meets humanity. tonight, 5:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> stepping up the fight against boko haram. nigeria says it will destroy all the group's camps. coming up, talks to try and resolve the political crisis in yemen get under way. outside of a football stadium in egypt 14 people were killed in a stampede. >> i'm in the state of maine where more people die every year than are born. but maine is working on answers to its population-loss challenge.

we begin with news out of nigeria, the national security adviser has told nigeria that it would destroy boko haram camps in six weeks. we go out to abuja. this is a dramatic claim. what more is he saying? >> well, officials are being very careful with their wording. they keep using the words try. they know it's going to be a difficult task and they know it's going to be harder to convince apology near i i nigerians that they can do it. they're hoping that people who have been displaced by the fighting in boko haram will feel comfortable enough to move back and vote. they're being very careful as well. they say even if they don't achieve what they plan to do in the next six weeks they hope that the condition on the ground

will be conducive and people can go back to vote when when the election takes place in march. >> they'll say look, hang on a minute you've been fighting boko haram for five years. you haven't beaten the group. how are you going to do it in six weeks? >> that's right. the nigerian government does not have a good track record in defeating boko haram. they have been saying that in a year we'll defeat them. in a couple of months we'll defeat them. the biggest blunder is when they said that they had reached a peace fire and that the kidnapped girls would be returned back to their families. but that didn't happen. people are skeptical about what the government can do and say they'll watch to see if it happens. >> thank you. well the leader of boko haram vowed that his fighters would

crush them. groups of neighboring countries have gained ground in the last few days, following the incursion in cameroon where they set fire to homes and killed dozens of people. it happened at fototol, a town right on the border. they say the fighters came from a town close by. gombar u.s. a five-minute walk away connected by a bridge. cameroon and chad have recentry taken on boko haram. we have reports on the fight for control of strategic town of gamboru. >> this is the town of gamboru a town on the board ever cameroon. it is now under the control of chadian troops. they patrol around the town in case boko haram fighters decided to come back j we've combed the whole area. nobody is here now.

probably some of their your ready hiding in some houses, likely remote abandoned houses. >> for nine months boko haram controlled gamboru big parts remain deserted. many of the people were forced to leave for neighboring chad and cameroon. others escaped to safer parts of northern nigeria. for the chadian troops everyone left is a suspect. these men are suspected of belonging to boko haram. they're finally released but only after convincing the forces that they're not affiliated with the group. the battle for gamboru has not been an he is one for the chadian army. it lost 17 of its soldiers during fighting of boko haram. yet, residents say they didn't mind boko haram's rule of their town. >> we would go and come from our farms without any problems. they just asked us to teach our

children the qur'an. when we told them that we pray and we have the qur'an, they left us alone. >> they've put together a force of 8,700 soldiers to fight boko haram. boko haram has caused the delay of elections by six weeks. this is part of an original effort against a radical group. any town orvilleage taken by its fighters will bring the reality of holding elections a little closer. al jazeera nigeria. >> the armed group al-shabab has shot dead a somali member of parliament in mogadishu. he was killed near the presidential palace when gunmen open fired on his car. he's the latest politician to be killed in the countriment. well the attack came amid tight security as lawmakers gather on whether to approve a new cabinet. they voted in favor of the new prime minister's lineup of 40

ministers. 22 voted against. the streets of cairo are decorated with the russian flags and the russian president. the president will arrive and meet with president el-sisi to discuss issues in the middle east. the visit comes as egypt launches an investigation into a stampede outside of a football stadium that left 40 people dead. funerals have been held for some of the victims. some of those kills were fans. >> football fans try to come to the stadium in cairo. they've come to watch the football match some without tickets. the police try to control the crowds with barricades. when that didn't work they fired tear gas.

suddenly they closed the gate and told us to get out through another gate. the police were in front and behind the gate. they fired tear gas. this caused panic and people fell on top of each other. we started to leave quickly. there were old people in the crowd, and they were crushed by other fans. those who would leave were confronted by police. >> people fell down and were trampled. it was called a massacre by the police. the officials say that the police officers were overwhelmed. in this statement, an increasing number of fans without tickets gathered outside of the stadium. the numbers exceeded 10,000. they pushed to storm the gates of the stadium and climbed walls in attempt to enter resulting in the jury of dozens. relations between security forces and football fans have been tense since the 2011 revolution. football supporters were part of the mass protests. the media director of the

egyptian football association accuses the muslim brotherhood of being involved. >> this is an incident that has happened on purpose. they meant to insult the police and take the country back to square one. the root of the problem is that they are the branches of the brotherhood. >> as accusations fly the relatives and friends of those who were killed are now in mourning. >> people are dying every day. it's like we came here for a wedding. instead we're here for a funeral. >> egypt is no stranger to football violence in 2012, 74 people died following a match in port said. fans stormed the pitch and 21 people were sentenced to death for their part in the violence. the egyptian football federation had lifted it's ban on people standing football matches for this game. but now the egyptian government has postponed matches in the premiere league indefinitely.

