i'm roxana saberi, the news continues next live fro london. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello, i'm barbara sarah, this is the news hour live from london. thank you for joining us. coming up in the next 60 minutes, protests in brazil after former president da silva is detained as part of a widening corruption investigation. france's president criticizes bashar al-assad as provocative for scheduling parliamentary elections next month as syria's fragile

ceasefire survives its first week. the u.n. reports a sharp rise in sexual abuse allegations by its peace keepers in ten different countries. american's join cuba's famous cigar festival for the first time. i'll talk about a report ruling out vote rigging surrounding the 2016 fifa world cup. ♪ the multi-billion dollars corruption scandal in brazil surrounding the state-owned oil company petrobras has now drown in the former president. police have raided his home, and lula was questioned by police along with his of his sons. the former president who ran brazil from 2003 to 2011 was released after three hours. speaking after his release, lula

said he had, quote, nothing to fear. hundreds of supporters clashed with police after he was taken away. police say there was evidence that lula was one of the main beneficiaries of the petrobras scandal. >> translator: today we are looking at evidence that the former president and his family obtain obtained -- advantages. there is evidence of payments, but there isn't a plausible motive for those payments. the inquiry known as operation car wash is investigating accusations that more than 2 billion was paid in bribes to obtain petrobras contracts, as well lula, dozens of executives and politicians have been arrested or are under investigation. lula is facing questions over his close ties to giant construction companies which are thought to have been behind some of the payoffs. an inquiry focusing on whether those funds were used to pay for

the development of a ranch and beach-front apartment used by lula. raids have been carried out in the cities where the properties are located. margo has the latest for us. >> reporter: the former president is no longer in police custody, but the fact that he was brought in for questioning and that his home and several other properties were raided by police earlier on friday are being seen as the most politically explosive developments in relation to corruption investigations to do with the oil giant petrobras. police say they have evidence that he is one of over 50 high level politicians who have been under investigation for receiving kickbacks in return for contracts with the state-run petrobras. president rousseff who was his

p -- protege has yet to react. but this has emotions running very high in brazil. people have taken to the streets in support of the government, and those who want to see them taken down. ♪ the french president has criticized his syrian counterpart saying his plans to hold parliamentary elections in the coming months are, quote, totally provocative and unrealistic. his comments come as representatives of several european nations had a phone conference with the russian president. russia has given assurances that it will continue to respect the cessation of his ti till -- hostilities in the country. the only action that will be tolerated will be against isil or the al-nusra front.

>> translator: any other action would violate the ceasefire. there is a communal will, and more or less it has been observed on the ground. the people are the victims of this conflict, and found themselves without basic goods. >> it's good to have you here. thank you for coming. >> thank you. >> we have president hollande saying this announcement of potential elections a provocation, unrealistic, why do you think president assad announced it now? >> in fact, he mentioned it as a -- the first response to the cessation. however, he is exercising his role as president to call the elections, because it is part of the law inside syria to have elections every four years, and the current parliament comes to an end in may.

so he is right on target to be calling parliamentary elections, and his point, i think, as part of this is that in 2012 when he held the last elections, the war had already started, and so he has already got a precedent of being able to hold elections in the midst of a war zone. >> so do you think he is doing it to say, look, it's business as usual? obviously these elections can only be held by government-controlled areas, so they don't represent the view of the syrian people. >> well some of the areas are representing the spine of the country. so he has more control over syria than he did in terms of territory before the russians came in. in terms of his legitimacy, absolutely. he is saying, i am still here. i am the president. i can call elections and he is

showing that he can actually run elections, or hopes to. however, i would argue that after the elections, which of course his party will win, and there will be very little opposition, because who can organize so quickly in the time frame of april 13th, that will be the moment when assad is at his most fragile, because it is very likely if the ceasefire continues and aid can start reaching different parts of thor toer tos, that the russians will say now it's time to go, and they have been on record of saying that eventually he will have to go, and that will be the moment. >> that's really interesting, because we have seen how the french and we can guest most western european countries react in that way. the russians said these elections will not hamper steps to the peace process. so you think that actually these elections could perhaps create a schism between assad and the

