on al jazeera america leaders in europe and russia arrive in belarus for talks on the crisis in eastern ukraine. ♪ hello there, you are with me david foster watching al jazeera. also coming up in the next 30 minute as many as 300 migrants feared dead in the mediterranean after trying to reach europe. just too dangerous, the u.k. and france follow the u.s. and close their embassies in yemen.

and the european space agency tests technology from new reusable space plane. ♪ european leaders have begun arriving in minsk for discussions on the situation in eastern ukraine. here we see the ukrainian president petro poroshenko a second attempt needed after a ceasefire deal which was reached last september has failed. since the beginning of this year hundreds of people have been killed in fighting between ukrainian troops and pro-russia separatists. fighting between ukraine's military and pro-russia separatists continues. a number of people hurt at an

motion at a bus station. >> reporter: the burnt-out wreckage just hours before yet another attempt at negotiating an end to this conflict. thousands of civilians have been killed in seemingly indiscriminate shelling by both sides of this conflict. the attack came a day after at least ten soldiers and civilians were killed when missiles hit a residential area and army base in the ukrainian controlled city. the ukrainian president visited the hospital and spoke to some of the wounded. the separatists denied the attack. the attack on the shopping center behind me happened yesterday, but the violence has dramatically increased over recent recent weeks, and the shelling as you can hear continued right up to the beginning of the peace

talks. count less homes have been destroyed. >> translator: i want to live in peace. i don't want them to keep shooting to kill. >> reporter: nearly 5,500 people have been killed and almost 13 13,000 wounded. evidence so far, shows just how difficult it is to get both sides to lay down their arms. the united nations says it believes that more than 300 migrants died trying to cross the mediterranean, and dozens were rescued as they tried to get from europe from libya in rubber boats. >> reporter: in high seas and plummeting temperatures two boats were spotted. survivors have told the u.n. refugee agency that more thoon

200 people are still missing. the agency is demanding the e.u. do more to help. >> there were 203 people with them that have disapp pier pier -- disappeared. it's quite surprising to us that the e.u. cannot respond with stronger solidarity and stronger humanity, and stronger strategy to that. >> reporter: at least four vessels are believed to have left the coast of libya over the weekend. 29 migrants died of hypothermia after being rescued in wintery conditions. they were among 105 people picked up by the italian coast guard. the fourth vessel remains missing. the survivors were brought here to lampedusa, that in recent years has struggled to handle the number of migrants. more than 3,000 people have lost their lives attempting to reach

europe by sea. the latest deaths are likely to reignite the debate to scale back the scheme after the e.u. refused to share running cost of $10 million per month. pope francis held prayers for the victims. >> translator: more migrants have died because of extreme cold during their long journey across the mediterranean. i want to assure you of my priors to the victims, and i gen encourage solidarity so that those in need are rescued. >> reporter: the italian coast guard is continuing its hunt for our vooif vors, but humanitarian groups say italy's new rescue program has put thousands of lives at risk. iraqi special forces are on the offensive against isil fighters in central iraq. they are under attack in are mawdy, the capitol of anbar

province. >> reporter: these are members of iraq's elite golden brigade. they are engaged in battles are isil fighters every day. raw mawdy is important because it borders jordan syria, and the iraqi capitol. isil controls most of anbar and wants to seize its capitol. but the isil defensive is being pushed back by a brigade of iraqi special forces. >> translator: we have achieved progress and we will continue despite the difficulties. explosives and ied's are everywhere. in houses and streets. there are rumors that this area will fall to isil but these are false rumors. >> reporter: witnesses say most of the neighborhoods have become regular battle grounds and intense fighting has reduced the city to ruins. some soldiers have been battles

isil fighters for more than a year but despite the current standoff, they are determined they can win. >> translator: we have been like this for a year now. our morale is very high. we are still keen to do our job. every day isil attacks our positions, but they have suffered huge losses. >> reporter: it has been eight months since isil sent through this area. in other cities across anbar, pro-government tribes complain they are not getting the sort of support they need to defeat isil. the u.s. president barack obama is asking congress for authorization to use military force against isil. alan fisher has the details from washington, d.c. >> reporter: will this change anything on the ground in no it won't. america will continue to bomb ilz as they have done over the last six months. it sets a time limit on this

operation to three years, which means the next president could decide to stop it or continue it if we brought his own resolution forward, and it also elements the enduring use of ground troops. barack obama sees the threat from isil as much greater than just to the middle east. he believes it threatens the very homeland of the united states. we know that congress is keen to pass some sort of measure that gives him the power to wage war against isil. he is doing so now under legislation passed in 2001 and 2002 which was to take action against those who helped coordinate and organize the attacks in 9/11. in 2002 isil didn't even exist. congress will hold committee hearings, they will call people to give evidence so this may happen in the next months. barack obama has urged them to act quickly, but it really just tidies up some legal

