check check > hello, welcome to the newshour. we are here in doha. the top stories from around the world. >> desperate for food. syrians are going hungry as the fighting between rebels and al-qaeda intensifies. >> here in central african republic people are taking refuge at the airport. we are at the scene with the latest. >> bangladesh swears in a new

parliament without a single member of the main opposition party. >> and... >> ♪ ♪ happy birthday >> after serenading the north korean leader, dennis rodman apologises to the family of a captive american. >> there has been intense fighting between al qaeda-linked fighters and rebel forces in syria. here are the latest pictures from the north of the country. the area's food supply has been disrupted. bakeries have not been running as there is no flour. and there's dealt devastation in the suburb of damascus. there has been days of intense shelling. most of the area appears to be

deserted. >> let's speak to our correspondent monitoring developments. she is in beirut for us rula amin devastation, and running out of food like in many parts of syria? >> yes, as you said, like many other parts in syria, and the neighbourhoods in homs, aleppo and damascus. in many of these areas it's the government forces besieging the areas, trying to pressure the population in order to let go to the rebels and supporting the rebels, and in some areas, it's the government areas, and supporting the government. there are food shortages, electricity, food. it's cold now. there's no fuel for people to get warm. there's no electricity.

in many areas the schools have been destroyed. the whole rhythm of life has been disrupted in the past two or three years. now it's like people are feeling the pick of it. >> what is the latest on the latest between the fighting between the rebels and the i.s.i.l. we here reports that they are coming under pressure from other groups. >> they have been collapsing quickly. in less than two weeks the new collisi collision formed against the i.s.i.l. has overrun its headquarters in many parts of syria. we heard from the syrian observatory for human rights that in aleppo most of the i.s.i.l. fighters had to leave and flee after the new coalition of rebel groups, including militants and non-islamist and islamist groups defeated them.

the government says the infighting is benefitting the government in damascus, it shows that they are not united and are losing the casualties, the fighters they are losing means they are not fighting the regime, but themselves. >> rula amin, thank you very much, managing development on syria. >> at least 13 army recruits have been killed and 30 wounded in a suicide attack in iraq. police say a man with an explosive vest blew himself up at an airfield in the capital baghdad as he stood with the recruits. let's get some context on the latest attack. imran khan joins me in the studio. another attack in baghdad, but on a military center. >> it was a recruitment center, recruiting for what was going on. the army recruits were at the outskirts of the base. it wasn't that secure.

anyone could join the line, and that's where the suicide bomber blew-up his vest. we are likely to see more attacks like this as the operation goes on. iraq's army struck a deal with the pro-government sooupy tribes in anbar, and they decided to move to the outskirts and allow the pro-government sunni tribes and the police forces to go and take over security. prime minister nouri al-maliki said, "this is up to the tribes, something they need to do." let's take a look at what is going on. >> a standoff between fighters and the al qaeda-linked groups. pro-government continues in fallujah. the humanitarian crisis gets worse. fuel and food is getting into the town, it is not enough. >> translation: there's nothing available in fallujah.

government services are not provided. there's no gas, oil or petrol. these terrible conditions affect the people of fallujah. >> pro-government fighters called on army fighters to leave. prime minister nouri al-maliki spoke to the nation in a televoiced address, urging the leaders to take the initiative. >> translation: i call on them to take action. we are with them, stand beside them, constantly. the army is ready, but we want them to take the initiative and pull the rug from the people, and target the city, chased away from the people of anbar and fallujah. i call on them to unit and take a stance in fallujah city. >> an interim deal has been struggle, which saw iraqi army forces withdraw, and the local tribes, police forces move to take the checkpoints.

