>> syrian troops backed by airstrikes hit a small town. >> i'm tanya page reporting on election day in central african republic.

>> and a state disaster declared in missouri with rivers are still rising. >> we'll bring you more in sport where atletico madrid has won their match, and in cricket, england wins their first test against the number one ranked team in the world, south africa. >> the syrian army backed by russian airstrikes says that troops have fought their way against the southern rebel held town. the new offensive focuses on a strategic location on the main road from damascus to southern cities. syrian rebels say that the assault was sported by the bombing campaign so far in the south. it's part of the government's first major offensive since russia joined the fight at the end of september. meanwhile, syrian observatory for human rights said that

moscow strikes have killed more than 230 people so far. 792 of the dead, that's more than a third, were civilians. 180 were children. russia has denied its air campaign in support of assad's government is hitting civilians. hashem ahelbarra has been following the story and sends us this report in turkey. >> it all started with intense airstrikes by russian fighter jets paving the way for government troops to advance against opposition strongholds. the rebels say despite the losses they're regrouping, and they're planning towards a counter offensive to push the government troops out of the area. the area is crucial for the government and the rebels because it's on a strategic route that connected sanaa and

damascus. it would provide. >> the al-qaeda al nusra front and other factions, some were trained by the americans. we don't know if they'll pull out further south, or if they're trying to look for different troops to go to areas that are in the control of the opposition. but this is quite a delicate moment for the opposition and for rebel groups. >> moving to iraq now forces say they're tightening their grip on ramadi after recapturing the city from the islamic state in iraq and the levant.

we have reports now from northern iraq. >> more iraqis have been forced out of their homes with fighting within isil and the military. these civilians have been living in the central iraqi center of ramadi. the military said that it rescued them. >> the forces of the anti-terrorism unit are inside a secured complex in ramadi. they've freed more than 52 families who were used by human shields by the gangs of isil and we gave them first aid and food. we thank god we field them, and now we're transferring them to secured locations. >> on wednesday a large number of sunni fighters arrived in northern and eastern ramadi. it will help iraqi troops. and secure their defensive positions. what's not clear is how many iraqi soldiers and civilians

have been killed in this latest defensive. media access to the city is limited. but many were left are thankful to the soldiers who helped them. >> when the security was going from anbar province life was dead. even if they tell you that they were living, this is not true. got bless the soldiers. not the big officials but the soldiers who rescued us from this place, from the beast. they are beasts with no humanity. they have no islam. >> thousands of people have been displaced from ramadi, a city that is mostly in ruins now. houses, electricity, water, services have been badly damag damaged. isil fighters are said to be launching attacks on iraqi forces in areas still within their control. and from iraqi forces in addition to the job of creating buildings rigged with explosives they face the threat of isil suicide-bombers. al jazeera, erbil, northern

iraq. >> now turkish police have detained two men suspected of plotting a suicide-bomb attack on the new year's eve celebrations in the capital. ankara. prosecutors say that police seized this explosive device which was fortified with ball baring bearings and metal sticks, and they said they have found bomb making equipment. they are said to be tourish nationals from the islamic state in iraq and the levant of the the prime minister suspect in a west bank arson attack, which left three members of the same family dead, is to be charged with murder in the coming days. the youngest of the family was an 18-month-old baby, who died immediately in the attack in douma last july. his parents died from their wounds later in hospital. the only family member to survive was their son ahmed. the suspect's indictment is expected within five days.

now the reports that the u.s. has been spying on israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's private communication. the wall street journal said that his conversations were monitored during negotiations with iran. >> the israeli government is suggesting that it may file a formal complaint with the obama administration because of the allegations published in the wall street journal that the white house has continued to spy on the prime minister benjamin netanyahu and on other top israeli officials. the journal's story suggests that the obama administration continued to spy on the israeli government because of concerns that israel was going to try to find a way to derail the negotiations between the p5+1 and iran over that country's nuclear program. even though the white house has not formerly condemned or rejected the story, officials unnamed in the wall street journal suggested that they had

