>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ welcome to the news hour, i'm sami zeidan in doha. coming up in the next 60 minutes. syria talks suspended. the war rages on as world leaders in london made an urgent plea for aid. italy demands an investigation into the death of a student who disappeared in cairo. [ explosion ] >> protests bring athens to a stand still as thousands of workers strike.

i'm here with the sport, on the day big changes are announced to the way world cricket is run. pakistan launch a big lead in dubai, hoping it will revive the game back home. ♪ 70 world leaders this are in london hoping to raise $9 billion in aid in syria. they are focusing on education and jobs for millions of refugees displaced by the conflict. barnaby phillips has more from the conference in london. >> reporter: the u.n. calls it the worst humanitarian crisis since the second -- world war. the opening speeches were all

the more somber. >> the situation is not sustainable. we cannot go on like this. there's no military solution. only political dialogue, inclusive political dialogue will rescue the syrian people from their intolerable sufferings. >> reporter: there is a depressing assumption behind conference that the syrian cryries will be with us for a long time to come. they need to look at education and employment for millions of syrians in the long years before they return home. from turkey, lebanon, and jordan, they cannot carry on without more assistance. >> looking into the eyes of my people, and seeing the hardship and distress they carry, i must tell you, we have reached our limit.

the people of jordan, their well-being and safety are my first priority. our country will continue to do what we can do to help those in need, but it cannot be at the expense of our own people's welfare. >> reporter: so there's something of a grand bargain on offer here, donors give more aid to syria's neighbors, and in turn their open up labor markets and ensure more syrian children go to school, but as the norwegian prime minister told me in pointed remarks, the real solution is peace. >> we need to build -- have confidence building measures in syria. in that means the fighting has to decrease. russia has to take the responsibility to make sure that there is a possibility for this

peace negotiation. i don't think russia would like to stay on forever with an expensive war in syria. >> reporter: but european countries have their own reasons to give here. by making life tolerable for syrians in the region, they will be less likely to come to europe. >> james bayes is live for us in london. james how is that aid effort coming together? >> reporter: certainly the money is coming in, some of the money, but a very ambitious total that they need in order to fund the satisfy that is the humanitarian situation in syria. they want some $9 billion, and it's worth reminding you, sami, that this is the fourth one of these conferences, i was at the first one, where they wanted $1.2 billion.

so i think it shows you the scale of what has happened in syria in recent years. it is only getting worse. and the misery continues. and every humanitarian will tale you they can raise the money to deal with the war, but clearly raising this money does not stop the fighting. >> and it doesn't .seem like those talks in geneva are heading in the direction of stopping the fighting, does it? >> reporter: no, it's really pretty grim when you looked at what happened in geneva in recent days, and the comments of the parties that were involved. the und.n. officially saying the talks are paused and start again later. but many say that they think it is going to be very difficult to come back to the negotiating table in geneva because of this offensive that is going on.

because of this bombardment by the russians on the ground. >> they expect that to continue. and they think it will be hard to get the people on the ground to return to the negotiating table. i have spoken to a number of u.n. insiders, and they are also making that point. they will be trying, but they know it will be difficult. >> all right. thank you, james bayes for that update from done. the government and its allies have managed to cut the supply line of the opposition to turkey. they reached towns that have been under siege for more than three years. that allowed them to block the main road that links turkey to

opposition-controlled districts. then they pushed further south to block the road that allows any access to other areas under rebel control. so first of all, zana is the city now on the verge of being completely encircled? what is the situation in >> reporter: well, this is the objective of the government as their allies as we speak. if what we understand is that there is fighting in towns and villages north of the opposition-controlled districts of aleppo city. like you mentioned earlier, the first phase of this government offensive is now over. the government and itself allies cut through rebel-held territory. and they are using those towns as a lunch pad to make further gains in the aleppo countryside. the fighting is continuing, there is still one road that

gets you into opposition-controlled districts in aleppo city and out of that area, because aleppo is a divided city, the east is in the hands of the opposition, the west is in the hands of the government. we understand that rebels are fighting back, but it's not clear whether or not they will be able to confront the assault, because they were not able to prevent the adz vansment because of the intensity of the bombardment. more than 500 air strikes in the past few days from what we understand. once you reach the turkish border, you are basically cutting off the rebels' supply line. it has been the lifeline for the last few years. they haven't been able to reach the border as of yet, but i can tell you fighting is ongoing. >> no doubt we'll be talking about this later on.