with i.s.i.l. forces not wanting to surrender, a ground assault may be all that is left. >> a new member of the parliament has been sworn in in bangladesh. political tension is high, following an election boycotted from the opposition. we have more from the capital. >> the question most ask is how the new government will function. it came under criticism from the international community. whether it can engage with the international community. can it send a trade delegation overseas? can business as usual take place? except for india, most of the country critical about the elections. at least 23 died in election-related violence. the dynamics in the ground is far from stable. opposition says it will protest and keep the movement up until there is a free, fair and

inclusive election. >> the president of the central african republic travelled to chad to meet african leaders about the violence. they are being criticised for failing to prevent fighting from muslims and christians, 2 million, half the population, have left their homes in search of safety. >> more than 100,000 displaced people are gath said outside bangui air -- gathered outside bangui airport. two efforts to distribute supplies had to be curtailed. in the third event some food was distributed. >> the airport site is a complicated site. the two times we tried to distribute aid was a failure. we dared to try again. >> there was enough for around

12,000, with mosquito nets, blankets and soap. it barely makes a dent. >> around a million people have been displaced since seleka seized power. christian militia responded with a wave of reprisal attacks. >> seleka's leader michel djotobia was installed as president but is unable to end the cycle of violence and international patience is almost avoided. central african leaders will meet, to discuss dropping their supports. unicef is concerned about the deaths of children. thousands of children have been enlisted into militias. we have seen torture, attacks against children. they are recruited.

we estimate between 3,000, 6,000 children are with armed forces. they are exposed to disease. out of school. it's a difficult place to be a child righted now. >> francis deployed a 1500 strong peacekeeping force and hopes the efforts can be handed to an african unionist force. analysts believe it's incapable of working unsupported. >> the u.n. says this is a country on the edge. >> barnaby phillips is at the camp, near the airport. where many fled. how bad are things. >> it's a terrible place. it's a little surreal place. i'm yards away from the tarmac of what is notionally an

international airport with flights coming in going. most aid flights. inside the camp it is, very little organised. just canvas and plastic, where people put themselves down, and, as i say, on the edge of the runway. i'm with a little family of five small children. they have lost their father and their mother is not here. they say that things are so bad they haven't had the opportunity to go to school anyway, but they ran to this place a week ago because they feared the militia, which was shooting people in their neighbourhood of bangui. a glimmer of light if you like from the camp is that the aid org nightsation medecins sans frontieres has been carrying out vaccinations for measles, which can be a killer under these

conditions, where disease can spread quickly. over the last two days, they've vaccinated 26,000 children, and we saw hundreds more queueing up to receive at least that preventative matter. so slowly some sort of help is reaching people, but it's a very, very tragic place to be. >> we have been getting the reports that the president might resign. he's meeting with african leaders in chad. how might things change if michel djotobia did resign. >> i'm not sure that things would immediately improve, to be honest. this is not to give the president any credit. as has been pointed out, his spell had been nothing short of disaster. if he were to leave, the question is what next.

there's a terrible power vacuum in this country. if the head of state. somewhat notional fills that vacuum that could passengers by be more dangerous. -- potentially be more dangerous. the regional powers know that. the french know that. and they must surely appreciate that if it does go, some sort of international matter needs to be beefed up quickly to prevent a dangerous situation in this country. the african peacekeeping force which has been taxed - well, it's not reached the target of 6,000 men. that's a drop in the ocean in a huge country where they support sectarian violence in bangui,

but in many other towns and villages. >> barnaby phillips in the capital of central african republics at that camp where so many are trying to seek safety. >> for hospitals in south south sudan, struggling to cope, at this united nations facility, there aren't enough beds to treat those suffering malaria. the result of recent fighting between the army and rebels, hundreds have been demonstrating, demanding an end to the violence. >> civil society groups in south sudan's capital juba march for police. the government insists the city is under its control. there's fighting in upper unity and jonglei states. fierce battle, and forces loyal to the vice president riek

machar. >> our children are being killed. whether from the warring party or the government, they are all our children. as a mother, i'm concerned. >> in 2011, south sudan gained independence from sudan. >> two years ago people were celebrating. now they are tired, disappointed and angry and didn't expect this to happen. >> more soldiers are being deployed to volatile areas. the capital is under the control of forces loyal to riek machar. >> this is fighting these rebels that are trying to come to juba. they are going to take bor. fighting has been on and off to bor town. there's still bor town. >> riek machar says he will agree to is a cease fire if political prisoners accused of planning a coup are released

from detention. president salva kiir suggests the peace talks should be held in juba, so political prisoners could attend during the day. riek machar rejected the propose am. for those that want peace in south sudan, it may not happen soon. >> still to come in the next 30 minutes. >> we shall not rest until that war is won. >> 50 years after a u.s. president declared a war on poverty the fight only gets harder. >> and we take a look at one of the world's dirtiest waterways. the river in argentina, and what is being done to clean it up. >> in sport, after two months out, one of the best footballers scores twice on his return.

