from doha. have a great day. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello and welcome to the news hour. i'm in doha with the top stories on al jazeera. a moment of hope and a history of repression and violence, representatives of libya's rival are groups sign up for a unity government. bashar al-assad says compromises must be made in order to end the conflict. i'm in tunis where five

years ago today a tunisian street vendor set himself on fire, setting in place the first uprising of the arab spring. ♪ so we begin with breaking news out of morocco, where delegates of the libya groups have signed an agreement to form a unity government. the u.n. envoy to libya was at the signing, and here is what he had to say. >> from today the agreement puts in place a single set of legitimate institutions. essential building blocks towards a peaceful, secure, and prosperous libya. gathered here are representatives of a brood range of libyan society, and

representatives of the house, and representatives of the general national congress. here are women and men from many municipalities. you are important public figures in libya. >> let's speak to a libyan analyst and founder of tripoli based [ inaudible ] institute. this is surely a positive step for libya, is it not? >> well, it's a first step in a very, very long journey. there have been many disputes between the stakeholders that were not involved in the agreement and how they come to react to the signing of this deal. it is going to be a period of long negotiations. [ inaudible ] and other rivalling governments across the country. this could be a big sticking point. let alone the other militias

that will not sign the agreement. it's a step, in a long journey. >> yeah, like you say a lot of the armed groups have not signed up to this deal, so what will it take for that to happen? >> well, the first step obviously is that political leaders that are not involved and those that are involved have to make a statement to say they will not apply the rules of warfare and take that war into the government and stop the nasty campaigns to exclude one another from government, that could de-escalate the situation that we have had for the last year and a half, it is still the rhetoric that escalates amongst the population. if we get rid of that, we can move upward and start to say that can be quarantined all of

these disputes. and i think that has to be the main commitment, so we can begin to quan teen -- >> how will that commitment be made by the political actors and by the political leaders? >> well, i think the first thing that has to happen is the u.n. needs to shadow many of the ministries dwrshgs the intelligence, the security apparat apparatus. they were pursuing many of the political elites and are now trying to defend and pursue a position. they can begin to negotiate outside of just the installed government, and start making commitments and saying we're not going to pursue [ inaudible ] for war crimes across the country or for your political affiliation, and try to remove a lot of the regional actors, but this is going to be a very, very

long journey. that have to quarantine many of the countries that have been fuelling this conflict. and they have to have a dialogue within the government. >> all right. thank you for joining us from tunis. russia's tensions with turkey, the fight against isil, and how to end the conflict in syria. russia's president spoke about all of these issues, as he held his annual state of the nation press conference. >> reporter: this was a relaxed performance from a president who looked like he was enjoying himself. and he didn't dodge the big questions. president assad, he said, will stay on. >> translator: i have said on many occasions, and i want to repeat it, that we will never agree with the idea that somebody from outside, whoever it is, should impose the idea of who should rule another country. it simply doesn't fit with any

kind of common sense or international law, and secretary of state kerry asked me about this, i told him our position has not changed. we believe the syrian people have to determine who should rule them. and he said russia's expanded military presence will continue itself support for assads forces as long as the syrian army continues its operations. putin returned again and again to the shooting down of one of his aircraft from turkey. it was a hostile act he said. >> translator: our people died when they shot down the plane. what made us particularly indignant is if it had been an accident, they would have apologized. but that didn't happen. so nato started getting involved. was that really necessary? >> reporter: putin said a sophisticated surface to air missile system is now in place, and he warned turkey not to

cross into syrian air space. tyutin said this week's talks in moscow, confirmed that the russian plan was very similar to americas. tens of thousands of [ inaudible ] from syrian are being put forward as evidences of crimes against human committed by president bashar al-assad's regime. a human rights organization says it has verified the pictures smuggled out of syria last year. you may find some of what we are about to show you disturbing. human rights watch say the photos document the deaths of some 6,700 prisoners in syrian prisons. this one of their case studies. a 14-year-old who was taken into custody by a syrian intelligence officer who had found an anti assad song on his cell phone. his family spent years looking

