the armed siege in istanbul a turkish prosecutor taken hostage and killed.

calculating the new sales tax, the malaysian government her ulds a new way to pay. not everyone agrees. >> muhammadu buhari is set to become the next president of nigeria. the 72-year-old muslim is a well-respected former army man. muhammadu buhari muhammadu buhari. . >> we had a chance to speak to muhammadu buhari after the election results were announced. how does it feel to win the election and how do you tackle the problems. >> i like - after i - after a

certificate... >> you know you are the winner how does it feel inside? >> yes goodluck jonathan is the first nigeria president to concede elections to a competitor. in his speech. he said a peaceful transfer of power would be his legacy. >> i come into the county for free elections. i kept my word. i have also expanded for nigerians to have a part in the democratic process. that is a legacy i'd like to see and deal. >> ynonne ndedge has more from abuja. >> muhammadu buhari's victory is historic for this country. it's the first time that the untry has seen a transition from one democratic ruler to another. it has been blighted with coups and military dictator ships over

many many many years. there is a process to unfold before muhammadu buhari is legally the president. according to nigeria's constitution he must be sworn in at the end of may. there'll be a major celebration and ceremony. before then there'll be other statements and announcements that he will make to the public and supporters. we expect him to give victory speech on wednesday. >> after that the hard work of putting together a team to tackle the problems begin. the number one corruption. which is the bane of nigeria's problems for a long time. he promised to tackle insecurity in the north-east. particularly the boko haram crisis and his experience as a military map, many believe will help to deal with the problem. there's unemployment 25% unemployment in nigeria. he has promised to create jobs

and the power crisis. there are men, many electricity shortages in nigeria and he promised to deal with that. it's a question of when he'll be able to sit with the team and work out a roadmap to get nigeria out of the problems. for now, people are happy that there has been a peaceful transition from one democratic ruler to another. and goodluck jonathan has conceded defeat in a very graceful way it's been more than a week since the nigerian military detained two al jazeera journalists in the north. ahmed idris and ali mustafa were embedded with the military before they were detained last tuesday. they've been kept in their hotel in maiduguri since then. al jazeera demands their release. >> talks on iran's nuclear future made progress. there's hope that a deal could be drafted. that was the upbeat assessment of iranian foreign minister

zarif zarif. there was agreement on key issues. simon mcgregor-wood has the latest from lausanne. >> the talks in lor san have broken up. we had that statement from an e.u. official. in the last few minutes we heard positive statements attributed to the iranian foreign minister zarif. and so russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov. who have been speaking on the way out of the talks. mr zarif said importantly that there has been significant progress and said that he hopes that the drafting of an agreement can start later on wednesday when the foreign ministers reconvene. sergey lavrov according to the russian wires say there has been significant agreement on all the main principle issues involved in the talks. so in the last few hours in

lausanne what appear to be a significant break through. if this is correct, and i think we need to be a little cautious about this. we haven't heard from the americans, the british or the french or the german foreign ministers, there has been no statements from the europeans. if the iranians and russians are taken at their word. there'll be a meeting early in the morning. it is expect if that goes well the foreign ministers will recon reconvene to push forward the process. some signs of positive developments in the talks. a turkish prosecutor taken hostage in a court in yist died after a shoot-out-- istanbul died after a shoot out between the police and hostage takers. he was investigating the death of a teenager hit by a cannes ter in 2013. >> reporter: gun fire from a

sixth floor office in the main criminal court in istanbul. police special forces stormed the room where a prosecutor was being held at gunpoint by two armed men from a banned marxist group. the gunmen were killed in the shoot out. the prosecutor critically injured was rushed to hospital. doctors were unable to save him. >> translation: we as a state do not see the attack as targetting a prosecutor. at the same time the attack was aimed at turkish justice and democracy. >> the prosecutor had been investigating the death of a 14-year-old teenager hit by a tear gas canada during the ghetty park protests in the summer of 2013. the parents say the investigation into his death has been too slow. the hostage takers wanted the prosecutor to reveal the names

of police officers suspected of firing the tear gas. >> we learnt that the action was in connection to the investigation. belkin is our son, our brother. his death saddened all of us. >> central to the police investigation, on how this unfolded is how the armed gunmen get their weapons into the courthouse. al jazeera has been told that everybody going into the court is searched except the lawyers. >> belkin's parents called on the gunman not to kill the prosecutor. blood cannot be washed away with blood. the united nations says 62 children have been killed in the past week in yemen. they condemned the bombing at a refugee camp as a violation of international law. >> we have not identified who is responsible for this attack.

