the news continues live from doha, next. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ welcome to the news hour. i'm live here in doha. the top stories so far today. syrian activists say five civilians are killed in a gas attack near damascus. amnesty international accusing russia of possible war crimes during three months of air strikes in syria. pulled from the rubble. more than 60 hours after the

landslide in southern china, rescuers have found a survivor. stopped from going to the u.s., we're in costa rica where thousands of cubans are stuck. they are victims of a border dispute. ♪ we begin the news hour with reports that a gas attack in syria has killed at least five civilians. medical sources think that sarin gas was used in the attack on the city. more than 30 people are reported to have suffered acute health problems. zana hoda reports. >> reporter: this is not the first time there have been reports of gas used as a weapon in syria. opposition sources say these people were exposed to gas when government helicopters fired missiles in a residential area. that rebel-held area on the

outskirts of damascus has been a battleground for sometime now. >> translator: these rockets were carrying sarin gas and as a result five people were killed, including a 12-year-old boy, and more than 30 injured. mostly civilians. the sarin gas was used in the western neighborhood of the city. the victims showed certain symptoms, such as runny nose, saliva, shortness of breath, and dilated pupils. >> reporter: it was one of the opposition-controlled areas where chemical agents were deployed in 2013. hundreds of people were killed. a u.n. investigation team then concluded that sarin gas was use used. a deal was later reached to

destroy syria's chemical weapon arsenal. it was then confirmed that syria's equipment for producing, mixing, and filling chemical weapons had been destroyed. since then, however, there have been reports of chemical attacks. the opcw concluded that mustard gas been used in aleppo province. the area has seen fighting between isil and an opposition group. diplomats, said the findings added to evidence that isil had obtained and a using chemical weapons in both iraq and syria. that wasn't the only attack investigated, in idlib there were several incidents between march and may, which the fact-finding mission said likely involved the use of one of more toxic chemicals including chlorine. the watchdog has warned that the use of toxic weapons is becoming

increasingly common in the syrian war. amnesty international says russian air raids in syria have killed hundreds of civilians and their deaths could be treated as a war crime. amnesty also accused russia and syrian forces of using cluster bombs. the report focuses on five provinces. it says the strikes killed at least 200 civilians and around a dozen fighters. russia's defense ministry denies using cluster bombs in syria. the attack took place at a busy market near damascus. here is victoria gatenby. >> reporter: they can barely believe what has just happened.

air strikes thought to have been carried out by russian war planes have flattened a busy market full of people. in the moment after the attack panic sweeping through. there are dead bodies everywhere, and people are rushing to find survivors. they check if this man is alive. he is not, so they move on looking for injured people to help. this is in the damascus countryside. people who live here say fighting between syrian opposition forces and the government has been going on for months. they say the syrian regime is trying to break the dead lock with russia's help. russia began bombing syria in september. it says it is targeting isil, but the institute for the study

of war says the russian air campaign has mainly hit syrian opposition groups. >> translator: the russian and syrian air strikes on eastern and duma have increased recently. they pretend their are targeting terrorists, but most killed are women and children. >> reporter: these are scenes that the people of syria have become familiar with. what started assen a uprising has long descended into civil war. that cycle of violence has played out across the country for almost five years now, and killed at least 200,000 people. victoria gatenby, al jazeera. live now to moscow and our al jazeerast correspondent peter sharp. what is the defense ministry saying about that? >> well, they have held their fire for some days now, but this afternoon they totally rejected

any of the allegations and claims actually made in the amnesty report. the spokesman said once again there's nothing new or concrete. he said it's the same old cliches, and there is no firm information. he did confirm that they did not use cluster bombs, and just spoke about the lack of -- the lack of evidence and he called it, the flood of lies. he did say that the -- he accused the americans of possibly passing on russia's flight information to the turks, and this, he said, could have resulted in the shooting down of the plane on the 24th of november. but what you are getting from the defense ministry there is a total rejection and unsubstantiated claims from amnesty. >> peter many thanks. let's put those points to amnesty international right now.

