♪ this is al jazeera. welcome to "the newshour." here is what's coming up in the next 60 minutes: no let-up in the fighting and suffering for syrians even as talks appear to head in the right direction. the push for a palestinian state. burundi with african ligeads discuss as they meet in the ethiopia.

>> all of the day's sports including the australian open has a new women's champion to win her first grand slam title. hello. delegates representing syria's main opposition group are set to arrive in geneva where the u.n. opens talks it hopes will end the war. the opposition is yet to commit to negotiations with the government. even so, the developments give a glimmer of hope that peace efforts may get off of the ground for the first time since two earlier rounds of talks collapsed in 2014. the forklift began almost five years ago and at least 250,000 people have been killed. millions of other syrians have been forced to flee. many like the refugees you see here. they have been risking their lives trying to get to europe. the war allowed isil to draw

territory. let's cross over to james bays, jo joining us from those talks in geneva. they are off to a shaky start, james. once the opiniposition arrived geneva, what happens then? what's on the agenda? >> reporter: well, i don't think proper negotiations are yet on the agenda. yes, they have finally, said they are coming here. they will be here in geneva. they will have a meeting with the u.n., we suspect. but are they prepared actually to negotiate? no. i think they are coming here and then talking stock of the situation because in recent hours, they have been given assurance when they were in riyadh from a number of key parties. they have been speaking to members of the international community that are endorsing this process. they have spoken to the russians. they have spoken to the u.n. but most importantly, riyadh's

jajab, the block of opposition that is the main block that will be negotiating including some of the main armed groups, and we are told he has had verbal assurance from john kerry, the u.s. secretary of state. what those are is not clear, although i think it's worth saying when you look at their demands -- and there is a series of demands including the lifting of sieges, stopping of the bombardment. one of the demands perhaps is more achievable than the others. that's the demand for the syria government release prisoners, and i think it is possible because we saw it back two years ago in the geneva ii talks. there could be some sort of prisoner release. but i think the opposition is looking very closely if there is a gesture like that, a prisoner release, who is being released, how many and make sure as was alleged last time around, two

years ago, actually they are not releasing people. >> speaking of two years ago, james, at the time it was a failure of some people -- some people describe it. this time, is there a sense there might be some breakthrough at these negotiations? >> reporter: i think a breakthrough will be a very, very long way off because the difference this time -- there are a number of different things, but one of the differences is the u.n. are planning a very, very slow, long process. they feel it didn't work last time. they brought the sides together. there was a clash straightaway over the agenda. the syrian government saying we have to talk about terrorism before we talk about anything else. of course, the opposition wasn't going to talk about the future of syria, political transition in the role of assad. the government's argument did over the agenda, most people say is what collapsed the talks last

time. they are going to do it slowly, not even be in the same room. there will be proximity talks. not just two delegations. there are some political figures who have been invited in an individual capacity. another problem there, they are actually already here in geneva, but they now, we are told, are getting unhappy. they believe they will not be equally treated. some of them are now saying that this are not happy, maybe, to start negotiations, themselves. >> third group, in part because they are allics with the kurdish group, the pyd that's not been invited. so real difficulties here and a real big problem for the u.n. that's where they are taking it slowly. >> sounds like it. okay, james. thank you for that update from geneva. with these talks off to a shaky start as james is telling us, activists inside syria saying the suffering of the civilians

has worsened and they doubt anything substantial will be achieved. a warning: you may find items in this report cities turning -- disturbing. >> many hope this meeting will make an impact. >> as demonstrators are imploring diplomats to remember the plight of their people, from those who have too little food to those taking cover from too many bombs. >> daily killed, many civilians are killed. constant bombs. just to remember this. okay? >> reporter: a war zone as they hear of talks starting and stalling in switzerland. many syrians say they aren't

hopeful. >> the u.n. can't even ensure is the delivery of carton of milk. >> those in the besieged town tell al jazeera despite the delivery of aid people continue to die of starvation. >> the aid is about to run out. it was delivered more than 10 days ago, and the u.n. and the red cross know they can't last more than 15 days. en though, we still have lots of hunger here. >> reporter: others are as angry with the divided opposition as they are with the syrian government. >> this is a message urging you to unify. it's not just barely bombs that are killing us, not just russia's missiles. differences and divisions are killing us. we need to unite. >> unity and agreement have been in short supply so far in geneva, where negotiations haven't even started yet, while in syria, the death and devastation continues.

