>> fierce fighting in syria over a strategic area near the lebanese border.

britains go to the polls in what is expected to be one of the closest general elections in decades. and a series of tornados leave a trail of destruction in the midwestern united states. ♪ the u.s. secretary of state says that he welcomes a saudi initiative for a five-day ceasefire in yemen. john kerry is in the saudi arabiian capitol, riyadh where he has met with saudi leaders as well as yemen's exiled president hadi. but they say a five-day ceasefire will depend on whether the houthi rebels will comply. >> translator: they also briefed him about the way the kingdom is thinking about a ceasefire for five days in yemen in order to coordinate with the international organizations to

send the aid to the yemenese brotherly people if the houthis are committed to that and if the houthis are committed not to attack any of these involved in yemen during that period of time. and we will determine the time very soon together with all of the details. >> john kerry was widely expected to push for a pause in the fighting. he says he welcomes the peace initiative. >> king salman has announced a conference in riyadh to which he is inviting all yemeni parties, and we support that conference. everyone agreed that that conference can help lead into the subsequent talks under the u.n. auspices and all of this dialogue is beneficial in an

effort to try to find a political resolution to the crisis. we're very pleased that saudi arabia has agreed to support the u.n. in its efforts to find a peaceful situation in yemen. the fighting in yemen appears to be intensifying. there has been heavy fighting in aden. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: for thousands of people trapped in aden's district the sea is their only way out. they have been caught in the battle for the southern port city. the residents are terrified. >> translator: the conditions are rockets, bombing, random shelling on our houses. no electricity, no water. >> translator: the gulf states should shoulder their responsibilities for the people of south yemen, or step aside. >> reporter: the streets are

deserted. and many are confined to their homes. others are looking for a way out. on wednesday one of the boats was shelled by houthi rebels killing dozens of people. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: the district is important. it is not far from the city's port the area is vital for control over yemen's southern coast. the houthis and loyalists to former president saleh remain powerful here. forces loyal to the current president hadi are putting on fight, but most of the city has destroy destroyed. houthis and their allies continue to push for control of the city. the chief of staff says his priority is to reorganize his forces. >> translator: our priority is

to unite and regroup the army, because the majority of the army are sitting at that homes. around 80% of the army is not doing their job. back in yemen, most of the country is a battlefield. and millions of yemenese continue to suffer. syrian activists have denounced what they say are new chemical attacks in the country. they say government helicopters dropped baseball bombs filled with chlorine gas on villages in the idlib province. the syrian opposition is denying that hezbollah fighters have retaken key areas on the border. the armed group and the syrian army have killed dozens of opposition fighters. fierce battles are taking place in the mountainous area and

there are now fears that violence could spill over into neighboring lebanon. >> reporter: the battle in syria's mountains have intensified. this is in the western part of the country, a coalition of syrian opposition groups says it is pushing out the syrian government and hezbollah fighters. it's on the lebanese syrian border. commanders from al-qaeda-linked group al-nusra front, sayn't that don't want this to distwrakt from fights in other areas. but the group's fighters are adamant about maintaining cfo of areas they have taken. they are trying to prevent any interruptions. the government denies losing ground to the of situation. and recent gains are prompting

setbacks. >> translator: god willing the army will soon reach those here rose besieged in the hospital to continue the battle to eradicate terrorism. >> reporter: in neighboring lebanon funerals were held for the hezbollah fighters. hezbollah says it has also inflicted losses on syrian opposition fighters and promise to clear the area. but the battles where sectarian tensions run deep is a cause for concern for others as well. the alliance of political parties conference call will begin momentarily. s its march 14th says it is worried this could drag the lebanese army into syria's war. >> translator: any intervention [ inaudible ] outside of the country creates a threat for the army itself and for the whole lebanese society. >> reporter: the syrian opposition says it does not want to cross the border but

fighters insist on battling hezbollah, considered a vital lifeline keeping the assad government in power. the lebanese army has been deployed in areas where hezbollah cannot operate because of sectarian issues. in a fight so close to home where people may take sides is seen as a threat for lebanon. >> let's take you live now to that border region. mohammed is near the lebanese town near the border with syria. mohammed give us a sense of what has been happening there in the last few days. >> reporter: well adrian here on the lebanese side of the mountain range it does seem quite calm at the moment although we have heard some blasts in the last 20ing minutes coming behind us. but there has been fierce fighting we're being told from