russians? >> no, i think though russians are supporting the elections, because they are the rule of law, and he has legitimacy because he is the president. they are not going to intervene, he is doing what the syrian legal code for elections require. however, it is an interesting point that you make, because the u.n. had already made a resolution that has indicated that in 18 months there were to be new presidential and new parliamentary elections as part of the transition. so obviously there are two different agendas in operation. >> final question which of course is a very wide ranging one, the cessation of hostilities. it has been a week. a lot of people never thought we would get to here. it is though, nothing more than a lull of fighting. where do you see it ending? and i mean, is it in everyone's interests to keep it going now? and when is that going to change do you think? >> i think it has been wobbly,

but it has been holding. there is obviously the problem that it is not a ceasefire in regards to isil or to others that are considered off the -- the list. the issue, i think, that we're seeing is that saudi arabia and the large opposition group lead by riyadh are very clear that in two weeks if something hasn't happened, they will stop the ceasefire. on the other hand, i think it's in everything's interest to have this go forward. the u.n. is just now agreeing to up the amount of aid. it is saying 150,000 people will be receiving aid over the next several days, and this is absolutely critical. >> yeah, literally life-saving aid for thousands of people. thank you for sharing your views with us. >> thank you. syria's conflict wasn't the

only issue being discussed in paris. the french president met the german chancellor to discuss europe's refugee crisis. hollande says syrian refugees should be hosted by the nations close to them, lebanon, jordan and turkey. border restrictions in several european countries are creating a bottleneck at the boarder. hoda abdel hamid is on the greek side of that border. >> reporter: it has been a very difficult day for the people stranded here in this makeshift camp that continues to grow. the latest estimate is that there are between 11 and 12,000 people. the crossing back there is more shut than open over a span of 24 hours, the latest figure we got is that 320 people only were allowed to get through. it has to be said there is chaos

at that border, and it's quite difficult for authorities to organize people there. but that 320 people in a span of 24 hours is just a trickle, probably the amount of people arrive here in a span of two hours. now weather conditions have been also very difficult. there has been a lot of heavy rain, mud puddles everywhere, people are in their tents, but they are soaked, and there's a high rate of sickness among children. this is a crisis that has been building over the past two to three weeks, and every day conditions worsen here in the camp. two syrian men have been sentenced to four years in prison over the drowning of five refugees including a toddler. a turkey court convicted the two of human trafficking. the three year old's death

attracted wide-spread international attention, and sparked global sympathy for the plight of refugees. both men were acquitted on a separate charge of causing death through deliberate negligence. much more still to come, including we'll tell you why rech issers in the u.k. think they have made a break through in the battle against cancer. and the president of zimbabwe says he is taking over all of the country's diamond operations. and in sport, champions league football is set to embrace technology. ♪ in turkey violence has broken out between police and fight -- fighters from the pkk. turkey aims to flush out the kurdish fighters.

we received this exclusive update. >> reporter: this is the old quarter. any given day this place should be buzzing with people shoppers and tourists coming through this main road here, but it is not because of the ongoing clashes that continue through the military and fie -- fighters loyal to the pkk. there is a constant sound of gunfire taking place, and one of the effects of these ongoing clashes is shops and businesses have been forced to close, which has had devastating impact on the local economy. now there are at least six neighborhoods still under constant curfew because of these clashes. the government says it is trying to chase out the pkk, which it considers a terrorist organization. there are those locals who are angry with what is going on and blame the government for what is happening. authorities have been forced to

put up dozens of families, in fact hundreds of people in hotels and other places and been forced to flee their homes. and you will see there is a constant flow of military vehicles that are going through, patrolling the streets, trying to restore some sort of order, they say, in trying to route out those militants. this conflict has been going on for several months now, ever since the peace process collapsed around a year ago. it appear there is no end in sight, however, the government and officials say they will not rest until they defeat these militants. thousands of supporters of the shiite cleric have gathered to demand a new government in iraq. from baghdad, jane arraf reports. >> reporter: we're near the entrance to the green zone behind layers of security and

blast walls, there is a city within the city. iraqis first started demonstrating there to protest against u.s. occupation, and disbanding of the iraqi army. but now it's the iraqi government they are protesting against. the cleric set a deadline of later this month for the prime minister to make serious changes. if that doesn't happen, he says that his political block will withdraw its support for the government and instead of demonstrating here at the green zone, he'll send his followers inside. he of course was the one who's militia fought against iraqi forces as well as american forces. sutter has since emerged as a major political figure, but there is still a threat behind demonstrations like this. the worst possible scenario would be for iraqi security forces to clash with sutter's supporters. a lot of the people here are young and jobless, and they form

