what can you tell me about my future? >> can affect and surprise us. >> don't try this at home. >> "techknow", where technology meets humanity. monday, 5:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. hello again. welcome to another newshour from al jazeera, at our headquarters in doha i'm adrian finegan. coming up, protests across yemen against a houthi coup. rebels fire in the air to disperse the crowds. ukraine's conflict on the agenda at a security summit in munich. in donetsk - people struggle for survival. also ahead...

..the battle for iraq's second-largest city. we meet the men battling to take back mosul. >> it had devastating consequences. but how do you predict sun storm. well there is a way. we tell you about it later. but we be given in yemen where people have been demonstrating against a coup carried out by the rebel houthi group. this was a scene in the southern city thousands on the streets. protests in the capital sanaa. houthi fighters arrested 17 people for taking part in demonstrations. they are outraged at houthi leaders for dissolving parliament and setting up a presidential council, taking control of the government. international condemnation has been swift. the u.n. security council raised

the possibility of new sanctions, saying it is ready to take further steps. gulf nations expressed concern. foreign ministers held talks with u.s. secretary of state john kerry, calling on the international community to take a stronger position. houthis tried to quell the government of aiden and in the south they described the power grab as a plot against the constitution. live now to aiden. how widespread have the protests been? >> pretty much across the entire south of the country. we are expect people in aiden to take to the streets. the opposition has not just come from calls for protest, but came from different statements made by different politicians.

be it people like governors of other cities in areas in yemen who rejected what has taken place, or the political parties, the revolutionary youth committee, the young peel at the forefront of the arab spring almost immediately after, rejecting what took place. a lot of opposition and this is something that was expected considering the minority were only able to take control of the country by force, and not popular demand. >> the country deeply divided. what is the danger. could the country split into two. >> well lots of danger with regards to more divisions. from a popular civil perspective

the country divided from a political point of view. in terms of geographically those in the south, a growing separatist movement calling for a different state, pushing for it and taking advantage of the turmoil. the houthis controlling the capital. others in yemen still under the houthi control, but want to remain within one united country discussed ways of having an autonomous government and rejecting directives coming. we are expecting the houthi leader the head of that movement to speak at some point on national television, national state tv is controlled as well. what they said is indicative. how cemented the houthis are in terms of - actually he's just

started to speak now. let's listen in to hear what he has to say. [ speaking foreign language ] >> translation:..however every cloud has a silver lining. this step may bring good guidance. [ speaking foreign language ] we are looking at the right speech at that moment - i'm not sure what is going on there. that was not the speech we were

expecting. we'll take you to that speech when the houthi leader makes it. we expect it at any moment. it could happen in the next hour 90 minutes. it's worth going back to jamal in aden just to tell us what can perhaps expect. you were in the middle of explaining how serious this is for yemen, the exact that it could divide an already divided country even further. >> indeed. despite the fact that was not the speech obviously the broadcasting - that message was significant. they were referencing the coup announcement and what was being said. sometimes there's a silver lining to every cloud and sometimes directives coming out of negative situations to see what is taking place to show

that there is something positive. the houthis realise because of the stakes being so high because of divisions are increasing that there is a need to show that possibly they are in positivity to come out. a lot of people will wait to find out what is said and whether he's going to reconcile, and the rejection from the international community, or whether he'll entrench himself in the movement in the past. >> we'll bring you the speech live as and when it gets under way. let's take a moment to explain just who the houthis are, and how this crime unfolded in yemen. the houthis are a shia minority part of the yazidi september. they took part in the 2011 revolution that overthrew the

president hadi but rejected a coalition government. in july protesters took to the streets angry over fuel subsidies. the houthis seized on public discontent and by september they have taken parts of the capital, including government buildings. in january they stormed the presidential palace, effectively placing the president under house arrest. well hussain is a yemeni activist and a houthi support are. he's on the line from sanaa. it's worth hearing what he has to say. perhaps you can help us understand the houthi mind-set. there's international take over the u.n. threatened sanctions. how is what the houthis have done will it solve yemen's problems and not tear the country apart. >> first of all we had international condemnation for

houthis for the last four months. it's not something new. the thing is the houthis were playing for the vacuum for any security risk or anything that will happen in the country, and at the end we couldn't reach agreement, and the government used the implementation refusing to take the houthi and the go. . so we had no joys only to take responsibility, and that's this constitutional investigation, and deciding that we will take responsibility. >> you talk about taking responsibility. the houthi leaders are making a lot of it seems from what we heard a few moments ago, positive noises about what they are done suggesting that it's an interim measure, that democracy will return to the country.

