>> now, "america tonight" investigates the search for relisha. next friday, 10:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america. [music] >> you're watching the news hour live from london. coming up in the next 60 minutes. isil kidnapping, more than 100 men and nine boys from one of iraq's biggest tribes are taken hostage. but in syria it's isil fighters themselves who are under attacks by the kurdish forces. the democratic republic of

congo launch an on offensive. >> and we'll have all your sporting, including news were wednesday's champions league ties. plus greece suspends it's top football league indefinitely because of continued crowd violence. >> hello, we begin with the fight against the islamic state of iraq and livevant where 100 men and nine boys have been kidnap kidnapped by isil in iraq. isil themselves have been under attack by kurdish forces in syria. it's a strategic area as it boards territory controlled by the group in iraq. all this as the u.n. special envoy to syria tries to scour opposition support for a fighting freeze in aleppo.

in a moment we'll hear about that fighting in syria. but first let's get the latest on the kidnappings from al jazeera's jane in baghdad. >> they tell us that 127 tribesmen were originally kidnapped. this is three days ago. the news filtering out now because of. 100 men were kidnapped, the tribe is involved with another talk by isil where isil set

fires to 30 police officers in the town, and it's in baghdadi where the iraqi army has launched an evacuation to remove civilians trapped by fighting there. the town is just a few kilometers from the air base where u.s. marine, soldiers and other air force stations ares are stationed. they are taking people out and airlift to go baghdad. >> syrian's kurds have been at war with the imisil for months. isil fighters were defeated in the kobane town town of kobane. they recaptured some territory but lost a few villages.

it's not an easy fight. they've been helping the kurds by targeting isil positions from the air. the area is home to kurds and christians. it boards territory controlled by isil across the border in iraq. and there is an important supply line that isil uses to move it's so-called capitol of raqqa to mosul. >> there is a real fight in isil isil. it controls 30% of the province. >> hasaka has been involved in

the fighting of the islamic state in iraq and the levant. it is connected by sinjar. it seems that the offensive against the group has been part of a broader military plan. if isil is defeated in hasaka and sinjar, it would significantly restrict movement. they need to cut the group's supply lines before any major military assault. haska asaka is important and weakening them here would weaken them there. >> supporting a fighting freeze in aleppo but the fighting does continue there. rebel fighters have managed to

recapture parts of the province. individual has been put up online showing the bodies of 70 government soldiers. >> reporter: some of the casualties. these are the bodies of regime soldiers killed by rebels while fighting in aleppo province. >> the head of forensics started to receive the bodies of those killed in the north countryside since wednesday. >> there have been many casualties here. many want to take control of their province, forces took over parts northern parts of aleppo. there are different rebel groups. here members of the free syrian army use anti-tank rockets.

some rebels belong to al nusra front, which is linked to al-qaeda. and other fighters withdrew from the suburbs but still remain a threat from positions nearby. aleppo has become almost impossible place to live for its residents. there would be a better chance of getting humanitarian aid to them if plans for a cease-fire go ahead. for now fighters from all sides continue to battle for aleppo. many paying the ultimate price. al jazeera. >> well, at least 23 isil fighters have been killed in u.s.-led airstrikes in iraq. they're also treating a number of isil fight whose have been injured in airstrikes over the last few days. isil fighters blew up a terminal in anticipation of the coalition offensive. now they're reported to have retreated from mosul.

