>> absolutely. key here, be a vig leapt parent. thanks to karen sprowal and all of our guests. until next time, we will see you online. ♪ welcome to al jazeera america. i am john henry smith. here are the stories we are following for you. america's last afghan pow is now at an army base in germany. the u.s. says the prisoner swap where bowe bergdahl's was made to save his life. high ranking official are in qatar. the promises that country made to protect u.s. national security. welcoming him home, the small town of southern idaho already making preparations for sergeant

bergdahl's long awaited homecoming. the only american frynser of war from the afghan conflict has begun his germany home. army sergeant bowe bergdahl arrived at a u.s. army base in germany where he is receiving medical treatment. he was released on saturday in exchange for five taliban prisoners at guantanamo bay. some on capitol hill are worried about the implications of striking a deal with the taliban. randall pinkston joins us live from washington. randle, president obama has said repeatedly that america does not negotiate with terrorists. did that type of negotiation happen here? and could this deal set some sort of precedent? >> well, first of all, the obama administration and supporters are insisting this was not a case of negotiating with terrorists.

rather, it was swapping prisoners. swapping prisoners after a military conflict, something that has been done for decades. nonetheless, there are other critics who don't buy that argument. for one, there is senator john mccain, a former pow in the vietnam war who is concerned that the detainees who are in qatar still pose a threat to america. >> it is disturbing that these individuals would have the ability to re-enter fight and they are big, high-level people, possibly responsible for the deaths of thousands. >> and mccain is not the only one. a number of republicans are criticizing the administrationing they want some kind of explanation about how these detainees will be prevented from harming americans going forward. >> a number of republicans are also calling this deal illegal. why is that? >> well, that is because of a provision in the military

auth-rulesation act to finance military -- the u.s. military dating back to 2013, 2014. it requires the defense secretary to give 30 days' notice transferring any detainees from guantanamo. in this instance, secretary hagel did notify congress about the transfer but he didn't do it until after the transfer was made. so members of congress are saying that that was illegal and secretary hagel is saying he had no other choice because to have done anything differently would have jeopardized the rescue. >> this was an operation, i think as everyone recognizes, that had to be very closely held. only very, very few people knew about this operation. we did not want to jeopardize any leaks. we couldn't afford any leaks anywhere. >> towards that end, the secretary said, not even anyone

in the afghan government where the rescue took place knew about it in advance. >> randall, how is the obama administration reacting to this criticism? >> of course, the administration is continuing to defend its actions. national security advisor susan rice explained the rational. >> we felt as the war is wiping down, it was our sacred obligation given the opportunity to get him back that we do so. we did so in a way that has brought him back safely in to american hands. we did so in a way that resulted in the taliban prepsers being monitored and kept in a secure way. >> well, the critics will say that the taliban last night put out a press release indicating it was not a prison swap, that in fact the five detainees were released. they are now in qatar and the taliban is crowing about the fact that those detainees were greeted by a taliban delegation

and will be in the safety and security of their families. john henry? >> randall pinkston rely in washington, thanks very much. after more than a decade at guantgaubt bay prison, five taliban detainees are in doha, qatar. they include a former head of the army and a deputy intensegention official. their release was part of the prisoner exchange that freedom sergeant bergdahl. the deal was brokered by the qatar government which has assured the u.s. national security, that you u.s. national security is not at risk. a report from doha. >> reporter: the taliban leaders are now in doha. they were released in a prison swap mediated by qatar. foreign minister mohammed aldabi said it was humanitarian but stopped short of elaborating on what role qatar played. >> i thank the negotiating

delegation who adopted the best practices and with respect to the details, excuse me for not disclosing any, however, when qatar takes the role of intermediate ary, it plays this role on a humanitarian basis. >> the release of the taliban leaders who spent 12 years in guantanamo was in exchange for a u.s. soldier, bowe bergdahl who spent five years in captivity in afghanistan. u.s. president barack obama said national security would be safe guarded. >> we have worked for several years to achieve this goal. earlier this week, i wasabilitipenally think the emir of qatar for his leadership in helping us get it done. the united states is transferring five detainees from the prison in gaurnt guantbay in qatar. the qatari government has assured us it will put in plays measures for our security. >> some congressmen have

denounced the release. chuck hagel said the penitentiary penitentia clear p goodeon acted quickly to save bergdahl. >> whether that could lead to possible new breakthroughs with the taliban, i don't know. hopefully, it might. but we pursued this effort specifically to get sergeant bergdahl back. >> the deal could signal a softening in the taliban's hard line position and pave the way for talks on the future of afghanistan. >> we don't know at this stage whether the five taliban leaders will be placed under any restrictions or allowed to play a future political role but the prisoner swap has been a crucial demand for the taliban to launch talks on afghan reconciliation. al jazeera, doha.

