>> the borderland thanksgiving day marathon. on al jazeera america. announcer: this is al jazeera. hello there, welcome to the newshour. i'm shuty ghosh live from our headquarters in doha an attack in northern kenya leaves more than 20 dead. diplomacy in turkey. the u.s. vice president is in istanbul hoping to narrow the growing divide between the two countries. >> down to the wire - top documents at the negotiating table trying to reach a deal over the iran nuclear program.

>> bahrain holds parliamentary elections since the protest three years ago. the opposition is calling for a boycott. plus... >> i'm wayne hayes sitting to lunch with japanese schoolchildren. to find out why they are among the healthiest in the world. gunmen hijack add bus near kenya's north-eastern border near somalia and killed 28 passengers. they were on the way to nairobi, when attackers forced the bus to turn before shooting passengers. non-muslims were singled out to be killed, following raids in mombassa, seeing 350 arrested. police were looking for arms and those connected to the somalia al-shabab group. speaking to us earlier, a

reporter from the standard newspaper. bus passengers were told they were from the armed group al-shabab. >> the villagers confirmed that they were travelling in that area. so far among those killed were two people on official leave heading to their home counties, and some of the passengers included school teachers heading for the december holidays to be with their families from other counties. so far they have not yet confirmed the identity of those seen. the al-shabab carried it out with others, around that area.

they say that the gunmen identified themselves, that al-shabab, it was the same group carrying out attacks in kenya, and it was the same area involved. they were attacking security forces. >> the u.s. vice president was in turkey. they were in istanbul. joe biden is on a 3-day visit. turkey has been criticized to do enough to stop of foreign fighters. bernard smith is live in istanbul. what is it that they are hoping to achieve here? >> first, there may be a bit of making up. it's only last month that joe

biden said that president recep tayyip erdogan had made mistakes allowing others to across the boarder in syria, and helped the rise of i.s.i.l. recep tayyip erdogan was infuriated by the remarks. they are supposed to be good friends. there'll be talking in that regard. but biden is the latest in a list of u.s. officials to come to turkey to try to persuade the government to take an active role in the fight against i.s.i.l. the u.s. would like to be able to use an air base to launch sortees to attack i.s.i.l. positions. at the moment the fighter jets have to fly from the gulf, the mediterranean. flying many hours, eating up fuel, meaning they can fly around the tarts for a short period of time.

turkey has been reluctant. >> what is turkey's position. on the one hand it wants to get rid of the president bashar al-assad, but it is happy for the kurds to be under pressure, isn't it? >> well, i mean, turkey has all along said that it views the syrian president, bashar al-assad, and his regime as part of the problem. turkey wants bashar al-assad gone. they want him out of power, and they want a no-fly zone in northern syria to allow moderate syrian fighters to regroup, and to put them back into that part of syria from turkey. the u.s. has been reluctant to do that. the priority is fighting i.s.i.l. for the moment it's not a priority to get rid of bashar al-assad. turkey has allowed some iraqi peshawar to transit through

turkey to join the fight in kobane. but that has been as far as turkey is prepared to go. turkey will point out that it is accommodating more than a million and a half syrian refugees. it believes it is doing enough. the u.s. says turkey wants turkey to do more. >> thank you very much indeed for that update. bernard smith in istanbul there. >> now, fighters from the islamic state of iraq and levant have launched a major attack on iraqi government forces in anbar province. it's i.s.i.l.'s largest offensive on ramadi since they took back the city center. imran khan sent this update from baghdad. >> on friday the assault began from all four sides of the city going in towards the center. it caught the pro-government sunni forces in the city offguard. they tried to fight back.

overnight there were clashes, managing to repel the innovators from the east, west and the north. about the the south faces a lot of fighting. overnight we heard that the iraqi army was going to send in reinforcements to help those troops stuck in the middle of the city to repel the fighters. that didn't happen. so the head of the anbar provincial council is saying that the troops have been abandoned, and called out publicly to the iraqi army and the u.s. ambassador saying "we need more help. we don't have coalition air cover, we don't have army helicopter, we have repelled the fighters. we don't know howing we'll last. a desperate plea. >> polls opened in bahrain for the first parliamentary elections since the crackdown on anti-government protests. oppositions parties say the government failed to address the

