people of our time. >> talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america the u.s. and united nations are poised to call a ceasefire in gaza as israel vows to continue attacks on hamas. >> hello. wufrping the al jazeera news hour live from london. the white house has repeated the kelgs of aan attack.

also coming up, out of control. a warning from aid agencies as the ebola viruses makes them declare an emergency. ban ki-moon and the u.s. of state john kerry will call a joint call for a 72-hour ceasefire. they criticized israel for bombing the shelt in gaza.

>> the undersecretary says there's no safe place for palestinians living in the strip. 1,423 people have now died in gaza since the campaign started. netanyahu says it won't stop it in gaza. we're in jerusalem and washington, d.c. this hour. let's go to our. how significant is a joint call for a 72-hour ceasefire in gaza going to be? >> i think it's very important, because what we've had until now in the last few days is one side announcing a unilateral ceasefire and the other side not obeying it. we've had this ongoing violence and bloodshed which is rising. we now have a fwz war that went

longer than any other gazian war, longer than 2008 and 2009. it appears this joint statement we're expecting in the next couple of hours is an idea to try and get ahead of both sides, and the international community in the shape of the u.s. secretary of state and the united nations secretary-general, who were here in the region actually announcing their own demand for a unilateral ceasefire for 72 hours. >> james, why would this effort potentially succeed where past efforts by both ban ki-moon and john kerry have failed? >> well, as i say, the they're trying to get ahead of everyone and announce it themselves and shame anyone who doesn't abide by this ceasefire. it would have the moral authority by the head of the united nations and the senior diplomat of the united states. so it is a very important move, a bold move because what are they going to try if this doesn't succeed? it is important.

>> james, thanks very much. our diplomatic editor for us. let's bring in rosalynn jordan in washington, d.c. there's been some friction between israeli and u.s. officials playing out behind the scenes mostly when it comes to the role of john kerry in trying to broker a truce. what are you hearing about u.s. appetite -- u.s. determination to get some kind of pause, albeit a temporary one? >> reporter: well, this has never been shaken, even though there's been a lot of criticism particularly of secretary kerry's efforts to broker a ceasefire in the past 10 or 11 days. the admissioministration says it about the efforts in the u.s. government. this is the u.s. trying to keep both sides at least engaged and trying to get to the point where they can negotiate a final peace

treaty down the road. certainly the obama administration has not been happy with the rising death toll and rising number of injuries particularly in gaza, even though it insists israel has a right to defend its tear to her and people. that said, there's a lot of criticism or a lot of pushback, depending on your perspective, from the obama administration towards israel's actions in the way it's been conducting this war in the past 24 days. >> we heard some of the u.s.'s toughest language yet, specifically with regard to the attack on a u.n. shelter in gaza on wednesday. >> reporter: that's right. the u.s. started to use the word "condemn." that's strong diplomatic level. it's the highest level of

dissatisfaction the government can have. today we heard more pressure coming from the obama administration. the pentagon stressing that it is not pleased with the death toll in gaza among civilians, and you heard the white house press secretary josh ernest saying that the u.s. is not only very, very concerned about what has been happying, but that it would basically challenge common sense. i'm paraphrasing here. that anything other than israeli weapons were responsible for the shelling of that school turned shelter. mr. ernest said the u.s. has deep questions about the way that the israeli military is making choices about how to use its force in its operations in gaza. again, very tough, direct criticism. something that you almost never hear from a sitting u.s. administration, and certainly it cannot going down well with the government of prime minister benjamin netanyahu.

>> rosalynn jordan in washington, d.c. thanks very much. speaking about the significance of the u.s. rhetoric or u.s. language with regards to the attack on that u.n. shelter, let's hear specifically what the white house had to say a little bit earlier. >> this shelling of a u.n. facility that is housing innocent civilians who are fleeing violence is totally unacceptable and totally indefensive. >> it follows frantic negotiations at the united nations. here's what the israeli ambassador to the u.n. had to say. >> no israeli soldier intentionally targets civilians. as you saw with incidents on the beach, israel does not shy away from accepting responsibility. members of the international community have been kick to condemn israel but slow to condemn hamas for its war crimes. at the beginning of the briefing