for now thank you. at least 18 iraqi solders have been killed by isil suicide attacks. one car bomb parked at army barracks in ramadi where fighting has continued for months despite government claims that it controls 95% of the city. fallujah is under siege by iraqi forces, and our correspondent imran khan reports on the impact on civilians. >> reporter: these pictures from august are the last time any footage was seen from inside fallujah. back then heavy shelling from government forces hit civilians who buried their dead. now the situation is even worse. iraqi security forces have completely cut off the town and supplies are running out. by phone we spoke to a fallujah resident trapped inside the city. he has taken a great risk speaking to us, as isil has

banned all communications with the media. >> translator: nowadays fallujah does not have the basic necessity for life. a sack of 50 kilos for wheat would cost nearly 900 usd. some residents had to sell their cars just to buy wheat for their families. there is no source for income. medicines have run out. last month ten people died for a lack of insulin. >> reporter: one analyst says the go has little choice other than to lay siege to the town. >> translator: there are no alternative plans. all of the available plans are either to break into fallujah and cause huge civilian casualties or shelling it by air strikes, and that would cause catastrophic results. >> reporter: not all agree, the governor of anbar has made a plea for food supplies to be air

dropped into the city. so far aid agencies haven't comments on the siege of fallujah, and the government is not allowing journalists to visit the town. it is clear the situation is desperate. imran khan, al jazeera, baghdad. dozens of civilians in yemen have been killed in the city of ta'izz between houthi rebelling and forces loyal to the government. and in the east u.s. air strikes have reportedly left 12 people dead. >> reporter: more attacks on civilian areas, more children cut up in the fighting. people here say these children were wounded in shelling by houthi fighters. four children died. >> translator: the houthis hit this area by rocket. my head was injured in his arms legs, and head. he died.

>> reporter: ta'izz has been besieged by houthi fighters for months. and hospitals are fast running out of medical supplies. the relentless fighting has killed hundreds of civilians and created a dire humanitarian situation. services have been suspended like in many other parts of yemen. people fear outbreak of disease. pro-government fighters weren't able to close in from taste province after they faced stiff resistance there. [ explosion ] >> reporter: the army and pro-government fighters say they have taken control of anning important crossing linking in sana'a. fighters say taking over the mountains will cut off supplies to the militias and guards loyal to former president saleh. but more than 60 soldiers and fight verse been killed on both

sides. >> translator: the battles are undergoing. and our troops [ inaudible ] a mountainous region from the east, and here we are on the verge of eliminating the remaining pockets of houthis in this district. >> reporter: but houthis have the support of some tribes in the province, and that has slowed the military's progress in taking back territory there. the lack of security is helping groups like al-qaeda in the south. it has been targeted by u.s. drone strikes, and one such strike on thursday, a local commander was reportedly killed. he was a field commander of many provinces in yemen for al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula. his death if confirmed is seen as a blow by al-qaeda. for millions of yemenese struggling to survive, victories

on both sides don't mean much. there's much more to come here on the news hour. why africa's largest oil producer is looking to agriculture to save the day. >> reporter: i'm in brazil where thousands of people have been infected by the zika virus, coming up, i'll tell you what we know and don't know about its consequences. and the u.s. women's team find themselves in a legal battle with their own m med -- federation. jo will have the details. who young israelis found guilty of murdering a palestinian teenager have been sentenced to long prison terms. the 16-year-old was kidnapped, beaten, and burned to death in 2014.

