grief in russia after a russian opposition leader was gunned down near the kremlin. good to have your company, i'm david foster you are with us on al jazeera. also - india's new budget. narendra modi's government introduces a social security programme and releases corporate taxes. still going strong - zimbabwe's president robert mugabe showed no signs of quitting as he sell

celebrateing his 91st birthday. >> here in afghanistan, the heaviest snow this valley has seep for decades, and how they are coping. a harsh critic of the kremlin has been shot and killed in moscow. boris nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister was an opponent of vladimir putin's policies and condemned russia's involvement in the war in ukraine. the russian president says there'll be a thorough investigation. >> reporter: boris nemtsov received death threats before. he brushed them aside and said if he was afraid he wouldn't lead an opposition party. late friday evening the 55-year-old was shot four times from a passing car and killed near the kremlin. >> translation: he was big, handsome, bright and talented.

the kind that they kill. we needed him very much. >> boris nemtsov was killed two days before he was supposed to lead an opposition march in moscow. there's anger within the opposition movement. some are calling his death an assassination. >> this is a new spiral in russia's dissent into a fascist state. the mastermind is obvious. it is a political murder of an opposition leader. >> vladimir putin offered his condolences, calling the murder a provocation. he vowed to oversee the investigation into boris nemtsov's death. those that knew the opposition leader say the government did nothing to protect him when he received threats. before he died nept was work -- boris nemtsov was working on a report that he believed proved russia was involved in the separatist rebellion in eastern

ukraine and criticized the government's inefficiency and corruption. the hope is the march planned for sunday will become a rally, to mourn a man seen as a voice attempting to hold the government accountable. >> well those in charge of the investigation said there'll be several leansines of inquiry pursued. >> as you might expect with a figure like boris nemtsov. we are getting different opinions about who might have killed him and what the motives might have been. we are getting some of the investigators suggests along the lines, saying maybe it was a personal matter. he was a man known to have girlfriend and maybe this was a jealousy that boiled over. they are suggesting that possibly he had connections to strong powerful ukranian businessmen, and that boris

nemtsov might have annoyed people in what the kremlin refers to as the party of war in kiev who might have become disappointed. he had failed in it in a plot to forment civil unrest in russia and are saying that this was an outright provocation, designed to make the kremlin look bad. those opinions are dismissed by the opposition who say that this murder was indicative of vladimir putin's russia and that he made an enemy of vladimir putin, and ended up dead. we are hearing various people arriving. victories of boris nemtsov, and victories for liberal russia. this was the final nail in the coffin in the hope that russia may become a liberal democracy along western lines. >> 11 killed in western iraq a car bomb went off in diyala

province. a second vehicle exploded. 50 have been hurt. >> condemnations come in about the destruction of iraq's ancient relics by oil fighters. the minister for tourism and intick wities says the country needs help from the international community. >> what happened is a cross violation not only to the human heritage, but gross vial agency. the minister -- violation. the ministry will adopt measures it will come together and support iraq. on our part we'll open the museum and promise the iraqi people that the answer was to open more museums and shape the future. the united nations envoy is heading to damascus for two days. trying to get the rebels and the

government to agree on a truce. last week he said the syrian government had a willingness to halt all aerial bombardings, a team is being sent. >> in yemen protesters have gathered to show support for abd-rabbu mansour hadi. the demonstrators announced a coup carried out by the rebels. it established a base in aden after fleeing the capital where he was held under house rest. it was backing abd-rabbu mansour hadi as yemen's leader. >> a u.s. drone attack in yemen killed four suspected al qaeda fighters. they were travelling in two vehicles in the southern province. india's finance minister unveiled his first full budget.

government headed by narendra modi, and the introduction of a universal social security programme has been announced and a cut in corporation tax it says is designed to boost growth and investment. we have more from the capital in new dehli. >> one of the biggest announce was a drop in the corporate rate from 30% to 25%. it will boost the economy. it has been some of their major thooms. they will balance that by eliminating corporate tax exemptions and will increase that. besides increasing in defense, the government also announced other policies such as a gold monitorization policy and gains interested. >> a main thing was the introduction of social security programme, which will cover accident, life and pensions for

people with little detail on that. the budget had a lot of expectations, but there was no big bang. it was a populist budgett giving a bit of of eng. >> polls have opened in les auto. two years ahead to ease political tensions. >> the military was planned to topple him. erica wood has more from the capital. the pooment at the voting booth are optimistic. they are hopeful they can get a stable government. in 2012 it will be the first coalition government. it is supposed to be a solution to the one-held upheaval. once they had the alleged attempted coup here they are

again, voting for another government. there are fears that there will be some violence. they said if they lose they'll do so grate fully. there is tension between the police force and the army. the incumbent prime minister nonetheless police force with the police for. his deputy seems to have support from the army. the army said they'll stay in the barracks on polling day to allay fears. tensions farce violence. we hope and everyone here hopes it will be peaceful. in terms of aspiration they want economic stability. this is an isolated nation lapped locked in south africa relying on its neighbour for economic stability and independence for their country. they want jobs roads, health care and education. they finally want a stable

government to provide all the solutions. >> zimbabwe's long-term leader celebrated his 91st birthday with a livic party. the opposition leader said with a country spending $1 million is foolish. kathryn sawyer reports. >> president robert mugabe and his wife arrive at the famous victoria falls to host another of his lavish birthday parties. more than 80,000 people from across the country are here to celebrate with him. the estimated cost roughly $1 million, mostly bank rolled by his political party. zanu pf reporters. in a youth league that has been organising and federation cupped raising -- fundraising say they choose to celebrate the good things he has done.

