>> many of these involved violence claims more lives in yemen, can the new prime minister end the ^ break violence claims more lives in yemen, can the new prime minister end the fighting? >> hello, welcome to al jazeera, live from the headquarters in doha. also ahead - kurdish forces thwart a new assault by i.s.i.l. on the border town of kobane. the leader tells al jazeera, they need weapons sanctions - what sanctions? we get a look at how north korea is defying the u.n. and a step towards same time

hood for an old pope. a step back for pope francis after his plans to welcome gays are rejected by bishops. welcome to the programme. yemen's prime minister returned to the capital sina from new york, where he was serving as the yemen ambassador to the u.n. he was given the top job after houthis rejected the appointment. it comes after fighting in many parts of the country. in what could be an important intervention, iran gave its packing to the houthi rebels. it was said:

well, omar al saleh joins u live from the yemen capital in sanaa, and, of course, a difficult time for the new prime minister as he arrives in sanaa. what are his main priorities. he has a countries in turmoil, and split exactly rivals vying for power. absolutely. his main priority is to form a government of national unity in a country that is anything but united. he needs to please all the different political and military factions that are fighting each other, and that are trying to gain more political influence. the copying makers of all -- king makers of all of this is the houthi fighters, and they have made significant gapes in the last -- gains in the last days and weeks, and they control

seven prove jipss, and have a -- provinces and have a stronghold in the north and are expanding. they are after more political say informing any government or one of his main obstacles that he needs to please the houthis to have. >> how is this statement from the iranians going to resonate in sanaa. it's a heated statement. and certainly one that is expected to get a rehabilitation from some political parts of the arena in yemen. >> yes, absolutely, i don't think it will go well with the different parts, tribal as well as politicians, because they think this will only worsen the security conditions in this country, and it will increase the sectarian sentiment, because the houthis, iran is the

champion and sign as the champion of shia in the region. you have to see the prices in yemen in a region plagued by sectarian. there is a proxy war on the one hand. houthis are accused of being iran's main group in yemen, and you have saudi arabia. the houthis control the north of the country. the main stronghold to the southern border. this is where you see the regional influence in this country. it puts in context the conflict that is going on in iraq, syria and other parts of the arab world. the statements by iran will worsen the security - the sectarian sentiment in the country we'll see what comments come out. thank you for joining us from the yemen capital

intense fighting has taken place in the town of kobane. for weeks the islamic state of iraq and levant tried to take the town on the turkey syrian border. these are the latest pictures. us-led air strikes helped kurdish fighters hold the up to. the leader of the kurds told al jazeera they need more help from the international community. bernard smith is on the tuckey side of the border with syria. strikes condition on kobane and i.s.i.l. positions. what is the situation on the ground in terms of who might be gaining from this at the moment? >> so there was intense street fighting last night. we understand that saturday - sunday saturday night into

sunday, intense fighting. according to the kurd trying to defend kobane, those care strikes have been coming in. there were a few overnight. we haven't seen many this morning. there are enough to keep i.s.i.l. fighters at bay, and allowed the kurd to retake ground. not enough to allow them to keep control of kobane. a mortar wepd off behind me -- wept off behind me, on the turkish side, and that has been happening throughout the day. the syrian kurdish fighters say they need more weapons. and other parts of syria, where the kurds are in control. zeina khodr reports. >> reporter: this man is in charge of an autonomous region in north-eastern syria, he is a man under pressure. his political party group, the

democratic union party is at war with the islamic state of iraq and levant. he has been appealing to the world for weapons. first, the pyd is asked to make concessions. one of them is giving up power to other syrian kurdish satisfactions. without political conditions, they want to do it with political conditions. it doesn't mean help, it means something else. we don't like somebody to change the project. to change the administration that we have, because we would like sharing, not changing, not collapsing with. >> muslim is in the hope for meetings organised with the government. it itself is at war with

i.s.i.l. so far there is no common ground. >> his opponents want him to reach certain conditions if the pyd wants him to be part of the coalition against i.s.i.l. >> translation: they can't be the only fighting force on the command. there needs to be a joint comment. they need to end their times with the syrian regime. turkey should not be the enemy. >> the pyd has been at war with i.s.i.l. it could be defeated and lose more kurdish territory in syria, and the fate of kurds could depend on a political deal between rival factions tied to competing regional powers. what is clear is the pyd will

have to make concessions before the weapons pour in. >> it's been revealed that the turkish side of the border and authorities are maintaining a heavy presence in trying to police that boarder. the turks won't get involved. >> it's a reminder of how the kurds in kobane - recep tayyip erdogan reviewed the kurds in kobane. you can see the turkish reluctant to get involved. they'll get another mortar, it almost certainly has fallen on the turkish side. it happens, turkey is not prepared to get involved much the only time, the only indication that it's given that it is willing to do more is if

