this is al jazerra. ♪ ♪ hello and welcome to the news hour. i am stephen in doha and these are the world's top stories. accused of corruption and i don't know fronted with protests, turkey's prime minister's reputation is being tested in local elections. saying no to closer relations with china, at least 100,000 people take to the streets of taiwan. i or lauren taylor with the news from europe, including trying again the u.s. and russia in further talks to calm tensions over the ukraine. and proof the bodies found in a

london construction site of victims of the plage which killed miles an hour i don't think omillion of europe moreth. but first, he's fought many political battles over the last 11 years of power, but this time, turkey's prime minister is we set by scandals, and he's come under attack after banning access to social media. nevertheless, his a.k. party is reported to have taking the lead in local elections across the country. these elections are the first polls since mass protests last year. they began after plans for a park in istanbul but grew in to to what many as authoritarian style. a high profile corruption was put in to effect putting the government and the party under investigation. in february an audio regarding is heard whered p.m. warns his

son to hide large amounts of money. that led to youtube being taken down. he says his opponents have been using social media to spread lies. these are people saying this is a test. if the early figures are to be believed he will cruise to victory. isn't he? >> reporter: indeed, if the early exit polls are to reflect the general nature or the general outcome of these polls, then he has proved his critics wrong and he has shown that he still holds commands not only the same popularity he had in the last local elections where his party got 38% of the vote but actually 10% more, so far 14% of the votes have been counted and his party has a 48% standing.

and that is 10% more than last time. i am just going step aside here we are outside the headquarters in anka r.a. and the crowd had been gathering, it's a small one so far, but they are gathering outside the party where a large screen has been he corrected for them to monitor the results as they come in. it has been a pretty jubilant reception as the results are announced. as you say the prime minister erdogan is coming out victor us. >> we talked to an analyst earlier today, jamaal and he said these election aren't that really important. they are just locally lexes and aren't really that significant. >> well, i mean, practically speaking that is generally true in the sense that local elections anywhere in the world aren't as significant as apartment reparliament reu reu t

is correct. when we have spoken to the opposition the mhp. and nationalists and others they say this is a ref remember opportunity on prime minter erdogan. this is where the people will decide that this no longer wong his style of rule. where they may be satisfied with the services that the akp has provided they are dissatisfied with the way in which he has been ruling, some pima causing him of being authoritarian in his approach. pointing to the blocking of social media websites and the accusations of corruption. so they have actually -- they said this is the time for them to turn the tables after a decade of being in an six. however, so far it seems that maybe the hope that his they have had in terms of reaching out to the people haven't materialized so far. but obviously it's still early. only about 15% of the results have come out. it is still going to be a long night. but if we are to believe those early indications, it seems that they are -- the party is coming

out with the result they wanted. >> many thanks. reporting from there of course. russian foreign minister air game lavrov and his u.s. counter party john kerry are meeting to discuss the crisis in ukraine, lauren taylor is in our european news center with that store they come as the top american general had a trip to washington cut short because of what the u.s. call a lack of transparency of russian troops movement on the border of ukraine. the united states and european union have imposed two rounds of sanctions. russian tv aired an interview with sergei love i don't have before he left for paris in which he dismissed the sanctions. >> translator: the sanctions, i don't want to say that they are laughable, i don't want to say that they don't care, they are unpleasant. but the fact this they try to

take those sanction on his a more personal level and present them as directed at certain people po personally it's cleary an attempt at that time revenge, we can see this our naked eye. >> what's going on with those kerry-lavrov talks right now? >> reporter: we know that there is a lot to talk about, and we know that each side, lauren, has their own vision for the future of ukraine. america has been saying they want international observers in ukraine to protect the minorities in the country. they also want to see direct talks between moscow and the interim government in kiev. for the russians, sergei love rav has been saying that the only solution really is a federal system giving greater oa autonomy to the parts where there is a hurricane russian-speaking element.

