>> hello there, i'm barbara serra. this is the news hour live from london. thank you for joining us. the u.n. makes it's first air drop in the besieged syrian town. iran prepares to go to the polls for its first elections since the nuclear treaty. the latest, banning citizens

from traveling to lebanon. and coming up later in sports. sepp blatter and michel platini have their bans from football reduced from eight years to six. the u.n. says that it has delivered its first drop of aid to th a besieged syrian town. the trucks were unable to reach the town last week because of isil-controlled territory. there has been a development in the planned cessation treaty. and the last hour the syrian kurdish fighters, the ypg said at a the they will abidely the cessation of hostilities.

we have more now on the latest developments. >> as a meeting of the u.n. security council to discussed humanitarian situation in syria, the stinging criticism of the syrian government of delaying and blocking aid to besieged areas from the u.n. humanitarian chief stephen o'brien, they were putting bureaucratic obstacles in the way. he had a rare bit of good news about the town in syria. >> earlier this morning a wef plane dropped the first cargo of 21 tons of items into the city. we've seen initial reports from the team on the ground that the pallets have landed in the targeted area as planned. >> the main reason for these aid deliveries, of course, is to help the desperate people in those besieged areas in syria.

but it's also part of the plan, the time grab, the peace talks in geneva. and the other part of the plan is the cessation of hostilities due to reports on saturday. in order to support that, the u.n. security council may come up with a resolution. the u.s. and russia are talking about this, and it was possibly passed on friday just hours before that cessation is due to start. >> well, russia and syrian president have spoken on the phone about the deal. the kremlin confirmed that his government is ready to assist with the planned cessation of hostilities. >> it's been a very busy day of telediplomat did i for vladimir putin. first of all, he spoke to bashar al-assad.

now remember a few days ago assad said that he wanted to carry on fighting in syria to retake the whole country. russia has told him to shut up, and now on paper he's pledging commitment to the broker cessation plan. putin spoke with saudi arabia, the messages seems to be to the united states and to the middle east region that russia is a power broker and a force to be reckoned with. you get a real sense of cautious optimism coming out of the kremlin right now. i think they believe that they are on the cusp of achieving two of their main goals. the first one, of course, was to shore up bashar al-assad and prevent him from some sort of chaotic collapse. but the second goal was to

convince the united states that russia is essentially an equal partner and needs to be treated with due respect in the middle east. >> there have been claims the ypg is acting in coordination with the assad government and with russia. the group of kurdish fighters have been ground in several areas and their support of the u.s. has put a strain on the european alliances. [ gunfire ] >> syria's complex civil war has become even more complicated by the presence of isil. in syria and iraq, leaving them to fight on multi it will fronts. ththere was praise for the extraordinary resilience of kurdish peshmerga fight necessary iraq, but syria, he said, is different.

>> what we have seen over the last week is very disturbing evidence of coordination between syrian kurdish forces, the syrian regime and the russian air force, which are making us distinctly uneasy about the kurds' role in all of this. >> for syrian kurds the ypg. the syrian affiliate of the pkk, which turkey and britain regard as a terrorist group. the united states military support for the ypg is therefore deeply problematic. but a former kurdish leader said that the syrian kurds' loyalty to the west is consistent. >> they're fighting not just against isis, but al nusra because they besieged kobane and many other kurdish places. >> one analyst said cooperation between assad's borders and the

y pg occurs own when both sides are fighting their common enemy, which is isil. they emphasize that the complex proxy war being fought in syria. >> we have those creating the effective proxy forces but underlines the fact that you have very different objectives that they're trying to achieve in syria. >> the cessation of hostilities expected this week could scarcely be more fragile. paul brennan, al jazeera. >> let's go to iran wednesday is the final day of campaigning ahead of elections in the country. on friday there are two elections. one is for parliament. the other for the assembly of experts. in the parliamentary election, the main r reformist group.

