their voices out there, and al jazeera america is doing just that. the pakistani army removes protesters occupying a building - but the protesters say they are staying on the streets. we'll have the latest from islamabad in a moment. you're watching al jazeera, live from doha. also on the programme - palestinian activists accuse israel of the biggest land grab in 30 years over plans to build a new settlement in the occupied west bank. police in hong kong use pepper spray to disperse activists, demanding free election.

the white flag of retreat - ukranian forces pull back as pro-russian separatists make gains on the battlefields. we begin with a developing story out of pakistan. the country's state television has returned to air after this was overrun by protesters, the station is under army protection, and protesters are voluntarily leaving. protesters are demanding the resignation of prime minister nawaz sharif. the protesters seem to be getting bolder and bolder. what has been happening in the last few hours, kamal hyder. >> they are getting bolder, partly because the security forces under the civilian administration have failed to contain this problem. thousands of police men have been involved. however, they have not been able to control the protestors, and

as you mentioned, there were serious scenes outside, the crowd entering no the state tv building there were acts of vandalism. it was the timely inference by the military, entrusted with guarding sensitive buildings in the area. the quick response team came in. the people cooperated and cheered the military as they came that the state tv building. indeed, a critical situation here, because this is the third day of trouble here in islamabad. the government has perhaps overreacted also, but after a statement from the military, we have not heard from the country's prime minister. we do know that the prime minister is likely to hear the military chief in the next two hours. that meeting would give a picture as to how the crisis will end, but the government in

imran khan and tahir ul-qadri are insisting that the prime minister should resign. the prime minister, on the other hand, sticking to his guns. and contemplating pressing serious charms against dr tahir ul-qadri and imran khan. positions on both sides hardening. what role will the military say if neither side budges. will we see them step in, as has been the case in the past in pakistanism. >> this time the military is careful not to comment direct l ly, clean the mess, the military will not do it for you, do it quickly. the military will have to wait and see what happens. it's not been taken seriously, and by now the government has sent a new team, there should

have been some settlement to get back on the negotiating table. that is not happening, and that will deepen the crisis. >> thank you. kamal hyder live in islamabad for us. in other world news. israel has come under intense criticism in what palestinians have called the biggest land grab. israel declared 900 acres of land near bethlehem state owned. israel says it's not new land. last near they issued bids for 1,000 buildings on site. >> translation: we were surprised in the everywhearly h the morning, when the israeli administration put signs in the area. declaring apropry eights of

thous -- appropriation for the benefit of three villages. united states asked israel to reverse the decision. the decision was described as counterproductive of a negotiated 2-state solution. palestinian activists expressed outrage. >> the declaration of expansion of settlement by the israeli government is significant. we don't remember such a big announcement in the last one or two decades. this is a stab in the back of abbas and the moderate people. instead of strengthening the palestinian authority versus hamas, israelis are showing the other side, and actually, in a uni lateral move, expanding activity and destroying the chance for renegotiation. >> now, to iraq, where there has been more advances by iraqi forces against islamic state group. the town of sula mine bake which

is south of kirkuk city has been liberated. we have more from jane arraf in a few minutes. on sunday, kurdish fighters and shi'a militias reached the town of amerli. islamic fighters surrounded the tunnels for three months, leading to food and water. shortages. >> huge relief on the streets of amerli, as friendly forces break through the siege. for 80 days and nights they faced the thread of fighters. taking their town. a threat that led some of the shiite turkman community to take their own lives. the plight provoked an unlikely alliance between groups not known to fight side by side. with peshmerga, shy item militia and -- shiite mimisha band --