so they are quite far apart but we are hearing that lavrov will give a concession in terms of possibly talking to the kiev government under certain conditions. at the moment russia is rejecting the interim government as ill legitimate. partly because they say there is far right elements in that government. the talks are expected to go on for sometime. of course as you are refer to, one big worry for america, is the russian military activity on the eastern boarder with ukraine, lauren. >> yes, and on that front, the top american general in europe, has had a trip home kit short due to what the u.s. has described as a lack of transparently s what more do we know about that. >> reporter: nine u.s. defense secretary sent back the general, the top u.s. commander in europe. he was going to speak to congress this week, but he's been sent back to journal any

and will consult with nato allies and will meet in brussels. america has already increased the number of planes involved in patrols over the baltic states and increased the size of a military exercise with poland that could be further steps. but, of course, that might depend on what comes out of the meeting here in paris between the secretary of state and sergei lavrov. >> thanks to you very much in deet tim for that live update. in ukraine itself hundreds of people have gathered in the independence square marking 40 days since the deaths of protesters. at the height of demonstrations in february, more than 70 people were killed overnight when snipers opened fire with live ammunition on the square. the black sea city is ukraine's last remaining major seaport since crimea became part of russia. jonah hull traveled there to find out how losing crimea has affected the region.

>> reporter: ukraine is a country still coming to terms with what has happened. and what may be still to come. divided loyalties are playing out on the streets. in the black seaport of odessa, ukraine's only seaport after russia's annexation of crimea. the crowd unfurls a giant ukrainian flag. this on the one hand is a powerful display of unity intended for russia and ethnic russians in ukraine would who would prefer autonomy from kiev. the message this country is stronger together than apart. this, on the other hand, is exactly the sort of threat that russia has promised to defend ethnic russians in ukraine against. they are called right sector an ultra nationalist group that many credit for sustaining the protests that brought down the yanukovych government. they are small in number, but now one of the new government's biggest problems. glory to ukraine they cry. and death to our enemies.

>> translator: our enemies are those that wants to encroach on our territorial territory our country and those that killed the sons of ukraine. >> reporter: the pro russian camp by those no means a majority, knows that russia supports the demand to split from kiev and has promised to defend its rights. what no one knows is how russia may act or when. do you feel that your rights as ethnic russians in ukraine are under threat? >> translator: of course. it is the site o sight of thosee marching through the streets calling death to russia that makes us feel threatened. >> reporter: in the end, a confrontation. the ethnic russian crowds against right sector. the problem for kiev, how to promote national unity with ultra nationalists in the ranks. it's a contradiction that russia is swift to highlight as if promotes the federal break up of

ukraine instead of jonah hull, al jazerra, odessa. more from europe a little late they are news hour now let's g go back to doha. ♪ ♪ a date for egypt's presidential election has now been set it will be held may 26th and may 27th. there are two candidates so far. al ceas sisi they signed and is expected to prelace morsi. the other one is the man third in the wil election with morsi e other candidates have until april 20th to register. in cairo a student killed and protesters were confronted. students through stones at police trying to break up the crowd at the of the.

three al jazerra english journalists have been detained for 92 in a cairo prison, they are accused of having links to a terrorist organization and spreading false news, from al jazerra's arabic channel has also been in custody no more than seven months, al jazerra rejects four charges against its staff and demands their immediate relied. two spanish journalists have been arrived home after being freed by their cap tours in syria. they were kidnapped six months ago near syria's border with turkey taken by fighters of the islamic state of iraq it's unclear if demands were made to set the men free or any ransom was paid. activists say syrian government forces have dropped barrels filled with explosive in to a neighborhood in the western cities of homs. this video which al jazerra can't independently verify

appears to show the bombings which co-sign sided with fighting. the biggest battles there yet between rebels and government forces will try to recapture the neighborhood. the iraqi capital bag da bad has reportedly killed a mother and three children he were earlier people died in rue ma rd i. another attack killed seven soldiers at an army base. coming up here on the news hour, on al jazerra from doha, it's a first in more than three decad decades. we'll tell you the consensus in myanmar. trying to roundup members of drug gangs. the top of the english premiere league. we'll have the details later in the program. ♪

♪ more than 100,000 taiwan-yes have rallied against the government. campaigners say it will make their territory too independent on china. here is more. >> reporter: these people are angry cods dressed in black surrounded the presidential pal, some wore yellow ribbons riding fight for democracy, retract the service pact. it would allow taiwanese and and china operate in each other's territories. >> translator: the government approved such a crucial trade pact within just 30 seconds, we cannot accept this because it directly affects the taiwanese people. they should sit down and listen to the people's thoughts.

