>> you're watching aljazeera, the news hour with david foster and this is some of what we have coming up in the next 60 minutes. rescue workers in south africa scrambling to free trapped miners. >> the espionage trial of the former president of egypt, his lawyers say they won't work with their client in a cage. >> sign ago deal to end the two month long occupations in ukraine, but the protests on the treat go on and:

♪ >> "12 years a slave" set to win big in london. from the red carpet. >> rescue workers battling against time to free trapped miners in a gold mine shaft in south africa. they are stuck underground in an abandoned mine east of johannesburg. this is the scene, live pictures coming to us here. emergency services there have made contact with at least 30 men trapped by bolder blow the surface. some trapped say the number could be as highs 200. they say the group was working illegally. i understand you're only about

20-meter away. they will us what is happening. >> yes, david, well, it is actually very nearby. what i can tell you now is there is about 12 or so emergency workers who are drying trough conduct this very delicate operation to get down through the blocked shaft since yesterday afternoon. >> give us an idea what they're telling you actually happened. >> well, from what we understand, police were patrolling this morning in the area when they discovered someone sitting outside the mine shaft. they were told there were at least 30 people trapped beneath the surface. immediately a large massive rescue scene was brought to the scene. they've been trying to remove the two bolders. it was originally a ventilation shaft reopened by these illegal miners. as it turns out, it wasn't just two bolders, once they removed the first bolder, they

discovered a very thick concrete slap they've been trying to chip and drill through to make a mole big enough to bring the miners out one by one. >> do they believe after they've got that first group out that they will then have access to those trapped beteeth them? well, from what we understand, the 30 are the ones confirmed. the miners themselves when communicating with the emergency workers did suggest there were several other miners deeper in the shaft, but unfortunately, we've been unable to confirm this. what we do know is these miners do not have injuries and thankfully there was a tiny pass acknowledge they were able to transport water and supplies through to make sure they didn't suffer effects of dehydration or hunger. >> if what you say you've been told is true that they've been there for several days, then the water and food must have been very welcome indeed.

do we know what shape they're in having gone a couple of days without far arishment. >> they've only been trapped since yesterday morning it seems. they were incredibly relieved when the rescuers arrived and started putting water down to them. they seem to be in all right shape, but it's unconfirmed how badly any of the miners further within the mine may be injured or deheight duration. >> try to paint a picture for us, shane of what they would have been doing down there, trying to take out seams of gold from a closed down shaft or what? >> well, yes, that is correct. recently, this particular mine was bought out by a company called gold one. they actually blocked this shaft quite recently. these illegal miners tend to find these abandoned shafts, dig their way through and then they'll just start taking the minerals slowly but surely.

they generally use hand tools and not very sophisticated equipment to take these minerals out and sell them on the black market. >> looking at the pictures, presumably the same thing you are, we see a crane being used to try to remove the concrete or the bolder itself doesn't look particularly sophisticated, but let me take you back to something i thought you said at the beginning, which was that somebody had been sitting on the surface and a passer by or something came across and discovered that there were people trapped underground. does that mean that they might have been frightened of the repercussions of going into these mines, these illegal shafts? >> well, that's what we suspect. why police weren't immediately called. they happened by chance to spot this person outside this blocked shaft, so presumably he didn't call the police, because they'd

be arrested. emergency services here have said that unfortunately, the moments these miners have been rescued, they'll most likely be arrested for illegal mining. >> thank you very much indeed. that's shane talking to us from the site that you can see there, this mine shaft, ventilation shaft, in fact. do give us a call when you know a little bit more here at aljazeera. >> there's been an explosion on a tourist bus in egypt's sinai peninsula. four people have been killed, more than a dozen injured. most of them tourists from south korea. let's bring in nick shiffrin in jerusalem. give us an idea what you've been told happened. >> this is a possible turning point for the insurgency inside sinai. what we're told is that bus was full of people and the bus was

targeted. they said that the south korean tourists had come from a man starry, popular tourist destination in sinai near mount sinai and came to israel for tourism. the sides of the border were closed and victims, almost all 33 people killed or wounded are being treated in egyptian hospitals right now. there has been no claim of responsibility yet, but there's been an insurgency for many months. the u.s. and many countries advicing its citizens not to travel into sinai, that picking up since mohamed morsi was overthrown last summer. what we've seen is the insurgents targeting soldiers, police. this is a shift in strategy,

