we'll have more of "america tonight" hope for a new piece in yemen. the u.n. claims rival factions have agreed on a transitional council to rule the country after the coup earlier this month. ♪ ♪ you are watching al jazerra live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up, a major offensive for mosul. the u.s. sets a time frame for iraqi and peshmerga force to his recapture the city from isil. tense bail out talks on the card after germany rejects a call by greece for more time to sort its finances.

♪ ♪ >> and trying to make a difference in war-torn iraq with music for the people. ♪ ♪ we begin in yemen where the u.n. mediator says rival political factions have agreed a people's transitional council to help govern and guide the country out of its political crisis. it comes after shia houthi rebels seized power in a coup earlier this month. the new council would work with the yemen's house of representative to his form laws for the transitional period. more on that story on al jazerra in a few minutes. stay tuned for that. moving onto other news. u.s. military commanders are preparing iraqi and kurdish force to his recapture the city of mosul from isil. a centcom official in quash wash is saying the operation involving 25,000 troops is

planned to start in april or may. and they'll try to out of out isil fatters. the pentagon is describing mosul as a pivotal battle in iraq, now the latest from washington d.c. >> reporter: up to 25,000 iraqi troops are supposed to launch this so-called spring offensive in order to retake mowsal in april or may. but the bick question, are they ready? since last september u.s. military advisers have been working with iraqi military to try to expand their capacity and to basically make them willing to stay in the fight. the targeting of mosul which is currently being controlled by isil fighters could be a very decisive fight. and of course then the next question would be, would u.s. troops be needed to help the iraq military. the u.s. president says he doesn't want to sent soldiers

back there. the but if that's the only way they can succeed they would make the recommendation. it's still too early to tell whether or not this mission could actually succeed given the critical importance of mo soul both the iraqi -- mosul to both the iraqi government and the fighters. >> let's cross over to iraq and get the view from baghdad that is where imran kahn is joining us from. for a number of reasons the iraqi i'm doesn't have a great record fighting against isil. so how ready are they to take on this bat until and as the americans say recapture mosul from isil? >> reporter: that's right. the iraqi army has had some failures, particularly the biggest failure is letting isil take over huge swaths of eye rook in june. but they have been training and mounted some successes against isil fighters. you will realize that the lands has really changed over the last few months. the iraqis have taken the fight to aisles.

the iraqis say that they are in a position where they are will be able to retake mosul. last week iraqi officials were speak to their u.s. counterparts that this offensive would begin there is clearly confidence within the iraqi ranks that they can do it. they have also been pretearing the ground, coalition air strikes have hit a key supply route between mosul. also kurdish peshmerga forces have taken over the dam in preparation for this assault. what happens is getting the 25,000 troops that the americans say is what is going to be needed enough to position, that's going to ache a little while. hence this time line of the attack taking place between april and may. but the other big problem we've got here is civilians. now, mosul is a city full of civilians. there is only about between official estimates iraqi estimates say 1,000 to 2,000 isil fighters within the town itself. but we have seen this before. what isil will do is take over key government buildings

they'll make it very difficult for iraqi troops to go inside, they'll use civilians as much as they can to hide behind, we have seen in in other towns up in beiji in particular. that isil have done before. it's going it be a very tough fight. also there is real worry that you'll need to use coalition air strikes to go in. and, again that's going to put the civilian population inside mosul under a lot of pressure. so there are huge challenges to be faced. not only in just going in to mosul, but protecting civilians as well. >> that is the question, let me ask you is anything being planned or prepared to minimize civilian casualties? >> reporter: well, at the moment the iraqis and the americans are playing their cards very close their chest. we don't know what this offensive is going to look like. the details of that will emerge in the next few weeks but civilian casualties have always been a priority for the iraqi government. they have said any air strikes on mosul need to be mindful that

civilians aren't hurt and that's why they haven't gone in earlier. the population of mosul is effectively being held prisoner by isil. isil have actually dug a trench were around mosul to try to stop iraqi forces from going in. it's always been an issue u in the very beginning when americans were deciding to sends in advisers or not the prime minister said clearly that civilian casualties were untenable. they weren't something that they were going to put up with. and the americans needed to be mindful about what they were going to do. >> imran, thank you. imran kahn reporting from baghdad. so as we are reporting the u.s. and coalition air strikes continue against areas controlled by isil in iraq. take a look at this video. it's showing a strike on an area. and there is another video that is showing a strike -- strikes rather on, a building in anbar province and also on the oil

town of beiji. turkey and the united states have signed an agreement to train and arm moderate syrian rebel to his fight isil. military exercises expected to start soon and those involve hundreds of syrian fighters. turkey is also suggesting that the rebels could also target the syrian government of president bashar al-assad. syria's information minister says the success of the u.n.'s bid for a ceasefire in the city of aleppo hinges on whether foreign states that back the opposition can get them to agree agree. he says he was referring to saudi arabia. qatar, turkey and jordan. which, according to him have all offered support to rebels fighting the assad government. this week the u.n. envoy said that damascus was willing to temporarily suspends aerial bomb board. and or till yell shelling in aleppo so that a local ceasefire can be tested. a ceasefire has been agreed in northern mallee.

