>> welcome to al jazeera. state elections get under ain nigeria, but it is fraught with problems. it is just a handshake the u.s. and cuba take a step towards ending a decades' long risk. >> coming up, we'll tell you why many indians prefer traditional books over e books.

>> first to yemen. the saudi-led coalition stepped up airstrikes in and around the capital of sanaa. the recent targets are military installations. >> there has been no let up in the fighting the war in yemen is in 917th day. witnesses speak of street battles between supporters of abd rabbuh mansur hadi and houthi fighters. the houthis are the target of an intense aerial bombing campaign by the saudi-led coalition. airstrikes hit a camp. these pictures show a bombing in

aden that was being used as an houthi ammunition store. >> the houthies reportedly have presence in over half of yemen's 22 provinces. they also have a firm grip on the capital where thousands of people turned up in this march for support. >> we, the yemeni people came to take part to refuse that brutal act of aggression on the people of yemen. the people of yemen are peaceful and the attacks are considered these to be an autopsy of our land. >> concern is growing about the humanitarian basket of this war. two planes carrying international aid have arrived

bringing enough surgical and medical people to treat 1,000 people. >> these >> they're trying to help president hadi return to the country, but not all of the kingdom backs the military campaign. al jazeera. >> to nigeria now where there are widespread of reports of voter irregularities. people are casting ballots for local politicians.

people will choose 29 state governors and local poise for 36 states. they wield' another must power and influence. they have almost unfettered access to the treasury and there is a battle of control for two key states. lagos, estimated to have a gdp of 41 opinionated $41 million. police fired ammunition into the crowd who were angry because voting materials had not arrived. >> following the earlier incident of police shooting we now understand that there is violence and some election

irregularities taking place in quite a number of polling areas and polling stations. in some areas electoral materials had failed to arrive. you have staff sitting there with no materials with which to conduct any sort of election. we're told in some areas armed men have showed up and snatched ballot box and ballot papers and other electoral materials. it is causing fare. in some areas things are going relatively well and peacefully like where i am. people have been accreditedtied to take part in the election. they're just waiting for the materials to arrive for them to cast their ballots. there is fear about insecurity. a curfew has been put in place and there is a restriction on local movement. >> let's take a look at what is

happening in nigeria's north. how is it playing out there? >> well, jane, so far so good. things have been quiet here except for a few incidents. disagreement between voters and election officials that has been sorted out. we're also hearing about elections happening. there has been violence yesterday and spilling over into today, but it has been going peacefully. without major incident so far. >> a lot of people clearly have turned up, but i'm hearing about voter apathy, what's that about? >> absolutely. there's been some kind of voter

apathy going on here in the north of the country. i think the euphoria from elections two weeks ago has begun to quiet down. now when it comes to local elections the people are not as eager as they seem to be. when members of the elections happened some two weeks ago. less than half of the voting population has turned up to acredit themselves. >> thank you for that. now the u.n. commission for palestinian refugees is on his way to syria. he will go to yarmouk. untilhis visit comes to the

concerns of the protection of 18,000 palestinians southbound syrians including 3500 children. asgovernment forces are targeting yarmouk and neighboring areas in damascus. appears to show aftermath of the shelling that over took much of the camp last week. u.s. president barack obama has shaken hands with the u.s. president raul castro. late on saturday. two leaders are expected to hold a private meeting at the summit of the america's meeting in panama. james bays is in panama city. >> arriving for a summit, which he hopes can change for his country's relations with its

neighbors. president obama started a process of normalization with the government of raul castro four months ago. a cell phone camera caught for the moment where the two men shook hands. in a matter of hours they're expected to have a proper discussion. the first time that's happened between leaders of the two countries since president castro castro's brother fidel became president in 19. >> all right we hope it will create an environment that improves the lives of the cuban people. >> the u.s. is keen to portray this summit as a historic change in its relations with the entire region but there is one very significant cloud on the horizon. these protesters are angry about an executive order by president obama a month ago places sanctions on senior venezuelan officials and condemning the

government of president nicolás maduro. he made a point of visiting a place where civilians were killed during the u.s. invasion of panama more than a quarter of a century ago. >> i will speak about justice and how to reach justice. the united states has to ask for forgiveness from panama and latin america for the invasion of 1989. >> he's not the only critic of obama. many side events here in panama city it's clear that the leftest tradition of latin america politics is still alive. these comments from bolivian president evo morales. >> now that they can't dominate us with military dictatorships what do they do? economic aggressions trying to drown the anti-imperialistic governments, and when they can't

do that they try to divide us. >> if the meeting between president obama and president castro goes ahead it will be an historic moment. and if the supportive removes cuba from the state list of terrorism, then it will be a change. >> still more to come. the hometown within sight but overreach. we meet georgians displaced by fighting with russia. >> i'm he a near bangkok thailand at the hub of the fishery industry, which is once again under the spotlight for human trafficking and slave labor despite government promises.

