arizona. ... welcome to the news hour. the top stories, sunni fighters make major advances in iraq as they push their way to baghdad. israel fires at syria after a 15-year-old is killed in the golan heights. >> a south korea ian solid dispute ends with a shoot-out with the army. >> adding new names to the list of world heritage sites.

the sunni rebellion is making major gains west of baghdad. they have taken towns on major highways linking iraq to strong holts in syria. the iraqi army hcan can. >> sunni fighters took two towns on the road to baghdad. the front line is adisa. iraqi soldiers have left posts but sunni tribal leaders are refusing to surrender the town to rebel forces appearing to be waiting to a push to haditha. the push gained moment um on saturday. a new front is opened further sou south. it's on the other major highway linking syria with baghdad. let's bring in imran khan from

baghdad. talk us through the army action now heading to haditha in anbar province. what do you hear about that? >> a number of tanks are ready and rolling in towards haditha. what happened a few hours ago is that the isil arrived and sent an em sassy into the town saying, please surrender. we will enter your town peacefully. you can fight with us or you can step out of our way. now, the tribal shake -- sheik said they wanted to repel the invaders. a stand-off ensued. the tribal leaders got ready to fight their territory. >> that's when the iraqi security forces started to back up. the sungni tribal sheiks there. what we are seeing is something we have seen in the past before that sunni tribal leaders are willing to defend their own territory but not go out and fight. a lot of the tribunal leaders

said we will denifend our territory but in terms of actually going out and fighting the other reanalyze that's not going to happen until prime minister nouri al-malaki steps down. so although this is quite a big offensive by the sunni tribal sheiks to keep a hold of haditha, it is not a sunni tribal push. >> talk us through the ongoing march to baghdad. >> reporter: well, ambar province has been subject to an operationnbar province has been subject to an operation against isil fighters. the iraqi army has made gains on the syrian border during the period from january up until now. they did control some of these border crossings. they change hands on a regular basis. however, this time around, the isil and the sunni rebels have a lot more fighters on the ground and are now able to hold those border crossings. it is a worry because once you have the border crossings, you

can get more troops and more reinforcements into iraq from syria. you can also send the captured equipment. this is what we are hearing. the howitzers they captured in mosul are 70 through the border crossing back into syria. it's a significant development for the sunni rebels and more importantly for the islamic state of iraq in the lavant. >> thanks, imran chan. let's bring in the academic, director of policy analysis at the doha instilt tut joins me in doha. isil seem to be getting what they want. they wanted an islamic state. they have broken through the borders which givesthems fr-- tm free for all in syria and iraq. >> they have been talking about something much bigger than the isil. as your reporter from iraq has mentioned. it's more like a sunnis union

actually and isil is taking advantage of that even the shiite community is increasingly recognizing that there is something must be done in order to salvage the whole situation? iraq. for example, the most senior shii shiite cleric in iraq is for a unity government. he has called for the establishment of a unity government in iraq. i think he was not feeling he was abandoning al-malaki because non-can accept the al-malaki government. >> seems everyone is aband oning al-malaki? >> i think so. >> some are speaking to isil saying back off. we know the kurds sent oil to israel. it seems as if they have already moved on. >> i think now, everybody came

to the point where they think something actually, al-malaki must do something in order to stop this because the sunni tribes, the kurds are for the going to do anything against the isil unless al-malaki goes. this has become clear to almost everybody. now, we are witnessing an important moment in -- especially al-malaki. i think this is the time for him to go. it's time for him to leave for somebody else to come and take control in order to salvage iraq. otherwise, we are going to a full-fledged civil war between shia and sunnis. >> stay with me because i want to talk to you about what's going on, other elements to the story. young iraqis have been flock to go recruitment centers to join the fight against sunni fighters. records show more than 2 million iraqis have volunteered over the past week. it's largely in response to a call by the country's most

influential shia clerk to take up arms against a sunni insurgency. >> one explained why he wants to fight. >> translator: we responded to the call to fight those who come from outside to destroy iraqi. we are united. iraq is united as sunnis, kurds, christians, all are one. >> iran's president is calling for a ceasefire. rhouni called to lay down arms during ramada. the supreme leader agrees that iraqis alone should resolve the crisis. he was strongly opposed to u.s. intervention. strongly opposed to u.s. intervention but what about iran getting involved? >> the thing with the iranians. we can see this contradiction, in fact, in the anything else spee speech. at that couple of years ago, he was offering the u.s. help if

