next live from doha. >> welcome to the news hour. i'm dick clark in doha. heavy fighting between houthi rebels and tribesmen across yemen for a fifth night in saudi-led airstrikes. >> we're working hard. we're working hard. >> world powers try to reach a deal on iran's nuclear program. votes in nigeria people wait to see who will be their next president. >> i'm in the northern

philippines. there is excitement here as the tribe welcomes a new arrival. >> we begin with yemen humanitarian workers. 45 people have been killed. airstrikers have hit a camp for displaced people in the north. a coalition has been bombing houthi rebels who control the capital of sanaa. houthies have ended the southern city. and they've launched a new offensive on the city of aden and there have been new battles in the central province. >> yemeni describes men and shia houthi rebels engage in fierce fighting around the town in eastern yemen. local sources say several houthi fighters have been killed.

the houthies are trying to move through this area to the oil rich province, but local tribesmen are not the only ones determined to stop their advance. this attack is by the saudi-led coalition targeting houthi military positions. airstrikes have also hit houthi fighters. dozens of outy fighters have been killed, and jets have bombed positions in the northern province of saada considered the houthi's main support base. the saudis have deployed thousands of soldiers along the border they share with yemen but saudi officials continue to say there is no plan to send troops, at least for now. >> we have attacks of some concentration of force for the militias, but there is no major

land operation. >> the saudi led airstrikes seem to be weakening outy fighters who have started to retreat from areas in the south according to local sources. tribesmen are on the move to re recapture areas in the east. >> the price would have been higher. it came at a suitable and critical time and through expert military men. >> the arab league summit in egypt has been dominated by yemen's deteriorateing situation. the saudi around think allies say that the airstrikes will continue until former president ali abdullah saleh release their areas. and that abd rabbuh mansur hadi is their legitimate leader. >> pakistan is it is telling all of their citizens to leave the country. it is the only non-arab country to join the saudi-led coalition

in yemen. but there is concern that islamabad's role will only increase secretary sectarian tension. >> 3,000 were flown out of the port during a two hon hour break in the fighting. at night there was a lot of bombing. it broke our windows. the houthies were the main threat to us because they were say requesting is pakistan backing the saudis. >> pakistan has announced it will support saudi arabia, but if has not explained how. >> the prime minister of pakistan told saudi arabia leaders that security is crucial in pakistan. that's why we're sending a delegation to saudi arabia. >> pakistan and saudi arabia have long military ties. they carry out joint exercises. there are 800 pakistani soldiers

protecting the border with iraq. this is strong economic relationship as well. last year saudi gave pakistan $1.5 billion in aid. pakistan's prime minister liveed in exile in riyadh for eight years. the conflict in yemen is a difficult balancing act with tack stan. while it has a strong relationship with saudi arabia, it also has good ties with iran, which has backed yes houthi fighters. islamabad does not want to create tension with its shared community. >> pakistan is a major shia country. >> it would lead to tension in pakistan. because the the assertion by the shia in pakistan is that pakistan is it siding with the

sunnies. >> some say the violence could not get worse than it already is. >> yemen or no yemen we've been beset by mercenaries in pakistan, is it does not make a difference. we live. with it. >> pakistan has sent fighter jets or troops to saudi arabia yet, but behind-the-scenes its deeply concern: nicole johnston al jazeera, islamabad. >> well, let's get an overview of the situation. hashem joins us to give us perspective on this complicated developing story. let's start with the airstrike. this will be a growing problem for the saudis if casualties continue to mount. >> and it may create anti-saudi sentiment among the northern

part of the country. this has been reported extendlysive extensively by the channel of the houthis in yemen. but the yemeni foreign minister said that he blames houthi fighters for the incidents because they have managed over the last few days to deploy troops inside misrata camp a camp on the border of saudi arabia. if said that the houthies were using that camp to fire on the saudis, and the saudis had to retaliate. a very delicate situation. which the saudis have to take in consideration. the last 48 hours they say the biggest concern is houthis move to go civilian areas. if if they retaliate, there will be collateral damage. that's what they've been abstaining from targeting areas where they know that there are

some long-range missile launcher positions by the outies. >> five days in, where are they? >> they have undermined the houthis sources loyal to. they have pounded air bases and compounds used by the outies and houthies. we see them moving south and to the southern city of aden, which shows you how delicate it will be for the saudis to contain annedidae feet the houthis who are spreading across the country, and who will have managed to maintain solid presence across the country. >> so can the saudis contain and defeat only by airstrikes?

