the deposed president saleh have no friends here. this is the new army whose loyalty is to yemen's government in exile. the new chief of staff says victory over the houthi fighters and their allies is not far away. >> victory is near. organized armed forces the. >> province are also discussing future plans. >> you are the yes, ma'amist armed. >> if youly trained yemenienis . fighters and weaponry to the national army and fighters loyal the yemen's president abd rabbu mansour hadi who is in exile in saudi arabia. only who areas are under houthi control. that's why the fight to clear them could be swift. and many predict the next target for this new firing force could be the sanaa or saada. despite significant losses the houthis continue to put up a tough fight. the battle for yemen is far from over. omar al saleh, al jazeera. >> juan cole says it's unusual to be involved in ground combat. >> the uae is part of a coalition of gulf cooperation council nations and also including morocco and jordan. much of the fighting has been from the

we can cross-live to doha and speak to omar al saleh. you are raid to go to mecca to perform the hajj. hasan hinted at it earlier. the construction going on, saudi arabia has had to limit the number going, because millions head there every year to perform the hajj. >> yes, that's true. the biggest expansion ever. having this big multibillion dollar project, to transform to increase the capacity of the grand mosque to allow up to 2 million pilgrims in that grand mosque barbara. so quite massive. around 2020, still few years ahead. so it's quite a big, quite massive, and when you look the pictures of the skyline of mecca in particular, the ones surrounding the grand mosque you'll see it's full of cranes, big massive cranes which turned the entire complex into a construction site. >> in ten days the hajj starts. how do you think, how do you think it's going to affect their preparation for this year's hajj? >> i think it will put them under the spotlight. because clearly, whatever preparations they have, because by now they already have had

shia forces loyal to saleh. in mareb the soldiers are singing yemen's national anthem and a pledge of loyalty to the new army. the oppos deposed president allh abdel al saleh last no. >> i have victory is near. we are in the process of building armt armed forces. >> discussing future plans. >> translator: you are the yemenis armed, you are the popular resistance that restored the state and its pride. >> over the last weeks the saudi coalition has sent to the national army and fighters loyal to yemen's president abd rabbu mansour hadi who is in exile in saudi arabia. under houthi control that's why the fight to clear them could be swift. and many predict the next target for this new fighting force could be the capital sanaa and the houthitron hold ostronghold. >>> omar ah la saleh, al jazeera. >>> defiance also appears to be forcing hungary to act. the hundred gair hungarian authy they will force them owalk. the three-year-old boy who came to represent the tragedy of the refugee crisis was laid to rest. the pictu

but so far, officials say, it appears saleh was acting alone. using the internet to try to communicate with isis extremists overseas. we're told after the suspect was taken into custody, he refusinged to be fingerprinted and was yelling at agents throughout the processing. again in court, he was silent. we're also told his parents were cooperative and that months ago they even tried to take away they knew he was becoming somewhat radicalized. >>> a computer glitch kept many american airlines passengers on the ground today. stopping flights to and from hubs in dallas, chicago and miami. it start around noon and lasted about two hours. it's not clear how many flights were affected. american airlines says the problem has been fixed but did not share the exact cause. the glitch comes a month before it's scheduled to combine its reservation systemreith us airways. >>> a settlement reached in the gm ignition switch scandal. news 4's david ushery. >> reporter: the justice department announcing a deferred prosecution agreement. essentially acknowledging

omar saleh reports. >> shia force he opposed to sally sal said they fired a missile killing dozens of uae soldiers. the soldiers are sing yemen's national anthem and the pledge of loyalty to the new army. >>> this bringingade is part of the republican guards, a force created and led by saleh, his son. this is the new army whose loyalty is to yemen's government in exile. victory over the houthi fighters and their allies is not far. >> organized armed forces that says for the all of the country. >> also discussing future plans. >> you are the yemenis armed. you are the security forces and popular resistance that restored the state and its pride. >> over the last weeks the saudi led coalition has sent thousands of newly trained yemeni fighters and weaponry to the national army and fighters loyal to yem yemen's abd rabbu mansour hadi who is in exile in saudi arabia. only two towns in yemen's province are under houthi control that's why the fight could be swift. many predict the target for this new fighting force could be the capital sanaa and saada. houthis and their allies continue to pu

shia houthi fight scores forces loyal to deposed president saleh say they fired the plastic missile at the military base until ears yemen killing dozens of emirati soldiers. also the soldiers are singing yemen's national anthem and the pledge of loyalty to the new army. the deposed president saleh and his houthi allies have no friends here, this brigade is part of the republican guards a force created and led by saleh's son, where this is the new army whose loyalty is to yemen's government in exile. it's a new chief of staff says victory over the houthi fight experts their allies is not far way. >> translator: victory is near. we are in the process of building new arms force that his serve the whole country. >> reporter: commanders and & security officials are also discussing future plans. >> translator: you are the yemenis armed, you are the security forces and popular resistence that restored the state and its pride. >> reporter: over the last weeks, the saudi-led coalition has sent thousands of newly trained yemeni fighters and weaponry to the national arm irrelevant and fighters lo

rally most of the yemenis behind him and continue the fight against the houthis and former president saleh. he has huge issues, loads of things at stake particularly in the southern part of the country where he is going to build a platform and there is a fight there and you are talking about millions of yemenis who are suffering, you have shortage in food, electricity, water, thousands of people have been stranded and thousands forced out of the country and these are things waiting for hadi to sort out in the coming days. >> how difficult is it going to be for hadi to rally his own supporters or i should say those who are fighting on behalf of the coalition and particularly civilians in yemen who have really born the brunt of the fighting over the last six months? >> the anti-houthi, antisaleh coalition is not necessarily a united front because you have hadi and his allies on one hand and successistist on the other hand and successionist are not on good terms with hadi as far as we are concerned. we just want the south to break away from the north and we have nothing to do with the north.

