israel slams the international criminal court's decision to open a preliminary inquiry into possible war crimes in the palestinian territories. ♪ >> hello i'm lauren taylor this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up . . . clashes break out in pakistan during protests against the french satirical magazine charlie hebdo. west african leaders are urged to form a new military force to fight boko haram.

and british scientists find a spacecraft on mars which they lost 11 years ago. ♪ the international criminal court has opened a preliminary inquiry into possibility war crimes committed in the palestinian territories. the move follows a request from the palestinian government. prosecutors must now decide whether the evidence justified a full investigation. in that could lead to israelis being prosecuted over last year's war in gaza or palestinians facing charges over rocket attacks. palestinians have welcomed the move but israel's prime minister benjamin netenyahu condemned the inquiry as absolutely scandalous. we joined by the direction at human rights watch. tell me what is your reaction so

far. obviously this is not a decision to go ahead with an inquiry, it's the preliminary investigation as whether or not to have an inquiry. >> the announcement today was expected and totally standard operating procedure ak ak -- according to the policy that the prosecutor at court has put in place. >> the israelis have been very angry that it has even gone this far, if it does go ahead, how far will the inquiry be able to achieve anything without israel's cooperation? >> just to be clear, the first step and possibly the only step is this preliminary examination phase that you mentioned where the prosecutor makes the

decision whether or not on the basis of several factors she will open an investigation. and -- and an investigation could be looking at israeli as well as palestinian individuals responsible for war crimes that the prosecutor has the authority to investigate. she has conducted investigations. if she gets to that stage, and no telling if she will where she has not had access to the territory. >> one of the criticisms that israel is making at the moment the foreign minister has said essentially it is an anti israel political decision and he says the same court with more than 200,000 dead in syria has not deemed cause to hold an inquiry

there. does he have point there? >> well only a half a point, if that. i'm sure the foreign minister knows full well the reason that the icc has not been able to investigate in syria is because of russian and chinese vetoes. it has investigated in libya because in 2011, both russia and china agreed to send the situation in libya to the icc prosecutor. where the foreign minister is totally turning reality upside down is that this is an anti israeli ploy. israel is a signatory to the

rome statute of the icc, i wish they would ratify so if they see case of war crimes committed against israeli civilians they had the standing as a member of the icc to bring cases. this is a judicial process. it's a slow-moving process. it's not a political process, and i think the foreign minister has got it wrong for whatever reasons may be prompting him. >> okay. richard thank you very much indeed for joining us there. thank you. ♪ more protests around the muslim world against the french satirical magazine charlie

hebdo. the latest edition again shows the prophet muhammad. the largest demonstration happened in the port city in pakistan where police used water cannons and rubber bullet. in france 12 people have been arrested in a series of raids. the u.s. secretary of state john kerry has been in the french capitol paying his respects to victims. jacky rowland has more. >> reporter: the u.s. secretary of state said he had come to give a big hug to the french people. it was also clearly a damage limitation exercise. washington has recognized it made a mistake by only sending its paris ambassador to the solidarity march on sunday. >> today i wanted to come here and share a hug with all of paris and all of france. i wanted to express to you

personally the sheer horror and revulsion that all americans felt for the cowardly and despicable act, the assault on innocent lives and fundamental values. >> reporter: an unscheduled stop on his trip john kerry visits the kosher supermarket where an attacker killed four people. jewish schools and other institutions across france are now under armed guard. meanwhile french police say they arrested 12 people overnight in raids across the paris region. they are suspected of providing logistical support to the attackers. >> translator: most of them are known by police services for breaching the common law. the paris prosecutor will speak on the ongoing investigation when appropriate. >> reporter: more funerals are take place for the victimsover those attacks. colleagues and friends have been saying good-bye to the cartoonist and editor and chief

of charlie hebdo, schaub in a ceremony just outside of paris. five other victims of the shootings were laid to rest on thursday. ♪ >> reporter: more than 120,000 police and army troops are now on the streets across the country. people in paris feel particularly on edge. the railway station was briefly evacuated on friday after a bomb scare. the whole of france remains on terror alert. jacky rowland, al jazeera, paris. cities across belgium are on high alert, and some jewish schools have been closed after two terrorist suspects have been killed. five people have been charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist group. neave barker has more. >> reporter: on the street where the raid took place, police standing guard, buildings bare

the marks of a fierce gun fight. the raid left two suspects dead a third was arrested. this police raid was one of a dozen across the country. the authorities say they prevented an imminent attack on a grand scale. >> this was meant to dismental a terrorist cell and also the logistic network behind it. this identification for the time being has shown that these people had intention to kill several policemen in the streets and at [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: this was the scene on thursday evening, gunfire and explosions ring out as federal police storm the building. the man that filmed these images has lived on the street for several years. no suspicions that anything like this could happen on your street? >> no no. no suspicion. i would like to say

