on al jazeera america >> >> announcer: this is al jazeera. . hello there, good to have you with us. you're watching the newshour live from our headquarters in doha. the top stories... >> we condemn the russian federation's act of aggression. >> the u.s. threatens moscow with further isolation over ukraine. in crimea, we find soldiers pressured to take sides. three of the al jazeera journalists detained in an egyptian prison are making their

second court appearance. turning pledges into policy - china announces sweeping reforms at the opening of its parliamentary regs. from physical abuse to sexual violence - stalking, online attacks. world powers usually preoccupied with syria are now rapidly flying diplomats around the globe to get to grips with ukraine. as with syria the crisis pits the united states and europe against russia. john kerry and his russian counterpart sergei lavrov are due to meet in paris. they are meant to talk about syria, but no doubt ukraine will feature. while the documents talk, ukrainian soldiers are essentially surrounded by russian forces, being pressured,

in some cases, to choose sides. russia will try everything it can to prevent violence. >> if you talk about self-defence of the crimean people, we have not given them any orders. with regards to russian troops there were special measures taken to be vij lant. we'll do everything we can to protect bloodshed. >> we have this report from the crimean port of sevastopol where ukrainian soldiers are being pressured to choose sides. >> ships of the black sea fleet drop military and civilian traffic at sevastopol, draining all life from this otherwise thriving port. this is an easy target for the russians. if their intention is to take over all military installations in crimea, the mission is not over. ukrainian servicemen refused to yield to the russian show of

force. >> the russians have taken position in front of this army base in sevastopol. we spoke to some ukrainian servicemen through the gait. they said they have not received an ultimatum, they said they had no intention to surrender the base because they had pledged loyalty to ukraine, and said that they hoped this would be solved peacefully. the soldiers are digging in for the long haul, relying on the support of relatives to keep them going, while politicians try to reach a compromise. this story has two sides. on the one hand my son has to obey the ukrainian government that it policemenledged to serv since the situation changed, it's different and children are suffering. >> servicemen are coming under

pressure to choose. russia and ukraine. "russia are not invadiers", this mother shouts at her son and his comrades. >> they try to explain that they are caught in the middle. she is not convinced. >> translation: we are on our land. this is ukrainian territory. many people don't understand. here we are from the east, west and south. there are different opinions and people are stressed out. it's hard. >> as the crisis deepens, a big challenge for the ukrainian military is to stay disciplined in the face of growing divisions in the country they swore to serve. >> well, we speak to intoed eem joining us from kiev. secretary of state john kerry left kiev for a meeting in paris. during his visit he had tough words for russia, saying they were basically looking excuse to

invade ukraine further. >> absolutely. he was very highly critical of russia's actions in crimea over the last few days. while he was in kiev he paid tribute to the scores of protesters who died in february, laying flowers at a shrine as the supporters of the current government would have it. he, of course, represents a government which talked about sanctions already on russia, where as their european allies had been cautious so far in what steps they might take if the military situation escalates. in the last few hours, the french foreign minister suggested if there's not a deescalation that eu leaders could vote on sanctions and carry themselves and sounded optimistic and conciliatory

towards russia on solving the standoff. >> it is diplomacy and respect for sovereignty, not unilateral force that could best solve disputes like this in the 21st century. president obama and i want to make it clear to russia and everyone in the world, that we are not seeking confrontation, there's a better way for russia to pursue interests in ukraine. >> what about the ukrainian government? what is it saying to supporters? >> on wednesday there was a cabinet meeting headed by the prime minister, arseniy yatsenyuk who said that the presence of the russian military is having a negative effect on the economy. that's a message that he'll put to cathy ashton, the european

union's foreign affairs chief on thursday. she was due to arrive in kiev on wednesday. that's been postponed. they'll meet on thursday in brussels around the e.u. summit. they'll be talking about financial aid, but security is what everywhere is looking to. russian officials meet representatives of n.a.t.o. they want to discuss not only what happens in crimea. russia says it can't order its troops back to base, it's not them, but self-defence units that have taken over their bases. russian naval forces remained where they are supposed to be. they want to discuss how to avoid a situation where it spreads to other parts of russia, because - sorry, other parts of ukraine because moscow is insisting that it's protecting russian-speaking citizens of ukraine. there's calls in some parts of