the election of the assembly of experts is seen by many as more important this election because they will choose the next scream leader in the event of the death of the current leader ayatollah khamenei. we have reports now from iran. >> campaigning is now over. and the iranians preparing to vote the main issue is the ailing economy, and how much it could be transformed in the lifting of sanctions. the impact they've had could be seen by anyone landing in tehran. runways can resemble an aircraft museum with some airliners more than 30 years old. straight after the nuclear deal was an order for 113 airbus

planes including a dozen double decker aircraft. but this millionaire investment banker said the scope is massive. >> totally divers diversified in natural resources and markets and consumers. the market has been untapped for about ten years. >> oil is the bedrock of the economy, but iran wants to be less reliant on it. all the investment potential is big, there would be new jobs and better wages, these are the questions of voters. people wanted to know when they'll see replacements.

when they can forward to indual edge again. international sanctions will have an effect on the rich while the poor became poorer. now they're able to rely on support from lower income families. as their living conditions improve, that could be changing. moderate president hassan rouhani is responsible for the sanctions being lifted. it is a question of timing. >> at the moment there is lack of knowing each other and to get to know each other more, and giving iranian business more time. >> so it could be too soon for some voters to be convinced despite what appears to be

increasing support of moderate performance, it may not be enough to see a moderate defeat for hard liners and conservatives. andrew simmons, al jazeera, tehran. >> the director of the iranian studies program joins us live from stanford, california. thank you for joining us here. we have these elections. these two elections taking place on friday as we've been hearing in that report. the first election since the nuclear deal, how big of a difference would be made. perhaps in the results of the election but in how to run in the first place. >> i think the elections are going to be very important. they will choose the next

supreme leader. the number of performs get in, they will promise to bring back the issue of supervising the work of the supreme leader, which is very much in the constitution but has been in limbo. so both the session of succession and question of oversight of the leader is very much part of the debate and composition of the department. and in both cases the fundamental question is the kind of future iran will have, whether it will an future determined by the conservative, and those who want the status quo continued or the bulk of the iranian people who want more openness and more freedom. >> and i mean, what is interesting that the council of guardians, anyone who runs for election needs to be pre-approved, they disqualified nearly 60% of candidates, which is twice as many as in previous elections. so that would perhaps indicate that they are worried about

perhaps reformist wave. you mentioned perhaps the people of iran are record for some reform. but if they can't get through, they can't be nominated for the election in the first place. is that a way that the people of iran will be able to express themselves at the poll? >> i think people are trying to express their views despite the numbers that you indicated. not only about 60% or 50% of how you count it of all the potential candidates, but something like 90% of all reformists candidates are disqualified. only 60 reformists have been allowed to run. and in terms of the council of experts some of the main council including khamenei yes's grandson, was disqualified. they're trying to bring as many

of the reformists into the parliament, and reformist candidates in the council, and there is a fascinating concentrated effort organized on the social media of some of the other papers to not vote for the most conservative, in other words, the negative vote. it is part of the game in iran to try to embarrass the status quo by bringing considerably lower the number of votes against their favorite candidates. >> briefly, if you can, how difficult would it be for president rouhani to have north parliament that is not supportive. >> i think it would be difficult for him and it's the issue that he's been campaigning on. the issue that they need--they

need an opening at the home front. we need to open the economy, we need to open the culture without more amenable parliament i think he's going to face a lot of resistence and many more obstacles. >> both elections are on friday. i hope you'll be able to speak about the results. director of the iranian studies program at the institution, sir, thank you. >> and still to come on the al jazeera news hour. shrinking growth and high unemployment shakes south africa's national budget. documents show telecom sold equipment to egypt's government. >> we'll be show you inside fifa's new museum. it's about to open and it's intention is to show as a glorious past as well.

