>> tonight on "worldfocus" -- in nigeria, curfews and security forces are being used to try to quell two days of islamic militant violence that's left dozens of people dead. uproar in britain over the government's attempt to take back compensation paid to soldiers wounded in afghanistan. just what is the loss of a leg worth? a sign of the times, in cuba electronic sign once used by the u.s. to blast the castro government has gone dark. is that signal better relations ahead and more opportunities for american businesses? plus, blinded by the light. planes taking off and landing at london's heathrow airport are increasingly being targeted by lasers and pilots warn the

consuences could be deadly. from the world's leading reporters and analysts, here is what's happening from around the world. this is "worldfocus." made possible, in part, by the following funders -- good evening, i'm martin savidge. they say they want to impose a taliban-like regime that regains western education and they've been attacking police stations in recent days sparking clashes. that by some reports have left at least 100 people dead. it may sound like afghanistan, but this wave of violence is actually going on in nigeria, an important oil-producing nation in africa that, for years, has been dealing with a deadly insurgency in the largely muslim north of the country. in tonight's "lead focus," we're going to take a closer look at this newest wave of violence from the latest from the scene and with expert analysis. we're going to begin with this report from our reporter from al

jazeera english.>> reporter: by the aftermath of a gun battle between police and boko haram fighters in the city of bauchi. over two days the violence spread across four states showing the reach of the group. it began here on sunday when gunmen attacked a local police station after several of the group's leaders were arrested. at least 50 were killed. on monday, the attacks spread to three other northern states. borno, kono, yobe. the fighters that fired through police stations and churches and engaged in fierce battles with security forces. authorities say they've represented at least 100 members of boko haram. a group calling for islamic law >> one thing that is very clear about this group is that it preaches for people to abandon western violence, to stop going to schools to learn the english language. and anything that has to do with the european and the western europe and the americas. they're also saying people should stop working for the

nigerian system because it's it's up to the individuals. >> reporter: nigeria is split almost equally between the muslim north and the christian south. and since 2000, 12 of the country's 36 states introduced sharia islamic law. violence last broke out in november in the city of jos. when a dispute over loca, confrontation when turned into religion confrontation. killing more than 700. s but analysts say the unrest is more than about root of extensions. >> i think it speaks more of a broader problem of poverty and frustration. so long as the authorities state and federal level fail to deal with these underlying causes there must be a danger that this problem is going to increase rather than disappear. >> reporter: and yet many hope this latest round of violence will not spread any further. reporting for al jazeera. for more on the violence in nigeria and then the broader

context, we turn to marie pace, a program officer with the center for mediation and conflict resolution at the united states institute of peace. that's a nonpartisan organization founded and funded by congress. she was in nigeria last month. and joins us from washington. thanks very much for being with us. >> happy to be here. >> why does this story matter to us? >> well, nigeria matters to us. nigeria is the fifth-largest oil producer for the united states. and so instability in nigeria, it matters to us. >> and about these groups, these muslim extremists, are there links between them and the taliban in afghanistan?>> we ha suggests that there is. what we do know is that a group of the similar -- of a similar name was responsible for some violence in 2007 during the general elections in nigeria. they called themselves the taliban. and they were basically a

copycat organization that was using e name in order to get attention. >> and their anger is at western education? at just western ideals? >> well, it's not really clear what their core grievances are. but what we do know is the area where the violence has broken out is the fault line between muslims and christians in nigeria. and there has been -- lately, we do know that christians have been very active in the area proselytizing and this could be a factor that's aggravating tensions between the two groups. >> you already pointed out but nigeria is a very important international oil producer. how will this unrest likely affect that oil production? >> the conflict in the north of the country and in the middle belt between muslims and christians doesn't tend to

impact the niger delta but there is a conflict that goes on in the niger delta that tends not to get that much attention that is impacting oil production right now. >> marie pace, thank you very much for your insights. >> thank you very much. now, let's turn to the war n afghanistan, where american and british forces have been suffering greater casualties as they step up their battle against the taliban. that war is weighing heavily on british public opinion as a new poll revealed today. the survey was commissioned by the independent newspaper and found that 58% think the war is unwinnable and 52% want british forces withdrawn immediately. with the casualties increasing, the british government is dealing with a conflict's question of compensation for the wounds of war. the question of placing a value

on catastrophic injuries and the complications that can result from those injuries. the test case involving two british servicemen is playing out in british chear tonight from jenny wibble of itn. >> reporter: the every soldier killed in afghanistan around five are critically wounded. service personnel are being paralyzed, losing limbs and suffering burns on an almost daily basis. many go from fighting for their country from fighting for their lives to end up fighting for british compensation in the british courts. today the ministry of defense is at an attempt to the court of appeal attempting to reduce the payouts awarded under the arms forces compensation scheme to two injured soldiers. in a lower court, payments to anthony duncan and royal marine mcwilliams were increased from less than 10,000 pounds to 46,000 pounds and 28,000 pounds. because of medical complications arising from their original injuries.

