now, stay tuned to al jazeera. >> after nearly three years in captivity in syria, an american journalist is freed. hello. welcome to al jazeera. i am steven cole in doha. chaos and confusion if libya as rebel militia sees control. israel says the military pro-russian separatists parade prisoners of war through the streets of donetsk in a show of

defiance. a start with developing news of the hostage release in syria. an american journalist, peter theo curtis has been freed. he was captured in october, 2012, according to information from the f.b.i. his last known location was in turkey where he had plans to enter syria to teach english. the qatari group and in march, a group of greek orthodox nuns were released after being held for three months by syrian rebels. more detail still coming through on that release. . >> to libya where violence between warring malitias continues to escalate. armed groups have lost control of the airport in tripoli.

he script has denied accusations it was behind airstrikes against the capitol. it adds to a picture of chaos and confusion as dominic kane reports. >> a battle for control of tripoli airport. until this weekend, it was held by fighters who broadly support libya's new parliament. it's now in the hands of militia from mizrata who oppose this. on saturday, airstrikes were thank youed killing more than a dozen. the spokesman believes other countries are to blame. >> based upon the intelligence we have, the egyptian and the uae governments are involved in this heinous attack. we stress we have good relations with the good people of egypt and the uae. the libyan rebels wants to make it clear that we will always defend the sovereignty of our homeland against this aggression. he script denied any involvement. the fighters who lost control

real al toishingd this man based on in benghazi with an influence that extends across the country. he wants the parliament to be based in eastern libya close to his strongholds. he is accused of trying to take over the country. the parliament has called for international intervention to find a solution but many people oppose both that and the parliament, itself. they want the old general national congress to return. it was set up in the wake of the fall of gadaffi and was based in tripoli. at stake is the future of libya with fighting in many cities, and a political system seemingly at odds with its self. >> some international organizations are calling it a failed state. dominic caine, al jazeera. >> a contributor to the middle east i publication.

he joins me on the line from tripoli. how important is this takeover of the airport because it's not a functioning airport. is it largely symbolic? >> hi. it's not a finking airport, yes. but that's only because of the fighting that's been going on over the past month. the malitias who controlled it as stated in the report were malitias who were pro-parliament and attacking anti-basically with these malitias now forced out of tripoli, today on the ground, another two were seized. it's meaning that the parliament forces have no control over anything going on the capitol and have no control over anything going on the west of libya. >> what is the position of libya, the country, libya, the state? does the state have any control

anywhere? >> well, the state, itself, is in debate. i mean the general national congress, the previous parliament came out yesterday saying that they were now the state's of libya and that they were the legitimate body who were going to continue leading libya forward. both sides fighting in the capitol. >> does the taking of the airport or the airport changing hands, does that change anything on the ground? >> it does change things on the ground because it means that, again, it means that the parliament loyal forces, even if

they are just are tribal malitias, is it means they have no forces at all in the capitol which means the mizarata malitias and others pro to the general national congress can do as they wish. >> all right. hassan maraga middle east icon tributor thanks. iran's revolution nary guard said it shot down a drone over the nuclear facility. the facility located outside of the city of isfahan. the guard said he shot down the drone with a surface to air missile. israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu says the military operation in gaza won't stop until the aims are achieved. he is warning palestinians. the strip is being bombarded in the last 24 hours. rockets are being fired intois.

>> i am calling on the residents of gaza to clear out of any area from which hamas executes any kind of terror activity. every place like this is a target. >> more from west jerusalem. >> israeli public opinion right now is very much focused on concern over the threat presented by mortar fire to communities living close to the gaza strip. there has been alternates of publicity during this conflict given to the iron dome defense system, which is very effective for taking out rockets such as have been fired toward israel. it's no use at all for intercepting incoming mortars, the danger of the mortar was very much thrown into relief by friday on the killing of a 4-year-old child in a community close to the gaza strip. >> that's very much focused people's attention and then on sunday, there have been mortars

