>> we will be able to see change. >> gripping. inspiring. entertaining. talk to al jazeera. next sunday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. this is al jazeera america, i'm michael eaves in new york. here are the top stories - the u.n. special envoy for yemen warns the security council that the country is on the brink of civil war. the founding father of modern singapore lee kuan yew has died. how he helped guide the state from a british outpost to a global financial center republican senator ted cruz is set to announce tomorrow that he will run for the president say in 2016. and a possible game changer - how president obama's budget

could change the business of news sports stadiums. in yemen an uprising against a rebellion. residents in the third largest city tiaz took to the streets to oppose a takeover. security ordered diplomatic and military personnel out of the country. the united nations cop vened an -- convened an emergency security council calling for intervention. the u.n. advisor warns of further fragmentation. >> any side pushing the country in either direction would be inviting a tragic consequence,

libya, syria, iraq combined scenario joining us from new york is gabriel elizondo. what can you tell us. >> the security council emergency meeting ended. it was a wake-up call. we herd from jamal benomar, and he joined the security council via video conference call and what he said was chocking that yemen is on the verge of entering civil war, and if things progress at the same rate as now, which is not much progress towards peace, he said what we could potentially see in yemen is a country that turns into a mix of syria, libya and iraq scenario combined. that's a gloomy out look by a diplomat in yemen. and we heard from the french

ambassador who read a statement from the security council, and the statement was very critical towards the houthis, and said that they you know condemned the fact that the houthis had not implemented any previous security council resolutions on yemen, and said that the security council continues to support a brokered agreement, that is tried to be reached led by qatar and saudi arabia. but this will be a difficult diplomatic situation, because the houthis already said they do in the want to participate in any deal brokered by the g.c.c. this is where we are now. it's a critical situation, as we could tell from the security council meeting. the security council has been ag that they want to get both sides to the table. what we have seen on the ground by deteriorating event, is that it has not worked. >> the theory is growing that this could escalate to a

full-blown war. did the security council give an indication as to whether a time line can be established. an intervention from the united nations nations. >> no, they didn't. it was five weeks ago that the u.n. security council met like today, with an emergency meeting. the events in the last five weeks in yemen changed dramatically. in a situation like you said it it is on the verge of civil war. it's no longer a matter of talking. they have to figure out a solution. it will be difficult. they put no time lines on it. the united nations is a body of work working with consensus. oftentimes it's hard to reach. we saw this weekend the united states pulling out troops from yemen, a sign that the united states doesn't see military intervention in the cards. we have the u.n. here and

remember last month there was u.s. that closed its embassy. it's an oninfluence of bad situations coming together and there's no time frame or when or how it could be fixed. >> gabriel elizondo reporting from the united nations. thank you yemen did not get to civil war overnight. we have a report on the power struggle threatening to rip the country apart. >> reporter: these yemenis have no idea who is running their country, but they are sure of one thing - houthi rebels from the northers seen entering the city of tiaz are not welcome. >> translation: they want to drag us into war. we refuse. >> reporter: with every hour war appears to be getting closer. the houthis reportedly took the airport in tiaz. they are fighting for the right of all yemenis. they are heading towards aden

where the ousted president fled to after being held prisoner for weeks by the houthis. >> i stress the following. firstly the evacuation of all armed militia from the military and the withdrawal of all gunmen from sanaa and other cities. >> that's unlikely and the united states thinks so too. first it's shut down its embassy, and now pulling out its truth. >> this makes all the sense in the world, limiting the troops specifically to take on the war or the fight against arabian peninsula. they don't want the forces caught in what may be a full-blown civil war. the attack gave us a glimpse of what that could mean for ordinary people. yemen is a country where many people feel unsafe. with long running insecurity and a gun for every two people,

there has not been this kind of chaos in recent history meanwhile in syria fighters from al qaeda al nusra front reportedly captured at least four government soldiers. the syrian observatory for human rights said they were taken hostage after a military helicopter went down in rebel controlled territory. this video shows the crash. state tv reports the aircraft experienced technical problems trying to make an emergency landing. rebel fighters claim to have shot it down. al jazeera was given rare access to the lebanese troops on the front line. we have this exclusive report. >> reporter: each day on the mountainous border with syria the lebanese army is looking for any sign of movement by the enemy. when soldiers spot it they

