on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life. on al jazeera america in the next 60 minutes. ext 60 increasing fears over a missing malaysia airlines plane with over 200 people on board. there are reports it's crashed into the sea. >> russia defiant. moscow uses its own warning with threats of sanctions from the west.

>> japan's prime minister dines out on seafood to prove the crisis is over. >> the no campaign in columbia is gaining momentum. >> first, a search and rescue operation is under way for a missing malaysia airlines plane which is thought to crash into the sea. the aircraft lost radio contact two hours after taking off. relatives had been waiting anxiously at beijing airport where flight ma-370 was due to land. it was carrying 270 passengers, plus 12 members of the crew. the boeing left kuala lumpur at 12:21am normal time and scheduled to arrive 6:30am, 12 hours ago. vietnamese state media reports

the plane could have gone down in the south china sea. and that is quoting a naval official. rob mcbride is at beijing international airport. has any contact been established with the plane? >> authorities had been trying to follow up with vietnamese authorities, where the reports had come from, where the aircraft crashed into the sea. it's 12 hours since the plane should have arrived here at beijing capital airport. the passengers would have been arriving at the hall. given the amount of time, the assumption has to be that it has been lost over the sea. if it had been lost over the land we would have had reports of that. authorities are trying to find out more information from the vietnamese that the reports came from, that it crashed into the sea. all we know further to that is

another vietnamese naval official has been quoted as saying it could have gone down closer to the malaysian coast or the vietnamese coast than earlier thought. we know that aircraft and vessels have been dispatched to the area, where it's thought the aircraft has to be lost. until we see wreckage or get confirm hags that it crashed, it's a case of the aircraft being missing so far. >> i take it relative's yened, people waiting for news behind you, at the airport, must now be fearing the worst. what is malaysia airlines telling them? >> it is an awful time, as you would imagine. they are being looked after. several hundred relatives and friends, we understand that it is traumatic in the news where

they are waiting for any news. we have heard complaints that we are not getting enough information from the airline or authorities. from their point of view they are in an awful predicament. no one wants to write-off the airline and say it has crashed. everyone wants to leave hope that there may be chance of survival. as it goes on, you expect the airline will be looking at trying to brace people, prepare people for the worst. we know for example also that the airline is putting together a team of people. we are getting into the evening in beijing. we understand the team is being put together to help the relatives, her friends, to work out what they should do. if they are waiting for information. presumably the relatives will not want to leave the area. they'll want to stay close to the airport to see if any information comes through. >> let's go to kuala lumpur's

international airport. this is where the plane took off. florence louie joins me on the line. what is the situation there? >> well, family members of the passengers on the flight, some have been since the morning, and in the last few minutes some have arrived back, coming back with luggage, suitcases. i spoke to one - one man who had a brother on the flight, and he was told to go home, pick up his passport and come back to the airport, where they may be put on a flight to beijing. the airline hasn't confirmed that but we have seen families come back with suitcases. it seems likely they'll be put on a flight somewhere.

a lady told us that she was informed that the ally lost contact with the light, the time it was meant to have arrived in beijing. it's a distressing thing, relatives leaving the airport, marching through, escorted, some in tears. >> an upsetting time for them. one question that has to be asked. could weather have been an issue. richard has been taking a look at that. >> well, usually weather plays an impact on takeoff and landing. we are assuming that the plane was approaching cruising altitude, in excess of 25,000 feet. you look at the obvious candidates which is on the satellite imagery and whether there's major cloud systems, as you see looking at the pictures, there's nothing much developing across the season. most of the storm activity was to the south. then we look at the weather

balloons sending information of the temperature. what this tells me is that at the time it looks like winds were nothing more than 20 knots blowing in from the east which is with respect across this region, unless there's something unpredicted in the forecast. and it's suggested nothing of the nature. then weather probably was not a factor. >> let's take a closer look at the boeing triple 7 as a plane. it's considered one of the safest passenger jets. the first fatal crash in its 19 year history happened last year when an asiana airlines flight landed short of the runway. three of the 17 people on board were killed at the time. it is popular among long-haul airlines, because it can fly 60 hours nonstop. two engines, and they burn through less fuel than the boeing 747.