if that's the case why are houthis arresting people demonstrating against what they have done. will they tolerate democracy only to their design. >> i don't know about that. but the resolution committee said they will protect the people. and me and anyone else and all the natives will hold them accountable. now the government will perfect people, and everybody have to because all declaration in the dialogue about the partnership. this is what we have been looking for, and now with the declaration, i hope yemeni join us in this. and go ahead to save the

country. >> what about the people in the south. what about the former president sala ousted basically through public opposition and yet he is back on the side lines here. he's in cahoots with the houthis. >> why they still in yemen, why we active is because of the government because of they are the one that sign and the ones that gave him. they are responsible. they left. and we have to deal with it because we are the head with the public support. we cannot deal with the g b.c. because he the head of the g b.c. it's not our fault, the houthi fault. now we have the party, and for the people of the south, i hope because the international -

look i know some of the faction of the south they have in there, their national dialogues. in fact in the south there, the south has an issue with the national dialogue. it's giving the back to the people the right - giving them compensation about the suffering that they have in their job, because thousands were laid out. this is the main thing, international dialogue is legitimacy that we have that we agreed about, is to implement the national dialogue. and in this transition i am sure they insist about implementation of the national dialogue. >> all right. thank you, indeed for being with us. ukraine's president petro porashenko says that the new franco-german peace proposal presented on friday could work. petro porashenko made the comment at the munich security

conference focussing on the escalating conference. germany's chancellor angela merkel is there, playing a key role in pushing ahead with a peace plan to end the conflict. >> translation: russia needs to do its bit in the ukranian crisis. it can't be solved by military peens. it's why it's imported more than ever to define steps to fill the minsk agreement with life. after the talks in moscow which the french president and i held it's uncertain whether they'll be crowned a success. from my view and the view of the french president, it was worth our while to make this attempt. i think we owe it at least not to the people affected in ukraine, by the crisis. >> life to the security conference in munich. zeina khodr is there. is there a unified position in ukraine among the western

allies. >> the short answer to that is no. we heard after angela merkel made her statement, one off the other people ask her why don't you support the idea of floating around by the americans to provide the ukrainian government with some sort of military support in the form of maybe defensive weapons such as anti-terrorist missiles. and she said bluntly, i don't think by helping the ukranian military i don't see how that would deter president vladimir putin, or make him think that he is losing in eastern ukraine. she went on to say that the separatists in the east had a continue flow of weapons, and she thought adding more would insinuate the situation, and

would be like pouring oil on the fire. you don't see unified position there. you know there is what is said publicly that we all heard about. there's a flurry of diplomacy on the sideline. after her making the statement angela merkel met with the ukranian president petro porashenko and the u.s. vice president joe biden coming out of that meeting. i asked the ukranian president if there was any chance for peace, and he said yes, there is still a chance but did not elaborate further on that. >> where does russia stand on all of this zeina khodr. >> russia is saying the only way out of all of this is for the ukranian government to sit at the same table with the separatist in both donetsk and luhansk. they said they have to come up with a solution and after that he said russia would put its weight behind it.

he did say, sergey lavrov talked and he said he backed the idea of having all heavy weapons pulled out of a security buffer zone going from 50 to 70km. but said that this is something to be solved among ukrainians and as long as ukranian governments see its own people meaning the separatists in luhansk and donetsk as enemies, there'll be no solution to the crisis. different point of views in munich. there's another day of negotiations to be held on sunday. by the end of that we figure out whether the proposal put forward by the german chancellor and french president would hold or not. >> thank you zeina khodr in munich more still to come here on the newshour. let there be light - nigeria's president launches an ambitious privatize agency scheme to stop

the country's chronic power cuts a vote in delhi puts india's prime minister narendra modi to the test. we tell you why equatorial guinea return to action at the african cup of nation two days after major crowd violence. two days later, in the sport. nigeria's election commission will announce whether it will delay the forthcoming presidential vote. polls are due to open on february 14th. there are safety concerns for voters in the north-east of the country where boko haram has been carrying out attacks. more from our correspondent in lagos. the election date was always controversial. is it going to go ahead or not?