attack. we are sealing the identity of this captain to protect him. >> we are doing the best sacrificing, giving life. we keep doing that until the last drop of blood. >> reporter: the lebanese army is trying to ensure that fighters with i.s.i.l. and the al qaeda al nusra front don't expand their war fronts across the border. this military post is a few kilometres from where armed groups staked their positions. they are dangerous, they work in small groups and they use covers like farmers, and shepherds. so it's hard at the beginning to distinguish between civilians and terrorists. >> for now, the lebanese army is making gains - one strategic post at a time. the stakes are high. lebanon has its own share of political trouble and does not

want to get sucked into broader sectarian conflict in the region. >> it's not about infiltrating or crossing the borders inside the lebanese territory. it could be also again, a hybrid conflict creating instabilities. >> military leaders say that while lebanon may be divided politically, it's trying to put on a united front when it comes to protecting boundaries. >> mark lyons is a retired army major and al jazeera contributor and joins us now. there's so much to talk about in the regions that they are taking notice of. let's go back to u.n. how close are we to full-blown civil war in yemen. >> there's 100% chance that there'll be a civil war. there's nothing americans can do. we have taken out counterterrorist organization.

what should the response be. what do you thing it will be if it happens. i think we have to get the countries in that part of the world. no one is willing to put troops that there. it's not going to happen. we have to be careful of our a lyle in saudi arabia and understand that the borer is wide open. it's not unguarded. there's no telling what can go across the border. that is what the focus has to be. >> there has been so many drone strikes from the u.s. against al qaeda. is there anything else that they could do to really attack al qaeda and any influence in the region. no one is on the ground is it out of the u.s.'s control. >> drone strikes are over we don't have odds in the government making sure that they hit.

right now, it's oversight. we may fly or look for intelligence from them. we don't see it firing up a tart without ensuring we hit the target. >> we had so many eyes on syria, with i.s.i.l. operating, and you mentioned libya, issues there. and now yemen, it seems the region is bubbling with escalation into something that no one wants to be involved. >> they are all connected for sure. now i.s.i.s. is in the situation in yemen, to go with the houthis and sunnis there. now you have al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. let's say there's a civil war, and the sides go at it. they'll have to feed i.s.i.s. and they'll want to go after whoever is the victor of that civil war. it's hard to find history, you look at the miles, there's deserts and logistics, and it's difficult to come up with a

solution. you mentioned nations coming together. your optimism on that. >> that will be qatar, saudi arabia, but, again, there's no from for them to do that. countries act in their own best interests, there are some saying let them go at it and figure it out and see what will happen. we are standing by and watching multiple humanitarian crisis. libya, syria, yemen, and there'll be, unfortunately, scores of civilians killed. >> if all this plays out and we get to the civil war in yemen and the region is unstable. how much more pressure does that put on president obama to change his idea dism. >> well the president is not looking good. he said about six months ago that yemen is the model for the counterterrorism organization. i'm not sure that we can get in. that is the issue. he made a strategic decision to

leave. we started with iraq. had we had 20,000 troops in iraq, that could have been different. here is not the same. we didn't have a large number of troops. we did have troops this. once you leave, it's more difficult to come back. you have to justify it put it in place create the logistics, i'm afraid that that kind of work takes time and i'm not sure that there's time on the ground to do that. >> al jazeera's security contributor joins us. we'll be back in the 8 o'clock hour. for a look a live look at singapore where memorial is growing. people are flocking to pay respects to the late prime minister. lee kuan yew was singapore's founding father dying at the age of 91. the cambridge educated lawyer is credited with leading singapore, and building it into one of the world's wealthiest economies. we look back at lee's life and

legacy. >> without lee kuan yew singapore as the world nose it may never have existed. born in 1923 a fourth generation singaporean saw the homeland occupied. first by the british and then the japanese. after training as a lawyer in britain, he became the prime minister. a post held for 31 years. despite a ruthless style of politics lee kuan yew was no independent leader. singapore was independent out of its will against a backdrop of racial tension. at the time a fearful lee contemplated a bleak future. >> we are a people connected by geography, economics, and ties of kinship.

