museum about forming a new part of life its culture in twenty twelve zero traveled to iraq people here are definitely scared to speak on camera they're saying that if they talk to us they think they'll be arrested down the line to take the pulse of a country roberge down the u.s. occupation some of these graves are completely destroyed it's one of the most holy and sacred sites in all of iraq could turn into a battleground between the mahdi army the americans six years on rewind returns to iraq after the americans this time on old d.c. . as bombs rained down on east and for a fourth consecutive day syria accuses the u.s. led coalition of war crimes for attacking its fight has.

a low i'm maryam namazie this is al jazeera live from london also coming up a show of force at a time of a power unity north korea stages a massive military parade on the eve of south korea's lympics. we speak to the family of a palestinian man being sued by the israeli army for damage to the jeep that killed him. and an innovative approach to hong kong's housing crisis we look at the new solutions and much in the real estate market. now syria's government has attacked the u.s. led coalition for a rare as strike on pro assad forces branding it a war crime and a new effort to support terrorism a military source within the coalition said the strikes and arizona has killed about one hundred pro assad fight has who are attacking the syrian democratic forces. well the u.s.

pentagon has given a briefing on what happened patty culhane was that here at the pentagon they say what happened was that there's this kind of de confliction line were both russian backed syrian forces and u.s. backed fighters just agree not to cross while they say over the last week they saw forces starting to amass by that unofficial border and then they say they sent in heavy artillery tank fire and the americans say that is when their forces fought back using heavy artillery and also setting up aircraft unmanned unmanned aircraft to drop bombs now they won't say exactly who they are fighting or how many casualties they think they inflicted but at the same time they are trying to paint this as a kind of success story coalition officials alerted russian officials of the s.t.'s presence of the de confliction mine an advance of the attack the confliction line the de confliction process served its purpose coalition officials were in regular communication with russian counterparts before during and after the attack from the

u.s. side they're ruling out that this could happen again saying repeatedly they reserve the right to self defense. well for a fourth consecutive day bombs have been raining down on rebel held areas of syria which were designated deescalation zones local media say government and russian as strikes have killed at least fifty seven people in eastern guta on the edge of the capital damascus on thursday including children and a medic they've escalated their attacks adelson edler province since a russian jet was shot down on saturday killing more than two hundred people in just four days when hama john jim reports on the latest violence. by thursday the bombing raids in eastern huta had only intensified at least two dozen were carried out and activists say they see no end in sight to this horror from the sky. the night before fires in the town of modest in the month the

target of dozens of airstrikes. that's despite it being in the northeastern province of idlib a rebel held area and one of syria's so-called deescalation zones whose borders were agreed to by russia turkey and eat on bombing raids carried out by russian and syrian forces have only intensified since the russian war plane was shot down by rebels on saturday when another blazes put out rescue efforts begin anew what we're seeing is an escalation because isis has largely been defeated the. zones were marked out around syria deescalation while the united states and russia were interested in destroying rights now that isis has largely been destroyed used the escalation zones have become up for grabs you see turkey rushing in to wrap up rain in the north or the united states say it's going to stay for the long haul in syria it owns twenty eight percent syrian territory and the syrian regime is trying to

grab the remaining rebel parts of syria including. which has been surrounded and bombarded the last few years. near syria's capital damascus is also still in the hands of rebels and like it lib is also under intense bombardment and dozens of men women and children have been killed in the last four days many residents believe pro-government forces are pushing for a decisive outcome to the war in syria. while the united nations has called for a month long truce to evacuate the wounded that appeal hasn't made a difference even for those accustomed to the carnage of this seemingly endless conflict this most recent compartment has been terrifying. well in russia tens of thousands of people have turned out for the funeral of the pilot who was shot down in syria on saturday run filipov was flying over italy a province when he had to bail out of his budding plane the russian defense

ministry says he was surrounded by al-qaeda linked fighters when he landed and blew himself up with a hand grenade to avoid being captured while than thirty thousand people attended the ceremony environ ash in southwest russia well the current situation in syria is being discussed at a united nations security council meeting that's taking place right now but the french ambassador was pessimistic of any breakthrough when he spoke to reporters beforehand. we are now back to the darkest period of this conflict with the highest death toll among civilians over the last year. and as we speak the situation is deteriorating by the day in and. in particular. the syrian regime keeps bombing and beseeching its own population.