>> reporter: the demonstrations began around two weeks ago, several hundred protesters have occupied the parliament building since march 18th. opponents say the fact would cost taiwan 10s of thousands of jobs because small businesses on the island will not be able to compete with cash-rich companies. wanting to invest in taiwan. >> translator: i think taiwan's democracy has already been destroyed so this is led to what the students are referring to as the current crisis. >> reporter: taiwan won its independence from china 65 years ago, though china still regards it as part of its territory. these protesters are challenging what they consider pulsing, which may move a democratic taiwan in to china's fold. al jazerra. garrett is senior political adviser for the association of public affairs, he joins me from washington, d.c. if this trade deal could help

strengthen the country's economy, why are so many against it? >> the problem is that the theme that the government in taiwan has been spreading. but in many ways the trade would push taiwan too closely in china's direction and away from trade links with other countries. so what the students and other people in taiwan fear that they would be incorporated in china's fear of influence were not only economically, but also politically and that is the danger that many people underline here that it will be used as a stepping stone towards a future, more political inter grabs with china and that's what the people don't want they see themselves as taiwanese and feel that they have the right to be free, democratic and independent country in the international

community. >> in that case has the government totally misread the feeling of the people of the people. in other words, why is the taiwanese government so keys to have closer links to thin china, which is what it looks like and overlook the popular consensus in. >> this is the mind set of the president himself and a closed group of people around him who are themselves main enders. they and their families, their fathers came over to taiwan in 1949. but the large majority of people in taiwan are native taiwanese and certainly since democratic saying these people have asserted their separate taiwanese identity and started to push for, let's say a more full role of taiwan in the international community.

he doesn't see it that way he sees it as the republic of china which has been defunct of course for so many many years but that is still the theme he follows in terms of trying to get taiwan to be more integrateed with china. but the large majority of the people don't want that. they want to go in the opposite direction. >> in taiwan draws closer to china through in economic deal. what kind of strain would it put on taiwanese democratic values? >> that is indeed what the people do fear in taiwan that democracy, their hard-earned democracy, will be undermined and many argue that that has already happened in the past years under the administration

that the true december is a that they want has not been fulfilled. and one of the examples is the way the administration has tried to push this agreement through the legislature, the legislative end. they have bay close have proposed a kind of take it or leave it approach. up or counsel vote which they would win because they have the majority. but the agreement was that this will be dealt with in a clause by clause review. and that was basically overturned by the their man of one party. and that really caused the students to go in and occupy the legislative end. they were so fed up with the defunct way that democracy has been not functioning if i may say it that way. >> garrett, many thanks to you for joining us from washington, d.c.

the philippines has presented evidence to a united nations tribunal against china over its territorial claim to around 80% of the south china sea. just 24 hours earlier, a chinese ship tried to block a philippine vessel as it headed towards the disputed islands, that incidents was caught on camera as erica wood reports. >> reporter: making its presence known and warning the philippine vessel to turn around, the standoff report today have lasted two hours was noisy but but violent the fill fine ship continued on its journey but the actions of china was filled thinkefirmed byjournal ill. it's one of many attempts of china to get a stake in the potential oil and goose reserves as well as the philippines, several others lay claim to the islands, including taiwan,

brunei, malaysia and vietnam. the majority, but not all of the islands in the spratley group are occupied by the philippines. the drew was on its way to this rusty military outpost to give supplies to the marines who live on board. thus station today guard the philippine's claim on the section of the spratleys. >> what we want to accomplish is to keep this area as hours, this is something that we have been protecting. it's not just the sea, china claims control of the air. they claimed a no-fly zone over a section of the east china sea inhabiting islands by japan. >> it's about defending what is legitimately ours. it is about securing our children's future. it is about guaranteeing freedom

