>> thank you. >> the show may be over, but you can find out more on our website, aljazeera.com/considerthis, and on facebook and google plus pages. we'll see you next time. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello and welcome to the news hour. i'm steven coal in doha and these are the world's top forries. a syrian rebel group set off a car bomb in the capitol just days before the peace talks are supposed to start. and violence spreads in the central african republic. >> hello there, i'm in london,

protesters in ukraine refuse to leave independence square despite a new law targeting demonstrations. ♪ >> and how one of north america's most famous folk rock stars is lending his voice to canada's indigenous people. but first a syrian rebel group has claimed responsible for a car bombing in the lebanese capitol of beirut. at least four people are dead in the attack which occurred just a day before peace talks are to get underway in switzerland. an al-qaeda group claims they are responsible for the blast. the explosion went off in

the street in a neighborhood loyal to hezbollah which is fighting on the syrian government side. this latest bombing is in retaliation for an attack allegedly by hezbollah on the lebanese town on friday. abraham is hezbollah's head of media relations and joins me now fromdy rate. what is hezbollah's reaction to this attack? this is the fourth bombing, isn't it? in the same area in just a few months? well, i'm afraid we -- we have lost the hezbollah spokesman. we'll try to get him back. meanwhile, delegates have already started to arrive for those peace talks in switzerland. ban ki-moon is there now. he removed a potential stumbling

block to the talks on monday when he withdrew an invitation for iran to begin. the talks begin on wednesday, and we'll be going there live in a moment, but first to geneva to james bayes. james you have been talking to some of the many diplomats gathered there. what is the plan? what is the structure for tomorrow? >> reporter: well, i think we know what the plan is. i have been speaking to key leaders in ban ki-moon's team. and i think we know what they are planning to do after the problems they have had with this invitation with iran. they are insisting things are now back on track. in the coming hours, ban ki-moon who has just left here, will have a couple of key meetings

ahead of the mantra meeting itself. he is going to have a meeting with the russian foreign min ferster, and secretary of state john kerry. it is then hoped that he will have individual meetings. one with the syrian opposition. one with the syrian government with the two heads of the two delegations. and then, of course, the full session starts here on wednesday in mantra in switzerland. that is an international gathering. more than 40 countries -- of course not iran -- but 40 other countries that have interest in the conflict. what they are going to do simply is say support this process, but there will be no actual negotiations taking place in

mantra. the real stuff takes place in the build behind me in geneva that will start on friday. there is no time line, it is open-ended, and they have to sit down and try to come up with some sort of solution for the really difficult problems that are there in syria, and what they are supposed to do is try to form a transitional body. but i think everyone here knows the challenges ahead are massive. >> massive in indeed, james. well describe as massive. what is happening being hind the scenes? where is the diplomacy heading towards, do you think? >> well, behind the scenes, i think it's really going to start when they are around this table here in geneva. i think the idea, you detack both sides from their more

extreme elements. you certainly detack the syrian government directly from those -- the security services, the assad security services and detack the opposition from some elements that are not in favor of opposition. and away from the conflict here in the peaceful tranquility of geneva you try to get them to come up with some sort o plan, but it is going to be extremely hard to come up with a plan, which according to the geneva 1 agreement is to be reached by mute call consent. the assad supporters say assad has to be part of a government in syria, and the opposition say no way can assad or any of his key security commanders be part of a transitional government. that is going to be a key stumbling block, and i don't think they have worked out how

to deal with that, other than starting a slow process, trying to get some confidence-building measures maybe some local peace fires, pauses to get humanitarian assistance. >> okay. james thank you for that. james bayes is in geneva. let's cross to zana in switzerland. let's talk about the snc. i don't know if you have had much contact with them today, but if you have, what have they been telling you? >> reporter: well, the snc delegation will be a meeting with the un secretary general today. they have been pushed to attend this conference in geneva. there was a lot of international pressure for them to agree. it knows if it doesn't show up in geneva it risks losing

