>> welcome to the news hour in doha. coming up in the next 60 minutes, iran's president says there won't be a final nuclear deal unless economic sanctions are lifted immediately. >> we're well aware of the support that a iran has been giving yemen. >> consulting for a halt to saudi-led airstrikes at iran is warned about backing houthi rebels. >> paying back the loans greece agrees to hand over over over $500

million to the i.m.f. >> if we don't have education to improve our life, we cannot improve our country. >> the giant strides afghanistan has maiden rolling children in school. >> iran's supreme leader said not reaching a deal on the nuclear program is better than making a bad deal. the ayatollah is referring to a framework agreement signed between iran and world powers in switzerland last monthly. president rouhani warns that his country will not sign a final accord unless it's accompanied by the lifting of sanctions. we have more. >> president rouhani is a savvy political operator. he's managed to remain popular with conservatives and moderates in iran. he knows he must convince

sceptics of the nuclear deem at home that iran isn't bowing to western pressure. so many say it's important for him to talk tough. that's exactly what he did when he addressed this nuclear technology ceremony in tehran. >> we will not sign any agreement unless all economic sanction are lifted at once on the very first day of the implementation of the agreement. >> iran wants a deal to go ahead, but the conditions must satisfactory this man the ayatollah, iran's supreme leader. he insists the deal is non-binding and said he neither agrees nor disagrees with it. >> there are questions now about what this all means for the framework deal made here in lausanne. after months of talks iran agreed to limit its enrichment capacity and in return, world

powers would lift a crippling embargo. >> make no mistake nobody has the guts to say no to a possible nuclear deem with the west, because today iran's leader said that i support the continuation of talks i just want to make sure that i am not making a mistake. >> president obama also has to convince his own sceptics, mainly in congress, that he's not making a mistake. >> i'm convinced that if this framework leads to a final comprehensive deal, it will make our country, our allies, and our world safer. >> the deal also has its worldwide critics including israeli. france and so you had rain are also cautious. it marks a change in relations after decades of hostility.

the next few months will bring hard rhetoric before the final deadline at the end of june. al jazeera. >> iranian author and journalists gave us his analysis of the comments. >> i think what her hearing from both the united states and iran has got two purposes, number one to calm the situation about the doubters and number two position themselves for tough negotiations that will come at the end of june. i think we should expect this sort of comments to be heard of. i think the key factor was the ayatollah said i am supporting the negotiators but there's no way to congratulate me or anyone at this stage because we have nothing concrete, therefore be i think he just is reflecting the reality as it is, but president rouhani of course said we are interested in negotiations, we

continue to do so, this is part of the first part of our attempt to open to the world and negotiate with everybody especially on yemen. he was very, very constructive, saying that this is a negotiated settlement for this purpose. >> iran and the supreme leader have spoken out against the saudi-led air campaign in yemen. in the past 24 hours the ayatollah as well as the iranian president rouhani called for a halt to the saudi-led airstrikes. rouhani said countries in the region should help bring yemenese to the negotiating table. iran ships have arrived in the gulf of aden, saying it's part of an anti piracy operation. john kerry accuses iran of providing support to the houthi rebels. >> there have been and there are obviously supplies that have been coming from iran. there are a number of flights every single week flying in. we traced those flights and we know this.

we're aware of the support ran has been giving yemen. iran needs to recognize that the united states is not going to stand by while the region is destabilized or while people engage, you know, in overt wear fair in our countries. >> a professor in modern and con temple rather history in the medal east from qatar university joins us. we knew the talks in switzerland were the talks before the talks. when iran is now signaling there is no chance for agreement if there is not immediate sanction relief what does that mean going forward? >> what is important is the context in which those statements actually came. those speeches, the target of them is the iranian public,

