the red cross warns of what it calls unbelievable destruction after cyclone pam moves through the southsouth pacific. ♪ ♪ hello, this is al jazerra. i am live from our headquarters in dough ma. also ahead on the program egypt launches a campaign to help boost its struggling economy and the pledges are pouring n a march of support in brazil for embattled president. this is not just murder it's torture and murder. >> and conservationist in the u.s. try to solve the mystery

threatening the lives of brown pelicans in florida. ♪ ♪ hello, many people are feared dead a after sigh loan pam swept through the south pacific nation of vanuatu. winds of up to 270-kilometers an hour have caused significant damage to the islands and cut off remote provinces be the united nations are sending emergency teams in to the country which lies to the east of northern australia. gerald tan has the latest. >> reporter: destruction in the wake of cyclone pam. aid workers describe the scenes as unbelievable. the category five tropical storm has uprooted trees. torn downpour lines and ripped off roofs. in the capital many buildings still stand but it's feared the damage to villages in remote islands will be extensive.

communication is down, so assessing the full impact could take time. >> it's been a very, very destructive cyclone. hitting a country that has -- is using a lot of traditional shelters and housing which means they are quite vulnerable to this kind of intensity. and so we are planning for the worst case scenario. >> reporter: the approach of the cyclone was terrifying. the seas swelled as driving rain and strong winds swept in to vanuatu. >> the winds are getting stronger by the minute. really everything is blowing around pretty seriously now. and it's really shaping up to be a long night. everyone in the country. >> reporter: in preparation the government issued a nationwide red alert for people it take shelter in more secure buildings. people boarded up homes and shops before headed to designated evacuation centers.

the united nations has now sent a rapid response team to aid relieveaidreprevious operations, neighboring countries have already offered to help in what is possibly one of the worst weather disasters in pacific history. gerald tan, al jazerra. the. >> united nations second general ban ki-moon says it will take time to assess the damages there. >> we are not quite clear of the impact and scope of the disaster but we fear the destruction and damage could be widespread. >> china has sent fighter jets to its border with myanmar beijing is accusing myanmar of an air raid that killed four people. myanmar says it's challenging ethic chinese that wants to take over the region. florence what exact is a

happening here? >> reporter: well, we know that this air strike was launched on friday. there are conflicting reports from the chinese media about just how many bombs were dropped. some reports say one some say three, four workers were killed and nine injured. it appears to be the worst spill-over violence since starting fighted in the cocaine ring down february 9th. serious enough for the chinese identifies foreign minister to summon the myanmar ambassador. the chinese side said it strongly condemns the deaths as well as the intrusion in to chinese territory and said it urged myanmar to launch -- to investigate what actually happened. to report the findings back to the chinese side. and to take action against whoever was responsible for this intrusion in to chinese territory. now, this also suggests that there is a lot of heavy bombardment going on in the

area. because it comes just about a week after a stray shell landed in chinese territory. nope was injured during this incident, but a house was flattened. china is, of course, unhappy about this. myanmar is an ali the relationship has been a little bit lake shaky in the last few years, but china is very important, china considers myanmar an important trading partner it's an important bilateral relationship and it remains to be seen just how the chinese side will respond to this intrusion if it happens again in the future. >> all right floor earns looi live for us there in myanmar. thanks for that. nigeria's government has acknowledged that it is getting help from the battle against boko haram from foreign fighters. it says the mercenaries are only involved in training and

logistics, but there is evidence the soldiers are playing a vital role in the frontline. >> reporter: victory. nigerian troops sweep in to this north eastern town in borno state and regain control from boko haram. [ inaudible ] confidence, you go for what you call reach an area that you think their reach used to be, you take it from them. collect what is legitimately ours and a few that them that have the courage to wait, you dispatch them. >> reporter: this he show the cash of weapons lefts behind by the armed group as proof of success. it's these very operations that the military says is turning the tide against boko haram. the fight isn't being won alone the government now admits it's getting technical and logistic the support from what it calls foreign contractors. but sources have told al jazerra

that mercenaries from south africa and other countries, are playing a decisive fighting role on the frontlines. >> the nigerian government actually has explanation that his they can stick to because for one thing they say that the neighboring army, niger cameroon and chad, boko haram has attacked them also so they'll say, look, they are defending their territory and we just couldn't with them. and as they have said about the others the foreigners from south africa and elsewhere they say these are trainers, so i think they have their story down. >> reporter: boko haram has emerged as a major security threat to nigeria and its neighbors. it's killed thousands of people over the past six years in a campaign to carve out an islamic state in northern nigeria. the group has now also pledged allegiance to isil which has called on its supporter to fight in africa. nigeria's government insists it

