hello and welcome to the news hour with the top stories on al jazeera. an arrest warrant is issued for the captain of the sunken south korean ferry. more than 260 people are still missing. algeria's president is elected for a fourth term at the age of 77. the opposition say the poll was a farce. in london among the stories we're covering in europe, eastern ukraine's defiant

aseparatists wants more concessions. also, french president hollande is all smiles during a visit with workers despite dealing with a new political scandal. and tragedy on the world's highest mountain. rescue efforts on everest have been suspended for the night after an avalanche killed at least 12 people. prosecutors in south korea demanded the arrest of the cap pain of the ferry. more than 260 are still missing. most of them are high school students. harry faucet reports. >> reporter: heading out on a fog day to a rescue operation. emerges out of the gloom dozens upon dozens of vessels and at the center of it all is a tiny part of this 150-meter long

ferry breaking the surface. it's just after 9:00 a.m. local time. we're approaching a period when rescue officials were saying the tides are suitable to try another dive. certainly, there's a lot of activity around the upturned hull right now. as the day wore on and the ferry was completely submerged, divers went down on ten separate occasions. officials say they managed to secure a guide rope and began pumping air through the wheelhouse and access the second floor cargo hold but they were forced back by obstacles and fast-moving currents. preparations are under way for the longer term with the arrival of four huge floating cranes to be used. on land south korea's prime minister arrived to take personal charge of the effort, but much of the information made public is still contradictionary. a police officer said friday's first attempt to agained underwater failed and then a friendly chat and he was back to say divers had been down and

attached to guide rope. we tried to establish why on thursday officials said oxygen was being pumped in before admitted that it wasn't. one of the many questions left unanswered. some families feel lied to. others think too little effort is made to get into the ship angered, too, at the captain and crew. >> translator: if the captain acted properly, many kids could still be alive. it hurts. it really hurts. >> reporter: al jazeera's south korean partner network gained exclusive footage of the captain as he came ashore. the 69-year-old was reportedly one of the first to leave the ship. the news channel said he failed to identify himself as the captain when he was rescued. prosecutors say he left the helm in the charge of a 26-year-old third officer with less than a year's experience before the accident. they have issued arrest warrants for the captain and two other

crew members. back on jindo island, there's so much grief. police made another awful discovery. the 52-year-old vice principal on the school trip with 325 of his students and rescued from ferry hanged himself near the jim naz yum housing the relatives. inside the deepening sadness where some say it's time to accept their children are dead and others refuse to give up hope. as the water rises over the ship, those hopes are ebbing awean. the algerian president bouteflika has been elected to a fourth term in office. the opposition has rejected the results. jerrold tann reports. >> reporter: 15 years in power and counting. bouteflika will remain the president after winning a fourth

term in office. >> translator: the result is for bouteflika with 8,232,598. that represents 81.53% of the valid votes. >> reporter: the 77-year-old has been largely out of public view after suffering a stroke last year. the supporters are confident he's fit to kovgovern and the victory has also divided the nation. >> reporter: it reminded me of a historical moment. roosevelt was in a wheelchair, and that didn't prevent him from rung the most powerful country in the world. he will run with his head and not with hi feet. >> translator: it's sad we're in a country where 70% of youth do not have the chance of choosing someone else. i feel bitter because we deserve better than that. we have nothing against the man, but four mandates, a wheelchair? it's just too much.

>> reporter: he's popular among many algerians, especially the older generation that credit him for helping end the civil war of the 1990s, but he's been accused of being an authoritarian leader backed by the military. his main rival the former prime minister says the vote was marred by irregularities. trrp i reject this and i will use all legal avenues at my disposal to make sure that the sovereign will of our people prevails. >> reporter: in spite of algeria's vast oil and gas riches, unemployment among the young is high and living conditions are poor. yet the country does not have the chaos from the arab spring. bouteflika is seen as providing that stability for five more years. an earthquake with an

