Transcripts For ALJAZAM News 20140315

In the world. Pro Russian Support in ukraine as the diplomatic crisis escalate. Plus. Im rob reynolds in arizona. Once the site of a flourishing civilization that was struck down by drought. Well begin in syria where a peaceful protest in the south triggered a conflict that forced millions out of their homes. Well look at the struggle of the syrians who have been forced to leave, but first there is no sign to the end of the fighting. Government forces forced to make significant games. These are government soldiers taking position on the hills. This commander said his fighters have laid siege, and that rebel fighters have only two options. Surrender or die. But the rebels dismiss that saying there is intense fighting at the western intransof the city. This video shows rebels destroy tanks, but many are calling for urgent reinforcements warning that the city could fall at any time. These fighters are desperate to retrieve the body of one of their colleagues killed trying to repel Government Troops. We hear one of them saying bullets are coming from everywhere. There has been heavy fight for a month. The army backed by hezbollah fighters is on the offensive. If it gets full control, it will be its second biggest military achievement since the up rising. The rebels last stronghold in the mountains. And if they lose it they lose a vital weapon supply route. It also pays the way for Government Troops to retake rebel positions around damascus. Al jazeera. As the fighting continues syrias people continues to suffer. The health and Education Systems are collapsing. Lets hear from a resident in aleppo on three years of conflict, and a hope for the future. Reporter my nami was an ambe driver. I was wounded on the job and i was in bed for six months. Thank god i am fine now and i will return to my work on the ambulance. We started the revolution spontaneously. Our feelings didnt allow for us to not act while people were being killed. So the people stood up to help their brothers in other areas. We started as a peaceful revolution but the regime used machinery to kill people. We started it as a Peaceful Movement and wanted to stop it peacefully. But the regime does not want to stop it peacefully. The revolution started three years ago. Short tajes of everything, medicine, water, and electricity. All the infrastructure is destroyed. We hope everyone will be fine once Bashar Alassad goes. Well rebuild everything god willing. More than 9 Million People have been uprooted from their homes because of the war. Syria, and more 2. 5 Million People are registered as refugees. 600,000 are in turkey. More oh roccmorocco has 200,000t 1 million are living in lebanon, and many are in egypt. We spoke to some of those families who are living in lebanon. Reporter a syrian refugee never thought she would give birth to her youngest child in lebanon. One of lebanons newest syrian refugees. Her parents and siblings became refugees here but she was brought into this world as one. I feel sorry for her because it will be less than what her siblings had. It will be deprived. With the war in syria completing its third year, the refugees are the most pessimistic. They had been living there for over a year and a half. The war has prevented us from having dreams or plans for our lives. We just survive the day not knowing what will happen to us tomorrow. All our hopes and ambitions and plans have been shattered because of this war. We have no hope for the future. His son tells him he wants to return to syria because hes unhappy here. But they say they cant return because syria is too dangerous. Over two and a half million syrians have been registered as refugees in neighboring countries. The majority are here in lebanon. Three years after the start of the conflict and with no political solution the future looks even more uncertain for these people. The u. N. Refugee agency said syrians could make up the largest refugee population in the world. The war has devastated children the most. Between those living under siege in syria those displaced, and those living in exile 5. 5 million syrian children are affected. Despite conditions they face in exile, syrians are fleeing choosing a life of hardship over death. A family recently fled and only have been here for ten days. All they feel is fear and uncertainty. Were afraid well never be able to go back. Were afraid that our house will be destroyed and things will get worse than they already are. The war is causing a humanitarian catastrophe. Its one that continues to grow. If the world fails to act they will not only feel abandoned but deprived of a future. What are the refugees there telling you . Reporter well, especially today, stephen, on the marking of the third anniversary of the war in syria, theyre saying that they want the world to see on tv and everywhere how theyre living and the kind of suffering they are going through so that they would maybe decide to do something so that these people will return home. They dont think that their conditions are going to improve here in exile. Now its been a very rainy week across lebanon. And here in this camp people have really