>> north korea rejected a proposal by south korea to continue the reunion of families spirited by the korean war. harry fawcett has more from seoul. >> south korea has been waiting all week for a response to the offer by the president in her new year's press conference on monday, that there should be family reunions taking place on january the 31st. the day the lunar new year falls. there were attempts to carry out search reunions towards the end of last year, and it seems ready to go. north korea pulled out with a few days to go. it spirited by the drawing of the border at the end of the fighting in the boer war. many are elderly. there's a time pressure to get them to meet separated family members. north korea responded saying this is not the right time for a reunion, three weeks preparation is not long enough, the weather

is too cold. importantly, lipping it to annual drills involving south korean and u.s. forces throughout march and april, the north koreans say how can separated families reunit in peace during gun fire. the south koreans say there'll be no meeting during war exercises. >> former u.s. basketball dar dennis rodman apologised -- star dennis rodman apologised for comments made. he's been causing controversy again with his first visit to pyongyang >> serenading a dictatodictator

dennis rodman serenaded kim jong un before leading players. it's the latest chapter in an odd relationship during an impressive ruler. >> i love the guy. he is my friend. >> it's rodman's fourth drip to north korea. he calls it basketball diplomacy. >> i want everyone in the world to see that you can't - i want everyone to absorb this. we want to look at certain things. it went well for everyone involved. >> but dennis rodman has been criticised in the u.s. and south korea by politicians and the media for his pandering to kim, who had his own uncle executed.

>> north korea is a police state with thousands of political prisoners and an active nuclear weapons program. kim's government threatens to annihilate the u.s., south korea and japan. in 2012 south korea arrested a tour group leader and charged him with flplotting a coup. >> the u.s. government says kenneth bae is innocent and north korea never showed evidence against him. in a television interview dennis rodman suggested kenneth bae may be guilty, and cursed at a reporter interviewing him. kenneth bae's sister said the family is appalled. >> this is not a game. dennis rodman can play the media game all he wants. this is about a man's life, and that's on the line here. and, you know, i hope that he

realises that this is serious, serious stakes. he has a family at home, a father of three children, waiting for him for 14 months. i hope he remembers that. >> one u.s. congressman says dennis rodman is entertaining kim with his famous sport is like taking adolf hitler out for lunch. >> australia national airline qantas has an illustrious history. does it have a future? moody's downgraded its credit rating to junk status because it's concerned about its core domestic business. standard&poor's rated it as junk. it will increase costs for the airline. >> junk status doesn't mean shares are rubbish or worthless, but the shares are dropped below a threshold, viewing it as a speculative invest, rather than

safe. it's a chance the airline could default. not good news. it means qantas will find it harder to raise money, pay a higher rate of interest. interestingly investors are not too concerned. so dire was their view of qantas anyway that when news of the downgrade came qantas shares went up. they had a terrible time over the last few years. qantas posted a $300 million loss, making a thousands of its staff redundant and cutting routes left, right and center. the airline says it's facing competition from asian airlines and from virgin australia, owned by foreign owners. qantas is restricted by rules to

stop it being majority owned and it wants those rules lifted so it can compete. >> 50 years ago lyndon johnson launched a war an poverty. the gap between the rich and poor is a political issue. more than 40 million americans struggle for basic necessities. patty culhane reports. >> this is the america u.s. politicians like to talk about. one of upward mobility, promise and wealth. >> the wealthiest nation on earth. sna lyndon johnson had a different perspective declaring a war on poverty. >> we shall not rest until that war is won. >> the richest nation on earth can afford to win it. >> that was five decades ago, when 19% of the nation lived in

