initiatives. the trip follows a trip yesterday to london and tea with prince harry. thanks for watching. the news continues next live from doha. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello, welcome to the news hour i'm jane doeston in doha. the world's chemical weapons watchdog says it has destroyed all of syria's chemical stockpile. greece could be headed for a painful euro exit warns the central bank. france says it will take 11,000 more refugees to help deal with the mediterranean migrant crisis. i have the sport, including

copper star arrested. placed under charged of drink driving in the middle of they continental cup campaign. ♪ the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons says it has destroyed almost all of syrias chemical munitions. you might think that this means civilians are now safe from chemical weapons but it comes as doctors are giving evidence president asaad's regime are stepping up chemical weapons attacks. what are you hearing? >> reporter: pretty graphic testimony at some points jane the doctors are telling lawmakers that there have been 31 chemical weapon attacks, use of chlorine gas predominantly, being dropped, they say by

helicopters in the form of barrel bombs, the bombs are seeping into basement where people are already hiding out. so they say this is a tremendously effective weapon in terms of psychological fear and this is wreaking havoc on the population. they showed video, and provided data that backs up their claims. they say mainly -- although they admit they can't 100% admit they can't exactly determine the source, they say it points to the assad regime being behind it. >> the obama administration said chemical weapons is crossing a red line. if this is true what can the u.s. do. >> reporter: he said say that

and then he took it to congress and then there were a nob of steps that took place, the goal of the united states being really that it was the international community that must work together to try to resolve this situation into not only shed light to the issue, but also to see that this is stopped. that is something that president obama in recent weeks once again reiterated. there are efforts at the level of the united states to try to at least determine who is responsible for these attacks. again, even the doctors testifying before lawmakers say they feel confident, but they can't say with 100% certainty. at the same time these doctors were imploring the lawmakers to go beyond that. so say that -- it is all well and good to work with the international community, the responsibility really falls on the united states. this is a republican dominated

pod -- body and it will take tremendous effort to convey this message to the obama administration if it is going to act further. it's not just chemical weapons that pose a danger to civilians, crude barrel bombs are also demoralizing the population. despite this some syrias are returning to the area. bernard smith reports. >> reporter: deciding it is better to go home than to squeak in to turkish-packed refugee camps, these syrians went back on wednesday. two days before the kurds took control of a town. >> translator: we are at a loss wherever we go someone will

kill us. >> translator: we are going back up to two years, our homes were blown up by isil who accused us of being ypg. >> translator: we have been in turkey for three days with no place to stay. >> reporter: most of the 20,000 syrians who crossed over are still in turkey. some are nervous about now being under kurdish control, others were indifferent, and some were glad to see the back of isil. u.s. lead air strikes are changing the political map of area replacing isil with think kurdish ypg. turkey has long been concerned about a strengthening ypgpresence along the border. now they control some land that runs along the border with turkey for 400 kilometers. in january after a four-month

battle, ypg forces controlled the syrian town of kobani. with the support of air strikes, the ypg managed to hold on to kobani, but the fighting left much of the town in ruins. here the battle was shorter, the damage less severe. bernard smith, al jazeera, on the turkey syria border. france says it will create 11,000 more places for alum seekers and refugees. it's part of a plan to help deal with the flow of thousands of migrants crossing the mediterranean sea. around a hundred thousand have entered europe so far this year. we are joined by the u.n. refugee spokesman from europe. good to have you on the show.

11,000 is that enough? >> thank you. well it's very important. france is one of the main nations for asylum seekers in europe. last year they received some 60,000 applications for asylum and there is a crisis for refugee and asylum seekers, so this is a very welcome step. we have been taking part in discussions for this reform as well as civil society and of course the french government and this is a step in the right direction. >> do you think there should be one rule that fits all countries, particularly when it comes to europe? >> we feel that europe should extend its solidarity to countries that are receiving many refugees. at the moment most refugees are arriving in two countries, italy

and greece. but they are not staying there, most are moving on to other countries. particularly sweden france and the other u.k. countries. so we would like to see more european approach to moon age the situation, so that countries receive a fair share of asylum seekers. >> what about taking pressure off of countries like lebanon. 1.5 million people are there. that's not fair is it? it's almost at breaking point? >> absolutely and this is part of the things that need to be done. we need to address the root causes of the movement. most of the people coming to europe are refugees fleeing countries at war, such as syria, iraq, and others and the countries where they first arrive are the neighboring countries, such as lebanon, as you mentioned, also turkey jordan and other countries, and these countries are the ones that need help the most. most refugees are not trying to

