this is al jazeera. this is al jazeera. >> at least seven people are dead and dozened injuries in a gas explosion and a return to the hospital. refeudss isils demand, until they get proof that one of the pilots is still alive.

the crash has been ruled an accident. plus. >> where thousands of jobs depend on the oil industry. and where the current low oil prices are raising concerns about the future. >> a maternity and children's hospital. at least seven people are dead and dozens injured. many of those wounded are children. allen fisher reports. the scale of the damage is breathtaking. there is a maternity hospital, much of the building has collapsed in the explosion. more than 50 injuries many by flying glass. rescue teams are now looking for patients and staff who may be trapped in the rubble.

where dozens of newborns and their mothers were located. these pictures carried on a local t.v. station give some idea of the difficult conditions that rescuers face. sitting in the west of mexico city is believed that a tanker carrying liquid gas to the hospital exploded. why, is the center of the police investigation. >> doctors and nurses have done what they can to help. ambulances which formally bring injured people here, have been carrying those caught up in this explosion to other hospitals in the area. this is not the first devastating gas explosion in mexico two years ago, 25 people died in a blast on a highway to the north of mexico city. and last year, three people were killed in a gas leak explosion in the a shopping center. local officials have expressed their fears that the number of dead will rise here, and looking at the damage again they may be right. allen fisher. >> he joins us near to the hospital in mexico city.

john, do you know anything more about the possibility of finding survivors and who the victims are? >> the area you can see behind me they are telling us that not only the police, and the protection. and also are whoing right now in that site it has been destroyed but it is swarming with rescue workers here, that are trying to find out if any more people or children are left in the rubble.

oven twitter there's a government agency that is helping people to try and locate children that have been sent to various different hospitals. the neighbors are outside of their houses. just shocked here, and everyone is talking about what just happened just around the corner. >> i can imagine. john holeman, thank you. the father of a jordannian pilot is being held hostage by the islamic state has appealed for his release. it won't go ahead with isil unless the group goes ahead is

still alive. if an iraqi women isn't released. an air force pilot was captured by isil last month after the fighter jet crashed in syria. his father again made a plea. >> releasing your muslim brother will receive a big positive reaction, an appreciate from allegory daneian and palestinian tribes who share the same faith as you. >> his life depends on this prisoner on death row in jordan. he is one of four attackers involved in a 2005 bombings

which killed 57 people jordan is willing to exchange with the jordanian pilot. at this point we want to emphasize that we have asked for aproof of life. from dash. and we have not received anything as of yet. but isil says it is willing to exchange for that of another person it is holding. earlier on thursday, it released an audio recording which set the pilot would be killed unless he is freed. al jazeera can't independently verify the audio message. the japanese government is involved in a fleury of diplomacy after isil killed one of it's nationals this week. it has an envoy who is part of

the negotiations. >> as ordered by the foreign minister we continue to collect information analis it and share it. we and the government are working as one from the earlier release. >> japan wants a citizen released. so does jordan and it is willing. but isil has not indicated that it would release the jordanian pilot. and that's left both of them intense talks the u.n. says rival factions in libya have agreed in principle to hold talks, libya self-declared government the general nation congress says that it will join negotiations with the international recognized parliament, if they held in the country so far u.n. mediator talks have failed to end violence because key representatives.

they join us on the line from geneva. tell us what you make about gnc's announcement that they will not take part in the talks as long as they are in the country. >> they have received confirmation. the talks and an incident that took place in benghazi. the libyan central bank so we have been. >> the talks going back to libya, which is something where there is a huge consensus among all participants in the dialog, and ewith are very happy that they have announced that they

will have the talks. >> so that has been overcome, but there are obviously many to bringing some sort of peace to the country. can you tell us now what will happen next? what will be put on the table by all sides. >> we have been already discussing the agenda, and some elements of the new goal. we are exchanging views in depth, these elements who can -- reach as soon as possible. we will go all of those in the coming days to stop the fighting and then of course, all the political and issues in the country. >> how are you likely to stop

the fighting with these talks? considering how many men have arms on the ground, who are fighting for their bit of libya. and who don't have a word? >> . >> you are right. it is obviously going to be extremely difficult issue and any soldier any person on anywhere in the country can have an incident that will be a breech of the cease fire, and in the case of libya and the nature of the fighting these even more difficult. however, we have these statements coming from most of the groups.

