>> this is al jazeera america life from new york city. i'm thomas drayton. let's get you caught up on the top stories of this hour. hamas's armed wing says it's holding an israeli soldier prisoner. the u.n. security council will hold an emergency session on the crisis in gaza. >> this is a face anger. i hope someone is held accountable. >> 440 palestinians have been killed and 3,000 injured. >> pro-russian separatists in ukraine recovered the black

boxes from the wreckage of malaysia airlines flight 17. an investigation by al jazeera sheds light on an fbi programme that some say lures people into chitting crimes. -- committing crimes. thanks for being with us. we begin with a developing story in gaza. today is the deadliest day since israel launched its offensive. at 9:30 eastern time, the united nations security council will hold an emergency session. meanwhile israel confirmed that 13 soldiers have been killed in an overnight operation. today the military wing of hamas says it captured an israeli soldier fighting in gaza. that has not yet been independently verified. 60 palestinians were killed in one neighbourhood in gaza.

431 have been killed in 13 days of israeli attacks. 3,000 people have been injured. families have been fleeing their homes. there was no safe place for escape. ambulances have been struggling to reach those hurt. the wounded are streaming into hospitals. a gaza health ministry spokesperson says there are severe medical shortages. nick schifrin jones us live. good to see you. >> let's start with the reports of hamas capturing an israeli soldier. what more can you tell us? >> yes, this was an announcement made by hamas on palestinian tv, a live announcement. they said they'd captured an israeli soldier. they did not give his name, but gave his military id number. israelis are not responding, not confirming or denying it. at this point we saw a huge celebration, the neighbourhoods that have been mourning all day, one of the deadliest days of the

conflict, starting to fire off weapons, we saw firecrackers at the hospital, and that is the sign that the palestinians heard - had heard the announcement. and then were celebrated. israel takes this kind of thing seriously. hamas fighters entered into israel before from gaza, using tunnels, and they have been carrying tranquilliser drugs and handcuffs, according to israeli officials, hoping to kidnap someone inside of israel. we don't know specifically where the soldier was kidnapped, if he was kidnapped. hamas clearly has been trying to do this. israel takes it seriously, so seriously that the last time an israeli soldier was cap sured, private schille eat he was exchanged for 1,000 palestinian prisoners. that's the thing that israel was

fearing, this capturing, and according to hamas they pulled it off. >> violence continues. nick schifrin joins us from gaza. thank you. >> united nations says gaza is in need of humanitarian supplies. more than 80,000 palestinians are internally displaced, seeking sanctuary in u.n. compounds. 900,000 people of the 1.7 million in gaza lacks clean water. 80% of gaza's population is limited to four hours of electricity a day. palestinians marched in the west bank, in support of gaza. police looked on as the demonses made its way through ramallah. palestinians carried nothings, channed and -- flags, chanted and called for an end to the conflict. binyamin netanyahu says there's strong international support for his rail's operation in gaez -- israel's operation in gaza and

reiterated a belief that the deaths lie with hamas. >> we are sad for every civilian ksuality. they are not -- casualty, they are not intended. hamas deliberately tarts and -- targets and hides behind civilians. all civilian deaths are unintended by us, but planned by hamas. they want to pile up as many deaths because they use - it's gruesome - telegenicly dead-palestinians for their cause. the more dead, the better. binyamin netanyahu made a public address defending the campaign in gaza. we have more from west jerusalem. >> this is a speech to the nation, if you like, referring specifically to the deaths of israeli soldiers, bringing the death toll to 18.

