, starting today. >> regional be neighbors join nigeria to help regain the town of damasak. lowell there i'm shiulie gauche in doha. -g shiulie ghosh in doha. mixing technology with fashion. manufactures of smart watches make a major push in the market.

soldiers from niger and chad have joined the fight against boko haram in nigeria. recaptured the town of damasak. crossing the border into borno state on saturday. this is latest offensive inside nigeria. on friday the african union introived theapproved the force of nations. the joint force has made great progress so far. bring us up to date on the latest fighting. >> absolutely a lot of progress has been achieved by troops from chad niger also the nigerian

army is claiming victory over boko haram from a lot of areas. attacking boko haram positions. so the latest offensive against boko haram by chad and niger is a good report. at least within the nigerian border so they can launch a major offensive against the group. it was thought to be a major nigerian problem until boko haram started expressing its ideas into cameroon, establishing base he there. of recent last month and early this month we have seen how boko haram fighters attacked positions inside chad. >> has that given fight against them more impetus?

is there fear that boko haram could gain more support because of this pledge of allegiance? >> exactly. these four countries are actually worried that i.s.i.l. may come to fight on the side of boko haram in nigeria. and this is given them more impetus like you said, and more sense of timing, to finish up what they started, if they can as quickly as possible, before this thing escalate into a wider regional probably an african problem. because of the interest of i.s.i.l. into the fight by boko haram. so a lot of people are concerned here.and there is thishere. and there's this sense of urgency, to defeat boko haram before the elections on march 28th this year. so all the countries in the region are actually worried that if boko haram finally succeed in getting i.s.i.l. to fight on its

own side that things can get messier than they are already. >> thank you ahmed ahmed idris in abuja. initiative seems to have failed, as the war in syria enters its fifth year. meanwhile u.s. led air strikes in syria have hilt an oil refinery near the turkish border. refinery workers and i.s.i.l. fighters were killed. the fight against i.s.i.l. continues in iraq. deposit forces are still facing strong resistance as they start to retake the northern city of tikrit. the battle is crucial for forces second city under i.s.i.l. control since june of last year. these are the latest

pictures from the town al alam which lies 18 kilometers from tikrit. iraqi forces have liberated the town. as part of iraqi army's offensive against i.s.i.l troops are massing outside an area ten kilometers away from fallujah. meanwhile, kurdish forces are attacking around the oil richity of kirkuk. the city itself is under kurdish control but i.s.i.l. still controls areas nearby. the advance of the iraqi army against i.s.i.l. is forcing a growing number of people from

their homes. it's a situation that aid agencies say is only going to get worse. jane arraf reports from baghdad. >> reporter: aman is trying to get by on her own. since she left anbar province. it is nottest for a widow with four young daughters and with a growing number of iraqis displaced as the iraqi government takes on i.s.i.l. there's less and less aid. aman ask a bit luckier than most after being helped to leave the town of baghdadi. the teachers there give her money to help pay the rent. more than $200 a month for this converted kitchen in a house. but she said she had no choice but to leave home. >> translator: no one came to

tell us to leave. we left because there was no water and no electricity. there were a lot of families who left. i was afraid for children. >> reporter: her husband was a border guard. he was killed on an attack on his post three years ago. her father and her husband's parents stayed behind. she hasn't been able to reach them since. after school, she helps the girls with their lessons. her daughters are able to attend classes here. the tens of thousands of other displaced children don't have access to schools. the iraqi military and kurdish forces are making gains against i.s.i.l. but as they do there are actually more civilians displaced by the fighting. aid agencies felt it couldn't get much worse than it was last year but it has. plans for helping residents of tikrit and mosul once that battle starts but it's running

out of money. >> we are worried about getting aid to areas that are controlled by i.s.i.l. we know many communities are in serious trouble they haven't had access to help for a long time so their situation is serious. >> reporter: fighting has uprooted almost 30,000 people that were left behind when the rest fled. there are now 2.2 million iraqis who can't go home. the shia partners with the militia are replacing the i.s.i.l. flags with their own. jane arraf, al jazeera baghdad. it is houthis have accepted an offer by president hadi for

discussions. on monday there are a series of attacks against houthi, in the province of albeda. the situation on yemen is also high on the agenda as arab league foreign ministers meet in cairo. speaking to hussein al bokati, joining us from sanaa. saudi arabia has agreed to host peace talks between president hadi and the houthis. do you think the houthis will accept that? >> i don't think they will accept it i can -- i'm pretty sure there is no way they will accept that for two reasons. first reason is saudi arabia or other gulf state like united arab emirates, have declared

houthis as terrorist organization. they take inside and they're not any more, the second reason when former president hadi was in charge in sanaa and party were under control they haven't done anything. they haven't implemented any of the national dialogue outcomes. and on top of the houthis the national dialogue outcome they were targeted, two of the members of the national dialogue were assassinated. the president hadi had not implemented the outcomes so changing the place wouldn't make any difference. they haven't got any -- >> regardless of where any negotiations take place regardless of where any negotiations take place surely there last to be some dialogue in the future.

