>> government forces launched an offensive to take back rebel-held cities and towns. if successful the offense will be a major boost of nouri al-maliki who is fighting to keep his job. you're watching the news hour live from london. also coming up, attacking the u.s. embassy in bengahzi. prepares to take course in washington, d.c. 100 years old marking the events that triggered the first

world war. and going into extra time with brazil and chile battling it out in the world cup. >> hello, we begin with the turmoil in iraq and what government forces are calling the zero hour. the offensive is under way just days after iraq's parliament will try to form a government. the army is claiming to have made big gains in retaking the city of takrit, but it is reported that they only have secured the outskirts of the city. there have been heavy airstrikes on mosul, iraq's second largest city. >> reporter: as iraq battles

isil and sunni rebels on the ground the human cost is increasing. people flee from the fighting as it intensifies. thousands are escaping and fear that the violence takes on a ceasinglan increasingly sectarian fighting. isil rebels began to take territory, they would fight their way up to the outskirts of takrit. that town than abouts in the hands of islamic state in iraq and the levant since june 11th and this latest offensive is did yo dubbed zero hour. thee gentlema

>> it's confirmed that the isil leaders have started to flee. all the intelligence information that we got today and yesterday show that morale of the army is collapsing. >> reporter: they claim he to have brought in reinforcements and they have the iraqi army on the run. both sides say the fighting is conditioning. in mosul the iraqi air force has struck targets there for the first time. they likely used hellfire missiles. the americans would have given them advice on targeting. but it's not just hellfire in the skies of iraq. >> we continue to fly both manned and unmanned aircraft over iraq at the iraqi government's request predomina

predominantly for reconnaissance purposes. some of those aircraft are armed. the reason that some of those aircraft are armed is primarily for force protection reasons now that we've introduced to the country some militaried a advisemilitary advisers whose object is the convince of th the confines of the embassy. >> another display of power and shows no signs of backing down. al jazeera, baghdad. >> joining us now is ben van hoovalen. good to have you with us on the program. away from the fighting on the ground, the prime minister is facing a political battle of his own. some of his own party appears to be turning against him now. can he survive this, do you think? >> i think the britney spears way to answer that question is

to look exactly what the prime minister's political support has consistented o consisted of in the past. there are three circles. the tighter one is his own party. and the larger one is a coalition and the largest is the group of shia parties. what we've seen is the broader shia parties start to turn against maliki. we've seen some politicians from state of law start to go run for the exits, we have not seen a clear indication that they are ready to get rid of maliki. his support seems to be eroding, but it's not gone yet. >> he would argue that he and his party won a democratic election, and is it wise to try to change leadership when this is a country effectively in the grips of a civil war at the moment?

>> i think there are a couple of sides to that key. i think the main observation i would make is that any solution to the prodder problems that are plaguing iraq will require some sort of political scenario in which moderate sunnies feel like they have a place in the political order. so unimportant question regardless of ho is to blame for all of the problems that iraq is now facing is ho is the credible candidate who can emerge who will make a deal with moderate sunnies and present a vision for what iraq will look like. >> even if it's some sort of unity government or salvation government, call it whatever you like, was being formed, has the damage been done by the many sunni fighters on the ground who have joined forces with the likes of isil? they have already turned? they're not going to be appeased by any solution. >> i think its important to draw

distinction among the sunni fighters on the ground. one is isil. but the other factions fighting do not share isil's extreme ideology. there are former baathists and baathists militant who is will probably be very difficult to make any sort of a political appeal to. but both of these force who is are very opposed to the government depend quite a lot on sunni tribes that are not extremist in nature at all. who in the past many participated in the political process. so while it's difficult to imagine that any of the forces currently fighting the government would ever do a deal with maliki, it's not unthinkable to think that some of them could breakaway and rejoin the political process at some point optimistically in the medium term. >> thank you for joining us from northern iraq. thank you for your time. of course, thousands of

