♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello from al jazeera's headquarters here at doha, this is the news hour and coming up, in the next 60 minutes, an explosion in the heart of hezbollah capitol beirut. the blast one day before peace talks on the conflict in syria due to start in switzerland. mosques destroyed communities and we have a special report on sectarian violence tearing apart the central african republic.

and the growing divide between rich and poor, a new report says half the world's wealth is in the hands of just 85 people. ♪ we start this news hour in lebanon where there has been an explosion in the capitol beirut and counsel people have died and also injuries. the blast happened in southern beirut in a stronghold of the armed group hezbollah and we are joined now from beirut and you are there at the scene of this latest explosion, what is happening now? >> well, i am standing on a bridge that overlooks the location where the explosion happened. as far as we know from the national news agency, for now, four people have been confirmed dead and 27 injured. they have been moved to

hospitals. i'm going to step out of the shot to give my cameraman a chance to show you what exactly is going on down there. now, this is a hezbollah stronghold. it's an area of south beirut where obviously hezbollah has a very strong presence and hezbollah supporters live here. the streets you see there and in the middle of the street where you see the crowd, that is where the explosion took place. we understand it was a suicide bomber who detonated a bomb while parked and sitting inside a car. now, two weeks ago an explosion also targeted this same street in this very area and happened about 60 meters where it happened today. now, you can see there are ambulances. the lebanese army has deployed and trying to clear the streets. fire trucks have already put out

the fire that you saw in earlier pictures. we understand that was a fire that happened in a building that was a library and the actual explosion also happened in -- near a building that was a municipality building. this is a very busy area where people shop, where they run their errands during the day, there are lots of restaurants, cafes, it's a very busy commercial and residential area. and this would be the fourth time it has been hit by suicide bombs since the summer. as you know lebanon has also witnessed a lot of other explosions. there was one downtown recently and less than a week ago one on the border between syria and lebanon and that was also a hezbollah stronghold. the people who live here are supporters of hezbollah.

they are -- they belong to the shia and support hezbollah and the conflict in syria has really caused a very evident spill over in lebanon because hezbollah sends fighters that fight against rebel groups and groups here threatened to strike hezbollah strongholds and this is the result of these threats. >> reporter: now, you mentioned that explosions in that northern town last thursday, the group claimed responsibility for that attack, has there been claims of responsibility for this latest attack? >> not yet. usually in the past the explosions that have happened in south beirut and hezbollah strongholds have been carried out when we hear of claims of

responsibility by groups like a syrian opposition islamic group fighting inside syria against the government and other al-qaeda-affiliated islamic groups and usually groups claim responsibility for such attacks on south beirut and hezbollah stronghold. no claim of responsibility yet but what we do know is what i mentioned so far, at least four killed, 27 injured according to the national news agency and as well that the cause of the explosion was a suicide bomber parked inside a car on a street which i just showed you here. >> reporter: and what is the lebanese government doing to try and stop these attacks, a very divided lebanese government? >> i'm sorry, i can't hear your question because i heard someone else speaking in my ear. but i think you were asking

about the -- this spill over, how it's effecting lebanon and causing a lot of division between the lebanese people. the conflict next door in syria has really divided the lebanese people into two camps, one that supports the syrian government and bashir al-assad and sending fighters to fight alongside the government and the other which supports the opposition and this is causing a lot of tension in most parts of the country, not only in the capitol beirut, not only in or interareas between syria and lebanon but the capitol which witnessed so many explosions recently. we used to hear about the explosions and see them every month or two months and now they are happening on a weekly bases and this is the effect and shows you how divided the people in lebanon are and goes to show it was the concerns and the worries about the conflict in syria really the fighting in lebanon and creating a spill over and