to continue to do things like this for national security purposes. it's something which one israeli official said on wednesday that friends just don't do to each other. >> late voting is now over in the central african republic for presidential and parliamentary elections. the community hopes it will bring peace to the conflict-ridden nation. the county has been plagued by violence since 2013 when groups known as the seleka overthrew the government. that was followed by a brutal backlash against muslims by mostly christian militia known as the anti-balaka. a cease-fire was fre agreed to in 2014, but the fighting displaced almost a million people. now the president is allowed to run or her predecessors who were

installed by the seleka. there are three other front runners in this who is backed by the party, and another who is accused to having ties to seleka fighters. well, the elections so far has been peaceful although there were some polling date delays. from the capital of bangui we have the latest. >> the police are here to make sure that voters feel safe, security is tight. pk 5 in bangui is an muslim enclave. the area is under siege so the officers' presence is reassuring. they say if they did leave the area they could be killed. >> we want a president so we can live in peace. so we can walk and go wherever we want. so we can leave this neighborhood. we're stuck here like prisoners. if we get a good president, we can go anywhere. we'll feel good. we'll sleep well, and we won't

hear gunshots any more. >> central africans are voting to start over. many have lived in fear since members of the mostly muslim seleka group committed abuses against civilians as they fought their way to the capital to over throw the president in 2013. as they withdrew, mostly christian militia took revenge on the seleka and muslim civilians. neighbors turned on neighbors. this man is watch. he left the pk 5 at its worst, and although things are better now, he still lives in a camp. >> we have been together since we were young. we've been overcome by what's happened. that's why i decided to come back and vote in my neighborhood so muslims and christians can be together. >> last week an ex-seleka leader called for an autonomous state. security has been improving. >> during an referendum a month ago this is where there was a gun battle between hard liners in the community and u.n. peace

keepers. the fighters were trying to intimidate people from voting. now we're told some of those who were shooting then are now voting. >> but there were problems. this man has been told he can't vote because he's not on the list. >> so i'm not happy. one vote can mean a lot. >> there were also delays at the polling stations and in two parts of the parliamentary election was canceled because there was no voting material. >> what these people want is a new governance, a new start, a new way of handling this country. but what i'm hear something equity, rule of law, democracy, they want it to be--they want the leaders to be accountable. >> whoever wins has a huge task to demand divided communities and building united country. expectations are high, and there is hope that the mistrust and violence is behind them.

tanya page, al jazeera, central african republic. >> moving to ghana where government said it has fixed electricity supply shortages that has caused years of frequent blackouts. they said that extra money would be spent to generate extra electricity. the announcement has been made ahead of elections next year. it has been a hot political to topic since many suffer from 24 hours plaque--blackouts. igirls were taken from their dormitories in khibok in april of last year. there has been mass demonstrations calling for more to be done to find them but there is no evidence that the girls are still alive. there have been jubilant

scenes in china. a torch could be seen signaling for help when a camera was put down, part the survivors have been found. 11 workers have been rescued. and they've been trapped for more than 200 meters underground and are now being dug out. there is still more to come for you on the al jazeera news hour. the case against a plantation giant accused of contributing to indonesia's forest fires is thrown out of court. plus... >> i'm jonah hull hon corsica where racist violence has raised its head in the shadow of paris attacks. >> and real madrid wins it's game at the end of the year.

>> after four days of storms the rains have stopped in the u.s. states of missouri and illinois. 21 people have been reported dead with hundreds of homes evacuated. there is tom ackerman reports the waters of the mississippi river are still rising. >> the millions of people who live around the mississippi river valley are used to springtime flooding, but unusually warm wet winter weather has swollen the water away and threatsens to overwhelm the extensive network of levies. >> the amount of rain we received in some places in excess of a foot has caused river levels to rise rapidly but to go to places that they've never been before. >> where the mississippi and missouri rivers meet, an order was issued and local residents began leaving. large parts of the suburban town was partially underwater. major highways have been closed but motorists who ignored the

warnings and try to defy the floodwaters have accounted for most of the fatalities. the dangerous are shifting further down river. about 100 kilometers south of st. louis. forecasters say that the rivers will crest on friday at 15 meters. matching a record set in the historical 1993 flood. the coast guard said it has activated emergency management operations as far south as new orleans. while smaller tributaries are expected to crest, it could take weeks before the mississippi falls below flood levels. some flooded areas will have to deal with ice. tom ackerman, al jazeera. >> now the south american nations of brazil, argentina, paraguay and uruguay are experiencing it's worst flooding in a half further. many are forced to evacuate their homes on tuesday. more than 100,000 have been