david gleve is a technical investigator. there must be a mechanical problem? >> the airflight is 12 years old. we have had some flying for 20 years. if it was a structural break-up we would have expected more trouble with the older fleet. one question is an explosive decompression by a bomb as well as technical possibilities that we have. we can't discount either technical reasons, human error or a bomb. >> the aircraft is missing. this is an unusual event, certainly being out of contact for so long. >> yes, the aircraft was crewing

at 35,000 feet. it could be seen by radar at that range, 250-300 miles. to say it's disappeared off the radar could be something as six as an electrical problem. however, to lose voice communications and radar communications at the same time and disappear is unusual. and hasn't really happened in a high density piece of air space since 2007 with the aircraft that crashed off brazil. >> in your experience, how unusual is it not to hear anything for so long. >> some of the time the pilots - if they have a technical problem, they'll try to fly the aircraft rather than tell air traffic control it has a problem. the aircraft, because it's out over the sea, because there's no radio and radar, they may not be able to communicate once it's

descended by 10,000-15,000 feet, because it will be out of site from the air traffic control system. if there's other aircraft in the area they could communicate. if they are flying over the ocean they may be out of contact with ground, but not necessarily other aircrafts. >> if the plane has ditched in the sea, which looks likely, almost certain, what are the chances for the passengers on board? >> a controlled ditching, which mean that if, for example, both engines failed and the aircraft had to ditch, we saw that in the hudson river in new york, everyone survived that landing and the aircraft are designed to survive a controlled ditching where a pilot makes a normal landing on water. if it was an uncontrolled action, like a major structural break-up the aircraft will be

completely destroyed, and most, if not all the passengers will be suffering fatal injuries. >> david gleve chief airport investigator. >> to development in ukraine. russia is warning the united states against imposing sanctions against its role in the crisis. any action the white house takes will backfire. foreign minister sergei lavrov has been speaking in moscow. >> let's get the latest. what did he say? >> foreign minister sergei lavrov said three things, none particularly new. first of all he reiterated russia's position that the new government in kiev is illegitimate, that it came to power in an unconstitutional manner representing a minority of people, therefore russia will not recognise it, and furthermore that government has nothing to say to the people in

crimea about what is legal what what's not. second, somewhat contradictory, russia is talking to the foreign minister of the ukrainian interim government and is keeping lines open and is certainly continuing a dialogue with the west about the crisis. the third thing he says is that he's very disappointed. the western media are not covering the issue of a leaked tape of the conversation between the estonian foreign minister and katherine ashton. it implies that perhaps the blood shed on the maydan that was horrific killing of 88 people was the work of protesters, and not the viktor yanukovych government. nothing new there. it does represent a certain hardening of the narrative. the fact is that everybody is further apart than ever. maybe some glimmer of hope. >> thank you, fred.

that was moscow. let's go to kiev. according to fred, russia is talking to the ukrainian foreign minister. what has the foreign minister been suggesting regarding possible action in crimea? >> well, there has been plenty of words of optimism from ukraine's foreign minister, but little in terms of concrete steps, in terms of policy. he did confirm that ukraine's keeping diplomatic relations open with russia, but went no further than that. on crimea he stressed that the referendum called for march the 16th, on joining the russian federation would be illegal and predicted the international community would reject that. he called on russia to allow in the organisation for security in europe to observe the situation there, but at the moment russia is blocking a conversation, a discussion of sending observers

in. he talked about talk of gazprom, the russian supplier stopping supplies to ukraine. he was defiant, but parallels with the protesters, saying that they'd shown ingenuity and improvisation to get water supplies and energy into the maydan. if the gas supply was cut off he said we have wood, spring is coming and perhaps we can survive. it was partly tongue in cheek, but not allay fears of everyone in ukraine or europe if russia and gazprom takes the step. no words that can actually point to support, practical steps taken by ukraine's allies in the standoff with russia. >> let's go to crimea, where there's confusion as to how many pro-russian troops are on the ground. 20,000 were said to be in the

