suarez. a saudi-led coalition strakes houthi fighters in yemen for the second night as the president asks in riyadh. live from our al jazeera news hours in doha. also on the programme syrian president bashar al-assad says he's open for talks with the united states, but continues would ply. >> we look at why the co-pilot of the crashed germanwings plane is now at the center of

investigation. >> reporter: saudi arabia and its allies targeted houthi rebel conditions in yemen for a second night. this time they struck the houthis main strong hold the northern province of sadr. the cities of taiz and aiden have been targeted. sanaa has heard explosions which have been under houthi control since september. the rebels seized power in a coup. we have more. >> these pilots are part of the saudi-led lcoalition against the rebels. it had military conditions in the capital. as the operation continues, saudi officials say there's no plan to send troops at least for now. >> reporter: we should be ready

for all the circumstances. our forces are ready for the air or ground set. for the time being there's no operation. if need we'll be ready to face this threat. so far the strikes crippled the air force. >> what do they expect us to do - surrender, announce a defeat. to act like cowards. do they expect us to walk away? absolutely not. >> houthi fighters are not the only ones hit. a dozen civilians were killed on thursday. during the day there were pictures of supporters held since last year. they are not the only ones on the streets. this was taken out in favour of the flights of the yemen has been unstable.

the houthis with support of iran expanded territory outside the traditional base in the north. in january they forced the government outside the capital. last week this. bombing two mosques killing houthi leaders. it wasn't clear who was behind the attack. the houthis responded. attacking aden in the south. where the government was trying to regroup. >> the president is in saudi arabia recognised by the saudi arabia led coalition as the legitimate leader. the alliance has been endorsed by arab league nations. a saudi arabia-led coalition is seen as needed in the region. hopes of a peaceful solution are dwindling. >> the arab league is among

those supporting flights on yemen. egypt has shown its support. the action announced in a joint statement signed by others. jordan egypt and morocco say their planes have been involved in the trike. air and ground forces will take part. turkey says it may provide logistical support. the u.s. state department voiced support for the air strikes. questions remain over how involved the white house really is. within hours of the first air tricks. promising logistics and help. in the congress questions about how much the u.s. is involved. the top general admitting he

only informed him after the first bombs fell. >> they literally, the day of their attacks. they tell you the united states that they'll launch a major campaign. it's an indicator of the deterioration and trust and confidence that these countries have in us. >> the general couldn't answer a key question. >> reporter: what is your assessment of the likelihood of success is this. >> in yemen? >> reporter: yes. >> again, senator, i don't know the specific goals and objectives of the saudi campaign, and would have to know that to assess the likelihood of success. >> from the u.n. perspective, the definition of success is

different. >> they are not willing to pay a price. letting the saudis do it allows us to achieve our goal without us being involved. >> the u.s. contribution is advice and public support. there are concerns the situation in yemen may have an impact on talks in switzerland and world powers. the u.s. secretary of state has been meeting with the iranian counterpark. iran's leaders have spoken upon the phone with france china britain and russia. we have this update. >> reporter: with a delegation in the u.s. close allies of saudi arabia and iran with close links to the houthis staying in the same hotel, there obviously are phone calls on the

sidelines. around the neating tible all the effort is focussed on trying to get a framework deal in a deadline. they say though it's tough negotiations last week making more protests in that round than any other round. it's not just the u.s. that's negotiating with iran there's lots of international players. one is france. the french foreign minister was on the way to new york, was coming on saturday and believe others will follow and come in the coming days. and this deadline. >> french investigators are drawling through the wreckage of a german wing flight that plunged into the alps.

it believes the co-pilot deliberately crashed it. the other pilot locked out of the cockpit shortly before the plane came down. >> piece by piece investigators pick through the wreckage. bits of twisted wreckage most unidentifiable clearly nothing knifing the parts of a plane. some pieces are bagged up. larger markings on larger package. any human remains treated with the utmost care. this is the crime seen. the families of some victims travel to the accident investigation base. they are here to help identify body parts. analysis from the black box started to reveal the plane's final moments. listening to voice recordings from the plane, prosecutors say the pilot was locked out of the

