>> building a coalition against the islamic state group. the u.s. said egypt has a key role to play in the fight. welcome to world news on al jazeera. also ahead on the program. >> we are still in the stage of war and the key aggressor is the russian federation. >> they say glad gla vladimir putin wants to take over the country. thousands remain trapped.

and mor less fumes, less noise could these cars be the future of formula one? >> secretary of state john kerry said that egypt has a key role to play in iraq and syria. john kerry has met egyptian president al sisi in the egyptian capita capitol of cairo. kerry has been in the middle east trying to shore yo up support against the islamic state. ten arab countries including egypt has so far given their support. >> as an intellectual and cultural capitol of the muslim world egypt has a critical role to play in pulling renouncing the ideology that isil

disseminates. this was an important future of our discussions, and again today here in cairo. it is something that the egyptian religious establishments support and understand. >> kurdish fighters say that shia forces have carried out revisals against those who are suspected of sheltering i.s. fighters. they have denied the accusations and say all forces are under iraqi army control. >> reporter: a shia militia checkpoint, we're told that a

brigade is looting and torching areas where they believe islamic state fighters are hiding out. we're told to pull over and a pickup truck blocks our exit. they aim ak-4 ak-47s straight at us. it is very clear that the shia militia make the decisions and they're reluctant to let us through. >> eventually they let us through. peshmerga say that they that the area was sheffield united by the militia. we arrive.

it's deserted. houses have been torched. one is still smoldering. the peshmerga has been close by. they are now pulling out leaving the shia militia in control. >> we're giving our life to unite iraq to protect all people's properties but others are not doing this. in particular the badr organization. this is not acceptable. >> the peshmerga have gone house to house dismantling explosive devices left by the i.s. fighters. they found one under the road. they even found an device under a toilet seat. they take us to a nearby town where they tell us the shia fighters beheaded an arab sunni resident. >> when we witnessed it, it made us angry. we cannot accept this. we told them ahead of the game we will fight you. it is not acceptable.

we ordered them to stop, and they promised to do so. >> reporter: but the shia militia don't take orders from them. one peshmerga man videoed this man giving orders in iran farsi. they say, quote: barac >> as president barack obama announceds an expansion of airstrikes across northern iraq he risks allowing the shia militia to take coal more and more of arab territory. it will do nothing if the hearts and minds of the community in

this fractured battleground. >> well, despite a cease-fire being in place in ukraine, the airport in the eastern city of donetsk has come under attack. the prime minister said that his country is still in a state of war. he has warned that russia's president vladimir putin wants to take over his country and recreate the soviet union. we have the latest from donetsk. >> reporter: it's been sporadic with intense shell fire and gunfire concentrate the around and on the donetsk airport, which for months now has been a stronghold for ukrainian armed forces right on the outskirts of the city of donetsk. we went and checked it out earlier. we got as far as one of the last check points, and we could hear

tank rounds and heavy arms being fired onto the airport. the rebels saying that they want to dislodge the ukrainians there, and they accuse them of using that position to shell donetsk, and they want to rid the city of that danger. of course, the cease-fire still stands. although it's looking increasingly tenuous. the prime minister of ukraine saying that this country was still in a state of war, and blaming the russian federation for that, and raising again that issue of concerted strategy to create a land corridor all the way to ukraine's border with moldova, where there is the breakaway region. but at the same time others within the ukrainian leadership talk of the need for negotiated political settlement of

decentralization of ways to keep eastern ukraine within in country, but here in donetsk a sense that the rebels very much wanting to have this city and this part of the country for themselves. >> pakistani military has been using helicopters and boats to rescue people marooned by severe flooding. 280 people have been killed. military engineers have been blowing up dikes to divert swollen rivers. >> despite syria's efforts by the government to planet explosives and blow away major dikes in order to relief pressure on the city, the water levels are still rising and villages are now submerged underwater forcing the people to flee to high ground. as you can see this family now using two beds and a quilt for

protection. they have also been able to bring a few chickens and further down you can see the fodder, which is going to be essential to save their livestock. those are the only valuable possessions that they could get out. and with the farmland underwater it is going to be a problem getting fresh fodder for the animals. you can also see people's belongings back in a hurry as you can see over here because there was no time to get out. they even brought fans, but there is no electricity here. these are valuable possessions. even though the government says it is doing everything and taking the time for opportunities, the fact of the matter is that most of the relief effort under way is being handled either by the military or several organizations that have come to assist these people. but pakistan will need more help if they're going to cope with such an emergency. right now to save multan the

waters have been diverted. that means there is a lot of agricultural properties, villages, orchards that had to be compromised. >> across the border floodwaters have begun to recede from kashmir. medical teams have stepped up efforts to prevent the spread of disease. nearly 150,000 people have been rescued from flood-hit areas. military trying to restore the highway that links kashmir with the rest of india. a group of reserve soldiers from an elite israeli intelligence unit said it will not operate in the occupied palestinian territories. the 43 soldiers are from an unit tasked with code breaking and eavesdropping. they say some of their work prevents palestinians from leading normal lives. according to the soldiers the israeli tactics of blackmail, harassment and extortion and in some cases palestinians were specifically hurt.

