libya's prime minister announces he's stepping down but then his spokesman says he isn't. ♪ ♪ you are watching al jazerra live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up. russia respond to his sanctions by destroying western imports, but its economy is shrinking. >> reporter: i am natasha in south sudan, women are walking here in to the bush to collect firewood and coming back out beaten and raped. and we report from colorado where the very agency responsible for protecting the

environment has poisoned a pristine river system. ♪ ♪ libya's prime minister says he's stepping down. the leader of the country's internationally recognized government in tobruk made the shaka announcement in a television interview. within minutes his spokesman was trying to say it was all a mistake, rob matheson with the details. >> reporter: this is the moment abdullah says he will resign. during an interviewed with a private libyan tv station, he's asked what he would do if people from all over the country come out to demand his resignation. he replies people don't need to protest if et cetera an obstacle to the progress of libya, he resigns. that's likely to have an impact here in geneva. where libya's two rival parliaments are face-to-face against. the u.n. wants both sides to

merge in to a single government. the deadline is only two weeks away. there have been positive signs. >> translator: for a peaceful solution to the crisis in libya we are heading to geneva in on order to achieve a political solution that will be reflected in the political and economic situation. >> translator: the continuation of this situation will only lead to more disasters. libyans, nining countrie nine ag countries will not tolerate the vacuum that exist news. >> reporter: he always he has resigned once to stay on a caretaker then dismissed by rival general national congress based in tripoli. reinstateed by tobruk lawmakers in order to form a crisis government. the internationally recognized government in tobruk has been accused of having little influence, it's already trying to play down the prime

minister''s announcement. but this latest resignation could have a big impact on effort to his bring peace to battle-weary libyans. in yemen, pro-government forces are gaining more ground from houthi rebels. most of the south is now held by forces loyal to the exiled president. they are being backed by saudi-led airstrikes, cent fighting has killed more than 4,000 people. >> reporter: government troops are on offensive. setting up checkpoints, houthi rebels have held the city since may when they swept across southern yemen backed by soldiers loyal to deposed president saleh. >> translator: our message to the houthi is his the following you have 48 hours to withdraw or you will be killed. >> reporter: sol jeff backs exiled president hadi and allied groups have made a series of gains in the south supported by

saudi-led air strikes and recently took delivery of new weapons and vehicles from the saudis and uae. if they take ib it will pave the way for an eventually advance on the capital sanaa. it's controlled by houthis who staged an anti-saudi rally on tuesday. gulf countries accuse iran of using the houthis as a proxy to destabilize the region. on the ground, a desire for the violence to end. >> translator: we condemn these atrocities against us ask and for peace and stability. these attacks have led to the destruction of the infrastructure and economy. >> reporter: it's also led to the destruction of any kind of normal life for most yemenis. the u.n. says 80% are in need of humanitarian assistance. and around 1.3 million have been forced to flee their homes. the u.n.'s humanitarian affairs chief visited a camp for

displaced people near the capital is that. >> the best solution for the country of yep, for the people of yemen, for the future of yemen is for all of the parties to realize that there is no military solution. there has to be a political dialogue in order to resolve the differences and to maintain a durable peace. >> reporter: but any peace seems far off. these pro-government forces are celebrating gains made in taiz, the country's third largest city remains a crucial battle ground. if the houthis lose here, it seems they will have no option but to abandon the south and dig in to their traditional strong holds in the north. joanna blundell, al jazerra. at least 47 people have been killed in a suspected boko haram attack in northeastern nigeria. a bomb exploded in a market in a village about 135-kilometers south of borno state capital.

>> reporter: the female suicide bomber was looking to cause maximum damage and that's what happened. 47 dead and 52 injured hospital sources are saying the fatalities may go higher than already registered because of the severity of some of the injuries. she targeted a very busy market. today's market day which lies between two areas that have been attacked seven samardzija severely by boko haram in the past. these "the stream" attack was coming at a time when the military alongside niger, cam, cameroon and chad are stepping up. boko haram didn't not claim responsibility for the attack but fingers are pointings at them they have been using suicide bombers and improvised explosive device on his highways and busy locations like markets, churches and mosques killing hundreds of people over the laugh two months. the president of nigeria came to power on the promise of

competing boko haram a already the military alongside other troops they are stepping up operations and pressuring them in to a corn never what people see as the final a slot against boko haram. we have seen also over the last two months how boko haram increasingly resorts for bombing rather than taking the nigerian military directly. in the northeast of nigeria especially where we have seep increasing pressure on boko haram. a pakistani court has ordered that five of the 14 men arrested for child sexual abuse will remain in custody for up to 28 days. they have been detained over accusations they blackmailed children in to making sex tapings. families of the victims in punjab province say the police ignored their complaints. nicole johnston reports. >> reporter: less than an hour's drive, the village, it's a quite place. but for years many people here have kept a terrible secret.

