crisis points in yemen as several anti-government protesters are killed while marching on the prime minister's office. ♪ the government denies firing on them. this as fighting continues in the country's north. hello there, you are watching the al jazeera news hour live from london. also coming up. [ gunfire ] as the fight back against islamic state goes on, skepticism grows over iraq's new government. liberia's ebola treatment

centers forced to turn people away. everything is great. [ laughter ] >> the verdict of apple's ceo at the long-awaited launch of two new iphones. and the british prime minister's efforts to win over scottish voters by flying their flag in london fall flat. ♪ hello, police in yemen have hope -- opened fire on houthi protesters killing at least seven people. soldiers exchanged fire as well at the southern entrance to the capitol. the houthis are named after their late leader. his supporters began a rebellion against the government in 2004. they have been protesting in the capitol for weeks, demanding regional and religious autonomy

in the northwest province. armed houthi rebels have been fighting allies to the government in the northern p province as well. >> reporter: a security committee chaired by the president blamed the houthis for escalating violence. they said the police had to open fire because the protesters were planning to break into the office of the prime minister, an acquisition dismissed by the houthis who said they were just trying to stage another rally to force this government to go. very, very delicate situation here because at the same time there was fighting on the southern outskirts of the capitol. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: yemen's security forces fire warning shots to prevent protesters from getting close to the prime minister's office. the minority houthis say it was just a rally, but the government say it was an attempt by the

rebels to break into the building in the capitol. in the chaos that followed many were killed or injured. but defiant houthis managed to build a new protest camp outside of the government building. they are occupying areas near important ministries which they accuse of being corrupt and inefficient. their leader has warned against using violence against the demonstrators. >> translator: if those corrupt officials insist on using violence they will be held accountable. we are ready to take all necessary steps to prevent that from happening. >> reporter: ambulances carry victims to a nearby hospital. security forces seemed determined to break up the protest. and reinforcements have been brought in as the ministry of interior where the houthiings have set up another camp. the city is surrounded by

mountains and there are 4 main roads that lead to the capitol and the four roads are now under the control of the houthis, and there are hundreds of houthi fighters stationed here. if the president uses force against the houthis he has to take into consideration that he is going to deal with one of the most organized and sophisticated armed factions here in yemen. >> joining me now is peter usually based in the capitol. how serious of a situation are we seeing now in yemen particularly in the capitol? >> i think there's real danger at the moment that the wrong decision by the wrong person which may have already been taken today could really push this into violence, but at the same time there is some hope, because we have seen over the last few weeks that the houthis have repeatedly said they come in peace, that although people have died today, they haven't

retaliated in a strong manner as of yet, and we're really going to have to wait until their leader comes out and makes a statement which should be happening about now on the television. >> the government had offered concessions in the past but the houthis want more. >> yes, they are asking for the current government to be dissolved. they are looking for fuel subsidies that were cut in july to be restored to their original level, and for assurances to be given that outcomes and decisions made during peace talks last year and this year be implemented as quickly as possible. and the president have been willing to make some concessions, so there's been an offer to remove the current cabinet, appoint a new prime minister, new members of car net, and partially cut the fuel

price but not to go to the full length of the houthi demands. and the president wants the final say on the main cabinet post including the prime minister. and the houthis say they want all of their demands in full or nothing. >> it certainly looks to be heading towards a crisis point in yemen it's a. but it is the country around yemen, including saudi arabia who are especially concerned at the moment. >> yes, absolutely. saudi arabia has the threat of islamic state to the north and to the east, and now it is looking south and seeing what many people are characterizing as a shiite movement growing in strength and numbers. so you can understand why they would be very, very nervous about this. but it is worth reminding

ourselves that the houthi are very much anti-al-qaeda and anti-muslim brotherhood. so with the gulf states they are sitting back and seeing what happens because one thing that has happened as the houthis have risen in power and stature is we have also seen them little by little eke away at the power of islamists, particularly the brotherhood, and the main party. >> what about ordinary yemenese, how concerned are they? what is like for them? >> the question is less what life is like for them there, rather than what it is like for yemenese in general. certainly before we had these cut in subsidies, there were

shortages and that effects the rural poor even more than the people in the big cities who in some ways are slightly insulated from these shocks, and this is one of the places where the houthis have been able to gain some momentum and influence, because what they are doing is broodly popular, and what they are arguing for is something that pretty much every political party wants to be arguing for which puts parties who want to stand against the houthis in a very difficult position. because they want to be seen as standing behind the government, but for many the government has failed. >> really interest to talk to you. thanks for coming to the studio here. thank you. all right. we want to bring you some breaking news now that we just received. the leader of one of the most influential rebel groups in syria has been killed.

