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tv   News  Al Jazeera  April 8, 2015 7:00am-7:31am EDT

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>> welcome relief, aid begins to arrive for those caught in the middle of the war in yemen. >> hello, i am live from al jazeera's new center in doha. also ahead on the program a white u.s. police officer is chard with murder after shooting a black man in the back. >> why the greek prime minister has traveled to moscow. >> china's economic mood music enters a minor key. i'm reporting from the world's
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biggest piano factory where they say there's still plenty of room for growth on a major scale. >> hello we begin in yemen where aid is start to go trickle in as the saudi-led operation against houthi fighters continues. fighting has been focused on the area in southeast yemen. thirty houthis there reportedly having killed in battles. on yemen's border with saudi arabia sussecond al-qaeda fighters took control of a border post. two soldiers were killed there. jordan is pushing a draft resolution in the u.n. to try to stop the conflict from escalating. >> the humanitarian situation is described as catastrophic in aden.
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some aid has arrived. >> bombs light the sky over yemen. airstrikes by the and you had led coalition have now entered a third week. the coalition hasn't been able to defeat houthi rebels who together with soldiers loyal to the past president ali abdullah saleh took control of the country in a coupe earlier this year. on the ground, fighters report those loyal to adou rabbo mansour hadi are fighting. civilians are suffering the most. the united nations says 560 people have been killed since the start of the fighting. an estimated 74 of them are children. on the border crossing with saudi arabia, people are still trying to escape.
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>> actually, the situation is getting worse the company advised us to leave immediately. >> i live in the center of sanna close to several military bases. i had to flee were. there were several airstrikes. it was terrifying. >> despite call for several government to say allow aid into yemen and saudi arabia saying it would facilitate the arrival of aid and workers the fighting on the ground coupled with the consistent bombardment for the air means that for now the one thing in constant supply is violence. al jazeera. >> the u.s. defense secretary ash carter said is country supports saudi arabia's military action with with respect to yemen, the united states is supporting the effort to get a political solution to stop the
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violence. at the same time, we're contributing to the saudi efforts to protect its own security which is a long standing interest of the united states from a long stand are partner of the united states within the region. >> saudi police spokesman said a gunman in a car has killed two policemen in the capitol wee idea. as soon as we get more, we'll bring it to you. >> we're going to bring you breaking news out of afghanistan. we are hearing a firefight has broken out between afghan and nato security forces in jalalabad. let's go live to jennifer glass in kabul. what more do we know about this? >> that firefight happened within the provincial governor's compound while a meeting was going on between the senior u.s. official and the governor hips. one afghan national army soldier was killed and one injured. we have no word on whether any
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of the international forces were injured. the police chief says they were american forces, nato won't confirm that now. they'll only confirm that an incident did happen in jalalabad, a firefight between international forces and afghan army personnel. one afghan army soldier killed in that fight. >> this is obviously i suppose another indication of just how unstable the situation is in afghanistan and around kabul, as well. >> that's right. i mean, inside the governor's compound very, very secure, the police chief tells us there were lots of police and afghan army soldiers there a very secure area. we've seen really the instability here with the afghan military. in 2012, it was a very big problem, afghan military soldiers opening fire on nato soldiers, 61 soldiers were killed in that year.
