news continues live next, from london. >> announcer: is this al jazeera. hello everyone. you are watching, the news hour life from london. coming up . . . [ screaming ] >> chaotic scenes on the board we are serbia, as croatias it cannot cope with the flow of migrants seeking a new route into the e.u. protesters demand the release of their transitional president following a military coup in burkina faso. al jazeera goes under cover

to find out how a growing de -- demand from china is fuelling the illegal ivory trade. ♪ hello there. there have been chaotic scenes in croatia as thousands of ref geese rife in serbia desperately to continue their journey into western europe. hundreds of refugees have pushed through police lines, with people trampling and falling on each other amid the chaos. croatian police say more than 7,000 refugees have entered the country in the last 24 hours.

the u.n. has described hungary's treatment of the refugees as phobic. lawrence lee reports from the border with croatia. >> reporter: all day the buses came and off loaded the weary, dozens at a time. picking up their few belongings it was then on foot yet again. 37 degrees in the late summer heat, yet they strode through the fields towards the european union. most said they were syrian, not much talking, though, just grim determination and quick feet. so these violence and contempt which the hungarian authorities showed the refugees has now suddenly been matched with a rare show of what looks like joined up thinking between the

former bitter enemies of serbia and croatia, the route at least for the time being through here is open. the question, of course is whether croatia will start shutting the doors as well. suddenly 7,000 or more has crossed this border. but it was the european union. whole families passed by, some didn't even know which country they were in. >> reporter: do you know where you are right now? >> i don't know. >> reporter: this is croatia inside the european union. >> okay. >> reporter: croatia having said it would let everyone in and through suddenly appeared wrong footed by the numbers. the refugees were again frustrated at having to wait. the riot police didn't have the

same aggression as those on the border with hungary. >> police doesn't allow to through the village. he stay here. he tell -- told us to stay here. the bus coming, the train coming, but they not -- the bus coming and the train will be not coming. >> reporter: think back to the standingoff at the rail station at budapest, and at hungary's southern border, and now this. apart from the humanitarian implications this is the european union at its most sham bollic. >> and lawrence joins us live right now. it's nightfall now but what is the situation like there on the border? >> reporter: well, i think to be honest, i have actually seen more people coming -- there's a brief lull at the moment, but as night started to fall this track was moved up right towards the

border with croatia now got heavier and heavier, and i think it goes without saying it is a direct result of the easing of the backlog that was caused by hungary's blank refusal to let anybody come through, that they just built up and built up, and suddenly croatia said you can come through and out the other side, and serbias thought that was a perfect reason to put everyone on buses and ship them up here. but that is if by magic as the day has gone on croatia has said, sorry, that's too many people, and we're full. the buses will still be coming and people will still keep going through the night here, the numbers on the other side in the little town just over the border will i'm sure be over 10,000, and croatia says that's too many. arguably you might say it isn't too many, there could be sports

hauls and other facilities where they could put people up, but they are not, and the refugees are going to have to stay, including very small children, in the open yet again. i suspect croatia has come through direct pressure from sla via and austria as well. further up, because they would be the next countries the refugees will have to make it through. so the only conclusion that you can come to, is if there was any joined up thinking between serbia and croatia in terms of moving refugees through these countries where they didn't want to stay anyway, it didn't work, because other countries simply won't allow the same kind of thinking. >> a lot of confusion, people not sure where they were in europe, but how much fear is there amongst the refugees that more borders will be closed to

them, and is that why we see this rush of people almost running to get through. >> i think the answer to that is a lot of them don't know. they don't know what is happening in the news what is obviously moving hour by hour. you know, it was only this morning and last night that croatia said everybody could come in, and by tea time they said they can't. and we have been helping direct them towards croatia, and they don't know which borders are open and which aren't. and it must be enormously confusing to be met by law enforcements who have had new political instructions that say you didn't let them go forward. it is this incredible problem for them to go a little way and then get shut, and suddenly someplace opens and they go a little further, and then it stops again this is the european

union at its least skrojoined u. >> lawrence lee thanks so much. ♪ german police have shot dead a man after he attacked an officer with a knife. the female officer was injured by the attacker and then wounded again when police opened fire. german authorities have named the man as a 41 year old iraqi who was convicted of terror charges in 2004 over a plot to kill the iraqi prime minister during a trip to germany. now the u.s. federal reserve has left interest rates as they are, despite a growing u.s. economy and jobs market. they announced the official rate will remain at near zero levels for now at least. the fed last raised interest rates in june 2006 before the global financial crisis hit.

