>> and a warm welcome from me, david foster, so this al jazeera news hour. these are some of the stories we're covering in detail. in the next 60 minutes, ukraine's interim prime minister looking for support for the deepening crisis in his country. under attack, libya gears up as an ousted prime minister

flees the country. italy faces major political reform. and in vatican city pope frances prepares to mark his first year in the job. >> the new ukraine prime minister will be meeting the u.s. president at the white house. he has already had a chat with the secretary of state john kerry who said that he will travel to london on friday. the talks with the russian foreign minister lavror concerning the crimea referendum taking place on sunday whether it should be part of russia or remain part of ukraine. we're live from washington, d.c. is yatsenyuk looking for anyone

concrete? >> reporter: it will go a long way in shoring up his support in many people's eyes. there are world leaders who don't get this sort of opportunity. so to sit down with the president, the vice president and secretary of state, that will be important. but he's looking for a lot more besides. the americans said they're ready to pump $1 billion through the imf into the ukrainian economy. that will be useful. remember, yatsenyuk is an economist and lawyer and credited for saving the banking system in 2004 by limiting the amount of withdraws people could make. he understands the economy. he understands what's going on, and he understands how important american support is, that's the message he'll be hammering here to the president, the vice president and the secretary of state. >> and the president and vice

president and secretary of state have reiterated their position of the forthcoming referendum is entirely illegal. is there anything else they can do to voice their displeasure? >> reporter: there is the briefing going on in the building behind me. and the white house spokesman was asked about this whole idea of the ukrainian referendum particularly in crimea. he said, look, his understanding of crimean law is if you're having a referendum of this kind it has to be all ukraine wide. so therefore for many in the community it would be illegal. is there a possibility that they could hold this referendum on sunday and then the russians wouldn't recognize the results which would be significant and important as well. jay carney is leaving that up to the russians, but perhaps that's something that john kerry can talk about when he sits down

with sergey lavrov in london on friday. >> thank you very much. and for more o on the referendu. >> reporter: yes, the french president françois hollande has spoken with russian president vladimir putin, and calling it an unacceptable annexation to the international community, and he said there was still time to avoid dangerous escalation. germany chancellor angela merkel has been holding meetings wondering if there is no progress on russia, that further sanctions must be considered. >> if we can't succeed with talks with russia in the next few days then we need to

consider a second level of sanctions. six days have past. now we need to see if we will try to set up the contact group with moscow. so we need to prepare for the second stage of sanctions. >> reporter: we have more from berlin. >> reporter: the biggest development coming out of the meeting of the german and polish leaders are the decision to have ukraine sign the association agreement that was the cause of all the turmoil in the country. it is an agreement that will be signed, said the two leaders, next week in brussels, what that means in the immediate future is that trade tariffs will be taken off over $500 million annually of european goods coming into the european union as well as if the referendum slated for crimea

goes forward, there will be sanctions on russia and violation of the sovereignty of ukraine as well as sending in troops to crimea. these are moves that are bound to anger russia. the prime minister of poland said we must not expect any results in the next moss, it will take years and it will will take a long time. the united states, canada and europe were all reading from the same page, and the show of unity was really what was needed to move things forward. >> reporter: it doesn't seem as though the message to stop the referendum is getting through. preparations are under way. and voting booths have been set up in the crimean city has been set up.

three women and two men sailed they were pulled from their vehicles at gunpoint and held with no outside contact for two days. paul breman met two after their release. >> reporter: we were told to drive to the edge of the capitol. it was just after down. the group was nervous and insisted on meeting in a public place. so it was, a roadside rendezvous we came face to face with them. it was last sunday when witnesses raised the alarm saying they had been detained at a checkpoint at a crimean border. they had been dragged from their vehicles at gunpoint and there had been no contact for two days. they detailed their story, one of threats and humiliation.