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force protection measures went in to protect international soldiers. we're not sure that's what happened in this event but that's what we've seen in the past. there are fewer international soldiers here as the nato force draws down, so fewer opportunities for the two to be together but this clash between international soldiers and afghan forces show how difficult the situation is here in afghanistan. >> all right, thank you. >> there's a renewed diplomatic push to establish humanitarian corridor out of syria's yarmouk refugee camp. that camp has been overrun by isil fighters on the outskirts of damascus. there is a severe shortage of food water and electricity. some people have managed to escape but aid agencies say 16,000 people remain, mostly palestinian ref refugees. two car bombs killed 50 people
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in aleppo. the first suicide bombing happened near a rebel base. activists blamed isil for attacking fighters from a rebel group called the united sham front, which opposes the government. >> israeli forces have shot dead a palestinian man after he stabbed two soldiers near the jewish settlement of shilo in the occupied west bank. one is in critical condition with a stab wound to the neck. >> the greek prime minister alexis tsipras is in moscow for a visit with russian president vladimir putin. greece is in difficult negotiations over its bailout program. it must row pay a $487 million i.m.f. loan installment on thursday. russia's indicated it could offer relief by lifting import sanctions and boosting trade
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with greece. >> rory chalands is live. >> we understand that a meeting between the two has begun in the last half hour or so. what we know about what each of them want from this situation it's a difficult one to weigh out. we certainly know what the europe union fears about this relationship the europe union has a nightmare scenario, looking at what happens in the moment and can see greece maybe defaulting on all its loans walking out of the euro zone straight into russia. russia affairs a financial aid package and greece gives russia a use of its veto within the europe union, there are unity
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would be considerably weakened. whether or not that will happen, we can't say at the moment. maybe this is more about political theater than it is about nightmare scenarios such as that. greece might be showing that it has options outside of the european union it does have other friend ships. russia similarly i go proving to the european union that it has friends within the europe union and the solidarity isn't as secure as the europeen union thinks it is. we can look at the objective
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situation here and say there are other scenarios that are mar likely than that. greece has said that it is not going cap in hand to russia, it's not asking russia for direct financial aid. it wants top sort out its financial problems with the europe union itself. we have heard various things are being talked about like possibly hooking up greece to a gas pipeline that might give greece a favorable gas rate or greater energy security. also as you were saying, something along the lines of exempting greece from the blanket embargo that russia imposed on fresh fruit and veg.
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that's not going to allay european union fears. there still is likely to be some quid pro quo. greece is going to have to offer russia something in return if russia proposes those things for grows. >> rory from moscow, thank you. >> in the u.s. city of north charleston in the state of south carolina a white policeman has been charged with the murder of a black man. a video shows him shooting walter scott several times in the back as he's running away. we have a report. >> 33-year-old north charleston police officer mike sell slager is behind bars after this graphic video went environmental. [ gunfire ] >> a witness captured the moments the officer shot and killed 50-year-old walter scott in the back. scott, a father of four,
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employed and engaged to be married is seen running from the officer. the officer pulled him over for a broken tail light. in his initial report, he wrote scott attacked him had stolen his taser and that his life was in danger. >> what happened today doesn't happen all the time. what if there was no video? what if there was no witness or hero as i call them to come forward? then this wouldn't have happened. >> civil rights leaders are calling for calm while activists plan to take to the streets to call attention to yet another police shooting that puts policing in the u.s. and race relations right back into the headlines. >> we've got 343 police officers in our department. this is a bad decision by one of those 343. i think the lesson that we take out of this and hopefully the general public takes out of it
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is that when an incident occurs, give us the appropriate time to investigate, find out exactly what happened, and we will act accordingly. >> north chars stonn is home to 100,000 people, nearly half black. 18% of its police force is also black. the f.b.i. and justice department have announced that they are launching their own investigations into scott's shooting. his family says they're relieved that justice will be served. >> we can't get my brother back and my family is in deep mourning for that, but through the process of justice has been served and i don't think that all police officers are bad cops but there are some bad ones out there and i don't want
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to see anyone get shot down the way that my brother got shot down. >> south carolina senator tim scott said the shooting was senseless, absolutely unnecessary and avoidable. he promises to watch the case closely. >> still ahead on al jazeera pakistan develops its own remote controlled aircraft, despite strong criticism of u.s. drone strikes on its soil. >> in poland, nervousness over the ukraine conflict has prompted a big increase in membership of paramilitary groups.
