>> and that's our show for today. i'm ali velshi, thank you for joining us. into welcome to the news hour. here is what's coming up in the next 60 minister. a phone call that brought thousands of brazilians to the streets and is threatening the presentation deny see of dilma rousseff. as syria's warring sides attends to talks in geneva, we find out what is ahead for the fragmented opposition. african scandal linked to a

wealthy family. >> you're losing everything, jobs, income, they're going to mexico, china the foreign policy of donald trump the peaceful giants caught in the cross-fire of west africa's conflicts protesters have filled the streets of several brazilian cities. they're furious about the latest allegations against the president. she has named her predesays sore lula da silva as chief of staff and it is to shield him from prosecution tens of thousands of people are back on the streets here, some dwarthed at the presidential palace.

dilma rousseff's appointment of lula da silva was meant to improve public trust but it has done the opposite. he is now facing charges of fraud and money laundering. in relation to the national oil company petrobras. takes the post gives him ministerial immunity. he insisted that wasn't why she gai him the position >> translation: i'm sorry. he is coming, he is going to help. we're going to look at returning to growth, fiscal stability and controlling inflation. >> reporter: shortly after she said that, a federal judge, who was leading a wider corruption investigation, released details of a conversation between dilma rousseff and lula da silva. he had been tapped by federal polic police. >> reporter: although she and

lula da silva have denied allegations of wrongdoing, protesters say they have had enough not of just politicians but the corruption. the corruption investigation into the company has been ongoing for two years now. it has brought down nearly a hundred business executives, politicians and it could now bring down the entire dilma rousseff administration. through all this the president insists she is doing what's best for brazil. many people don't agree. some politicians are already leaving the ruling coalition government. brazil is in the midst of the worst recession, it seemed, in decades and people feel her leadership just isn't comment enough to lead them out

the head of center of brazilian latin american studies says there is nothing wrong with the president appointing him him. so far there's no proof against them >> the only possibility of bringing down the government would be either of an election, which can be forced, or with evidence against dilma rousseff and lula da silva. so far there is plenty of accusations, but not hard evidence of any kind. for as long as that is not found, i don't think it will be possible for the position to bring the government down. i think with lula da silva in the government it will be even less possible. they can accuse them of anything they want, but the

investigation, of the police and everybody else, the prosecutors, they haven't found anything that is incriminating. otherwise, dilma rousseff would be impeached and lula da silva would be in prison. the fact of the matter is dilma rousseff is still the president and there's is no evidence against her and lula da silva, there is no evidence. the only difference is that he has been appointed minister is that he can stilling prosecuted and investigated, but this time around by the supreme court, which is a higher authority. one or two million demonstrators in a country of 200 million is big but not decisive. this time last year, it was smaller, even though the intensity is bigger. for the first time the pro-government people are protesting as well.

they're entitled to call for the government to go, but there is nothing sinister or corrupt about dilma rousseff. if she were to call him on the basis of him being charged with something, then that may be corrupt, but at the moment if the general secretary of the union is saying that, he must be right regional and international powers are waiting to see if kurdish controlled areas of northern syria will declare an aautonomous region. an official said the announcement was imminent and that they will form a federation. it has alarmed turkey and brought criticism from the government and opposition. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: the syrian borders out here was almost taken by i.s.i.l. until the kurdish fighters of the y.p.g. beat them off. with hindsight that victory was

crucial in the proposal for a federal system in the areas its and its political wing control which would stretch all the way to the border with iraq. on the turkish side of the bored, there is evidence for the support of the y.p.g. and in the conditions people here live, just backing for kurdish autonomy in syria >> translation: i support the initiative. kurds are also people. they deserve to have a home. nobody recognises us. they hit us wherever they are >> reporter: kurds across the border have stolen the initial tich. it is the timing of this that is so extraordinary, not only on just day three of geneva have the kurds even though they weren't invited managed to insert themselves back into the talks, the announcement also koments just a few days-- comes just a few days before kurdish new year on 21 march. could it be that the kurds want to announce autonomy in syria as part of their new year's sell blagss. the-- sem breakingss. the-- celebrations.

