Skip to main content

tv   News  Al Jazeera  March 11, 2015 2:00pm-3:00pm EDT

2:00 pm
>> this is al jazeera. [music] >> hello, this is the news hour live from london. coming up in the next 60 minutes. [ explosion ] the fight against isil moves in to tikrit with rocky soldiers and shia militia advancing towards the city center. the head of nato say that russia is still arming rebels in ukraine as the u.s. announce new sanctions. venezuela respond to its own
2:01 pm
sanctions. >> plus... [music] the copyright ruling against robin thicke and pharrell williams that could change the music business. and champions league football outspoken on the match match. >> thank you for joining us. we begin the program in iraq where government forces and shia militia are advancing into the city of tikrit. their aim is to capture it since last june. the iraqi forces are said to be moving into tikrit from the north, where we're in control of a military hospital. they're also pushing into the center of the city. this shows troops and militiamen along side heavy vehicles into
2:02 pm
the neighbor recapturing tikrit would give iraqi forces a supply link to launch an offensive against isil in mosul. stephanie dekker has more. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: this is northeastern tikrit, the iraqi army shia militia and some sunni tribesmen are trying to push isil out of the city. >> we want to tell the iraqi people that tikrit will be liberated and retaken from isil terrorist groups. security forces have advanced from all four fronts. we started to retake the neighborhood, and we're heading by the help of god to tikrit to liberate it from isil groups, and we shall advance to mosul. >> a freelance journalist shot this footage for al jazeera on thursday. tikrit is scored controlled by isil and it's fall would be
2:03 pm
significant. progress has been slow here partly because of boobie traps left by isil, and there is a threat of sniper fire. but iraqi army is confident that they will retake tikrit. >> i told my commander we would not leave. hopefully we'll take the city today. so far we're in control and we have the upper hand with no casualties as of yet. just light injuries. >> but there are fears if tikrit falls shia militias could take revenge on sunni neighborhoods for being seen as collaborators and sympathizers of isil. there are around 2,000 sunni tribesmen involved in this offensive. tikrit will be an important test not just if they can defeat isil together, but
2:04 pm
whether they can keep the peace after doing so. stephanie dekker, al jazeera. >> a conference in northern iraq e sunni politicians have criticized iranian involvement in iraq saying they're worried about the role shia militia are playing in the country. well, let's talk about this in more detail. in london, thank you so much for joining us just before we get into the role of shia militias and the role of iran by association, how do you think about this, do you think it's a gun dee? how do you see the advancing against isil right now. >> it's the final push. it's been an operation six months in the planning. the fact that isil is blowing up bridges and burning oil wells seems to though it's ability to defend urban areas as tikrit, and perhaps the high watermark will be seen in retrospect to kobane where the isil advance
2:05 pm
was slow. the big question really is will tikrit still be standing? will the city survive the battle for it. the iraqi forces may win it, but what about the residents future of it. >> we are getting reports of shia militias ransacking, burning houses. there has always been that fear that the sectarian underlying tensions are going to come to the forefront. how real of a risk is of that. >> it is a huge issue. build they will see the people who remain in the city as iraqis to be liberated or people who collaborated with isil is another important question. that's perhaps where you see some of the militia action so far. if iraqis are to survive then advancement in places like tikrit have to bring in the
2:06 pm
sunni communities. >> i guess the iraqi government realizing how crucial the sunni support is to their fight against isil, the more they push isil back, the more sunnies elsewhere in iraq will rise with the government. do you think again that is a realistic hope? >> i think that time will tell following these battles. mosul is a far bigger city to win, that's way up the river yet for this advancing army, but let's look back at what we have seen before. the whole notion of bringing the sunnies into the iraqi political system, at the moment there is no real evidence to suggest that they're there. a lot of militias are flying under militia flags not the iraqi flag and there is a non-conflict space that isil is being pushed out but there is new contest. >> john kerry and general dempsey saying that anything that pushes isil back is good,
2:07 pm
but with the iranian involvement, that could create bigger problems than they have now with isil. >> the fight against isil is short. they come from nowhere and the whole world is united in the state level against them. that's where you have this rather bizarre scenario with a bizarre incident of forces but this did not ask the key question of is this a someone who can lead the body of the army and not sectarian. >> thank you very much. isil fighters have launched a series of suicide attacks in ramadi. five people were killed in the attacks including two police officers. one of the bombs exploded near a bridge in the western part of the city. and kurdish sources say isil
2:08 pm
fighters have taken control of a small village in northern syria. it's pottered to be part of a large isil push. fighting has been going on for two weeks as the armed group tries to take nearby towns and villages. as we're messaging mentioning now is the time to step up the fight against isil. they have been testifying urging cross to grant president barack obama new powers to use against the group. let's go live to roslind jordan in washington, d.c. tell us more about this isil hearing, presuming presumably the worry here with iran being involved in one way or another in this push against isil. >> that's right. they're trying to take a pragmatic stance in the fight against isil.