one killed in so-called friendly fire. binyamin netanyahu said that there is no more just war than the one our sons have fought for. it's very telling indeed, in terms of where this is going to go next. the rest of the speech, there's a few important points. one is that binyamin netanyahu said that the results so far of the campaign, as the israelis call it, exceeded inspection, and also that the operation will be expanded as required. so implying that we could expect an intensification here. one more point to make is that what we heard from binyamin netanyahu, and also from the israeli minister of defence, the chief of staff, rather, earlier today, is we have seen an unprecedented acknowledgment of the distrenged of hamas's capabilities in gaza. the military chief spoke that the israeli soldiers have uncovered what he described as a metro or subway of tunnels, so,

again, using this tas a justification for the bombardment of gaza. >> u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon recoveried to gaza as an open -- referred to gaza as an open wound, saying the bleeding must start. qatar is hofing a meeting between mahmoud abbas and the u.n. secretary-general over a possible ceasefire. secretary of state john kerry has been speaking about gaza on sunday morning talk shows and was caught being candid in what he thought was a private moment. john terrett reports. >> reporter: it was a private chat with an aide off camera but in a studio with live microphones he was caught on tape. unguarded comment critical about israel's operation in gaza made critical because they come from the u.s. secretary of state. >> it's a hell of a pinpoint operation, a hell of a pinpoint operation. >> right. it's escalating. it underscores the need for a

ceasefire. >> we've got to get or there. >> yes. >> thank you, john. >> i think we should go tonight. it's crazy to be sitting around. >> regardless of whether fox was right to broadcast the hot-mike moment, the secretary reported to normal dip low speak when asked to justify remarks. >> it's tough to have this kind of rehabilitation, and i reacted -- reaction, and i reacted the way anyone does with respect to young economic and civilians. war is tough. i said that publicly and i say it again. we defend israel's right to do what it is doing to get at the tunnels, israel accepted a unilateral ceasefire, it accepted the egyptian plan, which we also support, and it is important for hamas to now step up and be reasonable in understand that you sapt the ceasefire, you -- accept the ceasefire, you save lives.

>> president obama and screr are under fire -- secretary of state john kerry are under fire, giving republicans ammunition to attack the administration. >> president obama is trying to be deliberative. it comes off as ipp decisive. he's trying to be thoughtful. it comes off as weak nls. >> president obama spoke to israel's prime minister binyamin netanyahu on sunday by phone and told him secretary kerry will travel to the region, no public schedule has been released yet. >> we understand screr will travel to e -- secretary of state john kerry will travel to egypt and we'll follow his trip. we invite you to stay with al jazeera for continuing coverage, with reporters on both sides of the border. we'll bring you new developments. turning our attention to ukraine, and the investigation of malaysia airlines flight 17. pro-russian separatists control the area, saying they have the

black bombs from the plane. we have this report. >> reporter: in this train some of the victoria tips -- victims of flight mh17. european observers cannot confirm how many bodies have been found. experts from interpol and the netherlands will want to begin the gruesome identification process as soon as possible: there is still bodies missing. emergency workers cut through the remains of the first-class cab jip, they think the corpse of a crew member or passenger is inside. >> the rescue team has gone. nobody was found here, you can see the damage they left behind. clearly decomposing corpses need to be removed. the problem is crucial evidence is tampered with before investigators have arrived. those investigators will want to search the debris for pieces of

a missile. separatists deny they brought down the airliner. there's growing international evidence. it was hit by a surface to air missile fired from this territory. the flight data and voice recorders will help the having. the pictures show one of the black boxes was recovered from the site ipp tact. there is huge international -- intact. there is huge international pressure on the pro-russian forces and the self-declared government is beginning to talk. it says it will hand the boxes over. >> the objects have been delivered to donetsk and are under any control. we await the experts. the aviation organization, and will hand over it. >> reporter: this is one of the biggest crime scenes in aviation history. for days it's been unsecured.

