facebook. come back, we'll have more "america tonight" on tuesday. yemen's houthi rebels show little signs of defeat or retreat as the describes continues in to their fifth day. hello, this is al jazerra. we are live in doha. also ahead in the next 30 minutes, chancing underway in nigeria's presidential election after days of violence and technical problems. booby traps and bombs hamper iraq's army as it tries to recapture the city of tikrit

from isil. also ahead. >> reporter: i am daniel lack in canada's yukon territory. in people here are living off the grid no. water, no electricity and unique ways of keeping winter's cold at bay. ♪ ♪ hello, saudi arabia's military says it's gaining ground in the battle against houthi fighters in yemen. leading a coalition that's bombing the shia group's positions from the air for a fifth day. some of the latest air strikes have hit the houthi's main strong hold of is due in of is in north and in the capital. the houthis are believed to be marching towards aden in the south where they are reportedly fighting forces loyal to yep end's president mansour hadi. let's take a closer look at

where and what the latest strikes have hit in sanaa war planes targeted fighter jets which were seized by the houthis from yemen's air force. they also attacked a camp dozens of houthi fighters have been killed there. the city is home to the country's second largest port. and as we said earlier, they bombed positions in the northern province of sadder which is considered the houthi's main support base. the arab league says the air strikes will continue against the houthis in generally until they lay down their weapons and withdraw from sanaa. here we have more. >> reporter: air strikes hit targets across the country including in the capital sanaa. jets from the saudi-led coalition have bomb the ammunition depots, airports and long-range rocket launchers in sanaa, sadder, ib and others. this is the aftermath of an

attack on the air base in the capital. it destroyed helicopters fighter jets and a fuel facility. the saudis have also deployed thousands of soldiers along the border they share with yemen. >> translator: the houthis are a group of militias that staged a coup. they have expanded because of the backing of former president and the iran iranians. >> reporter: saudi-led air strikes seem to be weakening houthi fighters who have start today retreat from areas in the south according to local sources. sunni tribes men are on the move to recapture areas they lost in the last few weeks. these are houthi fighters killed in an ambush while mount southern city. the arab summit in egypt has been dominated by yemen's deteriorating security

situation. the sad is and saudis and their allies say the or strikeses will continue until they disband their melitia. they also insist that president mansour hadi who hospital fled the country is yemen's legitimate leader. >> translator: yemen was on the urge of collapse. the move came after all other means to achieve a peaceful solution that includes ending the houthi military coup and restoring legitimate i. the action will continue until the hall i hand over their houthi has handed over their weapons. >> reporter: the general has been sacked from the post as yemen's ambassador to the united arum emirates. sack booed his father. this comes after saudi media reported that he was in riad a day before saudis and their allies launched attacks against

yemen. the reports suggest that the former yemeni president is willing to turn against the houthis if international sanctions against him are lifted. but the saudis apparently no longer trust him. they are accused of a are co of colluding and the iranians. vote counting is underway in what is seen as nigeria's first close presidential election since democratic rule. on sunday thousands of people took to the streets in protest over voting irregularities in river state. some also accuse people working for president goodluck jonathan office party of killing opposition campaign workers. a report from abuja. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: well, river state is a very strategic state in these elections. it's a key battle ground state between the ruling party, that's the people's democratic party and the main opposition, the

all-progress congress. what voters are saying is that many of the election materials failed to arrive and that all-important result sheets. and as a consequence of that, they were unable to vote. they want the independent national electoral commission to investigate what happened. they say it's critical that they vote in these elections and there is huge concern about what the impact of all of this may be. tension is high in the state. here is my report, my summary of events that have happened around the country on sunday. up to 15,000 opposition supporters protested outside the electoral commission office in the oil-such southern region. they say they didn't get a chance to vote on saturday because electoral materials and result sheets never arrived. the electoral commission boss is investigating what happened there. as well as the alleged under-aged voting in other states. in lagos the spokesperson of the opposition believes the ruling party has lost the election.

>> our feeling now is that the results will not change at the election center or elsewhere. and. [ inaudible ] insecurity and practical reality. we are saying this because we know that the government of the day has lost. >> reporter: but no official results have been announced by the election commission. just outside of abuja joseph and his friends are eagerly awaiting them. they are concernedded about the delays in voting and technical problems. >> what i want to advise if you want to bring a process like this, they have to test, they have to try it first in a small irrelevant elect like a governorship election and see how efficient it is and then let's bring it to the general election. yesterday what i noticed was that so many people if you put your hand it doesn't show.