the deposed president saleh and his shia houthi allies have no friends here. this brigade is part of the republican guards a force created and led by saleh's son. but this is the new army whose loyalty is to yemen's government in exile. the new chief of staff says victory over the houthi fighters and their ally is his not far away. >> translator: victory is near. we are in the process of building new armed forces and organized armed force that his serve the country. >> reporter: commanders and security officials in the province are also discussing future plans. >> translator: you are the yemenis armed, you are the security forces and popular resistence that restored the state and its pride. >> reporter: over the last weeks, the saudi-led coalition has september thousands of newly-trained yemeni fighters and weaponry to the national army and fighters loyal to yemen's president hadi who is in exile in saudi arabia. the only two towns in this trough paragraph ins are under houthi control. that's why the fight to clear them could be swift. and many predict the nex

in oplan, a senior houthi official and close aid to former president ali abdullah saleh. oplan is trying to mediate a political settlement between yemen's warring factions. but a peace demay be a long away away. yemen's internationally recognized government says it will only join talks if the houthis hand over weapons and withdraw from cities they have captured. hashem ahelbarra, al jazeera. >> let's hear from paulo lembo, he's been saying that efforts to find diplomatic way out of the crisis are still going on. >> our position is that this conflict cannot be sofd as a solution, we are going to talk give it another trial in muskat, delegation of houthi as you just said has arrived yesterday muskat and we will try to convince the side that that is the moment to exercise more flexibility to restart syria's political process. >> at least 32 people have been killed by government air strike in the syrian city of aleppo. the attack targeting a popular neighborhood market. russia's foreign ministry has called for what it called concrete action after a shell landed in its compoun

omar al saleh has the latest from nina. >> after the worst tragedy, in recent history, pilgrims continue their rituals. this is the sprawling city of minna. it lies close to where the pilgrims stone the devil. taking place at a intersection like this one. on average, pilgrims stay here three to four days. this man witnessed what happened. >> translator: we were walking in one direction, a man in uniform told us to go another. all of a sudden, the stampede happened. nobody helped me. >> translator: god hope the he authorities. people have to have some sort of organization. >> reporter: the saudi has ordered a full review of hajj plans to record how seriously this incident is being taken. saudis is completed a structure, five floors and has multiple entrances, they go straight to the area that represents, they have to throw 21 stones at three location is like this. the other two are further down. the entire process takes five to ten minutes and there are a lot of security forces arranging the flow of the pilgrims. nearly 2 million pilgrims are performing the hajj this season. controlling t

they are created and led by saleh's son. it's a new chief of staff says victory over the how tee fighters and their allies is not far away. you are the security forces and popular resistance that restored the state and its pride. the saw district attorney led coalition has isn't thousands of them to the national army and fighters loyal to the president of yemen who is in exile in saudi arabia. the houthies and their allies continue to put up a tough fight. the battle for yemen is far from over. >> meanwhile, bahrain says five soldiers have been killed in yemen on the southern border of saudi arabia. are we expecting any kind of reaction to this on the streets? >> yes, we were just outside the palace of justice where the trial is being held and a group of lopez supporters have gathered there being very vocal about how the whole trial happened and were actually saying if he wasn't free, they would then take the streets to protest. this trial according to the defense has been riddled with ash administrator decisions with delays

, is you have houthi forces and forces loyal to the former president saleh. but from day one, it was quite clear that it was going to be air strikes. and the casualties from air strikes huge particularly in populated areas. most of the time they have advantage of the area which are their strong holds. so it's sad in the sense that you are going to see more and more civilian casualties in the near future. there's no end to this fighting. >> hashem many thanks. >>> all right. straight ahead here on al jazeera, pretending to be syrian to get asylum, germany says thousands of people are doing just that, but it is cracking down. and we'll explain why america's largest family planning organization is under skrooutny. ♪ >>> hello again the top stories here on al jazeera. an afghan army convoy of 100 armored vehicles has been brought to a halt by taliban fighters who have seized control of kunduz. army soldiers are complaining of a lack of leadership. >>> and an air strike in iraq has targeted the old city of mosul. 17 people are reported to have been killed. it's

omar al saleh, al jazeera. >>> deputy consul general and hajj consul. he has been to the scene, and joins us by phone. sir thank you very much for joining us on al jazeera. you were at the scene. what have you seen? >> i visited the scene about an hour ago. what i saw was, the that a crane had fallen. and that the base was outside the mosque and it was hit part of it, had fallen inside the mataf area, going over the side portion. and the had led to casualties and injuries. and when gone there to the -- it was -- prayers were going on. and except for that portion where the crane base, head was lying. those portions were cordoned off. otherwise, regular prayers were going on. >> and sir, what we're hearing from the saudi authorities, 87 people confirmed dead. more than 200 injured. both numbers widely expected to rise somewhat. how difficult has it been to get clarity as to who was actually injured? i'm thinking nationallalities. as far anational advertise,how t it to obtained that kind of information? of course it has been a couple of hours since the cra

