>> if you want free press in the new democracy let the journalists live. at least seven people are dead dozens injured in a gas explosion at a maternity hospital in mexico. ♪ hello, you are watching al jazeera, i'm jane dutton in doha. jordan refuses iraq's demand to release a prisoner until it gets proof that one of its pilots is still live. almost a year after mh370 disappeared the crash has been ruled an accident. thousands of jobs here

depend on the oil industry and the low oil prices are raising concerns about the future. ♪ we begin in mexico where there's been a gas explosion at a maternity and children's hospital in mexico city. at least seven people are dead and dozens injured, many of those wounded are children. joining me now from mexico is adam raney, how is the rescue operation going on adam? >> reporter: right now firemen are letting some of the flames keep burning, because they want to consume all of the fuel on the site. we also have a call for donations for blood in that area because many injured have been taken to a nearby hospital. of those seven dead at least three are children perhaps babies according to reports. it could be four. there are conflicting reports and messages coming from leaders

of the city in that part of mexico city. on twitter -- this organization which helps mexicans find missing people have started to publish on their twitter feed the names of the injured and where they are being taken. it shows that there is a lot of movement there, people trying to help the injured as fast as they can. we are seeing the death toll go up hour by hour. >> adam you look at how much rubble -- excuse me for jumping in there, you look at the rubble and you see how big of an explosion it was. do we know anymore about what actually happened and how this could happen? >> reporter: i mean all we know so far is that a truck that was off loading gas into the gas system of the hospital had a leaky hose connection is what officials are saying and that caused an explosion, it seems a

quite devastating explosion for one gas truck, but there could have been a whole ignition of fuel in that area. from the pictures most of the hospital has collapsed the head of that part of mexico city says that he walked around the hospital and it looks like most of it is literally rubble. so it's unclear if this is really all due to that one gas truck off loading gas, but experts are there on the seen trying to see what has happened. this company has a history of gas leaks in other parts of the city in the past where they had to evacuate certain neighborhoods. that doesn't mean that other companies don't have that but we are learning that this gas company has a history of some reports of some mral mral -- malfunction in their equipment. thank you adam. now jordan says it will not go ahead with a prisoner swap

with isil unless the group guarantees that a jordanian host sage rife. isil has released an audio reporting, threatening to kill a pilot if an iraqi woman isn't released. >> reporter: under immense pressure jordan's government is in the middle of a three-way hostage swap with isil. at the center of negotiation is one of its citizens an air force pilot who was captured by isil last month after the fighter jet he was flying crashed in syria. his life depends on this iraqi prisoner on death row in jordan. she is one of four attackers involved in a 2005 bombings which killed 57 people. and isil which some call daesh in arabic wants her freed. >> jordan is willing to exchange

her with the jordanian pilot. at this point, we want to emphasize that we have asked for proof of life from daesh, and we have not received anything as of yet. >> reporter: but isil says it is willing to exchange the pilot for that of another person it is holding, japanese free lance journalist. earlier on thursday it released an ah you recording said of be of the japan hostage. the japanese government is involved in a flurry of diplomacy after isil killed one of its citizens this week. >> translator: as ordered by the foreign minister we continue to collect information, analyze it and share it. we in the government are working for one for his early release. >> reporter: japan wants its

citizen released so does jordan, and it says it is willing to free his prisoner in order to get his pilot back. but isil has not indicated that it will release the pilot, and that has left both governments in tense talks with an unpredictable group. syrian opposition activists are accusing the government of four air strikes that killed at least 14 people. this video appears to show the aftermath of the attacks in the isil-held town. activists say dozens of others were injured in the strike which targeted a market and residential areas. political factions in yemen have reached preliminary agreement that lace the framework to forming a unity government. they formed a presidential council a week after the president and his cabinet resigned. it has been a week and that

obviously has lead to a lot of violence across the country. at least 14 houthis have been killed in an attack in the central province nine rebels were killed when an al-qaeda leader stormed the house and opened fire. malaysia's civil aviation authorities officially declared the disappearance of flight mh370 an accident. all 239 people on board are now dead clearing the way for families to file compensation claims. it disappeared in march last year. the search for the debris is still a priority. >> reporter: periodic statements have been made by the civiloff ration authority of malaysia and today on thursday was no different. with were expecting a technical

statement to be made by the aca, an update on the technical information they have managed to gather. but this unprecedented statement being made really did come out of the blue stating now that the malaysian government and the caa agree that the flight with 239 passengers on board, passengers and crew is now officially missing. it leaves the door open for negotiations between the airline and the families who have lost their loved ones to start. compensation deals will be negotiated on a case by case scenario but it allows the families to be able to gain a death certificate or the paperwork that will allow them to get a death certificate in their respective countries, and try to progress with their

lives. the families in malaysia have been silent. some may not even want to recognize or admit that their loved ones are dead. so we'll wait for what their reaction will be. however, the government says the search continues for the plane. authorities here are saying that they will not give up the search, to try to find the missing malaysian air lines plane. investigators are looking into the fatal crash of airasia flight. saying the co-pilot was in control when the plane went down in december. the flight data recorder showed that the pilot asked to increase altitude in order to avoid dangerous cloud, the plane went into a fast climb and stalled before crashing into the java