>> reporter: but the election commission wants people to be more understanding. up to 60 million people may have voted in some 150,000 polling station across the country. >> yes, they just have to be patient. be patient with us, because they can be hungry, but the process has to flow. let us follow the process to the logical conclusion. >> reporter: no official results have been released by the electoral commission so far but the chairman did announce we would get some results 48 hours after the last person at a polling station gets the opportunity to vote. they have emphasized the fact that this is a huge logistical challe phoneschallenge for the electoral authorities. some of the polling stations are in very rural areas and we know that at least 60 million people might participate in the vote and that's according to the number of permanent voter cards that were collected. they are asking people to be

patient. >> the nigerian military has detained two al jazerra journalists in the east, they were embedded with the military before they were detained. they have been held in their hotel since tuesday. al jazerra is demanding their release. iraqi security forces are struggling to retake the strategic city of tikrit from the islamic state of iraq and the levants. bombs and booby traps have hampered their efforts and there is distrust between u.s. forces providing air support and shia militias on the ground. >> reporter: oweowe samthey hit targets. government forces and militias are closing in from the southern and western sides of tikrit. the hometown of sadam hussein. iraqi military backed by shia militias make up a 30,000 strong force did he floyd retake the city. they have been saying they are close to taking control of tikrit for weeks. >> god willing, we will enter

tikrit today. we hope that the end of the action in tikrit will be today. >> reporter: the operation was launch odd march 2nd but progress has been slow. >> translator: our advance is slow because of the i.e.d. and booby trapped roads. there is some resistence from the enemy but 345eu7bly due to the booby traps set up in the roads, houses, shops and government facilities. >> reporter: last week the u.s. air force joined the operation. with the precondition that shia militia withdraw from tikrit the two main groups of iran-backed fighters say they left the front lines because they don't need help from the u.s. army. and now many are back. reportedly incorporated in to government security forces. taking credit for which they push isil out of tikrit is important both for iraq's military and the shia militias. >> it's not just tikrit we are talking about, we are talk about the future of iraq and the united states and its partners do not want to see it become dominated and controlled by the

shias. >> reporter: the distrust isn't just between the u.s. and militias. there have been accusations shia militias are carrying out human rights abuses. this video posted on social media shows an explosive charge being lit in a house reportedly in a sunni area taken over by shia fighters. the video was posted by users linked to iranian-backed iraqi coalition of shia ma militias. the fear says he fighter says he's with the brigade. al jazerra cannot independently verify these images but human rights groups have verified the tactics in sunni areas controlled by shia forces. iraqi army continues to say tikrit not far away. but for people stuck in a war fueled by sectarian hatred. space far away. much more ahead on al jazerra, when when he come back, french vote ears peer to lean to the right in local elections but not far enough.

the national front leader marin los angelesle pen. they are closer than ever to a deal with iran. balloon

>> weeknights on al jazeera america. >> join me as we bring you an in-depth look at the most important issues of the day. breaking it down. getting you the facts. it's the only place you'll find... the inside story. >> ray suarez hosts "inside story". weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. ♪ ♪ hello again, let's get a reminder of the top story on his al jazerra. saudi arabia says its coalition is gaining ground in the battle against shia houthi fighters in yemen. they have been bombing the main group? sawed a and other targets. vote count is underway in what's seen as nigh year yaps

closest election since democratic rule. on sunday thousands of people took to the treats to protest vote being irregular lares in river state. iraqi army says eights meeting recess tins in the fight to recapture tikrit. it says booby traps and improvised explosive divideses are slowing their advance this the war in yemen dominated two-day meeting of arab lead nurse egypt where any agreed to create eye unified military force. egypt's president el-sisi says joint action is needed to fight what he calls terrorism and foreign intervention in the middle east. he says the panel will work under the supervision of arab chief to his decide the structure of the force. it's been reported that the proposed alliance will be made up of at least 40,000 troops. mike ohio's is lyons is a military analyst and former offers in the u.s. army and says the countries need to be clear about the objectives

of this proposed force. >> whether it's a pilot project or not remains to be seen, i think what president sisi is talking about is a much more structured and formal type organization and unit with over 40,000 troops. naval assets and all the like and other nations participating but he's clearing using the situation in yemen as a way to jump start that project right now you have mostly saudi arabia taking the lead there. i think he wants other arab nations involved as well. and go beyond the coalition of the 10 nation that his we have right now. from a military perspective. if this coalition is going to irrelevantirradicate isis from that region there, you know, there has to be ground rules here, these air' arab nations need to get together and determine if it's an offensive or defensive based organization and looks to defend these countries. and i think again from what president sisi is saying, he's looking over the region and i think looking over the horizon