i heard valerie amos say that israel faced rocket fire. israel faced rocket fire? from whom? hamas. >> anyone with a heart, anyone with a conscience to listen to these two statements of these two international leaders will be crying from pain and shame for the fact that this in the 21st century, this genocide is being unleashed against the entire civilian population in the gaza strip. >> before israel's latest assault on gaza, palestinians living there already suffered huge energy shortages. now they're going through a crisis after israel destroyed the territory's only power plant. charles stratford has the story from gaza. >> reporter: the mosque and refugee camp was hit by an israeli air strike. beside the mosque is a drinking water station that tens of

thousands of people used to depend on. the air strike destroyed the generator, and nobody comes here now. he takes us to his family nearby, 35 of them share this tiny space. >> translator: we came from the bombing. we found no room in the u.n. schools. how can we live like this? we have no water or electricity. >> reporter: there are thousands of houses and small rooms like this in gaza now where families have come together to try and seek shelter from the constant israeli bombardment, and as you can see, the conditions are poor. there is no electricity and no water. people in the gaza strip have long suffered from water shortages. the israeli blockade means there isn't enough fuel to run water pumps. with many of the water stations destroyed, people are forced to rely on deliveries by trucks. he fills his truck at gaza city's biggest water station.

four water truck drivers have been killed doing their job since the conflict began. >> translator: i'm scared of driving because of the bombs, but i worry about the children and families who are so desperately in need of water. >> reporter: he stops and fills a water container by a shelf. omar, who lives next door, rushes out with his bucket. he takes it into the family home. his father shows us his kitchen. they haven't had electricity for water for the last four days. >> translator: we can't live like this. last night we left at 10:00 p.m. to find water under the bombs. there is nothing for the children to drink. we have many people in the house. >> reporter: there are 28 people living here, including hazan who is a month old. the women of the house didn't want to be filmed. he buys 200 liters of water every day for about $7. before the conflict started it

was half that price. his brother-in-law says the adults in the house haven't been able to shower for the last four days. >> translator: we are living in a catastrophe. there is little to show that we are alive. there is no water, no power. dying would be better than this. >> reporter: donkey carts join the trucks to ferry water from home to home. i'm not afraid of the israeli air strikes this boy tells me. everywhere you go in gaza people crowd around water trucks to fill their containers, unsure when the next delivery will come. let's go live to nicole johnson in gaza for us. what can you tell us about events over the past few hours, nicole? >> reporter: the conflict is continuing on both sides. on the palestinian side we just had a rocket fired very close to where we are, actually. the brigade, the military wing of hamas has released statements

saying it's firing rockets into a number of areas inside israel including tel aviv and other regions. now, on the israeli side, there's been air strikes across different parts of the gaza strip over the last few hours. we had two air strikes inside gaza city, two people have been killed. a couple of air strikes in the central part of the gaza strip . in those two air strikes, eight people were killed. we know that at least one of them hit a car. there's been quite a few cars hit all over gaza. we've seen them as we drive around. the death toll so far for thursday is over 20. some of them are people who have died from injuries they've sustained over the last few days, but really that death toll is not as high as it's been over the last couple of days whether it had been closer to around 100 each day. so in some respects it has been a little bit quiter, but we

still get the outbreaks with tank shelling from the coast, shelling is continuing along the eastern border of gaza. air strikes, and as we just heard only a few minutes ago, rockets coming out of gaza towards israel. >> speaking of those outgoing rockets, nicole, we know that prime minister netanyahu has said that this operation is not going to be slowing down until their military objectives have been met. he said this after the security cabinet meeting on wednesday. has there been much of a response from hamas? >> reporter: no, we haven't had a formal sfons from them. they do release statements from time to time, and they're fairly similar. they say for their part they will continue their resistance. they will continue fighting against israel. they also reiterate that they won't accept any ceasefire for as long as israeli soldiers are operating inside the gaza strip while they're continuing on

