se us. >> don't try this at home. >> "techknow" where technology meets humanity. monday, 6:30 eastern only on al jazeera america. >> welcome to the news hour live from our headquarters in doha. coming up, a saudi led coalition launches new airstrikes and hooted targets in yemen. >> looking for answers germ police uncover clues that could help understand why germanwings co pilot deliberately crashed a plane into the french alps. >> nigerian army has made a dent in its fight against boko haram.

>> i have the story of how war in ukraine did great things for fish farming in the faroe islands. >> let's start with yemen where more airstrikes led by saudi arabia hit houthi targets right across yemen in and around at least seven towns and cities, as you can see on this map. saudi arabia assigned 100 fighter jets to the mission. with their allies, that means they have 200 jets involved. >> this is the aftermath of a new round of saudi led airstrikes on houthis in yemen witnesses say houthi air defense batteries near the city

southwest of sanna were destroyed. for a second night the alliance hit military positions in the capitol, sanna and the cities of taiz and sada. this appears to show some of the strikes. the locations seem to include large military depots that have been hit. this one shows a raid on an airport likely in sanna. as the operation continues saudi officials say there is no plan to send troops, at least for now. >> we should be ready for all the circumstances. our forces are ready for the different threat, air threat or ground threat. for the time being, there is no such operation, but if need, we will be ready to face this kind of threat. the houthis say there have been

civilian casualties. >> what do they expect us to do, surrender? announce our defeat? wower like cowards? to collapse, walk away? absolutely not. >> speaking from egypt yemen's foreign minister said there is still room for dialogue. >> we're about to start the upcoming conference in riyadh. the door is still open for dialogue as far as we're concerned. it is a dialogue of equals with no side approaching the other with a show of superior force. >> last september shia houthi rebels force the president to flee after taking over the capitol. president hadi is now in saudi arabia. the alliance has been endorsed by arab league nations, now

proposing a unified military force for growing threats. it is seen as a message against iran's increasing influence in the region. for yemenese, hopes of a peaceful solution are dwindling. >> many other nations in the region have also contributed resources to the offensive. we take a closer look. >> the airstrikes on houthi positions in yemen began early on thursday. saudi arabia is leading this campaign. it has an estimated 100 fighter jets conducting the airstrikes, and 150,000 saudi soldiers are standing by near the yemeni border. the operation is supported bay broad coalition. the gulf states have led air support with additional fighter jets. you see the break down here. morocco, jordan and sudan have also contributed.

although the campaign is centered on airstrikes, egypt has sent four ships through the red sea to help secure the gulf of aden, this strategic shipping lane is vital in the global oil route. egypt has said it will be ready to take part in a ground offensive, with sudan and jordan pledging the same. now, the united states said it is providing advisory and logistical help. it's unclear how long this air campaign will continue, or if ground troops will be deployed. little is known about the military capabilities of the houthis, except that they're a well-organized force that's backed by another regional heavyweight, iran. >> a retired jordanian air force general joins me now live from

amman. good to have you with us. let's look at military strategy so far. does it seem to be focusing on taking out any sort of air capability by the houthis? >> i think they did already. the air strike, clean air strike was and they are very precise sort of a force multiplier for them. they have very trained pilots, so they hit the targets very well. i think they selectively target high value target, and in addition to that, they have this no fly zone with air supremacy now, they denied them the air field, of course. also in addition to that, you have the egyptians they did a very preemptive move by moving

the frigates, the battle ships. the air campaign and whatever the military campaign i could say is doing very well at the moment. the solution for it or what we can expect for scenarios, i don't know, or i can not speculate that's going to happen scenario of possible ground invasion or from the saudis in the northern part or by aden to stop the houthi. the air progress did stop the houthi the situation still is unclear, yemen if you want -- >> we should also point out that there have been reports and

claims even pictures claiming to show civilian casualties as often bloody and messy. i guess my next point is about the ground operation at what point does it become necessary to launch a ground operation? what would the military planners here be waiting for? >> i could see that the air power had a psychological effect on the houthi and they are on the move now. if the air power did not achieve like or force the houthi to the negotiation table, that might be a considered ground troops on the ground oh, but i still -- we have to wait and see what's going to happen. possibly they might have a dialogue, but not in the coming