he died when a suicide bomb exploded in the city. he lead a very organized group of 20,000 fighters. the group has been involved in battles against the regime and the islamic state group. the leader of one of the most influential islamist rebel groups has been killed. we'll bring you more on that as soon as we get it. now the new united nations envoy for syria has arrived in damascus for his first visit. the met with the deputy foreign minister and pushed for a resolution to the syrian conflict. he is also due to meet president bashar al-assad. he is expected to seek permanent residence in damascus. there has been intense fighting and air strikes in the district of damascus as government troops try to take it back from the rebels.

[ explosion ] >> reporter: syrian state television shows what it says is the government's latest push to recapture joba. the eastern district of damascus was taken by rebels in march last year. it is only hundreds of meters away from the city center. [ explosion ] >> reporter: now there has been an unprecedented military campaign by the syrian government to clear it. rebels say the regime's air force is carrying out up to 20 air strikes a day. the destruction is extensive. tanks and other heavy weapons are used while army soldiers advance. the army says this tunnel was used by the rebels to bring in weapons and other equipment. but the rebels deny the syrian army is advancing. activists posted videos online that appear to show rebels touring the area.

>> translator: the district is under our control, the regime is trying to enter the district from different fronts but thank god our fighters are standing firm. the government is extensively shelling the area and using rockets. >> reporter: this field commander says his forces are engaged in street by street battle. he says they have cleared the number of buildings and seized many weapons from soldiers. this activist video shows the level of fighting and its aftermath. the sound of hovering jets is a constant threat to these fighters, but they say they refuse to give up. the fighting in joba is only intensifying, and it is likely to drag on just like the war in the rest of syria. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is due to travel to the middle east today after the iraqi parliament approved its new cabinet, and as president obama prepares to unveil his

strategy to tackle the islamic state group on the ground. the fight meanwhile goes on. [ gunfire ] >> this video shows the shiite militia trying to push back islamic state fighters from areas they control in western tikrit. the saudi arabia will host a meeting on thursday to discuss the threat of islamic state. and france said it will hold an international security conference in paris next week. the resistance to the islamic state is expected to get a boost from the formation of a new government. however, key roles are net to be filled in the government. >> reporter: for iraqi political leaders it wasn't easy getting to this point, but now the really hard work begins. iraq's new go is a work in progress, carefully constructed

to try to balance all interests, pulling out any one of the pegs could topple the government. the kurds will already wavering. >> translator: we want a process to rewrite the government program. >> reporter: they say they will participate for three months as a test. sunnis say they are happy but have high expectations as well. >> translator: which must focus on improving the security situation and bringing back all of those displaced people. we must assure them this government will be for all iraqis. >> reporter: it's a lot for the prime minister who is under intense pressure, particularly from the u.s. in presenting the cabinet on monday. he made clear he hadn't chosen most of them. they were the result of negotiations between the various political blocks. this government isn't off to the

most promising start. and on the streets people are pretty skeptical. but supporters say it's something to build on and continues the conversation between different groups that need to work together if this country is to survive. and even that might not be enough. this man struggles to support five children with his fruit stand. >> translator: for the past eight years we have had a coalition government. they reflected badly on the iraqi streets. as a consequence, you can see how the country is going. >> reporter: but he says the army discriminates against sunnis. he says people aren't asking for much. >> translator: yes, they have corruption, but they will give you your share. but here in bagdad some of the officials steal from you and don't leave you with anything. >> reporter: it's a tough road ahead for the iraqi government.