because the supreme leader and the president wanted to communicate with the public in iran and say we agree on a framework, if the sanctions are not removed there will be no deal because they need again to assure the people has iran is still aiming to develop its nuclear capabilities, they will not give up, they will not become the slave of the united states. that was a strong message. of course, iran wants to make sure that iranian public is happy of what has been done, because this is renewing the legitimacy of the regime to convince the people that the government is doing for their own interest, defending the interest of iran, defending the rights of iran. at the same time, the leadership want to make sure to the people that if we don't get what we want there will be no deal. >> and they may not get what they want. that has been a deal breaker for most parties at the table that there will not be immediate sanction relief. are you saying this is perhaps

posturing and something they may bend on or is this real? >> i think they knew that removing the sanctions have real difficulties, whether the american sanctions the e.u. sanctions and they knew that there is the problem of procedure in all of this. they knew that just for example the american sanctions needing to be removed they need congress to be onboard the public message to be onboard and all of this is not being prepared yet for this. this is a tool to pressure the americans, the european and the most important is to assure it's own people that we are still have not changed our view, we still want to develop a nuclear issue, nuclear program because this is partly of our right. >> what do you say to critics on both sides who have said the other side is not trustworthy? has either side been proven

right so far object is it too soon to tell? >> i think it's obvious that there is mistrust. it's obvious it's there. the statement by john kerry was clear that the iranians, they may not sincere what they have done and for that reason they should not translate on regional context. the statement came from kerry in washington. it's actually pressuring iran to commit itself, otherwise there will be ramifications. >> what do you make of iran calling for an end to the airstrikes in yemen? secretary kerry said that is meddling. does that relate back to the nuclear talks? >> absolutely. iran wanted from the beginning all this nuclear issue is political purpose. iran wants to make sure that this nuclear issue deal to promoting iranian political presence. now with the statement of kerry accusing iran that they are doing bigger role in yemen is

actually returning everything and accusing that iran is not a good guy in the region and this is what iran wants to avoid as much as they can. >> the official deadline actually isn't until june. >> absolutely, 60 days or less. >> thank you so much, professor. >> it's a pleasure. >> the u.n. has estimated the more than 100,000 yemenese have been displaced since the conflict began. in aden, families can be fleeing from their homes as a result of the fighting again houthi militias and forces loyal to president hadi's government. some have gathered in the local port trying to get to neighbors countries by sea. >> some yemenese have been escaping to saudi arabia. they face more problems. >> they he he escape the war in yemen

only to get arrested in saudi arabia. these yemenese were picked up by saudi security forces after they managed to smuggle themselves across the border. >> if i could have entered legally, i would. >> i am simply trying to escape the war in yemen. >> i came here to find a job to feed my family. the war has destroyed everything in yemen. >> these border guards are called the mujahedeen, secondary to the army and report to the saudi minister of the interior but their job is crucial. >> we are considered the second line of defense after the border guards. our task is to prevent smuggling activity. >> the mujahedeen unit has been around since the establishment of saudi arabia. many personnel follow the foot steps of their forefathers. >> you can track a smuggler, but they are usually deeper and more spaced out. >> so far, there hasn't been an exodus of yemenis trying to escape into saudi arabia, but if a ground offensive is launched

or the war continues, those patrolling this border could find themselves dealing with an influx of refugees. al jazeera. >> secretary kerry accuses iran of meddling, supporting the houthis and ran has called on the so you had led airstrikes to end. what could all of those things be leading to? >> i think it's not a discovery by kerry and the american administration knew all the time the way iran was meddling with this situation in yemen. you can remember that there were at least u.n. security council resolutions, four of them which would have prevented iran from meddling. they have been caught two times ships carrying tons of cam anything elses and rockets to yemen. i think we have to take this,

kerry's statement in the context of what's iran now. it has moved ships to the arabian sea frigates. today's statement about the whole nuclear deal is very much related to what's going in yemen. i think the iranians thought at one time that people would give them yemen but that's too farfetched. >> does iran have a role to play when it comes to the houthis? >> well, iran, houthis are a lot of people back you know to put them in the same state at us as hezbollah in iran, even houthis if you look at them addressing and delivering speeches, tries to put himself in the shoes. i think again the iranians there were mistaken. the houthis cannot, in lebanon