a major part of his constituency, they are also the ones that would be the most effected if this economic crisis continues. now that iraq has no cash to cushion the blow, it has even more of an impact on people's lives. political parties now are meeting to see if they can come to a decision on a way forward to try to restructure the government or actually implement some of these reforms, but with so much at steak here, and both parties standing to lose power if the they do that, it's not clear if there will be change. a damming report has revealed a rise in sexual exploitation and abuse against u.n. staff members. there were 99 reports of abuse in ten different countries in 2015, that's up from 80 the year before. 59 of those were against

personnel on peace-keeping missions while the remaining 30 involved other u.n. staff members. military and police personnel accused of sexual crimes come from 21 countries. nearly a third involve peace keepers from the democratic republic of congo. troops and police from canada and germany have also been accused. the report is not calling for prosecutions to be handled inside the countries with the alleged crimes took place, and for the creation of a dna registry for all peace keepers. >> reporter: united nations peace keepers were supposed to come to the rescue in central african republic, instead they have been accused of sexual exploitation. a new report says the number of allegations reached 99 last year, compared with 80 the year before. in a statement it says:

the report further names all 21 countries who's nationals are allegedly involved in the abuse. the united nations has been criticized for not doing enough. >> i believe the disturbing number of allegations we have seen in many countries, but particularly in the central african republic in the period before u.n. peace keepers were deployed and since speaks to the need to take action now. enough is enough. >> reporter: it was in 2014 that allegations of wrongdoing in the central african republic first came to light when french troops were accused of sexual misconduct. the mission is made up of more than 10,000 personnel from more than 45 countries, and the u.n. says it takes time to investigation such allegations.

u.n. soldiers in haiti were found to have sex in exchange for food and medicine. the then secretary general promised a zero-tolerance policy. the u.n. calls on member states to obtain dna samples of alleged perpetrators. >> there needs to be improved vetting so troops implicated in these abuses in their own countries shouldn't be sent on u.n. peace keeping missions. there needs to be improved training, and the structure of accountability needs to be reformed. >> reporter: the report from central african republic say women and girls are raising babies who are the alleged children of u.n. troops. well in the past few hours a u.n. representative has called the allegations an abomination. >> i'm a peace keeper of more than 20 year's duration.

i strongly believe, as the secretary general, and indeed everybody else, that anyone serving under the u.n. flag should prey on the vulnerable is truly an abomination. we were -- we will never, never agree to protect those turning into predators. a rights group has warned that dangerous levels of heavy metals have leaked into drinking sources in south sudan's north. toxicologist tests were carried out in the oil-processing plant in unity state. the area has seen some of the heaviest fighting in more than two years of civil war.

peru's state oil company is being accused of not doing enough to stop spills. john holman has more. >> reporter: a very familiar sheen in peru's amazon region. this woman is taking us to see the damage from the latest spill. she is the leader of the indigenous community who has been hit the hardest. we meet a single mom who's crops are ruined. >> now the river has flooded our land with oil. it's a huge problem. who is going to give us food? because we can't eat what we grow here. >> reporter: officials from the

oil company haven't yet inspected here when he visited. in fact weeks after the spill relief efforts for the local communities had just begun. >> our authorities are acting really slowly, because we're not important to them. a year ago we hood another spill and none of our people got compensation, because they didn't know their rights, but now for the first time we're up in arms. >> reporter: i asked the man in charge of the cleanup operation where spills have become so common? he claims it on everything but the company itself. >> translator: it has happened several times, but because of natural causes in this the majority of cases or because of sabotage of the pipeline. >> reporter: but an expert at the company told us that the state firm is under economic pressure and cost-cutting frantically to survive with

inevitable consequences. >> translator: the company itself doesn't assign enough resources or carry out the necessary activities to make sure the pipeline operates accurately and security. >> reporter: the people who standing to lose the most say they have grown used to official indifference. there's a real mistrust and tension from the indigenous people who live here towards the authorities, because for years they have felt like they are at the bottom of the government's list of priorities. and this spill hasn't helped things. at worst it leaves people like this woman in limbo, struggling to feed her children with no idea if she will get help or be able to grow in her fields again. john holman, peru. let's go to zimbabwe now, where the president says his government is taking ownership of all diamond operations. the long-time leader says he was

