perhaps the true judgement of paul kagame's rule will be in how this country progresses after he's gone. this is al jazeera america, live from new york city, i'm richelle carey, here are the top stories. with only hours before the deadline, negotiators in vienna attempted to close the gap on a nuclear deal with iran. a controversial footfield for israel to make it a -- foot hold to make it a jewish state u.s. needs more help in the fight against i.s.i.l. complex political figures of the last century. >> the former life and career of

former washington mayor, marion barry. six world leaders are in vienna trying to make a deal on iran's nuclear programme. the deadline is tomorrow. jonah hull reports from vienna. >> a flurry of diplomatic activity. the russian prime minister sergey lavrov is due, the british foreign secretary and his french counterpart are coming later. the german foreign minister is already here, and we understand that in the coming hours john kerry will sit for their one on one private session, the iranian foreign minister. up to now they've been accompanied by baroness katherine ashton, negotiator for the p5+1.

in the face of these suggestions coming from anonymous source, that a deal is no longer possible, but an extension is in the works. that may or may not be. there are long hours to come, including monday night. with all the decision makers, it would be unwise to rule anything out. >> jonah hull reporting. in iran students rallied in support of a nuclear programme called no stop. it was organised by various universities in tehran. protesters carried banners, insisting on the removal of international sanctions, saying that they wanted to show support for the team of negotiators in viennament. >> israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu is urging world leaders not to fund a bad deal with iran, saying an agreement between them would threaten the entire world. >> translation: we are monitoring the development of these talks with vigilance and worry, following closely, in

close consultations with representatives of the other powers, and present an adamant position saying that iran must not be allowed to set up as a nuclear threshold state. >> we'll discuss the progress of the talks and what is at stake in the weeks ahead. >> today, israel, the prime minister's cabinet approved a bill defining israel as the nation state of the jewish people. the proposal needs to be passed. and is likely to inflame tensions. we have this report from jerusalem. >> the approval of the bill by the israeli cabinet takes it to parliament or the knesset, where it will be debated by lawmakers. the bill is controversial, critics say it will change the nature of the current legal system of israel.

and the attorney-general has attacked the bill saying it it threatens israel's democracy, and you have those on the other side saying that it's important to enshrine the jewish nature of the israeli states. whatever the case, it's a long way from becoming law. as we have been saying, it will be debated by lawmakers in the coming days. many critics of the prime minister, binyamin netanyahu, say he's using his war effectively to score political points, particularly those with - rather the members of his own cabinet. bear in mind this is a coalition government, one that has formed mainly far right groups, and mr binyamin netanyahu's large e-likud party, and -- larger likud party, and as a result binyamin netanyahu is trying do

what he can do make sure the coalition stays together as we enter what most believe is an election period. many believe that we can see an election within the next 6-12 months. binyamin netanyahu is no doubt aware of that, and, again, some are suggesting that his support for the bill, and, indeed, pushing the bill is related to his political futures. >> imtiaz tyab there a suicide bomber killed 49 people in afghanistan. he blew himself up in the middle of a crowd. as many as 50 people were injured. many of those people are in critical condition. >> afghanistan's parliament approved a deal with the u.s. and n.a.t.o. to allow troops to stay in the country. it was approved by a vote of sa 2 to 5. around 12,000 troops will be in the country helping local forces fight the taliban. washington is being asked for help from kurdish fighters.

we have more from baghdad. >> the aftermath of u.s.-led air strikes targetting i.s.i.l. fighters in the central city of heet. buildings have been destroyed and eight civilians killed, including women and children. 3- months of air strikes pushed back fighters in some areas. they've been pushing into ramadi, where dozens of members of a sunni tribe have been killed. it controlled most of the province since june. iraq's prime minister haider al-abadi called for more air support. further east kurdish peshawar forces are critical of the strategies. >> the airplane doesn't come here to bombard. >> the battle is fierce, and kurdish commanders are not getting the support, accusing the u.s. of having a certain tolerance towards i.s.i.l.'s advance. >> translation: this area is near the border with iran. it may be the preference of coalition forces and americans to create a problem for iran.

