>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello, welcome to the news hour. i'm live in our headquarters in doha. coming up, three palestinians are shot and killed by israeli police after an alleged attack in occupied east jerusalem. and the survivor of a growing offensive in syria. also this hour, japan puts its armed forces on alert, and warns north korea against a planned rocket launch.

and latin america countries meet to tackle the zika virus outbreak. ♪ we begin this news hour with news from occupied east jerusalem, three palestinians have been shot and killed by israeli police there. israeli police say the palestinians had opened fire at the damascus gate. two officers have been critically injured and transferred to hospital we understand. this is the first time that three palestinians have been killed in the same place since the up surge of violence that began in october. live to our correspondent who is live for us. any more detail about what happened earlier? >> reporter: well, foley, a very serious and violent incident

just outside the main gates leading into the old city. three palestinians men, all of them in their 20s, all from the occupied west bank, have been shot dead. now according to israeli police, they carried out an attack in which two israeli police women were very seriously injured. they have since been taken to hospital where they remain in critical condition. investigators also say these three young palestinian men had guns on them and knives and what police describe as explosive devices, something they described as a pipe bomb. we also understand that investigators are not only scouring the area around occupied east jerusalem, but are also inquiring around the jeanine area of the occupied west bank as to what these young

men were going in occupied east jerusalem and if this attack is what they have been describing as these lone wolf attacks, or whether this is part of a wider plan, given the fact that there were three men acting together. whatever the case, there are still questions that need to be answered, but one thing is for certain those three men have been shot dead by israeli police. >> and the attacks haven't stopped since october. there has been an attack almost every day now, and each side blaming the other for the violence. >> indeed, folly, this is the new formal across palestinians territories. while this attack is very dramatic, the fact is, as you have been saying, we have been seeing violence like this now since october, violence which

has come in the form of stabbings, sometimes rarely in the form of shootings, but also car rammings as well, and they really have been a very regular occurrence, but if you speak to israeli leaders, they blame palestinians leaders for what they describe as incitement, and even going as far as blaming social media for the fact that we have seen this violence, but if you speak to young palestinians they say that's nonsense. they say the reason young people carry out attacks or go to protests is because they are fed up with the occupation, that they see no horizon and that is fuelling this violence we have seen, which today has claimed three lives of palestinians and has left two israeli police women seriously injured. >> thank you. in other world news now,

syrian armed forces backed by their allies are close to controlling positions around aleppo. russia, says it will not stop its air strikes. zana hoda reports on the turkey syrian border. >> reporter: opposition fighters are making their last stand in a province that is vital to their survival. it's the only remaining strong hold in the north of the country for groups linked to the free syrian army. it is now the latest battle ground in the government's efforts to weaken them. rebels have sent reinforcements to the front lines, commanders say they have also sent heavier equipment. despite this, they are facing difficulties. government troops managed to advance under the cover of heavy

russian air strikes. they describe the bombardment as unprecedented and fear they are about to lose the only crossing they control. >> translator: it is being confronted by terrorists groups. we have no other lifeline apart from this border. >> reporter: the government advance towards territory it controls, the aim is to cut off rebels inside aleppo city, and sever supply lines from the turkish border. the heavy fighting and bombardment have forced hundreds to now camp out in the open. over recent weeks the rebels have lost territory on strategic fronts, as russia's intervention changed the dynamics on the ground. opposition groups will not enter

from a position of strength. the syrian government and its allies are negotiating on the battlefield. the struggle for aleppo is being called the mother of all batt battles. it is about winning syria's north. for the government that would be another strategic battlefield gain that could mean winning the war or at least the war against the moderate opposition. zana hoda, al jazeera, southern turkey. as we said the syrian government offensive, backed by russian air strikes is threatening to derail talks in geneva. mohammed jamjoom is in geneva for us. where do things stand as far as these talks? >> reporter: we have new developments to report this hour, foley, the head of the hnc, the main opposition negotiating body here in geneva he has arrived, got here in the