displaced across the four countries. the uruguay river is now 11 meters above it's normal level. heavy rains have been linked to the el niño weather event which is at its strongest levels now in this century. we'll talk with teresa who is now in buenos aires, which is in the grips of a heatwave, teresa. can you tell us more about the separatio situation, and how people there have been coping? >> well, we've been visiting the town of concordia in the northern part of northeast argentina where we're being told that the water from paraguay and brazil has made it basically collapse. it is also happening in this part of the region. we saw we were able to see how thousands of people have been evacuated. they were leaving they were trying to save whatever little they had left in their homes,

shelters, where shorts are struggling to get them water, food, dry pat there's. many of those people affected are among the poorest because they live nearby where the flooded areas are, and where the river is, and that's why there were the most affected. the summertime here, so this evacuees are also dealing with heat, humidity, with disease, and that's what is worrying many authorities here about what could happen once the waters start to recede. >> we're talking about vast numbers of people, aren't we, over 100,000 across four south american countries. how are latin american governments responding? >> well, there are thousands of people in argentina around 20,000 people in paraguay around 100,000 people. and not far away from the capital. so governments are trying to cope with the difficult situation now in argentina, for

example, they have created a crisis comedy. in bolivia that is also being effected, they have $20 million to start helping those who are being affected by the flooding. in colombia the president has declared a red alert because of the heatwave that is effecting that country. we're seeing latin american governments trying to react to what is happening here. but also environmental organizations are saying what is making the situation worse if this existed especially in the southern cone in the last years because of the forest boon, it would stop waters from moving around, and the millions of hectares of forests that have been hacked down are definitely making the situation worse. >> thank you very much, teresa, for bringing all the latest from buenos aires. now firefighters battling forest fires spreading across

large areas of the south american language--nations. changing winds are making it difficult to predict the spread of the fires. the fires are brought by the el niño event, and it is blamed for the rising temperatures around 4 degrees celsius. an indonesian court has thrown out a case against a plantation giant accused of causing the thick smoke that has blanketed the region for months. the government has accused the company of burning hectares of forest to make room for its crops. we have more from sumatra island. >> ahead of the verdict, an environmental group stages a protest to remind everyone what is at stake. indonesia's people and it's forests. a company was accused of starting fires last year that

affected 20 hectares of land in the western island of sumatra. the ministry of environment and forestry brought the lawsuit seeking $570 million in damages. but the courts found the evidence lacking, and ruled in favor of the company. >> why would the company need to change its practices. it's been proven in court that our client has done everything in accordance with the law. >> it's a set back for the ministry which only a few months ago suspended the reasons of several companies over this year's forest fires. >> we are going to appeal this decision. it's not only to bring justice for the people of indonesia, who have been suffering all this while, but for the dignity of this country. >> forest fires and resulting haze that blankets indonesia and neighboring countries has become an annual occurrence, straining relations with indonesia. the fires have caused flight

cancellations and school closures. more than a dozen people have died and half a million fell sick to respiratory illnesses. the world bank estimates this year's fires will cost more than $15 billion. some say small-scale farmers who use slash and burn methods to clear land are to blame. others believe it is plantation owners who use the tactic who use vast tracks of land who are responsible. but many agree it's the lack enforcement of the law that allow the problem to continue. >> and because of this, then the company and also the people would say, we can burn, because they give us permission. i don't think it's a good idea. i totally disagree and i'm very disappointed. >> the court as verdict is not the only thing that concerns environmental groups. environmentalists say satellite pictures show several hot spots

have been detected in some parts of sumatra island. once the dry season starts in march these fires could grow even bigger. >> the yearly phenomenon that has grown into a disaster is unlikely to go away soon. al jazeera, indonesia. >> the french interior minister has condemned last week's violence in corsica while visiting the mediterranean island. on friday a prayer room was attacked where two firefighters were attacked two days earlier. >> in commune relations badly damage, france is still feeling the after effects of the attacks in paris. the french island of corsica has its own identity and harbors notions of separatism. it is the latest scene of racist violence since the attacks.