ambassador that presented at least one of the biggest, you know minorities if not the biggest minority, but in the houthis, their constituency is 6% of the 20%. i think the iranians there -- >> we are now entering the third week of the saudi-led military operation, the airstrikes. is the end game to get the houthis to the negotiating table and is this going to get them there? >> i think the end game is that. i think they have got to come to their senses. i think this is a role to speak to them and tell them there is no end to what's going on now. people are suffering, they are on the run but without the iranians i think saying those words, perhaps the houthis and the deposed president would like to play to the end. ali abdullah saleh is a very wicked man. his choice is to bring the

temple on everybody's head. >> thank you so much. we'll be calling on you again soon. >> thank you. >> pakistan's parliament is still debating whether to send forces to back the saudi-led campaign in yemen. iran's foreign minister met pakistan's prime minister on thursday calling for peace talks. we have more from islamabad. >> the iranian former minister in islamabad has created a perception that perhaps a diplomatic way could be found to diffuse the crisis in yemen happening at a time parliament was continuing with its debate on the yemen crisis. that parliamentary session likely to last until friday evening, but the important thing that has come out of the meetings between the pakistani and iranians is the fact that there is now some hope or perhaps a glimmer of hope to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in yemen.

parliament is divided the opposition is warning that it could entail a price for pakistan and lead to a bigger conflagration. let's see what the chairman of the senate foreign affairs committee had to say on the floor of parliament. >> yemen is like a quick sand. there will be no winners. we should ask the chinese friends in the u.n. security council for a ceasefire. they should ask for dialogue and negotiations and they should ask for national reconciliation in yemen leading to elections again in yemen. pakistan and turkey should jointly cohost and we should invite the foreign minister of saudi arabia and foreign minister of iran, either in istanbul or in islamabad. >> still to come on al jazeera battling for influence in aleppo isil suicide bombers target syrian opposition fighters. plus once a daryl of investors

now sentenced for fraud the verdict in the biggest scandal in indian corporate history. >> the first major golf event of the season has begun the masters. we'll look at how tiger woods has gotten ready for his return by playing around with his family. >> the greek government has given the go ahead to the bank of greece to repay around $501 million to the international monetary fund. alexis tsipras signing a deal of economic cooperation with russia on wednesday. we have the latest from the capitol, athens. >> so the greek government has cobbled together the lateliest main to pay back the i.m.f. there's the impression that it's living an increasingly hand to mouth economistence scraping funds together to make payments to the i.m.f. and struggling to

raise the money to pay pensions, and salaries to civil servants in this country. there's been a marked deterioration in relations between the greek government and its various creditors. irritation in some european capitals that the greeks have come out in support of the russians. alexis tsipras arguing that sanctions against russia over it's interference in eastern ukraine were not productive. there is this acrimonious dispute between greece and germany, greece demanding germany pay reparations back to greece because of the nazi occupation during the second world war an issue the germans feel strongly was resolved many years ago. all of this leads greece in a very uncertain position, as it negotiates with european creditors. the essential problem being that what the european union is

demanding of the sir reside does a government. >> russia is hosting talks with the syria government and the main opposition group boycotting this meeting. we have more from moscow. >> for the first two days of these four day talks, it was just the opposition groups discussing things amongst themselves. the government's representative turned up wednesday. he was handed a document, which had been formulated by the opposition groups, and this document includes things like discussions of humanitarian issues and what they call the fight against terrorism. what we believe it doesn't discuss is the fate of bashar al

assad, syria's leader. that is important because remember the syrian national coalition, the main opposition group in syria has been boycotting these talking about. it sees the removal of bashar al assad as the main precondition for any kind of negotiations. the landscape for syria's opposition groups has shifted considerably since the war began five years ago. recently we've seen the rise of islamic state replacing bashar al assad as the main boogie man in the region for governments. we have detected a noticeable softening in the kind of language that the united states has been using when it talks about bashar al assad. whether sanctions are lifted against iran, this will allow iran to operate more freely as a regional power supporting its allies, one of those allies is

