. >>> let's get a report from nicole johnston. nicole are we expecting a big show of support particularly in the hezbollah stronghold of southern baiz ruth beirut? >> we would expect thousands of hezbollah supporters to be out on the street for the funeral ever jihadofjihad magnia, the son of a late hezbollah commander who was also killed by israel in 2008. more funerals we will expect on tuesday as well in some of the southern villages where some of the men who were killed are from. the sayings is quite tense down on the lebanese israeli border. the united nations peace keepers are down there. high alert for lebanese army down there. speaking to people inside beirut they do expect some kind of retaliation at some point by hezbollah. but the people we've spoken to don't necessarily think it will happen immediately. it could take some time. having said that though, they also believe that hezbollah doesn't want to open up a new present right now with israel. it is very much occupied inside syria fighting the war aside the assad regim

nicole johnston, al jazeera. >> word out of the united states is that the justice department there is now considering bringing criminal charges against the former head of the cia. lawyers for general david petraeus the man who led troops in iraq as well, so far are refusing to say anything. they're looking into whether general petraeus shared classified information with his biographyer with paula broadwell. he said he had had an affair with broadwell. >> found guilty of supporting the 1990 kidnapping. the district judge in new york said that abu hamza did not show any sympathy or remorse for the victims of that yemeni kidnapping. now to sri lanka their new president there said that he'll end corruption in his country and change a few of the constitutional anything that his predecessor had brought in. maithripala sirisena was sworn in office after a victory of ten years of. rajapaksa. >> this man has been baking bread here for years. he has children. he earns around $10 a day. >> the government we elected has come in power. that's very good for us. the important thing we wanted to chan

nicole johnston reports from beirut. >> a few thousand people turned out for the funeral of a hezbollah leader, six of the men killed were from the lebanese armed shia group hezbollah. one belonged to iran's revolutionary guard. the significance of this funeral is jihad musnia, a man being groomed for a more senior position. but it appears to be a planned tack. this is the first time it appears to have carried out such a direct hit against the group in syria. the question now is how will hezbollah respond? >> wait and see our message will continue. our line will continue, it will 97 stop. >> hezbollah supporters say there will be retaliation when the group is ready for it. >> we're ready for it but for the past 30 years hezbollah has always taught us that any retaliation has to be logical. that is one of our points of strength against israeli enemy. >> thousands of men are in hezbollah are in syria fighting on the same side as president bashar al-assad. this has divided lebanon. there are those who support the group and the syrian president and those who back the other side who say syri

nicole johnston reports. >> the family had to find somewhere to bury him when he died. it wasn't easy. the town's main cemetery was full. eventually the lebanese owners of a plot in another cemetery agreed to let them use it. >> translator: back home in syria you could bury the dead anywhere. here it is very hard. we didn't know what to do with his body. >> reporter: but at least he's being buried near their refugee camp. >> translator: we're lucky to have him close by so we can visit his grave. but my brother always says when we return to syria we will take his bones home with us. >> reporter: the united nations says 1100 registered syrian ratification have died in lebanon since the war started but unofficially, the number is said to be much higher. the plots are usually paid for by charities. >> translator: a man died and when we went to several local cemeteries they refused to bury him. they didn't tell us why but once they know we are syrian refugees they say you can't bury him here. but you have to have money. if you don't have money to eat how can you pay for a bu

al jazeera's nicole johnston reports. >> a few thousand people turned out to the funeral of jihad mumiaof ten people killed on an israeli attack on sunday. son of an hezbollah leader one belonged to iran's revolutionary guard. the significance of this funeral is that jihad mumia was arriving inside hezbollah a man being croomed for a much more senior position. this sounds like a planned and coordinated attack. israel has targeted weapons convoys before but first time it has carried out such a direct hit against a group in syria. the question now is: how will hezbollah respond? >> wait and see. our message will continue, our line will continue never stop. >> hebs says there will be retral yaition when the group is ready for it. >> actually, we are angry bit for the past 30 years hezbollah has always taught us that any retaliation has to be logical and any installation has to be well thought of. >> reporter: thousands of men from hezbollah are in syria fighting on the same side as president bashar al-assad. this has divided lebanon. there are those who support the group and the syrian pre

nicole johnston is monitoring the situation. what reignited the fighting there?reporter: well, the fighting has been ongoing really. so the syrian observatory for human rights has said in a town east of damascus more than 40 people have been killed and 60 injured by government air strikes, and the air strikes have really picked up over the last few days because the weather has improved. it's clear skies, and activists are telling us over the last few days there has been more than 100 air strikes in different parts of syria in those rebel-held areas. also on friday there has been air strikes in hula town. at least four killed there, and six people killed in darah. >> we're hearing about fighting on the border with lebanon. what is going on there? >> reporter: that's right there has been a spillover from the war in syria into lebanon today. what we have seen is syrian rebels attack the lebanese army in an area near the town that is in the peca valley. it's very close to the border. it's a porous border. it's sort of somewhat of a no man's land. we know inside there