so do the family feel that justice has been done in this case? >> reporter: frankly, sammy, no. the mother of the boy, as soon as the sentencing was read out, she started shouting at the judges, saying that the sentences given to these israeli min miners, simply are not enough. at least one of them should received a life sentence. one receiving only 21 years, saying he will be released in as few as ten years from now, and saying this has been a gross miscarriage of justice. the family has said they will try to take this case even further, going as far as international courts if that is available to them. whatever the case, it is a painful day for the family, but this ordeal is by no means over

for them. they, of course, are still waiting to hear what the court is going to rule on the fundings of a third suspect involved in this case. this was a 31-year-old israeli settler. the courts have said he has -- he was the one who lead the killing of the boy, but the reason he hasn't been convicted or faced any kind of sentencing, is because his lawyers have pleaded a case of insanity, or that he suffers from some sort of mental problems. the courts were supposed to rule on his case yesterday, wednesday, but it has now been delayed for a week. as we were saying the sentencing of these two young minors have created an awful lot of upset for the family. this or deal, as we have been saying isn't over for them yet. >> thank you so much. now italy is demanding an

investigation into the death of a student in cairo, who's body was found showing signs of torture. the 28 year old disappeared on the 25th of january. the italian government has urgently summoned the egyptian ambassador to express concerns. >> reporter: on thursday the italian foreign minister has summoned the egyptian ambassador to italy following the suspicious death of a student in cairo. a 28-year-old student who has been living in cairo. he disappeared on the 25th of january, the anniversary of the uprising that lead to the disposition of the former president. his body showed signs of torture, signs of cigarette burns, and stab wounds.

they have also called for giant investigation, calling to make sure that it is fair. the local authority in the province initially said in fact that the death of the man was the consequence of a road accident. clashes have broken out in greece as workers walked off of the job in a nation-wide protest. thousands took to the streets protesting against the government's planned pension reform and salary cuts. tensions were high as violence broke out between workers and police. it brought the city of athens to a virtual stand still. >> reporter: this is the third general strike since [ inaudible ] austerity. but unlike the other two, it has

brought support from the upper middle class and the countryside, they are angry about the proposed social security overhaul. it would cost a million taxpayers 27% of their income, health coverage, and pensions. effectively doubling their contributions. many say abiding by the law will put them out of business, so they will have to tax evade to survive. people are out on the streets in this germany too, but they are celebrating, rather than protesting, it's carnival week in cologne, the first since those new year attacks that shocked germany. dominic kane has more from cologne. >> reporter: it's a cold wet winter's day here, but the color is being brought by thousands of partygoers who have come here

for carnival. and what makes them secure here is that thousands of police officers that local officials have drafted in here. we know in the aftermath of what happened on new year's eve, public opinion here in germany has changed certainly regarding the asylum and refugees policies of the government in berlin. the feeling here, in the mood of the city, though people i have been speaking to say they think it is important to distinguish between those who are guilty and those who are innocent. and they say many refugees are innocent. and certainly the feeling is one of celebration here in cologne today, no question about that. opposition parties have rejected any offer from south africa's president to repay some of the funds used on his private

home. >> reporter: the constitutional court in south africa has asked the public [ inaudible ] president jacob zuma and the opposition party to come to an agreement. but the leader of the economic freedom fighters has said there will be no agreement. >> we know what we're doing. we're not playing. we don't need talks. when we declare a war, we fight it to the bitter end. this is not the end. zuma must go down. zuma must leave the office of the president. >> reporter: the president says he wants this matter to end. it has dragged on for way too long. but tuesday the 9th of february could be a dramatic day here. opposition parties are planning to march, and the leaders are washing this is just the beginning of many more mass

marches planned. as the zika virus spreads across the americas, health officials in brazil have confirmed in two cases last year, the virus was transmitted through blood transfusions. the u.s. has said it will work with brazil to develop a vaccine against the virus. lucia newman reports on the latest research efforts. >> it's carnival time in brazil, but at this hospital, there's nothing festive for scores of pregnant women who's babies are being diagnosed with microcephaly. rebecca who caught the virus when she was in her second month is a prime suspect. >> translator: your baby's head looks norm also far, but it's too early to know for sure. we need another seven week ts. >> reporter: every day more and more people are being inflected by the zika virus and every day more mothers with giving birth

to baby's with microcephaly, but the speculation about the possible consequences of the zika virus is spreading as quickly as the epidemic itself. we travelled to sao paulo to try to get answers from researchers at the forefront of the investigation into this little-known mosquito-born virus. pregnant mice are being infected to see if they will develop brain lesions. but it's too soon to reach any conclusions. meanwhile women all over the americas are anxious to know if an infected person is safe to get pregnant months of years after the virus has left the bloodstream. could that person still be carrying the zika virus and could she pass it on to hur child. >> we do have an answer for that. i would [ inaudible ] a virus in the seamemen.