ukraine, for russian troops to come in. to the west and the ukraine government. >> thank you for that. u.s. president obama says russia's moves into ukraine could isolate it from its allies. he was responding to vladimir putin's statements that they reserve the right to protect russians in the crimea. >> there's a strong belief that russia's actions are violating international law. president vladimir putin seems to have a different set of lawyers making a different set of interpretations, but i don't think that's fooling anybody. i think everybody recognises that although russia has legitimate interests in what happens in the neighbouring state, it does not give it the right to use force as a means of exerting influence inside of that state.

>> we believe that if we make a decision, if i make a decision to use armed forces, it will be legitimate. corresponding to the norms of international law because there was an appeal by the president of ukraine. and according to obligations and in this case it coincides with our interests to protect those people who we consider are closely linked to us. >> i think that this is not been a sign of strength, but rather is a reflection that country's near russia have deep concerns and suspicions about this kind of meddling, and if anything, it will push many countries further away from russia. >> as we mentioned, the world top diplomats are gathering in paris to discuss syria. ukraine is likely to feature high in any discussion between john kerry and sergei lavrov. diplomatic editor james bays

looks at how one crisis is affecting the other. >> the ongoing battles in syria are more than 1,000km away from ukraine. the crisis in crimea may have an impact. the international community gave this man the job of trying to find peace in syria. talks convened by lakhdar brahimi in geneva have achieved nothing. getting both sides back around the table and persuading them and in particular the syrian government to negotiate properly requires pressure from the u.s. and russia working together. that doesn't look likely now. just like the peace talks, the deal to remove syria's chemical weapons was done by u.s. secretary of state kerry and his russian counterpart sergei lavrov. so much has happened since the handshake took place at this spot less than six months ago.

u.s.-russian relations are arguably at their worst point since any time since the cold war. the chemical weapons deal is not going to plan. the syrian government is well behind schedule in getting the deadly agents out of the country. some believe the bashar al-assad government welcomes the fact that the world's attention moved. >> i think bashar al-assad is dancing. he knows that the united states has his hands full and believes at this stage that a lot of international pressure will be taken out of his back, all of n.a.t.o., all the energy is now into the ukraine. >> there could be a downside too. he relies on russian support, weapons, parts, aircraft. the west presses for sanctions and arms manufacturers and that could hurt. let's speak to barnaby

phillips in paris for us. the french foreign minister has been talking about ukraine, suggesting that there could be sanctions voted in as early as tomorrow. >> yes, that's right. he's talking about the possibility of a visa ban, russian officials tied up and assets frozen. what europeans want to do is get the act together, get the act in a row before the meeting in brussels, and coordinate with the americans, and iron out any differences. and john kerry is here as well. there'll be meetings with sergei lavrov, flying in from madrid, an attempt to bridge the vast perception with the russians, and also the west needs to be speaking from the same sheet, if you like, and that will be the focus of the diplomacy in paris.

>> this meeting was ostensibly called to deal with the issue of syria, an issue where russia was at loggerheads with the u.s. and the west. that's pretty much been overshadowed by ukraine, hasn't it? >> it has been, yes. i'm outside the alizi palace and in the next hour or so the meeting will go ahead. specifically it's to do with helping the lebanese government cope with the spill-over effects of the crisis. president suleman is here and there's talk about the financial assistance for the 1 million refugees and lebanon and the saudis are talking about a $3 billion offer to assist and equip the lebanese government. mainly it should be said with french weaponry. all that will go ahead. there's only so much diplomacy that can happen on one day.