cockpit during the final moment. the co-pilot. apparently conscious was at the controlled and deliberately crashed the plane. the passengers heard screaming before impact. >> translation: the likely interpretation is that the co-pilot refused to open the cabin door to the captain. he activated the button triggering a severe loss of altitude. we don't know why, but can be termed as a deliberate attempt to crash the plane. >> reporter: little is known about the co-pilot. a 28-year-old german citizen. german police say he had no terrorist background. >> of course this is a big, bike shock for us here. i can only repeat we are shocked and sad. in our worst nightmares we never

would have imagined such tragedy. >> airbus the makers of the a320 say there are situations in place when crew need to enter the cockpit. an emergency access can open the door, but not if access is denied by the pilot inside. this tragedy has been felt throughout europe. the parliament holding a moment's silence. later german chancellor angela merkel expressed her distress. >> translation: today's new assist a blow to relatives of the victims. in the dark days we think of them. >> reporter: nightfall in the ans brings freezing temperatures. this is after they had shaken the aviation industry and some airlines are changing safety procedures to make sure that two crew members are in the cock bit

at all times, a rule that could have saved the flight and its passengers. >> another town struggling to comprehend the loss of life is montabaur where the co-pilot lived. >> i'm standing outside the house of the parents of the co-pilot of flight 49525. andres lubitz, the 28-year-old described by people in this town as a decent young man, a man who liked jogging was into pop music and a member of the local plying club. many express shock and disbelieve that someone considered to be a normal young man could be responsible for that attack. angela merkel spoke of her ties belief that such a thing could happen touching a vain about

the way the spent has been perceived that everyone who has seen what happened said to themselves how could such a thing happen and certainly everything in germany is hoping the crash investigators will find out that bit more about what happened, but nothing can change the fact that the man who lived in the house behind me is considered by prosecutors to be responsible for the crashing of the airline still to come on al jazeera. we report from mexico city where hundreds of people held a rally to mark six months since 43 students disappear. >> two soles set to head into space for a year. stay tuned to find out why.

welcome back let's look at the top store on al jazeera. -- stories on al jazeera. more bombings against the yemen group there has been mixed global reaction to the strike. the u.s. is among those supporting the move. iraq is calling for a solution. and hezbollah is calling for an end to the campaign. >> and german police raided the apartment of andres lubitz

believed to have deliberately crashed the plane in the french alps. police say he had no important links to armed groups. let's return to the top stories, the saudi-led air strikes on yemen. houthi fighters took over parts of sanaa. thousands have been contesting against the government angry over a decision to raise fuel prices. it escalated. abd-rabbu mansour hadi was put under house arrest and he accepted to aden in february and maintains he's the legitimate leader. he called on the u.s. to back an intervention. the united nations called for support for abd-rabbu mansour hadi. and for the u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon says they want all parties to

respect yemen said sovereignty. >> we support the statement of 22nd march, while supporting the legitimacy of the president of yennen calls on all parties and member states to train taking actions under mining yemen christopher swift is a professor of security studies and joins us from washington d.c. it's centring that you say this is not a proxy war; that in fact it's a local civil war. however, you can't get away from the fact that houthis are backed by shia iran. >> what is driving the conflict against the government-led by

president abd-rabbu mansour hadi is their entire to get a bit more of a drive. what is important to note is to the extent that we see it we are likely to miss out on other areas. >> you say that the houthis demand a better representation economic representation the houthis have been involved in the process, but rejected that particular process as well. ultimately, what do you really want. >> at this point it's not clear what they appoint. they have disrupted the

transition process acting as spoilers. and it's not clear they hoped it would work. i think the international community is doing the right thing, trying to support president abd-rabbu mansour hadi. that said, the foreign intervention has the potential to turn it into something alien, making the sectarian element more important in the future than now. it's something we have to watch, creating a problem they are trying to avoid. we know president abd-rabbu mansour hadi sought sanction in riyadh, and is calling on the international community to help restore him as leader do we see it hangs in the short run

happening in the short run. >> not without boots on the ground. there's a lot you can do but when it comes to changing who is in control of the country, it is complicated. the saudi government's goals, the stated goals as i read them are basically to push the houthi to the negotiating table. it's relevant it is appropriate. we have to recognise that whether or not they go to the negotiating table is going to be driven by their view of whether they achieve their interest, not military pressure from outside yemen. the military pressure may have the consequence of pushing the houthi and their allies among former president omar al saleh's supporters closer together