they also say that distinctions were made between palestinians involved in violence. a columnist said the statement confirms what a lot of people have already suspected. >> they have certainly exposed some things that have long been rumored, and by the way maybe it's important to mention that they have cleared what they have written in the letter with attorneys and with censors, but it's long been rumored that israel tracks personal information in order to fined vulnerabilities among individuals and recruit them as collaborators. that's what they do in the letter has happened. trying to find out if people are homosexuals, which is very sensitive in this society as it is in many societies, unfortunately, and use that against them as means to recruit them as collaborators, or using

the fact or capitalizing on the facts that people have medical needs, and they need to seek treatment in israel and use that as incentive to recruit them as collaborators. these are things that are generally understood to be part of the intelligence system and how it works. but they confirm and demystify some of these things, it's definitely going to--it's definitely bring to go light information that has only been rumored up until now. >> still to come. anti-apartheid writer is finally buried in his hometown of south africa. after a half century after he died in exile. caught in exile, suffering as yemen fights houthi rebels.

>> top stories at this hour here on al jazeera. the u.s. secretary of state said egypt has a key role to play in countering the islamic state in iraq and syria. john kerry's mission to shore up international support against the i.s. group. ukraine's prime minister has accused russian president vladimir putin of trying to destroy ukraine as an independent country. and thousands in pakistan

and india kashmir in devastating floods. u.s. embassy in uganda said that the al-shabab armed group has established a cell there. the embassy has warned americans to sta to say at home as they fight the immanent attack. >> here in the capitol has been beset by violence and crippled by anxiety of what might happy against. now we know that the international community particularly the united nations is trying to broker a deal between the government and the

houthies. we know there is an agreement with the technocrat prime minister and cutting fe fuel prices by 20%. this has been the requisite. but we know there is a disagreement on how to implement the deal. the president said he will sign the deal and pull out fighters from the outskirts of the capitol. houthies say they will continue with their protest movement until the deal is fully implemented. >> yemen he i's fighters in jawf province. in this vast desert the army has a minor presence and it relies on this battle-hardened militias. >> the houthies are criminals.

they're destroying our land and stealing our homes. houthi and alqaida are the same. >> reporter: with the mis mistrust it ha civilians were caught up in the fighting. their houses were destroyed. hundreds have had to flee from the area. this woman's only son was killed and her house was destroyed. >> my son was innocent. he was looking after his family. he had no political affiliation, but the houthies arrested him, tortured him, and then killed him. >> this is one of the poorest areas of yemen. many people who were forced out of their villages may have to

wait for some time for fighting to come to an end before they can go back. if they control the northern province of jawf, they can easily control the industries and soon the capitol. >> calling for a newly elected parliament to be dissolved. angel about recent airstrikes of rebel fighters. the u.s. and egypt and the u.a.e. were responsible for the attacks. they have been fighting to take control of the capitol. hospital workers in sierra leone treating ebola patients say their strike will continue. they work at the government hospital which is treating 80 patients. a number of doctors and nurses have died from ebola, and they complain they have not been paid in two weeks. a photo journalist working in

sierra leone, she said the patients cannot be transferred to another treatment center. >> the red cross have just built a brand new treatment center which as of today is ready to take its first batch of patients. they were supposed to be coming the first group, initially about five patients, they were supposed to come from government hospitals. but because of the strikes it's going to be impossible to get any patients out that have hospital and into the red cross center. there is a lack of communication. people really don't know what the situation is. we've also learned in the meantime that there are three medical doctors who have been infected in free town, and they are on the road now on their way were freetow freetown, and they will become the first patients to enter the new red cross

treatment center. the governments are saying that they're increasing the salaries of nurses, they're increasing the number of nurses, they're recruiting new people but it remains to be seen whether people are willing to come and work in these places. >> the group of egyptian journalists is on a hunger strike to call attention to protest laws. the journalists say legislation passed in november is too restrictive and is being used to arrest and imprison hundreds of people. they say they'll continue their strike until monday. well, al jazeera continues to demand the release of its three journalists imprisoned in egypt. mohamed fahmy, bader mohammed, and peter greste have now been detained for 259 days. they're accused of aiding the muslim brotherhood, charges seen to be politically motivated. they're appealing against that conviction.

