. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. hello from doha, this is the news our. the army battles i.s.i.l. can they succeed where they failed before. i.s.i.l. claims to have grabbed a u.s. air drop full of weapons for the rebel fighters a pakistani cleric ends a

2-month sit-in. and ben braid brie a newspaper editor dies. we look at his golden era this exclusive report from iraq - the army is trying to take back tikrit from i.s.i.l. with the help of pro-government militia, iraqi forces recaptured three towns. together with baiji it's among the army's key goals. al jazeera has obtained exclusive access to the action imran khan has that report. >> reporter: battling i.s.i.l. requires patients and sometimes hitting odd targets. this is a makeshift road block booby-trapped with explosives. it takes a lot of fire to clear

it. this is the latest iraqi army offensive to secure the main highway between tikrit and baghdad. along the way they have retaken villages from i.s.i.l., who have fallen back to positions closer to tikrit. >> i.s.i.l. can't go near a 5km radius around the villages that we control, yet they are still circling, reassuring the people of these towns and villages that they are safe. take tikrit will not be easy. hard core fighters will be members of sunni forces that join the group. >> in a main city along the way the army is held by shia militias, who hold positions until the iraqi army arrives. when the main shrine was hit in 2006. it sparked years of sectarian violence. >> translation: we support the army and the police forces.

they are responsible for taking up the security file across the areas. where i stand is considered to be liberated territories from i.s.i.l., and they are secured, especially the perimeter towards the street. the main goal is to protect the holy shrine. >> reporter: the operation began in baghdad, and wept on. eventually it reached tikrit. they'll take control of towns and villages on either side of the road. once they have taken tikrit they'll move and draw a line from here, all the way down to here. what that will do is it will cut i.s.i.l. fighters off. they won't be able to communicate or reapply each other. i.s.i.l. supplies huge parts of the territory. parts of anbar and mosul in the north. taking control of the highway and the areas that surround it may give the iraqi army the

upper hand. if this operation is successful it will deliver a blow to i.s.i.l.'s deliver to move around the country and resupply itself. that will be key as i.s.i.l. approves the debt and linking roads. >> imran khan with the report. he's live from baghdad. to go through a few other issues, the iraqi prime minister visiting iran and meeting the country's supreme leader today. >> that's right, this was a key meeting for haider al-abadi. what was discussed was prime minister haider al-abadi would have been talking about the idea of protecting the shrines here in iraq. these are key shrines. we saw some of them mentioned in my report. they are important to shias across the world. for iranians, they represent a red line.

ensuring them is important. the prime minister haider al-abadi would have been reassuring the supreme leader that they were up to the job. it is a red line for iran, and they will send troops if the shrines get attacked. there was a message delivered from the top shia cleric. via haider al-abadi, to the supreme leader there. there were several things discussed. we are not privy to what they were. i can tell you that they are about the political nature of this conflict. it was a key meeting. he's met with security and political leaders in the country. a key ally and an important ally to the iraq in the fight against i.s.i.l. other news from the region, i.s.i.l. says it has a cache of weapons airdropped from the united states.

the u.s. made the airdrop over the town of kobane much the pentagon is investigating the authenticity of the video. >> an i.s.i.l. fighter showing off weapons intended on the kurds they are fighting. these are some of the military aid dropped by the americans to the kurdish fighters. >> translation: the arm group says it proves it is in possession of weapons, and medical supplies intended for the kurdish forces. some of the parcel is aid. these are mortars. whether it's authentic is not known. it raises questions. these grenades are loosely piled in a box. while in the same video, a wooden crate is open, showing tightly backed grenades each in a sealed cannister.

the u.s. state department says it could be part of a propaganda campaign by i.s.i.l. >> we have seen the video and can't confirm what is in it is accurate. there's obviously a lot of false information, particularly propaganda on the internet. we are seeking more information. we can't confirm, we are seeking more information. >> kurdish fighters defended the syrian town of kobane for weeks, and needed more weapons and ammunition. the u.s. confirmed one of the 27 pallets delivered went missing, but said it was destroyed to prevent it falling into the wrong hand. i.s.i.l. forces are said to control about a third of kobane, with their sight set on a border crossing into turkey in the north of the town. >> they reportedly called in re-enforcements, with the opponents stocked and the prospects of more fighters

arriving on the horizonon we have peter joining us by skype, an arms proliferation expert from stockholm. thank you for your time. you have seen the video, we'll look again on screen. tell me your initial views when you see the things packed in, the way they are. what were your views on the authenticity. >> to me, it looks authentic. we don't have to take into account statements made by the state department. if it is not authentic it's an elaborate way of trying to fool us by i.s.i.l. >> it's a quick question, is this true. it fits into whether weapons have ended up in the hands of i.s.i.l.