to ease a new poll in the miki. the day before the winter olympics has its opening ceremony in south korea a major military parade has taken place in north korea. told the crowds in the capital pyongyang with his nation is ready to fight to defend itself but with north koreans ready to compete in the olympics the military event was. reports now. on one of the main olympic venues. this was a patriotic celebration at home and a display of north korea's military might for those of brought. our army defenseless and keeps us happy it's our people's army just like its name so this army founding day is a great day for all of us thursday was the seventieth anniversary of the founding

of the north korean army the military parade in pyongyang comes after the world witnessed advances in the isolated countries weapons program last year leader kim jong un praised what he called quote a world class military with the most powerful force despite punishing saying i would say that it's a show of defiance but it's a soul. defines. government wants to emphasize the. need to remain side in. this year's army parade wasn't broadcast live on state t.v. and no new high profile weapons were displayed the toned down approach was likely a response to a criticism of the show of military force on the eve of the opening ceremony of the young training olympic. north koreans participating in an unprecedented way at these games south koreans are hoping the only suspense and drama will be during

competition. i feel very proud that a global event like the olympics is taking place in south korea kim jong un sr is expected to attend the opening ceremony in which north and south korean athletes plan to march under a unified flag she'll be the first member of the ruling kim family to step foot on south korean soil since the korean war in the one nine hundred fifty s. from government leaders to people on the street there is optimism that that the young chang games will help rebuild the ties between the two koreas it's already being called the peace olympics natasha game al-jazeera. south korea. well not everyone in cohen young is happy with the north with north korea's conciliatory moves to the winter olympics protests have been taking place outside a venue where a north korean orchestra was performing demonstrators seto fireworks and clashed

with police say north korea is using the games a propaganda tool and its recent overtures are not genuine it was a relatively small group though new yorkers are performance attracted of crowds of south koreans. bangladeshis former prime minister has been jailed for five years for embezzling around two hundred fifty thousand dollars in donations meant for an orphanage trust eldest son and for aids were given ten years sentences the seventy two year old has served as prime minister three times a sentence could now barred from running in december's national elections zia also faces some thirty of the charges including allegations of orchestrating political violence she and the current prime minister she has seen a have ruled the country ultimately since one thousand nine hundred one she says the allegations of part of a plot to keep her family out of politics there are fears is jail sentence could trigger political instability. the

protests have already broken out with police firing tear gas at zia's supporters a party has called for nationwide demonstrations on friday to protest the verdict. has been monitoring events in dhaka. former prime minister and bangladesh nationalist party chairman khaled that's the i was brought to this old central jail in a makeshift accommodation basically a daycare center this central jail no longer exist here the central gelug been moved to arsk out of the city she was brought to had been a white s.u.v. accompanied by her domestic child should be kept until fall their order now the defense counsel told me they will file for it and pilled with the high court that depends on how soon they get the certified verdict in their hand that could take weeks or when few days the court don't open till sunday a lot of onlookers here and curious people heavily cordoned off area now we tried to talk to a lot of people didn't want to go on the camera because of heavy security presence

and now we know a lot of people of that court told us the country faces a serious political uncertainty in the year of the election if the ruling party with a smaller party goes into election without the main opposition party critics an expert told us that probably won't be accepted by majority of the population and the country will go into a terminal and uncertainty without an inclusive election down the road. you're watching al-jazeera still ahead for you on the program israel starts building a wall along its border with lebanon and risks even deeper divisions but it's night . this will be the end of protected areas in the gary. gary an activist fighting to stop one of europe's most ancient forest from being tied into a ski resorts.

