>> ja iraq's army is preparing to take back tikrit from the i.s.i.l. you're watching al jazeera live from doha. also ahead, four ukranian soldiers killed hours after the government extends a fragile ceasefire agreement with rebels. one of mexico's top vigilantes is under arrest - what it moons for the civilian offensive against the cartel. and how the love of football is costing the brazilian economy

billions of dollars. the iraqi army has begun a major ground offensive to retake tikrit. it follows an announcement by the yauts that armed drones are flying over baghdad to protect recently arrived military advisors. u.s. air strikes still have not been authorised by the president. >> it would be irsocial -- irresponsible for us not be making preparations. some of the aircraft is for force application air forces, flying over iran. >> let's look at the position on the ground. in the north peshmerga forces are reasserting command. rebels are increasing their

presence on the border with syria, mosul is undergoing government air strikes. it's been held by rebels since 10 june. the government says it's in control of the country's largest oil refinery. rebels command tikrit where a major government offensive is taking place. >> let's get the latest from imran khan, who joins us live. what is happening with the retaking of tikrit? what is happening on the ground? >> for the last three weeks the government as has been amassing troops in samarra. an armed division of the ricky army travelled from samarra to tikrit. and they faced heavy fighting from i.s.i.l. on the way. they are not in tikrit yet.

this has taken place after iraqi helicopters and special forces troops whept in over the last few days to talk the university. they were not able to take it, according to i.s.i.l. force, but the government says they are in control of the university. now they have the university according to the government, and they are mounting an armed offensive all the way up to tikrit. we heard from eyewitnesss that there are heavy clashes. the i.s.i.l. took over the town on 11 june. it's under their control. it's like like they've been able to reinforce the troops they have their, and they are entrenched. it's a hard-fought battle. this is the first time we have seen a large ground troop movement to a place taken over by the fighters. >> this is happening, a lot of people are on the move, and there are concerns about human rights abuses committed by both

sides in the conflict. >> that's absolutely right. one of the main reasons we see so many people on the move of those towns where i.s.i.l. took over and the sunni rebels is they don't fear what the sunni rebels or i.s.i.l. will do, but once the iraqi army goes into the towns. there is a seb tarian element to all of this. many feel that the iraqi army is not a national army, it's a shia-led army, and they are looking for revenge for i.s.i.l. and the sunni rebels. we have seen mass arrests take place. we have seen mass executions take place from i.s.i.l. fighters. we are hearing about sharia courts set up, with summary executions, and we are hearing iraqi army when they do go into towns, they are using air power, and we heard in tikrit that when

iraqi fighter jets went in, they were hitting civilian areas. atrocities are being called. that is why we are seeing a mass movement of people. people are afraid of both sides. >> that's imran khan reporting live. >> it's 10 years since the americans handed over power to the iraqis. democratic elections have been held, but more than 100,000 people have been killed. now the country threatens like before. >> reporter: late june 2004 and the coalition-led authority handed over paul. paul bremer was the head. much of the political landscape was forged by his act in charge. by expanding the iraqi army and

banning the baath party he sought do away with all from the saddam hussein era. >> i will continue to say and believe that the iraqis are better off today and see how the situation develops. >> many iraqis may question that. the introduction of democracies was linked with violence. sectarian fighting with sunni militias pushed iraq close to civil wampt the u.s. responded with a surge of troops, but it was the following year that the tide turned, when sunni tribes agreed to take on al qaeda fighters in anbar problems. >> the prime minister back neb and now was nouri al-maliki, a man that prevented himself as a unified fillure, but some believe was anything but. >> he turned out to be a

sectarian leader, marginalizing the kurds, and the sunnis, alienating the sunnis and the kurds. that really was a recipe for disaster. opponents of nouri al-maliki say his policies led to the upsurge in violence as the islamic state of iraq and levant took great swathes of land. >> translation: iraq is heading towards partition and a break-up. that's the future of iraq. nothing could will happen at iraq. >> reporter: when u.s. forces led the invasion of iraq, their president, george w. bush said they had no purpose but to remove a threat and restore control of the country to its people. quite what iraqis make of that now is open to question. dominic kane, al jazeera. ukraine's military has

regained control of a checkpoint in the eastern donetsk region after an overnight attack by separatists. >> it defies an agreement between the government and pro-russian separatists to extend a ceasefire until monday. this video shows the aftermath. >> early in the day the president signed a trade deal with the e.u., the same agreement sparking a political crisis. a look at the other stories making inside around the world - hundreds of israeli palestiniansians demonstrated against the policy of administrative detention. security pictures suspects can be gaoled indefinitely without gaol. hundreds of palestinianians suspended their hunger strike over the detentions. it's believed half the people arrested in connection with the disappearance of three young israeli settlers will be held

using the order. police in sri lanka have arrested eight suspects they say were involved in purely anti-muslim riots. the riots started on june 15th in the resort area. four were killed. thailand's military junta says elections will be held around october. the army commander who led the coup plans to lead a political coup. a vigilantee leader in mexico has been arrested for carrying an unauthorised weapon. he's a leader of the one of the self-defence groups battling drug gangs in the state. he's taking over the nights temp lar cartel. the government banned civilian

