>> if you want free press in the new democracy let the journalists live. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello, a very warm welcome to the news hour. i'm in doha coming up for you in the next 60 minutes, palestinians want israel prosecuted for alleged war crimes, and have now applied to join the international criminal court. and an effort is underway to save hundreds of migrants who have been abandoned at sea. door-to-door house-to-house peshmerga fighters confront isil

fighters in northern iraq. and new research shows that most cancers are down to bad lack. ♪ it's a move that has infuriated the israelis but the palestinians have applied to join the international criminal court. kristen saloomey joins us live from the united nations where the palestinians formally handed in their application to the international criminal court. the request for membership has been made kristin as we were expecting. what happens next? well typically there is a 60-day waiting period before a state can enjoy all of the privileges of membership but this case is anything but typical. a spokesperson for the secretary general released a statement saying that the u.n. is now

considering the documents and the appropriate next steps. the palestinians have argued that the application be retroactive, that is any alleged crimes going back to the start of the court could go back to that period. the palestinians specifically would like to consider settlement activity as well as the most cent israeli incursion in gaza over the summer which resulted in about 2,000 civilians being killed. you have israel and the united states opposing this move. they are saying this is going to be counterproductive for negotiations that will still need to take place in order for

two states to live side by side. but the palestinian ambassador to the united nations said that they owed it to the palestinians to take this next step. >> it is an option that we are seeking in order to seek justice for all of the victims that have been killed by israel's occupying power. the last group of them. the more than -- more than 500 children in gaza last summer more than 3,000 children injured, and thousand more of civilians killed and injured. just this is -- this is only just to mention one example. of course we all know that ak core -- according to the rome statute, settlement is a war crime, and therefore, we will be seeking justice through this

stipulation in the roam statute. and other cases will be referred to the icc as our leadership see fit as we move forward. meaning, that we reserve our right for retroactivity about crimes committed by israel. >> reporter: now by joining the international criminal court the palestinians also open themselves up to a criminal investigation. the palestinian ambassador acknowledged that possibility, and said they were not afraid of that scrutiny. miriam. >> thanks so much, kristen saloomey with all of the developments there from the united states in new york. earlier on i spoke to a professor about obstacles to launching criminal investigations with the icc.

>> i think the only available option for the secretary general of the united nations is to approve palestine's accession so their rome statute, which established the international criminal court and as was mentioned i would expect -- i don't see any reason why anything other than once the 60-day waiting period has passed that the rome statute, in the international criminal court can begin formal investigations into the situation in palestine. >> but once that 60-day waiting period is over, there could be obstacles to starting those investigations could there not? it could be stopped. >> the only formal obstacle as a matter of law, which is available, would be that the security council of the united nations has the power to adopt the resolution deferring any investigations. this is a power that the security council has never used

up to point in. i can't imagine that you could find a consensus to adopt such a resolution, and that would take -- that would last for a period of 12 months. other than that i don't see what other obstacles are in the way of the court. >> perhaps political obstacles because if alleged war crime charges proceed against israel certainly the palestinian u.n. ambassador indicated they would be seeking retroactive investigations. that opens up the palestinians to scrutiny as well. >> yes, and i don't see any problem -- i think if a criminal court is to operate and operate fairly, then it needs to be investigating all parties to any conflict. it's not acceptable simply to investigate one side and not the other. obviously in the case of israel and palestine, i think it's fairly clear that the conflict is driven by israel's occupation

of palestinian territory. this occupation is characterized on the one hand by the -- the physical -- direct physical violence of operations like we see in gaza which are wide-spread civilian casualties and so on. but on the other hand in the west bank in particular the occupation is characterized by the israel settlement project. so i think -- well of course the court can investigate, and should investigate allegations made against palestinians. the vast majority of the crimes as noted by human rights watch and amnesty international as well as various u.n. committees of inquiry over the years is that the lion's share of alleged criminality is definitely perpetrated on behalf of israelis. the european border gourd

has accidentfied a ship abandoned by its crew. simon mcgregor-wood has more. >> reporter: the italian coast guard boarded the ship overnight. the ship normally carried livestock. it was drifting miles off of the italian coast with around 450 migrants on board. one migrant used the ship's radio to tell coast guards there was no crew and no one steering the ship. it is now being towed to the coast by icelandic vessel. on wednesday the blue sky m was

