yemen's former president targeted in an air strike his house is destroyed. but ali abdullah saleh appears unharmed. you're watching al jazeera, live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up south africa's main opposition party about to elect a black leader for the first time. a group arm with machine-guns and bombs are battling police in macedonia

thanks for your help with the united states - cuba's president raul castro is meeting pope francis at the vatican. hello, yemen's former president ali abdullah saleh has, for the first time, pledged his allegiance to houthi rebels. it comes after his house was targeted by the saudi-led coalition in the capital saana. it's the first time the saudi-led targeted former president ali abdullah saleh, he was unharmed and remains defiant. >> translation: you should continue carrying your arms, willing to sacrifice your lives in the face of these belligerent attacks. i can describe this aggression

as an act of cowardice, if you are brave enough, face us on the battlefield. shelling by rockets and jets cannot enable you to achieve your goals. >> reporter: this is the moment the international airport in sanaa was struck by coalition jets. houthi fighters say the attack was to present the landing of aircraft carrying aid. the saudi-led coalition intensified campaigns, targetting sadr province in northern aden, yemen and other provinces. saudi army commanders say it was an ammunition depot that houthis planned to use to shell saudi villages. the united nations humanitarian coordinator for yemen says no civilians in sadr city are

drafted because of a shortage. the indiscriminate bombing ofulation areas is a violation of humanitarian law and issuing warnings is not enough. saudi arabia has offered a 5-day humanitarian tour starting -- truce starting tuesday. the houthis remain skeptical. they say any step to alleviate the suffering of the yemenis will be welcome. they urge agencies to send immediate relief to the people. . >> if they start the fighting it will lead to a humanitarian crisis in yemen. it will help humanitarian aid to come into yemen. the saudi will stop. i do think they will stick to

the five day ceasefire. >> fighting shows no sign of abating. this is a village attacked in the central province of ibb. local people say there are no fighters in the area. the war undermines the chances for a political settlement in the country ravaged by years of instability. the houthi rebels are open to political talks if they take into account a growing political influence across yemen there is also heavy fighting in idlib province and along syria's border with lebanon. hezbollah, which is backing the bashar al-assad government and rebels have been battling for control of the area we have more from the beqaa valley on the border. >> reporter: there was a suicide bombing carried out by syrian

rebel groups aimed at the hospital where about 150, up to 250 syrian soldiers are based in the hospital in the town in the province of idlib, north of syria. most had fallen to the rebels over a week ago, but the syrian government is trying to send reinforcement and carried out a number of air strikes. the battle we understand, it is heavy. in the mountain range, which is in western syria, there were heavy clashes in the early hours of the morning, in two areas, the lebanese group helped the syrians in the area and backed by a few air strikes. the syrian coalition of rebels are hard trying to control the area. the importance is key for the

hezbollah, as well as the syrian government, because it's a supply route where the weapons go in and out of syria south africa's opposition party is about to elect its first black leader. as reported from port elizabeth, the democratic alliance is trying to shake off its image of being dominated by a white minor city. >> reporter: south africans know politically things are changing. for the first time the main opposition party, the main opposition alliance will have a black leader, how do voters feel about that. >> we are scared of being led by a white western. i don't think it will make a difference. >> reporter: the outgoing leader has been praised for bringing more black people in the democratic alliance and diversifying the leadership. her departure ushers in a new era of black leaders.

this is a favourite. he's up against an antiapartheid activist. some south africans are not convince the democratic alliance is truly transforming. is it as simple as having a black person as head means more black people will vote for the party. >> some disagree. they have to maintain a perception that it interests white interests. >> to put the black people in front knowing that the white people behind - that they might have that point of view. i'm not sure that that is how i say it. >> i wouldn't vote. not now. >> not in this lifetime. >> not in the next coming lift, hey. >> reporter: suspicions aside, some say it's a good move for the democratic alliance.

>> to really become a significant factor in south african politics, a winner of government. they are going to need a black candidate to front their campaign for that significant proportion of south africa. >> some say the political terrain in south africa is interesting. analysts say it could be many years before the rule ag african national congress is removed from power. they are still very popular. police in macedonia are battling an armed group in the north where ethnic albanians are the majority. five police officers were killed 30 injured in gun battles on saturday.

