feels like 12 degrees in philadelphia even though snow slowly tapers off. dell? >> rebecca thank you very much. you are watching al jazeera america. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello and welcome to the news hour. i'm in doha with the top stories on al jazeera. a gun and bomb attack in libya's capitol at a hotel popular with foreigners and diplomats. the u.s. president is in saudi arabia to meet the new king and talk about the conflict and challenges on his doorstep. after protests over the mysterious death of a prosecutor the president of

argentina calls for the scrapping of its spy agency. and they were sacked from nigeria's army for refusing to fight boko haram, now these former solders say they are fighting for justice. ♪ hello, a gun and bomb attack at a major hotel in libya's capitol has left at least 11 people dead. gunmen stormed the hotel in tripoli which is used by diplomats and foreign workers. there was a siege lasting several hours. victoria reports. >> reporter: the roads around the hotel have been sealed off by the police and the army. some guests run outside the hotel, that's when a car bomb exploded in the parking lot. and after a gun battle the attackers detonated their explosives inside the hotel. >> this was a very well coordinated attack on one of

the -- the most popular hotels in the city a hotel which housed a number of embassies up until last summer during a militia battle in the city. it is also very popular with foreign dignitaries and business people visiting tripoli. >> reporter: a group linked to islamic state of iraq and the levant has claimed responsibility for the attack. the hotel in the libyan hotel is popular with government officials and foreign diplomats. a spokesman said we have proceeded to the immediate evacuation: there have been violence and rivalries among militias since the 2011 uprising that toppled

moammar gadhafi. libya is now under the control of two armed groups. in july foreign airlines stopped flying to libya. commercial flights from libya to europe resumed on saturday but the attack on this luxury hotel is a reminder that the situation on the ground is dangerous. in yemen, the presidential chief of staff has been released by houthi fighters. he was kidnapped earlier this month, and this was followed by houthi fighters expanding their control over the capitol. let's talk to hashem who has covered yemen expensively to tell us what does this mean? what kind of message are the houthis sending out with this release? >> it could be a sign of things improving, and that the houthis are willing to offer some sort

of concessions to pave the way for a new political deal. because in the past the president insists he is only willing to move forward if the houthis release his chief of staff. negotiations are underway, but most of the minister of the government are under house arrest. if the houthis decide to release those, to leave those ministers to move freely that could be a sign that we might see some progress in the political scene. >> what can you tell us about the negotiations? how are they progressing? >> well, the united nations envoy is trying to broker a deal. the houthis are in favor of a presidential council lead by hadi but they want the vice president to be a houthi and they want to have a bigger say in running oil companies. it's a proposal that has been

rejected by the president and also there's the crucial meeting that can taking place by the coalition of seven political factions lead by the sunni party. that party is extremely powerful in the southern part of the country. whatever decision they come up with could be extremely crucial. >> what kind of position is hadi in at this point? is he able to make concessions? does he want to make concessions. >> hadi has absolutely no other alternative in yemen. he has to wait and see what his supporters can do. if they can force the houthis to give some major concessions particularly the fighters pulling out of the capitol, he might stage a comeback where we see hadi uniting yemeneze.

if the houthis insist on setting up their own poll -- political option then he will have no other choice but to leave. alberto nuzman was found shot in the head just hours before he was supposed to give kru crucial testimony. the president has called to dissolve the spy agency. >> reporter: after more than a week of controversy and protests argentina's president has announced a major shakeup. >> translator: i have taken the decision for the secretary to be dissolved and for a federal agency of intelligence to be created who will lead by a

general director and sub director. they are appointed by the executive, but require the agreement of the senate to be able to function. >> reporter: the prosecutor was found dead in his apartment last week a day before he was supposed to testify at an inquiry into the 1994 bombing of a jewish center. he accused the president of involvement in a coverup. some say the spy agency operates with too much autonomy and has a murky history. >> translator: no one is going to blackmail me. no one is going to intimidate me. i am not afraid of them. they can say what they like. make the accusations that they want to. let the judges call me. may the prosecutors denounce me.

it doesn't bother me. but they are not going to move me, not one centimeter from what i have always thought. >> reporter: police are continuing their investigation into the death of the prosecutor and the bill to revamp the spy agency will be sent to congress. faiz jamil, al jazeera. kurdish forces say they are now in full control of the syrian border town of kobani after driving isil forces out. kurdish troops celebrated their victory after four months of fighting. and some residences have decided to return. tens of thousands fled in september. that's after isil launched an offensive, and seized control of most of kobani. you are with the al jazeera news hour. and here is what is coming up. >> polio in the end game 95% reduction in measles.