>> while some hope the release of the taliban prisoners might help ignite talks between the taliban and the afghan government, there are fears their freedom will do the exact opposite. >> while there is a possibility that the release of these five people may help the future peace process and that they may become elements as a go between in the peace process but at the same time, probably a greater risk is that they may join the taliban against the afghan government. >> we would like to mention that al jazeera america's parent company is based in qatar and financed in part by the country's government. well, the announcement of his release has people in bergdahl's hometown of hailey, idaho celebrating. ents are being planned. alan shoveler is in hailey and sent us this report: >> reporter: we don't know exactly when sergeant bergdahl will arrive in hailey, idaho.

but when he comes, he will find it decked in yellow. this is one of the yellow ribbons that you will find tied to trees and lamp posts and signposts all up and down main street here they have been up for five years replaced as needed when they get weathered. people have come by and put in fresh ones. this is definitely a town that has not forgotep. you might see signs in windows that started going up meal. become owe is free at last. they are all over the place. there are some controversees of course in the manner in which bowe bergdahl left his army base nearly 5 years ago. there has been discussion about whether we should have released five members of the taliban in this deal. but you really won't hear many people here in this part of idaho discussing those finer points right now. they are glad this young man is coming home. >> immediately, there were signs everywhere. there was activity. i could feel the buzz driving down the street. i mean, i don't think there is anybody that's not aware of this event that's not very pleased with

that result. >> extremely happy yesterday. everybody is on their phone. it just went crazy in the restaurant. >> that's the deal from shorty's diner this morning. we don't know exactly when bergdahl is coming home. as i say. we know he is in germany right now. he will go to a military facility in san antonio, texas. he will have some time to debrief and to rest as well. then at some point, we imagine he and his family will be back here in hailey, idaho. his parents are set to address the media in boysee later this afternoon. we expect to hear a lot more from them about exactly how they heard the news and their feelings about the fact their son is coming home while sergeant bergdahl's friends and family are celebrating some are concern concerned. some say a prison swap could lead to more americans being kidnapped. i spoke with tara dal del who dismissed sump criticism saying

pows need to know they won't be left behind. >> we set a dangerous precedent when we allow our men and women to fight these wars and then we leave them in abandonment. it's important that people know that this country knows that if you go and fight for this country, that this country will fight for you. >> sergeant bergdahl was the last remaining member of the u.s. military being held as a pow overseas but at least five american civilians are still being detained by hostile governments. alan gross has been held in cuba since 2009, kenneth bay has spent the last year and a half in north korea. three u.s. citizens are detained in iran. saheed abudini has been there since 2012. >> stay with al jazeera america for continuing coverage of army sergeant bowe bergdahl's release and coming up at 3:00 p.m., the

berg bergdahl family will hold a news conference at 3:00 p.m. right here on al jazeera america. >> coming up, we will have the rest of today's top stories.

>> i'm joe berlinger this is the system i'd like to think of this show as a watch dog about the system... to make sure justice is being served.

with our personal liberties taken away from us, it better be done the right way. is justice really for all? . >>vin's government is vowing to keep fighting pro-russian separatists until order is redestroyed. rebels have taken over as david schader reports, international monitors say conditions in the region are getting more dang dangerous by the day. >> driving east towards the russian border, you pass through checkpoints manned exclusiveily by cossacks. most are former miners but ranks have been reinforced as far afield as kazakhstan with more than a sprinkling of chechnyans. it was in this region the second team of monitors from the organization of security and cooperation in europe disappeared on thursday.

