>> >> referendum illegal, the u.n. condemns the russian-backed annexation of crimea. >> broadcasting live from our global news headquarters. you are watching al jazeera. also coming up on the program - sri lanka releases indian fisherman. >> the australian prime minister calls the egyptian president to ask for the speedy release of detained al jazeera journalist

peter greste. >> and conserving the coffee culture - why argentina wants a visit to a cafe to be part of its national heritage. >> the u.n. general assembly condemned russia's annexation of ukraine, calling it illegal. >> ukraine, and the member states support the general assembly resolution. 100 countries voted yes. there was intense lobbying on both sides. russia on the one hand, the other the united states, and self european nations. many member states addressed the general assembly. some called the referendum a violation of international law.

self-determination is a value all of us here today hail. we do so while recognising the critical foundational importance of national and international law. coercion cannot be the means by which a self determines. >> china chose to abstain, saying the vote would complicate matters. there were 11 in the no column. among those voting, russia, syria, cuba and venezuela, against the resolution. >> it is confrontational in nature. the draft questions the meaning of the referendum in crimea, which played a key and historical role. >> the general assembly resolution is non-bind, carries no legal weight and has no direct effect on the ground but is a reapplication of the international country.

moscow proved several times in the past, it's more than willing to go it alone. >> meantime the international monetary fund threw ukraine a financial life line worth up to 18 billion. the international monetary fund is requiring tough reforms. nick spicer reports from crimea. >> the outside money is critical to keep the government afloat and comes in a greater quantity that would have been thinkable before russia, as countries rush to keep ukraine from failing. the money comes with conditions. >> translation: the ukrainian government will not allow bankruptcy of the country. that's why we came with unpopular and difficult reforms, that should have been conducted 20 years ago, and we are offering the package to the parliament of ukraine. >> angry at the corruption in

the politics, demonstrators called for civilian oversight at the international aid. >> they are offering us a false dawn. this is a loan. it needs to be paid back. if the money is stolen, and taxpayers need to repay the loan, that would be unfair. >> the i.m.f. offer comes as a divisive figure. yulia tymoschenko freed from gaol has thrown her hat in the ring. walking on crutches because of back problems not properly treated in prison. rumoured to be a billionaire. the former prime minister sought to expel fears that she'd mark the return to politics. >> none of the politicians running for president understand the depth of lawlessness. nobody wants to end it as desperately as i do. >> it's expected that many crimean citizens will not vote.

polling stations will be set up under what is an unofficial border. that's a long trip. many are resigned to or embracing a new future. >> the sri lankan president ordered the release of a group of indian fishermen that had been detained for poaching three weeks ago. it follows india's decision not to back you u.n. war crimes. we are joined from columbo. the cynical conclude that is sri lanka's way of thanking india for note voting against the country on the u.n. human rights council. >> that's right. it's not just the cynical, the president who spoke to me, did say that the president's instruction, all fishermen be

released as soap as possible, following india's vote. yesterday india chose to abstain from the vote against sri lanka, calling for an international inquiry into war crimes allegations. how significant is india's decision then in the general scheme of things? ? >> it is a fairly important development. many people on the international scene in diplomatic circles believe that india would throw its weight against sri lanka in the resolution. indeed, the third resolution in three years. the first two in india voted, in terms of some of the language leading up to the vote, was that india may vote again. there's obviously been a lot of back-room negotiations. things that we cannot we ignored

and overall given the fact that b resolution was intrusive. it couldn't go forward. in terms of its place in the region, it's a big player in this south asian region, and worldwide and the fact that it has taken a policy position that this international investigation is an intrusion into sri lanka's affairs, and very much in terms of the stand it took that sri lanka must be allowed to go on with domestic mechanisms, putting markers down of what was expected of sri lanka to achieve, saying that the international mechanism was intrusive, abstaining from the vote and seen as a significant development, and its relations with its big brother across the sea. >> that report from colombo. thanks for that. >> youtube is the latest social

media website to be blocked following similar action. the government cited national security terms saying it han used to leak discussions. the prime minister had described that alleged audio leek as vial and cowardly. we have more frn istanbul. >> the turk ish foreign ministry says it's like a declaration of war. prime minister recep tayyip erdogan described it as an attack on the national security and vowed to secure those behind the leeks. all of this comes as the turkish government has been battling a corruption allegations since september 17th. social media websites were used to leak audio for the prime minister as well as members of

his government. now, the government and prime minister recep tayyip erdogan denied the accusations, and he said that his enemies were using social media website aimed at toppling his government. >> now, the bans on youtube and twitter angered some turks who will be voting for the first time in elections. turkey has bun of the youngest populations. they report on the issues that matter for then. >> these people come from different parts of turkey, but movement to istanbul to study at the university. they are activists from the republican people's party. they'll vote for the first time in their life. for them the election is about protecting personal freedoms. i think liberty is underestimated in turkey. >> over 6 million people will be eligible to vote. under the current government the number of universities increased