the real focus for john kerry and sergei lavrov, and william hague and the western leaders is going to be on ukraine. i think the significance of today is that, yes, president obama and vladimir putin spoke on the telephone. the americans and the russians staked out their very different positions and understand of what's happened in ukraine over the past weeks and months. here in paris they get to meet - that is kerry and lavrov - face to face, and get an indication, i suppose, of what hope there is, of some sort of diplomatic solution - perhaps that's a bit of premature - or momentum to diffusing or toning down the rhetoric, taking the heat out of the crisis. is that a possible hope or

realistic. i think paris will give the cue about that. >> we'll wait to see what happens. barnaby, thank you indeed for that. >> saudi arabia, the united arab emirates and bahrain are withdrawing ambassadors by qatar, a joint statement issued by the three says that the diplomats will be returning from their post to their own countries, citing disagreements with qatar over a number of issues. they say they have been in contact with qatar about member states of the gulf corporation sites not interfering. the statement sites an agreement signed in saudi arabia last november about gcc not supporting a group that works to threaten the stability of any member state and the gcc foreign ministers met tuesday to convince qatar to take necessary steps to implement the

agreement. let's shed light on this. we are joined from riyadh. take us through it. on the face of it, it looks like the disagreement is over this security pact that was signed, which dealt with information exchange between gcc countries and pursuing criminals, is that the says. >> this is what the statement says. [ inaudible ] the agreement or the meetings or security agreements was about supporting some certain groups,

maybe the gcc countries or some, maybe, do not want to support, while maybe qatar wants to support or find an interest to support. the problem also, which is the statement maybe that natural stated that everyone ask her what is exact - what was the - just in case, which is the countries went ahead with this. >> when you talk about groups that qatar supports, that the other countries don't support, there has been a lot of speculation that this is about qatar's support of the muslim brotherhood in egypt. have you been able to find out any more about that from your sources in saudi arabia. saudi, of course, being a country that vehemently opposes

the brotherhood. >> maybe this one, that you have taken the introduction of this. there is no reason or statements not to interfere in the domestic terms of the countries. freely saudi arabia has not done anything in site toward muslim brotherhood. there's no group called brotherhood in saudi arabia. and maybe what - maybe what qatar hosted some of the leaders of brotherhood in - egyptian brotherhood why they start working with the gcc security agreement should all the gcc

countries as stated, that should be - started working, the gcc countries over the agreement, one of the articles in this agreement. so if any one of that -- >> let's leave it there. thank you very much indeed for that. speaking to us, our al jazeera correspondent in riyadh. let's speak to joseph, a fellow of the research center for research and islamic studies in riyadh and joins us from beirut. a diplomatic spat between saudi arabia, bahrain and qatar. what do you make of this. >> well, i don't think this has anything do with the security pact because qatar is one of the countries that has actually said

okay to the security pact. as we all know, the country that is reluctant to go along with the security pact has been kuwait, not qatar. this probably more logically than anything else has to do with the fact that there is a fundamental political difference of opinion within the gcc prescribingairily between one -- gcc primarily between one country and the other five, between egypt, which, during the past two or three years has been the problem of the arab spring. in my reading of it, it's bigger than a regional dispute. >> so how serious is this? what does this mean for relations between these gcc countries?

>> the seriousness has got to be associated with the agreement that was presumably reached three months ago between saudi arabia and qatar. a high level meeting in the presence of the president of kuwait. apparently an agreement was reached to kind of change certain policies that qatar pursued during the past two or three years under president mohamed morsi. three months has passed. presumably not much changed on the ground and saudi arabia and the united emirates of bahrain said "we have waited patiently and nothing has happened", so perhaps the time has come to send a gentle reminder that has been summed up to move faster to keep the gcc family united.

>> thank you, joseph, speaking to us from beirut. >> the lebanese military has reportedly fired anti-aircraft missiles. the planes were attacking an area boarding syria. no reports of casualties and damages. israeli troops shot two men who they say tried to plant a bomb near the gens at golan rights. israeli army spokeswoman said the men were identified as members of hezbollah, a lebanese militia. last week they were accused of bombing a base near the lebanon-syrian border. we go to our correspondent. clearly lebanon has been unable to escape the problems in neighbouring syria, which is pulled into it every day. now a conference going on in

paris. what is it lebanon wants to see? >> well, lebanon wants security and stability improved. this is why the meeting is important for the lebanese government. the whole point, behind the meeting is to deal with the repercussions as well as the spill over. the most important thing is to build the army in the country. it's the last institution that would not be crippled, but it is ill-equipped. this is why saudi arabia decided to give lebanon a military grant, giving the money to france, to supply lebanon with french-made weaponry. the weapons are supposed to range from communications gear to antitank missiles. this is what lebanon wants. it wants a better army be able

