then to yemen. >> the situation in yemen is nothing short of catastrophic. 25 people killed in yemen every day and another 125 that are injured. amy: as u.n.-brokered peace talks near collapse in yemen's nine-month-old civil war, we'll speak with sharif abdel kouddous who is just back from the country. his latest article "with u.s. , help, saudi arabia is obliterating yemen." but first, "navy seals, a beating death and claims of a cover-up." the new york times reveals the 2012 incident in afghanistan when three navy seals dropped heavy stones on the detainees' chests, stomped on their heads, and poured bottles of water on their faces in a modified form of water-boarding. one of the detainees was beaten so badly, he died from his injuries. the seals were cleared of any wrongdoing. we will speak with "new york times" reporter nicholas kulish. he broke the story. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in california, federal officials have indicted 24-year-old enrique marquez for several terrorism related char

in yemen. again, the talks next week should address these issues, should create space for humanitarian actors to be able to reach out to all of those in critical need. because the humanitarian community is in yemen for one reason; that is to address the needs of the people. they are there for the people, and they need to work in all neutrality, impartiality and all independence. >> thank you very much. >>> more than 70 peoples were killed in a taliban attack in afghanistan. it is one of the most heavily fortified compounds in afghanistan. >> reporter: this video released by the taliban is said to show the gun battle between taliban fighters and afghanistan security forces at kandahar airport. at least ten armed men got into a school building without being challenged. they passed through several security check points. once inside the gunmen seized families as hostages. >> translator: gunmen entered the airfield from the air where civilian families live and where there is a market. >> reporter: t

and yemen are strong. the call now is aiming at having a conference to restriction of yemen within the vision of the custodian of the two holy mosques, and this is a sign and the vigil has been adopted. and by the leaders, because we have to help our brothers in yemen, and urge that the national community reconstruct yemen and achieve the main political solution. and welfare of the yemeni people. thank you >>> a question from the qatar tv to the secretary-general. what is the viewpoints of the g.c.c. regarding the media attacks for - regarding the qatari people hosting the world cup 2022? what is the g.c.c. few regarding the file of 2022. >> matter of fact i'd like to thank you for your questions. the g.c.c. countries are supporting qatar in hosting the world cup 2022 to be held in qatar and most of our statements. we were supporting and we are supporting - will we support qatar to host that big event. coordination is there, and everyone knows what has been achieved by the state of qatar, and how transpare

aminah makes it to yemen.ssage from one of his danish handlers. >> saying, congratulations, brother. you just became rich, very rich. >> soon, he is in yet another meeting with intelligence agents. one from the cia is anxious for storm to open the briefcase they brought with them. >> and he looked at me with a massive smile on his face. what do you think the code is? i think -- i have no clue. i didn't even think that there was three numbers on each, you know, side. come on, come on, he said. come on, think about it. i said, i don't know. i have no clue. he said, try 007. he told me like this. >> james bond. >> james bond. 007, he tolde. and i did. clink, clink, clink, and you know, it just -- it opened up. >> so happy with the cash, he took this photo of the $250,000 inside. then this. an encrypted message from awlaki. an update. it's about aminah. we got married. awlaki ironically adding, she turned out better than i expected and better than you described. >> she was a very pretty girl. >> and he was happy.

a seven-day cease-fire has come into effect in yemen.he move coincides with you and brokered peace talks in switzerland. they have moved to arrive to respond to any breach where 6000 people have been killed so far, half of them civilians. we have the report. >> back in march, saudi arabia began bombing yemen. with an international coalition, following the support of the u.n. and the u.k., the goal was to reinstate the president, who had been forced into exile by fighters. these rebels from the north of the country had been advancing and capture the capital. over the past nine months the airstrikes made military gains. the bombings with the help of coalition ground troops have captured five provinces. the president has also returned to yemen. but the war continues. according to the u.n., nearly sinceemenis have died march. >> we are suffering on multiple fronts. ongoing airstrikes, heavy fighting, and on top of that restrictions on the movement of conservatives. >> along with the humanitarian crisis the war has major pitting implications,

he was torn in by many yemen-- sworn in by the yemen president in october. he succeeded bakri who was appointed minister of youth and sports. he fled to aid deny after the houthi's took control of the capital. when yemen's army backed by the saudi hattie led retook it from houthi forces. a yemen political analyst and he says the security situation in aden is now extremely dangerous. >> the governor moved about in a convoy of about five cars. it was heavily secured. he knew he was going to be targeted. he knew an attempt was inevitable, so he moved cautiously over the past two weeks. most of the groups blocked him from entering his ope office in aden so he knew the situation was-- own office. he knew he was going to be targeted, especially when al-qaeda took over cities just in the neighbouring area. he knew he was going to be targeted. he wanted to get an understanding of the different medical military groups inside the city, especially the southern area which is the southern mobility movement. unfortunately they failed to do that, to reach an understanding,