support from the west. if it does show up and leaves without concessions from the regime it further undermines its legitimacy? syria. it is an opposition group that does not have much influence on the ground. the powerful rebel forces on the ground do not support this process. they will support a political negotiated settlement only if it involves the regime leaving power, but the are -- regime has no intention of handing over power. so nay are coming to geneva in a very, very weak position. but the international community wants this process to start, and that's why they have been pushing for it, it has been months in the making, and they want this to start. >> and the syrian delegation, what have they been talking

about? >> well, we understand from sources that the syrian government really sees a very different agenda. we heard geneva 2 is about creating a transitional government. but the syrian foreign minister is going to address the world and say, you need to focus on the fight against terrorism. we understand as well, that he is going to tell the world that they cannot put a time frame on peace talks and the official delegation will not be able to take any decision unless it consults with the syrian president. clearly what they want to say is the syrian president is involved in the negotiations in one way or another. the syrian government may agree to opening humanitarian corridors, but that the government will oversea this process. very combative attitude, but

they are coming to geneva united and trying to show the world -- or at least gain more legitimacy. we know they gained legitimacy when it agrees to the chemical weapons deal a few months back. >> thank you. now let's go back to our guest in beirut. hezboll hezbollah's head of media relations. i estimate this is the fourth bombing in the area in a few months, the second this year. how -- or what is hezbollah's reaction to that? >>, it's always the same we action that we had before. you are talking about a terrorist attack. a criminal attack against the civilians in a highly populated area. so you are condemning what is

happening. but more importantly, i believe a high coordination should be conducted between the different [ inaudible ] and all people in order to help come to an end to what is really happening. this is another terrorist attack not against [ inaudible ] but against hezbollah. or against the ierment of hezbollah. you are talking about an attack about the -- lebanese, all of them. this is against every lebanese, and i believe it's time to call upon all people for more civilalty, coordination and the formula that will bring about an end to what is really happening, because a political formula would only inject more [ inaudible ] to the weak body in lebanon. >> why are these attacks on the rise on hezbollah strong holds?

is this a direct link to hezbollah's role in -- in syria, fighting alongside government force there? >> well, it has always been the acquisition -- the rationalization, it has always been a kind of cover given to those terrorist groups -- >> if it's constantly being raised is there therefore some truth in that linkage between your involvement in syria and the bombings in beirut? >> what i want simply to put for everybody, if this is the excuse they are using, why are they attacking the christians and priests inside syria? >> but this attack was directed on the hezbollah strong hold, wasn't it? >> yesterday [ inaudible ] was attacked. triply is being tacked. many villages have been attacked during the course of this week. when we talk about this, we're

talking about targeting all of lebanon, and i believe this is one [ inaudible ] of the whole series. i don't like to put it this way. and i believe it is very important to understand that these kind of attacks, these kind of terrorist escalation has been going on since two years, and two years before hezbollah come to be existent in syria? >> exactly. are you concerned that hezbollah is losing foreign support because you are backing fighters. >> they are killing them here. they are killing them in syria, they are killing them in north africa, they are killing them ere where. because you are talking about the kind of agenda that would necessarily negate the others. they don't believe that people have the right to exist in the first place. otherwise why would they kill children, why would they execute

everybody, elderly women, everybody, so this is not -- >> are these repeated bombings affecting the creation of the new government in lebanon? because it's at a stalemate. nobody is agreeing on a coalition government what? since march? and now you are having violence breaking out again. >> if it is going to affect the creation or formation of the government, it should effect his positively. i believe lebanon should have more [ inaudible ] in the formation of the government. this would help bring more coordination among the different party to come out with a formula that would put an end to all of these bloodshed. >> finally will hezbollah react with violence after they have been attacked? >> it has always been defending ourselves. we have never reacting violently, or started any attack against anybody.

