history is in the making in taiwan as the island is set for its first woman president tsai ing-wen has just claimed victim. the nationalist party conceded defeat. the prime minister will set down after his party's loss. the leader of the opposition, tsai ing-wen, you can see her there now, that is live, has claimed victim. she looks to win the elections which bring about interesting relations with china. back in power after eight years. the relations with china has been the main issue with these elections. the presidential polls are proof of taiwan's democratic nature.

>> translation: this is the first step of reform. you are my backing of this reform. on 20 may the new government will treat this as the most important task. reform will take a long time. it will not happen overnight. i will redo the wrong of the previous government so that we form the firm foupgs for fight want's development-- foundation. we have told the community that the spirit of domestic object res is part of the life of the people going to our china correspondent, adrian brown. he is live for us in taipei. a great success for her, the first female president in the making. many issue the country faces, but what about china, any sense where that will go? >> reporter: well, yes. she did speak about china in that televised news conference.

she said domestic object res is ingrained in the people and never go away. she wanted china to understand taiwan's desire for sovereignty for its national identity. all of this, of course, will not go down well with the leadership. they would have been studying her address tonight with forensic detail. in many ways the dpp represents china's worst nightmare because of her pro-independent stance. this is a woman they're going to have to deal with. how china responds, of course, in the coming days and weeks will define the future of relations between china and taiwan. certainly we are possibly on an uncertain course. my colleague scott heidler has been following developments today on what has been an historic day >> reporter: a slight smile from the presidential front runner as she voted saturday morning. opposition candidate tsai ing-wen sticking to her message

of independence. >> translation: i believe it was time for us to unite. we need a position that the people have a consensus on the national identity. >> reporter: on his area, he voted and where he repeated his promise to maintain good relations with beijing. >> translation: we will stick to the 1992 consensus which sees both sides recognise that there is one china but agree to disagree on its definition. >> reporter: this is the sixth presidential vote on the island since it became a democracy 20 years ago. they passed their ballot for president. it is a decision about which direction they want taiwan to go, continue to draw china closer or become more independent. directly tied to the relationship with china the economy. the last eight years of rule has

seen massive growth of trade and money from the mainland. like what is happening across the strait, the economy has slowed. >> translation: the economy in taiwan is not in good shape. many people are not satisfied about it. a new president can focus on economy more. >> translation: i would like to see the first female president in taiwan. >> reporter: it is not just the president who will be chosen. 113 seats in parliament are legislated u.n. are also up. more than 500 candidates are running. this is where the start-up parties and candidates could gain. an alternative voice from the main two political parties that have ruled the only chinese democracy for the last 70 years there is the president still talking live in taipei taking questions from her around her.

steering the country on an interesting course. adrian, two issues really. china and the economy, what impact is it likely to have on the economy? >> reporter: well, certainly the economy has been the big issue for most ordinary taiwanese voters. they remember a time when it was a dragon economy. that is not the case. economic growth is down to 1%. wages are stag naturing. there is a widening wealth gap. the k mc lost it because the president promised to raise average salaries from $24,000 a year to $30,000. he promised to get economic growth up to 3%. none of that happened. on top of that china's economy has been slowing. that's an important export market for taiwan, 40% of this

country's exports go to the mainland as well as hong kong, but those exports have been declining during the past couple of years. also the world isn't buying the such that taiwan makes, components for computers and mobile phones. the economy really has been hurting here. in a sense the two issues are linked because president mah embarked on a strategy to improve trade impreements. shall shall agreements. it didn't deliver the benefits which they say went to the big corporations. tsai ing-wen's strategy is basically taiwan has become too economically dependent on china and she wants to rein that in thank you for that. let's move on. as many as 150 hostages have been freed from a hotel in burkina faso's capital after an attack by al-qaeda-linked

fighters. local forces teamed up with force soldiers. at least 20 people were killed. >> reporter: the splendid hotel under siege. explosions were heard. masked gunmen stormed the hotel popular with foreigners and diplomats on friday evening. they attacked a café across the street. >> translation: it was horrible because everyone was panicking. people were lying on the ground and there was blood everywhere. they were shooting people at point blank range. the noise of the explosion. it was really loud. i think these people are really wicked. >> reporter: french troops called in to help retake the hotel rescued dozens of people. many were shock and are receiving treatment at hospital.

