come our way in 2014. hello and welcome to the news hour. it's official, vladimir putin signs the deal finalizing russia's take over the crimea. >> it was put together in 10 days. >> the ukraine with an agreement on closer ties. >> a reporter, his wife, and two of his children are among nine people killed in an attack on an afghan hotel.

>> and i am marian with more news from europe, including could venice become an island away from italy? why some want the city to seven ties and become its own state. >> i i will be here with all the day's sport, including reaction to the champions league quarter finals draw with last year's winners bayern munich up against manchester you nighted. ♪ ♪ the russian president vladimir putin has signed the law making crimea part of the russian federation. that follows what david cameron has says is a referendum to the presence of russian soldiers on the streets when crem cry knee s

voted. lawrence lee reports. >> reporter: for every action there is a reaction. every move by ukraine and its western partners is now being matched in retaliation by mosc moscow. in butsings european leaders met for a second day in order to speed up and en cell of ukraine. from legal reform to consumer rights, all should end the rampant ca runnings as well as putting the conduct are a closer footing with the european union. >> this is an historic day for my country and we believe for the entire europe. we want to be a part of big european family. >> it recognizes the at operations of the people of ukraine that want to live with a country of value, governed by the rule of law. >> reporter: the russian president is entirely immaterial pervious of that.

his country's an ex-sake of crimea has taken place in less than a ma. month. so it is. and as you would expect the votes was unanimous. >> translator: i call on all members of both houses of parliament to engage in this effort and make everything possible for this process to continue painlessly and be fruitful for the whole of russia and crimea. >> reporter: the head of the united nations turned up in keif once again putting for negotiations. given the sudden collapse in relations between the west and moscow it's like pushing water up the hill. >> this current crisis can only be resolved through peaceful, diplomatic solutions based on the principle of the united nations charter including respect for the territorial

integrity of ukraine. >> reporter: meanwhile in the new russian cremia. the standoffs continue at military bases. the russian prime minister who was president obama's new best friend posted that russia was going to try to get back $11 billion from ukraine for renting the navel base he argued it's now russian territory. no doubt ukraine won't pay, but kiev will see it as adding insult to injury. let's take you live to moscow now as you can see, there you can see the kremlin just there, and the fireworks. clear celebrations at the a arrival of the knew member in the fold. crimea is now part of the rush en federation something that go hugely popular in russia. vladimir putina the president riding high in the polls. so that's the scene in moscow live. our correspondent is in brussels and he has the latest among the

u.e. leaders. >> reporter: e.u. leaders have been at pains to stress this is only the opening act in the association agreement. it's just the political framework that's been signed here in brussels and the actual economic meat of the agreement is to follow. as a gesture of good faith and also very importantly to stabilize the ukrainian economy, they are fast tracking certain elements of that. like loans to kiev and also the removal of trade barriers so that ukrainian economy can start to move more freely. it's not going to be a pain-free process, though, for kiev, because there are many tough economic and political reforms that it will have to implement over the coming months. >> now the taliban has claimed respond for an attack on a highly secure hotel in the afghan capital kabul. nine people were shot dead. including a reporter for the

french news agency afp, his wife, and two of his children. as they celebrated the persian new year. jane ferguson reports now from kabul. >> reporter: gunfire inside kabul's most prominent hotel. hosting diplomats, government officials and journa journalist. it's close to the presidential palace. afghan secure if security forco the hotel. but four attackers had already opened fire on civilians in the restaurant. >> the attackers were killed in three hours by the security forces, unfortunately, nine people were also killed by the attackers. four of them foreigners from new zealand. one from canada, pakistan and india. five afghans, two children, two women.