it's despite the u.s. unemployment rate dropping to seven-year low, and relatively strong consumer spending. i'm joined by washington, d.c. by an economist thanks for being with us on the program. something of a surprise that actually the fed didn't move the rates, isn't it? >> well, i mean i must say that i think it was an open call, but at the end of the day there was a growing consensus that they were in fact going to wait with this interest rate, because inflation remains nowhere to be seen in the u.s. economy, and with decliningen give prices again, it's likely to fall further in the future, then we have and this was acknowledged in a statement, we have had a lot of volatility in global development, the global economy, and then finally we have the

prospect of a lot of political fireworks in congress. in any coming weeks we may risk having another shutdown of the federal government, and all of these things combined i think basically meant the federal reserve said let's wait a little bit. >> if there had been a rise it would be a small one, wouldn't it? the idea was it would be bit by bit if the rates were to increase. >> oh, yeah the interest rate increases when they arrive will be very gradual, a quarter of a percentage point with a significant time lag in between, so in that sense, one could argue that whether it was zero or a quarter of a percentage point may not matter that much, but basically the fed felt there was no need for an early symbolic interest rate increase, rather wait a little longer. >> how much is the fed influenced by what is happening

internationally particularly with all of the turmoil that has been surrounding china recently. >> i think it was surprising to me at least that it made explicit reference to global economic development in its just announced statement, because normally they do not pay attention to this. they focus solely on what is going on in the u.s. domestic economy, so i think it's clear that it played a role. not a big one, but a role nonetheless. >> great to get your thoughts on this. joining us live from washington, d.c. many thanks. south sudan has declared three days of mourning after at least 176 people were killed in an oil tanker explosion. it happened in the western state where a truck had veered off of the road. it is thought people were trying to siphon petrol when a lit cigarette trig youred the explosion. our correspondent had more from

the capitol. >> reporter: this isn't one of the states that is principally affected by conflict, but there has been some unrest recently. but one of the symptoms of the failing economy of south sudan is an al-qaeda -- acute fuel shortage. so it is possible these people were desperate for petrol. people were more than likely trying to siphon it off for their personal use, and we understand that's when the explosion happened. the vice president of the democratic republic on congo has resigned after seven figures were expelled from the ruling coalition, after signing a letter urging the president not to seek a third term. in the coming days the five ministers say they will launch a new party to help defend the constitution and make sure the

presidential elections are held on time. opponents say he president is trying to stay in power beyond the two-term limit. >> reporter: we told this is what lead to people being fired. some very senior influential politicians within the coalition government were concerned that the president would try to hang on to power. one letter was ignored, a second letter was ignored. after the third letter the president has meeting and said enough is enough. the then ordered these people to resign. they didn't, and then he fired them. then he put out a warning saying i know there are others who want me to leave who are questioning my authority i'm giving you a few days to resign, if you don't you will be fired. that has caused a lot of tension on the ground. the opposition have been protesting in the capitol. that protest has turned violent. we're told in other parts of the

country, people are planning another protest. the u.n. is very concerned they are trying to get all sides to sit down, talk and find a solution to the crisis. they are concerned if this doesn't happen there could be more violence in the cities. a major concern when they are already trying to deal with issues in' east of the country. so a lot of people very tense right now, people concerned about the way forward for this country and if the president does try to hang on to power, people are concerned there could be more violence on the streets. still to come, zambia's copper miners hit hard times as demand from china slows down. the animal heros who have helped free mozambique from the danger of land mines. and the toronto blew jays flying high once again. sports coming up later in the program. ♪

the first at least three people have been killed in three clashes in burkina faso capitol. violence broke out after an officer of the presidential guard said he had carried out a coup. >> reporter: gunfire in -- burkina faso's capitol. moments later a military leader appeared on television. >> translator: dear patriots and democrats, people of burkina faso, we are interscreening to enhance the removal of the transitional government. this will allow us to put in place a just and equal system. >> reporter: almost immediately after word of the coup spread on wednesday, people marched towards the presidential palace. burkina faso's interim leaders were in a cabinet meeting when the presidential guard stormed in and detained them.