>> well that is what the independent national electoral commission of nigeria is discussing. all day they have been involved in meetings with various features that are contexting the elections, and have held - i mean admitting with other people who are concerned, and right now we we have the chairman of the commission arriving. what they are discussing is whether to postpone elections for an appeared of six weeks, which has been requested by the government. there are two reasons mainly gip for the postponement. one is just 6 million of 68 million voter cards have been distributed to the owners and they say it will affect the outcome of the elections. other major reasons, is that many states in this country are

effected by the boko haram and attacks carried out by the group, particularly the reege jonls of borno and parts of gombe, where they affected villages and now is affecting states and people are saying that those who are asking for postponement are saying that if elections are held right now, they may not be representative of the will of the people and that there is a reason for the postponement of the elections. >> thank you. that report from lagos. one of the biggest issues facing the incoming nigerian president is the chronic power outages. billions of dollars have been spent trig to fix the problem. most of the 160 million don't have access to electricity. we have this report.

>> reporter: this man is doing something millions of others are doing in their homes and businesses every day. starting a generate to provide electricity. he needs a steady supply of power for his business. he has to spend about $25 a day on generate fuel money he says he could use to expand his business. >> they are supposed to provide electricity for us. we put them into that position. they are worried what is to be down. now, we protest for this electricity. >> to get an idea of how serious the problem is nigerians get around 4,500 megawatts a day. they need about 80,000. it's generated, transmitted and distributed - it is part of the government red tape and

corruption plus facilities that have not been upgraded or improved in 30 years. governments spent more than 40 billion trying to provide electricity. has than half the population has access. president jonathan goodluck introduced a privatisation programme to try to improve things. the happy is governments will do a better job. one of the problems that we have nigerians being more patient. people expect is to be like the other parts of the community. they see within a short time. part of it is something that normally takes two, three, four years. transmitting it remains under government chrome which some say is a problem. they need investment to build

more power plants like this one, to meet demand. victor says nigerians have been patient enough. >> they can give 60% of the lighting provided. it's about two weeks, a good two weeks. and that cannot last more than three hours. >> reporter: when he gets home from work there's no work. he can't afford to run a generator at home too dozens of people have been killed in two suicide bombings in iraq's capital hours before a curfew is due to be lifted. one attacker targeted a restaurant in a shia neighbourhood. 23 were killed in that explosion. dozens were injured. 13 killed in a separate attack in the commercial area in the

center of the city. the white house says it can't confirm if a female american hostage as killed in a jordanian air strikes. she was said to have been buried under rubble. the 26-year-old aid worker was captured in 2013 while working with doctors without borders in iraq hundreds of sunni muslim fighters from mosul are preparing an assault to take back their city from i.s.i.l. the town is strategic because of proximity to town. as zeina khodr reports, there's concern over who will control the area once i.s.i.l. is forced out. >> they hide their faces because families live under the rule of islamic state of iraq and levant.

these men are trained a few kilometres outside the city they want to recapture. they call themselves the sons of mosul. some have never been in battle. christians yazidi kurds, arab sunnis have come together to fight an enemy destroying the history and lives of people. mosul is a microcosm of iraq all the communities live there. people inside are waiting for them to liberate them. and we are going to fight. >> this general served in saddam hussein's army. many iraqi sunnis like him found themselves without a job or place in the new iraq. commanders and fighters are bitter about the way they were fallen after sudan. they were exploited by i.s.i.l. the men say the armed group doesn't represent them neither does the shia militias who are