the former president saleh and the houthis are still entrenched they have deployed many fighters there, with advanced weapons and they would like to continue the fight because for them, maintaining a presence is taiz is a signal that they are still capable of putting up fierce resistence to the coalition forces and to the government. >> it this a bake are make or break ba battle for the huge and pro saleh forces. >> basically they will be we sieging the capital sanaa and the push for sanaa will be an easy task for them. >> while the battlefield situation is fluid and changing, doesn't sound lying the two sides are any closer to peace talks, though, does it? >> the problem we have so far is that both parties don't seem to be really willing to negotiate a political settlement. the houthis say we are a legitimate authority, we still control a huge area from saada in the north to taiz in the south. government on the other hand says that we would like to have a settlement, but before we get to that particular point, we need to see the houthis surrender, pull out from the areas they control.

says the sear yearn president is part of the problem while russia believe believes br saleh sad needs to stay in to fight isil. >> reporter: a special meeting at the u.n. to boost the coalition against isil. >> i believe what we have here today is the emergence of a global movement that is united by the mission of degrading and ultimately destroying isil. >> reporter: but if you listen to the words the president chokes you see the problem. there has not been as much progress on the ground as the u.s. would like. >> this is not an easy task. we have isil taking root. >> reporter: taking root across large swaths of syria and iraq. including the syrian city of raqqa, mosul in iraq. iraq's prime minister said his government was making progress, in the last year they did retake at that tikrit. but lost ramadi. and all the while, according to the turkish mime prime minister foreign fighters have been streaming in. >> my government has ins deuced since foreign fighters since 2011. we have recorded now almost 20,000 names from over 100 countries. >> isis' success is the reason for its success

the deposed president saleh and the shia houthi allies have no reps here. this is the new army whose loyal toy is to yemen's government in exile. as the new chief of staff says victory over the houthi fighters and their ally is his not far away. >> translator: victory is near. we are in the process of building new armed forces that serve the country. >> reporter: commanders and security officials in the province are also discussing future plans. >> you are the yemenis armed, you are the security forces and popular resistence that retired the state and its pride. >> reporter: over the last weeks, the saudi-led coalition has september thousands of newly trained yemeni fighters and weaponry to the national army. and fighters loyal to yemen's president hadi who is in exile in saudi arabia. only two towns in the province are under houthi control. that's why the fight to clear them could be swift. and many predict the next target for this new fighting force could be the capital sanaa and the houthi strong hold. despite the losses the houthis and their allies don'

the deposed president saleh and his shia houthi allies have no friends here. this brigade is part of the republican guards, a force created and led by saleh's son. but this is the new army whose loyalty is to yemen's government in exile. it's a new chief of staff says victory over the houthi fighters and their allies is not far away. >> translator: victory is near. we are in the process of building new armed forces and armed forces that serves the. [ inaudible ] country. >> reporter: commanders and security officials in the province are also discussing future plans. >> translator: you are the yemenis armed. you are the security forces and popular resistence that restored the state and its pride. >> reporter: over the last weeks, the saudi-led coalition has sent thousands of newly-trained yemeni fighters and weaponry to the national army and fighters loyal to yemen's president hadi who is in exile in saudi arabia. only two towns are under houthi control in this province, that's why the fight to clear them could be swift. and many predict the next target for the

in oman a senior houthi officials and a close aid to former president ali abdullah saleh. trying to mediate a political settlement between yemen's warring factions but a peace deal may be a long way. the saudi-led coalition is pounding areas in albeida another houthi stronghold. yemen's internationally recognized government says it will enter into negotiations only after houthiless hand over the items they captured. >> as we talk we are going so give it another try in muscat. the secretary general is there, a delegation has arrived yesterday, muskat and we will try to convince the side that is the moment to exercise more responsibility to restart yemen's political process pop. >> coming up on the newshour, do stay with us if you can. the new offensive against al shabaab say they need more weapons. >> as millions of muslims arrive in mecca for the hajj pilgrimage, we look at the logistical problems for saudi arabia. and the spanish basketball team returns home with another european championship. well, it looks like there could be a peace deal in libya the country which has

houthis holding moss of protest against the government of ali abdullah saleh. and ali abdullah saleh agreed to and over power to abd rabbuh mansur hadi after 33 years in power. three months later we're looking at 2012, and abd rabbuh mansur hadi is now president. but not all was well. protests over controversial fuel price rise ran for two weeks in july reportedly led by the houthi rebels and supporters of the former president. it worked as well. huts attack yemeni forces and now in 2014 houthies have control of the capital of sanaa. that was one year ago. well, we spoke to the visiting scholar at the carnegie middle east certain center. he said that houthis will not be stopped by enemy force. what i think is more possibly will take the houthis out is a peace deal despite the fact that everyone says this is a situation in yemen locally and nationally, this brings attempts to bring peace, to bring people to the negotiation table. again, even today this do not say why, who has been responsible for the continuous failure of negotiations. a lot more can be done by

