nine policemen are killed in iraq as isil fighters attack the compound of an influential tribal leader. ♪ hello, i'm darren jordan. also ahead the military standoff continues in the yemeni capitol. heading to the polls voters in zambia choose a new president. and keep on running, these athletes running seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. ♪

in iraq isil fighters have seized a compound belonging to an influential tribal leader. the battle began on sunday night in anbar province. nine policemen were killed as gunmen blew up the buildings. tribes fought with the u.s. military against al-qaeda. jane is following developments for us from bagdad. jane what more can you tell us about this pro-u.s. tribal leader? why was he targeted by isil? >> reporter: well this attack is -- is really a strong message on several fronts darren. it marks an incursion further in to the tribal area by isil. isil already has 70 to 85% of anbar, the biggest province in bagdad but significantly, this

man is in washington, d.c. where he has gone with a delegation of senior officials. the anbar governor and others to lobby the u.s. for more help. this clearly an attack on his compound that killed nine policemen, most of them tribal members is an indication that things are not well in anbar. there's fierce fighting going on all over the province and he among others have been telling the u.s. that if they don't get more help if they don't get more arms more money, more support in general, they won't survive. >> how much does this attack jane underline how much isil can operate with impunity across the anbar province in particular in ramadi? >> reporter: that's a really good point since we have seen

since june isil have been beaten back with the help of u.s. air strikes. further south it has been with the help of the shia militia. the sunnis say the army is arming the shia militia and nobody is arming them. the u.s. had a lot of trouble with al-qaeda and it was only with the help of the tribes that they managed to retake this country. it's a much tougher fight now, and the sunnis are very split. whatever they are doing in the u.s. is quite controversial. there are some who feel he is too close to the government here and too close to the u.s. but anbar is really at the heart of this conflict. >> thank you, jane. japan's prime minister has

vowed to save two hostages being held by isil. in an online video which al jazeera is choosing not to show they demanded $200 million for the release of the men. they threatened to kill the men within 72 hours if the demands are not met. >> translator: it is an unacceptable act, and i feel angry about it. i strongly urge them to immediately release the hostages without harming them. activistings posted this video of an attack. an entire family were among the casualties. and at least 60 people have reportedly been killed in isil shelling in the northeast of syria. yemen's president is negotiating with houthi rebels

following monday's gun battles in the capitol. houthi fighters remain stationed throughout sana'a. the u.n. security council is expected to hold an emergency meeting on the unrest. >> reporter: the president expressed his hope that all of the political parties understand the scale of the crisis and that how it will impact the future of yemen. only these details coming out from that meeting. but what was also interesting was that another government source told a number of reporters that the president had called for an urgent meeting for all of the political parties who are signatories to the agreement. and the president wants to have all political parties abroad and agree on changing the draft constitution, and that if it is true means that he is bowing to

the pressure by the houthi to change the paragraph in the constitution with regards to dividing yemen into six federal regions. all are very concerned. they have tightened their security measures. i spoke to one diplomat based in sana'a. he said the situation is very dangerous and he hopes all political parties understand how dangerous it is for their country. we have the british ambassador using social media, website saying she wants services back to the streets of sana'a she wants all of the parties to understand what is going on and to have some sort of dialogue to end the political crisis. all eyes probably are also going to new york to see the security council meeting and any outcome of it. israel has deployed one of its iron dome anti-missile batteries to its northern border

with lebanon. tensions have high after six hezbollah fighters were killed in syria on sunday. the hezbollah leader recently threatened israel with long-range rocket attacks. afghanistan's president is facing tough opposition to his cabinet nominees. jennifer glasse has more from the capitol kabul. >> reporter: the nominees for afghan cabinet ministers have been introduced to the parliament but the confirmation procedure is going to be far from straightforward, at least 11 of the nominees are expected to have dual citizenship. several of the other nominees there are apparently questions about their educational credentials. one nominee is alleged to be under the age of 35. that's how old you have to be to

be a government minister here. the nominee for finance minister and agricultural minister was on interpole's most-wanted list and he says the charges against him are false, but did not appear in parliament today. this procedure has taken the new president three months for his unity government to introduce these nominees at all, and basically the government has been paralyzed not only for those three months but in the five months leading up to it they were part of the presidential election period. afghans are very anxious to see an election in place. many ministries are working slowly if at all. afghans can't get some of the most basic things done. so they would like to see the government put in place and working. of course ghani is ruling in a

dual government along with abdullah abdullah. that has never been done before. the president in parliament today speaking varying very very ambitious speech. he said he needs more time. he says his new ministers will be held accountable. but afghans are waiting to see when this new government will finally will installed. soldiers in the democratic republic of congo have been deployed to block demonstrators from entering the city center. at least four people including a policeman were killed on monday. thousands have been protesting against a bill they fear will delay elections next year. zambians are voting for their next president following the death of michael sater last

year. >> reporter: this man makes sure he is at the polling station early. he wants to be near the front of the line. zambians are choosing a new president, someone to replace their president who was sick and died in office last year. >> translator: we can't have anymore presidents dying in power. we need to vote in a healthy president. i want someone who can finish what he starts. >> reporter: this election is also about more pressing issues. >> people want to have a better zambia, because we have been struggling with youth unemployment. you can see a graduate staying with maybe five or six years without employment. >> reporter: the ruling party is expected to win.

