way. >> all right. thank you all for your discussion. waj and i will see you online. ♪ shia muslims attacked while praying at a mosque in northwestern pakistan. ♪ hello this is al jazeera live from doha i'm adrian finighan also on the program, boko haram fighters carry out a first deadly attack in chad. a car bomb kills ten in damascus, as the u.n. says that president assad must be part of any solution to end syria's war. and we meet the rescue divers of bangladesh who risk their live tosser -- to search

for victims of maritime accidents. the taliban says that it has attacked a shia mosque killing at least 20 people in northwestern pakistan. it is the second attack on a shia mosque in pakistan in two weeks. our correspondent has more. >> reporter: they chose the busiest time of the week friday prayers. a small group of men, wearing suicide vests turned the building and shot at worshippers, even throwing grenades. one blew himself up killing the most number of people. another attacker was held down by some of the worshippers until he was shot by officers. according to a local police chief this was a courageous decision that prevented many more deaths. the people here are caught in the middle of a long-running

violent campaign by the pakistani taliban. it says this is revenge for the killing of one of its men in december. like other attacks the taliban has chosen to target shia muslims, a minority community in pakistan. this is also where 150 people mostly children were killed in a school in december. the government has been fighting the taliban in tribal areas where it's most active but the military campaign has not stopped attacks like these. suspected boko haram fighters have launched an attack inside chad from their strong hold in neighboring nigeria. the fighters crossed lake chad which separates the two country in canoes. they set homes on fire killing several people before being pushed by the army. the latest now. >> reporter: the details of this

attack come from an unnamed security official and what we know is that the group, boko haram, suspected members of the group stormed this village in the very early hours of friday morning. according to the security official there were at least 30 suspected boko haram fighters. however, there is some discrepancy, if you would like about how many people may have been killed. what does this mean for the broughter fight against boko haram? when you talk to those supporting the various military offensives going on against the group by countries like nigeria, chad and cameroon they say this is an on going battle. no army has said they are available to defeat boko haram. it's difficult to know where the group are, where the members are, to know how they are planning their attacks. but then when you talk to critics of the authorities, they say this news of this latest attack is more evidence of the

ineffectiveness of the armed forces who are battling the group. in that billions of dollars is being spent fighting them. thousands of soldiers are being deployed to the region but they are failing to protect lives and property. in iraq isil forces have attacked a major government base that houses hundreds of u.s. troops. it happened in anbar province. the latest from imran khan in bagdad. >> reporter: according to the u.s. military command responsible for the middle east there was an attack around 7:00 am on friday against the air base from isil fiektghters. it was quickly, they say beaten back by iraqi security forces. they say the u.s. soldier never came under any kind of threat. this attack began on midday on thursday. sleeper cells from isil activated themselves. they took over parts of the center of the town and mounted

attacks further out with the aim of getting to the air base. now what we're hearing is that the area has been cleared by iraqi security forces of those fighters, but according to local sources, there are a number of isil fighters still within the center of the town itself. also what we're hearing is reinforcements have been sent in by isil from the west and that's becoming a problem as well. so to wrap up there was an attack on the base. that's the first time isil have gotten so close to a coalition air base. but they say their soldiers weren't under threat. the u.n.'s special envoy to syria says any resolution to syria's conflict must involve president bashar al-assad. that's the first time the u.n. has said so. he was briefing the press earlier in the week. he is due to present a report on his mission on february 17th.