>> an he i--escalateing row with lebanon. it accuses lebanon of being influenced by the group hezbollah, which the kingdom has imposed sanctions on. and it expressed concern that lebanon is not supportive enough against its regional rival iran. with a travel warning by saudi arabia comes the lebanese prime minister to reinstate his support in riyadh. many in lebanon are deeply worried about what is happening. >> it really breaks down along partisan and sectarian lines. you have sunni politicians here who have publicly urged saudi

arabia to reconsider its decision not just in recalling citizens from lebanon or urging them not to travel here. but also to get saudi arabia to reconsider its decision to no longer fund the lebanese military here when it comes to the arms deal. then you have politician who is are allied with hezbollah, who have continued to support iran, and continued to support hezbollah and have been critical of what the saudis are doing here in the last few days. when it comes to the average lebanese citizen, what you hear is a lot of frustration. this is something that i've heard many times in the past covering lebanon as much as i have. a lot of citizens feel that they're really caught. they say the government has come to a complete stand still. this country has gone without a president for two years because of the political gridlock and a lot of that in the fact that the political process is really tight on one end to iran and on another end to saudi arabia. it makes it very difficult to have governance going on here.

a lot of citizens hearsay now look, these are decisions where he they have countries who are pulling their citizens from lebanon or urging them not to go. these decision also have a bad effect on lebanon, which is a country that is not doing well by any standard. and they're concerned because the syrian civil war continues to spill over in lebanon. they're word about this having a bad effect on lebanon in the months to come, they're hoping that something can be resolved and they can have a prosperous and reserved country which is something that officials here call for. >> there may be possibly a dozen zika infections.

met with various health officials to see if a vaccine can be developed against the mosquito-born illness. she said she's confident that rio de janeiro will be safe to attend. they said it is the responsibility for every individual to do their part to beat the zika virus in brazil. >> the social mobilization led by the president they talk about the importance sustainability, to have regular actions by individuals, by families to make sure that mosquitoes do not breed in their home. science tells us and experience tells us two-thirds of the

mosquitoes are brea bred at home. so every individual, every citizen can do a lot of things simple things to protect themselves and to protect their families. >> well, we go to rio de janeiro. what all did margaret chan have to say? >> well, from the very get go she had very strong words of come mendations to say about the brazilian president and the way her government has led the fight against the zika outbreak, that they did their best under difficult circumstances, and she's impressed with how it was handled. but despite her praise many brazilians are critical. they're getting very little information about what the government knows and does not know about the virus, and there is a fear here that has stood in the way to get answers sooner.

there is a law for medical institutions to share samples, and this could have delayed the finding of more information, and it could have led to rapid physician testing and the drugs that would stop the spread of the virus or vaccine. local doctors are working on a vaccine, but it won't be available to the public for another three years. >> so you're telling us some brazilians are unhappy the way their happy has dealt with this crisis. we're a few months away from the olympics in rio de janeiro. it would be disastrous if it was not considered safe or if the zika outbreak was still going on or considered unsafe. was margaret chan able to provide any real assurance, and were those who were listening to her believing her reassurance? >> this is the question, you see, because she actually did say that it would be safe for

people to come to rio for the olympics. there was nothing for people to be worried about. that visitors should not fear making the trip here. but this was because the government as well as international agencies are working on putting together a plan to give visitors the maximum protection against contracting the virus and developing the disease. however, people feel as long as they don't have more concrete information about the disease and what possible side-effects or what possible complications might arise because having the virus. until they know for sure that there is no link between zika and microcephaly they really will not feel reassured. >> we have the latest from rio, thank you. we'll have more interviews on the zika virus later in the program. yemen's government has accused hezbollah of training houthi fighters. it has evidence that the lebanese group is involved with houthis who are fighting

lebanese forces in the country's civil war. yemen plans to file a complaint to the united nations. both iran and hezbollah have given vocal support to the houthis but reject accusations that they've provided military aid to them. politicians in libya's internationally recognized parliament have yet to vote on the proposed new unity government. there were angry exchanges as they failed to agree on the vote for the unity government that would be backed by the u.n. the vote has been postponed until monday. libya has two rival governments. one in tibruk and one in tripoli, both supported by different armed fighters. libya as national army said it has pushed isil out of areas in the eastern city of bengahzi. the army is allied with the tibruk parliament and said it has taken two key neighborhoods in the city. ten people have been killed and

