>> the u.s. says it plans to overhaul its program aimed at training and supporting syrian rebels. secretary of defense ash carter admitted the program needs to change. >> we have been looking for now several weeks at ways to improve that program we are looking at different ways to achieve basically the same kind of strategic objective, which is

the right one, to enable capable, motivated forces on the ground to retake territory from isil and reclaim syrian territory from extremism. >> tom ackermann joins us live from washington. >> a stark admission there. why now? what's behind this decision? >> it's clear that this program has been a failure almost from the tart. the commanding general admitted to senators a couple of days ago that the objective of achieving a 5400 man fighting force by next year was unatainable, because of the tight requirements to make sure they weren't getting isil infiltrators into the ranks. there was no unity in the units

themselves. that was clear when a splinter group captured by al-nusra forces, who are fighting assad more than isis, but also that some of the troops were home for the holiday in turkey and couldn't even get back to the fighting front. one group broke off and joint one of the splinter forces. it left a lot to be desired. >> what does this mean as far as the u.s. strategy against isil. >> well, according to the secretary of defense and other pentagon officials, the objective is rather than mobilizing and training these forces as individual fighting forces, as part of the overall umbrella rebel group, i believe

it's called difficulties 30, they would be integrated into forces, kurdish forces and others who are already in the field, and rather than fighting on their own, or even with american assistance and intelligence, they would be basically auxilliaries to those existing fighting forces. but again, remember that this force is only mandated to fight isis or isil and not the assad forces, and so that in and of itself is a -- maybe a stumbling block in the future. >> thank you for that. tom ackermann live for us in washington. >> iran's revolutionary guard confirmed the death of a top general in syria. he was killed near aleppo. he was an advisor to bashar al assad's army. zeina hodor has more. >> iranian state media say he was killed by "terrorists" while advisor the syrian military on

the ground. they do say that he was killed in the aleppo countryside but no details of where and how, where in aleppo. what we understand from the human rights organization, he was killed in fighting in the front line near the airport. iran has advisors on the ground. they acknowledge that, saying military advisors are there to help the syrian army. they deny troops are fighting alongside the army, even though the opposition says otherwise. the syrian guest gets help from iran and the shia movement hezbollah who has thousands of fighters helping the army. it's vital support from iran, hezbollah. the syrian president said they are suffering from man power problems and the army is overstretched. now the syrian government getting air support from the russians. the information on the iranian

general's death cine cried with an offensive on the ground launched by isil. isil has taken ground, not from the syrian government, but from the rebels in a very important location in the eastern countryside of aleppo. they've taken positions from the opposition, basically cutting their supply line from turkey to the city of aleppo, a big gain and a big blow to the object significance. right now, isil is just two kilometers from a syrian government position, a very complicate picture on the ground, but what is clear is that the conflict really is intensifying on many fronts. >> despite international criticism, the russian air offensive in syria vines. overnight, five people were killed in an air strike on a camp for internally deplaced people. sixty were injured in the village in idlib province. >> the french defense minister said more airstrikes are planned

on isil targets in syria. french fight are jets targeted a training camp in raqqa, an isil stronghold. french government leaders say 80% to 90% of russian strikes in syria are not targeting isil. france expanded its campaign last month after joining the u.s. led coalition against isil in iraq last year. >> three palestinians have been killed and dozens injured in fighting with israeli soldiers along the gaza border. there's unrest in the occupied west bank after the funeral of a palestinian who stabbed to israelis earlier this week. there's been a series of stabbings in israel and palestinian territories in recent days. we have a report from near the west bank. tell us what's been happening. >> there have been some very intense confrontations here

between palestinian youth and israeli forces. just to give you an idea, most of the palestinian youth are now at the back of the street where you see that black smoke, that burning tires and most of them there. what we have seen over the past hour or so is that we have seen israeli armored vehicles come down that road. i think there's one of them coming down at this particular moment, as no palestinian is allowed to access that road at the moment and pushing further back, the palestinian youth have also used their tear gas and we've also heard the sound of what seems like rubber bullets. now, on this side, you will see that the street is empty. just a few days ago, the palestinians were deeper into the streets. you also see some israeli soldiers walking by in the field. there are some palestinian youth who are still there. the israeli soldiers have been trying to push them back but they are determined and resilient and they are staying there. we see them once in a while

