forcing the question to what extent should the military be subject to human rights laws? al jazeera london. >> and you can find out much more on our website. the address for that is www.aljazeera.com. we'll be back. >> less than a day after promising an end to the air campaign saudi airstrikes, houthi rebels and yemen. new calls for an end in the fighting. the migrant debate, new steps to stop the flow across the mediterranean as even more arrive in italy. and accused of breaking the rules, a russian energy giant crushes the opposition.

>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm randall pinkston. the saudi-led coalition launched more airstrikes in yemen one day after announcing the air campaign was over. fighter jets struck houthi targets in taiz, aden and fierce battles erupted on the ground. houthi leaders are calling for a cease-fire. >> for those who thought that the announcement yesterday night by the leadership of the coalition is the end of the war. they might be disappointed today that saudi arabia and it's allies have launched a series of strikes. one of them was few hours after the announcement at the end of the war. that was in aden when tax in

position of the houthis were seen move to go areas from which they were expelled a few days ago. that is exactly in the area of the coastal line of aden. and also in taiz airstrikes against houthi positions and houthi fighters when they try to take the base. this is what the saudis warned off in the first phase of the war which they called decisive storm, and the new phase of renewal hope. now they say we're going to stand by, and take action only when it's necessary and only when the outies try to take new territory and stage attacks against loyalists of president hadley.

>> an navy aircraft carrier joined ships off yemen's coast. last night president obama spokes to ms nbc about the deployment. >> there is a reason why we keep some of our ships in the region of the persian gulf is to maintain freedom of navigation. if there are weapons delivered to factions within yemen that could threaten navigation, that's a problem. my hope is generally that we can settle down the situation in yemen. that's always been a country that's very poor. >> the white house saying that iran has been arming and aiding the houthies. tehran deny it is. in iraq they say the tide has shifted in ramadi. [ gunfire ]

after some fierce clashes the government says it has recovered key territory from isil fighting in the past two weeks forced more than 100,000 people to flee. but officials say that thousands are now turning around and heading back towards the city. officials say that the fighting in syria has displaced more than 10 million people, most of them in the hama region in syria's west. for those caught in the middle and forced to flee, circumstances can be daunting. alexi o'brien reports. >> reporter: this abandoned mosque is damaged and cold but it's a safe haven for this family. >> he knows that he's lucky because he and other families like his fled this, the chaos in

idleb where syrian government forces continue to battle opposition fighters. idleb city has been targeted by regime barrel bombs and no one is spared. mohammed and his family also escaped the violence. their new home is basic but there is an old well for water and the children entertain themselves the best they can. they worry about their future. >> we keep moving because of the heavy bombardment but life is just as hard here as it was there. i'm looking after my brother's three children who are orphans and i have 12 children of my own. we have no jobs and no money. >> rents here are ten times higher than before the war. and food is increasingly hard to come by. this part of idleb may have escaped the violence so far but life here is still far from easy. alexi o'brien al jazeera.

>> the taliban vowed to unleash a new wave the violence across afghanistan. starting friday it will ramp up attacks on foreign embassies government officials and military targets. this is the first year afghan troops will face the taliban without support from a few nato-led coalition. the flow of migrants making the perilous journey from africa to italy is not slowing down. today, 1,000 refugees rescued off the coast was brought to shore. another two arrived in sicily and lampedusa italy's employmentprime minister is calling for more help from european leaders. >> well, the 446 migrants who were brought ashore down in augusta, a port here in catania they now be looked at medically and then taken to a reception

center to recuperate. we understand that they were a party of migrants rescued yesterday in the boot of italy and brought here to sicily to rescue centers here. the other thing that is on going at the moment is the court proceedings against the captain and the ship's mate from the boat which went down at the weekend with the loss we believe of as many as 100 lives. that would be the single biggest loss of life throughout this whole mediterranean migrant phenomenon. and the stories coming out of the circumstances of that are truly harrowing. >> in boston day two of testimony in the penalty phase for marathon bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev on the witness constant the brother and stepfather of the officer seancal yearsean collier.

he was killed after the bombing. 93-year-old oskar groning talked about how cattle cars full of jews were constantly arriving. the people would be led directly to gas keepers. he was known as the gook keeper of auschwitz is being tried on 300,000 accounts of accessory to murder. charges on russia's state- state-own gas company gazprom is charged with taking advantage of its dominance in the market to overcharge and limit others to resell gas. >> there is history here, and it's russia has used gas in ways that have been accused russia

has been accused of in a political manner. there is a different scenario these days, though. one is that the price of oil which gas is linked to, has considerably weakened, and also european union has done a lot over the last few months to make itself more sufficient sufficient more reliant--less reliant on russian gas. so that all gives russia less of a bargaining chip, less of a leverage point to use when it comes to this sort of thing. >> rory challands in moscow. pope francis will be visiting cuba in september his way to the u.s. exact dates have not been released. the pope harass instrumental in

launching negotiations to restore diplomatic ties between the u.s. and cuba. president obama is on his way to the florida every grades at ever glades at this you hour. the president is expected to say what is happening in florida is a sign of climate change is real and needs to be addressed. next on al jazeera america. two new studies blame fracking for causing earthquakes. the impact it's having on small communities.

