>> sweeping offensive against boko haram forces from chad and niger launch ground and air strikes. hello in doha, this is al jazeera, also ahead in the program, israel's prime minister denies a statement he's dropping support for a palestinian state. air strikes against an i.s.i.l. held oil refinery in syria leaves dozens dead. and how the poppy fields of mexico are fueling the biggest drug problem in the u.s.

hello, nigeria's observessive he against boko haram in the northeastern part of the country. chad afned and niger first major push into the country. mohamed idris reports. >> for neighbors the fight against boko haram has taken on a new urgency. the objective is to push the enemy into the corner. more than 30 towns and villages have been liberated. for niger chad and cameroon, defeating boko haram is crucial. five years of fighting has cut

off trade against he them from the africa's biggest economy bigger threat to the entire region. in nigerian troops wanted to crush boko haram in the last five years say they are now in a position to do so. >> we are now adequately equipped. we have taken delivery of the game-changers. and from the president himself. we have been taking delivery of new equipment one of which what you have seen right behind me right there. and we are planning to defeat boko haram. before this level it was a defensive operation but now we are on the offensive. >> the military had in february asked for six weeks to clear the northeast of boko haram. to pave way for elections. but according to the offensive against boko haram has forced the group to killed more than 50

and injured more than 100. just hours after the group's leader pledged allegiance to i.s.i.l, a move mentioned by the nigerian military as a desperate act. regional force of 8,000 troops is expected to strengthen the group of multinational force already taking on boko haram. mohamed idris, al jazeera algeria. >> more than 30 rockets and shells hit the compound in the northern town of kidal on sunday. day after a restaurant was hit which killed five people and including two people of u.n.

nazanine moshiri reports. >> injured were taken to the nearest hospital. >> we were sleeping. two are dead and three are injured, including my wife. >> it is not clear who is responsible. but this is not the first time the united nations mission in mali has been linked to is groups and al qaeda. it is difficult for this lawless region. >> definitely what i can tell you, attacks that are part to a deliberate attempt to abort progress on the ground, to make the security conditions stable and to provide the necessary environment for supplements to take hold on the ground. >> bus a peace agreement will be

difficult while the main and tuareeg groups refuse to sign up. they want independence for this northern region, something the latest agreement doesn't include. on saturday, gunmen called five people at this restaurant popular with foreigners in banaco. until now the capital was sheltered from the violence in the north. these latest attacks will do little to convince these people here that they are closer to peace. nazanine moshiri, al jazeera. annal earlier statement by

benjamin netanyahu said that in the present situation in the middle east, any, now says he never said such a thing. now in iraq government forces are still meeting strong resistance from i.s.i.l. fighters as they try to retake tikrit. they managed to move closer by liberating central ador. the battle will determine whether iraqi forces can advance north to mosul which is under i.s.i.l. control. shia cleric muqtada al clar, after they invaded iraq in 2003, but now his fighters may work with u.s. forces. the operation to liberate mosul

is expected to be accompanied by air support from the u.s. led coalition. and the iraqi army, the peshmerga and sunni fighters will be involved in the ground operation. air strikes by the u.s. led coalition in syria have hit an oil refinery controlled by i.s.i.l, near the turkish border. 30 people are reported dead including oil refinery workers and i.s.i.l. fighters. massed killer on i.s.i.l. videos, the lawyer has quit. his client's son dubbed jihadi john was the same man.

seven were killed in lada and two in elbada city, civil houthis were killed after local tribes men launches an offensive on their positions. yemen's defense minister is now in his home town of aden, after escaping from houthi fighters, hours after he arrived he attended a meeting involving senior yemeni officials. >> reporter: after escaping from a hostile capital under the dark of night his rivals, the shia houthis were on his trail. looting his house after discovering he was already gone, then the security guards following behind him injuring

two. what happens for general mahmoud sadi and president hadi, also forced to flee the capital sanaa last month. after the houthis put him under house arrest. the capital is now under control of the houthis. they're attempting to run the country in place of the elected government. and many yemenis are outraged. in the absence of a central government yemen has become a dangerous place. there are concerns the country is slipping towards anarchy. the houthis held a meeting to discuss the defense minister's departure from sanaa. hopes of a truce between the two rival groups seem to be

