google+ and more. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. hello, i'm barbara sarah, this is the newshour live from london. thank you for joining us. coming up in the next 60 minutes. russia announces it's withdrawing its main force from syria as talks take place in geneva to end the 5-year conflict. >> an attempt to reach macedonia - refugees wade through a river to leave greece emergency cabinet meeting after 18 die in ivory coast

attack, as footage shows a man with a machine-gun inside a hotel the joint russian and e.u. effort to find life on the red planet. >> hello, i'm robin adams - leicester city are trying to open up a 5-point gap at the top of the english premier league. diego costa charged by the english football association for this incident during the saturday f.a. cup quarterfinal loss to everton russia has made the surprise announcement that it is beginning the withdrawal of the main part of its military force in syria. vladimir putin said the intervention in syria largely achieved the objectives. russia's military entered in september, setting up an air base near latakia.

russian war planes staged hundreds of bombing missions near isil. putin said the news in a phone call. russia has been the strongest ally of syrian president bashar al-assad, in the country's 5-year civil war. in the last half hour, bashar al-assad denied there was differences twine himself and his russian counterpart. the development comes as talks take place to end the 5-year conflict. the special envoy stefan de mistura says all parties are facing a moment of truth. >> translation: i believe the goal set out by the military and armed force, that's why i order the minister of defence, as of tomorrow to start the pull out of the main part of our military grouping from the syrian arab republic reaction from the russian

announcement coming in. it's been said that russia's withdrawal can influence the conflict. >> whatever russia decides, this will affect the side and the other side will affect the regime. hopefully we, you know, see this on the ground. that russians are not in syria any more. we want - you know - russian people to be friends in syria, but not partners in killing the syrians. it will be important if this decision is taken - it will be more important if putin decides to really stand beside the syria people, not the dictator reaction from the syrian opposition. al jazeera's lawrence lee has more, which is near the turkey syrian boarder. >> talk about capturing the element of surprise, clearly nobody expected that the russian government was to make this announcement times, and it can't

possibly be an accident as the talks in geneva are under way and on the fifth anniversary of the war. so many questions come out of the announcement that it is withdrawing what vladimir putin says is the majority of forces. for a start, does it mean the russian air strikes around places plik aleppo -- like aleppo can continue. bear in mind when the russians got involved, damascus was under grave threat, but the russian military involvement allowed them to push the opposition back from homs and aleppo. if the russians are serious in saying they are going to withdraw the majority of their forces. that must mean that they can't have the logistical support of air bases to allow for the hundreds of sortees that they are carrying out month after month. given that, if that is the case,

what does it mean for the situation on the ground. even though vladimir putin maintains that they have achieved the majority of their objectives, and they have degraded groups like al-nusra and isil, it's the case that the troops are there, surrounding aleppo themselves. will the groups maintain some force, and what will they do in return. but crucially, and on top of that, what does it mean for russian support for the bashar al-assad government. is this a signal from moscow that the bashar al-assad government needs to be more malleable in things like transition, and what the elections might look like if they take place in 18 months time. overwhelmingly what it does, i think, is to wrong foot the syrian delegation in geneva. whether they knew about this in advance is unclear. the negotiating position must be more difficult that they don't

appear to have the backing of a military sponsor the syrian state newsagency released the following statement from bashar al-assad's office saying after the successes achievement by the syrian arab military in cooperation with the russian air forces in fighting terrorism and bringing back security and safety to many areas in syria, and after reconciliation areas widened across syria, the syrian and russian parties agreed during a phone calls to reduce the number of russian air forces in syria in correspondence to the operational phase and the continuation of end of ceasefire. >> i'm joined from dough hoe by a senior -- doha by a senior analyst. it's interesting listening to the words used by the syrian state newsagency, that the

syrian-russian parties - making it sounds like they came together, as opposed to vladimir putin saying what he was planning to do, what is your analysis of all of this. do you think russia is distancing itself from bashar al-assad? >> look, if we give vladimir putin the benefit of the doubt, and i'd probably have to go wait out of my way do that, to give the russians the benefit of the doubt, clearly the mission for the last six months served its purpose which basically means maintaining the stability of the country, meaning not allowing it to escalate down or spiralling into a civil war. isil is going nowhere as a result of the syrian - the russian presidents, and the russian bombardment. third, i think it's clear that

there has been a deal between vladimir putin and president obama, in that famous phone call that led to the ceasefire on february 2011 allowing the forces to take place. i imagine vladimir putin would not give up the presence they have for free. and there would be a bargaining on the russians, on the various files. it could involve the russian role and it could as well with those like ukraine. you never know what is going on in the super-power politics. >> marr win, stefan de mistura said these talks going on at the same time as the statement comes out is a moment of truth.