mohammed jamjoon, al jazeera. the refugee crisis has claimed dozens more lives. turkish media reports say 39 people drowned when a boat carrying people to greece sank off of the coast of turkey. the group included those from syria and afghanistan. more than 40 people were rescued the palestine liberation organization has welcomed a french call for international involvement in ending the israeli occupation. they say they want a conference to revive talks between theisitsis and the palestinians. paris says it will recognize a palestinian state if a final push for talks on a two-state solution falls. u. u.s.-led efforts collapsed in 2014, largely over the contested of issues of borders and israeli settlements. palestine has been steadily losing territory since britain controlled the region in 1917 in what was then known as the british mandate. jews originally only made up 3%

of the population of the historic palestine. in 1947, the u.n. drew up is a policy to divide the land between juice and palestinian. the state of israel was declared a year later. at least 750,000 palestinians were expelled from the country e 530 churches destroyed. israel gang settlement expansion. this divided jerusalem. in the past two decades, settlement with the international community considered illegal expanded rapidly. a senior advisor to the palestinian president authority mac mood abbas. welcomes the move by france but says israel has never taken any talks seriously. >> the french have happener o chaperoned an international quorum or dproens to replace the

role of the united states and produced nothing in the peace process except eating our land and water and separating gaza and almost taking over east jerusalem by the israeli settlement project. therefore, the french attempt really got all of our port. if there is any chance for an international forum to start pushing seriously for end of occupation and the piece process, we support it. and when we sign the oslo agreement, there was 160,000 clonial settlers in the west bank and gaza. today, there are 650,000 of them in the west bank alone. they controlled two percent of the territory. now, they control 62 percent of the territory of the west bank. this is a trojan horse, this excuse of going to negotiations

that the israelis never commit itself to any of the agreements they sign. the drive we want to seat is the drive to start that the absolute crime against our lands without there, there will it be absolutely no palestine to be talking about in the next five years. >> a palestin-i can't know journalistly detained by israel will continue a hunger strike en though he is reportedly close to death. he is protesting against a six-month sentence. he has refused all food and medical treatment since november. he is just one of 680 palestinians being held under administrative detention without trial -- trial. excuse me. or charge. >> the incoming chairman of the african union has called on member states to help in a fight

against armed groups in north and west africa. chad's president was speaking at the a.u. sum nit ethiopia's capitol. his country is part of a regional joint force against boko haram. the ongoing violence in bur underi part of key discussions at that meeting. let's cross over to catherine soi. we know they are discussing about -- we know it's -- excuse me -- catherine, discussing burundi. what else is expected to come out of this meeting? >> ( knowledge they have been discussing bur underi since yesterday, friday. the security council fails to made you cone consensus. heads of state have been talking about it. they will be talking about it tomorrow, sunday. so basically what they -- what

the issue is meds of state will be deliberating and it may be voting on a position to send this peacekeeping troops to burundi with or without the commission of the burundian government. we know burundi's government and the parliament have rejected such a move. a lot of people we are talking to say many heads of state will be reluctant to endorse such a move. burundi with peoples have al president, even if that is contested. it's interesting to see how all of this plays out. bur underi is contributing country. the president said, hills, is not here but he has sent a hi high-level delegation led by the foreign affairs minister and is trying to get support from member states as well. >> right. >> and -- >> that's what i want -- right. catherine, that's what i wanted to ask you about. excuse me.

but the other -- the other key issues on that agenda. >>reporter: . >> reporter: absolutely. south sudan is very high on the agenda talking about a transitional -- transitionalun tip and government. i beg your pardon pardon. this deadline of this traditional government has come and gone and the key issue now is that the government of south sudan has declared the formation of 208, creation of 28 new states up from 10. the opposition -- and opposition leader says this is not in the spirit of the agreement and he wants for any talks to continue. so this is really worrying heads of state in the african union in general. this is something we will be talking about both sides have been presenting their issues as well. it will be brost to go see what

comes out of that. terrorism is a big issue on the agenda and the he growing threat of terrorism in the continent, violent groups continue to control large swaths of territory. we have al shabaab in this region that has been staefrn staging brazen attacks we have boca haram and other armed groups as well. so they will be discussing that and just ways of, you know, working together, better coordinating and sharing intelligence. >> thank you, catherine for that update. let's talk about all of this, cross over to london. bring in an associate fellow with chatham house. how confident are you of the au to implement decisions they make at these sum missed?