the weather remains very wintry across parts of northern france would have more problems with snow coming in this next band of cloud and rain making its way across the british isles will if there's some slightly model as we go on through the next couple of days for a friday we still got some snow there across the paris for example that is the central areas the france but now just the right on the leading edge moderate talking about high temperatures in london about seven degrees celsius just a celsius there for paris still some snow coming into northern parts of the spine madrid will struggle to get around eight degrees celsius but the snow say recently around the both has that's made its way further east was ukraine seeing some snow that will make its way a little further east but still as we go on into sas table by that state's six and really heavy right nostril system swirling away just around central parts of the but it's friday so though bring some wet weather into southern parts of the balkans and on into greece and whether once again making its way back in across all and while scotland eventually and england nine celsius in london so it is warming up

the three degrees celsius once again for paris and to zero degrees there in madrid now that disturbed weather has also been affecting northern parts of africa particularly frost morocco went out here a small clout of great coming in here with wessel weather grassy making its way further east. it was a pawn which modern day venezuela was a stop. for over a century this lucrative resorts has divided both coasts with the world's largest reserves. charting the impact of industrialization and the legacies of the form of the leaders we shed light on the troubles afflicting venezuela today the big picture the battle for venezuela at this time.

i'm back with al-jazeera that's up to you on the stories making headlines in syria russian and syrian government forces are continuing their assault on two regions held by the rebels as strikes and shelling of killed more than two hundred people in the eastern in just four days. north korea has held a massive military parade a day before its neighbor hosts the opening ceremony of the winter olympics it kim jong un told a crowd his nation would fight to defend itself. and thousands of protesters flooded the streets of balad dashes capital as a court sentenced former prime minister to five years in prison for corruption.

three years ago palestinian. was crushed to death by in his writing military vehicle during violent clashes new york abide west bank now the israeli army is attempting to sue the twenty one year old's family and his entire village for the damage caused to the military cheap a.q.'s on a much of throwing a firebomb vehicle as kong reports. the israeli army killed a name in june two thousand and fifteen and now it wants twenty eight thousand dollars for damages to this jeep the crush of the twenty one year old after his death ability family filed a lawsuit against the israeli state the case continues then in january this year the army build the family. this is a copy of the lawsuit given to us by the family lawyer. they reopened their so shameless that they are demanding compensation not because they want the money because they want to make it impossible for us palestinians it's not about

the money they want us to give in but we say we have the right you won't break because. in june two thousand and fifteen there was a raid by the army and they had a mullah that turned violent the israelis say ability through a fireball of the jeep which then swerved into him for over three hours the family says the army wouldn't allow medics to treat of dilla as he lay beneath the jeep he eventually played to death the entire village turned out the funeral. lawyers say asking for compensation is possibly a new strategy to penalize palestinians for any kind of resistance in slow motion. honestly we're not used to seeing this sort of claim but if you take it in context where israel is going when it comes to killings fines and bills of votes in the knesset i think they're heading to a level where anyone who utters the word occupation can be harassed arrested and

possibly find that he might be considered to insult the state and its inhabitants. al-jazeera reached out to the israeli ministry of defense for comment it says it has submitted a statement of defense to the court stating that the event in which the plaintiffs was killed constitutes wartime activity as defined by the law and therefore the state is immune from prosecution in this event in the light of the damage that was caused to the i.d.f. jeep as a result of the molotov cocktail three mother plaintiffs the ministry has filed a countersuit. remembered very fondly here and the thing as a martyr to the palestinian cause graffiti of his face adorns the walls of the village people here say they'll never forget about him. the family say they will continue to fight for justice for the law and they've named the new after him they say they would rather face whatever consequences there may be than pay the israeli army any money imran khan how does it go for the maalik occupied west bank when

all the developments israel has started building a wall on its border with lebanon with leaders in lebanon saying that the structure will threaten security and a region that's already volatile but tensions a heightened as lebanon has pledged to press ahead with controversial plans for offshore gas and oil exploration in a honda reports now from. southern lebanon. israel is building a wall on its northern border lebanon is warning that it shouldn't pass through its territory yet again there is tension along one of the most volatile borders in the middle east the border was drawn by the united nations almost two decades ago the so-called blue line confirmed israel's withdrawal from southern lebanon but lebanon has concerns on several points one of them is just a few meters from where construction work is underway. united nations peacekeepers are in charge of monitoring the cease fire and maintaining stability in this region

commanders are holding meetings with both sides to ensure there are no misunderstandings or miscalculations no one wants to escalate the situation both parties committed to decision other still exist and to take full advantage of our coordination and years on mechanisms like the tripartite meeting so. lebanon is accusing israel of threatening stability in the region israel hasn't replied an extraordinary meeting was held by lebanon's higher defense council military and government leaders alike have struck a defiant tone. levanon however didn't say how it will respond but a visiting u.s. envoy told government officials that israel doesn't want an escalation. israel and lebanon are officially in a state of war the two countries don't just have unresolved land border disputes between them they are both claiming an area of sea of around eight hundred square kilometers. an area believed to be rich in oil and gas and which extends along the

