its abundant soil. nigeria's president visits parts of the north, facing attacks by boko haram. ♪ hello, and welcome to al jazeera, i'm sami zeidan live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up, a state of emergency in mozambique as dozens are killed and tens of thousands displaced by flooding. the u.s. announces further measures to loosen trade and travel restrictions with cuba. and we'll have the latest on who is in line for top honors at

this year's oscars. ♪ let's begin in nigeria, where president goodluck jonathan is visiting an army base in the north and survivors of attacks on two towns. the u.s. secretary of state john kerry described the attacks as a crime against humanity. our correspondent has more from the nigerian capitol. >> reporter: president goodluck jonathan landed in the area more than 30 minutes ago. he visited the military and then after he is expected to visit people affected by the violence at the refugee camp or camps for internally displaced persons. these of course include the

recent arrives from the towns where hundreds were killed. one particular child saw parents and elders shot before his own eyes and then they were taken back when the elders were isolated from the children. they were asked to lie down and they were shot down by boko haram. the children were taken down to what looked like a boko haram camp. there when they started looting and burning parts of the town the children used that opportunity to escape. one other man was talking about being chased by boko haram. they were leaving their homes when boko haram was approaching that particular house. he and his neighbors fled into the bushes. he said they followed them with trucks and motorcycles hacking and shooting them down and that's when he escaped into the bushes. the three countries affected most by the ebola outbreak are now recording a problem in the

number of new infections. the world health organization says sierra leone and guinea recorded the lowest recorded cases since august. more than 3,000 have died from the virus in sierra leone, over 1800 in guinea where the outbreak started. most of the deaths happened in liberia, where more than 3,500 lost their lives. the country is now reporting a drop in the number of people being affected each week. almost 8.5 thousand have died since the outbreak in march out of 21,000 reported case. more than 70 people have been killed in southern africa after severe flooding and in mozambique 25 children have been killed and more than 40,000 have been forced from their homes. >> reporter: strong river currents like this one, have forced tens of thousands of people out of their homes in

mozambique. desperate villagers could do nothing. dozens including children have been killed. >> translator: we have unconfirmed reports that more than 25 children and their godfathers were washed away by the water, but we're not able to cross the river to get to where this happened so we have yet to confirm the information. we also have reports that two elderly people were washed away. >> reporter: for days rain storms and strong winds have hit the country. more than half of malawi has been declare as a disaster zone. many say the intensity of the rains took them by surprise. >> translator: it started around midnight. they came to wake me up. they have lost a lot of things. >> reporter: governments are struggling to deal with the scale of the disaster and appealing for help. many hectors of mozambique's

main export crop cashews has been destroyed. many remote areas have been cut off. mozambique has been hit by massive floods in the past. each weather system lasted for weeks, and opening the gates of overflowing dams worsened the damage for the downstream. it took years for the reconstruction of the infrastructure and rehabilitation of the people who lost everything. mozambique's government has issued a red alert. and mali -- malawi is appealing for international assistance. new travel and trade rules between the united states and cuba are set to come into effect on friday. the measures will let u.s. citizens use credit cards in cuba and american businesses will be able to export some technologies. rosiland jordan has more

details. >> reporter: the changes in u.s. regulations regarding economic and personal contacts with persons in cuba have long been expected. now they take effect on friday. what happens is that cuban americans will be able to send up to $2,000 at a time to their relatives. there will also be improved business and telecom communications contact, and for people who fit into one of 12 categories, journalistic humanitarian, and others they will not have to ask the u.s. government for permission to visit cuba as long as they are following other rules. what this means is that the u.s. is very much committed now to the process of normalizing relations with cuba which has not been in effect for more than 50 years.

the obama administration believes there is a joint benefit to improving and expanding economic educational, and business ties with the island country, because it it -- says that the cuban people deserve a better quality of life, and the u.s. population has been missing out on a relationship with a neighboring nation just over 100 kill only meters away. let's bring you breaking news out of the french capitol where john kerry is in paris to pay his respects to the victims of last week's attacks. his visit comes as funerals have been held for five of the victims. jonah hull reports. >> reporter: in the week following the paris attacks, france continues to bury the dead and to remember what they lived for. ♪ >> reporter: in the suberb this was the memorial service for bernard valac, better known as

charlie hebdo cartoonist [ inaudible ]. >> translator: he was an incredible man. he really was a great, great cartoonist. >> reporter: what they lived for, the slain cartoonists was the principle of freedom of speech the right essentially to defend equally all religions and positions of power. in doing so they contributed to deep rifts in frances multi-cultural society, which includes the largest muslim population in the european union charlie hebdo's first edition since the attacks has sold out in great numbers. with a depiction of the prophet muhammad. >> translator: the problem it is

