>> hello there, this is the news hour live from london. thank you for joining us. coming up in the next 60 minutes. the next major offensive by russian airstrikes on aleppo, but the opposition says that it's undermining talks in gene geneva. the first case of zika has been reported in the u.s. as they fight against the virus. yemen's national museum is destroyed by fire. and the u.s. presidential

nominees turn their attention to the voters in the state of new hampshire. >> we have the next stories for you. barcelona star neymar appears in a spanish court regarding hi his 2013 transfer. >> syrian government forces have launched a major offensive and captured several strategic important towns. they're trying to cut rebel supply lines to aleppo and also to the turkish border. they have the aim is to break through rebel-held territory to reach the pro government villages. but doing this the government would cut off rebel fighters in the north and prevent reinforcements from getting through.

reports now in southern turkey close to the syrian border. >> the change of the strategic of power. with the help of russian air power the government is advancing. thmany are caught in the cross fire and it is forcing many families to leave. >> once a free syrian army command center aleppo explained the objective. the army he says is pushing north towards the loyalist towns

those towns are predominantly shia that run between the turkish border in the divided city of aleppo. >> we won't an good situation for us. they are military bases. there are fighters and weapons there. [ gunfire ] >> rebels are fighting back hard if they lose ground their stronghold inside aleppo city would be cut off from the rest of the province. there has been no easing on the conflict of the ground despite efforts in geneva to reduce violence. the latest is the government push across the country. northern areas are under siege because of the lifeline. >> the air campaign over recent months has targeted rebel supply lines for turkey as well as the so-called moderate groups that

moderate under the sfa flag. >> the russians as well as the regimes and the u.s. want to eliminate the free syrian army. they want to say there is no free syrian army and no revolution. >> the battle for aleppo has reached a crucial stage. opposition defeat here would be a major strategic loss and symbolic blow to the revolution because aleppo is a remaining stronghold for armed groups in the north who fight under the banner of the free syrian army. >> well, taking place as both sides are in geneva. attempting to find common ground in u.n.-brokered talks. james bays has this report from switzerland. >> the delegation from the syrian regime arriving at the u.n. they're supposed to be talking peace. instead, the government has launched a major escalation. the man in charge of convenin

convene convening the talks has repeatedly called for the lifting of sieges and has asked all the countries that are the sponsors of this process to help a range in nationwide see cease-fir cease-fire. instead they've been doing the exact opposite in recent hours carrying out heavy bombing and support of the syrian government offensive around aleppo. >> we were hoping for a good surprise, by coming to geneva. we have this unbelievable attack of this morning, unprecedented air bombings under the city of aleppo and the city of homs. and aleppo is currently under huge attacks. we have not seen that since the beginning of the revolution. it looks even like aleppo--

>> they decided not to go to the u.n. again to see the special envoy but for now they're staying in geneva. they know very well that their position is being under mined by the russian and syrian government military opposite ration, which they believe was carefully timed for this moment. they want their allies to speak out. the ongoing bombardment is not only causing bloodshed in syria, it risks destroying these talks. james bays, al jazeera, geneva. >> well, the middle east expert from the school of economic science. it's incredible the shift we see now in syria. over the last two weeks, how much do you think the balance of

power has shifted in syria over the past few weeks? >> it has shifted. it has shafted, not dramatically, but it has shifted a great deal. the russian intervention over the last two months has allowed the syrian army to create major gains in the north, in the south, and even the americans have acknowledged that the syrian army and russians have made a major offense. they're trying to separate damascus, and the syrian army is on the offensive. the syrian airstrikes have helped the syrian army to make major inroad. not all of it strategic but the reality is the balance of power has changed. the opposition is losing in the north and in the south, and that's why, if you listen carefully to what they're saying in the delegation in did geneva,