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>> hello again you're watching al jazeera. the u.s. says it is speeding up weapons deliveries to a saudi-led coalition bombing houthi rebels in yemen. there is a concern in the rising death toll. >> an afghan soldier has been killed in a fight between afghan and nato force in jalalabad. the regional police chief said the incident happened outside the governor's compound. the reason for the fight is unclear. >> the greek prime minister alexis tsipras is in russia to meet with vladimir putin. greece is in trouble with its bailout program with the international man monetary fund. >> in pakistan, a judge is ordering criminal charges against two former c.i.a.
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officials for the alleged deaths of two civilians killed in 2009 by a u.s. drone strike that was part of a c.i.a. program which lasted for years. pakistan has developed its own missile firing drone. we report from islamabad. >> the drone is designed to kill. a remote controlled aircraft with laser guided missiles, pakistan has wanted one for years. in the end it developed its own and is using it on the border with afghanistan. >> it boosts our capability, i think many fold, because in these areas, it is not airplanes that can go and carry out aerial bombing, it is the drones. >> it's found that since 2004, the number of people killed in pakistan by c.i.a. drones is somewhere between 2,500 and
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4,000. >> this man knows this well. he is from north waziristan. a drone fire missile explode the close to his car and killed family members. >> it is difficult all the time. you hear the buzzing of drones. it affects you mentally. the children of afraid. the drones are blind. we don't know where they are going to hit. >> last month the military showed off its new drone in a parade. lawyers who represent drone victims say many people are too afraid to challenge the pakistan military for carrying out the strikes. >> it would be very difficult for a civilian to stand up and say i am a civilian and i've been hit in a drone strike. >> the u.s. has been using drones extensively in the northwest tribal belt for the last 10 years but it's repeatly refused to supply pakistan with drones. the government in islamabad said
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it needs them if it's ever going to defeat the pakistani taliban. >> there is worry there will be even more drones in the sky. >> if they find the same drones, we are going back to the same misery we fled. >> it seems that fear caused by increase use of drones in pakistan is here to stay. nicole johnston, al jazeera islamabad. >> hundreds of young polish men and women are signing up to join paramilitary groups. the conflict in eastern ukraine is driving the rise in recruitment with many seeing russia as a direct military threat. tim friend reports from warsaw. >> deep in the woods east of warsaw members of the paramilitary group are playing war games with model weapons to the sound of real gunfire.
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their weekend hobby has suddenly taken on a new significance. just four hours drive away is the ukraine border, a country in real conflict. poland's part time militia say no one can be certain of moscow's intentions. >> we want to be prepared so the government wouldn't have to train people on the spot. they would have someone trained before and if something happens god forbid and we hope it wouldn't and believe it wouldn't then we would do what we would have to do, and if this means, you know, fighting, then we will probably fight. >> concerns about ukraine and on line recruiting videos like this have prompted a sudden increase in volunteers for the paramilitaries, who date back to the end of the second world war. >> it is estimated there are 120 groups like this across poland with a total of around 10,000
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total membership. the government has kept its distance but now wants to harness this enthusiasm to help boost poland's defenses. >> at a convention in warsaw, the government promised the groups more equipment and cash in return for them signing up for a more coordinated effort, run by this man recently returned from cooperation talks in kiev. >> we have to understand that maybe tomorrow, today's ok, maybe tomorrow we will be next country. this is why people, of course, they are nervous if they observe what is going on nowadays in the east ok. >> russia says it has no intention of aggression against poland and most military analysts agree it's extremely unlikely but in a survey for the institute of public affairs think tank, 76% say russia pose
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add military threat. the group wear facemasks because they've been portrayed as the russian media as aggressors. they say they simply want to defend their homeland, with their lives if necessary. tim friend, al jazeera warsaw. >> in mexico, gunman opened fire on a police convoy in the western state of. jalasco. it is home to a drug cartel known as new generation, which experts say is now among mexico's most powerful. >> thousands have been demonstrating in brazil against a proposed law that could allow businesses to outsource their labor force. the rally turned violent in the capitol and scuffles broke out of the between protestors and police. the unions fear the law could lead to local employees being
