and i said that you have to leave. it was -- it was very sensitive on that. >> out with the old, in with the new, the president of uefa wants the boss of fifa replaced by prince ali from jordan. ♪ hello, i'm richelle carey in doha. also ahead on the program, al-nusra front accuses the united states of working with the assad regime to bomb areas under its control. hospitals in yemen are struggling to cope as losses

mount on both sides. i'm in western myanmar where the government's plan to cancel temporary id cards threatens to leave hundreds of thousands of people in limbo. ♪ the president of the european football body has asked fifa president sepp blatter to resign. this is ahead of friday's presidential vote which is widely expected to grant blatter a fifth term. platini has urged other organizations to follow his lead. he had a press conference in zurich a short time ago. >> sepp blatter was affected by

what i said because i am a friend with him, and we worked together in '98 when he wanted me as president of fifa and when i said i don't know nothing about fifa. i was open with the president. i need your help so it means that there is a long story with that -- with that. and i said that you have to leave. he was very sensitive on that. i said we are friends, but we will be friends after, and we have to check on peace like he like. in that means after [ inaudible ] it will be -- it will be a good friendship. he said it's too late. he said it's too late he understanding but it's too late because [ inaudible ] would be in summer hours. and i know what is his strategy. his strategy is to bring all of

the [ inaudible ] to have some speeches in the room to convince the people, you know as usual to convince him to work for him, and he will say look at the democracy, democracy of the most numbers, and if i have to stay i will say. >> andy richardson joins us live now from zurich. so any sense andy even with these big announcements coming from michelle platini any sense that this changes anything about the presidential election tomorrow? >> well it's a numbers game as much as anything. the fifa presidential election. that meeting that all of the football confederations have had while getting ready for this congress. uefa have up until today concentrating on the meeting in poland. so it was a scheduled meeting, and there were reports, rumors

that they were considering pulls out of the vote on friday but as delegates arrived today, more and more of them said no we are going to vote but we are going to ask everyone else to support prince ali. that's all well and good. that's really not a change in position for the majority of countries in europe. but they are just one of six global footballing confederations. they constitute a little more than 50 votes in a total of more than 200 votes. just as important in the last hour the confederation of african football issued a statement. they have just as many votes as uefa and they said they will stand behind blatter. i read one statement from the guinea president saying to blame blatter in terms of what has

happened is blasphemy, and that it smacks of a state conspiracy he has huge support in africa and asia which is ironic baring in mind his rival for the presidential is from asia but so regard of what uefa and platini says if blatter goes ahead with the election he should still get the majority. >> well having said that still tell us a little bit more about his rival prince ali who has pretty strong support from that contingency. tell us about him. >> he has influential support because europe in terms of their leagues are the global powers. the english premiere league the spanish la liga so they have a powerful votes, but that doesn't

mean they have anymore votes. the votes you have as he head of an african association is the same as the european association. so while prince ali has a lot of support in europe he is campaigning for greater transparency in fifa. one of the huge acquisitions that blatter faces is that there is very little transparency on exactly how the money is distributed. he is promising much more transparency. he is promising the full publication of the michael garcia report into allegations of corruption into the last two world cup decisions, so he does have some support. you have to think that until a few days ago, we had three rivals for sepp blatter, and to were from europe. now the reason they are not running, is because they realize they don't have the votes, and

prince ali while he does have a few more votes, he is still struggling to make up the numbers. >> all right. andy thank you. isil says it has stilled 110 iraqi and shia militia fighters in the last 24 hours. they said they were killed in ongoing fighting and more than 80 people were killed in suicide attacks in fallujah in anbar province. the leader of the al-nusra front has accused the united states of aligning with the assad government in bombing it. >> translator: there is no one air space for two war planes. even in the civil aviation there should be coordination so how about the mediterranean war planes there are routes a

saudi airliner takes off, a turkish airliner to follow they coordinate between each other. so how about the military war planes? do you think there is a u.s. war plane flying at the same time with another were plane belonging to the syrian regime and there is no coordination. >> translator: you accuse america? >> translator: yes, and we can prove it. we have pictures. hospitals in yemen are coming under increasing pressure. they are pushing houthi militias back across several fronts but even under the cover of the saudi-lead bombing campaign losses are mounting on both sides. >> reporter: blood stains the streets in what was a busy shopping district in ta'izz. yemen's warring sides blame each other for what happened here. civilians are among the wounded

and the dead. amateur video from another part of the city shows he is rubble of what is said to be a military commander's home activists say it was once the headquarters of houthi fighters from outside ta'izz. further inland forces loyal to president in exile are advancing under the cover of coalition air strikes. they say they are moving forward, but are still engaged in battle. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: the saudi-lead bombing campaign is now in its tenth week. in the capitol, residents call for an end to the war. >> translator: this is shrapnel that hit working men.

