a warm welcome from the david foster to the al jazeera news hour coming up in the kous of the next 60 minutes. more kidnapped girls in the hands of rebels. we have the latest on the growing calls to save them. i'm in london where the top story we're covering in europe is growing warnings of war in ukraine. the international community tries against to contain the spiraling crisis. weapons, bombs and cash.

saudi arabia says it has uncover upped an international terrorist network. fighting over aid in afghanistan, landslide survivors lose hope and desperation is on the rise. the fate of a growing number of schoolgirls held captive by one of the most dangerous rebel groups in africa is the focus of an international outcry. first, boca harum kidnapped 276 girls from their school in northern nigeria last month. news eight more have been abducted from their own homes. the united states is sending in a tomorrow to help with the search, and the united nations says what has happened is an outrage and could be considered a crime against humanity. the girls' families demand answers. it was this video released by boca harum that seems to have

caught the world's attention. in it a grinning rebel leader claims responsibility for having taken the girls from a school and threatens to put them on the slave market. the united nations also warnings boca harum it will be punished if it carries out the threat to sell the girls into slavery. the u.n. says those responsible will be prosecuted even if takes years to catch them. >> slavery and sexual slavery are prohibited under international law. in certain circumstances, and this could be one of them, they can be considered crimes against humanity, which is one of the most serious crimes that exists. >> in nigeria there have been slow but vocal protests against the government. the government's rescue efforts of these girls. many people criticize the president and the army of not doing enough. we were at one of the demonstrations, and we got this

update. >> reporter: nigerians have come out on the stroot hes today and they're marching to the chief of defense office to put pressure on nigeria's security to find the hundreds of missing girls from the northeast. their anger is fueled by the fact that the leader of boca harum released a new tape in which he says that he abducted the girls and plans to sell them on the open market. they're emboldened by the concern of the international community. the u.n. says this is a crime against humanity. the u.k. promised to help militarily the authorities, and the u.s. administration has basically said there have been talks between the united states and nigeria about what can be done to find the girls. many of these people feel that the nigerian government ought to take the lead to find them. >> the director of antislavery international believes the girls

have more than likely already been sold in neighboring countries. >> i think it's almost certain they're out of the country and brought into other countries in the region, which also practice planned marriage, which adds a diplomatic dimension on this. this isn't uncommon when you look at kidnapping and hostage situations, but i wonder about the capacity of the nigerian army to deal with this, the government to deal with this given that the army has been weakened over the years because of its practice in getting involved in military coups. so i think there needs to be some work on strengthening a democratic army for nigeria, but there needs to be capacity added to it in intelligence and hostage release and investigation of this sort of crime so that the girls can be traced and hopefully freed before they are inflicted with more harm and violence. >> there have been more warnings about the conflict in ukraine as

the international community tries again to calm down what's happening there. felicity barr has the coverage from the news center in london. >> david, the situation in ukraine has dominated the council of europe meeting taking place in vienna. there the russian foreign minister lavrov nanded that they end assaults on the people in the east. they warned the ukraine is a few steps away from the military confrontation. the u.n. commissioner of human rights expressed alarm as the escalating violence calling on both sides to make a greater effort to find a resolution. the spokesman says the situation seems to get worse every day. >> i high commissioner is calling both on the government, the military and police to make sure they keep the moral high ground and stay within accepted international standards of how they operate, take great care

not to kill or harm civilians when confronting the armed groups. of course, the armed groups are really major, major problems and they need to disarm, put down their weapons, free people they've been detaining i will leely and, you know, basically the whole situation needs to cool down. >> the french president fran choice hollande says if ukraine doesn't hold elections this month the consequences will be disastrous. >> translator: the only thing is that the presidential elections in ukraine be held on the 25th of may. if it is not held, it will be chaos and the risk for civil war. these are the stakes. >> other western leaders are completely at odds with russia's foreign minister who believes ukraine is far too unstable to hold elections. speaking out they said moscow wouldn't consider supporting any kind of vote while ukraine's military is deployed in the east.

