announcer: this is al jazeera. hello, welcome to another newshour at al jazeera, at our headquarters in doha. i'm adrian finighan. coming up in the next 60 minutes - battles for benghazi. fighting for control of libya's second city intensifies. [ singing ] >> hope for the families of nigeria's missing schoolgirls as the government says it struck a deal with boko haram. >> ireland's hidden secret,

while a brutal medical technique used on women in childbirth is coming to light. >> i'll do it in the future. >> we look in a school in north korea's capital pyongyang the battle for benghazi intensified over night. [ explosion ] . >> forces loyal to the renegade general launched an operation on wednesday. he's taking back the city after a failed attempt to do so in may. they were called to take up arms to push out rivals. 49 people have been killed, following days of fighting. we are joined on the line from tripoli. tell us about what is going on in tripoli.

what are residents - benghazi, sorry. what are residents doing in benghazi while the fighting is raging around them. there has been protests, haven't there? >> actually, human suffering - the news about the booby-trapped car that was blown up at a checkpoint that had been cleared out in the district last night, in an outskirts of benghazi. four persons were killed in that. seven were wanted. that attack, in the checkpoint set up bit general khalifa haftar. the renegade general is the leader of operation dignity. this comes after a call, after khalifa haftar himself called on civilians to carry weapons and attack fighters belonging to benghazi.

on october 15th, to mark what he says is the uprising. forces have been depleted, and now have taken positions around the airport, and camped out. >> now, they've been heard over the city, and shooting - it was heard over the city. fighting going on around two main headquarters affiliated with the general khalifa haftar. 2 in one commanders or special forces, and the other brigades, 200 tanks. may 21st, aircrafts and helicopters are providing support and attacking on the positions, but had been met with anti-aircraft fire, about the human suffering in the populated areas. it's escalating with the

rockets, grenades hitting the inside of the complex. civilians - no civilian casualties have been reported so far. we are getting sources from eyewitnesss on the ground, saying that many families have been leaving and displaced outside the city. according to the medical center, 30 were killed, and over 25 were injured from both sides over the last two days. >> thank you mahmood. on the line from tripoli. yemen - seven people have been killed in fighting between houthi rebels and tribal fighters. they have been setting up a checkpoint, after preventioning houthis entering central yemen. 24 hour ceasefire deal has ended. people living there have been gathering for the last two days to protest against the houthi

presence in the area. let's bring in our correspondent, joining us live from sarran. you'll have to put this into context. given the chaos at the moment, in the country general hi, explain what is joining on. there's another place where the fighters are gathering that's an air of threat over various places in the country right now. >> yes, that is true and there's fear among many in the country and other parts of the capital, that the nation is edging towards a sectarian war. the most popular area with 2.2 million, it has strong describal leaders and the military commander promised to

protect his province from any houthi advances. when it comes to the province of ibb, the houthis control many parts, and the tribal leaders gather and clash with the houthis. they demand it out. the importance is that it's predominantly houthi. the fighting starts, and with the houthis, shias, you have the sectarian aspect to all of this. apart from the complexities, another issue is that there's a genuine understanding that this is a political fight, there's an alliance between formal president with the houthis against the political allies, with the party representing the muslim brotherhood, and tribal leaders. >> it's a political fight, a

tribal fight. there are sectarian elements to it as well. where is the army in all of this. and al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, just to muddy the waters further? >> yes, this nation has been witnessing a bloody insurgency from al qaeda, and it seems that al qaeda is taking advantage, saying they'll defend the sunnis caught against the shia, but they are giving them a momentum, if you will, to gather support from the various tribal leaders. when it comes to the army, this is the big question everyone is asking, that they did not defend the capital or the bases, but the houthis wept in literally -- went in literally unopposed and went back to the strongholds in the province of sadr. that's why many believe it's an alines between the president --

alliance between the president and the houthis against their political enemies. the government is weak, they cannot do anything. they didn't protect the capital, nor the intention to do so. >> thank you. making sense there for us of the chaos in yemen the seerian tune of kobane is under attack -- syrian town of co is under attack. pictures from the turkish side of the border - looking quiet there. earlier we saw plumes of thick smoke rising from the town. al jazeera's bernard smith is from the camera, looking over the border. there has been shelling in kobane today. >> yes. good morning. there has been, perhaps, about half-a-dozen mortars falling around the border area, just