>> if you have a war, you don't just send the soldiers, you need the army, the navy, everything. >> reporter: this director is optimistic that the virus's proximity to dengue, for which they recently found a vaccine, could speed up the process. >> we know many things on dengue, so we could use it for zika. >> reporter: but as researchers work around the clock to unravel the mysteries of this virus, they admit there are more questions than answers. they cannot confirm or rule out that the virus could be sexually transmitted, or that children could suffer brain lesions if

they become infected at a young age. they need more money and time for research. back at the hospital, rebecca puts on a brave face as she receives a son that gram photo of her daughter. still to come on al jazeera, this man looks to have won his case at the u.n., but he is still in the embassy, and police say he still faces arrest. and ahead of super bowl 50, we hear from cam newton about his plans to become the biggest star in the nfl. ♪

>> even though we're in here, we're still human. >> how harsh conditions affect people on both sides of the bars. >> why did scott take his own life? >> the jail. >> some people might be scared to speak out but i'm not. i'm telling the truth. ♪ you are watching the al jazeera news hour. time to recap our headlines. 70 world leaders are gathering in this london to raise $9 billion in aid for syrians. they are focusing on education and jobs for millions of people who's lives have been disrupted

by the war in syria. the u.s. has promised nearly a billion dollars. italy is demanding an investigation into the death of a student in cairo. his body was found with signs of torture. the 28 year old disappeared on january 25th. protesters have brought the greek capitol at -- athens to a stand still. as the government offensives continue with the realm of russian air strikes in syria, there's more diplomatic fallout from the failure of those diplomatic talks in geneva. let's go to moscow now and speak with rory challands. the russians have been accused of bombing those planned peace talks into failure. what is moscow saying about that? >> reporter: well, what moscow has been saying, particularly the defense ministry here has been trying to shift the focus today and point the finger at

turkey. it says that turkey -- it has good evidence, moscow says, is planning some sort of ground offensive, a military incursion into syria. it says it has video evidence. in fact it realized video evidence recently of cross-border shelling from the turkish side into northern syria, and it says it is surprised that the americans and nato have not said anything more about this. in what the russians are saying are an imminent support. leaders have met to discuss raising money to assist with the syrian refugees. many are educated and would like to work, but are struggling to

find employment. our correspondent reports from jer -- jordan. >> reporter: these people are studies two days a week to be pharmacists. they have scholarships from an aid organization, but as syrian refugees when they graduate, they won't be allowed to work. mohamed lives with his sister and children. in syria he studied chemical engineering. after he arrived in jordan, he learned how to repair cell phones, but he is not allowed to do that either? >> translator: when you go to a shop, first they say syrians are forbidden from working, and if you find someone who knows someone from a labor industry, they ask for a full set of tools, and it's very expensive. >> reporter: he says one by one almost all of his friends have left. many of them heading for europe along the routes taken by those

without visas. he and achmed spent a lot of their time walking around the streets, window shopping for things they can't buy. achmed still has a bullet in his shoulder after being shot in syria. he worked for a sweet shop for a while, but was put in jail for a week for working illegally. jordan says its economy and infrastructure is overwhelmed by so many refugees. it says if the west wants them to continue taking in more syrians, it has to do more to help. cuts in aid to refugees, more syrian children and older people are working illegally. abdul sits on the sidewalk eight hours a day, selling used stuffed toys. two weeks ago authorities took

all of the toys away. he had to pay to get them back. jordanians are also struggling to make a living here. this man works 14 hours a day, and on a good day, he makes $10. >> translator: i leave the house at 7:00, and finish at 9:00, i reach the house at 10:00 or 11:00. sometimes have i dinner, sometimes i sleep without eating because i'm tired. >> reporter: jordan has always been a poor country and here as in other countries, the strain is beginning to show. jane arraf, al jazeera. swedens foreign ministry says a panel has ruled that wikileaks founder has been illegally detained. the british government says it still has an obligation to extradite him to sweden, where

he faces allegations of sexual assault. i'm joined by a international lawyer. good to have you with us. this is not a legally binding ruling upon the u.k. which forces london to remove its post outside. >> it is binding in honor. yes, it does. this is a u.n. tribunal. it's the u.n. tribunal that ruled in favor of mr. nasheed, it ruled in favor of [ inaudible ], and of the american journalist who has just been released by iran, so it's a very important tribunal, and britain and sweden are honor bound to abide by the decision for this reason.

