>> 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 nobel prize winning

author gunther gras dice at 87. gras dies at 87. >> we begin in yemen where the saudi led coalition has been intensifying its strikes on multiple targets in aden. including the presidential palace which is in houthi hands. and heavy fighting on the ground with tribesmen getting involved. the south of the country is especially important because of how close it is to the red sea and the gulf of aden, key shipping routes for oil. saudi arabia says it's turning up the pressure on the houthi rebels. >> translator: the air attacks amount amounted to 120 today and the number is going to increase. the militia will never be able to stay long.

all the fronts have been busy. we're targeting all the infrastructures of the houthis. we're targeting their gatherings, we're targeting their command centers. >> from inside saudi arabia as well troops have been firing heavy artillery from jazan province. liddy dutt has more now on the fight for yemen. >> on the ground, fighting between houthis and tribesmen continues in the port city of aden and from the air saudi-led coalition forces target sites now held by the houthis including the presidential palace. further east of aden military planes struck parts of shabwa province. forces loyal to former president

ali abdullah saleh. >> translator: up to now no action on the ground, control of our camp for almost four days. >> reporter: there are growing concerns about the impact the fighting is having on millions of yemenis who were even before the conflict among some of the world's poorest people. the eighth agency doctors without borders says aid is slowly arriving in sanaa. >> what is essential now is that an acute crisis that does not involve into a chronical one. we have all seen what has happened in syria where we have entered into fifth year of not only fighting but killing including killing civilians. now i think that there is still a window of opportunity when fighting and killing in yemen could be stopped.

>> saudi-led air strikes to defeat houthi fighters and reinstate the government of president abd rabbu mansour hadi are now in their third week. despite bombardment across the country the houthis have made recent advances in the south. these are the latest signs that it may be sometime yet before the intended effect of the air strikes is felt. liddy dutt, al jazeera. >> there appears to be a new diplomatic division brewing between the u.s. and russia over iran. russia says it's concerned about moscow's decision to sell a sophisticated missile system in iran. vladimir putin signed the deal in 2007 but it was cancelled over sanctions regarding iran's

nuclear program. tehran says the keel could help regional security. rory chandler challands is following the story. >> the p-5 plus one nuclear talks basically mean this type of self imposed arms embargo is no longer necessary. he says 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? it does a number of things. one thing is that it smooths over those ruffled feathers with iran. it louse russia to carry on its good relationship with tehran. it also moscow thinks that it shows russia as an independent

actor on the global stage and it is also likely to raise the blood pressure of policy makers in washington, d.c. voters in sudan have been casting their ballots in an election which has been boycotted by the main opposition parties. they say it's not free or fair. catherine soy reports. >> this is what the first day of voting in khartoum looked like. through most of the day electoral clerks had little to do other than just wait. this polling station and the arrival of president omar bashir. some who showed up to vote say it's an important thing to do. >> i believe it's very important to vote. it unifies the country and is important to do.

>> three days of voting, 11,000 polling stations and they say khartoum does not represent the country. most of those who are voting are the elderly. we have not seen many people, some who have stopped to say the reason they're not voting is because they feel their vote will not make a difference. the plain opposition parties have just like in 2010 are boycotting the election. marian's party is not participating. >> it is not fair elections. >> mohamed is a journalist, he has been arrested and detained several times. he did not vote in 2010 and is not voting now. he says a national dialogue needs to be held but the national democratic party improved democracy and allowed freedom of speech.

>> there is not any positive sign new thinking of political reform or economic reform. but in sudan now people know that there is no power to the ncv, there is no power to any other institution all the power in the hands of the president himself. so if you wants to take the position, he can take it. >> some of the people boycotting the election saying they don't want to legitimate applies it by legitimize it. 15 presidential candidates running against bashir but they are little known and no threat to the president. catherine soy, al jazeera khartoum. in turkey 43 people are standing trial over the worst disaster in the country's history. solma coal mine. bernard smith reports from

istanbul. >> for relatives of the 349 pipelineers killed at the solma disaster they are here to see the trial of the 49 who are accused of the disaster. including 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 influences will come. >> reporter: the disaster happened when a pit was engulfed in flames and carbon monoxide gas, some 800 miners were trapped. an investigation found a long list of faults including a long list of gas detectors badly maintained gas masks and no escape measures. separate investigation into inspectors who gave the mine an