tourists haven't been targeted for some eight years, so this is a worrying development. >> a lot of our viewers will be familiar with a number of places in that area, tourist destinations, there will be a major concern that this could keep valuable tourists out of egypt. >> yeah, absolutely. egyptian officials for the last year and a half have been telling me that they're really worried about tourism in the sinai, huge part of the sinai economy. this is unprecedented for the last eight years. we have not even tourists tarted in sinai. they are very worried that this is going to send shock waves through the tourism industry. may not have been advised not to come to sinai who of already canceling trips and this will probably accelerate that trend. >> thank you very much indeed. a trial, not the trial, just a

number of the trials have been adjourned for a week in cairo. he arrived in court to face charges of espionage and conspiring with foreign groups to carry out terror attacks. his defense team with drew because mohamed morsi was held in a glass cage during proceedings. 35 others stand accused, as well. let's go to london. they may have a point that it's difficult for anybody to conduct their defense from inside a cage, but are they doing this for that reason or other procedural reasons, perhaps playing for time? >> well, i think it is indeed in the interest of the defense team to play the procedural game at the moment, and it has possibly two objectives. on the firsthand, an attempt to embarrass the prosecution and

slow things down by pointing out that this is not a normal way of conducting a legal trial, but obviously, this trial is also political and the one heard today is one of the most serious charges leveled against the ousted president, espionage and colluding with a foreign power basically announcing to a charge of treason. in lieu of that political character that this particular trial, the defense team may also be playing for time in order to bring the proceedings as close as possible to the elections which we will have in the short time in egypt for both the presidency and for parliament, and this way, they can bring the whole issue of the very questionable way in which the interim government has been put into power and designed the current roadmap to return to

normalcy in egypt, and bring again attention to the points the anti coup alliance has made since 2013 but has gone timid over the last couple of weeks. this is an opportunity for them to try to get support for their case. >> it's suggested they may be trying to bring the proceedings into disrepute and yet we are constantly assured that the military and judiciary are separate. >> if you look at the new constitution that was passed a couple of weeks ago only, it makes the military and judiciary into very powerful state institutions, officially separate, obviously, but in both instances, the powers of the military have been beefed up in comparison to the constitution

that was passed when morsi was president and which has now been thrown out and also the judiciary has much more maneuvering space under this new constitution and which has for example already led to an additional court case against the president for contempt of court. >> i just wanted to ask you this, if you can answer it briefly, it would be great. why do they keep adding charges? >> well, i think it is to play the game that the interim government has every interest in discrediting not just president morsi's administration and him as an individual, but by extension, also the whole muslim brotherhood basically fits in the picture also of declaring the muslim brotherhood not just into a clan did he say tine organization, but even into a terrorist organization, which is even during the mubarak years unheard of. by picturing the ousted president basically as a common criminal involved in all kinds of illegal actions, they want to

bring him in this trial in disrepute and by these means undermine any sport the muslim brotherhood can still canvas in egypt and which at the moment is quite substantial. >> thank you. >> the trial of three aljazeera english journalists detained in egypt is due to begin on february 20. there are a group of 20 charged of ling linked to the muslim brotherhood which egypt has declared a terrorist organization. another journalist from our sister station has been held and is conducting a hunger strike.

>> the u.n. special envoy for sir yes said six days of talks have failed. >> i'm very, very sorry and i apologize to the syrian people. >> both sides agreed to meet again but haven't set a date. the british government said the sale mate is a serious setback to chance of ending the civil war. >> the lack of a political solution in geneva means there is no respite for the millions of refugees who have fled the violence. we are joined from the syrian border where many refugees are camped. what have you been doing is walking us around a refugee camp, introducing us to families. tell us where you are now and what you can see. >> we are in a border town on the lebanon-syria border.

people are saying they have been kicked out of their tents, they have nowhere to sleep. the army isn't allowing them to leave the area. it is incredibly difficult. i want to brick in a man who has been here for a few days so he can explain to you what it is like for syrians living in this camp. thank you so much for giving us your time. can you explain what it is like for you here? >> you see and all the world see our situation here in this camp. the tents without covers. the people sleeping under the air. normal food, you have one time for the food.