that -- that -- it is very, very very, very sad, and we don't want severe war in belgium. >> reporter: it has a large muslim population. people are trying to make sense of what happened. this is not islam says this woman. the quran does not want people to kill. this woman fears that people will start to pay her negative attention. she says she doesn't want her life to change. of the raid investigators discovered bomb-making equipment, money, guns and police uniform. it is thought that police themselves may have been the intended target of the attack. hundreds are expected of joining groups fighting in iraq and syria. belgium terrorist alert level has been rised to the highest yet. chad is sending troops to cameroon to fight members of the

armed nigerian group boko haram. the president of nigeria tries to get himself reelected. our correspondent reports from the capitol. >> reporter: trying to lift soldier's morale nigeria's president visited soldiers since his last trip here in may of last year they have lost comrades and territory in their fight against boko haram. >> i hear negative stories. what i can do is to continue to encourage you to do your best for this country. [ inaudible ] accordingly. >> but some nigerians argue the troops aren't getting the support they need. >> this military is not equipped to deal with the threat. this military is not funded. nigerians are frustrated. nigerians are in desperate situation at this time and in

any circumstances you really would say yes, we would welcome foreign intervention in this matter because this government has shown total lack of capacity total unwillingness. >> reporter: jonathan also met survivors of boko haram violence. he made a promise that they will be hope soon. >> let me assure all residents and displaced persons that the government is working very hard to make sure that you don't stay in these camps for too long. >> reporter: while some welcomed that promise by the president, many say they have heard it before. >> translator: it's of no use. where was he all this time. he condoned the french when people were killed? why has it taken him so long to share our grief? i think it's all politics. >> reporter: he is facing the toughest battle of his

presidential career. his popularity has taken a hit as government failed to reign in boko haram. some see his visit as a ploy to connect with voters. for now the victims of boko haram attacks wait patiently, and hope the president keeps his promises. still to come this half hour the number killed by flooding in malawi more than trip triples to 176. plus -- >> as leaders we share the same values. >> president obama and prime minister david cameron show solidarity after last week's deadly attacks. >> monday. the most secretive nation on earth. >> we're heading to the border between north and south korea. >> a rare glimpse inside. >> kim jong un sometimes does strange things, but he is smart. >> as tensions escalate, what will be the fallout? >> we're still at a state of war with north korea. >> we have to be ready to fight tonight. >> "faultlines".

al jazeera america's hard-hitting. >> today they will be arrested. >> ground-breaking. >> they're firing canisters of gas at us. >> emmy award-winning, investigative series. new episode. "hidden state: inside north korea. monday 9:00 eastern. only on al j

primetime news. >> welcome to al jazeera america. >> stories that impact the world, affect the nation and touch your life. >> i'm back. i'm not going anywhere this time. >> only on al jazeera america.

♪ hello again, a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. the international criminal court has opened a preliminary inquiry into possible war crimes complit complit -- committed in the pallian regions. protests continue against the charlie hebdo edition that depicts the prophet muhammad. and belgium is on high alert after two people were killed in a raid. police say they foiled a major plot. five people were charged with participating in activities of a terrorist group. u.s. president, and his british counterpart have been holding talks in washington.

both leaders focused on cyber crime, and said the british and american surveillance agencies would work together to fight what they described as violent extremism. pattive what kind of measures have they been talking about that would improve cyber security? >> they are talking in general about setting up some sort of counter terrorism task force to look for what they call extremists but they didn't spell out exactly what that is going to look like. they came here and one of the big focuses was on cyber security. both leaders were walking a fine line on that issue. the president has made a big push saying companies need to do more to protect their computer networks from cyber attacks. but when it comes to technology companies that allow people to communicate, they are concerned that their encryption is getting

to be too good that the government can't break it. to that means the prime minister came here to push these american companies to change their encryption systems. the president made a little bit of news he said they agree in principle with the companies they are just trying to work out the concerns of it and one of the concerns was that they were going to do this mass surveillance. the prime minister said that that was not the case they would use all of the legal procedures in place and it wouldn't be brood surveillance. >> also they talked about iran. what develops were there over that issue? >> big news on iran the president -- this goes back to the iran sanctions bill. the new congress controlled by the president's opposition party is going to have a new bill and if it passes it is going to say

that if the negotiations over iran's nuclear program break down in july new and tougher solutions will be imposed any backers of the bill say they need that. but the obama administration made news by saying if that passes he is going to veto it. he said it would blow up the talks and they would blame the united states. and if they decide to go against him, that he is going to take the case to the american people and basically say the senators -- members of his own party are choosing potential war over a potentially peaceful solution so very tough language from the president. and what was really interesting, the prime minister of the u.k. said he himself has been picking up the phone and lobbying u.s. senators. an indication of how much concern there is from both of these countries about that bill. >> patty culhane thank you very much indeed.