2:09 pm
the iranian forces are inside the country working along side iraqi troops to help them reclaim parts of territory that isil fighters have claimed in the past several months. there could be a further stress on sectarian tensions inside iraq, but officials did stress at this hearing before the senate foreign relations committee that they thought that would an long-term concern and they're much more fixated on trying to removing the isil threat, not just from iraq but syria as well. >> roslind, it sounds like the hearing was dominated by a row over a letter that was sent, not too complimentary about the president. >> that's right. the ongoing negotiations between the p5+1 and iran in this context the u.s. being for all
2:10 pm
intents and purposes the lead negotiating country right now really ended up dominating this hearing that was supposed to focus on the legal authority for the air war against isil. now, what happened is that earlier this week 47 republican senators sent a letter to the iranian leadership essentially saying that any deal being negotiated about this nuclear program, well, they suggested that members of congress could essentially tear up that agreement. that has anglerred the white house. it has anglerred the administration. and we heard from the secretary of state john kerry who used to be the chair of this committee where he was testifying on wednesday, he was not pleased. >> there is no grand bargain being discussed here in the context of this negotiation. this is about a nuclear weapon potential. that's it. the president has made it absolutely clear they will not get a nuclear weapon. now the presumption by a lot of people up on the hill here has been that we some how aren't
2:11 pm
aware of that goal even as we negotiate that goal. our negotiation is calculated to make sure they can't get a nuclear weapon. and it's really almost insulting that the presumption here is that we're going to negotiate something that allows them to get a nuclear weapon. >> well, a lot going on in washington, d.c. today roslind because the british defense minister is there currently meeting which with his u.s. counterpart. what is the focus on their meeting there, of course, they've got a lot on their plate to get through. >> that's right. they do have a lot. it's assumed that much of it is going to focus on the situation in eastern ukraine. there are still some controversy over whether russian forces are actually pulling back their heavy equipment. there are some reports suggesting that they may have been moving in additional equipment, and that separatist fighters may have been using
2:12 pm
this attempt at a truce as it were, to acquire more weapons to use against ukrainian forces. we expect, and we should be hearing from both secretary carter and secretary fallon in the next 20 minutes or so, we expect to hear them talk about the situation in ukraine, and certainly about the u.s.' decision on wednesday to issue a new round of sanctions against ukrainians and russians, whom the police believe have been trying to destabilize that country. >> roslind jordan with the latest from washington, d.c. thank you. the peace talks in colombia has been given a boost with the president announcing a cease-fire. president santos had rejected a two-way truce without a fuel peace deal, but the rebels had honored their cease-fire and
2:13 pm
praised progress being made at peace talks in cuba. >> to help de-escalate the conflict, i decided to order the defense ministry and leaders of the armed forces to cease bombardment over farc camps for one month. >> we have more on how the government's chief negotiator reacted to the news. >> he said that he has always been cautiously optimistic about this peace negotiations, and that he feels more optimistic now, and that's--i think that's a feeling that the government as a whole has and that's president santos expressed in a speech on tuesday. that's why we're seeing this, this is the biggest step so far in trying to de-escalate the conflict in the country. plus remember just last saturday another big announcement came out, which was historic, and it is a fact that the
2:14 pm
government--the military--the government, and the rebels will work together to rid the country of landmines. we're seeing important steps forward that are giving space and renewing optimism. on the other hand, conservative opposition in this country is already attacking the president and they say that this move might demoralize the army or give breathing space to the rebels. >> venezuela's parliament has approved a bill that will give the president more powers. nicolás maduro has walked into the country carrying the bill saying it was needed to fight what he called american imperialism. many are worried that the new law will be used to silence dissent in glens venezuela.