>> we have seen in the past t t there have been issues with regard to implementation of decisions. but certainly, i think with particular regard to burundi, there is going to be more pressure on the au to make a decision either to send in protection or upscale that mediation. >> how likely is it that they send in a force. catherine was reporting some countries are actually against that kind of move. >> historically, i think a lot of african leaders are worried about setting precedent on intervention. i think such is the scale of issues, because remember it's also regional. there may be a regional spill over so ilk there is pressure on the au. if they are not going to send in civilian protection. they will certainly have to upscale, drastically upscale their mediations and they will have to make a plan of action.

that's the very least that can be expected from this meeting with regard to burundi. >> with regard to other issues, what do you expect? >> again, i think there will have to be some kind of resolution made with regard to south sudan as the core respondent mentioned. the unity government. they had elections in december, and presidential elections have been allowed. they are scheduled to be a run-off in february. yeah, the time scale and time frame is now critical. the au has got to make a decision ahead of the upcoming elections in february. >> speaking -- >> how are they going to engage in that? >> right. right. mugabe is stepping down as chair of the eu.

what happens after mugabe? >> he is stepping down as chair of the au. well, the approximate presidentt successor to mugabe, remember the theme for this year is human rights and women but particular focus on human rights. there is going to be wondering the political local in africa. all of these issues with conflict. i think the au will look to would be more with its partner, the u.n., possibly the eu with regard to resolving some of these issues. i think they will have to. such will be the global pressure, you know, to clear

these issue. >> okay. we thank you for speaking to us from london on theays newshour. and still to come on the newshour: rescued after more than a month, trapped underground, but will more chinese minors surface? plus how south korea is cashing in on a business on the rise: drones. tear gas turns what was meant to be a friendly match into a sour affair. all of the details coming up in sport. first demonstration set to take plates in the coming hours in the french capitol. protesters are rallying against sweeping security measures put in place following the november attack in paris. they are concerned the measures will become permanent. the french government is considering whether to extend the country's state of

emergency. the president has said it is likely. let's speak to see is it likely the state of emergency will be extended in france? >> well, first of all, there is a vote that has to be at the beginning of february, and let's say that it there is a push to vote in favor of the state of e mefrming emergency. >> do you agree with the protesters that are meant to come out and demonstate who are saying they are against the sweeping security measures? >> let's say the mainly problem of the state of emergency is the

fact that it is not crating -- you don't get any research it's not efficient for helpering the authority to find out more. a fight of terrorism is not efficient for that in addition to that, it is, let's say, giving more power to the security and the police forces but not for the justice. that's mainly the point that is now among those. >> what would be. >> that would create it. the better solution is to really set up long-term approach to share more intelligence with our european it will partners. also, with the other countries,

the serb countries that have information some suspected people, like turkish authorities or even, some american and north sfri african countries. so we have to develop more shared intelligence. it's not the case for the moment. between france and belgium which is at the core of nowadays the terrorists. let's say situation and risks, threats. en though they are not working in a bilateral way at least to reinforce and to hamon eyes their intelligence and, also, on the legal merger to be, let's

say, used in some way by the two countries. >> okay. >> in order to detect and prevent any other actions. >> we thank you very much for speaking to us from paris. over in rome, thousands of people there are rallying, protesting against a bill recognizing same-sex partnerships. it would allow same-sex individuals to inherit pension rights. italy is the last western european country with no legislation on gay unions. the weather with rob. another windstorm sweeping through the u.k., ron this is gertrude. this satellite shows a whirling cloud just waiting to come in now. these are wind storms over 1

sikdp sixty kilometers. this is blown over on a major road by wind alone. so, clearly northern europe is pretty stormy. you have probably known that this stormy weather from the atlantic has to bring in higher temperatures right up to the borders. kiev and moscow, too. which miejz you are talking about rain rather than snow for the most part and springlike weather. this is the hard of winter melt. this is spring without a doubt. not everywhere is enjoying it, of course. this is around the valley, probably below the level it should be. italy is sometimes suffering from a drought. this is winter weather. there is more rain and snow in the immediate future.

