joining forces the arab league announces a unified military force to tackle threats in the region. hello, you're watching al jazeera. i'm jane dutton live from doha. also coming up in the next 30 minutes, a march in solidarity about the victims of a deadly attack in the museum. nigerians get an extra day to vote after the elections were extended because of technical

problems. foreign dignitaries are among mourners. arab leaders agreed to create a unified force to tackle threats across the region. egypt's president says joint action needed to fight terrorism and foreign intervention in the middle east. one major concern is the crisis in yemen. the saudi arabia-led coalition has been hitting targets in yemen for a fourth day. accusing iran from backing rebels. we'll have more on that. first, the arab league summit in sharm el-sheikh. >> translation: it has decided, arab leaders, to undertake to establish a joint arab military force that will be formed under the supervision of the member

state armed forces to study all aspects pertaining to establishing a joint air force formation. let's bring in our senior political analyst joining us from london. marr won, the joint military force, how significant is this. it wasn't announced in the final communique, but by abdul fatah al-sisi himself. >> this has been an abdul fatah al-sisi obsession for a while. he's been the engine behind it and convincing the saudis to do it because it's the saudis who will finance it. now that the saudis have intervened in yemen, they have another thought in mind intervening in egypt. when he talked about a need to fight terrorism and arm the

libyan government that he supports. so there is an intention on the part of the general president abdul fatah al-sisi to speak of a joint military force, because at the end of the day the summit has been emphasising, underlining the military solutions and it has been only lip service paid to the important issues of development, democracy, and you wonder how the voice will work, because there's renewed solidarity. there's an of talk and a lot of slogans, and words are cheap. talk is cheep. the only accessible decision that -- actionable decision that came out of this is the arab military force. when it comes to the specifics

of what the force means, we don't know. it's seriously a joint one, which means operationally and lockisticly it -- logistically it has to come together. the arabs don't have the expertise or experience to put something like this together. the n.a.t.o. alliance finds it necessary to deploy joint forces. there's talk about unity and stability. the region is going through a terrible ordeal and guess what. it's thanks to most of these leaders, and other leaders in the region. >> good to get your thoughts marr won bichara saudi arabia says the first phase has been successful. it doesn't seem to have stopped

the houthis advance. in a sign that it has wider ramifications it arrived in mocha. the saudi arabia led coalition has been hitting houthi targets. and the houthis say 35 were killed and 88 wounded in streaks. we have this report. air strikes hit targets. jets from the saudi led coalition deposed forces. this is the aftermath of an attack on the al-daylami air base destroying helicopter

fighter jets and the fuel facility. the saudis deployed thousands of soldiers on the border. saudi arabia-led air strikes appear to have been appearing. sunni tribesman are on the move to recapture areas lost. they are houthi fighters killed in an ambush. the arab league has been dominated by the deteriorating security situation. saudis and their allies say the air strikes will continue until the houthis dispel their militias and insist that they have fled the country and is the

legitimate leader. this comes after saudi arabia media reported that a day before the others launch the attack. the talks suggest the president turps against the houthis. if international sanctions are lifted. saudis no longer trust them. they destabilize the region. thousands are marching in solidarity. many of the demonstrators have been chanting. the leaders of france italy and the palestinian authority are

among those marching. they are looking at live pictures. 22 were killed. most of them were foreigners. most were appointed. joining us now. large numbers of people on the streets. what is the message. large numbers and from all spectrums. the message is to show solidarity. it condemns what is happening. an attack on civilians, they never happened before. that is a reason so many came out on to the streets, sending a message that tunisia is on the path to progress. it came so far. people are concerned that the image portrayed is one of exporting foreign fighters having attacks on its soil. it wants to show people that it

is on the path towards democracy. no coincidence that the military conducted an operation to get those behind the attack they say. >> part of calming fears in tunisia is trying to find those responsible for this attack. we understand that the - at least nine were killed in clashes in the south of the country. among them. according to the prime minister is a man called abu saga lockman. he is from algeria. he's the mastermind of the attacks. whether it's linked to i.s.i.l. or al qaeda in the maghreb, we don't know that. at the same time there has been a clampdown on security. there are fears that this clampdown could lead to the fact

that freedoms had won. and that was taken away from them voters that missed casting ballots in nigeria's elections are getting another chance. polling booths are staying open in some parts of the country. violent attacks and glitches forced some centers to open. we go to a polling center in lagos. >> many couldn't vote in saturday. they are trying again. this is a polling station here in lagos. people go through the accreditation process. you get accredited and then you vote. >> that is the reason why so many times, ultimately they couldn't vote. things are up to scratch. they fix glitches. the machine should work. people are frustrated saying

that it was postponed because officials had to get things in order. why are they voting on a second day. that said. they hope that the voting process goes smoothly. and the hope that the result will be announce the as soon as possible. >> two journalists send to cover the election are detained. ahmed idris and ali mustafa have been held at their hotel in maiduguri since deuce. -- tuesday. both were embedded with the military before being detained. al jazeera demands their relief ahead - people scuffling to get supplies after being locked down in sierra leone a ride with the paramedics and looking for the chances they

face to save lives.

