chnology meets humanity. >> aid concerns, a humanitarian cease fire is due to start in yemen, but air attacks continue. welcome to al-jazeera live from doha. also coming up, the white house welcomes turkey's involvement to combat isil and calls the pkk a terrorist organization. u.s. president prepares to make a national address to the people of ken y it's the final day of his visit to his father's homeland. >> reporter: i'm in the rice

patties of hong kong with the townies being farmers to are farmers for a day. >> saudi air strikes targeted a military base. the attack comes hours before the start of a humanitarian pause due to start at 2059 gmt on sunday. aid workers say they don't know how this will help to get aid to people. fighting has.stopped. warning, some viewers may find the ims in the report disturbing. >> reporter: after four months of fighting the airport is under the control of pro government fighters. it's after taking this city that the saudi led coalition announced a pause in its aerial campaign. it says the truce comes at the request of the president to

allow in humanitarian aid. saudi arabia will respond to any houthi attacks. >> translator: goal of the new truce is to help lift the siege posed on cities and reach those areas with much needed humanitarian aid. it's an opportunity for the houthis. >> reporter: the houthis say the saudi backed government is out of touch with what's on the ground. coalition strikes hit several positions on friday. but the rebels say a residential area was hit including a shelter for internally displaced people. dozens were killed. activists uploaded this video which shows bodies of women and children. al jazeera cannot independently verify the pictures. very little aid has made it through and the humanitarian situation has become worse.

roadsare damaged. they have held off houthi advances and are fortifying positions. >> translator: our goal is to liberate it and help those displaced to go back to their homes. we want to build a modern civil state for us and our children. >> reporter: the destruction is everywhere. journalists are trying to document the damage. aid agencies welcomed the brief pause, but calling for a lasting cease fire to reach those who need aid. >> the situation is dire. we are talking about more than 20 million people in need of assistance cross cutting across all sectors healthcare, water food shelter. we need a resolution to this conflict. >> reporter: which ever side prevails, it will be left with a yemen that is tattered and exhausted. political analyst says she

doesn't think the humanitarian pause will last the four days. >> it's very unlikely considering the past two cease fires, the first one held for five days, at the end of the fifth day the yemen asked a lot of air strikes. the secondary strike was supposed to take place after the geneva talks. it seems that that cease fire was announced to catch the houthis off guard and capture the city of aden. the saudi coalition has made a lot of advancements. it seems that yesterday there was a very terrible attack that took place in the city. it's a place the governor, they bombed electricity station. unfortunately, they hit the residential city next to it. they had technicians living

there with their families. there are reports of 35 to 100 people being dead with numerous other injuries in the hundreds. the cease fire is a way to calm the media down and distract away from this attack aimed at civilians, women and children. strategically speaking, i cannot see the coalition taking the step. two soldiers have been killed in a car bombing in turkey. it comes as turkey launches more air strikes in northern iraq. its fighter jets targeted isil in syria. the white house welcomed turkey's involvement and called the pkk a terrorist organization. the syrian observatory says villages have been targeted. the border down was also struck. in northern iraq air strikes hit the headquarters of the pkk in the mountains.

>> reporter: turkey is at war on two fronts. its jets are hitting targets across the border in iraq and syria. a day after beginning an air campaign against isil and syria jets began hitting pkk in iraq's mountains. the pkk immediately declared the already strained 2013 cease fire with turkey dead. turkish officials are not fazed and talk about a long term fight. >> whenever we see a decrease or vanishing of the threat, then, of course, we'll make a reassessment. the third wave of operations are a part of this. >> reporter: this is a major shift in policy. >> for turkey, isil declared war when a bombed a cultural center. but many believe turkey's decision to engage in the fight against the armed group has a

lot to do with the battle field in northern syria. the government is concerned about isil threatening syrian opposition groups in their strong holds. it is also worried about what it sees as the growing strength of syria's kurds. syria's kurds are the ypg linked to the pkk now controls half of the border with turkey. turkey said it would be a red line if kurds create a state in northern syria. officials blame air strikes helping them game ground from isil. now they believe a deal with the united states addresses turkey's concerns. >> translator: turkey doesn't want the ypg to take more territory. the u.s. supported them. now they are working together. >> reporter: turkey's fear is

that they could drive out opposition groups and control the important border crossing. it is no coincidence that turkish jets targeted isil close to the front lines with turkey-backed syrian rebels. it seems it's hoping that its long time demand for safe zone inside syria will emerge. >> translator: our aim is to get rid of the isil threat in syria and iraq. after that, the safe zones will be formed naturally. >> reporter: the peace process to stop the conflict seems to have officially ended and turkish police have conducted raids against hundreds of suspected pkk and isil sympathizers. it seems government believes there could be attempts to destabilize turkey from within. >> there is more on the border. >> reporter: this is the last stretch of territory between turkey and syria under the