they decide to intervene in iraq. today, we are seeing a different stance. so, i think that the iranians discovered, also, themselves, they have started to recognize how dangerous the situation has become in iraq and that something must be done and that thing will not come from the outside. it has to come from inside. the iraqis, themselves, must agree on something, and in order to have them agree on something, some sacrifices must be made. >> do you ever see the u.s., bashar al assad to agree on this. >> the americans tried to take a distance from what's happening in iraq because they don't want to be seen by the particularly as favoring one side of another. if they intervene with al-malaki, they would be seen as if they are opposing the sunnis in iraq and if they are not doing anything, the shiites will

criticize them and say they are doing nothing in order to stop the isil terrorist organization even by the terms of the united states. i think the americans find themselves in a very awkward situation, in fact, right now. but that is what everybody was warning. a few months ago, because if the americans, since they did not do anything on syria. so, i think now, they recognize they couldn't contain the situation inside syrian borders and now they have to pay the price for not doing anything on syria. >> thank you very much? >> thanks a lot. >> there have been demonstrations outside the white house both for and against intervention in iraq. one group called for obama to act describing sunni rebels as terrorists. the u.s. sent military advisors but said washington should shoulder some of the problems and not intervene. >> i am sick of these bombings.

they do absolutely no good. we are bombing in yemen, all over the place. we are killing women and children and men who have nothing to do with war. it really makes me sick. >> the united states, the white house especially, the president, obama, we need them to help iraq attack their al-qaeda. >> u.s. secretary of state john kerry ended in egypt for the highest level u.s. talks with the new leadership? cairo. here he is meeting the foreign minister. washington remains concerned about president abdul fatah sisi's muslim brotherhood. >> kerry acknowledged this is a crucial moment for egypt and added that washington wants to work closely with sisi and his government to ensure a smooth transition. >> the israel army has fired across its border into syria. it comes after a civilian vehicle was attacked near the security fence in the disputed golan heights.

early indications suggest an israeli teen and several others were injured. the u.n. has supervised a ceasefire line in the golan heights since 1974. the tension in the golan heights comes as four palestinians have been killed in the search for three missing israeli settlers. israeli forces have arrested in a search operation so far. the threeisitioni youths went missing on june the 12th near west bank settlement. let's get more on the explosion in the golan heights and the search of the miss -- for the missing israelis. what are you hearing about the missingisitioni miss israelis now. >> tlast night was the ninth night in a row of raids and arrests in various cities. now, the israeli military are being increasingly met with tension and confrontations from

locals here, from palestinians, themselves. la last, two palestinians were shot dead. >> brings the death toll to 4 since the search for the three teens started about 10 days ago. but israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has responded to criticism saying his soldiers are acting in self defense. >> we are in the midst of a concerted effort to bring the boys back home. this effort entails certain friction with the civilian population in judea and samaria. we have no intention of deliberately harming anyone, but our forces are acting as necessary for self defense. from time to time, there are vi victims or casualties. >> reporter: those words really reflect a standpoint on the side of the israelis this will not stop. these operations are unlikely to stop. they are under pressure to find the three missing tese.

the raids across the occupied west bank are unlikely to end soon. >> what about the blast from the golan heights? what's the fallout from that, jane? >> reporter: so far, israeli military sources are telling al jazeera that that blast happened when a car exploded close to the demarcation line with syria. now, in that car, a 15-year-old boy was killed. there were others in that car who were casualties, but there are no other figures on those casualties. they were civilian contractors working for the israeli defense department. basically, they were trying to work on buffering that border area, buffering a fence along that area. it's not unusual that bombs will land on the golan heights, the occupied gol an heights area from syria because of the intensive fighting in there. but israeli military sources say that their initial indications, they believe this to have been a targeted attack. >> all right. thank you for that, jane ferguson. >> still ahead here on