50 injured in the fighting. libyan security forces are being assisted by french social forces. let's go to south africa where people are braced for tax rises as the government tries to deliver the economy. they've promised to cut what he calls wasteful spending. tonya page reports from cape town. [singing] >> demonstrators stormed parliament last year demanding a cap on university fees. and an additional $1 billion in the budget will ensure that happens, but these students say primary and high school should get the same attention. >> we aren't happy about the education. >> some of the budget core

numbers were sobering. politicians and the public are digesting the news that economic growth is expected to slow to 0.9% due to the global commodities slump, and sovereign confidence is low, it would make it difficult for the government to borrow money. to address the shortfall in revenue they announced increase the taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, capital gains, fuel, and a new sugar tax. he also had some stern words. >> secondly, what should we stop doing? corruption and waste and bailing out state entities, both we deal with. >> but some economists say he did not go far enough. >> some of those decisions he would need 100% of presidential and cabinet backing, and clearly to the extent that he did not venture, there are political issues. >> the universities have become political hot beds having a degree doesn't guarantee a job

in a country where half of all young people are unemployed. >> a huge portion is down to lack of skill or mismatch of skills. we don't have enough engineers. we don't have enough accountants. we don't have enough of those skills. so i feel like investing in human capital is never bad investment. >> the extra money for universities may also take the heat out of student protests. another careful move by governing parties fac facing municipal elections this year. >> still ahead on the al jazeera news hour, devastation in fiji as the victims of tropical cyclone winston takes stock of their losses. also we take a look at ireland's financial situation ahead of up coming elections. and the

statement adds at the end high altitude drops are extremely challenge to carry out. it's not clear what happened to these 21 tons.

did they actually reach any of the civilian who is desperately need them or where did it go? they're asking questions of the u.n. and u.n. agencies at all levels, and they're not getting any answers. >> let's talk about the cessation of hostilities. it does seem to be build. >> what what is the latest you're hearing. it looks like you have humanitarian aid going in. not only for these people who desperately need it. but as one of the but one of the measures that can rebuild the political. what they're hoping is that the cessation of hostilities starts when it's supposed to start. then some seven days after that they could have peace talks

resume. there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes trying to persuade the syrian government and the various groups that they should take part in the cessation of hostilities, and they want to make sure that everyone does this in good faith. but are they going to try and lull the violence. that's what's going on behind the scenes in syria, what's going on behind the scenes at the united nations is a plan for u.n.-security council resolutioner resolution to take place on friday just hours before the proposed start of the cessation to give it legal backing. >> james bays with the latest from the u.n. james, thank you. going back to one of our other top stories and that is the zika virus. we're hearing health officials in the u.s. are investigating more than a dozen possible zika infections which may have been

sexually transmitted. for more on this let's speak to the dean of the national school of tropical medicine at the baylor college of medicine in the u.s. so first of all, give us your reaction, please, if you can, to these possible zika infections that may have been sexually transmitted. not the first time we've seen this, but it does it mean that zika is a sexually transmitted disease? >> thanks for the question, and thanks for having me on. what it means is that the sexual transmission of zika is a rare event. the overwhelming number of events is talking 3 million to 4 million cases in the western hemisphere over the next few weeks to months are overwhelmingly from mosquito bites. i think it's very important to keep that in mind. the center for disease control has identified these dozen cases or so where when a male

individual is male partner is sick in the first two weeks of the infection when the virus in his body is very high. we know the virus is in his bloodstream and in other bodily fluids. that's when sexual transmission occurred. we still think it's a pretty uncommon mode of transmission. i think its important to keep the eye on the prize in terms of what is important here. >> sure, and most countries have been focusing on zika as a disease transmitted by mosquito bites. focusing on the sexual transmission element of it. what it seems to say it's rare and it's not a very efficient way if you can use that word for the virus to spread? >> well, it seems to be a phenomenon that is happening early on in the course of infection. because when we talk about sexual transmission, some people have the impression that when a male partner is infected with zika he's carrying around the virus for weeks, months, or even