and they were six others wounded in this attack. >> reporter: people nearby said that they were worried about the growing intensity of attacks in the past few months. >> translator: we want the government to pay serious attention to the security of our people and nba the capital and provinces because recently our enemies have increased their attacks in the country which has resulted in the killing of our people. >> reporter: the hotel was full, with presidential elections in two weeks, it's a business time for hotels like this. and some say, it's those elections that have spurred the taliban to increase its attacks. the group quickly claimed responsibility for the killings. its fighters got past tough security at this arena, sneaking handguns and bullets in to the hotel. sending a message to foreigners and afghans that nowhere is safe in a afghanistan. jane ferguson, al jazerra, kabul, afghanistan. a string of suicide attacks in iraq have killed at least 50

people and injured 80 others, they included at least 12 members of the security forces in a village just north of the bag daled. a suicide bomber drove a tanker laden with explosives in to a convoy which included the chief of the rapid deploy. police force. elsewhere, in rue ma ramadi, 10e were killed on another attack on a funeral procession, nine people were killed in two suicide car bomb attacks at police checkpoints. they just one person as been killed during a third successive day of protests against the coup which toppled mohamed morrisey. >> reporter: a police car in flames, another day of violence as protesters clash with police in the egypt capital. the protests which were nationwide, were calling for the release of students from prison and for ousted muslim brotherhood president m mohammad

morrisey tmorsi to be returned o president. friday is the third day in the 11-day campaign launched by the national alliance for support. a coalition of groups with ties to the muslim brotherhood movement. they believe the country is in the grip of a military coup. on top of their list of demands, justice for the protesters killed last year by security forces. a return to what the group calls constitutional legitimacy and, for a democratic egypt. something they believe the army have blocked. the military-backed government has did solved the military brotherhood movement and declared it a terrorist organization. it has been a week of protests not only in cairo and alex alexa but the far cities in the north and a few in the south. the government has responded with more security on the streets, so far several protesters have been killed or

wounded. the police are braced for more arrests as the demonstrations continue. al jazerra. well, it's now 83 days since three al jazerra journalists have been held in a cairo prison. correspondent peter, along with producer muhammad and mohamed are accused of having links with a terrorist organization and of spreading false news, their next court appearance is on marc march 24th. aanother man has been in custody for more than six months, al jazerra rejects all charges against its staff and continues to demands their immediate release. turkey's president and the prime minister are ahead logger heads over a ban on twitter. the president says blocking the social media website is unacceptable. but the prime minister, accuses twitter of breaching privacy and ignoring court orders.

omar has more from us seda it's. >> reporter: many twitters user got this message when they locked on. >> reporter: a protection measure has been take phone this website. the state's communications regulator tib says it's a decision that was based on four court order against twitter. the government says twitter has ignored previous court orders to remove some web links. the decision came just hours after prime minister warned to wipeout the social media websi website. >> translator: can you imagine the internationa i want nation . we will wipe them out. the international community can say this or that. i don't carat all. everyone will see how powerful the republic of turkey is.

>> the kennedy prime minister said it was necessary. >> we have to do something and act. >> reporter: some people are still able to log onto twitter, including the president in some of his tweets he wrote only individual pages should be blocked if a court rules an individual's privacy has been violated. i hope the current block will not last long. but that is not going well with many here. >> that makes the people more angry. more politically active. so i think it's not very -- it's not very smart reaction. >> translator: banning twitter is entering the percentage space of people and limiting it. >> reporter: others supported the ban. >> translator: the government shut it down because of the leaking of voice regardless, i welcome it and i think they

should also ban facebook. >> reporter: at the heart of all of this is the corruption allegations that the government has faced since december. a series of videos, documents and wire tappings allegedly for the prime minister and his family were leaked on different social media websites. prime minister says it was code for moral montage and has denied all the allegations. the government says social media websites including twitter, facebook and youtube have turned in to platform used to spread lies and smear campaigns, but critics say the government is trying to block further corruption allegations and silence did h descent. still to come australian aircraft fly home without any trace of the missing malaysian jet. is it a good idea to barry

japan's nuclear west. some say definitely not. coming up in sport, two of cricket's fiercest foes, india and pakistan go head to head in the world 20/20. more people are fleeing from syria, russia and afghanistan than any countries on earth. that's a court today the u.n. they say over 612,000 pima plied for a sl asylum in 2014. that is also by more than a quarter since 2012. more people immaterial came from sear january than anywhere else,