>> translation: we did our best to try and get out. they shot me in the arm and i have an open fracture. they destroyed my vehicle as well. >> reporter: al-qaeda's regional affiliate says it's behind this assault. the armed group has attacked similar targets in west africa in the past. the most recent was in a hotel in mali's capital in last november. this is the first attack of its kind. the president elected two months ago as the first new leader in decades. how he deals with this crisis is being seen as his first big test in office. >> translation: we would like to salute the response of the security forces, the doctors and red cross who have participated and to salute the military cooperation that we have received from the french and the americans. therefore, it is important that we can share information with our neighboring countries and share military means to fight against the scourge. >> reporter: the challenge for him now will be to come up with

a long-term plan to tackle those armed groups a journalist based in dakar explains the growing danger posed by armed groups like this. >> they are operating in order no show that they can strike anywhere in africa, especially in west africa, and also they realise that africa is really the subspot in the epicentre of terrorism in the world because you don't have government that has the capacity to reach to many regions. there are so many and coming into africa at this moment and creating this havoc disrupts the attention and the economic needs of the country not to talk about the security challenges. so in part africa has become the

new playing ground for these forces and they know that they can strike and do it in an approach because they are not a true conventional war, you have seen when the french sent this troop and back, the military operation, they have been able to defeat the forces there but now with the approach striking hotels in places where you have foreign citizens like the splendid hotel, they can strike the mind of the people and show that they have a role to play to make sure that the people who are in charge of the government take this into account and talk to them, consult them more ahead in the hour. venezuela's president gets a rare blast of criticism on live tv while declaring an economic

emergency. efforts to crackdown all the volunteers in a botched french drug trial that have left six people critically ill. coming up in sport african football iran says that it is confident international sanctions will be lifted this weekend as top diplomats gather in vienna to discuss the nuclear delicatessen. tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. the nuclear watchdog is due to deliver its report on whether the country has honoured that agreement. sanctions will be removed after the report is published. >> today is a day when we prove to the world that threats,

sanctions, intimidation, pressure, don't work. respect works. through respect, through negotiations we can, in fact, reach mully acceptable solutions, implement solutions, prove that they're always wrong and, therefore, move towards a world in which diplomacy, not force, not pressure, will prevail jacky rowland is live in vienna. what were the conditions iran had to meet in order for the deal to be implemented? >> reporter: it is widely expected that the international atomic energy agency will confirm that iran has fulfilled those conditions. notably dramatically reducing its uranium enrichment capabilities. it also had to send most of its enriched uranium to storage

facilities overseas. there were other things as well. it had to remove the core from the heavy water reactor at the arac nuclear facility and also in tehran, it had to fill it in with concrete. therefore, rendering that facility completely unusable. we're expected to hear from the international atomic energy agency that, yes, in fact, iran has complied with those conditions and as a result of which the time it would take iran to acquire enough enriched uranium to make a bomb would now be about a year, whereas previously it was estimated that it would only require a few months to do that remind us what iran stands to gain from the lifting of the sanctions. >> reporter: at the moment approximately 100 billion dollars worth of assets are frozen. the announcement of the implementation of this deal would mean that iran would

pretty quickly get about to 30 billion dollars of those assets but, of course, the potential for trade is enormous, the potential for investment. it's not only iran that would stand to gain, but also western companies that would like to do business, particularly companies involved in the energy sector, iran after all is the fourth - has the fourth largest oil reserves, the second largest gas reserves, there is also a huge market for consumer goods, luxry goods. on the other side, clearly the fact that iran could now be injecting about half a million additional barrels of oil onto the world markets every day will have an impact on the oil price, which we've already seen falling. some analysts think it could go down to as low as $20 a barrel. there are countries like israel and also saudi arabia who are very concerned about what they