running the country while doing battle with the islamic state group. three al jazeera journalists have now been detained in egypt for 255 days accused of aiding the banned muslim brotherhood. baher mohamed, mohammed fahmy, and peter greste received long sentences after a trial seen by many observers as politically motivated. they are appealing their convictions and al jazeera continues to demand their release. all right. still to come on this news hour. we're going to take you to libya a country with two rival governments. details from the preliminary report as to what caused the malaysian flight 17 to crash in eastern ukraine. and we'll have the latest on michael schumaker's recovery from a head injury that kept him in a coma for six months. ♪

but first liberia defense minister has criticized the world health organization's initial response to the ebola outbreak. he said the virus is now a threats to it country's existence. the latest figures show the number of people infected in the outbreak continues toess ka late. liberia is the worst-hit country. at least 1,224 people have died there. 509 have died in sierra leone. the disease has killed 555 in guinea, and 8 people in nigeria. last week the outbreak also spread to senegal where three people are now infected. the overall death call is 2,296. liberia's government has extended a curfew to help control the virus, but hospital

beds are what is really needed. >> reporter: these people might be the ebola virus, but by the time they find out, it could be too late. that's because most treatment centers are full. >> they told me there was no space. they said they only had five spaces this morning for patients and now they claim they are all filled. so there's no space again. >> reporter: at another hospital only pregnant women and critical sayses are being cared for. new centers have been opened in liberia, but even counting those, the world health organization say the capitol and surrounding county only have half the beds they need. the w.h.o. is warning the number of new ebola cases is increasing exponentially. most hospitals are overrun with the outbreak and have stopped treating the general public. the virus is also affecting

liberia's psyche. and one of its most famous citizens, former footballer, says the outbreak is changing the very nature of his country. >> this is an epidemic that is killing the fabric of our society. we hug each other. we shake each other's hands. we embrace each other. now that is taken away that harmonious part of our life. >> reporter: liberia is the worst hit by the outbreak, and with nowhere to go, more and more patients have no choice but to go home, carrying the deadly virus with them. a preliminary report into the crash of malaysia airlines flight 17 says the plane was probably hit by what it describes as high-energy objects. the safety board stopped short of saying it was shot down by a missile. 298 people were killed when the

plane went down in july. tim friend reports from the hague. >> reporter: a short but revealing report. it does not explicitly say that mh17 was hit by shrapnel from a missile, but rules out virtually any other possibility. close-up photographs show the damage. the plane pierced by what were described as high-energy objects. wreckage was spread over 10 kilometers. >> at this moment, we are investigating the objects that penetrated the aircraft. we -- we found fragments of probably the objects in the bodies of especially the flight crew. we are trying to investigate whether they are originated from the airplane or whether they are originating from the objects. >> reporter: the allegation from

the ukrainian government and some western leaders was that mh17 was brought down by a buk missile fired by russian-backed rebels. that's vigorously denied. further investigation here will try to establish the exact launch area, by using satellite and radar printouts. the crash scene is in a conflict zone and investigators have been prevented from direct access. some human remains are still in the wreckage. >> for me it doesn't matter if it's been shot down or it is the fault of malaysian airlines. i blame malaysian airlines and also the other one who took -- yeah, who make the plane crash, of course. i mean it cannot bring our children back here. >> reporter: a full report will be published within a year of the crash, and a separate criminal investigation has begun

here. tim friend, al jazeera, the hague. and ukraine's defense ministry says pro-russian separatists have freed 648 ukrainian soldiers they have been holding prisoner. the government is working to secure the release of about 500 more. it's all part of a ceasefire deal which has been threatened by both sides. both sides are blaming each other for repeated violations of the ceasefire. european union sanctions against russia could make life harder for germany. exporters there say they largely support the politics, but that business is suffering as a result. nick spicer sent this report from berlin. >> reporter: trying to keep things on track. this company leases and sells construction site vehicles to russia and other former soviet countries. but since the first round of

sanctions in march, fears that business may be derailed have become a reality. the concern is the next round will only worsen things. >> translator: i think the sanctions have already hurt the german economy. there are plenty of companies where businesses failed completely. now we get one inquiry from russia every two weeks. >> reporter: the german chancellor said more sanctions needed to be prepared. only around 4% of german exports go to russia, but there is also the regional domino effect, countries like poland and hungary also trade with russia, and then there's the price of unpredictability of know noting what the future will be made of, and therefore, being less