aggressive. at this particular moment they have a sense they're winning and things are going their own way. >> they've been claiming before these talks because there what is a whole confusion saying they had started, opposition wants the stopping of bombing of certain areas and in a sense they are panicking now because they're seeing these advances on the ground. there had been no condition of a cease-fire for these talks. what options are really on the table not just to attend the talks? >> very limited. if the opposition is in a very difficult place between the hard anthe rock and a hard place. what is happening the armed rebels are saying look what the airstrikes and the syrian army

are doing. i don't expect the opposition to talk to the syrian government because they are weak. they're fragile at this particular moment. >> russia is starting with the airstrikes. where do you put russia in the diplomatic gains? they support assad. they support the government, but do you think they're truly vested in a diplomatic solution whereby they would want to support these talks. >> really, barbara, you're asking one of the most important questions. not just about geneva but the future of government, the future of syria. the intervention has not just allowed them to make advances. they've changed the rules of the game. the americans have accepted the russian argument. think of the security council resolution. it does not mention the future of assad. they've accepted the fact that the future of assad really has to be postponed until after the transitional moment.

but here is the point. both the u.n. representative and the americans are hoping that russia really would like to play the role of the peacemaker. they're hoping since russia got what it wanted, basically the syrian army is solidly entrenched. assad's future is not on the table, they're hoping that russia would some how pressure the syrian government in order to reach a settlement. that is the question. >> as this i all happening, john kerry was in rome talking with his fellow partners in the anti---because in a way the west woke up to this when isil became a threat to them. where does this leave isil in the context of everything that is happening right now. >> you asked me about russia and the americans. the reason why they're in a particular oh position. the reason why russia has changed the rules of the game here, the americans are not interested. they're neutral. the americans are passive.

they're not invested strategically in syria like the russians. what other europeans are they now confronting the isis and refugee crisis. that's why you have seen a major shift on the part of the united states and europe is because of the syrian crisis. that's why russia has the upper hand and the syrian government has the upper hand even in geneva. >> incredibly complicated situation. thank you for joining us. as we were saying the u.s. secretary of state john kerry has been saying that the catastrophe has not been equaled since world war ii. he made the comments involving 23 nations taking part in the coalition part against isil. >> our advances are clear. they are undeniable. we have launched nearly 10,000 airstrikes. we have interrupted their finance mechanisms. they've had to cut the salaries

of their fighters. we've erupted the capacity to get revenue by going after the oil sites. we're hammering their heavy weapons, their training camps, their infrastructures. we're closing in on full control of the syria-turkey border. >> after that meeting in rome john kerry addressed the need against the coalition against isil to set up support in libya. it comes after the group has expanded it's reach in the north african country. >> libya could become the second battleground in the fight against isil. for the international community this is a huge concern. they've seen isil expanding in a coastal area that stretches from sirte to the west. we're talking about 160 kilometer of a coastal area that could easily be used as a platform to launch attacks against europe. this is exactly why the

international coalition is now looking into options. one of these options is launching airstrikes against isil in libya. the best scenario, basically, is to have a national unity government operating in tripoli with a national army that will take on isil. therefore they're looking into different options like gathering more intelligence, the potential targets and also trying to equip and train local allies in libya to be ready for the moment with the ministry actions. >> fighting has been intensifying in the city of ramadi in iraq's largest province of anbar. isil fighters are mounting resistence to the east and north of the provincial capital. in the latest attacks in the

north killing 18 iraqi soldiers. we have this report from baghdad. >> the iraqi army position shelled the eastern naked in ramadi. very carefully they move in with armored cars as me clear each house. some 300 isil fighters according to the u.s.-led coalition are hold up in the neighborhood, taking advantage of the urban landscape to fire at iraqi forces. isil fighters have boob booby trapped several buildings on the outskirts which have so far slowed the advance. this is the fourth time that forces have mounted an offensive to take the neighborhoods and defeat the last remaining pockets of isil fighters. still they're confident this time they'll succeed. >> rapid deployment are divided into two parts. the first one is to clear the areas and move to the next one. the second unit is to col hold

