harris, news continues next live from london. >> thz al jazeera. this is al jazeera. >> hello i'm lauren taylor. this is the newshour live from london. coming up. keeping up the pressure, saudi gun batteries pound houthi positions from across the border. sudan's president casts his vote in an election boycotted by the main opposition parties. the nobel prize winning author

gunter gras dies. >> near miss with a high speed train. >> first to yemen where the saudi led coalition has been intensifying its strikes. to aden. where houthi troops are advancing. including the presidential palace which is in houthi hands. shebwa heavy fighting there. concern about houthi advance into southern areas that's because of their proximity to the red sea and the gulf of aden. saudi arabia says it's turning up the pressure on the houthis with air strikes hitting on the capacity to wage war.

>> air strikes were 120 yesterday. all the fronts have been busy. we're targeting all the infrastructure of the houthis targeting their gatherings gatherings and command centers. >> from inside saudi arabia too jizon province, liddy dutt has more. >> on the ground, fighting between houthis and tribes men continues in the port city of aden. and from the air saudi led coalitions now target points held by houthis. and the presidential province. local tribes have captured three military camps from forces loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh. >> translator: the shebwa

forces control for almost four days. >> reporter: there are growing concerns about the impact the fighting is having on millions of yemenis who even before this conflict were among some of the world's poorest people. the aid agency, doctors without borders say they are starting to distribute aid in sa florida. >> what is now an cute crisis that doesan acute crisisthat does not develop into a chronic one. fifth year of not only fighting but killing including killing civilians. now i think there is still a window of opportunity when fighting and killing in yemen

could be stopped. >> reporter: saudi led air strikes to defeat hughts and houthis and the former president ali abdullah saleh these are the latest signs that it may be some time yet before the intended effect of the air strikes is felt. liddy dutt, al jazeera. abdel ashraf is a fellow at the institute air strikes alone won't entirely attain the saudi aims. >> it is a very confused situation on the grounds. some of these people are fighting for survival, for their own ground. it is not a two-horserace here. it is not the houthis versus the

rest. there are extremists, there are i.s.i.s, or i.s. forces, there are al qaeda forces. and there are others who are just fighting to survive. al qaeda draws its members from various tribes. usually people who are disaffected by tribe, from the tribe. but there are some tribes who support al qaeda sometimes because they believe in al qaeda, sometimes because it is the best option for them, given the other options that they've been arranged against. so yes there will be al qaeda connections with these tribes but it's again unclear to what extent these people are closely affiliated. the situation is very confused, not just for us observers but also for as far as we can tell on the ground itself. and it would remain that way until we get ground forces in. now, this is the problem that the saudi coalition is facing.

they want to avoid ground forces but they can't really make any meaningful change on the ground using air power alone. that is a lesson that the west i think has learned in just the last decade. and i'm afraid the middle eastern forces the saudi forces are only just beginning to confront those difficult choice choices. >> at least ten have been killed in a car bomb in the iraqi capital baghdad. another 28 people were also wounded in the blast. meanwhile, sunni muslims living in the iraqi province of dialla anwar saleh has more. >> this family lives in a camp

on the outskirts of the city ofofbaquoba. they are sunni and they say they are scared to return. >> we are afraid of the militias. we are afraid they might kill us and our families. >> translator: we don't have weapons to defend ourselves if those militias would storm our home we would be dead. just like the victims of the massacres. >> reporter: started a campaign to recapture and clear diyala from i.s.i.l. diyala province is on the border with iran and its influence the evident. this border crossing was closed for 30 years. now, it's wide open.

the popular mobilization force and shia militias are the real power here. analysts feel the victory other i.s.i.l. may have strengthened the shia forces. >> this phenomenon is disintegrating the social fabric of diyala and tearing poorlt apart the iraqi people. >> fighters are only defending their country. he denies any wrongdoing. >> the talk about changing the demography is not true. the sunni politicians are accusing us of doing is changing the reputation of the fighters.