people have been trapped by the fighting in iraq. among them 1200 chinese workers in samarra. they've been moved to baghdad, and they are now waiting to fly home. 80 people were turkey including a number of truck drivers are still missing and 40 indian workers have been abducted. thousands of iraqi christians have been forced to flee their homes in a town of mosul between heavy fighting between kurdish soldiers and isil. >> we escaped bombardment. they bombed the district. people here are fighting with people from there. as a result all the people's houses were destroyed. so we talk our families and fled. >> in narrow be syria an activist said a popular market was bombed just east of

damascus. two were injured, these pictures which al jazeera cannot independently verify are of survivors right after the attack. this activist supplied video shows barrels filled with explosives being dropped. plum of smoke can be seen rising in the air after the blast. it is seen thrown from helicopters. the libyans suspected of leading the attack in bengahzi has arrived in washington, d.c. khatallah is in federal custody after being arrested by forces earlier this month. he is being charged with the four death of four u.s. citizens including an ambassador. >> reporter: he should be appearing in just under 30

minutes. he is expected to appear before a federal judge in washington, d.c. he's being held in that courthouse in tight security. he arrived early saturday morning. he was transported by helicopter after making it an across the atlantic on board a navy warship. it was there he was grilled by federal investigators trying to learn more about the 2012 attacks in bengahzi that did result in the deaths of four americans including u.s. ambassador chris stevens. there will be a lot of questions of how this will proceed. that's because typically these types of cases are not seen in washington, d.c. we see them in virginia or new york city but not normally washington, d.c. and it will be watched closely because it is a case that is very controversial politically in the united states. >> yes, ever since the attack in 2012 two years ago there has

been speculation, talk of a cover up, something that the media has extensively covered, hasn't it. >> indeed, and the reason for the media covering it so extensively is because republicans on capitol hill have charged for a year and a half, really since this took place that, in fact, the obama administration could have done more in terms of security for those four americans that were called for additional security that were not heeded, and now engaged in a cover up namely when this attack took place it was eight weeks before president obama stood re-election. there have been charges of cover up as well. there have been accusations that the investigations following these attacks have not been impartial. one of them was done by the then secretary of state hillary clinton, who herself has aspirations for the white house. these are allegations that have not gone away against the administration. the administration has said repeatedly this is nothing more than a right-wing conspiracy but i can tell you that it will be

watched very closely to see if new details emerge from that courthouse when this is finally prosecuted. >> kimberly in washington, d.c. thanks. a young girl has been killed and her mother seriously hurt after a homemade bomb exploded in cairo. it was planted at a government telecommunications building. the girl's father works as the side of the guard. at least ten people have been killed in an explosion at a brothel in nigeria. the attack in the red-light district injured 14 others. the cause of the blast is not known and no one yet has claimed responsibility for it. and nigerian police say they have diffused a second bomb that was found next to a mosque. nigeria's commercial capitol is suffering because of continued attacks there. revenue and a number of foreign customers have fallen

dramatically. >> reporter: this is the market, one of the biggest text tile markets in africa. traders from central western africa countries and north of the continent come here to buy and sell. this is where he grew up. it's the only thing he knew. trading in nigeria in textiles. but over the past three years have impacted people like him. >> people suffer because of insecurity. boko haram, this here. >> customers from neighboring countries are staying away. only a few of them who can stand the stress of nigerian checkpoint come to buy. >> now i have my passport and entry visa, but i suffered a lot

at the hands of law enforcement agents. i've been coming here for 15 years to buy goods. this is the only place i knew otherwise i wouldn't come here again ever. >> reporter: with threatened violence of boko haram many are staying away. that means lost revenues for businesses and government. violence has had an impact on companies here. many had already been hurt by regular power outages and loss caused by smuggling. boko haram has only made things worse. many industries have had to cut production and layoff staff. >> reporter: this man invested thousands of dollars hoping to bring in customers. >> our plan to employ people virtually failed. our plan to train people which

we started virtually failed. our plan to increase production, failed. our plan for market, failed. >> the lack of security in nigeria means that countries are looking elsewhere for supplies. business owners here are working and praying that these concerns disappear. but as recent events have shown no one is certain how soon things will improve. al jazeera, nigeria. >> still ahead on this news hour the pakistani villages on the run from the rising tide. salt water destroyed once fertile land. and luis suarez gives his explanation of the ban from the world cup. that's next. >> first, it's just been reported that four european

monitors have been released by rebels in eastern ukraine. the osce monitors have been held for 32 days and were part of the team based in donetsk. rebel leaders in the luhansk he region say they will continue to hold check points as part of the government's cease-fire. al jazeera's paul brennan is in donetsk to tell us how the cease-fire is holding up. >> reporter: the government and militia here in ukraine say they have separately said they will hold their fire. they'll have cease-fires through the 30th of june. but the reality on the ground there has been sporadic fighting.

