in china. that's our show. i'm ali velshi. thanks for joining us. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello there and welcome to the news hour, i'm laura kyle in doha with the stories on al jazeera. >> threats will get north korea nothing other than greater isolation. >> reporter: barack obama vowed to stand by south korea to counter a nuclear threat from yang. diplomatic war of words as the military build up continues on the russia/ukraine border, we meet the men with protecting the

oil resources ahead of key parliamentary elections plus. >> i'm rob in los angeles with a report of turning 60 and how this clean energy is growing. ♪ north korea will be more isolated if it continues with its nuclear program. that is the warning from u.s. president barack obama. he also says he must live up to international obligation and abandon weapons areas knowledge -- arsenol and it's an effort to improve relations between south korea and japan and harry is in seoul and we have been listening to both leaders there and north korea has been quite the pressing issue. >> that's right, both leaders

gave time in the opening statements of north korea. obviously it's one of the key issues of any american president visiting here would speak with his opposite number in south korea about their needing 30,000 troops here stationed in south korea. president obama after officialing unwavering commitments to the security of this country. a couple of other issues i should just get to first. he spoke of his own personal sympathy and condolence for those killed in the ferry disaster and just in the last-minute or so he has been talking about that issue of japanese, south korean relations and what his stance is on the historical grievances. he said that japan should honestly and fairly account for what happened. let me tell you what he said. that the issue of the comfort that were used by japanese troops during the second world

war as sex slaves, he said that was a human rights violation and those women deserve to be respected and that that should be regarded honestly and fairly. that is something that will go down well in south korea but also as you say speaking about the issue of north korea, reaffirming the u.s. stance that the cycle of negotiation and conciliation and met with further provocation by north korea, that couldn't go on and that the south koreans and the united states must stand shoulder to shoulder to face up to the threat. >> the united states and south korea stand shoulder to shoulder, both in the face of the provocations and in our refusal to accept a nuclear -- north korea. threats will get north korea nothing other than greater

isolation. and we are united on the steps he needs to take including abandoning nuclear weapons program and living up to their international obligations. >> reporter: harry we heard obama when he was asked the question and talked about the middle east peace talks, a fate there on and what did he have to say? >> well, he said that he would not apologize for his state john kerry's efforts to keep going on the middle east peace process. he said the resent agreement reached between hamas and fatar was a series of unhelpful steps both sides had been making in terms of trying to get towards some kind of settlement between israelis and palestinians and he repeated what he said before, that there is one door through which the both sides of this argument can ensure the future

for their people, but that door is a settlement in which both sides will have to make difficult political compromises and think they would go through that door tomorrow, next week or the course of the next six months, no, but he said john kerry, the u.s. secretary of state would continue to do everything that the united states could to push for that but he also said it might come to the point if there was no traction on this that a pause might be necessary in all this too. so some frustration there obviously from the united states' side about lack of progress, saying for now the efforts would continue from washington but, again, also the impression that it wouldn't be forever without any sign of progress from the israeli and palestinian side. >> on all fronts the u.s. president and harry thanks for updating us on the latest from seoul. ukraine's prime minister accused russia of wanting to stop what he called world war three and

it's a series of strong statements in the crisis in eastern ukraine. and earlier the secretary of state accused them of instable in ukraine and warned moscow it would be a grave and expensive mistake if it did not change course. >> putin and russia has a choice, if russia chooses the path of deescalation the international community, all of us will welcome it. if russia does not, the world will make sure that the costs for russia will only grow. as president obama reiterated earlier today, we are ready to act. >> but russia's foreign minister called the ukraine military operation in the east a bloody crime and sergei fedorov warned the government in kiev it will face what he calls justice for staging a war against its own people. and ukraine and russia have both sent more troops on the border between the two countries and we

