that's it for us. the news continues next live from doha. ♪ >> announcer: this is al jazeera. hello, very warm welcome to the al jazeera news hour. i'm jane dunton in doha. the top stories. ♪ >> celebrations in russia as forces return back home from their military operations in syria. and a new president for myanmar. parliament has elected a civilian leader after more than f half a century of military rule. and five states are picking

their choice for the presidential nominee in the united states. i'm in austin, texas. we'll take a look at just how hard it is to make a living as a musician here. ♪ we do start with breaking news out of belgium where a major operation is underway. we with hearing that police investigating the november attacks in paris were hunting a gunman after shops -- shots were fired during a raid on a house in brussels. that's all we know at this stage. we are waiting on our correspondent jacky rowland to give us more details on this breaking news story. to other news, russia has begin pulling forces out of syria. the defense ministry says the first group of war planes has

already left. around a thousand troops are expected to stay in the country. the russian military began its air complain in september. the decision to pull out, comes as a syrian government delegation and the opposition meet in geneva to try to end the war. today marks exactly five years since the conflict began. 250,000 people have been killed, according to the u.n., and half f the country's population has been displaced. zana hoda has more on the russian withdraw. >> reporter: russian troops are arriving home a day after a surprise announcement by president putin. he said the major part of his forces will be pulled out. putin says they have achieve what they came to achieve. back in september that was helping president bashar al-assad fight what they call terrorists. >> translator: i believe that the goal set out from the

ministry of defense and armed forces has overall been fulfilled, and that's why i ordered the pull out of the main part of our military grouping. >> reporter: the move has been welcomed by the syrian opposition as well as by the white house. they believe it will put pressure on the damascus government to be more flexible. the timing of the announcement was significant. it coincited with resumed talks in geneva. the message from putin to his diplomats, it's your turn. >> i think it should be -- well, we believe that we have helped undercut -- undercut their infrastructure and undermine their infrastructure. destroy much of their infrastructure. the fight against terrorists there is going to continue. >> reporter: russian air strikes have allowed the syrian government to regain lost ground. the syrian government was told

about the decision to pull out. a statement from assad says it was taken jointly. >> they used military force, but more importantly they did it as part of creating a diplomatic political process, where now russia co-chairs the political process with the united states, which is a dramatic increase in russian power and influence over this process. >> reporter: moscow will keep control of an air base in the mediterranean, and they still have control of a port further south. it bought moscow more global political influence, especially in dealings with the u.s. >> air strikes have already declined, so pulling out the air forces won't have much effect on the battle. plus, they made clear -- putin made clear that russia will keep access to its bases so they can easily come back in, in the

future. >> reporter: the announcement came after syrian government offici official ruled out talk or a transition. a few weeks ago russia criticized assad for saying one day he would recapture the whole of syria. it could be a message to the syrian regime to be more flexible. it remains to be seen whether putin was right when he said the russian military has created the conditions for a peace process. zana hoda, al jazeera. speaking to our diplomatic editor, james bayes who joins us live from geneva. james it has been several hours now since russia made that announcement. it has time to obviously sink in. what sort of impact has it had and what sort of impact will it have going forward? >> it certainly changes the dynamics that underlie these

talks, because russia has always been the strongest supporter of the syrian regime of bashar al-assad. now there is some doubt about that, about their stead-fast support for the syrian government, and i suspect there's some doubt even in the government delegation about where they stand, and i think they will be a little bit uneasy about the situation. the opposition seemed to have a bit of a spring in their step in the last few hours because of this news. isil reaction from the main spokesman from the main opposition block, the high negotiations committee. >> we know that there is big efforts from the states, from european countries, that really made putin take this decision. there were -- you know, some -- i believe some meetings, some talks between the states and russia, and hopefully that, really, that big decision would be, is to -- really, bring democracy, bring freedom to

