books and things like that. my sleep is very restful, but it has a quality of yoga witnessing awareness. >> thank you so much. >> thank you, thank you. >> thank you for talking to al jazeera. great to meet you. thank you. >> thank you. . >> good afternoon to you and thank you for joining us. i'm morgan radford coming to you live from new york city. here are the stores for you. germany shows its support to ukraine in its bitter struggle against russia. israeli attacks on gaza intensifies.

>> well, the fight against the islamic state group is getting even more intense. facin fact, today we're learning hundreds of iranian troops have crossed the border to help kurdish fighters take back a city from the islamic state. we have more from erbil. >> reporter: it was an operation aimed by the iranians it seemed protecting their own border, essentially because the place where they're fighting dylala is 30 kilometers. there has been iranian involvement in this fight. the iranian security officials who come and go between the two countries but this does seem to be the first time that regular troops have been involved. they say they were engaged in the fighting and they retreated very early this morning we're told back across the border. the peshmerga say they're going to continue their effort to try

to rae take the town where they're fighting not just islamic state fighters but tribal fighters who have aligned themselves with the islamic state group. it is a very tough fight for all involved. the iraqi government is participating with helicopters strikes and signifying the seriousness of the situation. >> a car bomb exploded on the main road in erbil. pictured here although there is no word of casualties thus far. this attack comes as the city is the scene of a battle between the islamic state and kurdish forces. we have more. >> reporter: the islamic state group has cabbed out what it is calling a new country from the territories of iraq and syria. this bridge is a dividing line. part of a thousand kilometer border iraq's kurds are trying to protect. we are on the east side of a village that is one of the gate ways to erbil, the capitol of

the semi autonomous kurdish region. the peshmerga has taken new grounds in this region. they now control the kurdish town of zumara. but despite this gain it won't be easy to win the fight against the islamic state group. even the u.s. officials acknowledge that. >> reporter: the kurds say they're fighting for their existence. even the nephew of the president of the kurdish region is on the front line. he says that they're facing a strong, well-armed, and dangerous enemy. but on this front the peshmerga are not getting support from the u.s. air force because the islamic state group is adapting to the reality. they're using sophisticated weaponry as well as explosive devices to slow the advance of the forces. peshmerga would like more help from the iraqi army but they have not had help since they

took the heartland in june. >> it is necessary because when we make a coordination together, we could respond to them and fighting them better than now. >> reporter: further east there is cooperation. iraqi forces are helping the kurds recapture the towns. this will be a long term battle. so far the kurds and the iraqi army don't have the support of local sunni communities. they need them on board or else this could turn into a war against iraq sunnies against a war against the islamic state group. al jazeera. >> remember to join us tonight as we take a deeper look inside the islamic state group. we look at who is funding that's organization. that's a deeper look at 8:00 p.m. eastern. the fight owner eas over

eastern ukraine took a turn with german germany's chancellorrening lchancellor angela merkel. >> i hope that we'll solve the problem with germany's assistance. we will discuss the way to peace that ukraine has to go through. i'm glad we'll have an opportunity to talk about this. >> well, this comes on the heels of an emergency when convoys crossed the borders without permission. they say sanctions against russia are not enough to end the fight. >> the rest of the world need to started mobilizing in a way that

shows putin that they'll confront him in some way. if something were to happen to the largest land mass in europe, this is the largest country by acreage in europe, and large population of 46 million. if something were to happen to the stability of a country like that, this would be a major catastrophe for europe and would go down like dominoes across the world. >> nato supports ukraine. more than 2,000 people have died since april and another 5,000 have been injured. we are on the ground with more. >> reporter: we have to bear in mind that the european union has introduced a whole wrath of sanctions targeting various russian industrial and economic and agricultural sectors. several travel bans have been put on place when it comes to key diplomats or leading

officials, for instance, the intelligence service and last month the european union introduced it's broadest most wide-ranging list of sanctions yet deliberately targeting russia's banking sector. considering that germany is russia's largest trading partner within the european union, the aim is really to send the clearest signal yet of europe's disfaction with russia's handling of this ongoing conflict. as for petro poroshenko the ukrainian president, having angela merkel in the ukrainian capitol is going to be seen as something as a political coup. this as petro poroshenko and the new leadership is trying to consolidate power at home and abroad. ukrainian forces are really now trying to tighten the noose on

these last pockets of resistence. but in other towns that are now free of separatists the rebuilding process has already begun, but there is a very long road ahead. i think the financial package that's been offered by germany will go a very long way. but still much is to be done when it comes to regaining the trust of people here in eastern ukraine, which is of course is goes a very long way politically in kiev. >> palestinian authority president mahmood abbas reinforced his desire to establish a long-term cease-fire with israel. the egyptian president al sisi in cairo talked about ways to re-establish talks between hamas and gaza. >> we'll reach out to the palestinian delegation. this delegation includes all

palestinian factions including hamas to the negotiation table to discuss a long-term cease-fire and negotiations afterwards. >> at the same time hamas signed a pledge backing any bed to th bid to international court. meanwhile, israeli airstrikes hit several neighborhoods across the gaza strip today. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said that strikes would intensify following the death of a four-year-old boy in israel just yesterday. we have the latest from gaza. >> reporter: this is the area where homes were flattened in the latest barrage of israeli airstrikes. witnesses say the intense attacks destroyed everything here.