poverty. then the war was working. the rates started to fall. down to just about 11% in 1973, but since then it has climbed. now back to 15% of the population. that translates into 46.5 milli 46.5 milli 46.5 million people who struggle through the basics of life, including 16 million children. this is a reason for the numbers. >> by far the most important is the decision of major capitalist employers in the united states fundamentally to leave the united states, to go to other parts of the world where they can pay lower wages, where they do not have environmental rules and regulations that they have to subordinate their activities to, where they can get to be blunt, better profits than here. >> it is translated into a growing wealth gap. the incomes of the richest

americans, the 1% have grown by 86%. the incomes of everyone else has grown at a little over of%. the wealthiest reaping the benefits of growing profits and a booming wall street. on main street wages have barely increased. >> millions could need the help of food banks like this one. benefits for the long-term unemployed have been cut off because congress and the president can't agree on how to pay for it. it doesn't look like it will change. as for the proposal to change the minimum wage - he's promised it before but hasn't succeeded. >> and the latest weather with everton. this current cold spell is starting to ease up across the u.s. have a lot of temperature records been broken. >> coldest weather for 20 years.

prior to that cold spells. something like this for around about five or 10 years. in the 1900s, something like every other year. so not particularly unusual in the longer term. something of a warming taking place over the next couple of days, temperatures up to 60 degrees celsius. milder ware making its way across the u.s. take a look at this. by saturday, 40 degrees celsius could lead to flooding. >> not all good news despite the warming up. what's the weather like in europe. >> for europe, if we had mild air into europe. coming into a westerly direction. you can see here hined up from west to east, pushing the winds in from the atlantic. that mimed air is across europe. london and paris 6-7 degrees.

warm here, and that warmth will extend to the north-east of europe. 2 degrees is not cold. it should be minus nine. snow in place and into saturday. not too bad further south. temperatures around 5-6 celsius across southern parts of europe. >> unsettled weather piloting in across the north-west. we are looking at a drier spell making its way into the western side of europe as we go on through the weekend. down to the south-east. wet weather making its way out of the eastern side of the mediterranean. syria, lebanon, jordan, into iraq. heavy rain through friday, making its way eastwards. we could - wouldn't be surprised if we see flooding coming in as the system makes its way further eastwards. the weather stretching to central areas of the gulf.

we may well see a fair amount of cloud and rain making its way across the likes of qatar. expect rain here as we go through saturday. dry weather in behind it. temperatures picking up into beirut. lovely sunshine coming in with a top temperature on saturday - a pleasant 17 degrees. >> beautiful temperature there. thank you very much. >> still to come in the program. >> fighting in syria intensifies, government and opposition groups battle among themselves for control of the north. >> we want to establish the country for the future >> voting abroad. egyptians cast their votes on the country's new constitution. >> still ahead in sport - west ham suffer a big defeat. this time in mann chester. jo will be here with more.

>> welcome back. a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera - the food supply in many areas of syria has been disrupted due to heavy fighting between al qaeda-linked fighters and rebel groups. bakeries have not been operating for two days as there is no flour. >> at least 14 army recruits have been killed and 13 wounded in a suicide attack in iraq. police say a man with an

explosive vest blew himself umed at an airfield in baghdad as he stood with recruits. >> north korea directed a proposal by south korea to resume the reunion of families separated by the korean war. military exercises between the u.s. and seoul have been blamed. >> fighting between the al qaeda-linked group, islamic state of iraq and levant, and rebels is intensifying. there has been violence in aleppo and other areas. the rebels managed to score a win against the armed group. zeina khodr reports. >> syria's armed opposition is continuing its offensive against al qaeda. they have pushed fighters from thei the islamic state of iraq and levant. this one from a base in aleppo

