owe ah coming up in the next 60 minutes. arab leaders continue their bombing campaign in yemen against houthi rebels. protesters in nigeria call for election results to be scrapped due to allegations of fraud. hello there.

the latest from europe continues top -- thousands of people turn out to say farewell to founding father of singapore, prime minister lee kuan yew. we begin in yemen where the saudi saudis have been striking houthi rebels. saudi arabia says it's already destroyed all houthi air

communication centers. the houthis though are still on the move towards the southern city of aden. air strikes hit targets including -- bombed ammunition depots airports and long range rocket

the saudis and their allies say the air strikes will continue until the houthis and the deposed president disband their

militias. yemen's legitimate leader. the move came after all other means to achieve a peaceful solution that includes ending the houthi military coupe. the action will continue until the houthi hand over their weapons. >>reporter: hadi has -- this comes after saudi media reported that saleh was in rijjad a day after the attacks against yemen, reports that the president of yemen is willing to turn against the houthi if international sanctions against him. but they no longer trust saleh

and accuse him of conspireing with the houthis. two hours ago the coalition spokesman gave an update on the separation. >> today work continues on targeting more ammo dumps and i'd like to confirm that the houthi are turning yemen into a huge stock pile of ammunition. they have control over ports and airports. >> arab leaders meeting in egypt have agreed to create a unified military force. egypt's president al sisi says joint action is needed to fight what he calls terrorism and foreign intervention in the middle east. they will work out the structure of the force and it is reported

it will be made up of at least 40,000 elite troops. let's get a view on that from a retired air force general from yemen. who do you think about this proposal, a regional force, perhaps a lot easier said than done. >> it's a very difficult task. it could be momently for certain areas, for certain times some arab country would not get involved with that. it's optional to be honest and it could be a very good force but needs resources, training to be sort of a force for crisis in our part of the world. >> having said all of that you have a similar sort of force in

operation right now in saudi arabia's coalition operating in yemen. >> absolutely. that's absolutely right. it's active now. it's a pilot project, let me say. but people -- we're waiting for such actions for the last 70 years. they already endorse and designed to form such a force but we never saw it in reality really. so i'm not sure what is going to happen or can speculate whether it will be successful or not but at the moment it's doing the job. having said that also the saudis have been fighting the houthi on and off for a long time. after hearing your report i don't think air power alone will completely defeat the houthi underground. perhaps create an environment for negotiation and that needs

also a third-party influence. this is a very tough thing. it does need really a political solution. >> yemen is also heavily weaponize. there are a lot of weapon -- weaponize. there -- >> it's going to be like that as you describe. street-to-street fighting. neighborhood-by neighborhood. it's going to be a mess really. this endless war is going to be a civil war with endless results. air power will do the job to stop advancement of their troops but it will not really you know win the war by using air power alone.

>> all right. many thanks sir. still to come here on the news hour: >> ready for the final push iraqi forces say they're on the verge of forcing isil out of tikrit. plus tunisians fill the streets of the capital rejecting violence as police say they've killed the master mind of the museum attack there. thousands of people in nigeria are protesting against the elections and against alleged killings of opposition campaign workers and what they say are voting irregularities. the election commission says

he's concerned about the claims and that they're being investigated. protesters also say that opposition party agents were excluded from a vote tallying meeting. so while voting in the parliamentary and presidential elections were extended for an extra day in some areas of the country after technical problems at over 300 polling stations. we are in nigeria with more. >>reporter: people are impatient and angry. voting here was supposed to end on saturday. but on sunday, many people are still waiting in line. this polling station is in the commercial capital. >> this morning, again, they are telling us they don't have a valid id. >>reporter: officials say logistical and technical problems are to blame. some machines didn't work.

