o to our website at aljazeera.com. ♪ medical supplies land in yemen, the first since saudi lead air strikes began, 16 days ago. ♪ and you are with us here on al jazeera, i'm david foster. also coming up in the next 30 minutes, pakistan frees on bail the suspected master mind of the mumbai attacks infuriating india. the presidents of the u.s. and cuba expected to meet for the first time since relations thawed. i'm in mumbai the waste of

this city comes here. coming up i'll be talking to people who pick through this garbage to earn a living. ♪ now the latest developments in the war in yemen, the saw sdi lead coalition is keeping up its air strikes. the defense ministry in the capitol of sana'a has been a target hit. pakistan's parliament have voted to stay neutral in the war. but there was some relief for the people when planes carrying medical aid were able to land for the first time since air strikes began more than two weeks ago. the u.n. says it wants a daily pause in fighting to allow help to come in the campaign against the houthis, they say is continuing to be a success.

there are good intelligence sources on the ground allowing them to know where the houthi positions actually are. >> translator: the operation is still continuing and supporting the resistance on the ground. it is also stopping the militias on the ground, and stopping them from supporting their people. this command building was targeted yesterday in sana'a. >> let's get more on the aid picture from erika wood. >> reporter: this is much-needed medical aid being unloaded at sana'a international airport. it's one of two planes that landed in the capitol on friday carrying enough medicine and surgical equipment to treat more than a thousand people. >> the first plane finally arrived. and is full of 16 tons of emergency medical assistance

which is very needed now in yemen. we expect the next plane tomorrow hopefully. >> reporter: late on thursday a medical team and supplies arrived in aden by boat. but properly distributing the aid could prove difficult. the u.n. says roads are being cut off and boats are being prevented from leaving many ports. >> i would like to share with you again, that the humanitarian situation is yemen is getting worse by the hour. conflict is now affecting 15 out of the 22 governorets in the area. >> reporter: there are concerns now about the long-lasting humanitarian toll on the population. >> we expect in the coming weeks there to be an up surge in

malnutrition across the country. be it in areas of conflict or not. it was a country where 60% of the country is under the poverty line. cost of living is going up wages are going down and government services are -- are -- weakened if not falling apart. >> reporter: and this attack on grain silos could worsen the malnutrition. they were a crucial store for wheat. forces loyal to the houthi rebels and the former president saleh, blame the saudi-lead coalition for the increasing death toll. but yemen was already one of the world's most improve riched nations before the fighting began, and as the attacks continue conditions for the civilian population are likely to get worse.

pakistan is saying that they want at least at the moment to stay neutral on yemen despite saudi arabia asking for warships and troops to support the coalition. let's hear from our correspondent in pakistan reporting now from the capitol islamabad. >> reporter: pakistan has said all along that it would take parliament into confidence and the people's representatives would then decide. after a debate they came to a conclusion that while there was no compromise on the defense and security of saudi arabia in the eventuality that her boundaries or territorial integrity were violated they would go to any level. however, they were against military intervention in yemen, saying this was a tribal war,

not a sectarian war and what was needed was proactive measures to bring everything to a settlement and arrange for a ceasefire. so they said they will stand shoulder to shoulder with the saudis if they were threatened however, pakistan will remain neutral as far as the conflict inside yemen. also in yemen a car bomb exploded outside of a security building in the center of the country. at least 20 people we understand have been killed in that. the residents saying dozens were wounded. al-qaeda saying it was behind what happened. ♪ pakistani court has freed on bail the man accused of plotting the 2008 assault on india's

financial capitol, mumbai. zaki ur rehman lakhvi is one of seven men facing trial over the attacks that lead to the deaths of 166 people. bail was granted in december but he has now been allowed to leave police custody, a decision that has angered india. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: he is a hated man in india, but when he shows up for report in pakistan his supporters follow. india believes zaki ur rehman lakhvi planned the mumbai siege. his trial has dragged on for years infuriating india. >> translator: we are very disappointed by what pakistan has done with lakhvi. india wants to improve its relationship with pakistan but the recent development is very unfortunately. six years on from the siege it continues to haunt mumbai a group of men arrive in the city

by boat over the course of 60 hours, they attacked luxury hotels a jewish center and a railway station. nine of the ten attackers were subsequently killed. india believes it was lakhvi and his armed group that orchestrated and trained the gunmen. but according to his lawyer there's not enough evidence which is why he's now on bail. much of the case is based on the confession of the one attacker who survived. india executed him two years ago. the attack is a sensitive issue between the neighbors, who historically have had a difficult relationship. a handshake last year between the prime ministers was thought to be a defining positive moment, but the decision to release lakhvi on bail could be a setback. france has agreed to sell

fighter jets to india. the deal was instruct after modi met with hollande in paris. modi says negotiations for the purchase of more planes still going on. the leaders of the united states and cuba will share the same stage on friday as the countries try to put behind them 50 years of mistrust. barack obama, raul castro expected to meet one another at the summit of the americas in panama city. obama signalling that he could remove cuba from the state-sponsor state-sponsor terrorist supporters list. is it fair to say, lucia that

