♪ a week-long humanitarian cruise in yemen and u.n. says it will allow aid deliveries from friday. ♪ we are speaking to the u.n.'s yemen envoy and you are watchingly al jazeera live from london and also coming up. >> we are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever. >> reporter: kerry warns the u.s. will not be rushed into a nuclear deal with iran he says tough issues still stand in their way. former saudi foreign minister who spent 40 years on the job

has died. deepening refugee disaster with the syrian population has now fled the country and a welcome to the pope in bolivia has thawing relations with the president. ♪ the u.n. has broken an unconditional week-long ceasefire in yemen. the humanitarian truce will go into force on friday and last until the end of the muslim holy month of ramadan on july 17th. the aim is to get more aid to civilians facing a growing humanitarian crisis, the u.n. says 80% of yemen people that 21 million people are in need of some sort of emergency help. earlier u.n.'s yemen envoy hinted at the truce as he left the capitol sanaa and holding talks with the government and houthis in an attempt to end more than three months of

fighting. more than 3,000 people have been killed in the conflict and over a million have been displaced. >> obviously they will need to be some confidence building measures as the secretary-general said to build towards a sustainable and long-term ceasefire but what we are talking about is an unconditional humanitarian pause. we look forward to all the parties respecting that pause and i think as we have been saying here for weeks on end the people of yemen deserve this and the humanitarian situation is getting worse by the day. >> reporter: reaction from kristen at the u.n. in new york and what do we know about the terms of this agreement? >> i think the keyword that we just heard from the secretary-general spokesperson is unconditional. there are no terms apparently other than the start and end date for this cessation of hostilities to occur.

we know that yemen's president madi did write to the secretary-general of the u.n. asking that there be terms that included withdrawal of houthi forces from aiden and other locations, a prisoner exchange including the release of the defense minister who is being held but secretary-general ban ki-moon wrote back to the president and said in order to preserve impartiality it was imperative and urgent to move forward immediately and quickly with the ceasefire and make this an unconditional pause and he said that moving forward the goal would be to work on the terms of a more durable cessation of hostiles that could include these terms that had been requested by the president. so moving forward now the u.n. says it urgent to get the pause so humanitarian relief efforts can take place, it is so dire that they just wanted to move forward and get that pause in

place and then work further on the terms going forward. >> and of course some 80 percent of the population in yemen in need of some sort of emergency help and a mammoth task ahead for aid agencies and what do we no is going on now to make sure they will be able to access as many people as they can when the truce comes into force? >> reporter: humanitarian agencies have been preparing for this and the u.n. is ready to begin as soon as this pause is implemented, bringing supplies over the border we know that they are planning to stockpile food, enough to last for a month, for 2.1 million yemen people. as you say a huge portion of the population is in need of aid and some 80% requiring some form of humanitarian assistance and clearly this is not going to fully solve the problems of the country but it's a step towards getting some relief in that is

so needed not only food but also medicine and water and petrol and other things that are needed for yemen people to go about their daily lives. >> reporter: thanks very much kristen for us at the u.n. in new york. ♪ now former saudi foreign minister has died. reports say he passed away earlier on thursday. his death comes two months after he was replaced following 40 years in the job. he was appointed in 1975 and was the world's longest serving foreign minister when he was replaced on april 29 by the then ambassador to washington. the u.s. secretary of state insisted negotiations on the iran nuclear deal will not be rushed but also said the process isn't open ended. john kerry said he is prepared to call an end to the talks with iran if tough decisions are not

made. foreign ministers from western powers have been locked in talks in vienna to finalize a deal to present to u.s. congress and we have the latest from the australian capitol. >> reporter: working hard to reach yet another deadline, a deadline in u.s. legislation and meant if they got a deal by the end of july 9th then congress would have just 30 days to look at any deal. now i think that is highly unlikely with just hours to go. it means now they haven't got it by the end of july 9th and there will be a 60-day review period that is something i don't think anyone wanted but clearly are going to have to live with and for now the u.s. secretary of state says they are staying to negotiate. >> we are here because we believe we are making real progress towards a comprehensive deal. but as i have said many times and as i discussed with

