live from al jazeera headquarters in doha, coming up in the program, the destruction in gaza becomes clear as a 12-hour cease-fire takes effect. a top level meeting is take place in paris about the fighting. as ukraine pushes towards terrorist territory in donetsk, they're accused of putting civilians in the firing line.

>> i think it would be wise for the ukrainian government to immediately use these kinds of rockets in populated areas. the scramble for food after months of fighting in the central african republic. we begin in gaza where a temporary truce between hamas and israel appears to be holding. it came into effect over five hours ago and due to last another seven. it's being described as a humanitarian pause after 19 days of violence. at least 900 palestinians have been killed. in the hours leads up to the cease-fire, though, there was increased military activity on both sides. one israeli air strike killed more than a dozen members of the same family and there were reports of increased rocket fire from gaza towards israel. since then the truce has given

people a chance to go to the banks and shops, many hoping a longer cease-fire might be agreed to. >> translator: we're looking for a long cease-fire, not just 12 hours. 12 hours isn't enough. we hope the cease-fire will continue and not going back to the killing and destruction and god willing we'll have a better situation. sg sgoo. >> for others there's a chance to see what's left in neighborhoods. this is the scene from heavy israeli shelling last weekend. some used the opportunity to retrieve what they could. look at the shots now. a completely different view of gaza from what we were seeing just over five hours ago. the streets are full of cars and people are trying to make their way to shops and businesses and banks and even to houses to see if they can retrieve belongings. supplies are still short in

gaza. food, water, fuel, all of those kinds of things in short supply, so many gazians are trying to stock up before the cease-fire comes to an end.ans are trying stock up before the cease-fire comes to an end. israel continues to destroy tunnels and try to find rocket-launching sites to prevent hamas from launching rockets into israel. both sides at the moment respecting that cease-fire, which came into force at 8:00 local time this morning, and it's due to finish at 8:00 local time tonight. let's get more from nicole johnston, who is in gaza. >> reporter: we're on a side street in the central area of the neighborhood that's one of the largest areas in gaza city.

this eastern district was heavily attacked over a two, three-day period killing more than 60 people. now they come back and see what happens to their homes and whether they've been completely destroyed and damaged. people are coming in and it's chaotic and they're trying to get whatever possessions they can including cars out of the area. they're getting clothing and mattresses. they can't go back to homes for good because the cease-fire is temporary. it's only 12 hours at this stage. people don't know when the fighting will resume, so far the moment all they can do is grab what they can get. we are hearing in the far eastern part of the neighborhood that there has been israeli artillery fire above people's heads, a warning to them that

they need to stay away from that area. most people are concentrating themselves in the central part of the neighborhood. >> nicole is actually live for us now in the gaza strip, so let's cross to her live now. we were looking at your description of the kind of rubble and destruction around you. people must be desperately trying to make use of this small window of calm they've got before the bombing stops again. >> reporter: yes, that's right. we're deeper inside the neighborhood. we only moved about 1 kilometer from where we were earlier this morning. i'm going to move out of the shot so you can see what to us looks like the worst part that we've seen so far. really there are no words to describe the devastation here. an entire neighborhood has been

leveled. our camera man is going to slowly pan around so you can just take stock of that for a moment. >> it's incredible damage, nicole. how are people finding anything amongst all that? >> reporter: here, they're not really finding anything. here people we've seen walking out empty-handed because everything is buried under rubble. there's really nothing left to retrieve. people are coming here to look just to see what's happened in their old neighborhoods. there's nothing left for them to get out of here. it hasn't been packed full of people, but there has been sort of a steady stream coming to take photos, to take a look. most of the people here really seem to be in shock. everyone has said that they've never seen this level of devastation in the gaza strip before to this extent. they've had three wars in the

last seven years, but this is on a different scale where towards the eastern end of the neighborhood and this is the area that was hardest-hit by those two days of israeli tank shelling. there's nothing left. obviously, there's a very heavy smell of death here. if emergency crews are coming in, they're still taking bodies out of the area. we've heard that more than 30 have been taken out of the neighborhood, and this is repeated all over the gaza strip in the north that we've reported about for the last couple of days east of the central part of gaza. the reports are so far today more than 70 bodies have been taken out from destroyed areas, removed from the rubble. so it's sort of devastating scenes inside gaza today. >> nicole, what are people saying to you about how desperate they are for this

