london. and for the latest headlines keep up at aljazeera.com. >> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello, i'm lauren taylor. isil says it set off a car bomb outside of the u.s. consulate in erbil, killing three people. foreigners arm themselves in south africa after shops and cars are torched overnight. the u.n. appeals for $274 million to help save the lives of yemenese caught up in the fighting. motional scenes in germany

for the victims of last month's plane crash in the alps. and vial abuse online a report reveals that some footballers are the victims of thousands of hate-filled messages. ♪ we begin this news hour in iraq where car bomb attacks have hit two cities. in the capitol of baghdad at least 27 people were killed. the deadliest was outside of a car dealership in the east of the city. and a car bomb has gone off outside the u.s. consulate in erbil. security sources say the blast killed three people and wounded five. islamic state of iraq and the levant has claimed

responsibility for the attack. let's get more from kim vinnell who is in erbil. tell us about the attack and the claim of responsibility there. >> reporter: well we were very close to where this bomb blast happened. it .had at about 5:45 this evening, rush hour traffic, of course although it is a friday. we understand the car t got right up to the u.s. consulate, in fact to one of the main gates on the western part of the complex. isil has claimed responsibility for this attack. this is unusual in erbil. it's very rare that we see these sorts of attacks here. the last attack of this kind was in november last year four people were killed in that attack, and isil claimed responsible for that as well. but before that it had been a

year before there was an attack of this kind. the peshmerga is defending more than 100 kilometers of the front line with isil fighters to the west. and i think it's fair to say the peshmerga have been seen as one of the most competent forces in this fight against isil so far. >> and kim tell us more about the attacks in baghdad. i think we lost the sound to you there for just a moment. >> reporter: yes, in baghdad it has been a very very bad day. there has been a wave of attacks there. today at least 27 people have been killed. the deadliest tack was in a shia neighborhood to the east of baghdad, and it followed another car bomb attack at a market. no group has claimed responsible for these attacks, but isil has

carried out these sorts of attacks in the past and has made a point of targeting shia neighbors. and further so the south as well we have seen attacks in recent days. isil advances around ramadi which is the capitol of the western anbar province. there are fears that ramadi could fall. u.s. and iraqi officials have said that they are making significant gains against the islamic state of iraq and the levant here in iraq but, i mean it's clear the tide has far from turned. >> kim thank you very much indeed. outlawed [ inaudible ] party is denying reports that one of its high profile members has been killed. he is the former deputy to saadam hussein. friday afternoon an iraqi

governor told reporters that he had been killed in a military operation. he was also the king of clubs in the famous pack of cards the u.s. issues of members of saddam hussein's regime. south africa's president is calling for support to put an end to the violence against migrants. imran khan reports. >> reporter: rubber-coated steel bullets fly over heads as riot police disperse migrants. they have armed themselves after three weeks of attacks. 22 people were arrested overnight. the south african government has set up frants for the migrants to seek safety. for some they just want to go home though. >> translator: they got

something they want. they go inside. it's taken away. and they don't have anything for now. >> reporter: also recently graffiti has appeared and foreign-owned businesses have been robbed and vandalized. >> i don't know, because you know there are problems in our country, and coming from our country. >> reporter: ethiopia's prime minister has also joined the reaction. >> as africans we all feel we have contributed for the liberation of south africa from the yolk of colonialism, and apartheid, so africans should come together and should live where everywhere they want to live. of course based on the laws and regulations of that specific country. >> resentment has been rising

along with unemployment and allegations of corruption and coneyism. the zulu community has been particularly critical. however, for others the violence is a legacy of apartheid. >> it's a combination of sectors in a confluence of factors. there is no doubt a mob culture and a mob movement what our minister of education yesterday called a third force at work here. >> reporter: the president has condemned the violence and set up a border management agency. but many fear a repeat of seven years ago when 60 people were killed and hundreds of others

[ technical difficulties ] >> now they are vowing to kick the foreigners out of this area. already last fight and into this morning, two factories have been burned. we spoke to some nighians that were here earlier and have since left. and they described their fear. one man said that he would retaliate if attacked. what

[ technical difficulties ] >> east of the yemeni capitol. they are reinforcements. both sides have been battling for control of the area which is around a 2-hour drive from sana'a. >> translator: we are the sons of the area. we reject the houthis. we will not leave here except victorious, and we will die fighting.

