we are ment to be your first choice for the news. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello there and welcome to the al jazeera news hour, live from our global headquarterers in doha. i'm laura kyle, and these are our main stories this hour. olympic organizers call the preparations in brazil the worse ever. a new mission for syria's chemical weapons inspectors. they are going to inspect allegations of chlorine use. an apology from the south korean

president, she regrets the slow response to the ferry disaster. >> and we examine the reasons why indonesia's elections were branded fraudulent. ♪ it was meant to be the greatest show on earth, every four years competitors gather for a festival of sporting excellence, known, of course as the olympic games. in 2016 the games will be held in rio dejannero, but brazil's preparations have been granted as the worse ever. construction of some venues hasn't even begun, and there's no plan b.

[ cheers ] >> reporter: this was the moment brazil's olympic dream was given a reality check. five years ago it won the right to host the olympic games, but it's preparations are badly off coarse. >> from my experience it's the worst i have experienced. but, again, we just have to make it happen. >> reporter: so what is the problem? brazil's preparations have been beset by lengthy delays, rising costs, and poor communications. >> we haven't had to send people in like this before. we -- we have been struggling to get them to understand the problem. testaments are starting this year, and yet in the test event, there's two people working. ♪ >> reporter: it all started with some much promise. they would be the first in south

america. but until recently there were worker strikes at the main olympic park, and the construction of a second major venue haven't begun. in june and july it has to get through hosting the football world cup. fifa has criticized its preparations. john coats says rio also has social problems. there's been months of unrest in some of the city's slums with fighting between police and the people who live there. here people demonstrated against brazil holding the world cup. >> the worlds will come together as never before. >> reporter: the international olympic committee says it has no plan b. instead it is putting the pressure on brazil to lift its game quickly.

well, gabriel joins us now from san polo, do you think these are fair comments? >> there is no doubt about it that reyou is not even close to ready yet. in some ways there's really no surprise there has been a worker strike at the main olympic village area. nobody can say the city is prepared right now to host the olympics in 2016, however, city officials are saying we still have time to get this done, and they say they are very confident that they will get it done, and so far at least, to these most recent comments that broke overnight in brazil time, the

officials and people here are mostly meeting this comment with sort of a shrug of the shoulders, they sort of see this as a replay with some of the things they are dealing with, with the world cup that is 50 days away. but so fares officials haven't said much. >> with that world cup due in just a few weeks, this is the last thing that they surely want to hear. >> reporter: absolutely, and i think brazilian officials said we're still 50 days away from hosting the world cup, and there are problems they have to work out. the stadiums are not entirely done yet, but they seem c confident that they will pull off the world cup and the olympics as well.

on april 10th the ioc sent out a statement saying large parts of the commitment have already been delivered, progress has been made. that was on april 10th. officials are go to point to this and say you said we were making progress. why do you say one thing ioc when you are abroad, but when you are hear, you put out a statement saying we are making progress. so they will be quite baffled by this, as they have by been over some of fifa statements they have received. >> thanks very much, gabe. z pro-russian separatists have stormed the regional government headquarterers in the eastern

city of lujanz. separatists have previous i will occupied only the local security services building in the city. the european union has released a list of 15 people that it will target with sanctions because of the ukrainian crisis. a total of 48 individuals who now face penalties including visa bans and asset freezes. on the list is the current director of russia's intelligence agency, and valerie, the first deputy minister of defense and the army general in charge of the deployment of russian troops along the ukrainian border. the new list announced by brussels includes 15

individuals, 9 of whom are russian. some of them are political like the deputy chair of the lower house of parliament here in russia who was instrumental in starting legislation to inkorea grate the crimea region into the russian federation. others are military, like russia's deputy defense minister and chief of the armed services. they said brussels is doing the bidding of washington with unfriendly gestures. the deputy foreign minister said it is a repeat of 1949 when the west imposed what he calls an iron curtain on the soviet union and other nations. the ministry has said it is ready to respond, but won't rush

its response. commentators have generally said it's clear both the eu and us are holding back and not going as far as they could. basically they are going after people linked to vladimir putin not after the big firms themselves. south korean's president has formally apologized for the ferry disaster and the death of more than 300 people. she says new safety procedures are needed. harry fawcett has more from seoul. >> reporter: on tuesday morning south korea's president was at the memorial of the victims, and later made this apology to their relatives and the nation as a whole. >> translator: how should i apologize for the failure to prevent the accident and the