some say that's not good enough. >> it's quite unfortunate that such a thing has happened because of what happened yesterday. in the first place we had to stay here for a long time. then when it was around 3:00 o'clock, there was -- the machine brought was not functional. >>reporter: it's still not good news for some. people are ready to vote but there are no ballot takers but say despite delays they're not giving up their right to vote. >> we want to make sure we vote today and everyone is ready to decide the president. everybody needed something and everybody know what they need. that's why they are trying to endure any situation that they are going to go through this time around. >>reporter: officials say final results will only be announced when everyone registered to vote has done so. the delay means it could be some time before final official results are announced. the election commission is asking the people to remain

patient and calm. in places where things went more smoothly counting of results is already starting. we are also in the capital of nigeria. >>reporter: the situation there seems to be a little bit more serious than voting irregularities. what the opposition that's the all progressive congress the party of the key presidential opposition candidate, are saying is that no election actually took place on saturday throughout river state. what they're saying is that thousands of polling stations in the state failed to open and that in the couple of polling stations where he can to recall officials showed up for work there were no result sheets which as you could imagine is critical to making sure that the

election is free fair and accurate. and as a consequence, hundreds of thousands of people were disinfranchised. hundreds of thousands of people didn't vote and essentially they're saying there was no election whatsoever. this follows a shooting that happened on friday. the incumbent governor that is in the opposition was shot at when he was campaigning, this is what he's saying in the constituency of the first lady of nigeria who is from the area. it seems like a very serious situation there. the independent national welcome to recall commission are saying they're aware of the fact that some 15,000 people are protesting in river state and the capital to be specific and that they intend to investigate. just briefly, its political significance and strategic importance to president good luck jonathan and the ruling party cannot be underplayed. it's controlled by the ruling

party and has been for 16 years. recently, president jonathan sell out with the incumbent governor who then joined the opposition. so it is a key battle ground for the president. it is the symbolic home of where he comes from and if there's any state in nigeria that the president does not want to lose it's river state. the opposition say what's going on there is the beginnings of an attempt by the party to try to steal river state in this election. of course, they're going to investigate the allegations. >> given all of that and the problems that people have had voting elsewhere due to technical problems, when can we expect the first result? what are they saying? >>reporter: the umpire is playing down the significance of some of the irregularities

around election materials arriving late and card readers functioning incorrectly. they're operating today but that's out of 150,000. in terms of the results, it could take some time. we're told that some of the results of the different states for the presidential race will be coming in but we're talking about 36 different states including the fct, the federal capital territory plus some 60 million voters. so it really isn't clear. but just one result being reported by local media here not officially announced by the independent national leg to recall commission is that apparently president jonathan has lost the election in the presidential villa polling stations. those are two key polling stations within the complex where the president lives and where he works. local media saying he's lost

these two polling stations. no official information from the umpire but if this information is accurate obviously this is bad news for good luck jonathan but it's only two polling stations out of about 150,000. so not exactly a national picture if you like. >> thank you very much. the military of nigeria has detained two al jazeera journalists in the north of the country. they've been held in their hotel since tuesday. al jazeera is demanding their immediate release. a suicide bomber in afghanistan's capital of kabul has targeted the home of a politician. three people including a child are reported to have been killed. it's believed the member of parliament has been slightly injured. he'd been leading a meeting when the bomber approached him on foot. eight other people were also hurt. iraqi military forces are

struggling to recapture the city of tikrit from the islamic state. the attack has been slowed by bombs laid by the group around the city. tikrit has been in the hands of isil fighters since last year. >>reporter: only meters away from enemy lines, iraqi forces prepare for what they call the final push into tikrit. >> our forces have advanced towards the outskirts to flush out isil. we've advanced from four fronts and established fire contact with the enemy. >>reporter: members of the national police army, and eh lease heat forces are on the edge of the city waving the iraqi flag as they cross a bridge into the center target. they fire targets with machine guns and rocket launchers and

report successes telling al jazeera the plume of smoke is homes close to a mosque that is an isil control center. >> thankfully we are making some gains. our security forces have advanced now on the gates of central tikrit and by the will of god we will crush isil until none of them is left in iraq. >>reporter: optimism is high since a u.s.-led coalition launched air strikes on wednesday. the campaign began after the united states insisted shia militias pull back from the operation with the iraqi forces. the fighters have been instrumental to the tikrit battle since it began earlier this month. >> our iraqi forces are heading towards the city of tikrit. we are a collection of collaborating forces and by the help of god we'll be in tikrit very soon. >>reporter: the government has predicted several times before