operating license. >> if the ministers do not grant the permission to launch an investigation, it is a direct intervention by government against justice. it means the government avoids 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 solma disaster and turkey's parliament pushed through legislation demanding better safety, workplace related deaths, so far this year more than 350 people have been killed according to turkey's council for worker health and safety. bernard smith, al jazeera istanbul. a german novelist and nobel prize laureate gunther gras has

passed away. simon mcgregor wood reports on the life of a man many described as the moral conscience of germany. >> he was the writer who most boldly confronted his country's nazi past while for many years concealing his own. the tin drum about a boy growing up in gras's home of danzig. now the polish city of gadansk. another famous home of gadansk pays tribute. >> he was a great intellectual one has to say. he wrote to a gadansk citizen in birth and choice. learned lrns from lessons from a negative

past. >> yig wellwriting well into his 80s he campaigned for disarmament and social change. he was critical of danish cartoons depicting the prophet model but defended sal manrushdie.man rushdie. his role as the moral conscience of modern germany was critically damaged in 2006. in his autobiography peeling the onion he revealed the 16 months in the war something he had never revealed before. he urged his countrymen to confront their past while spending so many years hiding

his own. it tarnished the legacy of his artistic career. simon mcgregor wood, al jazeera. >> still ahead for you this half hour, the appearance of a dutch far right politician, at a antiislam rally in 800 number germany. and a year past the kidnapping of 300 school girls in nigeria what we can do to bring them home. home.

home.

>> welcome to al jazeera. let's take you through our top stories. saudi force he say they have stepped up attacks on houthi forces in yemen. capital sanaa and southern port city of aden. washington says it's concerned about russian plans to send air defense missiles in iran. to help boost security in the region. the election in sudan has been boycotted by the main opposition parties. omar bashir is expected to extend his rule. shia neighborhood in the south of the city, another 28 people were also wounded in the blast. four former u.s. security guards are due to be sentenced for shooting and killing 14

iraqis. cord quicklied convicted the guards in 2011 providing security for state officials in iraq. one faces a life sentence after being found glif guilty of first degree murder. shihab britanzizizi last the story. >> they at any time have the power to offer immunity, then in addition on sunday the new york times published a report saying there were bush era employees who were reluctant to proceed with the harshest charges against these men. but generally the murkiness on who has jurisdiction over private military contractors.

under what framework of laws are these men being prosecuted? in fact, that is likely the appeal by these four men once the sentencing occurs today. >> i.s.i.l. linked fighters have claimed responsible for a bomb attack which targeted the more moroccan embassy. to try to find a political solution to the political crisis. three men have been jailed for 15 years for raping a kenyan schoolgirl after a high profile public campaign to bring them to trial. the girl named as liz was attacked, dumped in a sewer and left for dead. although she was able to identify some of her attackers the men were initially freed after cutting grass around the police station as punishment. that sparked international condemnation and an online

campaign for justice. nigeria's election commissioner has declared the people's democratic party has won the election at river state. goodluck jonathan is due to stand down next month after the election some ballot boxes were stolen and voting material wasn't delivered. on tuesday it will be one year since more than 200 school girls were abducted in northern nigeria by boko haram. despite a global campaign to tree them most are still missing. haru mutasa reports from abuja. >> this boy is three years old. all he seems to understand is that school girls were kid flapped by boko haram a long time ago. his parents aren't far. they have been meeting every day for a year, they don't want the chibok girls to be forgotten.

>> it is not okay, we in nigeria should be united for the return of those girls. >> in april of last year boko haram an dictd on deducted school girls in chibok. the attack led to a global twitter campaign to free the girls with the hashtag bring back our girls trending around the world. mbdmuhammadu buhari will be sworn in in may. some hope his push to free the girls, others are skeptical. >> there are many saboteurs in

the army that are sabotage being this airport. sabotaging the airport. >> a year is a long time. reality is sinking in. even if some of them are found alive, parents don't know what condition they will be in, how many are pregnant or have already had children, or what condition they will be in. goodluck jonathan kept telling the parents the girls would be rescued soon. that turned into weeks months and now 365 days. >> we are not hearing any case against them since they have been kidnapped you know. >> 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 their chibok school girls. haru mutasa, al jazeera abuja.