aminah makes it to yemen.iving a text message from one of his danish handlers. >> saying, congratulations, brother. you just became rich, very rich. >> soon, he is in yet another meeting with intelligence agents. one from the cia is anxious for storm to open the briefcase they brought with them. >> and he looked at me with a massive smile on his face. what do you think the code is? i think -- i have no clue. i didn't even think that there was three numbers on each, you know, side. come on, come on, he said. come on, think about it. i said, i don't know. i have no clue. he said, try 007. he told me like this. >> james bond. >> james bond. 007, he told me. and i did. clink, clink, clink, and you know, it just -- it opened up. >> so happy with the cash, he took this photo of the $250,000 inside. then this. an encrypted message from awlaki. an update. it's about aminah. we got married. awlaki ironically adding, she turned out better than i expected and better than you described. >> she was a very pretty girl. >> a

initiative and the outcomes of the national dialogue in yemen. i'm looking forward to building on that and in the very near future, we will be having more, i am confident that you will support these efforts, everyone from his own position and his own efforts in order to follow up the following, to follow up the acts of the communication and the lee says son committee and we are to agree on a place for this committee within the region. i promise you that the united nations would activate these sorts of activities to be done by the committee. the continuing of giving the needed human aid to the needed areas according to the agreement, we in the united nations are quite committed to the rule of lifting the siege, ground siege and naval siege and to facilitate the procedures of importing commercial goods. also, we hope to see the participation, more participation of the yemeni women in the next round of consultations, and finally, i stress that as of now, until we meet in the next round of talks, we have decided to hold this on the 14th of the coming

people are emigrating from syria, from iraq, from yemen to the west. but when it comes to the islamic state, people are immigrating from the west to the islamic state. it is counterimmigration. you see the paradox here. so we have to sit up a good example, you know, alternative models to the people of the middle east. say to them, look, you know, forget about islamic state. we have in this model for you, model of coexistence, model, actually, of modernity, model of prosperity, model of human rights, independent judicial system. we have to actually say, look, you know, we are working for a long-term future, not a short-term future. we are not going to repeat our mistake in afghanistan, in iraq, in libya. no. we have our a plan, and we have our b plan, and this is our b plan. until now in the middle east we neverheard anything like this. -- never heard anything like this. destruction, not construction. >> do you see any sign that western governments have those sorts of plans for the post-islamic state in syria? >> to be honest, i can't see it, you know?

yemen was already a difficult area to access food. half of the population is on the brink of familiar inand-- famine and ask asking for funding >> we need funding for the coming year. of course, we received the support of all-- need the support of all parties to give us the freedom of movement to reach out to the people that are in absolute crisis at the moment. >> reporter: planned u.n. brokered talks in geneva have hit hurdles and delays. both sides say they're open to negotiate, but they have terms the other can't or won't accept >>> libya's political rivals have signed a new deal aimed at resolving the country's political crisis. they've agreed to hold elections within two years. it is hoped the agreement will end the violence and chaos that has been present since the former leader was ousted in 2011. >> reporter: a libyan initiative for the first time in the country's long running political crisis an initial agreement to work together. these are representatives of the two rival parliaments. the deal calls for the two sides to for

pretty close to yemen's oil field as well.ow will it be possim to prevent either of these two groups taking control of those oil field it is and increasing their revenue stream? i mean it's an interesting question because i think to some sense, you have had aqap especially and to a lesser extent, is. there is this idea of they are trying to maintain a needsium profile in this term even if aqap has -- is effectively ruling mukulah. at the same time, they have established this sort of front that they have had to rule. so, the question is whether they will -- it's hard to imagine them taking such a step as seizing oil fields. but i think when you look at yemen at this point, it's very, you know, this could go any way at this point. when you see the continued i inability of there being any restoration of stability in the country, i wouldn say look forwardtion anything is possible. we have this story coming up about hundreds of soldiers who are trying to help those people stranded by india's flooding. the rare address from the oval

and al qaeda from exploiting the security vacuum in yemen. for now neither side can dictated the terms of a film settlement isn't the balance of power on the ground is not clear. the u.n. hopes this will ease the suffering of millions of yemenis. this could involve agreements to lift sieges of population centers guarantee security and unfettered access to quarg agencies. the last time they agreed was in late may. those talks collapsed even before they started talking. >> i think we badly need a truce to create an atmospheres for talks. humanitarian ceasefire was something we tried but lasted less than an hour and failed. >> this time around they say they have committed to a ceasefire. while delegations are discussing peace, it could be a sign. zeina khodr, al jazeera, geneva. >> u.s. coalition will hurnd them down one by one. he made the statement after chairing a meeting on his country's campaign against the group. patty culhane has the latest. >> u.s. president barack obama focusing on his secretary of defense at this national security meet