temporary truce to become a permanent cease-fire? >> reporter: they desperately want a cease-fire. they've had enough of this war. in the first couple of weeks, there was sort of more of a -- not an appetite for war, but more of a sense of resistance. the people had a lot of support for the palestinian factions who were taking on israel, and they still have support for that. you know, they're tired and exhausted. they don't know where to go to be safe. they've seen some destruction from one end of gaza to the other. they've heard about their friends be killed, their neighbors being killed. having said all of that, many don't want to return to the status quo, a situation whereby gaza is completely besieged, completely depressed situation economically. so while they want a cease-fire and end to the fighting, they want to get something out of it. hundreds of people have lost their lives, also thousands of

people have lost their homes. more than 140,000 people are in united nations shelters and palestinians don't want that to be for nothing. they want to see a change to their circumstances here, and that's why they're insist he nots to have an easing of the siege and an opening of the crossing into egypt. they say that the cease-fires have happened before, agreements have happened before, and they say every time it happens, after a few weeks israel reneges on that and the insurgency starts got and people get shot in the buffer zone and fishermen get attacked, and they want an end to that. >> nicole, thanks for that. nicole johnston reporting live from gaza there. that temporary truce came after marathon discussions in cairo. israel earlier rejected plans for a longer cease-fire with the u.s. secretary of state john kerry citing differences on terminolo terminology.

we have more from occupied east jerusalem. >> reporter: when john kerry addressed reporters to explain why his seven-day cease-fire plan could not be agreed, he was asked whether the israeli government had voted against a proposal. this was his response. >> there was no formal proposal or proposal raised to say that it's absolutely clear. that is an error, inaccurate. >> reporter: john kerry says he made no formal proposal, but al jazeera's obtained this one-page text which looks like a carefully drafted plan, which we are told was agreed with other key players. it's called "framework for sustainable cease-fire in gaza." hamas has always said any deal must involve a lifting of the siege of gaza.

the document goes some way to address this. there will be discussion on key issues. the opening of border posts and economic livelihood of people in gaza, fishing rights up to 12 nautical miles off the coast, and the transfer of funds so government employees can be paid. the documents suggest the israeli military were required to pull out their forces during the seven-day long cease-fire. this is likely an issue that was a deal breaker for the military cabinet. they're known to want more time to destroy hamas' network and rocket launchers. diplomatic efforts aimed at a long-term cease-fire shifted to france. a number of foreign ministers including the u.s. secretary of state are meeting in paris. eva hayward is there. what can we expect from john kerry? >> reporter: well, he's leading those talks, which got underway

a short time ago here in paris. surely the main players have arrived. egypt is not here, but the french, the germans and qatar are all in paris. perhaps paris is a neutral location, and that's why they wanted to hold the talks here. of course, we know that the u.s. secretary of state and those other players seen as having influence on hamas, on israel want to try to build on this truce that's taking place in gaza right now. they want to implement a longer stees fire to bring to an end the violence we've seen over the last few weeks. we've seen big demonstrations against the israeli operation against gaza. are there more planned today? >> reporter: yes, there's supposed to be a large scale demonstration, but it was banned by the authorities.

we are thinking that some people might try to go ahead and hold that demonstration anyway. the police call this day a high-risk day. there have been, as you say, lots of demonstrations here in france, more than 80 so far. one of them a week ago last sunday rather turned violent, and police -- there's a heavy police presence in paris where the demonstration is due to take place because they don't want to see a recurrence of the violence we saw here last sunday. >> thanks for that. emma hayward speaking to us from paris there. what each side wants from a cease-fire is a complex picture, but the main demands with clear. israel says at the present times to stop rockets being fired from gaza. in the 19 days of this conflict, the army says more than 2,300 rockets have been fired at the territory. hamas says there will only be peace for israel if it ends its blockade of gaza.

