i'm ali velshi. see you next time on "real money." hello from doe h ha. this is the news hour. look be for air rab league support, john kerry's syria campaign continues. >> this crosses an internatio l international, global red line. iran warns president obama to stay out of syria's war or risk setting fire to the whole region. also ahead, taking on

putin's man to be mayor of moscow, but has he got a chance? and coming up in sports, we know whose been awarded the 2020 olympic games. waiting to find out which of these three sports will join the party in tokyo. john kerry has been meeting members of arab league looking for their support. in the past two minutes the u.s. secretary of state acknowledged there's only a political solution to syria's war and not a military ju one. the u.s. is looking at france's suggestion of returning to the u.n. security council. >> as we discussed today, all of us agreed that assad's

deplorable use of chemical weapons, which we know killed hundreds of innocent people, including at least 426 children on this occasion, this one occasion, this crosses an international, global red line. we agree that the regime's blatant disregard for the institutional norms that the global community has abided by for nearly a century, it is critical that those be upheld. >> let's go live in paris. hello, nate. i guess that was the big line, wasn't it? even though we're planning a military strike, we're looking for support for a military strike, there is no military solution? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. i mean, kerry has been traveling around europe in a real sort of shuttle diplomacy, as it were, to rally support to justify

potential intervention in syria. what he really, really wants is widespread public condemnation of the assad leadership. a little earlier on he said that as many as 10 countries had joined a broad coalition of the building, if it were, countries prepared to strike militarily. during the press conference a short while ago, he said that these countries will not be named for the time being, but the heads of these countries, officials from these nations need to go back to their own respective nations and make the case for intervention within their own governments and amongst the their own people. america is very much committed to a military strike. >> stay with me if you would. i want to listen to what the qatar foreign minister had to say in the news conference. >> translator: the syrian people have been asking the international community to intervene.

the killings started more than two and a half years ago, however, on august 21st it developed into the use of weapons of mass destruction and the use of chemical weapons. therefore, i don't believe the international community, if it really wanted to protect peace and security, can afford to stand still while an unarmed people is being attacked with these weapons. >> interesting line from the foreign minister saying there's been intervention for a long time already. when asked what they might do to intervene with the u.s., held the cards quite close to his chest again. >> he certainly did. to quote him, he said that qatar is examining what it can do together with friends. that was a key question from one of the journalists in the room, what tangible support the qataris could provide. the kind of support given in the libyan conflict where qatar provided air support and bases. as you said, the qatari foreign

minister keeps things very close to his chest indeed. as you said also, he does strongly believe that intervention is something that isn't new. it's not something we should talk about being a completely new thing taking place over the next few days and weeks. it's something going on since the conflict escalated in the middle east itself. >> live in paris for us on the news hour. thank you for that. in the studio with me is mark kim met and former deputy assistant secretary of twens for the middle east who was with me listening on to the news conference. what did you make of what john kerry had to say. maybe explain for our viewers who say there's a military strike planned but no military solution. >> i think that's exactly right. it is clear that secretary kerry's pushing for a military strike as part -- as a means to the eventual end of the syrian conflict. but the specific military strike he's talking about is only to --

has been said by the president numerous times to punish bashar al assad for the use of chemical weapons and future use and degrade it. >> he was at pains to point it out. it is about the chemical weapons. john kerry said that many people died from regular artilleries, but all the focus is on the chemical side of things. >> i think that's president obama's training as a lawyer. he has a legal case for the use of military force in syria, but has gone to pains to say this is limited and focused on the violation. there was a violation of chemical weapons convention. there need to be penalties for that. not only punishment but also a deterrent from future use of chemical weapons. that's a pandora's box as secretary kerry mentioned he doesn't want to see opened.

the unrestricted use of weapons in the battlefield or any other situation. >> i want to bring in iran. have a listen to this, because we have iran's foreign minister who says he doesn't believe president obama wants to attack syria. he warned any such attack would set the middle east on fire. let's have a quick listen to that. >> translator: we're trying to prevent a war in syria, because once it starting the warmongers won't be able to end it on their own. we know the u.s. president is trapped because he talked about going to war, even though he doesn't want to. we hope he gets out of this trap and doesn't set fire to this region. extinguishing it will be tough. with cooperation from our iraqi friends and other peace-seeking countries, we hope to prevent this war. >> to recap on a little bit again just for yourself or viewers, so he called the u.s.

