this is al jazeera. ♪ ♪ hello, everyone, i am felicity barr and welcome to the news hour live from london. coming up in the next 60 minutes, turkey accuses russia of violating its airspace. the turkish president says he wants to meet with vladimir putin. starving to death, the syrians remain under siege. there is a renewed focus peace talks in geneva to end the suffering. regional security tops the agenda at a summit of african leaders. but the situation in burundi

continues to divide opinion. and around a million people turn out in italy saying no to plans to legalize same-sex unions. and in sport for once serena williams is denied success in a grand slam final. angelique of germany winning the australian open final and her first major title. ♪ ♪ hello, so we begin with that developing story out of turkey. which has summoned the russian ambassador after what it says was a violation of its airspace by a russian fighter jet. turkey says that despite radar warnings the russian su-40 like this one violated its airspace, last november you remember turkey shot down a russian air force jet it claimed that was

flying in its territory killing the pilot. that led to an escalating war of words between the countries. after the latest incident the turkish president erdogan says he wants to talk to his russian counterpart vladimir putin. al jazeera's zeina khodr is live in southern turkey. tell us the latest on this situation, just how serious is it, zeina? >> reporter: well, it is serious. the turkish foreign ministry warning of consequences if this continues. because in their statement they describe this incident as, quote, yet another example of russian eska los angeles tory behavior. even the president erdogan said this was an attempt to escalate tensions in the region by russia. like you mentioned the turkish foreign ministry said the plane violated its airspace on friday. they summoned the russian ambassador. protested the action, condemned the action. we have to remember tensions

were at an all-time high really just a few weeks ago in november when the turkish airport shot down a russian jet. russia did not respond militarily. yes, there was a war of words but russia took severe actions it imposed economic sanctions on turkey and it took a number of actions inside syria, which really tied turkey's hands inside syria. we have to remember these two powers are on the opposing divides in the syrian conflict. so this is a very dangerous situation. we have also heard statements from nato urging russians to avoid such violations in the future. >> and, of course, the last thing, seen, a the region needs is for those turkish russian relationships to deteriorate even further especially given what is going on in syria at the moment. >> reporter: yes. we did hear from the president erdogan, you know, say that he was trying to talk to the russian president vladimir

putin, but so far there has been no response from the russian president. this is not the first time erdogan is requesting some sort of a meeting. even a phone conversation with the russian president. but so far there has been no response. russia has been demanding from the time of the downing of its jet for an apology that doesn't happen. but like i mentioned, these two players stand on opposing divides in the syrian conflict. and russia is really at turkey's border for the time being and russian actions that we have seen in the past. [ audio difficulties ]

i have seen the other people arriving in the hotel. the most senior diplomat on syria for the united states, michael is in there talking about their plans going forward. we understand they want to meet the u.n. and they may well meet stefan de mistura, the u.n. special envoy. i think it's getting late now on saturday, more likely that meeting will take place in geneva on sunday. >> the delegation, of course, hasn't committed to any talks whatsoever, but how relieved do you think the u.n. is that they are actually talking in switzerland at long last? >> reporter: well, i think the u.n. wants to get this process going. it doesn't want to hurry anything because it knows how delicate things are and, in

fact, another bit of the piece that makes it a little bit more delicate even now is what you have just reported, about the situation regarding turkey and russia, two of the international and regional countries involved in response oring this process. we have already known that their relations are difficult. so that's another complications, not i don't think a major complication to this process. they'll take it slowly. they'll know that the opposition team that has come which we believe are 17 people, are not yet here to negotiate. here clearly here to state their case and to see if some of assurances they have received in phone calls while they were in are you ahead will actually come to something. as you know, they said they wouldn't take part in actual talks unless all the pro stringses are actually put in

