til next name waj and i will see on you line. ♪ ♪ this is "al jazeera america" live from new york city. i am richelle carey. here are today's top stories. separatists in the eastern ukraine launch a nigh awe salt killing dozens of civilians. shock and dismay as isil has executed yet another hostage. emissaries pay their respects to the new king in sud e arabia t president obama's arrival and visit in india. ♪

we begin tonight in eastern ukraine where rocket attacks in mariupol have killed at least 27 people. the stratidge for the strat -- battle for the strategist port city has begun. mariupol has seen little fighting overall but as separatists capture the city it will be an asset giving them access to water. charles stratford reports. >> sierprens ring out with a warning of more attacks. this video shows residential apartments. their windows blown out. across the road from another building in flames a woman's body lies amidst the rubble. the body of a man close by. ukrainian soldiers patrol the street. >> there is a lot of damage to residential buildings and to the market. they hit the moment when people were buying groceries. you can see the bodies lying over there. >> the ukrainian military says pro-russian rebels launched

attacks on mariupol. the port is of strategic significance to both sides on this conflict. it is major city between russia and russian annexed crime e a. ukrainian secretary of the national security defense counsel alex ander toshinov said the acts were committed by president russian military. he said slad michigan punishment was responsible. putin blames it on what they say are those who issue criminal orders. the attacks come days after the ukrainian military withdrew from donetsk airport after more than 8 months of fighting. the separatists took control of this ukrainian military post around 30 kilometers outside donetsk on thursday. and they have continued to launch attacks from northern areas of the city. there had been a warning. >> these attacks should perhaps come as no surprise. rebel leader here in donetsk saying that he had had enough at efforts of calling and putting into place some sort of troops and threatening what he

described as a multi-pronged attack out of donetsk that would take in that area including mariupol city. we now hear from local and international journalists attending a ceremony in commemoration for people killed in a bus attack earlier this week that rebel leader said the battle for mariupol has begun. charles stratford,aj, dondon. >> yemen and houthi rebels control the cap policy but it is unclear if they control the country. today, in sanaa thousands protested against what they call a houthi coup while others marched in support of the new government. carolyn malone has more. >> reporter: chanting against the rebel group that controls the yemenoeni capitol, thousands much people the largest group yet made it clear they are against the houthi did who's armed men moved in n september. >> we are protesting now to overthrow the armed malitias and keep them out of the capitol, sanaa. >> these protesters don't want

president sohadi to resign. he said on thursday the country was in a political deadlock and he couldn't stay in. it's been four years since protests force did the former president out of. the people think he still has some power and is involved with a houthi movement. >> young protesters took to the streets today to restore the revolution of february 11th that was hijacked by the houthis and former president sala. >> the 2011 uprising began in the southern city of taze. on saturday 5,000 people protested there against the houthis. but there are many others who support the rebel group. on friday thousands of them marched in support of the houthis and their plans for transition to a new leadership. but as people pushed the political agenda in yemen, many others are suffering the consequences of torn in four years of unrest. the aid group oxfam warned half the country's 60 million people need humanitarian aid. tone million people don't have

enough food and 850,000 children are malnourished. millions of others have no access to clean water. >> it's over whelming the instability in the country. you the situation will get worse and that we may, therefore, have a situation on our hands. the international media tends to be focused on the security of the political situations in the opportunity country and 16 million people that are currently in need of humanitarian assistance go somewhat unnoticed. >> while humanitarian problems grow politicians still have to work out who is in charge. members of parliament are due to meet on sunday to consider the president's resignation. they need to approve it before it takes effect. caroline malone al jazeera. now to nigeria where attacks by boka haram have become a major issue in next month's approximatelypresidential election. goodluck jonathan took his

campaign to the northeast this morning, the heart of the insurgency. he vowed to end the insurrection if re-elected. he arrived a day after boka haram killed 15 villagers nearby. secretary of state john kerry is scheduled to stop in nigh year tomorrow. he has scheduled meetings with jonathan and his challenge owner. an online video claims a murder of a hostage held by isil. isil demanded a $200 ransom for the release of two zap 19 captives. the deadline passed thursday. the video posted online including an audio recording claiming the death of one of the japanese hostages along with a photo that allegedly shows the murdered hostage. japan's prime minister condemned isil and is calling for the immediate release of the remaining hostage aja japanese journalist. >> i have no words to express the pain the families are going through. these sorts of terrorist acts of violence are outgeous and