grievances that spark the unrest. >> these are some of the more than 200 candidates competing for 40 seats in bahrain's election. saturday's poll is the first since the crackdown on a shi'a led muslim movement in 2011. around 70% of the sunni muslim ruled monarchy is shia, and the largest party is boycotting the vote. >> what a failure it is for the government to beg for a vote from a people marginalized by them. the government is looking for the impossible from any rational person. >> the 2011 protest made bahrain's neighbours nervous. protesters set up tents in the city, thousands were arrested. real power is from the unelected

political leadership. international condemnation increased. the king appointed what the government described as an independent inquiry into abuses committed by security forces. the findings were a damning environment. and the unfair sacking of shia employees and the public and private sector. some progress has been made. rights organizations say abuses continue. >> we have arrests on a daily basis. we have people taken from their homes, being interrogated, threatened. usually elections mean that you embrace the people, opposition, and in bahrain we have people tortured and the government silencing any kind of opposition right before the elections, and that is how they are preparing for it. >> the government and supporters are trying to reach out to the opposition. >> translation: it door is open to them.

it was an invitation for dialogue, a second participation. they refused to participate. in their mind bahrain should be delivered. >> reporter: the government accuses iran of trying to disturb the potential. they say they want a greater role in politics. rights groups are not doing enough to protect human right. the u.s. fifth fleet is based there. it's been four years since a crackdown on bahrain's arab spring moment. it's unlikely the elections will help with a meaningful elections in a deep by divided country let's speak to a member of the opposition party in bahrain. joining us live from london. thank you for joining us. your party is the main opposition party, but is

boycotting the elections. why? what is it hoping to achieve? >> the core problem in bahrain is that we have no agreement with the structure of the system in bahrain, where the accountability is not there. people representation is not there, and the authority and the ruling family. there's no justice, no independence after the power, full control of security. unless we agree on the system, it represents the people, and makes officials accountable. and serve the people and protect their rights. we kont participate. we participate in 2006, and 2010. and the aim of changing the

political system to protect the people, interest and rights. but we can achieve anything. if we participate again. there'll be no changes in the attitude. we have the working space. >> can i ask you this, that the government says, and the crown prince says they are open to more discussions and he put forward a proposal, which includes a code of conduct for security forces and the rite of parliament to question the prime minister. are these things not worth discussing? >> these were offered on condition of participating in the election only. and later on they will implement some of the part of what has been offered and is ridiculous. when the government programme offered to the parliament, if they don't like it, or disagree with it, they will be dissolved, not the prime minister or the

programme will be changed. when they talk about rule of law, they said they have to adhere to the rule of law, otherwise we will put in custody. we know that most of the legislation in bahrain confizz kates the rights for freedom of expression. the working state, the n.g.o.s, everything is controlled by the ruling families, this means that any time you disagree with the ruling family or the government, you'll be in gaol. this is the offer. we are open to dialogue, but serious dialogue. we never said we don't want to continue. and we hope the election will pass, and there'll be dialogue or serious dialogue with the opposition, otherwise we have complicated situation. >> i was going to ask you about the future situation. what is the next step for shia parties and the opposition? >> the bahrainy opposition

parties will continue to strive to have a better political system that is inclusive, providing inclusive governments, and respecting the rights of the people, and protecting it, and providing the foundation for prosperous future and development. this will continue through mobilizing the people to show they are not hope. they want to challenge it, and it will reach out with the international community not to side with the government for the short term interest, because bahrain's stability is very important. they have to contribute in solving the problem. and the other thing, we are open to serious dialogue with the officials if they want to go into serious dialogue. >> we'll continue to follow development in bahrain, thank you very much indeed for

speaking to us. still to come here on al jazeera, the deadline nearing for a deal on iran's nuclear programme. they dig in, trying to reach an agreement. >> some women say sudanese soldiers are the culprit of rapes in darfur. we'll have the sport. double points, but one formula 1 champion will be crowned. farah will have the latest ahead of this year's final race. now, there are reports of heavy fighting between houthis and al qaeda. the houthis swept south, taking control of the capital sanaa in september. a new government was sworn in as part of a peace deal. violence continued. let's bring in hashem ahelbarra.