region. ukraine's border guards estimated higher, saying about 30,000. moscow denies its troops are operating there. the region's prime minister says he'd welcome and does welcome the russian forces. >> we accept the help of people coming from russia to join the self-defence units. we do not check their registration. some are retired military officers from russia. they have their uniform and guns and they join us. beside the self-defence units some of the police officers have taken the side of the crimean government and respond to us. the black sea fleet coordinates troops and police around the vital installations. not more than that. in terms of occupation and invasion, there's no russian army. >> in over a week's time, people in the crimea will be voting in the referendum to diet whether

or not they want to breakaway from ukraine. loyalties are divided among the people in the city of sevastopol. that's where paul brennan is. >> welcome to crimea, a self-declared russian city. in a vote, the council declared itself part of the russian federation. >> translation: for 22 years the government did nothing for the russians and russian speaking people of sevastopol and crimea. this is why the situation is developing as it is. a separatist is sweeping across the peninsula, and sevastopol is at the center of it. answerable to kiev, it's designated a city of significance. many residents here look to moscow, not kiev, at times of crisis. >> i'm confused and scared this woman told me.

before she could go on, she was accused of being a provocateur and shouted down by other women. >> we came because we want peace in ukraine. white is a colour of peace. >> the vote of the city council merely endorses what people here have long believed. it shows how attitudes are not just here, are hardening between those that support moscow and those that support kiev. in kiev, the language of the parliamentary authorities are subtly changing. negotiations are now conditional. >> translation: we declared readiness to establish consideration. first of all they have to withdraw their troops. >> there was a stark warning from a prominent churchman on

the vote for joining russia. >> this referendum is against all right and laws i ask you to protect crimean tatars. what is going on will end in slaughter. >> with a referendum due in a little over a week, the newspapers are redrawing the map. not everyone is bend on confrontation. >> more on ukraine later in the newshour. moscow threatening to turn up the taps. just how damaging could gas supplies be. >> a solo protest. >> and an arrest warrant for this buddhist monk in thailand. find out why he's proud of it.

>> the united nations says there are few muslims left in the central african republic. the u.n. high commission for refugees says there has been a cleansing, 100,000 lived in bangui, the number is less than 1,000. 1 million have been displaced in the central african republic. some crossed the border into the democratic republic of congo. al jazeera's malcolm webb visited a refugee camp there. >> everyone in the refugee camp left their home in the central african republic, because it was too dangerous. every time a truck comes, there's excitement. even here people can joke. they mock each other for a bit of fun. back home things have got worse.

thousands have been killed and many missing. this woman managed to hold out until now. >> my mother and father left on 5 december. i don't know if they are still alive. >> she is one of 3,000 central africans fleeing to neighbouring countries. 60,000 registered in the democratic republic of congo. meanwhile people living here wait for food and they depend on what they are given to survive. it gets heated. >> translation: we have been suffering in the refugee camps for a month. >> the amount of food we get is small, it's not enough. >> everyone is given two small bars of soap and a bag of salt. there's cooking aisle in a

plastic bag. and beans. and here they are given a bucket of rice. it's not much food, but the u.n. says it's enough for each pesh to survive for two weeks. >> the u.n. wants to avoid mass dependence on food aid. it's difficult to bring supplies here. the camps are isolated. >> roads have been cut off. it has to be brought in my boat. >> it's the dry seven, the river is low. it's a change your to bring the food and goods here to the refugee camps. >> there's already over 9,000 people in this camp. more keep arriving. the situation at home is not getting better. people don't expect to go back

soon. >> japan's prime minister has been visiting the area around the fukushima nuclear plant. he told people in the town nearby that he will listen to what they wanted. we spent much of the day in the fukushima power plant. who should we run into, the prime minister of japan. he's eaten local squid, visited apartments and met town chiefs in the exclusion zone near the town. it buds up against the fukushima nuclear power plant. we were there as guests of another group of men, retired down officials. they are volunteering their

time. every day they go around monitoring it, making sure areas are clean. they are trying to maintain a stake for the community so some time in the future people can come back and live there again. they are critical of shinzo abe's government for not taking their advice about decontamination. all they can hope to do is pass it to the next generation. >> saudi arabia joined egypt in banning the muslim brotherhood, and labelling it as a terrorist group. members included mohamed morsi. saudi arabia says those that joined the brotherhood could be gaoled for 30 years. >> 27 countries expressed concern over egypt's use of violence over anti-coup protesters. it calls on the cairo government to be held accountable for its actions. seven people were held on friday in anti-coup protests.