come to europe. they are trying to stay there. and it makes sense to help them where they are at the moment. >> what are your predictions four -- for this year? we have already seen a hundred thousand that we know of. what are you expecting? >> we're expecting the number to rise in the next few months. more people are arriving every day in italy and greece and particularly in -- in small greek islands, this is putting a huge strain on small island communities that don't have the resources to cope. we would like the whole of europe to help countries such as italy and greece that are receiving the most refugees. >> thank you william. government ministers in australia are still refusing to comment on allegations that officials paid people smugglers to turn their boat back to

indonesia. al jazeera heard from the crew of that boat and was shown the money they say was paid to them. >> reporter: australia's prime minister still isn't answering questions. what was your reaction to the pictures of the u.s. dollars, prime minister? these are those pictures. money shots, that make the allegation that australian officials paid people smugglers to turn back boats of migrants. it suggests that despite the australian's government's refusal to comment, they did take place. >> translator: i told the australian man we needed money so we could return to our wives and children. he said okay. we'll help you. >> reporter: this new footage has all six members of the boat at the center of the

controversy. >> is paying money to people smugglers lawful? >> what i'm saying is that -- you are asking a question based on an allegation and i don't feel the need to respond to someone else's allegation. >> reporter: but if it happened was it legal. the captain claimed that australian officials guided his boat into virtually the australian mainland and paid the money. it is a question of whether they have broken australian law by paying people smugglers in what appears to be from the evidence the smugglers have reported. >> you can't just keep it secret, because we don't know where the money is going.

>> reporter: and the government's rhetoric was turned back on him. >> does the foreign minister stand by his statement last month that people smugglers are starting to receive -- use money to fund terrorism. a week ago australian officials flat denied the report. now the government's position has shifted from not true to no comment, and mounting evidence has emerged from indonesia that the payments did take place. the pressure is still on australia's government to come clean and explain. andrew thomas al jazeera, sydney. plenty more ahead on the news hour including the greek central bank issues a stark report. plus nato flexes its military muscles in the baltics as russia looks on. and the golden state

warriors are crowned nba champions. ♪ greece's central bank has warned that the country could face a painful exit from the euro. with the greek prime minister accusing the country's creditors of trying to humiliate greece is increasing increasing pessimism about the outcome. any talk of a resolution and what it might look like? >> reporter: i'm afraid it doesn't look good for tomorrow at the moment. both sides have entrenched their positions even more clearly. the creditors have said the deal on the table is the only one the greeks are going to get. it demands a cut in expenditure and additional tax-raising revenue, which elements to about

$4 billion worth of ah -- ah stairty measures. but the greeks have made clear the counteroffer they have made is also their final offer. the prime minister has said we will not cut pensions this year we will begin to cut them next year and phase in those cuts over the next sen years. if he said if europe insists on this proposal it must be prepared for the costs that benefits no one in europe. you might well wonder if there is any point in this discussion taking place. >> you may as well. what about the greeks themselves? >> reporter: we are expecting a pro-government rally later on this evening, behind me in front of the parliament building but we have already seen the

atmosphere become more confrontational with the parliament speaker refusing to receive the annual monetary policy, which said that a failure will lead to a default at the end of the month and that in turn to an exit to the euro zone. that would lead to a collapse of all that greece has achieved over the course of the membership. so there is now quite a clear difference here in athens between the two-europe camp and the anti-austerity camp. we expect to see a rally tomorrow night of pro-european supporters to counter the one expected tonight. >> tense times indeed, thanks john. after nearly three months of saudi-lead air strikes it seems

peace is no closer. talks are continuing but with little hope of an agreement to end the fighting. hashem ahelbarra is in geneva with the latest. there was supposed to be a press conference. what happened? >> reporter: basically, jane we know from our sources that the yemen foreign minister was about to -- was going to hold a presser to say the yemeni delegation was going back to riyadh, when there came pressure from the international community to hold fire. we hope they might be able to come to some sort of agreement with the different factions particularly with the houthis and the supporters of deposed president saleh. i have been talking to members from the yemen government and say they we'll give them 24 hours. if nothing happens, we're going

to go. >> thank you for that hashem ahelbarra. nato is completing its biggest ever military exercises in the baltic sea. hundreds of soldiers took part in a mock counterattack. it is intended as a demonstration of nato's capability and a warning to russia. >> reporter: this is what the militarization of the baltic looks like. marines from several countries heading ashore having to liberate a country from the grip of an enemy. it's a drill or rehearsal, and there's no surprises for guessing who the proposed enemy is. >> my commander in chief made it very, very clear here last year that we will defend every inch of nato territory. we have no idea what mr. putin

