrified by the possibility of are they manage to get into u.k. >> i doubt they think of turkish land mines though or any other such explosive devices to prevent them coming over. >> yes, these are all related. we are talking about millions of

refugees already there. this is one aspect. looking at this, the practical practical question, there is a mine field there. you know laying for hundreds of miles. these mines were laid tremendous there in 1950s when turkey was becoming a nato member. these were not only intended against smuggling but for defensive purposes. but in time some human trafficking, some smugglers and armed groups were added into the situation. this is a planned pipeline, everybody knows this. but now there are people who came who breached into this mine field. you know, it's possible to clear a passage for humanitarian purposes which by the military.

but clearing the whole land mines it's a gigantic task. we are talking about an area about two times the island of cypress. it would take years. yet toirveg is turkey is committed to land mine ban treaty and now turkish government can't be faulted for this reason but for practical reasons -- >> i'm sure it would be decades ago at a time when the world's attitude to land mines is very different than it is today. tell me have the turkish authorities been aware of the kind of consequences that can result from land mines until recently? i mean is this the first time that they're having to deal with the consequences of such a big

land mine field between it and syria? >> no, it's not. i mean, this is quite a regular occurrence. and it's common knowledge that, for example the armed groups, pkk and some others are smugglers, use those desperate people to find a secure path through the mine field. they bring people there. for example from countries as far as somalia or sudan or bangladesh or afghanistan or pakistan. and say that now you go straight ahead and then you are into turkey and then you are safe. if people, if these desperate people manage to get across the mine field then the smugglers or groups know it is safe. otherwise they step on a mine field or they just are wounded or lose their lives.

this happened several times in the past and it is the most horrifying you know possibility for any groups around the border. mistaken as civilian for an armed group member or a smuggler. it's not happening for the first time. >> okay, thank you very much indeed for that. former brigadier general of the turkish army. thank you very much. now for monday, the new law seeks the control the flow of refugees, more than a million refugees have already gone to lebanon and they make up a fifth of the population of there. they would also have to prove that they have hotel reservations and at least $1,000 in cash. the syrian group el nusra

front are hezbollah has been fighting along with armed groups. three soldiers loyal to the tripoli based government. also killed in sukna southeast several armed groups and two rival governments battle for control. iraqi governmental forces have retain part of anbar province from islamic state of iraq and the levant. supported by shia volunteers and air force jets, armed an offensive against the i.s.i.l. group. king abdalla of saudi arabia

is still in hospital, the monarch thought to be 91 is in stable condition after given help to breathe. nato has officially ended its mission to afghanistan. now the government wants to prove it can handle its own affairs. however in order to do that it must develop an agreement with the taliban. jennifer glasse has the story. >> in the end it's been proven that these people are indeed criminals and thieves. >> reporter: the men's punishment they must replace the goats they stole they are no

longer allowed to be taliban fighters and whipped with sticks. the punishment is carried out immediately. that's the attraction of the taliban justice system. it's immediate it's local and it's's cheap. it's cheap. >> there is corruption and many problems in the government courts and instead of solving the case they create more problems. that's why people come to the taliban court. >> reporter: the convicted men are put on donkeys and taken to the square. >> we don't have a specific income like the deposit level like pakistan or any other government to get help or other financial support. we don't have a specific source exempt donations from people. >> reporter: they say their fight isn't just against

foreigners, against anyone who oppose them including afghanistan who support the government. >> translator: we'll fight anyone who opposes us. >> jennifer glasse al jazeera kabul. night demonstrations, military coup that removed former president mohamed morsi from power in 2013. the loils for loyals for the al

jazeera journalists peter greste and mohamed fahmy wrongly convicted of broadcasting false news helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood which al jazeera denies. on thursday an appeals court in cairo ordered a retrial which could begin in the next month. al jazeera continues to demand their immediate release. so far more than 8,000 people have died of ebola. the u.n. missed its december target to stop the spread but the outgoing chief remains optimistic. >> it is going to go on for not just weeks but some months more. but i believe we will do it in 2015. i believe we will end ebola in 2015. and we're going to do it 50 working very closely is not just with the governments of the countries but the communities.