56,400 more than double the previous year, what's really surprise big this year's report is the unprecedented a sigh laurel seekers from rushing a, 76% higher than 2012. afghanistan dropped from first to third place, more than 30 a thousand people fled the country that's about down by 19%. lots of figures let's get an idea of what it means. we are talking to jessica who is in oakland, california, director of globalling policy with asylum access. thank you for talking to us here at al jazerra. as i mentioned there is a raft of figures and information there, but what really leaps out at you from this report? >> hi and thank you so much for having me here today. initially what we thought is the

numbers are very disturbing trends and we are seeing increases in syrians and russians who are applying for asylum in industrialized nations. one key element of the report to remember is that it really does folk news on it folks on industrialized nations. not a global report. we are seeing an increase in asylum seekers but the 40,000 russians seek ago sig seeking ab represent one quarter of 1% of refugees globally. >> so the vast majority of people are actually just moving across borders without any official processing? >> one example might be lebanon and jordan which hosts approximately a million 500,000 refugees respectively. in toss countries refugees come across so fast that they are recognized am prima facia

refugees so they don't go through the individual a sigh looms proceedings but the numbers are inning spreadbly higincredibly high.there are 16. they are in africa, asia and latin america and tend to stay in exile for an average of 20 years at this point. while increased numbers are concerning browse they increase the numbers of overall refugees today it's a slightly different picture when you look at the global trend in total. >> jessica, people have always moved, haven't they? people since we first a righ red oergt wonearth searching for ber conditions what does it tell us today when we see a large number of people on the move? what are the circumstances that lead to that phenomenon?

>> sure. applying for asylum and refugees status means that an individuall has left their country because of persecution in the home country. so what we are seeing them are the numbers grow and grow and grow. what that indicates is more people are moving because of conflict and rears cushion than for other reasons like economic migration. >> all right, jessica, global policy director with asylum access. talking to us live from california thank you so much for your time and explaining some of the numbers to us. well, as you have been hearing this is the first time that syria has topped the list, more than two and a half million people have fled the fighting even those that have escaped are not necessarily safe. five people have been killed after fighting in the northern lebanese city of triply.

supporters clashed in the city. 50-kilometers from the syrian boredder. the deaths are the latest in the rounds of fighting between gunmen in a sunni district and annal white neighborhood. government forces are making large gains in the west of the country. charles reports. >> reporter: this video was filmed by journalists on tour with the military. it was reportedly shot on march the 20th. >> reporter: four days after the syrian army it said had recaptured the town from rebels link today al qaeda al jazerra cannot independently verify the video. it shows weapons and ammunition who says belong to fighters who deserted their positions. this is reportedly a nearby base the army regained control here on march 19th. those residents interview on camera at least expressed relief

that the military is in control. >> translator: when they told me that the army is here i said finally. i am relieved today. i slept calmly. >> reporter: the sear yearn army has fighter from southern lebanon have made significant games in this strategically important region. the military says before the fighters fled it was one of the last rebel-held towns in the area. it's difficult to say exactly how great the gains made by the army and pro government forces across the country are. in june last year government forces and hezbollah fighters recaptured the town also close to the lebanese border. the military then launched more strikes taking control of previously held rebel areas in

damascus and rebels have lost ground in and surrounding the major cities. on thursday, the army said it had recaptured the ancient fortress. a pro government tv station aired these pictures reportedly showing soldiers on the 900 near old citadel's battle. s. the latest in a string of what the government describes as victories after more than three years of a conflict that according to a syrian rights group has killed more than 140,000 people. charles stratford, al jazerra. all right, let's take you now to the crimean capital. earlier we are seeing celebrations in moscow this is in crimea. people are out on the streets celebrating fa va wladimir putin's signing in to official law the incorporation of crimea as part of the russian federation. so the annexation has been completed. and the land mass of ukraine is a very different shape today