suffered from this rain. As you can see here in front of me this is sheep wool. Had sheep wool is used format theres. The refugees stuff the sheep wool inside the mattresses and use them inside their tented homes. This all got wet while it was raining, and now theyre keeping it out in the sun, hoping that it will dry by the evening before they go to bed so they can have a dry mattress to sleep on tonight. These are very difficult conditions. These are daily normal and basic needs that really arent met. And the refugees say that they dont want better services. They have been asking for them for several years. Right now they just want a solution so they can go back to their country. They dont think that their lives as refugees would ever be as good as their lives were in syria when they had homes, jobs, and lives. So effectively they say that their dreams have been shattered, their ambitions have been crushed. They dont know whats going to happen to them tomorrow or next month, but what they do know is that they want to go back to their country, and there is a fear and a growing one that they might not be able to do that. Thanks, nazrene. Its proving to be modern mysteries. Malaysian airlines jet went missing a week ago with 239 people on board. We have reports now from kuala lumpur. Reporter the first Significant Developments in the disappearance of flight 370 not coming from water but from satellites. After days of denying reports, the confirmation, the plane did turn west, and it was deliberate. But he stopped short of call iting it a hijacking. Up until the point at which it left military radar coverage. This movement is clip by someone on the plane. Reporter putting the plain on one of possibly corridors. One option is a northern corridor that stretches from thailand to kazakhstan. The other is a southern root. In light of this the malaysian government is calling off its Search Operations in the south china sea. The Prime Minister also confirmed that the plane flew for searc seven hours opening at area where the passenger plane might have ended up. Just who were the passengers on this triple seven aircraft. Is there anyone who is on board this aircraft who would want to commandeer it or have the skills to do it. They have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board. Reporter the home of the captain was searched by the Malaysian Police just after the Prime Minister finished his press conference. Word of the new findings and conclusions did not sit well with the Chinese Government which demand that the malaysians provide more thorough and accurate information. Family and friends on board then board want to know more. They want to know if it crashed or landed safely, meaning their loved ones could still be alive. Im joined by aviation expert steve presteska, aviation safety expert. Steve, what is your theory . Its too early to come up with a specific theory. Its much like what you see coming out of malaysia now. There is quite a bit of speculation, and any investigator worth his or her salt, the phrase that we use is move quickly slowly. And begin to gather data, assess the accuracy, and reliability of that data and begin to build theories as you go. Okay, Start Building a theory about interference in the cockpit, which is looking increasingly likely. Thats surprising. After 9 11 there was change to preclude such interference. So certainly that is a possibility that has to be considered. However, unlikely, and it is disturbing. If we work on the basis of what the malaysian Prime Minister said, the reporting system was disabled just before the aircraft reached the east coast. That would seem to indicate that someone in the cockpit deliberately disabled communications. That would be a reasonable conclusion. It then flew seven hours without being spotted. Was that plane invisible for seven hours. It is possible. It is possible . There are regions of the world that are still, if you will out of radar. That im not sure of. I dont how far it extends in that part of the world. I suspect there are importancess over the water that that is the case. Seven hours. What ramifications are there for planes out there in the world when it goes missing for search hours, no one knows where it is. That is a great question to ask, but again were very early in the process. And to take a leap of faith and accept that as face value is asking a lot. The reason why im pursuing that line is obviously down here on earth were monitored all the time. Cctv, everywhere because of our phones. And some mobile phones are said to be still operating this week. They could be. The dilemma they may be receiving signals but the cellphones, the coverage is not going to extend that far. Therefore provide any possibility of update of location. So that is not something that i think youre going to see very fruitful avenue of investigation simply because of the technology and the capability, but its worth pursuing in terms of radar coverage and what route they took. Could a plane like that land somewhere without an airfield . Land somewhere without a an airfield . Again, its a possibility, but its unlikely. Its not designed to land on unimproved air