points at this hour. stay with us. ♪ indonesian police arrest three suspects the way after deadly attacks in the heart of jakarta. >> good to have your company, i'm david foster, live from london. a call for action, iraq's top shiite cleric urges the government to do more to stop sectarian violence. only hours after the west african ebola outbreak is confirmed over, a new case is confirmed in sierra leone. i'm lawrence lee in the

sounds between denmark and sweden, which has turned into a new people smuggling root. ♪ police in indonesia now say that they have identified four out of five of the jakarta attackers, and that they are now searching for a man they believe is the top suspect in the attacks. he is indonesian with alleged links to the islamic state of iraq and the levant in syria. al jazeera's step vaessen is in indonesia. >> reporter: police are trying to find out who was involved in thursd thursday's attack. they say they have evidence that an exconvict may have planned the attack. >> he gave the order from syria, but he has also the chief

in -- in -- in this mission. he is the one basically, you know, prepare this operation in jakarta. >> reporter: the alleged leader is still on the run. three other men were arrested suspected of plotting an attack. police have not confirmed if they very involved in thursday's attacks. analysts say an estimated 120 people have been trained to execute isil-inspired attacks >> translator: we have information that they have received money from isil through uyghur people in china. >> reporter: analysts say authorities were taken by surprise on thursday in what has been described as an intelligence failure. stricter laws are being discussed in parliament. but the government says it wants to take what is called a soft

approach. >> you look at the u.s. experience in afghanistan and iraq, with the hard approach, it doesn't make the -- you know, the situation become much worse. >> reporter: indonesia's largest muslim organization with more than 40 million members together with leaders from other religions has called isil an enemy of islam. they are planning a peace rally this weekend to condemn the attack. >> translator: terrorists are our own common enemies, of the indonesian people, of the indonesian state, of our religious communities. >> reporter: authorities are conducting raids in several parts of the country, hoping soon to announce some significant arrests. step vaessen, al jazeera, jakarta. the people of jakarta seem determined to show they won't be

scared by what has happened. wayne haye reports. >> reporter: there was no sign of fear at the site of the attack after five men came here armed with guns and explosives. instead people came to the area outside of the shopping mall for a peace rally. >> this country is strong. this country is not weak. we are united. that indonesia is a multi-cultural place, and because of that, it's not easy to shake us. >> reporter: it's too early for defiance though for family members of those caught up in the violence. the named of the injured are listed outside of hospitals. this is an increase in security in some areas close to where the attack happened. but this city has largely returned to normal. there has been a strong rejection of this attack by indonesians particularly on social media, with hashtags like brave jakarta, and we're not

afraid. eddie has been cooking on the streets for ten years. he says he refuses to be scared away. >> translator: i'm a bit concerned because the attack was very close to me, but there's nothing i can do. if i don't work, what can i do? >> reporter: the solidarity that has been shown in a relatively short space of time since the attack is something people in jakarta say they haven't seen before. >> i think it's a mark of defiance. we want to show rewith not afraid of all of this intimidation from the terrorists, and that's why you see an outpouring that is not coordinated, but people are just here. >> reporter: there will us a be nervousness that there could be more to come, but for now, the people say they won't be defeated. wayne haye, al jazeera, jakarta. ♪ iraq's top shiite cleric is

urging the government to do more to stop sectarian violence. on monday a cafe popular with shia militiamen was bombed north of baghdad. the attack was claimed by isil. apparent reprisal attacks have been conducted on mosques and businesses. >> translator: a few days ago, the town witnessed terrorist acts, and regrettable attacks on several mosques and houses of civilians which will definitely have dangerous consequences on peaceful coexistence of the people of this country. we place full responsibility on the government security forces for their protection. >> reporter: after a week in which the flames of sectarianism were fanned once more, the top