have more on the military build up in the area. >> reporter: it would deploy here a day after crimea voted to leave ukraine in mid march, the border guards set up base near an abandon farm and they are the first to face any russian troops that cross into ukraine. >> translator: i don't think anyone is going to come, but looking at the big picture, if that kind of situation comes about we will be the first to meet them. we are ready to fulfill all duties that stand before us. >> reporter: russia already has tens of thousands of troops stationed across the fields that separate the two countries. we are on ukraine eastern border and russia on this side and there is troop movements not far from here and ms moscow said th were military exercises but they are not taking chances and they are digging trenches in hopes of holding back the tanks and the military exercises are in response to ukraine crack down

of who took control east of the country. ukraine soldiers say the russians moved closer but there is nothing they can do for now except monitor their movements from the sky. the sound of helicopters rumble above the village's. he lives in one of the village's and feels at home in both russia and ukraine and has been concerned about the military build up. >> translator: my sister lives in russia with her two children. i always go to visit them but if something were to happen then i don't know how i will see them. on my way to college i see tanks. is it scary? of course, it is. >> reporter: the border has never existed for people living here, it's now become a fortified barrier or a symbol of an ever growing divide, i'm with al jazeera along ukraine's border with russia. >> let's cross now to peter sharp, the correspondent live for us in moscow and peter we

have been hearing from the russian foreign minister and from president putin, this on going war of words. >> we heard from sergei fedorov who is a foreign minister and the sticking.appears to be the agreement signed in geneva on thursday, last week, called on the russian-speaking separatist to vacate the buildings that occupy and give up their weapons. and what sergei fedorov is saying today is look, it's also implicit in the agreement that kiev must first of all clear the independent square which is the focus of the revolution. it must get their supporters out of the illegally occupied buildings in kiev and they should disarm the right sector, that is the right wing radical group and he says if that happens then the leaders in the southeast of ukraine will follow

suit, give up the buildings and surrender their weapons so you are getting one line there from sergei fedorov putting something out. meanwhile rather sort of almost h his -- hysterical interim president saying russia is preparing to start world war three so take your pick because it's coming together, it really is. >> the sanctions of yet more sanctions does loom heavily over moscow but is there very much concern about it? >> no, not really. it's not so much the sanctions which were individually targeted for people, it's the lack of confidence in russia. what you need, if you are investing money in a country, huge amounts of money is stability and security and russia doesn't take the options at the moment and since the start of the year there has been a flight of more than $100 billion of capitol out of the

country and that is, in fact, impacted on the economy, the economy has been cut by a half of one percent and as that goes on through the year and it's very possible it will you get 0 growth at the end of the period and russia would go into recession. that is what is hitting the country at the moment is the threat of very, very serious sanctions and also the continual decline in the value of the rubble. >> reporter: thanks very much peter. let's go back to a situation on the ground in eastern ukraine and we getting reports that ukraine special forces launched a second stage of operation there in the east. and we are joined on the phone from near the town now. and what are you seeing there? >> reporter: well, i'm on my way there. now, there is some sort of an incident that happened this morning. what we can confirm is that the ukrainian helicopter has crash

landed at the air field and that is a contested air field that has been sort of a center of fight between the ukrainian para troopers and protesters for the past week i would say. it's not clear what made that helicopter crash. the ukrainian or defense ministry is saying it crash landed but residents in that area told us that they heard gunfire all around the air field. helicopters have been targeted lately simply because of the fact that they drop leaflets over the town, warning people not to support the activists who are held up in seized buildings and the leaflets and clearly call them activists and extremists. so they are unpopular, the helicopters there. and that air field if you recall last week was the scene of a

gunfire exchange between the pro-russian side and the ukrainian para troopers as they were starting the antiterror operation and it's near that air field that the armed vehicles were seized by the pro-russian side. it's not very clear what is happening. i will be able to tell you once i arrive on the scene. >> how heavy a presence is the pro-russian activist in that particular area where you are? >> well, they are towns close to each other, about 20 minute drive, and that is where you have the concentration of armed men, they call them the men in green. that's where they -- you see them roaming around the streets freely with their ak-47 and even semiautomatic rifles, that is where they go around with these armored vehicles so it's certainly one of the most

