Transcripts For ALJAZAM News 20151111

Nigerias new cabinet is sworn in after a fivemonth delay. The chinese website, alibaba breaks records in a million Million Dollars sale. Sepp blatter has been hospitalized after suffering a small breakdown. Hello the e. U. Is holding yet another meeting to discuss refugees. African leaders are also attending a summit taking place in malta. Slovenia, meanwhile has begun building a fence at its border with croatia to control the influx of people. Until now the e. U. Has failed to agree on just how to deal with the ongoing crisis. More on that meeting in a moment, but first to slovenia. Reporter early in the morning, the army started erecting the fence in at least two locations. One of the locations this place. The refugees crossed the ice cold water here last month to get to slovenia. They still call this a technical barrier. Slovenia wants to close off the green border will keep accepting refugees through the main border. They say they are worried about some 20 to 30,000 refugees coming to slovenia in the next weeks. But it hasnt happened yet. Lawrence lee joining us from the capitol of malta to find out what the e. U. Is trying to getting a agreement on at the summ summit. Reporter yes, dozens and dozens of National Leaders are all meeting in the same place at the same time, and from the European Unions point of view, it is being spun effectively as turning a crisis into an opportunity. The hundreds and hundreds who died in the mediterranean, the European Union said that shouldnt happen, we have to protect them, and the opportunity is being presented after making africa a little bit richer, a place where people may want to stay rather than making the cross. So there is this trust fund of more than 2 billion which the European Commission is prese presenting to africa as a way of providing opportunities for people to stay rather than come. But underneath all of that is the much sharper end of the summit, which is the attempt by the European Union to actually physically stop people from making the crossing, and the much less well sketched out part of the plan to Better Police inside of the border. That could involve European Border staff in africa, checking people and potentially sending them back to their own countries before they reach the sea. And its that part that human Rights Groups are deeply concerned about, because there is the possibility giving places money to stop people from leaving. That is the most controversial part. And lawrence, you are talking to us about the african countries. What are they planning to get out of this meeting . Is it the financial aspect that you refer to . Yes, i think very much, its money, i think some of them are feeling a bit of grief that they think refugees from syria and the middle east are getting a better deal their thank people. But they want a better system of submittances, and universities and ways for better educated migrants to get educated in europe and then come back and improve their economies. But the big question is are people that make the journey to europe actually a benefit or problem for europe in my colleague has made one refugee in italy. Reporter an hours drive from rome, and tens of thousands of kilometers from mali, for this man, home is far away, but here he managed to rebuild his life by turning a childhood memory into a business. Organic yogurt. Translator i left mali in 2004 and it took me four years to get to italy. In 2010 we rose against the imhumane conditions were forced to live and work in andened up in rome. There was no work, so i started my own. Reporter he is one of the tens of thousands of refugees who make the dangerous crossing of the mediterranean every year. He is one of the very few refugees who managed to find a respectable job here in italy. Most wait months in overcrowded Reception Centers or linker in major cities like rome, hoping for a chance to continue their journey to other countries in northern europe. Last september, e. U. Members pledged to offer shelter to 160,000 refugees there italy and greece. But only 116 were located elsewhere in europe so far. We need to step up efforts to get the relocation numbers increased. I think we need to take measures overseas for those entitled to International Protection so they dont have to take dangerous journeys and risk their lives to obtain something they are anyway going to be entitled to. And i also any we have to look at legal, safe channels for those that have legitimate reasons to move economically. Reporter while tens of thousands of refugees in italy wait for their chance to rebuild their lives in europe, salomon will continue to deliver his example of resilience. Reporter a quick final word about time scales. Its a completely open question as to when if ever this relatively small amount of money from the European Commission might start to make a difference for the people in africa. But the plan to increase Border Security they want in place by next year, that really is a priority. All right. Lawrence, thank you for that update from malta. Afghanistans president has promised to find out who is responsible for the brutal killings of the Seven Members of a minority community. His comments followed protests by thousands of demonstrators outside of the president ial palace. Jennif Jennifer Glasse reports. Reporter this is the largest demonstration seen in the capitol in cent times. They were protesting against the murder of seven people from a minority community. They have been held hostage for months and are suspected to have been killed by fighters loyal to either isil for the taliban. But the people blame the government for not providing security. Translator the irresponsible acts of