the syrian observatory for human rights, there have been fierce clashes ongoing. on the syrian side of the mountain range as hezbollah says they have overtaken some of the areas that the opposition fighters held for quite sometime. one of the reasons this area is considered to be important is this is a strategic supply route for hezbollah. in the last half an hour we have seen some weapons being transported on to trucks so when you have this mountainous terrain, these are areas that hezbollah and the syrian government have been trying to rid of rebel fighters in the past several months since these battles have really been ongoing. one thing we should stress though this is at its heart a propaganda war, and it's very difficult to find out exactly what is going on. you hear opposition fighters saying they have killed be hezbollah fighters many syrian regime fighters and you hear hezbollah say they have killed

dozens of fighters. but because it seems quiet here right now, and the mood seems somewhat relaxed we have heard that this does confirm that hezbollah and the syrian regime have overtaken the parts of the mountainous terrain where these fighters have been entrenched and that's why they feel this area is just a little bit safer than it was in the past few months. >> what is the significance of that then if the hezbollah fighters have now taken charge of that particular area? >> reporter: well for one thing, it seems that hezbollah fighters will more easily be able to support the syrian regime in their fight to rid the country of rebel fighters especially in this region. there has been a big concern in lebanon in the past several years that lebanon could get further entrenched and dragged more into the syria war. lebanon has its own 15-year

civil war, and it was disastrous for this country. they don't want this country, which is so tiny and neighboring syria dragged into that war which seems endless. but this region is quite porous it's a long border it's not clearly demark at itted, so the fact that hezbollah has been able to come in and go out, that's important because they want to continue to get fighters and weapons into syria. the lebanese army has been deployed here for the past several months but they have not intervened and they say they won't unless there's a direct threat to lebanon. the fighting has not spread into lebanon, the fear is that it would, and if that happens the government says they are committed to stamping out any violence that may be directed towards lebanon.

>> all right. many thanks. now to iraq isil is said to be behind an attack in fallujah. [ explosion ] >> reporter: it reportedly hit military headquarters in fallujah. at least one iraqi soldier was killed there. in a september incident three isil fighters were killed in a drone attack in northern fallujah. the u.s. says the iraqi forces face a tough task removing isil fighters from the beiji oil refinery. they say it is impossible to know how it will play out. much of isil's funding has come from selling oil on the black market. voting is well underway now in the u.k. general election in what could be the tightest political race in years. 650 seats are being contested, and around 50 million people are

registered to vote. >> reporter: calm weather across the u.k. on polling day, and voters turned out by the millions. the polling stations opened at breakfast time church halls, pubs even a care home became for the day places where people could put a cross in the box. most of the party leaders turned out early for their votes and for the photographers. the prime minister in his countryside constituency the labor leader further north. and as well the scottish national party leader. the u.k. independence party leader by the seaside, the leader of the greens in london and many others too. so here are the numbers. 650 seats in the parliament. for a party to gain the confidence of the house, it needs a simple majority half of that number plus one seat.

the key date on the calendar is may 27th the queen's speech and the new program. turnout appears to be brisk in many places suggesting that it my be higher than in 2010. the doors close at 9:00 tonight greenwich meantime with exit polls immediately after after -- afterwards and the first results. where are all of the men? the husbands brothers and fathers, missing from northern nigeria. saudi arabia lends senegal a helping hand. and all domestic games are threatened with suspension. jo will be here later to tell you why in the sport. ♪

u.s. president barack obama has congratulated benjamin netenyahu for israel's new coalition government. netenyahu secured a coalition with the far-right jewish home party along with other parties at the 11th hour on wednesday. an update now from mike hannah. >> reporter: there has been intense criticism of the new government from the opposition within israel and palestinians throughout. they say the government is narrow and rooted in self interested. the palestinians have described it as extreme right-wing. yet they may take comfort in the fact that the government may not last long. some analysts contend it is inherently self destructive. a number of members of the coalition were brought in with a promise of increased government expenditure on their interests. however, another of the coalition partners is headed by a man tapped to be the finance

