hello there. welcome to "the news hour" from doha. these are the top stories. pakistani earthquake survivors say they need tents and water now. our reporter is on the scene. >> reporter: hundreds of people have been killed, but if help does not arrive on time, the fear is those casualty figures may rise. the price of backing assad, hezbollah's power in lebanon is

it in decline. a essential report from beirut. more than two years after the tsunami in japan, debris is still washing up on beaches thousands of kilometers away. thousands of people are still waiting for help to arrive after a powerful earthquake hit pakistan's remote southwest on tuesday. the quake has affected an area the size of switzerland. the latest death toll is now at 348. the quake flattened large areas of the district that's the country's poorest province. judo is the only international news channel with a team in the worst affected area. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: three days after a major earthquake flattened entire villages in some districts, we have seen

widespread destruction in anarwan. this is an impov riched district where people are still digging and they're not digging for gold or valuables, butter -- but they're looking for the missing, their loved ones unaccounted for. the women here have nowhere to goment . there is no shade from the sweltering sun. soon it will be winter and it will take a considerable amount of time for these people to rebuild their lives. the most important thing now is to get water supplies to these people, to give them tents for protection. also we have heard from these proud people who say they're not begging, but they said they expect their own government to come and help them when they need it most. >> reporter: this is the head of operations of pakistan's national disaster authority. he told al jazeera it has been difficult to reach many of the worst-affected areas.

>> infrastructure losses are huge because these are mostly mud houses, and the majority of those have collapsed in the affected region. the figure that we have is around 21,000 households that need rehabilitation. we have moved a number of medical teams and a field hospital has been established in the district in addition to the hospital there, which is very functional ink again. we have a number of other hospitals in the neighboring districts as well where they're being evacuated to helicopters and ambulances. no amount of relief or response is ever sufficient or timely, you know, but in areas like the one that we're discussing, it becomes even more difficult. yes, there was a little delay in responding, but that delay was not because of some other reason. it is because the area happens

to be really far from the area. if you move relief supplies, it takes 20 hours to get to at least this particular area. so it's for that reason that the initial relief supplies and other elements took a while. we have not called off the rescue, but it is over 48 hours now. since there were not -- since there were no concrete structures that collapsed, because the rescue effort is not a difficult one. the only need was to get to the area. what we're doing now is that we are trying to actually mobilize even more medical support. the number of teams that are still on their way, we have sent in the medicines, and we're sending in a little more. then, the other relief items that we are concentrating upon are food and non-food items. "food" means food comprising different items and water. india's prime minister

describes an attack in kashmir as barbaric. gunmen stormed a police station killing four people and three gunmen were killed in the attack. they dressed in indian army uniforms and raided a nearby military base. prime minister singh says it won't derail peace talks with pakistan this weekend. the senior al shabaab leader said two police officers were killed in mandara. they want kenya to withdraw troops from somalia. security at the border was tightened after fighters attacked a shopping mall in nairobi. international experts are investigating in nairobi. specialists are searching the wreckage for bodies and explosives. mohammed is live in nairobi. what's the latest on that investigation, because we've heard the authorities say that there's likely to be the bodies

of al shabaab gunmen in that rubble of the collapsed building? >> reporter: well, first of all, in the past few minutes we heard two loud explosions coming from inside the mall. the first one was -- the second one was bigger than the first one. we don't know at this point whether these are controlled detonations by the security forces who are helping and the forensic experts who are combing the mall or not. but we had those explosions, and we were also seeing smoke billowing from the mall for the past one or two hours. now regarding the people still in there, the government is saying there could be the possibility of some of the

hostages -- the bodies still being inside. we also know that so far there's only five of the gunmen who carried out the attack were killed by gunfire. so they could be in there. their bodies could be in there as well. however, we would not know the death toll until maybe a few more days, because the forensic experts, the pathologists and structural engineers now inside the mall are going in there for some time. the death toll is expected to rise, and the red cross, according to officials, has been asked to keep ready up to 100 bags for when the mission of bringing out the bodies begins. >> mohammed, tell us about the security situation there now. we're still hearing reports of al shabaab gunmen attacking kenya kenyans, the latest is a kenyan