the government, thats the reason for the bloodshed of our martyrs. The people are here in a united front to demand justice for the bloodshed of these martyrs. Reporter the people seem particularly angry that a 9yearold girl is among the dead, behead like the others. Translator we dont want justice from government. Theres no government. We want people to standing up for their rights. We cant justice for the blood of the girl. Translator how much longer will the blood will spilled. How much longer will the government ignore us . The government has to act today. Reporter the demonstrators converged on the gates of the president ial palace, calling for the resignation of the president and his chief executive translator this government has destroyed the system. The country is asleep. There is no work. All you can see here is crime and killing. There is nothing else going on here. Reporter the government has declared an official day of mourning and has promised to launch an investigation as to why Afghan Forces failed to rescue the victims. When protesters tried to climb the wall to get into the compound, police fired shot in the air to stop them. People are frustrated by the clack of security and a weak economy they want their government to do something about it. Lets take a closer look of who the group are. They account for about 15 of the population. They often accuse the Largest Ethnic Group of discrimination. The majority of that group is sunni muslims. The Second Largest Group have long been more urbanized than other groups. There are other minorities. Al jazeeras political analyst and commentator on afghanistan says there are at least two reasons behind the persecution of the minority. Historically, they were not welcomed in afghanistan because of their religious affiliation, as you said they are shia, and they have been discriminated against out there afghanistans history. The fact that we hear news that there are the minorities fighting in syria alongside Bashar Alassad government, that makes targets in afghanistan. There are groups who are sympathies to isil or the people of syria, and they do look at them as a group that has extended its reach across the border inside syria and they are fighting there. That just gives them another excuse. Syrian opposition figures have rejected a russiandrafted proposal aimed attending the fiveyear war. They say it is only aimed at keeping Bashar Alassad in power. Inside syria, Government Forces have broken a long siege of a Strategic Air base in the north. Zana hoda reports. Reporter this is a significant break through and a strategic gain. The siege of the military airport has now been broken. Isil has been pushed back. The Syrian Government and its allies now have an air base in the north of the country after losing control of others over the years. If the military is able to hold ground it gives it a better position to support a planned offensive against opposition force. They have won this battle, but the war has many front and the government and itself allies have mounted multiple offenses, mainly against the rebels and not isil, and until now there has been little success. There has also been little success on the diplomatic front, but the u. N. Special envoy to syria says there is a momentum that shouldnt be missed. World and regional leaders are scheduled to hold another round of talks on saturday, but even before a u. N. Lead Peace Process can begin, the players need to agree on a list of opposition representatives who will take part in negotiations. The Syrian Government has long called its opponents terrorists, now it has to recognize an. Situation. Moscow has represented candidates it says it has talked to, and its not just those friendly with russia, but finding Common Ground wont be easy. It will be very difficult for different parties to agree on the representatives of the syrian conflict. Another challenge is to find, really, someone or a party that could represent all of the different oppositions within the syrian opposition. Reporter russia has denied that it prepared a special document for syria, but says it has ideas for further discussion, one of those reportedly involves an 18month constitutional reform process which wont be chaired by president Bashar Alassad. Its not clear if assads other ally, iran is on board, but the proposal could be seen as some sort of xrom compromise. The proposal says that the president can take part in future elections, and that is unacceptable for the opposition, who wants a specific time frame for his departure. Another point of contention is an agreement on who could be considered a terrorist in syria. Clearly this is progress, but the hard bargaining has yet to start. Zana hoda, al jazeera, beirut. Much more coming up on the al jazeera news hour. Were in saudi arabia where south american leaders are meeting to try to find a way to save tumbling oil prices. Plus the state of the u. S. Economy Takes Center Stage during the fourth debate between republican president ial hopefuls. And this nba star looks back after seeing his career nearly end. Details on who the star is coming up in a moment. First, eight Police Officers have been sentenced to 15 years in prison in south africa for murdering a taxi driver. Tania page reports. Reporter they were meant to protect, but instead they became killers. It wasnt long before the judge told them their fate. Each of you are sentenced to 15 years in prisonment. Reporter this footage was important evidence. It shows the officers hand cuffing the man to their vehicle. He was dragged to the Police Station and beaten in a cell, all for blocking a road with his taxi. They are distraught with their loss because apart from him being the