strips. That would be an extraordinary occurrence and would require either a great deal of luck or a great deal of sophisticated planning. Why would somebody want to switch off the transponders, and would it take an expert to know how to do that . It would require someone who has some familiarity with the fact that the transponder, what the purpose of the transponder is. If you could tell us. Certainly. Its a very simple device as Aircraft Technology goes. It takes inputs from the aircraft system, and transmits a code, which is input in the cockpit assigned by air Traffic Control, and then transmits that to a secondary surveillance radar to the air Traffic Control facility handling the aircraft. There is an onoff switch on the face of the you want. Yes, it is conceivable that someone with access to that face plate of the equipment could turn the unit off. Im told we have pictures now of the copilots home being searched. This is the base and his home is being searched. Why that is, we dont know. It may b may well be connected h what the Prime Minister said earlier be somebody switching off or disabling the switch. So the air Traffic Controllers would have been in charge up to that point . And then turn that off and then shoot into vietnam. There is a formal process that exists. All these procedures are spelled out, and it would be usual for the pilot, for the crew to self initiate that. That requires air Traffic Control services doing that prior to doing that. If thats true, thats an Interesting Data point. Steve, its a riddle. Well have you back soon. I look forward to it. Picking up the pieces we report from south sudan where conflict has separated children from their families and derailed their education. And problems brewing while sri lanka tea industry profiting some. And getting on the grid for the grand prix. Well have the latest on sports including rugby. The u. N. Security council has to vote on the resolution of ukraines political crisis on saturday. Its almost certain that the resolution of the vote will be condemned as illegal. The mood inside ukraine is tense. Thousands of pro Russian Supporters are rallying and there was some violence yesterday. Signs of support for crimea inside russia, but thousands of supporters are rally at the capitol to show solidarity with ukraine. Holding a peace rally to express their stance on russias involvement. Ukraines Prime Minister said russia needs to stop meddling in its politics. Our position is that russias foreign minister should not interfere with our internal affairs. Thats what russia does. They interfere with our internal affairs. They conduct provocation and intend to conduct more provocation and then use it as protecting ukraines, we reject such provocations. Comments one of kievs more direct and highest criticisms of russian president vladimir putin. Three people have been killed this week. These pictures shows unrest between proukrainian and prorussian activists. Groups blame each other for the violence. At the moment we cross over to our diplomatic editor james bays in new york. First lets go to Jackie Roland live in simferopol in crimea. There must be a high level of tension where you are, and across crimea with just a few hours to go with the referendum. Well, officially the atmosphere here in the town story does not tell the whole story. There is, nevertheless, under the surface. Signs of menace at every traffic junction you will see a man with his face concealed, dressed in camouflage university and holding an automatic weapon. Also were hearing reports of up to ukraine activists who have simply gone missing. Today is the last day, with voting beginning in hours time. There is an election silence where no one is meant to be carrying out campaign events, politicians telling people to vote one way or another. That may be in theory by practice is different. Within 100 meters there is a refreshment tent bearing the slogan russian unity where theyre handing out free cups of tea to people and you see people in paramilitary uniforms again. While officially this is a period of calm where people are to be left alone to make up their own minds, in fact, this successel propaganda, thats all you can call it, really, to deliver this message to people to vote to move with russia. Lets go to new york, james bays joins us from the u. N. Where they are set to meet, defining crimeas vote as illegal. When is that meeting to take place. Reporter 19 minutes from now. We have no doubt what will happened with regards to russia on this. Theyll use its veto and it will be th the hundredth time it will have used its veto. We know what will happen with regard to russia and we know this resolution is not going to pass. What we need to see is how the other countries respond. We think that there are 13 countries led by the u. S. That drafted this resolution that will vote for the resolution. The one that everyone will be watching is the chinese. On the issue of syria the chinese have been right along side the russians and vetoing with the russians. Three times theyve done that. On this issue what will the chinese going to do . Are they going to vote with the russians. Western nations