we're live from washington, d.c. the former u.s. ambassador to iraq james jeffrey. thank you for being with us here on the program. from what our correspondent understands, some of those men and boys kidnapped in iraq have relatives fighting the armed group. does this appear to you to be some sort of new tactic by isil? >> we've seen this before, tragically not only by isil but also by al-qaeda in iraq, the precursor to t and by some of the shia militias. it is a common tactic but these irregular forces throughout the region to punish those who are not cooperating with or fighting against it by taking relstives and threatening to kill them if the activity does not stop. nonetheless, the largest significance of this is that isis is feeling under pressure from a variety of direction including the city of tikrit

where these people have been taken. >> you talked about it being punishment. but is there more to it? is there something that isil wants in return for these men and boys, or are they simply going to be killed as a punishment? >> isil wants to do two things. it's not just a punishment. it's a logical transaction in error horrific terms. they want members that have tribe to stop fighting. isis needs that for two reasons. they're under pressure in tikrit, that's the next place that the government and u.s. force also attack, and it does not need sunni arabs in that vicinity joining in on that fight. second, it's always fight when isis has sunni arabs fighting against it because it's whole headline corporate strategy to say is that we are the defenders against everybody else. that's hard to argue if, in

fact, the local sunni arabs are rising up. there are two reasons why isis is doing this. they have to try to stop the tribes from going over to the side of the government and the united states. >> it is important to know that these are sunni tribesmen. could we expect any retaliation from the iraqi army? do they have the ability to retaliate in this specific set of kidnappings. >> your reporting is excellent. you have great reporters like jane arraf out there and what they're showing is that this is a broad front. you have two and three fronts in syria. you've got several sinjar, mosul down in tikrit, over to baghdadi and near the air base. isis to some degree are on the offensive in various areas. it's not a question of the iraqi government retaliating against

them per se. if they can recognize these people, they will try to, but everyone is carrying on with the overall strategy, which is to squeeze isis from every direction. >> that's the former ambassador. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> we'll take you to yemen where ammunition has been fired at the capitol by the houthi rebels trying to disperse protesters. they are protesting in support of the president hadi, who fled to aden over the weekend. >> yemen has seen some of the biggest rallies against the outies on wednesday since their take over in last september. people turned out in the thousands to show their anger and rejection of the houthies. the biggest rally took place in sanaa, the capitol itself. houthies used live ammunition to

disperse the protesters. yesterday, we've seen how they took one of the most strategic bases in the capitol. today they took another base in the western city. here in aden, president hadi is continuing consolidation of his power base,. >> this is aden, the de facto capitol since president arrived here. he was put under house arrest, but he managed to escape, and now he's trying to rule from aden. but the reaction here may surprise many. >> no, no, no, aden is capitol of only the south. we don't need the north here. we need only independence. >> it's not a secret that there is a long history of bitterness

between the north and the south. instead of being overjoyed by the shift of power from sanaa to aden people talk with apprehension and mistrust. >> there is zero trust between the north and the south. the southerners were the first to demand unity. they contributed to 70% of the country's territory and 80% of the country's resources but they receive nothing in return. hadi is a southerner, but he does not speak for the causes of the south. if he does so and he addresses our problems, then we'll support him. >> there is an air of peace and calm in aden despite high levels of poverty people hope to return to what they perceive to be a better past. the symbol of it still flies high wherever you look. the flag of the former southern yemen. since the two yemens united in 1990, people tell us that the south was let down, forgotten

exploited. despite the fact that the oil and other natural resources come from here. >> we expect for aden to only be a temporary capitol until the brothers in the north can sort out their problems. some believe the possible shifting of the capitol to aden will only bring trouble. >> the houthies are threatening to invade the south. we don't want the capitol here. we want peace and calm. they should stay there and we stay here. >> many fear the problems the new status may bring. and president tadi is continuing his efforts to continue his power base not only on the local level but regionally and internationally. wednesday he made a milestone by

receiving the first visitor from outside of the country the secretary general from the gcc the gulf corporation council. he said he discussed with him the ways iny yemen in which yemen can prevent the base of terrorism. >> we look at the army's offensive against boko haram. the boss bosses of the world's largest bank apologize for tax-dodging scandal. and fifa refuse to compensate leagues needs 37 we'll hear from its secretary general. >> but first in the democratic republic of congo the government has launch admit assault against rebel forces.