they are honor bound, they are part of the adversary system, and if they lose, then they are honor bound to accept the decision, and to abide to the recommendations, see what they can do. we don't know what the decision is at this stage. it's released tomorrow morning. although, interestingly enough, it has already been released a couple of weeks ago in secret to the british and swedish governments, so no doubt they are deciding what to do if mr. assange wins. the bbc have had a leak that he has in fact succeeded. so if that is the case, it will be a very important matter. we don't know on what grown he has succeeded. it may be that it will be said that his in effect detention is a breach of the rule that upholds the right of embassies

to give political asylum, a rule that has been very important. it may recommend this tribunal -- it contains six eminent judges of international law. it may require the release of mr. assange. more importantly, of course, because he has been given protection by ecuador against the united states, which wants him for up to 45 yea years -- charges of up to 45 years in prisonment for publishing the chelsea manning material, of course that is what he may need to be protected. >> right. you used the world honor-bounded there -- >> we have to wait and see until the judgment comes down tomorrow. >> all right. but do you think that it is likely that the swedish authorities will drop their

extradition request? and you used the word honor bound, that is not legally binding, is it? >> they have dropped three of them, and there's only one left, which they have been criticized, the swedish prosecutor, by sweden's own courts. it's not even a charge. she is still investigating one matter, and so it may be that if the u.n. court rules that under international the charges have to be dropped, then it will look bad for sweden. if it doesn't. but the real issue is a free-speech issue, because it was revealed in a court, when the court unsale -- unsealed a google application last year, it was by the fbi seeking to get the private emails of mr. assange and several of its

employees, and do that, the fbi said it was investigating him for offenses under the u.s. espionage act. which would entail up to 45 years imprisonment. and they have a grand jury sitting at the moment. so the real key to unlocking mr. assange, and giving him some freedom is for the united states to indicate that it is not pursuing these charges against a publisher who was not an american, so he is not a traitor, he's an australian, and of course they haven't prosecuted the "new york times," which published his material. they haven't prosecuted the editor of thor guardian, so their desire to get assange and to punish assange is the reason why he's being given political

asylum, and the reason why he's in the embassy in the first place, and i think it's going to figure quite in a major way in the decision tomorrow. >> all right. >> we have to wait and see. it's an important decision. >> all right. thank you so much. oil giant shell has reported it is cutting 10,000 jobs. its full-year earnings were the lowest in almost a decade. and the collapse in oil prices means companies and governments are losing money. look at this chart, for example. less than two years ago, a barrel of oil was worth over 100 usd, since then it has gone down, down, and down again to $50 a barrel, and then $30 a barrel where it has been more or less stuck for now. oil accounts for one-third of

nigeria gdp. but a crash in crude prices has badly effected africa's biggest economy. our correspondent joins us live from the capitol. how are they coping with this? >> reporter: it's a difficult time, and a difficult situation for the nigerian government. this is a country, like you said that has depended on oil for decades. contributing 70% of its external earnings to fund projects here and imports. nigeria is largely an importer of virtually everything the country needs from the oil it produces that needs to be refined outside of the country, and reimported back into the country for use by motorists and generators, and things that use oil in the country. so we have seen how over the last few years, the government has been losing money through dupous contracts in the oil

business, and also how we saw the government fund -- or revenues being looted by politicians. this year's budget in particular, the 2016 budget before the parliament the benchmark for the barrel of oil is at $38 per barrel. and now what we have on the ground is less than that. so parliamentarians are trying to walk their way through the process. now the government is forced to look inwards especially to a sector that has been neglected for so long. agriculture. >> reporter: mohamed is hoping for better days ahead. prices for his country's main export, oil, have fallen. and the impact is being felt in nearly all parts of the economy.

