only on al jazeera america more than 100 people from one of iraq's most powerful tribes are abducted by isil. ♪ hello, this is al jazeera, live from doha i'm aide -- adrian finighan. secret documents reveal the role of israel in espionage. and we're in southern yemen in the port city of aden where people say shifting power to their city will only bring trouble.

♪ it is a tactic designed to spread fear. in iraq over 100 men and 9 boys, some of them just nine years old have been kidnapped by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. they belong to one of the biggest tribes in the country. iraq's defense minister is a member of the tribe. all of those come from a single village east of tikrit in an area where isil is involved in fierce fighting with government forces. we'll hear from a our correspondent there in just a moment. but first we'll go to syria where isil forces are under attack from kurdish forces. zana hoda reports. >> reporter: syria's kurds have

been war at war with the islamic state of iraq and the levant for months. isil fighters were defeat in ka banny. they have recaptured some territory, but lost several villages. it's not an easy fight. aircraft have been helping the kurds by targeting isil positions from the air. it's a province in northeastern syria, where isil controls pockets of territory. it's strategic for isil and the fight against the armed group. it borders territory controlled by the group across the border in northwestern iraq. and there is an important supply line that isil uses to move from its capitol, to the iraqi city of mosul. >> translator: what is happening now is that there is a real fight against isil. it controls about 30% of the

province. kurds are fighting on one front, and regime soldiers based in the province are also attacking them from another front. isil cannot afford to lose her because it needs to keep its supply lines open. >> reporter: it also borders the iraqi city of sinjar. the crossing is in sinjar. it connects syria to iraq and it is being used by isil fighter fighters. it seems the offense is part of a broader military plan. if isil is defeated here and sinjar it would severely restrict its freedom of movement between its strong holds in iraq and syria. the u.s. lead coalition and its partners on the ground need to cut the groups supply lines before any major military assault. it's hundreds of kilometers from mosul and other isil strong holds in iraq but defeating

them here would weaken them there. back to that abduction in iraq. our correspondent has reported extensively from iraq earlier he explained the possible motives behind this abduction. >> if an area didn't pay homage or alee g&as to the group, then they will be a target or isil wants to take revenge on certain tribes for fighting isil. last week about -- over 100 members of a tribe were killed in western iraq. the other possible reason they could be trying to clamp down on what isil calls informers who report to the iraqi government forces the movement of isil within tikrit. four french members of parliament have met with syria's president in what has been called a personal trip. according to one of the mp's the group spent over an hour with bashar al-assad.

it's the first such meeting since france closed its embassy in syria in 2012. houthi rebels have used tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital of sana'a. the president has fled to the southern city of aden. some yemenese fear the move to aiden could cause a -- further instability. >> reporter: this aden the de facto capitol since the president arrived here. the houthi militia put him under house arrest in sana'a, but he managed to escape and now he is trying to rule from aden. but the reaction of people here may surprise many. >> translator: no, no no.

aden is the capitol of only the south. we wnth independence. >> reporter: there is a long history of bitterness between the north and the south, so instead of being over joyed by this shift of power, people we talked to expressed apprehension and miss trust. >> translator: the southerners contribute more than 70% of the country east territory and 80% of resources, but they received nothing in turn. hady doesn't speak for the cause of the south. if he does so and makes the right decisions to address our problems, then he will support him. >> reporter: there is an air of peace and calm in aden. people here hope for a better future and a return to what they perceive to be a better path. the symbol of it still flies wherever you look. the flag of the southern yemen.

since the two yemens united in 1990 people here tell us the south was let down forgotten, and exploited. despite the fact that most of the oil and other natural resources come from here. >> translator: we except for aden to be only a temporary capitol until our brothers in the north can sort out their problems. >> reporter: some believe the possible shifting of the capitol to aden will only bring trouble. >> translator: the houthis are threatening to invade the south because we have the capitol. we don't need the capitol here. we want peace and calm. they should stay there, and we here. >> reporter: for decades aden was regarded as a southern back quarter. although that may be about to end, many fear what problems the new status may bring. at least 90 people have been killed in a series of avalanches

in afghanistan. they were triggered by heavy snowfall. the governor described a avalanches as the worst in 30 years. >> reporter: dozens of people have been killed by avalanches in the province, and emergency teams are having a really difficult time trying to get there. it has two large mountain ranges with a narrow valley in the middle, and one road in and out of that province. so far they have only been able to clear 50 kilometers of that road. the governor told us they managed to get around 300 people together to try to help the emergency teams, but they don't have the right equipment. they are using shovels in some cases their bare hands to try to get people out, but many of the houses that have had these heavy dumps of snow on them are up in the higher mountain ranges.

