>> welcome to the news hour. russian's president completes the annexation of crimea as eu leaders sign up for closer toys with ukraine. >> null and void, thailand's court invalidates the general election. >> protestors killed in egypt as thousands protest the government. >> i'm in the heart of the coffee growing region of brazil

where a severe drought is likely to lead to a bad harvest and higher coffee prices all over the world. >> russia officially absorbed crimea after approvals from both houses of parliament, president vladimir putin signed into law the treaty making crimea part of the federation. crimeans voted overwhelmingly to join russia in a referendum sunday, putting pen to paper, putin congratulated them. the eu leaders have not backed down, maintaining crimea is still part of ukraine and signed an association agreement with kiev in brussels earlier on friday. in the ukrainian capitol, u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon is holding meetings with acting president, saying ukraine and

russia needs to engage in direct talks to resolve the cries. we go to brussels in a moment. first, peter sharp joins us from moscow. it's official that in russia at least, crimea is part of the federation. what's next for the region? >> it just took five days, unbelievable, really, that the people of crimea who now celebrate being part of the russian federation after this overwhelming referendum woke up sunday morning as ukrainian citizens and today, with the final signature from penalty putin, they became citizens of the russian federation. it was always going to happen. it was railroaded through, took five days. ever since the president spoke at this meeting in the kremlin tuesday and welcomed crimea and signed off on the treaty, it was

always going to happen. now what's next for crimea? that was president putin a few minutes ago. >> there's a lot of work ahead to adapt crimea to our legal system, our economy and social structure. i'm asking the state deputies and senators to switch to this work and do everything that is necessary for the process not only to take place without problems but also to help russia and crimeans in general. >> putin saying there's a lot of work to be done. what does this mean for ukrainians still living and stationed in crimea? will they have to leave the area? >> this is going to take some time. the president was talking about an incident allegation operation. it's going to last until january 1, 2015. of the ukrainians living in crimea, about 50% of them are in

fact people living there are in fact russian speakers. the others can stay. there is no forcible removal of ukrainians. this is where they live, where they can stay. are perfectly free to ali for russian passport. they'll have to get used to a new currency and there will be many, many changes in their lives. many possibly will want to move back to the rest of the ukraine, others will stay and see what the new life is like. president putin spoke to his security council today, and his priority there was really to try and normalize relations in crimea as soon as possible. they don't like seeing pictures of pro russian gangs wrecking offices and bursting on to ukrainian ships. they want to normalize and this is a process that will now

begin. >> that's peter shortstop reporting for us in moscow. let's go live now to brussels. rory, the e.u. signed this association agreement with kiev. what exactly is the association agreement? what does it involve? >> it's the very same thing that was due to the signed in november. of course it wasn't and that kicked off the whole protest movement that eventually led to the overthrow of the ukrainian government. what the european leaders here are at pains to point out is that this is just the beginning. this is essentially just the political framework. the economic economic meat of the agreement will follow. their also saying that in good faith, essentially, what they want to do is fast track some of the elements of this association agreement. essentially that means providing what they call a micro financial

stability. i suppose that means loans to the lay person and also break down some of the trade barriers that exist between the european block and ukraine so that the ukrainian economy can start to stabilize. that's very, very important to the european union. of course, this is not going to be a pain-free process for ukraine. there are strings attached, reforms that ukraine is going to have to put through it's own system, and that was what's i think that yanukovych was initially so antsy and that's what potentially kicked off the whole thing in the first place. the ukrainian government is going to have a change much of its economic system to fit in more closely approximate the european union. >> let's talk the e.u.-russian ties. that's strained already, imposing sanctions on some russian individuals, now considering a third stage of

sanctions? what is that about? >> the european leaders and angela merkel in particular have been talking about phase free sanctions for sometime. we have thought going into the summit we might get a better idea of those phase three sanctions. after the working dinner last night, when the sanctions were discussed, what came after it was not that much more specific than we knew going into it. that i think is something that was deliberate. the leaders here saying specifically that they want to keep certain things close to their chest. they don't want to reveal their hands too much to russia. actually those phase three sanctions haven't been drawn up yet as the european commission is tasked with doing that. essentially, rather than than the individual measures or measures against individuals, russians and ukrainians that are hit with travel bans and asset