>> there's new fuel in the debate over fracking today. two new studies contribute it to earthquakes. there is hope that the studies will lead to change. >> meredith's lands sits on gas

gas-rich shale deposit. since drilling began next door, she said her land has not sat still. >> do you see how low it is sitting. there is a sinkhole underneath the house. >> she lives in reno, texas from another of 2013 to january 2014 reno and it's neighbor azel were hit with 27 earthquakes. researchers studied the activity and concluded that oil and gas fracking most likely is to blame. >> i told you so. >> for reno marilyn da stokes the new report is vindication. >> they said forever that we didn't know what we were talking about. >> the report comes the same day the state of oklahoma said that it had accepted scientific evidence that fracking had caused hundreds of earthquakes there. that state was shook by 600 quakes last year, more than any other state in the country. officials launched a website

detailing the evidence plotting earthquakes along side fracking disposal wells fracking injects highly pressurized liquid to loosen valuable fuel deposits. aside from the fuel the process results in waste water, which is injected back into the wells. in a statement the oklahoma oil and gas association said more study was needed. there may be a link between earthquakes and disposal wells but we still don't know enough about how waste water injection impacts oklahoma's underground faults. back in texas lawmakers are considering a bill that could help oil and gas companies by stripping local officials of their ability to ban fracking. >> the citizens in arlington had to evacuate around a drilling because it was spewing up fracking fluids, and this would say you cannot regulate anything that is happening below the ground. >> what the state is telling us

we don't have a right to say that we don't want earthquakes. the industry can come in and do whatever they want to us. that really bothers me. >> they've got pretty much what they wanted out of our land. and the process they have destroyed it. >> house bill 40 has been approved in the texas state house. now it awaits a vote in the state senate. john henry smith al jazeera. >> in washington senate will vote on the approval of loretta lynch as the new attorney general. lawmakers are set to vote on that bill,. the. senate is considering a extension of the patriot act that would authorize controversial decisions for another five years including the nsa surveillance authority. they would by pass the committee and accepting it straight to the

floor. here in new york a long and bruising battle over environmental disaster in ecuador is now play out in federal court. it started out as a class action lawsuit against an american oil giant. >> from 1964 to 1992 texaco explored and drilled for oil in northeastern ecuador. the people there accuse texaco, which cheveron later bought, of spilling thousands of barrels of oil and billions of gallons of toxic waste into the soil and rivers. >> environmentalists called the result a rain force chernobyl. a disaster that has sickened the indigenous people who live a largely traditional lifestyle. >> for us the amazon is our supermarket. this lagoon is where we find our food. the jungle is our pharmacy and we find all our medicine there. now with the pollution all is gone. >> all along cheveron has argued

that a $40 million clean up by texaco and agreement texaco signed with ecuador in 1998 absolves cheveron of all responsibility. cheveron's approach is best summed up by a company spokesman who said in 2010 that we're going fight this until hell freezes over, and then we'll fight it out on the ice. but in 2011 the villagers won $19 billion in ecuadorian court. later reduced to $9.5 billion. but it wasn't over. in 2013 cheveron accused the american lawyer representing them stephen donziger of fraud. the charges included bribing a judge in ecuador and helping to write the verdict against cheveron. >> fraud. >> last march cheveron scored a huge victory when a new york judge accepted their argument, that donzig er was convicted of

conspiracy and blocked the plaintiff's from collecting judgment. >> the ruling that you won in ecuador was procured by fraud. >> that was a ruling by an united states trial judge who frankly, just we disagree with his decision. he ran a completely flawed proceedings were beginning to end. he would not let us put in evidence of cheveron's contamination. 105 scientific reports that were relied on by ecuador quarter to find cheveron responsible. >> many would call a hero. cheveron calls you a crook and they won a verdict against. >> you first of all i've worked hard as a lawyer on behalf of my clients. i'm a man of ethics. i believe cheveron is the crook. cheveron has concocted a story to try to taint this adjustment so they can evade paying what

they owe the people of ecuador. >> his appeal got under way in manhattan. cheveron's lawyer would not talk with us. >> does cheveron has intention of making good on that $9.5 billion adjustment? >> very good. nice try. >> the appeal would last for months leaving the people of the rain force still wait forgive justice. >> new orleans is taking smoking out of its bars. and indoor smoking ban took affect at midnight in the big easy. the city had debated for years whether the health concerns outweighed potential loss revenue. louisiana state law had already banned smoking in restaurant and some clubs put the ban in affect voluntarily. most countries have sign a treaty to destroyed chemical weapons stock piles.

