>> part of al jazeera america's >> special month long evironmental focus fragile planet if we catch one of you working with the palestinian group or the government they'll cut our heads off. they have no mercy>> ja yemenis hoping for a pause in the air strikes. the security council debating that on tuesday. hello from doha this is the news from doha. turkey's president has a meeting with top saudi officials. detention without trial - rights groups call it a step back at the scene of a massacre in kenya - a man's wait for word of a student unaccounted for

we are in yemen, where the humanitarian situation is worsening, despite the arrival of international aid stuff. houthi rebels are holding out against a saudi-led campaign. the international committee of the red cross landed. a plane of staff is in the capital sanaa, and another carrying 48 tonnes of medical supplies - what is held back. meantime the u.n. security council votes on a russian proposal for a pause in the fighting to offer aid. pakistan's government debates whether to offer military support. prime minister sharif is expected to announce that decision much the fighting rages across yemen for control of the country. forces loyal to abd-rabbu mansour hadi recaptured territory from the houthi rebels. government forces are said to

have recaptured an air base north of the port city of aden. abd-rabbu mansour hadi loyalists have been cornered in the area home to the presidential palace and offices. we have the latest in the reports. >> reporter: the saudi-led coalition lamps up sir strikes in aden. war planes strike bridges on the roads leading to the seaport city. the same, according to saudi army officers is to prevent houthi fighters sending reinforcement. radar systems, command centers and checkpoints have been hit. houthis target people. we are working in coordination with tribesman. >> reporter: violent in aden shows no sign of slowing.

after days of fighting and running battles, many parts of the city have been destroyed. homes, shops, vehicles lay in ruins, civilians are being killed. houthi rebels and fighters loyal to ali abdullah saleh, the former president, are infiltrating districts near the city's port. these are fighters loyal to president abd-rabbu mansour hadi, and they are putting up a fierce fight. they have received new weapons, air dropped by the saudi arabia-led coalition, and remain largely outgunned and out numbered by their rival. aden is a battle ground, and locals are caught in the middle. n iraned president abd-rabbu mansour hadi, who fled to saudi arabia could be trying to recapture his military. he sacked the army's chief of staff, deputy chief of staff and the commander of the special

forces. they are accused of treason, his decision may have little impact. that's because the military is largely loyal to ali abdullah saleh, the deposed president, and he is fighting alongside the houthi rebels in the war now, the u.s. defense secretary spoke with his saudi counterpart, the prince and an official summary of that call says this secretary carter emphasised the importance of limiting civilian casualties when conducting air strikes and working to a political solution in yemen, to which the minister agreed. let's bring in our al jazeera correspondent who has reported from yemen before and talk about the humanitarian situation, you can look at it as an acute situation, but there has been a humanitarian situation in yemen for a long time.

>> for a long time for years. we are talking about 800,000 almost a million children. malnutrition. there was a campaign 18 months ago to eliminate some of that. there's the hereditary problem coming into play. and armed conflict makes it difficult to reach. yemen, itself there are remote areas. getting aid to these places is a problem. confounded by the fact that you have areas run by al qaeda, air strikes that are taking place. the houthis are not the easiest people to deal with in terms of diplomatic channels. all of that makes it difficult. short stories - no one is in control. when you talk about the groups that struck me who do you coordinate with to get the humanitary aid in.

>> if you need to go to central tribal areas, which tribes will you talk to. although the saudis allowed for an iclc plane to get there, who is going to protect them. that is making it diff. >> let me tell you something i read on the wires, talking about an or 10 hours away. a joint conference between sergey lavrov and chinese counterpart. these are two countries involved at u.n. level in the conflict. what are they offering at the moment? >> we understand that the russians are pushing for a ceasefire or halt in the hostilities to allow for aid to get in. as we have been saying it is difficult to reach. what is significant here is so far it may appear they are not off the same him sheet and the chine he is had a statement -- chinese made a statement where they are asking for sides to