police station attacked near the border with somalia. >> reporter: well, there's high security a lot in the country, and at the moment most of it is usually concentrated on the capital of nairobi. however, we're seeing a situation where al shabaab is going as far as the border of somalia, kenya has with somalia, and attacking kenyan police officers who have been charged with the responsibility of securing the border. they killed two. an al shabaab leader told me that they had carried out the attack, and that they will continue their attacks against kenya until kenya withdraws its troops from somalia. kenya is adamant that its forces will remain in somalia for as long as al shabaab continues to

be in somalia. >> mohammed at the scene of the we westgate mall scene in nairobi. a mortar shell landed close to the iraqi and chinese embassies from the chinese capital. central damascus has rarely been touched by the destruction in other parts of syria. fighting is continuing throughout a number of areas. in the southwest outskirts of damascus there's reports of government shelling. this shows government offensive to retake the city of homs. it's been an opposition stronghold since the start of the conflict. president assad thinks a u.s. military strike is still possible. in an interview with a latin-american tv station, he insisted the united states has a history of violating u.n. rules. >> translator: the possibilities for an offensive will always be

present. at one moment under the pretext of chemical weapons and other times the pretext is different. the important thing is for decades the united states is exceeding the security council violating the charter and sovereignty of states. perhaps we should take that possibility into account everywhere in the world, and that's what we do in syria. we ask ourselves if an offensive will take place, it could be there isn't one at that time. no one knows for certain when that possibility could become reality. >> assad's lebanese ally hezbollah has been fighting alongside syrian forces. it's stated policy is to prevent damascus from falling. we have a report from beirut. >> reporter: the military balance of power in the battle for syria is still in the regime's favor, and that is unlikely to be affected if the syrian government loses its chemical weapon stockpile.

that gave president al assad a new lease on life by averting military intervention, but it could be a painful concession not just for the syrian government but the allies as well. >> if syria ends up at the end of the process giving up the chemical weapons, that is a strategic loss for syria, that's a strategic loss for hezbollah and others, because those chemical weapons were part of the deterrent against israel and against, in a sense, the u.s. for hezbollah in the short term, they are feeling quite secure that the assad regime will be around for a good while longer. >> reporter: hezbollah no longer feels secure at home. they're the target to car bombings. the area is now protected by the state. security forces replace hezbollah's men at checkpoints set up after the attacks. hezbollah said the move should

silence critics who believe the group is acting as a state within a state. >> translator: hezbollah's message is we want to return to the state. i expect the group to soon announce its pulling forces out of syria. it will say it's no longer involved. it has paid a high price for its role, and the future of syria is now in the hands of russia and the united states. >> reporter: it's leader has sent a message to those who support syria's opposition, to resolve the conflict through dialogue. >> translator: i want to extend a sincere and honest invitation to saudi arabia, the gulf, turkey, and the rest of the arab and islamic state. review your positions. your betting on a failed military option. the solution is political. >> reporter: hezbollah has never shied away from declaring its stated policy, and that's to prevent damascus from falling. this policy hasn't been without a price. it has earned itself enemies, especially since forces have fought alongside the regime. it's not clear if hezbollah

entered syria with an exit strategy, but there seems to be an option. hezbollah's main backer, iran, is not only pushing for a political solution to the syrian war, it's pushing to be a part of it. still to come here on al jazeera, top diplomats from the u.s. and iran are due to meet in the coming hours for the first time in decades, but can it heal years of mistrust? plus, in egypt parents allege their children have been imprisoned after the security crackdown on muslim brotherhood protests. we'll have more on that. renaldo lights up real madrid's nights in a spanish league there. he's not tripping, though. details coming up later in sports with summer. in sudan high fuel prices have led to three days of mass

