this is al jazeera. >> hello. welcome to the news hour. i am martin in doha with all the top stories here at al jazeera. the taliban releases a u.s. soldier in return for five of its leaders in a deal brokered by qatar. al jazeera's journalists imprisoned in egypt is have again had their trial adjourned. we will have the latest on the heed i can't crackdown there. china hits back, clamming the u.s. and japan for their stanchion on the south china

sea, plus... >> i am in russia where half of the population still smokes. this weekend, a smoking ban is coming coming in.

>> translator: with respect to the details -- excuse me for not disclosing any. however, when qatar takes the role of intermediatiary, it plays this role on a humanitarian basis which is the whole concept of qatar foreign relations. >> it's not exactly clear when they will be arriving here in qatar. all of the kind of restrictions that they will be living under, but a report now on what's known from washington. >> reporter: afghanistan on may 3rd, 2009. >> this is the deal the taliban had long been pushing for. after almost five years in captivity, sergeant bowe bergdahl was handled to special operations officers on saturday by a 19-strong contingent of the taliban. in exchange, five taliban prisoners at guantanamo bay will be sent to qatar, subject to security restrictions including

a ban on travel for one year. they are former 7 ario officials of the taliban government that held power before the u.s. invasion. >> i want to go home, you know. the men, afghanistan men who are in our prisons, they want to go home, too. >> during his captivity, bergdahl could be seen in videotapes released by the taliban. this prisoner swap has been discussed since 2011 but never came to anything. the white house officials said several weeks ago, a new opportunity arose. >> in the white house rose garden, bergdahl's parents by his side, the president said u.s. safety would not be compromised. >> we have worked for several years to achieve this goal. earlier this week, i was able to personally think the emir of qatar for his leadership in helping us get this done. the u.s. is transferring five detainees to qatar. the qatari government has assured us it has put in place

measures to measures to now. all right. as promised, we can go live now at the foreign ministry in doha. and hasham, we were hearing from shihabs that it's thought that the five, once they arrive here, will live under a certain number

of travel restrictions for a period of about a year. do we know anything more about the conditions under which they will be living here? >> today, the qatari foreign minister declined to give us further information about the conditions of the stay of the five taliban leaders. now, there are in force restrictions. the u.s. spoke about assurance from the qatari government that the stay of the taliban leaders won't compromise the u.s.'s national security. we don't know whether this is going to be a detention facility or some sort of restrictions. the qataris are very tight-lipped about this inc. this is a sensitive issue for them. they are pretty much happy about the success of the operation. they say it was purely a humanitarian mediation but for the time being, they wouldn't provide us with any details about exactly the kind of arrangements that they have

provided and how the five taliban leaders will spend a year in doha and whether they will have the right to play any political role in the future. >> what i wanted to ask you next was what is in it for the qataris. why are they getting involved in what you said? it's a very sensitive issue. >> remember over the last few years when the united states of america was looking forward to pushing the taliban to engage in a dialogue about a political settlement and afghan reconciliation, they were told to choose four addresses: turkey, saudi arabia, uae or qatar. they preferred to steak in qatar because they think qatar is more neutral on the afghan issue. the taliban in the past said they wanted demands to be met, prison swap and, also, the names of the leaders be removed from

the black list and three to be acknowledged as a powerful military entity. this is definitely going to be a first step that would engage the taliban in to a broader talk about the future of afghanistan, a situation where definitely will have the qataris play a crucial role because as we speak, the afghans say we are only talking indirectly to the americans, which means you still have a country like qatar playing an active mediation here. >> hashem at the foreign ministry, the qatari ministry in another part of doha. thanks very much. the family and friends of the released u.s. soldiers say they have never forgotten him. al jazeera's alan schauffler is in idaho. he sent this report. >> reporter: captive american soldier bowe bergdahl may have fallen off of the radar screen for a lot of americans during the five years he has been in captivity held by the taliban,