>> hello again. the top stories on al jazeera. the saudi-led coalition has stepped up airstrikes. military installations including an arms depo, were among the target hit on friday. 17 days since operations against houthi rebels began. the commissioner for palestinian refugees will go to syria. he'll go to yarmouk near damascus. fighters from isil overran much of the camp last week. in nigeria people are voting for 29 state governors and other state representatives. the ballots are being watched

closely to see if president buhari's party will consolidate. he defeated goodluck jonathan two weeks ago. =fplt we go to a former adviser to the last three yemeni advisers. he said there is a risk of a much wider conflict. >> we heard that there are talks between the gcc countries and the russians. the russians would use the veto, they might abstain towards the resolution. but i think again the returns are very much should be in cooperation with the word. the situation is getting quite grave, and we might might be headed to international law if the russians do in the take care of the situation of peace and stability of this very important area. especially in aden, this aid has not--it has not yet reached the

people. we've heard that the ships have arrived. now we're hearing some of the shipment by the has not been distributed. >> the spirit leader of the muslim brotherhood was sentenced to death. 13 other senior members of the group have been given the same sentence. the egyptian court loss also has sentenced others to life in

jail. isil fighters are continuing to attack areas in anbar province. there are claims that the iraqi army is deny. >> the islamic state in iraq and the levant trying to push fighters back. this is the town near the capital. police reinforcements from the air base has been deployed to this area. dozens have been killed in the attacks, and soldiers say they have been able to hold back isil also known by it's a arabic acronym daesh. >> they attacked the center of the city, but they will not enter as long as we are standing and fighting them.

>> isil is using social media to face fighters. it also said that it's suicide attackers hit forces in multiple areas and captured vehicles and equipment abandoned by the fleeing soldiers. iraqi forces launched an offensive towards the east of ramadi. isil traps and snipers making it hard to move forward. >> we made very close progress, we cleared a number of houses around 30 to 40 houses and we killed a sniper from daesh. after victories in other areas daesh started to flee from us to other areas. >> iraqi troops took care of the province last week. and the iraqi government said it's planning a similar operation in anbar province, most of it is under isil

control. human rights groups have accused shia militias of using brutal tactics in sunni areas. many are afraid of revenge attacks by shia fighters. hundreds of families are said to have fled from the fighting. as the fighting intensifies iraqi civilians are in fear. >> government officials believed that this kamal allam was dead. they're asking to stop sending forces to sinai. five hundred men were rescued from a remote indonesian

island from abuse and mistreatment are side to be rife. we went to areas near bangkok where some of those workers are attempt to go rebuild their lives. >> after buddhist ceremony hundreds those who died at sea are mourned. a few of the survivors come back to thailand pray for the monks. they ask that we don't show their faces because works have been threatened with violence if they tell their story. 4,000 men working odd thai fishing boats are stranded on entiren island. they say the priority now is to get the men home safely, but they need help from the government. >> the government is too worried about its expert sector.

they're more worried about their image than solving the problem. >> thailand is the world's third exporter of fishery product. it is worth $8.8 billion in in 2012. but it's estimated that 17% of workers in the sector are subjected to force labor. this is the hub of the fishing ministry in tie lapped. this is where many trafficking victims say they're recruited and then sold off to boaters. for years cases of emerged that exposed labor abuse in thailand's fishing industry. >> we announced it in the beginning, it's not just announcing. we put it in to action in legislation setting the rules and regulation and checking the boats. >> even though they're now free,

workers who have been rescued are haunted by their experiences. this worker says he was trapped for 1231 years on boats and on indonesian islands. >> i don't know what to do next. i have to wait for compensation from the employers. during the period of waiting it could be two to three months so i want the government to help us. >> the future looks uncertain for workers like these who have been rescued let alone those still stranded in indonesia or trapped in systemic abuse. al jazeera bangkok thailand. >> six people have been injured in an explosion in an underground car parked in a shopping mall in thailand. shoppers on the popularturist islands are running in panic. the police don't know what caused the explosion. in south korea people are protesting over last year's