militia banding together. >> this was an 80 day siege, and they were surrounded by late rur fighters. they had no food, water, anything. many died of starvation. babies had no milk. thousands were saved. >> the air campaign began in ernst the previous day. it had a fuel purpose. dropping food and water supplies to the desperate residents, and bombs on the isometric lines. >> there's pride amongst the peshmerga forces, that they and the shi'ites broke the siege and took back the town of amerli. they couldn't do it without the help from the air, a joint operation between u.s. fighter jets, iraqi helicopters and iranian fighters too. breaking the seem of amerli hadn't just saved thousands of lives, it listed moral among the ranks charged with pushing back the state forces. the challenge is not to see if

they can keep up the momentum, but hold on to the ground they had won back. the number of refugees neeing from -- fleeing from syria's war reached 3 million. fewer made it to the united states, and many who made it are facing uncertainty about getting asylum, despite a pledge from the barack obama administration to ease immigration rules for syrians. andy gallagher has this story from new jersey. >> reporter: safe, secure and thousands of kilometres away from syria. life seems bright. they arrived in the u.s. hoping to claim asylum. months after their tourist visa expired, they face uncertainty. their calls to the immigration is falling on deaf ears.

>> nobody helps us, i think we coming to bad luck future. i don't know what is coming. >> reporter: do you have any hope at all? >> i don't have any hope. i don't have nothing. >> reporter: the family has little in syria either. their home town has been almost destroyed and he will never return. here they are in a bureaucratic limbo, complicated by strict security procedures aimed at weeding out terrorists. >> until now we don't have work permit, we don't have insurance. my son, until now, didn't go to school. all this - i feel worried. >> this is the largest asylum office in the north-east. despite the u.s. giving more financial aid to syria, and has the largest resettlement

programme, 121 syrians have been offered a new home, something the critics say is inadequate. on the scale of syria's humanitarian crisis is putting a dampener on the region. the number of internally displaced stands at 6 million. security in syria is a serious issue. immigration lawyers say that's why many of its clients need help now. >> most of the plants here have families in syria. it's a life or death situation for them. the most this application is deployed. they may loz their family. the u.s. state department is expecting to see more occasions and are committed to helping the people of syria, now all the family can do is wait. their fate is unclear. the u.n. secretary-general

says he's personally raising the issue of three detained journalists with the president of egypt. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed have now spent 247 days in an egyptian prison. all three received long sentences of a trial many observers saw as politically motivated. their convictions are being appealed, and al jazeera is demanding their release. ban ki-moon said he emphasised the freedom of speech and security of journalists. still ahead on the programme - protests in hong kong after beijing decides against a free election for the next leadership. plus, senegal's ebola backlash. why guinean migrants are struggling to do business. stay with us.

welcome back, you're watching al jazeera, live from doha, a reminder of the top stories. pakistan's state television returned to air. the station is now under army protection. demonstrators are demanding the resignation of prime minister nawaz sharif. israel has come under criticism over what palestinians called the biggest land grab in three decades, declaring 900 acres of lands in bethlehem in the occupied west bank state owned. there has been more advances

by iraqi forces against islamic state. on sunday kurdish fighters and shia militias reached amerli. let's get more on the developments out of iraq and speak to jane arraf, in baghdad. tell us about the gains made by the iraqi army, the advances. what they are doing now is trying to basically clear out the remaining pockets of islamic state group resistance in that area. now, they have taken most of amerli, and we have spoken to residents a short while ago. they are overjoyed but do not feel that this is over. there are elements of islamic state fighters around the outskirts of the city and in other villages that the iraqi army is trying to clear. this is important, because it was taken over a year ago by sunni fighters and the islamic

state group, i.s.i.s. at the time. fighting is still going on there. so the military estimates that it will take 48 hours or so to clear out those remaining villages, but villages in the town itself - a lot more confident than they were 24 hours ago. >> and so what is next then, jane, to - for the iraqi army to dislodge is and, you know what, is next in their strategy? >> well, this fight in amerli - ameverly is basically a farming community. a small town. it was seen as really a test of many things, and one of the tests was can all these groups who are fought each other in the past work together - and they did. the forces that broke the siege of amerli included shia backed militias that fought i gains the united states. u.s. -- against the united states. what the iraqi government is