>> translator: to conduct elections when the army is being used against some parts of population is quite unusual. >> in ukraine the interim government says at least 30 pro-russia government were killed in fitting in the eastern city of slovyansk on monday. four ukrainian soldiers were killed and 20 others wounded. these pictures are from slovyansk where they have moved many forces to the outskirts of the city. they reinforced barricades outside the regional government building they've been occupying for weeks now. the government going ahead with the effort to take back control of rebel-held areas. the ukrainian soldiers have been doing drills and undertaking patrols deer damask. they say it's too dangerous to keep local branches open there. pro-russian fighters are vowing to continue to defight the government in kiev. they demand the troops inside

not take part in the government offensive in the east. separatists say they're making preparations for their own referendum on sunday. people living there will ask whether they want to be an autonomous region. we report from there luhansk where he's speaking with rebels. >> reporter: the training is basic. the people gathered around him are keen to learn. if the russians do come, and there is no indication they actually will, luhansk could be the first stop. this staunch russian city won't on pose it. >> translator: i was russian and was born here. >> so you were born in luhas

nsk but see yourself as russian? >> translator: of course. >> reporter: this is no picnic in the park. while some have sticks and table legs, others have brand-new military kits, although they're apparently not supplied by russia. you went into a shop and just bought all of this? >> yes. >> across town they're following events in odessa and slovyansk closely. what the army tries to come here, i ask. >> translator: what happened in slovyansk wasn't an anti-terror operation. it was a terror operation against ukrainian people. people who are unsure about the government in kiev now understand the government is abusing its power. we must protect our city. >> reporter: separatists here have well-established defensive positions and seem supremely confident they can cope with anything the ukrainian army throws at them. they say they don't need the

russian army to help them at the moment. step away from the areas, and luhansk is calm and peaceful. many here cling to the hope it can stay like that. >> translator: we're trying not to be scared and stay calm. >> translator: i am a resident of the city. i was born here. it doesn't matter about being ukrainian or russian or jewish. no one is oppressed here. what are these claims that the russians are oppressed? >> reporter: back at the occupied building new volunteers practice the weapons training. they could soon be using it for real. paul brennan, al jazeera, luhansk. >> we'll have more from europe later in the news hour, including this. >> for one of the champions of french industry is facing a take-ov take-over, and people here are worried about losing their jobs.

the head of the u.n. aapologizes to refugees in south sudan. we'll have that in just a moment. in sport we'll hear what english title favorites man city have to say about liverpool's latest sitback. things got nasty at an aid camp in afghanistan where survivors have been sheltering. gunshots were fired into the air when they fought with police over supplies. 250 people are confirmed to have died in the landslide. thousands have been left homeless and many are missing. we have the report now. >> reporter: tensions between security forces and those desperate for food and shelter are easy to see. people surrounded convoys carrying supplies to grab

whatever they could. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: confusion over plans to relocate an aid delivery center resulted in gunfire after security forces were attacked by a group of men who were demanded tents. foreign aid agencies quickly left the area. it's unclear when they will return. >> translator: we came here to help people, and the group of people came and started to shout at us. they took all of what we had and sped off. then the police started to fire. >> reporter: shortly before the firing started, one of the country's presidential candidates, abdullah abdullah, met those worst affected by the landslide. he told us the government could be doing a better job. >> the nation is focused on this tragedy. the government of afghanistan is also focused on this tragedy, but i haven't seen a coordinated effort, which is -- which responds to the immediate needs

of the people. >> reporter: he's talking about people like this man. he and 14 family members call this tent home. their house was only partially damaged by the landslide, but he says they're all too afraid to return. >> translator: we are traumatized. what if this happens again? still, we're not getting enough aid. it's going to people who come here from other places. then when the gunfiring started, we had to run for our lives. >> reporter: they also had to leave behind whatever supplies they had received, and now they have only this dry bread to live off of until the relief agencies return. it's people like this man who continue to suffer. on the one hand, they're in desperate need of any help they can get, but as the violence and anger intensifies, they're continuing to do without. saudi arabia says it has broken up a large al qaeda-linked network which was plotting assassinations and attacks on government and foreign targets.

