latest project on the gettysburg address talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ welcome to the news hour, i'm in here al jazeera news center in doha and london. these are the top stories. defiance in eastern ukraine. and i'm here with the rest of the news from europe. pope francis asks for forgiveness for the damage done by catholic priests who abuse

children. and the german chancellor praises greece. plus running for the right to free movement. the west bank marathon where not everyone is allowed to run. i have plenty of sport to update you on including the masters in augusta. plus some intriguing matchups coming out of friday's champions league semifinals. more details later in the program. ♪ welcome to the program. the prime minister of ukraine has offered greater devolved powers to the east of his country as protesters continue to occupy state buildings in two key billings there. he says he wants the activists to be removed peaceful.

we have reports from both cities, first to kim who is in donetsk where the local community is also coping with the aftermath of a mining disaster. >> reporter: exhausted minors return to the surface after a tragic shift. below ground a methane gas explosion killed nine of their colleagues, a very real reminder of the risks all here face trying to make a living. >> translator: the kwa kwaul -- quality of life is low here. it was the same with the last government and the government now in place. >> reporter: coal mining is one of the major industries here in the industrial heart tlangd is eastern ukraine. the donetsk mines in particular are regarded as some of the most dangerous in the world.

people have long complained about working conditions and pay, and some believe giving greater power to authorities in the region, could help improve their lives. politicians wrangled over how to do just that. after a minute of silence for the minors, the interim prime minister promised to give more power to the region. >> translator: i would like to state clearly the central government is not only ready for dialogue, but ready to fulfill lawful requirements in which the wishes of all of the citizens of our country, and chamgs in the constitution will be able to satisfy requests from all regions. >> reporter: they agree federalization is not an option. but that has been a key demand of the protesters in donetsk, still calling for a referendum to recognize their self declared republic. >> translator: in our region,

federallization means independence. firstly economic independence to create conditions for a better life. >> translator: it will be better if we are a federation and we will join russia. if there will be a referendum, we'll get more money here. >> reporter: an ulty maim for has passed and now the interim prime minister says everything will be done to avoid the use of force. >> translator: more regional power will calm our souls if we know we have power here. we will take the decisions. >> reporter: the one thing they all agree on is many are struggling to make ends meet and now wait for the government to act. protesters luhansk showed no signs of backing down, but opinions amongst the community there are divided. >> reporter: it's recommend

necessary sent of the early days of the ukrainian crisis. but here they are against a new ukrainian government. it's been a week since the takeover of the main security building by pro-russian supporters. like elsewhere in the east, a referendum on federalism is their main demand. but with every day that passes, the list gets longer, now they also want the formation of a southeastern army that would operate independently from kiev. but this is not crimea and beyond the encampment the majority of people here look at kiev rather than moscow. >> this is crazy. these are unemployed people who have nothing to do. they rep sent less than 1% of us. if they want a referendum there must be more than six months to prepare it or else russia will

rig the ballots. >> reporter: the protest verse also ceased a large amount of weapons inside the building. the government has warned several times that it will retake the building by force if they don't evacuate. a deadline has come and gone and there has been no action, perhaps because the authorities in kiev know that this could be a very risky operation. the encampment is gradually growing oorngd the building. families and sympathizered who vow to protect those holed up inside. >> translator: there is a mini army inside the building. they have weapons. and we can also get them quickly. >> reporter: stones and molotov cocktails are ready to be used in need be. >> so the ukrainian prime minister is offering some kind of devolved power to the

protesters, that going to be enough, though, to placate the separatists? >> well it depends on what happens in the next days and weeks. the people here don't trust the interim prime minister or anyone in government in kiev. so they said they would first like to see facts and then they could maybe start to trust them. they keep on saying that they want a federal system, a system in which they will have to rule by themselves really. you can probably hear them just behind me saying we don't want fascists, and what they mean is they don't want the authorities in kiev. certainly if that comes true and they get power to administer themselves that would be a compromise that probably would be acceptable to them.