>> the fight is not over and there are growing fears of more reprisal attacks. >> prime minister took over the popular mobilization force to curb he said the criminal activities of a few members. but he also warned against demonizing this force which is now the main rm power over i.s.i.l. omar saleh baghdad. at the time they were all employees of the anymore black water and were providing security for state department officials in iraq. one man faces a life sentence after being found glif first degree murder. others face many f decades of imprisonment.

shihab brittanzi joins us. >> the prosecution arguing for very severe terms. the judge has indicated he will stick to the guidelines, the mandatory sentencing guidelines that he has. so that would be as you suggested, 30 years minimum for use of a machine gun in a crime. three of these people face. they also face, the fourth faces life in prison, for murder. many ways began this entire incident, in 2007 this heavily armored blackwater convoy approached this square in baghdad, they were trying to get control of this traffic junction. a small white car a kia approached the convoy, didn't stop in time apparently in the judgment of the sniper, opened

fire, he killed the occupants of the car a medical student and his mother and then that car was blown up. in the meantime, the other members of the armored convoy opened fire with machine guns, with grend grenade launchers. some 20 people were injured. that's what happened. now the judge found them guilty of various crimes, last october and now we await the sentencing which could come in the next few hours or it could be a bit longer. >> why has it table so long to get to this point? >> there are so many issues involved in this case. first of all at the time when the immediate aftermath the state department completely bungled this investigation. offered them immunity for this, which they didn't have the power to do. then on sunday the new york

times published the report showing they were bush era employees who were reluctant to proceed with the harshest charges against these men. but also just generally the murkiness over who has jurisdiction over private security contractors. under what framework of laws are these men being prosecuted? in fact those are the sort of questions which are likely to lead to an appeal by these four men if once the sentencing occurred today. >> okay, shihabbury tan shihab britainzi. thank you. one year on from the kidnapping of over 200 school girls by boko haram what the new government can do to bring them home. and paris prepares for an olympic task ahead as they approve a bid for the 2024

games. tell you who they might be going up against in sport. >> voters in sudan say the vote isn't free or fair. the election is expected to see president omar bashir hold on to the post for another five year term. haru mutasa has the story. >> this is what it looked like, electoral clerks had little to do other than just wait. the highlight of this polling station was the arrival of omar al bashir. >> i believe it's very important to vote. it unifies people and help stabilize the country. >> reporter: others would

argue it is too early to gauge voter tush ownerout. there are three days of voting and they say khartoum doesn't represent the country. >> most who are voting are the elderly. we haven't he seen many young voters. the reason why they are not voting is because they feel their vote will not make a difference. the main opposition parties just like in 2010 have boycotted the election and telling people not to vote. mary ann's party is not participating. >> it is not an election at all if you insist to call it elections will be forced elections. >> a journalist has been arrested and detained several times. did not vote in 2010 and not voting now. he says a national dialogue needs to be held but the government led by the national congress party also improved democracy and allowed freedom of speech. >> there is not any positive

sign that something new would come after election. there is no indicate of new thinking or political reform or economic reform. but in sudan now we know there is no power to the ncb, there is no power to any other institution, in the president of the president himself so if you want to take the position, he can take it. >> some of the people boycotting the election say they do not want to legitimize it by participating. many western countries have not sent observer teams. but dozens of other parties roning against bashir but they are little known and many are saying no threat to the president. catherine soy, al jazeera khartoum. >> a group opposed to the government ever omar al bashir. can you tell us why your

organization decided not to take place in the elections? >> this is an election of the president which is clearly built on ethnic cleansing and the election means that security of the people for example in darfur people are killed and raped and driven from their land and put in concentration camp with media repressions and no food nor assistance, no medical assistance, no care, no water they are just like stones, those people killed and driven from their home. now, the land does not balooning to the indigenous and the indigenous are not in their land. the pleks mean election means people

in the a ground that to vote for parliament or for presidential. >> okay. sorry so interrupt you but -- could i interrupt you sir i just wanted to ask what do the people who live there if they disagree with the current government what options do they have other than to vote in the system that's there and don't you just hand victory to omar bashir by boycotting the whole system? >> that is exactly what they are doing, we campaign a campaign for bashir, millions of people in darfur and in sudan slm call all opposers, to sudanese political party they have no future, no future to our country except to tend this regime and cause a liberal democracy

believe it should be separate from the state. the country recognize us. country respect us not assimilate us. country gives us our dignity humanity and citizenship rights. that is our decision our cause and definitely we will change this no doubts. >> thank you very much indeed. abdel rah rashid for your thoughts sir. 301 miners died last year at the turkish soma mine disaster. bernard smith has the story. >> they came to see the trial of 45 pees people accused of people who are accused.