weeks, probably in a month's time. that's the nature of the war in yemen. >> you mentioned the deployment of egyptian navy ships. what sort of role might they take? might they try to impose some sort of blockade on houthi asset to say prevent them from being rearmed? >> that's correct absolutely correct, and they will secure -- thinking of iran influence to get to that gateway so now they deny to have such an opportunity for that. >> all right thanks so much for your thoughts on that. >> investigators have searched the family home and flat of the co pilot of the germanwings flight who is believed to have deliberately crashed the germanwings flight 9545 into the french alps, trying to find his

motive. he took control of the plane before it crashed. we are in andreas lubitz's hometown. what's going on? >> one big development is the state prosecutor of düsseldorf on his website said that the authorities discovered a torn-up sick note given to andreas lubitz for the day that he was at the controls of the plane and the day before, which he did not bring to the attention of his airline, so he should not have been behind the controls of the aircraft, at least that is the implication of this development from the state prosecutor. they also go into the fact that they find no -- any evidence of religious for criminal intentions that they consider to have been negative. they found nothing like that. they say that the development they consider to be key here is that there was this sick note

that was torn up. they say this points towards the mentality, what was in his mind in this last 36 hours, 24 hours before he boarded that plane before he took controls of the aircraft and sent it into that dive into the alps to that part of france where the plane came to an end and those 150 people were killed. >> what was going through his mind is a question that already seems to have been decided in the court of public opinion and the media right? >> very much so. one of the major newspapers here in germany was calling andreas lubitz a mass murderer today in their pages and in other newspapers and on television and news programs, as well. there's very much this sense of this man took the controls, took the decision deliberately to fly his plane into that mountainside to kill the people onboard. this speculation about his

mentality, his mindset going back several years the media pointed to the fact that six years ago he went through a deep depression and that he he received treatment for it. you'll recall that the c.e.o. of lufthansa yesterday talked about the assessment, the psychological assessments that lufthansa performs on its air crew and the other safety precautions that are taken and pointed to the fact that lufthansa believed that mr. lubitz was 100% fit but one doctor did not belief so. did he keep it to himself and determine that he was going to end his life and the others onboard that airliner. >> chilling story isn't it? >> much more to come on the al jazeera news hour. >> i'm jennifer glasse in

afghanistan. avalanches have torn down electricity powers and engineers are rebuilding them by hand. >> just as west africa's ebola outbreak seems to be easing, sierra leone poses a lockdown. >> the korea's formula one circuit try to figure out a future without formula one. >> the military is claiming to have destroyed the headquarters of boko haram. government forces have in the past few weeks recaptured several towns from the armed group. boko haram has killed thousands in the six year conflict aimed at establishing an islamic state. security is one issue as nigerians head to the polls for presidential elections.

we are joined live. what can we verify exactly as having happened there? >> >> the truth of the matter is that it's impossible to independently verify what the nigerian military are saying about the capture of towns from boko haram because huge restrictions have been placed on civil society, civil rights organizations and even the media in terms of accessing these towns. the military have organized some trips for some media organizations, but those are tightly controlled. the opposition have come out to say this is drop grand da, those towns have not been liberated and all of this is being announced because we're on the eve of critical elections here, presidential taking place tomorrow. obviously security in the northeast and the fight against boko haram has been a major issue, and some say a worry for president jonathan.

some say president jonathan was worried that he could lose tomorrow's poll on the issue of security, so as i say very difficult to know precisely what happened. we almost have to take the word of the military in terms of what they are saying about this and whether it's true. >> timing here very sensitive no doubt. people will be looking for what impact this might have on the presidential election. >> sorry just repeat your question for me. >> i'm saying the timing of this announcement is quite sensitive coming just before the presidential election and must leave some questions as to what impact it might have on the election. >> exactly as i was alluding to in my first answer, it has to be good in terms of the readiness and preparedness of the election particularly for those in the northeast. there has been a concern that because of insecurity in the

northeast to millions of people might be disenfranchised might not be able to vote because of insecurity. clearly many other towns have been recaptured as the military has been telling us, it seems there will be no major problem holding the election there however the electoral commission here in the capitol are reluctant to say that the elections will go well in those areas. there have been fears about sending electoral workers to those areas. many of the observer missions in the area have said they are not sending observers to the northeast because of insecurity and violence. just very quickly violence is an issue because we already know from the national human rights council that 60 people have been killed in preelection violence. four years ago over 800 people were killed and yesterday a very prominent governor in one of the richest oil producing