magnitude of 7.4 hit mexico. the u.s. geological survey says the epicenter was around 50 k o kilometers east of the coastal sound of teplann. there were reports of damage to some buildings but no casualties. >> reporter: a major earthquake struck the southern state on friday morning. the quake registered at least 7.0 on the richter scale. so far we have not heard reports of injuries or deaths. we understand that the epicenter is near the coast, and we're already hearing reports that in the city of acapulco, which is a popular tourist destination, there has been some structural damage to buildings there. here in the capital the earthquake was felt. buildings shook for about 90 seconds, and there were scenes of panic as people ran out into the streets, many of them still in pajamas. we hear that so far the damage is very minimal in the capital. power lines are up.

the metro is running. the airport is functional, although we are hearing some reports that perhaps some churches in the center of town may have also suffered some structural damage. so far, no reports of injuries or deaths. we'll be closely watching this situation in the coming hours ahead to keep you updated on what the situation is down in that state of guerrero. at least 12 nepalese guides have been kill odd mount everest. >> the himalayan climbing season was just getting under way. the mountain guides headed out to bright sunshine on friday morning carrying tents, food and rope. they set about preparing the route for other climbers. at about 6:45 they heard a loud rumble as though they were hit by a wall of snow. this is a guide.

he has several broken ribs and is lucky to be alive. his sister-in-law describes what happened. >> translator: he said they had woken up early and headed to higher camps to fix ropes but were delayed by an hour because of a bad trail near an ice area. suddenly when they reached. the avalanche fell on the group and buried many of them. >> reporter: the avalanche struck in an area known as the popcorn field because of the large boulders of ice on the route. climbing the world's highest peak is increasingly popular with adventure seekers. ever since hillary and his guide norgay became the first to reach the summit in 1953 a steady stream of professional and amateur climbers have made the trek. nepal has issued permits to 734 people to climb mount everest this summer. the authorities say they're addressing concerns of

overcrowding by doubling the number of climbing ropes on some of the treacherous parts of the route to make it easier and safer for climbers. someone has to put those ropes there. the guides who make a living from the mountains know all too well they risk their lives every time they venture near the roof of the world. still ahead on the al jazeera news hour, a country falling apart. aid agencies warn of severe food crisis in central african republic. plus, three days of mourning declared in columbia after one of the world's most influential writers dies at 87. coming up in sports, unfamiliar feel for nadal at the maste masters. we'll have later on in the program. first, pro-russia rebels are

stubbornly refusing to give up control in a string of towns in eastern ukraine jeopardizing a deal between russia and the west. we have the latest from the european news center in london. >> protesters are refusing to budge from government buildings they occupy in more than 10 eastern cities. trying to defuse the standoff, the prime minister has promised safeguards for the russian language and braid decentralization of power. those are both key demands of the russian-speaking rebels. so jacky, the separatists have no interest in backing down it seems? >> reporter: well, as far as they're concerned, this agreement hammered out in geneva on thursday doesn't apply to them. their logic is since they weren't a party to the talks, they can't be expected to be forced to comply with the agreement. they also say that the agreement

speaks about people illegally occupying buildings that they should leave. from the point of view of the pro-russian dmron straig demonstrators, they consider the interim government in kiev to be an illegal group so they call for that government to resign and leave the government buildings in kiev. they're very much digging their heels in. it's pretty much a similar picture across the east of ukraine. >> the barricades are still up, and the pro-russian protesters who seized the police building are holding ground. >> i know it's about the future. >> reporter: igor, an i.t. specialist when he's not protesting, has been here for nearly a week now, and he has no intention to leave anytime soon. >> translator: if they get the national guard and get the right sector and acting president out of the government, then i will leave this place. the sector is a big problem.