of navigation for all nations. it is about helping to preserve regional peace, security, and stability. >> reporter: earlier on sunday, it gave evidence to an international tribunal documenting beijing's increasingly aggressive claim over the south china sea despite warning says by beijing that do so with damage ties between the nations. china has seized more than $14 billion of assets worth of relatives and associates of a former spy chief according to a report from the routers knees agency. he's the most senior politician to be investigated for corruption. authorities have also questioned or detained more than 300 people with links to the leader. he had previously opposed the did hdeposing of another politin sentence today life for corruption last year hooks here is china analyst,.

>> reporter: i think this crumbs definitely threatens the survival of the whole community party bull this particular case is more than corruption. it was reported that he was in fact in collusion with the fallen bow trying to unseat the current government. at a suitable point in the future. this plot was unearthed relatively recently. and that revelation really shocked the entire core of the party. and that's why the party, various other factions, power brokers have all come to a consensus that this must be dealt with. vigorously, otherwise the party will not survive. myanmar is holding its first census in more than 30 year old but already there is criticism about the way it's being conducted the minority are questioning what the government really wants from the survey. charles stratford reports.

>> reporter: a call to be counted. the start of an ambitious 12-day campaign to collect population figures. and to gather data on the ethnic makeup of myanmar. 10s of thousands of census takers are working across the country. everyone is expected to fill in a survey form. >> translator: i understand why we are doing the census, to develop our country and the new development projects. i welcome it. >> reporter: but is it just a matter of counting especially in the west of the country, home to the rah thing a muslims. >> you have states where the buddhists have said they don't wish this to be forward they won't wish them to be permitted to list their h ethnicity and ty have been upset that their ethnicity is not listed among the 135 ethnicities expressly listed on the census form. >> reporter: the government has banned ethnic muslims from registering an row hundred ga.

they s-rg them to be immigrants. and denies them citizenship. >> translator: has everyone knows in myanmar they are 135 ethnic groups, if someone isn't a member of these groups they put themselves in the category as zoos. we won't force anyone to answer what he had le ethnicity or triy belong to. >> reporter: more than 200 people have been killed in attacks by dudist national groups over the last two years, villages burnt to the ground, at least 140,000 row hundred ga have fled. buddhist have his vowed to boycott the census they are worried about till legitimize the status of muslims, last week they attacked homes and offices of foreign aid workers in the area. they say the timing of the census is so wrong because of the tensions. it's not only here where there are problems. certain other ethnic groups are also concerned.

in the north rebels have been fighting the government to decades, it's doubt they'll even allow census takers in to the area. >> it is not suitable. sadly burmese authorities seem to be committed to the original plan and move forward. >> reporter: the plan that they fear may have a particular political purpose, charles strait for the, al jazerra. australian pie lat lot pilon objects in the indian ocean. he says his crew saw at least four objects that were orange in color and larger than two meters in size. >> i must stress that we can't confirm the origin of these, but the gps has been passed on to

the coordinate center. it's up to them to analyze it and send vessel to his investigate as they see a pro rat. however, for my crew and our perspective. this is the most visibility that we have of any objects in the water and gathered the most leads. i france is voteing in local elections, the far right has reported by been make big games. the housing headache is proving controversial. and in sport, find out what happened to this drive at the malaysian grand prix. >> 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 tonigh