sea. all 162 people on board were killed. diplomatic ties between the u.s. and cuba have been the main focus of a meeting of latin america leaders in costa rica. but raul castro warned that normalizing relations completely is impossible while the embargo is still in place. what else came out about these relations there, lucia? >> reporter: jane even though the main topic of this summit which has gathered the 33 heads of state and government of all of the latin america and caribbean nation the subject is supposed to be reducing completely -- actually eliminating hunger and extreme poverty in the next five years. cuba has been the topic over and over again, with every country willing to sign a statement

which will be telling the obama administration that it is unacceptable for the more than 50-year-old embar go to remain. of course that is in support for what president raul castro said on wednesday. he was very very tough. he said that president obama still has it within his power to use his executive powers to further ease the embargo even without the approval of the republican-controlled u.s. congress. he also said that he suspects that the u.s. government is still trying touchdown mine the cuban government by using different math -- methods than in the past. so he is still speaking very tough. >> i believe you were talking to the argentinians, and this comes after the private wake of that special prosecutor. what did they tell you?

>> reporter: that's correct. he was buried just a few hours ago. and i approached argentina's foreign minister who was one of the two people who nisman accused of taking part in a conspiracy to cover up iran's alleged culpability in the bombing of the jewish cultural center. i asked him who do you think is behind this he and the president have said this is a conspiracy against them and the government and not against nisman. he said i don't know and if i knew, i would have told the authorities. he seemed very angry in fact knowing that nisman is being buried now, and the scandal has not been buried with him. >> thank you very much. still ahead on the program, an inquest into the sydney cafe siege reveals what happened to the victims as police moved in.

find out why china's one flourishing milk industry has now turned sour. ♪

♪ the top stories on al jazeera. in mexico city a gas explosion at the maternity and children's hospital has left at least seven people dead and dozens injured. the hospital partially collapsed after a gas tanker truck blew up outside. jordan says it won't go ahead with the prisoner swap with isil unless the group

guarantees that a jordanian hostage is still live. malaysia's civil aviation chief has officially declared the disappearance of mh307 an accident. all people on board are now presumed dead clearing the way for families to file compensation claims. details are emerging about how two hostages died in a gun attack on a cafe in the australian city of sydney last year. lawyers told an inquest that one person was killed by fragments of a police bullet. he says the other hostage was killed point blank by the gunman. >> reporter: it was the dramatic end to a siege that lasted more than 16 hours. in just a few minutes, three

people a hostage taker, and two hostages were dead. on thursday an inquestions began into how and why they died. >> i want to assure everyone we'll do all within our power to undertake a comprehensive investigation that is rigorous independent and searching. it will strive to establish what happen what could have happened. >> reporter: the siege began on december 15th a man pulled a gun on customers and staff at this coffee in sydney. police quickly surrounded the shop. >> rarely have such horrifying events unfolded so publicly. >> reporter: even as the first flowers were being laid police were beginning their investigation. 40 officers have been working on it ever since. the coroner will question them.

but the coroner was already able to say how the gunman and two hostages died. corey johnston was killed by the gunman. as police stormed the cafe they fired 22 shots. the gunman was hit 13 times and died instantly. but a hostage was also hit. >> ms. dawson was struck by six fragments from police bullet or bullets. the damage done to ms. dawson other than to say that one fragment struck a major blood else have she lost consciousness quickly, and died shortly afterwards. >> reporter: the memories are still here. the events here will be looked at in meticulous detail. every fragment of every bullet will be accounted for, but the inquest will also be broader.

the gunman was a convicted criminal. where was he free on bail in were the police's actions appropriate? what was the role of the media and social media during the siege? and how should the events here be categorized? was it terrorism? at least five people are dead in ukraine after two separate attacks in donetsk. two men and one woman died after a rocket fell in a block of residential buildings. the second attack happened at a market killing two other people. violence between pro-russian separatists and ukrainian forces have fight -- heightened in the past two weeks. fighters from the democratic forces for the liberation of rwanda failed to meet a deadline to lay down their weapons earlier this month. a military announcement came on

the eve of an african union summit. several armed groups are active in the mineral-rich eastern provinces. some of sri lanka's biggest companies will have to fork out billions of dollars in extra taxes. the plan also includes price cuts on some popular household grocery items. our correspondent has more. >> reporter: in one of its first actions since coming to power, the new government introduced its interim budget. these are some products where prices have been bought down wheat, wheat flour, and also what is seen in many sri lanka houses chiles. these are some of the items that

the government has promised to bring down and help address the immediate burden on households. >> translator: it is welcome. most people expected some relief so it's good if that can happen. >> i hope they continue to have the prices as low as promised. >> reporter: a reduction in the price of cooking gas is one of the biggest movers. the government says it will fund these reductions in a variety of ways. it has introduced something called a mansion tax, a super tax, essentially cracking down on the super rich. it also says it will reduce waste, cut unnecessary expenditure, and crack down on corruption. for the people of this country, they are hoping the government stays on track. thousands of factory workers across turkey are on strike demanding better wages and protesting against unsafe

working conditions. so far negotiations between the employees and workers unions have failed. the cost of crude oil has dropped about 60% since last summer. bp has announced plans to cut thousands of jobs globally and suspend some projects. nadine barber has been speaking to people in aberdeen. >> reporter: while 30,000 people work in the offshore oil industry, many more are employed in related industries. but job cuts has focused people's attention on low oil prices. this is the original fishing village at a time when that industry provided jobs for much of the work force.

