>> all of these people shouldn't be dead. >> will there differences bring them together, or tear them apart. >> the only way to find out is to see it yourselves. >> which side of the fence are you on? borderland only on al jazeera america >> >> taking on the separate its in the east. ukraine says security forces have launched an anti-terrorist operation. >> hello there. welcome to al jazeera live from doha. also - accusations of chemical warfare in syria. both sides blame each other for what they call a gas attack. >> iraqi orphans - why isn't the

government helping these children. >> don't call me a witch during. nigeria's traditional healers say they can teach you just as well as mainstream medics. >> ukraine's government says it launched an anti-terrorist operation to take on separatists in the east. the interior minister says security forces are working it regain control of a police building in slovyansk. it's 150km from the russian border. russia has been accused of bagging the armed group. >> we have two correspondents covering the story, we'll cross to peter sharp who is following the rehabilitation. let's go live to hoda abdel-hamid. what are you seeing there? >> i have to say, if, indeed, the anti-terror operation has

started, so far it's a discrete one. we are in the city center. the building - the police building that has been taken over by the pro-rush protesters, 300m down the road to my right. we went there, had a little look. you don't see armed men on the streets. you have this usual barricade of rubber tyres blocking access to the building. that barricade is manned by some men wearing minor helmets or biker helmets, they are holding shoes. in front of them is a group of people presumably some of their supporters. that group of people is not more than between 500 to 1,000 people. i have to say, if the government has issued that warning to the resident of the city center to leave the city center, where no one has heeded that call, you see people on the street.

families and some shops are open. we also have seen a lot of people go to church. what i have seen of government presence so far is a fortified checkpoint on the road, just at the entrance to slav , on the road coming from luhansk. then we have seen barricades manned by the russian protesters, trying to block access, and i think to outsiders, to the city center. we had to take some route and inner routes to reach this area. but there is no real pension -- tension in the city. what could happen is you don't have an apprehension that an operation is going on. in the sky is a helicopter, but that's all we have been able to confirm. >> hoda abdel-hamid, thank you for bringing us the latest on the situation in slovyansk. let's go to moscow, and join

peter sharp. it's not just in the town with hoda abdel-hamid is, of course, we are seeing increasingly volatile situation in many places across the east. how are we likely to see russia or moscow reacting to this. >> it depends what happens in the next few hours. moscow always reserved the right to cross the border with its troops if it felt the russian-speaking minority in eastern ukraine was threatened or in jeopardy, or if the ukraine forces if kiev military used force on the so-called separatist. they reserved the right. overnight the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov said that what we are seeing now in the eastern ukraine is demanding kiev's inability to take control of its own state, which is, i suppose, as critics would say,

disingenuous when you think that at the moment there are pro-russian forces in several cities trying to destabilize that area. so obviously the kremlin is watching this very, very closely. as is washington. warnings overnight, too, from john kerry saying that if you wanted to de-escalate you have to move the troops back from the boarder, the 40,000 troops, and if you didn't, it would have its own consequences. the next few hours will be crucial. >> peter sharp live in moscow, and thanks to hoda abdel-hamid. a developing story. we'll keep across the latest. for now, thank you. >> syria's government, and rebel fighters are accusing one another of launching chemical attacks. president bashar al-assad's government is pointing the finger at what it calls terrorists the the opposition denis it's responsible and

demands the international community investigate. it looks like the usual bombing campaign in syria. according to act wrists is the barrel -- activists the barrel bombs dropped contained chemical chemicals. >> as people were ferried in ambulances, the person recording the video is coughing, and others are covering their mouths. we cannot independently verify the videos, but syrian state tv said there was an attack and blamed opposition fighters. >> translation: in the hamas suburbs two have been killed and 100 injured in an attack by al-nusra. they attacked the village using chlorine gas, and we are aware they are going to carry out more attacks. >> activists said many died in this hospital. children and adults appear to be