turmoil were very valid worries and concerns. >> reporter: all right, thank you very much and we are in the lebanese capitol beirut where there has been yet another explosion, a bomb attack believed to be the work of a suicide bomber in southern beirut, the stronghold of the group hezbollah and 4 killed and 27 people injured in this latest attack. and we are live now in switzerland where peace talks in syria are due to start wednesday and this latest attack in lebanon must highlight the urgency of trying to find some kind of solution at the talks in switzerland. >> undoubtedly. this is no longer confined to syria and has spread and lebanon is a battlefield and really the tensions and violence in iraq in one way or another is linked to

the syrian crisis and knows this and the international community knows the urgency of finding a political solution and have said that and said there is no military solution to this crisis and that is why they exerted a lot of efforts for the conference to convene tomorrow and putting pressure on the opposition and the syrian national coalition to attend and it was a decision that divided the coalition even further and weakened the coalition but they nevertheless are coming to montreal. a lot of challenges, it's going to be a very complicated task because the war inside clearly do not have the same agenda. yes geneva two publically is about finding a transitional body by mutual consent, a body to govern syria with full executive authority, the syrian opposition thinks that the regime will be handing over power, at least this is what it wants and hopes, and the regime

has no intention of doing that. what we understand from sources close to the syrian government, the government is going to come and present a united front and tell the world that it is facing a war against terrorism and it's fighting this war alone and it expects the international community to help the syrian government to do this. >> reporter: now, you have reported extensively inside syria, are people there at all hopeful of a diplomatic solution to the crisis? >> well, as you can imagine there is mixed reactions. many syrians who have been suffering from the lack of food, water, the bombing, they want this to end. they are tired. they have been seeing a lot of suffering but at the end of the day some of them will say, well, if we accept any deal with the syrian government it would be a betrayal to all people who lost their lives in the fight. there is mixed reaction and those and the armed rebels and the men who really hold power

and influence on the ground. let's say for example some agreement comes out here in switzerland that calls for a cease fire, who is going to implement that cease fire? the coalition will not be able to do that, they need the support of armed groups, armed groups do not recognize snc and do not recognize the political process, for them they will not accept anything less than the regime stepping aside and like we mentioned the regime is very confident first of all, it's being, it's politically asserting itself and the international community is engaging with it. in one way or the other it's legitimized and the regime holding the upper hand really on the ground. so there are those syrians who want an end to the suffering and other syrians who say we won't accept an agreement that is betraying those who have died in this fight. and of course there are other syrians who don't believe this political process will lead to anywhere and that the regime is

just buying time. >> reporter: thank you very much once again and we are live in switzerland for the talks on syria are due to start on wednesday. and three international prosecutors say there is evidence of large scale killing and torture by syrian forces, uk law firm has a report commissioned by cutter and includes testimony and photos from a former military policeman warning the images you are about to see are very graphic and show around 11,000 bodies. the report says a significant number of them are emaciated and appear bound or beaten with objects and experts say that is a strong case for prosecution. and the fighting continues to rage inside syria. more than a dozen people died at the crossing between syria and turkey on monday, two explosions

there killed at least six fighters. the rest of those killed were reportedly civilians. in aleppo two car bombs exploded at the ed quarters of an opposition group and apparently launched by a rebel group and infighting in syria killed more than a thousand fighters in the past two weeks. moving on to some other news, the new interim president of the central african republic asked the international community for help in stabilizing the country and the former mayor of bongi and wants to put an end before the country tears apart and elections before the end of the year. eu foreign ministers in brussels will send troops to bolster security and help around 6,000 african and french soldiers already in central african

republic and it has spread to other parts of the car and we traveled there to find out more. >> the road southwest from bongi through a lawless country side. our first stop is a roadblock by men who say they are the national army defending the country against a muslim and celica rebels and ousted president. >> no problem with muslims, they are brothers and lived with them for a long time and only have a project with the others. >> reporter: we come to the village of the cafe where we are surrounded by an agitated crowd. we are meeting a great variety of armed groups along the road. some are relatively well armed, but these people are essentially

