[♪ music ] >> hello, and welcome to the news hour. here are our top stories. >> as the fighting continues in syria, the u.n.'s top body is about to discuss how to get rid of its chemical weapons. we'll be live in new york, plus. >> i'm skeptical because its russians who are supplying planeload after planeload t of weapons to bashar al-assad.

>> doubts of russia's hand-over plans. >> and in gaza the fuel pumps are running low again. but this time the reason could be more serious, and it could last a lot longer. >> and in london the latest from europe, including an u.n. official's damning report on bedroom tax. and hundreds of critics pushing for spain's independence. >> we begin with syria, and some of the world's most powerful nations are scrambling to resolve its issues overwhelm weapons. the russians have a plan. the u.s. has a different plan and we do know that differences between the united states, y.y.

russia and france will meet soon. we're at the u.n. james, do we know any more? >> yes, this is a meeting of the permanent five members of the u.n. security council. 15 members on the security council, but these are the five that always sit on the council, and the five that have that all-important veto, which means if there is something that they don't like a resolution that they don't like, they can stop it. that's why these are the key players that need to meet, as you say the russians have a plan. the french have a first draft of a resolution. i can tell you since we obtained it's first draft they've been working with their allies, the french, looking at the words in this draft, and it's now being rewritten. there is a second draft which will be put at that meeting which we believe will take place here in new york in a matter of hours. all of this attention in new york right now, but also meetings taking place in geneva

in the coming hours when the u.s. secretary of state will be meeting his russian counterpart. this french resolution dreamed up in paris by the french foreign minister, jackie roland has looked at the twists and turns of the diplomatic situation. >> in paris, like in washington, the threats of military action against syria appears to be on board. senior ministers gather to discuss the latest diplomatic developments. after the meeting president françois hollande will work to punish the use of chemical weapons by the syrian regime and deter the use of them again. france is working on a resolution to put towards the u.n. security council but russia has objected to the use of military action if syria does

not comply. it said it draws print principld objections meaning that syria may never use chemical weapons again. >> it's very much in line with president obama's position in his late-hour address to the american people. >> it's too late to tell if any agreemenagreement. thirussia is one of syria's strongest allies. >> china has welcomed the russian initiative. >> russia has already made a proposal to resolve the syrian chemical weapons issue, and this has created an important opportunity to defuse the

present tense situation and address the international concerns about the chemical weapons issues. we hope that all sides can seize this opportunity and proactively put forth effort. >> the latest developments if they can be taken seriously, show they have stepped back from the inconsiderate and mistaken action they have taken. we hope this is, indeed, serio serious. >> france has warned that the diplomatic route can be pursued if there is no sign of progress. the resolution of this crisis is not yet guaranteed. >> that is the french's position but all eyes will turn to gene

geneva. >> the russian team may not be in geneva until late on thursday we hear. and we hear from the state department, when these two teams delegation and their substanti substantially technical experts are in place to start looking at the details here in geneva, i think there will be two key points that they'll be trying to get through over the coming two days. the first is the question of how, how this plan, this russian proposal is going to work, to take syria's stock pile's of

chemical weapons, put them under scrutiny and effectively taking them out of play in context of the syrian civil war, and already that plan has been described by some experts as fanciful. nevertheless, we know the russians have put a plan on paper. they've sent it to the americans to look at ahead of those meetings to come. the second issue could be more contentious in an immediate sense, how to enforce any eventual plan or agreement. with legally binding allegations backed with force in the case of non-compliance or the russians put it they reject the use of force, a far looser binding declaration by the u.n. security council. these are two different points of view, and i think that could form the basis, the real basis of tough talks to come.