for more information inside yemen. the head of mission in yemen. just returned from the country and joins us live now on skype from amsterdam. thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. you've been there recently. tell us how difficult life is for ordinary people in yemen at the moment. >> you have to realize that it is a little bit ironi ironic passing a resolution that allow for the starred of air campaign and validated it after it starts. now people are waking up to the fact that this is having a huge humanitarian impact. people are frightened to get to their next meal. there is no access to healthcare as most hotels will have to shut down. and that stands as well with the same security council resolution were last april which de facto led to an embargo of the country and therefore lack of supplies getting in to the country. fueling what is necessary to obtain clean drinking water in yemen because of the shallow wells. therefore, people are not able to get clean water. food is not being supplied in enough county. this is a country that importe

the united nations security council hearing how the war in yemen has lead to a humanitarian crisis thatcritical to the country. >>> under massive public pressure, india toughens rape laws for juvenile offenders. >>> and the number of refugees arriving in europe passes one million in just one year. ♪ >>> the iraqi military is reporting progress in its mayor offensive against the islamic state of iraq and the levant in ramadi, a city 100 kilometers west of the capitol. iraq's government says its soldiers are advancing on the city center, where it it's -- estimates about 300 isil fighters remain. they launched the offensive last month. progress has been slow because the iraqi government wants to rely on its own troops and sunni tribes rather than shia militia who have been accused of human rights abuses. retaking ramadi would be the most significant victory against isil thus far, and here is why, this map shows ramadi in isil's support zone. this is where it's fighters are able to move freely, allowing support and reinforcement. this helps isil maintain these areas where it has enough pres

yemen is a difficult place to access food. the united nations warns half of the population is on the brink of famine. >> it is availability of funding for the coming year and of course we need the support of all parties to give freedom of movement to reach out to the people that are in crisis at the moment. >> reporter: land u.n. talks in geneva have hit hurdles and delays. both sides say they're open to negotiate. gerald tan >>> more the breaking news. the governor of aden has been killed. a yemen political analyst and joins us now. tell us more about the current security situation in aden. >> the current security situation is very bad. the attack on the governor has been a series of attacks in the past few months. yesterday, the judge who presides over the special court was asass natured. another-- assassinated. terrorists are roaming freely and militias on the city are roaming. it's very unstable. there was no surprise that the governor was eventually assassinated >>> how much worse now do you think the situation will be? w

cease-fire begins in yemen as peace talks get under way in switzerland amid a conflict which has killed close to 6000 people in the last nine months. first, then, in the united states, six hundred 40,000 children in the los angeles area are being kept home from class today. authorities closing public schools because of a security threat they received via e-mail. take a listen to the los angeles mayor. i had been in immediately on the phone when we learned of to ensure students could travel free on our buses and rail lines today so they could get home safely to make sure that they are able to get through the city without having to worry. because we know a lot of parents still have to get to work and cannot even afford to miss one day. we will continue to hope that this is nothing and that our children can be back at school tomorrow. on the east coast, meanwhile, new york police say they have received the same threat and no schools there are being closed. i asked our correspondent if these closures are being seen as an overreaction. >> los angeles unified school district officials and pol

the world health organization representative for yemen says to the w.h.o. hopes to use this truce to send food aid to the people of yemen. >> in fact, taiz is a priority area for us. we managed to reach taiz before three times from aden, and twice from sanna. however, for the last two weeks, we were not able to send supplies. we are hoping that with this, we will be able to reach taiz the soonest. i believe that trucks have moved already to taiz today. we are targeting all the areas which we believe their in desperate need of support in different parts of the country. >> just defense secretary ash carter spoke about an alliance made to fight isil. >> it was a rare news conference from the sawed defense minister, the announcement was the creation of a new military alliance of mainly islamic nations. >> there shall be an operations room in riyadh for the coordination and supported efforts to fight terrorism in many parts of the islamic world. this announcement comes from islamic world vigilance so it can be a partner as a group of countries in fighting this d

yemen's failed peace talks. people in the capital have been expressing their disappointment. >> translation: the yemen people had high hopes for this conference. they were disappointed. the people can't stand. there are no good reasons. >> translation: the interests of the country are not in mind at all. everyone is looking after their own personal interests. >> reporter: from the beginning, the negotiations yielded no results and all the sides are responsible for the failure, but as a yemeni i see the saudis will ruin all the negotiations >>> a specialist in tribal issues in washington via skype joins us. we heard the sentiments there from people in yemen. peace couldn't come sooner for them given the dire situation there. obviously, it is disappointing that these talks have broken up without any progress, but i suppose the fact that they are still talking is still progress of some sort, isn't it. >> yes. i mean, talking is good and it's better than not talking, but do we have the right people around the table?

