>> iraq producing oil at pretty much full capacity. >> iraq is producing now what amounts to 3.4 to 3.5 million barrels. it's exporting 2.8 to 2.9 million barrels. this means that iraq is capable of expanding the production further if gee politics and stability and the infrastructure permitted to do that. >> so this--i was going to say this should be an extremely wealthy country. looking at it, it does not

appear that it is trickling down to the people. >> well, remember that iraq has been subjected to a war, a devastating war, and then there is the instability in the aftermath of the withdrawal of the american forces from iraq. which means that many thousands are being killed, and there is insecurity and instability. sooner or later the instability will be back hopefully in iraq, and then the people who start to enjoy the fruits of their oil experts which this year could amount to $100 billion, as you heard. >> what do you think the biggest problem in terms of getting the country back on its economic feet. is it politics or is it rivalries?

>> well, it's politics, or let me call it geopolitics. the iraqi-kurdistan, i think, wants to become independent. iraq will not accept that. no oil has been exported through the iraqi-turkish pipeline to the coast of the medicin medite. and that trouble could lead to the dishel dismemberment of irat treated. the infrastructure, iraq needs more outlets to be able to export more of its oil. and of course if there is no stability, the foreign companies operating in iraq will be hesitant to spend more and more billions of dollars to raise iraq's oil production.

>> doctor, thank you, we appreciate your time. thank yothank you for your timem london. >> thank you. >> a school in aleppo is attacked. the rubble here was a school building which despite all the violence in the city have been continue to go operate. rescuers are still digging through the debris that they believe 25 people died here. the majority of them school children. the children had been preparing an exhibition on the war in

syria, drawing images of the violence that they themselves had experienced. a travesty that no youngster should have to endure. a future that they will not now live to see. in the u.n. new york expressions of shock but deadlock aroun aroe security council table will again mean no action. >> it is horrific what is happening day by day. children, women, men being directly targeted. it's a flagrant violation of the basic tenants of war. the security council in previous situations when we have come together around humanitarian issues, and have passed robust security council resolution. the differences, the political

differences amongst council members, and again i stated this again is itself having an impact on the way resolution 2139 is being implemented. >> in addition to the bombing of the school in aleppo, equally shocking attacks in the suburb of damascus where a technical institute was targeted, killing 14 youngsters and injuring 80 others. and the car bomb in a busy part of the city of homs, 100 dead, many of them children, too. james bays, al jazeera. >> the humanitarian crisis for nearly 9 million syrians is worsening. telling the u.n. security council behind closed doors that they're refusing to' allow humanitarian workers deliver aid. joining us from new york is

valerie amos, the emergency relief coordinator. valerie amos, it was you who gave this briefing to the security council not very long ago. you said that the situation was getting worse, in what way? >> well, passing the resolution authorizing more access, and looking at issues like the way civilians are being targeted in the fighting. i reported it the security council that things are going backwards. we've seen very little progress. the situation is getting. we need to take action now before things become worse. >> when you say things are getting worse, give us an

example. >> well, for example we have 2,040 people in communities that are under siege. that means they can't leave if they want to. they can't get medical supplies. they're running out of food, and we can't get in to give people urgently needed humanitarian aid. the north of those people are in communities that are under the government of syria. we all know that the government has a responsibility to look after their own people. >> the ability of the international community. here we talk about the united nations to get anything done. this has been going ton for years, and these people are left being completely adrift.

when i first went to syria, we were talking about a million people who need help. that figure is now 9 million people in the country and 2.5 million people have fled to neighboring countries as refugees. >> i understand that. but this is the indictment of the united nations for not being able to help these people. who is to blame within that organization for not being able to do the right thing here? >> well, we have a security council who passed the resolution. i'm report together security council that their resolution has not been implemented. they need to think about what action they want to take next. of course, we continue to work with all those with influence over the groups on the ground,

and there are a lot of groups operating on the ground as well as the government, all engaged in the fighting, which is having such a major impact. look at what we are seeing in relation to children in syria. we heard another report of the bombing of the school. this is reprehensible and outrageous behavior. >> those are the people on the ground. what about the people within your organization. >> as i said the security council has the security of global peace and security. they passed two months ago resolution to insure humanitarian access into syria. i have reported to them in my second monthly briefing that the resolution is not working.