see as the growing influence now of iran, not only in the region but also in the whole world thank you. venezuela's president says the state of the country's finances justifies his declaration of an economic emergency. it gives the socialist more powers to enact reforms. it's his own policies that has caused this crisis. >> reporter: friday was a day of unusual announcement in venezuela. while the president delivered his state of the union address, venezuelans grappled with the indications of an economy that they now know to be collapsing. for the first time in 17 years since his predecessor rose to power, he is faced with great economical pressure >> translation: today we are arriving at a parliament whereby virtue of the constitution in

the middle of a democracy of full liberties, the opposition to the revolution has kon kerred the majority and is here today. >> reporter: hours before the country had declared itself to be in crisis. >> translation: i decree article 1 an economic state of emergency in conformity to the constitution of venezuela and its judicial order. >> reporter: with the world's cheaper petrol and the three-tier currency exchange system, the measurement the government takes could see a radical reform of a system that many see as having failed. it was a disclosure for the first time in a year by the central bank that venezuela's inflation rate is 141% which to many here shows how much the economy is hurting. just exactly what the state of economic emergency means is still unclear. the government has said it will take measures that help and not hinder people, but many living

in the country with the world's highest inflation are afraid that no measure will be enough to recover the economy. in the living room of this middle-class family, ma did you recognise ro's words are met with this, saying he has heard it before >> translation: it has become bad and it is only going to get worse. his speechs in congress and he doesn't offer anything concrete. >> reporter: because of so many - an economy relying on oil, the noose is tightened around the south american nation. many predict the crude prices will continue to drop, the president may be faced with frequent and less well-received announcements security forces in iraq are getting ready to enter a neighborhood they say is the last i.s.i.l. stronghold in the city of ramadi.

for the latest, to our correspondent in baghdad. what are we expecting? >> reporter: iraqi security forces are saying that this is a very significant development. they say that they're almost done in circling a neighborhood in eastern ramadi. they say that this is the last stronghold of i.s.i.l. in ramadi which is the provincial capital. if you recall in the past couple of weeks the center of ramadi, the government complex was retaken by iraqi security forces and they've been trying to push out the remnant of i.s.i.l. fighters from the rest of the city ever since. the iraqi government now saying quite confidently they believe that they can do that in a short period of time. what's happening right now is that there has been air strikes and shelling on this portion of ramadi and iraqi security forces are saying they're also trying to ferry families that have been stuck there to safety at this hour as well. it's not clear exactly when iraqi security forces will enter

that part of the city, but the government does seem pretty confident that they will be able to do so, if not in the hours ahead, then at least by tomorrow. now, what's interesting here is that there have been several times in the past several months when iraqi government has said that they are very close to retaking portions of towns or citiesors provinces and it hasn't quite adhered to the timeline that they set out. it will be interesting to see whether or not the army backed by tribal fighters will actually be able to finally clear i.s.i.l. from what they claim to be the last remaining stronghold that those i.s.i.l. fighters have in ramadi do they know what they're going to find, what are their expectations and what is the humanitarian situation there? >> reporter: the humanitarian situation is dire, not just there but other parts of the country as well. even if ramadi is completely retaken as the security forces seem to think it will be, the fact of the matter is that is just one part of the province.

there will be other towns where i.s.i.l. fighters still are, where they have still have strong holds. also mosul in the north, that is still being held by i.s.i.l. as well. so you have several fronts in the battle against i.s.i.l. the situation still remains critical, still dire. even in a town just north of tekreet, you had clashes between i.s.i.l. fighters and iraqi security forces because i.s.i.l. fighters were trying to retake that town. a lot of fights still ongoing, a lot of concurrent crisis here in and a humanitarian situation that is still dire. there are at least 3.2 million internally displaced people in iraq and all the aid workers that we've been speaking with, no matter what part of the country that they're in over the last several weeks, they believe that the crisis will only worsen in the months ahead if they're not given the proper resources to address the crisis as it stands thank you for that.