but at this stage, i think they want to see fact. >> how much hope is there that these talks next week in geneva will bring any kind of quick resolution to this worsening crisis? >> well, again, people here are very untruth worthy, and if you go around this little encampment, you will see banners that say that they don't want the eu, they don't want the united states, they want them to stay out of ukrainian affairs. i think one of the good aspects of that meeting is that russia is attending it, so certainly they will want to wait and see, but this is people who say that they have been completely forgotten for the past 23 years by the government in kiev, so now they don't want to hear anything about it, and they are very much afraid that if that government gets too close to the eu for them things will just

take a turn for the worse. >> all right. thank you. meanwhile in the black sea port of odessa, at least seven people have been injured in protests. one man was escorted outside of a hotel by security forces. the russian foreign minister is warning that europe's stability will be threatened by rising anti-russian sentiment, but sergei lavrov says it is still possible to calm the situation. >> translator: to achieve this, it's necessary to stop attempting by every possible means to legitimate the government without any exceptions, and the key question is the implementation of a real constitutional reform which would secure legitimate rights and interests of all ukrainians without any exclusions. it goes without saying that a

firm guaranty of retaining the non-alliance starters of ukraine will be required. pope francis has asked for giveness for the damage caused by roman catholic priests to children. >> yes, it was his first public plea for forgiveness, in his strongest words yet, he talked of the evil committed by the priests. he has been criticized for not taking a bold enough standing in the past. >> reporter: he has been outspoken on the role of catholic priests who abuse children. now pope francis has gone further at the meeting with members of a catholic children's charity. >> translator: i feel compelled to personally take on all of the evil which come priests, quite a few in number, obviously not

compared to the number of all of the priests, so personally ask for forgovness for the damage they have done. the church is aware of this damage. but they are men of the church. >> reporter: thousands of cases of abuse have been announced arrange the world. soon after his election francis pledged to act quickly. in february a united nations report said that the vatican was not serious in tackling the problem. it says procedures of moving priests rather than firing them or reporting them to police had not ended. >> they put the protection of the purpose rate fors above children's best interest. >> reporter: but some believe the report failed to acknowledge steps the church has already taken like setting up a special

vatican committee bringing together clerics and lay people including an abuse survivor. >> it's not just to look at the procedures that should be in place, but how to look after victims. you know, the abuse was back then. the pain is now. >> reporter: in his last three years as pope, benedict the 16th protected the priests. >> we would like to go back to the position we were when pope benedict was the pope and get back into dialogue with the bishops. certainly this pope has made a lot of very impressive soundings, but we haven't seen anything of substance. >> reporter: for activists the real proof that the church is getting tough will only come with more criminal prosecutions and financial compensation for victims. francis is not the first pope to

issue such an apology, in 2010, pope benedict xvi said sorry to the irish catholic victims. now many victims of sexual abuse by priests around the world will hope that their abusers will be finally brought to justice. peter saunters is head of the national association for people abused in childhood and was himself a victim of abuse by jesuit monked as a child. i asked for his reaction to the pope's comments. >> i think his plea for forgiveness will mean a great deal to a great many people, but many people will also want to see action to follow that forgiveness, but i'm very

encouraged by what he has had to said. because he hasn't down played the problem, and historically the vatican has tried to down play the problem. and he has said it is a big problem, and he is not going to be back down from tackling the problem. and survivors of abuse around the world will hold him to that. . >> in your view this statement could be a real turning point in the way the catholic church tackles sexual abuse. this could significant a real change in their policy? >> well, there are catholic diocese around the world. many for example in this coup try have very good child protection policies, and our primary concern are the parts of the world where the child protection policies are very thin on the ground, and our

