yemen's former president calls for early elections as houthi rebels ask the current leader to appoint a vice president from their group. ♪ hello you are watching al jazeera live from doha. coming up kurdish peshmerga forces in northern iraq launch a major offensive to cut off isil's supply lines. and computer giant, microsoft will today launch a critical new operating system.

we'll explain why it might be a game changer. ♪ >> yemen's president is calling for early parliamentary elections. houthi rebels have issued a demand for greater political inclusion, a day after taking over the presidential palace. let's go live to the port city of aden and why might the former president be taking these comments now? well according to his party, the general people's party, in a statement, that party is headed by the former president by the way in a statement that says that the former president had sent [ inaudible ] to the current

president hadi on december 19th demanding him to end the u.n. sanctions against the former president and the two houthi leaders, and a call for an early presidential and parliamentary elections to end the current crisis and achieve national unity. all of this comes after a day of huge uncertainty in the capitol. yemen is facing an uncertain future. it's capital sana'a a battleground after some government troops fought with houthis. the rebels attacked the president's residence and stormed the president palace in another location. the >> translator: at this historic and exceptional point in time when conspiracies have been

plotted against the country, there is a great danger in yemen. we will not be scared by foreign powers. the issue is crucial. >> reporter: in this town people demonstrated after the speech. they burned posters of the houthi leader saying what the houthis are doing is a cue attempt. the rebels which took control of the capitol last year say they want real partnership and a say in the decision-making process. they are also against a draft constitution that divides yemen into six federal regions. but the group's critics suggest that the houthis were instrumental in forming the new government. they say the group is making excuses to justify and legitimize its actions and wants to seize power. the international community is standing by the president as the legitimate leader of yemen. >> the members of the security

council condemn the use of violence in recent days and urge all parties in yemen to use dialogue and consultation. >> reporter: but the international community has no power on the ground and the attention has now turned to president hadi and what he will do next. he has not been heard from publicly since the assault on tuesday. >> you have got the international community saying that hadi is the legitimate leader of the country, but at the same time he has no power or control over events and the houthis like to point to their willingness to take part in the political process, but whenever anything happens that isn't to their liking they respond with force and try to force the president's hand. >> reporter: foreign ministers from gulf countries are expected

to hold an emergency meeting to address the situation in yemen. the situation here is calm however, the security committee decided to close off all ports as well as the airport. a number of popular forces local fighters here and in other parts in south of yemen are deployed on the outskirts of the town they say to prevent possible infiltration. the develops are changing very fast and perhaps we are witnessing the making of a new yemen. >> it's a very fragile situation. thank you so much. kurdish peshmerga fighters in northern iraq are launching a major offensive against isil. isil sends many supplies from its base in syria to mosul, iraq's second-largest city which is under the armed group's

control. peshmerga forces which control the nearby mosul dam are now trying to take a key road and effectively cut off the supply root. zana hoda explains. >> reporter: this battle is for a supply line. we are south of mosul dam in northwestern iraq and a few kilometers that isil uses to move supplies. on the ground kurdish peshmerga forces advance from more than one direction. up in the skies the u.s.-lead coalition provided cover. this military operation has been planned for some time now. there was intense air activity. and at one time heavy and almost constant bombardment.

this is not an easy battle the islamic state of iraq and the levant is fighting back and they are using heavy weapons. rockets have been landing near peshmerga positions. but the in-coming fire then forced the peshmerga to retreat. the forces pushed on capturing a number of towns and villages. they were accompanied by the son of the president of northern iraq's regional government he is field commander overseeing an operation that kurdish officials say is important. >> translator: our operation began early on wednesday. we pushed them back. we want to cut their supply lines. there is a strategic road between mosul and talapa. >> reporter: this is not far from isil's power bases in northern iraq.

taking the fight there is more complicated. there are urban centers. and kurds may be seen as invading the regions. so now cutting off supplies is the main objective of the coalition and its partners. meanwhile iraqi border guards have repelled an isil attack to take control of a border crossing into syria. ten isil fighters were reportedly killed in the fighting as well as four iraqi border guards. it's the fifth attack on the crossing since june of last year. in other developments, syrian government air strikes have left 40 people injured just outside of the capitol damascus. the air attacks caused them to partially collapse. this video is said to show the aftermath of the air strike. 20 children are report edly among those injured.