warmongers, which is the rhetoric you might expect from iran. he also said he believes president obama doesn't want to do it. >> he's trying to make the jufksz justification that the only reason president obama is doing this is because he drew a red line. i find it interesting that iran who is a strong supporter of syria for the last few years has assisted in sending hezbollah into the conflict is looking to be the peace-maker in all of this. quite frankly iran's come police city in this entire situation is unmistable and under a government for president rhonhani, this is not the way to do it. >> thank you. russia's state's news agency says the government is sending a plane to evacuate the citizens. 90 people, mostly women and

children, actually flew to moscow last month. almost 730 russians have been evacuated since january. we want to look at what's happening inside syria. our correspondent -- i've just been told we lost our communications with omar unfortunately. we'll reconnect and talk about syria a little bit later. in northern egypt, the military says it has targeted rebel fighters in the sinai peninsula. helicopters were used to hit hideouts in villages near the town on rafa on the egypt/giza border. people in moscow have chosen to vote to chose a mayor. he's challenging the current mayor, who is backed by the kremlin. we report now from the russian capit capital. >> reporter: he's described as the man president putin fears most. the charismatic lawyer turned

anti-corruption campaigner is the first ever candidate to run a western-style political campaign here. >> translator: i hope the election campaign goes well today. there will be no violation, and i would like moscowites to express their will and choose the mayor they want and define the atmosphere they want to have. >> his slogan is change russia start with moscow is a mantra for the mainly young middle class supporters. >> i came here because i like him. he's the only one to try to change everything that happens in our country. >> reporter: his campaign video uploaded to youtube became a sensation tapping into social media to reach the voters. it was only two months ago he was sentenced to five years in a labor camp for embezzlement. political charges he said concocted for political reasons. in a surprise decision by the

prosecution, he was released on appeal allowing him to stand in the mayoral election, a deliberate decision by the kremlin says political commentators. >> translator: the kremlin needed him for moscow mayor to make his opponent win legally. you can't choose a may of the biggest russian city, a guy who would not be supported by majority. >> he's running again sergei, an old-school politician and ally of valid mere putin and member of his united russia party and current mayor of moscow. he's run a lackluster low profile campaign but with a huge party regime and a worthy but dull reputation for the problems. he's undeterred. he's happy with anything over 20% of the vote. that would send a clear message to the kremlin it could no

longer ignore the opposition. this election day may mark the day that protest politics came of age in russia. peter sharp, al jazeera in moscow. >> another location to look at this germany. chancellor merkel is pushing for support for the vote on september 22nd. we have nick spicer live in duseldorf for us. what's happening? >> reporter: angela merkel is speaking to delegates in the hockey arena behind me telling them 14 days to see their dream come true, to see her reelecteded as chancellor. this feels like a presidential election, because angela merkel has a 70% approval rating in the german public. it's her managing of the euro zone crisis that is lifting the fortunes of the christian democratic union. she's around 15 points ahead in the polls the social democratic

opposition. he has led a lackluster campaign. he has made repeated gaffes and he had a good debate with angela merkel in recent days, but it didn't give his campaign the boost he needs to seriously chang lenning angela merkel's lead and that of her christian democratic union. >> thank you for that nick. nick live for us. it's the day after election night for australia's prime minister-elect, but it started like any other for tony habbit. the new leader of the pack. we look at the impact of can ini bu s farming in the united states. >> there's increased concern that the impact has on the land, water, and rare creatures to who live in this delicate eco-system. raphael nadal set off a

dream final at the u.s. tennis open. we'll go back to syria now. we re-established communication with our correspondent near the border of syria. he can tell us about what's going on inside syria. a village and a battle for that. >> reporter: yes. the picture is murky, and the news trickling to us. we're not quite sure what's happening there, but let me tell you what i do know. for the last three days rebel groups and forces loyal to the government of president bashar al assad are trying to control the mainly chris christian town north of damascus. it has several churches and