nicole johnston reports. >> reporter: finally the hope that talks between rival groups in libya will end this. the u.n. libyan envoy flew into tobruk to get all the parties to meet in geneva. first, he told former general haftar who commands a force loyal to the internationally recognized government in tobruk. >> we have to stand besides this man in order to achieve peace in our land and stop the bloodshed of our brothers, but which brothers? >> haftar's rivals are these men, based in tripoli they set up another government, libya's supreme court recognizes tripoli as the legitimate one. the situation is complicated. there are now two parliaments backed by their own militias, but at last they've agreed to meet. >> we discussed the presumption of lie doing process. the u.n. is suggesting that the geneva host the libyan dialogue. >> and form an unity government, adopt a permanent constitution, and stop the fighting. that could be the greatest challenge. gangs of heavily armed fighters are fighting for the control of money, oil fields. on tuesday the last foreign airline operating in the

nicole johnston has convicted both towns in the ballbek county. >> the cold rocky mountains and valleyse become the perfect place for syrian rebels to base themselves and launch attacks in lebanon. on friday they did just that. hundreds of syrian fighters over ran an army post. lebanese special forces were called in to defeat them. it was a shock to the town. >> the people would were definitely alarmed but all of the young men are here to defend russ ballek. all of the residents came here to help the army and protect the valley. >> eight soldiers from the army were killed during the 10-hour battle. more than 35 syrian fighters died. hundreds attended the funeral of a first lieutenant who was killed. close to res baalbek is the sunni town. everyone seems worried about the presence of around 2000 syrian fighters on the outkirts. in the last few days there has been a bomb explosion and a fight inside arsel among different armed syrian groups. five months ago, fighters took over the town for five days. now, the army is positioned around arsel but not inside. >> people tell us this is the mo

it's hard to fathom that the war in syria could get any worse nicole johnston al jazerra beirut. >>>onsored peace talks on libya have collapse affidavit one of the two countries rival governments walked out. the general national congress has accused the international recognized parliament of orchestrating new violence and the united nations launched the new rounds of talks in geneva last week. >>> al jazerra continues to demands the lease of release of our klee colleagues that have been in peuz for 390 days, they were falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. charges they deny, an appeals court in could cairo has ordered a new trial. >>> how europe's central bank could be describing a strong dose of economic medicine. >>> plus how changing relations with the u.s. could shift the tied of migration from cuba. see the truth. >> conversations you won't find anywhere else. "talk to al jazeera". monday 9:30 eastern. only on al jazeera a >> sunday night. >> 140 world leaders will take the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >>

let's get the view from the lebanese side of the border and speak to nicole johnston who is in there. more about where you are? and is it as calm on your side as it is on the israeli side? >> reporter: it is as calm, actually. we are only a couple of hundred meters from the israeli occupied farms, just behind me beyond the fence border there. you can see it in the distance. the information that we have received is that the attack took place very close to here, just below an israeli army post. now, today people are back in school. it's very quiet in the area here. but as was said, quiet but tense, we have had israeli drones in the skies above us. notchly there would be israeli army patrolling this border here but for the last few hours, we have haven't seen any at all, which is quite unusual we are hold. also the lebanese army investigators and investigators from the united nations have arrived in this area, they are at a post very close to here to investigate and look in to the death of a peacekeeper the spaniard who was killed. we were told in the last couple of hours by the lebanese

nicole johnston reporting for us looks like snow on the ground there.ur people coping with winter? >> reporter: they are having a very difficult time. kamal. as you were saying. this is the largest concentration of syrian refugees in lebanon to put that in to perspective for you the local population here is around 40,000 people. and now here, at any one time there can be between 70,100,000 syrian refugees. now what you'll notice about this camp behind me, is unlike the camps that you see in jordan and turkey, this isn't a huge enemas camp of 10s or hundreds of thousand of people it's a smaller camp but there are hundreds of these smaller camps all over lebanon. they are informal camps. >> the lebanese government hasn't set up a formal established camp. it doesn't want to encourage the syrian refugees to his stay here for good. so we have these smaller ones that have popped up. and this is making it very difficult for aid agencies to get in here to give them heating, oil for their heating we have spoken to people, they say this they are not getting enoug

side of the future movement and the march 14 coalition. >> all right thanks very much indeed nicole johnstonbeirut putting it in perspective for us and let's go to jerusalem with the latest on king abdullah death and what have you been hearing from the government? >> from the government of israel we did hear a statement issued by the president of israel even though they do not have diplomatic ties but he said he was sad to hear of the passing of king abdullah and described his leadership as grounded considered and responsible. he also said in that statement that as a guardian of the holy places of islam king abdullah was always a moderator who respected the sensitivity and the santacitink and contributed to the peace and stability of the middle east region and heard statements from the former president of israel paris who is in switzerland at tending the world economic forum and describing king abdullah wise with wise policies and says he is a loss for the region and for peace and he had the bravery to put forth a peace plan. he is hinting at the arab peace initiative which was designed and