first of all, bring us up to date with the violence in radaa. >> al qaeda in the arabian peninsula issued a statement saying they targeted a vehicle carrying the houthi fighters, killing 12 houthi fighters. this has been denied by the houthis, insisting they were in control, and that they are expanding in the province. the fight will continue until the al qaeda fighters are defeated or expelled from the whole province. the houthis deny that it is a fight against sunnis, fighting in different parts of the northern yemen, until al qaeda is defeated. >> in the province, houthis are gathering for what could be a major operation. what are you hearing about that? >> and that is the biggest

concern here in the capital sanaa, and among most of yemenis, the houthis have been sending reinforcement to a province. this is where you have oil and gas installations. al qaeda said to sunni tribesman that it's in their interests to unite and defend the province against houthis, but they are of the view that al qaeda has been manipulated to sort of cease gas and oil installations, showing to the world that this is a divided country. the houthis official line is they'll definitely go after al qaeda, until they are ready to commit thousands of fighters until they control most of the areas, or to protect all the oil and gas installations. on the other hand, sunni tribesman sent messages to the

government, saying that if you don't send reinforcements, therefore we will act in self-defence and ask the sunnis to be ready for a fight against the houthis. things looking intense in yemen. thank you for the update more talks have been held in vienna to reach a deal on iran's nuclear programme by monday's deadline. the world powers want limits on iran's capabilities in return for lifting sanctions. jonah, pretty tricky negotiations going on, how is it looking right now? >> well, midmorning saturday, things are getting off to a slow placed staff after a rocky day of talks on friday. some meetings have begun. we are not told who is participating. nor do we know how much momentum

there is in this process at the moment. what we have to go on are the sentiments of the parties, the americans say they are working for a deal by monday's deadline, iran warned against excessive demands by the international powers. britain calling for greater flexibility. france calling for the opportunity to be seized. and russia saying all that is missing is political will. >> reporter: the talks have been described as sombre and tense. at one boint on friday it seemed they ground to a halt. it was announced that the minister zarif would return for consultation, and john kerry and others would leave for paris. >> we've had a series of youthful discussions. these are complex issues, and still a significant gap between the parties. we are all going to go away and have further technical

discussions with our experts and will see them over the course of the weekend. >> a final meeting suggested that the parties have somewhere to talk about. late on friday, we were told that john kerry will not be travelling to paris after all. during the afternoon, we were told he had a phone conversation with sergey lavrov. he is said to have cleared his diary for app arrival in vienna for the talks. the possibility remains that zarif may go to tehran to result on the final position. the u.s., france, britain, russia, china and germany began the latest round of negotiations on tuesday, looking to end a long-running crisis by limiting tehran's nuclear ambitions in return for sanctions relief. with the clock counting down, all efforts are focussed on a

deal. >> i'm here for a good deal, the french position is known, wise. iran can have still nuclear energy, for the atomic bomb, no. >> optimism is ebbing. there's no open talk. rather the hope that a framework agreement can be reached with key details to follow some time later both sides talking about the gaps. what are the main sticking points? >> well, shiulie, remember, this is an enormous set of tech cole negotiations and a lot of the technical aspectve chnical aspects have been nailed down. look at the main goals. that's where the sticking points are. p5+1 want to curtail iran's commitment to make iranian and curtail the time it would take them to make a bomb.

the differences lie not so much in the principle of the issues, but the substance of how far the parties are prepared to go. the p5+1 want iran to have a certain number of working centrifuges. iran wants double the number. iran wants a lifting of sanction, the international powers want a phased suspension of sanctions so they can be reinstated if iran doesn't abide by the deal. there are differences over the duration of a deal. iran's want a short one, the powers want one much longer in duration. those are the gaps, as we heard from the british foreign secretary. they are still significant. >> thank you jonah hull. time for the weather, and everton is here. starting with north africa. and blooding in morocco. >> it's been wet in the last couple of weeks. the western side, the same area,

spilling out of the liberian peninsula. right the way down into parts of morocco. 53mm of rain over the last couple of days. average for the month of november. that's been 2.5 times the monthly average. hence the flooding that they have seen here. it's a swirl of clued. it's an area of low pressure drifting in. further spells of heavy rain over the next couple of days, making its way northwards and eastward. central morocco sees the heaviest of the rain, pushing to the western side of the algeria. wet across the west of algeria. there'll be further flooding over the next couple of days. by monday they'll make their way into algiers. we wouldn't be surprised to get