place. i think now that they are here the u.n. will be assured that rather than trying to pass these messages to them they can speak to them direct and try to encourage them to take part in the negotiation process. >> all right, james, braving the rain there in geneva, thanks so much. one of the key issues being discussed in geneva is ending the syrian government blockade of towns like ma die a. the medical compare at this doctors outboarder says 16 people have starved to death there despite aid convoys arriving earlier this month. mohamed jamjoon has this report. >> reporter: it's continued suffering like this, that syrian activists hope will make a meaningful impact in geneva. as demonstrators in various parts of syria are imploring diplomats to remember the plight of their people. from those that have too little food to those taking cover from too many bombs. >> we have daily kills, many

civilians are killed by these canister bombs being. it's forbidden internationally. just to remember this. okay? [ inaudible ] >> reporter: from a war zone as they hear of talks starting and stalling in switzerland think many syrians say they aren't hopeful. >> translator: the u.n. can't even insure the delivery of cartons of milk to the children here. >> reporter: those in the besieged town tell al jazeera that despite the delivery of aid, people continue to die. >> translator: the aid is about to run out. it was delivered more than 10 days ago. and the u.n. and the red cross know that the aid that we got want last more than 15 days. even now we still have lots of hunger here. >> reporter: are as angry with

the divided opposition as they were approximate with the syrian government. >> translator: this is a message urging you to unify it's not just assad's barrel bombs killings, it's not just russia's missiles, your differences are killings, you need to unite. >> reporter: but 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. bryce levine is director of operations for doctors without borders, joining us live from brussels, thanks for being with us on the program. why is it that 16 have died from starvation despite the fact that aid convoys have been there. why did they day? was there not must food in that aid convoy for them? >> not enough food definitely. despite the three convoys for the last two weeks. 16 people have died of

starvation. the previous convoys did not have specific food what we call [ inaudible ] food. it's special kind of drugs actually, to be able to cure malmalnutrition basically. but this reflects what we have been saying, that basically this besieged area requests much more than three convoys, it requested direct access for humanitarian aid basically. with also a capacity to refer people out of this area. we asked for 16 people to be evacuated medically speaking because they were almost -- they were dieing basically and this has not been accepted. and some of them have died since then. then here in madaya, you really see basically also what is the situation for a big part of the population in syria. more than we evaluate more or less a million and a half people

>> reporter: opening sessions of african union are all about african union and prosperity. ban ki-moon set the tone by expressing disappointment about

south sudan's leaders our to meeted deadline. who want to hang onto power i don't understand their time limits. >> leaders should never use undemocratic constitutional changes and legal loopholes to cling to power. we have all seen the tragic consequences when they do. >> reporter: zimbabwe's president gave a typical response. lashing out at the u.n. security council. >> but the bosses in the security council say you shall never have the powers that we have as permanent members. >> reporter: and got a standing ovation. [cheering and applause] >> reporter: what many people here are waiting for is a decision on whether to send african union peacekeeping troops to ba burundi with or

without the consent of the government. how the a.u. will handle burundi will set a precedent on other countrcountries, holding contens elections. >> we need to find a way in which transitions offer political space for all various actors, but prior to that we do need to find a succession and plan that makes it easier for leaders to contemplate the possibility of standing down from power. >> reporter: 17 african countries are to hold national election this is year, and there are particular interests in burundi's neighbors the democratic republic of congo where the opposition has been accusing the president of attempting to illegally run for a third term. the president hasn't declared his intention, but his government has been violently cracking down on descents. this is an election year for the a.u. as well. the council members of the peace and security council have ended. that of the chairperson of the commission end later in the year. the president the new union

chairperson has replaced president robert in his inaugural speech he had no illusions about the task ahead in tackling the many problems afflicting africa. catherine soi, al jazeera. with me now in the studio is the director of the africa research group marco, marco has a doctorate in politics and international studies and has held positions at the u.n. and the british foreign office. thanks so much for coming in to the studio. how likely is it, do you think, that the african union would approve of troops going in to burundi without the permission of the burundi president? >> that's a difficult one. and without the president's permission, it is unlikely that a stand-alone mission would be approved. so other areas might have to be investigated such as east african stands by force deployments or something like that. just to try to get around the issue you of not being invite ed in by the host government. >> which countries would back the idea of actually going to another african country without

