>> no backing down. saudi arabia said its military action in yemen will continue until it's goals were achieveed. watching al jazeera live from london. idlib falls to syrian rebels after five days of heavy fighting. the election day in nigeria millions head to the polls to choose their next leader. plus-- >> one viking long boat, thousands of hours of work, a single craftsman and a dying

art. i'm jonah hull in the faroe islands. >> hello dozens of people are known to have died in the port city of aden of a an explosion at the arms depo. saudi special forces have been evacuating april arab diplomats from the city. we go to the editor of newspaper. he spoke to us earlier. >> an explosion at the port

city. as we understand now there has been an initial explosion outside of the depo. >> saudi arabia's king said that strikes on houthi rebels will not stop until the country is stable. they made the comments at an arab league summit. they would discuss multi

multiple subjects affecting the region. >> these houthi supported by foreign forces against state institutions. they went on against the action of the yemeni people posing a threat to the regional countries. >> they called on the houthis to surrender their weapons and leaders to turn themselves in. >> i've been bee sieged for more than two months. i with the cooperation of honest

men of yemen, i was able to exit sanaa and as legitimate president to steer the country away from a civil war. then we decided to shift the capital to the capital of aden to exercise state authority and functions. i'm adamant to continue to exercise my authority as president. i call on all the yemeni people to continue to back and support the legitimate authority of yemen and the state institutions, and to join forces to stand up to those militias to take to the streets and peacefully demonstrate at suppressing their free will. >> well, they've also been strikes on the houthi stronghold

in northern yemen. more now from our correspondents. >> airstrikes against houthi rebels. this video posted by an activist appears to show arab coalition fighters hitting houthi positions in the early hours of saturday. the coalition said that it's targets west of the capital of sanaa. they hit air defense sites. also attacked were missile brigades. and the yemeni air base and international airport all in or near the capital of sanaa.

>> we will have concentration of forces until we clarify all the area they're controlling now. >> the houthies remain defiant but their main ally former president ali abdullah saleh has called for negotiations. >> we propose the following initiative. first is to stop the saudi-led campaign. that would coincide with the operations by the houthi movement. and an honest return to the negotiating table to the u.n. >> international recognized governments say political dialogue is still an option but only under conditions. >> we insisted on the importance of dialogue. we always asked for it and still do. but it has to be on equal grounds. where we wouldn't have one side dominate the other. it has to be under the legality of the president and the state not under the legality of the

coup of the militia institution. >> any sort of dialogue to end the fighting seems to be a far off at the moment. >> also at the arab league summit the egyptian president said he is acalling for calls to address security threats in the region. >> it is necessary to find tools for the joint arab action to put this approach into action. however, the challenges are exacerbateed. we need to deeply and confidently think about how to deal with new developments are forming and establishing a new defense force without undermining any of the sovereignty, stability or national security of any arab

states. >> well, al jazeera political analyst, we heard that the saudi s say they'll continue until they achieve what they want to achieve. how united are the members of the arab league on the action that the saudis are taking. >> on the parts of the iraqis and the algerians. so there is support for the position not only in the arab world but also by countries like turkey pakistan, who are more committed than some of the arab countries. over all i think the saudi gamble seems to be partially calculated by having a very direct and vigorous support. how that translates on the

ground remains to be seen because there is no plan yet to go beyond the airstrikes on yemen. they have been effective but not enough to fulfill the goals of stability and security. that, of course, requires a whole different ballgame especially when you look at yemen. while saudis are able to continue four years ago yemen is a complexed armed divided country with several armed groups including houthies, al-qaeda forces loyal to the former president to the present president, so on and so forth. >> what about this why the egyptian president el-sisi was floating about this idea of an arab defense force. how much traction has that got? >> can someone roll their eyes on television? >> you can try. >> can i roll my eyes? there has been a defense treaty

monk the arab league members for decades now. but it is just collecting dust on the shelves of the arab league. there may be a will on the part of the egyptians and others and the resolution to embrace the idea of putting this thing together. but how reasonable, how realistic, and how effective this will be remains to be seen. there is no--there is no precedent for the arabs coming together united military force deployed. there isn't a precedent for the kind of operational coordination if you will, among the arab. now if the united states and others in response to this remains to be seen. we haven't seen signs of that. this is more in the demain of the wishful than the actionable. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> really after days of heavy

