>> the presidential compound and the prime minister's compound is attacking yemen. they say it's an attempted coup. >> we'll probably have a new yemen by the end of the day. >> welcome to al jazeera, live from doha. we have our top stories here. funerals for six hezbollah fighters killed in an israeli airstrikes and an iranian generals wills dies in that attack. mali has been declared free

from the ebola virus. welcome to the program we're hearing of a new cease-fire agreement in yemen's government. there are ongoing gun battles been on between soldiers and houthi fighters. the president was forced to flee by helicopter, and the prime minister's convoy came under attack. >> the fight something being heard from blocks away. government forces and houthi rebels have been battling near the presidential palace in sanaa since monday. something that is hard to know at the moment. the information minister has described the scene as utter chaos. >> to be honest i don't think any single party are in sanaa.

there are some place where iss where houthi control and there are some places that others control. there are people who wear the uniform, and they do not obey the orders of the superior. >> houthi rebels have been at odds with the government for years, they took control of most parts of the capitol last year but monday the fighting has gotten worse. >> the attack on sanaa months ago it was nothing close to this. our only focus is on certain areas of the capitol. there was no attack on the president or prime minister. >> houthies are reported to take control of the state television. what is being described as a

third party has not been confirmed. >> they're wearing the military uniform, which is affiliated somewhat with the former regime. >> the declaration of a cease-fire earlier in the day has been largely ignored. the information minister say that some security forces are refusing forces, adding that there could be a new yemen by the end of the day. >> so how did we get there? there has been instability in the country since the up rising that saw it's former president step down in 2012. the new leader has since been unable to get a grip on tribal opposition. it left the storming of the capitol by houthi. in november there were sanctions on the former president and two

houthi commanders for threatening the peace. we understand that a power cut is happening in the capitol. let's go to the yemen post. we're just hearing from houthi sources that they have negotiated another cease-fire. what more are you hearing there? >> yes, a deal has been reached by both sides. both sides moving in, and they have greed to the negotiating --have agreed with the negotiation committee. >> hakeem, this is the second cease-fire within a few hours. how do we know this is going to hold. >> we know that it's going to hold because the government is under tight pressure and the houthies are in the capitol.

the only option from the president is to reach a cease-fire or by nightfall it will fall to houthies. >> what happened this morning? >> what happened this morning the president met with the houthi officials and threatened if the chief of staff is not released that the houthi kidnapped two days ago they should prepare that things will escalate. they expect the military to fight under him but because he did not do a successful job in unifying the military over the years, most of the military has remained neutral. >> there is a power cut now across large parts of the capitol of sanaa.

how are ordinary people there coping? there is so much uncertainty in sanaa at the moment. >> there has been power cut and gunfire has been limited to certain air raids. both sides don't want to fight. they don't want to kill each other, but they're hoping for a cease-fire to happen in their favor. >> hakeem, what have you been hearing about the whereabouts of president hadi and the prime minister.

>> the prime minister is in sanaa. the area is being watched very closely by the houthi. >> hakeem, chief of the yemen "yemen post." >> we're live in studio now hashim there has been the announcement of another cease-fire. what do we make of this one. >> the official website of the houthies say that the committee has met and they have agreed to the cease-fire. they're giving orders on the agreement. this is the first time they've come to an agreement only for

that agreement to falter. in september they controlled the capitol. they asked for a deal of peace and partnership with the government. there is a difference between the government and the houthies. for me a cease-fire is good news. however, there are deep political differences between the houthi houthies and the government. >> did we see a coup attempt or was this the houthies sending a very strong message to the president, to the government saying we're a powerful political force to be reckoned with and we want to be heard. >> that's exactly the case. now their website is saying that the cease-fire is interfaced, and they continue to control the

presidential palace, military headquarters. it's a message to the president that if you want to continue to be president you want to be continue in power we're the most powerful military organization in yemen. it also sends a message to the international community particularly the americans they want to tell the world yemen is a new country with a new leadership where the houthies are the one who is call the shots. >> maybe it's a coup that they call by a different name. we saw events today that were dramatic. they happened very quickly. extremely significant but we need to put the past into context as well. there has to be a build up. put that in context in terms of how things are played out as well. >> we started to know about the houthies in 2004 when they launched the first war against the government saying this is a war for determination, that they

want to have political and religious power. hezbollah has been crucial in providing houthies with military and financial aid to get to the point where they are now. it's true. we're now in a situation where the houthies are very well organized, and they are the ones who run the country. >> you talk about the iranians, hashem. that brings us to talk about the regional influences and proxies that are playing out in yemen. saudi arabia clearly does not want to interfere. iran backs the houthies. >> saudi arabia prides itself of being the protector of islam.