throw some rocks. it is indeed a tense situation. compared to a couple of days ago, i can say that the tension is increasing each time there is such confrontation. >> and there are reports of violence elsewhere, including gaza. >> there are confrontations ins bethlehem, janeen and in gaza the most dramatic, a group of palestinian youth had gone towards the border with southern israel, throwing rockets and burning some tires. israel's reaction was again an excessive use of force, since three palestinians have died there. we are hearing reports about a fourth one, however, i cannot confirm that at the moment. certainly, a very tense day, and i have to say that people here are bracing themselves for things to escalate. there's a lot of worry among the

people around us in the wider palestinian population where is all this heading at this stage. >> indeed. thank you for that update live from ramallah in the occupied west bank. >> israeli police say a palestinian woman in the occupied west bank has been shot after she stabbed an officer. earlier, four arabs were stabbed in the southern israeli city of demona. >> in a third incident on friday in jerusalem this time, a palestinian was arrested after stabbing an israeli teenager. friday's attacks follow a series of other stabbings and increased tension in the past week between israelis and palestinians. al jazeera's mike hanna has more from jerusalem. >> a number of attacks still occurring in the occupied west bank and in israel proper. some of them are somewhat different from recent days. in northern israel, a palestinian-israeli woman attempted to stab an israeli soldier. she was shot. police say moderately wounded.

in demona, a 17-year-old israeli attacked two residents of the west bank. they were moderate to seriously injured. the israeli attacker has been arrested. >> one is seeing a pattern in an increase in israeli right wing activity. in west jerusalem overnight, a crowd of demonstrators gathered, shouting insultles towards arabs, insisting they were going to march on occupied east jerusalem. however, police dispersed them. a number which these israelis were dispersed. so continuing tense in various parts of israel and the occupied west bank. police say very difficult to deal with the stepping attacks, regardless of where they come from, because they are unorganized and they are random. >> still ahead on the al jazeera news hour, anger in the streets of guinea as supporters of the ruling party and the opposition

clash ahead of elections. >> exclusive evidence that european governments have been paying ransom to free hostages abroad. >> this year's nobel peace prize has been awarded to tunisians who helped bring their country back from a civil war. it includes trades unions, lawyers and human rights activists. they have been honored for helping build democracy after the revolution which sparked thear ran spring years ago. >> the announcement, a surprise, to be sure. >> that the nobel peace prize for 2015 is to be awarded to the

tunisian national dialogue quartet for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in tunisia in the wake of the arab spring of 2011. >> the nobel committee sent a positive message on on pluralism and dialogue. >> while our countries involved in the arab spring remain in conflict, tunisia enjoys a peaceful political pros. >> a democracy group is made up of four key organizations in tunisian civil society. the tunisian general labor union, confederation of trade and handy crafts, the how many rights league and order of lawyers.

they put forward a stable political process, pulling the countrying back from civil war. it held successful elections in 2014. the nobel jury said they hoped the prize would contribute soreddative guarding democracy in tunisia and be an inspiration to all those who seek to promote peace in the middle east and the rest of the word, in spiration that is still needed in tunisia. the young democracy suffered two attacks this year that killed 60 people and devastated the tourism industry. >> no matter how unexpected the prize may be, for a tunisias, it's a symbol of hope a the a time of crisis. al jazeera. >> a researcher at the tunisian league for human rights, one of

the members of the quartet which won the nobel peace prize said neighboring libya could find an end to its civil war by following tunisia's example. >> i think all tunisian's are proud of their civil groups, their civil society. they know now how to overcome every common political crisis with such a civil society and group of societies. i think we have turned heads around with media. in libya, they are ruled by military.