the president has given us good leadership. empowerment to the youth and education. >> the critics, and there are many find it hard to see good in the fog of all the back. a cash-stroped economy, high cost of living. the majority of zimbabweans are unemployed and the list goes on. >> it's un-african to have a birthday party when there's a funeral in the community. your tinker party - focus on the community in the community. it is the situation in our country. >> perhaps what best illustrates george zimmerman's failing economy is the industry -- zimbabwe's gilling economy is the industries. >> industries have collapsed like here. a thriving industrial city few factories are open, and men of those are struggling to keep afloat. >> that man and his neighbours

pray for things to change. they say life has never been more difficult. we now have airhouses. we are exporting jobs. to those countries which are purchasing those things. >> at the venue of robert mugabe's party, children rehash their steps. organizers invite many children including those that share a birth date with a president, so they can emulate him. robert mugabe's critics argue he is a man living in the past. unable to fix the problems of the present the afghan government says it needs international help to find anyone that survived an avalanche. more than 200 are known to have died, three days of mourning have been declared. the afghan government is accused

of being too slow. >> the panjshir has seen snow before. this is something different. meters and meters of it. turning jagged mountains into smooth white slopes and valleys into silent gorges. >> in the provincial capital it was anything but quiet. helicopters buzz the overhead. hundreds of troops trudged uphill to secure the peaks, and a convoy of the military vehicles blocked the only rode through the valley. why the commotion - president ashraf ghani was flying in to check out the rescue efforts. the problem is the only bit of rescuing was a lone grader struggling to clear the main road meter by meter. this is as far as emergency crews can get. the road has been blocked by snow. dozens of villages have been cut

off and are not getting help. at this rate clearing the rest of the road over 50km could take up to 10 address. this man is desperate for news. his wife and eight children are in a village he can't reach. >> all my family is stuck up there in the canyon. i had no contact with them for a week. i keep coming up here in case someone comes from the other side. the government says it's doing its best. 1,000 security forces have been dispatched to the area. the people are getting angry at how long it's taking to clear the snow. >> 18 members of my family are under the snow. they are getting no help. cars are only here for sightseeing. >> panjshir is dotted with tiny villages. all carved out by the heavy snow.

. >> translation: the machinery is a grader, the bulldozer doesn't have chains if we get strong machinery we can clear the roads. >> down in the valley people are used to living with snow. high up in the mountains, thousands of country men wait to be rescued. stay with us if you can on al jazeera, we are off to eastern ukraine where hospitals are struggling to cope. we'll tell you why there has been a backlash against greece's newly elected government.

>> on the stream >> february marks black history month but is it time for a refresh? a look at why african americans are turning to twitter to discuss the issues their local communities won't >> the stream on al jazeera america

i'm david foster, these are the headlines. russian investigators say they are investigating several lines of inquiry after the death of boris nemtsov. mourners continue to arrive at the kremlin and lay nours at the scene of the shooting. >> india's finance minister presented the budget of the g.s.t. it announced a universal social security programme. they are voting in lesotho's general election two years ahead of schedule. it's said to ease tensions. well more on the top story. the murder of the russian politician. boris nemtsov was reportedly

preparing a report on russian involvement in ukraine. both sides have withdrawn from the front line. pro-russian rebel forces have been moving the grad rocket launchers from the area around donetsk. a protest overseen by a committee. fighting in ukraine forced millions out of their homes. thousands say they do not want to leave. local hospitals have been turned to trauma units and they are struggling to cope with shortage of staff and medical supplies. we have this report from horlivka. >> from this 2-year-old and her younger sister home is a simply room in a hospital in harr live ka. she's too young to understand what has happened with them and in this town. >> translation: it's difficult. all the children are scared as soon as they hear the slightest

sound or noise. imagine how the children feel. >> reporter: the hospital was caught in the crossfire. a third of the treatment rooms were rendered unusable. >> 90% of the children have psychological problems. it's a fright when the bombs fall and the fear after they landed. they have problems with their speech stammering and stuttering. when awe dults are frightened. the -- adults are frightened the children are frightened as well. >> the pause in the fighting has not stopped the flow of injured arriving here. it shifted the emphasis. as the guns fall silent. the attention of staff is falling to post issues. a baby was brought in here with shrapnel wounds. a short distance from the children's unit. the main hospital treats the

adult casualties people like 69-year-old nataliya sitting at home when a piece of shrapnel sliced off her hand. so much blood, everything was destroyed. i want so much for the war to win as soon as possible. >> the hospital director tells how in the darkest days of conflict the civilian hospital was a front line trauma unit. on 29 january, we received 74 wounded people. most soldiers among them burns victims, on that day heavy fighting was going on and they brought all the injured to us. the flow of patients was never ending. back in the children's unit drip by drip. 2-year-old barba was tread.