we are only simply defending ourselves, our people, our country. >> many thanks for joining us on al jazeera today. >> my pleasure. you are watching the news hour on al jazeera. still to come, the killing of a top envoy casts a shadow over reconciliation talks in yemen. and a ground breaking scheme is drawing the educational talent out of children against a backdrop of prejudice and poverty. plus a sock shock for jock. details with jo a bit later. ♪ >> a baum blast targeted a bus in western pakistan, and we believe at least 22 people have died. it happened on the pakistan-iran

highway. pilgrims were returning from iran when the bomb ignited. can you update us on this attack? >> reporter: [ inaudible ] the bus was traveling from the pakistani border town along the iranian border it was [ inaudible ] on their way back from iran when the bus came under attack on the main road just a few hour's drive from [ inaudible ]. it was an explosive device according to the security forces in the area, up to 100 kilograms of explosion was used the bus was destroyed and we were told there were 50 people on the bus. [ inaudible ] security forces. some of the wounded include

security forces. we are told that women and children are amongs the dead. >> thanks kamal. egypt's former president mohammed morsi is to stand trial for espionage charges on february 16th. the deposed leader along with 35 others is accused of collaborating to launch a so-called terror campaign inside egypt. al jazeera is continuing to call for the immediate release of its five journalist being held. with charges of allegations that al jazeera say are fabricated.

top rebel enjoy taking part in the final working session of yemen's national reconciliation talks has been shot dead. it happened at a busy intersection in the capitol close to a university compound. the representative was in his car when un -- unidentified gunman opened fire. in response the rebel delegation said it's pulling out of yemen's long-running national dialogue. the talks due to start on saturday have been working on a new system that would allow some areas to be semiautonomous. polls are still a long way off. okay. that's how it looks from doha for the moment. let's go to europe and find out

what is happening there. here is felicity. >> thank you, steven. turkey's prime minister is in brussels to try to push forward his country's attempt to join the european union. talks began in 2005, but some european nations are still worried about the safe democracy in the country and independence of its institutions. jackie just explain to us, which are these countries expressing reservations shall we say about turkey joining the eu? >> reporter: well, the issues -- the big issues concerning potential turkish membership, some of them have really not changed since the very beginning, and one of them is the philosophical question of what is europe? and how would turkey fit into europe. bearing in mind that turkey

straddles europe and india. there are also, for example, the questions of the turkish invasion back in 1974, clearly something which eu members, greece and cyprus feel very strongly about. there are also large eu countries who have had reticent about turkey joining including germany, and france. the french president is due to visit turkey next week. however, some of its previous supporters, for example, the united kingdom has now gone rather cool on the idea of turkey joining mainly because of the concern about immigration and the immigrant work force. immigration being a very hot topic in the united kingdom at the moment.

so there are clearly a lot of obstacles as turkey relaunches its bid. >> how have things changed though since the last time that turkey made a bid to join the eu? >> if anything, the turkish candidacy looks less attractive than it did back then. the united kingdom back then was arguing we have this big dynamic country with strong growth, this could be positive for purpose. but since then the turkish economy has started to lag, things have been looking fore sluggish, and then there are very serious concerns about the rule of law in turkey. concerns about recent purges of the police and the judiciary, in particular the attempt to introduce new controls of reform of the top judiciary body in turkey. all of this would go against

european preconditions that they should be strong, stable institutions that guarantee democracy, that the rule of law should be preserved, that human righting should be respected. so that also a crackdown on demonstrations in turkey last year, all of this really do make the turkish candidacy look as though it requires a lot more work, even than it did when the discussion was really being held a few years ago. >> jackky thank you. and the eu has always started talks with serbia. the as you werian prime minister says joining the block will be monumental for his country. >> translator: this is the most important event for serbia since the end of world war ii. this is strategically aligning serbia, and formulating the values which wish to implement.