minister who has insisted that he will cut government spending. clearly the interests are very divergent. there has been speculation too, that benjamin netenyahu may within months if not weeks invite the leader of the zionist union to join the coalition, making it a stronger government. however, he has made it clear he has no interest in joining a coalition headed by benjamin netenyahu and is even less likely to join a coalition composed of parties he would regard as even more unsavory. >> in a statement the palestine liberation organization chief negotiator reacted angerly to the new government, he said:

let's bring in hannah who is a senior member of palestine's government, she joins us live from row maw la. presumably you would be in full agreement with what he said there? >> i did issue my own statement. it is certainly an anti-peace government and it certainly presents a danger both within israel and outside of israel and threatens to destabilize the whole region and to generate a culture of hate discrimination and of course violence throughout. >> but all of the indications are that this will be a weak short-lived government. >> it certainly will be short-lived because the number 61 is a recipe for lack of

permanence for a short-lived government but at the same time as i said in my statement, it could also have enough time to reek havoc and to do irreversible damage if it pursues its policies particularly given the nature of the coalition partners and the portfolios which the jewish home ministers have as well as the other ministers, but these ministers are in favor of increased settlement activities. there is a racist minister -- minister of justice that not only wanted to curtail the powers of the supreme court, but also advocated genocide against the palestinians and easily brought forth hate arguments without any restraint. and even if it is short lived it can do irreversible damage. >> so while this government is in power, one would presume that the -- the peace process is

dead. >> well the peace process has been dead for a while now. netenyahu finally succeeded single-handedly in destroying it. it's a question of the building blocks of peace which are missing. a peace process has been off of the books for a long time but netenyahu is expanding settlements, and [ inaudible ] jerusalem, periodically attacking gaza the language culture, ethos of peace is missing. and what is available now is the language of hate extremism, and violence, and the rejection of the chances of peace, and of course this government refuses a two-state solution, rejects international law, and wants to superimpose greater israel on historical palestine. >> you talk about the building

blocks of peace, one could argue that they don't exist on your side either with relations between fattah and hamas. >> that's an internal matter which has not in any waying hinders or impeded our agenda for peace. the palestinians have been actually more than accommodates when it came to initiatives for peace or negotiations. unfortunately we found no government on the other side that is committed to peace. so you cannot blame this on the internal [ inaudible ] it is something we hope to overcome. it weakens us definitely but it has nothing to do with the chance of peace, because we are the plo, is the address for negotiations and for the national agenda which is committed to the two-state solution but unfortunately not only do we not have a peace

partner, we are seeing israel working to undermine and destroy the chances of peace. >> always good to talk to you. many thanks indeed. >> thank you, adrian. my pleasure. two people have been killed by a grenade at a rally in burundi. they were demonstrating against the president's decision to run for a third term. egypt's president has welcomed a group of ethiopians reportedly abducted in neighboring libya. egyptian authorities secured the lease of 30 people said to be held by armed groups in libya. it follows the apparent beheading of a group of ethiopians in libya last month. an appeals court in israel has announced a date for its decision on mubarak's dropped

murder charges. a lower court dismissed charges over the deaths of 800 people. the prosecution then appealed that decision. if successful a retrial could be possible. when nigerian soldier rescue people from boko haram strong holds earlier month almost all of them were women and children that's because the armed group usually kills the men before taking their familiar list hostage. generations have been wiped out in nigeria's northeast. as our correspondent reports now. >> reporter: sad and broke. this man recalls the good old days before boko haram met the town its so-called caliphate. the father of 14 had houses, 20 farms, and more than 100 head of cattle. now these two cows are his only

asset. >> translator: people still come to ask neighbors whether i am still sane. i lost so much. at some point even the will to go on but i am still hanging in there. >> reporter: but the pain he feels most is the loss of two adult sons both killed by boko haram. after their death, he and 500 others fled their town to settle here. since boko haram were run out of town in march, some are thinking of going back but he sees no future there. >> translator: i think when we eventually go back most of us will be going back to our graves. what is the use when our youth are either dead or gone? how can we hope? some of us must just have depression. >> reporter: and there are several farming communities like this that have been displaced. for now they live on handouts as they have neither the money, nor the strength to farm or trade.