omar al slea saleh reports. >> more than 2 million people are expected to arrive in mecca to perform the hajj. now on tuesday the pilgrims will leave mecca then they will go to minna. on wednesday is the main day of the hajj, the problem there or the fear there is that all the people all the pilgrims will converge and perform their ritual at one time, the challenge there is to control their movement and to make sure they move safely without any stampedes or any incident. the hajj is already overshadowed by a tragic incident, a crane fell and killed 107 people and wounded more than 200. let me tell you why that incident happened. because the grand mosque has turned into a big massive construction site. the authorities want to expand the capacity of the mosque to allow people to converge to come to mecca to perform the pilgrimage. it's blamed the incident on bad weather and also misuse of the heavier equipment. the main contractor was suspended however the government is going according to plan. and also the incident didn't disturb the many pil pilgrims to perform the hajj this year. >>

omar al saleh, al jazeera, minna. >>> blast yesterday at a houthi mosque in sanaa killed 30 people and injured dozens other. it came at the start of eid el ada. u.n. secretary-general ki-moon. ban ki-moon. >> this secretary-general calls for a full investigation of the bombing and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. >> the u.n. said more than 4500 people have been killed in yemen since march, 400 of them children. >>> the nigerian army says more than 200 boko haram troops surrendered. it is the biggest group to lay down arms since the nigerian army ramped up its fight against boko haram over the past few weeks. nigeria's president has given military commanders a november deadline to end the boko haram insurgency, the group has killed almost 17,000 and is still holding hundreds of kidnapped school girls hostage. >>> a year later the search for answer he continues. in tonight's in context what the parents of dozens of students who vanished in mexico are demanding. that's bigger than usbeyond the. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it

. >> that's omar al saleh there. >>> avoiding accidentally tradintrading fire steps us asse for the other side. worried the russian weapons might fall into the wrong hands. >> they are not accusing russia of supplying hezbollah but the situation is so chaotic in syria at the moment that be nobody can really guarantee these weapons, there are a lot of them, coming in, very hide high tech. russia is worried that strike warfare could restrict the movement of israeli air force jets should they attempt to target convoice taking weapons out to hezbollah which they have done before. so as well as the president and prime minister meeting, these military heads will talk about ways to deconflict the swaishes. historical movement within the area, so they're very strong cultural ties there. and i think israel has made it pretty clear, that they do not see russia as a threat to the state of israel. and they do have joint issues that do need resolving as the buildup continues in the area. >> peter sharp there in moscow. refugees from the syrian conflict have been pouring into the area of europe for the

activists and forces loyal to ali abdullah saleh are targeting civilians. the war has claimed the lives of thousands of yemenese. this house was targeted by a coalition air strike. neighbors say a family of 11 was killed in the attack. it's the second air strike targeting the old city of sanna, considered a world heritage site. >> the owner of this house was a farmer. he had a garden outside this building. the bomb that hit his house created damage in an area of 500 meters. we think 50-80 buildings were damaged in the attack. >> forces loyal to president adou rabbo mansour hadi backed by troops from the coalition led by saudi arabia have launched an initiative to recapture the city, those on the eastern border of sanna. if recaptured, hadi loyalists are expected to try and seize the capital next. al jazeera. >> 13 refugees have died after the boat they were traveling in collided with a commercial vessel off the turkish coast. coast guard workers say the accident happened near the western port. eight people have been rescued in the operation to save more peo

act victims and forces loyal to ali abdullah saleh are targeting civilians. the war has claimed the lives of thousands of yemenese. this house was targeted by a coalition air strike. neighbors say a family of 11 was killed in the attack. it's the second air strike targeting the old city of sanna, considered a world heritage site. >> the owner of this house was a farmer. he had a garden outside this building. the bomb that hit his house created damage in an area of 500 meters. we think 50-80 buildings were damaged in the attack. >> forces loyal to president adou rabbo mansour hadi backed by troops from the coalition from saudi arabia have launched an initiative to recapture the city, those on the eastern border of sanna. if recaptured, hadi loyalists are expected to try and seize the capital next. >> hashem, as all that military hardware moves in, you wonder if there's place for politics anymore. >> the problem the united nations is facing is you have two coalitions fighting for a bigger say in yemen, you ever the shia coalition led by the houthis and former p

omar al saleh, al jazeera, mecca. >>> ahead of the pope's visit to cuba, president obama and raul castro have spoken. regard easing business between the two countries. pope francis hoped to broker talks between the two countries. in the last few minutes he boarded a plane in rome bounded for havana from where lucia newman now reports. >> at havana's plaza of the revolution the celestial sound of an orchestra and choir, rehearsing for pope francis's mass on sunday, over the eye coulcouldcouliconicstatute of c. concerning the relatively small number of catholics in this country. regional politician is something in which the argentine poach clearly wants to play a role. poach has offerepope francis hao mediate and is expected to meet with farc liter leaders here in havana. >> this papal visit while pastoral has a clear political purpose in this context. >> historic restoration of diplomatic ties between the united states and cuba and the expectation here is that when he continues on to the united states from cuba next week he will begin wa again weigh in. >> from here the pope is going to t

