an edge. thanks for watching, i'm stephanie sy. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ welcome to another news hour from al jazeera in doha, i'm adrian finighan. our top stories. russian missiles syria from the caspian sea. angela merkel says that europe can't solve the refugee crisis by shutting it's a off from the outside world. more clashes between palestinians and israeli forces in the occupied west bank? the world's newest nation

south sudan had their world cup debut cut short, i'll tell you why. blues -- >> mr. blatter, is a hypocrite and a liar. >> reporter: the race for the fifa presidency is getting personal as one of the candidates says he is going to sue outgoing boss, sepp blatter. hello, russia has launched 26 cruise missiles from four warships in the caspian sea. it amounts to a major demonstration of russia's military power, all caught on power to ensure the whole world knows exactly what moscow is capable of. and syrian ground forces have launched a major offensive, supported by russia's support. >> reporter: a new phase in russia's military intervention in syria. for the past week, moscow has

been targeting the opposition from the air. now that air power is being used to support a syrian army counter offensive on the ground. areas in southern idlib and northern hahma are coming under fire, it's for battle of an important corner in northwestern syria. it seems the government had informed the residence of the planned assault. >> translator: after the syrian regime threatened to invade the town, the families fled from their homes and now this town is empty of civilians and only rebels remain. >> reporter: people started fleeing on tuesday, tens of thousands live in the town. it is unclear how many of them already left. but the rebel factions in this region are promising to fight back. >> translator: we will defend our land, we are not allow the murderous assad army or the

occupiers to enter. >> reporter: for the past week, russia air strikes have been weakening the defenses of the opposition in front line areas surrounding the government strong hold in the west. they stopped the rebel advances in this region, and now they are helping the army recapture territory. the immediate objective of russia's intervention in the conflict is becoming clear, to change the balance of power on the ground. well let's take a closer look at those russian missile strikes from the caspian sea. the missiles passed over both iran and iraq as they headed towards their targets. justin bronx is a research analyst, he joins us live from washington, d.c. what do you make, sir, of these russian cruise missile strikes?

>> it's a very interesting escalation in terms of the military forces that russia is choosing to deploy in syria, as would be [ inaudible ] superiority fighters, crews missiles are not something you would typically associate with what is a counter insurgency. cruise missiles nothing new in the sense that the u.s. and nato regularly deploy them from ships. but they are really useful for hitting fixed targets and usually ones that are heavily defended. it is basically another excuse for mr. putin to show how much military power he will yield and showing that what nato can do, it can do too. >> they have aircraft stationed on the ground in syria.

they don't need to use cruise missiles against targets, which, let's face it aren't that heavily defended in syria. you think it's just a pr exercise? >> absolutely. most of the deployment is centered around the fact it can demonstrate for the media. and cruise missiles are not effective to achieve the kind of assault the russias are doing on the ground. >> this is clearly an escalation in the propaganda war, but is it an escalation in military terms. >> it is an escalation in the scope of russia's military activities. they now have live ordinances going over iran and iraq.

this is the kind of fire support and projection of powerful range that we typically associate pretty much only with the u.s. and its nato allies, so it's definitely a step of in terms of what russia is trying to do in the middle east. >> justin good to talk to you. today, wednesday, is russia's president's vladimir putin's 63rd birthday. there's not much warmth towards him in washington. ash carter has described russia's action in syria as tragically flawed. we'll speak to rosiland jordan in just a moment, but first peter sharp is in moscow for us. not much warmth from moscow towards washington either. some pretty harsh words from the president. >> reporter: that's right. nothing really, i think, a sense of disappointment from president putin today.

he has since the air strikes began, been trying to talk with washington, trying to persuade washington and america to come on board his coalition in his strikes against isil. well the secretary of defense, ash carter ruled that out today saying putin's plan was flawed. but there will be talks on how to safeguard their pilots in this air space. but very basic technical stuff. russia's replied to this, and said that america -- the pentagon's refusal to share tactical intelligence on isil just goes to show that america is not looking to fight in this war. >> okay.