there are reminders of the loss of so many lives. the people died far from their homes. the victims of a conflict that has nothing to do with them. the united nations security council is reviewing a draft resolution that condemns the incident. phil ittner is in london with more. european leaders are expressing absolute indignation about what is going on, and the lack of access by expert investigators sitting in kiev waiting to get to the east. we hard from the dutch prime minister. mark router says the team from the netherlands will go out to the donetsk region form or monday. we have heard from other leader, in particular david cameron, putting forward an editorial in the "sunday times" newspaper

calling for further sanctions, and the idea put forward is coming from a variety of leaders. we heard from the british, french and germans saying the e.u. needs to start to formulate the possibility of further harsher sanctions. this incident, in david cameron's words, may be a moment in time that forces the e.u. to reassess completely its relationship with russia. we have heard from inside the united nations that there is a draft resolution penned by the australians and british to be put forward for a vote condemning the incident, and calling for finding out who is responsible for this, and for going after them and placing blame. those last two things may be a problem for russia, it's

unlikely they'll use a veto to condemn the incident. as we move forward, there are two big things that we will be looking for. possibility the resolution in the u.n., and a meeting in brussels to discuss sanctions on russia, all of this puts the pressure oar on vladimir putin in particular, to try to - at least that's what the international community would like to do, to draw a solution, but in the immediate term to allow investigators to get on the ground and do their job. >> the netherlands lost more citizens in the crash than any other country. 193 dutch people were killed. communities are in warning. harry smith reports from amsterdam. >> the flowers continue to arrive. the authorities set aside an area outside the departure haul with passengers on flight on

mh17ful every day it grows larger, as do the numbers waiting to put the names in the book of condollness. most of those cueing, are neither friends nor family, they are fellow travellers, sad ned and shocked by what happened, and a need to come and show support for those grieving. it's gracy. i'm really wondering what world we are living in. >> i can play the tributes like this. i need to. i find something, lay flowers down and think about all the people that passed away. >> others chos to pay their -- chose to pay their respects in private. this chapel lies in the heart of the medical center where two

victims and its partner worked on groundbreaking h.i.v. aids research. they were on the way to a chmps in melbourne. they were open with tributes to delegates who died on flight mh17. >> we grieve alongside all those throughout the world who have lost friends in these tragedies. >> a long time friend and colleague said the chaos at the crash seen in ukraine is adding to the pain relatives feel. >> it is senseless, it is not helping anybody, in my view, and it's a reason to be angry. and to be extremely sad as well that apparently innocent people are at the wrong place at the wrong time. >> at harlem in the north of the netherlands, they held a memorial service for the victims. in his prayer the priest asked

for guidance for those that can influence the consequences of the disaster, preventing further escalation. australians, as well, held memorial services today. >> perhaps you played soccer with peers, swam, or danced. >> the five members of a family returned from a vacation in the netherlands. their children were 15, 12 and 8. on the other side of australia members of the sea eagles football league stopped to remember mo maslin who died in the crash. the flight happened 18 years after t.w.a. flight 800. it exploded near long island after taking off from john f kennedy airport. family and friends gathered at

the flight 800 memorial, at smith point county park an long island and lists the names of all on board. still ahead - fbi's network of spies. cyprus, 40 years after its violent division. ♪

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a welcome back. the federal government has a network of more than 15,000 informants nationwide. little is known about how they are used within the u.s. counterterrorism programme. a new investigation by al jazeera into this network of informants shed light on a shadowy world of domestic spies. we have more. >> reporter: this is glms of an fbi informant at work, encouraging an ohio man to smuggle component to overseas. this never before seen video is part of an al jazeera investigation of undercover informants. they are central to a

controversial counterterrorism programme that lures muslim me into plots cop kocted by the fbi. the fbi thought i was the greatest informant n o the planet earth. >> former informant pretended to be a devout muslim. he acknowledges that young me are arted, who are vulnerable, but not necessarily dangerous. >> they are an unfortunate fool caught up in a siting operation. >> -- sting operation. >> the informant policy rarely has been changed. al jazeera's investigation raises concerns that since the 9/11 attacks the u.s. government is provoking crimes that would not occur. >> to what extent would the federal bureau of investigation have a role in enticing, inducing, luring the individuals into the crime. the scent of who is pushing what agenda is still a grey area.

