>> the saudi military target against houthi rebels in yemen and say they have not yet answered the offer of a cease-fire. >> this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up, egypt's former president hosni mubarak gets a three-year sentence for corruption but sent home because of time already served. after decades of harsh restrictions major concessions

made. >> the saudi military said that houthi leaders in yemen to hide. the coalition has staged more than 100 airstrikes in 24 hours against houthi targets. they bombed areas close to the international airport in sanaa as well as in other areas. saudi arabia has offered a five-day cease-fire starting on tuesday as long as the houthi agrees to take part, but so far there has been no response from the houthis as fighting continues. simon mcgregor wood continues. >> this shows airstrikes launched against houthi positions in the northern province of sadaa and elsewhere in yemen including the airport in sanaa.

sadaa is now a military target and urged civilians to leave the area. >> the coalition forces and saudi forces conducted 140 airstrikes which targeted 100 areas inland. it also targeted the leadership centers and officers of the houthis targeting more than 17 leaders. >> the saudis have offered a five-day humanitarian truce starting tuesday but only in houthi fighters stop shelling saudi villages across the border. international aid workers said that it has made delivering vital humanitarian aid even harder. >> so we can have aid with humanitarian workers coming in. it was targeted just a week ago. it was targeted again today and we need to leave some opening in this country. something needs to come in, and

that needs to be humanitarian workers. humanitarian aid food, but also fuel. >> fighting has escalated across yemen. tribesmen loyal to abd rabbuh mansur hadi say they have opposed houthi attack in marib. this is a region rich in oil and gas. >> this is the front line. this area was under the control of the houthis now we've captured it. but the rebels are regrouping and planning a counter offensive offensive. >> in the city of taiz, they would capture the mountain. if the houthis lose control of taiz they'll lose a vital supply line for their fighters in the southern city of aden. simon mcgregor wood, al jazeera. >> well, al jazeera's mohammed vall joins us from the saudi capital of riyadh.

we've seen 100 airstrikes or so in the last 4 hours alone. does this suggest that the saudi operation is in some sort of new phase? >> it isn't a new phase that has been clearly announced yesterday by the spokesman of the coalition when he said that this phase will be even stronger than any previous phase that the houthis have in yemen. he promised that between now and the time of the truce on wednesday afternoon there would be an intensification of airstrikes and we've seen that happening more than 130 in the last 24 hours concentration of those airstrikes on houthi commanders and this is a new or so--a new development in the war strategy. they're now going clearly and specifically after houthi commanders and those who are loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh.

urgedaccording to the words of their planning of attacks on saudi territory and their continuation of attacks on yemeni civilians for the saudis this war has become a war of wills. they want to show the houthis that now they have to accept peace, the peace officer the truce, or they will see more intensification of strikes and probably they will pay a much higher price if they continue the war than if they accept peace. for the houthis it is a war of attrition now. they bet on time. they think that the factor of time is on their side. they see that the saudis are losing patience, and changing the conditions of a cease-fire at the beginning they said that there would be no end of this airstrikes until the.

just accepting the truce and beginning the talks so they see this change in the saudiing conditions and they believe that the saudis are under pressure losing patience because also of the casualtyies among their citizens and the strikes on their cities. and also the international community is beginning to lose patience with the loss of human life amongst civilians and they think they have to wait, and they don't see any need for an urgent acceptance of a cease-fire. >> mohammed vall with the latest in riyadh, thank you. >> a judge in cairo has upheld hosni mubarak's three-year prison sentence for corruption. however, he's allowing the former egyptian president ting home because he has served time in detention and a military

hospital. and the judge reduced the president of the former president's two sons. they've been given three years instead of four. the judge has allowed them to go free since they, too have already served the full term in detention. in iraq isil is claiming responsibility for jail breaks in diyalabreaksbreaks inbreaks inbreaks in diyala province. more than 50 prisoners and 12 policemen killed. in syria international inspectors have found chemical weapons. hezbollah and option fighters have been battlinging for control near damascus. if it falls to the opposition, president bashar al-assad's northwestern stronghold will be

cut off from the capital. well anti-government groups in syria have increasingly gained the upper hand in the last few weeks with the capture of key towns further north in idlib province. bernard smith has more from the turkish-syrian border. >> this area is deserted. it took anti-government groups three days to take this city from government forces after a stand off for three years. almost all of idlib province in northwestern syria is now under the control of this alliance that calls itself the conquest army. it includes the powerful al nusra front and. >> we tried hard to take the area. we couldn't because we weren't coordinated or appropriate. now that the group is united we took the town. >> while most of the fighters