that it will win back tikrit. control is seen as a vital step towards eventually taking back mosul which isil took over last june. in europe news centers around talks about the iran nuclear program. details now from felicity in london. >> that's right. it is the third day of this round of negotiations and iran is refusing to budge on two key issues. firstly continuing its advanced nuclear research and secondly the speed at which sanctions will be eased. all parties of course trying to reach a deal before the deadline of tuesday. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says iran

could now be in a position to, quote, conquer the middle east. >> i express a deep concern towards this deal emerging with iran and the nuclear talks. it bears out all of our fears and even more than that. parallel to their coming together around this deal iran in yemen is bidding to take over the strategic strait which changes the maritime balance and the global oil supply. our diplomatic editor joins us now. how close to a deal do you think they are right now? >> well i think one indication is the fact that nearly all the foreign ministers are here now from the so-called p5 plus 1, the five permanent members of the security council as well as germany. the russian foreign minister arrived in the past hour and the

u.k. foreign minister we believe will be here at the hotel behind me any moment. we're told there will be a meeting pretty soon from the p5 plus 1 so they're in place meaning they could sign any agreement but clearly there are still stumbling blocks that they have to try to get through before they can sign any agreement. earlier on the german foreign minister came out and spoke to us and said he bes that those stumbling blocks could be overcome. >> there are some individual elements missing that are necessary for our security. so we need flexibility in negotiations from iran. there's not been enough of that so far and it must be negotiated. we're doing that very seriously and i must say i have the impression that iran is also negotiating with a will to reaching a conclusion. >>reporter: well it could be a long haul because remember the deadline comes up on tuesday.

the end of the month is the deadline for these talks. they've been meeting here as you know the last couple of days. they were here all last week in beautiful weather. the weather now is cold and wet but iranian journalists were telling me that's good luck in persian culture. >> thanks very much indeed. more from europe later in the news hour. right now though it's back to adrian. tens of thousands of people have paid their final respects to singapore's founding father lee kuan yew. he passed away on monday. here's this report from singapore. >>reporter: at 12:30 local time the coffin of the former prime minister lee kuan yew is taken from parliament house where his body has been lying in state since wednesday. draped in the national flag his body was carried by members of the armed services. a chance for his countrymen to

see him one last time. the rain came down but that did not deter the many thousands lining the streets to pay their respects to the founder of this nation. young and old and across the social and ethnic spectrum the crowds waited patiently. some families watching the funeral on their computers. for many here it was a chance to pay tribute. >> he was a man of great courage and conviction and we are here to pay our last respects. we've been here 12 years and owe a lot to him and this country. >> he was a good leader and we should pay our respects to him. >>reporter: lee transformed the nation from a colonial back water to one with an internationally-respected economy. while some criticized his policy towards free speech and dissent politicians lined up to pay tribute to him. >> singapore's transformation in

one generation is a tribute to his leadership. ♪♪ >>reporter: the funeral service took place at the national university. here his oldest son and current prime minister spoke warmly of his father's achievements. >> mr. lee went for the nobler dream of a multiracial and multireligious nation. singapore would not be based on race language or religion but on fundamental values multiracial immaterial, equality integrity, and rule of law. >>reporter: along with much of the journey there was a military guard of honor and a 21-gun salute. this country has been in mourning for seven days and as monday approaches a new political dawn begins one without lee kuan yew.

how this island nation moves forward socially and politically will depend on the new younger generation. egypt's top prosecutor has described 18 muslim brother hood members as terrorists. the list includes the group's leader seen here in court last year. it's the first use of a new antiterror law passed in egypt earlier this year. they were convicted in february of orchestrate orchestrating violent in 2013 in which 11 people were killed. tunisia's government says the man suspected of planning the assault on the national museum has been killed. he died during a raid by security forces. at least eight other people were also killed in that gun battle. the attack on the museum has prompted tens of thousands of people to march against violence in the capital, tunis.

