captured mexico's most wanted drug lord who virtually took over an entire state is now in police custody. ♪ i'm darren jordan in doha also on the program, a bangladesh bangladeshi american blogger has been hacked to death. and cuba's dancing defector defectors, why these young people moved to the united states, and what they think of warming relations between the two countries. ♪

a bangladeshi american blogger who spoke out against religious extremism has been hacked to death in dhaka. he advocated secularism and had apparently been threatened over his blog posts. >> reporter: roy's family says the religious extremism he protested against may have lead to his death. he and his wife were ambushed on thursday evening by at least two men with meat cleavers. >> translator: i saw an unknown person bring out a knife and first him on the head and then the shoulders. i shouted for people to help but nobody came to save him. nobody skam. >> reporter: police found the meat cleavers but they haven't

arrested anyone or said who might be behind the attack. roy's family and friends say they have no doubt his beliefs and writing made him a target. he was a professed atheist committed to tearing down fan gnat schism. >> translator: this [ inaudible ] that was earned by the blood sacrifice [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: activists gathered to extress their outrage over the prominent blogger's murder. some painted themselves red. roy is the second bangladeshi blogger to be murdered in the three years. natasha ghoneim, al jazeera. let's talk to a lawyer and commentator on bangladesh and joins me live from london. this was a shocking murder on

the streets of the bangladeshi capitol. why do you avijit roy was targeted? >> indeed it was a very shocking and barbaric murder unfortunately it was not the first time. it appears he may have been targeted because of his views, but we should be cautious to blame that the so-called islamic extremists may have committed this. and i say that, because when happens in bangladesh when you have murders like this the perpetrators are very rarely ever brought to justice. there is deeply held suspicion about the establishment and various parties at play. but the bottom line is somebody lost his live because of a particular view that he has held and that is totally unacceptable, and nobody should be facing such violence.

>> we no that avijit roy advocating secularism what is the situation in bangladesh with regards to free speech. is it suppressed by the government? >> that's an interesting thing, isn't it? if you look at the free speech scenario in bangladesh unfortunately the free speech is violated every day by the government. as we speak, a number of journalist journalists are rotting in jail and one has been subjected to torture a number of times. only last week or so an individual was arrested and prosecuted for apparently insulting the prime minister. so unfortunately in bangladesh what happens is that free speech in a difficult terrain and we should not frame it as secular versus religious extremist. the prime minister's government which often is named as the

government -- a secular government is often one of the worst offenders of free speech in bangladesh. >> as you say this isn't the first time this has happened. do you think more should have been done to protect people like avijit roy? >> most definitely. obviously roy was killed in a very secure area a heavily fortified area because it's in the vicinity of dhaka university. and bangladeshi government has been trying desperately to prevent any kind of political mobilization in that area so i find it quite extraordinary that there wasn't a security presence to prevent him. almost in the same area and manner an academic was killed a few years ago, again, as he was

leaving a book fair. and so one has to ask the question, that when these kind of attacks are repeated year after year why isn't the bangladeshi government doing more. >> okay. thank you for talking to al jazeera. police in mexico have captured the country's most wanted drug lord servando gomez is the leader of a powerful drug cartel. gomez's nickname la tuta came as his career as a school teacher before he became involved in drugs. he used the media to his advantage and became one of mexico's most well-known drug bosses with a $2 million bounty on his head he was the president's prime target in his offensive against drug violence. arresting gomez is a major step in reclaiming control of one of

the most violent states in mexico. gomez had a large amount of influence there. john hullman has more. >> reporter: this man, la tuta was a very important figure in southwest mexico even as a criminal he hobnobbed with local politicians, including the son of an ex-governor, he organized shipments of iron ore to china, allegedly. so this man was a very powerful figure. he exploited, kidnaps, and kept a very public profile while he was doing it. he granted interviews to national and international media, showing his face even at a time when federal forces were looking for him. they were hunting for him for over a year in a manhunt that went across the state and they finally caught him early this morning in the state capitol without firing a shot apparently. and that's going to be quite a relief to him. he was important, but the

gradual infiltration of the state, a state really living in conflict for a few years now, has damaged the importance of him and his cartel. it was a very odd cartel which used medieval shields to set it apart from other cartels, and they did have a real grip on that state but that grip has been slowly crumbling over the past year so now he has been arrested and it is sort of an end of a pro dur that has been going on for a year. in iraq isil forces have attacked a city more than 100 kilometers from the capitol of baghdad. the group claims their suicide bombers blew up their vehicles and took over an iraqi army check point. earlier this month, the iraqi security forces foiled an attack

north of the city. the u.n. is condemning the destruction of iraq's artifacts from the capitol of the ancient assyrian empire. iraq has more that 12,000 ancient sites. jane sent this report. >> reporter: the ancient statutes from assyrian palaces are an inspiration for this man. as a soldier in mosul in the 1980s, he would side a camera in his pocket to take photos of them. he says he hasn't slept since he saw the video of their destruction. trrn what is this statute? it's just stone. but it's what the statute represents. any citizen will consider this statute as his ancestor. >> reporter: this is near the heart of baghdad's cultural center. many here know firsthand mosul's

significance as the center of culture and history. isil took over the museum in june when it seized the city. the most valuable pieces have been removed years ago for safekeeping. they were wrapped to protect them. there was no protection from these men who smashed statutes from assyrian palaces and artifacts from the unesco world heritage site. nearby they used power drills to destroy these statutes. the images of the winged bull considered by the assyrians to be protective spirits are so iconic you see them wherever in iraq. these weren't just lifeless statutes, most iraqis see them as part of their legacy. and they mourn their loss almost as if they had been alive. this is an art student.

