>> a lands in yemen as the saudi led coalition intensifies air strikes against the houthis. hello and welcome to al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. i'm elizabeth perananem. also on the program. as cuba and united states try normalize their relationship.

a man is released on bail in pakistan. and infants living with the lingering effects of the chernobyl nuclear disaster. >> the saudi led coalition has stepped up its air strikes in an around yemen's capital sanaa. military installations are among the targets hit on saturday, the republican guard was also targeted. thousands of houthi supporters have taken to the street in sanaa, to condemn the air strikes acknowledge remaining steadfast despite the aerial assault. medical supplies have beening able ting arrive for the first time since the campaign began.

erica wood hats more. >> more thanone of two planes that landed in the yemeni capital today carrying nufers medicine and you enough medical and surgical assistance. >> we expect to land another plane tomorrow hopefully. >> late on thursday a medical team and supplies arrived in the port city of 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 situation in yemen is getting worse 50 hour. conflict is now affecting 15 of

the 22 governments in the country. the situation is dire if not catastrophic. >> are concerns now with the long lasting humanitarian toll on the population. >> we expect in the coming weeks there to be an upsurge in malnutrition across the country whether areas of could been flict or not. situation is people's revenues are going down, cost of living going up and government services weakened if not falling apart. >> and this attack on grain silos thursday night near aden could worsen the malnutrition. they were a critical supply for wheat.

former presidents ali abdullah saleh blame the rng fighting acknowledge and as the attacks continue conditions for the civilian population are likely to get worse. erica woods, al jazeera. >> meanwhile u.n. ambassador says draft resolution, imposing imposing aassetimposingasset freezes. yemen's neighbors would be asked to inspect cargo headed to the country. let's move on, the u.s. president barack obama has

shaken hands with raul castro. these leaders are expected to hold aprivate meeting at the summit of the americas on saturday. our dploik diplomatic editor james bays has the story. >> government of raul castro four months ago. a slefnl camera caught the moment the two men chatted briefly and shook hands but just a matter of hours they're expected to have a proarn discussion. a proper discussion first time since fidel castro became president of the country in 1959. the u.s. is keen to portray this summit as a historic change in

relations for both countries. but there is one very significant cloud on the horizon. these protesters are angry about an scuff order by president obama a month ago placing sanctions on senior venezuelan officials and placing owner curbs on the deposit of the president. >> will speak about justice and how to reach justice. the united states has to ask for pardons for the invasion of 1989. >> many side events in panama city, it's clear the leftist tradition of being latin america politics are still alive.

ivo morales. >> now that they can't dominate us with military dictatorships many what do they do quj are try to drown the antiimperial ink governments and when they don't that, they try to divide us. >> clearly some countries in the area are very wary of the united states. but it will are a historic moment and if expected, the u.s. rooives cuba from the list of state sponsoring terrorism, it will be a true james bays. al jazeera. >> one of seven men facing trial or the attacks that killed 166 people bail was granted in december but he's now been allowed to leave police custody.

is. >> he's a hated man in yifned but when he shows up for court in pakistan his supportsers follow. indians believer zachia planned the attack on mum bee. >> we are very disappointed by what pakistan has done, india wants friendly relations. >> six years on from the siege it continues to haunt mumbai. a group of men arrived tonight in the city by boat, over the course of 60 hours they attacked luxury hotels, a jewish station jewish

location and a railway station. not enough evidence why he is on bail most of the case is based on the confession of the one attacker who survived. india executed him two years ago. the two nations have historically had a difficult relationship. the handshake between two prime ministers last year was thought to be a defining positive moment but the decision to release lakve could prove to be a difficult moment. al jazeera. finally struck a deal over the sale of dozens of fighter jets between being india and france. phil lavelle reports. >> narendra modi is more than just a special guest is he he is a

just agreed to buy 36 fighter planes but a disappointment for some because france wanted them to take about 120. but they will be talking about more. >> translator: keeping in mind the critical necessity for fightser jets in india. i've spoken to the presidents acknowledge the purchase of 36 rafal jets in flight worthy condition. >> case in point money how much does a fighter jet really cost? or a bunch of them? even between friends quj france won a contract worth up to $23