troops. >> reporter: jose is a found are of the movement, charismatic and well-known figures of it. when the government told the vigilantes to stand down and deputize some of the members of the movement, he just wouldn't take part in it. he said the fight was not over, the vigilantes were needed to fight. earlier here on friday we saw video of him, on local media site. the police and military was saying they were unable to do that and the government was corrupt and not trustworthy enough - if the government can't do it, the people have to rise up. if they charge him, and he's held for a long time, it could create a lot of press against the government. they done a good job in the past saying it's illegal and they

tried to let them operate. that said, he's been marginalised a little alert. the vigilante served their purpose, the drug gang run out of town, which is not true, perhaps they are underground. at least the government has been able to convince mexicans that it is a safer place several hundred lawyers marched in hong kong. the lawyers criticised a report released by beijing, which detailed the interpretation of the one country two systems model. a court said the lawyers want beijing to stop meddling in hong kong's affairs. david is a china analyst saying independence of hong kong's judiciary about what makes it yup eke. >> if you didn't have an independent judiciary,

businesses could be in shanghai, beijing. there's no reason to be here. it's vital for hong kong's future to maintain that. there's a lot of worry, not just among the lawyers. there is a threat to the independence of the judiciary. >> the white paper says hong kong must be governed by compatriots that love the country and hong kong. what does that mean. what is chip ha trying to do? >> the people that wrote that paper, they don't completely understand what hong kong is about. but, (b) are playing to a domestic audience. if you put together what is happening on the white paper along with china's aggressive stands towards territorial disputes with japan and the philippines, it's about playing to a domestic audience and

hoping that nationalism, patriotism will get them over the bumps in the economy. >> david speaking to my colleague. ahead on the programme. 70 years on, thousands who died in one of the bloodiest battles of world war ii are honoured as heroes. >> i'm in qatar, and the sand dunes around me were not here. why sea water is encroaching, making thousands homeless.

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welcome back. you're watching al jazeera, live from doha, a reminder of the top stories - the iraqi army launched a major ground offensive to retake the city of tikrit north of baghdad. it's been bombing the city and is sending tanks and troops from samarra. ukraine's military regained control of a check point in the east donetsk region. four soldiers have been killed in an overnight attack, breaking a ceasefire. a prominent vigilante leader in mexico has been arrested for carrying an unauthorised weapon. he's the leader of one of the groups battling drug cartels. e.u. leaders nominated the former p.m. of luxembourg as president of the european commission.

jean claude jeonger leads a group that won parliamentary elections, but the u.k. and hungary opposed his nomination. >> we must accept the result and britain will work with the commission president, as we do, to secure our national interests. let me be absolutely clear. this is a bad day for europe. it risks undermining the position of national governance, it risks undermining the power of national parties and hands new power to the european parliament. >> john kerry said syria's moderate opposition will be important in repelling the is islamic state of iraq and levant. he was discussing i.s.i.l. he met syria rebel leader, and met with the saudi arabia king abdullah. his week-long tour in the middle east included trips to baghdad, erbil and jordan. egypt's recently elected

president abdul fatah al-sisi met with his sudanese counterpart during an unofficial visit to khartoum, aimed at creating a regional approach to terrorism. >> the two leaders talked about water rights in the nile basin. it has been a source of tension between the neighbouring countries. >> three al jazeera journalists that have been sentenced in egypt have been in prison for 182 days. peter greste and mohamed fadel fahmy was given seven years and baher mohamed for 10 years, because he had a spent bullet in his position which he picked up at a protest. the journalists are wrongly accused of aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood. as brazil prepared to face chile in a second-round world cup match, things will not be about business as usual. workers will shut up shop to

head home. a study predicts a loss of $10 billion in productivity. we have this report. >> brazilians packed into bars and restaurants. everyone waiting for this. a brazil ball. brazilians can be hardworking people. they admit when the national team plays, they are not, and for good reason. >> we can't work on days brazil plays because of the noise from the horns everyone blows when brazil makes a goal. we can't talk on the phone. because of this it's great we get the day off of work. >> reporter: early afternoon, a few hours to kick-off and people are leaving work to catch the metro to get home. many trade their work clothes for something more appropriate. even a grandmother makes sure her son is ready, even though he's not old enough to walk.