>> let's take a closer look then at these attempts by serbia and turkey to join the eu. for serbia, negotiations expected to take at least six years. they had agreed to normalize relations with kosovo before those talks start. talks about turkey joining eu were suspended for more than three years, but those negotiations resumed in november. many eu politicians quite hesitant about allowing turkey into the block. they are concerned about excessive force and allegations of government corruption. more on this story now, we're joined by the director of foreign policy for ue reform. good to have you with us. i think it's worth pointing out that despite all of the economic problems that many members have

had over the last six years or so, there are countries who are still very keen to join the block. just explain why. >> well, for countries like serbia, it's sort of a sign of sale opapproval, they have met european standards, that they are stable and heading in a positive direction. that will help them with getting investment, getting their economy to grow, and getting access to european markets, and you have see that for the countries already on the path to succession, and also in countries like ukraine. >> yeah, ukraine at the moment given what is going on there, we'll be coming to that later in on program. is not on the path to any form of european unionship at the moment. >> no. >> but it seems that serbia

seems to be doing what is asked of it. >> yes, and that is quite a change over the last two or three years. i would say it has still got a very long way to go. as you said in the introduction, we're talking about at least six years, and i'm guessing it might be longer than that. first of all there is the kosovo question. and although the first steps have been taken, what the eu has said is by the end of the process, there has to be comprehensionive normalization with kosovo, and that has to be enshrined in a legally-binding document signed by both sides, so that in itself i think is going to make huge political demands. >> but at least they know which way they have got to go. what about turkey? turkey is very different isn't it? >> yes. >> a lot of allegations and

people have real concerns about things like human rights. >> they do, and i think the biggest problem for turkey is a much longer-standing problem than that. for a number of european countries, they still perceive turkey as being too big, too poor and not european enough to be a candidate. so for some countries like germany and perhaps france they are happy that this is a process that really never reaches a conclusion. >> thank you for your thoughts on that. russia's foreign minister has warned that the situation in the country is spinning out of control. the police president position is

high in key avenue after days of conflict let's go to our correspondent live in the capitol of kiev. it is absolutely freezing cold where you are, but the standoff continues? >> reporter: that's right. the numbers down at the site of the clashes have now risen again to perhaps a couple of thousand protesters. it's just a few hundred meters from independence square here defying those new laws that were passed in parliament last week, restricting people's right to protest. on the political front, one of the opposition leaders went to the presidential headquarters in the last few hours, but according to his people, he was told that he couldn't meet the president himself, and turned right around. the government are painting another picture, saying he did told talks with this, woeing

group to try to forge some sort of political solution to the crisis, but no one is sure when that will actually come. there are expected to be larger numbers protesting overnight into wednesday. there have been according to authorities 160 police officers injured. activists say over a thousand protesters have been injured, and the standoff continues at the moment. >> thank you. much more from europe a little later in the nows hour but right now let's return to steven. thanks very much. thai protesters refuse to back down. and the man known as la-sulk has something new to grumble about. jo has the details in sport snfl ♪ >> start with one issue

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>> the strength of our future relies on education. >> it's a parental right to say this is the way i'm gonna homeschool my child. >> home schooling, or no schooling, part of our weekl long, in depth series. america tonight only on al jazeera america real reporting that brings you the world. >> this is a pretty dangerous trip. >> security in beirut is tight. >> more reporters. >> they don't have the resources to take the fight to al shabaab. >> more bureaus, more stories. >> this is where the typhoon came ashore. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. >> al jazeera, nairobi. >> on the turkey-syria border. >> venezuela. >> beijing. >> kabul. >> hong kong. >> ukraine. >> the artic. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. ♪ you are watching the news hour on al jazeera. i'm steven cole, a reminder of the world's top stories.

an al-qaeda-linked group has claimed responsible for a car bomb in lebanon. delegates invited to the geneva 2 peace talks have started arriving in switzerland. in aleppo a new attack has happened. and demonstrators in ukraine continue to protest. let's go back to our top story the bombing in beirut. more information on the grow now that has claimed responsible for the attack. it is a group of mostly foreign fighters recruited from all over the world. the name means the support front for the people of the