>> translation: we liberated our country >> this is what islamic state of iraq and levant is leaving behind. bodies of act visits. civilians, relief workers were held in the gaols. some were released. >> i was detained for two months, 20 days. my hands were tied and head covered. i can take you to their grave. >> five minutes before being executed the free syrian army arrived and freed us. >> territorial gains made by the rebels does not signal eminent victory. >> even though the islamic states in iraq and the levant may be on the offensive on the ground, it's been fighting back, fighters targetting opposition forces using suicide bombers,

and its leadership, in an audio recording promised to fight back. >> translation: the syrian national coalition, and free syrian army declared war. all the members are legitimate target. we have blazed rewards on their heads - kill them where they are found. >> fighting in the rebel-held north weakens the opposition. in the long term it may benefit from the battle. al qaeda's presence in syria has been a reason for the international community's reluctance to provide military support. the regime has been able to portray the fight as one against terrorism. the opposition denied that it turned its guns against al qaeda to apiece the west, saying it did so because the people of syria could no longer tolerate the abuses.

there appears to be unity among rebel forces. the opposition inside and outside syria were as fractured. >> tunisia riot police fought protesters angry at high unemployment and new taxes. the demonstrators tried to break into the offices of the ruling party. and the post in a nearby vil im was attacked. the same reason was a starting point. we have more from the capital. the people in the north-west of the county say we are not paying the cost of the revolution, we are not paying the bills of the government. we should be looking elsewhere. they came to the streets and burned an office in the

governor's building. there were clashes with police, no injuries. we see the movement continue if the measures are not changed and this comes at a critical time when the parliament of tunisia, when the government is about to resign, and as we come up to the anniversary of the revolution, people in the center of the country, and other areas of company are not happy fully years after the revolution. not much as changed. the economy has not improved, there are no jobs in the areas, and so their - they are disappointed and feel that the reasons why they came out of the streets three years ago did not achieve much - did not reach their expectations.

>> next week egypts will hold a referendum replacing ones brought in by mohamed morsi. egypt shans living abroad can vote early, until the end of this week. >> it's a working day for the egyptians in britain. like compatriots, they are preparing to vote on a constitution a week before egypt pt the man that runs the community center hopes the result is a resounding yes. this gives everyone in egypt the rights. look at articles, woman's and children's rights. look at the religious people. just so you have covered everything. >> in egypt's 2012, egyptian christians voted in large numbers. the bishop hopes that will be repeated this time around.

>> my concern is if people sit home, they'll blame themselves for what might happen if the voice is lost. whether people agree or disagree, they should make the choice known. >> voting abroffed lasts nine days, a chance for millions to have their way. fewer than 700,000 voted. many voted yes. >> we say yes for the country, to establish a country for the future. >> for a better future for egypt, you know. and we hope, you know, that is the roadmap work out properly and everything will be okay. >> plenty of egyptians turned up here to have their say on the constitution. opinion is as divided among egyptians outside the country. some april a call to boycott the

election. the self-styled anti-coup say it was drafted by those that plotted the overthrow of mohamed morsi. >> it is a government which is backed by the military. >> after many egyptians, it is the start of bringing hope and stability to a troubled nation. >> well, three al jazeera journalists have been detained in egypt without charge. mohamed fadel fahmy and peter greste are expected to beent beinterrogated later today. they are accused of spreading lies and joining a terrorist organise nation. peter greste is an award-winning correspondent working extensively across africa.

mohamed fadel fahmy is an experienced journalist, woulding for several international media companies and the red cross. and baher mohamed has been working for al jazeera as a producer for most of the last year. >> an egypt researcher for amnesty international joins us from loindon. >> what is amnesty international's perspective on the detention of al jazeera's journalists without charge. >> amnesty international is concerned about repress and setbacks that we have seen in egypt in terms of media freedoms and freedom of expression. we consider the journalists and act visits who have been detained to be prisoners of conscience for freely expressing their views and expressions opposition to authorities.