12 people suspected of links with thursday's i.s.i.l. attack in indonesia's capital have been arrested the gunmen had planned to attack other indonesian cities. seven people, including five of the gunmen were killed in the main business district. u.s. president obama has called mexican leader to congratulate him on last week's arrest of the drug lord joaquin guzman. he has been on the run since last july. he is back in the same maximum prison that he escaped on through a mile-long tunnel from his cell. women in brazil are being urged to postpone pregnancies as a mosquito-born virus is being spread. a report from recife in brazil which has been hardest hit. >> reporter: the corridors of this public hospital in

north-eastern brazil are full of distraught mothers, holding babies with one thing in common. they were born with naturably smaller than normal heads. it is a condition that severely limits a child's intellectual and physical development and which in less than four months has reached epidemic proportions in brazil. researchers say they believe the cause is a virus new to brazil called zika spread by the same mosquito that carries dengue fever. >> translation: i was shocked when i found out. she is my first baby and this wasn't heard of in brazil until now. >> reporter: doctors here believe the virus is provoking severe scarring of the retina in up to 40% of the new born babies. >> in december we had about one thousand cases, suspect cases. now we've just heard last week

it has been three thousand reports. >> reporter: that is just in the state where a state of emergency has been declared and where the army has been called out to combat disease-carrying mosquitoes. they thrive in rainy season and breed in even the smallest amount of still clean water. but despite all these efforts, the virus is spreading, not just through brazil but throughout south and central america. in fact, disease krom experts predict that within three months zika will have reached texas. there's no cure for the virus. terrifying pregnant women. >> translation: i asked if it was true and the doctor said it was. i've been using insect repellant. >> reporter: for three and a half month old david precautions are too late. his sister dotes on him while

his mother worries about how she will take care of a child who will be seriously handicapped. >> translation: my main concern now is to go back to work, but the day care centers refuse to take him because they say it's too much responsibility for them. >> reporter: a tragic phenomenon athat has prompted health officials to warn brazilian women to prefran from greg-- refrain from getting pregnant while they struggle to deal with an epidemic which appears to be just beginning the weather. i believe it's cold and snowy in north america. >> reporter: yeah. there's some snow in the west and west. we've got warm weather hanging on in parts of the south east. we have got some quite severe storms. we did have during the course of friday as the warm air clings there. quite a bit of damage as a result.

as we look at the general trend over the next couple of days, we many see the cold, the blues, migrating towards the south and east as we head through into the early part of next week. so looking at the satellite imagery, we have one system across the east and another one pushing in towards the west. it is really in this north-eastern corner of the u.s. and up into canada where it has been particularly nasty. we have snow. we see the ice building up very nicely and we've still got more snow and cold weather there. as we look at the forecast, you can see the snow across parts of canada just into mayne as well. much in new york and washington dc. as we push this sequence, you can see the snow going away. more rain coming up from the south. perhaps even some snow on the leading edge. there looking at 4 in new york, 4 in washington and those continues will drop over the

next couple of days coming up, fleeing poverty and the threat of violence. many young afghans say they have no choice but to seek a better life away from home. a legal change can get hif saving drugs into the hands of african drugs. we hear from the serena williams is prepared to defend her title in melbourne. that's coming up in sport. n sport. when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call, a small business expert will answer you in about 30 seconds. no annoying hold music. just a real person, real fast. whenever you need them. so your business can get back to business.