it was a time of political assassinations and social unrest and now, we could overcome our own crise, i think they could do as well in libya. in every place where there are cob applicants and military conflicts, especially in the south africa -- i'm sorry, north africa. if they can see that it's a hope and that civil society can do what armies can do. >> after months of talks to end fighting in libya, the u.n. proposes a settlement including a national unity government. rival parliament need to approve the deal four years after the fall of muammar gaddafi. >> while one of the two government isis the general national congress operating out

of tripoli, it came to power when an alliance of former rebels known as libya down took over the capital city last year, driving out the internationally recognized government, now operating out of tubruk. >> it had been a difficult process. >> this was not an easy task. we have been listening to many people inside and outside the dialogue. finally, it will be six personalities. >> at its head, the foreign

minister, architect from a prominent family in tripoli. the challenges face the new unity government are immense. it's now almost four years since the death of muammar gaddafi. the country has been racked by turmoil and violence ever since. the two main factions only reluctantly agreed to the deal, and there's been so much bloodshed and political bad blood, many oppose it. there are fighters and militias unlikely to obey the government. one of the first challenges will be to take on isil who have a major foothold in muammar gaddafi's hometown, sirte. it is a major route for migrants and refugees from all over africa who make their way to libya's coast. >> so many have died at sea

making the journey from libya towards europe. for months. the european union has proposed the idea of a maritime operation to intercept the boats. friday, a revolution to authorize that operation will come before the u.n. security council for a vote. james bays, al jazeera, at the united nations. >> now to guinea, where in the run up to sunday's president-election, two people have been were attacked. let's bring in our correspondent who joins us on the line. a very tense situation ahead of the election sunday. tell us what's happening now.

things are very very tense now.

>> thank you very much for that update on the line there. the situation is tense ahead of the election on sunday. we'll keep a close eye was on the events in guinea. >> the australian government has begun assessing asylum applications from syrians, agreeing to resettle 12,000 syrians escaping the civil war. priority will be given to women and children, but refugees attempting to reach and you say as by sea are warned not to. >> australia is also negotiating a deal with the philippines to transfer asylum seekers indefinitely in detention centers. the pacific island nation has bobbed journals, raising concerns about conditions for the refugees. andrew tomas reports. >> this footage is three years old. al jazeera was invited to watch australian soldiers built what they called a detention center for asylum seekers, but now, the

media is banned from visiting the island state. the government had said journals needed to pay $6,000 to apply for a visa, but in an email from the government, al jazeera has been told now that all media applications are being refused. the government claims what was effectively a prison for refugees is now an open facility. the president wrote recently that refugees were regularly seen swimming, dining out and enjoying a lifestyle that is safe, but banning reporters cast doubt on that. >> the allegations we're hearing are very serious. this involves sexual abuse of women and children. the young children inside the center, we're hearing allegations of rape. >> there is no independent scrutiny of what's going on. >> the government has also backed away from a commitment it gave at the beginning of the week to give all asylum seekers a decision by this weekend as to

whether or not they'd be recognized at refugees. one to 200 of them, it now says, will have to wait a lot longer. >> those the government decides are not genuine refugees face deportation. the rest will either stay or be resettled in a third country, not australia. at the united nations last week, australia's foreign minister met with their filipino counterpart and it was discussed paying $14,150,000,000 for the philippines to take its refugees. >> i am not going to publicly comment where negotiations are at approximately i think we're best to discuss those issues in private with those partners and if there's an announcement to make, we can announce it. >> australia's tough policies towards refugees have stopped the boat. this is old footage, too, but where refugees have been sent are places hidden from scrutiny and australia is struggling for a next stage in its policies. andrew tomas, al jazeera,

sydney. >> there's been a sharp rise in the number of refugees arriving in the past week. the international organization for migration said several thousand have been landing every day this month, 2.5000 a day more than at the end of last month. the organization says refugees are trying to reach europe before winter sets in. >> e.u. nations have agreed to speed up the deportation of refugees whose asylum applications have been rejected. interior ministers meeting in luxembourg on thursday said economic migrants would be sent back to their home countries. many come from poor african countries and are not escaping war. >> the u.n. foreign policies cheech said those countries in the western balkans have shown a new political will in tackling the refugee crise. >> the meeting tonight, is somehow a new starting point, because i have registered around the table especially from our

friends, e.u. and knosp e.u. member states of the western bag cans the willingness to have a sort of new start in relations that need to be cooperative in managing the flows, in managing the borders, the reception, the assistance, in managing the phenomenon in that it doesn't stop at the borders. >> we had snow, two weeks ago, getting up to 28 degrees celsius. i think it will be a while before we see those values again. you can see this massive cloud into the northeastern corner, coming down from the north and that's why we've got that cold air in place. lots of storms around the central med, as well.