i'm going to talk to their syria researcher. it would appear there is a lack of evidence and a flood of lies. what is your response to that? >> that's clearly a very disappointing response. you have seen already that the ministry of defense had dismissed allegations it has put forward, incorrect information, denying the attacks on the mosque on the field hospital and it hadn't accepted the killing of a single civilian in nearly three months of its air campaign in syria. so to be -- to say there is not enough evidence when we have provided photographs of impact sites remnants of their weaponry, we have spoken to many witness survivors of attacks there. dozens of dozens of very credible video clips and other images of dead civilians of bodies in parts and so on,

statements from the ministry of defense itself in russia where they say they have carried out attacks at particular sites or in the vicinity of them. it would be interesting to know from russia what more evidence they would like. there is a ton of evidence that they are committed probable war crimes, and they have not stood up to that at all. >> in those specific areas were there any evidence and/or obvious military targets that the russians could have been going after? >> there are military targets in those governments. of course there are five well-populated areas. in our report today where we have highlighted attacks on five residen residenti residential areas and the medical facilities there was no objective evidence in those locations. in one or two cases, people have

said, yes, there was a check point, 500 meters away, several kilometers away, 5, 10 kilometers away, those kind of distances, but nothing at all suggesting military objectives there. in the memorandum we sent at the start of november to the russian minister of defense we highlighted 20 cases in which civilians have been killed. was some military in those attacks. there was about 12, if i remember right, that had been killed. so we're looking at indiscriminate attacks in civilian areas, or possibly targeting civilian areas as well, but in most cases there were no military people in the areas. >> you are framing the conclusion in this amnesty report in terms of international law when it comes to conflict zones, and you are basically saying this amounts to a war crime, given the theater of conflict is so terribly terribly

complex, the reality surely is you have going to have to conclude that no one is going to prosecute a war off of the back of this information. >> i would i could come back with a more positive response, but at the moment that looks likely. the u.n. security council despite having the mandate to try to ensure peace after stability world wide, it is a deeply politicized body. it's five permanent security members also significant weapons producers. russia has blocked numerous attempts, and now it is working side by side with the syrian regime to attack opposition armed group, as well as i.s. to a lesser extent.

we would like russia to step up and admit that it has hit many civilians. and to provide compensation. for now we're calling on the international community to do more, in the future i hope we can look forward to ways in which the international community can hold russia responsible for these crimes. >> thank you. the leader of the pro-kurdish opposition group says it was wrong to shoot down the russian pilots. turkey targeted a russian fighter jet last month after accusing of it violates its territory. >> reporter: the leader of the party expected some sort of backlash nationwide, this is exactly why he said the purpose of his visit to russia is to try to improve the retier rating

relations between turkey and russia and serve the interest of thousands of turkish people who live in russia. but the ruling party and the main stream parties say that it was a huge mistake for the leader to be in russia when relations hit a record low. the official line of the turkish government is that it shot down the russian military plane because it violated its air space, therefore, it's act was a legitimate one, and there is no way the turkish government is going to offer an apology for the russian government. the governing party has been very critical of the [ inaudible ] saying the pro-kurdish party has some sort of links with the pkk, a party that is considered here a terrorist organization, and they have been urging the [ inaudible ] to expand itself

from the pkk. we expect further strained relations between the two parties. iraqi soldiers are battling to recapture key city of ramadi from isil. gerald tan has the latest. >> reporter: progress is slow, but it's progress nonetheless. iraqi security forces close in on isil fighters in the center of ramadi city. the government is portraying the battle as a final push to recapture the capitol of anbar province. >> it's very slow, but very well organized and very well coordinated between the local iraqi bodies, iraqi army, and the air strike from the international coalition. >> reporter: according to iraqi intelligence, there are just a

few hundred rebels left in ramadi. iraqi forces have been trying to re-enter the city since early november. they say they have now weeded out fighters from two residential neighborhoods, and are moving through booby trapped streets towards the center. >> lots of forces have been trained and ready to hold the ground after liberation of the city. this is going to be great boost for the iraqi forces morale, and great advance and progress in the fight against isis. >> reporter: the shia lead government has cut off supplies to ramadi for months now. but it has also made life worse for the residences here. winning over the people will be a different matter all together.