tunnels from a palestinian perspective and the perspective of the other factions here, they say that it's not a real ceasefire for as long as soldiers are inside gaza. >> nicole johnson in gaza. thank you. still ahead on the al jazeera news hour, another twist in the scandal surrounding a death of a former russian spy. a public inquiry opens to find out who is behind the killing of him. and in sports a footballer hoping italian football can raise its game in the fight against racism. >> live now from washington, d.c. let's go live now to the u.s. where marie arthur is speaking at the state department. >> with a terrorist group that fires rockets indiscriminately from israel. overnight we looked at the

situation more and gathered information and talking to our partnering, and today we're able to go further than yesterday. >> you're still not at the point where you are condemning israel or even less than that, just condemning israel's shelling of -- >> we condemn the shelling of the school, and we said there's not a lot about whose artillery was involved. >> i don't want to play semantics with it. >> maybe we shouldn't. >> i'm not going to. i'm going to move on. are there any policy implications for this? >> in what way? >> is it business as usual with israel after you condemn the shelling? >> from a policy perspective what the secretary is focused on even as we speak right now is seeing if we can get a ceasefire in place, an unconditional temporary ceasefire in place. >> i'm not talk being about. overall u.s. relationship with

israel, is there any consequence to the fact that this happened, or are you saying this is a bad thing, we condemn it but let's move on. everything else can remain normal? i say this in the context of the thissal prooufl last week or whenever it was -- >> from the department of defense. >> of the additional ammunition that they're getting. >> well, both things can be true. we've always said we want support the israeli government and help it in its efforts to defend itself. when we feel that there are more steps to be taken, we will also say that. so they're not either/or. both are true in this case as well. >> in the dod talking points yesterday about this, it said that this was a routine request and it went through the normal interagency process and was passed along. did you state department -- you have several bureaus involved in this process. do you know if at any point during the review at the state

department if even a concern, any concerns were raised about this transfer? >> i'm happy to check. i'm not aware of the internal discussions that were had around this until the decision was made. i can check. not to my knowledge, but i can check. >> the people who are responsible for monitoring the various regulations or restrictions surrounding transfers of weapons like this, even to an ally like israel, you're not aware if they raise any concerns about? >> i'm not aware of the content of the internal investigation. >> you've raised your concerning about this shelling yesterday on the school directly with israel. i mean, you just said it was indefensible. have you raised it with israel and asked for an explanation? >> i can see if that's come up specifically. we've had a number of diplomatic discussions with the israelis to get a ceasefire in place. i don't know if that's part of the discussion specifically. >> yesterday you made a comment about fears there could be tens

of thousands of gazans stranded on the streets. if u.n. facilities are becoming a target and they have nowhere to go. have you raised that issue directly with the israelis? if they're going to continue this shelling campaign, that they have to sharpen somehow the messages to people to seek safety? >> just for some numbers, we think that there are now more than 250,000 palestinian civilians in gaza displaced, about 13% of the population. we believe that more than 220,000 of those are seeking shelters in 85 u.n. schools in gaza, so we have some statistics here. two more points i would make. the first is that israeli policy is to avoid civilian casualties, so they undertake steps to do that. we believe they could do more. we don't want to equate a country who takes steps to protect civilians with a terrorist group that targeting civilians. secondly, we have had these discussions broadly with the

israelis about the fact that there are so many palestinians displaced. we've had that conversation. again, all of the concerns that are raised around these kinds of incidents are why the secretary is working towards a ceasefire, particularly if we can get a humanitarian ceasefire in place to get food, medicine and supplies into gaza to 250,000 civilians and others suffering here. >> are you prepared to go further than you were yesterday and say that -- >> you're listening to marie harf speaking at the state department in washington, d.c. reiterating the condemnation of a shelling of a u.n. school in which 19 palestinians are killed. we know over 3,000 palestinians had been sheltering in that school after being told to leave their homes ahead of israeli strikes. we traded what we heard from the white house a little earlier on, a white house spokesman saying there wasn't much doubt about whose artillery was involved in the strike on the u.n. school. that's significant. we have u.the u.s. careful abou

placing blame or mentions who they thought was responsible for the attack. here indirectly the usa not much doubt about whose artillery was involved. some of the strongest language yet from the u.s. with regards to that attack on the u.n. school. then, again, just speaking about the importance of unconditional and immediate ceasefire to deal with the desperate humanitarian situation there, marie harf citing the more than 200,000 more displayed and seeking shelter with the u.n. the u.n. said earlier on today that they are at a breaking point to try to deal with it. we'll bring you any information as it comes in to us, but we'll move on to other top stories. sierra leone declared a state of emergency as an ebola outbreak spreads. it has killed 790 people across africa. in liberia they're closing