>> right time for the weather now and some good news richard for australians from the hot weather they've been having. >> right martine. the satellite image particularly across the bite which is moving in. a cold front exactly what is much needed. if you look at adelaide, for instance, average temperature this timing of year, average temperature is 29 degrees. we were down to 36 degrees trends continuing those lower temperatures. more on our website aljazeera.com/weather. so as we look at the temperatures you can see the really bright reds. extent of the red is nowhere near as great indicating the

fresher weather moving in from the west and bringing with it hopefully a little bit of rain. it may not bring instant relief as it were from the risk of wildfires. monsoon getting more wet and increasing over the area. marmartine. still to come on al jazeera. >> we'll be looking at lessons learned and why other cities may follow suit. >> why the movies such as spiderman may have lost their appeal in the united states. and why new jersey nets were downed by the pelicans.

>> hello again you're with al jazeera. i'm martine dens and denise and here is the top stories. third incident in two weeks around 450 migrants have been rescued from a cattle ship near italy. the united states is suggesting that the palestinian authority may use u.s. aid if it joins the international criminal court. the palestineian government has handed in the application for membership. another round of economic

sanctions against north korea for the sony hack. north korea denies involvement. south africa jobless yug mike rants put their lives at risk to try to put food on the table. natasha guinane has their story from just outside johannesburg. >> the men he has seen die or even getting arrested, he thinks about his three children. he says mining illegally isn't a choice it's a necessity in a country with an unemployment rate of 25%. >> it is something you can be proud of. it's not easy. it's life. sometimes you have to choose what you think is best for you. >> reporter: about two-thirds

of illegal miners or zamazamas are illegal migrants. it is estimated they steal five to 10% of the many minerals in africa. people here who process the raw gold, they represent the bottom of a network of players. at the top are international syndicates, involved not only in illegal mining but other crimes such as illegal money laundering. people are debting killed. limited resources by the government and mine owners is making it difficult to battle this underground industry. >> it's very important to realize, physically going to arrest these miners will not solve the problem. we need to address a lot of

other socioeconomic issues. border control papts passport issues, raids. >> he says he's trying to start a fried chicken business on the side but right now lil mining is supporting his family of five. >> something i wish to have at life and sit down and forget about mining. there while dock is planning for the day when he no longer has to worry about arrest or loss of life after all illegal mining in south africa is almost as old as mining itself. natasha guinane, al jazeera benoni south africa. arrested two brothers who are accused of kidnappings

repeatedly raping tourists. woman has managed to escape and is taking medical treatment. cross border vinyls with indian troops, four civilians have been injured on the indian side in the jamu region. soldiers on both sides have been killed. now bush fires are burning out of control in australia thousands of people have been moved in the state of south australia. many homes are at risk. emergency crews in the states of victoria and that's tasmania. >> summer in australia and that means bush fire season. sending temperatures soaring to over 40° sells 40° celsius.

the worst fires are in the state of south australia, in the hills near the city of adelaide. >> the sound of the roar over the hills almost like a jet engine on an airplane. it's just getting louder and louder. >> thousands of people have fled from their homes and there are fears dozens of homes have been lost in the fires. at least five have burned to the ground so far. >> we don't know exactly how many properties have been lost. >> police have called the fires a major emergency. this is forced people to leave their homes. >> we are dealing with an incredibly dangerous fire. your life is at risk. >> it is hard work for firefighters, so far six have been injured. officials are calling on other states to help but they have their own problems. in the neighboring state of

victoria, bush fires have also endangered other homes. >> i think yours and your neighbors, are going to be part of them. >> a wall of flames and smoke is turning the scrub black. and for some bringing bam memories of the state's greatest bush fire disaster 35 years ago in that one 75 people were killed. it became known as ash wednesday. everyone's hoping these fires won't end up rivaling that one. australia has a long season ahead of it and bush fires have become part of it. nicole johnston, al jazeera. >> we are talking about stories to be talked about in 2015. this is one of them.

japan is gearing up to reoperate its nuclear reactors. to boost the economy. >> more than a thousand kilometers south of the still unfolding nuclear disaster of fukushima, new safety standards one local government approval and is due to be the first of japan's nuclear generators to go back online. the local business administration sees it as a vote of confidence in the area. >> translator: it was thanks to the thorough job done when the reactors were originally built and of course the electric company haste spent a lot of safety measures so i feel we can now trust them and the government. >> reporter: but polls show most japanese lack that trust and oppose the restart.

