>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ >> hello and welcome to the news hour. it's good to have you here with us. syria agrees to the russia-backed plan to hand over its chemical weapons. syria's opposition says it is a delaying tactic as fighting still rages on inside of the country. kenya's president pleads not guilty to charges of crimes

against humanity. and four men are convicted for the gang rape and murder that caused nationwide protest. >> coming up the race is on to be president of the international liolympic committ would the world record holder in pole vault make the leap to the top spot. syria is supporting a russia-backed proposal to place its chemical weapons under international control. rebels have called the initiative lies of the regime and just to buy time. barnaby phillips is in moscow for us, james bays is at the un, kimberly is in washington, d.c.,

and omar is here the turkish border. but first this report. >> reporter: as countries cue up to endorse a plan to place chemical weapons under international control, the immediate threat of u.s. strikes is subsiding. >> a solution, perhaps, which would allow syria to take off of its weapons and put it under inernational control. have you had a conversation with president putin about that? >> i have. and my intentions out there this process has been to ensure that the blatant use of chemical weapons that we saw doesn't happen again. if in fact there's a way to

accomplish that diplomatically, that is overwhelmingly my preference. >> reporter: from the president to those who would have worked hard to resist the attack. support the russian proposal as long as it is a proposal that help stop the current situation in syria. >> translator: the islamic republican of iran welcomes to initiative. >> reporter: emerging as washington right hand in europe, france has promised to move matters to the united nations. >> translator: we have decided to take the initiative, france will submit a resolution before the un security council, and the process be start this very day.

. >> translator: we are currently working to prepare a workable precise plan with the syrian side. we're hoping to present this plan soon. >> reporter: and britain has called for immediate steps to show the process is credible. >> we have to make sure that this is not just a distraction tactic. that it is not another attempt to place obstacles in the way of resolving these issues, so i think the oh -- ownous is on russia and syria to show this is credible. >> reporter: no one knows exactly how and how long the process make take. but it may yet produce a break through.% it won't end syria's civil war, it may however prevent an international escalation.

>> barnaby philips is in moscow with us. so they have come up with a plan, what do we know of it? >> well, we have the word of flushing it out. they say it will be effective. it will be concrete. it will be shown to the other major powers, obviously including the united states, and it will be put before the unitedations security council. that's the brood outline. as to the details, the practicalities, the time frame, we don't know anything at all yet, so there's any reason depending on whether you believe the russians and syrians are acting in good faith or bad faith, we simply don't know yet where the plan will go, whether

it will be acceptable to the other great powers that are so invested in the syrian crisis. >> james bays is at the un in new york. james now france has a resolution of sorts. what does that entail? >> well, it seems that the french have decided that they are going to go down this route, but they are going to test the route as quickly as possible to see if the russians and the syrians are serious. we know some details of what is ging to be in the resolution. because the prime minister said that president assad must first come clean about all of the chemical weapons he has and their whereabouts. and syrian must sign up to the prohibitin of chemical weapons. there are other points of the rsolution that might be

controversial. he is saying they want the assad regime to find those responsible for the attack on the 21st of august, and second them to the international criminal court. and the other area that could be contentious is france wants this backed by chapter 7 of the un charter. that means they can have force to back thissup. >> so james, the un now at the center of trying to resolve this conflict, but how long is going to take for them to bring the resolution and to move forward. >> with regard to the french resolution, we understand diplomats are there, and they will probably speak very early

on to the us and uk. we had a british resolution a matter of days ago, and that was taken to the permanent five members, those that have a veto. the western nations, uk, france, us, and the russians and the chinese. they would have a meeting of those five nations to see if the resolution had any chance and then probably if -- if that was positive, that meeting, it would be taken to the full security counsel. this normally takes a matter of days, but these are unusual times. >> james bays thank you. as the rest of the world talks about what to do for syria, what do the syrians think? omar is near the border of syria, so what is the opposition saying about all of this?