fighting idlib has fallen to the fighters. fighters from al nusra front entered idlib on friday. many civilians are now trapped in their homes. for more we go to al jazeera's stephanie dekker live in beirut. give us the latest. what do we know about what is happening in idlib at the moment? >> well, syrian state television has confirmed that the army has moved out of the idlib city. they're regrouping in the south. this is a five-day battle, and some people will say it fell very quickly led by al nusra, yes, but it's a new coalition formed last week with different brigades in the free syrian army. so a concerted effort by that new coalition to push the army

out. we've seen videos come out with security headquarters in the central square where there and also to say idlib has been a relatively safe haven throughout this war and according to a group observatory who monitors the war the airstrikes over the battle of the last five days. this has new to idlib. almost a million people living there, also a lot of internally displaced people seeking safety there. they're now fleeing. there is a group called the quitewhite helmets who say they go in and try to help people. you see vas of people trying to flee that area. hugely significant that this has fallen so quickly to this coalition of rebels led by al-qaeda affiliateed al nusra

front. the army regrouping, but it has been a blow to the morale, around certainly in the northern area idlab is very significant. it boards president assad's birthplace to the east. it opens the road to aleppo, and it is giving them an advantage in this war. >> we'll keep a close eye on events. stephanie dekker. thank you. still to come on this program. violence in nigeria as voters head to the polls. and foreign ministers flying for crucial talks on iran's nuclear program. we'll take a look at what is on that agenda.

>> a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. forces carrying out airstrikes on yemen for a third straight day. and dozens of people have been killed in that explosion in the port city of aden. leaders from across the arab world are discussing multiple conflicts in the region, in particular yemen. and syrians take over the city of adlib after fighting there. two polling stations have been attack in nigeria.

our correspondent in abuja for us right now. security was always going to be an issue wasn't it, in this election. >> because of fierce about security in this pooley stages. there are police making sure that things go on peacefully. we know in the northeast according to security services military personnel are helping to safeguard the area, particularly in the areas where we've seen boko haram activity, and where we've seen people being killed by the group. there were great fears. people were so concerned that millions in the region could be

disenfranchised, miss an opportunity to vote. and they would provide protection and make sure that people would be able to vote. nationwide the picture does seem to be peaceful despite reports we're getting about these two incidents where people have been killed. and the hope is that the voting process citizen will generally do well and people will be able to cast their ballot. >> how is this election shaping up so far, do you think? >> well, initially there was confusion at the polling station. it appears that some of the electoral workers did not know how to organize things to enable people to vote. but at this polling station things have been smooth and orderly. people are patient. there is a long process ahead.

for the first time you have to be verified and accredited to vote. that is a four- to five-hour process. things are going fairly smoothly and slowly. it will be an incredibly tight race. that's the popular believe. here's a short summary of how the day has gone so far. >> there was some confusion where hundreds of people showed up to vote. electoral workers seemed unsure how to organize everything, and some election materials did not arrive. not far away at the national assembly office things went a lot smoother. hundreds stood in sweltering

heat. this woman has been waiting to vote for five hours. she knows what she wants the next president to deal with. >> corruption is everywhere. if we can fix corruption, fix health fix education fix unemployment. we fix power. we need to fix power. if there is power every other system will work. >> this is the fifth presidential parliamentary election since the end of military rule in 1999. 60million people are expected to vote in over 100,000 polling stations. civil society organizations say that everything is going smoothly so far despite concerns about security. >> we did get one report of controlled explosion in southeast of nigerian but we've been told this is not a major concern, and we do know that there is high security concern.

we are told that some police officers have restricted a number of people who can come out to vote. >> but these voters are not too worried. but they may be here for a long time. the accreditation brass has taken much longer than expected. that's voters could be here until nightfall. voting will end when the last person in the queue casts their ballot. >> the french foreign minister has arrived in switzerland for talks on iran's program. negotiators are trying to meet a self-imposed deadline of tuesday to reach a deal on iran's nuclear program.