edge of the disputed maritime border lebanon says exploratory offshore drilling will start next year despite israeli threats. the lebanese armed group has said it stands behind the government and the army tensions are high the rhetoric has been tough but many don't expect an all out war as it's still thinks of as follows the race their main threat to its security is the theoretically speaking but the rule is one of the there's this balance of power of the thirty's this will on both sides of both sides to engage in any sort of war. a cease fire has largely held since israel and hezbollah fought a war in two thousand and six but the potential for more conflict is always there so in a. southern lebanon. at least eight people have been killed after a road collapsed at a subway construction site in southeastern china rescue crews in foshan city say three people are still missing they managed to pull out nine construction workers

who had been trapped under the rubble the collapse was caused by water entering the site from leaking pipes. well the german company dime laze issued a second apology to china after its subsidiary sadie's benz quoted the dalai lama in an instagram post the manufacture advertised one of its white cars with the text saying look at situations from all angles and you will be more open instagram is blocked in china but the advert was shared by chinese internet users china de tibet and spiritual leader as a separatist threat. protesters are expected to gather in the bulgarian capital sofia the south to rally against a plan that could destroy some of europe's most important forus bulgarian government which currently holds the presidency of the e.u. is supporting a scheme to turn the pier in national park into a ski resort activists say those behind the development are offshore companies involved in tax avoidance barnsley reports european skiers enjoying the winter

sunshine in the results of may or may not know they will you list the world heritage sites the beautiful ancient forest here supposedly protected by bulgarian and international environmental laws. the plans to expand the skiing area by cutting down far more of the forests has been enthusiastic lee backed by the government as economically lucrative but condemned by environmentalists as the rate of nature some of the trees are a thousand years old the bears and the wolves would lose their habitats if we allow this to happen in theory national park then the skiing projects can start in all our national parks we only have three plus in our nature park so we will open the pandora box and this will be the end of protected areas in the area. it's as much about how controversial it is that protests against the scheme of being held in

cities all over europe and beyond it's also claimed to be part of a much wider rotten story about the rule of law in the european union. the row over the legal and environmental implications of destroying the forests here in the apparent complicity of the bulgarian government elites have served to focus attention on this place in a way that the rich and the powerful in bulgaria really don't like at all because it appears that bomb scare was actually a giant money laundering operation dressed up as a ski resort. that's according to people like nick p. points a bounce goes empty hotels and apartment blocks as evidence of tax avoidance that's not fair is the one behind it is absolutely empty that one is empty because the hotelier turned whistleblower who's watched anonymous companies build hotel blocks here apparently knowing they'll remain an occupied the central allegation is this a trick to inflate prices artificially and wash dirty money through the pristine resort it's a truth the whole of bulgaria seems to know about but is only coming to light

because of the ral and for the future of the forest the biggest hotels are owned by that offshore company. the gondolas old by the offshore company they they lock down on you know their conditions of work and. the budge at all because for them they have the monopoly the local who even owns the resort is a mystery it was registered in the tax haven of cyprus another name of an unemployed local man hears on paper the owner of so many companies he's one of the biggest foreign investors in bulgaria the government claims to know who the real owners are but he's refused to say apparently it isn't in the public interest through feel he wants to chop down the forests or why the more that goes. it's the last thing we care about what's important is gary in business and tourism to be successful every company that wants to develop beaucaire interest in follows the law and we would support it but on the question of who owns it i can't give an

exact answer. the people who run bans go already stand accused of environmental regrets despite receiving millions from the european union for sewage disposal human waste is allowed to run straight into the streams coming down from the mountain what they plan to do with the mountain itself if they're allowed to cut the forest down is anyone's guess gloriously al-jazeera. bulgaria. a candidate's been officially named as runners in this year's presidential election in russia president vladimir putin is hoping to win a fourth term in office opinion polls give him a lead of more than sixty percent election is due to be held on march eighteenth more than three hundred child soldiers in south sudan have been freed by the united nations of those released by armed groups in the region eighty seven a girls says it's the first time so many young women have been rescued integration program south seven hundred child soldiers returned to normal life so today we celebrate the first phase of what will be cowed by this release of children