>> thank you. well, earlier we spoke to senior u.s. senator john mccain. he told us he was skeptical by the russian plan, and he revealed more details about his meeting with president obama. here's some of that interview with my colleague. >> i'm very skeptical because its russians supplying planeload after planeload of arms and weapons to bashar al-assad, and i believe that the good indication of their insincerity yesterday they said that a french resolution before the security council was, quote, unacceptable. vladimir putin stated that the united states would have to renounce the use of force, which is also unacceptable. and so i'm very skeptical. i'm willing to give it a chance

to succeed but not long. >> so you think president obama is right to see if anything can come of those initiatives? >> well, i think so, particularly since the vote was most likely the, the resolution was most likely to be defeated. i think he probably did, but again, this the russians give us every reason to be skeptical. >> do you think, forget punitive action. if you did cross this red line that everyone is talking about, why shouldn't he be punished militarily? >> he should be punished militarily. that's why i was disappointed last night when the president did not mention the need to help the free syrian army for more

equalization on the battle field. you have hezbollah and revolutionary guard and planeloads of weapons from iran and russia coming in every single day. i'm very disappointed because it could be a blow to syrian morale. >> that's never been part of the planned military strike. he said if the military intervention went ahead it would be short, narrowed, john kerry has said it would be unbelievably small. so would it have made that kind of difference? >> until bashar al-assad departs, which will only be through negotiations after he believes he can't win this conflict and slaughter will go on.

one, to over throw the assad government, two, support the syrian army, and three, negotiate departure of bashar al-assad. he didn't mention the last two in his speech last night. >> you spoke about the free syrian army. do you feel that there is--is there a concern that the syrian rebels could feel abandoned if there isn't a military intervention. >> well, it's not a military intervention, and unless we supply them, and up until a few days ago not single american weapon had reached the hands of free syrian fighter. but if they feel that we abandoned them, which is would be a blow to their morale, not only will it hurt their morale, but it will make them turn to alternatives in syria.

right now there are still mad moderates but it could lead them to rely on more radical organizations such as al-qaed al-qaeda. >> one last question, senator, i know john kerry is meeting with the syrian foreign minister in coming days, and he's meeting with the russian foreign minister. if there is a chance that the president can be persuaded to give up his chemical weapons and sign onto the chemical weapons convention, that is obviously a positive move. do you think the syrians can be persuaded? >> i think it's very questionable, i'm very skeptical. i think there was a significant question in the minds of the russians and syrians and iranians whether the president was actually going to launch an attack or not. i think this could be very much of a stalling tactic.

if they're for this, why can't we just have an u.n. security council resolution that calls for the full accounting of the chemical weapons and their removal. it's not that complicated. instead we're having to negotiate with the syrian prime minister, they're all people who continue the massacre that is now over 100,000, and continues to destabilize the region turning it into a regional conflict. >> let's talk about that interview a little bit more. we're in washington, d.c. and patty, obama's intentions in syria are a huge concern for people. what do you think of senator mccain's comments there, that ththe senator's aim is to change the balance on the ground. >> what they're saying these proposed strikes were never meant to be regime change. they said that fairly

consistently. basically they're taking two different tracks. this would be about chemical weapons, arming the opposition is about weakening assad's government, changing the momentum and forcing them to come to the table to have some sort of political solution. secretary of state john kerry addressed the allegation that the opposition has not been getting any of the arms or weapons that the u.s. did say they had promised to provide. and they admitted that congress held it up. but he insists that aid is being provided although i have to tell you that they've been incredibly vague. they did not say what assistance they're providing to the option. the white house is saying today, the strike is about chemical weapons, any help to the opposition is about weakens assad. it's not about regime change. >> how did that go down where you are? >> it's pretty hard to tell. there were some snap polls that said people like the speech but

did not change their minds. the majority in america do not want to intervene in syria. it usuallytation a few days for a speech to sink in, but the president admitted he has a tough climb, and it looks like he's losing support, not gaining it. a lot of people are wondering publicly if he postponed the vote because he could not get it passed the white house is pushing back on that as well, stating he wants to give the diplomacy a chance to work. >> thank you so much. the first group of syrian refugees, meanwhile, have arrived in germany. 107 men, women, and children landed in hanover, as part of humanitarian mission program. as many as 5,000 are expected to be flown to germany, and will be temporarily integrated into local communities. they will stay in germany for as long as it takes for them to be

safe enough to return to their home. we're joined now from london, chief executive of the refugee council ngo that deals with the rights of refugees and asylum seekers. thank you for joining us. we took a lot of polls about the influx of syrian refugees into countries that neighbor the region. but it seems now european states are seeing refugees come into their countries. tell us more about that. >> spontaneous arrivals in relatively small numbers across europe as far as we're aware. the u.n. my commission for refugees tells us that the position in resettlement programs that you mentioned as the kind in germany is variable at best. we're urging the u.k. government the time has come to provide more than humanitarian financial assistance in the region. to its credit the u.k.