a shortage of foreign exchange and subsequent fall in the value of the local currency, has driven inflation up. but the producer sees an opening. his products are competitive. >> this offers an opportunity, because the competitors bringing products into our country. they sell in foreign exchange, and we buy ours locally, at local -- with the local currency. before now we could not compete with the european farmer in our own environment. >> reporter: the government is looking to entrepreneurs like him to boost the economy. this produces 3,000 liters of milk a day. nike imports $1.3 billion worth of dairy products each year. so the government is setting aside millions of dollars in loans to nigerian farmers to

produce more, so they can help reduce the dependance on imports. the variety of milk that is processed here sell out quickly. the government says businesses like this will save the day, but others have warned that a golden opportunity to diversify the economy has been missed. >> we had [ inaudible ] to surpass many other developing countries, and even compete on equal terms with advanced countries, but we missed that opportunity. but hope is not lost. >> reporter: for now mohamed's business is growing. he is in talks with two potential foreign investors, and the supply of raw materials is no longer limited to his ranch. that is what the government hope can be replicated all over, but with for a infrastructure, everyone knows the odds are

stacked against businesses for now. now the biggest question now is whether the government has enough resources, considering its current position, why it's losing money because of the fall of the price of oil. >> all right. thanks so much. north korean leader kim ki-jong has presided over a high-level meeting to discuss corruption and abuse of power. state media has described the gathering as the first of its kind. harry fawcett has more. >> reporter: as the world waits and watches for north korea to launch its rocket, kim ki-jong has been demonstrating he has other things on his mind as well. he has just held a two-day meeting of the central committee of the workers party of korea, the ruling party, and also the

party committee of the korean people'ser army, and he has been telling delegates about one issue, the issue of corruption. he said misuse of authority, seeking privileges, all of these things need to be stamped down upon. this is in the run up to another rare meeting, the seventh party congress, the first since 1980. that is due to happen this coming may. it could be he is sets up a stall ahead of that meeting. and it comes at a time of changing economy. there is more private wealth in north korea than there was in the past. in that of course does make corruption more easy for those who have the money and the power to make those kinds of transactions. here in south korea intends to

let the missile launch. the president of south korea saying it cannot be condoned and calls it an issue of desperation on the part of the north korean regime to try to maintain itself. municipal workers in india's capitol are on strike. many have been waiting for over three months for their paychecks. and they will continue to protest until their demands are met. >> reporter: representing frustrations on the streets these are some of the roughly 60,000 sanitation workers on strike in india's capitol. any anger quickly shows. they haven't been paid in more than three months. the past eight days, they have been holding sporadic protests like this, with commuters inconvenienced. >> translator: the government is playing games with us. we haven't been paid for months. how am i supposed to feed my children? or afford school fees.

>> reporter: garbage has piled up in random spots in the north and east of the city since the strike began. other government workers and volunteers have been cleaning it up, but more keeps being dumped. 15,000 doctors and other medical staff, along with thousands of teachers under the municipal government has recently joined the strike, also claiming theyingn't have been paid. delhi is run by three separate city councils. all three are lead by the nationalist party. it blames the government for not transferring the money required to pay the workers. >> translator: the irresponsible party is trying to distract the people. like time and again about paying 12-month's salary. the amount which should be given has not been. >> reporter: the state government in turns say the bjp

which runs the municipal and central government is playing politics. >> there is a substantial chunk of money that needs to be given. unfortunately they are not willing to do that, because they believe that they are gaining a lot of political mileage by orchestrating these strikes and blaming the state government. the state government has no role in this. >> reporter: the political feud has left workers and people in india's capitol caught in the middle. the government is promising to loan $8 million to the municipalities to cover these worker's salaries. the workers here are demanding a long material solution so they are not out striking on the streets again in a few months. faiz jamil, al jazeera, new delhi. still to come, we'll tell you what happened when a wind surfer took on the biggest waves in the world.