>> well, they are not happy with it, to be frank, and i have spoken to several sources within the opposition. they are not happy indeed. and in fact they are calling on the west and the u.s. to continue to carry out the strike against president assad for what they say is the chemical use of weapons against innocent civilians. now they have issued a statement saying the russian proposal does not address the issue of accountability for crimes against innocent people. it's a political strategy aimed at gaining more time which would allow president assad to continue killing his own people. this is, of course according to the statement. >> and as far as turkey goes, turkey involved in a different kind of way. they are syria's neighbor, they have been accepting a lot of reugees, what is their stance?

>> well, they welcomed the movement. they said that any country that decides to hand over their chemical weapons is a very good development. however, he calls on the international community that such move should not dilute the west from punishing the government for using chemical weapons against its own people. the prime ministr of this country called for a wider and tougher intervention against the syrian government to force the syrian president to accept [ inaudible ] his own departure, so there is no change within the turkish stance with regards to pushing for military intervention against syria. >> omar, thank you very much. okay. we can now go to the u.s. in washington where kimberly is standing by. barack obama of course making the rounds through the

television stations and expected to address the nation. now with all of the diplomatic flurry we have been seeing and talk of the new resolution, give us an idea of what barack obama will be saying or is expecting to address the nation with. >> women, we'll get a little bit of a peak and perhaps a preview of what he might be saying, because before he makes that national address in prime time this evening in washington, he is going to be here on capitol hill where he will be talking to members of congress, democrats and republicans who want to attend. we're expecting the president to talk about the fact that he believes that still there is a case for limited strikes. this diplomatic break through would not have come throughout the pressure that has been apply by the united states. but there certainly has been some language in recent hours

from the president in those interviews that he gave that indicated that he was looking resolution that would avoid a military strike, telling one network that it would be good for the congress to come up with language that avoids a strike, but accomplishes key goals to make sure that lessons are not used. that proposal has not yet been introduced in the senate that would provide an 45-day period for assad to sign a ban on chemical weapons, and give the president 90 days to conduct a strike if that is not signed. this up until now had absolutely no support here in the senate. but now that the vote has been delayed there is this language that is being entertained. >> kimberly, thank you very much. i would like to thank all four of our correspondents for

helping us cover all angles regarding the situation in syria. well inside syria there has been heavy shelling on the out skirts. these pictures have been uploaded on the internet. they appear to show government forces hitting rebel strong holds. and governments have been trying to enter rebel areas on the out skirts of damascus. and part of the capitol of damascus has also been hit. rebel organization committees sarah -- say regime forces v been hitting them. the military says six tanks are going to the southern port

city. bernard smith as more. >> the philippine army is surrounding six villages where gunmen are holed up. the standoff began on monday when the military arrested five members who were wearing combat uniforms and carrying pistols in a suburb of the town. at least eight people were killed in the gun battle that broke out on the streets of this crowded port city. more than a thouand residents fled their homes. the mmlf want an independent muslim region in the south of this mainly catholic country. it launched an attack as the government was about to launch peace talks. the mmls felt left out of the

negotiations. the rebellion has endured for more than 42 years. those who managed to escape this fighting, sheltered in a sports stadium. others spent a night sleeping on the streets. bernard smith, al jazeera. okay. plenty more to come on this particular. we'll be speaking exclusively to an afghan politician after she has been released by the taliban. and an incredible comeback in new york. paul will be here with that story and more. ♪ kenya's president has pleaded not guilty to crimes against humanity in the international criminal court. he is accused of inciting

violence after the elections in 2007. more than 1,000 kenyans died and 600,000 were made homeless. we have comprehensive coverage of this story. katherine is in kenya, but first tim is at the hague. tim you have of course been watching the proceedings, what have you seen and heard? >> what we have been hearing is the detail behind those kind of headline facts that you have must been mentioning. all of those people displaced, persecuted, deported, made homeless, some of them still are in kenya. of course many, many people killed, more than one thousand. we have been hearing some of the incidents that took place in the valley when these two defendants according to the prosecution at least, exploited historical

