nbc s ali arrouzi who is standing by in tehran. what are you ku tell us? we were expecting a heavy sentence like this. all the speculation during the two weeks since their last trial was that these guys were going to get a heavy sentence for espionage and illegally entering the country, but not all is lost. i spoke to their lawyer who said that the hikers still have the right to appeal, to reduce their sentence, and all the conventional wisdom in iran says that these guys in all likelihood will be let go in ram dawn as a goodwill gesture. i don t think this eight years is carved in stone. they re not going to be languishing in an iranian prison for the next eight years. there s still a big ray of hope for the end of the month of ramadan that these guys will be let off for islamic compassion, as it s called here. veronica. in the meantime, ali, there was a third hiker, sarah shord. what exactly happened with her?
shord were arrested near the country s board we are iraq. after her release last year. we ll be hearing live from northbound s ali aru sfwl sxwl i in tehran. two american hikers found guilty of spying. we re going to get you more on this developing story. now, at half past the hour, here with your headlines. rebels in libya say they ve now captured the oil port after a battle that lasted for more than a week. the rebels are now closing in on tripoli. survivors of last month s massacre have returned to the island where children were gunned down. survivors and families have gone there for a day of remembrance. kim jong il has arriveed in russia and will meet with russia president dmitri medvedev. it is kim s first trip to russia since 2002. in spain world youth day celebrations with tens of thousands of young people cheering pope benedict outside madrid s cathedral.