government is providing substance humanitariasubsubstann package. but ideally resettlement program of the scale of the once in germany at present. >> are you communicating those ideas to the different european governments, and if so, how are they responding? >> we're urging our government in the u.k. together with amnesty international and the british red cross. we've urging our government to work with the european union states to device and develop a common program. but we would also like to see the u.k. government acting unilaterally and moving ahead now. >> it must be quite frightening really for syrian refugees to

land somewhere where they don't speak the language, they're far from home. what kind of organizations like yours do to try to ease them into their new homes? >> well, organizations such as the refugee council of the u.k. do a lot of work with newly arrived asylum speakers in the u.k. to make sure that they're looked after in their early days and in the different environment all together, and remembering and taking into account that these people would have come from difficult parts of the world and probably traumatized as well. we try to make sure they're as comfortable in the u.k. arrival as possible. but the primary aid for people who are fleeing violence is safety. let's not forget that. it's to get people out of that area. when we call on the u.k. government for a humanitarian response out of region, we urge the government to look in

particular at the more vulnerable refugees, women, young people. we understand from the u.s. of the 2 million refugees they're estimating now in the neighboring countries of syriac more than half of them are under 17 years old. there is a real humanitarian crisis that we are duty bound to respond to. >> thank you for your time. >> thank you. now just ahead an update on the seen in the southern philippines. the military is surrounding rebels, but the lives of over 100 hostages are at stake. >> also an arctic meltdown scientists say ice levels have now dipped to a record low. and coming up in sports, five more countries book their spot at next year's world cup in brazil, and we'll be here with all the details.

>> soldiers in southern philippines are is surrounding separatist fighters for a third day. 100 have been taken hostage and thousand versus been forced to leave their homes. we report now from a city that is under lockdown. >> this is in southern philippines. days after fighting began between government forces and fighters from the. national libation front it's streets remain empty. as more government forces are deployed, the violence has escalated. around 300 fighters are hold up in areas with at least 100 hostages. these volunteers are hope to go cross that road to bring add to those who remain trapped but they're unable to do so because snipers are firing down the

streets. the violence began on money when the military arrested five armed members of the liberation front who were seen marching in combat uniforms. at least eight people were killed in the gun battle that began arrest their arrest. now it's imposing peace talks with the islamic liberation front. the government say the political solution is in place. >> my primary objective is to make sure that every life of every citizen should be safe. that is the primary objective. i do not set deadlines because deadlines only mean frustration. if we do not reach them. >> this violence has already affected those who have little to do with the conflict. like martha and her four children.

they were trapped by the fighting for days. she said she and her family are now left with nothing. >> it's even harder now. i'm even more scared. my children are getting sick. he we have no place to sleep. we have lost our home. >> at least 12,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. people are living on the streets with barely anything to eat or drink and with no assurance of when they can go back home again. >> and many of them say they have little faith that the situation will improve while hoping they can live in a place without i fear of violence and uncertainty. al jazeera, southern philippines. >> at least 33 people have been killed, and 55 others injured in a bombing in iraq just after sunset. the shoppers filled the streets it's not clear who carried out the attack. in egypt there have been two suicide attacks in the cyanide

peninsula. state tv reports the bombers died in the explosions which killed six soldiers and injured 17 others. they targeted the intelligence headquarters and an army checkpoint. security has been stepped up at the border of gaza an after a series of attacks. our correspondent, who we are not naming for security reasons, reports from cairo. >> they have a lot of grievances over the years with the egyptian state, issues like unemployment, they feel neglected. there is a serious lack of development in the sinai. many bedouin over the years have been arrested and detained by the security forces, so they have a lot of issues with the security forces. but after the revolution they did have hope that some of that situation would change, that their lives would improve, but largely it has not been changed, and those hopes haven't really been met.