nicole johnston. in southern lebanon. >> let's take you to nick schifrin. the tensions remain high. >> there are higher tensions on the other side of that mountain range. between the israeli occupied golan heights a where i'm standing. lebanon is that way. military officials described exactly what happened one kilometer the convoy was all unarmed, israeli vehicles, two rockets, direct hits in that convoy. the first is company commander and sergeant were killed. the israel response was swift. 100 arrest till rather strikes inside of southern lebanon. but right now it is calm and messages from israel are that they're trying to calm the situation. a senior israeli official telling israeli media this is a tit-for-tat attack that there was that attack reportedly by israel that killed six hezbollah fighters ten days ago in response to this seen as proportionate, and also in an interview with a few journals where they said to go back to the normal routine. >> thanks for the moment. let's take you from there to the united nations our diplomatic editor james bays. >

nicole johnston, al jazeera. >> saudi arabia has postponed the floging of a blogger. he was to received a second round of 20 weeks of flogging because he has not recovered from the lashings he received last week. he's serving a ten-year sentence for charges of insulting islam. >>> pope francis visits the philippines. >> reporter: pope francis spent no time in tackling politics in his first day of visiting the philippines. he said that the country's leaders needed to get serious about corruption, poverty. >> the political leaders be standing for the integrity and commitment to the world. >> the filipino president has waged an anti-corruption drive but one his critics disproportionately targets opposition figures. thousands crammed the streets. >> pope francis is actually here. i want to be enlightened. i want to be inspired. the things he said are very doable and we should follow his example. >> bringing excitement and expressions of love. >> the philippine church said his visit and inspirational presence will be a wake-up call. >> the pope spoke in english with a dire

nicole johnston, al jazeera. >> stay with us here on al jazeera, lots more to come.exploring pluto and beyond. we look at the new intergalactic missions for this year. and it's kara to the rescue. sana will have more on that, stay with us. us. >> let's take you live to new york now where police and mourners are gathering for the wake of police officer wenjian liu. one of the two police officers who were shot to death in their patrol car. the mourners dearing for the mourners gathering for the wake of the second police officer, wenjian liu live pictures there of the second funeral for the officer wenjian liu, who was killed with another officer last december.now from an inflatable cobble stolen to emploild unionembroiled banners disobedient objects is on display at the victoria and albert museum. emma hayward reports. >> they are the face he of loved ones lost in conflict. created from stencils recreated on the wall of one of london's oldest museums where art and politics collide. from the early symbols of the suffragette struggle, to a truck with a death mask from a

nicole johnston, al jazeera beirut. >> and the station affiliated with hezbollah releaseed footage. six operatives were on an inspection in konetra when the strike occurred. >>> libya to geneva, key members of the rival parliament stayed away from the ways last week. but there seems to be a slight break of the situation after libya declared a ceasefire. >>> the turkish president recep tayyip erdogan has chaired his first cabinet meeting something that hasn't been done by a turkish president by more than a decade. it is an attempt by erdogan to further expand his powers. from istanbul, bernard smith reports. >> reporter: exercising his constitutional right to convene a cabinet meeting, recep tayyip erdogan is remolding his role from ceremonial to executive. normally the prime minister sits at the top of the table but now ahmed dovotolu had to move over. on monday, erdogan was in charge. >> these two politicians have worked long enough to know the real power of their position in the party. so devotolu always emphasizes the leadership of erdogan. >> reporter: opposition parties say the

nicole johnston, al jazeera beirut. >> let's talk with ram ink good to have you with us. i wonder if you managed to hear nicole johnton's report. one group says hezbollah is merely no longer an arab here, those comments whether you agree or not and also there's a lot of talk whether hezbollah is going to retaliate most say the group will retail tal 88th but what sort of support is there for any sort of retaliation. >> well, it is no longer a linear process like it used to be. whether hezbollah was seen as a heroic movement or problematic movement. it is much more duplicated to understand the attitude towards hezbollah. for instance in lebanon you have a very polarized population. the core supporters remain very steadfast. sometimes a few of them might complain about the war in syria but the overwhelming majority of hbz supporters still support it. then you have the other half of the lebanese which is critical of hezbollah but at the same time understand wheas hezbollah is doing coordinating with the lebanese army to fight against islamist militants in the northeast of the

we have the very latest nicole johnston reports. >> reporter: finally there are hope that talks betweenrival groups in libya will end the months of fighting from one end of the country to the another. u.n.'s libya envoy flew into tobruk to meet in geneva. first general haftar, loyal to the recognized government in tobruk. >> we have to stand besides this man in order to achieve peace on this land and stop the bloodshed of our brothers, but which brothers? >> and against their rivals in tripoli where they've set up another government. the situation is complicated. there are now two parliaments backed by their own militias, but at last they've agreed to meet. >> the u.n. is suggesting that geneva host the dialogue. >> reporter: the aim of the meet something to form an unity government adopt a permanent constitution and stop the fighting. that could be the greatest challenge. gangs of heavily armed fighters are battling for the control of territory, money and oil fields. tripoli's main international airport is closed, and on tuesday the last foreign airline operating in the country suspend

nicole johnston, al jazeera barrett. beirut. >> nigeria prepares for next month's presidential election. the attack began on january 3rd, when boko haram gunned down residents. local security residents say the bodies are too number russ to count. -- too numerous to count . it's been described as boko haram's worst attack yet 2,000 victims according to amnesty international. many of them women children and elderly. people who could not outrun weapons. more than 20,000 people fled many escaping only with what they could carry. the attack took place in nigeria's northeast in an around the town of baga nearly two weeks ago. these satellite images released by amnesty international show before and after pictures of baga. the red indicates areas of vegetation. the second picture almost all that vegetation gone, burned in the attack. reports say people who sought shelter in homes were burned alive. others fled into the lake to escape. the rampage left bodies everywhere. one witness reported that the whole town smells of decompos