ethnic tensions in kenya for their own political advantage. and there was one dreadful moment when people took shelter from the fighting in a church. the church was set on fire. people were burned to death. many were crushed and killed in the panic, and even though who managed to escape were later gunned down, and there have been descriptions also of the fighters going into action and singing tribal war songs before they went in to attack and terrifying everybdy, elderly people, women, children, and those amongst the fighters who refused to take part, we're told, according to the prosecution were flogged or had cattle taken away from them, and those who did take part were later given so-called cleansing

ceremonies to absolve them of any guilt. so it has been a very graphic day in court as the prosecution outlines its case. we're now beginning to hear from the defense who say the prosecution case is flawed; that they have got the wrong people. they are relying on unreliable witnesses who may have their own motives for trying to pin the blame on these two defendants, the vice president and the broadcaster radio station chief wo is his codefender who is accused of exacerbating the violence by airing hatred on his radio station. >> tim, thank you. katherine soy is in western kenya. katherine as we heard from the prosecution there who are recounting the events that hand after the 2007 elections, what is the reaction there, where you ar, to the trial?

>> the people here just want justice. the whole day i have at this camp of these people who were displaced in 2008 -- what happened so that their life was disrupted so much. they want to know who was responsible? and we're joined by james who was displaced in 2008. he lost all of his property. it has been six years now, do you expect justice? are you hopeful? >> we have a lot of doubt as of now. we're not sure we are going to get any justice, but we're waiting to see what the outcome will be. we're not very certain, but we want to know the truth as to what happened. but of course, we are lacking confidence in the whole process. >> the community here, have they really reconciled or is there

mistrust? >> there is still an element of mistrust, but we have reconciled because of the political affiliation, but there is still some work to be done so people can be fully and well reconciled and exist cohesively. >> reporter: there have been a lot of calls by politicians and other groups as well, to have these cases tried logically, and a lot of people say this case should be brought back home. would you trust a home-grown solution? >> [ inaudible ] that it is political, following the events that are take place, even following the process that continue, we are getting to feel that it is political for sure. we may not be holy [ inaudible ] but there are other reasons that are prompting us to think that

it will be fairer for us, because we need to continue living with these people. this is what is prompting us to say let it be done locally for the benefit of us who are living in this community. >> reporter: thank you very much. so there are those who support a home grown solution, but there are those who are saying they wouldn't trust a home grown system because the system could be subject to compromise. >> thank you very much for that. at least 60 people have been killed in gun battles in the central african republic since saturday. it is 150 kilometers north of the capitol. gunmen have been battling the group which overthrow the president. 30,000 people have fled the

region. pakistan says it is ready to release an afghan taliban commander. he is considered one of the highest ranking taliban leaders, to help the afghan peace process. let's go to islam ma bad, kammal who is this man? >> he is karl roved to be the number two man in the taliban. he was the trusted attendant of omar, however, in february of 2010 he was arrested. the afghan government demanded that he should be handed over immediately to the authorities. however, a stay order was obtained after a petitioner said that he would not be safe in afghanistan, and after that he

was kept in custody in pakistan, so he is high on the list of demands by the afghan government. they have wanted his release. the pakistanis said that when they had no problem in releasing all of the taliban prisoners that [ inaudible ] and the senior advisor to the prime minister is now saying that he will be released, perhaps as early as this month, but they dd not specify where he would be released. they did also say he would not be handed over to the afghan authorities. just a few days ago, pakistan released another batch of seven taliban prisoners. so there was some talk that it may go to a third country. there may be talks between the afghan leadership and the taliban, however, recently