breadwinner of the family, he was also a family member. He was a son. He was a husband. He was a father. He was a brother. And they have lost him, and unfortunately we cant bring him back. Reporter this is one of numerous cases of Police Brutality that have shocked South Africans and the world. It seems there are some Police Officers who have a disregard for the lives of the people they are supposed to protect. This video shows how a man was shot then kicked while riding on the footpath, the Police Officer takes aim and shoots again. In their Defense Police say south africa is an especially dangerous place to work in law enforcement. There is a high level of violent crime. But the police watch dog welcomed the sentence. But then said this. I think there is a problem with the society in south africa. You know, we are a very violent society. And i think we need to tone down as society. Reporter but many say there is a big problem with the police. Wider social issues must play a part, but at some point those who have been convicted only have themselves to blame. Nigeria finally has a new cabinet after nearly six months of waiting. The president has sworn in 36 nominees approved by parliament. He has also appointed himself as oil minister. He has been criticized for taking so long to form his cabinet. Were there any surprises there . Reporter well, the names of those shortlisted to be ministers were actually published several weeks ago, and what nigerians have been anticipating what they were waiting for was to find out who would get which ministries. And there had been a lot of speculation that the president would appoint himself as minister of petroleum, which is what happened. The appointed a junior minister to assist him in handling the oil industry. It has been at the heart of much of the sense of corruption that people have felt. Much of the public anger about corruption has come from the petroleum sector. Billions have been lost, and when he was sworn in, he said he would tackle the whole issue of corruption in the oil industry immediately. So he is delivering on that promise, you could say. What was also clear in the announcement and the portfolio that individuals were given was the promise to reduce the size and scale of the federal government. Now 36 ministers were named, but the number of ministries was reduced excuse me the number of ministries was reduced from 36 to 25, because the cost of running government has just been too high. There has been a lot of duplication of resources, and recurrent expenditure here is almost 70 of the governments budget. So we saw ministries like power, housing, and works, which were individual ministries not too long ago, being put under one minister. Now the pressure is on on the new ministers to deliver on the many promises of the new party, and of course of the president. Which communities feel underrepresented here . Reporter well, theres been a lot of criticism some criticism, maybe not a lot, of the poor representation of women. What was announced today was that there would be three federal ministers, national ministers, only 3 out of 36, and another 3 state ministers, who are more like junior ministers. People say, look, women make up more than 50 of the population of nigeria. That is not right. The average age is also something people are concerned about. It is about 57. And the millions who put him in office were between 18 and 30. And people say young people are not reflected in this. Some of these people were ministers 20, 30 years ago, and finally the sense that its not a clean break with the past. In some sense, one or two of the ministers were part of the old ruling party, the Peoples Democratic party of the expresident goodluck jonathan. So supporters say its not about whether 50 of the cabinet or woman, or what their age is, its about whether these people are competent, whether they are capable, and whether they have a clean past. The work of government is huge, because there are so many challenges facing the new leadership. Thank you for that update. U. S. President ial hopeful have held their fourth debate. Donald trumps plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants came under attack from rivals. Alan fisher has more. Reporter a small concerted gathering. But in the debate hall, one dominant subject, the economy. First question, would candidates support raising the minimum wage to 15. For marco rubio, a resounding no. If you raise the minimum wage, you are going to make people more expensive than a machine. And that means all of this automation is only going to be accelerated. Make america the best place in the world to start a business, tax reform, and regulatory reform, bring our debt under control, fully utilize our Energy Resources so we can reinvigorate manufacturing. Reporter each candidate praised their own tax plan, but from john kasich, a demand to be realistic. We hear a lot of promises in this debate. A lot of promises about these tax cuts, or tax schemes sometimes that i call them. Hilary and the democrats promise everything on the spending side. We have to be realistic about what we propose on the tax side. Reporter donald trump wants to deport 11 million undocumented migrants. Jeb bush says even having the discuss sends the wrong message. They are doing high fives in the Clinton Campaign right now when they hear this. Thats the problem with this. We have to win the presidency, and the way you win the presidency is to have practical plans. Lay them out there. We need people to be able to earn legal status, where they pay a fine, where they work, where they dont commit crimes, and over an extended period of time, they earn legal status. This was a night where donald trump wasnt a