al jazeera, showing no mercy. pope francis ex communicates all of italy's mafia from the catholic church. >> we are asking you to help us, please. >> the girls who avoided being kidnapped make a desperate plea for the rescue of their missing classmates. coming up in sport, messi's late show rescue argentina at the world cup. >> gunfire after a solid was surrounded close to an elementary school in the goslin region. it happened during a search across the area, close to the border with north korea. harry fawcett is in seuol with more. >> reporter: it seems the south

korean military is in no hurry to take this man by force. it all unfolded, this latest chapter, at around 2:23 local time when there was a shoot-out at a checkpoint near an elementary school in this village. the defense ministry is confirming a platoon leader was shot in the arm. local residents said there were about 10 rounds fired in all and that sense there, there has been this operation to corner him in this area. this will man, sergeant lim, as he is known, was coming off of guard duty late on saturday night about 8:00 p.m. it was then when he returned to the barracks shat shooting began. 5 fellow soldiers were killed, 7 injured. and after that, an enormous manhunt, trying to pin him down, trying to find him in this remote, difficult, mountnounmou

he was under close observation by his superiors for some time. having failed, it seems, to have adapted to military life. he was given the highest risk category possible, a category a, which would have prevented him from serving in this kind of frontline post but that was downgraded in november, last year. >> that's why he was there, and able to gain access to guns and life ammunition as he was. >> vladimir put thein has called on both sides in eastern ukraine to cease fighting and begin negotiati negotiationing, as separatist fighters have sworn an oath to the donetsk's peoples republic. paul brennan reports from eastern ukraine. in donetsk on saturday, these militia volunteers swore an oath to fight to the end.

until my last breath, until my last drop of blood. they numbered nearly 100. most established but some new volunteers. this 19-year-old a former ukrainian army trainee now prepared to fight against his former comrades. >> maybe it's my upbringing, but i can't sit and watch it with my eyes clothes. i will do everything to help my land. >> the separatist leaders rejected the ceasefire before it began. their options are narrowing. until recently oleg sariof was an elected member. now, his separatist rhetoric means he is a wanted man, stripped of parliamentary immunity. >> i am appealing to stop the war because what is happening now in the cities of the southeast, whether they use planes, canons, tanks, it's not right. not once has the government of

ukraine sat at the negotiation table despite the fact we keep repeating that we are ready for negotiations. president poroshenko is taking a tough line. he says those separatists who the don't accept his terms before the ceasefire ends will be, in his words, eliminated. he said to russia, criticizing the offer is more of an ult matum than a peace plan. the pro-russian militia are not ready yet to surrender. >> i can't tell you what's going to happen. but we are not laying down our weapons. we are going to continue fighting. the things we are fighting for are sacred to us. our land, our values. >> with rousing music from the loud speakers and rousing rhetoric from the podium, you can see there is no sense of a giving up among the separatist militia here in central donetsk. these are a mixture of existing recruits renewing their vows and new recruits willing to go to the front line and as they march away, you can see the crowd remains very much with them. >> paul brennan, al jazeera,

dondon. . >> pope francis has launched a vatican -- the vatican's strongest attack today. the roman catholic pope made his comments on sawyer after visiting calabria in southern italy. the pontiff met the father of a 3-year-old boy killed in a mob murder. he is the power base of a drug traffic and syndicate that dominates italy's cocaine trade. it is this. the add oration of evil, contempt for the common good. this evil must be beaten, expelled. we must say no to it. those who good down this evil path, the path of evil, as the mafioso do are not in communion with god. they are excommunicated. >> i think so been 69 days since the radical group, boka haram abducted more than 200 nigerian school girls despite a worldwide outcry. the searchers failed to find the

girls. speaking to some of the girls who managed to escape about how they are feeling. >> these are the school girls who managed to avoid capture. their classmates are missing. and the pain shows. they are preparing it for final exams. their teachers believe talking about it helps. >> their school principal is here. she has lost count of the number of appeals she has made for the release of her pupils, but she is not giving up. >> there is nothing i can say. sisters, daughters and granddaughters. they should feel sympathetic for these innocent girls and release them. >> all of the girls have been brought to the state capitol not just for their continued education but, also, for better security. >> the teachers say they are

doing remarkably well, managing to relax and concentrate on their studies despite the fact that they are away from home and they don't know what's happened to their classroom friends. >> but those with close friends missing are getting more distressed by the day. >> it's painful that we are separated together with them. i want to ask you to help us find our mates for us, please. we are asking to help us, please. no one has a monpositive answer more than two months after the girls went missing and the government is trying to get the schools back to normal. >> we see provide and we continue with our normal schooling. >> there could be nothing normal for these girls right now.