al jazeera. >> in yemen political rivals are meeting for the first time since houthi rebels took power in a coup. the party has backed out after three members were arrested by outies. but talks are continuing. many regions in the east and south of yemen including aden have rejected the houthi declaration. tribes are threatening to stop oil production. meanwhile, in the capitol of sanaa, the prime minister and five other ministers are still under house arrest after 20 days. we have more. >> the u.n. mediation appears to have fallen flat on its face. they had tried to instill optimism on the political seen. they've spoken to all political parties and they had agreed to sit around the table and discuss

things on monday. but after meeting the almost immediately the socialist party they said they were withdrawing from the talks. what we understand is that they were actually the leader who threatened by death by spokesperson or one of the members of the houthi movement. there are also reports that they had demanded that three other members detained or backed by the houthies be released, they're imposed by the fact that the group said that no one would be allowed to participate in protest or demonstration without approval. the main islamist party here, they say that while they haven't withdrawn from the political negotiations that they won't continue participating in them unless the u.n. special envoy comes out publicly, very clearly, and says that these discussions are discussions that

are continuation from the political discussions that replace prior to the coup. he comes out and says he does not recognize the coup, he does not recognize the houthis power grab. obviously the united nations secretary general ban ki-moon has said things long those lines, but this has brought distrust among many in yemen. >> greece's prime minister lays out his plans to end austerity measures and revive the economy. more on that. stay with us.

>> "inside story", now at a new time. >> join me as we bring you an in-depth look at the most important issues of the day, breaking it down, getting you the facts. it's the only place you'll find the inside story. >> now at its new time. weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america.

>> welcome back. a quick reminder of the top stories. al jazeera's national security adviser has told al jazeera that they would dismantle boko haram camps within six weeks. the vote scheduled for this month was delayed because of security concerns. houthi rebels took part in a coup the u.n. brokered talks are continuing. former president hadi, the prime minister and five other ministers are still under house arrest. >> in a stampede at a football stadium in cairo where 40 people

were killed. average suicide-bomber targeted a busy square and another bomb went off in a plain street. both attacks happened in pro dominantly shia neighborhoods. well the iraq roy army iraqi army will launch an offense against isil. the operation is to begin in the coming weeks. general john allen said that the american forces are training iraqi forces at four main sites with the help of allies. they say danish are are training. and finally german, italian dutch, and belgium trainers are stationed in erbil. we have the details. >> iraqi officials have been eager to start this major

offensive, particularly in the isil stronghold of mosul. but the coalition primarily the united states, has not been quite so keen. they've made the point general allen included. that the before grouped ground troops overtake isil, they need more training including police force, hue man humanitarian assistance. there are a lot of areas in the north and west that are still held by the group. the u.s. is training soldiers as well as special forces and other security forces in four main bases around iraq. they're not out there on the grouped, and they don't have the authority to do that. but there are other coalition partners that are believed to have special forces outthere

with the iraqis. now iraq says it needs yet more support, more airstrikes, more hardware but these comments by general allen are an indication that they seem to be getting on board on the same page that there is a major sense by the iraqis backed by the coalition that could begin in the next few weeks. >> now the european union has agreed to delay imposing sanctions in russia. it is awaiting the outcome of wednesday's talks in the belarus capitol of minsk. the sanctions would target 19 people including ukrainian separatists and russian individuals. they face visa bans and will have their assets frozen. we're live from brussels. now simon the e.u. agreed to those knew sanctions. why are they delaying implementation? >> well, this new list of 19

individuals and nine entities, companies, was actually agreed formerly last week, and it was due to be rubber stamped if you like monday in brussels by this gathering of foreign ministers. between the list being confirmed and today, of course, we've had the pledge ling european peace proposal shepherded by angela merkel and françois hollande showing some signs of getting off the ground. one official told me it was necessary that the european foreign minister felt to give the peace talks a chance to allow some space for events in minsk on wednesday to unfold before imposing these sanctions on the new group of people. assuming these talks don't take off and gain real traction the names will be published and the moment they're published those people will be attacked or

targeted by the travel bans and the asset freezes and so far have been put on 132 pro-russian ukrainians. >> you talk about those talks in minsk. what happens if they fail? >> well, very good question. i mean, we don't really know. other than we have a meeting of european union leaders here on thursday. now, if the talks don't get off the ground, if they don't succeed in reestablishing the minsk agreements opening the way of a cease-fire in some kind of process of de-escalating the situation, i think people in angela merkel, françois hollande and other leaders will be under pressure here to increase the severity of the sanctions on the russians. there is, of course, this notion that the europeans and the americans are no longer acting in the same way.

we've seen these breezing calls for arms to be sent to the ukrainians the european resisting that. if this process falls apart on wednesday, i think there will be some voices here, particularly among the eastern european members of the european union to at least impose much tougher sanctions on the russians, and i think there will be for the first time here a serious discussion about whether or not the european union should participate in arming the ukrainians. >> the german chancellor has met with barack obama to discuss the situation in ukraine and raising the possibility of fighting pro-russian separatists. officials have said that sending weapons to kiev will only escalate the crisis. allen the americans and germans have very different ideas of the possibilities of arming ukrainian forces.

