al jazeera america. . >> >> announcer: this is al jazeera. welcome to the newshour, i'm darren jordan in doha. coming up on the programme... >> we will hunt down terrorists that threaten our country wherever they are. >> president obama says he'll order air strikes in syria to hunt down the islamic state group. oscar pistorius's murder trial is near the end. the judge is reading out her verdict. we will be live in pretoria.

and coming up, support - kata lonians make another boost for independence, boosted by scotland's bid. >> welcome to the programme. the u.s. president, president obama, wants to destroy the islamic state group, which has taken over large parts of northern iraq and areas in syria. the strategy includes air strikes in iraq and syria. obama says he'll send hundreds of more troops to iraq. so-called moderates will receive training in saudi arabia. let's look closely at the plan, and this report. >> my fellow americans ... >> reporter: anyone specting to hear a shift in policy from president obama would have been disappointed listening to him as he laid out his country's strategy on wednesday. >> we will degrade is ultimately

destroy i.s.i.l., through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy. >> much like his approach towards alleged al qaeda targets in yemen, afghanistan and pakistan, obama promised to eradd kit is your through air tricks and proxy troops. >> the counterterrorism campaign will be waged through an effort to take out i.s.i.l. wherever it exists using airpower and support for forces on the ground. >> reporter: it's a strategy analysts say is unclear at best. >> in terms of eliminating them as an organization, there's the syrian part of the equation, and the iraqi part of the equation. it's not clear how the u.s. administration seeks to proceed in syria. president obama mentioned supporting syrian rebels, who

they'll be remains to be scene. >> while obama promised to deploy 1500 troops to train the fighters. in a bid to put powers to lead the battle, criticism has been directed at the president for failing o outline a diplomatic or political solution. >> i was disappointed that the war politically doesn't show up at all, and the president's speech regarding iraq. the president speaks about bombing the group, i.s.i.s. the president speaks about creating proxy groups to send combat forces, ground combat force, but doesn't speak about political solution to extremism. >> the so-called islamic state group rose to prominence, with leaders the world over identifying it as a major threat, vowing to eradicate it.

while they line up to announce strategies on how to defeat the armed group, the fact remains that president bashar al-assad and his forces killed more than 130,000 civilians, and yet to direct military action has been taken against him. many believe the only solution lies in a solution to the syrian war as a whole. and we have rehabilitation from across the middle east region. in a moment we'll hear from the jordanian capital ayman, imran khan has a view from baghdad where a new government has been formed. first to rula in lebanon on the air strikes in neighbouring syria. president obama says he has not ruled out air strikes in syria, how are the plans to fight the i.s. group likely to go down and what is the reaction so far?

>> the u.s. is trying to weaken and destroy the islamic state group without strengthening bashar al-assad. that is hard, because they are the strongest force on the ground. he wants to arm and equip and drain the syrian moderate and opposition groups. it is tricky. he tried doing it before, and it didn't work. from the syrian opposition they welcomed and are willing to cooperate, and they want him to fight bashar al-assad at the same time, and without fighting marc savard, they want work. the problems will not end. the government is hoping that this new coalition, the need to fight the islamic state group would pressure the united states to knock on the doors asking for help. that doesn't happen. they are banking on time. they think the plans will falter and fail without cooperation, and they are waiting for him to ask for help. >> rula in beirut.