that blockade has been in place for the last seven years. gaza is surrounded by a wire fence. it's a no-go zone along the border. most of the border crossings are shut. the area crossing is controlled by israel and restricted to international workers and a limited number of palestinians. to the south movement through the rafa crossing is limited and tieltly controlled by egypt. they control the air space, and out to sea there's a naval blockade in place, too. gaza fishermen can't go further than three nautical miles from the coast. >> there is an american saying, fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me. so we have many experiences with israelis and americans. we have no guarantee from them

that if we will stop our resistance they will raise a blockade in gaza. so we want guarantees from americans, from other parties that they will raise a blockade on gaza, and this is the right of palestinians. we are human beings. >> israel accepted already a week ago an egyptian proposal for an unconditional cease-fire. this egyptian proposal was supported by the arab league, by the united nations, by many, many others. hamas said no, and hamas continues unfortunately up until now to say no. the leader of hamas said yesterday in qatar, he put so many preconditions on a cease-fire to make a cease-fire impossible. so if the conflict continues, if the bloodshed continues, it's because hamas has said no and has closed the door on a

diplomatic solution. >> well, david ward is a british mp with the liberal democrat party and he was recently involved in controversy over a tweet he posted saying, the big question is, if i lived in gaza, would i fire a rocket? probably, yes. i spoke to david a short time ago and asked him for his response to israel's position that it does have the right to defend itself. >> i seem to recall that the state of israel was founded by many terrorists who, of course, terrorized the british peacekeeping force. how does that move us forward by calling people terrorists and saying that we cannot possibly deal with these people? how would that resolve the issues in northern ireland? how can we move forward? we need to have a fresh and different approach.

>> should people like yourself and ordinary people of the public, should they put more pressure on governments over their support of israel? >> absolutely, absolutely. we are to blame for those rockets being fired. by "we," the we in the west. every one of us. we have not done enough to support the palestinians. then the resort to violence follows because they feel abandoned. they feel that no one's actually speaking for them. no one in the west, not europe, not in the u.s., certainly not in britain. it's just all passive and banal platitudes that come out from the politicians. >> the israeli operation in gaza has many protesting across the occupied west bank. this was the scene in bethlehem late on friday. nine palestinians including a 16-year-old boy were killed in

clashes with israeli security forces. you can stay up to date on the situation in gaza around the clock by going to our website. there's a live blog with breaking news, video, analysis, updates from our course dentses on the ground. that's aljazeera.com. the malaysian prime minister will visit the netherlands next week to discuss how to secure full access to the malaysian airlines crash site in in ukraine. fighting between the ukrainian army and separatist rebels has prevented a proper investigation. the plane carrying 298 passengers and crew was shot down last week killing everyone on board. the united nations refugee

agency says fighting in eastern ukraine has forced a quarter of a million people from their homes, and the number of civilian deaths continues to rise. human rights activists call on both sides to stop using rockets in populated areas. natalie reports from donetsk. >> reporter: in donetsk the shelling continues. the smoke is rising close to apartment blocks built in the soviet era. many of them are empty. emergency workers here estimate more than half of the city's population has gone. that's almost 600,000 people. this is why they're leaving. a shell landed next to the school. it was emptied because of the holidays. like many here, it's caretaker says she can't understands why ukraine is at war. >> translator: we're really in shock. ukrainians and russians lived and worked together peacefully. we didn't even think about our

nationalities. now we're just thinking about how to survive. >> reporter: more civilians are dying in this conflict than soldiers. hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured. now human rights watch is accusing ukrainian forces of firing ground rockets on people's homes. the elderly couple that live here were watching television when the rocket hit their apartment. i can show you how luck it were to survive. you can see the gaping hole in their rooftop. both sides are denying using grad rockets on populated areas. they're renowned for being inaccurate. that's because the rockets are unguided and are often fired from multi-barrel launchers covering a wide area. ukraine insists it's not using grounds missile systems around donetsk. >> translator: the grads that our military possesses haven't arrived there yet and aren't in range of the area mentioned in the report. as of now, our units with light