another person died in demonstrations. demonstrators took to the streets in three cities across the country. >> the trial of three al jazeera journalists detained in europe is to resume on march 24th. mohamed fadel fahmy, peter greste, and mohammed badr have spent 73 days in prison and are accused of spreading false news. al jazeera rejects the charges. >> it's seven days since anti-government protesters in bangkok removed their roadblocks. the campaign to unseat the government of yingluck shinawatra continues. a buddhist monk says he will protest. >> while most have retreated,

some are still protesting. one headed by this man, buddhashz issara. >> translation: 82 years of democracy in thailand made it possible for politicians to be creedy and corrupt and hurt the people. >> budda issara's followers block a street near the capital. he speaks regularly to the protest leader. >> translation: i do not take orders from anyone. we operate separately and work towards the same goal. >> there's an arrest warrant out for budda issara, a charge for his role in a protest that turned violent. >> i'm proud that the tyrants issued the arrest warrant on me. if the good people issued an arrest warrant.

i would be sorry. >> budda issara established a monastery. he's a prominent facility. there are some in the buddhist national hierarchy who want him disrobed and remosted from the monk hood. one feels his actions go directly against the religions foundation. >> translation: i think he's guilty of creating disharmony. >> buddhist leaders have serious issues with the monk taking money for his movement. he's not been back to his monastery or a temple. it's difficult for any religious body to take action against the monk. >> every day we enjoy learning. nothing is to big. there are big challenges waiting for us. >> as thailand works on its challenge on narrowing the

political divide. the buddhist group faces a challenge. >> time for a look at the weather, and richard, we are seeing dry conditions across the middle east. that's right. it has been dry, not just for the last few weeks, few months for a longer period than that. this is the most sustained drought that the region had in 30 to 40 years. and ifs impacting quite a wide area. now, as we look at the - i pulled a few headlines at random. the drought situation is likely to worsen. jordan, we are looking at reservoirs, 40% full, compared to 80% last year. lebanon - the ski industry hit badly. a big ski industry. there's virtually no snow. for syria, there are concerns

about how the wheat harvest has been impacted. for beirut in lebanon, the average rain fall is 324mm, we had 96. the situation for a map in jordan is not better. 125, 3mm over the space of january and february. having said all this, if we look at the forecast we are likely to see unsettled weather pushing across the region. we'll need more than that to make up the deficit. >> thank you. still to come on the newshour at al jazeera. 78 million are living without shelter. more are being forced to leave their homes, plus... >> i'm david mercer in el salvador, in the eve of run-off elections we show the impact on social programs. >> roger federer doubles up for sweet success. details coming up in

>> welcome back. you're watching the newshour on al jazeera. i'm steven cole. a reminder of the top stories. relatives of passengers on board malaysia airlines are waiting for news of the missing plane. it was meant to land in beijing 12 hours ago. >> washington's prime minister says ukraine's government is taking orders from supremist. sergei lavrov denies that moscow had involvement in the unrest. >> japan's prime minister has

been visiting the exclusion zone around the fukushima nuclear power plant. trying to show the region is safe. >> the u.s. ordered sanctions on those responsible for russian military invention in ukraine. they include asset freezes and visa sanctions. russia says it will backfire. what sway does russia hoed. >> the european union does more than $4 billion worth of business with russia. a third of the european union's gas supplies is in russia. half is piped from the ukraine. some are wary of losing russia as a marketplace, like pepsi coe, coca-cola. exxonmobile. business is growing.

let's go to andy. a director of the ukraine institution. the ukrainian economy is in a mess. i think it owes something like 150 billion. what happens if it can't pay its gas bill? >> the ukraine economy - ukraine is a big country. to give you perspective, it's bigger than the size of france. what we have seen over the last number of years is that the treasury is pretty much bear. the reason is that the former president, we have seen the photos of op u lents. corruption has been eating at the economy. that's why we are seeing the massive... >> that's why they are in debt to $150 billion. the point is what happens if they can't pay their bills now.