inclined to make decisions. >> the sanctions and also the crisis lead to some uncertainty in the markets. this lead to postponement of investments. people don't know what is going to happen with the world economy, so they tend to postpone their investments that are needed in germany to continue with our growth. >> reporter: a sanction slowdown mean there is work ahead not just for exports in germany and elsewhere in europe, but to a certain extent for the european economy as a whole. if you like gadgets this one is for you because apple has launched the smart watch. apple's ceo announced its first venture into the wearable technology market. as well as two new iphone models. the watch is the first new product developed and produced

since the death of steve jobs. >> we have some amazing products to share with you, and we think at the end of the day that you will agree that this too is a very key day for apple. i usually go through a few updates, but we have so much to cover today, i'm dispensing with those, other than to tell you, everything is great. [ laughter ] [ applause ] >> jacob ward joins us live from the location where the launch took place. we have been talking about this for many months now jacob. how big of a development, though, is it really? >> reporter: well, it's very exciting for the faithful here. apple is one of the companies that has to deliver something almost magical. executives are still showing off its features.

the apple watch will have a whole new user interface, it will be tethered to an iphone, and it was greated with a very warm applause from people in the hall who have been expecting it for a very, very long time. >> apple has announced this [ inaudible ] that is supposed to replace a credit card. are there certainly concerns about this idea especially because of the recent breach concerning the i-cloud. >> reporter: that's exactly the concern. really in the end it will expose your personal information in a way that nobody has before. it is trying to replace your wallet. and the apple watch will get a lot of press, but i think the real story is apple pay. it will partner with the six largest banks, and be a way of simply tapping your phone to

credit card receivers here in the united states. most receivers will be replaces in the coming months. but because apple has had such mayor security breaches there's really a question whether it deserves this kind of trust it is asking for. >> thanks so much. well google's chairman has held talks in spain on internet privacy and an individual's right to be forgotten. in the first of seven public sessions, they discussed how to balance information and people's rights to privacy. this is following a ruling by the european union in may. still ahead, rescue efforts well underway, but the death toll keeps rising. learning lessons, how the u.s. city of ferguson can take a

cue from los angeles, following last month's riots. and the dismissal of an american footballer over punching his fiance triggers a nation wise debate about domestic violence.

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♪ hello again, i'm here with the top stories for you here on al jazeera. the leader of one of the most influential rebel groups in syria has been killed. he died when a suicide bomber blew him up. he is seen on talk to al jazeera last year in december. at least seven people were killed in yemen during houthi protests. the police are accused of firing on the protesters as they attempted to form the prime minister's office. and liberiians are being forced to wait outside health clinics as hospitals stop treating the general public.

the u.n. special envoy to libya has urged both sides to ceasefire and work on a political solution. ban ki-moon has described these political uncertainty as deeply alarming. but no one wants to give up power. >> reporter: it's functioning as a proper government, but this is the opposition government in tripoli with the prime minister in charge. >> translator: we call upon all brothers and sisters and all ministries to start their work. we urge them to work seriously in order to save the country and facilitate the missions of the state. >> reporter: 1,000 kilometers to the east is where the recently elected parliament and prime minister are based. libya again has two prime ministers and two seats of power, because the previous parliament refused to break up after the june elections. some of the libyans we talked to

are divided. >> translator: i feel for libya. don't know about the future. >> translator: i can say that i am very, very very optimistic. >> reporter: the u.n. envoy to libya visited the internationally recognized government. he urged the various militias to ceasefire and work on a political solution. rival militias have formed two loosely affiliated blocks, one blacking the one group, one backing the other. diplomacy as so far failed and it appears the gun holds all the power here. libyans have left their country because of the instability. the june elections were hoped to be a unifying step. the run-up was also characterized by divides among two rival prime ministers and

