available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now welcome to the news hour live from al jazeera's headquarters in doha. coming up in the program, total destruction in gaza. the devastation becomes clear with the 12-hour cease-fire in effect. more than 900 palestinians have been killed. foreign ministers meeting in paris are calling for the cease-fire to be extended as they search for a lasting end to the fighting. also ahead, as ukraine's army pushes towards separatist

tear to her no donetsk, they're accused of putting civilians in the firing line. >> i think it would be wise for the ukrainian government to immediately stop using these kinds of rockets in populated areas. and the scramble for food after months of conflicts in the central african republic. emergency crews say they recovered dozens of bodies from the rubble, and people have been picking through the wreckage trying to salvage belongings and seeing what's left of their homes. at least 985 palestinians have died since israel's military offensive began. nearly 6,000 have been injured

according to gaza's health ministry. one of the worst-hit areas was the north in the gaza strip. stephanie dekker is there. >> reporter: a 12-hour cease-fire that is negotiated means little or fog to those that have lost everything. we're in beit hanoun and they're just actually pulling a body out of the rubble. that is the sound of absolute grief as they're pulling people out of the houses here. we're being told that just before this cease-fire took place, israeli war planes hit this area many beit hanoun extremely hard. there's areas of complete devastation. people will tell you, we met one lady 70 years old on the side of the road.

she said this has happened throughout my lifetime. israel has come in, has killed us, and has devastated our lives. when will it stop? >> another area where people are picking through the rubble is is in sh shujayea. >> there is nothing leff the neighborhood. all day people have gone through the rubble and concrete looking for anything that's worth salvaging. we've seen people pick up mattress mattresses, canisters, in one case we saw a man with his bicycle lifted on his shoulders as he tried to walk over the

rubble to get out of shajayea. it's a really desperate situation here, and the people of gaza are hoping that this 12-hour cease-fire will continue, that it will last for longer and give them more time to work out what they'll do next. almost everyone in shajayea has left the area. they don't know when they can come home again and rebuild their houses and lives. >> in the hours and minutes leading up to the cease-fire, there was increased activity from both sides. one israeli air strike killed more than a dozen members of the same family as there were also reports of increased rocket fire from gaza towards israel. foreign ministers from seven countries meeting in paris have called for an extension of the 12-hour truce currently observed between hamas and israel. france's foreign minister read

out this statement after their discussion. >> translator: both parties will continue the cease-fire taking place right now. we want a prolonged cease-fire that will meet the security demands and the needs of the palestinians of gaza. we are holding the palestinian authority to its objectives. we are all in solidarity with the civilians who have been tragically struck by the conflict. each one of us will work on this in a coordinated manner and meet again in a few weeks. >> our diplomatic editor james spaeth joins us live from west jerusalem. not a decision that has come out of that meeting. however, a request to extend the cease-fire in gaza. what can we read into the statement? >> we can read that they want to keep the peace going, the peace that is revealing the level of devastation that has gone on in gaza over the last 19 days.

this isn't the way that john kerry, the u.s. secretary of state, wanted this to play out. he wanted much more than a 12-hour cease-fire and then to try to plead to both sides to extend it. he wanted a seven-day cease-fire and at the same time as the start of that cease-fire, intensive negotiations on the underlying issues. i think the question now is whether the two sides will at the end of the cease-fire, the 12-hour cease-fire decide to extend because both sides, i think, still want more out of the situation and any deal that will come. for the hamas side, they want the siege of gaza lifted and they know in negotiations with john kerry he had certainly proposed in seat fire deal and in the copy of the proposed agreement with al jazeera, he proposed easing a great deem of restrictions on the palestinians. on the israeli side they keep saying and you hear in the

israeli press that not enough is done yet despite the fact we have 19 days of this operation and despite that awful devastation you've seen, they have not done enough to destroy the tunnels and remove the rockets. >> we have four hours left on the cease-fire in gaza. paint for us a picture. what will help if the cease-fire is not extended? >> well, if the cease-fire is not extended, i think the other option is quite possibly an escalation by the israeli military. stage one was the arab bombardment. stage two, they moved in on the ground. we're told that the possibility stage 3 -- this is the speculation in the israeli press and certainly coming from military commentators here, is there there's a stage three they'll go into areas they haven't been into before and try to target hamas and it's leadership on the grouped in gaza. >> james spaeth there speaking