2:15 pm
>> last night president maduro addressed the nation. but what has started as a peaceful message took on a fiery note and ended with maduro not only accusing obama of being the next nixon but asking the national assembly to grant him special powers to confront any imperialist move america may make on venezuela. clearly, some call for reflection or peaceful measures or commitment from maduro to handle this in a peaceful manager, the rhetoric conditions. >> also ahead in this news hour. >> this is the art arctic
2:16 pm
russian city that relies heavily on fishing industry. keep watching, and i'll tell you why it's going through difficult changes. >> two minute ambush two men carrying millions of dollars in jewels along a french highway. and in sport breaking a world cup record. >> the u.s. has imposed sanctions on eight pro-russian separatists, who it accuses causing conflict in eastern ukraine. penalties were also imposeed. fred weir in moscow has more details for us. >> mostly, it appears a symbolic political statement by the americans, i think their
2:17 pm
message, they're still interested in putting the screws to russia even though the europeans have lost their appetite for more sanctions for the time being as long as the minsk cease-fire is in place. the idea that there may an rift widening on the sanctions in russia but this particular list of sanction probably won't make any difference at all. >> nato has accused russia of continue to arm separatist fight necessary eastern ukraine. they called on russia to leave the territory and honor the minsk peace agreement. more than 6,000 people have been killed in eastern ukraine since the conflict began nearly a year ago. >> we've seen and still see russian presence in eastern ukraine.
2:18 pm
we see the delivery of equipment and forces training. russia is still in eastern ukraine. they have overa long period provided substantial support for the separatists. >> frosty relations in moscow's significant fishing port. russia's embargo on imported food has left buyers and suppliers struggling. >> a statue of a young woman watches the ports' cold waters, waiting for her fisherman to return. romansk is's icery grip of sorts has enveloped this trade into a political one. since these pictures were filmed
2:19 pm
two years ago, the ramansk fish fact riff has stopped operating. buying fish from norway has been banned. that's pretty much all this place did so it was particularly well neryible. not all processing plants were so exposed but supply lines have been disrupted and the effect is being felt in shops and. >> fish gets more expensive every day. it's gone up 20% in price. >> and rising prices mean people buy less. >> the suppliers just called but we reject all the fish now because there is no one to buy. >> two of russia's most popular fish types herring and salmon, were imported in huge quantities from norwegian waters. customers complain that what they find in shops these dice are more expensive and quality is worse.
2:20 pm
eight years ago this man began to farm trout. a decision that is now paying off now people shift from salmon to this fish. >> time of crisis is a time of new possibilities. if before we're trying to figure out if our trout breeding will be profitable, now we see that it works very well. >> that's a small silver lining, though and the fish industries representatives are worried that lasting damage could be done. >> we russian fishermen have good relationships with norway. this proves that the sea does not change. we should work together. we'll lose a common resource, we wish there were no sanctions from either side. >> herring is a bigger problem there is no easy way to replace that. so the sad lady of romansk is
2:21 pm
not the only one waiting. this is a port city with deep international relations that is currently buffeted by the cold winds of politics and it just wants things to get back to normal. >> promising to work together on foreign policy. moscow recognizes the breakaway regions as independent although they are officially part of georgia. after talks with their counterparts in moscow, they offered political assistance to help the region strengthen it's international profile. and the russian human rights activist says that there is evidence that the main suspect in the murder of the opposition politician boris next emtsov boris nemtsov activists say
2:22 pm
that the main suspect was tortured. french authorities are searching for a group of brazen thieves. 15 armed robberies ambushed two security vans and managed to escape with $9.5 million worth of precious jewels. we have more from paris. >> the robbery was clearly very well planned the thieves must have had intelligence over the way that the jewels and artworks were being transported and also the route they were taking. what happened when these two armored trucks stopped at a tollbooth at a motor way to pay the toll fee that's when the
2:23 pm
thieves struck, about 15 men wearing face masks sprayed gas into the faces of the drivers of the two trucks, and made off with the vehicles themselves, which were found later abandoned abandoned. about $10 million worth of diamonds artworks have been stolen. now police are examining the abandoned trucks. it's thought that the thieves some how made their way back in the direction of paris. this whole incident took place 200 kilometers to the southeast of the city. now this is by no means the first major jewelry robbery in france in recent years. there has been a rash of threats against luxury stores in paris and also in the city, the resort of cannes on sum occasions police have been able to solve the burglaries, but on other occasions the jewelry and the thieves have never been found. >> the former italian prime minister sylvia berlusconi said
2:24 pm
that he's planning on making a return to politics. it comes after he was acquitted on charges of having sex with an underage prostitute and then using his influence to cover it up. berlusconi said that he's back in the field with his party despite a rule that bars him from running for elected office. delegates from libya's rival governments where peace talks aimed as solving the political crisis are due to resume. the united nations, which is are backing the talks say significant progress has been made in potentially forming an unity government after talks in algiers. but the u.n.-recognized government in tibruk has asked for talks to be postponed for a week. the egyptian government is appealing a government which labels hamas as a terrorist organization. hamas has welcomed the move.