>> a global partnership appeal for more donors. it doesn't matter if you have 4 feet millions of americans are snowed in. and australia has the chance to win their first asian cup title after clenching a spot in the final against south korea. ♪ but first, iraq's transport minister says the shots fired at a plane landing at a bagdad international airport were accidental. the shots are said to have come from an iraqi army training camp in the area during a live fire exercise. six foreign airlines have suspended their flights to bagdad after a jet was hit on monday. well this is a look at the airport. it's a small airport with only 20 airlines using it. and that number has now been reduced to 14 after airlines

from other countries suspended their flights. >> reporter: a senior member of the iraqi parliamentary security committee says they have been told by iraqi officials that the gunfire was the result of live fire exercises by iraqi security forces in the complex around the airport. now this is a huge complex, and it includes training for security forces and others but the minister's explanation, of course raises more questions than it actually answers, and a lot of the arlines want those questions answered before they decide to fly back in. security has improved around dog, and it is thought to have been secure around the airport compared to a few months ago. the four iraqi security forces moved in with shia militias to dispel parts of isil that were around the airport and the perimeters of bagdad. security officials and analysts say this doesn't appear to be a

major threat but it certainly is very worrying to airlines passengers businesses that operate out of here and the iraqi security officials and go as well. well the u.s. president barack obama has now arrived in saudi arabia to meet the new king salman bin abdulaziz al-saud. obama cut short his visit to india, so he can pay his respects to the saudi royal family. now as the new king begins his reign, saudi arabia is facing several challenges. armed groups posing a threat along the kingdom's eastern border with iraq. an attack earlier this month left three border guards dead. and isil formally announced its desire to conquer saudi arabia. saudi arabia has been spending millions training rebels to try

to overthrow president bashar al-assad. and then there's yemen with the rise of the shia houthi rebels that has lead to the fall of the government and regional rival iran is suspected of backing the houthis in yemen. that has played out not just in yemen, but also syria, lebanon, iraq as well as bahrain. let's seek to edward a professor of gulf and arabian peninsula affairs at the george washington university. so a lot for saudi arabia to be dealing with at this point, what is the reodd looking to get out of obama's visit? >> well i think this is a critical and a very nice gesture on the part of the president. to go to saudi arabia which has been an ally for decades, and underscores the very close relationship we have had and i suspect will continue to have over the years.

are there problems? yes. and you discussed a new in the region particularly that do trouble the saudis a great deal. and it's in her to areas that saudi arabia and the united states i think will be working closely together particularly with the daesh or isil threat. >> do you salman departing on some of the policies of his brother? >> no i think you'll see great continuity in policy. one of the often forgotten attributes of saudi arabia and the family is it really is a dynasty. the king always is powerful always is the number 1 official no doubt about that but the kings have always operated with a consensus within the family and there clearly has been consensus in the family about the collection of crown princes now twice in recent years, and with the announcement, really

within two hours, as i recollect of salman becoming king and not just the new crown prince but the second deputy that puts in line for power someone of the next generation. so i think what you see happening is a very natural transition and i think you will see a great deal of continuity. >> but on a personal relationship how would you describe it between president obama, and king salman. you mentioned the deputy prince he has a long working history with the united states. how do you see the personal relationship between king salman and obama? >> well i think it will be a good one. i know king salman from days they was posted in the capitol, worked very closely with him on a number of different issues. i found him very compassionate, a very solid thinker, very open

to discussions. i think you are going -- the president is going to find he has a very good partner in king salman. >> all right. thank you very much for joining us from washington, d.c. now an army convoy has been ambushed in south sudan. no one has claimed responsibility but the killings are set to be similar to operations that have been carried out in the area by the lord's resistance army. we're speaking to the military spokesperson, thanks for being with us on al jazeera. can you tell us whether you have heard of any claim of responsibility as of now? >> yes, [ inaudible ] on base [ inaudible ] of civilian convoy [ inaudible ] committed by nra.

