i take responsibility to bring back fifa. thank you. >> sepp blatt erwins another term as the fifa despite the corruption scandal gripping fifa. hello there. this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up. this front captures more villages after taking the last syrian government town in the province. the u.s. formally removes cuba from its state sponsors of

terrorism list. median march seizing another boatful of migrants. the southeast asian nations agree to step up search and rescue efforts. warm welcome to the program. sepp blatter has been re-elect as fifa president for a fifth term despite football world's governing body in the grips of an unprecedented scandal. blatter got 133 votes athe fifa congress in zurich just short of the 140 votes needed to avoid a second round of voting. his challenger from jordan got just 73 votes but con seated defeat. fifa is targeted by u.s. and swiss authorities in separate corruption cases.

sepp blatter said he willed restore the damaged reputation. >> i'm not perfect. nobody's perfect. we will do a good job together i'm sure. so i thank you so much. i thank you for the trust and confidence trust and confidence together we go. let's go fifa! let's go fifa! thank you so much. thank you. thank you. >> earlier his defeated challenger thanked supporters as he withdrew from the race. >> it's been a wonderful journey in terms of knowings you and working with you and seeing what challenges you have. i want to thank in particular all of those brave enough to support me. having said that i'll be withdrawing from the race. so thank you all very much. i wish you the best of luck for the future. thank you. brazil has begun

investigations into possible fifa corruption there. the former brazilian football confederation president was one of the seven officials arrested in sdmrur rich. anger over the 2014 world cup has not died away yet. many are still angry about the amount of money spent on stadiums which now stand empty. we have the story. >> reporter: for many in brazil this is an example of everything that was wrong with the 2014 fifa world cup. it cost $600 million to build, twice as much as originally planned. after hosting less than a handful of matches during last year's world cup, it's never been filled again. today it serves mainly as a parking lot for these buses. after seeing cases of mismanagement and disproportionate spending in stadiums all around the country, to many the signs of wrongdoing were glaring and took invest by surprise.

>> reporter: the brazilians have never trusted fifa. some of us already suspected corruption was rampant. to others it was the surprise of the dimension and reach of the corruption scheme. >> reporter: indignation was such that thousands took to the streets in 2013 to protest what they thought were misused resources for a country where millions live on so little. >> translator: all these stadiums are unnecessary. in brasilia they have no football culture. it would have been better spent on hospitals and schools. >> reporter: it's the fact that brasilia has no professional team. there's very little football played at the stadium. in fact, it mostly sits empty for the occasional concert. last year it played host to a mass wedding. attempts to look into corruption by members of congress have prooevenly been boycotted but approved in light of the recent refuse lagss out of the fifa

scandal. >> translator: there is no doubt that the government works to avoid our investigation related to the world cup last year. it's all connected to the krpgs scheme in fifa and the brazilian football confederation. >> buildings stadiums like this was meant to demonstrate to the world that brazil was a major economic power. instead critics say it might stand as a symbol of rampant construction and squandered resources. palestine has dropped its motion to suspend israel from fifa. it follows highly charged teams outside the fifa congress earlier where security guards blocked attempts by pro-palestine protesters to to remember the building. they're talking about israel's breach of rules relating to racism and players. fifa will send observers to monitor the situation to drop the motion.

islamic state of iraq and the levant is claiming responsibility for a bombing outside a shia mosque in saudi arabia. it went off during friday prayers in the eastern city dama. a man wearing women's clothing is said to have blen himself at the mosque's gate. it's the second bombing claimed by isil in the kingdom in a week. last friday a suicide bomber killed at least 21 people in another province. isil forces make gains in libya. they have taken control of a civilian airport in the city of sert. the rest of the already under mostly isil control. in syria activists say rebels from the al qaeda-affiliated front are advancing after capturing the last government-held town in the

eastern idlib province. they captured sefrl villages near by forcing them to withdraw from the area. government forces executed six detainees as they withdrew. the government is now targeting the town with air strikes. idlib is strategically important because it borders turkey and providing access to assad's home province and the coast. >> reporter: another gain for syrian rebels in northern idlib province. it's a coalition of rebels that includes a front with fighters allyied to al qaeda. they now control the town and it's thought to be the last major stronghold for the regime in the entire province. >> translator: thank god we liberated a town in just a few hours. i swear, they ran like rats. >> reporter: after days of ongoing battles, the soldiers