how bad was the situation in yemen before the war even began? <>> is it a matter of not having the resources or not being able to safely get the resources to the population or is it both? <

peace talks in the war in yemen as a ceasefire is about to begin. >> shows both sides are not honest enough to win this war. >> skepticism on a country about to plunge into famine. >>> drug smugglers trying to get into the united states from mexico. good evening i'm antonio mora. we begin al jazeera america's international hour with developments in the fight against i.s.i.l. today president obama stood by his strategy in syria and iraq. he went to the pentagon to meat with his national security and defense teams. he insisted the u.s. approach would not change and the u.s. was hitting i.s.i.l. harder than ever. also today turkey began withdrawing troops from a camp in the mosul area. there to train iraqi soldiers, recent increase in turkish troops as a threat. al jazeera's jamie mcintire has more from the pentagon. >> antonio, president obama said read my lips no new strategy. trust me, the old one is working. president obama's motorcade left the white house mid morning for the short trip across the potomac. the rare pentagon meeting of his entire military and homeland security team w

. >>> despite a supposed ceasefire, pro-yemen forces ceased two towns from the houthis in 24 hours. > and rwanda votes on a referendum that could see the president stay in power until 2034. also the vatican says mother theresa will now be made a saint. ♪ >>> 17 foreign ministers are currently meetings in new york at new talks on how to end the war in syria. they are trying to arrange a ceasefire from january, and then direct negotiations between the syrian government and the opposition. the opposition says it won't agree to a ceasefire unless president assad steps down. and they have yet to solve their differences in the talks to define who is radical. >> on the two important aspects, one is the opposition groups, and the other is a come situation of the opposition and a list of terrorist organization. there seems to be no agreement. >> our diplomatic editor, james bayes joins us from outside of the talk in that hotel in new york. so what can they hope to achieve? >> reporter: well, you heard about that difference that the foreign minister told me about, about who should be part of th

more others are in yemen and yemen is surrounded by aqap and isil.unless president hadi addresses the lack of secure any in aden quickly and swiftly things will deteriorate. >> reporter: the latest vie ends comes as the u.n. envoy to generally met president hadi in yemen in an effort to bring eight months of conflict to an end. mohamed adow, al jazeera. >>> al jazeera is in aden and september this update from the scene of the explosion. >> translator: we are know in atta den province the place where the governor was targeted and this is the vehicle that he was in with his aides. according to security forces a car was poked on the side of the road when his motorcade passed by the explosives were detonated. get governor was killed immediately other cars were detroit along with property in the area. the explosion was mass and i have caused cracks as well as landslides. multiple security violations and explosions over the past few days, the yemeni government and president hadi must now take the necessary measures to maintain security in this province whi

and al qaeda from exploiting the security vacuum in yemen. for now, neither side can dictate the terms of a political settlement since the balance of power on the ground is not clear. the u.n. is hoping the talks can lead to confidence-building measures and at least ease the suffering of millions of yemenis, this could allow security and unfettered access to aid agencies. the last time the sides agreed to sit across from each other was in may but those talks ended before they began. >> translator: a promising appreciatpromisingpre prerequisite to the talks. >> if that holds at least while the delegations discuss peace it could be a sign of whether the imloidiplomatic process could succeed. zeina khodr, al jazeera, geneva. >> joining us live via skype, in geneva for those talks. a warm welcome. what was the expectation from the ceasefire and these talks, is there optimism that things are more ripe and ready for progress? >> i think depends on the way you look at it. if you look at it from how the feeling is towards the climactic sort of assets

yemen's warring sides are in the same room talking. the u.n.ught them together in the hope that the internationally recognized government and the houthi rebels and their allies will reach an agreement to end the conflict. negotiations are being held behind closed doors? the swiss town. back in yemen there have been incidents of violence in some areas, but the ceasefire appears to be holding. the agreement to cease hostilities appears to be having a positive effect on the ground. the world health organization announced that desperately needed aid and medical supplies have started to be sent to yemen. >> [ inaudible ] all right moves to ta'izz today, but we are also targeting all of the areas, which we believe they are in desperate need for support in different parts of the country. >> reporter: the needs are huge. the u.n. says millions of yemenis are in the brink of famine. the yemeni government delegation at the talks says it would be ready to extend the truce beyond negotiations, but they are demanding that the houthi rebels cooperate. >> a s

this was going to be abattle of identity for the people of yemen. the same things are taking plate meticulous the region. best interest in the region, cattle liscatalyst for change. what has happened was an identity crisis has replaced those hopeful days. whether the united states looks to the future, we have to be cautious because we can only interfere and be seen as an outsider and this can only have negative impact for our interests and for the people of the region. >> graham bannerman, professor, thank you for your insight on the week ahead. and before we go, here's a look at other stories make stories in the week ahead. closing arguments for the first defendant in the death of freddy gray, preparing for demonstrations as the trial of officer william porter ends. the crisis in ukraine and the fight against i.s.i.l. also on tuesday, the greek parliament will vote on new financial reforms they need to pass, in order to secure $100 billion in bailout funds. >>> the fram franchise star warw the puppet show, return to a lost art form, a must see perf