vigilantes, village protection groups and say they are guarding the community against soldiers who are some 15 kilometers along the road. we noticed many houses in the village are destroyed and seems the muslim population has been driven out. then we see that the village's are demolishing the mosque. [gunfire] it's one shocking moment in one small village. but all over this country in resent weeks mobs of people have destroyed mosques and churches. we drive on crossing what passes as a front line to meet the celica fighters and confusingly they too claim to be the national army, their commander tells us they want peace. >> translator: shooting someone with a weapon is not the solution. we are here to construct, not to destroy. our job as authority is to keep things calm. >> reporter: nearby we find

muslims loading possessions and moving out and no longer feel safe here, across the central african republic communities are unravelling and help from the outside world can stop things from becoming even worse here and i'm southwest of bongi. >> reporter: there is more to come on the al jazeera news hour, barack obama joins in the debate on legalizing marijuana and says it's no more dangerous than alcohol. and back to class university across nigeria reopen after months of strikes. and in sport joe will have the latest from the australian open and details coming up, a little later. ♪ government forces in the eastern democratic republic of congo are

trying to drive out a rebel group called adf and troops sweeping through village's and they want use of business and trade, as malcolm web discovered the locals fear them. >> reporter: everybody who lives here has fled in fear of the adf rebels and the group was once more popular and bought business and trade and government soldiers t looed and things have changed. and she remains here and comes me briefly in the day to break the nuts. >> translator: my grand daughter was raped by a rebel fighter in the forest so we left for another village. we came back, then they kidnapped her along with our neighbor. >> reporter: in the last year the adf have been responsible for kidnappings and killings and shot this man in july when they attacked his town and he refused to leave but now the government

troops are closing in and say they are going to clear the armed groups out of congo with u.n. support. adf originally came from neighboring ugandaaaa and began 1995 on the border in the mountains. they fought the uganda army and were defeated, since 2004 they have been based in eastern congo and it's lawless and they thrived and their territory includes lucrative gold and mines and thick rain forest. even walking through it is difficult. this thick cover is what makes it easy for the rebels to hide and attack government forces when they come in but not the only benefit of being in the forest and trees like this one can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars in timber but it's only possible for the adf to prosper with business people and some government officials both here in congo and across the border new grand da

and if they have cash coming in to buy supplies and ammunitions it's going to be very difficult for the government to defeat them. in the nearby town of benny they said the mayor worked with them before and we asked him repeatedly but he said he didn't understand the question and now he is clearly on the government's side. >> the army is coming to attack and have every base surrounded and we understand if the army surrounds them it's difficult for them to move around to get food or ammunition. >> reporter: for the government it has not been easy and the rebels seem to be well supplied and determined to fight for their survival, malcolm web al jazeera near benny in the democratic republic of congo. >> reporter: they are in the independent square after a night of heavy fighting with police and they warned the country's stability is threatened by the violence and the fighting

started on sunday after demonstrated rallied peacefully against a new law restricting public protest and we are joined now from kiev and i believe there is a lot of security on the streets today after yet another night of violence. >> that's right. at the moment it's more of a standoff than anything, overnight though there were more clashes with protesters and throwing bombs to riot police who responded with sound grenades and there was reports of rubber bullets being fired as well. the interior ministry has come out on tuesday and said nearly 120 police officers have been injured since the clashes started on sunday. many of them taken to hospital. they have also said they have arrested more than 30 people for taking part in what they call riots. now, that's crucial because on

tuesday in the government newspaper the laws restricting people's right to protest were published under those laws and some offenses are punishable with prison sentences up to 15 years. there are bans on people putting up structures like tents and sound systems like the one here in the square and so on. some people are angry about that, not only protesters but some voices outside the country as well, the european union and united states is claire they say the laws going against democratic principals. at the same time though the foreign minister of russia sergei said it's none of their business and criticized members of european government for what he said they rushed to join antigovernment protests here and it's obscene when the government whose have diplomatic relations with ukraine get involved like that so there is both a standoff

on the streets and a diplomatic war of words. >> reporter: are there any hopes for some kind of political solution to the crisis there? >> well, i think that a lot of people are starting to lose hope here in, ukraine and on monday there was supposed to be talks involving members of the president's government and the opposition, but those talks didn't happen. part of the problem is that the opposition is demanding that the president takes part in any dialog which he said he is prepared to enter into. but at the moment it's just representatives of his party who are being slated for taking part in those talks. the opposition of set forth their demands as well and calling for release of political prisoners and several steps which the government has shown no signs of having any interest in doing.