behind me and to the front of kobane town. this border i.s.i.l. really want control of. the syrian kurdish fighters in kobane said i.s.i.l. want control because they want the border crossing to be able to get access to the turkish ambulances so that i.s.i.l. fighters, wounded i.s.i.l. fighters can come to turkey for treatment. turkey has been offering humanitarian help to anybody that needs it, and doesn't distinguish between fighters from particular groups. that's why i.s.i.l. wants to get action to the position. there was an air strike, but in the last 24 hours they have dropped off in intensity, compared to the beginning of the week. they have enabled i.s.i.l. to regain territory. territory not defended - enabled the kurds to regain territory, not defended by i.s.i.l., but at a bit of a stalemate.

i.s.i.l. have about 30% of the town to the south and the east, and the syrian kurds are pushing there. most of the house to house, street to street fighting is late in the afternoon. at the night the mornings are quiet, apart from the mortifier we have heart. >> thank you, bernard smith, reporting live from the turkey syrian border, across from kobane in the background. >> in iraq several ethnic groups are trying to stand up to i.s.i.l., saying they have lost confidence in the iraqi army and its abilities to protect the communities. more from zeina khodr, who is in northern iraq. these men are part of another irregular armed force in iraq. farmers, students, the school principal - almost every man in the northern image has a new job. protecting their families from the islamic state of iraq and levant. they are members of a minority group, ethnic kurds that follow

a pre-islamic fate. this makes them feel threatened. >> translation: we have to be alert at all times, day and night. they've threatened them. >> the islamic state surrounds the village from three sides. like many front lines across the country, warring parties are a few hundred meters apart. this open ground makes it easy for i.s.i.l. to push into the city. >> i.s.i.l. did bad things to the yazidi in sinjar, we are afraid they'll do the same to us. if they come here they'll have to leave. the families that live here are aware that i.s.i.l. fighters killed and kidnapped the yazidi when they swept through the mountains in august. human rights groups are accused of carrying out a wave of ethnic cleansing. >> the -- they are not the some

group taking up arms. everywhere is armed and talk about the need to protect themselves. the iraqi state no longer has a presence in many areas, since i.s.i.l.'s advance in june. four months later people are worried that people are disintegrating to ethnic states. >> translation: after i.s.i.l. took control of areas, every september and ethnic group arms themselves. they lost confidence in the iraqi army, and losing hope that they can be helped. >> reporter: they would prefer for an authority to hold the country together. the power now seems to be in the hands of irregular armies not fighting for iraq, but their community's existence there has been more

anti-coup marches in egypt. they were holding pictures of deposed president mohamed mursi and called on the government to release detained protesters. al jazeera demands the release of its journalists, peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed, who have been in prison for 294 days. they are falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood, and are appealing against their convictions. mohamed fadel fahmy and peter greste were sentenced to seven years in prison. baher mohamed received an additional three years for having a spent bullet in his possession, which he picked up at a protest. >> two groups have been picked up. abu sayyaf fighters threatened to kill them unless they received a ransom. >> stephon okay ep ebbing and henry were seized from a yacht.

they were freed. their release clear, and the toll of their captivity. they threatened to behead mr okayen yek, pushing back the deadline. the news that the talks were successful came in a local broadcast. >> we are happy that the two germans have been released. did you turn it over already. >> an abu sayyaf spokesman ringing in to say $5.6 million had been paid. the philippine military denied that money changed hands. there has been no comment from the german government that dispatched in the lead-up to the release. >> we watched for the hostages held, about three hours before they were freed.