>> reporter: sentiment gave way to pragmatics unflinching in his determination to bring prosperity in his country. under his leadership singapore was transformed from a tiny impoverished island into a high-tech metropolis. lee's strong leadership had a darker side. political opponents found themselves in court, some ended up bankrupt. freedoms were micromanaged along with the economy. famous bans like those on chewing gum were only recently relaxed. lee's action party was returned to power again and again. with his holdst son prime minister. even after stepping down he worked in an annex of the prime minister's office. in roles as senior minister or minister mentor. through it all he was unrepentant. >> if i ran a western style

democracy and took a straw poll and went according to the poll we would have come to grief. >> while freedoms were sacrificed lee repaid his people with an economic people. filling it with one of the important leaders joox still to come - ted cruz is set to make a big announcement - a run for the presidency we talk to michael shure. plus... >> big industry - a contamination of water supply. documents, video and an admission from a top official has many calling the gas and oil agencies in sacramento a

by this time tomorrow we will have our first official candidate for president. senator ted cruz is to announce a bid for the white house on monday. the 44-year-old texas republican serving two years in congress clerking with g.o.p. leader -- clerk with g.o.p. leadership. he is the son of a cuban immigrants, and would be the first hispanic president if he wins. let's bring in our contributor michael shure. when it comes to politics and campaigns, everything is strategic, what is the significance of ted cruz's announcement at this time? >> part of it is getting name recognition out there. we who cover this all the time know who ted cruz is. doesn't mean anyone in iowa or new hampshire knows his name. also he needs to get a jump on

fundraising. >> we have foster saying he'll open up. others are speaking up. he'll go after votes in state like iowa. he has to get out there early, now is early. he is the first one. i mentioned his conservative hard-line stance even within the g.o.p. party. what will he try to convince on his background. >> i think the fact that he is unbending in his conservatism is a good selling point in the early states. you look at joanie ernst. the special tea party representative running against obama and the tea party. he'll try to duplicate everything that joni ernst did in trying to win the race. she didn't have a great opponent. his work will be cut out for him

you mentioned fundraising and convincing voters. what are other hurdles that deadcrews will face in trying to be the g.o.p. nominee. >> the hurdles he is going to face have to do with the fact that he's not popular amongst republicans. he doesn't make easy paths for republican legs lace. -- legislation. he's known as a filibuster not being part of the debate side of the u.s. senate known as a deliberate body. what he'll have to do is show a personal side. a seed that he hasn't done before that's a hurdle helle have to come up with or get over. he did it in texas. he won an selection in texas, and a primary that he wasn't supposed to win in that state. he has the experience to do that. the question is it will be a bigger field and more messages. getting in early now it something that will be important

for him. >> who is the ted cruz voter? >> you know it's interesting. the ted cruz voter is someone who is opposed to everything the obama administration has done and there's a few voters out there. the republicans have to decide whether the ted cruise voter will carry the day and send to the nomination and convention a candidate who may not be electable. the question is will they look for electability or look for someone who mirrors what they believe in and the primaries they do the latter. by the time things turn around they go for the former. cruz may have to evolve as a candidate to convince others he's the right man for the job. >> that dilemma is something that faced the g.o.p. for some time. >> michael shure, al jazeera contributor - thank you for the insight the boston marathon trial is about to begin its fourth week

of testimony, prosecutors could finish presenting evidence against dzhokhar tsarnaev this week. lawyers would take their days. case -- their case. dzhokhar tsarnaev's trial moved faster than expected. it was thought to last 3-4 months. experts say it could finish in half too time. tomorrow - the supreme court takes up a question hearing arguments in a case involving a refusal by texas to issue specialty licence plates bearing the flag. the group claims free speech has been violated. >> a state running out of water is learning some water it has is contaminated. officials admit it allowed oil companies to dump toxic waste into disposal areas and some have gone into the aquifers. >> reporter: you are looking at a big threat to california's