but that is not the case here in his home state of idaho, in the capitol of boise and in his hometown of hailey to the east of here near sun valley. he has never been forgotten. and people are very excited that he is coming home. they have kept up a constant drum beat, constant pressure on the obama administration, the department of state and the american military. his parents and friends constantly pushing, saying that we needed to do more to try to get bowe bergdahl out. five years in captivity, he's twice been promoted. he's a sergeant now. he will come back as sergeant bowe bergdahl. we are not entirely sure of the timeline. we know he will be treated in german and debriefed at a medical facility in san antonio, texas, then, at some point, come back here to idaho and come back to hailey which has been a town wrapped in yellow ribbons for most of the last half decade. they have not forgotten about bowe bergdahl. you will see his face on posters, bumper stickers, yellow

rib options everywhere. they had a big festival planned for the end of june: bring bowe back in anticipation that he would still be in captivity, they have changed the title to bowe is back. they say that festivity will go on as planned hopefully with bowe bergdahl in attend answer. >> china has hit back at the united states and japan after they criticized beijing for being a destabilizing force in the region. it's all over recent actions in disputed territory in the south and the east china seas. here is the chinese response. >> translator: we will never accept provocations by others under the pretext of positive pacifism that stirs up tension for their self issue interests. the speech is made by mr. arbai and mr. hagel gave me the impression they coordinated with each other and made prove vocat

actions against china. >> an analyst on chinese affairs:. >> what china is aim something slowly but step by step, reduce american strategic domination and what it wants is to separate american from its traditional allies, the philippines and jap japan. particularly vietnam becausevat vietn vietnam. they are particularly angry at japan, also, because arbae, the zjapanese prime minister has offered coastal patrol boats to both vietnam and the philippines. these are not and a half warshi warships, but they are likely armed and they will help these countries both politically and logistically in presenting incidents of chinese bullying.

>> thousands of troops and police have been deployed in the thai capitol, bangkok to stop any anticoup demonstrations. between them and protesters, refusing to accept the military takeover. activists have been planning a large weekend rally, but the army has banned political gathers of more than five people. a libyan army official says a military plane has bombed militia positions in the eastern city of benghazi. the attack targeted a base february the 17th and an area in western benghazi where members of the armed group are located. the aircraft belongs to a ren gate general, leading a military campaign against the militias. syrian rebel fighters have released new video of a group of women and children who are being held hostage. they are from the allowhite sector, the same as president

asaad. one of the detained women says in the video that 40 of them have been released since then. the kidnappers are demanding the release of 2000 prisoners being held by government forces three access staff imprisoned in egypt have had their court hearing adjourned until june the 5th. they are on trial falsely accused of aiding the banned group, the muslim brotherhood. they have been in jail over 155 days. another al jazeera correspondent, abdullah he will shamy has been held in a cairo prison without charge for more than nine months. the crackdown on the media has been widespread as nicole johnston reports. >> reporter: as the defendants stood in the caged doc, their lawyers had their first chance to properly challenge the evidence of prosecution witnesses. they cross examined three members of a technical committee appointed by the court to assess

video material under strong questioning, the head of the committee admitted he was with police officers when they arrested al jazeera correspond are correspondents. >> led the lawyer to question how he could be described as an independent witness. another member of the technical panel was challenged to identify a single report that was edited to show the muslim brotherhood in a positive light. he replied, "i can't remember" the lawyers pointed to the fact that written statements by prosecution witnesses were identical, word for word. but their submission in court contradicted them. this court case is part of the broad media crackdown in egypt. >> shut down t.v. station, raided offices of media outlets and detained more than 65 journalists since july, and in addition, they prosecuted and persecuted a lot of the

defendants. >> this is the funeral of reporter ashraf. she was shot in the back of the head while covering a protest in march. egypt's minister of interior has since agreed to provide 100 bullet proof vests for journalists covering violent demonstrations. jailed media workers including freelance photographer mac mood abuzaid. he has been in torah privileges since august last year has and hasn't been charged. former head of the military appears set to win the presidential election. >> he is going to have a lot of difficulty with international community getting aid getting investment and having legitimacy to say he is running the country towards a democratic government unless he releases all of the