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jazeera. taiwan's pro-democracy candidate tsai ing-wen has claimed victory in the presidential election. that's a live picture coming to us after declaring that victory. as many as 150 hostages have been freed from burkina faso's capital after attacked by al-qaeda-linked fighters. at least 23 people were killed. local forces killed up with french soldiers to end the siege at the hotel. iran says it's confident international sanctions will be lifted this weekend. the president has met diplomats as they wait for the nuclear atomic agency to confirm that iran is complying with the nuclear deal. more on the top story, the election in taiwan. victor gow is from the

international center studies. good to see you again. what is china's response almost to be to this victory? >> i think the presidential election of the parliamentary election in taiwan considered internal affairs in taiwan. however, it may have huge implications, not only for the people in taiwan, but also for all the chinese people on both sides of the taiwan street. in that sense i think on the mainland side the chinese government and the chinese people follow the development closely. we want to see that a steady hand will be applied to the relations once madam goes into the office as the president of taiwan and hopefully in the coming four years cross-strait relations can be stable and grow rather than suffer setbacks

she said she wants to cooperate with china. you were talking about the impact that it could have on all sides. what are you talking about when you talk about that impact? is it an economic or political? china has said they will retake taiwan with force if need be. >> well, she does herself have a track record of promoting independence of taiwan and not recognising one china which clues both taiwan and mainland china. on that note i think there is a lot of concern that once she becomes the president of taiwan, whether she will continue in that dangerous direction and jeopardize the overall relations between the two sides. i hope she will not. i hope she will have enough judgment and is anity and also--

santy for the benefit of people in taiwan who want peace and stability and good relations between the two sides of the taiwan strait, both in terms of economic and trade relations but also in terms of the political relations. i hope she will realise that that is in the fundamental interests of the people in taiwan not, you know, jeopardizing the fnlt peace and stability between the two sides of the taiwan strait. there are extreme elements in taiwan that want to push for independence, but that goal is not realistic and it will never be fulfilled. i think she needs to demonstrate her leadership and judgment in promoting good and better relations between the two sides of the taiwan strait rather than jeopardizing that you touched on some of the trade ties that the countries have had, some of the deals that have been made. many in her camp were not in

favor of those deals. are those likely to be in the cross-hairs now, or again just wait and see? >> i don't think so. cross-strait trade is almost a two hundred billion u.s. dollars. i don't think anyone wants to have a reversal of that trade and the growth prospect of the cross-strait relations, either people here in mainland china or in taiwan. i think greater and better trade between the two sides on the taiwan strait will be in the fundamental interest of people in taiwan as well as here in china, and there may be criticisms or different views as to how that cross-strait trade can be structured or improved, but i don't think anyone wants to minimise the importance of the trade relations. on any given day there are millions of taiwan people living and working in mainland china and there are hundreds of thousands of people from mainland china going to taiwan as tourists, students and business people.

so i think it is irreversible for further integration between two sides of the taiwan straits rather than trying in vain to push for the reversal of the closer integration of taiwan on the one hand the mainland china on the other hand we have to wait and see. thank you. prosecutors in france have launched an investigation into a drug trial that has left one man brain dead and five others critical ill. 90 people were given a drug. >> reporter: it was a clinical trial that went bad i wrong. with one person declared brain dead and five others in hospital, the health minister has ordered an investigation. >> translation: the families are devastated. we will make sure they are given all the answers, particularly as right now i'm not aware of any comparable case. what has happened is

unprecedented and requires the greatest possible vigilance in the coming investigation. >> reporter: the drug was being trialled at this private clinic in rennes in western france. it was meant to act on the body's system which deals with pain. >> translation: the condition of the other patients got worse over the first few days of this week and today four of the five other patients have neurological problems of varying gravity. one patient did not have any symptoms but is, of course, under intensive surveillance. >> reporter: a lawyer for the victims says there was clearly some kind of error or oversight. >> translation: how come in 2016 with all the means we have such an accident could still happen? at this moment i have unfortunately no idea. has there been a human error ares, i can't believe in a coins in circumstances >> reporter: dozens more people goes smaller doze-- got smaller doses. >> reporter: activists in south

africary want legislation for patients access to generic drugs. the struggles faced by cancer patients. >> reporter: this woman has breast cancer. she says doctors at a public hospital close by can't help her. >> they tell me the medication is panadol, brufen and sometimes they put me on observation gen. after that discharge. >> reporter: according to the cancer association of south africa, more than one hundred thousand south africans are diagnosed with cancer every year. this is the nearest hospital in the area. it doesn't have an onological department. patients have to go to johannesburg to get the drug but not every hospital has them. that's partly because drugs in the country are often expense ich and state-run hospitals have no or limited supplies.