insufficient response. i apologize with a heavy heart that so many lives were lost due to this accident. >> reporter: the moment the captain stepped off of the ship was released on video. most of the children died told to say put on board. the question in response as well as the delays in getting drivers inside the ship once it went under. she recognized that it wasn't just the response, but the conditions that allowed the disaster to happen in the first place. and promised a new effort to remodel this country from the ground up. in the meantime the investigation continues to expand, the action of the crew,

the regulators, and now though coast guard all under intense scrutiny. to syria now, a team is being sent on a fact finding mission. they are going to investigate the alleged use of chlorine gas. chlorine is not allowed to be used as a weapon of war. james bays is live for us at united nations. remind us of this alleged attack that happened in syria, and the response. >> reporter: well there have been a number of these mysterious attacks that have taken place in the last few weeks, causing real concern. diplomats here growing calls among those diplomats for inquiry, in fact last week, the nigerian ambassador said there should be an inquiry.

and ban ki-moon said there should be an inquiry. opposition sources will tell you they believe this is the go. they believe these are barrel bombs that have chlorine inside. the syrian government denies any wrongdoing. >> and we have got the syrian government allowing the opcw in to the country, of course the big question then is what access they are going to get. >> yes, i mean, i think what you have got to remember is the background to this. we had a previous chemical weapons team a swedish professor lead that. that was a un team, because at that point syria hadn't signed the chemical weapons convention. now it has. and it's the organization of the prohibition of chemical weapons that will carry out this inspection. there is another team -- it does

get confusing -- that is currently in syria, that's the joint special mission. they are trying to remove syria's chemical weapons as it's declared. so far they got to 92.5% of those chemical weapons removed or destroyed from syria, but one further complication, laura, i'm hearing some suggestions for the first time that they believe that president assad didn't actually declare all of his chemical arsenal. >> thanks very much indeed. well now inside syria, where two car bombs and mortar shelling have killed 37 people. the government held [ inaudible ] neighborhood was targeted. it's a district populated mainly by alawites.

and in damascus at least 14 people were killed when two mortar shells struck a school complex. the attack came a day after president assad nominated himself to stand for reelection. another very violent day there in syria, including large attack in the capitol. >> yes, we just spoke to the governor and he told us that 45 people have been killed in any twin attacks that took place. two car bombs exploded one after another 300 meters away from each other, and that more than 100 people have been injured. according to the governor and other officials they believe this is an attempt by the opposition to try to undermine the government's efforts to

bring some normalcy to the areas they have regained control of. the governor told us that today a main road has been reopened after it has been closed for three years. the government controls most of the area, and that's why the opposition is trying to carry out these attacks to bring back -- to be undermine the government's eh forth to organize these presidential elections. the government is trying to show that things are normal and these elections could be carried out and they do have legitimacy. >> yes, it does seem that president assad is pretty confident. >> yes, so far nine candidates, and it's the first time where syrians are going to take part in the popular vote to choose the president. in the past the president came

through a coup or there was only one candidate and there was a referendum usually with a lot of playing, which meant that that candidate took state in office like what happened to president bashar al-assad and before him his father. the opposition says these elections cannot take place. first the opposition members and representatives are not allowed and they will not be able to run against president assad. second more than 2.5 million syrians are outside the country as refugees, and there are more than 6 million syrians displaced inside the country which add even more hurdles for these elections to be considered legitimate and be recognized by the rest of the world. >> thank you very much. now a deadline for peace talks between israel and the palestinians have passed with no

break through in site. the u.s. brokered talks resumed in july after a three-year stalemate. negotiations have failed to make any progress. let's take a look at what has been happening. on march 29th israel went back on a commitment to release a fourth batch of palestinian prisoners. palestine responded by applying to official treaties. the israelis also reissued a call for tenders to build more than 300 illegal settlements. on thursday israel suspended negotiations. >> hamas as an organization denies my country's very right to exist. they say israel should be

liquidated. and every israeli civilian is a legitimate target for terror attacks. so we said clearly to the palestinian leadership, you can have peace with hamas or israel, but not both. and we call upon the president to renounce his pact with hamas and return to peace talks. we're ready for reengagement. hamas says they are against negotiations. hamas says sit a religious commandment to kill jewish people wherever you find them. this is an organization that is the opposition of peace and reconciliation. israel's government is determined to undermine the talks. >> they were researched a few days ago by unilaterally announcing the suspension of

negotiations. they stopped negotiations before the deadline. matter of fact from day one, the assumption of these negotiations last year, israel gave these talks no chance. i think we have countered 13,000 housing units for settlements, 60 palestinians killed in cold blood, 219 homes of palestinians demolished. escalation of attacks on our mosques. so is this the beleif your of someone who is trying to make peace? the government of netenyahu gave us no chance, gave secretary kerry no chance. they were determined from day one to undermine these talks and efforts. and finely they use the pretext

of reconciliation as a pretext to [ inaudible ] in the most short-sided decision i have ever seen. >> the u.s. secretary of state has backed off from saying that israel risks from becoming an apartheid state. he regrets his choice of words saying . . . foreign activists in gaza say a boat they were building has been sabotaged. an explosion caused the boat to partially sink. it was hoping to export goods to sea this may.