the ground. we're secttively targeting to further advance towards the eastern part. >> isil fighters are also able to resupply using the area into a ramadi and the armed group holds out in reserve. although the group is under tremendous pressure isil fighters are still able to fight back. using suicide car bombs they've mounted several attacks over the last few days against iraqi forces. including tuesday's suicide-bombing in the north of ramadi. the city the iraqi security forces say is secure, but it's not just ramadi. >> now some 5,000 families are trapped in iraq's anbar province. and what some of those people are telling us is that their supplies are running out. they dthere are no fruits and vegetables and medicines are on

supply. isil is rationing out wheat supply, so there is something to eat, but if the siege isn't lifted off that city, then fallujah could face a starvation crisis. >> well, still to come in this news hour, spain's king nominates socialist pedro sánchez for prime minister. also why eagles are take together skies in the netherlands. >> i can guarantee you this investigation is absolutely a big fat nothing. >> a strong denial from denver bronco's peyton manning in regards to a drugs allegation. in dallas the mosquito-born virus linked to thousands of babies born with birth defects

in brazil. it has now spread to 24 countries and the world health organization has declared it an international emergency. we join allen fisher from washington, d.c. this is quite a huge development. tell us what we know. >> that is confirmed by the dallas county human health and services department over the last couple of hours. they're telling us it is a person who had sex with someone who had been in an area where the zika virus was prevalent. he picked up the symptoms. went to the hospital. explained what was wrong, what happened, and that's when the zika virus was diagnosed. as far as the people in dallas are concerned this is a significant escalation. they're now concerned that it could be transmitted through sexual intercourse and that mr. form the way they make the public aware about the virus going forward. they listed all the steps that people have to take to spread

themselves with deet. wear long sleeves, long trousers, avoid activity in the morning and at night when the mosquitoes are around. but this will be a concern. that someone having sexual intercourse with someone who had been in a zika-infected area now has picked up the disease. this has been declared a global emergency. >> alan fisher, thank yo thank you for that. let's get more on this developing story. joining us on skype is a scientist here in the u.k. sir, thank you for joining us here on al jazeera. so this latest development coming out of exactly has and the thought that zika could be spread through sexual intercourse. how big of an development would that be? >> well, it's been known that it could be spread by 2008 when the first case was identified also

in the united states from someone traveling back from west africa but it's important to get this in context. it's important to know the roots by which the virus can be spread it's already known that it could be spread by sexual transmission, but the frequency by which it course is very low. so for example, in the french polynesia it infected 30,000 people there was only one recorded case as clearly identified as sexually transmi transmitted. so the reason we're seeing this now is because there, there is no background by mosquitoes in the united states at the moment. and transmission is by far the most important route by which the virus is spread. it's very important to know that these other opportunities are there for the virus so that people can be advised what

precautions to take to reduce that risk. >> they have now declared this as an additional emergency. what advice do you think they should give in light of this case in dallas? >> as i said, the important advice is to take steps to reduce the transmission. since mosquitoes are by far the major routes, then avoiding contact and reducing the likelihood of acquiring the virus by biting, this is how the virus is first acquired. but there has already been advice give to people to take care, take precautions, use co

condoms and abstinence when appropriate at least for a period of time after their return to the infected areas. the virus persists in the body for a week to ten days as long as precautions are taken over that period, just a shade longer, then the risk should be reduced to almost negligible. and really, just reinforcing for people there are other opportunities for the virussal wety at this time--albeit at this time we believe it is small, but they are there. information, as with all of these sorts of infections, information is key to let people know what they can do to stop acquiring the virus themselves and second, from passing it on to others. >> thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. in the united states results of the iowa caucus vote has showed just how close the race for each major party

presidential nomination election can be. on the democratic side hillary clinton and bernie sanders were almost tied for port with clinton 44% and martin o'malley has now suspended his campaign. on the republican side, ted cruz surprised surging ahead of the man who had stolen all the headlines, donald trump. marco rubio just behind him with three other candidates including jeb bush failing to get more than 10%. we have more now from iowa. >> iowa, bernie sanders is riding a surprising surge. >> we look forward to doing well here in new hampshire, and after that we're off to do south carolina where i think we're going to surprise a whole lot of people.