billion. to supply wurchg 26 rafel combat jets. the deal hit a snag when neither side could agree on pricing. there's been a resurgence of of forge purchasing in recent years. egypt for example ordered aircraft in a $5.5 billion deal last february. since its went into service in 2001. france has already shown the world what these jets can do. most recently using them to fight i.s.i.l. it needs these deals to keep competition at bay. >> we have strong competitors particularly in the west and those competitors could be pleeft if the is rafal not so, and then the french aerospace

industry could collapse in the way. so it will make some big countries in the west having the monopoly ever selling a craft selling weapons. >> this is largely to do with national identity. remember, france did not go in with much of the rest of europe on its fighter plane projects. it chose to go it alone, with the old friends but now it is the newer fleandz it really needsfriends it needs tokeep on its side for the long term. phil lafl, paris. >> lots to come on the programming. city of ramadi from i.s.i.l. >> i'm veronica pedrosa.

pedrosa. 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 presents... kids behind bars: a soledad o'brien special report only on al jazeera america

>> my mom is the one that did the heimlich maneuver on my grand ma. he had no idea what was going on. i was really scared and so i'm really glad she survived it.

issues, and new understanding of our changing world. >> it's the very beginning >> this was a storm of the decade >>...hurricane... >> we can save species... >> our special month long focus, fragile planet >> good to have you with us, these are the top stories on al jazeera. the saudi led coalition has stepped units strikes in and around the capital sanaa. the republican guard was also targeted. the american president barack obama has shaken hands with raul castro. the first show of diplomatic

relations between the two countries. and india haws has protested a pakistani decision to allow a prisoner on bail. at least 43 iraqi security forces have been killed during fighting with i.s.i.l. in anbar province. >> struggling to defend ramadi. comes days after the military supported by thousands of shia militia took control of tikrit. a sunni muslim from that city, guide the military saying it's safe for him to return home.

>> i can't go back to tikrit because of what we saw the shia militia do, the destruction done in tikrit. they entered the houses, after they looted them they burned them pretending that i.s.i.l. did it. >> with the help of 20,000 shia militia fighters, it is this group that some sunni residents accuse of burning homes looting and ransacking government buildings. many sunni muslims from tikrit fled with their families to erbil in the northern kurdish section of iraq. >> we don't know exactly what's happening there but we see on television that the shia militia has a negative impact. the family is not involved in any party we hesitate to go back. >> iraq's prime minister haider al-abadi congratulated them for their victory over i.s.i.l in

tikrit. the military says it will continue working with the shia militia, wants to build on the victory and push into other i.s.i.l. controlled areas of you anbaranbar province. >> no sign of a break through to end a four year conflict, fighting there has now killed over 200,000 people, 9 million more have been forced there their homes. from the russian capital rory challands reports. >> with the russian hosted into syrian talks the answer is three, one from the opposition, one from the mediator and one from the representative sent by

damascus. it was syria's top u.n. diplomat who put the best spin on things. >> the second meeting is positive. we managed to find a common denominator and secure our common approach to a number of key issues. >> reporter: but the opposition troubled by its own internal disagreements was damning. >> he talked about terrorism and what can you do with terrorism and et cetera. this was very disappointing. diswrr the possibilities >> reporter: the possibilities of more negotiations in moscow or geneva was disappointing. ends of january, middle east is currently going through tush lents changes changesturbulent changes.

the detenente in northern syria and iraq means syria's unyielding president is no longer the west answer milk enemy number 1. it is all playing very well for bashar al-assad and very badly for syria's opposition. >> iran could help syrian forces who are loyal to bashar al-assad government to fight off this islamic mill tans. militants. one thing is sure that bashar al-assad is quite stable and he is actually the president who can -- who is ready to my mind to deal with opposition. >> reporter: the man who mediated four days of talks here thinks it's positive that the

delegates didn't get into a fist fight. but in syria the real fighting drags on while all around governments are reevaluating who they consider their friends and who they consider their enemies. rory challands, al jazeera moscow. >> at least three people have been killed by a car bomb acknowledge the taliban has claimed responsibility. now thousands of children are born with congenital heart defects every year in ukraine. the problem is four times worse now than before the accident at the chernobyl nuclear accidents. andrew simmons reports. >> clinging on to life.

his heart has been stopped a machine takes over. the doctor leads what has been called the chernobyl hard team. most of the problems he sees, relates to the nuclear accident. >> this baby was so big and so change high probability could be related to the chernobyl disaster. after all this intense intricate surgery the tiny heart is beating again, there is every chance this baby will survive. half an hour later the mood is positive. >> blood pressure is 96 over 52. we have a good heart right normal ee gmpt so we are ee gmplets so we eeg so we are happy.