for him. they found his picture amongst the photos, we have blurred his face out of respect for his family. >> translator: it was him. it was achmed with a number. they put a number on him. achmed was a soul, and he became a number. >> human rights watch showed the images to forensic pathologists, their verdict, people were starv starved, beaten and tortured. bashar al-assad said the photos could have come from anywhere. the deputy middle east director of human rights watch and says this report is proof and is perhaps still happening in syrian detention centers. >> this report answers the fact that the allegations that president assad that we don't know who these people are, and

now we're saying, yes, we do know who they are. they were detained, held, and died in syrian custody. the evidence is overwhelming. we also spoke to other detainees who saw people die. we are convinced that russia has the ability, if it decides to, to put this issue to the syrian government for them to allow independent monitors into the detention facilities. and we are releasing -- we released the report yesterday, because we know negotiations are resuming in new york, and we believe the detention file needs to be a priority. we know people are still dying in detention in syria. we don't know the exact scale. people have defected in august of 2013, and there have been few defections since. it urgent that this becomes a

top priority for key powers. and the answer is simple, allow monitors into the detention centers. the muslim brotherhood was founded in egypt, but has now been banned there. prime minister david cameron says a an investigation has concluded that membership of the group could be a possible indicator for extremism. lawyers for the muslim brotherhood say the criticism is unwarranted. in a statement they say:

a senior lecturer at the institute of arabic, islamic studies explains what changes this report could bring. >> it is a list of [ inaudible ] and procedures that they will follow. first they will continue to ban the visas from muslim brotherhood's affiliates, so not allow them to come to the u.k. they will also look at the charity affiliated with either the organization or the general idealogical trend of the organization. and to make sure that the -- the funding is going for very specific charity purposes, and if anything goes in the wrong direction, they will be liable for prosecution, and i think they will also monitor the statements of the figures affiliated with the must limb broth -- muslim brothers,

although they have condemned violent acts in general, they will be looking at some of the affiliates that will promote or condone armed tactics against any regime in egypt. >> we have dedicated most of the last 10 minutes to the middle east. in the next ten minutes we want to take you back to where the uprising all began. and later in the show, we meet women in ethiopia who are trying to escape a life of prostitution. and we'll have the sports news, we'll have reaction to the news that chelsea has fired their manager. ♪ so on this day five years ago, events were set in motion that would changes the middle east and north africa forever.

december 17th was the beginning of what was soon called the arab spring that lead to anti-government protests, revolutions and war. it started with one man. a map who had had enough. he was a street vender selling fruit. he set himself on fire in protest against overbearing officials. we're marking the story with correspondent in both the capitol tunis, and the hometown of mohammed. our correspondent joining us from the capitol to tell us what the feeling is there, among tunisians on this five-year anniversary. >> we're here where there were so many protests in 2011, so many demonstrators came out and helped topple this regime. it is pretty calm here today.

there is talk there may be a small commemoration later. there are commemorations where my colleague is. here is her report. >> reporter: this man says his cousin was trying to sell his fruit and vegetables, but the police kept moving him on. he didn't have a permit, but there were no jobs, and his family relied on his income, so he had to take the risk. >> the police decided to confiscate his cart and scales. when he went to meet the governor, he was turned away. they refused to speaker to him. >> reporter: he wanted to earn enough money to get married and to help his family. but the constant police harassment, corruption and poverty prevented him from achieving his oom -- ambitions. perhaps he felt humiliated after a policewoman slapped him, or

hopeless about the future. whatever his reasons, he decided he wanted to die, right outside of the offices of the officials who treated him so badly. his friend was close by. >> translator: he set himself on fire, because he felt discriminated against. i was in front of the municipality building, i saw him on fire, i saw people try to put the flames out. it was such a painful scene. >> translator: he felt lonely, and had many problems. no one was there to listen to his concerns and worries. >> reporter: his friends and he was the first to up load their videos on facebook. >> translator: we were able to raise slogans like employment is our right, and you gang of thieves, we spoke out against the injustices and mohammed's

