> >> announcer: this is al jazeera. hello, welcome to the newshour. i'm martine dennis in doha. these are the top stories - the taliban releases a u.s. soldier in return for five of its leaders in a deal brokered by qatar. back behind the cage - the trial of three al jazeera journalists resumes in cairo. china hits back - slamming the u.s. and japan for their

stance on the south china sea. and... >> i'm rory challands in russia, where half the population smokes. come this weekend a smoking ban will be in place so in bars and restaurants like this, people are told to stub it out. now, first this morning a u.s. soldier released by the taliban is on his way to a hospital in germany. currently there is a conference being given by the qatari foreign ministry. there you see him. he is standing along the german foreign minister. we'll look at that more closely later on. first of all, let's find out about developments. what has been happening? the taliban leaders, who were released by the united states, are kornally on their way -- currently op their way to qatar. qatar brokered the prisoner swap, and the foreign minister has been talking about it.

we'll go back to the conference later on. first of all, let's hear from our correspondent. this is the deal the taliban long have been pushing for. after almost five years in captivity sergeant bowe bergdahl was reportedly handed to a force of several dozen u.s. special operations scandals in eastern afghanistan on saturday by a - 19-strong contiption of taliban. they'll be subject to security restrictions. they are former senior officials of the government, holding power before the u.s. invasion. >> i want to go home. you know, the men, afghanistan men in our prisons, they want to go home too. during his captivity he could be seen in videotapes released by the taliban. the prisoner swap has been

discussed since 2011 but never came to anything. a white house official said several weeks ago a new opportunity arose. in the roz guarden of the white house, the u.s. president said u.s. safety will not be compromised. >> we worked for self years to achieve this goal, i was amount permly thank the emir -- able to personally thank the emir of qatar. the kaary government has -- qatari government has given us ashoosheses that it will -- assurance that is it will put in place measures to ensure our safety. >> some in congress said president obama broke the law by not notifying them 30 days before the release of guantanamo bay prisoners. the white house hep it may help wider ests. >> the negotiations and their success suggests 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 roll in afghanistan, not just the roll of terrorist. >> bowe bergdahl was promoted twice, rising to the role of sergeant. officials say he's in good condition and will travel to a u.s. hospital in germany before returning home well al jazeera's correspondent hashem ahelbarra is at the qatari foreign ministry in doha. >> reporter: there are two event that we'll monitor here in the capital, doha - the arrival of the five taliban detainees, and a press are by the qatari minister of foreign affairs. we expect him to shed more light on the role that the qatari government played in the prisoner swap, and details about the restrictions placed on the five detainees for one year.

beyond that, will it stay in doha or fly back to afghanistan and what political role can be played in the future. this is one spalent. there's another aspect which is boosted by the prisoner swap. the qatari government is likely to play a part. on one hand you have the foreign troops pulling out from afghanistan as we speak. the taliban say that they are doing all this ipp directly which leads us to assume that the qataris are playing a significant role. these are questions we are likely going get more light and answers in the coming hour. now, that's a scope live downtown in doha at the foreign ministry. as you can see, the german foreign minister there talking, and beside him is the qatari foreign minister. we are keeping our eyes closely focussed on this event because

we know that inevitably once they get over the bilateral issues that they obviously got deal with, we know that the qatari foreign minister is going to be quiffed, not least by our correspondent hashem ahelbarra who is there in that conference about the kinds of assurances that have been given to the united states which have helped to facilitate the deal with five members were released by guantanamo bay. they are currently on their way to doha in exchange for the only known u.s. soldier who was held by the taliban. this exchange has taken quite a few years to come about, apparently there has been false starts, and it is founded on several occasions, but something changed as the details of which we are not sure. something changed which allowed the deal to go through, and you've probably already seep the scoops of jubilation and

celebration in the united states where the u.s. soldier is due to arrive within the coming days because we know that he's on his way to a u.s. military facility in germany, where he'll have extensive medical tests. so, as you can see, the foreign minister there, and the german foreign minister talking. we'll keep across all of this in case there's anything of significance with regard to our top story today and the top story for the rest of the world's media. that is the exchange of five guantanamo bay prisoners. we are going to - we are going listen in and here what the qatari minister has to say. >> translation: as i said before, i will not disclose any of the details. however, in any event when qatar