control of isil. over recent weeks isil lost a lot of territory. as you can imagine, this is an important town. we are in the turkish town and of course, the people of this town are quite worried. this has been the reality for a year and a half. you can actually see the turkish flag just a few meters from the isil site. but there were no incidents along this border. but two days ago turkey declared war on isil. and isil has attacked turkish military posts further west from here. we understand that the turkish army reinforced their positions. this border crossing has been closed. a few hundred meters down this road, it's open territory. you can actually see isil fighters digging trenches, planting explosives, preparing for some sort of a possible

sighting in the near future. we see a clear shift in turkish policy. but turkey didn't just declare war on isil t declared war on the pkk. we are going to take you live to today mass cass where the syrian president assad is delivering a speech. >> translator: it's important to the media but not important to us. we mobilized on the expense on some other areas and the conditions we can leave purposely, on purpose an area for the sake of imposing our control on other areas. the other is the life of our

fighters our soldiers, because every one of them has sons and daughters, has wives. that's why we have to be keen about the lives and we need to be keen for them and we need to help them to do the mission and come back to their familyies. because these geographical areas are quite important. but at the same time the safety of our fighters is quite important and even more important than the areas because we can regain the areas but we cannot regain someone who has lost his life. the aim to achieve victory but we cannot prevent some of our

fighters to go to war as martyrs. we are keen about the fighters and the syrian fighter has proved his quality and this has been acknowledged by the whole world, enemies and friends alike alike. but there are some differences between people, as you know, you can find a leader who is more clever, another leader, a fighter that is more braver and a fighter, we have seen these differences between units of our army and we can also see these differences amongst the terrorists that are fighting us in so many areas. that's why we can find some mistakes and a mistake whatsoever is a slight mistake can lead to a series of losses.

this is the nature of war. this is the nature of a military operation, fighting in cities is different than fighting in the countryside. and this is quite known to everyone. but there is another -- >> the syrian president talking live in damascus. he's talking about strikes on isil by turkey. turkey said that removing assad was still a priority. he spent quite a bit of time talking about the political solution saying any talk about resolving it was hallow and meaningless. still to come, serving up high wages fast food workers in new york are one step closer to getting a pay raise. and the encouraging banks to lend more money.

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looking for. at 7:00, a thorough wrap-up of the day's events. then at 8:00, john seigenthaler digs deeper into the stories of the day. and at 9:00, get a global perspective. weeknights on al jazeera america. >> hello again. let's take a look at the top stories on al jazeera. in yemen saudi led coalition air attacks hit a military base just hours before a cease fire is due to start. two soldiers have been killed by a car bomb explosion in southeast turkey. turkish air strikes have been targeted the kurt stan workers

party or pkk in iraq. also targeted isil fighters in syria. syria's president assad is delivering a speech. talk of a political solution was hollow and meaningless. barack obama is to make an address to the people of kenya. obama addressed issues such as corruption regional security, youth empowerment and guy rights. he is the first sitting president to visit the country. he will address hundreds of thousands of kenyans at the stadium which is looking packed. let's talk to andrew simmons. what's happening right now andrew? >> reporter: jane, you are right, it is packed. more than 3,000 people. take a look at the numbers.

as you can see there a real wide section here. school children, lots of organizations, a real emphasis on youth which has been a theme of barack obama's visit here. we have had all sorts of singing going on so far. she is known as the tracy chapman of ken y this is setting the scene. you are going to have a real rock star moment for the u.s. president. he will be making a speech. he will address the whole of ken y he wants to connect with them. that's hard when you consider the unprecedented extraordinary security operation that surrounds him. everyone in this building, that's well over 3,000 that's been screened over and again

invitation only from the white house state department selecting the inviteees here. in terms of what's happening outside, there are crowds on the streets, but many kenyans are disappointed. they want to reach out and see the president for real. they claim him as a local son they want to see him. most are having to get by by watching tv. so that is the reality of the situation with security as it is in africa. >> okay, andrew. after this he heads off. what's the plan? >> reporter: that's right. he will be meeting the prime minister. they will have a talk. he will meet as much as he can do with civil society there. and on tuesday he makes a major address to the african union which has its headquarters

ethiopia is a controversial choice for the first ever visit of a u.s. president obama to ethiopia because of the civil rights situation there. very controversial. freedom of the media is a major issue. some journalists in prison there. the last prime minister's election, there was 100% majority. so suspicions that was not a fair election. now, as far as the theme of that address, the 53 member states, african union goes, it will be along the line of trying to get a foot hold on trade with africa with china now overtake them three times over in terms of the business they do with this continent. one example is this stadium. it was built by the chinese. that was in the late '80s. they are going to refurbish it,

