>> hello, and welcome to the news hour. i'm stephen coal i cole in doha. these are our stories. families wait for information about the flight from malaysia. fighting to release a group of nuns. looking for victory, there can only be one winner in venezuela.

and science may have the answers in a person's blood. >> but first, the search for missing passenger plane with 239 people on board is ending a third day. we have an update. we now have new information about the identity of the passengers who were traveling with stolen passports, and authorities have expanded that search once again. this is the area that we're going to search in the next two

days. we have the search that we're going to enlarge our area of search in the next few days. >> scott joins me now from kuala lumpur. they decided to extend the raid was of the search. did they say why? they saw an oil slick that did not belong to the airplane. it's quite frankly because they have not found anything.

aircraft that turned out not to belong to the aircraft and the oil slick that turned out not to be part of the aircraft. they're expands because they have not found anything. >> there is new information about people using passports. >> yes, two gentlemen who boarded the aircraft with stolen passports. for the first time we've been asking this over the last several days. they kept saying they had close circuit footage of them. we asked if they could identity them at all. they gave us a hint in just the last hour. >> the investigators have looked at the video tapes from check in right to departure, and i have

to confirm that. as those pictures of those pretenders, we have looked at the video and photograph. it is confirmed now that they are not asian-looking men. >> that's the latest on the passport holders who might have used them. we're nearing the end of the third day, and this mystery plane and it's location are still unknown to anybody in the world. it seems incredible. >> it absolutely is. there has been no indication. there has been another possible debris finding, but this is something that we've gone through several times over the last several days. they go through the verification

process and everyone is hoping t.there is a possibility of the plane changing direction, and because it just vanished from radar, they don't know where it went within two bodies of water. you're looking at the east side of the malaysia peninsula and the west side of the malaysia peninsula. and you have wind and tide. >> scott reporting from kuala lumpur. >> more than half of the people on that flight come from china and families of passengers are becoming increasingly angry from what they see is lack of information. >> behind closed doors the anger of relatives still waiting for answers about their loved ones. chinese government officials

face a range of complaints. why has it taken all this time to hold this meeting, this woman shouts. have you any idea of the pain we're going through another woman asks from the back. officials tell them to be patient and not to take any radical action. there is no evidence of a hijack. nor was there any evidence that the vietnamese had recovered parts of the aircraft from the sea. but the hundreds of relatives at this hotel, so far there is reluctance in the absence of firm news. >> 85% of the people don't want to go to malaysia until there is firm news. >> we want the government to tell us what is going on. we need to know.

>> several organizations are trying to determine what happened to the jetliner. they have called on malaysia to do more to solve the mystery. >> we have the responsibility to demand and urge the malaysian side to increase the search efforts as soon as possible and correctly and in a timely manner. >> the stress of the relstiv res is clearly evident, everyone wants to know what happened to flighthe flight. >> the men who used the passports to travel on the missing plane might be part of a passport syndicate.

>> the two passengers who boarded the malaysian flights bought their tickets here. now the police questioned the manager of this agency. she showed the head of the police the tickets that were issued as well as the passport that were used to issue these tickets, and it was the original stolen passports. the picture was of the italian who was not on board that flight. he reported his passport missing in july. the end of july last year. now there is an underground business in thailand for stolen passports, lost passports. some westerners even sell their passports. it's a big business. while authorities are not ruling out the issue of terrorism there is the issue of illegal traders, criminals and appl asylum seeke.

others were using fake passports trying to reach europe three china. we do not have the true identity of the passengers on the flight using stolen pass parties but now thailand find itself in the middle of this investigation, and investigators say they will follow up on the leads they have. >> a mexican cartel leader is declared dead for a second time. >> a man against the peace process in colombia. and an easy night out in rea fol madrid in spain. we have more on la liga in sports.