evaporated. president hadi says he won't negotiate until the houthis leave the capital. something the group has shown no sign of doing. and with each day the impasse continues, life is getting more difficult for yemenis. florida tash ahnatasha guinane, al jazeera. assurances from iran that it will not obtain an atomic weapon. >> if we cannot verify that they are not going to obtain a nuclear weapon, there is a breakout period that even if they cheated we would be able to have enough time to take action, if we don't have that kind of a deal then we're not going to stay it. >> the trial of two al jazeera journalists has been adjourned again to march 14th. that's because prosecution

witnesses failed to show up. mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed. still to come on al jazeera: fight for academic freedom. students in myanmar protest against robbing universities of their power. and remembering bloody sunday, 50 years later race relations in the u.s. are still a challenge.

>> weeknights on al jazeera america. >> 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. >> ray suarez hosts "inside story". weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. >> hello again.

the top stories on al jazeera. niger and chad have launched an offensive against boko haram in nigeria. audiomessage posted online. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's office denies he's backed away from a two-state solution. coalition air strikes in syria have hit an oil refinery controlled by i.s.i.l, 30 people were killed including refinery workers and i.s.i.l. fighters. our students in myanmar are still locked in a standoff with police who are preventing them from holding a protest in yafgon. florence louie has more. >> it's a small group in

solidarity of students in protest against the recently passed education law. fearing being arrested for demonstrating without a permit, they disperse after ten minutes. >> translator: generation is not related to just students, it concerns the older generation. it needs to be better and more democratic. this is why we support the protest. >> for the past few days, activists have been trying to avoid police. announcing the location just a day before the protests and sometimes turning up hours later to give security the slip. the main protest is in letpedam town three hours from the main town. doesn't allow them to form unions and leaves little scope for decision making to

universities. they want to bring their protest to yangon the former capital and main commercial hub but are unable to do so because of the heavy security presence. police however haven't been able to stop other protests in support of the students from popping up in the city. there are signs the deposit is losing patience. activists say police use vigilantes to break up a protest and arrest protesters. often used by the former military regime. the government says it's listening to the students' demands. it's appointed a parliamentary committee to hold public consultations on the matter. >> the reform process and hearing is being held because of the student strike. it's the result of talks between students, advocates and lawmakers. >> how the government handles the protests will be closely watched. it transitions from military

rule to a semi civilian one four years ago and will be holding elections later this year. right for peaceful assembly, as part of a peaceful society. florence louie al jazeera yangon. >> harry fawcett reports. >> there's not much construction going on at the ching ha foodie, she admits they've decided not to put any apartments up yet. >> translator: a few years ago, some developers ran away with their investors' money so that's why people are nervous. our boss is a local man. he wants to finish everything before selling to try to reassure buyers.

>> this is the way it's going to look homes for government workers perhaps. right now there's little more life on the streets of yin co. the government was having to cover $1.6 billion in bad debt as developments failed. if the present is like the future there won't be much chance of getting the money back. what do you know, i've got the entire place to myself. betting on grand projects like this one across china ghost towns across china have been developing. >> falling property prices, two interest rate cuts later selling property in yin co hasn't gotten much easier.

is emptyempty skyscrapers. >> i want to live in the old town. the new town is too far away. >> reporter: in fact it is here that you find a successful mega-project. a developer is spending you 100 billion on a new shopping center and apartment complex. approved by the chinese premier and now his task is to stop its chance being repeated across china's shaky property sector. harry fawcett. al jazeera china. >> two of jokoindonesia's president

joko widodo. >> we have tried owork with them to assure them it is in accordance to their best work, to not kill these two. they have tried to turn other prisoners against life of drug crime so we're continuing to do what we can. >> now it is the biggest drug problem facing the united states, the trade in heroin and most of it comes from mexico. mexican farmers are planting more poppy fields than ever before. our mexican correspond adam

rainey begins his journey in the poppy fields of guerrero state. >> the sierra madre mountains the corridor from mexico to the united states begins. in the fold of these mountains we meet a woman who leads us to her family plot. a rare glimpse of of what people call their garden. the key source for heroin. the demand north of the border is why farms like this exist and there are more and more of them. mexico sees five times as much poppy paste in 2014 compared to the year before. southern guerrero state is a leading producer of raw poppy sap, once collected it is processed into high grade

heroin. it is delicate time-consuming work but the payoff is higher than for legal crops like avocado. arriving at these beautiful fields it's easy to forget that these poppies are the root of a violent and increasingly lucrative industry. >> the farmers we met say men show up three times a year to buy the poppy sap and they have to agree to whatever price is set. asking for more would be suicide.