it's taking on a group called the democratic forces of the liberation of rwanda commonly referred to as the fdlr. and the armies are acting without help from the u.n. mission there. what is the fdlr? it's members include hutus two took part in the 1994 genocide. there are areas around a lake which has huge natural gas reserves. fighters have been accused of human rights abuses of murder, rape and recruiting child soldiers. >> many people have been doubting whether the congolese government and other countries involved actually have the political will to attack the fdlr. the congolese government has been accused of hiring them before, and there are politicians involved.

on the other hand, the congolese government has said it is going to do it. this time it's going to end the fdlr. the u.s. has come out and supported them and urged that this must happen. it's hard to imagine now that they'll turn back at this stage. but the military operations could go on for months, even years, and so it's too soon to say if this is going to bring the end of the fdlr. people want them to go, but people want them to go peacefully. it's the civilian population who have suffered the brunt of all the offenses by the fdlr. whether by the government, or militias that rwanda is accused of backing. for two decades they've seen brutal and horrible conflict. when the fdlr are under attack. they behave worse and they take it out on the civilian population. civilians are worried that they're going to get caught up and get more violent. >> we'll have more on the story. andrew wallace is a researcher

he said thank you for being with us. why is this offensive happening right now especially given the u.n. has withdrawn its backing? >> yes, i think there is a huge amount of pressure since the beginning of january for the international community, from the u.s. even ban ki-moon has asked when is this operation going to start. the problem is i think that for a lot of people, and speaking to rwandan diplomatic sources tonight, they said they can't see anything good actually happening. the operation has gotten under way, congolese troops have gone in and they found by all accounts empty bases and rifles. it looks like they've known in advance that the operation was going to happen, and they've

just withdrawn. >> it doesn't sound like much of an operation from what you're saying. >> so far it's not much of an operation, and i think people are pretty skeptical whether it will amount to much. the big problem is that the army that's gone in. the drc who have gone in to sort out the fdlr are for a number of years been in bed with the fdlr in terms of selling them arms, conflict mineral--all sorts of complicit between the two groups. it's difficult to believe now that they're going to go in unilaterally and root out the fdlr. really their formal lies. >> would it be totally unilateral? can they expect to see any support from other african countries? >> well, of course, there was this force intervention brigade which helped sort out the m-23 last year. but that again is tied to the u.n. mission and u.n. have said

well very short notice that suddenly they're withdrawing support because the drc have got these two generals who are part of the operation, and these general who is are part of the war crimes, and they won't work beside them. so they've pulled out really when the operation is about to be launched do they have the political will and really the army to go in and root out a tricky militia, it's rearmed remanned over the next several months. i think your reporter said that we're looking at months, possibly years and the real test, i think, will be if we can get--they can root out both the bases, but also the alleged

person traitors of heinous war crimes. and the commander is actually wanted at the hague. he's wanted by the icc. so i think rwanda and the people in the region and of course the people of kibu will probably only believe the response when they see these guys up before justice. >> andrew wallis, thank you for your time. >> thank you very much. >> the nigerian president goodluck jonathan said that the time is turning against boko haram fighters. the move will release new video which shows an aerial bombardment of the group. we have reports from abuja. the government's critics are questioning the video's true purpose. the aerial video is believed to have been recorded above borno state. soldiers have been battling boko haram fighters over the last

couple of weeks. the video's release follows use's suicide attack by boko haram. 24 people were called, and many wounded when two busy bus stations were blown up. >> the passengers from outside of the city, they came in as passengers in the process of moving on in, moving out. >> i saw the two guys and i did not trust them. did i not pay attention since i do not work in this bus park. i sudden hi heard explosions. >> president good luck jonathan faced the attack. they say they took several towns

in the last two weeks. the opposition is say the timing of the release is suspicious. >> the government said that they have bombardments, but why are they not taking journalists press people to the place. i expect the press will feed this back. the government believes in propaganda. >> analysts say that good luck i don't know than is facing a greatest challenge to his presidency and failure to stop boko haram could cost him re-election when voters go to the polls on march 28th. the suicide attack are likely to further worry millions of voters. they may decide to stay at home despite assurances of election security. yvonne ng, ue in abu i can't.

