[ ♪♪ ] the latest efforts to stop the advance of i.s.i.l. forces in the battle for ramadi we are broadcasting live from doha. coming up in the next half hour... >> refugees fled the war in yemen, and make a plea for help from djibouti. >> a gunfight between police and an alleged drug gang in mexico leaves more than 40 people dead.

ireland awaits the result of the referendum on gay marriage. official results in hours from now. >> shi'a militia in iraq have been deployed from a base near ramadi. i.s.i.l.'s capture of ramadi was a major set back for the government. iraq's deputy prime minister says the group can no longer be regarded as a local matter and is calling for international action against them. more than 40,000 people have left ramadi since it was captured by i.s.i.l. earlier this week. thursday they took over the ancient syrian city of palmyra, the last border post between the two countries has fallen.

i.s.i.l. is said to control half of syria and large parts of iraq's sunni heartland. . >> the objective is to stop the advance. over recent days it stopped towns. i.s.i.l. was in a position to threaten the base where the government planned to counter the offensive. shia militia men, regular forces deployed on the ground they captured security around the base. there had been no official announcement that the counter offensive had begun in earnest. it seems what the iraqi forces are trying to do is prevent i.s.i.l. taking more ground. there have been calls from sunni politicians for the iraqi government to review its strategy, they say it's not working. analysts believe if the government does not reach out to

sunni tribes they'll not be able to defeat the group. i.s.i.l. made strategic gains, talking two more cities. it seems i.s.i.l. has a strategy wanting to link ramadi to fallujah. that makes it closer to baghdad. i.s.i.l. still very much having the momentum trying to defend it's position. calling for a review of strategy. at the end of the day if iraqi communities are not united it will be difficult to splinter the group speaking at the world economic forum in jordan iraq's prime minister says his country is determined to defeat i.s.i.l. after the fall of ramadi. >> it's not something which is

happening. we hope we can conquer the war. you lose some matters, but you have to mine the war an iranianship loaded with air supplies docked j djibouti. u.n. inspectors will check the vessel before to leaves port. inside yemen the fighting conditions in the city of aden fighters loyal to rebels are battling houthi militia in several parts of the city. houthi gunmen reportedly fired mortars along the border with saudi arabia. and forces say they responding with shelling. >> violence forced thousands to flee seeking safety they visited a refugee camp and reports on the desperate

condition. >> reporter: under a burning sun. they are gathered. hundreds hundreds that have run away crossing the sea. they have two children, they are camped out for weeks in unbearable conditions. >> the children are finding it impossible to stay here. some of us are diabetic. some have heart problems, we can't cope in the heat. there's no electricity or cold water. >> there are more than 1,000 refugees, the u.n. is struggling to cope. many of the refugees have not been allocated tents. in the storeroom, there's not a great deal in the way of food or clothing. holes have been dug up to service toilets. tiny wooden cubicles out of which repulsive smells emanate. making you want to throw up. the u.n. set up a vaccination programme and is providing clean water. the refugees say it's not

enough. >> translation: the international community has not fulfilled its obligations. especially the gulf. they should come and see how we are living. the heat is unbearable, the children are getting sick. >> in djibouti, they are safe. from the fighting, conditions at the refugee camp are dire. the united nations is doing its best, but with the influx of refugees are continuing. unless the international community acts fast. things could get worse. >> an international donors conference is expected to take place. it will occur in the coming weeks. the camp supervisor tells me it can't come fast enough. >> we call for neighbouring countries to open the door, and hope that the international community will move forward in providing support. all the refugees tell us how they were terrified by the constant shelling, and my the houthis and forces loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh. finding a safe place for the children is all they can think about.

now those children are safe, they are by no means out of harm's way. diseases could spread and many have fallen sick. many hope that the world will hear their calls for help. >> as you heard, it is a dire situation. there are reports that doze epsz of syrian -- dozens of syrian soldiers have been killed. activists claim that rebels attack the soldiers as they withdrew from the outskirts of the city. another 250 soldiers made it out of the area. opposition rebels have taken control. >> six people have been killed and at least 48 others were wounded in a grenade attack. a blast occurred in a market. there has been weeks of protests and unrest after the president's decision to run for a third term

in office. homeless children are getting caught up in the protests. they visit a shelter with hundreds of children go. >> reporter: there's no tear gas, guns police or soldiers here, just food it's free. one less thing that the street children in burundi's capital have to worry about. it's far away from the protest against burundi's president. >> during the protest we hide in drains along the road. until the shooting stops, we can't go out and look for food. sometimes police find us and beat us. >> reporter: many children come here exhausted, traumatized, after hearing fighting. >> the children have to go back on the streets at night. they face harassment from security forces. this is the situation and this has to stop, the protection of rights of children in a situation of crisis is the same

as in non-crisis and everywhere is responsible. >> it's not just children living on the street who are vulnerable. parents are told to keep children at home. don't let them come onto the streets by themselves. anything can happen in the capital. things are unpredictable. at any moment they can come onto the streets and start protesting, and that's where many are caught up. >> some demonstrators think the police will not fire at them if children are in the crowd. >> children are used as human shields, when there are violence, protesters block the road, police use tear gas to disperse them. children are often in danger. >> government officials say up to 130 children have spent a few nights in police cells since the current crisis began last month. places like this offer temporary reprieve. about 100 children come every day.