religion cleric delivered a sermon on friday, in which he condemned the wave of violence, and laid blame at the feet of iraq's government for not doing more. the violence started on monday when isil bombers targeted cafes frequented by shiite militiamen. the next day started seeing reprisal attacks. it has only gotten worse these last several days. there is a high sense of alert across this country about sectarian lines deepening, and because of that the ayatollah decided to address it in his sermon on friday. if this sectarianism gets worse, analysts here worry that will effect iraq's security forces fight against isil. iraq's security forces currently trying to dislodge control of

key towns in this country from the hands of isil, the fight in ramadi still going on. iraq security forces still have to try to take back mosul from isil as well, and also there have been clashes in and around the tikrit area these past several days, a time of great concern when this violence is only causing more people to worry. the world foot program has been told that starvation has lead to the deaths of 32 people in madaya in the last month. the u.n.'s children's familiar says its workers saw one teenager die of malnutrition. >> reporter: the bombs and guns come and go, but hunger has been constant for many in this town. now for the first time in months, people in madaya are getting outside help. trucks are streaming in, although for many it's too late. community workers say hunger has

killed more than 30 people in the past month. >> translator: when we entered madaya, we hear of children in need. we saw such cases ourselves and hope we could get them out of madaya to be taken care of in your centers. >> reporter: that will require permission from the forces that cut off the town in the first place. fighters supporting syria's president, bashar al-assad, have controlled madaya for months, until now it has been hard to verify activist videos that accuse the government of deliberately starving its population. it's the same government that is now allowing aid workers in. and what they found may be evidence of war crimes by both the government and by the rebels. >> u.n. teams have witnessed the scenes that haunt us all, the elderly and children, men and woman who are little more than

skin and bones. gaunt, severely malnourished and utterly desperate. >> reporter: here more trucks full of wheat flour head to two shiite villages, held by rebel groups. they too are said to be starving. new cases of ebola has been confirmed in sierra leone months after that country was declared to be free of the virus. the victim who died was a 22-year-old woman student who potentially exposed 27 others to the disease. she lived in a house with 22 other people and was treated as an outpashg ent at hospital. only yesterday the world health organization said west africa was effectively free of e eeb -- ebola.

it was an epidemic which closed more than 11,000 people over two years. now the w.h.o., the world health organization, says the job isn't over. >> there are teams on the ground from the ministry of health, supported by international partners, and right now there is work being done to see -- to trace contacts obviously, to see who could have been exposed and to make sure that -- that all necessary measures are being done to stop this flairup as soon as possible. and this really reinforced the message that these countries are facing risk of new cases, coming, so the job is not over. flairups are possible, and we have to be ready to respond to them. >> reporter: joining us via skype from sierra leone capitol is a spokesman from the world

aid organization. this must come as a shock. >> yeah, indeed, this is really a shock, and besides it is sad and very disappointing. but also there are a lot of frustrations around the people in the country, because having gone through a year and a half or two of this deadly disease, and just when we are recovering and looking back to be strong again, this thing has come again, so it's really sad, and a major disappointment. >> it is at the moment only one case, but the w.h.o. has said, listen, there may be what it calls flairups, it may not be the last case. do you think the country is better prepared to deal with it now than it was last time? >> yeah, very much so. because -- i mean [ inaudible ] really like, the spread was ignorance and denial. we didn't have the proper

structures in place. we didn't have facilities that were functional. i mean there were no facilities in those structures, no protective equipment. but as of now, we understand and know that it is really the case -- i mean talking about denial because it has affected almost everybody in one way or another in the country, and there are serious [ inaudible ] all systems health systems are equipped and the facilities are now there. so the structures are there. and we understand how to really handle it this time. so i mean, yes, we are disappointed, but honestly we are not worried, because we know we can handle it. it cannot spread again. >> are you and your coworkers, are you taking extra precautions now? >> yeah, on hindsight when i was like reflecting, i just realized that this may be necessary,