this man was convicted of supplying material support to al qaeda. in his case the only connection was a paid fbi informant posing as an operative. >> i am representing the sheikh osama bin laden. >> he spent seven years in prison and is speaking for the first time publicly about the case. >> my only issue with government is look for who you are looking for. make sure they know who you are trying to be. don't bend the rules to catch the bad guy. >> reporter: he was one of 200 caught in counterterrorism stings. despite public concerns about civil liberties, the federal bureau of investigation is committed to helping new inform apts across the nation. >> joining us to discuss the al jazeera documentary is a law contributor. this has been going on post

9/11. >> informants have been used by the fbi and law enforcement. we have se we have seen since 9/11, instead of using informants, whether they are drug gangs or the mafia, they are using informants broadly to go into communities and talk to people. and use the talk to build cases. >> how do you balance ethics and national security. how far is too far. >> i think you don't need to trade one for the other. informants have a limited role to play in law enforcement. you have to be careful in how you deploy the informants. and the important thing to remember is are these informants and the kinds of cases that they build up contributing to our national security. what the documentary shows, and wep of us have known for some

time, is a lot of people involved in the fbi conkolented plots don't seem to be that dangerous. it doesn't look like the guys will do anything. do they feel they don't have a choice. >> i don't know that they don't have a choice, but they are lured into this. he offers men money, something exciting, he offers them a vision. they lead them by their hand into many of these thoughts. not all, but many of them. >> can they be considered entrapment? >> the legal standard for entrapment is high. as long as it can be shape that the defendant planned to commit a crime, that bars an entrapment offense. when ever it's been tried, it's failed in these cases much the legal bar is high and doesn't work in these cases. >> are there consequences from a programme like this?

>> there are huge consequences. the biggest is law enforcement and american muslim communities. if you talk to the fbi, the biggest resource in combatting terrorism is the muslim community. they know what is going on. if their suspicions are aroused they should come to us. a programme like this undermines the trust. it makes it difficult for them to come forward and embrace law enforcement in this way. >> we are learning more as a result of an al jazeera investigation. are there other mods and programs we don't know about? >> well, we don't know about. >> or other methods used that can be considered controversial as well. >> i think what the fbi, the biggest problem has been since 9/11, the rules that govern the fbi have been loosened. back in the 19 '70s, when the federal bureau of investigation was spying under hoover on anti-war activists and civil

rights leaders, they came up with a set of rules to prevent the fbi going off for dissidents in the future, and after 9/11 the rules were completely relaxed. now the fbi has very broad authority to conduct these kinds of investigations, and that is really sort of contributed to this kind of tactic. >> were you hearing a rehabilitation from the federal government or is mum the word? >> i don't think yet. i mean, the issue definitely has been, you know, something that people have been talking about, and certainly the documentary shows very vividly what the issues , and by bringing the new testimony and coverage into the news it will be interesting to see what the federal government says now. >> the documenty airing here on al jazeera. good to see you. when we come back, an update on the top story, a bitter conversation between hamas and israel in gaza. in another setback,

afghanistan's attempt to name a new president. you're watching al jazeera america.

welcome back to al jazeera america. the u.s. security council is set to hold an emergency meeting an gaza. the hamas wing said they have captured an israeli army. they are looking into the claim. the israeli army confirmed 13 of its soldiers were killed in fighting overnight. 16 palestinians have been killed. in all, more than 440 people in gaza have been killed in what is 13 days of israeli attacks. united nations set up 44 shelters in gaza to help the thousands of displaced residents. relief workers are having difficulty keeping up with the growing humanitarian crisis. >> our teams are stretched.

