>> that's "america tonight." celebrations in yemen as government forces take back parts of the besieged city of taiz from houthi fighters. you're watching al jazeera. i'm jane dutton live from our headquarters in dohas. also coming up, divisions in the arab league for the decision to label hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

fighting breaks out at a rally for donald trump causing him to cancel the event first to yemen and government forces have broken the siege of taiz. government forces backed by saudi- led coalition strike took key suburbs in the west and south of the city. fighting continues in the eastern areas. rob matheson reports. >> reporter: the seizure of taiz seems to be over for now. cheering crowds welcome the news that forces supporting the president appear to control western and southern parts of yemen's third largest city. >> the houthis are shocked. yesterday they were in control of many parts where today it is

only in the strategic areas of taiz that caused that. >> reporter: forces are said to have broken through the houthi blockade. they're also reported to have opened a key southern supply route from aid. >> hundreds of-- from aden. >> hunteds of troops switched sides and this was the main reason why taiz was able to fall into the hands of government forces so quickly. the houthis are blaming each other, trying to find answers of why this happened. >> reporter: desperately provisions can now be delivered.

in november attempts were taken to attempt to take the city back. they were successful in july. now coalition air strikes and government forces are said to be targeting houthi bases to the east of taiz. the rebels say they're sending for reinforcements and intend to take back the areas they held. it seems the fighting will continue al jazeera correspondent joins me here in the studio. knowing the country as well as you do, how significant do you think this takeover is? >> taiz has been under the control of the houthis and forces loyal to bashar al-assad for almost a year now. they have hundred of houthi fighters in the east and north.

it is going to be easy to channel fighters, but if they can take over the whole of taiz i don't think so because there's a significant military presence of the former president. they know that they have to hold taiz. if they lose it, it will be an eedzy strike for the government to move forth towards the capital it seems that we're looking at a more military solution than a political solution; is that correct? >> they made it quite clear that they're definitely going to go with the ministry campaign until the houthis surrender. the president had appointed a hard liner as the top leader. he has been hasn't for quite some time. there are three key plarz in here. the shia houthis, the man who

has run the country for almost three decades. i think the consensus to try to bring them together for a settlement. they started a massive air campaign and strikes in yemen for almost a year without making significant games. it is still under the control of them. i think consensus is to bring all the parties to negotiate a political settlement thank you. the arab league has declared hezbollah as a terrorist organization over its backing of syria's government in the war. saudi arabia and 19 of the arab league members supported the move. lebanon and iraq supported . that decision could add to

regional tensions. >> the implications are serious and problem attic. it shows there's a difference between saudi arabia and the u.s. in the region. the saudis primary concern appears to be confrontation with iran and their allies. for us it's against radical extremists like d.a.e.s.h. and others. they have done pretty well in the last couple of years at least having a consensus on how to confront the challenges of al-qaeda and d.a.e.s.h. ol their border and the-- on their border. by putting pressure on hezbollah you're putting pressure on the lebanese political system and driving a wedge between the various groups.

the question is will lebanese pull together the russian air strikes have been blamed for the deaths of several people across syria on friday. including 10 in aleppo. i.s.i.l. released a video of the aftermath. it has been two weeks since a truce has come into effect. i.s.i.l. and al-nusra is not part of that group. marches have been held across the country in at least 15 cities, including azaz where people were chanting slow gangs against the-- slogans against the government a 10-year-old child has been killed in gaza. shrapnel from an air strike hit

the child's home. the ministry said israel carried out five air raids on hamas facilities on saturday. several rockets were fired on friday night causing no injuries. republican candidate donald trump has cancelled a rally scheduled in the city of chicago because of security skerns. cla clashes broke out between supporters and opposition. the demonstrators pushed their way to the crowd. one man managed to get on crowd but security dragged him away. >> reporter: a turn of events here in chicago at this college campus arena where donald trump was going to speak to a campus rally of about 9,000 people

inside. however, before the really even started a number of people were kicked out of the arena, exampled on by trump supporters who wanted them out. then before it started about the time it was supposed to start, a spokesman came out and said the event was cancelled entirely due to concerns about security. there were about 9,000 or so people outside the arena protesting this event. a lot of people wanted it cancelled, but in the end it was cancelled out of concerns for security. supporters of donald trump fell silent when that announcement was made, but a good supporters broke out in applause. there was pushing and shoving between protesters and supporters. punches were thrown outside.