so far this winter has not been good. >> thank you. the zika virus is spreading rapidly. several new cases have been confirmed. with more outside of the americas including one in new zee lands. the mosquitos-borne diseases linked to birth defects in babies. a report. >> my whole family saw my chest. they are wow. you could my lips, bupz on my lips, my eyes, my ears. >> lizzy morales is feeling healthy now but while visiting family in el salvador, she contracted the zika virus from a mosquitos bite? >> you have no energy to do anything. all you want to do is lay down and sleep. >> since then, the centers for disease control and prevention have confirmed at least 30 cases in 11 states in the district of columbia. all of those people traveled abroad to affected areas. on friday, a top u.s. health

official said americans shouldn't panic. >> having said that, you don't want to walk away and say not a problem? no. we are developing better corrector control. we are doing everything you would do if you were anticipating there is going to be an outbreak. >> the virus has spread fast, mainly through the americas since last year, prompting the c.d.c. to warn pregnant women against travel to go 22 countries in the region. the zika virus cause as mild illness in most people. there is growing evidence linking it to a birth defect: micro cephaly, babies born with abnormally small heads and wranz. cases are surging in brazil. on friday, brazil's president said the country launched nationwide efforts to eliminate breeding areas for the mosquitos. >> using the battle against the mosquitos. why? because if the mosquitos keeps

breeding, we are all losing the battle against it. we have to mobilize to win this war. >> brazil is waging the battle. on friday, the international olympic committee assured teams travel there that the game would be safe from the virus it also urged visitors to protect themselves by using mosquitos repel et event and wearing long sleep shirts and pants. >> we will do everything to ensure the health. athletes. >> rescue user in china have pulled up four minors who were traveled 200 meters underground. >> irmine collapsed 36 days ago. it's in a prove i knew where 13 minors are still messing. richard martin has more. >> after more than a month of searching, a moment to celebrate: four mineers are winched to the surface one by

one. masks placed over their eyes before they are taken to hospital. >> at the moment, the four minors are all in stable condition and conscious. only one suffered a broken leg. since they were trammed underground for 36 days, there is alternates of uncertainty. experts will need to make a treatment panel. >> the minors were found 200 meters underground. they have been working along with 25 others when their mine collapsed. since then, a search has been closely followed by chinese television networks. 11 of their colleagues have been rescued within hours of the collapse. another died. 13 minors are still unaccounted for. rescuers were spurred on after this breakthrough. >> finally, making contact, they have been sending down food,

clothes and it through an air hole. getting them out is a much tougher job. the rescue is another reminder associated against china. clasps are common. safety regulations are often ignored. four officials have already lost their jobs. the chairman of the company which owns the mine drowns himself. another casualty of an industry badly in need of reform and tough regulations. richard martin, al jazeera. >> south korea is holding it's first ever expo devoted to the drove industry. analysts believe the industry will grow rapidly in the next 10 years. civilian uses are being dripped up all the time. rausz day for these pilots. time to get down to busy.

80 teams vying for the title on a hazardously windy day. >> i was nervous. it was windy. it was difficult. >> it has only been an organized sport here snapped up in just a few minutes it's all happening a few meters from south korea's first drone show. the largest such expo organizers say ever to be held in asia. south korea wants in on a fast growing industry. >> we hope to promote the trefrns of technology to the civilian sect occur. >> one such effort, a tilt rotor drone enabling take offs and landing and airplane style horizontal flight. the military dominates the drone industry as it does the global one. what is changing is the ever easier access encouraging startups to enter the fray.

a drone that keeps smaller birds away from farms and airports. >> developing very fast. the price of this thing is affordable. to farmers around the world right now. >> the consumer sector is one of the fastest grow can. one analyst suggesting it could be worth more than $4,000,000,000 a year by 2025. >> these things have been getting ever cheaper, producing better quality images and just about anybody can fly them. the problem on the horizon is an increasingly set of regulations meaning their use could be limited to strictly defined areas. >> there are concerns of legal liability, privacy and safety. here in south korea, the real threat of north korean drones. several have been found crashed. south korea enforces no-fly zones among other regulations partly as a result. some drone makers worry that