syrians, away from this regime. i don't think it's acceptable among syrians to see assad, any longer. >> and of course james we're expecting many more meetings? >> reporter: yes, this process is underway. it's quite a slow process. these are what are called proximity talks. so on monday we have the government side here before the announcement from moscow meeting with the u.n. mediator, and in one hour's time, the parallel meeting, it will be the opposition who will be meeting with staffan de mistura. he has already put out a statement, the u.n. mediator saying he is pleased by this development. he says it is constructive development for the talks, the news coming out of moscow. >> thank you for that, james bayes. iran's foreign minister said russia's withdrawal is a

positive move and a sign that the conditional ceasefire in syria is working. >> the fact that russia announced that it is withdrawing, part of its forces, indicates that there -- they don't see an imminent need for resort to force in maintaining the ceasefire. that in and of and itself should be a positive sign. now we have to wait and see. >> let's take a look at russia's military operation in syria. moscow has carried out an estimated 9,000 bombing raids over syria. it says these have helped to evict isil areas. but activists say many russian air strikes were in fact directed against syrian rebel groups that the western powers regard as moderate. and it is estimated that around a thousand civilians have been killed in russian bombings. our senior political analyst joins me now.

well, putin is always a man to pull off a surprise. how big of surprise is this in the big scheme of things? >> look, for the last five years we have had two mind sets, two styles of action in syria. there is putin's and obama. there's the commando, and the commander in chief. the commando, mr. put tin he plans, he supported assad with arms and every possible way to block any attempts at undermining assad at the united nations. and when the came last summer, he stepped in to save the assad regime from breaking down. on the other hand, we have president obama, the commander in chief who deliberates, who

p procrastina procrastinates, who even vegetates in the process, and weighs all of the scenarios, but more like a general of sort of an armchair general, i should say, he -- he has been basically focused on how to avoid getting militarily involved in the syrian crisis. so between the two, we have president putin who basically sees now that his gamble in syria has worked, and he wants basically to cash in his chips. where do you cash in the chips? well, there's the united states. and it seems with president obama that will finally make the deal on syria. >> so putin trumps obama in syria. using a hot word there as well. where does this leave, now, assad? there is a camp that believes that russia has decided that he is not going to go anywhere, so why stay any longer? >> when i wrote -- did putin

trump obama in syria, many people wrote back saying define trump. >> yeah. >> is this a good thing or a bad thing? >> exactly. >> so at the end of the day as far as russia is concerned and as far as russia's role in syria, and the syrian talks, and i would say as far as russia's role in the middle east is concerned, and that's very important, jane, because it's clear now from the mind set in russia that after that your row asia, which is the primary strategic concern for moscow, the middle east is becoming the second in importance. and hence, really russia is looking at expanding its influence, and it needs to be a partner of the united states. it seems for the united states it's probably easier to work in a bipolar way, to organize conflicts, resolve conflicts than to do it aloin. so that means there is a message to president assad, be careful,

this is not a game. don't go around playing in some sort of formal game in geneva. you need to get serious about the talks, because of your cannot depend on russia to support you endlessly because there is no military solution. in syria there is a diplomatic one, and there's one on the table now, and the assad regime needs to get serious about that. there's a road map, it's clear where it is going to a tradition aleck executive body, leading to elections and new constitutionings, and president assad is going to learn how to get with the program. >> foos nating. thank you. >> thank you. >> lots more ahead on the al jazeera news hour. including french government ministers are visiting the ivory coast which is in mourning after an al-qaeda attack. i'm andy richardson in rwanda, a country with big plans for its cricketing future. ♪

we have got more now on our top story. that shootout we have been hearing about in belgium. let's bring in jacky rowland live in paris. jacky what is going down? >> reporter: well this was a joint operation in fact carried out by belgium and french police, directly linked to the ongoing search for people linked to the attacks in paris on november 13th. police moved in on a building a district of brussels, and they were on the receiving end of gunfire. we understand that two suspects took light. they escapes over the roof tops, according to eyewitnesss. three police officers were injured in that exchange of fire. one of them, we are told was shot in the head and is seriously wounded. at the moment no news on where