having difficulty breathing, as if they had inhaled something toxic. it wasn't the only reported chemical attack on friday. the opposition says poison gas and concentrated pesticides were dropped on harasta on the outskirts of damascus. several similar attacks happened in the last few months. it wants the world to take action. a statement says the international community has a moral duty to take firm steps to restrain a regime prepared to use conventional and u.n. conventional weapons to cling to power. a series of deadlines has been missed by syria. it agreed to destroy toxic weapons after hundreds were killed in a chemical attack last year. syria has more than 550 tonnes of chemical weapons, even after more than half of its arsenal

has been destroyed. the government says rebels also launched the weapons, they denied it. in the middle, the people. >> al jazeera is demanding the release of its journalists in egypt. >> peter greste, mohammed badr, and mohamed fadel fahmy appeared in court on thursday. the case has gone adjourned until later this month. they are falsely aaccused of providing a platform for the muslim brotherhood. abdullah al-shami, the fourth al jazeera journalist in detention has been held without trial since august. he's been on hunger strike for the last 83 days. al jazeera rejects all the charges. >> the secret of iraq's parliament has survived an assassination attempt. two security guards were hurt.

a car was attacked on the road between kirkook. >> the government in iraq says there are 5 million registered orphans in the country. not only have they lost their parents, but they miss out on getting a good education. imran khan has this report. >> this is no ordinarily school. every child is an orphan. in iraq, you're an orphan if your father has been kid. in many cases they live with other relatives, who kability afford to educate and look after them. the school is stuck away in baghdad, a city that has seenful violence since the american occupation in 2003. today though, the children are grateful for the opportunity to learn. >> translation: my father died

in 2005. he was a taxi driver, and he was shot by gunmen. my mother passed away two years later. i live with grandparents now. i suicide to feel alone at home. now i come to the school, i feel so much happier. >> that woman runs the school in three different shifts. in total 300 children are enrolled here. for her it's a labour of love. she gets no help from the government and pays most of the expenses herself. >> i set the school up after my husband was killed in sectarian violence of 2005. i realise that so many children had lost their parents, and i needed to do something. with god's grace i opened the school in 2009, and i run it by myself. i asked the government to help. our pleas fall on deaf ills. >> there are no accurate figures available to tell you how much residential orphanages in schools there are. there could be thousands of

children attending institutions such as this. for many though, it's an indication that the government has failed in providing the most basic services. >> this woman runs an officially recognised charity called childhood wishes for humanity. for her, there's a long way to go before the needs of iraqi orphans are met. >> translation: we are seeing more and more orphans every day. a security situation will see that more children will be left without family. we are under pressure, without help from the government, the children will be left without a future. for the orcans, schools are a vital life line. those running them fear they won't have the money to keep them open, and it's feared these children and thousands like them will be forced to the streets. >> the head of the international monetary fund says the world

economy is turning a corner. christine la guard says the recovering is too week. the meeting between the world bank and international monetary fund, la guard urged them to boost economic growth, cut unemployment and not return to failed policies. >> italian riot police have been battling protesters in rome. left wing opponents organised a major demonstration against matayo. he is proposing sweeping reforms and tax cuts to revive the ailing economy. it's a similar story in paris, with left wing protesters proposing attacks. he's vowing to cut the public def tit. it's the government of the socialist presence. he's accused of doing too little to cut unemployment. francis hollande was no different to his predecessor.

nicholas sarcozy. >> polls have gold in guinea passau. there's opt mission and anxiety. >> vegas has a permissive atmoss veer, and this is good for -- atmosphere. this is good for artists, you have to feel like you can do anything. viva las vegas, the cultured side to sin city. stay with us here on al