the guard which was formed by the former president has been publicly at odds with the country's transitional leaders in recenting months. on monday a report was released accusing it of opening fire on unarmed protesters during last year's protests. those demonstrations forced the long-term president out of office last october and at the time many said they didn't want military leaders, and it would seem that that sentiments is still apparent today. >> it's though presidential guard they started the whole thing. we don't like that. we will go out against them. we will end everything. >> reporter: witnesses say military vehicles were used to attack protesters who took to the streets opposed to the coup. >> translator: in front of us we saw a military vehicle that drove directly into the people, and they started shooting, killing people. >> reporter: elections were

planned for next month. the military takeover could very well change that, throwing burkina faso into further chaos. land locked burkina faso has suffered from reoccurring droughts and several military coups. although it has significant reserves of gold, cotton is the economic mainstay for many year. the west african regional block has imposed sanctions on countries that witness coups. people here are now bracing themselves for more instability as burkina faso faces an uncertain future. going to talk a little bit more about burkina faso in a moment. but i want to bring this breaking news line we just received from the reuters news line which is quoting the interior minister of croatia saying that croatia will close its border to serbia if another 8,000 enter in one day.

in that coming in from the croatian interior minister. that is many 8,000 migrants try to travel from serbia north into croatia in one day. we'll wait to see exactly what reaction we get from that. but obviously for the many refugees who are now tracking across serbia, heading towards croatia that is going to cause concern. a west african political analyst joins me live now in the studio. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> there is a lot of suspicion that the former president knew or had some involvement with the presidential guard carrying out this coup. >> yeah, the leaders of the guard have so far denied his knowledge of the coup, but it has now come out there are suspicions the leader was actually in [ inaudible ] very recently and we no that blaze is

in exile in that region. and that could cause some -- put the government in a very awkward situation. >> terribly unstable situation now. elections were due to be held just around the corner. are some sort of elections do you think likely to go ahead? >> the latest we have heard from the presidential guard is the elections are still uncertain, and it's very clear they are interested in actually disrupting the democratic process, because we know if the elections did happen, the presidential guard was due to be disbanded. >> that was decided upon just a couple of weeks ago, wasn't it? >> yes. >> that is everything in terms of timing. >> yeah, unfortunately i think the presidential guard have put themselves in a very, very difficult situation. they have no allies. france and the u.s. have condemned the coup as well as

others. so i don't think they really a negotiating perspective. for them to actually open fire on protesters could potentially really deteriorate the situation. >> we're talking here about the presidential guard carrying out this coup. what about the rest of the army? where do their loyalties lie? >> we know based on what happened, we did have an uprising last year in october. we do know the military has backed down on protesters who were marching on parliament, they refused to confront them, and that's how we [ inaudible ] declared divisions within the military and we expect that some of the military will support popular sentiment which does not support the coup. so we're looking at a very volatile situation in the next few weeks. >> a huge concern regionally as well. >> absolutely. if things deteriorate, we know we're going to have a potential situation of a refugee crisis.

burkina faso don't really have the capacity to deal with refugees, its neighborhoods don't. there have historical tensions between countries, and i think that's another thing the regional block will be concerned about. >> thank you so much for coming in. thank you. now a slump in the price of copper is putting major pressure on zambia's mining industry. it's threatening out put, jobs, and economic growth in the country. and the electricity situation isn't helping. >> reporter: thousands of families in zambia's northern city depend on the local copper industry. one of those families is this family. but frederick has lost his job after global copper prices hit a slump. >> as a family man, i have children that are going to

school, so it's hard for me to survive at the moment. >> reporter: he is now looking for temporary work but that doesn't earn him as much as mining. >> most of the people here depend on the mine. in the market, and even small barbershops, the little bit of pay they get is from the miners. >> reporter: the price of copper is the lowest it has been in six years and the slowdown in china's economy means a drop in demand for the metal. >> what makes zambia particularly vulnerable is its a monocommodity country. we depend very much on one mineral, which is copper. so fluctuations in that mineral

price do have very deep implications for the economy in general. >> reporter: while higher taxes for mining companies have impacted the industry, mining bosses are also concerned about a country wide electricity shortage. authorities say the mining industry won't be severely disrupted as long as regulators understand just how much power is needed to keep the mines running. this is a copper mine that is one of the wettest in the world with thousands of cubic meters flowing into and pumping out of its shafts every day. >> we need electricity all the time. >> reporter: the mine is the largest user of power in the country. it consumes 14% of available electricity. >> it will put a crimp on obviously how much you can do, operationally, and hopefully it doesn't get to a situation where you have to have cutbacks in