2:25 pm
it said that the ruling made in february was a mistake committed against the palestinian. the appeal will be heard later this month. israel's foreign minister has sparked outrage after he said those who were not loyal to israel should have their heads account cut off. palestinian officials demanded that lieberman be arrested for the comments and taken to the international court in the hague. >> i would like to say whoever is with us should get everything as they wish. but those who are against us, there is nothing to be done. we need to pick up an axe and cut off their heads. otherwise we won't survive here. >> iran has announced draft laws that will make it harder for women without children to get a job. amnesty international has criticized the move saying it will will send women in iran
2:26 pm
back decades and turn women into baby-making machines. contraception has been subsidized by the state. human rights lawyer say that iran's government is trying to reduce the number of women in the workforce. >> they want to ask women to go back to their private life, to go back to private sphere and to stay at home. that's why they're bringing all these discriminating laws against women. what is the purpose of this family planning laws, family protection what is of these two bills in parliament? i think the only reason is to restrict women's rights. they want to promote the culture of ignoring women's rights. they want to promote the culture that there is no place for women in public sphere.
2:27 pm
women should stay home and take care of the babies and family. >> mohammed from tehran university said that the bill was introduced to address the aging population. >> they supported family planning at a time when the population growth rate in iran was dangerously high. but now the fear is the opposite that the growth rate has decreased more than it should and they're afraid 20 years from now iran will have a very aging population where it will not have enough young people to sustain it. >> well, still to come in this news hour, south africa's president resist the demands to pay back millions of dollars in taxpayers money that he spent on his home. barely able to get buy welfare groups highlight the hardships faced by hong kong's elderly. and high support in paris.
2:28 pm
remembering three sports stars killed in a helicopter crash.
2:29 pm
2:30 pm
>> discipline... >> that's what i wanna hear... >> strength... >> give me all you got... >> respect.... >> now... >> bootcamp >> stop your'e whining... >> for bad kids... >> they get a little dirty... so what... >> dangerous... >> we have shackles with spit bag... >> they're still having nightmares >> if you can't straighten out your kids... >> they're mine >> al jazeera america presents camp last resort on al jazeera america >> this is the true definition of tough love
2:31 pm
>> now a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. shia militiamen and iraqi forces have pushed into the city of tikrit. the. the u.s. secretary of state john kerry said that now is the pivotal hour for the country to step up against isil. he urged congress to grant president obama war powers. keeping up the pressure on moscow over the fighting in eastern ukraine. in the ground campaign against boko haram in nigeria appears to be gaining momentum.
2:32 pm
>> residents have brokingerred against the piece plan. they have not yet accepted the tour rig separatist groups. . south africa's president has been asked why he spent millions of dollars to upgrade his home. he has been asked to pay back the money but he refuses to do so. >> never was there a day i thought i would pay back the money. firstly, there is no money that i'm going to be paying back without a determination by those who are authorized to do so as recommended by the public protector. >> we have more on that story from johannesburg. >> reporter: presidents are
2:33 pm
allowed to make security upgrades to the home, but the estimated $20 million that president zuma spent on his house far outstrips anything that any other president has ever spent. the public protector was asked to investigate and in her report he said there were many upgrades made to the home that did not fall under the category of security upgrades. she pointed to a swimming pool, a cattle encliché, a chicken run and even an amphitheater. she recommended that president zuma pay back to the state the money spent on those unnecessary upgrades. he has never done so, and he has been reluctant to answer questions about it. when the opposition party asked second-degree him whether he would be paying back any money during the state of the nation speech last month he didn't answer the question, and instead the police were called in and they were he is supreme courted out of the house. the latest question and answer question, they were asked to answer the questions vaguely.
