>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ welcome to the news hour. i'm richelle carey in doha. president obama takes responsibility for the deaths of two hostages in a counter terrorism operation against al-qaeda. european leaders discuss ways out of the migrant crisis as victims of disasters are laid to rest. saudi jets launch new air strikes in yemen, houthi rebels

demand a complete halt to the raids as a condition for talks. civil society in south africa come together to fight back on hate attacks on migrants. and the nfl feel the legal impact of concussion injuries. agreeing to a $1 billion deal for players who suffered head injuries during their careers. ♪ the u.s. president has just said he takes full responsibility for the deaths of two hostages in a counter terrorism operation in january. the target was an al-qaeda compound. >> as president and as commander in chief, i take full responsibility for all of our counter terrorism operations including the one that inadvertently took the lives of warren and giovanni.

i profoundly regress what happened. on behalf of the united states government i offer our deepest apologies to the families. based on the intelligence we had obtained at the time including hundreds of hours of surveillance, we believed that this was an al-qaeda compound that no civilians were present, and that capturing these terrorists was not possible. and we do believe that the operation did take out dangerous members of al-qaeda. what we did not know tragically, is that al-qaeda was hiding the presence of warren and giovanni in this same compound. >> we'll have a reaction from the region where this action took place. kamala harris is standing by for us. first let's go to kimberly halkett who joins us from charlotte, north carolina. kimberly let's talk about what we know here and the fact that this happened in january, but we're just now hearing about it.

put this in some sort of perspective for us. >> reporter: well i think what we can assume from all of this the fact that there has been this lapse in reporting, is the fact that the white house and a number of intelligence agencies including the cia who operates the drone strikes in this area have no doubt been conducting internal investigations trying to figure out how this happened and how there was a lapt of intelligence which lead to such a blunder. no doubt this will continue in terms of investigation, because there will be further questions about a program that has been ongoing for sometime. this started in 2004 under president bush but ramped up significantly under president

obama. it's highly controversial not just because of the fact that u.s. citizens have been killed in these latest strikes, but the fact that this isn't the first time; that it also happened in 2011. the white house has always justified this saying it was legal, because in the case of american citizens being targeted in the past that there was an imminent threat to the united states, it's going to be hard to make that same argument this time around. >> all right. al jazeera's kamal hider joins us now from islamabad. kamal, president obama said he takes full responsibility for the death of the italian national and the american citizen as well. he apologized for this. but hundreds if approximate not thousands of people have been killed in drone attacks over the past few years, and we have never heard anything quite so forceful from the president. why now?

>> reporter: well that's a very interesting question as you correctly pointed out, amnesty international, the united nations, the government of pakistan have all been very critical of these drone strikes that take place in the bordering area. this is a mountainous area along the pakistan afghanistan border. so it's interesting to see that the united states president is now apologizing for an operation that went terribly wrong. there have been hundreds of civilian casualties on the pakistani side civilian casualties on the afghanistan side but the americans have never apologized in the past for that. >> all right. we'll have to see. this is just the beginning. the united nations is calling on europe to take significantly more refugees and urgently set up more robust search and rescue operations. over a thousand people have

drowned in the mediterranean in just the past week. a service has been held to remember those victims, and still they keep coming hundreds of people have come ashore in sicily in just the past few lawyer -- hours. lawrence lee joins us life from brussel. are we hearing anything about what is coming out of the summit? >> reporter: i think we have a very good idea. the meeting started now. there is a news conference scheduled for later on. but it has already become crystal clear of what the intention is. any aspirations that groups like the united nations might have had that the e.u. would use this as a chance to office asylum to large numbers of people have already been basically dashed by the european union, who have

made it abundantly clear already that their main arspire ration through this meeting is to make it as difficult as they can for people to get on the boats in the first place. so, for example, david cameron, the british prime minister turned up and announced britain would offer a warship, patrol boats, helicopters, there is talks of bombings of the boats. the former belgium prime minister has been downstairs briefing journalists saying the only two countries in the room who had a genuine interest in making more immigrants are germany and sweden. he is very angry that all of the other countries instead have a focus on keeping people out. and this was elaborated in the simplest determines by donald tusk the former polish premier,