>> poorly queapt equipped health service. he reassures the mother, you can touch him he will feel you. >> a very big thanks othose who did the operation they have golden hands. >> reporter: they may have golden hands but most of the funding for training and equipment has come from overseas. a charity in ireland has been at the forefront of the effort. foreign surgeons are also flown in for more complex operations. but that may not be enough now. ukraine's government is making more budget cuts. >> we may start to lose kids simply you know we'll not be able to provide surgeries. lifesaving surgeries.

>> as this baby waits in line for the next surgery the lifesaving work may be reduced or even come to an end. andrew simmons, al jazeera char kharkiv, ukraine. scheme involved at least $800 million in bribes and other illegal funds. now last month thousands of thai workers were found stranded on remote indonesian islands. been hired in the luke ra tifer fishingluke ralucrativefishing industry.

be veronica pedrosa reports. >> a few of the survivors make it back to thailand pray with the monks they asked we not show their faces. their families have been threaten wednesday violence for telling their stories. as many as 4,000 men working on thai fishing boats are stranded on remote indonesian islands. the priority now is to get the men home safely but they need help from the government. >> the government is too worried about the export sector and the internationalling trafficking report they are more worried about that than solving the problem. >> thailand is the world's largest exporter of fishing and fishing products, the international labor organization

estimate 17% of the workers in the sector are subject to slaver labor. many trafficking victims say they are recruited and sold on to fishing captains. often where seafood is brought to be distributed nationally and globally. for years cases have emenched emerged that expose the issue. >> it's knot just announcing but we've put it into action in legislation, setting the rules and regulations and even check checking the boats. >> even though they're free, workers are haunted by their experiences, this worker says he was trapped for 13 years on boats and indonesian islands. >> jn what toi don't know what to

do next, waiting for the employers to pay us, i wants the government to help. >> let alone with those still stranded in indonesia or trapped in the systematic abuse veronica pedrosa, al jazeera thailand. >> many ruin their health because they dig through garbage to find something to recycle. liddy dutt reports from mumbai. >> there is no words adequately to describe the filth that this man works in. he can earn up to $five day collectingcollecting plastic but to do so he says he needs to be drunk or high. >> we have to use substance to work here, then we get addicted

to them. when it gets holt, the smell gets intolerable. >> he endured these conditions in the hope of getting a better opportunities. he set up his own recycling business this tin shed is an example of his determination to make a better life. >> 18 hours a day pick being through dparnlg. in thegarbage. in the ten years since i pick garbage, i have gotten a lot. >> this dumping ground is full of danger. a pleas activists say is unfit

to have humans live near, let alone rummaging in. it is the only way to make money for some of india's poorest people. because of the stigma attached to this kind of work in india many who do it ream trapped in poverty. snrefg its young people. >> we are working to ensure the people of rag pickers don't follow in their parents footsteps. our focus is educating them and giving them the opportunity to do something else. >> with the limb he has he's trying to build a safer and better life for his family. his children are the best chance of him leaving the area, worth living for. liddy dutt, al jazeera mumbai. >> nasa has just released a

series of pictures of space walks acknowledge astronauts installed new communication devices and fixed the robotic arm. changes will are made so the station can dock add the i iss. ss. >> there are new accusations that a texas man executed for killing his own kids may have been innocent. tonight an exclusive al jazeera interview reveals the testimony that turned out to be a lie. >> everybody says i'm a snitch. i didn't snitch on anybody. straight up like john jackson told me to. >> plus kids behind bars soledad o'brien goes into a juvenile detention cen