are hoping that there will be a clear picture of the Security Council with russia completely isolated and on its own. And well find out in about 90 minutes time. James bays at the u. N. Thank you very much. And thank you also to Jackie Roland in simperopol. Time to look around the world with what is going to happen to us weatherwise. Meteorologist i thought we would start by taking a look at the weather in the arabian peninsula. Weve had some quite big storms going through the last 24 hours, spectacular lightening displays. Win iran things quieting down here. And once we get these troughs of low pressure coming through thats when we get the wind that itend to reduce the temperatures quite significantly. We were looking at temperatures at 35 degrees but now were back to 4. How about a few showers around parts yemen. Well pick up on the area of low pressure as it moves further away, and you can see it pushing across in towards afghanistan and also pakistan. Now we could really do with that rain pushing into pakistan. 170,000 people impacted by drought, more than 60 children having died from malnutrition and the situation here does not look like they have had significant rainfall. I suspect a lot of this will drift away up towards afghanistan where we will see an awful lot of snow developing over the next few days. Were looking atwell over a half meter of snow. A little bit of rain left behind but i think it will be fairly limited. Not a great deal of relief from the drought across this region. Were staying with drought because the american southwest is another area that is having problems. Climate scientists are warning that dryer conditions may be there to stay. Future droughts may be more severe than in the past. We have reports now from arizona. Today all that is left are the eroded remains of buildings and temples surrounded by the urban sprawl of phoenix, arizona. But for hundreds of years this was the center of a sophisticated people. They are really unique in all of north american archeology. The canal system was brilliantly engineered to carry water, and they were enormous in size. Reporter canals 14 meters wide and five meters deep irrigated an area of 5,000 5,00 hecters. Then the civilization collapsed, the reason . Water, or the lack of it. Scientists studying ancient wood can tell how weather patterns shifted with disastrous results for people. It lasted for 25 years obviously affected the people quite badly, i would say. There is a drought going on right now. Do we have any idea whether were at the beginning of that, in the middle or towards the end of it . No, not until its over, then you know. How long could it last . Well, the one in the 1500s lasted almost a century. Reporter Global Climate change will make future drought worse says geoscientist john overpeculiar. The drought in california, in australia, i in the middle east, the drought in malaysia, these are all the cause of climate change. This is what were going to see more of as the earth warms up and in many parts dries out. Reporter that brings us back to mesa grande. The people who lived here over a thousand years were no different than people today. They thought their way of life would go on forever, but then nature proved them wrong. Still to come here on the news hour in al jazeera. Suffocated by smog, one of the most polluted. Can government clean up its act . All in a flutter, while monarch butterflies are taking flight. Im reporting from round one of the formula one season where we talk to those behind the wheel about how theyre coping with the big changes to the cars. The news hour from doha, im stephen cole, these are the top stories. Syrian forces are fighting for one of the last rebelheld areas. Its been three years since the up rising began. The authorities have refocused their investigation into the crew and passengers on board. Malaysias Prime Minister said the missing airliner was deliberately steered off course and hijacking has not been ruled out. Calling crimeas vote on sunday illegal. Lets go back to our top story on syria and look at the event of the past three years. It all began in march 2011 when antigovernment protesters took to the streets. Dozens were killed in what was the start of a brutal security crackdown. The Free Syrian Army formed a few months later in the up rising into a real armed conflict. The alnusr front as well as other alqaedalinked groups. President obama threatened to hit syria over the use of chemicals weapons. That didnt happen and syria agreed to give up its arsenal of chemical weapons. There were talks in switzerland, and that, too, came to nothing. Now three years on and hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost. I need the other side to acknowledge the presence of terrorists in syria. Before discussing with me the future of my own country. This is a point. Its not that we are trying to avoid dealing with the transition government. On contrary, we agreed on that. But first lets deal with the priority of the priorities, which is combating terrorism. A former russian diplomat who served in lebanon. Thank you for joining us. Can you tell whats russias interests are in syria . Russian