who said the best way to stop people dying was to stop them getting on the boats in the first place. here is what he had to say. >> i have no doubt that -- it's a european issue. not just an issue for member states in southern europe. we have a responsibility. and i called today's summit to mobilize all efforts, saving the lives of innocent people is of course the number one priority for us but saving lives is not only about rescuing people at -- at sea. it is also about fighting smugglers, and preventing illegal migration flows. government air strikes in syria have killed 32 people according to activists. the syrian observatory for human rights says the biggest loss of life occurred when a hospital

was hit in the northern provinsz of aleppo. these pictures appear to show the aftermath of strikes on the outskirts of the capitol damascus. it's two months now from the u.n. special envoy to syria announced his plan for an eminent freeze plan. in that plan never got off of the ground. chief political affairs advisor says the plans failed because the proper preparations were ever done nch >> reporter: no one doubts that this man has bun -- one of the toughest jobs in diplomacy. he is charged with bringing peace to syria. until recently this man was employed as his principal political advisor, he has decided to speak out expressing

disillusionment with the way he has been running his mission. >> i think over time it become increasingly clear that we were engaged in what even under the best of circumstances amounted to no more than ath arer meaningless side show that was going nowhere. >> reporter: he is particularly critical of the way he announced his plan for a ceasefire or freeze in aleppo. he briefed the press after informing the security council in a closed session. >> it should be something that freezes the conflict in this area. >> reporter: but it is claimed at this point he hadn't properly floated the idea with the syrian government or the opposition. >> the total absence of preparatory work and that assured you weren't going to get a freeze. you were going to get frostbite. >> reporter: he is the third person to hold the job.

>> in my experience in trying to deal with these issues he was very much out of his depth. he simply wasn't up to the task and i don't mean this so much as a personal criticism, as an observation that he simply doesn't have the right background and -- and expertise. >> reporter: and he makes this charge. >> there was a very serious issue of -- to put it bluntly, cronyism and dodgy personnel decisions, where those with whom he felt a -- a particularly close professional connection irrespective of the fact that they were also completely out of their depth, and simply were not equipped to deal with these issues were given almost unlimited responsibilities. >> reporter: diplomats agree

that his aleppo freeze plan is now effectively dead. they believe a new initiative is needed. but given the stinging criticism, some will be asking whether he is the right man to lead it. james bayes, al jazeera, in geneva spokesman for ban ki-moon joins us from the united nations. do you still have confidence the special envoy, the strategy that he proposed for the freeze in aleppo did not work. there is criticism in the way it was executed. and so do you have confidence in him? >> of course we have great confidence in him and the team and the great team that he has put together. he is over 30 years of front-line experience in the u.n.'s political humanitarian work in the most dangerous places, and we of course have

full -- full confidence in his work and the way he has been -- he has been doing his work. >> so -- >> and i would add -- >> go ahead. >> i would add if i may, i think the characterization of how the freeze was put together in the piece i think is -- is incorrect. i think he started, you know, presented this idea of -- of a freeze to the security council then to the press, but prior to that he had been in damascus. and had extensive consultations and discussions with the government. he and his team had also had discussions with various opposition groups and i think he announced it because he saw a willingness on the part of the government to perhaps move forward on the freeze. so to say that there was no prep work i think is a mischaracterization of the situation. >> what do you say to criticism that he didn't consider other

approaches? >> well you know, i think we have seen five years of -- we're in the fifth year of this horrible war. millions of syrians have been impacted. hundreds of thousands have -- have died. we have had some of the world's best diplomats at this. various approaches are always tried. we keep trying. the u.n. does not have the -- the luxury of quitting. the freeze is of course still on the table. we are now about to embark on a series of individual consultations in geneva with the various parties involved in this to try to get the political process back on track. at the end of the day, the failure to achieve peace in syria, lies on the parties themselves who will have to come to the table and reach a political settlement. the military option that we are seeing now is only causing horrible suffering to the people of syria and damage to the country. >> what do you make of the

allegations of cronyism damaging the process? >> look i think -- he put a team together that he thought was the best one to serve the mission of the envoy's office. you know any time -- sometimes you have people who are not happy with that team and they decide to move on. i think we -- i don't think it's annish new -- it's not an issue of cronyism it's an issue of an envoy having the ability to put together the best possible team and that's what he has done. >> so after all of this time four years, almost 4 million people externally displaced, millions -- 200 to 300,000 people killed. what has to be different about the u.n.'s approach going forward? >> what we need to see is a willingness of the parties to come to the table to reach a political agreement, and the u.n. is trying various