>> reporter: sporadic gun fire can be heard. the main fighting ended saturday night. assume refuse to surrender. the fighting entered a mainly albanian neighbourhood. the police action began early on saturday morning in the city, about 40km north of the capital. it's an area that saw fighting during an ethnic albanian insurgency in 2001. >> you can see it's terrible, terrible. >> reporter: the government said the attackers entered from an unnamed neighbouring country. some police involved in the operation were killed. several wounded. it's unclear how many casualties there were on the side of the armed group they were fighting. >> translation: this morning the macedonian forces started to find and eliminate an armed group that was attacking government institutions. >> reporter: the ent will deepen concerns over stability in

macedonia, the government is facing allegations of wire tapping and abuse of office. >> translation: the most important thing is to help the population, and guarantee their security. this dark scenario will not succeed in the past week there has been street protests demanding the resignation of the prime minister, and opposition leaders are calling for more protests. the fear is that political leaders on either side will use the event to heighten ethnic tensions. it's estimated that 2 million people are ethnic albanians, and they won greater rights. that was after a peace deal. frustrations flare because implementations have been slow. the pakistan taliban is claiming to have shot down a helicopter carrying foreign diplomats. ambassadors from norway and the philippines were among seven killed in the crash. a video was set to show fighters firing a missile that hit the

tail of the helicopter the pakistan taliban released a video showing members showing showing different components of a russian sam-7 missile used to bring down the helicopter in which several diplomats were travelling. now, according to the military and footage obtained by al jazeera showed that the helicopter was coming in for a landing and crashed. it shows the rescue on board, and talking to some of the survivors who said that they did not witness any missile hitting the aircraft. it was a technical fault that developed on the aircraft. everything was going smoothly. according to aviation experts, if the aircraft were hit in the air, it would have come down like a rock. however, it shows that this was

an accident, and the crew members made an attempt to save lives after the helicopter caught fire still ahead, the nepalese babies born early and struggling to survive after the deadly earthquake.

the headlines on al jazeera - the saudi-led coalition targeted yemen's former president, hitting his palace from the air. ali abdullah saleh was unharmed

in the attack in the capital sanaa, for the first time he had openly announced his alliance, the houthi rebels. police in macedonia continue to battle an armed group in the north, where ethnic albanians are the majority. five were killed and injured in gun battle. south africa's main parties are about to elect a first black leader. some believe it is an attempt to shake off the image of being dominated by the white minority. joining us to discuss this is a political analyst. how much of a difference do you think this is going to make to the party? >> well, i think it could make a significant difference to the party. if elected, he will be seen as a charismatic leader and will make more inroads into the black

portion of the electorate if he is elected. as he is likely to be within the next hour. >> should the a.n.c. be worried? >> i think the a.n.c. should be worried, but they gained a large majority - well gained a large increase in the number of votes that they secured in the last elections, and look set to do so in certain areas in the next government local government elections coming up. >> they dominated the elections, a.n.c. still dominated the elections last year. >> yes, but their majority has been significantly eroded not only by the da but the esf, and there are increasingly signs in south african civil society among the student protesters and service delivery that they were increasingly frustrated with the a.n.c. in power.

it's not to say the d.n.a. is like i to become a strong contender in less than the next 10 years. what are the challenges that the next leader is going to face? >> the party is still regarded very much as a party that arose from politics. despite being the liberal party during the era, it has an image of being a conservative party, a white party largely, representing big capital and being guilty if you will of new liberal economic policy. >> do you think that this move by the da party to elect a first black leader will make more black people vote for this party. >> it's likely that middle class blacks will vote for the da in the upcoming elections.

many of them are willing to give an alternative a try. however, it does depend on their history. if they come from family backgrounds, for example, of strong antiapartheid struggle they are unlikely to vote for the da even with a black leader. as i said earlier, it's largely regarded as being conservative particularly economically. and most black south africans are agitating for some form of social democracy, that would mean a change in the economic policy. >> and the announcement is expected soon. we'll wait for the announcement. for the time being, thank you two german military ships rescued 200 migrants in the mediterranean sea, most from somalia and erit traya. defense -- eritrea. defense ministers are due to met

for talks to stop human trafficking and the flow of migrants. mean while libya's ambassador aims to tackle the crisis but says it has been left out of crucial discussions. many have departed the area and have died at see. some of the images in this report are disturbing. >> reporter: some call the crossing of the mediterranean the journey of death, still thousands and thousands are willing to take their chance. he says there was chaos, people shouted. the boat capsized, people fell into the water. he doesn't know what happened next, he was thinking of himself. he was rescued by the libyan coast guard.

there were bodies at sea. this map has never seen anything like it. he is the driver of misrata's only refrigerated ambulance, he transported dead fighters and saw all sorts of wounds. >> translation: it's horrifying. there's a terrible smell. the bodies were in the water for 20 or 30 days, some were eaten by the fish, some bloated by the sun. others are found floating and fishermen bring them back the corpses are taken to the morgue in misrata's hospital. it's in poor condition. look how they keep the fridge closed. it's not cold enough and bodies are rotting. bodies were found randomly on the beaches. no one knows how many were on sea. some are so disfigured it seems they've been in the water for a while. there's the body of a child. by the looks of it, they were between three and four years old. >> they were found on the beach

in january. they've been lying here decomposing. no one knows their names or were they came from, somewhere, families are wondering what happened to them. >> it's painful to see dead bodies. no one asks for them. we don't have the means for dna samples. the fridge preserves the body, not freezing them. they stay for month, six or seven. they suffer in death as well. it is really painful. >> reporter: they are given a number. only the location where they are found is registered. it can take a long time to bury them, there's little money and in a country at war, dead migrants are not a priority. the unknown bodies will end up in this cemetery, tucked between the sand dunes. it was once used for members of 37 migrant were buried here who died during the uprising of