schools and haves a quarantine. >> reporter: these are the stringent measures medics in liberia have to undertake before they treat ebola patients. they are particularly at risk of infection, but now the fear of ebola spreading to the wider community forced the government to institute measures to protect the whole country. the president ordered the closure of all schools. a thorough cleaning process for all public buildings on friday and a one-month lead for all government staff. >> translator: speaking at a briefing to the world health organization last week, she emphasized how important it is for people to act responsibly. >> this is real. protect yourself. this is real. go out and carry the message to

wherever you are. >> reporter: ebola is transmitted through infected bodily fluids. if a healthy person comes in close contact with a sufferer, they are at risk. >> the most efficient way its transmitted is when people are taking care of the people who are infected and they get directly exposed to bodily fluids, particularly blood and vomit and diarrhea and feces. that's how things are happening right now and why we have such an explosion of cases. >> that has prompted the withdrawal of 340 peace corps volunteers in liberia, guinea and sierra leone. the possibility that air travel could help the virus cross continents and worrying western governments. in nigeria health officials are monitoring those that came into contact with a lee beerian ma that died of ebola in lagos. >> we're meeting with the

contacts. we find out the level of contact they have and we're advising them on the need for them to restrict their movement. all of them have temperatures to monitor in the morning and in the evening. of course, they all have full contacts and civilians are monitors the contacts. >> reporter: the man who first identified the virus in the 1970s believes that the risk of infection through casual contact is remote. >> spreading in the population here, i'm not worried about that. i wouldn't be worried to sit next to someone with ebola virus as long as they don't vomit on you. >> reporter: in west africa this is the worst ebola outbreak ever recorded, and aid agencies say it is now out of control.

the organization for security and cooperation in europe said they finally reached the crash sight of flight mh17. in order for the investigators to go there, the ukrainian army declared a 24-hour pause in fighting. a fierce battle was under way as soldiers tried to retake the city of donetsk. from eastern ukraine, we have the report. >> reporter: for the first time in a week an convoy reaches the wreckage of mh17, but it's not clear when they can return. there's still heavy fighting in the region. the ukrainian army seized a key town near donetsk. for the first time in days, people are venturing out. there's only one generator, and everyone wants to charge their phones. after days of fighting, people don't trust kiev's intentions here. >> translator: they're using the same tactics to surround the city. they're not letting any food

supplies in, switching off electricity and cutting off the water. >> ukraine's flag flies over the town hall, and council workers have locked themselves inside. there are signing everywhere of what was a fierce battle for this strategic location. control here makes it easier for ukrainians to take this separatest stronghold. you can see the separatists probably left this checkpoint in a hurry. there's still food and bedding here. pro-russian forces may have lost control of this town, but the ukrainians haven't won the hearts and minds of people here. they blame kiev for bombing their homes. the ukrainians blame separatists for the damage here. the united nations says more than 1,000 people have been killed in this region since mid-april, and no one is taking responsibility. the fighting is also changing people's lives. families that used to be

well-off are now queueing up for drinking water. there is some sympathy with the aims of the separatists, but many still want the armed groups to leave. >> translator: let the fighters hand their weapons in, and they will be allowed to go home without persecution and their leaders and the minister of defense, let them go to russia. they will be accepted there. >> reporter: that is also what the ukrainians want. kiev's parliament has authorized more money for soldiers' wages and weapons. they're prepared to fight into the winter, if that's what it takes to reclaim this lost territory. >> michael is a spokesman for the osce mission to ukraine. he joins us live from donetsk. thank you for speaking to us. what's the security situation around the crash site?