brought into the port. most on board also came from syria, and suffering hypothermia and frostbite. the use of much larger cargo vessels appears to be a new tactic by human traffickers. >> it's possible they have discovered a new method of purchasing derelict or old crafts that are seaworthy for maybe one last voyage and then reporting that the crew have abandoned ship. they have also reported that there is violence on board and created an emergency situation. that's what we hear but it's too soon to judge how much this is going to be the new tactic. >> reporter: it's a new challenge for frontex. the sheer scale of the problem is overwhelming. 170,000 migrants reached europe in 2014.

so far 2015 promises even greater numbers. simon mentioned this is the second freighter now carrying hundreds of migrant toss be abab donned this week. at 73 meters long it was found without a crew in rough waters in the sea. it is much bigger than the little boats we're used to seeing. the ship which normally carries livestock, has around 450 people on board. the smugglers fetch around $6,000 per head. and that makes the ship overall worth $2.4 million. what can you tell us about the developments and the condition of the migrants on board? >> yeah, well it looks so far as we can tell that it has all gone as smoothly as they could

have hoped from the point in time when the boat managed to get a line on to the cargo ship and started to tow it into much calmer waters. as far as we can tell it has gone as well as we could have hoped. this port has been chosen specifically. it is an up-turned u right at the bottom of italy. and it is a much quieter place. and the cargo ship that all of the refugees are on has lost power and can't steer itself. so they need to bring it somewhere where it is flat and calm. the coast guard says they brought forward the time they believe they are going to bring the ship in to about 9:00. that's an hour and three quarters from now. it will come over there. the refugees will get off. there are medical staff here already arriving. they have had food and water,

and we don't think anybody's life is in immediate danger. and we're told they will be put into buses and taken to centers where they will be given someplace warm and dry to figure out what they are going to do next. so this isn't a story of enormous human drama, since the boat has been rescued. it's more about this extraordinary new strategy, that these traffickers appear to have adopted, but simply loading these enormous ships full of refugees, and floating them out into the see and leaving them there for somebody to sort out. and that's a massive political headache as well as being a security certain. >> exactly. we keep talking about the fact that this is the second ship to be abandoned with hundreds of migrants on board, lawrence. you were talking about this change in tactic by people smugglers, what are you hearing

from authorities there? is there much confidence in their capability to be able to deal with this? >> they haven't really wanted to say very much about this today, and i'm not surprised, and i think they can't possibly have been expected to think that traffickers might start to do this sort of thing. from the trafficker point of view it makes ideal commercial sense, because most people wouldn't want to get on a dingy in the middle of january. they can say, look if you give us enough money, we can put you on a big boat that won't sink and somebody will come rescue you. and that's attractive to people from iraq and syria, who are desperate to get out. but it makes the job of organizations like frontex, because they have also now start to imagining are we going to

start having talks with turkey about policing cargo ports? if you are going to put a thousand refugees on a cargo ship, somebody is presumably going to see you do it aren't they? and either people in places where these cargo ships are left from have all been paid off and are turning a blind eye or nobody knows what is going on. so since there have now been two of these incidents in four days it's starts to look like a pattern. and they are going to have to figure out how to police that at stop it at its source because they can't keep thinking that these cargo ships floating without power -- they are all lost at sea, it's too much for them. and if they don't pick these ships up as we saw from the first one, it was only five miles from crashing on the

rocks. >> thank you lawrence. now in overhead lines, kurdish peshmerga groups have been engaged in house-to-house fighting with isil fighters southwest of the iraqi kurdish capitol of erbil. >> reporter: heavy fighting at the village, 80 kilometers outside of erbil, the capitol of the kurdish region. it's one of a few villages peshmerga fighters recently recaptured from isil. and as the fighting intensifies, the peshmerga zero in on one of the houses. [ gunfire ] >> translator: there are some isil fighterers behind in that house. they have remained behind after the others retreated. >> reporter: more kurdish fighters move closer to the house. they spray it with bullets.