is going to do and i don't think that anyone that could guess would be able to give you any clear incite. >> reporter: the new crisis has given nato a new lease of life. we were flown out in a british helicopter, and landed in the ocean. but in the operations room star from the u.s. u.k. as well as finland and sweden and they aren't even nato members. they could see the contribution from several other countries. the russian fleet was out there as well but they are not on speaking terms. >> russia is a neighbor of poland. clearly they are watching us and interested in what we are doing, but this is routine business, and we shouldn't be worried. >> reporter: next week it is likely to be announced that troops will follow equipment.

moscow says it will speed up the placementings of ballistic missiles. the question is what is defense and what is aggression? from nato's point of view this is about openness and moral authority. for many western nations it's not easy to figure out who is a friend and who isn't? but in all of this the defense of the baltic states nato really seems to believe it can offer moral legitimacy over russia. so is all of this an unnecessary provocation of the russians. >> every nation has the right to exercise and make sure they have military skills and what you see in nato is transparency. we announce our exercises, we talk about the sizes and objectives of the exercises. that could be contrasted to snap

exercises. >> reporter: so [ inaudible ]? >> the russians have a right to exercise in international space. >> reporter: so the marines all went ashore and went off in search of what nato called the red forces. russia's president says it is madness to think an invasion in on the cards, but when they don't talk to each other, this is what you get. >> while nato demonstrates its military might, russia has opened its own version of disneyland with a twist. rory challands got a speak preview of park patriot. >> reporter: examining the produce, an arms fair is like any other market just with more

uniforms. military men have brought their shopping list to the 2015 military technical forum from all across the world, and it has given park patriot its first proper test run as a venue. president putin kicked proceedings off with an explaination of what the park will do. >> translator: here you will get to know the history of military aviation the nif i have and army. and take part in military competitions and extreme sports. i'm certain the new park will become a major component for the younger generation. >> reporter: instilling in young russians an impulse to love and might for the mother lacked doesn't come cheap, $263 million.

but with mill taristic feelings on the rise it's money the defense ministry is happy to spend. some countries might feel a little uneasy about the idea of russia trying to make a fun family day out from such raw destructive systems. the crisis in ukraine has given added urgency to the modernization program. upgrades for 70% of equipment by 2020, new intercontinental ballistic missiles compared to all of this park patriot is small fry. but it's the brain child of this man. a man some say is more

conscience of the benefits of pr. >> most likely he is thinking of continuing his career. maybe he has even ambitions running for president some day, so he wants to be seen as the person who lead russia to military victories, who rebuilt the russian military into something great and wonderful. >> reporter: russians are starting to speak of a new arms race, but history continue -- contains warnings. rory challands, al jazeera. an escaped tiger has killed a man in the jordan capitol. police shot the animal after finding it hiding in an abandon factory. the animals escaped from a zoo during heavy flooding. we are joined by a journalist

via skype. what happened as far as the tiger was concerned. >> well the tiger caught everybody by surprise. the attack happened maybe -- several hundred meters from hundreds of -- of volunteers were clearing up the road of all of the debris that the flood washed down. so nobody was expecting that. the government had gone on the record to tell everybody that the streets were safe. however, the night before zoo officials came out saying that one tiger, one hyena, and one bear were still unaccount for. >> what is happening to the other animals? those who have been saved? >> those who have been saved -- they are still kept on the high ground in the zoo. there's talk about moving them although nobody knows exactly where they are to be moved right

now. so it's a pretty chaotic situation. lots of dead animals -- i was told they are being stored. nobody knows what is going to become of them if they -- how they will be disposed of. >> do we know how they escaped? obviously looking at the water overflowing there. but what actually happened? >> well the flood waters rose knocked cages over and the -- the cats -- at least -- they weren't roofed in and they were kept in the low portion of the zoo which was susceptible to all of the water, so they were the first to escape. >> obviously the escape of the animals pretty significant, but at the same time several people died in these floods. what more do we know about that?