>> it is on important dialogue that we need to have. he is still president of syria. there is a government there. there is a large part of syria which is under the control of the syrian government. and i will continue having very important discussions with him, because he is part also of the solution. the syrian activist says that car bomb has exploded out of the city of damascus. the blast happened in front of a mosque as worshippers were leaving the building. several protests have been held across syria, calling for international help to protect the city of duma. it says the city has born the brunt of recent attacks. negotiations between the syria resheem and the opposition

have broken down in homs. the opposition says government demands to put down their arms in exchange for ensuring civilian safety are unacceptable. our correspondent explains. >> reporter: this has been the scene in the neighborhood in homs for several days. constant bombardment by regime forces is a clear sign of where negotiations with the rebels stand. the government has asked fighters to give up their arms and leave for the northern parts of the city. but they are not leaving. >> translator: we're here to fight. we will stay and defend our people. >> reporter: an earlier delay of opposition fighters to give up arms and positions in return for allowing police and government institutions to get back to work. and meant u.n. workers could deliver supplies for thousands of people trapped in the area. but there is no hope of an

agreement this time. >> translator: why isn't anyone caring for us? we suffer in silence while the whole world watches. egyptian state media says that a bomb blast in the capitol of cairo has killed a police officer. there have been a number of anti-government protests across egypt. security forces used tear gas to disperse some demonstrators in giza. >> reporter: this is where a bomb exploded killing a police officer and injuring nine other people. it happened in a neighborhood in cairo. it's the latest in a string of recent attacks, targeting security forces in egypt, where there has been violence since july 2013 when the army toppled president mohammed morsi. every friday anti-coup protesters take to the streets to denounce the military and

show support for morsi, who is in jail. in the city of alexandria protesters raise banners that read sisi is stealing money from the gulf countries. they are referring to the recent leaked tapes of president al-sisi apparently demanding money from regional allies. in giza district protests take a violent turn. security forces fire tear gas to disperse the crowd. the government accuses the muslim brotherhood of staging attacks targeting the police and the army. the outlawed group continues to demand for its leaders to be released and mohammed morsi reinstated. hashem ahelbarra al jazeera. with a little over 24 hours to go until a truce is due to come into force in eastern

ukraine, shelling and fighting continues. since the deal was signed in minsk on thursday at least 25 people have been killed. there's a fierce battle over one town. charles stratford reports from the front line. >> reporter: ukrainian army tanks are behind me. the separatists say they have surrounded the town. it has become a major flash point, some of the heaviest fighting there. if the separatists take control, it would give them a district route via railway to russia. there was very little on the road except military equipment and ambulances. ukrainian artillery was firing close by. everything is destroyed said this ambulance driver. you can't get into town and there are dead bodies on the road. we pushed up further towards the town. we're here at a ukrainian army

check point. there's a lot of heavy weaponry going towards the front. we're hearing a lot of heavy shelling. these solders are very nervous about us being here. they don't like to be filmed because they consider it to be bad luck before they go into battle. but some soldiers were returning from the town and one agreed to speak to us. we were in a village close by he said. we were shelled with mortars and grad rockets. we want peace, but we are happy about the coming ceasefire, but we don't trust president putin. behind me is the last bridge before the town. the military are telling us that it is too dangerous to go any further. there are big fears that the separatists could hit this bridge at anytime, and as you have can see there is a lot of heavy military equipment going into that direction. the ceasefire is supposed to start at 0000 hours on february 15th. a withdraw of heavy weapons on

both sides is supposed to begin soon after. for now the guns and rockets remain. behind me the military have set up tanks and grad rocket positions. there are grads to my left in the distance. bare in mind we were here a few days ago, and these soldiers were not here. there is a big fear that the separatists will try to take full control of the town in this interim period between the trust being signed and implemented on the 15th. the battle for the town goes on. charles stratford, al jazeera, eastern ukraine. all right. still to come here on al jazeera, the u.n. urges mexico to investigate drug-related disappearances. plus -- >> i'm very proud of every single moment i spent in prison for the sake of freedom of

expression. back home al jazeera journalists, baher mohamed, and mohammed fahmy are free on bail. ♪