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>> the roman catholic church, they have an enormous amount of power >> accusations of corruption... >> there is a portion of the budget that takes care of all the clerical abuse issues. >> now we follow the money and take you inside the vatican's financial empire. >> when it comes to money, this is one of the sloppiest organizations on earth... >> al jazeera america presents... holy money only on al jazeera america welcome back to the news hour for doha. the top stories from al jazerra. early counting in turkey's local election shows the ak party of the prime minister has taken the lead. the poll was widely considered to be a referendum on the prime minister, not the opt oppositio. john kerry and sergei lavrov are talking about ukraine. in egypt two students killed and

several injured as security forces in front of protesters at university in cairo. the date for egypt's presidential election is set for may 26th and 27th. but let's turn to latin america now look,ing at cuba's new rules to attract foreign investors. we are also in brazil where police are trying to gain control of a vast slum. rob reynolds is there for us. but first to venezuela where the military is taking on protesters in the main protest city of san cristobal. we are following that story. >> reporter: for many hours now the venezuelan national guard and the local police have been trying to take back these neighborhoods in central can cristobal where people have been protesting for over a month and a half. two days ago on friday a commander said they would move

in and free the city from the protesters, so far they have only been able to move some of the barricades. but one in particular considered symbolic for the presence of an abandoned tank bite militar by . the protesters have the support of the the military when the police and guards arrive. we'll have to see how long they can defends their positions and the barricades that they have built up for over a month and a half. in brazil, some armored cars have invaded where they thought gang leaders remember but they were long gone where they thought the they were in rio. rob reynolds explains. >> reporter: the operation began before dawn. 1,000 military police and brazilian marine in armored vehicles entered the complex of slums near rio's airport.

special police units armed with automatic weapons patrol the narrow alleys and rubbish-strewn streets. this is a group of interconnected than a shanty tos inning tab ted by 130,000 people. it's nor tour justice for it's violent drug gangs, earlier this month a sear i didn't of fire bomb attacks on police posts led politician to his demand a tough response. however the police say to pacify were formulated weeks before the attacks. despite the presence of heavily armed military police the atmosphere appears quite calm with people going about their daily routines, the consensus is the people are police are looking for had left the area days ago. several people were arrested for minor crimes and a small am of drugs and guns no resistence and

no shots fired. most people see this as a public relations effort. football's world cup kicks off in brazil in june and hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors will converge on the country. the government want to protect an image of being tough on security and ready to host the cup. >> translator: it's all just for show. if they really want today help us, give our kids an education. and not come in here with guns drawn. >> reporter: police will set up so-called pass indication posts inside the area and hand over the control to the arm any the coming days, the army is expected to say there at least until after the world cup is finished. ron reynolds, al jazerra rio de janae owe. cuba's leadership is inviting foreign investors to the country true try to boost the country. they have passed a new law offering tax cuts and incentives especially in agriculture a report from havana on the latest plan to kick start a struggling

economy. >> reporter: this may be quaint but for thousands of newly self-employed cuban workers, it's just peanuts. the cuban authorities have for the past few years been opening up their economy. but it's not enough. >> translator: one of the problems that the cuban economy has is in providing incentives. cuban workers especially in the state sector are not happy because the state pays so little. >> reporter: a special session of the cuban parliament has taken a fundamental step to open its economy to foreign investments. creating a special development zone in the port city west of havana partly financed by brazil. foreign investors will play less of their profits to the cuban government while working with greater security, guarantees and flexibility. foreign investment like this one

helped to save cuba after the collapse of its main backer the soviet union more than 20 years ago. but it sits awkwardly here. and this new expansion which some here call a necessary evil, will have to be very tightly controlled. the move was partly fueled by fears that cheap oil from its troubled ally venezuela might dry up. certain pillars of the cuban revolution, such as health and education will remain off limits to foreign investors. >> the state here as been too involved in all businesses. and that's been a mistake. the stayed does not have to control everything. only the fundamental areas like education we can say health, but not the small personal enterprises. >> reporter: foreign companies have been deterred by the more than 50 year u.s. embargo against the island. and they'll want the cuban authorities to tackle their own problems like poor internet

service, a suffocated bureaucracy and inning fear i i. but many have long wanted to invest in an island they feel has great potential. and will be studying the new laws very carefully. al jazerra, havana. early polling after local elections in france suggest the far right front is on course for its strongest result. lauren taylor is back with more news from europe. lauren. steven, thank you very much. voting is now closed and polling suggests as you suggest the national front has taken control of at least two midsized towns but also indicates heavy losses for the ruling socialist party. here is a report. >> reporter: it's an election that has zenon precedented moves. for the first time paris will have a female mayor and record lows of voter turn out but even with such low numbers a different political landscape is