leading the fight against i.s.i.l. the fight to push out i.s.i.l. from the city of mosul may be a while away. it's not just the question of being ready militarily. the battle for the second-largest city will require a political decision. >> these men may represent many communities. iraq's shia are not among them. there is little reckon sill yags. sunnis want the authorities to speed up plans to create the guard. the u.s.-backed plan involves establishing a force in each province. >> commanders want the national guard to be created. sons of the city know who are good or terrorists. they won't treat everyone badly like the way the army treated us. we were all terrorists or suspects. >> reporter: commanders say the national guard is important in areas where the shia army may not be trusted. defeating i.s.i.l. in a highly

symbolic city of i.s.i.l. may be the beginning of the end. military process without unity could be the start of another conflict in iraq. >> reporter: al jazeera journalist baher mohamed and mohamed fadel fahmy have spent 406 days behind bars in egypt. they along with our cole eke peter greste were accused of reporting false news and supporting the outlawed muslim brotherhood. charms which they and al jazeera deny. peter is back home in australia after being released this week. baher mohamed and mohamed fadel fahmy are still in prison. al jazeera demands their immediate release. >> let's get a weather forecast. the golden state is not looking quite so golden in fact it's looking pretty dusty. here meteorologist richard. >> we think about this part of the world with dust storms but we don't get the strength of wind that they get in the states.

looking at the situation here in the west. we have had weather systems moving in from the west. pacific north-west is badly hit, and here is the result of a dust storm. you get an indication of how quickly the visibility disappears. this is outside reno in nevada and winds gust to 200 kph. up in washington state. we had heavy rain over the last 24-48 hours. flooding issues and also elevating the risk of mudslides, a state that experienced mudslides in recent times. if you look at the forecast heavy rain pushes to the pacific north-west. snow on the rockies. we can't discount the area of snow showing across north-eastern areas and across the canadian prayers of the next 24 hours. that will continue to push in, heavy rain along the coast and a

wet one in seattle. let's move into south america, where we have seen heavy rain associated not quite with this system behind me but an area of cloud across parts of peru. here we have seen flooding across the northern parts of the country much much of the peruvian amazon basin has seen severe flooding. looks heavier on the forecast but the chance of flooding rain across south-east of brazil. >> stay with us here on the newshour. still to come - ditching smoggy cities for a life in the country, why more in china are embracing the rural life. >> i'm in the canadian city of hamilton. it is illegal, but you can't stop young people from enjoying a great winter's day new zealand's rugby 7s took

a step closer to the olympics thanks to that schoolboy.

. >> hello again, the newshour from al jazeera the top stories, thousands have been demonstrating across yemen, against the houthi coup. rebels arrested 17 people in sanaa for taking part in protests. the houthis took control after dissolving parliament and

setting up a presidential pardon angela merkel is unsure if peace talks in eastern ukraine will succeed. lee merklinger is attending a security summit. focussing on the violence between ukranian troops and pro-russian separatists. >> nigeria's election commission will announce whether it will delay the forthcoming vote. polls are due to open. there has been safety concerns in the north-east of the country where boko haram was carrying out attacks. >> polls are closed in india after millions of people voted on who they want to govern. it's a test since the ruling b.j.p. party won last year's elections. this report from new delhi. >> they have been arriving since morning, under tight security. hundreds of polling satisfactions across the indian capital have been open for the region's roughly 13 million

voters deciding between the b.j.p. or common man party. voters say they want a government taking care of basic needs. >> translation: we vote that the roads will be fixed and we g ration cards and clean water. none are completed. >> translation: the roads are in bad shape. there are water and electricity problems. these are the things we want the government to fix. >> reporter: for the b.j.p. winning the election is symbolic but important. this is where india has a seat of government and this is a test of momentum of the b.j.p.'s national election victory. the party says it's not a referendum but an opportunity to develop as a territory. >> the action is delivered through the states. since we have a prime minister focused, bringing it back on track, being able to do

everything. >> the b.j.p. brought in a nationally recognised police officer as a lead candidate with a reputation for being tough on crime. the b.j.p. is hoping to have the common touch to counter the party. which is struggling to get votes since it won a minority government in the last election but left office before 49 days. >> this again, region awaits and provides hope that the party had first generated in the country that looks this idea of clean politics an idea that politics will no more remain the stronghold of only those who are privileged. both accused the other of vote buying and violating the election code of conduct. none of that will affect who will form the next government. >> the dark horse is as to who