concern is also how the church is going to help us to help the many victims of abuse that we try to help, because the church clearly has resources they could make varl to charities like ours and others. >> do you speak to figures -- to officials within the vatican? do you have much contact with them? >> no, we don't, but as a charity, we have worked very closely for the last three years with the national catholic safeguarding board. a board of good people who want to move on and make things better as it were. and we have been working with them. it has been slow progress. there have been issues of truth between the survivors and rep -- representatives of the church. but the lead that pope francis has given i think is substantial and different from what we have seen in past. so i'm very hopeful that

resources will be made to victims and the organizations that work with them. >> this is the first time he has mentioned or talked about sanctions. >> uh-huh. >> does that encourage you? >> well, if he is talking about sanctions in terms of [ inaudible ] priests, i think that's a absolute necessity, because anybody who abuses children or vulnerable people should not be able to hind behind the security of a is dog collar. >> the german chancellor has praised greece for its economic turn around and pledged to keep backing it, but warned it still has a long way to go. police banned protests across most of central athens for the several hours she was there. her visit comes at a time of

growing optimism that greece is finally turning the corner. >> translator: reforms that have been carried out and with more remaining, greece will have more opportunities than difficulties despite the fact that there is still high unemployment, and many people don't yet see these opportunities. >> translator: a lot of work has been done with lots of huge sacrifices by the greek people so we can create a society and a marketplace which will be productive instead of consuming. this new greece is now a reality. chancellor merkel's visit comes a day after greece returned from the international bond market. it was also good news on the jobs front. the unemployment rate fell from 27.2% in december to 26.7%.

but greece certainly isn't out of the woods yet. the money raise by thursday sale of bonds is a drop in the ocean compared to the bailout. the greek economy has shrunk by 25% since 2008. last year it's crippling dead load went up, and salaries have been cut by 30%. john is live for us in athens now, and john, chancellor m mer -- merkel's visit seems to have charged the area, but what is behind the headlines. >> well, it revolves around

three things. that there is an acknowledgment of the enormous suffering of the greek people, there is now an acknowledgment of the new situation, the new reality on the ground, and there is a focus on the reforms that lie ahead, on the implementation of laws that have been passed but not yet fully implemented in order to make the economy more competitive and provide more jobs. and the prime minister summarized it by saying we shall continue our talks with the european union, but on the basis of the new reality which is that greek acknowledges its commitment to creditors and voters and tax pairs in the country, that the government is trying to create this new economy it hopes to build. >> john, thanks. i'll be back later this news

hour with more from europe. including the garage that has become the most expensive in britain after selling at auction for almost a million dollars. plus allegations of abuse as the kenyan police crack down on the refugees from somali. and we'll have the latest from the second round of the masters coming up later in the program. ♪ now president obama has nominated sylvia matthews burwell to be his next health secretary. if approved by the u.s. senate, she'll replace kathleen sebelius. kathleen sebelius resigned on thursday, and oversaw the rocky rollout of the health care reforms known as obamacare. >> access to healthcare.gov has

been an a miserable experience for far too many americans. >> now let's get more from allen fisher. how much of a surprise was kathleen sebelius's resignation and what more do we know about her departure. >> well, it was her decision. and barack obama said that she had flagged up in march that she was keen to leave the post in march. but she gave an interview just seven days something where she said she expected to be at her post in november. the whole health care system is now exceeding expectations. things are moving well, so for her to resign really just brings up all of the problems at the launch. this was barack obama's signature legislation. he told everyone it is going to

work as well as going on to amazon or those travel websites, and it was a complete disaster. people were having real difficulties getting into it. and she was telling the president, look everything will be okay. so this is a bit of bad timing unless as someone pointed out to me, there is more bad news come up soon. >> as you said the figures are looking pretty good. but will this have damaged obama politically, do you think? >> well, he, of course is spinning it as something that is good and positive. and kathleen sebelius oversaw the introduction of what he would regard as universal health care in the united states. this was meant to include 48 million people who had no health insurance. and many people found out they