is it safe enough for investigators to carry out a thorough inquiry? >> i can tell you what it was like today. we were there for the first time in almost a week. there are eight members of our special monitoring mission to ukraine as well as four very senior dutch and australian investigators. while we were there, it was calm and they did their business of doing a survey of the site and trying to figure out the extra infrastructure they need to get the job done. we benefitted today from a kind of custom-made ceasefire agreement that committed both sides, the ukrainians and the rebel sides to lay down their arms and opening up their checkpoints. it was quite smooth, and we used a new northern route to get to the site. whether that holds tomorrow remains to be seen. we're hopeful, and the idea for subsequent tries is to up the number of people going to the

site. obviously, four experts is not enough. you know, we have something like 60 here in donetsk of dusk and australian experts and they're keen to get out there finally. >> a bit of a risk for you doing that, given this pause in fighting is set to last 24 hours currently? michael, i'll try asking that question one more time. i'm not sure if you can hear me. you said you will send more investigators to the crash site. there's only four that got there today and to really conduct a thorough investigation. more of you need to get there. i think you said some 60 are in the vicinity that they haven't managed to get to the site. a bit of a risk for you to send more of your guys in there, given that this pause in fighting is set to last 24 hours.

>> can you repeat that last part? >> michael, i'll try one more time. what happens when this 24-hour pause in fighting runs out? what's your plan then? >> well, these talks are ongoing. you know, in the past week or the first few days out there when we're going out to the site with experts, we've now accommodated four different teams of experts. we did negotiations every night to facilitate the passage, so this isn't anything new to the special monitoring mission. these things need to be talked about constantly because we reconfigure our groups, and sometimes we have a small convoy. sometimes we have a bigger convoy. so it would have to be renewed tomorrow and the following day and for as many days as needed for, you know, the main point for the experts to able to operate in a safe manner primarily and also in an

unfettered manner. there's a lot of work to be done, starting with the resumption of the collection of human remains, which many still remain out there. >> thank you very much. it was good to get an idea of what the situation is there at the crash site of the mh17 plane. thanks very much, michael. still to come until in news hour and forces to fight back in the islamic state in iraq's second city. fighting for their rights. migrant workers react with shock to a court ruling of releasing two men to the connected shooting of strawberry pickers in greece. i'm at the polo club in spain talking exclusively to the world's best polo player.

>> an american tonight investigative report >> i never would have thought this would happen to us >> athletes going for the gold >> i've had a lot of people ask me... why didn't you scream?... why didn't you yell?...kick... why didn't you go tell your mom? >> betrayed by those they believed in the most >> there's bad people out there in youth sports >> could this happen to your child? >> my sole purpose in coming forward, is to help change the culture of sports >> an america tonight investigative report only on al jazeera america welcome back. let's go through the top stories. u.n. chief ban ki-moon and

u.s. secretary of state john kerry are asking for a joint call for a 24-hour ceasefire in gaza. the white house condemned an israeli atax on the u.n. shelter in gaza. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu said his government won't stop the offensive in gaza until all tunnels built by hamas are destroyed. butuu is a former legal adviser and joins me via skype. let's talk about abbas and his efforts to get written pledges of support from all palestinian factions including hamas before making any kind of push for possible war crimes against israel. how difficult is it going to be for him to sur pursue those charges? >> the big issue is he refused to do it on his own, and the reason he's refused to do it on his own and because of the fact

that the economy of the palestinian authority is so heavily aid dependent, being the united states, the european union and other countries around the world. the palestinian economy is not in own independent state because it's not an independent country. he needs assurances, and the failure rests with him for the fact he's pretending for quite some time we're a state when we're not. he claims he will hold israel accountable when he's not. he's pushing a procedure of the a peace process that failed palestinians and has become utterly parent he has no alternative, unfortunately. >> just to be clear, because you cut out for a second there. i think you were saying you were mentioning that since palestine is not recognized as a state by international criminal court, they can't prosecute the israeli army for possible war crimes committed. it was the case in 2012, and it's still the case today? >> no, no. they can go to the international

criminal court and theshdz go to the international criminal court. the problem is that abbas has pursued this strategy of statehood to say we were a state, when in reality we were not a state. he hasn't used any of the international legal mechanisms that are out there to challenge israel's authority and to hold israel accountable. in other words, he hasn't signed on to the icc. he hasn't been pushing for sanctions against israel. he doesn't push for a boycott against israel, and instead he simply signed on to treaties in order to demonstrate that palestine is a state but we're not a state at the end of the day. this is why it's important for him to demonstrate that this isn't just a ploy to claim that we are a state but that he actually intends to hold israel accountable. >> i guess part of the reason for his reluctance to do the things you describe or the implications for the relations with israel despite the fact there is a war going on right now, and, of course, the u.s.