>> calm has to return. this is a beautiful little island, but if things continue like this people will be frightened to come here. >> on christmas eve in this housingest state, home to a large population, hooded youths lit a fire luring firemen in, who were then attacked. uniformed firemen are seen as symbols of the state and ambushes like this is common in france. last year hundreds of firemen were attacked in similar circumstances, but it has never happened here in corsica. an angry crowd ransacked a local muslim prayer room, and demonstrators chanted racist slogans. [ yelling ] >> we heard racist slogans such as arabs out. that's not like corsica. they shouted go home. but this is our home. >> the french government has been quick to respond.

the interior minister here touring the scene and talking to residents. >> i want to express my utmost condemnation of those who committed racist or zenophobic acts that have no place on this island. >> napoleon was born on this island, but it is not french nationalism that has taken hold here. instead, corsican separatists have recently gained control of the island legislature. >> we are as everyone knows engaged in a struggle for the autonomy of corsica and recognition of the rights of the corsican people. but this is inseparable of openness, generosity, tolerance and humanity. >> whether the christmas violence here is connected to the separate identity that many corsicans feel or part of a wider reaction for the paris attacks, it's a further sign of how far france has to go to reunite it's divided communities.

jonah hull, al jazeera, corsica. >> as 9 new year approaches, al jazeera is looking ahead to some of the big stories of 2016. one of those is rio de janeir de janeiro's troubled preparations for the olympics. adding the polluted waters, the games will cost in excess of $10 billion. we have reports now from rio. >> in a city famous for its beaches and carnival. [ music ] having a good time is a way of life. rio de janeiro has also experienced hosting an international sporting event. it hosted world cup soccer matches in 2014. add to that the pride of making history. this is the first olympic games to be held in south america. >> it's going to be wonderful, and rio is going to welcome them with open arms. >> more than half of the ri

rio 2016 budget comes from private money, and the city is taking full advantage of using existing venues from previous sporting events like the world cup. the city said construction is on time and on budget, unlike the world cup when some stadiums were finished only days before the games began. >> there are two kinds of olympics. games that take the benefits out of the city, and the city that takes the benefits out of the games. we're taking value advantage of having the olympics in rio. >> in 2015 the city held 20 test events including the triathlon. but environmentalists are raising concerns about the site expected to hold most of the sailing competitions. here athletes may have to compete while smelling raw sewage and seeing garbage floating by their boats. the city promised the olympic committee that it would clean up the bay significantly. but now officials admit that their efforts may not come close

to satisfying the athletes. the sailing events may have to be held elsewhere. on the periphery of the olympic park memories and protest graffiti are what we main of a neighborhood bulldozed to make way for access into the area. maria initially refused to leave. even though the city offered her a flat amount of money, now the 344 families have taken the buyout, she's decided to move, but feels a sense of loss. >> it's not that anyone is against the olympics. it's that they destroyed people here. the community, everything. >> another big concern is drug gangs and spill over of the violence into the city's in favillas if you're thinking about going to the biggest sporting event on the planet,

tickets are available and more than half cost $30 or less. >> in part three of our look ahead to 2016 alan fisher previews the u.s. presidential election and asks why outsiders are having such an impact on mainstream supplement politics. more to come for you this hour, north korea's kim jong-un loses a top aid as a senior official dies in a car crash. also italy takes a big bite out of apple's profits as the tech giant agrees to settle a tax dispute. and in sport a huge hurdle for organizers much next year's rio olympics. we'll bring you more on that story later on.

>> at 9:30 - "america tonight" - top investigative reporting, uncovering new perspectives. >> everything that's happening here is illegal. >> then at 10:00 - it's "reports from around the world". >> let's take a closer look. >> antonio mora gives you a global view. >> this is a human rights crisis. >> and at 11:00 - "news wrap-up". clear... concise... complete. >> you're watching the al jazeera news hour. let's take you to the top stories. forces have fought their way into key rebel held town in the south of the country. after four days of rain

storms the rains have stopped, 21 people have died over the weekend of widespread flooding. vote something now over, and in the central african hubble, the elections have not been without issues. >> some polling stations opened very late and some opened without any election material. that was here in ban guy where things should be most organized. the biggest concern with a was that some people have been turned away. and some people have not received their voter cards. they have been told if they turned up with a receipt, they would be able to vote. people really want this