volatile area in the east of the country. there is also the self proclaimed mayor who by all accounts has a bit of an merk yshg background and has a stronghold on russian men carrying weapons according to what he says, but it is certainly becoming the center of armed confrontation in this battle for supremacy really over the east of ukraine. >> okay, thanks very much for that update there from outside the town in eastern ukraine. now, over to syria where activists say at least 30 people have been killed in aleppo province and fighter jets bombed a market and the air strike is part of an offensive targeting opposition held areas in the province that began in december. the u.n. says at least one million people in the city

syrian city of aleppo are in urgent need of assistance and they accused both sides of blocking aid. for sometime now roads have been blocked by fighting in the divided city. dana reports in turkey. >> reporter: aid workers managed to cross into the rebel-held east of aleppo city from the golf-controlled west earlier this month. it was the first time since june humanitarian assistance crossed through the front line. since then the only border crossing between the divided city has been closed. aid agencies have been facing obstacles to reach those in need. >> for the past two months the icrc has repeatedly been requesting authorizations from the government to access areas that are directly effected by the fighting in aleppo. however, today there is an additional challenge, there are roads that link both sides of

the government and the opposition-controlled areas in aleppo together that have been blocked. there are roads around the city that connect the city with other major cities in damascus that also these roads have been blocked. >> reporter: a new push by the rebels has threatened to cutoff half of the city that the regime controls, the highway and southeast links aleppo to damascus to the south and forces use a dirt road to reach the city and even that supply line is threatened. the opposition denies it's responsible for preventing supplies from reaching civili s civilians. >> translator: it is the regime who closed the humanitarian corridor in the city and that connected the east and the west. the regime wanted the territories but now it's under siege. >> reporter: people living in the government-controlled west say prices of basic goods and fuel have increased but according to u.n. agencies on

average 75% of aid distributions across the country occurred in areas controlled by the state. from turkey's border it's about an hour's drive to the rebel-held east of aleppo city but the syrian government won't allow the u.n. to use border crossings that are not under its control and u.n. agencies need to respect that. if it wants to continue operating in state-controlled regions where many civilians sought refuge. with obstacles little aid is reaching the hundreds of thousands of people living in the divided city where the battles have been over supply lines and i'm with al jazeera. >> still ahead here on al jazeera, threats of an fam i ne and fighting in south sudan continues and we are in the capitol duba. the plans for a unity of government. and in sport find out how the

world's latest olymnian performed in swimming. ♪ oil security is set to be an important issue in iraq's parliamentary vote which will be held next week, the pipelines and infrastructure under constant attack and run into the millions. and we report from there. >> reporter: in the land of black gold these men are responsible for keeping the oil flowing, they are the iraq oil police. the commander here briefs charges for another day on the front line. here and across iraq they mount defensive operations as well as intelligence gathering of potential threats, it's a dangerous job. and this post commemorates those

who died in the line of duty from this unit alone. the iraq oil police were formed in 2007 and after the american invasion in 2003 iraq eastern guy infrastructure was in chaos, gangs would smuggling oil from pipelines such as this and sell it on to foreign countries and that has come to an end now but the kinds of threats that the iraqi oil police face now have become much more dangerous. the pipelines and facilities are attacked on a weekly basis by armed groups, the damage runs into the millions. the oil police are controlled from here in the oil ministry in baghdad, it's a big operation, spread out across the country. the general in charge is well aware of the threats they face and says they need more help. >> translator: we are facing a fierce assault especially during 2013 and going through this year. the enemy considers oil as weapon in this open war so the

enemy strategy is to bomb and attack facilities. i continue to ask for more weaponry and more vehicles but so far none have been received. >> reporter: looking to the future, iraq knows that energy security is important, which is why it's one of the big issues during the election campaign, all political parties are aware that securing iraq's future depends on securing its oil pipelines, i'm with al jazeera. >> south sudan government ordered the release of four former politicians from prison and key demand rebel fighters t national security minister and three other senior figures loyal to the former vice president and accused of having a coup in december and leading armed groups against the government. violence led to a displacement of more than a million people and a growing threat of famine and we report. >> reporter: this is the market in the southwest of south sudan