>> hello again, this is al jazeera, and these are the stories making the headlines - ukraine's government said it launched an anti-terrorist operation to take on terrorists in eastern ukraine. >> syria's government and rebel fighters blame each other for dropping barrel bombs filled with toxic chemicals. bashar al-assad is blaming terrorists, and the opposition is denying responsibility and is demanding an investigation. >> the speaker of iraq's parliament, has survived an assassination attempt. two security guards were hurt by a roadside bomb explosion that hit their car near kirkuk. >> voting is underway in guinea paszau. a military coup forced the cancellation of a vote two years

ago. they hope to end four decades of chaos marked by a series of coups, to win independence from portugal. we go to the capital. it's looking orderly. how is the vote going? >> the vote is going well. we've not had any issues from any polling stations. people are beginning to come in in bigger numbers. it started low key, but we are seeing more and more people coming. the interim president is just about to come here to cast his vote. we are not seeing any sort of excitement that accompanies elections, but people are hopeful that this could be the election to turn the tides. they are tired of all the matters that the country has faced. there has been a lot of problems, coups and

assassinations since 1994. there has been five coups. the country's economy is in a crisis. most of the state's functions are run almost entirely by foreign aid. the cost of living is very high. people want change in the leadership that will provide change and will reform all sectors. the economy, reform military that is so deeply entrefteninged in the pol techs and is reluctant to let go of the politics that want to control it. it has a serious drug trafficking problem. it's west africa's hub of cocaine trafficking from lerk through atlantic to europe. whoever is going to be elected as president has a tough challenge of changing all these things. >> with the military's history of heavy involvement, what has it been saying about the vote? >> well, the military have said

that it's not going to interfere fear with the election, it's not going to - to change the will of the people. it will accept the will of the peep. people, of course, are wary of the military, they have always interfered in the politics of the country. naturally people are worried, but there is a lot of pressure from the international community, pressure from the west africa regional block, from the african union and the united nations. groups that are spearheading the election. they are saying that the transition must be smooth. threatening sanctions and withdrawal of aide should anything happen. we are not seeing the signs that were there before the coup in 2012. we are not seeing a heavy military presence on the

streets, like happened in 2012. we are not seeing the military arrested. it's low-key. it's not quite vocal. that vote in guinea. thank you very much. >> traditional medicine has been practised for generations in africa, for many it's the easiest and cheapest option. for others it's not sign tifblely sound. there's a big push to establish traditional treatments alongside modern medicine. >> this man set broken bones for years. he uses traditional orthopaedic therapy. he took this up from his father who learnt from his father. make no mistake, he's licensed, one of thousands of traditional medicine pracitioners recognised by the state of lagos. if a bone is broken, they tell you about eight weeks. but in a traditional way, i tell

you before six weeks, they'll walk with it. >> patients say they find traditional healers more available. >> translation: my friend had a fracture like mine and went to a regular hospital. they amputated his leg. we have more confidence in the traditional way. >> for many generations after the advent of modern science, traditional medicine is doing as well as it has. critics warned that it is not based on scientific research or evidence. some say it's difficult to draw the line between it and wich craft. >> that's the impression the alternative medicine board has been trying to change. it's been training traditional healers, the 6-week course educates practitioners in

anatomy, nutrition and other topics. it's a prerequisite to getting licensed. the chairman of the board is a doctor. this, in the end, is about providing better health care. >> what i do now is have meetings between the traditional doctors and healers. we are talking about a country where we have 30 doctors, 200,000 patients. >> as part of the renewed push. lagos is working on setting up a botanical center tore herbalists and scientists. they hope it will offer affordable home-grown solutions to endemic diseases such as malaria. traditional practitioners have been lobbying a hospital working side by side with fizz irns. practices are here to stay. they say it is - well, the natural thing to do. >> discrimination based on a

person's cast is illegal in nepal. many untouchedables say life is different. the hindu caste system has been in place for thousands of years and divided into four groupings, there are several sub casts as well. the brahmans are sitting at the top. they have been priests. they are next in the hierarchy and include warriors and rulers. they have been traders and merchants, and the chetrahs unskilled workers. then the daleks, outside the system. we have this report in nepal. >> people in the village know what discrimination feels like. most of them, the so-called untouchedables. >> this is one of them. last december he decided to