>> reporter: the united nations says it is listening to those calls, and is trying to reschedule peace talks. as the war rhetoric increases, so too does the number of dead. kim vinnell, al jazeera. the malaysia government says as many as 130 victims may be buried in graves in the jungle. forensic experts have been exhuming bodies. the smugglers avoided police by operating in inaccessible areas. >> the accessibility from thailand, the [ inaudible ] supply from the thailand border with 200 meters of water supply that goes into the camp it seems the militia is completely isolated from the whole camp structure. and then because this is on the top of the hill normally like

what i said earlier, our patrols don't normally go to the top of the hill we skim on the side because normal people don't live on top of the hill. >> by the end of this month the rohingya will face even more uncertainty in myanmar. their temporary registration cards are due to expire. with no legal status many are wondering if they have a future at all. florence looi reports. >> reporter: myanmar is the only country this person has ever known. but she has seen her status go from being a citizen to a non-citizen. she has had to surrender her temporary registration card to officials. >> translator: i have already given it up. i don't know what will happen now. >> reporter: she used to hold a citizenship card but in the late 1980s, the government took

it back from the ethnic minority to which she belongs. they see them as illegal migrants from bangladesh. they were promised citizenship documents but were instead issued temporary registration cards. they still had some rights including the right to vote but now that is gone. this is one of the offices set up to collect temporary id cards. it's a in former school building. the muslim rohingya live separated from the ethnic buddhist community. it was partly the animosity between the two that caused the government to revoke the cards. with elections scheduled for november and a possible referendum before that

activists accuse them to pandering to the buddhist community. >> it's really the attempt to strip the last rights to the rohingya. so it's really just the anti-rohingya drive. >> translator: we will accept white cards until may 31st after that those who gave up their cards can apply for national citizenship cards. >> reporter: for now they remain a minority unrecognized and unwanted. florence looi al jazeera, myanmar. still ahead on al jazeera, why native americans are angry with the pope's decision to grant saint hood to an 18th century priest. i'm harry fawcett in nepal,

where the country's vast potential as hydro electric power is seen as one possible route for economic recovery after the earthquake. ♪

♪ you are watching al jazeera, here are your headlines now. the president of the european football body has asked fifa president sepp blatter to resign. he says he supports fifa's vice president prince ali ahead of

friday's presidential vote which is widely expected to grant blatter a fifth term. the leader of al-nusra front, an al-qaeda affiliate in syria says the united states does not want the assad regime to be toppled. hospitals in yemen are coming under increasing pressure as the humanitarian crisis escalates. forces loyal to the president in exile says they are pushing houthis back across several fronts, but losses are mounting on both sides. 1500 people have been killed in a severe heat wave across india. the southern states are the worst hit with temperatures soaring close to 50 degrees celsius. >> reporter: funerals have been taking place across the southern indian states in the south.

nearly 1400 people have died there because of heat-related illnesses. >> translator: this woman died because of sunstroke. most of the people who have died here are daily wage workers. they do small jobs and have no financial security. the government needs to help them. >> reporter: this area has been hardest hit by the heat wave. india's meet logical department says temperatures have risen quickly and unexpectedly catching residents by surprise. people are doing what they can to keep cool ngo's and local governments are trying to raise awareness about illnesses like heat stroke. but there are fears these public service announcements are a little too late. hundreds of millions of people are also struggling in sweltering conditions. >> translator: i have to cover up well when i'm [ inaudible ]

it's easier for some people with air conditioning and cars these days. i also try to go out either in the morning or the evening. >> translator: the heat is great for my business. people are buying a lot more and drinking cold drinks like lemonade to stay hydrated. >> reporter: the first rains of the annual monsoon season aren't expected to hit until next week and it will be at least a month until the forecast improves in northern india. severe weather continues to pound parts of the u.s. state of texas and there are concerns there could be more flooding. hundreds of people have been asked to evacuate after torrential rain that killed 15 people this week.

>> reporter: heavy machinery brought in to clear the roads after the flooding receded, crews are out in force, as it's cleanup time in houston. and this is why. record rainfall made highways im impassable impassable. >> i tried to open the door and it wouldn't open. so i went for the windows, and then i got on the roof and they came over and helped me out. >> reporter: houston is america's fourth largest city and nearly every part of it was swamped with water. and a cassette with a woman's body inside unearthed from a nearby cemetery. >> i didn't even know what was happening. i was kind of a little scared because i was like what the heck. >> reporter: this is a major under pass that has been shut down because it was totally 234r50ded. i want to give you a sense of