>> what we are hearing from the new government, the minister for economy and the minister for finance. the first drive is to push the anticorruption legislation through. what we are hearing now is the west, i.m.f., the e.u., the emf - they are ready to come in and support the economy. >> that are started the trouble in the first place. germany has more at stake than e.u. companies, it has most business with russia, german industry is heavily involved in russian business too. it won't ask for sanctions, will it, on russia? >> the question with sanctions is that president putin is more afraid of the banks than he is of the tanks. the sanctions, when they are targeted and personalised, they could have an effect. the question is, especially here in london or across other e.u. states, it will be tough because

there's a lot of russian money. some has been laundered, some in different ways. the question is really what does the e.u. system ahead of democracy. ukraine has been invaded by a foreign power. the u.s. has been more vocal. a reason for that is the u.s. economy will suffer left if there are sanctions imposed. the u.s. trade with the russia was about 10% of what we see. >> that answer of yours was rhetorical - will they put democracy ahead of business. the answer is business will go ahead of democracy. if russia turns off the gas to germany, industry comes to a halt, so they are not going to agree to sanctions.

>> should the west go along the lines of blackmail. if someone controls a tap, it's whether they should cave into the blackmail. it's coming up with one position. in terms of the threat of gas being turned off. i don't think russia will do it. they'll upset many clients across the world. the dominance and the dependence n gas is something that should be considered. a number of british and american companies are exploring shale gas. >> it's a long way down the road. we are not talking it as a realistic answer for a decade. the diplomatic world is heavily connected and interconnected. so the u.s. needs russian help in terms of nuclear issues in iran. it needs russian help with syria trying to bring peace there. and, indeed, it needs russian

hep in bringing north korea to the negotiating table. again, america is not going to be too tough with moscow, is it? >> i think it should be tough. the reason why is, as you mentioned iran and north korea - ukraine had the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world two decades ago. ukraine gave up a massive nucle nuclear arsenal. ukraine gave it up, with assurances this integrity will be preserved. the message in terms of nuclear nonproliferation is "you give us up your weapons", what you get in change your is nothing. ukraine gave up an arsenal with assurances that the united states and u.k. gave 20 years ago is not being followed.

it's a massive issue in terms of global security. >> andy hunda. thank you. >> india has one of the largest enjoy of homeless people. 78 million are living without proper shelter. we have this report from new delhi. >> this man and his puppets may not be here for much longer. family have been performing for generations. his family are no mads that set up in the forests. the government allowed it until now. >> we built this community. we were from all parts of india, many joined us. we form a special community. >> over 25,000 people live here in the colony slum. now a private developer has bought the land and wants them to move.

>> if our homes are taken away i am homeless. where do i go? homelessness is a big problem in india. many people migrate to urban areas to find work or a state place to live. in the last official sensis, it's estimated 78 million people, the entire population of germany are homeless. jarz visited homeless shelters like this last winter. they can look after 240 adults. there's many shelters like this across new delhi. charities say while the government provides the land. they provide food, actions to health care. the weather is a concern. >> winter is hard. because it's 48, 49, electricity is not there, shade is not there, water is no there. those applications can be

provided providing them a cool space, water, sanitation and mental health. >> officials say the homeless number is 56,000. it's estimated over 200 died on the streets last year. back at this neighbourhood, "we are not moving", is the feeling amongst the community. they say they will not become homeless. while no one is being evicted, others have little choice but to cool the pavements and roads of india their home. >> panama's president called his venezuela counterpart nicolas maduro immature. he had accused them of conspiring to bring down his government. >> this is the response. >> translation: i'm not going to respond in the vulgar