>> the 74-year-old socialist is giving the presuming frontrunner hillary clinton a strong run. >> we're bringing all that energy, all that excitement, all that determination right here to new hampshire, where we're going to work hard. up until the primaries. >> for donald trump who once took to triter to say no and no one remembers who takes second. >> we'll go on to get the republican nomination, and we will go on to easily beat hillary clinton or bernie, or whoever the hell they throw up here. >> ted cruz who beat trump in iowa but trails him in new hampshire will stick to his strategy. >> this election is not going to be decided by the lobbyists and the washington cartel. [applause] it's going to be decided by grassroots. >> senator marco rubio with a

close finish in iowa means more momentum. >> we need conservatism in the republican party and i can do that. >> new hampshire will whittle it down even further. it's not sure how many can continue mustering money and votes, but with the democratic race is now a two-candidate contest with no end in sight. the son and brother president was once the frontrunner jeb bush tried to move past with a weak showing in iowa. >> ted cruz worked really hard. he deserves praise for their victim. but if you look at their records they're gifted in how they speak, but what about their life experience. >> new hampshire offers another chance to change the stakes. john hedron, des moines, iowa. >> let's look at more on this now. live in des moines, iowa,

kimberly halkett, you've been following this the last couple of days. tell what's is next for the candidates now that the big test in iowa is finally over? >> well, as john pointed out the candidates in new hampshire, and their aides and political assistants are now heading there as well. we're at the des moines airport. we've been watching them taking off throughout the day. as you point out, the contest has now been officially decided between bernie sanders and hillary clinton. and it was really hillary clinton's to lose. you have to remember that she was, when bernie sanders announced his candidacy, she was 50 points ahead of him, and now to achieve that victory with less than a percentage point from a strategy standpoint is a bit of a loss. the victory is really bernie sanders, who managed to tap into this anti-establishment message. the message that people do not

want to see washington work the way they have typically in the past. now the question is whether or not that will transfer throughout the campaign, which we think will be much longer than hillary clinton really expected. when she started she appeared to be the inevitable candidate, now we know she has a long haul ahead of her give the fact that in new hampshire bernie sanders leads ahead of her there. >> what is the difference between new hampshire and iowa. what are the voters like? >> there are a couple of differences. first of all right here in iowa the caucus and in new hampshire it's a primary. the systems are a little bit different in how they get the support of delegates and ultimately will vote for the nominee in the summertime. both the democratic and republican international convention. what is different is the make up in the voter of the states. this is in rural states. new hampshire is a little bit

different in its beliefs and value systems. here we saw many are devout christians, selecting ted cruz as the g.o.p. that they most favored. but we don't see the voters doing that same type of voting pattern in new hampshire. they tend to be more social justice minded and in some ways more fiscally from gallon. we expect there will be more of an independent streak, something that will play well for bernie sanders, but hillary clinton will work very hard to win some voters. tomorrow evening there will an political debate. we now have martin o'malley out of the race. this is now a two-person race. and of course, she has a lot of hands 20 shake if over next few weeks. >> kimberly halkett, live for us in des moines, thank you. well, coming up on the al jazeera news hour, britain's prime minister welcomes draft e.u. reform proposals.

find out what they'll mean for the u.k. plus, why gay rights activists have been celebrating in india. in sport we hear from the tour de france champion chris froome about mechanical doping.

>> this is al jazeera america live from new york. >> at 7:00 - "news roundup". tony harris gives you a fast-paced recap of the day's events. >> this is the first line of defense. >> we have an exclusive story tonight. >> then at 8:00 - john seigenthaler brings you the top stories from across america. >> the question is, will these dams hold? >> and at 9:00 - >> i'm ali velshi, on target tonight... >> ali velshi on target. digging deeper into the issues that matter. >> i'm trying to get a sense for what iranians are feeling.

