the news continues next live from doha. have a great day. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello and welcome to the news hour. i'm in doha. here is what we're covering in the next 60 minutes. >> do not come to europe. >> the warning to economic migrants during a new push to solve the e.u.'s worsening refugee camp. two women are killed after attacking turkish police with guns and grenades. major coffee companies admit that some of their beans may

come from slave plantations. also could this be another small clue in solving one of the biggest aviation mysteries of our time. we'll look back on the career of cricket great martin crow. plus the international olympic committee announced a new team comprised of refugees. ♪ hello. economic migrants have been warned that they are risking their lives and money for nothing if they attempt to come to europe illegally. the president made the comment in greece at the forefront of a worsening refugee camp. people have been flowing into the greece macedonia border swelling an already flooded camp there. tempers are flaring, there is

growing frustration among the refugees because the police are blocking their end -- entry. >> i want to appeal to all potential illegal economic migrants wherever you are from. do not come to europe. do not believe the smugglers. do not risk your lives and your money. it is all for nothing. greece or any other european country will no longer be a transit country. >> he has been meeting greek prime minister whose criticized other e.u. member states for their response. >> translator: when it comes to the refugee camp, greece has taken a disproportionate burden compared to its capabilities. however, our response was

immediate and beyond our obligations to the european union, but also it was our duty to our own values and culture, our culture dictates that we protect these people. it turns out other e.u. member's cultures are not the same. >> joining us -- we'll try to get back to hoda abdel hamid in a little bit, but here's what hoda filed a short while ago on the refugee crisis. >> reporter: this is a makeshift camp. the transit camp is already at full capacity, so people are setting up their tent wherever they can. they go into the woods to light a fire in the evening when the temperatures drop dramatically. further up there is a crossing point, and there is chaos. people are frustrated, uncertain with each day that passes by here while they get more and more tired and the tempers are

flaring all the time. greek police have been trying to tell them to back off -- has been giving them numbers for groups of 50 people to pass at a time, but that is not happening. they are not able to control it at all. and on the other side, the macedonians are having very strict checks. so there's a lot of people who even if they wait for days and they are up there and go through that incredible scuffle, when they reach the other side, and they go through the macedonian process to give them registration paper that will allow them to go throughout the balkan route and into western europe, a lot are turned back because the registration process here in greece was done haphazardly. the french president hollande, and the u.k. prime minister david cameron discussed what is going on in the camp in

calais. this was david cameron speaking at the france-u.k. summit. >> united kingdom has not faced anywhere near the scale of migrants coming to europe as other countries, because we are outside schengen and control our borders. i want to thank president hollande for his cooperation, and today it will announce we will invest an additional 17 million pound to assist the work of the french police. the money will go towards efforts to move people from the camps in calais to facilities elsewhere in france, and we will fund joint work to return migrants not in need of protection to their home countries. the real challenge is in the eastern mediterranean where we need to dissuade people from embarking on a perilous journey

in search of a new life in europe. >> paul brennan joins us now. paul talk about the conference and what the take-away message really was. >> reporter: well, few surprises dareen, it was widely predicted that britain which has long refused to accept refugees in any great numbers at least and prefer instead to try to address the route causes by for example pumping millions of pounds into refugee camps in the middle east to try to keep the refugees there, just outside of syria. so no surprise they announced yet more money will be given to france. the alternative was of course was that france could theoretically decide to pull out of a bilateral agreement that binds britain and france and allows british police to wait here on french soil.

that said, though, the amount of money that has been mentioned, 17 million pounds, many critics will say it doesn't really make a huge difference in the scale of the problem. i'm going to step out of the way. just an hour ago, you of course came to me and there was a structure behind me in the process of being demolished, you can see how efficiently the authorities are going about dismantling the shacks and huts here in the calais jungle camp. the structure is behind me. and there is smoke in the distance over there. what the friend rch saying is they are offering the refugees the ability to go elsewhere. >> all right. paul thank you very much for that update from calais. we take you now live to the united nations where the security council is getting a

briefing about the humanitarian situation in yemen, and what we expect -- who we expect to speak rather is the u.n. special for yemen as well as the united nations humanitarian's affairs chief steven o'brien. let's just listen in. >> -- over 2,000 children are estimated to have been killed or injured, including at least 90 children killed this year alone in air strikes, shelling, ground fighting, and other exploding ordinances. protecting places continue to be hit by all parties. on the 24th of february, coalition air strikes reportedly hit a health center in one district. completely destroying the facility. and on the first of march, air strikes reportedly landed within