dominant force. Ben carson struggled on details. And strengths were highlighted and weaknesses were exposed, but some have personalities that will carry them through this. But this was a night that may have changed the face of the republican debate. Thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities across the u. S. To demand an increase in minimum wage. They were out on the streets in many cities chanting slogans. They want to be paid at least 15 an hour. Most republican candidates oppose raising the minimum hourly wage. European commission has adopted new labeling guidelines for products that are made or come from israeli settlements. This means israeli producers will now have to explicitly label goods including wine and cosmetics that are produced on illegally occupied land. Brussels insists the move is technical, not political. Reporter its a tiny move. If the e. U. Were really serious about tackling israel, they would be banning the import of settlement goods. Its interesting how extreme the reaction to the israelis is, and i think theres because there is recognition of the impact of the boycott and sanctions movement of the growth of solidarity of palestinian, and they are seeing this as a small a small recognition of that pressure. In that massive consumer pressure that the British Government exceeded to five years ago with labeling on these matters. Given the kills of over 70 palestinians last month, given the occasions, given the crimes that israelis are continuing to commit against palestinians. But the produce from stolen Palestinian Land is doing to the e. U. And being sold on our shelves is scandalous and the e. U. Needs to take steps to ban those products. Labeling is insignificant, its insufficient in terms of what our demands are and what the palestinian demands are. Our demands on the e. U. Is a ban on settlement goods, an end to the preferential trade tariffs that the e. U. Has struck with israel, and its for all of the e. U. States to force israel to abide by international law. Israel has been able to get away literally with murder for decades, and that has to end. We have been working and will be continuing to lobby the e. U. To force them to abide by their own principles. They recognize that settlements are illegal, they should recognize, therefore, that that trade with settlement has to end immediately, and that israel has to be forced to abide by international law. Much more coming up on the al jazeera news hour. The Football Team may be back on the field, but the racism row rumbles on. Plus one of floridas most iconic neighborhoods placed on the list of endangered historical places. And the struggling economy in venezuela hits one of the countrys most beloved sports. Its the biggest question out there. Go inside the groundbreaking research. Are you ready to have your brain scanned . Ready to go challenging your deepest beliefs. Feeling the spirit is very subjective. I dont buy that. Techknows team of experts show you how the miracles of science. This is what innovation looks like. Can affect and surprise us. I feel like were making an impact. Lets do it. Techknow where Technology Meets humanity. The Prime Minister of slovenia, says the fence on the border will be used to control the flow of refugees, rather than stop it. The afghan president has set up a special committee to find out who killed Seven Members of a minority community. Government forces break a siege of an air base in northern syria, the air base had been under attack for nearly two years first by rebels then isil. In Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi has called for talks. Her Opposition Party continues to make big gains following sundays historic election. Reporter the National League for democrat sick continues its march towards parliament and the march towards a very big win in this election. One of the latest results to be announced by the election commission. She was an incumbent mp in her seat, she won that seat in the election three years ago. So very much, the nld on track to win more than twothirds of the seats in the upper and lower houses of parliament, and thats what it needs to do to be able to form the next government on its own. Remembering the military is still guaranteed a quarter of all seats in parliament. But so far as those results slowly filter out, there seems to be an overwhelming statement from the people of myanmar. China authorities have warped that pollution levels will continue to be high over the weekend. The increased air pollution has been worsened by coal burning during the winter months. The worlds Biggest Online sales bonanza is on sale. The 24hour sale broke its own record with more than a billion dollars of goods sold within the first eight minutes. Reporter this woman has been counting down the days to this moment. I want to buy couch. I want to buy storage box, clothes for our daughter, and a handbag. Reporter the only time she goes out to shop is for fruits and vegetables, Everything Else is online. She is a customer of alibaba. The retailer which organized this shopping festival. But shining a spotlight, reports in chinas official media, that up to 40 of goods sold on line here last year were fakes or badly made. They have to crack down on fakes. Its a Company Listed on the new york stock exchange. It has to make sure it does not appear on the notorious list. Reporter on the websites, sham goods are easy to spot. A louboutai loui vuton bag for. And this bag with a loui vuton patent, for just 15. Its owned by this man, now being sued by in the united states. Alibaba says more than a billion and a half dollars was spent within the first 12 minutes of this festival. Consumption on wednesday at least, appeared