have left. the state's news agency says government forces have pulled out to the outskirts. tens of families are fleeing. >> translator: some people are scared the regime was destroy the town using battle bombs as mentioned. >> reporter: rebels moved onto the village in the western countryside killing a number of government soldiers. days earlier rebels captured the town. last month they took control of idlib city the province capital. the next major balcs for these fighters could be president bashar al assad's stronghold on the coast. in palmyra and the islamic state of the levant is widingening kroelt. tens of inmates were moved by government forces before they fled.

per the south a war of attrition is taking place. fighting between hezbollah is not over in the mountains range. hezbollah has announced it made big gains in the area on the border with lebanon two weeks, but with the fighters carrying out hit-and-run attacks. more than 40 hezbollah fighters are set to have been killed since fighting started earlier this month. it's crucial for hezbollah and the syrian government. it's where both sides get weapons and reinforcements. fighting in syria's multiple battlefronts continue to intensify. too many warring factions with different agendas are battling themselves and government forces. it's not clear who will win the final battle. the united states has formally dropped cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

the decision to remove them from the list is a key step forward to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries, which has been suspended for 54 years. let's get more now from patty culhane in washington, d.c. it's a major step forward. >> it is. especially for the cubans who said that this had to happen because it was somewhat symbolic, but to be labeled a state sponsor of terrorism that makes companies not want to do business with you. there's severe limitations on what u.s. companies can do in cuba. the sanctions associated with the state sponsored terrorism is listed, there's a host of other sanctions congress put in place. we have an interesting die nam in this case. the reason is happens today is because the president wanted this to happen but he couldn't do it alone. he had to give congress 45 days to scuttle the deal. we din see a big push despite being serious heated criticism of the president in congress. that's partly because the very

powerful business lobby wants to see this diplomatic tie strengthen because they want to do business in cuba. the bigger question is is that same lobby going to press conference going to lift the embargoes. this is the first step. >> pat where itypatty, this is a tiny little baby step, isn't it? there's a long way to go. they have widely differing views on so many things. >> they do. as the president said it's been decades, more than 50 years, so they have a lot of bad history over those years to try and overcome. the state department spokesperson said she was surprised that the relations have taken this long. i think from the u.s. perspective they thought it would be easier to get the embassies re-opened, but it hasn't happened. they continue the negotiations on that. one issue is where can u.s. officials going in the country? do they have to notify cuban

officials where they're going? in cuba there's a great deal of concern because of the past history and trying to overthrow the government. there's a concern about letting them travel freely across the country, so they haven't bridged that divide. there's still a lot of people in congress who won't move the sanctions. we've heard a lot of presidential candidates especially from the republican side say if they're elected they would go back on what the president has done in cuba. they say he's strengthening the castro government, but that's things the president for his part said we tried your way and it's been more than 50 years and it haven the worked. let's give it a shot. still to come they continue to negotiate over the re-opening of embassies and the return of ambassadors ambassadors. as we report from havana there are more obstacles to overcome. >> an embassy by any other name here is called an intersection. that's ha this building has been for more than 50 years since the

united states and cuba broke diplomatic ties at the height of the cold war. this used to be the u.s. embassy, and, in fact it is still u.s. property. it is not considered or treated as a proper embassy. the united states has a head of mission rather than an ambassador. the skeleton u.s. staff can't leave havana without special permission. the area in front of the intersection here has been a venue for countless protests. this big structure facing the former u.s. embassy has been nicknamed the protest dome. president castro told president barack obama he wants assurances that the embassy will not be used to promote and help dissidents especially journalists. the united states says it's helping cuban civil society, but they consider these people mercenaries, and this will be one more thorny issue to be resolved before the u.s. flag can fly over this building

again. still to come this half hour buhari vows to crush boko haram as he's sworn in. >> the u.n. has serious concerns about the future of australia's great barrier reef but stopped short of putting it on a danger list.