gerald tan, al jazeera. still to come here on the aljazz news hour. we'll take you to the central african republic, where a rebel leader appears to have made a y -- u-turn. after several young men died while playing american football here in the u.s. this year, coaches and researchers have come up with what seems like a counter intutive way to try to make the game safer. ♪ the french prime minister has outlined proposals to change the constitute. the plan could see special policing powers put in place under the recent state of emergency becoming part of the country constitution. the bill also includes a

proposal to strip people convicted of terror charges of french nationality. >> translator: it is a heavy sanction. blind killing of fellow citizens in the name of ideology is a total denial of a will to live together. it amounts to denying the soul of our nation. a russian court has issued an international arrest warrant for the former oil tycoon who is an outspoken critic of the kremlin. he was also cently accused of organizing a contract killing. he was previously arrested in 2003 after he fell out with the russian president, vladimir putin. he was released two years ago, lives in exile in switzerland and london. guinea's president says the prime minister and his

government have resigned. they stepped down to allow his soon to be appointed cabinet to takeover. he secure reelection in october in a controversial vote that the opposition says was rig. a rebel leader in the central african republic has withdrawn his proposal to run for presidency. tania page from the capitol. >> reporter: he posed a very real threat to the possibility of a peaceful election here in central african republic. he had declared an autonomous state in the northeast and vowed to disrupt the election. but now he says he supports the election. this follows several days of

talks in chad he held with the organization of islamic cooperation. he was one of the seleka commanders who lead a mostly muslim group of fighters here into the capitol and overthrew the president in 2013. they committed atrocities against civilians along the way. when the french forces moved in, the seleka withdrew, and mostly vigilantly groups rose up and took revenge on the muslim population. in that prompted months of interreligious violence here in the capitol and across the whole rest of the country. people here tell us they are sick and tired of the violence, of the bloodshed, they want the country to move forward. they want the selection to happen peacefully. now that he says he is on board and people have the choice of 30 candidates, all promising to bring unity between christians, muslims and the rest of the minorities, people have a chance

at hope, but there are still many armed groups out there, the disarmament program hasn't been effective. so the threat of violence is still very real. the u.n. special envoy for yemen has told the u.n. security council that distrust between the warring factions a major stumbling block to peace. he has made those comments after talks aimed attending the conflict came to an end. >> translator: tragically we were not able to preserve the cessation of hostilities throughout the length of the talks, although we did see a significant decrease in violence. the lack of compliance with the cessation of hostilities demonstrates the need for stronger agreements as well as for more robust mechanisms to assure adherence. the u.n. human rights

commissioner says large number of civilians have died from air strikes by the coalition. u.n. members [ inaudible ] to ensure lawful and discriminate targeting. israeli police say two palestinians have stabbed three people in east jerusalem. both attackers were shot by the police and then died. since october, 131 palestinians and 20 israelis have been killed in the violence across the palestinians territories and israel. christmas celebrations across the occupied west bank will be subdued this year. palestinian political leaders have decided to tone down the festivities as the wave of violence continues. >> reporter: it's an annual tradition that 19-year-old jameel normally looks forward to. decorating the family christmas tree with his mother is different this year.

he suffers from severe pain and can barely stand after he was shot last month at a protest. he was injured after israeli commandos infiltrated the crowd he was with, and allegedly opened fire with live rounds. he was sent an online video that not only shows the moment the forces began shooting, but also when he was taken into an ambulance by first responders clearly in shock. >> translator: when i look at the person in the video, it feels as if i'm looking at someone else. it was a life-changing experience. all i ask is that people pray for peace, for us, so the war can end, and i pray for god to have mercy for all of those killed in palestinian. i ask for people to pray for peace in palestinian. >> reporter: it's not just like

family who are struggling, municipalities across the west bank, including here in best laham have also decided to scale back festivities. here in the square the tree was decorated, but elsewhere there are no decorations at all. >> this is exactly as we live all of the different conditions. we live the joy, the sadness, the [ inaudible ] the challenges and the encountering with faith on ground. >> reporter: at the opposite end of the square, palestinian activist decorate an olive tree with spent israeli canisters grenades with pictures of those