states, a member of the opposition was shot at by supporters of the ruling party. there is still concern about violence not just in the northeast across the country but the poll will go ahead. >> thanks for that. >> in syria at least 12 have been killed in a suburb of the capitol. activists video uploaded to you tube appears to show the aftermath of airstrikes. al jazeera is unable to verify the images, but activists say a bomb hit a market and a mosque during friday prayers. dozens of people were wounded. syria's president said he's open to dialogue with the united states. bashar al assad made the comment in a television interview. he said there must be no pressuring of syria's sovereignty. >> we could say dialogue is a positive thing and we're open to dialogue including anyone,

including the united states rewarding anything based on mutual respect. >> iraqi prime minister was briefed on progress since adjustment led airstrikes began. forces aided by airstrikes are trying to take the area from centerislamic state of iraq and the levant. >> isil fighters are in control are strategic buildings inside sirte. it's just one war front in a country with many battlegrounds. zeina hodor has more. >> the casualty toll is mounting and the wounded keep turning up. brigades from the coalition are at war with islamic state of

iraq and the levant in sirte. most of them are in their early 20s and many fought former leader muammar gaddafi's forces in the 2011 revolution, but this time, they say the battle is different. they say they are facing a well-trained enemy. >> they don't fight face-to-face. they use suicide bombers to target our positions and they ambush us. we were sleeping in our trailer when a gunman entered and opened fire. five of my friends were killed. >> misrata sense it's 166 brigade towards the east enfebruary. sirte is more than 250 kilometers away. islamic state of iraq and the levant fighters are in control of most of muammar gaddafi's hometown. >> misrata is in a difficult position. any decision to storm sirte would not be an easy one to make. thousands of sixians are still inside the city. any of offensive would mean civilian casualties and mean

destroying the city yet again. >> sirte was where gadhafi made his last stand. bombing reduced much of the city to rubble. at the time, there was deep resentment between the people of sirte and misrata. they were putting their past behind them until islamic state of iraq and the levant declared sirte to be part of its islamic state. >> isil is supported by gadhafi loyalists. they are not strong, they are just using civilians at human shields. >> isil has expanded in libya in recent months. its strength i go debatable. what is clear is the armed group has exploited the divisions here. >> libya is one country. the people are one. there is no difference between east and west. that is why the only solution is dialogue. so many people are losing their

children. >> this has become misrata's new reality. there are many families who are now grieving in this city. many are losing their children. >> a three day lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of ebola is coming to force in sierra leone the president ordering everyone to stay indoors from friday morning until sunday night. dozens of new cases are reported in sierra leone every week. volunteers will go door to door to educate people about ebola. sierra leone has been battling the virus which has killed more than 10,000 people in west africa. >> we are joined now by dr. margaret harris, it is world health organizations media officer. does the lockdown indicate that the disease is making a comeback in sierra leone? >> no, that's not the case.

it's simply being done to mobilize the community to reinforce the need for vigilance, for the behaviors that we know really make a huge difference increasing hygiene always washing hands after every contact and also understanding what the symptoms of obama la look like, how important it is the minute somebody has any of those symptoms that they be tested and that they be taken for treatment and that anyone who is known to have been in contact with somebody who has ebola is on a list and followed up. we're seeing these things now done in sierra leone. most of the new cases we're seeing and numbers of new case are falling right down, and most of the new cases we're seeing are now coming from contact lists, which means that the sierra leone authorities with the help of us and other partners are really getting their eyes on where the virus is and they're really, really making all the efforts to contain and stop this virus.