>> they are asking the saudis to commit troops on the ground. but the saudis themselves have said its early to talk about troops on the ground. they said that phase one is destroying the center, and. theystage two would be to ask tribes to push out of saada. boots on the ground will be a risky initiative. >> thank you very much. >> well, the u.s. secretary of state john kerry has told al jazeera that foreign ministers are working very hard to reach a deal with iran on its future.

negotiators have been holding talks before tuesday's deadline. sources say iran is refuseing to budge on key issues, including the continuation of its advanced nuclear research. our diplomatic editor james bays is in lausanne. they're all at the table at this moment. they have all been at the stable today. you have the 9 p 5 plus 1. they're trying to get a deal with the clock taking. and the deadline is midnight on tuesday. there is not much time before this framework deal. they were all here, russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov departed. he clearly felt that they were not ready to get an agreement. they're clearly still sticking points. one of those sticking points,

the expert on all this at the international crisis group. first the issue of research and development. why is that a sticking point? >> research and development is very important for iran because it's what iran has built its entire narrative of scientific progress around nuclear program on it. and it is very important for the p5+1 because if iran can master very powerful centerfuges it shortens the path towards a nuclear weapon. it insists that it wants to start the research and development in the near future, and they insist that should happen only towards the end of the agreement. >> we talk about the end of the agreement. the timeline of this agreement how long it's going to run for. that's another sticking point isn't it. >> every time line runs through out all of these different

issues determining the sequence of will be lift: we have to remember that different elements of this deal will have different durations. some elements will be in place for ten years. some for more and some permanently like some transparency measures and monitoring measures. >> some may say the main sticking point what iran wants from this, getting rid of sanctions. they want to be treated like any other country and trading nation. we have an array of sanctions we've put in place over the years. u.n. sanction seem to be more of a president bush than any of the others. >> well, the reason that u.n. sanctions are so important is not because they're economically very effective but because of their symbolic value. they're not giving them anything more than suspension of those

sanctions. they're not going to terminate their unilateral sanctions. iran wants to show their public that they have gained something concrete out of the sanctions relief package that is the u.n. security council where the p 5 members of the permanent security council for iran its symbolically important because if iran respects restrictive measures that no other country in the world has accepted, at least it's expectation is that it no longer be treated as as a pariah state and a threat to security. >> so the do you think russia is fully on board with everything that the u.s. and some of its allies are proposing? >> they are, and they're always have been differences within the p5+1 members about restrictions. some members are more concerned

about iran's enrichment capacity than the russians and the chinese. but the russians are very sensitive when it comes to anything related to the security council and anything that dilutes russian vito and security council. there might be disagreements. i think one of the marvels is at the end of the day the b 152 plus one will overcome their tactical differences. when it comes to strategy they all agree they don't want to see iran with nuclear weapons or bombing of iran. >> thank you for joining us here on al jazeera. all of these issues to be resolved and only a small matter of hours to resolve them. >> the clock is sticking. thank you very much, indeed, for that comprehensive update. thank you. now the united states and britain are warning of possible political interference in vote counting after presidential election in nigeria. voters are waiting for the first results as the ruling party

faces the strongest competition in years. >> this woman works in the market of lagos. now that the presidential elections is over, they hope for one thing. >> i want peace. i don't want fight. i want peace. no fighting. that's what i want in. >> people in lagos appear to be getting on with their lives. the streets look busy but residents tell us it's quieter than usual. people don't know what will happen after final results are announced. they don't watt the election or violence they want their country to move on. >> there is anticipate in many parts of nigeria. many believe want peace.

>> i want the leader to rule the nation. >> many know the threats of post electionify lens is very real. more than 1,000 people died when the main opposition leader lost incumbent leader goodluck jonathan back in 2011. four years on its deja vu for nigerians. so people wait. they'll find out soon who has won. lagos. >> well, let's switch cities. we go to abuja. we have the latest on the election and yvonne, the results are beginning to trickle in. >> well, that's right nick, and the results from eight of nigeria's 36 states have been announced by the independent electoral commission. the commission is not far away

behind me addressing journalists. and these results are being run on state tv. it is not a simple and clearcut process because the representative from the electoral commission from each of the 36 states has to liver results from specific areas. first of all the number of register voters in each of the 36 states. the number of accredited voters. the number of political parties and what each presidential candidates scored. the total number of votes, and on top of that, each candidate needs to score 25% of the vote in two-thirds of nigeria's state to be in the running. now at the moment we're just hearing that the commission bosses decided to take a break because not all the results not all of the representatives have arrive: they're going to take a