robust. Online retail sales are up 40 from a year ago. But that appears to be at the extense of traditional retailers. Reporter this Shopping Mall specializes in electrical goods, but today there appear to be more staff than shoppers, and the reason for that is the growing threat from online shopping. From an economy losing speed, any growth is good right now. The question is whether that rise in Consumer Spending is happening fast enough. Adrian brown, al jazeera, beijing. Tom is an asia analyst, he says despite chinas economic slowdown, the domestic Retail Market remains healthy. Reporter the main drivers of the economy are incomes are still rising, households are seeing their positions improve, and also organization keeps going forward. An event like today [ inaudible ] i think every company in china needs to be taking online very seriously. It plays an important part of the Retail Market here. And alibaba has had a hugely disruptive effect on the market in the last few years. Some of the large multinationals have been struggling as a result. But there has been a response in the market, and a lot of these companies are beefing up their own online operations. So were getting into a very competitive online marketplace in china. And that often means Profit Margins are quite thin. The venezuelan president is in saudi arabia to present a proposal on stabilizing the price of oil. Since 2014, oil prices have declined significantly, causing economic difficulties for south american exporters. Lets cross over to riyadh and speak to a former advisor to the saudi government. What do you know about the proposal being put forward to stabilize the oil prices, and what would you advise the saudi government to do . I would advise the saudi government to continue doing what it is doing. The market share debate is very important. Saudi arabia is holding on to market share, and saudi arabia believes that within the next year or two, we will see a rebound in oil prices. Everybody is hurting, but definitely saudi arabia is not going to blink first, and it will win at the end. We will see massive demand coming up. It hasnt been seen since the 1970s. So definitely the venezuelans and others have to be a little bit patient. When you speak about under investments what are you referring to here . Im referring directly to the fact that a lot of oilproducing countries and Oil Companies are not investing enough money, because the oil prices at 50 and 45, the break even is below anything that is economically feasible. So they are not investing. And right now, they are telling us that more than 200 billion is actually not properly being invested in the oil market, so a lot of this is going to be reflected with higher demand and under investment, which is going to depend on low supply. And that will Push Oil Prices down. The global slump in oil prices should be, and im quoted here, as a splendid wakeup call. Do you agree with that . I have been one of many people who have been saying that reforms have to take place during the good days, and definitely there is no right time, whether its now or later, for oilproducing countries to reform the subsidy regime, and i think saudi arabia is looking at it quite seriously. Well see changes in the Water Pricing for commercial entities pretty soon, and were going to see the rest of the subsidy regime to be changing in the coming years. Obviously trade an important subject being brought up at the summit being held between Arab League Countries and latin america countries, but what are the economic incentives to strengthen the ties between those two regions . You know, it the relationship between latin america and the gulf and arab states not seriously looked at. And i think there is a lot of deepening of trade ties that can happen. Between saudi and argentina, there are already important links on the issue of agriculture and animal feed. A lot of saudi companies, especially in the dairy sector, one in particular, which is the largest, has invested in argentina to bring in animal feed into saudi arabia. So they have invested in argentina. Brazil and the rest of the gcc are very important trade links between the two of them. They are importing prowlry and other animal products are high in the region. So they can become an important foodproducing country for a lot of the gcc countries. Thank you for your time. Commemorations taking place across europe to mark armistice day. In london a 2minute silence was held to remember the fallen in both world wars and other conflict. In france, the president lead the tribute in paris to honor the nations war dead. And Similar Services were held in afghanistan. Soldiers from several countries under natos command held a ceremony in kabul. Thousands of sri lankans went missing in the civil war. A u. N. Team is now in the country to try to get to the bottom of what happened. Our correspondent has more. Reporter the u. N. Group on forced and involuntary disappearances, are meeting with the families of those who disappeared during and after the war. Behind me many families as you can see holding photographs of their loved ones. We have names, the photograph, the date of the incident. We have dates from 2009, 2008, going back to 2009. We have got banners essentially giving an idea of the agony these people face. Now a vast Cross Section of mothers, wives, daughters, wanting to know some inkling of information as to what happened to their loved ones. They say some were taken in by the authorities on questioning at the end of the war, some during the war, but all they want a number of heartwrenching stories of mothers wives, having met these people, having heard some inkling that they were alive, and then the trail went