>> well there was landslide that happened upstream in the river, and there were -- as far as i know there were two or three homes, other buildings, there were auxiliary buildings like garages and these things that just came sliding down with the landslide, and there were people in cars as far as we know, people buried in the mud, so it's all pretty chaotic, not a whole lot is known about how these people actually got swept away. >> and the cleanup effort at the moment how is that going? >> it's going well. the main roads are cleared. there has been a tremendous effort by hundreds of young people, who are out there, clearing -- clearing all of these incredibly heavy trees and shovelling all of the silt and it has just been an incredible lack -- i mean an incredible

amount of team work here. >> yeah. paul good to have you on the show again. thanks. >> thank you. still ahead on al jazeera, protests on the streets of hong kong as politicians debate out the city's leaders can be elected, plus the u.n. health ministry says south korea's mers outbreak is a call for action around the world.

>> shot dead and the government does nothing.

>> they teach you how to eliminate people? >> ya. >> we've done it and that is why we are there. >> my life is in danger. >> anyone who talks about the islamic religion is killed. >> don't miss the exclusive al jazeera investigation. >> i can't allow you not to go into that because that is your job. >> only on al jazeera america. you are watching al jazeera, the headlines. syrian doctors are giving evidence in the united states that president assad's regime is stepping up chemical weapons attacks. civilians face an ongoing threat, despite the announcement that almost all of syrias chemicals munitions have been destroyed. greece east central bank has warned that the country could face a painful exit from the

euro, more talks will take place on thursday. the prime minister has accused them of trying to humiliate greece. france says it will create 11,000 more places for refugees as a part of a plan to help deal with the flow of migrants crossing the mediterranean sea. two u.s. leaders have been questioned about their policies in the middle east. they have been asked about isil which has continued to control large parts of iraq and syria, despite a u.s.-bombing campaign. rosiland jordan is live for us in washington, d.c. what are you hearing about the hearing? >> reporter: well, jane first they are of course talking about the administration's plan to

send up to 450 additional military advisors to iraq particularly to the air base in anbar province. several members of the house armed services committee have asked several times whether or not sending in additional military personnel is going to tip the balance in the fight against isil. and what ashton carter has been telling the members of congress that it's not the number but in the fact they are will be in a particularly critical location. they are saying that this is an effort to basically help the leaders of the iraqi military who are going to be running an operations center helping them with their plans, with their command and control, with their strategy with their intelligence gathering and

analysis helping them develop all of the tools that the iraqi military needs in order to take the fight to those members of isil who are trying to take all of anbar province. >> many say the u.s. actions in places like the middle east have lead to the rise of isil. >> reporter: certainly one of the questions that has come up with whether or not the u.s. even has a strategy, jane in the middle east right now. and while we're not seeing any one pointing back to the decision back in 2003 to go to war inside iraq but we are seeing questions about how the iraqi government under maliki the former prime minister have lead to the situation that allowed for the rise of isil across iraq and moves into syria as well. and certainly the big question that has been coming up in the last few minutes is whether or

not the u.s.-lead strategy is working, can it be successful? and the answer from the defense secretary, ash carter is that it is going to be successful when the people with the most at risk from isil particularly the iraqi government, and those in syria, actually take up arms against isil themselves, and general dempsey said the u.s. military could decide to do this ourselves, but this is the iraq people's fight. crisis talks to salvage the one year old palestinian consensus government have been extended. palestinian authority president has raised the prospect that the government could be dissolved, but talks will continue on monday. security has been stepped up in hong kong as legislators

debate a controversial reform package. if agreed people in hong kong will get to vote for their leaders, but only candidates approved by beijing will be allowed to stand. adrian brown sent this report. >> reporter: the camps that very set up more than nine months ago never really went away, and the crowds are much smaller, but the mood is very similar. this is essentially a vote on hong kong's political future. everything since the handover in 1997 has been leading up to this moment. the legislators are debating a proposal that was approved by china's parliament the national people's congress back in august that basically said hong kong could choose its next chief

executive in 2017 so long as there were no more than two or three candidates that had been vetted. many opposition parties rejected that and one of them said it is better to have no democracy than real democracy. >> how can people not be our own bosses which was promised us since the 1980s. >> reporter: many people outside are from parties of what this political reform practice to pass. but it's going to be a very long debate. there are 70 legislators and each could speak for up to 15 minutes. the probeijing group say it is better for hong kong to have this package, because a little democracy is better than none and represents perhaps hong kong's best and last chance of getting that democracy.