eight former managers charged with murder. >> words are not enough to express our pain. i have another son he still works underground. every day he goes there and i wonder when the news will come. >> the disaster happened when a pit was engulfed by flames and carbon monoxide gas. some 800 miners were trapped. an investigation found a long list of faults little maintained gas masks. gave the mine an operating license, investigators officials are being investigated. >> direct intervention by government against justice. it means that the government avoid putting the officers on trial.

it means that they protect them. >> reporter: prosecutors are demanding 25-year jail sentences for every one of the 301 victims. a month after the soma disaster and turkish parliament pushed through legislation aimed at improving mine safety. so far this year more than 350 people have been killed according to turkey's turkey's council for worker safety. bernard smith, al jazeera istanbul. following a high profile campaign to bring people to trial. men were initially freed after cutting grass around the police station as punishment. that sparked international

condemnation and campaign for justice. on tuesday it will be a year since more than 200 school girls were abducted in northern nigeria by boko haram. despite a global campaign to free them, most are still missing. haru mutasa, reporting. >> this boy is three years old all he seems to understand is the girls were kidnapped a long time ago. they don't want the chibok girls forgotten. >> it's not okay, something terrible happened in nigeria and we in neurnlg should nigeria should yeunt. unite. >> a year ago, boko haram attacked a government school in chibok. every girl taken wanted to

achieve something in life, that's why they went to school. even though boko haram leaders forbid western education. the attack led to a global campaign to free the girls cmple with somehope the new administration will do more to find the girls. others are skeptical. >> the government is going to use the same army that the former government has used. and there are many saboteurs in the army. that sabotage this airport. >> reporter: a year is a long time. slowly reality is sinking in for some families. even if some of the girls are found alive their parents don't know what condition they will be in, how many of them are pregnant or how many already have children or how many are sick. president goodluck jonathan's

outgoing administration kept telling nigerians the girls will be rescued soon. but for fathers brothers and sisters, weeks turned into weeks, months, now 365 days. >> we're not hearing any case about them, since they have been kidnapped, you know. >> save our chibok girls! >> reporter: many in nigeria haven't given up hope of finding all of them alive and they're asking the world to keep up the pressure and not abandon the chibok school girls. haru mutasa, al jazeera nigeria. accused of falsifying test results to collect bonuses and help keep their jobs in the city of atlanta. another teacher that was convicted when she was pregnant, will be sentenced later.

andy gallagher how significant a problem is this? >> reporter: well, this is a huge problem. this is being called the largest cheating scandal of its kind in u.s. history just to put this into perspective 180 employees of the atlanta public school system were accused of cheating on these exams that involved 44 schools and something like 36 principals. we're here because ten teachers are facing sentences close to ten years. similar to racketeering charges. some are saying the punishment does not fit the crime. these goals which exist are not just in georgia but across the entirety united states.

during this investigation they say they had dinner parties where they erased the answers corrected them and went on with their business. we are calling on leniency for these teachers, but a parent who had five children in the public schools withdrew them, he said look, i've heard from character witnesses talking about how great these teachers are. but there is an undeniable fact here that the young african american males who dropped out of school because they didn't get the education needed, will eventually come before him and he will have to give them a mandatory ten year sentence. sentences. how they recover how they regain such respect because this was a huge scandal an

entiring generation of children in fact and that it will take a long time to recover. they have replaced the superintendent, the one 0 was accused of creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation with somebody new. but there was a great way to go before this public school system, could be sentenced up to 20 years. the supporters say that's too harsh, it doesn't acknowledge need -- it needs torecover and recover quickly. an antiislam rally in germany plus. political option is hurting the government's exports. >> and details coming up with

joe in sport. sport.