even here there has been very heavy snow up to a meter, in other parts of the country up to two meters. in kabul there has been no electricity for two days. there has been heavy flooding here. flooding in the east of the country, and flooding around jalalabad which has cut off the road. also the main road from southern afghanistan to the north, that road has been cut at the pass again, because of heavy snow. now it's taken a while for the winter weather to really kick in here in afghanistan. up until now it had been a mild winter, but that's obviously changed in the last couple of days. in the democratic republic of congo the government has launched a military assault against rebel forces. they are taking on a group called the democratic forces for the liberation of rwanda or the fdlr even without the support of the u.n. mission there. it includes rwandan hutus who

took part in the country's genocide 20 years ago. the group is active in areas surrounding a lake which has huge quantities of natural gas. they have been accused of murder, rape and recruiting child child soldiers. >> reporter: many people have been doubting whether the congoese government and the other governments involved have the political will to fight the fdlr. there are politicians involved of course, there are minerals in their territory. on the other hand though the government has said it is going to do it. this time it is going to end the fdlr. the u.s. have come out and supported them. the u.s. has urged that this must happen. so it's hard to imagine that they will turn back at this

stage. the military operations could go on for months even years so it's too soon to say if this will bring the end of the fdlr. people want them to go but they want them to go peacefully. and it's the civilians that have suffered the previous offensives. over two decades basically, they have seen a lot of very brutal and horrible conflict. when the fdlr are under attack they take it out on the civilian population. so civilians are worried another offense if simply means they are going to get caught up in more violence. still to come six months on from israel's assault, people of gaza say they have had nothing but broken promises. and how india plans to tackle an outbreak of swine flu that has already killed hundreds of people. we'll be right back. ♪

>> this could have been anybody. >> but in a twisted tale of neglect, abuse, murder and suicide. >> are kids today safer? >> who's to blame? >> i've answered your question. >> a dysfunctional family... >> the mother certainly played a role. >> a flawed investigation... >> do you feel that the police has been as fair? >> and a missing child. >> i hope that the person that has her just bring her home. >> now, "america tonight" investigates the search for relisha. next friday, 10:00 eastern.

>> "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. ♪ hello, again, the top stories here on al jazeera. in iraq over 100 men and 9 boys, some as young as 9 years old, have been kidnapped by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. they belong to one of the biggest tribes in the country. a series of avalanches have killed at least 90 people in afghanistan. the governor of the province is describing the avalanches which have cut off villages as the worst in 30 years. and in the democratic republic of congo, the government has launched a military assault against rebel

forces, they are taking on the fdlr, which is accused of human rights violations. six months after israel's 50-day offensive against gaza many areas are still in ruins. many palestinians say they have received nothing but broken promises. nick schifrin reports. >> reporter: today in gaza the ruins of homes are children's play grounds. factory floors are filled with destroyed machinery. the only power plant, storage tanks are a crumbled heap and the devastation has obliterated entire neighborhoods. gaza has never been well off, but today it is perhaps worse off than ever. and the fear is that could need to another war. why hasn't your family been able to rebuild?

>> all building materials are so expensive. >> reporter: part of the problem is poverty. this is a government teacher and only received 60% of his salary after israel cut off revenues to the palestinian authority. omar has no job. about 60% of gaza is unemployed. the family has blue prints but can't rebuild without help. >> translator: the process is slow. a week ago i went to the ministry, they said the funds from the u.n. haven't .ing arrived yet. >> reporter: that's another problem, the u.n. agency that helps palestinians is broke. >> it's scanned dellous that they have run out of money. >> reporter: robert leads the u.n.'s efforts to reconstruct gaza. he says the donors haven't paid up because of the conflict

between hamas and the palestinian authority. >> that needs to be resolved. >> reporter: until it is there aren't even plans to rehabilitate devastated neighborhoods. israeli settlers are being accused of setting a mosque on fire in the occupied west bank. there were more than 110 attacks against mosques in palestinian territories last year. >> translator: if you follow the actions of the occupation's military and the settlers it's an around the clock systemized policy to steal palestinian land. israel is using ll for spying activities. the papers show the agents used airline staff as curriers

collected passenger data, and had unrestricted access at south african airports. clayton swisher reports. >> reporter: >> it's not just an airline, it's israel. >> reporter: it's not just an airline, it's israel's front for its intelligence agencies and the spy cables confirm it. in 2009 south african tv show broadcast the claims of a former airline guard at johannesberg airport. he said he was working for israel's internal spy agency. >> we pull the wool over everyone's eyes. the local authorities do not know what we are doing. >> reporter: months later, south africa deported an israeli airline official little more detail was released.

but a secret intelligence document confirms the story: another classified report says they have the privilege of not being searched at the restricted areas: the broadcast triggered a meeting at south african's foreign minister. despite arguments they took away the diplomatic immunity. a separate document relates counter intelligence information the south africans gathered.