peter many thanks. let's go to washington, then, rosiland jordan is there, ros, there's surprise that the u.s. says no to cooperating militarily with russia, but at least the two sides are still talking, the relationship hasn't broken down completely. >> reporter: no, but it would be a really far stretch adrian to suggest that there is anything warm and fuzzy about relations between moscow and washington when it comes to the question of syria. the u.s. is very much opposed not only to military coordination against isil in the way that moscow is suggesting it, but as far as washington is concerned, it's still waiting for a response from moscow on trying to figure out how to avoid getting into each other's way in the air, with the competing air strikes against isil targets inside syria.

the pentagon told me late on tuesday afternoon, that they are still waiting for a response from moscow, so they can have the conversations on what they are calling de-confliction. it's the kind of situation where they say they don't want to have the militaries firing at each other by mistake, but they say for moscow to try to expand the scope of how they would be dealing with each other, when it comes to fighting isil just isn't going to work, because the u.s. is not interested in trying to deal with the questions of trying to resolve syria's civil war through military means. >> ros many thanks. rosiland jordan reporting live there from washington. there has been heavy fighting in iraq too. iraqi forces have retaken several areas north and south of ramadi. the operations involve 2,000 soldiers backed by u.s.-coalition air strikes.

at least 14 isil fighters and 8 iraqi soldiers are reported to have been killed. this video claims to show isil fighters striking back at the government troops. there have been clashes across the occupied west bank. this was the scene in raw ma la a short while ago. let's go live to hoda abdel hamid. tell us about what has actually happened there in the west bank today. >> reporter: well, there were a number of clashes not only here in ramallah, the ones you mentioned, but there were also clashes in hebron and jerricho, so there's one person who died in hebron, but i think the most important number that we have here is the number of wounded,

and we got this -- some figures from both the palestinians and the health ministry here. and the total number of people injured since october 3rd, so that's only -- over five days, is 1,642 people. now the two figures that also jump out from that, is that about 260 of them were hit by live ammunition and about 650 with the rubber-coated steel bullets that the israeli army uses often. that gives you probably the another of the amount of force that israeli soldiers are using in confronting these youth, that yes, sometimes they use [ inaudible ] by and large they are throwing rocks at the soldiers. >> given the numbers, given the tension, given the unrest, there has been a lot of media speculation that we're entering

a fourth [ inaudible ] are we? -- a third i'm sorry. >> when you speak to the youth, they are angry, frustrated, they see that israel continues to violate any kind of agreement, and they say that this is the only way for them to make their voices heard, and also to avenge those who die and those who get wounded. but they also complain there is a lack of political will here. they say they are not backed by the palestinian authority or the government and that as long as there's no political will, it would be very difficult for them to reach a third, some of them want it, others say no, we need to have a plan, an aim, and then we can have a third. but i was speaking earlier to a young man in his 30s. he took part in the second, and he said i'm a bit older now. i see these youth.

i recognize myself. the problem is we lost a lot of friends and relatives and nothing happened. so they say what they are trying really to do in the end is keep up the pressure, every day that passes, there's more anger at the dead, there's more anger at the wounded, and every day that passes they hope they will bring more and more people coming out by themselves to support these clashes. so i think what they are figuring out, these youth, is that this is something that is long term and it will take a while. anything can happen, of course, and that then you would have a popular uprising, but people, when you talk to them, those watching the clashes will tell you, yes, we do feel with them, we just need to find a plan on how to sort this out, because at the moment, while these oslo according have completely failed, even if mahmoud abbas, threatens to pull out, for a lot of people here they are dead for

a long time. there are no accords for many, because they have see nothing. many will tell you our lives have shrunked since they were signed. >> hoda many thanks. still to come on the program, a doctor's aid group calls for justice and an independence investigation on an air strike on a hospital in afghanistan. and there's extra motivation for brian to perform well against the usa at the rugby world cup. we'll have that later in sport. ♪ doctors without borders is calling for an independent investigation into the bombing of one of its hospitals in afghanistan. 22 patients and staff were

killed in the air strike. a top u.s. commander in afghanistan has apologized for the mistake. the doctors group is calling for the inquiry to be carried out by the international humanitarian fact finding commission. it was set up by the u.n. to monitor alleged war crimes, but the commission has never been used and needs a signatory state to request an investigation. >> it is unacceptable that states hide behind gentlemen's agreement, and create a free for all and an environment of impunity. it is unacceptable that the bombing of a hospital and the killing of staff and patients can be dismissed as collateral damage or brushed aside as a mistake. today we are fighting back for the respect of geneva convention. as doctors we are mighting back

for the sake of patients. we need you as members of the public to stand with us to insist that even wars have rules. let's take a closer look at how events unfolded. the first u.s. statement said an air strike may have cause what it called collateral damage. the u.s. now admits it fired on the hospital, and it was a mistake after a request from afghan forces. [ inaudible ] categorically rejects there were fighters in the compound. it says the intensive care unit was specifically bombed for over an hour. all sides have the known coordinates of the hospital and have had them for the last four years. and despite frantic calls to kabul and washington during the bombing. the attack continued for another 30 minutes.