in this sort of environment of instability and a lot of problems in the sinai we've had the flourishing of different militant groups, a long period of attacks by these groups. some of them aligned or inspired by al-qaeda. some of them are involved in drug smuggling or people trafficking, weapon moving, and these groups have well really flourished in this environment, and they've carried out a lot of attacks against the police and security forces and buildings in the sinai, and the egyptian government in response they've had a heavy military campaign going on in sinai for months now, but in the last couple of weeks it has really stepped up. >> the egyptian military is cracking down on what it calls militants in the sinai. it has also been destroying tunnels that has been used to smuggle goods into gaza.

waiting for fuel is now a daily ritual. where there is hardly to be had, and price versus increased substantially. >> i work for my family, i'm working just to buy fuel. >> it's the same with gaza's only power station. it could shut down. power cuts are a way of life. this time the cause is here. just across the border in egypt. for weeks the egyptian army has been destroying dozens of smuggling tunnels which has been a lifeline for gaza. 80% of its fuel used to come through items. but the military government in cairo is cracking down on armed groups in sinai saying they're getting help fromga did. relations with hamas has never been worse. >> saying that hamas has involved itself with what has

been happening with the muslim brotherhood, we say, no, it's all fake and not true. >> this latest crisis shows how dependent the people of gaza are on the fragile political landscape around them. and in egypt it has changed dramatically with regime change there, one of gaza's vital supply line seems to be closing. egyptian officials say tunnel also not reopen, even the crossing for people has slowed to a trickle. gaza's only other source of supply is israel, but its fuel is double the price. and the israeli government is still reluctant to relax it's blockade as long as hamas is in charge. this is not some temporary crisis. it will last, and as always it will be innocent palestinians who will suffer for other people's politics. al jazeera, gaza.

>> still to come, mexican teach verse abandoned the classroom and have taken to the streets. we go living to mexico city, plus. >> she suffered through it, and if someone who has been through that won't feel shame. >> an afghan actress tries to break social barriers by addressing the topic of race. >> and america's cup challenge takes off, and we'll be here with that story.

>> welcome back. a reminder of our top stories. the fighting continues in syria. the u.n. security council's five permanent members are about to meet to discuss a draft french restitution. american and russian diplomats will meet in geneva to discuss an alternative plan to discuss getting rid of syria's chemical weapons.

in iraq an explosion happened near a mosque in northern baghdad. and mmlf military fires taken hostages, nine have been killed since monday. thousands of teachers are back on the streets of mexico city, after government signed a controversial reform bill into law. >> these reforms are now law. >> officially they're saying they want to push congressmen to repeal this law, but that is extremely unlikely. they have the people power in the street to make the president pay for this reform. they're trying to draw attention

to the education w reform but other reforms they're trying to push through. they want those in mexico to come out in the streets, at we're seeing on this day in mexico city we are noting just teachers but unions and electrical workers, students groups, and those identifying with the opposition coming out there. they're keen to block namely energy reforming. the teachers groups and others groups are saying that it's bad news for mexico because it would privatize the long-held state-run oil company. it's politically open, they're saying they're going to repeal the law but that's just really partly what they're asking for when they hit the streets. >> why have these reforms been so controversial, what is a stake, and why has the government been so insistent it push them through even though you see mass protests?