>> how many women and men out there that died meanwhile they could have be alive with medicine. it is the only drug that could have prolonged their life so that they may raise their children for god's sake >> reporter: places like india have limited the number of patents. >> the patents are mainly being granted to international drug companies who want to protect their patents in this country and it means that south african-based companies which are mainly generic companies, can't come to the market on those drugs for a longer period of time because they're waiting for those patents to end. >> reporter: the government has a draft policy that could make drugs easily available and affordable. the deparent of trade and industry says cabinet is working on fixing the patent laws. the issue is agreeing on a consensus >> there are other issues which would not benefit the

pharmaceutical companies, although they would benefit the generic industry and vice versa. so i think a lot more attention has to be given to this draft policy, especially the wording, so that there is no incoherent understanding that comes from it. >> reporter: cancer patients hope an agreement can be reached quickly. they need affordable drugs that could save or prolong their life the u.s. state of michigan is asking for help from the government in washington to tackle led contamination in its water supply. high levels have been found in drinking water in the city of flint. there has been an outbreak of legionnaires disease which can't be linked to the contaminated water. a report from flint. >> reporter: this is one of five water distribution centers in flint. the national guard is delivering water, testing supplies and

filters to the residents. you can see me doing that. yesterday there was one soldier doing that. today there are six. that is happening at five different places around this city. to make matters worse, governor has announced that there is also a problem maybe linked to the water with legionnaires disease. ten people have died in flint. 87 have been affected. the governor asked the president to declare a state of emergency. that would free up federal funds so that the federal government could contribute. the water system here could cost a billion dollars to 1.5 billion dollars to replace and that is because there is led in those pipes that has been leaching into the water. that is what caused this problem. it is believed no have been corrosive water from the flint river. the city is getting its water from detroit as it used to do before it switched to this water system. the damage to the pipes has apparently been done the u.s. coast guard is

conducting a massive search for 12 marines missing at sea since friday. their two helicopters are reported to have collided during a training exercise. the coast guard says its operation has been hampered by high surf and poor visibility from rain storms. the obama administration is under fire for its immigration policies. domestic accurates call for an end on raids on people. these are breaking up families and causing fear >> reporter: at an organized meeting immigrants turned up to learn their rights. fear was spreading along with worry that federal officials have been conducting deportation raids across the country forcing appeared voluntary indicates for the undocumented to act. >> my phone started going off. it has been nonstop. our social media. the organization has been

nonstop. i think the fear has grown. >> reporter: this woman doesn't want to show her face. she and her three children watched her husband get arrested as he left home from work. he is still in detention. news of the raids has them worried that she will be next. >> translation: i've told the kids to stay calm, that everything will be okay, but now they're afraid. they're afraid to open the door if someone shows up >> reporter: according to the obama administration, the raids are aimed at the wave of people that cross the south-west border into the u.s. illegally in 2014 and 1 # 5, many after fleeing violence in central america. we are seeking to deport felons, not break apart families. >> reporter: people have already been processed by immigration court and found ineligible to stay. it points out the president took executive action to shield 700,000 young people from

deportation. the obama administration has long faced criticism from the republican party for being too easy on illegal immigration. now the president is getting it from democrats as well who call him the deporter-in-chief. here the democratic mayor has announced that the city will no longer cooperate with federal enforcement immigration officials. the raids are counterproductive because they make the undocumented afraid to report crimes >> we are not safe in any city when the people who live here, whether they're documented or not, are fearful of the police >> reporter: immigration add voluntary accurates are now lob i ing-- at voluntary indicates are lobbying. >> i think the party has lost faith from the latino community when they're going after women and children and saying they're for immigration. it doesn't make any sense >> reporter: advocates continue to call for immigration reform and warn the undocumented not to

