thank you so much for your time. thank you >> welcome to the news hour in doha. these are the top stories. al jazeera received leaked telephone conversations that suggest that former president saleh is working with houthi leaders. the price of security, france announces a $800 million plan to stop attacks on its soil. >> i'm reporting from south africa on the launch of digital classrooms in some public

schools. >> michael: welcome to the program. al jazeera has received a leaked telephone conversation which suggests that a tomorrow official has been working with houthi rebels. so we have these extraordinary recordings from the allegedly from the former president abd-rabbu mansou--ali abdullah

saleh. >> this is an important phone conversation. we hear him talking to a top military commander and asking him to coordinate with his aids about next steps to destabilize yemen, and to under wine president hadi. this is what he had to say. >> in that regarding we hear him asking to get in touch with his people. what does this tell us, ali

abdullah saleh he may be former president but he is wielding power. are we going to see him re-emerge. >> he's been the longest-running president in history. he always said that the movement against him was motivated against him by the muslim brotherhood. he said that his enemies were spreading lies against him. this is someone who still thinks that he has the possibility to come back. in november, accuseing the main obstacle in yemen. what is kind interesting with the houthi top military commander, the moment when he told him are you now in control of the border, with the international airport and he

said make sure that no one leaves the country. apparently he wanted to insure that his opponents don't leave the country to take revenge. live to this part. >> so we clearly hear no planes should be allowed to fly. otherwise, the comrades would be able to escape. that's extraordinary clearly giving orders to this houthi commander on the ground. we have a final recording where saleh accuses the president's son, this is extraordinary accuses the president's son of being behind the violence in the capitol.

>> there has always been this complex relationship between the two. saleh never accepted the fact that his deputy takes over for him. it was an act of humiliation. i still remember during--when he handed over power. the way he handed over power was the following. i'm not--you should never talk to me as former president. i shall be for now on be considered the leader of yemen who has just taken over. we're seeing this exchange with the houthi commander who is saying this guy hadi's son is responsible just to further poison the political atmosphere. listen to this particularly interesting part of the conversation.

>> there he's blaming the current president's son for the violence in the city. hashem give me events in recent days how damaging are these recordings likely to be for saleh. he's allegedly working with houthies. that could be a coup. >> he said in a he has turned the chapter of presidency, and he's no longer willing to form a

political come back. what we see in this conversation is a man with this inissuible desire to come back to power. >> he stilt has the loyalty of tribal leaders in the central part of the country. he has the loyalty also of the financial elite. this man can easily stage a comeback. not through himself but he has been saying that he would like his son to be the next president of yemen. >> let's just wrap things up. what is clear is that the situation, as it evolves is extremely complex. lots of different dimensions.

it's clear that houthies are basically running the show. but what's going to stabilize the country and end the crisis? is it going to be violence? is it going to be diplomacy or a combination of both? >> why yemenis are known for not making decisions. they always like to think around the edges but this time they'll have to make a decision on how to move forward. i think that it would only be able to think about a placebo. they would say that let's come to a settlement about this situation. the president has to make concession to the houthies. you're looking at huge differences between the houthies. the houthis are saying when they took over the capital last september that they have to be recognized by the international community as the ones who would decide and shape the future of

yemen. something that president hadi rejects. >> thank you. the united states has not yet called the situation in yemen a coup al jazeera asked u.s. state department spokesperson why? >> there is a legal analysis that would be done in any circumstance regardless around the world president hadi is the president of yemen. we remain in touch with him. we've seen reports of cease-fire talks. we urge all parties to abide by the terms that's where we feel. is it easy? no. but that's the best path forward and that's the discussions we're having on the ground.