>> at the beginning of the this crisis, you remember the great debates and discussions about whether restricting the movement of people is a good thing or whether it's counter productive. do lockdowns work, in your experience? >> it's not a lockdown. it's what's called a house to house, because it's a social mobilization activity. this means people do stay at home, but they stay at home in order to make it possible for the health visitors and the community mobilize ers to come in, provide them with the things they need, and to talk through people the issues, to listen to people and understand their concerns to reinvigorate, reestablish the need to keep fighting this virus so they can really get down top zero. >> i'm sure you're aware of a new who study saying children and infants are the most vulnerable.

are measures and procedures being changed to protect the most vulnerable now? >> yes. this is extremely important. we found as you know from that study, that children under the age of five have a terrible mortality rate for this virus. it kills 90% of children who contract it. now, it's important to understand that fewer children than adults actually get the disease, but when a child of that age gets the disease, they are very likely to die from it. we've had a group of experts together this week at w.h.o. looking at what needs to be changed. the things that need to be changed are there needs to be a separate place for the children to be looked after you about also they need to have contact as regular contact as possible with family and with parents so they have the one-on-one care that is so important for the survival and well being of a child. in many of the ebola treatment units now, they are asking survivors to come and work still with all the personal protective

equipment, but come and work with children, so that they have one or two careers that they really know, they are less frightened and they get much better care. >> all right thanks so much. dr. margaret harris there. >> with the weather, we head over to everton. what's brewing? >> in terms of tropical cyclone nathan still around. still having an impact. take a look at the satellite picture. you can see the kind of rainfall we're looking at. this is to the west, with 69 millimeters of rain in the last 24 hours. this is what remains of tropical cyclone nathan, it's going to continue to run down the northwest side of australia over the next couple of days, actually following a similar path oh owen.

saturday be just around the northwest corn of australia will sweep further sawed wards through sunday. sunday in melbourne for the cricket, plenty of sunshine. north of the equator rather heavy rain in the middle east recently. the rain in qatar is now in the process of pulling away. we've got to massive cloud now easing across iraq, pushing across towards afghanistan. big lump of cloud this one actually. over the next couple of days, there could be 30 millimeters of rain. heavy downpours coming in across afghanistan could easily lead to flooding. any snow still around may melt quickly. through sunday, brighter skies do come back in, so looking good by this stage. >> avalanches in afghanistan last month brought down power lines and disrupted power for

millions of people. afghan workers are rebuilding the equipment by hand. jennifer glasse reports. >> 3400 meters high in the hindu cush afghans are working to restore power. the route brings electricity from uzbekistan to kabul or did before the avalanche came. >> there is 10 to 15 meters of snow. we can only use basic equipment. >> this tower and two others are completely destroyed. piece by piece workers must carry all 15 tons of the replacement to your through the snow. the avalanche came from three directions and the force of the snow so powerful, it tore a 15-ton tower off its cement base and carried it 150 meters down the hill. >> working in these conditions, means doing almost everything by

hand. for two weeks no power flowed at all. one line now carries 100-megawatt to say kabul a third of the normal load. two hydroelectric plants, and expensive diesel generators are making up the shortfall. these men know the faster they can work, the better. >> avalanches, high winds and the possibility of rock falls make this a very dangerous area. it's very remote which is why our work is going slowly. >> if the weather cooperates, it will take about a month to get the electricity flowing at full capacity. this is the worst that's happened since the lines were installed six years ago. chief engineer says 5 million people depend on this group of men as they repair what the fall snow destroyed. jennifer glass, al jazeera afghanistan. >> still to come: >> i'm in dawson city, home to a man who canada's government says

shouldn't have a passport, an identity, even a driver's license here. >> turkey's police get new powers. critics say they overstep the mark. >> in sport why this american basketball player is taking just the bare necessities to a new team.

>> welcome back. here's a quick look at the top stories here on al jazeera now. saudi arabia and allies targeted

houthi targets in western yemen. anti air defense systems in northern yemen ever also been hit as part of a second round of airstrikes against the shia group. the houthi controlled health ministry said 39 people have been killed in the past 24 hours of military operations. >> german prosecutors say germanwings co pilot andreas lubitz hit details of a mental illness from his employer, accused of deliberately flying the plane into the french pals killing all 150 people onboard. police searched his home and found a torn up sick note covering the day of the crash. >> the military claims to have destroyed boko haram in an area

before people go to the polls for presidential elections. >> the war in yemen let's take a look at the players here. at the birth place of the shia houthi movement, since 2004, the houthis have been fighting the government. they want more say in how the country is run. their regional ally is iran. they've found support from the formerformer president al saleh. it was almost impossible to stop the houthi advance. the head of middle east analysis joins me now live from london, good to have you with us. yemen sits along a vital water