investigators say they found a bomb-making facility, weapons, and currency with a value of a quarter of a million dollars. under arrest are 59 saudis and several foreigners from yemen and pakistan. the ministry of the interior says the group is linked to terrorist networks in yemen and syria. the major general talked on behalf of the interior ministry and says 44 more suspects are on a wanted list. >> the organizational structure of this manifested smuggling especially across the southern border to smug elpeople and weapons. they gave priority to trafficking of women. >> raphael is working for the think tank the royal united services institute. he's with us in our london studio. what do you think the staudaudi have found here? >> they interrupted a substantial cell that they claim

was linked to hopa in yemen and the battlefield in syria. giving the material that they picked up with these people, it seems some sort of plotting was take place, but we don't know the specifics beyond what's reported. we haven't seen coverage of exactly who these targets were they were thinking about assassinating or a huge amount of detail to the connection to other groups. >> syria to the northwest not actually bordering it but pretty close. yemen to the south. if they came from both countries, it would appear if saudis feel they're getting encircled. >> the saudis have long worried about radicalization within the country and worried about links to battlefields abroad. i think they've got somewhere in the thousand-plus people who have been reportedly going to fight in syria. they have a long-standing connection with yemen, which is an organization closely linked

to a lot of senior saudi figures within it. they have lots of links to all these sorts of groups, so they're wanting these sorts of cells not all the time but just a fairly steady pace. i know historically the saudis have a substantial problem with terrorism at home, so they're very keen to try to nip it in the bud before they're able to develop into anything. >> aqap are al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. i want to go back a few years when saudis did something very similar, 2004, and he were accused of using this as a general crackdown on those that disagreed with what was going on the kingdom. could this be happening here? >> it's very difficult to know, because all we have announced is large numbers, and we've had announced the fact that some were foreign and reports of the links and money found and other things. we know the detail of what these people are and what their specific roles were. it would be surprising if they arrested 62 people all involved

in an advanced terrorist plotting. what i suspect is we're seeing they arrested a large network of people. some of these people may be more involved than others, and i suspect as we go forward we see them released on it, because that happened with that last collection of mass arrests. i think at the end of the day we have to wait and see what information emerges. >> we will indeed. thank you. fighting between two syrian rebel groups linked to al qaeda has left at least 69 people dead. the others have been battling the islamic state of iraq in the oil-rich province. al qaeda's leader his disowned the isil for being too extreme. in the northern province at least 30 government soldiers died in in bomb blast. human rights groups say rebels planted a large amount of explosives in a tunnel under a checkpoint.

the activists report that a government attack has taken place on the town of azaz near the tur kirk -- turkish board. these pictures were on youtube. a number of those killed and injured not determined yet. human rights organizations are concerned that lebanon is blocking palestinians fleeing war-torn syria from entering the country. human rights watch says about 40 palestinians were denied entry at the border and deported after being accused of having forged documents. beirut has not announced a ban on palestinians from syria, but government sources have said that palestinian refugees registered in syria should stay there. chris, talks on back of the united nations and relief and works agency says any new restrictions would be worrying. >> we certainly are concerned by the increased restrictions, and we have to look at what's

happened on the ground at the border crossing between lebanon and syria since the weekend where we saw a decrease of the numbers that are coming in. we're keeping an eye on that border, and we've been given assurances by the lebanese authorities that these restrictions are going to be temporary. we certainly hope that they're going to be lifted in the next few days, but can i make a point about context here? lebanon is a country of 4 million people that haslett in over 1 million people from syria. that's a quarter of its population. let me make the point that only about 50,000 of those are palestinian refugees, but nonetheless, lebanon has been extremely open in receiving refugees. as i say, that's the context. they need increased international assistance. they've made that clear. what country in the world are letting in numbers around a quarter of its population

wouldn't take up that same position? the hamas leader, the palestinian president are to move forward with a reconciliation deal between their rival movements. they've been in qatar attending talks hosted by the preer mere. israel acted angry when the deal was announced last month. it said it would not engage in peace talks with a government backed by hamas. israel is marking the 66th aen versary of its independence. israel celebrating, and palestinians are preparing to mark the day of catastrophe. we're in galei and reports how it's being remembered. >> it's a day for fun, family and barbecuing for most citizens here. for the approximately 7 million palestinian refugees throughout the world, it's also known as the catastrophe.