the air rises, condenses and forms rain. we've seen heavy rain in northern denmark. back up towards that northeastern corner, a couple of weeks ago, we were getting up to 28 celsius, now struggling to get to three or four degrees in moscow. should be around neighbor 10 this year. clearer skies as we go on into sunday. the cold, crisp sunshine. we make our way into the weekend. lots of heavy rain continuing across central parts. we've seen lively storms rumbling away around italy and the ball cabs. we've got lively storms pushing towards spain and portugal. this is the remnants of hurricane joaquin that brought that flooding recently. highs of 17 in paris. >> still ahead on the al jazeera news hour, a new study says one third of young men in china will

die prematurely if they don't give up smoking. >> britain's national health service in crisis, as junior doctors threaten to walk off the job. >> south american champion chile secure a major stop in their bid to reach a world cup final. all the details coming up in sport.

>> the nobel peace prize has been awarded to a group of tunisians who helped pull their country back from the brink of civil war, helping build deposition exhibit after the revolution which sparked the arab spring four years ago.

>> european governments often deny they pay ransoms for hostages, but the recent safe return of italian captives from syria led to speculation that there may be more to the story. al jazeera's investigative unit uncovered evidence that the italian government is doing deals with kidnappers. we have this report. >> italian citizen bruno and his girlfriend, debbie, released by somali pirates linked to al shabab in 2012 after nearly two years in captivity. >> debbie and bruno, welcome home. >>ed media was told that the couple's release was secured by a combination of diplomacy and intervention by the western backed somali military forces. >> thank you all, thank you, we love you. >> secret intelligence documents obtained by al jazeera's investigative unit reveal that this was a lie. the italian government in fact paid over half a million dollars as a ransom.

bruno's sister who negotiated for the family was told to keep quiet about the details of her brother's release. >> we were told never to declare that they actually paid. >> we were debriefed on certain things that we weren't allowed to speak about. that was one of the things we weren't even supposed to speak about. >> vera is convinced the italian government saved her brother's life. >> somali's would have ended up burying my brother and debbie. >> despite the denials, al jazeera has uncovered evidence that these same tactics were employed by the italian government to secure the release of their host ones held in syria. when dominique and pierre were released after several months in captivity in syria, there were again rumors of a ransom payment. al jazeera has spoken to eyewitnesses, who saw the cash

handed over. >> i was present when the money was delivered. it was me and the italian person who brought the money. >> the money consisted of packs of $100,000, each in a separate plastic bag. >> the italian government said the $4 million ransom was provided by the families of the hostages, but pierre insists his family did not pay, while dominique said he's unaware of any family payment. al jazeera has also obtained exclusive evidence that the italian government is even willing to pass millions of dollars in ransom payments to al-nusra, a group once linked to al-qaeda. aid workers vanessa and greta released in january, 2015. these exclusive pictures show the $11 million handed over to representatives of al-nusra for the two women. the italian government declined to comment on our allegations, saying their policy is not to

pay ransoms. >> al jazeera. >> more reaction now to the nobel peace prize awarded to tunisia's national dialogue quartet. the director of the tunis exchange joins us live. thank you, good to have you with us. this prize is held by many as a huge boost to tunisia's democratic process, but you believe that the nag dialogue quartet doesn't deserve this award. >> i wouldn't say it doesn't deserve the award. that's certainly not for me to say. i think viewers are going to be debating in coming days whether or not the stated purpose of the nobel committee, to award islamists and secularists successful cooperation, whether that's served by giving the nobel peace prize to 4n.g.o.'s

that were intermedaries, rather than the actors who had to go to the streets to protest, make the hard compromises and work out bargains in the parliament. i'm wondering if it's actually the right place for this sort of an award, according to the stated aims of the committee chair woman today. that's the question. either way, i think everyone is in agreement here that tunisia deserves an award, and deserves a nobel prize. it has struggled, it has made incredible gains in a very difficult situation, and it is indeed one of the few success stories of the arab revolts of the last few years. should this particular group of four be the awardee or the actors and people that elected them be the awardees. that's the question. >> do you think these n.g.o.'s don't represent the people of tunisia? well, i mean, the people of tunisia are represented in a democratically elected