>> translator: this will be the graveyard of every invader. we will not let down our yemeni brothers. we will defeat the houthis. >> reporter: further south in ta'izz houthi fighters are stationed on the main roads. they have been trying to consolidate their control of the city, which is seen as a gateway to southern yemen. but further south the opposition appear to be gaining momentum. they are making gains every day. particularly in aden. street-to-street battles continue in the center of the city with tanks and heavy shelling as they try to force the houthis to retreat or

surrender. aden's streets are practically empty. except for fighters on both sides. rubbish is piling up everywhere because there are no government services. some young yemenese are risking their lives to clean the streets themselves to make sure disease isn't added to the long list of problems yemenese still have to endure. still ahead where the international criminal court is being asked to get involved in ukraine. and what a new type of chimney could save lives in bangladesh. and in sport why venezuela's pride of supplying major league baseballers could soon be lost. ♪ greece has appealed to the

european union for more help in policing its sea borders as more migrants arrive. over the past week more than 13,000 people many from africa and the middle east have tried to escape perty or conflict. paul brennan reports. >> reporter: the sheer numbers involved in the current mediterranean migrant crisis is overshadowing the individual physical suffering that they endure as they try to make it to europe. but aid groups say the hardships are becoming worse and worse. this group arrived in lampedusa, the victims of an exploding gas bottle. aid workers described the injuries as the worst they had ever seen. >> we have seen severe burns before but they are usually due to the conditions on board of

the boat they are sitting in fuel and salty water for a few days, so they come in and are burnt. nothing as bad as this. >> reporter: six months ago operation trite an took over patrol. but hundreds of more rescues migrants were brought ashore. operating operating. it was just 40 miles from the coast when it picked up more than 300 mie grans from the ship. the captain says if someone is drowning he has to help. >> translator: [ speaking

foreign ] >> reporter: the citizens of sicily's coastal ports have also shown extraordinary compassion to the migrants. this port received 30,000 last year with no protest or complaint. the mayor says sympathy is the only reaction to such suffering. >> translator: we can't push these people away. it's not right. we have to save them. they are human beings. in august we had one boat containing 45 corpses, and seeing that was the most horrible experience of my whole life. 45 bodies almost liquified inside the boat. i want to be the mayor who welcomes migrants. >> reporter: we may never know

how many migrants are drowning every day, so far this year alone it is estimated nearly a thousand people have lost their lives. and yet europe still has no comprehensive plan to tackle the issue. apologies for the lack of translation there. now u.s. president barack obama says italy's government is on the right track with its economic reforms. he made the comment during a joint news conference with the italian prime minister the two leaders discussed a number of issues including islamic state of iraq and the levant and the pending trade pact between the u.s. and europe. and they also agreed to work together to help solve the migrant crisis in the mediterranean. >> we also spent considerable amount of time discussing our deep shared concern for the situation in libya, where we continue to support u.n. efforts

to form a unity government. given italy's leadership role across the mediterranean, we agreed to work together even more intensively to encourage cooperation on threats coming from libya, including the growing isil presence there, as well as additional coordination with other partners in how we can stabilize what has become a very deadly and difficult situation. >> ukraine wants the international criminal court to investigation crimes in ukraine. and russia has condemned the u.s. sending 300 paratroops to train fighters in ukraine. rory challands has more from moscow. >> reporter: you can probably assume though that the kremlin is a bit more worried about this than they are letting on. they will see this as part of a

continuation of nato encroachment on russia. and they have always been against the joining of ukraine into the nato security umbrella. obviously this can't going that far, but they won't look on this particularly kindly at all. another thing the russians will be watching very very closely for is exactly who is being trained by these u.s. paratroopers because included in ukraine's national guard are various irregular units that have been fighting against the pro-russian separatists in the east, and some of those are on the far right of the political skek trum. so if it is proven that these brigades are included in the training program, it will give though russians a very strong case to say the u.s. army is training fascists and neo-nazis. a memorial service is being

held for the victims of the germanwings crash last month. they gathered to remember the 150 on board who died. dominic kane is there and sent this report. >> reporter: it's more than three weeks since the crash in the french alps but the grief of the relatives of the victims is still raw. hundreds made the journey to the commemoration. they were joined by germany's president and its chancellor and prime ministers from the french and spanish governments. >> translator: these encounters tear your heart apart. it doesn't mean that we humans can't do anything. by standing next to our suffering fellow human beings this way we share their grief,