abu sayyaf swore allegiance to islamic state of iraq and levant, as well as money for the u.s.-led air strikes. >> well hidden in the jungle. amid a close-knit community, it's long found business by kidnapping. early saturday morning the two german hospitals were flown out of the airport on the way to manila. the release prompts two questions, if a vast sum of money has been exchanged, how does it strengthen the position of abu sayyaf, and what does it do for the state of other hostages. some nationals, some in captivity for two years still to come here on the newshour - taking on the umbrella movement. police in hong kong confront

demonstrators as they try to clear protest sites. the hope that north korea's students will look at a pyongyang middle school. >> i'm andy richard son in dubai, found out why one of asia's improved football team is finding home games 2,000km away from his own stadium. a possible ceasefire between nigeria and the boko haram. an advisor told al jazeera that the agreement could lead to 200 schoolgirls abducted. there's no confirmation as yet from boko haram, that any deal has, indeed, been reached. let's go live to abuja. our correspondent is there. is there a ceasefire or not? has a deal been done. >> people are waiting here from

boko haram. some kind of official statement. they need to be careful. there's many different sects and movements. each with their own agenda. people are waiting for a video, and want to see the leader of boko haram appear, and tell them about the ceasefire. that hasn't happened yet. people are skeptical. parent of the missing girls - they want the girls to come home soon. family members, friends and concerned nigerians have been protesting for months. many of the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted, they haven't returned home. the nigerian government said a ceasefire was reached. and talks to get the girls released are continuing. >> president goodluck jonathan came under a lot of pressure, angry at the failure to bring in the fighters. >> we are concerned to see how

many girls and the position they'll be in. some have been given out. then what is the assurance that we have, that when people say none have been harmed, they've been kept together and all the rest of it, we don't know. >> jonathan is expected to announce a re-election in the coming hours. the timing of the deal is convenient. government officials say it's the result of careful negotiations, they insist the girls will be home soon. >> we agreed with them that they'll maintain faithfulness, and a level of confidentiality. i can tell you categorically, that the ceasefire, and other teens are things that are agreed upon. it's the logistics and work ability. >> further details on the terms of the agreement including what happens to other prisoners, still held by boko haram. remain unclear.

>> harry, you are at some sort of political rally there in abuja. tell us about that, and tell us about news that's breaking now, that cameroon said that it killed more than 100 boko haram fighters earlier this week. could that have had anything to do with this deal, this ceasefire deal that we have been talking about? >> what i thought was a rally, it's a political rally. supporters all over the country. they basically say they fought the rally because they want to urge them to run for a second term. they are expecting to announce that he will some time soon, and they wanted to continue, saying that they were forcing them. in terms of the cameroonian - these attacks happened on and

off through the region. cameroon and the intensity - they have been active in dealing with boko haram. it could be linked to a ceasefire or news that the girls will be released soon. we do know there has been activity around the border area. nigerians are happy, saying if cameroon can attack boko haram, and get the hostages free. why can't nigeria do that. they look at cam room and nigeria. they want the continuous violence in the north. they want a chance to do something about it. that is what is putting goodluck jonathan to put him under pressure. where are they, when are they coming from. >> live there in abuja. the west bank says the

battle has been lost. the president blames a lack of solidarity in efforts to stop the virus spreading. domenic cape reports. >> reporter: it killed thousands, devastating vam lis and communities. the president of the west bank says the fight against ebola is lost. >> it's like you are in your room and the house is on fire, and the approach is to put wet towels on the floor. it may work for a while. unless you put it out, you are in trouble. >> it is at its most intense in guinea, liberia, and sierra leone. aid agencies say their most urgent need is not money, but people. >> we really need support from other world philanthropies, others that come in to help. >> in sierra leone until now, one distribute has been unaffected by ebola directly.

but now the red cross says it's there too. >> we are going to step up activities. we are looking at all the pill yas, mobilization, support, contact and management. one of the less publicised impact of ebola is on the younger generation. u.n.i.c.e.f. says thousands have been orphaned by the violence. it's believed the psychological effect lasts a long time. students are depressed seeing things that adults find difficult to understand. people in astronaut suits, taking sick people away. >> the international community's fight against ebola has been strengthened with more aid. at the rate the virus is spreading, some believe the global response may not be able to keep up

hurricane gonzalo smashed into the caribbean island of bermuda with winds of up to 175 miles per hour. thousands of homes are without power and rain caused flooding. >> more on hurricane gonzalo, where it's going from meteorologist. it was a storm, wasn't it? >> massive storm. nasty one. it moved through quickly. day break is an hour or two away. by that stage it would be clear. bright and breezy. you see the system making its way across the island. it has moved through. strong winds to come. not quite out of the woods much the system sustaining 125 k/hr. it has been moving at quite a like, 35 k/hr. it has gone through. it promises to be a fine day, a dry day, clearing up operations getting under way straight away.