already being cast out. already the far right in the guys oguys of the national frons made a breakthrough. >> translator: a lot of people are fed up, don't know where to look because there are a lot of unfulfilled promises and also a lot of confusion, people mix up local elections and other elections. >> reporter: the northern town is just one place which has seen the rice of the national front and they are aiming to persuade team elsewhere to vote far right. for decades this party of northern france was governed locally by the left. but now the town hall here is in the hands of the national front and the party hopes their success can be repeated in towns across france. while there may be a stigma attached to the party, people here have clearly been drawn to it. this mining town has been hit hard by the did he klein of heavy industry. nearly one in five people are unemployed and the national front has been benefited by people feeling that they have been forgotten a apart. like this former party member

now a fashion the front counselor. >> translator: people i talk to are totally fed up, taxes are rise, unemployment and no businesses. even pensioners are taxed everybody though they don't have much. >> reporter: the national front used to be viewed by many french voters as an angry party of people who didn't like foreigners, but in recent years a widespread feeling that mainstream parties have abandoned the working class voters. the question remains now, you * hois howthe socialists will recm such a blow. a snap from one of the local elections results early election tolls the front left getting 42% of the vote according to this report are from reuters behind 49% that's the latest exit polls and no breakdown there of what's happened to the national front. but we'll bring you of course more of those details as they come in. now, mass grave found under a

construction site in london has been proved to contain victims of the black death. a pandemic known as the bubonic plage swept through europe more than 650 years ago. the first cases reported in miles an hour in 1348. >> reporter: it's thought up to 60% of the british population at the time was killed. victims were dumped in mass burial sites around london, last year on the biggest construction site they discovered 25 bodies. now dna analysis has proved that at least four of those people had contact with the playing ple bacterium before tying which is known as the city of london. jay told me why the finding is a significant discovery in the evolution of the plage. >> the burial site was one of two in london which were emergency burial grounds. potentially containing thousands of victims.

the full sequencing of the genome it is helped will help today's my row biologists understand the evolution of this particular bacteria and it's still around today and still very much part of world le world population. >> was it a bad idea to bury them should there have been burning or something more drastic? >> , i think the did h it's onle through the microscopic work. >> how many other sites, presumably the building managers must see the archeologists turning up when you need to make progress and you keep digging up important sites. >> construction works gives the opportunity to excavate sites that normally wouldn't look at.

as long as it's planed in advance we can warn the construction managers that's how it's would organized crossroads. >> what do you expect to find, are there more sites of this sort do you think? >> there is at least one other cemetery we are ca straighting parts of in liverpool street in the city of london and we'll be doing that work during the next year. that's all the news from europe, let's go back to stephen. lauren, thank you very much. senegal has closed its board with guinea where there is an out break of the deadly ebola virus it's already said to spread to liberia and sierra lyon. it began in rural areas of guinea where it's killed so far an estimated 70 people. there is growing panic in the capital where there are eight con caseconfirmed cases and one. and it has no secure. three months of fighting in south sudan has forced over a a

million people out of their holes, a further 5 million are in need of help. the president's troops are fighting rebels loyal to south sudan's former vice president. since nigeria's capital pass built off the 1971 oil boom it's one of the most expensive cities. the to tycoons all it home but w are priced out including those keeping the government running and why a scheme for affordable housing is not working. >> reporter: he finished a at a radio station a few hours ago, instead of going home he comes here and waits, like many civil servants, he lives outside the city. going home during rush hour would extends a 20 minute trip to four hours. >> of course everybody wants to stay here because of the facilities, the [inaudible] the social amenities are all presence, yeah.