>> "compass" will challenge the way you look at the world. talking about big subjects. telling human stories. >> there's a tidal wave. >> we all have a problem. >> could you have seen that coming? welcome back. a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. sepp blatter has been re-elected for a fifth term despite the governing body mired in the

worst scandal yet. fighters from syria's affiliate have advanced into nearby villages after capturing the last government-held town in idlib province. the united states removed cuba from the states sponsoring terrorism. it's the latest move towards restoring diplomatic ties. let's get more now on the top story from andy richardson outside the fifa congress in zurich. hi there, andy. how can sepp blatter move forward with a divided fifa and it's in the grips of its worst-ever crisis? >> we just had a statement from the ueafa saying he was proud to have given his backing to prince al hussein of jordan. he said that candidate would have brought about meaning.

that isn't and never has been the majority view within fifa. for every person that criticized sepp blatter within fifa at least two voices are happy to step up and thank them for the support for the football association. sepp blatter said today he couldn't be held responsible for the actions of individuals within fifa. he was doing all that he could, and it was up to member associations to take more responsibility. he has happily created arguably the world's most lucrative and powerful football club. the last thing the majority of people want as part of that club is meaningful change. >> andy they distance themselves by fifa but is the reality that fifa and, of course, the events which it's concerned with organized is simply too big to

fail? >> reporter: the finances of fifa revealed today there's giving summaries to the media. 80% of the total revenue comes from the world cup. the broadcasters and upon soreship, the vast majority comes from that. the one option uefa the european governing body outwardly spoke against blatter, and they could withdraw themselves from the world cup. that will be discussed in a few days' time. that's a huge huge step. if big countries move out of fifa and world cup, the sponsors reassess the relationship with fifa. for now sepp blatter provides the member associations with a hugely profitable company. a normal company just had seven top officials arrested and its hq rated, the ceo would be

under pressure from the shareholders shareholders. the majority of people inside that hall do not see the need for change. >> andy richardson joins me live from sdmrur rich. thank you. now, he has vowed to eradicate boko haram and rescue hundreds of kidnapped women and children as he was sworn in as knee nigeria's new president. that's one of the major challenges on his long to-do list. it includes land in the northeast, but buhari took cheers when he announced taking personal charge of the fight against the group and move the military command center to the northeastern city. now, he'll also have tackle huge economic problems thanks to a huge problem in oil prices that represent 90% of the country's exports and 70% of government revenues. he has pledged to fight the

rampant corruption that impoverished nigeria aefr the years. he'll be expected to improve the electricity outpost, which is a national shame with power cuts that last for days. just this week a fuel crisis grounded flights and closed petrol stations. >> reporter: he was sworn in as president of nigeria by the chief justice at eagle's skeer in the capital. it was a historic occasion because it was the first transfer of the power from one democratic leader to another since the end of the military rule in 1999. heads of states from across africa africa, including the leaders of south africa and zimbabwe and the u.s. secretary of state john kerry attended including other vips. the outgoing president goodluck jonathan set next to buhari. he thanked him for accepting defeat during elections in march. after being sworn in he gave his inaugural speech.

he said the world had come to expect the worst from nigeria, but they surprised the world by conducting a free fair and peaceful election that brought him to power. he promised to fight krpgs and employment and improve security. >> i support everybody. >> it's a complete change for the image of africa. there's a sense in the u.s. something that frustrating me a lot, that nigeria and other countries can't have a peaceful transition or elections. those days are over. >> reporter: outside the venue thousands of supporters tried to get in to watch the ceremony. >> why we elected him? because we think he's one of the best man for the masses. because his chaktracter and movement was with the masses.