>> michael: we have reports of how events have unfolded. >> they may not officially have power, but it's clear who is in charge with yemen's capitol of sanaa. houthies stand guard where presidential guards stood just days ago. but they say they're only here to maintain order. >> we're here to provide security and stability and to protect freedom and services of all people. >> president hadi has not been seen in public since monday. >> the problem is you don't know who are the players and what's going on. especially that the decision is not made in yemen. it's made in tehran. it's made with al-qaeda leadership. >> in a television address on television thursday, they

explain the group actions. they accused them of working with al-qaida against the houthies and warned the international community not to inter fear. >> i would like to tell the security council that any measures that they're taking to subdue our country or to shut us up in order to pass the conspiracy will not benefit you at all. we're prepared to face any consequences. this is crucial to the security of our country and our nation. >> many have called the situation in yemen a coup against legitimacy, and they've encouraged them to remove their fighters from institutions. those who demonstrated against the houthis. burning posters of the houthi leader and saying what they are doing is a coup attempt.

they say they want a real partnership and to stay in the decision-making process. they warn to cooperate or else they'll take what they say are further measures. >> for more on this, we go to the former adviser of the yemeni yemeni. these are pretty damning allegations against the former yemeni president asleh. if true, what do you make of them? >> well, a lot of people have been speaking the man has been running the show and calling the shots as a backseat driver. if we go back to november when the united nations security council recognized that saleh should be among the names of the people who are going to face, you know, the results of those activities in relation to derailing or undermining the

whole political process in yemen, saleh is number one. from that time and a long time ago we knew that the man is a master of mischief and that he has been all the time claiming for the past two or three years that if he ever comes back back--stage as come back or to the whole world global powers and regional powers will transfer to him and he can drive the country down the sliding scale to anarchy. so there is nothing actually unusual about it, you know. and ali abdullah saleh has been undermining the whole thing from the start. he had no intentions of giving up power. not only himself but other men in the center of powers and corruption in yemen who have been taking billions of dollars for years. >> as you say the fact remains he remains still a very

influence figure. what impact do you any this will have on ongoing efforts now to try and stabilize the country. these latest revelations what impact are they going to have? >> let me first point out that the man has been able to form all of this mischief because some of the effects that allowed this man to stay in the country. i remember when before the presidential elections when he was in the united states, he wanted to come back to yemen and he was not allowed and they allowed him to come, and said at that time with many of the american friends and perhaps al jazeera and bbc and everywhere, they said if this man is allowed to come back, they'll create a lot of troubles. the fact--the whole idea of trains to transfer power while

you still lead the this was already a mixture of explosion. and the present president hadi has been quite weak because of the restructuring of the armed forces and the sector reform, which was intended to protect in the first six months never took place. so the president became weak, and these people continue to take up the political process in the country. >> given now that the houthies clearly have taken a huge amount of power militarily and politically within the capitol could, if ali abdullah saleh is with the houthies, could he stage a comeback? >> staging a comeback is quite difficult. the houthies are only controlling the north. the northern part of north

yemen. what is the southern part of north yemen and the whole of south yemen, which is nearly two-thirds of the area, of the country, is still out of his control. so we're heading towards you know, a sort of fragmentation of the country. this is what we've been warning against. today we noticed that the people in the south have closed the border areas previously, and we've called for that. we're now asking the international community and our regional players to be quite assured that this is not going to happen. no way would ali abdullah saleh and the houthies be the only soul controllers of a part of yemen. we've agreed on a federal solution. these people are against the federal resolution. we have agreed on a new state of law and order and a modern state. these are people who are against the modern state. we've agreed to fight

corruption, and they've been fighting against the president not to allow 400,000 of-- >> we have to leave it there. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. >> still to come here on the news hour, the united states and cuba hold their highest-ever talks in decades. we're live in havana. plus crowds in the streets of the congolese why the protesters are undeterred about a police crackdown. and in sport. rafael nadal more on the five straight in melbourne. >> dozens of people have been killed and many injured. nicole johnston is following developments in beirut in

lebanon. >> across syria there is mayhem. activists say more than 60 people were killed and dozens injured by government strike on a market in the northeast. meanwhile, people "a" dozen people were killed when government helicopters dropped barrel bombs filled with explosives nails and shrapnel on this rebel-controlled area. the bodies were collected for the people to identify. in syrian state tv it has shown what it says has is left of after a car bomb. it happened in a mainly alawite neighborhood.