fate. in that was the beginning. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: within weeks there were protests across tunisia, his plight resinated with so many people. after staying in hospital, he died on the 4th of january, 2011. ten days later, the president fled the country. >> translator: i remember how things were straight after the revolution, people stood together. unfortunately politicians make promises and fail to keep them. we're asking for more national unity. we hope our region gets its share of development, and the state reaches out to people here. >> reporter: people here are tired of the slow pace of change since the revolution. many here say that life is more difficult now. but the death did give tunisians the freedom and dignity that

eluded this young man all of his life. >> reporter: i want to bring in live now my colleague, who has been there all day reporting from the scene. i want to ask you about what the scene is like there today, the atmosphere, and what mohammed means to the citizens and what happened to him means to them even today. >> reporter: well, the celebrations are over, and there is a somber atmosphere right now. behind me, as you can see, but it's the official marketplace of the city. and on that day mohammed was trying to search for somewhere to sell his fruits and vegetables, and one of the places was the market behind me, but he was moved on by the police and all of his frustration and anger came out in that fateful moment when he decided he didn't want to live any longer. people are remembering that day,

but also reflecting on the last five years. and many people still don't have jobs and don't have the investment that was promised them. i have come here every year since the revolution, and nothing really has happened. so there is still a big sense of frustration and anger here. >> reporter: there protests even more what happened to mohammed. can you tell us why it is that in 2011 his family, friends, and other activists were able to get past the blacked out media and get these videos on line. >> reporter: you are right. other people set themselves on fire as well, but they didn't get the same publicity. i think the point is that the friends and family of mohammed

among them activists took a stand and got organized very, very quickly, and publicized those videos on facebook. it was picked up by the international media, like al jazeera, and those pictures were spread across the country even during the media blackout that the regime tried to impose. i think that is the key, really, and also the police crackdown that took place really galvanized people. and people decided enough is enough. many people call it the death of fear. >> i want to thank you for your great on the ground reporting today. as you heard her talk about the fact that social media played a pivotal role in the revolution here in tunisia, i spoke in the last couple of days with one of the more prominent bloggers in tunis, who was blogging moment,

by moment, and i asked him about the role of online -- activism then versus today. five years later this man remembers well when things changed in tunisia. >> i was discussing with a friend, i think it was during the second week of the revolution, and we were discussing politics. and i said it was impossible that the regime would fall. and my friend said it will. and we had this public discussion and then we went home. and no placeman came and told us you cannot speak about this. >> reporter: in 2011, he like other young citizens placed great importance on the role of online activism.

>> many people lost their fear through twitter and facebook. each one writing a little sentence or a word, and someone else reading that, and saying, oh, he said that? i can say a little bit more. >> reporter: it's a belief activism turned analysts holds as strongly now as he did then. >> we had protests in 2008 in the center of the country, but by then social media was still limited, so barely no one knew about what was going on. however, in 2011 where more than a million tunisians were on facebook, and the videos of people daring to affront the security forces, people thought, wow, this -- this is really happening. >> reporter: the protests in tunisia grew as quickly as the anger, and soon calls for reform were as loud online as they were on the streets. while many still contend it was the our power of the people

rather than the power of the internet that allowed the revolution to take route, there is no denying that social media helped lead the charge by posting videos the state media would never have broadcast. videos like this one. showing the brute force of a government trying to suppress its population. sharif, who still posts on social media sites, tells us online activism helps break the fear barrier. >> you see the result of the uprising when you see how free the young people feel, and whenever there is an issue, they raise their voice. >> reporter: voices from the actual world and the digital one, that can never again be

silenced. of course while many here are optimistic about what the future holds, there are many that are pessimistic about what is going on and what it means for the future of tunisia. i want to bring in a guest. this is the programs coordinator for oxfam here in tunis. you and other agencies -- aid agencies and ngo's here in tunisia have been monitoring what is going on. when it comes to personal freedoms for individuals and society at large here in tunisia, how has it changed for the better or worse since the revolution? >> there are many things that changed since the revolution. the civil society ceased the space, and people started organizing, influencing decision makers. we can see that through the [ inaudible ] that are made, through the auditions at the assembly, and the parliament, we can see that as well through