do you think the truth by the russians makes peace or agreement more likely? >> i think so. and that's why the timing of the russian announcement is important. it's coming at the opening of the syrian talks, and i think the syrian regime to make these talks more about formalities and framework and abstractions rather than the substantive discussion that is needed in the three rounds that mistura has outlined in his press conference, that would require the seriousness that the bashar al-assad regime has not shown so far. there's a pressure to get serious about negotiations because there's no way for syria

other out of the path. it is important to note, a lot of people around the world has not paid enough attention to the syrian regime's masters manoeuvres. the bashar al-assad foreign minister is in iran. i think they are trying to get iran's help to neutralize the russians, to get their help. it's not playing well in moscow, and that's why vladimir putin is making it clear that it has the upper hand in syria, and at the end of the day it will be the decision of moscow and washington that will counselled. not that of bashar al-assad and are and his allies in iran. marr win, thank you with the latest from doha

the bashar al-assad regime has been one of the powerful forces in lebanon. we are joined from beirut. as i mentioned earlier, one of the problems with the syria crisis that so many different parties are involved are with different allegiances. give us an idea of what the statement by russia - the impact that it could have on lebanon and hezbollah. >> it's safe to say that hezbollah, the shia dominated group in lebanon, is the most powerful political and social armed group operating in the country. it was no doubt very concerned. it played an active role in the conflict for a long time. and up until the russians entered the theatre, which is the syrian conflict. it suffered extraordinary losses and found it difficult to just

support of bashar al-assad, and the fact that bashar al-assad has very harshly reacted to the uprising in syria, and, indeed in its fight against rebel forces. when the russians entered the theatre, their fight, according to the hezbollah commanders, it turned from an offensive battle. not only did they secure territory and push back, they were learning to become stronger fighters given the fact that they were sat at the table alongside iran, and russia, along with the syrian military as well. although it appears that russia is exiting from the syrian theatre, as we call it, at least in some capacity one would imagine that hezbollah which has been heavily invested in the fight, would continue to keep its presence in syria.

what we have seen since the time russia has been involved. we have seen a more involved and effective hezbollah. >> one of the worst impacts of the war, apart from the quarter of a million deaths, has been the huge refugee crisis felt in the middle east, the surrounding countries and europe as well. lebanon bore the brunt relative to the population. one in four people is a refugee, give us a picture of how debilitated lebanon is by all of this, and what a change it would make if the situation in syria was to calm down. if would be dramatic for lebanon, in is it a tiny trip of a country, and it hosted around a million refugees, which is a high number. if things calm down in syria, and we see the numbers calm

down, it eases the strain that lebanon has been under since the huge number of people have come, and have settled in the mostly informal camps in the bekaa valley, across lebanon. in saying all of that, one would imagine that although the lebanese governments would certainly be happy to no longer have to bear that strain, it comes at a time of increasing pressure that the lebanese government is facing because of hezbollah, we have to bear in mind that there's a lot of pressure put on the lebanese government from other countries including saudi arabia, and the g.c.c. which has declared hezbollah a terrorist organization, they suspended billions of dollars in funding to lebanese state security, and ordered their citizens of some g.c.c. countries in saudi arabia to leave the country. so hezbollah, while it has been

weakened by the decisions made by saudi arabia and g.c.c. countries, again to bring russia back into the equation, the fact that russia is exiting the syrian conflict to some degree, that is going to put more pressure on hezbollah, on the background of all of that, is that humanitarian crisis that we are talking about, there's many refugees living in dyer situations. >> thank you. >> we've been trying to get more clarity on what vladimir putin meant by his statement, the details. the russian ambassador to the u.n. has been speaking out about the latest developments. >> our diplomacy intensified to achieve efforts in syria. we believe that we've helped undercut their infrastructure, and mind their infrastructure, destroy much of their