2:34 pm
he said that he has nothing to answer, and that he had spent nothing, taken not a penny from state funds. instead he said that he's asked the police to investigate, and whether he needs to pay back any monday, and if so, how much. until the policeman comes back with an answer its premature to ask him whether he's paying back any money. as far as the public is concerned, they're frustrated how long this has dragged out. and of course, as far as they're concerned, there are social issues in south africa, and the fact that he has spent an excess of $20 million on his home for whatever reason, that it's something for them that is very hard to swallow. >> two men have been caught on camera mugging a south african journalist. >> he was seconds from going
2:35 pm
live on air in johannesburg when two man approached his team and threatened them with a gun. he said he did not want to give up his phone. no one was injured. mexican cartels are flooding the united states with heroin. the drug enforcement administration, or the dea said that cheap heroin coming from mexico is the greatest challenge that the agency faces. adam rainy sat down with the dea chief of operations. >> i've been doing this for 30 years. i've never seen in our country at any time in our history have such an large overall impact of the availability of heroin in the united states, and for that matter, much of the world. >> everyone from sheriffs to users tell us that heroin is everywhere, that the community is swimming in it. >> when you look at west virginia in particular, when oxycodone was released by a certain company it hit very
2:36 pm
hard in rural areas. it used to be referred to as the hillbilly heroin. i think that is the formulation of what we're seeing today of prescription drug abuse. you're seeing it in communities that you've never seen it before. and you're seeing many cases social services, law enforcement agencies the healthcare system really slow to react with its growth. i tell you how i see it, and i know there are great stories about treatment and people coming through treatment but for a law enforcement point of view there are usually two things had a that happen when you're involved in a heroin business. number one you meet up against a guy like me and you go to jail, or you die. >> many say they see their authorities failing them. drugs are everywhere. i can get it easier than almost anything else. >> what we're dealing with in
2:37 pm
the spread of heroin in this country is the new face of organized crime. it is street gains migrating based off markets and the shadowing existence of cartels that will stop at nothing to make a dollar and care less who dies. people need to understand what role they can play to make a difference. >> heroin, you say is the new face of organized crime. is heroin the biggest challenge for you in the dea? >> for me no, question about it. it goes hand in hand with the flow of illegal money that terrorists-related organizations. those two things keep me up at night. >> those are the challenges facing the united states. meanwhile, in southeast asia along the mekong river is see
2:38 pm
massive drug smuggling. >> it has been his early morning routine for ten years. he readies his net along the mekong river. fishing never has been ease, easy but it's even more difficult in a region notorious for drug trafficking. >> trying to avoid confrontation with drug traffickers especially at night. i never talk to them because i fear for my life. >> just three months ago thailand china laos and myanmar launched a program aimed at curbing drug trafficking in the golden triangle. there has been a 15% increase in arrest and seizures. >> an arrest in one country can lead to another arrest in another country. swift coordination can lead to
2:39 pm
many arrests and perhaps to drug kingpins. >> an example of that happened recently. thai officials show how tea packages were used to smuggle methamphetamine called ice. now all forces involved now know to keep an eye out for the tea packet. >> in the four participating countries 5,000 soldiers and police officers are directed by the mekong coordination center. in each country they're working in several provinces either bordering or directly connected to the golden triangle here. their operations range from anti-trafficking to breaking up money laundering syndicates. >> it's a trust building exercise for china to work with myanmar laus together, a lot of
2:40 pm
bear areas have to come down to work together and trust each other yes. >> as nightfalls on a slow bend of the mekong there is hope for the fishermen who pull their livelihoods from the river. if this new program is successful they'll have less to worry about. as there will be fewer traffickers on their stretch of the river at night and fishing pierres will onlying used for fish, and not illegal cargo. >> hong kong's government is under pressure to provide support for the city's growing number of old people. there is currently little financial help for the elderly forcing many of them to have to go back to work to survive. >> every morning up to five days a week, she goes to work. at 85 years of age she earns less than $4 an hour. >> it's obviously not great but