>> a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. syrian government forces have launched a major offensive near the city of aleppo capturing several strategic towns with the help of russian airstrikes. at a meeting in rome, the group against isil now expanding its reach in libya. the first case of zika in the u.s. has been reported and authorities there say it was contracted through sexual transmission. after two days of heavy shelling yemen's national museum has been destroyed.

we have this update from the ruins of the museum. >> the "newseum" has been under heavy forces. you can see the fire is still in every corner here in the building. everything was burned down, the manuscripted. here in my hand, the pistol of imam ahmed, and it melted because of the fire. he was the leader of the family and the last monarch in yemen. this historical treasure melted because of the raging fire. this is yemen's heritage burned to the ground. various belongings of the ruling family that governed yemen, now everything is turned into ashes. this is the hill where the houthi-ali abdullah saleh forces

she would, and they keep bombing the area. nothing is left. only pages of old qur'an transcripts. >> joining us live in yemen analysts a london based journalist who has recently returned from yemen. thank you so much for joining us here in the studio. >> thank you. >> we've seen those pictures inside the museum, what have you made of those? >> unfortunately the museum is situated right in the middle of the fighting and it will get caught in the dross fire. >> most people would think isil and then syria and iraq, we've seen a destruction of cultural heritage site and a weapon in war. would you say this is happening in yemen or not at all? >> i think it's really close to the front line and it was hit by

artillery fire. the relationship between intention and results is always very foggy when it comes to warfare. i don't think the intention was to harm the museum, but i think it got caught in the cross fire. in other instances where cultural sites have been hit in yemen the situation has been different. but . >> collateral damage has been a lot in yemen in this ongoing war. you've just come back from there a few months ago. tell us a little bit about what you found there, especially when it comes to the balance of power and who is or isn't winning, if we can put it that way. >> when it comes to the cultural heritage sites. we saw that the youthys are using them as shelter, and because they don't think that they'll aim for them, but unfortunately we've had the unesco heritage sites hit by airstrikes. we've had a lot of important

architecture gems in yemen has been bit by warfare. the north is completely held by the youthys, the ali abdullah saleh-houthi has recaptured the south a couple of months ago. you'll see that the south is in complete control of the government. but the major battle has been under siege by the houthis for a couple of months now, and both of them are fighting for power in the city, and it's really bearing the major brunt of this war. >> no one seems to be winning as of yet, and people who are suffering, obviously, the humanitarian situation absolutely appalling, and tell us a little bit about what you found when you went there, and what you keep on reading and what you're hearing. >> what we found is a complete military victory for yemen on either side is completely--it's completely impossible. the sooner both sides come to realize this and sit around the table and come up with a

peaceful diplomatic solution to this conflict, you know, the better for the civilians, because the civilians are the ones really paying the price for the war. at the same time you have chaos and instability, you have groups and al qaeda, really taking advantage of the chaos right now. >> very worrying situation. having just returned from yemen, thank you so much for sharing. now spain's leader has nominated sánchez as employment. >> the measure introduced after the airries attacks give the authorities sweeping powers, allowing the police to make

arrests and conduct searches without a war rent. we have reports from yemen. >> matters of security are now center stage. >> the measures are good. they identify people and their intentions. >> that no one waiting, i think we must be very careful today. >> at the end of february the three month long state of emergency will expire after weeks of speculation the french governments almost certain to speak parliaments approval to extend it. the state of emergency gives unprecedented power to arrest

and conduct searches without the need of a warrant, also to shut down websites that seem to be glorifying acts of violence and to stop public gathering and demonstrations. the french government says that the country at war. >> we're going to extend the state of emergency. we've voted for two anti-terrorism bills, and we're going to propose a law giving more powers to the police and the courts. >> but plans to extend the measures have led to this. thousands took to the streets of paris over the weekend. many hearsay the measures threaten french values, freedom of speech and the right to demonstrate. there are also questions about the effectiveness of the measures. since the attacks police have carried out thousands of raids, but so far only four terrorism-related investigations have been opened. activists say that the

