iran condemns saudi-lead air strikes on houthi targets in yemen, and demands an immediate halt to the operation. ♪ hello and welcome to al jazeera, i'm sami zeidan live from our doha headquarters. also coming up the germanwings crash was deliberate and not an accident. and nigerians are voting in elections soon. and is it time to end a

sentry's-old tradition, we report from the faroe islands where whale meat is still on the menu. let's begin in yemen and the latest on the saudi thf lead air strikes on houthi targets. let's bring you up to date with all of the latest. the strikes have destroyed iranian-made missile launches. egypt is sending four navy ships to the gulf to help secure the region. several other countries in the region have joined in the campaign. the strikes are to support this man, president hadi who was driven out of the capitol by the houthi force. protesters are coming out to show their support for the saudi-lead intervention.

thousands of people gathered in support of the houthi rebels in the capitol sunna too. we begin our coverage with this report from mohamed vall. >> reporter: the operation started in the early hours of thursday. saudi arabia said it launched air strikes against the houthi rebels with -- [ audio lost ] >> well a retired jordanian general says air strikes will be part of a much-wider campaign. >> this campaign it will -- it may have -- it may build for many, many steps. first of all the air raids have to continue for days or sometimes weeks, until it achieves the main targets, but with the air raids, i think there is a real need to make a

siege on the sea ports to prevent any iranian ships which give a hand to the houthis. there i think it will be done and used by -- performed by the special force to come to some critical spots because the very complicated geography of yemen, there's a real need for using the special force. and after that if there is a need to send boots on the ground i think we have to make a new estimation to decide they will sit or not. in my opinion i think they will not need initially, but no one can be surely they will send or not. >> for months the advance of the houthi rebels has challenged yemen's security but the intervention of saudi arabia has raised suspicion that it's part

of a wider proxy war. >> at the center are the houthi rebels. the movement originally from the north of yemen, adheres to the shia branch of islam, and receives support from iran. saudi arabia accuses iran of fomenting the unrest in yemen. it has launched a military campaign against the houthis, a 10-member coalition, including five gulf states and other sunni-lead nations. the houthis are opposed by armed groups including al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, and the houthis appear to be collaborating with forces still loyal to the former president, ali abdullah saleh. >> they depend very much on the support of the military. it's not clear just how long this is going to continue.

i suspect that some of their aims are divergent at this point. >> reporter: the battle lines are anything but clear, but there are strong signs that yemen is descending into civil war with several competing states and armed groups now involved in the crisis. >> we're joined by a professor of middle east history in doha. there is a bit of a power struggle -- regional power struggle that is part of this dimension, and it's about saudi arabia, and other countries feeling that iran is encroaching on the country. >> i think there is a feeling among the arab countries that were defeated since i would say 1991, the second gulf war, and iran is promoting itself as a regional player. the war was a significant step

that promoted sectarianism in the region and after 2011 and syria and lebanon. yemen is [ inaudible ] saudi arabia is the backbone of the gulf region, it controls important areas in the middle east. it's -- for those reasons, i think iran is becoming more a threat to the saudi arabia. and i think the saudis and with -- with other gcc countries, i think other arab countries like egypt i would say to some extent they start feeling the heat and they had to do something especially on the absence of the united states and the united states basically just focus on the nuclear issue. and that context i see that move saudi arabia started yesterday just to respond to all of this and to say to iran stop this is enough. this is to initiate and decide

who is winning and who is losing. iran lost the tikrit battle last week in ike r -- iraq, and they had to withdraw their troops. so i see that those -- >> right, but this is an interesting point here some of these countries which are fighting or resisting perhaps some of the iranian influence and the groups backed by iran are also supposed to be fighting groups like isil which also are supposed to be opposed to iranian-backed groups. can they make a push against isil when they are focusing on al-qaeda and hezbollah. >> i think the priorities are shifting. i think they now -- they feel that sectarianism is -- is becoming serious threat and

there is a real concern that this -- you know the whole idea of sectarianism will invade the internal politics of the countries, and therefore i see those steps being taken in yemen, because in the gulf region there are different sects and there is a real concern that that sort of mood will spread in some countries. i think on the other side we have -- we should not forget that, you know, iran in the last, i would say three, four years presented itself as the only regional player, you know excluding turkey excluding saudi arabia excluding egypt, and even considering it's a the only player that can shape politics in the middle east and that was the moment where countries like turkey and saudi arabia found themselves together. turkey announced today that the

houthis should stop and this operation should continue -- >> wider regional alignment beyond the arab world. >> yes. >> thanks so much for now. >> thank you. let's get the latest on another developing story, and the french say the co-pilot of the german wings deliberately crashed the plane. >> reporter: as search teams prepare for another day of combing the site analysis of the black box has started to reveal the final moments. the pilot was locked out of the cockpit during the flight's final moments. the co-pilot 28-year-old andrew app pair rengly conscious buzz at the controls and appears to