only the safe return of their friends would make that possible. and andrew simmons, northeastern nigeria. >> brazil's president will be seeking a second term. her ruling workers party has backed her to run for re-election in october. her popularity is falling because of brazil's high cost of living, slowing economy and opposition to the billions of dollars spent on the world cup but she is still favored to win the poll. 600 bal outsides have been cast in three daysots have been cast three days hong kong. it is part of a campaign that the chinese government has called illegal. the protesters want to be able to freely elect the territory's chief executive without interference from beijing. torrential rains are causing flooding across large parts of southern china. china saw the had heiest rainfall in decades .

houses have been destroyed. sections of road swept away. let's get the weather now. is it going to get better for china? >> i am hopeful middle part of the week, things will improve. i am afraid for the time being, next couple of days, we could easily see a similar amount of rainfall. on the satellite, you can see the long line over china. over the last 24 hours, a further 112 millimeters of rain coming down. in hong kong, 74 millimeters of rain coming down here again in the last 24 hours. you see how well lined up this cloud is. the thunder heads. the plum rains, they are associated with this weather system. the coldfront there, the warm front there. cold front tries to move south. and the cold moving south. >> is pushing from southwest to northeast across a similar tract for day after day after day. so, a we went, go on through monday, we could easily see

further heavy rain across southern parts of china pushing up across hong kong into the eastern side of the country, heavy rain by that state edging its way up towards that eastern side of the country towards the shanghai. going in to tuesday, spot the difference. it is a case of further heavy rain continuing across that similar area. as i said, jane, we are hoping as we go into wednesday, things will improve. that wetter weather will start to nudge a little farther south. same line makes this way across myanmar, heavy showers into the eastern side and northeast and parts of india in particular. toward the southeast, seasonal rains, summer monsoon continues to bring heavy showers up the western side of india. wet toward bangladesh. further west, we have some guys coming in behind jane. >> thank you, everton. three years of conflict in syria have produced a new genre of

film making some are calling emergency cinema. the films are short. the film makers anonymous. the work is getting into national recognition this week in new york. >> families eating, children being children, young men talking. abu nazaru calls their work emergency cinema. >> emergency cinema is like emergency medicine. you have to intervene quickly to save the image of your society. we wanted to show people with dignity. we wanted to show people without reducing them to be victims. >> the contrast of ordinary people living in extraordinary circumstances provides moments of insight on syria that are hard to find in news coverage like the siblings playing in a tent that has become their home.

>> the unseen cameraman trying to cross a war-ravaged street guarded by snippers. >> a election of abunajara's films was part of the festival in new york, a chance to bring the realities of daily life in syria to an american audience far-removed from the conflict. >> i think we all know making things more narrow makes them easier. >> organizers hope it will raise awareness in syria. >> does america perhaps have a certain apathy toward syria? i would say that's true. the nineteen stories and the images and music and the story telling that he is using can break through that. >> members of abunajara remain anonymous inside syria to be able to work in a society with heavy censorship. they suggest their work is not political. the award winning short of god

and dogs reveals a rebel fighter who believes he has killed an innocent man. >> we just need that people say, wow! it's good film. >> that's all. >> when it comes to conveying the human cost of syria's war, it may well be enough. kristin saloomey, al jazeera, new york. >> still ahead, including easy pickings in libya, lawless kn kneeness leads to a spike in crime particularly until carjackings. plus, i am tomming araman where the biggest pharmaceutical company dettext counterfeit drugs which endanger consumers around the globe. >> in sport, nigeria celebrates the first world cup victory in 16 years. we will be here with all of the action.

