>> hello, welcome to the news hour. i'm in doha with our top stairs. before and after, a report suggests that syrian government systematically destroying pro-opposition neighborhoods. >> in london with the news from europe, president viktorian covevich taking sick leach as pressure on his government gross. >> a week before the sochi

olympics get underway. >> so long, snake, he will lo he horse, these chinese news celebrations kicking off in hong kong. >> deliberate and unlawful, a damning indictment of the practices of the syrian government in a new report from human rights watch. the group says the forces demolished homes in enables that oppose the government. residences of his supporters go undamaged. >> this is the suburbs of damascus. it has been fought over by the government and rebels repeatedly in the last few years. like much of syria, it presents a picture of bombed out buildings and rubble strewn

roads. new evidence suggests the destruction of property here is not an accident of war. human rights watch has compiled a report that claims the government has been demolishing thousands of houses here. the report uses these satellite images to show how extensive the damage is. this is the district seen in september, 2012. this is the same place one month later. this is part of the capitol close to the military airport, seen in february of last year. move forward to july and the contrast is clear. how many rights watch has spoken to the owners of some of the properties who confirm the demolitions. the group a little that the government has systematically to ged residential buildings in areas which support the opposition.

the government says the demolitions are merely part of approved urban planning. >> i do not think this is urban planning. this is mass destruction in urban neighborhoods. what reports point out is that this urban, planning, if you like is strategically done in areas where the army had strong presence and was hunkered down and it was difficult to drive the opposition out. >> the report said there is no demolition taking place in areas that generally support the government. the u.n. now says that 6.5 million people have been dismaced inside sir and that almost 2.5 million refugees have left the country since the war began. dominic cain, aljazeera. >> security watchers say the demolitions are an attempt to drive opposition out of their strongholds.

>> it's difficult to speck lay on the exact motivation of the government. what is for sure is that the government's explanation that it is urban manning efforts does thought hold up to scrutiny. these areas where the demolitions took place were opposition strongholds. the demolitions took place after intensive fighting after opposition and government forces. some of the demolitions took place near strategic and military locations, and we even have the governor of damascus saying in an interview with an international journalist basically admitting that of course these demolitions was a key part of the government's strategy to drive opposition forces out of these neighborhoods. as you can see on some of the satellite imagery, the areas that have been targeted have been completely erased. they've been wiped off the map, so the demolitions in these areas are complete. it's systemic. what we have documented so far

is the destruction of seven such neighborhoods or seven areas that have really been targeted, and we have identified other, more rose demolitions on satellite imagery as well that have not been chewed in this report, but we have not yet conducted enough research to draw final legal conclusions on those cases, when an area is demolished like this, the residents flee and it's challenging to find eyewitnesses to the demolition. >> there's no let up in the violence that's scarring syria. these pictures cannot be independently verified but do appear to show barrel bombs being dropped by the government. an entire family of eight people, including five children have been killed in the explosions. >> this is reportedly the scene in rebel strong hold in aleppo.

eight people there were killed in the air strikes. >> international aid has reached the camp in damascus, 720 food parcels distributed by the u.n. relief agency. the camps have been besieged by government forces for more than six months. >> we're the kids, we're starving. we want to eat. we want to drink. the children are dying. we're hungry. we need milk and and he haven't had any bread in eight months. >> away from syria, talks are continue to go try to find a settlement of the three year long conflict. james bays, in syria. are we skiing any aid? >> no, we're not. we saw as you just reported that aid finally reaching that camp of palestinians who lived for

many, many years in syria, their camp has been besieged for a long time. finally, aids got there. the other place that focus has been on in recent days and there was supposedly an agreement here at these talks, the old city of homs, they've got the supplies abgot enough foot for 2500 people, shelter, medicine, but no permission from the syrian government to let that through. no progress on the humanitarian side or political from the, are the at these talks. they've been talking about the idea of political transition, but let me just give you however apart the two sides are. the syrian government is saying that the basis for these talks, the geneva communique was june, 2012. they want to look at that line by line and in the end talk about the idea of forming a transitional government. the opposition is saying you need to form the transitional