approaches to achieve that goal. but in the end it will only be a political solution when all of the parties that are directly involved and the parties that have an influence also realize that. we have seen in the last now, more than four years, a continued division of the security council on this issue. we need everyone to realize the only way forward is a political one. and that is what the u.n. will keep pushing for and what the special envoy will keep pushing for. and we don't have the luxury to just put our arms down and say this is not going to work. we're going to keep trying different approaches until they work. >> thank you so much for your time. lots more to come on the al jazeera news hour. we'll have the latest on the fighting between rival militias in libya. and in sport find out when

there will still be a chill when blowing through qatar's winter world cup. ♪ the saudi-lead coalition launched more air strikes against houthi targets in yemen. nearly 2.5 strikes have been carried out during this month-long campaign. sillian infrastructure has been damaged as well however. the red cross says hospitals in sana'a have been without electricity for nine days now. and the death toll over the past month has now topped 1,000. with close to 4.5 thousand injured. mohamed vall reports. >> reporter: street battles in

the yemeny city of ta'izz. the fighters of the popular resistance committees are loyal to president hadi. they are supported by soldiers from the 35th brigade, but they are still unable to push the rebels from the city. a similar scene is here further south in the city of aden. these are members of hadi's popular resistance committee. they say fighting continued here on tuesday night and since the early hours of wednesday. in washington the saudi ambassador to the united states said the situation in aden required continued military action. >> we are seeing movement by the houthis that is very distrush distrush -- disturbing in the city of aden where we see

movement of the houthi troops from three different positions. >> reporter: clashes also resumed in the areas of aball la in the province of sheb wa. the saudi-coalition targeted fighters in the three areas. but the houthis seem far from being broken. they have marched in the capitol sana'a, which they still control. they chanted victory. denounced the saudi-lead strikes, and renewed allegiance to their houthi leader. yemeni army soldiers loyal to the houthis and to the former president saleh joined the march >> translator: we took to the street to condemn shelling of civilians. shame on you. why don't you face us on the ground. why don't you face us like men. we will always face you. >> reporter: the houthis say they won this war, and any peace

deal should be based on their earlier agreement with yemeni political parties signed last september, the day after they took control of the capitol, sana'a. meanwhile, the human toll of the conflict is continuing to rise. >> translator: houthi target me woman, child, or man. they were simply were blindly targeting all of us. >> translator: we are no longer able to receive more cases. it has gone beyond our capabilities in this hospital. we are putting patients in the corridors and reception. at least nine patients in each room. we're short staffed and don't have enough equipment and medicine. >> reporter: the red cross has declared the humanitarian situation in yemen as catastrophic. the saudi-lead coalition says it has launched a new operation with the same of restoring peace in yemen, but so far there are still no signs of a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

in iraq the u.n. says more than 114,000 people have fled their homes in ramadi. in the last two weeks, there has been intense fighting. aid agencies say displaced people are in urgent need of shelter. in libya fighting continues between militias loyal to the tripoli-based government and u.n. backed governments in the east. talks are due to resume thursday in morocco. >> reporter: a few thousand people used to live here now the area west of tripoli is deserted. it has become a military zone with ongoing fighting between forces loyal to the illegally based government and the government to the east.

it looks like the fighting is far from over. >> translator: it was calm for a day, and then our fighters were ambushed by soldiers trying to take control of our positions. >> reporter: on the political front, u.n. sponsored talks in morocco are due to start later on thursday. there is a renewed focus on a resolution following reports of new armed groups affiliated with isil gaining a foothold. the country has been pushed deeper into chaos since two rival governments emerged in june last year. the government in tripoli is lead by the acting prime minister after his predecessor was sacked earlier this month. the second u.n.-backed government is based in tobruk and headed by this prime minister. the u.n. envoy to the country say the solution is difficult, but not impossible. >> we have made important progress in the last days. i think parties are now getting