you are watching al jazeera. israel has fired at syria after a civilian vehicle was attacked in the disputed golan heights. an israeli teenager was killed and several others injured. sunni fighters in iraq are making an advance in anbar province close to baghdad. they are surrounding haditha. they have sent more than 50 tanks to the area. there has been a shoot-out between south korea ian troops and the soldier suspected of killing five comrades. the solid was checked to an area

near an elementary school. professional results show moritania's president is on course to win another election. they have told al jazeera turnout could be as high as 60% despite opposition calls for a boycott. a report from the capitol. >> reporter: a former general who seized power in a coup in 2008. the next year, he has run for president and won his message, moritania is a better place today than it was before. civil society organizations call the national forum for democracy and unity to boycott the vote. >> these parties are part of the independent commission which overseas the election. they are boycotting the polls. i guess they are doing it

because they don't want to see a trans parent process. >> reporter: despite the boycott, candidates are not running against himself. four more candidates are challenging him. one is this man. he is a former journalist who has become a human rights activist. polls can't be fair because we are living in a tribal or racist society. i am run to go remind moritanians of this. >> the first is between arabs and sfraningz. it's a second one, the divide among arabs between white moors and black former slaves. when casting votes, many do it along the lines of these divides. >> that's expected for him to win his second term.

libya is going through it's biggest crisis since 2011. stefanie dekker reports, carjackings are becoming the crime of choice. >> there are some cars they want more than others. a parked pickup truck was a prime target. as he got back into his vehicle >> translator: suddenly, bmw with tinted windows blocked me. there were three masked men inside. they were all armed and they surrounded me. i tried to lock the car from the inside. they threatened to shoot me so i stopped. then one pulled me out. they took the car and drove away. i was helpless. >> carjacking is becoming a major issue here. this is a rare moment where it's been caught on camera. watch the white car stopped in the middle of the road.

there is nothing the driver can do. they are armed and they will shoot. >> that's a concern when you are driving around the capitol. there are certain areas we try to avoid because you know they happen more frequently there. at the end of the day, it can happen in any place, opportunity, and officials tell us that on average, there are 37 carjackings a day. >> controlling these crimes is no small task for libya's struggling police force. >> the challenges are huge because we work without the basic security infrastructure. we have no support. the basic police duties are to fight crime. but we face massive challenges because we do not have the necessary tools to do our work. there is no central network or database. we can't even get enough uniforms for our men. >> reporter: that leaves victims with little justice. >> translator: i submitted a police report. they registered the case, and i am yet to hear from them. >> reporter: the police say the government needs to do more to

help. they hold little power in a country overrun with heavily armed militias and gangs. most libyans demand the same, a strong police force and a strong army that can make them feel safe. stefanie dekker, al jazeera, tripoli. >> al jazeera has learned the united nations piece keeping budget is under stress if a deal isn't reached by june action there will be no budget for the 16 peacekeeping missions underway around the world. james bays explains. . the u.n. has peace keepers in 16 missions around the world. they are authorize -- their authorized strength is reaching a record high, over 100,000 troops and police in u.n. blue helmets. but now, there is a major funding crisis. diplomats can't agree on a new budget. if there is not a deal by the end of the month when the current budget runs out, peace keepers in all of the missions will have no money and won't be able to operatepeacekeepers in missions will have no money and

won't be able to operate. these soldiers are from rwanda but the main funding is provided by western nations. this is a row that's pitching the world's richest countries against some of the poorest on earth. a.k. abdul moman is from bangladesh. >> bangladesh is obligated to help u.n. so we always, you know, whenever u.n. asks us, we respond very positively. but when our troops cannot get some minimum, you know, what should i say? facilities, then it is demoralizing. we want our guys to be fully equipped and fully energized so they can perform their job effectively and efficiently. >> the dispute over funding comes at a time when the u.n. must find more troops for its missions in mali and south sudan and set up a new peacekeeping operation in the central african republic. there hasn't been a major increase in the money the u.n. pays to countries that