government first before you deal with the other things in the communique, like ceasefires, dealing with extremist groups and other things that are in this commune can i. they disagree on the way forward with all of this. the meetings have ended here today. we will get the prospective in about an hour's time of the mediator giving his daily no, sir conference. >> many thanks for that. we'll be carrying that live, of course. >> now to iraq where 20 were killed after armed men attacked the government building northeast baghdad. police forces have taken a number of people hostage inside the building. security forces managed to oh get most of the employees out. also in iraq, another 19 people have been killed in a series of car bombs in baghdad, mainly sny i can't districts targeted. no group has claimed responsibility for the blasts. >> the ukrainian president on sick leave right in the middle of the countries political

crisis. for the very latest on this, we go to lauren in london. >> president of you president', the official statement accusing protestors and their leaders of recklessness and irresponsibility. anti-government demonstrators have vowed to stay put despite the amnesty bill offering to release jailed activists on condition that the protestors vacate the occupied buildings. we have more from kiev. >> here on the front line between the police and the protestors, it's stalemate. people here believe that the president sabotaged the parliament wednesday. that when they were voting in

the amnesty bill, he turned up in parliament for the first time in two years and instructed his part of the regions to vote for a draft which brought in many preconditions. those preconditions were the protestors had to leave the buildings they're occupying. in and out leaders are trying to regroup to work out their next strategy, where to go next. meanwhile, the president is off work with the flu. >> russia says it has identified the bombers responsible for the attacks which killed 34 people. the timing is significant as athletes begin to arrive in sochi ahead of the winter olympic games. >> arriving at the olympic village, the first of some 2,000 athletes from more than 90 different countries. it's just a week in my the official opening of the games, a run-up to the winter olympics that's been dominated by security concerns following the two deadly bomb attacks exactly a month ago. the explosions carried out by

suicide bombers at the city's railway station and 24 hours later onboard an electric trolley bus left 34 people dead. thursday, russian security officials said they'd identified the two men who carried out the attacks and the in the neighboring reegeing of dagestan arrested two accomplices said to have transported them to volgograd. symbolizing the violation of freedom in president putin's russia at a time when it's hosting the olympics. >> while the world's eyes are on russia, we want the world's eyes to be on the way in which the russian government is treating civil society and the way in which lesbian and gay people are treated in this country and we want the world and the world's

government to make it clear to the russian government that this needs to stop. >> an amnesty international petition signed by a quarter of a million people was delivered to the president's administrative office. the winter olympics have become a magnet, a lightning conductor, attracting those demanding change in russia, from deadly protests, from islamic accept are a activities in the south to human rights activists in the capitol. expect more of the same throughout the games. peter sharp, aljazeera in moscow. >> thank you very much indeed for being with us. we saw in the report one example of the kind of things you're trying to stage and clearly human rights and freedom of speech is part of it. give me examples of things you have faced in the last day or

so. >> we keep raising concerns that the right of protest is severely limited. we've got ourselves a pretty good sense of where things are. these little protests we wanted to hold in front of the presidential administration we were told we couldn't, because there are many tourists, which there aren't and we were moved elsewhere where people couldn't see is. taking photos this morning, on the way back were stopped by a security official who said we had violated a law. he couldn't tell which law, but threatened to call the police. he threatened to take the camera away and use it as evidence against us. i think had it not been so bitterly cold, that conversation could have ended in a police station. you cannot just come into the streets and say you don't agree. >> in that context, how much protest do you he can speck to carry on throughout the sochi event? is there likely to be any kind of demonstrations? >> frankly, possible not, probably not.

there were additional restrictions on protests in sochi initially, all street actions were banned, then there was another decree saying you can protest but only in a certain location and for that need approval from local authorities, police in a intelligence services. now come on, if the people want peacefully to express their views, they should have a right to do it. >> russian prime minister said he's dismissed concerns about changes to the laws that gay rights activists have complained about, saying i haven't had a single representative of russia complaining, not even on the internet about their rights being abused, indicating that it's an international outcry, nothing that the russians are worried about. >> that's not true. when the olympic torch was going through, one man tried to wave a rainbow flag. he was immediately taken away. that's the answer to your question. you can not come openly into the street and he can press your