[ gunfire ] >> reporter: there is nothing to confirm their bullets have hit their targets, so some of them move a bit closer. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: it's a mistake. bullets coming from the house. one of the peshmerga fighters has been shot. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: he is dead. his colleagues carry his body away. one of them weeps over the body. in another part of the village, a huge explosion rips through the village. it's a car bomb targeting the peshmerga. more peshmerga reinforcements arrive as panic grows. the kurdish forces decide it's time to bring the fighting to an end. rocket-propelled grenades are their weapons of choice. [ explosion ] >> reporter: detecting no

movement inside, they set what remains of the house on fire. and for now, the village is back in peshmerga hands. >> translator: this is a very important importantvillage, as it is on the bane js to the river. it means we can stop isil soup plies from this direction. >> reporter: these men know too well that it is skirmishes like this one that will eventually decide the war. they may have made modest gains against isil in recent days but they are not underestimating their opponents. they say they will have to stop isil from advancing any further or they will enter major towns in the kurdish region. plenty more still to come for you on the al jazeera news hour including messages of support and solidarity from swedes.

kenya's high court suspends part of a controversial new security law. and this man is set to leave his club at the end of the season. ♪ in yemen the death toll from a suicide tack on a houthi celebration on wednesday has risen to 37. a group of houthi rebels were preparing to commemorate the proif it's birthday when the blast happened. a mass gathering in the capitol of sana'a on saturday was planned to mark the proif it's birthday. but it's more than simply a reggious event. >> reporter: this scene is rare in sana'a but these posters reflect the new reality in yemen. the streets of the capitol have hundreds of posters and signs, showing versus from the mull limb holy book and praising

profit mohammed's birthday. all put up by shia houthis. >> translator: the birth of the profit is the best event that happened in history. >> translator: it's a duty for all muslims to celebrate. this is the least we are can do for him. >> reporter: there are threats too. previous attacks on similar houthi gatherings elsewhere have killed dozens of people. it has maximized security and is going ahead with plans to hold large celebrations. for the first time ever the houthis feel free to decorate the streets of the capitol with religious posters, signs, and flags to celebrate the birth of profit mohammed. but for many year it's a testament to the houthi's increasing political influence and military power. since july the fighters swept

through nine provinces including the capitol. they met little or no resistance. thanks to shifting alliances and the turmoil that followed the 2011 protest which toppled the president. now members of the group are in key positions. and the group wants his presence strongly felt. it's fighters forced some students to attend the ceremonies. analysts suggest that the houthis want to send multiple messages. >> translator: it's normal to celebrate religious occasions, but the houthi movement wants to exploit it politically. they are imposing their agenda by the use of force, this could lead to sectarian tensions. >> reporter: and some say spending almost half a million dollars from the state's coffers for celebrations is an

exaggeration. fighting broke out between riot police and protesters in the bahrain capitol. police used tear gas to disburse the protesters. >> reporter: saudi arabia is reporting that the king is breathing through a tube in the hospital. he has been in the hospital since wednesday. it's believed he is suffering from a lung infection. egyptian security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters killing one person. there were also protests in alexandria and giza south of cairo. they are angry about the military coup that removed president morsi from power in 2 '2013. the family of peter greste is calling on egypt's government

to deport him through presidential decree. on thursday an appeals court in cairo ordered a retrial that could begin within month. >> i think it's a positive step. it's -- the -- the decision by the court of cassation acknowledges that the first trial was -- was flawed and it's a step towards seeking justice for peter. of course there's always a -- there's an initial air of disappointment, because there was a lot of rumor running around at the time that -- that they may have been released but, really when you -- your loved one is locked up in prison and there is any kind of opportunity that they -- that they may be released and it is dashed, it is an initial shock, but once we have had time to digest the decision and take stock in it, we think it is a

positive step because it does acknowledge the first trial was flawed, and now peter becomes an accused person. he is still nenth, so it allows the president to step in and we'll be seeking application to be peter brought back to australia under the decree. the high court in kenyan has suspended part of a controversial security bill. >> reporter: jamal says he plans to leave nairobi soon and take his son and daughter to one of the refugee camps near the kenyan border with somalia. he feels the country's knew security laws make him an easy

