at least 49 killed in a bomb attack at a shia mosque in southern pakistan.eople queueing for food along the latest victims of shelling in eastern ukraine. and why south africa is releasing it's apartheid era death squad leader who has been called prime evil. ♪ >>> so we begin with the latest developments in the conflict with the islamic state of iraq and the levant. jordan has been trying to find out what has happened to one of its military pilots being held by isil fighters. isil had threatened to kill the pilot unless a female suicide bomber being held by jordan was released. al jazeera has evidence that resistance is growing in iraq's second largest city mosul. always in iraq dozens of iraqi soldiers and kurdish fiebl fiebl -- fighters have been killed. a car bomb targeting a busy market killed 11 people, and 7 died when a security check point was attacked four killed were police officers and three were suicide bombers. >>> elsewhere isil fighters have killed at least 15 iraqi soldiers south of fallujah. a suicide bomber detonated explosive close to an ar

hundreds of military advisers would exist the shia militias.nd it believes that iran, not the united states, is it's biggest fight against isil. >> the general said a program to train 5,000 kurdish forces in iraq will help win back territory. >> we expect that we'll see the effectiveness of this force improve over time, and ultimately that they'll be able to take back the population centers and municipalities. it's important that it be done in the right measures. it's important that we have all of the pieces in place when that time comes. it's important that it's done in a deliberate manner so the planning is, in fact accomplished in the kinds of detail necessary and done in conjunction with the support that we have from the coalition. >> still ahead on al jazeera, libertarian pioneer or cyber critical. the founder of the silk road online marketplace goes on trial in new york. >> and why russia's transgender citizens face being banned from driving. "hidden state: inside north korea. monday 9:00 eastern. only on al j >> we'll remind you of the t

a shia mosque under attack. this happened in a southern province.he mosque was packed during friday prayers, when an explosion ripped through the building. the blast was so powerful that part of the roof collapsed, trapping people underneath. many people were killed and others injured. pakistan's shia minority have been caught in a recent wave of sectarian violence. just three weeks ago, a bombing outside another shia mosque killed eight people. shias make up a fifth of pakistan's population community leaders say the government isn't doing enough to ensure their safety and that attacks like this show they are a target. gerald tan, al jazeera. >>> in yemen, the talks between factions -- groups to fill the power vacuum left after the president resigned have hit another snag. the southern block said it will pull out of talks to form a presidential council. >> reporter: after yesterday's initial optimism that came out of meeting between the different political parties, it seems they have hit a road bump pretty early on and that is the southern movement

shias mike up a fifth of the population. they say the government isn't doing enough to ensure safety and attacks like this show they are a target. al jazeera. >> let's find the latest crossover joining us from islamabad, the death toll most likely to arecognize after that blast. tell us about that and whether there's been a claim of responsibility. many of the wounded are in serious condition. it is a small town, about 500 kilometers northeast of karachi. many of the more seriously wounded had to be taken to towns such as the 150 kilometers away. there are inat wet facilities in the small town. the fact as you saw in that report the powerful explosion was so deadly that part of the building collapsed many of the people were buried under the rubble and they had to be dug out from the rubble, so indeed, a bigger attack and second attack in just less than a month this year. >> what is the government doing if anything at all to stop these attacks? >> well, the government has come out with a national action plan, which means that

there is a sense that the shia militias may be hard to control.e accused of human rights violations including killing prisoners and sunni and displacement of sunni families. but their support is a immediate concern for the us and its allies. iran is believed to have sold millions of dollars worth of hardware and weapon to his iraq. it's also dispatched hundreds of military advisers to assist the shia militias. and it's believed this is to sends a message that it is indeed iran and not the united states that is baghdad's biggest ally in the fight against isil. mohamed adow, al jazerra northern iraq. >> reporter: apart from the shia militias and allies and kurdish fighters in iraq, the other big element of sunni tribal fighters and that's what the united states and iraq are still trying to get together the support of the tribes which will be a crucial element in fighting isil in the vast west of this country. myriam. >> jane, thanks very much. live for us there in in baghdad. >>> i want to bring you pictures now from the german capital berlin where

the victims were shia muslims who had gathered for friday prayers. the mosque is located in a congested area of the town. scenes of chaos as rescue workers tried to get to the casualties. grieving relatives searched for loved ones and transported them. doctors at nearby hospitals struggled to cope with the carnage. many of the wounded later died in local hospitals. a shia militant group says it ordered the attack. the group is allied to the pakistani taliban. it has previously carried out attacks against foreign tourists and pakistan's shia and christian minorities. this particular group that has gone for this attack is a splinter group of the pakistani taliban. they warned they were going to target she is in pakistan -- shias in pakistan they consider to be non-muslims. they said they were linking up with the islamic state of iraq and syria. >> now to eastern ukraine were heavy fighting is continuing with civilian casualties on both sides. rocket attacks and the shelling of a cultural center in donetsk have killed at least six people. david has the