freezes, phase three would be much broader, they would go after banks, after the whole russian economic system. >> we'll have to see how that actually affects russian's economy. thank you very much for that. >> news out of thailand, the country is in a political limbo without a full government after february's election was found to be invalid. the constitutional court made the ruling, which has further undermind embattled prime minister. we report from bangkok. >> it was a much awaited ruling, seen as yet another blow to the caretaker government which has been under pressure from the opposition to resign. >> after the government dissolved the parliament, the election was held in february. 28 constituencies did not take part because no candidates were

registered. therefore, the election he is could not be held on the same day across the country. >> that election was not only boycotted by the opposition, its supporters disrupted the poll. millions of voters were prevented from casting ballots. the government was hoping the election could contain the unrest in the streets. it didn't. now the election commission will have to set the date for a new poll. it could be months away. the protestors still camped out in a park and around government buildings in bangkok want an unelect the council to replace the government. the opposition believes the government is corrupt and has been buying votes to stay in power all these years. its spokesman told us: today's ruling shows the insistence on holding elections despite the lack of national readiness, the crux of the matter is not the date of elections, but ensuring the election are free, fair and clean. the court ruling presents the opportunity for thailand to implement the necessary reforms

to achieve this so that we can all move forward today as a nation. >> the opposition reversed to tell us whether they would take part in a new election or not, but it seems from the statement it released there could be an opportunity to resolve this crisis. street protests have enforced the caretaker government to resign. the prime minister could be forced out of office if courts rule against her in a number of corruption cases, but the ruling party insists that even that won't lead to the government's collapse. >> the prime minister has support on the streets, wales held in many areas of the country and some straw defend her. so far, they have avoided rallies in bangkok, but haven't ruled that out. both sides want to avoid more confrontation. a political deal may be the only way to prevent that. >> to egypt now where thousands

of anti coo protestors are out on the streets for a third straight day. at least one person has been killed in these protests. we report. >> this is an anti coup rally in the district south of cairo. it's been echoed also here. protestors raised the four finger symbol and chanted anti-government slogans. a coalition of anti coup groups with ties to the muslim brother hood movement, on top have its lift of demands, justice for protestors killed by security forces after the coup against mohamed morsi, a return to what the group calls constitutional legitimacy and reactivation of the democratic process, which the coalition believes to have been aborted by the military

since the coup. the military-backed government dissolved the muslim brotherhood movement and declared it a terrorist organization. supporters of movement have vowed to reverse that decision and called for the protests to continue until the end of march or until their demands are met. there have been protests this week, not only south of cairo, but also in the far flung cities in the north and south. the government that stepped up security measures and several protestors were killed or wounded wednesday and thursday. there are no indications yet those security measures are able to silence the protestors. >> we're joined in the studio by the assent professor, thank you very much for joining us on the show. now these are on going protests.

they are usually small in comparison to previous months, shall we say, but are you sue hing a growing momentum of protests, are the numbers getting big officer. >> yes, definitely. a lot of people in egypt have lost their beloved ones, to all the mothers of those martyrs, especially like that young guy just killed today, to all those mothers, we just want to wish them a happy mother's day. >> that's lovely of you, on to the protests now. >> i totally believe that the process is picking up, because there is a lot of things on the ground changing. one thing that the coup when started, they claim that there will be prosperity, there will be more freedom, more democracy, and what we will have been witnessing on the field, on the ground is the total opposite. t.v. channels, media were blocked from day one.