when boko haram attacked in occupied territories in northeastern nigeria, there was a systematic targets of young men. the group is also accused of using rape as weapon of war. even married women were not spared. in many communities most young men and women have either been killed or left and that could impact on their recovery and survival when people eventually return to their homes. economic activities in these communities along with infrastructure like roads and schools have been destroyed, but it's the people's spirits that may prove difficult to repair. >> it will be difficult, but [ inaudible ] our country's recovery is always possible. it's a lengthy process, but it's a always possible. >> reporter: although boko haram fighters are on the run, few show much desire to return home. the question most are asking now

is return to what? we are approaching the midway point here on the news hour. still to come on the program, as her popularity plummets chile's president tells her cabinet to quit. we'll tell you more. we'll meet the meat smugglers of venezuela who's profits are being beefed up by food shortages and we'll here why the paid of palestinian football is calling for fifa to suspend the games.

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the syrian opposition is denying that hezbollah fighters have retaken key areas on the lebanese syrian border. the ongoing fighting has raised fears that the fighting could spill over into lebanon. voting is underway in the u.k. in what could be the tightest political race in years. 650 seats in parliament are being contested. around 50 million people are registered to vote. let's return to our top story, the possibility of that five-day ceasefire in yemen. hussein is a houthi supporter and activist. >> i think when it comes to the humanitarian issue, they -- they will -- i'm pretty sure that they will agree about that. but let's make it clear that after 40 days of bombardment,

the houthis as well as the humanitarian agencies have been calling for a ceasefire. and the saudis have been refusing. and two days after the tribes have entered saudi arabia attacked many bases inside the saudis now they are calling for a ceasefire. they are using this humanitarian issue to save them because they were losing really really bad in the south. and a ceasefire doesn't mean that tribesmen will withdraw from saudi's areas that they have control in the south. a ceasefire means you stop firing at each other and that's all. senegal announced that more than 2,000 troops would join the saudi-lead initiative in yemen. that comes with a saudi commit to help build a billion dollars development project.

>> reporter: a century-old now abandoned railway station in the heart of senegal's capitol. passengers bordered trains here. it was west africa's lifeline and senegal's pride. ten years ago the station was closed. former employees continue to come here. some out of habit. others out of -- nos gal ga. >> translator: the saudis will help us rebuild this station. they are our brothers. >> reporter: they offered to fund the refurbishment and a number of other projects. the announcement was made after the president met with the king in april to raise funds for his $21 billion plan to turn senegal into a middle-income economy. however, there was a surprise

that also came from the trip. senegal's support for the saudi-lead intervention in yemen. 2100 troops to be deployed along the saudi border with yemen. only a handful of countries are providing support to the operation. senegal is the first country to commit ground troops to the defense of saudi arabia. one of the arguments the government gives to the public is that this deployment of troops is to protect the holy sites. islam plays an important role here in senegal, but so does politics. the opposition accused the ruling party of sending troops in exchange for funds to fulfill their political ambition. >> translator: many are worried because this is not our war. our army is being used as mercenaries in exchange of

money. >> reporter: the question now is who will deliver on their promise first? and what price is senegal willing to pay to ensure the development of the country. for this man this is about all relationships and reviving them in time of need. the violence in yemen has forced thousands of families from their homes. poor stranded, many are suffering from food and shortage of -- medicine shortages. hashem ahelbarra reports. >> reporter: muhammad ali has spent most of his life here. it is a small community on the outskirts of yemen's capitol, sana'a. he lived along with his father and married brothers and sisters in this house. it took them years to build it. but their house has been badly

damaged by the force from explosions that targeted the area in the last few weeks. it could collapse any time. >> translator: my father and sisters lived here. this is where i lived with my wife and children. this is where my brother lived. he was planning to marry in two week's time and move with his wife to this room. it's all gone. we were three families living here. >> reporter: this is the moment the saudi-lead coalition air strikes targeted what they said was a scud missile depot last month. jets also strike a military base used by the elite republican guard which is loyal to former president saleh. hundreds of families have had to flee their homes, including muhammad ali. we first sought refuge in this underwater tank but then it rained and we had to evacuate.