confidents have shut down the idea of any correct talks. >> kammal with the latest from pakistan on the releast of a tall ban leader. thank you very much. at least eight firefighters have been injured tackling bush fires west of sydney. there are over 40 fires across north south whales. hundreds of firefighters have been brought in to help contain the blaze. we can now get the weather with everton. >> thanks very much. it was the hot winds that caused these bush fires. and it's a similar pitch on the other side of the pacific. look at the heat coming from the north, striking the heat down across northern parts of

argentina. and a similar setup here, and we have seen wildfires breaking out. over the next couple of days we will see the heat abating slightly, but not too much. it stays dry as we go through wednesday and into thursday. then some cooler air starts to push in. temperatures around 23 degrees with some rain starting to push its way in. we have seen some big fires breaking out just around yosemite park, but to the east of san francisco this blaze has been burning away for the last couple of days. it is burning around some of that dense grass and timber near the state park. the real warmth is making its way up to the great lakes. the international committee

is meeting in banest aries. who is the front runner in this? >> well, some very big decisions have taken place here in ben noi noise -- this tuesday it's going to be determining who the next president is going to be. this is the ioc president's last day. when he was elected 12 years ago, he imposed some tough legislation after serious

scandals within the legislation. he has signed enormous tv and sponsorship deals, and has had a zero tolerance within the ioc. the oic has been historically a european club. seven of the eight have been from europe, and that seems it is not going to be an exception today. the favored man is the vice president of the ioc now. it is said he has to be a man that is able to bring up the talent inside. he also is supposed to bring stability within the organization. the second man is from puerto rico, and has signed a very important television deal for the ioc, so he is the second favor. of course we'll have to see later today, we're expecting the

voting to start within the coming hour, and we'll ve the name of the next president within the next two hours, probably. we'll have more on this later in the program. and the athletes that are bridging the divide between north and south korea. i'm in san francisco with a look at why americans work longer hours than just about anyone else on earth.

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>> hello, again, let me take you through our top stories on al jazeera. syria is supporting a russia-backed proposal to place its chemical weapons under international control. but rebels is saying it is lies to buy time. and the kenyan president is on trial for crimes against humanity. and pakistan says it is ready to release an afghan taliban commander. it has decided to release one of the highest-ranking taliban leaders after the superpople leader. we can now go back to our top story, syria's chemical weapons. there have been a lot of

developments in the past few hours, so we're going to bring you up to date.% france is going to the united nations with a proposal to control syria's whim call weapons. the russian government is working with the assad government on a plan to bring the arsenal under international control. for more on this, we are joined by professional of political signs at [ inaudible ] university. firstly, is this the solution? is this the way to stop military strikes and can you see this as the way forward, or are you in line with all of the skepticism which has been expressed by the syrian international coalition and other members of the security council. >> i think we're talk about a

solution to the chemical weapons not the syrian crisis, and at the end of the day all of this goes ash the chemical problem, and this is -- i think the security of the region, and i think because of development that might happen in the future, we [ inaudible ] assad regime as a blessing, and obama's blessing too, because there was a line and now he is backing off. that's not suggesting i am promilitary action, but we're all about saving the syrian people, i think. chemical weapons is what the united states is interested in saving. >> that's right. that has been largely ignored. everyone is talking about the resolution. let's say we focus on the resolution, and let's say they do decide to give the chemical wapons to the international

community. that can take time. it can take up to a couple of years, one, to find them, and then two, to hand them over. what happens to the people of syria during this time? >> i think you have to ask the people supporting the resolution, the united nation. i think nothing will happen. and this is going to be the perception of the public here in the middle east. nobody is interested about human beings. syria has lost so far 100,000 peole in the past year and a half, and these people i think are -- more -- more killing. and this all goes around chemical weapons, not, i think finding a political solution for the syrian crisis. and if you go back to the objectives that was set by barack obama about degrading the military power, i'm not sure how this will effect the syrian