commemorating a time when 750,000 palestinians fled or were forced to flee their homes during the creation of the then new state of israel. this year it holds specific significance as many israeli palestinians feel that their identity is undermined by the state of israel as prime minister netanyahu continues to try to pass a law solidifying the jewishness of the state. >> translator: we were born and raised here. this is a country for two nationalities. even with the solution, we are just a jewish state only. >> reporter: thousands showed up to what was once known as the village of luveii. it was either depopulated, destroyed or renamed. the village was virtually flattened with few remaining structures here that are empty but not forgotten. >> translator: i was born in none of those villages, but i'm originally from here.

we did not forget. this is our land and history, and we will return back. >> reporter: at the same time hundreds of thousands of israelis commemorated the day with celebrations exemplifying the contradictions that remain in this complex country. three al jazeera english journalists continue to be detained in egypt where they have been held by the authorities now for 129 days. the three reporters are accused of conspireing with the outlawed muslim brotherhood. the movement has been declared a terrorist organization by egypt. al jazeera rejects all of the charges and continues to demand their immediate release. also al jazeera's obtained the first images of al jazeera's jailed reporter since his arrest in egypt last august. the pictures were taken on saturday. while he's been taken to call,

his detention was extended for another 45 days. he's said to be on hunger strike for 106 days and has drunk only water on march 16th. taken before this arrest, this picture shows him in normal health. he has lost more than a third of his body weight. the global war on drugs is a trillion dollar failure according to five nobel prizewinning economists. they're backing a london school of economics report which says drug policies over the last four decades created a $300 billion black market. it says by pushing the burden of drugs control to countries like afghanistan and mexico, violence and corruption has increased. in countries where the drugs are used, it's meant mass imprisonment. it's estimated that 40% of the world's 9 million prisoners are serving sentences for drug offenses. the report recommends a massive redirection of resources into health programs and liberal drug

policies tailored to each country's needs. john collins, let's hear from him. he said there's growing international consensus for change. >> there's very few people advocating a continuation of the war on drugs, so what really the atmosphere that this report came into was saying, we all sort of acknowledge we really need to rethink international drug policies and need a dastic change. this report was saying what do the next steps for international policymakers look like? how do we end the war on drugs? the time has come to start trying different forms of experimentation. we have programs that we know actually work that are hugely beneficial in terms of economic -- the relative costs are minor to the benefits that they give. if you look at things like syringe exchange, opium substitution therapy, safe injection sites, all sorts of programs, access to treatment programs, which are

scientifically proven to work, have a huge benefit-to-cost ratio are drastic atly underfunded at the international level because this idea logical pursuit of the war on drugs. it's better to chase commodity than treating people that are i will. in uruguay they're going to have a law to bring in a nati nationwide marijuana market. we report from the capital. >> reporter: clubs that grow marijuana like this can cultivate and smoke lylely what they've been producing illegally for years. the health and recreational should be enjoyed by the wider public free of stigma and misunderstanding. >> translator: we want to end these myths. these taboos that surround marijuana. the so-called evil weed that's used by the devil.

>> reporter: the world is watching. you're uruguay's experiment is to bring marijuana and explore the potential. who would have thought a cannabis library operating legally in the heart of the city, with the debate with the passing of the law is only now beginning to open up. these books in several languages covering marijuana from every angle. >> translator: we're entering a period where cultivating marijuana will be legal, and academics will want a suitable place to do their research. >> reporter: reasonable polls show most in you're uruguay are opposed to the legalization. the government pushed it through with strong criticism. >> translator: the difficulty this government has had is that it doesn't know which direction

it's going in. there's lots of contradictions. >> reporter: users will be allowed up to 40 grams a month. registered clubs up to 99 plants a year. deciding how taxes are leveed, who can and can't buy, and countless other details have delayed the implementation governing the new law. >> translator: "hair" so many interested parties. so many people worry about the consequences, so we're happy the government is taking its time. >> reporter: it's tough being a pioneer. they're nothing to copy, and the authorities are turning for expert advice to marijuana use a short time ago they were prosecuting. something to contemplate. stick around on the news hour, we have this coming up. an island, a monastery, ghost

stories and a 15th century fortress. some of the treasures are up for grabs. in the sport, find out which man has received the nba's highest individual honor. >> long held beliefs >>...illegal in mexico too.. >> learn the language! come here... >>...most ridiculous thing i've heard in my life >> tested by hard lived truths... >> these migrants are being