that country's president's permission. some of them are worried, aren't they? they are worried about setting a precedent for something that could then happen in their own nation. >> absolutely. so the majority will not be keen to authorize something. thathat is not accepted by the president himself. there have been some noises especially from the tanzanian government suggesting the mission should be employed as soon as possible. whether they will accept deploying an african union mission without the accept of that president is a different matter. >> the big question is even if they did deploy how would the african union troops go about keeping the peace, calming things down in what is a volatile nation at the moment? >> a be slat wil -- absolutely. and who will these nations be. will it be from west africa, sound africa? this is a really important issue because an east african state could have all these invested

interests in burundi separate from this mission. >> the problem is in the past it's been declared to be toothless, it doesn't get to the grit of the big issues affecting the continent. doesn't actually take affirmative action. the african union obviously is aware of that. but how easy is it as a body to get agreement? >> well, in terms of being toothless, i would say actually it's the other way around in terms of peacekeeping specifically. and actually, the african union has changed the nature of peacekeeping for the better. influencing the u.n. as psych by the intervention brigade in the congo. actually the actual u. is much more proactive than other regional global god is on trying to address these really difficult issues of peace and security on the ground. venture shaly there is political wikkoughby the african states themselves to get involved in solving these types of violent conflict. >> is that a political will that's occurred recently or in the past was there less of that will, less of an ability to act as one block? >> i think it's building upon the successes of other african

union deployments in somalia, in the central african republic and west africa. so actually the a.u. and p.s.o.d. peace support operations department and peace and security council is growing, it's being involved in what it can and cannot do. >> and a final thought, really, if the a.u. did take the step of approving troops being sent in to burundi without the president's permission, how would burundi respond to that, do you think? >> well, the president has said that he would openly attack african union peacekeepers. i think that is possibly a slight bluff given that there are burundi troops out still and the fact that i don't think he would want to engage other african states in what would essentially be a fire fight and this would really isolate the president and his party. so i don't think that he would stoop to that. >> we wait to hear the results of any vote on burundi, but for the moment, thanks very much indeed no your analysis. >> thank you.

now, the iraqi military says eight soldiers have been killed in an attack on their convoy by islamic state of iraq and the levant east of ramadi. and nearby in fallujah five people were killed in coalition strikes that also destroyed five houses and a mosque. a woman and a child are among the dead. a palestinian journalist on hunger strike in an israeli jail is said to be close to death and so weak he can no longer speak. mohamed is the news report for the saudi channel. he is protesting against a six-month sentence and has refused all food and medical treatment since november. he is one of 680 palestinians being held under administrative detention without charge or trial. the head of the palestinian prisoners society the head of a human rights group is calling on palestinian to his support him. >> he's in a very critical condition as he could die any minute, but he's in high spirits

accord to the lawyer who met him on thursday. he was firm and very determined, his demand was freedom or death. he is not the first to go on hunger strike but as everyone knows the palestinians have a lot to worry about, i hope there will be more popular support. the palestine liberation organization has welcomed a french call for international involvement in ending the israeli occupation. france says it wants the conference to revise talks between i israelis and palestinians. paris also says it will recognize a palestinian state in a final push for talks in the two-state solution fails, u.s.-led efforts collapse ed in 2014. largely over the contested issues of borders and israeli settlements. demonstrations have taken place in paris to protest against the swing security measures put in place following the november the 13th attacks. those demonstrators do not want the security measures to become permanent. the french government is considered which labarbera to extend the country's state of

emergency. president fran what hollande is -- francois hollande has said that's likely. >> reporter: it began first as a 12-day state of emergency that was quickly extend today three months. now, that period is about to expire and the french government wants to external the state of emergency even further. it gives the authorities unprecedented rights to be able to detain and arrest without warrant, to shutdown demonstrations like this. and in more recent years close down websites when it can be proven that the website is sympathetic or supported to acts of so-called terrorism. but the has been seen very much by these people as something of a double-edged sword on the one hand it protects national security but on the other hand, many people here believe it undermines civil liberties. >> it is used not only for fighting terrorism, that's a good thing, i think, but so it is used for silencing people with other opinion. >> reporter: what liberties are you worried about?