now for the view from baghdad, and talk to imran khan, so we know a little more about the u.s. strategy with the i.s. group. what is the reaction in the iraqi capital? >> well, the official reaction has been strong and positive. the iraqi vice president spoke to al jazeera, and welcomes the strategy, saying he's the only way to beat the islamic state, and singled out the use of air tweaks in support, saying that these air strikes is crucial in defeating the group, that they have used it in the past, in mosul, and they were very successful. this is not a fight against jihadists and the west, it's the region as a whole. they welcomed the coalition that the u.s. are building to try to defeat i.s. a strong and positive reaction from the government. the islamic state have reacted

as well through the social media. what they have said is that they have not declared war on the u.s. they say that the beheadings that have been referred to were a message to america, and they'll continue to do what they are doing, which is building and strengthening the caliphate. >> let's cross to the jordanian capital. so we know that jordan is a member of the broad coalition that the americans are putting toot. we know there a meeting in saudi arabia. what do we expectation to happen? >> we are expecting john kerry to discuss plans to garner support for the global coalition, especially in the region of the arab countries. we know the countries represented include jordan, lebanon, and the gcc countries. jordan is a country concerned

about the threat of the islamic state group. jordan is a u.s. ally and had a partnership with the u.s., and has 375km border with syria and a 180km border with iraq. in the past they have provided intelligence to the u.s., like the u.s. uses military bases in the north and north-east of the country during its invasion in 2003 of iraq. i don't see why jordan is doing the same. jordan is tight-lipped about the role it will play, it is wary about playing a prominent role. we think it will, especially a logistical role in providing the intelligence and letting the troops close to the border. it's a political role. with the enchanted sunni tribes. it can get the tribes on board,

garnering the troops on board to fight the islamic state. there's internal threats inside jordan, it's the rise of the movement. this movement has been in jordan but now we see that there are more sympathizers with the islamic state in the country and the government is trying to crack down on them quietly in this report. >> reporter: a brief visit to amman ahead of a summit in saudi arabia to discuss a global coalition against the islamic state group. the u.s. secretary of state john kerry met kink abdullah -- king abdullah to explore their role. jordanian officials are not expanding. >> all countries are not immune to terrorism. decisions or policy will take into consideration the high interests and the national

interests of the jordanian state. >> reporter: jordan is important to the coalition because it borders syria and iraq. in 2003 it allowed u.s. forces to use military bases during the invasion of iraq, and provided the u.s. with intelligence. washington offers jordan substantial military aid. there are fears islamic state fighters may direct their attention to jordan. the country's threat is from within. there's thousands of sympathizers here. sella phone members are in support of the i.s. group, and raised the flag last june. just last month, sella feats chanted a pledge of allegiance to islamic state group's leader, abu bakr al-baghdadi. their leader acknowledges the

group has made mistakes, but rejects a role in any coalition to go after the armed group. >> translation: koran and soouna rejects anything. we also wish the i.s. would avoid mistakes. >> reporter: the authorities stepped up the surveillance and arrests of sella feed. many are questioned under the anti-terrorism war, which criminalizes attempts to join terrorist organizations or recruit on their behalf. >> some parliamentarians said that jordan should not be dragged into a war that is not their own, that many say islamic state fighters are in jordan's backyard and it's irration at to wait until the country is the group's next target. the challenge is to undercut a foothold for the islamic state group inside the country.

now to liondon and hear fro security expert. no boots on the ground says barack obama, no u.s. troops will be fighting, but he's willing to wage a proxy war, backing local fighters in iraq and syria. and as in pakistan wants to ramp up air strikes to kill the enemies, and create new enemies because they kill innocent people. we know a bit more about president obama's i.s. strategy. what do you make of it, do you think it will work? >> well it's not going to look pretty, and it will involve doing deals with people that we wouldn't have contemplated, and it's going to involve us holding our noses and really trying to make the best of a bad situation, and just hoping that at the end things are not as bad as they were, as if we had done nothing, which doesn't sound a great place to be. this is the situation where we

found ourselves in. the west's inaction, the previous administration in iraq's inaction created a vacuum allowing the worst situations to occur, where we are seeing genocidal practices carried out in a brutal way. what the u.s. had to decide is is this something we want to get back into, and if so, why. and this is one of the things which has not been clearly articulate for me is the nmoral art about why the u.s. will go back in. >> obama talked about putting toot a coalition of -- together a coalition of countries to fight the group. they are meeting in saudi arabia, secretary of state john kerry is there. how significant is the make up of the coalition, and how effective is it likely to be given the challenges you talk about? >> the only thing that matters in the coalition are the