artillery are blocking the exits from donetsk, but it's the terrorists that have been shelling donetsk to show the ukrainian forces in a bad light. >> reporter: earlier in july, al jazeera filmed ukrainian grad rocket launchers on the road to donetsk. human rights watch says kiev must now take responsibility. >> instead of denying this, i think it would be wise for the ukrainian government to commit to immediately stop using these kinds of rockets in populated areas. they are indiscriminate, and the moment you use them in these areas, they will kill and injure civilians. >> ukrainians forces are pushing further into donetsk, and separatist pro-russian fighters are preparing to defend this city whatever the costs. al jazeera, donetsk, eastern ukraine. at least 50 syrian soldiers have been killed by islamic state group fighters in the

province. most of the soldiers were beheaded after being captured alive according to activists. 28 islamic state fighters have died since they launched an offensive in northern syria on thursday. u.n. human rights investigators say an increasing number of syrian opposition fighters appear to be joining the islamic state group. the u.n. says fighters may be added to a list of war crime suspects in syria. as the islamic state gains influence in syria, the fighters are firmly in control of mosul. the group has killed miernlts and killed shrines and churches in the city. despite this, some residents are supporting the movement. we report on life in iraq's second largest city. >> reporter: since june fighters belonging to the islamic state are ruled mosul. the black banners are raised over the bases across the city. at this gathering in the city

center, there is some support. this video is set to show government employees waiting to get their salaries. some of the fighters talk to people here. no, it's not like that you would hear the declarations he says. but the group has imposed its own rules, and it has issued a set of teachings that call on women to cover up and men to pray while smoking has been banned. fighters destroyed a number of statu statues. they also ordered shop owners what to sell. >> translator: members of the group told us to stop selling indecent women clothes that violate the teachings of islam. >> reporter: in this marketplace life seems normal, but many people are concerned, too scared perhaps to talk. there are others who praise the new reality.

>> translator: the conditions now are 100 times better than before. it's very good, and there is security. >> reporter: but for minorities, conditions are tough. christians were ordered to leave their homes marked in red and confiscated. most muslims have left the city and sunnis are also being persecuted. mosul is only 30 minutes drive from here. it's very dangerous for us to go in. there are people in mosul who say they prefer to live in dignity under strict teachings over marginalization and being ruled by the sectarian government. he says he romaines the governor of the province, which includes mosul. he blames the government in baghdad for what's happened. >> translator: the policies and bad practices of the army led people to desire salvation, even if they dealt with the devil. these new conditions will go

away when the mistakes and bad practices by the islamic state start to appear. >> reporter: mosul is iraq's second largest city. islamic state fighters launched their assault against government forces to capture it. now they are preparing for a tough fight to keep it. al jazeera out outskirts of mosul. a massive dust storm has caused chaos in the u.s. state of arizona. visibility was dramatically reduced. some flights into phoenix had to be canceled. let's get more on the weather now with richard just sticking with america. wildfires in california? >> that's right. you have the dry, dusty conditions. they're used to those sort of scenes in arizona, but the drought is also having an impact upon northern parts of california, too. seeing lots of problems for the south, but these shots come from near sacramento, plymouth to be precise, where we've got a

wildfire. it's about 120 hectares. it's going to remain dry. let's stick with the subject the to drought into the tropics, which may be somewhat of a surprise. in colombia they have real drought issues at the moment. you have to look at the climate books to try and work out why, really. you imagine somewhere like columbia is a very, very country indeed. bogota by no means is the wettest part of the country. you have large rainfall totals right through the year, but once you get on the caribbean coastline, it's a very different picture. here we see rainfall totals considerably less. rainfall in this area is probably less than london in the uk. they've had real problems in terms of the drought. the government is trying to help people with water. we had 50,000 animals die, and

it looks like the drought could be ongoing for quite some time. >> thanks for that. the world health organization says residents of india's capital city risk cancer, heart disease and strokes just by breathing. the w.h.o. says new delhi has the world's most polluted air quality. the indian government denies the new findings. we have the report. >> reporter: growing fresh air. that's what this business in new delhi is trying to do. these plants purify the air that's pumped through the complex. it's an innovative solution that the building's owner swears by. >> for the users and want occupants, there are direct health benefits and for the people running the building, it's actually bottom line inspect reducing the amount of money. >> reporter: the world health organization says new delhi's air is full of highly toxic particles. the agency warns that millions of people are at risk of