anybody who's protesting videoing on the streets would be shot dead. ten people have been killed. today, starting one shot dead. anybody who go against the line of the coup is singled out as being a traitor. >> there is a lot of frustration and anger, no doubt on the streets. from your answer, i take it you're seeing more of a momentum of this growing. >> absolutely. >> the question is who is listening, and what is the impact of these protests? will they have any impact? >> definitely. i believe that those people who are in the streets and who are sacrificing their blood and giving their energy and giving their life for what them the freedom, they are willing. it's going to take some time, because here we are faced with a military rule and the military rule, they don't listen. we have an order and they want

to obey. they are wrong, because they are holding a country. you are not running an army battle, you are running a country. we will negotiate and discuss with one another. you find a lot of people are not accepting this. there is a lot of problems in economy, the billions taken from emirates, saudi arabia, other countries are wasted and so many other things, so people not only the muslim brotherhood, people in the streets are just joining and feeling that it's time that this coup would fall. >> thank you very much for being with us on the show. >> 83 days since aljazeera journalists have been held in a cairo prison. correspondent, and producers are accused of having links with a terrorist organization and spreading false news.

the next court appearance is on march 24. another journalist from a sister station has been in custody for more than six months. aljazeera rejects all charges against its staff and continues to demand their immediate release. >> in the news ahead on aljazeera, turkey's twitter ban, the prime minister wants the site wiped out, but now a powerful ally has added his voice to the opposition. >> japan's search for an underground nuclear waste dump, but is burying this problem really the solution? >> in sport, pakistan and india get ready to face rivalries. we will have the story. >> afghan police are trying to work out how gunman were able to get into a highly secure hotel and shoot nine people dead.

the kaboom attack is the latest in a violence campaign by taliban fighters ahead of next month's elections. infer sob reports from the capitol. >> gunfire inside kabul's most prominent hotel. afghan security forces stormed the compound within 20 minutes, but four attackers had already opened fire on civilians in the restaurant. >> the attackers were killed in three hours. afghan security forces, unfortunately nine people were also killed by the attackers. four of them foreigners from new zealand, one from canada, and one from pakistan and india. also, five others were afghans, among them two children and two

women, and there were six others wounded in this attack. >> people nearby said they were worried about the growing intensity of attacks in the past few months. >> we want the government to pay serious attention to the security of our people in the capitol and provinces, recently our enemies increased attacks on the country, resulting in the killing of our people. >> the hotel was full. with presidential elections in two weeks, it's a busy time. some say it is those elections which spurred the taliban increased attacks. the group quickly claimed responsibilities for the killings. its fighters got past tough security, sneaking handguns and bullets into the hotel, sending a message to foreigners and afghan that is nowhere is safe in afghanistan. jane ferguson, aljazeera, kabul, afghanistan. >> twitter may now be officially

blocked in turkey, but the countries own president has been among those to use the site to voice his opposition to the ban. turkey's court blocked people from logging in to twitter, following a declaration by the prime minister that he wants to wipe out twitter. >> can you imagine there are international conspiracies? twitter, we have a court order now. we will wipe out all of these. the international community can say this, that, i don't care at all. everyone will see how powerful the republic of turkey is. >> thank you very much for joining us on the show. this twitter ban is just the latest issue where the prime minister and the president don't see eye to eye. are we seeing a split in the

party? >> i'm not sure that much about that, but you are certainly right, the president tweeted himself, he certainly today that complete bans were not the solution. it was the same president who signed into law the bill that gave the government to be able to bend the site just a month ago. as national lawyers here in this country, however, mr. president, although he knew very well about the potential implication of that bill, he sign that had bill into law. therefore this ban is certainly not unexpected. >> it's very ironic, isn't it? >> this twitter ban comes 10 days just ahead of the local elections. do you see this affecting the act party performance in anyway?

>> in the first place, although they tried to ban this site, true mod fires, quite a few people still do have access to it. you follow interns of trying to find ways to by pass ban. the government is desperate to try and the concur, clamp down on use concerning the corruption scandal. last december object 17th of december, a corruption scandal erupted in turkey, a very comprehensive one, including figures such as the prime minister himself, his son, four of his ministers, et cetera. this that an international dimension, as well. there are rumors of money laundering concerning the iranian money received through illegal trade of iranian oil, et cetera. these corruption scandals may

not be concealed with such bans. >> i want to focus a little more object the act party itself and that seeming disagreement, as well with that are we seeing a sight for leadership, for power here. >> those may be the first steps of the seeds of a fight, you are certainly right. there is a first crack, very clear crock right now. a religious movement, now they are in an open war with the prime minister himself. this is the very first and important step. he is known to be closer.