>> this man told his colleague he expects brazil to win 3-0. a few last customers rush in, kiosks that sell newspapers are now places to buy merchandise. it's on the streets where the shutdown is evident. >> there are 5.4 million cars in the city of sao paulo. you'd never know it looking at the street behind you. it's one of the busiest streets in the city. it's almost empty because everybody is inside, watching the national team play. >> elsewhere the main street in the city is quiet. on brazil trade day the trading slows. many cities declaring a holiday. one study found the country loses $so million in lost productivity. few seem to care - at least not

now. >> brazil right now lives for possible. it's in our blood. today we top everything for football. it's in our blood. >> today football is the only thing open for business. >> a widespread power outage left much of venezuela in the dark, cutting electricity to nine states. a nationally televised ser mopy was interrupted. venezuela suffered major blackouts in 2012 and 2013. the government blamed the problem on sab tij, the opponent said it's due to incompetence. >> the vatican former ambassador has been stripped of his job after being found guilty of sex abuse. the archbishop is the first high

ranking papal representative to be removed from the brooest hood obvious sex abuse charges. he is facing criminal charges in vatican city for abusing teenage boys. u.s. general motors is recalling half a million vehicles. it says a software problem can cause some vehicles to switch into neutral, causing cars to role away if the parking break is not being used. >> in southern pakistan rising sea levels and the depletion of fresh water is forcing people to leave their homes. we have a report from a pakistani province. >> this man and his family were forced to rebuild their lives in

this village, leaving because the sea encroached on their land. this civilisation dates back to the bronze age. people are abandoning their homes due to ecological conditions. >> translation: i used to be a farmer and a fisherman. i lost my livelihood and had to move from our village. i run a small shop and go back to fish as a labour jor. >> it's not surface water. groundwater is upusable. 1.2 million hectares of lapped has become arid due to salinity. >> the lack of fresh groundwater is turning the fertile basin into a dessert. >> the sand dunes help to explain what happened to this part of the river. sea water has become inland as fresh water was depleted. in some cases sea water came

inland as far as 50km. >> much of the problem is manmade. rivers diverted for agriculture, leaving no water for the delta. people don't have water to drink. forests providing wood are gone. the fresh water fish is not there any more. sea water is seeping in. it has engulfed the whole coastal areas. it is the coastal forestry and fisheries. it is moving. >> the eyeing sea is rapidly becoming a problem. those moving inland are not always welcome by locals. fishermen find it hard to adapt, and unemployment rates are pushed up. conservations in pakistan say it's not a priority for politicians, and the impact of climate change is a bitter

threat than terrorism. it's 100 years since arch duke ferdinand was shot dead in sarajevo, an act of defines -- defiance sparking the first world war. >> reporter: june 28, 1914 - sarajevo. if we can pinpoint the start of the first world war, this is it. the franze duke was assassinated, and what could have been an isolated incident magnified because of europe's alliance at the time. italy and germany, these three formed the central powers while you have the u.k., france and russia, the allied forces. the battle lines are in place. when hungary, austria invaded

germany, and then belgium. that was enough for war to be declared. what was a european conflict drew in countries over the womped germany further alongside the hungarian and ottoman empire. the allies had canada and the united states, japan, australia and new zealand as well. this was a very tough war, make no mistake. not only was there a huge impact on people, but on resources too. the things which became the tools of war. for example, copper for making bullets was drained from the congo. rubber was too. steel and wood for creating railways. everything was concentrated on the war effort. by 1914 the war was over, there was a horrendous toll. 16 million were killed, and 20 million were wounded. to think it was 20 years later that the world war ii would

begin. what can be said about world war i was it brought about change. empires fell. new empires rose. it had a mission to maintain world peace, something it didn't do. something that successors battles to do. the world remembers the start of the first world war, thousands of soldiers who died in a bloody battle of the world war ii are being honoured as heroes. we have this report from india. >> reporter: it's been called the forgotten army of world war ii. after 70 years, thousands of british, indian and allied soldiers who challenged japanese forces in india are timely being recognised. 91-year-old, this man, fought in

the battle here. he says the sacrifices of the soldiers have long been forgotten. >> we would be happy if the government recognised what we did. we hope the government can provide services for contributing to the war. >> the battle is amongst the most ferocious fought. allied troops were up against an 80,000 strong japanese army, often fighting in hand to hand combat. after month of gruelling battle, they were able to push back imperial forces and prevent the occupation of india. >> it's been recognised by the national army museum of the u.k., as the greatest british battle of all time. if you consider who the battle was up against or judged against, it beat out waterloo and d-day and being considered the greatest british battle.

>> hugo's grandfather led the allied forces on this battlefield in 1944 and says the treacherous and wet conditions killed many soldiers. >> we are surrounded by trenches where young men, indians, had to crouch and fight off wave after wave of japanese attacks coming in, trying to break through the hills into the plain. >> those who survived are being honoured. this commemoration recognises the sacrifices made by many to protect india. ultimately it's a sombre reminder that in war every side loses. and the legendry american singer song writer dies at the age of 70. his career spanned six decades and turned out hit songs like "it's all over now", and

"looking for love." he's credited with inspiring many acts, especially the rowling stones and was inducted into the rock'n'roll hall of fame in 1995. womack was diagnosed with alzhiemer's two years ago. >> teachers unions in cal have been dealt a big plow. teacher tenure, protecting jobs through the state's tunne public schools has been ended. it's headed for an appeal, and it's the "inside story."