nicole johnston, al jazeera becca valley in lebanon. >> refugees have spilled into lebanon and jordan. while the humanitarian crisis threatens the countries stability, so do different factions in what is a wider conflict. >> since august, the u.s. and coalition forces launched nearly 2,000 airstrikes against isil. yet the group still controls large areas of iraq syria. isil fighters are also reportedly massing along sir i can't see borders threatening to launch attacks near the hometown of hezbollah. meanwhile, syrian president bashar al assad remains in power, aided by iran's revolutionary guard and russia. fighting has been spilling over into lebanon. al-nusra took responsibility for twin bombs in targeting allies of president bashar al assad that killed nine people in tripoli. the scale of the crisis is overwhelming. half of the population's 7.6 million syrians are internally displaced and more than 3 million have become refugees after fleeing the country, threatening the stability of other countries. over a million refugees have flooded lebanon which only has a population of 4.5 m

nicole johnston first in beirut. >> currently fighting on the side of the assad regime inside syria.ere taken out two were senior commanders, one includes mohamed issa, and one including the son of imad molanea. this was certainly a big hit against hezbollah. not the first time they've been hit but certainly one of the biggest hits carried out by israel in terms of the caliber of this. now hezbollah has confirmed this has happened. they've told us that there will be retaliatory action. they said they can carry this out anyplace at any time. also the situation on the border between lebanon and israel has been very tense for the last couple of days. there have been israeli planes flying over southern lebanon reconnaissance missions carried out. and what we're waiting for now is for the funerals of these hezbollah figures over the next couple of days. this is sure to rally many hezbollah supporters out onto the streets of lebanon. >> nicole johnston there. israel has not confirmed the attacks. israel shamila has more from jerusalem. >> we were told that the army does not respond to fore

nicole johnston has hour our report. >> reporter: this is moments after the attack. near the border with syria and lebanon. israel deployed soldiers in the area and fired rockets into lebanon. the armed group hezbollah, which is based in lebanon has claimed responsibility for the attack. it says it's in response to an israeli attack last week against its fighters in syria. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has warned of a swift and painful retaliation. >> at this moment the idea of responding to the events in the north to everyone who is trying to challenge us at the northern border i advise them to consider what happened in gaza. hamas took its hardest hit since it's formation and we're prepared to react strongly on all fronts. >> reporter: last week's israeli attack against hezbollah happens near a syrian city in the golan heights. that's where a high-ranking iranian military commander and six hezbollah fight percent killed. were killed. this area has always been a contentious one for israel and hezbollah. hezbollah has carried out attacks there before, but

nicole johnston, al jazeera. >> australia's prime minister has made a surprise visit to iraq.visited haider al-abadi, discussing attacks in northern iraq. part of a u.s. led coalition to wipe out the group. >>> in the next 15 minutes to pluto and beyond. gone but not forgotten. a unique giant tortoise is set for a new life, three years after he died. evidence >> al jazeera america presents lockerbie part three: what really happened? >> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> this trial was a sham... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy let the journalists live. welcome back i'm judy gauche with al jazeera. let's remind you of the headlines. there's been a large explosion in somalia in mogadishu. state media says dozens have been killed and more wo

. >> nicole johnston, are thrive about beirut. a curfew has been imposed in alsaka city. kurdish, both sides have reported casualties. and kurdish forces in kobani, a town on syria's border with turkey. i.s.i.l. besieged the town in september but in the last month kurdish forces have made advances against the group. >>> libya's self declared government in tripoli is willing to negotiate if those sources are moved to tobruk. >> president's president cabinet is seen in significant, recep tayyip erdogan's role in presidency. >> erdogan is about to influence the very center of policy making. by chairing a cabinet meeting. that is unprecedented in recent turkish history. >> if he could get away with it. it looks like under the circumstances he can't. becoming partisan and being involved in policy matters and make suggestions criticisms or making certain amendments in the policies et cetera are not necessarily foreseen as the role of a president. >> so on monday, priements will haveprime ministerwill have to move over. the most flucialg president 42 influential president was at

nicole johnston has the latest. >> it's summer in australia and that means bush fire season.t wave swept across the eastern states sending temp temperatures soaring to over 40 degrees celsius. it's a lethal combination, searing heat strong winds and try grass. the worst fires are in the state of south australia and the hills near the city of adelaid. >> the sound of the roar over the hills is almost like a jet engine like in an airplane. it's just getting louder and louder. >> thousands of people have fled from their homes. there are dozens of homes lost in the fires. at least five have burned to the ground so far. >> we are losing properties. we don't know how many properties are being lost. >> police have declared the fires a major emergency. this this gives them the power to force people to leave their homes. >> we are dealing with an incredibly dangerous fire. your life is at risk. >> it's hard work for fire fighters. so far six have been injured. officials are calling on other states to help. but they have their own problems. in the neighboring state of victoria, bush fi