six armed groups have agreed to stop fighting a after an agreement with the government there. but the deal does exclude groups who are link today al qaeda. the agreement was part of a u.n. sponsored peace talks held in al al jeer years. algiers they have seen battles between pro government forces. greece may be seeing ideal breaker. greece did ask its european creditors on thursday to extend its rescue loan for six months while it negotiates a new deal. but germany has already turned down amount athens' request for the bail out loan. >> the greek proposal is the first step but we say it's not sufficient because it's lacking concrete mesh theirs need to be take then grease. one thing is not acceptable. we can't east things in grease and have german and european tax

payers pay for it. this hasn't been addressed at all. the ceasefire in eastern ukraine continues to be tested with more fighting reported around the town of debaltseve. in the capital keif, activists have been remembering the dead. on the an anniversary of the square shootings. more than 50 people were killed when snipers fired at protesters. president vick or yanukovych fled ukraine the following day. the current president petro poroshenko is calling for u.n. peacekeepers to help implement a ceasefire in eastern ukraine. >> translator: and i would like to add that the situation is getting more exacerbated because with the support of the russian army militants virtually wiped out debaltseve from the surface of the earth and now debaltseve reminds me of the moon landscape. government troops continue to battle rebels just outside debaltseve. the important railway junction was seizes by pro-russia

separatist on his wednesday. paul brennan reports from a checkpoint near that town. >> reporter: these are the russian soldiers who are claiming victory in the battle for debaltseve. many of their vehicles are flying the russian flag. and their allegiance to moscow is openly declared. taunting the ukrainian president one fighter shouts, hello from russia poroshenko. street by street, combat continued here for four days after the supposed ceasefire deal. small numbers of ukrainian soldiers are still thought to be hold up stranded inside the town. the deadline where they fell. on the approach road to debaltseve. at a place we found the aftermath of a ferocious battle. the crossing was littered with the debris of an increasingly desperate struggle. there were numerous casualty on his both sides here.

here is a burned out ukrainian tank. absolutely blank ended blackened by the intensity of the fighting. a further tank down the far side. two bodies still lying in the open over bee behind the camera there as well of a fighter from russia describes describes the final assault. >> translator: the battle finish the day before yesterday. the ukrainians were running out of 578 ammunition. a truck came to resupply them and we destroyed that as well. yesterday their artillery was quiet and they were shooting with rifles. after that they retreated. >> reporter: ukraine's government says the retreat from debaltseve was organized. the soldiers who were there tella i very different story. many speak of a chaotic withdrawal racing over open fields. constantly under fire from separatist tanks and mortar. and now there are fears that capturing debaltseve may not be the limit of the separatists apodaca bridgeses. attention is turning to the south of the donetsk region.

>> translator: in the area of mariupol the concentration of forces is being monitors. we are getting intelligence that those forces are being prepared for a possible offensive. >> reporter: on thursday ukraine's national security council agreed a formal request for united nations peacekeeping force to be deployed to eastern ukraine. there is no guarantee that the request will be granted. but they are fast running out of options. paul brennan, al jazerra. the world has to confront the warped ideology of groups like isil and al qaeda that was the u.s. president barack obama's necessary i think on the last day of the summit on extremism being hosted by the white house. but the u.s. government also wants to take on groups like isil on social media our white house correspondent patty culhane reports. >> my fellow ministers.