than it was a month ago. so that's a scene live in the crimean capital. well, now let's go to thailand where there is political limbo after its constitutional call annulled last month's general election. the poll was ruled unconstitutional because there was no voting in several constituency where opposition supporters presented candidates from registering. dana reports now from the capital bangkok. >> reporter: it was a much-awaited ruling. seen as yet another blow to the caretaker government which has been under pressure the opposition to resign. >> translator: after the government dissolved the parliament last year the new general election was held on the second of february. 28 constituencies did not take part in the election because no candidates were registered therefore the elections could not be held on the same day across the country. >> reporter: that election was not only boycotted by the

opposition, its supported disrupted the poll. millions of voters were prevented from casting their ballots, the government was hoping the election could contain the unrest in the streets. it didn't. now they have to set a new date for a poll that could be months away. the protesters still camped out want an unelected council to replace the government. they believe the government is corrupt and has been buying vote to his stay in power all these years. its spokesman told us, today's ruling shows the administration's insistence on holding elections despite the lack of national readiness. the crux of the matter is not the date of elections but insuring the elections 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 refuse today 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 and it 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 collapse. they have support on the streets. rallies have been held in many years areas of oareas of countre sworn to defends her and the government they voted in to the office. so far they have avoided rallies in bangkok but haven't ruled it out. both sides they they want to avoid more confrontation. a political deal may be the only way to prevent that. al jazerra, bangkok. now 6.7 magnitude earthquake has struck off india's islands. the u.s. geological service

reported that the quake hit a relatively shallow depth of 10-kilometers. it was centered about 110-kilometers southeast of the islands that lie between india and thailand. as japan prepares to begin nuclear power generation again, there is increased focus on the long-term problem what to do with the nuclear waste. the government wants to find an underground disposal site. but campaigners say japan is not a safe place to bury highly radioactive materials. ferry reportmaterials. harry reports from an underground research facility. >> reporter: japan's northern most island is home for some of its most beauty. in winter a snow-clad wonder lands complete with reindeer and a controversial nuke al research facility. inside we take the lift with staff of japan's atomic energy agency to their office, hundreds of meters below the surface.

the complex of tunnels contain censors monitoring the geologist and water. as they look to find someplace to stock mile their nuclear waste. >> we have spent fuel and it needs to be safely isolated that's why this bourque is necessary. >> reporter: japan has more than 1600 canisters of lethal high-level waste like this mod until temporary storage. a long with 17,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel. and with the prime minter's drive to restart the first of the 48 idle reactors that amount will only grow. the sphere that despite a treaty banning the use or storage of radioactive material here, the need will come too pressing. the government has called off a decade-long wait for a town to volunteer as a permanent site and will now try selection and financial persuasion instead.

this place meets many preexisting criteria. >> as a final disposal site even though they haven't decided that in the future. >> reporter: but others argue nowhere beneath this size mickly active chain of islands can be ruled suitable or indeed sieve for the next 100,000 years. 2014 marks an important year in the life of this facility. where they go from testing the geology of the rocks around here to testing methods of storing highly radioactive waste. in terms of the excavation they are already four years behind schedule. and that's causing some concern. those who oppose this area becoming a permanent disposal site worry that the longer the work goes okay the likelier it is it will be picked. dairy farmer and counselor says previous problems at the site have been minimized and that the system that created the fuchs fukushima disaster can't be trusted. >> translator: japan's nuclear policy is not democratic, it's all settled with money. if democratic procedures are taken and we lose anyway, we'll

understand, in japan the government is deceitful and under hand. >> reporter: japan is running out of time to deal with its nuclear waste problem, the government may feel that beneath the beauty and remote north lies the solution. harry faucet, al jazerra, japan. we have a lot more to come here at the news hour including an alarming rise in rape cases s in nigeria, many of the victims are young girls. ♪ ♪ and we'll hear the voice of the opposition in b burundi: ad world cup issues again in the spotlight as fees a's executive committee gatherings. find out about that later in he sports.

laurel seekers from rushing a,

>> scared as hell... >> as american troops prepare to leave afghanistan get a first hand look at what life is really like under the taliban. >> we're going to be taken to a place, where they're going to make plans for an attack. >> the only thing i know is, that they say they're not going to withdraw. >> then, immediately after, an america tonight special edition for more inside and analysis. >> why did you decide to go...