bashar al assad. what he said good for bashar al assad is of course bad for syria's opposition. >> the international committee of the red cross and the u.n. called for immediate access to the yarmouk camp in syria to deliver humanitarian aid. thousands was palestinians have been trapped since size as i will stormed the camp on the outskirts of damascus. water, food, medication, they're all scarce in yarmouk. >> if my we remain increasingly alarmed at the hostilities inflating unimaginable pain and suffering toed 18,000 men women and children trapped inside yarmouk who survive under constant threat of armed violence and remain unable to safely access water food and basic health care. we are calling for a pause in hostilities, humanitarian access to civilians who need assistance

and safe evacuation of civilians who want to leave. >> isil suicide bombers targeted northern aleppo, dozens of civilians and opposition commanders reportedly killed in these two attacks. charles stratford reports. >> this is all that remains of the syrian opposition military headquarters in northern aleppo province. a suicide bomber with the islamic state of iraq and the levant rammed his vehicle into the building, and dead nate the explosive device. dozens of civilians and two opposition commanders were reportedly killed in the attack. >> god willing the northern country side of aleppo will remain steadfast. we will never allow isil to advance. >> the war in syria involves competing armed groups all trying to remove bashar al assad from power. it is further complicated by

isil offensive. there are reports of occasion calendar cooperation between isil fighters and certain opposition groups, isil wants control of all syria. that also means the removal of president bashar al assad. the school in the town was also destroyed by an isil suicide bomber. it's believed the attacker was targeting another syrian opposition base close by. more than 15 civilians and opposition fighters were reportedly killed in the attack. >> isil there have the ability to send fighters. that's why they only send car bombs. their only aim is to kill opposition fighters. >> with 200,000 people who have been killed and millions of others forced to flee their homes since the war in syria started more than four years ago, the fighting between isil and syria's opposition groups makes any prospects of this conflict ending soon seem even more remote.

charles stratford, al jazeera. >> three attacks egypt's sinai killed 13 civilians and two soldiers. the town bordering gaza was hit by mortar fire. the third attack was on a military vehicle. >> at least five people have been killed and 26 injured in an attack in northern afghanistan. two gunman stormed the government compound in the town, killing the police chief and two other officers. officials say the taliban behind the attack. >> warring groups in the central african republic signed a peace deal in nairobi. the deal was brokered by kenya without the involvement of the u.n. or central government republic. >> the two agreements were signed in the kenyan capitol under the watch of president kenyatta and his deputy.

kenyatta final winds the deal by warning the two sides to stick to their ends of the bargain and avoid being thrown off track by outside sources. >> i wish to remind you as leaders of the people of the central african republic, you must never forget and must always be filed by guided by the fact that your principal interest first and foremost is the well being of the people. >> it's been a long road to a peace settlement between two sides. in 2013, the selica over threw the government. then president was forced to leave and rebel leader declared himself the first muslim penalty of c.a.r. he announced a dissolution of the selica, but many fighters refused to disband. a group widely seen as coming to the capitol to fight the selica group and kick out the

government arrives and a cycle of violence began. the united nations warned the country was at risk of spiraling into a genocide. tens of thousands of civilians fled the country. in 2014, he resigned in a move aimed as ending the violence that has taken over the country but by then, thousands were killed a million displaced and thousands of foreign peacekeepers sent in. there are those who question the ability of the warring groups to actually enforce the deal. >> the problem is that not only does it not have buy-in from the government but it doesn't have full representation of both sides of the conflict. the problem i guess they are not unified forces and this only represents part of them. it doesn't control all the fighting forces in the field. >> for those taking partly in the signing of the peace agreement, it's seen as a step in the right direction to help the central african republic

form a democratic government that indicates to the interests of all its people. al jazeera. >> time now for a check of weather with rob and a potentially forme time in the united states. >> there are two days now with potential tornadoes. we've been through wednesday let's take you to what actually happened. from early in the day the storms started to grow in missouri that's really the big top you'll notice there. it is slowly moving eastward. they agree during the day and tend to die in the evening but when super cells can keep going all night. this is the picture of minor damage. it wasn't major. this was a tornado all the same took out parts of roof, not whole roofs dumped a load of rain in missouri. as the day ended there were still big storms around. this is a picture of a funnel cloud not quite tornado you'll see flashing in the background

