case closed. a court in argentina, dismissing allegations that the president covered up the involvement in a bombing 20 years ago. ♪ hello, i'm darren jordan in doha. isil fighters kill 20 iraqi soldiers. gulf nation's back the yemen president to move the capitol to aden. i'm here in penang where coastal erosion has effected the

livelihoods of thousands of fisherman. i'll tell you how they are trying to turn that tide around. ♪ welcome to the program. a federal judge in argentina has dismissed a major case against the president. prosecutors accuse her of covering up iran's involvement in a bombing of a jewish center. lucia, so the judge has thrown out this case against the president. how significant is it? and what does it mean. >> reporter: it's very good news for argentina's president. the good news that she has had in a very long time and the timing could not be better. the president gave the last state of the nation speech on sunday -- >> all right. we are having problems there with lucia. we'll try to get back to her

later in the program. but for you let's move on. iraqi forces have lost 20 soldiers in a battle with isil forces. iraqi troops have been trying to take baghdadi back from the group. the town is close to an air base used by u.s. and iraqi soldiers which was also attacked by suicide bombers on thursday. >> reporter: the iraqi military is continuing to evacuate families from the city of baghdadi amid fierce fighting there. isil has taken a bridge between the city of baghdadi and haditha, that in that vast western province where tribes combined with iraqi military are trying to fight isil. but it still controls most of the province and fighting has

been particularly fierce around baghdadi which is near the huge air force base which is home to u.s. and iraqi fighters. according to security sources, isil retook the bridge on the you fray tease river, after that they sent a suicide bomber to try to bomb a gate to the base. they didn't make it to the gate but they did make it to a check point nearby just a couple of kilometers away. that's where at least three of those suicide bombers detonated. several iraqi officers and soldiers were also killed in the attack. baghdadi is where families have been under siege without food and water. the iraqi military has recently opened a corridor there. they have been evacuating families by driving them to the air base and air lifting them to

baghdad or sending them on a round about route by road. there are very few families left there and the situation a still dire according to sources there. a new human right's watch group i says kurdish forces have prevented arabs from returning to their homes. at the same time kurds have been allowed to return to those areas and even move into homes of arabs who left. local kurds say dozens of homes have been destroyed in an area identified as a new possible autonomous region. isil has released a video of them destroying priceless

artifacts. some of the pieces smashed in the video were plaster copies. isil makes some of its income by selling looted items. it's talk to an iraqi archeologist. what do you make of this video, which isil has posted? and what is your assessment of the destruction of these priceless and ancient artifacts? >> it's very very devastating, because most of these statues, that they have been [ inaudible ] are quite unique. those from the city of hatra which is dated to about -- about 100 before christ, 100 after christ, that era, are unique. you only find them in the city of hatr. you don't find them in any oversight anywhere in the

region. and they represent rulers priests, worshippers, and they are unique for the artistry of the period and to the history of iraq. >> yeah i was going to say -- i was going to say, how important are these artifacts and what do they mean culturally to iraq? >> well it's part of the history of iraq. it's about 2,000 years old, and the other thing is the inhabitants of hatra where these statutes came from are arab so they are one of the original arabs that have settled in iraq today. and -- and so it's part of our history, apart from their importance from an artistic point of view and an historical one. >> we know that iraq is rich in

historical an -- antiques should the government be doing more? >> well, what can you do when isis are in these areas? i don't think the government or anyone is able to do anything? that area at the moment. >> i mean -- >> that is the trouble. >> yeah. it -- it is worrying though. but is there a chance that someover these antiques are even or even parts of the video could be fake. the director of the museum said some of the casts were actually plaster of paris. >> some of them. but the rest are original. yes, one or two of these statutes are cast. and if you look when they were breaking them if you see one being broken easily that means it was a cast because it was made of gip sum while the