>> my hair now looks disgusting. >> they cut your hair off? >> yes, yes. >> let us see. >> no. >> this is from gun. >> reporter: they shaved your head? >> yes, they tried to shave it. they tried to get the gun here and to pray and to beg. >> reporter: did you think you might be killed. >> yes, sure, yes, we waited for it. every minute we waited we would be shot. >> reporter: the check points established by pro russian militia now exerts total control over road traffic in and out of the peninsula. the so-called self defense groups operate with little apparent oversight. television crews have had their equipment seized by gunpoint. manelena and others say it was

nearly canceled as they were about to walk to freedom. it highlights the arbitrary command in crimea. >> now they're free. they're back in kiev. hugely relieved, but as you can see very exhausted, indeed. paul brenan, kiev. >> reporter: now let's go back to david. >> the former prime minister of libya is now thought to be in europe after managing to board a private plane in tripoli despite a government imposed travel ban. he was removed from office after laden oil tanker flying the flag of north korea escaped with naval escort into international waters. >> reporter: it was during th the 2011 libyan up rising that he became a prominent figure on the political scene.

a former libyan diplomat he flew into exile defecting from muammar qaddafi's regime. he worked as a human rights lawyer and during the revolution he served for the national transitional council. he became prime minister in 2012 but post-war libyas with a very different place. those rebels who helped to overthrow qaddafi were heavily armed and opposing the new government. facing problems exporting oil he appealed for international help to restore security. but in october of last year just one year after he became prime minister he was kidnapped by armed men in tripoli. although he was released just hours later the motive behind the abduction was never clear. more and more oil, libya's economic lifeblood, has been taken over by militias. they're now demanding more say

in how the wealth is distributed. just over a week ago there were angry protests calling for him to step down but ultimately it was tuesday's escape of a north korean ship ladened with hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil from a rebel-held port that brought his down fall. >> it is secured and under our complete control. it will move towards the west early in the morning. we control this ship, and we will relocate it to one of our harbors, arrest those on board and judge them in court. >> reporter: far from being secured the tanker slipped out into open seas. just hours later he lost a vote of confidence in parliament and was accused of embezzling state funds. he has now fled to europe. libya's defense minister has been appointed acting prime minister until a new one is elected, but he and any new leader will still face problems

of security, government, and an economy in turmoil. al jazeera. >> the libyan economy is in term terrible state and oil revenue makes the biggest contribution to the state's finances, 95% of libya's income should be from oil and gas but oil outputs that fallen from 6 million barrels a day to 230,000 now. and that has evidently led to a massive fall in revenue and government spending outstripping income. >> reporter: libya's lifeblood is pouring at a trickle. oil wealth does not just drive the cars, it fuels everything from conservativ crafts men to s government itself nearly entirely funded by oil revenues

now in the red. demanding autonomy for eastern lib y higher salaries for oil workers and accusing the national oil company of corruption. >> if the military were to go in and secure those compounds and there was fighting, it could be a disaster. >> this is what we as a government, we should try to avoid. >> reporter: the blockades have sent oil production plunging from 1.4 million barrels a day last year to 230,000 barrels a day now. >> because muammar qaddafi controlled the main source of wealth oh here for so long, no one knows the impact it will have on the daily lives of libyaens, and it never well until oil sites like this one are at full capacity. >> 5 million to 6 million, and income annual income from oil and gas $40 billion u.s. a year. so you can do a lot to have a

good life for the libyan people. >> reporter: libyan's government said they will not wait for long. >> libya's government finds itself in a dilemma, use spilled blood, which is dangerous, or negotiation. so far negotiation seems to be the norm. and the fear is that if you start the shooting, you may not be able to stop it. >> reporter: so six months into the oil blockade there is still no resolution. >> are you frustrated? >> you can say that. yeah. >> reporter: with a near stand still of oil production the government has voted to raise the salaries of striking oil workers who joined the blockade, but it can't afford to pay the raise. john hendren, al jazeera, libya. >> three aids to the leading candidates in afghanistan's