president obama last night, we are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever. we also recognize that we shouldn't get up and leave simply because the clock strikes midnight. and i emphasize given that the work here is incredibly technical and that the stakes are very very high we will not rush and we will not be rushed. no one is setting any new deadlines and they say they will stay in the coming hours possibly the coming days but that they will not stay forever. a short time ago the iran foreign minister came on the balcony a distance away from reporters and i shouted if they thought they could still get a deal and he said i wouldn't be here if i didn't. israel says two citizens are being held on the gaza strip and

at least by hamas and of ethiopian decent believed to cross the border fence into the gaza strip last year and according to israelis he is being held against his will be hamas but hamas says he doesn't know anything about it and paul brennan reports. >> reporter: with a ten-month news blackout now lifted there were chaos and scenes as they arrived for mass outside the family home and parents and brother appeared shocked by the jostling and shouting and the missing man's mother was visibly up set and when a degree of calm was restored his brother read. >> translator: we are talking humanitarian case here because my brother is not well and on family's behalf i ask the government of israel to do the best to bring my brother safe and ask the international community to intervene and put pressures to release my brother and call on hamas to consider my broths condition and to

immediately release him. >> on september 7th last year abraham was seen climbing the br der fence alone and disappearing to the border of gaza and why he did it no one knows but apparently acting of his own free will and ten months later it's not clear if he is still there voluntarily and israel accuses hamas of holding him captive and hamas denies that. >> translator: we are here to support the family, there is no reason why people cannot show up for support, the israeli government should answer questions to the family of abraham and citizens of israel. we hope to get more information and details. >> reporter: and it's been revealed that a second israeli an a rab is currently missing in gaza. the circumstances of his disappearance in gaza are different indeed from the abduction back in 2006 and nonetheless it presents a real headache for israeli government and indeed for hamas too. coming as it does on the first

anniversary of the start of gaza war in 2014 and indeed at a time when hamas and israel appeared to be entering a period of genuine calm. there is also potential for increased racial tensions. just last month ethiopian protests turned violent in tel aviv after charges were released from an officer who was filmed beating someone and he would have been treated differently if he had been a white israeli but for the moment the mood is calm. whether it's stays calm depends on how this develops in the coming days. >> al jazeera. the view from gaza where hamas is remaining tight lipped and we are there. very curious situation here in gaza but one with very few answers. al jazeera reached out to senior hamas spokesman mohamed and asked him whether hamas was

holder either one or both of these israeli citizens and the answer to that is and i quote no comment. still in the back of all of that is one year since israel began its 50-day bombardment of the gaza strip that of course has been marked here in gaza by a ceremony including the unveiling of a monument in this center of gaza city. now, this monument is of a fairly large replica of a tank with a clenched fist rising out of it. now in the hand of that fist are hanging three dog tags or military i.d. tags, one of them bears the name of an israeli soldier believed to have been killed during that conflict and whose remains are believed to be still here in gaza. because the other two dog tags or military i.d. tags they are only question marks leading many here to speculate that they

represent those two missing israeli citizens. still to come on the program tensions in athens as ministers try to finalize a tough package of tax hikes and pension reforms. u.s. lawmakers agree to remove the confederate flag from the state capitol building in a move hailed by antiracism activists. stay with us. ♪

welcome back you are watching al jazeera, our top stories this hour, the u.n. announced an

unconditional ceasefire in yemen and prayers on friday and last to the end of ramadan on july 17th, the truce is meant for delivery of aid for civilians in need. he has died and death comes two months after he was replaced after 40 years in the job. and u.s. secretary of state john kerry insists negotiations for a nuclear deal will not be rushed and the process is not open ended either and foreign ministers locked in talks in vienna for a deal that can be presented to the u.s. congress. more now on the humanitarian truce in yemen, on the line is ethiopia is the u.n. envoy to yemen, mohamed and thank you very much for speaking to us. is part of you. >> thank you for having me. >> is part of you concerned that the ceasefire may not come into force, what assurances have you