>> in kunduz, our patients burned in their beds. doctors and nurses, and other staff were killed as they worked. today we pay tribute to those were died in this attack. we pay tribute to those while watching their colleagues die and their hospital still on fire, carried on treating the injured. >> the former deputy secretary of defense joins us now live from kabul. thanks for being with us, sir. what do you make of saturday's incident. has international law been broken here? >> saturday night's horrible tragedy is something that is obviously a tragedy for every one of the people who were killed and a tragedy that a hospital was the subject of a bombing. but of course the real story here is the fact that there is a war going on.

attacks of kunduz, that is the really story. you have to focus on the war itself. and here we had the taliban attacking a city, a city that was at peace, and the taliban attacked it. and if the focus is only on this one horrible tragic incident, and you miss the big picture, then you will never resolve the issue. the real thing we need to focus on here is this attack by the taliban is a new stage in the war. >> but something went horribly wrong, didn't it? both the afghans and the u.s. have the coordinates of the hospital, and bombing went on for an hour after frantic calls were made to kabul and the u.s., telling them they were targeting a hospital and there were no fighters there. >> certainly there -- this was a horrible tragedy, and my

personal -- although i am no longer with the u.s. government, my personal sympathies go to everyone who was injured there, and well as everyone who is injured in the battle for kunduz which still goes on. as far as the actual details, those will have to be investigated and i'm sure there will be many, many investigations and there should be. but the attention of the world needs to be focused on the entirety of the war. there are many more afghans who were killed elsewhere in kunduz than just at the hospital. >> you keep calling it a horrible tragedy. how do you think the u.s. would react if it was the taliban that had bombed this hospital and killed 22 people? >> if the u.s. had bombed the hospital and it was the taliban, and -- in fact the taliban was bombing -- the taliban was attacking with bombs, the taliban attacks with suicide

bombs all the time. the u.s. would do what it has been doing here in afghanistan, trying to help the people who are fighting the taliban. you have to remember that it was just over a month and a half ago that there was a taliban bombing here in kabul that killed over a hundred people, and wounded 600. in that was always a horrible tragedy. the key here is to end the war and stop the fighting. >> all right. let's look at the bigger picture for the moment. what does this tell us about the state of the afghan government, and the u.s. operation to help the afghan government, given that the taliban took an entire city, and it has taken over a week to get them out again. they are still not cleared out of there. >> yes. the united states administration made a decision to pull out of

afghanistan before the afghan forces were ready. the afghan forces have not been able to repel all of the taliban attacks. this summer has seen the largest taliban offensive ever. more afghan civilians and solders have died this year than any year in the past. the new attacks by the taliban show a -- increasing sophistication, greater use of heavy weapons and ability to move forces around the battlefield in ways they never have before. so it's really important for the international community and afghanistan to look at this new situation and see what needs to be done to prevent any more attacks. >> one final question, forgive me, sir, but you seem to be suggesting that the war will be won when the taliban win it. >> no, i'm suggesting that the best thing for everybody involved is peace. but it is clear the taliban objective is to win the war. that is why they have upped

their offensive this year. that's why they have killed thousands and thousands of afghan civilians this year. u.n. figures so the number killed this year is greater than ever before, and the vast majority are being killed by the taliban. the taliban objective is to win the war. but what everyone involved, afghanistan, the international nato countries here, and neighboring countries they need to work to bring peace. >> good to talk to you sir. the fighting in kunduz has forced thousands of afghan families toest indicate -- escape leading to another refugee crisis. >> reporter: having been through so much, this woman and her children thought their or deal was over. >> translator: when the fighting