we are looking at winds of around 50-60 k/hr. it will be a breezy day. the system is making its way through, brighter skies in behind. >> on the other side of the caribbean, we look at mexico. it's been a rough old season. there's another storm in the offing at the moment. to the south of acapulco. this is called trudy. it's a weak affair. we are looking at heavy rain coming in here, going on through the next couple of days. that rain setting in across southern parts of mexico, as we go on through the course of sunday. heavy rain to come. for many, we'll see widespread flooding across a good part of the south of country. >> thanks. >> the violent confrontations between police and protesters in hong kong. sarah clarke has the latest. >> the night began with a tense

standoff, but turned to chaos as thousands of protesters moved back to the distribute that had been cleared. they refused to go as riot police arrived. pepper spray and batons were used. dozens were arrested, and several injured on both sides. >> i think the police are very violent. they use broken umbrellas to hit us. traffic was blocked on two streets, in one of the busiest districts. what followed was a fence standoff that lasted for hours. >> we don't want to open the whole road. just we want genuine suffrage. >> reporter: the protesters want to talk. many are concerned the violent confrontations have derailed. the police chief is angry,

describing what happened last night as a violent and unlawful assembly destroying the rule of law. >> the police have been untolerant in the past two to three weeks. we did this in the hope that they can come down and display a peaceful rational manner. unfortunately the protesters chose to carry on with the unlawful act, including those are that logical and violent. >> the embattled leader appeared at an award ceremony. his government confirmed talks to the protesters will go ahead on tuesday. more people expected to gather, many expect last night's violence may lead to occupation of public areas.

north korea regards education as a pillar of its communist system. children are taught at a young age about the ideology of the workers party, and the value of independence of foreign rule. al jazeera obtained access to the middle school in pong. >> at the pyongyang middle school number one, the children have great hops for the future of their country. >> i'm going to be a scientist in the future. our scientist have already settled on a career, and i'll follow them. i'm going to lump, five, six, seven... >> children coming here are among the best students in the country, and everywhere here have the same dream. >> one country, only one korea.

here our country is divided in half. i understand that. >> the issue of reninification of the korean peninsula is an important subject for many studying in the school. the korean peninsula here is not divided. we came upped the control of guides who watched our every move, but the students are taught to defend the values by the dynasty that ruled for 70 years. >> i'm commanded by the supreme commander to respect. >> this was one of the core values of the communist state, known as sonmoon, the first ideology. >> the new generation - it is important for them to learn about how their parents, how the

former generations had to struggle to win independents and liberation. by learning the history and the struggle of the former generations, they cannot lose or gain the signature of the nation. >> reporter: we are told thanks to the current leader, the school has now computers. children here say they've never used the internet. >> translation: i don't know very much about it. >> translation: the government runs every aspect of people's lies here. the vice president of the school denies children are being indoctrinated. >> translation: no, no, our objective is to educate the students, focussing on everything, knowledge, philosophy. as for the history of our leader, everyone has to know, learn and follow it, that's why we should study it.

that's what we hear. north korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world. that does not seem to trouble children who are taught to value independents and self-reliance above all else we are at the midway point in the newshour. still to come on the programme - serving up mars with a slide of soup. we'll take you to london's exhibition with a twist. and it's getting ugly in the world of cricket as india threatens to pull the plug on a tour of caribbean. details in 20 minutes with jo.

you'reway the newshour from al jazeera, and the top stories... [ explosion ] ..the battle for control of the eastern libyan city of benghazi intensified. fighters loyal to a rep gayed germ -- renegade general trying to push out rivals, 49 people are reported to be killed. >> fighters between houthi rebels and tribesman has killed seven people in ibb. at the center of the country. they have been protesting against a houthi presence in that area. the syrian border town of kobane. i.s.i.l. fighters launched mortar attacks. coalition air strikes hit the group's position in the east women's rites campaigners in