>> i think they all share so many terrorist groups. although i agree with you we are going to be difficult and we will have -- probably often that what is important. it is going to be a long way. >> from the u.n., thank you so much for your time. >> political factions have reach add preliminary agreement that layed the frame work to form a unity government. they have agreed to form a council, which will take control of yemen's political affairs until an election date is set. it come as week after the president and his cabinet resigns. meanwhile, violence continues across the country, at least 14 houthiss have been killed

in attacks on central al bade da province. where fighter stormed the house over tribal leader and opened fire. violence has intensified in the past three weeks. charles stratford makes one family has been made homeless by the fighting. >> 19-year-old ella and her daughter look at the pictures of their destroys home p and fighters calling themselves the army of the people's republic. it was very difficult to get out. it was hit under the table

there was glass everybody. all the furniture hit it. which he says was made by shrapnel from the shell. >> who knows what it will do now. we cannot return because everything is destroyed they found shelter in the home that has opened it's home that have fled the fighting. >> we threw everything we had in it. when we turned the corner another shell hit. >> .

>> he supervisors the repairs of one of the two preparing for more people to arrive. >> the situation is very tough, the fighting causing deep trauma, but here at least they can start a new life. to find their home. snowy street, we found it. who sounded like artillery echoed through the freezing air. this remains of the home they had lived in most of the adult life. close by, an exploded shell lay on the ground behind me is the house where ella lived. we are about one kilometer from the airport we hear incoming and outgoing. no sign in the let up, it is pretty certain we will be hearing a lot more stories like ella's.

and the wider region. >> and that situation is one of the topics on the agenda. after they rejected peace talks join us live, is amanda porter senior program executive at the policy center how assy or hard is it going to be to get some sort of consensus on this within the e.u.? i don't think that greece and cypress are onboard are they. >> well, one would hope it would be the decision that would be taken easily, given the escalation, but i think it could be a difficult discussion some other countries are not that they are not that keep on putting furtherrizations this could be quite propmatic.

secondly because the e.u. if they did not adhere to the agreement, they would have some fungs and they have seen over the last few months let alone the last few days of course president putin won't like it if the e.u. does something we will perceive that he is weak and desided. i think it will be very difficult to see any improvement.

we are going to see a deterioration, be us the russians apart from the sanctions president putin has very specific. so i think this is going to be a difficult relationship for a very long time into the future the fact there may be more and the spiraling oil prices? yes, russia is in a very difficult situation feedless to say that doesn't meaning they should lift the sanctions but eventually in the medium to long term, the economic situation will become so bad when would hope it would have an impact on russian society.

at the same time it is not possible to accept what is going on in ukraine still in terms of violence and killings. much more to come including turkey's government comes on the pressure to improve safety and working conditions. cuba's president delivers strong words to the united states. and african football bosses have now drawn the name of the last nation's quarter finalists, we will tell you who it is later in sports. isha's civil authorization has officially declared the disappearance of air asia an

accident. all the people onboard are now presumed dead, clearing the way for families to file compensation claims. it division appears in march last year they say is search is still a priority. statements have been made by the civil aviation voter, and today, on thursday, it was no different who were expecting a technical statement a update on what they knew about the technical information that they managed to bath fresh the search. but this unprecedented statement being made and it's g.g. really did come out of the blue. stating that the government 239 passengers onboard

passengers and crew, is now officially missing. it leaves the door open between the airline and the family whose have lost their loved ones to start. compensation will be negotiated on a case by case scenario but it allows the families to be able to gain a death certificate or the maker work, that will allow them to get a deathser five kate and try to progress with their lives. for at the moment, they have been silenced. they have been very silent about what has gone on. some may not want to recognize or admit that they are dead, so we wait for the coming hours as to what their reaction will be 80 teen thousand square kilometers have already been searched. and the authorities here are saying that they will not give