rob reynolds has the story. >> reporter: in a high tech military installation in colorado a small army of workers in protective gear assisted by precision robots is training to destroy one of mankind's most vile inventions: chemical weapons. >> chemical agency destruction is a hard role. it's a high hazard operation. we have explosion hazards and agent hazards. we spend a lot of time on personnel training to make sure that our workforce is ready for chemical weapons destruction. >> must card gas chlorine were not particularly effective on the battlefield but they terrified and demoralized the men in the trenches. must card gas can cause severe burns blindness, suffocation and a lingering painful death. the vast majority of remaining

poison good is stored near the colorado plant. workers there are practicing on dummy shells exactly like the artillery manufactured during the second world war. full scale weapons destruction will begin in october. each shell will be carefully unpacked and have it's explosives removed and then repeated by checked for leaks. they'll be taken apart p soaked in neutralizing chemicals and baked in ovens to strip away any trace of poison. >> these are used for training purposes only. they don't have chemical weapons inside of them. but there are 780,000 real shells full of must card gas here at this facility. some live shells that are leaking or have been damaged are already being destroyed with controlled explosions. workers carefully load them in a thick steel sin allies der. >> three two one. >> it's not dramatic, but the

charges neatly splice the shells that are then treated with chemicals. >> the must card mustard gas is neutralized. we rotate the vessel typically in no more than an hour, and it will have broken down and destroy all the mustard agent. >> the experts who do this pain-taking work say it's a deeply satisfying job. >> chemical weapons are the worst thing going. they're dirty nasty. really getting rid of them in my opinion is an important thing. >> destroying the stock pile will take at least four years and cost $4.5 billion. rob reynolds, al jazeera, pueblo colorado. >> straight ahead the navajo nation has chosen its next president, but the election came with a lot of controversy.

>> the navajo nation has elected its new president. russell by guy won begaye won the election in an election that was postponed for five months. we have more from the navajo nation in the southwest. >> the navajo nation is starkcally beautiful and steeped in history and tradition but faces questions about its heritage and future brought on by an election.

>> i croated for chris deschene. i don't know what happened, but he was taken off the ballot. >> rising navajo political star chris deschene was disqualified because he was not fluent in navajo. >> language is pan. it ice who we are where we come from. we cannot be a nation without language. >> it not only up ended the electoral process but brought division among its significance about what it means to be navajo. >> anyone who wants to be president and vice president needs to take time to learn the language. >> russell begaye took over the ballot. >> we've been told by western society that your language has no value. so why use it?

just learn english and be done with it. >> we reached out to chris deschene for comment but did not hear book. we went to the navajo nation to ask high school seniors what they think about the language requirement. >> a show of hands, how many people are voting? >> it's clear students are divided over the rule. do you think that the language requirement is a good thing? >> yes. >> it's what puts connects us to our culture. chris deschene should not have been disqualified. he should have been kept on the ballot. >> if we don't know our language to its maximum then we won't really be connected with our teachings as well. [ teaching navajo language ] >> as fundamental as students say language is to their

identity it's a difficult language to learn and fewer and fewer young people can speak navajo. this means a new generation of native youth will have to find a way to define themselves in a day when it's status is unclear. >> another delay in the retrial for two al jazeera journalists in egypt. mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed were back in court this morning but the proceedings were pushed back until next week. mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed are free on bail as they're being retried on charges they aided the now banned muslim brotherhood. al jazeera denies those charges. well they became known as the san antonio four. women who served 15 years in prison convicted of molesting two young girls. they are now fighting to prove their innocence and heidi zhou castro tells us, they're getting a second chance. >> they said they spent two decades in prison for a crime that never happened. today the san antonio four are

arguing for their exoneration in court. we caught up with them earlier elizabeth, christie, cassandra and anna, in 1994 the four were accused of a horrific crime raping two young girls as part of a satanic ritual. the women say they were targeted for being lesbian. they said that their accusers, sisters, age 7 and 9 were influenced by their father to make up the crime. though offered plea bargained to testify against each other the four were sent back. they were found guilty and sent to prison. then the state's case began to crumble. one of the victims recanted. a doctor who testified for the state admitted she had may have been wrong in saying that the girls were abused. a judge recommended that the women's case be overturned,

after two decades in jail. now they're looking for exoneration. >> it's our name. we have to have it cleared. it just means everything to us. i mean, that we have that label on us as a child molester, that's far from the truth. we just--we just want to be cleared, that we're innocent. >> today's hear something just the first step towards a possible exoneration. ultimately it would be up to the texas court of criminal appeals to decide. heidi zhou castro, al jazeera, san antonio texas. >> you can watch heidi's full report tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern. innew pictures out today showing the scale of the jewel heist in london. this shows what happened at the center of london's diamond trade. no arrests so far.

i'm randall pinkston. thanks for joining us. the news from london next. >> more fighting and more airstrikes, saudi arabia hits targets in yemen as it's military campaign enters a new phase. [ gunfire ] >> this is al jazeera, live from london. also coming up. >> when we were on the ship we had no food and no water, and i only had one fish. >> we hear the harrowing story of a survivor of the weekend medicine toremedicine tore ran