election. it means an end to sectarian violence that has rocked the central african republic. everyone who votes has their finger dipped in ink to prevent them from voting again. they say here in the capital voter cards have been for sale. there were everyones that so far on the whole this election is moving forward peacefully and palmly. but the country is volume tight. a single killing can lead to days of violence. and for that reason the new commander, the head of the united nations peacekeeping force here said that his troops are on alert. they're ready to respond aggressively and swiftly to any flareups. >> the north korean official has been killed in a car crash. they were propering kim yang

gon's death. >> very few details have been released surrounding the car crash that killed kim yang gon. >> kim yang gom and deputy to the secret people's assembly of the people's republic of korea died at 6:15 on december 29 at the age of 73. kim yang gon was north korea's most senior officials. he was a negotiator that helped to create talks between south korea. the south korean government has paid tribute to his skill and hard work during those talks. >> we offer our condolences over

the death of kim yang gom who worked with south korea to achieve a meaningful agreement in the talks held in august. >> kim yang gon was north korea's leader kim jong-un's closest comrade and revolutionary partner. but his death has raised questions about what is happening inside north korea's secretive government. south korean officials say that kim jong-un has executed 70 senior officials including his uncle since becoming supreme leader four years ago. the kim yang gon's funeral will take place on thursday. it's not known what his death will mean for north korea and it's relationship with south korea. hundreds gathered outside of the japanese embassy in seoul

demanding a personal apology were prime minister shin do abe. on monday he offered a written apology and $8.2 million to the remaining 46 comfort women. they were forced into sex slavery during the second world war. >> we urge a direct apology and pay reparations instead of apologizing by proxy or statement. >> now england's capital city is introducing a new plan to clean up air pollutions. only allowed in new delhi on alternate days according to whether it's license plates in odd or even numbers. the chief minister said that residents must take responsibility for cleaning up their city. >> this scheme will only be successful once it becomes a very big movement when people want to do this from their

hearts. we do not have to do this because i'm saying it. we don't have to do it because it's being forced upon us by the government. we have to do it because we feel this is important for our lives and our health. >> well, floods in the u.s. we were talking about and in south america are being attributed to the el niño weather phenomenon. el niño happens every two to seven years and normally peaks late in december. it forms when sea temperatures increase in the central and eastern tropical pacific ocean over the months. the disruption of el niño can last up to a year, it brings rains and milder temperatures to north and south america leading to storms and flooding and makes dryer weather in australia and southeast asia more likely causing droughts and a weaker monsoon season. we can speak to emily becker, a leading research scientist at

the atmospheric administration. she joins us live now. thank you for speaking to us. we're seeing the effects of el niño right now in south and central america, and of course fears of drought in africa and that could get worse in the coming months. could you tell us a little bit more about how and why this weather pattern occurs? >> right, so we're not entirely sure what kicks an el niño off, but it is characterized by warmer than average waters in the equatorial pacific. the way those waters, which are remote from most of the areas of the globe that are affected by el niño, the way they affect the entire world is that the warmth in that area gets transmitted to the atmosphere above it and causes a lot of rising air, warm air rises. so it changes the atmospheric

circulation across the entire globe. it can do things like intensify the jet stream across the southern half of the united states, which is what brings a lot of rains and flooding. >> and there has been a great deal of concern about the effects of this weather phenomenon in the coming months in a time when there is a great deal of pressure about flooding and roma drought. geographically what area will feel the weather. >> december through march roughly the the southern half of the united states is likely to see increased rain and storms and then africa is another area that has particularly noticeable impact in the horn and just south of the horn of africa. tends to see a lot more

rainfall, and actually, we've observed that during the fall months of october, november and december. and then in the southern portion of the africa has the tendency to see drought, which is unfortunate, because there has been drought there over the last several years. thus far we've seen reduced rainfall in that area. >> right, so in east africa el niño leads to wetter conditions. but in southern africa a different picture. we see drier conditions and that could cause problems with crops, water availability in the coming months. what are the expectations? >> exactly. exactly, maryam, that is a possible outcome of the increased drought. >> how likely are the effects to last? >> they say that the warmer than average waters in the pacific