into the yemen, and the conflict in yemen brings, you know, complicated further, yemeni, as you know is complicated for the plans and subclans and people with different allegiance to different groups, being the houthi or the government. and the presence of al qaeda, i.s.i.l., and all this. i mean, clans and tribal society makes it a very potent - i mean, makes it one that is only going to complicate yemen. >> it's difficult to untangle while incident people are suffering. >> thank you for joining me. appreciate that >>> un-backed peace talks to end the conflict is due to take part in geneva. president abd-rabbu mansour hadi agreed to defend after meeting the u.n. envoy in aiden, and now will be holding talks in omar, and with rebel representatives. gerald tan reports. >> on the outskirts of tiaz, battles are raging. houthi fighters, and those loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh still hold their ground in yemen's third-largest city. pro-government forces are undeterred. >> we'll continue our march. all that is left of the rebels are snipers and land mines. >> similar scenes a

yemen is dependent on food and fuel from import. since the intensity of the crisis increased, it has worsened. it is a complex crisis at the moment. we are able to reach out to people, but we do expect greater help from others to be able to reach from more. otherwise more than half of the population of this country is going to be in a very critical situation in the coming few weeks. from january onwards we do not have enough funding to meet the requirements and that is also complicated by the access, so it's a combination of both in terms of availability of funding for the coming year and, of course, we seek the support of all parties to be able to give us the freedom of movement to reach out to the people that are in absolute crisis at the moment >>> the funeral of a palestinian man shot dead by the israeli military on friday has taken place in the occupied west bank. hundreds gathered outside the morgue as the body was carried by a guard of honor to a waiting ambulance. a palestinian man was allegedly trying to stab israeli soldie

i am joined in the studio bottom craig based in yemen for over 40 years. iona, we know these talks are going to reconvene january 14th, just a couple of weeks from now. why will this next round succeed where previous rounds of talks have failed? >> they may not. i think really, all that's happened this week other than obviously lifting the siege and getting humanitarian aid in there which is import is agreeing to the next round of talks. so that's agreeing on agreeing to talk really. that's as far as we are getting at the moment. as you were talking about the fighting there, really, it looks like the coalition is trying to pick up pressure once again we saw this in september and the conflict got bogged-down. at the moment it's hard to be optimistic that really there are any closer to reaching a political deal or settlement that will result in a long-term cease-fire at the moment. >> in terms of changing the dynamic, it just seems as though every time they come to the table, there is a complete lack of commitment or political willingness to really engage wi

[ gunfire ] >>> as fighting continues in yemen, the warring parties exchange hundreds of prisoners, during u.n.-backed peace talks. ♪ >>> i'm lauren taylor, this is al jazeera, live from london. also coming up, global concern over vulnerable oil fields in libya, as it's estimated ills is making $40 million a month in selling stolen oil. >>> the u.s. could see its first interest rate rise in ten years. >>> and returning home, the japanese who are trying to coax an abandoned nuclear fall-out town back to life. ♪ >>> hello, yemen's warring parties are exchanging hundreds of prisoners in a gesture of goodwill, during under-backed peace talks. sources are told al jazeera, 375 houthi prisoners are being swapped for more than 250 pro-government fighters. it happened during a seven-day truce which is coming to place while peace talks continue in switzerland. there are reports of fighting in yemen's third largest city, ta'izz, suggesting both sides have failed to honor the ceasefire. zana how are those talks progressing? >> reporter: well, those talks are progressing slowly. at the end of the day,

>> the ceasefire in yemen. hello, this is al jazeera live in doha. stopping the flow of isil oil, the efforts made to prevent the armed group making millions a month from the trade. a warning of possible new sanctions against iran after u.n. findings on a missile test. >> on the road to , the long process of breathing life back into a ghost town. >> hundreds of fighters in yemen are due to be released as part of a prisoner swap between government forces and rebels. it follows weeks of negotiations and comes as peace talks are continuing in switzerland. expectations though are low for a deal, as fighters on both sides are reported to be failing to honor a week long ceasefire. there are reports of heavy clashes around the city of taiz. the war has killed nearly 6,000 people since march. more now from al jazeera's zeina hodor in switzerland. >> there has been a positive development, yemen's warring sides agreeing to exchange hundred was prisoners. that swap is being mediated between tribal factions. there have been reports of violations on the ground, b

hello, welcome to the al jazeera news hour i'm jane dutton in doha, a ceasefire comes in effect in yemenpeace talks get underway between the warring parties in switzerland, saudi arabia announces formation of an alliance of many muslim nations to fight what it calls terrorism. going into camps we meet some of the thousands displaced by the conflict in south sudan. >>> i'll be here with the day's sport including they continue their unlikely run on top of the english league and jose faces more questions about his own future. ♪ hello again we begin in yemen where a ceasefire is an hour old and the week long truce is coinciding with peace talks between the warring sides in switzerland and halts eight months of the saudi-led military alliance and houthi rebels and coalition fighting the rebels since the yemen government was forced into exile in march and we have a yemen political analyst and is live via skype from sanaa and the ceasefire is in place, are you aware of it? what are you hearing? >> yes, i'm aware of it and unfortunately it's not holding and there are clashes and grand fighting a