but the ex-or at this bye to want rates here are so, so damn expensive. >> reporter: by some estimates up to 7% of civil servants live outside of the city either in satellite towns or everybody neighboring states as far as 200 kilometer ways, there is no shortage of real estate here but many properties are empty with the middle class priced out. the average income is $340 a month. now take a look at the rent. a two bedroom apartment inside costs about $1,250 a month. while in the suburbs, the two bedroom goes for $120 a month. realizing the problem 10 years ago, the city's administration introduced aid mass housing scheme to build affordable holes. the government would provide land and basic infrastructure to developers who would then turn around cost effective units, but city planning officials are now admitting the plan has failed to meet its objective. problems have ranged from

substandard developments to unfinished ones all together. developers are being accused of using the land allocation for other purposes while the government is said to have failed to provide the necessary infrastructure. >> we have to do roads, electricity, water and then add today the cost of the land plus the cost of the construction of the house. then you find out that the eventual price that you sale it to the people that are going to buy it is army going to be higher a than what that he thought. >> reporter: the federal territory administration says it has formed a new committee to fix the problems, it's not clear what pressures will be taken as administration officials were unavailable for comment. now hundreds of thousands of people have to deal with this. not quite the thing to look forward to tend of the worked day. al jazerra. still to come on this program, we'll tell you why artists have threatened to boycott the biggest modern art festival in asia pacific.

can pakistan stay on track to a semi final place in the world 20/20.

borderland only on al jazeera america ♪ ♪ welcome back. time to enter the world of sport. >> steven, thank you so much. liverpool are back on top of the english premier league with a 4-0 win over tottenham at anfield. luis swarrer scored his 29th goal of the season in the 25th minute of the game adding to an own goal by kabul. filipe long with jordan henderson's free kick in the

75th minute led to liverpool's eighth straight win. the reds know victory in all of their remaining six games will be enough for their first title in 24 years. so liverpool are two points clear of chelsea at the top of the table. manchester city are four points behind the leaders in third with two games in hand. although they still have to travel to liverpool earlier everton beat fulham 3-1 to keep their hopes of champions league qualification alive. they play arsenal next sunday. atletico madrid are still leading the race to win the spanish league title a 2-1 win against athletic bilbao means barcelona and real ma madrid are continuing to play catch up. james pratt reports. >> reporter: athlete go madrid just keep winning think they fell behind at athletic bill bow after five minutes, the champions league hopefuls in front. but the spanish leaders didn't panic. they were level midway through

the first half, when diego costa netted his 33rd goal of the campaign. and the madrid side completed the comeback after the break. nodding in to make it 2-1 to atletico. barcelona's players made a t-shirt tribute to injured goalkeeper victor valdez before vickickoff as en pan joel. the spaniard who is tipped to leave the club. up likely to lineup against these teammates again, barca and messi took time to get going against their bitter cross city rivals. it wasn't just the argentine, who was wasteful. nay nar missed from five yards out. after the break. a spots kick was given to the visitors, lopez harshly adjudged to have handled. gave messi a chance to score his vicar fifth goal at this stadium. 1-0 to barcelona is how it find i should, thefinished they are d

agent bet co. real madrid was the only top three team to have a win. gareth bail set up cristiano ronaldo. after the break the heavens and blood gates open. car havdaniel car have hal score second. before the world's most expensive player bail got on the score sheet not once, but twice in the space of three minutes. the 5-0 was completed by alvaro. real still very much in the title hunt. james pratt, al jazerra. in sunday's game is real sociedad missed a chance to become closer. they were held to a 1-0 draw. al maria and rail rah al jazerra veal 1-all. valencia plays in the next few

minutes. a third construction worker has died at the world cup stadium in the brazilian city of sao paulo, fifa said it was very saddened by the death which comes just days after its secretary general admitted progress at the stadium remained a concern. a further four workers have died in accidents at other world cup sites. some better news for fifa has arrived from the host city. organizers there have been able to hold their first test events despite the venue still not being fully ready. the world cup gets underway on june 1 12th. it's been a dominant day for the mercedes formula one team at the malaysian grand prix taking maximum points. andy richardson reports. >> reporter: there was an unfamiliar hush over the start of this race. f1 paying its tribute to the victims of the malaysian airlines crash. the quiet didn't last for too long, mercedes driver lewis

