kids to look up on the moon and see lights and towns and settlements and cities maybe who knows. >> jacob ward, al jazeera, san francisco. >> that's our show for today u.s. secretary the state is due in ukraine as pro-russia separatists step up their offensive in the east. ♪ ♪ hello i am martin dennis you are with al jazerra live in doha. also in come. rescuers are still searching for the missing after a plane crash today a river in taiwan, killing at least 31 people. home at last, al jazerra journalist peter greste thanks his supporters and appeals to the release of his colleagues still jailed in egypt.

plus. >> reporter: a am jennifer glasse on afghanistan's board he hundreds of afghan families are a driving here every debuts pakistani forces are forcing them to leave. the u.s. secretary of state john kerry will soon land in ukraine to discuss whether washington should start supplying weapon to his kiev to help combat pro-russia rebels. both side are batting for control of positions in positions in eastern ukraine, heavy shelling continues in the rebel-held strong holds of donetsk and luhansk, a hospital was targeted on wednesday injuring three -- killing three and injuring many more. the mare mariupol has bulls hit.

fighting is its most intense currently in a major transport hub between russia and ukraine and that's where charles stratford reports from. >> reporter: ukrainian army fire a volley of grad rockets towards the frontline. the separatists say they have surrounded the town under teaming. volunteers like this man are trying to drive civilians to safety. >> translator: you can hear shelling and shooting at night it was very intense he says. >> reporter: i have to go says this man. it's bad in there. very bad. we followed a bus along the mud roads in to town. attempts at negotiating a temporary truce for safe passage had failed. >> push, push, push. go. go.

go! go go, go. catch them. catch them. >> reporter: the shelling is intense. the very few people on the street run for cover. what sound like or artillery or mortars fires towards targets we cannot see. there have been -- there have been repeated efforts at trying to get some of the wounded out of the town there. have been calls for she's fire, some of the ceasefires have been ignored and we followed a humanitarian aid convoy in to the city to try to deliver aid to the people trapped here. the men tell us that they are going to an area that is too dangerous for us to film. >> translator: we are trying to deliver aid to people still here at our own risk. we could not organize a temporary truce to come here safely. >> reporter: approximately 25,000 people used to live here.

after weeks of they have fighting, it's not known how many are living here now. only the very brave remain. i walk to deliver aid to people every day shouts this woman. as another shell explodes close by. this is of strategic importance to both sides in this conflict, it's a major railway hub linking territory the separatists control with russia. it's believed up to 8,000 ukrainian government troops have been deployed to try to defend the town. they are suspicious about what they say are separatist spies. this armored personnel carrier blocked our path as we left town the soldiers questioned us before letting us drive on. this road is the only way in to the town from ukrainian

military-controlled side. what & while the fighting intensifies it's the only route out for many civilians who remain inside. charles stratford, al jazerra eastern ukraine. >> let's go live now to moscow and talk to our kroepbt correspond e there rare i rory challe end with. we have john kerry and joed by an driving in kiev and the defense ministers meeting in brussels among them chuck hagel, of course. >> reporter: yeah, we are reaching a turning point aren't we hear, martin. it's a situation where what was previously something of a regional skirmish, now looks like it's in danger of escalateing in to a much more serious, much more broad scale conflict it. started really recently at the

beginning of this year. the beginning of 2015 when the separatists in east turn ukraine launched a serious offensive beginning with mariupol but also donetsk. now, the west is having to rethink and recalculate how it handles this, thousand deals with ukraine and how it deals with russia as well. so we have a situation where kerry is considering now the supply of lethal weapons to the ukrainian army. petro poroshenko has been asking for this for quite sometime in september of last year, he went to the united states and in front of congress said, look, we thank you for the blankets and all of the nonlethal stuff you have been giving us but we can't win a war with blankets we need much more than this and it look like that might being bearing fruit. and what is nato doing? nato is trying to come up with plans for how it can contain

russia best and look like bolstering forces in eastern europe particularly coming up with plans for a rapid reaction force that it can mobilize if there is ever any sign of any russian invasion in to nato territory. >> now this whole conflict is viewed by the west as part of president putin and russia more generally, russian ambitions territorial ambitions over its former -- it's former state part of the soviet union. how is it viewed in russia is? is it viewed really as a way at getting back at what they see as an expansionism on the part of nato? >> reporter: well, what you have at the moment are two very, very different nate narratives one coming from the west and one coming from russia. russia has longed argued that the revolution that his have went through former soviet countries, were instigated by