2011. the story of these bodies will go unnoticed by thousands of migrants waiting in libya to cross the mediterranean. any one of them runs the risk of ending a journey here in misrata's cemetery two boats killing 500 people washed ashore in western indonesia. the boats landed at the northern end of sumatra. they are believed to be rohingya from mean har for bangladesh raul castro has been growth at the vatican by pope francis. he played a key role in improves in relations. the u.s. imposed a trade embargo after the revolution. we go to havana where the pope will visit on his way to the united states in september. >> reporter: havana's cathedral

is full with a mass to ordain two priests. if the catholic priests are suffering, here in cuba the shortage is acute. decade of restrictions took their toll. the church is still not allowed reg u lag access to the mass media. under the president castro the government is making changes. as castro meets with pope francis to discuss a visit. new churches are allowed to be built and a few hold ones to be preserved. i asked the head of the church what he expected from the visit. >> translation: it's natural that the pope will reaffirm the churches desire to open up to the world, and the world open up to cuba. the pontiff participated in the dialogue between the united states and cuba.

[ singing ] >> pope francis will be the third pontiff to cuba in 17 years, a lot considering that cuba is a small country in an area where the church is not so strong. cuba awakened an interest not proportionate to its side. this visit was particularly significant the president of columbia ordered an end to the spraying of cocoa plant. with a herbicide. gliso fate may cause cancer. the columbian government will look at other ways to destroy the cocaine. a shoot-out in a shanty town in brazil kills four, and another five from injured in rio di janeiro. rival gangs continue to battle over their shrinking territory

in the favelas. police have been pushing them out to improve security ahead of the olympic games next year in the philippines, thousands have been evacuated before the ask of a typhoon. noah is expected to reach the northern island on sunday rescue efforts sustain in nepal, two weeks after an earthquake killed thousands. doctors are concerned about pregnant women under significant stress. we have this report from kathmandu. >> reporter: they are the youngest affected by the quake, premature babies born in the hours and days after. this woman was 30 weeks pregnant and was in hospital when it began to shake. >> first i was told not to move. the hospital kept shaking and an oxygen cylinder fell over.

doctors came and told me to get out. i ran down the stairs. >> reporter: she had to get an emergency caesarian 12 hours later, because of a risk to her life and her babies. doctors say several women had miscarriages following the disaster, and emphasise the need to keep a close eye on their pregnant patients. >> in these kind of situations it is expected. we know women go through a lot of stress when they are about to deliver. they may lose their homes, a bread winner. and that does cause stress, so it could be premature deliveries. >> some, however, didn't have the proper medical help available even before the earthquake struck. >> adding to the stress is living in tents like this. coping in hot weather sundays and rain on the others. at least they are close to

hospitals like these in the capital. those in remote areas are more vulnerable. the united nations statements there were 126,000 women in the quake effected areas that were pregnant. most in rural and remote districts. the focus now is getting medical affects to them. . >> it is making facilities available in the streets. centers where women can come and have service. and making midwifes available 24 by 7. the next step will be to provide the long-turn premature babies care they need. for them, the aftereffects of the earthquake may last a lifetime. eurozone finance minister are meeting in brussels as bankruptcy threatens greece. it has to erepay -- to repay

several million euros on tuesday. a bone of contention is the pension system. we have this report from athens. >> reporter: leisure is perhaps the only luxury left for pensioners these days. their money is spoken for. >> translation: i'm paying off a home improvement loan. my children do not have work. i spend the rest helping them and grandchildren, and paying utilities and property tax. >> reporter: pensions make up 17% of the economy and is a safety net for society. at $18 billion, it's the government's biggest expense, despite being cut to half, to an average of $900 a month. there's simply not enough contributions coming into funds because a quarter of greek workers were unemployed, and the funds were crippled when they forced to accept a $28 million loss on government bonds they invested in. a high court decision could

raise the bill to half a billion to $5 billion, because some of the cuts will be ruled unconstitutional. it's likely to widen the gap. the gap between syriza and those that want more cuts. >> translation: at the moment there's conflicting views in the talks. i won't pretend it's better than it is. they haven't backed down. they insist on cutting pensions. we said we will not make cuts. there's a confrontation between us. >> the government emphasis on welfare is still highly popular. it's not affordable as the population ages. they have a plan. syriza wants to set up a cash flow into the pension system by clawing back some money, it would make pensions viable for decades, removing them as an expense. in theory that should remove them from the negotiating table.

similar long-term planning and making them more productive is making them absent. money to syria wants is diverted to pay off debt it is now higher than ever more news on the website, at aljazeera.com. [ ♪♪ ] hello, i'm richard gizbert, and you are