lost their plans or it was more expensive. but there are americans who objected to the whole idea of the government being involved. and of course if you don't sign up, there will be a tax penalty next year, and people believe that the government shouldn't be involved in that sort of thing, and that's why this whole issue will be contentious between now and november. so then we'll find out whether or not things have improved enough that it is not damaging to barack obama, but if the vote was held tomorrow, this would still be a big problem for him and his administration. >> thank you. some 3,000 athletes have taken part in a second international palestine marathon in the west bank. and some people weren't allowed to complete. >> reporter: they were on their mark, they were set, and they ran their hearts out. the second annual palestine

international marathon attracted thousands of run frers all over the world, palestinians internationals and even some israelis who support the right to movement cause. the dane -- >> there is a physical wall, but also a wall of not understanding each other. and in my country and many other countries, we have a wrong image of palestine. we always hear the bad stories. >> i want everyone to see we are normal people. and we want peace; that we can come together at an event and show this is the most beautiful place, the birthplace of jesus. >> reporter: the race began at the church of the nativity, runners ran alongside what the israelis call the security fence, but what many

palestinians have named the apartheid wall. in the end they settled on 22 kilometers of road around which competitors ran two laps. another challenge was trying to get permits for runners in the gaza strip. permits denied by israel authorities. >> translator: i can't participate in the tournament in my own country. if i considered running from here to beth laham it would take me two to three hours. an israeli government official said . . . clear but the runners here don't want the political disagree to overshadow

the fun. this was more than a race today it was a celebration, and it involved a lot of music and a lot of dancing. and more than anything, it was chance to show solidarity and peace during a time of continued stripe. still to come here on al jazeera, talks to end the violence in venezuela. the go's meeting with the opposition. i'm tired of people taking advantage of a small african american community. >> we'll take you to mossville, louisiana. plus in sport two former roommates mete again, but it's happier occasion for one of them. stay with us. ♪ >> on the next talk to al aljazeera... >> i'm antonio mora and this is talk to al jazeera >> award winning documentary director ken burns, talks about his craft, and his latest project on the gettysburg address

talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america >> the death toll could be much higher than anyone known. >> posing as a buyer... >> ...people ready then... >> mr. president >> who should answer for those people

>> i'm actually quite nervous... >> as u.s. forces prepare to leave afghanistan, fault lines brings you an eye opening look at what life is really like under the taliban. from girls attending school, to enforcing sharia law. >> they rely on the local population, and so they need to win the hearts and minds of locals to be able to fight. >> then immediately after, an american tonight special edition, >> explain how you were able to get access to the taliban. >> fault lines: this is taliban country

then, an american tonight special edition only on al jazeera america so many money stories sound complicated. but don't worry. i'm here to take the fear out of finance. every night on my show i break down the confusing financial speak and make it real. ♪ >> welcome back. a quick reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. ukraine's prime minister has been holding crisis talks in the easternty of donetsk and

pro-russian activists continue to hold control of a building there. pope francis has asked that priests guilty of molest children be forgiven. the vatican has begun implementing prevention and detection measures. angela merkel arrived in greece today. she is expected to discuss germany's contribution to the fund to help greece's economy. human rights watch has accused a kenyan government of mistreating somalis during a crackdown. thousands of people have been arrested and dozens deported. >> reporter: these young men are waiting to find out what is going to happen to them. they were arrested during a security crackdown. most are somalis, some are

kenyan somalis, but there are some ethiopians too. the women are being held separately. outside of the stayed 'em this man wants to see his mother. the police tell him he is not allowed inside. >> they told me go. they told me, we don't want to see you. get out of our face. we don't want to help you. >> reporter: this man's wife was arrested a few hours ago. he is kenyan, she is somalian. after a number of attacks the government ordered all refugees to move to camps for security reasons. some of the people being held have refugee status they show their letters from the un refugee agency, but there

doesn't seem to be any un officials here. government officials deny allegations of abuse. >> as a government we are very concerned when we hear individuals implying that what is going on is not within the law and not humane. we have [ inaudible ] as a police station where screening of those who have been arrested are being taken. >> reporter: more family members wait outside of the stadium. people have been coming here every day hoping to get inside. they say some are sick, diabetic, and need their medicine. the group human rights watch has accused the government as conducting illegal acts. some kenyans support the crackdown. after the attack on the