the west, they were cia plots cooked up in washington d.c. but acted out on the ground of capitals in eastern europe and the caucuses, so it says this is what happened in georgia it says this is what happened in ukraine in 2004, thousand five the orange revolution and also tend of the 2013 in the revolution that kicked yanukovych out of power. russia also says that made oh, since the fall of the soviet union, has consistently broken its promises not to expand eastwards. and it has now object soar absorbed the baltics states, pole amends as well it's a policy of encircle. strangling russia, the developments going on now with regards to the ukraine give russia an opportunity to jump up and down and say look, we told you so, this has been happening. >> all right for now rory, thank you very much indeed. rory challe challands our correspondent

in moscow. to tie why now where investigations are underway to try too find out why a plane crashed shortly after take off killing at least 31 of the 58 people on board. the audio recording between the pilot and the control tower has been released. now more from the crash site. >> reporter: slowly the wreckage of trans air flight 235 is hauled out of the water. search teams are not looking for survivors, but bodies. many are still missing. the twisted and tangled parts of the plane are slowly recovered from the fast-moving waters of the river. overnight industrial cranes are brought in to live the main news lodge out of the water. it took two hours in freezing conditions. up to a thousand emergency and military personnel were involved at the height of the rescue. the atr7272 turboprop was on a routine flight from taipei's secondarysecondary port this footage

shows the plane as it dived clipped the highway and for taxis and then plunged in to the river below. progress to retrieve all of the parts of the plane and victims is slow. the military have built a huge pontoon it's helping to bring wreckage to the surface divers are using it to support their search efforts. >> translator: parts of the plane wings are still under water. we are unable to pull out the wreckage because the current is very fast today. >> reporter: teams of divers have been scouring the surface and bed of the river, they have been working around the clock in teams of up to six. diving in short periods in the icy waters searching for clues and wreckage. on thursday they found part of the wing. a vital piece of the puzzle. also the chilling last words between the cockpit and control tower were leased to the released

to public. while the search continues for those still missing the investigation can begin. the flight data recorders were recovered from the crash site. as has most of the wreck i believe. and they may hold vital clues as to what caused flight ge235 to crash. al jazerra taipei. now to syria where shelling has hit the capital damascus killing at least three people and injuring at others. most of the damage was in restless shall areas. the syrian observe torre for human rights says the rockets came from a group known as the army of islam. let's go live now to stefanie dekker our correspond end who is monitor he go events in syria from neighboring beirut and lebanon, stefanie, first of all tell us how serious is this onslaught on the capital damascus and then tell us more about the group who seem to be conducting this offensive.

>> reporter: it was an intense barrage and it's significant because damascus, we have to remember the syrian capital has been largely unaffected during the war, yes, sir random mortar attacks here and there the army has managed to push these groups back particularly in the last few months where life has gone on as normal. civilians go out go to restaurants, you have all the u.n. agencys based there the world food program, et cetera, it is really a capital that is largely surreal when we look at the biggest picture this has cause a fear amongst civilians there, we have to remember government buildings are amongst these civilian areas very difficult to be specific with mortar fire and rockets, at least 50 mortars and rockets fired this morning around 7:30. so rush hour, of course, children going to school. so really it is causing fear our producer spoke to a couple of sources sign i had damascus at the time it happened. and people feeling that the war has come to them. if we talk about the group, we have had a message a warning

from their leader, they are based in the eastern outskirts of damascus on tuesday he said duhdamascus was a military zone, warning civilians diplomats students to stay off the roads stay way are checkpoints stay away from government buildings he has carried that out. he has carried out a similar attack before at tend of january and he says this is in response to government air strikes on their areas in eastern due ma areas on the out sturtz of damascus and saying we will make you feel what you are making us feel here. we are, of course, hearing as welling that the government has carried out retaliatory air strikes in the areas at least 20 and also that people have been killed a number of people also civilians according to activists in those areas. >> and so how much of a challenge, then, does this group, the army of islam, how much of a challenge can it pose to the government? >> reporter: well, the syrian army is powerful and has managed to secure the capital and what i was saying earlier a couple of months ago they have managed to