nicole johnston, al jazeera. >>> police in southern australia have declared a bush fire emergency and now they have time to forcibly room people from their homes. at least five home near adelaide are destroyed and others under alert. after hundreds of fires broke out. >>> the united states has the world's biggest economy but many workers say their minimum wage isn't enough to live on. fast food workers for instance have been on strike recently and employees in other industries have also worked out. but it's a different story in the state of new mexico. the city of santa fe enacted a minimum wage law years ago and andy gallagher is there to see how workers are being treated now. >> lunch times at cafe castro are always business, but there's an advantage. a decade ago santa fe put into effect salaries linked to food and accommodation. what officials like to say a living wage. owner julia castro. >> i'm proud to live in santa fe and the way it runs and treats people. >> when santa fe set its minimum wage at around $3 above the rest of the state mayor says it's part of a proud legacy but

nicole johnston has the latest. >> reporter: it's summer in australia, and that means bush fire season. it's a lethal combination. searing heat, dry grass. the hills never the city offed a late. >> the sound of the roar out of the hills much like the jet engine is much like an airplane. it's getting louder and louder. >> thousands of people have threat from their homes and its feared that dozens of homes have been lost in the fires. at least five have burned to the grouped so far. >> we're losing properties. we don't know how many properties they have lord. >> the police have declared a fire emergency. this gives people the them the power to force people from their homes. >> your lives are at risk. >> it's hard work for firefighters, so far six have been injured. officials are calling on other states to help, but they have their own problems. in the neighboring state of victory bush fires have also threatened homes in the coastal area of the penals, and in farming areas in the west. >> we went back for a couple of things. i said look, look, yours and ours are going to be part of it. >>

israel after two soldiers and peace keeper were killed in cross border fire on wednesday and nicole johnstont beirut and everyone waiting to hear what he is going to say and going to speak in three hours, what are we expecting? >> this is a significant speech and it's the first time we will have heard from him since this attack was carried out inside syria or against the hezbollah fighters and the one general from the iran revolution regard and we expect this is a challenge for him to detail the operation and no doubt to also talk about this wide front that hezbollah has in some respects opened up against israel. we talked about it before this is a front that extends all the way from southern lebanon to the golan and he is likely to also use it as an opportunity to thank iran for support and operational support as well and it's a chance for him to really emphasize that despite hezbollah's role in syria with thousands of fighters in there fighting on the same side as bashar al-assad that the main fight or campaign is still against israel and very much able to take on israel inside the occupie

. >> the latest from the lebanon capitol beirut and we are with nicole johnston. >> the funeral threers from now and expecting thousands of supporters from hezbollah to be out only the streets in a real show of support and strength and solidarity for the group and angry and upset about this attack and it's the first attack that is targeted hezbollah fighters senior commanders inside syria, previous attacks have also focused on weapons convows or weapon stores so it's a serious blow for the group. speaking to people here in beirut and lebanon there is sort of a sense of uneasy people are on edge waiting to find out what sort of response what kind of retaliatory action we will see from hezbollah, as you heard in the report we had the leader only a few days ago say the group has the ability to strike israel any where any time. the group is now under pressure to respond but it will be interesting to see what the response is. we would imagine at this stage hezbollah won't want an action that could lead to a war, a new front with israel. at the moment they are bogged down in syria and in th

crossing over to nicole johnston who joins us from beirut. nicole what has he been saying? far the speech has been quite long and ongoing. and he has congratulated the families. he called it a quality operation that took place, and he also emphasized the family's sacrifice referring to the fighter who was killed in an attack in syria, the son of a senior hezbollah leader who had previously been assassinated in 2008. he referred to the iranian general who was killed in that syria mission, saying that there had been a mixing of iranian and lebanese blood on syrian soil. he then moved on to the next part of his speech. it seems to have been quite broken up making his case against israel. so very firmly goes back to hezbollah's original roots as a resistance movement against israel. the talked about the gaza war, palestinian prisoners, and moved on this israel's occupation of the golan heights, criticizing israel of its role in syria, destroying the positions of the syrian government. so that has been the main focus so far. he then move on to the attack in syria. he emphasized

nicole johnston has more from tripoli. >> reporter: this is an alawite community. they are in direct opposition with their neighbors in tripoli. the majority sunni muslim, and they're supporting syria's rebels. relations between the two communities here have been tense for years. since the war started next door in syria things have gotten even war. on saturday night there was a shock for both sides. two suicide-bombers who live down the road, they walked to this busy cafe area in the middle of the aloe white community, and blue themselves up killing nine people. now the al nusra front has claimed responsibility for this. this is an al-qaeda-aligned group. they said they did it to take revenge fortuneys who had been killed in lebanon and syria. it's an example of how the war in neighboring syria is impacting lebanon. >> still ahead on al jazeera, how senegal preserves vaccines in remote regions without power. surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time. >> hello again. the headlines on al jazeera, boko haram fighters have attacked a military base i

