pass pass pass after nearly five years in captivity their son bowe is coming home. the only u.s. soldier held host ig in afghanistan -- hostage in afghanistan is released by the taliban in exchange for five of its leaders. hello, you are watching al jazeera live from doha. also on the programme - china hits back, slamming the u.s. and japan for their stance tonne the south china sea -- on the south china sea snoost 3,500 -- >> 3,500 migrants land on

italy's shores. calls to cull more elephants - environmentalists will have none of it. that report from sri lanka. good to have you with us. a u.s. soldier is being flown to a hospital in germany. sergeant bowe bergdahl was freed after five years in exchange for five detainees in guantanamo bay. >> i've been in afghanistan from may 3rd, 2009... >> this is the deal the taliban has been pushing for. sergeant bowe bergdahl reportedly handed to a force of u.s. special operations forces in eastern afghanistan by a 19-strong contight. in exchange five prisoners will

be september to qatar and be subjected to security restrictions, including a ban on travel. >> i want to go home. you know, the afghanistan men in our prisons, they want to go home too. >> during his captivity bowe could be seen in video tapes. this prisoner swap has been discussed since 2011 but never came to anything. a white house official said weeks ago a new opportunity arose. >> in the roz garden, the president said u.s. safety would not be compromised. >> we worked for years o achieve the goal and we were able to thank the emir of qatar for his leadership in helping to get this done. as part of the effort united states is transferring five detainees from the prison in guantanamo bay to qatar. the qatari government is giving assurances that it will put in place measures to protect our

national security. all right some in congress say president obama broke the law by not notifying 30 days before the release of guantanamo bay prisoners. the white house expressed hope the deal may help wider reconciliation efforts. >> the negotiations and success suggest that the taliban is turning more towards politics and negotiation in - with the anticipation that the americans are leaving, and i think they want to play a political role in afghanistan, not just the role of terrorists. >> bowe bergdahl rose to the rank of something during captivity. he go to a german hospital before returning home the five taliban detainees had been held in guantanamo bay since 2002. therm part of the afghan -- they were part of the afghan

leadership. mohammad fazl was a deputy ci leader of zens. khairullah khairkhwa, intrr americans was associated with osama bin laden. abdul haq wasiq, the deputy minister of intelligence was central in forming alliances between the taliban and other groups. mullah norullah noori was a senior military commander during fighting against the u.s. and coalition forces in late 2001. and mohammed nabi served in multiple leadership roles with strong links to al qaeda. joining me now is case. give us an indication of how the taliban is reacting to this. >> well, we could manage to talk with the taliban spokesman a few minutes ago. he called the release a great achievement. it is not a normal taliban commander. they were the founder of the movement and important military

and intelligence figure. at the same time afghans are optimistic, saying that the five prip are are respected by the taliban leadership, and they could open a line of communication between the government for the peace process. >> to what extent does that mean that the taliban could be changing their approach to this? >> well, afghan government said that there are some guarantees from qatar government that these prisoners will not participate in the military activity in afghanistan. at the meantime afghan government is optimistic that the qatari government will play a role for future peace in afghanistan by using the five prisoners to open communication lines. >> in case we have a second

round of elections coming up in june. how significant is this to the elections in june? >> of course, the military analysts in afghanistan said that it will affect the security of elections, the release of the five prisoners, giving them a role to the taliban fighters in the ground. remember the five prisoners that they were relieved. they were important military figures, and they do have groups of military fighters currently in afghanistan, that they are fighting against the afghan government. now, afghan government is optimistic that they would not be used as a military figure. >> thank you very much for joining us from kabul. now, china sent a clear response to the u.s. defense secretary

and japan's leader, both of who accuse it of destabilizing the south china sea region. >> translation: we will never accept provocations by others under the pretext of positive passivism stirring up tensions for their selfish interests. the speeches maid by mr abe and mr hagel gave me the impression that they coordinated with each other, staging provocation against china. >> the live pictures of the asian security summit in singapore. that is 24 hours ago. chuck hagel complained about china. well, a journalist and analyst in chinese affairs joins us live from beijing. thank you for being with us. what can we read into the response by china? >> well, it was a typical

summary of suite talk, noble intentions, and empty slogans that were fashionable until the olympic games. at that time it was china's peaceful rise and development. it can be repeated. peaceful development. rise in cooperation, security. china's role in u.n. peace activities, and he didn't mention one flash point, particularly close with the philippines, and the crisis with japan. yes, it's all - well, more addressed to a domestic audience than to the world. the world cannot take this seriously, or at least not as

the full picture. >> i mean, to hear you say the world cannot be taking it seriously. at the moment this appears to be a diplomatic spat, as i think you are saying. how likely is this that this could escalate into actions or military movering? >> well, you know, the complicated thing is the main target of china is the united states, as shown in the remarks that the u.s. was provoking, threat nipping, intimidating. and well, what - china is aiming - slowly, but step by step, to reduce americans, strategic domination. what that wants is to separate america from its traditional allies, the philippines and