be deliberately crashed the plane. the passengers are heard screaming just before the fine aim pact. >> translator: the most likely interpretation we can make at this point is that the co-pilot deliberately refused to open the cabin door to the captain, he then activated the button that triggered a severe loss of altitude. it can be interpreted as a deliberate cabbing shun to crash the plane. >> reporter: there are safety things an emergency access pin can open the cockpit door but not if access is denied by the pilot inside. >> translator: of course this is a big, big shock for us here. we are shocked and very sad. i think in our worst nightmares we would have never imagined such a tragedy to happen in our

group. >> reporter: search teams have started retrieving body parts of the victims. the families of some of the victims will be asked to give dna samples to help speed up the grim process of identification. this tragedy has been felt throughout europe. in germany a moment of silence was held in parliament to remember the 150 victims, particularly the 16 school children from a town in western germany. as we heard in charlie's report the ceo of lufthansa has been speaking. let's bring in dominic kane live from us from the german capitol of berlin. in that press conference we had a lot of at perhaps attempts to shift responsibility but not a lot of answer to why and how this happened. >> reporter: no not a lot of

answers, but certainly a sense of shock on the part of the captain, the ceo of lufthansa, speaking at this news conference in cologne. we heard more about the training measures and the psychological assessments that lufthansa performs on all of his pilots and co-pilots, and he said both the pilot and co-pilot had gone through those sorts of assessments, so there was no obvious reason to suspect a problem with either man. lufthansa prides itself on having this psychological assessment, which he said means that they have the best aircraft and team in the world. and he was trying to convey how it is impossible to understand

how one of their employees could have performed the actions that suggest he deliberately chose to fly the plane into the mountainside. >> we are hearing in the press conference some attention on the proceduring procedure procedures, on the locking mechanism, is that going to come under question now? >> well since it became clear that this 28-year-old from western germany, since it became clear that he was the co-pilot and performed these actions the german media have been referring to this and questioning why it is that he might do that and certainly we can imagine that the air crash investigators are very keen to find that second black box to find more information to try to build up a picture of what was motivating him in those final moments as we heard in charlie's package about the passengers screaming before the end of the flight. we can be clear that the germans

are very keen to get to the bottom of this and find out what it was that made this 28-year-old pilot, what made him perform the actions that he did. >> all right. thanks so much. dominic kane there. lots more still to come on the show it's one of the most oil-rich regions in nigeria, but also still one of the poorest. and we'll report from column bow, as the sri lanka president tries to renegotiate multi-billion dollars deals with china.

♪ you are watching al jazeera. it's time to recap our headlines. iran is calling for an end to the saudi-lead air strikes in yemen. they launched a military campaign to support the president hadi who was driven out of the capitol sana'a last month by houthi rebels. the co-pilot of the germanwings plane crashed it deliberately into the fen. alps. all 150 people on board died. let's get a bit more now on our top story, the strikes in yemen. arab league foreign ministers are meeting. egyptian foreign minister says his government fully supports

the joint military strike against houthi forces in yemen. >> translator: we are supporting the legitimacy of the yemenese state so it can carry out its national responsibility to keep the integrity of the territory. yemen is witnessing disturbances that brothers in the gulf are trying to bring back yemen on the road to stability and democratic transformation. well the strikes come as diplomats meet once again in swizland for talks of iran's nuclear program. we have top u.s. and iranian diplomats in that building behind you, are they succeeding in keeping the issue of yemen out of the talks? >> well out of the actual round the table talks, yes, i think

they are, sami. they have been very strict about this. there have been so many issues over the last few years when they have been doing these repeated rounds of negotiations that they have raised. and they stuck to the negotiations. the end of the month is supposed to be the lead line for the framework agreement, but in the sidelines as you say, both delegations, the u.s. and the iranians in the same hotel talking and living there, i suspect there may be some discussions, and both sides are taking phone calls and speaking to reporters. the iranian foreign minister saying we believe there is an urgent need for dialogue ai don't think yemenese without external interference. john kerry had time with a conference call about the situation in yemen, saying the

u.s. supported the action was giving some support, some logistical and intelligence support to the operation, but also making the point that the u.s. believes ultimately the solution to this is a political resolution to the problems in yemen. >> of course all of this -- or they are supposed to be sorting out at the same time iran's nuclear program, any sense there that perhaps progress is reaching the final stages? >> reporter: well it is supposed to be the final stages because the deadline is very very close now. tuesday at mid night is when they are supposed to reach a deal. we're told the last round of talks was the most progress made of any round. optimism coming from the u.s. and the iranian side.

when i spoke to the head of iran crease nuclear program, he said he was confident about the nuclear deal and as i have been telling you for sometime sami the key thing to watch is when all the rest of the nationalities nationalities nationalities come here. we're told [ inaudible ] is then likely to come here france the most hawkish on the nuclear program. when they get all of the foreign ministers around the table with iran, you know they are at the real final crunch stage of trying to get this agreement. >> all right. james bayes thanks so much.