it is too sad for our people. please, if you can, if the world can help us, we are human. you see, we are not animals. if no way to help, send us your animals. my word for the the european union, especially. you see so many families stay under the sky in the air. you see the kids, the children. this area too cool. we need for more decent -- where's the decent. >> what do you say to those people who say they speak for the sir jen people sitting together in geneva with the

syrian government, with the americans who can't even figure out how to speak to each other? >> those people are not feeling with us. those people receive a big salary as we stay here without food, without water, without -- please from the people in the world. please help us. we need our country. we need our houses. we are not happy, but no other way to do. >> thank you very much for that. a very direct message from

exactly the mouths of people living what they describe as a hell and that nothing is being done. it gets incredibly cold here at night and many people don't have a place to stay as he was explaining, no roof over their head. they are desperate and want something to be done and don't know when they can go back home. >> it was incredibly moving listening to what he had to say. you say it gets cold. i can see everybody's wrapped up there. those that don't have tents, any kind of roof over their head, what do they do? >> i don't know if you can see, let me try to show you that over here, you have a family sitting. you see a lady, she's wrapped up in a blanket. they're trying to make some tea. people are trying to make due with very little. we've been hearing that some people have tried to kick out the men. there's an mgo trying to kick the men out of the camp. politician happening here,

people are incredibly frustrated. they don't know how to move out. they're dependent on handouts. they've lost everything that they fought for all their lives, left their homes behind. they had to come here because of what's going on. we hear there is a campaign by the government and more and more people are expected to come. you can see how difficult it is for those who are here. earlier we went to a lube knees army check point, the last before no man's land, it's still lebanon, the 30-kilometer from here. many more expected to come here, because it's such a desperate situation. people are angry, as you heard. i don't think anyone can tell you better as he just explained just how difficult it is for people here. >> said so very, very calmly, almost with a certain resignation that made it that much more power play. thank you, stephanie. >> in syria, rebel fighters appear to be using tunnel to say

attack government forces in the city of aleppo. rebels say that the tunnel seen here is 75 meters long and let them target a hotel where syrian soldiers were staying. they claim the attack killed at least five soldiers and wounded 18 more. aljazeera cannot independently verify the pictures of what they claim to be because of media restrictions in syria. >> still ahead on this news hour, an anti-government protest turns ugly in caracas. >> in sport, key i don't say in the snowboarding winter olympics. we'll tell you who won and who crashed out.

>> prosecutor testers in ukraine greed to end the occupation as efforts to relieve tension there is continue. let's go to lauren taylor in our european news center. >> that's right, the city hall had been occupied for the last two months, but that finally came to an end ahead of an amnesty deadline. the protests against the president are still continuing. >> a handshake to seal the agreement under the watch of international observers, the occupation finally came to an end. after weeks of negotiations between the government and protestors. >> it is two steps. both sides made a step toward each other. both sides made a compromise. >> as the activists vacated a building, they vowed they would be back if the government did not to its part of the deal. >> we only want a peaceful resolution. we don't want violence but we are ready to fight back the occupants. >> it has been two months since

the demonstrators came to city hall. the government said it would drop all criminal charges, a gesture to diffuse the on going political crisis that has paralyzed the country. >> while the amnesty struck a conciliatory tone, some weren't sure how the future of the protests would ply out. >> it's hard to consider this a victory or defeat. the protest is worth it to some. >> brought tests erupted last year following the president's decision to abandon a trade pact for the europeanin and seek a bailout from russia. while the pullout indicates a new phase in the situation, it may not signal the end of the demon straes just yet. while support for the president remains popular in the east and south of the country, the protests triggered off a broader movement for greater human rights and less corruption in

the country. how the next stage plays out will be a crucial test of the president's leadership. aljazeera. >> i'm joined by one of the ukrainian opposition. thank you very much for being with us. so the demonstrators have left the buildings. what does this mean for the political crisis, do you think? >> no, i don't think it will end the political crisis. actually, i'm speaking on behalf of the dell gates from the ukraine, east, south of ukraine, adopted the statement that we are very much concerned by the decision to free the buildings. all the exodus, this is a form of exodus, these things that our government, our criminal regime does not understand and they are