the brain child of the new prime minister. jackie why are these cuts likely to be made? >> well, the prime minister who hasn't only been on the job for less than a month is really in a difficult position. he has the left wing of his own socialist party who are firmly against anything that looks austerity. on the other side he's under pressure from the opposition and the european union to meet targets for reducing deficits. he said he is going to do so without introducing any new taxes. so let's take a look, then, at the breakdown. the central state budget is set

to be reduced by $25 billion. local authorities can expect to see their spending cut by $15 billion. social security also is do to be reduced by $15 billion, and spending on health care is set to go down by $14 billion. on health care, the government has been keen to stress that it will do so -- make those savings by -- for example using more generic drugs and having more efficient management of hospitals so a patient's stay is shorter, but evidently there is a lot of concern in france about what the implication of those cuts may be. >> i was going to ask you about the french people's reaction. we have been seeing similar scenes in greece and portugal of people coming out on the streets and protesting. >> we haven't seen that yet, because to a large extent france has avoided this painful lesson

we have seen elsewhere in europe. and that's probably one explanation of why they are a long way of reaching 3% for budget deficit. it does seem rather an optimistic amount of money to be cut. but at the moment people haven't really felt the effects of the cuts, but the effects could soon be felt by those people. the kind of ideas the prime minister has been look at is freezing pensions, welfare benefits, and freezing salaries for civil servants. the unions have already called for protests later this week on labor day, may 11th that has to car carry through parliament. so this is the policy, and the

plan as laid out by the prime minister, bah lot of people are raising doubts as to whether he can really achieve his objective. >> okay. many thanks for that. now at least 17 people have been killed in a double bombing at a market in the iraqi capitol. it's the latest in a wave of attacks ahead of parliamentary elections on wednesday. on monday a suicide bombing was amongst -- was the deadliest amongst the attacks. at least six people were killed in the town. people are gathered to watch television footage of the iraqi president casting his vote in germany. he suffered a stroke and has been receiving treatment there. the kurdish leader hasn't been seen in public for two years.

united states national weather service says around 75 million people in the country are at risk sfr storms that could unleash tornados. at least 27 people have died already. arkansas is the hardest hit state where rescue workers are working around the clock to search for survivors. andy gallagher reports from the devastated community of may d flower. >> reporter: the tornado has cut a path of restricti restriction -- destruction across three states but arkansas borre the bunt of the damage. homes and lives were left in ruins. >> our memories are gone. and we'll have to find them, hopefully. >> here's some memories, we have children and grandchildren.

just trying to find some things that we have had all of our lives. >> reporter: the satellite images from nasa show the sheer size of the storm system and many are still in its path. >> i want everyone affected by this tragedy to know that fema and the federal government is on the ground and will help our fellow americans in need working with state and local officials, and i want everybody to know that your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild as long as it takes. >> reporter: residents are now trying to recover what they can. the warning came just minutes before the tornado hit. the search and rescue depreciation is still underway here in arkansas, but when you see the raw power of this tornado on the ground, it's difficult to think that anyone could be found alive. here you see with the debris has hit the tree line. trees snapped like toothpicks.

the national weather service still hasn't rated this tornado, but the state's governor says it is the most powerful he has ever seen. >> schools offices and shops that now lay in ruins could just as easily been full of people. >> obviously devastation that -- that is very, very severe. all of the agencies have worked well. all of the volunteers worked well. city and county governments have worked well. >> reporter: the national weather service say the current storm system will continue to be a threat for days to come, but in arkansas residents face the task of rebuilding and laying their dead to rest. and now the weather with everton. do you have any good news for these poor people in tornado ally? >> the worse of these storms have moved. but we do still have storms in the forecast. you can see this massive cloud