killed. al jazeera, bethlehem in the occupied west bank. the sultan of bruney has banned people from celebrating christmas in public this year. christians are allowed to mark the occasion discretely. the government of the small state says open celebrations could damage the muslim faith. no break through over the fate of thousands of cuban migrants stranded in costa rica. central american nations are refusing to allow the passage to the north. >> reporter: for a month these cuban migrants have found shelter in this house in costa rica. >> translator: they helped us so

much, taking us in, we are just trying to give back. we are like family now. >> reporter: almost 6,000 cubans have been stuck here since neighboring nicaragua shut down the border, stopping them on their way to the u.s. this woman says she was moved by the harrowing stories of their trip and that's why she took them in. >> translator: they slept on the ground in bus stations. they were mugged and assaulted in columbia, but they are lovely people and hard workers. >> reporter: the face of thousands of cubans have changed the face of this town. shelters have popped up with migrants anxiously awaiting a way out. central american countries have seen a spike in the number of cubans since the island saw renewed relations with the u.s.

guatemala and nicaragua blame the u.s. for offering residence to cubans that reach american soil while rejecting their own migrants. a regional meeting on tuesday brought some progress towards establishing an air bridge through guatemala, but no agreement has been reached. >> translator: we are making progress. in the meantime please stay safe and don't try to cross illegally. >> reporter: but after weeks in the shelters, some migrants have been resorting to people smugglers, often with dangerous outcomes. >> translator: after walking for nine hours in the woods, they attacked us and took our last $1,500. we had no option but to turn ourselves into the police who sent us back here. >> reporter: a new meeting to

solve the issue has been called for december 28th. but central american countries fear more cubans will embark on the journey as long as the temptation of settling in the u.s. remains possible. this is the al jazeera news hour, still to come, leading the change. cape town is recognized by the u.n. for efforts in combatting climate change. we'll tell you why. to be in this business and really believe in it, you have to be a pest mist by nature and it may be his last season, but kobi bryant shows he has still got it. we'll have all of the action from the latest visit to denver coming up in just about 20 minutes. ♪

>> this is it. >> oscar winner alex gibney's "edge of eighteen" marathon. >> if i said that i'm perfectly fine, i would be lying. >> i feel so utterly alone. >> in this envelope is my life. >> if you don't go to college, you gonna be stuck here... i don't wanna be stuck here. >> catch the whole ground-breaking series, "edge of eighteen" marathon. ♪ welcome back. the top stories coming to you from al jazeera. activists are accusing the syrian government of carrying out an air -- sarin gas attack.

in june 2014, the international watchdog said the last of syria's whems had been shipped out of the country. russia's defense ministry has rejected accusations that its military has killed civilians in syria. amnesty international says russia has killed at least 200 civilians since it began air strikes. the french government is pushing to strip french citizens of their duel citizenship if they are found guilty of terror charges. a 19 year old has been pulled alive from the rubble of the land slide in southern china. the man had been trapped under a collapsed building since sunday. more than 70 people are still mi missing. adrian brown reports from

beijing. >> reporter: alive against all of the odds, trapped under debee for almost three days. he is a migrant worker, age 19. his voice and pulse were feeble when rescue workers reached him. >> translator: it's a miracle, a man was rescued alive. we were so happy when we heard about it, very happy. >> reporter: he had been in the office of a factory when the mud slide happened on sunday morning. but a man found close to him was dead. doctors are hopeful he will recover, but his injuries are serious. >> translator: he is severely debilitated and dehydrated. he sustained multiple fractures.

>> reporter: at the rescue site attempts to find more people have intensified. the operation has also begun to effect local businesses. >> translator: we cannot go out now. we cannot transfer the goods in and out of this area. there is no guarantee for our lives. many workers have to eat and there is no power supply. >> reporter: the mud and construction waste engulfed more than 30 buildings in an industrial zone. it happened after heavy rains dislodged the man made pile that had been there for years. state media say that a local government report had identified storage problems at the site months ago, warning of a catastrophe. a catastrophe that has now happened. thailand's military go has signals it is still on track to