to deal with the situation and the western countries supplying these weapons, expecting lebanon to disassociate itself from the conflict in syria and fight terrorism. and the influx of refugees, this is a country of 4 million people. the population increased by over a million. it's a sharp population increase for lebanon, which is not ready or equipped to deal with it, and it's facing challenges. this is why the world bank estimated that lebanon would need up to $2.6 million to deal with the crisis over the next two or three years. >> thank you for that, from beirut. china announced it's boosting its defense budget, increasing it by 12.2%.

its military funding second only to the united states. the u.s. announced it would shrink its military, reducing troop numbers, $496 billion. at 114 billion. the budget pales in comparison. it will increase that to $132 billion, on top of a 10% increase in military spending. that budget announcement. protesters outside the conference were quickly driven away. rob mcdried is in tena man square. >> this meeting is important nonetheless as a sounding board for the current administration. the delegates are listening to this, the work reports delivered by the premier, outlaying what the chinese leader has been up to, what it will do, and the

deepening, economic and social reforms which are important to china's protests, as it continues forward with liberalizing the economy, reducing power of the state mon ol lis and putting -- mon op lis and putting into power those sources of social discontent. and tackling china's growing pollution problem. underpinning china's importance, outlining the military spending. that surprised some people. china would argue that it is 1.5% of its g.d.p. compared to the biggest budget, that of america. which is 4.5%. still, it will concern a number of asian neighbours. japan and philippines who are coming into contact with china's growing military in territorial

disputes in this part of the world. >> time now for the weather with steph. a lot of rain and flooding in new zealand. >> that's right. it's unusual to hear about so much flooding in new zealand. but over the past couple of days there has been a lot of rain. particularly looking at the satellite, there's a swirling mass there. that's generating heavy rain and christchurch where we sought heavy downpours. one of the suburbs saw 160mm of rain. people were wading through the floodwaters and we lost power to around 3,000 homes. fortunately things there will calm down through the next few hours and over the next few days we see this system in the south pushing northwards. as it does so, it will bring a cloud and rain. not the intense whether that we've seen. what we notice is the temperatures rise.

20 degrees is the maximum there in christchurch. for auckland, we'll be up at 22, 72 in farenheit. heading to australia, there's lively showers here. you can see them on the satellite, edging eastwards, giving us impressive sites. here is what sydney was looking like a few hours ago. certainly impressive. watch out for the thunder storms, because they are capable of giving heavy downpours and flash flooding over the next few days. >> still to come on the program, the biggest survey of abuse has been conducted. it doesn't paint a pretty picture. we'll report from venezuela, as the country marks a year since the death of chavez. anti-government protests continue. >> and in sport the houston rehabilitation et cetera bring king james back to earth. all the details a little later

in the program. ♪ what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together the fastest internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before.

>> welcome back. you are with al jazeera. these are the main stories. russian foreign minister sergei lavrov denied soldiers occupying the ukrainian military base is from his country. sergei lavrov scribed the troops as ukrainian self-defence forces. >> saudi arabia, the united arab emirates and bahrain announced they are withdrawing ambassadors from qatar. they said doha has not

implemented an agreement among gulf arab countries not to interfere in each other's affairs. >> planes attacking an area near a town bordering syria. >> we'll talk about developments in ukraine. andy is the director of the ukrainian institute and joins us from london. good to have you with us. we have the french foreign minister talking about e.u. sanctions being voted in tomorrow, if there's no deescalation. visa bans on high ranging russian officials - will that do the trick, do you think? unfortunately andy cannot hear us. we'll try to get back to him

later. apologies for that. >> three al jazeera staff detained in egypt made a second court appearance. these are pictures outside the court. mohamed fadel fahmy, mohammed badr, and peter greste appeared. dozens of foreign journalists arrived to cover the proceedings. our journalists are accused of having links to a terrorist organization, al jazeera rejects the charges. >> al jazeera english staff has been in the egyptian prison for over two monts, they were doing their job, reporting events as they unfolded. peter greste is an award winning correspondent, before al jazeera he reported on similar stories for the bbc. his colleague mohamed fadel fahmy is an accomplished author and journalist who worked for c number of n, "new york times" and red cross. >> mohammed badr works for al