closer to an agreement. of course the remaining part is going to be difficult, but not impossible. >> reporter: it's not just isil that threaten libya, on the coast migrants pay thousands of dollars for a seat in a rickety boat to cross to europe. with multiple issues to confront stability is a priority for the country. nigeria's army says it has killed an important commander of boko haram. it describes him as being a notorious terrorist leader. this comes as ground forces have joined an offense if against the rebel's last-known strong hold in the northeast state of born know. the force launched an offense if in february and has recaptured much of the territory it controlled. on march 27th the army

announced the capture of the headquarters of boko haram. more than a week later, on april 7th, nigerian forces overran all camps in borno state. earlier we spoke to mike a former director of nigeria's state security service. he claims the operation is critical in the fight against boko haram. >> it's very very significant, because you recall before the election there was mention that boko haram would be stopped in six weeks, and a lot of communities have been liberated by our security forces. so the most strong hold is very significant, because this is the last strong hold of boko haram. and i believe very strongly that

[ inaudible ] ahead to [ inaudible ] very very significant that the government is actually moving against boko haram. but the problem is that you see, why it has not been that easy, is the security forces are avoiding collateral damages. but the communities are being liberated, i think it is important that the government takes adequate action immediately. coming up mexican police are accused of ignoring the drug gangs and taking on vigilantes. and find out if the nba champions can stop blake griffith. andy will have the latest from the playoffs. ♪

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strike on an al-qaeda compound. a former u.n. official has told al jazeera that the planned freeze in aleppo failed because the proper preparations were never done. he blames the failure on his former boss. united nations is calling on europe to take significantly more refugees and urgently step up more robust search and rescue operations. over a thousand people have drowned in the mediterranean just last week. the european policy centers migration and mobility policies director joins us live from france via skype. we appreciate your time. what are your expectations of this emergency summit is brussels? >> well my fear is that the

reasons of the meeting and the reasons of the council will not meet the expectations. my fear is that we will have a series of measures some of which are going to be extremely detailed, but many of them will be more focused on the security side rather than in saving people. >> do you feel -- are you concerned that some of what may come out of this may actually be detrimental to the situation as opposed to helping it? >> well i think that there are two or three different issues at stake. if we really want to address issue of people dying at sea, we need to have immediate action in order to save lives, and my fear according to one document which was available on the internet since yesterday is that the efforts, which are going to be put into the search and rescue operations will not be at

the level expected. secondly there is clearly one element, which is into the minds of heads of state and government, which is to fight traffickers. this is clearly something which needs to be done but it looks pretty much that one point has been a little bit forgotten into the discretions, and we're going to see whether this will be included today, is the legal ways to have access to the e.u. territory. we have a problem today because people are trying to cross the mediterranean sea in different ways because they do not have legal access to the e.u. [ inaudible ] or on the basis of humanitarian visa. and so far in the document which was leaked yesterday, nothing very concrete and very ambitious was made in this regard and finally addressing route causes

and trying to see whether the european union and its members could act as a political player as [ inaudible ] rest in these conclusions. >> and to be clear, some of the things you were talking about were leaks of what a potential plan might be. it actually remains to be seen what will come out of this summit in brussels. so thank you so much for your time. i'm sure we will be calling on you again. >> thank you. the people who arrived in catania this morning were picked up 15 miles off of the libyan coast. that's where the italian coast guard say nearly all of the people who cross the mediterranean flee from. hoda abdel hamid has been talking to some of those willing to make the journey across the sea. >> reporter: they escaped war and poverty, traveling for weeks sometimes months to reach libya.

baba had nearly made it when the boat he was sailing on was intercepted by the libyan coast guards. it was on the same day another one carrying 400 migrants capsized. >> they put me in contain, and i come here. i don't know this place. people are suffering here. we don't understand [ inaudible ] they will help us or let us free. >> reporter: mohammed was on that same journey. he escaped sierra leone after both of his parents died of ebola last year. >> we don't have anybody. anybody to care for us. that's why we come here. see, we don't have any help from anybody. >> reporter: now they are in a detention center. about a thousand people are held here. the building used to be a