they'll empower. they're making laws, and they say they want our heads. >> reporter: the protesters have settled inside the building and are preparing for the long haul. there's no shortage of food and medical supplies here. donated by sympathizers. they're fully supported by their mothers and wives who turn it into a little community of its own. pro-russian supporters count on the backing of moscow. they worked hard to keep the momentum in a region where not everyone agrees with them. >> translator: the picture is not very clear now. it's all uncertain. we are now only counting on our forces and our strength. let's see if they get out of the buildings in kiev first. we're not going yet. just let them try to come and disarm us. >> reporter: so far no demands have been met. in kiev the acting president and prime minister attempted to

implicate those in the east. their measure of reassurance beamed to a nation in crisis. >> translator: the ukrainian government is ready to conduct a comprehensive constitutional reform that will secure powers in the regions in accordance with which regional and district administrations will be eliminated and people can elect con sills and committees and give a special status to the russian language and defend it. >> reporter: the protesters want other pledges made by the government turned into legislation soon. only then they feel that their rights will be protected in the new ukraine. >> jacky tell us about the proposals to come out of kiev. >> reporter: this was, obviously, an attempt by the acting president and acting prime minister to reach out an olive branch if you'd like to protesters here in the east, an

c concillatory gesture and a prospect of a more federal system. i'm talking about devolving power to the various regions giving them more autonomy enabling them to elect their own regional councils rather than have administrators and governors imposed on them from kiev. that appears to be addressing the main demands of the pro-russian demonstrators here calling for a referendum. they're thinking of something similar to the referendum that took place in crimea, but clearly the thourts in kiev wount allow other regions to break away from ukraine. it's to preserve the sovereignty of ukraine. one more development is a comment from russia suggesting that, in fact, the authorities in kiev don't fully understand the agreement reached in geneva on thursday. they accuse the kiev authorities of making it look as all the responsibility for making

concessions is here in the east. this idea that it's people that have to vacate public buildings occupied in the east. the subtext from the russians being that the people still holding the independence square are there with tents and barricades. the fact this public space is still occupied, so that seems to be the message from russia. certainly that would be a message that we shared by demonstrators here who feel they're unfairly being targeted by demands to lay down arms and leave the buildings. >> thank you very much. in western ukraine some tried to put the political tensions out of their mind during a traditional easter egg event. ornate eggs are put on show in the city's center. the largest is 3 meters tall. they hope this easter is a time for faith, healing and

forgiveness. we'll be back later this news hour. now let's go back to doha. colombia has declared three days of mourning for author gabriel martinez marquez. henry smith reports. >> reporter: in this small town they lit candles and laid flowers at his childhood home. colombia's president declared three days of national mourning and ordered flags to be lowered in his honor. gabriel garcia marquez, seen here recently celebrating his 87th birthday, was not just his country's most famous son. he achieved something very few writers have done, he put south american literature on the world stage and changed the literary landscape of the spanish language. it was a status recognized in 1982 when he won the nobel prize for literature. an award he treasured but

insisted it wouldn't change his unique outlook on life. >> translator: the nobel prize is something that happened to colombia and latin america and the world. here in this house, we're all the same people. >> reporter: he started out as a newspaper reporter, and jurmism remained a passion throughout his life as did support for left wing politics. he was a close friend of cuba's communist leader fidel castro. it was that mix of real life and the bizarre that gave birth to the literary genre known as magic realism. it reached its peak of popularity in his most famous novel" 100 years of solitude" that tells of extraordinary events of a family in a small town remarkably similar to the one where he grew up. >> he took more than 20 countries' literature and with a single book," 100 years of

solitude" created these forces and made it available to the rest of world. >> garcia marquez died in mexico city where he lived for more than 30 years. there will be a private cremation there and following by a ceremony on monday in the city's palace of fine arts. as tributes poured in, dlufrp ya's president said 1,000 years of sadness for the death of the greatest colombian of all time. u.s. president barack obama said the world has lost one of the its greatest visionary writers and one of my favorites from the time i was yuj. the chilean writer indi said in his books i found my own family, my country, the people i have known all my life. the color the rhythm, the abundance of my continent. his books have been translated into 30 languages and sold millions of copies around the world.