push them further back hence there was a real sense of a surrealness no mortar fires nothing like that. the power they have is to launch morters and rockets, i don't think there is a real danger of them causing any ground incursions or that, but it is something that has a huge effect, of course and damascus is the city as i said earlier has gone on life as normal and you have all the major agencies based there. it is a fear, of course, the government will be concerned and as we were hearing now, they are carrying out more air strikes this group has been in that area for the last two years the government hasn't imagine today push them out. they are still there. they are powerful. this group is the biggest group in the coalition called the islamic front. but there has been in fighting amongst those groups that highlights the complexities on the ground in syria even if there is a loose allegiance of groups they will turn their guns on each other as welch leader made that warning and he is a powerful man however the impact of any sort of ground incursion or anything like that in

damascus not really a serious threat but rockets and mortars as he has shown as he has done now and on the 25th of january causing a real panic amongst civilians and causing concern in the government as well. >> okay, stef. >> thank you. tiffany deck our correspond understand reporting live from beirut. we have more to think do. including a communications breakdown hurting the most vulnerable. find out why text messaging has been banned in the democratic republic of congo.

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hello again, let's look at the top stories here at al jazerra. john kerry arrives in ukraine shortly to of have talks with president poroshenko about the worsening violence. they too are expected to discuss whether washington should begin supplying weapon to his kiev to help combat pro-russia rebels. investigate says are ongoing in taiwan to find out why a plane crashed shortly after take over killing at least 31 of the 58 people on board. rescue crews are continue to go search for missing people. syria, shelling has hit the capital damascus killing at least three people and injuring eight more, the syrian observe tore i ever from human rights says the rockets came from a group known as the army of islam. tunisia's parliament is still debating a new national

tune at this government and it includes members from both parties. the party that won the elections and from its main political rival. we can go live now to opportunitytunis andtalk to our correspondent there. has there debate been extended because of the level of dissatisfaction or is it because everyone is so enthusiastic that they want to have their say? >> reporter: it feels a bit lie deja vu view, doesn't it, martin? i think the reason is this is democracy true 19 an style. m.p.s now have a chance unlike before air their views and that's exactly what they are doing. each m.p. has three minutes to speak about what they think the next government should should be prioritizing the vote is expected to go ahead today and it is expected to pass, although politics always seems to come up with surprises.

this time around the two biggest parties in the country have come to some sort of an agreement so you would think they would be able to get the 109 109 votes need to get the vast started and tackle the problems. >> in a coalition, of course, these two main parties have to put aside what is a fairly profound difference and nas on the role of islam or the role of religious unand how much it plays in to affairs of state. >> reporter: exactly. and they have somehow managed to do that. although we don't noah long the line down the next five years whether there will be problems within this coalition whether it will be fragile when it comes to voting in certain changes to the law, for example. but at the moment, they seem to put those aside and prioritizing the main issues in the country and really when you speak to

tunisians here on the street they will tell you that they are appalled and shocked by the upheavals they are seeing in the region and they see to you neesha as a role model for the arab world that islam and democracy can work here in this country. but, of course, the transition is still taking place, we have toto wait for this new government and people feel like they want to give this new government a chance to see what it can do, whether it can achieve anything. >> okay, for now, thank you very much. there live in tunis. let's go to northern iraq where kurdish peshmerga forces have been at the forefronts of the battle against isil. and since june last year, around a thousand of them have lost their lives fighting against the group. some of them in the most heinous of ways. zeina holder happenedder spoke to the family of one victim who was beheaded by aisles. >> reporter: he is too young to

understand what happened to his father, he was beheaded by isil. he was a kurdish peshmerga fighter captured in june. his wife can't speak, she is in shock. and so are her children, they are also proud of their father because he died defending their land. >> translator: they kidnapped my father skilled him in a brutal way, we ask our leaders to help bring back his body. >> reporter: he belonged to the tribe, his village is just a few kilometers from the village of the man who beheaded him on video. the killer was identified as a cured from the tribe. iraq's kurds are at war with isil but the armed group has kurds in its ranks. there are no official numbers but isil says it has a kurdish unit. >> translator: i am very sad and angry, but what made me more angry is that a cured killed him. >> reporter: it wasn't the first time a cured was use booed isil. the suicide bomber who targeted the governor's office in november was also an iraqi

cured. the governor of erbil the regional capital of the kurdish region in the north says this is parts of the isil's strategy. he believes isil want to turn kurds against each other in the relatively peaceful kurdish region. >> they are playing to on that how to find problem in to the community also to distribute it to fighting against the community to stay against the core. so they will try using dipping kind of that things to effect on the kurds. >> reporter: kurds appear in isil prop propaganda videos encouraging others to join and criticizing what they call the secular kurdish society most current are sunni muslims like isil bull they have their own language and culture. isil uses beheading as a stair scare tactic, he was not the first cured to be beheaded and may not be the last officials say they