fired at the cross points between gaza into israel, a very important crossing points used by aid workers, journalists and crucially, palestinians who have been lucky enough to get permits to go into israel for medical treatment. now, one of the ideas that has been suggested including at least one member of the israeli capnet would be some kind of limited ground operation to actually address the danger of mortar launching to try to actually clear out possible sites being used for launching mortars. the only problem with starting one of these limited ground operations is that they can sometimes become subject to mission crete where forces are 70s in with a limited objective. overtime their mission ends up becoming more complicated and this so-called limited operation can sometimes drag on a lot longer than planned. >> a car bomb killed at least five people in a mostly shia area. it went off outside a restaur t

restaurant. 13 people were injured. iran's foreign minister said what the islamic state is doing in iraq and syria amounts to genocide. mohammed zarif flew to baghdad earlier today. iran's government is concerned about the threat of fighting in iraq which is spreading closer to iran's border. >> we believe it requires a concerted effort by the international community in order to give this group whose character is now very clear to everybody. now, this same character has brought can i os to syria is now wreaking havoc in iraq and committing acts of hor i needous genocide and crimes against humani humanity, needs to be tackled by the international community and every country in the region. this menace is going to haunt every supporter that did not have the far-sightedness in the

past to know the nature of this threat. therefore, we do not believe that we need to be present inside iraq to help our iraqi brothers and sisters to fight this menace. they are quite capable of doing that by themselves and they have shown that they are capable. >> an american journalist has been freed in syria. peter theo curtis was captured in 2012 according to information from the f.b.i. his last known location was intie where he had plans, he said, to enter syria to teach english. a qatari mediation led to his release. in june, a man was freed. a group of orthodox nuns were released after being held for three months after being held by syrian rebels. there are con plugging reports about the fate of a syrian military air base. this video is from the i islamic state group and apparently shows

targeting the syrian army. earlier, the islamic state said it captured the base in raqqa province. they said they are attacking the rebels. there has been fighting in the city of aleppo. these appearages appear to show rebels shelling. one was a prison of government-held positions. >> ukraine's president petro poroshenko said he will raise defense spending by $3,000,000,000. he made the announcement during independent celebrations. pro-russian separatits in the east held a different kind of ceremo ceremony. they paraded prisoners of war through the streets. neil barca reports fromslov slou slov. >> proceed russian separatits held a ceremony.

dozens of prisoners captured during months of fighting were paraded through the streets. also on show, destroyed ukrainian military hardware. as the rest of the country marks 23 years of index, the separatist fighters remain loyal to moscow. donetsk has been under constant ukrainian bombardment for weeks. ours earlier a shell land odd this hospital mortgage yourary. in the ukrainian capitol, a very different scene. here, thousands celebrated index day with a show of military might. the government promised to send much of this hardware to the front line. president petro poroshenko used the occasion to announce a $3 billion increase in military spending. the events of recent months have being for us a war not officially announced but still real. it will probably go down in

history as the great war of 2014. it is wars against external aggression, the war for ukraine, for the honor and glory, for the people, for index. in eastern ukraine not far from the fighting, the people of slovyansk staged their own celebration. there is growing confidence that the ukrainian forces are back in control. several weeks ago, slovyansk was the center of separatist activity, now, this small band of people are showing their loyalty to kiev. it's hard to imagine everybody here feels the same way. >> quietly, behind the scenes, ukrainian forces are doing everything to eradicate any remaining separatist sympathies. it's normality but not quite. dozens of towns have been recaptured from the separatists in the last few months.

only a few kilometers from here, ukraine remains divided and at war. neiv barca, al jazeera, slovyansk still to come, a fair well to arms perhaps after 25 years in somalia can troops get guns off of the streets and keep the peace? fiji's prime minister courts controversy and protest as he campaigns for votes in australia. the stream, on al jazeera america >> 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