>> translator: we have got to support the reform because back then during the british colonial area we never had legitimate democracy. >> reporter: china imploring hong kong to accept democracy, but the opposition groups say, it is a fake democracy, which is why they will be voting against it. south korea has reported one new death and new cases of herself in the herself in -- mers middle east respiratory syndrome. >> reporter: it has been nearly a month since the first cases were identified. they have been fighting the outbreak and the adverse publicity. up to 160 people have been reported with the middle east respiratory syndrome, over a dozen have died and many

thousands are still in quarantine. this graph shows when the first cases were reported and how they peaked. now reported cases seem to be on the decline. whether the figure increases depends on the incubation pe -- period of the virus. >> the next two weeks are crucial. we are cautiously optimistic there will be a plateau and a drop-off because there has been such aggressive isolation. >> reporter: thousands of schools and colleges that shut their doors have now reopened. only a few hundred remain closed. while medical workers continue to encourage precautionary measures, the authorities have been disinfecting and fumigating public places. we're days away from the peak tourist season starting. as many as 16 million were

expected in 2015 and that seems unlikely now. hotels and tour operators say they have had as many as a hundred thousand cancellations. and these government has offered up to $64 million to businesses to help with cash flow problems. as many as 30 foreigners are now under observation, suspected of having mers. if that's the case offering full health care coverage for visitors may not be enough to attract anyone. north korea is facing its worst bought in a century. nearly a third of the rice pad paddyes are dying out.

b.j. kim is a professor, and says this drought is a serious problem for both north and south korea. >> looks like the main issue seems to be quite considerable here. judging from what we here in south korea are experiences, it looks like the drought is quite extensive. it's a very small peninsula, so therefore, there is little doubt that north korea is suffering the same thing. we can report from that fact that north korean drought situation is also very serious. in south korea, this is the most serious drought in about 30 years. north korea has received food aid in the past.

so i'm sure on a non-government level, the food aid could continue to flow in unless they take an action to stop it so i have little doubt in terms of their willingness to receive the food aid from outside. occasionally in the last they kicked out some food aid workers, but if they go back to their normal self they will be able to receive aid from overseas. it's not just north korea that is battling with climate. the sarah an desert is growing every year. 75% of tunisia is threatened by the creeping sands. nazanin sadri reports, where every drop of water is precious.

>> reporter: a few years ago this entire area was covered in sand. but now life is returning. this man hopes these salt-resistant plants mean his three children won't have to migrate elsewhere. >> translator: if you have sheep and camels they can eat these plants and live here. before we couldn't feed them. we didn't have this water. >> reporter: scientists partly blame climate change for what is happening here. every year there's less rain and more underground water evaporates. >> translator: large amounts of water have very high salt levels, between 8 to 12 grams of salt her liter. >> reporter: it's called desert if indication.

every year thousands of cubic meters of sand are removed from the set of where star wars was filmed. the sahara is growing every day. scientists are talking about building a green wall across the whole sahara a belt of trees and plants that will help prevent the creeping of a desert north and south. and try to stop more land erosion. here, a unique irrigation system makes sure palm trees only get the water they need. the oasis also has become a major source of fruits. these organic dates are exported abroad creating jobs and money for the community. >> translator: we need to stop this chopping down trees in the desert if there's no common

consciousness or vision the solutions we have won't be enough. >> reporter: the people have shown it is possible to survive this harsh environment. their dream is that other communities follow their example, before the expanding desert destroys more land. >> monique is part of a united nations leed team that encourages farj -- farmers to change the way they work. >> i think countries have really to take the dimension of what the land is for their own benefit. in most of africa for example, 65% of all of the agricultural land is degraded and so clearly, there are ways by which we can repair the land and it

should really become a priority for most of the poorest countries of the world, and this can be done. there are ways in particular by making sure that we go to argo-business which will allow the land to be restored and the soil fertility to come back. if i take an example, for example, of niger, they did this kind of work in the north of niger, and thanks to the work they have been restoring more than 2 million heckers, and they brought out 6,000 people out of poverty. still ahead, chocolate is good for you. i don't believe it either but scientists in scotland say it's

true. and in sport uruguay stumbled into the danger zone. ♪

>> gripping. inspiring. entertaining. talk to al jazeera. only on al jazeera america. ♪ some good news perhaps. scientists in scotland have discovered a link between people who eat up to 100 grams of chocolate every day, and a low risk of stroke and heart disease, but the sweet treat still has some down sides. >> reporter: it seems eating chocolate every day is linked to

a lower risk of heart disease and strokes. looking at the eating habits of 21,000 people over 12 years researchers discovered those who ate more chocolate, weighed less exercised more and were less likely to have type ii diabetes. it may not make it healthier, but there may no need to give it up to protect your heart. >> we finally had a little bit of a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular events. >> reporter: the study focused on british people. a nation of chalkaholics. they understand the power of what they are selling. >> there are plenty of studies