>> two missiles hit a house. within a few minutes there was another strike. all thwithin 500 meters everything was destroyed. there is nothing still standing people didn't have time to escape. everyone was injured. no one was left. >> it was not just the area. dozens of strikes lit up gas skies. medical teams struggled to bring the dozens of wounded people to hospital. >> we were all sitting, me and my children at home, waiting to have dinner when we heard a very loud explosion. so we held our children around us. suddenly blood was gushing from my head. i put a piece of cotton on my head and went downstairs and called for an ambulance at the we found many people wounded in the streets. >> israel said rocket sites were targeted but residents say homes, farms and schools are continually being hit. the israeli military says more than 80 rockets were fired from

gaza on friday. a four-year-old israeli boy was killed in the village when one of those rockets hit a home. the first israeli child to have died in the six-week long conflict that claimed the lives of more than 500 palestinian children. israel's army said that the mortar was launched from a school currently being used to shelter the displaced. and with that came more warnings of attacks in the residential area in gaza. >> reporter: we call on all civilians who have ammunition inside or near their homes which is being used to fire into israel to leave their houses because we will target these locates in--locations in the coming hours. >> reporter: it shows continued rocket fire towards israel. more than two thousand palestinians have been killed and over 10,000 have been injured in israel's ongoing attacks on the densely populated gaza strip. and with the collapse of cease-fire talks there is little

immediate hope of an end to the violence. jane ferguson, al jazeera, gaza. >> meanwhile thousands of people took to the streets of yemen protesting higher fuel prices. the government in yemen raised gas prices by lifting fuel subsidies just last month and gathered in the city to protest. they're calling for national leaders to resign but the government said that it was necessary and that was to reduce the government countries budget deficit. there are anti-government demonstrations in libya where protesters rallied against the government request for u.n. military assistance to stop the unrest. major airports in tripoli and bengahzi have been closed. another night of family in ferguson, missouri, as civil rights activists bring their message right here to new york city.

plus a sport with robots as it's competitors. we'll tell you how it's having an impact on international diplomacy. we have all that and more right here on al jazeera america.

>> california lawmakers have passed a bill aimed at preventing a repeat of the tragedy near the cal santa barbara campus. a man killed himself and six others less than a week after family asked officers to visit him. california senate has passed a bill requiring police to check gun david beckham when checking on potentially dangerous individuals. now it's up to the governor to sign or veto that bill. there is a mass protest against police brutality right now. it's happening on staten island.

2,000 people are taking part of a march starting on the street why erik garner collapsed after a police officer used a chokehold to restrain him after he was heard yelling, i can't breathe. the death was later ruled a homicide. it's been two weeks since a police officer fatally shot an unarmed teenagers in ferguson, missouri. police say they made no arrest in the city overnight and that's the first time since michael brown's death. robert, supporters of the officer involved in the shooting darren wilson, are holding their own rally this morning. what are they saying? >> well, you know, we've tried to reach out to those supporters and this organization that has been raising the money for darren wilson.

over $250,000 we're told today. we tried to reach out to them many times and they denied our request for interviews. one person came out and said this unidentified woman at the rally came out and said there is media bias towards the officer that they feel that the media has not been treating the situation correctly, and that the family of darren wilson has received some death threats. we have tried to interview these folks, and this is the first we're hearing of media bias and things like that from them. that's what we have on the docket today. >> it's interesting, robert, you mention this media bias, i wonder if there is media weariness. is the city at all weary of all the attention that has come upon it right now? >> you know, i think that's starting to set in. it set in a little bit. if you look at where we're at today. if derek can give us a wide shot here. this is sam's meat market. it was looted twice over the

past couple of days. but today it's like a big barbecue today. an old fashioned barbecue the smell of meats and things and lines of people getting food and sort of a festival atmosphere. where it's very peaceful. there are people selling t-shirts. but you know, we did talk to one gentleman, the owner of sam's meat market a little earlier today. here's what he told us. >> they struck again and took it again. it's like very hard, you know, it's very hard when it's your business. you're in business and you wake up the second day and you don't have nothing. very difficult. >> so there is going to be mar marchers and demonstrators to come out throughout the day. but i should note that it is 105 with the heat index right now. not sure that you're going to see as many as we usually have,

but quite a few people out thus far this morning. >> we're seeing people outside behind you but it does feel and look a little bit slow there. even with the weather changing things, as you mentioned, are there any fears that monday's funeral could reignite all this tension once again? >> reporter: we haven't really heard of anyone talk about an ignition of protest and looting. it's been peaceful here for four days. last night there were no arrests for the first time since michael brown's death at night. i think people will come out and respect that day towards the family of michael brown. it should be a pretty good day in the community. >> we hope that it is a good day down there. robert ray joining us in ferguson, missouri. thank you so much. coming up next on al jazeera. >> deep sea treasures are found three stories underground in mexico city's new aquarium.

we'll tell you about the business behind this new attraction.