those two suspects can have escaped to. and the key suspect, the number one suspect who is still on the lose from those november the 13th attacks, we have had no information on where he might be recently. he was originally there brussels. so on operation like this does raise the question as to whether or not the police are pursuing those key suspects. >> i was going to ask you about the investigation. i mean there was a whole host of mistakes shortly after the attacks. so where are we now? >> reporter: you are right, jane. and a lot of questions have been asked about how for example, on the night of november 13th, into november 14th, how was he able to escape from paris back to brussels? subsequently there has been cctv

footage released of him at the service station. apparently the car he was traveling in was even stopped by police during that journey. and there were other questions about why police didn't move in overnight, when they suspected that they knew that a resident he was at -- apparently there was some operating procedure, that wouldn't allow them to carry out raids overnight. so there have been criticism about failures in sharing int intelligen intelligence, and also the way suspects were able to cross borders even in the key hours after those attacks. >> thanks, jacky. now to myanmar where the parliament has elected a new president, but he is already being called a proxy president.

wayne haye reports from bangkok. >> reporter: this was a major milestone in myanmar's political transition. members of parliament voted decisively for the man they want to lead the country into a new era. >> we announce that htin kyaw wins the majority votes and is selected to be the president of myanmar. [ applause ] >> reporter: it was no surprise given he is from the national league for democracy party that won november's election and dominates both houses of parliament. but the 69 year old is expected to be a figure head only. the party leader aung san suu kyi has made it clear she will be the one calling the shots. she is barred from becoming president because she has immediate family members who are foreigners. negotiations to set aside that section of the constitution

failed. it is believed the nld may not wait long to make another attempt. the arms forces will remain very powerful, maintaining control of three security ministries and veto power over constitutional change. their presidential nomination who will now become vice president is this former general, who is known to be a hard liner. uner will military rule, he oversaw a violent crackdown on an anti government protest lead by buddhist monks in 2007. his nomination is being seen as a sign that the military will not let the nld have its own way completely. but for now they will celebrate the fact that it will have one of it own as president. let's go to the u.s. presidential elections. and five states are voting on who they want to be the next presidential candidates. the most significant day since

super-tuesday earlier this month. to win the republican race, candidates 1,237 delegates. right now donald trump has 460, ted cruz 370, marco rubio 163, and john kasich has 63. in the democratic party a candidates needs 2,383 delegates. hillary clinton has 767, and bernie sanders 553. well special attention is being paid to ohio. the state has voted for the candidate who became president every time since 1964. kimberly halkett reports. >> reporter: scott and his family have been working this 400 hectare corn and wheat farm for five generations. and their political views have also changed little like their

commitment to farming. >> it's agricultural, it's conservative. there are a lot of electoral votes up for grab, and that could sway the election. >> reporter: he has kt decided which candidate he'll support. he says he'll vote like so many in this part of ohio for a conservative candidate. but ohio's population isn't primarily rural. two thirds of the state's residents are concentrated in cities, and many vote on the opposite end of the political spectrum. this man is one of them. he grew up in a rural part of the state, but moved to the city as a young man. he says he will vote for a democratic candidate, because he believes the party's platform is more inclusive. >> you look across the aisle and you see an entire party that is

still widely discriminatory against minorities, against women, against people with disabilities. america is a very diverse place now. it's a place that is filled with a number of different ethnic groups. >> reporter: these polarizing political interests are what make ohio one of handful of what is known as a swing state. so candidates battle for the support of each and every voter, but lately ohio has become a political battleground for another reason. over the weekend a protester stormed the stage at a republican rally for donald trump. it is one reason the governor of ohio, republican john kasich is hoping the state's primary is where he will finally establish himself as the alternative candidate. >> a lot of the national republicans have been asking him to get out of the race. and he is saying if i don't win ohio then trump has the