ambiguities. houthi rebels have reportedly seized u.s. embassy vehicle theres yemeni capitol of sana'a. local staff say more than 20 vehicles were taken. the u.k. and france have also said they are closing their embassies there. now the u.n. envoy to yemen has warned that the country is on the brink of civil war, and shia houthi rebels consolidate their hold. jamal reports. >> translator: the current situation is the result of previous accumulations, the collapse of the state, and the breadth of violence of militias and groups in addition to the situation in the south which are all negative signs. we stress that all parties must

live up to their responsibilities. it has been four years since the revolution lead to the end of the former leader. here is jamal. >> reporter: i am at epicenter of the uprising in 2011. the protest that triggered tens of thousands have come out to the streets to demonstrate. but the message is not a celebration of the revolution but as one of the leaders told me they are scared that their revolution is slipping away. a court in an twerp has sentenced a leader of a group to

12 years in prison. he was found guilty of recruiting young people to fight for groups such as isil. his sentence is part of the mass trial of 46 young muslims. simon mcgregor-wood is outside the court. >> reporter: this has been belgium's biggest trial, the trial of its kind and quite possibly one of the largest in europe as well. and the judge in the passing of his verdict and handing down of his sentences decided that sharia for belgium, the organization that was established in 2010, itself is now classed as a terrorist organization. the man who was leading that organization is the man who received the 12-year sentence for being the heard of this organization. he was allegedly a charismatic person who was actively recruiting dozens and dozens of young belgium muslims to go and fight for the cause as he would see it in syria and iraq.

interestingly, there were only nine defendants in the court to hear the verdict. 46 in all, 10 we think have been killed fighting in syria, another 30 are still thought to be out there. the clear message, i think, that the belgian authorities were trying to deliver with this mass trial, if you would like was to any other young belgium muslims thinking of going out to syria that regardless of how serious their activities are out there, if they decide to return to belgium, the belgium authorities will pursue them here and prosecute them and based on what we see here from the judge in an twerp on wednesday, they will receive stiff jail terms. the captain of the costa

concordia denies multiple manslaughter charges. the prosecution is asking for a 26-year jail sentence. >> translator: in the end, i'm forced to share a very intimate and painful moment that i shared with the survivors in my home. that should not be allowed, seeing i did not want it to happen. okay. that's all. that's enough. still ahead, somalia's prime minister talks about his plans to stabilize his country after years of conflict. and the breath of fresh air in vietnam, how an open sewer has been transformed. ♪

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the inside story. >> now at its new time. weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. ♪ time to run through the global headlines. europe's leaders have begun arriving in the bellarus capitol of minsk to attempt to reach a peace deal in we situation of eastern ukraine. houthi rebels have reportedly seized the u.s. embassy's vehicles in yemen's capitol sana'a a day after the mission was closed. local staff say more than 20 vehicles were taken. the u.k. and france are following suit closing their embassies because of the

security problems and political crisis there. boko haram is continuing its series of raids into countries bordering nigeria. dozens of civilians have been killed in niger. there is an offense if that has been launched by chad cameroon and nigeria to combat the armed group. >> reporter: the streets are almost empty. shops are closed. in this town in niger, along the border with nigeria, dozens of civilians have been killed. the wounded are treated at this hospital, which is now protected by the army. this doctor is in charge of this small medical facility and the staff are now struggling with the growing number of casualties. >> translator: in the last few days we have treated 50 people who were injured in the attacks,

ten of them died of their wounds almost 34 people have been killed so far. they were mostly civilians. >> reporter: these are the victims of a boko haram suicide bombing in a busy market. the armed group has been on the offensive here and around the lake. it's fighters say the attacks are in retaliation against a military campaign lead by troops from niger and chad. many people have escaped from the area. they are worried about more revenge attacks. two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in the border town according to reuters after several days of attacks by boko haram over the nigerian border. there appears to be no more victims, although that has yet to be confirmed. somalia's pavrl has overwhelmingly approved the cabinet appointed by the prime

minister. the new government faces a number of challenges including pirating off of the coast and fraction al-shabab fighters. the prime minister spoke to al jazeera earlier about the country's fight against al-shabab and how he expected to move forward. >> number one i think we absolutely have to defeat al-shabab, and with our military and all security forces have already done a great, i think job to really i think corner them in [ inaudible ] districts. it is the main task to have a free of al-shabab country. we need better security than we do now. and i think al-shabab is losing ground not only because of the military, but because they have nothing to offer for the somali people. they really i think were part of that problem -- the famine

that took place in 2011 and that's why so many al-shabab leaders i think have defected now into a movement into the government. we appreciate the support we're getting from our bothers of the african forces but i think -- don't forget it's our forces on the front lines, and we really i think, the support is still required but i think it's both a defeat and show up and build a force that can entirely take over this country. all of the major towns are now in the hands of the government. and all that remains is i think a final push and we're in the process of taking on them and i think having all of the districts in the hands of the government. the mysterious death of a prosecutor in argentina has shocked the jewish community there. he accused the country's president of covering up the

bombing of the jewish community center. 85 people died in that attack. >> reporter: sophia lost her only daughter in the bomb attack in the jewish community center on the 18th of july 1994. she has been waiting fighting ever since for answers. >> translator: at first the pain was unbearable and it continues to be unbearable but one learns to live with it. we believed everything they promised us that within a year, all would be resolved. >> reporter: but more than 20 years later, sophia and the other families of the victims mostly jewish are still waiting, still marking the anniversary, the pain highlighted by the death last month of investigator alberto nisman. >> translator: i hope there will be justice for nisman.