to us from west jerusalem. let's break down the underlying issues here for you. what each side wants from a cease-fire is a complex picture, but the main demands are clear. now, israel said at the present times to stop rockets fired from gaza. in the 19 days of this conflict, the army says more than 2,300 rockets vr fired at its territory. now, hamas wants an end to israel's blockade of gaza. gaza is surrounded by a wire fence, and there's a no-go zone along the border. there are several border crossin crossings, but most are shot. the arez crossing is controlled by israel and restricted to international workers and a limited number of palestinians. to the south movement through the rafah crossing is limited and tiemeghtly controlled by eg. israel controls the air space above gaza, which has no

functioning airport. out in sea there's a naval blockade in place. gazans fisherman can't go more than three nautical miles from t 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. this is the right of palestinians. we are human beings. >> well, let's bring in dan who

is a former israeli ambassador to the united nations. thank you, sir, for joining us on al jazeera. let's begin by a very broad question. does israel want peace in the occupied territory? >> recommend, i asewer you, wants peace. israel has made peace with every arab leader who reached out to israel and who we could trust. we did it with the president of egypt and king hussein of jordan. we're willing to do it today with the palestinian authority, and believe me, the pictures coming out of gaza are horrific. what i would tell the people of gaza who are now discovering this horrible devastation and destruction brought upon them by the hamas leadership is to go and seek out the hamas leaders who are cowardly hiding under

schools and hospitals in their bunkers and demand from them to stop firing rockets at israel and to bring back peace to their neighborhood and to free their people from being hostages to their hatred for israel. it was israel's prime minister many years ago that said there will nots peace until the palestinians learn to love their children more than they hate us. obviously, people who make the -- >> let me just interrupt you here and ask you. we have seen the cycle of violence before between israel and hamas. you have to admit israel has the superior military hardware hear, so israel has the trained personnel and the expertise. yet, after all these years, israel is unable to defeat for silence hamas. surely, surely now is a time to change your tact.

>> well, you know, israel, i assure you, is able to defeat and to silence hamas. >> but you haven't done so in the years of violence, though. certainly there's a need to sit down and rethink the strategy israel has when it comes to dealing with hamas. >> the strategy that israel has is very clear. israel wants peace for the palestinian people. it wants a two-state solution. i remind you that israel has left gaza nearly ten years ago. every single inch of gaza. the palestinians had the choice between making gaza into a safe haven and a thriving economy or launching pad for missiles. they chose the latter. they turned into a huge prison in which they hold their own people hostage. if you go to sleep with a missile, don't be surprised if you don't wake up in the mortgag morning. israel does not seek this confrontation.

we showed restraint, and we showed patience, which the world appreciates, respects and understands. at the end, believe me, neither qatar or any other country in the world would sit still while its cities and villages and women and children are bombarded with thousands of missiles. >> you may say that hamas has brought this upon the people of gaza, however, let me just remind you that israel controls the borders. >> i'm not the only one saying it. >> israel controls the air space above gaza as well. you can understand that the frustration the gazans are going through because they are hemmed in by israel. >> the only limitation that the gazans have to living a full, free, and prosperous life is to free themselves from the

terrorists trying to hold hamas. believe me, they should ask and look at their breathren on the west bank and look at the people of ramallah and other places whose standards of living is rising and whose freedom is getting more and more so. the only reason the people of gaza are suffering is because they're being held hostage by war criminals, by animals who are keeping their own people hostage. you know, we are looking at this devastation, and i assure you, we are very, very -- i mean, we feel for the people of gaza, but the tragic truth is that while for us the death of every palestinian child is a horrible mistake and tragedy for the palestinian the death of every israeli child is a cause for celebration. this is the difference between us. until the people of gaza don't stand up to their own leadership, they won't be free.