japan. particularly from vietnam, because they have made advances towards the united states, to enterinto closer military cooperation, they are angry at japan also, because abe, the japanese prime minister had offered a patrol boat to vietnam and the philippines. these are not naval warships, but they are lively arms, and they will help the countries politically and logistically in preventing imrepliments of chinese bullying. >> thank you for joining us. >> now, australia says it accepted more than 500 afghan refugees in recent months. the government says those that resettled had jeopardised their safety by helping the australian military during the war in afghanistan. most worked as interpreters. australia ended military

operations in afghanistan in 2013. now, italy's navy rescued more than 3,500 migrants from boats in the mediterranean sea in 24 hours. the majority were men from syria and north africa. there were hundreds of children. they were taken to ports in sicily and lampedusa. the number of arrivals this year is equal to the intir number last year. migrants are trying to end the european union by land. hundreds are breaking through the barrier. we met a man meld in a detention camp, who wants to live in europe. >> time moves slowly. after making it across the border, these migrants are at the mercy of spanish bureaucracy. it could mean months in limbo

before they discover if they are allowed to live in the e.u. for now, life goes on. this person travelled 5,000km over land from cameroon, one of 400 people that stormed over the border this week. >> i say [ speaking foreign language ] . >> what does that mean? >> victory. >> reporter: victory it may seem, but the influx of new migrants has overwhelmed the camp. the spanish government spent 30 million euros fortifying the front line. 12km of watch towers and razor wire run to the sea, where navy vessels guard the waters. an increase in patrols reduce the number of migrants trying to make it by boat to the european union. it means that more are trying their luck at the offense.

at the camp pressure is mounting. officials here are urging central government to help. they know that another sudden influx of migrants can happen any time. it is no longer an obstacle for those that search for a better life. more to come on the programme. three al jazeera journalists are back in an egyptian court on sunday. we'll have a report on the crackdown against the media then. and... >> sometimes we spend all day waiting but the situation doesn't have the things we need. we go back to the house with nothing queues are getting longer in what has been deemed the world's most miserable country. >> unreliable forensics >> the problem the bureaus got

is they fail, it's a big, big deal... >> convicted of unspeakable crimes did flawed lab work take away their freedom? >> i was 18 when i went in... when i came out i was 50... you don't get it back... >> shocking truths revealed

>> welcome back. the top stories here on al jazeera - a u.s. soldier is being flown to hospital in germany after being released by taliban fighters in afghanistan. sergeant bowe bergdahl was freed after five years, in exchange for five taliban detainees at

guantanamo bay. >> china has described the u.s. defense secretary's remarks, accusing beijing of destabilizing the south china sea as groundless. the italian navy rescued more than 3,500 migrants within 24 hours. many of them were from syria and north africa. al jazeera has obtained audio recordings from two inmates at egypt's high securitying prison. the detainees accuse guards of ill-treatment. >> translation: we got up to find the area for every day areas closed. outside are the fire brigade vehicles, water canons, electricity and water cut off. they told us you'll witness here the worse time ever. they are trying to kill us all. our families were not allowed to visit us. we urge the world and

international rights organizations and people of the judiciary, the army and the police, to help save us from the hell we are in. this is happening because of our strike, due to the iltreatment and unlawful imprisonment. >> translation: we chanted and the prisoners chanted and knocked on the doors. electricity and the water was cut off the the atmosphere was not tolerable. we were waiting for the last time for us to die. the time when the prison warders told ourselves. they could do anything. we couldn't help it. we were just waiting. waiting for the unknown. on sunday three al jazeera staff will again go on trial in a court in egypt. we were falsely accused of aiding muslim brotherhood. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed have been in gaol for 155 days. another al jazeera correspondent abdullah al-shami has also been held in a cairo prison without

charge for more than nine months. the crackdown on the media has been widespread. >> reporter: this has become an all-too familiar scene in egypt - al jazeera journalists in court. they are not the only one. >> they shut down the tv station, raided offices of media outlets and detained more than 65 accounts since july, and intigs, they prosecuted -- in addition they prosecuted, persecuted a lot. >> reporter: this is the funeral of a reporter. she was shot in the back of the head whilst covering a protest in march. egypt's minister of interior since agreed to provide 100 bullet-proof vests for journalists, covering demonstrations. gaoled media journalists include

this man. he has been to toura prison since august last year, and has not been charged. secular activists have been targeted. the leader of the april 6th is a well-known prisoner. one of the original groups behind the 2011 revolution. former head of the military abdul fatah al-sisi has won the presidential election. >> abdul fatah al-sisi is going to have a lot of difficulty with international community getting aid, giving investment. and having legitimacy to say that he is running the country towards a democratic government. unless he releases all the journalists behind bars, and prosecute those responsible. >> last year a video came out where abdul fatah al-sisi spoke about the meeting with military