takes the role of an intermediary, it plays this role on the humanitarian bases and that is a cold concept of qatar foreign relations. and the trust and confidence worldwide, it made this easy, and excuse me not to disclose further details. >> translation: have you discussed the qatari support to the syrian opposition. we spoke about the syrian crisis and we also discussed the humanitarian issues and the

political support. this has taken a great deal. apart of the meeting and how can we support the moderate opposition in syria. to be taken into consideration. the complicated conditions as the syrian regime is running elections. and we decided to hold another meeting following the syrian elections to see the prospect solution to the crisis in syria. so there you see the two foreign ministers concluding that press conference in another part of doha, to us here at al jazeera. but the five taliban detainees obviously of major significance for the press conference. all of them had been held in guantanamo bay ever since 2002.

now, they were part of the afghan leadership before the us-led invasion in 2001. now, a former guantanamo bay detainee gave us more details about these men, the taliban prisoners who have been released. >> i met mohammad fazl in guantanamo, and from his - he told me that sharif is a nice man. >> khairullah khairkhwa served as the minister interior. he is said to directly be associated with osama bin laden. >> i met him twice time, and he's in my cell, and we talk

about afghanistan, about traditional afghanistan, and i know from his, the governor ror herat -- governor, of herat. we wish to come there. but it was full of taliban before we reach her a. >> moving on to abdul haq wasiq, this is the plan with whom perhaps you were most friendly during your time in guantanamo. >> he told me he is intelligent minister. and he told me some story about his work, and also he's a nice man, and quiet man and he have wisdom and times i take from hum. and mullah norullah noori -

this is a man you didn't meet in guantanamo. >> yes, i think this man, they arrested him later on after. >> and finally mohammed nabi, who it is thought was senior commander in the tall band. >> he's commandant, and i met him also in guantanamo. i have - he's my neighbour. as i know from him, he's - have good feeling and believing in taliban. he talk to be about taliban, afghanistan, and his role. >> do you think that these men will give up their dream of controlling afghanistan?

>> i think this time they will think about their family. so you think they will be satisfied to stay in qatar, and not continue their fight in afghanistan. >> i think that, yes, they stay in qatar this fully, and take care about their family, an indication. >> these men are your friends. >> all those people are my friend. i with them six years, and i wish to meet him again in doha. well, that was sami elhandling talking about his knowledge of the five men. let's go to the foreign ministry and speak to hair correspondent hashem ahelbarra. we have just seep the ends of the press conference between the

german foreign minister and the qatari foreign minister. what was said about the five men on the way to qatar now? >> qatari foreign minister was cautious, saying that qatar stepped in on purely a humanitarian basis, saying that in qatari diplomacy, the human theirian aspect is -- humanitarian spent is crucial. he didn't go into the details. they didn't talk about the stay of five taliban leaders, will they be placed in a detention facility, what if it happens a year from now. sorry, i won't be able to at this moment to go into further details. it's been a very delicate mission for the qatari government. he extended thanks to the mediating team, the qatari mediating team saying they did a

formidable job, it was a delicate situation for them, but they made it successfully. >> when the men arrived and what will happen as soon as they land in doha. >> basically they expect to arrive in the coming hours, they'll be greeted by the taliban delegation, the taliban representatives based here in doha. and then what happens next we don't know. they are going to what kind of restrictions will be placed. will it be sort of house arrest, restricted presence. a detention facility. those details the qatari won't give a detail. it's a crucial negotiation. this is a mission almost impossible a few months ago, and why the minister of foreign affairs was previous and koushes in giving us more details once

they spent a year in doha. >> thank you hashem ahelbarra there. reporting live from the foreign ministry of qatar. more to come here in the al jazeera news hour - including italy's navy picks up 3,500 migrants from boats in the mediterranean sea, in just 24 hours. we'll find out why kenya's white sandy beaches are losing their appeal for tourists. and the line-up for the n.b.a. files is complete. robin will be here to tell us who snapped up the last-remaining spot. now, three jads staff are appearing before caught in egypt. they are on trial, falsely accused of aiding the banned group muslim brotherhood.

peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed have been in gaol for 155 days now, another al jazeera correspondent. abdullah al-shami has been held in a cairo prison without charge for more than nine months. as immo grenan reports, the crackdown on the media has been widespread. >> this has become an all-too familiar scope in egypt. al jazeera journalists in court. they are not the only ones. >> shut town tv station. raiding offices. detained 65 journalists since july. in addition they prosecuted - persecuted a lot of suicide activists. >> reporter: this is the funeral of reporter shot in the back of the head while covering in march. >> egypt's minister of interior was said to provide 100

bulletproof vests. gaoled media workers included a freelance photographer, in prison since august last year. it hasn't been charged. secular activists have been targeted. one of the most well known ones is the leader of the april 6th movement. one of the original groups goodnight the 2011 revolution. former head of the military abdul fatah al-sisi has won the presidential election. >> abdul fatah al-sisi will 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 on

killing journalists. >> last year a video came out where abdul fatah al-sisi spoke about the media with military generals. one said... . >> translation: showing a red card to media outlets will make them, if they don't cooperate, stop at a certain line or limit them. >> 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. >> now, thousands of prisoners in egyptian jails started a one-week hunger strike against their positions. as nicole johnson reports, security guards cracked down hard on them. this is the central prison, video smuggled out shows how

cramped it is. prisoners sleep side by side in packed cells. toilets are filthy and there are not enough to go around the the cells are small and dirtiers there's little natural light. families of prisoners say guards attacked inmates. the criminal police stormed the prison and soughted the detainee. bartering and electricuting them. dispatch connecting power -- disconnecting power. >> the families have been told an official investigation will be carried out of the thousands of inmates have been on a hunger strike. the prisoners are protesting against poor treatment and cases of torture. there are reports that security forces raided cells in a prison on saturday, firing tear gas and hitting prisoners. al jazeera has obtained audio recordings from two inmates.

>> we got up to find the area for every day exercises closed. outside are the fire brigade vehicles. electricity and water is cut off. they told us you'll witness the worst time ever. they are trying to kill us all. this is happening because of our strike. >> the prisoner started chanting and locking the doors. we are waiting for them. >> egypt's interim government says 16,000 people have been detained since former president mohamed mursi was removed from power. >> many of them were rounded up at protests against last year's military coup. and six egyptian border guards have been killed by smugglers during a patrol in the western part of the country. the soldiers were targeted in the western desert area.

this attack follow an arrest of smugglers and the confiscation of weapons, ammunition, cars and drugs. weapons flows increased along the desert borders of sudan and libya, since the uprising that toppled muammar gaddafi in 2011. now, a smoking ban in public places comes into force in russia. that makes it illegal to light up in bars, restaurants and cafes. as rory challands reports, despite calls from smokers and the hospitality industry to relax the legislation. >> it's early evening and a post-work crowd is set iping into its drinks. here a drink goes with a secret. the hudson bar is popular. as russians say the air can get so thick you can happening an axe. from june the 1st, the american openers will tell smokers to stub it out. they couldn't be happier.

>> we have a lot of people crowded in a bar. when people don't come here because there's too much smoke. i'm looking forward to getting that clientele back. the bar is not typical. it's mostly av flupt muscovites, plenty of whom kicked the habit, cigarettes are cheap here, one or $2. half the population smokes, meaning russians die young. the average russians only expect to live to 66 years. compare that to the european union where the average life expectansy is 79. >> despite the death toll a group collected 100,000 images. >> i think smokers should be able to smoke everywhere they go - in theatres, hospitals, stations, airports, work, and in