others are all made of marble so that's why it was much harder for them to destroy them. the sites outside of their power at the moment, i don't know how they can protect them really. it's a very difficult thing to -- to protect these sites. they are open. the ancient sites, they are open. anyone can go and destroy them. these sites in -- in -- where daesh or eye sis is are mostly asyrian sites [ inaudible ] these were the capitols along for over 1,000 years, one of them is the capitol of an

empire and they are rich with mostly reliefs and stone reliefs which are very difficult to carry. so what isis is doing is just redestroying them. >> thank you for talking to al jazeera. >> yeah. thank you. meanwhile isis has reportedly released 50 men belonging to one of the largest sunni tribes in iraq. the armed group still holds over 70 others, including ten boys. it is thought they were originally taken because their relatives had been fighting against isil. the u.s. f-lead coalition has launched air strikes in an area where 255 asyrian christians were abducted this week. they were taken captive as the group advanced in one province. >> reporter: on tuesday activists reported that asyrian christians were captured by the

islamic state of iraq and the levant in hasaki. at the time they put the number at 90. now they are saying they have been in contact with community leaders as well as activists on the ground. their whereabouts are not known. there are also conflicting reports that some say that isil took them to a strong hold in the south. the community as you can imagine is worried about their faith. they don't know if they are alive or dead. isil has still not made any demands, and it's not clear if isil will agree to exchange them in any prisoner stop. but what we understand is that arab tribal leaders on the ground are trying to immediate some sort of deal to release these people. this is not the first time isil has captured people. they have captured hundreds if not thousands both in syria and iraq.

but this was the first time they captured such a large number of christians at once. the u.s. house armed services committee is hearing on ill tell against figures of proposed use of military force against isil. tom akerman joins us live from washington, d.c. tom what have you heard so far? >> reporter: well this was the annual budget hearing -- actually this is the senate armed services committee who was hearing testimony mostly from the director of national intelligence, james clapper, and foremost on the agenda was some assessment of the degree of violence in -- worldwide the threats to the united states and other communities, and this is clappers' assessment of just how serious this last year has been. >> in 2013 just over 11,500 terrorist attacks worldwide killed approximately 22,000 people. preliminary data for the first nine months of 2014 reflects

nearly 13,000 attacks which killed 31,000 people. when the final accounting is done, 2014 will have been the most lethal year for global terrorism in the 45 years such data has been compiled. >> reporter: now clapper specified that half of those attacks occurred in iraq afghanistan, and pakistan. and at the same time he did say that isil was responsible for more attacks than any other group -- armed group in all of those countries as well as other countries. he was also asked about the number of foreign fighters that isil has now recruited. >> since the conflict began, more than 20,000 sunni foreign fighters have traveled to syria from more than 90 countries to fight the assad regime. of that number at least 13,'600 have extremist ties. hundreds have returned home to

europe. about 180 americans or so have been involved in various stages of travel to syria. i should point out this is those who have attempted to go didn't get there, those who got there, and were killed. those who got there, fought and went to another country, and some number have come back. >> tom, what is the prevailing mood in washington? do lawmakers really want to put boots back on the ground? >> well that was one question that was brought up by one senator, and he -- by the way mentioned that the amir of qatar had spoken privately with senators during his visit this week to washington and had cautioned them that that would be a very bad idea even special forces introducing u.s. special forces into the region because that would just have a detrimental effect. it would change the perception that this is really a fight for the regional neighbors of iraq -- with iraq and syria, and

that -- that essentially the fight against isil would have to be made and the determining factor would be those people and that it would just muddy the waters if american troops got further involved. >> tom, thank you. gulf countries are sending their ambassadors in the capitol sana'a to aden in yemen. >> reporter: popular support for the president is growing by the day in yemen. people took to the streets in the city of ta'izz to show their support and reject the houthis advances. yesterday the president received the gcc secretary general and six gcc ambassadors who expressed their support. today the u.n. envoy to yemen

arrived here. and had a couple of meetings with hadi and say they have agreed on major points. still to come here on al jazeera. destruction in eastern ukraine. we're at donetsk airport where even identifying the dead is difficult >> and funerals are held for the victims of avalanches in this afghanistan. more than 200 people are reported dead. stay with us. >> a flawed investigation... >> do you feel that the police has been as fair? >> and a missing child. >> i hope that the person that has her just bring her home. >> now, "america tonight" investigates the search for relisha. tomorrow, 10:00 east