journists who are behind bars and proscutes those who are responsible on killing journalists. >> now that he is about to be president, he will have the power to deal with the media any way he wants. nicole johnston, al jazeera. >> thousands of prisoners in egypt have started a one-week hunger strike against their conditions and as a report, guards have cracked down hard on them. >> reporter: this is the central prison. video smuggled out show how cramped it is inside. prisoners sleeping side-by-side and the toilets are filthy and there aren't enough to go around. the cells are small and dirt. there is very little natural light. families of prime ministers say guards attacked inmates. >> the criminal police stormed the prison and saw to the e tainees tinies electrocuting

them, disconnecting power to their cells causing grave injuries. 20 with serious wounds and fractures. >> the families of prisoners have been told an official investigation into the assault will be carried out. thousands of inmates are now on hunger strike for one week. a group called the victims center for human rights says the prisoners are protesting against their poor treatment and torture. there were also reports security forces raided cells in the prison on saturday firing tear gas and hitting prisoners with batons. al jazeera has obtained audio recordings from two inmates. >> translator: we got up to find the area for our every day exercises closed. outside are the five brigade vehicles with water canon. he electricity and water are cut off. they told us you will witness here the worst time ever. they tried to kill us all instead of torturing us. this is happening because of our strike. >> we started chanting and

knocking the doors of the cells. the electricity and water are cut off. we are waiting for that. >> reporter: the interim government says at least 16,000 people have been detained since former president mohammed more sea was removed from power. many were rounded up at protests against last year's military coup. al jazeera. six egyptian border guards have been killed by smugglers during a patrol. an army spokesman said the soldiers were targeted in the western desert area of alhat. weapons flows have increased along the desert borders since the uprising that topell gadaffn 2011. operation indonesia. the government vows action following high profile cases of child sexual abuse. and we see the poorous border

between ukraine and russia. the french open tennis match that spanned two days. action coming up later in sports. . >> anderson easy i can't's government is launching a campaign to stop violence against children. this follow owes of a series of high-profile child sexual abuse cases. a report now from where a man is accused of abusing more than 100 boys. >> an enormous and delicate task. psychologists in sukabumi are counseling more than 100 boys following allegations they were sexually abused by a man who lived in their neighborhood. the alleged abuse went on for several years before one of the boys dared to speak out. >> what happened shocked the country. one mother says her son was

raped repeatedly. >> translator: i am sad. i will never forget what happened to my son as long as i live. i want a person who did this to get the highest punishment because this man cannots be cured. i am so upset because i have to take my son to the hospital now due to internal bleeding. >> this is where the abuse took place. it's a deseditor resort not far from the village, a place where boys like to come fror a swim. this case and others have forced the issue of sexual abuse of children onto the government's agenda. >> reports of sexual abuse against children have nearly doubled in the past year. recent government figures show that nearly half of all indianesian teenagers have experienced some sort of sexual abuse. most victims don't report the abuse because they are ashamed. >> many children don't understand they are being abused. >> can affect them.

they initially think it's normal. this is one of our main concerns, the lack of knowledge and also parents who still consider sexual topics a taboo. >> to make sure parents know what's happening with their children, government authorities in west java have launch add campaign to encourage parents to spend 20 minutes every day together. they have also started to break the taboos around sex and sexual abuse by teaching children about their bodies and why they need to protect themselves. . >> what the government wants is a national movement is protection of children is not only for the government to do with but everyone has to stand up against this and make sure that we can stop this violence as soon as possible. >> the maximum sentence for child abuse is 15 years in prison but many people in sukabumi are worried that isn't

long enough for a 24-year-old man who is charged with abusing their children. the government is considering the introduction of chemical castration or even the death penalty in an effort to stop sexual abuse. ste a sudan easy government official says a woman sentenced to death on charges of abandoning islam may be released but her lawyers remain skeptical that she will be freedom and say the decision lies with the court. she is married to a christian with u.s. citizenship. she gave birth earlier this week in jail. she has rejected charges of apostecy arguing she was raised by her children mother and not by her muslim father. here is what her lawyer had to say about the announcement to free miriam eastbound areibrahi. >> this is a statement.

