♪ violent clashes in myanmar as students demand more rights and better education. ♪ hello, this is al jazeera, live from our headquarters in doha. also ahead, ivory coaster's iron lady is behind bars. she gets 20 years for her role in post collection violence. yemen's former president tells his successor to go into exile. and three french limp

french -- olympians are killed during the filming of a reality tv show in argentina. ♪ hundreds of police have been involved in violent confrontations with student protesters in myanmar. students marching were hit with batons and some were dragged into police trucks. they were calling for more freedom in education. florence loui has more from myanmar's largest city. >> reporter: a tense standoff between protesters and police turns into a confrontation. for more than a week the protesters have been camping in a town north of yangone. they are unhappy with a new law.

on tuesday officials said they would allow students to march to yangon, but when the activists found out they wouldn't be allowed to hold banners and chant slogans along the way, they became angry. they tried to breach the police line and dismantle a tent. it doesn't take long for the situation to deskrend into violence. hundreds of police charge at the protesters. protesters are dragged into police trucks and student leaders are among those arrested. police also attack a vehicle that was being used by the demonstrators. police have respondented to some of the past week's protests some held in solidarity with the students with force. last week men in plane clothes attacked protesters. several people were arrested.

yangon officials admitted to using a vigilante force which is aloud under myanmar law. but it is seen as a tactic used by the government to break up the protests. the crackdown comes just as the u.n. said the country is sliding back towards conflict because the government has back tracked on its pledge to uphold human rights. and it has got many questioning whether the transition from military to civilian rule is genuine. gwen robinson is the senior asia editor of the asia review she says the use of the force was a negative government. >> the central government knows what is going on and has powers to stop the negative power on protesters. if it is ordering police to

break up what were relatively peaceful protests that is also negative. so there is i think going to add immensely to the perception of backsliding, and, you know, rolling back on earlier pledges of reform. it is not in this government's interest even selfishly, perfectly separate from any issues about basic human rights it's in the government's interest in the last six to seven months of its term but many positive things have hand. let's not forget that four years ago there was no parliament in the country. [ inaudible ] was locked up under house arrest. she ran for parliament. she is in parliament. she is a force. one might say in this debate that are at the heart of these student protests we have not

heard a great deal from the nld, which is her party, nor her herself, although one would expect something to be said after the events we have seen this week and some of the really disturbing video of police beating unarmed students with sticks. i mean possibly ten to 15 years ago, these students would have been shot under previous military regime. that said previous military regimes never promised openness and reform. whereas this particular administration of the president has lead people to believe that they would take a different approach. they were different, and that still does not detract from how far they have come from the really dark days. the government itself has implemented many reforms, released political prisoners and so on. iraq yay forces and shia

militia are shelling suspected isil hideouts in tikrit and preparing to attack the city. they have retaken a town just 40 kilometers west of baghdad. kurdish peshmerga forces have blown up a heavily armored truck said to be driven by isil fighters near cur -- kirkuk. [ explosion ] >> reporter: the vehicle exploded after an attack by kurdish forces. it was part of an offensive against kirkuk which the kurds have held since june of last year. yemen's former president sala has accused the current president of destroying the country. he says the president should leave the country and go into exile.

mohamed vall sent this update. >> reporter: former president saleh is very clearly aiming for a strong baum comeback to the political scene this he probably doesn't want to be president again, but he has his son. and we have seen thousands rallying for his son to run for president. we have seen loyalists showing their presence and power. here in aden a general refused hadi's orders for him to move from his post and be replaced. abdullah abdullah saleh has said that hadi is a separatists and he should leave. he compared the situation to the civil war. >> translator: the people cannot

afford to eat or drink, you have suspended their salaries brought their livelihood to stand still. investment to halt and tourism too. is this what you call the modern civil state where universities and schools are ruined. they are liars. liars. ivory coasters former first lady has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for her role in post-election violence. she was given double the sentence prosecutors had asked for. more than 3,000 people died in fighting that began when her husband refused to step down in 2010. dominic kane reports. >> reporter: she sits in court here. she was once first lady of ivory coast, but in this trial she was

described as having undermined state security. prosecutors argued that when her husband lost the presidential election of 2010, she organized armed gangs after he rejected the results. in the violence that followed more than 3,000 people were killed. she and her husband were arrested in 2011 by french and u.n. peace keeping troops. her husband is now awaiting trial at the international criminal court in the hague, accused of crimes against humanity. at the court on tuesday, his wife simon was found guilty. the verdict was welcomed by groups representing the victims. [ applause ] >> translator: we are really satisfied that this trial took place. as for us it's a victory of criminal justice over impunity over promotion of those who have committed crimes random executions and forced

disappearances that had become the way to govern. >> reporter: but her legal team rejected the legitimacy of the court, and called the judgment political. >> translator: given the court's decision and the sentences, and given the absence of fact and proof against her, this is nothing more than purely political decision to keep her out of the political game. >> reporter: ivory coast is due to hold a presidential election later this year. with simon now contemplating a 20-year prison sentence her involvement may be limited. dominic kane al jazeera. nigerian forces are gaining ground in the fight against boko haram. the military says it has reclaimed towns in the northeast, and a joint offensive i will troop from chad and niger is also taking progress in neighboring borno state.