began on the fifth day of eid, it was 4:00 a.m. and i woke up my children, we walked for miles, crossed over lots of dead bodies. we had no money and could not afford to drive a car. i spent a few days and nights on the streets with my 11 children. >> reporter: the afghan government is struggling to cope with the thousands of people escaping the fighting. private donors are stepping in to provide much-needed help. >> reporter: this is our country. afghanistan is a united country. like a human body, a single organ of the body is in pain, the whole body feels the pain. whether it is north or south, we do not differentiate, they are brothers, and it is our duty to help these families who have suffered. >> reporter: that help is nowhere near enough. at least 8,000 families in kunduz are registered as

displaced and scattered across afghanistan. >> translator: it's not clear how many people have been displaced, up to 85% of the people have left to different provinces. the government have done nothing. thousands of people is have arrived in kabul with no shelter, food, or water. it's very fortunate that aid organizations and the government don't have a plan to help them. >> reporter: kunduz has been at the center of a push and fight. both sides say they have made gains and that the other is losing. but what is clear is the displacement crisis grows by the day. germany's chancellor, angela merkel has warned that europe can't solve the refugee crisis by shutting its doors to the outside world. she called for a unified approach. she also called for a political

solution to the problems in syria, where most of europe's refugees are coming from. >> translator: we have to face the fact that even if it's tempting to wish to shut ours off from all of this, we know people will come to harmon our borders, and it will serve nobody's interest. it won't help those affected. they will still find ways to reach europe. shutting ourselves off in the time of the internet is an illusion. we will have to face up to this very grave problem. >> let's get analysis from neave barker in strasburg. >> reporter: for both angela merkel and francois hollande, they acknowledged the historical significance of their joint address here. like before the rhetoric was

about european expansion and unity. now it's about overcoming divisions in the face of a very long list of serious challenges. hollande talked about youth unemployment in southern europe, the learning effects of the your row zone crisis, and the debt for economic reform, and the conflict in syria and the conflict in eastern ukraine too. but perhaps the most overriding of challenges that of the refugee crisis that threatens to divide those countries who say that europe must step up to the mark and accommodate those people in need, and those who take a much more cautionary approach. those who are deeply worried about what large numbers of people arriving in the european

union will mean for their own national identities. but angela merkel talked of the need for cohesion, the need for more europe not less europe. and president hollande in one of his key comments said we must not be dominated by fears. we should not retreat into national shells. if ever there was a rallying cry for europe, this was most certainly it. we're approaching the midway point on this news hour. one of the world's most successful car peoples tries to rebuild trust. and one of the world's biggest producers of die amongeds discovers that the gems aren't as precious anymore. zimbabwe's football fans struggle to come to terms with their team's exclusion from world cup qualifying. ♪

>> that's what i want to hear. >> give me all you've got. >> now. >> bootcamp... >> stop your whinin'. >> for bad kids. >> if they get a little dirty, so what. >> we have shackles, we have a spit bag. >> they're still having nightmares. >> if you can't straighten out your kids... >> they're mine. >> this is the true definition of tough love. ♪ hello again, you are with

the news hour with al jazeera. russia has launched missile strikes against target ngs syria from warships in the kasz peeian sea. syrian forces on the ground appear to have launched a major offensive, supported by russia's air campaign. there have been more clashes in the occupied west bank between palestinians and the israeli security forces. more than 1600 palestinians have been injured in the unrest. germany's chancellor, angela merkel has warned that europe can't solve its refugee crisis by shutting its doors to the outside world. in an historic joint address alongside france's president, she called for a unified approach. now military operation has begun to catch human traffickers in the mediterranean. european naval ves else will patrol the waters to find smug

ellers. the united nations high commission for refugees says over 550,000 people have entered europe by sea this year. most of them landed in greece. more than 400,000 people. over 130,000 arrived via italy. but many never made that it car. so far this year, more than 3,000 people drowned or are missing at sea. italy's coast guard says that it has rescued more than 2,000 people at sea since monday alone. hundreds more are being intercepted daily on the other side of the mediterranean in libya. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: desperation doesn't recognize borders, which is why hundreds of people are still being picked up off of libya, the main departure point to europe. anti-immigration themes, and supporting aid staff here are