at the same time people are worried about how long this standoff will go on because some are predicting the government could use these new laws restricting protests to try and move in. at the moment there is no sign of that. we will just have to wait and see. >> thank you and we are in kiev for us. the parents of one of our correspondents peter greste appealed for release from a prison and hee and two colleagues have been held since december 29 and they told a news conference in australia that the son was doing his job and andrew thomas reports from prison. >> peter greste is an award-winning correspondent and that is secondary, he is their son. >> what keeps peter doing the job that he is doing is his very strong sense of social justice, the need to seek the truth and

to always do whatever can be done to help those in need. >> as well as to let the world know to get it out there so things can change. >> reporter: and peter has worked internationally since the early 1990s winning awards for his reports across africa he was raised where his parents live. on tuesday lois were in front of the media to raise awareness of peter's situation and called for the egyptian authorities to release his son and his colleagues. >> the whole family, it's a living nightmare at the moment and until he gets out things cannot continue. >> reporter: all sections of the australia media were at the press conference with further radio and tv interviews after it and peter's plight is big news. >> we live in a democracy where you have to be charged to be held, he has been held since the

29th of december without charge and some of the allegations that are being talked about are unimaginable. >> reporter: lois and uris spoke to peter three times since arrest and proud of their son and balanced reports have more than two decades in news and mixed with pride is profound concern. lois and uris echo the calls of the government, al jazeera and journalists around the world and peter and colleagues were doing a legitimate job in a legitimate way and should be released now, andrew thomas with al jazeera. >> reporter: as we mentioned, two other al jazeera english employees are held without charge in egypt and are producers may home and baher saying they lied and also two colleagues from sister channels and camera man mohamed.

thousands of people in indonesia have been forced to leave their homes due to flooding and heavy rain has been bashing parts of the country for a week and hardest hit with waters and deaths of more than one meter. what is the latest on that flooding in indonesia. >> more flooding to m co. we have seen a huge amount of rainfall over the last couple of days or so. 663 millimeters of rain here in the last 14 days. so that is why we have seen that extensive flooding coming in across the region. look at the satellite picture and you see how the cloud stretches across the similar area and all the way across the good part of jaba and more of that through the next couple days. simpler set up further north go the philippines, 119 millimeters of rain here in the last 24 hours. so this area of cloud, that has

been stuck over similar area, hence the widespread flooding we have seen here, further 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and seeing 700,000 people have been effected by the floods that have occurred across southern parts of the philippines. more heavy rain to come over the next few days and look at the winds and see how they come from a general northeast direction and monsoon runs south of equator and where they meet up we have a convergence and it falls and heavy showers and across much of indonesia and not just tomorrow but the next few days. >> thanks. a report released by a leading charity shows that half of the world's wealth is owned by just 85 people. and they say they are worth $2 trillion between them and

dominick cain has the details. >> reporter: in several other developing countries the economy here has grown rapidly in resent years but they believe the richest 10% of people in such nations are doing much better than the poorest 40%. and it says the global picture is even more stark. and says half of all the world's wealth is owned by just 85 people. together those 85 people are worth $1.7 trillion. that's as much as the world's 3.5 poorest people combined. in europe alone the combined wealth of the ten riches people is $217 billion euros and $17 billion more than eu spent on two years of economic stimulus plans. >> it's completely unsustainable and in a world of fine art resources to have half of the world's people own the same as