westgreat mal. the people locked up here say they are the ones being blamed for it. an ambush attack by iraqi tribal gunmen has killed and wounded 20 soldiers. the tribesmen opened fire on the solders southwest of the capitol of bagdad. egyptian police say they have shot and killed two men who they say were members of the muslim brotherhood. three other people have been arrested. a military spokesmen say security forces have also killed a member of an armed group responsible for violence in the sinai peninsula. al jazeera is demanding the immediate release of its journalists who have now been in

prison for 104 days. peter greste, mohammed fahmy, and baher mohamed appeared in court on thursday. the case was adjourned until later this month. they are falsely accused of providing a platform to the outlawed muslim brotherhood. and a fourth joushal list has been detained without trial since last august. he has been on hunger strike since the last 81 days. al jazeera rejects all of the charges. talks to end the unrest in venezuela are being held in caracas, and are being held on state tv. the president blamed the opposition for the recent violence that left more than 40 people dead. >> translator: you can't burn a university and call it a fair protest. 15 universities were burnt down. library classrooms, you can't call this a political struggle. you'll be measured by the way

you measure others, and if you use violent confrontation, nobody wins. >> let's talk to a principal and global solutions. these talks are being billed as land mark crisis talks for venezuela. but are they negotiation or just discussing and who is maduro actually talking to? >> good question. i think he's primarily talking to an international audience. the venezuelan government hasn't shown any willingness to cooperate with protesters during the last few months. i think there's an even fort to try to quell the protests, but i think the other question is whether they are talking to the right people. because certainly the opposition groups have agreed to engage in these discussions, but at the end of the day a lot of these

protests have been involved by student heards who are not involved in these lauk talk -- talks. >> these street protests have been going on for sometime now, and becoming increasingly violent. >> i think the change has come by the recent visit of a number of foreign ministers to the capitol of caracas who have engaged in discussions and told them they need to do something to try to bring law and order to the country, so this is an effort by the government of venezuela to demonstrate that they are trying to take steps towards quelling the violence, buddi buddies -- but discussions alone won't help. there needs to be some concrete movement on the part of the government to concede to some of

the demand ins of the protesters, inflation is out of control, crime is out of control, and the government has been interfering proactively of a number of government agents within venezuela. >> that's an interesting point that you make about these concessions, because i was going to ask you is maduro open to any idea of reform? he said there will be no deal with the opposition only peaceful resistance. >> yeah, i think it's a strange way to launch into negotiations to say you are not going to concede anything, and then say you are willing to engage in negotiations with the opposition and then change the nomenclature and say these are merely just discussions. >> thank you for talking to al jazeera. north korea has denounced the military exercises between

the u.s. and south korea. the war games have been taking place 20 kilometers from the demilitaryized zone >> the town of mossville, louisiana is one of the most polluted places in the united states. and the is residents fear it will get even worse. another chemical plant has just been approved. kimberly visited the town to look at the impact. >> this is my father's first cousin. >> reporter: dorothy felix and her family have lived in the tiny town of mossville, louisiana for seven generations, but she fears she will be among the last. she says contaminated air and water is slowly killing the residents. >> the dioxin in the blood level was elevated three times that of the united states population. >> reporter: dioxin is a known

carcinogen, they blame the more than a dozen chemical plants the government has allowed to move into mossville. most of the residents here are african american. at a town -- townhall residents shared stories. >> i'm tired of people traching advantage of a small african american community. why they can't keep our air clean and clean water. >> i have seen people die. i don't want to have to sleep in it. i worked in it. i knew i would, but i don't want to have to sleep with a gas mask on. >> reporter: state officials deny that the plants pose a health threat, and the state's governor recently approved a plan to allow the south african metro chemical giant to build one of the biggest chemical

plants in the western hemisphere. >> the new plant is expected to spew millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the community. >> reporter: but it says it is offering to buy up some but not all of the homes that will surround the plant. state officials also say residents shouldn't live in fear. >> the data i have accumulated since the late '70s demonstrates how frequently it crosses the fence line and goes into the community, and they just seem to ignore it. >> reporter: so dorothy and others are demanding a texcology clinic provided free of charge. >> so they can be tested for chemicals that might be present in their bloodstreams so they will have an idea of what they are suffering from, what their families are dying from.