>>reporter: marches like this aren't common in tunisia but attacks on the country's most famous museum was unprecedented. there are people here from different social political, and religious backgrounds. they want to show tunisia is still a safe place for tourists. >> we come here today to try to heal our injured country and remain united against terrorism. >>reporter: most of the victims of the attack were foreigners visiting the country. the president of france was among a number of world leaders here to show solidarity. this video filmed by an italian tourist inside the museum shows the moments after gunmen start shooting. visitors try to find an exit. the sounds of the gun fire get

closer. tunisian authorities say they've killed at least nine people connected to the attack among them the man suspected of planning the attack. he is from algeria algeria and one of tunisia's most wanted men. >> this is a crucial operation in our antiterrorism effort. >>reporter: there have been dozens of arrests in the past week. human rights groups are concerned freedoms are being sacrificed in the name of security. for now, most tunisians stand united behind the police and military. they marched in the streets in

2011 calling for jobs freedom, and justice. now they want to prevent another attack. >> we're approaching the midway point in this news hour. coming up, out with the old and in with the new. the changing face of istanbul has some worried it's losing its historic character.

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>> for this young girl, times were hard. >> doris' years in a racist, impoverished setting had a major impact. >> but with looks... charm... >> i just wanted to take care of my momma. >> and no remorse... >> she giggles every time she steps into the revolving door of justice. >> she became legendary. >> the finer the store the bigger the challenge. >> al jazeera america presents: "the life and crimes of doris payne". tonight, 10:00 eastern. good to have you with us. top stories this hour a saudi-led coalition continue to attack houthi air defenses missiles, and weapon stores in yemen. houthis have been battling sunni tribes and we're hearing at least 40 houthi fighters have been killed there thousands of people in nigeria have been demonstrating

against the elections. some have accused president good luck jonathan supporters of killing opposition campaigners. the he can to recall commission says it's investigating. >> germany's foreign minister says further problems in iranian nuclear talks cannot be ruled out. negotiations are being held in switzerland ahead of tuesday's deadline. iran is said to be considering demands from world powers for more cuts in its program. the city first known as byzanthian, then constantinople and now istanbul is being changed again into an metropolis. >>reporter: it's a shop from a bygone age with bygone rent. just over $2,000 a month on istanbul's most famous street.

his shop could fetch $20,000 a month on the open market. he's says he's being forced out. >> they say you will go. we've been right here for the past 80 years. every customer knows us here at number 125 c. if i leave here where will they find me? how will i set up a new shot and rent a new place? costs now are so high you burn your hands. >>reporter: his landlord, the cash poor catholic church is taking advantage of a new law meaning tenants of ten years or more can be evicted without cause. this was the cultural heart of the city but then investors came

and changed it to a shopping mall. >>reporter: this is next to a new and controversial shopping mall. a few blocks away is now being renovated. the local council tells us it has to strike a fine balance between preserving the culture and history of an area and creating a modern living environment. the former mayor of istanbul istanbul and now the president is behind the scheme to turn this city into a modern global metropolis. some will struggle to find a place in this vision of the

future. more now on our top story, the war in yemen. frank cole is a professor of history at the university of michigan. good to have you with us juan. before i get your views on the operation in yemen, i want to talk to you about the arab league announcing this joint military force which they're going to set up. what do you think of that? >> well it's not the first time the arab league has had an intervention force. i was in lebanon in the early years of the civil war and the arab league authorized a force there. it was largely syrian. but it was under their auspices. i think the turmoil in the region over the last four years with wars in libya, syria, yemen has impelled the great powers in the arab league to want an instrument where they can

intervene legitimately. >> i suppose we're looking at a unity force right now, the coalition put together to mount this operation in yemen. but as far as what's going on in yemen, is this an attempt at a military solution which is in reality more of a political problem? i think behind the scenes what's being aimed at is a political solution. i think they believe that the houthi movement has become too ambitious and has not followed through with its promises to negotiate with other forces and i think the attempt now is to attempt -- is to force them into talks. >> what about saudi arabia's motives here? saudi arabia finds itself

surrounded by four different struggles in its own backyard its neighborhood. >> that's right. yemen is particularly seen as dangerous from a saudi point of view. it's a pop country of some 22 million and the houthi movement is anti-saudi. it grew up in part as reaction against saudis in shiite territory and some of its leaders have talked about overthrowing the royal family. so the saudis are extremely alarmed in how powerful this group has become and they were even more alarmed that they captured aircraft missile placements and so some of the bombing is to protect saudi arabia from reprizals from the houthis. >> all right. thank you for speaking with me. i always learn something when we