[ inaudible ] appeal to the nra [ inaudible ] south sudan, more than ten years ago. >> so are you saying that there has been a claim of responsibility once again? >> there is no climb of responsibility. but definitely we are sure that [ inaudible ] of nra based. at the same time [ inaudible ]. the army group [ inaudible ]. [ inaudible ]

>> can you tell us more about the security now in the area that -- that's been deployed? >> forces of [ inaudible ] trying to locate the target. and the target in this case was a convoy of the commissioner of [ inaudible ], where there was only [ inaudible ] a woman and children and [ inaudible ]. >> okay. all right. colonel philip thank you for speaking to us on al jazeera. well israel has reportedly approved a plan to expand

illegal settlement of [ inaudible ] south of bethlehem on 120 hectors of palestinian land. palestinians in that area have been waging a legal battle against the incorporation, but there has been no court decision so far. a shortfall in pledged donations to rebuild gaza husband caused rebuilt homes to be suspended. the u.n. agency has received only 135 million of the $720 million required to rebuild. a spokesman says the situation in gaza is unacceptable. >> it means that the suffering of hundreds of thousands of

people will continue. and tens of thousands of families will not be paid anymore. it means also that the -- gaza is in a great place because of the disappointment the frustration, the anger is rising. every moment. and it is really very dangerous to everybody. right now though big pledge from the donors the international communities, the arab donors did not reach gaza. we have received money from some but what about the billions of dollars that had been pledged by the countries. we have to tell the truth to the people also and to shout to the international communities to tell them that what is going in gaza is unacceptable. we're in bad need for the first quarter of this year for

$100 million to continue at least the proper process that we started just a few months ago. in new york a travel ban has been lifted after a blizzard dumped less snow than forecast. >> reporter: new york's iconic spots covered and at times barely visible. used to the cold commuters tried to get a head start on monday. even the furry kind were prepared. all bracing the blizzard to get home and bunker down for the night. >> yeah i'm going home now. yes, i am. just came from work. they closed early, and going home. >> reporter: junior valdes though, won't be going anywhere. >> i'll be in my building for 36 hours straight. four-hour shifts at a time and two-hour breaks in between. >> reporter: by mid-afternoon, new york city was nearly dark.

and come early evening, time square has almost emptied. winter storm juneau new york's mayor warned should not be underestimated. >> best thing to do stay in doors, stay off of the roads and sidewalks, and this is something i want people to start acting on as quickly as possible. >> reporter: that advice though didn't reach everyone. and without snow chains there was little these drivers could do. strong winds whipping up nighttime flurries making life difficult for emergency services. millions will be waking to a sea of white. the u.s. government is saying it busted a russian spy ring in new york. it says the arrest is a provocation without any evidence. he is accused of attempting to recruit sources and gain access

to intelligence. two other russian officials have been flown back home because they were protected by their diplomatic status. russia has announced plans to increase spending levels to help the economy. this comes after standard & poors lowered russia's bond rating to junk status. >> reporter: and the bad news just keeps coming. >> translator: i don't see any actions of the government. everything they say and write remains on the page. i don't see anything being done to get life back to normal. >> reporter: the realization that it's going to get worse before it gets better. >> translator: i think it's going to continue for several years. we are going to fall further

behind. then we will try to crawl out of it, and that's going to take many years. >> reporter: downgrading the credit rating to junk will further battle the country's image. what are junk bonds? if an american investor purchase purchases $1 million of russian bonds back in june those bonds would be worth $262,000, that's a 74% loss in an investment made just six months ago. junk. thomas is a market strategist for a major russian bank. he says the hit on the country's credit status will have a damaging effect on economic growth. >> i think it's a very difficult situation, and there's the acceptance that russian growth this year will contract quite sharply indeed that's one of the main concerns of the credit ratings agencies. it's the fact that at the moment monetary policy is very