opposition in syria, and the new administration in baghdad. i understand the american tactics, and the type of thing we'll see is not the same air strikes as in 2003, the shock and awe, we'll see a far slower more methodical intelligence led campaign, the same campaign deployed under the afghan and pakistan border, where we don't see the great air strikes, but the leadership evidence will be eradicated piece by piece as based on the ground, and through their intelligence networks are gathered and the individuals are targeted. the u.s. have an unknown factor in this, and that is the new administration in iraq. if the new administration is not able to stand up, is not able to win the support of the silent majority of iraq, particularly the sunni community, who can't gather the support of the sunni tribal leaders, whatever they

are doing will not work. >> the i.s. responded to obama's speech saying they have not declared war in america, fearing the full might of the u.s. air force and assets. are there splits within the group that can be leveraged by the west in any way. >> very much so. that's a good observation. there'll be the hard core leadership and the people attracted to the islamic state, because they like violence. a lot of young men like violence, a lot of men have been attracted to the islamic state because it offers them power. they are facing the choice as to whether they carry on murdering women and children and risk losing their lives. >> crispin, thank you for talking to al jazeera. stay with al jazeera, we'll follow this story. we are expecting u.s. secretary of state john kerry to talk in the next few minutes in saudi arabia's capital. we'll come back to you on that.

we are in nigeria - hundreds of girls abducted by boko haram have been held for 150 days. we meet a girl na escaped. in sport, the n.f.l. announces an independent investigation into their handling of the ray rice investigation. details a little later in the newshour. now, human rights watch says israel committed war crimes during the 50 day war on gaza. the support highlights separate attacks saying israel accused human casualties, more than 2,000 palestinians were killed, mostly civilians. 67 on the israeli side were killed, 57 soldiers. investigations have been launched into military misconduct by forces in gaza. among the cases a bombing of a u.n. school and the killing of

four children playing on the beach. an israeli policeman has been charged with beating a 15-year-old palestinian american. the assault made headlines when images were released of the teen being beaten by officers. he was at a protest over the murder of his cousin. now, the judge in the oscar pistorius murder trial has started delivering her verdict in south africa. the paralympic sprinter is facing 25 years in gaol if found guilty of his girlfriend. oscar pistorius denies killing here saying he mistook her for an intruder. tania page joins us. talk us through what is happening there in pretoria at the court. how long will this take? >> it's been set down for two days, but i can tell you that she's moving through it quite quickly. she is not going to give us an indication of exactly how long

she has to go. however, she has to basically summari summari summarise analyse and explain her verdict. she said she has discounted some eyewitness testimony, people who said they heard a woman's scream and gunshots. she said some has been muddled by the exposure to the high level of interest through the media. an indication there of some of the evidence she will be discounting, but a long time to go. prest themselves looking tense -- private himself looking tense -- oscar pistorius looking tense at times. >> reporter: oscar pistorius's dash into the court seen around the world, every move watched.

the paralympian is accused of shooting his girlfriend reeva steenkamp, who is behind a bathroom door. he says the valentine's day killing was an accident, and she thought he was an intruder. the prosecution alleges he shot her in a jealous rage. witnesses say they heard a terrified scream and gunshots. most of the trial has been broadcast live on television in a first for south africa. this law professor said it's a good thing. >> they have given people in south africa, where most don't see justice in action. it's access to justice in a way most will never see. there's always a present threat of sensationalism and misreporting. >> reporter: oscar pistorius's status as an athlete would lead to from. there's journalists from all

over the world. the viewers see it as enthralling entertainment. south africas are reminded it's the justice system at its best. and the defendant can afford the best layers. the media has put too much focus on the legality intricacies, and not enough on issues like domestic violence and gun control laws. >> in south africa there's almost an immunity to some violence. if it surrounds you on an every day basis, many accept it, many say violence is benign in south africa. it is exceptional to make us think "maybe we need to look at this." . >> reporter: whether viewed as entertainment, many await the outcome. monsoon floods killed 450 people. thousands are stranded.