generals. an officer says... >> showing a red card to media analysts will make them stop at a certain line and limit self-censorship. >> abdul fatah al-sisi responded with... . >> translation: building a state-wide alliance takes a long time and effort. it takes a long time until you get an appropriate share of influence over the media. >> now that he's president, abdul fatah al-sisi will have the power to deal with the media any way he wants. >> turkish riot police confronted demonstrators marking the first anniversary of mass protests. 10 people have been detained. tear gas and water canons were used to disperse protesters in tham sim square. now, a heat wave sweeping

across japan claims at least two lives. more than 300 people have been admitted to hospital. the meteorological agency issued warnings. on sunday temperatures are expected to top 35 degrees celsius, 95 degrees farr ep height in parts of the count riff. >> a study claims venezuela are the world's most miserable people, examining the virs economic -- various economic factors of each country. we have this report. >> reporter: the line outside the supermarket starts at around 8am. no one knows what the food truck will bring, it's a lottery. >> translation: sometimes i come for rice, but i can't get it. sometimes we spend all day waiting. if the supermarket doesn't bring the things we need, we go back to the house with nothing. >> after a 2.5 hour wait, and 100 in the queue, the truck

arrives. it's big with basics, including flower, sugar and chicken. supplies are rationed. each person is only allow to buy up to two of each product. >> translation: over the past year the lines are longer. food shortages are critical. the government must solve the situation. people are furious. >> according to the world's index, venezuela is the most miserable country in the world. it's calculated using g.d.p. and other factors. the food organization says the price of food in venezuela is higher than 18 other countries in the region. >> in the second quarter of 2013. >> hor than 20,000 venezuelans slit into the popular category, taking the total to 2.8 million. >> this is one of the poorest neighbourhoods. there's more than 1,000 slums

like this around the city. millions of people are living high in the mountains, the quality of life is low. no one in the area has a regular job. there's no running water. residents use containers to stock up on trucks. they have been forced to create fair then electricity system, stealing from ground cables. it's not a problem from the international market. it's a problem of the primitive economic development model that the government chose. the government must release the exchange rate. it has to negotiate with the private sector and understand that it's critical to development. >> to wait in line is a fight. i never seep venezuela like this before. >> it's been a long battle with no end in size. >> brazil, it's stepping up preparations for the football

world cup. security forces carried out a drill, simulating a chemical attack. more than 200 people took part. there has been several exercises in the lead-up to the tournament starting in less than two weeks. in another part of rio de janeiro. there has been protests after a man was shot in the chest during a shoot-out. angry resident accused police of excessive violence in slum neighbourhoods, also known as flavelas. environmentalists in sri lanka say poachers threaten the elephant population. the minister of wildlife conservation says cracking down on the illegal trade is difficult. given the powerful network behind it. >> reporter: a getle giant -- gentle giant, a familiar sight in this village. her owners have a permit and licence that is a must for

anyone keeping an elephant in sri lanka. the animals play a role in the buddhist-dominated passage. some owners want a way to replace them. >> there's a shortage of domesticated elephants, those who have owned animals for generations are without animals. we asked the minister to come up. this group of openers marched to the wildlife department with their request. >> elephants have been part of culture and tradition. replacing animals like this is difficult. environmentalists warn that taming wild elephants is a mistake. they say that allowing it would encourage racquet ears to capture elephants at reel. >> activists showed copies of permits and licence, which they

say is forged to capture elephants. this footage shows a calve in the jungle, abandoned when villagers heard its cries. >> this mother had gunshot injuries, dying after the footage was recorded. her calf could not be found. the scale of elfapt poaching is worrying. 40% of domestic elephants are believed to be illegally captured. >> there's two damages. one is the baby elephant, and some of the good mothers who produce will disappear from the wild population. these creatures are used in a number of areas. tourism, advertising and other vent oars. activists say money is the reason. >> it's a profit.

>> reporter: in many cases the captured elephant is mistreated and tethered so tightly. >> the government is determined to address the problem. >> it is not easy to stop this because there's a powerful network behind it. elephants are kept by temples, shrips and powerful people. we are determined to find a solution. >> how quickly determines the health and survival of sri lanka's elephant population. we'll be back with a full bulletin of news in a bit. including more on the u.s. soldier freed by the taliban in a prisoner exchange. we'll take you through the left of our top stories. also - a ban on smoking despite calls for a watering down of the law.

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. >> hi. i am lisa fletcher. you are in the stream. identity thieves targeting your kids. why their information is so much more valuable than yours and which states are working for you and against you on this issue. and later, the price to pay for the 21st september tree classroom. how a student's click is being tracked by data collection agencies, 10 million data points a day per child. are the digital perks worth it? ♪