way. >> the houthi rebels have absolutely no interest in shutten down the water way that leads to the suez canal through the red sea and through which a significant portion of trade between the gulf and europe and between asia and europe passes. i don't think that any of the various actors involved in the conflict are prioritizing shutting down the water way or would like to shut down the water way. it's just that for the saudis, maintaining some control over yemen and preventing yemen from following to iranian control is a key factor for their own internal stability. >> all right. so we try to make sense of what this conflict means for people around the world, we see oil prices have already gone up. will this conflict push up the price of goods for people around the world through things like shipping costs, as well as oil? >> typically, you see that kind of thing when there is concern

on the part of the markets. i'm not in any position to comment on oil prices around here, but i think that the things to keep in mind are that what you would expect to see at most in this kind of conflict would be a very limited naval skirmish perhaps between a naval vessel trying to resupply the houthis and an egyptian vessel, something that lasts for a couple of hours and something that the united states giving that its existing naval presence in the region would be keen to put a lid on quickly to make sure that there is no sustained interruption to navigation. i think when thinking about this, it's worth understanding the risks that we're seeing, and realistically, we're not seeing any risk of that being closed. >> does it raise the risk assessment for the region, for oil facilities and installations right across the gulf? >> i think that generally, you

see a lot of people reacting with fear without that being properly justified. when you think about the saudi oil infrastructure, it's been made quite secure and well protected. in addition, the saudis have significant amounts of energy that are in storage so that you were to see an incident, for instance, in which a pipeline is disrupted, there is significant capacity in storage so ensure that gets covered without disruption to supply. it's really worth contextualizing the risk and thinking about it in a very realistic manager rather than a panic-driven matter. >> thanks for bringing a little realism into the picture. thanks so much for your analysis. >> turkey's parliament passed new security laws to give police new search and arrest powers. it still needs to be ratified. the government said new powers of necessary to prevent violent

protests. critics fear turkish police will abuse that authority. we report from istanbul. >> this police officer was suspended after he screamed at a colleague to spray tear gas at protestors. in another incident, four police officers were jailed for 10 years for beating up this protestor. critics say they are an example of police heavy-handedness, but others say it produce abusers are punished. the victim fell into a coma and died a month later in july, 2013. >> today i heard the sentence read at the court. i felt the same pain as the day i lost him. we were extremely disappointed. we thought that there was still a shred of justice that even a tiny built of conscience existed, but there was not one.

>> the government says it was prompted to give police enhanced powers following riots in kurdish parts of the country last october when more than 50 people were killed. >> our government acted immediately as measures were needed to be taken against the vandals who destroyed cities and set them on fire during the october 6 and 7 incidents. >> the security bill will allow police to detain people for up to 48 hours by citing what they describe as serious threats to public order. they have also been given broader powers you to uses firearms, to prevent attacks on buildings, vehicles, or people in public places. they can now search people and vehicles without prior approval from a prosecutor or court. human rights watch said in a report that it's concerned about what it cease as plans to increase police powers without appropriate safeguards.

particularly alarming it says are plans to sideline the supervisory showers that the judiciary and prosecutors have over the police. there are thousands of protests in turkey every year, most are noisy but peaceful like this one, opposing the security bill. the government says there's no threat to the constitutional right to freedom of assembly enjoyed by turks now. al jazeera istanbul. >> thousands of people have been protesting in mexico to mark six months since the disappearance of 43 students. parents staged a rally in the capitol, mexico city. they don't accept the findings of the government investigation which says the students were killed via drug gang. a rally has been held in el salvador's capitol in solidarity. dressed in white people called for peace and justice. thursday was even declared a

public holiday so everyone could join the march. it is one of the most violent nations with high crime rates. >> go into any restaurant in the for row islands, you are likely to see salmon on the menu. we have what's driving the demand. >> when russia banned certain imports from the european union in response to sanctions over ukraine. the salmon farming faroe islands stepped into the breach. this tiny nation in the north atlantic suddenly found itself with a near monopoly on salmon sales in russia. >> we are not a part of the e.u., so we do our trade business also. we were not asking brussels, because we are not a e.u. member. >> in 2013, brussels banned

faroe islands mackerel about disagreements over quotas. they were happy to take business elsewhere. >> we are doing business with russia and we were boycotted out of e.u. if you are boycotted from e.u., where should you go, if e.u. is locking their harbor for us because we are not reaching an agreement in the north atlantic, we need other markets and we are doing business as usual. >> the fares upped production and price. by year end sales to russia increased by 700% and many from faroe were happy to see its independence from the e.u. >> we looked for new market, and there was russia. >> no one should tell us where we shall sell salmon.