shias make up a fifth of pakistans population.munity leaders say the government isn't doing enough to ensure their safety and attacks like this show they are a target. gerald tan, al jazeera. >>> in yemen protesters have rallied in the southern city of aden. it comes just a week after yemen's president and cabinet resigned after they failed to cobble together a deal with houthi leaders. our correspondent has more. >> reporter: there is some movement on the political front here in yemen albeit very little with no real results in sight in that the different political parties have been meeting in the capitol sana'a the houthis as well as the other political parties to try to set up a presidential council. however, the reason why it doesn't seem that there is a result in sight is that the political parties are demanding from the houthi movement that they relinquish all of the power they have taken by force since coming into the capitol on september 21st. that demand they say must be met before a presidential council could be formed be

shia's make up a fifth of pakistan's population. community leaders say that the government is not doing enough to insure the safety, and that attacks like this show that they are a target. al jazeera. >> greece said it won't work with the group of international inspectors charged with overseeing its bail out package. the new finance minister meet the finance chief in athens. greece's government will will renegotiate its bail out. >> our government will proceed to provide the utmost cooperation. but implementing a program whose logic we consider to be anti-european according to the european parliament is poorly structured. we do not aim to work with. >> and the popularity of the far left is growing elsewhere in europe especially spain. there a group is gaining influence in its campaign against austerity. >> reporter: they're spreading the word for the march taking place saturday. the name of the party simply we can. and ordinary people are attracted by its message of social justice. the leader, pablo iglesias hopes to replicate that

violence began between the shia fighters and the army. it's not clear who's in charge. >> the fighting is being heard from blocks away. government forces and houthi rebels have been battling near the presidential palace in sanaa since early on monday. who wields power in yemen something that's hard to know at the moment. a government spokesperson indicates a place of utter chaos. >> frankly i don't know who is in charge here. some are responding to his command that's why both the ministers of interior and community, they do not obey the orders of their superiors. >> houthi rebels have been at odd with the government for a while now but many feel they are the real rulers of yemen. salah has been thought to be at the head of the chaos. monday's fighting has made this situation worse. >> nothing like this has been seen before. this case is the first of its kind even the attack on sanaa months ago was nothing close to this. the attacks on sanaa by the houthis only focused on certain areas of the capital. there was no attack on the president o

they will want to take advantage and they do not want a shia government. aqap is a sunni-based organization. they will be reluctant. they will not want to pick a fight. they are not going to want to see the houthi in charge. >> how long -- are you concerned in washington? >> our first concern is the embassy and the person now we have that are operating throughout the country. and we also are going to be looking out for our allies. we have two ships off the coast right now. we have a contingent of marines. they are prepared to conduct noncombatant operations. we want to have an environment where it is benign. where it is not under fire. the last thing the marines want to do is go into a hostile environment where they have to create safe haven so they can evacuate them. to create that, that creates the potential for civilian casualties. >> thank you very much for joining us. in other news from around the world, angry crowds attacked ukrainian prisoners of war in the eastern ukrainian city. 15 prisoners have been captured at the airport after months of fighti

iran is widely thought to be backing the shia rebels.ernment says it seized weapon shipments from iran destined for the houthis. on the other side is the sunni power saudi arabia, which has expressed strong support for the president. in to thousand ninth oil-riched kingdom launched air strikes against the shia-led rebels. last year they declared the houthis a terrorist organization. >>> for more on the chaos that's gripping yemen let's speak now to a political analyst specializing in yemen. thank you so much for inning us. >> thank you. >> you were just with us 24 hours ago roughly it's incredible how much has actually changed in those 24 hours. how do you read the situation in sanaa right now? >> it's very unstable, of course. but nothing unusual. i think that the capital is going through a natural crisis development, if you would like. the houthis are trying to push their agenda and president hadi is holding on to what he believes he is entitled to, they are debating over the kidnap of his chief of staff. a very important individual, m

militias on the ground to back up shia led government in iraq. jenna: this is very much becoming not only in yemen but look at broader region even more after proxy war between the saudis and iranians? >> what is happening in the region is multiple things at once. there is a proxy war between states. there is also a sectarian battle between sunnis and shia and states that represent those populations, the gulf sunni states in particular and iran, the major shia state on the other side. this has ramifications across the board across the region. both in terms of the sectarian nature which really drives people and is vicious radicalizing problem. and in terms of this more state to state, vying for influence throughout the region and yemen is just the latest place where this is happening. >> if you look both extremes inside of yemen, whether it is huthis or sunnis, al qaeda branch, if you will, both of those groups are not pro-america, right? matthew, when you look at those two side drawing the lines, as far this having any sort of ally in the governme