target for police. >> translator: we are afraid of these new laws. we can easily be arrested if police suspect you are a terrorist. we are afraid. if i'm arrested who will look after my children? >> reporter: the high court has suspended parts of the anti-terrorism law. the judge said objections raised by the opposition over the laws being unconstitutional should be investigated. the kenyan government say that officials need more powers to fight what they kalas lammist fighters. the group al-shabab has claimed responsibility for most attacks. they think some of the fighters may be operating near the capitol. over the years a number of people have been arrested for different reasons, especially when a terror incident occurred. some families feel the new security laws will make things

worst for them. it requires that journalists obtain police permission before publishing stories on attacks. they also give security and intelligence agencies the right to detain suspects for up to one year. some feel this gives security forces too much power, and violates people's constitutional rights in the name of fighting terror. >> the way the laws are being presented right now, is an attempt to give government and authority upper hand to actually decide when they feel someone has infriged. so we're saying let us not use any reason not terrorism, not anything to deny people their foreign minister rights. indeed if there's a problem yes, people should be arraigned, but it should be done within the confines of the constitution. >> out of 98 sectionings of the act, only 8 have been suspended. the truth of the matter is this

act remains in tact in fighting terrorism. >> reporter: a three-judge bench will eventually hear the matter. so there is still a chance the controversial clauses, the opposition thinks are unconstitutional may not have gone away. still ahead for you on the news hour -- uproar in india over a police security drill with targets dressed up as muslim fighters. >> i'm in malaysia where thousands of people are struggling to rebuild their homes after the worst floods in decades. >> and in sport, find out who came up on top in abu dhabi.

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giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. [[vo]] an america tonight in-depth series. >>my first column was, “hey, where are the weed-smoking moms at?” [[vo]] one year legal. >>i'd try chem 4, alien dog, and girl scout cookies. [[vo]] and it's become big business. >>the state of colorado is profiting immensely off of this. [[vo]] now, we cut through the smoke and find out what's really going on. >>we can show marijuana is leaving colorado. [[vo]] the highs and lows of a year on pot. ♪ >> welcome back. you are watching the al jazeera news hour. let's take you through the top stories. the palestinian ambassador to

the u.n. has submitted an application for the state of palestine to join the icc and hopes to be a member within 60 days. the move paves the way for israel to be investigated in alleged war crimes. a cargo ship off of the southern italian coast is being towed to shore after its captain and crew abandoned hundreds of migrants on board. it's the second ship set adrift by smugglers off of the coast of italy this week. and kurdish peshmerga groups have been engaged in house-to-house fighting battles with isil fighters. all right. let's return to our top story, the palestinian bid to join the international criminal court because i'm now joined by israeli political commentator

from west jerusalem. thank you for speaking to us. what can you tell us about public reaction there to palestinian membership to the international criminal court? >> well israeli now is -- the government is very -- is very upset because of this unilateral step. israel said that -- that the palestine -- is not an independent state yet. so they don't have the right to go to icc right now, and israel expect that they -- they the icc will reject the application of the palestinians first -- first of all, and secondly this unilateral step is -- according to -- according to israel is a kind of violation of the osla agreement. so we're in a very sensitive

situation right now. as you know israel is in election in this time. and there maybe -- the prime minister of israel benjamin netenyahu, will decide to freeze right now -- to freeze the budget that pass to the palestinians. >> right. so you are expecting a significant financial backlash against the pa as a result of this which i guess many people were already expecting, because abbas had been warned by the israelis and americans not to make this bid. >> well -- well you are right. israel -- israel wants the america will help -- will help reverse with the sanctions -- to put sanctions on the palestinians if they decide finally to go to the icc, and you know -- as you know as i

mentioned before israel is now -- now is in election and this -- this step -- this unilateral step of the palestinians -- >> it is a unilateral step -- [ overlapping speakers ] >> just to be here you describe it as a unilateral step but let's be honest about this there's no peace process going on no dialogue no diplomacy between the israelis and the palestinians, the palestinians had absolutely nothing to lose by making this bid, really, did they? >> well the palestinians -- you are right. you are right. the israeli government doesn't want to promote the peace process from one side. but from the other side the people of israel want the pal stin -- want the palestinians -- most of the people in israel say that if -- if the palestinians go to the icc, israel has a good