that might be why he tries to distance himself from the prime minister. he wants to reflect a more international image, seen as an international face of government. therefore, he understands very well possible -- the potential implications of internationalized operation. here lice the main risk for turkey. the prime minister himself as you just broadcasted, seems to read everything that is taking place right now in turkey through the lens of an international conspiracy. the conspirator yell reading is the very classic hallmark of totalitarian government. there seems to be action -- >> right. i do apologize, but we are running out of time. we do thank you sincerely for

your insight. >> in a string of suicide attacks in iraq, at least 50 are killed and 80 injured, including 12 members of the security forces in a village north of baghdad. suicide bomber drove a tanker with explosives into a con joy including the chief of the rapid deployment police force. in rimadi, 12 people were killed. >> search planes flying over a remote southern patch of the indian ocean again failed to find any trace of the missing malaysia airlines flight 370. five aircraft headed out friday to comb the waters. we have more from perth. >> this was the first of the

australian military planes to return to base. no one onboard this aircraft saw anything of significance. when the planes left perth in the morning staggered every couple of hours. there are still for more aircraft still due to return. it's a four hour flight just to get to the search air. the planes have two hours search time before turning around to come back again, so a mammoth task. thursday, the search was done mainly by radar. the weather was pretty poor. it improved on friday, so much searching is being done by human beings looking out windows. these planes any very low. those responsible for them say if there is something down believe where they're searching, it will be seen. australian acting prime minister said friday that it is possible that the objects seen by satellite floating last sunday

may by now have sunk. maybe the big ones might have sunk, but there might be smaller items to find. while this is just about the most remote spot on the face of the earth, if there's something out there, these planes and the ships heading to the search area, the prime minister said, will find it. >> news of a possible tropical storm developing. >> that's right. we've got and get system developed just to the east of the philippines. that's one we're keeping a close eye on for the weekend. we're going to see heavy rain coming through. you can see that massive cloud just to the east where it's swirling away, continuing to make its way further westward as we go on through the next couple days. in for a wet weekend. we've seen heavy rain. this is just to the northeast of tacloban. some of these places could easily see another

200 millimeters of rain. that has the potential to cause major problems. swirling away there, lots of very wet and windy weather coming through. go into sunday, that system will make its way further northward and westward. a thoroughly wet weekend coming in here. we have we've got rather wet weather affecting indonesia. to the out of here, tropical sky clone making its way away from the area. that's been bringing heavy rain. it's going stay wet through the weekend. >> still ahead in the second half of this aljazeera news hour, we look at the rising pro independence tide in venice as they prepare for an unofficial referendum. >> another step towards becoming

governor's number one. we'll have that story.

>> welcome back. russian president vladimir putin signed a treaty making crimea a part of russia. ukraine and e.u. signed an association agreement strengthening ties. >> thailand's votes didn't

happen on the same day and are considered invalid. >> thousands of anti too protestors took to the streets in egypt. national protests began on wednesday. >> more now on our top story, the crisis in ukraine with russia officially absorbing crimea and ukraine strengthening ties with the west. a resolution to the cries seems as far away as ever. the u.n. prime minister is urging the sides to talk. >> every move made by ukraine and its western partners is now matched in retaliation by moscow. in brussels, european union leaders met for a second day in order to speed up an entrench ukraine's move westwards.

everything is in the making, from legal reform to individual rights. this should end the rampant corruption that has plagued ukraine for years and putting the country on a closer footing with the european union. >> this is a historic day for my country and we believe this is a historic day for the entire europe. we want to be a part of the european family. >> it recognizes the aspirations of the people of ukraine to live ape country governorred by values, democracy and the rule of law. >> >> the annexation of crimea has been achieved effortlessly. even if the outside world doesn't recognize it at legal, the upper house of russian parliament ratified it. the vote was unanimous, as expected. >> i call on all members of both houses of parliament to actively engage in this effort and make