school the classrooms are now cramped, they come mainly from sub saharan countries but some from as far as bangladesh. living conditions are extremely difficult, authorities acknowledge that but they say they are doing as best as they can to cope with the situation, and they do fear in the coming months things could get worse. with the outset of summer many more migrants are expected to reach the coast of libya. everyone here heard about the shipwrecks that recently cost the lives of hundreds in the mediterranean sea. still it is a risk they are prepared to take. >> translator: yes, it's dangerous, but there's no work in my country. that's why i'll take that risk. i'm scared but i have no other option. i have not spoken to my mother in months. she doesn't know if i'm alive or dead. but i have to work earn some money and then i can see here

again. it will take four or five years. >> reporter: it's despair that made these men and women flee so far from home. now escaping libya crossing to europe remains their only hope for a future. in south africa hundreds have marched in johannesberg to protect against hate attacks on migrants. civil rights groups are calling for an end to the violence and at least seven people have died in the last two weeks. charles stratford was at the march. >> reporter: crowds gathering here for an anti sene know phobia attacks. these attacks against foreign workers in south africa. there is a multitude of groups here groups fighting against hiv, people fighting against poverty, and people have traveled from all over south

africa. i spoke to one man. he said the message is to show we are all africans. another man told me it is important to highlight that these attacks in no way represent south africa. this has become a huge embarrassment for the government. there are concerns about over the south african economy, how south african businesses abroad could receive counterattacks. certainly today there is a big gathering here from people from all over the country. david petraeus is due to be sentenced later for leaking highly classified military information. kimberly halkett has more from washington, d.c. >> reporter: when he was unanimously confirmed as the director of the cia, david petraeus was applauded for his military pedigree. >> i don't believe that i have ever quite encountered a

military leader or civilian leader for that matter with the combination of charisma and intellect that general petraeus possesses. >> reporter: but fast forward 14 months, and he was forced to resign. he was accused of sharing top secret documents with his mistress paula broadwell. he had been writing a biography about petraeus and the two became romantically involved. when she felt threatened by another female friend she began sending harassing emails when the fbi unearthed broadwell as the source they discovered evidence of the affair. petraeus is accused of sharing eight of his personal black books, recording his time in afghanistan. the highly confidential material

is said to include the identities of agents war strategy and others. he will plead guilty on thursday the charge carries up to a year in prison, and a $100,000 fine. but it is unlikely he'll do any jail time. this analyst says he belongs -- >> he belongs to a cast which is extremely powerful protected by powerful interests. he ingratiated himself with the people who are not just supporting america's wars abroad -- >> reporter: but also with those in positions of power. that's why unlike edward snowden in exile for exposing the mass nsa surveillance program in the u.s. or chelsea manning, pay trays a is expected to receive

two year's probation and pay a fine of $40,000. that's about a third of what he collected for making a single public speech. hundreds of people in the u.s. city of baltimore have been protesting against the death of a 27 year old black man in police custody. gabriel has the latest. >> reporter: days after a young black man died after being arrested by police protesters are back on the streets making their voices and frustrations heard. their grieving and tensions are growing. >> i'm done just sitting down. letting it happen. if you don't do nothing no justice will be served. >> reporter: they want justice and answers for the death of freddy grey. grey was held in police custody under suspicious circumstances, his family and eyewitnesss say that grey fractured three vertebras after being roughed up

by police and it left him in a coma that he eventually died from. >> enough is enough and we're not taking it no more. and i'm here for the brutality of the police. >> reporter: cell phone video showed grey screaming in pain as he was being loaded into a police van, but it's unclear how or where the fatal injuries occurred. in the state of maryland police officers operate under a bill of rights which says only other law enforce agencies can investigate alleged misconduct and officers don't have to immediately cooperate with internal investigations. >> it undermines the ability for outside entities to come in to investigate. you are leaving the police to police themselves. and anyone who is honest with themselves, if you have an agency that has an interest in maintaining its legitimacy and the interests of the people involved they are going to do what they can to not found that

they did anything wrong. >> it is in no way prevented the baltimore police department from talking to his individuals or having any negative effect on this investigation. >> reporter: 63% of the residences are black, as is the mayor, more than half of the council maybes the police commissioner and a little under half of the police force. >> the fact that it can happen anywhere, but it has been happening everywhere. it has been happening all over the country. >> reporter: with no clearances on exactly how mr. grey died and at the hands of whom people say they are not done and are planning to take to the streets again in the coming days. mexico's federal police are being accused of killing 16