if we decide to sell to russia, i believe that's best for us to do we will not help the faroe island people through e.u. >> the farmed salmon thrive in perfect north atlantic conditions. >> our company is producing the salmon to the very high end consumer market around the whole world, so we are looking for the high end sushi restaurants all over the world and they are in between moscow, also. >> since september last year, russia has received almost all of its fresh salmon from these waters in the faroe islands and 140 add million sushi loving russians eat a lot of fresh salmon. >> that's a market they have captured in the choppy waters of a new cold war. jonah hull, al jazeera in the

faroe islands. >> a state funeral has been held for former australian foreign minister malcolm fraser who died last week. former prime minister tony abbott honored the man. mr. fraser died at the age of 84 after a brief illness. >> still ahead on the news hour, in sport find why this state champion being forced to apologize to his country.

>> welcome back. myanmar's military commander says he will support successful elections in november, but warn that the army will not tolerate instability for threats. he was snowing troops at the military parade at the seventh anniversary of armed forces day. this year's elections will be the first held by a government that swept power after the 2011 vote. >> 17 are being held in what's said to be a diplomatic tug of war between china and turkey. the family said they are from turkey and want to return there. beijing said they're from china's northwest region. >> the u.n. estimates there are 10 million people worldwide who aren't citizens of any country an't can't get support from any

government. in canada's yukon territory he met a man trying to prove he's canadian. >> it's an exercise as he gets his kits from school. not that he could pick them up in the family vehicle, easy never had a driver's license or a passport or a birth certificate. >> daddy why are you there? >> his parents didn't register his birth because they mistrusted government. he he wandered north america settling down only recently to raise a family. in 2009, his past caught up with him. >> border agents showed up at my house and it was just me with my children at the time. unfortunately, he came with an attitude that i wasn't canadian, that i am an american, and i'm not. >> immigration authorities threatened to deport him unless he could prove links to canada. that he said he doesn't remember where he was born, but he's lived here all his adult life.

lately heart attacks brought big medical bills. people without documents are on their own in the health system. >> my dog has more rights than i do. i am a nobody in the eyes of the government, and i'm tired of being treated that way. it's -- my parents made the choice and i'm the one that's had to suffer for it. >> he's appealed to the citizenship minister to use discretionary power to grant canadian natty. >> one irony is that it's happening in dawson city, a place that until the early part of the 20th century wasn't clearly defined as being either part of the u.s. or british ruled canada. >> during the klondike gold rush, this photo prompted ottawa to assert authority here.

there are dozens of other stateless people in canada. >> citizenship is framed in the language of the refugee or immigrant or skilled immigrant. those particular classes are getting more and more attacks and just citizenship in general for those who do not have citizen ship, it's just not a priority. >> donovan and his family await the canadian government's decision. he hopes that he might soon, 61 years on, calm it his government get a birth certificate and finally be a citizen of somewhere. al jazeera, do you dawson city. >> it's a good day for ferrari? >> showing signs that it may catch mercedes this season. they have shown it is possible to go faster than formula one's all powerful team. ahead of malaysian's grand prix,

despite missing the first session and the start of a second with an engine problem the defending world champion clocks the quickest time. his teammate in third. he he's almost half a second down on hamilton. the cost of hosting a grand prix is enormous. germany pulled out of hosting duties due to the fees involved, while south korea has hit a financial f1 wall following a four year run. the korean grand prix is dropped due a a lack of sponsorship and small crowds. it's an experience that hasn't stopped the country committing itself to 2018 winter olympics. from south korea rob mcbride reports. >> it is the world class circuit that was supposed to put south korea on the formula one racing map, but after just four grand

pres the racing world has forgotten it's here. >> a facility like this should be seen as a social investment instead of business that has to earn revenue. the government is subsidizing some sports, but it is not popular yet. >> it is located in the relatively remote south of a country that has limited interest in motor sports. critics say a lack of fort sight seems to be a national failing. >> when it comes to planning, you really have to look at how to make these venues or the surrounding towns as a preferred or favorite destination places