. >> the warring parties in yemen agree to more talks. in january a cease fire is extended by a week. >> massive land slight in southern china. 59 people are missing. >> all the days sports including barcelona continue to conquer. all the action later in the program. >> warm welcome to the program. we start this news hour in spain. over half the votes have been counted in the country's parliamentary election. the people's party look set to be the biggest party with around 28% of the vote. that's according to exit polls. of course it's not enough for an out right victor socialists are set to get about 20% of the vote but may end up with the second largest number of seats. a leader of the citizens party looks to have secured a 15% share. it is of course a momentum night here. barn by phillips joins me now. so we've seen the exit polls and know that some of the fuel votes have been counted. what kind of predictions can we make? >> i think quite a lot actually. 70% of the official votes are now counted. as percentages, i have the people's par

the reports of fighting in yemen's third largest city taiz. we have more. >> the prisoner swap with the warring sides agreeing to the deal. it's described as a good-will gesture. it is not what the delegation at the talks have been demanding. what they want is for a prisoner swap involving high-ranking officials, including the defense minister who remains in the ranks of the houthi rebels. this is a positive government, but on the ground in yemen the cease-fire is not holding. there have been reports of violence but at the end of the day neither one of these warring sides have declared the cease-fire officially dead. that's the question that i put to the yeme yemeni ambassador. this is what he had to say. >> we'll sticks with the cease-fire. we think this is the only option for us to go down the path of peace and achieve peaceful resolution. >> conciliatory messages but there is still deep mistrust between the two sides. they're saying that this will allow the houthi rebels to consolidate their positions on the ground. they're accusing the hou

food aid to the people of yemen. >> in fact, ta'izz is a priority area for us.managed [ inaudible ] three times before. however, for the last two weeks we were not able to send supplies. we are hoping there is where we'll be able to reach ta'izz. the soonest i believe [ inaudible ] already moved to -- to ta'izz today. but we are not [ inaudible ] our target is all of the areas, which we believe they are in desperate need of support in different part of the country. >> you are with the news hour from al jazeera, still to come, crowding into camps. we meet some of the thousands displaced from south sudan. >>> and a rebel leader has declared an autonomous state in the country. we'll tell you why. >>> and in sports, sepp blatter bleeds its innocence as we prepares to go before a ethics committee hearing this week. ♪ >>> columbia's government has reached an agreement with farc rebels to compensate victims of the civil war. the break through is a result of negotiations held in the cuban capitol over the past two years. both sides are trying to sign a peace deal by the

the yemen cease-fire is on the verge of collapsing. according to the saudi-led coalition. there have been reports of fighting that has broken out in the city taiz. we have more now on the peace talks in the swiss city. >> undoubtedly a positive development, a prisoner swap that involves hundreds of prisoners. the warring side agreeing to this deal. it is described as a good-will gesture, and we have to point out this is not what the delegation at the attacks have been demanding. what they want is for a prisoner swap involving high-ranking officials including the defense minister who remains in the custody of the houthi rebels. this is a positive development, but at the same time on the ground in yemen, that cease-fire is not holding. there have been reports of violence, incidents of violence ever since the cease-fire took evacuate on tuesday. at the everyone the of the day neither one of these warring sides have declared the cease-fire officially dead. that's a question, really, i put to the yemeni ambassador to the united nations. this is what he had to say. >> if we are

>> fierce fighting continues in yemen right up to a ceasefire that is just gone into effect. hello i'm hazam seeker you're watching al jazeera. ending the war in syria. a new attempt is underway. saudi arabia announces a new alliance saying it will lead a group of 34 mainly muslim organization he against terrorism. >>> and off the coast of south america, what is happening to the whales of chile. we begin in yemen, where after nearly a year of fighting, a truce is set to begin. the war is when saudi arabia began targeting houthi reckless. deep divisions in yemen, the war broke out in september last year when houthi rebels took control of the capital sanaa. they are backed by the former president ali abdullah saleh, and fighting force he loyal to abd rabbu mansour hadi. the trigger for saudi arabia and its allies to step in and support yemeni rebels with air strikes. the united nations estimates almost 6,000 civilians have been killed since march. 2.4 million people have been forced from their heems and 24 4 million 80% of the population require humanitarian support. zeina khod