>> this is precisely the big problem. he's afraid that the united states will cut off funding because there is already legislation indicating that they will do such. the united states is certainly not friendly to any initiatives that the palestinians have taken. he's also worried about relations with israel. at the end of the day he as the leader should push to hold israel accountable. i want to be clear, though. it's not just signing on to the icc, which abbas hasn't done. he as well as others is not the only one responsible here. the entire international community is responsible here. there are other mechanisms theshld pursue internally, specifically the issue of sanctions within the united nations and an arms embargo against israel as well as other measures to boycott israel, to divest from israel, and to make sure that israel is held accountable in the international

arena. >> it's important to emphasize -- >> there are soccer players shot by the israelis. why is this just -- >> there's been conflicting reports on u.n. hugh commission of human rights saying that hamas is also at fault here for firing rockets from heavily populated areas and storing them in schools and hospitals. these are the words of the u.n. if you're going to pursue the charges, you have to be prepared for justice and accountability to be there on both sides. >> well, this is why they're calling for an independent investigation, and i think that the independent investigation is the most important thing at this point in time to determine who exactly is tearing out the war crimes. if you look at the numbers, the numbers display a different thing from what cement ta commentators are saying. 1400 palestinians have been killed, 80% of whom are civilians. 250 close to 300 [ inaudible ] in what israeli claims to be

precision bombing. they've hit hospitals and schools and mosques. they've hit the electricity system. yet, on the flipside if you look at the number of people killed by the rockets, by the israelis' own admission and the spokesperson, the spokesperson for the israeli army he himself said these rockets are inefficient and not effective and they are a failure. the numbers indicate that the people who have actually been killed in this are palestinians. there have been a number of israeli soldiers killed. >> she's a former legal add visor to the palestinian authority. i appreciate your time. a public inquiry into the death of a former kgb officer is open in london. he tied in 2006 after drinking tea laced with radioactive plea tone yum. they're investing claims the russian state was behind his death.

>> reporter: an important date for ltvinenko got asylum at britain. he fell ill and died in his deathbed. he accused putin of being responsible. it was later discovered he drank tea with high levels of plutonium 210, a radioactive substance. one of the main issues they look into the is possible involvement in the russian state in his death. now here on thursday judge robert owens said some of the evidence expected to be given by the u.k. government is so sensitive it will only be given in closed hearings. >> i make it clear now that i intend to make public my final conclusion on the issue of russian state responsibility. together with as much as possible of my reasoning in that

regard. >> reporter: his widow, who has long pushed for a full inquiry, it's a real break through. >> thank you very much. it's very, very important for all of us. everybody all around the world will know this truth. >> reporter: the u.k. failed to get moscow to extradite the men. for his widow, things are at least moving until the right direction. al jazeera, london. a 3-month-old baby has been found alive after spending six hours trapped under a landslide that engulfed a village in western india on wednesday. the boy's mother was also rescued. both had minimal injuries, but most of their family didn't survive. at least 30 villagers are dead, but officials expect that figure to rise. >> reporter: rescuers rush the survivors to safety. this village is used to heavy

monsoon rains, but on tuesday it received more than 10 centimeters in one day. in the early hours of wednesday, the saturated hillside slipped and fell on the victimage below, burying many of the 700 residents as they slept. >> translator: i had come to visit my relatives. i often come here. when i arrived, i discovered that the entire village has been destroyed. >> reporter: marlin is remote and suffers from poor internet and mobile phone access, so news of the disaster was slow to reach the emergency services. now hundreds of rescuers are on hand to treat the wounded and heavy machinery is removing the mud. >> translator: in this place there were 40 to 50 houses. we think about 100 to 150 people are trapped under the debris. >> reporter: the prime minister has sent the interior minister to the disaster area. he says all possible efforts must be made to help the victims.