nomination. >> reporter: trump's surge in support is one reason why republicans and democratic candidates have spent millions in recent weeks reaching out to ohio voters. they know a win will come down to turnout, and which candidate can best convince ohio residents to vote. >> let's bring in alan fisher in miami. talk us through what is happening there at the moment, and how it's looking. are you getting a sense of how it is going to play out? >> reporter: well, this is polling place number 419 in miami, dade county. there has been a steady stream of people through the door over the last few hours. people have been lining up in florida since 7:00 am local time to cost their vote, and they stay open for 12 hours. speaking to a few of the voters here, if it pans out the way a very unscientific study pans out, then marco rubio is in

trouble quite simply because if marco rubio is tying donald trump as the people seem to be suggesting that the votes are evenly split, miami is one of his strong holds, and if donald trump is even coming close to him, then it's expected he will not continue. john kasich until the last few days was behind donald trump in the polls, but kasick has already said if he doesn't win his home state, he will not be continuing in the confest. ted cruz hasn't been here at all. he doesn't believe that florida is fertile ground for him. he is hoping to pick up a few second or third places elsewhere. but why are florida and ohio so important. well, because up until now the delegates in the republican race have been allocated

proportionally. so if you come in second or third, there is a chance you will pick up some delegates. in ohio and florida is it winner takes all. and there are a lot of delegates up for grabs. if donald trump sweeps four of the five states holding contests on tuesday there is a real danger he has a lock on the nomination. that's a danger for the other candidates, of course. so marco rubio and john kasich really need to win their home states, but as i said we have been speaking to voters here going in, some say they are voting for trump, some say rubio, and if trump is that close it could be bad news for marco rubio. he is due to address supporters here in miami when the polls close. and it could be rather than saying he is going forward, he could be announcing the fact that he really does have to pull out. john kasich may be facing that same dilemma as well.

as for donald trump he said he is going to have a magnificent day. he thinks this day could put a lock on the nomination for him. so it will be a very interesting next couple of hours. >> thank you for that, alan. kyle is the director at the university of virginia center for politics and the author of why ohio picks a president. he joins me live from washington, d.c. do you think donald trump is going to have a good day as he predicted? >> well, if he wins florida it's definitely a good day, because that's the biggest winner take all state that is voting today. but i think that john kasich has a real chance to win his home state of ohio, and maybe ted cruz could pull off an upset in maybe a state like missouri or north carolina. i think trump will come out with the most delegates, but the margins do matter here.

and we'll have to determine whether he may be headed to a scenario where we'll have a contested convention in jewel. >> and talk us why ohio is so important. and is it more of are psychological win than anything else? >> yeah, ohio is winner take all. ohio is also generally very reflective of the nation, not necessarily so much in primaries but certainly in general presidential elections, so just the moral boost of being able to win ohio, i think is positive for a campaign. so that plays a big role in the process today as well. >> where does all of this leave the democratic front runners? >> so, same five big states vote today on the democratic side as vote on the republican one. hillary clinton looks to be doing very well in florida and north carolina. she has swept the south so far. she should get 60% plus in florida and north carolina,

which means she should probably get the most delegates today, but bernie sanders has a real chance to pull off an inset in ohio, missouri, and/or illinois. and then the calendar moves to a lot of states that are more favorable to sanders, but the way the democratic delegates are proportioned, it's going to be hard for sanders to catch up to hillary clinton. >> certainly a big day. thank you for talking us through it. >> thank you. still to come on the program, nigeria is rocked by more allegations of corruption in the oil industry. we're live for the latest. plus, before the t-rex, a pre-rex. dinosaur remains provide an incite into the top predator. and the nfl finally admits there is a link between american football and a deadly brain disease. those detiles coming up in

sports.