restricted. >> reporter: in his news conference the russian president was remarkably up debt about the months ahead. but putin's confidence is looking less convincing and the economic on slot on his country continues unabated. the makeup of the new greek government has been officially announced. syriza party leader alexis tsipras was sworn in on monday. greece's new finance minister will try to convince germany that restructuring its massive bailout is the only way to turn around the greek economy. who is he? a 35-year-old professor of economic theory at the university of athens. as an anti ah -- austerity

supporter, he is likely to try to change germany's mind. barnaby phillips brings up more. >> reporter: we have just see alexis tsipras heading to meet with the new cabinet. there are a range of political people as you would expect. the new economy minister and the finance minister you are talking about. these are old faces. the kinds of people who alexis tsipras can trust. but of course he also had to build a coalition. he didn't have quite enough to keep the government to himself. and he has given the defense ministry to the independent greeks who are very much to the

right ofsiry -- sir resa. and the defense minister is probably been given what we wants. and the economic team will get on with the very difficult task of negotiating with europe as you were talking about in your introduction there. >> thank you for that update. barnaby phillips reporting from athens. you are with the al jazeera news hour and still to come . . . what fidel castro has to say about restoring diplomatic relations with the united states. and coming up in sport, we'll tell you about another demolition at the australian open. this time on the women's tour. ♪

>> aljazeera america presents a break through television event borderland... >> are you tellin' me it's ok to just open the border, and let em' all run in? >> the teams live through the hardships that forced mira, omar and claudette into the desert. >> running away is not the answer... >> is a chance at a better life worth leaving loved ones behind? >> did omar get a chance to tell you goodbye before he left? >> which side of the fence are you on? >> sometimes immigration is the only alternative people have. borderland only on al jazeera america ♪ hello again, you are with the al jazeera news hour. the top stories. in libya at least 11 people have been killed in a gun and bomb siege at major hotel.

gunmen stormed the hotel in tripoli. yemen's presidential chief of staff has been released by houthi fighters. he was kidnapped days before the rebel group expanded their control of the capitol sana'a. iraq's minister of transport says the shots fired at a plane landing at a bagdad international airport were accidental. the shots were said to have come from an iraqi training camp in the area. let's get more on this story. six foreign airlines have suspended flights to the iraqi capitol since the incident. there have been fewer fighting. and some airlines flying between the gulf and europe have changed their routes to avoid flying over iraq. let's speak to a safety representative from the federal

aviation agency in the u.s. kyle so accidental or not as the iraqi government official has said how can airlines protect themselves from such incidents? >> well the easiest way is to avoid the area all together. most airlines basically as a collective group senior management will [ inaudible ] region where the [ inaudible ] and make a determination of what hot spots to avoid. >> is there a way that the airports can be protected and protect themselves? >> most airports are fairly well protected within the [ inaudible ] around the airport, and the airport has tremendous climb and decent performance, so if there is trouble expected the airplanes can climb rapidly. >> but is this --

>> oh i'm sorry. >> go on. >> it's a spiral high-performance climb to stay over the perimeter. that's a method most military uses in hostile regions. >> are these decisions meant to be taken individually by the airlines and the airports? or do they need sort of the civil aviation bodies to get involved at this point with the various conflict zones that we're seeing? >> i don't think this is a big deal. these were three or four bullets that struck the flight. >> but we did see the incident over ukraine as well. >> well that was different. that was a missile was that fired at the aircraft boeings generally can travel a short distance. they are generally not an issue if the airplane is over 500,000

feet. because the trajectory going such a far distance basically it's not really controllable and not meant to be [ inaudible ] distance like that. >> okay. kyle bailey thank you very much for speaking to us from the u.s. indonesia's armed forces are pulling out of the airasia plane crash operation. but workers from the national search and rescue agency will continue their search for 92 bodies still missing. it's a month since 162 people were killed since the flight crashed into the java sea. thailand's prime minister says thai airways won't be allowed to go bankrupt. 5 thoushs -- 5,000 workers jobs are to be cut. the number of people killed

when a greek fighter jet crashed in spain has risen to 11. the two pilots are among the dead. the jet crashed into other aircraft on takeoff from an air base. other pilots and mechanics are thought to be among the 12 seriously injured. investigators are still trying to determine the cause. holocaust survivors have gathered at a memorial cite in poland. more than a million people, mostly jews were killed at the concentration camp between 1940 and 1945. the french president, as well as the german as awe streeian presidents joined about 300 survivors to remember the day. cuba's former president has given his first public reaction since agreement was reached with the united states to restore diplomatic relations. [ applause ]