he says this is loss is incap cue latable. >> translator: when i travel outside of iraq i say i'm a son of the babylonians. >> reporter: this was another capitol of the huge assyrian empire. the gold found here was one of the biggest archaeological treasures ever unearthed, almost as pressure are the carvings that told of empires created and lost. >> these statutes you see them gone they are unique. destroying them i wish they looted them. because one day they come out. things like that happen before. but destroying them they are gone forever. >> reporter: these were excavated by the british and others in the last century.

major artifacts were takes to museums. the german parliament has overwhelmingly backed a four-month extension of greece's bailout program by international creditors. the yes vet was expected after the ruling coalition and smaller opposition parties voiced their report. nick spicer has more from berlin. >> you can't say there was a lot of enthusiasm behind the vote but the majority was massive, voting in favor to give greece more time. first there was a feeling that there's really no choice if greece were forced to leave the euro zone the effects would be catastrophic. secondly there is a feeling in berlin that angela merkel largely got what she wanted and that it abandoned its plan to

restructure its debt. greece got a little more time but it's very unlikely to get anymore money from germany, an opinion poll published this week show that only one in five germans wanted the vote to give greece more time. >> and john psaropoulos reports from athens. >> the left fringe of the ruling party is unhappy with the bailout agreement that has been reached. it had been an absolute position on the part ofsysiry sa that they wanted a extension of the loan but a suspension of the austerity reforms. they didn't get that. so within the ruling party now, there are ministers who are saying that they will not abide

by these terms notably the energy and environment minister who says that in his portfolio, there will be no privatizations as stipulated in those austerity terms. the communist party of greece is also unlapy they pulled 5.5% of the vote in the last collection and is positioning its as the anti-austerity party the way syriza did a few years ago. the communist have floated their trajectory and they want to play a long game here. they have decided their strategic goal would be to eat away at the left wing and try to get not only its votes on the street, but also possibly some of its mp's in parliament. lots more still to come here on al jazeera. it has been a battle ground for two years, now duma has seen the

heaviest aerial attacks that lasted for days. plus a grim recovery operation in northern afghanistan following an avalanche, which killed around 200 people. more on that. stay with us. ♪ >> i've answered your question. >> a dysfunctional family... >> the mother certainly played a role. >> 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. tonight, 10:00 eas

>> "inside story", now at a new time. >> join me as we bring you an in-depth look at the most important issues of the day, breaking it down, getting you the facts. it's the only place you'll find the inside story. >> now at its new time. weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. ♪ welcome back. a quick reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. mexican police have captured one of the country's most wanted drug lords. he is the leader of the night's templar drug cartel. he was the prime target in the

president's drive to regain control of the state. a bangladeshi american blogger who spoke out against religious extremism has been hacked to death in dhaka. police say avijit roy was killed when returned home from a book showing with his wife. a yes vote was expected from german after the chancellor's party and smaller opposition parties voiced their support. in syria at least 12 have been killed and dozens injured in a car bomb attack in a town northeast of the capitol damascus. the bomb debt today inned as people were leaving after friday prayers. staying in syria, a rebel-held suburb of damascus

has been under siege now for nearly two years. almost 300 civilians have died in duma because of food and medical shortages. more than 100 were killed by syrian government air tribing strikes in the first week of this month alone. >> reporter: this baby was just over a year old. she died of malnutrition. she wasn't the first victim in duma the rebel-held suburb has been under siege by government forces for almost two years. during that time activists say 264 civilians died, 188 of them children. >> translator: we couldn't mind medicine. we couldn't find milk. >> reporter: people are not only dying of starvation, duma has been a battleground for years, much of it has been razed to the ground. it's just 7 kilometers northeast of the center of damascus.

and it is under siege. it was the first area in the damascus province to see anti-government protests. four years later it is the main opposition strong hold surrounding the government-controlled city. in the first week of february more than 100 civilians were killed in what was described as one of the heaviest aerial attacks on the city that lasted for days. this mansur wife and daughter didn't. government arcraft targeted his neighborhood. >> translator: on that day my wife was scared to stay home alone because of the air strikes. she took my daughter and i went to his sister who lives next to us. i heard the plane and explosion, and i came back to found house destroyed.