we are getting a run out of school buildings. a lot of schools are in areas we no longer consider secure. we are in contact with. >> crc and unny self and others to use government schools. we have run out of mattresses and hygiene kits. we are trying to bring stuff in. we are looking at airlasting in and borrowing from stocks in jordan. today and tomorrow will be difficult. the u.n. says there's more than 50,000 displaced palestinians staying in their shelters. while the crisis unfolds other areas are dealing with conflict. kurdistan in northern iraq have been independent. they want full autonomy. the decision is up to regional leaders. not everywhere is convinced a kurdish state is a good idea. >> these days could be the last for iraq to remain united.

the kurdish region in northern iraq is referring to a referendum on self-determination. >> we have suffered a lot as kurds. >> after kurdish parliament, arrangements and technicalities are being worked out. >> we'll hold the referendum in the dispute areas that have come upped our control, and the second stage we'll decide the future either as an independent nation or part of federal iraq. the kurdish region enjoyed outony since 1991, remaining stable and prosperous in 2003. that stability brought billions of dollars investment. the discovery of large oil reservesers start of oil production has revived kurdish operations. kurds made territorial gains in june when iraqi army troops

collapsed after fighters from islamic state and sunni rep else in a number of cities or towns. kurdish forces moved in to control all the areas that it had disputes with. they controlled the oil city of kirkuk, including oil fields. >> the kurdish region exports between 100,000 and 150,000 barrels of oil every day. it hopes to reach half a million a day by the end of 2014, with plans to increase production further. and that kurdish officials say would sustain the viability of their much awaited state. >> reporter: this man heads the natural resources committee in the kurdish parliament, saying the region is rich. >> we have 5% of the world's oil reserves, we have many resources. we are confident we have different resources to pay for

our needs. the kurdish government has problems, it remains dependent on the federal government in baghdad for its government. it lacks the necessary infrastructure for increasing the oil production capacity. the enclaves economic viabilitiy relies on surrounding country opposed to the creation of a kurdish state. the decision to declare kurdish state my lie in the hands of kurdish leaders, but the survival depends on regional and international powers. >> final results in indonesia's presidential election are expected to be announced on tuesday. both candidates claimed victory. police are preparing for violence after the results were announced. >> there is potential for chaos, we need to anticipate it. such as between supporters, and actions that can disturb the accounting process and

announcement. the condition is peaceful. after the announcement the losing side is expected to file a challenge, which has final say over the results. nine judges would give their final decision within 14 days. 40 years ago today turkish forces invaded cyprus. a united nations green hin divides the cap -- green line guides the cal tall. simon mcgregor-wood -- capital. simon mcgregor-wood and paul beban covered the anverse industry from south and north of the border. siren sirp ever -- siren sirp. >> reporter: every year the sirp sound, 5:30. graep sipry ots marking the -- greek cypriots marking the moment the invasion began, they mourned those killed. white crosses for those that

fell. and are missing. later at this church the service of remembrance was led by the cyprus archbishop. >> translation: i feel like the invasion happened today. a huge country invaded cyprus, occupying 40%. no one cared, not the united nations orle european union. -- or the european union. >> reporter: for greek cypriots it's a day of loss and mourning. they are matched by a sense of frustration and anger that the politicians seem unable or unwilling to solve the cyprus problem. for the latest op how it's celebrated on the turkish side i hand to paul beban in the north. >> reporter: for turkish sipry ots memories of july 1994 are different to those south. the soldiers on the beach came not for invasion, but val

vasion. turkey sent its troops to defend turkish speaking cypriots targeted and killed by militia. the debt of gratitude was readily apparent from the crowd. the turkish president told them the result of the invasion had been 40 years of peace on the island. but he admitted the status quo cannot go on forever, and we will not allow it to go on forever. many turkish sipry ots share the same frustration and question whether the soldiers are needed here. there is the real common ground between greek and turkish cypriots. negotiations are ongoing. both sides met this week, and the leaders are scheduled to meet next week. a sustainable deal cannot be parachuted in. it takes willingness to compromise, and there's scant evidence of that at the moment.