the guards are vigilant. two men forced on to the ground with their hands tied behind them. separatist fighters placed an armed guard in their van and took us to the regional headquarters in anthrocite. it's a transport hub spore weapons, ammunition and volunteers moving across ukraine's porous border with russia. hundreds of fighters used this route as these pictures testify. we asked the local cossack expander if we could go forward where apply convoy had been ambushed. he advised us against it. we also asked him if we could film in the town. he politely told us we could end up shot. whoever was in charge of the fighters' surrounding his headquarters, it clearly wasn't him. remember asked to sample the traditional cossack hospitality.

it's not an invitation you can refuse. we have been sharing a meal and a bit more with the cossacks manning some of the road blocks toward the russian border. we have been told there were americans there, polish there and also women snippers from the ukrainian authority. >> see here, 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 rally in donetsk, the loudest cheers were raised to honor those killed in fierce fighting at the city's airport last week when it was announced the bodies of 33 fighters had been repat treeiated to their home lands in russia. >> thank you, russia. big thank you to russia. >> moscow's troops may be withdrawing from ukraine's border but volunteers from throughout the former soviet union are now rallying to the cause of defending the self-declared people's republic. david chater, al jazeera,

dondon. >> the italian coast guard says it has rescued about 3,500 my grants over the weekend. they were picked up in the m mediterranean sea off of the coast of sicily. there were hundreds of children and at least 300 syrian ref jeez among them. italy is a common point of entry for my grants trying to reach europe. they have asked for help with the influx of refugees. around 4 three-quarters,000 people have crossed into italy from africa so far this year. >> a man has admitted to carrying out last weekend's shooting in a brucels -- in brucels in a video recording. >> the french citizen was detained in the southern city of marsailles. police say he was carrying the recording when he was arrested after arriving on a bus from brucels. three people were killed there in a shooting at a jewish museum. police were tipped off because the suspect was carrying two guns, one of them similar to the

weapon used in the shooting. he's being held by authorities. three of our al jazeera colleagues were back in court in cairo today. the trial of peter gresta, mohammed fami and behar mohammed was adjourned until june 5th. they have been imprisoned in egypt for 156 days. the three are accused of conspiring with the outlawed muslim brotherhood. al jazeera rejects those charges and demands their immediate release. nicole johnston has more on today's hearings. >> reporter: this is shabin a shabin al kum's central prison. video smuggled out shows how cramped it is. the toilets are filthy and there aren't enough to go around. the cells are small and dirty. there is very little natural light. families of prisons hearsay guards attacked inmates. >> the criminal police stormed the prison and assaulted the

detainees, battering and electrocuting them, disconnecting power and water from their cells causing grave injuries, namely 20 with serious wounds and fractures. >> the families have been told an official investigation into the assault will be carried out. thousands of i hopemates are now on a one-week hunger strike. a group called the victims' center for human rights says the prisoners are protesting against their poor treatment and cases of torture. there are also reports that security forces raided cells in a preps on saturday firing tear gas and hitting prisoners with batons. al jazeera has obtained audio recordings from two inmates. >> 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 shouted and the prisoners

started knocking the doors of the cells. the electricity and water were cut off. we are waiting for death. >> egypt's interim government says at least sixteen,000 people have been detained since former president mohammed more sea was removed from power. si was removed from power. >> many were wounded up in protests against last year's military coup. nicole johnston, al jazeera. >> this week marks 25 years since one of the bloodiest events in china's history. the chinese easy government still doesn't want anyone talking about it. in 1989, chinese forces attacked unarmed civilians in tiananmen square. estimates of the dead from that incident range from 300 to the thousands. since then, china has banned all forms of discussion or remembrances of the events. in the run-up to the anniversary ve, china is sensing social media. officials arrested several academics who attended a seminar

on the tiananmen massacre. the 70th anniversary of d day. president obama, german chancellor pinga merkel and the queen of england will attend ceremonies in france to mark the anniversary of the allied invasion next friday. around 156,000 allied troops, 13,000 aircrafts and 5,000 ships arrive on the normandy coast that day in 1944. coming up on al jazeera america, having to deal with a hurricane is a nightmare for most. but for a certain group, they get excited about it. we will talk to some hurricane hunters.