and saying we need to have this force ready to go for things like iraq and syria and have the capability to irradicate ice fridays there. now, the syrian government has reportedly sent one of its top military officials to recapture the steve idlib. rebel factions took control of the strategic area after four days of fighting. it's only the second provincial country to fall in to opposition hands in over four years of war. the city is close tie major highway that links damascus with aleppo. the united nations says refugees in syria need urgent ada mid dwindling resources. the inning creeding aid gap is likely to be addressed at the third international aid conference held in kuwait on tuesday, caroline malone reports. >> reporter: in 2014, the united nation as peeled for $7.7 billion in aid to help civilians in syria. but only 63% of the money pledged was donated. in a new report for charity

objectionoxoxfamiliar analyzed what they pledged but what they actually guide. some of the worse offends era korea and russia. this year people need even more help. an estimated 18 million people cryer a total of $8.7 billion. providing each person with only the absolute minimum little more than the equivalent of one u.s. dollar a day. so far only 10% of the amount have been pledged. equipments are yous bordering syrian are over pledged. objection familiar says only about 2% of those people have been offered any kind of permanent resettlement. to places like australia canada germany and switzerland. oxfam says poland, russia, spain and the united kingdom need to offer more openings and the charity says gulf countries like saudi arabia, qatar and uae

could help more syrians seeking asylum by reactions visa restrictions. >> if you would like to know more about the people affect by the war in syria and meet some of them. head to our special online interactive documentary life on hold. over a million syrians have flooded to lebanon where they now make up a quarter of the population. negotiators in switzerland are trying to reach ideal on iran's nuclear program before tuesday's deadline. they will hold talks with the iranian foreign minister on monday. sources say eye iran is refuse to go budge on some key issues, including continuing its advanced nuclear research. it's also asking for sanctions to be lifted sooner than proposed. now, the european union foreign policy chief says they are edging ever closer to an agreement.

>> as you know, we have never been so close to a deal. still we have some critical points that need to be solved. and we will work in these hours over the weekend to try to bridge the gaps. i will not go in to the details of the negotiations, it's not the right time to do it. i hope we'll manage do it in the coming days. tomorrow or afterwards. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu says the deal being negotiated is worse than his government had feared. >> translator: this agreement as it appears confirms all of our concerns and then some. even as meetings proceed on the dangerous agreement iran's proxies in yemen are overrunning large sections of that country and are attempting to seize control of its extra teaming strategic straight which will affect the global oil supply after the

baghdad access, iran is carrying out a movement in the south as well as in order to take over and conquer the entire middle east iran's access is dangerous for humanity and must be stopped. ray tsunami warning has been issued after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck new guinea. the end epicenter in the northeast. waves could reach heights of three meters. in france, the party led by former president nicholas sarkozy is leading in the second round of local elections. president francois hollande's social assists are projected to have performed badly in the polls. marin le pen's national front party didn't do as well as she had hoped. simon a mcgregor wood reports from paris. >> reporter: as she voted on sunday marin le pen hoped there would be a breakthrough not national front and it would finally gain control of local councils.

but projected results suggested a big disappointment for her. while her party will have gained more counselors, it might struggle to control even one council. she tried to put a brave face on it. >> translator: the historical effect this evening is the steak. of a national front as a powerful force. this exceptional victory is a good sign for the future. socialist party is disappearing while the national front has shown exceptional results. >> reporter: the clear winner of these elections was the right wing u.m.p. led by former president nicholas sarkozy. it is projected to win almost two-thirds of france's councils. that might help his faltering campaign to become the you feel m.p.'s next presidential candidate. >> translator: with their vote the french have reject the massively the politics of francois hollande's government. this has never happened before. never will have have the has the

government lost so many departments. >> reporter: the social assists of president francois hollande have been punished by voters, frustrated with france's stuttering economy. and high unemployment. the result suggests they have lost up to 30 councils, to the u.m.p. before these elections the polling suggested the french people were turning towards the national front in greater numbers. increasingly attract today its anti-immigration anti-europe nationalism. these projected results show that while the party is gaining grassroots popularity, particularly some nba some regions it doesn't yet have the critical mass to breakthrough. and that will reassure those looking ahead to the 2017 presidential election in, which marin le pen will run as a candidate. simon mcgregor wood, al jazerra, paris. bolivia's ruling party has suffered a setback in local elections the party of the president abel morales lost

elections in the capital los angeles pass and in santa santa cruz, the results reports as bad as predicted but expected to make it more difficult for morales. more from los angeles pass. >> reporter: the regional election results have dealt a significant blow to the government of president abel morales. he only won a third term in office as president at the end of last year. which means that his remaining four and a half years in hospital will be considerably more difficult facing op six strong opposition in several parts of the country. a previously strong hold for him and the government. a place that he took for granted there perhaps lies the root.