interests in syria concluded all instability in this region, and ending this killing, this war, that are suffering million of Syrian People population. The instability is a growing threat from a militant groups, from extremist, from political islamic groups that are dominating in opposition wars. Russia is much interested in finding the end of this killing and finding the endand finding the solution, political solution, diplomatic solution of this crisis that goes on continuously during three years. I think that geneva 2 conference and geneva 1 conference did not have good result for one reason. The United States want to change regime, to bring aside president Bashar Alassad as a main goal of policy here. Russia does not consider so. It considers this task cannot be fulfilled because Bashar Alassad is supported by great number of syrian population. And if it was not so all opposition would achieve their goals thee years ago. But the fighting and military on the field, and they cannot achieve their goals. And that means Bashar Alassad has a ground in syria. Ignoring this fact in political solution is not realistic, and not productive from the point of finding solution. Because there are real fighting and army and the population arehes enjoying the support on a big quantity of syrians in the country. Is there still a russian focus on syria . I mean, there are other issues geopolitically, arent there, not least crimea i dont thinki dont think. Want russian help, Even North Korea in terms of diplomatic help. And then there are issues between iran and the west. Could syria take a backseat . I dont think that syria is an ukrainian crisis. I could look at this issue from other angles. The United States decided to punish russia on the syrian position in ukraine, and encourage all of these domestic forces, all of these trained groups, extremist groups to make maidan overthrow and make legal the ukrainian government. This is all United States activity. I think some people here in moscow consider it as a punishment of russia in that position in syria, but not because russia wants something from syria geopolitically. Russian official goals are restricted but by soviet union states. Thats why any changes in favor of islamic extremist groups like alqaeda, like al nusr will be in favor of those who are demanding russian inside stability. I think russia concerned about their own interests inside russia, and danger is from those developments. Thats why i consider that we look at the same time in egypt sir i do not from the same angle now looking at egypt and saudi arabia. Okay, many thanks for joining us from moscow. In egypt government have open fired an Army Checkpoint on the outscores of cairo. Six military were shot dead. Two bombs were reportedly defused. The attack is blamed on the muslim brotherhood. They have denied any involvement. Three Al Jazeera English journalists have been held in egyptian prisons for 77 days. They are accused of having links with the terrorist organization and spreading false news. Al jazeera rejects all charges against its staff and continue to demand their immediate release. Their next Court Appearance is march 24th. This weeks criminal court has extended his detention for 45 days. He has been held for six months and is on Hunger Strike since januarjanuary 23rd. We go to visit the camp where children are the most vulnerable. Reporter when they came back to their homes they found that almost everything was destroyed. They escaped from the south sudanese town when fighting started and hid in the bush. They came back because they need food, but they were shocked by what they found. Im so angry my house is burned. I dont think i can ever be happy again. Reporter many of the people still dont feel safe to return to the town. Nearly 6,000 sheltering at a camp for the displaced. Fighting earlier i leave unknown number dead. David doesnt have a mother he pays someone to cook for him. To earn water he carries water for people for 0. 25 a bag. Because he works he doesnt have time to join the other children at School Although he wishes he could. He witnessed horrific violence during the fighting and has trouble sleeping at night as a result. At the bridge i find some people i knew, a woman and children with their hands tied behind their backs. Their heads had been cut off and placed next to their legs. Reporter in the fight, families scattered and children were separated from their parents. When they arrive at the camp here some of them will have to find work to earn money to look after themselves. That means they wont be able to go to school. Many of these children have lost family in the fighting and experienced terrible violence. Humanitarians want all the children in the camp to go to school and to play games but they say their basic needs must be taken care of first. Were trying to reunite most importantly with their families where thats possible. In the meantime were organizing foster care for them so that families, other families living in the camps can take care of the children. Were trying to trace all the unidentified children, register and make sure they have foster care. South sudan has one of the lowest rates of Adult Literacy in the world largely because of the previous civil war disrupted the education of millions of people. If this conflict continues there is a risk that another generation will miss out on school. Al jazeera, south sudan. Lets take a look now at some other stories from around the world. 