last hour, went directly to the president wilson hotel where the rest of his delegation is staying. also we just got word that staffan de mistura, that he has also gone to the wilson hotel to meet with him and other members of the hnc. clearly this is a way to try to save these talks from collapsing. everything has been at a stand still all day today. now you have these meetings happening. we have been told in the last couple of hours that perhaps the hnc, after he arrived here, that perhaps they would come to the u.n. today around 5:00 pm local time to lodge a formal protest over what is going on in aleppo now. but that didn't happen. now they are having those meetings, so we're eager to find

out what is going to happen. a lot of speculation about whether these talks can actually be saved, because they do seem to be close to the point of collapse. pessimism has really permeated both sides. both negotiating teams here in geneva it hasn't looked good. there has been pressure applied to the syrian regime to try to ensure that they actually stay in geneva, try to get these talks back on track, but right now a lot more questions than answers and a lot remains to be seen about what will be the result of these meetings here at the wilson hotel. >> mohammed jamjoom thank you very much. in iraq isil says it was behi behind two separate attacks in ramadi which left several soldiers dead. meanwhile in the besieged city

of fallujah, thousands of civilians are trapped and basic supplies are running out. >> reporter: fallujah is anbar's second largest city and it has been under occupation by isil for over a year now. what people inside the city are telling us is that the situation is incredibly dire. supplies are simply running out. we're hearing there is very little medical supplies. we're also hearing that there is very little supplies for infants and young babies. also we're hearing that isil is rationing out the only food available, which is wheat to the residents there. the situation got worse in the last two months when the operation against ramadi happened. the iraqi security forces managed to take the palestine bridge which linked ramidy and

fallujah. they are very concerned they are running out of food. they do have some basic supplies. the real concern is that this situation may develop from shortages into starvation. an attack happened in sana'a in a mountain range where pro-government fighters are trying to take control. six yemeni fighters have also been killed in clashes around the rebel base. an egyptian appeals court has overturned a death sentence that was handed down to 149 people as a group. they are among thousands who have been convicted in egypt. a year ago they were convicted

of killing 13 policemen in cairo during protests. most of them are believed to be supporters of the banned muslim brotherhood. there's much more on this al jazeera news hour. south africa's president offers to pay back millions of dollars in taxpayer's money which were used in home improvements. plus expanding waistlines in malaysia. and in sport, following the $46 million transfer of martinez, we look at the increasing financial power of chinese football. ♪ but first japan has put its military on alert to shoot down a north korean rocket. the north koreans insist the rockets which they plan to launch this month will carry a

satellite. harry fawcett reports. >> reporter: when north korea last launched a long-range rocket in december 2012, it said it successfully placed a satellite in orbit and says the next launch is for that purpose. >> translator: this is actually a ballistic missile test. north korea testing these ballist ballistic missiles is in violation of the security of our country. >> reporter: discarded parts of the fuselage will drop further south before the second stage crashes into the sea. japan says it will shoot down the rocket if any part of it

threatens japanese soil. >> translator: we strongly warn that the north will pay a severe price if it goes ahead with the long-range missile launch. it is a great threat to peace of this region and around the world. >> reporter: previous announcements by north korea has provoked similar rhetoric in the past, but north korea has simply decided to go ahead with its plans. >> translator: south korea cannot deal with this by itself. china and the u.s. don't care that much. so i have great concerns. >> reporter: south korea is promising severe punishments. and there has been plenty of public pressure on china to punish its ally. but if pyongyang is concerned about how beijing may react, it

is not showing it, picking the very day that a senior special touched down to announce its launch. in france the government wants to extend the state of emergency. it was introduced after the paris attacks in november, and gives more power to police allowing searches without warrants. the government's request for an extension still needs to be approved. >> reporter: the french government is now poised to extend the state of emergency, ending weeks of speculation. the prime minister has been speaking extensively in the last few days, quick to remind the country that it is in a state of war. and the only way of keeping the nation safe. the measures themselves give authority to the police to be able to carry out searches and arrests without the need for a warrant. and to also stop public