their mourning. >> reporter: the -- congregation heard readings from the bibles. there wasn't enough room inside the cathedral to accommodate all those who wanted to at ten, instead several hundred gathered outside. drawn by their sense of cam passion. >> translator: i'm here out of sympathy for the poor people. particularly the families those left behind who suffer so much. >> translator: i wanted to take part in the mourning. it's important to me. >> reporter: this is the final act of commemoration for germany's loss. the inquiry as to why it happened is still ongoing. amnesty international says

the seven-year jail sentence given to a veteran journalist in china is blatant political persecution. the 71 year old became famous in china for her hard-hitting reports on the political elite. >> reporter: the conviction of the 71-year-old journalist comes as no surprise to those watching here as the state itself also controls china's courts? . she was first arrested nearly a year ago for divulging state secret. in the document it is revealed that the chinese party leadership is concerned over what it sees as the potential infilt trags of western ideals such as democracy, which could eventually lead to the

thethe the -- disintegration of the chinese government. [ technical difficulties ] >> she intends to appeal her conviction. thailand's prime minister has been speaking to reporters six months after a legislature chose him as leader. he praised his government for bringing stability to thailand after years of disrest. >> reporter: [ inaudible ] is

due to appear in court again next week for taking part in a protest during last year's coup. he could be sentenced to three years in prison if found guilty. >> translator: i wouldn't be so concerned if we went through the normal judicial process. normal citizens should not be tried in a military court. this makes me lack confidence in thailand as a country. >> reporter: days after the coup demonstrations were held across bangkok. army commanders responded by sending shoulders to shopping malls, and other public areas to prevent further protests. >> reporter: the walkways like this one here in bangkok, are filled with shoppers office workers, and tourists. the thai economy suffered throughout the years of political uncertainty, and this year's prospects don't look great either with many analysts

downgrading growth forecast. >> when we have democratically quote unquote, elected governance we went through nearly five or six years of turmoil, of protests counter protests, and a lot of people are very, very concerned, especially people in the business world, in the financial world, they want to have stable government more than anything else. >> reporter: the prime minister says the military has done that. creating a more stable political environment, which in turn has helped the economy. >> translator: this is my power. i give orderings to people. i give justice. i push the country forward. that is my power. this is the power of this government. i do not abuse power. >> reporter: the government recently lifted marshall law and replaced it with article 44,

which activists said is so wide and vague that there's potential for abuse. still to come this hour scared to go home why these displaced nigerians don't believe it is safe to go back to their towns. and a newly discovered protein that could turbo charge the immune system's response to cancer. and the semifinal wraps up in monte carlo.

>> criminal gangs risking lives >> it's for this... 3 grams of gold >> killing our planet >> where it's blood red... that's where the mercury is most intense >> now, fighting back with

science... >> we fire a laser imaging system out of the bottom of the plane >> revealing the deadly human threat >> because the mercury is dumped into the rivers and lakes, it then gets into the food chain... >> that's hitting home >> it ends up on the dinner plate of people... >> techknow only on al jazeera america >> loel again a reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. a car bomb that has gone outside of the u.s. console late in erbil, and in lag at least 27 people have been killed in baum attacks. several shops and cars have been burned in downtown johannesberg as fighting continues between immigrants and locals? south africa. and the u.n. says it needs

almost $275 million to meet humanitarian needs in yemen. syria has been marking its national someday with no end in sight from the violent civil war. >> reporter: in aleppo, they were running in fear. the bombs had brought more death and destruction. but in damascus they ran in celebration. for a marathon marking syria's national day. >> translator: we're doing this for independence day, syria is victorious. >> reporter: state television showed a president trying to project an ere of power. he went so far as to thank sweden for taking in so many syrian refugees. >> this is a good thing to do to

give people refuge but if you ask the syrian people who fled what do you want? they don't want to flee. they want to end the war nch >> reporter: for the refugees here it was never a question of wanting to flee. they had no other choice. while the syrian government may be marking national day, there is no sense or talk of celebration in this makeshift camp in lebanon's valley. in fact most of the refugees that we met here today a lot of them lined up behind us they are just trying to ensure that their children ge the most basic medical attention. tears overflowed from children already far to accustomed to fear. this time perhaps awry onicly they are afraid of what they will need to survive this skauler. medics went from trying to soothe them to feeling sorry for them? >> translator: this camp isn't a