in aleppo many say partitioning off the kurdish area went entirely against the aim of the revolution as being one syria for all irrespective of ethnicity or religion. >> translation: this announcement is a tyranny, especially because it has come from the y.p.g. they are a group on the terrorist list. this is just like i.s.i.l. announcing a caliphate. >> translation: this is really bad. the kurds are making themself enemies of the civil revolution. they're part of the syrian people like anyone else. what if others comes and say they want the state. it's unacceptable. >> reporter: the kurds delegation is holding the talks trying to offset these arguments by claiming the block would be a home for turkman ar arab citizens and that their federalism could be a model for the rest of syria to follow. the appeal of aleppo and the people have something to agree about. they all insist that partitioning syria is a mistake

which could make things worse still than they have been the u.s. has added its voice against the idea of a kurdish autonomous region. they say it would be an obstacle to syrian reunification >> we won't recognise any self-rule, semiautonomous zones in syria. and to your broader question, as i said, really this is something that needs to be discussed and agreed upon by the relevant parties in geneva the u.s. secretary of state has told his russian counterpart that the need for a political transition in syria is urgent. john kerry spoke sfo sregey lavrov on the phone. the latest call took place as

the syria's government and main opposition attend talks in geneva. while the opposition continues to engage in those talks, questions remain about its future. in the last five years dozens of armed groups and political fronts have been formed but so far they haven't been able to achieve the democratic transition they originally set out for. >> reporter: they once took areas from northern aleppo and raqqa to homs in the center, but the syrian oppositions been diverse in recent years. fighters have fled from homs where there was once a stronghold. raqqa is the capital now of islamic state in iraq and the levant. syrian opposition groups say the lack of will to move president bashar al-assad by western countries, including the u.s., contributed to their losses. the strongest groups fighting in syria are the ones that have either pledged allegiance to

i.s.i.l. or al-qaeda. many syrian soldiers and officers defected early on but the kraegts of the free syrian army had limited success in response to the government's brutal actions. more organised groups like al-nusra were able to take large parts from government forces. dozen of other groups have sprung up including some declared as terrorist organizations. those who left syria joined others in exile to form a diplomatic front. committees documented the casualties, joined by a syrian national council, faced with criticism of not being inclusive enough another body called the syrian national coalition was formed under the pray electronage of gulf around western countries. none of those so-called embral agroups in sway over the fighting on the ground. then the hnc was formed.

even that did not manage to bring together all the fighting groups. the opposition says while their friends have meetings the syrian rays send fighters to support bashar al-assad. is as soon as partial truce gave syrians a chance to come out, they used it to remind the world there is still opposition against the oppressive regime the kurdistan pre-gom falcons or t a.k. have claimed responsibility for a car bombing in turkey on sunday. the explosion at a busy transport hub killed 37 people. the prime minister has laid flowers at the site. the t a.k. said the attack was in retaliation to a security crackdown by the turkish government in kurdish areas. it is a splinter group of the

kurdistan workers party or the p.k.k. germany has shut down its embassy and consulate in turkey over security concerns. in south africa opposition parties are calling for a judicial inquiry into the president's relationship with the wealthy family. on wednesday the country's deputy finance minister was offered a position to become a finance minister by the gupta family. the allegations again the controversial relationship with the guptas is the latest in a string of scandals that he is there was ought rage when he sacked a respected finance minister without reason. that decision let the stock markets tumble and a plunge in investor confidence. months before then the president was alleged to have used $23 million in state funds to upgrade his private home. he has since agreed to pay back

some of the money. he has also been facing calls to stand trial on corruption charges dating back to 2009. the charges relate to a $4 bill arms deal and they were dropped due to political interference. now the opposition wants them to be reinstated. let's talk about zuma. we have our correspondent here from johannesburg. tell us about these latest allegations and what the president is expected to say when he addresses parliament shortly. >> reporter: this latest one brings about the massive question from africans about whether or not president zuma will be able to weather the storm. it is all linked to this powerful family, the guptas. the president's relationship with the family goes back a number of years to the 1990s. they have a lot of influence and

major links to the country. this latest scandal is to do with the appointment of ministers. so far two ministers or rather one minister and another former government member of parliament have come forward saying that the family and not the president, the family offered them positions ministerial positions and ultimately in return for certain favours. the family has denied this saying it's a politically motivated campaign against them. they're sticking to their story and, of course, the scandal ask not going to be discussed by the govrnlg party at-- governing party at their weekend. the president so far as said there's nothing untoward about his relationship with the family, but we must also remember that his son works for

