yemen's protests turn deadly as police apparently fire on anti-government demonstrators. ♪ there are conflicting reports about what happened. we'll have the latest. hello there, you are watching al jazeera live from london. day one for iraq's new government as fresh fighting breaks out with the islamic state group. ebola poses a threat to liberia's existence the defense minister tells the u.n. security council. and military effort to try to get aid to survivors of

floods that have killed hundreds in india and pakistan. ♪ hello. weeks of protests have come to a head in yemen where police have been accused of opening fire on anti-government houthi demonstrators. houthi leaders say at least seven have been killed and more than 50 injured. nine people have died in fighting in the north of the country as well. >> reporter: yemen's security forces fire warning shots to prevent protesters from getting close to the prime minister's office. the minority houthis who have been on the streets for weeks say it was just a rally, but the minister of the interior says it was an inattempt by rebels to break into the building near the capitol. in the chaos that followed, many

were killed or injured. but defiant houthis managed to build a new protest camp outside of the government building. they are occupying areas near important ministries which they accuse of being corrupt and inefficient. their leader has warned against using violence against the demonstrators. >> translator: if those corrupt officials insist on using violence, they will be held accountable. we are ready to take all necessary steps to prevent that from happening. >> reporter: balances carry victims to a nearby hospital. security forces seem determined to break up the protest, and reinforcements have been brought in as the ministry of interior where the houthis have set up another protest camp. tribal leaders and ambassadors are pushing for dialog, but

there are fierce of widespread violence across the country. joining us on the phone is the deputy finance minister. first of all why did the police open fire on these protesters? >> well, there are more than one version of the story of what has happened today. one version of the story, which has been circulated by the houthis is that fire was opened by the police against the protesters. the government of yemen has a different version of the story, which is that a third-party actually -- that the police did not shoot at the protesters, but other shooters shot on the protesters. in any case there is an ongoing investigation on what has

happened. >> but just to confirm the police do have the authority to fire at protesters, do they? >> well, in terms of the authority, the authority is there, actually to protect the property of the government and lives of citizens and soldiers, but there has been very clear instructions to soldiers to refrain from using force, and we have seen this in the airport when the police forces actually just used water to diffuse the protesters. >> it does appear to be a confusing situation in the capitol at the moment. can you tell me what negotiations are taking place between the government and the houthi leaders to try to resolve the situation. >> well, the good thing is that until this moment there are ongoing negotiations and discussions between the president, between the different

political players, and also between the government and the houthis, and all of their main players in -- in yemen. and the key focus of the negotiations now is first of all to ensure that all of the parties refrain from resorting to violence, and to give a chance and space for peaceful solutions, and to establish dialog discussions between the presidency and the political parties and the houthis. the reason for this new direction is all of the previous discussions were through mediators, and i think a lot is lost in communicating that way, so this is the focus now, and at the same time there is focus on trying to diffuse the tension on the ground, because what is happening now is that you have big groups of people around the area and in the area, many are

armed, at least with machine guns from all parties, and this -- this mix is an explosive one, and the priority now is to try to diffuse the tension. >> thanks for being with us thank you. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is due to arrive in iraq on tuesday. as u.s. president barack obama prepares to unveil his strategy to tackle i.s. on wednesday, there has been fresh fighting. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: this video shows shia militia trying to push back islamic state fighters from areas that control in western tikrit. talks are planned in saudi arabia between the united states and muslim allies on the islamic state group both in iraq and

syria. although parliament approved a new cabinet on monday night in iraq, key roles are yet to be filled. jane has more from the iraqi capitol. >> reporter: iraq's new cabinet is meeting for the first time after the government was formed. and one of the first tasks will be to complete the cabinet. there was no defense minister, no interior minister, and at least four other posts left unfilled. the interior ministry is going to be particularly difficult. that goes to a member of the shia block. and the proposed nominee was quite controversial. but it's an indication of how tough it is going to be to get this new government together let alone fulfill its program. the program involves continuing the fight against the islamic state group, and reaching out to

iraqis. politicians and ordinary iraqis who are desperate for a better standard of living. out on the streets they are welcoming the new government, but a lot of people say if it cuts down on corruption at all, they will be incredibly happy. the main battleground, though, is still out there in the west and north of this country, where kurdish troopings, iraqi troops, and the shia militias is fighting the islamic state group. the new united nations envy on the syria crisis has arrived in damascus for the first time since being appointed. he is due to meet president bashar al-assad. he is expected to seek permanent residence in damascus. three al jazeera journalists have been detained in egypt for