20 meters of a hospital. i reiterate my previous calls, air strikes and random shelling of civilians in civilian areas, violate cardinal rules of international humanitarian law and constitute unlawful conduct of hostilities. all parties in this conflict have an obligation under international humanitarian law to take every measure to ensure civilians are protected. it is unacceptable that health facilities or schools are being hit, and it is critical that the parties make guarantees that these locations will be protected. mr. president in the absence of a politically negotiated end to the conflict, the security situation across much of the country is rapidly deteriorating. regular attacks by parties including al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, a branch of

the isil, and local militants take place against security personnel and other segments of the government of yemen. these attacks in general lawlessness in aden have prevented the u.n. from deploying international staff there, directly impacting our ability to assess needs and monitor response. intense fighting around sana'a and others restrict our ability to deliver assistance. slowing the transport of key goods and services and in some instances halting movement all together. command and control lines with arm groups is often tenuous, with guarantees reached at the national level not necessarily

communicated to the individuals down the check points. trucks are often held up and sometimes delayed for days or even weeks. bureaucratic requirements imposed by houthi authorities also delay and impede the rapid delivery of humanitarian assistance. in one week alone in february, the ministry of interior in sana'a refused travel permission from three separate missions from sana'a, to ibb, and ta'izz. increasingly movement of u.n. security staff into and out of the country has also been made difficult. having a direct impact on our ability to expand operations. of particular concern is the fact that for over three months, wfp together with fao and unicef have been trying to conduct a nutrition assessment throughout the country. originally intended to be

launched in october 2015, the assessment continues to be blocked by authorities in sana'a. this assessment is critically needed in this order to update information on food security and nutrition to inform humanitarianest response. and let me therefore remind all parties that providing timely and unimpeded access to humanitarian organizations is not only the fundamental prerequisite to any meaningful humanitarian response, but also an obligation under ihl. i call upon the council to request all parties in no uncertain terms to stop any denial of access and facilitate life-saving needs immediately. despite these challenges, u.n. agencies and partners continue to deliver assistance often at grave risk across all sectors. in february over 3 million people received wfp food

assistance, some 400,000 more people than the month before. the humanitarian community remains committed to expanding its overall response to 13.4 million people this year in yemen. to achieve this, the yemen humanitarian response plan for 2016 appeals stands at u.s. dollars 1.8 billion. on the 12th of february, the secretary general instituted the united nations verification and inspection mechanism at the request of the government of yemen. the mechanism is expected to expedite critical commodities. all states and relative organizations have since been notified of the mechanisms procedure, including the international maritime nomination. the nominations for the steering committee, consisting of a

representative of the government of yemen, the coalition, and the united nations will be finalized this week, allowing the full commencement of operations. in recent months there has been a significant increase of fuel and other life-saving imports through yemeni ports, and it is critical that every effort be made by all member states directly concerned to encourage and not hinder that trend. it is imperative that imports to yemen and trading within yemen be allowed to continue. i call on all parties to ensure protection of infrastructure. i'm also pleased to report that the wfp chartered vessel which has been diverted, taken by the coalition to the saudi port was released on the 25th of february. humanitarian food and medical sup place were subsequently delivered as planned.

the humanitarian it equipment will be delivered to aden on the 6th of march. mr. president, once again, i underscore the urgent need for this counsel and international community more broadly to impress on the parties to this conflict to take greater measures to protect civilians, and allow access to all parts of yemen, and i also ask the council to press the parties to resume peace talks and agree to a cessation of hostilities. thank you. >> i thank mr. o'brien for briefing i now give the floor to the representative of yemen. you have the floor, sir. >> thank you, mr. president.