organised places so they don't violate the rites of nonsmokers who don't want the stiping or see people smoking. >> opposition is real enough. a survey suggesting 82% of bar and straupt and cafe owners think the ban will hurt business. >> people hate this. it's not order. it's mess. this rule is not correct for people. it's maybe correct for lawmakers, but not for us. the government bets what it wants, and has been smart introducing the legislation in the hot southern months, going outside for a secret. the smoking ban will be yesterday's news. >> okay. we can talk to demeetry from moscow. a member of the russian movement

for the rights of smokers, and a leading tluler writer. thank you -- thriller writer. thank you for taking the time to talk to us. why do russians smoke. they come fourth on the list of smokers worldwide after china, india and indonesia. well, the question of why is difficult tore me. it happened so that about half of adult population smokings. that's an effect for which i'm proceeding. i'm not investigating why. >> you are clearly against the government ban now on smoking in public places. are you not aware of all of the research that shows how bad smoking is for you, not just for you, the smoker, but those inhaling the smoke passively? >> i happen to know quite well the global discussion about report of passive smoking, and

know that there is a site which disputes heavily validity of this survey. i love the figures, showing second hand smoking is not so harmful. so many secondary figures had been reached by the medical - this refused our movement. we don't likelies. if someone relies on lies, something is wrong about the ghost. >> what is your specific objection to the move to try to ban smoking in public places. you'll be able to smoke privately at home. >> well, that is theoretical. the situation on the ground in russia, and which is affiliated in 49 russian districts, which is a means - they say that nobody really, nobody in this russia, outside of moscow

believes that the ban can be enforced. everyone is skeptical. no one is active about that. beside with this ban, what we see is guilt and public opinion in favour of smokers. >> you are more worried about an infriendshipingment as you see it in your civil liberties. is that what your objection is? >> well, i wore idea mostly about something else, that this furious campaign against smoking based on statistics is dividing russian population. they are trying to throw smokers against no smokers. this is shape making strain between authorities who are - are trying to enforce the ban and the rest of the population. it's a tense situation which we don't like.

i am sure that we can work out a compromise, yes. >> i was going to say thank you. sorry to interrupt there. thank you for taking the time to talk to us here at al jazeera. >> thank you. right, time to get a look at the weather with steph. >> thank you. i'll look mostly at japan today, where it's been really very hot. in fact, there's pictures out of toekia showing -- tokyo showing people suffering as they try to make do with the hot weather. we got up to 35 degrees, and the definition of a heatwave is 5 degrees above everything. the average is 23 degrees, so we are a long way above that. it's going to change and the reason is an ominous looking cloud behind me, nudging to the east. it will drag down the temperatures. it's moving slowly, as we head through the day on monday, we'll see the wet weather working into

north and south korea, into the southern fringes of japan, ahead there's an area of high pressure, it will be fine and special. tokyo, 31 degrees, and that will be the airport temperature. again, a hot day. that hot weather extends all the way up into the east of russia and north-east of china. the system will edge east wards as we head through tuesday. op tuesday, a lot of wet weather. for tokyo the temperatures are easing - this time getting to 28. >> thank you very much indeed. more to come here on the al jazeera newshour. including another wave of migrants land on italy's shores. 3,500 in one day. and beautiful but not as full as they used to be. why kenya's beaches are losing their appeal.

hello again. these are the top stories at al jazeera. a u.s. soldier released by the taliban is on his way to a hospital in germany. five taliban leaders released by the united states are on their way to qatar. they brokered a prisoner swap. >> three al jazeera staff are appearing before a trial court in egypt. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed are falsely accused of aiding the

banned muslim brotherhood group. all right our top story is that of the prisoner swap deal brokered by qatar. in the home town of sergeant bowe bergdahl, he is the u.s. soldier released by the taliban, preparations are on to welcome him home. al jazeera's allen schauffler reports from idaho. >> reporter: in this town of about 8,000 just abuzz this weekend with the spreading news that bowe bergdahl is coming home. and coming home as a sergeant. he's been promoted twice, in captivity, whilst held by the pal tan. there are yellow rib lions on every sign post, fence post and light post. people age that he has been hell. they had ribbons up for five years, new ones put in place, to keep the memory of berg fresh in people's minds. -- bowe bergdahl fresh in people's minds.

