. you are with al jazeera america. we are live in doh. also to come, iraqi government forces hold back an add vance by sunni rebels north of baghdad. >> they are hamas terrorists, carried out thursday's c kidnapping of three israeli teenagers prime minister netanyahu points the finger of blame that hamas calls his

statements stupid plus... >> i am from the english mid lands looking at this machine designed for war zones finding its way into civilian hospitals and looking at why recycling blood is apparently the future. >> first, pakistan's government has launched what it calls a comprehensive operation against fighters on the border with afghanistan army commanders are saying more than 50 fighters have already been killed in airstrikes. it's all in response to an attack on the airport last week in which at least 36 people were killed. we will be live with our correspondant in islamabad but this report from erica wood. >> reporter: leaving behind their homes and fleeing violence between the government and fighter groups in north

waziristan. some have crossed into af pakis in search of safety. >> our schools are closed. the hospital is closed. the government is giving us great trouble. >> the latest offensive in the border region follows a brazen 5-hour attack on karachi's airport last week. >> siege left at least 36 people dead and shut down the country's busiest international transport hub. the taliban said it carried out the attack alongside fighters from the is lackim movement from uzbekistan. many killed are thought to be uzbeks. their group was formed in 1991 to overthrow uzbekistan's government. it included the rest of central asia attack u.s. and nato targets in afghanistan. the movement has long based themselves in pakistan's

northwest. the porous region is movementnous and remote making it difficult to launch counter offensive k578 pains. but attacks by drones have been controversial. the taliban is vowing regfor this latest air assault on the tribal region saying many killed weren't fighters but innocent civilians. erica woods, al jazeera. let's go live now to the pakistan capitol, islamabad and talked to cammal hyder. give us an idea of what is involved in terms of this new comprehensive operation as the pakistani government is calling it. >> reporter: this is, indeed, a big development because if you remember in the past, there was tremendous pressure on the government to do something about the greowing number of steams bt as you saw in that report, it was the attack on karachi airport that led the government to say that enough was enough. and, therefore, today, the

military said that it had officially launched a comprehensive operation. it had done so earlier in southwest. there was growing international pressure as well as internal pressure that all of the fighters had concentrated and, therefore, the time had come to go into waziristan. the country is on a heightened state of alert. the proof inci have been told to take precautionary measures because of the possibility of a blowback because they have been able to to attack targets across pakistan and so nobody is taking any chances. >> this is an area, kamal that has taken a pounding, hasn't it, from the air by the pakistani air force. the pakistani government claiming a certain level of success in having killed at least 50 rebels fighters. what about civilians, though? and how can they prevent

fighters moving across the border quite easily into afghanistan? >> well, first of all, the fighters who were already brace can themselves for some sort of operation according to the reports we have received have gone into the mountains. they knew that some sort of a large-scale operation would happen within weeks if not days. and so most of them had already taken -- were out of that location. however, there was credible intelligence according to the military that a large number of fighters were still in certain locations. the military obviously will have to be very careful to avoid civiledian casualties because that could have become another problem for the military. however, at the moment, we are told that they were able to pick out those hideouts. they are naming senior uzbek commanders who were the master minds of the deadly attack in karachi. >> our correspondent live from

islam abad. to iraq where the defensing ministry is saying it's pushing back against the north of the country, north of bad daig. the military launched air strikes on saturday in areas it says held by sunni-led rebel groups. rebel fighters have seized a number of regions in their uprising against prime minister malaciki. the latest on this changing situation may iraq. our correspondent is in the capitol, baghdad. bring us right up to date from your perspective. as i say, you are in the capitol, baghdad. >> reporter: yes. let me start from samara. we got confirmation that medical sources there told al jazeera that at least 10 people are killed and 13 are wounded. they are from the government forces, killed in fighting around samara.

samara lies in the province, with the capitol tikrit under the control of armed fighters as well as other fighters. we also know that there is a shortage of food, fuel, and cooking gas. people say the situation is tension. they are scared that the fighting between the government forces and the rebels could really escalate. in the capitol, baghdad, some of the local media outlets are reporting that the death toll for a suicide bomber at a gathering for local laborers has risen to 15 people killed. >> was earlier in the date. other developments, north of the country and the city of mosul, to the west of the city of mussul, rather, fighting is fierce between the government forces as well as the rebels in the town.