two governments, but in spite of the elections, the divisions have deepened. it seems no one wants to give up power here. at least two people have been killed after a mosque roof collapsed in pakistan's eastern city. 25 others were trapped when the roof caved in during evening prayers. recent torrential rains have lead to multiple roof collapses across the city. people in india and pakistan continue to leave their homes has water levels rise. in a moment we'll hear from india, but first we have this update. >> reporter: people hover together on high embankments such as these. as they look at their

communities now submerged. the commanding officer of the union tells us they have been busy. >> so far we have been able to evacuate and help about 800 people, and still we are doing it, and the number is definitely likely to increase. >> reporter: some people are too impatient to see if their housing are still standing. we traveled with one rescue team to find out why some have decided to risk so much but not leaving their homes. you can see the trail of destruction here, but people have remained behind in these villages in order to guard their valuables and livestock. the village is deserted but these immediate neighbors have now found refuge in this house. the old lady shows us how badly her home is damaged. the enter foundation has been effected. and the walls are cracking up.

what we find is dozens of people all inside the same compound. >> translator: the water came suddenly and washed away everything. now me and my children are in bad shape. >> reporter: despite attempts by the officer to take them to a safer place, she refuses to leave. the military is on full alert and these soldiers offer help to save the livestock, but everyone knows this crisis is far from over, as the floods destroy more land and leave a trail of misery on its way south. > >> reporter: it's now a full-scale rescue operation. with a break in the weather, thousands of military personnel have been deployed to help the estimated 400,000 people who are stranded. most of these people have been waiting for such help since the rains and flooding began on

saturday. >> translator: we live on the other side. i came back from a trip, and i saw the bridge washed out. my wife, daughter and i have nowhere to go, so we have been waiting here since saturday for help. >> reporter: he is just one of many who have been waiting for days. this bridge was washed out on saturday, cutting off 150,000 people in dozens of villages on the other side. people have been coming to the edge to say they have no electricity and that their supplies are running low. the army has arrived and started rescuing people by boat and building a temporary bridge. the situation around the region is similar. rains and landslides have hit roads and bridges in several areas, cutting people off from help. on tuesday aid finally came in for some by air.

but the many who have been rescued, the situation isn't much better. many small and large relief centers have been set up in the region. these families lost their homes and almost all of their possessions when the rising water levels washed away their houses. but these people say they don't know what will happen to them, and are too scared to return. >> translator: we lost everything. the water was chest high. they have been giving us food. but what about the children's schooling? what are we going to do afterwards? i'm not going back. >> reporter: government officials say the focus at the moment is helping the people still trapped by flood waters, building up lifelines before making plans to rebuild. in just over a week's time scotland will vote on whether the break away from the united

kingdom. polls show rival campaigns are running neck and neck. the british government is now offering scotland more powers if it stays in the united kingdom. >> reporter: this palace has stood for hundreds of hears as a begone of democracy. but the scottish nationalists say it wants scotland to strike out by against a culture that it sees as cronyism and failed public policies. representatives came together to say, okay, if you want more powers you can have them, but don't vote to leave. >> we will have the opportunity to end the politics of grievance, and apply the creativity to the people of scotland to address the problems they face, rather than blaming

someone else. >> reporter: but the scottish nationalists say they have heard it all before. and they have all of the momentum in the opinion polls. >> they wouldn't give us the powers to protect our great public health service. they wouldn't give us the powers to reenergize the economy and the fairness in scottish society, all of the things we can take into our own hands by voting yes next week. >> reporter: the appeal to the scotts isn'ting only economic now, it's also to say to them, we love scotland. but as the scottish flag was raised above the prime minister's house at westminster, it fell off. but consider this, the prime david cameron was due to give a speech on wednesday here in london before prime minister's question time. he has now canceled prime

minister's questions and is instead having to travel to scotland, which he didn't want to do, to campaign there for the defense of the union. it's very high stakes, but it's all hands to the pump. lawrence lee, al jazeera. we're joined by a political correspondent for the scott news paper. thanks for coming into the studio. we now have the scenario where the political leaders are going up to scotland to almost do a joint campaign. >> it is essentially a panic measure. it's actually by their standards quite a good one. it shows how seriously they are taking it. but it shows how close things have got. and they never really expected to be in this position. >> the opinion polls five or six