>> every monday night. >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. >> we will be able to see change. >> gripping... inspiring... entertaining. no topic off limits. >> 'cause i'm like, "dad, there are hookers in this house". >> exclusive conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> these are very vivid, human stories. >> if you have an agenda with people, you sometimes don't see the truth. >> "talk to al jazeera". monday, 6:00 eastern. only on al jazeera america. ♪ hello again, to the al

jazeera news hour, the top stories. breaking news out of belgium where a major operation sundayway. three police officers have been wounded during a raid on a house in brussels. they are hunting a gunmen suspected to have links with the november attacks in paris. the suspect is still on the run. russia has begin withdrawing its forces from syria. pilots have received a hero's welcome as they return to their base in central russia. the russian military began its air campaign in september. in the u.s. polls have opened in five states where voters will choose their prefered presidential candidate. republican and democratic voters are casting ballots in florida, ohio, illinois, missouri, and north carolina. let's get more now on the war in syria. before the conflict the country's population was about 23 million. today more than half of them have been driven from their homes. gerald tan breaks down the

numbers. >> reporter: the syrian civil war has triggered an extraordinary displacement of its people. we start in syria, where 60 months after the war began 1.3 million have been displaced inside the country as of last june it was 7.63 million. in turkey, an initial figure of 8,000 syrians in the first year of fighting has swollen to 2.72 million. turkey has by far the largest number of syrian refugees. in lebanon, a similar low base of 6,000-plus in 2011, is now more than a million syrians. remember lebanon's total population is just 4.5 million. jordan initially had upwards of 22,000 syrians cross the border. more recently nearly 640,000, and iraq too, a nation with its

own set of documented problems, back in january 2012, only 8 registered syrians. now it's nearly a quarter of a million. so five years after syria's war began this is the situation. 4.7 million people displaced externally, and that's just in four neighboring countries, and 7.6 million displaced internally. in reality, more than half of syria's population is not where it was five years ago and isn't returning any time soon. >> i'm joined now by a syrian journalist and recently returned from aleppo. good to have you on the show. it will be interesting to know what you found then? what sort of impact do you think this latest move will have by russia? >> reporter: quite significant. this comes after an intervention that has very much weakened the

syrian opposition, because it was aimed at targeting the syrian opposition. we're talking about the moderate opposition. whereas russia now is saying that it carried out most of its objectives, and the main objective was to eliminate isis, and that has not happened. -- isis has spread even further, because key areas are being targeted. those front lines were never a target, but it is significant now. this comes on the 14th of march, and this is the 15th march, which is the five anniversary. just a few days ago on friday there were over 130 protests that took place across syria, in rebel-held areas. the majority of the people participating are rebel groups that are considered moderate groups. this is important because this means they are resisting to

groups such as al-nusra and isil and are trying to uphold those values of what we now can say again is the revolt that has gone on for five years. >> if russia has been so effective in taking out what you call these moderate forces, where does it leave them now if assad is clearly there to stay? >> reporter: if assad is clearly there to stay? the thing is, russia came at a very important time to make sure that the assad regime would stay intact, and to ensure that, and that did happen. what we have are other problems in northern syria, for example. in aleppo and idlib there are other groups that are trying to take over control of these areas, and what we're seeing is a resistance to that. that's what i mean. the problem -- the main strategy that the assad regime depends on in order to be able to control

these areas is to destroy the development in these areas and make sure it is controlled by fundamentalist groups. then it's the international coalition's responsible to take them out, russia no longer needs to be on syria soil to do that. now there is a resistance to make sure that moderate opposition to assad is still very much apparent on syria soil. i think this is a miscalculation by the russian government, assuming it has weakened it, but assuming it had eliminated it. >> we know the civilian population, many became victims of the russian air strikes. obviously they are effected by the fighteri-- fighting of the by isil. give us a an update on the situation there. >> the situation now, after a bombing campaign that was carried out over the last few months, a lot have made it to

