welcome to the news hour. another boat reaches sicily a day after the eu promised more money to stop the deaths at sea in the mediterranean.

images from the far side of the solar system. the hubble telescope celebrates its 25th birthday. u.n. says the european union's plan to tackle the migrant crisis in the mediterranean sea is an important step. they have decided to triple funding. this was announced thursday. leaders also agree to lay the ground work for military action against traffickers. april has seen 1,300 migrants dying at sea. italy says nearly all of the people it rescues in the mediterranean depart from libya. >>reporter: it's difficult to

see how the eu could carry out any kind of military intervention against smugglers. it's a shadowy yet network and the current political situation is a problem. there are two rival governments. the eu only recognizes one. most of the departures especially lately have been from the western side where there's the court-appointed government in tripoly. the eu has no dealings with that government and they announced yesterday they would stand against any kind of eu military intervention intervention. and then the other issue, the migrant who is have traveled thousands of kilometers and have reached this point and are adamant they want to risk their lives and reach europe.

according to international law, you cannot send a refugee back to their country if there's a war or any kind of persecution going on there. most people in the detention center come from war-stricken countries. plus, there are no more embassies in tripoly. the people inside don't have passports or money. how do you get them out of libya and get them back home? it's certainly a very complicated issue to handle. and this summer it will probably be very difficult to stem the flow trying to reach europe. >> they're willing to risk everything in hopes of a better life in europe. many are finding reality a far cry from their dreams.

>>reporter: 50 mostly migrants from sudan are underneath this bridge on the river thames. they have no paper and rely on charity for everything. mohammed spent three years working in libya and paid $1,100 for his place on a boat which made it to italy and now this. >> it is not the life we imagined finding in europe. we don't know what to do but we're obliged to be here. this is the path we took. but i ask myself why are we here. eu states don't seem to be interested in us anymore. >>reporter: those trying to help say victims like mohammed are a victim of a system that is

intentionally slow and designed to discourage. >> people in sudan or syria don't think i'll ask for asylum in france and i'll ask for shelter. they think i can't stay here at home otherwise i will die. >>reporter: finding political will to help migrants settle quicker and in greater numbers is going to be very hard. the rise in the national front is mirrored elsewhere in europe tempting politicians into harsh stances on immigration.

14 people have been hit and killed by a train in central mass donecedonia macedonia. joining us live from brussels is -- how would you characterize the eu's decision to triple spending on search and rescue missions? >> in our view this is a small step in the right direction in the sense that at least they

have acknowledged that it is the moral and legal duty of the european union to invest sufficient resources in search and rescue operations in the mediterranean. let's not forget that until the end of last year it was only italy that was operating the so-called marinostram operation at a cost of 9 million a year. that was replaced when italy finished that operation by a much smaller scale operation, the so-called triton operation carried out by the eu's border agency. the financial resources were about 3 million a month. so they have now decided to step up the financial resources up to the previous level which is a

good thing. it is also now absolutely acknowledged that search and rescue is within the mandate of the agency. >> what would you like to see? >> the problem with the current decision is it doesn't say anything about the geographical area within which that operation will operate. triton is limited to a 30-naught cal mile zone from the coast of italy and we know of course that all the ship wrecks actually happened just in front and very close to the libyan coast mainly. and although these ships can actually come to the rescue when it is necessary, it will take them a lot more time to get there if they are basically having to be based within that

30 naught naughttical mile zone. >> it's very clear that internationally that's a clear violation of international refugee law as it stands. most of the boats depart from libya and that would clearly be a violation of international law. as far as we know, this does not happen so far but it's clear that the european council conclusions adopted yesterday very much focus on containing refugees in northern africa and do everything possible in order to prevent people from actually

moving on to europe. and that also includes cooperation with the countries. so it remains to be seen what the actual implementation of those actions is going to look

like. >> there will be no talks at the time as long as the houthis and the militias of saleh continue crimes against the yemeni people and until they put their weapons aside. >> more than 1,000 people have been killed in fighting in yemen since last month and 115 of them were children. the resources are now stretched to the limit. >>reporter: there's a semblance of law and order here despite no clear government in yemen, a bomb disposal unit has come to work. not far from here is a military base that was hit in an air strike this week. spent ammunition litters the streets. >> the area is now clear of