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top stories. an american judgist has befreed in syria, captured in october, 2012, according to information from the f.b.i. violence between warring malitias escalates from libya, armed groups lost control of the airport in tripoli. he script denies it carried out airstrikes against the militia. israel is intensifying bombing. the primary, benjamin netanyahu warned palestinians to lead areas where hamas operates. >> talks between yemen's government and rebels have stalled after a government offer to form a new admin stration that. and to review an poun lar decision to cut fuel subsidies. shihutis have been protesting. they have been fight to go gain more influence for their region in north yemen. more demonstrations are expected

after the talks collapsed. axis's ash-har has sent us the latest from the protests. >> it is a divided city. this is a gathering of protesters. they accuse the shia rebels of destabilizing yemen by using violence as a means to grab power but not far from here, they are setting up a protest camp in what many believe is an escalation in yemen. the government blames them for intransience. the rebels say the power is corrupt and disconnected from reality. both parties trade accusations and call for mobilization. yemen fas an uncertain future. >> afghanistan's election commission counted morning two-thirds of ballots. residential polls, the country is under international pressure

to inaugurate a new leader by early next month. jennifer glasse explains from the election headquarters in kabul, the review process has faced challenges. >> in warehouses like this one on the edge of kabul, afghans and international observers are trying to figure out who won afghanistan's presidential election. former finance minister ashraf g ghani or abdullah abdullah? they argue over which ballots will counts like this dispute over a ballot box from eastern afghanistan. >> we have 568 here 568 votes. when we open the box, there was nothing. >> so he wants the votes thrown out. >> will ultimately be the decision of the election commission, it's deputy chief is satisfied with the progress here. >> i am confident that such a thorough review has never been done anywhere in the world.

it's 100% ordered by afghans and international observers. this is the only one. >> neither candidate won a clear majority during the first round of elections earlier this year. when preliminary results last month gave ghani a million vote lead, his opponent alleged fraud and threatened to form his own government. u.s. secretary of state john kerry has been trying to resolve the deadlock. >> the outgoing president, hamad garza would like to see all of this wrapped up in times for his successor to be inaugurated on september march 2nd. it will be a tight deadline. all eyes are on these ballot boxes. 6,000 of them specially chosen for a full recount. >> each campaign chose half of those boxes. they are considered the most contentious and have taken much longer to evaluate than the rest. each team is trying to calculate every vote. the commission still must decide how many of the votes that gave ghani the lead last month will be thrown out. >> nobody will get everything they want so whether one or two people or 10 or 15 people accept

it or 100 people, in a nation of 30 million people, if one million people don't accept it, it won't be the end of the world. >> president car karzi met both candidates and urged them to cooperate. he says the long delay has damaged afghanistan's economy and security. jennifer glasse,aj, kabul. >> the radical armed group boko haram have released a new video claiming to have established a caliphate in nigeria. it follows fighters taking over government headquarters in matagali town. authorities confirm 35 policemen are missing after a group attacked a police training facility in borno state. regge has more from abuja. >> in the 50mill minute video, the leader claims gwoza, a town eased earlier this month quote no longer has anything to do

with the rest of nigeria and that the group is there to stay we had heard the group consistently say 1 of the aims is to establish a caliphate and in rebate videos, it had expressed admiration of the other so-called caliphat he, the so-called islamic state group in iraq and syria and that caliphate there. it's important to take this receipt claim with a grain of salt. boko haram is a propaganda-saavy group. one can see this as an attempt to seize or capitalize on the exclusive note rigoriety of thep in iraq, the situation in nigeria, however, is immensely different. the nigerian military, although it has been criticized for an inadequate response to boko haram is very much presence across the northeast. when it comes to the, while we have seen them signal could have

been cyst wasly seizing towns and villages, what they are doing is pushing people out of these towns, displacing thousands of people. they are not necessarily running these towns as some sort of effective government. so until now, we cannot really say the group has established any sort of caliphate in the northeast of fire year i can't. there are believed to be around a million, half a million guns in circulation getting those weapons off of the streets. there is a priority for african union troops charged with keeping the peace. from mogadishu, al jazeera mohammed ado sent this report. >> after years of struggling, the somali government seems to have realized the need to scoop up illegal weapons. african union peacekeepers and government troops raid the houses of people they call war lords and suspected militia leaders. officials call this operation a success and say they will