because if there isn't then the violence and the extensions will get worse and some analysts are saying it could spiral into civil war in yemen. >> no, it wouldn't -- it wouldn't reach civil war. this kind of propaganda to scare yemeni people. they will blame in houthi for anything happened. i live in sanaa. they are well secure especially sanaa, we haven't seen sanaa in this way like safe, as much as we see it today. there is no checkpoint on the street and everything is going well. so i do think 30 no reason or scut reason to change the -- are i don't think there is any reason to change the situation. >> the arab league ministers are very worried about what's going

on in yemen. they are going to be meeting in cairo the discuss the situation. what role do you think arab league nations should play? >> i think they can help like in maybe given guarantees to parties to continue talks. which be i don't think this is going to change, it must be in the capital where it started. >> thanks very much indeed for that. hussein al bakati speaking to us live from sanaa. still to come. students protest in myanmar against a new law which they say is stifling academic freedom about plus: >> i'm haru mutasa.

i'll have a report coming up.

>> the stream, >> your digital community >> you pick the hot topics and express your thoughts the stream it's your chance to join the conversation only on al jazeera america >> welcome back i'm shiulie ghosh. a reminder of the headlines. regional neighbors have joined nigeria's battle against boko haram. soldiers from nye niger and chad were seen crossing the border near borno state on saturday. just 18 kilometers from tikrit which is still under i.s.i.l. control. a request from president

hadi to host talks with the houthis, but it's not clear whether the houthis will take part in the negotiations. last week the president accused the houthis of trying to destabilize yes, ma'am. more rescue loans at a meeting of european union ffn ministers in brussels. before giving more funds. the greek government faces a cash crunch within weeks if it fails to secure the loans. it's promising to clamp down on tax dodgers to help pay its debt. john siropolous has more from athens. >> reporter: the government hopes to take $3.5 billion from high net worth individuals, with discrepancies on their income tax statements the last few years. the government is going to give

these people an incentive to cooperate and pay up. it's going to waive all fines and interest payments on those tax arrears. it is going to simply present tax evaders their statements and make it impossible for them to dispute these tax arrears in court, it says. the other thing the government is going to do here is it's going to encourage people to present retail receipts are if merchantsfromprer chants on the streets every day it will encourage people to ask for those receipts and therefore forcing merchants to issue them with more consistency and there are clamping down on tax evasion on vat, on retail tax. if they are legislated and in a few months time if they come to

fruition it will it will persuade their interlocutors from foreclosing. >> foreign investors before the interest of egypt's egypt's people natasha gin gin duinane reports. >> egypt's request for foreign money is violating human rights, damaging the environment and

allowing companies to get away with theft and tax evasion. the report says, new laws give multinational companies a kind of immunity. they shield them from prosecution in the courts when allegations of corruption and embezzlements arise. the egyptian center for economic and associate rights says egypt allows foreign countries to crush workers' rights. failing to to adhere to health and safety regulations since the 2011 revolution the country is a safe bet. >> stable and back and ready to receive investments. >> reporter: but bombings have become an increasing threat for egyptians. once confined to bombing railroad stations and military posts egypt has implementsome reforms. all foreign companies will now

have to pay a 25% tax on profits. but the report says the country must tip the balance in favor of its citizens so they can begin reaping more of the bts the benefits of foreign investment. >> explosion happened near a checkpoint in the northeastern sinai peninsula. a military spokesman said another soldier was seriously injured. hit by a series of attacks mainly attacking the police and military. getting around kenya's slums, is sometimes impossible. some people have come up with an nova way of getting medical assistance to those in need. haru mutasa explains. >> reporter: mows is is a different kind of ambulance driver. someone is sick and needs help. it is not easy to get his