285 days. baher mohamed, mohammed fahmy, and peter greste received long sentences after a trial seen by many observers as politically motivated. they are appealing their convictions and al jazeera continues to demand their release. a preliminary report into the crash of malaysia airlines flight 17 says the plane was probably hit by what it describes as high-energy objects. the dutch report stopped short of saying it was shot down by a missile. 298 people died when the plane went down in july. tim friend reports. >> reporter: a short but revealing report. it does not explicitly say that mh17 was hit by shrapnel, but rules out virtually any other possibility. close-up photographs show the damage. the black box and cockpit voice

recordings all suddenly stopped at precisely the same moment. wreckage was spread over 10 kilometers. >> at this moment we are investigating the objects that penetrated the aircraft. the found fragments of probably the -- the -- the objects in the bodies of especially the -- the flight crew. we are trying to investigate whether they are originating from the airplane, or whether they are originating from the objects. >> reporter: the allegation from the ukrainian government and from some western leaders that is mh17 was brought down by a buk missile fired by russian-backed rebels. that's vigorously denied. both sides in the conflict have this weapon, so further investigation here will try to establish the exact launch area by using satellite and radar printouts. the crash scene is in a conflict

zone, and investigators have been prevented from direct access. some human remains are still in the wreckage and for families the anguish goes on. >> for me it doesn't matter if it has been shot down or it is the fault of malaysian airlines. i blame malaysian air lines and also the other one who took -- who make the plane crash, of course. i mean it cannot bring our children back here. >> reporter: a full report will be published within a year of the crash, and a separate criminal investigation has begun here. tim friend, al jazeera, the hague. ukraine's government and pro-russian separatists have agreed to exchange hundreds of prisoners. 648 ukrainian soldiers have been freed and the government is working to secure the release of about 500 more. it's part of a ceasefire deal which is being threatened by shelling from both sides.

both sides are blaming each other for repeated violations of the ceasefire. liberia's defense minister has criticized the world health organization's initial response this the ebola outbreak. he said the virus is now a threat to his country's existence. the later numbers show the number affected continues to escalate. at least 1,224 have now died in liberia. 509 have died in sierra leone, and the disease has killed 555 in guinea, with 8 dying in nigeria. the outbreak also spread to senegal where three people are now infected. the overall death call is 2,296. james bayes joins us from the united nations in new york where the security council has been talking about the outbreak in liberia. what is being said at this

meeting, james? >> well, the u.n.'s medical and humanitarian experts have been dealing with this epidemic for some considerable time. but the security council doesn't normally deal with public health issues. it is dealing with it because of a regular meeting about liberia where there still is a u.n. peace keeping mission. but clearly the meeting was dominated by the situation regarding liberia considering that they are the worst-effected country. the president declared a state of emergency. and that's why the security council was briefed by liberia's minister of defense. >> we are meeting at a time when liberia is facing a serious threat to national existence. the deadly virus has caused disruption of the normal functioning of our state.

the disease has now reached urban centerings, including the capitol. it is now spreading like wildfire devalving everything in its path. the country has been overwhelmed. >> well, there are concerns about the situation here in the u.n. too, concerns about the peace keepers that are there in liberia. already the philippines says it is going to pull their peace keepers out. also there are some concerns here in new york because every year at the end of september, world leaders from around the world, including the u.s. president obama, world leaders from where every come here to new york for the u.n. general assembly, there are concerns now about the delegations coming from west africa. those presidents will be accompanied by large delegations, and i think that will have to put some sort of screening in place, the u.s.

which is the host country for the u.n. here in new york when those people land at airports to make sure there is no spread of the disease among world leaders. >> james bayes, thanks so much. coming up britain tries to sway supporters of scottish independence with the promise of more powers. and a date with destiny. gamers get the chance to try out the world's most expensively made video game. ♪

>> an astonishing america tonight investigative report >> why are you wearing gloves? >> ocd... taking over this woman's life... >> i don't wanna touch anything... >> now a controversial surgery can literally reprogram her mind >> we can modify emotional circuitry >> is this a miracle cure? or an ethical nightmare? >> there's a lot of mystery right now... >> rewiring the brain an america tonight investigative report only on al jazeera america ♪

hello again, a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. [ gunfire ] police in yemen open fire on houthi protesters to stop them from reaching the prime minister's office. houthi leaders say at least seven people were killed and 50 other injured. iraq's cabinet is meeting for the first time since the new government was formed. france will host an international curety conference on iraq in paris next week. and liberia's defense minister says the ebola outbreak is a threat to his country's national existence. the son of nigeria's former president has been shot and wounded in a battle with the militant group boko haram. they were injured as the army tried to recapture the northeastern town.

well it took cameroon and nigeria decades to settle their territory dispute over the oil rich peninsula. cameroon took control of the area in 2008. although the indigenous population should have the right to stay, many have fled to the border. now the people are protesting against their living conditions. >> reporter: esther is complaining to her husband, they still old hospital bills for the burial of their eldest daughter last year. >> translator: the situation is unbearable, we don't know how to feed, bathe, or clothe our children. >> reporter: this is what has become of the people who left their homes in the disputed

peninsula. cameroon took the territory in 2008 under international ruling. most of the population consider themselves nigerian. people here say they fled due to attacks by cameroon security forces. 1 noush-- 1,000 families have b crammed in two school buildings since last year. the men can no longer fish, so they do meanal jobs. they are meant to receive a monthly $30 stipend from the government. the people here say they have not seen any money. >> we are looking to the federal government of nigeria, to settle