around 90% or 95% living in the town are christians. what's interests ing is we heard they withdrew. we heard reports of fighting outside the town, and the two sides are trying to control it. what's interesting, though, a joint statement from the syrian national coalition as well as the free syrian army are blaming the assad government for trying to use and play on the sectarian and minority card saying that there are trying to portray the fighters in maloula as, quote, monsters. they said they are protecting all christian churches in the town. however, there were some mistakes. now, they didn't clarify what the mistakes were, but i think

they're trying to bring to attention the international community that also it will be in the interest of the government to create some problems to defavor the syrian revolution and the fighters. >> a lot of our focus on syria is what's happening about the talk of a military strieg. what can you tell us about preparations for that on both sides. >>le with -- well, preparations politically, of course, the head of the snc came back from a european tour and he's trying to gather support for a military strike. we understand in the next new days up to four days the snc is looking at choosing an interim prime minister. this is interesting because if president assad falls or there is a kient of military action that forces the syrian regime to collapse, then there would be some sort of an interim

government. even if it's syria for transition and their interest to pick an interim prime minister very quickly. on the other hand in terms of rebels, we are getting reports that they are coordinating with the americans. however, they did deny providing any list of targets to the americans, but they do say that they have their plans and their tactics and they would like -- they would like to take advantage of any military strike against the syrian government. >> thank you for that, omar, live from antakya. how the world is observing international literacy day. a u.n. reminder that education is a basic human right, but the latest information shows millions of people can't read or width write with the young worst affected. 123 million young people around the world are illiterate, and over half are female, 36 million. the majority live in south and west asia with 48 million of

them living in sub-saharan africa. we want to look specifically at afghanistan, which has been enrolling millions more children in schools over the past decade. nearly 40% of those getting an education are girls. as jennifer glass reports, despite the significant changes since the taliban was overthrown, many challenges stimuli ahead. >> this is one of afghanistan's model schools. in an upscale neighborhood of kabul. here girls study diverse subjects and virtually all will graduate the 12th grade. that's not how it is everywhere. in western afghanistan school is held in a tent, only half of schools across the country have actually buildings and less than a third of teachers have official qualifications. in eastern afghanistan there's a lock on the school door. >> translator: the taliban

closed this school three years ago. they said it's because girls shouldn't be in school. >> reporter: 34 schools are closed across the province, and the students and staff are under threat. >> translator: there have been recent incidents where teachers were affected by bombings and explosions, and some of our students have been killed in the crossfire. >> reporter: that's a problem educators are having all over the country. >> more than 400 injured. more than 100 were killed this career by the enemy of education. >> reporter: it's not just security that hinders education here. there are budget problems and corruption. even here in kabul there are schools in terrible condition. these were supposed to be brand-new classrooms fundedpy the world bank, but the private company that was supposed to build them ran away with the money. 2,000 children are studying in

classrooms with no window or roofs. when it rains, teaching stops. there's no protection from the heat or cold. the ministry of education says the contract company should come back and finish what they were supposed to do years ago. jennifer glass, al jazeera, kabul. >> two more examples of the security problems in afghanistan. at least six people have been killed in a suicide bombing in wardoch province. it happened at the entrance. they say four of those kills were intelligence personnel. the governor of the kunar province says 16 people were killed and 12 were civilians. nato says 10 were killed and all he were fighters. steph has a check on the whether now. >> for some of us in north america and not just the united

states, also our canadian friends as well. the temperatures rocket through the next couple of days. recently, though, it's been in the western parts of the states where we've been seeing these kind of pitches. this is called the rim fire. that's in california, and it's now officially the third largest in the history of state. so certainly a very large fire there. to the east of that we have all the showers. you can see them marching towards the north, and you have this massive area of clouds here giving up heavy downpours. it will continue up through the northeast there. winnipeg will get around 19 degrees and it's very, very wet. here's the temperature charts then as we head through monday into tuesday. you see the dark reds here indicating where that hot weather is. it pushes northward into tuesday. more of us see the temperatures rise. so toronto only at 21, but by