>> we have seen the pictures, loosely packed grenades, is this the way it's delivered. there's air drops, 27 of 28 - weapons dropped like this. >> you can question that. they are normally put in boxes as we see. you can imagine there would be a bit more padding and all that. some of the grenades were packed in extra containers, others were not. the fuses were tape out, which is a -- taken out, which is a sign that that being something you would do. it raises the questions which the department has in their mind, and we cannot know for sure. >> how much of a win is this for i.s.i.l. it's one drop out of 28. how much do they get out of this. is it a psychological thing, the fact they have u.s. weapons and can use it them. >> they can use the weapons,

handgrenades, easy to use. they don't need specific equipment. it's only a few bombs, and, of course, if you take it, make a risk of it, and on that analysis which the u.s. has to do. how many of them, of the weapons na we supply, it's only a few per crept of the total. the balance is positive for u.s. in the sense that most weapons supplied will be used most likely at least. it's not really a big gain in actual weapons which i.s.i.s. has gotten. true it is that they have other sources. i think they have other great caches which they have in the past, which are more important than this particular one. >> great to get your thoughts. thank you for joining us. we'll go to the turkey syrian border to bring in bernard smith, our correspondent who has been reporting.

the bigger picture is the fact that there is stuff coming through. this is what the kurds have been wanting, support on the ground. and i guess they are getting some of it now. >> well, indeed. if you imagine one of those grates if it did, indeed go astray, the kurd have 27 times the material that you have seen from the i.s.i.l. footage, and they are making use of it. i would say though that we have heard consistent gunfire throughout the day today which is unusual compared to the past few days when it's been quieter. there has been intense fighting again going on in the east of kobane, in the east and the south of kobane where there has been most of the fighting as syrian kurdish fighters try to regain territory there. we have been told today that the free syrian army group has entered kobane. there are already three or four

of then in there much the entrance of that group will have been facilitated by the turkish authorities, an indication of a very fine line, telegait line the turkish authorities are trying to balance. they are don't want to arm the syrian kurd, but are happy to have free syrian army fighters. but there's another group bolstering the support. no sign of the peshawar from iraq. >> thank you. bernard smith with a live update from the turkey-syrian boarder. >> moving to other news, a deadline to form a government in yemen expired. rival parties can't decide how to allocate 34. last month yemeni and houthis and other parties signed a peace deal. that is not looking solid at the moment. 34 ministerial portfolios - are

they important ones we are looking at as well? >> yes, it's not looking good. we are talking to diplomatic sources and political sources involved in the discussions, and they are not optimistic. they tend to agree that it will take two to three days. let me give you the breakdown according to the leagues. according to the loogs, the president will name the key ministries of defense, finance, intor, and the foreign affairs. the names, candidates need to be approved. the rest as following. the germ people's congress will get in my opinion back. congress led by the former president. the southern movement gaping six, and the joint meeting parties get nine. among those blocks, differences with regard to the size.

the number of blocks - it doesn't reflect their power on the ground. this league, if it's confirmed, the biggest winner with the houthis will be securing six ministries that they have had in the history and group. >> pour on the ground was a phrase you mentioned, with the situation in sanaa much very much so. the biggest power not only in sanaa, but heading south wards. they are taking the province for over a week ago. they advanced to other provinces to the east and west. we'll see a different pattern here. in all the provinces they had for the south. they were not met with resistance. when they approach, taiz, the

biggest sunni populace province, you have connections between the tribes and al qaeda fighting off. the fear - it's a genuine fear that it will develop into a wider sectarian conflict the pakistani cleric tahir-ul-qadri has called off his 2-month sit-in in islamabad, and says the supporters take their protests to other cities. >> what is seen as a dramatic development, dr tahir-ul-qadri told his supporters to pack their bags and love the venue of the protest in front of parliament. he, himself left the venue and supporters are packing their bags and they'll have to take care of the tension with which they were living for the past few months.

