r chance to join the conversation only on al jazeera america >> hello, you're watching the al jazeera news hour live from london. coming up in the next 60 minutes, yemen's houthies head south deploying hundreds of troops and call for an offensive against the embattled president. intense fighting around libya's capital kills a militia leader loyal to the tripoli government and threatens peace

talks in morocco. a renewed call for peace in turkey. and one of naple's dangerous neighborhoods visited by pope francis, and tells its residents to resist the mafia. battle for control of yemen is intensifying a day after suicide-bombers killed 137 people in two shia mosques in sanaa. 20 shia houthi rebels have been killed in the south. she haven't now called for an offensive. and appear to be trying to expand the territory that they hold. now all that brings them closer to aden, where president hadi

has been taking refuge. on thursday, the southern port city was the scene of fierce fighting between hadi loyalists and those loyal to ali abdullah saleh. al-qaeda fighters briefly capture the capitol of the province killing around 20 soldiers before being driven out by the army. >> reporter: people gather to protest against the arrival of pro houthi forces in their city. they want to drag us into war and we refuse. >> a helicopter flailing over a military convoy below was a sign that pro-houthi forces might be closer to a collision force with president hadi.

hadi has been in aden trying to hang on to power before being forced to level the capital. >> there are those who oppose the houthis but they're not militants. they're not armed. they're not al-qaeda. they protest against the houthies but they will not fight the houthies. it's a big difference. >> as people grapple with the mosque bombings that killed 137 on friday, president hadi appeared on television. he said the bombings were an attempt to push the country into a sectarian war and he needs to secure the yemeni yemenis. >> i call for those, even though even those who carried outs the

do youcoup d'etat d'etat. >> the u.n. lawn very has left the country. saudi arabia has offered to host peace talks but houthi spokes people say they will only meet in yemen. with talks on hold and houthies on the move the question is whether escalation is inevitable inevitable. >> let's cross lines to beirut and speak to a professor of u.s. mideast relations in california. good to have you with us. so right now we have a situation where president hadi in the port city of aden is increasingly coming under attack.

the mouths are call forgive their forces to really rally and make that push south words. how far difficult is it going to be for president hadi to repel any advance by the outs coming towards them? >> it's going to be very difficult, of course. he doesn't have much of a choice at this point. i think president hadi realized he has to use the carrot and stick approach. his troubles go back several years now ever since the 2011 up rising, and yes the opposite is also true, the houthies have found it very convenient to corner president hadi and make sure that they put incredible demands on the individual. therefore, we're in a situation

where both sides are essentially locked in their positions, and neither one of them is willing to concede an inch. >> what then are the prospects for potential political settlement because president hadi has called for crisis talks in the capital of riyadh? >> well, at this point there are tensionally two solutions to figure out what is going to happen. either we go to an all out civil war where the two sides find no way to negotiate to which they are committed or they accept the united nations council offer to host a meeting in riyadh whereby all the parties will be in a neutral venue to revisit the results of the national dialogue. i think its important to remember that the yemenis manage

to come up with a very effective national dialogue and they worked on it for four years and the results are very important. the only difference that exists is today there is a force that preventing the application of the national dialogue and to take up the next step whereby a new constitution will be written. i would like to remind everyone that the most important clauses of the marble dialogue are some things that everyone agrees upon. that there should be a known secretary tyrian regime. religious freedom should be guaranteed and all the weapons of individuals should be collected, and the slew of other things all of which is acceptable to both sides. but for some reason it is impossible for them to sit around a table and come to terms with what to do with the future of yemen. >> how can they be insent

incentivized to do that? >> well, i think that's a very good question. i think that it is difficult at this point to actually pull the rabbit out of the proverbial hat, if you like. president hadi can no longer rely on united nations to provide assistance. the united nations envoy has pretty much run out of room to maneuver. it is up to the yemeni themselves to settle the dispute. it means that president hadi will have to use the carrot and stick method. he has called for negotiations. a new chapter of the dialogue while remaining defiant and saying he's going to plant the national flag in the stronghold of the houthies.