>> ambassador, this is a leadership that the people of gaza voted in in a democratic, free, and fair election. this is a government, hamas government that israel has refused to negotiate with, refused to talk with. surely you can see that this is an imbalance when it comes to justice. >> well, let me remind you that power in gaza was actually taken in a coup, in a bloody, horrible coup by hamas who overthrough fatah and the plo killing many, many of their operatives and of their people. >> ambassador, i beg your pardon, but i need to correct you. i think history will reflect that hamas was elected in a free and fair and democratic election, an election that israel was not happy about because it resulted in hamas

being put in power. a government that israel has long not wanted to negotiate with at all. >> i think if you ask the people of gaza, the same people going through the rubble today, the same people who are discovering the horrible devastation brought upon them by those people, by those animals of hamas, you will find that there is very, very little chance of them ever voting for them again. you give them a free vote. you give them a choice. i'm sure they will want to raise their children to be doctors rather than killers. i assure they would not want their children to be suicide bombers or be held hostages to that horrible regime. we are happy to negotiate with the palestinian authority. we have negotiated with them. we will continue to negotiate with them. when you look at the rest of the world today, you know, it's not

just israel saying that to you. look at egypt who said the day we went in that hamas brought it upon themselves and are to blame for what is happening to their people. look at the rest of the world. i can tell you from my tenure at the u.n. that people time and time again, including some people you know very well in the arab countries and in the gulf states, came to me and said, go and finish the job. don't stop. they all want to see those terrorist regimes go away and the people, the palestinian people enjoy freedom. the only complaint they had against us was that we didn't finish the job. if the cease-fire finishes, we will finish the job, i assure you. >> mr. ambassador, we have to leave it there. thank you very much. that's the former israeli ambassador to the united nations. >> thank you.

the u.s. is shutting down want embassy in the libyan capital as the situation worsens in tripoli. 47 people have been killed since july 13 in battles around tripoli airport. the government is urges militias to negotiate a settlement. let's go to washington, d.c. with rosalynn jordan. rosaly rosalynn, the security sways in libya has been unstable for some time now. why the decision to evacuate personnel now? >> reporter: the u.s. state want says because the security situation has not been brought to heal and that it doesn't look like anything will improve anytime soon, the decision was made here in washington late on friday to evacuate the elm passe, to suspend all operations there and move all u.s. embassy personnel out of the country.

they are temporarily in tunisia and some stay at other embassies and consulates in the region to continue doing their work on behalf of the u.s. government in its relationship with libya. however, the judgment was made that it's not safe for the u.s. embassy staff including the marines who have been providing security at the embassy in tripoli to stay in country. one other note. all u.s. persons, whether they're working with ngos or simply living in the countrior visiting libya have been told to leave immediately. >> rosalynn, thank you for that. that's rosalynn jordan reporting for us from washington, d.c. the malaysian prime minister says he will visit the netherlands next week to discuss how to secure full access to the malaysian airlines crash site in ukraine. the fighting between the ukrainian army and separatist rebels has been preventing a proper investigation. the plane carrying 298 passengers and crew, most of

them from the netherlands, was shot down last week killing all on board. the prime minister says 30 investigators are needed on the ground. the united nations refugee agency says fighting in eastern ukraine has forced near a quarter of a million people from their homes as the number of civilian deaths continue to rise. human rights activists call on both sides to stop using rockets in populated areas. we report now from donetsk. >> reporter: in donetsk the shells 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 this school. it was empty because of the holidays, but like many here,

its caretaker can't ynd why ukraine is at war. >> translator: we really are in shock. ukrainians and russians lived and worked together peacefully. we didn't even think about our nationality. 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 grad rockets on people's homes. the elderly couple that lived here were watching television when the rocket hit their apartment. i can show you how lucky they were to survive. you can see the gaping hole in their rooftop. both sides are denied using grad rockets on populated areas. they are renowned for being inaccurate because the rockets are unguided and are often fired from multi-barrel launchers covering a wide area.

ukraine insists it's not using grad missiles around donetsk. >> translator: the grads haven't arrived there yet and are not in the range mentioned in the report. as of now our units with light artillery are blocking the exits from donetsk, but it's the terrorists' grads that she will donetsk to show the ukrainian forces in a bad light. >> reporter: earlier in july, al jazeera filmed ukraine 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 are going to kill and injure civilians. >> reporter: ukrainians forces are pushing further into donetsk, and separatists pro-russian fighters are

preparing to defend the city whatever the costs. al jazeera, donetsk, eastern ukraine. at least 50 syrian soldiers have been killed by islamic group fighters. most of the soldiers were beheaded after being captured alive. that's according to opposition activists. 28 islamic state fighters have died since the group launched an effective in northern syria on thursday. human rights investigators say an increasing number of syrian opposition fighters appear to be joining the islamic state group. they say fighters from the group may be added to a list of car crime -- war crime suspects in syria. they are firmly in control of mosul. they've killed minorities and destroyed shrines and churches there. despite that, some residents are supporting the movement.