>> let's talk about this. joining us live is armando romero he's a language and literary professor joining us from ohio. what do you remember the most of gabriel garcia marquez? >> hello? >> mr. romero, can you hear me? >> yes. >> you're live on al jazeera. >> i can hear you now. >> what do you remember the most of gabriel garcia marquez? >> the first thing that i remember is when i was a very young writer, and it was in the '50s. his work really impressed me deeply.

even though disagrees with the avant garde movement in colombia with the people, and he disagreed with that. he was a little more traditional. i like his work a lot. at that moment when i read one of the his first books and the people who write, it has a very, very good book. >> what was it about him, do you think, that allowed him to capture the spirit of his people, his country, the continent so well? >> i have to say, you know, garcia marquez is what we call the perfect storm. it's a combination of many things at the same time that allow him to be really the extraordinary author.

first, the quality of his writi writing. his writing is a combination of prose and poetry. it's a cross between reality and fantasy. he uses his imagination for beauty and love. he uses violence and humor that way, you know. he really is a master. also, we have to really understand that he entered into the life of the colombian people and the colombian political and social environment that is very controversial for his -- really for his diversity and also for his violent components. at the same time we have the cuban revolution, that is also very important, to bring the

eyes of the western world on the war. that's a way for the latin-american people for writers and artists. beyond that, we have the president at this time of incredible amount of good writers in latin america. some of them are mario and other writers like h-- this is a perfect storm. garcia marquez is really the leader there. >> armando romero, thank you for joining us. thank you. well, nigeria's military says it was wrong to report that all but eight of the 129 girls kidnapped from their state of

bo borno have been rescued. nearly all of them are still missing. >> reporter: well, the confusion over the whereabouts of the girls that were kidnapped from the school seems to be coming from the nigerian military. on wednesday they released a statement saying 129 girls had been kidnapped but they managed to free 121 of them and that they had cross-checked this number with the school principal who confirmed the girls had been freed. however, within hours of the military statement, the school principal and parents dismissed the military claim saying the girls are still captive and still lost, the girls are still being kidnapped. now, within hours of that thursday, the military then released another statement saying, well, if the families and the school principal say the girls are still missing, then they are. all of this confusion over their whereabouts is exacerbated by the fact that the military has not released any photographic or video evidence of any rescue, none of the girls have actually

been seen and on top of that it's impossible to independently verify what the authorities are saying because they say it's too dangerous for human rights organizations, civil rights organizations, and we the media to travel to the area to see what's going on ourselves. it's been four years since a massive oil spill hit the coast of louisiana. bp has paid billions of dollars in damages, but has that money helped to improve the lives of local people or the environment? robert ray went to new orleans to find out. >> reporter: in the french quarter of new orleans, it's p & j oyster company. >> we're the oldest continually operating oyster processing and distribution company in the united states. >> reporter: on april 20, 2010, a blowout at a bp-run oil rig nearly 50 miles off the louisiana coast killed 11 workers and injured 17 others.

more than 4 million barrels of oil gushed into the gulf before the spill was stopped. the environmental disaster shut down p & j for over three months and today it's operating at 30% of the business it had before the spill. >> things have not gotten better. the oysters are not reproducing. >> reporter: 15 miles south of new orleans is the bay where many of the oysters grow. we took a boat ride deep into the bay with commercial fisherman and captain mike brockhoff. >> you can't believe how much of this land is gone. >> reporter: also riding along, david muthe, the national wildlife federation director of mississippi river delta restoration. >> this is the island. before the spill there were several hundred pairs of brown pelicans nesting, spoonbills nesting. there was a healthy forest of black mangrove here.

this is one of the places where, you know, some of the most horrifying images came from. the oil got into the colony, and it was underneath the mangroves. >> reporter: the birds are gone, and the island is now considered dead. >> it's sickening. this was a beautiful, beautiful place. >> reporter: it's patches of marshland here that took the brunt of the oil as it washed ashore, affecting the eco-systems out here and the livelihoods of fishermen. mark lost thousands of dollars in the summer of 2010. he says that business is not the same today. he does say that bp helped him in the aftermath. >> the money that they gave us pretty much helped make up for the losses. >> reporter: back in new orleans at p & j oyster company, the opinion is different. al would like bp to spend billions more on building up the eroding coast and fisheries.