forced to make the move because existing minors have robbed the country of its wealth. >> reporter: in a special broadcast on zimbabwe's state tv, the president explains why his government is seizing all diamond mines. >> we have not received much from the diamond industry, and yet we think that well over 50 or more billion dollars have been mined in that area. >> reporter: so the government is forcing companies to form a single diamond mining company. it will be controlled by the state, which will have 51% of the shares. >> everything else comes in saying we're not going to supply 100% of the capital just so we can earn an almost from 49% of the capital, on which we already

pay taxes and very hef hef -- heavy royalties. >> reporter: people have been mining diamonds here for nearly ten years, but it's a secretive industry. most zimbabweans don't know how many have been found, the value of them, and where most have gone. >> reporter: opposition parties doesn't believe the president know where most of the money has gone. >> very senior people have had their pockets lined, made billions of u.s. dollars, and they should simply have that money repatriated back to zimbabwe. >> reporter: diamond field have been mined by the chinese and other companies. some have tried to take the president to court. but the president saying mining

companies in zimbabwe have to either comply or leave. social media giant facebook will soon be paying a heavy tax bill in britain. it routed u.k. advertising sale through ireland. >> reporter: with 1.59 billion users globally every month, facebook has become big business. making $17.9 billion in revenue last year, some of that coming from advertising. it may surprise you to know in 2014, in the u.k., it paid just over $6,000 in tax. facebook has been routing advertising sales through ireland where taxes are lower. a lot of campaigners say that is not fair. how can a single worker pay more tax than a multinational

corporation. facebook has announced that come april all sales will be taxed in london. it raises big questions about how money is moved about, and whether other big companies such as google will follow suit. still to come on al jazeera, we'll tell you why fisherman in south africa feel they have no choice but to break quotas. why one of nigeria's oldest forms of craft is under threat from cheaper modern materials. and barcelona sets a new standard in spanish football. we look at some of the longest unbeaten streaks in sport. ♪

>> these people have decided that today they will be arrested. >> i know that i'm being surveilled. >> people are not getting the care that they need. >> this is a crime against humanity. >> hands up... >> don't shoot. >> hands up... >> don't shoot. >> what do we want? >> justice. >> when do we want it? >> now. >> explosions going on... we're not quite sure - >> is that an i.e.d.? welcome back, here is a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. former brazilian president da silva is adamant he has nothing to hide despite being detained for three hours over a multi-billion dollars corruption scandal involving the national oil company. french president hollande

has criticized his syrian counterpart for calling parliamentary elections during the truce. the u.n. has reported a sharp rise in allegations that its peace keepers and staff members have carried out sexual abuse during missions. scientists say they may have discovered a ground breaking technique that could eventually cure cancer. how does it work? well researchers say it is all about the genetic makeup of tumors. all cancer cells carry molecules which can be spotted by the immune system no matter how much they mutate. scientists at university college here in london say they can take out those immune cells and multiply them in a lab, and then transfer them back into the body in large numbers to kill though

tumors. scientists say a trial could begin in two years. let's get more on this, then, joining us live in the studio, is the report co-author. thank you so much for joining us here in the studio. potentially amazing stuff. there is a headline that i saw that says tumors contain the seeds of their own destruction. do you think that applies? how would you describe it? >> that's what we are hoping certainly. i described this, cancer is a disease that is complex. it's unique from patient to patient. cancers evolve from a single cell carrying with them many mutations that branch out over time so that different cells contain different mutations. the early mutations are the ones we are trying to target. and we have identified immune cells that can recognize these common flags that are present in

every tumor cell. >> you are still quite a ways away from your first test, but how available would this be for mass treatment? >> that's a good question. we have to make any treatment scaleable, and that's what we will be concentrating on. if it works we'll have to prepare for much larger numberings of patients. >> i'm thinking of cost as well, because effectively you would have to prepare, sort of a specific chemo therapy for each patient which could be quite financially crippling, couldn't it? >> absolutely. cost is important, but what we reflect on in cancer drug developments in general up until now, is if 70-odd drugs approved

in the last few years, the cost of therapy is up to $100,000 u.s. dollars for course of treatment. we're aiming to shift those survival curves with this new approach. the aim would be to make it sustainable and cost effective and open to patients. >> do you know if certain types of cancers would respond more effectively? >> we don't know, but we would predict that tumors with more flags on every tumor cell would be easier to target, and those have always been the hardest to target, that would include smoking-induced lung cancer, which is what we're going for first. >> do you see this replacing chemotherapy in general? >> no. what we have learned over the last 20 or 30 years is there are