from 76 to 175 and tuition fees scrapped at all state universities, some students are unhappy. a large part of that is due to the reaction from the protests last june. >> the youth were united over freedom. it's a movement affecting the trees, going to the transaction of individual freedom. >> this is a professor of sociology and believes that the restrictions on social media sites will affect how people vote. >> we look at the statistics. these are from the digital generation. they are efficient, and they use twitter and facebook and are informed. >> the park has, in many ways, become a symbol for the turkey youth. those involving the government

says it's a testament to how the government carves freedom. others say it's an example of how the potential is more interested in writing than in economic development. >> among the supporters is this man with and his forehands. they volunteer, campaigning on social media sites, preparing material and organising ahead. polls. >> in turkey the opposition needs to learn that you can't get anywhere with violence. >> this is another akp activist and states accusations that the government is limiting personal freedoms are baseless. >> i don't wear is head scarf, my sister does. we are equal. we are free, everyone is free. >> an the ground, akps candidates are winning over young and old. it's a charm offensive they hope to secure the offensive. to do that they need turkey's

youth singing to the same tune as theirs. >> at least 26 people have been killed in a series of coordinated attacks across the iraqi capital of baghdad. 70 others were n jurd. the worse attack happened in the northern neighbourhood, where a car bomb killed 11 people. >> mending strained relations will be among president obama's top priorities on friday, when the u.s. president arrives in saudi arabia. >> the white house correspondent patty culhane examines the issues. >> a lot has changed sense 2009 when president obama received a warm welcome, complete with gifts of gold. many of his foreign policies decisions angered the saudi, the

president calling for hosni mubarak to step down, negotiating with iran, and then threatening to act against syrian president bashar al-assad, and changing his mind. all leaving the saudi arabias to take the unusual step of questioning his ability saying: >> the president's job is to restore the trust. experts say although the u.s. is reporting less oil from o.p.e.c. countries, the saudi arabias have leverage. >> it's their place in the oil market. what happens is the saudis have the capacity to expand and retract production, depending on what the market bears. >> the u.s. view is that the saudi arabia leadership is increasingly concerned about its place in the region, feuding

with its neighbours, and worried about the influence iran could have if diplomacy resolves issues. the saudis are worried that the united states and iran will take the place of saudi arabia as the united states preferred partner in the golf and the middle east. >> with his presence here, and his words, president obama is expecting to send a message, that decades old alliance with saud are is the centrepiece of u.s. foreign policy in the reegean, and will be regardless of who he talks to or the amount of oil his company buys. >> tony abbott, az's prime minister has -- australia's prime minister spoke to egypt's interim president and called for the release of peter greste, one of three al jazeera journalists held in a cairo prison for 90 days. they are accused of having links

with a terrorist organization. abdullah al-shami from the al jazeera arabic channel has been in cued. they condition to demand the release. they get more on the phone call by egypt's interim president. >> is there anything more we know about the conversation. >> the conversation took place on thursday, between prime minister tony abbott and the interim president of egypt. during the phone conversation, tony abbott asked for assistance in securing peter greste and his release. egypt's president applied that he was doing everything he could to resolve the case and says peter greste was receiving all necessary legal support. i think what is significant about the phone conversation is not the detail, but the fact that it happened at all. up until now, tony abbott has

not said anything publicly, nor do we know that a conversation along these lines has taken place. the fact that one has, potentially the timing too. tony abbott's office will not confirm the telephone conversation took place and are staking to the line of not -- sticking to the line of not discussing what the prime minister of australia says in private conversations. we have it on good authority that the conversation happens, and it was asked for and assistance would be given. >> you say this conversation happened on thursday was well into the afternoon on friday in australia. what sort of rehabilitation has this garnered. >> well it's obviously big news, because peter greste's plight has been at the top of the news for almost three months since peter greste and his colleagues were detained. in the last few minutes peter greste's parents have gone on

television giving their rehabilitation to what the prime minister's conversation means? >> we are thrilled. >> glad. >> yes. i mean, i - without any kind of reapplication on anybody -- reapplication on anybody -- reapplication, and it was a great surprise, i can't quote him, i don't know what was said, but my understanding is that the primary purpose of the call was to seek peter's speedie release. and the resolution of the case. >> now, in this phone conversation, we don't know what was said. tony abbott has been criticised by many for not intervening or speaking out earlier. peter's parents were asked in the press conference whether it came too late. they said "who knows." in

diplomacy timing was everything. they weren't being overtly critical. they have high hopes, but modest expectations. they don't expect to greet peter next week, but are more hopeful than they did a week or two ago. they feel the case is progressing and hope to have their son and colleagues home soon. >> let's hope so. >> andrew thomas reporting from sydney. >> more ahead on al jazeera, when we come back. >> i'm rob reynold's in rio de janeiro, where detentio tension running high as the army prepares to move in to the shanty vé

>> again, you are watching al jazeera. the top stories. the united nations general assembly voted that russia's referendum on the annexation of crimea was illegal, coming as the international monetary fund agreed to give a multi million loan for ukraine's struggling economy. the sri lankan president ordered the release of dozens of english fisherman who had been detained for poaching three weeks ago, a day after new delhi chose not to back a u.s. resolution on a war crimes resolution on colombo. >> australia p.m. tony abbott spoke to egypt's interim president calling for the release of peter greste, one of three al jazeera journalists held in a cairo prison.