this coffee shop, zappies, is an epicentre for the effort. we talked with the owner, bowe's boss. some time back. we asked her what she thought about the things that bowe bergdahl would be facing as he comes home to america to start a new life or restart on old one. sue martin can't wait to see bowe bergdahl, and expects to give him a hug. that is no doubt a sentiment shared by many in the wood river fallry of idaho. >> china hit back at the united states and japan after they criticised beijing's south china sea policy. 24 hours before the u.s. defence secretary told an asian security conference that china was a destabilizing force, here is the chinese response. >> translation: we will never accept provocations by others upped the pretext of -- under the pretext of positive passive

ix that stirs up pretext. the speeches by mr abe and mr hagel gave me the impression that they coordinated with each other and staged provocative access. we are joined by a jourpist and analyst on chinese affairs, shag they want the chinese to separate from its traditional allies. >> what china is aiming is slowly bit step by step reduce americans strategic domination and what it wants is to separate america from its traditional allies, philippines and japan. and particularly from vietnam. they made advances to the united states. they are particularly angry at japan, because abe, the japanese prime minister offered patrol

boats to boost vietnam and the philippines, these are not naval warships. they are armed, they will help the countries politically and logistically in preventing incidents of chinese bullying. >> now, the sudanese woman sentenced to death for abandoning islam may be released, according to a government official. meriam ibrahim's lawyers are skeptical that she will be freed and says the decision will be made by the courts. now, miriam gave birth this week whilst in captivity. her case caused an international outcry. we have been speaking to al-sharif mohammed, miriam's lawyer, from carr tomb. he said this about the government's statement. >> this is a statement, it's a political statement. even is not vepding on the

judiciary of sudan. it's the body that has to determine miriam's situation. miriam was convicted according to the apostasy and others. this is crime, it should be determined. what we are looking for is - we have fighting to release because we believe that miriam did not commit a crime, whether it is adultery. she did not commit apostasy. she did not - apostasy is not crime. as far as we know, she is still in the prison, and they have been in the prison today and we went to the court to see whether there's any decision made. we have found that even our record - they still in the

court. the court record was not. so what he said is that it's in the statement. now, italy's navy rescued more than 3,500 migrants from votes in the mediterranean sea. the majority men were syria and north africa, but also hundreds of children, tape to ports on the island of sicily and lampedusa. the number of arrivals is equal to the entire number from last year. now, a spokesperson from doctors without borders has been treating and working with the migrants. many have health problems. >> mainly skin diseases. clearly due to poor hygiene in the last month, and the traumas and the respiratory tract

infection. maim we see the diseases -- mainly we see the diseases. in the last several, we see more and more young children. many of them non-accompanied and men women. so this keerl a change -- clearly change the type of people. it's not the case of today. in the last month or so, a lot of children coming. they are all coming from really hard conditions so i don't think there is something to stop them. maybe if the situation in their country changes, but nothing we can do from here a frenchman has been arrested in connection with a deadly shooting at a museum in brussels. three died, another injured when a loan gunman opened fire outside the museum over a week ago. french investigators question a 29-year-old man after arresting him in marr say on friday.

it's alleged the man has tied to fighter groups in syria and is known to the french intelligence agency. syrian fighters released video of women and children held hostage in syria. they are from the alawite sect. the same as president ass add. one of the women in the video says 40 of them were released under the homs agreement. that is when syrian government forces agreed to let government forces retreat from homs with light arms. tourists from a number of countries are being advised not to travel to kenya. a series of attacks increased concerns about the security situation and tourism makes up an important part of the country's any. katherine soy looks at the impact.