tend to reach their peak in december or so, but then most of the impacts across the northern hemisphere are felt through march, and then it's likely that as the winter tails off the clear impact of el niño will tail off. for this year. >> thank you very much. it was fascinating to speak to you and get a bit more light on this, emily becker, research scientist in washington, d.c. thank you. now the controversial u.s. presidential candidate donald trump has promised to spend $2 million every week on advertising. the billionaire businessman has outspoken views on race and immigration. so far he has yet to air a single tv ad as opposed to his rivals who have released tv ads. but in iowa he has decided to

change his policy. now the u.s. comedian bill cosby is on $1 million bail pending trial for sexual assault. the 78-year-old is accused of applying a woman with wine before sexually assaulting her while she drifted in and out of consciousness. if found guilty he could face up to ten years in prison. the u.s. technology joint apple has agreed to pay $350 million to italy. the move is part of an european effort to make multi nationals pay what they owe in countries where they do business. the e.u. has ordered starbucks and fiat to pay millions in back taxes to luxembourg and the netherlands. apple has rejected accusations that the company is avoiding paying tax. let's return now to the elections in the central african

republic. voting has ended. the international community hopes this election will bring peace to the conflict-ridden nation. for more analysis on this story you can go live to new york t, thank you very much for speaking to us. the international community really seems to have high expectations for this election in central african republic. what do you think, is it going to be a positive turning point for the country? >> my expectations are more mixed. like everyone i hope for the best. i really hope that this will turn a new page in this country. but at the same time i'm very concerned about the underlying structural and social issues that gives rise to all this conflict in the first place. has it really been addressed? >> can you tell me what you think is the greatest underlying problem or challenge facing the country? >> well, if you don't mind, i'll give you two.

one, it's so easy to start an armed group and use that as a way to gain an negotiating position and get power and access in the government and with the international community. the other is that this conflict has taken on sectarian dimensions and that is related to the question of who belongs in the central african republic. and in particular do muslims belong in the central african republic? those sorts of questions of who belong and who is central african which has been so fundamental to the conflict has not thoroughly been addressed. >> why is that? >> well, i think there are a lot of reasons for that. the proceeds of running elections and less on forcing a deep political discussion about the issues that really afflict this country. and that's one of the real challenges when it is a conflict that is being managed by

technocratic actors in the u.n. and others who have their own interest, their own way of doing things that don't necessarily see themselves having a stake in debating the substantive issues that the central africans are fighting over. >> these problems that are fundamental structure and social problems that are still very much there, unlikely to be resolved any time soon. does that mean a return to violence? >> so these are tensions that have existed for a very long time. without a lot of open ton flick i think its possible that they could be under the surface for the foreseeable future. but if you look at the history over the last 15 years or so, what you see are these cycles where there is a new rebellion and election and then a little bit of peace. but new rebel groups start forming. i wouldn't be too surprised if that's what we see in this case as well, that these elections

will take place. they might even go relatively smoothly. but again no one has really addressed the fact that many members of the population feel dispossessed or that they will start an armed group so we'll likely see conflict again in the future. >> it was good to get context around this story lo louisa lombard from new york. now getting a slice of generosity from an army veteran. the pizzeria is run by two former soldiers who fought in the eastern region. now they're giving out free pizza to injured or active military service men. their aim, to help soldiers reintegrate back into civilian life. it allows people to buy pizza for delivery to military hospitals. >> many people like the cafe very much.

we have many visitors. we're happy to host them but we are not ready to cook so many orders. i thought we were going to shut down as we were so tired. we slept here for two weeks and cooked pizzas for hospitals, the rail ray station and the restaurant. >> coming up in a couple of minutes for you, unholy dispute, why this priest is in the bad book of the roman catholic church. and in sport, the liverpool attempt to finish with a win. find out how the team got on against sunderland.