good environment. no one would want to live like this. no water, no electricity and no shower or an facing. >> reporter: mothers while gratified for the medical care spoke of harsh realities already learned by their babies. >> translator: our lives are worth nothing, just look at how our children are living. >> reporter: truth be told most of the children here not only don't know what national day is in syria, they don't even know syria. many weren't born there. as for the adults the only observance to make is one of grief. >> translator: we're going to celebrate and we are away from our homes? how could it possibly mean anything to us? what national day. >> reporter: in a camp far from home the road back grows farter every day. pictures suggest wednesday's

deadly attack on columbian solders which was blamed on farc rebels was no mistake. the footage shows bodies of soldiers inside sleeping bags suggesting they were killed while they slept. the army says the solders were were -- ambushed. the conflict in clup beeia has raged for five decades. mark was founded in 1964 with the aim of installing a markst regime.

how do columbians feel about the decision to resume air raids on farc? >> well that really depends who you ask. the people here in the area where the attack happened of course are just hoping for this conflict to come to an end. they want the peace talks to continue. while if you are in major cities across columbia you feel something completely different. they have no confidence towards the rebels and they want the government to go back to full blown war. we know the military is undergoing operations right now. and the truth is they never really stopped in areas like this that are strong holds of the farc. and that's what the rebels are saying that until the government stop incidents like the one on wednesday will continue to

occur. at least according to official sources it seems pretty certain that the soldiers were attacked while they were sleeping. >> and is that unusual this kind of -- it seems those pictures -- tell us at bit more about how that came out and the difference in the narrative there. >> reporter: well it used to be a usual occurrence in this kind of conflict especially when soldiers would move into areas that are really under the control of the rebels such as the one we are in now. but since december when the farc announced their ceasefire, there have been no instance of an attack of this level. there had been skirmishes when solds and the farc met, but never this kind of blatant attack never this number of casualties. and that's why the government here is saying that they clearly

essentially violated their ceasefire and that's why the government is responding with resuming aerial raids and so forth. we'll have to see -- everybody here really is expecting more explanation from the farc negotiators, and essentially many here are speculating if this was decided from the farc it was orchestrated to try to pressure the government to essentially accept a full truce going to a full bilateral ceasefire, but that seems unlikely, what seems that might have happened here is that given the amount of ground military operations in the past day, the local mark unit decided unilateral to attack the solders without the commanders knowing. >> okay. thank you very much indeed. and the u.n. says more than half a million people have been displaced because of attacks by

boko haram. the nigerian military says it's sold rs have taken back a number of towns from the armed groups. harrah reports from the north. rch from the outside it looks like any other mosque but go inside government officials say boko haram fighters used this place of worship in northern nigeria as a base chen they took the town. when soldiers eventually moved in with force, a fierce battle caused more damage. in some places bridges have also been destroyed. >> the situation is really grim because they cannot go back to their homes, and start leading reasonable lives that they used to live because there are no facilities no precisions no markets, no hospitals, even churches and mosques have been razed down.

>> reporter: this woman fled from her home last year. she told her children the nigerian army has pushed back boko haram, but she has heard there is still occasional fighting. >> translator: when we go back we will be targeted. it is not safe. my husband was killed by boko haram. >> reporter: an untold number of families have been effected by years of violence. some tired of living in camps like this have started going back even though officials say it is not 100% safe. >> we work in con -- -- conjunction with the security authorities. they need to sweep the whole place. >> reporter: those ready to go home say all they need is an official confirmation the roads are safe to use. it's going to start raining soon. some families say they want to

go back to they can work in the fields. but most here seem to understand that even if boko haram were completely defeated by the nigerian army it could take years to rebuild their homes and heal old wounds. many familiar list in bangladesh shil use poorly ventilated clay stoves to cook. this explosions them to high levels of carcinogens. but now there is a safer option called the friendly stove, which could save lives. >> reporter: it takes only seconds for the kitchen to fill up with smoke. with each meal she cooks she puts her life at greater risk. they believe the clay stove she uses is responsible for the death of 46,000 women and children every year. >> translator: the smoke is too

much for me to handle. it's even worse during the rainy season. >> reporter: scientists say using these stoves is like smoking a pack of cigarettes each time she cooks. villagers exposed can end up with asthma, pneumonia or lung cancer. in almost every house in this village there is a woman inhaling dangerous amounts of smoke every time she needs to cook. but just a few hundred meters away these men are working to make the kitchen a safer place. a more airtight designed chimney. but convincing people hasn't been easy. >> translator: they are really skeptical, sometimes they even put their hands inside to see that the fire is really burning, only when they feel the heat do