16 Major International banks including hbcb and citibank and Deutsche Bank being sued, accused of manipulating an Interest Rate between 2007 an and 2011. The banks are suspected of under stating the borrowing costs they were charging each other. The chinese human rights activist has died after he was denied medical treatment in prison. His brother said she was refused hospital access for three months and was sent to one after falling unconscious because of organ failure. At least ten people have been killed, dozens more injured in a bomb explosion in southwest afghanistan. The device was planted on a bicycle. No one so far has claimed responsibility. Sri lankas tea industry, plantation workers remain among the countrys poorest. In the second of our twopart series we went to visit a project of the improving conditions of the industry. This is hard work. Hundreds of plantation workers like her spend eight hours a day over tea leaves. They work on plantations. Today they earn around 4 to 5 for picking a days quota which can range between 10 and 18kilos. Its only if we meet the daily targets that we get paid the basic wage. And they meet those targets in all kinds of weather. Earning fluctuate depending on the crop. Workers working conditions are difficult. You can see the Poverty Level and the children are malnourished, and theyre living in a very small space for the last couple of decades. Plantation housing has consisted of log buildings like this divided into rooms for each family. Parents, children, and extended families sometimes 10 to 12 people live in these rooms. Alcoholism and malnutrition are common. Plantation Companies Say they take care of workers from womb to tomb. They provide healthcare, child care and other services, but there is still a lack of basic facilities. They report in the morning for work. Sri lankan tea brings in millions of dollars every year, but plantation workers, who are the backbone of the industry see little of it. While there has been improvement, many still live in houses like this. But now this new project is aiming to improve their lives. World vision has worked with a Plantation Company to introduce a pilot scheme for workers. 23 families have been given specially designed houses with Running Water and dedicated toilets. The project also allows people to earn extra money by growing chickens and growing vegetables. We have always lived with our inlaws. We have three children of our own and share a common living space. Its everyones benefit that we got this house of our own. Reporter the people at world vision say the success of this project means 75 more houses will be built. For these workers who play such a vital role in the tea industry theyre happy to finally have a decent place to live. Al jazeera, sri lanka. Taking opposition for first grand prix in melbourne. Well talk you through that, and the changes happening in formula one, plus the ruby of six nations. England leading italy 316 at the moment. On Al Jazeera America the early mass migration of monarch butterflies is threatened. Deforestation is threaten thinkinthreateningtheir habitat. Reporter hundreds of million of monarch butterflies taking refuge from the winter cold in the u. S. Its an annual journey but each year few make it. The situation for the monarch butterflies is critical. This is the lowest number of butterflies weve seen here in 20 years. Reporter thats because many that begin the flight never complete it. The food of choice for them and their young wild milk weed is disappearing. Large scale farming has wiped out large parts of it that used to dot their path to mexico. The drought is also to blame. Until recently they also faced habitat loss in mexico. Large parts of this forest are under threat from loggers. Now public and private programs are looking to replant whatever trees are cut. People used to come and chop down trees. Now there is a law against t and you cant do it any more. Visitors come every year. That brings in money. Many tourists want to see this unique phenomenon before its too late. Were concerned about them disappearing, and i thought i needed to see them now. The corridor of where the process goes, canada, the United States, and mexico, so all of north america. Reporter in this corner of north america theyre committed to keep the fight up to protect this natural wonder for future generations. In mexico were taking important steps in conservation but we need the u. S. To do the same. Reporter a plea for cooperation from a powerful neighbor who now says it realizes what is at stake. Al jazeera, mexico city. Time for a look at international sport. Reporter thank you so much. Rugbys sixnation tournament is reaching its climax with ireland, england and france all still in with a chance of winning the title. England currently in action against italy in rome right now. They were helped to a 386 lead at halftime. The ireland with the point advantage while england have 32 and france just 3 so england will be looking for france to do them a favor. The irish know a win will certainly be enough to claim the title. And theyve only won twice in paris since 1982. Its a big week for everyone. I think you have to make sure that you put all your detail in, and there is so much there you just need to work. It will be great to finish off. Well, hamilton is taking position for sundays grand pr grand prix. Just one of those who failed to keep a grip on his pole chase. Vettel also a shocker finishing in 12. Its the first time he has failed to make the final session qualifiers since 2012 grand prix. It was left to hamilton, he edged out Daniel Ricardo by 1. 