this baker from tokyo is now a full time nuclear campaigner. he says any reactor here is a danger and insists it's not too late to stop the plan. >> translator: if something is rejected it needs to be rejected. i want the local residents to stand up and voice their opinions. we're here to help them voice their opinions. you're allowed to speak up. >> but his is a fight against the tide. the government is committed to the industry for years to come. the economy is essential for it. problems were emerging with another part of its energy policy, its plan to promote renewable power. in fukushima prefecture, the government has guaranteed solar plants high electricity for years to come. each with their separate

distribution system, say they can't handle variable output. that leaves people like yelman in the lurch. he says familiar cozy links between the government and the nuclear power industry. >> the government wants to keep nuclear energy going and any other possibilities like the renewables are not welcome. one to say renewables should be protected they are just putting on us all. >> japan is trying to fix the problems of getting nuclear power back online, japan is going back to nuclear power come what may. harry fawcett al jazeera fukushima, japan. now the start of a new year always means a host of new laws

cominglawscoming into effect. in some countries people earn so little that making ends meet is a real struggle. in the u.s. the federal minimum wage is just over $7 an you hour. 21 states raised that by varying amounts. australia has the highest minimum wage in the world workers there get over $17 u.s. dollars an hour. uganda set the rate at $2 a month, not an hour. well this year starts on a high are note for millions of workers in the utters and in germany as minimum wage hikes take effect.

we'll look at germany in a moment but let's look at a trend setting state in the united states. andy gallagher has the story. >> reporter: santa fe has put into effect its own minimum wage. what officials like to cawrl a livingcall aliving wage. owner julia castro says it is something she's wilings to willing to follow. >> i'm proud to live in santa fe and the way it treats people. >> when it set its own minimum wage around $3 higher than the rest of the state acknowledge it's a proud legacy but not a

solution to all problems. >> it is not silver bullet. this is not going to help us regrow our middle class. we have to do so much more for the workers here in our community but across the country. >> but some are wary of areas setting their own minimum wage. joe sold his business because of in part the minimum wage laws. >> telling us who to pay and what to pay, in order to sustain the free society that we have. >> santa fe refers to itself as the city different that its minimum wage policy is now being copied across the u.s. there are 100 cities with similar laws aimed at reducing poverty. a decade after santa fe established its policies, despite warnings for people in the community the economy

didn't suffer at all. property rates particularly among hispanics remain high. important stip for supporters of a minimum wage. andy gallagher al jazeera santa fe, new mexico. now a national minimum wage is coming to force for the first time so workers will be getting over $10 an hour but critics are saying that this will destroy jobs and won't help overall growth in europe. nick spicer reports from berlin. >> customers are getting spruced up at this hair salon. a big change for nieshka a single mother. >> i thinkists a super-idea, makes you feel a bit more motivated. i'll have a bit more money and be able to buy more for my

child. >> germany, federal government would stand back and allow unions and businesses to strike a deal that would balance social justice with a profit motive. in february 2014 made the minimum wage a condition for joining the coalition. the minimum wage won't help workers in germany's big auto companies. they already earn more than 8 euros per hour or $10.50. this boss says he's okay with paying more if that's the price of keeping good staff but there's new red tape. >> we now have to keep records on every single worker. how many hours has he worked per day reflection and this information has to be made available at the restaurant. so if there is an spleks i have toinspection iwill have to show records and give proof otherwise i will have

to pay a big fine. >> in order to stimulate growth across europe, the minimum wage won't do much. >> translator: it will not have a great impact on europe. it is highly improbable, the demand for goods will rise because of the minimum wage here. >> whatever the cause the changes will come with the first paycheck of the new year. nick spiker al jazeera berlin. >> short term loan providers in the united kingdom are subject to strict new laws. charity groups accuse so-called payday lenders are taking advantage of the borrowers. 'em may haywoodemma haywood reports.

>> ten million loans worth more than $3.8 billion. promising cash for those unable to source funds elsewhere has turned payday lenders into an alternatively bank. for example in extreme cases if you borrowed $10 on a daily interest rate of 4% you could end up paying $20 back in a mere 17 days. colleen beasley took out a loan and said few questions were asked about her ability to repay it. >> at the time i was a single parent with a small child i had a delay in a benefit i had no funds i couldn't make ends meet i was refused credit from the traditional lenders and i then had to resort to going to a pay

take lender. >> britain's payday lenders will face more regulation, rates capped at 4.8% per day and borrowers will be capped at under twice the amount of money they borrowed. >> we want to hold them into account, we want to scrutinize what they're doing. will you please hold to the letter of the law. >> it could open the doors for loan sharks to move in. emma haywood, al jazeera. >> soon sports, as inter intermilan

arrives in italy.