protests across the country. so far 29 people have died. we have the report. >> reporter: violent demonstrations on the streets. the protests began on monday after the government cut fuel subsidies. with the price of petro and cooking gas doubles overnight on wednesday, they turned deadly. the protesters set fire to petro stations across the country, burning cars and attacking office buildings. police responded with tear gas and arrested demonstrators. several people are believed to have died. the opposition is calling for change. >> translator: the salvation of the nation lies in a new system. our party has laid out our vision for this new system. a vision for a new constitution, a comprehensive and just peace, and how to achieve this. mobilization, sit-ins and civil protests leading to a general strike. >> reporter: internet access was cut off across sudan after

activists showed images of the protests on social media. opposition websites say the newspaper "the sudanese" was also shut down, but the government says it's not worried. >> translator: we don't fear or feel embarrassed by the protests. it's understandable and respected, but we condemn all protests that damage public property or individuals and their rights. >> reporter: sudan has lost 70% of the oil income after south sudan gained independence two years ago. the government says it can no longer afford to offer cheap fuel, a perk seemed to benefit sudan's wealthier population. the cost of food and bus tickets soared in the last few months along with inflation that some analysts estimate remains as high as 50%. although there is anger in the streets, its not clear yet if these protests will get bigger or die down. the foreign secretary of the

opposition group in sudan says the government cuts are unnecessary. >> this is just a ploy from the government. is government is in difficulty. the budget is in shambles. they want just to raise money for the expenses of the government, and it is national congress party. there is no subsidies at all. also, they want more money to fuel it for the war, which is ongoing in darfur, in chartoum and brunei. the sudanese public is in hardship. when they were talking about increasing, that is, the price of the gasoline and the oil products, we told them, if you think this is very hard, you

cannot give it to the people to swallow it. even in medicine if something is sour, you can't. we ask them now our problem is not only economical but political. that is why we're asking them to open up and also to have a political reform, to have an administrative reform. multiple bomb blasts in busy markets have killed 13 people and injured 35 others in iraq. the attacks targeted two predominantly sunni areas of baghdad. the number of those killed has went to a five-year history. good to have you with us. first of all, this latest attack, this was targeting sunni areas. earlier we had seen more attacks

attacks shia areas. what's going on here? >> first the fact that iraq was in violence. i think what's major or what's changing now is certain areas being targeted for the first time by bombers. there's more evidence that the government is not in a good shape to impose security. those that are attacking are targeting anyone just to undermine the government effort of securing the country. the third element, i think, is reminding the people that the violence -- there was a belief that al qaeda and other organizations had moved to syria. so now this event is saying, no, actually there are some people working in iraq, and iraq and the security. more important this comes after

one week of an agreement between different political forces in iraq basically to minimize or just to solve the security problem and try to agree on certain principles to solve some of the problems in iraq. of course, some of the sunni political forces there refuse that, but at least a majority agree on that. >> a lot is not just a security problem. there's a political problem here, the perception that the government is not listening to the grievances of the people. >> absolutely. the crisis in iraq, it's not a security problem but a political problem. it's not between the political forces. we know there's a lot of demonstration taking place in iraq a few -- last month, a few months, actually. no one listened to the demands of people, so there is political problems because the government is not listening to the demands

of people. more important, they feel that they have all social powers. basically the money, the economy, the military, the security forces, all of them in the hands of the prime minister so he can't run the country -- >> so internal problems, domestic problems? >> absolutely. >> on the doorstep you have this raging crisis in syria. >> absolutely. again, this makes the international effort or focus in iraq less, number one. secondly, it justifies any action from the government against its own people because they are surrounded by the crisis and by syria. again, it's a shadow of the crisis in syria as well, because iraq was accused of being also involved in the crisis by supporting bashar al assad in the last two years. basically, it's the impact of the region on them, but also the crisis is internalized itself. >> thank you very much indeed