president has been murdered. they were attacked by those on motor bikes. >> reporter: they identified three men on the bus, pulled them off on to the road, and shot them dead there. they entered the bus and told anybody that if they had anything to do with these elections, if they were involved in campaigning or organizing these elections, they themselves would be targeted. now the three men we know who have been killed are aides and supporters of dr. abdullah, who is a frontrunner in this election where afghans are due to go to the polls on april 5th. this sort of violence has happened before with dr. abdullah's campaign and all candidates of the presidency are aware that anybody working for them are very much likely to be

targeted in the coming weeks. the taliban has not officially claimed responsibility for this attack, but speaking to al jazeera they said they did not find it surprising that this attack had taken place. two days ago they issued a very strongly worded statement saying they have ordered their fighters to attack anybody who has anything to do with the elections whether they're campaigners, security staff or even just people working at polling stations. so the coming three weeks are likely to be increasingly tense as these attacks may continue. >> that was jane ferguson reporting there from kabul. now coming up in this news hour, 26 year walk to freedom. the innocent man released after spending half his life on america's death row. in sport all eyes on the new manchester city defeat of barcelona. we have the latest in 30 minutes.

the pain of waiting and not knowing is etched on the faces. it is now five days since malaysia flights 370 carrying 239 people disappeared. investigators say they are no closer to finding it. a massive international search and recovery effort now involves 42 warships, 39 aircraft, and they're focusing on two main areas. one is the south china sea. that is where air traffic control last made contact with the boeing 777 before it vanished in the early hours of saturday morning. and the plane may have changed course and turned back to kual d youal lumpur. >> still unable to pinpoint

where the missing plain could be. pulale sean authorities reveal that radar may have tracked the plane away from its flight path 45 minutes after it lost contact. >> the way forward, ladies and gentlemen, is to analyze both the civilian and military data in the east or in the west, on land or in the water. this is exactly what we're doing today. >> reporter: but the new development comes following days of confusing and sometimes conflicting information. the airline had initially reported that the last contact was made with the plane two hours into its flight. but later amended this into an hour. a day ago reports causing military officials defecte detee plane in the west.

>> up until now we only had one meeting with the malaysian military attache, however the information they provided is insufficient. >> reporter: malaysian authorities have descended their handling of the search. at this mosque near the airport flight crews offer prayers of hope. the hope that all those on board will be found soon. their friends with all 12 crew members on board and the mood is somber. >> i feel greatly sad. feeling right now what i'm hoping is for the best. we have not seen anything yet. and our hopes are still high. >> reporter: across the city places like this have sprung up. dedicated to the 239 people on board. messages of hope and prayers that they'll be found soon. but as the search mission continues that hope is growing dimmer by the day.

al jazeera, kuala lumpur. >> thcomments come after fresh clashes coinciding with the funeral of a 15-year-old boy who died on tuesday. nine months after suffering critical injuries during anti-government violence. we're live from istanbul, this all seemed to begin with an environmental protest about one particular park, and it's beco becoming is so much bigger. why has it ended up like this? >> reporter: well, the protests that began in june last year that became known as the protests and then became about anything other than some trees in a park were never resolved. and protests continued through almost every month, we saw for one reason or another a protest

break out. the anger that under pinned and fueled those protests that reached a crescendo in june last year never dissipated. the launch of a corruption investigation which went right to the heart of government start in mid december last year, and people who are opposed to the ruling and it's strong support feel that corruption investigation has been muzzled and impeded by actions of the government so the whole new set of reasons why people in turkey who aren't fans of the prime minister erdogan would be average. the fact that this 15-year-old boy had died nine months afte ia coma after injuries sustained in the protest is the conductor of