chemical substances. we have examined the area. we have collected the remains of explosives. >>reporter: residents say it was the largest blast they've heard since the saudi-led campaign began. look around and you get a sense of hundreds of lost man hours. jobs on hold. thousands of dollars needed for reconstruction. although none of this is as urgent as caring for the hundreds of people hurt in that one bombing. the 20-minute drive away is the largest hospital. its intensive care unit is where some of the most serious cases will be seen. the hospital director says that may not be the case for much longer. >> electricity has been cut off and we're using generators but there's not enough fuel. this has been going on for a week and if it continues i'm afraid the hospital will have to close. >>reporter: it's not just this

hospital in trouble trouble. the world health organization is warning that yemen's entire healthcare system is on the blink. meanwhile, the red cross director believes keeping hospitals running is even more pressing than the need for food. >> if we don't find a quick solution now, it will be a catastrophe in a few days. hundreds of people can die because they don't have medicines. >>reporter: he says while medical aid has started to arrive his staff face yet another pitfall. delivering them to the hospitals in places where there's fighting. saudi arabia says the threat of attacks inside its country has increased since air strikes in yemen this month. earlier this month two saudi police officers were killed. now they have come out with more information on the arrests.

they have apprehended the man who shot the two policemen and killed them the earlier this month on the 8th of april.

they found after investigation the gun that was used and quite a lot of cash and ammunition and explosives in an area not far from where the crime was committed. they also know the name of the man who -- the investigation is going on. the search for the second man is continuing and that's basically

most of -- the gist of it. >> okay. those are significant developments indeed in the deaths of two saudi police officers. thank you. coming up this hour it is a bumpy ride for some as the australiaen government tries to stop young muslims going to n government tries to stop young muslims going to war. and how the european champion's league draw set up an emotional return for this coach. s coach. germany has joined amean i can't and several other nations calling the killings of amean

yon 100 years ago genocide. in a moment we'll talk to jamal in istanbul but first let's go to the capital of 100 years ago genocide. in a moment we'll talk to jamal in istanbul but first let's go to the capital of armenia. >>reporter: thousands have been pouring into the memorial since this morning when there was an official commemoration which saw the president welcoming the russian and french presidents. throughout the day, there have been people here carrying flowers, many of them wearing black. it's been raining heavy at times, yet it has not stopped them from paying respects to those who died. among them are people from

california australia, and the middle east. they are descendants of survivors who had to flee their homeland. also there was a handful of eyewitnesses who survived. we spoke to one of them earlier this week. he watches his great grandchildren play. he was six when he and his family left their farm in western armenia. >> my mother dressed as a kurd and covered her face with soot. they asked my father his nationality. he told them he was a kurd. if they found out he was armenian he would have been killed. >>reporter: they walked 300 kilometers to safety. he says he'll never forget seeing mothers abandon their children along the way. >> when they got tired, they

could not carry their infants anymore. they would throw them in the river. that was better than leaving them on the ground where wild animals would eat them. >>reporter: accounts like this are on display here at the museum. this new exhibition timed to open with the centennial celebration is the first time this genocide is shown in the context of european history. >> this is not just armenian history. >>reporter: armenia's president was one of the first visitors to the exhibition and says in addition to remembering the past armenia is also looking

ahead. >> we have not said that you should recognize the armenian genocide to construct ties. >>reporter: many are still demanding acknowledgment from turkey. >> they have to admit it. absolutely. >> for us to go on as a nation the wounds need to be healed. >> the armenian church has canonnize the mass killings of the victims as saints. armenia's message 100 years on is that it's important to recognize what happened in the past and condemn it hoping tragedies like this are not repeated in the future. >> and commemorations will continue with a torch light procession across the city tonight followed by a concert revival which celebrates

survival. really beautiful. thank you so much paul. let's go to istanbul for the other aspect of this story. jamal? >>reporter: indeed. in turkey there are commemorations taking place here. they're on a much smaller scale but they are by thank you armenian communities. it's important to know that turkey has a large armenian community still living in it. as you say, there are two sides to this narrative. we spoke to the daughter of a general who served in the on the man army at the time and we