>> reporter: one of the main messages from this summit attended by more than 60 countries, is that the coalition is losing the tech war to the islamic states of iraq and levant. ironically, the summit itself had a few technical issues as if to highlight the point. they got the mic working for u.s. president program. who announced a new initiative. >> we need to do more to help lift up voices of tolerance. and peace. especially online. and that's why the united states is joining, for example, with uae to create a new digital communications hub to work with religious and civil society and community leaders to counter terrorist propaganda. >> reporter: what does that mean? what will it actually do? turns out. they are not sure yet. >> there will be conversation with his our partners in the region. i am sure we'll have more to say about it as the details become finalizes. >> reporter: the obamaed administration says it needs to

fight isil on the battle field but also in cyberspace where their slickly produced videos and social media campaign could lure more fighter to take up arms. former cia agent says it's going to be a big challenge for u.s. >> some sort of a communications hub which is helping to reinforce and to amplify indigenous messages in the region that's a good thing. but when it has a u.s. stam op it, it carries a taint. and there is no avoiding that. >> reporter: if until this new plan takes place, they are trying to counter the message online hoping the message gets through despite the fact that the u.s. is the messenger. patty culhane, al jazerra washington? still to come on al jazerra. why workers at one of america's biggest supermarket chains are happy. plus. >> reporter: reporting from. [ inaudible ] in the southern

philippines, this is the scene of a recent encounter that left more than 60 people dead.

>> the new al jazeera america primetime. get the real news you've been looking for. at 7:00, a thorough wrapup of the day's events. then at 8:00, john seigenthaler digs deeper into the stories of the day. and at 9:00, get a global perspective on the news. weeknights, on al jazeera america . hello again, you are with al jazerra. a reminder of the top story recovering and the u.n. mediator mediator the mediator for yemen i should say says right political factions has agreed on a people's transitional council to help govern and guide the country out of its political crisis it comes after shia

houthi rebels seized power earlier this month. crossing over to mo hal he had he's joining us from the south of yemen. first tell us what this announcement means really on the ground? >> reporter: on the face of it, if looks like a agreement but the u.n. resident envoy himself said this is not the agreement nor an agreement per se because it's not something that has been put on paper and signed by all the parties. it's rather an understand that go could resolve one of the major sticking points that have been disputed during the talks during the last few weeks. but mainly between the camp of former president and the houthis who are now in power in sanaa. and that's about the dissolution of the parliament and the creation of a new council mainly by the houthis, you know, they are the ones who decide who is

going to be in that council. now the agreement says that parliament should be kept and that seems like a compromise, a kind of compromise by the houthis to please. [ inaudible ] and the other parties accept that the houthis create the so-called people's transitional council which is going to function like an upper house to this combined, you know parliament made of the parliament that has been in place and in new house the people's transitional party. 50% of the seats in this council will be from the south and 30% for well, 20% for the youths. but, again if you read the newspapers and if you talk to people on the ground, if you talk also to the other parties the joint meeting representatives, they tell you this is mainly an understanding between the houthis. both have been accused of being behind the whole recent developments in yemen and the coup in sanaa. lots of issues still remain to

be resolved. the president is still under house arrest. no mention of the shia council that was in place, is it going to be replaced by this new transitional people's party. lots of issues are still to be debated and many are not pleased because the issue you of the president and the presidency is yet not resolved. >> so what is the situation meanwhile, mohamed, on the ground in parts of yemen? >> reporter: well, it's very tense. we drove to here from aden yesterday, hundreds of checkpoints on the road in a stretch of about 150-kilometers. mainly by popular committees. southern popular committees who are making themselves ready for any possible invasion by the houthis. there are rumors about this. we have seen also that in an area the tribes there, some of the most powerful tribes in the area have created a force of

3,000 men they mobilized that force and they have said they are ready to counter any huge a tack. particularly in the south the houthis are advancing towards the south and may be going -- it might just be a matter of time. even here from which i am talking to you, there are fears taiz is part of the north but it's on the border with the south and it's considered a gateway to the south and there are fears here that the houthis might try to take it in order to open that great way and go further to the south. so we seal on the one hand we have negotiations, but it doesn't mean the war has stopped. fighting is going on in someplaces and attacks are going on here sporadic attacks everywhere in the country and assassinations also in aden and in other parts of the country. so it's a very tense situation. and the negotiation is taking one path. the war is going on, it doesn't mean that peace will be achieved any time soon in that country.

>> mo happen he would, thank you very much for that update. reporting from yemen. fill bean government. >> the fill bean government says it's killed one of the most wanted men. they say he was difficult last month. his death was derailed peace talks. old fears among the muslim community there have now are you resurfaced. >> reporter: grieving has now become a way of life for her. her husband was a fighter would the islamic liberation front and was killed by government forces. >> translator: my children have lost their father. my son saw his father's body lying on the ground. they still cry every day. it is too painful. he is gone, the loss is irreplaceable. [ crying ]