lightning again. this is in kansas. famously kansas gets a lot of tornadoes. that's where it was yesterday. this line now more represents where the storms are going to grow because the day is just waking up in the plains states. back around, of course, we've still got a decent amount of snow for colorado and rain across the northern plains states. tonight, look at the plains states from missouri eastward and i suspect by the time all that's gone through it's a quiet looking weekend. when the sun comes out the storms are over. watch local news, i'd say rather than international news for the detail on this one. >> rob, thank you so much. >> still to come, the presidential election in sudan is just days away, but the winner is all but assured. we'll see how the people are faring. >> president barack obama's visit to the jamaica. can he convince the caribbean to

reconnect with the u.s. >> robin will be here to tell you about a show-stealing performance on the baseball diamond. details later in sports.

>> welcome back. let's look at top stories on al jazeera. >> iran's supreme leader says not reaching a deal on the nuclear program is better than making a bad deal. president rouhani warned his country will not sign a final accord unless accompanied by immediate lifting of sanctions.

>> fighting in yemen's port city of aden is causing families to flee. more than 100,000 yemenese have been displaced since this conflict began two weeks ago. >> the greek government has given the go ahead to the bank which greece to repay around $501 million to the international monetary fund. wednesday, the greek prime minister alexis tsipras signed a deal of economic cooperation with russia. >> barack obama has become the first u.s. president in more than 30 years to visit jamaica. he's meeting with the prime minister and other caribbean leaders. the u.s. is seeking to revive influence in a region china has expanded economic alliances. from here. obama attends the summit of the may. he'll meet cuban leader for the first time since plans to normalize relations were

announced in december. >> there are going signs the united states is ramping up focus on the caribbean. we have a report from panama city. >> for the last 10 years the united states has watched as venezuela has gained friends and significant influence throughout the caribbean through a generous program of oil. it's donated or sold oil at cut rate prices to a tune of $50 billion. now the tables have turned. the price of oil plummeted venezuela is deeply in debt and cut shipments to the caribbean in half, including to cuba. that's why president obama is visiting jamaica the second largest side in the caribbean the first american president to visit in 33 years. he will be discussing energy, energy security. the white house is keen on

weaning any the caribbean dependence on venezuela oil and wants to recover a lot of its own lost clout. president obama will meet with members of the association of caribbean nations who welcomed the initiative, but they are really probably for keen on securing their own fuel independence. they know that depending on the united states or venezuela comes with a high prettyical price tag. >> two venezuelan officials sanctioned by the u.s. have been promoted to the cabinet. president nicholas maduro announced vice ministerial positions. the white house accused them of human rights violations and also corruption. >> more on one of our top stories now the greek government giving the go ahead to the bank of greece to repay around $501 million to the international monetary fund. ali velshi is live for us from the greek capitol athens. ok ali greece tried

renegotiating the terms seeking aid from russia, nothing seems to be working. what else is there for greece to do? >> let's put this in context. greece has received more than 280 billion euros in loans and some is coming due in terms of repayment. they had to make this payment by today, $501 million u.s. dollars, going to the i.m.f. last week greece said it doesn't have the money and is going to prioritize pensions of salaries overpaying back this loan, but they haven't got all the money that they were going to get. there's still another $7 billion installment. greece wants that money and the lenders said not until you pay the installment due and you work on real structural reforms to your economy. this is what greece has been drying to deal with. the finance minister melt with the i.m.f., did not come away

with concessions and was told that the payment had to be made by today. the prime of greece went to russia yesterday and tried to get concessions maybe some promise that russia would lend greece money. that went work, either, so the order went to the bank of greece today to issue the payment to the international monetary fund, which yesterday made a formal demand for the money. they're not out of the woods. there is another payment do tuesday, this is a different lender it's bond investors. that's 420 million you're rose. at the end of the month another payment to the i.m.f. of over 900 million euros and then in may, the greeks have to actually pay those salaries and pensions that have been held back. greece is in a very, very serious problem but had they not made this payment today it's quite likely any future funds would have been cut off. >> ali let's go back to the