nicole johnston,age. >> in iraq 23 kurdish peshmerga forces have been killed during fighting with isil they were targeted in two car bomb attacks southwest near the sinjar mountains. 12 fight precious injured. meanwhile, the iraqi government is preparing an offensive against isil fighters. we have more on that from the found of town of-- >> the peshmerga have been making modest gains against isil over several months but this has less to do with their victories and more with a plan to retake mosul, iraq's second biggest city. >> the fight to liberate mosul will help each other to rise up against the foreigners and their helpers. we'll clear our land of this evil isil scourge. >> the fight for mosul will be a long and tedious one. these men are seeking help from every corner in iraq. they're keen to get the peshmerga forces in the campaign to retake mosul from isil fighters. that is promising the peshmerga more military support. but in need of more urgent support are sunni militiamen were mosul. they've been gathered outside of this city for months to train to fight isil. made up of volu

nicole johnston, al jazeera. >> police in india have arrested five men in the leamed kidnapping and gang rape of a japanese tourist. three of the men have been taken into judicial custody. the victim was held for more than a month and repeatedly raped. >> fresh sanctions on north korea's targeting pyongyang's defense industry. sanctions for the attack on sony picture, but north korea denyies any involvement. >> reporter: the film study has released it's new comedy about two functional journalists inlisted to kill north korea's leader kim jong-un. >> the cia would love it if you two could take him out. >> hmm? >> take him out. >> take him out. >> what, for drinks? >> sony pictures initially called off the release after if faced you unprecedented cyberattacks and threats against theaters screening the film, a move criticized by president obama. he insisted the sanctions are not against north koreans saying the order is not targeted at the people of north korea but rather the government of north korea and it's activities that threaten united states and others. the white house said it will w

nicole johnston, al jazeera. >> now this year starting on a high note. for millions of low-paid workers in the united states and germany, the minimum wage has been increased for 2015. economists will look at the long-term effects of minimum wage we look to santa fe, which has led the way on minimum wage. >> lunch times are always busy, but with the hard-working staff here there is an advantage. a decade ago santa fe became one of the first cities in the u.s. to put in place it's own minimum wage. it means that salaries are linked to things like food and accommodation, what officials like to call the living wage. >> was anything good? >> owner julia castro said it's a policy she's happy to follow. >> paying living wage to my employees is not going to affect my quality of life at all. i'm very proud to live in santa fe and the way it's run and the way it pays people. >> it set it's own living wage $3 higher than the rest of the state, many thought it was a risky move, but it's mayor said it's part of a proud legacy. >> it's not the silver bullet. this is n

nicole johnston, al jazeera. >>> let's get more now on the palestinian bid to join the internationalminal court. kristen joins us live from the united nations. kristen, what's happening? >> reporter: well, we know that palestinian ambassador to the united nations is meeting now with the office of legal affairs here the at the united nations. he handed over the appear indication for the palestinians to join the international criminal court. it's official. the u.n. has the application in its hands. what typically happens is there's a 60-day waiting period from now until when they enjoy the full rights and membership privileges of a member state. as i was saying earlier, this is a bit of unchartered territory. the palestinians are not a fully recognized member of the united nations community, although they are considered an observer state here at the u.n. this is a controversial move. we don't know how it will go forward, but we expect ban ki-moon will hand the application over. within 60 days they have some rights as a member of the international criminal court. >> a controversial move

nicole johnston has more from neighboring beirut. >> reporter: dozens of people have been killed anded by air strikes in the town. this is east of damascus. also reported air strikes carried out in towns in homs countryside. activists have been saying there has been a large increase in the number of air strikes over the last couple of days across syria, and this is because the weather has improved and the skies are cleared, so the government has been carrying out those air strikes. now the war in syria has spilled over into lebanon. on friday we had syrian rebels attack the lebanese army in the bekaa valley on the outskirts of a town very close to the syrian border. it's a porous border around 65 kilometers long, 10 kilometers wide and we know in that area there are fighters from nusra front as well as syrian rebels who have since pledged their alee vabs to islamic state of iraq and the levant. the remember lease army says it has regained control of that area of the post that was attacked, that a number of syrian rebels have been killed as well as a number of soldiers from the lebane

nicole johnston has more from the lebanese capitol beirut. >> a couple of thousand have turned out for the funeral. he was a rising star inside hezbollah. someone who was being groomed for a senior position. his father had been a senior commander in the group and he was assassinated in syria in 2008. now this attack on sunday on hezbollah inside syria is significant because it's the first time that the group has been targeted in this way. previous israeli attacks have largely focused on weapon stores and weapon convoys. the real question here in lebanon is how will hezbollah react, and when will they react. hewhat sort of retaliatory reaction will they take towards israel for this. many expect reaction but not something that is large enough to cause a war. at the moment hezbollah is deep deeply mired in the war in syria, aligned with president bashar al-assad. >> israeli foreign ministry welcomed the decision to keep hamas on the terrorist list and their assets will remain frozen. they have been contexting the fighting the group being on the terror list. >> boko haram has kidnapped mos

. >>> let's cross over to nicole johnston now in southwest lebanon.ell us where you are, and how tense things are near the border. >> reporter: just beyond us you can see about 20 kilometers away you'll start to see the beginning of the area it's not behind the first hill or the second hill but further beyond is where it begins. it's about 11 kilometers long. our cameraman is going to follow how it moves towards the south. just in front of me is one of the villages. as you heard from my colleague, those sorts of areas were receiving artillery fire from the israeli side. it has been very tense there. there has also been retaliateory action. we're told that the actual attack took place in the southern part of the area. our cameraman is pointing towards that area. as you go further south you reach israel's golan heights area. i would say it's calm but still relatively tense. >> do these sorts of thing happening frequently on the border? >> reporter: this has been a tense border for a long time. but there hasn't been an attack of this scale for a very lon