sexuality if it's not the mainstream. that law discriminates lbgt community and you don't have to go far doing a that. you won't see many gay people protesting now because this is not legal. >> thank you very much indeed for painting a picture for us from moscow, thank you. >> still to come from europe, british lawmakers attempt to push through a ban on foreign criminals use in european law to avoid deportation. >> from doha, a cruel turn of fate, how detainees in a philippine police station suffered ritual torture at the spin of a wheel. >> in sport, doctors have begun the process of waking up the former champion, those details coming up later in sport. south sudan's government signed

a ceasefire with the rebel group, the development came at the african unit smith which is underway in ethiopia. we are joined live from the summit in adidas abbaba. >> this group comes under the command of rebel leader david wolrah based in an area called pebwar. the peace agreement comes after the government of south sudan actually unilaterally declared a ceasefire at the beginning of the year. shortly after the conflict started with acquisition leader and his allies, now this is just a first step. i was speaking to both delegations early on. they say that this a stepping

stone toward peace. there are certain things that have to happen. they will continue to negotiate. the people want to see their designees released as soon as possible, but for the government of south sudan, it is probably a game, because one of the articles of this agreement clearly says that the fighters agree to remain neutral in the conflict between the government and opposition leader. >> this is a conflict that's entirely separate to that wider conflict that's going on in south sudan. >> absolutely. it is separate, but this is happening and according to the admission of the representatives of the government here, there is a lot of local support in the communities there, one of the delegates told me he estimated

that he had up to 15,000 fighters. this is a force to be reckoned with, but when you speak to the people, they say we wanted to stay away from that. we want the government to be understanding the message, we want the money to trickle to our area, we want the development, the lives of our people to become better and we will stay under the margin of this. you have two sets of ceasefire going on for the government of south sudan, one that just started and we have to see how it unfolds. the other one as the u.n. described it remains fragile, so certainly we still have to see how all of those pieces of the puzzle will come together and if eventually could lead to peace. >> many thanks for making it clear. >> mining executives from all over the world are meeting in south africa to discuss the state of the industry. the hosts have their hands full

with a strike by tens of thousands of platinum miners, female miners complaining of sexual harassment underground. we have the story. >> south africa's economy was built on mining, but it's hit by strikes every year. these platinum miners are demanding that entry lex paid be doubled to $1,250 a month. men and women are protesting together but when underground together, many women complain about discrimination saying sexual harassment is so chop, it's a part of the mining culture. >> they start saying for me to appoint you and she supervisor, we can have a deal. the deal is that you give that particular person, meet in the hotels, whatever, and you start some things like being in love, dating each other.

that's where they can give you an appointment. >> only about one in 10 miners is a woman. they are isolated and vulnerable underground, but most don't report sexual discontinual that is, assault or rape because they don't think they'll be taken seriously. >> this set celebrates the miners, but much happened under apartheid through cheap labor. there's still the perception that mine owner care more about profits than safety, not only from accidents, but from each other. >> in 2012, this woman was raped and killed in a mine. despite her high profile case, nothing has changed. a task team addresses the case. >> we are trying to tell women these are what you can use,

should use. we will support you when you come and you report incidents of harassment. >> the government wants the number of female miners increased to 13% but unless the culture underground changes, sending more women down the mines will just put more at risk. tanya page. aljazeera, johannesburg. >> two senior police officers are the latest accused to appear in the cash gate trial. there are more than 60 people charged in africa's largest ever corruption case. senior politicians, bankers and civil servants will answer for the theft of millions of dollars of public funds. >> for the first time, this evidence of heightened security as the trial of two deputy police commissioners begins. the hearingings now spilling out from the high court into the magistrate's courts next door. within the next week, it's expected that 10 separate trials will be underway.