>> translator: the republic of angola to the united nations. mr. steven o'brien under secretary general of the united nations coordinator for humanitarian affairs at the united nations, ladies and gentlemen, members of the security council. allow me first to express my sincere thanks to all member states of the security council. i thank you for your continuing interest in yemen through your close follow-up of the political settlement process, and the humanitarian situation in my country. i should also like to thank his excellency, ban ki-moon, secretary general of the united nations for his utmost attention to the yemeni crisis through his special representative to my country and his team.

let me thank the international humanitarian community represented by mr. steven o'brien. we would like to renew our preparedness as yemeni government to go to talks with the houthis and saleh supporters any time, anywhere, in order to end the bloodshed in yemen. this is what we expressed by going to the talks in december 2015, where an agreement was reached on a number of points related to detainees emergency assistance, and other humanitarian issues. a place was set for new talks in january '14, however, the rebels have hampered any attempt of efforts in that direction. they have not come through on their commitment to peace on

confidence-building measures, and they did not come to the consultations in january and are procrastinating on any future date. we should like to express our strong support to the special envoy and the importance of the international community's support of these efforts. this is the only path that we support for peace in my country in accordance with the gulf initiative, and the out put of the national dialogue conference, and security council resolution 2216, and the consultations agreed by the basal round last september. despite the significant improvement in the humanitarian situation in my country, and particularly in the areas liberated from the militias, humanitarian needs for my people in yemen, particularly in areas under the control of the militias continue to be very

large. the war imposed by the militias, the houthis and saleh that have dragged the country into complete chaos and obstruction for political objectives by force, have lead to a deterioration of humanitarian conditions that were already bad before the attempt to overthrow the government. the houthis and saleh continue to target civilians and civilian areas. the ta'izz province and its people continue to be targeted systematically. rockets and artillery shells targeting civilian areas and innocent civilians. the militias continue to besiege the city for over four months. they have targeted the hospitals and the medical infrastructure.

they have prevented the entry of the most basic emergency needs, such as oxygen, food and water. the situation is now close to being a major health catastrophe. as the militias have been targeting ta'izz for over ten months. over one million people have been displaced to rural areas, and now because of this continuing siege by the militias, the specter of starvation has arisen in the areas hosting displaced people in the rural areas. as we thank this organizations that have continued to work to reach those in need in ta'izz, the houthis continue to hamper the entry of such assistance to the needy, wfp has stated that it has been able to reach about 3,000 families in ta'izz with

food assistance. approximately 18,000 people if we count approximately six individuals per family. this is a very limited number when compared to the number of the needy. over 1.2 million people inside the besieged city alone. this number is escalating particularly when we note the harsh humanitarian conditions in host communities. because of the militia war. furthermore, wfp has stated it has not been able to distribute any assistance in some areas in ta'izz. the militias are acting like war criminals. they are using starvation as a tool of war against my people in every province under their control. the houthi militias continue to

spread death everywhere. anti-personnel mines have been planted around cities, on major roads, on subsidiary roads, and this has slowed down the arrival of any humanitarian assistance to a number of regions. the houthi militias and the saleh forces continue to detain humanitarian activists who have only been attempting to help their brethren in many cities. an example was the targeting of a water tanker, carrying water to the ibb province to aid those under siege in ta'izz. activists were detained and beaten. sana'a is suffering terribly. the houthi militias and saleh forces continue to loot

assistance convoys going to sana'a sana'a and other areas, and selling those goods on the black market. this has only prolonged the suffering of our people. what is truly strange is that international community are reluctant to name those who are looting humanitarian assistance. we know that this is a large phenomenon. it's not limited. i would put the responsibilities squarely on the shoulders of the international community because it has failed to condemn this blackmail, this looting by the militias that have stri strict -- stripped the yemeni state of all of its resources and are attempting to take us back to the black ages of sectarian diskoursz. ladies and gentlemen, with the assistance of our brethren, namely the kingdom of saudi arabia, represented in the

center for humanitarian assistance, the red crescent organizations and many other humanitarian gulf organizations acting in my country, we have attempted to return to a normal economic life and commercial activity. the yemeni government agreed with the united nations and the alliance forces at the beginning of august of last year, to set up a verification and inspection mechanism and to operationalize it. the government of yemen on 24 february named its representative to the steering committee, and we stated our position on the headquarters of the committee. the government had agreed with the united nations that the headquarters would be the city of aden, following its liberation from the houthi forces. previously there had been an

agreement for it to be based in the kingdom of saudi arabia. we were then very surprised when the headquarters were moved without even consulting the yemeni government. we strongly object to this, because this breaches our agreement with the united nations. the forces continue to target our children, the rights of our children, and our future generations in yemen. more and more children are being recruited to the houthi militias. this threatens our future generations in areas still under the control of the militias. the recruitment of children, the brainwashing of children with religion -- religious and sectarian extremists ideologies are a time bomb. the security council must act to diffuse it in due time through implementing united nations relevant resolutions, which have clearly stated this.