adhere to the same resolutions and restore norm ate and law to -- normality and law. which means they may be in support of abd-rabbu mansour hadi, which may be contri to russia and backed the houthis. the pakistani prime minister sharif is calling on iran to get involved in the debate on security in yemen, and has been addressing parliament whether to join a military captain against the houthis. the saudi arabia asked for help including aircraft and soldiers. nicole johnson with this report from islamabad for over a week the government stuck to the line that any thread to saudi arabia's territorial integrity will approach ebbing a harsh response from pakistan. now parliament is debating who kind of stops, and will it send

soldiers to saudi arabia or yemen. >> the saudi leadership expressed undeserved support for saudi arabia integrity and expressed the hope that pakistan would join the coalition. by contributing aircraft vessels and ground troops. >> the political parties are decided over ha to do. the opposition is against getting involved. >> we are one of the biggest islamic countries and we are a nuclear state. our leadership tried to be neutral and we should act as a neutral. >> the parliamentary debate ended without decision or the level of what pakistan's involvement should be. many say that pakistan thu defend saudi arabia but if it isn't, islamabad should act as a mediator to defend the conflict. saudi arabia and pakistan are

close allies. they are carrying out a joint military exercise. pakistan's army is stretched. it has thousands of soldiers on the border with india and is fighting against pakistani, and others on the african boarder. as for saudi arabia there are around 800 soldiers from pakistan already there. as well as military advisors. analysts say saudi has today by pakistan when times were tough. >> when the entire world was going to crush us. this was the only country that helped us. it's a time of need. >> there's plenty of manoeuvring going on and so far no clear sign of what pakistan will do now, iranian media report gunmen killed eight border guards in the south-east near

the border with pakistan. the attack happened in the balochistan province an area known with fighting between iranian forces and ethnic baluchy fighters. >> turkey's prime minister arrived in iran and will meet the soup reen leader. the visit coming despite tensions over the saudi-led coalition in yemen. a report on that story coming up later in the news bulletin a saudi policeman was shot dead and three injured during a raid in the shia city. this is video which emerged on social media. saudi media say police retrieved automatic pistols and communication equipment. four were arrested shopkeepers in the afghan

tall shut their doors to protest an economic increase. in kabul jennifer glasse has more. >> reporter: shops are closed across the capital much the central market is like a ghost town of the the reason why is clear. central kabul looks like this. when it usually looks like this. shopkeepers say they have no choice when the tax bills arrive. >> reporter: last year we paid $300 per shop. this year the government wants 2,000 dollars. >> reporter: store coners say they can't afford -- store owners say they can't afford that and took their complaint to the streets. the government says they are trying to create a law. >> translation: we want to pay

the same tax as last year. we can't pay more. last year it was hard to pay taxes. since the beginning of the years business has been bad. >> reporter: store owners say they plan to stay closed until the demand for lower tax is net. >> some shops like these opened anyway. they can't afford to lose the income. >> the shutdown is a challenge for the 6-month-old government of ashraf ghani. and they promised to reduce the international aid that afghanistan relied on. to do that he need to build a tax base. it looks like that may not be easy in the news ahead thais who have taken matters into their own hands to prevent human trafficking. plus... ..after the street protests african-americans in the u.s.

city of ferguson want to make their presence felt in the city council elections. support the offensive but act as india sent a vessel to rescue

top stories for you here on al jazeera. fighting rages. we are looking at the aftermath of shelling in aden. houthi rebels were targeted. many civilians lost their homes. the u.n. estimating more than 100,000 people have been displaced the pakistani prime minister called on iran to get involved

in discussions on security in yemen. he has been addressing parliament and debating whether to join the campaign against the houthis. turkey's president arrived in iran for high-level meetings met his iranian counterpart hassan rouhani and will meet iran's supreme leader ia tala cam eidy. let's talk to bernard smith about live in istanbul. i understand the trip was on the cards for some month, it's been planned. now we have to look at it through the prism of what is happening in yemen. >> yes, it was a long scheduled visit for recep tayyip erdogan, the turkish president to iran. the first time he's been there for years. it's taken on a bit more significance because of yemen and because of what president recep tayyip erdogan had to say