up the search trying to find the airline plane. say that the co-pilot was at the controls when it went down. the national transportation safety committee says the flight data reporter shows that the pilot. in order to avoided dangerous clouds. the plane then went into a false climb and stalled before crashing into the goff have sea. the airbus was traveling to singapore. all 162 people onboard were onboard. >> diplomatic ties between the u.s. and cuba have been the main focus of a -- but the president raul castro warned that normally that completely normalizing relations is impossible while the embargo is still in place. in costa rica, tell me more

about that tough talk. >> well, jane, the real objective of this suspect of 33 latin american. how to eliminate totally extreme poverty within the next five years. here is the demand that they lift the embargo when he addressed the assembly, he did have some very tough talk, he said that the administration could do a lot more to ease it using his executive powers bypassing the congress, and the president suggested that the government is still trying to undermine his communist government by using different methods than in the past.

basically saying i don't trust the united states, and having diplomatic tie -- he had a whole series of conditions in order to in his words be able to normalize relations with the united states, jane. >> lue see yeah had an opportunity to speak to the argentine yeah foreign minister and he told you some details about the death of these special prosecutor well, jane, just two hours ago. the suicide and others believed was murder. and one of the people indicated by a conspiracy theory an alleged conspiracy theory to cover up the bombing of the jewish community center in argentina was the foreign minister and enwith i asked him whom he thought was behind the death he looked very nervous and said if i knew i would have reported it

to the investigators. that investigation is still underway even with the death he has not been able to take the scandal and the intrigue surrounding his death to his grave. >> thank you. >> a small civilian has crashed into the sea in the dutch caribbean island. came down while he was being chased bring two venezuelan aircraft. the coast guard saw bodies at the scene with the number of casualties is still unknown and the number of packages were also spotted in the water but it is unclear what they contain. tens of thousands of factory workers are on strike. they are demanding a pay rise and better working conditions. the worker's right groups say construction sites and mines are the most dangerous in europe. they report from instanbul. >> turkey's economic and construction boom comes with a human price.

at least 1,886 people killed in workplace accidents last year. the unions here are weak, and demands are high. >> if legally he would refuse but he gets on the scaffolding because otherwise he would lose his job. >> 301 men were killed last year in turkey's worst ever industrial incident when this plunged 32 floors on the building site. these and other accidents have put pressure on the government to act. first we need to prick the conscious of employers of those that have been widowed. secondly we have to hit them in their walls.

third, if they don't comply fatal accidents will destroy their companies reputation. the unions say enforcement is weak. and even jail time for employers who allow them to happen. for those that improve workplace safety. already in january so far there have been more than 70 workplace deaths. much more still ahead a rights group blames abuse of government policies in syria and iraq for the rise of isil. find out why china's flourishing milk industry has turned sour and the sport in the final andy murray has another shot at it, those detailed coming up.

>> a crisis on the border... >> thery're vulnarable... these are refugees... >> migrent kids flooding into the u.s. >> we're gonna go and see josue who's just been deported... >> why are so many children fleeing? >> your children will be a part of my group or killed... >> fault lines 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... fault lines no refuge: children at the border only on al jazeera america

through the top stories on al jazeera. a gas explosion at a maternity hospital in mexico city has left seven people dead and dozens injuries. the hospital partially collapsed after a gas tanker truck blew up outside. jordan says it won't go ahead with a prisoner swap unless the group guarantees that a hostage is still alive. isil has released an audio recording threatens to kill a pilot it is holding if an iraqi woman on death row isn't freed. all 239 people onboard are now presumed dead, clears the way for families to file compensation claims. the air contractor disappears while flying to beijing last march.

