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 adrian gin man, the worst avalanche in 30 years killed dozens of people in afghanistan. >> we are literally naked compared to some of the other countries. >> the spy cables reveal how south africa is wide open to

spies. and the people of gaza say they have had nothing but broken promises. ♪ it is a tactic designed to spread fear. in iraq over 100 men and nine boys, some as young as nine have been kidnapped by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. they long to one of the biggest tribes in the country. iraq's defense minister is a member of that tribe. all of those taken come from a single village east of tikrit. in an area where isil is involved in fierce fighting with government forces. first, though, we're going to go to syria, where isil forces are under attack from kurdish forces. >> reporter: syria's kurds have been at war with the islamic state of iraq and the levant for months. isil fighters were defeated in the border town of kobani now

kurdish fighters are trying to force them from this area. they lost a view villages. ilgs's not an easy fight. u.s. lead coalition has been helping the kurds with air strikes from the air. it is 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 co-called capitol to the iraqi city of mosul, one of its strong holds in northern iraq. >> 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 are also attacking them from another

front. isil cannot afford to lose here because it needs to keep its supply lines open. >> reporter: iraqi kurds have been involved in fierce fighting with the islamic state of iraq and the levant this crossing is in sinjar it connects syria to iraq and it is being used by isil fighters. it seems the offensive 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 group's supply lines before any major military assault. it has hundreds of kilometers from mosul and other isil strong holds, but defeating it here would weaken them there. four french members of pavrl 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. now to yemen where houthi rebels have used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse protesters. there have been protests across the country in support of the president who has fled to the southern city of aden. >> translator: i talked with his excellency, the president, on how to make sure yemen doesn't become a home for terrorists and extremist organizations. some yemenis fear that his move to aden could cause further

instability in the country. >> reporter: this is aden yemen's de facto capitol since the president arrived here. the houthis put him under house arrest for weeks in sana'a but he managed to escape. and now he is trying to rule from aden. >> translator: no, no no. aiden is the capitol of only the south. we don't want the north here. we want independence. >> reporter: it's not a secret that there is a long history of bitterness between the north and the south, so instead of being overjoyed from this shift of power, people we talked to expressed apprehension and mistrust. >> translator: there is zero trust between the north and the south. the southerners were the first to demand unity. but they have received nothing

in return hady is a southerner, but doesn't speak for the causes of the south. if he does so then we 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 sill flies high wherever you look. 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: we houthis are now threatening to invade the south because we have the capitol. we don't need the capitol here. we want peace and calm. >> reporter: for decades aden was regarded as a southern back water. although that may be about toen, 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 north of kabul. the provincial governor has described the 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. basically 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 provincial governor told us they have 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 and in some cases their bare hands to try to get people out. but if of the houses that had these heavy dumps of snow on them are up in the higher mountain ranges. here in kabul there has been very heavy snow up to meter, in kabul there has been no electricity for two days, the city is running on generators. there has also been heavy flooding here. flooding in the east of the country and flooding around jalalabad which has cut off the road from kabul. also the road from southern afghanistan to the north that road has been cut again because of heavy snow.

it has 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 rowe wanda, or the fdlr who have been accused of crimes against humanity including rape and murder. more now from malcolm webb. >> reporter: many people have been doubting whether the congolese government and the other countries involved this the political will to fight the fdlr. there are politicians involved of course minerals in their territory, on the other hand though the congolese government has said it is going to do it this time it is going to end the

dflr the u.s. has come out and supported them. so it's hard to imagine that they will turn back at this stage. the mill stair operations could go on for months even years, so it's too soon to say if this is going to bring the end of the fdlr. people want them to go but they want them to go peacefully. it's the civilian population that has suffered the brunt of the previous on offensives on the d -- fdlr. over two decades they have seen a lot of brutal and horrible conflict. when the fdlr are under attack they take it out on the civilian population. al jazeera's investigative unit has obtained secret spy documents that reveal serious security failings in south africa. they show foreign spies have easy access to the government there, and also influenced a

major weapons purchase. will jordan reports. ♪ >> reporter: lions prowl around south africa's state security agency. the spy cables show foreign intelligence agents do as well while fences keep the animals at bay, the spies have broken through. a secret report says they have total freedom of access to ministries, pavrl, and security installations. posing threats to national security. another reveals south africa suspects there are over 140 foreign spies in the country. former spy chiefs have seen a major rise in espionage since apartheid. >> diplomatic presence in south africa grew exponentially, and therefore the espionage