budget monitoring participateing in the government as well. protecting freedom of conscious, of faith and human rights at large. however, what we have been witnesses recently is there are grave violations of human rights with 20 to 30 cases of torture monthly. we also have been seeing an emergence of discourse that discredits the human rights defenders. we also have been seeing [ inaudible ] to the public opinion of liberties and fwree.com versus security. and that was [ inaudible ] in the anti-terrorist laws, and all of the practices that came -- that came with us. that space is now at risk, and that's why civil society organization and all tunisians

need to be aware of it, alert, and determined to keep that space that they had and acquired after the revolution. and keep advancing human rights and both collective and individual, until it becomes law, and until it becomes practices and culture. >> reporter: what about the underlying issues that the protesters were first trying to address, the economy, creation of jobs, corruption. has that changed at all in the five years since the uprising? >> economic and social economic inequalities were one of the factors that sparked the revolution five years ago. yesterday i was reading a report, and one of the women said liberty and freedom is good, but we also need to eat, or it doesn't give us food. and that is exactly what is happening in tunisia today, there is a great shortcoming from the state and all of the governments that followed the

revolution. but also gender inequalities. today in tunisia, we have unemployment rates among 25%, and the corruption as well as been increasing, the corruption that today cost tunisia 2 points in gdp. tunisia is one of the 20 countries that are the most unequal in genders. so we know these sparks the revolution, and the situation has been worsening, i think that is a clear signal for the government, for the parliament to start addressing that very quickly. >> thank you for that. much appreciated. >> thank you. >> reporter: so as you can see, it is still a pretty complex situation here in tunisia, still a lot of societal issues that

need to be dealt with. in the past few days we have spoken with many who believe there has been change mu much more needs to be done. >> okay. thank you. we'll have much more coverage of the uprising in tunisia five years ago. we'll take you through the transition in democracy that is called the arab spring success story. i'm in florida, it has been a year since the u.s. announced normalization with the relationship with cuba. we'll take a look at the changes. at andy will be here with the highlights of the world cup.

>> these people have decided that today they will be arrested. >> i know that i'm being surveilled. >> people are not getting the care that they need. >> this is a crime against humanity. >> hands up... >> don't shoot. >> hands up... >> don't shoot. >> what do we want? >> justice. >> when do we want it? >> now. >> explosions going on... we're not quite sure - >> is that an i.e.d.? ♪ hell hello, again. delegates in libya have signed an agreement to form a unity government.

the british government says it will intensify scrutiny of muslim brotherhood members in the u.k. an investigation concluded that membership of the group could be a possible indicator of extremism. the group human rights watch has verified photos smuggled out of syria last year, and says they are authentic. back to our top story, the deal signed by libya's political rivals. we're joined from morocco where the deal was signed. ambassador good to have you with us. how do you get this deal to stick? >> no doubt, it's going to be difficult. but i think we have got an agreement with a lot of support from the politicians, from the political parties,

municipalities. the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic, huge enthusiasm for making this work. what we need now is for the libyan people to get behind this government. we are here to help -- [ overlapping speakers ] >> when in fact the leaders of the rival parliament rejected the u.n. peace deal. so where does this leave us? >> sure, but we have large numbers of politicians here today. so either the libyans -- they have got a choice. they can sit and wait for other people to try to reach an agreement, maybe in a year's time when the terrorism has spread and the economy has gone bankrupt, maybe they'll be able to reach an agreement, i doubt it. or they can put all of their backing behind this government, this agreement, which has been negotiated by libyans. this is the hiser to chance the libyans have to put their country back together again. >> but that is the criticism

that a lot of people are pointing to. and they are saying this is a process lead by members of the international community and the west. >> well, that's in fact using on undiplomatic word, nonsense. this over the last year, has been negotiated by the libyans. by a team of team. the role of the u.n. has been to facilitate that. . the role of the international community has been to encourage it. but the details have been negotiated by the libyans themselves. >> okay. ambassador let me ask you about some reports in the u.k. media, saying there is a plan to send military support alongside european allies to fight isil in libya. of course isil very worrying to countries like yours and their spread in libya. what can you tell us about these