. >> more information as we get it for now, nicole johnston thank you very much indeed live from beirut>>> isil has released about 200 captives from the minoritiyazy yadi community taken to kurdish held territory. not clear why they were released. many are elderly. jane araff reports from the capitol of baghdad. >> reporter: most were elderly, disabled or sick. all of them were traumatized. among them are some of the oldest members of an ancient religious minority under attack by isil. when the gunmen rampaged through their homeland near sinjar mountain, these yazidis were taken near the syrian border. they were taken from there to motionul where he is ill decided it didn't want them mosul >> we told them that we would become muslim and they didn't hurt us. but they kept on kidnapping girls. they kidnapped my neighbor a young yazidi girl and another neighbor who is christian. kurdish forces picked up the yazidi and gave them medical treatment before sending them to a camp near dohook for displaced iraqis. it wasn't entirely clear why isil release did them. activists could say because th

nicole johnston has more. >> reporter: it's been a refuge for thousands of people with nowhere else tof money and down on their luck they have turned to this church in johannesburg and here they have made a home. some try to keep things as tidy as they can. that's not easy. at its peak up to 4,000 people lived here. the bishop opened the doors to refugees and homeless south africans in 2008. at the time a tax on sim bob weeians living in the country was increasing. >> the accommodation is not ideal, sleeping in steps and foyers for most of the people. no privacy, struggle with utilities. >> reporter: it may not be perfect, but it's all they have. now the bishop is leaving, moving to the suberb, and the church wants its residents to go too. it says they have run up an electricity bill of $170,000 so people are packing their bags some have been moved elsewhere, but there's not room for everyone. >> without anyway to go and as the day comes, i'm still myself standing in this church. >> there is a need for the church for the community, for government local and provincial to work together i

but first this report from nicole johnston on the board of southern lebanon. >> this is moments after an anti-tank missile sit a military vehicle in the region near the border with syria and lebanon. the arm armed group hezbollah based in lebanon claimed responsibility for the attack. against its fighters in syria. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has warned of a swift and painful retaliation. >> at this moment they're responding to the north. i advise them to consider what happened in gaza. hamas took its hardest hit since it's formation and they prepared to act strongly on all fronts. >> last week's israeli attack happens in a syrian city near the golan heights. that's where a high ranking iranian leader and hezbollah members were killed. >> the area on the other side of this mountain range has always been a contentious one between israel and hezbollah. hezbollah has carried out attacks there before, but certainly not any as bold as this in years. any school johnston, al jazeera, southern lebanon. >> let's take you to west jerusalem. nisreen el-shamayleh, in the past hour w

nicole johnston reports. >> reporter: it's freezing cold in aleppo and this man is desperately tryingep warm. but without wood and fuel he can't, so he has no choice but to use whatever he can find. >> translator: we have no money. so we were forced to break our furniture for heating. we have no relatives here. they have all gone away. >> reporter: aleppo used to be a big city for business but all of that is buried under rebel. most of these neighborhoods have no electricity. the cost of diesel and gas has increased threefold. even if it is available people can't afford it. a few clinics look after the sick but they haven't got enough supplies to really recover. >> translator: they die as a result of the cold. the direct cause was respiratory and cardiac arrest. >> reporter: tents aren't much of a shelter in these conditions. a dozen people have died from the cold including a baby. >> translator: the hospital in aleppo says there is an increase in respiratory and infection diseases. >> reporter: refugees living in champs in jordan and turkey and near in lebanon nine refugees have died

. >>> nicole johnston has developments from beirut and sent a report. >> reporter: thousands of hezbollahporters will turn out in beirut for the funeral. there will be other funerals also held on tuesday in different parts of lebanon with other men but this is really the big one in beirut and many people waiting to see what sort of response we get from hezbollah and have not heard from the leader but expect retaliatory action for this strike but people don't real believe they want to open a front or war with israel at this stage when they are so heavily bogged down fighting the war in syria on the side of the syrian regime. as for the situation in southern lebanon we had a statement from the united nation peace keeping force saying the situation at the border is calm under control, schools are still open and it's business as usual but there is an uneasy sense in lebanon waiting for what hezbollah will do next. >>> the cabinet meeting and say is a sign of erdiwan increasing authoritarian rule and says the president has the right to chair cabinet meetings but predecessors did not and usuall

nicole johnston has more. >> reporter: hundreds of people possibly a couple of thousand have turned out for the funeral. he was a rising star inside hezbollah, someone who was being grouped for senior positions. he was also important because of who his father was. his father was a senior commander in the group. he was assassinated in syria in 2008. this attack inside syria is significant because it's the first time that the group has been targeted in this way. largely focused on weapon stores and web convoys. the real question here in lebanon is how will hezbollah react, and when will they react. what sort of reaction will it take against israel for this? now most people say that they expect some kind of reaction, perhaps something that isn't large enough to cause a war. at the moment hezbollah is deeply mired in the war in syria fighting on the side of bashar al-assad. >> well, as we were reporting, a general in iran's revolutionary guard was also killed in that israeli strike. now the group was formed following the revolution in 1979 to counter the regular military and protect against