showing up on the satellite picture. it's not just the winds, very heavy wind pushing through. the wetter weather will continue making its way further eastward. the brighter skies will come in behind, so there will be some improvement as we go through the week. for the time being, we're still seeing very heavy rain around. nashville, tennessee, and that's going to continue to pour down across the eastern side of the country, right around the appalachian mountains. not just rain -- we have still got snow in the forecast. i know it's the end of april almost may, and we're still talking about snow. the rain still remains very much in place right up the eastern side of the country. so we do have storm watches enforce for the eastern side of

the u.s., but as i said, laura, we have got better conditions coming into the western side of the us. look at these temperatures, really quite impressive. 33 in l.a., and seattle should touch 29 degrees, laura. >> everton thank you very much. now so-called blood diamonds helping fund devastating civil wars in africa. an export ban could be lifted and still to come we go digging for gems in ivory coast. and in sport, paris should be paying the price for overspending. details later this hour. ♪ vé

♪ hello, again, the top stories here on al jazeera. brazil's preparations for the olympic games in two year's time are being described as the worst ever. the vice president of the international olympic committee says the situation is critical and construction of some venues hasn't even started yet. the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons says it is sending a team into syria to investigate the alleged use of chlorine gas. and pro-russians separatists have stormed the regional headquarters in the eastern city of louhantz.

we're joined live from london. thanks very much for being with us. let's compare london to rio. two years out where was the uk in comparison to brazil? >> i have to say that london was very much on course. they set out a seven-year plan from the day that they got the olympics, and the test events kicked in, in london itself a year before that. competitions in the venues to test how the infrastructure worked, and then the events on the olympic park actually came in the november before on time and on schedule, that was their mantra throughout that everything was on time and on schedule. and they were always effusive in

their praise. >> some of the venues haven't even begun to be built yet, so are they fair? >> i think they are. these words have come from john coats who has been an ioc member since 2001. and he was on the organizing committee for sydney. and he sits on this coordination board that going to rio dejannero. the last time they came was in march. the warning signs were there with the statements talking about serious delays. even the ioc president has had a meeting with the president of brazil earlier in the year. and john coats has been unstinting in his criticism here. you have these three different

bodies in brazil that are vying for authority over the purse strings and deciding who is responsible for which, makes it a mind field for the organizers. >> there were similar fears surrounding athens, and that did come together in the end, so should we expect rio to pull it out of the hat? >> the ioc brought in their own specialists in terms of construction. in athens they were put on a yellow warning, and threatened by the then president with taking the games away, but they had to employ many more people and go overbudget to get everything ready on time. the worst example was back in 1976 when the stadium wasn't even open in montreal. so there's the real specter that everybody doesn't want to

revisit. and there is so much riding on these games in terms of merchandising and television broadcasts around the world. so it is one of those things that you cannot afford to fail. >> and of course the world is already looking at brazil because it's hosting the world cup in just a few week's time, but that could be a negative as well, couldn't it, because of course, the attention is all focused on that. >> well, it is, only twice in recent history have we had a city and a country hosting the olympic games and the world cup in quick succession, mexico did it, and then germany, but it sounds trivial but there could be problems. football is like a religion in brazil. they are the ultimate football mad nation. and if they go all the way to

the final, you can see lots of people not wanting to spend their time on a construction site. absenteeism could be a problem during the world cup which will only make the situation with the olympic installation that much more serious. >> all right. philip great to speak to you. thanks very much. united nationses hi commissioner for human rights has condemned the death sentence given to over 600 people in egypt. >> the high commissioner strongly condemns the shocking imposition of the death penalty on 683 individuals in egypt yesterday after mass trials that she said clearly breached international human rights law. for the second time in two months the six chamber of the

criminal court has imposed the death sentence on huge groups of defendants after prefunding torie trials. >> reporter: al jazeera continues to demand the release of its journalists. peter greste, mohammed fahmy, and baher mohamed are falsely accused of providing a platform to the outlawed muslim brotherhood. and the fourth al jazeera journalist has been held without trial since last august. he has been on a hunger strike for the last 99 days. al jazeera rejects all charges. police in india have arrested what they call trouble makers on the eve of voting in india's national election. more than 600 people arrested. it has been the center of a decade's long separatist movement. in central india many young people have been removed from

school caught in a cross fire. special colleges are giving some students another chance to be educated. >> reporter: laying the foundations for a better future, these students are learning practical skills that they hope will open a world of living opportunities. they are being taught at the lively hood college. it was established to tackle growing unemployment of young people. it is an area where rebels have been fighting the india government. thousands of people have been killed. youngsters like these have either been approached or know of someone who has been forced to fight for the cause. 90% of college students here come from rural backgrounds. this boy travels 10 miles to get to the area.