>> this one, the liberty to demonstrate and the liberty for social struggles. >> reporter: by the large numbers at this demonstration, still the vast majority of french people are in favor of it's extending state of emergency. after all, the french president francois hollande says the country is at war and many people believe him. even though the emergency measures continue to divide opinions, here on the political left. >> about 1 million demonstrators gather in rome earlier to protest against a bill that if approved would legalize same-sex civil unions in italy. italy is the only western european nation without such a law. glaud i can't was at the protest and has more details. >> reporter: they chose the circus maximus in rome, the theater of ancient battles to bring their fight against same-sex civil unions and adoptions. 10s of thousands of traditional families from all over italy together to say no to a law that proposes to give

same-6 couples legal recognition and the right to adopt a partner's biological child. >> we are against this law because children of not given the right. since the beginning of time children have come from a mother and father. >> translator: two men can't give birth to life. you can't call that a family. it's selfish of them to want children just to satisfy their desires. >> reporter: italy is the only country in western europe without a law that legal recognizized and protects same-section couples. because of it it was condemned by the court of human rights and one of the reasons why the government is trying to fix that anomaly but clearly a lot of italians disagree. in a counter demonstration, last weekend thousands of game rights advocates showed their support for the law in more than 100 cities across the country.

on thursday some of them gathered in front of the senate where the bill is being debated. a wake-up call for a are you they say can't wait any long tore keep up with the rest of europe. >> translator: we have been trying to have a law for same-section couples for the last 30 years, i hope the government finally approves it without comprises. because this is already a compromise as it's not a law that legalizes same-sex marriages but it is a first stem. >> reporter: the bill will be voted on in the senate starting next week. but because of the hundreds of thousands of people who voice their opposition on saturday, the outcome is far from predictable. claudio, al jazeera, rome. still ahead on this news hour, it has been a dirty word in american politics for decades. but socialism is now at the forefront of the presidential race. let's take a closer look at why. also the new game of drones were in south korea, where the

race is onto shift control from military toy civilian hands. and in sport ahead of andy murray's australian open final appearance, find out if his brother can take the doubles title.

♪ ♪ hello think welcome bat. and a reminder of the top stories from al jazeera. turkey's president has demanded talks with his russian counterpart after a russian jetta ledge italy violated its airspace. incident follows one in november where turkey shot down a russian jet for crossing in to its territory. syria's main opposition group has arrived in gentleman neave rageneva toparticipate die u.n.-brokered talks aimed at ending the civil war in their country. it's due to begin at that hotel in the coming hours. about about a million protesters have gathered in rome demanding the italian government drop a bill that would legalize same-s*eubgs soups i don't understand. dozens of people have drowned while trying to reach europe from turk i they were on a boat thought to be carrying

about 120 people. a warning some people may find the images in emma hayward's report distressing. >> reporter: they are casualties of war and poverty. among them, a small boy. other children and adults, too. washed up on a beach in turkey. their boat had sunk not far from the rocks. in all, it's thought about a third of those on board didn't make it. drowning as they tried to reach greece, a gateway to europe, used by so many before them. some of the victims are thought to have been from syria. all this, as politicians in geneva gather for talks to try to end the nearly 5-yearlong w war. overnight, another group of refugees tried to make the journey. the italian coast guard spotted people stranded on rocks near the greek island of lesbos.