contribute troops for years. currently, the u.n. pays an avenue of about $1,200 per peace keeper per month. some countries want that increased to as much as $1,700 per peacekeeper per month. the total for the current peacekeeping bucket which ends in just over a week stands at about $73,000,000,000, but next year, it could rise to more than $9,000,000,000. crunch negotiations will continue in the coming days, but in a supreme irony because the talks have gone on past their allotted time. there is no budget left for translators and support staff. so they won't be meeting in these corridors. instead, be having informal meetings sometimes outside this building. james bays, al jazeera, at the united nations headquarters in new york. >> a verdict in the trial of three al jazeera journalists in egypt is expected on monday. mohammed fatny, peter greste

have been behind bars 176 days. they are accused of it collaborating with the outlawed muslim brotherhood. campaign to help free the journalists. >> reporter: . >> you are watching closely with the trial of al jazeera staff and journalists in egypt. >> it's a message that has resonated far and wide, that journalism is not a crime. in a free society, reporters need to be able to speak to all sides. the men in the cage have already paid a heavy price in defense of this right, respected journalists. they have been behind bars for 176 days. he job description authorities accuse them of spreading lies, of having links to what they call a terrorist organization. across the world, many disagree and many have spoken out in defense of the al jazeera team. >> we don't like to live in a world where -- we would like to live in a world where we can go about our legitimate lawfully busy as anybody could, as a doctor, a lawyer, anybody could

and should be able to do. it's not about democracy. it's about that simple freedom. not saying journalists are above the law, not saying there are special rules for journalist, but in this instance and instances like this, if they are simply doing their job, legitimately, people should not be obstructed in the courts of doing that and put in prison. it's crazy. >> campaignents have taken place in 30 countries around the world. more than 69,000 people have tweeted using the hash tag, free aj staff. together, those people have sent out a total of over 181,000 tweets. and those tweets have reached more than 74.4 million twitter accounts. >> the al jazeera campaign has attracted enormous support from people all over the world, but the challenge for any social media campaign is to translate success in the virtual world into results in the real world, to turn all of those retweets and online petitions into actual

pressure on people in positions of power. >> after all, even the most famous of tweeters backing the most honorable of causes don't always come out on top straight away. campaigners helped peter greste's family raise signatures for his release. they feel it made a difference. >> egyptian authorities do respond to international pressure. we are aware of that. the feedback we have been heard from the families of that, knowing that they are there with thousands of people behind them gives them the strength that they can actually go and have the conversations knowing they are backed up by thousands of people. >> now the three wait for the court's decision. they and supporters all over the world feel this case has already gone on far too long. barn bephillips, al jazeera america. >> the world health organization estimates about 10% of all drugs sold worldwide are fake. the recent studies indicates as many as 100,000 people die each year from taking this fake

medicine. in the second part of our series on counterfeit drugs, tom ackermen visits a lab where science is helping law enforcement to take fake drugs off of the streets. >> the human growth hormone that rick roberts must inject himself with every day keeps him alive. but one prescription he had refilled at a san francisco drugstore could have killed him. >> i asked the pharmacist. i said, i have had this stinging and there seems to be an issue with the amount of the water in the packaging and he just looked at me and said, you should go home. you should check and see if you got some of the fake stuff. >> roberts is one of the victims of counterfit drugs. more commonly sold over the internet but in some cases, finding their way into reputable retail farmacies. in this lab at the headquarters of pfizer, the world's biggest drug company, more than 1,000 suspect samples from north and south america are tested each year. they have either been seized by law enforcement agencies or

bought by the company's own undercover agents. >> they will actually go out and pose as patients who are consumers and go out and actually make purchases from the individuals on the internet. >> a little different color blue. there are -- they are very close. >> to even an experienced eye, the bogus packaging can look identical to the genuine product. pfizer's signits can usually spot the counterfits but then comes chemical analysis of the samples. >> we see in some of the dosage forms, they don't put the active ingredient in ever. sometimes they will put it in, but at the wrong level. sometimes, they will use the wrong active ingredient. >> under a new law, every drug sold will include a marker to trace the origin and track it through the supply change. but around the globe, it's a case of bier be very aware. >> you've got to stay within the system that's safe because of the regulations that are in place. if you go outside of that system, then you are going outside of the safety net that's

there for you. >> there is no reliable safety net in southeast asia and africa where almost 1/3 of the anti-malaria drugs tested have been found fake or ineffective. so drug companies and u.s. government agencies have been donated hand-held devices that can perform crhemical analysis notice field, more tools to prevent unsuspecting consumers from falling ill to the agreed of the counterfeiters, tom ackerman, al jazeera, gratin, connecticut. >> monday, we will be in bangladesh where the government said pharmacies across the country are being fooled by fikes. . >> part of the agenda, delegates meeting in doha are concerned about how ancient monuments are being destroyed in conflicts. it's donating $10 million to protect heritage sites.