>> the position is that the body has to determine mirian's situation. she was convicted according to the apostecy and adultery and they are both a crime. this will crime should be determined by the judge. so what we are looking for is just all we have. we have been fight to go release mariam because we believe that miriam did not commit any crime, adultery, she is legally married and, also, she did not commit apostacy. she is christian. she did not -- apost he acy is not a crime. as far as we know, miriam is still in the prison. they have been in the prison today and we went also to the court of appeals to see whether there is any decision made by the court of appeal but we have found that even our court record

the court record was not brought to the appeals court. so what she said is a political statement. >> a frenchman has been arrested in connection with a deadly shooting at a jewish museum brucels. three died and one was injured when a lone gunman opened fire outside the newsim over a week ago. french investigators are questioning a 29-year-old man. it's alleged the manual has ties to fighter groups in syria and is known to french intelligence. et leader of the separate test fighting group in ukraine's east says six of his men have been killed as they tried to collect the bodies of their fallen comrades. the eastern border with russia is at the center of their fight against government forces. cossack commanders have taken control of border towns as david shaffer reports. >> reporter: driving east

toward the russian border you check through checkpoints manned exclusively by cossacks. most are former miners. they have been from as far afield as kazakhstan with more than a splifrning ling of chechens. in thet. >> the guards are vigilant. on the roadside, we pass two men forced to the ground with their hands tied behind them. the separatist fighters placed an armed guard and took us to their regional headquarters and trapped it. the town takes its name from anthrocyte coal. it's a transport hub moving across the poorous border with russia. >> hundreds of fighters have used this route over the last few weeks as these pictures

testify. we asked the local cossack commander if we could go where apply convoy had been taken by the army. he advised us against us. we asked if we could film. he politely told us we could end up shot. whoever was in charge, it clearly wasn't him. we were then asked to sample the traditional cossack hospitality. it's not an invitation you can refuse. they talked about the recent fighting. >> we have been sharing a meal and a bit more with the cossacks manning some of the roadblocks. we have been told that there were americans there. there were polish there, and there were also women snippers from the ukrainian. >> it is written in ukrainian. we do not want to separate the country. we are not separatists. it is the government who is dividing the country. >> at the latest on rally in donetsk, the loudest cheers were raised to honor those killed in

fierce fighting at t city's air when it was announced the bodies of 35 fighters had been repat treeiated to their homeland in russia. >> big thank you to russia. >> moscow's troops may be withdrawing from ukraine's border but volunteers from throughout the fortunatelier soviet union are rallying. donetsk. >> breaking ground in public places is coming to force in russia. it's now illegal to light up in bars, restaurants and cafes. rory has more from moscow. >> reporter: it's early evening and a post-work crowd is settling in to its drink. here, a drink usually goes with a cigarette. the hudson bar is popular and, as russians say, the air can get so thick, you could hang an ax. but from june the 1st, the bar's american owners will be telling smokers to stub it out. they couldn't be happier?

>> we have always of people. we are a crowded, busy, active bar, a popular bar. when people don't come here because there is too much smoke, so i am looking forward to getting that type of clientele back. >> the hudson bar isn't typical. it's crowd is mostly affluent muskovites and many of whom have kicked the habit. >> russia is attached to its vices. cigarettes are cheap. just one or $2 a packet. half the population still smokes and that means russians do tend to die young. the average russian can only expect to live to 66 years. compare that to the european union where the average life expectancy is 79. despite the death toll, a smoker's rights group has collected 100,000 signatures urging the government to make the ban more flexible. >> translator: i think smoking should be -- smokers should be able to smoke everywhere they go, in theatres, hospitals, stations, airports, work.