this may be the reason why the coalition and americans did not attack i.s.i.l. here. >> the u.s. wants to expand it influence in the battle against i.s.i.l., and is planning to spend millions arming tribes with ak-47s. in a pentagon document addressed to congress it says it will do so with, by and through the iraq government. some suggest the prime minister is hesitant. the government in baghdad is in doubt about weapons given to tribes. >> reporter: the u.s. and coalition are constantly reassessing their options. the u.s. maintains that the only way to beat the fighters is to arm the sunni tribes. however, they have been here before. in 2006, '07 and '08, they were armed by the u.s. to fight al qaeda in u.s. and iraq.

which they did do and defeat. they were abandoned by americans who stopped the funding and the last government isolated them, which some say led to the rise of i.s.i.l. it will take some convincing it will not happen again the u.s. is pledging a new round of aid for refugees in syria. the 135 opens up with the budget shortfall to feed those in syria and neighbouring countries. we talk to some people forced to peck up the pieces. >> reporter: this is a business graduate. he works at this cafe, trying to earn a living. that's because a war in syria made her a refugee. this 26-year-old is one of a million syrians that live in lebanon. like the others, the conflict changed her life. >> when someone take everything

from you, and leave you with nothing, you have to start all over again. it's hard. i can't see the future. it is a precious thing. >> reporter: the cafe where she works is frequented by syrian refugees, here supporters and opponents of the government sit together. this man doesn't support either side. he's an artist from aleppo, and doesn't like to discuss what divides syrians, for him the focus should be on rebuilding a society, which should be a victim of society. it is destroyed, because he can say 40% they left syria, 20"

died. the society is destroyed now. there is, like, no community between the people. >> reporter: he is using music to bring people together. his message is simple - silencing the guns means nothing if people can't live together. it is a country where the wounds run too deep for healing. >> i'm not sure. most of the syrians leave a solution, there are multiple ideologies and factions of the same population. most want for this war to stop. >> reporter: for now, that is hope. >> it's a nightmare. you wish to wake up, but you

don't. every time you think you can go back, something worse comes. >> reporter: it's a hard reality for syrians, they know that their lives and country will never be the same the flow of migrants seeking homes in europe has not stopped. this week the italian coast guard rescued 600 people living syria on rickety boats. that brings the total to 650,000 people. migrants are making a home in a crumbling apartment building in athens. refugee house was built years ago and sits between the athens supreme court and police headquarters. among them people that escaped from iraq, syria, afghanistan and others. the greek government plans to tear the building down president obama is rallying support for his immigration plan, saying it's better than doing nothing.

he chas tiffed the government for threatening to shut down the government. >> a habit that we have seen in congress over the last four years since the house republicans took over is that everything becomes hostage to disagreement. so a couple of years ago it was affordable care act, the obama care. and they decided to shut down the government because they disagree with one law. >> shame on us as republicans for having a body that cannot generate a solution to an issue, national security. the senate has done this three times on friday, president obama said that he was willing to work with republicans to craft a bill that would craft a house. streets are tense but calm, people are waiting to see if a grand jury will indict a police officer that fatally shot michael brown. the death of the teenager set

off angry and sometimes violent protests. rory mcilroy joins us from st louis, where the grand jury is meeting. >> good afternoon from a rainy and cold st louis metro area. it fits the mood as people were thinking they would get a decision by the grand jury. they've been meeting in the building behind me. the barricades were put up over the weekend in anticipation of what everyone assumed would be a decision this weekend. we are told that there's a possibility that the grand jury could meet as early as tomorrow. that is not confirmed at all, despite other media outlets claiming that that is the case. we are not sure what the situation is. no sources can confirm whether or not they reached a decision, but they do know, that there is a possibility that they could

come back together, in the building behind us, and get a decision made here in ferguson and clayton. >> and obviously the reason we don't know these things is because we are not supposed to know this much about grand jury decisions. tell us what people are saying in the city. >> you are spot on, this is an unusual case, there has been a lot of leaks, and it's not a typical situation. a lot of information coming out in this high profile situation. people here, if you go out and talk to folks, they would like a decision either way. to get the crowd away from st louis, and so the healing can continue, and there can be a discussion about what occurred on august 9th when unarmed michael brown was shot and killed in the street. >> we heard about a beefed up

law enforcement presence, some say it's not necessarily, others say it is. how noticeable is it? >> it's to drive down the streets of ferguson, and st louis metro. it's not like there are barricades and police everywhere. a picture can tell 1,000 words, and isolate something, but i can tell you it doesn't look like that anywhere. there are police presence in the evening, when protesters come out. not a lot has come out. crowds between 40 and 100, it's 3-6 people arrested per night. it's not like it's amping up big time or anything like that. we should make is clear this is not a town on fire by any means. last night michael brown's mother was out there with the protesters. let's listen to a little of what she had to say. >> i don't want no one to get hurt. see what i say. i want all ya there with me.