because we can easily forget, but because this has come now, it really is keeping us on our toes so that we will not be complacent. as an organization, we have a presence, we maintain our staff, and there is still a need for us handling the dead. so, yes, we are still positioned, but it is going to heighten our alertness and vigilance to really make sure that we continue addressing this issue. >> this is one woman who it is thought could have had contact with i think 22 other people with whom she shared a house and with medical professionals. how difficult is it going to be to stop this spreading? >> okay. that's really the issue. but it's also good to know that as we speak -- i mean the 22 people are already isolated, but then part of the frustration,

honestly, is the fact that -- i mean this patient got into the hospital. there are so many people that could have pointed towards that, and from that point we would have taken caution to really start isolating that person. so not taking the right precaution until after her death and a swab test has exposed a lot more people. >> appreciate your time, and share your disappointment. talking to us out of sierra leone, representing world vision. thank you. >> thanks. coming up, we'll tell you how a medical trial in france has left six people fighting for their lives. also -- >> the next commander in chief is standing on this stage. >> heated exchanged between republican presidential hopefuls, ahead of the first primary elections.

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and the top stories here on al jazeera, manhunt underway in indonesia, as police try to track down the man they believe coordinated thursday's attacks in jakarta. iraq's leading shiite religious authority has asked the government to do more to stop sectarian violence. it comes after a cafe popular with shiite militiamen were bombed north on baghdad on monday. and sierra leone's health ministry says a 22-year-old woman has died after testing positive for ebola, just a day after the world health

organization said the west african ebola epidemic was over. border controls have been reinstated between sweden and denmark. but a in sea route has opened up for refugees and it could be the most dangerous so far. the channel is narrow in this part of the baltic sea. the waters are deadly as cold as 12 degrees celsius even in the summer, and filled with cargo ships, but since the rail and road route to sweden was made much harder, authorities fear many might risk a boat journey. danish activists have transported dozens of people to sweden. >> reporter: half past 9:00 in the morning, and the refugees reception center is full of people. these are all new arrivals, which means they have all come

in the small period since sweden introduced border controls to try to stop them. one way or another, they are still finding a way. >> there is a possibility to still get to sweden in some other way, some kind of illegal entry, and that will still happen. >> reporter: by road and rail, the obvious routes linking copenhagen and denmark to sweden, the authorities are checking people's credentials, but some have still found a way through. but denmark's sailing culture and liberal activism are playing to the refugees advantage. these young people are part of a bigg bigger group which have carried dozens to sweden. and they don't charge anything. >> when you think about smugglers, you think about people earning a lot of money from -- from helpless people. that's what we're doing. we're helping people.

we're giving them food. we're good sailers, and we're not charging anything. >> reporter: whether there are good sailers to help refugees cross this sea, far more dangerous attempts are beginning to happen. at least one individual id inflatable boat has made this crossing. if you capsized, you wouldn't last half an hour in the water. >> for sure it would be more dangerous for them, and the water is super cold by now. could be rough weather, and most people are not prepared for those kind of waters. >> reporter: this isn't the first time that the sound between denmark and sweden has been used as a people smuggling route. during the second world war, when copenhagen was occupied by the nazis, fishermen would take

jews across. the reason why a people smuggling route has now grown up here is because scandinavian countries have started to close their boarders to refugees. if the border controls go on, then inflatable dingies may end up being the choice for refugees who want to see their families across the water. in that would be the most desperate journey. lawrence lee, al jazeera, in the straight between denmark and sweden. six people are critically ill after a medical trial in france went horribly wrong. france's health minister has travelled to the town where the trial took place to further investigate the situation. one of the patients is said to be in a coma and actually brain dead. the participates were admitted in the week while taking an experimental pain drug,

development of which has now been suspended. jacky rowland has more from paris. >> reporter: the french health minister is disprescribing this as an unprecedented medical accident here in france. six people have been in hospital since sunday. one has been pronounced brain dead, and at least three of the others are said to potentially have irreversible brain damage as a result of these clinical trials of a painkiller. now the authorities also trying to contact 90 people who apparently were also involved in this trial, although they are said to have taken smaller doses of the drug that was being tested. now this was a phase i clinical trial, the first time this drug was being tested on human beings. the drug was produced by a portuguese company but was