flooding here. central parts into the gulf of guinea staying unsettled. we'll have wet weather coming in here over the next couple of days, particularly on sunday on the eastern side of south africa. >> thank you for that. the head of the u.n. ebola mission warned that the world is far from beating the deadly outbreak. antony told the u.n. security council that more aid is needed to fight the virus in africa, and while some progress had been made, a new outbreak in mali showed it was spreading. ungeneral bangui -- u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon believes if efforts are stepped up. it could be stopped by next year the world health organisation is warning that a disease spread by rats could spread on the island of

madagascar. there has been one death but many cases. no trade or travel restrictions has been recommended. >> the u.n. security council has called for a thorough investigation into allegations that hundreds of women and girls have been raped by soldiers in the province of darfur in saddam. they have been accused of attacking girls. the sudanese army denies the claims. dominic kane reports. >> reporter: to get to tabet is difficult. sometimes the only safe way in is with armed assistance. on tuesday the military escorted the media in, to tup on a scandal touching the village. 200 women and girls have been subjected to mass rape, violated by sudanese soldiers, allegations that they deny. some say nothing happened.

>> translation: we heard about women young and old, and heard that the people were not fair and correct, but willing to spread rumours. >> translation: these claims of mass rape are a lie, and the village is safe. those members of the army married the girls and relatives, not raped them. >> reporter: compare those comments with these, given by a woman from the village to a dar fewer radio station. >> reporter: the soldiers beat up my husband very badly, they dragged him out of the house beating. four others came in, starting to rape my daughters. they were screaming their father's made to rescue them. they did it to everyone, everyone. >> reporter: the united nations sent a team to investigate on 4 november. its team was denied access to the village for a week. finally they were allowed in.

they found and saw no information to confirm the allegations. reported in the media. bangora added that there'd been a heavy military presence and stressed while the rape allegations were unsatisfactory fied. it was not possible to conclude that no sexual violence took place. again, refused access. the regional government in darfur denies this. >> we have nothing to hide. we are open for a free and independent investigation. everyone nose they deny the accusations. if there an international investigation we'll go with it. for the moment it's not possible to prove what has taken place.

the u.n. is determined to find out. >> still to come on the programme. revamping school lunch. japan takes preventive measures to stop childhood obesity. >> i'm phil lavelle in london. can you guess what it is. >> probably. for what it's all to do, for blogs, hashtag, selfies. >> and we have the sport. roger federer gets a rude shock on the opening day of the davis cup final in france.

welcome back. i'm shoedy ghosh. the top stories, gunmen hijacked a bus in somalia, killing 28. non-muslims were singled out and shot dead. >> polls were opened in bahrain since a crackdown three years ago. the largest shi'a muslim party is boycotting the vote, saying grievances with the sunni minority has not been addressed. >> turkey's president greeted by the prime minister. joe biden is on a 3-day visit to persuade the turks to take a bigger role in the fight against i.s.i.l. ukraine is marking a one year anniversary since the protests.

prompting a chain of event forcing the president to be forced out of power and keef lose territory to russia. we have this report from donetsk. >> reporter: a solemn start to a national holiday for ukraine's president. laying a leaf in remembrance of 100 people. there was anger from some in the crowd, accusing the government of failing to find and punish the killers. we need to be united now. there's an enemy in the yard. i took a decision. i will sign a decree, awarding heroes, heroes of ukraine. >> the deaths were part of a month's loaning process forcing the president from office. the civil war unfolded, claiming for than 4,000 lives, more die every day, despite a 2.5 month ceasefire. ukraine on friday accused the troops of firing across the border for the first time in that period.

ukraine wants military aid, including weapons. washington says it's not off the table, but for now vice president joe biden used the visit to announce $20 million in non lethal aid. it's unacceptable in the 21st century for the countries to border by force in europe or anywhere, or intervene militarily because they don't like a decision their neighbour has made. >> reporter: in rebel-held donetsk, a public holiday unless you count a crash at the bus station. many here in search of functioning banks. >> translation: a year is down, and the people changed the government. for ordinary people, it meant war and nothing more.