>> reporter: some people questioned whether the civilian casualties had any benefit. he was not one of them. he blames the government for targeting civilians. but he still believes the struggle should continue. zana hoda, al jazeera, beirut. close to 1700 syrian refugees are returning to what is left of their homes in kobani. the border town has seen some of the worst fighting between kurdish forces and isil fighters. the town was recaptured last month by iraqi peshmerga aided by u.s.-lead coalition air strikes. israeli soldiers have fired tear gas and bullets at protesters in the occupied west bank. in hebron six palestinians and a foreign activist are being treated in hospital. there have been similar protests in a nearby village where four people were injured. they were marking the tenth anniversary of resistance

against the construction of the israeli separation barrier. in egypt two people were injured after police fired into crowds of protesters. now in afghanistan, rescuers are struggling to reach villages that could be buried in snow after a series of avalanches in the north of the country. at least 197 people are known to have died and hundreds are still missing, and there are fears there could be more avalanches as the snow starts to felt. nicole johnston reports. >> reporter: the police chief and governor say there are dozens of villages that they cannot contact at the moment. they are isolated and much further ur down into pangea. it's estimated that some 200 families are unaccounted for at

the moment. afghanistan security forces have tried to reach the areas. helicopters have flown in but have been unable to land. we saw some 600 vehicles entering into pangea today. there's already 1,000 troops in the area trying to clear the main road. there's only one road into pangea which is a big part of the problem. afghan security forces are also hampered by the fact they don't have the equipment they need or expertise. ghani will be visiting the area. at the moment the government is under a lot of pressure to help the situation. pangea is an area that a lot of the political elite in kabul come from and that's putting extra pressure on the government. a large rally is underway in

the maldives in support of the president who has been detained on terror charges. a court in hong kong has sentenced a woman to six years in prison for abusing her indonesian maid. the victim has welcomed the judgment, but insists more reforms are necessary. her former employer was convicted of 18 charges. a venezuelan newspaper known for criticizing the country's political leet has gone to press with its last daily addition. they are now only available on line. it is blaming government harassment for its decision to scale back. our special correspondent reports. >> reporter: the last issue. following a handful of very costly lawsuits that some say were politically motivated, they

are being forced to scale back the publishing weekly. for many of the journalists working here this is yet another example of how the government has silenced desent. >> translator: they [ inaudible ] there are fewer and fewer spaces to criticize what is wrong. they have tried to create not only a single unified message for the country, but also a single narrative for abroad. >> reporter: during the last 15 years, it has chronicled the country's transformation under the late hugo chavez. >> translator: [ inaudible ] online are manipulation. these people have wanted to disqualify their leaders.

what is written cannot be sustained by proof. >> reporter: the staff, though remains defiant. >> translator: i still don't feel defeated. i feel cornered and threatened, but not defeated. i trust the kindness of our people. i trust in those that built in country. this country didn't just pop up out of nothing. >> reporter: dozens of jobs are at stake, and faced with fewer and fewer options many talk of immigrating. yet, for the editor the greater risks lies in seeing a country's key institutions progressively vanish. >> translator: i will have fewer options to inform me and fewer options to consider. this affects the quality of our democracy, and i believe it makes aur country more backwards. we will become a nation that looks backwards instead of forwards. >> reporter: it's now one step closer to joining a long list of

opposition media that have shut down in recent years. it's closure could see a variety of opinions that makes for a robust democracy disappear. al jazeera, car -- caracas. in mexico, a rally is being held to protest the disappearance of 43 students. mexico's attorney general says investigators are certain the students were killed and incinerated after police handed them over to a gang. many family members are skeptical at the government's version of events. a u.s. embassy could open in cuba this spring. diplomats are breaking for a second time on friday. but for some scepticism still

lingers. andy gallagher talked to three dancers from cuba who defected to the united states. >> reporter: this is the city ballet in central florida, a small dance company with big ambitions. it's autistic director wants to bring ballet to the masses. he defected from cuba more than ten years ago and is keen to notice the talents of others who have been through similar experiences. dancers like ricardo who has only been here for four months. he came here alone, most of his family is still on the island and like many in his situation he is nervous talking about u.s. cuban relations, he tells us he hopes any changes are positive for both countries, but specialsly wants change for cuba, its people and his family. like ricardo, andy diaz made the

difficult decision to defect to the u.s. she has a cleared goal in mind for the future. >> translator: my ultimate hope and dream is that my family joins me here in the united states. even if the situation were to get better in cuba. but i realize it's a personal decision, and i would understand if they didn't want to leave their country. >> reporter: in all the ballet is home to three cuban defectors who came to the u.s. for a better life but they are realistic about the pace of change. >> it's going to take time from both countries in my humble opinion to find of get to a good relationship and, you know, something that can be really good for the -- for the cuban people. >> reporter: all three of these cuban dancers that made the long and difficult journey to this small company are watching the normalization process carefully but with caution, but they all

three have bright futured tempted by expectations of what might happen in the months ahead. a quick reminder you can keep up to date with all of the news on our website. there it is on your screen the address, aljazeera.com, that's aljazeera.com. >> i'm mei-ling mcnamara in canada here to discover how the great bear rainforest is being protected. >> i'm amanda burrell. i'm in london to find out how to make old houses green.