>> you might be aware where i'm going with this because there was a letter written by 30-plus international lawyers saying that the united nations can go into syria. it's not a legal matter where the u.n. was saying it was. it had to be invited in by the syrian authorities. these authorities are saying because of the situation the united nations can go in. i would like you to listen, valerie amos, to this we got earlier today. john jackson from the free syria campaign talking about what these lawyers have written. >> we know that the u.n. and it's agencies are doing an incredible amount of fantastic work within syria. the thing is they no longer need to wait for the regimes' permission. 35 of the world's best legal minds, judges, and professors of law said under international humanitarian law irrespective to the united nations security council resolution, the

arbitratal denial, these people have been waiting long enough. they're struggling hard. they're struggling heroically to survive, and it's up to us to make bold decisions. >> i know your heart goes out to the people in this terrible situation, but what tease lawyers are saying the united nations can, indeed, must go in without the say so of the syrian government. >> well, the united nations is in syria. they medicine 4 million people. 8 million people are able to get safe drinking water because of the work of the united nations. i said to the security council that we shouldn't be getting hung up on legal arguments.

there are differences of opinions of the international law. that is not the concern that i have at the top of my agenda. the concern that i have at the top of my agenda is how can we best get the aid to the millions of people inside syria who need it, and we need to do that in a range of different ways. working with u.n. humanitarian organizations. trying to get more of our ngo partners inside--into the country so they can help us. countries supporting the ngos who are doing work across the borders, across that difficult border between syria and turkey where you have a lot of different armed groups operating every single one of us has a job to do here. and we need to support each other in doing that job.

i don't think getting into esoteric legal arguments is not going to help. >> let us hope that there won't be too many times to come when we have to do the same thing, valerie amos talking to us on the news hour. thousands of prisoners across egypt on a hunger strike. handing down death sentences to oh more than 680 people. one of them is the leader of the outlawed muslim brotherhood. families of prisoners are asking for a show of solidarity. we'll go to the son of the political detainee, a spokesperson for the party.

you can tell us what your father said about the motivation for this hunger strike, and how long do you think it will go on for? can you tell me why your father has decided to organize this protest? >> we've been contacting, we've been coordinating this for more than. >> okay, this is a hunger protest that started now or some months ago. i don't understand what you're

telling me. >> we've been arranging for it for more than five months from now. will this be a complete hunger strike? no food will be taken in, but water will? >> we'll hunger strike against torture and detainment of the prisoners. >> yes, thank you. thank you very much, indeed, for that. >> okay. >> al jazeera finances to call for the release of its journalists who have been we woulbeen heldwithout since last august without

charges. he's been on a hunger strike for 100 days. he's not taking he began taking liquids only. on march 16th he limited himself to only water. and ten days ago he weighed just 74 keel grams having lost a third of his body weight. three other al jazeera journalists remain in prison in egypt. they are falsely accused of providing a platform for muslim brotherhood, now considered a terrorist organization. al jazeera rejects all of the charges. ukraine's acting president said his forces are in his words helpless to stop the unrest in eastern ukraine.

let's. >> to our news certain for more on that. >> reporter: that's right. they have attempted to stop the unrest from spreading. >> the police and security service in these regions are unable to fulfill their duties to protect the citizens. some of these units assist with terrorist groups. >> we'rwe're live in the ukrainn capitol, what action can the government now take then? >> reporter: well, it's a difference of potential tactics. of course they could try to force their way into some of the buildings, but that would be counterproductive. it is, after all perhaps what the russians once, for ukraine

to get tough against the russian elements in the east, that would give the pretext that russia would require to move across the border. many are praising the government in kiev for not doing that, for not going fire-for-fire. what the acting president was saying to 20--well, more than 20 regional governors, their top priority over the next four days is to prevent the unrest which we've seen in those eastern regions from spreading further across the east and perhaps into the south of the country. we have heard that ministry of interior forces were doing their job or perhaps the city police

were not doing their duties as required. >> the military exercises were going to be held tonight kiev. what's the latest on that? >> reporter: yes, it's a very strange one. there is an announcement on the city council website earlier on today. it spoke of tactical special training and the possibility that armored vehicles may be involved. thethey are planning military exercises in the early hours of thursday morning. it does appear there is some exercise training but it will fall short of the tanks rolling through the streets. the fear that that taking

advantage of the four-day holiday, taking advantage of the break. >> thanks so much. and n.a.t.o. is respond to go that tension in ukraine by tripling the number of fighter jets patrolling the air space that borders rush. reports from the main air base that nato is using in lithuania. >> reporter: aircraft from the united states, britain, and poland sending a deafening message. n.a.t.o. is building up to watch for russian plains which for years have flown in baltic air space unannounced testing and probing. fears are worsening. action in ukraine remind leaders in countries remind them how their nations were once themselves annexed by the kremlin.