unforgivable. i feel deep res he wantment and resolutely condemn these acts. >> the audio released today reportedly has the remaining hostage, the japanese journalist saying isil would free him in exchange for the release of an al-qaeda-linked female suicide bomber held in jordan. he said it's ill has dropped its demand for a randsom. the u.s. led coalition must do more if isil is to be defeated. that is themental from kurdish leaders who say they can't do it by themselves. they say they need more boots on the ground around mosul and around iraq. at the front line with the kurds' fight against isil. >> reporter: they have been winning battles but the war against the islamic state in the levanfe is far from over. air support provided by the u.s. led coalition has helped them. but commanders say they are not enough. they say the slow pace of the offensive allows isil to regain momentum. the chancellor of the kurdistan

regional security council oversees the military operations on the ground. he told me that the international community needs to engage more. this, he said would require ground troops because it will take time for iraqi forces to be ready to defeat isil. >> to wait until the train something completed, until the forces especially in iraq come into a position where they can drive isis out, it will take a longer time. i believe there has to be a way of bringing more forces to the ground and not only depend on the airstrikes. >> so you are calling for foreign troops? >> i wouldn't be calling that. >> depends upon how quickly the international community wants to get rid of isis. >> the coalition has military advisors on the ground. it has ruled out sending combat forces at least for now. but the iraqi golf has made clear it would not welcomephon forces and that is not the only

disagreement it has with the kurdish regional government. some of iraq's arabs see the kurdish advances on the ground as part of a plan to carve out more territory for their autonomous region. barzani, the president of the kurdish controlled north denies this but he says the future iraqi state will have to be different. >> i hope et structure based upon federalism and perhaps a more loose kind of unity, maybe confederation would be best. >> the peshmerga are fighting a costly battle against a better-equipped opponent. they have criticized the decision to the exclude them from this week's coalition meeting in london. at that gathering, the iraqi government asked for more military support. the peshmerga want the same thing. but the difference is: they are ready to accept foreign solids on the ground. zhana hodr al jazeera, northern iraq. >> the ongoing struggle against

isil is part of our deeper look. we will examine the current state with the special emphasised on those displaced by the violence. president obama will be heading to saudi arabia on tuesday to pay his respects tonight royal family following death of king abdullah. francois hollande it dig nature taries came in person to express condolences. gerald tan has more. >> reporter: the dignititaries came to pay their respects, to a leader who died and the half brother who took his place. in keeping with tradition, there was no formal swearing in ceremony, but king salman during the funeral, king abdullah that regional heads of state from qatar, ba rain queue ate and others were able to meet the man who leads one of the gulf's richest and most influential nations. shortly after sending the -- ascending the throne the new

king said he would maintain the same policies as his predecessors. >> we are going approach with the -- could not with the approach of father who built the state and followed by his son. we are going to implement the qaran into our legislation. >> one of his first steps was to set the chain of succession for years to come. his half brother, prouns principle mukram has been affirmed. but he also appointed his nephew as deputy crown prince second in line to the thrown. prince mohammed biniah is the first ground sewn of saudi arabia's founder to be named as future heir. he is a powerful figure behind saudi policies. >> he was interior minister and is an expert on counter terrorism. i think that's a signal that the kingdom under king salman is

going to be very focused on internal security and regional security. >> and the region in transition king salman's reign against against the backdrop of a war in syria, the advance of isil and turmoil in yemen, all issues of concern to saudi arabia long seen as a pillar of stability in the abrab world. gerald tan, al jazeera. >> earlier today, i spoke with romney cory the director of the institute in beirut. he told me it is no surprise the transition to the new king was orderly. >> they have been doing this for many years, really since the kingdom started in the 1930s. and the succession always takes place in a pretty orderly manner because they have been working on this for some years. >> what would you say the legacy of king abdullah is? >> really he has a very mixed

lex lexacy, i think. you are hearing very clearly soft -- clear but soft praise for the soft reforms that he did. he did initiate some reforms in a few areas that nudged saudi arabia a little bit more in to the modern and he was a ruler during a time of quite significant internal repress on freedom of expression and citizen rights. so, there was a big problem there and people are speaking about it now much more openly, including saudi's speaking out on social media. so, i think his legacy has been one in which he was daring and activist and innovative at the regional level but not so -- not so daring at home. and at the regional level, there is a problem in many people's eyes also because the saudis have been trying by any means, with money, military aid w

