nofrnlingers pack the streets for a policemen shot dead in his patrol car yesterday. tennessee of thousands displaced. a dozen dead as the worst flooding in more than 50 years sweeps across northeast asia.

grow from strength to strength. the roots of nigeria's industry which attracts investors from around the world. ♪ >> hello. we begin the program in syria where an end to the nearly four-year conflict could be in sight. russia says the syrian government has agreed to take part in peace talks in january. it's not clear which opposition groups if any will take part. separately, a meeting of the egyptian and arabtic officials is being held in cairo. the president of the national coalition of the syrian revolution and opposes forces says there are no clear initiatives to find a solution to the conflict. >> there is no initiative at the moment, as is rumored. russia does not have a clear initiative. what russia is calling for is an invite to meetings and talks in

moscow without the presence of a clear plan or initiative. we have taken notice of this. >> while the diplomatic wrangling conned, there is no let up of the fighting in syria. the government cared out a series of airstrikes in the northern prev incident of aleppo. 39 people are thought to have died in the past three days. areas controlled by isil fighters are being targeted. government forces have also bombarded the rebel-held town of duma north of damascus. the array salts killed at least five people. al jazeera's kimberly halkett has this update from washington, d.c. on possible reactions to those talks from the united states. >> reporter: so far, there has been no official reaction from the obama administration regarding the announcement by the russian foreign ministry that it would be hosting peace talks between the syrian government and its opposition, but i can tell you that this will be looked at with some skepticism in washington considering it is counter to u.s. policy.

the president obama has long maintained that president bash arrest al acidad must go. he must step aside for the sake of the syrian people. >> that's his exact statement. and yet, now, we see this discussion of peace talks. so there is this concern and there is this view in washington that as long as bashar al-assad remains in power that syria remains divided. there are also concerns about the objectivity of russia to host these talks. there has been a very strong historical tie in terms of trading as well as support for the syrian president by the russian government. we saw this repeatedly at the united nations as far back as 20s 11 when there was an effort really by the international community to condemn the actions of the syrian government. >> was vetoed by russia. again n may, 20s 11, or in 2014, just a few months ago, we saw, in fact, that there was an effort by the u.n. security counsel to refer syria to the

international criminal court. again, vetoed by russia and then more recently, we saw in july, attempts to sanction the syrian leadership again being vet owed by russia. so there is this view here in washington that there is a lack of objectivity, a lack of fairness and a lack of new trality and for that reason, the discussions and announcement of there being peace talks, being hosted by russia, are likely to be met with a bit of a lackluster response in the united states. >> all right. let's get more now from professor joshua landsis from the university of oklahoma where he is the director for middle east studies. thanks for being with us on the program. are any of the syrian opposition groups likely to want to take part in these negotiations? if they don't, is there much point in having these talks, do you think? >> well, it's unlikely that any of the rebel groups that actually own territory in syria like isis, nusra, or the hundreds of other rebel groups that hold territory will go to these talks.

most of them have condemned them. even the u.s.-backed leadership of the syrian opposition has said that there is no official talks that they know of going on, that this is just sort of a little bit of russian play acting. >> in which case, is there any point to having these talks at all? particularly as they are being held in moscow, obviously an ally of syria? >> i think russia is trying to get some ball rolling on dialogue. it's trying to get the united states, also, to rec ognize assd is going to remain in power. we have to recall nat u.s. found itselfna in an embarrassing position this summer when it decided -- when it we want to war against isis because it became, in sense, an ally of bashar assad because he started bombing his enemies.

at the same time, they don't want to talk with assad. they don't want to have anything to do with him. they consider him a pest who must leave syria. general allen in the "wall street journal" said as far as america is concerned, assad is dead. america doesn't want to build up assad. in fact, they are doing as much as they can economically to embargo the country and to weaken assad as they are bombing the main opposition centers in syria that belong to at a time jihadist, al-qaeda and isis. >> what you are saying is the battle against isil has fundamentally changed the context in which the international world sees the conflict within syria, itself? >> yes. it does. i mean, in a sense, the united states now sees assad government as a bullwells fargo bank against isis and nusra. were he to fall tomorrow, the chances are that the jihadist would take damascus and all of the other major cities. it would be difficult to get them out of that. so even though the united states