[ inaudible ]. they are linked to al-qaeda has been designated a terrorist group by the u.s., united nations and the yunited kingdom. a wide-ranging question to begin with, and that is tell us more of the direct impact the war in syria is having in lebanon. >> this has been noticed now on a number of front, the direct impact of the syria crisis in lebanon, with one of security, and we're talking about not only in beirut, but also tripoli and the rest of the country, so it began in tripoli, and now is it extending to beirut. security is not the only concern that we have. it has reached other levels and

economic social and other aspects. and that's due to the huge influx of refugees from syria to lebanon. we're talking 600, 700,000 refugees in lebanon. there are no proper refugee camps to support this huge increase of the refugees -- >> huge numbers as you say going south. >> yes. >> estimated 15,000 hezbollah fighters in syria. >> yeah. >> what impact is that having on hezbollah in lebanon? >> that has exacerbated the pillover of the syrian crisis on lebanon because now we're seeing more of the direct or the direct clashes between hezbollah and -- [ overlapping speakers ] >> or the other ones that is

happening now in lebanon rather than as it used to happen in the past in syria itself. so though it is believed that [ inaudible ] they are mostly concentrated in the northern part of syria, but now we are seeing small numbers infiltrating lebanon and executing attacks inside beirut and actually inside the strong hold of hezbollah. >> how would you assess the seriousness of sectarian tensions in lebanon? there are obviously tensions there. they could rise and the spiral of violence could continue. i talked to hezbollah earlier as you may have seen four bombings in as many months? >> yes, this has absolutely been the highest level that we have seen these attacks happening in beirut, and in particular in the strong hold of hezbollah. and here, actually the

involvement -- the direct involvement of a group in these attacks, [ inaudible ] to a large extent the sectarian dimension of attacking on a sectarian basis of conducting these attacks. so they are a front targeting hezbollah in particular in that area, where they have assumed a strong hold, so this is a strong indicator that we're seeing sectarianism is increasing and getting more serious, and i think unless we have some sort of containment to this escalation, i'm afraid we're going to be talking about more serious clashes happening in the future. and here we have to keep in mind is actually the outcome of the geneva 2 that we're going to see in the coming couple of days is going to have a direct impact on

the level of the security of the syrian crisis in lebanon, and which direction it is going to go. they are not part of the negotiations or -- in geneva 2. however, if the conference in geneva is able to get a process -- some sort of a ceasefire or political process starting, i think this would contain and isolate the fighters from conducting more attacks in lebanon as a result. so we have to keep watching carefully the geneva 2 outcome. >> we're watching geneva very closely indeed. thanks for joining us. >> thank you for having me. the new interim president of the central african republic has asked the international community to help stabilize our country. he has pledged to end the religious violence that

threatens to tear the country apart. and the fear of violence is spreading as barnaby phillips found out on a recent road trip through the country. >> reporter: the road through a lawless countryside. our first stop is a roadblock by men who say they are the thagsal army defending the countries against the muslim-lead selica rebels. >> translator: we have no problems with muslims. they are our brothers. we have lived with them for a long time. we only have a problem with [ inaudible ] and its mercenaries. >> reporter: next to a village where we are surrounded by an agitated crowd. we're meeting a great variety of armed groups along the road. but these people are essentially

vigilantes. they say that they are guarding their community against selica soldiers who are only some 15 kilometers along the way. we noticed that many houses in the village are destroyed. it seems the muslim population has been driven out. then we see the villages are demolishing the mosque. [ cheers ] >> reporter: it is one shocking moment in one small village. [ cheers ] >> reporter: but all over this country in recent weeks, mobs of people have destroyed mosques and churches. we drive on crossing what passes as a front line to meet any selica fighters. 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 destroy. our job as authorities is to