in the 1970s, north sea oil exploration took off, making this an extremely prosperous city. i caught up with a woman who used to work in the oil and gas industry and her husband still does as an engineer. she is confident it will still be thriving when her son grows up. >> even if the offshore oil and gas off of aberdeen if that slows down then there's always work coming from overseas and we're so skilled in this city so work will come from -- i'm sure foreign lands. >> reporter: but jake malloy is warning the future of the industry could be in danger. >> when oil prices were high government saw it fit to take high taxes. when the oil price drops we

should have a fiscal change which reflects that. it's about not just sustaining jobs and oils but sustaining the revenue stream from the country as a whole. >> reporter: unemployment standings at just 2% here, and the city center is full of businesses. at this new champagne bar, they are not worried about the oil prices. i asked the assistant manager why. >> people say aberdeen being an oil and gas city it's not 100% driven by oil. there are a lot of different industries in aberdeen as well. >> reporter: still if the oil price doesn't rise in the next few months confidence could well take a further dip. nadine barber al jazeera. to china now where state media say up to 100,000 dairy farmers are leaving the industry

every year. prices began to fall after a big rise in milk production in australia and the united states last year. adrian brown visited a province one of the hardist hit. >> reporter: this is a farmer with a lot on her mind. a year ago, encouraged by china's growing thirst for milk, she decided to expand her dairy farm and borrowed more than $300,000. just 12 months on there has been a dramatic turn around caused by the deepening slump in dairy prices. >> translator: now i feel no one drinks milk anymore. we can't sell it at all, because the dairy farms have stopped buying. >> reporter: for her the priority now is reducing her costs. like the high-quality feed she imports from australia. two weeks ago she sold 100 of

her 500 cows. >> translator: each cow is like a child to me. every time one is sent to the slaughter house, my heart is broken. i don't want to talk about it. truly. i'm so sad. >> reporter: but she does have one new customer. a local garden center which buys at a heavily discounted rate of $0.05 a liter. the milk is mixed with water, it apparently makes the plants more nutritious and is now an increasingly common irrigation technique in this part of china. >> translator: now the price of milk is almost the same as water. it's just so cheap. >> reporter: the falling price is also blamed on a number of other factors, including overproduction of farmers. the global milk glut is just part of the problem. this is an industry beset with

practices for which in many cases it only has itself to blame. >> reporter: seven years ago, six infants died and 30,000 others fell ill after drinking formula made from contaminated milk. and that imported powder is now much cheaper than locally-produced milk. and it's a relatively small farms like this one that are being hardest hit. >> translator: if the government can help us and suffer us a subsidy, i think we can pass this difficult period. >> reporter: but without government financial help her farm is unlikely to survive. adrian brown, al jazeera. it has now been four weeks since egypt's highest appeals court ordered a retrial for three al jazeera journalists who have been in prison for 397

days. the court hasn't set a judgment or set a date for a new trial. we continue to demand the release of our three colleagues who were falsely accused of working with the outlawed muslim brotherhood. the egyptian president said he would like to see the case resolved. a former ambassador to egypt explains why the case has dragged on for so long. >> the egyptian judiciary is going to struggle to work out where it goes from here. the -- the court of appeal rejected the initial prosecution case so quickly and so comprehensively that there's probably some work to be done within the judicial system firstly to write-up that outcome in ways which don't cause further embarrassment to the judiciary, and secondly to decide what approach to take from here. and i think they'll probably look at coming up with a fresh

set of charges of somewhat less gravity than those under wish greste and his colleagues were initially charged. the egyptian approach will be to continue to claim they respect the independence of the judiciary, and there will be i think reluctance to make what will effectively be a political decision to override that judiciary. and until the president decides there is a political advantage to be gained i think the line of least political cost will remain. the bodies of 42 of the 44 filipino policemen who were killed in battling with rebels in the south have arrived in manila. they were accepted at the air base. the officers will be given state

honors in a ceremony lead by the president. they died during a botched raid to capture key members of an armed group on sunday. you can get more on all of those stories and much more by logging on to our website, the address, aljazeera.com. >> hi, i am lisa fletcher, and you are in the stream. measles cases multiply. from the recent disneyland outbreak. plus, sweat 16 and getting the right to vote? a growing movement taking root in cities across the country. later online movement. reacts to. what it means for the future of hacking.