abhors assad, they do not want to see him talk but they don't have to have peace talks with him and are unlikely to recognize this russian drive and try to give it any kind of push that might be necessary to make it successful or even begin to be successful. so, i think the united states is going to stick to its book right now which is very narrow policy of counter terrorism. it's going to bomb nusra and try to weaken it without destroying it, try to drive isis out of iraq into syria, try to contain the violence to syria and weaken isis in syria but not fix syria. it does not have a plan and it doesn't like russia's plan either. >> is this really a case, when it comes to these talks, these planned talks, is this really a case of russia trying to give a pr boost to syria, if you like? it shows syria trying to push for peace when it knows, in fact, that none of its opposition groups are likely to turn up to any negotiations?

particularly if they are held in moscow? >> they are not going to turn out for peace. they don't want assad. there are a thousand different groups. how would you get a thousand representatives to turn up in moscow? it's not going to happen. the united states tried to do this in geneva last february. it fell flat on its face. secretary of state kerry turned on his heels and said, assad cannot be a part of the solution, and that's all there is to it. and so assad is not leaving. he is quite powerful. it's quite clear that russia and iran are going to continue to back him. in fact, most of the american rebel groups that america was supporting militarily have been beaten on the battlefield by al-qaeda. so the united states has few options. it doesn't like any of the options that sit in front of it in syria, and it's going to concentrate on counter terrorism as far as i can see. >> good to get your thoughts on this story, professor joshua landsis, thank you very much

indeed. >> pleasure. >> the coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against isil. the latest took place close to the town of huwija in the same region as sinjar in the grip of fighting as kurdish troops try to push isil out. isil is understood to still be in control of many neighborhoods. peshmerga forces say isil fighters are using increasingly brazen tactics to launch attacks in the kurdish region. a peshmerga exameder told al jazeera they will do everything they can to be defends their regional capital but may need more help. mohammed ado reports in northern ir iraq. >> reporter: as night falls on the kurdish countryside. peshmerga forces take up their positions under the cover of darkness isil attacks and they can't afford to lower their guard. this is perhaps their most

important sgrvr protecting erb ill is a dangerous task. two days, they carried their most daring attack using a combination of suicide bombers and vehicles laden with explosives, they took over the base for a few hours before the kurdish forces recaptured it. >> as the fighting gets more intense, the tactics are getting more desperate. it's the first time isil fighters have used a tank for suicide bombing. and the peshmerga say it's the ability of isil to strike in kurdish territory that have them worried. >> some of the peshmerga tents are burned down.

parts litter the camp. the peshmerga commandser: >> the first time to have the armored tanks with the tnt in them. suicide people. they come on our front line, trying the last chance to push the peshmerga back but they cannot do it. >> we drove across villages and towns partly held by isil. their inhabitants have been displaced by the fighting. the kurdish forces have made modest gains against isil in recent days. but their weapons, they say, are old and no match for their opponents. >> we need heavy machine guns, of course, because all we use is very open, you know, and it's from the iraq and iran war. the newest one is 25 years old. but with the ammunition is good from the coalition. >> they call for more action against isil group.

the peshmerga remain the group's most formidable opponent on the ground. they say they need meaningful help or isil could come charging again across northern iraq. mohammed adow, al jazeera, guir in northern iraq. >> pakistan's military said it carried out several airstrikes in the tribal region of north rawiristan. 39 fighters are said to have been killed. journalists aren't allowed to be in that region. so we cannot independent independently verify the information. relatives of a death row inmate say he is about to be hanged for a crime he never committed. he is one of about 500 people due to be executed in the coming weeks after pakistan lifted a moratorium on capital punishment. human rights activist leave at least some inmates were tortured into confession from the area, mohammed vow reports.

