s palace for the past two days by shiite militias. the government has also resigned, but not before it agreed to amend the constitution and brett more power to the minority. >> moments after his government resigned, the yemeni president too, announced his decision to

step down, a move that has been rejected by the country's beleaguered parliament but praised by a senior minority official. just one day after eight apparent deal was struck with the rebels who laid siege to the presidential palace the shiite militia are still there, a clear sign that the power-sharing agreement has failed. the resignation of the yemeni cabinet along with the prime minister and now the president too, comes after what is being described by many as a coup, a coup that appeared to be boarded when he gave in to demands late wednesday, a greeting to greater representation in government whilst remaining the countries leader. the political situation reveals the divide between those who support the rebellion and those who took to the streets earlier in the day to denounce what they call a rebel takeover. >> wear out here to tell

everyone that we do not accept what the houthi malicious -- militias have done an yemeni soil. >> this raises great concerns about the future of yemeni leadership with the u.s. considering the president as a key ally in the fight against al qaeda. 50% of islamic state leaders have been killed, so says u.s. secretary of state john kerry, who is in london for talks with ministers of 21 of the countries fighting the group. the coalition has carried out over 1000 airstrikes in recent months. aside from military strategy the ministers also discussed how to stop would be jihadists in the west from becoming indoctrinated and traveling to syria or iraq or else carry out terror attacks at home. here is britain's foreign secretary speaking out. >> the recent terrible events in paris have reminded us that the battle against iso--- isil is

not confined within the borders of iraq and syria and that this poisonous ideology threatens our own systems and the systems of our allies. >> japan is under pressure to secure two of its citizens being held hostage by the group. militants released a video on tuesday demanding $200 million within 72 hours to save the lives of the freelance journalist and security worker. japan's prime minister has reiterated that the ransom will not be paid. there has been another shock for france, meanwhile, following the attacks by homegrown terrorists earlier this month. authorities say at least six former french soldiers have joined jihadist fighting in syria and iraq. >> the first marine infantry parachute regiment, one of the most elite of the french army. this is where an unnamed man

from northern paris trained for four years. he left the army as a corporal in 1998 to work for writing target security in yemen and ended up joining a group of radical militant islamists. >> people in special forces receive intense military training. the course he followed of what we know of him would put him on the path of being selected for the special antiterrorist forces in the marine commandos. these people are true professionals in war. >> authorities say they believe around a dozen former french officers have joined up with groups like the islamic state organization or al qaeda. in this jihadist propaganda film, this man talks openly about his past and the french military, providing a photograph to support his claims. >> they know how the french operate and can teach others what they know about the french military. they also know the strategies of

the french army when they get on the ground. this constitutes a serious strategic advantage. >> the french defense minister confirmed he knows a former french military member switching sides. he said any further information on the subject is classified. >> in the fight against terrorism, there are things called secrets. the secrets part active. >> the french defense minister says announcing the names of those leaving the army right now for a jihadist cause is not useful. what is more pressing is to follow those who may be on the verge of carrying out an attack in france. >> that is part of the ongoing crackdown on jihad is in here in rants. the government announced it will overhaul policy, cutting the focus on teaching public and secular values and schools. >> getting back to basics with a series of new measures aimed at reinforcing french republican ideals. >> french schools, free and

secular, are on the front line. they've been entrusted with a mission to instruct, to educate, to instill confidence. >> the plan will cost 250 million euros over the next three years. it will include a training program to help promote secularism as well as civic and ethics education. 1000 teachers are expected to beat hot the new curriculum before july. elementary school students will take citizenship courses teaching republican values including respect for everyone as well as steps to deal with racism. students who commit offenses or do not respect republican values will find themselves having to carry out community service. to support the teachers, each regional education authority has been tasked with setting up a group of volunteers that can visit schools to raise awareness of different topics. the teachers will receive enhanced training to help them