omar reports on life in iraq's second largest city. >> reporter: since june fighters belonging to the islamic state group have ruled mosul. their black banners are raised over their bases across the center. at this gathering in the city center, there is some support. this video is said to show government employees waiting for salaries. some of the fighters talk to people here. >> translator: no, it's not that. it's the declaration the fighter says. >> reporter: the group has imposed its own rules and 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 statues and graves. they've also ordered shop owners what to sell. >> translator: members was group

told us to stop selling indecent woman 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. sdloo for minorities conditions are tough. christians were ordered to leave their homes marked in red and confiscated. most shia muslims have left the city and sunni who don't support the ideology are also leaving. mosul is only 30 minutes 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 sectarian governments. this man says he remains the

governor of the province that includes mosul. he blames the government in baghdad for what happened. >> translator: the policies and bad practices of 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 launch the assault against government forces to capture it. now they are preparing for a tough fight to keep it. al jazeera on the outskirts of mosul. >> let's take a check on the weather now. rich is here for us. there's a monsoon brewing in south asia. >> the monsoon is not getting back on track. it's been slow so far this year, so big impact on the agriculture industry across india with two-thirds of india's population relying on it.

it's 14% of the output. so the progress in monsoon is vital to india, pakistan and bangladesh. you see angry clouds across the region, so it's starting to get back on track. this is where it should be come the 1st of july. it's still waiting to push in, and that's the area where we could do with rain at the moment. elsewhere, it's certainly pushing on. into pakistan you see the line there. it's showing where it's got to so far. so it's close to where it should be. we have seen significant rainfall falling sort of further beyond the line-up towards islamabad for the past 24 hours. most areas see significant rain likely to be dry. it's showers up from pakistan, but there will be fairly heavy showers. we could see a few showers here in the arabian peninsula. look on the satellite picture and see the cloud feeding in.

abu dabi at the moment is extremely sticky and temperatures 44 and high humidity through the course of sunday. >> thank you. wufyou're watching the news hour on al jazeera. coming up, a cult in mexico has the catholic church worried. >> do you pray before you kill someone? >> translator: of course. >> the controversial saint. why millions of mexicans are reaching out to her far favors. u.s. president barack obama floats an idea to stop the tens of thousands of unaccompanied children crossing the u.s. border. i'm patty culhane at the white house. that story is coming up. if rz up. if rz

. welcome back. emergency crews in gaza say they have recovered dozens of bodies from the rubble of ruined homes and buildings during the truce. these are pictures from the neighborhood of shujayea. a diplomatic push for a long-lasting cease-fire continues. feuer minim-- foreign ministers meeting in paris.oreign ministen paris. david ward was recently involved

in controversy over a tweet he poetsed saying the big question is, if i lived in gaza, would i fire a rocket? probably, yes. well, david ward spoke to my colleague earlier who asked for his response to israel's position it has a right to defend itself. >> i seem to recall that the state of israel was founded by many terrorists who were terrorizing the british peace keeping force. how does that move us forward by calling people terrorists and saying we cannot possibly deal what these people? how would that resolve the issues in northern ireland? how can you move forward? we need a fresh and different approach. >> should people, people like yourself, mps or people just ordinary members of the public be putting more pressure on

governments over their support of israel and israeli politics? >> absolutely, absolutely. we are to blame for the rockets being fired. by "we" the we in the west. we have not done enough. we have not done enough to support the palestinians, and then they the resort to violence results because they feel abandoned and no one is actually speaking for them. no one in the west, not europe, not in the u.s., certainly not in britain. it's just all -- it's this passive and banal platitudes that come out from the politicians. >> our senior political analyst joins us life from london. david ward there was criticized very severely for his tweet. it really highlights the difficulty in discussing israel's strategy in gaza without being accused of being

anti-semitic. >> well, it's very true, but i also would remind our viewers around the world that it was israel's highest decorated general and its former prime minister barack who said if i was born a palestinian, i would have at that age probably been a terrorist or one of the terrorist organizations. that was barak and not a british parliamentian. people are trying to express a particular sentiment when people are under occupation, when they get to a desperate position, when they have no other option except god and probably their own bodies, they probably would carry some terrorist actions. that usually needs to be understood in the context of this exploration. it's not justified, but it is to be explained and ordered to highlight a situation of suffering that needs to end.