among those helping victims in pakistan is a man with a $10 million boundary. one man is wanted in india for masterminding the 2010 terror attacks. >> we meet in the northern pakistani city of waziristan, where people are the first to arrive and rescue people by boat. >> they cause flooding across the region. the banner leads there's no god but god. the group is popular and takes a front-line role helping those affected by the disaster, as they have in the past. as an organization, it has been banned after pressure from the u.s. we are saying whether his group is a cover by fighters. and elsewhere. >> west is not only against me

or my organization or muslims over the world. are no exception, considering them terrorists, if you look into iraq, syria and the rest of the world. >> india says sayeed and his group is responsible for the attacks, killing 154 people. pakistan's people have cleared him. the focus is on humanitarian causes and the environment. >> translation: every country is building dams with climatic claims. there's 4,000 dams. china has built more than that. pak tan is behind. that's what we are facing today. >> it is difficult to judge what the motives may be, this

organization filled a vacuum of vital importance. pakistan may have seen many disasters but is poorly equipped and trained to deal with catastrophes. for many, he's a role model in the community. let's check on the global weather with everton. we saw the floods in india and pakistan starting to get better. >> at long last. you can see from the pictures that the sun is out, so something of an improvement. we have the run off making its way down to lower ground. that will cause problems in the coming days, if not weeks. looking at the satellite - the main areas of heavy downfalls is south across the northern plains towards bangladesh. there's lively showers, and that is the case there the next few days, through the west and east of the heavy rain right the way

there across the northern plains. to the far north-west it is dry, and we'll see sun shine coming through here over the next few days. for the central areas, heavy downpours. heavy council pores, wide spreadflooding, major disruptions. look at the rain fall totals. sapporo, 72mm of rain in 24 hours. enough to cause flash flooding. south, twice that amount, 154mm of rain in 24 hours. the wet rain is making its way east and. scotland's independence from the u.k. is looking less likely according to the latest opinion poll. the no vote is on 53%. the poll came out after david cameron made a heart-felt plea to voters not to abandon the u.k., made up of scotland, england, wales and northern

island. a vote that will be watched eagerly. alex salmond says the poll shows they are the underdog, but they are confident they will break free. >> scotland is on the cusp of making history. the eyes of the world are on scotland. what the world is seeing is an articulate peaceful debate. scotland will vote yes next thursday. and it will vote yes because last minute cobbled up promises from the no campaign which unravel at the slightest scrutiny will not fool anyone, and neither will the bullying or intimidation of the westminster government. >> scotland's referendum on independence is closely watched in spain's kata lonia region. there's support and calls for autonomy may reach a fever pitch. the mott for ipp depend -- mott for independence is paying its

way across the country. >> reporter: catalonia's independence movement is planning its biggest event yet, a rally on a massive scale. thousands of people are issued with red and yellow t-shirts. the catalan flag has four red stripes on a yellow background. they plan to create the world's largest human flag along the thorough fares, of an independent kata lonia. >> this is the epicentre of the event on thursday. >> reporter: here is where the crowds will meet to form a symbolic v. >> you have the v for victory, v for winning, v for will, and v for voting, which is the way in democracy things are decided. >> reporter: campaign leaders say the efforts are sabotaged by

cyber attacks. >> they turp off immediately. here hekm. there's no one there. >> reporter: suspicion here lies with the central government. all over barcelona, you see the flag of kata lonia. people were watching the scottish referendum as a model of what they want to see played out. but kata lonians face resistance from madrid. >> the cata lan leaders - mad rid threatens to ban a vote. the political allies demand a firm stance. then there's the corruption scandal surrounding the independents movement.