heightened security has unfairly targeted communities. >> even within the government, there are some signs of descents. last week the justice minister resigned about a reform that would allow people convicted of terrorism to be stripped of their french citizenship. >> despite the creatism, many in fron france worry. >> welcoming the draft e.u. proposals saying keeping the u.k. in the european union. it will make it possible for

britain to block unwanted e.u. laws as barnaby phillips explains. >> the prime minister has hammered out the deals if we can be proud and independent. we want an europe that is competitive. we want an europe that treats us fairly and we want an europe to takes the pressure off in terms of migration. >> mr. cameron has held extensive talks with the president of the council. mr. cameron was pushing for a better deal for britain. they wanted to accommodate his demands, but had to keep the other 27 e.u. countries happy with any concessions. so what exactly have they now agreed? among the key points in the e.u. negotiation the restriction on social benefits that e.u. citizens can claim in britain for the first four years. new limits on british social benefits that e.u. workers are

able to send to their children still living abroad. the guarantee to british tax payers that their money will not be used to bail out troubled countries in the eurozone. they sound like dry details, but there are big issues at stake for the british people. those who campaign for britain to leave the e.u. will now try to persuade that the prime minister has failed in his concessions. >> he has made no progress on genuine controls over the number of people who can come into the country, the qualifications. he has not brought back our powers. the e.u. controls all our trade policies he has not reduced the budge contribution. >> the proposals will go before other e.u. leaders later this month for their agreement. and if they sign up to them, david cameron could announce that the referendum will be as soon as june. here in westminster and in the

british media the referendum complain has effectively gun, and the polls suggest that the result will be close. european leaders are frustrated with britain's demands, but they would like to see britain stay in the e.u. not leave because of this country's diplomatic and military significant. so european leaders will be watching great britain very closely for the next several months. >> dutch police are testing a new method of removing drones from the skies if they present a safety threat. the eagles are being trained to bring down smaller commercial drones. they're looking to see if the tall lans are able to with stand injury from the blade. bp and exxonmobil has posted profits for the quarter, the

companies slashed their exploration costs and. >> exxonmobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas company reported it's fourth quarter profits fell to the lowest point in 13 years. bp's earnings fell even more, deepened by continuing expenses related to the gulf of oil spill from five years ago. >> bp's starting position was not quite as good as the rest of the companies because they had that outlay of the $55 billion. >> those two oil giants are weathering the collapse of crud prices better than others companies. cheveron has posted a 10% reduction in its workforce. bp cutting 7,000 jobs worldwide by the end of next year. most of those jobs in exploration and production operations that will be scaled back. bp's ceo expects prices to hit

bottom as worldwide supply and demand regain balances. >> there is only a 1 quadrillion surplus today. by then all the stock tanks will be filled and they'll start to drain, but it will take a long time. >> but the private oil companies have less command of market forces than state-controlled firms. saudi arabia, the world's top daily producer of crude after the u.s. has declared that it's priority is to maintain its market share no matter how much prices fall, and now iran is planning to add another extra half billion barrels a day to the glut. tom ackerman, washington. >> south sudan's prime minister has said it will take three weeks to get his troops to the formation of an unity government. muchar had failed to follow the

peace agreement. >> for the third year south sudan was one of the countries that dominated the recent african union summit. what started out as a dispute between the two, turned into a civil war. and despite a peace agreement in place, fight something continuing. >> we will prepare ourselves now that our troops--they'll go in to the police. >> muchar said that with

logistical and financial support it will take up to three weeks to get his troops to. >> juba. >> so they can form the government. >> they will go to juba. there will be no more conditions, and you will together with the government form this transitional government they've been waiting for, for so long. >> you know, i want to be in juba. i want the government to be reformed. as soon as possible. we need it, to insure the obstacle, which were before creating difficulties for us to form the government. >> the armed opposition group had pulled out of negotiations