telefa. predominantly shia. the fight something described by locals as very fierce, very intense. people say they are really worri worried. the death toll from that fighting stands at at least 10 people. we expect the death toll to rise because we are told that there are a lot of jrnlininjured peoph serious injuries. >> is it fair to say that the government in its counterattack, is halting or at least slowing the rate of success being claimed by the sunni rebels? >> yes, to some degree, we can say yes because we saw the rapid progress by the rebels in the last few days, in the last week in particular when they overtook tikrit and advanced to the other small towns and villages within sala hadin province. >> the golf says at least two

towns and small areas within sala hadin's province. there were other attempts by the rebels from differenced sides, to penetrate the parameters that the government had enforced on the capitol baghdad. they are close in taji, not very far from the capitol, baghdad, less than an hour away. the government is saying that tens of thousands of volunteers have joined the forces. those forces already marched to samara. elite forces have reached the city of mosul. the government says they are making progress. the fighters say they are still controlling the main towns and cities that they have captured over the last few days. >> omar, thank you. now, the israeli prime minister is accusing hamas of kidnapping three israeli teenagers in the occupied west bank. the u.s. has condemned the

kidnappings and said it is offering support to israel. hamas members are among 80 palestinians who have been arrested by israeli troops much they include a senior leader hasam yousef. >> ham is committed to the destruction of israel and to carrying out terrorist attacks against israeli civilians, including children. instead of abiding by his international obligation to disarm hamas, president abbas has chosen to make hamas his partner. israel holds the palestinian authority and president abbas responsible for any attacks against israel that emanate from palestinian-controlled territory. >> now, hamas has rejected prime minister netanyahu's accusations. netanyahu's statements are stupid. it is part of a secret service

war. israel is fully responsible for the escalation against our people an against the palestinian leadership including the large-scale detensions and arrests of hamas members and parliamentarians in the west bank. >> supermarket chains have been seized owned by the the muslim brotherhood. a part of the government crackdown. former u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton has been warning of the consequences of the new leadership in egypt. she made the comments after abdul fatah al sisi was sworn in last week. >> i was just appalled that there was no political element to this revolution. fast forward. we went through the muslim brotherhood. we went through the uprising orchestrated by the military to remove the muss 4ri78 brotherhood and now the military is back. he script faces an enormous amount of internal opposition and i think extremism.

so we will watch. >> coming up in the program, we are in the democratic republic of congo. >> they have no food. by teaching them, i try to make them forget they are hungry. >> this young boy becomes teacher in a makeshift classroom. >> pedal pour in burundi means children don't have to do their homework in the dark. >> now inroducing, the new al jazeea america mobile news app. get our exclusive in depth, reporting when you want it. a global perspective wherever you are. the major headlines

in context. mashable says... you'll never miss the latest news >> they will continue looking for suvivors... >> the potential for energy production is huge... >> no noise, no clutter, just real reporting. the new al jazeera america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now r

these are the top stories

here at al jazeera. pakistan's government launched what it has called a comprehensive operation against fighters in the tribunal regions on the border with afghanistan. army commanders say more than 50 fighters have already been killed in airstrikes. iraq's defense ministry says it's pushing back against rebel fighters in the north of the capitol, baghdad. the military launched their strikes on saturday in airs it says are held by sunni-led rebel groups. israeli prime minister has accused hamas of kidnapping three israeli teenagers in the occupied west bank. hamas members are among 80 palestinians arrested by israeli troops. hamas has called the accusations stupid. columbians are voting in a run-off poll to choose the next president. oscar evan zunwula is trying to

defeat the incumbent. it could affect peace talks with the farq. in the first round, zuluaga secured the most votes with over 29% while president santos took under 26%. not much in it really. santos started the peace talks with the farc in 2012. he says that he can end the country's 50-year conflict. zuluaga is demanding preconditions to those talks including an immediate end to killings and kidnaps, farc has rejected these terms. for many columbians there are other pressing issues to deal with line unemployment, health and crime. well, axis's mariana sanchez has more from the capitol, bogota. >> this is a neck to neck race impossible to redict who will win in this presidential race.