longer. that's probably not the case. it's probably an incidental finding that occurs early i don't know in the infection, and then that individual mounts an antibiotic response and there is no longer a problem. no everything has to be put with an asterisk, with a caveat. none of this is published in the biomedical literature. this is all coming from press conferences, from the center of disease control, science and colleagues and social media. so there is a lot of blind leading the blind here. we really don't have hard and fast information. we're trying to do a lot to connect the dots. >> forgive me for interrupting you. when you talk about the blind leading the blind, it makes march get chan, the world of the "world health organization," what do you think she'll do?

>> she has a very tough job. you have to remember how quickly this came up. this was a disease until eight or nine months being we thought it was a minor disease transmitted by mosquito. we didn't know the extent of this until we saw an explosion of an epidemic in brazil. everybody is playing catch up. she has to focus on mosquito control especially as the virus has been moving in to new areas where it's infecting pregnant women. let me give you an example. haiti, i'm really worried about what is happening in haiti. the virus is just taking off. you have roughly 250,000 to 260,000 women getting pregnant in haiti, and they have no protection against mosquito bites and you have the possibility of babies born with

microcephaly in nine months. >> you thank you. let's go to fiji now where authorities are struggling to get to communities. the death toll standing at 42 but it is expected to rise. some fill advantage--villages have hardly any buildings standing. >> there is an enormous job ahead. virtual every house has been destroyed. many aren't waiting for the soldiers and gun their own temporary repairs. but in a place where no one is insured there is a common plea. >> i need help from the

government. to rebuild my house so i can start my life again. with my family. >> the island of ovalau was one of fiji's prettiest. in 2014 al jazeera filmed here along the old colonial main street. then this, this gives some idea of the winds and pounding waves. so the city looks different now. every building has holes, some without roofs. the port building has collapsed and churches are badly damaged. but it's the smaller villages that look the worst, shattered after a storm that hit ovalau at lunchtime on saturday and did not pass until 7:00 in the morning. >> six solid hours. it just like--

>> in the remnants of another village were more stories of terror. about 40 people were sheltering in the community hall, that yellow building behind me. but when it's roof was rip odd they ran for the only other building still standing, the church. look what happened to it. all but one of those inside ran out just before the collapse. the 72-year-old lady who couldn't was buried on sunday 50 meters from where she died. on ovalau three people were killed. for the living establishing the basics is a priority. many without homes are sleeping in schools. schools won't be schools again here for weeks or months. children's worlds have been turned upside down. hundreds of students were evacuated out to fiji's main island early on wednesday. no one seems to have any idea when they nor normal life will return.

andrew thomas al jazeera, on the island of ovalau, fiji. >> ireland will go to the polls on friday. it be seen as a test of the government's management of the country. neave barker reports, not everyone stands to gain from the country's changing fortune. >> when ireland goes to the polls on friday, ashley and her family will be evicted from this government-paid hostil hostel. rents soared leaving hundreds of low-income families homeless. this is the blip side of ireland's economic recovery. >> we couldn't find property that was affordable enough for us and the three children. it was the difference between paying the rent or feeding the kids. we didn't have enough money to

do both. >> this is the recovery of those in power want you to see. here the sun shines on the irish economy. building works stalled during the financial crisis has begun again. ireland has become a poster child of what financial posterity can achieve, but there were winners and losers. >> the be beneficiaries of for those who are highly skilled, multi lingual. the lose are those who are at the bottom of the distribution and lower level of skills. >> the prime minister are hoping for reelection. many feel the recovery is down for them. >> a lot of growth and support has come off the back of improvements to the irish economy. but it's critics say that this change in ireland's fortune is