election officials in afghanistan suspended the audit of votes for the country's presidential run off. they say the suspension is due to a misunderstanding and didn't elaborate further. the recount was part of a deal struck by secretary of state john kerry, both candidates, ashraf ghani and abdullah abdullah accuse each other of electoral fraud. abdullah abdullah won the first round but failed to get 50% of the vote to avoid a run off. joining us to discuss the latest is a fellow with the true naun national -- truman national security project. good to have you with us. what do you make of this suspension? >> you know, it's an unfortunate setback. secretary of state john kerry had done an amazing job brokering a deal between both sides to accept the result of the audit and form a unity government. that will be essential to the united states' short and

long-term strategy with afghanistan, predicated on getting the majority of u.s. forces and perm out of the country -- personnel out of the county by the end of the year. it may necessitate another trip to the region by secretary of state john kerry. it could be a hiccupment it will be interesting how both sides play out the develop. if they resort to previously, escalating towards violence, it will be a significant return for the u.s. forces in the region and anyone looking for a peaceful and stable afghanistan in the immediate and long term. let's say it's a minor hiccup, the audit continues, take us through a process. >> if it's a minor audit. what may happen is ashraf ghani may be declared the winner. the projections - even if you allocate a majority of the fraud u leapt votes, ashraf ghani appears to be the victor.

it seems that abdullah abdullah has been willing to accept the consolation prize of a stronger prime minister role within the afghan government. the x factor is how does hamid karzai play this. abdullah abdullah lost to hamid karzai in the previous presidential election. there's a lot of bad blood. it's been no secret that ashraf ghani has been hamid karzai's preferred victor. if abdullah abdullah decides that this hiccup is something that is ultimately going to scuttle the idea of a unity government, we are back to square one, and that is a frightening scenario, a fracturing of the afghan government in the year that we are trying to leave. >> abdullah abdullah's backers threatened to establish a breakaway government. >> yes, that was responded with in no uncertain terms by the united states, that any type of fact, breakaway government, secondary government would result in the immediate withdrawal of support from the

united states - militarily, economically and diplomatically within afghanistan. it's basically if you do that, we're gone. >> hamid karzai set august 2nd as a date for a new president. will we neat that goal? >> you know, part of the deal had both sides essentially saying "look, the inauguration would likely be pos poped." -- postponed." the biggest thing now is to get the audit in place, or if not, if the audit is dead and we are not going to count votes and we'll go to a default unity government, set it up. at this point it would be the exception of the vote results prior to the audit. it will be fascinating to see what both sides do. the afghan people are ultimately the participation ben factors, and they need a stable and peaceful government and a unity

government going forward. they'd face a renewed taliban threat once we pull out the majority of forces. we'll watch closely. you will as well. we appreciate your time. >> thank you for having me. >> health experts hope the nation's h.i.v. aids epidemic may slow. the number of h.i.v. diagnosis has fallen by a third. a new study shows the decline. in 2002, 24 out of 200,000 were diagnosed. it dropped to 16 in 100,000, and this comes as the annual conference in melbourne was opened. the event overshadowed by trag day as some due to taped were killed in malaysia airlines flight mh17. >> reporter: the 20th annual aids conference opened in mourning.

a community stunned by the loss of its colleagues. the world health organisation confirmed the death of their spokesman glenn thomrk arks killed aboard a plane shot out of the sky. >> who lost one of our colleagues. >> thomas was one of many killed. joeplange was also aboard. as many as 100 scientists, researchers and members of the aids community could have been on the flight. the twittos fear lit up with tributes, one saying: >> reporter: president obama paid condolences. >> in this world today we shouldn't forget in the midst of

conflict and killing there are people like these, focussed on what can be but. rather that what can be destroyed. >> with the community devastated the author put in words what so many are thinking. >> i fear the researcher or team that would have discovered the cure of h.i.v. could have been on that flight. experts say challenges remain when it comes to giving treatment to those that need it. >> h.i.v. is a part of our contemporary existence. it's not about judging the behaviours, but stopping the disease. >> we'll explore the future of h.i.v. aids research and treatment in "the week ahead". that's tonight at 8:30 eastern, 5:30 pacific. >> researchers in singaore are working on a novel way to treat burns faster and more effectively. it's a gel made from amino acid called peptides.