fighters from the al-qaeda-linked group, the al-nusra front helped launch the operation. they have taken over 17 government check points in syria. at least 23 people have been arrested in tunis in connection with the deadly attack on the museum. security has been tightened across the country on the wake of the assault. the interior ministry say the arrest mean they have seized 80% of the group behind the shootings. nigeria's president and opposition have signed a pledge for a peaceful election. security has been a big concern in the build-up to the vote. ballot papers and result sheets have been sent under police guard to an election depot.

oil is one of the issues in the election. as harrah reports the region is one of the country's poorest. >> reporter: they know what they are doing is illegal, but they don't care. young unemployed men steal crude oil from pipelines, then refine it in the creek of the nigh-- nigher delta. they say this belongs to the community. >> they are eating our money. so when you have something and somebody is eating it. you will be pleased with it. you will be angry. so we're looking for how to get back at it. >> reporter: the men claim to produce around 60,000 liters a day. look at what this business is doing to the environment. this place used to be lush and green. there are more than 200

refineries in the area but they say they need the money so they can look after their families. falling global oil prices mean that problems keep priel priel -- piling up. >> translator: there is no money. and when you go to the market to buy things you cannot buy the way you want to buy. >> reporter: a well-armed joint task force made of up forces from all security sectors patrol the creeks. oil accounts for about 15% of nigeria's gross domestic product, but makes up to 75 to 80% of government revenues. government finances have been hammered by the slide in world oil prices. >> it has been very tough. almost 40% of the revenues we get wipe off, and i mean with the amount of developmental work, this particular administration has gone into we have had to look at so many cost

cuts and strategies to help us continue to keep afloat and to also pay salaries. >> reporter: for those struggling to get by this cheap often low-quality fuel is affordable. one use for it powering up generators. despite being one of the largest producers of oil in the world, nigeria is still battling to meet its energy needs. sri lanka's president is on his first official visit to china since taking off in january. he is trying to renegotiate more than $5 billion worth of chinese deals his predecessor signed. >> reporter: the visit by the sri lanka president comes at a time when china has expressed concerns regarding the future of their investments here in sri lanka, which has seen the coming in of a new government. now china, the biggest single

foreign investment project has been suspended pending a review by the current government, and this has lead to a lot of concerns. now a sri lanka team of journalists has been sponsored by the chinese government has spent over a week in beijing, and china hopes that even with the shift of government that there won't be a shift in investment and economic quality. they hope the confidence of investors won't be broken. i spoke to one of the journalists on this visit, and he said that was very much the overriding message which they heard during all of their meetings with representatives of chinese government as well as chinese people. this is a gift to sri lanka during the 60s, so it's not something that is a new

relationship but china has elevated this tie to a strategy last year and this visit is very much expected to try and allay concerns as well as make sure that the future of this relationship stays firm. it has been a tradition in the faroe islands for centuries, but now animal rights activists say the killings of whales are cruel and unnecessary. >> reporter: this is the sort of hand carved hunting knife used in a traditional whale hunt on the as the grind. >> you then cut off the spinal chord, and the whale will die in like seconds. >> reporter: for centuries the people of the faroe islands have killed pilot whales for food drawing passing pods into shallow waters and slaughtering

them in a sea of blood. pilot whales aren't endangers in this area, and it's estimated they take just .1% of the population. >> you have the dried whales meat, as long as you hunt them in a sustainable way, and it's a food source i think you have to use it. we live in a world that -- where people starve why shouldn't we use our resources. >> reporter: animal rights activists call it barbaric. >> this tradition that has been in place for over 500 years. it's time for this tradition to disappear because the world has changed and therefore i think this should also change. >> reporter: the intervention isn't welcome of course. the islanders compare their whale hunt to the slaughter of

farm animals behind closed doors. >> it looks worse than it is in reality. and blood is something that you will always see when you kill an animal. this is an open [ inaudible ] compared to all of the other things, where you don't see any pictures all around the world. >> reporter: here on this island archipelago in the north atlantic, the islanders say they should be allowed to live off of the resources of the sea as they have done for centuries. but the activists reply that it's a gruesome slaughter. you can't hide cruelty, they say behind tradition. the two sides will never agree, but the tradition is being eroded. some privately believe that the whale hunt may die out in little more than a decade.

and if you want to keep up to date with all of those stories that we have been reporting about, you just have to head over to aljazeera.com. you can see our front page there of our website, the situation in yemen there our lead story. ♪ rosie perez was three years old when her schizophrenic mother put her in a catholic children's home where she was often abused. >> i had to physically fight back or else, you know, my ass was going to get kicked. >> the oscar nominated actress's new book explains how she overcame odds? >> i felt like i was always acting, always escaping into different realities. >> how a fighting spirit and