was a big development because at no point at donald trump's rallies have been can semd until tonight. he said today that he was disappointed by not showing up. he said that the anger that has followed him is something not due to him. it is anger across the country. he will hold another campaign event here on sunday u.n. security council has documented its first ever resolution to deal with sexual abuse by peacekeepers. this calls for the repatriation of those accused of sex crimes. the move was sparked by a u.n. report that showed a sharp rise in the number of allegations. 69 cases were reported last year. that's up from 52 in 2014. >> the resolution underscores that peacekeepers found guilty, not those accused, those found guilty of committing sea, do not

deserve to serve in u.n. piece keeping missions. -- peace. sending a clear message to officials who fail to take actions of allegations of sae. as to all states and u.n. bodies to ensure that these investigations are carried out thoroughly, promptly and impartially lots more ahead, including we take a look at how europe's refugee crisis is giving germany's far right an upper hand ahead of elections. a hike in power tariffs in nigeria despite power cuts. ower cuts.

welcome back. the top stories. the saudi- led coalition is bombing remaining houthi positions in eastern taiz. the air strikes follow a significant government advance in western and southern areas of the city. it ends a ten-month siege which has caused a humanitarian crisis. the arab league has declared hezbollah a terror group over its backing of syria's government of the war. lebanon and iraq rejected the decision while algeria expressed reservation. donald trump has been forced to cancel his campaign rally in chicago after fights broke out between supporters and demonstrators. trump called off the event citing security concerns. he has cancelled a rally on

sunday. 250 company march is taking place in bangladesh. protesters want the government it scrap its plans for a coal pour plant close to a world heritage site. they're walking to a large mangrove forest. an agreement was signed to develop the power plant. the company will visit the country this month to discuss the environmental impact on the area. >> reporter: hundreds of people started a move from dakka on thursday to the largest mangrove forest and an international protected site. on the move, the organisers are stopping in different towns and cities to persuade others to join them.

many people joined them and showed their solidarity. they tried to hold a rally but were prevented by authorities to hold the rally. tomorrow they should be marching, and their main goal should be to pervade the government to stop building two power plants and bring public awareness. the government seems unlikely to be persuade as the construction site has started. international and local environmentalists feel there is a serious danger for the mangroves if this coal-powered plant goes on, and a long time consequence will be seriously threatened the greek government plans to clear out a makeshift refugee camp at the macedonian border

within two weeks. on friday tensions in the over crowded idomeni camp spilled over at people fought for food aid. other states have shut their borders to europeans hoping to travel to you're. refugees from pakistan are also on their way to europe. >> reporter: it is a moment of respite in their life filled with hardship, lonelily and uncertainty, teenagers who dream about a fresh start far away in europe. like this 17-year-old who left afghanistan with his parents. >> translation: the smugglers ordered me to bury my hands in the snow for five hours.

they took my family away. i don't know how to find them >> reporter: he is receiving medical attention at the camp, unable to move forward as afghans are no longer welcome on the balkan route. 16-year-old is in the same situation. he is an orphan who first worked in iran as a janitor. >> translation: they were trying to deport me because i did not have a passport, so i left. i want to be in a place where i feel safe. i borrowed money from my friends and i am sad to be stuck here >> reporter: along the way he became friends with this boy who is a year older. together they sneaked across borders and slept along the way, picking up clothes left by other refugees and hoping to go undetected. they relied on food left by compassionate people along the trail, but some of their fends didn't make it. >> translation: there were two other teenagers with us.

the smugglers wanted more money. they removed their money but they did not have enough. they were kidnapped and taken away. i don't know where they are. >> reporter: the camp here is teaming with unaccompanied children. many say there are fearful of ending up in camps. they go on unaccounted for and unprotected. >> reporter: every day there is a count of how many people are in the camp because despite the border being closed and having been secured, people want to reach their designation so some take their chance at crossing the borderline. that is what so many are considering. for $1800 they're promised safe passage all the way to germany. it will mean more death and suffering. he is over whelmed by a sense of loss. at 17 he has little to live for. >> translation: if they don't open the border, i will kill

myself. if i have to go back to afghanistan i will die there, so i might as well end it here >> reporter: europe is crumbling under the endless flow the refugees, but the lonely children have been abandoned by everyone. the border closures only increasing their vulnerability of them ending in the balconys in germany three states will elect new parliaments on sunday. these elections are a major test for the chancellor's refugee policy. she has pushed to keep her borders open to asylum seekers. that has surged for the right wing party, the alternative for germany. a report from the eastern states. >> reporter: this woman and her party are riding high in the polls with local elections just around the corner. with that popularity has come greater scrutiny.

