is. >> a low key celebration of arnld forces day inarmed forces day in iraq. fending off i.s.i.l. hello there i'm nick clark. you're watching al jazeera in doha. organizeers mass rallies. special military courts. first for the dhaka rally.

racing through south america. iraq's armed forcing are marking their 94th anniversary but sadly there's little to celebrate. the army is facing unprecedented challenges, an enemy that sees large part of the country internal corruption and desertion and not to say an unstable political climate. mohammad adow, certainly no time for pomp and circumstance but still significant nonetheless mohamed. >> indeed significant nick. it is the nowrt 94th birthday for

iraqi armed forces. the event today to marked the armed forces day was key with the prime minister and other officials with tomb of the unknown soldier. now the iraq army has had definitely a very ills ill citrus illustrious ceremony, seven or eight months have been the most critical for them when i.s.i.l. forces came charging across their country many of them left their positions those left behind face facing i.s.i.l numerous challenges.

>> rah ramahdi. , what is making the difference. but the work is challenging in many ways. >> as you know our advance is slow. we are making gains and gradually retaking territory from them. but our capacity is limited because local policemen and defusing ieds. >> now i.s.i.l. fighters are trying to take control ore ramadi to. their efforts got aboost recently when a sunni tribal fighter joined the fight against i.s.i.l. support police in patrolling

ramadi's neighborhoods and districts. sunni militia fighting the next to government forces are an exception rather than the norm. annan baueran baranbar province. >> involved in fighting i.s.i.l. but their faith in getting help from baghdad has almost vanished. they are now seeking help directly from the united states. authorities in baghdad have gradually agreed to a sunni leader's visit to washington. >> we will be back in erbil with memorandum mohammad adow in just a moment. let's take a look at the iraqi

army. it was settle up in 1927 when it was dominated by majority shiez population. shia. the pro-british monarchy was assassinated in 1958. and then under saddam hussein it numbered 1 million men in 1990. then when the u.s. removed disax saddam hussein today the army is facing many domestic challenges like fighting insurgent and i.s.i.l. mohammad adow, live in erbil there he is. you were talking about a sunni

tribal leader complaining about the lack of help from baghdad. why is the iraqi government so unwilling to arm sunni tribes. >> well, this is because of the sectarian divide here in iraq. the government in baghdad is dominated by mainly shia politicians who are suspicious of the sunni leaders and the sunni leaders are suspicious of those in government. and what they have been telling us is the shia led government in baghdad wants to use militias to take over areas that are inhabited by they have not been getting enough support.

we for example met the governor of ninoa province whose capital is mosul major stronghold for i.s.i.l. and he says he has put a majority of his forces into a camp, but they have not received seven months salary so far. and he says it is not without the help that mosul can be retain. >> mohamed thanks very much indeed, mohammad adow reporting from erbil in iraq. a group of syrian rebels has reportedly captured territory in the northern city of aleppo. they had been battling government forces. the london based association for syrian rights, newly elected president of syrian national coalition says they have not

agreed to russia's request to resume negotiations. >> there is no initiative, what we have is a invitation by russia for negotiations between opposition and the regime. this is unthinkable. neither the coalition nor any of the opposition side accepts the principal with the regime. the principal, add to that the syrian people and the internal syrian forces decide on the direction to be taken by coalition. also this distance hasn't affected the revolution. >> tear gas in the suburban of manama. angry over the opposition leader sheik ali salman.

advisors to yemen's president are in the northeast the delegation agreed to set up a joint committee to set up current disputes. the main discussion points will include a new constitution, separating yemen into six states and withdrawal ever houthi fighters from territory they took over. police tried to use tear gas to disperse the crowd. passing voting gang on monday and was deferred. mohamed val is live in peshawar. what happened in the lower house? >> yesterday was the beginning of the the debate and everybody was surprised when they adjourned for today.

interior minister and other government members were explaining to the house their needs and the benefits this need the new amendments to the constitution to allow the creation for a ministry courts to and the actions of the armed groups in the country. so it's needed a bit of debate even though people were not expecting it. and it got two-thirds majority, that's what's needed, they maintain a simple majority on the senate will mean the country has been prepared for this in the last three weeks in peshawar 150 people mostly schoolchildren. all the components of the political spectrum in the

country have converged ton idea an the need to actually have tougher action. and the military courts, in this respect. >> and it's pretty important this vote isn't it? >> consume? can you repeat that? >> it's an important vote, isn't it? >> oh it's crucial. ask any pakistani and they will tell you it's crucial where divisions between parties have been deleted and there is a phrase of what they consider a major threat against the security of pakistan, after this attack on schoolchildren. so they can see the government and the public opinion and the parties, all agree that it's a seminal moment in the history of psktspakistan where the military and

the government and the people are of one mind. the creation of these courts so they can consider it going against justice in the current. where the military takes justice in its own hands many people feel justice will suffer in the process. >> thank you mohamed mohamed val reporting. rejection of muslim immigrants in germany the movement known as pegida nadim baba has the story.

there the 18th islam movement pegida has been holding rallies. >> a lot of songs intimateing are are. >> it happens alongside everything else. parallel what they proclaim is too harsh. >> here police kept the counterdraiforts well awaycounterdemonstrators away. >> which opinion -- >> that is the reason, that is it. >> in the eastern city of dresden where the movement started 18,000 people marched in favor of pegida, according to the police. that's a slight increase from

the last weeks. similar large counter-demos took place in tut stutgart. chancellor angela merkel says they are motivated by hatred and the public shouldn't be manipulated in supportings them. but it's clear that in many parts of germany there is a minority of public athat's willing to turn out in support of pegida and they say they have got genuine dproafnses grievances supporting immigration and pegida. it seems this will remain in the spotlight. nadim baba, al jazeera cologne.

two men are arrested in conjunction with coup attempt in gambia. >> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> this trial was a sham... o

array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy let the journalists live.