ferry disaster. victims have accused the government of holding up the investigation into the accident and want an independent investigation. over 300 people died when the ferry capsized off the southern coast. russia has been carrying out military drills near the ukrainian border. dozens of helicopters and airplane pilots participated in the operation in the south. the russian president vladimir putin has promised to spend more than $140 billion u.s. dollars to overall the country's fighting forces. now moscow signed an integration treaty with the self declared internationally recognized as belonging to georgia. it was bad news for the tens of thousands of georgians displaced in the territory. without decent housing or opportunities their futures look bleak. >> she's been washing her family's clothes the same way for the past 24 years.

sharing a stone pipe with the neighbors for people displaced by conflict between georgia and nearby areas. she remembers it look like yesterday. >> the 17th of march is the 1991 i thought at some point i would return. but i'm still here. >> her son says they've had more than enough time to turn their lives around, but he's out of work and the house is falling apart. >> nothing has been done here. >> the family are among 260,000 displaced people. idps, from conflict in the 90 eighths90 eighth '90s, and two-thirds are still without decent housing.

the government is trying to help with new hopes. georgia's idps now make up 70% of the population. the numbers keep on rising as families have more children. they're going to have to build a lot more homes like this, but also provide opportunities jobs in a country already crippled by high unemployment. officials say that they need to find $1 billion. but can no longer rely on international aid. >> there is ukraine what is happening in syria and iraq. of course, we understand it. the problem in these regions are much more serious now than georgia. because we understand it, there is still need of sport. >> he shows his son david where he should have been board.

his hometown is in sight but out of reach in russian-controlled territory. >> i do not think returning there is possible. at least while i'm alive. no going back to the way things were. only hoping that his son might have a different future. >> ten police officers in california have been suspended after footage emerged which appears to show them beating a subject who had already surrendered. in a clip the officers can be seen hitting the man for around a minute after he was subdued with a taser. the sheriff of the county described the officers' actions as excessive. >> i'm asking for patience while we a thorough investigation. i am troubled by what we see in the video. it's not in line to our policies and procedures.

i ask that you allow us to conduct that investigation. and i assure you if there is criminal wrongdoing on the part of any of our sheriffs or policies violations we'll take action. e books is becoming popular in many countries but in india it's the paper version that are more popular. e books account for 1% of total book sales. >> the latest e-readers on display at this book fair in new delhi, e-books are the future. >> basically i find this convenient. whenever you would like to read anything you can do that, and you don't have to carry heavyweight with you. >> but kumar's opinion appears to be in the minority. that's because most people here of all ages still prefer traditional books. a preference shared across india. books are popular here and they

sell everywhere. while e-books are not prepared, book sellers are bracing for new technology. books are being shipped to new places thanks to online sales. before people would have to wait weeks or months for their books to arrive. >> they get payment middle east. that's how it's done. >> the magic that can has increased book sales while e-books continue to fall behind. e-books sell in india but it's no match for books that are realtively cheap. >> economic growth has meant more people can afford books which is why sales are up. others say books are simply part of the culture.

>> in india the book is an object and it is considered sacred. >> he said he and his fellow writers also prefer traditional books, but they say the debate over e-books may not be necessary because the basics of writing and reading remain the same. >> anguish of writing has not changed. the joy of reading has not change: all that has changed is the way the book is delivered from author to reader, and that will keep changing. >> no one is sure if the younger generation will shift their loyalty to e-books or not but for now for most people in india nothing beats a book. al jazeera, new delhi. >> we want to show you some pretty special home video. this was shot by astronauts living on board the international space station. incredible pictures taken by a go-pro camera to report their

spacewalks. they've now completed two walks to prepare the iss for the first commercial spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts. you can probably read up about that story and so many more by logging on to our website on www.aljazeera.com. hi, i am lisa flesher and you are in the stream. nonprofit hospitals are supposed to take care of people regardless of their ability to pay. why then are some suing patients for millions. and the is i.r.s. doing enough to stop it? could this be the beginning of the end for the cable television industry, a new internet t.v. services are capturing consumers.