in the green belt and clearly no shortage of food here but elsewhere in the country there are people with severe, accuse malnutrition, that is people who are on the brink of starvation. but this country is capable of producing enough food to feed itself with a surplus, the problem is it's so difficult to get the food around the country, even before this conflict started there were enormous difficulties and now those are made much harder. >> we will talk to the deputy director of south sudan and joins us from the capitol duba and thank you for being with us, first of all give us an idea of how serious the threat of famine actually is. >> we have a serious problem in south sudan, and we are trying to feed 1.3 million people at the moment who have been effected by the conflict. these people are in very remote parts of the country and the road infrastructure in south

sudan is such that road access is almost impossible during the rainy season which is about to come upon us. what we are facing at the moment is the additional problem of security caused by the armed conflict and we are trying to work very closely with the authorities to get access through from duba up into those remote areas. >> security is an added challenge, which is new this year, but in the previous years wfb has often had to step in, hasn't it, in times of potential famine and how well equipped is it to do so? >> the people working in south sudan have been working closely with the local authorities across the country to help build resistance within the local community so they can look after themselves. the last five years we have been here we have seen year on year increases in food production

across the country and it's been manifest itself in the fact that malnutrition rates have been falling. unfortunately since the 15th of december when the conflict started we seen a reversal of this trend and it's very worrying. at present wfp is trying to feed 1.3 million people. we reached 700,000 so far using 60,000 metric tons of food, i need another 60,000 tons of food in to get us through the year and if we do that we can stay off any catastrophic issues that may come about. at the same time the conflict had an impact on the planting season for the farmers and as a result for 2014 planting season has been severely effected so we are just looking at how to cope with the current issues and being prepared for potential issues in 2015. >> thank you for joining us and highlighting the desperate

issues in south sudan and that was from duba. the trial of three journalists in egypt has been adjourned for another nine days and they have been in jail for 118 days and greste and fahmy and mohamed are falsely accuseed for performing a platform for a terrorist agreezation and the fourth al jazeera journalist has been held without trial since last august and on hunger strike for the last 95 days and al jazeera rejects all the charges and continues to demand the immediate release of its staff. a drunk passenger on an australia flight has been arrested after he tried to get in the cockpit. the plane which left could have been hijacked, and the jet was forced to land in bali and said the passenger was handcuffed by the crew. and now let's get all the

weather with stef and yesterday we saw horrid dust storms in china, are they cleared yet? >> they are working to the northwest and things are better and elsewhere may be good news as well. looking at the satellite picture and we see the area of clouds leading that more disturbed weather and sweeping eastward it's edging its way to beijing and we all know beijing is famed for its rather bad air quality and today on friday we had a very unhealthy pollution index there of 242. but things are going to improve. in this system and it will give us some rain. it's not going to give us a great deal of rain and we are expecting around 10 millimeters of wet stuff but it's not enough to clear out the atmosphere and that means as it works it's way through the night and it should be a lot brighter for us in beijing and in beijing things

look like they are improving so if we work further to the south some of us here the weather is not going to be as for giving over the next few days and already over the last 24 hours we see nearly 100 millimeters of rain on the eastern coast and the showers are easing and over the past few hours we have been watching pockets of clouds develop to the south and this is what we have to watch over the next few days because this is where we will see the heaviest rain where we have the dark blue colors here could well be flooding in the next couple of days. >> thanks very much. now the mountain guides and the government in napal is threatening the climbing season of the world's highst mountains and follows the deaths of 13 people and the avalanche last friday and at least three others are missing and international climbing companies are packing up and saying they will not try to climb this year. and we report from kathmandu and what it could mean for the tour

guides who depend on tourism. >> the world tallest peak is off limits this season and 13 mountain guides were killed a week ago on everest and the question is what happens next to those that directly and indirectly depend on everest and tourism. they made their decision, they will not work until financial protection for them and their families is in place. if they won't guide them safely to the top, everest is effectively closed and to climb the peak was to begin in may but no it's dead and they are packing bags and returning home and foreign climate met them with fortune this year and the extraordinary events of the past week and have an extension of five years to compensate for the thousands of dollars they spent getting there. they earned $39 million in tourism in 2013.

consequences for closing down everest will not be known for sometime. how far and wide this move will effect the country will probably be calculated by politicians and economists in the coming months but the immediate effect will impact the community who depend on this very small window of opportunity to provide for the rest of the year. >> still ahead here on al jazeera, a report on malaysia deadly malaria leaped from monkeys to humans and just weeks before it opens the doors for the memorial museum in new york triggered controversy. and in sport nadal is maintaining a 11 year winning streak in barcelona. ♪ well it's official...