>> now, something that david ward told my colleague there was that the leaders in the west are not doing enough for the people -- for the palestinian people. do you think this is going to change as public opinion starts to sway southwards towards of palestinians? we're looking at images out of gaza and of devastation and death. do you think these western leaders will be pressured to act? >> you know, there's a paradoxical nuanced way of looking at this. unfortunately, it's not straightforward, meaning i bet you anything you want that once this dust settles there, already the united states is contributing $47 million to gaza. i think europe will probably contribute as much and more to gaza. here you have europeans make humanitarian gestures towards the palestinians. it's those very same european leaders that are giving -- that

gave israel basically carte blanche by saying it has a right to defend itself in a way of bombarding gaza, in a way of invading gaza. so politically speaking they take a position that is not sympathetic to the palestinian or indifferent to the palestinians but that is completely supportive of their occupier, israel, and then on the other hand once israel finishes its dirty work as the palestinians would see it, then the europeans and the americans and so on and so forth step in and try to, urn, put some band-aids on the wounds and maybe supply the palestinians with some basic needs in order for them basically to continue suffering as usually. that's why what is needed there is not more humanitarian aid only, but what is needed there a political, just solution. a solution that the europeans and the americans with their eleven over israel could help to bring back. that's where it needs to be.

>> let's talk about what's happening here in paris or what happened here in paris just a couple of hours ago. we saw the u.s., europe, turkey and qatar involved in negotiations in trying to extend the cease-fire that's currently implemented in gaza. where are the arab leaders in all of this? the same leaders that say they support the palestinian cause. where do they stand? >> well, this is considered on a number of levels. number one, is a lot are preoccupied with their own civil wars or major challenges of security and democracy and so on or so forth. whether it's libya or syria or yemen or bahrain a lot have major problems and upheavals there. there's the question of egypt, and egypt which stunned most arabs including most palestinians whether it took israel's position this time around, as presidency sisi hates

hamas. he has taken a positive that's not fair and just, if you will. now base of that situation the arabs didn't go to egypt. now qatar and turkey go to france because egypt couldn't have for the first time probably in recent times, couldn't host such an international conference for cease-fire in gaza. it means a lot that egypt under sissi cannot reach a cease-fire. the arabs are in disarray.

>> thank you for joining us from london ifrments . people around the world take to the streets to show solidarity with the palestinians. protests have happened in paris as well where emma hayward joins us. what's going on there? >> reporter: this protest was actually banned, but you can see behind me there are hundreds of people in the republic where they said they always wanted to stage this protest. people are climbing up the statue there. we see some kind of smoke also riding from there in the distance. we're not sure what that is coming from. now, the police, as i said, have tried to ban this protest, but people want to come anyway here. they are shouting, we are all palestinians. they are feeling a sense of solidarity with the palestinian people. there are lots and lots of police on the streets here in paris. to my left-hand side i count around 16 police vans.

around the city there are many, many police vans and many armed police on the streets. however, this is france, and life is going on. the restaurants around here are still full. >> emma, we've just seen the meeting of foreign ministers end there in paris. give us an idea of the sort of general mood in paris among the french towards the conflict in gaza. >>le with, there are many people here who want the conflict in gaza to stop. we have seen demonstrations around this country, more than 80 actually. several have turned violent and there's concerns about problems within the community so there could be some anti-semitic overton overtones in the demonstrations. so far it's noisy but relatively petitionsful. >> emma, thank you for that. emma hayward reporting to us

from a protest in paris. the united nations says that its experts have located the second black box data recorder from the plane that crashed in mali on thursday. all 118 people on board were killed including several families from france. the french officials say it came down during a severe storm, but they are not ruling out terrorism. the air algiers flight was being operated by the spanish carrier swift air from there to algiers. aid agencies are warnings of a severe famine in south sudan. they say food stocks are running low across northern regions of the country. over 1 million people are spernlly displaced since the country's civil war. in central african republic, aid workers are struggling to help thousands of people caught up in the fighting between muslim seleka and the group in