rather than trying to break that alliance between the two factions. certainly very complex. great to get your insight. >> christopher swift, the professor of security studies from george town university turning attention to syria, where the president says he's open to dialogue why the united states. bashar al-assad made the comments in a television interview view with cb s. he said there must we no questioning of syria's sovereignty. every day is a positive thing. we'll be open to any dialogue regarding anything mute although respect the united nations doubled syrians living in besieged areas. the new number has 440,000

people. the earlier estimate of 212,000 was too low. syrian government forces bombed areas in idlib. some were injured in a clar een gas attack. opposition fighters have been advancing in recent days. >> to iraq where the battle for tikrit is intensifying. militias are targetting i.s.i.l. in the city. the u.s. conducted air tricks op locations in tikrit at iraq's request voters in nigeria have been urged not to engage in violence. the main candidates jonathan goodluck and muhammadu bahari urged that votes be free and fair. security has been a major

factor. >> many nigerians have been demanding that the government supply free schooling across the country. we have a report from the southern city. >> reporter: meet this 10-year-old, the brightest in her class. she has big dreams. >> i want to be a doctor so i can treat people. >> the children attend schools in the state. the governor is trying to improve the security system in the oil-reach state. >> we'll build new schools, retraining teachers. a lot of teachers have not been trained for years. we'll train the teachers.

>> education is free and compulsory. textbooks are provided by the government. chin where the same uniform, whether from rich or poor families. >> here in river states activists accuse politicians of having double standards. >> with our money, with your resources because they were in political power, that is unfair. the children of tort people, other people voters are not able to attend the schools. >> reporter: this girl attends a private school paying $1,000 a turn. a government-run school can't give her the opportunity she had needs. >> those this come to the

government schools don't have like we have here library, physics, computer biology. it is well equipped. >> some poorer schools seem to be catching up. some facilities are better than most. the challenge is making sure every child has access to the best. >> hundreds in mexico held a rally to mark 14 months since students disappeared. adam raney reports from mexico city. thousands are marching in mexico city after 42 went missing. people marching are not just calling for justice. they are calling for the suspension of elections in the state of guerrero set to be old on june 2nd. if gig they say it will produce

corrupt classes. they say it's in a narco state. it's unlikely that a proposal will be admitted. that is something that the president is unlikely to want his government to admit. we have been speaking to people. here is what they said about why there shouldn't be elections. >> i don't think elections now would do any good. you are trapped, we don't believe in nonviolence. we don't want to overthrow noougss in a coup. >> democracy is sick. we have to revive it. we can't let it die. six months on more than 100 have been arrested. people mamping and millions

across kex coe don't believe the attorney-general's office conducted an enhanced organization. that's why they narch and call for justice. >> in the past 14 years more that 200 visited the international space station. two astronauts are headed to a mission that will test its endurance and test the future. >> one of the world's greatest engineering achievements thanks to 100 billion, more than 140 rocket and shuttle launches and 180 space walks. bigger than an american football field the international space station equals of the rate of 300 cars and orbits the other at 8 miles per second. it's been a mecca for 13 other nations where they perform hundreds of medical plant and

physical experiments. it's a stepping stone to reach other planets. n.a.s.a. is on a journey to mars. this journey will help guide and define our generation. cost overruns and glitches forced a scale back of the grand design. the element throughout it all was to facilitate future exploration. >> the u.s. president president obama committed to its operation through 2024. an audit raised questions about the objective, pointing to a limited capacity for transforming, and solar panels wearing out earlier than expected. >> and the matter of private costs, and america's international partners have been slow.

it includes russia who has been the only transport. private companies deliver cargoes and dew to begin taxiing astronauts astronauts russian officials complain they are getting the short end of the stick. >> they are saying they want to create problems. the americans have been attempting to cause as much damage as possible to develop russian space. >> later this year a russian cosmo drone is due to open. it may be appropriate to build their own. >> no one is making much of a profit in space. building a separate space station may be attractive but it's a huge investment.

for these enthusiasts. the international space station will remain and just a quick reminder you'd like to keep up to date with the news and analysis head to the website at aljazeera.com. >> on "america tonight" - thursday's funeral brings to a final close the history of a legendary and notorious figure. >> it's incredible the fact that somebody could be killed in battle 525 years ago, thrown away, buried somewhere and then all these years later the body is discovered in a car park. also tonight... >> what happens to a schools? >> you kill the children.