>> lead documents from south africa documents suggest that israel is ruining water in egypt by using plants to absorb water from the nile. we have more information from the spy cables. >> the spy cables reveal israel israel's intrigue across the african continent and the resulting anger and suspicion in south africa. one secret cable details a tense meet in pretoria hotel. nobody even knew the israeli agent was in the country. the south africans described it as: >> inappropriate behavior. no respect was shown.

the agent was very arrogant and self assure: he boasted he's in daily contact with presidents and heads of services. >> but they conclude that the mossad spy is exploited and manipulated. ronnie was minister of intelligence from 2004 to 2008. the cables show that he requested an audit of south africa's intelligence sharing with israel. >> i didn't want anything to do with mossad whatsoever. so i had not prepared any way to go into actual internal operational actives. >> the spy cables also confirm israel's israel partnership to develop nuclear weapons.

ironically, it's trying to stop iran from doing the same thing. this describes a possible imminent shipment of yellowcake to iran. >> he was passing through turkey where he would be preparing the yellow codes. goods. we assessed this is yellowcake, from the same country where russian previously obtained 500 tons, which we assess is south africa. >> they urged south africa not to arrest the broker so they could continue monitoring him. the meeting in 2009 was a first by israeli leaders in 20 years. >> israel's economic tentcals have reached every part of africa behind a philanthropic facade. >> the spy accuses israel of plans to appropriate african diamonds and of arming and

training militias in africa. it also says israel is working aciddously to fuel insure recommendation inside sudan and even targeted egypt the first arab country to give it recognition, readying itself to sabotage the country's water supply. >> creel has created a type of plant that absorbs such large quantities of water as significantly reduce the volume of water that reaches egypt. >> in this way israel sabotages its friends and enemy alike furthering it's own interests in africa. >> the south african government has been quick to respond to the leaks by its intelligence agency. a statement from the minister of state security said that the leaking of the pore purported documents detailing operational details of the state security agency is condemned into the strongest possible terms and an

investigation has been launched into the leak. you can read more on our exclusive website at www.aljazeera.com/spy cables. tell us what you think on twitter with the hashtag # #spycables. >> still ahead on the program. the fierce forest fires raging through southern argentina. the political conflict that is starving gaza of desperately needed funds to rebuild it's shattered neighborhoods. >> i'm reporting from new zealand where a teenage golfing record breaker has returned home to celebrate her success.

has her just bring her home. >> now, "america tonight" investigates the search for relisha. next friday, 10:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> sunday, the parents of captured american reporter austin tice. >> austin went missing in syria. >> campaigning for his release and maintaining hope. >> austin tice is alive. >> find him and get him home. >> a special "talk to al jazeera". sunday, 5:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america.

he's out there. there's a guy out there whose making a name for himself in a sport where your name and maybe a number are what define you. somewhere in that pack is a driver that can intimidate the intimidator. a guy that can take the king 7 and make it 8. heck. maybe even 9. make no mistake about it. they're out there. i guarantee it. welcome to the nascar xfinity series.

>> we pray for the children in the womb >> a divisive issue >> god is life , so it's his to take >> see a 10 year old girl who's pregnant, and you tell me that's what god wants... >> a controversial law >> where were you when the babies lives were being saved? >> are women in texas paying the price? >> fault lines al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking... they're firing canisters of gas at us... award winning investigative documentary series... access restricted only on al jazeera america >> are reminder of our top stories here on al jazeera. in iraq more than 100 men and nine boys have been kidnapped by the islamic state in iraq and the levant. they were kidnapped from one of the biggest tribes in the country. the u.n. special envoy to syria, and secret intelligence

cables provided to al jazeera reveal that south africa believes that israel is fueling conflicts. official complaints includes an alleged threat to shoot the u.s. president. new york's police commissioner has been giving details of the arrest. >> two of the individuals were seeking to fly to syria. one was arrested at john f. kennedy airport.