the government is investigating an alleged massacre by it's forces in the east. iraqi troops and shia militia rounded up men during the search and shot them. details from the capitol. it has sunni shias turks and curds and this issue is a microcosm of all the terrible things that iraqis fear could happen. asthma lish shas and other forces fight alongside the iraqi government forces against isil. in the village survivors tell us that after days of fierce fighting iraqi security forces primarily the army, with swat teams as well as militia members moved through the town reading from a list of displaced people. there they took away the men after marching them for a kilometer, they took away those men and shot them behind

a wall. one survivor tells us he saw 13 of his neighbors lying dead including schoolteachers. it is the responsible to maintain control of all the forces under his command. he stood before parliament today, and said it was still too soon to hear what happened. he promised there would be changes at the interior ministry. meanwhile, other villages say they have received warning letters telling them the same thing could happen to them, and more people, families from those villages are on the move looking for safety. that killed at least 14 people. now, this video appeared to show the after math of the attacks activists say dozens

of others were injured in the strikes which targeted a market and residential areas. the conflict in syria and iraq are some of the top challenges which has released it's annual record. human rights violations aggravate many of today's crisis. it says sectarian and abuse of policies by syria and iraq's government are bartley to blame for the rise oof isil, and point the finger at international indifference. human rights watch highlights abuses accusing bashar al asaad of deliberately attacking civilians in opposition held areas. suspected of supporting the group, detaining abusing and even killing them. kenneth ross is the executive director of human rights watch.

>> what we found in country after country is that tendency to sideline human rights is a disaster. for security if you take nigeria, the military's indiscriminate destruction of homes the large scale execution, that turns off the local population is support is needed to fight boko haram. if you look at iraq, the sunni tribals has joined together to fight al quaida today because of the atrocities committed by the shia militia that were the principle tool used by the government, too tribes have felt that they are safer under isil, if you can imagine, then they would be under rule by baghdad. today everybody's focused on isil. there's obviously a large scale military effort underway

but the west is basically ignoring asaad's barrel bombing which today is the main thing killing syrian civilians. >> the nigerian government has defended it's military after an am themty international report says that troops didn't help hundreds that were attacked by that armed group. throws of people after boko haram kills hundreds of people there, earlier this month the group accuse it is military of failing to do enough to protect civilians. amnesty information was misleading and it has failed to verify the inciting allegations. >> the united nations and troops have officially launched operations against a rebel group in democratic republic of congo. it comments after fighters from the democratic forces for the libbuation of rwanda failed to meet a did line to lay down their weapons earlier this month. the military announcement came

on the've of an african union summit where stability will be high on the agenda. our dip lamatic editor is in the u.n., and says this announcement has been on the cards for weeks. and origins of this group you may not remember the main, but you will remember -- they were for people back in 1994, that most believe were responsible for that again side in rwanda. up to 1 million people killed in 100 days in 1994, well, the ream innocence of that group has evolved quite a bit. been in eastern congo ever since. and now finally the army of the democratic republic, and the united nations force in congo are launching military

operations to remove help this they have been trying to persuade them to surrender for weeks. and it has taken a great deal of coordination between the u.n. t and the government. many accusing the president of dragging his feet in launching this operation. it's interesting the timing of this because the operation starts just on the've of african leaders arriving. that perhaps explains the timing. >> a dance in oil prices may be good news for consumers but they are hitting the industry hard the cost of crude oil currently stands around 4-dollar as barrel. that's a 60% slide since last summer.

that's effecting big companies shell says it is capping the flow of spending by $15 billion to plug profits. and suspend some of it's projects, the headquarters is in abbeer dean. in scotland. >> on the eastern coast of scotland aberdeen is a success story thanks largely to oil and gas. it is thought ten times a many are employed in related sectors like engineering. be uh this month, b.p. following shell in announcing hundreds of cuts and that's focused people's attention here on the impact of low oil prices. providing jobs for much of the local work force. it has made abbeer dean

extremely prosperous, but some are wondering whether that could be at risk. >> if that's it, then there is work coming in from overseas. the work coming from i am sure far away. >> but union official is warning the future of the industry could be in danger unless the government steps in with tax breaks for oil producers. >> oil prices were high, the government saw effective fatigue and increased taxes soon the oil prices dropped sustaining jobs and production oil, and sustaining of revenue

from the country as a whole earning far above average salaries. at this new bar, they are not worried about the oil prices. i asked the manager why. >> other people say the oil and gas city is driven by oil. it is not 100% driven by oil there's a lot different industries as well. it's not just 100% dedicated to the oil and gas. >> spill if it doesn't rise, confidence could well take a further dip joining us live is alex russell. at robert gordan university. how worried are you about aberdeen and what do you think it says of what is going on in the industry at the moment?