>> let's go back to the story of the prisoner swap. al jazeera has obtained exclusive pictures of the release of group of female prisoners released by damascus. they release nuns and monastery workers. >> nuns hours before their release. these are fighters of the group when they briefly seized the christian town. they cannot hide their joy after the release. >> we would like to thank god for facilitating this and working with us now.

i would like to thank them and forget the real mediator who is doing this for the sake of god. we're too tired for questions. we spent nine hours on the road. we would thank you all and those who participated in getting us out where we were. >> the nuns were taken out in a convoy. this is the moment that nuns were handed over to mediators. they are now in damascus. >> thank god. we pray for all our prisoners to be released. we want to assure all syrians that we're working to release all our prisoners from dictator's jails. >> and the syrian government has honored its obligation under the exchange deal. this video shows nuns coming out of jail, in return for their

release 350 female prisoners were released. it took months of negotiation for the release of these nuns and workers. >> there are some imprisoned in syrian jails who were released, except those who committed major crimes. >> the women were brought where they had been held in lebanon. they were then transported to a border crossing on the lebanese syrian board. it took several hours to be the release operation to be completed. >> the mediator was between the kidnappers and others. >> there were reports that syrian rebels demanded ransom from the mediators, but they

denied any ransom from being paid. by the release of the nuns that prevented a major assault from the syrian army. >> tell us more about the prisoners who have been exchanged, and whether or not they are all being fiel freed n. >> well, according to the lebanese chief of security who had been involved in overseeing this exchange deal, he said that tens of female prisoners have already been released. they already said that up to 90% of prisoners have been released. we don't know about the fate of the remaining prisoners who have not been released. what we do know is that from pictures that we just saw they were taken to the syrian lebanese border crossing on the syrian side where they were given the option of entering lebanese territory to become

refugees or go home to syria. they all chose t to return to their home side in syria. now in damascus for the nuns released they celebrate them back to damascus and take questions from journalists abo o take questions about their abduction the past few months. >> tell us about the events is it an one-off or could it mean more exchanges in the future, and is it the sign of more cooperation. >> it was led by the lebanese government, and it showed that regional powers here in this area can interfere with the syrian conflict and release a

lot of hodges wh hostages takene area. there are two syrian bishops who are still abducted inside syria. they have been for a year. no one knows of their whereabouts. the hope is that this--this success by the release of the nuns could bring more throughout lebanon and turkey. >> amnesty international is accusing syrian government forces of crimes against humanity as part of the siege in southern damascus. they cite all those who died of starvation. they called on the syrian government to end the siege. activists say this video shows

the aftermath of a barrel bomb which killed a canadian journalist on sunday. he was reportedly killed along with 14 others in the government airstrike. on the political front a group of national coalition members want to join the organization. this comes after it had given up on the peace process and reiterated the call to arms. almost three years of war has of course shattered syria's healthcare system. the. country entire medical center has collapsed. hospitals and health facilities have been attacked or destroyed. production has dropped by 75%. and many doctors have left the country. there is one picture of a doctor operating on a baby using a mobile phone for light.

well, george graham head of humanitarian for safe the children. he joins us live from london. how would you describe the medical situation in syria? >> that's a great question. we scramble to think of good words to describe it. one of the words that my colleagues suggested is medieval. that does not do justice to the heroism and ingenuity of people on the ground. but in some instances it sounds right. when you have a limb being amputated because the surgical centers don't have the ability to do anything else so they have to take off the limb. and then you have babies dying in incubators because of power cut. and then measles and polio that really should be irradicated right now. we know about the 140,000 people who have been killed by shells, bullets and bombs.