we now live in a shop that was emptied by its owners. >> reporter: they can't return to their homes because of the continuing violence. now they say their only hope is for this war to come to an end, so they can go back home. hashem ahelbarra, al jazeera. the war in syria has ravaged the country and has considerably crippled the region's economy. violence along the border with jordan has forced ayman to seal off a major trade route. >> reporter: billions of dollars in goods once passed through the gates of this crossing but now trade with syria is finished. the crossing was a crucial listen income a major trade network that ferried goods between europe and the middle east. jordan closed the crossing last month when rebels seized control of the syrian side.

this truck was a lifeline. now it's a burden. the border's closure means he can no longer work in the free trade zone. 17 family members depend on him financially and he has a truck loan to pay every month. >> translator: there are 4,000 trucks in the country and nowhere for them to work. we get an an assignment once every three months. >> reporter: jordanian officials say opening the crossing is unlikely any time soon. the closing has been detrimental because thousands of jordanians lost their jobs in the free trade zone behind me and there are reports of widespread looting of investor's inventories by syrian rebels. and trade with iraq is now non-

non-existent bawl of the islamic state of iraq and the levant. this iraqi truck driver says isil fighters comes harass drivers and seize their cars and goods, and if the driver isn't sunni he may not make it out alive. >> translator: they stop us and request documents. they charge hundreds of dollars for each car passing through, then give us a receipt. >> reporter: traders say jordan is becoming encircled and isolated by violence and its economy is going through the worst crisis in its history. >> translator: this isolation has been imposed on us. we import 90% of our food needs. we have enough stock now, but we also have reason to be afraid. what if straits are closed due to wars? we're not in a good position at all. >> reporter: jordan has succeeded at fending out what it

describes as terrorists from iraq and syria, but an ailing economy can threaten stability especially with no solutions in sight. the italian navy says that it thinks it has found the wreckage of a fishing boat that capsized with an estimated 800 migrants aboard. the coast guard has released images of the rescue of 90 migrants aboard a sinking dingy off of the coast of libya on wednesday. the migrants were taken to the italian island of lampedusa. violence and persecution will only push people to continue to risk it all and make that journey. this man used forged passports to buy tickets on a ferry from greece to italy. it was a journey that ended in tragedy. here's his story in his own

words. >> translator: we got to the port outside of athens and passed through several check points without problem. at the last one i was called over. the port was huge very big. so i asked another arab family to keep my youngest son while my eldest and i went to be checked. i took the family's mobile phone number. they saw my fake passports and ceased them. they made us leave the port. i phoned the arab family and told me not to worry, they would deliver my son to my son in germany when they get there. i saw the tv news showing a rescue operation of a ferry on fire out at sea. it was the same blue ship i was going to get. i saw them rescuing children. i waited for a few days and went to see if he was on the list of survivors, but he wasn't. the wife and daughter of the family that took my son had

died. i had no documents to prove i was his father. after 45 days of searching the greek authorities told me my son is officially missing. presumed dead. but i believed he was still alive. i can't explain why. a father's feeling. he might be with some people. and he might be in shock. i'll wait 15 days before telling the boy's mother. can you imagine the reaction parent losing a seven year old child. of course i regret being smuggled. everyone always asks that. but let me ask this question. what other options did i have? i ask that the e.u. the u.n. and turkey couldn't give me travel documents. my name is aukmed mohammed what choices were given to me before i killed my son? the head of germany's train driver's union has rejected the

latest offer. the union began a seven-day walkout on monday demanding a 5% pay raise and a reduced working week. they also want to negotiate on behalf of other railway workers. a series of tornados have torn through the united states. gerald tan reports. >> reporter: terrifying yet, ah-inspiring a tornado rips its way through the u.s. state of oklahoma. more than two dozen twisters touched down on wednesday, cutting a path from texas to nebraska. they flipped cars tore down trees and power lines, and ripped up roofs. the storm system also brought heavy downpours, the national weather service declared a flash flood emergency, a first for