importantly the city administration will be moving in to clean up the place which looks like a tented village. importantly the announcement came at a time when there was an expectation that the protest would continue. dr tahir-ul-qadri said he was entering a new phase of the revolution, showing that in the second phase he'd take the protest to other cities. there was some speck u laughings in the country that a deal had been done between the government and dr tahir-ul-qadri, tahir-ul-qadri denying that there was no deal, saying that you can hang me if there was a deal with the government. importantly imran khan, who started his protest in conjunction with tahir-ul-qadri is saying that he'll continue to stay at this particular venue until the resignation of the prime minister. the pressure on as far as the government is concerned, but

nawaz sharif is buying time and he'll be relieved after high drama and tension more ahead on the newshour. in a moment we look at the life and times of newspaper editor and ask an award-winning journalist if journalism still has teeth. also... >> people don't like giving attorneys to those that they consider criminals. we are in the united states, the state accused of failing to provide justice to poor people. and in sport the san francisco giants leave the royals flushed as they take game 1 of the world series in kansas. so as we mentioned, the u.s. newspaper editor ben bradbury whose coverage of the watergate scandal that helped president nixon to resine dies at the age

of 83. >> ben bradbury capitalized on social ties to washington's elite, including john f. kennedy. to run of newsroom of "the washington post", in 1972 under bradley's supervision, newspaper's reports bob woodward and carl bernstein traced a burg largy attempt at watergate offices to some of president nixon's top aids. one key source was a top fbi official called deep throat. >> deep throat was right from beginning to end. woodward and bernstein were not making mistakes. the accuracy were never called under question. >> nixon's teams to follow up were never called into question. the only time an american president quit while in office.

bradley called the watergate scandal a watershed matter history. >> people don't tell the truth. they don't tell the truth in 100 different ways, and it's become so easy to lie that no one recognises lies. >> bradley aring backed by the post's opener, katherine gram fought nixon by winning a ruling for freedom of the rest. together with "new york times", the "post" published the pentagon papers, a story of the vil nam war. they argued the public's right to know trumped the nation's security. >> when the head of the c.i.a. tells you publishing something will endanger the national security of your country, you can't just tell them to jump in the lake. >> other presidents, president obama, awarded bradley the top

civilian accommodation for challenging the government in speaking truth to power. >> i'm pleased to have on the newshour tom fepton, author of "junk news", the failure of news in the 21st century. first if i ask you about bradley. when we think about watergate, we think about bradley and bernstein. how significant was bradley in the whole affair? >> i think bradley was absolutely essential. in his case he was the one that made it possible for woodward and bernstein to do what he did, to encourage them, protect them. without a managing editor who stood by his troops like bradley, it wouldn't have been possible, and also the owner. so i would say he was essential. >> he's an old school editor.

the type in television and movies, and the type you hope you have. do you think they exist. the media has very much changed now. >> well, one of the things that happened since the days of watergate is that the media, the mainstream media has become timid in many ways. watergate set the standard. they'll be another bernstein or woodward. nowadays, strangely enough, politics in the united states has become more partisan, and vicious. it would be more difficult for, say, a mainstream media outlet like "the washington post" to bring down a president. because if fox, for example, tried to do that, it would be seen as a highly partisan move, and it would not have had the same effect that a paper like "the washington post" did. >> maybe it's worth - you can

explain to the viewers what it's like. we see president obama stand there and we see - or his press secretary and we see the questions fired. it's all stage managed, isn't it? >> it is very statement managed. people that work there will tell you if you don't toe the loip, if you are too tough and call the president's bluff, your telephone calls to the white house are not aped any more -- answered any more, your sources are dried up. it's a different atmosphere than it was in the days of watergate and bradley. >> is this the time of bloggers and the like, people that feel free to talk as compared to the mainstream media who sit and a lot of the time do what they are told? >> yes, well, the bloggers are useful in uncovering things. however, their impact is usually

only after the mainstream media have picked up the story. i would say the bloggers are useful, but they don't replace a paper like the "new york times", or the "the los angeles times" used to be and "the washington post" was once. when they set out to carefully research and follow a story. you don't get that sort of thing nowadays. each the "new york times", as we know, marched in line behind president bush into iraq. there wasn't sufficient questioning of a story that should have been questioned from the outset. >> and arguably consumption changed as well. people are consuming their news in smaller bites, and i wonder if you think the appetite is not there for long form indepth things that people can get their teeth into, as readers. >> well, there's two.