developing cancer, heart disease or suffering a stroke. >> the w.h.o. is periodically releases data, and over the years when we see no improvement, we see an increased number of deaths attributable to that pollution. >> reporter: to monitor how polluted the air is, the government set up stations like this one across the city. realtime data generated by these machines 24 hours a day is used to predict trends and forecasts air quality. the doctor has been analyzing this information for years. he says the world health organization has got it wrong. >> obviously, something is missing inside with that. for that i feel that i'm not getting the fact that the air quality is good. the air quality is bad, and it is poor. it should be not be exaggerated

as it has been done. >> reporter: the government-run system of air quality forecasting and research center says the world health organization has massively overestimated how dirty the air in new delhi is. despite this row over the figures, the government has tried various things to tackle the problem. over the years it's taken thousands of public buses to run on natural gas and set up air filtration systems. but they say it will much more than that to make it safe. to clear the air, several measures needed from the regulation of fuel consumption to better city planning. but until results are visible, it's green buildings like this that provide a much needed reprieve from the fortunate few. you're watching the news hour here on al jazeera. we'll have more from gaza in

just a moment, and later, a cult in mexico that's got the catholic church worried. >> before you go out and kill someone? >> translator: yes, of course. >> why millions of mexicans are reaching to the controversial saint for faith. and in finances there's a repeat and the victory at the tour defour.

welcome back. the top stories. emergency crews in gaza say dozens of bodies have been recovered from the rubble of ruined homes and buildings during a 12-hour cease-fire? over 900 people have died in 19d days of israel's military offensive. u.s. secretary of state john kerry and several foreign ministers are in paris trying to secure a lasting cease-fire. let's speak to palestinian activist imad mo ussa in london. thank you for joins us. i know you have family in gaza. have you managed to speak to them? are they okay? >> hi. thank you for having me. actually, yes, the phone lines are still on, and i managed to speak to them on several occasions. the problem is it's they're not

home most of the time because fearing the israeli bombing. so it's kind of difficult to get ahold of them. but the phone lines are still working. >> you must be very worried about where exactly people can go. that's one of the most common things we've heard from people in gaza is when they're given a warning to get out of their building, very few of them know exactly where do they go. >> absolutely. this is all over the news, that the israeli army gives people warning to leave the homes, and they accuse hamas from launching rockets from the civilian population. the question is, does the world know that gaza has no open air areas? those open air areas are around the israeli border, and this is a buffer zone. anybody who steps foot in that area, the israelis often fire at

them. when you talk about people leaving the homes, that means running out with their lives and leaving all the memories, all their lives behind and being bombed by israel. >> imad, i'm sure you're aware the foreign ministers including john kerry and represents from qatar and turkey are in france right now to discuss a cease-fire. do you think there can be a breakthrough? >> i'm hoping, for the sake of saving blood, saving human life. what's happening now is palestinians generally don't trust israel and that's the lesson for that. the problem is we need a fair and just mediator to take these issues before starting and tackling a cease-fire, we need to understand and need to know what's going to happen after that is lifting the siege and opening the borders and giving people a decent life. not a luxurious life like

israelis have. we're talking about the basic human rights that people of gaza could have. i'm speaking like basic products, basic commodities coming into gaza, freedom of movement, which is completely banned for palestinians for eight years now. >> can i ask you this. hamas has rejected cease-fire plans until the blockade on gaza is lifted and makes that a condition. as you have family inside gaza, do you think that is the right position for them to take? >> i've been speaking with people in gaza, despites the deaths and all the destruction in there. people i believe are 100% behind the resistance, and when you say hamas, let's not mix things up. with fighting on the ground our people from all factions and those are the father, the son and the children of the palestinian people.