for the explanation. good to hear from you. >> thank you. now, history could be made on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly later on thursday. that's because the top diplomats from the u.s. and iran are due to meet for the first time since the iranian revolution in 1979. our white house correspondent takes a look at the troubled relationship between the two nations. >> reporter: it's been more than three decades since the leaders of the u.s. and iran shared a smile, much less a kind word. this once cozy relationship, the u.s. now admits, was because a cia plot kept the shah in power. when he was overthrown, the u.s. embassy was stormed. u.s. hostages were held hostage and a cold war began, one that would occasionally turn hot. the u.s. backed iraq in its war with iran. hezbollah was blamed for bombing the u.s. embassy and hammering

barracks in lebanon. in 1988 the u.s. said it mistakenly shot down an iranian passenger jet killing 290 people. brief cooperation in afghanistan after the september 11th attacks didn't last. >> states like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil. >> reporter: the u.s. accused iran of arming iraqi opposition and killing u.s. soldiers. since then it's been mostly threats, sanctions, and sabotage of iran's nuclear program. now, a new push to talk. former iranian hostage and diplomat john lindberg says they're facing a huge challenge. >> the problem in this case is that both sides, both tehran and washington, are out of practice. they have not practiced diplomacy with the other side. instead, careers in both capitals seem to have been built on the ability to bash the other side.

>> reporter: the first issue they disagree on is why iran is do this, enriching uranium. they say it's for nuclear energy and research. the u.s. worries it may be to build a nuclear bomb. >> many of the nuclear activities, which iran has been pursuing, don't make much sense in the context of solely a nuclear energy program, and i think what the iaea has said for many years is there's not definitive evidence iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, but they also cannot say for sure that iran isn't pursuing nuclear weapons. >> reporter: open questions dug in beliefs and a dark history face the leaders as they sit down to talk, a chance that for for the first time in a long time they can focus on the future and not their past. patty cole han, al jazeera, washington. let's get some weather now. there's been a lot of problems with flooding in india. stef has the details on that and the rest of the weather.

>> it's a little area of low pressure we've been watching for the past couple of days. if we look at the satellite picture, it's distinctive and shows up quite clearly. it's not covering a huge area, but it's giving us very heavy downpours, and this isn't normally a particularly wet time of year. normally the rains restretreat the end of september. you see a man struggling to say upright. i think this man might feel sick by tomorrow morning. as well as all the rain, though, we've seen, we're still seeing more heavy downpours at the moment. in the last 24 hours 444 millimeters of rain, that's nearly half a liter, and it isn't done just yesterday. this little area of low pressure will stick around and might drift towards the east. once it's with us will get another 200 millimeters of rain in the next couple of days. there is likely to be yet more

flooding through the next few days. another place we've heard a lot about recently with flooding has been over parts of philippines. there's plenty of clouds with us current currently. just to the west there appears to be a tropical cyclone developing of the if that develops, it's going to throw lots of clouds and rain towards the western parts of the fill feenz. so for the western parts of luzon it will be incredibly wet. there will be more flooding. let's go straight to the u.n. in new york. president rouhani of iran is speaking. let's listen in. >> translator: for ridding the world of nuclear weapons. we have now and in treaty norms and foreign that aim to achieve this agreed goal.

yet, thousands of these weapons continue to pose the greatest threat to peace. steps for detargeting, dealerting or reducing the number of nuclear weapons are not a substitute for their total elimination. any use of nuclear weapons is a violation of the u.n. charter and a crime against humanity. doctrines justifying such use are unacceptable. likewise, threatening

non-nuclear weapon states with nuclear weapons should end. the modernization of these weapons also undercuts efforts for their total abolition. these should, therefore, be stopped. excellencies, ladies and g gentlemen, i wish to recognize the important contribution of some non-nuclear weapon states to nuclear disarmament by voluntarily renouncing or dismantling nuclear weapons. i also recognize the valuable contribution of nuclear weapon-free zones to nuclear

disarmament and international peace and security. i commend the seminole role of non-nuclear weapon states, particularly the non-states which make up the bulk of these zones. the non-aligned movement calls upon all nuclear weapon states to ratify related protocols to all treaties establishing such zones. withdraw any reservations or interpretive declarations incompatible with their object and purpose. and respect the denuclearization status of these zones.