activities increased. >> the name of the game is that intelligence services around the world are interested the secrets of other countries. south africa is a big player on the continent. >> reporter: foreign spies also influenced a notorious multi-billion dollars weapons purchase in 1999. they played an active role in persuading decision makers on the arms deal. computer security is also seriously flawed. another secret report reveals an array of incidents. one computer had eight militia software applications leaving military secrets exposed. serious sde efficiencies leave the government vulnerable to fraud, corruption and espionage. >> as dwelling countries, as bric countries, we are literally naked compared to some of the

first world countries. in the leaks papered, south africa's spies say it is impractical to watch over millions of people but according to their own reports they are struggling to simply monitor dozens of foreign spice and organized criminals. south african ministry of state security has launched an investigation into the leaked cables. the leaking of the purported documents is condemned in the strongest possible terms. all right. still to come here on al jazeera, six months on from israel's assault, the people of gaza say they have had nothing but broken promises. we'll tell you why. and we'll tell you about the city on edge in venezuela after the killing of a 14-year-old boy at an anti government protest. ♪

♪ hello again, the top stories here on al jazeera. in iraq over 100 men and nine boys some as young as nine years old have been kidnapped by the islamic state of iraq and the levant. they belong to one of the bigst tribes in the country. a series of avalanches have killed at least 90 people in afghanistan. the governor of the province is describing the avalanche as the worst in 30 years. and in the democratic republic of congo, the government has launched a

long-awaited military assault against rebel forces. they are taking on the democratic forces for liberation of rwanda which is accused of human rights violations. six months after israel's offensive on 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 playgrounds. factory floors are filled with destroyed machinery. the only power plant, storage tanks are a crumpled heap. and the damage, destruction, and devastation has obliterated entire neighborhoods. the fear is this could lead to

another war. why hasn't your family been able to rebuild? >> all building materials are so expensive. and according to authorities we can't get. >> reporter: part of the problem is poverty. this man 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. >> translator: the process is slow. a week ago i went to the ministry, they said the funds from the u.n. haven't arrived yet. >> reporter: that's another problem. the u.n. agency that helps palestinians is broke. countries have promised donations but not delivered them. >> which i can only describe as unacceptable that an organization like this has run out of money to help refugees. >> reporter: robert leads the u.n.'s effort to reconstruct

gaza. >> there is a lot of bad blood still between hamas and the palestinian authority. you still have two different strands of civil administration in gaza that of course needs to be resolved. >> reporter: until it is there aren't even plans to rehabilitate devastated neighborhoods. nick schifrin, al jazeera, gaza. israeli settlers are being accused of setting a mosque on fire in the occupied west bank. racist ga feety was left on the walls. there were more than 110 attacks against mosques in palestinian territories last year. russia's president, vladimir putin, says that europe's gas supplies could be at risk if ukraine doesn't pay for its own supplies, and he is accusing kiev of failing to supply gas to the separatists areas of donetsk

and luhansk. in ukraine itself there has been a lull in the fighting but the ceasefire is still very shaky, paul brennan has more. >> reporter: i have come to an area to the west of donetsk city center, which has been used by the separatists forces to launch artillery attacks against ukrainian forces in donetsk international airport in that direction. and the debris of the repeated attacks is all around. let's have a look at this box here. this box would have held some shells for a 122-millimeter either the d-30 or the 2 c1 which is a help propelled howitzer. i can also see a box for a 152-millimeter box of shells but as you can see, this whole area now is deserted. and the scrapes already, they haven't been filled in but there is no evidence that they have been used in recent days at

all. it does give strength to the idea that both sides do appear to be drawing back. the donetsk military commanders have saged a couple of photo opportunities showing what they say are the withdrawal of guns from the front line. but they are not saying where they are being withdrawn too. and the monitored need to know that information to verify. the osce wants to know where the guns are now, it wants to know which routes are going to be used to remove the guns and finally, it needs to know where the final destination of those guns will be and without that information they cannot verify that a withdrawal has taken place. the osce says it desperate needs

that information. but at least the guns are falling silent. you can listen. there is no sound of artillery here for the first time in many many months. plans to build a controversial oil pipeline across north america are now in limbo. u.s. president barack obama vetoed a bill approving the pipeline. it was his first veto in five years. >> hey, obama, we don't want to pipeline. >> reporter: after countless protests a bill trying to force president barack obama's approval of the keystone pipeline has been vetoed and now the wait continues. the u.s. president has already laid out the criteria for his approval. >> and our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon

pollution. >> reporter: the state department said the tar sands would be developed regardless and a pipeline was better for transporting it. but because of the drop in oil prices right now it wouldn't be profitable and their warning that tar sands create 17% more greenhouse gas than other crude, and that in one year that would be equivalent to adding 5.7 million cars, or 7.8 coal-fired power plants. republicans say it is about economics. some analysts believe that is the real issue, this is more about politics than any impact the final decision will have. >> i think it's more symbolic for politics than the economics of oil and in terms of the world market. so it won't make any difference the price of oil, but it might make a difference in terms of united states's ability to move forward with energy policy,

which is important. >> reporter: the fight over keystone may be settled soon but it is the first clear indication that there will be many more battles in the coming hears. a jury in texas has found a former u.s. marine guilty of murdering chris kyle. he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for shooting kyle and his friend chad littlefield at a shooting range in february 2013. venezuela's president has ordered an investigation into the killing of a teenager during an anti government protest. a policeman has admitted shooting the boy. >> reporter: they came out to protest against the economic crisis. then violent scuffles began with police. a 14 year old was killed and many others injured in the city in western venezuela that is

becoming increasingly synonymous with anti-government demonstrations. police officers were attacked with stones. the policeman who fired the pull let gun killing the teenager has been arrested. >> translator: i condemn this murder. when i found out, i ordered those responsible to be captured. this was done. they have been detained and we have established what happened. >> reporter: dozens of protesters have been killed in the past 12 months. the use of deadly force to maintain public order has cut protesters numbers, but growing dissatisfaction is continuing. >> translator: i am permanently harassed by the police. chasing me, visiting my home not to mention the acquisitions and attacks on my honor, even threats to my family.

they are closing in. for those reasons i think this regime knows that change is very close. >> reporter: the go has been battling spiralling inflation by adjusting exchange rates and controlling imports to try to cut prices in the shops. falling oil prices has cut government revenue. the president has been trying to tell the people that he can steer them out of crises but the government is also tightening its grip on power to face political and economic challenges, and that appears to be making it harder for venezuelans to believe him. sponsors have pulled the plug on a martian verse of the reality tv show big brother. they short listed 100 candidates for a one-way ticket to the red planet. neave barker reports. >> reporter: it's the most audacious plan in history, to

make this inhospitable planet a home for humans within ten years. but that's exactly what mars one, a private space exploration company intends to do. with all of the glitz and glamour of a hollywood movie. tens of thousands of people applied for the one-way mission, but only 100 were short listed. including mag gee lou a astro physics student who has volunteered to be the first martian mother. >> if we want to start a colony we have to reproduce or else we will just die out. it's a huge adventure, and i'm really excited rather than scared at the moment. >> reporter: but they could be in for a long wait before going anywhere. critics say the proposed time line is unfeasible. in only three year's time mars one hopes to send a stationary

lander and communications satellite to the red planet sfol lowed by a rover in 2020, and cargo missions two years after that and in only a decade, by 2025, it is hoped the first four-man crew will arrive and live in pods like these. and all of this for a meager $6 billion. >> it is unrealistic completely from every single point of view. from the experience of the astronauts, from the experience of the people organizing it and the budget and time scale. >> reporter: they will live in confined conditions. they will need to produce their own water, oxygen and grow their own food. it was hoping to gain sponsorship from the makers of reality tv show big brother until they pulled out. and one major company, space x, listed as providing rockets for

the mission say no contracts have been signed. but the team remain firmly optimistic. >> it's a big misconception that it wants to finance the mission through media revenues. that's not the case. it eels not entertainment, it's inspiration, humans going to mars is the greatest story of the 21st century, and we need to share that story with the world. >> reporter: the company say they have now teamed up with the makers of their mission trailer to help finance and document the project. and as mars one races to meet its ambitious goals, it's a mission they hope will soon be on your screens. neave barker al jazeera, london. for lots of people around the world trip usually takes a few weeks, speeding around the globe in planes boats, and trains. but lee chung's journey has taken him 18 years because he has done it on two wheels. he is now arrived in an iraqi

city, that's country number 145 for him. he has already been through asia europe south and north america. and he hopes to keep safe in iraq by sticking to roads in the south. >> i'm russsell beard, in southern kenya, where the latest development in human elephant conflict resolution is creating a real buzz. >> and i'm amanda burrell in indonesia,