problem while president abel morales has a strong polling and support across the country members of his government are less popular critics say that they are out of touch complacent and even corrupt. and these regional election results have dealt a strong blow to that governing party. president abel morales is still in office and still the president being but one thing is certain is that his remaining time in office will be considerably more difficult. now, could you live without your tv, smart phone or what about running water? well, some people in canada's yukon territory have shunned modern living to go back to basics. daniel lack we want to meet some people losing to live off the grid. >> reporter: a al jazerra long the rocky shore of a now frozen yukon river a man's home for 18 years now. good morning. >> how are you doing today? >> reporter: good, how are you doing. they call him cave man bill. and here is why. there is just room inside to eat and sleep and do the fine

carpentry that earns him a living. water comes from the river. and heat from firewood gathered a few steps away. spartan, yes, but it's a way of life he cherishes. >> just relaxing lifestyle. i know so many people, you know, put themselves in an early grave chasing something that they never achieve. and, you know, they do it in such a manner that they never will achieve it. you know. and it's like, it's not for me. >> reporter: i actually had to use 117 bails. >> reporter: 117 bails. singer drove dawson city in his utility fan now he's living in it. bails of straw covered with plastic and snow keep winter at bay. inside it's cramped but comfortable enough for cut to cud run his web design business from what used to be the driver's seat. >> i just kept stacking until i got to the top and just luckily everything panned out the right height and i was able to stack across the top.

it's really hard to buy land out here, lands is really expensive. so that takes time. so for the first winter i just wanted to make sure that i could stay warm. because once you have warmth, food and shelter you are good to go. >> reporter: for gabby, it's all about her dogs. dawson city doesn't allow more than two dogs as pets. gabby has nine. that she sues to his run a dog sled. so she lives in a small cabin built of spruce logs from the forest. and melts snow on a wood stove to get enough water for all of those thirsty mounts outside. again, it's about independence. >> sometimes in a bigger city, everything is taken care of for you and you get a little lost. and kind of neat to know if you want heat you make it. it gives you a sense of accomplishment because you are doing it for yourself and you are self sufficient and i kind of like that feeling. >> reporter: being off the grid isn't for everyone. though it clearly suits cud and

the dozen ofs of others that live up here. next winter cud and his beloved dog fret plan to move for a log cabin further out in the forest. in search of a sense of freedom growing harder and harder to find in a world more urban and crowded than ever. daniel lack, al jazerra dawson city. a solar-powered airplane is on the fifth leg of its historic attempt around the world trip. the fuel-free plane left myanmar and is heading to china. solar impulse left abu dhabi two weeks ago and has already been to amman and india. the journey is expect today take five months. australia is the toast of world cricket after seeing off co-host new zealand in the final in melbourne. it's the country's fifth world cup title and the first time australia has won the cup on home turf. andrew thomas has more from sydney. >> reporter: a big victory rally has been going on in the sunshine in melbourne's federation square. big cheers went up as each team

member came out on stage. the biggest of all for the captain, michael clark. australia's prime minister wasn't there but his deputy was, all australians were proud of this team he said. the papers here are full of the victory too. here is monday's australians. it calls the final match the dream sequence, a demolition job of new zealand. the daily telegraph here calls it a ferry a fairytale. it's only march of course but it's been a good year so far to australian sport. world cricket champions and also the football champions of asia. after victory in the asian cup also on home turf in january. compare that to the sent of national dismay after the miserable medal tally in the 2012 olympics, it's all very different now for a country that takes its sport very seriously. some people got a real fight on the first day of the season in new york's coney islands amuse iamusement park, they are forced

to climb down from the cyclone roller coaster when the cars got stuck it near the top 26 meters above ground, luckily no one was injured. viewers in the united states will be getting "faultlines chet next. but whenever you are there is much her on our website. aljazerra.com. history. but it's not a crisis of illegal drugs. it's one of prescription painkillers - oxycodone, hydrocodone, and other legal narcotics, all related to opium. collectively they are called opioids. >> these are the opioid painkillers. and prescriptions for drugs like these have more than quadrupled over the last 15 years - to the extent that the us now