the change in the relationship between the united states and cuba won't just affect those two countries, but a great deal more of latin america? >> reporter: you are absolutely right, david. i think it's impossible to understate. the united states had becomest stranged from the whole region in part because the united states insistence in isolating cuba. the other nations had been insisting that cuba be allowed to come to this meeting, and it is believed that this will help to improve relations between the united states and all of latin america and the caribbean, not just with cuba at a time when china is making extremely important inroads into this region. pledging economic investments in this area so president obama wants to make his mark here. being here now, being here with castro is part of that i think,

david. >> when we talk about it being removed from the list of state-sponsored terrorism, we're talking about support perhaps to the [ inaudible ] in angola. what would this mean to cuba if it were stuck off of this list? >> reporter: yes, you are absolutely right, this goes back two decades, but it did allow the united states to really really turn the screws on cuba economically, and make it more difficult for any government or -- any u.s. bank for example to function in cuba. it doesn't allow the cubans to have a bank account in washington for example, and that's one of the reasons why raul castro was insisting they must be remove from that list. >> we will talk about other

matters coming up at the summit but let's stick with cuba. more than 20 years ago, long time in the past cuba has been -- well under raul castro normalizing its way of life for years now. why why has it taken this long to get to this stage? >> reporter: i think it's taken this long because finally now both countries need each other. they both have something to gain. under fidel castro there was a tremendous fear that getting closer to the united states would dilute would sabotage their communist system. raul castro on the other hand believes he can have a friendly economic relationship with the united states without threatening their communism. while the united states needs to have friendlier relations with cuba in order to have better

relations with the entire region. 40% of the world's gdp is gathered here under the leaders that will be here in panama. >> thank you very much lucia newman there in panama city. >> thank you. coming up gunning for victory, while u.s. participant presidential hopefuls have the national rifle association annual convention in their sites. and cricket saying good-bye to the legendary richie benoit. ♪ and under eighteen >> you have kids here who've killed someone. >> award winning journalist soledad o'brien takes us inside the violent world of kids behind bars... will a new experimental program be their last chance? >> i have to do my 100% best so i don't end up in a place like this again.. >> al jazeera america

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>> global headlines for you, planes which have been carrying medical aid have now landed in yemen. the first time they have been able to do so since air strikes began 16 days ago. the saudi-lead coalition keeping up the air strikes. the man accused of plotting the 2008 attacks in mumbai has been given bail by a pakistani court. zaki ur rehman lakhvi is one of seven suspects connected to the attacks that lead to the deaths of 166. leaders of the united states and cuba are going to be sharing the same stage on friday. the countries trying to put behind them 50 years of mistrust. in iraq police say that 11 people have died in two bombings

in and around baghdad. a car bomb going off in the district of the capitol. another at restaurant in a town 30 kilometers north of baghdad. days of talks between syria's government and opposition figures have ended in moscow. no sign of an end to the break through that is over four years old now. 9 million people have been forced from their homes. rory challands reports. >> reporter: how many press conferences does it take to announce that very little has been agreed. with this russian hosted syrian talks the answer is three one from the opposition one from the mediator, and one from the representative sent by damascus. it was serous [ inaudible ] who put the best spin on things.

>> translator: our assessment of what happened is positive. we managed to find a common denominator and secure our common approach to a number of key issues. >> reporter: for the opposition troubled by its own internal disagreements was damming. >> he played with us talking about terrorism, and what can you do with terrorism, et cetera. this was very disappointing. >> reporter: the possibility of more negotiations in moscow or geneva switzerland was left hanging in the air. hopes of a significant break through was slim even before this started. it was the same in january. but the middle east is going through turbulent changes, changes that could already have being an effect on the balance of power. >> reporter: the dispute between

iran and the west worries syria. but the rise of the islamic state of iraq and the levant means syria's unyielding president is no longer the west's regional public enemy number one. this russian analyst thinks it's all playing very well for bashar al-assad and very badly for syria's opposition. >> iran could help syrian forces who are loyal to the bashar al-assad government to fight off these islamic militants. bashar al-assad is quite stable and he actually the president who can -- who is ready in my mind to deal with the opposition. >> reporter: the man who mediated four days of talks here think it's positive that the delegates didn't get into a fistfight. but in syria, the very real fighting drags on while all

around governments are reevaluating who they consider their friends and who they consider their enemies. the most powerful gun lobby in the united states is having its annual get together and some serious republican presidential hopefuls will be there, alongside more than 70,000 people expected to attend the convention. 550 vendors will be selling guns and access ryes. as we go to tom akerman in nashville, there are many republicans expected to at ten. do you have to be in favor of gun ownership to be a republican president, then? tom? tom? can you hear me? >> reporter: yes, i can. >> isle start again. i ran through the list of all of