she doesn't care what made her ill. she wants it to get better. . >> the new prime minister of greece says the country will not look for a third bail up. >> a four month extension, it promoted backlash. >> reporter: this is the first anti-government protest in athens sense the election, it's coming from series's left. sirz may have won tolerance to experiment. but it is legally and politically bound bit the strait jacket. >> the previous commitments became this one's there are few chainings in words. there's no longer a troika is minimum wage going up. we heard many of the same

things smaller governments getting rid of cars. communists took 5% of the vote. it is positioning itself as the new anti-austerity while the opposition did. the communists are more radical. they wanted greece to lead the euro. floating a bill to annul the loans, forcing syriza to vote against it. tension is high within the ruling party with a cabinet bem mer refusing to abide, but there is pressure from europe. the bundislag ratify the intend to fulfil its obligations. the prime minister is ploughs ahead with a clutch of food.

one provided food. another focussing on bringing in tax rev fuse and will have no help from creditors, and needs to continue to pay off debt in the meantime. >> reporter: i call on you all as of tomorrow to work hard to implement the mandate of january the 25th to turn a page. i call on you to work hard. also comment, more work. less talk. sirz may get its partners to agree on a new deal. for now, it has to earn trust. opposition to compromise at home is sure to make the task more difficult. >> south america is making inroads in the women in politics. three female presidents are embroiled in corruption cases as lucia newman reports.

>> south america, the only continent with not one two, but three female presidents. brazil's rusev leader of the largest nation cristina fernandez de kirchner president of argentina, and chile's michelle bachelet the host of the conference of women in power. all three are serving second terms in office and all three are in the hot seat. bad enough that under rusev's tlart -- roouf eff's leadership the economy shrunk. what has some asking for impeachments is a multi-million corruption scandal involves petrol giant petrogas on whose board she stood as chair woman. >> the petro bass system impact the political system. it's the biggest scandal in financial terms. millions going to the political

parties of the ruling coalition. >> argentina's cristina fernandez de kirchner, whose approval rating dropped from 70% to the low 20s is plagued by corruption charges involving her, diseased husband, business partners and staff. while she denies them all, the courts are investigating. putting the president in a head-on collision with judges and prosecutors. even chilly's president considered quooeky clean saw her pop lieu labor party plunge to the low '30s. her son was forced to resign, i maid accusations that he and his wife abused their position to obtain a bank lop. women making history as women - it's a pity they are embroiled

in scandal. >> reporter: but women in politics are not better or worse than men. we are new in politics. we have modernized politics. does that mean that we exercise power in a different or better way? >> apparently not yet. >> clearly women in power face the same problems and temptations as male counterparts. political psychologists say public opinion expects more. and judges them more harshly when they stumble peru's cotton producers are struggling with low prices. imports and clothing from china are hurting the textile industries. marianna sanchez reports. >> reporter: it was one of peru's products. for centuries peruvians have woven a high quality cotton.

now the industry is slowly dying. it produces under one-tenth of the cotton it used to. the country says the country imports 90% of cotton it uses. farmers turned to other crops. this man says he can't give up his four heck tears of cot job, because he only nose how to care for this type of crop. >> the farmers in this valley are scared. we wait for the crops to be sold, and god to guide us to get throw. hopefully we will because our families depend on this. >> they produce two varieties with low yields, one per year. most cotton fields are on small parcels of land. the openers are poor farmers and they don't get subsidies. the government has not promoted cotton sult vasion instead it

encouraged them to go with berries, asparagus and grapes. >> as a result the textile industry shrunk too. >> translation: if there is no cot job, no one will invest in the spinning companies. in time they disappear. the weavers and ready to wear industries would be useless. if the etcha lon is watched. the chain of production will be weakened. >> the peruvian cotton institute needs programs to run genetically modified seeds. it's the only hope for peru's cotton farmers. we are beginning to spread a new variety. that will help the farmers. this programme is small, and may end up being a case of too little, too late.

for the cotton farmers. >> aljazeera.com for all the latest cloble headlines, also some of the background information that you'll be able to find there. aljazeera.com. hello, i'm ray suarez. as of this week about if i lit up a joint, right here, right now, i wouldn't be breaking the drug laws, just breaking the rules about smoking in this building. it's legal to smoke marijuana recreationally in the nation's capital. you can't any marijuana here, or sell it. how is that going to work? how did they make the rules. d.c.'s mayor was threatened with gaol before the new law went into effect, and she didn't break down. it's an example of a recurring powerplay.