>> that's the thing. she doesn't want anyone to get hurt, she's calling for a calm, despite what the decision could be, whether or not darren wilson is charged with the homicide or murder of her son michael brown. she doesn't want violence and nor does the general population here. we don't want to see what happened 3.5 months ago with clashes between demonstrators and police and the militarized look of everything. that is not what the majority wants. they hope for calm. as we stand in the rain with the courthouse behind me and the barricades up, we'll have to wait and see and not speculate on what will happen here in the coming days or weeks. we don't know when the decision will happen. >> absolutely agree on clamping down the speculation for sure. robert ray live from st louis marion barry, the former mayor of washington d.c. has died. he spent four terms in office in

the nation's capital. the last after he was released from prison on drug charges. he died this morning. we look at the life and times of marion barry. >> reporter: he was dubbed washington d.c.s mayor for life, imprisonment, drugs and adultery did not effect his electability. he served four terms as mayor, and re-elected to the city council until his death. he left behind the cotton fields of missouri, chose the civil rights movement over his ph.d. in chemistry and was an organiser of martin luther king's march on washington. he promised change when he ran for mayor, in washington d.c. blighted by attention and chaos, he delivered, bringing order to the budget, and creating a diverse and representative local government infrastructure. he redeveloped neglected areas of the city. in doing so, laying the foundations for a prosperous washington of today.

he fostered a loyalty among resistance, impervious to scandal and was loyal in return, spending millions on job programs for the young and care tore the elderly, he helped to build a confident black middle class. his second and third terms was marred by allegationses of patronage and corrosion. as he was about to announce his candidacy for a fourth term, the fbi mounted a sting operation, luring him to a hotel room with a promise of sex and drugs. upon his release from a 6-month prison sentence, he was received as a hero, and was able to secure re-election as mayor. washington was a city in disarray, from finances. among accusations of mismanagement, congress stripped him of his power in what was called a rape of democracy in 1997. it was clear, whatever tribulations he faced, barry's

faith in himself was undimmed. >> of course i have regrets, a lot. i don't want to dwell on regrets, i'll let you all do that. i dwell on what i have done to help a lot of people. >> reporter: because of the support of those he helped and inspired he'd remain a force in washington d.c. until he died a complicated legacy. we'll have more on that in the programme. next, democracy - tunisia will have to go back to the polls. and an anthem gets new life to fund human rights processes.

it appears tunisia's

presidential election is not quite over. a run-off looks like it will be required to determine the winner. it's the first time a president is being voted for that sparked the arab spring. 22 candidates campaigned but two emerged as front runners. >> reporter: most of the people at this polling station are old enough to remember life in a state where political opposition or freedom of speech were not tolerated. that is why, for some, this is the first time they have voted in a presidential election. how are you feeling now? >> very excited. very excited and highly optimistic about the country's future. >> reporter: this is a man who has a good chance of winning. beji caid essebsi spent years in politics, but distanced himself from the country's authoritarian past. >> translation: me, i believe in

the tunisian people. >> reporter: last month his party nidaa tounes won a majority in parliament. there are fears that if it takes the presidency, there'll be a concentration of power in the hands of one man. >> we need a new broad, stronger, we need to go ahead and not to have someone and people that throw you behind. >> reporter: the current president moncf marzouki also has a chance for victory. some believe he was a backing of the second biggest party in the country. it does not have a candidate. this man may surprise everyone. he is a business dyke on appealing to some, looking for a solution to economic problems. campaigners say at the heart of the problems is inequality. i believe the problem of creating job opportunities,

decent working opportunities for women affected by the lack of job opportunities, this needs to be addressed, inequalities between the region, the coast, need to be addressed. there's so much at stake in this election. many people here are proud of what this tiny country has achieved. they also understand the transition to democracy is not over yet. >> tunisians united to fight for freedom, dignity and jobs. almost four years on there are more people out of work, and tunisia is politically divided. people have something they did not have before - hope. for the future of their children. the last wreckage of malaysia airlines flight 17 was recovered in eastern ukraine, four months after the plane was shot down. the debris was shipped. a clean up operation was delayed due to fighting between troops