reports? >> well, the dealing with terrorism, dealing with isil is clearly going to be one of our top priorities. it depends on this government. when this government comes to us, or if they come to us and ask for help, then i'm sure we would be prepared to offer that. >> what kind of help would you be prepared to offer? >> that's something we need to wait and see what this government asks for. but certainly the willingness, and i don't think this is an appropriate time to start talking about details, but what i want to underline is dealing with terrorism in libya is always going to be one of our top priorities. >> okay. ambassador thank you. >> thank you. let's return to our special coverage to mark five years since the arab spring that lead to anti-government protests, revolutions, and war. our correspondent takes a look back at the extraordinary series

of events. >> the arab spring began here in tunisia in december 2010. within days and weeks, the people of egypt, yemen, syria, and libya raised their voice in protest too. the ripple effect was felt right across the middle east and north africa. few countries were immune. but the speed of change in these five countries was breathtaking. only a month of protests and the president of tunisia resigns. 18 days of protests and egypt's president of 30 years steps down. eight months into conflict in libya, and it's leader of 42 years is captured and killed. and by february 2012, the 33-year rule of yemen's

president is officially over. syria's president bashar al-assad is still in power, but his defense of his right to rule has drawn syria into almost five years of a brutal civil war. only tunisia has managed a relatively smooth transition to democracy. the same country where the arab spring began. al jazeera has spoken to people across the middle east about the impact of the tunisian revolution, and what it has meant to them. >> translator: the revolution of tunisia is considered the gateway to the arab spring. it inspired peoples of the necessity to change, to rise and rid themselves of dictators. it was then followed by the egyptian revolution, and then us here in yemen. >> translator: as you see, this is called [ inaudible ] it was

put up in freedom square in yemen in 2011, when the yemeni revolution started. this is proof that the yemeni revolution was inspired by the tunisian one. >> translator: the slap on his face awaked the arab peoples who had been reeling for decades under oppression and poverty. he was just one of many oppressioned arab citizens. >> translator: the tunisian revolution came as a shock to us, as it served as a dream for other arab youth. we then were overwhelmed with joy and delight. we had not even expected it would be a source of inspiration to us in egypt. >> reporter: the arab spring revolutions were very necessary, because the arab people were

choking. it was very important for revolutions to take place. first of all, so the arabs can defend their honor and freedom, and so we are not marginalized. the consequence of tunisia's revolution in regards to syria, it does not have a fact. here in syria there was suppression from the army and police. in syria, we are of course going to rise up. we are not going to wait for tunisia, when the time was right, we rose up. thank god. >> let's speak to our political analyst. speaking earlier to our correspondent in tunis, she was saying a lot of these people are reporting a death of fear, meaning this fear factor of people speaking out in the arab world has been broken as a result of the revolution in tunis. would you agree with that? >> well, absolutely, we had an revolution at the beginning of

the oar abspring where truly this was a dream come true. it snowballed whereby solidarity, unity, and so on and so forth, did kick out the habit of fear that was instilled in the heart of tunisians and arabs for many years. and when this virus of liberty and audacity spread to egypt, the biggest arab country, and we saw the removal of mubarak, that sent a message of hope of change throughout the arab world. >> speaking of the spread of revolutions, social media, we can't discount the role that it played in having this ripple effect on the different countries. >> reporter: over the last five years i have been looking at one study after another trying to evaluate, estimate, study the role of social media, and certainly we're getting to know

more and more about the central role that was played by the knew media, but certainly it was played in this conjunction with satellite media. the fact satellite television like al jazeera arabic were broadcasting to the whole world so people were in some ways tweeting and facebooking, and so on, and so forth, and those were picked up by television stations, verified, and sent back to the people, and again tweeted. there was a full circle of synergy between traditional satellite media, and new media that certainly helped people communicate, coordinate, and basically activate their street movements. >> and has that role changed from 2011 up until now? >> well, certainly social media has evolved, it continues to evolve every month, but also the