a shia mosque under attack.s time the bombing happened in the city in the southern sind province. the mosque was packed during friday prayers when an explosion ripped through the building. the blast was so powerful that part of the roof collapsed. trapping people underneath. many were killed and others injured. the shia minority have been caught in a recent wave of sectarian violence. just three weeks ago, a bombing outside of another shia mosque killed eight people. shias make up a fifth of pakistan's population. community leaders say the government isn't doing enough to ensure their safety and that attacks like this show they are a target. gerald tan, al jazeera. >>> still to come on this news hour south africa grants parole to the man dubbed prime evil one of the country's most notorious assassins. >>> find out how the success of greece's syriza party has breathed in life. >>> and in sport, we go to the australian open final. [ cheers ] ♪ >>> hezbollah's leader says the lebanese armed group isn't afraid of wa

shias make up a fifth of pakistan's population.ommunity leaders say the government isn't doing enough to ensure their safety and that attacks like this show they are a target. gerald tan, al jazeera. >>> coming up on the news hour bez -- hezbollah's leader says the armed group is not afraid of war with israel. >>> and greece's syriza party has breathed new life into leftist groups across europe. >>> and in sport, we will have the australian open. ♪ >>> chad's air force have bombed boko haram fighters and driven them out of a town they held for three months. last week chad sent hundreds of troops into cameroon to use the country as a base to launch attacks against the armed group. mohammed has more from chad's capitol. >> reporter: chadian defense officials have confirmed that their forces on the border between nigeria and cameroon have taken on boko haram fighters in the village in northeast nigeria. they say they first used a jet bomber to attack the fighters and those who fled towards the border were then attacked by their ground

. >> thousands in pakistan have staged protests against the bombing of a shia mosque. at least 59 were killed in the blast that went off during friday prayers. we have this report: >> thousands of people in southern pakistan gather for a mass funeral. the victims of the mosque bombing are carried through the streets as people pay their respects and offer prayers. the grief is communal, and so is the anger. >> the people who participated in the funeral prayers came from all over the province, even all over pakistan. we appeal to the government to eliminate the perpetrators. >> dozens died in the explosion at the shia mosque a day earlier, packed at the height of friday prayers. the sunni group said it was behind the attack, which the prime minister has condemned. >> yesterday's tragic incident has saddened the entire nation. we want to emif a size that this will further strengthen our resolve, furth our determination to fight against terrorism. >> a day of mourning is in effect across the province. schools and shops are closed, even public transport suspended. business

now the shia fighters are more realizing their force.already control nine provinces, including the capitol, and now they are sending large reinforcements towards the outskirts. it could be a matter of time before there is another conflict. last week the shia leader called on the state to protect the province from what he said were plans to hand it over to al-qaeda, and if the state fails, his fighters will activate he says. but many say the houthis are using al-qaeda to justify their takeover of most of the country. these tribes say the houthis were trying since june last year to seize the province. that's why tribes here have joined forces and in tribal tradition, this means they either live or die together. in the capitol, the government is worried, but it is also week. it's military is divided among political and tribal loyalties. more than 50% of the oil production is in this province. and nearly all of its gas exports originate from there, and if fighting begins and production stops, yemen will lose most of its main income. >>> liby

manipulated by iran to promote radical shia ideology.e other hand the government has always been criticizing, saying iran has been providing the houthis with substantial military aid. they have shown some of the

you're right in saying too they do feed into the broader shia-sunni divide being predominantly shia andg sheer shiite transcribes. when we encounter the houthis here they are polite and calm. you're right to point out much of the rhetoric we've heard from their leader has been to condemn foreign influence in yemen, from saudi to america to the united nations. they have an agenda inside yemen itself. today, it is quite clear that the pressure they put on the streets here and around key presidential buildings has led to the entire collapse of the government here. yemen is now without a president, a prime minister or a cabinet. there is of course under the constitution a plan of succession here which i believe may involve the speaker of parliament. he may be an ally of the former president. that's all hearsay at this stage. their leader when he last spoke didn't talk like he wanted to be the next president. he sounded like a leader. laid out his demands. it's clear though that the political deal we heard last night has not stopped president hadi from losing his job. we are now really a cou