cold. Clutching on to some straws of hope, hoping that this will bring some degree and some kind of clarity to help bring out and illicit information on the fate of their loved ones. In terms of the u. N. Team that will be here for ten days are looking into how the state has taken measures to prevent and eradicate cases of forced disappearances and look at outstanding cases which are reported and registered with the u. N. Working group, as well as the broader issue of forced disappearances here in sri lanka. For months protesters at the university of missouri have accused their schools president of ignoring racism on campus. Tim wolfe stepped down on monday when the university Football Team said it would not play anymore games until he resigned. The team has resumed playing, but has anything really changed . Reporter the protest camp that symbolized student outrage at the university of missouri is now being used as an instructional tool for undergraduates. My first question to you, why is this camp here . Reporter it has many strands, but the process began with the killing of black teenager Michael Brown in nearby ferguson last year. I recall being in Elementary School and wondering, you know, when i read about the civil rights movement, what role would i have partaken in. And with ferguson, thats when i realized that this is the time. Reporter using the hashtag, rachaelliveshere, daniel started the movement. Will i be the next student called a racial slur by a group of students that is driving a pickup truck. Reporter even members of the faculty wonder if the administration had acted this week if the Football Players wouldnt have refused to play. Thats a question that turns my stomach. Yeah, im i dont know. Reporter pledges of change have been made. But what will change look like . Making people look at a program for 20 minutes and check the box, you know, for everyone on campus is not going to do it. Reporter for walker an obvious start would be cracking down on hate crimes. When i was a sophomore during my undergrad here, there was a cotton ball incident where a group of white students were intoxicated and decided to put cotton balls all over the black cultural center, and that our university once again had a very slow response to that as well, and they were just charged with littering, and that you cant be more overt with cotton and blackness. Reporter University Officials now have to prove that they are concerned with racism as they are with their Football Teams profitability. All of your sports news on the way, and its the end of an era for english rugby. Farah will be here with the details in just a moment. Reporter it has been called cubas second city. In florida, few neighborhoods can match Little Havana for its sense of history and cultural importance. These streets have been home to countless generations of cubanamericans who first settled here in the 1960s. Many consider themselves exiles of the cuban revolution, but their arrival changed everything. The cubans really saved the neighborhood. But for me, the most important thing is it is where they began their new life. Reporter but Little Havana is now facing serious challengest. The lack of historical status and plans to develop the area may change the area for good. Peter says overdevelopment would be a mistake. Why do you want to be a concrete island a bunch of buildings with no flavor. If we dont hold on to the flavor, well eventually lose it all. Reporter but activists say tourism is key to preserving this community. Really the type of neighborhood that would be fantastic would be no different than all of the great neighborhoods in the world that are mixed income. Thats what we have now. Actually it is perfect the way it is right now, and i hope it doesnt change. Reporter discussions with the city are still in early stages. This community perhaps more than any other has managed to shape the character of an entire region, and for that its place in history is assured, and its also why campaigners say this neighborhood should be preserved for generations to come. Andy gallagher, al jazeera. Now its time for the sports news. Sepp blatter remains in a swiss hospital. He is under medical observation for stress. He was provisionally planned for 90 days last month. He is under criminal investigation for financial disconduct. Our correspondent lee wellings is standing by in london with the latest. Any more information on his condition. Reporter it is been confirmed that he is still in the hospital and is hoping and expecting to be out by tuesday after undergoing his treatment for stress. What is being described as a small breakdown and also as a nervous shock. And i suppose we shouldnt be surprised. A 79yearold man who has been under huge pressure in the last few weeks. Suspended from his presidency which he loved. And this has always obviously had a big affect on him. Some confusion over whether he was actually able to leave the hospital and return home, but he is certainly there now and is expected to be there until at least tuesday. So where does this leave the fifa presidency . There is an interim president in place. He is in charge of the african confederation. And then on february 26th, well have the vote to see who the new permanent president is going to be. Seven candidates are in the running for that. The man from bahrain is being considered the favorite. And set blatters suspension will end before that. And we know he hopes actually to still play some part in football. For instance, he wants to be well. He wants to be back in the fold. To go to the awards ceremony for football which is in january. Well see if he can still exercise any power, control, and influence over football. He is still intending to try to clear his name. Okay. Lee wellings reporting live from london. Thanks so much. Former iaaf president has resigned as honorary member of the International Olympic committee. He lead the iaaf for 16 years and is currently under investigation by french authorities for corruption and money laundering. He is accused of taking 1. 