difficult times this country has faced. that's our show. >> american surveillance planes join the search for nigeria's missing school girls. hello, welcome. i'm steven cole in doha. these are the top stories on al jazeera. >> half of the south sudan - 10 million people - will be displaced internally, refugees abroad, starving or dead by the year's end. >> the u.n. secretary-general paints a grim picture of the situation in south sudan. jordan's ambassador kept hostage in libya released in

exchange for the release of a prisoner in ayman. past the point of no return - scientists warn of an irreversible antarctic thaw. first, the u.s. says it started surveillance flights over northern nigeria, as part of the international rescue effort to try to find more than 200 kidnapped school girls. boko haram, the group that took them, operates across a swathe of states in the north. a state of emergency was declared a year ago. the girls were taken on april 14th, a month ago. if the girls are in the county, it's thought they'd be held in that area. the u.s. started to fly manned surveillance missions across the region, and sent a team of 30 experts and the fbi, the defense and state departments to help

with the search. on monday boko haram released a video of the girls. u.s. experts studied the pictures closely for clues that might help find them. >> human rights groups say nigeria's government is to glam for the growing -- blame for the instability in the country. last week it was said they failed to address widespread poverty, corruption or police brutality. >> boko haram has a record of fighting and kidnappings. >> reporter: this is believed to be a boko haram training camp in northern nigeria. the men are shown thou use automatic weapons. the group existed for more than 10 years. loosely translated the name boko haram means western education is simple. members want to create an islamic state and stamp out activity ladies and gentlemened with western society. for the past five years they

lead an armed campaign against the nigerian government - attacking schools, police stations and other buildings. thousands of people have been killed or wounded. the group's leader is this man, abubakar shekau. a radical idea log who says he enjoys killing. the nijan president, last year, goodluck jonathan, scared a state of emergency in three states where boko haram is strongest. al jazeera found four attacks killed more than 100 students in the past year. in one incident, 32 students were killed at the federal boarding school in the remote town. every building in the school compound was burnt down. the international community has condemned boko haram - the u.s. government calling it a terrorist organization.

>> let me be clear - the kidnapping of hundreds of children by boko haram is an unconscionable crime. we'll do anything possible to support the government to return the young women to their homes. >> many muslim organizations called for boko haram to be disbanded. joining me now a felix onure a journalist based in nigeria. there has been outrage around the world about how the kidnap is handed by the government. are nigerians equally angry? >> nijans are very angry. this is the first event of this magnitude. [ inaudible [ inaudible ]

nige jans are angry. this united the country. >> the nigerian government suggested it could consider the demand for the release of gaoled boko haram. has that been confirmed? >> no. it's not. that was not the situation issued by the government. the government said clearly that it has seen [ inaudible ] reviewing the contents of the video [ inaudible ] it stated clearly that the government would continue to explore all options that needs to be cowed cow

[ inaudible ] . >> a nigerian journalist. half of south sudan's population could be displaced or dead if the violence in the country continues. ban ki-moon called for an international tribunal to be set up. both sides of the conflict are accused of crimes against humanity. james bays has this report. >> u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon briefing the security council about what he describes as the mounting crisis in south sudan. days after the country's president signed a face to face agreement with the rebel leader, there has been fresh clerashes. >> 80,000 are sheltering in camps, targeted in ethnic violence that lasted five months. there are warnings of what ban ki-moon says could be a catastrophic famine.

>> if the conflict continues, half of south sudan's 10 million people will either be displaced internally. refugees starving or dead by the year's end. >> the secretary-general now wants accountability proposing a [ inaudible ] to court, similar to the one that sat in sierra leone, a mixture of national and international justice. >> impunity is at the heart of this conflict. we have seen past peace processes. all we have to show for it is a war. >> the u.n. knows it must dread gently. the situation on the ground in south sudan is fragile. it doesn't want to upset the two men who signed the agreement last week. president salva kiir, and riek machar, the only two men that perhaps can bring peace. >> reporter: when you spoke to

the two leaders, what was their reaction, because they could be prosecuted by that court? >> my message to them both was clear - we have found crimes against humanity by both sides, so you must stop this one, otherwise you'll be held. perpetuators will have to be held accountable. the idea of a new court is not the only one to be discussed. the u.s. released sanction, the first on list of right hand men. some want international u.n. sanctions too. south sudan says it will postpone the election. president salva kiir said the two sides need time for reconciliation. a ceasefire was signed between him and the rebel leader riek machar on friday.