this family. it remains to be seen what will emerge from parliament, how the president will answer those questions. whatever he says to members of parliament, whatever he says to the south african public i think what we're looking more towards is what he says to the african national congress over the weekend and if his party will be satisfied that he has not been influenced by the family for the opposition, how far are they willing to go with this? >> reporter: the opposition has for a lock time now been unhappy with the president's conduct and they've taken a number of measures looking at inquiries into the president around a number of issues ranging from issues that you spoke about earlier, the renovations and taxpayerers money used to his private residence. they took the president to the

constitutional court. the country's public protector had recommended that the president pay back at least a portion of the money spent on his private residence. he refused to do so. opposition parties took him to the constitutional court. they're awaiting a verdict around that. that's a very important issue because it could lead to a situation where there could be a firm foundation for looking at the president being removed because he did not listen to the public protector. opposition parties are willing to go the length in terms of bringing him to account. they also want to lay charges against the president ranging from treason and corruption and they, of course, want a judicial inquiry into his contacted related to this latest development thank you for that update. you're with the news hour and coming up. angry protests in morocco over comments by the u.n. secretary

general. two suspects still on the run after a raid in brussels where weapons and an i.s.i.l. flag were found. >> they have two or three plays to transform normal life into art barcelona leave their rivals in awe. that's coming up a little later in sports first, though, the european union council president has said he is more cautious than optimistic about reaching a deal with turkey during the upcoming meeting. the flow of refugees has caused the backlash amongst e.u. member countries. the most controversial proposal is to send new refugees and migrants arriving in greece back to turkey. for each refugee returned one syrian refugee in turkey would be legally resettled in the e.u.

in return turkey has asked for the e.u. to double the amount of aid for refugees in the country to 6$6.7 billion. turkey wants visa free travel for its citizens in the e.u. to be brought in sooner. any deal will not make difference to refugees stranded already in greece. thousands stuck at the border have broken out in fights and scuffles after aid trucks with food and clothes arrived. people jumped up onto the trucks grappling for supplies. it is difficult to make sure everybody has what they need. >> we tried to do our best, but also it is important to don't give the supplies in the same time for all the people because there are not enough. it may be that the people who really needs cannot reach these things and we can make fights,

and so these people are already with this crossing over to idomeni refugee camp. our correspondent is there standing by. the greek government has said it wants to move the stranded refugees to shelters but that has not happened. >> reporter: yes. the greek government ideally would like to move the refugees to about 50 reception centers set up in different parts. some of them close by here, others in athens, some others, former military camps, but people here, what they want to hear is not a location program oar seeking asylum here in greece. they have risked life and limb to get here and all they want is to cross the border and get to

where they want and they're eagerly awaiting the outcome of the meeting that is happening today in brussels between e.u. nations and tarki. one other thing that is making these people even more desperate to get across the border is the living conditions of the camp here in idomeni. i'm joibd by the artist iwawway. you were here ten days ago. you've come back. any improvement in the conditions? >> i think, yes. there is a change, but it is getting worse. the situation after the raining, women and children really stay sleeping in the cold, in the mud and it's now become like a fields of garbages or waste. the waste and garbage, human waste. this is become a testimony of

high those people are not being treated as humans and their condition is below the human condition. >> reporter: people here, some of them are hopeful and some of them are not so hopeful about the meeting that's taking place in brussels today. what do you think will be the outcome? >> they also are waiting for it, but most of them are not hopeful. they don't know what will come out. i really will be very sceptical about this meeting and, of course, they're dealing with the situation, but i don't think the outcome will be meaningful. >> reporter: you've been talking to the people to the european union has officials, about eight of them, trying to convince the refugees to register for the relocation program. why are they resistant for the relocation program?