will mean their still small civilian industry will struggle. ri racing enthusiasts have something to cheer. al jazeera, south korea. >> still ahead on the ashthz news hour as the u.s. finds more energy sources at home, how will the middle east relationships change? plus. >> i am andrew thomas in sydney. i will explain a wearable technology that could one day alert people to when they have been in the sun too long. >> in sport, final out if the l a. lakers could fight their way out of a losing streak. action from the nba that's coming up. ♪

hello again. the stop stories on the al jazeera newshour. del grats representing syria's main opposition group are set to arrive in gineneva that the u.n has opened talks it hope will end the war. the opposition is yet to commit to the negotiations. of the government. the palestin the incoming chairman of the african union has called on member states to help in the fight against armed groups in north and west africa. the ongoing violence in burundi. also, a part of key discussions

there. in syria 15 people have been killed, dozens more injured in a russian airstrike targeting positions in aleppo. opposition fighters say they have taken control of several checkpoints the cities in a region where control is divided between government and opposition forces. now, let's take a wider look at who controls what. government fors set to have the upper hand after recent games in the northwest province of latakia. he rebel-held territory is under siege by the military. the opposition's souk earn stronghold is under pressure after the army captured a town a skrubl ply root. decided losing more than 10 percent of its territory, isit controls large parts of the current treat. syria's kurds have gone from strengths to strength controlling three times as much territory as they did one year

ago. leases bring in our analyst. while developments on the ground go on susee what's happening but my question to you is: how much does what's happening on the ground impact the talks in geneva? >> it certainly has impacted it a lot, meaning the process to geneva is the culmination of what happened on the ground since at least september. last winter, we were in a bloodingy confrontation. by the spring, the opposition has recaptured many territories and went on the offensive. last year assad said we are in trouble. we need to reconfigure our forces in syria. in september 30,000.

the americans seem to acquestion he is to the counselor's vision which basically had a shanelling draft for that particular resolution. the russian support for the the dictator has contributed to the make-up of the resolution, to the make-up of the negotiations now, and i think to what's going to go on in thenell next several months. >> how much will it dictate these negotiations? >> certainly, i think it's dictating the mindset, the balance of power because, you know as any student knows, at the ends of the day, it could be an art, a talent, or what have you, but in essence, is it's a reflection of a balance of power. the balance of power was in the ground and to a certain degree in the region and globally is veered towards the supporting the regime in syria because the russians and iranians are on the

ground in syria in support of the regime while the opposition is on the -- to a large degree or some degree at least, divided and saudi arabia is quite preoccupied in yemen, other places and the u.n. has basically realigned its position with russia. so to make a long story short, i think the opposition now feels it's a bit of a host a.m. to what has gone on, over the last several weeks. it's damned if it doesn't go to the negotiations. it is damned if it doesn't get involved without things changing on the ground like stopping the starvation of the syrian people, lifting sooejz and get can political prisoners out of assad's jails. >> thank you very much for that analysis. five civilians have died in coalition strongholds. the you attackdroid a mosque in several homes. a woman and a child are among

those killed. the humanitarian situation is said to be getting worse in that city. a surge in u.s. oil production in recent years has affected dmroebl crude prices and has been accompanied by changes in washington's energy policy. >> has acted its relationship with middle east oil suppliers, particularly soud e arabia. tom ackerman has more from washington, d.c. >> 70 years ago, this was king saoud's first trip outside of his country to forge an aline with frank lin roosevelt. >> understanding each other's problems brings east and west together for a better world? >> i think we sound a faustian bargain with the saudis that for exchange of stable supplies of i am and it has continued to this day. >> with opec imposed an oil embargo, the u.s. launched what approximately richard nixon called, project independence. >> by the end of this decade,

americans will not have to rely on any source of energy beyond our own. >> what happened instead, t the increased reliance to a peek of 60%. american crude production has cud the dependence to less than 30%. half of the imports come from friendly nabors, canada and mexico. meanwhile, the increased u.s. confidence in its energy security is evidenced by three recent decisions: lifting a 40-year ban on exporting american oil, preparing to sell off 1/10th of the nations reserve and in a blow to candidate, president obama put an axe to the keystone xl pipeline project, dictated, he said by environmental concerns. president obama declared america's military assets will be rebalanced away from europe and the middle east and toward asia and the pacific but perhaps

not just yet. >> i think the pivot to asia is maybe not quite as imports asthma we made at the time. >> the rise of isil and the arab spring's failure is said to force the u.s. to concentrate on protecting old interests. >> i don't think we have any good options in the middle east right now. now, we have iran back in the equation if they come out of their isolation with lifting sanctions. they have always been a defendant player against our interests. >> even if the u.s. enjoys a greater sense of execute than in decades, the ties bound to the middle east are not soon likely to fray. tom ackerman. >> australia is well known for sun, surf and sand lifestyle. it's that over exposure to the sun's harsh rays that's driving up the rate of skin cancer.