diplomatic pressure. they have been trying by any means to stop the progress of the arab uprising. so there is really a mixed legacy for king abdullah. >> let's talk about the new king and how he thinks on some key issues. is he in line with his brother, or is it going to be a shift, a pivot? >> you know there is not a lot of difference among personalities and the royal family once the person is appointed to a senior position. they are appointed to that position whether it's king crown prince interior minister foreign minister or whatever it may be. they are there because they basically agree with the consensus. i don't think you are going to see any serious public debate about any foreign policy issue. you might see some changes in the months or years ahead. the problem that salman has is that most of the foreign policy

initiatives that king abdullah initiated have not been that successful in the different countries around the region where the saudis and the airanians have a kind of proxy war going on. lebanon, iraq and palestine at one point and yemen recently and almost all of these places the saudi side hasn't done very well and the iranian side has done much better. there is going to be some rethinking clearly within the saudi royal family about how to pursue foreign policy in the region. >> the new king is 79. this really wasn't a transition to the next generaltiongeneration. how are they looking ahead to that? >> the same way they always do: by being very cautious very consultative within the royal family and, most of all, they look at the constraints internally in the country. this is a really challenging moment for this saudi leadership

and the expectation is that they are going to have to bring in some more younger, more cosmopoltan saudis who have been educated at home in the arab world and abroad to help manage policy and decision making and the process of negotiating relationships, which is something the saudis are not used to doing. they are used to basically dictating to people because of their moral force as "the guardian"s of the islamic holy places or they are used to buying people off, or they are used today helping in proxy wars helping their side to try to defeat the other side. but that's not going to work anymore. >> ramney kory. security is the expected to be high when president obama arrives in new arrives in new

delhi. >> we understand around 1600 american security fors including members of the cia as well as the navy seals and the secret service will be on the ground. on the indian side we are expecting around 90,000 members of the para military forces as well as delhi police to be deployed in delhi. this is central delhi, where president obama, the first lady and indiana's prime minister

modi are going to watch monday's republic day parade. there is seven layers of security cover that we expect to see around this particular area. authorities are telling us that snippers will also be placed in high-rise buildings surrounding the area but they say the cctv cameras, more of them in fact have been installed along this road and them be closely monitored by both u.s. and indian security officials elaborate plans. >> police arrested four span i were citizenship on the north africa coast who they suspect of plotting an attack. officials arrested the men in suta and, an autonomous city of spain. police released video that shows officers locating the suspects. officials say they found ammunition where the suspects were found. two are brothers and officers

say they have a similar profile to the dis respect who carried out the recent attacks in paris. investigation is still ongoing. coming up the republican race for the white house lets up in iowa as presidential hopefuls flock to the midwest to make their case for 2016. plus, we head to haiti as political instaishltty causes u.n. officials to step in. you are watching "al jazeera america." it could have been them >> fault lines ferguson: race and justice in the u.s. one hour special only on al jazeera america

in iowa potential g.o.p. candidates lined up to speak. steve king hosted the freedom summit in des moines. a number of presidential hope fumz appeared trying to build credibility with conservatives.

they took turns pitch what they want to see happen in american politics. >> sincists elected governor we have cut taxes in wisconsin. we reduced spenceding. we took the power away from the big government special interests and we put it firmly in the hands of the hard working taxpayers. >> that's what we need more of in this great country. >> i think whoever wins in 2016, i am pretty sure it's going to be a republican: i think they should make it their goal to seal that border within a year. to of come into? >> we need to be the party that goes out and says that we are for fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets. all of those things are right, but they are not enough. we need to be pro-growth but we also need to be pro-worker. we need to be in the side of the

american worker. >> no one has formally announced to run for president from either party. the first high-level talks in havana between cuba and the u.s. in almost 40 years are over. assistant secretary of state roberta jakeson says she is optimistic as she leaves the island. the two day talks were part of president obama's effort to reestablish diplomatic ties that washington served in 1961. jake onson says the he goal is a free and democratic cuba but it's hard to say right now how things will actually work out. haiti has sworn in a provisional election council hours before the arrival of members from the u.n. execute council. it's a key step toward avoiding a constitutional crisis but as james baze reports, the country is still locked inmentalpolitical you crisis. >> as the security council landed in haiti, several thousand people marched through the streets. turmoil is not over.

