>> singapore in mourning following the death of its founding father. and >> hello, this is al jazeera live from doha. also on the program, the u.n. said that yemen is on the verge of civil wars. houthi fighters take over the central city of taiz. rebel fight necessary syria say they have taken four crew members hostage after a government helicopter crashed.

>> he was one of the 20th century's more influential leaders singapore's founding fathers. he was responsible for turning singapores from a port city into an influential one. nicole johnston looks back at his life and legacy. >> without him singapore knows it may never have existed. born in 1923, the fourth generation chinese-singaporean saw his homeland occupied. after training as a lawyer in britain he became prime minister in 1959. a post he would hold for 31 years. despite a ruthless style of

politics, he was no independence leader. singapore became independent against its will, kicked out in 1956 against a backdrop of racial tension . >> sentiment gave way to pragmatism. he was unflinching in his optimism to bringing prosperity to his new country. singapore was transformed from an tiny impoverished island with no natural resources to a

high-tech metropolitan. political opponents often founds themselves in court. often they found themselves bankrupt. freedoms were micromanaged. lee's action party returned to power again and again with his oldest son now prime minister. after stepping down lee kept working in the prime minister's office in vaguely titled rules of senior minister and minister mentor. through it all he was unrepentant. >> i took a straw poll and went to the poll, we would have come to be. >> while freedoms were sacrificed lee repaid his people with an economic miracle. he would become one of 20th century's most important leaders. >> we're live in kuala lumpur in

malaysia what would his legacy be, do you think? >> well, one that most notably would have liked and is leaving singapore very stable economic position. it does depend, as nicole mentioned in that report on its port activity, and it's a huge electronic parts maker and has one of the highest gdps in the region averaging at 5.18, and it's expected it would stay at that level in 2015 in comparison to its neighbors it's doing very well on the economic front. however, politically it's mentioned that he had a very tight grip on the politics of the country, and we saw in the the 2011 general election some of those oppositional figures

are beginning to raise their heads and gain some traction. if we will see singapore become a two-party state in time, that is something that lee would have liked, to keep his grip on that power. >> you're in kuala kuala lumpur what has been the reaction to the death there? >> yes reaction has been certainly met at the highest level. the the prime minister issueing a full paragraph statement painting tribute to his determination, and developing singapore into a modern, dynamic city that we see today. we do expect a very large high profile delegation from malaysia to attend the state funeral on march 29th.

singapore was part of the ma lay federation and kicked out over concerns the way ethnic chinese minority were treated in singapore. chinese is a much larger ethnic group and hence they parted acrimoniously. we noticeed that flags are half mast and flowers are laid at the door of of the state buildings. >> lee kuan yew's oldest son spoke about the passing of his father. >> we grief even as we mourn his passing let us also honor

his spirit. let us dedicate ourselves as one people to build on his foundations, strife for his ideals, and keep singapore exceptional and successful for many years to come. >> global leaders have been paying tribute to lee kuan yew. he has been described as a remarkable man and a visionary. barack obama said he was a true giant of history and he'll be remembered for generations to come as the father of modern singapore and one of the great strategists of aaron affairs. ban ki-moon said that lee kuan yew was widely respected for his statesmanship. david cameron said that sing spore a prosperous country and that's a monday new testament to his successful lowered of his

country and that he had benefited from lee's advice. the message from the special envoy to yemen is that the situation is getting worse. houthi rebels gained control of the airport and taiz, and they're continuing to move south to aden, where president hadi is trying to hold ton power. >> reporter: in yemen it's going from bad to worse. at an emergency meeting that was a key message from the top u.n. envoy to yemen. >> in recent weeks days, we see yemen far and away from a peaceful settlement and the edge of civil war. >> reporter: and he made grave comparisons to what the country

could be facing. >> and if they would want to push the country in either direction would be inviting protracted conflict in the vein of iraq, libya combined scenario. >> reporter: the security council meeting comes as tear gas, gunshots hit the streetser streets of taiz, yemen's third largest city. protesters are angry that houthi have arrived in the city. >> we refuse, reject and denounce these militias. we'll surround these barracks with our bodies until they leave. >> first the houthies overtook the capital of sanaa and now they're closing in on president hadi and his stronghold in aden. they once again called on the houthi to halt their advance.