mented the peptide form fibres and make scaffolds. >> when applied to burnt skip the structure creates an ideal environment for cells to regenerate. burns heel completely after two weeks, twice as fast as conventional treatments. coming up, looking back to the historic night in 1969 when two americans become the first humans to walk on the moon.

. >> forward. starting second. contact light. okay. engine stopped. the eagle has landed. >> we copy on the ground.

[ laughs ] >>. >> neil armstrong is on the moon. 38-year-old american standing on the surface of the moon. on this july 20th, 1969. >> it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mann kind. what a moment. about half a billion people watched on television 45 years ago as neil armstrong opened the hatch of the "apollo 11," descrpded the ladder and -- descended the ladder and hopped tonne the surface of the moon. buzz aldrin followed 20 minutes later of the they spent about 2.5 hours on the moon, returning to the earth with 50,000 pounds of rocks and soil. offer the course of the next 10 years 10 more followed the lead. the last man walked on the moon

on december 19, 1972. n.a.s.a. is replaying the lapping at the crossroads tonight. details were shared on twitter. you can catch it 10:58 eastern on the big screen in times square. shortly after the programme n.a.s.a. made its next leap. on may 14th, 1973, the u.s. launched skylab. there were three manned sky lab missions. april 12th, 181 saw the beginning -- 1981 saw the space shuttle programme with the lift off of "columbia", it helped to build the space station. despite the loss of two shuttles "the challenger" in 199 of and the "columbia", in 1993. one american and one russian station are joint together. it's at largest manmade object

in space, covering the area of a football field. we fast-forward to october 10th. 2010 was a milestone in commercial aviation. virgin galactic successfully completed an orbital space flight. it was one country whose goal is a viable programme. o-rio will be tested. the first mission it expected in 2021. joining us to discuss the 4th anniversary of the moonwalk is leroy chow, a former n.a.s.a. astronaut. great to have you with us. >> great to be here. >> i watched in the preview monitor. you lit up and had a spil when you saw the moment landing on the moon. >> right. >> take us back to the moment, and the impact it had not only

on the nation, but the world. >> it was a moment i'll never forget. i remember it clear as if it was yesterday. it's hard to believe it was 45 years. i was an 8-year-old kid watching a grainy old tv set, watching the scene unfold in the mission control center, and in amazement and awe as the tense moments listening to the lander, and the eagle landing and hearing neil armstrong announce that they had landed. i remember walter correct me if i'm wrong item throwing -- cronkite throwing his glasses on the table and being speechless. it was a moment the world shared, we forgot boundaries and borders, and the fact that man was on the moon, that two people were up on the surface of another planetary body. everywhere stopped and paused. >> we shared your mission on

1994, the 25th anniversary of the "apollo 11." describe that experience. >> it was fantastic. the "apollo 11" inspired me as only 8-year-old started me dreaming of wanting to become an astronaut. i can't remember a time. watching the moon landing it crystallised and i said i want to be like those guys on the moon. being able to go to university, study engineering and apply to n.a.s.a. actually to get interviewed and selected to be an astronaut and get into orbit. it was a neat coincidence that we happened to fly on the 25th anniversary of the "apollo 11" moonlanding. our space shuttle mission on "columbia", we were on the spacelab for two weeks, it was a unique copies dense for those of us nighing for the first time. we were -- flying for the first time. we had been dreaming about it