months ago clearly showed that scotland wasn't going to break away. is there a sense that westminster and the officials based in london have been caught napping? >> i think they have to a certain degree. i think they ignored a lot of the warnings. this week they started talking about more powers, where really they should have had a plan to have some sort of positive vision months ago. and they failed to address some of the arguments which have been put forward in public services in scotland. which a lot of us could see coming down the line, but they didn't have an answer for, and now it is quite serious. >> explain how different actually life can be down south and up north. i mean in some ways they are quite separate countries. they are joined by union, but

people in scotland don't care a great deal of what happens in london and vice versa. >> indeed. and the settlement in 1999 changed a lot of that. in the sense that scotland has its own health system, schools, legal system. in fact it has had its own legal system for 300 years, so it's -- and it makes a lot of the domestic news very much scottish focused up there, and a lot of our news down here in london, you know, doesn't really reflect on that. >> scotland did get more power as you say, so why then the desire to completely break away? >> i think a lot of it is down to the heart. you know, the nationalists like alex and nicklas, these are people of the heart. they -- they just believe in

scotland being a nation on its own again, and you could probably say a third of all scotts are probably -- are in that camp. but a lot of it, also, things like the war in iraq brought the whole union into question, you know, this is a potentially illegal war which scotland has been forced to fight in, when everybody in scotland seemed to oppose it. and having a conservative-lead government when there is only one conservative leader from scotland. these are big problems that have pushed the independence agenda forward. >> it will be a fascinating day of voting. >> yes, indeed. it is a month since michael brown was shot and killed by police in ferguson, missouri. his death sparked protests and lead to criticism of the police there. los angeles experienced similar

fiends 22 years ago after police were acquitted of beating a man named rodney king. >> reporter: it may have been shot over 20 years ago, but this grainy home video is a powerful reminder of the dark days that los angeles once faced. but it was a year later when the officers were acquitted that l.a. witnessed some of the worst race riots in history. it lead to sweeping changes in the police department. that period changed this man's life, and he said there is good reason it hasn't happened since. >> we have been down this path before. all of our protests were in the daytime, they were organized and peaceful. so we have to protest but do it peacefully, that way l.a. won't burn down like it did 20 years ago. in august when michael brown

was killed in ferguson, missouri, the community took to the streets in protest. the scenes that fol lee -- followed were watched around the world. but just days later a man was shot and killed in l.a. but activists say the fact that there were no violent protests here were a sign of progress. they say things like this are still happening, shows there is still a long way to go. >> this man admits positive changes have taken place but one essential problem remains. >> when they look at these communities they are looking at a criminal force. >> reporter: the young men we spoke to agreed that police attitudes need to change. >> you shouldn't stand silent

when so many of our young people are getting murdered and killed for no reason, you know? >> i think i have been detained at least four times before 18, and i have at least two friends gunned down by the police. >> reporter: l.a. like many u.s. cities has a long history of racial tension, and while things have changed here, many say it's still not enough. andy gallagher, alvaz, los angeles, va california. still to come on the program, what a difference a year makes. coming back from a drug ban to win a grand slam. details coming next. ♪

♪ hello again. in the philippines it has been a day of remembrance for the victims of a siege a year ago. the 19-day battle ended with hundreds of deaths, and the displacement of more than a hundred thousand people. rob mcbride sent this report. >> reporter: outside the city hall, pledging allegiance to the flag that armed separatists had tried a year ago to replace with their own. for those who took part in the defense, letters of commendation from the city's mayor. >> it's really a victory of people that have really worked very hard to protect the philippine land, but to protect life as well. >> reporter: bussed around town,

local and national media have been assessing the progress made since last year's siege. all around the area are signs of reconstruction and renewal, but look a little closer and you find the same old political tensions that lead to last year's confrontation. the incursion by hundreds of fighters from a break away faction of one separatists group the mnlf arose from dispute with a rival group. and current political maneuv maneuverings may make that worse. >> you have many groups here, the rogue elements, the lawless elements, the kidnap ransom groups, and these people also try to undermine security. >> reporter: irene knows all

about those dangers. a year ago she and her five children were all held hostage by the fighters for several days. >> translator: every time there's an alert the children are still scared and ask me what is going on. >> translator: she feels it is safe enough to move back and rebuild but only because now there are soldiers standing at the corner of her street as they now stand guard in so many neighborhoods still getting back to normal. time to catch up with all of the sporting action. >> yes, thanks very much. michael schumaker has left hospital in switzerland to continue his rehabilitation at home although there is no indication yet that his condition has improved. he suffered a serious head injury last december. and kept in an artificial coma for almost six months.