>> it's extremly important for the western audience to know why these people keep on fighting... ...it's so seldom you get that access to the other side. >> faultlines: on the front lines with the taliban then an america tonight: special edition only on al jazeera america >> join us on consider this... >> president jimmy carter joins antonio mora >> my administartion has a very strong human rights element. >> his perspective on the conflicts facing the world in the state of america. on al jazeera america ♪ ♪ these are the top stories here at al jazerra. i am martin. there have been sill operations in moscow after russia officially annexed crimea. pled vladimir putin signed a

treaty making it part of the russian federation. the taliban has claimed responsibility for an attack on a hotel in the afghan capital kabul. a french news agency reporter his wife and two of these children were among nine people killed in the attack. turkey's president and prime minister are at logger heads over a ban on twitter. the president says a move by the prime minister to block the social media website is unacceptable. search planes have returned to base after again failing to find any trace of the missing malaysian airlines jet. >> reporter: they are combing a remote patch of the indian owner after satellites spotted debris. from perth western australia, here say report. >> reporter: families know that news could confirm their fears but an absence of news is perhaps worse and that was all friday brought.

the focus of the search is now the ocean off australia. the focal point of activity an air force base just to the north of perth. planes took off on a staggered basis to make the most the daylight and immaterial proving weather. but as the first returned, those on board reported nothing despite conditions significantly better than thursday had been. >> we had really good weather compared to yesterday. the visibility was great no. rain in the area. we had really good opportunity, i think to see anything out there. >> reporter: the improved conditions mean a change in the nature of the search by eye from low-flying planes rather than relying on radar. >> although the search area is much smaller than we started with, it nonetheless is a big area when you are looking out the window and trying to see something by eye.

so we may have to do this a few times to be confident about the coverage of that search area. >> reporter: dusk on friday brought more disappointment. the objects spotted by satellite hadn't been seen by any on the planes. five area including this one were involved in friday's search. because of the distance of the search area from here on the mainlands it takes 10 hours of flying time to get just two hours of search time. as well as planes, shins are heading to the area. china is sending one of its search vessels. an australian navel boat should arrive on saturday. two commercial ships are already in the search zone. >> it is an extremely remote part of the southern indian ocean. it's about 3,000-kilometers southwest of perth. it's about the most inaccessible spot that you could imagine on the face of the earth. but if there is anything down there, we will find it.

we owe it to the families of those people to do no less. >> reporter: but for now, for those families, the wait goes on for news. even if it's news that they dread. andrew thomas, al jazerra, perth. all right, time for us to go over to our europe news bureau. here is myriam. yes, a vaccine against a debtsly form of meningitis is set to be made free for all here in the u.k. maybe is are most -- babies are most at risk of meningitis-b that can kill or lead them disabled. but it can kill as well where in the u.s. it is still not certified. >> reporter: sophia is in good health and just turned nine years olds but nearly died when she was two. >> instinctively as a parents i knew something was wrong. >> reporter: sophia got very ill, very quickly a strain of meningitis was to blame, it

didn't claim her life but took her leg. >> she without they wasn't going to make it through the first few days, two weeks down the line she recovered from innin intense care sadly she had to have a leg removed below the knee. >> reporter: a vaccine came too late. now it's to be offered free in the u.k. steve has spent years campaigning for that, his fought thought through tragic percentage experience. american inning quitmeningitis-y spencer 31 years ago. >> you believe that meningitis will never affect your family, but unfortunately it does. >> reporter: meningitis-b is most common in children under the age of five years old. especially babies, they are most at risk before their first birthday. now, here is what it does, the disease infects the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord and can cause severe brain damage, it can cause accept at that seem i can't. even death in the worse cases,