has no need to unlawfully recruit soldiers to confront boko haram. it always has the support of the african union. but as the nations head it's a push to scurry gains that will translate in to votes as they head towards elections. egypt's government says it will build a new administrative capital just east of cairo. the housing minister says it will be built within seven years and cost $45 billion. it's part of a series of mega projects announced during all summit aimed atta facting more investment in the country. egypt's gulf neighbors have pledged more than $12 billion to support the economy president abdel fattah el-sisi says he hopes growth will reach 6% over the net next five years and unemployment cut by 10%. stefanie dekker reports. >> reporter: world and business leaders all here to listen to

egypt's pitch despite years of turmoil, we are open for business. in his opening speech, president sisi personally welcomed many of the heads of state present here for their support. >> translator: i would like to thank all of our brothers, kings, and presidents of the arab states that are giving us a lot of honor of being here today in egypt. the egyptian sought is 25 25% of the population of the middle east stability in egypt is a very important role for the stability of the whole region. we need to make sure that this power will be for the benefit of the stability of the nation and for the region. >> reporter: it started off well with billions of dollars pledged by some of egypt's richest neighbors, the aim is to secure billions more. it's a glitzy p. research campaign, this is the official video. the egypt that they want to promote. clean, easy-flowing traffic

businesses and industries ready for investment. but the reality is a little more complicated on the opening day of the conference an explosion hit barclays bank in alex address tree a others struck all greek bank in the same city. the group that claimed responsibility they wanted all companies taking part in summit. there have been a few small pro protests against the government. egypt is not for sale is the slogan being used. the muslim brotherhood now deemed a terrorist organization won't be too eager to see the conference succeed. dissent has been heavily suppressed in the past. opponents have been arrested and prosecuted since 2013. and there has been growing violence. plus the threat of isil-affiliated groups across the border in libya all difficult issues for the government to tackle. alongside high unemployment, a struggling tourism industry and low foreign investment. this may be an economic plea in

egypt's economy could certainly do with a cash injection but this is all about president sisi's political legitimate i among the western officials the head of the international monetary fund and the u.s. secretary of state. >> how egypt fares in the -- fares in the coming years and how it restructures its economy will affect notal only the country's nearly 90 million citizens, but also affect millions of others throughout the region who aspire to a better future. that is why we are gathered here. we all, all of us, have a stake in egypt's success. >> reporter: who is presents here and what is said and what is pledged will be an indication about the level of international support president sisi and his policies hold. stefanie dekker, al jazerra. talks to end the political stalemate between libya's rival governments have been postponed

again. did not show enough ma rock open. u.n. envoy did meet with members from the tripoli based national congress, they are concerned with tobruk's appointment of a remember gate jenas its top military commander. much more ahead on al jazerra. syrian kurdish fighters call for more help to defeat isil. and indian prime minister? sri lanka. we'll have the details of his historic trip it & what it could mean for the neighboring countries when we come back.

>> tuesday on "the stream". >> the annual south by southwest festival has been a breeding ground for some of the biggest tech innovations in the world. we'll take you there, giving you a glimpse into the future. >> "the stream". tuesday, 1:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

hello again. the top story on his al jazerra. many people are feared dead after cyclone pam hit the south pacific nation of vanuatu. the red cross says the destruction is unbelievable. winds of more than 250-kilometers an hour brought downpour lines and caused storm surges. china has sent fighter jets to its border with myanmar and is accusing myanmar of an air raid in chinese territory that killed four people. myanmar says it's targeting ethnic chinese rebel that his wants to take over the cocaine region. egypt says it will build a new administrative capital east of cairo. part of a series of mega projects announced during all summit aimed at attracting more investment in egypt. now, india's prime minister is travel to go northern shri lanka to handover 50,000 new home to his people who lost their lives during the civil war.