before closing my statement, ladies and gentlemen, i express the wish that your council will continue consulting with the yemeni government and its permanent mission here in new york on any negotiations or consultations on any output from the security council on the humanitarian situation in yemen. we wish this to express the screams of our children, our suffering, including the man dying in ta'izz under siege. ing kindly say to those killers of the houthis and the saleh forces, stop killing the dreams of my people to freedom in a state of democracy. i thank you very much for your attention. >> i thank the representative of yemen for his statement. i now invite council members to informal consultations to

continue our discussions on the subject. this meeting is adjourned. >> all right. so what we were just looking at was the united nations security council members were being briefed by the u.n. humanitarian affairs chief, steven o'brien, who was discussing the humanitarian situation mainly in yemen as well as the security situation, and then he was followed by the yemeni ambassad ambassador. let's cross over to daniel lack. daniel lack is joining us from the u.n. headquarters in new york. and stephen o'brien, really highlighting the urgency on the humanitarian situation in yemen, and also asking for that $1.8 billion aid that is sought for the country to help out with the humanitarian situation. >> reporter: that's right. i mean, mr. o'brien began

basically by reminding council members of the air strike that killed 30 civilians, and he said this conflict continues to impact civilians in so many ways. he didn't name any parties. we just said fighting, air strikes, and indiscriminate fighting was going to continue to target civilians unless there was progress. peace talks were supposed to resume in january, but the u.n. special envoy to yemen, he postponed those talks indefinitely, and said last month when the briefed the security council. he wasn't willing to lift that postponement, because he didn't think the parties were willing to respect any call for a cessation of hostilities. steven o'brien was talking largely about security situations, as you said. and he said it is much more difficult for civilians to be

aided. the security council is considering some new moves on this. new zealand has put forward the idea of a new resolution on humanitarian issues, calling for more access, calling for protection of u.n. personnel, and also calling for respect and support for a u.n. verification and inspection mechanism, which might provide more incite into those air strikes, the fighting, and who might be behind them. we could see some details of that resolution perhaps next week when it might be circulated to members of the security council, but it's all in early days right now. basically this first briefing, this public briefing was about humanitarian issues. the council will probably hear next from the special envoy about the political situation, and we might find out if there has been any movement whatsoever since the last time he briefed the council last month. >> daniel thank you for that update from the u.n. two women who were killed in an armed standoff with police in

istanbul were members of the far-left group the dhckp. the attackers can be seen here armed with guns. one was arrested in 2010 and found guilty in 2012 of being a member of a terrorist organization. attacks on security forces have increased in turkey in recent months. jamal has the latest. >> reporter: thursday's attack is just the latest in a series of attacks that have been targeting security officials across the country here in turkey for several months now. we understand that those who carried out the attack, the two women belong to what the turkish authorities describe as an extremist terrorists leftest organization. a lot of these leftest groups have a cross-over ideology, in terms of politics with some of the kurdish separatists groups, particularly the pkk and their splinter groups.