>> part of al jazeera america's >> special month long evironmental focus fragile planet

>> reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. saudi led planes are stepping up strikes on houthi targets in yemen. so close to the gulf of of aden a key shipping region for oil. responding to needs in the capital and elsewhere in the country. the first day of voting has ended in sudan an election that has been boycotted by many diplomatic parties. omar ba bashir is expected to be reelected. president vladimir putin signed an $800 million deal in 2007 but cancelled three years

later after the u.n. imposed sanctions on iran over its nuclear program the lifting of the ban could face challenges. rory chandler challands has the story. >> the agreement arrived with iran in lausanne, he said that russia is unwilling to carry on incurring the financial and reputational costs associated with it because iran has been pursuing russia through the courts over this. now what does this decision do? well, it does a number of things. one thing is that it smooths over those ruffled feathers with iran. it allows russia to carry on its good relations with iran. it also shows that russia is an

independent actor on the global stage, and likely to raise the blood pressure of policy makers in washington, d.c. the nobel prize winner gunter gras has passed away. simon mcgregor wood has the story. >> he was the german your who most boldly confrocted his country's nazi past while for many years covering up his own. gadansk both author and city was shaped by the trauma of shifting borders, another son of gadansk place tribute. >> he was a great intellectual

one has to say. are from birth and from choice we were both from g adansk. we were sure the younger generation learned lessons from the negative past. >> he was rewarded with the nobel prize for literate. he campaigned for disarmament and social change but was against german reunification. fiercely defended the author salman rushdie. but his role as the moral conscience of modern germany was critically damaged in 2006. in his autobiography peeling

the onion it brought condemnation of the writer who urged his countrymen to confront their past, while spending so many years hiding his own. it tarnished his literate and artistic career. simon mcgregor wood, al jazeera. to discuss further his legacy thamg of thank thank you for coming in. the tin drum, a lot of critics hated it but it became a best seller. what made it so enduring and made it such a big hit? >> it is a great work of the 20th century once he as a person and political activist will be long forgotten. >> what is about the writing? >> there is subtlety, double dexterity, word play, the use of

the german language in a way that hadn't been done that goes back to the likes of thom mann or alfred dubin. >> what about the subsequent novels they weren't so successful? >> they were successful and he always had a following in germany and he was always seen as an international writer. it is the novel for which he will be remembered. that's not to say the other novels aren't as good. >> the idea he was sort of a moral conscience, how much damage was that, when the faculty it came out he had been involved in the war c did that damage him? >> no i don't think so, i think the works will stand up, the works are important and that he was a political activist and part of the spd in germany and he wrote speeches for liefrand his works will stand up whereas

the political staff stuff won't. >> do you think that opened a conversation that was necessary at that point in germany and perhaps he hadn't done it sooner because he didn't feel it was relative to his work do you think? >> it wasn't relevant to his work and he had to contextualize his work. he was an important voice for germany and he spokes spoke of a new germany, yet at the same time look forward and have a discussion about things that could not hither to have. >> was it surprising for a man like him to be not in favor of unification, what was that about? >> i think one it was a generational thing and it was fair of what germany could become. we must remember he was not pro-conrad adenhauer when he came to power. he preferred the idea of a federal germany.

>> thank you very much indeed for your thoughts on the subject, thank you. now fighting has returned to eastern ukraine after more than a month of relative calm. the conflict between pro-russian separatists and government has killed almost 6,000 people. the ceasefire announced in february. officials are due to meet in berlin to discuss the ceasefire agreement. thousands of supporters of a march in germany, organized by the antiislamic pegida movement. recently supporters have dwindled. >> translator: if you love germany then raise the alarm. if you love your husband or wife you must raise the alarm. if you love your children, then raise the alarm. warn your neighbors colleagues or friends of the threat

islamization poses a threat to your country your children and your freedom. >> people shopping in hong kong will have to apply for a vee is visa. as liddy gopalan reports. >> baby foods snacks and hygiene products are cleared off the store shelves. almost every other retail outlet in this border town is a pharmacy catering to these shoppers who are called parallel traders. they buy and sell the goods for a profit. higher safety standards than those in the mainland. the new visa restrictions limiting the number of trips are meant to clamp down on the