dictators have also learned how to punish. i'll give you an example. so in syria, the solders were at a check point would stop any syrian, young man and ask them for their pass words for whatever social media accounts they might have, and they would try to figure out what they have been doing. and there are other monitoring ways that the dictators have learned how to monitor. but it has also backfired in some ways. we went back to another barrier of fear now, because people are searching more for stability because of the repression of the arab dictators. >> okay. thank you very much. now before the uprising, artists, actors and musicians often had to keep their real ideas to themselves.

but the 2011 revolution brought them freedom to express themselves openly. this tunisian artist explains how life changed for him. >> translator: my name is [ inaudible ]. a tunisian artist. i write and compos and sing. i'm an actor. a segment presenter on the radio. i have tried all forms of art in my life. my musical style is somewhat different. i use a lot of mumor to talk about society's problems. before the revolution i was an artist. doing the same things i'm doing today. freedom of speech wasn't the same as it is now. that's true. but i used to make an effort to express my beliefs in an artistic way that wouldn't incriminate me. now that we have freedom of speech we can talk about our president. we can criticism him.

we can criticize the government. we have less taboos now. but there are those who took freedom of speak in a different way. if freedom of speech turns musical expression into vulgar expression, but stops the musician from being creative, then it's pointless. freedom of speech is one of the only things that we have gained so far in what people call the revolution. i love tunisia, my country, the motherland. tunisia is in my heart. but the problem is people's mentality. i think the mentality needs to be recycled. the freedom of speech we achiefed cannot be abused. your freedom doesn't mean you have to crush the freedom of others. freedom means you have to respect your country. freedom is to not throw garbage in the tleet or throw empty bottles on the floor.

if a woman or elderly person crosses the street, freedom is when you stop a car and let them pass, not shout of them to get out of the way. freedom is to love each other, and respect each other, because tunisia needs all of its children to make the revolution a success. then we'll call it a real revolution. coming up in sports, sepp blatter arrives for his day in court, as russia's president stands behind him. ♪

♪ the u.s. has announced it will resume regular flights to and from cue a -- cuba. it's the latest step in the thawing of relations, a process that started a year ago. andy gallagher reports. >> reporter: it was a day few thought they would ever see. a year ago this month, more than 50 years of strained relations between cuba and the u.s., drastically changed. prisoners were released. the u.s. ambassador in cuba, hoisted its flag over havana. and the process of normalization of relations began. but for some, meaningful change is still out of reach. the cuban activist has been described as the most persecuted

artist in cuba. he was jailed for almost a year for criticizing the cuban government and says things have gotten worse on the island. >> translator: if it's an negotiation you are supposed to give a part to cuba and cuba gives their part. i haven't seen much progress. only more repression, detentions. >> reporter: and some say this has been the driving force behind a recent spike in migration. in the last year more than 40,000 cubans have made their way to the u.s. feared that the policy that gives cubans residency will soon come to an end. both cubans and cuban americans have witnessed things they thought they would never see. but in many ways the freedoms taken for granted here are still not available there. but many remain cautiously

optimistic. rick says real change in cuba will be slow, but he believes a policy of engagement will bring rewards. >> we are fighting 50 years of severed relations, of conflict, of deep distrust between the united states and cuba. it will take a while to overcome that. but we have made significant strides. >> reporter: knew doubt that last year has been the beginning of a long and complex process. but the u.s. economic embargo remains firmly in place. but many remain quietly optimistic that long-lasting change will eventually come. andy is here with an update on these sports stories. >> thank you so much. chelsea have fired their manager. the second time in his career he has been sacked by he london

club. the team have been in a downward spiral this season. the club is are just a point above the relegations, and lost their latest game on monday. in a statement chelsea said: let's get more from lee wellings who is in london for us. he only signed a new contract at the start of this season, so where has it all gone wrong? >> there's nothing unusual about a manager being sacked, but this has been an extraordinary demise because of all of the success he had in his first reign at