turkey has had problems with the p kk and other separatists. we saw in ankara just a couple of weeks ago a splinter group of the kurdish pkk attacking military personnel. turkey is also grappling with security issues with regards isil. when you speak to turkish authorities they say they are succeeding, because they believe the huge influx of refugees that are crossing over into turkey, that it is only natural that they are infiltrated with those who have ulterior motives. however, the fact is these attacks continue to take place. on a different note, possibly related in the sense of the

security theme we are talking about, earlier on thursday there was clashes -- or fighting broke out between the turkish military and pkk fighters in the southeast of the country. in comes after curfew was lifted on several areas 24 hours ago, in that fighting, ten pkk fighters were killed and three soldiers also lost their lives and were killed in that attack according to the officials here in turkey. it's day six of a truce in syria, but fighting continues in some parts of the country. despite this, the u.n. special envoy to syria says progress is visible. >> the situation therefore could be summarized as fragile, success is not guaranteed. but progress has been visible. we are committed and certainly the two co-chairs are showing it, and i have seen it with my

eyes every day in the operation center, they are committed to make it work, and of course that is the hope of everyone. now regarding the issue about the benefits, the deliverables of this, one of them is clearly the issue of what syrian people detect apart from not having bomb, they want to see food and medicine. both humanitarian aid and a cessation of hostilities are extremely important in facilitating the atmosphere and the credibility of them. but they are not preconditions. the precondition is for -- for everyone is to see that the political process, and a political solution will take care of the tragedy of syria. north korea has been accused of firing what are being described as short-range projectiles hours after being slapped with tough new sanctions. it says that the projectiles

were launched towards the ec, which is also known as the sea of japan. the sanctions imposed on north korea by the undersecurity council are the toughest in decades. and they include mandatory inspection of cargo. the u.s. spent weeks negotiating the sanctions with china. a piece of aircraft will be analyzed to determine if it is from the missing malaysian airline that crashed in the indian ocean. >> reporter: it may not look like much, but this piece of debris could hold clues to one of the biggest aviation mysteries in history, missing flight mh 370.

>> we would like to get ahold of the debris as soon as possible. that's why we are working with australia in the faster manner. >> reporter: it was a boeing 777, like this one. it went off radar march 8th two years ago. 239 people were on board. since then, australia has lead a huge and costly operation to scour the indian ocean where the plane wreckage is believed to be. >> reporter: the total search area of 120,000 square kilometers. >> reporter: it's been 727 days since the aircraft went down. the multinational effort find it is any most expensive in

history. teams have collected about 20 million gigabytes of data from the search zone. but the number of items they have recovered so far, just one. last july, a wing fragment was found on an island. to date it is the only confirmed evidence from the plane. families have started legal action over the plane's disappearance. they are pleading to keep the search going, and to find answers that will help them with closure. the vatican treasurer, cardinal, has admitted that he failed to act when told about a pedophile priest years ago. he said he should have done more. he met with abuse survivors who travelled to rome to see him face-to-face.

>> i -- i have just met with about a dozen of the survivors, support people, and officials. and i have heard each of their stories and of their suffering. it was hard. an honest and occasionally emotional meeting. i'm committed to working with these people. i know many of their families. and i know of the goodness of so many people in catholic ballret. a goodness which is not extinguished by the evil that was done. to india where celebrations are taking place in the streets of new delhi as a student is released from prison on bail.

he was arrested on sedition charges last month. he was released on thursday amid high security. his fellow students have protested his innocents since his arrest and say it is an attack on free speech. two of the world's biggest coffee companies have admitted that some of their beans may come from plantations using slave labor. the admission following the publication of a report claiming that human rights abuses are rampant across brazil's coffee industry. it says people traffic to work for little or no pay may have been working on farms supplying the two companies. brazil is the world's largest exporter of coffee. joining us is a journalist and researcher, and she wrote that story on the slave-like conditions of brazil's coffee-producing industry. first tell us, julie, what

exactly you saw. >> reporter: yeah, [ inaudible ] was allowed to come along on one of these inspections with the ministry of labor, where we saw laborers at coffee plantations being freed from slave labor. so -- so the inspectors were joined by police with automatic weapons and carrying bullet-proof vests, and they broke open the lock to this plantation, and inside there were 17 men, women, and children living under slavery-like conditions, and afterwards i was able to see the official inspection report from the ministry of labor -- >> when you say slavery-like conditions, julie, what exactly do you mean by that? what kind of conditions? >> yeah. yeah, the workers -- they were migrant workers from inside brazil, from a neighboring state. so they had been hired by a middleman hiring on behalf of