and pro-russian separatists. officials are investigating the cause that killed nearly 300 people. >> keeping law and order in eastern ukraine is a challenge. military police are attempting to keep things under control. rebel fighters have a form of discipline. that often takes place outside the justice system. >> heading out of donetsk with the military police, they are on their way to she can up on a group of rebel fighters. the concern that they have been going it alone. they'll be given a choice, submit to military discipline or lose their weapons. inside, though, a helmet camera shows a different story. it's smiles as quests are shown around. there's talk of abandoned planes up and running. for the head of the unit a successful confirmation of the authority. >> we want to make sure it is okay, everything is fine, and that people don't have

complaints. sometimes it could be complained on the military guys, instead of doing something wrong. so far everything is quiet. >> as well as dispensing military justice, it deals with civilian policing issues, and some that we have spoken to talked of people disappearing, fears of speaking out. and problems, they say, with the way that the justice system works. >> ruben says his unit job is to restore confidence by dealing with the military and handing offenders over to the prosecutors. outside donetsk's prosecutor's office we come across the end of a progress led by the wife of a d.p.r. energy minister. arrested and accused of corruption, and she said he vanished. >> he was arrested as a business. he was put in hand cuffs, i have not been able to meet him, and not been able to contact him.

>> last month, an alleged rapist was sentenced to death, not by a judge or jury, but by a show of hands. this weekend evidence emerges of flogging. al jazeera couldn't confirm where and when this takes place. >> i want to use the words things happen. that's why we are here. we have people who are definitely looking, and checking everything that is going on. >> ruben commands 120 men in a unit that bears his name. they have sworn allegiance to their now republic, and have been trained by friends to bring a sense of structure and discipline. justice, like so much else, is meted out at the discretion of the newly powerful ahead on al jazeera america - should europe be held responsible for the practice of slavery. it per sifts in some countries to this day.

next, the complicated mayor of washington, marion barry, who passed away today.

welcome back to al jazeera america, a look at the top stories. world leaders are meeting about iran's nuclear programme. a senior official tells how the deadline may be extended. former washington d.c. mayor marion barry has died. he served four terms as mayor in the nation's capital. he went to gaol on drug charges but was reelected. he died this morning, the cause of death has there been confirmed. he was popular until the end in his home district of washington d.c. sheila macvicar spoke to the man they called "the mayor for life." >> reporter: if there's one thing everyone nose about marion barr -- knows about marion

barry, it's this, in the early 1990s, amid the turmoil of the crack epidemic, he was the mayor that was busted. >> this is the c.b.s.... >> his arrest was a lead item on the cbs news. >> the d.c. mayor was brought before a magistrate on misdemeanour drug charges, buying and using crack cocaine >> reporter: caught using crack, he was arrested and convicted by an fbi sting and spent six months in prison. as his long career winds down, barry wants you to know there's more to his story than "the bitch set me up", he wrote a book. after all these years, people still call you major. >> well, i earnt it. i was born 78 years ago. in a small town in mississippi, in a segregated society, very

poor. i lived in a house in america - think about this - in mississippi, no running water or electricity. >> reporter: you worked in the field. >> cutting cotton, 10 hours a day, $3 a day. imagine that, in a home in america. no. >> reporter: you write in your own book about how you were saving money, figured out ways to make and save money, even when you were living the hard life. >> well, god, bless america. in my community i didn't have many role models to stand up and say "here is how you do it", it was just inside of me. i felt that you can do things if you put your mind to it. that you can do incredible things if you put your mind on it. secondly, that i didn't want to the live this way. i didn't want to live in

poverty. selling rags - i did everything. once i got into power i swore i would have job programme that every young person that wanted a job could work. >> barry's early life is recounted in the book, is full of surprises, as a teenager living in tennessee, he was an eagle scout and a budding chemist. he was the first in his family to go to college. he earnt a masters and started on a ph.d. before the politics of the 1960s, in the civil right unit drew him away. we met him at a civil rights museum. it was the first time that he had seen the exhibit and the photo on the wall. chairman of the student nonviolence coordinating committee organised martin luther king's march on washington. a year later he was back as a community activist through the race riots, through the bort of