break we're told around 1920 g. then they'll go on delivering those results. it's important to point out that some of the results like lagos where you're looking at a population of 30 million people. and representatives from the commission from those states have not arrived. i asked the officials how long it would take to get the definitive figure, they say they're prepared to spend the night here. >> a long night ahead. as a backdrop to all of this, some reports are saying that although the election has gone pretty much smoothly there are indications of political interference, and there seems to be conflicting reports. what do you know? >> well, that's right. the u.k. and the u.s. did release a statement. the u.k. and u.s. government saying they're suspicious of the possibility of some political

interference. they said they did not have evidence of systemic problems or malpractice during the vote. it's a very slightly--very different opinion that we're getting from some of the international observers. the african union the commonwealth observer commission, and those from the united states have given this election a clean bill of health. they have talked about irregulators. there is irregularities of elections not taking place. that's been reported. there is evidence of underage voting. they have already come out to say that at least 50 people have been killed in election violence

since the vote took place on saturday. the process went well. the nigeriaen came out in big numbers. it was a peaceful election. clearly the question is what happens now. once the aelection is announceed someone obviously has to lose this election. what will the response be. that's simply not clear. all indicationed so far the incumbent good good goodluck jonathan and opposition candidate buhari, the. >> we better let you go. it will be a long night ahead. yvonne, thank you very much i indeed. it's been nearly a week since nigerian military detained two

al jazeera journalists in the north. al jazeera is demanding their release. >> coming up on this news hour, another legal set macfor ehud olmert. >> the speech is going. >> new drugs that could save their lives. we have sport coming up. we'll hear from australia's cricket captain as the country celebrates a fifth world title. >> in iraq two car bomb explosions have killed five people. they exploded in the pre-dominantly shia neighborhood where 37 others were wounded. iraqi security forces were leading an assault. they think that isil fighters

are hiding there. we have reports bombs and boobie traps are making their fight even more difficult. >> government forces and militias are closing in on tikrit, the hometown of saddam hussein. the military backed by shia militias back a 30-thousand-strong force. they have been saying they're close to taking tikrit for weeks. >> god willing we'll take tikrit today. >> the operation was launched on march 2nd, but progress has been slow. >> our advance is slow because of the i.e.d.s and boobie-trapped roads houses, shops, and government facilities. >> last week the u.s. air force

joined the coalition. now many are back reportedly incorporating into government security forces. >> it's not just tikrit we're talking about. we're talking about the future of iraq, the united states and it's partners does not want to see it become dominated and controlled by the shias. >> the distrust is not just between the u.s. and militia. this video posted on social media shows an explosive discharged in a house in an area taken over by fighters. the fighters say he's with the

brigade. al jazeera cannot independently verify these images but human rights groups have reported these tactics in sunni areas controlled by shia forces. >> iraqi army continues to say a win in tikrit is not far away. for the people stuck in a war fueled by sectarian hatred peace remains a distant possibility. >> iranian state media said two revolutionary guards have been killed in iraq by u.s. drone attacks. the u.s. has denied the attack. >> a coalition of rebel factions have taken over idlib, and thousands of people are leaving. >> people are not waiting to

find out what's coming next. until last week their city was thought to be one of the safer places in syria because it was under government control. but the army lost idlib to these men linked to al-qaeda. >> we fought for two days in a row and gradually took control of districts and buildings. by the help of god we'll take control of the province. now we're preparing to take over camps used by the regime to kill many people. >> the fighters are from different rebel groups who have combined their resources under one banner. the coalition is led bial news have a front--the coalition is led b by al nusra front.

>> here a poster of the man they're trying to unseat. president bashar al-assad is being ripped off the local government building. assad, meanwhile insist this is war is not about land, but about winning hearts and minds. he says many syrians support him or he wouldn't have been able to hold on to power this long. >> we cannot win the heart and mind of the syrian while we're killing syrians. we cannot sustain four years in that position as a government and me as president while the great powers of the world and regional powers are against me, and my people are against me. >> after four violent years many in syria and abroad will find it difficult to know who to believe, especially when videos like these are posted online. one opposition organization accuses syrian soldiers of carrying out revenge attacks in idlib using chlorine gas. these are said to be the

victims. >> of the people who suffered from isis-- >> assad said it's all a lie and part of a smear campaign. >> they always look for something that bleeds, which is the chlorine gas and the variable. >> he's defiant as usual, even though losing idlib to these rebels puts his side at a disaadvantage. it's the biggest blow to assad forces in two years. >> still to come on the news hour the reason why tiny east african country djoubti is a shipping port. we have more on sports.