gatherings and demonstrations too. on top of that, the government wants to make it much easier in the future for states of emergency to be brought in. there is also another controversial proposal as well, there is divided opinions even within president hollande's own ranks, that would see dual nationals stripped of their citizenship if they are convicted of acts of terrorism. the vast majority of people here in the country are behind an extension of these extraordinary measures. >> translator: yes, i am in favor of the emergency state in france, because i think this is the only way we can give power to police and to security services to protect the people

here. >> it seems clear that france is in war against some enemies that are not really identified. the high court in australia has ruled that the government's off-shore detention policy for asylum seekers is lawful. dozens of babies who were born in australia could be deported to the island in papua new guinea. >> reporter: the case was brought forward by the lawyers of a pregnant bangladeshy asylum se seeker. her baby was born in australia, but now she and her one year old face being deported back to the island. in the majority decision the court said it was not unlawful for the woman to be held in a prison camp, and the deal that the australian government has with the pacific island is valid under the constitution.

lawyers for the woman say she is bitterly disappointed. they believe the government should step in. >> the stroke of a pen is all that it would take our prime minister or our immigration minister to do the decent thing and let these families stay. >> reporter: the country's prime minister insists it's not just a moral issue, but a security one as well. >> i will consider the judgment and its implications carefully. but what i can say is this, our system of deterrence remains robust and has recently been reinforced to deal with immediate and enduring threats to our maritime security and sovereignty. >> reporter: unicef says it is disappointed for the ruling. >> this is an important moment for the australian government to show that it wants to take a reasoned support to what happened, that the high court

decision aside, the immigration minister is empowered to make decisions for these children and their families. >> reporter: a test case challenging the policy was likewise rejected by the same court in 2014. according to the government by the end of 2015, 1,459 asylum seekers were being held offshore. now this ruling will mean another 33 infants, 91 children, and at least 150 adults currently in australia could be added to that number if the immigration minister chooses to deport them. health ministers from latin america countries are holding an emergency meeting in the capitol of uruguay to discuss how to contain the zika virus. 25 cases have reported cases of

zika, and are warning women not to get pregnant to avoid possible birth defects. our correspondent is live for us, and is going to tell us first about the focus of today's meeting. what are these health ministers hoping to achieve? >> reporter: well, the meetings continue they have been reunited for about three hours, representatives from at least 13 countries from the caribbean and latin america, they are trying to find a common approach on how to fight the zika virus. we'll told in about four hours we'll have a formal meeting. there are over a million and a half people that are infected with the zika virus. they are going to be discussing border controls, the possibility of developing a vaccine,

fumigation and other measures. we know the director of the health association is going to be briefing about the latest information available on the zika virus and its relations with the babies that have been born with complications. >> and this is not just becoming a health emergency now, theresa, there are also other issues that are arising. >> well, that's correct. we spoke earlier today to the health minister from brazil, and he said that the country is launching an unprecedented operation against the zika virus, with over 500,000 people involved. 200,000 health officials will be going house by house asking people to fight against this mosquito virus. he also said right now the only approach they can take is to fight against the spread of the virus, there is no vaccination. but the other problem that has

been coming up is for example the reopening of the debate of abortion. health officials are worried that parents who have been bitten and have the possibility of having zika, many people have been asking about the possibility of abortion, also contraception. countries have been asking women not to get pregnant. many of those women do not have access to contraceptives. these are issues being discussed here and around the region. >> thank you very much for that update, teresa. after spending millions of dollars of taxpayer money on luxury renovations to his ancestral home, south africa's president is offering to partly pay back some money. but some opposition parties say it may not be enough to stop a

constitutional court hearing from going ahead. >> reporter: south africans woke up to news that the president wants to repay some of the estimated $15 million the government spent on upgrading his rural home. >> well, i think he's talking utter nonsense, because when will he pay back the money? how much is it? how is he going to pay it back. >> reporter: the president says he wants to put the matter behind him. >> he realizes he made a mistake and now wants to rectify it. >> reporter: a report said the president has benefited unduly from the improvements to his home, which includes a swimming pool and amphitheater. some experts say this is not just about the president paying back taxpayer's money, it's not

even about the amount, some say it's about respecting the authority. they emphasize that one of the functions to hold officials to account even the president. in parliament last year, opposition party officials demanded that zuma pay the money back. he refused. so opposition members took the matter to the constitutional court, which is set to hear the case next tuesday. some political analysts say the president is trying to avoid a messy battle. >> now he has made an about turn and being willing to pay. we have seen inconsistency around the department of the finance minister. this is a president who has become weak and it is beginning to show.