looking for and the american government is looking for is a wider international participation. we are starting to see some of that with offers of military help from australia, germany, other countries that normally have not gotten involved. iraqi officials are looking further afield, hoping for wider participation with an upcoming n.a.t.o. summit. they believe what is needed is a cross-national, multi-national-wide effort to crack down on the islamic state, not just in iraq, but surrounding countries. jane arraf reporting live from baghdad. to hong kong where prokm okay rahsy -- prodemocracy activists interrupted a parliamentary committee. beijing announced that it will handpick the candidate allowed to stand in elections in 2017. scott heidler joins us from hong kong. tell us about what the

protesters have been up to. the head representative from beijing, here in hong kong, explaining beijing's move that was announced. he was heckled. that's on the other side of town. we are standing in front of the chief executive's office of hong kong. he spoke in the last hour, he gave a press conference. not the first time he spoke since an announcement came out. interesting comments from him nonetheless. what he said to the people of hong kong "we can't really fight too hard against this decision by beijing, because it could roll back the progress", and obviously he is pro-beijing. he said a move by one person, one vote coming out of the decision is the best - the biggest move towards democracy in hong kong. those that argue against that,

pro-democracy members fear, they say yes, it's one person, one vote, but the people on the pallet will be selected by beijing. the senior official will be giving a press conference in the complex behind me. we don't expect there to be different things said, but it will be interesting how people here react to what is said. is there momentum, support for the protest. >> there is, and it's interesting. we saw immediate reaction from the pro-democracy group when the decision was announced on sunday. today we saw the heckling at the speech. we are at the government complex for the city of hong kong, the territory of hong kong. and beijing's representatives are in the building behind me. around it are barricades put off into sections for protesters.

the only sections filled are filled with pro-beijing demonstrators. we are not sure if the others that are empty, like the one next to me, if it will be filled in the hours to come. what we do know, the organizers say they have started a civil disobedience campaign. it's something that will be sustained. it's not like they'll try to shut down the central part of hong kong. but it will be a sustained action. they say they may not set up a parallel government. right now they are starting a civil disobedience programme that will be sustained and ongoing. scott heidler reporting live from hong kong. >> russia's foreign minister called on ukranian troops to leave positions in the east of the ukraine accused moscow of providing separatists with arms and men, which entitled them to turn the course of the war. dozens of rebels can be seen

preparing their weapons. they say they are heading to the airport, shut at the end of may. russia is preparing to send a convoy of aid to eastern ukraine, full of what it calls humanitarian supplies. peter sharp has more. >> i'm in a small railway town of har minsk. this is the first look at russia's second so-called humanitarian aid convoy. i counted about 150 trucks, loaded with what the russians say is humanitarian aid. you can remember that two weeks ago the first russian convoy provoked fury in kiev when it crossed without the contents of the trucks being inspected as was the deal understood by kiev. it prompted outrage in kiev, and it looks like this one is almost

ready to go. >> separatist fighters are continuing to advance, reversing amount. paul brennan reports from the rebel held-town. >> reporter: limping back to safety, flying the white flags of capitulation. it carries men. fortunes on the battlefield changed in recent days. >> translation: there's no way the separatists can bat for themselves. after our successes they were weakened, without reinforcements of tanks and artillery from russia, they would never have had success. >> this is another area where the ukranian army held sway. now the militia are in charge. we saw two separate unit of fighters operating unhindered in the town. >> the fighting with was not heavy.