and the syrian government has reportedly developed barrel bombs in northern homs province. to the south at least two people were killed in a car bomb attack. in israel 13 people were injured in a stabbing on a bus in central tel-aviv. police say the attacker is a palestinian man from the occupied west bank who entered israel illegally. most of the injured were taken to hospital. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: another stabbing attack in israel. this time in tel-aviv police say a palestinian man boarded a public bus and stabbed its driver first then moved on to stabbing passengers before fleeing. the authorities say he was apprehended by security forces 400 meters away from the bus and shot in the leg. >> translator: i saw the bus

standing at the junction people were running away from it. i went outside, i saw the terrorist running outside. policemen were chasing him. apparently they were prison security policemen. they chased him and shot him. i decided to run for the bus to help the injured. >> reporter: the attacker is a 23-year-old palestinian man who authorities say entered israel illegally. palestinian sources identified him as a man from the refugee camp. the camp is under israeli occupation. as it has in previous attacks, the government blames the palestinian authority and hamas. >> and hamas by praising this mourning's attack has demonstrated exactly what hamas is a brutal and vicious terrorist organization. president abbas cannot have it both ways. he can't link arms with world

leaders in paris to condemn terrorism, when he links arms with hamas back home. >> reporter: this is not the first stabbing attack in tel-aviv, the last one happened last november. an israeli soldier was killed after critically wounded with a palestinian man who attempted to grab his weapon near a train station. israelis are angry at this latest attack. it comes ahead of an election in march, something that puts benjamin netenyahu under more pressure to act. >> translator: it's very sad and frightening that a person can get on a bus and attack the driver and passengers. the arabs don't want to live with us in peace, no matter what we do. >> reporter: meanwhile talks between the two sides are stalled and a return to negotiations seems a remote possibility. there has been a brief lull in

hostilities between israelis and palestinians up until now with october and november being the bloodiest month. now there are fears that this attack in tel-aviv could start a new cycle of violence. al jazeera continues to demand the release of our three colleagues who have been imprisoned in egypt for 389 days peter greste mo mo -- mohammed fahmy, and baher mohamed were falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. still to come for you on the program -- >> reporter: i'm jennifer glasse in kabul, where afghan journalists say freedom of expression is under threat. plus the festival in new zealand with all of it's weird

and wonderful ways. stay with us.

♪ welcome back. you are with al jazeera, let's run through the top stories. houthi rebels in yemen are calling on the previous president to appoint a vice president from their group. it's one of the demands being made as part of an ultimatum by current fighters who are are -- surrounding the president's residence. and kurdish peshmerga forces

are launching a major front against isil. if they succeed, they would cut off a major isil supply line from syria. and at least 13 people have been stabbed in an attack on a bus in the israeli city of tel-aviv the alledged attacker is a 23-year-old palestinian who was shot and apprehended by security forces. the rival faction in the sudan people's liberation agreement is expected to sign an agreement aimed and reunifying the ruling party. >> reporter: the talks happening at the moment aren't part of the broader peace process that we hear about. these discussions are aimed at unifying the ruling government party. this party fractured when the hostilities started in december 2013. but it is hoped that if there can be unity within the party there will be a better chance of a peace deal down the line and

we can see how seriously the regional heads of state are taking this by their talks today. and that's very important, because the fighting is still continuing in south sudan. there is fresh hostilities against the backdrop of a continuingly deteriorate humanitarian situation. there have been demonstrations in the democratic republic of congo. at least 42 people were killed in the capitol, most of them in running battles with the police. but that figure is disputed by the government. there have also been studented-lead anti-government demonstrations taking place. >> reporter: crowds of angry people on the streets of congo's capitol being undeterred by a continued police crackdown on protests. they are demonstrating for plans

of a census that could delay elections. they think it's an attempt for the president to extend his rule beyond the constitutional limits. down the road we see protesters carrying a body. our cameraman was hit on the leg by a rock. the crowd shouts at the man who through it. many are angry, but they want journalists to hear their message. >> reporter: the modification to the law is not a good thing, because the census will take three years. we don't want the president to continue ruling after 2016. >> translator: it is anned a vanation for the president personally. that's why we're against attempts to change the constitution. >> reporter: in some suburbs people took advantage of the situation to loot property. but others keep trying to earn a

living. this market was open for business in spite of the unrest. people on this street told us that the owner of this car works for the judiciary. they said protesters got the better of police here and the guard was sent in. owners tried to plead with people to calm them down. but people burned his car and cased him away. we met the leader of a youth organization he says the opposition are provoking the violence for political game and should let him finish his second term. >> we asked the opposition to leave it alone. to live him to bring our country the way he promise us. if investment is to come to congo, our economy must be clean. >> reporter: for many change isn't coming fast enough.