education, d.c. council and in 1978 he was elected mayor. including a comeback victory, he served a record four terms. when you look back at your time as mayor, what are the things you are so proud of? >> so much of it. washington was the unsafest part of town. i found people thought it was the status quo. i was from outside. i didn't feel that way. i knew things were not right. i knew things had to develop downtown and in neighbourhoods. i knew we had to do summer jobs, everybody. that is not happening now. we have fallen on hard times here. >> reporter: times are hard in the distribute where barry lives and represents on city council. the i think ward, anacostia - cut off by the rest of washington by a river and river state. unemployment rates in ward eight

are among the highest in the nation. the poverty rate is stuck at around 35%. there are some signs of revival in a restaurant that barry favours, in developments along the water. there is much work to be done. >> what keeps you going in politics? >> neg the way. i like what i do. god give me a gift of liking what i do. i have a philosophy, a set back is a set up for a comeback. so you keep the positive thinking in your head and pray hard, pray, pray, pray, and have other people that you see have the keys every day. someone says "i got my first summer job", someone comes up and says - it makes you feel good. >> when you look back at everything you have done, not just when you were mayor, when

you were in the civil rights movement, when you were in youth, is there a moment that stands out for you as a moment you think to yourself that is the most important thing. >> one of the moments, i didn't understand it at the time, my mother told me that she went to an interview. she was domestic. interview for a job. it was in the south. the domestic help went to the back of the house and were called by their first names. my mother said, "no, i'm good enough to take care of your kid and take care of cooking for you, and cleaning for you et cetera, i'm going to walk through the front door." and i didn't under at the time when she told me about that. later i said that took a lot of courage, she lost a lot of jobs doing that, not only that, she told them "my name is not maddie, it's mis-cummings, and

he lost more jobs." that's where i got that sense of courage. >> >> reporter: and respect, the need to demand respect. >> you have to do that. in order to get and give respect too, it worked two ways. that's the main thing. i've done so many things, god has helped me. >> barry has had brushes with the law, the i.r.s., alcohol, drug counselling and stripped of his committee assignments. through all that, he has maintained his popularity, and in the parts of the city where times are hardest, he still is mayor for life that is legacy, he's

survived by his wife and son. funeral arrangements are pending but will include a public memorial. >> activists want european government to be held accountable for their role in slavery. they have filed a lawsuit. shockingly slavery insists in haiti. we have this report from port-au-prince. >> at this house, a chance to play with your friends is not taken lightly. for these girls, the home is a refuge. every young woman was rescued from slavery, a practice common in haiti. this is a typical case. given to a family and forced to work for nothing, she was beaten and abused. >> it is not something that we want to hide any more. it causes so much hurt. and people lie, we need to talk

and change it. >> reporter: slavery existed from the 15th century and was said to be brutal through the french colonial period. it is the only successful slave result history, it's a chapter far from over. the statue commemorates the first slave to free himself, sparking a revolution. there are still more than 200,000 enslaved people here. there has been support in europe over talk of repatriations, many in the legal community believe victory is slim. the reaction from european governments is mixed, with many dismissing the lawsuit. this professor represented haiti in the past, saying claims for repatriations may be a hard battle to win. >> i'm a realist and have seen nations over the world treated poorly by developed nation, and on the other hand, you never can give up. small victories will add up to really a new national identity

for places like haiti. [ singing ] >> reporter: for rose and thousands of others, repatriations could mean a brighter future. the teenager is determined to make changes. >> i know god will help me, and it is what i want. i know who i am, and i know i can be good. >> reporter: while the rapparitions are delayed, justice is a distraction from problems. for these girls, the freedom for these girls to be together and safe is all that counts. >> in new york they are bracing for potential flooding after getting 7 feet of snow in buffalo. it is anticipating rainfall and temperatures in the 50s are expected today and tomorrow, prompting fears of a snow melt before the city has a chance to

dig it said out. officials have ordered emergency supply, and 200,000 sandbags. good afternoon, we are looking at difficult weather here across much of the north-east. what is happening is, of course, after the major storm event that we have seen, we saw icing. now we are seeing rain pushing into the area. that is going to be falling on top of the snow, making it heavy, causing flooding across the region, we'll be watching for the buffalo area, up to syracuse where it's an issue. the highs coming up over the last 24 hours. in the area concerned, we are talking about the high temperatures into the mid and high and high 40s. new york up to 54 degrees, boston is about 54 degrees. for buffalo, we expect more rain through here until monday.