children under the age of 14 were allegedly sexually abused by a gang of men. filmed and then blackmailed. the mohamed family is missing their young son. for years he had been stealing from them, including the entire contents of their small shop. it left them broke, so they told him to leave. now they have discovered what really happened. >> translator: now that we know after the video was released we are very upset that my son was sexually abused. i want justice, i want my son to come home and the culprits hangs. >> reporter: parents say the abuse and extortion started nine years ago. some are accusing the police are brushing off their complaints which the police deny. >> the local police officer was not cooperating with them, they must go to the higher one. if they are not there, then they

go to the other one. one parent was under fear, the second under fear, 30 under fear and for a long for the years and years and years 78 so far 14 people have been arrested in relation to the pedophile ring. rather than being tried in a regular court, they will appear in an anti terrorism court this. lawyer says parts of the problem is pakistan's legal system. >> the system is not that strong. the police -- that is the fault of the police. the police is very much corrupt. they are nonprofessionals their. [ inaudible ] police system. there is no accountability for the police -- policeman who is not working honestly. >> reporter: the state of punjab asked the high court for a judicial inquire in to the case. the court refused. saying a police investigation was enough. so the state is forming a separate committee to investigate.

this case is putting the spotlight on the i can i of child sexual abuse in pakistan, activists are staggered by the numbers. possibly hundreds of children abused for years. and they say it's rife across the country. activists hope that public outrage will force the government to finally get serious about stopping it. nicole johnston, al jazerra, nepal. an egyptian military court has sentenced 253 people to life in prison. in absentia. the state knew agency says they were tried for violence in the now delta following the military coup in 2013. another 200 people had been given shorter sentences. currently exiled in to turk is a reported to be among those sentenced. a man has set himself on fire outside the japanese embassy in seoul. he was part of a protest. to demand an apology for tokyo for forcing women in to military

brothels. saturday is the an verse i ever end of the colonial rule. in 1993 japan acknowledged that they played a role in forcing women in to military brothels. russia officially in recession and the figures are actually worse than predicted. in march analysts did predict the economy had passed through the worst of its troubles but they were wrong as rory challands reports. >> reporter: the economic front in russia's confrontation with the west is throwing up some increasingly bizarre spectacles dutch flowers going up in flames didestroyed we are told becausef pest contamination. >> these are freshly cut flowers from the netherlands infected with western california flour tips. >> reporter: russia is testing all dutch flour reports for such beasts. though the netherlands suspects it's retaliation for its investigation in to the shooting down the flight mh17 over ukraine last year.

in response to western sanctions, leveed for the annexation of crimea and the war in you croon, russia bans the imports of many european foods. in recent days it's been destroying embargo products seized at it's borders. less spectacular but perhaps more destructive. is what's happening to russia's economy. officials visuals just released so a 4.6% contraction in the second quarter of 2015. that follows a 2.2% contraction in the first three months of this year. there is no doubt about it, russia is in recession. of course this was widely expected. one has -- what has come as a bit of a shock is the contraction is slightly worse than analysts were predicting. >> in the second quarter we saw that the real wages of the population continued to decline, also the retail end was struggling and in my view this

was constraining consumption. >> reporter: the pressure of more than a year of western sanctions is playing a part in this. so too is the renewed slide in the price of oil. it's pulling the ruble back down to a dollar value not seen since february. the government here has been saying for several months now that the worst is over. it doesn't seem to be yet. rory challands, al jazerra, moscow. still to come on al jazerra. >> if this is europe we are going back to syria. >> ainge and are frustration attempts to register migrants in greece turns chaos. some of the poorest people in southern india say a land redistribution scheme has failed them.