>> i'm joe berlinger this is the system people want to believe that the justice system works. people wanna believe that prosecutors and police do the right thing. i think every american needs to be concerned about that. we do have the best justice system in the world, in theory... the problem is, it's rum by human beings... human beings make mistakes... i'd like to think of this show as a watch dog about the system... to make sure justice is being served. wrongful convictions happen, we need to be vigilant. with our personal liberties taken away from us, it better be done the right way.

is justice really for all? it's disappointed to see russia fail to live up to the very plain and simple ea easy-to-interpret commitments made in geneva. i'll reiterate the agreement we anywayed made in geneva is not vague. it was simple. it was specific. it outlined concrete steps that all of the parties have to take. ukraine's government literally before the ink was draw started to implement on that agreement. they have held up their end of the bargain. ukraine has shown remarkable restraint almost immediately coming out of that meeting in geneva, they ordered a cessation of any kind of counterterrorism

activity, any effort to remove people from buildings based on the notion that both sides were going to work to bring people out of those buildings. the fact is that they have been committed in kiev to try and move their country forward through nonviolence, three constitutional reform, for die love, and by reaching out to the disaffected parts of ukraine. we also are very concerned about efforts of pro-russian separatists in damask and luhansk to organize a tribe, a bogus independence referendum on may 11th. we flattery -- flatly reyekt is this illegal effort to further divide ukraine, and the pursuit will create even more problems in the effort to try to de-escalate this situation. this is really the crimea

playbook all over again, and no civilized nation is going to recognize the results of such a bogus effort. as president obama has made clear, if russian elements continue to sabotage the democratic process and prevent ukraine from holding a free and fair election 19 days from now on the 25th, then we stand ready to implement additional sanctions. the "we" is europe and the united states together. i know the european union is strong in its commitment to do this. i think the representative will address meetings that were shortly going to be held next week in furtherance of our common goals here. we are not going to sit idly by while russian elements fan the flames of instability instead of

fulfilling the commitments that they made. look, we came together. we came together in a real spirit of trying to de-escalate. we weren't playing a game. we laid down some very specific steps that could be taken, and immediately the government of ukraine in good faith undertook to implement those steps, including removing barricades from the midon and kiev, removing people from buildings as well as reaching out to make clear to the people of ukraine how decentralization could take place to give more power to those people in places that were disaffected. regrettably, that was not met with reciprocity, and reciprocity is one of the things that we discussed very clearly in geneva. i must add also that it's very hard to reconcile that russia is now making the argument that ukraine ought to reduce and not have an election or postpone the

election because of the violence taking place, but russia is full whole hog behind having an election in syria where there is far worse violence. reconcile that one for us, please. so the choice is really russia's. the united states, the eu, and our allies have made our choice very, very clear. we are going to stand together united not just in support of ukraine but united in support of de-escalating, united in support of a peaceful, diplomatic solution, united in recognition that yes, there are historic and cultural and other ties between russia and ukraine. the way to assert them is that the diplomatic negotiating table, not at the end of a gun. we believe that we will also stand together in the effort to try to de-escalate this situation. next week i will meet in london with our european counterparts

in order to discuss what the appropriate next steps will be. also want to underscore that lady ashton and i applaud the commitment and the courage of the monitors of the osce. we're deeply appreciative. the organization for security and cooperation in europe have put themselves in harm's way not on one side or the other but on the side of a peaceful resolution, on the side of de-escalation, and they are tried to enforce compliance of the russian-backed forces to ensure that there is a fair and reasonable approach to defining the future for all of the people of ukraine. we believe that the osce can now play an enhanced role, and right now there are efforts taking place. i talked yesterday with the osce chairman from switzerland, and he's tomorrow going to be