why today in the happiest today and how to show our happiness as the masses of this country. we come to the eagle's square and security does not allow the masses to be there. why? >> reporter: celebrations to mark the historic occasion take place across nigeria. among them is the hard work of others to put the country on the right track begins. the u.n. refugee agency says fighting between armed groups in northern mali forced almost 60,000 team from their homes in the last month. the government and its allies signed a ceasefire deal with northern separatist groups last year. the violence escalated since pro-government fighters seize the a town late last month threatening to derail u.n. brokered peace efforts. myanmar's navy intercepted a boat packed with 727 people off the coast. they found a similar boat carrying 200 migrants a week

ago. they described those on board as bengalis for the minority muslim it doesn't consider citizens. it's warned against finger pointing at an emergency meeting to discuss the growing migrant crisis. more than 4,000 migrants have landed in indonesia, malaysia and thailand myanmar and bangladesh since they launched a crackdown. the 17 countries attending the meeting agreed to step up search and rescue efforts to help the many at sea. they pledged to set up anti-trafficking task forces and approved a list of recommendations to tackle the causes of the citation including promoteing full respect for human rights and investing in economic development. scott has more now from bangkok. >> thailand planned this meeting weeks ago just after the migrant boats were discovered adrift in the southeast. packed with desperate migrants

many are still out there. nations involved indektly came together to better coordinate the crisis it seems. regional countries agreed to set up an antitrafficking task force. thailand and malaysia agreed to let the u.s. use airbases in the search and rescue operation. there was disagreement on the root problems behind the mass migration. myanmar accused the u.n. of inaccurately placing blame. >> finger points won't serve any purpose. >> the u.n.'s refugee agency says it's focused on stemming the illegal and deadly flow of people for the lodge term. >> weren't in the business of finger points at all. we are looking at the situation comprehensively, and that includes also looking at some of the root causes. >> reporter: the meeting, according to those that set tup, gave nations that criticized the

action of regional players a chance to participate. >> people who expressed concern, this is an opportunity to really help in finding a solution. the u.s. and australia together donated over $6 million to help with the crisis. so agreement at the end of the day here was focused on saving those in danger. the more difficult task that has no resolution out of the meetings how to improve people's lives. they can't put themselves in danger in the first place. german chancellor angela merkel will work with the british prime minister to reform the european union. she wanted to keep the u.k. in the bloc during a visit by david cameron. he would like uk to stay in the eu but could rule nothing out if the reforms aren't many place before the referendum on britain's membership. chinese authorities destroyed more than 600 kilograms of confiscated ivory.

thoerts have begun taking a tougher stance on the illegal trade. the demand for ivory continues to threat elephant populations across africa. a volcano has erupted on a remote japanese island. more than 100 people have been ordered to evacuate. the mountain exploded on friday morning sending thick, black smoke high into the air. the japanese prime minister has instructed the authorities in the area to do everything possible to ensure the island is safe. some airlines have been forced to divert flights. the united nations heritage committee has decided against listing australia's great barrier reef on the danger list. they hoped such a move would force the government to crack down on the industrial development they say is threatening the world famous reef. andrew thomas reports from sydney now. >> the great barrier reef is one of the world's natural wonders,

but it's one that's under threat. coal export ports are built along the nearby post. dredged mud is at sea and chemical runoff has polluted the waters. they threatened to put it on its endangered list. it would have been hugely embarrassing to australia's government so in reasonable months it has a banl of dumping dredged mud at see. >> we have an 11% reduction in sediment a 16% reduction in nitrogen and a 28% reduction in pesticides according to the queensland government's figures. >> reporter: the action persuaded them for now not to declare the reef in danger. instead, it will keep the reef on its watch list effectively deferring a decision. it still wants greater attention paid to the impacts of coastal

development and concerned about the loss of coral and fish to date. environmental groups stress the government is not given the all clear but disappointed that the endangered labor won't be applied. >> the reef lost 60% of coral cover in the last 30 years. in my lifetime half of the reef is gone. if half of the sidney opera house or half of the harbor bridge was demolished there would no question. we'd be saying it's in danger. >> environmental groups stress australia's government has not been the all-clear but are disappointed that the endangered label won't be applied. the government spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying members not to declare the great barrier reef in danger. it says it does have a coherent policy for development and that past bad practice has been stopped. the draft decision suggests australia's government has just done enough but the custodian of the reef is still on watch.

andrew thomas al jazeera. sydney sydney. you can find out much more on our website, and the address for that is www.aljazeera.com. you can see our front page there. sepp blatter won a fifth term. >> wildlife poaching is big business... worth more than 17 billion dollars a year and growing.