caroline malone is attending that summit. >> that's right. at least 10 new sites have been added to the list of unesco's world heritage sights on sunday. it's been a very busy day. among those sites are quite a few interesting ones in asia. in china, the great canal. >> that's a stretch of waterway that goes from beijing to hajow. a vast area and home to about 180 million people on those waterway sites. also, two parts of what used to be the silk road, that important trading route that went from east to west has been nominated and approved on the to the unesco list. in asia, somewhere in myanmar, a place approved to go on the list, the ancient cities, important for the originalins of spreading buddhism throughout asia. more now from our correspondenc.

>> reporter: it's a world away from where the decision makers are but that doesn't stop the people here from asking for divine intervention. they are from a town near one of the three taincient cities in central myanmar and regard the listing as an honor. >> there are many realics. the three ancients cities are part of the pu kingdom that existed around a thousand years starting from around the first sentence tree. it's people started trading with india around the 5th century which led to the spread of buddhism. >> not much is known about them. we know they lived in big cities enclosed by high walls. they built a sophisticated system of irrigation and spoke a language that's ex tinge but related to the myanmar language. >> arkanscheologists working at

biggest of the three cities believe they may have uncovered only about 20% of it. the importance. site is that they are rare and unique examples ex ferts want the area protected. something a unesco world heritage. to pressure. and in a very quick time, we can have a disaster because all of the judges can disappear very quickly. >> they have staunch protectors. people who live in the town nearest to the site sets up a heritage trust in the 1950s, funded and staffed by volunteers. the trust runs a museum. sometimes by buying back items sold on the black market.

the city existed more than 2,000 years ago. the history of our forefighters if may be of little interest to some people. we will to preserve it. >> a world heritage listing would help bring in funds and technical know howe for that conservation. more than that, it would give a sense of pride to the people and tell them the history is worth preserving. florence li, al jazeera, myanmar. >> caroline, what is the significance of being put on this list? >> reporter: it's an important signpost for global site that want to be in some ways protected. it's not just a brand to say this site is really important because it's on the important unesco list but it could help with funding. there are some funds that will help preserve the site, stop

degradation by forest or construction nearby. it's a thorough process. it's a 5-stage process that can take years as it has done in the case of myanmar through initial nomination by the country, itself, to the advisory board of unesco with experts, arkansas olthsdz, geologist, any other experts that need to be involved who can create a report and recommend to the committee taking place now in doha, whether or not they think it should be a unesco site. there are 21 members of it who vote and if they vote so, it becomes a unesco site. >> thank you. sport is coming up with the latest from the austrian formula one grand prix as mercedes continue domination on the traffic this season.

america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now ♪ welcome with the sport. >> thank you. a result that puts them in contention. a good result for ghana. 2-2 with germany. messi starred in his very own late show for argen tina against iran. >> reporter: could this be the world cup where messi finally achieves the greatness afforded to maradon? he was 26 when he led argentina

to world cup glory in 1986, the same age as messi is now. after scoring in his team's opening game, the onus was on the barcelona man to once again provide the inspiration against iran. it took until injury time, but messi's goal was worth waiting for. argentina entered the last. >> second game only came to life in the second half as germany and ghana played out a thrilling 2-all draw. mario gehzer sprang into action. an equalizer for ghana 3 minutes later. then the west africans had the lead. they couldn't substitute snatching it and equaling brazil's ronaldo as the top scorer in world cups with 15 goals. the african champions, nigeria