reason to go to this -- to this icc as well after the palestinians put rockets -- send rockets from -- from gaza strip to israel. >> of course, the palestinians are well aware of the fact that any investigation could open them up to scrutiny as well, and how much concern is there about investigations regarding settlements? because you have physical acts of violence which could be investigated, but then there's also the issue of occupation of settlements that could potentially be pursued by icc prosecutors, right? >> yes, so maybe -- i -- i agreement with you that the settlement is a kind of violation of the international law. we don't have any debate around this. but if you want to solve the problem, you must sit on the table and not take unilateral

step to direct negotiation, and if -- we don't have -- the israeli people want to -- to -- most of them yeah most of the israeli people want to have this direct negotiation with the palestinians and it's not a quarrel, so they are very upset to see the palestinian goes to the icc, as i told you before, we are in the election right now. people from the right-wing and from the left wing doesn't want the peace process will be promoting. and this step of the palestinians make this side blaming the prime minister of israel in the freezing of the -- of the negotiations. >> right. well, thank you very much -- >> this is a very big issue. >> yes very interesting to take your take on the public and

political reaction to palestinian icc membershipest membershipest -- membership. peshmerga force say they are investigating an attack on yazidis on the border. it is believed they were looking for some of the women abducted in august. but the peshmerga say they weren't informed about plans to attack the town. >> reporter: around 20 armed yazidis stormed this arab town on wednesday, it caused panic. several men were killed and women and girls were taken away. many escaped to safety. but the raid has been conducted. >> translator: we found out that three yazidis girls were abducted after some yazidis youths decided to storm the village and free the girls

without telling us. we condemn the attack. >> translator: they came and arrested my husband, the mayor of the village. look at my children. we have done nothing wrong. >> reporter: it is believed the attack was an attempt to free yazidis women and girls who had been abducted by isil forces. since august thousands have been taken from their home region. amnesty international say the girls, some as young as ten have been raped, forced into sex slavery and used as a way to temp fighters to the isil cause. but it was that assault on the yazidis community that prompted the u.s. and other allies forces to join the fight against isil in september. an yazidis fighters have also since joined the battle teaming up with peshmerga forces in the northwest. together they have pushed isil fighters out of the area.

but this attack has exposed cracks in their joint campaign. >> translator: we will make sure we find out who the perpetrators are, and take them to the court, because we condemn what they did. >> it has also exposed tensions in the region. since being chased out, they say they have been unser siege and domination by the kurdish forces. >> translator: the peshmerga is putting pressure on us and the entire area is under siege. they have arrested our men without any reason. >> reporter: but in this case both peshmerga and yazidis commanders say they are against the attack. they realize to fight a faux like isil they cannot risk fighting alone. they need to act together. a report out today reveals that 2014 has been the third-most deadliest year for iraqi civilians since the war

began. let's take a closer look at those who paid the highest price in this conflict. over 17,000 civilians have been killed in iraq in 2014. the bloodshed peaked in june when isil launched a major offensive to take iraq's second largest city mosul. this is roughly double the number of civilian deaths in 2013, which was roughly double the number in 2012. the most intense period for civilian deaths was at the war's very beginning when nearly 7,000 were killed. from 2010 to 2012 there was a dip in civilian casualties but a rise came after the withdrawal of u.s. trips at the end of 2011. and what many saw as sectarian tensions. earlier i spoke to the senior fellow at the london cool f school of economics. he offered an explanation as to the rise of numbers being killed in iraq. >> the number is high but i

don't think it's accurate. i think the number is even higher than what was published. we don't know up until now how many people isil have massacred in tikrit in mosul, in anbar, because they have carried out many massacres there. the government figures are not accurate. mr. maliki first told us that -- in one of the military bases, there were 167 casualties, then they said they were 1,700, and now the number is higher. then there are missing figures, or not published. sectarian and -- and -- and violence has -- was the result of the invasion in 2003 and nobody was publishing any real figures about it. even the americans were denying these figures. in 2007 for example landset,