he will now make the short journey to his swiss home which is around 35 kilometers away. his family released a short statement. in it they say: football's week of european championship qualifiers is continuing with eight more matches. two have already finished. the other six matches have just kicked off. including the world's most expensive player who is turning out for whales. the star-studded united nations basketball team will be on court shortly. they are facing slow vainia.

the reins bronze medalist, and then serbia meets brazil, and france takes on the host spain. sportsware giant nike is dropping its association with the disgraced nfl star ray rice. this footage has brought the sport's governing body under fair scrutiny. >> reporter: the video that is causing a fire storm in the united states. obtained by a celebrity news website, it appears to show american football star punching his then fiance and knocking her unconscious and then dragging her out of the elevator. it happens in february, but this new video showing the attack has not been seen publicly until now. as a result, rice has been let go by his team, the baltimore ravens. >> it's something we saw for the first time today, you know, all of us, and it changed things, of

course. it made things a little bit different. >> reporter: the national football league has always suspended ricin definitely but there is an uproar over whether the governing body has access to the video from the beginning. rice was earlier given a two game suspension and fined half a million dollars. >> the nfl is in this uncomfortable position of having to essential i will defending themselves as to why with the pure visual roof, why they department take this action in the first place. with the nfl being our favorite sport it really has brought this into the fold and attention of the american public. >> reporter: the popularity of football also means there's big money involved. professional teams spend millions of dollars to buy and train players. if they don't play it is the loss of investment.

even the white house stepped into the case. >> this administration and this president do believe strongly that the scourge of violence against women is something that needs to be aggressively combatted. >> reporter: the nfl insists it acted based on the evidence it has at the time. it has since changed itself domestic abuse policy. on to pakistan, quicket have changed their mind and will not be appealing against the suspension for an illegal bowling action. the international cricket council found his delivery arm exceeded the 15 degrees allowed. he can still play domestic

cricket, but he is in indefinite international ban. all right. i want to return now to our breaking news this hour, the death of the head of one of syria's biggest rebel groups, and he was killed in a suicide bombing. let's speak now to sue who is over the border from syria in northern iraq. so details still coming in, but what can you tell us about this attack? >> reporter: well, it seems it was an enormous attack on the area just to the west. and it seems they were having a council meeting, this group, and we believe so far a suicide bomber hit it. 45 dead, including 28 from the main leadership of that group, which really i guess will have wiped out quite a large amount of that group there. they have been fighting since

2012 in the region. so i think to have taken out that many will do a lot of damage. >> what more to we know about this particular group? a very high profile one? >> yes, i have been with this group going into syria before now, and they actually escorted us in. they are one of the two main, more conservative, more islamist groups. but they are very much part of the fighting force that took the battle to bashar al-assad. at that point the fsa were on the back foot. they didn't have the right weapons, they were pleading for the international community to send more weapons. and these two groups really started to make some headway. when we went with them, we went to a prison which they were

battling for. there were 350 prisoners still in the prison when bashar al-assad's bombers were attacking it. and they managed to free the prisoners. they didn't free them away from custody, but then decided they would be sent to some sort of sharia court themselves and tried once more. we didn't really feel they were a extreme group. they didn't much like having a woman in their groups, but it seems they have been fighting on two fronts, against bashar al-assad and the islamic state fighters, and it would look like these are the hallmarks of i.s. that conducted this suicide become taking out their leader. so it really looks like one of the main forces against i.s. in syria has now had its leader taken out. >> sue thanks very much in

indeed for that. that's it for this news hour, join us again in a couple of minutes. ♪

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