traveling to meet with president putin. today there were meetings. i talked yesterday also with the foreign minister of germany. he today met with foreign minister lavrov in vienna. there are further discussions. i will talk with him an hour or two from now. there's a lot of energy being expended to try to see if we find a reasonable way forward here. we support the efforts very much of this kind of diplomacy to help the ukrainians restore law and order and improve the environment for free and fair elections on may 25th. before i invite our honored guest to offer her thoughts here, i just want to briefly mention a couple of other topics that we discussed very quickly this afternoon. south sudan, nigeria and iran.

first on south sudan, the cessation of hostilities agreement signed in january by the south sudanese government and the opposition has obviously not been upheld, and the recent attacks by the south sudanese government and the anti-government forces, both of them are absolutely unacceptable, and the united states condemns them in the strongest terms. i talked this morning with prime minister marion of ooet open ya. he's been in touch with the president, who tells him he will come to a meeting, though they're working on a precise date and hope to have something to announce shortly. he has talked to the president who has committed absolutely to be there and come. we're very hopeful that's the beginning of the dialogue. we will have participants there to assist in that process.

as president obama has made clear, however, we will hold accountable those that stood in the way of a peace plan. i've said directly to the presidents when i was there this past weekend. so today the united states will announce sanctions on two individuals responsible for violating the cessation of hostilities agreement. individuals responsible for perpetrating unthinkable violence against civilians. the first is the commander of the south sudanese government's presidential guard forces. he has led violent attacks against civilians in jupa, and that will further de -- further details will be announced later regarding that. the second is peter gadete. he led anti-government forces in the april 17th attack that left

more than 200 civilians dead. we will do our utmost to prevent south sudan from plunging back into the violence and despair that tore that country apart for so long. we will continue to stand with the people of south sudan who call for peace and who recognize that the only way to resolve this conflict is through a political dialogue. secondly, on nigeria. today i spoke with president goodluck jonathan on behalf of president obama and offered on behalf of president obama offered america's support for nigeria in their response to this crisis. our embassy is prepared to form a coordination cell that could provide expertise on intelligence, investigations, and hostage negotiations and to help facilitate information sharing and victim assistance.

president jonathan was very happy to receive this offer and ready to move on it immediately, and we're immediately engaging in order to implement this. we remain deeply concerned about the welfare of these young girls, and we want to provide whatever assistance is possible in order to help for their safe return to their families. finally, lady ashton and i discussed -- i think you see the breadth of the things that we're talking about. you get a sense of the tremendous cooperation between the eu and the united states and particularly in between kathy ashton and myself, for which we are, very, very grateful. we are extremely grateful for her stewardship of the important negotiations taking place with iran on the nuclear program on a comprehensive -- on the search for a comprehensive solution to

the challenge of that program. we -- lady ashton and our political directors will meet again in vienna next week. as we try to seize this diplomatic moment and make our allies and ourselves safer, iran, obviously, has to make some very tough decisions. we remain firm in our goals. they don't vary. iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon, and it must ensure it has a peaceful nuclear program. as i've said many times, we continue to believe that no deal is better than a bad deal. let me close by extending to lady ashton early greetings for europe day, which falls this friday. this holiday recalls and renews the eu's vision for a united, peaceful and stable democratic

europe. the united states will stand side by side with europe as it strifes to live up to that vision and those high ideals. lady ashton. >> we're going to leave the press conference. he has indicated he will back him up on the methods he has talked about on events in ukraine. condemning russia for what it believes have the country's double-standards. moving on to south sudan and the conflict there between different elements in the south of the country and saying that the united states would be imposing limited sanctions on a number of individuals because of a failure of peace talks. in nigeria he went on there with the mass kidnappings and explaining that the united states embassy in the nigerian capital was setting up a special

unit to try to return the girls to their families and capture the kidnappers. the specific details are on those kidnappings. another eight girls we have learned have been kidnapped from nigeria's borneo state. they're calling for the government to do more to rescue more than 200 other girls abducted over three weeks ago. john kerry just said that about russia and warnings about the conflict in ukraine. the international community decided to calm down the situation. ukraine's government says it's ready to support new talks with russia, but moscow must first support elections. sade rab says it has uncovered a terrorist network in the country which planned to assassinate officials and foreign targets.