regime. p>> very, very few answers, but very quickly, why do you think syria has agreed so readily? >> i think you just mentioned a few minutes ago. syria is isolated. it is on its own. nobody is going to help syria in terms of military support. i think syria is isolated. the only states supporting syria is iran and hezbollah, and syria maybe is going to buy time, they are seeing the political map around the world, there is no support for military strike, and this is maybe a way out for them. >> thank you very much for speaking to us. >> you're welcome. >> and coming into the studios. four men have been convicted of the gang rape and murder of a woman on a bus in new delhi. the case lead to nationwide

protests in december. the family of the victim has called for the death penalty. defense lawyers say they will appeal the verdict. >> translator: they are accused of some very poor families and means. this has come under pressure from the ruling government. the verdict is catered to please the consciousness of the masses. these people are innocent and should have been acquitted. >> and here is more from new delhi. >> nine months after the rape of a 23-year-old student here in new delhi. a special fast-track court has announced the four accused in the case are convicted of the crime. there is tremendous public pressure for the maximum death penalty. behind me there has been intense

public interest in this race in india and oversea, under the pressure the government has changed several laws related to sex crimes in india. they have also increased punishment for convicted rapists, but many activists say these changes don't go far enough. they say that marital rape for example in india is still not considered a crime, and they are asking the court and the politicians to do more to make india safer for women. as india comes to terms with crimes against women, a new survey, almost a quarter of men have surveyed have admitted to rape. the men were questioned in these six countries. the results varied. six in ten admitted to rape. bagladesh recorded the lowest

figures with only 10% admitting rape there. >> it points to the fact that we really need to prioritize prevention. we need to try to stop violence from occurring in the first place, and that means addressing these underlying causes that we have learned from talking to men themselves, including, for example, this idea that to be a man you need to be tough or dominating over women. so we need to change that, and create a new model of what it means to be a man that is more caring and equitable and peaceful, i think. seven people including three children have been killed in a roadside baomb attack in afghanistan. the victims were travelling on a bus at the time of the explosion. 17 others were injured. an afghan member of parliament who was kidnapped

last month has been released. speaking to jane ferguson, she says despite safety issues, the incident will not stop her from pursuing her career. >> reporter: nearly a month in custody ended with an embrace of her children. she was the first female to be kidnapped by the group and the most senior. she described her experience. while it was traumatizing, she was surprised she was never sexually assaulted. >> >> translator: i heard they wouldn't respect even their mother or their sister. but the taliban were honest men but living with a misconception about islam. >> reporter: her rescue was a dramatic effort. those who rescued her visited her at her home in kabul.

the taliban claimed four of their female relatives were given back. she was seized from a car wither this three children. after a few days the children were released. their mother would stay on with their captors for weeks, being moved to 12 different locations, in afghanistan and pakistan. despite their strength, however, she noted the difference in various fighters rank. >> translator: their leaders are educated people know everything, but the junior taliban doesn't have a clue what the holy war is about, who it's against, why, and how? >> reporter: she has no intention of abandoning her career in politics, a career influenced by a rare glimpse in fighting force that many of her peers consider the enemy. police in iran believe that

a punctured tire be to blame for a road accident that killed 44 people. 40 others were injured when two iran has one of the worst road safety records in the world. according to the un, more than 20,000 people are killed in road accidents every year. the new a leader says she times build a new government. she defeated the outgoing prime minister in monday's election. >> reporter: celebrations for norway's conservative voters as early results started pouring in, it was clear the country had made a significant shift to the right. >> if this is the result in the end, it will be mean we will have a new government, and the government will be lead by a conservative party, and will be the first prime minister from a conservative party in 25 years.