a new leak toral council may have been sworn in but an election for new parliament is still months away. these people say they won't be happy until the country's leader michelle martili is forced from power. he met the security council. he appears to have is that you are support. >> support the president in the i was to find a solution to the political stalemate. >> what daughter say to those protesting in large numbers on the streets, mr. president, ambassador? >> i say in a democracy, people are allowed to express themselves. so this is the effect of the democracy. i believe that there were many more people in the streets because of the dialogue there is less people. >> this is a challenge oning time. the parliament is not sitting. the government is experiencing a political senate and until the

government all of the government is seen to be representing all of the haitian people that is likely to believe fuel for unrest. >> because of security concerns the u.n. security council, while here in haiti, is being extremely heavily protected. they probably won't get a chance to mingle with ordinary haitians and won't hear strong views like this about the president. >> translator: the president has created 45 electoral and organized but he can't organize one single election. >> comments like this about the u.n. >> the u.n. doesn't mean anything to us. in fact, they have not brought peace in haiti. >> the security council have two days of further meters here they are likely to learn this country's crisis is far from over. james bayes, port aprince

>> two man >> two marines died on friday in a training exercise in southern california. the accident took place after the aircraft left a marine combat center in the desert city of 29 palms 125 miles east of los angeles. the cause of this crash is under investigation. efforts to raise a fuselage of air flight 8501 failed sought. salvage cruise were you about to lift it almost to the surface, but it sank again when the lifting balloons deflated. the airliner crashed on december 28th with 162 people on board. so far 69 introidz been recovered. the effort to stop the ebola outbreak seems to be working in one west african country. linebiera's assist a hoemth minister says his country has frooichling cases. more than you 3600 people have died of ebola in liberia since the outbreak began last year. a british

ward. scomplafrnling. welcome back to "al jazeera america." 27 are dead after rocket attacks hit the port city of mariupol. the ukrainian president,port the reds ig nation of the hadi in sanaa. thousands marched to deny what

they call a houthi coup and others marched for support. takeover of the capitol. world leaders gathered in saabudi arabia. president obama will travel to riyadh to make a condolence call and to meet the new king. president obama right now is on his way to india for a 3-day state visit. it's his second trip there. the president is looking to strengthen ties with new delhi. >> as barack obama leaves for indiana, his first attending a foreign country's national day. the first time india has asked a u.s. president to be a guest as they celebrate republican day, as the president and prime minister modi watch the u.s. parade by the u.s. hopes it will include more work for u.s. defense contractors. >> there seems to be a momentum in the relationship that had not been there in the last several

years. a momentum to really not only on a strategic -- from a strappedege ilk standpoint but an economic and commercial standpoint. >> the obama administration has long put the focus on indiana. his very first state dinner held in honor of modi's predecessor but the promise of increased trade hasn't really panned out. the obama administration is hoping modi can change that. one priority: changing indian laws that would make it easier for american companies to build nuclear power plants. >> would also help with the other u.s. priority for this trip: getting indiana to commit to steps for climate change. the u.s. is downplaying talks of a major bargain. >> indian is too far and far behind china in development to commit to such targets. >> the obama administration is aware that this trip could be interpreted as much more than just a three-day visit.

they insist he isn't picking sued between india and pakistan because president obama had never been to pakistan and in another first, he is the first u.s. president to visit india twice while in. patty colhane, al jazeera, washington. >> joining us now is the new bob gupta, as senior program officer for the asian society policy institute in new york city. thank you for joining united states. let's pick up on the way patty end that had story, the first u.s. president to visit india twice. why? he is also the first to be at the republic day parade. it's symbolic. in 2010, when president obama visited india for the first time and the president said this relationship is one of the most defining relationships for the 21st century. what's happened since then is that the relationship in reality hasn't lived up to the lofty

rhetoric of the president in 2010 and since modi has come into office in india, both leaders have decided they really need to with some urgency get this relationship on the right track, turn the page after a few setbacks in the past four years and get this relationship to go to the to the next level. >> they are saying now is the time and there have been reports that the relationship has been described as one that has chemistry. what exactly does that mean? >> well, you know diplomatic visits are full of very very coordinated, everything is kind of written down. ? >> yes. >> on paper. what you saw when prime minister modi was in washington, d.c. in december there were a few moments of kind of great diplomatic poetry where at one point, prime minister modi was supposed to go to the mlk junior memorial and president obama wasn't going to be joining him and can at the last minute decided to do so and walked around the memorial kind of on their own. and it's been reported that this trip, the fact that it's happening so quickly isn't that visit in december was kind of not the specific date but the trip, itself happening so quickly was kind of developed by