in most cases they left without a fight. we are pushing them in all directions. we are trying hard. we saw three captured ukranian conscripts belated by militia men. they ask that we don't show their faces and they describe the he'llish experience of being under artillery attack. 80% died in the first three minutes. my friend were torn apart in front of my eyes. 200 metres down the road, we see two tanks in control of the republic. they are not friendly. we had to retreat to a safer distance. there's no sign of the ukranian army in this part of the country. >> the town's militia caught up with us, forcing us to delete the video. one of the fighters admitted he was from moscow. what are you fighting for? what motivates you? >> we fight for the russian

population, for them to live the way they live, the language and the way they see their history. >> reporter: the civilians suf - the young and the elderly in particular. >> there's no power, no gas. we don't have anything. they promised to switch them on tomorrow. our continue here is bad. >> families hide in their cellars. in the basement of this stonemason's a woman sleeps among the grave stones. it's a grim existence, and with the fighting intensifying, it is getting worse. now, to africa, and talks are set to resume in south africa in relation to the political crisis in lesotho. many are confused as to who is in power after the prime minister left. he accuses the military of attempting to stage a coup. the deputy prime minister appears to have taken control. doctors say the man believed to be the first in senegal to

contract ebola is in a satisfactory condition. the young student is from guinea, where some 400 have died from ebola. there are signs of a backlash against guinean migrants in senegal. >> for 40 years hassan has been selling fruit and vegetables in the market. he says he's never felt so worried. the market is strangely quiet. each his regular customers are not coming to shop any more. >> translation: they won't say it to my face, i know they are scared of ebola. we are ginnians, and most of what we sell we bring from guinea. >> reporter: more than 400 died of the ebola virus in guinea. senegal sealed off this area near the border. but on friday, the health minister announced its first case of ebola, the victim an

immigrant living in the car. doctors at this hospital are treating him in isolation. 20 others, family members and health workers are under medical supervision. authorities fear that others may be infected and are trying to trace people coming into contact with the guinean man. >> these trader are under close scrutiny. many are trailing across the border, making up a migrant population. the ebola outbreak affected the way senegalese see them. >> when i get home everything i buy i watch carefully. traders are finding it difficult to source certain fruits. they have run out of avocados and pineapples. this is the least of their worries. the immediate concern is to win back the trust of customers.

that may not happen until an outbreak is under control. >> now to the venice film festival where the conflicts between israeli and palestinians is unfolding off screen. israel says a movie it funded should not be called "palestinian. ". >> reporter: what makes a movie israeli - the elusive answer is enveloping this one. this is set in ramallah with a palestinian cast, about palestinian life from a palestinian director. but israel is claiming ownership, and the whole row is making some people very upset in west jerusalem. here is why. the israeli government is furious that the director has listed this film as palestinian here at the venice film festival. after all, israel gave her hundreds of thousands towards the cost of making it. the economy minister says it's

unfair and unacceptable. the culture minister is using words like serious, cynical misrepresentation and the israeli film fund is shouting fraud. they are strong words. it's not a battle of dialogue, it could be heading to the court. the israeli government is clear - it wants its money back. >> we pay tax to israel like every citizen, it's our right to get the fund. to me, film does not belong to film, funds, countries - it belongs to the artist. >> the movie tells the tale of three christians, unmarried. it's a melodramaa talking about more than the somebody of occupation. it's a drama about the film not in it that is getting most of the attention here. >> there is nothing in a

contract. mention if you take money from israel. you won't get the money back. >> of course not. >> never ever, it's my right. i fight in my film for three things - for my own identity as palestinian, i fight for my rights as a palestinian who pays tax for basic rights, and i fight for the freedom of art. this is a conflict lasting years. hers is a conflict that could last many months. it's a movie in a metaphorical crossfire. the fight getting fiercer by the day. >> now, around 20,000 runners took part in the mexico city marra tonne on sunday, cheered on by mary orchy singers and fans.

the first crossed the line in 2 hours, 18 minutes. reminder that there's more nis on the web side. more on the stop story. the website is aljazeera.com. >> in the remote jungles of myanmar, lives a creature known for centuries as the lifeblood of the country's timber business. >> if you use elephants, you don't need wider roads, or a car, or a heavy duty machine.