small incremental steps that result in larger changes and improvements in survival, so we hope it will be complimentaries, but i don't think it would supersede the other approaches. >> there has been research like yours in recent years, is there a momentum growing in the fight against cancer? >> without a doubt we have learned so much since the first sequence was published 15, 16 years ago. we now can use that information to deduce the patients and understand how the tumors have evolved and adapted, and that information is beginning to translate into clinical developments into what we hope ultimately will lead to improvements in survival for patients. >> we wish you all the best and hope to speak to you again. >> thank you. >> for the moment professor, thank you. >> thank you. global estimates show that

fish are being caught nearly three times more than reported and much of that cash is actually illegal. but as our correspondent reports from the western cape of south africa, small scale fishermen say they have little choice when it comes to making a living. >> reporter: this fisherman and his crew set out for the day's catch. it's a task made difficult by a small unsafe boat. >> sometimes when theed with come up the water can be very rough, and with the size of the boat we can capsize. >> reporter: but they are willing to take the risk because it's the only way they know how to make a living. these men risk their lives every day. sometimes they fish within the quota they are allowed other times not. they say they have to break rules if they are to feed their families. >> reporter: leon says there are

too many restrictions on small scale fishermen like himself. >> i am allowed to catch about 96 kilos from november to june. but what will 96 kilos with a man with three children and wife it is not viable for me. that's why they call it poaching, because you have to do something else to survive. >> reporter: he has already been arrested once for exceeding the amount and type of fish he is allowed to catch. the numbers of unemployed rose here after several local fisheries downsized or shut their doors. this man fishes illegally. >> whenever you need to apply for a permit, it's a lot of paperwork. most of the people living along the coast, they don't know about paperwork, all they know is how to fish. so it's quite difficult.

>> reporter: according to the department of environmental affairs south africa's illegal fishing industry makes almost $400 million a year. poaching is fuelled by demand for exotic sea products, specifically abloan and rock lobster. according to the department of fishery, both of these species are endangered. small scale fisherman say it's the large smuggling syndicates that are responsible for reducing resources. >> the legal fishery quota is just under 100 tons, and the estimated poaching level is between 2.5 and 3,000 tons so what is legally coming out of the water is probably less than 5%. >> reporter: these men say big business is dictating how they make their livelihoods. they want restrictions relaxed so they can stop poaching and

make a living in a legal environment. let's go to nigeria now where pottery is one of the oldest crafts, but it is under threat. cheap plastic imports are driving people away from pottery. >> translator: trying hard to preserve a heritage for this woman pottery making is both a matter of survival and a question of pride. it has been the family business for generations. it's the only job she knows, and the only skill she has, but as a source of income, the future of pottery is in doubt. >> translator: business has been tough. that's why the young are running away from it. i doubt if pottery will be around for long. >> reporter: just a short hour's bus drive away, many young people are turning their back on a craft that made their community so famous. many are attracted to city life

and jobs. the center decaded to preserving this traditional craft is also called the bill clinton village in a nod to the former u.s. president who once visited. the center is one of the few institutions trying to save this art from dying out. it brings together the old and the young and teaches them new skills to give them a chance to earn decent wages, but with more and more young people heading to the cities to look for better opportunities, the future of this craft looks bleak. and cheap imported plastics are replacing traditional household earthernwear says the head of the center. >> the plastic material have come into play. people use them a lot, besides, we also have aluminum products that have come to compete favorably with pottery products. >> reporter: that's why many young people don't see many

prospects in the art. this student of fine and applied arts came to the pottery center to hone his skills, and already he is thinking of switching to something profitable. >> i would consider another job. reason being that it pays well, no difficulty like in the other area, where i'm facing the aspect of production, difficulty in production, and also getting buyers. >> reporter: those who choose to remain are left with just pride in the art they know, and the hope that it will still be good enough to bring them a livelihood. japan is suspending its plans to relocate the u.s. air base in okinawa. it follows oolong running legal dispute between the japanese government and local authorities. tokyo wants to move the base to a less populated area on the

island, but the region's governor wants the base relocated off of the island completely. havana's annual cigar festival in cuba is hugely popular among tobacco aficionados. and now americans are joining the celebrations for the first time. >> reporter: the smell of tobacco is overpowering, as cigar aficionados puff away, competing to see who can produce the longest ash. it's not just a hobby, it's a passion for men and women attending the festival. >> there are more and more young people in china start to smoke cigars. >> reporter: the same auditorium where cuba's communist party leaders convene is turned into a classroom to learn how to roll a