language, it is immature. someone that does this is an immature person who expresses him in that way when all that panama wants is peace and harmony. >> venezuela's capital, caracas. a candlelight vigil has been held. >> fighting has broken out between anti-government protesters and security forces. 21 people have been killed since demonstrations began. >> in el salvador people will go to the polls, and it looks as if a former rebel fighter may head for a victory. the leading candidate is leading. he's were the ruling fmlm party. facing a former conservative

mayor. the 67-year-old dentist turned politician is from the arena party. since taking power, the fmlm party expanded programs aimed at helping the poor, helping them win support. it's a factor that may sway voters this weekend. >> in a makeshift workshop informant hills of santa ana, this woman buildings on her successor. she and a group of single women work together, helping each other to get ahead. after years of barely getting by, their shoe business is thriving. with growing confidence they are working towards goals that seemed impossible at one time. >> what i want is export the shoes to europe and i have three styles to be good. casha. canvas.

>> this is a beneficiary of a government initiative to empower women. childcare, computer classes, all in one place. in a country where women are marginalized thousands of el salvadorians are benefitting. cabinet member and el salvador's first lady. she's proud of the changes he has seen in the three years sips opening the center. if her party is voted out of office. much of what has been achieved could be lost. >> translation: the great challenge is for the program to continue. women's rights could be set back. i hope saefla doorans and women vote with their conscience. despite efforts, it's not enough. >> while the government claims to have cut poverty

significantly over the past five years, more than a third of salvadorians struggle to survive. much more needs to and can be done. >> the opposition party says their rivals are politicizing the programs. they spend millions in publicizing the social programs. i think we'll have to take the few good things the government has done, and make it better. >> this sunday voters will decide which party will be better suited to help improve lives in el salvador and who is most likely to deliver on the promises. sunday is also election day in columbia. 33 million there are expected to vote for congress. the country has a history of of low turn out.

we explain why. >> this woman is the most familiar face of a unique can page. this man is volunteering to play a part in the blank for blank vote process movement. it's growing in columbia and asks voters to mark their ballot paper as none of the above. the blank vote is an instrument that exists, and through which we can protest. we tell all parties, all of them, that we are fed up. they don't represent us and we don't like what they do. >> mostly campaigning online or to flash mobs are attracting unprecedented support. 33 million columbians will vote in elections. many expect the numbers to equal those of some of the candidates. for may's presidential elections

the blank vote is leading the polls. 20 points above the president. >> translation: the columbian society showed a level of inconformity. we have among the lowest turn out levels. what is happening is these people are seeing that the blank vote is the way to address the corruption and deficiency of the system. >> this is the big ballot paper for sunday's parliamentary election. as you can see, there is a list of regular parties that you can choose interest and down here the option to cast a blank vote. now, if the blank vote are the majority of the vote. they'll have to be a re-run of the election. >> the surge of the blank vote follows country-wide process. corruption scandals and a lack of enormous. skeptics say support for the blank vote will crumble once

campaigning for the presidential elections begins in ernst. the voting movement believes they are underestimating people's anger with those who govern. >> still to come on the newshour, barcelona admits no one knows what is wrong with their star player after a bout of vomiting. details in

>> there is an increasing debate

in new york city over education standards, with two competing visions for the future of american schools. the debate over public versus charter schools brought together parents and politicians. there's little agreement on the way forward. kath turner reports. >> one building, two schools. this is 142, public school. on the other side is the manhattan charter school with 270 pupils, separate entrance. >> i feel like my daughter thrives in the charter school, the different languages. >> charter schools are funded by taxpayers' money but are not bound to the same rules and regulations. supporters insist they produce children with better grades. >> having a great experience. coming home, learning new stuff and reading. he's reading to me.

it's a first experience with charter, and i love t. >> charter are accused of cherry-picking students, few selected having learning disabilities. demand has never been higher. enrol. has increased by 225% in 10 years. the public versus charter school debate exploded. a child who has early childhood education. >> the city's mayor bill de blasio says higher taxes are needed to fund the system. he's announced he'll block three charter schools opening up inside public school buildings. >> you are taking on some of the most vocal supporters of charter schools and some of the most politically active and well financed. strongly tied to the wall street community. >> the mayor is taking on the state's governor. >> we are taking on charter schools and you are making it

happening. >> public schools are failing pupils in the country and new ideas are needed. the heat is on new york, but the charter school movement could have national ramification. >> it's wanting to bring in a management tile that is more corporate, top down, less committed to the ideal of public schools serving everyone in the community. everyone acknowledges the u.s. education report card needs to improve. no one can agree on which s book has the right answer. >> time for a look in sport. >> the winter paralympics is under way. the opening ceremony marked the start on friday. >> vladimir putin opened the games against a back drop of military action in crimea.