>> reporter: she too lost her husband. he left the house early that morning, she says, he was found dead a day later. his hands tied, his eyed gouged out. according to the government, he was a civilian who was caught in the cross fire. she accuses the police of killing her husband. >> translator: i hope that justice prevails. that the truth comes out. that the violence committed against my husband won't is happen to anyone again. >> reporter: this is the town that has long served as a base for several armed groups, including southeast asia's most powerful, the more islamic liberation front. its ceasefire agreement to the government was broken when government forces conducted a raid close to its territory late last month. that led to more than 60 people killed. and derailed peace talks between the two parties. after years of relative calm,

civilians find themselves caught up in the violence once again. >> the decades-long rebellion here has led to hundreds of thousands of people displaced. many of them continue to live like this. in abject poverty. the majority of whom are still dispossessed. less than a quarter of the children here have gone back to school since the fighting started again. teachers say it may take some time before life returns to normal. conflict has affected these communities for generations. and people here say these are troubled times once again. still, they continue to hope for the completion of a peace agreement. it's still not too late they say. their children can still live a life in peace. al jazerra in the sound philippines. in nigeria more than 150 people taken hostage by boko haram has been reunited with their families.

almost a month after their lease. most of them have been place million dollars a rehabilitation cam. they were kidnapped at the beginning of the year. the major u.s. supermarket chain wal-mart says it's boosting wages and benefits for nearly half of its workers tom ackerman reports on what is behind the move. >> reporter: the global retail giant which earned more than $16 billion in profit last year, has become a glaring symbol of corporate greed to lake or organizers and some of its disgruntled workers. >> their logo is save money living better, but our workers should live better. >> reporter: now wal-mart says their workers will be rewarded from fair service and given chances to advance. >> we are making changes to our pain strengthening the opportunity to progress within the company and offering more choice in scheduling. >> reporter: over the next year the company says it will boost wages to an average of thib teen

dollars an hour for full-time workers, $10 an hour for those working less than 40 hours a week. that's still below the national averages for most hourly retail workers. but it's higher on average than what the lowest level staff personnel are paid nationwide. the company also promises to offer part timers work working howers and the chance to pick mo predictable schedules. the announcement comes as wal-mart is reporting its first rise in shopper traffics in more than two years analysts say the concessions are, in part, a response to competition among u.s. merchants for better trained retail workers. but wal-mart's new starting wage of $9 an hour still falls far short of the enough teen dollars an hour minimum demanded by campaigners. >> that's not enough to keep a family of four out of poverty and many are not full-time workers and they have been asking for full-time work. >> reporter: meanwhile the white house wants to raise the federal

minimum wage for the first time in five years almost half the states of raising their own minimum wage levels only a hand. as much as what wal-mart will be offering. tom ackerman, al jazerra washington. iraq is beset by in fighting and the continuing war with isil but a tradition of music in the country is being kept alive to entertain the people. jane arraf has more from baghdad. >> reporter: unexpect the things happen when the conductor visits on. this day he's playing his cello at a home for senior citizens. one of the residents had a friend who played recorder 50 years ago. after he died he kept the recorder and taught himself to play to keep his friend's memory alive. the wood is cracked now. and he is blind but the music is as moving as ever. there are decades of memories

here wrapped up in these memories. she asks for a traditional song those that have forgotten us, she tells us later that she hasn't seen her daughter in seven years, a teacher was an amateur musician. >> translator: he used to play the violin, we even had german vie lens, but when we lived under the economic sanies in the 1990s we had to sale it. >> reporter: he normally plays much grander venues, trained in europe he's the co conductor of iraq's symphony orchestra. he can live anywhere, but he wants to make a difference in iraq. on this day he is joined by other volunteers. he also founded a music school but he's found the most effective way to spread of love of music just to go out and play. >> i head to these places almost every a day of the week.

between second houses, hospitals, senior houses, the streets of baghdad churches, whatever. the book market. the fish market. whatever it's possible to create the exposure. >> reporter: across town he has turned a little-used community affairs building in to a center for music classes for young people. they include tuition-paying students and residents of on orphanage. they are still learning the basics here but many of the lessons are outside the classroom. a lot of these people have only ever known war. music gives them an escape and the realization that life can have other possibilities. it's brought this community center back to life as well. in a spare room the part-time musicians figure out what they are going it play. they give lessons to 30 kids who want them. they all have day jobs. but they say he has supported their muse and i think they are trying to give it back. they all hope instead of playing

with guns more kids will play guitars. jane arraf, al jazerra baghdad. and you can always keep up-to-date with all of the latest news on our website it's all at aljazerra.com think tomorrow. one of your co-worker could be hiding a secret from the boss for fear of getting fired. why mental illness may be the time frontier of on the job discrimination. we'll have a man describe how he struggled alone with depression until it came crashing down in public. plus, how making kids from nebraska read the koran could help america in a fight against violent extremism. i'm ali velshi, and this is