he has already met leaders of the tamil national alliance. he is due to become the first indian lead tore visit in almost 30 years. the city is the former strong hold of the tamil tigers who were defeated six years ago. and that is where we are joined live now. tell us about just how significant this visit is. >> reporter: it is a very important visit not just for slow lan at that but for india as well. after years of relations between the two countries being somewhat strained and sort of in decreased mode we have seen a thawing of relations and slow lan at that kasami and its treatment of its tamil minority is a very important dynamic within the relationship which is why the prime minister has found the time in his sketch towel come up here the very first indian lead tore do so in terms of

his program here today, he is meeting with more representatives of that tamil national alliance. he will hand over a couple of thousands houses. yesterday he did talk about 27,000 house that his had been built for those that had been affected by the war and the indian prime minister will make his way to the area that this housing scheme is taking place and hand over the fukudome those this afternoon. all in all this afternoon, not just goodwill but also the messages that he sent in his speeches today talking about the importance of including not just the tamil people, but the entire country, but also he made significant mention of including the tamil minority in sri lanka's journey towards insuring peace, justice and reconciliation for all sections of the community. he did also say that india would stand by sri lanka in this

process and also hinted that this process would be expediteed in sri lanka stays with their 13th amendment sort of a political process long years ago supported by india which talks about laying the groundwork for achieving that reconciliation. >> all right, thank you for joining us live there from i don't have that. thanks for that. syria afternoons information minister also said the kurds a major partner in the fight against isil fighters. the syrian kurdish fighters are urging more air strikes from the u.s.-led coalition against isil. zeina khodr reports. >> reporter: these are kurdish forces in syria. the people's protection units. or the ypg. they have been on the front line in the war against islamic state of iraq and the levant. these fighters say they are defending their land against isil. they are also the anti-isil coalition's only partner on the ground in syria.

the group's political wing is the p.y. it. >> on the ground, it is the kurds who are fighting isil. that is why the coalition needs to support your us, but the support we are getting is limited to air strikes, it made us stronger no doubt. but we are not receiving any weapons and ammunition. >> reporter: the u.s.-led coalition does acknowledge the y.p.g.'s advances and the air support it provides, but it's careful to avoid identifying the fighters as the y.p.g. in its statements it calls them the anti-isil forces. there may be a reason why. many in the international community consider the y.p.g. fighters and their political wing the p.y.d. to be the syrian branch of the cured kurdistan workers party to be on the terrorist list. >> the p.y.d. is the lolla fall yacht on the ground.

so they are very closely i want linked, but, of course, you have to be careful because the p.k. k. is still listed as a terrorist organization in the west. >> reporter: clearly the w.p.g.'s links to the p.k. k. are a complicated factor, the p.p. y. will not be in the groupings the u.s. plans to arm. even though it's been organized and in direct combat with isil. in the northeast syria's kurds are the majority before isil advanceed in for their region they were enjoying relatively stability. they even had their own administration that ran their affairs, many interpreted this as a step towards creating an independent state. but the kurds say all they want is autonomy in a democratic syria. the battle for the border town of kobane was the first time the u.s. led coalition coordinated with the local fighting force on the ground in syria. at first, it was reluctant to do so. in part because turkey also

considers the p.y.d. and p.k. k terrorists. months later their corporation continues it's an alliance born of necessity, not choice. zeina khodr, al jazerra beirut. turkey's coast guard has opened fire on a ship carrying more than 300 syrian refugees. the shots were fired after the captain ignored warnings to stop as it passed through the narrow straight in northwest turkey. 337 refugees who were trying to reach italy have been detained in turkey. and we have full coverage of the conflict in syria on our website aljazerra.com. just click on syria: broken nation on the front page for in-depth reports analysis, and video. the united states and india are condemning the imprisonment of the former president of the maldives. mohamed was sentence today 13 years for terrorism charges after ordering the arrest of a senior judge while in office three years ago. he denied ordering the arrest.

he was maldives' first democratically elected president is calling on his supporters to protest despite a heavy police presence in the capital mallee. now, pro-government supporters have staged demonstrations in cities across brazil in support of the president. she and her key allies are accused of being involved in a major corruption scandal with state oil giant. major demonstrations are plan odd sunday. from sao paulo adam raney has more. >> reporter: a vocal but small connaughton haven't in rio to support's brazil's state oil company and fends off calls for the president's impeachment. signs like this saying we are oil workers, we are not result, we are seen in rio and across frosts across brazil. expressing the fear in leftist ranks that the corruption scandal could lease lead to calls for its privatization.