>> translation: the infrastructure has been demolished. the security situation is worse, and the financial situation is worrying everybody here. life a hard. >> hardship is far from restricted to this part of ukraine. the economy as a whole is in serious trouble. the currency down half against the dollar. inflation on the rise, intersal aid stalled. the optimism of a year ago seemed like a world away. >> reporter: in kiev there was an attempt to recreate the spirit with thousands gathering in independence square, marking 12 devastating months, wondering what will happen in their country let's speak to andy, director of the ukranian institute and joins us from london. let talk about what the protesters have achieved. it's a year on, it may have changed the government. as the reporters were saying,

others, the security and the economy is much worse. >> absolutely. what we have seen in the last 12 months is tumultuousous, it's been turkulent. what started was a revolution of human dignity, when ukrainians stood up against a corrupt president and government. they stood up for human dignity of themselves and for the children. they managed to overthrow a corrupt system, but this came at a high price, a high price when the protesters were shot at and we saw over 100 killed in the my dan in february, and what happened when ukraine were starting a new beginning, that's when russia moved in. sending in troops in crimea,

starting from february throughout march, and that is what we saw, because the risk for russia, which has a risk of bringing down a corrupt system, vladimir putin was afraid that may happen in moscow. so that is why we saw the troops coming to crimea. initially out insignia. russia said it wasn't their troops, little green men appeared over crimea, and we saw the annexation of crimea. >> exactly, now we see incursions of pro-russian forces in eastern ukraine, and it seems no matter what the international community does to get a peace agreement, which doesn't seem to be working or slapping actions on russia, it seems as though none of that is causing russia to back off. >> well, the risk is high. i mean, we have seen russia is sending in thousands of troops

into ukraine. we are seeing the n.a.t.o. pictures, that there's military equipment brought in across the boarder, and there are thousands of russian soldiers fighting in ukraine. the question is where does russia stop now, will it look into nations, lathe wania, latvia, and this is extremely significant. as joe biden said in kiev yesterday, it's unacceptable that in 21st century europe, an aggressor can innovate an independent state with sovereignty and territorial integrity, russia must be stopped. the west understand that. the risk for europe is massive. >> ukraine's government says joining n.a.t.o. is a massive priority, that will let them be

more. >> had ukraine been a member of n.a.t.o., it would have been unthinkable for russia to invade an n.a.t.o. member. that is a real guarantee. at the moment it's neither a member of n.a.t.o. and wants to move away from its past, from a past controlled by moscow. so i think the country wants to move forward. focussing on values of human dignity, freedom of speech. so the question is now how you can come out of this situation when it's been attacked and invaded by russia, the whole world must look at the situation and revisit as two decades ago they gave up the third largest nuclear arsenal for assurances

from the united states, u.k. and russia. we have seen that is violated. the guarantee of international authority, thousands of people in europe are being killed, due to an invasion by the kremlin and vladimir putin. >> good to speak with you. thank you for your thoughts. live from london. u.s. president obama has been rallying support for the new immigration plan. he addressed the supporters in los angeles. giving temporary legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants. and explained why the new law made economic sense. >> independent experts, not me, people that analyse the economy for a living. over two decades they said the new law would grow the economy,

shrink our deficits. in other words, it would solve big problems in a bipartisan way. >> a former deputy police director in mexico has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of 43 student. it's the latest in a string of arrests including a former mayor and police officials suspected of being involved in the disappearance in september. despite the break through public anger continues to boil over into massive street protests the new interim president of burkina faso has officially started his one-year turn. power was handed over by the military commander responsible for the take over. isaac zida is the new interim prime minister. >> parliament is discussing a bill to highlight women, many communities have traditional beliefs and practices around

widows. >> reporter: this woman's husbands fell sick and died nine years ago. she said the husband's family blamed her for his death and tried to throw her out of the house. she was told to wear black clothing and sandals and was banned from eating eggs, chicken and beans. she found help through a support network. these women faced discrimination and were forced to go through women hood rights. they come together to arrange beads for the sale in the local market. it's run by a woman who brought together 8,000 widows. her foundation supports women to know their rights and to work. >> in some traditions you need to go to the river side. and go about naked. in some traditions they need to

tie something around your waist for years. this is weird, weird. they neat to stop the right. the gender equality should be right. if your brother will not go through this, why should a woman go through that? >> she says the treatment of women has little to do with the level of education or social standing. widow hood weight is part of the culture, there are laws to protect spouses. the process is inefficient. complicated bit the fact that many husbands don't leave behind a will. they have found each other. and the message is they should not suffer in silence, they are not alone sport is just ahead on the newshour, as mani pacquiao weighs in as part of his title fight. we'll tell you what is next for

the filipino boxer.