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reminder of the top stories on al jazeera, barack obama says north korea will be isolated even further if it carries out a nuclear test and in south the u.s. president says he poses a threat to the region and the united states. ukraine prime minister acruises russia of what he calls starting world war three and called ukraine military operation in the east a bloody crime and both countries sent more military personnel to their border. south sudan's government released four senior politicians from prison and a key demand of

rebel fighters and accused of supporting the coup by the former vice president. obama visit to korea and seoul and we are joined by skype and as we heard the u.s. saying that it's committed to helping bring an end to north korea's nuclear program but i'm just wondering what sort of leverage it has in that situation. >> yes, i mean, i have to say i'm skeptical about it. i think many other analysts and journalists who have been covering this unfolding story would share the same feelings because we have seen sanction after sanction and resolution after resolution and the north's outward policy seems to laugh in the face of it or at the very best case develop a kind of skewed interpretation of the way in which the world presses it not to go ahead with it. so nuclear ambitions and missile tests.

and while this is a state we are talking about, it's very difficult for anybody to truly, with any accuracy interpret the motivations of his leadership. >> we are saying a fourth nuclear test which of course we heard north korea threatening would render the six-party talks meaningless but they have been dead in the water for years now. >> yes, they have and i mean, again, ever since i've been working as a journalist out here in south korea which is now 3 1/2 years, there has been this constant talk of those talks being brought back to life. but we have moved no closer to that except there was some hope with the inauguration of the president opened towards the north more than her predecessor but we have not seen washington's tune change and certainly not yang change and if north korea turns around the day after conduct agree if nuclear

test and says it's ready to talk and read -- ready to do what washington says and show genuine sincerity they wouldn't be dead in the water but the likelihood of that happening especially given the way in which north korea realizes and has for some time played its cards in the direction of a nuclear deterrent keeping the major force of this world at bay while it renders it very unlikely. >> absolutely, this is a broader question if i can, and obama is there visiting a number of countries, trying to present the show of support for asia, for the region and reassuring the area that it focuses on the asia pivot but do they feel this u.s. focus? >> you know, i would say that in south korea more than perhaps in other countries there is a strong tie with the u.s. and public sentiment that has been revealed by recent analysis that i've seen has certainly been on the rise towards the u.s.

we are not seeing that empty washington feeling that perhaps we have seen in the past but then again what we are talking about here is it about the u.s. or is it about protecting seoul, is it about tokyo or korea, how can you stand shoulder to shoulder with seoul when seoul is so unhappy with tokyo and stand shoulder to shoulder with japan at the same time plus you have the spectrum of china looming and entanglement we are talking about here means the u.s. is playing a very delicate game in which it knows and recognizes that the tides of change have long since been in motion and can it maintain this close relationship with south korea when the rise of china means that both economic and political reasons you've got this obvious friendship opposing japanese nationalism or whatever you want to call it. >> very difficult path to tread

indeed and great to speak to you and thanks for joining us from south. >> my pleasure. >> the united states is not giving up on peace in the middle east, but that it may be time for a break. and these are efforts for a deal and lie in tatters and they suspended discussions with the palestinians a day after they agreed to form a unity government. and jordan has more from washington. >> reporter: back and forth from the u.s. to the middle east, 11 trips in all and secretary of state john kerry tried to help israelis and palestinians cut a deal on peace but kerry says it's out of his hands for now. >> we may see a way forward but if they are not willing to make the compromises necessary it becomes elusive. >> reporter: this is after reconciling with hamas and walking out of the talks on principle. >> i think what has happened is a great reverse for peace. as long as i'm prime minister of