led the last government. it won enough seats and could play key maker after the elections. >> a member of kenya's parliament has been shot dead. george and his driver and two body guards were killed in nairobi. masked gunmen reportedly approached his car and opened fire. he entered parliament two years ago. >> transasia airways cancelled dozens of flights after one of its planes crashed killing 139. they are retraining staff. they believe one of the pilots may have mistakenly shut down an engine. domestic flights will by affected. search teams are trying to recover bodies from the river close to taipei where the plane went down north korea's state media released images of kim jong un

watching the test firing of missiles. it was described as an anti-ship rocket to protect the waters. it didn't specify where or when the images were taken. they were released in the lead up to joint u.s. south korean military exercises due to take place in the next few months. scientists in the u.s. prepare to launch a satellite that they hope will give them advanced warning of solar storms. electromagnetic radiation from the sun will cause damage to power grids and communication systems here on aerth, as dominic kane explains. >> reporter: a combination of gas, mass and energy erupts from the surface of the sun. while it may look spectacular, it can cause damage here on earth. the electromagnetic systems disrupts mobile areas and power

grids. grids. scientists long wanted to develop a system. now they thing they have. the observatory will be launched on sunday. sent around 1.6 million kilometres to the sun. >> if we get the warning time that will be given to us it provides environmental intelligence to decision makers like the satellite operators, who can use the moments to take precautionary action to limit the damage that a solar storm might create. a best-known example was the collapse of the power network in canada in 1989. that solar storm left 6 million in the gark for in my opinion hours. >> these events from the sun were huge in scope. any burst would affect the

hemisphere if it faces the sun. across the borders, across everything these are big events and a global collaboration to protect the society from the potential effects. >> large storms rarely hit our planet. put now scientists hope deploy and discover mean they'll be forewarmed and forearmed. >> dominic kane al jazeera. >> let's get more on this. joining us from london is physicist and astronomer. good to have you an al jazeera, it's a natural phenomena, happens all the time. it's part of what the sun does. just explain to us what a solar storm is. >> they happen when the sun goes though high activity and they follow a cycle of more or less 11 years, and that period is when we get the maximum of energy from the sun, in the way of radiation.

as we heard, and also fast particles like protons and electrons, almost 1,000 kilometres per second. this is a potential danger that we have when we receive the particles from the sun. >> solar storms have the potential to knock out the grids. mobile phones in orbit above the planet. what do we do. sending up a satellite. how does that work? >> well the way it works is it's relatively such and today we have the technology to do these things. there is a point in space between the sun and the earth where the gravity of the sun and earth meet and there's a point number one, there are five others. the number one is where the satellite is in already, and this discover satellite will go

there. 1.5 million kilometres from the earth to the son, a tenth of the distance. giving us a warning side. it will bep travelled by these particles from that place, where they ask, the signal will take a few seconds, but the particles take half an hour to an hour to come. and that's a warning time that we have to mitigate the effect of those particles and the electromagnetic radiation. by shipping it down in a controlled way, or shooting down the satellite, like g.p.s. communication. and then wait until the tomorrow comes and switch it on. if the storm hits they may be destroyed forever. >> is this a one-time warning, the satellite is frazzled and the fact that it's not working means that we know a solar storm is coming. is it more complicated. how does a satellite that warns

us survive the blast of the solar particles? >> it's interesting. it they are are away and will defect the radiation. we have to take into consideration that which is dined to do that. they are not protected in this way. it's a different kind of technology. the satellite is stronger. for example, the scholar observatory is in the aim place. >> then this satellite is detecting all the radiation from the sworn and has been bombarded and you see the images of the satellite produced by the area that we call our own. all is completely filled with

static with snow. >> will this help our unging of the sun, increasing our knowledge. >> yes, absolutely. the relationship between the sun and earth is important. we'll see how it believes. that will happen in the next few years, and how it affects the earth, our weather, system atmosphere depends on the solar activity, and will observe the earth, which is another important mission, looking at the sun, the earth and the effect of radiation on our own planet. very important. >> i always learn something when you come on. i love the time. thank you for being with us. >> thank you very much. >> next on the newshour - it's been a year since the russian city of sochi hosted the winter olympics. we tell you why that city is being left out in the cold.