>> if he repays the money, he is admitting he is the recipient of corrupt money. then a krcriminal case must ens. >> reporter: as for the court hearing set for next tuesday, some opposition leaders say they will not accept the pay. now to a global story of job creation at the cost of possible job poszs. the trans-pacificic partnership is due to be signed in new zealand on thursday. it's a controversial free trade pact between five countries in north and south america, and the seven states in the asia pacific region. it aims to lower or eliminate tariffs on most goods and services and regulate trade laws. this could create a single

market much like the european union. the countries represent around 40% of global gross domestic product. but critics say it could encourage countries, like the u.s., to move jobs to lower-wage countries. well, it will be signed in new zealand on thursday as we said, and wayne haye has this report now from auckland. >> reporter: tony's family has been making wine just outside of new zealand's largest city for 80 years. this batch will be sent to poland. 60% of their wine is exported. and they believe they can grow that after the introduction of the trans-pacific partnership. >> if -- it will be up to companies to sell ourselves.

>> reporter: the deal has been negotiated for the past five years. the foundations stretch back to the year 2000 when new zealand and singapore signed a free-trade agreement. but it took on a whole new dimension in 2008 when the united states and other countries started talks about widening the agreement. that's when critics say the deal started becoming about big business and control with the u.s. trying to outdo china in the region. >> it's kind of a cold war by proxy of trade and investment agreements, and that's a real worry, because not only do the corporations who have had special incites and input into this agreement, get to be center stage, but there is no balance of the interests. >> reporter: there have been many protests against the tpp. opponents say nations will lose their sovereignty because they will need to change laws to

accommodate the agreement. but those signing the deal say that is nothing new. >> we have a very successful high-quality free-trade agreement with china. >> reporter: signing the treaty does not create legally binding obligations. those will come with ratification as long as two years away. opponents say they will use that time to try to stop the tpp. wayne haye, al jazeera, auckland. still ahead on the al jazeera news hour. as president obama prepares to visit a mosque in the u.s., we look at the growing religious divide in the country. plus why some zambians are worried about their freedoms. and in sports we'll tell you if this champion finally ended a

two-year title drought. stay with us. ♪

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♪ welcome back. you are watching the news hour on al jazeera, a reminder of our top stories. syrian state television has reported that the syrian army backed by hezbollah fighters backed by russian air strikes have broken the siege in the northern aleppo countryside. this has been reported by syrian state television, and syrian governments fors have been encycling the area with opposition activists fighting back let's bring in zana hoda who is monitoring developments in syria on the turkey syria border. zana what more are you hearing about this claim that syrian government forces backed by hezbollah has basically retaken

two shiite villages? >> reporter: yes, syrian state television is reporting this. earlier today they were only a few kilometers from those towns. a large-scale offensive was launched in aleppo. the syrian army along with its armies on the ground advancing under the cover of russian air strikes. earlier today i did speak to a number of opposition commanders on the ground, and they told me that they weren't confident that they would be able to repel this advance, simply because of the heavy weapons and the heavy russian air power that was being used. in fact they were saying that the bombing was unprecedented, and the rebels were under pressure. now the government undoubtedly this is a victory for the government. these loyalists towns have been under siege for more than three years now. and the very fact that the