>> because it doesn't provide the refugee any inclined of clee-- kind of clear vision about what will be next. there's no clear plan. people panic. they're afraid to be putting some kind of detention center-- put in a detention center. they would have no freedom and no clear sight of a future. they're coming here because of war and they have a clear mission to come to europe seeking an opportunity for their children to go to a school, to work any kind of job, and i think many of them are very talented, skilled people, but they've been totally neglected. they have no really interests in this location, relocation program. >> reporter: thank you for that, iweiwi artist and activist on the affairs of refugees who are

stranded in greece thank you both for that. to the war in yemen now. there has been heavy fighting east of the city of taiz. this exclusive al jazeera footage shows fighting between shia houthi forces and government troops. 23 rebels were killed. the saudi-led military operation in yemen may soon be winding down. they will turn their focus to stabilization and to reconstruction. speaking to a french newsagency, he didn't specify when the bombing mission would be complete. they've been targeting the houthis trying to stop the rebels from taking over the country. the u.n. estimates that since the operation began almost 6,000 people have been killed by the strikes and in-fighting. u.n. secretary general says he is disappointed by the street protest that was held against him in morocco on the weekend.

he described the territory which morocco annexed in the 70s as under occupation. more from our correspondent. >> reporter: u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon described the annexation of western sahara as an occupation during his trip to see those who fled the region and neighboring in nigeria. morocco says it is preparing to remove its presence, stopping follow-upping it and reconsidering all other u.n. peace-keeping operations >> he crossed a red line. it is a parlance which has never been used before by the security general and the u.n. they're supposed to be impartial in this conflict. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets angry with what they said was his perceived lack

of impartiality. it was not the view in the headquarters >> we do hope to move on to constructive and positive relation with march object owe. we're taking note and we will have to deal with the decisions they've taken-- morocco. he does not walk away from what he said. he expressed, from what i said yesterday, regret that there was a misunderstanding over the use of the word. >> reporter: the secretary general also no longer plans to visit more on object owe in the-- morocco in the near future as previously announced. morocco took over the area in 1965. it fought a movement until a u.n. brokered ceasefire in 1991. a key part of the that settlement was a referendum on self-determination for the people. backed by u.n. security member france, the people say they're

only prepared to offer western sahara autonomy. they face opposition not just from the people but from the afterry kaun union and other groupings around the world >> there will be no peace and execute in area until they have independence >> reporter: for decades a humanitarian emergency has unfolded in the area with little attention. some here wander whether ban had simply had enough in his final year as secretary general the weather, to the latest on draught. >> reporter: we have seen some rain. if you take a look here, across the eastern cape durban, 192 millimeters of rain in 24. similar for port edward as well. courtesy of this mass of cloud just across the eastern side of the region.

it has been pushing in from nobia and continue to push towards as we go through not next days. the chance of one or two showers here through the next day or two. meanwhile, glorious conditions, this is wellington, just to the east of cape town for the epic cycle race. you can see a beautiful scene over here, fine and dry with plenty of sunshine. sunshine and showers really further north. you can see through friday into saturday a a change in conditions. temperatures in jahannesburg 25 degrees. you might see one or two here showers here. a bit of better worth around here. we are seeing some rain in southern nigeria, southern garna into beer i can't. north of that it is plenty of sun shire. in ki yoe 26-- cairo 24

coming up, we look at australia's efforts to help the lives of its indigenous people. nba champions hit a century. a milestone win coming up in sports a little later. little later.

hello again. the top stories on the al jazeera news hour. there has been protests against the bralz illian president after

appointing her predecessor from a cabinet position: t a.k. have claimed responsibility for a car bombing in the turkish capital on sunday which left 37 dead. the t a.k. is a breakaway group of the kurdistan workers party. in south africa the ruling party says no-one is above the law, including the president. calls for opposition parties for a judicial inquiry into the president's relationship with a wealthy family in the u.s. republican presidential hopeful donald trump is rising in popularity and could be on his way to securing the party's nomination. international figures have voiced grave concerns particularly over speechs in which he focuses on maximum man immigration, building a war,

international trade deficits and making accusations at china. he regularly suggests forcing companies to bring manufacturing back to u.s. soil as a way to create jobs. >> with me it's not going to happen any more. we're not going to be the dummys any more. [ cheers ] >> you're losing your jobs, your income, your factories, they're going to china, they're going to mexico. japan is killing us with the cars. now it's vietnam, it's india. it's everybody. we don't make good deals any more the rhetoric from trump has caused international economists who have called him a global risk. a donald trump presidency poses a top ten risk event that could

lead to political chaos in the u.s. and tighten security risks for the u.s. the global times an a cheese niece publy-- chinese publication. they said. of the > let's talk about his rhetoric and what it means for u.s. and china's relationship. thanks for being with us. up until very recently china has downplayed some of donald trump's rhetoric when it comes to the country, but now that seems to have changed. evenment premier a couple of days ago spoke out about donald trump saying that he has been lively.