about it. he accused them of dominating the region in support of the houthis in yemen and turkey wants to see the back of syrian president bashar al-assad. iran is the biggest supporter, one of the biggest supporters and is sufficient of the involvement. he thinks that iran is using the fight as a means of extending it influence. outspoken comments coming from recep tayyip erdogan, and interesting, last night recep tayyip erdogan received the saudi interior minister. these two countries have been at odds various issues in the region not least saudi arabia's support. for the coup removing mohamed mursi from the presidency in egypt. on yemen, turkey threw its weight behind the saudis we know that turkey might offer the

saudis logistical support in the campaign in yemen. >> could the strained relations between iran and turkey. how much do the two countries need each other. >> they need each other economically. turkey needs iranian gas and iran turkey's foreign currency. while there may be political tensions the countries are reliant on each other on a business basis. we expect the strong economic links to continue. >> bernard smith live in istanbul for us. thank you, bernard. the kenyan military jets attacked al-shabab bases in soma following the university massacre in which 148 people were killed. the air force said it destroyed two camps in the western region of gedo close to the border.

the somali armed group threatened more attacks unless troops were withdrawn. al jazeera gained access to the compound where most of the victims were murdered. catherine soi reports from inside the college. >> reporter: this is where the killings took place. bullet holes peppered the walls of the dormitory, signs of a battle between security forces. three soldiers were killed. behind the door around 100 people mostly students were shot dead in the courtyard. >> the dormitory is where it all happened. there's a smell of blood. it's difficult to imagine how horrified those who died were. bloodstains are everywhere. some of those who planned and carried out the attacks are kenyans that joined al-shabab.

drl during the attack this student hid in a cubicle. >> they asked students do you agree with the uhuru kenyatta government. will you tell him to withdraw troops. the students answered what they thought they wanted to hear. some were killed anyway. they are hoping for news about a missing student. a member of the his church. >> his parents are in nairobi. they kaint find him in the -- can't mind him in the mortuary or list of survivos - alive or dead this is the now county commissioner in charge of security. last year he had to deal with a series of attacks that killed hundreds of people. >> if we contain that. i am sure they will contain. i'm confident.

don't think it is insurmountable. it is not the only university in nearby kenya has been closed. many students never want to come back in southern thailand rebels have taken matter into their own hand to stop trafficking. they are determined to stop communities deteriorating into lawlessness. >> reporter: deep in the jungles of southern thailand the men patrol one of asia's busy smuggling routes. they are volunteers answering calls for civilians to do what they can to stop trackers using thailand as a point. thousands of refugees come through here every year in search of better lives and the men know that taking matters into their own hand will stop

lawlessness because of the presence of armed gangs that smuggle them through. >> translation: the government officials are involved with the human traffickers. this is the biggest challenge. many of the local villages are involved. i don't think they benefit as much as the official. not far from the jungle refugees rescued from armed smugglers try to enjoy a semblance of freedom. fatima paid traffickers to help her and her daughters flee a camp in myanmar. they spent a month on a boat and were to be smuggled in thailand across from malaysia. they rescued her as traffickers tried to lead her group through the jungle. >> they were violent. they were beating the rohingya. they beat us with the guns they carried. sometimes they used a rope too. two men were shot dead one bapt to death.

when i -- beaten to death. when i saw it i wanted to die. the suffering was bad. >> to prevent the suffering volunteers set up checkpoints and act as the local police. they have the support of the community, who give them food petrol and money for their needs. not everyone believes this is a good thing. the leaders of the minority group here were concerned the presence of rescuers will complicate matters further. >> if the muslims are carrying weapons, they know that they'll be treated fairly. if the buddhists had weapons, i'm not saying all of them. some will intimidate and treat the rohingya harsh. >> that was not the case for fatima and her daughters. they were taken to a shelter and are glad to be alive. she hopes to get to her husband in malaysia. with no one stopping them the