villainties who were fighting a powerful drug gang. if this is true it will be the third sometime in the past year security forces have been involved in mass killings. warning to our viewers some of the images in this report are graphic. >> reporter: killed in the cross fire or massacred by federal police? it's unclear what this cell phone video really shows. but according to an investigation by a mexican journalist, the police opened fire on members of vigilantly groups on january 6th. this contradicts the government's story that nine people died in friendly fire. we have come to this safe house to meet the men who say they were attacked that day. >> translator: the police were hooded and aimed their rifles at us. we raised our hands and said don't shoot, and they started shooting. >> reporter: he said the army was there too. >> reporter: this is one of the

leaders of this group. they call themselves self-defense forces or vigilantes. authorities say they are mart of a drug gang. it is hard to tell where one's allegiances lie. >> all i could see was people dying right there, getting shot. matter of fact i seen -- i seen them shooting people in the head they were kneeling them on their knees and shooting them. >> reporter: the last time we met this group was nearly a year ago when they were working with state police to bring down mexico's most wanted man. now he feels he can't even go to town. this woman says she witnessed the shooting that day. >> translator: they only have sticks and rocks to defend themselves. they seem desperate. and ran off. some even wearing sandals. >> reporter: police and federal authorities refused to speak to

us about the report. this was the security czar at the time now he maintains that the killings were a result of cross fore. check points manned by federal police like this one are found all across the state because it's still a very violent place. in the past they used to coordinate their groups are villainty groups. but the vigilantes say they will never trust the police again. we showed security footage, he says that his men are running and that they never fired. some of what happened was caught on cameras, but the truth from that day may never fully come to light. amnesty international has urged india to lead diplomatic engagement with the maldives. they say attacks against peaceful protesters are on the rise while police officers turn a blind eye.

in february there were protests over the former president. russia is cutting spending on its space program by more than a third over the next ten years. several research projects including the launch of superheavy rockets will be scrapped. its economy has been hit hard by falling oil prices and sanctions over the ukraine conflict. coming up later, the world's oceans could be worth trillions of dollars a year. and in sport, why moments like this are said to cost the nfl up to $1 billion. ♪

♪ there is a state of emergency in parts of southern chile after a volcano erupted twice within hours. it has been dormant for 50 years and thousands have been forced to evacuate. >> reporter: a reminder of the earth's fury as the volcano roars into life sending ash and smoke into the sky. this time lapse video capturing the moment it erupted for the first time in 43 years. >> translator: at the beginning it was small, but later the cloud grew and then there was a huge cloud over me and i got really scared. >> reporter: chile has issued a red alert, ordering anyone near to leave quickly. >> translator: we're going to

increase the evacuation zone from 10 to 20 kilometers and we're asking anyone nearby to evacuate the area and take all precautionary measures for safety. >> reporter: that sent locals scrambling and as the clouds of ash grew above them so did the queues for the petrol pumps. >> translator: it was impressive to see an enormous mushroom cloud. there was a lot of panic, chaos, traffic jams. people going to supermarkets. everyone looking for water. >> reporter: it is considered one of the most dangerous of chile's 90 active volcanos and while there has been no lava yet, authorities are watching this eruption closely. all right. time for some sport. i'm going to let andy do that. >> thank you so much. the national football league is set to pay hundreds of millions

of dollars to players with head injuries. the players yuan -- union has estimated that 30% of the players will develop brain conditions as a result of concussions. you might remember a 29 year old retired from the game because of concerns about long-term head injuries. it allows for cash awards of up to $5 million for a retired player suffering with medical conditions related to head trauma. it is estimated it will cost the league around a billion dollars over the next 65 years, but around 200 players have opted out of the settlement and retained the ability to individually view the nfl. michael carson says head injuries will always be difficult to avoid. >> it is part of the game. the game is a very technical

one. there's a lot of strategy involved but it boils down pretty much player on player. and it is physicality that makes it so attractive. and we don't know for sure exactly what it is that causes brain damage and there are -- there could be other factors, not least the fact that anybody in the nfl has probably played at least eight but more likely 12 or 13 years of football before he even gets to the nfl. and it is probably youth and high school football that are even more dangerous, because that's when the brain is still growing. the lineup for the last four of the european champion's league is complete. hernandez scoring the decisive goal. his 88th-minute strike was the only goal.