>> on wednesday american fighter pilots handed over to polish and british airmen and women, all part of a standard rotation but one bigger than ever before. the baltic countries, estonia, latvia and lithuania don't have their own aircraft, so they've had to rely on alliance members. >> n.a.t.o. partners wanted in a visible way to contribute to the integrity of the air space and along the way reassure an ally to let them know that n.a.t.o. is strong. n.a.t.o. is ready, and n.a.t.o. is committed to collective security. >> n.a.t.o. says it is watching. a boost of presence is likely also a warning with more jets

taking to the air, armed and ready for action just in case. nick schifrin, the air force base lithuania. >> sanctions imposed by russia by the u.s. and european union because of ukraine are meant to target those close to president vladimir putin. they believe the loss of confidence caused by the sanctions is weakening russia's economy. we have this report from moscow. >> reporter: the country is now in recession. cutting its growth from 1.3% to just 0.2%, and it's saying the reaction is largely to blame .

>> adding new names to the list of people subject to sanctions. citing president putin putin. investors moved around millions of dollars. this could be a blessing in disguise. >> until today russia's full potential with business focusing mainly on the west. i think both western experience

more adverse affects because of the sanctions. >> we'll have more from europe in the news hour. but let's return you to doha and. >> still to come on this al jazeera news hour, how french high speed trains could soon come germans, but the americans might have the final say. and in sport he's been banned from the nba. but the protest to remove donald

sterling as owner of the clippers is just beginning. stay with us.

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>> good to have your company, this is the al jazeera news hour. air strike of a kyl school has killed 30, and member many of them are children. many were in aleppo trying to fight against security forces. so for an election which was preceded by so much violence and marked by an absence of international forces, how did iraqis fare? we have this loc look at how thd how the rest of the world looked at the election day. >> reporter: it was a welcome

change to see iraqis celebrating their country and a chance to vote in a democratic election. think about this, the governor of baghdad, iraq's smallest province, only authorized cars were allowed out on the roads. going out west to the international airport, that was shut down. when you talk about precautions these are pretty major steps that were taken. but the sight of people holding their fingers in the air, their purple finger, the finger dipped in ink saying they voted. and people love posting this oh social media as well. this is the type of thing that we've seen all day. not just people who have voted

but their children as well. they couldn't vote but they wanted to feel a part of the electoral process. i really liked this one, the iraqi special forces member helping a woman in a wheelchair to get to the polling station. the important thing to remember with an image like that. elections were held without u.s. forces on the ground for the first time since saddam's fall. and it's a reflection of how much has changed in that time that this election barely made headlines in the united states. >> iraq elections not mentioned at all. when they do, they talk about the next elections in november. politicians are not interested in pushing this back in the headlines. they almost never talk about

iraqi. president obama leaves baghdad up to his vice president. he has not picked up the phone in about a month that gives you an indication of how little iraq is talked about in the power circles in the american people. >> this was iraq's election. it may be a long process to form a government, but on the day at the polls iraqis were in control of their own political process: >> legal challenges are expected after the botched execution of a prisoner on death row in the united states. a lethal injection failed to kill clayton locket, and it took 40 minutes for him to be declared dead. he had a heart attack. >> reporter: this is exactly what clayton locket's lawyers feared might happen at the execution with an untried cocktail of drugs. >> at 6:39 he was still lifting

his shoulders and head off the gurney and appeared to be in distress. >> he said something is wrong. he said man, he tried to rise up. >> reporter: he was log this after he was sedated and unconscious. he was writhing. officials closed the viewing galleries blinds. but locket was pronounced dead of cardiac arrest 43 minutes after his execution began. this is the second time this year that an inmate has gasped through air during a lethal injection. and it's a grim decision for those who argue that new laws to keep secret the source of the drugs use violate the law

against cruel and unusual punishment. many pharmaceutical companies refuse to supply drugs as death chambers. then they get drugs elsewhere but refuse to say where. some say how locket died was not important. he was convicted of shooting a 19-year-old girl and watching as she was buried alive. the object was to kill locket, and that was achieved. even if you believe the death penalty the constitution must be upheld. >> the crimes are undisputebly heinous. but execution must be carried