>> well, i'll start with that second part first. first, the government has been incitizen tint because mexico's education system is abysmal by any international standard. their students are just not prepared to compete. they just can't compete when compared to students around the world. the oil company is seen as an inefficient oil company. the president said you need to bring in private money to reform that and make it a more productive company. you see opposition not to ideas but opposition to introducing these ideas. you have to keep in mind the president is a new president from an old party that was long scene as anothe an authoritaria. they feel these are just superficial changes but they

believe mexico will be an unequal country where the rich rule a mass number of poor people. >> thank you. the british government has accused united nations official of bee biased after she condemned the controversial welfare policy. we have more from our european news center in london, felicity. >> the u.s. housing has been producing a global report on housing. the bedroom tax has seen many public housing tenants lose their benefits and money if they have a spare room. >> there is an expression in england, it's grim up north.

it was here in manchester that the united nations came to see what the affects was of the government's hugely controversial bedroom tax on people and their human rights. the u.n.'s, the lifts often smell of urine. she met with dave who has been unable to work through injury. his two bedroom flat is deemed too big for him so he's having to pay back a quarter of his benefits. that leaves him just $7 a day to live on. >> i could lose this after christmas, this flat. i'll be on the street what else can i do? live on the street because i've lost something because i can't afford the extra each week out of my benefits. >> some of the cuts to the poll have gained popularity but the

problem is there aren't enough one-bedroom flats to go around, so people who can't work have had to accept the stark choice of returning their benefits or go homeless. >> some people have complex situations with multiple debt, so we have experts trying to help them cope with that and help make the money go as far as it can. >> what does the united nations think of affairs in one of the world's most developed countries. >> one of the most compelling and controversial is the bedroom tax, and how much the bedroom tax is having an enormous impact on those who are affected, and also on other human rights like the right to food, the right to health, education and other human rights.

>> the government has stepped up to its plan and criticized the united nations initiative being short on facts. >> the u.k. has better news about its unemployment rates. the rate fell to 7.7% between may and july. that's the lowest it's been since late last year. that translates into 4,000 fewer jobless people. but figures also show that a record 1.45 british are in part time work with many job seekers saying they can't get full-time employment. teachers in greece are preparing for a week of strikes beginning on the first day of school next monday. we have reports from athens. >> reporter: she knows what it means to help finance the greek state. she is one under 3 million

people who work in the private sector. their taxes pay the salaries of some 700,000 state employees. 10% of them are striking secondary school teachers. if primary schools decide to join their protest, she will have to pay $300 a week out of pocket for daycare for her nine-year-old son. she's a single mother paying a mortgage and they have to dip into savings. teachers say they have born the brunt of austerity measures, equal to a fifth of the economy. >> teachers try to go on strike during university entrance exams last april. the government forced them back to work on pain of dismissal. but that threat hangs in the air whether they go on strike or not. teachers are furious of pay cuts of almost half their salaries.

they're fearing dismissal as part of greece's requirement to she had 12.5000 state officials this year and next. two universities and dozens of departments have been abolished this year. >> over the last few decades there has been a tendency to establish higher education and departments, a long criteria that were not academic. they had to do with local needs, and these are legitimate aims but they do not offer sustainable academic institutions. and some of these have provided very low quality. >> many greeks argue it's high time the public payroll was cut. most unemployment has so far come from the private sector but others say a few thousand dismissals will not fix a dysfunctional state that needs to be rebuilt. al jazeera, athens. >> more from europe a little later on but right now let's go

back to doha. there may be more evidence of affects of global warming. the number of sea ice has hit a new low. it found that during march and april the time of year when the ice should be at its thickest the radar spacecraft recorded under 15,000 cubic dill meters of ice. 30 years ago it was estimated there were around 30,000 cubic kilometers so doubled essentially. since the mission started three years ago it has witnessed the continuing stinkage i in--shrinkage of winter ice. what they're see something consistent with global warming but they need more evidence over a longer period of time to be absolutely sure. now andrew shepherd is a

professor at the university of leeds. he joins us live from edinburgh. thank you for joining us. first of all, if these changes are not caused by global warming, what else could be the cause? >> well, sea ice comes from a complicated part of the climate system. it changes like the weather, and we have to detach the signals of seasonal changes in weather from willing-term climate change. >> should people be concerned about the findings in this report? i mean, how and when will it affect people? >> well, there's been some reports in the media lately about the arctic sea ice area not being as small as it was last year. that's an important part of the puzzle that we try to preys together to tell people what is happening to the climate system. but we also look at the ice each year and it's difficult to tell