>> translator: he is away weeks at time by himself. >> reporter: while he sees a future for himself, those watching the scheme have different ideas. >> the college seems to be misplaced in their agenda. we would have livelihood colleges, but not focussing on the still kind of livelihood because they are not in place or their place is something which is not so established. >> reporter: this is a graduate seamstress. she is make clothes that are sold nationally. it's one of the college's success stories. >> translator: even after school there were no employment opportunities because of the situation, now that is different. >> reporter: the success of the scheme has resulted in six colleges being established across the state. it is rare in india to find a

college that has done so well in such a short amount of time. now all they have to do is pick up a needle, screwdriver, or even a spade and make a choice to change the direction of their lives for the better. anti-corruption investigators in indonesia say this month's parliamentary elections were the most fraudulent in recent history. steph has more. >> reporter: others prefer to do it secretly, but this parliament member is caught on camera handing out money during a rece recent rally. he denies the charges. >> translator: my religion says to help each other, whoever

wants my assistance. there is nothing dangerous about this. i always have a lot of money in my pocket and i'm not campaigning now. i give this to whoever needs money. don't consider this campaigning. why am i not allowed to help poor people for religious reasons? >> reporter: the elections held earlier this month were considered a success because of the lack of violence, but the allegations of cheating have more than doubled since the last elections. this man says he'll vote for a candidate who gives him money. >> translator: i will definitely vote for the person who gives me money and food ahead of the elections because i feel sorry for that person if he has already spent so much money. >> reporter: a politician from the democratic party, the patty of presidential candidate, says she thinks she lost her seat

because she refused to buy votes. >> translator: i'm very sad, of course, because i worked very hard, and i went to meet my constituents more often than any other candidates, but my efforts to change the mind sets of the voters to accept social aid instead of money clearly failed. >> reporter: some say these have lost faith in their politicians after the corruption scandals of the last five years. many firth now will only get worlds. according to indonesia law, vote buying a punishable by four years in prison. but election officials rarely punish those who do it. >> translator: this is dangerous for our democracy, especially for our effort to eradicate corruption. the root causes of corruption can be seen during elections. money has to be earned back when

you are in office, and that's where corruption gets worse. >> reporter: only one third of members of parliament attended all of the house sessions, and 70% of lawmakers did not visit their electoral district. figures that won't help restore people's faith. barack obama has finished his week long trip to asia. regional trade and security were the focus of the tour. but the visit didn't go exactly has the white house had hoped. >> reporter: president barack obama went to asia for more than just fancy food and banquets, but he sure was toasted a lot. still what he wanted on his first stop was a tried deal with japan. after frantic meetings he left full but empty handed. >> why did it not happen?

in part because of opposition to the treaty from inside japan. real limitations, political limitations on the prime minister. >> reporter: that could signal long delays or even the eventual death of the agreement. japanese officials seemed-to-get what they wanted though. >> the treaty covers alterers to administered by japan. >> reporter: reports throughout the trip had one question about that. >> will the u.s. defend the philippines in case of a territorial dispute with chai? nah? >> are you saying the u.s. would consider using military force? >> reporter: he never really answered that, because the answer not necessarily. the treaties don't say the u.s.

must intervene militarily. mr. obama did signing a agreement to give the u.s. military greater access to military bases in the philippines. about 2,000 u.s. marines are rotating into australia. the pivot to asia, apparently on a slow role. the white house believes even if he has one agreement, then the trip was a success. there is more ahead this news hour, including munich looking to turn the tables in the champions league final.

♪ now diamond smugglers could soon be out of business in the ivory coast. the embargo on blood diamonds is considering to be lifted. >> reporter: a stone so small yet worth so much. this diamond could be his ticket out of this mine, but there's always someone watching. he decides its value. the gem can be worth anything from $0.05 to $50 million. >> translator: finding a diamond is a question of luck. if it's small he can make a few

dollars, if it's big he can make a lot more. >> reporter: here he decides on the price. >> translator: he pays me to dig. we can spend months without finding anything. when i find a stone, he pays me a little extra money and then takes it. >> reporter: for the last decade a un embargo has banned the export of diamonds from the ivory coast. the diamond trade in ivory coast no longer yu-- fuels armed conflict, but war lords have turned into business mepranum. >> reporter: this chief in this village, together they now lead a state registered diamond cooperative. >> translator: the white men have stopped buying directly