how high the water levels went. they went all the way up to the top of this retaining wall. people say they have not seen flooding this bad for decades. because of flooding 46 counties have been put on states of emergency. in the town of wimbley several people are still missing and presumed dead. and people are on urge hoping it won't be another night of scenes like this. the u.s. military commanders are trying to found out why samples of anthrax was accidentally sent to south korea and the united states. four staff are being treated as a precaution after a laboratory in utah mistakenly dispatched samples. seven people in south korea

have been diagnosed with the middle east respiratory syndrome or mers. six people caught the disease from a man who traveled to bahrain bahrain. last month's earthquake in nepal is having a devastating effect on the economy, which was already in bad shape. hydro electricity has been seen as essential to rebuilding the economy, but building new dams have been slow. harry fawcett reports. >> reporter: more than a month after the earthquake and this hydroelectric plant is out of commission, awaiting repair. 13 plants across the country are thought to have been affected by the 7.8 magnitude quake on april 25th may's 7.3 mag ought to aftershock or both. it could take months more to get

back on line. >> translator: it's been severely damaged. the bridge was damaged. the generator house, the hydro was damaged. >> reporter: but there are other threats to the safety of these facilities. what is interesting about the damage you can see here is that much of it wasn't caused in the earthquake it was caused by flooding after a landslide which happened last year. it's a sign that the very geologigy that gives nepal such potential for hydro power also threatens it. further upstream the chinese company that was building this dam stopped work after the quake. >> that's what i tell the developers because we haven't had earthquakes for the last 80 years. a big one happened now, so let's say looking back at the history, every 70 or 80 years earthquakes happen in nepal. so hopefully they can be con if

ied denl. >> reporter: a landmark deal signed with india points the way. it would see an indian company build a 900 megawatt plant, and nepal would receive power in the short-term and export it in the long term. there are concerns to what the hydro might do. hydroelectric engineer and former water minister says india would get regularlized water flow free and electricity on the cheap. >> if you export electricity, they will be set up there, not here and our jobs won't get jobs in our country. >> reporter: nepal uses just 1%

of its estimated potential, there's brood agreement that this powerful resource needs to be better harnessed. but just how that should be done remains a divisive issue. harry fawcett, al jazeera, in the river valley of nepal. the u.s. defense secretary has called on china to stop building artificial islands in the south china sea. the islands have been contested for decades between china and its neighbors. the [ inaudible ] delegation has wrapped up a visit saying washington will not seek a regime change. both countries are working towards restoring diplomatic relations after more than five decades of the u.s. imposed embar go on the cuban government. the army has been sent in to

help police quell weeks of deadly protest against a mexican owned copper mining project. activists and farmers say the mine will pollute rivers and destroy crops. british mp's are starting to debate the planning on whether or not to stay in the european union. it wants an in or out vote before the end of 2017. the prime minister is touring european capitols before he tries to renegotiate and improve the terms in its membership in the e.u. [ inaudible ] pope francis to declare a roman catholic priest a saint are meeting

protests from native americans. melissa chan reports. >> reporter: the vatican and its era under pope francis. one of the missions bringing the church closer to the people. mart of that strategy, the canonization of this priest. he would be the first latino saint in the united states. the missions he established were beautiful places but for some native americans these were prisons. they were forced to work in the field for the missions. forced to stay in the missions and they were forced into christianity. the mission settlements wiped out local populations whether by disease or by the barrel of a gun. best estimates say some 100,000 indians died in the decades of the establishment of the missions. for the native americans the

canonization is an affront. >> there is nobody who talks about him in the positive. ♪ >> reporter: they are tribes vastly downsized as a result of european arrival across the continent. gatherings like this allow them to celebrate, but also cling to what is left of their culture. >> for us it's different. we look at it as our people were devastated, you know what happened and it affected our culture, our whole livelihood. ♪ >> reporter: by choice or by force some 5,000 indiance were baptized during the administration. mission delores, the seventh of the 21 missions in the state, and where andrew a desendant of

those indians works as curator. he is the minority voice among california indians. >> i believe he was one of these champions of native peoples in protecting my ancestors, because he founded mission san francisco. >> reporter: this man disagrees. it's a bit of a family feud he is galvan's cousin. >> there was suffering, pain death, and diseases. >> reporter: the arch buy cease of los angeles published the following, quote: the two sides clearly look at the priest through vastly different lens pope francis

declared this year a year of evan gallization. the st. hood would fulfill that spirit. melissa chan al jazeera, california. when you get a moment check out our website, aljazeera.com. updates on news throughout the day there, aljazeera.com. calls for fifa's president to step down. sepp blatter is losing support. will he survive the corruption scandal? a massive cleanup effort in flood-ravaged texas and oklahoma as residents brace for more rain. and an anthrax square involving the u.s. military. the pentagon accidentally shipped live streams of the virus across state lines and around the world. ♪