economic and structural reforms you mentioned the reforms that the i.m.f. and the e.u. are asking of grease. are they trialistic, attainable? >> that's the 280 billion euro question here. they need to happen. greece is very different from other european countries. it's made up of small and medium businesses not large businesses. it dependency a lot on industries that have suffered in the last few years so here are the problems. greeks tend to retire earlier than other europeans. the entire structure of their working life is different taxes have not been paid by individuals and businesses for a long time. some individuals pay but many greeks evade taxes. corruption is rampant at all levels of government and the private sector here. things have to change and they can over time. this new government elected two and a half months ago has seemed to have been taking this seriously, but these changes will take at a minimum five years if not longer.

people can't get loans for their houses the property market collapsed, unemployment is 26%. the government not only can't collect the taxes it's due it can't collect new taxes because there is no incomes generated. the rest of saying if you don't make changes now you're never going to make them and we're never getting our money back. the question is good, is it attainable unclear but greece has to try. >> ali, thank you. >> the surviving boston marathon bomber has been found guilty by a u.s. federal jury. dzhokar tsarnaev was convicted on all charges he faced including killing three people, using weapons of mass destruction and also conspiracy. now the jury will have to decide if he'll face the death penalty. alan fisher reports. >> the verdict was never in doubt. as the trial began lawyers for

dzhokar tsarnaev admitted he was one of the boston bombers. it was him, they said in opening statements. now the jury delivered its verdict, guilty on all 30 charges, 17 carry the death penalty. one victim said the jury's decision doesn't bring this to an end. >> we're all going to move on with our lives and get back to some sense of normalcy hopefully when this is all done, so closure, i guess i don't think so only because it's forever a part of our life. >> the defense knew they would never clear their client, their intention was to save him from the death penalty. they want the jury to see him as acting under the influence of his older brother tamerlan. >> the defense team has allowed the jury to start building trust with the defense attorneys so that after this almost inevitable conclusion of guilt the jury will be able to work through the evidence and decide

whether or not he's actually culpable to the level that he should be given the death penalty or whether he should be given a sentence of life in prison instead. >> much of the evidence has not been challenged by the defense. the prosecution case is dzhokar tsarnaev was a violent deadly young man who knew exactly what he was doing with his brother. the jury saw graphic pictures of the injuries the victim suffered handled replicas of the homemade bombs and saw pictures of the blood stained boat. a police officer was also killed in that hunt, as was dzhokar tsarnaev's brother. once found guilty, the jury must then decide on the sentence, but some are concerned the jury has already weighted toward a death penalty. >> if you are opposed and you say you cannot impose it, even in a case such as this, then

you're automatically excluded from the jury. if you're looking for a jury to expression the conscience community and two thirds say they are opposed to the death penalty, most of those potential jurors maybe excused and that raises a real concern about the jury that ultimately gets i am paneled is capable of expressing the conscience community. >> it's almost inevitable the defense would appeal, then boston can put its nightmare behind it. >> the founder of a leading indians software company has been sentenced to seven years in prison for one of the largest frauds in that companies corporate history he and his brother and others were convicted for a massive accounting fraud. he confessed in 2009 that he manipulated his company's books costing shareholders more than $2 billion. we have more on the verdict from new delhi. >> it's taken six years for this case to come to some kind of

end, and he is expected to go to jail for seven years. the big question going forward though is how this sentence will actually be served and whether or not the around three years he's already done in judicial custody will count towards the seven. various reactions across india and around the world as we go forward with this verdict and sentencing. there was expectations that he would be given the maximum 14 years in jail that was expected, or this kind of case can carry however, he's been given half of that. on the other side, there will be great sense of relief that this case has come to an end that there is a definitive judgment in india's biggest fraud case. it drew attention to the way in which accounting practices work in india and the way business is done in one of the world's most promising emerging markets. there have been a great deal of changes in terms of regulations put in by the securities