joanna blon del, al jazeera. argentina has failed to strike a deal on the repayment of its debt and is now officially in default. people in argentina awoke to news that the country has spun into it's second debt default in more than a decade. talks with creditors late on wednesday ended without a sellingsment. it dates back to 2001 when argentina defaulted on more than $100 billion during the crisis. let's speak to done in in buenos aires. what's the significance of this latest default? >> translator: this is a very different default. many say there's nothing like it in history because it was a court-induced default, which means that argentina has the money to pay 93% of its bondholders. it wants to pay 93% of its bondholders, but it failed to reach an agreement with 1% of

the bondholders who sued argentina in new york and successfully got a ruling in their favor whereby they would receive the total amount, which is not much. it's $1.3 billion. if argentina pays them, then it will be breaking a whole set of agreements, which could entail in an avalanche of lawsuits. >> you how are ordinary people reacting to this, and how will this affect them? >> reporter: well, ordinary people this morning weren't even sure of what had happened because the minister of economy here came out and said we didn't default. we still are paying our creditors. we made a bank deposit, and this bank deposit was frozen by the american judge.

it's not that we don't want to pay but we're kept from paying 93% of the our creditors. people think maybe it's not a default and something will happen. in the short run nothing much will change. it's definitely not like the 2001 crisis. >> monica, thank you. armed groups have resumed fighting to control the airport with heavy shelling. the fighting is said to be at its fiercest in three weeks. they're trying to put out a fire in a fuel depot set on sunday. spain is the latest country to announce its evacuating its embassy there. three al jazeera journalists have now spent 215 days in an egyptian prison. last month mohammed and peter were given seven-year sentences and another journalist got seven years and another three years.

they're falsely accused of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. jazic continues to demand their release. in a news conference the parents of imprisoned al jazeera journalist pleaded for justice and the continued attention on their son's case. >> we passionately and absolutely know that a grave and very serious injustice has taken place in peter's case. we won't shy away from professing that position as long as we can. therefore, no matter how independent any system is, people do hear and there is als a place and value of public opinion. so to respond to your comment generallily, we would still encourage you to maintain your interest in the campaign to get

peter out of jail, but in the cause of media freedom because public opinion just like the work that each and every one of you does, public opinion does matter. >> mohammed released is this statement. we are innocent and the world may be too busy with the wars in gaza, israel, iraq and ukraine to realize that the degrading 57-page judgment report explaining reasons for the verdict completely ignores the 12 hearings and seven months we've spent in prison. i'm hopeful a breakthrough may happen sooner than later but i'm conversing with lawyers and still assessing options. a greek court acquitted two men over the shooting of migrant farm workers demanding unpaid wages. 28 migrants mostly from bangladesh when they opened fire at them. about 200 workers were protesting to demand payments of

missing wages in april last year. the farm's owner and supervisor have been cleared, but two foremen were given suspended sentences for grievous bodily harm. workers are upset by the ruling. >> it's not fair. we don't expect this judgment. i think our expert couldn't gis us a judgment in our favor because everybody knows all over the world, everybody in the tv, media, and everything, there's fear of them. we lost everything! >> we're joined by an m.p. for the far left party. she joins us live by athens. start by giving us your reaction to the acquittal to these men? >> it's not just the workers that are upset.

i think many people in greece, the majority of the political party and the media are upset because this decision of the court which means there's no trafficking. there's no trafficking. there is just a shooting that happened, but there's no case of trafficking, human trafficking, which is the case. this is what the prosecutor introduced, but it was voted against. it can happen fwen again and again in greece. that means incidents that happen where people after working for a year went to ask for the money were shot, this can happen in many other places. there will be no conviction from the court, and we can have like a slavery kind of -- modern slavery. >> what is the next step now? the migrants' lawyers have spoke

about taking the case to the european courts. >> yes. they will take the case to the european court, but there's another important incident that happened a few hours ago that we learned about. because of the reaction of the people and the media and the parties and all the movements, the prosecutor of the highest court in greece asked to examine the case and examine how the decision was made. that's an emblematic decision for greece that means mafia and slavery can handle the situation with immigrants, immigrants that are basically hostages of the slave owners kind of work. >> what about this verdict is -- >> not in greece. i don't know what happened after the prosecutors investigates the

case, but this is important. imagine if the whole thing was going to go underground. at least at this point we have a huge reaction, and we have this procedure by the general prosecutor. we'll see what will happen. one thing that happened the same day and i would be interested to mention is that the same day there was another case that you might -- that you know, i'm sure. it's the case where 11 people were killed. among them eight kids. the prosecutor in this case decided to close the case. not to examine if there is an option of people being of greek authorities being guilty or not. we're not going to go -- we're not going to examine it.