out humanely. >> reporter: more legal challenges are expected not based on the morality of the death penalty but the ability of the state authorities to carry out executions. al jazeera. >> mobile phone video of one of the teenagers who died in the south korean ferry disaster has been released by his family. he is seen seriously joking and laughing as the situation becomes more dangerous. >> reporter: it's hard to watch, harder to listen to. the last 15 minutes of a mobile phone recording made by one of the teenage victims of the ferry disaster. >> it's tilting. save me says another voice. the loud speaker tells them to stay in their cabins. but the tone is one of nervous

humor, not terror. they sit at the foot of their beds even though it still seems possible to move one boy is shown standing in the corridor outside. later one boy says we have to get out. it's meant with laughter. soon life educates are passed around. some of the zips don't work. where arwear your life jackets,t means that we must be sinking. again, they are told to stay in their rooms. >> reporter: the video was used in the form of stills and audio but now the parents say they want the full video shown to show how badly they were children were served by those who were supposed to serve them.

all the crew involved are in custody. the coast guard is under investigation to see if it could have tried harder to get the victims out. the cost guard chief apologized to the families saying he would accept any criticism of the response. in the hometown of the students 17 of the 74 who made it out of the ferry are now discharged from hospital. they paid tribute to the dead and missing classmates. they set up a memorial nearby. medical staff stand by to monitor them for those who lost so many at such a young age. an explosion in the far west of the children, south railway oregion. ethnic challenges have been

going on for years in that area. at a news conference in the capitol of juba, the u.n. has requested an investigation to recent mass killings. they also met the rebel leader to talk about the violence. the battle to try to buy one of france's leading energy companies is hotting up, so to speak. general electric have stated their interest in the french firm. let's go to our london news center. >> reporter: now best known for making trains, now the french government has been trying to put the brakes on some of the offices for the firm.

outside there are workers who are concerned about their future. they're afraid they will strip assets and cut jobs. the french economy has not ruled out a sale to g.e. but he would prefer a deal with the german company seimens. >> it will allow them to have a future in france. what interests me is france. >> reporter: g.e. is interested in alston because the french company is a big player in the energy sector. it manufactures turbines for nuclear power which supplies most of france's energy needs. alston also manufactures the high speed train which takes passengers from one end of france to the other in just three hours. this high speed train is the course of nationathesource of nd most people don't like the idea

of such an iconic company not being french. >> reporter: g.e. is interested in this side of the business. and seimen's would make alston one of the biggest train manufacturers in the world. >> there coulthe government hasl power to block g.e.'s bid unless there are guarantees to safeguard france's nuclear industry. alston is referring the offer from g.e. and will give its answer within a month. >> the resistence to antibiotics is becoming so widespread that many of the world's preventive diseases could be killers again. many of the disease versus

evolved so they can fight off the most powerful of drugs. >> reporter: the "world health organization" said its happening right now, antibiotic resistence is growing all over the world, rich and poor countries alike. common diseases which have for decades been treatable with antibiotics are developing ever stronger resistence. the main bacteria which cause diarrhea, pneumonia and gonorrhea are becoming more difficult to treat. the widespread prescription of antibiotics started in the 1940's, and it revolutionized medicine. diseases which for centuries that had killed now suddenly became treatable. but we've taken antibiotics too often, and that has allowed resistence. what the world needs now are new drugs to deal with this emerging crisis. >> but no antibiotics are

produced. it's a risky investment for the big drug companies. >> we've had resistence, and there is a harsh truth in all this. the more intensified selected pressure on an organism, the more quickly it will emerge resistence. that's the fundamental principle of selection. we have to sensebly manage what we have, and we have to intensify our search for new products. >> reporter: the "world health organization" says the following needs to happen now. antibiotics should only be given when absolutely necessary. more should be done to prevent people getting ill in the first place, and governments and industry need to do more to develop new drugs. the report is the most comprehensive study into this growing problem. it plunges the possibility of the future in which minor infections could once more become life threatening, anden

era in which medicine for the first time lakes a huge leap backwards. al jazeera, london. >> ten people have been killed by a fire at a russian military base. it fought a forest fire spread to the base. setting off an explosion in an ammunition dump. the bodies of two soldiers and eight civilians were found in a lorrie after the fire had been put out. traveling to brussels for a human rights conference, but she was taken for questioning and had her passport seized. >> meteorologist: after nine hours of questioning, an emotional woman claims she has been humiliated by police. the chief officer tells her to stop making a fuss.