the two leaders in that personal kind of one on one walk they were having. >> okay. >> a great moment that this is the chemistry is helping the move forward. >> a great place to start as opposed to how frosty things are with schindmirror putin. >> injury initiatives, u.s. investtment in military manufacturing deals, those types of deals, realistically, what is a realistic goal for this particular trip? >> well, you know both bureaucracies have gotten the signal from their leaders that they want this relationship to month move forward and over the last two months, there have been several negotiations between the two sides on the nuclear liability issue, which is one of the sticking points between the two countries. there has been a lot of negotiation to get the two countries to work on doefrnlt of defense equipment. there has been discussions around renewing a defense framework agreement that was actually signed in 2005 and set

to expire this year. that's one of the biggest priorities for this weekend, for this trip trip is that to get things moving forward, i am not sure if there will be too many big announcements. but i think on one or two of these issues if we are able to get an announcement it would be a good sign. >> what has modi brought to the table? he is relatively new. but what have you been able to tell us so far? >> so what -- the reason modi really excites indians is because of his story. he has a lot of political power at the moment. husband approval rating was a poll in december his approval is close to 70%. he has a lot of political power. >> he is in the honeymoon period. >> exactly. he has the ability to make make some things happen which other leaders in the past have not been able to. and the idea that he is embracing the u.s. so quickly and so -- in such a public way is a sign that he feels that he has a political power do so. the reason that the u.s. is really interested in modi -- and it was a lot of excitement here -- is that his campaign was about getting india's economy

going again b economic reform. no way, u.s. companies, the u.s. government, see that there is a potential for real change to happen. there is a trade relationship with india. >> okay. very important three-day trip. thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. it has been more than a year since thousands of people were displaced by communal violence in arangar in the northern indian state. government funds helped most people resettle but some fear that won't be enough to get through the harsh winter. >> it's not much but this is the only place that risa and her children call home now. they left their individual after communal violence in 2013, struggling through another harsh winter she is reminded of everything they lack, heat water, and

gave her. >> their neighbors bought land but because of their circumstances, their family has had to choose between buying food and putting a permanent roof over their heads. >> what was once farmland has, over the past year been transformed into a settlement by survivors of the violence. but with no santations running water, or electricity, community leader abdul jabar says the government must intervene if things are to get better.

>> the government is our master. at a time can do anything for its children. we are its children. so, it should pay attention and decide what should be done for everyone. it's the government's duty. >> it's a duty the government says it has fulfilled. every eligible family received compensation of up to $8,000. >> knows who were to be compensated have been. if they expect the compensation will be unlimited, that's another question. >> risa is looking for a helping hand. it's been a cold winter in india with temperatures drop to go less than 5 degrees at night. she can only hope that a change of season will bring with it better times. al jazeera loi at perdesh. >> greek voters head to the polls tomorrow. the party leading in the polls is threatening to stop paying the country's debt. there is talk of aband oning the european union's euro. thely comes as grease's economy

shunks by more than a quarter in recent years. barn bephillips from athens. >> reporter: it's a tour by foot. these people haven't come to see ancient ruins. instead, modern derilect buildings. unemployed and worried he will soon lose husband apartment. >> how maniless are not only in paper box. i am homeless also because i owe giovanni mary rents to my house, you know. so, i live with a fear that every day may be they knock on the door and say, okay. go out. >> some parts of central athens look very sad these days. but the decay and the decline which you see around me doesn't tell the whole story of the greek economy during the crisis.

because at the same time in recent years, many young entrepreneurs have been busy setting up new businesses and for them, the crisis has actually been an opportunity. >> these women launched a luxury line of beach towels in 2012 at the height of the crisis. it hasn't been easy to borrow money, but at least rents are cheap, and they hope customers from these lean years will stick with them when better times return. >> the young generation and, of course, ourselves, have to be optimistic. we have to be optimistic because we are entrepreneurs and we need to focus on our idea give it energy, and help it grow. >> outside the finance ministry another group of women fighting to make a living but there is much less optimism. these office cleaners were laid off in 2013. they have been protesting ever

since. they say it's getting worse despite what the official statistics say. by a depressed industrial area we find communists campaigning for votes. not many greekdz are convinced by them but take a look at the empty factories nearby. they explain why greece is going in to these elections desperate for change. barn bephillips al jazeera, athens. >> amid the country's economic woes some greeks are by passing currency putting a new twist on an old tradition: bartering with a little help from the internet. sue turtan reports. >> reporter: astofil isn't goes out on the streets to ask for left over food. this former merchant wants to help those who have fallen on hard times so he visits the cafes and restaurants and bakeries for anything they haven't sold and would throw out. the owner of this cafe is kindly giving up his time.