philip ham amonged says u.k. spy agencies are boosting their efforts to counter the threat from russia. but it may also be a bid to boost cash for the u.k. defense industry. >> reporter: this is what the new cold war looks like from close up. pictures from the russian defense ministry. eye-to-eye with a british air force jet. the raf took its own pictures too. it is exactly the sort of thing britain sees as an out and out provocation. having spent years trying to carry favor with president putin, the government appears to have given up trying. >> we are faced with a russian federation bent not on joining the international system but on subvert subverting it.

president putins actions fundamentally undermine the security of the sovereign nations of eastern europe. >> reporter: president putin has acknowledged that he decreed that crimea should be returned to russia implying his orders sent the soldiers into ukrainian cities. consequently britain has been helping train soldiers in other countries which lie close to russian territory. but these things have been going on for some time. so why should be diplomat raise them out in? the biggest chaer leereds of this speech would l have former colleagues here at the defense in london. they are livid at the cut of their budget which could reduce staff by 30,000. they are also the biggest supports of a controversial project which is 'em bla mattic of the sold war with the soviet

union. the mis-- people at like the foreign secretary will hope upgrading the system will end a signal to moscow that britain isn't the insignificant little country country portrayed by vladimir putin. thousands of people displaced in the philippines as government force hunt down an armed group in the south. plus women in nepal are turning to an unlikely source to stop gender violence. do stay with us. we're back after the break.

>> 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.

♪ welcome back. a reminder of our top stories on al jazeera. hundreds of police in myanmar have been involved in violent confrontations with student protesters. the students were hit with batons and some were detained. ivory coaster's former first lady has been sentenced to 20 years in jail charged with undermining state securedy in the violence stemming from the elections in 2010. and yemen's former president has accused the government of destroying the country. he said president hadi who has fled to the southern city of aden should leave the country and go into exile. now jordan's king abdullah the second has called on muslim

countries to lead the fight against isil. he made the comments in a speech to the european parliament. >> this is a fight that has to be carried out by muslim nations first and foremost. [ applause ] >> this is a fight within islam. and at the same time the danger of extremism must be seen for what it is. global. >> jacky rowland has more now from strasberg. >> reporter: the king used his speech to flax up the key issues facing the arab world and european countries, and started with the question of isil the war in syria being waged on jordan's border and jordan bearing the brunt of the refugee

crisis. and he said essentially that this is a fight that has to be fought in his view first and foremost within the muslim world. he said it is a fight within the heart of islam itself. the king also decided to talk about the israeli palestinian peace process or rather non-existent peace process, and he said the fact that the international community wasn't pressing harder and the fact that more attention was not being paid to issues like israeli settlement building. he said this was a real -- really shows that some international law was not being dealt with in an even-handed way. he said it really called into question and destroyed confidence in international institutions. the king talked about the refugee crisis from syria, the fact that jordan has 1.4 million syrian refugees but stopped short of asking european nations

to do more to share in carrying that burden. in syria, more people have been killed by government barrel bomb attacks. two civilians died and many more were injured in idlib province. barrel bombs are crude weapons that kill indiscriminately. also in syria, a camp for palestinian refugees has been hit by government shelling. at least four people inside the camp are believed to have been killed and more than 20 others injured. it is near the center of damascus and has been under siege by syrian forces for years. tribe leaders, non-governmental organizations, and others are in the capitol of nigers. a deal could be signed in morocco on wednesday. militias are battling on the

streets of benghazi. the u.n. security council has delayed a request to lift an arm's embargo, because some are worried it would be diverted to militia groups. we spoke to a it will call analyst with africa matters. he explained why the ongoing talks in libya are so complex. >> well it's a very difficult task that these negotiators are going to have ahead of them. what is even more difficult is the multiplisy of actors. are around 2,000 militia groups throughout the country. there are two governments each with a group of coalition groups backing them. and you have the rise of the islamic state in various cities and al-qaeda is present in libya, and others. so all of these actors make a

political solution even more complicated. and i think one of the great difficulties with the talks so far has been the kind of gap that exists between the actors involved in the talks and the armed groups on the ground because there seems to be a perception that those involved in the talks are maybe doves and cannot control the more hawkish elements on the ground doing the fighting. the operation against the islamic freedom movement will continue until the group is eliminated. a week of fighting has already forced more than 20,000 people from their homes. our correspondent has more. >> reporter: this woman comes from a long line of displayed families. for generations they have been refugee. it's a story of perpetual