>> a better from fidel castro was read out at havana university while he didn't fully trust the u.s. he did think the two nations should work together. and they should resolve their differences peacefully. crossing over to cuba's capitol speaking to gabriel to tell us how significant this letter is from fidel castro. >> reporter: that's right. this statement came down a little before 10:00 pm local time last night here in havana. and it's significant for two reasons. number one is we just don't hear from him that often anymore. the last time he issued a significant statement was last october. last time we saw him in public was january of last year. but beyond that this was the first time we have heard from

fidel castro about the diplomatic talks going on. he seemed to distance himself a little bit from the talks. he said he has not had any direct conversations with the united states as he does not trust the united states government or politics and he said the talks seem to be handled by this government which is his younger brother, raul castro. so the fact that we heard from him clearly indicates that he is -- he is following them. how closely, we just don't know. >> that's what i wanted to ask you have actually. but let me then move on to -- just give us a sense of how people over in cuba itself are now reacting to this sort of new relationship with the united states. >> reporter: well they are watching it -- the average people here on the streets are watching it very closely, and

especially in the last week or so when the talks were going on. life goes on here but people are watching closely and really the cubans come down to two people the ones that are very excited or hopeful that these talks could lead to improved relations and better trade between the u.s. and travel more tourists here and also family members. there are millions of cubans that live in the united states so these talks could lead to more travel back and forth between family members, and then there's other cubans that we talked to that are a little bit more cautiously optimistic. they are waiting to see exactly what will happen and how it will benefit their daily lives, but overall whenever fidel castro speaks it's watched very closely here in cuba and abroad as well. because even though he is no longer the president of this

country, he is retired, he is 88 years old, he is still the leader of the revolution of this country, so it's hard for any major decisions to be taken here without him at least knowing what is going on and maybe influencing it. so this statement is very important in that regards. now we know he does know about the talks and has an opinion about them. >> yeah we do. thank you, gabriel. in mexico the families and friends of 43 students who disappeared four months ago are still searching for the truth about what happened to them. and they don't believe what they have been told by the government. >> reporter: they accuse the government of lying and killing the students. with each passing day, scepticism and suspicion deepen over the government's story of how 43 students disappeared four months ago.

only one student's remains have been identified. driving the suspicion inconsistencies in the evidence. and reports that the federal police might have been involved while the army looked the other way. >> translator: we have seen the facts. nothing is clear. the government is contradicting itself. >> reporter: many people were excited at the idea that soldiers and police took police in such a crime is unbelievable. but this is a place where the military and government have been linked to thousands of human rights abuses. it's not just these protesters who doubt the story. this dump is where the government says the bodies were bumped and burned. >> translator: it just can't be true. it would require tons of material for such a fire. tires and wood and that's not

possible. also the site is too small. and the remains weren't to be found. >> reporter: others are still searching for the truth. like these people looking for the students in mass graves. among them family members of the missing. a sign of desperation and a rejection of the government's story. meanwhile here in the capitol and across mexico protests continue. a call for the truth. a truth that may never fully come to light. taking you now back to our stop story. we have been telling you about that gun and bomb attack in tripoli at the hotel in which 11 -- at least 11 people were killed that siege lasting several hours. let's cross over to london and speak to a political analyst. there are reports coming in saying this could be an isis

attack -- isil excuse me or some groups linked to the group. if that is the case how much does that complicate the situation in libya already awash with rebels and weapons. >> it's an incredibly toxic environment in libya at the moment. but it also means any kind of solution on fighting this war on terror is almost at its worst time. because any resource -- just out of fuel and millage, and i suppose in that sense, they are not actually carefully managing their resources in a way that a country facing this kind of threat really needs to do. >> reporter: how likely is it that this will impact the current talks going on in geneva? >> both governments have come out and tried to attempt to get