just 85 rich billionaires we think is crazy and doesn't make any sense. >> reporter: the report has been released just before the world's political and business leaders descend on the swiss town odavos for the world economic forum. in the past it's been seen by some as an elite group that caters little for the problems of ordinary people. but its founder said that is outdated. >> now it's time to look at the sentimental changes which are happening in the world, technology area and societal field and to pay much more attention to those challenges which we have to face in society and in the economy. >> reporter: the ravages of poverty and economic failure are different from the picture post card image that it presents at this time of year and they say the world's business elite need to do much more to ensure that

the poorest in society share at least some of the prosperity. dominick cain, al jazeera. >> reporter: and do stay with us on al jazeera, coming up, in the next 30 minutes, a different angle, the photographer who is breaking stereotypes of the photographs on the west bank. and joe will tell you how this track star got over the final hurdle to reach the winter olympics, details coming up, in sports. ♪ canada. this is going to continue to

♪

welcome back, you are watching the al jazeera news hour, reminder now of our top story, four people have been killed in a car bombing in the lebanese capitol beirut. the explosion happened in an area controlled by the armed group hezbollah, 27 other people were injured. u.n. chief moon arrived in switzerland for peace talks on syria, the so called geneva creates a roadmap to end the war and opposition says that president bashir al-assad resign. the african republic is asking the international community to help stabilize the country and sectarian violence spread outside the capitol after weeks of fighting. and more now on that bombing in beirut and we are at the scene for us and what can you see there? >> well, new bits of information we received is that according to

preliminary security information the car that the suicide bomber was driving has been stolen. he basically stepped out of the car and detonated his belt. now, we also understand from reports we are receiving from the health ministry it's saying at least two people have been killed and 27 injured. however, the national news agency puts that number at four people. that number could rise throughout the day. i'm going to step out of the shot to show you what exactly is going on down there. this is the streets of hezbollah stronghold in south beirut. the last explosion that happened here was around two weeks ago and almost happened in the same location and for the fourth time since the summer explosions have hit this very street. now, as you can see ambulances have been in this area. they have taken the injured. fire trucks have put out the

fires that in the buildings that were set on fire and a lot of people are still gathered in the street and we have heard several times the lebanese army which has deployed in the area making announcements on loudspeakers, calling on people to leave the area, they want to evacuate the area because usually they want to avoid a second explosion from happening with such a big crowd in the middle of the street. so that is the latest information we have. it's that according to preliminary security information the car that was driven by the suicide bomber has been stolen but there is no claim of responsibility yet. >> reporter: and thank you once again, and in somali at the attack at the lebanese capitol of beirut and we are looking at live pictures now from the scene and seeing people milling about on the streets. let's go live now to joseph who

is a middle east political analyst for golf news and joins us via skype from beirut. joe, yet another explosion in that part of beirut that hezbollah stronghold. >> this is the 6th bombing since july of 2013 that's targeting hezbollah. it will not be the last. i'm sorry to say that we keep talking about the same topic. we keep revisiting the same issues time and time again. and we will continue doing so for the foreseeable future because obviously hezbollah has taken this fight to the hills. its involvement in syria is having spin over effects into the country. even though the hezbollah secretary general has invited opposition figures to take this fight into syria, apparently nobody is listening to him and

accusing other opposition individuals that, in fact, these bomb ings are the work of extremist is not going to solve this problem. there are fundamental political disagreements behind such events and unless these are addressed properly and resolved hopefully we will continue to see these kinds of bombings. >> reporter: joe, why does hezbollah continue to support the syrian government? >> well, out right it's not, it's deficient and hezbollah is an arm of the guards and will continue to be involved in syria as long as the irans want them in syria and should they change the position of the future of syria hezbollah at that time will accommodate the situation. here is the dilemma, hezbollah is a political institution in