they believe the stove works. >> reporter: despite the doubts 1.5 million have been sold so far across the country. this is one of the early adopters she says using traditional stoves her whole life has caused her to lose most of her eyesight. >> translator: before i used to have a lot of trouble breathing. every time after i cooked i would feel restless. since i bought this i feel a lot better. >> reporter: the difference in air quality is striking. yet this woman and many of her neighbors don't have any plans to switch to the friendly stove. they say they can't afford the $10 it costs, even for something that could save their lives. scientists say a previously unknown protein could provide a come repeatly new way of treating viral illnesses and cancer. the woeddy producers cancer

killing t-cells to fight the disease. the protein gives a massive boost to the immune system. researchers found that mice with a particular genetic mutation produced ten times the number of t cells as those without. scientists are developing a gene therapy and hope to begin human trailing in three years. joining me now to discuss this is u.k.'s senior science communicate for. >> reporter: >> this can be incredibly useful. these killer t cells are the ones that are responsible. either cells are infected by a virus or cancer cells. and this comes at a time when

fighting a way to fight cancer is a really promising area of research. >> they are convinced that this is actually something that will be replicated in humans, why the certainty or that kind of hunch? >> they sound that a similar molecule does occur in humans but there is a lot more work to do to fine out does it have to behave precisely the same way, and how could we best exploit this new finding. so it's early days but incredibly good stuff. >> recently we had top scientists saying that most cancers cannot be cured and scientists should give up trying and look for ways to manage the disease. are we in danger of this kind be a cure or be a thing that does better or raising people's hopes unnecessarily. >> survival of cancer has increased inkridably. we are finding new treatments and the survival rate is going

up. so we should never stop research. the more research we can do we can find things that we didn't know existed before. and treatments are getting better. >> tell us about the role of the immune system in fighting cancer is that an area for improving life expectancy. >> absolutely. cancer has to find some way to avoid the immune system. the immune system is incredibly good at taking out things that shouldn't be there. part of the tricks that cancer treatments play so what we're doing now is now that we understand how this is happening, what molecules are in bla, we are able to find ways to block it. and we have a lot of new treatments that are able to utilize these factors and tweak the immune system. >> are you surprised that something like this has been

found at this stage and hasn't been found before? >> our knowledge of the immune system has really come on in leaps and bounds in the last ten to 15 years, and it takes quite a while to understand how we can use that knowledge and turn it into effective safe treatment. some of the drugs we have coming along now are benefiting from knowledge we gained 10, 15 years ago. so this emphasizes how the more research we can do we can find more discoveries. >> okay. on that positive optimistic note doctor thank you very much. >> thank you. still ahead this hour the terrible tweets. a report names the football club which gets the most abuse online. i'm jonah hull on hard a replica of the frenchman of war that helped america win its

independence more than 200 years ago. ♪

♪ time for all of the sport here is jo. >> thank you very much. a new report has revealed that some english premier league stars and their clubs are the victims of abuse from thousands of social media. they have called for an expert panel to be foerled -- formed to tackle the problem.

mario is the player given the most abuse. of the 8,000 posts just over half have been racist. chelsea are the team have received 20,000 messages. troy townsend is from kick it out the organization that authored the report. he told al jazeera not enough is being done to stop the abuse. >> a number of cases have not ended with any kind of result for us. a number of people do not even, you know get to the stage where they get arrested or -- or they have been summoned to appear. so it -- it's a freedom of speech platform and the fact -- and we now need to make sure that as you say it is policed lot better. there are consequences to people's actions, and if people cross that line and as you can see by the amount of tweets that

someone like mare you has received in form of racist tweets as well that there now needs to be an outcome in the fact that these people should not be able to get away with being able to do that. >> on the pitch, chelsea are preparing for their final major hurdle as they aim to win the english premier title for the first time in five years. it's a huge nine days for them. they travel to arsenal on sunday the 26th but first they play manchester united. >> the safest option is to win 11 points. we cannot do in two matches what you can do in seven. we need 11 points and for them it changes nothing. >> the fact is now that we are behind chelsea, but all right. we have to play against them.