against the darkness of the night, the only light came from the rescue boat. it was a daring operation. with divers trying to reassure the men, well, and children that they would be rescued. eventually, they were pulled aboard. cold, frightened but safe. more than a million refugees and migrants have traveled to europe during the last year. the cold winter weather hasn't stopped people coming. and neither have the conflicts that have driven so many to take the risk of making these journeys. emma hayward, al jazeera. the united states takes its first step towards electing a new president on monday. that is when the iowa caucuses are held. voters from democrat and i can republican parties meet at venue as cross the state to vote for their preferred presidential candidate. the iowa vote gets loads of

attention because it is the first state of the rank. it's followed by similar votes in other states in, a process known as the presidential primaries. but the result in iowa is seen as an early indicator of who could get their party's nomination. the race is tight on both sides. democratic favorite hillary clinton once had a comfortable lead in iowa opinion wols but rival bernie sanders has closed the gap. his brands of socialism is proving popular with some voters. and the republican front runner donald trump zip now level with ted cruz in iowa. well, presidential hopefuls for both parties have been campaigning in iowa trying to woo voters ahead of the crucial votes. here say taste of what they have had to say and sing. ♪ iowa ♪ iowa ♪ winter, string, summer or fall ♪ come see come dance with me

♪ to the beautiful iowa walls. >> are you red. >> i all the noise, all the smoke, all the fireworks. the circus. it has been kind of a circus. 119 hours from now the iowa caucuses begin. >> so we have a big day coming up. we have a -- number one i think we'll do really well in iowa. >> you, more than you usually are, are going to be the wine tasters for american politics. you are going to be the ones who decide who gets to go on and who goes home. >> next monday night, it's all in your hands. no pressure. >> the eyes of the world are on iowa. and you have the opportunity to literally lead this country in a very, very different direction. >> we plan to surprise some people and win the iowa caucuses, hope you will join us in iowa for the fun, the

victory, and the circus. ♪ iowa ♪ iowa ♪ winter, spring, summer or fall ♪ come see come dance with me ♪ to the beautiful iowa waltz ♪ i don't know what to say off the back of that. hill run clinton's campaign is under renewed pressure after the state department says that 22 messages that passed through her home server while she was the u.s. second of state contained top secret information. al jazeera's kimberly hal cuss joins us live from washington. so how is clinton's campaign respond to go this? >> reporter: felicity we are standing outside the clinton headquarters in des moines, iowa. the blue building behind people the campaign is calling for the release of these top secret e-mails says it hag nothing to hide. it's i safe request given that

that will never happen now that they have been marked top secret. the problem is the stories don't match coming out of the clinton campaign. it's been roughly one year since we learned that she was using a private e-mail server when she was second of state. at that time she says the he e-mails were benign, nothing sensitive that was being sent, things like yoga exercises and communications with friends, now we find out one year later that that is not the case. according to high government officials and the fact is that some of it was sensitive information. seven e-mail chains 22 in total in fact that are so top secret that through the freedom of information request that was made they can never be released to the public because they contain closely-guarded secrets, the problem here is that the u.s. law is written if government secrets are revealed knowingly or unknowingly that is a violation and could be breaking the law. many are asking whether or not there are two systems of law in the united states given that we

know that there are those like edward snowden who knowingly released sensitive information now living in exile. there is also bradley, also known as chelsea manning, who is serving 35 years for doing something similar. many are asking whether or not there needs to be further investigation in to whether hillary clinton is also potentially guilty of releasing this sensitive information. whether it was knowing or unknowing, the question becomes whether or not there is further action that needs to be taken. >> and i guess a key question right now is what sort of impact this could have on her campaign just two days before those iowa caucuses. >> reporter: well, hillary clinton has maintained that she has done nothing wrong. she's at victim of an overzealous intelligent community that has marked these e-mails as being top secret after the fact. but the fact remains that we are now just two days until this first presidential nominating contest here in iowa where she has a healthy lead.

and the fact is that most voters here have likely made up their mind. we should point out she's just received a very high-profile endorsement from the new york times saying that she is the best democratic candidate to be the nominee. but there is no question this will hurt her in the second nominating contest to take place in new hampshire. as well we are quite certain as we have seen already her republican opponents have seized upon this and should she become the democratic nominee this is likely to hurt her in the federal election campaign. >> kimberly halkett live there for us, thanks, kimberly. a u.s. navy warship has sailed in to an area of south china sea that china claims as it's a territorial waters. the guided missile destroyer uss wilker came within two-kilometers of the paris islands on saturday. the pentagon says it's a deliberate effort to restrict navigation. taiwan and vee h vietnam also ly claim to the eye laboratories.