the proceedings are closely watched by the international donors who have suspended millions of dollars of aid in the wake of the scandal. each week, they attend a meeting with government ministers to review proceedings. >> i would like to commend my president for compromising on our sovereignty by allowing nationals to be part of it. it's also money we had from the donors. we would like to prove to them that we have nothing to hide and nobody to shield, so they have to be part of it. >> the assumptions are that all in the current government are innocent. we are very worried about how the progress is being done and how the donors are donating when the hands are not that clean. >> a view rejected by donor representatives. >> the government system which has turned out to be very

fragile and being undermind so of course we need to talk in the first place to this government to help, support and push also for rectifying the situation. >> back at the courts, details are emerging of specific charges, for example, two women named as owners of a construction company accused of receiving government payments for work that was never done. >> one of the accused has been given time to find a new lawyer. that's because the man who was supposed to represent her was arrested on monday. he said a former justice minister, who ironically or perhaps inevitably is due himself to appear in this court on money laundering charges. >> millions of people are preparing to ring in the year of the horse. a fort night of festivities gets under way friday to celebrate china's lunar new year.

we've been looking at the traditions associated with the festival. >> across the country, chinese families spring clean, sweeping out any ill fortune to make way for good luck. in shanghai, workers and students traveling home witness something new but with a hint of tradition, a flash mob chinese style. >> i really want to go home after watching this. i feel particularly warm after working hard for the whole year. in just really want to be with my family now. >> in southwest china, lanterns filled parks and lakes. 450,000 glass bottles went into the design of this peacock. 2014 is all about saying goodbye to the snake and hello to the horse, the spirit of the horse has long ban part of chinese new year's. >> the horse is very good word. it's often used with good

meanings, symbolizing health and prosperity. >> superstitions are strong at this time of year, and while the rest of the country is on holiday, one industry is thriving, fortune tellers are in big demand. >> everyone wants to know their fortune for the next year to decide what to do. that's why many come to me now to predict their life. >> for the non-chinese amongst us, the cultural traditions at this time of year can be rather confusing so i've prepared a guide to help get you through. firstly, it's not called the chinese new year. it's called the spring festival or lunar new year and runs for 15 days. secondly, on the first day of the festival, there's no sharing, washing, cleaning or laundry of any kind. that just washes away the good luck. as a foreigner, be generous. >> what does 2014 hold in store for china?

according to our fortune teller, there will be a severe drought. water pollution will get worse, and friction with neighboring southeast asian countries will increase. on the bright side, chinese national strength will increase significantly this year. however, if you are not at all superstitious, there are menty of other ways the year of the horse may bring you good fortune. aljazeera, beijing. >> still to come on the program, anti-government protestors continuing to march in bangkok. we visit northern thailand to see why many people still support the prime minister and her family. >> in sport, there's a touch of magic, 13 points clear in the german league.

struggling to feel safe at work.

>> south africa's economy was

real reporting that brings you the world. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. >> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america >> a reminder of our top

stories, human rights watchers accuse the syrian government of demolishing thousands of homes systematically destroying homes in opposition districts of damascus. >> 20 people have been killed after armed men stormed a government building. police fought the attackers. car bombs killed 19 people ukraine viktor yanukovych has taken sick leave. protestors occupying government buildings have rejected an amnesty bill and refusing to leave. >> turkey's central bank has taken urgent that action to stabilize it's occurrence. the lending rate was increased to 12%, but instantly prompted the value of the lira to strengthen against the dollar. growth is expected to remain constant at 4% this year,

sharply down from the 8% growth in 2010 and 2011. there are fears of corruption scandals destabilizing turkey's economy. joining us live is turkish finance minister. thank you for being here on aljazeera. why is turkey's economy in such dire straits? >> there are a number of factors, volatility is not unique to turkey, emerging markets are under pressure, partly on the back of, you know, likely further tapering by federal reserve bank of united states, and we also had mittically motivated corruption investigations, which obviously had some negative impact, but if you look at turkey overall, we

still have very strong fiscal position. we have healthy banking sector, so this is like a temporary let's say fragility rather than a permanent shock. >> but you do have a plunging lira and just a 4% growth rate when just a couple of years ago, it was 8%. i mean some economists suggest that this move by the central bank is not enough to stop this falling further. >> 4% growth may look low by turkish standards, but keep in mind, if you exclude china, 4% growth is at par with emerging markets average and is almost four times the expected growth in euro zone. as you know, we are a real conversion story and turkey has been narrowing the gap per captain at a with european union