ukraine delivered a pointed message by sending out a single flag bearer to represent the 23-strong team. they announced that they'd take part in the paralympics but would pull out if the crimea situation escalated. >> friday saw the start of the indoor athletics championships. >> the olympic gold medallist is attempting to win her title and won her heat in a time of 7.79 seconds. the first medals vice-president won. nadine burst, n clinched gold in the heptathlon. and the other to ryan whiting, success fully defending his shot-put title. >> it was a tough day for the top golfers. strong winds meant plenty.

amongst those sliding down the leader board, he pulls them back. four american players have the lead at the halfway stage. it was sold one under par. >> on to tennis. victoria azarenko has been sent packing by lauren davis much the bella rooushan nursing a foot injury one in straight sets. roger federer seeded 7th. he got a field, pairing up with a fellow swiss player. the pair who won gold at the beijing olympics placed together for a first time.

they beat an indian pair. >> pakistan's cricketers are facing sri lanka. pakistan, the defending champions, lost. they won the toss, chose to bat and struggled. they grabbed four wickets and are 150/4 after 38 overs. >> the indiana pacers dropped in a tie for the lead. a huge third quarter. gorden turner into a blow-out. pacers share the top spot with oklahoma city. >> the dallas mavericks relied on heroics to hang on and defeat the portland trail blazers. they blew a big first-half lead.

>> barcelona coach admitted that lionel messi's vomiting is not normal but shouldn't affect his performance on the pitch. messi was sick during argentina's draw. the 4-time world player is expected to line up for barcelona. the defending champions could go two clear if they win. >> i have talked about this with messi. this is something that happens regularly. he has seen specialists and haven't been able to solve this. it's not a reason for alarm. it never stops him playing a game. it is normal but doesn't affect his performance. >> in other games. .

. >> in england arsenal and everton look for a place in the fa cup semifinals. in la liga chelsea the leaders. the blues not losing to the spurs at whom. joseph muirinio's many could go 7-4 at the top. >> that is not a realistic situation. in that situation you can say i'm in front, i'm behind. i have some points, advantage or disadvantage when some things have more matches than other teams. the situation is not real. >> chelsea versus tottenham is

the late game. manchester united go to west brom. united manager david moyes sent an open letter to fan admitting that the season has been a disappointment. supporters continue to back him and his team. >> if you are a football supporter, you understand what loyalty is, if you are someone that follows a club, you follow them whether they are sing badly or well. it takes stronger supporters when it's not doing well. sometimes it's easier when everything is winning. and at the moment, as i said, the manchester united supporters realise that there are changes taking place. they under that the time will come again. the latest round kicks off later on saturday, with ireland taking on italy in dublin. a win sees them going two points leer at the top of the table. france face scotland knowing they need a win to stay in with

a chaps for the first title since 2010. they are level on points with ireland. france routed 27-6. they'll play yoirld -- yoirld in the final -- ireland in the final round of games. . >> translation: we focus on the game in scotland. we need to get ready. we don't need to think about it until now. for now, despite the loss against wales, everything is possible. we can still win. we need to get ready for the game against scotland. >> i know what seven will be doing. >> and the big game, england wales at twickenham. that'll be a corker. it will decide the championship. thank you very much. stay with us here on al jazeera, and we'll have the latest on the

missing plane and for from crimea as well.

>>. >> we are trying to do everything in our power to find where the plane is. >> heartbreak after a plane bound for beijing vanishes in the south china sea. >> russia backs a plan for crimea to ses seed from ukraine as they increase boots on the ground. >> i'm not angry, it takes from your life. >>