police in guinea have opened fire on antigovernment protesters. at least 8 people suffered gunshot wounds across the city. unhappy about the government's electoral time table. a case in the u.s. state of georgia involving ten teachers found guilty for conspiring to help students cheat on exams the judge was supposed to hand down sentences on monday. andy gallagher has more from atlanta. >> this has been called the biggest cheating scandal in u.s. history. at one time in this investigation, 180 employees from the atlanta public school system were charged or accused of being involved in this cheating scandal. we're here today because ten teachers who decided to go to trial are now facing sentences

to up to 20 years. amongst the charges they are facing are racketeering, once saved for large issues, undue pressures on teachers to increase the performance and the scores of their pupils, but there is no doubt this has caused a great deal of damage to the entire public school system here. the ten teachers decided to go on trial the judge telling them if you do do this, the consequences could be dire. that's the situation they are facing right now sentences of up to 20 years. the judge said something very interesting during his deliberations, he said look having heard from character witnesses about how great the teachers are and how committed they are he said particularly many of the african american

students, may have to appear in front of the judge and handed out ten year sentences depending on their crime. that may be an indication of just how severe their punishment may be. >> oil has been the powerhouse of ecuador's economy for years but as prices fall the economic boom the country has seen may be coming to an end. from quito. >> reaching deep into the earth to extract what for decades have been liquid gold. and more recently, economic goal the president's political and economic policies. until oil prices dropped and put a powerful brake on government plans. >> translator: different concentration for ecuador so what ec ecuador is doing because there's been too much public

expenditure before is trying to limit that. first limit public expenditures then borrowing from china trying to get more income instead of oil. >> intensive public spending has been at the heart of correa's popularity. highways and new airports have kept thousands in jocks jobs and pumped cash into the system but things are changing not only because of the oil market. but the price of oil is not the main concern. ecuador's economy is pegged to the u.s. dollar. harder for the government to attract more cash. when president correia took office seven years ago he declared a more tomorrow against the facing's debt.

those decisions are coming back to hawnd him. >> translator: are low prices mean change and the government needs to find other sources of funding. >> ececuador is borrowing heavily from china. the government recently announced mid and high level public employees would take a 10% pay cut. but many people on the street are wondering if they won't have to face cost-cutting measures themselves. harris whitbeck al jazeera quit-o. quito. >> arrested as they planned to distribute posters against domestic violence on international women's day. fighting has returned to eastern ukraine after a month of relative calm.

the conflict between pro-russian separatists and government forces has killed more than 6,000 people. a pop last dutch far right populist dutch supporter wilders. >> if you love your husband or wiefer you must raise the alarm if you love your children raise the alarm. warn your neighbors friends and colleagues of the threat islamization poses. a threat to your system and your children. >> a handwritten manuscript by alan turg turing has raised more than

$1 million. >> the incredible work of alan turing to a wider audience. >> what are we doing? >> break an unbreakable code and win the war. >> a humble 56 page notebook and a piece of mathematics history. >> this is the very first time we have been able to see his notes and how he went about figuring things out and again because there are no other known known manuscripts by him. >> kept private until now turing grapples with theories. perhaps surprisingly for a platt genius he admits difficulty

with what is known as the liebnitz formula. the notes aren't related to his work in breaking the nazi code but rather his other passion laying the foundations for compute science as we know i.t. >> thisit. >> this is a great example of this is a man saving the world during the day and then in his down time he is working on pure mathematics. >> welcome to enigma. >> the germans use it for communications. >> one of the things he and his colleagues worked so hard to crack, a fully functioning enig plaenigma machine. the impact of his work can be seen all around us.

turing's handwritten notebook however rhymes us even our high tech devices had humble beginnings. gabriel elizondo, al jazeera new york. >> do check us out at aljazeera.com. jazeera.com. >> the us is now the world's largest oil and gas producer in part because of what's happening here in north dakota where advances in fracking have unlocked crude oil in the bakken shale formation in the western part of the state. north dakota is now producing more than a million barrels of oil a day. ten years ago there were fewer than 200 oil-producing wells in the bakken. now there are more than 8,000. >> they call it boomtown usa this is where all the money is. it's crazy the amount of money you can make here.