members of the islamic state of iraq and the levant have executed 15 men. also some 1600 people have died in the syrian town of kobani since isil attacked it last september. there was more intense fighting on friday. saudi arabia has postponed this week's flogging of a blogger jailed for insulting islam. the case was referred by the king's office to the saudi supreme court court last week. the prison doctor recommended the second beating be postponed until next week. a medical exam found his wounds had not yet healed. >> one of al jazeera's journalist imprisoned in egypt for more than a year has called

on the canadian prime minister to assist in his case. the journalists have now been imprisoned for 384 days. lawyers for peter and mohammed have filed requests for them to be deported from egypt. the flooding in malawi has killed at least 176 people and left 200,000 displaced. some are camping in schools, others are still trapped in hard-to-reach villages. >> reporter: the devastation in southern malawi. two major rivers broke their banks earlier in the week after days of heavy rain. villages and towns have been swept away. >> the rains are likely to

continue. if that happens to be the case we need to get ourselves more prepared for more people more materials to respond, more development actors including donors. >> reporter: but many are still trapped in far and hard to reach villages the military and police have come to move these people to safer ground. there was a lot of resistance at first, finally some agreed to be air lifted. women, children and the old. some too weak to walk. they were flown to a school where more than a thousand others had come. this family has refused to move to a displaced people's camp. they are reluctant to leave behind their homes and the little food they managed to salvage. many said they are angry that help did not get to them when they needed it most. >> translator: we will find way to survive. my family and i need to protect

our property. >> reporter: but more people keep arriving at government shelters in town esther is just four days hold. she spent her first days in a field sleeping outside in the cold. >> translator: i went into labor when the rain started. i gave birth behind our house. when the water was too much i ran to the hills with my baby. >> reporter: those who opted to go back home are hoping the worst is over. but either way it will take all of them a long time to rebuild their lives. china says it will continue its search and rescue efforts after a capsized boat left 22 people missing. the boat was on a trial voyage when it sank. three survivors emerged. eight foreigners are among the

missing. the vatican has defended pope francis after he through a pretend punch. they said the actions should not be interpreted as justification for violence. >> reporter: pope francis wasted no time in tackling politics on his first full day in his visit to the feel peens. he said the country's leaders needed to get serious about corruption poverty and scandalous inequality. >> it is now more than ever necessary that political leaders be outstanding for the honesty, integrity, commitment to the common world. >> reporter: the philippine president has waged an anti corruption drive, but one which his critics disproportionately targeted opposition figures. away from the politics the popular devotion. thousands crowded the streets to await the first mass of pope

francis's visit and the sight of the man himgs -- himself. >> all of the things he suggests is very important. people follow him, his example. >> reporter: his arrival brought new waves of excitement and expressions of love. inside the cathedral he began his sermon by quoting jesus's words from the goesel. >> do you love me. >> yes. >> thank you very much. [ laughter ] [ applause ] >> reporter: his main message focused on poverty and the need for traditional catholic values in a society where church attendance is falling and use of government-funded contraception is on the rise. >> for those who are living in the midst of a society burdened by poverty and corruption have broken the spirit proclaiming the deity incredit of the christian message.

>> reporter: the philippine church says his visit and presence will be a wake-up call. the spoke with a message inside and outside of the cathedral, about the need to fight poverty. that seems very much the theme of this the first day proper of his visit. later for a number of families much more than a glimpse, pope francis keen to emphasize the importance of family in a nation where so many are divided by the need for one or more parents to travel abroad to work. in ukraine, pro-russia rebels say they have taken over most parts of donetsk airport. the leader says 95% of the facility is under their control. fighting has intensified around the airport in recent days as separatists battle to oust government foiss. the critic [ inaudible ] has been questioned again by russia

police and had his offices raided. on wednesday he was detained for a short time after being interviewed at a popular moscow radio station. he remains one of the biggest headaches for russian president vladimir putin. british scientists say they have found a spacecraft they believe they lost more than 11 years ago. the beagle 2 was thought to have crashed on mars but it has now been photographed sitting on the red planet apparently undamaged. >> reporter: for britain it was a ground-breaking mission, sending a spacecraft to land on mars and at $75 million, at a fraction of the cost of most space exploration. but after it was released on christmas day 2003 it was never seen or heard from again until now. >> what we can say today with some confidence is that beagle

two is no longer lost. >> reporter: it had been feared that it crashed into the surface of mars. recent photographs from an american spacecraft orbiting mars have turned that thinking on its head. this is what they think is beagle two. sitting near it's intended landing spot. >> what is consistent is that the beagle two didn't fully deploy. it had four solar panels which needs to deploy to transmit data tack to earth. >> >> reporter: this was britain's first attempt at getting a spacecraft to another planet and scientists hope the legacy of beagle will be to unlock the secrets of mars. colin was the enthusiastic face

of the mission. >> we're not that far away from it in the orbit. >> reporter: he died last year but his daughter was there to hear the news. >> he was saying when is the next mission. how are we going to do things differently. >> the scientists think there is every chance beagle two would still work if there was a way to open its panels. they plan to land a spacecraft on mars next year. 2014 was the earth's hottest year on record according to two major u.s. agencies. they say the ten warmest years on record have all been since 1997. the record temperatures were spread across the globe.

scientists say that computer models say the change is five times higher than if it would be if it were down to natural disasters. plenty more for you on our website. aljazeera.com. check it out whenever you want. >> this is "techknow." a show about innovations that can change lives. >> the science of fighting a wildfire. >> this is a show about science, by scientists. let's check out our team of hard core nerds. marita davison is a biologist specializing in evolution. tonight, fracking. >> i looked out my fro