hurts us. stop caricaturing our profit. >> reporter: to the president deliver a message of unity and inclusivity. and said this about attacks on religion. >> translator: we must bring to justice all of those who attack religion through forms of anti-semitism. i want anti-semitism and racism to be fought firmly. i want this fight to become one of our national causes. >> reporter: as the dead are buried and with charlie hebdo still very much alive, many will have heard the president's call for religion freedom to be upheld and they will wonder where the line is to be drawn between what is acceptable and what is not. jonah hull al jazeera, paris. russia is pressing ahead with plans to host peace talks between the syrian government and opposition groups. previous attempts to broker any deal have collapsed leaving many

exiled syrians wondering if they will ever get to go home. bernard smith reports. >> reporter: these men were with tens of thousands of syrians at the vanguard of the protests against their president, bashar al-assad enthusiastic and determined. but that was nearly four years ago. >> translator: at first we only had one goal to topple the syrian regime but now we don't know who to fight. we are stuck between isil and the government. now it's not just a struggle against assad, but against a million similar regimes. >> reporter: hues sam was a fighter, mohammed a activist. hamsa sent a year in yale and was tortured. >> translator: we are frustrated and depressed.

but i think that's the case with any uprising. >> reporter: all live in a turkish border town where tens of thousands of syrians used to wait and plan for life in a free democratic syria. now all of these syrians are putting down roots. these men and hundreds of thousands like them are becoming part of syria's lost generation. stuck in turkey job less feeling humiliated they say, because they struggled to feed their families. >> translator: sure i think the international community doesn't care. during the past two years nothing has changed and we haven't seen the international community do anything. >> reporter: there is a resigned air here huesam says that when his young son asks when they'll go back to syria, he feels a pain in his heart, because he doesn't know the answer. more coming up on al jazeera, flying to the faithful. hope francis gets a warm welcome

in the philippines on the latest leg of his asia tour. and detroit diversifies, the motor city changing gears to attract small businesses with big dreams. ♪

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> its disgraceful... the only crime they really committed is journalism... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around

the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy let the journalists live. ♪ you are watching al jazeera, let's recap our headlines now. nigerian president is visiting the heartland of boko haram after attacks on two towns last

week. u.s. secretary of state john kerry described the attacks as a crime against humanity. wide-spread flooding in southern africa has killed more than 70 peoples. large areas of malawi have been declared disaster zones. and in mozambique 25 children have died in the floods. new travel and treyed rules between the united states and cuba have set to come into effect on friday. the measures will let u.s. citizens use credit cards in cuban, and allow american businesses to export some technology. the oil price drop is having a dramatic effect on the global economy. it is arguably good news for consumers but bad news for producers. brent crude peaked at around $111 a barrel. and has had a 55% drop in six

months. norway only gets to get $40 per barrel to break even. it's the bigger oil-producing nations that are hardest hit. russia is suffering, its break even price around $98 per barrel. we spoke to an energy consultant and worked as a secretaryat for opec. >> i think both sides opec and non-opec will reach the stage with some sort of help with politicians at the top, kings, presidents and so on to reach a compromise. we have to decrease our output and at the end it is opec which has to blink first. because it is an organization

that exists. the frac-ers are private companies. they cannot get together. there has been of course -- there have been cases in texas, it's well-known in the history of oil, when there was too much oil, those producers got together and reduced supply. but now the world is different. i think both will blink but the opec nations will be first. >> reporter: abbas has asked the arab league for assistant during a visit in cairo. abbas all thes -- also spoke to trying to get a security council agreement to help end israeli occupation. >> translator: the u.n. secretary general was asked -- we asked them to

protect the palestinian people. we are being under killing and direct destruction by the israeli government intentionally, and we ask the united nations to provide the necessary protection to the palestinian people in order to stop israel from these awful practices being done against us. in libya there has been renewed fighting in the eastern city of benghazi. forces loyal to the toppled government, and who control the capitol, residents have been forced out due to shelling. thousands of people turned out to welcome pope francis to the philippines on the second leg of his week-long trip in asia he was treated to a rapturous reception in the capitol.

harry fawcett reports. >> reporter: hope francis was welcomed to the philippines by a gust of hot manila air, and leaders. rain storms are for cast to hit huge open air events over the weekend. a brief drive from the airport was just a taster millions are expected on the manila streets on friday and sunday. he'll visit the area worst hit by typhoon haiyan and deliver a message of climate change. a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line but the church and state are at loggerheads about how best to serve them. this woman has three children and saw a fourth die two years ago, and at 23 has decided to use contraception. >> translator: every year i gave birth. my mother-in-law told me about

family planning because i was getting pregnant every year. >> reporter: last month a reproductive health bill guaranteeing access to contraception became law, but it was fought every step of the way by the catholic church. what strikes you about this place is the sheer number of children. staff at this nearby clinic providing contraceptives and advice say no matter the new law priest say it is immoral and side effects dangerous. >> smoking is dangerous to your health -- >> reporter: you put smoking on the level with taking contraceptives in terms of harm? >> it is similar. it may be less but you have to inform people. >> reporter: the vatican gathering last october