bangui. >> a truck carries food arrived and in the south desperation, anger and frustration. these people say they haven't eaten in days. months of sectarian violence in the central african republic turned christians against muslims and muslims against christians. most team here are muslims afraid to leave the area in case they're attacked. >> translator: i am asking for help. i hope i will eat. if not i will go hungry. it's always like this. >> reporter: at the hospital a woman recovers from gunshot wounds, but even in here she's terrified her attackers will find her. she asked us not to use her name. she's from a village and she's a christian. >> translator: they attacked the village and said they were going to kill the men and even the boys. people ran into the field to

hide. i don't know if my husband orsons are alive. >> reporter: many parts of country are hard to reach and still volatile. we're about 400 kilometers from the capital of bangui. the road is not good or safe, and sometimes the villages attacked are so hard to reach aid workers have no idea how many people are still out there that need help. medical staff here have operated on nearly 2,000 patients since january. they treat both christians and muslims. >> when they come here, they stay long term in the hospital. they have many complications, and most of them -- sometimes we are doing operations. there is no choice. no other choice. >> reporter: many people that fled the capital haven't returned. french peacekeepers try to keep rival groups apart, but that's not always easy. some feel the former colonial power is interfering and making things worse. the u.s. president has 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 caught crossing through mexico. patty culhane reports. >> reporter: a small protest outside of the white house in support of immigration reform as u.s. president barack obama met inside with the leader of el salvador, honduras and guatemala. the ma rt jo -- majority of 60,000 children hall cross the border are from there this year. they are children like cindy from guatemala that made the dangerous journey when she was 11 years old. >> 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 state until the country, but the obama administration is insistent. most of the recent arrivals will be deported. in reality studies show 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 and 300 million to the central american couldn' countries. >> we have to do more to address the root causes of the problem. >> 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 the three countries so children can apply for refugee status without asylum without making the journey. they're 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 that they get to stay. it is a growing problem without an easy answer, p and for now the president and congress are no closer to finding one. patty culhane, j al jazeera, washington. a judge in the dutch island of aruba refused to release a former head of venezuelan intelligence. he was arrested on a warrant issued by the united states. venezuela's government says his detention is illegal calling it a kidnapping. the u.s. wants to extradite him to face drug trafficking charges. roman catholicism is the dominant religion in mexico, but the st. of death is the fastest growing in the country. the church calls the movement a

satanic cult. we have the report from mexico city. >> reporter: death has attracted this mass of followers in mexico city. st. death, that is. 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 reasonable years they have linked followers of the white girl as she's known to the violence raging across mexico. >> translator: we went into the people's market where anything was for sale and even a hired gun. we met a believer. like many followers, he has her likeness etched on his skin. do you pray to her before you go out and kill someone? >> translator: of course. if i go out to do a job, i pray

to her before i leave. i light a candle so she illuminates the path for mem. i feel she's protecting and taking care of me. >> reporter: the catholic church has begun it's own war against the saint. they even called in experts from the vatican to teach the old practice of exorcism. >> we've come to this church in the north of mexico to meet a priest performing many more exorcisms than he did in the past because he says with the rise in the number of followers, there's also an increase in the number of people possessed by the devil. 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 n satanism. for repeated exorcisms the former drug dealer and thief has left her behind. >> translator: when the father

finished, i was crying and felt tired. i didn't know why i was crying because i had hardly cried before. >> reporter: some exorcisms lead to people vomiting or creaming out in pain. mental health experts say it points to people's psychological and not spiritual problems. on the edge of mexico city there standing a monument where they preach every sunday. >> translator: we don't pray to the devil. we pray to the angel of death and ask for a better world, a tomorrow devoid of darkness and illuminated night. >> reporter: devil or saint, she's a mexican icon who insp e inspires faith and fear. it's been more than a month since al jazeera journalists were convicted by an egyptian court. they sent 210 days in an

egyptian prison accused helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. al jazeera continues to demand its journalists be freed. still to come we have the day's sports including -- >> let me make sure i have my accent straight. all right, mate. >> all right, mate. >> all right, mate. here how new york's soccer players are preparing to welcome some english visitors. frsz isitors. frsz

america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now . it's time for sports now. here's farrah.