>> well back. now a blue whale has been rescued in chile after being stranded on a beach. they were able to pull the whale to deeper waters and two boats were needed to tow the whale to safety. it took more than three hours. time now for your sport with richard. >> thank you very much, maryam. barcelona ends 2015 where they spent most of the year, and that's at the top of the spanish table. they have won 4-0, and neymar missed a penalty for barca, but then they rebounded the ball into the net for an on goal. lionel messi played if his 500th games. barcelona has won five trophies in the past 12 months.

ronaldo ending up with two goals. well, real are third in the table two points away from let co. scoring two late goals. liverpool beat sundayer land a little while ago to seal a second straight win. christian netted the winner in the 1-0 win. the result means they end level on points with sixth place manchester united. england has beaten the number one ranked team in test cricket. they defeated south africa by

241 runs in the first test of the four-match series. mark graham reports. >> when players needed another 280 runs to win while england needed another six wickets. with only two runs added, they got the prized wicket with just the third ball of the day. the chances of saving the match were all but over. wicketted continue to fall stephen finish quickly got four wickets team them with the home side adding in home runs to be language wishing he was stranded

on 26 as he ran out of partners. south africa lost their final six wickets with just 48 runs. >> we have to be careful. recover in the next two days. it's important that we can get ahead again. and we start over with the hit. >> it was only england's second test one away from home in 2012 and south africa's fourth defeat from the last five tests. we're hoping that we can continue the run. >> they only this a few days to rediscover their home. but the second test beginning in cape town on january 2nd. mark graham, al jazeera. >> now international olympic

committee president said sports organizations must work hard in 2016 to clean up their act. the german didn't name anyone in the newest message. but his comments follow a year in which fifa has been plagued by corruption scandal which led to sepp blatter's suspension. there have been allegations of bribery and doping cover ups including the russian athletics. well, here is the statement. he said undoubtedly recent developments in some sports cast a shallow across a whole world of sports as the role and relevance of sporting society continues to grow, so did the expectations of the public visa see the integrity of athletes and sports organizations. well, as the new year approaches al jazeera it looking ahead to some of the big stories of 2016. one of those is rio de janeiro with troubled preparations for the summer olympics. adding to concerns by the city's

polluted waters, we have this reports from rio. >> in a city famous for its beaches and carnival, having a good time is a way of life. rio de janeiro has experienced hosting an international sporting event. it hosted world cup soccer matches in 2014. add to that the provide of making history. this is the first olympic games to be held in south america. >> more than half of the ri rio 2016 budget comes from private money, and they're taking full advantage were using venues from previous sporting events like the world cup. construction is on time and on budget. unlike the world cup when some stadiums were finished only days before the games began.

>> there are two kinds of olympics. games that take the benefits out of the city, and the city that takes the benefits out of the games. we're taking full advantage of having the olympics in rio. >> in 2015 the city held 20 test events including the triathlon. but environmentalists are raising concerns about the site that is supposed to hold most of the sailing competitions. here at this bay athletes may have to compete while smelling raw sewage and seeing garbage floating by their boats. the city promised the olympic committee it would clean up the bay but now officials at mitt their efforts may not come close to satisfying the athletes. the events may have to be he would elsewhere. at the olympic park graffiti and memories are what is left in this community.

maria refused to leave even though the city offered her a flat and money. 344 families have decided to take the buyout, she has decided to move but feels a sense of loss. >> it's not that anyone is against the olympics, it's that they destroyed the community. >> another big concern is drug gangs and spill over of the violence into the city's favillas. the city said that things were calm during the world cup, and they expect the same for rio 2016. if you're thinking of going to the biggest sporting event on the planet, tickets are still available and more than half cost $30 or less. lebron james leads the cleveland oh to a win over the denver nuggets.

elsewhere, russell rest brook led with 27 points while devon durant with 26 more. and oklahoma city winning 131 to 123. that's the sport for now. more a little later on. >> thank you very much. now a priest in the philippines is in hot water with the country's roman catholic church after deriving hover boards at christmas eve match. they have proved to be a christmas hit on youtube, but church officials not happy about this. they're taking a dim view of what he did especially as a trying to promote a frugal lifestyle, the priest has advise apologized. still it's a fresh approach, isn't it. at www.aljazeera.com you'll find all the analysis, do check it out. www.aljazeera.com. that's it for the news hour. i'll be back with you for a full

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>> syrian troops backed by russian airstrikes fight their way into a rebel-held town in the south. hello, you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up, allegations the united states has been spying on israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. in the initial african republic voters hope a new government will bring peace and stability. >> a state disaster is decla