scientists are taking the fight against deadly melanoma's into the digital age. when doctors look at a scene like this, they see the creation of cancer, more common in australia and new zealand, sunny places with lots of fair-skinned people than anywhere else. today action bethany carries avoids the beach. she sits in the shade and always wears a hat and applies cream. but she didn't when she was younger and at 19, bethany was diagnosed with a malignant m melanoma on her arm? >> sometimes i think i am going out for coffee. i won't be in the sun that long. before you know it, you have been sitting in the sum for a few hours and you have gotten quite burnt. >> technology to protect people from accidental lung exposure to the sun what engineers working at melbourne university. the engineers are creating thin,

transparent, wearable patches. >> silicon, the material from your contact lenses is durable. you can stretch and bend it without breaking it. that's the point of what this patch is that you can take this patch, slam it on your arm and forget about the it. >> the real innovation, though, is coating the silicone patch with an equally flexible layer of zinc oxide. its exceptionally thin a thousand times thinner than a human hair exposes light invisible to the human ite, the properties of the zinc oxide chain. at the moment, this equipment is needed to measure that change. scientists things soon it will be able to transmit wirelessly information about the amount of uv it and therefore, the skin around it has had. it will warn people when their uv exposure is getting high.

>> on your phone, ab alert that, look, you have had too much uv. >> there are, though, dangers. >> he don't want to delay people's willingness to put on some protection for the word go when they are outside. >> as an addition to traditional sun protection rather than as an alternative, wearable technology is seen as helpful. >> this innovation, the scientists hope, can be mass produced scheeply within five years as a wearable technology to alert fem when they need to wear more or get out of the sun. andrew thomas, al jazeera, sydney still ahead on the al jazeera newshour, the first major restoration in 15 centuries of what's believed to be the birthplace of jesus. >> i am andy richardson at the asian under 23 football championships finding out if

qaatr can qualify at this year's rio olympics.

♪ the first complete makeover in 1500 years for one of the world's most famous churches is beginning to take shape. the church of the nativity in bethlehem is being renovated by a team of italian experts. stefanie dekker has been taking a look at the work completed so far in the occupied west bank. >> what's blooichd to be the birth plates of jesus christ has survived the crusadeers, ottomans and an armed siege, even an earthquake but history and the weather have taken their

toll. now, for the first time since the 6th sentence tree, the church of the nativity is being restored from ceiling to floor. the latest focus has been the mosiac. something new was discovered hid end underneath the wall plastever? >> we discovered an angel in its entirety, a beautiful angry that has just the top part of its head missing. we have restored it. this will give a different vision of the church than before the restoration. this will be a beautiful end result. >> we are shown what the mosaic looks like before the team of experts stafrpt work. it is a remarkable transformation, delicate, meticulous work giving the church a complete facelift. >> the roof and windows re were restored as the rainwater was leaking inside the church. these are repairs. the fact that they are taking plates at all, some have

jokingly described as a miracle. >> this holy site is administered by three different churches, greek orth dongs, armenian and roman catholic. they oversee different parts, invisible, tightly guarded lines that, if crossed, can turn violent. >> it happened before. in some cases, there were scuffles over disputes over who cleans which isn't meters. >> just like this, priests and monks fight with brooms following a communal clean five years ago. someone may have brushed a little too far. sensitivities that boil down to the idea if you clean it or take care of it, it's yours. >> those centuries old rivalries have been put aside in a rare moment of consensus over stein by the palestinian authority, perhaps that the results will benefit all. >> the roof no longer leaks. when the scheets are removed,

the church of the nativity will be seen as it hasn't for sentence trees. stefanie dekker, al jazeera, at the church of the nativity in bethlehem. now, time for the sports news with sanaa? >> thank you very much. the world number 1 serene am williams to win the australian open first ever grand slam title. the first german to win a major title since steffie graf. >> serena williams arrived at the hopetology clench a 22 grand slam title. for her opponent, this was to be the match of her life. this is the 28-year-old's first ever granted slam final. the nightmare for williams gag when she made 23 unforced errors it was the first time the german has taken a setoff of williams in three and a half years the