omar al saleh reports now from mean a. >> reporter: a second tragedy within weeks, saudi authorities say a sudden surge among the huge crowd of pilgrims led to a deadly stampede. hundreds of people died, many more were injured. >> translator: we were coming back and on the way back i met my husband, the pilgrims began pushing each other and pushed people to the ground. i was about to die. >> reporter: the pilgrims were making their way to take part in the stoning of the devil ritual which is part of the hajj pilgrimage. >> translator: the accident was a result of a stampede at some pilgrims had move in the wrong direction and met the crowd. the number of victims is extremely high. hundreds have been killed and the numbers is expected to rise. however, what is important now is to save the wounded. there. >> reporter: have been hundreds of deaths from stampedes in previous years, but this is one of the deadliest in recent years. in 20006 the saudi's built a multi-story complex to handle the people taking part. more than 1 million pilgrims are performing the hajj this season. a logistic

after the man who led their rebellion in 2004 who say houthis are backed by supporters by president saleh and are up against government forces aligned with president hadi who is in exile in saudi arabia and the same country leading a coalition of nine arab states against the houthis and started air strikes in march and are still ongoing with the backing of sunni tribes on the ground in yemen and of course there are the successionist in the south, the secular nationalists who want to break away from the north and taking advantage of years of instability and chaos, there is al-qaeda which has grown in size and strength. it is staunchly anti-houthi but not in line with the coalition and we will go to the resident coordinator of the u.n. in yemen and joins us now live from sanaa and thanks for being with us, what are the chances of these u.n. sponsored talks in yemen making any sort of progress given that the yemeni government is not yet attending? >> thank you for asking me first of all. we have never tried to stop continuing to seek a political solution to this conflict. sometimes in a visi

>> northern yemen is a houthi stronghold, and rebels loyal to the former president ali abdullah saleh is a painful push. mountainous area. extremely difficult to send tanks to capture sanaa. that is exactly why for time being they're relying on air strikes. >> is there any chance this operation will not be needed? that at some point the houthi rebels will be forced to the negotiating table? >> the united nations has been trying, met with president hadi a few days ago, he said i'm not going to go to negotiate a political settlement, i want to tell the united nations that unequivocally we'll pull out of the areas, these chances are slim so i think the saudi led coalition and hadi are willing to make some significant military gains and say you know what we have made our fight now it's time for apolitical settlement. >> and of course we have the government back in aden the president yet to return to the country but what do you think the chances are ultimately of there being a north-south split in yemen once again? >> components for that split are there adrian on the ground because the con

well, i spoke to omar al-saleh, my colleague who is a journalist and also a pilgrim. he was in mecca, and this is what he told me earlier. >> reporter: the ground mufti represents the highest religious authority in the kingdom. however, the ultimate power lies within the hands of king solomon who ordered a full investigation and a review into all of the hajj plans to go further. so to me i read into this he's not quite happy with what happened. now, in terms of what the ground mufti said, i think what triggered a statement like that as muslims, we do believe in fate and destiny, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't investigate a tragedy like that. i think what prompted him to say such a thing, he was trying to defend saudi arabia in the wave of criticism that triggered after the stampede. they were calls by iran and other religious scholars to have the hajj organized by a number of islamic states. i think that's why it triggered him saying what he said, but i think the investigation is going on go ahead. today, there's a press conference by the saudi health minister say

in openly man, a senior houthi official and a close aid to former president ali abdullah saleh, trying to mediate a political settlement between yemen's warring factions. a peace deal maybe a long way. the saudi-led coalition is pounding areas in another houthi stronghold. yemen's internationally recognized government said it will only join talks if the houthis hand over weapons and withdraw from cities they have captured. al jazeera. >> the issue we've got is that after a year of war, yemen is as divided as ever. we're going to put it on the map now to explain this. the houthi rebels, so named after the man who led the rebellion in 2004, backed by supporters of the former president, ali abdullah saleh. we've got president adou rabbo mansour hadi. government forces aligned with him. he is in exile in saudi arabia, the same country leading the coalition of nine arab states against the houthis. you remember they launched the airstrikes back in march. you've also got the backing of the sunni tribes, as well. two others to think about, the secession its in the south, mostly secular nationa

omar al saleh, al jazeera, minna. >> the story of a fabric that will now disappear from the shop of a merchant. >> politics stay strictly at the door. >> they come from the three regions, the imams and also the christians which are the people's shops and sometimes they give a guest for the pope. >> he shows us fabric provided for the previous pope, benedict. >> i like people to come to my store to share, even we have a friend -- they make a friend in my store. >> reporter: we see that when we meet rony, a long time client. >> i'm basic a client, i know bilal for more than 18 years. all of us are coming here jews muslims christians. he is the prettiest face of the whole city for me. every time i come i'm here. >> reporter: but these shelves also hold a story of another conflict. >> damascus fabric it's very short. i can't go there because the situation. >> reporter: this is a robe that is traditionally worch at wedding celebrations and this particular piece comes through the syrian capital, damascus. it is the you last one left in abu saleb's shop. the city of palmyra which has taken o