some kind of political point scoring among both governments. the gnc has come out and said this is the work of the former regime. and it has come out that this is just a case and story of the muslim brotherhood. and they are all part of the same branch and tree. so in that sense it really really damages the fragile currency of the legitimacy of these talks. what needs to be happening is that [ inaudible ] agree upon the vital solution that come to create the sensibility that -- >> but when you say -- when you say -- when you say -- create that sense of stability, what exactly needs to be done? what are you talking about here? >> well obviously both sides need to come to the understanding that operation dignity and operation dawn are not about fighting the former regime or fighting a war on

terror they are about political scores political point, and really about trying to wrestle control of the financial and military assets of that country. and that's complete aside -- >> isn't that typical to do -- i'm sorry -- i don't mean to interrupt you, but isn't this difficult to do when you have one of the main rival factions who are not attending the talks in geneva. >> you absolutely do. so they need to start attending. but ultimately you need to make peace a lucrative option. it's also about what they could lose. both sides are facing an existential crisis. and unless you get it on the table and start talking about the real issues then you are not going to have any kind of settlement. neither of the parties are going to come with real trust. it's about wrestling control and

political point scoring. >> okay. thank you for speaking with al jazeera. hundreds of nigerian soldiers have been sacked for refusing to fight boko haram. military commanders say they disobeyed orders. and the troops say they were given the wrong weapons or improper equipment. their legal fight raises more questions about how boko haram is being confronted. >> reporter: these nigerian soldiers are meeting a lawyer to try to fight their dismissal from the army. they say they were sacked because they were not ready to die fighting boko haram. and they alledge military bosses didn't give them enough weapons so they withdraw under the orders of their commander. >> we were not given the necessary weapon and equipment that was [ inaudible ] us to

fight boko haram. we were given ak 47, rpg with bomb. which [ inaudible ]. so where we use the average bomb it doesn't explode. we are out of mortar and the mortar bomb. [ inaudible ] supposed to be given to be issued to the units were not issued to us. >> reporter: the military says the men were not told to withdraw and had adequate weapons, but they disobeyed orders. if their allegations are true it will raise questions about how the army is fighting boko haram. the military is also facing other problems hundreds of other soldiers have been sacked sentenced to death for mutiny and accused of corruption all of this when there seems to be the greatest need for soldiers to fight. boko haram leader claimed

responsibility for an attack on a village on wednesday. this human's right lawyer is representing the soldiers. >> in defending the soldiers i have much more respect to the crisis the mill stair stair -- military institution is going through. >> reporter: these soldiers are optimistic that their former colleagues will beat boko haram. >> the military are winning the war, because some weapons, i think, immediately were removed from the front line. some police weapons that we were demanding for in the past were brought. >> reporter: winning their case will be difficult. no soldier has ever won a case against the military in these circumstances. here is what is coming up on the al jazeera news hour. how much of a lottery is it for

children who need cheap vaccines to survive? and coming up in sport the longest winning streak in men's professional tennis ends in a day of shock at the australian open. ♪

♪ very few organizations can say they have overted 7 million deaths in the last 15 years, but the global health partnership known as the gavi alliance says it has done just that. and having been given $7 million

it is hoping to vaccinate more children. tarek bazley explains. >> reporter: childhood vaccinations have long been accidentfied as a cost-effective way to improve the health of a population. but for many of the world's poorest countries that cost is still too high. and that's why the gavi alliance was founded 15 years ago. it started with a donation from the bill and melinda gates foundation. now many other organizations back the alliance. since 2000, it says it has vaccinated 500 million children and prevented more than 7 million deaths. [ applause ] >> reporter: now members of the alliance have been meeting in berlin hoping to get enough money for the next five years.