jazeera for the past year. they are accused of broadcasting false information and having ties. al jazeera rejects the charges and wants the men released immediately. >> we categorically deny that they were involved in a malicious spreading of lies about egypt or that they were colluding with a terrorist organization. >> the first hearing took place tonne february 20th. s it was their son appearance in court. >> they demand the release of correspondent abdullah al-shami, from our sister channel al jazeera arabic. he's been in detention since last july. family members join in a worldwide day of protest in support of the four men. united nations has also been very critical of the journalists

detention. >> we are equally concerned about the fate of these journalists and would hope that they could be released as scoon sass possible, journalists carrying out legitimate reporting have no place in detention. so that's what i have for you on that. >> let's speak to sam barrett, campaign director and online activist network. good to have you with us. i know your campaign garners tens of thousands of people all across the world, condemning the egyptian public, is it likely to have an effect on the egyptian government. that pressure. >> the minister of trades saying this is an embarrassment. from yemen, saudi arabia, from

ukraine, europe, america, standing with the four journalists that have committed no crime other than reporting the news. what we have seen is not just the journalists on trial, but democracy on trial. this is not in egypt's interests, but why the people of the world are calling on the egyptians to set them free. >> they may not be moved by a campaign like this, they are playing to a domestic audience. what about diplomats, other governments, anyone that they want to stay on good terms with. anyone so they in tern put pressure on egypt. >> it's critical. the petition shows the amount of public support. behind that we are talking to officials of different governments to make sure that even on day 57 the pressure is as strong as on day one. we are talking to a number of people around the world, in egyptian embassies.

the people of the world are standing with the journalists, i think of the judge has a clear choice, as does the egyptian government. do they set egypt on a path of democracy and think about how they'll speak the four journalists that have done nothing more than report the news as seep fit or go back to the bad old days. a journalist in cairo said they never feared being arrested under the hosni mubarak era, but it's now more of a norm. speaking to peter and his family, whom i know well, we are deeply concerned about how these four are made an example of. what we need is a new pathway for democracy laid fourth, which is why the people of the world want the egyptians to see sense, drop the case and let the four journalists who have done nothing wrong and just reported the truth be set free. >> this is important for al jazeera, these are our

colleagues. it's wider than that, it was about democracy about the freedom of the press. it mobilized social media, galvanised opinion on social media. >> i think it's right. my mother was signing the campaign, and people who are not normally involved are coming forward saying, "we don't agree with this." the social media campaign has taken off. it's there you can sign the campaign. this is creating a buzz that is a bad smell for egypt that they need to deal with. the longer the journalists are held, the worse it will get. as the trade minister said, this is not in egypt's interests. if they want to set a path for democracy and change the world to change their way, letting these guys go is part of one of the first steps they could take

to address it. >> let's hope that's what happens. sam barrett speaking live from london there. india's election commission announced the schedule for upcoming parliamentary elections. voting will begin on april the 7th. >> it's the world's largest democracy and for many this is the moments millions have anticipated. >> the first date shall be on 7 april 2014. >> it all begins on 7 april and ends on 12 may. india has $814 million eligible voters in 29 states and seven territories. they'll be heading to the polls. health care, education, investment is being debated. the election is not just between

the two main parties. for the past two years there has been the emergence of other groups, including the common man party. they did well in the elections, but small well-supported region at parties. >> voters have different takes. >> translation: no one knows what a new government will bring in. i hope we will see more development. >> my ward is important. i'll have too many options, whatever the party is, whichever party i go for, corruption will be there. >> the needs of the public vary from rural india to urban areas. >> the issues are really of civic services, protection, safety, electricity, water, civic amenities.