tested in lab that does a lot of commercial testing for pharmaceutical companies. the french authorities have put out an alert number. they can asking people to contact them so that tests can be carried out on anyone who may have consumed even a small dose of this substance, and also a number of investigations, including a criminal investigation is being opened into the incident. >> jacky rowland reporting there. in yemen houthi fighters have released a minister and four other people in what is said to be a goodwill gesture ahead of peace talks. there has been a bomb blast in the south of the country. victoria gatenby has those details. >> reporter: this is the oil refinery. witnesses say a bomb blast hit the complex in little aden, close to yemen's second city. this is a reminder that security remains a challenge here.

on tuesday two policemen died in a bomb attack, and last month the governor of aden was killed. following that the deputy governor introduced a dawn to dusk curfew. he says it has saved lives, but what is really needed is an end to the fighting. >> translator: there have been achievements but this is a brutal war between government forces and those loyal to ousted president saleh, and there is still fighting, but god will help us. >> reporter: a loose alliance of fighters drove houthi rebels and forces loyal to former president sala out of aden months ago. people still worry about the lack of security. >> translator: the security in aiden shouldn't be the only one

responsible for the major task. it's a huge challenge. political factions and social coalitions should have a role to play. >> reporter: hadi is trying to guild confidence in citizens of the government's ability to protect them. if government forces can control aden, they can use it as a base from where they can recapture the rest of yemen. global markets have taken a beating as oil prices continue to drop. the s&p fell to its lowest level since august, the dow jones was 2% down, and there have been similar falls in europe and before that asia. falling oil prices is the main factor. it is now the main benchmark, priced at $30 a barrel on

thursday. it hasening been that low for 12 years, oversupply, and the fears of china's slowing economy are driving that dive. just two weeks now to go before the first primary elections. u.s. republican presidential hopefuls have been taking part in what is their sixth debate. donald trump and ted cruz had a number of heated exchanges. allen fisher reports. >> reporter: the smaller the field, the brighter the spotlight, the nastier the exchange. the first caucus just over two weeks away. there, sharp attacks on president obama, hillary clinton, and each other. >> you are worried most of all about keeping your homes and families safe and secure. you cannot give hillary clinton a third term of barack obama's leadership. >> the idea that somehow we're

better off today than the day that barack obama was inaugurated is totally an alternative universe. >> the connect commander in this chief is standing on this stage. [ cheers and applause ] >> and i give you my word, if i after elected president no serviceman or woman will be forced to be on their knees and any nation that captures our fighting men and women will feel the full force and fury of the united states of america. >> reporter: one of the loudest exchanges was between ted cruz and donald trump when the businessman suggested that cruz couldn't be president because he was born in canada. what the debate did do was highlight significant policy differences between the candidates. like immigration and donald trump's plan to ban muslims from entering the u.s. >> all muslims, seriously? >> if we do not know who you

are, and we do not know why you are coming, when i am president you are not getting into the united states of america. >> our country is maesz, and we can't let all of these people come into our countries and break our borders. we can't do it. >> reporter: the attacks point to where the candidates see their biggest threat. >> you had your chance, mark, and you blew it. >> reporter: with polls just over two week's away, there is a need to make an impact. this debate is said to have sharpened the focus, now it's on to iowa, the cause cuss, and the decision of the woe voters. the astronaut tim [ inaudible ] has become the first britain to walk in space. the british spaceman and that ta's spaceman needed to release an electronic box that failed two months ago and that cut power to the station by

one-eighth. the emission was aborted after a water bubble was found in his helmet. aljazeera.com will give you all of the goble headlines and a great deal more. that's aljazeera.com. >> the dow drops more than 300 points at the opening bell, and the rough ride is far from over. >> since september the constitution hasn't changed. [ laughter ] >> but the poll numbers have. >> republican presidential hopefuls face off. the clock ticking down to the iowa caucuses. a.com k report, head leaders at an army lab ign