a senior heu houthi official and oclose aid to former president ali abdullah saleh. oman is trying to peed 88th a settlement between yemen's warring faction he but a peace deal may be a long way. other houthi stronghold, yemen's internationally recognized government says it will only join talks if the houthis hand over weapons and withdrawal from cities they have captured. hashem ahelbarra, al jazeera. >> united nations residence coordinator in yemen says issues are continuing. >> our position in this conflict cannot be sofd. solved. as we talk we will give it another try, our political team is there, the agai secretary-gel is in mosca cp, that is the momenca, restart politicalproce. >> still to come on the program, as millions arrive in mecca for the hajj pilgrimage we'll look at the logistic challenges that arise. >> the only thing fm is diversity. >> best actress winner voila la davis. sure, tv has evolved over the years. it's gotten squarer. brighter. bigger. it's gotten thinner. even curvier. but what's next? for all binge watchers. movie geeks. sports freaks. x

so far if it appears saleh was acting alone. >>> the mayor's task force plans to meet for the second day in a row. this on the heels of after report revealing the task force had not met since the creation last month. the goals include ridding times square of topless women and other nuisances and making it more user friendly for tourists and pedestrians. president did not sound impressed. >> it was a limited discussion about times square. i thought it would be longer. >> one issue everyone agreed on is the city will complete the construction of pedestrian plazas around the square as planned. ongoing feud between governor cuomo and mayor de blasio is making a lot of headlines. according to a new poll, 78% of new yorkers say yes. 57% say they are not working effectively. get this, 55% of new york city voters have a favorable view of the governor and only 37% of new york city voters give the mayor a thumbs up. >>> an i-team exclusive now as the pope's visit approaches the city is making a push to get houses of worship to take in the homeless. many homeless people and advocates say they a

houthi rebels and troops loyal to the former president ali abdullah saleh, were involved and 37 rebels reportedly killed. meanwhile, troops from the coalition are gathering in the mareb region to provide tactical support to the yemeni military fighting the rebels. >>> china has expressed concerns after japan's parliament passed new laws that mark a dramatic shift in the country's military policy. means japanese soldiers will be allowed to fight yeefers for thr the first time since world war ii. rob mcbride is in tokyo. >> after this historic vote, japan is coming to terms with its role in the world. assertive military to match that makes many here uncomfortable. >> translator: i'm infuriated. we have a constitution that renounces war and it's been undermined. >> it's a hard decision. volunteering troops to go overseas is different than just defending ourselves. >> reporter: security situation around the world is changing that's why this is necessary. >> reporter: this troarvel legislatiocontroversial legislal change how japan's forces will be able to operate overseas from being a purel

and another section, the bridge area >>> omar al saleh is en route to mecca and joins us on the line. >> it's a big construction site at the moment around the grand mosque, the controversial construction site. saudi arabian authorities will suspect the construction site. with so many due to arrive in mecca right now. >> absolutely. as of yesterday the figures around 1 million people have arrived. most are heading to mecca. numbers will increase in the coming days. the airport i was at it is packed. in terms of constructions and the controversy surrounding it, the whole complex is surrounded by huge massive cranes, and that is part of a big project that the saudi authorities have started to expand the grand mosque allowing capacity inside. before the season, the construction site is suspended for the season. the big equipment remains. we understand from senior handling officials, saying in a matter of days all the damage will be split and it will not be suspended. >> thank you omar salah there speaking from jeddah, on his way to mecca >>> now, the united nations say the war in syria, a

they targeted a base controlled by troops loyal to ali abdullah saleh, and damaged homes nearby. >> 22 have been killed. strikes were targetting fuel smugglers. >> the u.n. agency is alarmed by child hunger in yemen. almost 2 million children don't have enough food or water. u.n.i.c.e.f. says 96,000 are starving and close to death. it estimates 8,000 will suffer m malnutrition almost 2 million don't have much. >> troops from the saudi-led coalition role in. they have been bolstered by the arriving of 1,000 vehicles. they are getting ready for a decisive battle. in the retaliation from forces. 60 died. it's also intensified bombardment of sanaa. targetting houthi rebels and their allies. this market suburb has been hit. a place where the injured could have been looked after has been shut down. the hospital is above a houthi forces camp. once it would have ensured safety. now it is in the line of fire. >> some people died during the rocket bombardment. children were killed in the nursery. we were next door to the international forces. it's against the law to bomb near a hospital. >> all

forces headquarters from targeted, and are controlled by houthi rebels, and forces loyal to ali abdullah saleh. a pilots' building was hit. during the bombing a u.n.i.c.e.f. hospital was damaged. general hi hopkins -- jeremy hopkins says it need to be addressed. >> there's issues of hi jean and sanitation. more importantly, the staff in the hospital did not feel safe this is indicative hon structures and health delivers where we estimate 50 million yemenis need access to basic health care, and are not getting it. the trade routes have become hampered by the conflict, and so essential supplies are no longer flowing in in the private or public sector. it's a huge amount. alongside other imported goods like food and other its, no longer flowing into the country >>> the bodies of five bahraini soldiers have been flown home. the coffins were carried by an honour guard. the soldiers were killed on friday in which 45 soldiers from the united arab emirates also decide. they were part of a saudi-led coalition fighting the houthi rebels >>> 21 iraqi soldiers and popular mobilization forces were killed i

houthis were killed here, when trying to take control of a house that belonged to former ali abdullah saleh. capital sa florida still under houthi control. the united nations security council has asked the warring factions to lay down their weapons and negotiate a peace deal. yemen's foreign minister says his government is willing to talk if the houthis stop fighting. >> how we can be engaged with a political situation with a minority who have started this kind of violence and this kind of using all kind of force he against innocent people. >> saudi backed coalition force ves continueshave continued ther strikes. the houthis however say the attacks also killed civilians and left dozens more wounded. this is aden which government informs recaptured from houthi forces in july. a project is underway. >> i am feeling very, very optimistic, nobody expected before seven months when the houthis have taken over yemen that we reach to that stage where we have most of yemen with us. >> he says he's he's convinced that the world will not sit idle and watch what he has described as a campaign which has