so 4% growth is a modest growth rate if you look at turkish recent history but is still more sustainable rate of growth. >> but it is not great and does coincide with the massive withdrawal of foreign investment funds from turkey. it's not the case that you were living on borrowed money, you were spending a lot of it, so why weren't you better prepared for its withdrawal. >> this, we are prepared for withdrawal. let's put it this way, usually, at times like this, i think past mid december 17, following the politically motivated corruption investigations, there has been dom the accident demand for hard currency. that's one major factor. retail has been decline in emerging markets since may last

year, but there has been little evidence of outflow from turkey, but admittedly, we do have a large deficit and that is partially financed through portfolio in-flows, but locking at 2014, i think we can comfortably say this, currency correction combined with slowdown in domestic demand and euro zone pulling out of recession, chances are, our it will narrow -- >> can you confidently say that you mentioned that corruption scandal there, that's a huge amount to tarnish turkey's image and many economists say the lira will only stop sliding if there's a proper investigation free from the prime minister's interference. >> let's put it this way. my government is committed to fighting corruption, and if you look at transparency

international corruption perception ranking, turkey has made substantial improvement over the last decade. that doesn't mean corruption has been eliminated, but certainly, there is no tolerance, no condoning of corruption, so we're going to continue to fight corruption. >> but you can see why investors might think otherwise when we're seeing a huge purge of police, people investigating this scandal. 350 these were removed from their posts just in early january. i mean that's not giving a lot of confidence, is it, to investors? >> i was on a road show last week in london and new york and i've addressed and met on a one to one basis almost 400, 500 investors. i think there's a very clear understanding if you get rogue elements within the state, if there is tensive unauthorized use of wiretapping, irregularities, of course those

police deserve to be purged, be but the point i'm making here, these investigations are not about corruption. these investigations follow the government decision to close prep schools. prep schools are a major source of revenue for one of the movement that has been instrumental in this politically motivated campaign, so the government is only responding to that. i think there's's a very clear understanding by institution investors. >> we'll have to leave it. thank you very much for taking the time to join us. >> pleasure. >> a courting bangladesh was sentenced to death. a leader of the party, for arm smuggling, convicted of trying to smuggle weapons 10 years ago. the former industries minister faces separate charges of war crimes committed during the 1971

war of independence. >> human rights groups are accusing moisers in the philippines of using a so-called torture we'll. they reportedly spun the we'll at a detention center to select how detainees would be abused. we have the details. >> this is a quiet middle class neighborhood, but it's now notorious. a group of policeman held suspects here indefinitely without charge and abused them, apparently for fun. >> it looks like an ordinary street, but this house right next to others was if he cannively what human rights activists are calling a torture chamber. they keep people here indefinitely after catching them on drug raised. this is where the police would keep their office, and this area is where they kept their

suspects. they turned torture into an elaborate game. they'd spin this wheel and let chance dictate what the victims, perhaps as many as 50 would be beaten, hung upside down, poked in the head or other abuses. this case is significant because the police have been caught in the act. 14 men have been disciplined and ranking police officials relieved of duty. >> it's a wake up call, you know, for higher-ups, to show that despite your police operations procedures manual, despite your programs and practices, human rights based policing, there are people, there are personnel on the ground who blatantly defy you. >> so, are the reforms just window dressing? >> it's not window dressing. this is in an organization of

149,000 police personnel. there's bound to be some people who will be challenging the system, and the only appropriate action there is the counter action that we will take and that's the most critical part. what do we do after this? >> until then, the police are trying to reassure the public that this was an isolated case and that their mantra to protect and serve is not meaningless. aljazeera, manila. >> highland is preparing for a massive security operation ahead of sunday's election, the government says it will increase the number of soldiers around protest sites in bangkok and send 10,000 police officers to monitor the vote. 5,000 soldiers are patrolling the captain really already. >> antti protestors continue to take the street in bangkok calling for a boycott of the vote and say they won't stop until the president resigns. >> away from those opposition

protests in bangkok, rural northern thailand is a strong hold of the ruling party supporters known as the red shirts. there's concern the prime minister could lose support in that region. we are in the red shirts home land. >> it was a revered former king who established the roots of the thai silk industry, but it was the wealth of one family's silk company started 85 years ago that helped weave the thai political dynasty. >> they called it home for decades and unwavering support. that might erode if the political crisis drags on. >> they are closely watching how the prime minister handles the mass protests calling for her resignation. she is accused of being a proxy