people how thick the ice is because it's a complicated measurement. we can't start measuring the thickness of the ice number october. we will wait for the total change in the volume of the ice. >> what are the effects of the ice thinning in the long term. >> it's very clear from all of the model simulations and experiments that people have done if you lose the arctic sea eyes that will destabilize its climate. it's important for us to be able to monitor it. it's true that the models that we built for the future are not as good as we would like them to be, so that's why the satellite data that we collect is very important because it tells us if the models are performing in the right way. it seems that the information we've collected over the past three years our best model of how the arctic sea ice is

changing is doing a very good job. so we should believe the long term collections. >> people have become skeptical with studies like this. i read a study that predicted the arctic would be ice freebie 2013, which is obviously not the case. >> that's not a study. i think you're referring to a comment in the newspaper story, that is different from a scientific study. we do our piss through peer review journals and it takes a long time to get our studies through. people can raise attention and awareness through the media of these risks but it's not a study. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> and andy is going to be along with the sport next including the fight night that will produce another huge payday for this man.

>> welcome back. hundreds of thousands of people have shown their support for making part of spain independent by joining hands in a massive human chain. we have the details. >> yes, organizers say between 500,000 and 1 million people took part, but we have yet to see the official figures. the human chain was to run down the entire coast line of the catalonia region. they expect it to stretch

400 kilometers through 80 cities, towns and villages. we have more from barcelona. >> i come from catalonia, which is 25 minutes more from where we came, and we leasely found our way back here because we followed the human chain. you will see these fans calling for independence of catalonia. there is something, though, that the spanish government is opposed to. those here who want independence say it's not just based on economics. this is one of the economic powerhouses of spain that has been affected by the recession. people say they put more into this spanish economy than they get out of. and they say their need for independence boils down to much more about culture. they say that their culture is very different from the rest of the spain, and they say they want to be independent. >> the u.n. says it's new report

on global food wastage is staggering and a big wake-up call. the food and agriculture organization estimates 1.3 billion tons are thrown away each year costing the global economy $750 billion. it blames poor harvesting techniques for the problem but they say wealthy countries need to fix the careless behavior of its consumers. >> for america, for example, we can provide the food that will not be sold until the weekend to food banks for the people that need it. and governments can change legislation to improve the ways that food is recycled, and use it for animal feed, for example. >> experts have unearthed a mass

grave found in the northwest of the country since the 1992-war. it was close to the city that is believes to be remains of civilians killed in bosnia during the ethnic conflict. engineers are about to begin one of the most complex salvage operation in history. the cruise ship has been lying on its side since january 2012 when it crashed into rocks killing 22 people. a huge artificial sea bed has been hoisted under the ship to bring it up right. >> rape and sexual harassment continue to be taboo topics in many countries. in afghanistan it's one of those place it's difficult and

dangerous to be a woman. females are often too scared to report abuse and in extreme situations fear for their life. jane ferguson met one afghan actress who is using film to bring the subject out in the open. >> it's a controversial topic in any afghan movie. a woman trying to deal with rape. it was filmed in kabul and struggled to be accepted because of this scene. in a conservative country such an imagine is rare. the actress who played the lead role is afghan-american, and said the scene is crucial in dealing with a topic rarely addressed here. >> this is the scene where she's just alone in a bathroom with herself dealin dealing with thes on her body and the body is something that for an afghan woman that is not discussed, yet those are the things that are violated and that's the thing that is under addressed and

under control. >> she moved from los angeles to kabul a year ago to act in afghan movies. although her film has been aired without the controversial scenes which show some limited nudity she's hopeful for more screenings. having an address made for such a screening is an opportunity to make a statement. this outfit honors her mothers clothes worn when attending kabul university in the 1960s. only a small elite wore liberal clothing it is something that she feels needs to be remember remembered. >> i'm proud. i feel like it's being silence: i'm not saying that we're suffering. but i want to celebrate it. i want to celebrate that aspect of a began history. people can say it's gone or not, they can scream all they want but i don't care. >> her work here is controversial. she knows changing the culture to cinema, women and issues such as rape is not likely to happen