south korea is holding its first ever expo devote today the drone industry. at the moment, it is the military sector that dominates the skies. but as harry fawcett reports, new civilian uses are constantly taking off. >> reporter: it's race day for these pilots. time to get down to business. 80 teams vying for the title on a hazardously windy day. >> translator: i was nervous and it was windy. the drone kept rising so it was difficult. >> reporter: drone racing has only been an organized sport here for four months, but every place in this contest was snapped up in just a few minutes, it's all happening just 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. >> translator: drone technology has been developed here mainly in the military sector, we hope to promote the transfer of that

technology to those civilian sectors. >> reporter: one such effort this grown enabling helicopter style take offs and landings and airplane style horizontal flight. the military still dominates the south korean drone industry as it does the global one. what's changing is the ever easier access to this technology, encouraging start ups to enter the fray. for instance a drone that in its final form will mimic a bird of pray to keep smaller birds away from farms and airports. >> we use open source space technologies to develop things very fast. so the price of this thing is actually affordable to the farmers around the world right now. >> reporter: the consumer sector is one of the fastest growing, one analyst report suggesting it could be worth more than $4 billion a year by 2025. it's not hard to see why these things have been getting ever cheaper, producing ever better quality images and just about anybody can through them. the problem is an increasingly heavy set of regulations meaning the use could be limited to

within strictly defined areas. there are concerns over legal liability, privacy and safety and here in south career arc the very real threat of north korean drones. several have been found crashed in recent years. south korea enforces strict no-fly zones among other regulations partly as a result. some drone makers worry that will mean their still small civilian industry will struggle for lift off. but the racing enthusiasts have something to cheer, restrictions on leisure use at least are set to be loosened. harry fawcett, al jazeera, south korea. the global decline in oil prices has hit south sudan especially hard. the country relies on oil and count for the vast majority of its national budget. the price of oil has continued to drop slid over the past year. from a peak of around $70 in may falling to below $28 a barrel earlier this month. it has since rebounded slightly. moving up to around $36 a barrel. but that price is still well

below the level many countries require. in fact, south sudan has an abundance of oil but is making a loss from its production, a report from the capital juba. >> reporter: the streets of juba are quieter than usual. >> the drop in global oil prices is hitting south sudan hard. >> translator: in the past if you had 20 pounds it would be enough to feed you. not it's only enough to by water. two pounds used to be enough to buy sugar, now you have to buy suggest thersugar for six pound. >> reporter: when south sue dane gained independent from sudan it inherited the majority of the oil fields but because both countries are he lied on that oil revenue a transitional financial agreement was drawn up. south sudan agreed to pay sudan $3 billion over a period of 3 1/2 years. it's this transitional payment that is really hurting south sudan. the government has to pay about $10 for every barrel of oil it transports through pipelines owned by sudan.

now while transport costs aren't uncommon, the south sudanese also have to pay sudan $15 for every barrel it transports as part of its transitional financial agreement. and with south sudan's grade of oil country trading at about $20 costs at $25, it's actually losing money by producing oil. >> south sudan is the only country that i know of that is making a loss on its oil production. it's actually paying another country to export its oily think that in and of itself without any comparison to any other country is his pretty negative. >> reporter: to force the renegotiation of the agreement south sudan's government recently threatened shutdown production altogether. the tactic seems to have worked a delegation is expected to talks in juba soon. >> they have shown a willingness to review because the burden was

very huge under the [ inaudible ] of south sudan, because we were being paying to sudan was bigger than what we are getting. >> reporter: when the transitional fees were decided the price of oil was much higher. now that it's declined, south sudan's greatest asset has become a financial burden. al jazeera, juba, south sudan. plagued of locus are threatening to did he voir sure situationdevour hughesswaths of. a report from the privilege ins of santiago. >> reporter: a single locus eats its own body weight if a day and eats any kind of individual days, it can fly more than 50-kilometers. that is just one locus. multiplied by millions, and that