he died for us. so i hope his death won't be in vain. we call him the 86th victim. >> reporter: but while the victims families all want justice, they don't all agree how that should be achieved. they are divided. some support the government many do not, while others take a different course. this man's ex-wife was one of the victims. >> translator: we're not going to say what others want to hear. we're not going to play politics to win supporters. we tell the truth, and if that upsets people that's their problem. >> reporter: this is election year in argentina, which further come by indicate -- complicates the issue. both the government and the opposition have been accused of playing politics with the case. >> translator: we don't want anyone using the army of dead or

the death of nisman for police call purposes. the election should be at the ballot box, not at the cost of the dead. >> reporter: argentina has the largest jewish community in latin america. since the bombing, the community has lived under tight security. while so many questions remain unanswered and justice has still not been done after the bomb that exploded here on this site nearly 21 years ago, the wounds remain unhealed. with this latest scandal the death of alberto nisman those wounds have only reopened. both in argentina in general and the jewish community. the results of a dntashgz

show that a senior member of a group linked to al-qaeda has been killed. our correspondent reports on the end of a policeman hunt that lasted a decade. >> reporter: this was one of southeast asia's most wanted men. he was a member of a group with ties to al-qaeda. the fbi and the united states had a $5 million bounty on his head. he was a u.s.-educated engineer spent time in training camps in afghanistan and pakistan. wanted for the murder of a christian member of parliament in malaysia he was always one of the suspects behind a bombing in indonesia. he as evaded arrest by hiding in troubled areas of southern philippines. maria has been following his movements and said his area provided the perfect haven. >> they were similar enough.

he spoke the languages. he had at least three filipino wives. one of whom was the wife of the leader of a group. so this means marrying into their extended namlys. he distributed money freely among the communities. he relied on them but they relied on him. and that is immediate personal loyalties. >> reporter: but his death came at a heavy price, 44 members of the special armed forces were killed. >> it was a successful operation, although it was tragic that it was at the expense at the cost of 44 lives. what we know now we could have launched that particular operation in a different way. perhaps the same objective to get him, but perhaps we could have done it a little different. >> reporter: it has also jeopardized peace talks with the

most powerful group. the raid was in its territory. at least 15 members of the mlif were killed along with five civilians, and there are also questions over the ceasefire agreement. it may have lost police officers but it says a dead terrorist means more lives will be saved in the future. still, many here remain skeptical, for as long as there's armed rebellion here the place will remain a haven for many more wanted men. in vietnam a once filthy and smelly waterway has been improved. scott heidler went down to the waterside. >> reporter: enjoying the air and the view was unthinkable

when this woman was growing up in this house. her family had lived along the banks of the canal for 50 years. >> translator: the water was black. there were mosquitos all over the place. they removed the mud and garbage from the canal, it cleaned the air. >> reporter: this was the first phase of a politically and technically ambitious plan by the government. the goal to clean up and reconstruct the canal that had become an open sewer for 1.2 million people. it took a decade to complete and some were resettled by the government. the improvement is obvious along the 8-kilometer long canal. but it's the 56 kilometers of

sewer lines that are beneath the canal that makes the difference. >> translator: we constructed several layers of sewage and drainage lines. >> reporter: and there are more areas of the city to be cleaned up. the project's phase 2 funding was approved a little last year $450 million. this man moved near the canal just after the cleanup started. >> translator: the house theres the alley now contact to the road so their value has increased. the cleanup improved the environment of the area and has given the economy a new chance. >> reporter: but for those who live through the canal's dark past, the cleanup gives them something to pass on to future generations.

scott heidler, al jazeera. a test flight of a new reusable space plane took off from france just over two hours ago, and has already splashed down. the european space agency's testing the technology for its own version of nasa's space shuttle. here is the mission director. >> this is a fundamental step that we are doing today. eventually being able to look at these type of operations so bringing back to people from infrastructures, but also the capability to bring back launcher stages for example, for reusable launch vehicles as well as to open the way to the possibility to bring back samples from asteroids or other planets. this is a fundamental step that we are doing today. we are going to gather a lot of

data. we have more than 300 sensors and infrared cameras. so we're going to master all of the critical re-entry phenomenon. and for all of the news and a great deal more go to aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com.