quickly. >> this one girl, this one female that did this, that, that it's an anomaly that means something to somebody, and that someone sees that character and sees oh my goodness she is a human being, and she's commuting with her own humanity, with god and some of the things that she's talking, and she's suffering through it, and someone who has been through that won't feel shame. >> changing that feeling of shame is an enormous challenge, but thos there are those who bee afghan cinema can help. >> time for the sport with andy. >> thank you so much. argentina has give advance warning to their rivals that they're heading top form of next year's world cup. they're making sure of their

qualification for brazil. a 5-2 victory guaranteeing top spot qualifying for them with two games remaining. >> there is still a lot to be done for the world cup but there is great joy. the previous qualifier was very hard. things did not work out as we hoped, but this qualifier was very different. >> in the north and central groups the u.s. coming off the back of a loss of costa rica. johnson giving them the lead. landon donovan doubling their numbers, and they now struggle to even make the playoffs. >> i love this sport, and when i

started 15 years ago you never would have had a game like this. i'm proud to be part of this, all of us are, yourself included, and we should enjoy a night like this. >> costa rica will return to the world cub against south africa. they secure their projetion in a 1-1 draw against jamaica. who is qualified for the world cup. there will be 32 teams at the finals in brazil next year. we now know ten of them. brazil already there as host. let's go to asia where japan with the first team to qualify for the finals on the 13th of june. australia, iran, and south korea round out. qualifiers from the asian confederation. in europe there are 13 places up for grabs. two have been filled. runners up from last year's cup, the netherlands as well as 2006 champions italy. as we've seen in the americas,

usa and costa rica will be in brazil, and in south america, argentina the only team to qualify. ten spots filled, 22 left up to grab. some will come from africa and we're waiting for the first qualifier from that continent. giovanni has paid the price for their disappointing campaign. to all but end their hopes of qualification. the italian who has won lead title in four different countries has been in charge since 2008. well on saturday floyd mayweather jr. will fight for the championship. it's sold as the biggest fight of the decade. mayweather is rated greatest pound-for-pound boxer of the year.

the 36-year-old undefeated will pick up more than $40 million for the fight, and that figure could rise to 60 figure once pay-per-view is calculated. >> 's a young strong champion. he represents mexico well. he's hungry. he's dedicated to his craft. i've been in this sport 17 years now. i've been champion 16 years. me myself personally i've never seen a fighter, 42-0 and 44-0 face each other. so this is a very interesting match up. >> ferrari will replace massa who is leaving the team. to new zealand just five wins away from securing the oldest trophy in international sport, the kiwis taking a lead

in the americas' cup after victory in usa race five the margin down to resounding 65 seconds. the u.s. has pr propose age six. >> we're going to do a little work here, fly the cards strategically and improve in time for the next race. >> now other footballers are making big strides. afghanistan here in the red shirts have now won the south asia football federation. they beat india 2-0 in this final held in nepal to claim their first ever international title. we have more on that story, check it out,

www.aljazeera.com/sport. also details on how to get in touch with us on twitter and facebook. a few video clips from around the world? world. okay, more sport from me later on but that will do for now. >> u.s. president barack obama has been commemorating the september 11th attacks in washington, d.c. along side chuck hagel and general martin dempsey. he said those who died should never be forgotten and he thanked those who first responded to the attacks. >> to remember the tragedy of 12 years ago, to honor the greatness of all those who responded, and to stand for those who still grieve, and provide them some measure of comfort once more. >> okay, that's it for this news hour. do stay with us on al jazeera. another full bulletin of news is

straight ahead.

>> hello and welcome to al jazeera. i'm tony harris in new york. here are your headlines. in one hour the u.n. security council permanent members will meet on syria and discuss a diplomatic way forward, a plan to hand over syria's chemical weapons to international community to avert military strikes. both russia and france have submitted ideas, it comes ahead of the meeting with secretary of state kerry and his counterpart at geneva. the pause