the government spokesperson said that 59 saudis and several foreigners have been arrested and they have uncovered a bomb-making facility. our forecast figures for the global economy is going to shrink or, in fact, get better have been revised down for this year. the 3.4% is not doing as well as many thought. the outlook for the u.s. is slightly better after that long intro. back to felicity, and we'll have some more if there's nothing more to say. >> plenty more to add but the oecd released the latest economic outlook. after three years of contraction, it expects the euro area to return to positive growth of 1.2% during 2014. that's sell to accelerate the

following year to 1.7%. the oecd praised the u.k.'s economic growth rate, which it expects to reach 3.2%. france is struggling to revive it's industrial base and stale globally competitive, and the government is fighting to save one of its biggest engineering firms alstom from collapsing. two foreign companies are vying for take jouovers and many are worried about jobs for the future. we have the report from eastern france. >> reporter: as you apapproach e city, it's the first thing you see. the very first tgv train, the jewel of balfor made here and sold around the world. engineering giant alstom is a leader in transportation and energy manufacturing. its factory here is a mainstay of the community and source of national pride. the last decade has been a difficult one. alstom was rescued from the

brink of bankruptcy in 2004, and the economic crisis meant a sharp drop in orders. alstom is weighed down by heavy debt. two major foreign companies are vying for alstom's energy division that makes turbines. siemens and general electric, but this union representative said he'd rather see government investment in alstom because a take-over means uncertainty for employees. >> translator: workers are skeptical. there are a few questions about the future. they know in a take-over like this it affects jobs. so the real issues they have are about the future, and it doesn't look very good. >> alstom is in a very difficult position. many want it to stay in french hands, but the company isn't viable on its own. a take-over is inevitable, and ge looks well placed to do that. they have two buildings on the alstom site. the workers here are still concerned about their jobs.

the french president fran choice hollande promised to boost the economy and create jobs when he came to power two years ago. speaking to french media on tuesday, he e said ge's $13 billion bid for alstom is not acceptable. the mayor believes that ge's current relationship with alstom puts it in a stronger position. >> it's too late to consider that perhaps we will keep it until the french. i mean, now we have to look at the future, and it is a future of families with general electric. so, you know, as the mayor of this town, i prefer to have a fi french companion. >> whoever takes over the hope is they get alstom back on track as one of france's most successful companies. well, italy's public debt

hit a record $2.5 trillion, which is about 132% of the country's gross domestic product. in the latest efforts to chip away at what it owes, the government is selling off prime prorments. they include a 15th century castle, an army barracks and a whole island near venice. we have the report. >> reporter: faced with a soaring public debt, italy's economy is struggling to stay afloat. now this island of venice is one of five prime holdings at the state, the first of a number of sales that should bring $700 million in the state's coffers by the end of the year. the island is only a 10-minute boat ride from st. mark's square, but it's miles away from the glamour of venice. once a dumping ground for plague victims, the island was last used as a mental institution

until the '70s. since then it has been laid abandon in a state of ruin and earned the reputation as a haunted island. the only tourists left are the occasional ghost hunters. the state's real estate agency hopes the island's troubled past won't scare off investors. >> translator: the island has been abandoned for 35 years. we put it up for sale because we want someone to make it valuable and accessible to the public. the auction is open to everyone. if it ends up in the hands of a veneti venetian, all the better. >> reporter: the state says selling this island will not only help it raise funds to cut the public debt, it will give it a new lease on life. not many venetians are buying this explanation. this group who live across the lagoon started a collection to enter the auction. with a contribution of $120 each, they hope to beat other bidders and prevent it from

falling into private hands. >> the fact it's been abandoned by the state doesn't mean it's abandoned by the community that lives around here, and that uses the lagoon as their own world. it's their own world. the idea we shouldn't be able to moor there any longer as happens in the neighboring islands we do not like. >> reporter: by tuesday morning these locals raised more than 400,000 doll. should it end up in private hands, locals say the winner's gain will be the venetians' lost. that is the latest news here from europe. back to doha now and to david. >> thank you. there is a story coming up in just a moment. i'll leave you to work on what it is. it follows the story about rio dejannero. >> i will let him do the story. >> i'm going to -- i'm going to