so the an about effectively to go to syria and attempt to join isil. >> what more do we know about this case? >> i'm standing outside of the federal courthouse in back lynn where we expect all three of these individuals to be' rained. we read through the u.s. attorney criminal complaint it's multiple pages long, and it feels in a few of the gaps that we haven't known so-so far. number one this pins the case

on the one man from uzbekistan. he apparently allegedly posted some messages and that's when they began to track this case. he was arrested in brooklyn, and also a 19-year-old from kazakhstan also arrested as he tried to board a flight at jfk airport to turkey, where the fbi an investigator say that he was going to join isil and then go on to syria. this is a serious case for investigators here.

these individuals were planning, violent acts within the united states as well according to the fbi. so that really opens up all sorts of questions as well. now if they're convicted they could face up to 15 years in prison. >> given this particular case, what have officials said what their worries really are now? >> they have not said too much, however, we can tell you that u.s. investigators have been talking for a long time behind the scenes that they really worried about situations just like this. especially young people like this one 19-year-old from kazakhstan. it seems to be they're indicating that they had direct ties to isil, recruiters or

intermediataries and that worries u.s. officials clearly. also the fact that these guys were also in the united states, not plan to go to syria two of the three. but also planning acts of violence here in the united states as well. one fbi official said that while this is potentially an isolated case the fbi is investigating people that could have ties to isil here explain.

>> this fire is destroying several hectares of vegetation a day. >> they discuss where to tackle the blaze next, what should have been done to prevent this and what needs to be done again. the authorities have responded deploying hundreds of firefighters planes and helicopters, but many say too little too late. the damage is irreparable. >> what we're losing here is 400 to 500-year-old hedge vegetation. it has had very little human contact, and it will take generations to replace. locals are desperate wonder going to their properties will be there for the next day. >> we're crossing our fingers

doing rain dances but it's not looking good today. >> on this side you can see the devastation that the fire has caused reducing wood to stubble. it's very difficult to know how to control always the ways of which way the wind is going to blow. authorities say that the blaze was started by a bolt of lightening but some suspect campers. al jazeera argentina. >> a volcanic eruption nearby mexico has forced the canceling of flights. the international airport was cleared while ashes were cleared from the runway. it's the second time that the volcano has erupted in ten days. sharp rise in swine flu

infections have spiked health concern. we have reports from new delhi. >> reporter: government scientists in india are working over time to monitor the spread of swine flu caused by the h1n1 virus. with the caseload in indian administration growing by the day, they have established a swine flu hotline. >> a hotline numbers are highlighted everywhere. they are from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and some numbers are available throughout the night. >> they insist that they're well equipped to treat the sick, but their confidence is of little comfort to the victim's relatives. >> when we took her to the hospital the the doctor refused to admit her. if they had they might be alive today.

they said she had pneumonia. >> some companies are taking steps in areas of the highest rates. >> we've given employees masks and we have a company chemist next door so if anybody has symptoms we take them there. we teach people about the disease, how to keep their homes clean, not to go into crowded areas and routinely wash their hands with soap. >> but some say the best way to control it is to study. they argue finding how the h1n1 virus has mutated may be key in

avoiding a public health crisis in one of the world's most populated countries. >> thousands of homes were reduced to republic by israel's defense last summer. there are pledge to help rebuild, but is anything actually being donated? nick schifrin reports. >> today in gaza the ruins of homes are chirp's playgrounds. factory floors are filled with destroyed machinery. the only power plant soldiers tanks are a crumbled heap, and the damage, the destruction the devastation has obliterateed entire neighborhoods. gas has never well off but today it's worse off than ever, and the fear is that could lead to another war. >> why has your family not been