detect the early signs of radicalization among students. grants set aside for the country's poorest students will be increased by 20%, and students' french levels will be evaluated around age eight, and those in difficulty will receive extra help. >> moving out to the democratic republic of congo, after three days of violence in the capital kinshasa, the senate has agreed to postpone for 24 hours a vote on lifting term limits for the president. while the capitalist, tonight there have been protests and clashes in the eastern city of goma. at least 12 people have been killed and scores arrested since monday. human rights groups are claiming that the death toll is much higher. meanwhile, the opposition in nigeria has slammed the government's suggestion that elections should be laid -- delayed. president goodluck jonathan's national security adviser says more time is needed to organize

the vote and distribute voting cards. the electoral commission says it has not received any such official communication from the government. just hours after an international call or an end to the fighting and one of the bloodiest days yet in the war for ukraine, dozens have been killed in fighting in the east of the country, and pro-government forces have abandoned the airport and rebel-delta donetsk. there were civilian casualties as well. at least 13 people were killed when a mortar hit a bus carrying passengers. >> stunned residents gathered around the damaged remains of the bus. it was hit by shells, killing several people on board. a car driving past was caught up in the aftermath. bloodied bodies littered the pavement. >> we heard blasts and ran here and we saw a car had exploded.

the bus was destroyed, and there were lots of dead bodies. there was a wounded man on the bus. he was asking for help. there also was a dead body behind us and lots and lots of wounded people. >> the force of the blast blew out the windows of nearby shops. the shelling comes just hours after peace talks in berlin called for a cease-fire. ukraine has blamed rebels for the attack. >> russian terrorists have today committed another horrible act against humanity. responsibility for that lays on the russian federation. >> kiev is fighting an ongoing insurgency by pro-russian in the eastern part of the country. in recent days, clashes have intensified in donetsk, forcing ukrainian troops to withdraw from parts of the hotly contested airport. >> u.s. officials have been holding talks with the cuban

government in havana this thursday. they are seeking to normalize ties after half a century of hostility. on the agenda -- establishing embassies in both countries and overhauling laws on immigration. to discuss further, i'm joined by a cuban specialist. thanks for being with us. you've been following these talks pretty closely. one issue being discussed is america's so-called wet foot/dry foot policy with the u.s. will not automatically deport cubans who arrive on their territory illegally. this is a really important one for cubans, isn't it? >> yes. it's actually important for the cubans, and it is important for cuban-americans who have benefited from this policy for the last 35, 40 years or so. it is highly controversial, but it is a very special treatment

that remains. in 1995, the cuban and u.s. government sat down and agreed that maritime -- unauthorized maritime travel would be stopped, and the united states would be picked up, and anyone seeing them would return them to cuba, but the loophole is what happens when someone actually touches land. this is the loophole that calls into force a law that was passed in 1966 called the cuban adjustment act, which grants residency one year and one day after the arrival for any cubans. the automatic thing is that cubans who arrive on u.s. sure actually run towards the immigration officers because they can then start the clock and gain residency, whereas other people would be apprehended and deported. >> we're talking about the most high-ranking delegation in cuba for some 35 years.

however, they have not managed to agree on when and where to establish indices. you would imagine that that would he one of the more simpler things to organize. why is the sticking point here? >> well, yesterday was a meeting that was set aside and planned actually before the december 17 break through, so that was just normal that they talked about yesterday migration. today, it's my understanding they are talking about the indices. for the u.s. side, i would say that it would be very simple because they already essentially have an embassy in cuba, but they just call it an intersection. it's a huge building right in the central part of havana, overlooking the straits of florida. it was seem to me that all they would have to do is literally change the name on the door and change the title of the person who is chief of section, and they would become ambassador. i would be surprised if it comes

out today that they have not agreed and come to a conclusion on what you very rightly call what will be a simple thing. the other part of that however is that both sides want their diplomats to be able to travel freely in one another's countries. that is a test of trust, and it will be a good test because if they allow that, it means they are able to build on that and go forward to other topics that will happen in the future. >> we have seen a lot of enthusiasm surrounding this process from cuban-americans and, of course from cubans themselves. when do you think we might see some real change to people's lives? >> well, if you are one of the cuban dissidents who was in jail, one of the 53 political prisoners, there was a sudden change in your life just a week ago when you were released from prison. that is important. >> absolutely. >> but the real change will happen, i think, within about three to six months.