drinking water. this shows the dumping of waste oil from production including from fracking. this almond farmer shot the videos. his orchard is surrounded by oil and gas. i see a discharge spewing a black liquid into the ground into this hole. this hole is not in the middle of nowhere, it's adjacent to app almond orchard where farmers flood irrigateing. >> reporter: it's been found that state officials allow it to happen. >> it's unsafe and illegal. >> reporter: cathy is the director of biological diverties and climate law. >> they allow oil companies to use drinking water aquifers as dumps. there's 400 wells illegally dumping toxic oil and gas

directly into drinking water aquifers. the state shut down only 23 of those wells. >> reporter: you are saying the regulatory agencies, in charge of regulating the industry have known this all along. >> they have. they have learnt the extent of water pollution, because governor brown's oil regulators have been ignoring health and environmental protection laws. >> this alert to the federal environmental protection agency dated february 6th signed by a division of oil, gas resources, and the state waterboard says: we came to sacramento to get answers from doga state water

gored and governor jerry brown. we were told he is travelling, and dogga and the state waterboard refused our request saying they had answered questions during a state hearing. during that they were lambasted. the agency in charge of protecting the water supply... >> any injection into aquifers not exempt contaminated those abbing which fers. >> reporter: claims were dismissed saying: you don't think doga is doing its job? >> they have never done their job. the agency is in place. the public things they are being protected. it's a buffer between the public and big oil, to sort of make sure that big oil gets what they

need to make big profits. >> lawmakers and environmental groups demand that that change and are calling for a shut down of waste water wells before this crisis is a catastrophe coming up on al jazeera america - building a new stadium may sound like a good idea for a city's economy. critics say in most cases only the teams cash in. president obama's new budget may change that. >> i'm simon mcgregor-wood inside one of belgium's exclusive pigeon breeding centers, where some of these birds have been bought for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

welcome back to al jazeera america i'm michael eaves. here is a look at the top stories. today the u.n. security council convened an emergency meeting. the ousted president asked the u.n. for help saying an urgent intervention is necessary to

averd a full-blown -- avert a full-blown war. senator cruz will become the first presidential candidate for the 2016 election. he will be america's first hispanic president if he were to win afghan leader ashraf ghani arrives in washington for his first visit since being elected. he'll meet with president obama tomorrow. they are expected to discuss security issues such as the draw down of u.s. troops and afghanistan's economy. in nigeria, african union forces attacked book forces killing dozens. two military helicopters from chad bombed their positions. a military officer from niger said members from boko haram amassed in the area preparing for a bigger assault. nigeria has been ravaged by attacks, and are now headed to the polls.

president jonathan goodluck faced off with his competitors in a televised debate. we have this report from the city. >> reporter: the big issue for nigerians according to this debate is corruption. the president answered questions about what he intended to do about corruption. he said he put in preventive measures that fighting corruption was about strengthening institutions, and talked about examples of what he had done in the sector of agriculture, where there has been corruption issues and the government payroll system where there was a problem of ghost workers, people paid that don't show up to work but get paid. how he tried to plug that hole and talked about the security situation, that is the second big issue. there are changes that are not reported. he talked about those in his own region. the niger delta, people with

resource oil, that don't get money from it. kidnapping in the east. overall i think he took on the issue that was good for him to be seen sharing a platform with those he's competing against. the main candidate boycotted the debate. the feeling is that this looked good for jonathan not muhammadu buhari in israel the president began meetings to establish the new government. rivlin sat with different parties to talk about forming a coalition. prime minister binyamin netanyahu's party won the most seats in parliament but need the support of smaller parties to claim a majority and stay in power. german foreign ministers and greek ministers met to discuss austerity. greece's prime minister has been pushing to infrastructure and war crimes that they said nazi

germany committed. tomorrow alexis tsipras will meet with german chancellor angela merkel, coming days after e.u. leaders agreed to extend athens more money and time to deal with debts. as dominik kane reported, they are split on how to help. >> a meeting in brussels to solve the debt crisis. europe's leaders talked into the night. agreeing a deal allowing more money and time. some analysts in berlin believe neither side has a real stick possibility. >> it's a path of muddling through. there's no clear cut solutions. otherwise you need a system where you cut the system start a new one. >> whatever the solutions a survey suggested many germans do not want greece to have more

money. >> i don't think it's a good idea because they have received too much over the last years already. >> i think it's fair. i think they need to assure themselves to be cooperative. that's my opinion. >> there are some in the political class who disagree with that course. here there are those that say what greece needs now is not just more money, but a move away from e.u. imposed austerity. people like stefan from the lenqa party. >> our party was and is against this policy. if you look at the past you see that it was not helpful for the economy in greece. it was not helpful for the budget in greece but it causes a lot of damages. it's a terrible social situation in greece. the meeting at the german chancellory gives a chance to plead his case.