he's found himself ridiculed in the media after admitting that the family hid money in switzerland for 35 years. they are now a figure of fun. >> they proceed for many years as a man of state. nowadays i think he has to be seen as nothing more than a corrupt - the road to independence has been dogged by scandal and infighting. many are holding on to the hope of a referendum, a new future is moving into view. now, coming up, the fight against ebola tells you about a huge contribution by bill gates and his wife. relief in senegal after their only ebola patient makes a full recovery. crippled by land mines in

myanmar, now the hope to clear them from the country sid may begin. >> in sport, it's all or nothing at the world cup. sanaa will be here with the details. microsoft cofounder bill gates and his wife melinda are pledging $50 million to help fight ebola in africa. the donation will be used to buy diagnostic tools, vaccines. the u.n. requested $600 million to fight the outbreak. senegal announced the full recovery of a 21-year-old. nicholas hart reports from dakar. >> reporter: it's a victory for

the hospital's small infectious disease department. this doctor aided with others took turns to treat a young gentleman. they had no access to experimental vaccines the patient's chances were slim, but he made a full recovery and no longer carried the virus. >> we made sure he didn't lose a lot of fluids. >> the ginnian is under care, people he was in contact with is under strict medical conditions. it was the only case, lead ght the minister of health to announce to the world that senegal... ... (technical difficulties) ... >> lift the restrictions put into place against us. >> reporter: the government considered prosecuting the eboba patient.

he travelled into senegal with the virus in line with the staff. instead, he will be deported out of the country. >> the doctors in the hospital say the treatment is not over. this virus may have left the body, but he suffers deep psychological trauma, and the last month he lost half of his family to the ebola virus. >> reporter: doctors say the treatment can be traumatic, as patients must be isolated. >> translation: it's difficult to be sick, not knowing who is treating you or if you will survive, knowing your family is dead. beating the virus is also a mental challenge. >> reporter: ebola can inflict deep mental scars. too often over looked. these doctors - fighting the virus us is the first priority. let's bring you breaking news and go back to the trial of oscar pistorius in south africa.

a verdict is being read at the courthouse in pretoria. tania page rejoins us. you have an update for us. >> yes, absolutely. in the past few moments the judge said that the state - the prosecutor has not proved that oscar pistorius is guilty of premeditated murder, that was the highest charge that the state was after. she said it hasn't been proved, that she hasn't been convinced of that. that sets everything down it a slightly lower charge of murder. she will be debating and giving her analysis on that over the next few moments. that really comes down to a couple of things - whether she believes he acted in defense. she has already said that he gave contradictory evidence, that he acted consciously up to the point of firing the gun but

at that point fired voluntarily. regardless of what happens on the murder charn, the next step is cull able homicide, which is a charge you face if you are in a car accident and hit the car and someone in the car was kill. it's the equivalent of manslaughter here. she seems to be moving through the verdict quickly. >> if found guilty of the lesser charm of murder and no premeditated murder, what does that mean? >> it means that he'll face a prison sentence of about 20 to 25 years. it's up to her discretion. we would not know until the point of sentencing, and that is not going to be today or tomorrow. she'll need to set a date an a later time, within about two weeks. there'll be further arguments from the prosecution and the defense. >> this trial has taken some time to complete. how do you think the family and south africa will react to this

verdict already - that it's not premeditated, but many thought he would have been found guilty of premeditated murder? >> yes, well many cases gave rise to armed chair judges, this is one of them. all over social media and twitter people are delivering their own verdict and have been doing so for hours. she said the state case of premeditated murder hinged on two things, firstly a woman who said she heard a woman arguing and an hour later shots fired. that led to a case that reeva steenkamp and oscar pistorius had an argument and later he killed her. she discounted that, and other testimony that couples heard the couple arguing and then shots fired. she said the media played a part