>> reporter: the white sandy beach of some of kenya's hotels remain empty. occasionally you see tourists. they are getting ray. a series of attacks warned countries like the u.s. and britain and australia against travelling to certain areas. >> this man opened a business. >> a day before the travel advisory, we had an arrival of 108 british tourists. our occupancy at this time was 157. for low season, not bad. and after the tourists were evacuated on saturday, we had only 20 tourists left. >> reporter: tourism is the second-largest source of foreign change revenue. it drives the economy along the

coast. 20 hotels have been closed. $7 million lost in tourist cancellations and thousands of employees laid off. >> this is the low seep for kenya -- season for kenya's tourism industry. it's not unusual to cut down on costs. a low seefb together with negative advisories are damaging, especially with the high season fast preaching. >> tourism ministry's cabinet secretary says it's time for the country to expand the market and reach out to african countries, the far east and eastern europe. >> we had a plan. we are rolling out the plan. we had identified other markers we thought would stablilize tourism sectors. this man is worried about the short term. he is one of thousands laid off and upline the past, he's not

certain if or when he's getting his job back. >> if tourists don't come, we'll be devastated. if i can't repair generators, i will not get customers, they will not have money to pay. he has five children to staep, and not many -- sustain, and not many options. robin will be here in a while with all the french open tennis news, including how rafa looking good in a bid to break some records. robin coming up in a little while. >> and a warning - these gentle giant of sri lanka are under threat from illegal poaching.

is justice really for all?

now el salvador has a new president. he will ipp her it a country struggling with gang violence. over 17,000 were killed during the outgoing president's five-year term. we have this report from the capital. >> elite units out to arrest gang members. this has been the worst month in two years, the number of murders in may doubled compared to last year. and the outgoing government is stepping up its crack down in its final hours to smooth the

political translation. we went on patrol with the police. most streets are empty at night. >> the police are on high alert. 81 people were killed around the country. the homicide rate searched. a truce between gangs and launched the crackdown. >> mediators had been able to bring together rival gapping leaders ordering them from gaol. the government never explained why they were banned. with the government's change of heart, gang members releasing benefits. those that arrested them on the streets have been arrested. >> carlos is a gang leader insisting gang members are fed up with violence. his supporters call themselves a criminal gangster, staying away from cuble with the police. they blame rivals from the gapping for prabing the truce

and the government tore turning its back on them. >> what i want from the new government is to sit at the negotiating table that was formed and hold talks. there has to be a dialogue, otherwise we'll get nowhere. >> polls suggested that 80% wants the new government to change strategy. they said combatting gang violence would be a priority. he would continue having and running joint operations. >> the truth brought whom sid down by two-thirds. the country is on track to become one of the most violent countries in the world. did you know venezuelans are the world's most miserable people. that's according to a new survey. it's a world index.

it examines various economic factors. kath turner reports from caracas. the line outside the supermarket starts at 8am. no one knows what the food truck will bring. it's a lottery. sometimes i come for rice or oil, but i can't get it. if the supermarket doesn't bring what we need, we go back with nothing. >> reporter: after a 2.5 hour rate, and 100 in the queue, the truck arrives. it's a big one with flour, sugar, butter and chicken. supplies are rationed. each person can buy up to two of each product. >> over the past year the lines are getting longer. the food shortages are critical. the government must solve the situation and listen to us. people are furious.

>> according to the index, venezuelan is the most miserable country in the world. other statistics are depressing. the food and agricultural organisation says the price of food is higher than 18 other countries in the region. in the second quarter of 2013, more than 17,000 venezuelans slid into the extreme, taking the total to 2.8 million. >> this is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in caracas. there are more than 100 slums like this. millions of people are living high in the mountains, but the quality of life is low. no one in the area has a regular job. there's no running water. residents use containers by privately-owned companies. they have been forced to create their top electricity, stealing

from underground cables. >> this is a problem with the primitive economic development model that the government chose. they must release the exchange rate. it has to negotiate with the private sector and understand it's critical to the country's development much. >> translation: to wait in line for two packs of flour is a fight. i never seen venezuela like this. >> in a battle with no end in site. kath turner, caracas. >> robin is here. >> we'll start with the latest from the french open ep. andy murray is about to proceed. on court. thomas berdych leads. and a little kerl kisher was knocked out by boucher of canada. the german defeated 6-1, 6-2.