caught up with ottoman army at the time and we caught up with her. her father was a general in the ottoman army. his story gives a glimpse into the turkish version of what took place when thousands of armenians were allegedly killed by the ottoman turks. >> there was no problem between turkish and armenian people. after the armenian betrayed the ottoman government they said you have to change place because you are with the russian people and you are killing me. we give them milk and doctors. >>reporter: according to the general's memoirs, it was the armenians who instigated the violence. >> i show the scars on the arms

and bodies on the ground. >>reporter: it's a stark contrast to a common narrative. in the past month, both european parliament and catholic pope francis have described what took place 100 years ago as a genocide conducted against the armenians. and it is this word genocide that continues to anger turkey. while the government concedes many were killed it insists the term itself is totally incorrect. >> politically, we believe that that term is being exploit exploited in a way of describing an event in a just matter. for the term to be applied, you need to have a systemic policy of extermination of all. we know as a historical fact there are armenians coming to live -- we know that they're a part of -- >>reporter: despite the

controversy, the government issued a letter of condolence to the armenians for the first time ever in 2014. national pride is extremely prevalent in turkish society. it's this strong sense of patriotism that makes some people here so defensive when it comes to discussing sensitive issues like the armenian one. >> turkey has never in its history committed such crimes. >> it wasn't the turks who committed genocide. it was the armenians. >>reporter: despite the opposing narratives, there are still thousands of armenians living in turkey and they're left to mark the anniversary freely. ♪♪ >>reporter: concerts are being held together with a church service in vann. officials here say they're more interested in building a future

with the armenians than focusing on the past. well that is the turkish side of the narrative. it's important to know that actually turkey here and turkish society is busy honoring the centennial of world war one. some say the celebrations are essentially being used by the government to steer away from the focus of the armenian issues. it's the sense of national pride pushing them towards that. nonetheless that division over what happened 100 years ago is still as fresh as it has ever been but authorities and people here say they want to look forward rather than focusing on

the past. thank you, jamal. leaders from around the world are gathering in turkey to mark the 100th anniversary of world war one. it is considered one of the bloodiest battles of the first world war. now to weather. heavy rain in the forecast for the united states. >> i'm afraid so. some of that's not bad news though but across the south there's been heavy rain here for a couple of weeks. see this massive cloud? that's where our next area of rain is coming through across those central and southern states. really don't want to see this here. flooding is already in place. there's more to come. this is rather more welcome. a cold front. that is an area where we're going to see some rain making its way into drought hit california. so some good news for you.

but looking at snow just around the northeast and upper midwest. this is rochester, up state new york just yesterday. we've had a fair amount of snow coming through. around 10 centimeters falling in some places. there was snow for the baseball in chicago on wednesday. so not all together good news. i'm hoping some of that will get out of the way. friday, more rain coming out of texas into louisiana pushing across mississippi. that will drive its way further east with the panhandle seeing nasty weather on saturday. possibility of tornado, large hail damaging winds, possibly flooding as well. and that wet weather stretching right up into the ohio valley up towards the midwest. we have rain just around california san francisco looking wet on saturday. mind you, it's gone by sunday. thank you. lots more coming up on al jazeera. the indian government is being

accused of a witch hunt against foreign aid agencies. foreign aid agencies.

the european union union's plan to tackle migration in the

mediterranean sea -- more people have been brought to italy after being rescued by the italian coast guard. armenians around the world are honoring 100 years since the killing of their ancestors were killed by the ottomans. syria's former security chief has died of a stroke in damascus. he was known as the military intelligence chief in lebanon before syria's withdrawal in 2005. the united nations has invited the syrian government and opposition groups to separate peace talks in geneva next month meanwhile opposition fighters in syria launched an

attack against regime checkpoints. >>reporter: it's a great view from a plane. this vast area overlooks villages to the north and south. once a peaceful country side it's now become a battle field. government forces have been using it as an attack position against opposition fighters. >> this area was one of the first to revolt against the regime and was badly bombed and targeted. now it's time to counterattack. >>reporter: opposition fighters launched the attacks by firing artillery. the objective was to isolate villages loyal to the regime from those opposing it. >> we started by launching artillery against the barricades and then advanced. in the upcoming hours, we'll