but she has always been a shrill critic of authorities, now they finally come after her. age bushe was detained with her husband while attempting to fly out. the prosecutors office said they were being questioned apart of an unspessify criminal investigation. they have since been released. although their passports have been withheld. last week journalist was deported from turkey, and is now in custody on espionage charges. later eunice claims they are being targeted by the authorities for advocating better relations with armenia. the two countries remain locked in a frozen conflict over territory following war in the 1990's. but it's just the latest of what appears to be a long-running campaign to violence critical

voices. that began after the crackdown of arab spring protests. >> instead of responding to the grievances on the ground, instead of understanding how it has affected people it has gone after the civil society. >> reporter: it is important to the west. it's no friend of neighboring iran, and an alternative to russia as a supplier of natural gas and oil. so while international concerns have been raised about lady eunice and her husband's treatment, criticism is often balanced by the west's regard for this country as a strategic partner. al jazeera. >> in bosnia pop pope john pull2 ha2--2--pope john paul ii supp,r

figure in the mainly muslim city. bob hoskins has died. he is best remembered by this performance along side costars in "who framed roger rabbit." now back to david in doha. >> felicity. we thank you. still to come on in al jazeera news hour. we have sport including criminal action being brought against a spectator who threw a banana at a barcelona footballer.

>> we have sports. >> thank you so much. the united states president president obama supports the nba's decision to ban l.a. clippers' owner donald sterling for life. he was recorded making racist comments, now the more challenging process, to force him to sell the clippers begins. sterling bought the team back in 1981 for $12 million, now the the sale could pocket him a small fortune. for more on this, we're joined by chris sheridan. now chris, what does the process now?

how can sterling be forced to sell his own team? >> reporter: the procedure, there are 29 other owners of nba teams. three-quarters of them would have to vote to force him to sell the team, and that meeting would not take place until several weeks down the road. of more immediate concern of the nba is donald sterling going to take the nba to court. if he does this could be a protracted legal fight that goes on not only for months but for years. >> if he does have to sell his team who are the front runners who are likely to buy the clippers, we hear oprah winfrey's name. >> yes, her name has popped up, magic johnson, who used to play for the los angeles lakers, and owns a piece of the los angeles lakers, he's interested. there are all sorts of names coming out now that the franchise is about to come on the market. it's not often that a franchise

in a very large city such as los angeles becomes available for purchase. this is a high profile like a trophy acquisition for a lot of people. it has been valued to $500 million, but if there is a bidding war, this franchise could sell for $1 billion or more. >> you said sterling is likely to fight this. does he have a strong case? >> i'm not a judge, i'm not a lawyer, but i have been following the case, there are a lot of issues that are interesting in this case. number one, that tape that was played all over the world that everyone responded to, that was a private conversation, and it was taped without mr. sterling's knowledge. if that happened in california, that means it was an illegally produced tape. you're not allowed to tape someone without their knowledge in california. there are many legal issues that could be brought up. what worries the nba most mr. sterling may go in front of

a judge and say i want a temporary restraining order that lists the suspension because i want to watch my team. if that happens it could open a whole can of worms and lead to staying in the spotlight much longer than the nba would prefer. >> all right, great to hear your thoughts. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> spanish police have arrested a man who is suspected of throwing a banana at alves last month. the man detained is a 26-year-old vill villareal suppr and could face one to three years in prison. real madrid's opponent will be decided in the next two hours in the semifinal between chelsea and atletico madrid.

it was locked at 0-0. defender john terry has taken his lace. real madrid will be a formidable opponent. a 4-0 win in germany giving them every reason to celebrate as their club aims to win the title for the tenth time. >> i think that there is a lot of experience for this kind of game. it really doesn't matter who will be the team. it's important that one of the teams is real madrid. >> interested in buying the l.a.

clippers after owner donald sterling was banned for life. but first he has other things to deal with. mayweather is going into the fight with a flawless 45-0 record which includes 26 knockouts. >> the key to the match today is just being very, very intelligent, being very, very smart, taking my time, keeping my composure and coming up with brilliant game plans. >> and mark cavendish has won his third stage win in turkey. officials had to stop riders on a dissent after a serious of crashes in wet conditions. cavendish prevailed after the restart in a sprint finish. but he holds an over all six-second lead. it's still 0-0 at stanford

bridge in that semifinal. >> it will decide how many buses chelsea decided to park, two last week. indeed, that's all for us at this news howe. we have pictures from iraq. thanks for watching.

>> like most people, i'm not an activist by nature. there's really not that many people whose greatest desire is to go out and fight the system. my theory of change was i'll