long form journalism is rare nowadays, it is more difficult to do a story of - that requires deep reporting, and reporting over a long period of time. you couldn't do it on twitter, and it's difficult to do it on - on television news. >> tom fepton, fantastic talking to you. >> have a look at aljazeera.com if you think you'd make a good investigative journalist. we have an interactive section on the website, a web-based game. visit aljazeera.com, scroll down, click on the link "be the journalist", the first is pirate fishing in sierra leone. speaking of al jazeera journalism, an egyptian court will consider whether to allow an appeal of three al jazeera journalists on 1st of january.

peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed have been imprisoned for 298 days, they are falsely accused of helping the muslim brotherhood, al jazeera demands their relief. mohamed fadel fahmy and peter greste were sentenced to 7 years. and baher mohamed an extra three for having a spent bullet in his possession. here is reaction from peter greste's parents. >> it is good news, it is something we can plan for and look forward to a positive outcome from my point of view. i certainly now have confidence that the right decision will be made early in january. >> i agree with juri, is that it's great that we have a date. i'm disappointed that we have to wait for another 67 days for the

start of the appeal. one would wish it earlier, of course. >> evan and fox is here to talk weather. it looks messy. >> the kitchen sink. you can see the large area of cloud swirling its way down into central europe. it was the same mass of cloud bringing the stormy weather into the u.k. moving into central parts. this is the offending area of low pressure. look how packed the isobars are. we are looking at strong winds in place across the north-west. come down into southern france. we have a missed trial. we have winds gusting to 80 k/hr in marr say. wet and windy weather continuing here. >> this was the scope in the netherlands. you can see flooded roads here.

we move to slough epia. very much in place. 137mm in 24 hours in this large band of wet weather making it in across the region. that's the offending cold air coming in behind. coming from behind converting cold air into snow. >> that's wednesday's pitch. heavy snow coming in across the higher ground. cold air coming in behind. struggling to get up into double figures. snow in places. not as widespread, but there nevertheless. notice around the balkans. windy weather. circulation coming in here. wet and windy weather. it's dry and bright. a crisp minus 5 celsius.

slowly to the west. >> glad it's nice and warm here. still to come, at home and school - the debate in australia on the best way to educate children. >> columbian army reveal footage of a raid that killed a commander of fork years ago. -- f.a.r.c. years ago.

you are on the newshour on

al jazeera. iraqi troops recaptured three villages north-east of tikrit. these are pictures from the area. the government is trying to take back tikrit which lies on an important route from i.s.i.l. tahir-ul-qadri wants nau are to resign over alleged vote rigging. i.s.i.l. fighters in syria seized u.s. military supplies meant for kurdish forces. the u.s. confirmed one much 27 bundles it dropped went missing. rosalind jordan has u.s. reaction from washington. >> even though pentagon officials said on monday that they knew one of the 28 bundles dropped to fighters inside kobane had gone astray. they were not prepared for what came out on tuesday on youtube, a video, apparently showing what

could have been some of the material dropped, and now in the possession of i.s.i.l. fighters. however, pentagon officials and at the state department says that they believe the bundle had been destroyed, and are analysing the video to see whether or not this is propaganda video. >> we have seen the video and can't confirm what is in it is accurate. there's a lot of false information. particularly propaganda on the internet. it may fall into the category. we are seeking more information at this point. can't confirm they are seeking more information. part of i.s.i.l.'s strategy is to wage a propaganda campaign. that's why a line of effort has been to delegitimize i.s.i.l.'s propaganda. it's something other countries and religious leaders can do. >> the other major question about monday's air drop is whether the u.s. and coalition partners are going to do something similar again for the