here they can be just children even if it's only for a few hours. a 3-hour gun battle between police and gang members left over 40 people dead. all but one of those that died was suspected of being part of a drug cartel. john holman reports from mexico city. >> that sound is gun fire and the people were killed in what authorities say was a shoot-out between police and suspected gang members south-west of mexico. by the time the ambulances arrived, around 40 people were dead one of them was a police officer. >> it's unclear what happened. federal officials say the police were attacked by gunmen and returned fire in a running battle that ended at a ranch. >> the shoot-out was prolonged and sporadic for three hours in three different parts of the

property. >> this all in a region controlled by a powerful new generation cartel shooting down an army helicopter and killing 15 police in an ambush. the government sent in a 10,000 strong force to take back control. those killed in the shoot-out could be from the cartel. as forces move into the cartel's territory, it's inevitable that the confrontation will take place. it's not the picture that the mexican government wants nationally or internationally of mexico as they shift the image for one in which violence and organised crime are deeply engrained as the government arrested smaller outfits like the new generation cartel emerged to take place. >> that changed and will change the nature of the threat. and should mean there'll be a need to change the nature of

response. the police response was overwhelming. it's not clear what happened or why the death toll was so high news out of ireland say both sides in the same-sex marriage referendum say that the yes campaign has won. vote counting is underway and official results have not been released. tim friend has the story. in the time between the wedding and the reception party, newlyweds vincent and anfound time to vote in the referendum on same-sex marriage. >> this is about equality. if you want to you should marry the person you love. it's a simple matter, it's about equality. >> not everyone feels the same way. ireland is spansly --

intentionally religious country. the catholic church is rocked by abuse scandals its influence is waning, attitudes are changing. at dublin airport irish people flocked home to vote. >> i changed my time to come home to vote. we daded to come -- decided to come back today and it coincided with the vote. glad we could get it in while on the holiday. >> turn out is high among the electorate. a very vote is backed by the government, big employers and celebrities. ireland was the last country to decriminalizehomo sexualitiy over two decades ago. opponent raised concern over parliament hood and surrogacy rights for gay couples. >> still ahead on al jazeera -

it's one of the fastest growing economies in the world. why is unemployment such a problem in ethiopia and the young faces of an old religion. buddhism in south korea tries colourful techniques to attract new members.

you're watching al jazeera, and a reminder of the top story. shia militia have been deployed to try and stop the deployment

of i.s.i.l. it's been a major set back for the government the taking of ramadi a 3-hour gun battle left 42 people dead. all but one of those who died was suspected of being part of a drug cartel live pictures out of dublin where both sides in ireland's gay marriage referendum say that the yes campaign won. vote counting as we can see is under way. no official results have been released. if the yes vote is successful it would make ireland the first country to adopt same-sex marriage by a popular vote. >> in ethiopia campaigning ended ahead of the parliamentary elections. some 36 million people are registered to vote. sunday's poll will be youth's first election since the death of the long-serving prime minister in 2012. ethiopia has one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

it's a far cry from a country devastated by famine, and a civil war that lasted for decades. agriculture is the driving force, acting for half of the g.d.p. the government is investing heavily in infrastructure as part of a plan to divert the economy. that is attracting foreign investors expected to inject 1.5 billion. unemployment is a challenge. 50% of the population is under 18, and the country need to create hundreds of thousands of jobs to keep up with the growing population. large-scale unemployment is seen as a driving factor pushing young ethiopians to leave the country. john campbell is from the school of oriental studies in london, and explains what needs to be done to keep young yooeth openians from leaving. >> the difficulty stems from the

lack of opportunity in the rural areas. the vast majority of the invest that has gone on has been urban or infrastructure related, and takes a long time for the benefits of this development to reach all areas. it's not just ethiopia that has 50% or more. it's across sub-saharan africa. the nature of development needs to change the issue of education. that needs to change and governments need to be more responsible to the electorate including young africans to design policies and engage with the needs of younger people. >> spaniards are heading to the polls on sunday for regional elections. cutbacks and high unemployment are the key issues. there have been some signs of growth, many spaniards are skeptical over the country's economic recovery. nadim baba reports.