>> reporter: they say science is on their side even if politics right now are not. okay. let's go back to london now. >> an irish republic veteran ak cased of a car baum tack has been remanded in custody. she was charged with 29 counts of murder for the attack. it was the single largest loss of life during the troubles. no one has ever been convicted of offenses relating to the attack. now a garage next to an industrial estate in london has become the most expensive in britain. it is an example of the rocketing property prices in london, driven by foreign investors who are forcing first-time buyers out of the market. >> reporter: welcome to london.

if recent events are to be believed this city is at the center of an extraordinary and many would say unsustainable property bubble. the property in this area was hold earlier this week for $922,000. and it wasn't one of these handsome town houses. it was a redundant garage space. just 64 square meters, you are looking at the most expensive garage space in britain has it currently has got a permanent security guard outside of it. in this borough of london property prices have risen 18% in the past year. the average property price in this area is 687,250 dollars,

but most are apartments and houses sell for a premium. so buying a garage for $922,000 and then converting it into a $1.6 million house will still create a handsome profit for a developer. >> you will find that the market as it spreads out from london, it will effect all parts of the country. >> reporter: the local council is delighted at its winfall, but critics say the extraordinary property inflation is simply detached from reality. the average londoner's salary is $61,500, it comes to something, doesn't it, when your average person can't even afford to live in a garage. along time ally of italy's

former prime minister has been declared a fugitive ahead of a court ruling on mafia collusion charges. he is a friend that helped the party in 1994. on tuesday a final ruling is due. he is accused of being a go between in businesses. but police can't find the 72 year old. he is thought to have gone to beirut. archeologists in serbia have moved the skeleton of a female mammoth believed to be a thousand years old. >> translator: we are extremely sad and heavy hearted about this, but we have to move her, because technically the area is meant to be a deposit ory for

the coal pit. workers are working to complete the cop instruction of a building that was heavily shelled during the bosnian war. work to restore it started in 1996. they are trying to finish it in time for ceremonies in june marking the [ inaudible ] of the assassination in sar -- sar va woe which parked the first world war. stay with us.

♪ welcome back. opposition groups in aleppo have moved their fight to new districts. rebels attacked the western district while trying to capture an artillery base. and launched another offensive in another district. they are trying to cut a government supply route. john kerry is meeting cat tar prime minister. they had worked on defense cooperation, peace in the middle

east, iran, and syria. >> the amir and qatar want to be particularly helpful to us in our counter terrorism initiative. they have taken efforts to try to see if there is a way forward in terms of peace dialogue with the taliban. we're very grateful to their efforts to try to help put that proposition to the test. 47 million children around the world don't go to school, but nigeria delivering a good education can be challenging. >> reporter: this is a popular school run by state go, but it is facing major challenges in providing a decent education for the children here. there are 116 students to every

one teacher, nearly four times the state's target ratio of 30 students per teacher. and there are other problems. >> we have a shortage of toilets, and then our main gate needs repair. >> reporter: nigeria's medical government has allocated over $2 billion to basic education in the last four years, with some of the money coming from international donors. millions of dollars set aside for education are not being used by state governments. it also says some state governments are employing large numbers of unqualified teachers. they don't have enough school examiners they are not inspected schools properly. that's why evelyn decided to send her children to private

school. >> they are more focused because they know the school is there, and it is interact tiff. the parents get to have their input. >> reporter: there has been an increase in private schools like this where the facilities are much better, and private schools need not be prohibitively expensive. the local state government says available federal funding only adds up to about 20% of the money needed. the state has to generate its own money to fund education. >> you cannot put all of your money in education. we're trying very hard. we are doing our best. as we speak in the last couple of years, there were 200 classes. the challenges here are huge. the number of children needing education increases as the population grows.