it says: they refused numerous attempts by al jazeera to seek comment. the carte blanche broadcast also got other intelligence agencies nervous. clayton swisher al jazeera. the retrial of two al jazeera journalists in egypt has been adjourned until march 8th. mohammed fahmy and baher mohamed appeared in court on monday. their case has been postponed again due to an absence of witnesses. both are accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood, charging that they and al jazeera deny. peter greste the third journalist in the case was freed on february 1st, and deported to australia. amnesty international has called for the five permanent

members of the u.n. security council to give us their veto. they accuse world powers of a shameful failure to protect civilians caught in conflict. amnesty says the global response to conflict in 2014 was ineffective and often guided by political self interest. russia and china have used their veto four times. the u.s. always has stood by its ally israel and voted against resolutions on palestine. we are joined by the secretary general of amnesty international. >> russia and the u.s. using their veto to protect their own self interest instead of protecting civilians, so we think it's high time that there is a real game changing solution and we believe if the security council permanent members voluntarily renounce the veto there is some chance the security council can start protecting civilians rather than protecting their own political

interests. vladimir putin says that europe's gas supplies could be at risk if ukraine doesn't pay for its own supplies, and he has accused kiev of failing to provide gas to the separatists areas of luhansk and donetsk. >> reporter: that wrangling over gas that took place last summer through august september, october, here we go again. a bit of background. last week kiev shut off gas temporarily to the donbask region. russia stepped in and started pumping gas in. then kiev said the pipeline had been fixed and they will provide gas once more. but they wouldn't pay for the gas that russia had sent to the

area. then the head of gazprom said unless kiev prepaid its obligation for march's gas supply it would be shut off within two days. vladimir putin speaking on wednesday has given ukraine a little bit more leeway but only a couple of days more saying in three or four days unless ukraine pace up the gas will be shut off. now this was always going to be happening again, because the deal that was agreed in october of last year was only going to take us up through until the end of spring here. maybe the end of march. so at some point there is going to have to be a new negotiation on the gas supply between ukraine and russia. but we're not quite there yet, consider this to be -- maybe the opening salvo in that new battle. a jury in the u.s. state of texas has found a former marine

guilty of killing the man inspired by the movie "american sniper." now to india where swine flu has killed more than 800 people in the past two months. more than 14,000 others have tested positive. mass awareness campaigns have begun, along with restrictions on public gathering in some areas. >> reporter: government scientists in india are working overtime to monitor the spread of swine flu caused by the h1n1 virus. with the case load growing by the day, the health ministry has established a swine flu hot line. >> translator: our help line numbers have been highlighted everywhere. it's working from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and some numbers remain

available throughout the night. >> reporter: hospital staff insist they are well equipped to treat the sick. but that's of little comfort to the victim's families. >> translator: if they had admitted her on that day, she may still be alive today. government hospitals are ill equipped. >> reporter: there are growing concerns the virus and the fear it is causing could affect the economy. some countries are taking precautions in the western states where some of the highest death and infection rates have been recorded. >> translator: we have given masks to all of our employees. we also have a company chemist. and we inform all of our employees how to protect themselves how to keep their homes clean, and routinely wash their hands with soap.

>> reporter: but some argue the best way to control swine flu is to study it. health scientists say india may be a better place to control it if and when the virus is mapped. they argue finding out whether and how the h1n1 virus has mutated may be the key to avoiding a health crisis in one of the world's most populous countries. peanut allergies are recognized as some of the most severe in the world. causing anything from swelling to sneezing to death. but new research suggest that babies should be exposed to nuts early to stop them from becoming allergic. >> nuts and orange and sesame seeds. >> reporter: he knows what he is

allergic too by heart. his sister is so allergic to nuts that if someone opened a packet within 10 meters of her, she could end up in hospital. >> i always have to check packets. preparing food i would have to get up early in the morning, prepare the fresh lunch every day. >> reporter: like most mothers she followed government advice and didn't give her babies nuts until they were two. but a study involved 640 babies between 4 and 11 months all at risk of developing peanut allergies. half ate foods containing peanuts three times a week. and less than 1% of those who ate the nuts developed an

allergy, compared to 17% of those who didn't ate the nuts. this baby was at serious risk of developing a peanut allergy. >> if he hadn't been involved in the study, i truly believe i would have avoided peanuts in williams diet and he would now be at school and be classed as being allergic to nuts. >> reporter: 1 to 3% of children are now allergic to nuts and those numbers are rising. but feeding babies nuts represents a complete shift in thinking, and researchers say new public health guidelines are needed. >> the introduction of peanuts to all children should occur in their diet soon after four months of age. with the caveat with those with

eczema or existing allergy should first undergo allergy testing. >> reporter: for new parents the advice is never give whole nuts instead small amounts of smooth peanut butter. remember, the window for opportunity is small. greece's top football league has been suspended indefinitely for a second time this season due to continued match violence. sports chiefs took the decision after violent scenes at a recent match. and a brawl between club staff at a board meeting on tuesday. for lots of people around the world trip usually takes a few weeks, speeding about the globe in trains boats and trains. but this man has taken 18 years to do it because he has done it in two years. he is arrived in iraq country

number 145 for him. he hopes to keep safe in iraq by sticking to roads in the south. more of al jazeera's unique style of real news at our website, aljazeera.com. plus, sweat 16 and getting the right to vote? a growing movement taking root in cities across the country. later online movement. reacts to. what it means for the future of hacking.