now urging the early signing and ratification by the nuclear weapon states to the protocol for the treaty on southeast asian nuclear-free zone and its related documents without reservations. excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, almost four decades of international effort to establish a nuclear weapon-free zone in the middle east has regrettably failed. urgent, practical steps towards the establishment of such a zone are necessary. israel, the only non-party to the non-proliferation treaty in this region, should join there, t too, without any further delay. accordingly, all nuclear

activities in the region should be subject to the iaea comprehensive safeguards. the international community has to redouble its efforts in support of the establishment of this zone. this would constitute a contribution to the objective of nuclear disarmament. in this regard i reaffirm that the non-state parties of the npg urge the convening of the conference on the establishment of the zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction in the middle east without any further delay with the participation of all countries in the region to avoid

unwanted consequences. excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the world has waited too long for nuclear disarmament. the indefinite possession of nuclear weapons cannot be tolerated nor can their complete elimination be further delayed. nuclear weapon states have the primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament. i strongly urge them to comply with this long overdue legal obligation. the fulfillment of nuclear

disarmament obligations must not be delayed any further or held hostage to progress on nonproliferation or the perceived notions of strategic stability. nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation are mutually reinforcing. they should be pursued simultaneously, not one at the cost of the other. nonproliferation derives its legitimacy from the larger objective of nuclear disarmament. it should be implemented in a comprehensive and nondiscriminatory manner. as long as nuclear weapons exist, the risk of their use, threat of use, and proliferation

persists. the only absolute guarantee is their total elimination. pending that day, nuclear weapon states should refrain from any threat or use of nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear weapon state under any circumstances. the current declarations are negative security assurances are inadequate. they must be codified into a universal, legal instrument. excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, nuclear disarmament remains our highest priority.

to take forward the nuclear disarmament agenda, the nonaligned movement proposes, therefore, the following road map. first, early commencement of negotiations in the conference on disarmament on a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons for the prohibition of their possession, development, production, acquisition, testing, stockpiling, transfer, use, or threat of use and for their destruction. we'll return to this program after messages from your local affiliate.

we now rejoin this program

already in progress. excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, no nation should possession nuclear weapons. since there are no right hands for these wrong weapons, as you, mr. secretary-general have rightly put it. nam is determined to make every effort to realize the vision of a nuclear-free world without further delay. instead of nuclear weapons, let us invest in development and in eradicating poverty, ignorance and diseases.

let us bestow upon future generations a nuclear weapon-free world. this is their right and our responsibility. let us prove that we are the united nations, nations united for peace. i thank you, mr. president. [ applause ] >> the iran president hassan rouhani addressing a u.n. high-level meeting on nuclear disarmament there. crystal is outside the u.n. building for us. kristen, rouhani talking about nuclear weapons in the middle east. >> reporter: that's right. he was speaking on behalf of the nonaligned movement, and he said that no country should possess

nuclear weapons. he decried their use as a crime against humanity and in violation of the u.n. charter. he also praised countries that did away with nuclear weapons and called on israel to sign the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, the only country in the middle east with a nuclear weapon, believed to have a nuclear weapon. this, of course, comes as iran tries to convince the west that its own nuclear program is for peaceful matters for medical and energy purposes. they are trying to negotiate the end of the sanctions that have been leveled against them over fears that iran is, indeed, trying to develop a nuclear weapon. he sought to alay those concerns, and this comes on a day when his foreign minister is meeting with the secretary of state from the u.s., john kerry, and other members of the permanent -- other permanent members of the security council to discuss further negotiations on that very topic.