government was able to cut through opposition territory to reach these towns in effect cut off the supply lines from turkey to opposition-controlled districts inside aleppo city. now these opposition districts -- aleppo city is a divided city. these opposition districts are virtually ensies -- encircled n. the biggest question is what is the fate of the hundreds of thousands of civilians who live there. >> indeed. za zana, i'm wondering once again the significance of this latest development, the fact that the syrian army backed by the russian air strikes has retaken these shiite villages. what does it mean in the battle for aleppo if you will. as the opposition basically lost

aleppo? >> reporter: there is no doubt it's strategic territory for both sides. both sides has been calling this battle the mother of all battles. it's about winning syria's largest city. it is also about winning syria's north, and it's not just that. this is a -- strategic gain for the government, because the opposition groups that operate in this area are those that operate under the banner of free syrian army or who the international community call the moderates. and this is the last-remaining strong hold of the moderates in the country. the turkish border has been their lifeline to get in reinforcements, food, for people to move and leave the area. so for the government, undoubtedly this is a strategic battlefield gain, and many observers would say a victory in

aleppo would mean winning the war. we have to remember that over recent weeks, the opposition has suffered a number of setbacks on a number of strategic fronts, and so this is the latest setback, and i can tell you from speaking to many in the opposition, there is a sense of desperation. >> okay. thank you for that update. now meanwhile, world leaders are gathering in london on thursday to try to raise billions of dollars for syrian refugees. the civil car has claimed more than 350,000 lives and forced millions to seek safety in the middle east and europe. so what exactly are your expectations for this conference on thursday in london? >> we're expecting a lot of

heads of state and other senior politicians to come together in london and make new pledges for the current united nations appeal in syria. there may be a good deal more pledge this year than last year, which is fantastic, because in 2013 the appeal was only about 60% funded. >> what is -- where does this source of optimism come from? there is usually donor fatigue in these conferences, especially since this war has been going on for such a long time. >> absolutely. and there was a sense of that last year with that level of underfunding. i think the reality is this year the arrival of refugees into europe, and fear of terror in europe has forced governments to engage more actively in how this

can be managed. we hope this goes beyond funding, and looks at the root of the conflict and a look at peace solutions. >> right. as far as the humanitarian priorities as far as oxfam is concerned there are a lot of organizations who will be there tomorrow. a number of organizations seeking funding for education or other fields. what do you think is the priority right now? >> i think that the needs are so many, and so various that it's hard to pick out a priority. we have more than half of the prewar population of syria now have been displaced from their homes, either within syria, or its refugees. many have been displaced multiple times and for several years, and that means that their

resources are exhausted, they don't have their own money to fall back on and their reliance on aid or the opportunity to earn a new livelihood. so we're also expecting to hear conversation tomorrow about the right to work for refugees in some of the neighboring countries. >> okay. thank you for speaking to us andy live with us from london. thank you for your time. now to the united states where a house committee is holding the first congressional hearing on the water contamination in the town of flint in michigan. this comes as the fbi launched an investigation to determine whether federal laws were broken. the problem of contaminated tap water has spread to a second town in sebring in ohio. kristen saloomey joins us live from there. kristen what is happening in sebring, and how does it compare to the problems in flint, michigan?

>> reporter: well, follie, the problems here in sebring are much smaller in scale than what we're seeing in flint. just a handful of local children have tested positive to elevated lead levels in their blood, compared to thousands in flint. but obviously lead poisoning is very serious. obviously residents are very concerned, and there are similarities in the situation here and what happened in flint. right now you can see they are forced to give out bottled water to local residents to drink. we're in a community center where that is happening. and in both communities government officials are being criticized for their slow response to the crisis. and also in both, the problem can be traced back to old lead pipes. here in sebring we know the community stopped using an additive that controlled acidity

in the pipes, and they say that's what caused the lead into leach into the drinking water. the problem was first detected in august. they discovered that three out of 20 peoples that were tested has dangerous levels of lead in them. but what is really a concern to the residents the fact that it took so long for their officials to tell them about the problem. they didn't learn until late january that this was happening, five months after the results came in. >> it shouldn't have took months for us to find out basically. >> they are feeding the houses, so they should have been checking. the epa should have been on this, as well as the town itself and our councilmen. >> yeah, i think we should have been told a lot sooner. >> so kristen who is responsible then? who is to blame? >> reporter: well, ohio's environmental protection agency