compromises. we are afraid that as the government buildings are freed, their repressions against activities will continue with new trends. they are continuing right now. >> we've seen some demonstrators still calling for the president to step down. >> yes. >> it's surprising that you're group there has said that they don't think that freeing the buildings is a good idea, because you need some kind of movement to resolve this, don't you? >> you see, this situation can be resolved only from the point of view of home rights. they took the hostages. they took people who are now under home arrest, mostly. as hostages, demanding their occupied buildings.

we need to be free of political dictatorship. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> italians are still waiting to find out who will be their next prime minister. there's just one candidate and everyone expects him to be appointed but are still waiting for official confirmation. he would be the youngest prime minister ever if his appointment is confirmed by the president. we have the latest from rome. >> all eyes were on the presidential palace and sunday as the president was set to decide whether the 39-year-old will become italy's youngest ever prime minister. a former boy scott, he made his first public appearance on italy's we'll of fortune in 1994. since then, luck seems to have been on his side. he moved on to become governor and rose to fame as a straight

talking player of florence. if appointed prime minister, he will be the third consecutive since the 2011 to be appointed for the president without a vote. he said he would preferred to win elections outright, but not until a new voting law is introduced. >> i think he disappointed the majority of those who would have voted for him in the next election. >> right now, we need a young lead tore shake things around. i hope he is backed by the government to lead italy out of this mess. >> while his promise, questions remain whether his youthful enthusiasm will win people over. some say he represents italy's last chance to recover. >> italy tried everything, and trying a new generation is possibly the last chance for the country. if even this chance fades, then

probably they will be led to believe there is no way out. >> on saturday, the president is deciding whether he is the right choice to lead the country out of the economic and political crisis. while he proved popular, many here feel he should have been elected by the people, not the president. aljazeera, rome. >> can we just pick up on that last point, he is not elected or won't be if he's confirmed. how much of a problem will that be with the people in italy? >> it's a problem for him. he would have liked to do it differently. there's no doubt about that. he would have liked to enter the prime minister's office on a popular mandate. it's a very tricky political situation and he's a has not who wanted to do things differently and here he is coming in on the

strength of a palace coup. he's got a lot to get himself forgiven for. >> what is the time table? it seems it's been going on, but what's the hold up and when do you think we will get it. >> there was expectations it could be today that he would receive a mandate. it's likely to be monday that officials with a vote of confidence in both houses within a week. >> he said that he's a big fan of tony blair. how does that translate into his policies and what he's going to achieve. >> he's liked to turn over a new leaf. he wants to look different, perhaps blur the borders, the frontier between left and right, but i think that's as far as the par gone goes, really. they can't --

>> do you think he's inspirational rather than any kind of real comparison. >> inspirational, yes. he wants -- he'd like to be as effective and he'd like to spell change both for his party and country, which he thinks tony blare did. >> do you think that lack of experience is going to be an issue? >> it could be. this is a young politician with no government experience whatsoever. we are at a tricky moment economically, however, what's interesting is that his -- the news of his predecessors down fall and his own likely appointment was welcomed by the markets. the italian industry is struggling and the perception among business people was that the current government, the jot going government was just treading water. their setting hopes for him to

actually take the courage to break certain consolidated habits in the management. those are the state trade unions of texas. >> thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. >> thank you. >> that's all from me for now. let's go back to david. >> we have this coming up on the news hour. why united nations scientists are dropping radioactive flies over senegal. >> news of another record breaking performance in sport. join us for excusive... revealing... and surprising talks, with the most interesting

people of our time. hip hop pioneer russell simmons talks with soledad o'brien >> i make mistakes everyday, i don't try to count them... >> about his music.... >> the artist should say what's on people's minds. >> his cause... dominion over the animals does not mean abuse... >> and his future... >> i wanna make movies and tv shows that reflect the new america. >> russell simmons up close and personal... talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera >> i'm joie chen, i'm the host of america tonight, we're revolutionary because we're going back to doing best of storytelling. we have an ouportunity to really reach out and really talk to voices that we haven't heard before... i think al jazeera america