emotions swirling around turkey. political divisions in this country run so deep and so fierce. >> and do those commentators see any way out of this for today yep erdogatayeperdogan? >> people object the way's running the country, if they have a better idea, they should take that sentiment and that intention to the ballot box and do it through democratic means. he objects strongly using taxpayer's money to deal with people who won't follow a process democratic process. but his opponents on the other hand argue that the actions of the prime minister is actually muzzled democratic outlets in turkey. they're not free to protest the way they used to be able to, and with the judiciary and the police now completely under

government control result of the reshuffle of december, january and february there is no longer an effective rule of law in this country, so they no longer respect these institutions. there you have the two points of view. local elections are being seen on march 30th a as a barometer,a referendum, if you like, of the popularity of the prime minister. that might make opponents to shut up and go away, or it might have the opposite effect. >> thank you, indeed. iran's president is making his first stri trip to a neighbg arab country since being voted in last year. he's being welcomed to two-day visit. joining me, assistant professor of government at georgetown

university. is it a matter of two countries looking to get more business out of each other, or does it run deeper than that? >> it runs deeper than that. that's one aspect of this trade from $1 billion last year to $10 billion this year. >> dollars. >> dollars. so i think it's a diplomatic and economic incentive. >> help us with this geopolitical picksture. just to remind some of our viewers we have a diplomatic spat going on with saudi arabia on one side and qatar on the other. does he fit into that picture, because it's a benign calm of gcc members. >> right, now again it's on the

shoulders of kuwait to mediate. they're a bit reluctant to do so, but it's necessary. and it's up to the saudis as well to continue bilateral discussions to improve the relationship and to clarify. >> so he might be trying to improve the profile but there is a security issue with iran because they share a very important water way where so much of the world's oil comes at one time. there will be security issues to discuss as well. >> yes, this is security issues for all gulf states at the end of the day. whether it be gcc states or gcc states and iran, so there must be negotiation and constant diplomatic relations in order to security to prevail. >> when we see the headlines it

will be about trade deals. >> well, i think they've discussed it officially, and they'll discuss other matters, i don't think it's a secret. >> thank you for your insight of behind the scenes. >> thank you. >> at least 30 rockets has landed in southern israel after being fired from gaza according to the israeli army. no reports of casualties. >> three al jazeera journalists have been held in an egyptian prison. al jazeera rejects all charges leveled against its staff. well, criminal court has renewed

the impressment of al jazeera's arabic channel fo for another 45 days. he has been on a hunger strike since january 23rd. we have this coming up on the news hour. suspected gas explosion triggering a deadly building collapse in new york. >> there will be integrated more and more into the military and also into the workforce. >> israel's ultra orthodox justs losing their exemption from military service saying they'll continue to fight the draft. and we have sport with defending champion out, and we have the details coming up. exploded in the skys above lockerbie.

only one man was convicted of the attack >> the major difficulty for the prosecution, that there was no evidence... >> now a three year al jazeera investigation, reveals a very different story about who was responsible >> they refuse to look into this... >> so many people at such a high level had a stake in al megrahi's guilt. lockerbie: what really happened? on al jazeera america

>> these are the top stories. libya is asking neighboring countries to help stop an oil

tanker which loaded in a rebel-held terminal in libya. naval vessels failed to stop the tanker and parliament has lost vote of confidence. in the funeral of a teenager injured during anti-government protests and died after being in a coma after nine months. searchers for malaysia flight 370. >> a man who has spent years on death row is now free. he was wrongly convicted of killing his boss.