blames the local manager of the water sanitation system, a man by the name of james baits. they say he was responsible for notified local residents. they have barred him from working at the plant, accused him of falsifying records, and launched a criminal investigation against him. but he says he is just a scapegoat and many people are raising questions about why the environmental protection agency didn't notify local residences. records show they knew at least as early as october that this was a problem. so that's similar to the problem in flint, the same questions being raised in flint about the epa's role. i spoke to the manager here, he said were notified in september, but it wasn't until late january that they got a call from the epa, and that they realized how

serious the situation was. they say they are going to have to wait and see how the investigation plays out before they can really assign blame. >> okay. kristen thank you. staying in the united states, president obama will be making his first visit to a mosque. patty culhane reports. >> reporter: this person is more worried about getting into medical school than what president obama has to say to the muslim community on wednesday. it will be the first time he set foot into a mosque during his entire presidency. >> it already puts the connection there. it says that -- you know, like it's our responsibility to do it, but it should be everyone else's to realize, we're not

that way. >> reporter: for this student it's not what the president says but what his government does that matters. >> we have had mosques tapped. we have had mosques infiltrated. we have had fake converts coming in. it just creates an entire environment of distrust. >> reporter: the president is doing this to contrast what is being said by some of the presidential candidates. >> i'm calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states. >> president obama and hillary clinton's proposal to bring tens of thousands of syrian muslim refugees to america i think is absolute lunacy. >> reporter: and those are the top two candidates. critics say it's having an impact. >> looking at last year into this year, the muslim community is definitely under siege. we have had an unprecedented number of attacks in 2015, and they are still continuing today this year. >> reporter: this there is a

hostility evident at some of these rallies. >> damned if you say something about a muslim, but they can say anything they want about us christians, and they can cut off our heads and imprison us, and which they have been doing. >> reporter: a growing fear, a growing divide. the president hoping his visit sends a message to muslims worldwide and to people at home who may not want to listen. >> and patty joins us live from baltimore, in maryland, where the president is going to be visiting that mosquing. patty why is he doing this now? >> first i want to let you know his visit is slightly delayed. the weather is not great, so he won't be able to take his helicopter here. he is in the motorcade right now. we expect him to arrive any time. the entire reason of the spark for this visit was some of that

anti-islamic rhetoric we are hearing from some of the presidential candidates. jeb bush said that christians should be given priority when it comes to refugees being allowed in, he went so far as to say because there are no christian terrorists in the middle east. so the president isn't expected to call them out by name, but he is expected to talk about the sentiment we're seeing on the campaign trail. >> what is the likely to accomplish then, patty? >> reporter: you know, it seems unlikely that he is going to be able to reach republicans. in a recent poll 59% of republicans said they supported donald trump's proposal to ban all muslims. that is a much lesser number when it comes to independents and democrats. but he is trying to make this a

political issue, and try to reach the muslim community. but speaking to those young college students it is going to be a tough sell, because they said it is simply too late, this is seven years into his presidency, and they also say it's really the policies that they have problems with. the fact that the surveillance of mosques continues. the drone program that targets muslims overseas, and the palestinians issue is still unresolved seven years later. so a general mood among the young people, is that it's just too late. >> patty thank you so much for that. live for us in baltimore, maryland. myanmar's parliamentary upper house has convened for the first time after more than 50 years of military rule. they won a landslide victory in november's elections. the lower house met on monday,

and now parliament will choose the new upper house speaker. now a health crisis looms in malaysia. new figures show the nation is getting fatter. nearly half of the population is overweight or obese. >> reporter: waistlines have been expanding in malaysia for decades and the country's love of rich food and sweet treats is leading to an obesity crisis. new figures show that the number of people with unhealthy weight levels have been rising dramatically in the last 20 years. malaysians do know their diet isn't perfect. >> i try to eat more vegetables. and [ inaudible ], you know. >> i'm very careful what i eat. but i'm also eating too much. lack of exercise. and exercise is extremely important. >> reporter: in 1996 just 4.4%