the time we get to tuesday we're up to 31. it really will be a very hot day. there is some rain around, though, and that's certainly worth watching out for. it will head over winnipeg there on monday. it's edging towards the east and winnipeg should brighten up. more in the way of sunshine there and 25 degrees will be the maximum temperature, which feel pleasant with the snipe. the rain edges eastward. we'll catch a few showers in ottawa . thank you. >> you're quite right. we can't forget our canadian friends here. the calderon used for 1964 olympic flame has been relit in tokyo in celebration. the japanese capital beat out is tal bull and madrid providing a lift for a country still dealing with the nuclear reaction in fukushima. >> reporter: these intercollege games are held on the weekend japan found out they will host the 2020 summer olympics.

soon after the news, organizers lit a flame in anticipation of the games returning to the city. some where in this crowd could be a future olympian competing on home ground in seven years. >> translator: i was so glad tokyo won. i'll try to do my best because i want to represent japan in the marathon. >> translator: in 2020 i'll be 28. it will be a good age to compete in discus. >> reporter: this was tokyo's moment. >> the international olympic committee has the honor of announcing that the games of the 32nd olympiad in 2020 are awarded to the city of tokyo! >> reporter: here's what helped tokyo win. superior infrastructure. japan's public transport system is world class and dependable. it's hosted big sporting events

pr and has several facilities already in place. one is the national stadium where the 1964 opening ceremony was held. it's set to undergo a billion dollar refurbishment. this bustling met police is known for the low crime rate. they emphasized their reliability and safety. safety is in doubt because of japan's nuclear priesdz. the fukushima daiichi plant crippled in 2011 is still leaking radiation. government officials spent the last week trying to reassure the international community it will be under control by 2020. the prime minister left a g-20 meeting in russia early to fly to buenos aires ahead of the vote. >> some may have concerns about fume fukushima. let me assure you that the situation is under control. >> reporter: that strategy

appears to have helped. so tokyo will have the hopper of hosting the olympics more than once, joining a list of only four other cities. the government says it will mean a boost to the economy and help inspire a nation that had to teal with an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. florence lui, al jazeera, tokyo. >> with that 2020 host city announced, i assume they're decides which sport from three short-listed should be added to the games. we have paul reese in the studio a bit earlier to talk about this. >> we have wrestling and a combination between base baseball and softball and squash. perhaps the most interesting store is -- >> wrestling. i've seen it before in the olympics. >> it's been in the olympics for nearly 3,000 years now, since the first games in 1776 b.c., which i think we tried to get tickets for. >> we missed out. >> they got a real shock in

february when they were cut from the games by the ioc, the international olympic committee. it's really made them think about themselves, and they say it's the best and worst thing that could possibly happen to them, because they have come back and made it -- tried to make it more of a speculator sport and brought in more events for women and brought women onto their executive committee. >> is that why they got cut in the first place? >> one reason that's being mooted is that the ioc felt wrestles had become stagnant. it let itself go a little bit. so there's almost a theory here that maybe cutting wasn't really a serious move to have it should noted out of the olympics, but to give it a shock needed to modernize it. that's the theory anyway. >> does that make it the front-runner ahead of the baseball/softball hybrid and the squash? is it the favorite for that? >> it's believed to be the favorite. the ioc is quite a traditional

organization. they want to keep the core sports in the olympics really. wrestling has this almost 3,000-year history in the olympics and has been in every once since the first one in 1896. there's a feeling they want to keep it. it's hard to predict really. they also have to apply 39 criteria for which sport they keep in the olympics, so that can mean anything from whether a sport lives up to olympic values, whether there's respect for athletes and popular. they have to apply this to squash and baseball softball. squash is a popular sport, and even people here at al jazeera play it. has problems getting interest. >> with due respect to quash, perhaps not the most exciting to watch? >> that's the sports presenter to nicole david, women's world number one.

that was dpieting for him. it's hard to make that books look particularly engaging. baseball and softball are visually engaging. the olympics is right in the middle of the mlb season. it's hard to get athletes to participate. >> thank you for that. i was going to ask about baseball and softball, but we need more time to talk about that. paul is coming back to talk to the rest of the sports. we'll see you then. also still ahead on this news hour, we're looking at africa. kenya's leaders pay thousands of dollars to people displaced by the fighting, but there are questions about their motives. on patrol in mowing deshee. seo mali security forces face huge challenges trying to bring about order.