ed in today's boxes are rice pasta and plenty of chips. >> versilis is a small army of volunteers trying to make life a little easier for those who have lost everything in greece's economic troubles. this soup kitchen hands out a take away immediately twice a day. it's not in the greek nature to take charity. more often than not, the local community tries to help its own. but here, they have developed a new system to pay for goods and services if you are jobless or you have run out of euros. if you need a teacher or an electrician or somebody to put new tires on your car, they brought in the 10, a bartering system done across the internet. rather than a straight exchange of getting a dentist apartment for your car being serviced they get credit on their internet account that can be spent on anything offered on the 10 network. it's been going for 5 years and has a thousand members including doctors, seamstresses and air

conditioning engineers. >> before the crisis not anyone to be with them or anything else. if we go back to the years, 50, 100 years back, people want to change oil, work with oil. the money in this situation. >> the people behind tim don't10 don't thank it will replace the euro. savings can be substantial and the tax man has yet to work out how to take his cut. >> the tax man's reactions for that. okay. they are not going to like it, but we don't ex change anything in euros. right in when we are in our bazaar in our own city like our own city we are just exchanging, nay way, our services say. >> that's what it is because i will give you the jam, but i will just need a plumber, somebody for the air

conditioning. just exchanging. >> people here know, even if life doesn't improve under a new government they have schemes in place to help the most needy. where whether greece remains in the euro zone or not, here, they have an alternative greek currency. al jazeera. auto mayber kia motors has announce add recall that afrnths nearly 87,000 model sedans. the company says the cooling fan could overheat and increase the risk of fire. the recall is to begin february 241th. coming up on "al jazeera america," we head to park city utah for three days of "the sun"dance film festival. we will take you inside the new push for movie makers to go digital.

sghafrnlings now at this particular moment he is allowing them to. >> the streets of this old west town are full of film makers and producers hoping their independent movies will be hits. inyes, siring -- increasingly, it's not top billing.

online demand and television networks are competing with the traditional theatrical film release. last year was the worst for ticket sales in north america in 20 years. >> i think it's only going one direction. i think that when you have a generation of consumers being conditioned to get things when they want how they want that the industry is going to have to figure out a way to make that work. >> i felt that something was not right. >> a dark comedy called "transparent" by the online retailer am zone won this year's golden globes award, the first time it went to a show that never air odd a traditional t.v. channel. amazon has signed tomp-tear woody allen to write and direct the next series. >> there is no long their stigma that television is a lesser product than film. you have had, you know, a lot of a-list actors as well as film makers being willing to and even

having sort of a certain. cache. >> sony's film "the interview" is said to have led north korea to hack the company's computer system with disastrous results but the studio may have stumbled onto a new distribution model by releasing the"the interview" online. the film took in $15 million in online sales and rentals in its first weekend. video on demand is a life line for independent films. the vast majority of people who wind up seeing the 123 pictures at sun dance this year will watch online. >> that's good for film makers and film aficianados. >> with independent movies unless you live in a major market a lot of times you don't get the opportunity to go see them. you know if you don't have a local art house theatre. so certainly, that's a great avenue for these more moderately, you know budgeted movies and these smaller movies to sort of have this

alternative,alternative release option. >> for consumers, it's not just a matter of wider choice and more convenience. it's a question of costs. >> rob mcbride reporting there. while we are on the subject, the long list -- a long lost pardon me -- rare silent film starring harry houdini is said to reappear. it's called "the grim game" first released in 1919. it was lost for decades. the film stars houdini framed for murder. it was at the classic film festival until march. celebrating scotland's national poet robert burns, the event comes with the country dealing with the after effects of last year's referendum to split from england. lawrence lee has more. >> reporter: a sell bralth of scott land most famous poet and his homage to a immediately made from a sheep's stomach.