>> al jazzera america presents... documentaries from around the world that inform... >> they were bombarded with shells... >> inspire... >> we can deal with our conflicts... >> and touch our soles... >> it was my dream to get a high school diploma. >> award winning film makers create create unique perspectives. >> everybody's different here... >> just gotta tell ya, it was just a very magical moment... >> al jazzera america presents... on al jazeera america >> you're watching the aljazeera news hour. time to run through the top stories. rescue workers are trying to free miners trapped in a gold mine shaft in south africa.

emergency services say they've made contact with at least 30 men dropped below the surface. >> a trial of egypt's deposed president mohamed morsi has been postponed for a week. he faces charges of espionage and conspiring with foreign groups to carry out what prosecutors call terror attacks. >> signs of compromise in ukraine where protestors ended their occupation of city buildings after the government freed 200 jailed activists. >> the men trapped in the african gold mine, let's talk to the emergency services. behind you, we can see the rescue going on. tell us what's happening, please. >> yes, currently, we manage to remove the bolder by the

ventilation shaft. we have lowered in a letter. we want to stop with the operation of hoisting the people out of the mine shaft to safety. >> how many people do you think could be trapped? >> we have a number of 30. this is the number that has been given to us as we arrived here by the trapped miners. they are saying that there were 30 of them and that were trapped and that is the number we are waiting on. >> we heard that some of those men that you managed to talk to believe there could be other miners trapped beneath them. >> that is the information that has been given to us, that there might be other miners that were with them on the ground, but that figure some people believe to be two or 300 which we do not believe. we are waiting on the number of

30. as soon as we bring them to surface, we will give them medical attention and obviously hand them over to police if they are found to be medically unfit. upon doing that, is only when we can investigate further the allegation that there are 300 or 200 or 300 more people. >> how difficult is it to get the rubble out of the surface of this ventilation shaft without dislodging some pretty big pieces, which could fall on the men who are trapped? >> it is quite a very dangerous and delicate operation for us as rescuers of the municipality. what we did was upon arriving, we found that this ventilation shaft is blocked with big bolders, so we managed to rig

rescue equipment and remove the majority of the rubble and rocks. we brought in a crane and we managed to remove that. we managed to have our way in, and we managed to do that safely. none of these men got hurt by our operation. we have lowered rescuers in to go and bring these men to the surface where we will give them medical treatment. that should be happening right behind me. >> i'm going to let you get back to your work. if you wouldn't mind answering one more question, what sort of shape, condition do you believe the trapped men are in at the moment? >> we believe that medically they should be fine. we do not know whether they were injured during the incident

yesterday, as we received. if i might just give you a quick background as to what and how we as the emergency services did receive this call, our metro police officers were doing a patrol in this area for enforcement to check people are not doing illegal dumping. upon arrival, they saw men looking very stranded in this area. upon asking him questions he did mention to him that he is friends with those trapped in the mine. that's how we came to know about the incident. we came out here to deal with the specific situation, and then we found more information that yes, there was people trapped. so when we spoke to these this man, said to us, they were able to talk to us directly. they said we are in here, we are 30, can be more, but their health condition was fine. they complain of hunger and thirst. we managed to give them water through a small opening

available. they did replenish themselves. we will bring them up and give them medical attention, depending their condition, if they are needing hospital, that is what we will do. should we find them they are all fine, we will hand them over to police. >> thank you very much indeed. sir, we would ask to you come back and tell us on camera again for our viewers as soon as you know a little more about the men and what you are able to do for them. for now, we thank you very much indeed. they are trying to get those miners trapped underground to the surface. thank you. >> now to venezuela, where security forces have raided the homes of the opposition leader lopez. president maduro blames him for the death of protestors. they have fought with the riot police for a fourth successive day in carracus.

>> police did raid his home and that of his father. he was supposed to have a press conference this morning. that is canceled. what we do know is another opposition leader, a former presidential candidate is due to be speaking within the next hour, so everyone is staying tuned to hear what he has to say, but meanwhile, frustration continues to grow here in venezuela. singing the national anthem, thousands defied the government's ban on unauthorized protests and took to the streets in downtown cariocas on saturday.