what does china make of all this? >> well, normally the presidential elections season in the u.s. is a major political event in the u.s. which also has a bearing on the international arena. as a rule of thumb, most countries, including clooin, would not want to take a position on the process and the subsequent discussions in the election in the u.s. however, during this season mr trump's behaviours and rhetor rhetorics are shocking. i think it is sad for everyone to see how low the proceedings can de generagenerate. [indistinct] should that happen, what would it mean for u.s.-china relations >> i don't think china is

worried about a trump presidency. china will need to deal with whom goes into the white house as the next president, being a gentleman or a-- be it a gentleman or a lady. however, it is sad to see that even during the presidential election process the extremism, the bigotry, prejudice and lies that permeate throughout the process. mr donald trump is not an exception. he is very much carrying the election in the extreme direction and his remarks on muslims, on arabs, on mexicans, on latino,s refugees, immigrants, china-u.s. relations, including trades, are very much verging on vulgarity and extremism. this is very sad for the rest of the world to see that these can happen is it a threat of a trade wa war?

>> i think the substantive issues in china-u.s. relations would outweigh the difference there might be between china and the u.s. whoever goes into the white house will have the burden of the job on his or her shoulders. donald trump will be no different. the way he is projecting into the future is alarming, not only to china, but european countries and rest of the world. i think this will really do a major damage to the so-called u.s. leadership in the world and i think the u.s. under mr trump's presidency probably will be significantly degenerated on the global scene rather than being reinvigorated thank you for speaking to us from hong kong. >> thank you china has opposed new economic sanctions against north korea after the u.s. president

obama imposed new kerbs on the country. the executive order is response p response to the hydrogen bomb test in january and the ballistic missile launch last month. the u.s. says it will continue to put pressure on pyongyang until it meets its international obligations. australians on average have a longer life span than almost anybody else in the world, but it is not the case for indigenous people who live 10 years less than other australians. a national campaign to address this gap started a decade ago. >> reporter: across australia close the gap events like this are intended to draw attention to lacking health in-- lagging issues for indigenous australians. they're also keeping pressures on the government to meet them >> they're getting worse rather than better. we need to be vigilant and we

need to be not complas entity-- complacent about the job that has to be done >> reporter: initiatives like this one, mid wives who are trained to understand aboriginal norms are been helping. the infant mortality is on track to have halved by 2018. >> they can relate to you in every sense. you get to know your mid wives and they know you right from the beginning. they know the whole lot about your history. >> sometimes the hospital setting can be off butting for a woman that hasn't been in the system before. we've got clinics in the community, we do home visits, we also offer transport if women can't get there i will pick them up >> reporter: the project has made a difference. at seven closing the gap targets only two are on track to be achieved. on average aboriginal people die

10 years earlier than others. they're as likely as ever to be unemployed and school attendance levels lack significantly. there are calls for extra targets too. aboriginal leaders in australia would like another set of targets introduced around incarceration. the differing prison rates between aboriginal australians and everybody else. an 18-year-old aboriginal man is more likely to go to prison than university. aboriginal women make up just 3% of australia's female population but 33% of those locked up. campaigners say alongside health and education, justice disparity should be a focus too. their aim is for parity with nonindigenous australians to be across the board. andrew thomas, sydney belgian police are still searching for two suspects following tuesday's raid in brussels. one man has been identified as an algerian national.

he was found with an i.s.i.l. flag and rifle. the raid was in relation to the paris attacks in november. >> reporter: police officers and forensic teams examine the apartment where gunmen had opened fire. they are trying to establish what they were doing there. by daylight those who witnessed events unfold they were still trying to understand what happened in the house opposite theirs >> you heard a lot of shooting. at some time i heard an explosion too. i really didn't know what was really happening. >> reporter: police have identified the gunmen shot dead during the operation as an algerian national living in belgium illegally. he was known to the police because of a theft in 2014.