>> okay. kristen, thanks very much indeed for that. she's updating us there from the united nations. former liberian president charles taylor has lost his war crimes appeal. judges at the international criminal court in the netherlands upheld his 50-year prison sentence. that was a special court for sierra leone. he was convicted last year for planning and aiding in war crimes committed by rebels during the civil war. brenda hole sis is the special prosecutor and joins us live from the hague. taylor's lawyers argued there were legal errors made during the original trial. clearly, you're satisfied that isn't the case, and his conviction is sound? >> that's correct. i think the appeals judges very carefully considered the

arguments of both parties and carefully reviewed what the trial chamber had done. today's judgment, of course, is the culmination of the judicial proceedings in this case, and i believe it was a fair outcome and supported by the record of trial. >> this case has extremely high profile. some are calling this a watershed moment for human rights law. do you agree? >> i hope so. not because of charles taylor as a person, but what i hope is it's a watershed because i hope that what the appeals chamber today made clear was what the trial chamber made clear, and that is, people in positions of leadership have not only power and authority, but they have responsibility and accountability. if we can move that message forward and expand its application, i think that is a watershed moment for human

rights. >> it's certainly been a case that's garnered a lot of publicity. at one point you had the supermodel naomi campbell appear in court. i know that a case like this can't bring back the dead and can't stop the suffering, but do you think it's gone some ways to repairing the damage? >> i think it has. one of the reasons i believe that is the special court for sierra leone was created by the people of sierra leone wanted the court and wanted accountability through a judicial process. that is what they have been given throughout the life of this court, culminating in today's judgment. i think it's brought some measure of justice to the many victims of this horrible, horrible conflict and all the terrible crimes that mr. taylor aided and abetted and planned. >> so his 50-year sentence, of course, has been confirmed. is it a fair one? i know that the prosecution were actually asking for longer. they were asking for 80 years,

weren't they? >> yes, we were, in fact. you know, judges propose -- you know, attorneys propose, and judges dispose. the judges, i think, considered very carefully the arguments we made about the sentence, the arguments the defense made about the sentence. then they did their job. they exercised their judicial mandate. they made their best judicial determination about whether the trial chamber was right in imposing 50 years. they determined it was. we certainly respect that judgment. >> very good to speak with you. thank you very much for joining us on the program, brenda hollis the prosecutor for the special court of sierra leone. >> thank you. coming up here on al jazeera, we've got all the sports news for you including a fairy tale finish at the america's cup. well, for one team anyway. we'll tell you all about it.

another great sport comeback in a minute with summer.

let's go back to syria now. russia expects a u.n. resolution on chemical weapons within two days, and the fighting on the ground near the border with jordan. we have kristen standing by for us at the u.n. let's start with the jordanian side of the border with syria. there's been a lot of fighting on the syrian side of that crossing in the last couple of days. what's the latest on that?

>> reporter: we've heard from rebel fighters that told al jazeera that they're in control of 70% of the syrian side of the border. now, these rebel groups who are mainly from islamic groups such as the front have started the offense on the board crossing on tuesday evening. one of the significant gains they have made was to gain control of the air force intelligence branch inside the border crossing. this has been pretty much in control and controlling border crossing security since the beginning of the conflict in syria. we know that the rebels are in control of the western part of the border crossing. they're trying to advance eastward, and they're trying to target syrian government installations there including the border police branch . it's unclear how long it will take for them to advance, and we don't know if they want to advance closer to the jordanian