many polls in the last few weeks giving santos over 1 percentage and others the other way. it's difficult to define or predict who will win. many columbians are swinconvinc zuluwaga will win. on the first round, 60% of abstentionism. 45%, no less of that, so the challenge will be how many columbians will vote today. at stake in this election is the peace process that santos began in 2012 with farc rebels. he is saying if you vote for me, you will vote for peace. if you vote against me, you vote for war. this country has been at wat over 50 years now. columbiaians are fed up with the war. many are supporting candidates who at the beginning said they will terminate, end the taxes

and now, he is saying that he would continue the talks under certain conditions where farc rebels would have to depose of webs and stop kidnappings. we will see how the election develops. >> the sudanese authorities have freed mafti on sunday: he was arrested having been charged with undermining the constitution. he accused the government of committing violence in dar fore. if found guilty, he could facilities the death penalty. the minister of information didn't give more details about his release. they wa the government wants people to go back to areas now under government control and safe. many say they have no way of restarting their lives. katherine soi reports from the proof ince where around 350,000 people have been placed by years

of conflict. >> every day after school, alicia gets some of the other children of this group together. he spends the afternoon teaching them the alphabet, how to hold a pen, to write. i bring the children here because they have no food. by teaching them, i try to make them forget they are hungry. >> he knows only distract them for so long. the complex like many in congo is facing a food crisis this camp has about 14,000 people. most of the aid that is getting to them has been diverted to tory countries with people who also need it places like central africa republic and south sudan. >> when the situation gets kind of protracted there is kind of a fatigue from the dons. but here, we still interest of

the donor countries to support. >> the government wants people here from areas that are now under government control to go ba to go back home. >> they are scattered across the country. over the years, tens of thousands of people have fled from their homes. those here said they want to go back but they have no homes to go to anymore. . >> where his house once stoodn in a place that used to be controlled by m-23 rebels. he said they bombed the home he had built with his family. >> where do i come to? you have seen for yourselves how we have will have to start rebuilding. >> atent in a small space she shares with her husband. >> we are hungry. everything is falling apart. but when they tell me to go

home, will i take mytent there? >> life is hard in the camp. people here tell us it will be harder if they return to the destroyed homes with no money to rebuild. it will also be far away from the little humanitarian aid they get occasionally. katherine soi, in north kivo. >> african leaders meeting in the capitol of daka, talking about infrastructure and how to fund it. this is especially important. in burundi where much of the infrastructure was destroyed during the civil war. about 3% of people today in burundi have access to electricity. but new technology means more are no longer living in the dark. hara metasa explains. >> looking forward to not using candles tonight. she lives in a remote part of burundi that doesn't have electricity. >> i have this light. when i used it for the first time to see in the dark, my

husband was surprised. but he loved it. now, we can see at night. she says the small rechargeable lamp has made life easier for her family. when it gets dark, her children can do their homework. she also saves money. on average, she uses two candles a day. >> that's $0.40 of a household budget. the next day people in the village meet to discuss how everyone can get more lamps. one lamp costs about $5, $0.50. those with money to spare contribute. nearby, imiana charges her lamp. she said it's like riding a bicycle. when i started using it, i was pregnant. so it was hard. now, it's easy. i have become very fast. about 3% of burundi's population has access. it's cheaper than kerosene and

firewood. >> families are spending their income that is drawn out of the community. now, if we can keep this income within the community and invest it in good energy, first of all, you will have a huge impact on the health. you will have an impact on the productivity. >> burundi is still recovering from a civil war that ended in 2005. families who had fled the fighting are coming back. but they are starting from scratch with no electricity. many people in rural arewake up two hours to the nearest town to charge things like their mobile phones. it can be a store like this barber shop. you come get your hair cut and charge your mobile phone. other people have other thingsdor in the town. while they are shopping they come, leave phones here charging in the corner. when they are fully charge, they come and collect them. >> u.n. officials said the lamps plus a little pedal power is helping light up burundi. al jazeera, burundi.