displacement. they are people living their life on the run. >> translator: we have been living this life for so long. every year we lose our homes. we rebuild all over again, just want to be able to stay. sleep in our beds tend to our farms. this is tiring. >> reporter: over a million people have been displaced since armed rebellion began in the late 1960s. violence has displaced this region for decades where more than 120,000 people have been killed. there has been relative calm over the last few years, because of ongoing negotiations between the philippine government and southeast asia's biggest rebel group, the islamic liberation front. but last week the government declared an all-out offensive against the movement. a group believed to be [ inaudible ] a known bomb maker in the south and one of the

country's most wanted men. this army general says such operations are crucial in weeding out rebels in the area. but admits it can also put a lot of strain on communities. >> it's very hard in a sense that we are trying to balance the military objective, and the humanitarian concern. we need to resolve this issue as soon as possible. >> reporter: more than 50,000 people are displaced here alone. they are living in evacuation camps like this one. with not enough food and decent shelter, and their number keeps rising. they have long accepted this to be their life a vicious cycle of fear and dispossession, but what they cannot accept they say, is that their children may have to suffer the same fate too. crowds in south korea have held a rally in support of u.s. ambassador mark lippert.

lippert has left hospital after being slashed at this breakfast meeting five days ago. hundreds turned out to back the ambassador. he was attacked by a korean nationalist who was demanding the reunification of north and south korea. there have been protests in nepals capitol after two girls were attacked with acid. according to regent government report gender-based violence is on the rise. and women are finding one of the few public places where they feel safe is on a bus. >> reporter: for several days young people have been rallying to support two young women who were attacked with acid last week. >> the fine is a fine and a four-month sentence? >> reporter: this incident has provoked renewed discussion of violence against women.

according to a study done by the united nations gender-based violence has increased by 33% in five years. >> translator: the current state of impunity might have something to do with the increase in violence. criminals are let off easily on bail, and that has added confidence to criminals. >> reporter: most bases of gender-based violence are never reported. women complain that there are few public places where they feel safe. women and girls frequently find themselves being subject to sexual harassment and abuse. >> the bus is usually crowded, so i just feel like one guy standing back of me he was rubs towards me. >> reporter: this private bus service that is female only is perhaps the only public space in the city where women can travel without feeling harassed. >> translator: we're planning to expand the routes around the

city. >> reporter: so far the bus service only reaches to women traveling on two routes in peak hours. and while the service has been appreciated activists say the solution to stopping attacks against women is in changing attitudes, not segregating men and women. venezuela's president says he is going to ask for more powers to fight what he calls imperialism. he says the u.s. wants to topple his socialist government. the u.s. has declared the ma dur are government a national security threat. virginia lopez has more. >> reporter: last night, president maduro addressed the nation. he asked venezuelans to reflect on the recently imposed sanctions that the u.s. has passed on his top government officials. but what has started as a rather peaceful message took on a very

firey note and ended with maduro accusing obama of being the next nixon, but also asking for special powers so he could counter any aggression the u.s. might impose on venezuela. he congratulated one of the officials and named him minister of interior. this aggressive tone and the anti-u.s. rhetoric continues. three french athletes are among ten people killed when two helicopters collided in argentina argentina. five others were french nationals and two were argentine pilots. in the u.s. the army has

launched air shifts carrying radars to counter missile attacks, but there are worries that they might invade people's privacy. >> reporter: the u.s. military has launched the first of two lighter than air vessels. it has been hovering 3300 meterings above an army base north of washington, d.c. its mission to identify large metal objects like planes and missiles over a 500 kilometer range. together with a secondary ship providing targeting information, the system is designed to foil a sudden short-range enemy strike. >> the threat is real. our adversaries have gained the ability to launch low attacks that can be difficult to detect by consent -- conventional

systems. >> it is persistent. it's over the horizon, so currently we don't have to worry about terrain or buildings. >> reporter: while it is tethered close to public highways like this one, the army says it won't be invating privacy. >> the agency has said that they are not going to integrate video surveillance into this equipment. the documents that we got show that they had contrary plans. we haven't received any documents from them as a result of our lawsuit that indicate that they have changed those plans. >> reporter: the border patrol already operates at least five smaller aerostats along sparsely populated stretches along the border with mexico. the army's air ships must still

underthree years of testing. it hopes to fair better than the 15 earlier lighter than air programs that were scrapped at a cost of nearly $7 billion. and a reminder there is plenty more news on our website, aljazeera.com. i managed to really memorize the features of the man that was actually the rapeist in the room with us. >> fran drescher not only survived rape. she helped bring her stacker to justice. the lesson she learned helped her cope with another trauma. she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. two years after she began feeling symptoms. >> you have to be able to transfer from being a patient into a medical consumer.