reporter: >> reporter: their brother has been on death row for years. now, he could be hanged at any moment. >> we are knocking over door to seek justice for my brother, to save his life, but there is no hope that my brother will be wrongful -- and he will be wrongfully hanged by the authorities. >> one of the courses that have issues for the thousands across the country during the last two years. now, with the lifting of the moratorium on death penalty, those suspects are facing execution. >> husband ane is on a list that has been selected for immediate execution. he was convicted by an anti-terrorism cost in 2004 for killing a boy. but his family and lawyers deny the crime, say he was 13 at the time and the accusation had nothing to do with armed groups. >> a journal, tortured into a confession, into a forced confession. so, it really goes to the heart of the government to lift the ban on moratoriums,

to lift the moratorium and resume under the presumption they are hanging tar terrorists. he was 13. he was a juvenile. >> the lifting of the moratorium on executions by the taliban on an army school that killed 149 people, most of whom were children. a couple of days later, several death row done victims were hang. he was to be hanged last tuesday but sara belad pleaded for a grace period hoping to reverse the sentence. his brother had this to say: >> i can't bear that my innocent brother will be hanged by the government without a fair trial, and if they do so, i won'ts keep sighlant. i will take revenge for my brother even if i have to join a terrorist group. >>. >> if he has been convicted, he is not free to do this. there is a state. there is a law. islam is clear on that. >> justice delayed, he says, is

justice denied but he recognizes justice hurried is justice buried. between the two, pakistan is facing some hard choices at the moment. al jazeera, lahor. >> still to come on this will news hour, the chinese charities creating a home for the children of criminal parents. we wi we will meet a family struggle to go come to terms with one of the twin tragedies that hit malaysian airlines this year. at a time captain has broken yet more records. an egyptian judge sentenced the head of the muslim brotherhood for six years in prison for insulting the judiciary. mohammed elbashi was fined about $2,800. it was heard at the cairo

criminal court, also hearing the trial of former police department mohammed more situate. now 364 some days, almost a year, since three access journalists were detained in egypt. they were jailed over false allegations they helped the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they are appealing against their convictions and sentences. thousands of people have taken part in an anti-government rally in bahrain. dmonlstrators calling for democracy and political reform. they want political prisoners to be released. forecasters are warning of more severe weather in parts of southeast asia already hit by flooding. rescuers are struggling to reach tens of thousands in malacia while the country's prime minister has been photographed playing golf in hawaii. a report. >> reporter: this corner of northeast everyone malaysia hasn't seen flooding like this for decades. people had to leave their homes

in a hurry after days of rain turned roads into rivers. the government has sent search and rescue teams to the most badly affected areas. it's set up relief centers for the victims. but for some, it's too little, too late. they criticized the government for being too slow to respond and for failing to declare a state of emergency in time. >> translator: we just come here. we lost everything. here without food. >> malaysian prime minister has cut short his holiday to the u.s. to deal with the emergency. he has been in hawaii visiting president barack obama when the rains began. it's monsoon season in this part of asia. this year's rains have been particularly heavy and many places have been affected by the worst flooding in more than 40 years. people in southern thailand have been told to brace themselves for more flash flooding, right up in to the new year. for many, the biggest worry is

how to avoid the spread of disease. cases of typhoid fever, col era and hepatitis a increase when flooding occurs. malaria, yellow fever and west nile fever is also more likely. doctors say children and the elderly are particularly at risk. health problems usually appear after 4 to 6 weeks emergency officials monitoring the floods say water levels haven't peaked yet. with more heavy rain predicted over the coming days, it will be a wet end to 2014 for thousands of people. al jazeera. >> for the first time in 60 years, the municipal elections are taking place in myanmar's biggest city. the first under the military backed civilian government. observers say the vote is flawed and cast a shadow over next year's landmark national election. only one person per household is eligible to vote, limiting to the poll to about 400,000

people. >> a chinese charity says the children are convicted criminals are too often being punished for their parents' wrongdoing. china's prison population is second only to the u.s. and many of the children the inmates leave behind have to fend for themselves. rob mcbride reports from beijing now on the people who give them shelter. >> reporter: it's called "sun village" providing a refuge for the children of convicted crimina criminals. for some, the only home they have known their whole short lives. twins, tinge tinge and tao mae were rescued as babies from parents who had used their baby carrier to smuggle grubs. 7-year-old gin wow witnessed his mother struggle their father after years of violence abuse. they face not seeing their parents for their entire childhood. >> it's estimated there are 600,000 children across china who have at least one parents in prison and who are, themselves

trapped in a kind of limbo, being nooerth orphan or disabled, they are not entitled to government benefits despite being clearly vulnerable and in need. >> yang suchin decided to do something about it. nine centers like this one now operate across the country thanks to her. they provide not only a home, but, also, help counter prejudice. >> translator: they are definitely discriminated against. many parents wants their children to stay away from these kids because they think they are dangerous as children of criminals. >> they opened the homes to build awareness selling donated items and, also, pressure produce grown, themselves. they help support their communities.