therefore, he has essentially yemenizeed the yemen crisis, and it's now up to the houthies to live up to their end of the bargain to see if they'll accept the president's new terms to negotiate a way out. unless that happens i think that yemen is in deep trouble and perhaps on the brink of a new civil war. >> thank you very much. good to get your analysis live first from beirut. moving to libya where a new outbreak in tripoli is jeopardizing the peace talks taking place in morocco. they have carried out airstrikes in and around tripoli. these are the latest pictures we're getting from the region. the leader of the libyan dawn militia that seized the capital in august. the top envoy to libya has

condemned the violence. >> precisely in the decisive moments it is as strong as it was in the past. this is not only military activity which is undermining the situation in lib y and preventing the unity in fighting terrorism, it is also an operation that we condemn in the strongest chemistry. >> hashem, what hope is there for some sort of positive outcome of these talks. they're trying to push for an agreement on a national unity government. they're trying to end the violence. yet we see this escalation in cripcally. >> well, they're in and around

tripoli. the top military commander spent some time in jail during muammar qaddafi during during the 2011 up rising. they joined the rebellion and he was one of the top military commander in tripoli. he's someone who has a following of thousands of people in tripcally. this is something that we'll definitely have impact on the ongoing talks. as i speak with you now i can see the delegation from the tripoli-based government making a press conference. maybe they'll continue the talks, or they might walk out. it's a very criminal situation for both libyan factions to stitch together a settlement here. >> how much of a mandate do they have, those on the ground versus their allies back home respectively in tibruk and

tripoli. you have two rival governments two rival administrations both unwilling to back down. >> well, the delegation the recognized delegation say they have for monday. but the tough man there is general haftar, the man who has the final say over military matters. he'll say if these talks will continue or not because he has always been concerned that he might be the one to sacrifice the beal deal. the tripoli-based government wants to have a deal, but they know that general haftar should not have a say on the future of libya.

the only authority in libya to okay the tripoli--the tibruk-based parliament, sorry this is something that they're trying to overcome. agree on the political settlement and set aside differences about quitcy and who should have the final say. >> thank you. now tunisian authorities have made more than 20 arrests in connection with the attack of the bardo museum in which 23 people killed. of the 23 victims, 20 were foreign tourists. officials say that the gunmen were trained in libya. 49 people have been killed in a double bombing. 177 were injured in the attack on the northeastern city. the blast targeted people celebrating the kurdish new year. islamic state of iraq and levant

have been blamed for the attack. many syrians continue to come out and protest. the number of people waving flags for the syrian revolution have dwindled in the last four years. these people live in the outskirts of the capitol capital of damascus. those who want to choose a new syrian government continue to come out and show the world they still want change. >> the beginning of the revolution, they used to kill people randomly in the streets while they're protesting peacefully. the revolution turned from the demonstration and protests into

military revolution because we can't face the tank or the missiles with peaceful demonstrations. >> in the city where anti-assad sentiment has simmered for decades, protesters were also out on the streets 73 isil is also a target for protesters. almost every opposition group is fighting each other as well as the government. despite the dangers protesters come out in numbers including children and the elderly. and depending on which opposition force control the area fighters join the gathering to drum up support. >> the message here started from the mosques under the slogan of allah is great. allah is great. >> and this is what thousands of syrians face on a daily basis.

in this anti-assad district in aleppo activists say that a missile killed multiple people. most of the dead were women and children. and these children were reportedly injured in a similar attack. the girl tells the boy that her mother was not upstairs, and everything was destroyed. the young boy asks if she's okay. she isn't but she will survive at least for now. al jazeera. >> the jailed leader of the kurdish rebels in turkey has renewed his call for peace. the announcement was read out during kurdish new year celebrations. bernard smith reports. >> in the heart of kurdish turkey celebrations to mark the start of spring. the jailed leader of the kurdistan workers party the pkk pkk, used the event to reinforce

a call to end a three-decade-long armed conflict with the turkish state. >> we regard it necessary and historic for the pkk to old a congress to end the armed struggle against the turkish republic, and to decide on their strategies and tactics in line with the spirit of this new era. the call for congress is an attempt to kick start a stalled peace process that began two years ago. amongst other things they want a new constitution and a new notion of citizenship currently based on turkish ethnicity. >> in the post conflict stage and the politics has replaced the conflict. and from now on we will have a competition based on politician

rather than weapons. >> 40,000 people have been killed in the armed conflict between the turkish state and the pkk. few people believe that the pkk will restart that fight. but it seems unlikely that the pkk will disarm, actually give up it's weapons or bury them at least because the kurds are fighting isil in syria. so the turkish government which wants kurdish support to change constitution will need to persuade its supporters that it's peace process will endure. al jazeera turkey. >> still to come for you this news hour, we'll delve into the unusual history of this serbian village that has a greek connection. the ecuadorian cartoonist that is drawing the ire of a government. and the easiest man of the behalf decision any has made.