four ukrainian soldiers dead, 14 wounded the difficulty is verifying this. we've also spoken to the separatist side and they deny any intens intense incidents have taken place. the verification mechanism was spoken about in bruce he wills, it was also underlined when this contact group of kiev, russia, the osce and separatists met here in donetsk met here on friday. the difficulty is setting it up in any meaningful way. at the moment we simply don't have that mechanism. >> the vatican has defrocked it's former ambassador to the dominican republic for sexually abusing boys. it's the first time a top papal

envoy has been convicted of the crime, and observers say it's a sign that pope francis is serious about his zero tolerance on abuse. he's being defrocked and shamed in the most public of ways. the vatican's former ambassador to the dominican republic found guilty by the church itself of abusing boys. the authorities on the caribbean island where the alleged abuse took place is now under investigation. >> in my meeting with his holiness he opened the meeting talking about the subject, and he reassured me that the vatican would not be at peace until they received the maximum penalty. expulsion from the priesthood and the church. >> reporter: for years the vatican has been accused of doing too little.

>> he said that there was going to be zero tolerance for people guilty of sexual abuse of minors or sexual abuse in general. he has made that absolutely lear. he has talked about the problems of the priesthood, he's really taking a tough line on the clergy. >> the case is now on appeal. emma hayward, al jazeera. >> joining us live from rome, jared o'connell. thank you for being with us on the program. this is a very tough action that it's taken against this particular priest. do you think in some ways it's a reaction to the severe criticism of the catholic church over its

handling of all sexual abuse cases like this one? >> no, i think that it is very clear reform that pope francis is introducing in the church. he's cleaning out the vatican finances, but he's also cleaning out the ill, the wrong in the priesthood. there is no place in the priesthood for a man who abuses children. and he is intervening in a way that no former pope has done. he's removing them from the industry. it's very unusual to remove a bishop from the ministry. this man was ambassador to the dominican republic, and he was archbishop. he is now--the judgment has been

passed that he has to be removed from the ministry. i was on the plane with the pope in may. he told us three bishops are under investigation. the judgment on one has been determined. we don't know if this is the one. on this question there will be no privileged class. no one will have a position where he will not be held accountable. >> critics say that this particular man should have faced a criminal trial not just a church proceeding, and that would have been possible had the vatican cooperated. is it at all possible that he could have faced a trial and what could happen to him now? >> i think you have to realize

he was an ambassador. he had immunity. he no longer that is this. he was also a bishop in the catholic church. he will no longer be that. he will be mr. ordinary city. and i'll be added to further extradition. he was up to now a vatican citizen as ambassador of the vatican, but this will no longer be the case. i also understand that the vatican may have other charges to bring against him, an.

>> commemorations are being held to mark 100 years since the assassination since the arch duke ferdinand. people have gathered in the capitol of sarajevo at the site where the arch duke and his wife was shot in 1914. it wait would trigger events that led to the first world war. take us through events, jonah. >> reporter: it's been a low key day until the end of the day. we saw just a little while ago the ente centerpiece of the event. playing a requiem and all those who died in world war i.