they're not from us. whenever they ask for fair conditions, if you read all the initiatives and conditions, they're fair and square. what's happening now is that can we trust israel? can we trust a fair mediator to once the cease-fire has taken place, can we guarantee that israel will not break it like they did in 2012, 2008, 2009, 2001, and 1996 and 1999 and the list goes on and on. we need a real strong guaranteer to do that. for this reason we want the united states to set foot on that and stop taking part in this with israel. we want the european union to take part in that. we want powerful countries to guarantee to the palestinian people who don't have any power or don't have any support in the

political level let alone the public opinion. that's a different story. israel will be committed to that. how can we guarantee if hamas stops or launches a rocket if it will not come back in two years time. i mean, that's to bomb gaza and block this and start the blockade again? we need somebody fair. >> thank you very much, indeed, for that. good to speak with you. thank you for your time. speaking to us live from london there. the leader of hezbollah has said it would be suicidal for israel to continue fighting in gaza. we have the report from beirut on a rare public message of support. >> reporter: on the day dedicated to jerusalem by iran's late supreme leader ayatollah speaks. and he usuallies addresses the

crowd via satellite link because of security reasons, but not this time. he appeared in person to emphasize his message for the people in gaza. >> translator: we and hezbollah are closely watching all the developments on the battlefield and the political arena. from here we say to our brothers in gaza, we are with you, by your side. we have confidence in your defiance and your victory, and we will do all what we see as a duty towards you at all levels. >> reporter: what kind of support can and will hezbollah offer, and can it afford or want to start another war with israel to alleviate the pressure on gaza? some bet no, since hundreds of hezbollah men are already engaged in another conflict fighting alongside syrian president al assad's forces. some lebanese are concerned.

they don't want their country dragged into another war with israel. why would hezbollah fighting to support the palestinian group, hamas, perceived as having betrayed hezbollah and the syrian regime when it allied itself with the syrian opposition, the muslim brotherhood. on this day he was clear when he urged his supporters that all differences should be put aside. when it comes to the fight in palestine and gaza, there can't be second thoughts or doubts. palestine is the main cause, he told them. for years hezbollah played a crucial role in developing hamas and jihad capabilities. israel blames rez hezbollah, syria and iran for the groups not only with the relatively long-range missiles but with the military expertise and tips on

how to fight israel so efficiently despite its might. >> translator: we and hezbollah believe we're true partners with the palestinian resistance, brothers in struggle, pain and hope. we share the same faith. >> reporter: for nouz hezbollah is only watching. al jazeera, beirut. libya's government is warning of a possible breakup of the country if rival militias don't stop fighting. 47 people have been killed since july 13th in battles around tripoli airport. the government is urging militias to negotiate a settlement. air accidents and criminal investigators have reached the remote site of the plane crash in mali. all 118 on board were killed including several families from france. french official say it came down during a severe storm, but

they're not ruling out terrorism. it was operated by the spanish carrier swift air. aid agencies are warning of a severe famine in south sudan. food stocks are running low in northern regions of the country. over a million people are internally displaced since the country's civil war. in central african republic aid workers are struggled to help thousands caught up in the fighting. we report from the capital. >> reporter: a truck carrying food finally arrives in this part of banke. here's the sound of desperation, ang anger, and frustration. these people say they haven't eaten in days. months of sectarian violence in the central african republic have turned christians against muslims and muslims against christians. most people here are muslims afraid to leave the area in case

they are attacked. >> translator: i'm asking for help. i hope i will eat. if not, i will go hungry. it's always like this. >> at the hospital a woman recovers from gunshot wounds, but even here she's terrified his attackers will find her. we know she's from a village, and she's a christian. >> translator: they attacked the village and said they were going to kill all the men, even the boys. people ran into the fields to hide. i don't know if my husband orsons are -- or sons are alive. >> many parts of the country are hard to reach and still volatile. we're about 400 meters from the capital. the road is not good or safe, and sometimes the villages attacked are so hard to reach. aid workers say they have no idea how many people could still be out there who need help. medical staff have operated on 2,000 patients since january and treat both christians and

muslims. >> when they come here they stay long-term in the hospital with many complications. most of them -- sometimes we are doing operations because there is no other choice. >> reporter: many people that fled the capital haven't returned. french peacekeepers tried to keep rival groups apart, but that's not always easy. some people feel the government is interfering and making things worse. the u.s. president asked central american leaders to help stem the flow of migrants illegally trying to reach the united states. every week thousands of young central americans are crossing through mexico. we have the report. >> reporter: a small protest outside of the white house in support of immigration reform as u.s. president barack obama met inside with the leaders of el salvador, honduras and guatemala. the majority of these 60,000 children who will cross the