>> bp's band-aided and spent lots of money promoting all the good they do rather than doing what they're supposed to do. >> dead fish. >> reporter: meanwhile, research continues on the environmental impact. the state has a plan in place to help save the eroding coast, build knee barrier islands for wildlife and help the seafood industry survive. much more to come including a world report from india. growing debt has caused a spike in suicides among farmers. as a tax increase on libya's media, the government says more regulation is needed. in sports, find out what is happening this golfer right there at the malaysian open.

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of a ferry that sank two days ago. so far 28 people have been confirmed dead but more than 260 are still missing. most of them are high school students. algeria's president has won a fourth term in office with 811% -- 81% of the vote. the second place is rejecting the results. survivors of an avalanche on mount everest are recovering in hospital. 12 guides were killed on friday. the search for three still missing has been suspended for the night. syrian state television says at least 15 people were killed by a car bomb in homs. it exploded as people left a mosque after friday prayers in a main mainly ail white neighborhood. it's as they try to take parts of city. anti-coup protests have been held in several parts of egypt.

they fired tear gas in front of a university in cairo. demonstrators complained about the military coup last july and the return of military guards in alexandria. they have anger and allegations of excessive force against peaceful demonstrators and criticized the military's involvement in politics. al jazeera is continuing to demand the immediate release of its journalists imprisoned in egypt. they are falsely accused of providing a platform for the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they've been behind bars for 111 takes. their case has been adjourned until later this month. the fourth journalist in detention has been held without trial since last august, and he's been on hunger strike for the last 88 days. al jazeera rejects all the accusations. since libya's uprising three years ago, more than 50 television channels and hundreds of newspapers have formed, but with little in the way of government regulation, critics

are saying that part of the media are behaving irresponsely and enciting violence. andrew simmons has more from the capit capital. >> it brings a new meaning to the term media war. this is a libyan tv station that's relaunching after a series of military-style attacks. the masked gunmen on security cameras opened fire with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher before entering the building to ensure the station was out of abbing. this isn't unusual in libya, but it isn't a surprise there's no investigation. here the general national congress raided last month by protesters who shot and wounded three elected members. the chairman of its media committee believes it's getting more dangerous. >> translator: everyone can see the chaos on the security front, but the same is true of the media, which is highly unregulated and encites violence against state institutions.

>> in libya anyone with the money and motivation can own a newspaper, a radio station, or a tv channel. they can send out virtually any message they like true or false because there are hardly any legal restraints. since libya's revolution three years ago, more than 50 television channels and hundreds of newspapers and magazines have opened up. some broadcasters are based in other arab states. all of this with elections likely in three months. armed groups are refusing to surrender weapons, and the government can't control law and order. >> it definitely wants to affect the election. it wants to affect the drafting of the constitution. big militias taking the sides of officially or unofficially of the debate. so we have a very, very, very dangerous mix here. >> reporter: back at the tv station, the staff are under constant threat, but they're resolute about carrying on with

their work. >> translator: even the average citizen is afraid to go out on the street, so you can imagine what it's like for a ju journalists working to tell the truth. >> reporter: so they continue to risk kidnap and murder, but the work of journalists is suppressed or sub verted. there's no government plan to hold anyone liable for telling lies or stirring up hatred, just as there's no means to offer protection for telling truth when it provokes a violent reaction. andrew simmons, al jazeera, tripoli. the world food program says more than half of all people in central african republic are in desperate need of aid, and it's urging swift action to deal with the severe food crisis as people there are dying from malnutrition. the situation in the town of boda is deteriorating. carolyn malone has this report. >> reporter: this is where some of the hungriest women and children come to get food in bod ar. the world food program set up operations in what used to be a