parliament. the labor union here, which is problematic to some tunisians, it's controversial, it's constantly having strikes at its headquarters and offices around the country, by other dissident union members and unhappy workers, et cetera. the business association is represented as part of the business elite here. in tunisia, these are not democratic groups, these are non-governmental organizations that by the way one should mention were pillars of the dictatorship and regime. there was opposition by some of these elements, some of these n.g.o.'s before certainly, but they played an important role of dictatorship in this country. it's not an unambiguous group of four that destowed a democratic compromise on this country. i would say the actors themselves democratically elected by tunisians on all sides, the opposition and government at the time, that those people are the ones that

protested at various moments, went to the streets, went in the parliament, made tough compromises, voted for certain things, voted against certain things and also were the ones that really had to pay the political price in the elections. >> right, nicholas, i mean, this is encouraging. i hear your thoughts and i understand your viewpoint there, but this is encouraging news nonetheless for tunisia and the wider world this peace prize. what impact do you think it's going to have on tunisia's future? >> well, i mean, as i said, tunisia, and again, my position, you know, not as a tunisian, as an outsider analyst based here in tunisia has to be taken with a certain viewpoint. i think, as i said, everyone is happy today. tunisia deserves an award, certainly, definitely, but i am concerned that in sending this mental, that this group of four, a quasi democratic, unelected group of 4n.g.o.'s that went

outside of the parliamentary procedures to try and negotiate a political settlement, that that is necessarily the best and right thing to do, right now in this country, what we are seeing and i think many tunisians will agree with me, we are seeing a resurgence of what some call the parallel state, security services, and of a mafia, as well, that is threatening the democratic transition of this country. i'm scared that what the nobel peace prize committee wanted to invest in in this is very fragile right now and could be swept away either by anti democratic forces in this country or by the threats of terrorism that are lurking around its borders in libya, in the south, in algeria and indeed within this country. but today, tunisia bees should celebrate their democratic vote and their democratic process, not just the 4n.g.o.'s. >> nicholas, very good to hear

your viewpoint. thank you for joining us. thanks for your time. >> police in lebanon made several arrests after an anti-government demonstration in beirut turns violent. hundreds took to the streets of the lebanese capital thursday to protest corruption and demand regime change. demonstrators also unhappy with the governments inability to solve a rubbage disposal crisis. >> to guatemala, families are still burying their dead a week after a landslide that killed more than 200 people. david mercer reports from the outskirts of guatemala city, where many are asking if the disaster could have been prevented. >> >> this family is trying to come to terms with its grief. a landslide on the outskirts of guatemala city buried his sister and other family members. the bodies of eight relatives have been identified and laid to rest in this cemetery. they still haven't recovered the

other four. >> it brings great pain to my family. we have such sadness in our heart. we ask god to take this pain away. it hurts so much to hear the tears of so many people. >> weeks of near constant rain brought down part of this mountainside burying homes under the earth. hundreds have been found dead and hundreds more still missing. fractures could lead to more landslides. some people have been evacuated. >> this house beside me is on the edge of a ravine and in guatemala city alone, more than 300,000 people living in risk zones. now that the public prosecutor's offers launched an investigation trying to determine responsibility for this latest disaster, there's hope that there will be more protection for people living like this. >> municipal authorities who were warned in 2008 that this

ravine was a risk zone, say there's no simple solution. >> the people living in the ravine arrived here before this there were laws we have now. people live here and consider this their home. it's very difficult to tell these people that they have to leave their houses. >> with the fourth highest risk of natural disasters in the world, guatemalan authorities as i its crucial that better systems are put into place. >> we have to act now. we can't let this happen again. unfortunately, this disaster needs to be used to strengthen our institutions and our laws to prevent more from becoming victims. >> a tragedy that could have been prevented and left some of the countries most vulnerable to pay the ultimate price. david mercer, al jazeera,

guatemala. >> n u.s., a family of an unarmed black man shot by a white police officers will receive $6.5 million in damages. the city has agreed to the settlement. walter scott was shot in the back in april last year as he fled a traffic stop. >> 50,000 junior doctors in england are threatening to go on strike. they're unhappy with new national health service contracts which they fear will make them work longer hours for less pay. we have this report from london. >> the new national health service starts, have you chosen your family doctor? >> it was an ambitious plan to bring free health care for all, the pride of britain. now nearly 70 years on, the national health service is in crisis. under pressure and struggling to pay its bills, thousands of junior doctors have threatened to walk out in a row overpay and