>> the security council condemns the unilateral actions taken by the houthies which under mind the political transition process in yemen. and express deep concern. >> the u.n. council are trying to broke arrest peace deal. but a houthi leader on sunday seemed to reject those efforts. >> the security council usually supports the defender against the victim. it only meets when it's evil conspiring hands are in a difficult situation. >> so far no actions by diplomat it's here at the u.n. has halted or even slowed the political or security crisis facing yemen, a

crisis that is getting worse every day. gabriel elizondo, united nations. >> activists say that the syrian rebels have captured airman after their helicopter crashed in northwestern syria. pictures posted on social media show the helicopter going down in idlib province in the northwest. they say that the helicopter had suffered a mechanical problem. the syrian military has been accused of using helicopters to drop barrel bombs on rebel-held towns and neighborhoods. the u.n. special envoy to libya said that peace talks between two rival parliaments will continue despite recent fighting near the capital of trip tripoli. weeks of talks nearly fell apart over the weekend when the tibruk

government launched air raids. well two bombings in the past week have raised concerns. the police believe they can maintain peace in the city, which is regarded as libya's business capital. >> it was the second bombing in a week, and in both incidents security buildings were targeted. early on sunday a car bomb went off outside of the intelligence headquarters. no one was injured. libya's central city has been spared the violence in many areas of this vast country in recent months. that's why the explosions are seen as an attempt to destabilize the area. for months the city's brigades have been battling forces ally to general haftar and the tibruk

government on many front lines across libya. and the islamic state in iraq and the levant declared war on this city. this is the eastern gate, the security is tight. because 250 kilometers from here is sirte, a city now in the hands of group that pledged allegiance to isil. it has sent hundreds of its men to that front line, but weeks have pasted, and they have not been able to defeat this threat. >> the people across the world think that this is home to extremists and islamists. but this is not true. we are the ones fighting isil. we're the ones fighting terrorism in libya. >> reporter: isil's strength is growing, and there are fears that the group will only get stronger if libya's rival organizations won't unite. people here believe isil and the

government in the east are being financed by regional powers. >> we're fighting the terrorist isil. we're fighting haftar's forces and the former regimes behind these groups. >> reporter: they are proud of their role in the 2011 revolution. it paid a heavy price when it stood up against gaddafi. today it is the backbone of the libyan dawn alliance. one of two administrations that claim to be the truly ruler of libya. officials here are not ready to compromise because for them they are fighting the enemies of their evolution. al jazeera. >> just ahead on al jazeera we'll report from washington as afghanistan's president ashraf ghani makes his first official visit to the united states.

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>> the new al jazeera america primetime. get the real news you've been looking for. at 7:00, a thorough wrapup of the day's events. then at 8:00, john seigenthaler digs deeper into the stories of the day. and at 9:00, get a global perspective on the news. weeknights, on al jazeera america . >> hello again, the top stories on al jazeera. singapore has declared seven days of national morning after the death of its founding father. lee kuan yew. lee transformed singapore into a major trade center. ale be laid to rest on sunday. the special envoy to yemen

warn that yemen is on the edge of civil war. activists say that sir are a captureed airmen after their helicopter crashed in northwestern syria. serious long term damage to a tourism hot spot, it's the people who live there that are beam blamed. >> the final front tear in the philippines. home to hundreds of threatened species. tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world come here for its pristine beaches. but just a few minutes from one of the main attractions this is the scene. this man has ban fisherman all

his life. this has been his family home. back then, they were among the first inhabitants but they may not be living here much longer. the government says that this part of the bay is unhygienic, and the government wants them to move. >> we worry about what will happen and where we will be moved to. our livelihood is here by the sea. >> more than 4,500 families now live in the coastal airs, most of them live like this, with no proper waste treatment facilities, so water pollution has now become a big problem. >> the pollution is mixed in the habitat.

>> the majority who live here are fisher folk. others depend on tourism for their livelihood. the government say relocating families will be difficult especially if it means building a community all over again. it's a process that requires primarily will, but the government says it must be done to preserve the area and it's reputation as a top tourist of destination. >> indonesia's president said that china has no legal claim to the south china sea. this is the first time that widodo has taken a position on the dispute between south korea and china. just days ago foreign ministers of china, south korea and japan met for talks. it is seen as a thawing of tensions in the region.