the m.o.d. is hoping to overturn that decision, but the raw british legion is fighting them every step of the way. >> the m.o.d. scheme, essentially, they stop the clock immediately the injury has occurred. and then make the assessment from that -- from that state. so no matter how invasive the subsequent medical treatment is and the effects of it and the dislabeling effects on the individual, that would not -- is not taken into account by the m.o.d. at the moment. >> reporter: last year the m.o.d. doubled the maximum lump sum payment for injuries. at level one, 570,000 pounds compensates for the loss of both legs and both arms or a major brain injury. at level six, the payments for the loss of one leg or total deathness is 92,000 pounds. and at level nine, a tarrive of just over 34,000 pounds covers second and third-degree burns resulting in residual scarring.

with a steady stream of soldiers passing through military rehabilitation units, this judgment will have wider implications for thousands of injured servicemen and women. >> long-term care needs, adaptations of homes, aid. all of these things are required funding and a lump sum payment under the armed forces compensation scene for these soldiers is simply not enough for them. >> reporter: the m.o.d. is keen to stress that today's case is to clair fight law but it starts to attract criticism amid mounting casualty figures in afghanistan. the two service personnel killed yesterday brought the total number of uk fatalities since operations began in afghanistan in 2001 to 191. >> for more on afghanistan, we're joined once again by anthony cordesman of the center for the strategic international studies. mr. cordesman recently returned from afghanistan where we work under an advisory board to general stanley mcchrystal, commander of u.s. forces in afghanistan.

thank you for joining us again. >> a pleasure. >> in a report that you wrote about your trip you say that the taliban and al qaeda are winning in afghanistan. how so? >> they've been in a position where they lose when they actually encounter nato and isaf forces. but at the same time they have steadily expanded the areas they occupy, they've expanded their political influence, they've expanded their control over the economy. in many parts of the country, they effectively run the justice system. they're the only real visible presence of government. and they move from areas along the east and the south up into the center, into the west, in the valleys in the north. when you look at map of afghanistan in 2005 and 2009, the area under taliban influences increase by more than nine times. and in recent years it's virtually increased by 50% to

100% a year. they're winning the battle of political attrition. and in a counterinsurgency, that's what counts. >> and yet you also write that the nato forces can achieve victory. in a broad sense what would victory take? >> well, what it takes to start with is resources. i think people have no idea how little money, how few troops, how little effort went in to developing afghan forces. for nearly the first five years after the taliban were first driven out of afghanistan. basically, all the resources went in to iraq. many of the europeans traded this as post conflict reconstruction. they didn't take the taliban seriously. even today, some can't use the word "war." they have to use the word "conflict" for political reasons. if you put the resources in

that by itself will make a tremendous difference. if you take developing af forces really seriously and the plans are there and the trainers have the capability, that makes a major difference. and if you can clean up the problems with the karzai government and within the international aid effort that would provide a very strong incentive to afghans to reject the taliban and support the government. >> well, i want to bring up, you mentioned in your report that one of the great challenges facing the u.s. and nato is the afghan government. why is the government a challenge? >> part of the reason is, it simply lacks capability. we created a system that was extremely centralized to try to make the warlords weaker. in fact, what we did was make karzai and others so dependent on regional leaders that we actually strengthened the warlords. but in the process, there's no real provincial government. there's no real district government.