[[voiceover]] every day, events sweep across our country.

u.s. secretary of state john kerry says syria needs a political, not a military solution. the comment followed talks with members of arab league in paris. he's trying to gather support. iran's foreign minister doesn't believe the u.s. president wants to attack syria but he's caught in a trap. he warned a war would light a fire that could burn the whole region. he said if the strikes take place, they would not allow iraq to be used as a fence. iraq is already deeply involved

with syria. more than 53 refugees have crossed into northern iraq. we talk about the challenges facing them. >> reporter: this is the front line force along the iraqi kurdistan border with syria. these forces, the word meaning willing to die for the cause, used to be a militia force of fighting for kurdish rights. now it operates under the kurdish regional government, and the kr g is a state within iraq. this brigadier general is on a visit to the border, and he doesn't deny what faces him there. >> translator: we face massive challenges with the refugee crisis, of smuggling and terrorists going across the border, but we need newer and better equipment, particularly for surveillance. >> reporter: here at the border crossing, you can see some of the challenges. between 1,000 and 1500 refugees arrive here every day. the soldiers search for illegal

goods or weapons. more often than not do they find lost remnants of a life they left behind. for many just getting here has been grueling enough. >> translator: it took me two days to walk here. there was fighting in my village. the army, the terrorists, i don't know who, i feared for my life. only god knows what i will find here. >> reporter: it's not just these people that use the border. some of these refugees have been walking for days to get from syria, which is over there, to iraqi kurdistan. they use the official border crossing, which is clearly marked. huge parts aren't clearly marked and armed groups are using that to their advantage. take this place, for example. beyond this ditch is syria. at night the forces place guards every 10 meters, but still fighters linked to al qaeda and other groups get across other less secure points. the federal government says they're responsible for much of

the fighting in baghdad. the responsibility for patrolling the western border falling to iraq's federal government. the other side is patrolled by mama lish ya calling itself the democratic union party of syria known as the pyd. relations between them are tension, and they say they have no contact with them. if there is any military action against the syriea syrian regim posts will come under pressure here and on the western border as well. there will be more refugees entering iraq and more fighters in and out of syria. that means that the regional spillover will get worse putting these men under more pressure in a country torn apart by sectarian violence, ethnic tensions and war. barack obama has a big task ahead of him, doesn't he, to sell this idea of strikes on

syria. look at the week ahead. monday he will do interviews with six major television news anchors broadcast later on that day in an appeal to the american public. that's also the day congress will return from recess. obama delayed military strikes so the members could vote on the issue. when exactly they'll do that is uncertain. on tuesday he will push the syrian cause to the public again. this is a televised address to the nation. then wednesday a symbolic day, the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, also the day the senate could vote on syria. let's talk through some of this with kimberly. she's live in the washington news center for us. this is a big challenge for president obama. we know he's a great orator, but he has a lot of wo, to convince the american people who don't want more war. >> there's a lot of work to be done. that's for sure not just with the american people but also with the lawmakers, the majority saying they haven't made up their mind. that's why there is still a very

intense campaign going on. in addition to these interviews that the president will be giving that you mention there, we know right now the sunday chat shows, of course, under way here in washington heavily watched by policymakers, lawmakers, of course. the white house chief of staff making the round on those chat shows making the case. also, too, the president we know has been personally calling members of congress along with his staff. at least two-thirds of senators have received some sort of phone call and discussion as well as we're told up to half of the house. this is an enormous number of members and to as well the senate intelligence committee leased a series of videos, in fact, that shows the alleged aftermath of the 21st of august chemical attack in damascus. we're told that this is, again, to make the case and to try and convince lawmakers making that very critical vote the middle of