now you have another story, you have another thousands more that are dying from things that should be preventable. diabetes should not be killing people. in the absence of a proper health system, that's what happens. >> the healthcare system is shattered. do they even have basic anesthetics? >> well, this is a different case. some do not have anesthetics. they have to take all sorts of measures to manage that. in one case we heard of people being hit over the head in attempts to knock them out. but more frequently you have them having to endure unbearable pain. it's really basic and only adds to the suffering of the people of syria, and it adds to the urgency of getting emergency access to all syrians in need. this cannot go on. this is completely contradictory to all the norms of humanity. people, civilians, children need

to have access to basic medical healthcare. >> how is that going to happen? in other words, you've-- >> you've got doctors at boards, charities, any wor work allowedn any degree of safety. >> yes, good work is happening, save the children is reaching 5,000 people but it's very difficult. the real hero are the syrians themselves who are taking risks in order to help each other. but so much more is needed. the are numbers of people in need, running in the millions. we have the opportunity at moment that the u.n. security council finally united and agreed to the humanitarian access three weeks ago. now we need to see that on the ground. all the states in the world need to unite so all parties in this

no it's non-negotiable. that there should be access to people. >> that is the website. you can keep up with everything that is happening in syria's war on the website, and the story about the nuns kidnapped by rebels in syria. there's lots more to see on www.aljazeera.com. to el salvador. the tribunal said the presidential election is too close to call and a time recount is the only way to determine who has won. >> it's not a result that anyone could have predicted. with both kinds claiming victory.

they accused the election tribunal of corruption and said he was determined to defend his party's win. >> they are not going to rob us of this victory. we're going to fight with our lives, with democracy, we will enforce democracy. >> reporter: his opponent of the social flmn party say results clearly show that his party won. >> we are going to gosh for all. those who voted for us and those who didn't. we're going to governor for all with honesty, fulfilling our promises. >> sánchez hopes to win on the back of his party's policies. he intends to use a socialist agenda to jump start the economy and reduce violent crime. he opposes the military that gangs on the streets and pre-election polls tip sánchez

to win the election by 15 points. but with returns in for more than 99% of the polling stations only a few votes separate the men. the polling asked to wait before announcing winners. many say they were happy with the vote and that the process seemed transparent and fair. the recount will take a few days until they can determine who the winner of this election is. >> reporter: until then el salvadorans will have to wait in limbo to see who will run their country for the next five years. >> some other stories from around the world. threatening to disrupt voting on

april 5th. the voters will decide on hamid karzai's successor. naval patrol boat rescued 30 others and took them to a camp. the conviction rates in criminal rates is nearl being tn courts are nearly perfect. i thought we would look at the fine weather we have across europe at the moment. people in western europe has suffered so much over the winter months. one storm after another. but things have changed. now we've got an area of high pressure giving largely fine conditions across much of the

region. certainly we have lovely scenes sunshine, temperatures of 22 degrees. people have been evan joying the sunshine. and on the northern coast of spain we have ferocious wind will had has been looking forboding, now it's a beautiful scene and people making the most of the fine whether. it looks like it's going to be very warm i. not quite as high as it has been but london looking for sunshine. and this is a different picture. wind coming from a long way north so bucharest looking at highs of 11. and athens stuck at 10 degrees. it should be 17 or 18 degrees at this time of year. although we will see a bit of improvement taking place in the greek capitol as we head through the week. fine weather further west for

the next few days, stephen. >> on tuesday it will be three years since an earthquake and tsunami hit japan crippling the fukushima plant. for those who survived the loss of their loved ones is still felt every day. we spoke to families of victims in the miyagi prefecture. >> the coast is marked by what's missing. houses from dozens of neighborhoods, loved ones from thousands of lives. they are doing what they can to rebuild. the carpenter is putting up a memorial, a playground where his house once stood where the day after the disaster he found his mother cradling the body of his youngest daughter. all three of his children had died. >> on top of the playground there are three arrows pointing to the sky. they symbolize my children. if children come to play i think

my own will be happy. i don't want it to be a sad place. >> they were 13, 10, and 8 when they died. their loss plunged their parents into what they now call a living hell. in the three years since he has thrown himself in volunteer work. he senses that his children have guided him. >> you might think it strange with my wife sitting here and we sometimes feel like we're eating, drinkingwhile we'reeatie is over there. we feel like they've come home. >> there is no question that communities up and down this coast are changing.