that suggests there is a big endorphin appeal when you have chocolate. and with the higher percentages you tend to get a higher payoff. in the event study the subjects weren't just eating dark chocolate, they were also eating the mass-produced bars like this. and they had a 25% reduced risk of stroke. but dietitians are warning people not to take up a habit. >> certainly if you are trying to watch your weight eating a lot of chocolate isn't going to be good for you. >> reporter: so bare in mind more research needs to be done. you have already started on the research right? >> i have. and i am only going to take the

positives. a star player has been charged with drunk driving. the leading goal scorer was returning home from an afternoon off with his wife when he crashed his ferrari. he was released from hospital and detained by police. he won't be jailed but has had his license taken away. they are hoping to win their first continental championship on home soil. the next game is against bolivia on saturday. on the pitch, defending champions uruguay are in danger. they were beaten 1-0 by argentina in groupb. a diving header early in the second half. messi came close to making it 2. and then group b alongside

paraguay. he was in the right place at the right time to help paraguay take the three points. cameroon have become only the second african team to advance to the knockout stage at the women's world cup. they did so on their debut cup appearance. cameroon came from behind to score twice in the second half. they go through as the second place team in group c. defending champions japan, scored in the 5th minute to give them a 1-0 victory over ecuador. nigeria were eliminated from the tournament after losing to the united states.

that put the usa through as winners of their group. and the swedes are now in third. they could still progress if results in other groups go their way. swiz investigators looking into fifa says they won't rule out interview of the president. the attorney general says 53 cases of possible money laundering have been reported by swiss banks. it will take some time for his office to swift through the information. their investigation is separate from the u.s.'s investigation. >> the world of football needs to be patient. this investigation will take more than the legendary 90 minutes. be assured the oat will give

priority to this case and act according to the principles of the rule of law. there will be formal interviews of all relevant people. by definition this does not exclude interviewing the president of fifa and this does not exclude interviewing the secretary general of fifa. major league baseball have confirmed it is cooperating with federal investigators. >> the use of a word like cyber attack, i just think we -- we don't know that those are the facts yet. there is an on going investigation, and we have been fully cooperative. any allegation like this is of great concern to us but it's just too early to speculate on what the facts are going to turn out to be and what action if any is necessary. the cardinals are one of the

most successful teams in baseball history. so joust why they would want to hack into a rival's database. according to the "new york times," they got access to the statistics scouting reports, and internal discussions about players and trades. the times reports whoever hacked the houston database may have used pass words belonging to the formal manager who left in the 2011 season. investigators believe the hacking was execute vengeful cardinal staff. golden state warrior's fans have been celebrating in california after their team broke a 40-year title bought. they clenched the championship on tuesday.

>> reporter: game 6 do or die. cleveland needing to win to stay alive. steph curry fired early. >> the extra pass. >> talk about a gift -- >> iguodala has only been in the starting lineup since game 4 decided this was his time to shine. >> another 3-pointer. >> reporter: despite hounding decent lebron james still found his way through traffic. and the cavs trimmed their deficit to just 2 points. >> the skies the limit. >> reporter: early in the third, it was 45-45, but iguodala had other ideas. lebron tried to make things happen as the minutes ticked away. >> thompson for three!

>> reporter: but it wouldn't be enough, as golden state closed out the game 109-107 winning their first championship since 1975. a massive accolade for andre iguodala, too named as the finals mvp. >> i think all of those years can't prepare you for this moment. being in philly we were a very close group, and that helped me a lot here. i told these guys we have been on close-knit teams where we got there because we played so hard together. >> i don't know, for me it's never a success if you go out losing. but i think we put ourselves back where this franchise needs

to be being a contender, but we still have got a lot of work to do. >> reporter: these rowdy celebrations on the streets of oakland go to show just how much this title means. sarah coates al jazeera. one of australia's greatest distance runners has died at the age of 78. he set 17 world records, including 12 during a 44-day tour of europe in 1965. as a 19 year old, clark lit the olympic flame at the melbourne games, won bronze in 1964 and competed in mexico city four years later. he died of kidney failure on wednesday. that's the sport. >> thanks very much for that jo. and that's all for us on the

news hour team. thanks for watching. ♪

this whole experience dif sulty breathing, and their eyes and throats with burning. >> new evidence of chemical attacks by pro-assad forces in syria. ♪ i'm loren taylor this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up . . . the war in yemen as peace talks teter on the brink of collapse fighting continues. as the greek prime minister tries to find a way out of the debt crisis, there is a warning over a possible