answer the door a boat lead of refugee-- load of refugees has been rescued. volunteers from an aid group picked up about 40 people crowded into a rubber dinghy. more than a thousand people are arriving every day in greece despite cold weather and high assess. afghans make up the second largest group of refugees leaving europe after syrians. it is very difficult situation there, but the exodus of young qualified people is causing concern for the country's future. >> reporter: this is a 20-year-old afghan journalist who is scared by the news of the islamic state in iraq and the levant gaining ground in eastern afghanistan. he is a muslim shia minority.

>> translation: we're disappointed the government doesn't pay attention to us. it makes people think of leaving. it's our last option. we're very concerned >> reporter: last year a series of kidnappings and murder fuelled fears that the haz were being targeted. the overall security situation in afghanistan is worsening. hazara. last year was the bloodiest in years for afghan forces. recent taliban battle field victories and increased attacks provide fears of a total collapse in security. increased violence led to an unprecedented exodus of afghans seeking status in europe. about 2500 afghans have crossed from greece into macedonia during the first four days of this year. the u.n. estimates more than

190,000 afghans has reached europe last year and the main reason why people are leaving are lack of security and job opportunity. afghan's problems are decades old. economy is shattered, corruption is rife and unemployment rates are high. young afghans are leaving the country at an alarming rate. unofficial estimates suggest that 70% of those who fled were young afghans. government leaders are concerned that so many young people leaving will do long-term damage to the economy. they are also promising to find solutions. >> translation: the government is working on programs to provide employment. the president announced plans for buildings infrastructure programs to build jobs. we will provide small loans to prevent people from leaving. >> reporter: many here still have hope and faith that conditions will improve.

the number of those who are leaving is increasing every day anglican church has imposed sanctions on its liberal american branch on same-sex marriages. they voted to suspend the u.s. church from decision-making for three years. it is the latest sign of the growing rift within the church over same-sex relationships. more coming up including tight for the top of the english premier league. more details shortly in sport. n sport. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself, and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience.

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recover from an earthquake, more problem with opposition to nepal's constitution. >> reporter: it is early morning here. these buses have travelled long distances from nepal's southern planes region. almost every bus has several containers full of fuel, petrol, diesel and cooking gas that will be sold in the city illegally. >> translation: we have to buy from the black market. can the government stop us? the police are right there in the police station. >> reporter: since september imports of fuel and other essentials have been limited. that's because there have been protests against the country's

constitution. only half the required amount of fuel is coming to the country through legal channels. to get petrol from this pump, you have to get an official letter from the district authorities. >> reporter: the fish costs is about one dollar per litre. the black market price is around three times that amount. costs of cooking gas is around $80 which is seven times the government price. for those with enough money and the right contacts, the black market provides a way out of the current crisis. we found a person willing to take us to a village near the india border. that's where most of the black market fuel is coming through. it takes us to a place over night. our source does not want to show his face. >> translation: we pay up to $200 to policemen on the way.

they tell us to put the money under the tents or between papers. these activities are normal. >> reporter: when we arrive here, we notice almost every house has become a fuel shop. people from across the border in india come to sell fuel. each bike carrying up to 300 liters which are storied in these barrels and sent across nepal. an estimated ten million dollars worth of fuel is sold through the black market every month. >> translation: either the government should subsidise fuel for the people or it shouldn't make it difficult for those transporting fuel into the country. the government needs to get fuel from wherever possible. >> reporter: but the end of the day a lot of money has exchanged hands. many worry about their future if in crisis continues, but for those with a chance to cash in, it is a golden opportunity