iran prides itself on being the protector of shia islam. when the houthis started to attack the government, the saudis interfered, except this time when the houthi houthies took over the government. unless there is a political deal between the saudis and the irans. i doubt we're going to see political table in the future. >> i just have a final thought before you go. many people want to know, we've seen this rapid rise, this rapid spread of the houthies in yemen. and its trust into the capitol of sanaa. how have they managed to do this so quickly? what facilitates this, and what is their end game? well just to give you an idea northern yemen have been run by

shia leaders who say they have been descendants of prophet mohammed for years. the houthies seized the moment and said if we lose sanaa shias will never have a political future in yemen. it rallied massive support behind them. before it got to that point they managed to underline the most powerful tribal leaders. just to give you an idea. including ali abdullah saleh. he decided to switch sides and pledge allegiance to the houthies. >> it is a very complex story. thank you for your analysis. well still to come here on al jazeera in the next 15

minutes or so. >> two men stood in front of my car and shot me six times. >> it's a risky business being a prosecutor in honduras where the law is losing to the drug gangs. and how raw sewage dumped in the desert becomes a place for flamingos.

primetime news. >> welcome to al jazeera america. >> stories that impact the world, affect the nation and touch your life. >> i'm back. i'm not going anywhere this time. >> only on al jazeera america. >> michael: welcome back to al jazeera. there a has been a cease-fire

declared between yemen government and houthi fighters. two people have been killed in the violence. iran has confirmed that a general from the revolutionary guard was killed in lebanon. funerals have been held for six hezbollah fighters who were attacked in golan attacks. they included a 26-year-old son of a former hezbollah commander also killed in an israeli strike seven years ago. nicole johnston has more from the lebanese capitol beirut. >> a couple of thousand have turned out for the funeral. he was a rising star inside hezbollah. someone who was being groomed for a senior position. his father had been a senior commander in the group and he was assassinated in syria in 2008. now this attack on sunday on hezbollah inside syria is significant because it's the first time that the group has

been targeted in this way. previous israeli attacks have largely focused on weapon stores and weapon convoys. the real question here in lebanon is how will hezbollah react, and when will they react. hewhat sort of retaliatory reaction will they take towards israel for this. many expect reaction but not something that is large enough to cause a war. at the moment hezbollah is deep deeply mired in the war in syria, aligned with president bashar al-assad. >> israeli foreign ministry welcomed the decision to keep hamas on the terrorist list and their assets will remain frozen. they have been contexting the

fighting the group being on the terror list. >> boko haram has kidnapped mostly children. they say the army managed to save some hostages but could not pursue them once they crossed the border back into nigeria. >> they could not go into nigeria in order to free the hostages. our responsibility is at the end of our common border. we haven't received permission to cross. >> mali has been declared free of the ebola outbreak.

but as we report, a number of new infections across affected countries is falling. >> a year after the ebola outbreak took hold in west africa there are still people dying every day and there are still doctors risking their lives to help them. but now some good news has come out of mali, an indication that perhaps all their hard work is starting to pay off. >> after 42 days of monitoring with no confirmed ebola virus cases and in accordance with the directive i declare today january 18, 2015, to be the end of the ebola epidemic in mali. from now on travelers and goods will no longer be subject to special treatment abroad. >> last week all three of the worst-hit countries guinea liberia and sierra leone confirm confirmed their total faces for five months. but work must continue to make sure they can keep up the

momentum of falling infection rates. >> we're here to teach the guin guinea doctors of how to protect themselves from ebola and how to care for the ebola patients. we help the doctors address ebola outside of the country. >> how to keep driving ebola out of the effective countries will be the topic of a special session in geneva on sunday. erica wood, al jazeera. >> turkey's president is chairing his first cabinet meeting, which critics say is another sign of president erdogan's increasing rule. he said he had a right to attend the cabinet meetings, but his two predecessors did not do so. they say that erdogan is trying to bring in an authoritarian presidential system. >> he wants to show that the

prime minister is not enough to governor the government cabinet. on that case actually i have two questions, one of them is to president erdogan in his time of--before why he doesn't make this kind of chair of prime ministers. he does not head this type of meeting before. on the night of the president my second question is that he has to show that he is prime minister or is he a public prime minister. he has to prove himself. >> al jazeera continues to