single locus forms part of a ravenous devastating force. >> translator: the huge swarm of flying locuses arrived here last october at the end of the breeding cycle. they laid their eggs and what we are seeing now is the product of that swarm. >> reporter: this region has seen nothing like this since the early 1950s. >> translator: we are going to where the locusts are concentrated and causing the maximum damage, where they do that they move elsewhere, if they form swarms their nigh great and lay eggs some where else. >> reporter: state agricultural agencies and local people are working together to first find where the locust are concentrated. then they fumigate. most of the insects are still jumping. their wings haven't developed to fly. the challenge is to irradicate them before they take to the a air in fawn cannes at this at thises

so great they'll be impossible to dane. this is a race against time with the local people and authorities working tote from dawn to dusk to try to exterminate the locust before they multiply out of control if they do they'll devour all this vegetation in the whole area, destroying livelihoods and wiping out whole communities. the climate as changed. winter milder and rainfall greater creating ideal breeding conditions for the locust. >> translator: this is a job that can't be done alone. everyone is working together private and public. and it's going very well. we are all working to lessen the impact of these locust eggs. >> reporter: as the sun goes down, the locust settle for the night. these locust hunters from all over argentina work in an coordinated effort to identify where best to fumigate early the next morning. if get it right. they are on course to contain the threat. if they don't, the locust

multiply and eat everything in their path. al jazeera, argentina. australia is well known for its sun, surf and sand lifestyle. but over exposure to the sun's harsh rais rays is being blamedr driving up skin cancer there. scientists are taking the fight in to the digital age, as andrew thomas explains from sydney. >> reporter: when doctors look at a scene like this, they see the creation of cancer. skin cancer is more common in australia and new see land, sunny place with his lots of fair-skinned people than anywhere else. today bethanie 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, bethanie was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma on her arm. >> there were quite a few times where i go out think i an going out to for coffee being i will be out for five or 10 minutes i won't be in the sun that long. before you know it you have been

sit in this sun for a few hours and you have gotten quite burnt. >> reporter: technology to protect people accidental long exposure to the sun and its dangerous ultraviolet rays is what nano material engineers are work okay at a melbourne university. made from silicone rubber the engineers are creating thin, transparent wearable patches. >> silicone is a merl that we use you probably know it from your contact lenses it's really durable so you can stretch and bend it without breaking it. that's the point of this patch, is that you can take this patch, slap it on your arm and forget about. >> reporter: the real innovation, though, is coating the silicone watch with an equally flexible layer of sync k okay side, exceptionally thin, a thousand times thinner after a human hair, exposed to different light, including dangerous u.v. light which is invisible to the human eye. the properties change. at the moment, this equipment is needed to measure that change but the scientists think soon

the patch will be able to transmit wirelessly to a smart phone information about the amount of u.v. it and therefore the skin around it has had. it will warn people when their u.v. exposure is getting high. >> getting honest mat on your phone will be a lot just to let you know, look you have too much u.v. and people i don't think will ignore that. >> reporter: there are, though, dangers. >> we don't want a meter or a censor that will delay people's willingness to put on sun protection from the word go when they are outside. >> reporter: but 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 cheaply within five years. as a wearable technology, to alert people to when they need to wear more or get out of the sun. andrew thomas, al jazeera. , sydney. still ahead, all the sport, including find out if the defending champion has luck on

his side at the qatar masters.

thank you so much, felicity. angelique kerber has stunned world number one serena williams to win the australian open while williams had been aiming for a 22nd grand slam title it was kerber's first major success. >> reporter: serena williams arrived at the finals hoping to

clinch a record 22 grand slam title. for her opponents, an league kerber this was to be the match of her life. this was the 28-year-old's first ever grand slam final. but the might mayor for williams began when she made 23 unforced errors helping kerber take sake-4 lead. it was the first time the german had taken a set off williams in 3 1/2 years. the world number one regained some of her composure in the second set, her play was still patchy but managed to take the set six of-3 and force a decid decider. williams' efforts to equal steffi graph *f graf's 22 titles ended when she hit a volley long. kerber clinch being the victory in just over two hours. sealing one of the biggest shocks in tennis history.