in fact one in 10 children who contract meningitis-b usually die. one in three are left in brain or skin damage or have to have a limb removed. it's an illness that affects children all over the world which is why the jack seen has been approved in europe, australia and in canada. but not in the u.s. which has led to pin like there in recent months, especially in new jersey, seven students came down with with meningitis-b in princeton. authorities shipped th shipped e in but as a temporary response. >> it's spread by sneezing coverings, kissing and so on. that's something that i believe university students do a certain amount of. >> reporter: meningitis-b is a parent's nightmare but one fewer are expected to go through for now on you. at least in the u.k. phil, al jazerra, london. ray london doctor is one of two people charged in the u.k.'s

first prosecution targeting female genital mutilation. it's alleged the doctor carried out an operation at a hospital in 2012 after a woman had given birth. from london kim reports. >> reporter: it was here in 2012 that prosecutors say a woman just hours after giving birth became a victim of genital mutilation. they say the woman had been a victim of h g.m. sometime before arriving at the hospital and alleged post birth a doctor sewed her up. the doctor had been accused of carry out h g.m. and encouraging it to be performed. forward is trying to change this. the director says it's not surprised it's taken so long for anyone to be charged. >> they see as i a as a sign of

chassity, viraginity. there isn't any appetite to see it as against the law. to see it as wrong and we need to have opportunities for people to know that really f g.m. is not action acceptable. >> reporter: female genital mute mutilation was made ill. illegal for the u.k. and for u.k. nationals to carry it out a proud. it's felt that secretary thousand have been the victims. but statistics are limited and the extent of the problem is no known. the crown pros cushion service t can only investigate cases brought by the police and few get that far. they say this prosecution regardless of whether it end in a conviction is a step forward. k, al jazerra, london. more than 4,000 my grants have been rescued in withouters

off italy within the last four days. if the italian navy picked up more than a thousand other friday and took them to a sicilian reports. one was dead on arrival and several others injured. it's one of the world's most famous tourist spots but some in venues want to breakaway from italy. an unofficial. >> referee: dumb closes on >> referee: ref dumb closes friday. it won't be recognized by the government. >> reporter: his ancestors have lived here for more than 5,000 yards, that's why he flies the flag of venues than the italian colors.

>> translator: our wealth in is in the hands of the states and distributed unequally. >> reporter: he's one of hupltz of thousands in venues who voted in an unofficial referendum to break way from italy and go back to being an independent state. venues was the heart of a powerful republic. since it became part of italy in eight seen 66 resentment towards rome has grown steadily. tourism and a strong industrial base have made venice one of the wealthiest regions in italy. the network of independent movements that organized the vote say this they are tired of seeing their tax payers' money being worked away. >> translator: we are victims of an open-air robbery. every year we taye 70 billion euros in taxes 20 billion are stolen by the eye an state because they don't come back in any shape or form. >> reporter: not everyone in venues wants to break frevenice.

>> it's senseless, we live in the european union why would we want independence. >> translator: my family is asking me to vote for independence but i am not sure it's the pride thing to do. >> reporter: it's not politically binding or recognized by the italian government. but organizers say they will appeal for the right of self determination and keep the lion's share of their wealth. claudio, al jazerra, venice. that's all from london for now, back to martin. myriam, thank you. let's go to nigeria where convicted child rapists could be jailed for life as part of government efforts to crack down on the rising number of sexual saults. 100 rape cases were recorded in just two months in the northern state. we met a young survivors as officials and community groups join force to his prevent others falling victim. >> reporter: she rarely looks up

when she speaks her voice always soft. her father says the six-year-old hasn't been talking and walking like herself since she was lured by a neighborhood and was raped at a construction. he allowed us to briefly talk to her we are not using her real name. >> translator: when i play with friends on the street they look at me differently. the same happens at school. >> reporter: the alleged attacker has been arrested and faces pro prosecution, one of ds said to go responsible for the rise of sexual assaults. most have been young girls under the age of 10 and that has caused widespread alarm. so much so that the government government has start ahead i media campaign. community groups have organized awareness session to his educate mother on his how to protect their children and themselves. a discussion that terms in to a form of group therapy as participants vent their frustrations. >> people are on drugs and people do not have a job and