israel i will never negotiate with a palestinian government backed by terrorist organizations committed to our destruction. >> israelis accuse the palestini palestinians of rejecting the u.s. proposal to commit a framework for future talks and blame the president for refusing to even discuss recognizing israel as a state of the jewish people and they are threatening to cut thousands of aid but the leaders insist they are sticking to their plans. >> translator: we say that with passion and will and take strength in and hope we will talk about the threats. >> we truly hope america understands the unity of the palestinian people is sacred right for us and therefore we will not give in to any threats. >> reporter: some say the obama administration should think about why the second effort to broker peace has failed. >> despite the investment and the time they spent, they continued the same sort of

format of supporting israeli positions first and then trying to push the palestinians to agree with those positions instead of acting as a genuine mediator. >> the u.s. special envoy is staying in the region and both sides want to find a way to peace. as long as hamas is still doing business with fata it's difficult to see how that could happen. roslyn with al jazeera, the state department. >> a short while back this is what u.s. barack obama had to say on the state of the peace process. >> yeah, the fact that most recently president abbas took the unhelpful step of rejoining talks with hamas, is just one of a series of choices that both

the israelis and the palestin n palestinians made that are not conducted to resolve the crisis and i make no apologies for supporting secretary of state kerry's efforts tireless efforts despite long odds to keep on trying to bring the parties together. there may come a point at which there needs to be a pause and both sides need to look at the alternatives. >> the world health organization says the number of people dying from malaria has fallen dramatically, u.n. says global mortality rates have fallen 42% since 2000 and the report says more than 3 million lives have been saved between 2001 and 2012 and most were in ten countries with the highest rates of malaria and it's killing hundreds of thousands of people every year and a new strain

leaped from monkeys to humans and causing concern in malaysia and we report on this. >> reporter: once every two months village's from this long house near the town here give blood samples. it's part of a study on malaria. and he was sick several years ago. >> translator: i thought to myself i'm going to die if this disease cannot be treated. >> reporter: he was inspected with the parasite called plasmodiam-mosia and hence the name monkey-malaria and a mosquito bites a monkey and then a human and the first time it was reported was in the 1960s but the cases were extremely rare and they are becoming more common though with the parasite being the main cause of malaria

case in the hospitals. and transmission of parasite is rare but increased land clearing for farming and logging meant closer contact between men and monkey. that has made it easier for the parasite to become a genosis, an infection that jumps from animal to human. 80% of them carry the parasite and they are the most common nonhuman primate in southeast asia and the parasite is more dangerous because it multiplying quicker than other malarial parasites. >> the problem is when the patients come in the parasite and they may not be diagnosed with malaria and sent home and when they return the parasite counts are too high and they may die from it. >> reporter: under a microscope it looks like a less deadly

parasite, p-malaria and miss diagnosis can be fatal and because of that health workers in malaysia label cases thought to be p-malaria as the other also. but for people in rural areas the risk of getting reinfected is high and mosquito repellant is high. >> translator: i can get it because i go in the jungle from time to time and the farm. >> reporter: the only way to make sure it's not fatal is by educating the population and early detection and prompt treatment. i'm in malasia. >> they gathered around the world to remember their war dead. hundreds of people attended an annual service including britain duke and dutchess of cambridge and a campaign in turkey in

world war i and thousands of soldiers were killed in the battle. and weeks before it opens the doors on september 11 memorial museum in new york triggered controversy and inter faith advisory committee is objected to a short film called the rise of al-qaeda that will be shown there. muslims in manhattan are too worried to talk too much, and he resigned from an advisory board at the new september 11th memorial museum. he is concerned about how a 6 1/2 minute film describes al-qaeda and its relation to islam. off camera muslims say they are worried about backlash from the film and there are objections to it, objections shared by 11 members of the inter faith advisory committee that wants more context added to the film. >> this is a group of religious leaders directly impacted by