dominik kane al jazeera. >> hundreds gathered in northern kabul for the funeral of a mentally ill woman. the 27-year-old victim's coffin was carried by human rights activists. he believed the woman burnt a copy of the koran. the family denied the accusation. >> we thought that she burnt the holy koran. the mullah is in detention and confessed that he cheated and told lies. some foolish people ordered that she be beaten saying she is not muslim. >> nine men have been arrested. no evidence has been found supporting the accusation against the victim. >> join us for our regular segment the week ahead. for more on the way forward in u.s.-afghan relations, coming up here on al jazeera america.

. >> the president of tunisia says his forces are on the hunt for a man that attacked a museum. a third escaped. security camera footage shows suspects before the footage interacting with another man carrying a backpack. the government killed 21 people in tunis on wednesday. >> the u.s. government reopened the embassy in saudi arabia. officials closed three offices citing security concerns. they received threats of kidnapping and assault, and warned they were high targets for terrorist attacks. >> the first lady left cambodia after two days of promoting girls education. she met with n.g.o.s and others part of a peace core initiative called let girls learn, promoting gender equality in education. mrs. obama is the first american

lady official to vit what do cities get in return for investments. the only ones that score, say critics, are teams themselves.

los angeles just moved a step closer to having a pro football team for the first time in 20 years. a coalition supported a new stadium on land south of los angeles, collecting nearly twice the number of sits needed-- signatures needed to put it to a vote. under a plan. they'd share the stadium if they failed to get new venues. the raiders and st. louis rams left l.a. sports stadiums are some of the most recognisable and revered landmarks. many are bastians of pride and tens of millions fill their seats. finance could be altered by

president obama's new budget professional sports teams rake in hundreds of millions but rarely foot the bill for the stadium where they play. cities and states subsidise the calls with bonds exempt from the income tax. they were designed to help local governments to raise money for public infrastructure projects. for decades they were used to help private business. using them to fund stadiums and arenas are beyond what the law's authors had in mind. >> sports stadiums is a private traction between a consumer and private producer. in no way can one construe this as meeting the intent of a subsidy for state and local debt. >> reporter: after a boom of construction in the late 1970s, and '80s, congress tried to stop the sports teams benefitting.

the tax reform act of the 1967 required them to be taxable if more than 10% was repaid from a sports team. cities and states borrowed more to make sure the debt payments from teams was below the 10% threshold. studies suggesting that sports stadiums are bad investment. economic boosts are focussed on areas around the stadium. some believe they do not generate revenue, and money spent is money not spent in movie theatres and restaurants, leaving cities hundreds of million in debt. it's not just local taxpayers that bay. taxpayer supported bonds, in a report it states: since 1986 more than $17 billion of tax exempt debt has been used

to fund 24 pro-sport stadium, costing $4 billion in lost taxes in addition to that debt. >> it's fine if the citizens of cities want to spend their own money to provide subsidies and stadiums for professional teams. more power to them. why the rest of the nations taxpayers should contribute is another question. >> the obama administration wants to change it calling for a proposal to eliminate tax saves, promising saves of millions. changing the tax code is not easy. bad bills are approved when local pride is pitted against tax policies. >> when you break down the return on investments, the numbers are not very good. look in n.f.l. venues the

minnesota vikings are building a stadium, spented to exceed $1 billion. the taxpayer is footing half the bill, the area will get $13 million a year. in seattle. seahawks play at centrelink field. $550 million to build. $390 million subsidised by the taxpayer. it brings if about $1 million for the city of seattle. in addition to professional sports teams, they keep the revenue raised by ticket sales, parking and concessions sold within the stadiums. one person in the middle of such a dilemma is rick the mayor of st. petersburg. he announced a proposed 1800 seat stadium and joins us from tampa. we appreciate the time. you know as well as i do that