>> i like these days. there are always a lot of people and we can make some money for ourselves. >> in the process, getting the chance to have the childhood the crimes of their parents nearly took away. rob mcbride, al jazeera, beijing. >> as 2014 draws to a close, al jazeera is reflecting on the year through the eyes of four families who have been caught up in major world events. malaysia's national airline had to deal with two high profile catastrophes months apart. families of victims continue to struggle with their loss. flaurnings reports from kual kuala lampur. >> a daily ritual brings a small measure of piece to a father who's son was killed. sannied sing sandu was a crew member on board malaysian airlines flight 17 shot down over ukraine in july. >> he is gone. whatever i got left, both of us, we are just living our life and

waiting for the last day. it has been very torturing. it is still very torturing. >> all 298 people on board were killed. access to the crash site, the bodys and their return had to be negotiated by government. the months that followed were painful for the families left behind. >> we went through hell. we have very bad memories and sad thoughts for me and my wife. we had a constant flow of friends and relatives coming to console, there were times we just wanted to be alone. >> it was the second major tragedy for malaysia's national kir year still recovering from the loss of a passenger jet that had gone missing in march and still hasn't been found. the two disasters proved too much for the company which had been steadily losing money over

the years. >> less than a month after mh-17 was shot down a state-run investment company announced it was taking malaysian airlines under the stock exchange and putting it under government control. it put in place a restructuring plan that includes job cuts and a new chief executive. >> the airline has essentially been nationalalized. it may yet return to profit, perhaps in several years. but for gioi singh and his family, it's difficult. his grandson has been deeply affected by the loss? >> he is chooer, but now, he is very quiet. i speak to him. he calls me dada, in punjabi, grandfather. he says, dada? i don't know. i don't have anything to talk now. >> reporter: their family is left with only memories and photos to hold on to. florence lee, al jazeera, kuala lumpur.

>> the next report from our one year, four-family series on sundays in iraq capital baghdad a company displaced by the fighting against isil. >> north korea's most powerful governing body used a rachellely charged insult to describe barack obama. it's the latest salvo for the from the scriven state. the national defense commission released a statement in which it said he was reckless and a monkey. north korea also blamed the u.s. for receipt internet outages. in new york, tennessee police od mourners have turned out for the funeral of rafael ramos, one of two mremz shot done a week ago. he and his patrol officer were killed at pointblank rage by a man claiming to avenge the killing of unarmed black men by police. they sat in their parked police car. the killer fled to a subway

station and took his own life. al jazeera reporter courtney keely was at the funeral for officer ramos and sent this update. >> reporter: i am standing outside the church, christ tabernacle church where officer rafael ramos was a parish onner for nearly 15 years. the wake was held here yesterday. people lined on the streets for six hours to pay respects to his cask casketet. then this morning, the police locked down the area. it's the secretive service stepped in. so vice president joseph biden could attend and then, after the area was locked down for several hours, the streets filled with policemen. they were not only from the nypd, the new york police department, but from police departments around the country. >> so when an assassin's bullet targeted two officers, it targeted this city, and it touched the soul of the entire nation. >> now, since last saturday when these two policemen were killed,

the sentiment has turned slightly. at a time is christmas season. they are putting up messages of peace they are saying this is not the time to take to the streets, not the time for retribution, not the time for vitriol. you had everyone from vice president joe biden and the mon sig nowhere here at the pentecostal christian church delivering words by martin luther king all carefully chosen to tone down what has been a very con tentious several months here in the u.s. with police departments around the country. >> the man who fried to kill the former pope has paid his respects 33 years after the failed assassination attempts. he was escorted by police and placed flowers at the tomb of john paul ii who is now a saint. in 1981, he fired several shots at the former pontiff qucriticay injured him. he was pardoned after john paul went to meet him in prison. >> still to could on this news hour greeted by the president,