dignitary, head of state, and the united nations looking to keep peace and reconciliation. of course, there is no disguising the fact that there is no reconciliation. bosnia torn apart by civil war and then physically split apart by the treaty that ended it. depending on what side of the political line you're on how you view the events of a hundred years ago. here in the federation of bosnia hertz. the bosnian serve quite different. he's a nationalist hero who served to unite the southern slavs, now known assuag as

yugoslavia. >> 100 years ago a teenager struck a blow against the austrian empire occupying his homeland. he murdered the arch duke ferdinand and his wife as they toured sarajevo. as the open top car turned at this corner the assassin was waiting with a loaded gun. security feared this earlier, they decided to change the route. the car was not meant to turn here at all, but nobody turned the driver. so at this very spot the car came to a high school a halt as the driver realized the error. it led the world to war as austria hungary retaliated against serbia and others joined

in. but it led to the birth of yugoslavia after the war. it was later destroyed by ethnic wars in the 1990's. today his legacy is shaped by politics and perception. >> was he a hero or maybe rather a terrorist? endless debate started in 90's. one group he will be hero in the future, also. and for the others he will be terrorist or just a murderer. and i'm afraid we have a third group, people whom just don't care. >> reporter: homeland bosnia is ethnically divided. his own family of bosnia serbs left where i met one of his relatives.

>> it cannot be described as bosnian act. it was croatian, bosnia act. he repeatedly said he would be sorry if his act failed to create a south laughic countr sl avic country. >> whatever the view, he has not been forgotten a hundred years on. his ideal of unity of southern slavs, however, has come an gone. al jazeera, bosnia. >> still it come on the program. >> a timely reminder when the scots threw out the english 700 years ago. >> if anyone has ideas about life in gaza, listen to this. >> young people in gaza is given

a respite from the seen. and nadal makes his intentions clear at wimbledon.

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>> hello again a reminder of the headlines here at al jazeera. the iraqi government said it's in charge of the suburbs of takrit after a day long battle with rebels. rebels from the islamic state in iraq and the levant took the city on june 11th. the ukrainian defense ministry said it has regain control of the checkpoint. it released a video reportedly showing the fighting which is said to have killed four soldiers. the man accused of leading a forces involved in bengahzi attack has been brought to the u.s. he's now in federal cut in the u.s. we have reports on the man alleged to be the mastermind of

that 2012 bengahzi attack. >> reporter: according to sources a ac mandarin man ahmed abu khatallah has been questioned by the fbi-led high value detainee group hig. as the ship neared the u. coast line khatallah was transferred by aircraft to an undisclosed location. he's already facing a string of charges including killing a person in the course of an attack on federal facility with the use of a firearm as well as attempted and conspiring to bring reports resulting in death. more charges are expected to follow.

the attack left ambassador chris stevens and three u.s. citizens dead. former secretary of state hillary clinton tipped for a presidential nod in 2016, she and administration officials have consistently denied the g.o.p. accusations. of the many outstanding questions of bengahzi one in particular stands out was the attack prompted by anti-muslim video going viral. it triggered a large protest in cairo on the same day. before he was arrested, khatallah indicated it was. as he's slated to be tried in the criminal court system expected to be in washington, d.c. that's something that we'll likely find out for sure. john terrett, al jazeera, new york. >> bp is asking to be repaid some of the compensation money it handed out after the gulf of

mexico oil spill. it's asked the u.s. to order businesses to return hundreds of millions of dollars. the company said some of those payments were made without proof that the damage was caused by the spill. thailand's military rule has announced that elections will be held around october of next year. they say they also plan to establish an interim constitution. critics say the military plan to reduce the power of elected politicians. indonesians go to the poll next month to elect their president. >> indonesia can call itself the world's tenth largest economy after battling economic and political crisis for years, but not everyone is benefiting.

some are earning more money, many are left behind. it's a huge challenge. when announced his candidacy markets reacted positively. tens of thousands of people living in slums were relocated and given jobs. she was mov moved to an apartment. >> a lot has changed. in the slum we could only sell sum goods and we were not sure we would earn money. now i have a fixed salary. >> for millions this is how life is like. their lives untouched by the economic boom whoever becomes the next president will have to deal with the growing gap between the rich and the poor to

make sure indonesia is stable and the country as a whole prospers. the other candidate has a more initialistic approach. he has lashed out at foreign companies benefiting from the country's natural resources, a popular theme with indonesias overseas investors. >> i think it's very temporary. a week, two weeks. so in the week or two weeks it will be the prize of share drop by 10% to 15%. that's a good time to buy. then in the next two weeks they will come back. >> analysts predict whoever becomes president will have to attract investment. >> we have to discount the statement. at the end whoever is being