the great day at the cricket world cup. >> pope francis has urged italians to turn their backs on the mafia. he spoke during a day-long visit to a port city of naples. he spoke to one of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods where krug trafficking and extortion are widespread. >> we know hose who voluntarily take the vote ofevil, they gain something, but they rob hope. they rob it from themselves, and from everybody. the vote of evil is always a vote that robs hope. >> let's go live to naples now where we can talk with the vatican correspondent for the national catholic reporter. people there have heard these comments before.

what can you tell us about the reaction, the reception that the pope had this time around? >> well, this was part of a break-neck day for the pope. he spent ten hours in the italian city of pompey. six different visits. three helicopter rides, and this morning it was quite clear that he was speaking with some of the most fierce, shrill, i am passioned of his papacy so far. he not only spoke about the corruption here, but the country of italy and said it's a wider question around the world not just about the corruption, but the lack of work for young people and the economic system that he says is not helping young people bring bread home or to give them the dignity of work. >> how does that play into the pope's call for italians particularly in this part of the country, and in this particular neighbor where he spent time, the neighborhood of scampi one

of the most dangerous parts of the city of naples. how does that play into the call for them to turn their backs on the mafia. >> he was spoking in the area where there is known to be much violence both from the mafia and drug trafficking. he addressed members of the mob directly and said that he was humble by asking them as a blower to turn their backs change their ways. jesus waits to hug them and embrace them. very moving words obviously from a pope that is very stirred by the situation and wants to speak directly to the people. >> to what extent do they listen to those calls. this is not the first time that the pope has spoken out against organized crime. you have a difficult economic situation in many of these

cities and it's not just the challenge that individual families may be facing, but also about the government structures and the police and i guess their ability to protect people from mafia groups. >> well, what the pope seems to be combine something a very personal appeal to members of the crime syndicate to members of the mafia to change, as a christian, as a catholic making this play. but at the same time he's saying that the plea does not stop there, and it is a global nick system that leaves people in slavery. doesn't respect their rights or their needs. today he was speaking emphatically towards a young man who does not have work. he said there is 40% of young people under the age of 25 who don't have work. it's not just about dignity but bringing bread home to the family and having that dignity every day. he said there is something wrong with the system, and he feels a

need to address it. >> well, joshua, thank you very much. vatican correspondent from the national catholic reporter. now the ukrainian military said two soldiers have been killed in rebel attacks in the last day. gunfire continues to be heard around the government-held city of mariupol in february. observers on the grouped are trying to insure that heavy weapons are withdrawn from both sides: thousands of people in georgia have been protesting on the streets of tblisi calling for the government to resign. protesters accuse the government of failing to deal with georgia's economic problems. now the victory in january's collections was a long awaited try triumph. they suffered defeat in a civil

war and years of persecution. many were forced out of greece and found safety over the border of what was then yugoslavia. >> throwing light on what village's very unusually past. the register shows the birth and marriages from the late 1940s and early '50s. here many of the names are greek. >> a civil war raged in greece in the late 1940s. the government supported by western powers defeated the communists. many of whom took refuge next door in yugoslavia, where they were offered a safe haven. dmitri's father was one of those left-wing greeks who fled, and who came to this village along with thousands of others.

he has long since died, andy my try has lived his whole life torn between his greek and serbian identity. >> as time goes by i feel more and more nostalgic for greece. just as my father did in his final years. he wanted to return to greece and die there. but in the end he was buried here. i have two countries serbia is my homeland, but my father land is greece. >> the last surviving greek refugee to go to magilc passed away in january just this year. this is her grave. back home in greece the left may finally have triumphed with syriza's win but that came too

late for maglic to save her. they lived and died in an adoptive land. i met their son anton who was born to yugoslavia, and said that the victory means nothing to him. >> i don't want anything to do with politics. my father was involved, and look at what misfortune politics has brought to our family. the balkans is full of people with histories like ours. >> differences between yugoslavia forced many to move further afield behind the iron curtain. >> thousands of anti-austerity protesters have gathered in madrid demanding an end to

austerity cuts. it brought 27 different groups around spain. the spanish economy remain sluggish, which protesters say has been made worse by austerity. much more still to come this hour with historical and territorial disputes over hanging them, south korea, china and japan come together for the first time in years. we'll tell i couldn't the people in lesothos is struggle ing to access clean water despite the country's huge supplies. and in sport golf's number one shows his class in florida.