lebanon and a role to play on the scene. the question and dilemma is whether it can have two masters simultaneously and whether it is going to be behold into iran or whether it's going to findly adopt if you would like a national list agenda and see what is in the best interest of lebanon, i'm afraid that neither hezbollah nor the public at large that follow hezbollah has come to terms with this fundamental reality and as long as they continue to essentially do the bidding of the iranians in syria this spill over effects of lebanon will continue as well. >> reporter: clearly the violence in syria not confined to just that country of lebanon and bearing the brunt of the spill over. what sort of pressure does the latest attack put on the talks in syria in switzerland? >> well, the syrian civil war is in the third year and there is

no hope in sight to see some kind of a resolution. now we are sitting and even the opposition within syria trying to fight amongst each other for gains on the terrain, whether you have the group, the so called iraq and syria group fighting inside syria, whether you have iranian supported individuals. so the complications are really extreme. and the syrian government is not about to give up its own perch and fighting for its own survival, therefore what we will see is a continuous increase of the temple of the violence. i'm afraid this is just the beginning. we will see a lot more of these types of activities, not just in lebanon, in syria and perhaps elsewhere in the middle east and perhaps iraq or jordan or elsewhere and we are in for the long hall.

>> reporter: thank you very much and joe in beirut for us. and south sudan president calling on people who escaped fighting to return home and says the military will ensure safety when they leave u.n. refugee camps and pushed rebels out of all main towns and thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting in south sudan. and katie is a regional spokeswoman for the u.n. refugee agency. she joins us now from nairobi and welcome to the program. you have just returned from south sudan. what did you see there? >> what we saw were people who had been displaced by the fighting, who need absolutely the basics for life. we saw people who need clean water, who are in these u.n. compounds and they are the compounds of the peace keepers who went there, who were not there for humanitarian purposes. people ran into their compounds

seeking safety and people are literally terrified to go to the gates of the compounds and safe and terrified and feel they will be killed if they step outside and people are just struggling for the basics and want clean water and latrine to stay safe and want safety. it's a desperate situation in south sudan right now, there are half a million people displaced within the country, refugees are fleeing everyday and more people are actually going into these compounds. there are close to 100,000 in the compounds and doesn't look to me like people are ready to go homens and go back to homes in the country and people are still fleeing outside of the country. >> reporter: the president said the military will ensure people's safety, but will that reassure people from the ones you met, how afraid were they? >> you know, it's not for me to argue with the president of the country. all i can say is that people are just terrified and as al jazeera

has been reporting countries are changing, cities are changing hands day by day and that displaces new groups of people. people find themselves in opposition to one group or another that is fighting. there is literally no confidence between different groups in the country and we are expecting 100,000 refugees that means people fleeing to neighboring countries and people who fled are the richer ones who can afford transportation. we know people are on the roads walking now so there will be more people arriving in worse conditions and need to be helped and people fleeing to poor countries and need they more help. >> reporter: is more help forthcoming? >> we certainly hope so, the u.n. refugee agency put an appeal for $88 million, other u.n. agencies have put out appeals. there are nongovernmental organizations who are helping.

we know there are lots of competing demands in the world. you have been reporting on syria, there is central african republic and don't want to compare the miserable people to other suffering people but demands are huge and see new grand da mainly women and children, women giving birth literally on the road walking, pregnant women and pick up their baby and they continue to seek safety in our refugee camps. the needs are absolutely huge. what i saw in south sudan was people who were really suffering and those of us who have the privilege of sleeping in a clean house every night and eating three meals a day cannot comprehend what it's like to just literally need water and a place to go to the toilet. the need is enormous. >> reporter: from the u.n. refugee agency and thank you very much for speaking to us. and let's cross now to the oil town which was recently taken by the south sudan army from rebels

and we have arrived there and jamal, the scene of a lot of fighting. what is going on now? >> indeed we arrived a couple hours ago on a flight accompanying the south sudan minister of defense coming to inspect the town after his forces recaptured it yesterday afternoon. and after going through places, several places in the town, the scene was similar and not as bad as maybe bor or bantu which we reported on in the past few days but it's dire from a humanitarian situation, tens of thousands of people displaced, people seeking shelter in churches, schools, hospitals, as you heard from the united nations the situation is extremely bad. i'm going to introduce now the minister of defense minister and i want to start by asking you after you have patrolled the