i'm not saying they are not or not. >> thanks so much for casting a spotlight and shedding some light on the situation for migrant workers there in greece. thank you. still to come for you on al jazeera, we have the sports including how not to make an impact at the commonwealth games.

>> now available, the new al jazeea america mobile news app. get our exclusive in depth, reporting when you want it. a global perspective wherever you are. the major headlines in context. mashable says... you'll never miss the latest news >> they will continue looking for survivors... >> the potential for energy production is huge... >> no noise, no clutter, just real reporting. the new al jazeera america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now welcome back. time for sport with andy. >> tiger woods has just teed off

in the world golf championship invitation invitational. the defending champion in ohio is continuing his comeback from a back injury. at the top of the leadership he shares a lead at 5 under. rory mcilroy can claim the world number one ranking with victory is even par through even holes. kenya's olympic champion will be lining up in the next few main knits in the final of the 800 meters at the commonwealth games in glasgow. hopes were sunk for one competitor in the men's diving in. australia's grant nell slipped on the diving board. he received a zero across the board understandably and failed to make the final. patrice evers is convinced moving to the italian football

club. he said he had to leave manchester united for undisclosed reasons. he said the leading contender of the italian football league referred to african players as banana races. >> i don't understand why people compare other people because they're a different color. i believe maybe they fear the other person because they're not the same. irng everyone should be happy and it's sad. the cricket team won the first match under a year. they beat india by 266 runs in the third test of their theories. it levels the five-match series at 1-1. england must be without fast back anderson for the next game. he faces a disciplinary hear for pushing and verbally abusing

during the first test. it isn't exactly a household name, but in the world of polo the argentinian is regarded as a true ledged. matt talked to the player who set a standard few others can match. >> he looks like any other polo player in spain, but he's not. he's a phenomenon. the undespited greatest to have ever played the game. other polo players admit to watching rather than tackling him on the field of play. there's a mystique and aura about him. he's more than just a line of messi with polo, and he's a breeder and trainer and some say he can even talk to horses. >> that's not true. i tried to get the best horses we can. for the racing for formula one, you need a good car to compete. in polo it's the same. if you have a good driver, you need a good car.

if you're a good polo player you need a good horse. >> it's not unusual for fans to hang on his every word because he doesn't speak often. he shuns media attention and rarely gives interviews. >> the famous part i prefer not to be. i like to play my game, and i'm happy with what i am. >> ranked number one, he's won every major trophy the sport has to offer and holds the record for the most number of goals in a polo tournament, an astonishing 67. it's not just as a player he makes the headline. as a trainer the argentinian has obtained rewards for using violence-free training methods. >> the horse, you don't need to hit them. you need to teach them, and that's very important. we break the hourses in argentia in a way they learn every day,

and that's the way i do it. >> six of the world's top ten polo players are here in spain for the land rover international event, but the crowd has come to see him. >> i have a type of style. i think changed pretty much the style of the game to say i played. that's for sure. i'm happy with the way it's still going on, and the day i feel i don't have a chance to compete well, i will not play anymore. >> at 39 years of age the argentinian legend will soon retire. he won't be remembered for scoring the winning goal in the dying seconds but for personally defining the very fabric of modern day polo. matt ramsey, al jazeera, spain. that is how your sport is looking. back to mir yam. >> thanks very much. that's it for this news hour from me. i'll be back with a full round of the day's news in a few

moments' time. stay with al jazeera.

>> emergency nurse maria connolly is leaving her job at the royal hospital, preston, to work in ciudad juarez, mexico. she'll find a city engulfed in a brutal gang war. >> do we know if it's a gun or a knife? >> where doctors and nurses are tas