border without their parents this year are from there. they're children like this child from guatemala who made the dangerous journey when she was just 11 years old only to be caught at the border. >> i was really scared to be deported, because as a kid you don't know what that is like. you don't know how that works. i was scared that i would be there forever. i was scared that, you know, i wouldn't reach my goal to be with my parents. >> reporter: she now qualifies to stay in the country, but the obama administration has been insistent, most of the recent arrivals will be deported. in reality studies show it's likely more than half will be granted asylum. to try to stop that, the president is asking congress to spend almost $4 billion, most of it on enforcement. 300 million would go to the central american country. >> we all recognize we have to do more to address the root causes of the problem, and that includes poverty and violence in

central america. >> reporter: just this year his administration dramatically cut back u.s. aid to the three countries, in two cases by almost a third. the one idea the obama administration is floating is building immigration centers inside of these three countries so children can apply for refugee status for asylum without making the journey, but that would be very controversial on both sides. they're pointedly not saying how many children would be allowed into the united states. they know whatever the number, there will be loud and passionate protests demanding the kids are kicked out. it's already happening. along with protests, demanding they get to stay. it's a growing problem without an easy answer, and for now the president and congress are no closer to finding one. patty cole han, al jazeera, washington. thousands have demonstrated in the chilean capital in support of abortion rights.

there's a complete ban on abortions ncts socially conservative country, but pressure is mounting on the government to amend laws to make it legal. a judge in the dutch caribbean island of aruba has refused to release the former head of venezuelan military intelligence. he was arrested on a warrant issued by the united states. venezuela says his detention is illegal calling it a kidnapping. the u.s. wants to extradite him for drug charges. the bolivian president has relaunched a rally in la paz. thousands of supporters have banners and flags to show their support. morales is the south american nation's first indigenous president. argentina's talks with creditors to resolve a $1.5 billion debt remain deadlocked. the deal can't be reached before jum july 30th, they will

default. argentinian officials want more negotiations before the deadline. roman catholism is the center of religion in mexico. the st. of death is the fastest growing in the country. many call for her protection. many call it a satanic cult. we went to mexico city to meet the followers of the controversial saint. >> reporter: death has attracted this mass of followers in mexico city. they've come to pray at the altar in one of the most violent neighborhoods to ask for her protection and favors. believers say they're drawn to the saint because she doesn't judge them, rich or poor, good or bad, all are equal in death's eyes. in recent years authorities and the catholic church have linked

followers of the white girl as she's known to the violence raging across mexico. we went into the market where anything is for sale, even a hired gun. we met a believer. like many followers, he has her likeness etched on his skin. do you do this before you go out and kill someone? >> translator: yes, of course. if i go out and do a job, i pray to her before i leave. i light a candle so she lum natures a path for me. that way i feel protected and she's taking care of me. >> reporter: the catholic church has begun it's own war and called in experts of the vatican to teach the old practice of exorcism. we came to this church to meet a priest performing many more exorcisms than in the past because of the rise in the number of of followers, there's also an increase in the number of people possessed by the devil.

>> reporter: in 2012 the father performed an exorcism on an imprisoned cartel hitman. he killed dozens of people and cut up their bodies to dispose of them. >> translator: he was totally possessed by the devil. it's a sophisticated form of exorcism. >> reporter: for related exorcisms says he has left her behind. >> translator: when the father finished, i was crying and felt tired. i didn't understand why i was crying. i hardly ever cried before. >> reporter: some exorcisms lead to people vomiting or screaming out in pain. mental health experts says it points to people's psychological and not spiritual problems. on the edge of mexico city is the largest monument. it's here where they preach every sunday. >> translator: but we don't pray to the devil and pray to the angel of death and we ask for a

better world and an illuminated night. >> reporter: she's now become a mexican icon who inspires faith and fear. adam raney, al jazeera, mexico city. coming up we'll have all the day's sports including -- >> all right, mate. >> all right mate. >> all right mate. >> we'll hear how new york soccer players have been preparing to welcome some english visitors after the break. break.