everything possible for this pros to continue painlessly and be fruitful for the whole of russia and crimea. >> the head of the united nations turned up in kiev, pushing for negotiations. with a sudden collapse between russia and ukraine, this is like pushing uphill. >> this can only be resolved based on the principle of united nations charter, including respect for the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of ukraine. >> mean while in the new russian crimea, the standoffs continue at military bases, the russian foreign minister posted that russia was going to try to get back $11 billion for renting the

base, arguing that it is now russian territory. kiev it will see it as adding insult to injury. >> for more on ukraine's move towards the west, i'm joined by andy hunger, the director of the ukrainian issues substitute. thank you for inning us on the show. ukraine gets to realize its association with the e.u. just how significant is this? what does the association agreement actually mean for kiev? >> the symbol. >> of today's events are massive. it's four months to the day that the protests sparked off in kiev. it was actually the fact that former president yanukovych moved away from signs this agreement with the e.u. what is important to understand as said today, it's about the values, the values of human dignity, freedom of speech, rule of law. this is a real step in a

direction for a future of ukraine, which will be based on that rule of law and standing up against the corruption that ruled the country for so many years. >> all right, let's look at it on the other side. you've set out the freedom of speech, the freedom in ukraine, what about the other side? what does the e.u. get out of this agreement? >> well, the e.u. in fact, when it gets, ukraine is the second largest country in europe, and it gets on its borders next to it, a country who's values are based on exactly that. i think what's the main focus here is the values. and it's much better country has the values of freedom of speech, rule of law as opposed to be based on a tyranny run by a particular tater. i think it's very, very important what has happened. i think it's a win-win both for

e.u. member states and ukrainians, who over 100 people. >> idealogically it sounds good. is the e.u. prepared for the financial impact of being associated with kiev. >> i think this will be on both sides. i think kiev hasn't pope interns of its financial demands towards moscow. there are many assets in ukraine, the russian assets that will have liabilities to moscow also. i think that will be balanced out. in terms of any aid coming in, these will be loans which

ukrainians will pay back over the years. this is the new government in place, a pro reform government, a government that will focus very much on an anti corruption platform. the next two years will be difficult for ukrainians, as many countries have gone through reform. they understand that this will be difficult, gas prices will go up, generally, yes, but in the mid to long term, this is a massive step forward. >> great getting your insight. thank you so much, director of the ukrainian institute speaking to us from london. >> what if one of italy's most famous cities were no longer part of italy? venice used to be an independent republic for hundreds of years. now some want to go back to what they say were the good old days and break away from rome. we report on the unofficial independence referendum being held. >> a true venetian, his an as he

is stores lived here for more than 500 years. he chooses to fly the flag of the former maritime republic of venice rather than the italian colors. >> our city used to be the capitol of an empire and now its underdeveloped because our wale is in the hands of the state and distributed unequally. >> he's one of hundreds of thousands of residents of venice and surrounding region who voted in an unofficial referendum to break away from italy and go back to being an independent state. >> venice was the heart of a powerful republic that last in a thousand years. since it became part of italy, resentment towards rome has grown steadily. >> tourism and a strong industrial base have made it one of the wealthiest regions in italy. the network of independence movements that organize the vote say they are tired of seeing

their taxpayer money being washed away. >> we are victims of an open-air robbery. every year, 70 billion you're rose are paid in taxes and don't come back in any shape or form. >> not everyone in venice wants to break free from ili. >> it's acceptsless. we live in the european union. why would we want independence? >> my family is asking me to vote for independence but i'm not sure it's the right thing to do. >> the privately funded vote is not politically binding and not recognized by the italian government. organizers say they will appeal for the right to self determination and to keep the lions share of their wealth. >> suspected drug gang members have set fire to makeshift police stations in brazil. three so-called police

pacification posts were burned. they are trying to clean out the city before it hosts the world cup. >> running dry in brazil, suffering its worst drought with summer rains late. rations is happening in many cities, including sao paulo. normally it's 60% full at this time of the year. >> the drought is having a disastrous effect on brazil's farmers and coffee growers. it is the world's biggest coffee producer, but production has been cut 30%, and that could send the price of a cup soaring soon. let's go live now to rob reynolds, at a farm in the southeastern state. paint us a picture of how bad this drought is for the farmers