since boys. >> looking back to that programme, where are we headed, the future of space exploration? >> it's interesting to look at. the progress since 1969 and 1972, since the last mission to the moon. in some ways we advance quite a bit. in other ways we look at what's happened. if you look at the skylab and space shuttle programme. it is still the most incredible flying machine conceived and contemplated. there's nothing to remember, that can match what the shuttle needs to do. the space struggle was able to launch off the launch pad with a crew of seven astro nouts. it turned into an orbital research platform in the case of the international space station instruction. it landed and was refurbished in around 100 days and able to do it again. we have nothing that can do that

or anything close since then. the good news is we are continuing with the space programme, buts, you know, people in 1972 had no doubt, virtually in our mind by the 1990s, that we'd be on mars. in some ways the space shuttle programme, the iss programme, the most audacious construction programme and very successful, in some ways we advanced the ball and in other ways we are saying gosh, why are we not on mars? >> you bring up is good question. funding for n.a.s.a. declined. how do we get americans to fall in love and get re-engaged with the programme? >> the apollo programme got going because of the cold war. there was a rivalry with the u.s. and soviet union. times have changed. you will not see that any more of the the way forward now is international cooperation.

the fact that we had former cold war enemies, world war ii enemies come together and construct the international space station. that wept together more smoothly than those of us in the business expected. that's a testament to working together and what can be done when you work together it's a pe model to take as we explore the orbit. we, the united states, were developing spacecraft and the infrastructure to do that. along with our european, japanese and canadian partners. it makes sense to engage a country like china to join the partnership. we caught to lead it. we have the experience. china has the motivation, they have the commitment and the demonstrated ability to launch into space launch, launch astronaut into space, only two countries can launch into space, russia and china. in the next few years we'll

hopefully see commercial capabilities, and you mentioned the o-rion people. >> every child's dream as we look up in the sky. thank you so much for joining us and sharing your story with us. >> my pleasure. still ahead - he was the original maverick and an original as jim rock ford, remembering an icon of american television.

it is a season for wildfires in the west and also monsoonal moisture coming up, bringing showers and thunder storms into the four corners. coming up out of nevada and utah, and impacting southern idaho and oregon, both with raging wildfires. some have been able to get on top of. overnight firefighters putting

effort to this. weather is helping them out. in the last 24 hours temperatures have been falling from 10-15 degrees cooler than yesterday. as we look at picture out of garden valley fire, this is north of boysie, this is a national forest. the fears are raging though, creating a lot of smoke. in fact, one of the largest fears we have got is in washington state. that is a picture of some of the smoke you can see from the airport. it's the carleton complex. it overtook 23,000 agers of land. -- acres of lapped. it's 0% contained. we lost 100 homes, there's evacuations in place. there's no power and it's difficult to get a cell phone coverage. this is a dire situation in north central washington. and this is an example of how fast the fire can expand and grow. this is a photo of 1 july, and

two days of wind gusts, up to 50 miles per hour through the mountain gaps, and you see the explosive nature expanding the line of the fire. we are expecting to see conditions on the cooler side today with lighter wind. we are not going to get significant rain in the pacific north-west until we get into wednesday. now, monday, tuesday, further showers and thunder storms popping up. it's any little bit of rain helping the situation when it comes to firefighting. air quality - the rain would help that. it is down to moderate or unhealthy for sensitive groups. >> fire grows could use the help. thank you. >> hollywood legend james garner died of natural causes on sea fight. he was known for his role on the series "the maverick" and "the rockford files." over the last 14 years he had roles in "the notebook", and

"eight simple rules." james garner was 86 years owl. that will do it for this hour. i'm thomas drayton consider in new york. "america tonight" weekend is coming up next. for news updates from around the world, we invite you to go to aljazeera.com. >> you know people are just dropping like flies. all those people that live closest to the plant, they went one after the other. >> we are paying with our lives. >> whenever you have lots of men and lots of money you are going to find prostitution and trafficking. >> you can't produce the most toxic thing on earth and also, protect the public. >> "america tonight" investigates. dirty power in america.