cigar. it's very difficult, and people are coming here from all over the world to learn how to do it. >> reporter: among them gorge from new york who says he smoked his first cuban cigar before the u.s. economic embargo that barred americans from bringing cuban cigars into the country. >> any grandfather was a physician and gave me a box of cigars at 17, and i was hooked. >> reporter: but until now he couldn't come here legally to smoke them. now with the restoration of diplomatic ties between havana and washington, a record number of americans are here openly to take part in the festival. >> i thought it was a long time coming, and i'm glad to see obama has finally opened up the gates. >> reporter: this year's festival is also special because it celebrates the 50th anniversary of cuba's premier cigar brand. rolled by hand as are all cuban cigars.

this factory was opened in 1966 to make this fidel castro's favorite cigar. it was exclusively for the leader of the revolution and for visiting dignitaries as gifts until 1982 when it was finally put on the market for anyone to buy except the americans. now they can buy and bring home up to $100 worth. not much when you consider that many here will be leaving with tens of thousands of dollars worth of cuban cigars. maybe, just maybe enough to last them until next year's cigarfest. lucia newman, al jazeera, havana. much more ahead, including -- >> i'm rob mcbride in the fell peens on the trail of a dying language that is only a few speaker away from dying out all together. and we hit the road with rwandan cycles making uphill

climbs in the sport.

♪ the philippines has 184 languages and a number of them are dying out. in the second part of our series on languages at risk, rob mcbride traveled to one region to visit a community with what is considered to be the most owning dangered language in the country. >> reporter: it is a remote area of the philippines but not remote enough for its local language to survive. it is only spoken by a few. the leader of this indigenous

community is one of them. when she wants to hold a conversation using it, she has to seek out a neighborhood, like joslin. in here 50s, she is one of the youngest speakers left. her son can't speak it, and at the school which he and others from his community attend, tribal languages are not taught. >> translator: i am sad we're losing this connection to our ancestors, and i would prefer if the younger people would want to learn about it. >> reporter: to get a sense of how remote the language is becoming, it is first translated into the more widely used tongue, then english, and back again. when the villagers moved down from the volcanic mountain and integrated with the wider population, their language started to die. >> translator: there are different standards of the language spoken and as more people have married outside of

the group it has become less pure. >> reporter: it's one of 15 languages identified in the philippines as being at risk. the others may not be as endangered with more people speaking them, but the fear is they could go the same way, taking with them cultural heritage which will be lost forever. institutes like this one are vital in preserving these languages. capturing digitally words in danger of vanishing from every day use. >> of course, we're concerned if a language completely goes away that there is some record of it, not only for linguists but for the people who's ancestors spoke that language, at some point it becomes important for them too. >> reporter: with the increasing pace of development, for some languages that task is becoming more important than ever. rob mcbride, al jazeera, the philippines. and in the next part of our

languages at risk series, we visit guatemala, to investigate a community almost completely at a loss for words. now it's time to get all of the sports news. >> barbara thank you so much. german lawyers say they can't rule out the prospect that votes were bought in the race to host the 2006 fifa world cup. a report commissioned by the german football federation was released on friday after allegations of corruption were made in october. germany beat south africa by 12 votes to 11 in the year 2000 to host the tournament. investigators say they weren't able to speak to all of the individuals they wanted to, including sepp blatter. for more on this we can speak to a lecturer in business ethics at the european school of management and technology, as this report was commissioned by the german football federation, what was their reason for doing

that? >> the german football association is the world's largest sports organization with roughly 6.8, or 6.9 million members. and given this size, they are exposed to all kinds of external stakeholder pressures. from members, fans, clubs, media, ngo's, but also from public authorities that actually started the official investigation, and i think it was just necessary that the german football association started off the investigation in order to get their own grips around what has been happening. >> there are still separate legal investigations taking place. are they likely to uncover more information? >> well, i actually hope so. so far we do have a -- a few information. we know about dubious contract with [ inaudible ] warner, about 6.7 million euros ending at a company in qatar, but we don't