>> is it just al jazeera. are there other journalists, activists as well. >> in recent weeks we have seen the repress extended beyond a crackdown on the muslim brotherhood, which we have seen since the removal of mohamed morsi in july of last year. >> in recent weeks we have seen that repress to be in terms of judicial harassment. to an opposition activist known for the criticism of the muslim brotherhood. the government issued a controversial law allow the ministry to ban protests. and we have seen that law implemented and used to arrest dozens of opposition activists. several of them have been convicted and are currently in egyptian gaols. >> how difficult is it to

operate in egypt right now for groups like amnesty international and journalists. >> the climate is difficult. there is an ever-shrinking space for reporting and documenting human right violations that are happening in egypt. certainly, for instance, for al jazeera and other platforms that are seen as providing a voice for the muslim brotherhood and those opposing the government. the situation has been difficult, there has been instances where journalists and media have been held. some journalists for 12 days now. in general they are facing other constraints to their work from the general public, which is

suspicious of the work of reporters. particularly given popular support to the authorities. >> okay. thank you for speaking to us. >> an egypt referencer for amnesty international. >> thank you. >> well, the murder of a former beauty queen in venezuela provoked protest about crime levels. hundreds took to the streets of caracas. monica spear and ex-husband were shot dead in a highway robbery. violent crime is a concern. there were 39 murders for every 100,000 people. >> you may remember the riots to parts of london in 2011. incredible scenes from the british capital that rocked the country. the criminals and thugs were people living in the areas, they

put it down to local tensions. police marksman shot this man dead. his family changed their account. a jury ruled that police did act lawfully. the jury ruled that he had a gun on him before he was kill. most of the jurors said he did not have it in his hand when shoot. his family say they'll continue to fight for justice. >> he was executed. we believe that. we'll fight until we have no breath in our body for justice for mark and his children and all of those deaths in custody that had nothing. we are not looking up. no justice. >> still to come this hour - we report from the philippines where centuries old tradition is attracting millions to manila. >> she feels like i'm a nice guy, i get along with everybody.

so i had to explain to her, "are you not playing well? what's going on." >> and why this 2-time n.b.a. all-star faced tough questions from his mum after being traineded. details in sport, coming up.

>> welcome back. an international environmental body has named the riacheulo river in argentina as one of the it 10 most polluted sites. those working to clean up the

water reacted angry by saying the findings were based on out of date information. the riacheulo is not a massive expanse of water, running 64km from the edge of the capital to the atlantic. we have this report. >> there's no doubt that the real riacheulo is polluted. tonnes of debris is pulled from the water, and decades of dumping chemical waste left it dead. there's no oxygen in the water. few remember the last fish to be caught here. >> translation: there was an accumulation of waste because people along the river threw in rubbish, old cars, fridges and for. there were more than 60 boats which have been removed. >> the new york base institute says it's one of the 10 most polluted sites. others include the

nuclear-devastated cherna boll in ukraine and the niger delta. that's unfair say those trying to clean it up. >> translation: if some ways the riacheulo was a metaphor. arge teens and immigrants chose it to make a start. that's a story repeated here. into the real riacheulo runs through the hearts of bun of buenos aires's iconic tourist attractions and home to the bokka juniors football club much decades of dumping waste cannot be resolved overnight. cleaning up the waters is a slow methodical and often rather smelly process. argentine politicians have had a long history of making and breaking promises to clean up the riacheulo. a 2008 supreme court ruling ordered local authorities to work together. >> there's now a national

political policy, and a plan to work towards and we are working towards it. slowly but with problems. we are getting there. >> now residents living in areas are involved in reclaiming the river. social groups involved in consultation, cleaning and planning for the future. >> our dream is to have a river that is healthy, clean. a productive river generating income for the community, like it did in the last century. >> the riacheulo is still some way from welcoming back its first fish or entertaining bathers. the dream of restoring it to something like its former glory is very much alive. >> and jo is here with the sport. >> lionel messi is back, arguably the best player scoring twice after coming off the bench on his return to barcelona in

the copa del rey. >> illness forced raynar after the first led. cesc fab re gas gave barcelona an 8-0 lead. lionel messi had not played due to a hamstring injury since november the 10th. barca were awarded a penalty, val aira took down pedro. fab re gas netted his second of the game. lionel messi made an entrance to a thunderous reception. and in the 89th minute they return by scoring barca's third. but the argentine hadn't finished. there was time for him to nip a second. >> barcelona 4-0 winners, with a