in that, people listening to what's unfolded in court before coming to deliver their evidence. any south african who would have followed the trial as everyone has been able to do m will think that the finding on the premeditated charge is fair. >> let me get a thought from you. as you say, this has been a long trial attracting worldwide attention. how much is this also about the south african justice system on trial as well? >> very much so. and everybody i have spoken to is proud of the portrayal of south africa's justice system. there was the perception among sav caps that if you are rich, you can get away with anything. i think because it's been able to be televised and over media, that has added a layer of transparency to the case that people would not have otherwise enjoyed. >> tania page updating us from

the oscar pistorius trial where the judge said she didn't find him guilty of premeditated murder. thank you very much. a group of u.n. peacekeepers captured in august have reportedly been released. the al nusra front announced the fijian troops are safe, alive and will cross the border soon. the group captured them in golan heights two weeks ago. it's 150 days since more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in nigeria. the country's military has been leading the search. little has been made public. this man and his family thought they were lucky to escape a village attacked by boko haram. they fled on foot and started across nigeria, before settling in abuja. he left a daughter behind at her boarding school, wanting her to

finish the year of school. sara was one of 300 schoolgirls abducted by boko haram in april. >> every day i fray they can find a way to bring her back. >> i tried to be strong for the family. it's hard. being a poor man with no means the take the government to task. >> for months, they wait to hear news about the missing girl. the military nose their donat n donation. since the abduction. boko haram expanded their reach, cease are towns and villages. >> the government used the past five months to improve the quality of intelligence. for many of the missing girl's families, the process has been slow. >> rebecca is one of 57 girls who escapeded after being

abducted. he spent the last month doing house chores. this is not what she wants to do with his listen. >> i want to find a better and safe school. i want the family to support me. >> community activists have been working with local organizations to find placements for those that escaped. 15 have been admitted. a handful to legos and others to the united states. >> to a certain degree there's support from different groups, but not enough. the problem so much that many people accept it. >> like the family, based on living for handouts. there's no money for sending the children to school and worry about the future every time they remember the missing sister.

>> why has the government remained quiet over the fate of the girls? >> well, the nigerian government is not one known to handle its affairs openly. 150 days since the girls were taken. little is moan about the whereabouts, what is done to rescue them. and whether there has been meaningful negotiations, given that the military said time and again it cannot wage a commando style rescue operation, fearing for the lives of the girls. it's important to look at the larger context of what has been going here over of the past few months. that abduction on that night, april 14th, has marked an important milestone not just for boko haram, but the nigerian government. ever since international

attention was directed to the country. but little known about the whereabouts of the girls. it's almost as if the international attention emboldened boko haram, and prompted it to carry out more strategic attacks and seize towns and villages. >> shortly after the girls were taken a number of countries, america, the u.k., offered to help find the girls. what is happening with that. >> a lot of offers. through after the girls prosecutor kidnapped and after president obama gave a speech. not a lot of international attention. we know that the united states and the u.k. assisted in areas of satellite imagery, reconnaissance and intelligence. the governments were, to some extent reluctant in the extent of help offering the government, given the track record of the

nigerian military. while it is convenient for the government to paint this as part of a larger war, international war on terror. this is veg a diplomatic issue. many will tell you that. it's important not to look at it from an international prison, and international assistance focuses on improving the nigerian united nations and helping the nigerian government deal with this from within. thank you. al jazeera continues to demand the release of three journalists. egypt has detained peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed tore 257 days. they are accused of helping muslim brotherhood. they are appealing the convictions. myanmar has the third-largest land mine casualties, they were scattered in areas where the armed groups fought the government. now the pros telent of a

ceasefire means clearing the country of landmines may begin. we have this report. >> reporter: this person is a victim and a survivor. a former soldier that fought in wars, he survived a landmine explosion, but lost a leg. >> translation: before i got my artificial l, i couldn't go out. i felt limited. after i put on a prosthetic i felt complete again. >> reporter: at this orthopaedic clinic staff produce artificial limbs, and it's rehabilitation center. people are fitted with prosthetics and learn how to use them. the center says there are fewer landmine victims lately. in the last few years after the civilian government took over from the military, a tentative ceasefire was agreed. some areas were cleared of