able to rebuild. >> the rebuilding materials are so expensive. >> and part of the problem is poverty. a government teacher and only receives 60% of his salary after israel cut off revenues to the palestinian authority. omar has no job. that's 60% of gaza is unmisdemeanor. the family has blueprint but it can't rebuilding without more help. >> the process is slow. a week ago i went to the ministry. they said that the funds from the u.n. have not arrived yet. >> that's another problem. the u.n. agency that helps palestinians is broke. countries have promised donations but not delivered them them. >> which i can only describe as unacceptable and scandal louis that an organization that is meant to help has run out of money to help. >> he says that the donors have not paid up because of the political tension between hamas

and palestinians authorities. >> there is a lot of bad blood. you till have two different strands of civilization in gaza. that needs to be resolveed. >> until it is interest aren't even plans to rehabilitate devastated neighborhoods. nick schifrin, gaza. >> ukraine's army has gone a full 24 hours but there is a new threat of the gas supplies in ukraine. gas is again warning that it will cut off supply unless it receives advance payments. this is in move to ukraine cutting off gas to separatist areas in the east. a new law banning organizations there from accepting foreign financing. the legislation requires imams to be able to speak german.

they say it's part of efforts to contain what they call radicalization. some islam organizations have denounced it as discrimination. the bosses of hsbc apologize and admit of what they admit to illegal activities. they were grilled in an inquiry that their clients were allowed to dodge taxes. barnaby phillips has more details. >> protesters say that britain's leaders lack the political will to punish wealthy tax evaders and complicit banks and inside parliament the bankers golf before the politicians. the bosses at hsbc say sorry that their swiss bank helped clients avoid paying tax. >> i put on the record from both

myself and douglas for the unacceptable events that took place in our banks in switzerland. >> who is doing the apologizing here? >> i am. >> so you feel personally responsible for this? >> i've been executive since 2011. i have a collective responsibility for the operations of the group. >> the apologies here in parliament are unlikely to change public attitudes towards the banking sector here in the u.k. this is only the latest of a long line of financial scandals. and until criminal activity is punished in the courts the british public will remain skeptical about the banking sector's motivation in getting its act together. tens of billions of dollars came in from clients in france and the u.k. it is accused of at worse actively helping these people to evade tax or at best, turning a

blind eye to tax avoidance. but is hsbc the only bank to have believed this way? >> absolutely nobody considers them the first to act this way. there will be bankers all over the world thinking to themselves, thank goodness the spotlight is not on us. >> the chairman of hsbc told the parliamentary economy that it had gone to considerable lengths to improve standards at the bank but they could not exclude the possibility of more problems in the future. barnaby phillips, al jazeera. >> still more to come. including a mission to put union union. we have more details coming up.

>> if we want to start a colony on mars, it's inevitable that we will have to reproduce or we'll just die out. i'm really excited rather than scared at the moment. >> but maggie and others could be in for a long wait before going anywhere. despite all the pr, critics say the proposed time lines are unfeasible. >> plans are to send up a satellite and then a rover and then it hopes the first four-man crew will arrive and live in bodies like these. all of this for a beinger

$6 billion. >> it is unrealistic from every point of view, from the experience of people organizing it under budget, on the time scale, unrealistic. >> the crew will live in confine confined conditions, but they'll need to produce their own water oxygen and grow their own food. that takes continued investment. mars one was also hoping to gain sponsorship from the makers of reality tv show "big brother"." that is until they pulled out. and space x listed on mars one website as providing rockets for the mission say that no contracts have been signed. >> it's a big misconception that mars one wants to finance the mission through media revenues. we'll finances through investment. it's not entertainment. it's inspiration. humans going to mars is the greatest story of the 21st century, and we need to share that story with the world.