hand over power in 2017, and the prime minister says political reforms are underway. >> reporter: the man who lead the coup is still thailand's prime minister, former army chief, he delivered his year-end report and confirmed he is still working towards an election in 2017. we have one year and six months left from january 2016 to july 2017. the government will be laying the ground work for the stuff we haven't done. >> reporter: but many still fear the military will break their promise and try to stay in power. if it does, some analysts say an economy that is already struggling in many areas could worsen. there could be unrest particularly in the poorer rural areas. >> people have been putting up with this for a long time. and they couldn't survive. >> reporter: in september a military-appointed panel voted

against a new constitution that meant a delay to new elections until 2017. it lead to accusations that the entire process was a staged delaying tactic. in fact the general has at times threatened to stay in power indefinitely. the prime minister and his government have embarked on a drive to promote nationalism. anyone who shows descent or is overly critical of the government is accused of being unthai, or going against the country. the military has been accused of rights abuses, but the prime minister says measures have been taken to protect what he insists is an ongoing process of reform. >> translator: all of the laws have already stipulated and barred certain actions because they would obstruct the reform process, but people still

violate it, which makes it look like i'll have late human rights. these laws are there, because we are still in the reform process. if it were a normal situation, i wouldn't be standing here. >> reporter: for many normalcy means democracy. but it may not be the type of democracy people hoped for. indian's prime minister has now arrived in russia. he is there on a two-day visit for the annual summit between the countries. his talks with the russian president will include political and economic issues. one major deal with see the two nations jointly manufacture around 200 helicopters. indian police have reportedly charged 15 people, including a minor, for murder. a man was dragged from his home in late september by a mob of around 100 people.

killing cows taboo in the majority hindu country and is banned in many states. starting next year, there will be a lot more warnings on cigarette packets sold in europe. that's after the companies lost a battle to stop the stricter rules. >> reporter: the european court's decision is another blow for the tobacco industry. as more as more countries try to force cigarettes to cover up their logos. australia lead the way three years ago. the australian government says the moves cut smoking rates by 15% and from next year, under new european union regulation, 65% of each cigarette packet will be covered in warnings. >> there is good evidence that health warnings do work in terms of deterring young people from taking up smoking and helping

adult smokers to quit. text warnings are fine up to a point, but picture warnings are much more powerful. but the u.k. is going beyond the recommendations. several leading companies, including philip morris and others all filed lawsuits here at the high court in london, a verdict a expected in january. they also appealed to the european justice in luxemburg, claiming they were violating freedom of expression. but they are more likely to be defeated in the u.k. and other european courts. >> this is a man who smokes mar bureau cigarettes. in the past tobacco companies

advertised freely. today most countries have banned television tobacco ads, replacing them with hard-hitting health warnings. every 15 cigarettes you smoke will cause a mutation. >> reporter: smoking is believed to cost the european economy around $20 billion a year. much more than that $14 billion they make from taxing the industry. with turkey and canada also likely to introduce plane packaging, tobacco companies continue to feel the squeeze. neave barker, al jazeera, london. crawford moody is a senior fellow at the university of sterling in scotland, he says the warnings may not stop smokers from lighting up, but they could stop non-smokers from

starting. >> it's quite difficult to disentangle the precise role of the warnings. it would be difficult to find evidence that would actually satisfy critics, but there is a body of research across the world that suggests that there are multiple studies from multiple continents suggesting that they do have an impact. they do deter youth. in fact the main effect of the -- the warnings may actually be in putting people off, or encouraging occasional smokers not to progress. and it's not really until this century that most countries within europe and across the world have started to seriously tackle the harms of -- that tobacco causes. we're talking 6 million deaths globally. and that number is expected to

go up. millions of people in the u.s. are still feeling the effects of the global financial crisis back in 2008. many families were forced to give up their homes when they couldn't afford to pay their mortgages and move into mobile homes. around 20 million people in the states live in a mobile home. that's about 6% of the population. almost a quarter of those are retired and household income is only half the national average. in the first part of our special series of trailer parks, rob reynolds travelled to washington state where investors are making handsome profits. >> reporter: on the road to potential profits. investors are flocking to take a crash coarse on buying up trailer parks. around 20 million people live in these communities. demand is high, and supply is