of science... >> this is my selfie, what can you tell me about my future? >> can affect and surprise us. >> don't try this at home. >> "techknow" where technology meets humanity. tonight, 6:30 eastern only on al jazeera america.

as we were talking earlier results are beginning to trickle in nigerian and it seems as if there have been voting ir >> on the whole it looks pretty small. it looks pretty successful. independentit looks very well

organized. we should expect more problems in the outcome from the way things are going. or it looks too close to call at the minute. >> i was going to say given the turn out can you read anything in the number of people who are pitched up to vote and the results that are beginning to come through as to who may eventually be the winner? >> well, from the turn out it looks from what has been announced there has not been a high turn-out of people because of the success of the electronic device. a lot of people did not get the opportunity to vote. but even then it did not clearly say who is going to win because it looks too early to say. of course, it's very very hard

to say who is going to win at this moment. >> closest election since the end of the military rule in 19 the 9. why do you think it is so tight? what are the main concerns of those who voted? >> well, it has been the tightest election since the begin of civil rule in 1999. we know that they have been in power for 16 years and a lot of people are concerned that because pdp has been in power for a long time. it has become very arrogant, and because of what many term incompetence on the current regime, they feel they have to go for a team. if you look at the issue of electricity, which has not been improved over the years there is also the issue of security with the number of people who

have died, they're in the last few years since boko haram insurgentcy started in the northeast parts of the country in northern nigeria. a lot of team think that it is all down to the encompetence of the regime until the recent involvement of more international forces involved, there was no serious attempts to tackle the insurgency. that is a major concern that's are the major concerns of voters. >> thank you very much, indeed. >> at least 20 people have been killed in the south of sudan an attack was carried out on saturday by the sudan people's liberation movement in the north. the sudanese army where 20 have

been killed. >> djibouti is home to the largest u.s. military base in africa. we have this report. >> this is the port city of djibouti, a little country of big dreams. hundreds of millions of dollars of overseas investment are pouring in, promising to turn this city into a bustling commercial hub. with only about 5 kilometers across it's narrowest point taking advantage of geographical location djibouti is slowly transforming itself into the shipping hub.

>> we need to create more jobs, and our models is miracle are in different areas. >> they havethey are helping manyhelp. >> this is the u.s. base gives american forces the taunt to strike al-qaeda and it's allies. the pentagon use djibouti to train its forces. over the years a number of other countries including germany japan and spain have followed the u.s. and french example and set up bases in djibouti, too.

>> djibouti has benefited in many ways. first the foreign forces pay a fee to the djibouti authorities. there are millions of dollars injected in the local economy from their spending. and finally and most importantly there is the issue of job creation. a thousand jobs have been created by the presence of these military forces, which is a key issue in a country where unemployment is a major problem. >> for now djibouti in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods continues to benefit from its location. ehud olmert is due to go sentence after being found guilty of corruption after a retrial after being acquitted three years ago. we have more now from west jerusalem. >> despite initially being acquitted in this case in 2012,

being spared a $19,000 fine and the suspended prison sentence, this case was reviveed after mr. olmert's aid and secretary presented new evidence to the court as part of a plea deal for herself. this evidence was secretly recorded conversations between her and the former prime ministers when they were talking about this cash that he has now apparently received from american businessmen in the center of this case. this appears to have been enough to convince the courts to convict mr. olmert, who said he will appeal this latest ruling. in the background is another major case he is fighting. just last year he was sentenced to six years in prison in a separate corruption case. he has been appealing this case with the supreme court who will

ultimately decide his fate. >> in myanmar the draft for a cease-fire deal has been agreed by leaders and rebel groups. talks began two weeks ago. the deal is designed to end decades of conflict. heavy fighting continues in the north near the border with china. in indonesia a landslide has buried villages. 12 people were killed and homes destroyed in west java after a torrential rainstorm. landslides are common in the rainy season. no. kashmir 80 people were killed after a house collapsed due to severe flooding. otherser hundreds of others had to leave their homes because of the rising of the rivers dangerous levels. the prosecutors office in the germanwings air crash

investigation has confirmed that the co-pilot was in therapy. investigators say they found dna samples from 78 of the 150 passengers and crew who died last week. a transcript of the cock cockpit recorder after the cap pan captain had been locked out of the cockpit. >> we had at that time been undergoing treatment of suicidal thoughts at that time. in the following time up to now right until he took the plane there had been several visits