9/11 and not niave and not ideal isic and come from a variety of perspectives but everyone felt the film felt short and presented risks to an audience that is supposed to be being educated about the 9/11 story line. >> the film which we were not allowed to view is called the rise of al-qaeda and critics who did see it says it doesn't do enough to talk about islam and the 1.5 muslims that reject the ideology. 5 million people a year come to visit the world trade center site, the museum which opens in just a few week's time here builds itself as an education center which is why critics say it is so important to get the portrayal of muslims right. but museum officials refuse to make changes speaking exclusively to al jazeera they say the film was exhaustively

vetted. >> we are using the words that are used to describe this particular stream of thinking and action within the broader muslim community. there is no effort on our part to characterize all muslims in this way. >> reporter: nevertheless critics fear that is exactly how the film will be seen and the course of objections from muslim groups is growing as opening day approaches. kr i'm with al jazeera in new york. >> they clashed with police at rio and the police are accused of shooting a dancer during a crack down on drug lords and has a wave of violence and the government promised to investigate the deaths. >> police killed my son and they still have the courage to come here, why? we did not invite them. i as a mother did not invite them. i am disgusted and repulsed and have a right to be alone with my

son and friends and the protesters were invited to come and honor their dear friends. >> and also to come here on al jazeera, including the billion dollar e cigarette industry that could be facing u.s. federal regulations. and in sport the pacers are out run in the nba playoffs and andy will be here with that story. ♪ r

♪ and the u.s. is planning to introduce its first ever regulations on electronic cigarettes and under the

proposed rules e cigarettes will be ban for sale for minors and advertising restrictions and tom ackerman reports. >> reporter: it's taken five years for the u.s. food and drug administration to exercise its authority to regulate electronic cigarettes. it's now a $2 billion industry with u.s. sales doubling by the year. big tobacco companies are leading the way and products with advertising pitches like this. >> i get a blue without the guilt because it's vapor and not smoke and no ash and no odor. >> reporter: it would require ingredients to be registered and listed and claims of risk based on scientific evidence include health warnings and ban vending machine sales unless it's where under age youth are barred and they are stopping short of restricting on line sales, tv ads or fruit flavor ings which according to some critics are particularly targeted at younger

users. at this store in washington which already restricts customers of ages 18 and up manager ryan bixby says regulations are welcome. >> people are making products that may or may not be reputable and it's up to the vendor to do research to find out companies that put out solid products and made properly. >> reporter: promoters of e cigarettes will reduce the conventional smoking rate in america which has not fallen below 20% in resent years. >> e cigarettes will be more part of the solution than part of the problem. >> reporter: antismoking campaigns are skeptical. >> the big question about e cigarettes will they reduce the number of people who smoke or act as a gate way to smoking especially among kids. >> the answer to that question will be depend on the final shape of regulations and research to determine if e-cigarettes convert deadly smoking habits into something safer and tom ackerman, al jazeera, washington. >> let's get all the sport and

here is andy. >> thank you so much, laura and michael phelps is yet to decide if he will compete in the 5th olympics after returning to competitive swimming the 18 time champi champi champion finishing second in arizona and he put on the same weight and 20 kilograms in weight and the 28-year-old is against lachte and he is a close second behind his fellow american and he will compete in the 50 meter free style on friday and support has been overwhelming so far. >> i'm having fun and i really do mean that. there is nothing like being able to come here and show packed stands where they are cheering us on and helps us get through the race and obviously being back in the water with ryan is always fun when we race, neither one of us want to lose to one

another but that is making us faster and faster each time. >> the manager vila-nova is seriously ill and being treated in a barcelona hospital and he has been fighting throat cancer since 2011 and the 45-year-old was forced to step down from the manager's job last year due to the illness and replaced in the job and that boss has a title during his one season in charge. and he will take a narrow advantage in the second leg of the ropa league with ventic and beating them 2-1 ahead of next week's second leg and they have the added incentive of knowing the final is to be played on their home ground and severe charge of the other one beat velencia to win the title a third time. he is leaving options open as he continues to be linked to the