welcome back. now, obesity is one of the top three global social burredens generated by huge jrnings according to a new report it's causing a heath challenge and an -- health challenge and an economic and business one. according to the mckenzie global institute more than 2 million people are overweight or obese. that's over a third of the population. the global economic impacts of obesity is around 2 trill on,

equivalent to the global impact from smoking, armed violence, war on terrorism. obesity is responsible for 5% of deaths worldwide. >> in japan, obesity in children is declining thanks in part to a school lunch programme. wayne hay reports from tokyo in this fast-paced modern world, japan is taking time out to help children prepare for a better tomorrow. meal time at elementary school is an event, not just an opportunity to fill the stomach. it's port of the education process, where the children talk about the food they are eating. >> the marinated salad has many vegetables. >> the nutritionist is not a guest, but a full-time member of the teaching staff. >> on the menu today there is

rice, which is a statement of the japanese diet. fish and seasonal vegetables. they are trying not to include fat, salts or sugar, and the children seem to enjoy it. there are no snacks after the meal, and no canteen to buy extras. what they serve they eat. >> translation: i like the vegetables in a toasted soy flower. things we don't get at home. the meals are prepared on site using fresh ingredients. >> schools in the tokyo suburb used to have some of the highest obesity rates in japan, until they embrace the healthy eating programme. the health of the children has improved and they are the envy of others. >> translation: many municipal governments come to visit us and

ask us to explain the programme. two years ago we had 30 cases, last year there were 20. >> reporter: the meals created a buzz they decided to publish a cookbook with recipes, selling more than 70,000 copies, and are cooking the meals for government staff to buy in the cafeteria. the health with japanese children is not perfect. it is getting harder for them to resist fast foods. obesity rates are dropping, that is something not many can claim. >> it's time to get the sport with farah thank you. we'll be one step closer to knowing the formula 1 champion, when qualifying is held for the final race in abu dhabi, they top the crime sheets. the only other man that can beat

him to the championship. double points on offer for the first time in sunday's race, but a second-placed finish will be enough for hamilton to win a second title. >> the tension is op, and it's pretty normal. it has come to the last race. it's between the two of them. the decision making race. and it's normal. i wouldn't say that there's more tension than expected in the garage. there's a good spirit. today was a good day. >> the davis cup is one major tennis title that has eluded roger federer. he is hoping to lead switzerland to victory in the final front. sweeping up in an opening game. the team-mates had better fortunes, as richard nicholson reports. this is normally the home of a french football club. there's no surprise that the

atmosphere inside between france and switzerland is more akin to an impossible match. 27,000, most french, packed in to watching the opening season rubber between stanislaw wawrinka and joe wilfred tsonga. the frenchman took the first seat against tsonga. noise rose in the second, tsonga gave the french something to cheer about, taking it 6-3. it was the man who started the season, the first grand slam title at the australian open, who came through the next two sets for a win. putting swuts swits in the early lead. they must have been -- switzerland in the early lead. they must have been confident as roger federer facing gael

monfils. he was in a row with stanislaw wawrinka. he didn't get better, his opponent set about dismantling him much to the delight of the home crowd. storming through the first, roger federer's comeback didn't materialize as monfils made light work of the 17-time grand champion, winning the next two withes loss of the next seven games. >> it was not bothering me, there was just fear you play with coming back from injury, particularly the back. it's hard to explain if you don't play at our level and have a back level. it's a feeling, you feel uncomfortable. >> the davis cup final, after day one, and the temperature moving to a potentially crucial doubles. the year's best athletes in track and field have been crowned at the i.a.a.f. world athletics gala in mono-coe. a french pole voter was named

mail athlete of the year, an award that usain bolt won. >> the 2014 female world athlete of the year is valerie adams. >> the women's shot-putter. another stellar year. the i.s.a.a.f. -- i.a.a.f. to go with the olympic title. >> after being a finalist four times, i'm happy to see this award. it's the icing on the cake for an awesome career and i hope to continue next year and years to come. i stand as a proud new zealander. we have 4 million people, and 60 million sheep. though i'm here tonight. go the kiwis. >> another champion hits a