jazeera live from headquarters in doha and also coming up at least 20 people killed in an attack on a shiaque in southern pakistan. pakistan. >> they want them as human shields. >> reporter: growing discontent and we speak to people inside iraq iraq iraq isil and say they are hostages in their city. >>> thousands of jobs depends on the oil industry and where the current low oil prices are raising concerns about the future. ♪ hello, egypt's president sisi is cutting short his trip to ethiopia for the african union summit, a deal with a string of deadly attacks in egypt's sinai peninsula and egypt army say it killed 26 people and most soldiers but some reports put that figure more than 40 and we have details. >> reporter: the force of the explosion can be seen from far away. fighters from an armed group called sinai providence say they are responsible for thursday attack and pledged allegiance to iraq or isil and used rockets and a car bomb in the capital of sinai and nearby town in four separate attacks and told al jazeera why the military base may have been chosen for a target. >> translat

the capitol of sana'a is now under complete control of shia houthi righters. houthis also ransacked the headquarters of the presidential guard south of the capitol. on monday they took control of state television as well as the official news agency. crossing over to sana'a and speaking to a visiting scholar at the middle east center and his research has focused on yemeni and gulf politics. can you tell us what you are seeing now in the capitol of sana'a. what is the situation? >> yeah right now there is -- you know again it is quiet. they are fully in control of the presidential palace. i know also that at one point the streets were blocked [ inaudible ] that even those who were injured in the fighting could be treated outside of his house, and they are still there. the negotiations are still there. and the underen -- u.n. envoy was suppose arrive today at 3:00 p.m. but he flew instead to new york. and [ inaudible ] negotiated right now. between the parties and the president, and it is unclear how this will end. >> do you expect to see any positive results fro

shia. the pro-british monarchy was assassinated in 1958. and then under saddam hussein it numbered 1 million men in 1990. then when the u.s. removed disax saddam hussein today the army is facing many domestic challenges like fighting insurgent and i.s.i.l. mohammad adow, live in erbil there he is. you were talking about a sunni tribal leader complaining about the lack of help from baghdad. why is the iraqi government so unwilling to arm sunni tribes. >> well, this is because of the sectarian divide here in iraq. the government in baghdad is dominated by mainly shia politicians who are suspicious of the sunni leaders and the sunni leaders are suspicious of those in government. and what they have been telling us is the shia led government in baghdad wants to use militias to take over areas that are inhabited by they have not been getting enough support. we for example met the governor of ninoa province whose capital is mosul major stronghold for i.s.i.l. and he says he has put a majority of his forces into a camp, but they have not received s

the shia opposition groups say their demands have not been are l provided. shake ali shamani to be released immediately while the european countries keep sienl silent and they were only interested in resolution. we keep the country safe for the past four years but still the bahraini people are demanding to have a prime minister to be elected not the prime minister to be appointed since 1971. >> reporter: there have been repeated talks between opposition and the government in the past four years to try to end the unrest. the last year the negotiations collapsed. boycotted parliamentary elections, allowing the military to open a base in ban ray. the area is already home of the u.s. fifth fleet. children have been among the the many arrested in the last five days. the potentially lengthy prison sentence could spark more violence across the country. charles stratford, al jazeera. >> a mass religious gathering is planned in the yemeni capital sanaa on saturday. it is more than just a religious event. >> these posters reflect the new reality in yemen. the streets

leader of the shia opposition party, since shia led mass protests that crushed in 2011. the shia majority bahrain is are led by a minority. al jazeera is continuing to demand the immediate release of our three journalists who have been imprisoned in egypt for more than a year. peter greste, mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed were wrongly convicted of broadcasting false news and helping the outlaid muslim brotherhood which they and al jazeera deny. on thursday an appeals court in cairo ordered a retrial which could begin in a month. peter greste and mohamed fahmy have requested they be deported from egypt. >>> myanmar has celebrated its 67th anniversary of independence from burma. first such event since the military coup of 1962. >>> pakistani city of peshawar, many people there are hoping for a better future. as mohammad adow reports. >> it hasn't rained this winter in most of pakistan. and the sting of a harsh season is already felt here in the north. especially amongst the poor of peshawar. >> i really hope 2015 will be a peaceful year and my business will prosper as you

shia houthi fight tours control the capitol of sanaa. but they've been in control of most parts since september last year. they've been promising statement and calling for the setting up of a new presidential council. in this secession itself, there have been calls for the north that shows how divided this country is. there have been calls for the solution to the crisis. >> i ask everybody to be wise, to be in a spirit of national union, to respect the supreme interest of yemen and dialogue and political solutions. >> some analysts say that hadi should have resigned months ago. >> it's a very bad thing and a very good thing. it's a very bad thing that things have reached this, but i think it will bring public mobilization around the president, around the government. >> when hadi took charge in 2012 he faced the challenge of united a divided country. yemen had ruled for decade by ali abdullah saleh. there wases a brokered deal, but hadi was the only candidate on the president ballot. he never got fullbacking many of whom still support sal