border. for now they're in control of the western part of the border crossing inside syria and trying to move eastward where the government has installations that have been shelling parts of dahar from there. >> the violence is still continuing. let's go to kristen at the u.n. obviously, a lot of diplomatic activity on this draft u.n. resolution. we're now being told from some quarters that it's apparently just two days away. >> reporter: that's right. they're in the final stages of negotiations after some very intense discussions here on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly in the past week. the russians and americans have been clashing over whether or not this resolution, which lays out a plan to dismantle syria's chemical weapons by 2014, over whether or not this resolution should be a so-called chapter 7 resolution, which would authorize the international community to use force,

sanctions or other punitive measures in the event syria does not live up to the obligations under the resolution. the diplomats say they have settled on wording that essentially would require another resolution down the road if there's a violation. the wording says something to the effect of, if syria doesn't comply, they will seek another resolution under chapter 7. so requires more talk, more debate down the road. they're very close. the one question that seems to remain is, who will determine whether or not syria is actually in compliance or not? at the same time we've also got talks here going on to set up a peace conference on syria, perhaps as soon as october, in geneva. the u.n. wants to jump-start the political process in syria and get political reconciliation moving in the country. john kerry and sergei lavrov are

due to meet and talk about that on saturday. >> thanks very much for that. the drama of that race towards a resolution matched with the drama of the race in america's cup. i can't quite believe what's happened. >> team usa has completed one of the sport's greatest ever comebacks. they won the winner takes all race against new zealand for the america's cup. they hold the eighth straight race victory in san francisco, seeing them overhaul an 8-1 deficit. we have the report. >> reporter: one of the great comebacks in sporting history or one desperate escape. the two possible endings to an engaging 19-day story, the longest regatta in the 162-year history of the america's cup. the early stages of the race had all the closeness and intensity that fans had come to expect.

>> this is it. this is it. >> reporter: words of encouragement from oracle's british sailing legend brett ainsley. at the halfway mark they surged into the lead. from there hope evaporated from team new zealand who spent a peek just one day from victory. team usa's eighth straight win is the most famous one as they retain the cup they won in 2010. >> oh, yeah, baby! >> reporter: led by an australian skipper and with just one american on board, that counted for little to the adoring fans. oracle's win was more notable by the fact they started the event with a two-point penalty for illegal modifications. >> they had everything. come up.

we're down here. it was a fantastic race. i mean we wouldn't have had it any other way to come from behind. these guys showed so much heart. >> reporter: once again the decision on the format venue and timing of the next event rest in oracle's hands. the 35th america's cup will certainly have a lot to live up to. >> team new zealand was given $30 million from the country's government for the event. the prime minister plans to meet with the team boss when he returns home. >> new zealand came far. i think it got a lot of deal of attention in the america's cup. at some point when the dust settles and graham dalton comes back to new zealand, the government will sit down and have a conversation with him. real madrid has renaldo and a bit of good fortune to thank

for the latest win in the spanish league. real were far from convincing after the portuguese star had put them ahead. back in spain, top division for the first time in 24 years. a last-minute equalizer. it's to be awarded a penalty, and renaldo stepped up to win it 2-1 in the 96th minute. real is two points behind barcelona and madrid. in baseball the detroit tigers secure their third consecutive american league central title. they beat the minnesota twins 1-0 on wednesday. the tigers outfielder torii hunter started off the innings with an rbi single. they delivered the win at target field with seven shutout innings against the townships. the tigers are the first time since 2004 win to win the

division three years in a row. the new york yankees won't be in the playoffs. an 8-3 defeat at home to the tampa bay rays ended their wildcard hopes. evan longoria hit two home runs. it's only the second time in 19 years that the yankees have failed to reach the postseason. there could be a new president of cycle's governing body in the next 24 hours. pat mcquaide has faced calls to resign over the failure on doping, particularly the lance armstrong scandal. he's now under serious threat of brian cookson from england. we have more. >> the lance armstrong doping revelations last year. the irishman could loses thiz