>> 64-year-old glen ford walks free after spending half of his life on death row. >> istic >> i was locked up for 30 years for something i didn't do. >> he was locked up to the murder of a jeweler he used to work for. he was released afte after the e could no longer stand by its conviction. ford was sentenced to death by an all-white jury selected by prosecutors. a second lawyer had only graduated from law school two years before. the state was unable to call any eyewitnesses during the trial nor could it produce a murder weapon. under cross-examination a witness who was the girlfriend of another man suspected of the murder admitted to a jury that she had lied in court. >> i can't go back and do anything that i should have been doing when i was 35, 40.

my son who i left was a baby. he's now a grown man. >> 140 death row convicts have been freed. men like david who was freed after the conviction of rape and murder. he spent 23 hours a day in solitary confinement waiting to be executed. john edward smith was released 19 years after he was wrongly convicted of a drive-by shooting in california. around a quarter of death row convicts exonerated over the last 20 years said they had given false confessions due to pressure by police many misidentified by eyewitnesses. ford's lawyer said it has been a long fight for freedom. >> we've been working on this for decades, literally. we hope that it will be the first day for him to start a new life.

>> when says laws are complex and vary between states. advocates are asking for federal money to help men wh to live lis they lost and start living again. >> a gas explosion has caused two buildings to collapse in new york. two people are confirmed to have died. 18 people were injured. emergency crews are still searching for anyone who might be trapped in the rubble. it watell us what happened and what is happening now. >> reporter: well, the investigation is ongoing, and so is the search for people who may be missing in the rubble of those two buildings, but the scene is starting to break down a little bit. you can see where a full block away from where the explosion happened, there was a massive presence of firefighters and emergency crews still on the

scene. the smoke is still filling the air here. what we know is about 9:15 in the morning local time over five hours ago now the local utility company got a call, and saying that there was a smell of gas in the area. and they have--that came from a neighbor that called. the crew cas was dispatched to k things out and before they had even arrived there was a massive explosion. we talked to witnesses in the area who said they could feel it blocks away. there was debrissed littered in the street, and it brought out nearly 170 firefighters to put down the blaze, which did level two buildings. at this point it does look like a gas leak that caused it, but the investigation is ongoing. the city is still being greatly effected by this as well.

six square blocks around the scene have been shut down. a commuter train stopped, traffic stopped, it shows the kind of response that it took to get this explosion and the fire under control. >> kristin, thanks very much, indeed. police and soldiers are lining the streets of the venezuela capitol caracas with growing concern that rival protest groups may clash. anti-government demonstrators have called on it students to join a march against president nicolás maduro. and there has been a youth rally called in support of maduro. if there are protests against an elected president sometimes it's possible to ignore. you don't necessarily have to call on your supporters to come out in defiance. why has it become a head-to-head, andy?

>> reporter: well, it's not necessarily a head-to-head on y, we were out on the streets with the students, but it looks like what we've seen on the ground they're being kept apart from the pro-government demonstrators. they said they've reached a cul-de-sac where they were fenced in by the security nourseforces. you often get pro- and anti-government demonstrations and those two groups don't always necessarily meet. while the students numbers are small their passion has not gone out. the fact that crime is rampant and there are no basic supplies, food on the shelves, and they want justice. they say perhaps over the last few days things have gotten quiet, but that's not an accurate picture of the entire country. if go to elsewhere there is a

different picture here where it has been cordoned off. it's a strong government city and it's hard to get information from there. last word was that soldiers are going in to remove the barricades. >> is there a sense that it is the absence of chavez's personality that has lead to this, that if he had still been president perhaps he would have been able to calm things down and emilate the situation in some way? >> reporter: let's put this in perspective. if you were to travel 20 minutes from my location to the edge of the city, you would think nothing was going on at all. the poor people of venezuela and the majority still support nicolás maduro because he was the hand-picked chosen successor of hugo chavez.

now whether chavez was still alive, still president, would he be able to calm things down is another question. inplace is running 53%. there is a chronic shortage of toilet paper, rice, flour. students weren't big fans of chavez any way. but certainly the fact that maduro is not as charismatic as his predecessor might not help the situation. >> thank you. ten days after italy's youngest ever prime minister took part, he is planning sweeping changes in. as we go back to lauren in our news center. >> reporter: matteo renzi tries to restore people's faith in the

government. he's also proposing labor law reforms to make employment moves nor flexible. he has approval of $13 billion tax cuts for low eners and the government can't afford the cut even though public debt exceeds 2 trillion-dollar. >> today they have approved a report looking at $10 billion in savings which will call for tax cuts for those earning less than 25,000 eurs a year. >> there are tax cuts an. unions are worried and