>> sunday night. >> 140 world leaders will take the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". sunday 8:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. hello again. the top stories on al jazeera. arab leaders agreed to create a unified force to tackle terrorism in the region. to tackle terrorism and intervention in the middle east. saudi arabia said it destroyed the houthis airplanes and communication centers and killed dozens of fighters jets bombed targets of the country for a fourth night voters who missed out on

casting ballots are getting another chance. polling booths will stay open in some parts of the country on sunday, after violence attacks and technical glitches. >> more now on the crisis in yemen. ships in commercial flights have been diverted to djibouti. we go to the east african nation to see how it's coping. >> reporter: this is the port of djibouti. the crisis proving a test. three harbours closed. jib uteies experiencing an increase in traffic as ships divert to the dock here. so far seven ships have arrived. five oil tankers and two diner's. >> we are assisting them to give them infrastructure.

and in the port. to free the ships. it's costly to keep a ship waiting. it's costly. some of the ships cost up to $50,000 u.s. per day. djibouti sits up close. a vital maritime corridor. providing access to the red sea. with only a few kilometres across the strait separates yemen from djibouti. 40% of trade passes through the strait. much of it on its way. many are supporting ships, and they have a capacity to handle increased track. air traffic has increased following the closure of the air base flights by the carrier also diverted.

these are some of the air waive with passages. >> we came from egypt. we have sick people children and family and have 20 people. we appeal to the gulf nations and president to help us return home. >> reporter: authorities in djibouti are preparing them for an influx of refugees and are preparing to hold 5,000 in a town 180km from here. aid workers say the number could be higher than that has more than 200,000 living in southern yemen could flee back through djibouti al qaeda-linked fighters captured idlib in what is seen as a major blow to government forces. the transport hub in the north is the second provincial center to fall to rebels since the war began. stefanie dekker reports.

>> reporter: the syrian army is gone opposition fighters are in control. the city of idlib has been under the government for most of the war of after days of fighting rebels are in charge. this fight was undertaken by a newly formed coalition. led by the al nusra front and al qaeda affiliate, and includes other groups. al jazeera spoke to a fighter in the city. >> this is the main reason for the advance in idlib city. rebels got rid of the brigades name. there are no names. all rebels are fighting under the one name. celebrating in front of the building fighters fill themselves with victory. the video is quick to make it on to the internet. this one shows fighters returning home reunited with families. close to a million people live in idlib, including many forced

to leave their homes. now we are told thousands fled during this offensive. air strikes have been carried out. unprecedented in the area because it had been in government hands. it was seen as a safe haven throughout the war. syrian state television aired this footage saying the forces were regrouping to fight terrorists. for now there doesn't appear to be concern, the fighters revelling in the takeover of the city. >> idlib is the second capital to fall out of government hands. this is the capital of fighters belonging to the state of iraq and levant. this would take four days. talks in switzerland on iran's nuclear programme hit a snag. sources say iran will not budge on key issues including continuing the advanced nuclear

research. all parties are trying to reach a deal. james bays diplomatic editor joins us from lausanne where the talks are taking place. does that mean everyone is feeling a little down there. it's not going to happen. >> well that's not clear. everyone nose from november 2013 when they got the interim deal how tough negotiators the iranians are, and how it could go down to the wire. remember the deadline for a framework deal is supposed to be the end of the month, tuesday, the idea was to get the foreign ministers here before that. in terms of the foreign ministers, we don't have them all here a deal can't happen until all the members of the international community are here. the u.k. and russians are to arriving. the general innocence and french joined and the chinese foreign

minister arrived here surprising us and the swiss security there has been a lot of criticism ahead of a deal. talk us through the pressure to meat tuesday's deadline. what is at stake here? >> well they know if they were to extend this again, which would be the only alternative if they couldn't get the deal signed, the critics are circling, they know they are on capitol hill congression and know that there is israel attacking any deal and israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu has been speaking in the last couple of hours about the deal. and there are people in the gulf that are unhappy, arab countries that are unhappy about the idea of the deal. >> thank you for that.