but in specially organized places so they don't violate the rights of non-smokers who don't want the stink or to even see people smoking. >> andrei admits there is tobacco money funding his campaign but a survey suggests 82% of bar and restaurant and cafe owners think the ban will hurt business. >> it's not order. it's mess. yes. this rule is not correct for people. it may be correct for the lawmakers but not for us. >> however, the government tends to get what it wants in russia. and it's been quite smart introducing this legislation in the hot summer months. going outside for a cigarette where it's mine us 35 won't be fun. but by then, the smoking ban will be yesterday's news. rory challandd, moving 0. >> steph is here. what have you got for russians? >> this will put those

cigarettes out. we have gotten a lot of rain and a lot of flooding. i am going to start over towards the east to give you some kind of idea where in russia i am. it's going to be quite land locked. let's fly in. mongolia and kazakhstan. it's this part of russia to the east of the ural mountains is siberia. see the cloud that was had over the past few hours. it has brought us an awful lot of wet weather. there is more to come over the next few days. >> that's definitely not good news because this is what it looks like on the ground at the moment. we are seeing a lot of flooding. we are seeing hundreds of homes that have been flooded by this dirty flood water, and it's because the rivers there have burst their banks. over the next few days action there will be more wet weather. look at the temperatures here from 14 degrees up to around 22. so a real rocket in those temperatures. it's going to stay unsettled over the next few days. if we head down towards the southwest, we have also seen a fair amount of flooding here as well.

these pictures are out of kashkent coming in through the door of that bus there. over the next few days, things here will improve. this area of cloud is drifting away towards the east. so there will be more wet weather over the next 24 hours or so. behind it should be brighter there. >> steph thank you very much indeed. here to come at al jazeera, taking charge of one of the world's deadliest countries. the challenges facing el salvadoran's president. things are not as busy as they used to be. kenya's beaches are losing their appeal. the line-up for the nba finals is now complete. robin will be here with the latest to tell you all about it.

all right. this reminds you that the main stories here at al jazeera: five taliban leaders are on their way to qatar after being freed from guantanamo bay, released in exchange for u.s. soldier sergeant bowe bergdahl who was held by the taliban in afghanistan for almost five years. >> three al jazeera staff imprisoned in egypt for 155 days have had their court hearing adjourned until thursday. they are on trial, falsely accused of aiding the banned group, the muslim brotherhood. china has hit back at the

united states and japan after they criticized beijing for being a destabilizing force in the region. it's over the recentions in disputed territory in the south and east china seas. so the main story here at al jazeera is, of course, the prisoner swap, the five taliban men who were freed in exchange for the u.s. soldier who -- and they had all been held in guantanamo bay since 2002. they were part of the afghan leadership before the u.the invasion in 2001. mohammed fazzi was the deputy minister of defense and senior commander of the taliban army. haqua who served as minister of interior was directly associated with osama bin laden. be, key in forming alliances between the taliban and other groups.

mulla nouri was a 7 ario military ruler in fighting against the u.s. and coalition forces in late 2001. nabi served in multiple leadership roles, suspected of having had strong links to al-qaeda. okay. we can talk now to helena mal malikia, an afghan historian and an expert in afghan state building. she jobs us from kabul. thank you for taking time to talk to us. what do you make of the deal that's been struck with the help of qatar? >> it's not a lot of detail has been revealed, so i don't know what to make of it. what i know is that these five taliban prisoners who have been released are not your ordinary, run-of-the-mil foot soldiers. they were very high officials action some of them closely attached to the intelligence

apparatus of the taliban. so there is a lot of apprehension here in kabul among large segments of the afghan society, including women, as to what the their release would mean in the future and whether they will join -- rejoin the taliban and launch attacks against afghan civilians as many released taliban prisoners have done so. but at the same time -- >> yes. >> the americans are optimistic. we heard from the defense secretary, chuck hagel today and indeed we have from president obama. they are optimistic that this deal, if you like, could form the start of some kind of. do you believe this will help the cause of reconciliation within afghanistan? >> as far as we understand, this deal and negotiations about this