groups. three. years but it's just the first. and unfortunately another part of the country. recruit. the u.s. has condemned venezuela's decision to hold a presidential election on only twenty second of april saying there's no guarantee of it being free and fair the april vote is also a blow to the venezuelan opposition which had been lobbying for the election to be held in june they wanted time to choose a candidate that would run against president nicolas maduro opposition members are now deciding whether to field anyone against mature as two of its top leaders remain on from running. thousands of people and meeting in kuala lumpur at the world urban forum to discuss how to make big city life more affordable and hong kong residents are struggling to buy a slice of one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world many are forced to live in illegally partition flats as difficult pollen reports. in the

summer an oven and in the winter an ice box that's how this mother describes the room she shares with her teenage daughters the sixteen square meter shack is perched on top of a twenty two story building there are. tonys through the ceiling while it rings one of the windows cracked during the thai food and we could only cover it with tape and paper. t.v. she moved into this illegal structure ten years ago after her husband died they live under the constant threat of eviction and now the landlord wants to raise the rent from the current five hundred dollars a month we don't have any rent control recitation or any tendency so that's why for the poor people it's very human rights advocacy groups say more than a quarter of a million people in hong kong live in illegal structures or squalid conditions and

every year that number rises by twenty percent. private housing prices have gone up four hundred thirty percent since two thousand and thirteen while the average household income has only increased forty five percent in the past decade which means fewer people can afford property in the city and with the average wage for public housing at around five years there has been a call for a more innovative approach to the crisis this is one suggestion. is made from readily available concrete pipes its creators say they can be stacked up and squeezed into vacant spaces in urban areas to provide starter homes another idea being discussed is container homes shipping containers are already used as offices or shops in some area. but these architects say there is another solution one that addresses the fact that only seven percent of the city's land is used for residential purposes. industrial uses it is changing on home you don't need so many factory buildings it's

a big stock of them and if you convert that to residential that's going to bring on stream a lot of floor area for residential very quickly experts say the problem is not a lack of space but government policy unlike other cities here the government owns all the land and leases a limited amount to developers so if property prices drop so does the government's revenue which means there's little incentive to bring down the sky high prices. al-jazeera hong kong. much more to see and read about right here al jazeera dot com is why you need to go for all the latest news and analysis that takes you behind the headlines. a quick look at the top stories now syria's government has attacked the u.s. led coalition for a rare as strike on pro assad forces and province they've branded it

a war crime and a new effort to support terrorism a military source within the coalitions at the strikes killed about one hundred pro assad fighters who are attacking the syrian democratic forces the u.s. department of defense defended the coalition's actions our forces have the inherent right to self-defense. we are not looking for a conflict with the regime any action that takes away from our ongoing operations to defeat isis is a distraction. elsewhere in syria russian government forces are continuing their assault on two regions that remain in rebel hands as strikes and shelling of killed more than two hundred people and live in eastern in just four days both areas are meant to be deescalation zones. north korea has held a massive military parade a day before its southern neighbor opens the winter olympics they to kim jong un told the crowds that his nation would defend its sovereignty.

thousands of protesters flooded the streets of bangladesh's capital as a court sentenced former prime minister holliday zia to five years in prison for corruption police fired tear gas to disperse them zia was convicted of embezzling more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars in donations meant for an orphanage trust a lawyer say they will appeal against the conviction the israeli army is suing the family of a palestinian man crushed by one of their jeeps to compensate them for the damage vehicle. was accused of throwing a fire bomb and jeep he was pursued by israeli soldiers when the vehicle crushed him. and israel has started to build a controversial wall along its border with lebanon construction work is taking place on the a few meters from a disputed area which both countries claim lebanese leaders say building the wall is threatening the stability of the region as also tension over a bit by lebanon to explore for oil and gas in disputed mediterranean waters.

you're up to date with all of our top stories more news coming up in about twenty five minutes time i'll see then off to the stream which starts now. i am fairly ok i really could be protests politically motivated arrests and a state of emergency in the mall so what does it mean for the country's future this show we have a community buzzing on twitter and if you're joining us live on you can join the conversation as well and you to be in the stream.