ireland are demanding justice for victims of a brutal practice used in some hospitals for years, but is hard by known about. it involves soaring through a women's pelvic bone and cartilage during a difficult childbirth. you may find parts of lawrence lee's special report distressing. >> reporter: the stories these women tell are shocking enough to bear comparison with human rights violations anywhere in the world. they are not refugees, they are not a minority f the own doctors stand accused. this shows the soaring through of cartilage and bone in a women's pelvis during a difficult childbirth. this is lily, who can remember the detail. you could hear them. >> i could hear them. >> reporter: what was the sound? >> as if someone was sawing a

stick. >> reporter: betty was married in 1967 and became pregnant. in hospital she was given sleeping gas and woke up after birth in agony. so many years on, she can't lift a leg. semi is doubly incontipent and unable to have a physical relationship with her husband. >> the pain was excruciating. i couldn't lift my leg or move. it was horrific. i had to crawl around on my bum, and to walk i had to go two bushes on my arm, hold the handle as crutches, and i was like this for weeks. >> reporter: we brought in a physiotherapist who helped in afghanistan can refugees who are victims of female mute illation, who compared the

rehabilitations. >> this is as extreme as s g.m., taking a woman, and changing their body. there's a huge comparison after we withdraw the two. >> reporter: throughout the 20th century ireland led the way. doctors preferred sawing women's pelvic bones rather than have caesarian so they could have children in line with catholic doctrine. >> the dislike of caesarian stemmed from a view of it as a limiter on family size. once a caesarian always a caesarian, three operations seen as an upper limit. these doctors saw nine or 10 children. >> in recent weeks they were objected out of hand.

one-off payments objected. on the grounds that it allowed the state deniability. it assumes it state thinks this has a piece of history that may or may not be draw. >> ireland's community had nothing to say about the allegations. to the extent that the campaigners don't know whether it ended in the 1980s. they are as sure as they'd be that one procedure was conducted in 2005. they believe another happened as recently as last year. >> does the state know what is going on inside its open hospitals. >> we can't be sure that the influence. church has been eradicated from medical practice. and explicitly religious eitheros is said by the bored to inform the way in which they go

about their work in a modern democracy. that's not acceptable. >> lily, whose pelvis was slit in two to enable her baby to emerge found out affidavits, but its head had been punctured by her pelvic bone. it did not survive. >> the head was stuck on the pelvis, she bled to death. >> reporter: female gen till mutilation is a cause for many western governments. what happened to the women was unknown outside ireland. they spent years getting people to take seriously what happened to them. the fight is just beginning well, schiff orn is a professor of law at university of cork. she joins us. what are the human rites implications of the allegations?

>> well, what is alleged here is that the procedures took place without women's concept. they were not informed and took place in circumstances where there were alternatives, where they could have been performed with limited impact. >> reporter: do you agree with the view in that report that this is as extreme as female gepal mutilation? >> the line is dead. >> it seems that unfortunately we lost contact with our studio in cork. many apologies. we'll try to come back to the professor as soon as we can palestinian officials urge the the u.n. to set a november 2016 deadline for israel to withdraw from occupied land. the palestinian ambassador is calling on the security council to vote on the issue, saying, however, that he expects the u.s. to use its veto in israel's

favour. palestinians are hoping an end to occupation could lead to israel prisoners being exchanged. 2,500 palestinians are in gaol after mass arrests in june. they were detained after the killing of settlers. >> we have been speaking to a woman waiting for her husband to come home. >> this is where a woman spends most mornings, a garden planted with her husband. she tells me he was held in an israeli gaol for 30 years and freed in 2011 as parts of a prisoner exchange deal which saw the release of 1,000 prisoners for gilad shall it, a soldier held -- shalit who was held in custody. in june 3rd israeli settlers were killed in hebron in the occupied west bank, setting off

a series of events leading to a 50-day war in the gaza strip. since then israel imprisoned more than 2,500 palestinians, including nile, and 60 others freed as part of the 2011 deal. >> when you see these photos of a happy day, knowing that it's been tape away, what do you-- taken away, what do you think? >> now i cry. we have to cut these things showing these two people, they have to be strong. i shall feel strong in front of people. my people - all of them are suffering. >> her strength is shown by attending protests, like this in ramallah. everywhere here has family members in gaol, and is demanding that israel release them. there's 7,000 palestinians held in israeli prison, the highest number in five years. after 2500 arrested over the past three months, many haven't