sports teams can be a passionate aspect of the city. let's start from a base standpoint. what value does the city of st. petersburg and citizens place on having major league baseball in st. petersburg? >> we now having the rays in st. petersburg has an economic impact not just on the city but the hotels restaurants, bars all of that within st. pete and the surrounding communities. the economic impact is estimated at about $150 million a year. >> does that equate to the money spent on a new stadium that the rays would love to have in tampa, in the tampa area pardon me. >> if you look at it from the long-term, and we try to look at things from a long term perspective. we think it makes sense to have the team in st. petersburg and are hoping to keep the team in

st. petersburg. we have seen tremendous growth in and around why the stadium is located. and we expect it to continue and hope the growth that continues occurs with the rays there. >> we are seeing a graphic of a stadium that you want to build before the tampa bay rays get a professional sports stadium. why would this field that we are looking at be beneficial to the citizens of st. petersburg. >> let me be clear, the stadium has nothing to do with the rays. it's in the west side of our community, vouched by four other ball parks. what we would be doing by creating this field, is we'd have a field where, number one, international baseball, which we got down hosting with puerto rico and canada can play during the spring. it would be an attractor for college tournaments, high school tournaments. all of those bringing in people.

all coming into the community that may have never been in the city. it gives them a chance to see the city and a chance to spend money in our city. >> as we heard a few minutes ago from a well-noted economist. he says that cities have every right to build the stadium for citizens. if they vote it in fine. why should american taxpayers foot the bill for some bonds used to build the stadiums. how do you respond to that. for this particular stadium that we are talking about, we are not looking at doing that. this stadium has a price tag between 3 and 5 million, which is different to the facilities talked about in that piece. when we get into financing of the rays that is a bit more complicated. we'll look at a number of different sources to come up with the financing. it's about economic development, and we are talking about

attracting peel to that community. that is something the taxpayers invest in every day, whether in a stadium or incentives to bring in 1,000 employer business. it goes on a business like any other business. >> and the business of sports can be controversial as well. the mayor of st. petersburg florida, rick price. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me on. >> for more on how sports teams benefit, and what president obama is doing to stop it tune in to "inside story" with luis suarez tomorrow night at 11:30 eastern, 8:30 pacific here on al jazeera residents in kentucky are facing a challenge - cleaning up - after being hid with storms and flooding. the biggest crisis is mud. >> the houses - we can get in though clean them but can't access the property.

>> reporter: residents need to find unique ways to access their homes. kevin corriveau joins us. that's an example of the aftermath of harsh weather conditions. >> absolutely and the flooding situation with the mud comes from two different things. we have seen a bit of rain in the area, and a lot of melting snow that is going into the ohio river valley. let's take a look at what is going on. there's flooding in other locations. we are talking about the area here. this is the ohio river valley. we are not seeing rain which is a good thing. that allows the area to dry. the waters in the river is high and needs to travel all the way down the ohio - that's where we get the crests and down to the mississippi river. it's down towards the south. anywhere from parts of texas to louisiana, and arkansas that we are now dealing with major flooding as well. flood warnings are in effect flood watches in effect we had

flash flood warnings but they were dropped in this area. we'll watch the area over the next couple of days because we may see a repeat of what they saw. now the rain event will head to the east. as we go towards wednesday, across the river valley, we'll see more rain in the forecast. so the clean up they need to do noods to happen now. >> thank you. >> the illegal gold trade is a multibillion business. the countries where mining happens don't see the money. they are negatively impacted. "techknow"'s phil torres is in peru to vet the ra. practice. >> reporter: the only way in to this spot is on the back of a motorbike. the going is tough. and wet. and makes sure bridges don't

always hold up. these illegal mining operations extend for miles and miles, and we have been on these bikes for half an hour, and we still have a ways to go. as we get closer trees give way to something hard to grasp. impossible to put into words. where we are now should be rainforest. we have the rain but the forest is missing. having done so much work in the areas that have pristine rain forests. it pains me to see this. >> the only way to get a handle on the devastation is to understand how illegal miners get to the goal. they start by clearing the