welcome back. time for sports and here's farrah. >> thank you so much. hamilton is looking good ahead of qualifying for the hungarian grand prix. he was quickest in the final practice session. rosburg was second quickest, and he leads the title race by 14 points. hamilton has been fastest in all three practice sessions and will now be looking to banish memories of last week's race in germany where he suffered a huge crash in qualifying. italy's van chess co-is on the home straight to victory in the tour de france. he has a huge lead going into saturday. friday's stage saw the weather having an impact. this crash ended the sprint finish. he takes a lead of more than 7 minutes into saturday's time trials. he said rejoining chelsea

was an easy decision he couldn't turn down the chance to work with him again. he's returning to the club where he won ten trophies, including three league titles in the champions league. now 36 he has scored 157 goals for chelsea. they will be competing in the europa league for the first time. they were in thailand. >> the expectations are very clear. it's to carry on doing the exactly same thing with the big demands of playing european football. they embrace the challenge of the europa league and we look forward to the preseen. >> they hope the new barcelona teammates luis suarez will be back in action sooner than expected. they say suarez four-month ban could be reduced.

barcelona are heading to a preseason training camp in england. under the terms of his punishment he can't train with his new team until the ban ends in late october. >> translator: this is a very good reinforcement because of the quality he has. for the other issues, that's in the hands of the club, and they're dealing with fifa. we hope that everything will be okay soon and the sanction that is kind of tough can be reduced. they have launched an attack on his country's football team despite reaching the final in brazil, the man who led argentina to world cup success in 1986 says the team underperformed. >> translator: with me they played very well, and we didn't see that in the past world cup. this is the life. i sacrificed myself for the team. i have to stand next to the

corner flag and stay there. come on. they think we're stupid. they went through the super rugby final. the new zealand team were far too strong. they scored four tries in the second half and moved in one victory in the eighth title in the southern hemisphere's premiere club competition. 38-6 is the final in christ church. south africa's captain is leading by example in sri lanka. he's scored and the rest of his team has struggled. service south africa is in 275-8 in reply to sri lanka. india takes a 11-0 series lead against the third test against england. that was the first away victory in 16 matches. it was a result that put more pressure on england.

>> that one's right behind him and everyone knows what a great player he is for england and everyone is determined to see him get back to his best. i think this is a great quality that he has that he's shown throughout his national career. that determination and weakness of things and find a way. >> barcelona is one of the a dozen european teams touring the u.s. during a preseason as more and more american fans take a interest in soccer. this is arsenal's first trip to the u.s. and the new york phillipos and he's making a special effort to welcome visitors and listen to the red bulls players in this video being made for their english guests. >> all right, mate. >> all right, mate. >> all right, mate. >> all right, mate. >> all right, mate. >> are you having a laugh? >> are you having a laugh? >> nice. there's much more sport on our website. for the latest check out

aljazeera.com/sports, and there's details how to get in touch with our team on twitter and facebook. that's all the sport for now. >> is it all right, mate, having a laugh? >> that's thanks for that. let's remind you of the top story in this news hour, the situation, of course, in gaza. a 12-hour cease-fire revealed the scale of the destruction in some neighborhoods. these pictures have come into us in the last hour. this is east of gaza city where homes and buildings have been totally destroyed. emergency crews say dozens of bodieses have been recovered frommed rubble he and elsewheren gaza. u.s. secretary of state john kerry and several foreign ministers are in paris trying to secure a lasting cease-fire. more news is coming up on al jazeera. for me and rest of the team, for now bye-bye.

>> al jazeera america presents >> what did i do? please take this curse off of me. >> 15 stories one incredible journey edge of eighteen coming september only on al jazeera america six hours into the temporary truce, israel and gaza have forced military action to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged territory. inside the rubble and the ruin, 19 days of israeli bombardment have left buildings destroyed and 900 lives lost. and diplomatic activity has now moved to paris in an effort to secure a more lasting cease-fire. welcome to al jazeera live from doha. also coming up on the program, pushing into donetsk, ukraian