received from the parties you have been speaking to? >> as you know i met abd rabbuh mansur hadi and also the last for the week in sanaa where i met the houthi and they have now i believe the necessary assurances to say it because hadi read the letter and agreeing on the polls on the current issue and from the houthis there would be no violation. and the second important point for us is we are assurances there would be humanitarian effort with no restriction for all part of human need and i'm

pleased to report we have a convoy yesterday with 50 trucks full of medical and other medical supplies and this is an extremely important sign in ramadan and reaching the end of ramadan and looking for a truce indeed. >> to be clear does that mean the blockade will be completely lifted during this time? >> among the element that is also requested not only to ensure that the convey connects without restriction but the war itself, the movement of military or any form of military activity would stop in addition to that we have been discussing access of commercial shipment and that is on the table and hoping that will be certainly improved in the coming days based on agreement we have. >> sir, can i ask you again the blockade around yemen, is that

going to be completely lifted during this time to allow you to reach as many people as you can? >> you know, the security council resolution has been stipulating they have a restriction of access to camps to weapons and military actions and we have indicated agreement which is in discussion now and which will definitely lift any form of you know the blockade if you want to characterize that on commercial shipments and this is something we will witness in the coming days which is very important for humanitarian assistance of the need of the population. >> can you tell me when that is likely to happen? you said the coming days do you have a date in mind? >> the truce i mean the poll the secretary-general has based on his contact and other parties is going to start as off tomorrow evening and hoping we will have

in place the same mechanism or commercial shift. >> can i ask you what steps you are taking between now and july 17th which is when the muslim holy month of ramadan is expected to end to turn this cause in fighting into a more permanent agreement to end all violence in yemen? >> yes we will definitely i am going to continue my effort of this. and i was spending time on the phone so trying to discuss and i already started the points which will lead us to a peaceful proposition from the government and had a discussion with the houthi and i am pretty convinced that the lift to the poll is holding will help us to restep out from hopefully after ramadan but this is a process that needs consideration and for me to be able to again to go to sanaa but

we can think about that. >> reporter: well thank you very much u.n. envoy to yemen and we appreciate you taking the time and giving us your reaction to the latest news unconditional week-long ceasefire in yemen between warring parties to come in force tomorrow and to the end of the year and the end of ramadan which is expected to be july 17. a pro-europe rally wrapped up in athens and thousands demonstrated outside the parliament building to show support for greece being part of the european union and came as politicians raced to finalize a tough package of hikes and tension reforms in hours and greece has a deadline friday morning for a detailed form proposal in exchange for a third bailout package. and we are live in the greek capitol athens and what are we hearing about a new package might involve?

>> very little and not making it public and due to hand over the new package within the coming hours to the euro zone government's finance ministers and lenders in brussels to be discussed, thrashed out over the course of the weekend before a final deal is considered by the leaders in brussels on sunday. what has been leaked in the greece greek press here while the cabinet was meeting several hours this afternoon is the new proposals under consideration involve a good deal more austerity than, in fact, had been on the table a week agree a half ago when prime minister turned his back on the negotiations and called that yes, no referendum last sunday. they are talking about 12 billion euros of cuts over two years as opposed to 8 billion euros of cuts then, enticement for the lenders to give them a

third bailout loan and save greece from catastrophe and crashing out of the euro and why? the economy is on its needs and banks have been shut and looking more bleak than any time in the five-year crisis and quite simply the fact of saving greece has gone up and the price greece will have to pay to be saved has gone up as well. >> he may have won the referendum but could prime minister have a bit of a battle on his hands if we are looking at tough mixture of tax hikes and spending cuts and could rehave problems with his political partners at home? >> on the face of it you would think so yes, but you know things have changed in greece. this is an unprecedented situation for this country and remember first of all that an overwhelming majority of greeks 84% or more according to opinion polls want this country to

remain in the euro zone and won backing of opposition party leaders for his negotiation and negotiations in brussels and the lines between these two sides are pretty blurred the yes and no and the no side won't say no to any more use austerity and they want to see debt restructuring on the table and have and the price has gone up and austerity is going to be high but on the whole people will be prepared to swallow that in order to keep the country in the euro zone. >> reporter: live for us in the greek capitol, athens. moving to syria now where the u.n. says a number of people who have fled that country has topped four million. so where are the syrians who escaped the war? the biggest population is in turkey. more than 1.8 million accounting for 45% of the refugees. lebanon is sharing the burden hosting nearly 1.2 million