been charged with a crime at all. >> which has people like this concerned. he's the cousin. both arrested by israel in 1978 for killing a settler, and were sentenced to life in prison. he was released in 2011 after spending 33 years in prison, and tells me he doesn't want to go back. >> as long as there's occupation, there's concern of arrests and rearrests. the israelis take it out on us. they want to make it harder on palestinians, especially prisoners. >> back at the garden, she is hopeful her husband will be freed, but nose there are no guarantees. israel has not made public statements about the mass arrest, officials are refusing to include the issue as part of talks in relation to a ceasefire deal. for now, all they can do is wait

and hope they will enjoy their lives together again back now a report we showed you about women's rights campaigners in ireland, demanding justice for victims described as a brutal medical practice used in the country for freers. it is hardly -- for years, yet it is hardly known about. it involved sawing through a cartage bone. schiff orn is a professor of law at university college cork. she is back with us. professor, you were telling us about the human rights implications because of this. who should be held accountable for this? do you agree - the point i was acting you at the time we lost you is whether you agree with the view expressed in the report, that this, as extreme as

female gepp tall mutilation. >> well, this issue came before the u.n. human rights committee in july, the first time a u.n. treaty body addressed the medical practice and they took the view that it constituted treatment, that it was medical experimentation, and they were strong also that there needed to be accountability as to why it happened. why it continued. there's a lack of state oversight. responsibility for allowing it to continue. there needs to be accountability on behalf of the state, who was involved in this, and whether there should be further prosecutions for example on the foot of any such inquiry. this is something that the u.n. human rilents committee has been strong on and hasn't happened yet, and needs to be if the country is liable. >> does ireland, the state, have

to respond to the u.n. >> yes, the state has to respond and as you heard, there's a campaign within the state. i'm calling for an inquiry, accountability and redress for women that underwent the procedure. that is a matter of obligation for the state. it is required to take steps to comply with the obligations under the political and civilian rights. >> who needs to be held accountable. is it the state, the catholic church, is it individual medical practitioners? >> it is the state for its lack of oversight and lack of regulation and failure to exercise due diligence to prevent this happening and prosecute it. there may be individual medical practitioners and institutions that would have to be held

accountable for allowing the procedure to, when it was not considered reasonable in other countries in europe. >> these women have suffered enough. what about - not that i suppose compensation is going to make a difference to them. but a compensation mechanism that has to be set into place. >> yes, there has to be redress suffered. extremely from the procedure that doesn't know what was happening to them, who afterwards weren't informed, who has difficulties including weapons, and access to information as to why the procedure is confirmed. many women suffered for several years unnecessarily, and circumstances where caesarian could have been performed. yes, individualized examination and redress is required, and that is something put in place

by the state. along with an accountability mechanism. >> many thanks idea. the professor of law at university college cork police in haiti used tear gas and water canon to break up progress. anti-activists threw stones marching through the street. coinciding with celebration. in mexico a gang leader has been arrested, believed to be linked to the disappearance of 43 students. the leader of the gang was captured on friday. he denies being involved in the student's disappearance. more now from mexico. >> this announcement from the attorney-general is a huge development in the case recording the 43 university students, that went missing at the hands of local police.

authorities believe this man may have valuable information as to what has happened to the young me, and where they may be found. criticism is growing in mexico. there was a demonstration in the town of acapulco. highways were shut down. 5,000 took to the streets, demanding the government do more. earlier this week the united nations and human rights watch criticized the mexican government, and said that the government needed to be more proactive. >> ahead here on the newshour -o will be here to tell us what parked sa brawl seeing 12 players sent off in a football match in argentina.