think sex could be the alternative. i feel bitte bitter and it shoce to see a man of 70 raping a child of seven. a boy of 30 raping a girl of eight. >> reporter: there has been a steads increase in rape cases across nigeria. hero visuals say for the past two months, not a day has gone by without at least a case reported. something particularly unusual in a traditionally conservative society governed by islamic law. this is one of 12 states in the plus it up-dominated north that adopted state and federal law. it's morality police has been at the forefront of the fight against rape. >> the the laws initially were weak for the rape cases but the governor has given the attitude that the rape cases should be reviewed. and they are now reviewing the rape cases in the state house

assembly. >> reporter: the bill proposes increasing the current rape penalty of seven years in prison. rapists would be sentenced to life if the surviver is a mean or and 14 years in the case of an a dull. at this clinic which supports rape survivors. staff say the law cannot come soon enough. the exten extent of the sufferiy have seen lately is overwhelm overwhelming. now elsewhere in africa, a reggae bands is emerging as the unlikely voice of burundi's opposition voice called lion's story and hopes to inspire change about corruption, human rights and freedom of comprehension. a report from the capital on how the band is striking cord ahead of elections. >> reporter: the group, lions story, say their music a voice of protest in b burundi. practicing in a makeshift studio, they sing about

political instability and social change. >> many have been suffering of injustice, police brutality. the kind of situation which we are living in even nowadays, that's why everywhere you are, you feel that you need some freedom. you need some freedom and justice. >> reporter: things are tense in the country. the opposition party, the movement for solidarity and development, has been banned for four months. government officials say supporters are violent. of lion story's bad leader was once arrested for songs critical of the government. >> it did nothing. it was so unjustice. we did a trial, but nothing came from that.

passed five months in jail for no reason. >> reporter: but they keep seeping inspired by music greats like bob marley. >> i don't see then as troubles, i theme as situations that you have to concur, to face, you know. in life there are obstacles. >> reporter: julien is worried about next year's general elections. opposition parties say they will try to stop the president from running for a third term. >> in this situation the law. >> translator: the situation in burundi is getting worse because elections are coming. people are afraid to speak. people are getting killed. people are getting arrested. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: group lion story say they will keep singing their music for matter thousand gets. for them music is life.

♪ ♪ still to come in the al jazerra news hour, a major upset for australia's baseballers against one of the united states biggest teams. ♪ ♪

time for the sports news. >> martin, thank you so much. the fifa president says he will be returning to qatar soon as part a continued effort to monitor human rights in the country hosting the 2022 world

cup. they have slated a two-day meeting in switzerland that included talks with workers' rights organizations about qatar. fifa officials refuse to comments about allegations in corruption in the way the 2018 and 222 world cups were voted but they an ethics committee will carry out an investigation. >> i can only answer what i have said. the answers will come out in the interim national football and this problem is now dealt with by independent parties and let them deal with this problem. and once dealt, we'll come back and then we can have this dialogue about the responsibilities or not. >> even throw the brazil world cup is months way, talks in zurich were dominated by qatar. which is still eight years away. lee has more from london. >> there has been meetings throughout the week now the just the committee. but with workers rights leaders

and human rights representatives. it's been chaired by theo which is in a what i is controversial he will be critic of qatar, he's talked about it being one of the biggest mistakes in sport to award it to qatar. now he doesn't want. tournament taken away from qatar, just wants to improve the workers' conditions and that's why they will be making another visit to qatar before the world cup in brazil, before congress. as part of the monitoring process that's ongoing. that's not the only issue with qatar, it's also more allegations in an english newspaper. but those allegations didn't make a link between qatar 222 and mohamed who is mentioned as allegedly making payments for fifa official, jack warner, former official jack warner and them refuse to go answer the questions saying it's in the hands of the ethics committee. you might say that's convenient for him to say that. but that's what he has been able