the united states has basically thrown down a gauntlet, or maybe they have knocked on cuba upon store, and we will see if cuba is going to open it. what i mean by that is there is no guarantee that cuba will allow the united states to buy and sell products to engage in commerce with cuba because the united dates wants to do it with the private sector, and i think cuba might not like that because they might see it as kind of a trojan horse. wanting to empower the tribe -- the private sector so that they become uncontrollable. also, the telecom issue is a big one. i would expect these things would take three to six months for us to seek any daylight in terms of actual change. cuba is one of the countries in the western hemisphere with the least amount of conductivity to the internet. around five or send a people have access to the world wide web in the way that we know it in the west. -- around 5% of people. they like that because it is easy to control the cuban

people, but it is a test of the cuban government. will the cuban government start to take down its internal embargo as the external u.s. embargo is also weakened by obama? >> thanks very much indeed. time for a quick reminder of our headlines. there's a political crisis in yemen. the president has quit. he's been the last two days holed up in his presidential palace surrounded by shiite houthi militias, who are now claiming this as a victory. it has been the bloodiest day in months in the conflict in ukraine. dozens of people were killed today as fighting rages on in the east of the country. pro-government forces have now abandoned donetsk airport. and 50% of islamic state commanders have been killed. the u.s. secretary of state john kerry says the u.s.-led coalition is working. he has been meeting with allies in london.

let's get an update on the business news now. the european central bank has made its big announcement. no less than 1.1 trillion euros being pumped into the economy. >> that's right. mario draghi kept us waiting. around seven minutes late to the conference. the plan will see the bank buying 60 billion euros in bonds per month. over 18 months that will be 1.1 trillion euros aimed at boosting the economy, but what is this program known as quantitative easing, and how does it work? the european-controlled bank creates its own money and uses that to buy bonds from financial and the touche and's. this in turn will lower interest rates, and that encourages businesses and people to take out more loans. they can spend this money, which will create jobs, and that helps the economy grow. that is the theory. now we learn how the markets and how eurozone officials are

digesting the news. >> it's a first for the eurozone. the ecb is bringing out the big guns in a massive buyout of debt to the tune of 60 billion euros a month until september 2016. in total that's an injection of over 1.1 trillion euros. a bold strategy that economists say is not without risk, but it could also give the eu economy a much-needed most. >> if you print more money, then perhaps inflation will go up. the second argument in favor of this kind of monetary policy is that the economy is still very weak. growth is very weak, and if you can introduce this policy, we might see some boost to confidence. we might also see a weaker euro, which would be good for exports and boosting growth. >> the decision exceeded market expectations, prompting a rise

in the european share indexes. yet, this caution from some corners and concern that governments will push off vital economic reforms with the breathing space provided by the ecb. >> what i'm saying is a politician is that whatever the decision of the ecb, it must not detract from the fact that real growth must come from reasonable basic conditions. >> the move was welcomed more warmly, however, by wrench and italian finance ministers, who said this ambitious strategy is good for europe and should ward off deflation across the eurozone. >> all that money in terms of the euro zone economy, liquidity means it has been pushing down the value of the euro against the dollar. it earlier fell down more than 2%. it is now trading at one dollar 13 cents almost one dollar $.14. big gains on wall street. u.s. markets rallying on the back of the ecb's move.