it was broken almost immediately. >> the election will not happen in 2016. it will take time. reconciliation between the people will take time. because of that it will be pushed back. this government will remain until elections in 2016, 2018 - that will be the time for elections. 21 have been killed in a series of bombings in iraqi capital baghdad. three car bombs going off in shia neighbourhoods. iran and six major powers are beginning talks in austria. the aim is a draft agreement before july. the national security advisor says tehran must take action, or there wouldn't be a deal. the u.n. report shows purchases for its nuclear programme slowed recently. >> to india, where exit polls

predict a large victory for the right-wing b.j.p. narendra modi is seen as a front runner. b.j.p. is forecast to 270 seats. the ruling congress party is expected to take 100 seats. final results expected on friday. ukraine's interim prime minister is preparing to meet european union on the country's crisis. separatists in the east asked to join russia, and it claimed more than 90% of people voted for self rule in areas like lugansk and donetsk. jonah hull has more from donetsk. >> reporter: the press conference was supposed to be about self-rule. it turned into a call for annexation instead. >> based on the will of the

republic we asked people to consider the question for the people to join the russian federation. >> the surprise announcement was relaid by video relay to a small crowd outside. it went down well. >> translation: tell the whole world we are happy, and we love vladimir putin. >> this woman told me she could hardly imagine anyone objecting. >> we don't want to be with ukraine now. we will never forgive them. >> with claims of high turn out and an enormous yes vote in sunday's referendum, the

self-declared authorities got a mandate to self govern. they seemed so have had other ideas all along. i met dennis in his office earlier in the day. on the wall a crude hint of things to come. the word russia scrawled across huge chunks of the south and east. >> the leadership of the people's republic was moved to speed. in a single day, declaring the majority and declare state sovereignty and asking moscow to take the republic in to the russian federation. >> plenty support the idea of joining russia, others wonder how a referendum on self-rule turns quickly into a formal request to join a country. >> i want this to end. i don't want this to go anywhere. i like it here. i liked it for 21 years. as part of this region - it

reaches out to russia. still to come on this program - walking in fear. the bank la derby activists -- bangladeshi activists won't back down despite harassment and

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kidnappings. welcome back. a reminder of the top stories. the u.s. defense department said flights have started over norge nigeria in the search for the

kidnapped school girls. the government said they will not negotiate with boko haram after they offered to swap the girls for gaoled members. the u.n. said half of south sudan's population could be displaced, starved or dead by the end of the year if the conflict goes on the e.u. is calling for dialling in ukraine as separatists ask to join russia. 90% of people in donetsk and lugansk voted for self-rule in sunday's unofficial referendum breaking news from israel. former prime minister ehud ol mert has been sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted for the holy land affair, accused of taking bribes during his time as mayor of jerusalem in 2003 and 1993.

that's along with corruption leading to his resignation as prime minister in 2008. al jazeera's correspondent is in jerusalem and joins us live. the holy land residential complex in south sudan - south jerusalem was at the heart of these allegations. what was it about? absolutely. it's basically about - fraught in corruption and bribery, charges not only handed down to the former prime minister ehud ol mert, but to the left side, if you see the structures, that's what they are talking about. that is the holy land real estate affair. it's complex residential structure constructed in the early 2000s. the sentences came today, the biggest the former prime

minister ehud ol mert sentences to 6 years and a fine of 300,000 us dollars. it's the first time that any israeli prime minister has been sentenced to gaol. if and when he goes, he'll be the first. er ol mert is expected to appeal and has the chance to appeal in the next 45 days. the supreme court will decide if he'll spend that time in a cell or not. >> thank you for that update on mr ol mert. guilty of taking bribes, now sentenced to prison. thanks for joining us. >> it's emerged jordan freed a libyan prisoner in exchange for its release of an ambassador to driply. the ambassador was kidnapped last month. he was freed and on his way home he released a prisoner. he has been serving a sentence for a planned suicide attack. in a moment we'll cross live to

the jordanian capital. first to tripoli, in libya. tell us more about what happened. >> reporter: yes, well, to begin with the libyan government had not issued a statement as yet. now, with regards to the release of mohammed ledr. >> s. >> he arrived yesterday. then he moved to benghazi. he reached his family home and then, only then, the jordanian ambassador was released. we understand from sources within the family close to the brother of mr al-driss. >>, suspected of being the man behind the kidnapping of the ambassador. he said the mediators were trying very hard to have some sort of an exchange where the brother refused, citing that

unless jordan releases his brother, and he reaches his mother's lap, the jordanian ambassador will never be released. this is what happened because the jordanian ambassador, as i understand. >> thank you. nisrene is live. tell us more about the background to this. >> well, according to the foreign ministry the ambassador may have arrived at the timing, 7:15 g.m. t, a few minutes ago. this exchange deal is not ideal for jordan, i don't think the government was interested in releasing a prisoner that it has charged with terrorism, for attempting to bomb the international airport in imam in 2006, in order to free a government official and a diplomat. after four weeks of

negotiations, this is what it has come to. there are fears that this set a% dent in other countries where jordanian diplomats and officials could be kidnapped to meet the demands of groups. the foreign minister is going to give a statement about the efforts that went into releasing the ambassador at the military base, where he has arrived. and we also understand, according to some security sources that a few months before his kidnapping the embassy in tripoli received information regarding a possible threat, and may have possibly ignored it. and the family, his tribe in jordan, at the beginning, after he was kidnapped blamed the government for poor security and his house in a country where kidnappings are increasing. we should see better security measures at the embassy there, and for the ambassador in libya.