conditions. tom is a young doctor. he loves his job, and always expected to work long hours, but worries a new contract, which the u.k. government wants to introduce could push people too far. >> we want to help people and we all knew there were long hours and it's a stressful job and we were prepared for that. >> it would affect junior doctors working in england. the government that just offered some concessions and say at tomorrow's leaders, junior doctors should be treated with fairness. what the row illustrates is widespread worry about the future of a once world renowned free to use n.h.s., worry that a system which is supposed to be the gold standard in care for everyone and not just the rich is being steadily dismantled, claims the government denies. >> many junior doctors fear this

new contract will pressure an already squeezed service. more and more of them are considering going abroad to work. the protection is that in places such as australia and new zealand, they'd be treated better. >> what we're really upset about is that if we work dangerously long hours, then the decisions we make, which are life and death decisions could be impaired, and we don't want to end up in a situation putting patients at risk, because we're extremely tired or we're not able to make those decisions safely. >> if junior doctors in england too take action, it will be the first time since the 1970's, a period of discontent in british life be a and one no government will want to live through again. emma hayward, al jazeera in london. >> now a stark reminder about the dangers of smoking from the british medical journal. a study by british and chinese reservers claims that one in

three young men in china will dry from smoking related diseases if current trends continue. we have this report from hong kong. >> in a country where 2/3 of men start smoking before they are 20, the dangers of tobacco have long been known. this report spells it out in the starkest terms. by 2010, china was reporting a million tobacco deaths per year. if current trends continue, that figure will be 2 million a year by 2030. >> we'll give these findings such weight as the breadth of the survey they were based on. a quarter mill men were monitored in the 1990 said and half a million studied now to determine the scale of the problem across china. >> the smoking population in china has ballooned, helping grow one of china's biggest industries. >> for china, the anti-smoking

campaign faces a big economic challenge. china has a huge population of smokers and tobacco is one of the top 10 industries. >> the problems are well known, but so are the solutions, as shown in places like hong kong, where public health campaigns have had longer to work. >> legislation can stop the dough bako industry to advertise and promote as products and recreate many smoke-free areas that can create -- >> one positive note is the falling smoking rates among women, with their reduced risk of premature death. it's the men who have the problem and the excuses. >> the best i can do is smoke less, maybe, i'd love to quit. >> for millions of chinese men, the clock is ticking. rob mcbride, al jazeera, hong kong.

>> sports is next. a local football team in africa is trying to restore to a community.

>> scientists fighting malaria in easting africa face new he my, a weed invading the countryside is growing across uganda, tanzania, somalia, ethiopia and kenya. it is attracting mosquitoes. we report from western kenya.

>> scientists of the international center in nairobi watch the movements of the mosquito which transmits malaria and study the weed and try to term how much gains it has made in the fight against malaria. mosquitoes are attracted to the nectar which keep it alive. the research started in 2007 is still in its early days, but the lead researcher says the preliminary findings are worrying. >> it tells us that when the mosquito is carrying the parasite, it can survive a lot longer. the question is that if the mosquito is not infected with the parasite, what does it mean in terms of the impact on the survival of the mosquito. that we don't know. >> this weed originally from

north and south america was introduced to east africa in the 1970's, and has been spreading fast, displacing many other plants, it can grow in any environment and any weather. a big concern for scientists researching this weed is what it could mean in places where the malaria prevalence rate is still very high. if the research concludes that the weed also keeps the mosquito parasite alive longer, this could be a big problem here. >> malaria is widespread in western kenya, public awareness programs and other preventative strategies have helped ease the burden. despite that, a quarter of a million people have been diagnosed with malaria this year. many more don't seek treatment. doctors say everyone must be made aware of the weed said danger. >> people get to know this plant, it's common, but some

don't know the effect it has on humans and on animals. >> clearing the weed for years, it always grows back. he doesn't know about the link with malaria. he does know none of his other plants can grow when it's around. >> when it rains, it gross up very faster, yeah, and we don't know what we can do about it, but we are trying to cut it. >> scientists continue to try to sox the puzzle of the malaria carrying mosquitoes. >> to sports now. >> the liverpool boss says if he's given time will deliver the club silverware. the 48-year-old suggested he'll bin a title within four years. the club are currently struggling, sitting 10th in the league with just 12 points