and arsenal has to play against them, so we can lay pressure on chelsea's shoulders. that's true and then you never oh know you have seen it also in premier league seasons, so it's also possible. i cannot say it is not possible but it is not possible. >> raphael and djokovic will play each other in the semifinals of the monte carlo masters. they begin the long build up to the french open at the end of neck month. nadal has been showing some signs of returning to his best. he was made to work in his quarter final match against his opponent who won the second set. nay del eventually over came the

spaniard. >> a victory like this helps in terms of physical and in terms of mentality after losing there is a point [ inaudible ] that's the way i have to do it to get back to where i want to be. and today i have to say that i played the way that i want to play. the mers say dez cars are once again setting the place ahead of sunday's grand prix. after taking it easy mercedes dominated the second session. the same conditions they'll face in the actual race. hamilton has won two of the season's three races so far. but he faces an inquiry after a possible infringement in the pit lane. james andersson needs just one more wicket to beat england's test record. he equalled the record when he

had samuels taught by james treadwell. but he has been unable to break through again, as the west indies are battling hard to save the game. the captain is leading the way in a 7th wicket partnership. there are currently 252 for 6. the president of the international olympic committee is in serbia to explain the decision to give kosovo official olympic status. it declared independence from serbia seven years ago. a decision the serbs don't recognize. for decades baseball has given some young venezuelans a shot at a better life in the united states but due to increased diplomatic tensions, the chances of making it from the south american country to

the u.s. major leagues are now smaller than ever. virginia lopez reports from northern venezuela. >> reporter: this is the last time these seattle mariner players will be practicing in venezuela, their home country. after 15 years the u.s. team has decideded to quit their training school and move to the dominican republic. >> translator: baseball doesn't escape from all of the problems the country is going through, but the work the academies do is done our product is the individual, and that talent is here. >> reporter: american schools across the country have been closing their doors, but now knew visa regulations are also expected to cut down on the number of scouts who come here in search of talent. jose knows what it means to play major league major league baseball.

jose's two sons have followed in his footsteps and he lives a lifestyle that many venezuelans can only dream of. >> translator: i was the example that paved the road for countless more. all that i am is thanks to baseball. if scouts don't get visas, they will simply go to other countries. >> reporter: as teams abandon their training facilities they also take with them opportunities for the young. this man was recently signed by the atlanta braves but today his joy has been overshadowed because he knows he could very well be one of the last to go. >> translator: americans will stop coming. it's a terrible situation because our friends won't make it. and it's a very frustrating. >> reporter: in the last decade 12 of the 16 camps operating in the country have left. a career in professional baseball transformed the lives of players and their families. whole communities also benefited, but now all of that

is likely to change. and that's all of the sport for now. >> thanks very much. for 18 years craftsmen have been builting a replica of the french navy ship that help america win their independence. jonah hull met the sailors. >> reporter: some volunteer crew members have little sailing ebb peerns, enthusiasm got them aboard and a taste for adventure. they are about to set sail on a replica warship bound for the shores of north america. not just any warship. it was among the sleekest fighting vessels of her day. >> she represents a very important part of french maritime history, doesn't she? >> oh sure.

well this -- this ship is one of the four of a series that was first of all one of the best that the french navy ever built. >> reporter: built to take on the english. >> to take on the english, sure but also the market that it carried the [ inaudible ] over to boston carrying to washington the news that the king of france has accepted to go again at war -- >> reporter: and that was going to help them beat the english. >> definitely. that was the key of it. >> reporter: when she was built it was the jewel of the french navy at a time when britain ruled the waves. they knew the barracuda could outsail anything she couldn't outshoot. it took 17 years to build this

perfect perfect replica, the ship of liberty as she was known that sailed like a bird. >> translator: in life you need a dream. money comes and goes. we needed money for this. and the money was found. for everyone dreams about this ship. >> reporter: so these are the crews quarters. >> reporter: uh-huh. >> the crew is in the hammocks. >> reporter: what will the food be like? >> oh it's very good. >> reporter: are you cooking? >> i took some pounds for that. the food is very food. >> reporter: okay. well-fed and watered they will cast off on saturday on a voyage following in the wake of history. nice note tend to on a beautiful boat there and the sunset.

that's it for me. bye for now.

isil said it detonated a car bomb out of the u.s. consulate in erbil. at least 23 more have died in this an attack in baghdad. hello, you are watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up. the u.n. appeals for $274 million to help save the lives of yemenese caught up in the fighting. foreigners arm themselves in south africa after shops and cars are torched in johannesberg. i'm joe new