reaffirmed the church's teaching on contraception. now it role on life will be set aside as the country celebrates the first papal visit for 20 years. up to 50,000 police and soldiers will be on hand for a visit that could see a record set for attendance at a mass. 6 million people are expected. hong kong's chief executive says he has a plan to generate more affordable housing. the dejsly populated city is struggling to accommodate its 7 million residents. many say the housing shortage is one example of how the wealth gap is widening. sarah clark reports. >> reporter: it's a city well-known for its bright lights and towering skylines it's also one of the most expennive places in the world to buy property. >> at this moment, right, our housing market right, rank number one in the world. that's why it's unaffordability

is concerned also right, the most expensive apartment. >> reporter: and long side the skyscrapers are these overcrowded housing blocks. this is public housing. the wait time to get in is at least three years. >> translator: normally it's 20 or 30 people living in a space around 600 square feet so the space is too tiny and even they don't have space to do their homework they don't have any activity space, or even they don't have air. some of them they have asthma because they don't have indoor. this man lives with his wife and daughter in a makeshift tent under a bridge in one of the most densely populated districts in hong kong. he is one of thousands of residents who live on the streets. >> translator: it is very difficult in winter but i have no choice but to live here. >> reporter: hong kong's chief

executive developed a scheme to allow tenants to buy these flats. >> even if the government can provide 50% discount i will regard as it as unaffordable at all. jenny says even renting an apartment is challenge. >> actually some of my friend they do not really want to purchase, but they would like to rent a flat first, but the -- the rental cost is really high too. >> reporter: uneye affordable housing has been a major issue for people living here. with property prices rising over 100% in the last six years, many don't expect the problem to be resolved any time soon. divers from indonesia's search and rescue agency have

intensified efforts to find bodies of crash victims of the airasia flight. officials hope to find more bodies after locating a large chunk of the fuselage. it was spotted on wednesday. so far only 50 bodies out of 162 have been recovered from the crash. well the motor industry is detroit's largest industry but high ranks of unemployment means the city has had to diversify its job market. adam fisher explains. >> reporter: this is where businesses are born. pony right gives a start to small businesses like this one which makes custom jeans or this one uses old blacksmith techniques to meet modern demands. >> if you are able to open up

space and allow people to come in and be creative and think about kind of fulfilling their dreams with low risk to failure, low risk -- the barriers are lower, see what can happen. and that's really the point at a very affordable cost. >> reporter: for years detroit relied on heavy industry for jobs but downsizing hit more than just car workers. everyone suffered. now detroit is diversifying. it still wants big employers, but a wider job base. >> you are talking about making it something that kids in elementary school or high school think about as an -- as an option, right? and that involves not only encouraging it in the school but also trying to encourage small businesses to grow up around them so they actually

see. they have role models. >> reporter: one of the businesses at pony wright is staffed by the former homeless that make coats that help the homeless. coats that convert into sleeping bags. it was the support particularly in the difficult early days which made at it success. >> that constant worry that i'm sure a lot of other businesses experience when they first start out, can we make rent can we even afford to be here wasn't even on the docket and it was because of that and the fact that the whole community was behind us that i didn't have to worry about those things. >> reporter: there are similar operations springing up in detroit. there are 20 companies here which have created 80 jobs in just three years. there's a waiting list to get in and plans to find more space to meet demands. it will never replace the big employers, but for those here a job is a job, a fresh, start,

and a knew -- new opportunity. in the u.s. the oscar nominations have been announced. there were some predictable choices but also some surprised. >> reporter: so we're well into award season now, golden globes on the way and then it's time for the big one. there are 24 categories all together. all have now been announced by the academy, but there are some that get more attention than others. and here they are. let's start with best director: this is the favorite for this one. >> you were a movie star remember? >> who is this guy? >> he used to be bird man. >> i liked that poster. >> you wrote this adaptation?

>> i did. >> and you are directing and starring in your adaptation. >> i am. up next, best actor: >> hi. [ inaudible ] is caught by the uv light. >> why do you know that? ♪ >> the universe is expanding. if you reverse time then the universe is beginning tomorrow. >> then we have a look at these nominees: and the favorite julie an moore for "still alice." >> i want to put it in.

where is it? >> the -- >> can you spell that? >> and finally there is best picture. this is the big one. not always the most popular at the cinema but the most popular with the academy. and there are eight fighting it out: interesting here because selma has kind of been neglected so far. but this one is the one that is widely expected to win. >> i see your point. we should just let it happen more naturally, right? that's what you are saying. okay. that's what we will do. starting now. >> and so that is it. now the movie world will go crazy waiting. the press will desend on hollywood, and the red carpet will be prepared. but winners will not be announced in hollywood until sunday february 22nd.

if you want to get more on all of the stories we have been telling you about, you know where to go aljazeera.com. you can see our webpage there with some of the main stories we're following. hi i'm lisa fletcher, and you're in stream are. . -- in "the stream". libya descends into chaos more than a decade after muammar gaddafi lost power. why it is on the brink of war and what another failed state would mean. filipinos join the fight with americans in world war ii, why the veterans with us are fighting now to make good on a families.