>> indian supreme court said the head of the country's cricket board should step aside while a corruption investigation is taking police. he is due to become president of cricket's world governing body later this year. >> former playing legend will step in as interim head of indian critic. the spot-fixing allegation, a lucrative competition in world sport. to make sense of this, we are joined by andy richard son. >> what is this. that is sunil gavaskar, he's a commentator, and a legend. it's his job to restore faith and sensitivity. he may not be known to the wider well. he's a powerful broker.

he's in charge of the b.c. c, which runs the arab league. >> it's comfortably the most luke attive competition, one of the lucrative sporting competitions. there has been an ongoing corruption investigation into the league. gambling is illegal in india. globally there's an industry around it. there's estimates that around a billion can be gambled on each ipa game. 60, 70 games in each seen. >> you've had a situation whereby his son-in-law is involved in a team, has been accused of being in touch with illegal bookmakers. that team is owned by a company, and in the interests of trying to have a fair investigation, he's been asked to step aside. >> as far as the wider implications matter, because a

cricket-mad in addition like india has a huge part to play in the world. >> it does, and he was due to become head of the i.c.c. he was in coalition with the english cricket board and australian cricket board. there are massive implications for the global game. it's not just an indian problem. there's issues in england and we have this ongoing investigation which is also involving the i.c.c.'s anticorruption unit. the next hearing is on april the 16th. interestingly, that is the date that this year's premier league is due to start. there's question marks as to the ipl, as to whether it can take place. >> there's more to come.

our military caro plane has -- a military cargo plane went down in india, an american c-130. rescue efforts are underway. more on that story as and when we get it. the highly contagious ebola virus spread to guinea. four people are under guarantey. 60 have died. this is the first time it's been diagnosed in the capital. >> rio de janeiro - the army is being deployed into a community of shan'ty towns. security forces are boosting their numbers as they try to clamp down on worsening violence, rob reynolds reports. >> brazilian soldiers are on patrol in one of rio de janeiro's lawless shanty towns.

>> the army deployment was approved by the president after a surge in gang violence, revenge killings and attacks on police outposts. larger numbers of troops are expected to be brought into the operation in the coming days. the government says a show of force is necessary to keep the violence in the slums from spiralling out of control. >> translation: we have to show them that we are stronger than they are. the government also wants to preclude embarrassment from widespread favela violence during the world cup starting in june. >> people who live here are more scornful than intimidated by the army patrols. residents say the soldiers ransacked the house. >> they said i have guns in my house. i live here with my daughter, i don't have drugs. i was so angry.

i couldn't defend myself. every time i tried to talk, they told me to shut up. >> many favela residents will not speak out for fear of reprisals. there is widespread resentment of the government spending $11 billion on the tournament, while the slums lack basic services. >> a lot of people do not have enough food to eat, and the government invests in things that will help us. >> inturk images and a simmering underurgent of violence as brazil takes a turn on the world stage. >> the argentine capital buenos aires boasts a capital on every corner. the minister proposed that coffee drinking be considered a cultural heritage.

>> morning, afternoon or evening, the residents of buenos aires drink coffee. expressos, macchiatos, with cream or double, in a cup or a mug. the art of coffee drinking is an intrinsic part of daily life, inherited and developed by argentine's and spanish immigrants. >> it's more tan a custom -- than a custom, it's an excuse to meet and chat. it's a good excuse. the arge tin ministry of culture called on you yeses coe to unesco to declare coffee drink a part of heritage, along with tango, dance and music. the city designated more than 50 of what it calls notable cafes,

local... (technical difficulties) ..the world in which to drink coffee, to chat, to read, write or just to stare blankly into space. the truth is i risk offending locals. the coffee, sometimes, could be a little better. >> there's now a new wave of cafes aiming to improve the coffee drunk by the locals, with better beans and brewing methods. it seems to be for their test. >> the rehabilitation is one of suppress. they have been drinking something out of habit and they try something delicious and ask themselves "why was i drinking that?" the coffee drinking culture is changing. the independent cafes, facing challenges. something for the locals to discuss, over a cup of coffee -

obviously. >> and as always, there is lots more news on our website aljazeera.com. get the latest on all the stories we are covering, including the ongoing standoff over ukraine and a whole lot more. lots of news and analysis all there. colleges sport flashy coaches earn seven figure salaries. now they want a union and a paycheck, it's the inside story.