hamilton going away in to the first corner and his let was never seriously threatened. not such a good day for ferrari's kimmy. picking up a puncher and dropping in the to back of the field. he finished down in 12th. daniel ricardo eventful start his f1 career continued. the red bull driver finding himself pushed of a pit lane so his team could re reattach a whl this after being disqualified his during debut race, three lapse later the front wing started falling off and he retired from the race with five lapse to go. progress was somewhat more suhr reason at the front where mercedes were in charge, rosburg second with hamilton first. >> awesome race, great weekend. you have done the job there, pal. >> i just feel grateful. particularly after such a tragedy three weeks ago, i would

really like to dead indicate it to those people and their families. >> after failing to finish the first grants prix of the year, this was a giant leap forward for the britain. while defending world champion sebastian vettel won his first points of the season finishing third. andy richardson, al jazerra. pakistan has set up wayneer takes all game with the west indies first spot in the semifinals the cricket's world 20/20: batting first pakistan scored 190 for 5. hitting his maiden it. 20 international century. despite some big hitting bangladesh man managed 140 for 7 in reply. their fourth defeat. so the aussies were playing for pride against india, but that quickly turned to pain. india notched one gift nine for

7. a quick 60 to help his side maintain their 100 percent winning record. in the competition. chasing 160 to win australia were dismissed for an embarrassing 86 taking their tournament record to played three loss, lost three. rafael nadal is facing joe inch djokovic in the miami masters this is the one title that has alluded number one nadal he's up against the second best player in men's tennis, djokovic has taken the first seven. serena williams won the title in miami. she overcame a slow start against world number two. but world number one, serena sealed the match in straight sets, williams surpassed the tournament record of six titles, she shared with fellow american andre aggasi. the philadelphia 76ers have

missed out on breaking an nba record. but it's an outcome they won't be too happy -- unhappy about. the 76ers finally managing to snap their losing streak with this win over the detroit pistons. it meant they avoided a record-breaking 27th consecutive loss. that's ale your sport for now, steven back to you. thank you. all is currently hosting the biggest contemporary art festival in asia pacific are many artists are threaten to go boycott unless it drops its main sponsor. andrew thomas has found out why. >> reporter: with live performance, skull be th sculpto and artis ters advertise experi. it's the biggest arts festival in the asia pacific region. these are amongst the artist contributing but they withdrew

that the main sponsor with the camps for asylum seekers in papa new guinea. >> it was impossible for us to continue knowing what we knew. >> we felt we did not want to be an active part in this chain causing human suffering. >> reporter: other artists also pulled out because of the financial backing of trans field. the camps they have the contract to run have been condemned by some as inhumane and in contravention of australia's human rights obligations. the pressure worked. the chairman had trans fields resign from the festival and corporate ties were cut, though too late for from trans field' name to be removed from branding. most boycotting artists returned. >> i think if this is remembers for bring that goish tout fore that would be a very good thing. that is of course pass paying title imagine what you desire, what kind of society do we want to live in. i think that's one of the things that the artists are very keen

to explore. >> reporter: australia's government is angry, saying artists bullied organizers. it's questioning whether government money should be withheld from events that turn away corporate sponsors others say what's happened sets an awkward precedence. >> what worries me meet of all is may make givers nervous about involving in giving which brings controversy and difficult content. >> reporter: helped ironically by the extra publicity this year should have record number of visitors but will future vents have the financial support to operate at all. art and protest have a long history. here, though, the protest has over sad owed thovershadowed th. it's sign of how controversial the refugees policy has become. stay with us here al jazer l jazerra, more news coming up but this til time it will be led frm

london.

this is al jazerra america live from new york, i an jonathan betz with today's top stories think second of state john kersey in france meeting with russian foreign minister sergei love i don't have meeting again to figure out a solution over the tension in cremia. los angeles of roar says russia will just take interest in crimea. praying for victims of last week's mudslide. more than 300 rescuers and volunteers are still searching for the missing. the death toll rose by one this weekend to 18. local elections are happening in turkey today. the votes are largely seen a prekearse tore presidential elections this year. they are trying to end a