second leg in madrid next week. >> barca's neighbours didn't have a good night. daniel pet reco's kick catching the goalkeeper off-site. >> real put their league worries to one side, winning 1-0 against athletic bill boo. it's all square between el maria after a first-leg encounter. they were given a first-half lead. david concher had been on the field a couple of minutes when he equalized for the hosts. >> sam to continue on as west

ham's manager despite a thumping loss to manchester city. alvero was the star as city romped to a win. he scored a hat-trick. goals from torre and jecko. pressure on alain dykes who saw his side lose weeks ago. >> we are not the first team to be beaten by many goals, and we won't bee the last. we fought hard to get to the semifinal. we have played some great games and won fantastic football matches. unfortunately, at is this moment in time, the semi fell and they puppished us. >> a winter world cup would be

welcome in qatar. it has been thrown in the spotlight when f.i.f.a.'s secretary said it would be moved from the june-july slot to the winter. there was denial of a position made. the players union said it would welcome the date change. >> translation: for us it's good news. we have been fighting for a while for players not to play in extreme temperatures. we've been insisting that the games be pushed back to a cold are season - winter. the f.i.f.a. handbook considers obvious 32 degrees celsius is a risk to players' health. it assisted before qatar was picked. >> there has been a major upset at the city international. a lead-up event to the australian open. >> number one ousted number

eight in the world. a bulgarian won, becoming the first qualifier to reach the final of the tourpt -- tourpt. >> her on the, a german. >> bernard tommic acted for his player. >> thomas berdych is through to the final of the kooyong classic. he won in straight sets. berdych is seeded 7th. >> the injury plagued la lakers suffered their ninth lose in 10 games, the lakers missing kobe bryant and others were defeated

by the houston rockets. his 38-point hall equalling a high. final score 113 to 99. >> two-time all star has been practicing with the cleveland cavaliers for the first time since his trade. the forward says he's excited about the move, but the hardest part is explaining it to his mulch. >> it's awkward. the hardest part was i had the family over for christmas and new years. mum doesn't understand being traded. >> to me that was one of the hardest things i had to do. explaining that the organization i had been with no longer wanted me there. she feels like i'm a nice guy. i get along with everybody. i had to explain when she was asking are you not playing well.

that was the hardest part. >> the new york ranges reflected a rare home defeat on chicago, beating the black hawks. carl haglen scoring a ty breaking goal. it's the first home regulation lost since september. >> philadelphia made if 10 straight home wins. it's their longest home-winning streak for 10 years, and they go up to fourth in the eastern conferen conference. that is all the sport for now. >> well, the black mazza reen procession in the philippines is a big event, it's been around for hundreds of years, and explain j. >> every year millions of roman catholics flock to the philippines to throw themselves at the black christ.

far from the usual sombre affair that is typical of religious processions the move is festive. >> though the processions causes injuries and deaths in previous years. millions much filipinos condition to put their face on the naza reen. >> this couple have been coming in search of answers, pinning their hopes on god and not the government. >> translation: he has given us everything that we ask for. it may not come right away, but he will give it. >> around 85%. population are roman catholics. many believe the devotion is to do with the country's problems than the religion. the black nattereth is doing something that philadelphia

relate to, suffering. the people go looking for a miracle in their lives, trying to make things better. >> the search for a better life is something millions are praying for. >> from natural disasters to armed conflict the country was faced with losses in 2013. the uncertainty of what the feature holds has left many clinging to religion for answers. >> the black nazer een has been associated with redemption and miracle. it may be blind faith for those refusing to believe. >> not for the million of devotees. praying for miracles is better than to have nothing left to hope for. >> do check out our website. you can get all the latest new, opinion pieces and lots more. aljazeera.com. thanks for staying with us.

>> new jersey governor chris christie trying to distance himself it from a growing political scandal. emails suggest top staffers orchestrated traffic jams on a busy bridge as part of a political endeavour. >> new talks getting underway curved at political capabilities, if world powers can undertake crippling injunctions. >> how locals are trying to reclaim one of the most poluated rivers in the world. >> we fought we'd be a model of race relations. we weren't. >> how one of the face's vibrant cities fell so