security council is hearing more details about the humanitarian impact of the war in yemen. >>> insiderces loyal to the government have fought their way into the province surrounding the capitol. on monday u.n.-sponsored peace talks ended without agree, but will resume next month. >> reporter: they have taken over the mountains close to sana'a. houthi rebels took control 15 months ago. pro-government forces are fighting to allow the national recognized president to return to the capitol. >> translator: fighting is now ongoing in that direction, on the right of the injunction. >> reporter: there are pro-government gains too further north. there has been heavy fighting 50 kilometers from the saudi border. the houthis are on the retreat there leaving weapons and other equipment as they go. pro-government fighters have taken control of a houthi training camp. both sides want to control this area, because it has most of yemen's oil and gas reserves. >> translator: god willing our advances fin in think right direction towards beloved sana'a. >> reporter: the world health organization says al

yemen is a threat to the gcc especially too saudi arabia.here is a fight going on there that they're directly engaged in. and in syria it is a proxy war. >> of course, they're worried about, you have al-qaeda and isil operating in yemen again being able to use the chaos to their advantage. but of course, saudis and the gulf coalition are more concerned about the houthis. >> the overriding concern for saudi arabia and everyone else in the gcc is iran. you know n yemen they're not focused on al-qaeda or isis, they're focused on houthis, you're absolutely right. in syria they're concerned about the removal of bashar al-assad because they're convinced that the way forward in syria to even defeat isil is to remove bashar al-assad. without doing that isis will continue to claim legitimacy as well as other groups. i think they understand that the problem is that the united states--maybe they understand that, but they're not taking the necessary steps. they're doing more to resolve the syrian conflict. that's why ash carter's criticism is unfair in

let me say something about yemen, from 897, not 2011. the leader, through its association, the saudi arabia influenced the president of the yemen for the first time. for anyone that did not thing that would cause distress in yemen, they were naive. that was going to be a battle of identity. many who are idealistic, with the best of the region, a catalyst for change, the people in syria, egypt and tunisia. what happened is an identity crisis replaced those days. we can only be seen as an outsider, and it would have negative impact for our region. >> thank you for joining us. thank you for your insight on the week ahead. before we go. here is a look at other stories making headlines in "the week ahead". closing arguments set for monday in the first trial in the case of freddie gray, who died in baltimore police custody. city officials preparing for demonstrations as the trial of officer william porter ends >>> secretary of state john kerry in moscow on tuesday, meeting with officials about the syrian war and the night against i.s.i.l. also

yemen's neighbor.ition to carry out airstrikes to target the group and its supporters. the cost of this war to ordinary yemen-yes already wary after years of conflict instability and dire poverty, has been huge. nearly 6,000 people are thought of been hill think the country's education and health system has collapsed. after negotiations in switzerland some aid is now getting through to the city. taiz. but it is not nearly enough. the week-long truce has been extended. many living through this war which much of the world has forgotten will hope the talks in january will produce more to end this conflict. emma way hard, al jazeera. >>> in the northwest of syria, more than 40 people have been killed in airstrikes thought to have been carried out by russian war planes six strides hit the center of the rebel held city idlib injuring a further 150 people. months do you has been accused of targeting the fighters fight is sawed up testified isil. the russian press says he is ready to work with the syrian presi

. >> the saudi government is leading a separate military campaign in yemen. it's been engaged in nine months of warfare against houthi rebels there. the united states, among others, believe that firepower might be better served in defeating the isil threat. this coalition could be the first step. jonah hull, al jazeera. >> u.s. secretary of state john kerry has met with president vladimir putin to resolve the syrian cries. kerry said he hopes to make real progress in narrowing the differences over how to end the conflict. the biggest two sticking points is the role of bashar al-assad in the country's future as russia conducted airstrikes on the regime's behalf. >> meanwhile the cease-fire is coming to force in yemen although there was violence in some areas hours before it game. it comes as u.n. brokered peace talks from switzerland. we have this report. >> it is progress in itself. they're talking for the first time. the u.n. brought them together in the hope that the internationally recognized government and the houthi rebels and their allies will reach an

. >>> despite a supposed ceasefire in yemen, pro-government forces seized two towns from houthi rebelsn 24 hours. >>> charities are having to help more and more people in spain. >>> and making music, the hub bringing world-class recording facilities to the public in south africa. ♪ >>> the foreign ministers of 17 countries are currently holding meetings in new york on new talks on how to end the war in syria. they are hoping to arrange a ceasefire from january, and then direct negotiations between the syrian government and opposition. but the opposition says it won't agree to a ceasefire unless president assad steps down nfl and ministers have yet to resolve their differences over which opposition groups to involve in the talks and which to define as terrorists. >> on the two importants a sects, one is the opposition groups, and the other is the composition of the opposition and the list of terrorist organizations. there seems to be no agreement. >> we are heading across to our correspondent in new york in just a moment, while we wait for that, let me report that russian fighter jets h