>> rafael nadal is upchecked to claim the fifth title at roland garros. >> reporter: on the hunt for a ninth title at roland garos. rafael nadal is making his intentions clear, dissupposing of leonardo mayer 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. in the women's highest seed, halep reached the fourth round with a comfortable 6-3, 6-0 win. >> sixth seed through, beating rome an can castia in strait sets. >> she hits the ball so hard, every ball. i needed to stay loi and focussed from the first to the

last. fifth seed and former champion petra lost to svetlana. the czech, claiming victory 97 in a tense third and deciding set. former french open champion anna ivano vich is going home, beaten in straight sets by a third seed. >> some of football's top administrators including several f.i.f.a. members have been accused of corruption by the british newspapers. hundreds of millions of documents leaked by a whistleblower inside football's world body. the former f.i.f.a. vice president made payments totalling $5 million to other football officials, including from africa. the payments were an attempt to ensure his home nation won the

right to host the world cup in 2022. the world cup organiser denied he was involved in the campaign. the asian football bros tried to challenge him in 2011. he was banned from football activities by the ethics committee for conflicts of interest. and code of ethics. the antonio spurs. they'll face the champions much the spurs got there with 1207 times. winning against oklahoma. game 6 of the conference. hosting the heat in game one. there won't be time to celebrate the western conference. >> i have to be honest, victory is sweet. we played one hell of a team. and we take great satisfaction

in that because they are so special. and they'll certainly be back during great things. >> let's get caught up. they'll take a one-shot lead into the final round of the tournament. the american carded five birdies. his third stayed. what is on course for a third title of the year. >> adam scott an eagle on the 16th. he'lling him to finish. they are three off the lead. in contention. >> pilots were thrashed 12-2 by the los angeles dodgers, the yankees thrilling the crowd. the signing. leading a side to a 3-1 win.

boxing down. it retained a world supermiddleweight toilets. george out in the eighth round in front of more than 80,000. it was described as the best punch of his life. proposed to his model gifrt. she said yes. she's eyeing the great lights of los angeles. >> there is one box not ticked and that's los angeles. all the greats are before me, taking this b. ouf not had my name up in the light. it would be nice to do that before bowing out. a lead story. the qatar 2022, and the allegations by british newspaper, aljazeera.com/sport. we'll have more on that in the coming hours. that's if for now. >> environmentalist in sri lanka is saying that the poachers are threatening the country's elephant population.

the minister said cracking down on the trade is difficult given the network behind it. we have a report from one of the towns. a gentle giant. it's a familiar site in this village. it is a must for anyone keeping an elephant in sri lanka. the animals play a role in this buddhist country. especially if terms of a pageant. with a number of animals in captivity gipd limbing, some want a way to replace them. >> there's a shortage of them. those who have formed animals without animals. you ask the minister to come up with a programme to protect this tradition. >> this group of owners marched to the department with their income. >> elephants have been part of culture and tradition.

replacing animals is difficult, and want authorities to give them a solution. environmentalists warn that taming wild elephants is a mistake. they say that allowing it would encouraging racket ears to encourage them at will. >> activists say they have been forged to accommodate baby elephants captured from the wild. this footage and photographs show a calf abandoned. when villages heard cries and raised the alarm. the mother had gunshot injuries, and died a few days after footage was recorded. the calf could not be found. environmentalists say the scale of poaching is worrying. 40% of elephants are illegally captured. >> you extract the baby elephants, and some of the good mothers, they reproduce in years

to come, will disappear. >> the magestic creatures are used in a number of areas, tourism where they prove a big hit in other ventures. money is the reason say activists. >> it's a pure profit. it's a top company. in many cases the captured elephants are mistreated. they are tethered, they are bruised. the minister of wildlife conservation says the government is determined to address the problem. >> translation: it's not easy to stop this. there's a powerful network. elephants kept them in shrines. we are determined to find a solution. >> how quickly that solution is found will determine the health and survival of anca's elephant population. lots of news here at al

jazeera. don't go away.

finally - freed. u.s. soldier berg -- burke is headed -- bowe bergdahl is headed home after five years as a hostage in afghanistan. fighting wind with windmeals - will it help with swords. >> this is the