oklahoma city. in the business district streets were inundated as water filled parking lots and forced shops to close for the day. >> distraught, dishevelled. saddened but we're going to get it cleaned up and get back to business. >> reporter: more than 10,000 homes in oklahoma lost electricity. people have been advised to stay off of the roads until debris is cleared, and the severe weather passes. a tornado watch remains in effect for oklahoma and other states in the great plains and midwest. germany's president has fired her cabinet and is appointing replacements. her popularity is lower than ever of a string of corruption scandals. daniel reports from neighboring argentina. >> reporter: the president of chile needed a shakeup to save

her reputation. so she made this announcement on national television. >> translator: a few hours ago i requested the resignation of all ministers, and i'll take 72 hours to decide who will stay and who will go. >> reporter: her popularity is at an all-time low. her son resigned as director of cultural affairs after being accused of using his connections to get wife access to a $10 million loan. her company is being investigated for buying land with that loan and reselling it at a huge profit. and there have been scandals over campaign financing. she had an 83% approval rating in 2010. she was elected again last year with 62% of the vote but her popularity has gone down since then. a poll released on wednesday

suggested only 31% of people now approve of her. >> translator: the disapproval rating had a negative effect on what has already been achieved and throws a lot of bought over what can now be taken forward. >> reporter: over the past month there have been severe floodings in the desert and a volcanic eruption. >> translator: why didn't i do this earlier? because we have been dealing with very hard situations. >> reporter: the president president -- has also been trying to push through a number of reforms including on education and labor, yet she is facing more criticism. >> translator: the worst of all is that they are ruining the president's image, which she doesn't deserve, because she

came back with good intentions. but everything has been awful. she had to deal with catastrophes natural disasters. >> reporter: the shakeup has been welcomed by politicians within her party. it's a dramatic move but some also see it as long overdue, and necessary to relieve the pressure on the president. daniel swieb swieber al jazeera. venezuela says it will install fingerprint scanners in food stores across the country in order to try to control sales. al jazeera's correspondent reports from zulia. >> reporter: friends call this man obama. they say he looks like the u.s. president, but because of how dangerous his job is he asked

that we not show his face. venezuela is suffering some of the worst food shortages in recent history. government officials say more than 40% of imports go straight back out through the country's borders. obama knows he is one to blame. >> translator: i know i contribute to the shortages, but i'm not the only one, and if i stop the people around me won't. in fact i dare to say that 80% the people in this state is a smuggler. >> reporter: driving a couple of hours across the border to sell in columbia can quadruple your monthly earnings in just a few days. nothing on the border with columbia beats smuggling, and at first site it does seem everyone is involved. fingerprint scanners like these have been installed to control what and how much people can buy. the government hopes it will cut down on smuggling, but

recognizes it still needs fine tuning. >> translator: the fingerprinting scanners will prove successful when we can integrate the national registries with the system. >> reporter: until prices are no longer controlled smuggling will thrive and shelving will remain empty. venezuelans still have to stand in line for hours and even then often go home empty handed. no one here hides their disappointment or their desperation at the ongoing problem. >> translator: nothing has changed. it's still the same. you waste the while day in line. and i still can't find diepapers. >> reporter: while new mechanisms are found, a new thriving street economy is likely to continue booming in venezuela.

just ahead here on the news hour we'll find out why the new england patriot's star player has been implemented in what is being called deflate g

♪ all right. time now for sport. here is jo. >> a dispute over television rights is threatening to suspend games indefinitely.