understand exchange board of india from 2009 and that's been some years. the question, though, is what kind of confidence will this bring back to foreign investors. it's a stagnant time for the indian economy. they hope this boosts confidence in one of the world's largest markets. >> elections in sudan are due next week. the president is up against 15 challengers, but many expect he will win extending his 30 year rule. activists in sudan are afraid to speak out against the government witness we report. >> an activist says he expected his participation in peaceful protests would eventually get him arrested. he describes what happens when security forces picked him up last year. >> they hit me continuously. they used hands steel batons

and wires. >> human rights attorney said even the elderly around spared. he is defending two activists in their 70 said and 80's, they are sick in prison facing terrorism charges. >> most of the people do not feel anything other than despair. they see the government doing whatever it likes. >> human rights activists say 200 people were killed during protests in 2013 and there has been a chill on the streets. they say the government is also targeting the media. last month, 14 different newspapers were confiscated before they were distributed. >> in order to promote freedom of expression, human rights groups and journalists included, now people can easily buy american made produces like smart phones, lap tops and encryption software. >> getting required permits for

protests is the law but permits are frequently denied. rewarding media freedom, it is pointed to a variety of government and independent outlets routinely criticizing the presidential bashir and his government. >> it is complicate due to the war. we need the government, commission and international groups to come together to solve the problems. >> with the election days away, large protests against the government are not anticipated. >> activists are simply looking beyond the election. al jazeera kartoum. >> a major french television network is trying to restore service after a cyber attack. a group calling itself cyber caliphate, which claims to be ling linked to isil is thought

to be behind the attack. >> in television, a black screen usually spells disaster. when several french channels wasn't to black wednesday night producers in this office knew something was wrong. the channel's director said he was shaken, and the problem's not over. >> it's been a very powerful cyber attack, which we have very strong fire walls and that had been checked very recently and were said to be very safe. >> this is how seriously the french government is taking the attack not one but three ministers spent the morning at the headquarters. armed police underlined the sense of urgency. >> we have taken measures to respond at a technological level. it's important to deem with the situation and also to get ahead of what the trysts in their sick brain might of in mind.

>> 11t.v. channels were taken off air for a brief period. messages like i am i.s., a reference to the islamic state of iraq and the levant kept popping up on the network's website and social media pages. on its facebook page, one message read the cyber tall fatal continues its cyber jihad against the enemies of islamic state. the so-called cyber calendar fatal has stage add similar on line ambush before. at the start of the year, it hacked into a twitter feed run by the pentagon. the message to american soldiers said watch your back. in t.v. newsroom, a reminder of an attack on the paris based satirical mag charlie hebdo. since then, the french media has been on high alert. france is partly of the coalition fighting isil in iraq. this is a different kind of warfare, though, and very

sophisticated. al jazeera. >> still to come on al jazeera all the sports news, including roy mcilroy looks to win his first masters title. why he will not be taking many tips from his one direction boy band caddy.

>> ice been 15 years since 164 count ribs greed to improve access to education. the u.n. says only one third has succeeded. afghanistan used to be among the worst place in the world to go

to school, but now after decades of civil war things have improved. education deteriorated after the taliban took control in 1996. no girls were allowed in secondary school and only 4% attended primary schools. things have improved since the taliban was ousted. by 2012, afghanistan made the fastest progress of any country towards gender equality with 87% of girls in primary schools. the director of the education for all global monitoring report joins us live from new delhi. we appreciate your time. let's talk about some of the results, findings, where is the situation most dire? mostly in sub saharan africa. many of the countries that are quite low income, poor countries have had major challenges in trying to get children into school and reducing the kind of disparities between boys and

girls, so both there and in some parts of asia, pakistan, haiti in north america there's still quite a few challenges in getting children into school. >> what are some of the hurdles? >> well one hurdle is financing. the commitment of international donors 15 years ago when these target goals was established is that no country that should be order bordered from achieving goals if they had a plan. partners haven't lived up to their commitments. after the agreement this was an increase in international aid. over the last three years the overall volume of aid has declined $1.3 billion, so there isn't the quite a few funding that enables countries to really make progress on their education plans. >> having said that, there are some countries --