the republican hopefuls for the presidential race who are going to be there making some sort of appearance. and i asked the question do you have to be openly in support of gun ownership to be a republican president of the u.s.? >> reporter: well it's not only that -- it's not only a requisite for the republican nominee but actually these people are here to tell the crowd here how -- just how vigilant they will be in not only upholding gun rights here but also preventing any kind of incursion of gun rights. the nra has long said the secret agenda of the obama administration was to take guns away from all americans. so with that in mine, these candidates are all saying don't worry about that because once i'm in the white house, there's no chance of that and in fact

what they are trying to do now is show how they are trying to outdo each other in making gun availability and -- and rights and use even more available than they are today. just to give you an example. kansas just this month became the [ inaudible ] state in the united states to allow anyone to openly carry a firearm in public without need for either training or a permit. so you can see they feel the momentum is running their way, and to stem that tide the democrats will have to carry -- will have to push in the opposite direction, and these people are there to hold back that tide. >> and take a look at the general social survey i have in front of me here. it shows gun ownership has been fall steadily for the last 45 years.

does the nra have anything to worry about here? >> reporter: well they say no. they say they have 5 million members. that's a loose count, because a lot of these people are really only interested in hunting, not necessarily protecting themselves with personal protection. but while you say gun ownership is up it's the number of guns in each given house that is up. the actual proportion of american households that have guns has been on a steady decline. so there's a disproportionate power that the nra members exercise exercisest -- especially at the polling places. the majority of americans feel having a gun in their home is actually safer than not having a

gun. >> a bad audio line. i did say gun ownership did appear to be going down. the growth of city centers in mumbai have lead to a rapid increase in consumption. >> reporter: there is no words that adequately describe the filth this man works in. for 25 years he has dug through this wasteland in search of recyclable items. he can earn up to $5 a day collecting plastic, but to do so, he says he needs to be drunk or high. >> translator: we have to use substance to work here and then we become addicted to them. when it gets hot and the sun hits the garbage the smell is

overwhelming. >> reporter: they tolerate these conditions in the hope of gaining a better opportunity. this man set up his own recycling business. he said this tin shed is a testament to his determination to live a better life. >> translator: my life has improved 90% since i left the dumping ground. i worked very hard there. i made sure that i even saved something from the little i earned so in the ten years since i stopped collecting garage i have progressed a lot. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands of people work and live near where mumbai dumps its garbage. this dumping ground is full of danger a place activists say is unfit for humans to live near let alone work in. rummaging for garbage is a job few choose to do but it is the only way to make money for some

of india's poorest people. groups trying to improve conditions here say the best way to change the community's fortunes is to invest in its young people. >> translator: we are working to ensure the children don't follow in their parents footsteps. our focus is educating them. >> reporter: with the little he has, he is trying to build a better and safer life for his family. his children are his best chance of leaving the dumping ground that has sustained and scarred him. and this he says is a chance worth fighting for. massive tornado has hit the u.s. state of illinois killing one person and injuring several. these pictures show the massive twister barrelling across an open field picking up everything in its way.

those in the u.s. midwest have been warned to stay on high alert and tornados also tore through parts of iowa and ohio. the world of cricket is in mourning for the legendary australian player and commentator richie benoit who buyed at the age of 84. andrew thomas looks back at the career of a man universally respected inside and outside of the game. >> reporter: to australians he was the sown of summer the voice of cricket. >> isn't that one of the most brilliant things you have seen? >> first of all they have got to find out if they are still there. yep, he's just checked. [ laughter ] >> reporter: his commentary accompanied hundreds of matches. the one constant whether australian teams won, lost or

drew. >> benoit in. >> reporter: in his day, richie benoit mostly won. he played 63 times for his country, took more than 200 test wickets, and scored more than 2,000 runs. as captain he never lost a series. >> first innings total of 242 not very good. >> reporter: but it was after he retired from playing the game that he went from sports star to legend as the king of cricket come tait -- commentator. district matches can be slow benoit was the master at filling the gaps. his voice was mellow measured and calm. >> it has been a privilege to go into everyone's living room out

there that time. >> reporter: benoit behind the microphone was for a long time essential to the game. >> richie benoit has been the voice of cricket. there would be very few australians who have not passed a summer in the company of richie benoit. he was the accompaniment of an australian summer. his voice was even more present than the chirping of thesy. benoit's long illness with skin cancer when he went public he implored young players to wear cream and a cap. but it was a car crash two years ago thaengded his media career. >> hi there, what a difference this makes to keep you in top form. >> reporter: richie benoit will be remembered as a great cricketer, and an even greater

commentator, the ambassador for the game who had the golden tones. >> when the australians came out to the field for that 45 minutes, it was a very nice and very memorable moment. and more on aljazeera.com. picking up the pieces residents are left to face the damage. running for president? the most an advertise fated announcement in politics. and new details from south carolina as we learn more about the white police officer who killed an african american man. ♪