overwhelm overwhelmed. >> translator: we received a call informing us that a boat at sea carrying 142 people, and we brought them here. >> reporter: lucky to be alive, but perhaps feeling not to fortunate to have had their trip cut short. they have crossed the sahara desert, a journey sometimes harder than on the mediterranean. the children are happy to get new toys, but their mother is after a new start for them, and libya isn't the final destination. >> i left my country because of boko haram. boko haram is still disturbing us. they kill our parents. they kill our brothers and sisters. that is the problem why i have to run from my country to find and give good education for my children. >> reporter: a day earlier the italian coast guard picked up some of those who made it further. from the very young to the elderly. once you have survived violence

at home, the sar hah are dez certed, then libya, rough seas may seem like a short step towards your goal. they have made a journey few in the west would dare. for this. to be registered as refugees in europe. the saudi-lead coalition fighting houthi rebels in yemen is accused of gross humanitarian violations. amnesty international says they should be investigated as war crimes. the group looked into 13 air strikes in the houthi strong hold of sud da, between may and july this year. at least 100 civilians died, half children. amnesty international says there was a clear pattern of indiscriminate attacks on civilians. it is concerned about a lack of accountability. the group has urged all states to stop selling weapons to saudi arabia. a researcher on yemen for

amnesty international says the killing of civilians appears to have been deliberate. >> what we're seeing here is not unintended deaths, we're seeing targeted strikes against civilian homes and public buildings. these strikes have a certain pattern which are consecutive strikes so you cannot say the civilians are unintended casualties or collateral damage from our findings. and that is why we are saying that these violations -- these are in violation of international humanitarian law and should be investigated as war crimes at this stage. we have found there are u.s.-made and designed cluster bombs being used by the saudi-lead coalition. these bombs can have very devastating, long-term effects because they can turn into land mines and children or adults as well can step on them when they get covered with soil. as i have said, we have found

that the saudi-lead coalition used these bombs on the houthi strong holds. we have found that they dropped them over villages full of civilians and civilian houses and farms, and that is internationally banned. the use of them is internationally banned. and we're calling for an investigation. this specific report actually focuses on the saudi-lead coalition crimes in the north strong hold of sa'dah. we have covered houthi crimes in other reports, where the found that they also launched indiscriminate attacks against civilians. volkswagen will start to recall millions of emissions-cheating cars in january. up to 11 million diesel cars made by vw brands are said to have benefited with software

designed to cheat emissions tests. the scandal cost the ceo his job, he was forced to step down after the cheating was traced back to executives in germany. nearly $40 billion has been wiped off of the value of vw shares. it is now facing a raft of lawsuits around the world. let's bring in the editor of auto magazine, good to have you with us. they say it is going to take a year or so to get these 11 million cars in. quite a short time to do a lot. >> it does. i think they are optimistic in seeing that. they say they are confident they can manage it. but that's one in 30 cars going through dealerships. and dealerships aren't quiet at the best of times. so it is a huge undertaking. >> all right. what about the vw group as a

whole. it's presumably going to cost them a lot of money to do this, isn't it, and that's going to have a knock-on effect on vw's projects, things in the pipeline. >> absolutely. so the estimates are for the fixes they are proposing for a simple software update it could be around $100. but for some mechanical fixes it could be as much as $10,000. and the total bill for the repairs and fines they are facing is estimated to be $45 billion euros. and the only way they can fund it is cut back on new product developments and investigates in r&d, and that is going to keep on hurting them down the line. if they are not investigating they won't be able to continue to be the technological leaders. >> how much damage has this done

to their brand? what sort of impact is it going to have on the company? >> yeah, it will be very interesting to find out. we have the september sales figures, and they have withstood impact so far. but they will try to present a very positive picture, of course. we're hearing that the dealerships are very quiet. but we're also seeing on the website that there is a lot of traffic around people looking at leasing cars. so it will be interesting how that plays out. >> jim, good to talk to you, many thanks indeed. jim holder there in london. in south africa, workers have been on the march to demand a minimum wage that allows them to look after their families properly. many complain that they can't make ends meet, though they have

a full-time job. >> reporter: these protesters say a national minimum wage of between 330 and $440 a month would mean dignity for all workers. minors, municipal staff, and machinists are all here. >> what we are saying is enough is enough. we demand immediately implementation of though minimum wage as a springboard to ensure that every worker can sleep with something in his or her stomach. >> reporter: a recent study revealed there are 5.5 million working poor in south africa. people like tina, she works more than 35 hours a week as a cleaner, but her pay is $88 a month. she lives in this shack and manages to put some salary into a community savings scheme.