took on bosnia in the final match. bosnia should have taken the lead in the first half but the goal was wrong lyn disallowed for off side. to rub salt in the wounds, minutes later, odom pif winney scored the winner. best behind argentina. sarah pogue, al jazeera. arrange en tin i can't will draw in a final game. enough to advance to the last 16, iran could progress with a win over bosnia and that's it. if nigeria lose. >> despite the draw with ghana, the african side is also in with a chance of advancing to the knockout rounds. a report from rio de janiero. success for the african teams. >> the action in this world cup so far has been amazing. finally, a smile on the face of

the african teams because this was their best day and, of course, a magnificent win for nigeria, the african champ pages. this put them in a strong position to reach the last 16 stomake sure at least one african side in the last 16. argentina have won that group, but nigeria will need to avoid defeating argentina to join them. it's a match between bosnia and iraniz. >> will take nigeria through as well. it was such a positive performance, an opening game, a draw against iran. the performance of ghana. they will struggle to qualify. what a game they gave germany. it was a world cup classic. one of the best games. it's not the best you could ever see. 2-2 and ghana played such a big role in that come from a goal behind, taking the lead. it really is difficult to beat germany. they discovered that. but two excellent results for african nations. >> lee we willings. let's take a look at the teams who have confirmed their places

in the knockout rounds so far. group b already decided. netherlands and chile advance. columb columbia and cost a rica, two other teams and argentina, as we just heard trans through from group f. united states will join the list if they beat portugal ol sunday. bell jum against russia. russia will host the next world cup in 2018 and its hoping the opportunity to repair tires between east and west, far away from the recent conflict. thousands of russian fans are cheering on their team's first world cup appearance in 12 years. >> reporter: the russians are coming to brazil to project a hospitable image before hosting the 2018 world cup. ♪. >> at the inauguration of the first russia house in latin america, the vodka was flowing. and the visitors were glowing

with admiration at the exhibit of every world cup football since the tournament inception. fans may be coming here to cheer their team on. >> we are all here for russia. >> never minds russia's performance thus far has been anything but memorable. >> we saw the days when moscow's might was measured among other things by ability to excel in sports. that's something which president putin is obviously very committed. but when it comes to football, russia is clearly taking a big leap of faith. >> we will finally, qualify for the first time in 12 years. they have to be astonishing for our fans. they have no other choice. >> at the russia house, passion for football con verges with diplomacy and russia's economic

interests far from the usually sphere of influence. >> the russia influence in brazilian economy are growing. as we mentioned, we have some projects, specially related with gas and petroleum and construction in brazil. >> like a good diplomat? >> we are dreaming to go have the final between russia and brazil. >> more proof russia is a russian with strong ambitions. al jazeera, rio de janiero. >> a little understand two hours we will have our world cup. andy richardson will be live in rio and kanuto will join andy as our special guests get more on the world cup on our website, aljazeera.com/brazil as well as reports from brazil and down the road, download the al jazeera

magazine app. aljazeera.com/braz aljazeera.com/brazil2014. mercedes drivers has won the grand prix and extended his formula one lead. his closest challenger had a great start working from 9th to 4th on the open lap. hamilton finished second. masso came in fourth behind batas who grabbed the final podium place. to golf well amy yang in a tie with the u.s. women's open heading into sunday's final round at pinehurst. she finished as a runner upshot six birdies on a way of par 68. she joins michelle wi who shot a 2 over par 72 in the third round

to lose her solo 3-shot lead. the two will play in the fourth round later. >> i am very happy about it. i played really solid. my shots were better the last two days. i had speed on the green. felt really good today. >> a lot of positives. i hit a lot of great shots today, you know, i made a lot of good puts. i hit every putt, misread a couple on the back 9 but, you know, i am happy. i am happy that i have a chance. i am happy that i am in contention and grateful for another opportunity to go to a major championship. >> that's your sport. we are waiting fo-john kerry to make an address about his first meeting with the new president of egypt. he's been talking to the foreign minister there. as soon as he starts that press conference we will go to it live. please stay watching us. thanks.

>> i'm joie chen, i'm the host of america tonight, we're revolutionary because we're going back to doing best of storytelling. we have an ouportunity to really reach out and really talk to voices that we haven't heard before... i think al jazeera america is a watershed moment for american journalism >> like most people, i'm not an activist by nature. there's really not that many people whose greatest desire is to go out and fight the system.