from eight games. club who signed a three year deal has been causing drama. during his first press conference, he seemed to mock josie who called himself the special one when he first took over at chelsea. >> i'm a normal guy, came from black forest. my mother may be sitting in front of the television and watch this press conference and has sent no word until now, but is very proud. she's very proud. i'm a totally normal guy. i'm the normal one, maybe, if you want this. >> the swift federal office of justice has approved the extradition of the former fifa vice president to the united states. he was one arrested in zurich as part of a u.s. investigation into alleged football corruption. another will appeal his suspension to get the sanction overturned. the south korean was banned for

six years by fifa's ethics committee on thursday. it also band seth blatter for 90 days. >> brazil lost their opening world cup qualifier, going down to south american champions chile. the fans celebrated long into the night in santiago. they're team were 2-0 winners thanks to second half goals from vargas and sanchez. >> argentina clicked off their campaign with a loss to ecuador, stunning them 2-0. columbia and uruguay both winning. >> the spaniard will now play in his first hard court semifinals

as he takes on italy next. >> to major league baseball, the texas rangers beat the toronto blue jays to win game one of their american league division series. robinson hitting a two-run homer to lead the rangers to a win over the belongs. the rangers take the best of a five game series. game two will be in toronto on friday. >> they play very well together. they love playing the game of baseball together, and they find a way to meet the demands of the game, and so they don't really listen to what's being said about them. all they know is they want to go out and play baseball. >> over in kansas city, the houston astros defeated the royals to take game one in the american league series. colby rasmus scored a home run and drove in another to lead the astros to a 5-2 win.

>> phil nicholson might be the most experienced player, but he doesn't know one of the rules. during his match for team u.s.a., he used a different ball at the seventh tee. he was then wrongly told by officials that he couldn't complete the hole and that ended up costing him and his partner a two hole penalty. with the help of mickelson's eagle, they ended up drawing the match with scott and day. team u.s.a. now has a 5-4 lead over the international team. this threw me for a loop that we had a one ball rule. we've never had it and i didn't think much bit, but it's my responsibility to know that. i should have asked before i teed off. it just had never been a thought for me, but as a player, that's your job to know that. >> now a small local football

club in south africa is trying to erase memories of a tax on immigrants in the country. the team's noble efforts may just fail at the final whistle. >> it's sunday morning in the johannesburg suburb, getting ready for a game, he joined the local football club four years ago in an area with residents from across the continent. >> i love soccer, so to go there, it's like i was going to where i know that i'm going to get what i love, what i love to do most. >> the team organizers wanted more than fun out of the team. they wanted to restore hope to a community riddled by deep divisions. seven years ago, in may, 2008, 62 people were killed in attacks against foreigners across africa, particularly targeting immigrants from other african nations. one had the idea of bringing players of different

nationalities together, thinking it would help reintegrate foreigners into local society. the team is made up mainly of immigrants, also five south africans. >> we enjoy thing together, the only place soccer. besides that, people are always fighting. >> they get together once a week. >> we are here as africans. you have joined us from different countries here. accept defeat and humility. >> the team had to get special permission from the local football association to take part in the league because of its ethnic makeup. >> our team have got so many africans, all from different countries. whenever we score a goal, we celebrate together. >> organizers are proud of what the team has achieved so far. >> that sense of dislocation, the migrant feels in a foreign country, it is very painful. we feel that what we're doing here in some way has healed that

pain. >> the team's been promoted four times since starting at the bottom of the local league. >> the club has progressed from local community football to the divisions of semi professional league competition, but any further advances could be hit by a snag. >> league rules stipulate that all players have to be south african. >> that's the nature of the rule. >> the football club will field two separate teams, one made up entirely of south africans, but for this team, the greater prize is a strong community helping each other. al jazeera, johannesburg. >> that's all your sport for now. >> that's it for this news hour. stay with us, plenty more word news, including the latest gram gaza with tensions on the rise between israelis and palestinians. we'll be live in ramallah. do stay with us here on al

jazeera. back in just a few minutes.

the u.s. says it is overhauling its failed training program for syrian rebels. ♪ hello, you are watching al jazeera live from doha. also ahead, tensions are on the rise across israel and the occupied palestinian territories after more stabbing incidents, we're live in ramallah. the nobel peace prize for 2015 is to be rewarded to the tunisian nna