trees. >> so the process is one that is very very primitive. you use high pressure water hoses and blast it out. the water dissolves the oil blasting anything out it that is organic. >> you run a slurry of sediment over carpet. capturing the tiny flex of gold that you find in the sediment. the process can turn the rainforest into this in a matter of days. >> reporter: our journey into the rainforest does not stop there. we'll show you how much damage has been done by the illegal mining and what scientists are going to combat the problem. when "techknow" investigates gold at any cost. from also i'm phil torres. >> you can watch the full investigation in pe u tomorrow

night. 6:30 eastern, 3:30 pacific. >> still to come pigeon racing is taking off in china, it's an expensive hobby. details

the wealth in china have a new hobby - pigeon racing. as simon mcgregor-wood reports, the best are bred in belgium and come with a hefty price tag. >> in this box is a belgium racing pigeon called niklas something of a long distance star a champion sold to a chinese billionaire. >> he was the most expensive in the auction and in the season since may 2013 after bolt. he was sold for 244,000 euro.

>> nicholas and hundreds of others live at pigeon paradise an exclusive breeding center. last year $23 million of pigeons were sold from here. mostly china. this is where retired champions breed, with the all-important bread in belgium tag. for chinese, it means they are buying the best courtesy of decades of competition and expertise. >> it's maybe a matter of snobbery, that people were china, they have good quality pigeons, they will not cost all of chinese. they prefer to come from belgium. >> 420 birds are on their way to china, value - 911,000. it's a long way from where pigeon racing was a hobby. using the birds homing instincts races started with pigeons,

released hundreds of kilometres from home. openers waiting for them to come back, or not. all for a few hundred dollars. >> what transformed what used to be a cottage industry into a global business is the huge popularity of pigeon racing in china, where millions of dollars changed hands in racing and gambling according to some with that money comes mistreatment and cruelty. thousands of birds died. there has been doping extortion and bird theft. >> the principle of pigeon racing is to send birds hundreds of miles from where they belong from homes, mates, babies and bet on whether or not they'll make it back alive. >> at pigeon paradise birds are well treated. as you see them spreading wings for the first time it's hard not to be taken in by the original attraction the

connection between humans and the birds that try to come home. >> reporter: artists in peru are at odds with the new mayor who vowed to paint over every mural. a fight with his predecessor may be the basis for the fight. >> reporter: this man used to spend days fight, and wants others like him to confront the mayor over the destruction of the murals. he painted "i used to dream" and now it's become a red wall. >> it was a collaborative peace done in four days done by the people walking by. >> his is one of 30 murals destroyed in the past few weeks, many part of a festival organised by the former mayor in 2013.

she gave permits to local and foreign artists who created works of art as tall as a building. they are the escape goats of political wrangles. >> translation: we have nothing to do with the political disputes between the major and his predecessor but have become the excuse for political revenge. >> reporter: recently elected, he want to preserve the cultural her stage under scientific cultural areas. u.n.e.s.c.o. says it's nothing to do with them. critics say he is bent on destroying everything created by his art rival. >> translation: it's a cultural policy beginning by destroying everything. it cancels all cultural activities, including all

lessons. >> reporter: critics are and civilians are furious. >> translation: people are crying out for the murals to be valued. >> reporter: instead of a focussing here the major should focus on graffiti. the mayor has not backed down allowing two murals to remain, both depicting one of lima's most famous singers. elliott and others have taken their case to the government intellectual government agency. he is due to be summioned to congress to explain his rational. rationale. >> here is something you don't see every day. surfers in the u.k. had a chance to ride a massive wave on the river. surfers gathered to ride it in tandem.

it's caused by an increase in water flow from the river's mouth, coming from the atlanta ocean. not like the north shore of hawaii. i'm michael eaves in new york. the news continues with thomas drayton. >> i'll pass on that. hi, everyone. this is al jazeera america, i'm thomas drayton where are in new york. let's get you cut up on the top stories . u.n. envoy to yemen warns they are on the brink of civil war the founder of singapore dies lee kuan yew is being remembered ted cruz set to announce tomorrow that he'll run for the presidency in 2016. >> in "the week ahead" - the afghan president makes a first official visit. we look at peace talks with the taliban and u.s.