the rebuilding process is underway. three years on they're still marked by a terrible feeling of absence. >> like that of the bank that once stood on this plot and the 12 staff members who were swept to their death. one woman's husband qualified as a rescue diver. he won't stop, he said, until he finds her body. >> she needs to come back home, be buried, her bones, i mean, so we can pay tribute. ishe will continue to lie at the bottom of the ocean, and that is too sad to bear. >> endo wants to show us an earlier memorial that he made. he sits and remembers. it's just their bodies that aren't here.

so he spends time on each lovingly crafted seat one for each child so that they don't get jealous. he will always be their father. al jazeera. miyaga prefecture, japan. >> you're watching the news hour with lots more to come. including. [♪ singing ] >> gonega lease government said they are going after the biggest rebel group in th. and shelly ann fraser-pryce aids another medal to her collection.

>> top stories now on al jazeera. investors searching for missing passenger planes with 239 people on board. they have expanded the search area. the passengers with stolen passports are not of asian descent as originally thought. negotiated release of 13 nuns. he will salvadoel salvador'n needing a recount. >> most of the votes went to the

party of the visit group opposed to peace talks with the rebel groups. we go to the capitol of bogota. >> they are the second biggest force and the real winners in the party elections. it deals a blow to president santos who until now held a huge majority in congress. >> i had voted for the democratic descent of venezuela. i voted against the blood-thirsty castro ideologies. the government allows it and others do not avoid it. >> 33 million colombias cast their ballot to elect a new

congress. and these will force changes in their negotiating table maybe by including all negotiators on other points that have been absent from that table. >> reporter: the result marks the birth of a new political force in colombia, and while president santos coalition will maintain a small majority in congress, sunday's vote could impact his chances of re-election in may. >> there has been renewed fighting in the capitol caracas where people are angry about

rising inflation and crime. anti-government protests have been going on for almost a month and has seen the worst unrest in a decade. >> in the neighborhood east of caracas, you won't find burning neighborhoods calling for change. the only conflict here are two children's baseball teams as their parents watch on. everything in this field has been paid for by the government as part of the movement for peace and life initiative. it's those kinds of social programs that has made the area

a government stronghold. >> the revolution is so beautiful. i will always support it. i voted for chavez, and i continue voting for the revolution. we support madura because he will keep chavez's legacy alive. chavez is light. >> it might feel removed from the violence the past few weeks but these parents are concerned. they're calling for an end of the protest, releasing balloons in hope that the trouble will end. >> these protests are just small groups and they're damaging our country. the majority of us want to make venezuela stronger. a country where chavez was our leader. >> reporter: throughout this community of more than half a million there are overwhelming support for the man than picked by hugo chavez who lead

venezuela. there are some who are not happy with nicholas ma do yo nicolás s a base of support he can counted on. >> they need to end this peacefully and make protesters stop. they have a right to protest, but they should stop the violence. >> it is venezuela's poor who has gained the most from the revolution. they have reduced poverty and insured for now support. it has been widely infec unaffected by the violence. annie gallagher, venezuela. >> mexico has confirmed the death of the leader of the ninth

templar cartel. as they announce with a gem guzman as dead. and now he has been fund annound dead. members of the knights templar have been accused of murders, kidnappings, and extortion. here is adam rainy. >> this shrine pastry butte to moreno saying he was killed i in 2010. but they say he lives on. but his reign ended on sunday. >> he was intercepted by marines and the army. when they asked him to surrender

he open fired. >> many believe he was alive. many of those who didn't prayed to him as a saint. the knights templar surrounded themselves it mysticism. they are one of the main traffickers of methamphetamine. they extorted from the very people that they said they protected. with the fiel federal government largely absent they have gone in against the cartel. moreno's death comes two weeks after the government arrested after one of the most wanted drug lord joachim guzman.