infrastructure. the fight will continue let's get more on this then, joining us live from moscow. a director of the center for political military analysis at the hudson institute. that's a washington d.c. based think tank. thank you for joining us on al jazeera, your reaction to the move, the announcement by vladimir putin, do you think it makes it more likely? >> i think that prospects of peace are small for all sorts of reasons, which your network well covered. the many actors, the hatred. the weakness of all the parties inability to win. i do think it makes - it's a clever move on russia's part, because it allows - it's a good timing because of the talks. air strikes have declined. so pulling out the air forces

will not happen as much in the battle. plus, they made clear - vladimir putin made clear that russia will keep access to spaces so they can come back in in the future i suppose it sends a signal that this is a signal because of the timing as well. of a slight split, a slight distancing by russia, do you read it that way at all? >> well, i have to admit i have been surprised each time with russian actions in syria. i don't anticipate they will abandon bashar al-assad, their intervention strengthened bashar al-assad's position. they may surprise me, but they may get him removed and get someone in, if they have the influence. i don't know that. if they do, they'll probably want to find a more anticipatable figure.

getting peace - isil and al-nusra and others have not signed on. it is a limited peace at best. >> why do you think vladimir putin made the announcement now, and the announcement that he has? >> well, i think the timing was right. they can put the forces back in. and the bases are important not only for syria fighting, and it's useful for russia to have the basing with respect to n.a.t.o. so, for example, that allows them to launch air strikes or other user air defenses against n.a.t.o. planes in the area. it's another clever move on russia's part. again, they themselves can't bring peace to syria, nor can the americans nor anyone else. i don't think they can. >> and i'm speaking to you now from moscow. i spoke to you when you are in washington d.c. how do you think the u.s. government will receive this

news. >> well, there has been positive statements, if not many, because it's been - it's only been a few hours that i've heard. i think from a military strategy point of view, i don't think the pentagon or n.a.t.o. will be very happy. from a diplomatic point of view, from what the state department and secretary kerry is trying to achieve, that can be supportive temporarily. they would probably not criticize it director from the center for political military analysis at the hudson institute. thank you meanwhile, the united nations in new york has been holding a closed consultation on syria, which has now ended, the u.n. social envoy was speaking via video link, where he held talks with the syrian government delegation.

daniel lack was at the headquarters in new york. it was a closed meeting, we don't officially know what is going on inside. have we heard through other means what was said? >> we can assume the video link with geneva is over. we'll make the assumption and say absolutely. the doors are closed. a couple of ambassadors have left. there's something going on, could be an informal chat. we'll have to wait and see. we had the russian permanent repsive coming out again. he was smiles, he -- representative coming all the. he was all smiles, he talked about vladimir putin's pledge to withdrawal the troops. and said that stefan de mistura had a destructive message. the french ambassador said it was a constructive moment - that's all he said, when asked by journalists, when arrived about vladimir putin's

withdrawing of forces. we'll have to wait and see the american ambassador samantha powell has left. we'll wait and see if someone comes out and gives a sense of what was said in the room, and how does vladimir putin's announcement contribute to the mood or change things from what they were expecting. focussing on the geneva talks going on, these are talks because the other ones had pretty much disappeared, how much hope do you think the security council is putting on the talks. stefan de-mistura called them a moment of truth. >> i think recognising in the first instance how hugely difficult and complicated it's been to get people to geneva, and to get them even agreeing to talk to each other, that's why you hear the word constructive. it's kind of a neutral word, it's not a negative word. people are there, they'll start to talk. there's a schedule.

de-mistura laid out a schedule when this round will stop and the next begin, in the meantime, the offer of withdrawing troops has probably created a new move, this cessation of hostilities that has been effective over much of syria, more effective if there is less military action on the ground. for the moment, it's speculation that we need more details on what the russians plan to do, what the russians and americans think of it, and responding. constructive is the word for it. >> daniel, thank you more to come on the al jazeeran newshour. including opening fire on israelis, how children have been drawn into the violence the brazilian president is defiant despite her party losing

areas in elections. >> and those that want to comment in the future ... rafael nadal upset and why he's threatening legal action. details in sport with robin. >> turkey's prime minister says he's almost certain that separatist fighters are behind the bombing in ankara. he didn't name the group directly. turkey has been bombing the targets in iraq. mohammed jamjoom reports. >> in ankara, a palpable sense of worry, of viscerale, a sense of fear. as investigators continue to comb the scene, residents were reeling from the second such blast to rip through the heart of the city in less than a month. the third attack to hit turkey's