>> as promises here's sana with the sports news. >> thank you very much, martine. following the winter break champions athletico athletico fans will have to wait to see their new striker are fernando torrez in action. until he is officially registered which can only happen once the italian transfer window opens on monday. seven year stint with athletico he scored 82 goals this 214th

appearances. four points behind real pla madrid. >> translator: his rival arrival is important to us. he has come to us from a team for many years now. all we need is for him to give us ahand with his skills and his passion. >> the champions league is in full swing. all tide on 30 points, wins will see them jump above fourth place valencia who currently occupy that fourth spot. lucas medalski, the 29-year-old german striker was greeted by large numbers of fans at milan airport. end of season is expected to cost the italian club $2.3

million. coach stephen kiche is in pole position to lead equitorl equior thialorequiorhe canequiorequitorialafrica africa. three and a half year sentence, he'll be allowed to leave prison in the day to work and return in the evening. byron has said they hope to give him a job in their youth department. rafael nadal has beaten by

andy murray, in the finals of the the tournament in abu dhabi. the second set saw no resistance from nadal with murray taking it 6-0 to win the match. the last competitive match was in basil back in november. world number 1 and reigning champion djokovic, going for his fourth title in abu dhabi. straight sets victory in just 57 minutes, 6-1 6-2 the final score. third and final test, host removed the indies, taking four

wickets. 172 for 5 at one stage. south africa has started their response, they're on 48 for 1. is over in the second test between new new zealand and south africa. reducing them to 78 for stumps, leading the serdz 1-0. two of the nba's high flyers have clashed golden state thrashing the second best team in the league, toronto. the houston rockets were also on the hand of the vrm thrashing. favorites anthony days of davis.

21 with the pelicans not dropping the league even once on route of 111 to 83 win. just one place of the take of sports. he then secured a narrow 91 to 87 win over the charlotte hornets, first game since starman being lebrofn james. james has never missed more than five successive games in his professional career. his teammates will play again without him when they take on the dallas mavericks. >> the guy has been playing with a lot of pain or some pain. we decided fluff let's shut him down, let's take care of the problem. let's get him to feeling 100% and you know and start from

there when he's ready to go again. >> montreal canada canada canadiediens. >> tampa bay lightning 6-3 the win ends tampa's four game winning streak. and that's all on sport for me. i'll have more for you later on. martine. >> thank you very much indeed. hollywood may be the movie capital of the world but that could well change. rob reynolds explains, china is

now on track to take the crown. as the number 1 movie market of the world. >> reporter: bad news from the box office for the u.s. movie industry. box office returns were down to their lowest levels, according to the trade magazine the hollywood reporter. the number of tickets sold dropped approximately 6% over 2013 and overall business revenue was expected to be 26.3 billion a decline of 5%. hollywood's habit of end llessly recycling big performers. all falling short of their block bust predecessors. some are film critics think poor sales may force hollywood to

improve its offerings. >> you can't slap a title onto a comic book people used to buy and expect them to come. i think hollywood will learn and it bodes weapon for all of us. i do feel that the moves will get better as a result. the video on demand is depressing ticket sales. more people are getting their movie fix without getting off the couch. with ticket sales dwindling, the u.s. is likely to lose its spot as the top movie market as chien. china. rob reynolds, al jazeera washington. >> that's it for us, we'll see you with a full bulletin of news

coming up. > >

>> from stage to screen oscar nominated actor ethan hawk >> the theatre has always bee my first love... >> separating art & politics >> if you have an agenda with people... you sometimes don't see the truth >> and the lifelong influence of his mother >> she was worried i was gonna be a spoiled brat and not see how complicated the

world was >> every monday, join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america italy's navy says it's worried about a new trend in people smuggling as another abandoned migrant ship is brought to shore. hello there, i'm shiulie ghosh with the world news from al jazeera. also coming up, the al qaeda suspect accused over the bombing of u.s. embassies in africa dies days before his >> we are dealing with an incredibly dangerous spy. >> lives at risk in south australia and two other says where bushfires are out of control and we go t