37 seconds. The australian will stay ahead of rossberg. All the talk leading up to sundays race are about the changes made to the cars in the offseason. 8 cylinder engines have been made way for smaller engines, thats something that some teams and drivers have had to cope with. Theyll race the same distance before but with less fuel. And to keep fans glued until the end of the season Double Points will be awarded at the final grand prix of the season in abu dhabi. Here are reports. The opening round of the formeformula one season is not d to sell. But what the fans will see in the australian grand prix on sunday is anyones guess. The drivers are not bursting about enthusiasm about their new look cars. Mercedes seems to be doing the best job getting used to the changes which include smaller engines recovery system and aerodynamics. Its also showing promising signs. Were confident we can have a good start, show a much better face than weve shown in the past. Were really looking forward to that. The changes in the cars have profited some to suggest that less than half the field will be able to finish sundays race. That may be an extreme view but there is a lot of uncertainty heading into round one. For the past four years redbull racing has dominated. Their preparation this year has been, in their own words, disastrous, but they say there are signs that theyre closing the gap to mercedes. They have a very integrated engine recovery system. There is optimism about the electritechnological changes. They believe it will take a few races to settle down but that changes are good for the sport. We use 50 less fuel this year than last year. Because the fuel consumption is much better. Were moving forward in that area as well. So technology is our business. Judging by the crowds business is still good. Al jazeera, melbourne. Top has been knocked down. The italian in the final later on saturday. There have been problems from djokovic. Reaching the finals. Now the last four ove have vict. The american had to save a point before the tie break. He fell behind in the second set, but he had a 76, 76 win. The 35yearold striker was about to start a fivematch ban with some believe was an inserted nazi salute before the game. But he said he terminated thinks contract after being offered to rejoin the group under certain conditions he could not accept. West brom included that he make an apology and accept an substantial fine. But by saying he was quitting the club say he committed gross misconduct and they sacked him. Right now, Manchester City are down to ten men. They lead 10. Real madrid will take their lead. Three go in three points ahead of atletico madrid. Real is in top form at the minute. Cristiano ronaldo tops the goalscoring charts with 24 lead goals. Hespanyol looking to keep up the pressure on real. Swedish hockey start will receive an olympicic gold medal even though he was suspended because of a positive drug test. The International Committee ruled that he hadnt intended to enhance his performance blaming his test on the swedish team doctor. He helped the capitols with the 43 victory over the canucks. Im disappointed that i could not play the final game. With that being said im happy to acknowledge everything that i said from the beginning. Im just happy that its over. Its been on my lined a little bit, im happy that its over, and im glad i got the silver medal. Michaela schifrin by winning in switzerland. She had already clenched her second straight world cup earlier this month. The pressure was off, and she was still a second and a half quicker than any of other rivals. For more on our website go to www. Aljazeera. Com. There are more details of how to get in touch with our team using twitter and facebook. Plus, weve got slo vlogs and vo clips. Now italy leads 436 in that game in rome. And scotland and the big one, franceireland still to come. Thank you, indeed. We have much more to come here with the latest around the world here on al jazeera. This is Al Jazeera America line from new york city. Im Morgan Radford with a look at todays top stories. Malaysia Prime Minister now saying there was likely foul play involved in the disappearance of the malaysian airliner. They believe that someone disabled the tracking device on purpose. Theyrthey arethey now believe d towards antarctica. Western powers of ukraine say they will not recognize the outcome of the vote there and say i