even with the airstrikes and the military gains that kurdish forces are making in the north and shia militias with iraqi forces are making in the rest of the country there are places where isil is creeping back in. in the west a senior leader was killed when a tanker of explosions went into his house this week. and in kirkuk heavy clashes two senior peshmerga commanders, including a major general killed by a sniper today said to have been killed in those clashes. around the country as well in the province of dala, the repercussion of a massacre of unarm unarmed gunmen, that was part of the backdrop of this conference that the prime minister addressed. he said that iraqi security forces and anyone acts outside of the law would not be considered anything but outlaws. he said the killings and kidnappings were no better than terrorism. he called for national immunity. >> we need to be unified in order to put an end to isil. we could put an end to isil through our government reforms. we have to be determined to fit isil on the military security and social fronts. if we do this, we'll defe

there's a key tribe here which pretty much shia in orientation.into the capitol center behind me taking over the street putting up checkpoints, confronting across the country al qaeda and those sunni tribes allies to al qaeda, turning what's happening in yemen slowly into a sectarian war. mirroring the conflicts we're seeing in iraq and syria, to sunni versus shia. that is important, said one western diplomat to me because it means that frightened sunnis here worrying about the advance of the shia houthis tribe here in the capital are, in fact, putting their guns to help al qaeda and other sunni tribes. that means in the local battlefield, al qaeda is better resourced and, says this diplomat therefore, has more resources and breathing space to quote, think about external operations. by that they mean attacks against the west. that's the fear that they have great secret recipes of this diplomat for trying to make nonmetallic bombs that can be used in paris or elsewhere across europe. the question is how can that be stopped. al qaeda in the arabian

the houthies are a rebel group who adhere to a branch of of shia. they have seize control of a large part of western yemen last year. it became the de facto power after taking over key government buildings in the capitol. it has since signed a cease-fire deal which gives them significant influence over the government and gives them key positions. we have more on reports from sanaa and those celebrations. >> reporter: the houthi celebrations started overnight all over yemen's capitol. people woke up to tight security measures. it's clear who is in charge here. more than shia fighters have been deployed. some armed with heavy weapons. they set up check points to prevent suicide attacks. we have max security and it's going well. people are cooperative and there is coordination between all security forces and us. >> death to america. death to israel is what they chant, and these fighters want it heard. the group's main colors are everywhere. all roads lead to the military camp where celebrations taking place have been closed off. people have been forced

iran prides itself on being the protector of shia islam. when the houthis started to attack the government, the saudis interfered, except this time when the houthi houthies took over the government. unless there is a political deal between the saudis and the irans. i doubt we're going to see political table in the future. >> i just have a final thought before you go. many people want to know, we've seen this rapid rise, this rapid spread of the houthies in yemen. and its trust into the capitol of sanaa. how have they managed to do this so quickly? what facilitates this, and what is their end game? well just to give you an idea northern yemen have been run by shia leaders who say they have been descendants of prophet mohammed for years. the houthies seized the moment and said if we lose sanaa shias will never have a political future in yemen. it rallied massive support behind them. before it got to that point they managed to underline the most powerful tribal leaders. just to give you an idea. including ali abdullah saleh. he decided to swit

the shia houthis were a minority calling for religious and political freedoms.isn't the only influential man in yemen. former president saleh remains popular. these are his supporters on the streets, denouncing a united nations travel ban on their leader last year. saleh had dismissed accusations that he wants to return to power. but this is his son a general. he was groomed to succeed his father, but the whole family was driven out of power during the 2011 anti-government protests. the protests were mainly staged by the opposition known in yemen as the joint meeting parties. it's a coalition of seven political factions lead by the sunni isla party. it is active in tribal areas in the south. the houthis and sala accuse isla of creating a sectarian divide in places like this province where tribesmen say they are ready to fight the houthis. or the port city aden. for the time being the political impasse continues. a situation that can only improve if yemen's main political factions agree to share power. >>> the president of argentina has gone on national televisio

we have the details from baghdad. >> it is a microcosm of ires with should not knee's, shias and kurds. as militias and other irregular security forces fight alongside the iraqi government forces against isil, in the village survivors tell that you say after days of fierce fighting, iraqi security forces, primarily the army with interior ministry swat teams moved through the towns. they took the men after marching them for almost a clam at her they took away some men and shot them behind a wall. one survivor tells us he saw 13 members, 13 of his neighbors lying dead, including school teachers and shop owners. the united nations point out it's the responsibility of the iraqi government to maintain control of all of the forces under its command. the interior minister said that he's launched an investigation but he stood before parliament today and said it was too soon to tell what happened. he promise that had there would be changes at the interior ministry. meanwhile, other villages have received warning letters telling them the same thing could happen to them and more people, sunni fam