diamond and gold trading center, but there's not enough for everyone. local health workers say children are dying every few days from malnutrition. >> translator: i go to see and select the children who suffer from malnutrition, particularly severe malnutrition, and we find many of them, more than 200 to 300. >> reporter: diamond mining used to provide for christians and muslims here before the fighting between them started. now around 14,000 muslims live surrounded by christian fighters. many people are without enough food. the few supplies that get in are unaffordable. >> translator: everything is blocked. nothing comes in. it's very expensive to buy food. the amount of food that comes is very expensive. it's reached a critical stage. >> christian areas in the town

have been damaged by the muslim fighters. the revenge attacks removed any chance for the groups doing business together. >> translator: there are fires and absent miners who are there who trade with christians, but all the christians have become antibalaka and that's why muslim people don't want to stay and need to leave. >> reporter: french and african soldiers patrol the area to provide a buffer between the armed groups and to prevent more violence. the threat of more violence is making aid delivery very difficult. >> security is the major obstacle that we are encountering. the whole humanitarian community in delivering urgently required assistance for the people. where there's a fragile security situation and traj jill political situation, the slow delivery of humanitarian assistance because of security, we see a country falling apart. >> reporter: unless thousands of

muslims get safe passage out of boda or more food is brought in, people are threatened by a situation affecting much of central african republic. caroline malone, al jazeera. one of francois hollande's top aides quit with another blow to the french president. back to lauren taylor for the details on that. lauren. >> reporter: yes. he stepped down over allegations of a past conflict of interest with a pharmaceutical company. he was both a political sad visors and cheech chief of his communication team. he's under heavy pressure after disastrous results in last month's municipal elections. latest opinion poll put the president's approval rating at just 18%. he's been visited a factory in central france trying to shore up support. they say the new prime minister is asserting his authority as president hollande deals with

his laidest scandal. >> translator: it's -- >> reporter: a very serious case because it's the first circle. last time it was a minister, but this time it's an adviser, a personal adviser of the president. so we're in the inner circle of the power. this man worked for, as you said, a pharmaceutical company while he was at the head of the medical administration in france, which is absolutely unthinkable. it's a serious case for francois hollande once again. it's the new prime minister who forced this personal adviser of francois hollande to resign. so the prime minister has shown in a way his new authority not only on the government and on the ministers but also on the presidential administration, which is very interesting, because the prime minister has

the reputation to be a tough man. he has shown that he was a tough man indeed. the question today is to know if the president, which is presented and considered as a weak president, cannot be challenged by his prime minister, which will be the first time in the republic. in russian 700 workers are losing jobs at a car factory half-owned by u.s. auto giant ford. ford had a joint venture blame the cuts on deteriorating economic conditions and poor sales. ford says that the mrant near st. petersburg says they're offing redundant see for now. industry groups say car sales fell 5% in russia in 2013 and fp another weak year. the 74 victims of the boz kneeian war have been identified in the biggest mass grave.

hundreds of muslims were killed during an ethnic cleansing campaign. so far 430 victims have been identified at the site. the british government is being urged to do more to understand better the health risks posed by shale gas extraction or fracking. a group called physicians, sciences and engineers for heal healthy energy is worried about drilling in areas densely populated and a warning that the risks could include birth defects of the richard martin explains. >> reporter: in the united states almost a third of the natural gas is produced and comes from fracking, and that's meant a big cut in energy prices. in europe it's a very controversial issue. even though the continent is under pressures of finding new energy sources, france has banned fracking altogether. in britain some des drilling went ahead, but it led to widespread protest. they're concerned about earth tremors and pub health, drilling

in parts of northern england was stopped and a government report later said it was safe to go ahead. new research from north america says the uk report doesn't have the scientific backing to support its conclusions. one concern is the possibility of birth defects. >> mothers who are pregnant and live in close proximity to high-densities of shale gas development are statistically more likely to give birth to babies who have neural tube defects and congenital heart defects as opposed to mothers who give birth to babies who live more than ten miles away from active, dense shale gas development. >> reporter: the american research suggests the greater population density in britt can could be a big factor. the organization that produced the beneficiary report, public health england, says it standses by its findings.