the u.s. joins it in a fight to get rid of president bashar al-assad, the syrian president, as well as fighting i.s.i.l. turkey has been a major issue along the border. >> we'll leave it there and come back as the situation develops. bernard smith on the turkey-syrian border the u.s. and four allies are calling for an end to the fighting in libya. forces loyal to retired general khalifa haftar laurmged attacks a -- launched attacks against militias in the east and west. dozens have been killed and thousands of civilians fled the violence. there has been more confrontations between police and demonstrators in hong kong. there were clashes in the flash point of mongkok. demonstrators are angry at free and fair elections. only candidates vetted by beijing will be allowed to

stand. north korea is finding ways to get around international sanctions to provide a high standard of living. they passed rescrections targetting -- restrictions targetting travel and other areas. teresa bo obtained access to the country and reports on pyongyang. >> reporter: a water park in pyongyang is for people here the symbol of posterity. brand new swimming pools, 12 types of saunas. the government here - places like this are an act of defiance. >> according to the u.n. sanctions the goods cannot be traded. some are imported. most of the things we did it ourselves. four units - it was replacements. the place is for formal families

and citizens. >> in the last year import of luxury goods soared in spoit of actions. most are widely seep in the capital pyongyang. where it's not difficult to support cars. at the equestrian center outside the city, more and more people are coming to learn how to fight. forces are considered a luxury good. the government is finding all sorts of ways to bring them into the country. >> the definition of luxury its varies from one to the other. in this case, it is clear. sanctions imposed are aimed at hurting the leadership and not the vast majority who do not have access. >> this is the first time they brought the children to the

equestrian center. >> translation: with all the newly built facilities in the parks, we feel that we are having a happy life, and a civilized and cultured life, thanks to care and love of our great marshall kim jong un. >> reporter: many of the structures learnt about forces for a while. what do they think the united states don't want them to bring courses here. to here, no. workers may not be able to speak about politics, it's clear that his work is a statement and the leadership will press on with the defiance of u.s. sanctions. >> there are many sanctions, but there is a thing that our leader decides, we do it.

>> and nobody here has any doubt about that. since coming to office, kim jong un has seep the capital get new buildings. whether it extends further remains to be seen. >> still ahead on al jazeera... >> i'm imtiaz tyab in gaza. israel begun allowing building materials in for the first time since the end of a 7-week bombardment. many say the supplies are not coming quick enough. a comet set to record a near miss with morse. stay with us here on al jazeera.

welcome back to al jazeera, a reminder of the top stories. yemen's new prime minister arrived in yemen from new york. he was given the top job last week after houthi rebels rejected another candidate. >> kurdish fighters in kobane are calling for more weapons in their fight against the islamic state of iraq and levant. that's after heavy fighting in which kurdish forces propels an assault by i.s.i.l. fighters. >> and an exclusive report from inside north korea, showing the country's elite enjoying luxuries, dispute u.s. sanctions on banking, travel and trade because of its nuclear

programme. now to the middle east. a massive rebuilding effort is underway in gazaar the 50 day war that left the palestinian territory in tatters. the israeli government lived a ban, allowing shipments of construction material to enter the strip. many restrictions remain in place. >> this is the beginning of what many hope is the rebuilding of the gaza strip. 15 trucks carrying cement. 10 loaded with stoeel, and some are in materials allowed to enter gaza. the israeli government let the supplies through the crossing it controls, after an oversight agreement was reached with the united nations and the palestinian authority. the plan restricts what construction materials enter, which companies they can be travelled to, and a promise that

the teams will supervise construction projects. >> this man manages the warehouse, and tells me although his company has been given approvals to sell the cement. it will not be easy. >> there's a special committee that makes checks on every bag of cement. it's not like in the past. >> mahmoud's home was damaged during the 50 day assault on gaza. he lives in one of the worst-hit neighbourhoods. he's one of the lucky ones. part of his house is standing, which is why construction materials should be given to people like him first. >> because the house is standing, we were told it would be a priority to get fixed. the cement is here, we have not been told anything israeli officials remain concerned construction materials could find its way into the

hands of palestinian resistance factions who can use them to build underground tunnels, with the need vast, and increased pressure after 5.4 billion was raised. the israeli government grade to ease the blockade. negotiations will reassume on other issues, like the established of a gazan seaport and the release of prisoners. for those whose homes were damned or destroyed, their main priority is the reconstruction of their homes. >> it will be and al jazeera continues to demand the immediate release of its journalists in egypt. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed have been in prison for 295 das. they are falsely accused of

helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood, and are appealing against their convictions. the ebola crisis is bringing together unlikely allies. cuba's leader fidel castro says the country is ready to cooperate. cuba sent 165 doctors and nurses to treat patients in sierra leone. medical staff to liberia and guinea. ebola could become the giptive humanitarian disaster, killing 4,500 people in west africa. we spoke to liban refugees. >> reporter: jefferson escaped war in liberia, leaving behind his family, spending time in ivory coast before arriving at this settlement as a teenager in

1998. he managed to go to school and hide plans to return to liberia. liberia changed that. >> i see it as the stalin war. after we went through the civil war, trying to recover everything that we lost, these incidents of ebola, this disease has come up again. >> reporter: he doesn't know when he'll go home. he started his college here. his family in liberia is constantly on his mind. lee lost cousin to the disease. there's more than 10,000 families. many are silent about those they lost. so many liberians have been touched by ebola. the stigma is not something people want to talk about openly.