have full control god willing. >>reporter: attempts to control the area by government forces have been met by fierce resistance. the area is strategic to both sides. it connects two provinces. >> our main objective is to destroy checkpoints. if we succeed in that we'll cut all supply lines from the regime forces. >>reporter: whatever the outcome, it remains an important front line in this conflict without an end. news coming to us out of tunisia where the army says it has killed ten rebels during fighting. now, two of their soldiers they say, also died. that is what we know right now. as we get more information we'll bring it to you

the u.s. government says the u.s. charity ford foundation can no longer give money to local organizations without its permission. it's been placed on a watch list to ensure its funds are used for bonafide welfare activities. this after money was given to an aid agency after being investigated for embezzlement. what is the significance of this? >> the significance of this is that money coming in from the ford foundation cannot be paid to its intended beneficiaries unless the government of india approves of it. so all the money that comes in the people have to apply to the home ministry and if the home

ministry approves of it only then will it go to the recipients. this watch list is essentially a mechanism, the government seeks to control the use of the money. >> tell me what are the politics at play behind this? >> well the politics is a mixture of xenophobia and economic nationalism. the ford foundation has financed institutions which went after the people who were behind the riots in the year 2002. when the prime minister was the chief minister of that province. there have been allegations of complicity of activating the -- which cost about 2,000 lives in that state.

there is a body called citizens for justice and peace headed by the prominent face of activism of justice for the riot victims. this has not found favor with the current indian government and since the foundation has been one of the donors to the citizens for justice and peace, it does look to me that the government of india is using the big stick that it has under the foreign contributions regulations act to regulate whatever donations the ford foundation seeks to give. any nongovernment organization which the government of india doesn't approve of cannot donate to such bodies. >> do you think that this will stand? what might the precedent be here?

>> this is a warning and the ford foundation may well review if it so chooses the various organizations that it donates to but the ford foundation has a long and distinguished record of institution building in india.

it may recollectthere's anger in seoul after the government made it easier to fire employees. unions are calling for better working conditions and want the government to increase the hourly wage. execution of two australians convicted of drug smuggling.

they're among ten people facing the death penalty. they were sentenced in 2006. no date has been set for the execution. the convicts must be given 72 hours notice. hundreds of garment factories have been shut down in bangladesh this year. it's been almost a year since the lights were shut off in this factory. they like many others were in a rush to get in on an industry that was expanding fast. propelled by some of the lowest wages in the world, second only to china in exporting ready-made garments. but in april, 2013, the plaza building collapsed killing over

1,000 garment workers. in the aftermath, some brands started demanding better safety standards and wages. unable to meet the requirements, he substitute down operations. >> they don't give us any chance. not all garment factories are created equal. many are struggling to stay afloat or closing down higher end factories are expecting business to pick up. the factory cost a few hundred thousand dollars to set up. in contrast this is a multimillion dollar affair. the company has the resources to not only meet safety standards but to also break the mold when it comes to the expectations

buyers have of factories in bangladesh. garment owners here make their money delivering low end, high quantity volumes. >> so it is possible to also do very high volume work high value work low volume high value work also in bangladesh. a lot of factories including mine is changing our set up to handle this high margin business as well and actually moving that business and winning against china. >> he says the industry here is undergoing a shift with consolidation at the top creating more orders for owners like him. the flip side is the weeding out at the bottom spelling the end for some local operations that can no longer keep up.

australia is trying to counter a growing number of people traveling to iraq and syria to join isil. the government is rolling out a program aimed at deradicalizing possible recruits but not everyone thinks it will work. andrew thomas reports. >>reporter: muslims at a fun fair this hundred attached to an halal food festival is not an image you usually see on australian television. >> we have a doctors, business men, lawyers, they should project positive images of the muslims. >>reporter: instead, this is more common on the news muslims being arrested accused of plotting attacks.