>> so there is some sensitive technology seekers being traded between the u.s. and chip but this is not necessarily a covert operation. it is a robotic competition that brings high schoolers together from different countries. >> the vision of the sporting

future where robots are the heavy hitter and the contest involving high school students from china and the united states, but the competition where the emphasis is on partnership. >> it's about growing together. it's about helping everyone do what they can at the best of their ability. >> and i think every can learn from. >> some of the robots are operator controlled. others are computer-guided. robotics began in the united states 20 years ago. the chinese have been at it since 2012, and national pride was on display. for most of the u.s. students it's their first visit to china. >> it's really cool to bring something that we know so well, and to bring it here and introduce them to it and get to see their faces when they see something new that they can do in the coming years. >> both groups had six weeks to build and design their robots, programming them in a range of

sporting skills. away from the contest the emphasis is on mentoring. a beneficial of that and says the event has reinforced his ambition to become a scientist. >> it is stimulating me and my teammates have an interest in science and. >> relations between both countries have been strained but the focus of this event is sharing technology. >> i think its great. the symbolism, the cooperation between teams and the cooperation between united states and china groups. >> international robotic sport is expensive. sponsors and parent teacher groups in the united states donate money for budgets that

can be as high as $120,000. but that probably felt like money well spent today. adrian brown, al jazeera, in southern china. >> iceland declaring no-fly zone over its air space because of an erupting volcano. those rumbles are coming north of the eruption that happened in europe four years ago. it appears calm on the surface but seismologists have detected thousands of small earthquakes under the country's glacier just over the past week. it could take a day for the eruption to melt through all that eyes before it can spew into the air. world class aquarium backed by one of the world's richest men. although he's one of the world's richest men, profits may not be his main motive. >> three stories beneath one of mexico city's swankiest

neighborhoods sea life is teeming. 5,000 sea creatures are swimming in these watered representing fresh and sea-water species from around the world. so far it's a hit with the crowds who pay an entrance fee of $10 per person. throw mexico is surrounded by coasts many have not seen the sea. >> a lot of people can't go to the sea and see sea life. it is cool that they can see that here. >> reporter: the aquarium draws a lot of families with young children. >> it's really important to expose kids to this because it stimulates them. >> reporter: there's big business underpinning these underground tanks. carlos slim, mexico's richest man , is the aquarium's biggest

sponsor. above ground there are cultural attractions owned in large part by slim. the aquarium attracted a thousand people on the first day and they hope to see a million people come through the doors in the first year alone. there is also a museum and broadway style theater and shopping mall. slim and other investors hope that the attraction will bring more people to this space to spend their time and money. the aquarium director say art and culture are good business these days. >> it's like the one-stop all-day going to the museum, going to the aquarium, going to the theater, they have movie theaters around like it's one stop cultural tour, yes. >> the financial writer eduardo garcia has researched slim for years. he said the sponsorship has more to do with marketing.

>> their bank brand is not very well-known inside mexico city or outside of mexico city, so they're using a novelty entertainment place in the capitol of the country to put their name there. >> reporter: whether or not the aquarium makes much profit the man behind it will surely keep attracting millions of people to his brand. al jazeera, mexico city. >> all right, so first they survived a wildfire, and then people in washington state had yet another disaster to worry about. a number of mudslides were triggered where ten homes were destroyed and highways were forced to shut down. mud was as high as five feet in some areas luckily no one was hurt. the combination of a barren hills caused by wildfires and flash floods have changed the lives of a lot of people. kevin corriveau is her here with more. should they be worried about rain? >> meteorologist: yes, with the

wildfires that takes away the vegetation and the support of the soil. >> and then it runs loose. >> meteorologist: we talked about the oslo mud lied that killed many people. in montana we will expect to see flash flooding, and minnesota will be a major problem. over here towards pennsylvania just two days ago we saw flooding going on as well. we'll take to you susquehanna county. take a look at the video where we saw an inch of rain for six hours. this fell across the region. people who had never seen flooding in their basements or in their homes saw flooding. we didn't see any fatalities but we saw a lot of destruction in this flooding that went on. we're seeing rain showers across the region right now. as you can see on the radar, rain showers have been pushing through for the last couple of hours there. we do think that they're finally

going to get that break as clear air starts to come through. now where people are not getting a break is down here towards the southeast. we're looking at temperatures that are staggering. right now you see most of these areas are above 90 degrees except atlanta that is at 89 degrees. when you factor in humidity this is the heat index across the area. 109 is what it feels like in orlando right now. tennessee, 110 degrees. we have watches and advisories fratch of thes for much of these states. in st. louis when you figure in the heat index it feels like 107. in wichita you haven't seen the max heating yet. dallas feels like 96 degrees and they're dealing with this dangerous heat. you need to stay inside, hydrated. it is very dangerous. >> no wonder robert ray was

saying the heat was affects the protesters in ferguson. i'm morgan radford. stay tuned. 101 east is up next, and you can always catch us online at www.aljazeera.com. in india, a woman's fate can take a cruel twist when her husband dies. >> they would beat me, both my daughter in law and my son would beat me.