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♪ ♪ the top stories on al jazerra. libya's prime minister has announced his resignation. his spokesman later said he will not step down. the united nations is trying get libya's rival faction to his form a unity government meanwhile. rat least 47 people have been killed over 50 injured in an explosion in northern eastern nigeria. a suicide bomb air taxed a marked in a village. russia's recession has deep ended in the second quarter of this year its economy shank by nearly 5% compared to the same pert in 20 teen. the you wer2014. the you were says it will investigate drimes of crepe and murder. amnesty international saysup troops have been linked to the

rape of a 12-year-old girl and the killing of a 16-year-old boy and his father earlier this month. the group says it's interviewed 15 witnesses an witnesses and be alleged victims. sexual violence against women in south sudan is on the rides according to aid groupings. since the civil war began in 2013, women have become more vulnerable to attacks by righters on both sides. natasha ghoneim reports from where there has been intense fighting. >> reporter: each day the displaced women walk in to the bush to collect firewood. they'll spends half a day trying to collect enough to sale. some say they are returning beaten and raped. >> translator: they pointed a gun at us and told to us drop the firewood and follow them. >> reporter: this woman we'll call mary to protect her identity, says she and a group of women were gang raped by

south sudanese soldiers at gun point. >> translator: after they do a bad deed and leave you like that, you are almost as good as dead. you are useless. all that is left is that they shoot us. >> reporter: these women are faced with a choice, trying to earn money when food is scarce or staying inside this camp where they are protected by u.n. peacekeepers. the international rescue committee says it's helped thousands of women who have been victims of sexual violence. women here told us they were beaten and raped here in the bush by government soldiers who viewed them as sympathetic to opposition fighters. but aid groups say all parties in this conflict are guilty of sexually assaulting women. the government launched a campaign to encourage more women to report rape and seek treatment. but some are accusing it of doing nothing to stop soldiers from using rape as a weapon of war. an accusation the government

denies. >> we will not allow them do to do that. if we have now actually dispatch a team to investment, you will find, you know, things that, you know, will shock you, simply because the people who you are actually interviewing don't want to say the truth. it is a smear campaign against the government. >> reporter: she now worries she's contracted a disease, she says she's too terrified to return to the bush. other women we spoke to say they are afraid of being attacked too. but they are still collecting firewood. and taking the risk to survive. natasha ghoneim. al jazerra, south sudan. we'll cross over now and speak to france, who is the head of the red cross joining us from south sudan, thanks for being with us, can you tell us why you think sexual violence against women is on the rise?

>> sorry the question was not very clearly understandable, can you repeat? >> i am asking why you think sexual violence is on the rise against women in south sudan? >> i don't -- i don't hear -- >> i apologize to france as well as our viewers well we'll try to get that connection back and speak to him later on the program. we'll move on meanwhile and tell you about greece. attempts to register hundreds of migrants on one of the islands there, the island of kos has related in chaos, the u.n. goes 124,000 people have arrived on eastern island since the beginning of this year as neave barker reports. >> reporter: it's the scene of panic and desperation.

1500 migrants were gathered in long queues to be processed. but after a long wait in the heat, scuffles started. a man collapses on the ground. this woman begins to lose consciousness. there are children here too. only a handful of police were on duty to carry out the registration and keep control. they were quickly overwhelmed. give us papers they chant. many migrants on kos have been camping in the main town's camps and squares. they are frustrated at how long it's taking to process their

documents. it's an anxious wait to know whether they can stay in europe or have to leave. >> i don't have have money please, help me i want to go. i don't want to stay in greece. i want to go to europe. >> i can't say we are in europe. i say we are in third world country. no toilets, no water. people have been waiting for more than 10 days. what can i say? is this europe? if this is europe we are going back to syria. >> reporter: the greek government, charity groups and local people are struggling to help the migrants. every day more arrive in boat loads from nearby turkey. for many migrants escaping war in syria and afghanistan, arriving in kos was meant to be the start of a new life. [ cheering ] >> reporter: for many, europe's doors remain closed.