deal were quite bilateral between the u.s. and the taliban and the afghan government was not involved in it, which is something that is not good for future peace process between the afghan government and the taliban. but at the same time, i would say that while there is a possibility that the release of these five people may help the future peace process and that they may become elements and, you know, as go-between in the peace process but at the same time and probably a greater risk is that they may join the taliban against the afghan government. >> so you fear that despite all of this time in guantanamo bay and now, time to cool their heals, if you like here, in qatar, you fear that they might actually feed in to the battle, the ongoing battle that the taliban is waging against the elected government of

afghanistan? >> well, i would say at best, there is a 50/50 chance of them being -- becoming a positive element in the peace process or joining the fighting. >> helena malyka, thank you for joining us from kabul, the afghan capitol. thank you. >> now, san chez is due to be sworn in as the new president of el salvador. he has vowed to crack down on gang violence claimed more than 17,000 lives in the past five years. mariana sanchez went along with the police patrol sergeant in san salvador. >> in these units out to arrest gang members, it 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 crackdown in its final hours to smooth the political transition.

>> we went on patrol with the police, most streets are empty at night. >> the police are on high alert. only last weekend, 81 people were killed around the country. the homicide rate surged after the government cut support to a truce between gangs and launched the crackdown. >> mediators had been able to bring together rival gang leaders who order criminal operations from jail. security officials banned those meetings eight months ago. the government never explained why. with the government's change of heart, gang members are losing jail benefits, and those who represent them on the streets are being arrested. >> car loss is a gang leader who insists many gang members are if he had fed up with violence. his supporters call themselves the criminal gangsters are staying away from trouble with the police. carlos blames r i have a ls from the 18th street gang for breaking the truce and the

government for turning its back on them. . >> what i want from the new government is to sit at the negotiating table that was already formed and hold talks. there has to be a dialogue. otherwise, we will get nowhere. >> polls suggest 80% of salvadorians want the new government to change its strategy to combat gang-related crime. sanchez said combatting gang violence will be his government's priority. and he will continue having the army and police run joint operations. the truce brought homicides down by two-thirds while it lasted. but now, the country is on track to once again become one of the most violent countries in the world. marchian a sanchez, al jazeera. people were universities agree in bangladesh, are more likely to be jobless than those without any qualifications. almost half of those with a bachelor's degree are unemployed

and in the latest in our generation jobless series, a report on one graduate's search for work. >> reporter: two years after earning his master's degrees, elias has tried everything to find a job. he was enrolled in a training course for job seekers. this, he hoped, would finally, help him land a cougheted post in a bank or public sector. six months on, he has had no luck. desperate, he set sites lower. he is here to take a test to become a call center agent. at this point, he says he will take any job that he considers respectable. >> now, you see that for just two or three open positions, four or 5,000 students have applied. the competition is intense. it's very intimidating. you send your resume in and this 2000 other resident has to compete with. >> these men and women are in the final stage of recruitment. after several rounds of exams,

many won't make the final cut. millions of young bangladeshis share this struggle. almost half with a bachelor's degree are unemployed. millions of jobs for the working place but for the middle class, the options are limited. >> call centers like this one are one of the places where young graduates can find a job. many don't see this as a long-term solution because of the investment that they have made in their education. >> sonya shahibi started working eight months after getting her master's degree. she says she loves her job and the work environment. but others, like one of her relatives, consider themselves to be too good for this kind of work. >> she said she applied for jobs in several places but didn't get a single one so she became frustrated and depressed. i put her in touch with the people here and she worked here for a while. but then she decided this wasn't for her. >> for elias, things can only get better.