for her older brother. >> a lot of the hard grained supporters would want her to take more action against these radicals in bangkok. i mean, the party was democratically elected. she should be allowed to do the thing that she was elected for. this northern part of the country enjoyed expansion and investment thanks to tourism and government programs. the red shirts want that to continue and want their hometown family to continue ruling in bangkok. keeping with the family tradition, her nephew is running for a seat in parliament. >> the campaign is not for the party only, but for everybody. we fight for almost 100 years to get democracy. >> many young thais in the north

are eager to enter the job market but are concerned about the growing divisions. >> i believe that both sides love the country the same, but their thoughts are going in opposite directions. >> no matter if led by a member of the hometown family or opposition, bringing these two sides closer together is going to be the main challenge for thailand's government for years to come. >> a debate's underway in the u.k. over efforts to stop foreign criminals from using laws to avoid dough portation. the issue has divided british lawmakers. the prime minister agrees with the idea of a change in the law. here's a thorny difficult question about ethics and the rule of law. should the british government have the right to strip a person

of his or her passport and render them stateless if the government deems that person to be a threat to national security? it is genuinely being debated in there at the moment. so dealt is the anger among conservative politicians and ministers at the states of immigration law particularly european immigration law and the way it affects people perceived to be a terrorist threat. at the moment, it goes liable. supposing you're a fortune err and come to live in britain, give up your passport and take a british pat port and you have a family here and the government sees you as a threat to national supreme court. at the moment, the law says that you can claim team ties and the government shouldn't have the right to expel you from the country. that there's so much anger about that that the government is trying to rush through new legislation allowing ministers to strip that person of his or her passport leaving them

stateless and simply expel them from the country. if you ask what the public mood is around this in britain, frankly, a lot of people would be supportive, because they would say it's entirely unfair for people to come to britain, take a passport, be an enemy of britain but claim the right to stay they're simply because they have family. opponents do raise pertinent questions. if someone's accused of terrorism, then why not try them in a court? secondly, what that is if you render them stateless? where are they supposed to go if they don't have a passport? do they end up in an airport for a long time or expelled into the outside world with no one actually looking at where they are? but most of all, what does it say about the ethics and democracy of the country, which is supposed to uphold the rule of law and people's rights and is actually prepared to take passports off them even without putting them on trial? >> other men who killed a british soldier on a london street last may is to appeal his

conviction, currently awaiting sentencing after his conviction in december for the murder of lee rig by in south london. he admitted in court to killing rig by, but denied it was a murder. >> the british army has been called in to evacuate flooded areas in the southwest of england. some houses have been cut off for more than a month. experts predict this will be the wettest january in the region since records began more than 100 years ago. >> that's it for me in london, back to lauren in doha. >> thanks very much. please stay with us. till to come, all the port, cruding mcilroy's hot form in dubai. we'll have the details.

>> in mexico, 20,000 vigilantes are joining forces with police and soldiers to combat a drug cartel. the knight's templar is challenged. the new force is in action in a western state. >> asking for support, indigenous leader speaks with his community about why they should work together with an armed vigilante group. >> we were really worried about what would happen when the self defense groups came.

the day they arrived, we saw many of them weren't from the community, but we changed our minds after we spoke with their leader whom we know and trust. tired of kidnappings and extortions, vigilant tee groups of sprung up in the western state to fight the knight's tell mar cartel. the government changed tactics, choosing to integrate the groups into a rural defense core. this is one of the first times vigilant tee groups have worked with the federal police in order to bring their message of security to the communities. it's a new strategy, one they hope will pay off. >> vigilante leaders say the partnership is working. in the past few days, they've moved into 10 new communities. >> we have won people's

confidence showing them we are honest working people. they also see towns where people have risen up. >> analysts say the biggest challenge is how to put 20,000 heavily armed civilians under government control. >> the process of legalization will be complicated, slow and with risks. possible vigilant tees could be corrupted, but it couldn't be worse than what we've already witnessed. >> he now sees the vigilantes as the best hope to bring peace and prosperity back to his communities. peace might come from the barrel of a gun. >> aljazeera continues to call on the egyptian government to release five of its journallives. their case us have been referred to the criminal court by the prosecutor general. aljazeera's not been notified of any formal charges.