. >>> a close ally of yemen's president dice in a car bombing. isil said it killed the governor of aden. >> potential political change in venezuela where opposition gains are expected in parliamentary electionses. >> i'm in the republic of the congo in one of the most remote places on earth and few places in which endangered great apes can prosper. >>> it is a tail of two cities, the tripoli based leaders in libya described the deal signed with their rivals in tobruk as a major breakthrough in efforts to end the political deadlock there. it finally sees agreement between the rival parliaments of the general knoll congress in tripoli and the one recognized by the united nations in tobruk. it's a deal which stipulates that an election will take place in two with years and calls for the two sides to form a committee to help choose a government of national reconciliation. the general national congress has called it the historic moment that libyans were waiting for. victoria gatenby has more. >> an initiative for the first time in the countries long r

yemen's warring parties are exchanging hundreds of prisoners in a gesture of goodwill.rces have told al jazeera, that 375 houthi prisoners are being swapped for more than 250 pro-government fighters. it has happened during a seven-day truce while the peace talks continue in switzerland. there are reports of yemen's third largest city, ta'izz, suggesting both sides have failed to honor the ceasefire. zana hoda has more. >> reporter: undoubtedly a positive development. a pilsner swap. it involves hundreds of prisoners. the warring sides agreeing to this deal. it is being described as a goodwill gesture, but this is not what the yemeni government delegation at the talks have been demanding. what they want is for a prisoner swap involving high-ranking officials including the defense minister who remains in the custody of the houthi rebels. this is a positive development, but at the same time on the ground in yemen, that's fire is not holding. there have been reports of violence, incidents of violence, ever since the ceasefire took effect on tuesday. but at the end of the da

in yemen is said to take effect in just under four hours. that's when the government and houthi rebels are to begin talks in switzerland. the fighting continues ahead of the truce. more than 11 fighters on both sides have been killed in southern yemen. >> reporter: it is a show of force just before the warring sides talk peace. the yemeni government and the supporters of saudi led coalition has forces close to the capital. that's where houthi rebels and their allies remain in power. the troop deployment in the province appears to be an attempt to pressure the houthis and their allies to make concessions at the upcoming talks in switzerland, but people are not hoping that they will give up power without a fight. >> translation: i reject the geneva talks. the houthis and pro forces who carried out the coup against the legitimate government want the government to give up some of its legitimacy. that is unacceptable. it is treason. >> reporter: the conflict is now in its ninth month. neither side is winning and the human cost has been high. the

. >> warring parties in yemen agree to more talks in january. >> a massive land slide in southern china. 59 people are missing. >> the christmas barbecue for these families in south africa. >>> good to have your companies. the polls have closed in a landmark election in spain the first since the country arrived from a financial crisis. the ruling people's party is hoping to be re-elected. socialists are expected to become second. naturally the economy is a key issue in a country where the unemployment rate is 21% and a massive 47% amongst the young. >> there's a lot of excitement and anticipation here at the people's party headquarters as you would expect. nobody in the governing party expects the kind of victory that they enjoyed in 2011 when they got almost 45% of the vote. as you were saying in your introduction, the age of that sort of two-party dominance in politics appears to be over. however, the people's party is showing a dominance and the prime minister is hoping his party becomes the biggest single party albeit without a majority. let's look back at the voting with this repor

. >> translator: terrorists in yemen, libya, mali, al year, pakistan, afghanistan. >> u.s.d ashton carter is heading to the middle east. this comes as president obama stepped up his rhetoric against isil, patty culhane with more from washington, d.c. u.s. pre president barack obama focusing on his national security of defense announcing he was immediately sending had tomorrow middle ease trying to get country to contribute more in the fight against isil. the president is under increasing pressure to do more in a new poll, 60% of americans want more u.s. troops sent to fight. 54% disapprove of how the president is handling the threat of terrorism, that's the worst he's ever done. >> we will prevail. >> reporter: now he's trying to convince americans his strategy is working. >> isil has lost about 40% of the populated areas it once controlled in iraq. they are working in encircle fallujah and cut off isil's supply routes in to mosul. again, these are urban areas where isil is entrenched. our partners on the ground face a very tough fight ahead. >> reporter: a new tact for the

it's been engaged in a nine month operation against yemen. the latest coalition could very well be the first step. gerald tan, al jazeera. >>> u.s. secretary of state john kerry is in russia, he's meeting for talks on the syrian conflict with the sophie ye soviet foreir sergey lavrov. you hear that russia is key to the diplomatic process. >> i think russia's very aware of how important its role is and they've considerably done a lot of effort to place themselves now in syria in that role to exercise what authority they can. now lavrov and kerry sat down within the last hour and both much them spoke, gave encouraging diplomatic remarks about the talks ahead. they basically want to narrow the differences they have over the path ahead. this as you said involves assad's future role and also trying to get a collection of opposition political leaders together who are prepared to actually sit down and discuss the future. they've laid out their conditions and saying it's unacceptable that assad should be any part of that and they would like to see hi