people trying to save kobane from i.s.i.l. fighters. they won't say that this is a one-off as it were, but say that they have to look carefully at the needs of the fighters inside kobane are, as well as whether there are other noods that need to be -- needs that need to be attended to. the major issue is for turkey to make good on the land bridge it established to allow iraqi kurd fighters to get to kobane, and help the brethren in their fight against i.s.i.l. the united nations urged israel and the palestinian authority to overcome their differences and achieve a lasting peace plan. ban ki-moon urged both sides to move away from unilateral initiatives. they visited gaza to witness of the damn caused. >> nothing could have prepared me for what i witnessed in gaza. i saw mile after mile of

wholesale destruction. i am planning to move forward with an independent board of inquiry to look into the most serious of those cases as well as instances in which weaponry was found on u.n. premises. >> a central pillar of the u.s. justice system is everywhere has a right to a lawyer. the state of new york has fallen short of that guarantee. >> reporter: at the courthouse in syracuse new york, 15,000 accused of crimes cannot afford a lawyer. a judge assigns them one, choosing from a roster of defense corneries appointed by the county. sometimes that counsel does not show up. >> according to a lawsuit by the

new york civil unities union, it's a symbol of a broken system. >> in a short amount of time. severalcm were delayed. we have spoken to people. it could mean the dense of being found guilty or innocent. >> jeff perry and other defense attorneys want the attorney to spend for money. the lyceu found an a third of defendants never saw the lawyer outside of court. prosecutors spent 5 times more on special investigators than defense attorneys did. it's an unpopular clause. people don't like giving attorneys to those they consider

to be criminals. they make judgments. and the fact that some are innocent never entered their mind. >> could we use the money, sure. so can food programs, day care programs. >> terrell porsche spent 5.5 months behind bars before being released on bail. me saw his attorneys twice during that time. >> she came to visit me on the sunday. she grabbed her bag and left. not even 60 seconds. >> innocent or guilty, there's a cost to families and tax pairs, when defendants spend more time behind bars. in mexico officers have been

set on fire by protesters demanding missing dozens of students. they are accused of links with a cartel responsible for the disappearance of 43 students last month. >> the columbian army released footage of a raid that killed an f.a.r.c. rebel leader. the death was seen as a setback. from the capital bogota we have more. >> it was the biggest blow ipp flicted on the f.a.r.c., when the columbian military kid the rebels in november 2011. the video has been released now. you shows large scale bombing. and military under ground searching for the rebel leader. the soldier credited with

killing him didn't realise it was the commander himself. >> i yelled with a national army "halt", when i person who was walking out burned me. he gets up and tries to run. the first thing i thought is he was shooting at me. my security comes first. >> the military had been monitoring for many years. managing to pinpoint him in the region only days before the separation. >> translation: i thought we had been at it for a long time. the operation couldn't take more time. the operational secret would be lost and we needed to do the operation. they had taken over the leadership of the rebels, after he died of a heart attack in 2008. pictures of his body without his

trademark beard were a victory for the defense minister. now he's been able to force a weakened f.a.r.c. to peace talks. it promised to end the 50-year-old conflict malaysian authorities push ahead with a push for flight mh17. it's inteften months since -- been seven months since the plane went off course and crashed into the indian ocean. an international search effort had failed to spot wreckage. >> let me assure you mh17 will not be forgotten, the work is not in vain, and we will one day get to the bottom of this trage tragedy. >> north korea released a u.s.

citizens six months after he was detained for leaving a bible at a club for sailors. jeffrey fowl will arrive in ohio. the u.s. government is trying to free 200 americans. one sentenced to 15 years hard labour. >> in hong kong 100 protesters marched to the home of the leader. they are calling for c.y. leung to step down, a day after talks failed to break the deadlock of the government. the live pictures you see from happening copping at 6:30, 6:40 in the evening. there is a hard core of protesters who stayed there. we saw shots of the umbrella revolution. the protesters will not be able to choose their leaders without interfeerps, will they get any. sarah clarke has more. >> they arrived bit the thousands. most realistic about their

limited chances. >> we understand that we can't get concrete results. an open dialogue will o dell everywhere with -- will tell everyone why we are here. >> they have been here for weeks. demonstrators occupying straits in hong kong -- streets in hong kong. the protests began after limiting candidates. five student leaders, talks with the government - it was meant as a standoff. protesters gathered around tv screens to watch and listen to what was said. the voice and demands of the students have been heard loud and clear by the government, community and central government. >> the chief secretary insisted the hong kong government is looking for a solution, and will report the student's demands to