demand the release of our three colleagues who have now been in prison in egypt for 387 days. mohamed fahmy, bader mohammed, and peter greste were falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood charge they deny. an appeals court in cairo has ordered a retrial. >> to central america now. only 5% of murder cases are ever solved in honduras. the law itself is also under attack. [ gunfire ] >> everywhere he goes santos watches his back. he is a prosecutor in corruption cases. he asked us not to show his home or his car, to protect his family and himself afraid someone will try to kill him again. >> a police officer warned him that his own police chief asked for two hit man to eliminate two

prosecutors. one of them was supposed to be me. two months later two men stood in front of my car and shot me. >> he survived but others have not been so lucky. the commission for human rights said that since 2010 at least 86 legal professionals have been killed lawyers judges, and prosecutors have been targeted by gangs organized crime corrupt police or anyone who wants to silence them. this is one of the busiest courts in the country. there is security here. we've called many lawyers but they don't respond to phone calls. they don't recognize. many fear for their safety, and many have left the country. >> he said that he's not taking some cases any more as a safety measures. >> crimes like extortion and drug trafficking obviously make me afraid. >> these professionals have

become targets in retaliation. 95% of all killings in honduras are have been the result. they say the judiciary are part of the problem. >> in general the cases are not investigated to begin with. and if the case is investigated, it hardly makes it to court because of obstacles. >> in a disease report the interim commission for human rights said that the honduran government must set law to protect journalists and legal professionals. after the attack on his life santos found a save haven in spain. but now he travels to honduras and travels with two bodyguards. he is determined to fight corruption even if he's putting his life at risk.

al jazeera. >> in china an estimated 300 million smokers will no longer be able to light up in indoor public spaces starting in june. the ban will initially start in the capitol of beijing but eventually the ban could go nationwide. >> reporter: one man antismoking crusader. educating people about the dangers of cigarette smoke. before they know it he has plucked the cigarette out of their hand leaving smokers bewildered. he has been doing this for 17 years, spurred on by the death of his sister. but he's realistic about his earths. >> just because i take away their cigarette doesn't mean that they'll stop smoking. but hopefully they'll remember this moment the next time they light up. >> china accounts for nearly a third of the world's smokers. tobacco kills around 1 million smokers each year in the country, and another 100,000

people die from exposure to secondhand smoke. after a failed attempt to ban smoking several years ago beijing officials are trying again. starting in june, smoking in the capitol will be banned in indoor public places including restaurant. a proposed nationwide tobacco bill will make it tougher for smokers. the law would limit indoor smoking, and ban cigarette advertisements. >> most people comply and light up outside. although there are times that customers sneak cigarettes indoors, but the new law will have bite including fines for those who don't comply. but the new test will be whether this ban can be enforceed not only in the capitol but in the

rest of the country with 300 million smokers and counting. >> abu dhabi is hosting an international summit to address water shortages around the globe. in many places the situation is approaching crisis, especially in the arab world. we look at qatar's struggle to stay replenished in the face of squares fresh water resources. >> you wouldn't think that water was in short supply given the amount that is used to make things grow where nothing should. the arabian gulf, vast quantities of seawater are sucked in every day by energy intensive desalination plants. the fact that this is about as close as you can get to a desalination plant without a huge amount of bureaucracy and identity processing speaks volumes of how crucial these plants are to this region. without them there would be no

drinking water, taps would run dry and life in the gulf could not exist in the way that it does. in this parch aired land you don't expect this, a business selling 4 million cut flowers a year. grown not abroad but in chill glass houses in qatar. the problem is the ancient aquifer water comes from is nearly defleeted. >> the population is expected at a high rate for the upcoming year especially with the major events that we will have in the upcoming year. this could be a big problem if we don't use the available water in a reasonable way. >> now that they're piloting a soil free hydroponic farm with good results. believe it or not this is another source of water raw

sewage. it comes from a workers' camp outside doha where water is recycled. >> it's a perfect home for bacteria. if you look at the microscope you can see millions of micro proliferations. this is perfect environment. >> the process ends with clearwater that runs into an adjacent farm giving life to new growth. on a larger scale more and more sewage treatment plants are being build in qatar. recycling water that could be used for irrigation. but there is a long way to go. these trucks are dumping raw sewage in holding lakes where it leaves untreated and evaporating into the hot desert air. the remarkable thing is that nature takes its course, and the waste water becomes clean up in for a flock of flamingos to take

up residents. >> and a quick reminder you can keep up-to-date with all the news on our website. there it is on your screen. all the latest of going on in the capitol of sanaa. www.aljazeera.com. there it is. www.aljazeera.com. a show about innovations that can change lives. . >> the science of fighting a humanity and we are doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science by scientists. let's check out the team of hard-core nerds. dr crystal dilworth is a molecular neuroscientist. tonight -