turkey, a lot of them are stuck on the borderlines. some have even gone to isis territory, because aleppo is a very dangerous area to be in, was a very dangerous area to be in, given this partial ceasefire. raqqa was in fact a safer area to be in then aleppo, because of the bombing campaigns that were taking place in aleppo. now we have about 300,000 people still in aleppo, and they are enjoying the ceasefire that has been going on for quite a while, which is promising, but now syrian families are very much scattered out, even the ones that decided to stay, a lot have left and are trying to make it into turkey. it's important to mention this if i can say this on al jazeera, the borderline with turkey is now closed. they are not letting any syrians into turkey. and yesterday a female

journalist was arrested. today [ inaudible ] was arrested at the airport and stripped of his residency, and was asked to leave the country. this is the pattern of arrests that turkey are carrying out on journalists on turkey. i have to mention that, because this is becoming very disturbing. >> all right. thank you. really appreciate you talking to us and sharing your experience. government ministers from france are in the ivory coast as a show of support following an al-qaeda attack. at least 90 people died on sunday. nicklas hawk sent this update. >> reporter: another injured from this attack has sa -- succumbed to his wounds. we have a little bit more information regarding the investigation. there weren't six attackers, but three. this investigation is ongoing

involving several countries. the ivorian president addressed the nation trying to reassure foreign investors, and he said that there were special measures put in place to reassure them, such as more briefed up military personnel at border areas, but also at strategic locations such as banks, schools, and government offices. the west african body here came under heavy criticism from the local press. they were saying that there wasn't enough concerted effort to prevent such attacks. in norway the mass killer is back in court, accusing the government of treating him inhumanely. he was convicted of shooting 77 people dead five years ago. he says his solitary confinement is making him depressed. in thailand, the first trial is getting underway in a special

court set up to hear cases of human trafficking. most of the refugees are rohingya muslims fleeing violence in myanmar. >> reporter: this is thigh lan's largest human trafficking case. here at a new division created in bangkok's criminal court. even though the trial is now underway, those families impacted by these criminal gangs are still suffering. just over three hears ago, this woman fled myanmar to join her husband in thighland. her husband had three two years earlier. they are members of the rohingya community. instead of the better life he sought, her husband landed in a jungle camp along with other would-be migrants held by human traffickers looking to extort more money. she was asked for ransom money

she didn't have. her husband is now one witness among others of others. but he is still not free. he is kept in a shelter away from his family. for safety, she didn't want to show her face or use her real name. >> translator: there are many traffickers still out there. we can't be here. we can't work here. if they find us, they will kill us. many traffickers are not arrested yet. >> reporter: the case is based on mass graves discovered last may. the trafficking had been going on for years. there are 91 defendants listed in the case. the most high profile, this army lieutenant general. back in december, one of the most senior thai police investigators on the case fled to australia. he is seeking asylum, because of what he called threats from influential figures.

some feel this is not enough. and the investigation for this trial stopped early. >> the authorities are handling this in such a way that we believe unfortunately it may amount to a show trial. there is evidence in some cases evidence, we believe that is already in the courts that -- in the court's possession that would indicate a much broader list of people who should be brought to -- to -- to -- who should be held accountable. >> reporter: but he thinks thai officials want to show they are progressing on their human trafficking crackdown, so they needed the trial to move forward. even with the trial now underway it is expected to take more than a year, not good news for this woman and her family, who not only remain separated during the trial. they don't know where they will go once it is over. >> reporter: as indicated by just how long the questioning for the first witnesses is taking place, it is going to be slow going.