this week, one that i be the biggest quote of their careers. >> what a fascinating week ahead. australia's prime minister-elect has arrived by bo bo boat. andrew thomas has the report from sydney. >> for tony abbott, almost almost like any other. >> how does it feel to bake up and be prime minister-elect? >> it was an extraordinary day yesterday. >> reporter: abbott's victory gave him a big mandate on his priorities, which including scrapping a carbon tax on pollution he says is damaging the economy. his government will trim budgets cutting funding for foreign aid and public transportation and it will toughen a tough policy towards refugees that head to australia by boat. he also has priorities thrust

upon him, potentially to back the united states in strikes against syria. after his bike ride, it was on with the suit for meetings with officials. >> they provide with this very swift incoming government brief. >> reporter: all this as many australians were still waking up, some to news of the blissful shift. australians are slow to warm to abbott, a man seen as socially conservatives and someone they say has a problem with women. >> a lot of people said he was unelectable. because he has a good team of spin doctors around him, they have kept him under control. that's the key issue. how he behaves once he's into government fully we have to yet to find out. >> the losing labor party needs a new leader following the resignation of outgoing prime

minister kevin rudd. one likely candidate was quick to blame disunity for the defeat. international feuds had led to the dumps of two prime ministers in three years. >> a political party talking about itself will get marked down by the australian people. >> the spotlight is off the labor and on the coming man. even if the labor government last the election, the outcome is the same. a big mandate to implement a big agenda. andrew thomas, al jazeera, sydney. this week kenya's deputy president will go on trial at the international criminal court. william rutto is accused of crimes against humanity during the postelection violence in 2008 when 1,200 people were killed and thousands more evicted from homes. for some of the survivors, things are changing for the better. from western kenya katherine soy has more. >> reporter: after six years

these people are hoping to get their lives back. each person receives a check for about 4 four and a half thousand dollars to start over. they are forced out of their homes in 2008 by post-electional battles that killed more than 1,200 people. >> translator: we need to get rid of this national shame. we need the affected people to have a decent shot at life. we need to do this now. >> reporter: this is one of the last stops for people made homeless because of battle. it's closing as they get ready to hear cases again them. they're accused of crimes against humanity. the deputy president's case at the hague starts on tuesday, and it is here where he's accused of planning activities that led to murder, forceful evictions and rape.

but it's also here where william rutto has the most support. its his home base. some opposition politicians say they need to resettle the displaced now is part of a charmed offensive ahead of the trial. the reasons don't matter, but she's just happy to get out of her tent for good. >> i'm going to look for ways of for buying a piece of land. i need to make my decision very carefully. >> reporter: it may be six years later, but as she packs up, she's determined to make the best of what has been given to her now. a much-attempted nelson mandela film had the big screen premiere in canada. it shows his early years and through his inauguration.

british actor elber who plays mandela said the role meant a lot to him. >> i could be here all night with the personal reasons, but it is a massive achievement for me. it's almost like a pinnacle. i don't know if i want to act much after this. so mallians say they carried out the aat that time in mogadishu. the government is marking its first year in office, and in a series of recent attacks highlighted the administration's lack of control. this from mohammed. >> reporter: these other men are struggling to bring back order in somalia's volatile cap taffle mogadishu. they're members of the police force and can't afford to relax. they remain on the streets day and night tlieing to stop attacks. there's ieds and suicide

bombings still almost every day, but the president believes that a loot has been achieved in the past year. >> the throws hand grenades here and there killing spepeople in city is what is going on now. a year ago we were having a front in mogadishu where they were fighting. i don't know that security is deteriorating. >> reporter: for the first time in 20 years people feel confident enough to come out and enjoy themselves on the pure white sands of the beach, the city's most popular stretch of the indian ocean coast. while the stream of returnees, investors and aide workers to mogadishu is endless, it has not been replicated else where the in the country. they say power behind mogadishu is a shark reminder of the huge