>> next to the body was a rifle, a flag of d.a.e.s.h. as well as other rifles found within the apartment. no explosives were found. >> reporter: when the police arrived at the apartment in forest, they expected to carry out a routine search of an empty apartment. instead they enkourned fierce resistance resulting in a standoff lasting several hours. two people are still on the run. >> reporter: this is the back of the property where two of the suspects are thought to have gotten out, making their escape in that direction. what is not known how the dead man is linked to the paris attacks. four months on questions remain about the intelligence failings leading up to the attacks. belgium remains at the heart of

the investigation syria's war has been raging for five years and has killed more than a quarter of a million people. it has also created a refugee crisis that the u.n. is calling the biggest of our time. our correspondent looks at the toll the war has taken. some viewers might find some of the images in her report disturbing >> reporter: there is anonymity in grief and despair when you are just one among hundreds of no thousands >> i'm not terrorist. this is not terrorist. we are humans. we're the humanity. >> reporter: then occasionally there are moments when the world does want to know your name. this mass forced my gags is the result of five-year war in syria. a war with many different alee januaryses and groups. on the ground and beyond syria's borders.

three and a half years ago the man who first threed to resolve the conflict resigned and had this to say. >> at the time when we need, when the syrian people desperately need action, there continues to be finger pointing and name calling in the security council. >> reporter: that hasn't changed. no-one seems to be able to find common ground on how to end this war. everyone has their own interests. so-called red lines were crossed. >> first hand accounts from humanitarian organizations on the ground. these all strongly indicate that everything these images are already screaming at us is real, that chemical weapons were used in syria. >> reporter: syria's civilization has been described as one of the most ancient in the world. full of treasures, some that have survived for almost 2000 years. parts of it are now completely destroyed. entire communities forced to leave not just their homes, but their country. nobody wants to be a refugee and

there is little international appetite to find a home for the constant flow of syrians fleeing from this war. their future is vulnerable and uncertain. they all say they long to go home, but no-one knows what that day-- when that day will come and what it will look like when it does it sounds something out of a movie. this man hasn't left istanbul's airport for over a year. he says that he fled syria to turkey in 2012 to avoid compulsory military service. he tried to fly to malaysia but was then returned to turkey and has since been held in the problematic passengers' room. amnesty international says he is subject to arbitrary detention. we will just show you what is going on in moscow. that is vladimir putin. he is making some comments about

syria saying that russia will continue to monitor the syrian ceasefire, also saying that the battle against terrorism in syria will continue and he has also said that russia's decision to partially withdraw from syria was agreed with the syrian president bashar al-assad. so that's vladimir putin speaking right now in moscow. we will continue to monitor the developments out of russia and bring you any latest news from there. the former israeli chief mass died. he was responsible for leading the israeli intelligence service from 202 to 2011. he was a critic of the prime minister benjamin netanyahu and openly disagreed with carrying out military strikes on iran. he died from cancer at the age of 71. two palestinians have been killed by israeli forces following an alleged stabbing

incident. it happened south of the aerial block of the occupied west bank. local media reporting that an israeli woman was stabbed and seriously wounded before her alleged assailants were then shot. 202 palestinians have been killed since october and 29 israelis have also died. still to come on the news hour, the sports news and one of the world's most brilliant batsman puts on a brilliant show at the twenty20 championship. ((úz@úxóxkxñ($9

distinguished by its light colored spots the west african giraffe once roamed across the region and that's before drought and poaching december mated-- caused them to decrease. >> reporter: on the lookout for the last giraffes. this is on a natural reserve. this stretches out as far as the eye can see. a herd shows up in the distance grazing on their favorite acacia trees. there was a time when these animals roamed across the region from senegal to lake chad. drought and hunting reduced them to a small group now found only in niger. authorities have been trying to protect this endangered species.