elected will have the option how to grow the economic up to 7%. how to create, for example, 12 million jobs. how to reduce unemployment in 4. >> while aiming for 7% growth, 10% should be possible, something analysts say is unrealistic given the state of the country. july 9th indonesians will decide would who to trust t to run indonesia. >> to pakistan where rising sea levels and depleting fresh water supplies are forcing people to leave their homes. we have reports. >> reporter: abdullah an his extended family were forced to rebuild their lives in this village. they left as the sea encroached

on their land in a pakistan province. the civilization dates back to the bronze age, but due to acute ecological changes people are abandoning their homes. >> i used to be a farmer and fisherman, but i lost my livelihood and we had to move from our ancestral village. now i run a small shop and i go out and fish as a laborer on someone else's boat. >> it's not just water. water has become unusable. 1.2million hectares of agriculture land ha is now unusable. the sand do you knows help to explain what happened to this part of the area. seawater has come inland as fresh water as depleted, and then came the sand. in some places the seawater has

come inland as far as 50 kilometers. much of the problem is manmade. the agriculture leaves no water for the delta. people have no water to drink and the fresh water fish isn't there any more. apart from the river drying up, the seawater is seeping in due to rising sea levels. >> the coastal areas, the coastal fisheries. and then it is moving. >> the rising sea and those moving inland are not always welcomed by locals. fishermen find it hard to adapt to new professions, pushing up the unemployment rate. they say the environment is not a priority for politicians and insist the impact of climate

change is a bigger threat. >> people in gaza have flocked to beaches. and we'll stay in gaza. the universal language of music is helping to provide an escape for young children. they can take refuge at the college for musicians and through music forget about the siege and the troubles around them. >> ten-year-old and his friend ramsey unpack their instruments. [♪ music ] >> they've been playing classical arab muck together for five years, and they practice every day. he recently won a prize for playing the instrument.

>> i feel joy when i play with my friends. >> over half of gaza's population of 2 million are children. many are exposed to political violence almost every day. the organization defend children international say more than 350 children were killed in gaza during israel's three-week invasion at the end of 2008, and another 30 were killed in renew conflict in 2012. farazi's mother said that music helps her son and his friends cope. >> i love him learning music because music is connected to the soul and humanity. it's especially important in gaza when people are anxious always. >> reporter: the national

conservative for music has more than 200 students. >> he's now playing with some of his student friends here. for anyone who has stereotypes about life here in gaza, have a listen to this. [♪ music ] [♪ music ] al jazeera, gaza. >> all right, still to come on the program, nasa tests a new slow down system which could help send people to mars.

and it's the lottery penalties that will decide whether brazil or chile will stay in the world cup. we'll have details shortly. ay t.

al jazeera america, take a new look at news. >> thousands of people have turned up in the scottish city to watch an reenactment of a battle that took place 700 years ago when the scots defeated the english and became an independent nation. the celebration has left three months' from a referendum which

could see scotland regain it's independence. >> reporter: on the fields 700 years ago the gorill guerrilla army, the pipers in kilts in celebration. the scottish independent vote just a couple of months', this was the place where they dreamed of scottish's independence. >> now is the time that to strike up. >> i think so. >> and take it back again. we had it before and we managed fine. we'll have it now. >> reporter: but just ten minutes down the road in the same city on the same day those

who would defend scotland's place inside the united kingdom were holding their own celebration of what they hold dear. the scottish nationalist leader had to line up with prime minister david cameron and the rest elite he can't stand while princess ann took the salute. the crowd here was taking as far away as they possibly could. >> does it make you feel proud to be british? >> yes, extremely proud to be part of an union. >> i'm asking--yes, i know the question you're s and i just answered the question. >> it speaks volumes about the battle of the hearts and minds being played out. outside of the economics of

whether scotland will be richer or poorer running it's own affairs, it's you runs deeper of who you are and your place in the world. >> reporter: this tells a very important story. they're prepared to offer the scots many things to stop them from leaving the kwan entirely, but the one thing that that they will never surrender not in a million years is defense in foreign policy. the place that scotland plays in the united nations in the name of british. the nationalists would push england back and choose their own battles to fight. that for british military establishments would be a defeat of historic scale. >> it is a nail biting affair right now in brazil.