challenges. outside the capital, the government has little influence with most of them divided and in areas controlled by groups. how to bring the country back together is one of the government's biggest priority. >> the challenge for the government is actually to build partnerships with the de facto authorities across the country to unify them. >> reporter: the somali president says that will take some time. >> we're no longer in conflict, and that has affected the fabrics of our society. bring them back together, and unify them in the long term. >> with three years to go before it ends, they're comfortable they can't bring stability to somalia. the magnitude remains house

tile. mogadishu, somalia. how marijuana is hurting some burial parts of california. after new york yankees are taught a lesson by the boston red sox, we'll find out how they made in that stadium in just a moment. (vo) every sunday night

we talk more about the olympic decision. >> keep rumbling on. tokyo was chosen as the host city for 2020 olympic games on

saturday. there's still a nervous wait on sunday for fans and athletes of three sports to see whether they'll participate. >> reporter: the race for squash and a combined bid from softball and baseball all fighting for one spot at the 2020 olympic games. international olympic committee will choose which of the three will be included in its meeting in buenos aires in sunday. the front-runner is wrestle, a mainstay at the games since ancient times. it was cut from the program in february, but it's done enough to be up for reinstatement. a new focus on female athletes is one of the reforms wrestling has brought in as it grasp pells to real estate gain itself place. >> this is probably the be best/worst thing that happened to wrestlinwrestling.

i'm excited what has happened as a female wrestler, the direction that fila has been taking to improve our station within fila and all over the world. >> the olympics is going to be a recreational sport for a lot of people, and that's our worry. i know what a gold medal meant for me, canada, and nigeria. i hope millions of kids will have that opportunity. >> the squash is the last attempt to be included in the olympics for the very first time. women's world number one nicole david of malaysia is 30 and this will be her last chance to be a olympian. the wider desire is to get more young players involved around the world. >> translator: squash in general gives us and most of the just a minutians -- egypts -- egyptians a sense of pride.

i believe that winning a goad medal, whoever wins in the middle east, will have a profound impact on everyone in the region. >> reporter: baseball and softball had to merge to form a new confederation to be considered after last appearing in 2008. it includes antonio castro, the son of former cuban president fidel. >> translator: this is a very good moment about baseball and softball and for it coming back to the lovely olympic games. >> reporter: whichever sport is chosen will give hope, while thousands may find the podium forever a step too high. al jazeera is in buenos aires awaiting that decision in the next couple of hours. teresa, what stage have we reached now in this voting process, ands why is this so important?

>> reporter: even though the big decision here in buenos aires was made on saturday, that's where the olympic games will takes, there's another big decision taking place here. three federations are trying very, very hard to be part of the olympic games and that's softball, baseball, wrestling and squash. we know that right now they're presenting their cases in front of the olympic committee. we've seen some very strange things here in a way. we see cuba and the united states working together to be part of the olympics. we've seen fidel castro's son, antonio castro, here making a presentation saying that the fate of at least 60 children around the world, most of them located in cuba, the united states and japan is at stake. we also know, for example, that wrestling is making a very, very big stand, and we also know that in the past for russian president vladimir putin, for example, met with the ioc president in order to tell him in a way they hope the ioc will

make a fair vote. it's all about sports but a lot about politics here. >> a moment ago we were looking at live pictures of the delegates at the ioc conference. what do these three sports think of their chances right now? >> reporter: well, there was a time in history where there was certain criteria on which sports could be in the olympics. they have to be played in 60 countries, at least 70 currents around the world, be able to be broadcasted and have a federation. slowly the ioc started to bend the rules, and then rugby and fwofl were included in the 2016 olympics with huge, of course, contracts with tielevision. that's where he especially wrestling and baseball and softball saw their chance. when softball and baseball came together and aulgs wrestling is muching very, very hard.

we have to see what happens. the votes will happen in two hours. >> hopefully we'll hear from you when that vote is made. sebastian bundle has a comfortable position. he was barely challenged. it's his 32nd race win in total. alonso finished second. biddle now stands at 53 points. to tennis and the men's final at the u.s. open will be a battle of heavyweights with doak vich to face nadal. the swiss showed no nefshs in the first grand slam semi as he pushed the world's number one to five sets put he struggled to keep his temper in check at times. one game lasted 21 # minutes in the final set.