her second cost is food, $30, electricity, gas, and rent soak up the remaining $21. she never has spare cash. >> working for that money it's better than sitting at home, how am i going to survive with my child. at the end of the day this child will being looking at my face like she wants food. >> reporter: there is a set minimum wage in south africa, but it is rarely enforced. the employers association says government leaders should be making it easier for businesses to grow and create more jobs. >> any biggest driver is not low wages. it's unemployment. >> reporter: one in four south africans are unemployed. so many are just grateful to have a job, but these people say workers are being exploited.

and a minimum wage would lift millions out of poverty. south africa is expected to continue to suffer from high unemployment and what the workers say is modern day slave wages. botswana's diamond industry is losing its sparkle. there are too many of the precious stones on the market, and thousands working in the industry have lost their jobs. >> reporter: botswana's bread and berter. diamonds contribute to more than 70% of its export income. but sales are down and so are prices. >> clearly it is a challenging period for everybody in the pipeline, us as well, the manufacturers and retailers, but as i say, that imbalance will pull threw, and we're working hard to ensure that consumers still desire diamonds.

>> reporter: sales reached $80 billion last year. but this year economic uncertainty in many countries and a slowdown in china's economy is hurting the industry. >> we're investing heavily in the long term, we have got about $3 billion invested in future projects. >> reporter: but jobs have been lost in botswana and other countries. a third of the people have already lost their jobs. two companies have completely shut down, and many others cutting back production. traditionally, botswana has mined and sold raw diamonds, now it is trying to improve the work force so they can also cut and polish the stones. >> a lot of [ inaudible ] not only in the diamond industry,

the off spin of it, we're talking about government employees, people in hospitality, education. >> reporter: the trade union also says diamonds need to be marketed differently to appeal to younger buyers. executives are urging government leaders to make concussions. >> they want to buy diamonds and ship them out of the country completely, they call that flexibility. wanted to see if we could have added services removed from the diamond. [ inaudible ] all sorts of things. those that we can help them with we have. >> reporter: many here say current conditions are a wake-up call for -- botswana. three scientists have

jointly been awarded this year's nobel prize for chemistry. they were awarded think prize for finding out how cells repaired damaged dna. the nobel prize committee says their work could be useful for the development of new cancer treatments. just ahead here on the news hour, scientists are baffled by an unexpected discovery in the waters off of hong kong. we'll tell you why. and in sport it took them three years to return to the major league baseball playoffs. we'll tell you why their comeback was cut short. ♪

hello again, hong kong is one of the world's busiest harbors with ships of all shapes and sizes, creating lots of pollution. despite that, scientists have made an unexpected discovery, that coral reefs are thriving. >> reporter: cranes and construction sites circle hong kong's harbor front. land is slowly devouring these waters as the city expands its footprint. these scientists are keeping a close watch on what is happening on land, but an even closer watch on what is going on beneath the water, and what might be happening to the coral. >> we have pollution that derives from development, particularly from sewage, industrial heavy metal contamination. and a lot of sedimentation that results from reclamation

activities. all of these things affect coral in a very negative way. >> reporter: david baker is leading this international research team. the group is diving at key spots ash the harbor, logging coral spee species and how they are faring. and no one was expecting this. >> i'm pretty surprised because if you look at the numbers of the water quality, there shouldn't be any coral living in hong kong. >> reporter: just a few nautical miles away from major construction sites and 7 million people, the divers from found coral not just alive but thriving. >> we can dive in places where you think no coral could survive. polluted harbors, marinas, and you still can find corals or coral relatives. >> reporter: so far the team has

recorded more than 80 different species of hard coral, that's more than what has been identified in the entire c caribbean sea. >> we saw a diversity of coral and schools of fishes today. it was pretty nice day today. >> reporter: this region is feeling the impact of climate change and development, but the stronger types of coral species here are holding on, despite the unrelenting conditions, and scientists are trying to establish how they survive. they collect fragments of coral to monitor and cultivate. >> we can actively grow them and create baby corals, and our goal is to put them back into the sites where they came from. >> reporter: the fact these corals are thrivering is leaving scientists baffled. >> so we could make a hypothesis that the corals have been