the amount of money. the kind of budget that is beyond the capacity of the state government. >> reporter: the community has been keen to teach their children the history of their land. >> sometimes i feel like crying. as we are going out, we did not carry anything. we just run like that. >> reporter: abigail poured her pain into a poem. >> [ inaudible ] disenchantment [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: and it's the unknown future of her orphan grandchildren that this 80 year old worries about. she can't cope with raising them on promise alone. the territorial dispute may appear resolved on paper, but it's leaving generations of lost people behind. at least two people have been killed when a mosque roof collapsed in pakistan's eastern

city. 25 others were trapped when the roof caved in during evening prayers. recent torrential rains have lead to multiple roof collapses across the city. people in the flood-hit regions of india and pakistan are leaving their homes as water levels rise. the death toll now exceeds 400. india's province was most severely hit. cam -- kamal has this update. >> reporter: the situation is now preparous in the area. desperate attempts have been made to save the road links which will help the rescue teams

to go into the effected area, but as we can see the situation is now worsening in the south as the water moves on, while the water is receding in those parts of the country, the water is now posing a serious threat to other places in the peninsula, particularly down south. right now the priority is to keep the wider roads open so that relief supplies can apply on the sea. >> reporter: this bridge was washed out on saturday cutting off 150,000 people on the other side. for days they have been coming to the edge to say they have no electricity and supplies are running low. the army has arrived, and they have been rescuing people by boat and they started a temporary bridge hoping they can get to the other side by today if not tomorrow, and they can bring more people out. but this isn't the worst part. the flooding in the rest of the

state has trapped hens of thousands of people. in the capitol many people are still stuck on their terraces, asking the family and media outlets that they need help. rescue operations only started on monday when the rain started letting up, and we don't know how many people have been effected. many are like these people who have been cut off for days and there is no way to contact them. it may take several more days and maybe a few weeks until we know the total damage. . in just over a week's time scotland will vote on whether to break away from the united kingdom. polls though the opinions are running neck and neck. >> reporter: the palace of westminster has stood for hundreds of years as a begone of democracy, or at least that's what they say in westminster,

but the scottish nationalists say the u.k.'s political elite has lost so much credibility that it wants scotland to strike out by itself against the culture. so with nine days to go, westminster's representatives in scotland came together to say if you want more powers you can have them, but just don't vote too leave the united kingdom. >> we will have the opportunity to end the policies of grievance, and address the problems that the people of scotland face, rather than look at a problem and blame someone else. >> reporter: but the scottish nationalist say they have heard all of that before. and they have all of the momentum in the opinion polls. >> they wouldn't give us the powers to protect our great

public health service, or reenergize the economy and fairness in scottish society, all of the things that we can take into our own hands by voting yes next week. >> reporter: the appeal didn't only economic. this late in the day it is also to say we love scotland, but as the scottish flag was raised above the prime minister's house, it fell off. the metaphor couldn't be more ironic. but if you want to know exactly how serious this is, the prime minister david cameron was due to gave speech on wednesday here in london. he has now cancelled that speech and is instead having to travel to scotland, which he didn't want to do to campaign there for the defense of the union. it's very high stakes, but it's all hands to the pump. lawrence lee. michael schumaker has left

hospital in switzerland to continue his rehabilitation at home. the driver suffered a serious head injury during a ski accident in france last december and was kept in an artificial coma for almost six months. he'll now make the short journey to his swiss home around 35 kilometers away. google's chairman has held talks in spain on the internet's privacy and an individual's rights to be forgotten. he and a panhandlel -- panels of experts met to discuss personal information. now the world's most expensive video game to produce has finally been released. destiny cost half a billion dollars to make and promote. fans across the world have been queueing for hours to get their

hands on the new release, including in sydney, australia. stephen has a date with destiny. the destiny in question is a video game. the date, the 9th day of the 9th month, it's worldwide release. >> it's a really rewarding game. the classic good versus evil. and the call to action is that the player is a guardian and the guardian is pushing back this darkness. >> in the gaming world the hype has been building for months. destiny comes from the company behind the smash hit halo. paul mccartney wrote the music, and it's budget a half a billion was the highest ever for a game. >> it's a huge risk, but of course, they don't expect to make their money back just over this game. they are expecting several sequels over the next ten years.

[ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: at a shopping center in sydney, the game debuted another midnight, but before that was the countdown, the cake, and the queue. >> get the game go home, get in a few good hours, sleep, wake up, and continue playing. >> waiting trying to pass time by doing other things, and it's finally here. >> i woke up and thought today is the day. >> reporter: what makes this game special? fans say it blends of best of a shoot 'em up, with a game like world of war craft and set in an vast, online space with players worldwide cooperating and competing. >> people are here to bond with the community, make friends and that's what you are really seeing with video games these days. >> reporter: some like to be around a community in -- console

lounges like this. only when millions are playing simultaneously will the call be made whether this is destined to be the most successful game ever. ♪ >> ...i come around that corner... >> you don't want this? >> no, i think we should do it how we would normally... no exceptions >> should i also be in the