it says it has always accepted nfks on the effect of fracking is limited and more study is required. the british government is keen to tap into the benefits of fracking, but it could be some time yet before it gets the go ahead. richard martin, al jazeera. the attended two of major good friday events at the van can on the day they commemorate the crucifixion of jesus christ. the leader of the catholic church was facedown. he didn't deliver the long service. it was by the vatican's official preacher. the preacher criticized the salaries and what he called a cursed hunger for gold. >> that's the latest european news. india is in the middle of elections to choose a new government. it comes as millions of small farmers have strugged with a

poor harvest. nearly 100 farmers committed suicide after hail destroyed their crops and they could not repay their debts. >> reporter: crop failure caused by storms have been especially hard. because of it his youngest son committed suicide in this field earlier this month. his only other son killed himself a few years ago for the same reason. even so, he says he has to keep on farming. >> translator: i have to do it. i have no alternative. how will i fill my stomach? if i don't work, how do i raise my grandsons? >> reporter: crop failures caused by drought are part of life and death here, but the hail and unseasonal rains mean the recovery this time will take longer. >> translator: the rain soaked up and washed away all the minerals in the soil, so for the next two years it won't be as good of quality as before. >> reporter: life can be good here. it can also be hard.

eight districts in the state have been hit by hail and rainstorms damaging crops on hundreds of farms. this onion crop is destroyed. these pomegranate trees look green, but the fruit is gone. a blight infection destroyed many of last year's crops. the government is compensating each farmer with 400 and 800 dollars depends on the size of land. it's a onetime payment specifically for damage caused by the recent hailstorms. some people say it's not enough. >> translator: that's the amount of central government has decides, and i'm a government servant so that's all i can say. >> reporter: because he owns only two small fields, he will likely get the lower end of the compensation. that's not nearly enough to cover the $2500 that he owes. he says he'll ask the village council for another loan so he can keep on farming. he hopes to grow for his grandsons something other than

debt. new u.s. government figures show that americans are among the most wasteful people on the planet. one community in vermont has found a way to turn compost into cash. kimberly has the report. >> reporter: in the small town of montpelier, vermont the wayside restaurant is known for being one of the best and busiest diners. more than 1,000 people eat here each week. when civic officials suggested they start to recycle the food waste, the owner scoffed at the suggestion. >> at that time i said no way. we're too busy of a restaurant to be taking the time out to compost. >> reporter: he changed his mind when he discovered recycling food scraps could save him money. instead of having to pay the city to carry away the restaurant garbage to the landfill, he would be charged nothing. the business's organic waste was

diverted to recycling. >> we collect food scraps because whether they go into the landfill, they turn into methane, which is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases. we take them to composters so they can be reclaimed into the soil. >> reporter: the city of montpelier is isn't just being environmentally conscious but it has a space problem. the only landfill is filling up quickly and expensive to run. it's a problem facing many states all over america. they're simply running out of room for all their trash. the scale of the problem is a wake-up call for local officials around the u.s. who are now looking to vermont's composting program for inspiration. making the best use of the nutrients in wasted food begins at this composting farm where table scraps are fed to chickens who in turn produce eggs. >> putting it in a landfill is a

terrific waste of the value of the material. we turn this otherwise squandered resource into food right in the first day. >> reporter: although it meant some initial reorganization in how the wayside restaurant operates, the owners say they now see the benefits. >> it's tons upon tons of compost that we've diverted from waste stream. >> reporter: a flow the state hopes will gain momentum with a plan to force all businesses and homes to separate food scraps from regular trash. the goal, an ambition one. zero food waste by the year 2020. kimberly helkett, montpelier, vermont. find out who is setting the pace in the grand prix coming up in sports in a moment. jazeera .