trade. this pet shop has been changed. only a river divides hong kong and the river of shenzen. you can see it right behind me. six years ago the residents could be the only on mainland china, wanting to secure a free flow of business people and perhaps more integration ten the two sides. the government didn't anticipate the impact the shenzen people would have. pushing up rents causing traffic congestion and buying up all the local goods. >> at the time, hong kong was facing economic crisis, sars and all that. to what extent can hong kong

support these external tourists? >> many are skeptical that limiting visits will stop the trade. this local businessman who wishes to remain now. he owns 6 farms he pharmacies around the area. >> the number of parallel traders will drop but in the long run the parallel traders from hong kong will fill the void and will be the same as before. >> according to officials the policy could cut the visitors by 4.6 million a year which is nearly the total number of tourists come to hong kong in 2014. liddy gopalan, al jazeera, hong kong. guilty to corruption and abuse of power. chairman of the biggest oil

firm told the court that his family's lifestyle far exceeded what his legal income could afford. admitting he caused undeniable damage to the country. medical sources say at least eight peoples suffered gunshot wounds during clashes across the city. the opposition say they are unhappy about the conclusion. bangladesh's clothes industry, overseas buyers are canceling thousands of borders. reporting from central bangladesh. >> reporter: here at the giant group factory thousands of garment workers hurry to fill an order. it is what they have to do to

survive. but these days once an order is finished, instead of being delivered, the clothes could easily end up sitting around in storage. that's because of violence like this. bangladesh's opposition wants elections and they've called for a transportation blockade to trust push their point. that's because of violence that has killed more than 100 this year bus he and trucks have been burned. government deny their involvement. >> my vehicle is ensured but so what if i get pild on the road by a petrol bomb? the insurancekilled on the road in a petrol bomb? >> the government has suffered. >> translator: if the shipment is late what is the buyer

supposed to do? the clothes industry is a seasonable abouts. if my order doesn't reach the market on time then they're no longer of value. >> many brand name companies are getting set up as bangladesh enters a third year of violent political instability. >> buyers are trying to not take more risk, so they are putting some order in different country so that they don't want to put all their eggs in one basket. >> plenty of businesses have been affected by the blockades but none as significant as the garment industry. it accounts for 80% of bangladesh's exports with all these boxes sitting here waiting to be shipped out. that's valuable foreign exchange that's not coming into the country. this is especially bad influences for the millions of people who see the industry as a path out of poverty. while the world is finally

paying attention to the often dangerous working conditions. they are not having to pay attention. maher sathar, al jazeera bangladesh. >> the book of code breaking written by allen turing has sold for over $1 million. gabriel elizondo reports. >> the oscar nominated hit movie that brought the work of allen turing to a wider audience. >> what is it we're going to do? >> break an unbreakable nazi code. >> oh. >> the greatest work of his life is going on the auction block at bonham's. >> the very fishes time we have been able to see his notes and

how he went about figuring things out. because there are no other known man you a vipts bymanuscripts by him, this is a truly remarkable piece. >> hateful in a fit of frustration. perhaps surprisingly for a math genius he also admits difficulty in understanding a famous calculation, known as the liebnitz formula. the notes aren't related to his work in breaking the nazi code but rather, his other pargs laying thepassionslaying the foundations for personal computers as we know it. >> welcome to enigma. the craziest communication

devices in history. the nazis use i.t. for all their communications. >> a german enigma machine in full working order. he's considered the father of modern day computing and in today's technology-driven world the impact of his work can be seen all around us. >> turing's handwritten notebook however reminds us that even our high tech devices had humble beginnings. gabriel elizondo, al jazeera london. >> still ahead. >> revolutionizing the way the sun's energy is used to make electricity. >> why cycling could find itself in the dark. he dark.

>> hotel again. australian scientists say they have developed a new technique that could revolutionize the solar power industry, super-heated steam could be a game changer for renewable energy. andrew thomas explains. >> it looks almost like an act of worship but this is science. mirrored panels known as helio heliostats. direct onto it a powerful glow, sunlight. this could revolutionize the way

the sun makes energy. it's the latesttron tear for solar power. >> these are the projects where you can push the boundaries a little but also demonstrate exactly what the potential of the technology is. >> the technology works by concentrating sunlight on a single point. liquid there is heated to extreme temperatures, almost 600 degrees celsius creating are-critical steam. that drives a turbine at high speed and high pressure to create power. the steam and turbine part of the technology isn't new. it's the use of the sun's energy to create the steam to power it that is. >> something like 90% of the world's electricity comes from making that hot fluid today and expanding it through some sort of turbine. all we're doing inc. here is changing the front end and having concentrating sun to make that hot fluid replacing the normal heat production which normally comes from coal or gas or the biomass or even nuclear.