exactly -- who was the real beneficiary, who signed which contracts and agreements, so there is still a lot of speculation going on, and i think it partially results from the fact that the german .prosecutor confiscated more than 100 folders with information that was not accessible to the internal report. but it was a good first step. >> over the last 18 months, we have seen many allegations of corruption in football. it is widespread. what mistakes have been made, and what could have been done to prevent them? >> i think -- i mean traditionally, the entire football arena, starting with the national associations, but also with the more international associations like uefa and fifa, they act like old boys clubs. with lots money flowing, no or little democratic justification,

and almost no real transparency about what has been going on. in terms of fighting that, i think we do need some external stakeholder pressure. i don't believe that the energy to start realistic and effective internal activities will be enough. i hope very much that the official prosecution will contribute to such a cleansing, but also and most importantly, i think it needs to come from the sponsor companies. >> all right. thank you very much for speaking to us. european football's governing body has confirmed that goal line technology will be used in this year's champions league final for the first time. and this is now the acting general secretary, but they are not looking for their own new president just yet to replace michelle pl michelle platini. barcelona are used to

setting records, but the latest one is particularly sweet as it comes at the defeat of their most bitter rival. it makes the spanish record that stood for 27 years. barca hold on to an 8-point lead at the top of la liga. a great achievement from barcelona, but over the years there have been even more impressive records. french tennis player was a pioneer in the women's game. she was unbeaten for 181 matches between 1921 and 1926. of course one of the show courts bares her name. and to arguably one of the greatest basketball teams of all time, the los angeles lakers were unbeaten for 33 games in the early '70s. barcelona have a long way to go before they can match this team. they set a record of 104 games

unbeaten between '86 and '89. but there aren't many that can match this 16-time world darts champion. between 1995 and 2002, he won 45 consecutive world championship matches. the 45 year old is still going strong. cycling has gained an unlikely foothold in rwanda. the first organized team came together less than ten years ago, but they are already making a mark all over the world. >> reporter: rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills, and these riders have been up and down most of them. inside a decade, this is a country where race cycling has taken hold with team rwanda competing throughout africa and beyond. >> the miracle of the way it happened, and i think it has

been an incredibly rare opportunity to see a culture actually germinate and grow in a country. >> reporter: the first american to compete at the tour de france came to rwanda ten years ago to organize a local race. after experiencing the excitement that caused, he decided to stay on and put a national team together. >> there's hundreds and hundreds of thousands of bicycles here in rwanda already. they use them as a taxi bike and transport, and you don't see that in any other country. so when i test a rider, and test their ability and their efficiency, already they have the muscles for riding a bike. >> reporter: the riders live five days a week at the training camp, a life-changing opportunity, but an expensive one to sustain. when team rwanda first started in 2007 there were just five

unpaid riders. there are now 18 on full-time contracts earning up to $50,000 a year. and while there is some government assistance and sponsorship, team bosses still need to find around half a million dollars a year to keep these riders on theiric bikes. the lift in profile an olympic appearance makes is one way to raise support. this man follows the trail blaze by a former teammate, four years ago in london, he became the first black african to compete in the event at any olympics. >> cycling has improved my country, because we [ inaudible ] many countries, people around the world that they know about rwanda for cycling. >> reporter: english a grammar as well as engaging gears is

part of the day for all riders, including the first woman to sign with the team. >> translator: i want to be a full-time professional and hopefully inspire other girls. they shouldn't be discouraged bier our culture, which in the past made it taboo for girls to cycle. >> reporter: pace setters on and off the road, team rwanda is quickly changing the country's sporting culture, and the lives of its riders. andy richardson, al jazeera, rwanda. and that's all of your sport for now. more later. jo thank you. before we go a unique ex-bigs in thailand is getting plenty of attention. 1600 panda sculptures have gone on displace in bangkok, to raise awareness of the plight of the endangered animal.

that's it for now. we'll more for you in a few moments. that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target.

>> pushing the boundaries of science. >> we are on the tipping point. >> we can save species. >> it's the biggest question out there. >> it's a revolutionary approach. >> we are pushing the boundaries. >> techknow is going to blow your mind. >> our experts go inside the innovations, impacting you. >> this is the first time anybody's done this. >> i really feel my life changing. >> techknow, where technology meets humanity. only on al jazeera america. >> 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.

defiant and insisting democracy has been disrespected. brazil's former president speaks out after being questioned by police over corruption claims. ♪ hello. you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up. france's president accusing bashar al-assad of being unrealistic for scheduling elections next month. and the admission from the