>> again welcome back. the top stories on al jazeera. iraq's armed forces are marking their 94th anniversary. the country is facing many challenges as it battles i.s.i.l. forces in large parts of the country.

pakistan's lower house of parliament trying terror suspects it comes in the wake of a terror attack in peshawar which killed 184 people. it is estimated that up to 84,000 people have taken part in an antiislam rally in the city of dresden. organized by the anti-islam group pegida. a jury selection has begun in the jury trial of 2013 boston marathon suspect dzhokhartsarnaev. he's accused of helping his late brother in the bombings. tom ark maumeeman reports. >> in the boston courthouse where the proceedings are taking place, the judge asked dzhokhartsarnaev to stand. then the start of a winnowing

process of jurors that could take several weeks. over the next several weeks the replaying of the man hunt for those responsible. tsarnaev faces 30 charges. he and his brother tamerlan are accused of setting off the explosive devices. >> there is one with a leg broken offssblownoff, another with a foot blown off. >> allegedly committed by dzhokhar. a wounded dzhokhar was captured

shortly afterwards. >> why did young men who grew up and studied here as part of our communities and our country resort to such violence? >> but prosecutors say dzhokhar an ethnic chechen born in cerg kurgestan, tsarnaev's lawyers have signaled their offer of a plea bargain to saver his life. their first person executed by the federal government since 2003 but even if the jury agrees it could take many years before the death penalty is carried out. >> the u.s. justice department

is charging two people with carrying out a coup attempt in gambia. the wife of the form he mayor of ig igwala city, police believe are behind the disappearance of 43 students in september. in kenya teachers are on strike for the second day. 30 million students are affected. the government is not taking the walkout lightly. from kenya here is haru matassa. >> government today teachers are

on strike and public schools in kenya are closed. an inconvenience for the seven-year-old who wants to learn. >> i told the teacher, i want to go back to school and you teach us very well. and don't strike again. >> reporter: but a nationwide teacher strike means many classrooms are empty. parents brought their children to school but there weren't any classes.they want their basic salary increase from 200 to 300% and they want their housing allowance increased by 50%. in the past teacher strikes in kenya have dragged on for weeks. >> it is affecting the children. we would like, it is my prayer that if this strike can end the earliest time possible, the best for children and the nation at large, i feel two parties need

to agree am amicably. >> taking teachers for granted for this matter is really it's upon the government to wake up to the reality and then seeing that they engage constructively. >> reporter: about but for now many of kenya's classrooms will remain this quiet. haru matassa nairobi kenya. >> world health organization says almost 21,000 cases of ebola have been reported, three countries are at the epicenter of the outbreak. guinea, sierra leone liberia

has the highest number of deaths at 3471. but liberia infection rate has in fact slowed in recent weeks. schools there are due to open in february six months after they were closed to stop the pred of the spread of ebola. more people have died in this outbreak than all of the others combined. russia's scientific prowess has declined, but now it's attempting to create its own silicon valley on the outskirts of moscow. rory challenge reports. >> has international clients too. their innovation says the technical director is that their

drones can almost fly themselves. >> our drones have much smarter algorithms which give the drone more stability to understand how to struggle with the high winds or to fly between the mountains or trees. >> said says being based at skullkovik has many advantages. the whole point of skullkovo it's about building an ideas based economy here, taking russian innovation and selling it. the dream is for a sprawling sloven-style ecosystem of profitable tech firms startups and institutes. russia's entrepreneurial future.

>> this is the benefit of russian government and the benefit of the society if you want. just because we're creating those innovative companies we are creating this system, ecosystem of the innovative companies. >> despite early possibilities of corruption, skullkovo has cost $4.5 billion in federal funding and some are wondering if there is the requisite demand to make skullkovo a success. >> when people compare skullkovo with silicon valley, they forgot that silicon valley was built by dreamers from the bottom. but skullkovo they have

government budget money free money. >> it will be a few years before such warnings can be accurately judged. the russian government has made its high tech bet. fortunately it is up to the future to find out whether that bet was a good one. vulcan 9 rocket is delivering supplies to the international space station. the rocket will separate as it usually does, allowing the are space station to fly on. another attempt in first zero missions all electric rallies car is competing in

what is considered to be the toughest competition rallies in the world. >> they get a clue from what they hear, not what they see. more than 3 decades of competition in the dhaka rally has seen nothing like it. the first all electric entry. the driver that she is that says it's a daring venture. there's 9,000 miles of mountains and valleys. it's designed and built by a

spanish engineering company powered by four batteries that have to be replaced every 350 kilometers. >> we feel we're a little bit crazy, because doing the most difficult race in the world like this it seems crazy but all the people who made things new in the world seemed to be crazy until they tried. >> the driver's rationalization getting battery recharge by recharge and driving downhill. it is similar to a system used in formula 1 racing. >> for me it's a dream. because i'm interested in knowledge. >> on average each car burns 2200 liters of fuel. this one schools nothing. it may have a way to go with development but it's already

laid down a challenge to go cleaner and greener. andrew simmons, al jazeera. >> find everything you need at aljazeera.com. >> people are on the move. the largest number of refugees since the end of world war ii. this is "inside story." hello, i'm ray suarez. around the world people who have concluded that staying where they are is just too dangerous hit the road, leaving their homes, crossing international