they see shias as infidels.islamic militants in pakistan launched extremists attacks on military, government and shia targets. last month they attacked an army-run school. they killed more than 150 people, mostly students. >>> now on to what's making headlines in business, u.s. economic growth slowed in the october-december period last year, according to initial gdp data. commerce department officials released the data on friday. the gdp figures showed an annualized expansion of 2.6% from the previous three months. that was lower than market expectation of 3%. the data fell short of the 5% quarter-on-quarter growth in the july-september period last year. but some economists believe fundamentals in the u.s. are strong enough to cushion the blow on growth from weakening overseas economies. >>> toyota motor is rejoining one of the world's top races for the first time in 18 years. executives at the automaker decided on the comeback to the world rally championship in 2017. toyota will enter with a vehicle developed f

. >> the shia and sunni powers in the middle east do not always see eye to eye, but the iran -- iran's foreign ministers expected to go to riyadh for an official ceremony on saturday. >> a french aid worker who was kidnapped in the central french african republic has been released. the minister gave no further details about her release but thank the authorities particularly the city's archbishop the capital, for helping secure her release. for roughly a year, the central african republic has been embroiled in sectarian violence between christians and muslims. allowing on from the resignation of the country's president, yeldon is drifting deeper into political limbo. president stepped down on thursday following the takeover of large areas of his country including the capital, but shia muslim rebels. -- by shia muslim rebels. >> a day after the president announced his resignation, yemen slipped deeper into political chaos. worried residents in the capital picked up friday's paper with headlines asking who the president was. houthi rebels surrounded the president's home this week, renderi

foreign powers are accused of iran backing shia rebels.ernment it seized weapons from eye happen destined for the houthis. on the other side is the sunni power, saudi arabia which supports president hoodie. happened and with more now on the top leader, here is kim vinnell. >> reporter: al houthi has risen to power largely staying out of the spotlight. he has mean the chief negotiators for the rebels. also behind attacks like this. this was sanaa in september as houthi fighters advance odd the capital targeting the national television compound. a week later the streets were littered with debris. evidence a fierce battle. al houthi's fighters took control allowing hadi to remain in charge. but his teach stretched far beyond the capital. >> translator: today we have a new form of got based on national participation and integrity. such government can serve the country and its people and it the reality will change in to something bet even it includes a significant package on all political. security and military levels. >> reporter: huge sit son

they have been saying that while iran is arming the shia militias that have helped beat back isil inreas no one is helping the tribes. they will train limb mid numbers of members and recreate the group that it had that fought successfully against al qaeda. this time around with the sunnis divided and the tribes under attack it's a much tougher practice spectprospect. >>> japan prime minister abe says his top priority is the hostages. al jazerra is choosing not to show the video of isil demanding $200 million for the lease of the japanese men the armed group is threaten to go kill them within 72 hours if its demand isn't met. japan has decline today say whether it would pay that random. speaking in west jerusalem the prime minister said that he would do all he could to save their lives but won't give in to terrorism. >> translator: it is an unacceptable act to threaten us in exchange for human lives. and i feel angry about it. i strongly urge them to immediately release the hostages without harming them. >>> soldiers in the democratic republic of congo have been deployed across the ca

witnesses say iraqi troops and shia fighters rounded up men during a search for isil members and then shot them. let's go to jane in baghdad. jane just to be clear this is a story we were mentioning a couple of days ago. we then said, though, about 70 people believed to have died. we've got a great deal more detail about what is said to have happened. >> we have, david. we've been speaking by phone with some of the survivors of what is shaping up to abmassacre by many accounts. now the original reports had men, women and children rounded up and killed. there are no verifiable reports that the dead included women and children, but what appears to have happened, according to the survivors, officials there, as well as human rights investigators is an undetermined number of unarmed men civilians, taking out of their homes where iraq security forces which appeared to include interior ministry teams swat teams and shia militias, rounded them up, took them away and started shooting some of them behind a wall. the numbers are hard to determine. human rights watch, for instance says it's inves

people were convinced that there would be religious dialog between sunni, saudi and shia saudi and sincewe have seen relations deteriorate often with the government playing the sectarian card against the shia. >> reporter: a small amount of criticism of government allowed in the press but a blogger faces being flogged after being convicted in the village, his latest punishment has been delayed and despite the king's efforts of reform the conservism is unlikely to change. >> reporter: live pictures from riyadh where leaders around the world are arriving to attend the funeral of king abdullah and this is the scene there right now and expecting it to be a fairly brief ceremony of course the late king died last night and in line with islamic tradition he is going to be buried straight away in a funeral in riyadh and expecting people around the world to be flying in to attend the funeral including from the world economic form in dabos where many world leaders are right now. u.s. president barack obama has paid his tribute as well to one of his allies in the region. he said as a leader he was