in washington, later on monday president obama said that all troops will be out of afghanistan by the end of his presidency. roslind jordan reports. >> reporter: when afghan president ashraf ghani meets with u.s. officials on monday, he wants u.s. president barack obama to delay his plans to withdraw troops by 2018. >> i'm deeply concerned about the summer of 2015. for the afghans this is the first fighting season completely on their own. >> ghani is worried about the threat from al-qaeda and local militias, and he's also very worried that isil might be trying to move in. >> we believe this represents a

rebranding of a few marginalized taliban. but we're taking this seriously. >> reporter: right now about 9800 u.s. forces are in afghanistan to train and support the afghan military. president obama had planned to cut that number to 5600 by the end of this year. and then withdraw the rest by the end of 2016. leaving behind a small number of troops to protect the u.s. embassy. the fear is that the afghan military will crumble, something that the new u.s. defense secretary admitted. >> reinforce our support for president ghani's strategy, including possible changes to the timeline for the draw down of u.s. withdrawal of the u.s. troops. >> at any point you could see a security collapse. if the economy is able to be sustained, then you'll be able

to push back on whatever security problems you face. >> the obama administration is expected to announce changes to the u.s. troop deployment plan while president ghani is in washington. it's a recognition that leaving too quickly could turn afghanistan into another iraqi. >> women in afghanistan have deified traditional custom and carried the coffin of a woman who was beaten to death by a group largely made up of men. they attacked her with sticks and stones beating her to death in the capitol of kabul and then set her body on fire while the police stood by looking on. israel began consultation to form the next government. he has already met with the political parties that gained the most seats in last week's elections. they're meeting to recommend

their choice for the next prime minister. a tv exit poll in france suggested that the former french president nicolas sarkozy. is leading for president. >> consolidating his political come back. ex-president nick has sarkozy is head-to-head weakening the national front's hopes of a first round win. >> i confirm that there will be no agreements, local or national, with the leaders of this party. >> marie la pen has turned france's political landscape on its head. transforming the initial front from a fringe moment to one of europe's most postal far right parties. they now want to gain more

ground. >> the goal is to demonstrate that the initial front is a great strength with local presence and not only a force to attract french people in a national election. >> the latest result show important gains for nicolas sarkozy's party and marie la pen's national front but the country's embattleed president françois hollande has steadily seen support. his acceptance rating is at an all-time low. >> vote something a victory for men and a bit too late for women. today we can vote. we will elect as many men as women.

>> issues of immigration and integration of islam in french society remain at the forefront. concerns that have taken root in france turning marie la pen into a serious contender for the presidency of 2017. there is another round of voting next week, but these early results suggest that french voters still have their doubts over hear and her party. al jazeera. paris. >> a show of unity german, islamic and jewish leaders held a bike rally to demonstrate tolerance and respect. seven people have been injured in eastern ukraine following tense shelling on sunday. the incident occurred in the area around donetsk airport one of several flash points where shelling has continued despite february's truce.

niger's military said that boko haram positions have been bombed in a neighboring village neighboring nigeria. helicopters destroyed several vehicles transporting rebels in borno state. south sudan's national beauty and diverse wildlife could one day make the country a tourist destination. the ongoing civil war is threatening that possibility. boast sites are accused of butchering animals to feed troops. >> the flight plan is northeast and then south towards the ugandan border. the shanty towns soon to give way to wilderness. wilderness that could help rebuild a nation with its huge tourist potential. >> we're heading east, and we're going to come up to the national park. >> they have seen much of the world, but this is something

else. >> we could easily fly for two hours and see nothing but wildlife with no human influences. right here this is one of the great places left on earth. >> this is savannah home to the second biggest animal migration in the world. millions and millions of antelopes follow centuryies' old migration corridor. there are elephant herds in sufficient count to make a full come back. on the ugandan border it's potential goes on what you can catch out of it. >> south sudan has extraordinary beautifully from the white nile to an area three times the size of the certificate republican certainserengeti.

>> now it seems that the nation's unique wildlife has become a victim of the war. fighters are finding poaching. >> some wildlife are being heavily poacheds by civilians by the government army, by the army in opposition and for bush meat hunting and feeding themselves. >> that's crushing news. they just want a chance to develop the resources they've got. >> if it is our will, we say no to the war. we need peace. we need development. our children have been deprived with no school. most of the population is i will lit race.

>> south sudan has a beauty you never hear about. it's all just war and instability. but this wildlife and tourism potential there is hope for the future, but even now that is at risk. nick clark al jazeera, south sudan: watching. "america tonight"... >> it's been 21 days since nurse practitioner returned to lewis california from an ebola leone. >> i'll take your temperatures. >> 97.5. >> the biggest challenge of people. >> see you later alligator. >> the quarantine was a minor ipp convenience compared to the six weeks in sierra leone,