it's unclear what role if anyone they had in his death. >> reporter: the government and president peña nieto say the previous government was inefficient because they said that they had killed mor killede republicano butnever had produc. egypt's projects rose $40 billion and egypt shares rose slightly on the news. the british newspaper the te daily telegrap"thedaily telegr f

where some say they were torture. >> reporter: these are pictures inside high security prisons. it shows how they are held that are illegal even under egyptian law. some cells don't have beds. they're locked up in filthy overcrowded cells with little or no sunlight except one hour a day that they're sometimes granted to exercise and stretch their legs. in this video an inmate takes us on a tour of an underground cell meant for confinement. three inmates are held here. the toilets which has no door is a hole in the ground. a blanket is used to provide

some semblance of privacy. some testimonies that have been smuggled out detail torture, arbitrary arrests and forced confessions.

>> according to amnesty international these testimonies echo the findings of the group's own investigations. >> there were thousands of people detained without their basic due process rights, rights like access to a judge, lawyer, instead they're held in appalling prison conditions with little hope of seeing a fair trial or escaping the cycle of preventive detention orders in which people are detained indevil. >> they have asked for comment but there has been no response. aside from the human rights testimonies, there has been drug dealing and other criminal activities.

>> the coup in adjust has shown that people are divided and the inhumane way people are treated are only going to make those divisions worse. >> al jazeera journalists have been held in egypt charged with for spreading false news. al jazeera rejects accusations against the staff. and another journalist has been detained for six months and has

been on a hunger strike since february 23rd. >> this remote village in eastern congo does not look like the headquarters of a armed group. there are lots of young men standing around. villars tell us many carry guns and wore university. but the rwandan rebel group are trying to promote a new image. when they're ready to meet us, we greet them with singing and dancing. >> some are accused of genocide and mass rape. first they want to show their guns which they say they have laid down. there is a small cache of weapons inside this hut. there is a stack here and many of them look very old in the

pulled here there is a stack of slightly larger machine guns and on the floor there is a pile of ammunition. although there are not many more bullets than guns in the room. there are a lot more men than the 50 rifles in the room, they say they have laid them down because they're ready to talk peace. >> the congolese army wants these men to come out of the bush and hand over their weapons. anthe fdlr leaders say they wont be safe going back unless the president negotiates. >> we do not want to hand these weapons to the u.n. the u.n. want to disarm us and send us in to be killed. we instead want to find a solution the african away. >> some other members of the fdlr are wanted for genocide

crimes. but most here are too young to bear that guilt. the u.s. said many have grown up as child soldiers in congo. u.n. troops are supporting the congolese army to clear all the groups from the east. commanders from both forces say they're ready to attack them soon. >> what we observe on the ground today are still continuing activities including doing human right violations. we don't see them either surrendering while we would very much welcome. >> the fdr said that a political solution is needed but they're probably too week to get any of their demands using force. malcolm webb, al jazeera,

republic of congo. >> we have more on the la liga title, and you have birdies, you have eagles, now you have lizards in golf. details with jo.

>> researchers in the united states say they found a blood test which can predict if a healthy person will develop alzheimer's or not. 44 million people suffer at the

moment. >> well, the symptoms of dementia are well-known. short term memory loss. difficulty in problem solving and learning, confusion. what is unclear is why and when the deterioration begins. it's believed that damage to the brain begins 10 years before the symptoms emerge. this makes finding the decide an appealing prospect. searchers analyzed blood and identified 10 lipids, and the bio markers are believe to reveal the break down of brain and they're able to predict whether a person would develop alzheimer's disease within three years. >> in this study we sought to find a set of circulating

molecules in the blood of individuals who were cognitively normal, that would allow us to predict who in the next several years would develop alzheimer's disease. that's exactly what we found. >> the scientists are investigating whether the test will work earlier than three years before the onset of symptoms and say the sooner the disease can be discovered the more effective therapies can be to slow or prevent it. >> this observe station that obe reporting suggests that we can test for the first time whether disease modifying therapies and those at risk, not those who already have the disease might be able to delay or abrogate that group of individuals developing alzheimer's disease. >> the test will conduct