that means they're effectively forming the shia half of the sunni/shia sectarian divide. they've been moving across the country and moved into sanna, the capital. they began to clash both with al qaeda and with the government, bringing instability to the capital. they seem to want increased lever on power. some analysts say they don't actually want the presidency but simply want to control it. that's exactly what today is about. the chaos benefits al qaeda as we've long discussed. gives them a foothold in the country. but the worrying thing is many cast this conflict between huthi and the government or huthi and sunni tribes as fitting into that sectarian divide across the region and potentially worrying some sunnis because they see the shia on the march, worrying them to the point where they think that al qaeda is a solution to protect them. that's got some analysts concerned. but that benefits al qaeda in two ways, instability and worried sunnis willing to fight alongside them. very complicated. but this is a violately strategic conflict. >> sitting in the middle of tha

we were told that the guards were engaged in clashes with some shia houthi fighters then we didn't know what triggered those clashes and we had two versions one coming from the presidential guard saying they were provoked by the shia houthis and therefore opened fire and houthis on the other hand were saying that because a day before the some of the army in that area were deployed on orders by the president and they thought this was aimed at them and that triggered the clash then the events quickly developed and it was chaos, there was at some point a ceasefire, that didn't last for more than 45 minutes before heavy clashes resumed again, people who are living in that area were fleeing the heavy fighting and then there was a statement made from the president's office that he has called for his advisors to come also some representatives of the houthi movement were also present and they agreed to form activity. the information minister thinks this is an attempted coup aimed at the president haidi and complicated and the situation is fluid and we are told the situation is a bit more calm,

he's the shia who replaced nouri al-maliki. nouri al-maliki came to power after the u.s.-led... 3 million or so >>> all right, let's talk to our guest, joining us from baghdad. thank you for talking to us. can we start with the military side of the conflict country, and we would refer to mohammed ado you, in the north a w, in the north a where i.s.i.l. came in taking over the second largest city of i.s.i.l. >> true under damaging circumstances why the army was at the city of mosul, and the present investigation of the cause, and realities of what actually happened in mosul. it's very high level, and will be probably suppressed in the future because it will vary within the present coalition. so probably the investigation will be kept and will be left to the highest political entities in the country, and will not fold to the public. >> sorry, i was going to add to that - it wasn't just a matter of it being iraq not being fully equipment and motivated enough it was a matter of local people local sunni people for the most part who have been disaeffected under the rule of the

the security situation isn't lebanon's only concern the divide between sewn and i shia threatens the's stability. most sunnis support the fight to get rid of the assad regime, but most shia back the syrian president and hezbollah's efforts to keep him in power. lebanon has seen a series of attacks and suicide bombings since the what are in syria began nearly four years arc by saturday's attack was one of the deadliest to hit the country in the past year. >>> we have a lot more coming here on al jazerra. the iraqi government is preparing an offensive against isil to retake the country's second biggest city. >> cheap and good quality. the only way we can get the latest fashions straight from europe. >>> and how shipments of secondhand clothes from the u.k. are big business in senegal. ♪ ♪ >>> hello again these are the top stories here at al jazerra. european interior ministers have start today arrive at a security conference in paris to discuss coordinating counter terrorism efforts. france's interior minister has said security will be skipped up across the country in the weeks ahead.

people were convinced that there would be religious dialog between sunni, saudi arabia and shia saudias and since 2009 it has went down against the shia. >> reporter: a blogger faces being floinged after being convicted at the villages and the latest punishment delayed and despite efforts at reform saudi arabia conservetism seems likely not to change rob with al jazeera. >>> reaction to the death has been coming in from around the world, u.s. president barack obama paid tribute to one of his allies in the region. as a leader he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions president obama said. one of those convictions was his stead fast and passionate belief in the u.s. saudi arabia relationship as a force for stability and security in the middle east and beyond. and speaking at the world economic forum the head of the arab league prized king abdoulla for his work. >> he was a father figure in the muslim world and had a lot of stability and the cooperation and promotion and cooperation among the other countries. his role in peace between and putting an end to the arab isra