>> al jazeera's investigative unit has tonight's exclusive report. >> from coast to coast. >> people selling fresh water for fracking. >> stories that have impact. >> we lost lives. >> that make a difference. >> senator, we were hoping that we could ask you some questions about your legal problems. >> that open your world. >> it could be very dangerous. >> i hear gunshots. >> a bullet came right there through the window. >> it absolutely is a crisis. >> real reporting. >> this is what we do. >> america tonight. tuesday through friday. 10:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> welcome back. you're a watching the al jazeera news hour. here is an update to the day's top stories. 20 houthies have been killed in fighting with tribesmen south of yemen. they called for an offensive

against president hadi. fighting around libya threatening peace talks in morocco. the leader of kurdish rebels in turkey has renewed his call for peace among the kurdish workers party. in other news, u.s. secretary of state has made a top over in lone london. he's on the way back from a long series of talks in switzerland. iran insists that the program is entirely peaceful and warrants all sanctions lifted as well as continue atomic research. talks will continue next week. >> we're unite in the our goal, our approach, our resolve and our determination to insure that iran's program is entirely

peaceful. over the past months the p5+1 have made substantial progress towards that fundamental goal. though important gaps remain. >> let's cross live now to washington. and a tough job secretary of state john kerry. we're not talking about gaps but the differences between france and u.s. about the best way forward. >> well, i think that's the critical point to make at this juncture. you heard john kerry say that all parties involved in these talks are united in their goal. but france is putting last-minute objections, talking about lifting sanctions against iran, not being so quick to do that. they want a longer timetable for any--looking at the activity of

iran. and taking the social media saying that he thinks the deadline agreement at the end of the month is a bad tactic and also counterproductive and dangerous. this is a major sticking point if this is true. the french ambassador called the negotiator and said don't give any more concessions. while john kerry say they are going well. being upbeat about that. but today during the persian new year celebration the spiritual leader of the iran are saying that the u.s. are trying to bully the people of iran. that's another thing that could hold these talks back. john kerry once he leaves those

crucial negotiations, they have to come back here and talks about resume in switzerland sometime in the middle of next week. but clearly cracks here beginning to show. that meet something going on. it's crucial getting france on board, but we don't know just how firm france wants to stick on their last-minute demands and objections to how the negotiations are going so far. >> andy gallagher in washington, d.c. seven terror suspects have been killed in north sinai. five more have been arrested. egypt security forces have been fighting a decade-long insurgency in sinai. attacks have escalated since the ousting of president morsi in 2013. 12 people have died in a bus accident in the guiza district of the capital. it veered off the bridge as it tried to avoid another vehicle.

the driver and four passengers were able to jump off the pus. troops have killed 80 fighters in an operation close to the border with afghanistan. military jets bomb the region during the two-day offensive. the area was the stronghold of the pakistani area. an ecuadorian cartoonist describes how he received death threats after poking fun at ecuadorian government. >> reporter: political hear cartoonist shows his studio, littered with drawings of

political leaders. it's walls covered with notes and sketches from all over the world. but his drawings have inspired no love from one of bonilla's main subjects, ecuador's president. after publishing several cartoons making fun of the president and his policies, he started to receive death threats when the president singled him out during his weekly television address for insulting the government. >> he calls upon his followers to respond to those of us who criticize. that is creating a climate of harassment. >> bonilla is not the only one. a blogger reached up to 400,000 facebook and twitter followers who ate up his sometimes cutting criticisms of government policies. he said he wanted the freedom to criticize things that did he not like in his country.