with medical doctors, and we have found as we have already communicated his doctors said he is unable to work and to fly. but these documents don't show any hint of being suicidal or being aggressive against other people. >> terminally ill patients are pressuring the u.s. government to speed up the way new drugs are approve: they say they're dying while waiting for life-saving drugs because the testing process can take years. from washington here is kimberly halkett. >> reporter: ten months ago jay smith was at the height of his career at a ceo of a music technology company. when he was diagnosed with als. it's a form of motor neuron disease like that suffered by

british physicist stephen hawking. there is no cure, and the disease is progressing. >> we started with minor fatigue and slurred words. a year later we're in a wheelchair. the hands aren't working. the speech is going. >> the smiths have lobbied the u.s. food and drug administration, the body that regulates pharmaceuticals in the u.s. they want faster approval of a drug that they hope could save jay's life and others. they also want the fda approval process reformed so patients with fatal illnesses can access developmental drugs before they're approve idea we're telling the fda today that the status quo is not good enough. they need to do everything in their power to speed the surge for a cure. >> the fda approval process can take mother than a--take more than a decade.

the average als patient lives three years after diagnosis. fighting government for the right to try experimental medications. the right to try movement is pushing for legislation that would dramatically alter the way medicines are regulated in the united states. allower fog potentially life-saving developmental drugs to be fast tracked for the patients who need it. >> ten states have granted terminally ill patients access to developmental medicine without approval. others are considering similar laws in other countries. >> in this country they could be approved earlier for serious life-threatening illnesses. it's doable. >> last year the u.s. allowed ebola patients to use life-saving developmental medicines. the smiths are saying they just want the same opportunity.

>> that is-- >> if i have to wait, i won't be around. >> they say they're already in the fight of their lives. and they don't want to fight their government, too. kimberly halkett al jazeera, washington. >> still on the program empowering one of the philippines oldest tribes to use solar energy. we have more on tennis. andy will be here.

>> a group of grandmothers in the philippines are proving to

>> from new zealand scoring an unbeaten 237 also against the

indyies. sri lanka's record four consecutive centuries. chris gayle with the best bowling figures in the game. >> now egyptian football league has resumed after a seven-week hiatus after 20 fans died in clashes with police. games are now going on without fans in attendance. it's the third time in four seasons that the league has been suspended. 14-time grand lamb champion rafael nadal has been knocked out of the miami masters beaten by fellow spaniard in three sets. it is his second straight defeat. nadal has never won this tournament at 11 attempts.

>> he's one of the leading leaders in tennis. it's a huge victory and it's always very nice to feel in a stadium very important tournament like this one. he's one of the best players in history, in the end you just try to enjoy the moment. >> well, nadal was not the only big name to stumble. mannarino beats wawrinka. and anyandy murray now just one short of the atp tour. serena williams is one step close for an eighth title in

miami. she needed 41 minutes to beat the 15-year-old american. serena winning winning this third round mark. bellis was six months old when williams won her first grand slam. the thunder were 20 points down at the phoenix suns at halftime. oklahoma city has 109-97 victory keeping them in the eighth and final playoff spot in the western conference. jimmy walker has become the first golf for win two events on the pga tour this weekend. walker is just short distance away from the from his moment

school in san antonio. >> i back to where it was where it was and then holy cow. >> not all football is welcomed back with open arms. and for torres, it could have gone another way. for resttorres left the club at the peak of career to join chelsea. >> when play for the home team, it is different when you're the away team. today is a day i will never forget for sure. it was emotional to play a game with my teammates. >> still not sure if i've forgiven. >> you can try. thank you very much, indeed. that is it for this news hour. another full bulletin of news coming up

for fracking. >> stories that have impact. >> we lost lives. >> that make a difference. >> senator, we were hoping that we could ask you some questions about your legal problems. >> that open your world. >> it could be very dangerous. >> i hear gunshots. >> a bullet came right there through the window. >> it absolutely is a crisis. >> real reporting. >> this is what we do. >> america tonight. tuesday through friday. 10:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

>> i think we're into something that's bigger than us... >> that's the pain that your mother feels when you disrespect her son... >> me being here is defying all odds... >> they were patriots they wanted there country back >> al jazeera america presents the passion... >> onward.. >> pain... >> it's too much... >> ..and triumph...

inspirational real life stories >> all these labels the world throws at you, that's what drives me >> intense fighting across yemen after a fifth night of airstrikes by saudi-led forces. >> hello there you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up on the program. >> we're working hard. >> world powers work to reach a deal as the deadline approaches. the counting continues in nigeria, and we're in the philippines to