the central government. electoral reform was possible after elections in 2017. the student leaders questioned the government's sip certy. they -- sincerity. they want greater voting rights. >> translation: why is it the people are so angry and willing to fight on the streets to tell the hong kong government they want a better society. >> throughout the meeting protesters are camped out in the streets and watch to see what would happen. the meeting would deliver no changes. it happened as i expected. >> reporter: the top of the talks was civil but emotional. they were described by all as a cush first step -- crucial first step. they are showing no signs of an imnapt withdrawal from the

streets these are the pictures i mentioned of stand offs between police and protesters. it's about quarter to seven in the evening pt a number of weeks the protests have been going on, no movement with the talks between the government. talks between the student and the government. this has remained in place, with the police holding their line as well. >> i'll update you on the situation with ebola in west africa. the red cross said this can be contained within 4 to 6 months with the rite course of action. 4,000 have died since the outbreak 10 months ago. >> good contact tracing is made, isolation, good treatment of the cases confirmed, good safe burials, all of that accompanied

by a community desensitization to break the chain, it will be possible. if it was possible in the first to contain the epidemic within 4-6 months. we are doing everything possible not to mobilize our resources, and capacities not to do so. more to come - sending the fire safety message ahead of a hindu message of life, and why a boxer will carry on pumping long after the fight finished.

a number of australian parents are choosing to educate children at home. it's a trend worrying politicians that thing the kids are losing out on valuable life lessons. andrew thomas has more. >> reporter: for this family the living room is the classroom. rooub jep, jacob and odette have never been to school. educated by the mother. having the person as a teacher building me to be as i am. >> reporter: for lindy, home schooling is a way to spend time with her children and avoid what she sees as overtesting. >> when you put testing into education, you create competitive spirit, taking away the joy. >> on wednesday lindy organises

a get together with home-schoolchildren and their mothers with music, dance and drama. but it's all less formal than school would be, and children of different ages take part. >> i get to hang out with my brothers friend, kids like i'm 18. if i went to school i wouldn't have this, i wouldn't be wearing this, i'd wear a uniform. you feel like you are free. >> reporter: about 90 home schooled children get together each week, a number up by 10 for each of the last five years, fitting a broader trend. >> in the state of new south wales, home schooling is going up by 10%. there's more than 3,000 registered for home schooled. the numbers not registered could be triple that. home schooling covers everything from no schooled children to children following the same curriculum as school, but at

home. >> what is wrong, if anything, with this normal school. >> in new south wales a government inquiry is under way to find out. it heard evidence that some parents don't feel school meets special needs, and some want more control over the content of what their children are taught. >> i am concerned about the narrowness of education dlfrt in the home setting. some parents are good at making sure there's a variety of influence over their children. some treat it as an opportunity to cloister their children away from society. >> the united states has the biggest proportion of home school children in the world. some countries ban home schooling entirely. australia leads the countries where it's legal, rare, but more common farah is here to talk sport. you told us how the kansas city royals are pretty much the worst baseball team ever. did they get anywhere? >> no, they lost at home.

great thus for san francisco. they have ended the cannes sass city royal assist home season. the giants took a 3-0 first inning lead and never looked back. david garrett reports. >> reporter: kansas sitting starting picture james shields on the round for the first innings of the time year. royals expectation vis errol. the giants got their noses in front. this is the first score of many. 1-0, and this was the beginning. the innings, and the giants trebled the lead. >> tense on the money. >> a 3-0 first innings lead. now to the fourth. michael morse hit the center.

and at that moment it was turning into a boom. kansas taking a caning. the chances of the home team turning it around were slim. still in the fourth, and soon it became 5-0. danny pitching for kansas for whom it was getting worse. bases loaded. top. septembers, duffy pitching again. second base panicked. they can't reach it. san francisco prp gun yet, the scoreboard taking on a lop-sided feel. san dead val making -- san der val. something to cheer in the 7th, who kansas reporters waited 30 years for this, not for is to

be like this. >> it's easier when you go out and know that our guys have cored three runs -- scored three runs, it's easier to make pitches. >> the giant ran out 7-1 victors, they wept on to take the world series in 10 of the last seven years. game 2 is wednesday in kansas city. >> tennis world number one serena williams suffered one of the heaviest defeats at the wta finals in singapore, losing 6-0, 6-2. williams won two games in the match. something not done since 1998 when 16. she says ana ivanovic, both seeking a first win to keep hopes of a semifinal berth alive. a lot of goals in the european