our correspondent explains. >> reporter: the spanish premiere league is second most watched in the world. it is their financial success that is threatening to bring all football across the country to a halt. the spanish football federation say they will suspend all competition from may 16th a dispute with the government over tv rights at the heart of the issue. in spain clubs have been allowed to negotiate their own individual deals in contrast to the u.k. where rights to the english premier league are solved in one package. as the two most popular clubs in the country, barcelona and real madrid make the most while lower tiered clubs struggle financially. >> they make around 140 million euros per season and that

compares to the likes of other clubs, which is around 17, 18 million euros. so we're talking about a ratio from one to seven. >> reporter: a new law approved by the spanish government last week would ensure a greater share of the money amongst all clubs, but the federation isn't happy. the lfp are in support of the government and have begun immediate legal action to block the suspension. if football is halted the title will be left undecided with two games to play. barcelona currently lead real by only two points but more widely a suspension would affect more than 600,000 players, and 30,000 matches across spain. >> translator: we are at the final stage of the league with only a few weeks left. the players then go on vacation.

therefore there needs to be an effort to reach an agreement. all i can do is make a call for reason. if we all talk we will find a solution. >> reporter: the lfp will gather all of their professional clubs for an assembly on monday. a power struggle over spanish football with no clear winners. spanish football journal list joins me now live from barcelona. why does the league support the bill, but the football federation doesn't? >> basically it's a problem -- a power struggle really between the government and the football federation, and the league is on the side of the government whereas the federation are unhappy that they weren't directly involved in the negotiations for this new deal. so that's the root of the problem, the president of the federation has been in this position since the 1980s, and he always has been looking for more control, obviously for the

federation, and it is a power struggle that is at the root of this problem, and who has -- who is in control, the spanish football at the end of the day. >> the government say it will make the league more competitive, because the smaller clubs will be able to afford better players. why isn't the federation happy about that? >> well they should be. i mean this is a situation where the fans are suffering because of this -- this situation between the federation and the government and hopefully a solution will be found before the final two games of the season. it's a situation where the federation don't want the government involved in football. they don't want them to have the control directing to television companies as part of this new deal and they also want a better payment from the -- the budget that they are receiving. so they are not happy on

those -- on those issues basically. >> and this stoppage could affect 600,000 players and 30,000 matches. so how will it be resolved? can it be resolved? will he see the end of the season? >> these kind of things are unusual in spain. other countries look at a situation like this with alarm. but it is quite often in spain there are these potential situations where there could be a strike and it never comes to anything. at the moment they are negotiating a solution and that is a strong possibility. i would say it's maybe 50/50 at the moment but it's -- it is an ongoing situation. it's not just purely about this issue over the -- the new deal the tv deal. there are other issues in terms of budget and how much money the

federation is receiving. >> all right. that is tim hanlin there, joining us live from barcelona. the head of palestinian football has once again insisted that fifa suspend israel saying it is part of a quote, racist occasion that is damaging palestinian sport. israel restricts the movement of palestinian footballers. he wants fee -- fifa to vote on the 29th. if fifa was to suspend israel it's teams would be barred from international tournaments, including world cup qualifying. >> the bullying of the neighborhood have no right to continue bullying. he has to pay the price. we are committed to the status of fifa. we are committed to the

principals, but at the same time we are committed to go for the resolution in the congress of fifa. there is no compromise there will be no private deal. >> the new england patriots could face disciplinary action. it happened in the afc championship game in january in which they beat the indianapolis colts. underinflating balls makes them easier to grip catch, and throw. the report implicated tom brady, saying he was at least generally aware of inappropriate activities with the footballs. in the nba, lebron james stole the show with 33 points as cleveland beat chicago in game 2 of their eastern conference

semifinal. houston also beat the l.a. clippers to square their series at 1-1. james harden was another high-scoring player. this time with 32 points. he scored half of his points in the fourth quarter to see houston win 115-109. >> he was ready to go. i mean he was amped up. we needed a game a big game from him, and he -- he came out and did his thing. he hit some tough shots, but, you know, it was a tough win for us. they are a tough team and they never go away. roger federer has been knocked out of the latest round of the masters. ending federers hope of winning a fourth madrid trophy. and that's all of the sport for now. >> many thanks indeed. that's it for the news hour.

thanks for watching. lauren taylor in london here to update you on today's top stores.

after an up surge in fighting saudi arabia offers a five-day humanitarian ceasefire in yemen. but will the houthis agree? ♪ i'm loren taylor this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up. fears that fighting in syria's mountainous region will spill over the border into lebanon. more deaths in