at some point. in the meantime one of the key figures in organizing the london olympics has given her support to the troubled rio games telling al jazeera they will deliver an excellent event. the international olympic committee last week called rio's preparation the worst they'd encountered. the london 2012 director is now in charge of the 2015 rugby world cup feels the brazilians can turn it around. >> they are very talented people and very committed. look what happened in sochi before the winter olympics in sochi. it was doom and gloom. they delivered a fantastic event. i'm sure that, you know, they will deliver an excellent olympic games and an excellent world cup. the match in the english premier league getting under way. manchester united playing the final home game of the league season. the manager is landing himself on the bench for that game. monday liverpool went top of the table after a 3-3 draw with crystal pass.

hardly the result they needed to take some pressure on title favors manchester city. city plays ashton villa on wednesday. >> the premier league is very difficult. you can't be sure that you're winning until the end, until the last minute. this is a good team here. that's why when we lost against liverpool, i said to just continue. this is not the last game. finish out the premier league. all the teams will drop points and that happens. in spain athletico madrid is the favorite to win that title. real could only draw 2-2 against valencia on sunday. if they have a win there, they can move on within two points of fellow champions league finalist athletico. >> we have to continue to believe we can win. because it's not done until now,

and we have to fight in the game foa foam. ed fifa president has suggested clubs should face harder punishments if the fans are found guilty of racism. this is after an incident in spain on sunday where he claimed he was racially abused by athletico madrid fans. speaking at the opening of a new center of excellence in cameroon. >> the matter is that the most fight of racism can only be fought if you apply strictly the solution taken by the fifa congress last year on the incident. it says in repetition, cases of repetition, you have to deduct points off a team, which the

fans are responsible, or you have to eliminate this team if it calls for a cup competition from the competition. the asian champions league is at the last 16 stages. the defending champions are in the first leg of their time. the team went ahead after 22 minutes. he got his first of two on the night. they're also scoring twice within just four minutes. the chinese side goes on to say a 5-1 win. that's a huge advantage. that's coming up in china next week. three-time winners beat fellow korean rebels 2-1. he got the strike in the 74th minute and got the advantage heading into next week's games. oklahoma's durant has been named the mvp for the nirs time until nag.

miami's lebron vamz who won four of the past five title was a distant second this time around. he was the top scorer with an average of 32 points per game. two games later on this tuesday at the nba conference semifinals continue. the miami heat host the brooklyn nets in game one of the best of seven series. the portland trail blazers are at san antonio. roger federer could miss this month's french open as he awaits the birth of his third child. he's just pulled out of the madrid open and is also out of the run next week. federer hasn't missed a grand slam since 2000. they already have twin daughters. ahead of his opening game at the madrid open, ralph fall nadal has received the city's highest honor. he's named an adopted son and honoree citizen. also introduced to a bus driver outside, jose manuel ra romero

who is something of a local celebrity. 60 years to the day that one of the running's iconic world records was achieved. 1954 say roger becoming the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. >> running against the university. he limbers up for a planned attack on the four-minute mile, never before achieved by man. >> he was an athletic student at eng land's oxford university. the word record is now 3:43.01. there's plenty more on our website. check it out at a al jazeera.com/sports. more from me later on, but that's it for now. >> you mentioned it twice. that's three times now, and he's making it very nice indeed. thanks for watching.

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>> it's digging deeper it's asking that second, that third question, finding that person no one spoken to yet... >> you can't tell the stories of the people if you don't get their voices out there, and al jazeera america is doing just that. >> welcome to the city of culiacan sinaloa, a place that is known as the cradle of drug trafficking. >> ahead of you lies a treacherous border crossing. >> people have died there and so we're like practically walking into a death trap. >> this is the most dangerous part of your trip. >> so the first day don't kill ya, it's the third day that kills ya. >> we are really walking into