>> hamilton's bad luck in qualifying continued in the hungarian grand prix. after dominates the practice sessions the car caught fire when it mattered. he will start sunday's race from the back of grid. his teammate took pole and now looks set to extend his 14 point title lead over hamilton. sebastien buddle was second quickest. the crusaders play in the super rugby title. they were far too strong for south africa. the new zealand team scored four tries in the second half to move within one victory. 38-6 is the final score in christchurch. the other semi award has been in the brumbes in an all-australian encounter. they finished up winning 28-8.

that game is coming up next saturday in sydney. the commonwealth games may struggle to produce top class fields in every sport. the world's fastest man is already in glasgow. usain bolt is still recovering after foot surgery so only takes part in the sprint relay. >> he can start wherever he wanted to, and you're telling me he's coming in early. that's a problem. it's good to have him around the village. that's the one great thing about the commonwealth games, nare friendly games. he wants to come because he wants to experience the fun and the activity of being part of the commonwealth games. south africa's captain has been leading by example in the second test match against sir laj lanka.

the rest of his team struggled they now trail sri lanka by 150 runs in the game. india has a 1-0 series lead into sunday's third test against england. that was the first away victory in 16 matches. it was a rum -- result that put more pressure on english captain alliste cook without a win in ten games. >> what a great player he is for england. everyone is determined to see him get back to his best. i think it's a great quality that he has throughout the national ka keer, that determination and the weakness to put it right and find a way. >> he says rejoins chelsea was an easy decision and he couldn't turn down the chance to work with jozy again. he's returning to the club where he won ten trophies including three league titles and the

champions league. now 36 he's scored 157 goals for chelsea. for the first time after finishing fifth in the premier league, they're currently in thailand playing newly promoted luster city. >> the expectations are very clear. there's big demands to play european football. we're very excited about it and embracing the challenge of the you're europa league. we're looking forward to the season. >> more and more american fans are taking an interest in soccer. this is the first trip to the u.s., and the new york red bulls are making a special effort to welcome the visitors. have a listen to the video they made for the english guests. >> let me make sure i have my accent straight. >> all right, mate. >> all right, mate.

>> no, that's australian or tim cahill. >> are you having a laugh? >> are you having a laugh? >> so it goes on. there's much more sport on the website. for all the latest check out aljazeera.com/sport. there's details on how to get in touch with our team using twitter and pace book. that's it for me for no you. >> they sound like parrots, don't they? thank you. well, the provocative, controversial and big commercial success, the u.s. artist gets plenty of attention when he unveils a new piece of work. 35 years of his sculptures, paintings and other works are now on display in new york city's whitney museum of american art. we have the report. >> reporter: take everyday household objects, add light, glass cases, and suddenly vacuum

cleaners become art. in 1980 this was one of the very first big works by a man who's taken the art world by storm. >> jeff koons is one of the most important artists not just in america but done a great job in breaking boundaries in terms of art, market, celebrity. he really pushed want limits and envelope of what an artist can be today. >> now 35 years into a remarkable career, a retrospective of his work taking over all four floors in the united states. never before has the whitney museum done this for a single artist. that's because there's a few as influential as jeff koons who mixes the mundane with the ordinary. >> this is a metaphor our acceptance and self-acceptance. just to accept things as they are perfect in their own being for what they are has that being.

>> it's not without controversy. a version of this aluminum dog that looks like a huge toy made from balloons sold last year for a record $58 million. those prices make koons one of the wealthiest of contemporary artists whose expensive work can rarely be soon by the public. baubles for billionaires as people put it, one thing is for certain, jeff koons never fails to generate strong reactions. >> i think the best modern contemporary artists challenge us. they don't just provide decoration for their lives but ask new questions with their work and make us feel uncomfortable. >> at the age of 59, koons plans to keep producing work like this. challenging, playful, popular, provocative for another 30 years at least. that's a wrap of the news hour, but do stay with us here on al jazeera. we've got more news for you right at the top of the hour.

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> this trial was a sham... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy, let the journalists live.

>> israel's invasion of gaza

continues tonight. >> we have been hearing a lot of tank shelling coming from where we are, here. >> every single one of these buildings shook violently. >> for continuing coverage of the israeli / palestinian conflict, stay with al jazeera america, your global news leader. israel and hamas agree to a 12 hour pause in fighting, but a longer ceasefire is rejected as the west bank erupts into a day of rage. >> i'm antonio mora, welcome to "consider this". that and more ahead. >> israel great to a 12-our humanitarian truce. hamas agreed as well. >> the fear is the truce will not have that much effect. >> protests in the west bank. >> protesters battled police and soldiers.