>> another big -- >> go ahead. >> one of the other big factors is, you know, there are a lot of margin amized children and young people often belonging to groups that are kind of outside of the majority, poor children, children living in slums that are unregistered, don't have birth certificates, often these are groups that are very difficult to bring into the education system. they often are invisible to government authorities and although some countries have made big progress in getting 80% or 90% of all their children into school, it's sometimes that last 10 orr 20% that are the most difficult to get into school. >> thank you so much for your time. we appreciate it. >> it is time now for sport. here's robin. >> hello, thank you very much there. we are underway, the masters

teed off at augusta. the sports biggest name will be in action later, tiger woods returning after a two month absence with a back injury is now ranked 111th in the world. he was in a relaxed mood wednesday. >> the kids were excited last year watching the part three contest, and obviously, i was in bed watching it, and now today there's opportunity that maybe next year, you might be able to do this if you want to. they said ok, we'll see. it comes closer, i hadn't played in a while and they started bringing it up. >> jack nicholas has won more majors and began his round warmed up with a hole in one in the par three event. quite interestingly he wasn't the only one. an amateur from chile also got

holes in one. >> a complete grand slam for rory mcilroy. mcilroy, caddy taking the shot from the par three contest, one direction figure swinging the ball into the lake. >> the semifinals of the german cup, coming closest to the second half, in this game that had to be decided on penalties. just returned from a year on the sidelines through injury, wrapping up the win. 5-3 the final score. still on course. >> barcelona's footballers have

made it nine wins in a row that 4 point lead in la league coming at the expense of the scorers. madrid currently second were 2-0 winners. >> liverpool's players are celebrating another step toward a crown. securing their ticket to a semifinals 20 minutes from time, giving them something to cheer about in the wake of the 4-1 defeat to arsenal this past weekend, which has damaged their champions league hope next season. >> as a team, we wanted to, you know, i'd seen all the bouts of a 7r. season. we wanted to compete at the top end of the league and chance for trophies. we want to win a free fee this

year that's been clear but for us we just need to stay calm in the game and focus back on our performance. >> from football to the nba the grizzlies have a chance of clinching the western conference, second seed for a win against the pelicans. dominating the pelicans, routing them mark gasol hitting 15 points on the night. hills efforts matched two others. zack randolph making 15 along with jeff green. the win moves memphis level with houston. >> houston were beaten by san antonio, the race for the final two playoff spots in the east very close seventh placed boston securing and important win over detroit brooklyn level with them after losing to atlanta and indiana are teaching the pressure on both teams. they beat the nets by a single game. >> the bruins beaten in the

charge starting a playoff campaign. home ice advantage against the brewers. johnson opening the scoring helping the captain also end the period. a 2-0 advantage they wrap the game in the third. washington now with a lead over the new york islanders. >> the columbus blue jackets to the postseason. a win in 15 games. mlb, zimmerman was the star for the washington nationals as they beat the new york mets on that wednesday. the one time all-star started things off with a two-run homer in the first inning. in a performance from zimmerman showing skills in the field, as

well with an acrobatic catch as you can see in slo-mo. >> winning another title at the world surfing league lateliest stop in australia. the defending champion defending a challenge from brazilian puts him on title wins with kelly slater. >> every year, we're on this tour. we all give it our all. we hope that we're putting on a good show and thanks for everyone coming down and supporting the great event. >> that's your sport thanks for watching. there's more later. >> stay with us here on al jazeera. another full bulletin of news is straight ahead. do keep it here.

iran's president says there will not be a final nuclear deal unless economic sanctions are lifted immediately. ♪ >> hello, i'm rachel kerry. iran's president calls for a halt in air strikes as the u.s. warns iran over backing houthi rebels. plus greece agrees to h