scottish national party, burns' supper, they are more interested in public opinion within scotland. it is more positive than ever before. >> i think it's just a natural progress. the 19th century was the era of the great nation state. the 20th century saw a lot of them in the 21st century. the family of nations. >> the burns supper is in dundee one of only two scottish cities which voted for independence in last september's referendum. their argument lost. scotland remains within the union. bur for how much longer when the nationalists are now so popular? since they lost the refer endsum last september, support for the scottish nationalists has risen and risen and risen again. if the polls say they are at the moment they will win almost

every single parliamentary seat in scott lapped in national elections in may. >> would make them the third biggest political party in the whole of the u.k. and give them the most extraordinary leverage over the passage in westminster which fought tooth and nail to deny them their dream of an went into scott land. all of those people who voted for independence did so on the assumption that scotland's wealth would be built on oil, trading at more than $100 a barrel. just four months on, and the price is halves. >> there is no way we can pay for public services and all of these things in scotland based upon that instability. you can't run a country just on that one commodity and i think voters will realize and do realize that that economic credibility has just gone. it's shot to pieces. >> opponents are wrong. our case for independence was never predicated on the price of oil. >> that's a bonus for the scottish economy. >> the value of oil to scotland became the central economic

issue during the referendum. how striking then that the halving of its value hasn't affected off here at all, which seals increasingly certain in scotland ability to stand up for its itself. lawrence lee, al jazeera, donedee. >> did he have did he donedee did he have d you in did he in the. al res wore into the wet season you are watching "al jazeera america."

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the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. '. brazil is facing its worst drought since the 1930s. it's affecting industry farming and the lives of tens of thousands of people. the government has been criticized for not responding fast enough water is under series temperatures. >> we are experiencing the worst water crisis in the history of the southwest since the recording of the water levels began.

the redsservoir provides water to the north. rationing hasn't been introduced even though parts of the country have only vital reserves left. >> the volume available in the reservoir is the death volume a strategic reserve. it won't be enough to get to the end of the year. so, it's absolutely urgent that the measures be taken right now. they can't be postponed. >> in sao paolo people are being charged if they use a lot of water or given discounts if they use less. industries and agriculture are being limited in the amount of water they get from rivers. >> if we don't see receive the water truck and we don't have water, the factory has to stop. meepz only work a cold system only if we have cold water. there was a water shortage for my workplace and today, there was no electricity. >> the drought means hydro electric power plants have barely enough water to operate.

brazil is having to import. some didn't react fast enough because they didn't want to alarm people ahead of a local election. the brazilian government insists there is enough water left in other reservoirs to avoid rationing for another six months. rob mathson, al jazeera. residents of tehran people came outside to enjoy the weather saturday. no snow along with only three quarters it also makes the air applyings much worse. >> that's a lot of snow. let's check out with rebecca. >> we were talking about snow around new york city and northward, inland. this is an interesting storm. it was so warm when the snow came in it piled up fast. it weigh the a lot.

it got slushy pretty quick in most places. at a time showers now. west virginia and moving farther to the north and east. chilly a run in prospect park with brooklip. the folks were running through the slush the totals have fairly high in some places farther north. range from 4 to eight inches and as we look at central park two and a half inches of snowfall here hazards, still we have problems with winter weather. a freezing rain advisories popping up as you can see. going to be tracking in to pennsylvania as well. sot still stormy. here is where the storm is right now.

you can see snow hitting maine very hard. probably six to 12 inches in some of those outlying spots remain closer to the coast and along the coast in massachusetts, we have a combination of snow changing a to a snow/ice mix and over into rain on the water then add in the wind. it's blustery for them tonight, in to the day tomorrow we have another round of snow moving in most of the heavy snow copy this to mind. to the west, we have some records highs already today, we have broken high temperatures from seattle down to parts of northern california very warm for this time of year but we are looking at more cold air as we get into sunday into the northeast. looks like that next round moves into the east coast. >> thanks rebecca. keep us posted. finally, weavers from a northern indian city are hoping to

impress the u.s. first lady, michelle obama with their handiwork. they have been crafting a special sari for five months with silver and gold thread and a 15 foot longcot cotton department. they are hoping it will get them some business. keep it here. >> joint military exercises between united states and south korea are regular is occurrences. this one, codenamed max thunder - took place in november at the kunsan air force base 150 miles south of seoul... >> this type of exercise takes place every year but for the north korean government they consider this a provocation and a th