production. >> reporter: while industry bosses and the government consider their options, all that matters to frederick is how to support his family. all right. i want to take you live now to the town of ililca very close to the town of savonic, the pictures you are seeing of hundreds of refugees who are trying to get through windows trying to get aboard this train which has just arrived. they have been waiting many, many hours to appear to take them, they hope, presumably towards the capitol of croatia and then on to -- further into western europe. reminder, of course, that many of these refugees will have been ones who were yesterday at the border town between the border of serbia and hungary.

hungary, of course closing that border crossing between serbia and hungary, many of the refugees then trekked further west to end up on the border with croatia. they have been allowed through by croatia and have been camped at a railway station waiting for trains that have been promised to rife. and just before you joined us, we saw pictures of some of the refugees clambering through the windows, desperate to get some space on this train. nightfall, of course, in croatia at the moment, and a line to bring you that we brought you about five minutes ago or so, was from the reuter's news agency, quoting the croatian interior minister saying croatia will close that border to serbia if another 8,000 enter in one

day. there is something like i think 7,300 are thought to have entered croatia via that border crossing from serbia in the last 24 hours, and croatia has said that it is nearly full to capacity and not able to cope with many more, and that line coming from the croatian interior minister saying it will have to close the border crossing if it receives another 8,000 migrants in just 24 hours. so the latest scenes there at the town of ilica where that train just arrived. many refugees still on the platform, hoping to get on to that train, but it does look from the pictures we have seen through the windows as if the train is now at full capacity, and i assume the croatian authorities will indeed be stopping some of those refugees getting on board. the latest there from the croatian town of ilica.

still to come the powerful quake that have forced one million people to leave their homes in chile. and we'll take a closer look at the trackics employed by smugglers. and the final spots in the euro bucket finals. we'll tell you who has made it in sport.

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>> can affect and surprise us. >> i feel like we're making an impact. >> awesome! >> techknow - where technology meets humanity. again a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. there have been chaotic scenes on the croatian border with serbia. now the government says it will close the crossing if another 8,000 people enter in just one day. at least three people have died during demonstrations in burkina faso's capitol following a military coup. and the u.s. federal reserve has announced that it will keep interest rates at almost zero percent. islamic state of iraq and the levant has claimed

responsibility for suicide attacks in baghdad which have killed at least 23 people. there were two explosions in the commercial district with a third in a nearby district. both areas are mainly shia neighborhoods. hospital forces say a total of 68 people were wounded in the attackings. yemen's cabinet has held its first meeting inside the country since march. the prime minister returned to aden on wednesday from saudi arabia. he and the president left yemen a year ago when houthi rebels took over the capitol sana'a. he says his government will focus on taking back territory from the houthis. israel's prime minister, benjamin netenyahu says he wants tougher punishment for palestinians accused of throwing stones or fire bombs. >> reporter: it's home, but these days it feels like a prison cell. israeli forces have put this 14

year old under house arrest after accusing him of throwing stones during a protest. he says his life has been turned upside down. >> translator: no i go to sleep at 4:00 a.m. i wake up at 2:00 p.m. i have breakfast around 3:00 p.m. at 7:00 pm i have lunch. >> reporter: it has been a month and he has five more to go until his trial. he has been denied the right to go to school, and his mother starts to cry. she asks why such harsh procedures have been applied to a child. he was taken here after being arrested. he was kept for 15 days before being transfer. he was interrogated without family member being present, and he was handcuffed, shackled and slapped while being questioned. >> reporter: the israeli government recently passed a law where stone throwers can receive up to a 10-year prison sentence.