not filtering down to the rest of society. many here are calling for deep-seated social reforms, too. >> what would you say to your critics who say the recovery story is not filtering down to everybody in irish society? >> that's true. that's why we need a second term to complete the job. of course, you can't take a country that was bankrupt five years ago and restore it economically and rebuild it in a such a short time. >> in the last five years they have made cuts to welfare, policing and the irish people have relurch constantly accepted it. but on voting day, a government may find itself punished in the polls. neave barker, dublin. >> the look of mobile phones have changed dramatically in recent years with devices relying on new materials and technologies. however, one material more than any other is poised to reshape

the next generation of phones. from barcelona, we have this report. >> 200 times stronger than steel but almost invisible to the eye. graphene is a sheaf of carbon atoms with remarkable properties. when printed on plastic film it's a cheap alternative to silicon and metal-based electronics. >> it is at the same time thin and flexible and extremely excellent conductor. properties that are difficult to find in any other materials. it is often used as a building block for many of the applications. >> the european union spending $1.2 billion over ten years into research into graphene, a clear sign of its enormous potential. it was heralded as a wonder material when first discovered

something that would transform electronics, the way we build cars, aircraft and even the way we make our clothes. but it's proved difficult to mass produce which is why mobile phone makers have been slow to adapt it in their devices. that, though, may be about to change. whether used as sensors on gloves, experimental applications for the material has been demonstrated at this year's mobile world congress and manufacturers are interested. the man who won a nobel prize for finding graphene said there is a host of other materials that have greater promise. >> we're talking about the family of graphene rather than graphene alone. collectively they hold much more power than just only graphene because where graphene cannot do something so there are other

materials which can be used. the thing for the future is really in the collective usage of those materials in combination. >> the next generation of electronics may be the focus here but in the years ahead these one-atom materials could see scientists completely reengineer our material world. al jazeera, mobile world congress in barcelona. >> video has emerged of a violent confrontation at university rugby match in south africa. it shows black protesters clashing with white players which resulted in several people being injured. the violence at the university of free state comes after a wave of race-related protests on south african campuses over the last year. still to come on the al jazeera news hour, the south korean protest without protesters. we'll tell you why. facebook is giving the thumbs up to five new emotion buttons.

and in sport manchester city get ready to face dynamo kiev in the uefa champions league.

>> a south korea's president prepares to mark the third anniversary of her inauguration on thursday. critics have held a protest in downtown seoul. they're unhappy about her stance on freedom of expression. but it's a demonstration in a no-protest zone, they had to be there without being there.

>> in front of one of south korea's most famous landmark as ghostly gathering. this holographic protest rather as it's organizers put it in the commission papers cultural event was filmed in front of a green screen and then shown in front of the palace. >> the rights of assembly and protest have continuously retreated in south korea, the ways is getting worse. people can't even chant a slo slogan on the street. so through this process we wanted to call for the freedom of preysful assembly and protests. >> freedom of expression has suffered under the three years of president park came to office. the reason why they have chosen this location is protest involving real life people, this

location is on route to the president's house, has been off limits. unions protesting against labor reforms and the introduction of state-offered history books. based off barricades. one man knocked down by a waterjet remains in a coma. but critics also point to more subtle measures. here we filmed an artist being ordered by police to remove the work critical of the president about a defamation law. thethe police point to much lower injury rates since they introduced bus barricades and water canons. internal divisions are sharp on the same day as the hologram protest opposition lawmakers continue a marathon filibuster

effort against the government's anti-terrorism bill which they say will give too much power to the intelligence service. there are many more demonstrations planned for the remaining of the president's term. >> here we have sports with sana. >> the champions league quarterfinals they beat dynamo kiev 3-1. city's put the visitors ahead with 50 minutes into the match. just before halftime spanish midfielder doubled their lead in ukraine while they managed to pull one back. they netted a third one for city. over in the netherlands, they were facing atletico madrid.