juventus also through after a 0-0 draw with monaco. barcelona and bayern munich are the other teams. the council of europe is discussing allegations of corruption surrounding the qatar bid process. qatar has already been cleared of any serious wrongdoing by american lawyer michael garcia and on wednesday they released details of the latest world cup stadium. richard parr reports. >> reporter: the stadium design another step for the organizers of the 2022 world cup. and the first major one since it was confirmed that the tournament will take place in qatar's winter months. >> when some things are pending you just want closure, and i think everyone is happy that the

date has been set. it brings a sense of closure on the subject and it brings a sense of clarity for the future. >> reporter: the 40,000 seat stadium will have controlling technology construction is expected to start at the beginning of next year and be ready in 2019. qatar 2022 say they will continue to monitor the world bid. >> we have strict requirements for worker's welfare. we have standards, and we -- we force the standards, okay on our contractors, they need to abide by the standards. we carry out inspections, regular inspections to visit the labor camps, verifying, okay periodically that they continuously adhere to the requirements. >> reporter: this is the first of eight stadiums, qatar 2022 say they will have for the world cup. it's not clear how many they will have in total for the

tournament. they are not sure if the confederation cup will take place in this qatar the year before. fifa have suggested it could take place in another country in the middle east. >> they don't want to disrupt the seasons of the leagues for more than one season, so it's understandable. however, there's an understanding that there will be an event replacing the confederations cup of the same magnitude or larger. >> reporter: with seven years to go there will still be many complex situations the world cup organizers will face. they say that continue to work closely with all of the stakeholders. reigning nba champions the san antonio spurs got a big effort from blake griffith. the spurs were unable to settle

the game in regular time. duncan continuing his scoring in overtime. stopping the clippers from getting ahead. they could have forced double overtime only to miss a triple. >> tonight, you know, he was spectacular. he continues to amaze me in the things that he is able to do. he is just a really committed, competitive guy. it's just -- he always comes to play and tonight he got some shots to fall and did a great job for us. there was one other game in the west memphis beating portland. in the eastern conference atlanta beat brooklyn and they go up 2-0 as well. the ducks swept their series. the ducks will face the winner

of the vancouver calgary series. okay plenty more sport on our website, more details on that big payout for nfl players that has been agreed. check out aljazeera.com/sport. that is it for now. >> i still can't get over how tim duncan is playing. you would think he is 25. >> absolutely. >> all right. a new report by the worldwide fund for nature has assessed the raw economic value of the world's oceans at almost $2.5 trillion a year. but it's in danger of being wiped out. nick clark reports. >> reporter: oceans cover more than two-thirds of our planet. not only a vast trillion dollars resource but also crucial in the cycle of life itself. a research team from qatar on its way to study a vital component of the world's

mangroves. the soft marshes providing an ecosystem and home to all types of animals. they are capable of storing up to eight times more co 2 than tropical forests. >> we are looking at the capability to absorb nutrients, the capability for it to store carbon, the support it gives to fisherman and species in the gulf. >> reporter: and the bottom line is they are fundamental to the general state of health of the world's oceans. the problem is mangroves are being ripped up and destroyed along coastlines all over the world. the rate of loss is more than three times that of deforestation on land. and as far as oceans are concerned it doesn't end there. the entire multi-trillion dollars marine resource is in

danger of failing. the oceans are changing faster than at any other point in tens of millions of years with overfishing, pollution. >> the population is struggling. and ecosystems like oceans can recover very fast if we don't reach the tipping point. but we are at risk in the next 20 years or so that if this continues actually the ocean will not be able to recover for generations to come. >> reporter: the message is we are running down our ocean assets and pushing the marine economy into the red, but couching the ocean's now flagging health in sheer monetary terms, they hope they are speaking a language the world decision makers may just understand. >> thank you for your time. stay with us here on al jazeera. another full bulletin straight

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as victims of this week's migrant sinking disaster are laid to rest european leaders meet to discuss a way out of the crisis. ♪ i'm lauren taylor this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up. >> as president and commander in chief, i take full responsibility. >> president obama reveals two hostages have been killed. hit with an iron bar and stabbed, the victims of south