and following increased tensions this week, prime benjamin netenyahu wants to push through even harsher measures. the present situation is unacceptable, and we intend to give soldiers and police officers the tools necessary to act very firmly against those who throw stones and fire bombs. we're also going to adopt changes in the rules of engagement and for minimum sentence against those who throw stones and fire bombs. >> reporter: this lawyer has been defending palestinians for decades. >> they try to find some momentary solutions to impose more punishments, to impose more pressure, believing that somehow the whole population in jerusalem and occupied territories, they will settle down. they will accept the occupation. they will agree to be occupied, denied of rights, et cetera et cetera. >> reporter: back at the house his friends play football downstairs, but he can't join

them. we ask him what stone throwing symbolizing for the youth? >> translator: which have nothing to fight with. that's why we use stones as a weapon. >> reporter: his mother is so whiched that her young son could end up in prison. a major cleanup operation is underway in chile following an 8.6 magnitude earthquake. a million people have been evacuated and the death toll has risen to 10. >> reporter: chile has had several powerful earthquakes in cent years, but they still come as a surprise. they are still shocking and often devastating. this quake struck early evening local time, it's epicenter deep under the sea, northwest of the capitol where buildings shook.

its effects were felt as far away as buenos aires on the other side of the continent. >> translator: this is one of the most powerful earthquakes in chile's history. the strongest this year, and among the strongest in the world, despite this, with the information that we have, the response has been good. there was also something essential and that was the cooperation of the people, because toe evacuate 670,000 people and to do it with speed and without major difficulties implies that they are responding to the orders of the authorities. >> reporter: it was followed by several powerful after shocks, a million people were then evacuated as warnings were issued about the approach of waves caused by a tsunami that follows. >> translator: i lost everything. everything. what can i say? i lost it all. i don't have a shop. i lost my house that was near the beach. i can't even talk.

>> translator: people here are prepared. it was too strong. two or three minutes after they started to evacuate. i live up on the high part. there's no damage there. it's all here in the center. >> reporter: there was damage all along the northern coast. a cleanup operation is underway again. chile was hit by a powerful earthquake in 2010 that killed 500 people and caused extensive damage. there was another last year. the country has taken substantial precautionary measures, but no one is ever fully prepared when earthquakes of this magnitude strike. forrest fires in the ecuadorian capitol have now spread into the city forcing people to evacuate their homes. a reward of up to 50,000 is being offered leading to the

arrest of arsonnists responsible for the fires. more now on the fed's decision to leave interest rates at near zero for another quarter. janet yellen said this a short time ago. >> recent global economic and financial developments are likely to put further downward pressure on inflation in the near term. these developments may also restrain u.s. activities somewhat, but if not lead at this point to a significant change in the committee's outlook for the u.s. economy. mozambique has been declared free of land mines after nearly 20 years of intensive work to rid the country of 2,000,000 of the weapons, a legacy of its long civil war. tania page has more. >> reporter: these huge row

identifies are the unlikely heros in mozambique's success in ridding itself clear of land mines. it has been slow, painstaking work, that has taken two decades. about 170,000 land mines have been cleared. this man says it's a break through for the continent. >> well, huge opportunities mines take away land, so they there are opportunities for development, for the eradication of poverty now, mozambique can move forward with its people to claim that land and use it for development. so it is great news for us. >> reporter: the land mines may be gone, but their effects on the people is clear. it's estimated they have killed or wounded hundreds of people like this woman who's foot was shattered when she took a wrong

step. it's 16 years since the mine ban convention came into force. 162 countries have signed on. mines are rarely used now, but countries like china have millions of land mines stockpiled. when the ban came into effect about 20,000 people a year were being killed or injured by land mines today that's down to about 900. mozambique's achievement could aspire other countries that it is possible to be rid of land mines. these weapons are designed to kill or maim while the people here may now be safe, work continues on clearing land mines in a number of countries, including, sri lanka, angola, and colombia. opposition lawmakers in japan have failed to stop a key step in a law whang that will permit the country's armed forces to fight abroad for the first time since world war ii.

the parliament upper house approved a bill for the law change despite oppositional lawmakers attempting to physically block them. thousands of people in japan have protested against the law change. they say it violates japan's passivist constitution. >> reporter: as the legislation has worked it way through parliament so the protests outside of it have become passionate, more aggressive. for protesters like this man, the main fear is a return to the militarism that lead japan to disaster in the first half of the cast century. he is an organizer for a new student movement that has sprung up to fight the changes being proposed by prime minister abe. >> as long as it's abe administration, it's possible that the japan goes back to militarism, and there might be another politician who's more