they are up for their fourth session in a row. similar percentage gains on the nasdaq and the s&p 500. airlines are one of the highest performing stocks amid lower fuel prices. time now for a quick look at some company news. air france met with employee representatives today and is expected to present its cost-cutting plan in two weeks time. air france is facing increased competition from low-cost carriers, and the company took a hit last year when a pilots strike over plans to develop its own low-cost sector. over the past three years, air france has already cut it thousand jobs. microsoft unveiled an augmented reality headset, a wireless device that project holograms into the real world. microsoft is billing it as both a consumer and business product as it can be used for gaming or

designing 3-d models. the virtual reality and augmented reality market are young, but microsoft hopes to gain a strong foothold in the market. it's to rex competitor oculus was bought by facebook last year for $2 billion -- its direct competitor. the spanish government is expected to approve the privatization of the world's largest airport operator in terms of passenger numbers, and it controls both madrid and barcelona as well as london's airport. the deal is expected to raise about 4 billion euros. the company has been hit hard by spain's crisis but saw a recent uptick in revenues. for the 10th year in a row, real madrid is a top the rich list with revenue of 550 million euros. manchester united jumped from 42nd, while bayern munich, barcelona rounded out the top

five, but half of the top 10 were in the premier league in the u.k. thanks to a lucrative tv deal. that just goes to show you that football is not just for sitting on your tush at home and watching a match. it's big business. >> i thought it was about running around kicking a ball. >> thanks very much indeed. we got the best of the internet over the past 24 hours now. save you a lot of clicking. here is what news. >> hello there and welcome to the web news with the top stories making the online headlines. coming up on today show, the #je suischarlie has inspired activist the world over. canadians tell their government they will not work for free. and downhill urban mountain biking in mexico.

the jesuischarlie hashtag has been used millions of times since the deadly attacks, and it has inspired activist the world over. supporters of the 31-year-old blogger who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1000 lashes last year or insulting islam have taken to the web, calling for his immediate release. web users have been posting under the #jesuisraif urging leaders to ensure that he is freed at the earliest possible opportunity and unconditionally. social networkers in ukraine have used the #to remind the world that the conflict in

ukraine is far from over. it was started after a rocket fired in all likelihood by pro-russian separatists hit a bus on january 13, killing 13 civilians. the president from ukraine has also used it to pay tribute to the victims and call for an end to the fighting. and a lot of web users from across the globe have been showing solidarity with nigeria a regular target for militant islamist group boko haram. the #jesuisnigeria has been proving particularly popular with people from around the world telling nigeria they are not alone. with canada gearing up for its 150th birthday celebrations in 2017, authorities are looking for a logo to mark the occasion. authorities have launched a competition to design a canada

150 logo with a $5,000 prize for the winning entry. but it has not gone down well with canadian design students. many are outraged that the federal government would ask them to work for free and have taken their grievances online. they feel authorities are showing a lack of respect for their work and have been posting on twitter under the #my timehasvalue and say they will not be participating. other web users have since joined the campaign, writing the slogan on a piece of paper and posing for a photo to show their solidarity with canada's future designers. as canada's association of graphic designers highlights on its website, design competitions have become a means for companies to obtain free work from designers, particularly when they are young. not just in canada we have seen

this type of contest. last year, american tv network showtime launched an online competition asking for design work for sporting events. a market chain and francis facing controversy after demanding employees make up the hours they lost when they were forced to evacuate during the hostage standoff between police and the shooters who were holed up inside the neighboring printing plant in paris. related on twitter earlier this week, the news has sparked widespread outrage online, and the retail group has since announced workers will be receiving a full day's pay. jamaican sprinter hussein bolt has been swamped with pictures on twitter of infants

inadvertently perfecting his trademark celebration pose. it seems the olympic gold medalist is rather taken with him because he started reviewing and re-tweeting them. he has added tongue-in-cheek wo

m pacifica this is democracy now! >> cooled down to the point i wish o king most of the time -- i was shaking most of the time. the next 70 days, i would not know the sweetness of sleeping. interrogation 24 hours a day, i was living literally in terror. >> autonomy diary. it has just been published to rave reviews.