all parties are talking about developments of the the only party not talking much about development is the rmt party. >> the overriding topic on the street is how to combat corrosion. all parties trying to convince the electorate that they are more honest than others. >> india has not seen a majority-led government. any coalition will be scrutinized by the government. they want a government that listens to them, keeping promises they made for their precious votes. >> the largest survey of domestic violence against women in the european union has been released and it paints an appalling picture. it's the first and most comprehensive research and draws on face to face interviews with 42,000 randomly selected women. here are some findings. 33% of women said they

experienced physical or sexual violence or both since the age of 15. that corresponds to 62 million women across the you e.u., two-thirds by a partner. 18% said they were stalked and a fifth said it lasted for more than two years. the largest percentage of women 54% said they'd experienced some form of sexual harassment. a third said it was by a boss, a colleague or a customer. there's the extent of abuse online, inappropriate advances on social websites or received sexually explicit emails or text. 27% of women encouraged cyber harassment. >> now we'll talk to a

representative from the body behind the research. moreton, good to have you was. it's a disturbing picture. the figures are high. one in three women in europe have been subjected to some kind of abuse. >> these are disturbing findings. what we are doing here is we know there's an issue of violence against women. we have looked into the depths of it, into the details with the purpose of then seeing how can we move forward. it is a disturbing picture. >> what surprised me is some of the worst countries are the nordic countries, sweden, for example, 81% of women say they were harassed. what accounts for that. >> of course we have now to dig in to the particular - different elements of the survey and see

why do we see the differences. what is it that in the nordic countries, we see a pattern. for example, is it the alcohol culture that may be one feature. since there's a high level of equality, there's openness. it's being talked about more than in other countries. the number of elements where this survey - indicates that there are issues, and where the ways forward are, but more needs to be done. >> you talk about a culture of openness in some countries, does that mean there's a culture of not talking about this. is that a problem in some countries that women don't feel they can talk about what they are experiencing? >> it could be one element definitely that there is not sufficient openness, it could be that the agenda equality, they changed the role between the

sexes, men and women. it stresses some men who have difficulties finding their slot. that could be another element that we need to look into. >> there's no easy answers, or do you have ready-made solutions for the problem? >> no, we don't have ready-made solutions. what our survey, including this one offers to the european politicians to the member state is a tremendous insight into this particular problem. we break it down into particular components, using a laser beam on the problem and they can take steps closer to the european level, a wider european strategy, we look at the national level, what can the health sector do better, how can we take it forward. there's almost something in there for everywhere.

we should ask ourselves how can i do better. >> absolutely. thank you very much in deed, speaking to us from brussels. >> lots more to come on this program. including over budget and years behind in development. the problems facing the u.s. s35 staelth fighter jets. >> and a brazilian born footballer gears up for his appearance in his adopted country.

>> thousands of protesters continue to stream on to the streets of venezuela. they held banners calling for an end to violence. the government says 18 have been killed and 260 injured since a student-led protest started last month. >> translation: they mistreat our children. it can't be like this. i want demock rahsy. >> 32 dozen died. the latest victim, a motorcyclist dying when he crashed into a barrier set up. we go to an area that has seen some of the biggest protests. >> this is how students have brought traffic to a halt. as the country marks the anniversary of hugo chavez's

death, pressure from the state and government to lift the barricades to let traffic through. for those manning them, it's not an option. >> we'll continue in the streets. it's not a 20 day problem, but one that requires weeks, months, years to resolve. >> many bear ef onlyies of nicolas maduro, and some call for his resignation or removal. i asked the mayor who backed the protest if he wants nicolas maduro's government to fall. >> translation: i work every day for the end of the government. i don't do it outside the limits of this constitution of course. we hope to accomplish this through constitutional means. the country needs it to change. >> the sacred constitution is held up by both sides. >> chavez supports nicolas

maduro. >> translation: they are ignoring the constitution, which talks about the freedom of protest. >> he and others have a warning for the protesters too. >> the people come out on the streets, i don't know what can happen. >> here in the center, what you see is the succession of barricades all the way down the hill to the city center. they are set up to protect neighbours from incursions interest the national guard or roving gangs of armed gunmen on motorcycles, but also a form of civil disobedience to show they are fed up with the government. >> the protests added to shortages, fuelling anger and violence, bringing the barricades and protests down. . now, the u.s. navy

drastically reduced its order of the s-35 stealth fighter jets. the deployment is years behind schedule and billions over budget. >> the joint strike fighters, known as the f35 is supposed to be all things to all branches. able to avoid enemy ratar, capable of supersonic speed and able to land and take you have like a helicopter. since the pentagon unveiled, turning its plans into a fully capable jet is problematic. >> almost every hardware program the pentagon buys costs twice as much, gives you half the performance, and is never delivered on time. >> the special helmet making pilots see threats from everywhere makes them dizzy.