soldiers arrive home along the biggest prisone he knew change since the ukraine conflict began. india moves to ban old vehicles in its capital. but will that be enough to clear the air in a sdaning rusly smolgy city. december hasn't been a good month for the very young and the ancient. ♪

in iraq, kurdish peshmerga forces are continuing their campaign to recapture parts of sinjar from isil. u.s.-led coalition has been carrying out more airstrikes in the area. forecasters are warning of more severe weather in parts of southeast asia already hit by flooding. officials say at least 180,000 people have been displaced in

malaysia and neighboring thaila thailand. this month, nato ceremonially ended a combat mission in afghanistan. it means afghan execute forces are fighting a reinsurgents taliban without the air, intelligence and logistical support that nato provided. jennifer glasse reports. >> reporter: hellmit is afghanistan's deadliest prove incident p where execute is tighter, the people are nervous. sigh he'd wali came here four months ago. fight something raging in the north. he says thousands of families have fled. >> fighting meant we lost the first harvest. now, the second. farmers have lost cattle cattle. people lost homes. people have been targeted byroadside bombs and face many threats from this insecurity. >> wali's wife is a victim of the war. intention fighting kept her from getting to a doctor.

she died of her illness. the lucky ones end up here at emergency hospital. teknatula has lost at leg and doctors are fight to go save the other one. in the operating room next door, the painstaking search for happennal in this gunshot victim. the hospital accepts anyone, no questions asked. samuela is a policemen from san begin. he says the fighting in hellmit has never been this bat. there are thousands of taliban in sangin. the government only controls the roads. none of the villages. >> janadar is a member of the intelligence forces from another district with heavy fighting. >> i am worried about the future. i have four brothers. they are all with the government. as long as we are alive, we will fight for our country.

>> proof that the countfight is, the record number of wounded here the wards are still full, even though the fighting usually slows at this time of year. >> there have been so many casualties hear this year, the hospital has had to turn the pharmacy, the mosque, and the children's play room into patient wards. when it's really busy, they use these out door tents for triage. a regard attack last week lasted hours. it killed 7. those from the villages and the countryside say civilians are caught in the middle between taliban fighters and government forces that don't care who they hurt. civilian casualties are at a record high, and the fighting continues. jennifer glasse, al jazeera. >> a leader of al shabaab has sur enderred to police. he handed himself in to police in the ghetto region. the u.s. state department had offered $3 million for

information leading to his arrest. al shabaab said he left the group two years ago and was only ever a mid-level commander. >> ukraine's president, petro poroshenko has shaken hands of soldiers who have been released by eastern separatists. they were thought to be separatist prisoners. a report. >> in a military air field near kiev, the ukrainian president welcomes home these prisoners of war. they were exchanged with hundreds of pro-russian fighters. this is a propagandaa coup for petro poroshenko, a leader who is struggling to go unite a divided country. >> i am telling you that i, as a president and an ordinary citizen, have a heart full of happiness that you willget the new year as i promised, together with your families and military brothers, that you will do what we have been waiting for, for so

long. we are thankful again that we have you. >> reporter: there is relief but, also, sadness about those still being held. >> thanks for what you have done to release us. we hope our friends still being kept as hostages will be released in the near future. >> this is where the exchange took place: in a secret location in the donetsk region. some of the prisoners are injured and have to be carried to freedom. there are international observers, armed separatists and ukrainian soldiers also. they know this is still a fragile cease-fire. >> there are several people on the list who are missing. they are from the hansk region who have not arrived yet, but are on the way and we will complete the exchange tomorrow. >> kiev said its fighting against what it calls russia's influence. moscow has always denied backing and arming the separatists who