as opposed to a uncle venue but i'm not sure weaver done a good job of planning that way. >> south korea's third city certainly has enough people, but such was the scale of the 2014 asian games it hosted last september. it is still tackling the problem of finding new uses for the facilities. it is deeply in debt. there are high hopes. even the main stager will find a new use but admits it could take years. it knows the whole country is watching as south korea prepares for its next sporting feat. >> construction is already well advanced for the 2018 winter olympics. so oh is the debate over its cost and future use of the site, but at least that debate is happening now rather than after the event. >> the biggest lesson from those past events, i think is an

opportunity for everybody to get involved in the planning stage and at least the dialogue has begun. >> the operators say the olympics, like formula one will encourage the growth of interests to fill these facilities, a strategy of if you build it, they will come. experience has shown they might be a long time in coming. rob mcbride, al jazeera, south korea he i can't. >> a repeat of a 1998 world cup final, both camps on that occasion, now their country managers. france still in this one brazil came back to win 3-1. defending european champion spain back in qualifying action later on, playing ukraine.

slowback i can't lead the way in that group. they will be without their injured striker. england have four top wins. >> we have seen over the last couple of days to get the chance, he can finish. it's been excellent all season. it's great for english football scoring goals the way he is. >> south korea's first olympic gold medalist has made a public apology after failing a drug test. the winner of the 400-meter freestyle at the beijing olympics was banned earlier this week. he could return in time for next year's rio games.

>> i would like to express my sincerest apology to those who have always supported me, even though i was not always a good enough person. i am sorry and i am ashamed of myself for arousing criticism with an incident which is even unacceptable for myself. i am bowing down to ask forgiveness. >> in the nba milwaukee beat indiana tightening their grip on the eastern conference ahead of the playoffs. the start on the night for the bucks, hitting a career high 34 points. chris middleton scored 17. the pacers who were just half a game out of first place took it all the way, could have forced an overtime, but a three-pointer was missed with seconds left. bucks with the win 111-107. >> one of basketball's more interesting characters is bearing down on his latest challenge, a former nba star who

officially changed his name to metta world peace has signed up to play in italy. he he gave himself a new name in 2011 to promote global peace. he started calling himself the panda's friend. he he says he's happy to let people call him what they want. >> some people know me as ron attest. people that saw my career still call me ron. that's fine. most of the young players, young kids call me metta and everybody in china calls me panda so you can pick. >> that's the sport for now. >> thanks so much. russia launch crews on two continents are putting the final touches on a pair of rockets to blast off.

one is sending a satellite into orbit, another carrying a three man crew to the international space station. two crew employees will stay in space a year. the future have the international space station is in doubt. tom ackermann explains. >> 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 the weight of 140 cars. it's ban mecca for astronauts from be russia, the u.s. and 113 other nations. >> this journey will help guide and define our generation.

>> cost over runs and technical glitches forced a scale back of the original grand design. >> the element that survived throughout it all was to facilitate human exploration further in space. >> the i.s.s. was supposed to be shut down by 2020, but u.s. president barack obama has committed to its operation through 2024. a government audit raised questions, pointing to nasa's limited capacity to transporting replacement parts and the solar panels wearing out sooner than expected. there's the matter of cost, private money to maintain the research projects has been running short. america's international partners have been slow to extending their participation. they include russia, whose vehicles have been the only manned transport since nasa ended its shuttle program. while private american companies have begun to deliver cargoes and are due to deliver

astronauts, russia says it is getting the short end of the stick, saying we want to create problems for the russian rackets. the americans have been attempt to go cause as much damage as possible to development of space. >> later this year, a new russian cosmo drome is do to open. >> nobody's making much of a profit in space these days, and building a separate space station might be an attractive idea, but that would be a huge investment of funds, as well. >> for this generation of enthusiasts, the centerpiece will remain the huge lego set from 300 kilometers above the earth. al jazeera washington. >> that brings us to the end of this show. i'll be back with another full

bulletin in just a couple minutes.

a saudi-lead coalition launches new air strikes on houthi targets in yemen. ♪ you are watching al jazeera, i'm sami zeidan also coming up looking for answers, german police uncover clues which could help explain why germanwings co-pilot deliberately crashed a plane into the french alps. the nigerian army says it has made further gains against boko haram.