stand for elections, he and others claimed that he was responsible for conducting the elections. >> they said both candidates got the same number of votes. the 58th vote, which was on my side was invalidated. they tossed the coin which i won and decided that we would not have to draw from a hat. both the papers had defeat written on it, and i was made to draw first. >> the entire village feels betrayed. they say it's a typical behaviour, and claims the state's allocation doesn't reach them. because we are poor and illiterate they don't listen to us. majority of the students. the locals contributed money and labour ahead of the school, but have no say. the deductive parents signed a petition to have a re-election. of the 123 parents, 83 signed

the petition, and the matter has gone to court. >> we talked to the head mistress who said electioningsts were free and fair. the election was over, after the winners and losers were announced, we went home. and a few days later they came and padlocked the schools saying the process was unfair. the district board will have to decide. the official said he was too busy to talk to us. from east to west the incidents can be seen. there are schools where students are banned from entering classrooms or made to sit separately. many have to bring their own plates and goals to school for lunch. many are not allowed to use local taps. >> for the many living across nepal, it's a daily reality. >> pope francis is leading psalm

sunday mass at the vatican for roman catholics. it marks the start of the easter holy week. palm sunday is held on the last sunday before easter to celebrate the arrival of jesus in jerusalem for his crews fiction. crowds waved palm branches as he arrived. there are stories we expect to develop. a march is planned in moscow. protesters are complaining against clamp downs of individual journalists and freedom of speech. a 20-year-old golfer is teeing off with a chance of becoming the winner. jordan from texas shares the lead with bubba watson, who won two years ago. matt watson is behind him. >> u.n.'s top climate change body is calling for a major

transformation in how the world is generating its power. the international panel of climate change, made up of hundreds of experts, backed by 200 governments said fossil fuel youse must drop to a third. the ipcc wants to triple the use of renewable energy by 2050. the shift to clean forms like wind and solar energy is expensive and likely to be resisted. >> a small island off the coast of the australia is seen as a model for testing clean energy. king island. andrew thomas explains. >> it's hardly a pumping met roppo lis. king island, between the mainland and tasmania has more cows than people. it's a prototype. small communities rely on diesel generators. king island did. there are times the island is

powered by renewable energy - the needs of 2,000 people, industrial customers. king island includes a high-end cheese-making plant with power-hungry machinery. >> we won the island up to 7.5 hours of wind energy powering the island. total to date of 150 hours. >> ironically renewable energy targets have been reached by keeping diesel in the mix, and wasting power. >> traditional problem with wind power is that it's unreliable, not enough, and the rights can go out. too much can be just as bad. a surge can trip the system. the breakthrough is combining two innovations, a generator that only fires up and burns diesel when the power generated by the wind and son drops below demand and a resistor tapping off power when overperforming

renewables overwhelm the system. >> what we achieve with technology is evening out the variability in the energy sources. the combination of the technologies is what makes this a winner. >> the screen shows the power mix coming in, and the output demand pulling out. wind power generation is topped up with a little diesel in case a big customer turns on a switch. the resistor pulls out the access and can drain more, if the windmill turns faster. the big hope is that the technology here can be rolled out to other small islands and remote communities dependent on diesel. across the pacific there's plenty of fluctuating sun and wind, harnessing it can transform the island more than this one. >> timothy bradley outboxed by

mani. pakman beat the american by a unanimous decision after 12 rounds in las vegas. the 5-year-old filipino's performance rivalled his years. his title rain was ended in a fight many thought the pakman clearly won. cman clearly won. >> you're watching "talk to al jazeera." our guest is world renown conductor zubin mehta. people who are unfamiliar with the music world, explain your role. >> well, a lot is communication. i have the good fortunate at this point in my life, to make music as with soloists that i know for years and yea o