still control parts of eastern ukraine. the russian president recently signed a new military doctorine and nato expansion was among key external risks. the latest twist, ukraine's state rail company has suspended trains to blaming security concerns leaving many passengers stranded and frustrated. >> it is very bad and will affect many people. people should not be affected by such decisions. they should not suffer because of politics. >> this prisoner exchange is a small step towards reconciliation and to the families of the released prisoners, it offers some hope in this bitter and deadly conflict. nazanene mishuri, al jazeera. >> more than a thousand migrants have been rescued off of the coast of sicily t it took four separate operations to rescue

them, trying to reach italy. five bodies were recovered. according to the u.n. refugee agency, more than 3,000 my grasped have died at sea this year. most of them came from north africa and the middle east. indiana is one of the biggest polluters after the u.s. and china. india's capital is at the top of the organize. it's air pollution levels are understand 300 micrograms pur cubic meter. the green for maximum healthy exposure is 25. a big part of the problem is new delhi's vehicles. it's expected there will be 400 million of them on the city's roads within 15 years. al jazeera's car issue mavia explains how india's government is trying to clear the air. >> reporter: milarma loves his scooter. it has been a proud member of his family since he married donita 28 years ago.

he says it has never let him down. >> i have driven around my kids on this scooter after they were born. i have taken my wife and my sister-in-law for a ride. even my mother when she was sick and we had to take her to the doctor, we went on this. >> but india's green tribunal is expecting the sharpa's to retire their trusty two wheeler in a bid to clean up the note toryium air mroounings, the green try p buenal has bandy any vehicle older than 15 years. it has the world's worst air quality. a receipt study by a university of california scientistsists suggests pollution levels on these roads could be eight times higher than previously reported. >> one of the most important pollutants for your health is particulate matter. and elevated levels of pa

particulate matter can lead to heart attacks, strokes, respiratory diseases and have major consequences globally and in indiana. >> with increasing risks to public health, authorities are now under pressure to clean up the air. delhi's government estimates three-quarters of the city's air pollution is caused by vehicle emissions but environmentalists say banning all cars and scooters is not going to make much difference. >> what's needed, they say is stringent monitoring of emissions and stricter fines for polluting vehicles. >> average age of vehicles is about 4 to 7 years. we don't expect many vehicles to be in the age bracket foreign 15 years in this city. if we get rid of them, i don't see that that's going to have a massive impact on air quality. >> around 1500 new vehicles roll on to the capitol's roads every

year. environmentalists say if authorities are serious about tackling air pollution, they need to invest in public transport. car issue mavias, al jazeera, new delhi. >> in the year 2000, the u.n. set on an ambition plan to reduce poverty and provide better living conditions for people around the world by 2015. what has been achieved as that deadline approaches? diplomatic editor james bays reports now from the united nations. >> at the dawn of the mel inium in the year 2000, the then u.n. secretary general kofi anan launched an ambitious plan to improve the state of the world's poor. >> within the next 15 years, i believe we can have the population of people living in extreme poverty and ensure that all children, girls and boys alike, and particularly girls,

receive a full primary education and halt the spread of hiv aids. >> that was 14 years ago. the target did he set have been the mil en yam goals with a 15 year ldeadline. significant progress has been made on reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty, but work is still needed on maternal mortality rates and on feeding the world's most hungry. there is no doubt the mbg-forced world leaders to take action that led to some significant progress. so now, the u.n. is concentrating a new set of goals to pick up where the old ones left off. diplomats are working on the wording, but activists say they need to be ambitious. >> we think they have got the right things in them. they commit to fighting inequality. >> that's really important. they commit to tackling climate change. >> that's really important. the trick, though, is that because they are now gap ling with today's real problems, they

are much more complex and much more comprehensive than the original goals and that makes them harder to sell. >> that selling intense diplomatic wrong bling is in the final stage. the new targets known as the sustainable development goals will be adopted by world leaders at the u.n. in september. james bays, al jazeera, at the united nations. for centuries, berber women have produced arogan oil known as morocco's gold. it's due to its reputation as a beauty wonder product. >> that's having a big environmental impact. hamid reports from moroccmorocc suss region. >> reporter: it's a tedious process. labor intensive and time-consuming. >> everything hurts. every part of our bodies, but we are grateful. if there is no arogan.

we have nothing, sitting at home doing nothing. >> it's a hard nut to crack, but its seeds, once grounded will produce oregon oil, which is also known as morocco's gold. >> for centuries, it has been used by berberi women until southwest morocco. the from 40 comes from the small torny tree. >> there was a time when all of this was covered by a thick arogan forest. world wife demand for the plant and its wood increased to the point of putting it at extinction. >> the government stepped in with a regeneration program planting thousands of new trees every year and the arogan region was designated as a biosphere reserve. it's something of a cult product around the policied 10e8d for its nutty frafr at high-end food stores but the popularity comes from its use as a cosmetic product. a market that international companies are increasingly tapping in to.