>> if god is willing, i will find a job. if i don't, i don't know what will happen to me. the future is uncertain. hope is what keeps me alive. so, i keep hoping. >> with white collar jobs at a premium, he may need to dig deep into his reserves of optimism. for now, educated young people in bangladesh have to settle for anything they can get. al jazeera, taka. >> tour frifts a number of countries are being told by the governments not to travel to kenya and tourism is a major driver of economic development in the country. a series of attacks blamed on al shabaab fighters have increased concerns about security there. katherine soyl looks at the impact on the vital sector of tourism. >> the white sandy beaches of some of kenya's most prestigeous hotels remain empty. occasionally, you can see tourists. but they are getting rare. a series of attacks have prompted some countries like the

u.s., u.k. and australia to warn citizens against travel to parts of kenya including sections of the coast. >> i think the hotel terror. >> when advisories were issues, the owner lost a lot of business. >> one day before the travel advisory came out, we had an arrival of 108 british tourists at the resort. our occupants at this time was 157 which is not actually very bad. and after the tourists were evacuated on saturday, we had only 20 tourists left. >> tourism is a second largest source of foreign exchange revenue after agriculture. it drives the economy here along the coast. now, about 20 sloelthsz been closed, roughly $7 million lost in tourist cancellations and thousands of employees laid off.

>> this is the low season for kenya tourism industry. it's not unusual for hotels to cut down their costs by reducing their employees, but a low season together with negative travel advisories are damaging, especially with the high season fast approaching. >> tourism ministry's cabinet secretary says it's time for the country to expand its markets and reach out more aggressively to african countries, the far east and eastern europe. >> we had a plan, so we are ruling out that plan. we had identified other markets we thought would stabilize the tourism sector. >> more worried about the short-term, one of thousands who have been laid off and unlike in the past, he is not saying if or when he is getting husband job back. >> if tourists don't come, we

will be devastated. i won't get customers because no one will have money to pay. he has five children to sustain and not many options. catharine soi. the warning that sri lanka's elephants are under threat from illegal poaching. in sport, a british newspaper claims it has evidence qatar bought the rights to host the 2022 world cup.

>> environmental efts in shri ranka say poachers are threatening the he will vant population population. it's a major challenge to stop the illegal trade because it has powerful backers. from the town of karawanela, a report. >> a gentle job site, a familiar site east of colombo. the openers have a permit that is a must for anyone keeping an elephant. they play an important role in this buddhist country. with the number of animals in captivity dwimingdzing, some owners want a ray would replace them. >> there is a severe shortage of domesticated he will fans, those who have owned animals for generations are without animals. we have asked the minter to

protect this tradition. >> this group of elephant owners, went to the wildlife department with their request. they have been part of sri lanka's culture for centuries. now they say replacing animals like these behind me is difficult and want authorities to give them a solution. environmentalists warn taming wild elephants is a mistake. they say that allowing it would encourage rackateers to capture them at will. >> they showed me permits of licenses which they say have been forged. this footage and photograph show a calf tied in the jungle, abandoned when villagers heard cries and raised the alarm. this mother had gunshot injuries and died a few days after this footage was recorded. her calf could not be found. environmentalists say the scale of elephant poach something worrying. over 40% of domestic elephants

are believed to be illegally captured. >> you are extracting the baby infants from the wild population and in the summer, the good mothers who reproduce so many years to come will disappear. >> these creatures are used in a number of areas. tourism where they prove a big hit, in temples and other pageants, advertising and other ventures. activists say money is the reason. >> it's pure profit. three elephants, you are like, you know, over the top in this country. >> in many cases, the captured elephants are mistreated and kept tethered so tightly they are bruiseed. the government is determined to address the problem. >> it is not easy to stop this because there is a powerful network behind it. elephants are kept by temples, shrines and powerful people. we are determined to find a

solution. >> how quickly that solution is found will determine the health and survival of sri lanka's elephant population. al jazeera, karanella, sri lanka. >> time from robin. can't wait. >> it's been action paxed day so far. tennis to start and roger federer is on court aiming to blank a place at the french. cruising in the second. a tie break to level the match and a break-up in the third. the winner of this match will face 2010 french open sem e finalist berdyc. he will secure his spot over american isner. . >> of course, i am confident if you win in four matches, then you feel good. >> that's my case.