published a figure while the united states of america published a figure in 2010, saying the total number is 30,000 and you can see the difference. but isil was the main reason for the increase, or the occupation of isil of mosul was the main region for the increase of the number. because they are killing people haphazardly, killing people in masses and putting them in one grave. the remains of at least three victims of the airasia plane crash have been returned to their families. indonesian authorities and the ceo of airasia were at the funerals. the search is being hampered by poor weather. there's controversy in india after police carried out mock security exercises against people posing as muslim

fighters. faiz jamil reports from new delhi. >> reporter: this is one of the videos that is causing controversy, men wearing muslim skull caps being held down by police in what they say is a security exercise. opposition political parties and muslim groups have condemned the videos. >> if you think that terrorists will come to this country wearing skullcaps then you are making a fool of yourself. >> reporter: he says this portrayal of muslims is not surprising. >> it's a social mind set which has to be changed. and the government had to work the immediate yoo has to work and the muslims community have to work in a way that this mind set changes. >> reporter: the issue is specialsly sensitive in this state where riots in 2002 lead

to a thousand deaths most of them muslim. after the first video surfaced this week the state's chief minister told the local media that it's wrong to link religion and terrorism: but state officials and police have not commented since the second similar video came out on friday. a third video surfaced on friday again, depicting men we aring muslim skull craps. critics say this is becoming institutionalized not just in one area but across the country. hundreds of people have gathered in sweden to support the muslim community there after a third arson attack on a mosque within the last week. the attacks come at a time of heightened debate over race and immigration in the country. jonah hull reports.

>> reporter: no sign remains of the arson tack on new year's day at this mosque. the message scrawled on the front door at 4:00 am that read go home muslim scum replaced by hundreds of messages of solidarity from non-muslims in the local community. it was the third such attack in a week after more than a dozen last year. this one on christmas day in the southwest of sweden injured five muslim worshippers. four days later, further south, another mosque targeted by suspected arsonists. local support reflects a society shocked by signs of religious intolerance and intensified debate about immigration. >> i don't know what to say, really. people are so rude these days. i can't -- i don't know. how can you do something like that? i always consider like we not you, you, and you. it's just we you know?

muslim somali you are all from the same. >> everybody can believe in everything and anything. it doesn't matter where you come from. it doesn't matter. >> reporter: sweden takes in the largest number of refugees and asylum seekers per capita of any country in the european union. with 60% approval of government policy on immigration. but the far right sweden democrats did pretty well in september's election. they want immigration cut by a full 90%, and their support is growing. mosque authorities told us they were afraid that the relatively harmless attacks so far would get worse. >> translator: the members of the community are very sad, and at the same time very worried. it's not only what has happened here, but also all of the

incidents in the whole country. >> reporter: the government says the attacks aren't representative of the country, but do represent what is for the moment a very small minority. still ahead for you this hour a new study says that most cancers are caused by bad luck not bad judgment. >> reporter: and in sport south africa's star reaches a new feet. farah will have the details. ♪

♪ welcome back.

malaysia's government is estimating that the cost of rebuilding after the deadly flood disaster could climb into hundreds of millions of dollars. as our correspondent reports thousands of people are still homeless. >> reporter: this woman has been wading through the sludge for hours, trying to salvage anything she can. her home is buried in mud, and her father is struggling to dig through it. her neighborhood was one of the worst hit when flood waters gushed through malaysia's northeast last week. her family, escaped to an evacuation center but nothing could prepare them for their return home. >> translator: i'm worried because i am afraid my family won't be able to sleep comfortably like before or eat as much as before because we have to spending lots of money to fix everything.

>> reporter: the aftermath of the floods is as devastating as the disaster. people in the neighborhood have been cleaning up for the past three days but as you can see, it has made little difference with no running water or electricity, it could be weeks before they can live in their homes again. assessing the damage is still difficult for the government. the areas affected are extensive, and basic infrastructure, like power lines and roads have been destroyed. officials say rehabilitation could run into millions of dollars. >> getting better is challenge, because it's a breakdown in communications no electricity in some parts. we're now at 70% electricity is available to 70%. >> reporter: but some critical institutions like this hospital are racing to reopen their

doors. staff here continue to look after around 400 patients even when they were surrounded by a sea of water. >> we are running about 50% capacity, most of the staff could not come because either their house is flooded or the road leading to the hospital are flooded. >> reporter: for families like this recovery will be painstaking and slow. they already had very little now they are left with nothing. farah is here with the sport. mare imthank you so much. the captain has announced he will be leaving the club. the 34-year-old made his liverpool debut in 1998 and said he will not move to another english club. he has been linked with a move to the united states.