career milestone. richie macau the first rugby player to captain his country in 100 test matches. >> mccaw won 87 of the 100 games, but is not placing too much value on his achievements. >> i'm excited about getting out and playing. milestones and personal stuff comes well. that's all i want. that will be the best thing to celebrate. if the team goes well. and we win. >> a number of other internationals coming up on saturday. south africa will be in italy. ireland host australia. >> mani pacquiao will defend his welterweight title against chris on saturday. the filipino boxer puts his belt on the line for a guaranteed pay day. at 35, the world champion is six years older than algeria,

and has not had a knock out since 2009. he faces the unbeaten american. they came in over the limit on the first try. coming in on the second attack. >> why are you confident you'll defeat that man, mani pacquiao. >> this is a dream come true. we are ready to rock. >> i like what i did the early days in my boxing career. i want to get back the hungerness and aggressiveness that i have when young. >> pacquiao announced that he will retire. the record of breaking fighter says he'll run from the senate. he has been elected twice. rob mcbride reports from the power base in his home city in southern mindanao. >> reporter: taking aim with an eye on his future. in a competition that he is

sponsoring, pacquiao profess he's a winner with the pool cue as well. >> it's important to organise the tournament, the sport, and i like it. i'm supporting it. >> branching out into professional basketball as a player and a coach. he is the ultimate supporting ambassador. supporting multiple causes in his home city, and where he is known as the pacman. from a store named after him. to his commercial endorsements, it is difficult to miss him. >> i think people love him. they'll be approachable. basically a future in the public service, and a supporter of local boxing. it is attended by a lifelong friend. >> it's not only a champion. for me and the people, they

looks at where it's come before. columnists who came here from the start. now a congressman tipped for the senate. there's speculation he could go all the way to the top. >> he explodes with the people. maybe. pacquiao is renowned for his gambling, now his biggest gamble, taking his reputation and staking it on the high-risk game of politics. >> that's all the sport. >> thank you very much indeed for that now, the word game scrabble is played by millions of people worldwide. nowhere is it tape for seriously

than in london, where hundreds turned up for the world championships, we sent phil lavelle to spell it out. >> you are looking at scrabble gold. see if you can figure this word out. we'll leave it here for you. what the mascots wouldn't give for a set of letters like that. 200 big brains in one room at the scrabble championships. >> i'm from poland. >> i came from kenya. >> the international championships no less. scrabble - there's no better place to be than london. abdullah is from pakistan, a 14-year-old with big dreams. >> i will be number one one day. >> so you have ambitions. >> that is where he's aiming. the main stage. it's hungry work.

>> this is the old game. >> each move scrutinized by computers. re laid. >> a hobby enjoyed. >> it's a fun game. and a big change. >> for those that love to play scrabble. it is dreadful. this is the bane of their lives. the directionry is basically the rule book. what words you can and cannot use. it means that they'll get away with very little. slang has been banned from this. 5,000 slang words have been added. words you hear in every day use. hashtags, chill outs, selfie and blogs. the word on the street is the word on the board. for those with a limited vocabulary, for those more traditional, they have to start learning all over again. some want to be imperialistic

about the language. these are words that everyone nose. >> that champ would have guessed the big one, here it is again that is the word quinsee, have you heard of it. probably not. but could get you 401 point. it's definition is a shelter made out of a pile of unsettled show. >> finally i get to play al jazeera. >> i'm brilliant. >> reporter: okay, it's a lie. good to have a plan b up your sleeve rubbish at scrabble and rubbish at cheating. you'd thing an al jazeera reporter would be better at that. that's it for the newshour. for me and the team in doha. bye for now.

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debate up close and personal. >> it's heartbreaking. >> i'm the enemy. >> i'm really pissed off. >> all of these people shouldn't be dead. >> it's insane. >> the borderland thanksgiving day marathon. on al jazeera america. >> the arctic frontier could be the next battle ground in the new cold war. tonight, see how countries like russia and china are already planting their flags in the frozen north. also, down to the wire negotiations on a nuclear arms deal. i'll tell you why russia isn't the only country you have to worry about. and a mom finally catches a break that could help her build her american dream. i'm ali velshi and this is