it can encourage a backlash. that's why a softer approach is being tried too. the australian multicultural foundation is running training sessions for community leader >> 99.9% of the muslim community is strong with a strong foundation and are true australians. but there's the minority that falls between the cracks. >>reporter: part paid for by the australian government this work is an early intervention program aimed at violence prevention. >> i come from the land of australia. >>reporter: the man who says he's fighting in syria appealing for others to join him or launch attacks at home. >> my beloved brothers in islam

in australia, now is the time to wake up. >>reporter: this is called an strategy of deradicalization. but it has its critics. a number of people are trying to work with the government but are concerned about its approach. one says the branding is wrong. calling the program countering violent extremism is the best way to repel those they want to

engage. >>reporter: where do these people come from? do you know who you're looking after? who do they vote for? what's their religion? i told them i don't care about all that. >> nigerians recently voted in a presidential election. religion ethnicity, could suggest how one votes but not always. that's why his landlord kicked

him out. he thought this would be an easy transition. >> it doesn't matter who you think i voted for. why kick me out? it's my right. i'm entitled to freedom of expression even if i'm not from here. >> leaders, community elders local and international groups are trying to calm tensions and teach people that ultimately there's no excuse for intolerance. >> instead of campaigning on issues we campaign on personalities and therefore the personalities begin to create like a cult and anything that happens to them they take it personal instead of taking it as just part of the game. >>reporter: yola is a vibrant and busy city. it's one of three states still under a state of emergency because of boko haram attacks.

they want to go home but they cannot go home. coming up all the sports including my boxing fans have to move fast to have a chance at seeing one of sport's biggest fights ever. fights ever.

it's been 25 years since the hubble space telescope worth $2.5 billion was launched into orbit and it continues to send spectacular images. it's one of nasa's greatest achievements. >>reporter: in new york city's times square this week tourists are getting a realtime display that's literally out of this world if the far out thanks to the hubble space telescope which launched in 1990. since then from its orbit 500 kilometers above earth it's sent back more than 1.2 million observations. its visual accuracy has been likened to seeing a pair of fire flies in japan from the east coast of north america. as a result, scientists have

gotten their most accurate look at planets in our solar system and identified planets beyond it. and they've run a deeper appreciation of the immensity of space. >> we now know that there are something like 200 billion other galaxies in the universe each filled with hundreds of billions of stars. >>reporter: they've also gained startling insights into the course of the universe itself by tracing it backwards in time to places nearly 13 billion light years from earth. >> the galaxy is filled with dark energy. >>reporter: it's the only telescope serviced in space by astronauts. in 1993 a fatal flaw discovered in its largest mirror almost made it worthless but nasa dispatched a repair crew that

corrected the error. >> one of the hopes is that we have webb and hubble operating at the same time opening up a new window into the universe. >>reporter: a window likely to produce more revelations of worlds yet to be discovered. time for sport now with andy. hello. >> thank you so much.

>> at least four teams have won the competition 21 times between them. real madrid's coach returning to his former club. still the chance for barcelona versus real madrid final. that's never happened before. tickets for the manny

pachiato floyd mayweather fight already sold out. the cheapest ticket was being sold at $1,500. if you fancy bidding for one on the web now, it could cost you close to $150,000. >> one of basketball's most famous team the bulls, haven't won the nba's biggest prize since 1998. they're close to ending that streak streak. >> being up 3-0, we're playing against a hungry, young team.

they're pushing us. an example tonight of how hard they played. defensively they're great. and they're forcing us to play and we need to find ways to win the games and that's why you got to love the playoffs because every game is going to be different. a century away but england in strong position. playing grenada is about to get

underway. ben stokes was the last one out on thursday as england finished the game at 373 under 6. >> you got to be patient and work. that's what i've been telling them all along. give nothing away. sooner or later the score will look differently. >> nadal's preparation for his french open defense not exactly going to plan. nadal slipping. this is his earliest lost in 12 years at the barcelona open.

he has just two more tournaments now before the french open gets underway on may 24th. marie sharipova losing out thursday in round two. she'll now lose her number two world ranking. >> i could have definitely done better. you know with respect to her, she was serving her first serve at 144 and i couldn't take advantage of that and that's usually my strength and i just wasn't aggressive enough. with that you know she gained a little bit of confidence makes a few shots, guesses right, and suddenly you're in a bit of a fight and in the end it just didn't go my way.

all right. thank you. stay with us here on al jazeera. another full bulletin of news is straight ahead. keep it here. ad. keep it here.

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saudi arabia says i.s.i.l. is behind the killing of two policemen in the capitol riyahd earlier this month. ♪ hello, i'm live from al jazeera headquarters in doha also on the program, another migrant boat reaches sicily a day with a promise of more money to stop deaths of migrants at sea. no peace until houthi rebels surrender as fighting continues across the country. 100 years