the two major sectors if you were one of the islamic faiths, sunni never voted for shia and shia ever voted for sunni. these were political identities, they were not issue-based politics were issues where the political parties were the coolest round the idea of low taxes were something. this was very sectarian. and for us essentially to whistle past the graveyard and not understand that's what was going on and it had gone on for a thousand years and it wasn't going to be changed by seven years of american efforts i think that was a failure to analyze properly the situation and that has had consequences looking ahead. our troops it's amazing what they did. they had no training packages designed to help them deal with these and they were improvising day after day and i remember because i read it at the time citizen soldiers which is basically about these kids figuring out stuff that commanding officers didn't know about and they figured out how to work their way from normandy to berlin. when i solve some of our kids have done in places like mr it makes you proud to be an american. they

you have shia houthi fighters in control of the capital. they didn't control the capital over the last two days they controlled it last year in september. they are a powerful force. you have the supporters of the former president. he is very very influential. he has a huge influence over the tribe and the military and the first party you have. all of that is a recipe for disaster for the country and it is a worry for everywhere. >> yemen is home to one of the strongest branches of jordan allen. the u.s. carrying out drone attacks. jamie mcintyre is in washington with more. >> the pentagon is standing by in case americans have to be whisked to safety. for now the u.s. is trying to figure out the best way to respond. >> reporter: with shia houthi fighters in control of the capital. the president hadi agreed to share power with the rebels and briefly it appeared the crisis was easing. >> this is potentially a positive step to de-escalate violence. >> the department was applauding the overture the agreement was collapsing. the president was inf

>> the tensions between shia and sunni, they've been there. are there across pakistani society. but some areas have been more prone to this kind of violence than others. karachi has seen this kind of violence, but we haven't really seen this kind of violence regularly. so this is a cause of serious concern. it comes at a time when the prime minister is in karachi today, and he was sharing a high-level meeting on law and order. but, generally, there's a sense in pakistan in the leadership doesn't inspire much confidence that there will be an end to this kind of violence. >> shahzeb, many thanks for that update. shahzeb jillani for us in karachi. >>> now to china, where a decision to destroy a series of graffiti paintings has prompted a public debate. the artwork is a collaboration between a french and a chinese artist. it's been appearing over recent months on old houses ear marced for demolition. from shanghai john sutler. >> reporter: shanghai has returned more of its old architecture than many chinese cities. but here too, the relentless pac

it hawn wered daring a takes against shia houthi fighters in recent weeks. this control nine provinces. they say they want to end the spread of al qaeda and corruption. critics say the houthis are using al qaeda as a pretext to seize power. but al qaeda in yemen remains change respite. al qaeda and the rah rape vinnie peninsula has always called for attacks against the west. the group says it managed to set the twice a long battle against the u.s. and europe from within their borders. the paris shooting is clear intelligence failure of the yemeni intelligence and their european counterparts. but yemen could be excused because the country is steps away from being a failed state. >>> the french policeman ahmed was one of those killed. he was killed outside the charlie hebdo office on wednesday and his brother has been speaking to the president and ask that muslims not be confused with fanatics. >> translator: ahmed felt passionate about his job. he looked after his mother and siblings since our father died 20 years ago. his responsibilities didn't keep him fro

since 2009 we saw relations deteriorating against the shia. >>> criticism of the government allowedthe press but a saudi blogger may be flogged and the latest punishment delayed, despite the king's efforts to perform saudi arabia's conservetism seems unlikely to change rob matheson al jazeera. >>> live pictures from the saudi capitol riyadh where world leaders arriving to attend the funeral of king abdullah to give you a sense of who is there some of the people that have already arrived in the city right now they include the kuwait and the king of bahrain, qatar and mohamed asini and prime minister of egypt, the turkish president also in attendance in the saudi capitol erdiwan and prime minister of pakistan is also there. so right now these are live pictures coming to us from the saudi capitol and expecting the funeral to get underway shortly and expecting it to be a fairly brief event. we know that the late king his death was announced last night and of course in line with islamic tradition he is being buried very swiftly, this is the scene in riyadh as world leaders continue to ar

and then sunni says this is a war crime that the shia ul militias are doing. this goes back to the sectarian arrivalrivalries. have had successes they've this e-had these successes. but they are worried that these people operate outside the iraqi security forces. you have these sunni politicians that are very concerned what's going on. then large number of bodies turn up, so when it comes up to something like this almost immediately the sunni l say these were executions a lot of the time. we don't know what happened and the iraqi official take us through what happened. >> thank you imran khan. >>> are town of kobani, violence have crossed the border to turkey. the town has now been taken by those fighting i.s.i.l. >>> u.s. president barack obama is off to ryad, to meet salman aziz. paying his respects to saudi arabia's king abdullah. >>> the syriza party leader of greece are alexis tsipras was sworn in yesterday. he was taking the civil oath rather than the religious one. >> we know that mr. tsipras has arrived in his office in the last hour. we know that he's