landmines, so development can take place. this is the jungle where it took place. villagers that live in the remote areas know the dangers. and rarely wander off well-worn paths. >> armies and the myanmar area has areas here and to secure territory we had to use land lines. >> they fought the longest civil war against the government. they are not the some group fighting for autonomy. the government has been negotiating a ceasefire agreement. people are hopeful about the discussions. >> translation: i am happy about the peace talks. people will not lose their legs. >> reporter: she lost her leg to a land mine.

she said she used to blame the armies for her misfortune but accepted the fate. the only regret was that peace didn't come sooner. florence louie didn't come sooner. >> time for a break. we'll have the latest on the oscar pistorius trial. the judge said he cannot be found guilty. we'll have the sports news. we'll tee off with $10 million. rory mcilroy says it's not about the money. details in the sport. stay was.

welcome back, let's go back to the trial of oscar pistorius in south africa in pretoria. tania page joins us live. bring us up to date with some of the verdict that the judge has already said. >> yes, we are most of the way through the most important charges. i believe not guilty on premeditated murder, not guilty on the charge of murder. now all she has to deal with is the slightly lesser charge of culpable homicide, which is the equivalent of manslaughter, may be more familiar to some viewers. it will come in effect if she believes he acted unintentionally and unlawfully killed whoever was behind the lacked bathroom door, whether he believed it was his girlfriend reeva steenkamp, or an intruder as he said so in his defense. oscar pistorius, himself,

sobbing, his shoulders heaving up and down in court with the relief at found not guilty on the two strongest damming charges of premeditated murder and murder. >> there'll be disappointment in some circles, particularly reeva steenkamp's family that he will be found not guilty of murder. >> yes, you would assume so. >> at the end of it they just want to get to the heart of matter and want family members in court throughout the 5.5, 6.5 trial. and the families satisfied that everything was done on the prosecution case and the defense case to get to the bottom of what happened. as the defense lawyer raped throughout all of this, only two people really know what happened, and only one is alive to give his account. that man clearly upset in the court as we get to really the

final moments of the murder trial. >> paige updating us -- tania page updating us from the trial of oscar pistorius. thank you. let's check on the sport now. >> thank you. american football's governing body the n.f.l. says there'll be an independent investigation into the handling of the ray rice domestic violence incident. rice was sacked by the baltimore ravens after video emerged of him punching his fiancee in february. he was given a 2-game ban by the number of -- by the n.f.l. an investigation will be led by robert f fueler the iii. >> you want to understand that we are trying to do the right thing at all times. when we make a mistake we are honest and open about it, and say we'll do better.

we were two weeks ago, when we improved our policies in the area, and we have more work to do. we'll listen and learn and make sure that we are doing the right thing for all our fans. >> we also knew that the league was trying to do it, and, you know, i feel that where we dropped the ball - i'm not - i will kind of speak for the league, but i'm speaking about us as the ravens, that we sat back and let others do it. it's easy to say now if the league can't get it the team can't get it. i know the effort we put in, we called everybody that we could. >> floyd mayweather junior apologised for criticizing the n.f.l.'s decision to suspend ray rice. he spoke ahead of his world title fight on saturday. mayweather served two months in

prison in 2012 after pleading guilty to domestic abuse. >> i was getting word from people that there was a video out there. i don't know. i'm training for a fight. if i offended anyone, i apologise. i didn't mean to offend anyone, you know, i apologised to n.f.l., and to anyone else that got offended. i'm not perfect, i make mistakes, and i don't condone that at all. >> rory mcilroy is looking to finish the pga season on high by clinching a fed ex cup. the northern irishman is enjoying his 2014 campaign, winning two title. $10 million is up for grabs at eastlakes. rory mcilroy is forth in the standings, and says winning the tournament is more important than the prize money. >> it's one of the only things i have not achieved in golf is a