>> we are tired of the government silencing and discarding us. >> they tried to stop the protestors from advancing. rocks are hurled at the police and then chaos and confusion. [ explosions ] [ screaming ] >> people panicked and scared run for cover. >> the situation here, the police fire tear gas, dispersed the crowd. the crowd is saying they will not go. we can see in the distance that people have rocked, they are coming towards the police. this was the fourth day of a row of violence here in the capitol. >> earlier, the president held a rally with tens of thousands of

his supporters who vowed to support him. >> they want to destroy us, but we're the majority and we'll fight for our revolution. >> calling for peace, the president had a message, the hard line leader of the opposition who odors the marches that began wednesday. >> you fugitive from justice, trembling with fear, you fascist coward, hand yourself in. >> as both sides continue refuse to go back down, many people here wonder when calm will return to these streets. >> now, although this is a serious challenge to the president, it's doubtful that this movement could topple the government. that's because the military sometime backs the president, but what it could have is an impact on the opposition itself. a lot of people here rory or feel that the images of violence on the side of the opposition

may further split that movement and play into the hands of the president. >> change very much indeed. rachel levine reporting on the protests as they continue in venezuela. >> nigeria, authorities say at least 50 people have been killed in an attack on a village in borno states. hundreds of villagers fled into the nearby state. the northeast region of the country has been under emergency rule since may of last year. last week, nine soldiers and several fighters died in a battle between government forces and rebel fighters. >> now, could giving flies a dose of radiation help to eradicate a deadly disease in africa? >> scientists in senegal hope so. >> this is the latest effort to combat one of south africa's most instructive diseases, a

parasite that floods the bloodstream, causing victims to die a slow painful death. it mostly affects livestock, but humans suffer from it, too. >> if our stock is sick, we can't make money. this is no vaccine against the disease. >> all attempts have so far failed until now. health offia belie the solution is in the box. inside are blood sucking flies responsible for the spreading the disease, but these are different. they were bread in vienna. still in tear eggs, they received enough radioactive radiation to make them sterile. >> preventing the offspring, this will eliminate the tsitsi flee and eliminate the disease. >> every 20 seconds, a box is dropped. at this pace, scientists believe

it will be wiped out. >> this almost feels like the military operation and the united nations believe it is needed to keep the disease from spreading. scientists don't know what the rad occasion will do to the eco system. >> we only know what it does to animals or cattle, but very little on what's happening to the rest of the eco system. what is the role and function of those flies on the wildlife? do they have a certain control or population control measure or not? we don't know. >> u.n. officials believe the benefits outweigh the risk, saying if it is address indicated, farmers will have healthy live stocks and no longer will need handout to say survive. it is planned to expand it across the continent, an area twice the size of the united states, home to a rich, unique

and fragile eco system. aljazeera, senegal. >> you never know. >> scotland said push for independence has hit a bit of a snag. back to lauren taylor in london with the flying proudly flying behind her. >> they struggle and my seen find it impossible to gain u.n. membership. all e.u. states would need to agree to any new member countries. it comes days after the british government said an independent scotland would not be able to use sterling as its currency. scotland is due for an independent reference in september. >> a new state coming off of our independent state would have to apply and this is very

important, the sten will have to be approved by all the other member states. >> like spain, who has got their own secessionist issues, as well. >> of course it will be extremely difficult to get approval of all the other member states to have a member, a new member coming from one member state. we have seen for instance that spain has been apposing even the record mission. it's a new country, so i believe it's going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible. >> it's the big day for british film, the awards taking place in london. we have an idea then which movies will be big winners at the oscars next month. 11 nominations, but it's british director steve mcqueen's drama 12 years a slave tipped to win

big, nominated for 10 awards. >> who will take those big prizes, that's the big question and there are four movies going for the top prizes here, although critics will tell that there are two in particular. first of all, you have gravity, sandra bullock up for best actress and best film. if she takes best actress for that role, there were only two actors in gravity. it's about two astronauts that get disengaged. the whole story is sandra bullock coming to grips with things that have happened in her life. the film is competing against 12 years a slave, another movie that has been a huge hit here in the u.k., though completely at the other end of the spectrum.