collected for only the strongest survive. so they could be sucher corals that may hold some secrets for coral survival globally in the future. >> reporter: it's an underwater mystery offering a glimmer of hope for a habitat under threat. now if you are having a bad day here is a man who shares his pain. he forgot his contact lens today. >> yeah, having a better day than sepp blatter. it has been reported that they could take action against him. a member of the committee is concerned that the three candidates that were being discussed in a meeting which is to last until friday, he is being investigated of criminal mismanagement. this man is running to replace him. but he has been questioned over

a payment made in 2011. and a fellow candidate is being investigated. he hit back, threatening to sue him. >> reporter: [ inaudible ] blatter his salary is [ inaudible ] but he refused. naturally for president blatter to get paid without [ inaudible ] approval is embezzlement. that is why i plan to sue mr. blatter on his embezzlement [ inaudible ]. even after announcing his resignation, mr. blatter, wants to stay on and to oversee the reforms and the next presidential election. the target of reform, mr. blatter, should not be allowed to oversee the reform

process. mr. blatter, in short, is a hypocrite and a liar. >> fifa postponed palestinian's world cup qualifier next week, because they can't decide where it should be held. the match had been scheduled to take place in the west bank, but the saudis refused to play there. citing exceptional circumstances. they would have had to travel through israeli check points to enter the territory. palestine argues that moving the match would deprive the country of its right to play at home. south sudan has made itsdz world cup qualifying debut just three years after becoming members of fifa. they will resume in thursday in jub bah. the team has been in existence for just four years in total. their first game was back in 2011. south sudan scored first, but went on to lose 3-1. the following year they were admitted to both africa and world football's governing

bodies, becoming fifa's 209th member in may 2012, and their first official international came soon after. but it took them until september of this year for them to get their first competitive victory, it game against ecuadoral guinea. elsewhere, it was the first point ever won by this team in world competition. burundi will take a 1-0 win into their next round. a total of 26 teams will play home and away over the next two legs. in similar bobway, the only african country not playing after they were disqualified by fifa for failing to pay a coach. haru mutasa has more.

>> reporter: football fans can't believe this is happening. fifa says they cannot take part in the world stages, that's because fifa says they owe a former coach more than $60,000. for fans football is in trouble. >> zimbabwe loves soccer. this zimbabwe football association, [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: zimbabwe has never won a world cup, but for supporters just seeing their team playing in the qualifying stages matter of pride. >> [ inaudible ] they don't know me, but i just wanted to see our guys, our players playing there. >> reporter: allegations of

corruption, including pocketing money from seats, and fail [ inaudible ] has left the association in a crisis. the president has been fired. there's now a new sports minister, but most supporters know it could take a long time to fix what has gone wrong. government officials say they are appealing the suspension, but fifa has strict rules against political interference in national football association. >> the government would like to advice those in charge of running football to do things right. we need to mobilize fifa so that we walk alongside each other. >> reporter: fans say they miss the good old days. >> players would get paid in time, where supporters would fill the stadiums, but it doesn't happen anymore. there is always scandals. >> reporter: these supporters

feel scandals and corruption have tarnished the game and embarrassed the country. the new york yankees are out of major league baseball's post season. they lost 3-1 to the astros in their wild-card playoff on tuesday. the astros have gone from losing an average of 104 games over 4 seasons to reaching the american league division series where they will face the kansas royals. >> i never would have imagined that i would have pitched that well, or we would have played that well in yankee stadium on that big of a stage, but that's what we have been doing all year. nobody really gave us anything at the start of the year, and i don't think anybody gave us a shot at the end of the year. wednesday's national league wild-card game sees the pirates take on the cubs. the cubs still trying to win their first world series since

1908. the cubs have gone from winning 73 games last season to finishing with the third-best record in baseball. 97 wins. the last three quarter final birth at the rugby world cup will be filled on wednesday with south africa taking on the united states. they made just one change to their team since their victory over scotland. brian needs just three more tries to equal the world cup record of 15. currently leading 7-0. and georgia plays nam bibbia, as they look to secure a spot for the world cup. >> you were just a blur to him all the way through here. lauren taylor is next with another full bulletin of news.

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russia launches air strikes on syria from its fleet in the caspian sea. ♪ i'm lauren taylor this is al jazeera, live from london. also coming up. flashes in raw mall la, as students fight with israeli forces. trade unions across south africa hold rallies calling for a boost to the minimum wage. and we investigate our coral reefs are flourishing in the polluted waters of honko