1.4 million people are out of work in greece. serbs head to the polls for general elections on sunday. on thursday the first non-european pontiff in more than a thousand years pope francis will mark his first year of papacy. we watch his hailing of opening appointment and new year for the church. >> it was the first time that the catholic church had new leader. his popularity was immediate because he practiced what he

preached. strong statements against inequality were matched by his choice to live in a modest guesthouse. as archbishop of buenos aires he witnessed poverty and crime and the first act as pope was to kiss the feet of inmates at an institution. he draws massive crowds and his modest waves brought him to the covers of "time" magazine and "rolling stone." pope francis' appeal seems to be truly global. >> you have a pope that you can identify yourself with. >> he's in a position to better understand that. when we talk to him he can easily connect with us. this is like he is with us. >> reporter: pope francis and the church was beset by sex scandals and allegations of corruption. he has been able to change the

image of the church but how much real change has he achieved behind the scenes at the vatican. his critics would say not much. an u.n. report published in february accused the church of failing to properly deal with child abuse. and although the pope's tone on issues like gay rights and divorce has softened, there is no sign of actual religious reform. >> you cannot do this kind of thing quickly without making disasters. certainly he is a man who will do things, but in due time. >> reporter: a year on there is little doubt that the pope has the right intentions to change the church for the better. but as these doves released by him and promptly attacked by a seagull can attest the best laid plans don't always work out as intended. some see pope francis as a super

hero capable of turning the church around after decades of mismanagement. and although he has had an undenialbly great first year he has not performed that miracle just yet. >> that's all for europe. back now to david. >> there we saw a take on one religion. how about israel's ultra orthodox jews can now be drafted into the army. after a very contentious new law the army will enlist more than 5,000 ultra orthodox soldiers within three years. if that coa quota is not met thn they will face mandatory service and arrest draft dodgers.

>> reporter: now making it mandatory for ultra orthodox jews who since 1948 had been exempt, but it's a interesting interesting--but it's a tradition that many in israel say no longer works. >> this community does not play it's part. >> reporter: the view among the majority of politicians in the can necessitknessett, they wille law. >> is it too much to ask them to contribute their part? nothing more, nothing less. only their part like every israeli citizen. this means sharing the burden. >> reporter: students who are subsidized by the government for their full-time study of the for

torah say they are serving the state, just in a different way. they say they should not have to serve in the military because they're contributing to the state with their prayers. now with the bill passed into law implementation of the legislation is expected to be phased in over three to five years. still hundreds of thousands of haradim in israel and around the world has protested in advance of the vote. the debate over the law they say has been painful for the community. >> 65 years of the state of israel there's even a thought of passing this kind of bill. and that our brothers don't recognize that we are contributing the way we believe we're contributing. we're not trying to dodge anything. >> reporter: still those who refuse conscription could face penalties and jail time by a government oh that no longer counts full time study and prayer as adequate for the

state. >> we go to sport coming up in just a moment. kevin durant and oklahoma city thunder to victory. details coming up.

>> it's less than a hundred days to the football world cup. you must know we're talking about controversy not on the pitch but pitch at stadiums not finished. a little political brouhaha on

the way perhaps. >> yes, they have announced there will be no speeches at the world cup opening ceremony in brazil in june. now, the reason for this all relates to the federation cup, the dress rehearsal tournament that took place in brazil in june last year. now the presidents of about still was giving a speech ahead of the first match, and she got booed, and told brazilian fans is that you shouldn't be acting this way. >> they don't want the tournament to be starting with a lot of shout. what did she say about it? >> she has not commented about it yet. but the context behind us this is because we have those anti-government riots in brazil at the time, and obviously realizing that sentiments to the world cup is not favorable, and still he is opening there won't