capital since october. >> there are serious and almost certain findings that point to the separatist terrorist organization, this will be unveiled after the investigation is complete in all, over 200 people have been killed in a string of suicide bombings in turkey since last summer. attacks blamed on isil or kurdish militants. >> turkey, i can say, is under immense stress from various state and non-state actors. the crisis in syria has put turkey at odds with russia, iran, syria as a state and other counties in the region, as well as non-state actors and terrorist organizations. they are all around the spectrum. with the p.k.k. on the one hand, and the islamic d.a.e.s.h. on

the other. >> with fall out from the syrian civil war affecting the country, turkey is fighting two conflicts at the same time. one against the isil, and the other against the kurdistan workers party and p.k.k., a group designated as a terrorist organization by turkey and its allies. no recent attack highlighted how complicated the situation in turkey has become. more than the one in february. 29 people were killed. most of them members of turkey's military, when a convoy of buses were targeted. when a small group claimed responsibility, turkey's government blamed the bombing on a syrian force that works with the u.s. in the battle against i.s.i.l. turkish officials accused the group of being a syrian

affiliate of the p.k.k. when the fragile truce between the p.k.k. and turkey's government fell apart, a conflict that began in 1934 and led to the loss of tens of thousands of lives was reignited. now turkey is involved in battling turkish militants inside and outside the borders. the government stated that it will not be deterred in the fight against terrorism. it will do what needs to be done to protect the citizens of turkey, with the escalation of attacks, there's growing concern about the overall security. while the shock persisted, the clean-up continued and shops opened. as some tried to restore a sense of normality, others were left wondering if they must adjust to a frightening new normal for more on this, they are

joined by the director of the u.k.-based think tank, the center for turkey studies, thank you for being with us. you were mentioning you were in ankara a few weeks ago. is that the new normal now, that turkey needs to get used to. turkey is vulnerable to a series of attacks in the capital. the first carried out by islamic state against kurdish political parties, then there was one in sturridge. again carried out by islamic stayed. organized by the trade unions. again, the islamic state, and there was one - a terrorist attack in istanbul in germany, against tourists by islamic state. and last month, against military personal, claimed by kurdistan freedom. and now, yet another attack in

ankara, targetting civilians. no one claimed responsibility, the government believes it's done by the turkish mill stands. they are not coming out, whereas in the past they have been quick to point the finger. is there evidence that it's p.k.k. >> last month we go back to february 17th. government has come up. president and prime minister directly on the same night come up and said this was carried out by syrian kurdish fighter, belonging to y.p.g. or py forces. >> for turkey, the policy is to contain the kurdish gains in syria, they have been trying hard to get americans and other forces it designate it as a terror organization. they refuse to do so, because it's been the main and only force battling islamic state on

the ground. they were quick - on this occasion they were careful to identify what it is, or who it is behind it. they think it's two turkish nationals, a man and woman, likely to be turkish. it is not known, it is unlikely that they will carry out a similar matter against civilians, it could be, if it's kurdish politics, it's likely to be a kurdistan group lots of reasons why turkey has been destabilized. there are links with kurds, the y.p.g. example, these attacks obviously organized in syria, bearing 2 million people. also obvious strains with russia over the plane that had been downed and a lot of other reasons. how do you think turkey is reacting to the news that russia is not pulling out of syria, but

it's talking about taking out the majority of its military. >> as soon as russians move in to help or prevent the regime from falling, turkey was in difficulty. since the arab spring began, turkey was in a dream of seeing syria led by the sunni muslim movements backed by turkish governments in a way. right now, when russia got in things have changed. when russia pulled out, there's something positive for peace talks. russia gave a chance, with the opposition figures, and bashar al-assad's forces. it's the russian air strikes and forces that changed the power balance in syria. >> and the air base is staying. >> it's not going to change much. >> it will be interesting to see how that pans out. >> thank you

well, still locked ahead on the al jazeera newshour. why 60,000 chinese minors have taken to the streets. plus... >> i'm tania paige reporting from south africa, where children from a township have a chance at thwarting an academic success at this riding academy.