area here how confident are you now you now control all major towns that were once in the hands of the rebel forces? >> well, we are in control of bantu, and the capitol, we are also in control of bor, the capitol of that and we have just yesterday covered the town of madacal and in control of the town and forces are now moving the forces who are mainly made up of civil population and most of them have gone back to their villages and looking at going after the forces and those who are in uniform. so i'm confident that we have taken full control of this town and we never lose any of them again. >> reporter: but what made it different from the other towns is that the police force here

actually defected with mashar and other whose defected and now you don't have a police force defecting and how will you establish security? >> we have a national police force in duba and from other states and we will bring them so they come and keep law an order in the town of maliki and those who are leaving because of what we had is not educated. they were just people from armed groups that were originally malitia of the government who also promoted themselves so we are not going to reconstrue the police force. >> reporter: if you got rid of rebels there is a huge need for food, water and clothes and is going to be looting and crime and how will you truly find the answers for security? >> well, there is a program and

other humanitarian organizations have a duty to save the people and provide what people need. again the government of south sudan has taken it upon itself to provide these services to the people. and this was sudan in the making of the covenant of their government last friday so we provide our best to provide some of these services. >> reporter: thank you very much for your time. it is an attempt to show force by the forces loyal to the government to show that they have retaken all the major towns of those states that were once this rebel hands, however, the humanitarian situation and suffering of the people is likely to last a lot longer. >> reporter: jamal thank you very much and he is in south sudan. all the sport coming up, top official told brazil it has no choice but to be ready for the

world cup. as you can see the tour of stadiums in the country. plus. >> i'm lee at one of the biggest football stadium in europe and i will tell you what they want and need to make the stadium even bigger. ♪

♪ hello and welcome back her photographs are thought provoking and somewhat controversial in the middle east and tonya captured images of drag queens and rebel fighters among others and tom goes to

east jerusalem to find out about the latest images of the west bank and gaza. >> gaza can be extremely bleak. >> reporter: photo journalist has plenty of experience capturing palestinian struggle and focuses with the way they cope with reality. >> absurd or ridiculous from a black humor standpoint or ominous will happen here. >> reporter: young female athletes practicing jablin throwing behind the separation wall, the first female surfer in gaza and a woman walking from gaza to egypt for a wedding and a boy in a park in the west bank. furniture makers by the wall waiting for a customer. >> sitting on the side of the road and having tea, smoking and i would think there is something here, there is something there.

>> reporter: tonya belongs to female photographers from iraq, egypt and jordan and the goal. >> shake up stereotypes pressed upon the region. women of the region as well as men. >> reporter: to do that tonya looks for unusual moments that reflect the subjects like this man accompanied by the sheep he has bought to break the ramadan fast. >> finding ways of releasing stress through humor. >> reporter: she says her work is never meant to trivialize. >> there is a context prevalent throughout the pictures but it's subtle and sarcastic. >> reporter: and sensitive to the viewers. >> for me i'm not successful in any of the stories that i do unless i capture both a western audience as well as the audience in the place i film. >> it's a challenge that keeps tonya and her sister photographers always looking out

for the next special moment to record. tom ackerman al jazeera, east jerusalem. >> now it's time for the sports news with joe. >> she may have knocked out serena williams but now she has a top line of players out of the australian open, the champion was against the canada player and this is what you expect from more experienced players as she broke the seven 7 times and the wta newcomer of the world in 2013 and held on to beat her two sets to one to reach the semi finals in her first trip to the australian open. and bashir of china and two time melvin final list beat them 6-2-6-2. and jakovich is struggling for

the finals and two down from brinker and failed to reach the semi and beaten by thomas. and lost the first two sets but threatened to come back winning the third. and he held nerve to claim it 6-1-6-4-6-6-2. more news on the website and check out al jazeera/sport. and nicholas is facing a minimum five match ban of performing a racially aggravated gesture and they celebrated a goal with a salute called the canal which is considered by some to be anti-semantic and he denied that was his intention and has until thursday to respond to the charge. his club sponsor property website zupla decided not to renew the deal following the