be similar things-- >> i bet he is. i bet he is. >> reporter: manchester city will try to overcome a two-goal deficit when they face barcelona. they both head to the match with domestic defeat. >> reporter: yes, barcelona versus manchester city, not "mission impossible" for city, but mission improbable because only one english team has won here, and that's liverpool in 1976 and 2007, but never by more than one goal now that they have to create history tonight if they have to go through. and barcelona's recent record is certainly impressive. just one defeat if their last 24 games. the city found as you might expect, they're enjoy thinking day. it was only 15 years ago that they were playing english' englh

football. their captain has dared them to dream and said anything is possible in football citing the game from qpr to show that city could do anything. when you look at last year the games city had a chance, but it is a slim chance. barcelona perhaps not in the best of form with two defeats in the last three games, but the weekend leaves them in third place. and the locals, they're a little bit restless and under a little bit of pressure. barcelona starts as favorites with what will be their seventh league appearance. well, they take on with psg looking to reach quarterfinals for the second season in a row. well, the defending champions bayern munich go 3-1

on aggregate. bayern ahead in the second leg on tuesday. arsenal hit back straight away by a former bayern player. they even had a late penalty save and it's the second year in a row that they knocked down the london side. >> thwe played a good game in te first half with a bit of luck we would have scored a goal early, but today we didn't need luck. it was enough to go through. this is how football goes sometimes. you score four, five, six goals and sometimes you don't score at all. the most important thing we did was to control the game, and we didn't allow many chances. we did score one goal. it could have been more than that, but it was enough. >> reporter: atletico reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 1997. they beat ac milan 4-1, the last

time atletico madrid reached this stage their coach was still a player for the club. >> we are expecting a very tough quarterfinal, dangerous and very difficult. so what we need to do now is rest, continue preparing ourselves and remain confident that we are doing things well. this is the fruit of everyone's hard work from the directors to the grounds men and the players who play in an extraordinary stadium. we must continue in the same vain. >> action from the asian champions league now defending champions have stretched their unbeaten record in the competition to 11 matches. they were taking on more reno, and it was the japanese side that took the lead in front of their home fans. the last defeat in the competition came in group stages level with a free kick from their yo new signing.

michael shoe ma schumacher't say they feel confident that he will wake from his coma. the news comes just days after the start of the new season which begins in australia. moving to tennis where two-time champion djokovic has marked his play in california. the second seed was up against an opponent gonzalez that he had never seen play before. despite that he cruised through the set 6-1 before the colombian took the set 6-3, and he took with it the match. next you hav up for nowak,.

>> generally i felt like i was in control of the match. when i'm playing at my level that i expected him to drop, but credit to him for fighting. and making me work for my points at the end of the day a win is a win, and i have to look at the positive side and get myself ready for the next one. >> well, in the women's event there was a battle between two former world number ones, and it was the serb who came out on top who reached the set winner 6-3, 6-1. british cyclist thomas has taken the over all lead in the cycle race. he had finished in the fourth stage which was enough to give him the yellow jersey.

the garmin rider doing enough to move up to third overall of the prisoprestigious race. butler scored 67 for england as they posted 152-7 of their 20 overs. hitting 11 sixes and 7 balls remaining. 30 of 9 balls. staying with cricket, harris is targeted australia in october to make his return after knee surgery. he had operation on tuesday just a week after taking the last two wickets in victory against south africa. he's expected to be out for six months. in the nhl, just the day

after their player peberly collapsed on the bench. and dallas scored in overtime. kevin durant scored 42 points as oklahoma city thunder met the houston rockets. 106-98 victory snapping a two-game losing streak for oklahoma. loads of sport includingy cricket indian premiere league will begin in the united a emirates. and details of how to get in touch with our team using twitter and facebook as well. >> and it will start in ua. >> you can go on the website and get full valle value for the moy

this is david foster, from our news team.