hello again. it's time for the sports news with raul. >> thank you very much. raphael nadal has suffered the rarest of things a defeat on the comp clay of mon tate carlo. just the third player in 11 years to beat nadal at the last event. the last time was ten years ago, and this puts him into a semifinal against the australian champion. >> it was a tennis match. when you play tennis, you can lose or you can win. i didn't play the right way. i didn't play with the right

intensity in my forehand. i played too short and gave him the chance to have the control of the point almost all the time, and he did much better than me. so that's it. roger federer has bumped a semifinals spot as well. he had a victory. the swiss was two points from defeat at the end of the second set, but he managed to force a tiebreak before taking advantage of a fourth set point after an error from tsonga. he'll face the defending champi champion. athletico madrid look to go six points clear. they're taking on 15th place. the game got under way a few minutes ago. still goalless. formula one hamilton is looking good in his efforts to

dominate the new formula one season. the mercedes driver was fastest in practice ahead of the chinese grand prix where he attempts to win his third successive race. suspension problems 89 laps in the morning session. he returns to set the best time of the day. ferrari alonzo was second quickest. the reigning world champion sebasti sebastien budle. another great day for him. there was a meeting bringing his practice session to an early close. the reigning stanley cup champions in chicago blackhawks lost in overtime against the st. louis blues. they lead 3-2 into the final period but with two minutes later, schwartz did it. that sent the game into overtime and it too three additional periods before alexander scored

the winner. carmelo anthony won't be in the playoffs for the first time in his career. he's open to the idea of staying with the new york knicks if he can be convinced they'll be more competitive next season. >> i don't know if i can afford to wait another season of losing. i really can't see that picture right now. as far as other changes and what's out, which quote-unquote change would be the best, you never know. sometimes the grass is not always greener on the other side. it's been a ralph day in golf who discovered firsthand why upsetting a hornet's nest is not an idea. he's under attack at the malaysian open. he suffered a number of stings. thankfully a water hazard was near by causing him some pain

was lee westward. >> the referees, they took me away and gave me a couple of things and they told me to relax. after those injections i felt a lot better, and i couldn't finish. you know, i couldn't finish the round because i was, you know, in no way to play golf. paragliding is a sport that few have the opportunity to take up, but it's provided an unlikely career escape route for one man in south africa. we have the report from capetown. >> reporter: he's having the time of his life. on a beautiful summer day in the cape, the 28-year-old is taking his maiden solo flight. we are flying right beside him. he quickly established himself as one of the rising stars in a

sport with a small but devoted following. his journey didn't start out smoothly. >> yeah, it was quite difficult to come here in south africa due to some problems. so i came here to south africa looking for a way. everyone else is so used to standing on the street looking for a job, looking for some work. i started to work as a border. that's the job i can expect. that kind of job. i was taking -- it was quite hard. >> reporter: he fell in love with the sport while carrying other flyer's equipment up the mountain to the launch point. >> this is real freedom. this is like a bir. bird. >> it was his friendly nature that captured the attention of the long-time flight instructor who wanted him to experience the thrill of flying.

>> pete took him under his wing and gave him a job at his paragliding equipment repair shop. he made the most of that opportunity. >> at the moment i have my license, but i've already submitted my application. if all goes well, my ambition is to become an instructor. >> reporter: he hopes that his story inspires others to fulfill their dreams and says that when circumstances are dirk, it shouldn't discourage you from fulfilling your ambitions. for more sports on our website check on aljazeera.com/sports. that is all i have now. i'll have more later. thank you very much. that's it for the news hour from doha. for viewers in the united states, it's back to the regular programming on al jazeera america. for international viewers, we'll hand you over to london and news coming up in just a moment.

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>> craig notman is leaving his home and his job in british mining to join the gold rush in the mongolian wilderness. he'll be working in some of the most dangerous mines on earth. >> it really is awful, it's really bad. that's really bad. >> he'll experience a traditional nomadic lifestyle under threat. >> as a coal miner, we don't get to milk many yaks. >> and meet desperate people, forced to dig up the land they hold sacred. >> it's really difficult to take in, this is. >> before discovering, first hand, the depths some will go to