we go to mecca with omar al saleh. he sends this update. >> if a pilgrim misses being here at hajj, they will have their hajj invalidated. it is considered the pillar of hajj. we have about 2 million pilgrims gathered, and the amounts much emergency around me. they'll ask god for forgiveness and blessings. by the end of the day. they'll continue the rituals of hajj. now, having 2 million people in one case poses a security threat, for authorities that understand they have troops to secure the area in other areas, which is considered the tools of hajj. we have health hazard. why you have 2 million people, you need to deploy a lot of medics. we understand 15,000 medical teams are deployed, and we hope the season will go smooth and well. >> pope francis is making his first trip to the united states. president obama greeted him at st. andrew's air force base. during the six stages, they are drew to address congress in the capital and the united nations in new york. pope francis will hope to win back catholic americans who

houthis backed by troops loyal to deposed president saleh, insist they still have the upper hand. >> you cannot solve yemen crisis by war, that has been proved over the last six months where no side has been effective. the only side that has lost over the last six months have been the people, the 25 million people who are now suffering and are going through a fierce humanitarian crisis. [ explosion ]. >> reporter: fighter jets are also targeting houthi military bases, rocket launchers and troop gatherings. a coalition build upis planning an offensive to retake control of sana'a. the capitol was captured by the houthis a year ago. the u.n. is planning to hold talks between all sides, but it's not clear whether yemen's main rivals are willing to put an end to the conflict that has killed thousands of people and destroyed much of the country. hashem ahelbarra, al jazeera. >>> russia says it will continue to send weapons and aid to syria to help it fight the isil. peter sharp is in moscow and sent us this. >> reporter: sergei lavrov, the foreign minister is making really this case for --

unfortunately to the pull president saleh it has been attacked in the past and intense fighting of those areas and a push by the saudi-led coalition to drive the houthis out from those areas. >> saudi reaction though has been coming in and they are saying they have nothing to do with this. >> exactly, saudis said they have not launched an air strike in the area for the last 48 hours but the official line of saudi arabia said the air strike was basically the following and not targeting civilians and accusing the houthis of soldiers loyal to former president saleh to launch attacks of the rivals and it's a delicate situation and concern for international aid agencies and human rights activists which has basically taken on the houthis in sanaa is not an easy task and for the time they are relying on air strikes and position for casualties is high on the conflict. >> corpsingzations condemning all sides and ban ki-moon is adding his voice and perhaps all those critical words for all sides of the conflict. >> you have the governing of the u.n. general assembly and a gathering at geneva, human

backed by elite army units loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh, the houthis still hold ground. hashem ahelbarra, al jazeera. >>> now there have been more clashes at the al-aqsa mosque compound in occupied east jerusalem. israeli military fired stun grenades. more to come for you after break including tens of thousands of people are without power in taiwan as a powerful typhoon batters the island. >>> and a spectacular lunar event that is amazing sky-watchers across the worlds. >> what do you want american's to understand? >> there's so much injustice. >> workers are being injured constantly. i just had a horrible nightmare. my company's entire network went down, and i was home in bed, unaware. but that would never happen. comcast business monitors my company's network 24 hours a day and calls and e-mails me if something, like this scary storm, takes it offline. so i can rest easy. what. you don't have a desk bed? don't be left in the dark. get proactive alerts 24/7. comcast business. built for business. stories >> welcome back to al jazeera. a recap of the top stories for you

of the ongoing fighting between the houthies and forces backed by the former president ali abdullah saleh on one hand, and forces loyal to the president abd rabbuh mansur hadi. the aid which has been unloaded now is part of the assistance which has been provided by neighboring countries. but the international community is concerned. the problem is that the president and his government insist that they will only join political talks if the houthis surrender and hand over their weapons and pull out from the areas of control. demand which have been reject sod far by the houthis. the situation remains quite delicate, and yemen more politically divided than ever. al jazeera. aden. >> now, there are questions over the future of volkswagen's chief executive as the growing scandal grows. vw has admitted to using software that deceived regulators deceiving on toxic emissions on millions of its diesel cars. with penalties running into billions of dollars this is the man currently under pressure, chief executive martin winterkorn. he's credited with turning the vw fortunes around? it has been report

shia identifieses and he is forces opposed former president saleh killing dozens of emrati soldiers. the soldiers are singing yemen's national an testimony and the pledge of loyalty to the new army. the deposed president have no friends there. this brigade is part of the republican garts, a force created and led by i los is lan, but this is loyalty to em yep action government if exile. victory over the houthi fighters and their ally is his not far -s his not far away. >> translator: victory is near. >> reporter: commanders and security officials in the province are also discussing future plans. >> translator: you are the yemenis armed, you are the security forces and popular resistence that restored the state and its pride. >> reporter: they have september thousands of fighters and weaponry loyal to president hadi who is in exile in saudi arabia. only two towns in the province are under houthi control that's why the fight to clear them could be swift. and many predict the next target for this new fighting force could be the capital sanaa and the houthi strong hold of saleh. despite t