dwindling. >> what is happening is the apartment rents are going up, people are being squeezed out. >> reporter: frank leads a three-day seminar, which he calls mobile home university. he owns 140 trailer parks, and is an expert at squeezing money out of some of america's poorest people. >> to be in this business and really believe in it, you have to be a pest mist by nature. and you have to put all of your eggs in this the basket that the economy is going to continue to go down. >> reporter: he tells park buyers to tear out amenities like playgrounds which cost money to maintain, and to raise rents as high as possible without forcing residents to leave. >> there's no regulations on what you can raise rent to at all, so the park owner is free to raise as much as he wants. >> reporter: investors are eager to get in on the trailer park bandwagon. >> from a management standing point they are awesome. they have a very good return on

the money. >> reporter: if you have to live inexpensively in the united states, a mobile home park is one of the best ways to go. a used trailer can cost a few thousand dollars, payable in installments, and the ground rent in a mobile home park like this one, averages around $250 a month. many trailer park residents earn minimum wage, are disabled or elderly lived on fixed incomes. 72-year-old bill says he can't afford to live anywhere else. >> it's easy to move from one town to another when you have a trailer. >> reporter: as the bus tour continued it was shadowed by protestoring denouncing the hard edged business practices. >> these people are raising the rents rapidly, and they are making massive profits on these communities, but they are also

displaying a lot of people. >> reporter: some of the biggest names in u.s. finance, including warren buffet, and sam zell, are making large investments in trailer parks. proof there is big money to be made fro -- from the pennies of the poor. still to come all of the sports news, including the australian captain steve smith is awarded two of the biggest 2015 international accolades. ♪

the united nations has recognized cape town as one of ten cities worldwide leading the fight against climate change. it has carrying out several projects to cut emissions, and has focused on helping the poor. >> reporter: high winds, for residents usually a signal of a dusty day ahead. about 40,000 homes in areas like this were built would ceilings. this woman has been living in one of them for 15 years. her home is one of the first to have a ceiling installed. >> translator: in the winter it is very cold. it is bad to be outside. >> reporter: she says the new ceilings cut her electricity consumption by half. it's part of the drive by the city to combat climate change. down the road several other

units are being fitted with insulated ceilings. the project is expected to see a dramatic reduction in electricity consumption, and reducing carbon emissions by more than 5,000 tons a year. >> african cities will have to catch up very fast, because the worst thing about climate change is it is hurting the poor people the most. and 80% of the people living in africa are poor and living below a dollar a day, and when the droughts and floods come, those african cities will be hit hard. >> reporter: it has several other projects on the go to protect the environment, including supporting the installation of solar panels on the roofs of businesses to generate clean electricity. water management devices have also been installed in low-income homes. water is free, but limited to

350 liters a day, but some groups say that has hit the most needy. >> this drive for water conservation, water saving is now a burden that poor people must carry, rather than industry mining, and wealthier households, that's where they should target first. >> reporter: but as for now it has made life a little more comfortable. here we are. here we go. sports news. >> thank you very much. the new york giants receiver is going to appeal against a one-game suspension. he repeatedly clashed culminating in a dangerous helmet-to-helmet hit. he is hoping to play in a key

game against the minnesota vikings. >> reporter: meanwhile, researches in the u.s. are testing a novel way on how to teach players to avoid head injuries. al jazeera's correspondent reports. >> reporter: american football practice, with an important twist. the university of new hampshire's college team dedicated part of their training sessions to doing drills without wearing protective helmets. a perhaps counter intuitive idea aimed at reducing the number of concussions and head injuries. it is part of a study run by this professor. he says the helmet is part of the problem. >> the sport of football is just identified by the football helmet. it is necessary for the sport.