♪ welcome back. a quick reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera.

in iraq isil has reportedly secured a crucial bridge that connects the towns of baghdadi and haditha. iraqi troops have been trying to take baghdadi back from the group. the town is close to an air force base which was also attacked by a suicide bomber on thursday. gulf countries are relocating their ambassadors to aden to show their support of president hady. a federal judge has dismissed charges against the argentina president. let's talk to our latin america editor lucia newman who joins us live on the phone. the judge has thrown out this case against the president. how significant is this? and what does it mean? >> darren it's very, very significant, and it's the first

bit of good news this country's embattled president has had in a long time. she is due to give the last state of the nation speech on sunday, and at least now she can sound victorious rather than defensive. now remember the prosecutor who had originally accused the president of this alleged coverup died mysteriously the day before he was to give testimony. the prosecutor can appeal and given the president's record for trying to pressure the judiciary, rightly or wrongly, there are likely to be questions about the independence of the judge and his ruling. >> lucia, thank you. bolivia's vice president has visited the country's severely

flooded pandoe province. he promised residents will be relocated. food and supplies are being flown into the affected area. a volcano in mexico has blow ash 700 meters into the sky. the volcano has been active since sunday. it's the second largest volcano in mexico. now a strong line of ukrainian tanks, troops and weapons have been seen moving down a highway in eastern ukraine. the corridor runs from the strategic town of debaltseve which was abandoned last week. after a truce took hold on wednesday, pro-russia rebels are also withdrawing heavy weapons 20 kilometers east of donetsk.

pro-russian separatists initially used the truce as an opportunity to advance. there were very few violations on wednesday night, but there was some shelling outside of donetsk. well as front lines fall quiet the grim job of tracing all of those killed or missing is just beginning. paul brennan visited what is left of donetsk airport. his report contains images which some viewers may find distressing. >> reporter: the battlefields are bleak and chilling places. the detrucktive power of modern weapons leaves a stark impression. donetsk airport is such a place. nearly four months of bitter fighting left this whole area completely shattered. the interior of the terminals are strewn with debris and rubble. and the salvage operation is far from delicate. >> translator: when a concrete beam falls down and a body is

burred, we have to lift it up somehow, but as it is all in a confined area we cannot use heavy lifting equipment, we have had to use a controlled explosion to get at it. >> reporter: too group of captured ukrainian soldiers have been ganged into collecting the bodies. the task of locating extracting and identifying the corpses of those killed in action in this conflict is extraordinarily difficult. as you can probably tell just by looking at the conditions in which these con scripts are having to work. the bodydyes of some 30 soldiers have been found here so far. these corpses were found 24 hours previously. but have still not been taken

away. and there were other battles, other casualties in other cities. in the chaos of the conflict neither side have definitive figures. the international red cross in donetsk is now trying to assist. >> at the moment we're already cooperating with the morgues providing body bags to some groups involved in this the retrieval of bodies. now we are -- yeah we will be trying to get more involved in the process of the transfer of bodies, and offer our services in these regards to both parties. >> reporter: according to the morgue in donetsk only nine soldier's bodies have been transferred. across the conflict zone of east ukraine are many more fighters of both sides yet to be given the dignity of a proper barrel. paul brennan, al jazeera, donetsk. a taliban suicide attack in the afghan capitol has killed at least two people. another person was injured this