>> 95% reduction in meelzs, healthier lives and stronger communities as a result and stronger economies. this sh -- is the power of vaccines. >> reporter: the charity doctors without borders which vaccinates hundreds of thousands of people in poor countries each year says it doesn't get access to the cheaper vaccines negotiated by gavi. >> it is the best and most important new vaccine to save children's lives, and they are being rolled out in some low-income countries with gavi support. but the prices are not sustainable, and we truly believe they can go much lower. >> reporter: having got the $7.5 billion it was looking for the gavi alliance says 300

million children can now be vaccinated in the next five years. it allows it to build on its already successful start and prevent the deaths of millions of the children -- world's poorest children. >> now for sport. thank you very much. nadel has been knocked out of the australian open. the longest losing streak on the apt tour. the 7-seeded czech wrapped up the first set in an hour. nadel staged a comeback in the third. and then his opponent was able to each his second strailian semifinal. >> i didn't play with the fight intensity. playing very short. i make him play very easy.

so you cannot expect win much in quarter finals helping the opponent to play well. so that's what i did. >> reporter: british will face andy merry in the semifinals. murray a three-time australian open finalist advances to the semis for a fifth time. women's number 2 seed has advanced to the semifinals with a straight set win over her canadian canadian opponent. sharapova will face her fellow russia in stage four. the -- the host australia will now process to the finals

raul reports. >> reporter: newcastle, new south whales looking more upon newcastle in england. but despite the gray sky, australian football has a very sunny disposition now. their supporters the game will only get more popular as a result. >> i think for australia, it has reminded us that we are in the asian part of the world, and it has been wonderful to make friends with palestinians people from kuwait oman japan, and hopefully tonight i'll meet some people from the united arab emirates. >> i think soccer is now going to be the biggest team -- the biggest sport for australia. >> reporter: and do you football is really now on the up and up in australia. >> certainly is. the a league started that.

and now the soccer roos. now we look like winning the asian cup. >> the pressure was very much on the soccer roos against the united arab emirates but the 23-year-old put the aussies in front after just 3 minutes. almost immediately it could have been 1-1. instead it was australia who made it 2-0. jason davidson taking full advantage. the second half saw more pressure from the uae. and the home side couldn't get that all-important third goal, but two proved to be enough. australia into the final for the second successful tournament. so it's australia versus south korea in saturday's asian cup

final. the top scorers against the best defense, and if the soccer roos can play as well as they did in the first 15 minutes, then a first asian cup title could be theirs. saturday and sunday's africa cup of nations quarter final matches have been removed from the remote towns. host equatorial guinea will now play. south africa faced ghana on tuesday. and the group c leader in their final group game. a win for algeria would guarantee a spot in the final 8, while anything else could send them home. >> translator: we knew about them before the competition. it's a team from a young generation of players who played for top european clubs who have

great qualities of strength among other attributes. they were strong in all sectors of the game. south korea's first swimming gold medalist says he has been left shocked by a failed doping test. he won the 400-meter free style at the 2008 beijing games. park's management say, park was injected with a banned substance at a local hospital while seeking chiropractic treatment. they say the hospital told him it did not contain illegal substances. park will face a hearing on february 27th. negotiationsland patriots owner has defended his team against accusations of ball tampering in the playoffs. and he believes the league should apologize to the team.

>> i believe unconditionally that the new england patriots have done nothing inappropriate in this process, or are in violation of nfl rules. if the wells investigation is not able to definitively determine that our organization tampered with the air pressure in the footballs, i would expect and hope that the league would apologize to our entire team. >> and there's much more sport on our website. for all of the latest, check out aljazeera.com/sport. that's all of your sport for now. back to your doreen. >> thank you very much. of course you can always stay up to date with all of the political stories as well on aljazeera.com. if you are joining us to the united states, it's back to your regular programming on al

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revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america hello, i'm del walters, boston still being hit by that terrible snow storms millions of americans elsewhere still need to worry. rebecca has the latest. >> good morning, dell. a lot of places are still in that heavy snow from maine, new hampshire, vermont, and connecticut, when we look at parts of long island and manhattan, new jersey we don't have a blizzard warning anymore. but you can still see some heavier bands rolling through parts of long island and we're also getting powerful winds blasting through. so temperatures now, philadelphia for instance 28, 13 in albany it feels a lot