2:41 pm
i can manage to scrape by, but i just have to be frugal. >> in hong kong there is no pension for those who are retired or over the age of 65 years of age. there is an old age living allowance of $280 a month. but she said that it's not enough to cover rent and basic living. >> i still have to earn a living. i still need to eat and therefore i need to find work. >> in a city lacking much of the social safety net going back to work after retirement is common. >> 80-year-old has worked in this cobbler store for half of his life. he combines his earnings and his old age living allowance to pay his $200 a month rent. >> if i solely depend on the allowance, it's definitely not enough. but since i earn some money from my job then together it's enough. >> the plight of the elderly in hong kong is at the heart of
2:42 pm
this photograph exhibition. welfare groups want to highlight the challenges faced by almost 1 million people who are forced to rely on their savings to survive. >> it is expensive, and prices are going up. now we're facing this. >> around one-third of the elderly in hong kong live in poverty. while the government has recently paid $6.5 billion to set up a retirement protection plan, it has yet to complain what it is, and the city's leader has all but ruled out creating an universal pension plan. >> that was the recommendation in a government-commissioned report. the author of that report believes out universal pension the situation facing hong kong's rapidly aging population is unsustainable. >> when they're working they saved very little for the future. so now when they retire, they expect their children to support them. in hong kong i'm afraid
2:43 pm
children nowadays, they could not support them their elderly parents any more. >> this man says he would welcome any government help, but sadly it's a debate that many elderly don't expect to be resolved in their lifetime. sarah clark al jazeera, hong kong. >> now u.s. recording artists pharrell williams and robin thicke have been ordered to pay robin gaye's family more than $7 million after being found guilty of copying his music. [music] >> a jury ruled that their track "blurred lines" plagiarized gayes's song "got to give it up." >> i feel free, free from pharrell williams and robin
2:44 pm
thicke's chains, and what they tried to keep on us, and the lies that were told, and the best we were able to break through any way. >> now to discuss the impact this ruling could have on the music industry is music journalist david stubs, thank you for joining us. explain to us what happened. this is not a sample. this is where it's straight off the track and then add their own. >> if it-sampled, that would be fine, but anybody knows the orange original, you listen to "blurred lines," you have to know that they lifted it. but they claim that they didn't sample it. they recreated a kind of revive. as far as they're concerned that doesn't mean that they're liable for any payments. >> of course now they have to
2:45 pm
give them $7 million. >> yes yes bus the jury decided--the jury made the decision purely on the basis of songwriting rules rather than the actual performance, which is strange. a lot of people feel if you listen to the actual tune, and usually the law goes by the actual tune, but the actual tune isn't necessarily that similar. some people are surprised. i think that the jury felt that robin thicke was quite fishy the evidence that he gave. >> they couldn't hear it in court. >> they couldn't hear it in court. they were just made aware. >> it's quite interesting. we don't know exactly how much they made off the song, but presumably, 10 or $11 million $7 million is quite a big chunk. how much would they have had to pay? >> it would have been lesser payments. there was a time when sampling
2:46 pm
first came in where it was a bit--it was a bit lawless, and then a ruling came in the early '90s saying that if you sample something from an artist, you have to pay up and give them a share of the royalties. >> isn't that something that happens a lot? what impact is this going to have on music industry as a whole. >> some are worried that anything that has the feel, sounds, in terms of coloring of t it sounds like things have gone on before, but then they would be liable to lawsuit. and people are concerned on that basis since nothing is really original. everything probably has sort of a precedence elsewhere, but whether it's the blues or suddenly it could an legal jamboree where people could bring suit just because something has a similar feel. i don't feel that's the case. i think the jury made the decision on the basis that they assumed that the two songs were
2:47 pm
suspiciously similar. they're going to appeal, and they may be successful on that basis. >> well, we'll have to wait and see. david stubbs, thank you for joining us. still more to come in this hour. including back in trouble. is this the final straw for tv host. for instance, could striking workers in greece delay your retirement?