when the jet reaches supersonic speed the stealth coating melts off, revealing. s35. ground testing caused cracks in the bulk heads in the version designed for the marine corp. those are some problems in a program costing taxpayers $92 million, 70% more than originally projected. while pilots are conducting test fight, not a single jet is ready to go into combat. one day the pentagon says it will buy more than 2400 f-25s to serve the military. in the budget next year, it will purchase 34 of them for testing and basic missions. why so few? >> congressionally mandated budget cuts. the defense secretary pointed out that every program has to be trimmed to save money. >> the reality of reduced resources and a challenging and

changing strategic environment requires us to prioritise and make difficult choices. some of those choices we must make now. >> despite the many problems and the cost overruns, the military has no plans to scrap the s35, arguing current fighter jets are obsolete and china and russia are developing fighters that will outfly and outrun. the question is whether the pentagon can make good on a jet that can tackle all jets in all positions. >> brazil is working overtime to get ready for the start of the 2014 world cup tournament in june. to mark the 100 day count town organizers lit up the stadium and monument in the colours of the flag. brazilians found the numbers hosting the tournament fell to a low. many criticise it as at an

all-time low. >> having this lit up almost every day is important. it's beautiful. for people from rio de janeiro, the world cup is more important. >> brazil should be the winner. we deserve the victory after all our struggles. >> let's get the rest of the sport. ukraine's friendly match with the united states will go ahead on wednesday, having changed their mind about cancelling it. the match will take place in cypress. it was due to be played elsewhere. the team said the sides are united. the players came from different regions across the country. kosovo will play in the first ever international friendly. this match is sanctioned by f.i.f.a.

they are not a member of the governing body as they do not have united nations membership. kosovo is recognised by 23 out of the 28 n.a.t.o. countries. there'll be no flag at the games. >> first time we have been part of this. it's the first game for kosovo, to be a young player like me and play with professional players. >> bosnia and austria - the first match under their new coach. the 51-year-old replaced bob bradley. he left egypt after failing to qualify for the world cup. this picture sees the return of 41-year-old goalkeeper. >> translation: we know that

they are have very strong team. we know that they top the team in the world cup qualification and we have great respect for them. >> 99 days until the world cup coaches will be using wednesday's matches and to get a clear idea of the players they want to take to brazil. there are opportunities for new faces with the world champions spain. >> less than a year after playing two friendlies, diego costa is set to make a debut. the atletico madrid scorer scored 21 goals. >> translation: as happened with a new player, i have not noticed any difference. he has adapted himself to the group. let's heap he can play, debut. let's look forward to the world cup and hope he's in good condition then. the netherlands have fitness

concerns, ahead of their match in france and paris. >> through that we use the occasion to test a few players. what is sure is they won't be the team for the world cup. there's a few issues, and a few players who are ill, invieweding van persy. france's coach has called on a couple of players. germany brought up four places. one of their veterans could make the headlines. 35-year-old mirro slav needs a coal to surpass gesh miller as an all-time scoring player. >> elsewhere:

>> south africa are back to avoid defeat against australia on the final day of the third and deciding test. they were set a target of 511 to win in cape town, 112/5 before lunch. >> in the n.b.a. the houston rockets brought miami's lebron james down to earth. james had complained being tired following a career-high 51 against the charlotte bobcats, managing 22 against the rockets. houston took full advantages. hart helping to seal the wind. for more check out aljazeera.com/sports and information on how to get in touch with the team using twitter and facebook. that's all. that's it from the newshour team. thank you for watching. from me and the team, bye for now.

>> giving diplomacy a fighting chance. secretary of state set to meet face to face with russia's foreign minister. it's a state of the art fighter jet built for every branch of military, no one is using it. >> righting up banned in some places, electronic secrets a