the capitol has not been spared from the violence, either. up to 40 people have been injured after two apartment buildings partially collapsed. activists say it happened in northeast damascus in an area held by the rebels. people stumbled through the republic in the streets. the whole area was thick with dust and snow. a small child is carried away from the carnage. around 20 children were wounded. the injured were taken to field hospitals. winter and the children are huddled by the heating small bloodied and in some cases struggling to stay alive. it's hard to fathom that the war in syria could get any worse. >> kurdish forces in iraq say they've successfully cut off a major supply line for the

islamic state of iraq and lavant. the routethe u.s. assistant secretary ever state has arrived in cuba for talks between the two nations. the american official leading discussions. the first day of talks have been dominated by the issue of migration. we're live now. the migration discussions we understand have now wrapped up. do the cuban delegates get what they wanted from these talks? >> in one answer, absolutely not. with these migration talks have been going on for several years now. it's interesting that they're separate from the talks about regularizing diplomatic relations between the u.s. and cube. but these talks are still very important. there are two things that the

cubans wanted. they want the u.s. to drop two things. number one when they reach the united states when they step foot on u.s. soil, they're allowed to stay in the u.s. and the u.s. law says that cubans are immediately granted asylum to stay. cubans for many years now the cuban government says that they think this law is wrong and it forces cubein's to go on a very dangerous boat rides to reach the united states shores. this is something that was key in these talks and the u.s. delegation came out and said that they're going to keep these two laws in place for now which was a big blow to the cuban government who perhaps wanted it dropped immediately. we'll see how this affects the talks especially on thursday here in havana. that's when the talks really kick off on the whole political and economic side of things here. this is a big issue with the cuban government, and they did not get what they wanted so far. >> there is clearly a lot of leg

work to be done. away from the politics and diplomacy. what do cubans make of this. what do they want to see? >> well, there is really--we've spoken with various range of cubans over the last several days and they're really in two groups. you have those who are genuinely excited, and really looking forward to the changes that could come with this, with potentially a new business with the u.s. and with the flood of american tourists, earlier americans could not come here. they're looking to open up maybe small restaurant, hotels, seeing how they can get a slice of the action so to speak. there are another set of cubans who are watching from the sidelines. they say, i don't know how this is going to happen. i know things will change in cuba but we'll have to wait and see. they're not sure what benefits they'll be seeing from this, and

more importantly how fast they'll be seeing those as well. life goes on here in cuba. no doubt about it, but people are watching this very closely. and sort of--the cuban people know better than anybody that this is an island nation where change comes very slowly. >> thank you. now france has announced sweeping changes to bolster it's humanitarian efforts. it comes as four men were charged in connection with the attack of the kosher super bowl in paris. we have more now from nick spicer from the french capitol. >> soldiers on the streets. the french prime minister calls it a war. he announced half a billion dollars of spending hiring men and women mostly police and diligence officers for the battle. >> over the next three years there will be 600,000 new jobs

edit kateed dedicated to the fight. this is huge but indispensable to guarantee the security and protection of the french people. >> other measures include a national registry of suspects. the prime minister said that there are 3,000 in france right now. he also promised easier wiretapping from the intelligence services and deradicalization program targeting the prison population and young people. but experts on deradicalization say that more need to be done. more from the applications politicians, not the police. >> now we are obliged to think further and to think what could be the after not just reactive, and increasing the budget.

>> the first charges in the killings earlier this month were late on laid on this man. by the prime minister's own estimate it has increased since last year. >> al jazeera demands the release of its colleagues who have been held in prison in egypt for 389 days. mohamed fahmy, bader mohammed, and peter greste have denied the charges and the appeals court has granted a retrial.

>> police in zambia have fired tear gals against protesters rallying against the early presidential results. the demonstrateors refused to leave in the capitol. voting is still going on in some remote regions. >> stay with us here on the news hour. lots more to come. the rich, powerful, lucky gather at the swiss resort, will they find a solution to the world's widening wealth gap. and crossed in the storm of falling oil prices, venezuela is struggling to stay afloat. we'll report. and in sport africa cup of nations host equatorial guinea with a push to qualifications. we're live in bata after the break. stay with us.

>> saturday. >> visibility was 3 to 5 nautical miles. >> weathering the storm. >> we want to show people how to replace property against the worst mother nature has to offer. >> experts forecast how to stay safe. >> i'm standing in a tropical windstorm. >> in extreme weather. >> oh my god. >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is my selfie, what can you tell me about my future? >> can affect and surprise us. >> don't try this at home. >> "techknow" where technology meets humanity. saturday at 7:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

>> welcome back. al jazeera has obtained a leak television conversation which suggests that the toppled yemeni president has been working with houthi rebels. ali abdullah saleh is heard coordinating with the houthi rebels. the syrian government has reportedly launched several airstrikes across the county. activists say that 60 people were killed after a livestock market is hit. the town is under control of the islamic state in iraq and the levant fighters. at least 42 people have been killed in violent demonstrations in the democratic republic of congo. but the government disputes those figures. the protest was started by pool angry over the possible delay of next year's election.