after the president decided to increase the state. mediators agree the position was not in the spirit of the peace agreement and must be withdrawn for new. >> this is a political situation. and. >> representatives from both sides are now willing to reach a compromise so with that out of the way, the putting together a security force something that both sides say they need help with. >> india's supreme court will reexamine a law that punishes people who take part in homosexual acts which currently carry a tariff of a decade in prison. gay rights activists celebra celebrated as the judgment was

announced. only parliament can change the 1861 law that bans gay sex. >> coming up, this young fan has bagged himself an evening with some of the world's best footballers.

>> a remarkable story. they continue to lead the way in england and they just can't stop

scoring. arsenal down at the moment. and they're through against south hampton. for the 3-0 winners. leaving the court and signing

augustas who interest were there to support it. the court appearances are over allegations of tax frauds. his father also his agent, testified as well. barcelona and top officials are accused of failing to paying the correct amount. the legal troubles came back i in 2013. at the time they claimed they paid $74 million for him. but the investigations later showed that figure could be more like $90 million. barcelona said that it paid less than it should in tax. that's what the swash cour spanish court is saying. they're all being investigated in this case. if found guilty they could face millions of dollars in fines and even jail time. tax inspectors in brazil are also investigating the finances

with claims that the tax havens were used to avoid payments. neymar is one of the many players, he wa who say he was a fan of the former coach. >> guardiola, he is a coac man that i admire a lot and i would like to play for him. it's hard to say where i'll play, i'm very happy with barcelona. >> we're six days away from the super bowl l, one of the biggest stars of the game continues to deny any links to pedestria performance-enhancing drugs ban to the league. peyton manning than been investigated after al jazeera claims that a human growth

hormone was sent to his home. >> i can't speak for anybody else, i've addressed this. like i said, that's why i welcome this nfl investigation because i know the rules of the nfl, and i respect the rules. they're important to me. what this report ledge alleges that i did is in the true. it's fabricated. it's garbage. i can give you a long list of words for it. and i can guarantee you that this investigation will find a big fat nothing. so that's how i feel about it. >> on friday, until the olympic games get under way in rio de janeiro, instead of celebrating the countdown, officials are worried about the zika virus the games have

already within overshadowed by severe water pollution and budget cuts. >> we're expecting the number of the mosquitoes to decrease. we started the series showing us that that during wintertime that there will be summer games. and for us it will be winner time. >> one athlete having to qualify for those olympics games is best known for winning two rally drives, he's also a shot shot shooting at every olympic games since 1996. he has placed at the rio games as he competes in the asian qualifiers in new delhi. >> it's not easy. when i start rally, i was looking for other sports to help

me in the concentration. i find myself in the shooting. and i say okay, this is the right sport to help me in driving for rally. but i said why not to be one of the olympic medal in shooting. >> motorized bikes being used in the story.

>> the cricket world cup torment is not normally a hotbed of controversicy. but we were accused of behaving disgracefully. the incident happened during closing stages of the game in bangladesh. zimbabwe with three runs to win off the final over. they broke the stumps, running out as he backed up. you can see them in slow motion as well. the move is legal considering very unsportsmanlike. the decision is upheld with a two-run win. it comes after batsman during

the testing. and that goes back to is the 4 --going back to 1947. lionel m essi, will meet a fan. a video went viral, they have contacted the boy's family over a possible meeting between the two. barcelona. lovely way to end the sport sixth. >> that is a lovely story. i hope that meeting takes place. remember, you can get a lot more on everything that we've been covering on our website. www.aljazeera.com or you can stay and watching your tv screen because i'm going to be back in a few minutes with more of the day's news. bye bye.

>> a major offensive with airstrikes on aleppo, but opposition say that it is undermining talks in geneva. hello there, i'm barbara sierr certificate serra. you're watching al jazeera news. the "world health organization" sets up a gear in the fight against zika virus. the eagle has landed dutch police's latest measure to keep da