correspondent and producers have been held for 32 days. others from our sister channel have been held for six months. aljazeera demands their unconditional release. let's get the sport. >> michael schumaker's manager said doctors have begun the pros of bringing the former f.1 champion out of a coma after suffering head injuries in a ski accident. the seven time world champion has been in a medically induce said coma for more than four weeks. doctors have begun reducing his sedation in order to allow the waking up process, which schumakers agent says could take a long time. french judge through there wasn't enough evidence to proof

menu they were with a prostitute. he faced up to three years in prison if found guilty. >> scoring an acrobatic winner. >> taking top spot in the flush premier league for arsenal. entered the first half one up, then got the goal fest started after the break. striking in the second half, rounding off the scoring. now one point clear of the gunners. >> it's very important to do the job, because it just depends on

what we do in every match. but we have seen 45 points more and i don't think an important advantage, seeing that the premier league, arsenal, chelsea, liverpool, all of them have chances to continue fighting for the title. >> chelsea remained in third. the mappinger wasn't impressed with the tactics employed by the visitors and a colorful response was provided. >> his objective was won, come here and take a point. his objective was not to come here and play football and try to win, was not to come here and feel part of the quality of the premier league. his objective was to come for a point. he takes a point, you know, so

after that, he's a happy man so congratulations. >> we've outwith id him. >> he told you. >> i know he he did. he can tell me all he wants i love to see chelsea players moaning at the referee, trying intimidate him [bleep]. i love him. >> barcelona marched into the semifinals, 4-1 up, but went behind nine minutes in. equalized, they go on to score

four more times. >> a semifinal set up, a 1-0 lead, but an equalizer in the first half. they secured the 2-1 victory on the night and thee-1 thanks to goals. >> rory mcelroy has a two stroke lead in dubai. he shot a nine under par 63. his lowest round since 2010. mcelroy has five top 10 finishes in his last seven events. >> tiger woods is five shots back. the american has won this tournament twice. >> steven gallagher completed,

had one of the shots of the day with an eagle on the 18t 18th hole. >> very good, yeah, very pleased, played very well from tee to gene and sort of got the putter going, as well. all in all, it was a very good score. scores are pretty low, so i'm going to need something similar the next few days. >> lebron james has apologized for using the word retarded in a post game interview. it came after the miami heat loft at home to the oklahoma city thunder. james scored a game high 34 points. it's oklahoma's ninth straight victory. >> edmonton oilers set a new nhl record, goalie making 59 saves shutting out the sharks 3-0.

the previous record was 54 made in 2012. this is the oilers third win in a row. >> in the morning and new jersey authorities say there have been no specific threats against the superbowl but security will be tightened in and around the stadium sunday. practice sessions were held. conditions are expected to be similar on game day. peyton manning and the his team will be taking on the seattle seahawks. >> seattle's getting a ton of attention this week, as they deserve it in the number one rated defense in just about every category. i don't think you get to a superbowl unless both defenses are playing well, and i sure feel like our defense is peaking at the right time. >> meanwhile, the seattle seahawks moved training inside on wednesday, the frigid temperatures left fields frozen. russell wilson will start for the seahawks in only his second year in the nfl. he knows he is being compared to veteran man jog obviously peyton

manning is known for his leadership, for all the amazing things he does at the line of scrimmage and checks and all that, so i'm working to get there. i think that competitive edge is very, very similar, too, we're very competitive, we want to lead our football team and put our team in a great position every time we step in the field. >> sri lanka wrapped up the test on the fourth day, completing a five helping restrict bangladesh. the second test takes place next tuesday. >> expecting a press conference on developments that may have happened today in the syrian talks. all that and much more right ahead.

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and and and uh swing ♪ i welcome to al jazeera america, these are the stories we are follows for you. esyria's government accused of demolishes thousands of home on eofficials say most of the dead where children. plus, atlanta trying to rebound with residents demanding answers from state and local officials. ♪