winter in canada can be long cold and difficult - hello canada if you are watching. many cope by tobogganing, which is popular. self cities in canada say that it's too dangerous, and they have banned the pastime. daniel lack reports from hamilton near toronto. >> it's as canadian as well winter itself. all you need is a toboggan and a

snow covered hill and you are off, it's probably the most popular pastime. it's a family affair. >> spending time with the kids. having a good time. going fast. you guys ready? yes. one, o two, three. here in hamilton sliding down a hill like this is illegal. several years ago the city lost a lawsuit brought by a man who broke his back. it is an attempt to prevent that happening again. >> we have close to 500 parks in the city of hamilton some of which prevent an optimum environment. ie they have hills. some are more dangerous than others. it's basically on uncontrollable consideration. >> there's a growing backlash led by the local musician who wrote the protest song you can't

toboggan in the hamilton any more. >> you are not supposed to run and play. >> on social media and stage, she said it's about more than restricting fun. >> it's a bigger issue than that. it's something as a culture that we have to stand for. we chos to lied downhill. tobogganing is risky. two have died already. head injuries are a problem. imagine the skull. the brain sits in. the neurosurgeon says helmets should be mandatory. every man is precious. if you have a parent and you have kids. as a parent. you do everything you can to keep four kids safe.

>> dangerous and illegal. a cold day like this there's one thing you can do a 9km toboggan run in davos. didn't occur to me to wear a helmet though i would if i was skiing. >> daniel lack. takingize life into his own hands. starting at the african cup of nations. kick-off is third-placed between equatorial guinea and the democratic republic of congo. this despite the violence that occurred during the semifinal lost. 36 were injured. targetting garner supporters and officials. they have since been fined 100,000. we can go live to the reporter.

what security is in place for the match that will be taking place. >> i spoke to officials a few moments ago, and he said there was going to be increased security. there was more riot police and checks as you entered the stadium. there'll be more checkpoints to physically be checking fans that they are not allowed to come into the stadium with bottles, there'll be water bottles on sale inside. it's been reduced to a minimum to reduce the risk of bottles on to the pitch. >> you were at the news catholic church. what did they have to say about the event in the last couple of days? >> of course it comes after what was an extraordinary day on friday. they gave equatorial guinea the

biggest surprise and they had 100,000 fine. incredible scenes of a boom. crowd violence. they were given 100,000 fine. many expected the third-placed play off against the democratic republic of congo would be played behind closed doors to fans wouldn't be allowed. they'd allow the fans in the spirit of brotherhood. f.i.f.a. president said blatt rer, the president spoke about the scenes that we saw on thursday and they were in agreement that the press dramatised the events. it was a problem worsened by the western press and when something bad happens, it's an area and it's corruption.

it's irrelevant that it's a semi time and a football match. the western media perpetuates. that's the feeling on what is happening here. 66 ghana fans were injured and the fine the other sanction included they needed to pay the medical bills. we don't want to see the bill again. the final played in a little over 24 hours. does it feel like the close came over the tournament a little bit. >> yes. these - the scenes that we saw, the violent scenes they have taken the shine off what would have been a sensational tournament. it's worth remembering that equatorial had two months to prepare it. those would think it's a big

moment. yes, to answer your question it has taken the gloss of what should have been a good tournament and final. >> robin adams there live for us. >> chelsea will be looking to extend the lead at the top of the english premier league they are away to aston villa. it's half-time between tottenham, hosting arsenal. late everton host liverpool, in what will be the final merseyside derby for the red's captain steven gerrard. >> the top four teams in the rugby sevens will qualify for next year's rio olympics where the sport makes its debut. new zealand moves to second after victory on home soil on saturday. beating italy. two tries from 17-year-old schoolboy ricco, ensured a 21-7 victory.