whoever will win, i am going to try to do -- try to do my best and play good tennis. >> a managed win spanned two days and 22 games in the deciding set. it had been suspended because of bad light on saturday but 7th seed won 12-10 to set up a meeting with modesko. he completed victory in his thioate round match beating in straight sets. in the women's column, navardo has booked her place in the quarterfina quarterfinals, a straight sets winn winner. the canadian brushed aside 6-1, 6-2 to reach the last 80 over 20. the youngest player left in the draw. some of ball's top administrators including several senior fifa officials have been accused of corruption. the sunday times claims it has

millions of documents leaked by a whistleblower inside ball's world governing body alleged that mohammed bin mum totalling around $5 million to other ball officials including fifa from africa. he claims they were an attempt to ensure his home nation, qatar won the right to host the world cup in 2022. qatar's world cup organizers have denied he was involved in their campaign. the former asian tulle boss tried to challenge for a place. he was later banned from ball activities for life by the organization's own ethics committee for conflicts of interest and violations of the code of ethics. >> the san antonio spurs are headed to the nba fields. they will face defending champions, the miami heat for the championship. spurs got there with 112 over 17 in the western conference final

series. spurs host the heat in game 1 of the finals on thursday. there won't be too much time to celebrate the western conference crown. >> i have to be honest. this victory is really sweet because we know we played one hell of a team. and we take great satisfaction in that because they are so special. and they will certainly be back doing great things without any doubt. >> only one team that stands every year. we work every day since july to be in this position to climb to the to be an-- to the top and w came up six games short. we have to keep our heads up and move on. >> boxing now up, a 1-shot lead into the final round of the memorial tournament in ohio. the american had five birdies on way to 69. stered in the 60s at folder that village. he is on course for his third

title win of the year. this is adam scott, an eagle on the 15th helped him finish with a 68 in round 3. the australian is three shots off of the lead and very much in contention. >> right now, we are hitting the ball just like we want to. we are hitting a couple of shots here and there each round. but all in all, putting, ball striking is probably the best its been in a long time. so looking forward the challenge tomorrow. you know, who knows? i might shoot in the 80s, 60s, that's the challenge. >> that's why we play the game of gall because every day is different. >> a world super middleweight title, the 66-year-old challenged in the 8th round and more than 80,000 fans watched the bench punch of his life and proposed to his model girlfriend. she did say yes. and the bright lights of vegas. pass. >> very quickly, thank you very much, but very quickly, i have

to update you on the story, the main story of the day. >> that's, of course, the taliban release, the release of the u.s. soldier in return for five of its senior leaders from guantanamo bay. we have just heard that they have arrived. they have landed in doha and are currently undergoing medical examinations. now, that's at the very latest come in on the main story today. of course, here at al jazeera, we will keep you -- we will keep you right across all of the developments in that. so remember, al jazeera will keep you right up to date. now, romera draws attention to art. he parents images on scraps of cardboard and newspaper. >> hi. i live here in miami beach, florida.

i think the message of my work is a positive message, and it's about love, and i think this is what i put on my work, lots of love. >> well, i was born in brazil. and since i was a kid, i loved drawings. and i did a little of drawings on notebooks and my mama would tell me don't do, too many drawings because you need to leave space to do your homework. well, everything i put, i drew on everything i could put my hand on. one of the biggest things that happened in terms of propelling my career was that i did this series of paintings and then i designed watches and painted cars. i did so many things i would never imagine. well, i think it's so important to anybody in the world to do something for somebody else. you know, you can do for your family. you can do it for your community. you can do it for your country. i love the idea of giving back.

♪. >> i am thankful for the opportunity that i have, that i have been given to have this gift for me to give to create my art and that people relate to it. but this picture here, you see here, that's actually a picture of me working the pyramid. i do want to do very large installation like in hyde park, in london, a few other ones like i did here in miami with the super ball. it's great to know special collectors collect my work. they like the idea of my art being enjoyed by the masses of the world. >> a lot of people see my work and they think, oh, my god, he must be the happiest guy in the world. but what i paint is what i want my life to be, you know, every day. and that's how i do it. . >> we will have lots more on the top story, of course, out of the prisoner exchange between the taliban and the united states here at al jazeera.

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