are leaving, it's the strategic significance of this city that really matters. >> it means that we can cut the government supply roads on the west coast to to aleppo and idlib and then launch towards the coastal areas. >> those coastal areas are the heartland of the minority alawite community to which president about a bashar al-assadwhich president bashar al-assad belongs. it is one of the most important government-held areas in the country. one former free syrian army commander tells us that the group is united under the conquest army would not have done so without foreign support. and as they move to the other side of those mountains it seems better equipped and

coordinateed. bernard smith on the syrian border. >> two aid agencies have rescued their staff due to fears of imminent attack by government forces. thousands have left the town of leer. fighting broke out in south sudan in december 2013 when it's president accused his former deputy of attempting to stage a cue. earlier the operations director for doctors without borders spoke with al jazeera and said medical services are already suffering there. >> it's been reported close to leer where even a hospital for the population in the region, we had to evacuate our staff as a precaution and therefore seize the medical services. we estimate that the population

benefiting from the services in the hospital is around 200,000. and this year alone we have carried out more than 25,000 consultations. at the time of the evaluation we had more than 30 patients in the hospital. we have treated more than two and a halfous and a half thousand children for malnutrition this year alone. >> liberia has marked the end of its ebola epidemic. it's been 42 days since a new case. but. experts are warning against complacency because new cases are being reported in certificate la leone and guinea. >> the united states is calling on north korea to stop raising tensions in the region after

president kim jong-un apparently watching the launch from a boat, but it's not clear when or exactly where it took place. the launch violates sanctions banning the use of ballistic missiles technology. >> the typhoon is expected to hit land on sunday hit be the island of luzon. germany and the u.k. have suspended their use of the new airbus a 400 military transport plane after one crashed in spain. the aircraft came down in the seville pablo airport, which is now closed.

there are no survivors. the plane was undergoing flight trials before being delivered to spain's military. they're sending a technical team to help investigators. still to come, more on the fall out from the u.k. election. >> the scottish national party one of crushing victory. we ask if independence is now inevitable. >> and celebrations in guatemala city after the resignation of the vice president. full details coming up.

>> a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. the saudi-led coalition has staged more than 100 airstrikes in the past 24 hours against houthi fight necessary yemen. saudi arabia has offered a five-day cease-fire but the houthis are yet to respond. a judge in cairo has upheld hosni mubarak's three-year prison sentence for corruption. he has already spent three years in and will freed. they called it the great patriotic war in russia. no country suffered more casualties in military and civilians.

as rory challands it is a barometer of their military and commission. >> russia's biggest-ever victory day prayed to mark 70 years since the nazi's nazis surrender surrendered. this from a leader who speaks against the rehabilitation of militarism. in saturday's red square address vladimir putin praised the millions of soviet citizens who perished in the war and criticized modern powers, presumably the u.s. for trying to dominate global affairs. >> in past decades basic principles of international cooperation, principles won in war are being neglected more and more often. we're seeing attempts to create

a polar world. >> ten years ago putin sat next to george w. bush for this event... german and french leaders attended too, put a decade on western leaders were noticed only by their absence. ukraine's crisis has badly soured relations. still other leaders came to shake hands with russia's president. china's leader, xi jinping, russia is displaying new relationships to mitigate damaged older ones. also showing off was high tech new weaponry, the first newly designed russian battle tanks since before the soviet union fell. russia is modernizing it's armed forces as fast as it is able, trying to build a more professional military. so while other departments of ministries are suffering severe budget cuts, the defend spending here in russia has increased

significantry. watching the parade were some of the few remaining people who actually fought against the nazis in what russia calls the last patriotic war. maybe this is the anniversary where this will be possible. >> i feel pride for our motherland which we served during our time in war. now i'm amazed by modern technology. i feel so proud. >> i'm satisfied there are people who can defend the land that we once defended. >> victory day has multiple functions. it displays military might. it shows off global friendships but perhaps most usefully it unites russians in the themes of sacrifice and victory. rory challands al jazeera, moscow. >> police have been fighting an armed group as tensions increase in the yugoslav republic. [ explosions ] >> explosions were heard and

smoke seen rising from the roof of a house where the group is believed to have barricaded itself. medical works say that four policemen have been seriously injured. it's unclear who the members of the group are or what they want. opposition has been on the rise since a massive wiretap campaign. the demonstrators gathered outside of the headquarters of david cameron's conservative party before marching on downing street. they're unhappy at the conservative majority victoryien "n" thursday's general election. four people have been arrested. aside from the conservative victory, the other headline was the huge gains made by the scottish national party. the separatist party bounced back in style after losing in last year's separatist referendum.