syrians. jordan has 60,000 and many living below the poverty line and quarter of a million are in iraq. additionally more than 156,000 syrians found in egypt there are 270,000 syrian asylum seekers in europe and we went to the refugee camp in jordan and sent us this report. >> reporter: four million and counting refugees in jordan camps did not think the conflict in syria would last this long or force this many people out of their country. she is one of the camp's oldest residence and say 2 1/2 years later he finally adjusted to life as a refugee but had this reaction when we told him the number of refugees in the region had reached four million. >> translator: this is a disaster. it means the entire population will eventually be displaced and

this makes me feel our conflict will drag on for years and return to syria as soon as possible. >> reporter: from the camp's oldest residents to the newest arrivals some lived in the camp before deciding to survive on his own in the jordan border town but he returned to the camp two months ago. >> translator: i left the camp because my children couldn't survive the scorching heat of the summer in a tent and had to pay rent and it us with so expendsive and we have to pay for services and i was forced to return. >> reporter: when asked what they want from the international community many refugees here say they want an end to the carnage in syria and u.n. called the syrian refugee crisis the worst disaster in history and half of all the people in syria have been displaced including four million who is been forced to leave for neighboring countries like jordan and according to aid

agencies there is no sign of when these refugees will be able to return home. the u.n. says the international community has been generous but the sale of the syrian crisis is so big that donors are thinking about how funding can be sustained as the conflict continues. >> already this year people have less access to services there are agencies cutting back on assistance and pushing them back to the camps which are funded entirely by the international community and pushing them to even return to syria and when you have families telling you i'm going back because i can't earn a living here and that they would prefer to live in a war zone, you know just how desperate they are. >> reporter: the u.n. refugee agency says around 80% of syrian refugees are living below the poverty line and 70% are sending their children out to beg and engaging degrading or illegal work. many say this is a sign of how desperate people have become.

now hundreds of supporters of a question politician clashed with lebanon's army in the capitol beirut and angry with the sunni prime minister who they say is marginalizing christian influence and lebanese army says one group demonstrated through an army barrier and injured 7 personnel and without a president since last may. turkey's prime minister has been given an official mandate to form a new government. and the ruling party won turkey's general election last month but didn't secure apparel parliamentary majority. pope francis is continuing his tour and in santa cruz where thousands of christians gathered and head of the roman catholic church reminding people to look after the poor. the crowd listened as he spoke and before mass it's reported the pontiff changed clothes in a

nearby fast-food restaurant and in santa cruz he says the pontiff's visit is political as well as spiritual. >> well actually he is deciding on coming to ecuador to bolivia and paraguay because of the political issues that are happening in every single country. here in bolivia he has stated in his last speak that he wants a dialog between chile and bolivia so we believe his presence here is not only religious and about face but also about political points, the president and pope francis have been meeting four times now and he shared 35 minutes in the past. confederate flag is coming down in the u.s. state of south carolina. lawmakers agreed to remove the flag which many see as a racist emblem from the state capitol building. diane estherbrook explains. >> reporter: final vote came about 1:00 a.m. and followed

more than 13 hours of often contentious debate. >> there has been an absolute evidence of a double standard or dual standard shown to me today. >> grace is not something that we earn grace is something that comes to us unearned. >> reporter: the push to remove the flag followed the killings of nine black church go issues last month and south carolina representative jenny horn attended the funeral for one of the victims, in one of the most emotional speeches last night she said it was time for her colleagues to act. >> and for the widow of senator pickney and his two young daughters, that would be adding insult to injury! and i will not be a part of it! it has been a striking change in a state where the confederate flag has flown on or at the capitol for decades and status

protected by a law that required super majorityies of both houses to take the flag down and diane estherbrook columbia south carolina. more on that story and everything we are covering on our website and the address is right there, al jazeera.com. >> for centuries, some west african communities have branded children born deformed or with disabilities as evil spirits. they are seen as a drain on limited resources and so ... medicine men are often asked to