earlier houthi rebels and troops loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh attacked several neighborhoods in the southeast of ta'izz. coalition strikes followed and 37 rebels were reportedly killed. meanwhile, troops are gathering in the mareb region, in the province to provide tactical support to the yemen i military fieding th21 million are in neef humanitarian assistance. oxfam's head of programs for yemen has just returned from the war torn country. >> i think what is really most astonishing is the levment of destruction wrought 1 by the ground fighting that we're seeing in the places like triez and aden but most importantly is the air strikes and have targeted a lot of civilian infrastructure, sea ports airports, water systems, et cetera. so we're seeing a devastation of the country which is basically being brought to its knees. >> opinion polls in grease show that millions of voters are undecided, less than 24 hours before a snap location. when the left wing syriza party won the last election last january, it promised end to years of austerity prospect however this hope has evaporat

targeting an air force base controlled by troops loyal to the former president saleh. these strikes also damaged homes nearby including those of prominent houthi leaders. a tv channel controlled by houthi rebels said a dozen people died in ibb. witnesses say a residential building was hit during an assault on a military base and a weapons store. >>> unicef says it is alarmed by the levels of child hunger in yemen. it was already one of the poorest countries in the world, and now months of heavy fighting have taken their toll. unicef says 96,000 children are starving and close to death in the port city. it is estimated nearly 8,000 will suffer from severe malnutrition in aden in the next year. and almost 2 million children across the country do not have enough food or water. our correspondent has more. >> reporter: troops from the saudi-lead coalition roll into ma'rib. they have been bolstered by the rival of a thousand soldiers and armored vehicles from qatar. they are getting ready for what officials say will be a decisive battle. it is said to be in retaliation for a

saudi-led coalition air strikes targeted houthi rebels and fighters loyal to president ali abdullah saleh. the houthis continued to remain in control of large parts of yemen. . >> when they look at previous attacks like this they are claim by the islamic branch much yemen. the series is condemnedled. if you are looking at recent history, it bears the signs of similar attacks that the yemeni branch of the islamic state group took responsibility for . the u.n. is urging all sides to negotiate a peace deal. that may not be easy, the government of the president say that houthis must disband, and the rebels insist they are yemen's authority. at the mosque. houthi files sealed off the area where the explosions happened, as the battle to control yemenis, many are dying >>> german chancellor angela merkel says the european agreement to relocate 120,000 refugees is not enough to control the crisis. talks on wednesday showed the block had recognized the problem and will work to find a solution. the e.u. members agreed to give over a billion. and decided to deploy more resources it beef up controls.

reporter: saudi-lea coalition air strikes have targeted houthi rebels and fights loyal to former president saleh. the u.n. is urging all sides to negotiate a peace deal, but that may not be easy. the government of president hadi said the houthis must disband. while they say they are the legitimate authority. as the battle to control yemen continues, more yemenis are dying. victoria gatenby, al jazeera. >>> innocent gone says u.s.-lead air strikes have destroyed isil bomb-making facilities in iraq. they have launched 20 air strikes against alleged isil targets since wednesday. the u.s. military says two facilities were destroyed outside of mosul. >>> the presidents of russia and the united states are to meet for the first time in nearly a year to discuss the situation in both syria and ukraine. vladimir putin and barack obama were last face-to-face at a regional summit in beijing in november. they will meet on the sidelines of the united nations general assembly on monday. james bayes is at the u.n. headquarters in new york and joins us now. james certainly a lot has happened since the two presid

omar al saleh joins us live from in mecca. what is the latest there? >> the latest 220 pilgrims died and men injured pushing and shoving in an area leading to the complex as part of the hajj ritual. it's a fourth story. i can see it now. i can see pilgrims' heads. i can't estimate the number. i would say hundreds of thousands, and the movement is going really, really smoothly. what happens remains to be seen. i think it is because the pilgrims were trying to go into the complex, and all of a sudden the rush hoppappened, leaving t the tragic incident. >> are people being removed, moved away from the area. >> no, from my vantage point i see the people are continuing their ritual of hajj. authorities told us that the rescuers - they employed around 220 ambulances trying to take the dead and injured to hospital. i can't see much of what is happening on the road. i can see the pilgrims continue to go to the dawning of the devil complex. >> let me give you an idea about the area. it's a massive tent city. where you have the pilgrims, people go to mecca, and

houthis backed by troops loyal to deposed president saleh, insist they still have the upper hand. >> you cannot solve a crisis by war, that has been proved over the last six month when no side has been affecting, the only side that have lost in the last six months have been the people. the 25 million who are suffering and are in a fierce humanitarian crisis. >> reporter: these are coalition reinforcements on their way to the proindividual of ma'rib. that's where most of yemen's oil and gas installations are located. fighter jets are also targeting houthi military base. rocket launchers and troop gatherings. a coalition build up is planning an offensive to retake control of sana'a. the capitol was captured by the houthis a year ago. the u.n. is planning to hold talks between all sides, but it's not clear whether yemen's main rivals are willing to put an end to the conflict that has killed thousands of people and destroyed much of the country. hashem ahelbarra, al jazeera. >>> there has been an explosion at a camp in nigeria for internally displaced people. at least four people have be