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♪ hello again, the top stories here on al jazeera. the taliban says it has attacked a shia mosque killing at least 20 people in northwestern pakistan. it happened during friday prayers. suspected boko haram fighters have launched an attack inside chad from their strong hold in neighboring nigeria. they set homes on fire in a boarder town killing several

people before being pushed back by the army. a car bomb has exploded outside of the city of damascus killing several people. the u.n. is urging an investigation into the disappearance of 43 students in the mexican state of iguala. let's get more on this from adam raney. how have the families of the missing reacted to this u.n. report? >> reporter: well the parents, of course they welcome the u.n.'s findings that mexico needs to do more to investigate what these are called enforced disappearances. what that means is that state actors are involved in the disappearance of people.

one of those speaking in geneva said they assume there are thousands of much cases every year in mexico but that they are really not kept track of that mexico has done an abysmal job of monitoring this. and only six people are being charged in this case of 43 missing students. the parents don't have much faith in the federal or state government to truly investigate this. they say they live in a state run by organized criminal groups and they point to the fact that the man who was governor when these students went missing had to accept aside, and now several members of his family are being linked in a multi-million dollars corruption investigation. so they say the whole state is corrupt, and don't have a lot of faith in their leaders to

investigate it. >> this case has put the spotlight on mexico in a very unpleasant way. will the u.n.'s involvement, though push mexico to deal more effectively with what appeared to be forced disappearances? >> reporter: well that's what people like the family members hope. although they see the mexican state of not willing to do what it needs to do. but they say the only thing that will change that is increased international pressure. they can have hundreds of thousands of people marching but mexican leaders don't care about. what they care about is the image of mexico abroad. for the year and a half of the president's term he was riding high on this wave of headlines that he was going to save mexico, his reforms were going

to make mexico boom. and now all of the attention is on these students and the links between him and these rich businessmen. so he went from being very appreciated internationally, to now, perhaps being ridiculed and criticized in some international press, and the people watching this case say that is the only thing that is going to push mexico to truly clean up its act. >> adam many thanks. greece this week began financial reform talks. the prime minister says he is hopeful that a compromise can be reached to amend the country's $270 billion bailout terms. >> translator: this bridge agreement will lead us to a new, shall i say social contact with our european partners within six months, a contract for growth

for social cohee shun and for getting greece out of the crisis. saudi arabia is the latest country to close its embassy in yemen due to the deteriorating security situation and ongoing political crisis in yemen. shia houthi rebels officially took control of the government in a coup last week. mohammed fahmy, and baher mohamed are back home with their families in egypt. they have been freed on bail after spending 411 days in detention. their retrial on charges of colluding with the banned muslim brotherhood is expected to resume in ten days. richard martin reports. >> after 411 days after too much time alone in prison it's like a dream come true. >> reporter: al jazeera producer baher mohamed enjoys the first moments of his

new-found freedom. a day to celebrate with his wife and three children. >> i'm very proud of every single moment i spent in prison for the sake of freedom of presentation. if time goes back i would choose the same experience. i will continue to fight for the freedom of expression and i will not back off. >> reporter: baher and his colleague, mohammed fahmy were granted bail by a judge on thursday. the judicial fight will continue until the charges are dropped. baher was initially sentenced to ten years, and fahmy to seven years in prison. in that decision was recently overturned. egypt's highest court of appeals has challenged the evidence presented by the prosecution. it says the proceedings were flawed and has ordered a

retrial. [ cheers ] >> reporter: earlier month, another al jazeera journalist peter peter greste was deported to australia after 400 days in prison. fahmy was told his only way to freedom was to denounce his egyptian sit sinship, which he has done. they were wrongly accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. six other colleagues from al jazeera were sentenced in absentia to ten years in prison. al jazeera continues to call on egypt to have all of its journalists exonerated. richard martin al jazeera. myanmar's state media says that 47 soldiers have been killed in four days of fighting with ethnic chinese rebels. it says the troops died trying to stop rebels from taking over