police say the attacker targeted a vehicle from the turkish embassy in kabul. it's the first attack on a turkish target in the afghan capitol. meanwhile funerals are being held in afghanistan after people died in a series of avalanches. >> reporter: one by one, bodies are being pulled out of deep snow in the province. the number of people killed in dozens of avalanches is growing. it's the heaviest snow this area has seen for decades. and it's far from prepared. afghanistan had been experiencing a mild winter until now. there has been heavy dumps of snow, up to two meters, smothering villages like this one. most of the province is still inaccessible rescuers can only get as far as the outskirts of the valley. people are leaving their homes

behind. they can't cope with this such snow. it has become too dangerous. >> translator: three children and one adult are still under the snow. the government only rescued two people. also 300 animals are under the snow as a result of the avalanches. >> reporter: this is a province with two mountain ranges and a narrow valley in between. there is only 1 main road to get in and out. around 300 people are using shovels to dig through the snow, but they don't have the right equipment to get to all of the homes. >> translator: we demand the government comes and help are rescue the people who are still under the snow. these people are very poor and need help. >> reporter: cars and trucks are stuck on the roads, getting arrange the province and many other parts of afghanistan has become impossible. it's a long task. a tunnel carved through the mountains has been closed. it's the only road that connects the south of afghanistan to the north. it seems the worst of the snow

storms is over. and conditions should improve over the next few days. that will give emergency crews a chance to clear the road. but for many families help will come too late. south korea's constitutional court has instruct down an adultery law that has criminalized extramarital affairs for the last 60 years. under the law adullers could serve up to two years in prison but very few people have served time recently. french president has warned that climate change could lead to wars and more disasters. he made the commence while in the philippines at the start of a two-day visit. he is joined by u.n. officials to press for action on climate change. the trip is part of a campaign ahead of a global conference on climate change to be held in paris in december. one country, which has more

riding on the outcome of that conference than most is malaysia. our correspondent has more from the western state where coastal erosion has taken its toll. >> reporter: 70 years ago, the coastline used to be there. now it's here. this is the effect of rising sea levels. it's caused coastal erosion. the sea has been battering malaysia's shores for decades. -- for fisherman like this times are tough. sea levels rise and it weakens coastlines and sand and soil fall into the sea, then more salt water enters the estuaries and waterways. >> translator: i have been fishing for over 20 years. i used to be able to catch two kilos of fish in two hours. i barely catch one kilo in four hours. >> reporter: erosion is a major threat to coastal villages.

rapid urban development along the water's edge is another factor affecting the environment and paralyzing economic activity. according to official figures, 30% of the country's coast is at risk. coastal erosion is predominantly at a critical level according to the authorities in the east of the country. yet, with two very unique monsoons areas such as where i am and souther south are causing concerns for those that have to deal with the problem right on their doorsteps. over 20 million usd has been pledged by the government. for some the solution is simply balancing urban development while being mindful of the environment. >> they must ensure that a mangrove swamp still exists so you have both wet lands as well as the sea. >> reporter: mangroves act as a

nursery protecting fish within their roots. it's also a food source for wildlife both above and below the waterline. a management plan has been in place since 2010. replanting mangroves in vulnerable areas where they once thrived has become an urgent matter. >> translator: mangroves reinforce the soil and sand and strengthen it against the force of coastal water. we have planted nearly 150,000 plans in this area. 30 years ago the water never came this far. >> reporter: he feels the same way, but wants to get his message across to those who can really make a difference when it comes to climate change. >> translator: world leaders have to remember we are the poor. your decisions affect us directly and i don't want my home livelihood and memories to disappear into the sea forever.

afghanistan has won their first match in the international criminal courtet world cup. these are the seens in jalalabad after that match. reminder you can keep up to date with all of the news on our website, there is it aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. today a special preview of the ground breaking new documentary freeway cracking the system. the effect of literacy, the need for collaboration, and the edition instruction of the police. i never read a book. and never tried to read a book. >> we will examine the contributing factors to ill literacy and it's