champion's league, including wins for chelsea, barcelona, and bayern munich. 7-1 away at roma. ian robin with two goals. the 2013 champions with three wins from three. >> translation: if we allowed the others to run and create space, we are dead. we were aggressive, we moved the ball and attacked at the right moment. >> chelsea had six. an injury, scoring and going off. didier drogba scored his first goal since returning to stamford bridge. >> it was good to start again with the goal. it's under a penalty. i finished with a penalty and there was another penalty.

it's an easing. >> 7 in an away win in group h. adriana scoring five. neymar and messi amongst the score at home in ajax. manchester city threw away is 2-goal lead at cska moscow. >> real madrid will be without the injured gareth bail at liverpool. real lost 4-0. on that occasion they didn't have cristiano ronaldo in their team. >> the figures produced were very, very good. i think the game has gone to another level, he's arguably the best player in the world. i think he's improved each year by year, and the numbers, and

the goals scored now is setting records and taking the game to a new level. >> other matches include olimp yarningos with all the teams in group a. ben fixee yet to -- ben fixa yet to get off the mark. >> the man in charge of football in north and central america says it's time for the world cup to return. jeffrey webb wants the 2026 event to be in his region for the first time since they were hosts in 1994. >> if you look at the landscape of the world cup, and realise various confederations hosted it, every other would have hosted it and conkaveh would not. it's time co n.c.a. caf should have the right to 2026.

>> the australian rugby union confirmed michael checker as the wallabies. he led the warts to a title -- waratahs. he takes over from euan mckenzie. cheika is the third national coach. >> to have the opportunity to coach the australian team and have that responsibility on behalf of australian supporters really is touching for me, and it inspires me to want to do the best that i can all the time. and be top class. that's what that position deserves. >> cricket now, and pakistan and australia began a 2-touch series. pakistan is making steady progress. the latest is 116 for three.

disturbing scenes from the european youth boxing championships, involving a home fighter. vitae has lost his bout. so unhappy he did this. just a few seconds here where no one intervenes. medical assessments are that the ref is okay. and lonkar facing a lengthy ban from the sport. there's more sport on the website. for the latest check out aljazeera.com/sport. >> that's it for me for now. >> thank you for that. >> timely hindu festival of lights, difficult army, a time for prayer and fun. it's a busy time for the police and doctors. >> reporter: the last-minute rush is on to mike this

difficult army brought -- di wally memorable. as some rush to buy the deity that they think will protect their homes, police stand guards. >> translation: we are making all outer efforts to prevent attacks to the normal. >> reporter: the police can only do so much. at one of new dehli's hospitals the doctor is expecting a surge in patients. difficult army is not com -- difficult army is not complete without fire crackers, their use will lead to 300 people coming toities burns -- to his burns unit. >> 75% of patients are children below 15 years of age. they are not guilty taught and face the problems.

>> reporter: doctors, politicians have issued reports about who should light fire crackers and where. the public safety messages are lost in the excitement. >> children have been playing with the firecrackers. they buy fire crackers on their own, and bring them home. >> keeping people safe in a country as big and densely populated as india is no small challenge, not least during difficult army. hundreds of millions of hindus are expected to welcome in the new i don't remember. authorities are conversation -- new year. authorities are cost that security measures will ensure that celebrations will be peaceful. >> that, right there is the newshour on al jazeera. back to local programming. the rest of the world has my team for the latest world news in just a moment.

>> that, right there is the

>> that, right there is the federal authorities have charged seven people with conspiring with al qaeda. >> since 9/11 the us has spent has spent billions of dollars on domestic counter-terrorism operations. >> i wanted to be in on the big game and to be paid top-dollar for it. that's it.

>> many of these involved targeted informant led stings. >> to them, everyone in the muslim community is a potential informant or a potential terrorist. >> three american teenaged girls picked up by the f.b.i. at an airport in germany, two sisters and their friend on the way to syria to fight for isil. >> the medical examiner's autopsy leaked in the death of michael brown, supporting the officer. >> beginning this morning at american airports, anyone flying fr