i believe that the future is very good in the long term. what difficulty we are seeing a t the moment is short term how long can this go on? what do you think it will take for those prices to go up? it dependents on what is driving the prices. whether it's geopolitical, circumstances or mr. it is simply a oversupply of oil. or economic demand for oil across europe and across china. everyone agrees in the long term oil prices will go higher than they were before,

that's because the population keeps increasing and therefore there will be a demind for energy and oil. the long term prospects are good. >> that's certainly good news, what do you think the incentives are at the moment for oil companies to remain in places like aberdeen? should there will be a tax incentive for example. >> that's facing the oil industry at the moment, very high taxes. some pay 80% some pay 60%. every other industry in the u.k. pays taxes 20%. my view is that in order to get the industry through the current prices, what the u.k. government should do is say right, let's treat the oil industry like every other industry let's have taxes at 20%, and when the oil prices go up again then we can

increase the taxes again. i think that would be the way forward, that would be an incentive for the oil industry to stay. >> good talking to you i hope things improve for you. >> to china now where state media says up to 100,000 dairy farmers are leaving every year. prices are going to fall after a big rise in milk production in australia and the united states last year. adrian brown visited one of the hardest hit areas. >> a farmer with a lot on her mind a year ago encouraging by the growing thirst for milk she decided to expand her farm, and borrows more than $300,000. just 12 months oen there's been a dramatic turn around, called by the deepening slump in dairy prices now i feel no one drinks milk any more.

we can't sell it at all because the dairy farms have stopped buying. >> like the high quality feed she imports from australia. two weeks ago she was forced to take more drastic measures when she sold 100 of her 500 cows. 40 of them to a local. >> ny heart is broken. i don't want to talk about it. i am so sad. but she does have one new customer. a local garden center, which buyed at a heavily discounted rate of 5-cent as litter. the milk is mixed with water and apparently makes the plants more nutritious, and is now an irrigation tech folk in this part of china. >> the price of musk is almost

the same as water. >> the falling price is almost blamed on a number of other factors including overproduction by inexperienced farmers. rushing into one of the world's fastest dare markets. >> farmers like joe wade chung, this is an industry beset with bad practices for which in many cases it only had itself to blame. >> seven years ago, six inn't familieses died and 30,000 others fell ill after drinking formula made from contaminated milk that led to a surge in demand which is continued mainly because that imported powder is now much cheaper. >> if the government can help us and offer us a subsidy.

joes farm is unlikely to survive. >> adrian brown, al jazeera. >> four weeks now since the highest appeal court order add retrial. they have been in prison for 397 days but the court still hasn't delivered a fully written judgement. or set a date for the new trial. who were falsely accused with working with the outlawed brotherhood. he says he would like the case to be resolved. still ahead as australia prepares for the final of the cup, we look back at the divided past. that and the rest of the sport coming up shortly here is robin.

according to the china railway, the line will be built in four stages. first from the city of china to the capitol of laos. where it will split heading to both thailand and northern provinces. it will continue and end in singapore. although the railway system needs a upgrade many are wonder hog will benefit.

the state owned network has received little funding with no major investment in more than half a century. when the train moves i am afraid i will fall off. >> with an average seat of just 50-kilometers an hour, practically all the rains run late. compare that to china's super high speed fleet. and just a couple of decades the country has transformed it's rail system to one of the most technologically advanced in the world. and it is offering to do the same for the creeking railways and they have agreed to start construction by the end of the year. it is expected to cost around $12 billion. beijing and bangkok have yet to work out how lit be