the afd once concentrated on opposing the euro. now their main concern is their influx of refugees to their country. >> having taken more than one million asylum seekers and awaiting families as well, it is going to cause huge problems in germany on all sorts of levels in politics. >> reporter: shifting their focus on to immigration has one them few friends in the political parties, but it has gained them popularity with voters. before the influx of refugees really started last summer, the afd was receiving less than 5% in the opinion polls. fast forward to now and that number has more than doubled. one leading academic told me he thinks the coalition government's immigration policy is the main reason why >> the afd have had really a

good opportunity to get profile as an important and necessary part of the german in the spectrum which gives voice to those citizens in increasing numbers not represented by the politics of the party. >> reporter: for now, the test for the party is in the state parliament. the german federal gives the states considerable powers and elections there matter. the eastern state here is one of three to hold elections on march 13. a recent survey suggests the afd has now sup planted the main social democratic party here, a point some afd supporters supporters were keen to make at a rally. >> we know that they're not all war refugees. we're also human and we want to help, but we will not be made fools of. that's exactly what is happening and that's why we're here to support the afd.

with the old parties it's over >> reporter: the people at this really clearly believe that the afd speaks to their concerns, but the question for the party will be whether they can translate their opinion poll performances into actually votes. dominic kane in per ewe hundreds of-- peru hundreds of people have demanded to protest against the leader. there is evidence that she gave out gifts at rallies in violation of a law. the chief rival was suspended after his party failed to comply with regulations brazil's president says the arrest of her predecessor has to legal basis. he is wanted to money laundering charges relating to a luxury beach front apartment here. he has denied the charges and

says it is a-- politically motivated. >> translation: the demand went to far that he be remanded in custody. there is no basis for the request. all legal experts agree. the gesture goes beyond common sense. it is an act of injustice. our country can't watch something like this be carried out by the political leader responsible for changes in the country nigerians will soon be facing higher electricity costs as it is said the only way to improve power supply. >> reporter: this man is very unhappy at the 65% rise in his electricity bill. he reliance heavily on having a steady power supply for his workshop in the outskirts of this area. >> no-one will rch to pay their

bill. how can they increase a light bill when the light is not steady. >> reporter: electricity providers say the prize rise will generate important revenue to invest in much needed improvements. >> no-one wants to pay more. we understand that. the reality is there have been decades of under-investment and we need to get this supply chain healthy and you can only do that when the rev news are there. >> reporter: the government recently privatized the electricity industry to try and solve the power shortage. in a country of 170 million people, only 6 million customers are on the national grid. the industry regulator said the consumers were worse off under the old tariff >> if we stayed with the old tariff, it is a fixed charge, which the people didn't want, we will stay without the protections that the new tariff

offers. we will also be still with the potential for increased tariff. it will still increase >> reporter: the amount of electricity that is being stolen is another problem that is partly driving the price increase. electricity providers are taking action. hundreds of thousands of so-called smart meters are being installed across the country. electricity distribution company says the technology will be able to stoop customers from illegally siphoning off power. the corruption may take years to wear off so producers can meet demand. one area which is close to the capital has never had electricity. >> we feel very bad and we feel like we are not human because there is no electricity. >> reporter: they hope they will get connected to an electricity supply soon, but $100 million is

needed to meet the need nation-wide u.s. president obama is urging america's technology leaders to use their skills to solve the country's biggest challenges. he was speaking at the south by the south-west annual trade show. his comments come after a legal battle between apple and the f.b.i. >> reporter: thousands of leading tech professions gathered in austin for this expo. there was a special guest. president obama who urged an audience of innovators, entrepreneurs to shape the digital future to use their skills for the benefit of society. >> the reason i'm here really is to recruit all of you. it's to say to you, as i'm about to leave office, how can we

start coming up with new platforms and new ideas, new approaches across disciplines and across skill sets to solve some of the big problems that we're facing today. >> reporter: his remarks in austin came as the f.b.i. and the u.s. justice department are pressuring apple to create a back-door method for unlocking an iphone used by this man, one of the shooters in last year's mass killing. apple ceo tim cook has refused saying to comply with open the door to the government's cracking of encrypted phones at will. >> reporter: this week the f.b.i. raised the stakes saying it might demand am source code which control $the operating system of every iphone and critical security functions. obama said he couldn't address the specifics of the case, but he said sometimes compromises may be needed in the interests of national security. much of the t earnings ch

community opposes-- tech community for owes-- opposes apple having to help the f.b.i. the collection of data about phone calls and emails by the national security agency. the agency also tapped the smart phones of u.s. allies, lining german chancellor. tech professions l professionals say no-one's data is secure from snooping. >> if you're on mobile phone, you have to assume your phone is being monitored. that's how i look at it. >> reporter: the fight between appear emand f.b.i. is set for late march the n.a.s.a. astronaut who broke the longest u.s. space mission will retire at the end of the month. scott kelly landed safely back

on earth last week after spending nearly a year on the international space station. the 340 day mission was intended to pave the way for human travel to mars. for the rest of us, you can checkout the website. >> some are blind. others are ridden with cancer. many have serious mental illness. all of them are old. and a few will never get out alive.