nicole johnston, al jazeera. >> we are talking about stories to be talked about in 2015.his is one of them. japan is gearing up to reoperate its nuclear reactors. to boost the economy. >> more than a thousand kilometers south of the still unfolding nuclear disaster of fukushima, new safety standards one local government approval and is due to be the first of japan's nuclear generators to go back online. the local business administration sees it as a vote of confidence in the area. >> translator: it was thanks to the thorough job done when the reactors were originally built and of course the electric company haste spent a lot of safety measures so i feel we can now trust them and the government. >> reporter: but polls show most japanese lack that trust and oppose the restart. this baker from tokyo is now a full time nuclear campaigner. he says any reactor here is a danger and insists it's not too late to stop the plan. >> translator: if something is rejected it needs to be rejected. i want the local residents to stand up and voice their opinions. we're here to help them vo

nicole johnston is following developments in beirut in lebanon. >> across syria there is mayhem. activists say more than 60 people were killed and dozens injured by government strike on a market in the northeast. meanwhile, people "a" dozen people were killed when government helicopters dropped barrel bombs filled with explosives nails and shrapnel on this rebel-controlled area. the bodies were collected for the people to identify. in syrian state tv it has shown what it says has is left of after a car bomb. it happened in a mainly alawite neighborhood. the capitol has not been spared from the violence, either. up to 40 people have been injured after two apartment buildings partially collapsed. activists say it happened in northeast damascus in an area held by the rebels. people stumbled through the republic in the streets. the whole area was thick with dust and snow. a small child is carried away from the carnage. around 20 children were wounded. the injured were taken to field hospitals. winter and the children are huddled by the heating small bloodied and in some cases struggl

nicole johnston reports. >> reporter: when this woman's husband was hit by a car and died the family had to find a place to bury him. >> the cemetery was full. eventually lebanese owners of a plot in another cemetery agreed to let them use it. >> in syria you could bury the dead anywhere. here it's hard and we didn't know what to do with his body. >> but at least he has been buried near their refugee camp. >> we're lucky to have him close by so we can visit his grave. but my brother said when we return to syria we'll take his bones home with us. >> 1,100 registered syrian refugees are died in lebanon since the war started and the numbers are believed to be much higher. in lebanon most people don't have enough money to pay for the associated funeral costs but the costs are usually paid for by charities. >> a man died, and they refused to bury him. they didn't tell us why. once they know that we're syrian refugees they say you canterbury him here. but if you use a private cemetery you have to have money. if you don't have money to eat how do you have money for a burial. >> the other op

one but australia has a long summer ahead of it and fires have become a dangerous part of it, nicole johnston al jazeera. >> still ahead, why a number of below paid workers in the united states are going to see an increase in their pay pay packets but not many are happy. >> beams of highly charged particles to treat cancer. >> and in sports, sri lanka's kumar makes cricket history sana will have details later. >> separating art & politics >> if you have an agenda with people... you sometimes don't see the truth >> and the lifelong influence of his mother >> she was worried i was gonna be a spoiled brat and not see how complicated the world was >> every monday, join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america al jazeera america gives you the total news experience anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top

clean up, and a chance to warm up before night comes in one of the coldest valleys in lebanon nicole johnston, al jazeera. arsal. >> japanese prime minister shin shinzo abe has promised $200 million. he said the money would go to infrastructure and humanitarian assistance. the japanese leader is on a six-day tour of the middle east. fighting has "s" taking place around erbil the autonomous capitol of the kurdish region. when you go inside the city people are enjoying a high level of comfort thanks to the peshmerga there. >> reporter: on the move against isil kurdish peshmerga troops on one of their front lines against the armed group. [ gunfire ] these men are engaged in almost daily battles to keep isil away from erbil. [ gunfire ] so far their lives have held. a short drive away is the city of erbil. here people calmly go about their business, almost oblivious to the fighting outside of their city. >> you have the coalition forces. the peshmerga are fighting very professionally. and isil have no ability to attack to be closer. >> with more than 6,000 years of history, erbil is one of the ol

. >> nicole johnston, one side of the syrian border in lebanon and to the other border to iraq. >> on the move against isil kurdish peshmerga troops on the front lines against the armed group. these men are engaged in daily battles to keep isil away from erbil. so far their lines have held. a short drive away is the city of erbil. here people calmly go about their business almost oblivious to the fighting outside of their city. >> they're fighting very professionally. with more than 6,000 years of history erbil is one of the oldest cities in the world. er bill is experiencing a construction boom. today the city boasts world class hotels and state of the art buildings. it's malls are full of designer stores. >> things have not always been like this. our parents and grandparents faced hardship living under dictatorship and conflict. we hope that erbil will remain safe from isil. >> eager to show off their new-found wealth. >> this is where people come to buy luxury vehicles. the point they're hoping to make is that erbil is a far cry from its past. >> it's good. the cars are expensive a