>> there has always been corruption. but it isn't normal to have it. it has to be fixed. it needs to be investigated the difficulty parts parties need to go jail and be removed. >> reporter: landless movement, who wild critical of the government's austerity measures are against any efforts to impeach the president. and brazil's largest city, protesters occupied a block on one of the busiest avenues. most who showed up were from large workers unions and long-time supporters of the workers party dating back to the president's predecessor. >> translator: they did a lot to move the country forward especially for the working class. >> translator: she was elected democratically because of that we have to defends her definitely. that's why we are out in the streets. >> reporter: hundreds of riot police were called out but the demonstrations remained

peaceful. it's unlikely that these small demonstrations across the country will bolster the popularity which is at an historic low. in addition to the corruption scandal, she's dealing with a shrinking economy high inflation and a weakening currency. rains here in sao paulo cut the protests short but it never attracted the 10s of thousands of people that organizers were hoping for. indeed across brazil, turn out was lower than expected. their reports that the president has instructed her cabinet to stay in the capital over the weekend and see just how large anti-government protests on sunday turn out to be. and to register any impact it could have on the government. adam raney, al jazerra, sao paulo. a forest five in chile has forced more than 4,000 people from their homes. a state of emergency has been declared in the port cities. valparaiso and delmar. warm temperatures and strong winds fan the flames and the

blaze spread quickly destroying about 500-hectares of land. the u.s. investigators say they have leads in the hunt for whoever shot and wounded two police officers in ferguson, missouri during a protest rally this week. protesters condemning the shooting held a candle-lit vigil for patriots, ferguson is the folk thefocal point since the killing of an unarmed black teenagers by eye white police officer. stopped asking to use its base. russia has been using it as a support site for bomber flights over the asia pacific. ma ga or teague uh-huhs more from ma nil 5678 a show of strength far from home. accord to this u.s. military, russian planes including nuclear bombers have been increasing patrols not just over the atlantic and the north sea but also the asia pacific region.

close to the u.s. territory of game. the u.s. says the russian patrols are being refueled by tankers taking off from an old u.s. base in vietnam and flying over a region already rife with its own tensions. >> we have under the vietnamese official to his insure that russia is not able to use its access to conduct activities that could raise tensions in the region. obviously we have done that privately with vietnamese government officials and certainly our presence is that they would not. >> reporter: the u.s. has itself been trying to gain more access to the bay. it's refocusing troops to the asia pacific region as china's influence in the area is growing growing. china has been expanding and engaging in territorial disputes with smaller countries many which are counting on the u.s. for support. include vietnam. vietnamese have only recently improved ties with the u.s.,

theirs cooperation with russia goes back decades. >> you are much more in to balance of power multi-stayed systems, people pushing back and forth trying to understand how the to link several times and it gets very much more complicated. in that sense the cold war throw dangerous and nerve racking was sit approximately. >> reporter: there is nothing simple about three world powers flexing their muscles in the asian pacific. for the countries in this region it's all about balancing domestic interest with maintaining peace with external relations. the politics between russia and the u.s. has added another dimension to already difficult and complex web of did people see. marga or teague a ortigas, al jazerra that nilla. wildlife conservationist in the u.s. state of florida are puzzles because a dozen pelicans have been found with their slouches sharped. no one knows why a reward is

being offer today find the cull brit. andy gallagher has more. >> oh, my poor baby. my little baby. baby. >> reporter: mia trained as a nurse in her native croatia and these days she's putting those skills to good use. a makeshift refuge center in big pine has become a vital lifeline for the area's unique wildlife and things have never been busier. >> it's 24 hours a day, seven days a week. you know, we -- that's what i like. i don't like to go outside. i don't like to go here, i am happy with my animals i am happy here they need me, you know. >> reporter: in the last fa months her refuge has been inninginundated with badly injured pell tans at least a dozen found with sliced pouches injuries the veterinarian says are both deliberate and malicious. >> the horror in that is they don't want the birds to just die

they want them to die a miserable death it's not just murder it's torture and murder. easy bud u6789d dr. harris believe that his fishermen perhaps angry about pelicans stealing their catch may be responsible. but despite a reward and crowing concern, so far no one has been caught or charged. >> i would like for them to thin seven in so we can put an end to this first and foremost. but, you know, if anything we were out there looking for you. >> reporter: for the most part, pelicans in the keys are deeply respected. but it's their sometimes frowned upon depend dance i that may be getting in them in trouble. when and makes them especially vulnerable is their relationship with people. at gutting stations they get a free meal and show absolutely no fear. but that also makes them an easy targets. but for pelicans that are found and treated there is a good chance of survival once they are rereleased as lon as mia lives here the pelicans of the florida

keys have a protector who it seems will never give up hope. >> i love you babies. oh, there she goes, got a fish. >> reporter: andy gallagher, al jazerra, big pine key florida. and as a reminders as ever there is lots more on our website. aljazerra.com. >> flash point ferguson, a community coming apart at the seams. with foyer top city officials already gone, there's talk about disbanding the police department, even city government. i'm here to talk about wiping off ferguson city government might be better for the people living there. san some aren't buying the top kremlin critic, you do