south africa retaining top spot in the world standings. >> i hockey great gordie howe made an appearance attending a celebrity sports dinner showing an improvement. he holds the n.h.l. record for most games and season played. he won the stanley cup four times with the detroit red wings. >> it's been a year since the russian city of sochi hosted the winter olympics at an estimated 51 billion. it was the most expensive games hell. as peter sharp reports. they overspent, and russia saw the olympics leave a costly legacy. >> reporter: a dazzling opening ceremony at the ush yn windower olympics vladimir putin splashing out there 50 billion, making these the most expensive games. that was a year ago. the olympic torch has been extinguished and today what is

left of sochi is tired and empty. for sale signs on homes no one wants, apartments built for athletes and guest expected to be snapped up by the private sector after the games. they lie empty. >> translation: all of this was for the olympics and no infrastructure for people was well. if you buy an apartment you need shops, supermarkets and restaurants. but you will not find it here. >> it's the same with the olympic theme park deserted when we were there. it had fans for refurbishment, but the money tried up as sanctions came in. it's up in the mountains 707km from sochi where the winter sports took place. the games changing the town forever. >> translation: this was a small village. now it looks like a city. it changed dramatically. >> not all for the best. the government spend $12 billion

carving a railway through the mountains, it was the single most expensive item on the shopping list. >> at the end of the olympics russian railways hiked ticket prices again and again to try to recoup costs, putting the price of tickets beyond the means of most local people. and faced with empty trains the company cancelled virtually the entire service. it was an olympic legacy that the people here have not quite been expecting. and the influx of tourists on the slopes never happened as relations between russia and the west soured. hotelelier says in the current political climate, for get looking to markets in the west. sochi's future lies in attracting tourists from the east. >> we have the middle east and turkey big mark. and then you have the asian market. which is growing, growing in

outbound tour u. they are markets which socchi might be very very attractive for. >> and there are attractions. vladimir putin's $50 billion price fag for the games included a few extras. russia has its first formula 1 circuit. and a 78 contract to host the motorsport event. thanks to the olympics sochi has a new airport. it needs flights from places like beijing, tokyo and hong kong, from the east to bring new life and market to a struggling destination. well there's more sport on the website. for the latest check out aljazeera.com/sport. that's it for now. >> thank you. now, the population of china is expected to reach more than 290 million by the year 2050, according to the u.n. many people live in cities rather than rural areas because

of job opportunities there. some are migrating back to the country. in the first part of a 3-part series on depopulation adrian brown travelled to a village in china to meet two people leading the trend. >> so much of modern china looks like this. busy cities often in distinguishable interest one another, and choking on their own success. no wonder some people have had enough of urban life. the village is more than 1,000 years old, and the focus of a movement drawing people back to the countryside. >> the society is the base of the chinese life. if you want to understand this country. you go to the countryside. >> he is an artist that left a few years ago. since then he's been trying to revive the life of this village.

>> over there, i open a cafe. >> in addition he's paying for the construction of an art gallery. for the first time in years labourers are finding work here. >> i hope the local village will be satisfied with the income. and everybody can make more money. >> the hope is that tourists will come. if they do they'll start to make money on his investments. last year he established the villages first book store. before that it was a barn where cows slept. in 1978, china began to open its door to the outside world. 80% of the country's population lived in villages like this one. in the decades of economic development that followed tens of millions of people moved to the cities where job opportunities were better. in the only shop owners are

encouraged by the transformation taking place. of course i hope young people can come back. more people means more customers, making my life easier. this person is part of a reverse migration, a fashion editor driven by a desire to connect with rural life. >> when i told my friends i was coming their first response was how are you going make a living. i try not to think about that. >> china's president encouraged artists and others to live in the countryside. an echo of the mootsy tongue era. which meanings for now, the back to the land movement appears to have the support that matters and there's more on de depopulationde depopulation and southern tunisia. i'll be back to update you on

the top stories but that's it from the newshour. past? and create a better future? an al jazeera america special report race in america all next week part of our special black history month coverage on al jazeera america

>> protests across yemen against the houthi coup. >> this is al jazeera live from doha. i'm adrian finnigan. also on the program. ukraine's agenda back on the program. in donetsk people struggle for rifle survival. and taking control back from isil. it's been a year since the