>> we package it abroad and sell it at a much higher price. the land and the trees are ours so we have to control the raw material. it's what protects us. >> to match global demand, local xrabz are mechanizing the process. many women fear that this will mean an end to their main source of income, more than 2 million people in this region live on arogan production. if they bring in a machine, we will stop working. there will be nothing for us. all of the rest of the process is done by machine now, even pressing. >> but no machine so far has been able to crack the nut like berber women meaning this ancients skill, passed on from generation to generation will continue top provide steady work, at least for now. >> hamid, al jazeera, sousse

region in southwest morocco. >> nigeria's hair industry is worth millions of dollars and it's growing. a boom in sales means extensions, weaves and wigs can sell from thousands. a report. >> reporter: on the corner of a busy lagos street, the women are in the mascot for beauty. it's a common site across nigeria, even africa, a booming demands for all sorts of hairpieces, braids, we've-ons and wigs. >> it makes us look smart, beautiful, confident. we look good when we make our hair because carrying your own natural. it looks very real. >> she comes here twice a month to have braids attached to her hair. she doesn't mind the two-hour process or the $15 bill. >> the search for good looking hair in nigeria is a big business. there is a highly competitive industry that attracts investors around the world. this is one of the largest

factories producing synthetic hair owned by a mumbai company. it makes two of the most popular airs. importanted from japan and process here into what's called dry hair. the industry runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars in nigeria and by some estimates, up to $6,000,000,000 across africa. >> the air piece the nigerian lady and african lady has to three it away after three or four weeks, a growing population, your product will grow on its own. you add on fashions and you have a win-win combination. >> ruby, is the editor of "pride." she says african women across class lines have been keen on glamor. the internet and internation internationalization have exposed them. image of stars are more attainable. >> people perceive you by how well they think you look. you are more respected. you are more regarded, you know. you are just like more in.

and everyone wants to be in. >> being in comes in all shapes and prices from street stalls to luxury malls, hair pieces go from $15 to up to $3,000. the closer the hairpiece looks to natural hair, the pricier it gets. walking on the streets in nigeria, you would be hard press today find a woman without a hairpiece. >> we get it. we just know what fodo. we know what to turn out. i think it's innate. it's so innate in the nigerian woman. >> those in the industry most certainly agree. al jazeera, lagos. >> still to come on the well, all of thespot including the head coach of aidsian football japan defends himself from allegations of match fixing, plus. >> i am nick speicer in berlin. more than over the go-to place for young classical musicians. ♪

hello, again. all of the sports now with sana. >> thank you very much. chelsea's striker fernando torres will join a. c. milan on a permanent deal next month. he is currently on loan to the blues. they have reached an agreement that sees him remain at the san sero. he has spent season in italy having fallen out of favor at stanford bridge since his nearly $80 million transfer from liverpool in january, 2011. he had been linked with the return to boyhood club athletico pad drilled.

nil wernoker has been sacked after he was let go by crystal palace, 66-year-old took over only four months ago but has been under increasing pressure with his side slipping further be and furtherdown the ability to. the announcement was made following crystal's 3-1 defeat on boxing day. assistant keith milan will fill the role as manager. >> japan head coach aguierre has protested innocence over allegations of matching fixing in spain. two weeks ago, he was one of 41 defendants named in an investigation in spanish league match in 2011. he was manager of real salagosa in the game against lavante. the mexican has called for a couple from 1y57an supporters ahead of the defense of the asia cup next month. >> i believe in the honesty and innocence of spanish football.