>> crowds of angry people on the streets of kinshasa seem undeter undeterred by the police crackdown on the protest. they think there is an attempt by its president to extend his rule beyond the constitutional limits of two terms. down the road we met protesters. our camera man was hit by a rock. the crowds shout at the man who threw it. many are angry because they want journalists to hear their message. >> the modification says to the law says that there must be a consensus. the consensus would take three years. we don't want the president to be ruling after 2016.

>> he's doing it personally. he's not doing it for the interest of the country. >> chinese traders are thought of as scapegoats and are still targeted. others try to continue to make a living. >> people on this street told us that the owner of this car works for the judiciary. he tried to plead with people to tone it down, but they see him as a government worker and chased him away. >> we ask for position to lead leave him alone, to bring out the country the way he promised

us. >> concongo's economy has grown under his rule. but for many the change is not coming fast enough. here protesters are on the road. they want the national football coach to be in charge. many people have lost trust in all the politicians. malcolm webb al jazeera, kinsha asa in the democratic rebel of democratic republic of congo. >> there are warnings that there are tough times ahead for the global economy. let's go to adrian finnigan. the big movers and shakers have been talking today. what have they been saying? >> they have. day one drawing to a close.

let's give you a scale of the size of this event from our vantage point on top of the conference center. it literally takes over this alpine resort. thousands of people descend upon it and it goes into security lock down because of the nature of the high profile guests that come here. we have china's prime premiere here and turkey as prime minister. ukraine's president here also talking about his country. tony blair and even pop star ferel williams. they have talked about the quantitative easing, they'll hear more about that on thursday. and among all of the business leaders and applications here

and lobbyists there are also aid organizations. it's executive director says that the combined richest 1% will overtake the other 99 measures99% next year unless the rising trend is addressed. she's using her position as co-chair to push her message and call for action to close the wealth gap and tackle inequality. i spoke earlier today and i asked how her message of global cooperate responsibility is going down here. >> this is not corporate, it's more fundamental. it's about how business is done. business should not be about making profit simply. it's about solving problems of

society. so we're asking the business leaders here to see themselves as part of communities and finding solutions. part of government. we want to work together to make this world a better place for all. it's not about their profits. >> what reception are you getting? >> the reception i'm getting is overtime it's better and better. don't forget when we first started talking about inequality, we were seen as envious. but increasingly, they found in the mainstream, you have inter governmental organizations. politicians, president obama all things that bring equality is back. it's back morally and back for

society. now we want solutions. i'm here to talk about solutions. to ask the tough questions. eye quality is with the right choices. we can make a fairer and more prosperous world. i'm here to tell the leaders that there is a solution. let's work together on them. >> now let me read you from the list of participants for tomorrow. thursday at the world economic forum, and perhaps you'll understand why security is so tight here. egypt president will be here to make a widely anticipated speech. german's chancellor angela merkel, al gore, the former vice president, christine laogai. former u.n. secretary general kofi kofi an nan is peer. prince albert of monaco.

larry summers need i go on. we're expecting an announcement from the european central bank on measures to kick start the euro zone committee i mentioned quantitative easing. you'll hear a lot more about that on thursday right here on al jazeera. it's going to be a very interesting day. >> it will, indeed. adrian. thank you. now venezuela's president nicolás maduro is expected to make his address in a few hour's time. he's going to be talking about the struggling economy that has suffered from plummeting oil prices. he faces mounting pressure on the stage of the economy. he has a huge up-hill task, doesn't he? >> absolutely. it's very difficult to under state what is at stake in this

country right now. i'm speaking to you right around the corner from the national assembly where president maduro will make his much-anticipated address to the nation in just under three hours. he's expected to make major announcements. now hundreds of people are gathering here to answer the call the government's call to show support for the government as the president prepares to make this speech. most mainstream economists will tell thought the state this economy is in, it's in recession, in fact is due to the government's gross mismanagement, from the millions of dollars that have been pouring in from oil revenue that's been cut in half. whatever your take on this, there is no doubt there is a tremendous amount at stake here.