>> did i not think it was dangerous because i trust in may government. >> until things got more personal. >> one day government website published a photo of me. it was not a photo that i published before published before. that made me believe i was being followed. >> he moved to another town until things moved over. their piece of mind did not last for very long. >> the day after arriving at a relative's house they received a flower arrangement with an anonymous note saying they were being watched. he decided to take down his facebook page and stopped writing about the government. press activists say they're not surprised. >> there are put. strategies to create systems of control and control the fear that limit civil liberties.

>> the government denies that it bullies citizens in a silence. >> there are many forms of direct participation in ecuadorian democracy such as local government, for example. >> but those used to expressing their views in cartoon or digital media feel their right of freedom of speech is slowly being erased. >> the foreign ministers of china, japan and south korea have held their first talks in three years. the discussions in seoul come to solve tensions in territory issues and historical views. japan claims the senkaku island

that china dolls diaoyu islands. rob mcbrides reports from seoul. >> the long-awaited pose for the cameras by the three foreign ministers could signal the start of a new chapter in relations. possibly paving the way for a summit of their leaders after a three-year hiatus, which has seen relations chill. the three parties also agreed that historical differences need to be addressed specifically the continuing legacy of the second world war.. [ protests ] >> outside of the heavily guarded japanese embassy in seoul there is the regular weekly event the support of comfort women forced into sexual slavery during world war ii, a crime that japan allegedly still

has not taken responsibility for. >> japan has not shown any reforce, and we cannot just leave things as they are. >> only when japan apologizes can replacings improve. hiding from it won't solve anything. >> at the prison now turned into a museum, korea's colonization by japan was remembered here. the perception that japan has been trying to revise its account of the war adds to the pain that the chinese and koreans suffered. >> they do not want to see their past history in the same way of china and south korea. so we have a very different

history interpretation. >> south korea and china also have their own territorial disputes with japan over islands in the seas that separate them. at the back of all of this is the competition between the united states and china but influence in asia. the u.s. does not want to see two of its strongest allies here japan and south korea falling out. by the same token china does not want to be faced with the u.s.-backed eye layance of its asian neighbors. >> this makes reasonable politics very complicated. >> the number of chinese tourist tourists in south korea and japan are a reminder of the chinese economy and the importance to each other's economic futures. such consideration may prove stronger than national sentiments. strong enough to bring leaders to a summit of a real diplomatic

break through. >> sunday is world water day. an event the u.n. hopes to highlight access to clean water. we travel to lesothos, which has plenty of water but many people are missing out. >> this is a regular routine. six times a day she takes her suspects to collect water. not from a well or tap but from a pipe that puddles out from a bottom. >> it collects rubbish and dirt and is contaminateed. >> it makes me angry that every day i have to come here to draw water. i live very far and i have to walk a long distance to get to

this water source. some of the villagers are mothers with newborn babies, others are pregnant and there are old people. this is a problem for all of us. >> lesotho is sometimes referred to as white gold because selling water to its neighbors south africa is it's biggest exporter earner. while it's neighbors get clean water the people of lesotho are missing out. construction of a new dam aimed at exporting water to south africa by another 50% is due to start soon. and people who live nearby are promised a better water supply, but the dam is not due to be completed until 2022. >> the best has been done, and for it to shift in one day is

impossible. the country is poor. after the project we see benefits. >> improving living standards here is crucial. the u.n. has identified lesotho as one of the least developed nations in the world. hundreds of children die each other from water-born diseases and poor sanitation. >> now that they're going to build the dam here we ask for running water because water is life. >> lesotho has recently elected a new government. these people will be hoping that it gives them as much access to its clean water as it does its neighbor south africa. al jazeera lesotho. >> well, on sunday part three of our water series comes from india. people who live along the river are fed up with rubbish being dumped into the water.

we'll tell you how they're trying to clean it up for good. coming up in just a moment we'll tell you what happened to hundreds of indian students whose parents help them teach during exams. and in sport we'll have all the action from the ski slopes of france.