17 million u.s. dollars, that was announced two days before the visit. >> thank you for that. an explosion has killed 14 people. the saturday night attack was in the regional capital the cameroon army is helping neighboring nigeria combat boca haram. very few banks in nigeria offer mortgages. >> reporter: youssef wants to buy this four bedroom house. it's on sale for $250,000. but he can't afford or pete the terms of a bank loan to pay for it. the developer here is allowing him to pay in installments.

if he can't afford to finish paying, he can get his money back. this kind of deal is rare. most people who want to buy property have to have the money in cash and in full. >> just like anybody else. you have a roof over your head and it's a natural thing to own a home, to own a shelter. gives you that security. >> reporter: in nigeria there is no culture of long-term lending. banks want them to pay back home loans in two to three years. whereas other nations they get 20 to 30 years. there are only 13,000 existing home loans in a country of over 170 million people. property developers say banks think there is a high chance borrowers will default and there are other factors. >> they want to get a return.

>> reporter: government and housing finance executives recently met to discuss the reforms needed to increase homeownership. they include making landownership easier, improving the quality of construction and creating the policies for foreclosure which will make banks feel they are taking less risk. >> it's so expensive. getting the assurance for this land. construction is a challenge. where there's numbers and quality. and the house price itself. >> reporter: banks charge up to 28% interest on home loans which makes homes more expensive. many will spend most of their lives renting their place. youssef is one of the lucky ones. he has a deal with a developer.

soon he and his family will move into their new house. for most people, until these reforms are implemented the dream of owning a home is likely to remain illusive. there was a crash in japan. three people were killed including the pilot a passenger and a woman on the ground. three other people were rescued from the wreckage in a suburb of the capital tokyo. residents described how there was a massive explosion as the plane came down shortly after takeoff. hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of a black woman that died. she was found with a plastic bag around her neck. her family disputes the official postmortem which rules she hanged herself. monsanto says it has commissioned a scientific review of allegations that its weed

killer roundup may cause cancer. the world health organization has prompted the government to seek restrictions on the product product. >> reporter: farmers and gardners face similar challenges. many products are now on the market promising help in the struggle against nature. one of the most widely used weed killers is roundup. the key ingredient was discovered by monsanto in the 1970s a recent report by the world health organization says this chemical probably causes cancer, a finding that monsanto rejects. >> translator: we at monsanto consider that opinion to be invalid. there is no new information that permits anyone to say that the product is carcinogenic. >> reporter: this man owns a

farm. he says he could not run his farm profitably without roundup because it kills certain stubborn weeds. he says farmers are trained to use the product responsibly. >> translator: the farmer has a tool box at his disposal. he will use the right product at the right time and correct quantity. the amount you use depends on season, the crop and the weed you want to destroy. >> reporter: in reaction to the world health organization report, the french government is introducing new rules on the sale of roundup. as of january garden centers will have to remove the product from display. people will be able to buy it, but it will be kept behind the counter. the restrictions won't affect farmers. environmental activists say the government measures don't go far enough. >> translator: we want them to completely take it off the markets. these products are dangerous to

health and the environment. the government shouldn't take health measures like this. >> reporter: consumers expect their food to be high quality and cheap. industrial chemicals allow farmers to deliver that. if you want to be sure your food hasn't come in contact with herbicides or pesticides, you can buy organic but it's more expensive. it's a dilemma that affects corporations and ordinary people. there are no easy answers. hong kong city isn't usually associated with rice fields, but the territory's rural areas are home to traditional villages. most are run down. >> reporter: leaving behind the high rises of hong kong, these

volunteers are bound for one of its forgotten corners. a day of work in the rice patty. given a lesson in how to, then straight to work. overseeing the harvest he last saw cultivation as a boy. the village schools long since closed, he was part of the exodus during the 1970s and '80s. now he's moved back and trying to reverse the fortunes of his village. >> i was the first to return to my house after 30, 40 years. now everybody see my house, they want to come back and make the house liveable. >> reporter: entrepreneur his restored home, an aerial photo from the 1960s shows the extent of the rice terraces. now as then, rice could hold the key to the village's future if this pilot project succeeds.

>> of course, we can provide food. at the same time it's a good education, materials. because kids now days, they don't know where the food come from. they think it come from supermarkets. >> reporter: more terraces are being cleared and will be under cultivation. villages like this one could be found throughout the more remote parts of hong kong with a few elderly residents remained. it's hoped that lessons here could breathe back new life. this trip has been a lesson in a bygone way of life. >> you learn where the rice come from. >> the hong kong people go more to the countryside. >> reporter: memories to savor

at the end of a weary day. an update of our stories and so much more from our correspondents to the ground can be found by logging on to our website updated 24 hour as day. the address there www.aljazeera.com. >> in 2009 peace came to sri lanka after 26 years of civil war. >> government troops had crushed the tamil tigers - a guerrilla force which had waged a brutal insurgency seeking self-rule for the tamils c a minority making up about 12 percent of sri lanka's population mainly living here in the north. >> peace has brought stability tourists are again flocking to