>> so many things are recycled these days. now, you can add blood to the list. british scientists developed a new machine to help overcome blood shortages and cut the need for trans fusions. phil lavell explains how it works. >> reporter: it is one of the issues medics have faced: how to minimize the amount of blood lost during major surgery. he specially with demanded for doane assess seemingly insatiable which is why the name hemosep is getting surgical 6 excited. born in britain and tested intie, this portable machine takes the best bits out of the blood that beliefs the buen and prepares them to go back in the bag will filter out the waterlike solution so you are left with the clotting factors and the red cells and then they can be given back to the patient. >> they are the important bits? >> the important bits that the patient requires to help them

stop bleeding and to continue carrying the oxygen around the body. >> the notion of recycling blood caught on during the early years of the aids crisis. it's not a new idea. what is new is being able to do it all so cheaply. a unit of blood costs $240. parts for this machine are half that price, $120. they can be manufactured on a 3d printer. >> the actual device, itself, is a very small footprint. you can move it to the location that's required and it is very cost effective compared to current methods. >> why is it cost effective? >> basically because you are recycling the whole blood species, you don't have to add other elements like platelet therapy when you are giving blood trans fusions. so, it can save costs and save time. >> the hemosep was intended for war zones where spare blood is typically in short supply. it's helping groups like jehovah

h's witnesses whose religion bans them from receiving another person's blood. it's less traumatic than tr traditional trans fusions, reducing recovery times and the risk of complications or death. the feeling is this machine could revolutionize the operating theatre. >> at least 100,000 cam bone yad migrants have left thailand over the past week because they are worried about a crackdown by the thai government. 45,000 people fled across the border to cambodia on saturday, alone. thailand's government says it only plans to ensure that undo you think immigrants are legalized. it's been one 00 days since the malaysia airline flight with 239 people on board disappeared. the government is promising not to abandoned the search for the plane. flight mh-370 went missing on march the 8th as it flew from kuala lumpur to beijing.

a massive search in the southern indian ocean failed to find any debris. families of the victims have begun to receive initial compensation payments. swimming with the world's biggest fish is a thrill for tourists, particularly in the philippines, but scientists are warning that the close encounters are further endangering the giants of the sea. from oslo island, alan dogan reports. >> reporter: they are called wooden dings here which means the sea's gentle giants. tourists travel to central philippines hoping to catch a glimpse of the biggest whale sharks in the world. some grow to as much as 14 meters. despite their size, they are not a threat to humans. classified as filter feeders, living only on planktons and krills. visitors can snorkel and interact with them all for $10.

the philippine government has classified them as endangered species and has reminded local establishments to make sure that the whale sharks are protected. >> there are guidelines for tourists before they can head into the water. feeding and touching the whale sharks are not allowed. but the concern here is proximity. tourists and boats are way too close to them leading many of these creatures vulnerable to injuries according to conservationis conservationists. >> environmental groups are concerned. >> feeding this juvenile whale shark opening up them to more vulnerabilities because they are juveniles and then you are ininstead of them learning how to hunt in the wild, they are being fed by people. so this alone alters their behavior. >> the island was once a sleepy town that relied only on fishing

for its livelihood but since tourists started coming here more than two years ago, people say they have managed to earn a living through tourism. >> i started with a tiny shop, and because of all of the tourists who come, my business has grown. i am thrilled. >> tourists who come to see the whales contribute to more than 90% of the island's economy. earnings that have now managed to provide for basic social services to communities. the local government insists tourism practices are sustainable and says it is all about balance. >> the police, the policing this to anyone who is caught violating, they were penalized a certain amount. so in that way, we are on protecting the whale shark. >> they are signatory to conventions that aim to protect these whale sharks. locals say they are doing the best thing.

they admit striking a balance is never easy. the demands to earn a living must always come first. al jazeera, central philippines. >> you can get a lot more on those whales on al jazeera. america. >> i am lisa flechaer. you are in the stream. today, what you wash your face with may be contaminating the country's water and fish. why one state has banned products with micro beads piling up by the billions in the great lakes. how consumer pressure led one of the largest producers to abandoned a controversial practice that will confines lives. >> air pollution does more than damage hearts and hundreds. it has real impact. we discuss a new study that could link autm