continue until they bring back a measure of stability to the country. >> we will not stop until we reach a point where we will need only a warrant of arrest and not guns to arrest criminals. the current chaos cannot continue forever. not every militia leader has been disarmed. this man is one of those keen on keeping their private a armies. the former war lord says his men fight for the government and that has earned him enemies. >> the government should provide adequate security for people who might be targeted or let them keep their weapons. i believe people like me won't be disarmed, we are waiting to see the government's response. >> somalia has known little peace the flooft 24 years. clan war lords battle for control. a massive trade for arms has been fueling conflict between

them. a few days ago, this was one of somalia's biggest arms market. the traders have up ended it. in one of the cities suburbs, we met this young man trying to sell an ak-47 rifle. with the market closely closely watched by the government? >> they are part of mogadishu's illegal trade in arms. >> we will continue to sell arms to anyone who needs them until the government provides us with alternative employment, this is our job, the only one we know and all that we care about. >> disarming the whole of somal i can't will be no easy task. many believe it can be done just by force. maybe even years of negotiating with militiamen and klan elders. they will have to reassure those hubert arms that it has the capacity to fully protect them

now. mohammed ado, al jazeera, mogadishu, somalia. >> al jazeera is demanding the release of its three journalists in egypt. they have been hemmed 239 days. they are accused of helping the outlawed miss lim brotherhood. two were given seven or years sentences. mohammed received an extra three years because he had a spent bullet in his possession which he picked up at a protest. next month, fiji holds an election, the first in the pacific island country since a coup until 2006. after almost eight years in charn, self appointed prime minister is hoping to win the vote. as and drew thomas records, flyers over how democratic the process will be. fiji's prime minister promised an open forum. he would take any questions, but not, it seemed, from opponents.

briana had made campaign to sydney to campaign for votes of those living abroad. will it be a fair election? the fijians living in exile doubt it? >> i don't think it will be fair. as to free, that remains to be seen because of the intimidation exercised by people that are connected with him. >> on you the venue for the rally, confusion. the meeting's organizers told members of the media where it was being held and. when free media coverage is one test of a free election. but with protesters around, journalists are suddenly barred. >> you are saying at the last moment, no media coverage whatsoever? >> that's what he says. >> who? >> mr. pein.

>> two newspaper journal wrists allowed in. an australian t.v. crew, too, though when their journalist asked and awkward question, they were asked to leave. >> this is a public meeting for them to meet protesters and move on direction, the official move on direction. continuing to be arrested. >> thank you, sir. >> inside, this footage is from a camera that was smuggled in. the questions were mostly from committed supporters who emerged enthusiastic. >> it was really, really very positive. and to think the things he is going to be doing if he is elected is positive. >> it will be a victory, a landslide victory for him. >> why? >> the people love him. we love him. >> in fiji roads and services have improved since he took power. many welcome the undoubted stability and prosperity he brought. be as the prime minister left

his sydney rally, his refusal to take questions did not for some bode well. ays, sydney. >> eight people convicted of terrorism in china have been executed in ninjang prove incident. they include three that authorities say were behind the last year. the government blames attacks on groups it says wants to establish an independent state. human rights activists say bejing's policies provoke unrest. in japan, hope of finding survivors from the landslides in hiroshimo city are fading. rescuew worksers are searching. the operation is hampered. dozens of homes were destroyed when mountain sides collapsed this week. iceland has lowered the warning level to aviation from an erupting volcano. the level has been lowers from

the highest red to the second highest orange for the bunga volcano. seismic activity has been continuing in the area. an eruption can't be excluded. part of the region was evacuated as a precaution earlier this week. hi i'm lisa fletcher and you are in the "stream." social media is transforming what we share about life, but what about death in is how we at a time. ♪ >> bringing in the community out there our program is our digital producer, wajahat ali. sharing h