as i said the fear is that the exchange deal sets a precedent in other countries. >> live in ayman, and omar in tripoli. thank you both. to yemen. oil pipelines and power plants have been attacked, leaving people struggling with fuel shortages and blackouts. as hash am reports, people are becoming increasingly angry. >> reporter: this is not a traffic jam during rush hour. it's a line up at a petrol station. people in yemen are facing severe fuel shortages. sometimes they have to wait for days to fill the tank. arguments turn into scuffles. >> translation: we have been suffering from fuel shortages for months. we pay the price. black market traders make the

profits. >> fuel prices in yemen are high compared to neighbouring countries. a litter here can sell for almost $3. in nearby qatar it sells for about $0.25. >> yemen proved oil carried through pye lines where the oil fields are. when the pipelines come under attack. refineries start rationing supplies, prompting petrol stations luke this. >> this is not the only problem people face. attacks on power plants by armed groups or angry tribes throw the capital into darkness. this man works for a seaman's company. he is one of millions forced to cope with blackouts that sometimes go on for more than 18 hours a day. >> it's really too much for us

to handle. on one hand you have fuel shortages. then they are carrying power cuts. the patience is running thin. if the government doesn't find solution, yemen faces an uncertain future. >> many people have fought or rend power generators to cope. despite the noise, and air pollution - they are often the only way of keeping the lights on. al jazeera arabic journalist abdullah al-shami has been on hunger strike for 113 days. he has been taken from his prison cell to an unknown location. earlier his lawyers asked for him to be transferred to hospital. his health is failing according to recent medical tests. three others are held in egypt for 136 days, peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed.

they are falsely accused of conspiring with the outlawed muslim brotherhood. the group has been declared a terrorist organization and demands their release. the number of political kidnappings in bangladesh is rising. more than 50 activists have gone missing. as reported, human rights groups blame the abductions on the security forces. >> the weight tied to the bodies didn't work. 16 bricks for each body and they floated up. seven men were ab ducted. two days later the bodies were found. local council men had enemies. they didn't see this coming. >> translation: i can't imagine that could kill seven people like this. that takes a lot. you need so many people. you can't kidnap and kill all with your bear hands. killing and torturing them is

not an easy thing to do. >> if it hadn't failed, this woman wouldn't have known what happened. >> reporter: dozens have been reported missing, usually they are not heard from again. when the bodies washed up on shore, it shocked the country and may have ed the authorities into taking action. >> security forces were accused of committing over 1,000 murders. no official has been prosecuted for the crimes. the police chief is in charge of investigating the seven murders and promises that this time will be different. premilitary officers, including a relative of a government minister have been forced into retirement. >> i'm retrained. if i get anything, anybody, it will proceed accordingly. i don't find a problem. i'm not obstructed by anybody else. >> most people ab ducted belong opposition parties or rebel

factions. leaders and activists move about in groups. the opposition leader says he's often harassed by the security forces. as he arrives, police show up to ask what he is doing. >> translation: to tell the truth, our lives are not normal. we don't sleep in our homes or walk in the streets by ourselves. whenever we go outside, we make sure we have people with us. >> with the latest abductions politics may be more dangerous. thailand's anti-government protesters are celebrating buddha's birthday at a new headquarters in bangkok. hundreds offered their arms to buddhist monks while praying for the senate to impose a neutral prime minister. the protesters want the current caretaker government to step down and demand a new prime

minister to oversee electoral reforms. protesters promise to under mine a vote if changes are not made. police in caracas used tear gas and rubber bullets to prevent a gathering of anti-government protesters. dozens of masked people confronted offices. students were marching to a restricted zone, where rallies band 40 were killed in protest against president nicolas maduro. for years scientists warned about glaciers melting in the western antarctic. now it's melting at an unstoppable pace, having consequences in the coming decades. the lead author of the nasa study is eric. he made the discovery. >> we have been keeping a close eye on this part of antarctica and we've been able to look at

historical data. we collected multiple lines of evidence. this area is falling apart, to see. there's no way to stop the retreat of the ice in this part of west antarctica. it will contribute a metre, three or four feet in the coming centuries, and it could force the rest of west antarctic to fall to sea as well. the calculations will have to be revised. they'll have to be revised upward. if you look at the most recent projection, the revision will push the projection to the upper end and beyond. if you include the changes we see in app dark ticka at present -- antarctica at present. we are talking four feet in the coming two centuries. if it prolongs into the collapse of the ice sheet, 10-15 feet.

this will affect millions, if not billions of people around the coastline, throughout the world. >> let's have a look at our home page on the website aljazeera.com. that's where you'll find news, sport and business news even. the search for the school girls - the lead story. the scale of india's elections demand words that struggle to contain it's vast size. will indians and the world sues superlatives about the outcome? that's notice story. --that's "inside story":