2:48 pm
2:49 pm
>> his tv show has made him famous around the world. now jeremy clarkson's career hangs in the balance has after he allegedly hit a producer. he is no stranger to controversy, and he may have run out of chances. >> geremi clarkson, the host of the bbc motoring show clarkson's suspension for punching his producer puts his program's future and his own in future. >> specifically it would almost have a detrimental affect because he is the show. it's hard to see that they would be able to replicate the show in its current form without him. they could maybe relaunch it, but it would not be quite the same show, and it's hard to imagine it would have the same popularity. >> clarkson was given a final warning after his alleged use of
2:50 pm
a racial slur in leaked footage. it propertied an apology on twitter. >> it's a word i loathe. >> clarkson caused riots in argentina with this porch with a number plate thought to refer to the falklands wars. he has managed to offend germans,many people. >> the bbc earns vast revenues from "toprevenues from top gear, a brand thought to be worth
2:51 pm
$75 million a year. hundreds of fans have signed petition demanding his reinstatement. the bbc say that he has suspended following a investigation. the next two episodes of "top gear" have been cancelled and contract negotiations called off which means that the show's most recent episode could turn out to be it's last. >> now it's time to get all the sports news. >> thank you very much, barbara. we'll start with football where chelsea will take on real madrid. they kick off their last 16 second leg in london in just under an hour's time. manager mourinho has been critical accusing them of a physical approach in the first
2:52 pm
leg, which finished 1-1. we have more from stanford bridge. >> so it's 1-1 after the first leg, but chelsea has the away goal advantage. he returns from the injury he picked up celebrating the lead cup win in the match he didn't even play in. the other question mark, lewis returns here, he did very well moving into midfield, deputizing and he does return to the site. does it mean that lewis goes in to defense? lots of pressure on here with that $15 million price tag could he be in midfield where he could provide that impetus, they have to score here tonight. >> and in the evening's other match, five time european
2:53 pm
champion takes on ukrainian champions. after a goal in the first leg for ukraine the german champions have won their past four matches, and have yet to concede a goal in this three-home european match this season. the first batsman to score centuries in four consecutive world cup matches. they pull the victory over scotland. the innings of 124 comes after centuries against bangladesh, england, and australia. sri lanka won by 148 runs before the quarterfinals. >> now a privilege to share this so it's fantastic. playing wonderful at the moment.
2:54 pm
hopefully they'll continue their form in the qualifiers. >> and scotland has sent home the most experienced player with one game still left after a breach of the team codes of ethics. they allegedly tweeted that he was left out of the sri lanka match for. racial reasons. he was born in scotland and is of pakistan descent. >> the new former are a one starts on sunday in australia and there has already been controversy. the team is appealing against the court decision to force them to use ditch rider. it was a ruling upheld that he has to be given a car for the australian grand prix. he says that they promised him a
2:55 pm
place on the team in 2015 before changing their mind. >> i look forward to going back to the team. i have a very good relationship with the team, so i'm looking forward to the race this weekend. >> the result of the appeal is due in the next 24 hours. earlier we spoke with london base sport john masad who said that they have a chance of succeeding on safety grounds. >> from a letter of the law perspective if you look at his contract, he has a right to race, of course, but formula one is more specific than that. you need to look beyond the actual terms of the contract and look at the safety provisions in terms of having a driver racing in a racing car with a team that trust and confidence has broken down with, and in circumstance where is the car has not been designed around him.
2:56 pm
in those circumstances it is not simply a question of enforcing the contract, it's a question of looking at the reality of motor sport. >> a ceremony in paris in the memorial of ten people who died in tuesday's helicopter crash in argentina including three french sport stars. the helicopter collision during the filming of a reality show. it includes the olympic winning swimmer and bronze medaller medalist boxer. australian fighters michael matthews is the new leader of the race in france after winning stage three after 179 kilometers. matthews' teammates helped him come out on top in a sprint finish to take the over all lead by one second.
2:57 pm
it's the stage of the win of 2015. there are four more stages left finishing in nice on sunday. and the former world badminton number one says he hopes to make it in brazil despite his drug suspension. he failed a dope test last november. he's now being given an april date for his hearing and says if he's successful he'll take part in the qualifiers for the rio olympics starting in may. and that's it for me. >> i love your outfit. i would like to point out that we did not plan it this way but we both have good tastes. now nasa has test fired the world's most powerful rocket booster. it's designed to propel astronauts deeper into space an than ever before.
2:58 pm
bye bye.
2:59 pm
3:00 pm
>> recapturing tikrit, iraqi soldiers and shia militia advance in the fight against isil. [music] >> this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up, the head of nato says that russia is still arming rebels in ukraine as the u.n. announces new sanctions. venezuela' parliament gives president maduro sweeping new powers. critics call it a power grab. theft of