you created a power vacuum and it's one in which power brokers and corruption dominate. not the kind of government you need out in the field, out in the provinces to provide an alternative to the taliban. >> only about 15 seconds left. i just wondered, your firsthand observations of general mcchrystal, what were they? >> i think for the first time you have a leader working with an ambassador, ambassador eikenberry, who fully understands what's happening. and that american leadership can, if it's given the resources and the authority, change the course of this war. >> anthony cordesman, thank you. >> thank you. authorities in iran say they have released 140 people detained in the protest in violence that followed the presidential elections six weeks ago. that is about half of those arrested. the move follows a visit to the main prison in tehran by a committee of parliament. and allegations of abuse against those who were detained including the reports of several

people who died while in custody. late today there were also reports that president mahmoud ahmadinejad has asked that all the detainees be released. eight months after the terror attacks that killed 170 people in mumbai, india, pakistani investigators say they have connected the pakistan-based militant group lashkar-e-taiba beyond any reason doubt. "the wall street journal" says the pakistani investigators handed latest authorities the latest report this month. it says material recovered from lashkar camps were given the training, weapons and directed by the militant outfit. the evidence included handwritten diaries, training manuals, indian maps and operational instructions. pakistan has charged five people with planning the attack. the only surviving gunman's on trial in india, and he says he was recruited by the lashkar group. defense secretary robert gates was in iraq today getting

a firsthand look at the american military missi in that country. gates arrived at a command post in the southern iraq area, where u.s. troops are serving mainly as advisers to iraqi forces. the unit is a prototype for americans as they move from front-line combat to support roles. from there, gates went onto baghdad where he met with prime minister nuri al maliki, who suggested last week that he might ask for a extension for the departure date beyond the year after next if iraq needs more help with its security. in the caribbean today, the u.s. coast guard continued its search for dozens of haitians still missing after an overloaded wooden sailboat capsized. it happens off of the turks and caicos islands yesterday. more than 100 were rescued while at least 11 bodies were found. from cuba tonight, word that the united states has turned off

an electronic sign and its diplomatic mission that had outraged the cuban government since it was put up three years ago. the sign flashed pro-democracy messages from the u.s. interest section. the cuban government took steps to try to obscure it by view by placing huge black flags in front of the building replaced by much smaller flags when president obama was elect. as part of its effort to reach out to cuba's leadership, the u.s. decided that it was time to turn the sign off. this country's trade embargo with cuba does continue as it has for the past 47 years. and in tonight's "signature story," we want to take another look at what that has meant in terms of american companies losing out on opportunities in cuba at a time when many of them could really use the business. "worldfocus" special correspondent peter eisner look said at issue in a story that we first brought to you earlier in year. >> reporter: these are some of the scenes you might imagine

when you think of cuba -- old cars, old buildings and cigar factories. but these are images you also would see if you're allowed to visit cuba today. shiny new buses and luxury hotels. it's no news to the rest of the world, cuba is out to make deals, but the united states is hardly in the game. along u.s. government boycott of the island means most american businessmen are losing out to europeans and others. >> translator: jose luis, an economist of the spanish embassy, says spain is shooting for $2 billion in exports to cuba this year. >> translator: we have spanish banks. we have the tourism industry. almost every spanish tourist chain is here as well. >> reporter: ricardo alarcon, the president of the national assembly and one of cuba's most influential leaders, says his country is doing business world wide. >> we practically, every other

important actor in the world with the old exception of the u.s., we have a normal relations in general with europe, canada, your neighbor to the north. >> reporter: the u.s. economic embargo of cuba was imposed in 1962 by the kennedy administration. the goal was nothing less than destroying fidel castro's communist revolution. >> but now is the opposite. this, the u.s., who is isolated regarding its cuba policy. >> reporter: and because of that, now missing out on business opportunities during the economic crisis. an example, cuba has found oil. deep in the wats of the caribbean. jorge sanchez, at the cuba u.s. for studies, says the u.s. is missing out at a lucrative opportunity to extract the oil. >> it requires big companies and

great amounts of resource. so these when we have the opportunity with oil companies for the united states. >> reporter: it's an opportunity lost by the united states and an opportunity seized by canada, france and brazil. it's a different story for american farmers. big u.s. agricultural companies have won the right to ship their goods to cuba. >> translator: the united states is providing just basic food and their exports are already 50% of spanish expos. that's only food. so the potential for the united states is strong. >> reporter: ships hauling american farm products routinely visit havana harbor. about $700 million worth of food last year and growing. rafael hernandez, the editor of "pamas" magazine in havana says good business trumps ideology. >> i have a business. rice growers, republican guys, who are not liberal democrats. guys from louisiana, iowa,