but that is to be expected because again, this is a new division in the criminal court here. in bangladesh the head of the central bank has resigned after a huge electronic theft scandal. the hackers allegedly stole $81 million after breaking into the central bank's computer system. they managed to get the money at the federal reserve of new york. he bangladesh government says it will sue the bank for negligence. pope francis has confirmed that mother theresa will be declared a saint next september. she founded the missionaries of charity order, which has operations worldwide. the nobel peace prize winner died in 1997. still to come we'll tell you what happened when three

children sneaked into barcelona's training ground. that's coming up with jo. ♪

♪ here is an unlikely partnership for you. nasa has teamed up with the nation potato center in peru. they want to develop a potato that can be grown on mars. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: it's billions of years old. the oldest desert on earth. this patch of the desert in southern peru even looks like it could be from another world.

nasa scientist says change the sky to orange and you are on mars. >> translator: we found here the closest similarity to the soil on mars. we have done experiments from missions that have gone to mars. the organic matter is almost non-existent here. >> reporter: and that's why scientists from nasa and the national potato center believe it's the perfect soil to breed a potato that could grow in extreme conditions as on mars. >> translator: the potato is an ideal candidate, because it has concurred all of the eco symptoms on this planet. now there are more than 4,000 varieties in peru. >> reporter: researchers say the martian atmosphere has high levels of carbon dioxide which will help potatoes grow. scientists and students are collecting data and testing

samples of the soil which will be transported to lima for the experiment. researchers will build a greenhouse simulating mars. 100 varieties have already been chosen for the experiment. >> translator: they will not be genetically modified but transformed by traditional breeding to obtain a new variety, a new clone. we hope, and we will sure it will be positive, because potatoes have a high ability to adapt. >> reporter: because the soil, the screenry, and antiquity of this desert, is the closest to mars, scientists believe it is extremely important for this and other experiments. however, they worry that this place may be in danger of disappearing. scientists want the government to stop squatters who should destroy the soil.

they say this experiment must be protected. while growing potatoes on mars mie still be a long way off, at least now it's not completely science fiction. let's get the sports with jo. >> jane, thank you very much. a top nfl official has admitted there is a link between american football and the brain disease cte. jeff miller the league's vice president of health and safety was discussing concussion with u.s. politicians on tuesday. the brain disease is linked with repeated brain drama. in 2013 the nfl settled lawsuit with former players affected by the disease, paying $765 million.

>> do you think there is a link between football and degenerative brain disorders, like cte. >> certainly dr. mckee's findings show a link, so the answer to that question is certainly yes. manchester city could make history on tuesday. they go into their round holding a 3-1 lead after an impressive win in ukraine. >> i think the most important thing is to know that we are not already qualified for the next stage, so tomorrow we must stay concentrated. we are playing against a big team that know how to play thesing kinds of games. >> reporter: there is a lot to play for in the other champions league. a 0-0 score in the first leg.

since that draw, athletico has won four la liga games in a row. italy's national football coach has announced he will stand down after this year's european championships. he took charge of the team after the disastrous first-round exit in the 2014 world cup. since then he has lead them to first place. but he said he missed the day-to-day life of club football. football clubs usually take a dim view of trespassing fans, but the risk paid off for three children who speaked into barcelona's training ground on tuesday. the players went one better after giving them the bumps, the trio actually got to play with the team before security escorted them away from the

pitch. new zealand and india are battling it out in the first stage of cricket's world 2020. india's bowlers began. india will begin their reply shortly. one team hoping to appear in the 2020 world cup is rwanda. it is hoped the building of a new international stadium will further hasten its development. >> reporter: cricket has a foothold in rwanda, and is one of sport's least likely stories. its origins are entwined in the genocide of 1994 when an estimated 1 million rwandans were killed in just 100 days. many were forced into exile into

nearby countries, including uganda where cricket is played. and when they began to return, they brought cricket with them. charles was one of those early pioneers. he quickly found out his country's recent history was always around him. >> those days it wasn't uncommon for a ball to be hit over the boundary on the field of who goes to fetch it, fails, remains or -- or -- or the after effects of the genocide. it was an inspiration to bring the area back to life through the game of cricket. >> reporter: more than 7,000 rwandans of all backgrounds are now united as regular cricket players. but that growth hasn't been matched by development in