david is 40 years old and has a full-time job. that is looking for paid work in madrid. he's going from one short-term contract to another. he's taking his resume to anywhere he could think of. from estate agent to neighbourhood bars. he's luckier than most because his wife has a permanent job, while he gets unemployment benefit. something many are not entitled to. >> the worst case is the mind. long-term unemployment people with no state help. it's better to earn 250, no one can live on the amount. you have a job. >> we can pull. >> spain's government insists on doing all it can. it predicts 6,000 new jobs created this year and can point

to encouraging data. >> during the first quarter of this year spain's economy grow by 0.9%. it will expand by three% this year, this is tackling unemployment. official visits showed it dropped to 23% in march, down 29.1%. the international monty fund forecasts unemployment in spain. that rings true for 50-year-old manuel, after losing his job as a public sifts thanks to help from parents and friends. >> we offered ourselves for every job - security guard, whatever working at the supermarket, placing the products. because of my age. there are availablingans sis out there, m march, one in 10

contracts signed with permanent positions. >> we look for jobs. salaries are low. 30, 50% below in the same port. it's not a good situation. the problem is there's an army of unemployers, and there's a lot of offer for few jobs. >> reporter: he got a call from an employment agency as al jazeera was filming. he has an interview. he has no idea what it's form. something unemployment mill jobs don't have. >> the u.n. secretary general urged countries to deal with the crisis in the region. ban ki-moon said saving the lives of people stranded at sea. thousands of asylum seekers from

myanmar and bangladesh tried to reach indonesia and malaysia by boats. as growing anger, the president is under pressure with tens of thousands of people marching and calling for his resignation. he sacked several ministers. adam raney reports now from guatemala city. >> elizabeth santos says her husband paid the highest price because of corruption in guatemala. anticorruption investigators say the security agency switched to a new dialysis drug provider after officials accepted 2.5 million in bribes. >> they reacted to the new drug as if it was poison and died two months after starting the

treatment. >> he didn't feel good when he gave the new treatment. it wasn't good. he had stomach pains, was nauseous and had diarrhoea. >> reporter: at least 13 died since the government switched providers. the case is one of two corruption scandals battling the president. it led to the resignation of the vice president and several cabinet members, and other high-ranking officials have been arrested. tens of thousands of guatemalans called for them to be resigned. >> they had to wait 24 hours in a wheelchair to be seen after getting sick from the drugs. >> translation: this is the saddest things, we were dying, and they didn't do anything to help us. >> reporter: her daughter now helps with care and says doctors didn't read the chart. >> he lost control of the situation, it wasn't just my mother sick, but we are talkign about 500 suffering from the

same thing in the same period, and no one responded. >> reporter: they are like other patients in the crisis have boxes of unused medicine sitting around. medicines that they'll never take advantage of because they've had an adverse reaction. the government spent a quarter of a million on the medicine which will have to basically be thrown away. the total contract for the medical company was $15 million, 15% earmarked for bribes, according to investigators. >> translation: we have said corruption kills. this is an example of the cost of impact. >> it kills and weakens many in a poor country where corruption is endemic and the vulnerable pay the highest price. buddhists in south korea are preparing for their biggest religious festival of the year the buddhist birthday. the celebrations are focussed on attracting members.

harry fawcett reports from seoul. >> reporter: under a serene roof of lanterns, a chaotic game of football. these muslims are practicing celebrations. it is part of an effort to reach out and attract new followers, trying to shift a perception of pacivity. the head of the biggest buddhist order says a new approach is needed. >> we didn't the really try to do anything with the growing numbers of cultural visitors to the temples. we were passive. it may have something to do with the principle of our teaching. now we are trying to adopt an aggressive strategy. >> a poll earlier this year showed the numbers of people describing themselves as buddhists fell by 8% in 10 years. at this type of of the year it's

to 90% of protest ants. at this type of of the year it's looking as being in declines. it is facing threats from a society seen as evermore materialistic and with less time for teachings from the buddha. and competition from others. it was not helped three years ago when video emerged of monks gambling and drinking in a hotel room. the order used the scandal as an opportunity to confront and resolve internal problems. it's reaching out with a message tailored to others, about using muslims in daily life. for some, it represents a departure from buddhism core teachings. >> buddhist teaching talks about reaching the state of enlightened wisdom by emptying oneself of eternal greed of

worldly goods and offering compasion to others. popular buddhism is headed in the opposite direction. >> for people like a former banker running his family's successful food business, that is part of the appeal, the ability to get informal guidance from a senior month and find the -- senior monk and finding the right path in business through prayer. >> businessmen running mid to small companies face employee problems. so i often pray that a lot of nice people work for me and help make the company grow. growth is preoccupying south korean buddhism as it becomes more business-like and focused on its open recruitment. he is one for car enthusiasts. the citroen ds is 60 years old. konno sewers believe it's the most innovative car built. many are gathering in paris for the anniversary celebrations. jacky rowland reports from a motor racing track south of the french capital.

>> it's not exactly formula 1, for fans of the french vintage car, it's as good as it gets. 800 citroen doing laps of honour of the race track to the south of paris. it may be difficult for us to imagine, but when the cars appeared on the streets in 1955 it was as if a flying sourcer landed. they look futuristic and embodied the feeling of confidence and optimism about the future in the period directly after the second. and they were associated with the french president. he had his fleet of cars and chose it as his cars. they had various technological innovations innovations, and it was something new at the time. as for the enduring popularity it could have something to do with the feeling of confidence

in the period. in these days where france is less certain, it would be anxious about the future and it gives them a feel-good factor if you would like to find out more you can keep up to date with new, analysis and features, that's on the website at aljazeera.com.