>> the discussions have been long and difficult but they're pressing ahead nonetheless. what is important is the content of the agreement. but i also insist on the transparency of the mechanism as well as controls so that any agreement made is respected. >> we'll go to editor james bays. >> how close do you think we are now to some sort of deal? >> well, you are seeing more foreign ministers arriving and more on their way. remember all of last week and for three days this weak you've seen the two main players. others are coming now. you saw the french foreign minister there. france known as a hawk in these negotiations, his german counterpart is also here. the german foreign minister said, as he looked over the

scene here the lake, the mountains, in any climb the last part is the toughest. that's where we are in these negotiations. very close to the end but the toughest details to be ironed out. the deadline for these talks is tuesday. >> we've had deadlines before, james, is it possible that it could be extended once again. >> yes, it could be extended once again but i don't think its likely. they'll try to get a deal because the critics are circling. what we'll see are nonstop meetings taking place for now on. worth pointing out in the first meeting of the day secretary of state john kerry stat down with the iranian foreign minister zarif. he said, are you expecting a good day? he said we're expecting an

evening today. evening, night midnight morning. i think they're prepared for the long haul here in lausanne to reach a deal before the first of april. and i don't think they actually want to reach a deal in the early hours in the first of april. it may seem a minor thing but i don't think anyone wants the headlines of an april fool days day's day deal. >> now somali troops have taken control of a hotel after al-shabab attacked it. >> al-shabab fighters were held up for 12 hours inside this hotel. they blasted their way in and sprayed bullets at anyone in their way. some people jumped out of windows toes to escape.

>> a car bomb went off in the entrance of the hotel and then gunmen attacked. that caused more casualtyies. >> an unity somali special forces engaged the attackers in a fire fight that lasted until saturday morning. the africa union mission also joined the operation to rescue hostages. among those killed were somalis permanent representative to the u.n. in geneva. many government officials were caught in the siege. the hotel is popular among diplomats, and journalists. the group launches frequent attacks in government and foreign governments often killing civilians and a later

siege in mogadishu is further proof of its threat and instability in somalia. >> hundreds of thousands of people have queued to pay their respect to singapore prime's founding father lee kuan yew. he died on monday. he was 91. china's president is promoting what he calls the 21st century initiative for regional economic growth. xi jinping expressed his plan at the forum this weekend. the far-reaching plans call for the creation of railways, highways and internet networks extending to you're asia. xi said it will bring higher

economic growth. last year 63,700 migrants requested political asylum in italy, and the majority of them came in boats from africa. the report said that italy received a record number of asylum seekers this past year. the biggest number of asylum numbers came from nigeria mali, and gambia. it is a craft that dates back thousands of years but now is under threat. boat building was a way of life in the faroe islands. but only a handful of people do it for a living. we met one man who is trying to keep that tradition alive. >> my father learned it from my grandfather after my great

grandfathered pasted it on. i am the fourth generation of my family to build these boats. >> you the boat has its origins of the viking long ships that explored the area years ago. now he builds them alone and by hand. >> just the urge that keeps me going when i wake up at 7:00 in the morning. it's not because i have to go to work. it's because i have this urge to create something. >> it gives me great pleasure to create and see it turn into something useable. it's beautiful and good to row. it means a lot. and people are happy with what i've done. >> i've heard that people don't understand how you're able to create something like this without plans, without any

designs. the suggestion seems to be that you have some kind of magical ability. >> i don't think so as such. i grew up with it as a small boy, and i was allowed to participate in everything and to play in the workshop and help. sometimes that annoyed the adults but we saw how things were made. >> do you worry that there aren't more people like you perhaps this is a dying art? >> i worry but not that it will die out all together, but that it will not be done in the old way any more. the process is changing. now they make a lot of things with machines. that never happened before. we actually use an axe.

that draft is dying out. >> jonah hull, al jazeera, in the faroe island. >> and you can find out much more on our stories. over on our website. www.aljazeera.com. 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 humor helped her survive?