i will be cooperate with the spanish authorities and seeing this case through to the end. i would like to tell all of our supporters to stay calm during this investigation, we need their support to take the asia cup. >> cricket desmond has pulled out of pakistan's world cup squad. he and before a pakistani crippinget board on saturday before making the announcement. ashmal falling was reported during the test in sri lanka in august with his action found to be illegal. he was then suspended and has sense failed to remodel his technique with his elbow extension still not within the 15 degrees allowed by the icc. australia captain michael clark says he is unling to be fit for the start of the cricket world cup but beliefs he will pay a part in the tournament. he injured his hamstrung during the first test against indian

adolai this month t he is doing pretty well steve smith is the 192 on day 2 of the third test against indiana at melbourne cricket ground. fast baller ryan harris recorded 50s but it was smith who was the last man out as australia were bold out for 530 and reply, indiana ended 108 for 1 trailing by 422. a man of the day, steve smith and the series called 567 runs at an avenue of 189. >> that's included as 3 centuries. his test average is over 50. his career began slowly after hitting his first century in his 12 match, there was no stopping him and since then, he averages 74 and in 2014, alone, he scored over 1,000 runs in tests, an avenue of just over 87 including

5 100s. there is an even more one sided church in christ church as new zee lands made sri lanka fall on day 2 having been balled out for 441, the kiwis dismissed the tourists for 138 in their inning, and both taken three wickets. sri launcha were 8 for, for none in their second inning. queen elizabeth has interrupted a test. there was a little bit of play. rain falling on, south africa are 89 for 3. reigning champions, san antonio spurs suffered their 7th defeat as the pel cans. spurs were without 6-time tony parker due to a hamstring injury. tim duncan still managed to net 20 points. the pal cans anthony davis, 2012

number 1 draft pick scored his two points to help new orleans to a 97 to 90 victory. moving on to ski jumping now where peter brevochi came out on top qualifying for the four hills tournament in germany. despite windy conditions, is he showed the longest jump of the day, 138.5 meters. second place to 4-time winner while nourachi finished third. vos won a thrilling world cupciling cross race in belgium. the 0 lick pit road race champion was involved in a three-way battle at the front. she took at vantage of a slip on muddy steps. the dutch woman crossing the line on the formula one track in bolder. >> that's it for me. back to felicity. >> sanaa, thank you very much. berlin is famous for electronic music and a thriving

technoseason but it is drawing young classical musicians from around the world. nick speicer reports. ♪ a mozart aria sung by rachel finland. ♪ she says she has had some success back home but when she moved to berlin last summer, that's where you go now to make it big in opera. >> there is a choice of 10 different classical concerts to see every night of the week. so, a a performer, the education side of that, like the learning that i get from seeing these amazing perform applications every night is huge. >> this is the doutsche orchestra, one of scenario full-time o straz. there are three full-time opinion rasmussen. if berlin has caught up to new york, paris and london as a

global music capitol, it's largely because of money. ♪ public subsidies keep the classical music scene in berlin and the rest of germany flourishing when many countries in europe have slashed spending in the name of aust aur austeri there is as quirk of history. it was divided in the cold ward with east and west germany out spending the other on concert halls and orchestras. >> when germany was unified in 1990, the city was unified as well, and all of the sudden, there was basically two or sometimes even three if you look at the opera houses of everything. >> this woman's company promotes the careers of young artists who come to berlin. she says if the ideal place --

it's the ideal place for them to grow as musicians. >> you have to study. you have the higher education. you have the academies of orchestras and the possibility to still find comparatively cheap space to live if you compare to london, for example, paris or new york. ♪ raich henfinlon is hoping for a break through. the german capital is what was said of new york. if you can make it here, you can probably make it anywhere. nick spicer, al jazeera, berlin. >> beautiful. >> that's about it from this particular news hour and for me, felicity barr please don't go too far away from your compute or television screen. i will have more of today's news in a couple of minutes. bye-bye.

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>> a special one hour look at global attacks on free press. monday 9:00 eastern. on al jazeera america. >> today on "talk to al jazeera" jazeera," norman lear , political activist and war veteran. >> who knows, god could be a woman, a president who would help us look in the mirror and see ourselves honestly. >> he is the man behind the iconic is i sit-coms of the 1970s