>> the potential is enormous. it wouldn't take huge areas of sun baked land to create big quantities of power. >> this is just a test site but the hope is that in times to come there could be solar mirrors, one just 50 by 50 kilometers could provide a quarter of all australia's needs. at the moment, the technology is very expensive and innovative green solutions aren't very competitive. but the best chance for solar to play a big role in electricity production. >> thank you,. >> paris is expected to formally bid for the 2026 games.

paris last hosted the olympics in 1924 but has had three unsuccessful bids in the last 25 years, the last of which were the 2012 games. >> translator: we're here to accompany the campaign for the 2026 games. all the counselors have come to this consensus. they all agree that this campaign must come first and we've got to make the job of the bidding team easier. >> the deadline for nominations isn't until the may 15th. rome has firmly said they will bid, their last olympics was in 1960. german olympic federation has chosen hamburg as their city.

also boston has been put fort by the united states olympic committee, ahead of la, san francisco and washington. push for the continent's first olympic games and doha is also said to be considered a considering a bid. sunday's paris race near miss with a high speed train at a crossing. branded the riders irresponsible, the pelleton arrived at the crossing ten minutes ahead of schedule and some riders crossed a safety barrier already displayed. the barrier closed too late for many of them to stop. the paris race known as the he-lot of the north one day competitions in the cycling calendar. >> we had the good reaction to apply the brakes and he should

be praised by that. otherwise it might have ended up as a tragic accident. millions of followers of this race we don't want them to know that they can cross a level crossing. championship, in europe, valencia aiming to pass, and england liverpool desperately needs points, they kick off against newcastle in the next few minutes. now jordan jordan spieth looks to break the bank. he's expected to net over $25 million in earnings. no wonder he described winning the green jacket as the greatest day of his life.

kate rie riley riley has the story. last year he was the runner up to bubba watson now jordan spieth is the winner. the englishman jordan rose raised hopes for a battle over the pair. but three shots last year, no denying the texas texan by this time. 18 under score of 270. >> this was arguably the greatest day of my life. and to join the club that is the green jackets and to join masters history and put my name on that trophy and to have this jacket forever is something that i can't fathom right now.

>> three time masters champion phil mickelson threatened brieflily but he needed more shots like this one for eagle on 15. he carded second with rose. rory mcilroy produced one of the rounds of the day. his 66, giving him a fourth place finish, the northern irishman will be disappointed that he didn't complete his hope for a grand slam. tiger woods now has to share his record of the lowest round at a masters with jordan speith.

who will possibly continue to rewrite the record books. after more than ayear out of the international game because of a stress related illness the last just three deliveries it was his first international inning since his health issues forced him out 17 months ago. since his dismissal england has recovered to 167 for 3. india's first ever top ranked tennis player says she hopes her success will encourage more to take up her sport. martina hingis, is a five time grand slam champion in singles and has come out of retirement. india prime minister nairnd nearnd

narendra modi. >> there are certain dos and don'ts for a woman what she should and shouldn't do culturally. i would like to say you got to let the girl do what she wants to do. i really hope we have more women coming out playing sport. >> it was an extremely tough day for run eshes inners in the north pole marathon. one of the coolest races on the planet some 50 competitors under the rules of napers snipers who kept polar bears at bay. all the sport for now lauren. >> lauren, thank you very much indeed. that's it for this newshour.

thanks very much for watching, see you soon. soon.

>> intensifying strikes saudi gun batteries keep up the pressure and pound houthi positions in yemen from across the border. hello i'm mary ann damazi, you're watching al jazeera from london. also coming up, diplomatic position he, over russia's decision to sell a missile system to iran. an election boycotted by the main opposition parties in sudan. and the