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dismissed with foreign workers accepting jobs for lower wages. >> in uganda, a man who was once held in guantanamo bay has been arrested in connection with the murder of a local prosecutor. the man and three others were tracked down with the help of the u.s. they are suspected to links of last month's killing of the prosecutor handle a case against the armed group al shabab. >> voting for sudan's next president begins on monday. while opposition parties have threatened to boycott elections most people are just concerned with putting food on the table. nearly half of sudan lives below the poverty line. we met a family in kartoum struggling to survive. >> if there's oil to cook at the house, it means a hearty stew for dinner and satisfied family. with frequent shortages of cooking gas and bread and inflation at 37% the family said daily living in sudan is
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tough. >> everyone believes they're building their family's future. i tell my husband all the time, he should go and work abroad. >> working by a teacher at day and ricksha driver at night he supports his wife and two girls. in a country with an 18% unemployment right and almost half the population living below the poverty line, he's lucky to have steady income. >> the secession of south sudan in 2011 hit the economy hard. it had been booming. sudan lost 75% of oil revenue and is struggling to rebound. >> the government says it is compensated for the lost revenue primarily through the expansion of gold mining. agriculture is now the country's primary sort of income. the government says it has provide loans and machinery to
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farmers to increase crop production. >> failure to optimize land and water, retraining for farmers a lack of technology and financing are reasons resources were not used properly. >> the government blames u.s. sanctions for stifling the economy. the man doesn't believe next week's presidential election will bring much change. >> i look at our situation and i think to myself, i have no reason to believe that tomorrow will be any different. >> he captain bear to leave his family and move abroad. if his wife has her way, he will one day build a future outside sudan. >> the australian government announced plans to tackle the growing problem of crystal meth addiction. police say the number of people using the drug has nearly doubled in the past year.
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australia's prime minister said a new task force will head a national response to tackle the problem. >> this is an epidemic way beyond anything we have seen before now. i am determined that right around our country, we will take every possible step to combat this dreadful, dreadful scourge. >> one of china's biggest classical music stars has start a booming trend. millions of children are now learning to play the piano. china's become the biggest manufacture of pianos. le. ♪ >> she's been playing since she was six. her skill and enthusiasm shine through. across china an estimated 40 million children are learning the piano. a crazy contributed to the
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langlang effect. >> i went to a concert. when i was injury young my mom said to me, listen, he is so good plays piano so well. she said that over and over again. >> one of china's greatest classical music stars he arrived on the scene just as the growing number of one child families were looking for new ways to invest in those children's futures. music schools mean children needed to have had private less sons just to get in. >> a few families get together and socialize. many families have piano's now. if your kid plays the parent thinks great look, i've got a kid who's well behaved. >> the island with the music school has a long influenced history of piano playing.
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ownership is predicted to grow by a third by 2020. >> all that demand requires supply. china isn't just the biggest piano market in the world it's the biggest manufacturer. >> a mixture of machines and staff produce 140,000 pianos every year, a figure that's doubled since 2007. even an in economy whose growth are slowing, they believe the piano business is a safe bet. >> more and more people become wealthy. in the chinese people, it's very concerned about the children's education and also the culture in the family. >> chain in a has about three pianos per 100 households has a long way to go to reach european households of 20 to 30, but with children dough voting themselves to musician ship, that gap is
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closing. al jazeera southern china. >> the latest global news headlines are up next for international viewers for those of you watching on the u.s., the latest news where you are. wherever you are there's lots more on our website as always, aljazeera.com. >> calls for protests in south carolina today after a white police officer is charged with murder for killing an apparently unarmed black man. >> change in ferguson, the city that sparked a national outcry over race and the police elects two new african-american city council members. >> a cyber attack on one of the nation's most secure networks. what may have been exposed and wipe the government blames russia.