fed ex cup. that is the real reason i want to win. i want to finish the year off well. the money is nice, great. it's the title that would mean more to me. >> spain to reach the semifinals of the basketball world cup. france beat spain last year. a week ago spain won the group game by 22 points. the french produced a late surge in the quarterfinal to win 65-32. >> their opponents in the semifinal will be serbia, dominating wild cards brazil. they outscored their opponents. going on for an 84-66 victory. >> the other semifinal will be held on thursday, tournament favourites the united states

facing their opponent. in 2010 the u.s. won on the way to claiming the world title. >> our expectations are the same as every game. make sure we compete. play for each other, offensively move the ball, make the pass and defensively help each other out. lithuania is a good team. they have good guards and the two men are tremendous. it will be a big-time game for us. >> manchester united finished seventh in the english premier league and are yet to win a game. it has not stopped them from announcing a record revenue. the total revenue to june stood at 699 million, a figure bigger than any premier league club managed in the previous two seasons, and a 19% improvement from the previous year. it only tells half the story. it is expected to drop further

in the next financial year due to on-field accounting firm deloitte predicting the lack of champion's league football will cost manchester united 10% of its annual revenue. >> cameroon made it two wins out of two after a win against the ivory coast. congo are top of group a with a 2-0 victory against sudan. egypt with a second-straight defeat against tunisia. african champions nigeria had a draw. ghana beat togo in a 5-goal thriller. >> european football's governing body opened disciplining proceedings against wales and andoora following the qualifying match. wales won 2-1, but could face sanctions after the pitch was invaded. they could be punished after six

players received 11 cards. the artificial pitch is under scrutiny also. >> the vuelta is reaching the final stages with the race to conclude on sunday. alberto contador is closing in on his third crown. the 17th stage was run by john of germany, the fourth stage win of the race. the local favourite alberto contador is on top of the standings with a 1:36 lead over valverde. more on the website. check out aljazeera.com/sport. there's details on how to get in touch with the team using twitter and facebook. the address aljazeera.com/sport. >> that's it for me. >> thank you very much. now, after a marathon session, argentina's congress passed a law to evade the courts and avoid paying its creditors in

new york. it allows argentina to pay bonds locally beyond the reach of the u.s. court. it will infuriate its creditors and the united states. >> reporter: many in argentina see this as a straight fight 2010 president kirchner's government trying to pay off ced force in a fair and equitable way, against greedy hedge or vul cher funds that wants more than argentina is able or willing to pay. it's not that simple, it never is. what began as a dispute over unpaid debt is a major moral and ideological battle fought on self fronts. here at the argentine congress, in the u.s. court and the united nations general assembly. the law allowance argentina to

shift payment of its creditors to new york where the bonds were issued to buenos aires or a third country, avoiding the jurisdiction of the u.s. court that ruled against them. some here say not paying debts is a bad idea. >> the people in argentina need finance by argentinians and foreigners. in order for that to be forthcoming we need to respect contracts. >> reporter: the hedge funds are fighting for payments on the bonds bought and refuse to restructure. some,including president kirchner's government feel paying the immoral hedge funds takes money from those that need it the most, making it a human rights issue. >> in order to pay or to comply, there is some things impossible with the ruling. definitely the funds, the money

to may that will impact the social policies. >> that's when argentina took the case to the united nations general assembly which on tuesday voted to adopt a multinatural legal framework for sovereign debt restructurings, backed by latin america and others. >> we have decided to change the future by preventing more future from paying with hunger and misery from the exorbitant vul cher funds. >> reporter: argentina's argument is attracting allies and enemies along the way. that's it from me. stay with us on al jazeera. a full bulletin of news is ahead with david foster. all the latest on the oscar pistorius verdict under way in south africa.

stay tuned. thanks for watching.

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