>> this proves that there is a cry for a change. >> reporter: initial polls suggests that the coalition lead by the conservative, this is the woman expected to lead the country. the leader of norway center right conservative, a politician who german chancellor is her role model. >> translator: first and foremost, i have a deep respect for election day. i have been thinking more about the political work we'll do in coming years. this is going to be great if people vote conservative so we can have a strong government. ô> reporter: the swing to the right means defate for the man who has run the country for the last four years. the party and its allies can

expect to claim about 70 parliamentary seats. >> i think we did a very good campaign, and we did, i think, the best we could. >> opinion polls have not been that favorable for the labor party. so this is quite a good result for the prime minister and laborer party. but of course we want to retain the government, and perhaps, i think -- it doesn't look like that just at the moment. >> reporter: one challenge facing the in-coming prime minister is negotiating with the progress party. it's a populist party. but hasn't been too prominent in this campaign. the conservatives are promising better health care and tax cuts. this in a country that has a

problem that most can only dream of, it's too rich. the conundrum that norway's next government has is how to avoid wasting all of that cash. americans work the longest hours in the world. all hours do not necessarily translate into good economics. >> reporter: crammed together in a tiny office, they spent more time on the job than they do with family, friends, or having fun. >> we're working 40, 50 hours in the office, and another 20, 30 hours outside of the office, networking, skyping, bringing our computers home. >> when was the last time you had a vacation? >> four years ago, maybe? what is a vacation? >> reporter: the pair is

immersed in a start-up venture called farm from a box. it's a labor of love, but it is all consuming. >> we know we are driving towards something that is going to make a big impact and that is so fulfilling in and of itself that that is a big motivating factor. >> reporter: they are two out of millions of americans who work almost non-stop. the u.s. is the only industrialized country where workers are not legally guaranteed minimized vacation time. the idea of working long hours is deeply internalized in the american psyche. >> we work an average of two months longer than the europeans. we tend to think of our value as associated with performance. >> reporter: many employees feel pressured to put in longer hours to compete with fellow workers and hold on to their job.

91% of american workers do work-related tasks during that time off. scholars say putting in longer hours and bringing work home doesn't necessarily lead to more productivity or greater success. >> we're forced to work a lot more hours, but that doesn't mean they are good or quality hours. productivity can drop up to 50% in the hours that are overtime hours, not to mention the fact that stress-related cost for business is $407 billion a year. >> reporter: workers in companies like oracle and apple are encouraged to merge work and personal lives. >> they require as much work as ever, and you can have fun and work all within the four walls of facebook or drop box or

whatever you work. >> reporter: and there's no evidence that work hours are about to decrease any time soon in a country where unemployment is still high, few workers would risk their employees disapproval by asking for more time off. much more still ahead, endangered education. we'll tell you why this school in the west bank may be demol h demolished. and we'll see the sailor who stared the olympic era into a new year. paul with be here with that and more.

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it's the month when children in many parts of the world begin a new school year, but for one group of young people in the west bank, this time could be over much sooner than they think. >> reporter: the children at the school are bright and willing for the start of the school year, despite the dust and heat they keep their uniforms clean and tidy, and there is a genuine thrust for learning. she tells me she loves school. i can learn and have a future she says. i want to be a dentist. but this school could be bulldozed at anytime. but with no school, i'll end up a mattress chauffeur. it became famous as an

innovative eco school. despite the constant threat of demolition, it has thrived. >> translator: the school is very important. the closest other school is some 35 kilometers away. the children here would dropout. >> reporter: there are 122 students, but this is area c, occupied territory under israeli control, and the residents of the illegal israeli settlement nearby say the school is an illegal structure, and they are demanding that the army flatten it. >> they are claiming that they are settlements, and we are [ inaudible ] their lives here as palestinians, and of course what is happening is the controversy. >> reporter: what makes this place so important is not just he fact that it is a co building, mud covering car

tires, but also the concept behind it, the power of education. mixing boys and girls in the same class is a project which is gaining international recognition. you see behind me government and ngos are supporting this. while we were filming a delegation from sacramento arrived providing books and other courses. >> providing education is so important. >> reporter: but the israeli settlers have not given up, another hear willing take place next month. the argument will revolve around legal points, but it's the life prospect of these children which is really at steak. paul brennan al jazeera, the occupied west bank. and now it's time for sports. here is paul. >> thanks.