dangerous than abe. so it's a real danger. >> reporter: the legislation will change how japan's self-defense forces can be deployed and used. until now the strict interpretation of the constitution means japan will only use force as a last resort if it is directly attacked. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: but prime minister abe wants a broader definition, a definition that would allow japanese forces to be used overseas in support of an ally like the united states, for so-called collective defense. the prospect of japanese troops fighting overseas once more for the first time since world war ii is opposed by more than half of the japanese public according to opinion polls. when abe called a snap election last year, he was riding high in the opinion polls. this controversy is causing that

approval rate to plummet, but he seems undeterred. there is also widespread opposition to the way he is using his majority in both houses of the parliament to push through the changes. >> except for two or three sense shuns, all of the other experts are saying that, well, it is illegal, it is unconstitutional. so i think this is also the course they have to take into account. >> reporter: it seems despite the damaging fallout, abe and his allies believe it is a cost japan can and should bare. rob mcbride, al jazeera, tokyo. switzerland says it will extradite fifa's former vice president to the u.s. he is the first suspect facing a forced transfer. he has been charged by the u.s.

justice department for using his influence to solicit millions of dollars worth of bribes. mexico has launched the world's biggest distribution of free digital televisions. 10 million sets are being given to poor families in a push to switch the country from analog signals, but critics say there is an ulterior motive. >> reporter: an unexpected gift for this woman and her granddaughter. they are clutching the new televisions the government has just given them for free. >> translator: i'm really happy because they never give you anything. but this time they have. >> reporter: ten million digital tvs are being given to poorer families as part of mexico's switch from analog to digital signal. the handouts costing more than $1.5 billion. the man in charge explains why it is worth it.

>> translator: there will be more and better quality channels, and the testifies use less electricity, so there will be a saving of energy nationwide. >> reporter: all mexicans enrolled in government benefit programs are eligible for the tvs. and the queue snakes around the block. more than 4,000 televisions are going to be handed out just on the day of our visit, and similar scenes are being played out across the country, but despite the general jubilant atmosphere here, critics have said behind it the government has a hidden agenda. all mexican parties are guilty of dishing out food and gifts for votes, but the governing party is especially notorious. >> the pri pardy used to hand out food hampers for votes. and in a digital era it hands out televisions for votes. >> reporter: of the more than 50 countries that have gone digital, mexico is the only one to hand out new tvs rather than

cheaper decoders, much of the handout also coincided with the run-up to the midterm elections. marta along with others we spoke to said she felt to pressure to support the government in exchange for her new gift. all right. still ahead on the program from sputnik i to space suits and space capsules. i'm here at one of the world's biggest sporting events. the rugby world cup is about to get underway. ♪

♪ hello again, conservationists say china love of ivory is helping fuel an illegal trade worth billions of dollars. tusks are shipped through a complex web of traders in hong kong. our correspondent has this exclusive report. >> reporter: in tan knee -- tan sa knee sha, a herd of field elephants are moving through the grass fields but their numbers are dropping by the day, slaughtered by poachers for their tusks. >> translator: after it dies they take the axe and cut and cut and cut. while those at the top of the trade make handsome profits,

desperately poor villagers risk much for very little reward. >> translator: this job is very dangerous. if you are caught you are shot. >> reporter: the illegal trade is being fuelled by a growing demand from china, where ivory remains a highly prized status symbol. 101 east traveled to the gateway to this growing market. between 2000 and 2014, customs officials seized some 33 tons of ivory here. >> they are checking 1% of the cargoes. that's how much was seized and how much was not seized. >> we are determined 20 stop the illegal poaching of elephants and ending illegal trade in elephant ivory. >> reporter: undercover we meet dealers willing to help us. and in shanghai we find buyers experienced in the trade.

>> translator: we can pay cash on delivery, we can do the deal at my company. right now we only want african ivory. we only want african ivory. with the smuggling and selling of ivory so common place, despite global efforts to ban the trade, there seems little to stop africa's wild elephants from disappearing in just a few decades. >> and you can catch the full documentary white gold on 101 east at 2230 gmt right here on al jazeera. time to catch up with all of the sport now. >> thank you very much. we're just a day away from the start of the eighth edition of the rugby world cup. host england will take on fiji in the opening game on friday as lee wellings now reports. >> reporter: fijian rugby