>> this is home to thousands of other west africans and ghanans. the only government organization says it's running out of funds. >> ventilation is challenged. it's a case where the fear that if ebola erupts, it will spread like wild bushfire. >> many people move out and come back. the borders are closed. >> yes, they are porous. >> the settlement will be dismantled. some want to stay in ghana as refugees. jefferson wants to go back. praying that he'll be able to raise the funds of full offing the dream of raising the funds back home. >> rescue workers say hope of

finding survivors from nepal is fading. villages have been asked to join the search. a cyclone that hit neighbouring india caused the blizzard conditions. in india more than 150,000 people that rely on free medication to face hi and aids could go -- h.i.v. and aids could go without the drugs they need, despite many of the drugs meaning manufactured in the country. >> reporter: this daily dose of tablets means life and death for 2 million indians. they are one of hundreds of thousands relying on a programme to get the jobs. an outcoming shortage worries them. after getting my medicine i went back and only got enough for 10 days. that's a shortage, and after

10 days there's no guarantee if the drugs will be there or not. >> i'm upset because of this. i say give me 20 address supply. we are poor, and can't come back and forth leaving my children and job. >> reporter: this h.i.v. and aids activist is a patient and says it's ironic that india has a shortage. >> we have the money. india is a pharmacy of the countries. more than 80 people in the world are supplied. here in india we are facing this. >> past shortages of the drug were buffered. >> repeated requests for an interview with the health ministry and the national aids company wept unanswered. they are trying to boost production of the drugs, whoul

the commefrts prorps or lessons the shortages. many say it shouldn't have come to this place. >> missing a day of the medicines will be catastrophic. >> you don't under it's non-negotiable. we need to bombard every 12 hours, non-negotiable. >> patients say missing a day's dose would defeat the point of the counter programme, putting their lives at risk to europe - thousands of catholics gather in rome to celebrate the beautification of pope paul vi, the first step to saint hood for the pope that decide in 1968. catholic bishops rejected a statement. thomas reece is a senior analyst at the national catholic

reporter and explains why the changes were not approve. >> the pope wants a conversation, a dialogue. he wants the sip og to be col eegeial. if he wanted to make decisions, he could. he could say, "this is the way we'll do it." it's not his style. he wants a conversation in the church and move towards consensus on the ideas. to - he trusts in the power of the holy spirit to guide the church in this process to find the best way of sponing. >> well, a close encounter that occurs less than uns every million years. a comet will brush past mars so close dust in the tail could change the atmosphere. >> reporter: named after the observatory in australia that spotted it, the comet came from the far reaches of our solar system. for more than a million years,

it travelled towards the sup. warming and developing a tail full of gas and dust. travelling at a speed of 56 k/hr, and will swing by mars, 132,000km from the planet. >> at the time of the close encounter with mars, the comet will be almost the closest to the sun. they release a lot of material, dust, solid particles, water and hydrogen - and all this particles, all the ejector will interact with the atmosphere of mars. that will be interesting. >> it will be recorded by no fewer than five spacecraft. three orbiters, one from india and two n.a.s.a. rovers have been prepared for the comet. >> it will look at shape, rotation and the brightness of the nucleus, study the coma

composition, and look and see if it can detect changes for the interaction. >> the spacecraft are trying to understand how external forces affect the martian atmosphere. billions of years ago tv sick and supported water. the gases are believed to have been eroded by solar winds, energy from the sun, leaving a coat of carbon dioxide. the interaction could shed light on how this occurs, and pose a threat to the spacecraft. >> dust from the comet may be a hazard. we studied and modelled it. we believe that when mars is close to the dust tail, about 100 minutes after closest approach. all the spacecraft will be on the opposite side of the planet. >> scientists believe the gast and dust could cause aroras in the martian atmosphere, and the

spacecraft will be in a unique position to record this, along with the motion of the comet. information that will help to better prepare for the next close encounter you can follow the stories we are covering on the website at aljazeera.com. saying sorry. the dallas hospital handling ebola issues gets another apology and speaking of texas, a live look - a cruise ship docked in galveston ending with international backlash. [ singing ] plus, one step closer to sainthood. pope francis leads the