chelsea. he called himself the special one, won so many trophies in his first three years, maybe it is a little surprising he decided to go back, but he won the premiere league last season. interest the start of the season everything that could go wrong on and off the pitch has gone wrong, and it has been utterly business sar. the team hasn't been performing for him. no matter how frustrated he has gotten. and off the field his behavior has been utterly extraordinary. it has been exsent tick. he has been sulking, and he has not been able to turn it around. but perhaps the key thing was he departure of the doctor, the doctor who came on to the field, he said naively to street a player. he said she shouldn't have done it. she ended up leaving the club.

that has gone to a tribunal. it was behavior the club found unacceptable. >> what do you think is next for him and what is next for chelsea. >> i think he needs to take a complete break. i'm not sure i have seen behavior like it. some of his ways in press conferences that were originally seen as funny or endearing, have become concerning. he looks to blame everyone. this was something that they needed to remind him that there is one person in charge of the club, and that is the russian owner. so what he does next, i think there needs to be a gap before he returns to football. he will receive a handsome payoff. in terms of what chelsea do next? not easy to replace him.

with him having been sacked by the netherlands he has had a successful spell at chelsea before, the owner likes him, he could come in for a while. there is also talks they are looking at the possibility of bringing in this one [ inaudible ] not as successful, but someone they are showing interest in. >> thank you. sepp blatter is fighting for his fifa future at an ethics hearing in switzerland. the case of his deputy michel platini will also be heard. platini has chosen not to appear. he faces allegations of making annen authorized payment of $2 million. vladimir putin has offered his support to blatter, suggesting

he should be given the nobel peace prize. >> translator: as for blatter, he is a very important man. he has done a huge amount for world football and he has always seen football not just as a sport, but as a humanitarian endeavor, that is what the nobel prize is all about. a hat trick from lou which suarez has put barcelona into the playoffs. and leonel messi has been diagnosed with kidney stones. the final coming up on sunday with barcelona inside of winning this title for a third time. in one corner of the globe a piece of live television history taking place on thursday.

for the first time a local saw mali football game was broadcast live. supporters largely able to watch their club win 2-1 in the title. the united states was beaten 1-0 by china in new orleans. not the way abby wanted buyout. she was playing in her 255th and final international. >> everybody in the locker room, they are just like, i'm so sorry, you know? and i'm like there is nothing to be sorry about. today wasn't about getting a result, it was about celebrating not just my career, but the chances i have had with all of my other teammates. >> her career highlights include

two olympic gold medals. she was named the fifa player of the year in 2012. she scored 184 national team goals. that is a record for both men and women. but her highlight winning this year's world cup in canada, one of four in which she has played. in 2050 nick fanning had already survived a shark attack and helped rescue a fellow competitor. and now suffering the death of his older brother peter. fanning managed to advance to friday's quarter final to remain in contention for a fourth world title. he is one of three vying for the crown. >> i just have got some personal stuff going on and -- yeah, sort of hard to talk about right now, but -- yeah, i don't know i'm just sort of -- just cruising and just -- yeah, just trying to

live. >> reporter: fellow australian surfer has suffered a fractured pelvis after a dramatic wipeout. he is one of three competitors to suffer serious wipeouts in the last four nights. bayern munich have been doing all they can to dispel the myth that germans lack a sense of humor. here are the german champions making an appearance. sebastian leading the line there. with spanish world cup winner playing the sweeper role. reports that the manager will leave the club at the end of this season to avoid next year's show, well, they are apparently untrue. ♪ >> okay. that is how sport is looking for now. >> okay. andy thank you very much. thanks for watching the news hour on al jazeera. we'll have more news for you

coming from london, and barbara sarah, but for now we'll leave you with images from tunisia's revolution. ♪

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rival leaders in libya, sign a deal to form a unity government. ♪ hello there, i'm barbara sarah, you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up on the program, putin defends syrian president assad, and says compromises need to be made to end the conflict. the british government says members of the muslim brotherhood are potential extremists. and five years on, tunisia