world number 1 regained some of her composure in the second set. the play was patchy but managed to take the set 6-3 and force a decider. >> 22 gram slam titles. cleveringing a victory in over two hours, one of the biggest shocks in tennis history. >> my whole life, i was working really hard, and now i am here and can say i am a grand slam champion. it sounds crazy. >> every time i walk in this room, everyone expects me to win every single match every sing day of my life. as much as i would like to be a robot, i am not. i try to but, you know i do the best that i can. >> the first german to win a

grand slam title. al jazeera. >> men's final takes place on sunday. defending novak championship will face andy murray. this will be the 6th grand slam of final between the world's top two players. djokovic aiming to win his of course, i don't under estimate him. no question about it. i have a tremendous respect for everything he achieved in his career. he is one week older than me. so we grew up together. similar sometimes, similar trajectory to the professional tennis and so it's nice to see our rivalry keeps ongoing. we keep playing for the biggest

titles. >> many are expecting me to win on sunday. and, you know, i have to believe in myself. hopefully execute it and play well. the previous disappointment is like one tennis match. it doesn't matter what's happening in the past really it's about what happens on sunday. >> football manchester united on the derby county in the fa cup. rooney put united ahead in the fourth round match atdark. equalized shortly before halftime but settled it to edes pressure on their manager. he is celebrating. a nice bottle of wine, probably the most expensive wine because

i have received it from, that wine because i always -- i get always expensive wine when we beat the opponent out of the 6 top 6. >> egypt's friendly was sdrutd due to tear gas drifting into the stadium. the gas caused some distress to players and fans. police reportedly fired gas canisters to control fans trial to go force their way into the stadium. they claimed it was done accidentally. he script winning 2-nil. iraq has become the third and final one to win.

it take place later on saturday. iraq beat qatar in a third-place play-off to book the place in rio. andy richardson was there. you the third place play-off of many tournament is an unwanted footnote. this will game between qatar and iraq, the winner would qualify for the rio olympics. qatar have high hopes these generations of players will evolve into a world-class squad in time for the 2020 world cup. with iraq's defense nowhere to be seen, mohammed alavine took advantages but wasted chances by the home team ensured iraq stayed in the game. in the 86th minute. leveled iraq. the game extra time. hussein putting them ahead.

>> qatar could and probably should have taken the game to a penalty shootout. it film issued 2-1 to iraq, the country's footballers had heading to the olympics since the first time since the athens games more than a decade ago. >> it was a very difficult match against a strong opponent with fantastics players this is a great achievement for these young players iraq's 2004 olympic appearance resulted in a famous run to the semifinals. along the way, they beat the likes of costa rica, portugal and australia before eventually losing a bronze medal game against italy. this team know what is possible and what is expected of them

clippers beat the la lakers nameth straight victory. colby bryant will be retiring after spending his entire career there. but it was the clippers, crits policy, who started on the 9th at the 27 points lee, 105 to 93. former liverpool player was in the crowd and had a few words of support for bryant. >> an smoeths time. time to cherish every last moment. where his heart is. i wish him the best. >> south korea have a try and an american share the second round lead at the farmer's insurance open in california. birdying three of his last holes to move joint top.

the pair have a one-stroke lead heading in to the third round but the big names continue to struggle. defending champion world number 2, jason day who has been fighting a virus missed the cut by three shots. >> you can't live and die by one week. it's not going to be the last cut i am going to miss. hopefully it is the last i am going to miss this year. but, you know, once again, it's a process. i've got to keep working hard and hopefully, that delayed gratification is a lot more sweeter at the end of the year than it is right now. >> that's sport for me. i will hand you back. >> thank you very much for that update we are back in just a moment. we will have a full bulletin of news straight ahead. everything you need to know. lo log on to our website, aljazeera.com. see you in a minute.

>> no let-up in the fighting for syrians as talks appear to head in the right direction. you are watching al jazeera live from doha. also ahead: france announces why it may soon recognize a palestinian state. burundi discusses meeting in ethiopia. plus the aust tralian open has a new woman's champion german,