>> welcome back. now hundreds of indian students have been expelled for cheating during a major exam. many of their parents are to

blame after being seen climbing the walls of a school building to slip answers through the windows. critics say that it highlights wide-spread problems throughout india's education system. >> cheating in india on a whole different level. these parents climb up four floors of an example center building folding answer sheets into paper planes and throwing them to children. the children openly pass photos to each other under the noses of supervisors. local reports say that the police accept brides to look the other way. >> there are more than a million and a half students taking exams, and there are more than 11,000 testing centers in the state.

how is the government supposed to manage a huge amount of people. >> there is a great deal of pressure among the 15- and 16-year-old students. these exams are viewed as a make or break for many. with far more students seeking to attended college and university than there are places. competition is fierce. graduateing can transform the lives of millions growing up in poverty. but 600 pupils have been call the cheating this year. they may be forced to pay a fine or even jailed. >> records keep tumbling at the cricket world cup. the second highest one-day inning in history and included

11 sixes and 24 fours. so far the batting headlines have been made, but in the quarter finals it was all about guptill. he won the toss and he played some powerful shots. and with the performance as good as that is, it seemed certain that he would be on the winning side. the black caps sit at a total of 393-7. and getting closer to that score by the kiwis in the field. the westendies were balled out for 250 winning by 143 runs. >> i'm still not really sure what happened today. it has not sank in yet. i was incredibly proud of what happened today.

just pretty proud to get score that many runs and get the win as well. >> well, we just have been inconsistent into the world cup. we had some good games. we've had some bad games, but we have not been consistent going forward. i think we need to be more consistent than we are at the moment. >> football now celebrating with a hat trick. tottenham bees leicester 4-3. the striker now has 19 premier league goals. but the club was given a tough afternoon. >> southampton beat burnley 2-

2-0. the leaders still have two games in hand. >> i think that we have to play now eight games more. we can win the eight games and we can the important thing to do is to think about our team, improve the next game against crystal palace. >> the world number one andy djokovic taking on andy murray at the indian wells. later they would take on roger federer upset rafael nadal even more surprising he would come from behind to take the contest 7-5 in the third winning 2-1 sets.

serena williams said boycott the tournament until this year, but we came out on court to explain her problem and the crowd seemed to forgive her. >> a couple of days ago in my practice i injured my knee. i fought through it, i kept playing. today i just was struggling just to even walk. it was really sad because, you know i really just felt four months ago i decided to start this journey come back here and come to a place why i had where i had so much success. it's been a wonderful journey. >> the former world number one got the better of lisicki.

lisicki doubled the match point. golf's number one rory mcilroy climbed up the leaderboard at the arnold palmer invitational. this is mcilroy at the fifth hole. he birded fifth to go. the northern irishman is five strokes off the lead with two rounds to play. but the man stealing the headlines is morgan hoffman. this is a birdie to go 13 under overall. >> the front line, back line got me going a bit. i played the par 5s better today, which was a big help. over all it was a better day and it would get me back into the tournament. >> they beat atlanta hawks by eight points.

russell westbrook sets up for them whether he can fill durant's shoes for the rest of the season remains to be seen. he gave them the early lead with this play, but the hawks came back and were ahead at halftime. the three pointer for atlanta but the ninth triple double of the season for westbrook gave the home team the win. 36 points for him. oklahoma will make the playoffs in the western conference. the men's slalom in the overowl world cup title. after the first run and dominated the second to finish nine seconds ahead and it was the 20-year-old's second win of the year. fisher was fourth. he's trying to add to the over

all championship to the title he already won. to thailand and super bikes. the british rider was able to lap the track in less than 1.34 seconds. the first man in history to do that taking his sixth career pole. that's it for me. >> thank you very much. now a new exhibition has opened in washington examining an ancient form of writing called calligraphy. >> reporter: the prophet muhammad's cousin appeared as as

a calligraphy in a dream. >> you're an heart historian. >> for the first time the gallery in washington, d.c. is highlighting its collection including the only known signed work of tabrisi a calligraphy calligraphyer's dream said to spread it throughout asia. it was turned into an art form itself. >> he did so by blending two interesting scripts. they would block large scale on

this example. >> it intensifyied. >> it was considered art the most famous calligraphyers of all time. >> such is the buddy of the calligraphy even more functional forms are on displayed to be admired. this is a memo sent by persian roomers. but the reality does come through. on the left page, they chide the calligraphyers for his errors when translating. al jazeera. washington.

>> he is it for me. lauren taylor is here next with more of the day's news.

♪ houthis step up that you aremate campaign in yemen. the president accuses them of importing iran's ideology. ♪ um lauren taylor live from london. also coming up: intense fighting around libya's capital kills a militia leader loyal to the tripoli government and threatens peace talks. caught in the crossfire, child victims of the bombing in aleppo. ron