>> this meeting between the u.s. president and the german chancellor is still ongoing in the white house behind me. the americans are coming under increasing pressure, president obama is by a number of people, to perhaps consider arming the ukrainians, john mccain said, look blankets don't do very much when the russians are attacking with tanks. but they would like to give the talks in minsk to succeed. remember angela merkel is a flute russian speaker, and they may be able to understand what vladimir putin is saying more than if it's just being translated for her. she's going to be saying to barack obama please hold off. let's see if minsk developments into something and by all means i think the european union would consider arming the ukrainians. but at the moment she clearly wants to see if minsk can

develop and is asking program barack obama the time and space. barack obama will probably do that knowing that sanctions could be coming. but he wants to see if these talks will go anywhere. >> allen, thank you. greece's new prime minister says he's sticking with plans to roll back the austerity program. he wants to raise minimum wage and rehire private sector workers. >> elected on an anti-austerity program, one that will place him at odds with the rest of the eurozone. in his first address to parliament to prime minister, they would stay true to that policy. >> the greek people gave a strong and clear mandate to end austerity immediately. these catastrophic austerity. the bailout was first canceled by it's very own failure and

it's destructive results. >> this means that the bail out fourrageres is effectively over because staprisipras says it is over. >> if our partners wants our best they will join us at the table to find a way to make it viable. >> the purpose of those talks would be to review how and when greece will pay back its debt of over $350 billion. austerity will never allow greece to pay back the debt because it's destroying economic growth. the party believes it has a better formula for restoring growth paying the debt and dealing with humanitarian crisis. 1million people remain the poverty line.

but to be viable during the negotiation, the greek government needs permission to raise $11 billion from the markets. it will have a chance to present its positions to all its creditors at ones at wednesday's euro group meeting. >> i think its time to hear from the greek government to hear about its moving forward. i don't expect conclusions. it will take time. they are complex matters, it will take time. but we'll have our first round of constructive debates. >> the new greek government insists on maintaining a balanced budget but rejects austerity taxes and insists on a higher minimum wage, meaning that the debates with group leaders are bound to be different. al jazeera athens. >> egypt has announced a retrial on thursday for al jazeera journalists mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed who have spent 408

days in jail. they're charged with aiding the muslim brotherhood which they and al jazeera deny. prosecutors say that canada should have pushed hard for his release. there are a list of problems with the initial judgment including the case failed to prove that mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed had any links to the muslim brotherhood. it failed to prove that an act of terror occurred, and the case did not clarify what illegal equipment that mohammed fahmy is accused of carrying. workers in nine states are striking up talks with the shell oil company broke down. they're negotiating a national

contracts for workers for other countries. the united steal workers one of the workers on the bit line. >> the main thing we want people to understand is that this is not about financial--this is not a financial strike. this is about safety and going home to our wives and our children. which live in the communities that these refineryies were built in. some of our biggest concerns are the fatigue standards where people have worked long hours and a lot of days in a row. we had agreement for fatigue policy but it's being--not followed or implemented properly. when i first started out in this industry 35 years ago i went to a four-year apprenticeship school where we see people coming out to work that we don't feel are qualified or safe. but there are no checks or balances that we can find that information out. so we're hoping that the industry will listen to what

we're saying and give people an opportunity to learn these jobs, and for us to help teach and do these jobs. >> now dealing with the impact of population growth is a challenge across the globe. but what about population decline? in the last part of our series on depopulation the town of portland, maine, is trying to bring in young people to boost it's flagging economy. >> reporter: for 80 years this paper mill gave the people of the maine a steady leaving and an identity. but it shut down forever throwing 500 people out of work. >> it was a place to apply for a job. now there is no mill. >> you think of it, you think the paper mill, and now we have to find something else to be

about. >> more deaths than births, and a shrinking workforce due in large part to the oldest median age in the u.s. >> the truth is not that we drove the young people away, it's that we didn't make enough of them. >> but in places like the city of bangor the problem is being attacked by promoting the ingredients to make it a population magnate. >> we have great housing stock. you can buy a house here for $125,000. that's a great feel. things like that combined with strong job opportunities that make bangor a place that young professionals are looking at for the first type. >> maine falls short in prime factors. hispanics births are higher than other groups and immigrants from overseas. hundreds of refugeeys and other immigrants have settled from

africa asia, and eastern europe. this man arrived 25 years ago. >> despite our cold and our winter people really love maine. they love this because it's small. people are very welcoming of refugees and immigrants here. it's very safe place. >> it's a safe place to raise the children. >> safety is one of the reasons that iraqi refugee fasal said he's happy to call portland home. the former interpreter own as grocery store that draws customers from around the city. >> i can leave my family alone. no crimes. i heard of crimes around the united states, but maine we don't have. >> if maine can capitalize on its assets it stands a good chance of reversing its reputation from a point of departure to a desired

destination. tom ackerman, al jazeera maine. >> a quick reminder you can keep up-to-date with all the news on our website. there it is on your screen. all the latest on the campaign against boko haram. that's at www.aljazeera.com. that's www.aljazeera.com. in india, a woman's fate can take a cruel twist when her husband dies. >> they would beat me, both my daughter in law and my son would beat me.