of malaysia's population was classed as obese. ten years later that skyrocketed to 14%. now the figure is running at almost 18%, which means more than 5 million malaysians. the number of overweight people is also at record levels at 30%. >> i think the solution must be educating the young people now. for example, in primary school children, if we educate at 10 years old, 11 years old, they will become adults 20 years later, they will become healthy adults. less obesity,less overweight. >> reporter: doctors say half of the country is suffering from high cholesterol. with the availability of fast-food and in malaysia's case a rich array of traditional dishes, the government has an uphill struggle in this trying to persuade the public it's

about watching what you eat, and the amount that you eat that will lead to a healthier li lifesty lifestyle. coming up, we hear from former world number 1, rory mcelroy about why he misses tiger woods. sports is next. stay with us.

time now for all of the sports, here is jo. >> thank you so much. we're at the business end of the african nations tournament.

that is exclusively for players who play on the tonight innocent. guinea are making their tournament debut right now. this match is coming to an end, and it is still goalless as you can see. staying with football and chinese side have been fined $160,000 for secretly filming their opponents training ahead of last year's asian's championships league final, which they one. this comes on the day they signed the columbian forward for a record fee of $46 million. martinez was only at athletico for seven months, scoring just twice in 15 appearances. the 29 year old has signed a four-year deal with the current asian champions. well, it has certainly been a busy transfer window for the

chinese team. it also breaks the asian transfer record. that was originally held by brazilian midfielder, he moved from chelsea for a reported $36 million just seven days ago. ivory coast forward made the switch from roma to china fortune fc, that brings the total spent by china clubs in the transfer window to $216 million. that's the most by any league in the world, including the english premiere league. just days before the super bowl, the issue of head injuries is once again in the spotlight. a former cleveland raiders quarterback was suffering from the disease linked to repeated blows to the head. he is the highest profile nfl

player to be diagnosed with the disease so far. two more quarterbacks in focus this week are cam newton and peyton manning. manning has tipped newton as the face of the nfl for the next ten years and his counterpart also has plenty of respect for the veteran player. >> there's a lot of things that payton has done, is doing, that i wish i could mimic. but i can't do it like peyton can. i try to translate some of the things i have learned from him and other quarterbacks in this league and i try to apply it to my own. roger fedor will be out of action for a month after a knee surgery. the swiss player hopes to be

back in action at the master's event at indian wells at the start of march. well in other sports, the proven track record in dubai is rory mcelroy. he is looking for a third straight victory in the emirates at this week's desert classic. he closed 2015 with victory at the end of season championship in november. missing from the lineup this year is tiger woods, who's return to the became keeps getting further away because of ongoing back injuries. >> i think phil has even said that maybe if phil didn't go up against tiger in his prime he would have won more majors, but he still felt that tiger brought out the best in him. i would still like to see him

have another crack at a major. cricket and new zealand, they won the first of their international three-match series. the captain was playing in his last international before his retirement. they reduced australia to 41-6. the world champions eventually bowled out for 148. new zealand winning by 159 runs. after their test series loss to england which knocked them off of the top spot in the world rankings, south africa's cricketers are looking to bounce back. but england have set them a huge target of 400 runs for victory in this match after butler lead the charge.

south africa 6-0 loss after the first over. in the nba james hard inreported a double-double as he helped the houston rockets to 115 to 102 win. meanwhile the portland trailblazers reported a sixth consecutive win. cj mccullen finished with 30 points and 6 assists for the blazers. the victory was their ninth in 11 games. this man, 11-time world surfing champion has finally ended a two-year title drought. he celebrates his 44th birthday this week, and took victory halfway through the 30-minute final, much to his relief. and that is all of the sport for now. more with robin later. >> thank you so much. that's it for this nows hour. for me and the whole team in

doha, thanks for watching. ♪

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