they're print-out of the result. >> translation: in 199-- proud of the result. we have 452 now. >> reporter: we tried to get a closer look but was we approached we were told not to disturb them. this is not the biggest one in this park. the biggest one is called zidho. it is famous and you can spend an entire year looking for him pause it is a very large park. not only the size of lebanon. about 11,000 square kilometers. nature here is quiet and beautiful and they seem to share both qualities. >> translation: it is a peaceful an ma'am. if you don't make a noise, you can come 15 metres away from it. it is also very curious. i love them as if they're my own pets. there was one that carried my name, but unfortunately he died. >> reporter: some people living in the area hardly share this

affection. >> translation: we don't see any use to them. they just destroy our crops and eat the trees. we've lived here for a long time before them. now they are a problem for us. there's nothing we can do about it. >> reporter: another problem affecting both people and the animals consisted of two years of drought resulting in low crops and die vegetation. tourism has also been on the decline. >> translation: at the beginningway made some income, but now there's a-- beginning we may some income. we used to receive nine groups of visitors per day but now it's nooif or six per week. >> reporter: tour guides don't have much to do. they're concerned that violence in the area and drought could reverse the success that they have made in preserving one of the natural wonders.

it's time for the sports news. >> reporter: the final eight has been decided in the champion league but it is hard to see any of them topping barcelona. they booked their spot in the quarter finals with a five one aggregate victory over bars lone. goals gave them the second leg win. they're unbeaten in 38 games across all competitions. >> at some stage in our sport, art and we have two or three players who transform normal life into art and i respect that and i believe that pleasure as well. for me suffering, but for guy who just lost a goal, it's exceptional what he does. >> translation: i don't know l there has been another european club that has managed such level of performance in the last 10 years. it shows this club's identity

and the fact that it is doing things the right way. >> reporter: an amazing come back to go through. they were two goals down, but then managed to equalise on the stroke of full-time. into extra time there was two more scored to win four two and six four on aggregate. looking at the line-up of the last eight teams. they come from five different countries. there is atletico, and the next three. then you have these teams. they are in the finals which will take place in switzerland on friday. two clubs hoping to win a place in the champions leg next season will face off. liverpool take a two nil

advantage heading into the second leg. even though liverpool do have the upper hand, they have lost on their past two visits to old trafford. >> that's only thing we have to forget this and to play again. it's a football game and a really good one between two really good sides. i am very excited. >> i think the challenge to beat liverpool and the challenge that we are two goals down is a big challenge and we have to believe in it and it starts with the players, of course, but it starts also with defense. >> reporter: eight teams in total in the quarter finals on thursday.

the huge favorites will go through after thrashing tottenham. f.i.f.a. publishs its annual report on thursday and it is expected to be bad news. the executive committee will be meeting in zurich for the last time. the new structure will be introduced in may. f.i.f.a. announced that it is seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages as part of the u.s. corruption investigation. earlier we spoke to international sports attorney-general david larkin. he says f.i.f.a. are trying to prove to u.s. authorities that they're the victims here and are doing all they can to clean up their image. >> what's unusual about this is that one can argue that f.i.f.a. arguably was aware of at least some of this, had prior knowledge of this and didn't

act. so there was a lot of very - i think it took a lot of hood pot for f.i.f.a. to file this. what is most interesting of this is the admission that there was corruption which would suggest that the other big parties at this point could possibly file for recovery of all the expenses related to the bids that appear to have been fraudulent. to he is the most interesting angle on this today >> reporter: the golden state warriors beat the nicks. clay thoch son had five pointers on his way to 19 points. it was raining thompson. leading in the defending champions to 121 to 85. afghanistan's cricketers will pay their first game in the twenty 20 in the next few hours.

this player smashed 11 sixes. he tied the record for the third fastest time in t20 internationals. his side were six wicket winners. >> there is more to come. it was great to see how we played, even from the start. i think this is great off this ground. we tried to make sure it didn't go past and we were interested in things in the field. i think it will take care of itself. >> he was outstanding today in conditions that favored the bat a lot more than the ball. we could have been better in the way we executed our skills, i

think, but certainly when he got in, he didn't give any chances. >> reporter: nadal is through to the quarter finals of the masters as he bits for his fourth title in california. he took the match six seven, six love, seven five. world number one is through to the quarter finals. it took him 66 minutes. novak djokovic is seeking an unprecedented fifth title. that's all your sports for now. i will be back more for later thank you for that update with all the sports news. that's it for the sports news hour. we will back in a moment. we will have more news coming

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supreme court show down. president obama's pick for the high court heads to capitol hill trying to win over relationships, but they vowed there would be no confirmation hearing. >> it seems clear that president obama made the nomination, not with the intent of seeing the nomination confirmed, but in order to politicise it for the election how the promise of much needed water in one community