delaware, nebraska, minnesota. the republicans that want to sell chicken and rice and wheat and soy sauce and soybeans. to you. >> reporter: actually, cuba thinks it can count on bipartisan support in the united states to end the trade embargo. according to a poll conducted by florida international university, even a majority of cuban-americans in miami oppose it. the u.s. embargo forced cuba to reinvent itself. it is now a major player in selling new medicines, treating diabetes, hepatitis and even cancer. one day u.s. pharmaceutical companies could license those products if the embargo were lifted. that could mean millions of dollars in revenues for the u.s. market. >> they are saying that we're doing -- that we're doing on a

clinical trial in the united states. now it is very difficult. >> reporter: the biggest opportunity of all for american businessmen may be bringing american tourists to cuba. the restoration of old havana over the last decade symbolizes the new cuba. last year more than 2 million tourists came to the country pouring billions of dollars into the local economy. cuba is cleaning up its tourist sites in havana for a reason. jose antonio, an official at ministry of tourism, says american companies are trolling for business and cuba holds the key. that means a whole new industry that could be supported by u.s. tourism. with american hotel chains, american rental cars and regular flights by u.s. airlines. and that's only a start. >> for every million american got this to travel. less than $300 million. >> reporter: so one can conceive, one day a

marriott or sheridan or some other company being interested anint venture here as well? >> why not? why not? we are open to foreign investment. right now to build some new hotels. 1 philippe boucher -- and 13 new hotels. 10,000 rooms. in the next four, five years. >> reporter: if cuban officials and american business have their way, many of those hotels would be built by u.s. companies. and after that, they're certain that american tourists would be strolling these beaches like everyone else. i'm peter eisner for "worldfocus" in havana. >> you can find much more from peter eisner at worldfocus.org where he blogs about cuban/u.s. relations and other latin american issues.

finally tonight, we're going to take a look at a kind of air war that's being waged in the skies over great bst the very serious and growing problem of people aiming lasers at aircraft as they take off and land. the lasers can temporarily blind pilots and cause a crash. so now british authorities have launched an aggressive campaign to crack down on those who are putting hundreds of others at risk. increasingly, they can track down the perpetrators with pinpoint accuracy as we hear in this report from julian rush of itn. >> reporter: a night landing at heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports. a time when pilots need to concentrate, take off and landing the most dangerous part of any flight. >> they've layserd quite heavily by a very powerful green laser. >> reporter: more and more, aircraft are being targeted. the bright light not only distracts but can temporarily blind. it briefly turns the wind screen green so the pilots can't see out. the pilots union now so concerned that the risks of flight safety they have written

to the transport secretary. >> well, the risk is a very severe one. there is a risk of a loss of an aircraft ultimately. if you get a powerful enough laser and you get enough of them and both the flight crew can't shield themselves from it they're not in a situation where they can very quickly disengage themselves from the aircraft and the aircraft either safely land or takeoff. once the pilot loses his visual queues there is a very good chance that the aircraft could be lost. >> the number of aircraft laser strikes reported has been rising sharply from just 29 in 2007 to over 200 last year and already this year, nearly 150. the problem is growing across the country. in the capital, the police helicopter is often now scrambled when an aircraft is lasered. with their cameras they can pinpoint who is doing it. >> the system is so sophisticated. that somebody in their backyard

and shining a laser from skylight over bedroom window we can ice late that individual property from a long way away. and at first, may not know that we're watching them. a knock on the door and the police are in the driveway. >> reporter: it will be easy to think of this as just a toy. but this small, this laser is incredibly powerful. it's being so strong it has a range of up to two miles or so. while very low-power lasers do have user pointers, these high-powered devices have no commercial purpose, yet they can be bought on internet sites for as little as 50 pounds. three years ago the health protection agency asked trading standards to ban their sale. it hasn't happened. >> in order to help the hpa, we'd actually have to have an outright ban, which is made from the primarily legislation. probably with the involvement of europe as well because of restraints on trade. currently, we can use the general product safety regulations. they're often hurdles when using those. >> reporter: police are stepping up their campaign against malicious laser attacks.

in this incident last year, one of the offenders was jailed for six months. >> julian rush of itn. that's "worldfocus" for a tuesday evening. for much more global news, don't forget visit our website, that's worldfocus.org. i'm martin savidge in new york. as always, thanks for joining us. we'll look for you back here tomorrow. and anytime on the web. until then, have a good night. "worldfocus" is made possible, in part, by the following funders -- -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com