facilities. >> we just use for the [ inaudible ] and the [ inaudible ] and even bounds, even levels, so we have been struggling and failing on that ground. >> reporter: an english charity is committed to helping rwandan cricketers like eric take the next step. hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised to fun the building of a new international standard ground on this site. >> you haven't got a good place to learn, you haven't got a good place to create a national program, and with facilities comes improved icc funding, and it -- it professionalizes the sport. >> reporter: the target is for rwandan's cricketers to be playing at their new home early next year. andy richardson, al jazeera, rwanda. andy murray's first tournament back is becoming

apparent has been short lived. the shock defeat came in the third round when he lost to world number 53. the world number 2 has reached the finals five times, but not this year. this was the biggest win of his career. >> reporter: better news to stand for the french open champion who won in his third-round match. the number 3 seed will play david next. kenya is not doing enough to tackle its doping crisis, that's according to the former athletes representative who has now quit over the scandal. he won gold for kenya at the sydney olympics, and has represented his fellow athletes interests since 2006. but he says the organization is failing his compatriots.

>> we need to be serious on issues of [ inaudible ] and make sure that we have a good education, so that we get rid of this thing called doping, because most of the athletes, most of them -- , most of them -- [ technical difficulties ] >> just keeps getting better. he is the top point scorer in the nba. his team won back-to-back titles on their day off on sunday. and he got to mark his 28th birthday with a win over the new orleans pelicans. oklahoma ci oklahoma city recorded their 45th win of the season. and beat the portland trailblazers.

the annual iditarod dog sled race has wrapped up in alaska. and the musher is celebrating a fourth win in five years. the american arrived at around 2:00 am local. it took him 8 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes, and 16 seconds to complete the 1600 kilometer race. his father came in second place, 45 minutes later, working the due -- due yo's second one-two finish. 2% of dinosaurs once came in all shapes and sizes, but perhaps none as well-known as the t-rex. kristen saloomey has more. >> reporter: mighty tehran saurrus rex.

he wasn't also so big. before t-rex came what scientists referred to as pre-rex. the discovery of a t-rex in 2004, just revealed by scientists in washington, d.c. sheds new light on its evolution. as explained via skype by one of the researchers. >> they had to get smart before they got big, and with the evolution of t-rex, this was a 100 million year evolutionary journey. >> reporter: the horse-sized dinosaur lived at the end of that period, suggesting it took much longer for t-rex's brain to evolve than his brawn. >> keen hearing, keen eyesight, and presumably keen smell. so this evolved in a much smaller creature.

basically it was when the opportunity became available for t-rex to be the giant that everyone knows, they were prepared and the only thing to do was basically bulk up in size. >> researcher say the growth to huge size and ecological dominance happened suddenly, though what triggered it is still a mystery. that is it for me here in doha, but there is more news coming up with my colleague, barbara sarah in london. in the meantime, we are following the news coming out of belgium. a major police operation is still ongoing. we're hearing that three police officers have been wounded during a raid on a house in brussels. french police are also taking part in that operation. we believe they are hunting a gunmen suspected to have links with the november attacks in paris. 130 people were killed in that, and we're hearing a suspect a

still on the run. ♪ >> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is.

>> 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. >> al jazeera america brings you independent reporting without spin. >> not everybody is asking the questions you're asking me today. >> we give you more perspectives >> the separatists took control a few days ago. >> and a global view. >> now everybody in this country can hear them. >> getting the story first-hand. >> they have travelled for weeks, sometimes months. >> what's your message then? >> we need help now. >> you're watching

al jazeera america. ♪ hello there, i'm barbara sarah, you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up on the program, russia beginning pulling out its military from syria, as talks on how to end the conflict enter their second day. heavy fighting in ta'izz and government forces launch a campaign to recapture the third