financed. now the plan is to lay around new track and brand new trains will be added to the current fleet. some are questions china's motives, the existing trains aren't compatible with china's rail network. so it means thailand will have two rail systems with one just to connect to china. logistics and transport experts believe the new train network is designed to benefit china. i hi from a chinese perspective it makes sense for them to have their system being put in the neighboring countries. because from historic perspective it was a different system. that enabled the connectivity and support china one access to the sea but then also access to resources. for this grandmother that has been taking the train for 30

years to see her family, any attempt to shorten her 16 hour journey is welcome. >> it is too long. sometimes it breaks down and we have to change trains and it takes hours. we need a new system. but people may still have to rely on these old trains. exert pes say the high speed rail routs have been designed with trade in mind rather than passengers. >> plenty going on. after football buss say they will be looking at ways to avoided the drawing to which sides go on to progress at the cup of nations. marly with the unfortunate casualties of the system. the lack of the draw says that guinea is now on to the quarter finals. >> well, rarely can there be such excitement as when the guinea delegation emerged from this drawing to announce they had chosen directly, and would be a bouncing through to the

quarter finals to play garner and mali were going out. this is how the process worked, two bowls were placed in a pot, one containing the number two, one containing the number three, and a beginning sports ministry correctly chose the one containing the number two and that meant his country progressed they are a country that do deserve a bit of luck, guinea a country that was badly effected by the ebola virus so much so, that they were unable to play any of their home matches during qualifies also european clubs reluctant to release the play to go on national duty. now as for the drawing of lots the confederation have already said they are looking into ways of avoiding this, something that perhaps guinea should look at. in 1972. they went on to win the

african title. so the quarter fine line-up has now been excited. that's follows beginny on sunday. garn her take on guinea that is now confirmed as you heard from andy richardson there and top ranked algeria. on saturday, australia playing south korean cup final organizers are hoping the success of the tournament locally will attract a whole new audience to the game. but in it's eagerness the question has to be asked is australian football forgetting it's history. this is the face that the football federation of australia wants to promote to the world. a diverse fan base, reflecting the country's most culture image shows that it is part of the family. >> recently as 2006, but the

footballing history goes pack a lot further than that, and has it's roots with the immigrants that have settled in this country in the early to midpart of the 20th century, now many of those started football clubs like sidney united. >> formed by imn't grays sidney united is one of a number of clubs with strong leaks to the local country. he says the club played a vital role in the lives of immigrants like his father it was an important club. when they came over and no was attached to where they come from. and so they formed the club, and since then it became a hot

spot. >> crowd violence was starting to increase, those images between sidney and sidney city fans in 1985, tarnished the sport among the widest public there was a perception that there were croatians and serves. that was the perception. football there will always be an element of violence, ordaininger of violence, i think. >> scenes like this prompted them to get rid of the clubs from the top level. as the old soccer league was done away with, and relaunched as the a league in 2005. with teams like sidney united forced to play in the lower tier. >> the european migrants that set this clubs up, the children and grandchildren are now running these so there is a natural process if you like. i think the moment culture.

>> manchester united. >> so as australian football continues the drive to the new fan, the fear is that some of it's oldest and most famous clubs could find themselves left behind al jazeera sidney. >> from football to tennis. andy murray overcame a superb start to reach the final of the australian open. one of the first set by the tie break. they raced through is second in just 20 minutes. the 6th seed then going on to close up the match in four sets. the first grand slam final since beating wimbeldon back in 2013. top ranks vina williams has advanced to her 6th point where she will face maria sharpova. she was pushed in the first set by the bigser ban teenager.

williams whose gain in 19 grand slam passes came back to dominate and eventually close up the match. the american has won all five of her previous australian open finals. sarapova has an easier time in her final. the world number two beating the number 10 seed. to reach the open finals for the fourth time, this will be the 40 time williamson faced in the grand slam final. rory mcilroy has finished the round in the dubai classic. he is just two shots off the pace. ties for third caught in seven birdies but bogies the final hole leading after hitting five successive birdies. >> and there we go, that is sport. >> thank you for that, robert. >> thank you for watching.

>> sunday night. >> 140 world leaders will take the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of

the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. >> detroying a maternity and children hospital. killing two and injurying dozens more. you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up. an accident, paving the way for compensation claims.