going towards wednesday and thursday, the temperatures overnight back below freezing. we'll see ice on the roads, making it difficult there. >> here is the travel forecast. wednesday, a travel day across the united states. it will be rainy all the way down here along the south-eastern part of the united states. montana, you'll have a bit of snow. then on thanksgiving, we expect snow to change over here, across the north-east, and temperatures - we'll see them begin to dive, especially down across the great lakes of chicago, at 26 coming up on al jazeera america - what is an 8 letter word for a board game trying to stay in step with the times. that would be scrabble. why some are not happy with official changes to the game.

what happens when you add thousands of words to a 76-year-old board game played to 176 countries around the world. trouble - that's worth nine

points. sling terms were not valid in the game until now. the change is controversial. phil lavelle spells it out for us. >> you are looking at scrabble gold. these letters in the right order could net a massive score. see if you can figure the word out. we'll leave it here for you for a moment. what this lot and their mascots would not give for a set of letters like that. 200 big brains in one room at the scrabble championships. >> i'm from poland. i have come from kenya. >> i came from south africa. >> reporter: the international championships, no less. scrapple is worldwide - there's no better place to be than london. >> abdullah is pakistan, a 14-year-old with big dreams. >> i will be number one one day. >> so you have ambitions. >> big ones. >> and that is where he's aiming. the main stage, the big tournament. it's hungry work. this is an old game with a

modern approach. each move scrutinised by computers, relaid to players. a hobby enjoyed in 120 countries. >> it's a fun game. >> reporter: one in the midst of change. for those that like to play but is dreadful, that is the bane of their lives. the dictionary is the rule book, saying what words you can or cannot move. for those that are not good it means they can get away with little. traditionally slang is banned. 5,000 words have been added, words in every day use - things like hashtag. chilacs, selfie and blog. the word on the street is the word on the board. for those with a limited vocabulary this is fantastic news. for those that are a bit more traditional, they have to start learning all over again. some can be a purist about the language and not want to add in

selfie, for example. there's no getting away they are words everyone nose. >> reporter: no doubt this champ would have guessed the big one. here it is. that is the word quinssee. have you heard of it? probably not. it's a new addition. it could get you 401 point, the definition, a shelter made by hollowing out a pile of settled snow. speaking of digging... >> i play an al jazeera reporter at scrabble. i heard you have quite the vocabula vocabulary, this should be good. >> i'm brilliant. okay, it's a lie, sometimes it's good to have a plan b up the sleeve. >> what is going on here? >> reporter: literally - only, of course, if you don't get caught. phil lavelle, al jazeera, with some brainy people in london joining us live from london, is a member of the scrabble dictionary committee, and the scrabble tournament director. thank you for your time. the tournament just wrapped up. tell us about the winner, and

what the winning word was. the winner of the game - sorry, the winner of the event was a man, craig believize, an english -- beavis. he's a person who makes scrabble his life. and the passion of ensuring that the game he loves with everyone else is vocational and application. it's the first time we had a person win the game and the event. we are happy, and also that it's been the first time in 21 years that an englishman has won this game that is based on the language and culture of the english language in london where it all began. >> so if phil lavelle was reporting, 5,000 words have been added to the scrabble dictionary. what is the process for adding to the dictionary. >> to simplify a complex and

tedious task of administration and bureaucracy, i'll say that if a word is popular or common or normal enough to make its way into a college-sized victory, demonstrate unabridged but a college one, one that contains words that a well educated person ought to recognise from somewhere, it is considered for acceptance into the scrabble dickedry, and once -- dictionary, and once every five or 10 years we update the dictiony at that point. we don't call it slang, we call them new additions to the dickedry -- dictionary, someone that wants to dismiss them, like selfie - every word entered the english language at some point and was brand new. a lot of words stick with us. anyone that thinks otherwise can be a buzz kill.