scomploofrning. >> welcome back to al jazeera america. i am john henley smith. here are today's headlines. after nearly five years of captivity in afghanistan, army sergeant bowe bergdahl is being medically evaluated and receiving medical treatment to begin the reintegration process. the five taliban detainees released from that prisoner swap

are in qatar undergoing medical exam nations. there are restrictions. they face a 1-year ban on traveling outside of qatar. bowe bergdahl's hometown is eagerly awaiting his return. the town of 7,000 has held an event in his honor every year since his capture it is not clear when he will return to idaho. he is in and out at an army hospital in germany. >> a normal reaction to hurricanes is to avoid them. but one meteorologist explains that he does exactly the opposite. he flies into the eye of the storm to get our weather forecasts. this has penetrated in 1977 with anita in the western gulf of mexico to ingrid in 2013. i would say that maybe a third of them, i have been on.

on board the noah p 3. it's my responsibility during the flight to direct the pilots to the center of the storm. this is day 3 of the gulf coast hundred awareness tour, showcasing the hurricane hunter behind me, one of 2 such aircraft that fly directly into a hurricane to conduct research and send data in realtime to us at the hurricane center. it measures relative humidity, air temperature, bear metric pressure. we get two of those as it falls down to the ocean surface. it gives us a vertical profile of the storm. from dropping it from this altitude, it gives us an idea of what the strength of the storm is. i am looking at the display from the radar right here.

the center of the hurricane. going through you the eye wall is the most dangerous part of flying the storm. 250 miles an hour. we are om going to be there a couple of mint. it may seem line an e turn at the at the time. when we get through the eye wall things calm down as we head to the center of the storm. the data we get in realtime allows us to directly measure the pressure inside the hurricane, to look out the window, which is always the first step in making any forecast. even if the seasonal forecasts are perfect, getting the numbers right, we are nowhere near being able to tell people where the hurricanes and tropical storm are going to go. many hundred-prone areas louisiana, new orleans, no exception and what we want people to do is understand what hazards they are vulnerable to. it's not just about wind. it's about water. >> this is mother nature at its fury. it's our job to go out there and fly these storms and gather the information for the scientists

so that they can do their analysis and hopeful four or five years down the road come up with better ways of predicting what they are going to do. a weekend heat wave in zapap has left two people dead, high temperatures climbing into the 90s have also put more than 300 people in the hospital with heat stroke. people are using anything they can get to block the sun, cool down and cope with the heat. at least one city in southern japan has seen record high temperatures eboni is here with your forecast. i imagine it's going to get toasty in some parts of the united states. >> lots of activity going on, john, in the world of weather. >> that's for sure. we are starting off with the heat. we are actually going to warm things up along the east coast line where temperatures will soar to near 80 degrees. it's the southwest that is where we will deal with our very own heat wave as temperatures climb into the low 100th around las

vegas into phoenix and tucson. this heat will be stick around for the weekend ahead. near record high temperatures over the next couple of days. as a result, you will need to find ways to keep cool and stay safe. find a place cool to go. we have an excessive heat watch across southern areas of arizona as we get into the day on monday. in addition to that, heat advisories in effect for this afternoon in extreme western texas, another area where temperatures will climb into the upper 90s to near 100. into the midwest, it will be a warm day. temperatures into the upper 80s around chicago as well asmapmap lemmings with the southerly flow of area, pupping in a lot of moisture, slow-moving storm system. more showers and storms as we go through the day and some of which could become strong to ceph eve right now, all rain, plenty of lightning to moving across nebraska. a pretty rough go here across western areas of the united states. as we head into the afternoon,

additional day time heating will lead to increased instability and that will provide us with that threat. we are dealing with additional rainfall. >> will keep the flood risks around. we are dealing with this area of disturbed weather in the gulf of mexico. more storms around new orleans and more back towards atlantaa. this area here it's in the eastern pacific already flaring up. broad area of low pressure. as it lists northwar around the bay of campichi into the gulf of mexico. >> eboni, thanks so much. we have a programming note coming up at 3:00 p.m. army bowebergberg's family will hold a conference here at 3:00 p.m. here on al jazeera america. thank you for watching al jazeera. i am john henry smith. 101 east featuring aging japan is next.

for news updates head to aljazeera.com. >> as the world's most elderly nation - japan is dancing with a demographic disaster. people are living longer and birthrates are falling fast. no other country has a greater percentage of old people. the government has responded by raising taxes and the retirement