the first leg ended in a goalless draw. formeformer fifa president sepp blatter and michel platini has had their fifa ban from eigh changed from eight years to six. blatter had paid michel platini $2 million for work done an earlier. prince ali was confident that they had requested to have the vote delayed unless transparent voting booths are used 37 but he has been denied

prince ali is one of the five candidates to replace sepp blatter as president. on friday fifa's 209 nations vote for a new president with reputation backed by the corruption crisis but the football governing body has a glorious past, too, which it is trying to demonstrate by opening it's first museum. lee we willinglee wellings had a chance to visit. >> a glorious past. 112 years of it. fifa has spent $13 million over these past turbulent 18 months building a museum. the public can come and see it from sunday. the team jerseys of fifa's 209

nations are the centerpiece of one of the three floors of the museum. over all there are 3,000 square meters of heritage here. >> it really is a journey done memory lane. it is a beautiful experience and it will bring back memories. we've come in and we've really looked through the archives. fifa really doesn't have that much of its own stuff. we had to acquire a lot of objects. >> the second of the three floors is devoted to the history of the world cup. first played in 1930 in uruguay. next due to be played in russia 2018 and qatar 2022, in case you hadn't heard. in the museum that captures all of fifa's history there is one small acknowledgment of the man who ruled fifa for 17 years from 1998. we're about to find out finally, of course, who replaces him permanently. lest we forget football is actually a game. the final fla is all about its

influence on art and cultural. do you remember when football was fun? if fifa is able to push through it's reforms and convince the u.s. and swiss authorities that it can be transparent, finally it can be comfortable about making an exhibition of itself. lee wellings, al jazeera. zurich. >> former chelsea manager jose mourinho said that he's not sure what his next job will be. the portuguese was visiting singapore on wednesday. mourinho was sacked as chelsea manager in disease. despite guiding the plus to the premier league last season the 53-year-old is continually linked to replace manchester united manager. >> if i have to return to tomorrow, i return tomorrow. but i always feel that it is better to wait, not to rush.

the next season with a new player, new project, i think it's probably the best thing for me. >> tennis' number one djokovic has won and will book his place in the final of the dubai championships. he won 6-1, 6-2 in just 675 minutes. he's one of three active players to reach 700 wins. >> it's a great milestone, and obviously as i said on the court i enjoy every win that i've had in my career. i've played many matches. 700 wins is something that i'm very proud of together with my team. we worked hard on this course of ten years. my professional career, and i remember a very first win that i made on the tour, and of course it's been a great ride, and

hopefully i can keep going. >> that's it for me. i'll hand you back to barbara. >> sana. thank you. facebook has given the thumbs up to several new emotions other than it's traditional like button. the social media network has succumbed to public demand and introduced a variety of new buttons to help you express yourself just that little bit better. the five new buttons are love, angry, sad, aha and wow. and they're described as emotions. they've been rolled out worldwide. there is a slight button that remains conspicuous by its absence. >> it is an extension of the like button and allows you to react to stories from your friends or that you see in your news feed not just by liking it but expressing a variety of different emotions. we heard feedback from people over and over again that they wanted more ways to be expressive because people share a variety of things on facebook. >> well, that will be interesting.

bye bye.

>> 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. >> hunted to the brink of extinction. >> we need an urgent method that stops the killing. >> now fighting back with a revolutionary new science. >> this radiocarbon dating method can tell us if trade of ivory is legal. >> it could save a species. >> i feel like we're making an impact. >> techknows team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> i'm standing in a tropical windstorm. >>...can affect and surprise us. >> wow, these are amazing. >> techknow, where technology meets humanity.

>> only on al jazeera america. >> the world food program faces difficulties making its first air drop to the besieged town darazar. hello there, i'm barbara serra. also coming up on the program. iran prepares to go to the polls for its first election since agreeing on a nuclear treaty. kuwait and qatar are the latest countries to ban their citizens from traveling to lebanon. and calling head to the future the material which could revolutionize gadgets.