it provides protection. but at the same time, the helmet enabled contact with the head because you are able to use the head and it doesn't hurt. four local high school teams are also part of the study. players wear special sensors in head bands to record impact during names. >> you can see all of the hits that occurred. and we can click on a specific hit and it will show us where that hit occurred. >> reporter: millions of young men play american football all over the u.s. it's one of the most popular sports, but also rough and sometimes violent. this season alone, at least eight high school players have died as a result of on-field injuries. the latest was this 17-year-old, a high school player from kansas who suffered a traumatic brain

injury after being tackled in a game. but the risks haven't put up this 16 year old, who plays safety for the bedford high school team. he admits his parents worry a lot about injuries, but he says being part of the study has changed his game for the better. >> normally i would lead with my head, and i guess putting me more at risk, and now i can get my head off to the side just because of muscle memory. >> we have some pretty intelligent kids and as they saw what we were trying to produce, they knew where the drills were building to. >> reporter: to make america's most popular contact sport a little safer to avoid serious head injuries that have become all too common. well the issue of head yearries in the nfl is the

subject of will smith's new movie, concussion, the film tells a story of the doctor who myself made the link between brain damage and the repeated heavy hit nfl players received during a game. recently the nfl said they would fund research into treatment that could revolutionize the way head injuries are diagnosed. the chief executive of the company joins us now. they are calling your treatment a real game changer if you will excuse the pun. could you explain how it works, and why it is so significant >> basically we have developed the technology that can see proteins that are released in the blood at very minuscule levels when the brain gets injured, so for the first time, you can actually see these proteins and the biomarkers in

the blood, where is a revolutionary break through. >> it has been described as an objective blood test, and i guess that word objective is very important. >> yeah, the challenge here is that almost every organ in the body does have a blood test to show whether or not you are healthy or not. the brain is the only one that doesn't. . so our technology can see these biomarkers in the blood, and be able to tell you whether or not you have had a concussion and how severe it is, and give you a sense of when it is going to be safe to return to play, and one of the biggest challenges is a lot of kids have a concussion, return to play, and have a second injury, and a lot of deaths occur if you have a second impact while having a concussion. so being able to detect it objectively, rather than trying to determine if you have a

cognitive deficiency, that is very subjective, and has proven to be a big issue for sports, whether it be rugby, soccer, cricket, as well as football. so this could change the culture of the game, because now there will be an objective way to say yes, for sure this person has a concussion, and it wouldn't be safe to return to play. >> kevin you have been given funding by the nfl to continue developing this treatment, can you see a time when blood tests can be carried out on the feel of play during a game even? >> we actually believe in 2016, literally, this coming year, you'll be able to take samples from the sideline and get them into a local area for the test. within the next couple of years we think a point of care device, almost like an iphone could be put on the sidelines. we're actually raising money in

a cross-over round, and we'll be going public later next year to accelerate, bringing the technology to bare across all of the sports, and even into emergency rooms. because our technologies could be used for other areas too like cancer and heart disease. >> fascinating to hear your thoughts. thank you very much. in the nba, kobi bryant tied a season-high 31 points as the lakers pulled back a huge deficit to clench a win over the denver nuggets. the champion lead the lakers' rally. he is retiring at the end of the season. finding his shooting rhythm in the end of the quarter. it is the lakers fifth win of the season. manchester united coach is

facing rumors he is about to be sacked. they have are lost the last seven games. it has been reported that his former protege has been lined up to replace him. van hall has received some backing from the arsenal manager. >> i do not want to go in the world of speculation. i have personally huge respect for van hall, and i think what is going on there at the moment is disrespectful, you know, and this guy has worked for 30 years in football, and has an unbelievable quality of work, and i think it's a bit disrespectful to what is going on there. >> a senior official at athletics world governing body

is to step down from his job while he is the subject of an ethics investigation. he is accused of discussing a plan to delay the naming of russian drug cheats ahead of the championships in moscow. the suggested we now need to be smart about releasing names. last month, russia was suspended by the iaaf fol -- following allegations of covering up doping. steve smith has been named international cricketer of the year. he is the fourth australian to be awarded the accolade. he is also named test cricketer of the year. that is all of your sport for now. >> our colleagues in london will keep you company in the coming hours. check out the website, aljazeera.com. i will see you very, very soon,

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reports of a deadly gas attack in syria, claims that sarin may have been used. ♪ hello there, i'm felicity barr, and this is al jazeera, live from london. also coming up. moscow says an amnesty report is fake after it claims that russia may be guilty of war crimes in syria. and russia calls for an international arrest warrant for the critic. and a remarkable tail