men in the jungle will continue their work filling the gaps the government has been unable to. india's prime minister narendra modi launched his country's first national air quality index. the system will record air quality in 10 major cities in real time and the data published online. last year india was ranked almost as the worst country in the world. 13 of the world's most polluted cities are in india. delhi takes the top so the, according to the world health organisation and said 267,000 indians die every year because of severe pollution, they have more on this from new delhi. >> when the people in new delhi want to know how polluted the whether is they come to the weather department. it's an important issue from millions across the city as

international health organizations reported that new delhi is the most polluted city. the more the government introduced the air quality index, it's a move welcomed by environmental groups. >> it's important because this will give people the chance to take precautions, especially those suffering from lung disease and heart disease. this is a one step forward, but we need to do a lot more. >> the indian government is rolling out this air quality index in 10 cities across the country and it will expand the programme to more than 60 as time goes on. the big question is what does it mean what does the collection of the data and publication in real-time mean for people on the ground. if a city like new delhi records air pollution on consecutive day, will it mean a change in traffic conditions.

what will it mean for millions in their daily life. all around a great idea many saying it's a great start when it comes to public awareness. how will this change the situation in some of the world's biggest cities. malaysia's lower house passed a controversial anti-terrorism bill which the government says is necessary to tackle threat. it reintroduces indefinite detention without trial, something the prime minister revoked three years ago. hours after 17 is were detained on planning attacks in kuala lumpur. police in nepal arrested several demonstrators for trying to enforce a strike in kathmandu. protesters and police clashed in the capital on day one of the strike. 30 opposition parties is demanding a new contribution draft be passed by a consensus. the ruling coalition is attempting to get it approved

after talks with the opposition failed. the greek deputy finance minister says germany owes the country nearly $300 billion in repatriations from the nazi operation. greek officials have been pushing germany to cover war damages. but never put in an official request. a parliamentary panel started work on claiming repayments last week. greenpeace activists set up camp on a shell oil rig in the middle of the pacific ocean. a group of six vowing to stay there, to drill above the arctic circle people in the city of ferguson are voting to elect three council members. they hope to get more african-americans on the counsel. kristen saloomey met some of the canned days. >> reporter: the crowd at st. mark family church may have been

small. >> an informed voter can make a difference... >> the field of council candidates, particularly black ones in ferguson missouri has never been large. four african-americans are running for three open seats in the april 7th election. >> we have an opportunity to effectuate sustainable real change right here in ferguson. >> reporter: change is what many of ferguson's residents demanded. ever since a white police officers shot mike brown, an unarmed black teen. the white officer was killed of - cleared of wrongdoing. a federal investigation found racial policing. it will fall to the next city council to make reforms demanded. adrian hopkins is a single mother of two. >> i saw the candidates and thought someone has to run and help us. i decided to be the change i wanted to see. >> reporter: two-thirds of

ferguson's residents are black. the vast majority of elected officials are white. >> ferguson is not unusual. throughout st. louis country there are many communities that were predominantly white that have shifted to predominantly s black, and overwhelmingly the leadership has not kept pace with the changes in demographics. the former mayor of ferguson is running for city council, a part-time job paying $250 per month. >> it's about participation. unfortunately, our african-americans don't participate in a level as caucasians do in the community. >> 6% of eligible voters turned out in the last municipal elections. whites were not much better. patricia bynes is working hard to change that. >> i'm hopeful. interest. people are getting the message if they want change, they'll

have to get involved and take the reins and lead it. >> reporter: it will take more than new candidates, angry residents have to make their voices heard in the voting booths and on the streets. plenty more news from the americas and around the world online for you when ever you want. 24/7 you'll find it at aljazeera.com. aljazeera.com. reaching an agreement on containing iran's nuclear programme leaves iranian military forces resources and influence in conflicts from the persian gulf to the mediterranean. the art goes like this - the comprehensive joint plan of action with iran isn't comprehensive enough. it doesn't do anything to address tehran's influence. his critics say president obama's compart thealized strategy misses the big picture