the plantation owners, and when they accepted this job, they thought they were going to have a regular job at the harvest, but then they were taken by buss to the plantation and when they arrived they were told you owe money for the bus ride and you won't get paid until the end of the harvest and until then you can buy food on credit from the plantation owner, so they end up in this debt spiral and not being able to leave the plantation, and also the conditions there were very unhygienic. they did not have access to clean drinking water, and they also young children had been working under these slavery-like conditions at the plantations while they were supposed to be in school. >> here is the thing, julie, the two companies in country, nestle and jacobs have admitted they

may be been buying beans from these plantations, but they can't be sure that slavery-like environments don't take place in their supply chain. so could this problem actually be much bigger than what you have seen, and what is anticipated? >> yeah, yeah. it definitely could, because what i heard from the ilo is that the authorities -- they only have resources to -- to help around half of the workers who reach out and -- and ask for help, and who are able to -- to escape from these plantations and ask for help. and besides that number, you also have all of the workers who never are able to leave the plantation and ask for help. so during the last harvest -- >> but you did meet with the officials in brazil. and what they did the officials in brazil tell you about those people that they have not been able to reach? what are they doing about that situation? >> well, i'm not sure what they

are doing about that situation. i think they are just trying to help as many as possible. >> okay. julie, we thank you very much for speaking us to from copenhagen. well, we'll stay in brazil and tell you about the economy there, because it has suffered a sharp downturn. figures show it has contracted by almost 4%. unemployment is rising, wages are shrinking, and brazil's economic woes are not just linked to the global slump but also to problems closer to home. >> reporter: angelica has been home schooling her children since december. that's when schools closed because teachers like her went on strike. they hadn't been paid, and schools were left in disarray by the local government. >> translator: we didn't have books and notebooks at the

schools, even essentialal cleaning products, we were forced to rush in drinking water, because the delivery company couldn't deliver anymore. because the municipality wasn't paying for it. we were facing a very complicated operation. >> reporter: 40,000 students are now unable to go to school, but these aren't the only government-run facilities that have closed. health centers are shut with signs turning patients away, and city contractors haven't been paid, leaving their jobs undone. the local government says it had no other choice but to slash the budget. this is just one of many cities that receives royalties from the oil industry. there are oil fields just north of here. since 1999, the city has earned billions of dollars, but last year, national oil revenue fell 35%. brazil relied quite heavily economically and politically, on the state owned petrobras, which is one of the largest oil

companies in the world. but people's confidence in petrobras and the government has been rocked by corruption scandals, involving numerous high-powered politicians. now congress is discussing opening up brazil's oil industry to foreign countries. >> in brazil it's not very popular to open a strategy sector like oil to foreign companies. >> reporter: even if it is also the cause of the problem. >> yes. people think that foreign companies are going to rob us. >> reporter: economists say what has to change is the country's overreliance on the oil industry. brazil, they say has to find ways to diversify further, and it's officials have to learn to better manage government funds so essentials won't be left paying the price.

still to come on the news hour. all change? new zealanders have started voting in the final state of a referendum on whether to change their flag. we'll tell you about the russian cyclist who despite falling went on to win gold. we'll have those details coming up in sports. ♪

♪ in new zealand people have begun voting in the final stage of a referendum on whether to change their national flag.

the process is controversial, with many criticizing the cost and short-listed designs. >> reporter: brothers in arms, but divided by a flag. these current and previous new zealand soldiers are used to working together on the battlefield, but are miles apart when it comes to deciding whether the country is ready for a new flag. >> i think the new flag represents the new multi-cultural new zealand, so it's linked to the past, celebrates our present, and very bravely looks to the future? >> i don't believe it is worth making a change now for a decision we may regret. >> we're still a constitutional monarchy. >> reporter: more than 3 million voting papers were sent out this week, costing taxpayers 27 million new zealand dollars.