>> the company say they've now teamed up with the makers of their mission trailer to help finance and document the project. as mars one races to meet it's ambitious goals it's a mission they hope will soon be on your screens. al jazeera london. >> back here on earth we have sport. >> greece's football league has been suspended indefinitely for the second time this season because of continued match violence. they made the decision as the violent scenes at the derby match and a brawl between club officials at a meeting on tuesday. that was a night of shock to the uefa champions league when arsene wenger would go up against his old club.

monaco would take the lead in the first half and it got worse for the gunners when they made it 2-0, monaco going on to win 3-1. theathletic co-madrid going downatletico madrid in its third loss. now egyptian football league will be allowed to resume, but only behind closed doors. the league was suspended indefinitely when 19 people were killed in a fight between fans and police outside of stadium in cairo earlier this month. egyptian government say that football can resume after a mourning period of 40 days, but fans will be excluded. italy's world cup captain is

facing ten months in jail after facing a court order to keep out of his property. his property in naples was seized by authorities due to his alleged abuse of planning regulations. the former world player was caught swimming in his pool having broken into his own house. the sentence will be suspended until his appeal is heard. now fifa won't compensate clubs for disrupting their season for the world cup. the governing body has ruled out any apology. andy richardson reports. >> well, some really interesting detail is emerging. the move still has to be former formerly ratified next month it is basically a done deal. likely moving down from 32 days to 28 days, that means in the

early stages of the tournament we'll be seeing four games a day. and fifa secretary general saying that there would be no compensation for leagues or clubs impacted by the move. he said that he hoped an amicable agreement could be reached. >> the seven years to reorganize football around the world for this world cup. we enjoy football--why we don't organize ourselves and enjoy football in a different environment without people screaming that it's impossible. it is possible. >> the african cup nations due to take place in january in guinea. according to the fedcation of african football they've moved that to june. and the federation cup, a testament to world cup host. that will still take place in

june of 21 but it will be in a different asian country not qatar. qatar is likely to host the world cup of 2021. afghanistan will take on scotland in the next few minutes minutes: first world cup centurion. ireland just managing to win by two wickets and with four bowls remain. returning home to new zealand for the first time since she game the youngest golfer to the world number one. >> reporter: there have been many first notice young career of lydia ko, but this one is special. she's back home to play in new zealand for the first time as the world's number one

women's golfer. >> to be in that position right now is great. and it's great to share this number one ranking with all the people here in new zealand. >> the 17-year-old became the youngest player to reach the number one ranking last year. and strengthened her position with victory in australia on sunday. her rise to the top has come as no surprise to her former coach who worked with her for ten years. guy wilson said that she'll continue to improve but the pressure on her will increase. >> she just got better and better and continually moved up the leaderboard. it will be interesting to see how she goes being number one nowhere else to go essentially. >> ko has had a big impact on the sport in new zealand with girls increasing 20% last year. playing at home comes with

tension and unique pressures. this week lydia ko will have to contend with the strong wind. one of the incredible things about her is she's so experienced at such a young age. she already has one new zealand open title to her name, and this is her sixth appearance in the tournament. her main target is to add to her already impressive list of achievements by winning one of the five major tournaments. >> i still get really nervous and i think just because in the back of my mind i know that it is a major and i feel like i need to perform in that week that week. that's what sometimes gets to me. >> regardless of how her year goes one thing is certain. her trademark smile won't be far away. al jazeera christchurch. >> thank you very much for that. that is about it we have much more news in a couple of minute's time. we'll see you then. thanks for watching. bye bye.

>> at one time i felt that selling cocaine was my purpose. >> as the amount of drugs grew guns came in. >> murder rate was sky-high. >> this guy was the biggest in l.a. >> i was goin' through a million dollars worth of drugs every day. i liked it. it's hard to believe that a friend would set you up. people don't get federal life sentences and beat them. >> they had been trafficking on behalf of the united states government. >> the cia admitted it. >> "freeway - crack in the system". only on al jazeera america.

>> we are in the farthest north reaches of wisconsin, in america's midwest, 200 miles from the nearest major city. it's home to the chippewa people, native american tribes who've lived here for generations alongside farmers and miners. but today, tourism is among the primary industries. >> right now we are on the coast of lake superior, which is frozen over solid.