in brazil. >> if you look at the endless rows of coffee bushes hundred me, you'll see that they are green. this isn't the kind of drought that leaves every plant did he say indicated and brown, that dries up every stream bed, but it is the kind of drought that if you look closely that damaged the crop severely. a lot of the coffee beans which at this stage in growth should be fat and green are shriveled, turning red, some black, and will fall to the ground before they're ever harvested in a couple months time. this is very bat news for brazilian coffee farmers, bad news for the local economy here. it's bad for the brazilian economy and bad for every consumer who needs that cup of

coffee in the morning and who is going to find that it's going to be a little bit more expensive pretty soon. >> a drought, the worst in living memory, has struck brazil's coffee belt. how much rainfall have you had this year? >> we had 10%. that used to be in this period, december, january and february. we had just 10%. >> fifth generation coffee planter brouto is worried. >> these are not well formed. when you cut it in the middle, you see this part should be bigger. >> so the untrained eye, the coffee bushes on the plantation look green and glossy, a closer look shows how the beans are shuffling, some ripening to a red color far sue soon. others of black, having dried

up. a lake that just a year ago was full is now nearly empty. farmers say they'll probably harvest 30% less calf fee than expected, meaning higher prices for coffee drinking consumers all over the world. at the coffee warehouse, workers are dwarfed by coffee bags. brazil is the world's largest producer of coffee, providing 40% of the annual global supply. the price for futures of a, da means has surged this year. >> a could have fee taster and broker determines the quality of

each batch, matching growers with buyers and exporters. he bluntly assumed up what the drought will mean. >> interior quality, higher costs for producer and of course higher prices for consumers. >> he can only hold out so long without rain. >> if we have another dry season like this. >> nature has put brazil's coffee country in a predimment as bitter as the beans themselves. >> there are stockpiles wimp will loft and there will be a harvest in brazil, but it won't be anything like the normal year, so those price increases, again, are just going to be passed on to the consumer. exactly how much, and when the

prices going to rise, that we don't yet know. >> thanks very much. that's rob reynolds there, reporting for us from brazil. >> now, as japan prepares to restart nuclear power generation, there's a growing focus on the toxic waste produced. the government wants an underground disposal site. critics argue japan isn't a safe place to bury highly radioactive materials. >> japans northern most island is home to its most arresting beauty. it is a snow salad wonderland, complete with reindeer and less of a fit for the picture postcard, a controversial research facility. their office, hundreds of meters

below the surface. japan races somewhere to find its stockpile of highly radioactive waste. >> regardless of eventual energy policy, we already have spent fuel and it needs to be safely isolated. that's why this work is necessary. >> japan has more than 1600 canisters of lethal high-level waste like this model in temporary storage. along with 17,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel. with the prime minister's drive to restart the first of the countries idle reactors, that amount will grow. the fear is that despite a treaty banning the use off storage of radioactive material here, the need will simply become too pressing. the government has called off a decade long wait for a town to volunteer as the site. they will now try selection and financial persuasion instead. this area meets many preexisting

criteria. >> others argue nowhere beneath this seismically islands cab deemed safe for the next 100,000 years. 2014 marks an importance in this facility for testing methods of storing highly radioactive waste. they are already four years behind schedule, causing concern. >> those who oppose this area, becoming a permanent disposal site worry the longer the work goes on, the likelier it is it will be picked. previous problems at the site have been minimized and the sham created the fukushima disaster can't be trusted. >> it's all settled with money. if democratic procedures are taken and we lose anyway, we'll understand, but in japan, the

government is deceitful and underhand. >> japan is running out of time to deal with its nuclear waste problem. the government may feel beneath the beauty lice the solution. >> coming up, we've got a riddle. what had a beak, no teeth, clause and feathers all over? the chicken from hell. find out how this new discovery is establishing further links between dinosaurs and birds. >> in sport, the transformation complete, but why is the major league baseball season about to begin at a contradict ground in australia? find out after the break.