2 million to cover up dope testing in russia. According to a report commissioned by the world antidoping agency, russia are guilty of running a statesponsored doping program. The country now faces the possibility of being suspended from international athletics. The cheating medalists could be stripped of their titles. Convinced that the new president , Sebastian Coe will do whatever is necessary, and then i think also russia will cooperation. We will once we get the relevant information from iaaf, withdrawal and relocate medals with regard to russian athletes. Steward landcaster has resign ed a englands rugby coach. The union says landcaster who has been in charge since 2012 has stepped down by mutual consent. The move comes just a week after the world cup, where engineer lab failed to reach the knockout stage. Lancaster was contracted to the end of the 1019 world cup. Eunice kohn is at the crease in his final Oneday International innings. Pakistan could do with a big knock from him after dismissing england for 216. They have lost two early wickets in their case. Eunice announced his retirement before the match and is currently 8. The miami heat beat the l. A. Lakers on tuesday with chris bosh looking like hes in top form after recovering from a careerthreatening illness. He missed part of last season due to blood clots in its lungs. Only averages around 16 points, going into the game he hit a seasonhigh 30, fuelling the 10188 win. And the Colorado Avalanche sealed a crucial win as they opened a 7game road trip. Colorados duchene scored a goal to lead the avalanche to the win. The game was also norways andre martinsons debut in the nhl. Obviously i was a little nervous coming into the game, but i mean its only im just out there and just trying to play my game, and, you know, play simple, and enjoy my time out there. Its awesome. Baseball in venezuela has an almost cultlike following, but during this baseball season stadiums have not been filling up. The game has not escaped the economic problems and Political Tension effecting the country. Our correspondent reports. Reporter in the main baseball stadium, matches are drawing a thin crowd. This family has brought their children to watch their first game, but only because tickets for tonights game were free. Translator i came with my wife and free kids because we wanted to do Something Different on a friday night, but also because someone gave us tickets. The high cost of living, and the political situation would have made buying five tickets almost impossible. Reporter the struggle to pay for food and rent is being felt across venezuela. Until now baseball has served as a distraction. Translator sales have been really bad because of high inflation, and how expensive merchandise has become. Last year we were selling 100 of our products, today we sell 40, maybe 50 . Translator people are tired of how expensive everything is, and the salaries that are not enough, and they blame the government. Reporter thats why they are hopeful the election of a new congress in three weeks will restore the countrys crumbling economy. Some want more dramatic change. In this internet video from another baseball game, fans can be heard chanting that their government will soon fall. This woman says the crowds at baseball games have always served to measure the countrys mood. Translator people are no longer afraid of expressing their discontent. And this environment has always been a place where people can do so. Another place has been the polls. And as people gear up for decembers vote, there is hope a change in the government will also bring a return to full stadiums. Virginia lopez, al jazeera. And thats all of your sport for now. Thank you for that. Do say with us on al jazeera. Thats it for the news hour and myself and the team in doha. But we hand you over to our team in london. They will have more for you in just a few moments. Stay with us. Al Jazeera America brings you independent reporting without spin. Not everybody is asking the questions youre 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 firsthand. They have travelled for weeks, sometimes months. Whats your message then . We need help now. Youre watching al Jazeera America. Welcome to al Jazeera America. More reporters, more stories, more perspective. From our awardwinning news teams across america and beyond. Weve got global news covered. This is the day we set aside to honor our veterans. You are looking at the Arlington National cemetery. We are a waiting president obama who will place the ceremonial wreath there honoring the fallen heros. President obama plans to use this day to call on congress to do more for those who have already serves. The white house has called for longterm changes at the department of veterans affairs, and better aid for homeless vets. President obama also pledging to end homelessness among veterans by the end of next year. There is the Vice President , ash carter is already on the ground. It is estimated that the number of homeless vets more than 21 million. And that is dr. Joe biden who is entering the scene as well. The president will be arriving shortly. Mike viqueira is in washington. Mike, it is a solemn ceremony that we see over and over again, and it always has the same effect. Reporter you are right. It is raining, as you see a brilliant day near Arlington National cemetery, i should say