incident. chili has been fined for wearing anti-israeli shirts and it was founded by palestinian immigrants in 1920 changed number one on the shirt to the map of pal stint before partition in 1947. the chile have ordered them to change the numbers back. and the secretary general says brazil has no choice but be ready for the world cup later this year and touring the 12 host stadiums and six are ready and he was this palo on monday and both missed the december 31 delivery deadline set by fefa. >> has to be ready. you in 2007 ask them to organize the world cup in 2014, you asked to welcome 31 teams from around the world and 100,000 of thousands of fans coming and

7,000 journalists coming from around the world, you have no choice so we have to work together and whatever is what we have in the water we have to organize the world cup in the water. >> reporter: speaking of stadiums barcelona new camp is one of the world's famous and may be a relief that barcelona will not be moving from their home and al jazeera lee wellings reports. >> capacity of 98,000 the famous new camp is the latest stadium in europe and barcelona board members decided expansion is needed to take the cup forward and taking the ambitions to go through a referendum later this year. >> translator: the board members of barcelona decided unanimously to submit to a referendum of the project of the building of a new stadium n the structure of the current wound, the referendum will be on april

5th or 6th depending on our match schedule. >> reporter: barcelona is owned by fans and has been the most successful in world football including three champion league trophies and it disappeared with humiliation but munich last year. >> modernizing the stadium is a major issue and around 20,000 seats with restricted visibility and access issues in some parts of the stadium and they want as many as 105,000 fans in the stadium and want more vips and want to generate more income too. >> reporter: this is how they want the stadium to look with fans now covered by some roofing. but this won't come cheap with cost of the project estimated at around $900 million. moving out of the new camp was an option with the site five kilometers away but said it was a step too far. >> because if you take a look at the average of attendance at the

games we are talking about 74,000, 75,000 and only 100,000 when barcelona play madrid or important games of the championship. >> reporter: there are other serious issues, the european union is investigating spanish clubs on how much state funding they may be receiving and the brazilian star last summer is being investigated after allegations the transfer fee was over $20 million more than officially declared. the years of special players like messi and jevi have brought unprecedented success and a new team will have to come through and seems they will be playing in a new-look stadium. i'm with al jazeera barcelona. >> reporter: australian cyclist won the opening stages of tour and finished at the end of the 135 kilometer stage through the valley in south australia and

the stage has been in doubt as late as monday because of brush fires in the area. and the champion of miami heat slumped to the fourth loss on monday going down 121 to 114, the atlanta hawks, the new york knicks going through a rough patch and losing to local rivals the brooklyn nets and what was the fourth defeat in a row. the knicks were out from the start and helping brooklyn end the first quarter 11 points ahead but it was joe johnson that did most of the damage and grabbed 25 points as brooklyn ran out 103 to 81. the nhl suspended vancouver coach for 15 days for his conduct following the vertebral been the canooks and the flames and started with ten players and dropping gloves two seconds in the first period and 8 of them ejected and the canooks coach who will miss ten games after attempting to get in the locker

room during intermission and his actions were dangerous and embarrassing. american athlete jones is perhaps best known for being a top hurdler competing in beijing and he will go for winter olympics in sochi and will be on the bob shred team and the 4 by 100 rely team. a happy ending to the jamaica bid to reach the game and offered to pay for the two men squad travel cost, this is the first jamaica bob shred team to qualify for the winter olympics since 2002. that is a look at that. ♪

♪ the second cold snap of the year has officially arrived, millions of americans are waking up to brutally cold temperatures and in the northeast they are bracing for another serious snowstorm. iran will not be taking part in upcoming syrian peace talks, why the united nations pulled the plug and the last-minute implication and the implication it could have on the talks. chaos increasing in the ukraine and demands from