what's happening in sport? >> reporter: plenty. we're going to start in rwanda. football's african nation's championship. it kicked off against the ivory coast a short time ago. they leave this group one nil thanks to a golden 16th minute. that match is followed by gabon v morocco also in group a. andy, what are the expectations from the hosts on how far they will get in this tournament? >> reporter: there's huge expectation here. they are a country without much footballing history. they have one previous appearance in this event resulted in three straight losses. there is huge expectations. talking to the coach before this got underway, he made a point of getting the team up country away from fans and officials to relax and focus on their training and

being one nil up at such an early stage in the tournament is perfect. he believes five points will see them into the knock out. if they can win this, they're more than halfway towards this target >> reporter: how important is it for rwanda to be holding such a big sporting tournament? >> reporter: it is huge. firstly from a sporting perspective there's no doubt this is the biggest sporting event, the biggest sporting day the country has ever had. in past they've hosted an under 20 and under 17 african football tournament but never before have they had 15 senior member's teams here. beyond that you have the fact that everyone you talk to here is so keen for rwanda to be known internationally for something other than memories of the 1994 genocide. in talking to people just before this game they said it's evidence to everyone who wants to listen that the country is safe, it has moved on and more than capable of hosting an

international standard event. everyone is hoping that down the line they may even get a chance to host the africa cup itself. >> reporter: this tournament is not as well-known as the cup. >> reporter: there's no doubt that initially there was scepticism from some of the leading african countries about its value and its worth. this tournament is exclusively for players based in a domestic league. if we think about to the last cup of nations, more than 90% of players in that tournament were based abroad. some of them, due to the system in africa, had never appeared in domestic leagues. it gives a platform for the academy system. 2011 the striker lrb was a joint score. he was picked up by a good team. there are agents here and a lot

of talent scouts from outside of africa looking at these players. bigger than that, it's also explaining the intrinsic value of african football, that there are strong domestic leagues here and it is more about being a trading post for players to bigger and better things elsewhere. >> reporter: thank you. leicester city has the chance to leapfrog arsenal. they're looking to shore up their fourth place in the standing against sunderland. it's currently locked at one one. christianeric son responded a minute later. third place manchester against crystal pal as. a relegation battle that the champions face everton.

>> we don't want to be un realist realistic. it's also a fact. so we have to work hard and be very concentrated and gather our points to step up and that's why it was very - it was setback in 86th minute we got this draw against west brom. >> reporter: the top two in spain play on sunday, but villarreal could fall into third place. in the other days, sevilla against malaga. south africa cricketers are in big trouble on day three against england. their batting line-up has been decimated. the hosts are now 83 for nine with a second innings lead of

just 73 runs. england are one nil up in the full test series. there is just two days to go until the australian open in melbourne and six time champion serena williams said she is ready. she has played no competitive tennis since september but brushed off concerns about her fitness and declared herself 130% fit for her title defense. >> i've had a really good preparation. i didn't have the match play that i wanted to have, but after playing for so many years on tour, i should be able to focus on that and the fact that i have played a lot of matches. so that's what i'm trying to focus on now. >> reporter: victor will go into that slam riding the wave of confidence after won a thrilling third stet to clinch the match two six, six one, seven six, the

last player to win back to back titles in sydney was james blake a decade ago. the city thunders have flown under the radar when it comes to nba title contenders. they rolled over on friday. 113 to 93. over in chicago it was a bad night for the bulls for noah after he dislocated his shoulder. they won 83 to 77. a three pointer on the way to a game high, 21 points. that is all the sport for now thank you. make sure you stay with us on al jazeera. we have another full bulletin of news straight ahead in the next couple of minutes or so. in the meantime, you can always log on to our website aljazeera.com. aljazeera.com.

pro-independent candidate tsai ing-wen claims a victory in taiwan's election setting an uncertain course of relations with china. welcome. you're watching al jazeera. coming to you live from our headquarters in doha. also ahead at least 23 people are killed in burkina faso's capital after gunmen linked to al-qaeda attacked a hotel and café. top diplomats are said to be lifting billions of dollars worth of