clinical trials and may an huge advance. 44 million people currently have alzheimer's disease and their predictions that that could travel to 135 million people in the next 35 years. a test like the one being developed at georgetown university presents the possibility of what is being described as a dementia time bomb can be diffused before tens of millions more suffer from the disease. >> head of research in u.k. he questions the blood test particularly the claim that it is 90% accurate. >> the 90% is based on a particular figure. but when you look at the fairly low levels of conversion of people of elderly people to dementia in the real world the number is going to be far lower than that, i'm afraid. i think it can be useful as research has suggested in clinical trials or identifying people who may be valuable for

clinical trials for the new disease modifying treatments which are coming through. we don't have these yesterday. but to the the moment there are no clinical benefits to know if they're high risk on the basis of this test. if. >> time for sport now. >> we start with smash football. there is one name at the top of la liga. real madrid with the lead against lavente. >> they have given their title hopes a boost. going three points lear of the top of the league. they got down to business early. cristiano ronaldo started the scoring three minutes in. this is the player's 4th goal of the season and keeps him on top of the goal scoring sheets. and the third was a gift.

final score, 3-0. they are 29 games unbeaten in all competitions. >> we played a very good match. the first half did not go as we wanted but in the second half it was better and the important thing is we did not concede a goal. by scoring a goal it makes me very happy, and i'm happy with the win. >> in valencia, in their quest for champions league football, going down 1-0 in the first half, they scored from the penalty spot, and now hold a 7-point lead over villarreal in fifth. the race is heating up beating al maria. and espanyol think they have a chance winning 3-1, leaving them

seven points off the pace with 11 games to go. richard nicholson, al jazeera. >> wigan play arsenal in the english fa cup with a repeat of last season's finale. wigan open with scoring in the first half and double their lead. they pull the goal back but they could not find an equalizer. and now after the 3-0 win, and it will be hull's first systemy final appearance in 84 years. >> we're looking at the football club where players come and go. 1930s when they last made the

final. let's enjoy it. let's enjoy it, and for them i'm delighted because the club's, people who have supported the clubs year after year, hope that they can make it a fantastic occasion, and it will be terrific. >> juventus has gone 14 points clear of the italian league that's after a 1-0 win against fiorentina. they lost 1-0 to napoli. hopafter beating wales. thanks to first-half converted tries. at halftime the visitors trail 20-15. after theory start owen ferrell finished with 19 points as

english clinched the victory and their first are triple crown in 11 years. here are how the results affect the table. ireland, england and france are straighted by points difference. england could still win the six nation's title if they beat italy, and france defeat ireland in the time round of matches next saturday. on to tennis, through the fourth round. the czech player took the opening set 6-4, but spain's roberto set up the tie in the next round. djokovic opened with a straight set victory. shelly ann fraser-pryce won the

championship in poland. she storms to win in 6.98 seconds. triumphs success as last year's world championship where she won three gold medals. the u.s. men's 4 x 4 relay set goal with a new record. smashing a 15-year-old record. well, the main patrick read may not be familiar to you, but if you're a golf man it may be. the 23-year-old has only been soonthe tour for two years. despite a couple of wobbles he held onto the stroke.

another crowd favorite angel jimenez ended by throwing his club. one unlucky golfer had a run in with the wildlife. a lizard who had not quite grasped the contest of fewer strokes wins tampered with the ball. he missed the birdie attempt and finished behin behind the eventl winner. go to www.aljazeera.com/sport with details of how to get in touch with our team using twitter and facebook. >> the latest on a prisoner swap in syria, and of course the search of the missing plane. that's all to come.

>> this is a look at your top stories that the hour. search and rescue teams from nine countries continue to look for a missing malaysia airline liner that disappeared on friday night. the flight from kuala lumpur to beijing had 239 people on board including two americans. they still have no indication of where the plane might be. reports of debris found off vietnam do not belong to this aircraft. a meeting with president obama regarding crimea