have captured more than 50 peshmerga soldiers since the conflict began in june. many kurds of fighting age volunteered to join the peshmerge what the region came under threat and the men say they won't allow isil to divide their community or let the beheadings scare them away from the battle. afghan refugees in pakistan are being forced out of the country in record numbers. the expulsions have increased ever since a taliban attack on a school in december. jennifer glasse reports now everybody afghans with the right documentation are being forced to cross the border with nowhere to go. >> reporter: the border crossing between afghanistan and pakistan always busy. it's even busier than usual. in january nearly 24,000 afghans returned from pakistan. the international organization for migration says that's more than came back in all of last year. it's been 36 years since he

lived in afghanistan. about a month ago pakistani police raided his home. they jailed his oldest son for 10 days. basically keeping him hostage he says. >> translator: we had to give them a guarantee that they would left in 15 days time. the pakistani police seized our houses. his son has never even been to afghanistan. he and his family are legal residents of pakistan, registered with the united nations and entitled to stay until the end of 2015 at least. they say that didn't matter. the pressure on afghan started after a taliban attack in december. on the army public school. 145 people, most of them students were killed. two afghans were reported to be among the six attackers. after that, police started forcing afghans out. many of the families arrive here with only what they can carry. most have been gone for years if they even lived in afghanistan at all. so when they get here, they have to start a whole new life. he says he doesn't know what

that life will look like or even where he will settle. he says he doesn't even have the fair to get his family on the bus to the nearest city. >> translator: i don't have anything exempts my children and these are all miami belongings now whenever got puts me in my country i will survive. >> reporter: afghan officials say they know returning families are vulnerable, but the government doesn't have the resources to help them. >> translator: there is no aid at the border here, all we can do is register them and give them a form. >> reporter: and only about 10% of afghans who have crossed can get help here a u.n. center where they are registered and educated about the danger of land mines childrens are vaccinated and the u.n. gives them money to start over between 180 and $220 a person. many people here don't know how long that money will last them. and say it's small compensation for lives they were forced to leave behind.

jennifer glasse, al jazerra afghanistan. now, in the democratic republic of congo opposition groups are protesting against the president who they believe is trying to extend their rule. well his government has now blocked text messages and mobile internet services for more than two weeks now. and as malcolm webb reports from the eastern city it's hitting one group particularly hard. >> reporter: at this school for deaf children in the city, it's time for physical education. students here use sign language to communicate with each other and their teachers. i don't understand that, they depends on tethers messages and mobile internet. the government switched off those services two weeks ago following anti-government protests. he says people use them to instigate violence and looting. and the children that we meet are not happy about it. phone calls television and radio are still on, but have no use to them.

they say they are completely cut off. >> translator: my parents live far way from here, i have not been able to communicate with them for two weeks. i ask the government please to reopen the text messages. i am really crying. >> reporter: they write sign to his show us, this boy is inspired by the protests against the charlie hebdo attack in france last month. the children here learn skills that help them to get work when they leave. these girls are learning how to sam ew. normally the things that they make are raised to -- sold to raise money for the school now they can't communicate with the buyers so there is no business and the completed garments are left hanging on the call. she learn today sew at the school when she was a child now is he runs a sewing owe op for deaf women. she is not able to talk. >> translator: communication by text message is one of the only ways we can make money because we are not communicating now, we

have lost a lot of money. >> reporter: the deaf community here in congo is struggling and they are many. there is no accurate data but health charities estimate over a million. the lack of healthcare here means untreated infections during pregnancy and childs hood often cause loss of hearing. this association for the death has more than 500 members throughout the north province but without text messages or internet the only way they can meet or ask the group for help is if they walk around for hours looking for each other. >> translator: sometimes our members have accidents and accidents and they need help for example if someone is hit by a car without sns he can't contact us or his family to come to the hospital. >> reporter: the group secretary said he want to watch this story online, he won't be able to hear what we say and won't even be able to see it either unless the internet comes back. and deaf people need it more than most. there are few services to support people with disabilities. the children here at the school are luckier than others in the

villages but one of the few things that makes a hard life a little easier has been taken away. malcolm webb, al jazerra in the democratic republic of congo. you can find out more is the situation there on the website aljazerra.com. >> hello and welcome. i'm here to talk about the intersection of hardware and humanity and we're doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science by scientists. let's check out our team of hard core in other words. kyle hill is an engineer tonight he's turning back time. hearts ravaged by age. suddenly rejuvenated.