an area near the chinese border. the government also carried out air strikes. china's foreign ministry has called for calm. >> reporter: this is not the first time there has been fighting between the myanmar national sdmic alliance army and also the myanmar armed fors. it happened six years ago when some 30,000 refugees crossed over the border into china. they were mostly ethnic haan chinese, and that is mostly the case now. we're told that some 10,000 have crossed over the border into china. that is going to continue i think over the weekend. pictures online show thousands of refugees in tents, others are being accommodated in an exhibition center and also a

sports stadium. china's ministry of foreign affairs says they will continue to provide humanitarian aid, but urges the myanmar government to find a peaceful solution. there's been a rise in tension in indian administered kashmir after an 18-year-old man was shot dead during a protest. his family says that he was just playing cricket nearby. they are now seeking justice. faiz jamil reports. >> reporter: people in the village have come out to comfort the family. he was allegedly shot and killed by security forces earlier this week when protesters began throwing stones at them. the mood here is somber but at times angry.

people here say bot was playing cricket here where the protest happened. and they insist he was not one of the protesters throwing stones. bot's father was too emotional to speak to us. so his cousin spoke instead. >> translator: there has been so many cases like this one of people being killed. nothing has happened in those cases, and it looks like nothing will happen in this one either. >> reporter: the streets have been largely empty after bot's death this week and there have been curfews and strikes across the region. security forces were posted outside of bot's village to prevent further protests. authorities began an ininvestigation into bots killing right away. >> in order to assure the public

that we are fair. >> reporter: they insist that police and paramilitary forces do restain themselves when faced by stone-throwing protesters. >> but if the protests goes beyond the limit, and a loss of public property and lives, then the order can be amended. >> reporter: authorities placed several saep leaders under arrest. >> some used more force to crush the peaceful protest, then definitely the advice is to stone throw. >> reporter: life has begun to return to normal but the calm is fragile. businesses have reopened throughout the region and people are returning to their daily lives, but many worry that

deaths like these could lead to more violence. in india, a temple built to worship the prime minister has been demolished. it featured a statue of modi and a lotus flower. hundreds of modi followers had donated funds to construct the temple. the prime minister wrote that he was appalled and shocked that it had been built in his name. bangladesh has a poor record of maritime safety with at least one ferry sinking every year. usually many people drown. recovery efforts can be very dangerous. rescue divers are under pressure to recover the victims quickly and return them to their families. our correspondent has met one diver who has found over 100 bodies from as many as 15

capsized capsized vessels. >> reporter: this is a diver with the fire department in bangladesh. a large part of his job is to recover the bodies that drown in many of the ferry disasters. >> translator: you have to be so careful going up. if you go up too fast it's dangerous. you can even get paralyzed. >> reporter: the divers are often the target of public anger. families of victims who sometimes spending days on shore waiting for the bodies to be recovered, sometimes confront salvage workers wondering why it is taking so long. most passengers usually go down with the ship. divers can spending five to six days looking for bodies. he is one of the best divers in bangladesh. hi has recovered over 100

bodies. and on one occasion he saved a woman who survived being trapped in a capsule of air. >> translator: i was trapped in a vessel underwater. i thought of my young son and my mother. i thought of taking my oxygen tank off of my back on to my hands to make it easier to get through. but i wasn't sure i could then swim up. thankfully i managed to slip out. >> reporter: it took a while for his wife to come to terms with the risks his husband takes. >> translator: people come to me and tell me that my husband helped them get closure by finding the body of their loved one. so i'm really proud of him. >> reporter: he is always reminded of his son when he brings up the body of a child victim. psychologically it's hard but it's also the thought of a father like him wondering what

happened to his child that pushes him to keep going. if you like the style and tone of what you have seen in this news bulletin you might want to take a look at our new-look website. there's more of al jazeera's balanced real news at aljazeera.com. >> as the world's most elderly nation - japan is dancing with a demographic disaster. people are living longer and birthrates are falling fast. no other country has a greater percentage of old people. the government has responded by raising taxes and the retirement