to meet demand, federal funds will have to be increased, and the state will have to figure out how to generate more funds. her report is part of our series looking at the global education skies are. you can fiekd out more about this, and keep up to date with all of the news on our website, at aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. the australian prime minister says he is confident search crews have found a signal from the missing malaysian airlines plane. rescue teams are focusing on an area north of perth in the indian ocean. a chinese courted has upheld a four-year prison term for a riot activist.

diplomats from several coup tries were stopped from attending the trial. time for the sport. >> thank you very much. the draw for the champions league semifinals has been made in switzerland on friday. munich is hoping to become the first team to successfully defend the league. the first legs will be played on the 22nd and 23rd of april, with the return fixtures a week later. >> translator: i know how difficult this game will be. i am looking forward it to. because i like to play against the best teams, players, and coaches in the world, madrid has everything. >> translator: i think munich are a great team. they have individual and

collective quality. their manager has a lot of experience and is easily one of the best coaches in the world. i think it will be a tough match for us. athletico's tie with chelsea raised questions on whether this man would be allowed to play against the club. he is actually a chelsea player and had been on loan for the last three seasons. the 21-year-old wouldn't be allowed to play against his parent club up less a sizable fee was paid. >> the situation -- i mean, you know, is quite straightforward, if selected he could always play, and i don't know how this all came up, but the bottom line is he can play with selected by at let -- athletico madrid.

>> translator: we are happy with the interpretation. it's the regulation of this type of situation, and so it is okay. >> golf now. the american bubba watson has been the big mover. he is now on the lead on 8 under par. then there's a four-way tie for third including thomas bjorn. and [ inaudible ] has won the 29th [ inaudible ] in moroc morocco. the final stage was 42.2 kilometers. despite winning the actual stage, that was taken by his countryman, he couldn't be caught in the overall standings and picks up for another title.

unfair and unjust the words of jamaican former world record holder following his 18-month ban. the punishment was handed off after the 21-year-old tested positive for a stimulant. he is the second jamaican sprinter to be punished this week. he says any positive tests came about because of suppliments given to him by his trainer. >> we are disappointed that having had two months to review the matter, we have no written reasons, and the sanction [ inaudible ] held at a certain standard. well, we are being, i think appropriate [ inaudible ] applied the same standard to

themselves and provided us with written reasons. the second thing is that we do not agree with the [ inaudible ] and i can assure you we're taking it to the next step. thank you. to baseball now. the new york yankees take on the boston red sox, and the yankees came up on top on this one. ellsbury taking on his old team. the san antonio spurs are just one win away from securing a top spot in the western conference in the play ouis. mills was influential for the spurs, scoring 26 points to set up the 109-100 point victory. the mavs are now in a must-win situation for their final two games against phoenix and

memphis. the national [ inaudible ] have kept their slim playoff hopes alive defeating the phoenix coyotes 2-0 on wednesday. john curry stopped 43 saves, in the opening round of the playoffs after clenching a wild-card spot in the playoffs. for more sport on your website, check out aljazeera.com/sport. also details on how to get in touch with our team using facebook and twitter. that is your sport for now. i'll have more later. >> all right. thank you very much. that's it for me, stay with us on al jazeera. the team in london will have another full bulletin straight ahead.

thanks for watching. bye for now. ♪

china's one child policy has quoted controversy, from accusations of the state confiscating children, to forced abortions. today it is being blamed for a declining fertility rate and a major gender imbalance, with more than 30 million men, to women by 2020. i'm steve chow on this edition of 101 east, we ask if the days of china's one child polices is coming to an end.