manager's vacancy at manchester united and the coach not ruling himself out of contention in the first public statement since the firing of david and twice from the german title and says he is still waiting to be approached by united and hasn't as of yet had to consider his options. >> translator: i think united is great but i'm still happy here because there are a thousand reasons why i really like working at the club, the only condition which must be filled and it's more important than contracts is all of those involved have to have the feeling that i'm the right coach for this team, as long as that is the case i don't have to think about anything else. >> newly elected president of africa's most successful club speaks about the football in egypt and the season failed to defend the african league title and domestic league games are still played behind closed doors due to security concerns. >> translator: for sure, the

absence of supporters and uncertainty with the league and the country has had a big effect. i hope this will change. we have started talking with the football association and the other clubs. we want our league to be run as they are in europe and most of the world. >> the atlanta hawks took 2-1 in the series with the top seeded indiana pacers, and jeff teague led the hawks with 22 points, pacers struggling and show showed so much of the regular season 98-25 on this one and game four is saturday in atlanta. >> it's a great position to be in and we would like 3-0 but will take 2-1 and we have more come games coming and it's great. but i mean every game in the playoffs is all monster. >> reporter: the boston bruins put the detroit red rings on nhl eliminations and two goals down on this one and getting the over

time win to give them 3-2 victory and 3-1 series and defending the eastern champion with a home win on saturday. minnesota levelled their series at two a piece beating colorado avalanche and scoring once and a 2-1 victory and game five is in denver on saturday. la kings avoided first around elimination with a 6-3 win over the san jose sharks and they trail in the series 3-1. nadal is level with rash after winning the 683 open match and she in 11th place in the record books with the american and the last 16 of the barcelona open and later in the quarter finals he is aimed to win the title for a 9th time. >> everything, and keep

improving more but happy the way i played today and better than yesterday and that is really positive and i know to be ready for that. >> reporter: and she was the former world number one was 90 minutes to beat her in straight sets and next up for her is top seed that starts in a few weeks time. >> i faced her a few weeks ago in paris and lost it in three sets and i was keen trying to win the match today. i didn't have the start i wanted but i was really happy i was able to win in two sets today. >> reporter: and plenty more on the website and check it out, al jazeer jazeera/sport and ropa league is the top story and how to keep in touch with us on twitter and facebook and that is it for

sport and more from me later on. almost 60 years since the first solar power cell was invented and gas dominates the supply but power of the sun is increasingly being used and rob reynolds reports from california. >> another solar panel goes up on a roof troop in los angeles, la, produces 132 mega p -- mega watts and california is committed to having a million solar rooftops by 2016 and california goes and the world, solar power at last is taking off says the head of europe's research institute. >> energy is in a very good state today because costs have come down so much that it's competitive and it's much below household electricity rates.

>> the sun has been the principle source of energy for life on earth for 3 1/2 billion years. it was only 60 years ago that people figured out how to turn sunlight into electricity. in the tones of a 1950s news real bell labs announced the first working photo cell. >> men have at least harnessed the sun with the bell solar battery. here is one mounted in a protective case of clear plastic. >> the policy institute threw them a 60th birthday party last week. >> this is the biggest breakthrough in the history of human energy technology and it's the cornerstone of what is going to help us move forward to a safer, cleaner, more secure world. >> reporter: 90-year-old physicists is the last living member of the team that achieved the solar energy breakthrough. >> it's amazing what has happened in the last ten years

especially but in the beginning it was very difficult. you have to educate the public, what is this device and what can it do and nobody ever heard about this device. >> reporter: the power of the sun together with wind and other renewable sources may be the key to controlling climate change caused by industrialization. but experts say solar power development must be speeded up. >> 10% solar coverage and 10,000 and at the moment we are installing 50 per year. >> indeed man has at least dipped his hand into the sun and drawn down a spark to warm the hearts of man. >> reporter: solar energy is all grown up but it still has a long way to go. rob reynolds, al jazeera palo-alto, california. >> that is it and we have a full half hour bulletin of news and if you are watching in america,

we will see you again later.

>> a war of words over ukraine, the countries acting prime minister suggesting russia now trying to start world war three as moscow and washington exchange even more tougher talk. >> the second part of president obama'sation pivot takes him to south korea, addressing north korea nukes. >> we can make this country safe and protect the guns. >> a plan aim