whoever is responsible, this is a violation of international humanitarian law. this camp and the hospitals hit are under protected status. whichever forces are hitting them are in violation of the law. there should be accountability for that and ultimately all such attacks have to cease. >> the comments coming as they continue the bombing in yemen. >> reporter: air strikes target houthi positions in southern yemen. saudi army officers say forces loyal to deposed president ali abdullah saleh are advancing to try to capture the seaport city of aden. forces loyal to president abd-rabbu mansour hadi play a crucial role in the military intervention. they are the ones that provide

intelligence on houthi fighters seen here trying to set up a checkpoint on the outskirts of aden. moments later the checkpoint is hit. armed vehicles tanks, missile launchers are struck. >> there is a houthi presence inside and around aden. fighters feel the heat. wherever they go they target them. the houthis are desperate to get into the city so they cap take over. >> reporter: saudi arabia said the military campaign will take time accusing iran of helping the houthis to destabilize the region. >> reporter: iran and hezbollah trained houthis. if they are present in yemen, they'll meet the same fate as the houthis. let me suppress we will not allow support for houthis from the air or sea. >> international support is behind the campaign.

riyadh says attacks will stop if the houthis pull out of the cities they control and recognise abd-rabbu mansour hadi as a legitimate leader. >> translation: we are not warmongers. yemen's security is part of the g.c.c. and arab national security. >> for the time being air strikes continue showing no signs of slowing down. there are no indications that the saudis will send troops into yemen in the near future houthi women gathered in sanaa to protest against the saudi arabia-led air strikes. attacks are unjustified. >> translation: we come here to announce a rejection and denunciation against the aggression. launched by saudi arabia in a dangerous way that has not been

seen before. >> al jazeera has been told that a yacht belonging to yemen's ousted president ali abdullah saleh has been smuggled out of the country. sources say that the yacht was loaded on to a cargo ship and gip given a permit to lead. it's the second to be smuggled out still to come - a ban lifted on military aid for a key ally in the middle east plus scientists say they made a breakthrough in a fight against fat. what that could mean for you. you.

around here, we're all about fast. that's why xfinity is perfect for me. with millions of wifi hotspots all over the place - including one right here at the shop - now we can stream all things fast and furious. you've done it again, carlos! ♪ with the fastest in-home wifi and millions of hotspots

xfinity is perfect for people who love fast. don't miss furious 7 in theaters april 3rd. >> al jazeera america, weekday mornings. catch up on what happened overnight with a full morning brief. get a first hand look with in-depth reports and investigations. start weekday mornings with al jazeera america. open your eyes to a world in motion.

top stories on al jazeera. muhammadu buhari has won nigeria's presidential election. president goodluck jonathan has conceded defeat. and it's the first time a nigerian president failed to win re-election. talks on iran's nuclear future made good progress. there's hope that a preliminary deal could be drafted on wednesday. that's the upbeat assessment of the iranian foreign minister and russian foreign minister sergey lavrov the u.s. lifted a ban on military aid to egypt for what it says is national security measures. president obama is releasing some of the military aid since the ousting of mohamed mursi in 2013. the white house is asking congress to approve 1.3 billion in military aid. egypt says it needs to help to