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>> 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. welcome back. here is a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. the russian president vladimir putin ordered his troops to start pulling out of syria from tuesday. >> i believe that the goal set out to the ministry of defense and the armed forces is overall fulfilled, and that's why i ordered the minister of defence, as of tomorrow to start the pull out of the main part of the military grouping from the syrian arab republic. >> vladimir putin's comments come as talks to find a political solution to end the 5-year conflict resume in geneva russia's decision is in

stark contrast to the allegiance the country has with the syrian government. neave barker looks back at the relationship with the bashar al-assad regime in syria russia's military intervention began with air strikes on september 30th and homs and hamas, a response to a formal request for help from president bashar al-assad. in the days and weeks, russia intensified its campaign, firing cruise missiles, hitting targets in syria. more than 50 aircraft, paratroopers and special forces were sent to the region. moscow insisted it was targetting the islamic state of iraq and levant. turkey said russia was targetting ain bashar al-assad fighters instead. including groups backed and armed by the united states. on 31 october, the shooting down

of a russian passenger plane over egypt steered russia's intervention in a new direction. the attack claimed by isil killed hundreds of russian holiday makers. russia responded by ramping up the air operations in syria, deploying bombers for the first time, leading to gain by the government. in the crowded theatre of war, a sudden and dangerous escalation in tension. on november 24th, turkey shot down a russian fighter jet after incursions by russian planes. a pilot was killed. the first combat death of russia's operation, and the first time an n.a.t.o. country shot down a russian plane since the cold war. >> amida war of words with turkey russian air strikes conditioned. in raqqa, activists say bombing led to deaths. in the last six months human

rights groups say more than 1700 groups have been killed, something moscow denies. and now, almost as quickly as it began, the kremlin says it's ready to withdraw the main part of the force in syria. vladimir putin reversed the fortunes saying he achieved the objective. many questioned whether russia's intervention created the basis for lasting peace. of course, one of the impacts of the war in syria is a huge refugee crisis in the middle east and europe. refugees desperate to across the boarder from greece to macedonia have been evading authorities and wading through a river. they've been trying to escape continues from a border camp where illness is taking its toll on some of the younger members. >> desperate to continue with a

journey northwards, hundreds make the crossing at the boarder of greece and macedonia. young men helping the children and elderly cross the river. hundreds were successful, with many holding children, and their belongings as they waded across. >> we have no option but to go on. we have change and don't have a basic service. no statements, nothing. >> macedonian police confirmed they are holding 400 refugees who reached the boarder with greece. 1,000 migrants, including children left the camp in the greek village. they walked along the fence and the boarder. taking them back in the hope they will find a way into macedonia. this is what they'll live behind. that is becoming a by word for misery. humanitarian agencies offered a

place to sleep for assume. -- some. this is a daily endurance. days and months has added to their misery. the flimsy tents offer little protection from the rain and cold. to stay warm they ban wood donated by greek villages, as well as pieces of plastics and old clothes. our children are living, we have no tents or assistance. all we want is to get to germany. they have treated more than 100 children. >> most now say they have respiratory diseases. upper respiratory disease. some call it infection, respiratory disease. a few diseases. >> it's the case of a 9-year-old

girl testing positive for hepatitis a that has workers worried the most. >> what we don't know, and we are worried about the vaccination status of the children. coming from an area, the vaccination is not complete, or is undervaccinated. we can have a sporadic case of vaccine preventible disease. >> they say they are planning a vaccination campaign for all the chin in the camp -- children in the camp well, we heard some. refugees saying that they want to head to germany, the german chancellor angela merkel says she'll continue with the existing policy, despite the party suffering losses. sunday's poll is wide by regarded as a referendum on merkel's approach. dominik kane reports.

monday morning, people are enjoying the late winter sunshine, outwardly life is going on as normal. politically the landscape shifted. now one in four people in this state supports the right wing anti-refugee party rfd. >> translation: i have noted rfd. i do not agree with the policies of the chancellor, she must learn first and foremost to think of her own people. german media called this a referendum on angela merkel's asylum policies, saying her stance cost her and her coalition partners votes. she says her refugee policy will not change. >> it was a hard day for us. the refugee policy was the defining theme for elections, people feel there's no viable solution to it. it impacted on everything. we are working on a solution, but we are not there yet. >> no such doubts for the ifd.