wheelbarrow there. athe ambulance team enjoys the bumps. even the occasional tight squeeze and eventually they arrive. >> it's not very safe. the only thing helping us is we know how to rid a facility, so you can say, there are those corridors, manage to reach here. >> reporter: concerned friends and relatives seem releafd help is here. she has chess pains and can't walk to the clinic. just in case it's serious the siren is switched on and off they go. purity arrives safely and is headed over to the nurse. >> translator: we used to carry people with our own hands. a car couldn't reach some places, it was hard. we could call each other about four or five of us. we then carried patients to the

clinic. >> reporter: the wheelbarrows were first introduced to help pregnant women many were dying at home during childbirth. there are some patients who don't want to be carried in a while barrow, they say it's embarrassing and shouldn't be done and others are too thick to be moved but in places like this the wheelbarrow is sometimes the only option. this team, and the wheelbarrow head out. another person needs assistance. haru mutasa, nairobi. >> confessed to the murder according to the results of a preliminary investigation. five people suspected of the shooting ten days ago ever boris nemtsov. deadly explosion in a mine last week, 34 mine rs died in

the city of donetsk blamed on a buildup ever gas. the pit is across a front line of ukrainian fighting with pro-russian separatists. the swine flu is spreading across india and already claimed more than 1300 lives this year. indian media are reporting at least 25,000 people have been infected this year. indian health ministry is stepping up its efforts will provide free treatment to swine flu patients. the families of two australians facing execution in indonesia have visited them on death row. >> we're looking forward to saying you can get out of the it. >> first time they saw the men since they were transferred to an island prison where they were due to be shot. they were sentenced to death

after smug pling heroin. indonesian president joko widodo widodo. >> we are continuing to work with the indonesian government to try to get them to appreciate that it's in their best interests and it's in accordance with their best values, not to kill these two australians who are actually an asset in the fight against drug crime. they've been doing very good work in the indonesian prison system to try oturn to turn other prisoners against the life of drug crime. so we are continuing to do what we can. >> students in myanmar's biggest city say students, have been restricted from academic freedom. florence louie reports. >> it is a small gathering on the outskirts of yangon.

a sit in protest by students calling for amendments to the recently passed education law. fearful for being arrested for demonstration without permit they disperse after a few minutes. >> translator: education is not just related to younger students, 50 million are subject to the education system so it needs to be better and more democratic, that's why we support the protest. >> activists have been trying to evade police holding protests, announcing them only a day before and hours later giving security a slip. the main protest is in letspedem town. 50,000 students have been camped out since february. they are unhappy with the new education law which doesn't allow them to form unions and

leaves decision making to universities. they want the center to move to yangon. unable to do so because of security presence. police haven't been able to stop other protests in support of the students from popping up in the city. there are signs the government is losing patience. activists say police used vigilantes, to break up a protest last week. use of force is not allowed under myanmar law. the government says it's listening to the students demands mlk consultations public consultations on the students' behalf. how the government thanls protests willhandles theprotesters

will be closely watched. hold elections later this year. already there are calls for it to allow its citizens the right to a peaceful assembly as part of a democratic society. florence louie, al jazeera yangon. >> a march for life rally has been held in clom, colombia. deal has been accepted by both sides to reduce land mines in battle grounds ending 50-year conflict. a giant solar powshed plan powered plane has left abu dhabi. the plane is covered with 17,000 solar panels. its wing span is wider than a boeing 747's but it only weighs

as much as a car. 35,000 kilometers over the next five months. now it's the era of the smart watch with manufacturers making a major push in the market this year. the challenge is mixing technology with fashion. scott heidler has the story. >> science fiction is becoming reality. the smart watch. they can do most things a smartphone does and more. so far smart watch manufacturers are struggling convincing scermsconvincing consumers to buy them. one model from a chinese manufacturer even has a is a fire crystal face.

-sapphire crystal face. >> the voice dictation is really clever and some of the apps really are quite compelling. but they are expensive and the battery life doesn't last long enough. >> how are the new smart watches received here in asia? traditionally an early adapter market, since they are the latest thing to wear osh that they can actually use the technology? right now, the opinion is mixed on thing street in hong kong. >> whatever function the smart watch does, the smartphone already does it. it's just smaller. >> translator: if the watch was really pretty, i would consider it. but for girls it last to be sparkly. >> reporter: in trying to make 2015 sparkle for them

manufacturers continue to position this as the year of the smart watch. they're banking on the idea that consumers will agree. if this merge of fashion and technology will become a must-have item. scott heidler, al jazeera, hong kong. >> all the news on our website. 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. my brother in law tried to rape me but i fought back.