djokovik won. >> i found a way to adjust and win. that's what counts, and i'm happy i won in five sets again. mentally it's going to help me, and physically i'm fine. you know, i haven't been spending much time on the court before this match today. >> raphael nadal's semifinal was more straightforward. he won in straight sets, his unbeaten run on hard courts this season. now stands at 21 matches and hopes to make it 22 on monday. >> i prefer another one. we all have to be honest. we don't have to be stupid. i want to play against a player that i have more chances to win again, but i play him a lot of

times. we always play very exciting matches. >> the highest scorest team in major league battle is at it again. the red sox were fresh from scoring 20 runs from detroit when they arrived in new york to face the yankees on saturday. well, the red sox put themselves out of sight as early as the fifth inning by opening up a 12-3 advantage. jonny gomes is helping out with a three-run homer. boston won this one 13-9. bogarts is weighing in as well. it's the first time in more than a 100 years the visiting team has scored nine runs and more in three straight games. mike napoli here completed the scoring, and boston topped the american league east. a man who is considered basketball's official -- unofficial all-time high scorer is inducted into the hall of fame on sunday. oscar schmidt scored 49,737 points in a career lasting

nearly 30 years. he was drafted by the new jersey nets in 1984 but never reported to the seem so he could be an amateur for the brazilian national team. he's not only play to score more than 1,000 points at the olympics. team new zealand claim an early arrive in the american cup. they beat oracle in the first two races in san francisco bay. they won by 36 seconds, the second by 52. team new zealand needs to win nine of the seven races to claim the series as oracle would dock two points for illegal modifications. further two races are scheduled for sunday. there's more on our website, check out aljazeera.com and details how to get in touch with our team using twitter and facebook. marijuana use in the united states is on the rise according to the department of health. an increase due in part to the

legislation -- legalization of the drug in several states for medicinal and recreational use. however, in california the bigger dmant has a negative effect on the environment. this is from rob reynolds. in humboldt county california, cannabis is king. there are more than 4,000 pot parms and gardens and greenhouses and even a growers association. >> i think the responsible grower, they really take pride in what they're doing. they want to see they've living on their homestead and loving the environment. >> reporter: the u.s. federal government outlaws cannabis, but california allows major juan that for medicinal purposes. satellite images show forest land bulldozed for marijuana growing. as the demand for cannabis keeps

growing, there's increasing concern about the impact that unregulated marijuana cultivation has on the land, the water the and rare creatures who live in this delicate eco-system. these are the final moments of a fisher a shy weasel-like animal dying an agonizing death from rat poison spread by marijuana growers. poisoned animals are one impact on this land known for towering redwoods and unspoiled coastline. since the crop is not fully legal, growers don't bother to seek permits or follow land use rules. scientists are charting the proliferation of the marijuana grow. >> this big dot here is probably six greenhouses. >> these are hundreds of them in. >> there's 500 in this watershed. >> the most severe impact is on streams, some of which have been sucked nearly dry to water cannabis plants. >> once they clear the land,

they don't worry about where the sentiment is going. >> it gives humble towns like eureka a prosperous sheen. >> it affects everybody in humboldt county. a recent study showed 1 out of every 4 dollars comes in our economy through this industry. >> they say federal prohibition creates a free-for-all environment. >> the federal government is looking at the marijuana and ignoring all of the other impacts around it. all of the other impacts around it were any other industry would be completely regulated. >> americans demand for marijuana and their government's endless war on drugs are combining to threaten a place of supreme beauty. that is your news hour here on al jazeera. very busy news day for us. we're back with plenty more after the break. you can always keep with the headlines if you want. all the breaking news at

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hello. i'm del walters. secretary of state john kerry is in europe at this hour trying to convince a skeptical international community to support military intervention in syria. kerry says the number of countries that have afwreeed to a strong international response is in the double-digits, but that list has not yet been made public. later today kerry will travel to london where he will meet with the british foreign minister, william hague. even as the u.s. government continues to make its case, protesters are taking to the streets to make theirs. anti-war demonstrations are being held across the country this