as barnaby phillips reports from the town of falkirk not everyone is happy with the party party's meteoric rise. >> here they are more than 50 of them. many of them no doubt amazed by the scale of their victory. scottish national party mps guess for a team photo before travel to go westminster. they are the new force in british politics, yet their success does not tell the whole story of the election in scotland. [music] >> from the town of falkirk it's parade day. this town voted no to independence in last year' referendum but like everywhere else in scotland it has elected a nationalist mp. >> the scale of their support is distorted by the british voting system. they won 95% of scottish seats with only 50% of the votes. and that leaves the other half

of the scottish electorate with very little representation. >> we found some of them on full kirk's high street like this pensioner who voted conservative. >> i'm very much for an united kingdom rather than a separatist country. i think there is a lot of that people--i may be wrong but i feel there are a lot of people out there who think they'll wave the flag and everything will be all right. i don't think that's the right thing to do. >> and then sherlock holmes, he voted nationalist for the first time in his life, but he doesn't want independence. >> it's a snap decision, but i think we should have more of a say. that's the reason why i voted for it. but in the vote of another referendum i agree with it. >> this connects two of scotland

scotland's great canals. but it is now only a tourist attraction. and the nationalists believe that the tide of history is now turning in their direction. now falkirk's mp now supports the vote on independence. >> it may come within the next five years. certainly within the next ten years. and it will be a resounding yes victory in that second referendum. >> scottish politics have changed so fast that anything seems possible. the election results don't mean that the union are doomed but they do suggest that any british government will have to be very skillful to save it. >> indonesia's president has released five political prisoners after 12 years in jail. activists say that the president is trying to clean up his image after executing drug smugglers

including eight nationals. >> a symbolic step towards reconciliation with papua. prisoners were granted clemency serving life sentences they were freed after 12 years. they were fighting for independence. for decades indonesia has ruled the territory rich in natural resources with an iron fist. president widodo now wants change. >> we have to open a new page, all of us. we want to free all political prisoners and ask them to help build papua. >> he denies the prisoner release is a p.r. stunt after executioning drug traffickers just a fort night ago.

>> no, we have prepared this since december, we talked to all the relevant parties since then. but it takes time, and it needs to be done in phases. >> despite their release the prisoners are unhappy. instead of a pardon they wanted amnesty, which would clear them of all wrongdoing. but amnesty can only be granted by parliament. >> i really regret this. i only know that i've been given clemcy. nobody told me before. >> human rights organizations estimate that more than 90 political prisoners are still behind bars. most prominent is philip karma who was secretly filmed in prison in papua. he was jailed for 15 years for raising the independence flag. he refuses a presidential pardon and also wants amnesty. >> if he's a real democrat he'll

honor freedom of opinion. he should free all political prisoners. i want to be the last one to be freed after all my friends are released first. >> president widodo said he would bring change to papua and would release political prisoners as soon as possible. but most are still behind bars. the president did announce one important change. after decades of severely restricted access to foreign media, he said that all journalists may now be able to report freely from papua. something that papuaens have wanted for a long time. >> now there is no more problem. i've told this to all the relevant parties from ministries to police chief all of them. >> however, it's not the president but the military, which has ruled papua for a long

time president widodo has to prove he has the power to bring the changes he is promising. al jazeera papua. >> the cuban capital of havana hosted the country's gay pride parade. the culminated in a mass symbolic wedding ceremony. same-sex marriage remains illegal in the mainly catholic country but attitudes are changing. authorities in guatemala are expecting further protest for the resignation of president monthly lena. the president's vice president has already resigned. >> thousands of guatemalaens have been celebrating the vice

president's resignation in the capital of guatemala city. it was a culmination of weeks of protests. anger and frustration that had been directed towards the ruling party was replaced by chants, cheers and fire crackers. the protesters called it a victory for the people. while there is resignation was announced by president molina, he said it was a brave decision. >> the vice president after talks in which we analyze was taking place in the country i reiterate courageously made the decision to give her resignation. while i think everything has its times there are processes that i insist should be followed. there are processes that are established by law and processes that all guatemalaens should respect. >> the vice president is suspected of taking bribes to

lower custom duties. when she flew back home she held a media conference to deny any wrongdoing. but two days ago guatemala's supreme court call on congress to remove her immunity from prosecution paving the way for possible legal action against her. other senior officials have been implicated in the bribery ring. president molina was elected in 2011 on the promise of fighting crime with an iron fist. this corruption scandal, the most significant in recent history suggests he has had limited success. >> molina is not standing for office this time but with four months before the presidential elections some fear that the damage to guatemala's ruling party has been done. some protesters are calling for president molina to resign, too.

david mercer, al jazeera, guatemala. >> and reminder you can always catch unwith the latest news in sports on our website. the address to click on to is www.aljazeera.com. www.aljazeera.com. for all your breaking international news. >> the mountains of west virginia have provided generations with jobs in coal. but on january 9th, 2014, the state woke up to an example of the costs of it's industrial economy. a tank containing a chemical used the process of coal production had leaked its contents into the elk river,