this is a hard look at the slave trade. the critics didn't expect it to be a success. they thought it was too heavy for mainstream media but so far has proofed them entirely wrong. it has been released so far. five weeks has taken $30 million at the u.k. box office. it swept the board just a few weeks ago. on top of that, the other movies with a chance, captain phillips, a movie starring tom hanks, the story of a ship overtaken by somali pirates and the struggle for the captain that's then gets the pirates off to take control of his ship. against those, the real life story of a woman forced to give up a child for adoption by the catholic church many years ago.

it also stars the british comedian could go began. this is judy dench's 15t 15th nomination here. it's actually a record set here. one film notable by its absence, mandela, long walk to freedom. it was seen as a bit of a snub, missing out on nominations for best actor and best act stress. critics say it was premiered here the night mandela died within that it is not in the same league at 12 years a slave or gravity. one of the big questions here is how these hollywood films can be up here. that is because these movies do use british companies. gravity, made by a big hollywood studio, directed by a protect

ken was filmed almost entirely in the u.k. just outside london. this is the last big movie award ceremony before the academy awards of course which are in america. those take place in los angeles in exactly two weeks' time. >> the italian political scene, we are getting a statement saying that the president will meet with center left leader, the mayor of florence we were telling you about earlier on monday at 9:30g.m.t. according to a statement from the presidential palace, expected to ask him to form the country's next government. still looking as though he will be the next prime minister in italy. that's it, you are up to date with the news in europe. back to doha. >> we've got the sport coming up in a moment, then why it's taken more than a year for this flag to be seen at an olympic event. we'll have that story.

>> good afternoon, i am live from new york city. in sochi today, the u.s. men's ice hockey team won 5-1. in the latest medal counts, the united states and russia are tied for the most medals, each with 16. the u.s.a.4 gold, eight seller and four bronze. >> >> t.v.oshi comes from

minnesota. we take you there. >> they call this hockey town, u.s.a. at that since 1956, it produced eight olympic hockey stars, seven medalists. as you soon learn from banners and signs all over town, two of them are in sochi right now. that's a big thing for a town with fewer than 2,000 people. >> everyone talks about t.j. and gigi and look where they are now and what they're doing. the whole community is very proud of them and what they've done. >> hockey is everything here. for decades, people here have loved a game that's not nearly as popular in their country as baseball or basketball. longer winters a proud tradition in a relatively isolated location, all playing their part. >> it's kind of a quiet place to live, not too much traffic and not much to do. >> plenty of excitement at the

local arena as high school bands fire up the crowd for a junior tournament. the high school girls are defending a five year winning streak tonight. their coach said it helps to live in a hockey mad town. >> you have the backing, you have the coaching, you have the available ice time and you have the tradition. is it possible, can you believe in it, and i think we have the right environment. >> henry would agree. he won silver with team u.s.a. in japan in 1972. during that opening ceremony, he got a message from his hometown, half a world away. >> i remember getting a tell gram from everybody in the city, six feet long and all the names of the people that i knew from this small town. talking about having a lump in your throat. >> in an age of emails, skype and local media, it's a lot

easier to support players far away and that's what the people in hockey town will be doing for the next two weeks. >> two towns, divided loyalties at the arena tonight, but not when team u.s.a. takes to the ice in sochi. that's when every player, man and woman is a hometown hero. >> talk about a hometown hero, this may be a sign of good things to come, no u.s. men's hockey team has ever won limb being girdle without a player from warod. >> kickstarter had customer accounts compromise. credit card numbers were not taken. kickstarter enables on line donations for individuals trying to fund creative projects. director spike lee is just among some of the bigger names who have used the sites and the company is encouraging all its

easies to change their pass words. >> officials in new mexico are investigate ago radiation leak. there is no dang tore people or the environment but found at an underground site in southeastern new mexico where the federal government seals away it's low level nuclear waste. workers have not tested positive for contamination. the cause of the leak is not known. >> the walking dead this week where hundreds of zombies ran through the streets of venice. look at those blood stains. close behind them were the zombie hunters. the march coincided with the kick off to the carnival season. >> the news continues right here. don't go anywhere.

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