>> never ending queues. shortages of imports, and to top it off the nation's income cut by half because of the plummeting price of oil. vancouver is venezuela is struggleing to stay afloat. in caracas' stores are closed. it's in this context that venezuelans like roberto who distributes parts for cars, is waiting for the president's speech. >> he needs speak to us clearly. we need to know if we can access currency for imports. under the current rule it's impossible to work here. >> the president is just back

from a high stakes tour from china, cut qatar and saudi arabia. he failed to convince opec to raise the price per barrel of oil. >> if the president needs to bring oxygen were abroad, what happens when the tank runs out. we need to resolve the course of our problems rather than look for oxygen abroad and not knowing what it will cost us. in exchange for what? >> with his popularity dropping as fast as the price of oil the president is anxious to convince his countrymen that he can re re reevert revert an economic slide which he takes no part. >> their campaign is directed as doing away with me because they think it will stop the revolution.

>> the medicine to make these long lines go away is hard to swallow and comes with a high political price tag. the question is how how much of a price is the president willing to pay right now? it's a fine balancing act certainly. while venezuelans make it clear they cannot afford to wait for solutions. the people we've been talking to are staunch supporters of the government. telling me what they want to hear is that the president will get stuff. he'll take a harder stance against the enemies of the revolution particularly the private sector, who they accuse of hording food and other vital goods in this country that are in such scarcity. if go to another part of town they're planning to welcome the president's speech by banging on pots and pans, as they've been doing over the last few months.

what the president will say is something that the government is keeping very close to its chest. >> thank you. in caracas lucia, thank you. coming up we go to sport with robin in a moment. including the latest from the african cup of nations. >> i'm lee wellings at a scottish top division club taking an extraordinary step saying to their fans, pay whatever you can to come and watch football.

>> let's go to breaking news before we move on. the president of yemen has released a statement saying that the government has come to an agreement with houthi rebels to end the crisis in the capitol. the presidency said that houthies are committed to withdrawing their forces from all areas over looking the presidential palace. the houthies are committed to withdrawing the the areas overlooking the presidential palace and private homes. now nepal's constitution is due to complete on tuesday. the national assembly has been divided over a number of issues. and as we report, the disputes have spread out on the streets of the capitol katmandu. >> january 22nd, the deadline to draft nepal's institution. but there are warnings that the

constitution must address the demands. >> as an indigenous communities of this country we've always maintained that this country is ours but the state is not. we want our identity recognized in this new constitution. >> the first time the conflict debate over community identity has divided the assembly drafting the constitution. it ended in 2012 without completing the charter because of the same issue. >> the opposition say that consensus is the only way forward. but the ruling parties want to vote on them. as talks fail tensions are running high. >> this is what happened inside the assembly at midnight on monday. the next day the opposition

called a strike. when the opposition leaders went to address the supporters, this is what they encountered. >> why are they trying to reinstate the ruling state. >> they say they'll go ahead and vote. the constitution says that does not address the demands of recent years cannot bring stability. >> no other party wants the new constitution as much as the opposition parties do because the ruling parties are content with the old constitution. >> tempers are running high, and it is not clear what kind constitution they will have or when. >> al jazeera, katmandu. >> time now for sport. >> thank you very much.

we'll stop at the african cup of nation. we go equatorial guinea. they could not find the back of the net two draw foss equatorial guinea. burkina faso is at bottom. do you think two draws will create a chance for qualification? >> you have to remember three years ago when they co-host they did start off with two wins. but i don't think they'll be too disappointed about they're comfortbly the lowest-ranked side in the tournament, and when you bear in mind the preparation, not just the stadium and training facilities that have been brought up to standard at the last minute, but the coach has only been in the job for a matter of days. the team did not come through a qualifying campaign like all the other teams did and they're

openly admitting that they have not had the time to get into physical or tactical shape that he would like. this is a long-term job building towards the next world cup qualification. it keeps the tournament alive. as for burkina faso p they went to a pre-tournament training camp to try to regenerate is that good feeling around the team. so far it's not working. they're the only side in the tournament who have not scored a goal yet they'll need resulting to their way in the final rounds and it's about a chance of getting through to the finals. >> that could all change because the next step is congo and. >> i think they look really impressive in the first game.