its presidential candidate says it will be by a landslide. but in fighting could make this election a tight race. some say the ruling party lost focus, an opportunity the main opposition leader has used to his advantage. >> also coming from the oppositions appears to have come up with a message that seems to be appealing to a lot of people especially the elite. he seems to be talking so much about the economy and things like that. so this appears to be an attraction. and that's why the [ inaudible ] has gained a lot of momentum. >> the late leader's term was supposed to end next year. whoever wins will be under a lot of pressure to improve conditions for the poor. but will only be in power for a year. most people here say they want this week to go by quickly without any problems. they definitely don't want a

disputed election. lots more to come here on al jazeera, still rising but not as fast. china's economy takes a knock, but it is still ahead of the rest of the and sunny side up we're looking at the tools that are trying to transfer energy sources at a special summit in abu dhabi. coverage at 7:00. >> we'll take an in-depth look at our nation's financial future. >> then john seigenthaler breaks down the issues. >> we need to know what's going on in our backyard. >> plus, objective analysis and live reports from across the nation and reaction from around the world. the state of the union address. special coverage begins tonight, 7:00 eastern. right here on al jazeera

♪ welcome back. a quick reminder of the top stories. in iraq isil fighters have seized a compound belonging to an influential tribal leader.

nine policemen were killed in the fight. he lead the sunni awakening when tribes fought the u.s. military against al-qaeda. a ceasefire seems to be holding in yemen after a gun battle on monday. and voters in zambia are choosing their next president following the death of michael sata last year. the election is expected to be a close race between candidates of the ruling party, and the opposition party. a security conference being held is concentrating on the fight against boko haram. foreign ministers of west african regions and representatives of spain, the u.s. and u.k. are meeting. >> reporter: the presence of 19 countries including international organizations, the african community and others

shows the urgency on the ground. but the general feeling across the region is that much time has been wasted with these conferences going on and on and no particular force is on the ground. there has been little coordination between countries affected by boko haram battles, count tries like cameroon nigeria, chad and niger. there have been some alliance where they have set up a task force to deal with cross-border crimes. but there is little coordination among all of them. on the side of cameroon there has been some form of coordination, unfortunately individual countries are k k -- tackling the problem the way they think is best. but there is little coordination between the countries battling

boko haram. >> translator: [ inaudible ] without [ inaudible ] in the lcdc will have effective adequate [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: people will want to see more action quickly on the ground to solve the problem and to stop the humanitarian crisis developing in both nigeria and cameroon. gunmen in central african republic have seized two aid workers. a court in bahrain is expected to announce a verdict of a human rights activist. he has already spent years in prison for taking part in protests. egypt's president has said

that human rights violations are bound to happen due to exceptional circumstances in the country. al-sisi still described this as being unacceptable. he was speaking on a national holiday honoring the police. it comes as egyptian activist has been transferred to a prison hospital after being on a hunger strike for 78 days. he is protesting a controversial law that limits public demonstrations. al jazeera continues to demand the release of our three colleagues who have been imprisoned in egypt for 388 days. they were falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. charges they deny. an appeal court in cairo has ordered a retrial. a report on china's economy

has shown that it has slowed down. the rate of growth was still ahead of market predictions, but it's the first time in 15 years that the annual target of 7.5% was missed. but it is still stronger than many global economies for example, the euro zone. adrian brown sent this report. >> reporter: economists say no knob matters in the world right now, more than china's gdp. and now new data has come out showing that china's economy grow by 7.4% in 2014. now that is not what the government hoped for. they had been hoping for economic growth of perhaps around 7.5%, which is essentially what it has been for the past few years, and this represents the slowest economic growth in china in almost a quarter of a century. why?

well, a housing bubble and also a lingering belief that banks are underestimating the extent of bad loans on their books. these are loans that the government encouraged the banks to make to try to stimulate economic growth after the global crash in 2008. >> if we are having a disruptive slowdown, that could be quite bad for china and the world. i don't think that's going to happen. so far it looks like we're going to have a stable adjustment. >> reporter: while china's gdp is slowing, it is still the envy of the world, but it remains an economy that is transforming. retail sales in december were up by almost 12% from a year earlier, industrial output for the same period was also up by almost 7.9%. both were better than the government had forecast but the

danger danger remains china's property bubble. that's one of the reasons why the international monetary fund is now forecasting economic growth for china of 6.8% in 2015. economists warn that anything below 6% could spell danger for china, job losses and what the government here fears most instability. it is a reminder that what happens here has the potential to effect lives around the world. the airasia plane that crashed into the java sea climbed too fast and then stalled before coming down. that's according to indonesia's transport minister. rescue teams recovered though black box more than a week ago. all people aboard the flight died when the plane crashed last month. four men have been charged in connection with one of the attacks in france earlier this

month. they are being accused of providing logistic call support to amedy coulibaly. in ukraine at least two people have been killed in artillery conflict. -- fire. the conflict has intensified in the last few days. the army claimed on sunday that it had taken back the airport from pro-russian separatists. protesters are demanding answers from argentina's government have a prosecutor was found dead. government officials say an autopsy showed no evidence of foul play. andrew simmons has more from the capitol. >> reporter: demonstrations and calls for justice. in the capitol they gathered in at least three locations and there were protests in the provinces as well.