they see sunday's results as a vindication. >> germany and greece are the only two countries in europe that have not realized what other e.u. countries want - control. european, and if necessary national borders. again to achieve, help the asylum seekers and refugees, but keep out migrants in the first place. to treat migration, we need the migration laws, and we don't have proper migration laws in germany. >> reporter: despite success, the road for rt party is rocky, will they now have a presence in the german state parliament, none of the main parties will work for them, and the majority of voters do not support them. >> that they have performed well i'm not happy about, they are top far to the right. >> in the last attack.

the christian democrats governed the state in the grand coalition with the social democrats. sunday's results made the combination impossible. what it means for the federal grand coalition is another question ivory coast has raised its security alert to the highest level after sunday's armed attack on a holiday resort. 18 were killed in attacks on three hotels. and an african affiliate of al-qaeda says it's responsible. niklas haque has more from the scene. >> reporter: this person was selling jewellery to a mother with a baby on the beach. when she heard the first volley of shots. still shaken, she's come back to the tourist hotel to check up on the women. >> they were shooting at her. she was holding her baby, and she fell on the ground

pretending to be dead. they moved inside the hotel. it was scary. >> reporter: the footage shows the moments staff and guests realized gunmen were storming the hotel. moments after, one of the attackers brandished a machine-gun. the assault on three beach hotels lasted for hours. we walked inside one of them. the panic and the carnage that followed is still visible. some eyewitnesss believe the attackers may have been local. >> translation: we were worried they were speaking english and in french like we do. >> reporter: the survivors of the killings left the hotel, heading for home. >> i heard what was happening, and we hid in the toilet. i waited there. i didn't want to leave. it seemed next to us people were

dying. >> reporter: armed personal continued to clear the hotel. >> security forces found a device buried in the sand. they think it's an explosive device, they asked all of us to move from the beach. responsibility has been claimed for the attacks. french officials warned more attacks o could be on the way in west africa. security forces are doing a re-enactment, trying to find clues as to what the security lapses were to ensure an attack like this doesn't happen again. this woman is looking for the young mother on the beach, hoping sheets safe in the west bank three palestinians have been shot dead. it's a we've of violence that has escalated since october last year, leaving 199 palestinians,

and 28 israelis dead. and children are becoming involved as nadim baba now reports. >> reporter: they may look carefree, but the youngsters are becoming more and more used to seeing violence on a daily basis. recently they witnessed forces shooting dead a 13-year-old in this refugee camp in bethlehem. >> i was 10 meters away when they shot him. he fell to the ground. there was blood coming out of his mouth. the soldiers ran towards us, we ran away and they shot two others in the leg. >> of the roughly 200 palestinians killed, almost a quarter have been under 18. this footage shows a 13-year-old after his arrest. he carried out an attack. in some cases they are younger,

this 12-year-old was arrested at an illegal settlement near hebron for carrying a knife. she's serve a 4.5 month sentence, her family has no contact with her. >> they withdrew her father's workpermit and imposed a fine. we miss her when we sit for a meal. it's different in the house now. >> for her family, this is a difficult time. at the age of 12, she's the youngest palestinian in an israeli gale. there's around 400 other children behind bars, and juveniles make up half of the 4,000 palestinians, that israel has detained since the upsurge in violence began in october. for this organization. it's a disturbing cycle of event. >> it will increase the hype and

mill pterised zone in which the children are grown up. so children are forced to pass through checkpoints, they are forced to interact with soldiers all the time. >> dimia's brother and sisters are looking forward to having her home again. it's hard to say what the experience is on her and her family thousands of miners in china's coal-rich north have gone on strike over unpaid wages and fears of mass lay offs. they took their fight to the streets of the province, demanding more than six months worth of outstanding wages. still ahead on al jazeera... ..in sport, the big names make their entry in cricket world's t20 with hosts india taking on new zealand. details coming up next.

russia and the european union launched a mission to see if the presence of methane gas could mean that there is life on mars. the unmanned exomars probe took off aboard a russian rocket. it's expected to reach mars in october. time to get the sports, here is robin in doha. >> thank you very much. a football first - leicester city opened up a 5-point gap.