we have your world cup updates. >> thank you very much. brazil's chances of staying in the world cup in the lottery of the penalty shootout. brazil takes the lead with less than 20 minutes in, but it didn't last long, they would square things up in the 3 32nd minute. they would gain back the advantage just to be overruled for a handball. a very tense situation for brazil. >> reporter: this is unbearbly tense. behind me many thousands,

brazilian fans who have been going through their own hell. brazil has not been playing very well. they would have the substitute for the chilean shot. and chile may have missed a penalty kick. brazil has not played well in this tournament. the ghosts of 1950 are coming back to them. to have failed in the final match against uruguay, they would really unfused and happens revitalized for the next one. >> if they win this match, how can they be improved.

>> those improvements would happen in this match, and in the group stages they never come--the best performance in mexico when they would be held to a draw. right now scolari has a lot of problems but he won't those problems if they could just get in. but the brazilians are just not doing it. and i'm sensing that brazil may have just missed their penalties. i can't confirm that, but there were some gasp around me, so yes, it is level in penalty kicks. >> now uruguay face colombia later. ahead of that the fifa football association has sol told luis

suarez the ban including internationals. he said he did not mean to bite chielini. we bring lack lee wellings from rio. before we get to brazil, they are still in the penalty shootout let's talk about uruguay and luis suarez's absence from this match, obviously, how are the emotions among the team? >> reporter: well, uruguayans from the president to the players are in denial about what luis suarez did.

it's difficult to find an uruguayan who would condemn him. they have played excellent in this world cup. it's the best tournament they have ever had. if brazil gets through, and this nightmare penalty kick that they're going through at the moment, what a game. but first uruguay and colombia in rio. >> enjoy the rest of the penalty shootout between brazil and chile. don't forget the update is at 1540 gmt. number fourth seed roger feeder has marched into wimbledon.

and world number one nadalover came another first set loss. >> except that the match is logged. except if he was able to play like this for three sets i will be in trouble. i was waiting that i can improve one step and i improved one st step, and i think i did. >> and the women's 2014 sharapova also progressed. 6-2, 6-3, 6-6. >> i'm pleased that i've got three good matches in. i feel i've improved. i started off the first one a

little bit nervous, which is expected. once i got through that i feel like i've elevated my game. >> the eighth straight victory to start the season. well, the spaniards gran grand prix. marquez is the first rider to win. he now leads the championship standing with 200 pounds. >> you know, it's a rate that nobody won. it's so complicate to know which is the best strategy. >> and there is more at www.aljazeera.comsport. there are details of how to get in touch using twitter and

facebook. plus we have blogs and video clips from correspondents around the world. the address again www.aljazeera.com/sport. we'll just bring you the latest on the penalty shootout with brazil against chile. aboubrazil are leading 3-2. >> it's so nail biting when it comes down to penalties. high in the sky above the island of hawai'i. nasa will test a new way of slowing down spacecraft. it could pave the way of landing larger craft on mars. >> reporter: getting a spacecraft to an alien world is one thing. but then you'll need to be able to slow it down. >> when humans are on mars, it

will have much larger pay loads and we'll need much larger accelerators to slow them down. >> reporter: nasa is using two years ago the same technology it used for a almost 40 years is said to be at its limits. that's why they're testing high in the sky above hawai'i. >> to launch it higher about 60 kilometers on the edge of the atmosphere, now in the atmosphere similar to mars. then they are going to test this inflatable kevlar structure at very high speeds and low density air. >> successful tests of the airbag break have been done on earth. but nasa now needs to see if

they work just as well in the thin atmosphere. the same goes for a massive 33-meter wide parachute too big to test in a wind tunnel. >> if we want to land bigger things, bigger more capable rovers we need more technologies to do that. it's not just for the science that we have, but also for the long-term vision in order to put humans and people on the surface of mars. >> they plan to have their next mars rover mission for 2020. >> that's it for the news hour. i couldn't will the you go without the score in that match of the world cup. host brazil are through to the quarterfinals. they have just beaten chile 3-2 on penalty. it was nail-biting stuff.

bye bye.

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