to say and that will continues and he we can picture to hear results of that some time later this year. robin venture% is van persl wisconsin four weeks after a sprained knee. winning the trophy this season likely object to be the only way david moyes side can qualify for next season competition. they won't be the favorite to win as they did in the 1999 final. >> obviously thrilled that we are in the draw and the quarter final of the champions league, and after we were 2-0 down a week or so ago to olympiacos. there weren't many that thought we would be in the quarter finals. it in a lot of ways it didn't mind who we drew but we have drawn the favorites and the whole competition as well. it's a tough draw for us, but one i am looking forward to. >> mean while there is an old spanish -- all-spanish quarter final class with barcelona

taking on atletico madrid. real madrid posting borussia dortmund on april 2nd before the tie is decided in germany the following week. chelsea manager jose mourinho has to reprayer to psg and claims the two english teams cobb viewed as the weakest sides left in the competition. >> you have paris with everything that they represent, maybe they look at the draw and us and maybe they are not having a great season, maybe they look at us as the two -- as the two cubs that all of them want. >> within of cricket's fiercest rivalry's has been revived in bangladesh, india prepaled against pakistan the first game of the super tournament. pakistan were sent to bat and

can only manage 130 from their 20 overs. chasing down the target with nine balls remaining. the top stories in the 7-wicket victory on 36 out. pakistan has never beaten their rivals at a 2-20 world cup. i think the score we really want today score we couldn't really chief that. and as we were thinking at one stage, the wickets were in hand but unfortunately, 16, sieve 178 the momentum. we got that because of the partnership they couldn't continue that partnership, that's the reason i think we couldn't get that total what was in our minds. >> i think both sides are feeling the pressure so i am really happy. and i hold my pearl form's on this kind of match and i am really happy to be the way we win and the victory. >> the netherlands became the final team to qualify for the

super 10 after a stunning victory over ireland. a formidably 190 for victory they chased down the target in 13.5 overs that saw them jump from third to first in the group on net run rate. the irish and zimbabwe missing out. some of the most highest paid athletes in the world, but the arizona dye were u diamondbacksp stage. they were shutout 5-0 at the sydney cricket ground. the d-backs needs to go back to the drawing board ahead of saturday's major league baseball season opener against the l.a. dodgers. it's the first time the opening match has will have been played in the southern hemisphere and it's required quite a change to one of the world's most famous cricket venturvenues. >> reporter: it took 10 days to trans form the cricket ground in to an arena for baseball. this weekend two of the top teams in the united states, the

los angeles dodgers and arizona diamondbacks will play each other here in the openin openins of the major league baseball season. >> it's amazing. the first thing we did we came in here everyone was in awe. it's a great, great spot. >> reporter: as well as the major league game, exhibition matches have been taking place against an australian all-star team in a country where cricket is the predominant bat and ballgame. australians who play baseball are rare. >> the most common question i guess is do you bat or bowl. you know, it's pitch and hit and that sort of thing in baseball. and then they seydou hit sixes or and that sort of thing, why do you have to use a glove. >> reporter: showing baseball off is part of the reason the bibig teams are here, previous series openers have been in played in mexico and puerto rico. >> we are like any other sport or business. we want to expand the game and the business of baseball. we want to expand the brand and development of baseball internationally.

>> reporter: sydney, too, though, the exposure is an opportunity. the exact figure is a commercial secret. but the state government of new south wales has paid somewhere between one and $10 million to host these games. from. >> it will be the direct impactl be substantial and the great benefit that you can't mesh newer dollars, the tangible benefits of all the people armed the world seeing what goes on here in new south wales and australia. >> reporter: there has been a big baseball game before at the scg. 100 years ago the chicago white sox played the new york giants in an exhibition game. but baseball's got a lot bigger since then. elyse holman, al jazerra. there is much more sport on our website for the latest check out aljazerra.com/sports. that's it for me from now, martin back to you. >> thank you very much indeed. of course remember there is always the al jazerra website. but also more news coming up

soon.