welcome back. let's catch up with all of the sports news. here is jo. >> sammy thank you so much. india, engineer lan, and australia will no longer have a permanent place on the icc. two years ago, the big three pushed through measures that guaranteed them 80% of crickets' total revenue, but since a change in the leadership of the india cricket board, they have decided not to allow the big three such control over the

running of the sport. in that decision came at a meeting in dubai where some of the biggest teams are taking part in the superleague. international stars as well as home favorites have all been recruited to play in the three-week tournament. the united arab emirates is hosting the event. game one begins in a few moment's time. it's hoped the event will reenergize the love of the game back home. a gun attack on the sri lanka team back in march 2009 resulted in international teams refusing to play in the country. one month later, pakistan was stripped of co-hosting rights of the november world cup.

then the national team played a home test in dubai. pakistan have been based there ever since. but in march last year, zimbabwe played in pakistan. but bigger teams still refuse to tour there. i spoke to a cricket writer. he says the psl will give the cash-strapped pakistan cricket board some much needed funding. >> they have been unable to play host matches at all since 2009, march. that has been a huge loss of revenue. so that hit them hard, and those losses we're talking well into a hundred million in the region. so primarily to get this league

up and running, and [ inaudible ] profits of maybe 50 or $60 million over the next ten years, and that will stay in the uae, and not pakistan. so primarily the main thing, i think why this is important is it is going to give a troubled and embattled cricket board, it is going to give them a pretty big revenue stream and a stable one. >> and how will that money actually help cricket in pakistan? >> well, because they have not been able to host cricket in pakistan, the economy has suffered a little bit, so there are stadiums that are in need of upgrade in pakistan. [ inaudible ] since 1996. [ inaudible ] pakistan that is in need of repair all the time. and you can never make those repairs without that money. players need to be paid a lot

better than they are. so for them to develop this, it is just going to improve the quality of cricket in the country, i think the money is vital. >> will the psl ever play in pakistan? and if yes, when will that happen? >> i don't think it will happen for at least three or four years. and they are going to have to host a couple of more series. they hosted zimbabwe in 2013, and even that did not go off without incident entirely. so they are going to have to host a few more low-key series over the next two or three years, before they can really start to think about moving this league back to pakistan. the african nation's championship, and a very important semifinal has just come to an end.

mali have just beaten ivory coast, 1-0. that means they will meet the democratic republic of the congo. u.s. soccer body is taking legal action against the national team's union to stop players from striking. u.s. soccer say amended rules put in place should be honored. it could take two months for a ruling to be made. and threatens to disrupt national teams matches, the women's soccer season, and possibly even participation at the olympics. rory mcelroy is two shots off of the pace. he recovered from an opening hole bogey to make two birdies in a four-whole stretch. he is at 4 under par with alex

at the top of the leader board. mcelroy is looking for his third straight victory in dubai. denver bronco's quarterback, peyton manning is tipping cam neuton to be named the mvp. he has been the most die gnattic offensive player this season. he added five more td's in the playoffs, and will be making his super bowl debut on sunday. >> a lot of people in the caribbean are saying that you are to the nfl what usain bolt is to the olympics? >> what? really? [ laughter ] >> reporter: yes. >> i got an opportunity to meet you sane last year, and he's a

cool guy. like nationally cool. i'm just locally cool, you know. [ laughter ] >> i'm just saying he is jamaica. i don't know that's -- that's an honor, man. >> the portuguese town is famed for some of the biggest waves in the world. every year it draws hundreds of top surfers to challenge themselves against the giant swell. but for the first time, a wind surfer has also concurred the break on the atlantic coast. it took him a year of preparations to be able to work out how to survive the 13-meter wave. the australian now hopes to come back again when the swell is at its peak in early january, and can reach a height of 20 meters or more. that's all of the sport for now. >> thanks so much, jo. that brings us to the end of this show.

we're back in another couple of minutes, so don't go too far. ♪

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with millions of syrians stranded in exile, world leaders pledge money to help them build new lives in neighboring countries. ♪ it is very good to have your dpaen -- company. i'm david foster live from london. italy demands an investigation into the killing of a student who was apparently abducted and tortured in egypt. sweden says a panel ruled that wikileaks