>> my whole life i was working really hard and now i am here and i can say i am a grand slam champion. so it sounds really crazy. >> mine, every time i walk in this room, everyone expects me to win every single match. every single day of my life. and as much as i would like to be a robot, i am not. and i try to. but, you know, it's -- i do the best that i can. >> reporter: kerber becomes the first german to win a grand slam title since her idol stey graf in 199. well, ahead of andy murray's australian open final appearance his brother jamie has won the doubles title doing it alongside bruno suarez. he's become the first brazilian player to win any title at this event. as for murray the results means he's the first britain to lift the trophy in more than 80 years, brother andy was on hand there to see him get the job done. >> it was fun toy see andy there at the end.

i didn't know that, i thought he left to go back to the hotel. but maybe he came back when he thought that we had a chance. on sunday murray, jr. will take on top seed and defending champion novak djokovic in that singles final. djokovic has won this title five times and is aiming for an he 11th grand slam title. his huh component is is the grand slam for the fifth time but has yet to win it. >> i have a tremendous respect and admiration for everything that he has achieved in his career. he's one week older than me so we grew up together. and we have similar styles of game. similar trajectory to professional tennis. and so it's nice to see that our rivalry keeps ongoing. we keep playing for the biggest titles. >> many people are expecting me to win on sunday.

and you know, i have to just believe in myself. i have a solid game plan. and hopefully execute it and play well. but, you know, the previous disappointment it's like -- it's one tennis match. it doesn't matter what has happened in the past really. it's about what happens on sunday. >> lets move to a bit of football. tottenham of through to the fifth round of the english fa cup after a comfortable win over third tier colchester. chadli scoring twice in this 4-1 win. spurs now unbeaten in 10 away games in all competitions. 25 years, though, since tottenham last won this trophy. >> i think that we have enough and a strong squad to try to fight for every competition. and then we'll see the reality

at the end of the season. how well -- how we do. >> let's have a look at some other scores. alexi sanchez came back from injury to get winner for arsenal. that was his first start since november. manchester city causing more problems for aston villa, they won that game 4-0. right now at anfield, liverpool are playing west ham. west ham have a full strength team at deliver pool playing something of a weakened side. the latest score in to the second half, though, it is still nil-nil. barcelona have made a big move in the spanish title race with a 2-1 win over second place atletico madrid. goals from leo messi, luis suarez there. within this is one for barca while amount let co they had two players sent off barca now 3 points clear at the top with a game in hand. and japan came from two goals down to win the asian under 23 title here in qatar. this 81st minute given japan a 3-2 win over south korea.

both teams are qualified for the rio olympics by virtue of reaching this final with third place iraq joining them in brazil. south africa's brent doon grace has retained the qatar masters within buying two shots. the world number 11 shooting a final round of 69. it is the 27-year-old's -- one of the biggest wins of his career, the first player ever to win back to back titles in doha. word number one jordan spieth played 28 holes on day three of the singapore open. weather delays meant that he had to finish off his second round before beginning round three. he had a mixed day. finishing on 6 under. three shots behind the leader. that's how sports are looking i will hand you back to felicity in london. sandy, thanks very much indeed for that. you can find much more sport and news on our website the address to click onto is a aljazeera.co. that's it from me, join david foster in a couple of minutes, thanks for watching,

>> coming up tonight, we'll have the latest... >> does the government give you refugee status?

>> they've marched to the border. >> thousands have taken to the streets here in protest. >> this is where gangs bury their members. >> they're tracking climate change.

renewed tensions between erdogan and putin after russia is accused of violating turkey's airspace. ♪ ♪ good to have you along were a i am david foster you are watching al jazeera live from london. also in this program the hunger and starvation in syria. as the opposition arrives for peace talks with the u.n. in geneva. regional security tops the agenda in a summit of african leaders but the situation in burundi continues to divide. and a locust invasion a race against time in argentine to