there was a small standoff with police outside of the presidential palace crowds started gathering shortly after officials announced that preliminary results of an autopsy on a prosecutor's body. they said that there were no indications that anyone else was involved in his head. his body was found with a single gunshot wound to the head. it was less than 24 hours before he was supposed to testify on allegations that the president has obstructed justice. but protesters aren't satisfied, and the judge's assertion that he has been misguided in the way he made the allegations. for a determination organized at short notice this protest is big. whatever the circumstances over the death, there is a discontent here a frustration with the justice system a lack of faith.

>> translator: i don't want a country stained with blood and corruption for my children and grandsons that's why i'm here. >> translator: i'm demanding justice. it's very gray what is going on. they are walking all over us. >> reporter: no one has faced justice for the bombing of a jewish community center in 1994 in which 85 people died. iran denied any government. this 51-year-old alleged he had evidence including phone taps which showed the president, the foreign minister and other officials offering to drop moves against iranian suspects in a deal that involved grain exports to iran in return for oil. opposition parties insist that he had no reason to commit suicide. what happens next no one is sure. but the questions are piling up with few clearances.

let's turn to one of our main stories now, the ongoing situation in yemen. yesterday there were major gun battles in the capitol sana'a we're just hearing now that a fragile ceasefire may have been broken because there are reports that houthi fighters have been ransacking the headquarters of the first, second, and third brigades the troops who are protecting the president. and they ransacked the headquarters which contain most of the heavy weaponry. hashem this would indicate the ceasefire which came into force yesterday has already been broken. >> absolutely. and there is also a new serious development, which is explosions here the president's residence. it shows we're talking about deteriorating situation, where the houthis and the president

are now trying to dictate the terms of what happens next. there is a huge trust deficit between both and it shows why the ceasefire broke within hours. >> because the president was trying to have some kind of meeting today with all parties, but we understand that he only had meetings with his close advisor, and perhaps one houthi advisor. do we know what came out of the meeting? >> we are don't know what came out of that in particular but from sources that we have been talking to some affiliated with the houthis say that the biggest problem they face now is they don't think the president is someone they can do business with in the near future. saying they have lost faith in him. the problem they face now is you cannot afford to have a situation where there's no president in yemen. because it was extremely difficult for the international community in 2011 to bring

together all of the political factions and elect a new president. if the president has decided to step aside, it is just going to be a power vacuum that could lead to all possible scenarios, including civil war in yemen. >> because this is the big problem. the question is who is in charge in the capitol sana'a. we had the information minister yesterday saying all of the drama in the capitol, the fighting they surrounded the presidential palace we saw the president escape by helicopter. all of that drama was in effect an attempting coup. now we have a situation where this fragile ceasefire has in effect broken down already. we're hearing of houthi gunmen storming the main headquarters of the elite first, second, and third brigades. talk us who these brigades are.

>> the capitol has been fortified over the last few years by major check points and particularly military bases of the guard. this is a very elite unit which has been trained by the americans to protect the president. some of those units are now accused of helping the houthis make over the capitol for political reasons, because they think the former president is using his visitors to tell the international community, by deposing me this is what you have created. you have created more instability and violence. >> and that is one of the problems. it's that split that some say has allowed the houthis to extend their influence so quickly throughout the capitol? >> because this is a country divided along sectarian lines, and some of the top military commanders who are loyal to the former president, for them they

would rather go with the houthis than with the current president, because at the end of the day when they go home they are talking about a sunni president who controls the country. this is one of the biggest problems that you have in yemen. now on the record the houthis will them you, no no no our problem with the president is that we would like to draft a new map where we have to agree on the federation and how to move forward. the biggest problem right now is about the sectarian divide. the president still had support and loyalty of military units based in the south, in the center and powerful leaders. there's also a huge problem that the houthis face if tonight if they decide to take over the presidential palace the [ inaudible ] on the south are also sunnis and they will say this is an attack against us

and might break away. >> and this issue of sunni shia plays out in terms of how the regional players, saudi arabia and iran view events that are happening there. the saudis of course they support the sunnis. we haven't seen them yet. but of course iran supports the houthis. >> exactly. the saudis are staunchly anti-houthis. they declared the group a terrorist organization last year. and they said they are behind the president, and will never tolerate instability in the country. they accuse the houthis of being an iranian proxy. manipulated by iran to promote radical shia ideology. on the other hand the government has always been criticizing, saying iran has been providing the houthis with substantial military aid. they have shown some of the