players are welcomed for the rugby eighth world cup. >> we're now looking at something like over 3 million tickets sold. we're looking at nearly half a million people coming from overseas. the anticipated audience is about 4 billion. to be the showcase of it around the world for rugby. >> reporter: but ticket prices suggest this is still a sport for the rich with funds unhappy about average prices of over $150 per ticket. >> it's silly money. >> there should be more dedicated fans that do come to events like this that can get a ticket at a good price and can

go watch the game. >> reporter: the team to beat are new zealand's mighty all blacks. >> the first thing it is not about [ inaudible ] i think that, you know, i might say it's silly, but that's -- it changes your -- your how you approach it, i think. and yeah, [ inaudible ] haven't [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: their opening game is against namibia. it will be played at london's olympic stadium as organizers targeted new venues. eight of the 12 venues are usually football stadiums. the opening game, semifinals and final will be played here. and realistically england are one of the only teams that can win this tournament.

but it is the progress of smaller nations like japan the next host, that will help determine whether this six-week tournament has been a success. cricket now. and bangladesh premier league is set to relaunch in november 2nd years after it was suspended. the 2020 competition was hulted following revelations of match fixing. it inmrim indicated a number of high profile player including the captain who received a ban of eight years which was later reduced to five with two years suspended. six new franchises will be added upon the relaunch. two of the big guns of major league soccer faced off on wednesday with the new england revolution beating the new york red bulls. they put new england ahead after just two minutes. and then moments they equalized for the red bulls.

new england then sealed the game after the break, sealing it 2-1. the result means they sit top of the eastern conference with red bulls in second. in major league baseball, the toronto blue jays have protected their league at the top of their division. they beat the atlanta braves on wednesday. david pryce has nine strikeouts, and only gave up 6 hits to lead the jays to a 9-1 win. russell martin hit as homer and drove in 4 runs. chicago's anthony helped move his team forward. while pittsburgh drop four games behind the st. louis cardinals. lewis hamilton is set to match [ inaudible ] of race

victories if he can bring sunday's singapore grand prix. the britain picked up his 40th career race earlier this month. it stretched his lead in the driver's championship to 53 points. if he wins the title this year, hamilton will always equal the record of three world championships. >> this is a kid that -- my goal was to emulate him. so after the last race i was notified how many races i had done, and to see that it almost correlated with the career that he had had, i hadn't -- i didn't know that the whole nine years or what course i was on, and so, you know, naturally it feels pretty amazing. [ inaudible ] are through to the semifinals after getting past italy. lithuania are looking to win the

fourth european title, but they were really tested by italy, only trailing by one going in the quarter. the italians managed to force overtime, but from there they were too strong and won by ten. now soviet space artifacts are in show in london. the first time many have been seen outside of russia. the exhibition honors soviet innovation and invention. and shines a light on the rivalry between russia and the west. >> reporter: the first woman in space. her space capsule is now a museum piece, but when she took off in 1963 this journey could sl be a one-way trip. i asked her if she was ever scared. it was work she tells me. if you were afraid, you would never be allowed into space. this capsule is like a close

friend. she returned a hero of the soviet union and remains to this day the only woman to fly a solo mission into space. several years earlier the soviets kick started the space age with a seriesover pioneering firsts, the first stat light, sputnik i, and then the first man in space. and in 1965 this man carried out the first space walk together with the first space somersault. many of these artifacts have never left russia, some needed to be declassified before they could travel. the soviet union's early achievements were seen as a challenge by the u.s. who eventually beat moscow in putting a man on the moon. there may be a legacy of cold war tension that here in the west these later achievements are eclipsed, but when it comes

to the space race there is one clear winner, the soviet union. >> they had the first probe to land on another planet. those are incredible scientific achievements. they are just as important as the lunar landing. all of these other things are just as important scientifically. >> reporter: with the space race long over, tensions have been replaced by cooperation and joint missions. after the u.s. grounded its shutter fleet in 2011, it now pays russia $63 million per astronaut per trip. this collection charts man's early cosmic achievements from the spacecraft to the space toilet, meaningful moments in humanity's journey into the unknown. neave barker, al jazeera, at london's science museum. >> man kind's incredible achievements in space. that's it for me, but join

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only on al jazeera america ♪ chaos on another eve frontier croatia threatens to close the border as 7,000 refugees cross from serbia. ♪ hello i'm marry ann and you are watching live from london and also coming up, protesters demand release of transitional president after a military coup in buck buck and meets in aiden after returning to the country