they have beaten newcastle 1-0 at the kink powers stadium -- king powers stadium. striker diego costa could be banned. replays appear to show diego costa biting everton's gareth barry. it relates to the reaction about the sending off, and not the alleged bite. costa has until thursday to respond to the charge. >> f.i.f.a. cancelled two asian world qualifiers to be played later. the country is suspended from the world football governing body over alleged government interference and kuwaiti football. the country has done an exhibition match, marking the opening of its national stadium.

stars like gerald were playing the crickets world 20 twenty20 gets under way with india taking on new zealand. the super-10s is when the big names get involved. india, who are many people's favourites to win. and group 2 alongside australia, new zealand, pakistan and bangladesh. as for the opponents, it's an era for the black caps with ken williamson captaining the side, following the retirement of brendan mccollum. >> when you play around the world, you have to adapt to different conditions. when you play at home, it's important that we made the adjustments. we had good preparation, in the u.a.e. and mumbai as well. at the same time whatever ground you play at around india, conditions can be different. well assist those tomorrow. >> this will be far more challenging. we have teams from all over the world combeating, if you look at both the groups, the teams are

strong. but evenly matched. we would like to focus on the strength. the oppositions do not matter for us so much. >> meanwhile pakistan al-afridi has been served a legal notice. apparently he hurt the feeling of pakistan cricket fans after suggesting that he was more popular in india than back home. pakistan are due to play india on march 19th. rafael nadal is threatening to accuse a former minister who accused him of doping. the 14-time grand slam champion denied allegations that an injury break was as a result of that positive drug tests. >> there's a couple of times i heard comments like this, and that - this will be the last one. i'm going to sue her.

i'm tired about this. to listen to hurt about comments from a person that should be serious, because was a minister of a big country, and a great country like france. i will sue her and everyone who going to comment something similar in the future, because i am tired of it. >> rafael nadal speaking of a second-round win. despite looking vulnerable, clinched a 2-1 victory. this was an adults first match of the tournament. and was given an opening round. >> children from one of the fuf toughest townships in south africa are getting on their bikes, escaping poverty and crime. tania paige went to take a look. >> it's soccer, not cycling, that most south african youngsters are inspired by. bmx biking has a small but passionate following. it is a safe place for township

kids to hang out. it's in the middle of one of the biggest townships in south africa. many youngsters come with physical and mental scars, and in need of guidance on and off the bike. >> the perseverance of the kids in terms of living his or her household hungry, making sure that he achieves his goal. some will have issues at home. maybe the guardian or whatever was here, he'll make sure he's at 4 o'clock. >> reporter: this is more than a cycling academy, there's emphasis on academic achievement. the excitement of riding and being sports stars bring the children in. if they don't maintain good economic standards, they could have their bicycles taken off them. >> the classrooms walls are

covered with inspiring photos. the gym is the academy's biggest star. both the personalities were killed by the h.i.v. virus, and he grew up in a shack. now he lives in italy, and rides with a professional team dimension data. >> anthony is the biggest star. he makes a quick stop at a house that he shares with his grandmother. his mother died when he was a baby. >> there's a lot of violence. especially here. that's why i chose the academy. take me away from the bad stuff last year. >> last year, he was stabbed and attacked by a gang member. he feels better on the bib. the academy kids are determined

life's obstacles won't ruin their futures looks like golf's world number one, jordan spieth has some work to do before his defense. jordan spieth had proud moments including the final hold, but tied for 18th. for the final round at the championship, instead it was 2011 masters champion charles swartzel who finished on top. coming from five shots back, to force a playoff. beating the american at the first hole. victory was the second on the pga tour. >> and that's your sport for now. >> robin, thank you for that. that is it for this newshour. you can find out more were the website - you can see the top story, russia to withdraw troops from syria. they'll be discussing it at length in the next half hour of

news in a few minutes. join me then. bye-bye. >> stopping the next generation of isis recruits. teaching the youth on the front lines. working towards a better future. >> this is one of the most important sites in the century. >> proudest moment of my life.

>> 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.? >> this week on talk to al jazeera best selling author mitch albom. >> i use death to ricochet your attention back on to life. >> albom's latest novel is "the magic strings of frankie presto", a tale about the greatest guitarist to ever live and the lives he changes. the writer's first dream was to be a musician. >> i didn't write anything until i was already well into my

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