speak. time for more news from europe now. let's get back to london. >> thank you. we're going to start in france where an estimated 50% have cast their ballots in the second round of local elections. they're being seen as a gauge of what people think of the leaders and their policies. with the next presidential election only two years away. >>reporter: its rhetoric is gaining traction after recent acts of terrorism and frustrated by its stalled economy. >> today all pensions are taken

away from the elderly. we don't have buying power. unemployment is high. this is horrible for our country. i don't know if she'll do anything but i hope we'll give her a chance. >>reporter: here a struggling town with high unemployment it's a runoff between the national front and the right wing unp led by the former president. these elections are likely to confirm them in the main stream of french politics although they're not likely to win that many council seats because of strategic voting and that's likely to be repeated in the chatty shiley elections in 2017. the socialist government is being punished. he's unpopular and blamed for france's economic stag nation.

whoever wins on monday morning half of france's new local councillors will be women. >> and we're live now in paris with simon. what are the exit polls saying? >> yes. about half an hour ago all the french channels splashed the exit polls. they're more or less the same and as predicted, the ump, right wing party led by the former president is the big winner in these local elections. they'll take control of anywhere between 64 and 70 local councils. the socialists the present president, have been punished and will give up two of the ump anywhere between 26 and 30 local

councils i think we can bear widespread popular dissatisfaction of this government particularly over the economy and its persistently high unemployment problem in france which this government has not yet managed to significantly reduce. the national front widely predicted to do well according to these exit polls. the predictions are that the national front will struggle to gain control of a single council in france and i think that will be a surprise to many. >> simon, thank you very much. it's long been russia's most dependable european ally. in fact most of them speak

russian but that could change. there's a new political will inspired in part because of the crisis in ukraine. plus there are a number of people wanting to learn their mother tongue. here's this report from the capital of minsk. >>reporter: this is not an english class, not french spanish, german or chinese either. they're learning bela-russian. they're rediscovering their country's forgotten tongue. free evening classes have been filling up like this one in minsk. >> i see two reasons. the first is political. through learning language and culture we can change our country. plus ukranian events are forcing people to think of who they are and their national

identity. >>reporter: so they're learning their own language and it's an act of political independence. but this isn't just a grassroots phenomenon. it's also going on right at the top of government. in recent speeches the president surprised many by delivering sections in bela-russian. and he's fired warning shots that will have been heard in the kremlin. >> if there are some smarties here who love to put a spoke in the wheel at home or others who have come who think this is part of the russian world, forget it. belarusse is a sovereign and independent state. >>reporter: for centuries, they were ruled by imperial powers, the polish-lithuanian commonwealth and the u.s.s.r. but analysts warn against

expecting a big lurch away from russia but rather geo-political strategy. >> the rhetoric which can be heard from here should deceive no one. >>reporter: they were signed into the eurasian union and this is an election year so talk is cheap. once kindled, nationalism can become a difficult force to control. and the pope has led celebrations for palm sunday at the vatican. ♪♪ >> thousands of people carried

palm branches to mark the start of holy week. the busiest time of year in the catholic calendar. speaking later during mass the pontiff paid tribute to those killed because of their faith, especially victims of the islamic state of iraq. and that's the latest news from here. back now to doha and to adrian. students from southern mexico have fought with police. the group had been travel fromming the state capital in what police suspected was a stolen bus. police tried to stop the bus to check it. masked students later set fire to a police car and an ambulance outside the police station. still to come here on the news hour the world's number one badmitton star gives her fans another reason to celebrate.

in canada's yukon territory, some people here are living off the grid. no running water, no electricity, and some unique ways of keeping winter's cold at bay.