from us, so we sell them to other people. >> reporter: he refuses to tell me who the other people are. the un accuses this man and others of illegally trafficking die amongeds out of the country. he is now deputied chief of the armed forces. the un security council plans to lift the diamond export ban, this may put smug ellers out of business. for these minors diamonds are just another shiny stone providing enough money to get by. now let's get all of the sport. >> sthang you so much. depending snab champions miami heat have completed a clean sweep in their eastern conference playoff series. they showed their support over the l.a. clippers over the

donald sterling controversy. they warmed up with their jerseys inside out. miami winning 109-98. they take the series 4-0. >> i can't imagine what the clippers are going through, and obviously they had to focus on a huge game yesterday, but you can tell that some of their focus was taken away because of the incidence that happened with their owner. and there's no room in this game for an owner like that. and for us as basketball players, we're all brothers. later on tuesday the l.a. clippers will take on the golden state warriors. the clippers were heavily beaten in game 4 on sunday. the nba are to hold a press conference later to discuss developments. this comes as un secretarily

general ban ki-moon weighed into the debate. >> sports can be used to breach culture, religious, ethnic, and social divide. as magic johnson said in response to the controversy involving the los angeles clippers. i quote, we all pray there are different races of people when you in sports. that's what makes sports so beautiful, unquote. up to 20 clubs are facing sanctions for breaking european football's financial pair play laws including the big spenders. psg are bank rolled from invest tars from qatar. uefa's financial control board has made offers to the club which could be either a ref manned, fine, or limit on

players. the fannel will make the final decision. the president said he did not expect any clubs to be ban from playing in europe. real madrid take a 1-0 lead heading into their semifinals. they can currently in the worst run of this season. >> translator: madrid is a fast team. they are really quick, and if you lose a ball you have to be set up well in defense and close down the spaces, but they also try via other avenues to score goals. so you have to keep them away from your goal. this is the most important thing. real will be welcoming back

garrett vail. the spanish side are aying their first clamp i don't know's league final in 12 years. >> it will be a difficult game no matter what. yeah, we're looking forward to it. we know it's going to be a difficult game, and it's a big job at hand. in the english premier league arsenal on are on the bank of securing nomination after a 3-0 win over newcastle. the scoring was wrapped up in the 66th minute. newcastle has suffered a 66-game loss. the l.a. king's series with the san jose sharks will go to a

sixth game. the victory means the kings become only the ninth team in nhl history to force a 7th playoff game after losing the first three of the series. a hot treat from [ inaudible ] helped the penguins clench their place into the second round of the playoffs. a 4-2 series victory results. the first round playoff between the minnesota wild and colorado avalanche will go to a decisive game 7. two goals and two assists for the wild to give them a 5-2 win on home ice. well there's much more sport on our website. for all of the latest, check out aljazeera.com/sport. the top story, the comments by john koets describing the preparations for the 2016

olympic games in rio as the worse he has ever seen. >> laura thanks very much indeed. for many people in jamaica marijuana is part of their culture and their religion, but the drug is illegal on the island, now campaigners are pushing for legalization, saying the economy could benefit. >> reporter: hidden away up in the hills above kingston, this man and his son lead us to one of their small farms. the remains of his most valuable crop. for more than two decades, he has been growing and selling marijuana, or gone ja as it is known locally. last year police raided his fields. >> you can go and shop in america in some places and buy it, no arrest. and in jamaica you have police going around and destroying this

valuable plant. >> reporter: the drug is illegal here, anti-narcotics units burn acre after acre every year. but as more and more states in the u.s. decriminalize, lawmakers and business people here say it's just a matter of time before jamaica follows. raymond price says the race is on in the caribbean, the political voice who says it's time to capitalize own a huge economic opportunity. and one which could make a big difference to a country saddled with some of the biggest debt in any world. most ja may -- jamaicans agree with him. in this conservative country,

the government is walking a very fine line, because there are powerful voices that oppose such a move. the minister of health says the government must listen to the country's religious leaders and supporters. >> it's not just the church, they are citizens of jamaica, families who have been impacted by their own children using goneja. >> reporter: but for tens of thousands of jamaicans it's more than a product. the daily use of marijuana is a right not a crime. he says it can be the healer of a inflation. do stay with us here on al jazeera. we have another full bulletin of news for you straight ahead.

bi-partisan\forces secretary of state john kerry to back off afteritionis risks becoming an apartheid state. can the nba take a team away from the longest standing owner after alleged racist comments? >> how after tsteroidscould cause a greater threat than we have been led to believe. here is more on what's ahead. >> the u.s. took new action against russia for its role in