in the first vote, voters were asked to choose between five designs to go up against the current 114-year-old flag. they chose this one. this historian says despite the long and democratic process, it hasn't come at the right time. >> governments that change flags tend to do so because of a really major event. becoming a republic. south africa's flag changing after nelson mandela is released from prison. so we haven't had one of those big events. >> reporter: the current flag is one of just a handful left in the world the union flag on it. the australians are also considering a change, proponents there are urging new zealand to be the first, placing this ad in the national newspaper. but for those who fought under

the flag, it's not such an easy decision. >> it has born witness to major events in this country. so it's not something that you can discard. >> i'm not a complete dinosaur, so if the country decides to change, i'll go with it. >> reporter: a nation's flag is meant to unite a country, but this referendum process has shown just how emotional and divisive a flag change can be. one way or the other, new zealanders will find out which flag will take them forward in two week's time. time for all of the sports news. >> dareen thank you very much. the international olympic it in tee have announced there will be a team of refugees at this year's summer games. the rio organizers have been holding a briefing in london. our correspondent was there. >> reporter: the reason those olympic organizers have.com to london is it's a good place to get messages out to the media

and public, and they need to keep getting those messages out. still concerns over the zika virus and the need to reassure the public and competitors. we have still got the problems with the water pollution in rio. they are not going away. and also you have got an issue with tickets, under half of the 7.5 million tickets for rio have been sold. the organizers say the brazilian public will come to it late. what a good thing for them that this story has come out about refugees and teams will be competing. the team will come out just before the brazilians in the opening ceremony, so it will be a really big deal with the world watching. there are 43 refugees athletes, if we can call them that, that they have been working with. they won't all make rio.

he thinks around five or ten will make it. and this is a welcome piece of positive news for the ioc, as well as the brazilian organizers. >> since the beginning we are in favor. we have i think i suppose one that was qualified in juba if i will remember, and we support the ioc with in. we support the refugees to president. and then we'll have up to seven president in countries. >> reporter: it's not the first time the international olympic committee have done this kind of thing. i remember in london, covering the story of a long-distance runner named mario, who was from south sudan, but south sudan

wasn't developed yet. but with the shadow of kenyan and russian athletics doping scandals and with all of the problems organizing it, it is good to have that positive glow over the olympics too. it was announced that announ munich's coach was leaving at the end of the season, at that stage his team had an 8-point advantage over the second place, after saturday that gap could be down to 2 points. wednesday saw them lose for the second time in the league this season. they were beaten 2-1 at home. meanwhile in england, tottenham have missed a chance to go top of the league. antonio getting the only goal of the game for the home side.

that leaves the men three points behind the leaders. >> first half we were [ inaudible ], and second half we tried to play in the way that we play normal. but different reason, different situation that was -- was difficult to play. we're just going to have a look at the table. tottenham's next game is against arsenal. the team in fourth place, manchester united looking pretty non-existent. now tributes have been pouring in for new zealand cricket great martin crow. he has a 13-year international career.

he played 77 test matches and 143 internationals from 1992 to 1995, and he scored 21 international hundreds, including the highest score of 299. he was also a highly respected man for his thoughts on the game. he even pioneered a shorter formatback in the mid-'90s. the crowe story began in 1992 when he made his debut. he also lead new zealand in the 1992 world cup which new zealand co-hosted, and his in --

-- innovative captainsy and he was inducted in to the cricket hall of fame. >> it's a sad time. i feel for his family and friends. we have lost not only a great player, but a great advocate for the game. as i was mentioning before there have been tributed from all over the world. russell crowe who is martins cousin also paid his respect. another great batsman took to twitter. he said: and a very touching tribute from pakistan: now china missed out on retaining the women's team sprint title at the world track

cycling championships. they face russia in the final in london. the chinese pair beat the russians, but replay showed they performed an illegal change over, so they were relegated to silver, and russia were awarded the gold, much to the consternation and frustration of china coach, who has a suspected broken finger after that. the world's top golfers will play in the cadillac championship later this thursday. jordan spieth will compete in the first world gold championship of the year down in florida. >> i'm excited about the pairing this week. it will be fun. we'll have a good time. trying to gain some momentum back off of los angeles. that was a bummer.

been working pretty hard on my game over the last week and a half to try to get ready for a challenging golf course, but, yeah, only -- only the scores will end up telling. the toronto raptors have equalled their record of 11 straight home wins with their latest victory over the utah jazz. this player added 31 for the atlanta division leader. the reigning america's cup champions are in bermuda training for the defense of their title, but wednesday's session didn't go quite as planned. their catamaran capsized, but there was no injuries to those on board. all right. thank you very much for that. and thanks for watching the news hour from doha, david foster, the team from london with more

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