keep things calm. >> reporter: nearby we find muslims loading their possessions and moving out. that no longer feel safe here. communities are unravelling, and it seems that only help from the outside world can stop things from becoming even worse here. barnaby phillips, al jazeera. thailand has declared a two-month state of emergency. thousands of protesters have been blocking major intersections for months. they are demanding the prime minister step down and cancel elections next month. the demonstrations have continued despite several explosions and gunfire in areas controlled by protesters. a court has sentenced a 23-year-old for masterminding a plot to destroy the capitol in

myanmar. he was the third defendant to be sentenced in case. gunmen in pakistan have killed three people working in a polio vaccination clinic. the two women and one man were killed when they were giving vaccine shots in a southern city. pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polios remain endemic. the fighters claim the vaccination scheme is a cover for spying. and a man has been shot dead as part of a crackdown before the winter olympics. >> yes, security services say he was killed in a gun battle at his hideout in pakistan. he was the main suspect for a series of attacks on rough sha.

and wanted posters have been put up showing a woman suspected of planning ament bolling. -- bombing. [ inaudible ] are europe's largest minority group, and one of the many challenges they face is education. for many roma children, going to school is key to breaking the battle to fight poverty. ♪ >> reporter: people say the roma don't send their kids to school. well, they do here. and they sit happily with white children. all of the classroom assistants are roma too. this one who is helping an autistic children says roma children like coming here because they are not

intimidated. >> translator: when they see a roma teacher they feel at home and welcome. it's easier to come to school because they know us. >> reporter: the roma teachers went out to their people and urged them to educate their children. it is worth bearing in mind that in recent years the slow vok government has considered forcibly separating the roma children from their parents and making them go to border schools. this shows just now needlessly provocative some of these political ideas have been as we made our way across the country, we hear numerous times of the

slur. another ethnic slur is that the gypsy children won't mix. at this kindergarten children they wanted to but were not allowed to. >> translator: increasingly only roma children are coming to this school. other parents wanted their children to be separated from the roma children. they take them enter else. >> reporter: across the border to hungary, perhaps a solution to many of the problems. here the teenage whites and roma children are made to sit together. other classes use board games to encourage bonding, and with amazing results. this roma girl became the hungarian national draft champion. >> they are very good with math, especially math, and logical

thinking. they don't have any problem in this way. >> reporter: all of the children will go on to study until they are 18 and many roma will go on to university. when these children from the mixed school grow up, their nearest high school will be 15 kilometers away. they told us most of their parents have neither a car nor the bus fair to send them there. a former vatican accountant already on trial for aledged money laundering and corruption is now facing further charges. he was arrested last june accused of plotting to smuggle $26 million from switzerland to italy, and now accused of laundering fictitious charity donations. and the start of the annual

world economic forum. tight security is in place. more than 30 heads of state will attend the gathering at the swiss ski resort. and economy talks are expected to focus on other issues including the syrian conflict. now you are fully up to date with the latest news from europe. now back to doha. >> many thanks. a top fifa official has been told that there is no choice to be ready for the world cup. there's more to finical news than the ups and downs of the

rock star neil young has been on tour complaining against the expansion of oil sands projects in his native canada. the community says pollution from the mines are affecting their lives. the government saying the gnat really resource will benefit everyone. >> reporter: not what you would usually hear at a neil young event. the songs of canada's indy againous people. young a canadian, says his country is dishonoring historic treaties with aboriginal people. >> we made a deal with these people. we are breaking our promise.

we are killing these people. the blood of these people will be on modern canada's hands. >> reporter: here is what he is talking about. the huge open-pit mines. the first nation has filed a legal challenge to a plan to nearly double the size of an existing mine even though the first nation gets jobs and royalties from such project, the chief said enough is enough. >> in the last 40 years the development that has occurred has gone out of proportion. it is at a rate right now where your government fails to recognize the fact that we have a problem. >> reporter: canada's government says the rock star ask gone, the mine in northern alberta is good for every canadian. the oil industry says it works closely with first nations all