time for sport with jo. >> saturday is an historic day for the football team in erbil. they were in with a chance to win an asian title, having reached the final. afc cup. they have done it without playing matches at the home stadium. >> reporter: those who believe sport and politics shouldn't mix should never have met this group of footballers. the iraqi team in erbil is getting ready for a big game. the afc cup time should have been found at erbil's home

stadium in northern iraq. instead the teams will play in dubai, because of safety concerns caused by the conflict of the islamic state of iraq and levant. >> translation: sadly the situation is not new. it was the same in the 1980s, during the iraq-iran war. when we qualified for the 1986 world cup, we were not able to play at home. fans and players get used to it. >> the afc cup is a competition for emerging nations. erbil swept all before them, despite playing home games in qatar, jordan, lebanon and the united arab emirates. an irony is that erbil was seen as safe when compared with the rest of the iraq. the team attracted many of the country's best players and invest in them and the stadium, now, they are a club without a home. erbil's defiance of football

logic, a story competition organizers are finding hard to believe. >> it's a fairytale for erbil. it's very, very touching for all of us in asia. iraq has overcome such a barrier, and they are coming forward with a passion that they have, and a love that they have, which is in this beautiful spot in football. >> back in erbil, pictures of the players are all that can be seep of them for now. while the people are proud of what they consider a kurdish team, players, from all over iraq view the club differently. >> the situation at home is not good now. don't forget, in 2006 iraq became asian champions, and at that time all iraqis forgot their differences. we hope to repeat the success and take the cup home, so the whole of iraq can celebrate. >> reporter: the country may appear divided, this group of iraqis is heading in the same

direction. >> after almost two weeks of international football. european league is under way on saturday. lionel messi can equal the all-time scoring record. leaders are on 249, two short of the record since 1955 the rivals have been rooel madrid. the team has a slow start to the season. chelsea's team won the last four matches and could make it five against lef apta later. chelsea's five clear of manchester city, travelling to crystal palace on saturday. city looked to make up ground. city beat spurs 6-0, and 5-1

last season. they may feel competent about the encounter. they take on the city. they are nine behind chelsea failing to win the last two games. >> relations between two of the teams have descended into a tit for tad art. india are threatening to scrap the tour, after the caribbean team's abrupt cancellation of a tour of india. the windies abandoned the tour on friday, the players. they had a one-day international. three test matches left to play. the indian contribute board lined up the replacements, threatening to end the commitment to the tour. they say they are considering legal action. on to tennis. and the semifinals of the vienna open released. taking a step.

the brit beat germany's player in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5. the top eight players qualifying for the tournament. they move up into the last available spot. >> one of the me, murray, is trying to leap frog the finals. the spaniard is in nipted place. they reached the semifinals in indiana. days after a football game between serbia and albania, there has been another in argentina. this subsit utes riot police. abandoned midway through the second half. it erupted when two players were sent off. following a clash.

it descended into a brawl with players kicking and punching each other. match forces pulled off. one official called it a national disgrace. >> there's more on the website. check out more on aljazeera.com/sport. that's it for now. >> thank you indeed. some people find contemporary art a little hard to swallow. at one london exhibition, visitors are being handed bowles of soup to sup. there's a twist. phil lavelle explains. >> reporter: they say art has many faces, but soup apparently so. this recipe is on show for an art pair. wait until you see where it came from. the ingredients shape in fooka schema, site of a disaster. brought to britain, and now an

artist, and his mother serving it up to expect apt slightly curious viewers. >> the ingredients are checked and there's no signs of harmful raid yags. the question is are they safe. it's one the artists don't want to take. >> they say that they want a certain mystique and misery. they want the people who taste the soup to realise the dilemma. those that have to get on with life, day after day. >> even though it seems to be safe. there's a psychological attempt on us, that the food is - no. it's more like a psychological thing. dozens of people cued. few put off by the knowledge of where it came from. >> you are aware what that is. >> i think so.

i read about it in the paper. >> reporter: are you comfortable eating it? >> yes, sure, it's fine. i mean, i don't know. >> i think it will be all right. i'm not too worried about it. >> it's more optimism than you know. the disaster happened. a powerful superarmy sending three of the plants and six reactors. they were grown 6km from the plant. the answer up to the audience. aside from the question about the safety, there's another, is there art. it may be art, but a bowl of soup - food for thought for art lovers and makers. here, at least, these ones have a masterpiece on their hands. >> that will do it for this particular newshour. the top stories straight ahead here on al jazeera. thanks for watching us again.

bye for now.

battle for benghazi - fighting for control of libya's second city intensifies. >> hello, you're watching al jazeera, live from the headquarters in doha. also coming up on the programme... ..at least 12 people are killed in more fighting involving houthi rebels, than al qaeda-linked group in yemen. [ singing ] hope for the families