here protesters wrote on the road that they reject the president and want the national football coach to be in charge. it seems many people have lost trust in all of the politicians. two turkish police officers have been sentenced to ten years in prison over the death of a teenager protester in 2013. he was beaten with baseball bats by police during demonstrations that was sparked by plans to redevelop a park in istanbul. three others were sentenced to six years for their involvement in his killing. ukraine's prime minister says his country will increase the size of its armed forces. he says a law is being proposed that will see the army grow to 250,000 strong. there has been a recent surge in fighting in ukraine's eastern territories. it comes as peace talks are

about to begin in berlin. four officials in china have been sacked over a stampede during celebrations in shanghai in which 36 people died. the police chief and deputy police chief are among those who lost their lives. adrian brown has more from beijing. >> reporter: well the historic area is one of the world's most famous waterfronts. but on new year's eve it was a scene of panic, death, and injury after a stampede. the president ordered an immediate investigation. now three weeks on we have the results of thank choir choir -- inquiry, and a recommendation that four parties be dismissed, including the local party's secretary, police chief, and his deputy. they blame them for insufficient precautions, poor sight

management and congestion another the scene. the question publics whether they were given adequate notification about a cancellation of a light show. that light show was canceled several days earlier, but the message simply didn't get through, and thousands of people turned up at the area regardless. it's also been noted that some of those officials who have been punished were at the time of the tragedy, attending a lavish lavish -- lavish -- lavish -- banquet nearby. and there's no mention as to whether those that are being dismissed will also face criminal investigation. 2014 was the worst year for threats and violence against afghan journalists. this comes after a new law has been signed to protect

journalists. most of the threats against journalists were by mp's local officials, and government forces. journalists admitted to self censoring their work. 2014 was also the worst period for foreign journalists working in afghanistan since 2001. jen jennifer glasse has more. >> reporter: this became the first afghan journalist to be murdered this year, and odds are he won't be the last. being a journalist is an increasingly dangerous job in afghanistan. this man was assaulted after writing about corruption. >> the biggest threat for journalists in the west come from war lords, smugglers, and also powerful elders who cannot accept criticism. >> reporter: the emergence of a free media, with dozens of

newspapers and websites has been hailed as one of the successes. but freedom of speech is under threat here. there are increasing cases of intimidation by the government and the taliban. it's particularly challenging for women, especially in rural areas. conservative beliefs mean many families object to women working at all. >> translator: i would still like to do this job, but only if my family gives me permission. but if they don't, then i won't work. >> reporter: the other women changed their name for broadcasts so they won't be recognized and they are under constant pressure. >> translator: i have been threatened by the opposition of the government. they warn me on the phone they shouldn't work in the media and they threaten me if i continue that they will act on that threat. >> reporter: there were 125

cases of violence against journalists and eight deaths. the attackers usually go unpunished. that's what happened in this case. police told him the man behind his attack was too powerful to fw prosecuted and advised him to be careful. his family has urged him to quit. but he says reporting is his passion. the best thing he can give his country. computer giant microsoft will today launch a new operating system called window's 10. in the desktop world, microsoft remains dominant. remarkably window's xp 14 years on still runs on 80% of all desktops. compare that to apple's osx, it ones on 4% of desktops. window's 10 is expected to work

across a wide range of devices. this means the same software will work on many devices making people's lives simpler. that's the aim. >> until now, microsoft has had different operating systems on its phones tablets desktops and so on and hasn't been able to use its dominance on the desktop to push into mobile. so they want window's ten to unify everything so you can have the same experience run what looks like the same software and buy stuff from the same app store, so people will want to use the mobile because they are using the desktop. it looks a lot nicer. a lot of the feedback that people gave them on window's 8

which only has about -- been placed on about 15% of desktops so it hasn't done well at all. they still have a huge problem in that they are not selling into mobile people go to am for the high end, android for the cheap end, and microsoft is caught between the stwo. street performers have been gathering in new zealand. >> reporter: they come in many forms and go by many names. you can call them buskers. street performers. >> ladies and gentlemen, that there is it. >> reporter: fringe artists. >> there are various circusy stunts, but much more glorified.

>> reporter: or you can even just call them a little bit different. artists like this australian contortionist know exactly where they are at their best on the streets where there's nowhere to hide. >> often when you go oh i'm a street performer, people go oh. where i'm more proud to be a street performer than a stage performer. because stage performing is easy compare to this. >> reporter: the main venue was cathedral square in the heart of the city which remains largely deserted following the earthquake in 2011 but this year the festival has taken a small step back towards its home with a stage set up outside the art center which is still being restored. for mullet man it's good to be back on the streets. >> back in the day they would have been humming on the

weekends and it was a place people would come and meet and drink coffee and eat food and listen to music and watch shows. >> reporter: the festival has become one of the most respected in the world, attracting all manner of acts. >> it's the best little show in town. >> reporter: people have been performing on the streets for centuries. there's always been an element of the bizarre, and apparently that's alive and well. inside this tiny circus tent people come to see the unexpected. on this occasion the main attraction was rubber band boy who has blamed a world record for putting the most rubber bands on his face in one minute. >> take a photo, otherwise you will try to explain it and you will look like an idiot. ♪

you have to wonder how they don't snap? for the latest on everything we're covering and more head to our website, aljazeera.com, there you find all of the latest comments analysis and video on demand. check it out, aljazeera.com. >> the united states is changing the way it operates in space. territory that was once largely monopolized by nasa has slowly been ceded to the private sector. >> like all good corporations, these companies are armed with slick promotional videos. and their excellent pr machines are generating hours of airtime, >>