crown to brian cookson. he looks to secure the european vote, which will be 14 of the 22 he needs to be elected. >> i think it will be a bad day for cycling if i'm not elected. i think it's troublesome era. we had a troublesome era in the last few years, and if we don't have a change that era will continue. >> technically mcquaide doesn't have a valid nomination, not backed by switzerland where he leaves or his native ireland, but he believed he could be approved and voted in by congress. mcquaide controversially stopped the work of the own commission to investigate how the sport was run. mcquaide's army of critics now expect him to finally pay the price for years of questionable governance by the uci including accepting a payment for the fight against doping from lance armstrong. >> i wouldn't say it's all his fault, but at the end of the day pat mcquaide and his

predecessor, have been at the helm of cycling over 22 years. over that period we've seen cycling delve into the depths of despair. >> reporter: mcquaide defended his eight-year reign saying there's a lot of evidence the sport is cleaning up. it's a lot cleaner than it was when i came into it, but changing a kument tur does take time. i want four more years to do that and i will step down. despite the problems they have tried to keep on track. the world championship has attracted a lot of popular attention with the last two tour de france competitors among competitors. the most important race is cookson versus mcquaide for the seat of power. lee wellings, al jazeera, long done. >> there's more on our website at aljazeera.com/sports. >> thanks for that. now, more than two years since the tsunami devastated parts of japan's east coast,

debris is still washing up on beaches in north america. alaska has thousands of kilometers of coastline, and that's what's going to get most of it. allen schauffler explains. >> reporter: the high wide view is spectacular, america's largest uninhabited island looks pristine. walk the shoreline with the cleanup crew, and you get the true close-up picture. a picture of what he calls a slow-moving environmental disaster. metal barrels, parts of old shoes, plastic bottles, fishing floats and buoys from aq aquaculture farms across the pacific litter the beach. >> it's not hopeless. just need more resources and people but it's never-ending. >> half or more is tsunami debris. it's collected by hand and packed in huge bales and flown

out by helicopter but on the barge for the long trip back to civilization. the island is a national ocean dumping site in the northern corner of the gulf where currents and prevailing winds drive logs, wrecked fishing boats and anything else that floats onshore. >> urethane foam. this is chinese or korean. i'm not sure. this is a buoy and whis key. >> reporter: he said heavier stuff is coming in now, but there's less of it. last summer in the first big wave of tsunami trash, the modern garbage on some alaskan beaches increased 100-fold, a huge job for the crew trying to cover every inch of every beach. >> job security, yeah. based on what i've seen so far, it doesn't seem like an end right now. >> so far they have taken 30 tons per mile of plastic like this off the coastline on the island, and they have a lot more work to do. in fact, they figure about 75

more miles to the south. the farther they go, the harder this operation will get. 100 to $150,000 a mile, another 8 to 10 years at current staffing and funding levels. >> we don't know what the true environmental damage is. we can look at how many miles of coast line are covered with plastic, but what does that translate into as far as eco-logical damage. >> he thinks 10,000 miles of alaska's shoreline could use cleaning up. >> it needs to be done. someone has to do it. a wise woman said this is our kitchen. we need to keep it clean. it's where we get our food. >> reporter: it's where more of this comes ashore every day with every tide. allen schauffler, al jazeera, alaska. that's it from us from now. i'll be back straight after the break with another bulletin of news. do stay with us.

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[[voiceover]] every day, events sweep across our country. and with them, a storm of views. how can you fully understand the impact unless you've heard angles you hadn't considered? antonio mora brings you smart conversation that challenges the status quo with unexpected opinions and a fresh outlook. including yours.

you're watching al jazeera. i'm richelle carey, here some of stories we're following. for the first time in 30 years the u.s. and iran are set to hold talks. they will discuss iran as nuke lab program today in new york. it's the first time iran's foreign minister sits down with the security council in germany. authorities in kenya say they rented a smop inside the mall for three months leading up to the rampage. they kept weapons in the store and likely used the space to plan the siege. 20 fbi agents are now part of the investigation into the attack that left more than 60 dead. ofal