across the country. >> our industry is proud of the long positive relationships we have with canada's aboriginal people. they are our neighbors, collaborators, business partners, and i would represent in many cases friends. ♪ southern man -- >> reporter: all of neil young's shows were sold out. whatever industry and government right say, that will em-bolden the activists. time for a look at sport now, here is jo. >> thank you very much, steven. a player has been knocked out of the australian open have a dramatic battle. the three-time winning champion went in on a 28-match winning

streak. on the other hand his opponent has lost 14 straight matches to him. but tuesday saw the swiss flip the tables on his rival. it took four hours for him to close out the match two sets to one, winning a decided 9 games to 7. [ cheers ] >> it was very tough, but this year i came back. it's a new year. i was playing really good. i was not feeling great in the beginning. but he is an amazing champion. he never gave up, and i'm really really really really really really really really happy. >> he'll now for a place in the final. in the women's draw, in the last eight. the 19-year-old showed the kind of exposure you would expect from mere experienced players,

as she broke her opponent's serve seven times. she was named the newcomer of this year in 2013, and advanced to the semifinals. she'll now face the player from chin china for more australian open news go to our website, aljazeera.com/sport. [ inaudible ] striker is facing a minimum five-match ban after being charged for performing a rash shally aggravated guest sure. the celebrated a goal with a solute that is considered by some to be anti-seminic. a chilean football team have

been charged for wearing shirts which were anti-[ inaudible ]. the chillyian fa have ordered them to change the numbers back. [ inaudible ] says that brazil has no choice but to be ready for the world cup later this year. he is currently touring the stadiums, only six of which are ready. two have missed the december 31st delivery deadline set by fifa. >> he has to be ready. you in 2007 asked you to allow the world to set you have the world cup in 2014. there are thousands and thousands of fans coming here, 7,000 journalists coming from

around the world, you have no choice. barcelona has one of the world's most famous sporting venues. al jazeera's lee wellings reports from barcelona. >> reporter: with the capacity of 98,000, the famous new camp is the largest football stadium in europe. but the board members have decided expansion is needed to take the cup forward. >> translator: the board members have decided unanimously to submit to a referendum of the project of the building of a new stadium in the structure of the current one. the referendum will be on april 5th or 6th. >> reporter: barcelona is owned by fans, and has been the most successful football league in

past decade. there are around 20,000 streets with restricted visibility. there are access issues in some parts, and they want as many as 105,000 fans in this stadium. they want more vips, and they want to generate more income. this is how they want the stadium to look, but this won't come cheap with the cost estimated at around $900 million. and there are other serious issues. the european union is investigating spanish clubs on how much funding they may be receiving. and there are allegations that a transfer fee was over $20 million more than officially declared. the years of special players have brought unprecedented success. but soon a new-look team will

need to come through, and it seems they are be playing in a new-look stadium. australian cyclist has won the opening stage of the tour down under. he outsprinted his opponent to the finish line. the stage had been in doubt because of bush fires in the area. the miami heat lump to their fourth loss in six games. and the knicks lost to local rivals the brooklyn nets. it was their fourth defeat in a row. the knicks were out of it from the start. it was joe johnson that did most of the damage. he grabbed 25 points as brooklyn won out 103-80. the nfl has suspended vancouver coach for 15 days for

his conduct following the brawl wheen the canucks and flames. ten players dropped their gloves just two minutes into the second period. the nhl say the coach's actions were dangerous and embarrassing. low low jones is perhaps best known for being a top hurdler, completing in both the bay sheen and london olympics. but now she will go for gold at the winter olympics in sochi. she has been selected to join the bobsled team. and that is all of the sport for now. steven. >> jo thank you. i which i had been there for tennis. brilliant game. stay with us, much more news to

come in the next half hour. stay with us on al jazeera. ♪

welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you. >> we are going to go there and try to minimize the suffering of the syrian people. >> heading to geneva. the key players hoping to reach common ground on syria's civil war. take two cold snap and heavy snow slowing down the northwest and northeast. and looking at a couple facing jail time for sending their daughter to an