pop 80 farmers can earn hundreds of dollars a day in the high season. community leaders say they would prefer to grow fruits and vegetables but need good roads to get them to market. >> reporter: no support they say but there is punishment. in recent years mexico's government has stepped up fumigation. the result, a whole harvest of poppies lost, legal fields are damaged too but the flowers continue to flourish and mexican cartels are now the main source of the heroin found in the united states and with american users demanding more of the deadly drug the difficult journey is well worth it for

these farmers. adam rainey, al jazeera sierra madre mountains. >> the so-called march for life rally was organized by bogota's former mayor and subordinated by juan manuel santos. denounced by both sides as an important step in ending the 50 years conflict. thousands have walked across the edmund pettus bridge to proclaim 50 year anniversary of bloody sunday. americans were outraged by the events which led to the passage of the landmark voting rights act. rob reynolds has more. >> the day began with prayer and song. giving thanks for freedoms won.

remembering the cost in lives blood and broken bones. ♪ ♪ >> thousands marched across the span that made selma a synonym for oppression half a century ago when black demonstrators demanding the right to vote were clubbed down by police. a few blocks away from the speeches and celebrations, clement chapel remembers that day in 1965. >> when they charged us with the horses and tear gas and they was beating us with sticks and the cow prods one of my teachers ms. margaret they hit her in the head. we were coming across the bridge and i had to grab her and eescort her over the bridge. >> i don't have to face that hostility or that level of oppression. so i feel as an african american

woman i need to be mindful of the struggles. ♪ ain't going to let nobody ♪ >> amid the chorus of the celebration a call for change. police shootings of unarmed african americans the mass incarceration of black men. >> we have black lives matter. there is a system that is working against us and it is minimizing and ostracizing a group of people and basically murdering them. >> police brutality is an institutionalized event going around like mcdonald's on every corner. they're killing kids left and right. >> testify to a deep economic decline. jobs are scarce. unemployment is twice the national rate. 42% of people here live below the federal poverty line.

still, clement chapel has faith in progress. >> i think they're going to come back. >> they'll come back. >> i'm hopeful they'll come back. >> rob reynolds, selma alabama. >> 40 high school students are competing to take home one of the world's most prestigious science awards. tom ackerman met one kid who is on his way to advanced physics. >> michael winston's mother admits she doesn't really understand his project. he has a passion for quantum mechanics. >> i solve differential equations when i want to figure out how to do better on video

game. >> michael taught himself calculus at the age of nirch. 9. last year he won the silver medal of a competition. it's a key to improving the world. >> superconnecting wires are wires of no resistance which would make leverage half as expensive. that's where things like that come from. >> michael has no objection to being called a nerd. >> where i come from nerd is a term of affection and pride. i've been given to understand although i've never experienced it, that some get bullied for that. >> he has great friends he's been with the same kids since middle school. it's a very supportive group of kids.

they are all extremely talented they all root for each other. >> michael's interest extends to writing his own blog. >> is fictional gory foral gore fiction allegory for science? >> tom ackerman, al jazeera washington. >> the first attempt to fly around the world using only the power of the sun has begun. the solar impulse took off from abu dhabi on a journey that will take five months. the plane has a wing span equivalent to a 747 jet has a

size of a car. impressive stuff. this is where we say good-bye to our u.s. viewers. "america tonight" is up for you next but go to aljazeera.com to get all the latest on the stories we're covering there. >> a legendary artist known the world over. but to mean harry belafonte's greatest role is as a civil rights leader. >> it is to be expected all of us would participate in the struggle for civil rights, civil liberties to be smeared and to be called names, but it requires much more than that to deter me. >>