hello there. they're celebrating a fifth world cup crown. >>reporter: it seemed an ideal final. cohosts and rivals head to head

in melborne. taylor and semifinal hero have provided some resistance. the partnership was broken and new zealand crumbled in what was their first world cup final. australia's attack was rampant. new zealand was not enough. their hopes were raised. but australia quickly showed they were still in control. michael clark was enjoying his last ever international. he was out but it meant a special

ovation. >> i think i've made it'd clear it was going to be skill and not emotion that won us the world cup and i think a lot of the things i've said in press conferences have been for myself. i'm saying it out loud so that i can hear it myself and i think that's probably one of the main things i've been saying skill over emotion will win the world cup for us. >>reporter: australia's fifth world cup and for the first time in front of their own fans. quite a bit of motor sport. the former world champion up staged the current one at the malaysian grand prix. >>reporter: after a dominant weekend and start to the season it was a familiar one.

defending champion hamilton starting from pole position but right behind him was the fourth time world champion who had not tasted race victory since late 2014. the first twist came after four laps when marcus funnels the track and the resulting safety period mercedes pulled their cars into the pits and put on hard tires. hamilton was not able to catch up. >> fantastic. fantastic.

>> firarri has been the most successful team. >> it's been a while so my first time obviously with ferarri. i don't know. >> hamilton claimed second but his mercedes teammate third. >> congratulations to ferarri and sebastian. >> the championship race perhaps no longer as straightforward as it seems.

albania beat armenia as well. slovakia, the defending

champion raced through the opening sets taking it six love. then he fought back in the second. then takes it 7-5. he raised his game and dug deep in the deciding set and won it 6-1 setting up a third-round match with the qualifier from belgium. serena williams is also through to the third round. her passage a bit easier. showing few signs of strain. she's a fourth-time champion in miami. the golden state warriors have secured the top seed for the playoffs. in portland the blazers beat the nuggets. will barton getting the assist.

three behind in the final but there was a 10-point lead. portland closing in the win here 120-114. busy day in sports and we've covered most of that sports on our website, aljazeera.com/sport. that is where we leave it for now. >> glum face. you don't look sad enough. two guys who now have to live without cricket on television every day for a while. if you're watching this on television or online the chances are you're taking the electricity supply that powers that device for granted. the same might go for, say, the water from your taps.

but some people in canada's yukon territory have shunned modern living for a simpler way of life producing their own water, heating, and building their own homes. here's more from these people choose people choosing to live off the grid. >>reporter: a man's home for 18 years now on the frozen yukon river. >> good morning. >>reporter: they call him caveman bill and here's why. there's just room inside to eat and sleep and do fine carpentry that earns him a living. water comes from the river and heat from fire wood gathered a few steps away. spartan but a way of life he cherishes. >> just relax in the lifestyle. i know so many people who put themselves into an early grave chasing something they never achieve. and, you know they do it in such a manner that they'll never

achieve it. it's not for me. i actually had to use 117 bales. >>reporter: he drove to dawson city last year in his van and now he's living in it. bales of straw covered with plastic and snow keep winter at bay. inside is cramped but comfortable enough to live and run his web design business. >> i just kept stacking until i got to the top and then just luckily everything panned out the right height and i was able to stack across the top. land is really expensive out here and so for the first winter, i just wanted to make sure that i could stay warm because once you have warm food and shelter, you're good to go. >>reporter: for gabby, it's all about her dogs. dawson city doesn't allow more than two dogs for pets. she has nine she uses to run a

dog sled so she lives in a small cabin and melts snow on a wood stove to get enough water for those thirsty mouths outside. >> sometimes in the big city everything is taken care of for you and you get lost. it's neat to know if you want heat you make the heat and gives you a sense of confidence and accomplishment because you're doing things for yourself and i like that. >>reporter: being off the grid isn't for everyone. but what clearly suits cut eastbound and the dozens of others who live this way up here. next year cud and his beloved dog fret plan to move to a log cabin further out in the forest in search of a sense of freedom harder and harder to find in a world more urban and crowded than ever. that's it for the news hour. thanks for watching. i'll see you again.

arab leaders vow to continue their bombing campaign in yemen until houthi rebels surrender. welcome to al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. also ahead protesters in nigeria's oil rich region call for election results to be scratched over allegations of fraud. thousands of people turn out to say good-bye to singapore's founding father former