is celebration of the 13th u.s. open. it was the longest of the tournament by 20 hits. he secured his second title in new york. a great year that saw him come back from seven months out with a knee injury, and we also won the french open. >> what really makes me happy what i did to have this [ inaudible ]. so working hard in that moment, trying to be positive. >> the international olympic committee will elect a new president in bean necessary aries in the next couple of hours. we look at the legacy of the belgium as he departed sports highest post.

>> reporter: it has been 12 years. he was president of the european olympic committee, he offered stability at a time when corruption and disharmony was happened. his hard line against ethics violations has been accompanied by a tough stance on doping. [ cheers ] >> reporter: awarded to south america for the very first time, that many would claim last year's london games the greatest achievement of the tenure. >> the summer games, three winter games, and two [ inaudible ] olympic games, all of which were the highest

quality. ths is our core business to give good games to the athletes. ♪ >> reporter: undoubtedly there are big challenges con fronting the new president. criticism of russia's stance towards homosexuality has guaranteed next year's olympics will be a hot bed of controversy. and there is concern over construction in rio in 2016, and deeping the games clean will remain as central as ever. >> i am confident that the olympic movement is very strong. >> reporter: a strong legacy laid for the in-coming leader. while voting to elect, jack's replacement begins shortly. is the man he would prefer to

have his successor. the 59-year-old german lawyer is seen as a safe pair of hands. and this man still holds the pole vault world record from 1984. he is considered rather inexperienced. a banker has helped to broker million billion dollars tv deals for the games. former yachtsman of singapore is seen as a dark horse. he believes it is time for asian influence at the top of the olympic movement. and the swiss attacked back in a radio interview. very much an outsider. and this man has helped introduce women's boxing, but the amateur boxing federation is seen as unlikely to take over.

on sunday olympic officials voted to keep wrestling in the 2020 games. >> reporter: victory on the wrestling mat. these young athletes are the future of iran, now with the decision to retain wrestling in the olympics, that future looks brighter. >> translator: when i heard i was so happy, because i hoped for the olympics was restored. it is the first sport for iranians, and if it isn't included we have no hope for the olympics. every four years this is what we wait for. >> reporter: in february wrestling was in a spin. the ioc had decided to scrap the sprt. but iran formed an unlikely alliance with the u.s. and russia to save the sport. >> translator: authorities from different countries contacted

iron, the u.s., russia, and turkey. these countries have good reputations in wrestling. we told them to retain wrestling, all of us sent our objections. >> reporter: they lobbied and won. it's the best news for wrestlers like this one. he didn't want his dedication to go to waste. >> translator: i just want to see a gold olympic medal hanging on my chest. it takes a lot of effort if you want to win. >> reporter: iran has practiced wrestling since ancient times. and of iran's 60 olympic medals 38 have been for wrestling, including a gold medal for a hall of famer. and exposure takes pride over the wrestling mat. these young man also hope to

become olympians and maybe one day have their photos hanging decide his. north and south korea have been brought together by weight lifting. 41 south korean officials arrived in beijing on tuesday. the north has promised that the south korean flag will be raised and the national anthem played if one of their athletes takes gold. there is more on our website, check out aljazeera.com/sports, also details with how to get in touch with our team using twitter and facebook. that's all for now. that's it for this news hour. thanks for watching. it has been good to have you on with us. ♪

you're watching al jazeera, i'm del walters, these are the stories that we are following. the white house is reacting cautiously to a major decision by syria's government. the government has now decided to adopt a russian proposal to put its whim call weapon's stockpile under international control. france will introduce a resolution before the un security council and call on syria to give the united nations full access to its chemical weapons. john kerry, chuck hang