well done there. nicely done. the word qu. >> nsee that we heard about. they make quin sis in the front yard, any time the winter snow is back home and piles up. i take my kids out. you take a hole, you play with it. it's a quinsee. when we get together for an event like the mind sports international world championships, we get people in 32 countries. the same game with the common world dial ecks of language or world english, we have to take it to a native country. if it sounds like slang or foreign language, it just means they accept our words, we accept theirs, and we don't argue. >> thank you john a member of

the scrabble dictionary committee for most researchers, it's a long and rough journey to travel to the islands near antarctica. scientists tracking penguins have found a way to track them from afar, using citizen scientists. >> monitoring pen gins from the warnth of his office. this is a research project taking images from automatic cameras, putting them on the internet and uses citizen scientists to identify penguins. the data provide insight into the penguins breeding behaviour to see if they are reacting to climate change. it's crowd sourcing in the name of scientific research, and more than 20,000 people visited the site to click on penguins, eggs and the odd penguin photo bomb. >> in the first four hours, we

looked through as many images as teams have ever done in years of doing the work. just because of scale of people that went on and looked through the images. >> penguins are sensitive to the environment. how many babies they have or clustering, provide scientists with important clues. volunteers clicking away are making a difference, helping with the conservation of penguins, so they can live outside the zoo. >> the project is an easy sell. just about everyone loves penguins. >> they are charismatic, comical. they walk around. they are always busy, and they are penguins with attitudes. i have been working with the adely penguins, and they rushed to attack me even though they are knee high, flapping away with their wings at me. >> these are more interested in stroking than striking. whatever the attitude, they need

to be conserved. penguin watch is giving people a chance to do that art dealers are celebrating a booming market in new york next on al jazeera america what is driving collectors to the galleries. tonight on "the week ahead", progress of talks, and what is at stake. that is at 8:30 eastern, 5:30 pacific.

>> a remarkable quest that sparked imaginations and created history over 700 years ago,

marco polo left venice to points unknown and mysterious relive this epic odyssey people encountered, discoveries made... and now... questions answered... al jazeera america presents marco polo a very modern journey microsoft is relying on robots to help safe guard silicon valley. this is 5 feet tall, has censors, and sounds an alarm when it finds something wrong. it works 24 hours a day, with a break to recharge, the maker hopes law enforcement will use the k 5 the art auction houses are booming. collectors are flocking to the big apple, snatching up famous

pieces for record-high prices. kimberly halkett explains what is driving the market. >> reporter: one lucky billionaire made a world-record sale for a female artist, the latest of dozens of artworks selling for staggering sums at new york auction houses. the ultra rich throw around half a million as if it were small change. >> sold. >> reporter: among the huge sales were mark roth coe's red, brown, black and orange from 1953, which sotheby's sold for $45 million. over at christie's, this entitled painting went for $69.6 million. and andy warhol's famous triple elvis, which bidders jostled the price to, shy of $82 million.

sotheby's saw bids come in from 38 different countries, the world's newly wealthy driving demand. >> i heard from a number of collectors that given the high prices, it's almost not so painful to take one expensive thing off the wall. >> with global financial markets uncertain, some are cashing in on wealth. given that headline grabbing prices have little to do with the wider art world, price lines harm it. >> the growing pitch that galleries pitch to, is wealth. if that's the message. it doesn't take a genius to imagine that art today is going to reflect those kinds of areas or values, to the exclusions of others. >> others are critical. during one week's sales, half the total hammer price of lots were guaranteed.

that means that the auction house underwrites or promises the seller certain undisclosed amounts, no matter what happens with the bidding. >> it means they are bullish, making money, or auction houses can't get people to confine works to auction without promising extortionist funds. >> reporter: outwardly auction houses and sellers are profiting. by relying on those desperate for a painting, prestige and a diversified portfolio maybe you are not an art lover, but you love music. there's another auction you need to know about. this guitar is what john lennon used to regard "paperback rider", and it's on the auction block. he gave it to his cousin, who feels someone else needs to enjoy it. for $1 million, you can have it to yourself.

thank you for watching al jazeera america romany weekend is next. for updates throughout the day check out the website. now, we leave you with the knew music video of john lennon's imagine. this is used by u.n.i.c.e.f. to raise awareness and funds for children's rights. enjoy. ♪ imagine all the people ♪ living for the day ♪ ah-haaa ♪ imagine there's no countries ♪ it isn't hard to do ♪ nothing to kill or die for ♪ and no religion too ♪ imagine all the people

♪ living life in peace ♪ uhoo-hoo ♪ you may say i'm a dreamer ♪ butt i'm not the only one... ♪ america stands on the bridge of a new cold war with russia, i journeyed to the front lines in the frozen north with america's allies are locked in a high-stakes stand off over huge deposits of oil and gas. i'll look at how arctic melting unlocked a wealth of opportunity, and fuelled new tensions between old enemies, and i'll talk to a cold war wore yore who has never taken his eye off russia. i'm ali velshi, and this is "real money".