so let's take a look at his career. he made his first team debut back in 1998 age 18 at the time since then he has gone on to make 695 appearances and scored 184 goals. he has won ten trophies the highlight being the champions league in 2005. just three weeks before the start of the africa cup of nations, the host have sacked their coach. he has departed after two years in charge. it comes after they lost two friendlies in portugal last week. ecuadoral guinea stepped up after morocco bowed out over fears of ebola. this man is serving a three and a half-year sentence since

friday. they hope to give him a job in their [ inaudible ] department. dale stain is now south africa's second highest ever test wicket taker. richard par reports. >> reporter: trailing 1-0, the west indies lost the toss. the host star removed [ inaudible ] early on. devin smith was three runs short of a half century, when we felt a [ inaudible ]. he burst into tears in the supermarket when he heard about his call-up. leon johnson did manage to pass 50 at nulands. but not much further. he went for 54 when he was bowled lbw. [ cheers ] >> reporter: that would be the second of his 3 wickets in the

day. the west indies were 162 when their fourth wicket fell. it appeared that [ inaudible ] fight be the one player that would kick on for the tourists. but he was [ inaudible ] by staying on 54. [ inaudible ] south africa's second-highest test wicket taker with 391. it's the first time in this series that the u.s. indies have lasted a full day batting. later on new zealand faced sri lanka in a second test in wellington. they won the first test and are coming off of their most successful year in test cricket in which they won five tests. [ inaudible ] has lost his first competitive tennis match since returning from appendix surgery.

the scott was simply too strong for his spanish opponent cruising through the first set 6-2. the second set saw no resistance. his last competitive tennis match was back in basil in october. murray will now face djokovic in the final. djokovic won nine consecutive games on a way to his straight set victim in just 57 minutes. nba now the chicago bulls beat the denver nuggets as they now sit fourth in the eastern conference. loose goods news for minnesota fans though. the timberwolves came up sort against sacramento.

minnesota did come close though. they cut a 14-point deficit. final 110 to 107 for the kings. the washington capitals beat the chicago blackhawks in the traditional nhl winter classic. troy brouwer scored a power play goal to give the capitals a 3-2 win over the blackhawks. there's much more sport on our website. for all of the latest check out our website at aljazeera.com/sport. that's it for me for now. >> all right. thank you. well now a new study says many cancers could be the result of bad luck rather than poor lifestyle choices. our science and technology editor has more. as with all living things our cells naturally divide and replace themselves with copies of the original cells, some

tissue types divide more often, and sometimes when a mistake or mutation occurs the cells become cancerous. some tissue types are more likely to become conferous, while others like the cells of our heart, only become cancerous, very rarely. why this happens is not clear. so scientists at johns hopkins university looked another 31 different tissue types notably not breast or prostate cells. in essential cell division process is like roulette the more frequently the tissue is divided, the more likely they were to develop cancer. what then of the other nine types of tissue? these showed an unexpectedly high rate of cancer. the result researchers believe are environmental or inherited factors. these include lung cancer skin cancer, which is associated with exposure to the sun. the researchers say what emerges

is that you can reduce your risk of getting some cancers through lifestyle factors like not smoking or eating a healthy diet, but for other cancers, it's a case of bad luck. >> they are linked with the speed of the replication of cells with the probability of getting cancer. so this is a measured piece of work which does not negate the huge scientific evidence we have that links environmental and lifestyle factors. we still have to put our -- our efforts to prevent smoking, avoid heavy drinking. avoid obesity, promoting a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle, because this is what we can do. we can't change the biology, but we can change how it operates against the environment. that's it for me but do stay with us here on al jazeera, another full bulletin of news is

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the palestinian ambassador to the underhands over papers to join the international criminal court. ♪ hello, there, you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up a second cargo ship with hundreds of migrants on board is towed to italy after being abandoned by its crew. yazidis fighters attack an iraqi village trying to rescue women and girls kidnapped months ago by isil. cities across china start releasing real time air quality