>> then of thousands of -- tens of thousands of people in singapore are paying their respects to the founder lee kuan yew. a procession was made to lee's funeral. he was credited to turning singapore from a tropical outpost into a global trade and financial center. many credit the late prime minister for setting the example for developing economies like china and dubai. it is seen by many as an influential asian politician. critics accuse him of sidelining opponents, muzzling the media and restricting freedoms. >> reporter: a sombre occasion for tens of thousands of singaporeans who line the streets of the island nation along the route from parliament house to the university of singapore as the gun carriage

carrying the coffin of the former prime minister meandered its way through the streets. it's been a difficult week for singaporeans wondering what direction to head into without lee kuan yew watching behind the scenes. his elder son is the prime minister and he read the first of 10 yule onlyies, with his -- yule onlyies, with his younger son ending. v ips cross the world arrived including former american president bill clinton, former foreign secretary from the colonial power, britain's william hague, and leader of the lower house. there were presidents and prime ministers from indonesia, vietnam, myanmar, cambodia and south korea. it's a time for singaporeans to reflect after seven days of mourning. what the future holds is in the hands of a younger generation.

tens of thousands of workers from all over italy marched in rome demonstrating against the prime minister's job. trade unions support the center left party. they say the reforms harm workers rights. he took office pledging to end a recession, lasting more than three years. >> guinea's president says new measures will be taken to combat the spread of ebola. lockdown is underway in neighbouring sierra leone. some defied the government's order. we have this story. they came looking for food. when there wasn't enough. fights broke out. this is devil's hall. it's a hot bed for ebola cases. hundreds defied a lock down to gather at a food collection

point. >> people are desperate for food. they think they'll not get food because of numbers of people present. it led to panic. >> reporter: many were tape into custody, and -- custody and police struggled to deal with the crowd. >> initially we were overwhelmed with the arrival of the military things are under control. >> reporter: teams were sent door to door to look for new cases. numbers of cases have fallen but it is a threat to sierra leone. people have remained indoors. we want to remind people because we have been in the fight for 10 months people are complacent. >> last week 79 new cases were reported in three worst affected

countries. many understand the need for a curfew. but for those living below the poverty line sucking up is not an option. because of the 3-day lockdown there's no may that people can get food. when they heard about the supply they came around to have something for these three days. it's not just sierra leone. guinea has declared a health emergency. the president ordered restriction and confinement. many are concerned the government will not be able to supply adequate food and supplies. new vaccines and mar awareness are winning against the virus. for the countries battling the fight against ebola is far from over. victims of flooding in chile's northern deserts began to dig out their homes and

businesses two days of heavy rain left 10 dead and 19 missing. the worst-hit area is 800km north of the capital. pope francis began easter kel -- celebrations by giving a mass to mark palm sunday. for christians palm sunday marks a week and resurrection for jesus christ not much in afghanistan has been done to improve the ambulance service. kabul has one ambulance service providing 24 hour transport for 6 million people. al jazeera spoke to a nurse. this is his story in his own words.

>> translation: my name is abdul. i'm a nurse working with kabul ambulance. my team is me and a driver. my duty is to transfer patients to a hospital. our dispatcher in the main office calls us on the radio. we are told to proceed, for example, to a school area. we are given details about the condition, and dismrr first aid and decide which hospital the patient should be taken to. >> translation: we face problems with traffic jams. motorists do not give way to balance. we have only 18 ambulances and so many people in need of urgent medical attention. >> when there is an explosion, it's difficult to help the injured people. >> translation: my worst memories are from an explosion in kabul.

the explosion injured more than 100 people. 50 others were killed. we asked help from every organization, and faced a lot of problems transporting wounded to hop. if we had ambulances perhaps we could save more lives. >> cities and towns across the world switched off lights to mark earth hour on saturday night. this was the french capital, paris, a dance floor using the energy from people's footsteps to repower the eiffel tower. the iconic structure was turned off for five minutes. it is due to host the climate change summit. istanbul went dark for earth hour. this is a mosques, one of around 1500 institutions taking part in the campaign. people lit candles to observe the hour. and this was the scope in new

york city. they pulled the plug on some lights in times square. earth hour is organised by a worldwide fund to raise awareness of change are and its effects. the address aljazeera.com for the latest. [ ♪ music ♪ ] hello i'm richard gizbert, and you are at the "listening post". here are some of the stories we are tracking. nigeria goes to