>> welcome back top here's a question to ponder. what would happen if a giant bird mated with an alligator? aljazeera's alan fisher has the answer. >> it stood more than a meter and a half tall, weighed 200 kilos. it had a beak, no teeth, claws and felters. say hello to the world's newest dinosaur. >> imagine a career that is sort of a cross between an enu and an alligator, so a bizarre creature covered in feathers, long tail, head with this tall, tall crest on it, a big large beak in front, large eyes, and then long arms and long legs.

>> it is around 68 million years old. fragments of the skeleton were found in the hall creek formation, giving the discovery the nickname the chicken from hell. over three sites, scientists put together 80% of the skeleton. that gives them an idea of what this dinosaur may have looked like. it probably ate vegetation and passing crane. >> almost every time you find a new dinosaur, it seems to represent something different, something new and different. every once in a while, you find something that is just completely out of sight, a creature like this or certain other dinosaurs that have been discovered in recent years, we go and think like this is really something sort of weird thing that evolution cooked up here. >> the discovery of this bird

like creature establishes a link between dinosaurs and birds, another piece in the jigsaw of the evolutionary chain. alan fisher, aljazeera washington. >> i didn't expect the chicken from he will to look like that. >> i wouldn't know what a chicken from hell would look like. not really like that, i suppose. >> take it away with sport. >> we've had the quarter finals of the champions league. winning the trophy, it will be the only way the struggling united side will be able to qualify for next season. not the favorites to win as they did in 1999. >> an all spanish quarter final class. real madrid hosting last season's finallest. chelsea manager getting ready

for a game against paris. >> with everything they represent, maybe they look at the draw and look at us and maybe man united, because they are not having a great season maybe to look at us. >> we also now know the full lineup for the semifinals of the biggest club tournaments in north and central america. the final team won 2-0 to seal their progress. goals here, the first leg. that was enough for a place in the semis. they will now face mexico.

>> the netherlands have produced a big upset to qualify for the cricket's competition. underway with all the top countries involved in this game with pakistan just getting underway. 22-1 after five overs. >> we beat them and obviously the conditions there also really suit their style. it's going to be crucial for us

how we play this one. >> three weeks away in defending champion, adam scott in great form. victory at the arnold palmer invitational. tiger woods is replaced as world number one before the masters. the australian has a three shot lead after tying the course record with this opening round. >> andy murray will begin defense of his title this friday against the australian. >> that was the time required to i think make a difference, you know, is more than than what he

could offer right now. >> the major league baseball season gets underway saturday in australia, the first time the season opener that been played in the southern hemisphere. it's required quite a change at one of the world's most famous contradict venues. >> it took 10 days to transform the cricket grounds for baseball. two of the top 10 teams in the united states, the los angeles dodgers and arizona diamondbacks will play each other here in the opening games of the major league baseball season. >> it's amazing. first thing we did, came in here and everybody was in awe. it's a great spot. >> as well as the major league games, exhibition matches have been taking place against an australian all-star team. in a country with cricket is the predominant game, players who play baseball is rare.

>> it's pitch and hit and that sort of thing in baseball and do you hit six and that kind of thing, why do you have to wear a glove. >> previous series openers have been played in japan, mexico and puerto rico. >> we're like any other sport of business who wants to expand the game, want to expand the business of baseball, the brand, the development of baseball internationally. >> to sydney, the exposure is an opportunity. the exact figure is a commercial secret, but the state government of new south wales that paid between $1 million and $10 million to host these games. >> there will be a direct visitor impact for our economy, which we anticipate will be substantial. of course that great benefit that you can't measure in dollars. the tangible benefits of all those people around the world, seeing what goes on here in new south wales and australia. >> there has been a big baseball

game before, 100 years, abthe chicago white sox played the new york giants in an exhibition game. baseball's got a lot bigger since then. aljazeera. >> cincinnati reds pitcher aroldis chapman has to have a metal plate inserted in his plate after being seriously injured in a spring training game. >> hits the pitcher! >> chapman hit just above the left eye, but his during says he's been relatively lucky. the 26-year-old could be back on the mound pitching by the end of may. you can check that out aljazeera.com/sport. >> thanks very much. stay with us here on aljazeera. we've got another full bulletin of news for you right at the top

of the hour.