anti-apartheid writer who died in exile 49 years ago. >> this is the home where nakasa grew up, where his family learned of his death. now they welcome him back. in 1964 he left south africa full of hope on a writing scholarshi scholarship to harvard in the u.s. but the government would not let him return. he sa decide falling from a building in an apparent suicide. his sister is his closest surviving relative. >> he loved south africa so much. when he left, he said i'll come back he came back now. he's back. >> they came to mourn a man few of them knew, but in a country

where people died for racial equality, respect is shown where it is due. nakasa was an unusual hero. his writing was not tough enough on writes for some of his con temporaries, but he broke new ground in journalism. >> i crossed the color line like few writers before him. he was the first black columnist where he targeted white rewarders and built up a strong following. he wanted to convince them of the evil of apartheid not through angry words but through logic and reason. >> south africans are glad to have him back. >> he was a comrade. a fellow comrade. >> the changes that have come, there is something that we need to learn from this. >> he showed us how to be brave and to stick to your story and

the truth. >> here is his final resting place, a young man exiled in his beliefs buried in the free south africa that he dreamed off, where he belongs. al jazeera, south africa. >> the opinion poll shows supporters of keeping scotland in the united kingdom has gained a slight lead over those who want to leave. but next week's referendum on independence is still predicted to be too close to call. as campaigning continues, they have hit back against business leaders if scotland leaves the union. >> they're not going to be bullied by big oil, big supermarkets or london market. they're not going to be bullied out of an once in a lifetime opportunity to build a more prosperous country and fairer society. >> police and military forces in peru have destroyed 58 secret

air strips in one week. it's part of the campaign to stop the illegal transport of cocaine from bolivia. a fast-moving wildfire in the u.s. state of california is being fueled by hot weather and drought. it is spaced across 600 hectar 600 hectares. evacuation orders have been issued for homeowners. a new environmental friendly car racing has just kicked off. the e grand prix with ten teams. but critics say without the sound, the speed, and the fumes, it's just not real motor racing. adrian brown reports. >> reporter: in the race to protect the environment china has been in the slow lane. this event, though, perhaps shows a change of gear as battery-powed racing cars made

their grand prix debut on saturday. >> the biggest market in the world, china. this is a place where we can really make a change happen. beijing is a place where they're fighting pollution and they're promoting electric cars, we thought this would be a contribution on that effort. >> these cars don't quite hit the same top speeds of formula one traveling no more than 225 kilometers an hour. it's a lot quieter as well. one of the two female drivers. >> i think it could be complimentary to formula one. it is something taking care of the environment. we're talking about motor sport but in a different way. >> reporter: there are other big differences with formula one. all teams race identical cars. each driver has to change vehicles halfway through the race when the battery runs out. they're trying to develop one that lasts an hour.

it's dismis glycerine. totally safe, i'm told. >> the organizers say that they're not trying to compete with formula one, but in many ways they're rewriting the rule book of motor racing since just about everything to do with this event is new. the event was staged at the olympic park where the 2008 games were held. most of the people here are from china's growing middle class. the group most likely to buy a battery-operated car, but one noone--but some are not won over by it. >> i would consider getting such a car in the future, but it is too expensive now. the petrol cars cost less.

>> the fumes from those petrol cars are responsible for much of the solution. the skies were clearer, but it was still unhealthy to be out. much of the technology on display is expensive and still in its infancy. >> things they need to improve, the price is one. the technology and distance. i think wit this is how you improve technology. >> the hom hope is that those improvements will filter down to the main street car markets. >> former formula driver and grand prix winner joined us. this is what he had to say. >> in terms of the technology going into this e-form of racing is really is in its infancy.

part that have is the development of batteries, and two high profile formula one teams are contributing to formula e in that the electric motor is manufactured by one of their subsidiary companies, and there is synergy with formula one with their technology being adapted to formula e. it's a 45-minute race, and midway or approximately midway you've got the option to change into your spare car because the power of the battery does not last more than approximately 25 minutes. it's really about a driver who can carry speed and at the same time do it in the most fuel efficient manner. so it's not about the fastest driver over all. it's about the driver who can manage the power or the fuel through the batter and the electric engine better in this competition. >> 63 years after earnest

hemmingway was give the award. his grandsons come to celebrate. hemmingway lived there for two decades. for more news you can go to our website at www.aljazeera.com.