neave bark he should al jazerra. the head of the u.s. environmental protection agency has apologized for a toxic spill in to two colorado rivers. epa workers accidently released more than 11 million liters of toxic sludge from a disused gold mine in to local streams. the agency says both rivers will remain closed until at least monday. new mexico and colorado have both declared a state of emergency over that spill. she lab rittansi has more. >> reporter: i am at the confluence of the animus river and cement creek. it was here last week in those hills over there where millions of liters of toxic sludge suddenly merged they flooded down the creek not river an amazing plume of toxic material moving downstream. it's still moving down stream it. moved through colorado, hit new mexico in, to utah it's still heading to the grand canyon,

however it no longer looks neon it's been heavily diluted but still questions as to how toxic it is and what the long-term effects are, interestingly here in colorado from the governor downwards they were very upbeat on tuesday suggesting the ph levels and acidity levels have returned to normal. no discernible effect on the wildlife or fish stock. evening the sediment is unlikely to oppose a threat in the future. they need to wait for the -- what the epa says to give them the all clear to allow people back in to the river. that's not lick i to come for another week or so. in texas, a white police officer who fatality shot a black teenager has been fired. brad miller shot christian taylor four times after officials say he was seen on cctv strand righting cars at a dealer ship. the 49 year old policeman was still undergoing training with the department at the time of

training. hillary clinton has handed over her private e-mail server to the fbism. she has been under scout any over her use of a private e-mail count when she was secretary of state. critics say it was design today shield her communications from oversight. in the battle against obesity the latest enemy appears to be our own bodies. researchers in canada have discovered a gene which could be link today so-called white fat. the fat is blamed for problems with weight, heart disease as well as diabetes. scientists say they have been able to block the gene in mice reducing their white fat content by half. james johnson is professor of medicine at the university of british columbia arc the senior author of the report, here is what he has to say. >> we think we have discovered a gene that is very important for the -- determining how many fat cells you are actually born with. and in particular, a type of white fat cell that is surrounding the internal organs and there is both good white fat

and bad white fat and we think we have found one of the first genes that is specifically important for creating the bat white fat. we weren't actually looking for a jean critical for the production of fat. we started studying this protein because it was an interesting protein and so it was unexpected it. opened up basically a whole new area of research in this region. and so there is -- we were trying now to understand all of the different proteins that this protein works with and eventually understand the process required to make fat. because surprisingly, we still don't really understand how fat is made, how the number of fat cells you end up with is determined. and we think this advance will help us understand this and, of course, with a greater understanding of how fast is produced, we potentially have ways either through the production i've drug or a dietary intervention or lifestyle intervention that could perhaps lower the levels

of this protein and that would have beneficial effects. on wednesday thousands of people across the indian state are expected to protest over an unsuccessful land redistribution scheme. the zero landless initiative was launched in 2013 to provide land for poor households, once their application is approved then each family would be given 121 square meters of land. but so far, just over 10% of the applicants have been given deeds with even fewer receiving their plots. divya reports from the victory with the least amount of land allotted. >> reporter: she had never imagined that being given a piece of government land would cause so much despair. with her low income and blind husband to take care of, they were prime candidates for the government scheme. >> translator: for 12 years we tried hard to get the planned we finally did. but it's not in this area. and we can't move. we don't have money to build a

house there. and now our landlord wants to evict us. >> reporter: the lands is in a fishing area. moving would mean lease losing her job as a roadside cleaner and grass cutter. though they say they can't ford to move and the land is unlivable. many here would consider them fortunate. 14,000 people in this district have applied for the land scheme and only 150 so far have received land. the zero handles prom was launched by the government two years ago to help poor families. these women were given paper is confirming their applications were successful a few months ago but they haven't got the plots yet. >> translator: if we don't get it soon we will protest and we will commit suicide, that's the only way. we can't carry on like this. we are all very poor. >> reporter: in recent years, social unrest overlapped ownership has become common. in the state here, a progressive land rights bill was established

in 1957 and promised fair distribution of land. yet about 70% of households here don't own lands, one of the highest in india. >> there were a lot of. >> reporter: activists say the zero land scheme sin effective and just gives the impression the government is tackling the issue you. >> existing means that land may be, he sitting may be a white elephant. it may be a lands occupied by some other persons. sometimes that land may be removed. sometimes that land may be not useful. >> reporter: the distribute is one of the most densely populate ed in the country. with a thousand 500 people for every square kilometer. safe land reserves are used in the scheme but they are limited. >> better that the government give us some fund to purchase land from those who are having surplus land. >> reporter: she has been asking for help from the government to build a house but has had some response, she says life was

better before she got the lands. divya, al jazerra, india. you can read much more about that land redistribution scheme on our web on aljazerra.com. there it is on your screen, you also find the day's other top stories. tomorrow. i'm on target. toxic politics, the blame game begins. plus, it's the economy, stupid. the 2016 election hinges on it. it may not be in the way you expect. pictures tell the story, a yellow stew flowing through the river in the northern colorado river basin. it