deal with conflicts in libya, and the sinai peninsula. we have more from washington. >> the u.s. suspended delivery of military equipment to egypt, back in 2013, after the military's decision to overthrow the president at the time. mohamed mursi, even though the u.s. government says that it's not considering what happened nearly two years ago a coup it is showing its disapproval for the way that this political change happened and by doing so is showing some pressure as it were on the new government in cairo. what the u.s. is doing is saying that on national security grounds, the egyptian military can timely get its hands on 12 f-16 fighter jets. 20 harpoon missiles and 125 kids to improve the capabilities of the egyptian army's tank arsenal. the u.s. is cutting off the

open-ended spending of spigot as it were where the egyptian military can buy additional equipment from u.s. military contractors. the u.s. will have more say over what sorts of equipment the egyptian government can buy. basically equipment that would help the u.s. further its own national security aims. >> iraq's prime minister says security forces reached the center of tikrit in a push to regain control of the city from i.s.i.l. they are retaking the hours, and the main hospital. ali mustafa reports. >> reporter: firing into i.s.i.l.-held pockets of tikrit. iraqi security forces make cautious advances. progress is slow soldiers face booby traps and suicide bomb attacks. at times this is a running street battle. the tart and victory in the case

a number of symbolic buildings. >> translation: yesterday our forces entered tikrit hospital and government offices from the south and are advancing to the center. from the west they enter the neighbourhood. >> fanning out into the suburbs. soldiers pinpoint a home they believe to be an i.s.i.l. hide out. inside explosive devices. security forces are jubilant. >> thank god we took them by surprise. with the help of the iraqi air force and the coalition air support. they managed to deal heavy blows on the enemy of iraq. ground forces managed to liberate the land with the blood of iraqis. iraqis alone. >> the prime minister says i.s.i.l. fighters have been driven out of the central city.

three outer neighbourhoods remain under their control. >> as the iraqi advance continues. shia militias returned to their aid. the iranian backed fighters suspended operations after claims the u.s. planned air strikes on the city. direct cooperation would be a step too far for washington and terrain, all know a victory in tikrit would boost hopes for mosul. u.s. led air strikes in the capital can only do so much before ground troops are needed in syria, i.s.i.l. fighters killed 30 people, including women and children. carrying out a raid on a village controlled by government forces. the syrian observatory for human rights says people were burnt, beheaded and shot. >> al jazeera gained exclusive footage following air strikes on idlib. 30 were killed on tuesday. the government carried out gas

attacks after the city fell to opposition fighters. nadim barber reports. >> reporter: screaming for help after government air strikes on central idlib. this block housing several christian families was among those hit on tuesday. >> translation: it's not the opposition. when opposition fighters entered our house and saw my disabled mother on the floor, they helped her. it's the other side that does this. >> reporter: the bombings reusing some to rubble. this man says "a shell fell over there, i don't know where my sister is there was broken class everywhere." dozens were killed. the target was a hospital and some used poisoned gas. they have been treating people for breathing difficulties. since saturday idlib in north western syria has been under

control of an alliance of armed sunni groups. these pictures show the bodies of government soldiers killed in the offensive. >> translation: we are asking fighters to make sure people's houses are safe. in the coming days we hope to announce people can return home once security prevailed. >> some are happy to see the back of forces loyal to bashar al-assad but are living under the threat of further attacks. the syrian civil war shows no signs of ending. >> an indonesian court hearing appeals of two australians facing execution for drug trafficking will deliver a verdict in five days. anrude chan and myuran sukamaran were convicted as part of the bali nine heroin smugglers. australia has pleaded for their lives, despite a rejection of clemency from joko widodo. the president. >> mc international says there's a sharp increase in the number

of death sentences handed down around the world. >> 2,466 death sentences were imposed in 2014. almost 500 more than the year before. egypt and nigeria saw mass deaths. the number of executions - that is down. 607 were killed in 2014. a fall of 20%. the figures exclude prolific death penalty country - china. thousands are executed every year but beijing does not relay statistics. >> what began as a transportation strike in argentina is now a nation-wide protest. workers walked out for 24 hours on tuesday. flights were cancelled. train services suspended. unions are demanding lower taxes, higher measures to fight inflation. we have this report from buenos

aires. >> reporter: here at the buenos aires airport, domestic and international flights have been cancelled until the 24 hour general strike ends. unlike the last general strike this has the support and, in fact was organised by the powerful transportation unions. that means that argentina is par lucid. no planes trains buses. unions blocked the highway access to the capital. they are demanding that the government increase nontaxable salary limits. that is no all. >> this is against an economic reality in which workers buying power is reduced every day. more than half the workers make less than half of what they need to maintain a household. this is the fourth national strike. the aim is to put the social agenda back on center stage.