the co-hosting in 2012 failed to qualify for the last couple of nations. but they had a really good qualification this time around and came around unbeaten. i think up front we have one of the potential stars the striker is lightening quick and fun to watch. i think they'll be favorites going into the game. congo not happy with the feeling around the quad. their coach has seen pretty much everything but he seems particularly unhappy complaining after the last game the 15 minute coach ride turned into a 60-minute coach ride because of lack of escort. >> is it fair to say that the problems at the africa cup of

nations 2015 aren't over? >> i think the confederation of african football will be really happy. they took a big risk to bring the tournament here. normally tournament hosts get four years notice to head the cup of nations. equatorial guinea given a few weeks. financially it's important that this took place. lucrative tv deals sponsorships could have fallen by the way side. so far everything has gone well. >> andy richardson live for us in bata. thank you for that update. >> the first top tier side to allow fans to pay what they can. attendance has been falling in scotland where they have introduced the pay what you can.

>> attendance has been worryingly low. to invite fans to pay whatever they can. >> the normal price tonight is £25. but tonight it pays £10 which is 40% of the price. >> brilliant. i never get to it on the weekends because i'm working. >> it's a good idea to try to get more in seats. >> it's fantastic. >> nobody is up, especially in the month of january. this is pure and simply to get folks through the door, capture them and make sure that they come back on a regular basis.

>> the club agreed it was worth trying. >> january is a long month financially from supporters. we have six games. other clubs have seven games. it's a big ask to follow that team home and away. >> it's peculiar in school land, some creative marketing was required. inviting fans to pay whatever they wish is a concept that is unusual for football. as it was in music when radio had the english band try it in in 2007 with their rainbows album. >> the attendance was over 3,000 and over 10% more than they usually expect for this fixture despite the freezing conditions.

iverness won the match but the success on the pitch is not a guarantee to keep fans coming. in this part of scotland they won't give up trying to get football to their fans. >> rafael nadal, the third side in melbourne was taken back by smyczek. nadal winning three sets to two 6-2, 3-6 6-7, 6-3 7-5 and he goes on to the next round. >> i was tired and when i was serving i almost throw up,

terrible feeling, i suffered too much. >> i tell you what, things were more straightforward for the second seed roger federer. he did lose the first set. he would come back to win the next three sets, and attempting to clinch a fifth title in melbourne. thanks for watching. >> we'll see you then, robin. thank you very much. now the south african government is now converting some public stools into high tech learning centers. books and pens are being traded for computer tablets and a wi-fi. we report from johannesburg. >> it's a big day for these students. for now on tablets willry place their school books. seven public schools are switching from paper to screens

thanks to a partnership between private and public sponsors. >> the teacher guides them through lessons and if she's out sick another teacher can be streamed into the classroom. they're excited about the investment in the future. >> education is key to success. when using a tablet its easier than writing and you can get to more work. it's important and it will help a lot of people in future to get jobs. >> that's important to the country where most schools graduates are unemployed. >> everybody will know that you come from here, and this is the school of the future. >> but the future is expensive. it will cost $1.5 billion for tablets and internet expectativety for connectivity.

>> most schools in south africa don't have libraries. some don't have flushing toilets, and many are under resourced and under staffed. >> a group called equal education led protest to adopt minute standards in schools. it's pleased with the digital plan but it has lots of questions. >> is this an approach that is cost effective sustainable and can be rolled out all across the country, and most importantly is it going to deliver on its promise and provide a better education for all? >> that may all defend on whether these students can improve the examine pass rate at their school, and how many of them go on to find jobs. al jazeera johannesburg. >> we have more news at the top of the hour. you can see all the news on our website at www.aljazeera.com. that's www.aljazeera.com. thanks for watching al jazeera.

>> yemen's shia rebels reach an agreement with the empty 'em embattled president a al jazeera has received leaked telephone conversations of ali abdullah saleh of coordinating military moves with the rebels. al jazeera live from london. also coming up. a senior u.s. delegation kicks off its highest meeting with cuba in 35 years. france brings in more weapons and intelligence