the suspicious death of the prosecutor dominated attention, with presidential elections 6 months away trade unions send a message that prices corruption and crime and double digit inflation are the real problems. argentina's trade unions are among the most powerful. as the all-important elections draw nearer union leaders tell us that this national trike is the beginning scientists in qatar propose a stem cell treatment which they say in the next five years could cure obesity. a major scientific journal has accepted the research and it could transform the type of fat cells we have and burn calories regardless of what we eat. >> reporter: this is it painstakingly delicate work.

scientists have been cultivating, dividing and sequencing fat cells for years. now they say they have made a brkthrough which could change the way obesity is treated. >> the dream is to change the lifestyle of kids. so just to give them a pill that enhance the brown fat. and they are protected against obesity. >> having more of the so-called brown fat makes you skinny and with obesity at epidemic proportions everyone wants to find a way to transform the white bad fat cells into the brown kind which burns energy all the time. >> this is an incubator. this is where the cells are cultured. >> the researchers have both kinds of fat cells. >> the good one is this one.

and proven contrary to this one what the medical world thoughts one can change into the other. >> we have white fat cells and brown fat cells. figuring out how to transform one into the other. taking that information and turning it into a treatment for obesity is quite another. that is what the dr has in his sites. he has figured out how to turn stem cells into brown fat cells. the next step is to inject those into rats and watch them lose weight. eventually there'll be hope for humans. >> we collect the stem cells from the overweight subjects with cultures in the lab, and we inject the cells into the same subject. diabetes sufferers and doctors

ibrahim is not convinced. >> it shows if you do diet and exercise 70% of the people do not develop diabetes. >> a traditional approach that will have bits place, but a chance to give a helping hand in a pill starting wednesday malaysia changes the way it collects goods and services tax, gts, added to many building materials and restaurant bills. the government says it's a fair way to tax - not everyone agrees. we have this report from kuala lumpur. >> reporter: this is one of millions of business owners in malaysia legally registered to collect the goods and services tax, or gst. the aim is not to increase the prices and add the cost to customers.

many here are on fixed incomes, and any rise in prices will affect numbers coming through his restaurant door. not all businesses are thinking the same way. >> in fact most of my friends, some the smaller ones who they feel wouldn't be affected by what do you call 6% gst. they have already increased the price. they cannot increase after april the 1st. why they do it? they know they have to increase it. >> reporter: this man has been working here for three years. there's no pay rise he will have less money in his pocket. >> the new tax is a burden. it the take longer for me to save. i can see a rise in my rent and

i have to send money home to support my parents. it's not just restaurants that are affected. everything with a price tag are taxed. the government has been getting the message outs trying to convince the public that while insignificant taxes are removed, the gst will be remove. there has been protests like these against a new tax, and the government handing of the economy. >> the auditor general's report showed so much wastage, raping into billions of u.s. dollars. it's not the right time to pass it to the people to pay off government debts. >> according to the government the team will raise approximately $8 billion. it will hit middle income researchers, those aspired by cars motor vehicles and the fuel they need. government health care government transport and utilities will be exempt for the

moment. >> the gst will be implemented on april 1st. the date may be observed in some parts of the world as a chance to play jokes on friends. not many in this restaurant see the funny side of the goods and services tax. didn't believe that i could be any more than a homeless little black girl. >> three years of childhood were spent in motels, a place she left behind because of unique life. >> they see that you don't have to just be that little girl that lives, you know next to an abandoned house.