♪ a huge rescue operation underway thousands of migrants saved in the mediterranean in just the last two days. ♪ i'm live in doha also on the program program, they make mistakes as protests by black israelis rock the country plus. i'm reporting from the island in the south china sea, we will tell you why this is at the center of one of the world's biggest security flash points.

and how robots are helping stroke patients on their long road to recovery. ♪ hundreds more migrants rescued from people smuggling boats in mediterranean sea arrived in italy and 5,000 have been saved just over 48 hours in the biggest rescue operation this year. our correspondent stephanie decker saw the latest flood of migrants sail in the italian port. >> reporter: they approach the port in silence. silhouettes in the dark sky. the boat has just stopped and it is quite a powerful moment as the migrants stand silently as the boat has just come to shore, many of them of course with incredibly difficult stories to tell, they risked a lot to get here many will not know where

they are going from here but certainly one of the first times they would have felt safe in a very long time. almost 900 people were on board after being rescued on saturday they finally docked in the early morning hours of monday morning. >> they never stopped so we talk about an emergency because there is not really a sudden emergency but we know it's kind of a chronicle condition and repeating again and again. >> reporter: it took hours for the migrants to disembark. the emergency cases first but one by one medical screening process of so many meant it was slow going. they are exhausted looking faces a hint of what they have been through, we were not allowed to talk to any of them. italy's minister of interior will decide where they go next but not all want to stay and will continue their journey to other countries, their future remains uncertain but for now they arrived to a new day after a voyage where they risked their

lives, it's a journey thousands more will attempt, not all will make it here alive. stephanie decker al jazeera, sicily. let's take a look at the numbers and remember we are talking about people. four months into this year 1783 people have died trying to cross the mediterranean. that is more than half the death toll for 2014 when 3279 people died. since january about 40,000 have made this dangerous sea crossing and in many cases their long journey is at the horn of africa and ethiopia and somalia and they have a meeting point and migrants make their way across the border to sudan and conthrough libya where they board boats to attempt the journey to europe. leonard doyle is a spokesperson for the international organization for migration and says not enough is being done to save lives.

>> obviously part of the problem is there is not enough life-saving going on at one level and on the other hand there are many more people crossing or trying to cross so we are getting an enormous rise in numbers, this weekend thankfully the numbers who died are quite small and there are ten deaths which are tragic of course but not like the numbers they could have been if the life-saving operation had not taken place and we have seen as you said 1783 so far this year which is in the order of 30 times higher than last year. the lives are being saved because italian coast guard and italian state is way beyond the european union is taking its own initiative into saying as long as people are in distress they will do what they can to save them which is really to their credit. the european union by contrast is saying we will patrol 30 miles off the european shore and it's essentially a border protection operation and not a life-saving operation and may

account for a huge count and spike in deaths. israeli president is describing the way they treat people as an open wound and we did not look and did not listen enough and tension has arisen after police were beating a black soldier and fought with protesters against police brutality and racism. >> reporter: violence after hours of peaceful demonstration, there have been the square in tel aviv is a flash point of what most people here call a jewish nation and one now divided. [gunfire] on one side israeli police and special forces. on the other a group of demonstrators led by ethiopia jews who have long argued they have been marginalized and discriminated against because of the color of their skins. the protest began earlier in the

day at a venue a number of kilometers away from the square. the group is small but its impacts on already chaotic tel aviv traffic is far out of proportion to its size no permission was granted for this gathering, police at this point standing by attempting to prevent the crowd from moving further into the traffic. many of these protesters are born in israel. children of those brought to the country in a controversial israeli government air lift of ethiopians relayed formal claim to jewish heritage three decades ago. most here had viewed this video along with hundreds of thousands of others in recents days. its footage of an ethiopian israeli soldier being attacked by a police officer and his colleague in a suburb of tel aviv. it led to a demonstration in jerusalem last week that ended

in violence and to the events in the course of this day. the card which had increased in size appeared to be dispursing peacefully. but then a few hours later it began gathering again in the square. no more restraint from the sight of police stun grenades and officers on horse back attempting to disburse the crowd. too late to stop the event on this night but in coming hours the israeli prime minister will be meeting representatives of the ethiopian community along with the soldier whose assault by police has become so public. an attempt perhaps to stop jewish unity from being washed away. mike hanna, al jazeera, tel aviv. the mayor of tel aviv is a black israeli says until the underlying issues are addressed more protests will take place.

>> every one who attended the protest here yesterday experienced at one point of his life humiliation based on nothing but skin color either deputy mayor of tel aviv can tell you about that myself i came to attend an event at the school, a policewoman was at the entrance and asked me who i was, i replied i'm deputy mayor of tel aviv and need to enter vip section and she said it's good she didn't have the title and didn't let me in. two u.n. peace keepers injured in golan heights and mortar rounds from syria hit the base and also says it was stray fire from the ongoing conflict in syria. the syrian military head of logistics has escaped a rebel attempt on his life in a central neighborhood of the capitol damascus and the general was injured in a suicide bomb attack on a security facility and to body guards were injured, one died from his wounds.

two civilians were also injured. residents say they heard two explosions after which the military shut down the neighborhood. from damascus journalist reports this is not the first time rebels attack the supply and logistics wing. >> reporter: using a suicide attack arising on a bike according to eyewitnesses and followed by clashes which could indicate that there could be another group of rebels that try to take the general's life and could also indicate that they are fine as a side of the explosion and in the hospital the general was take end to told me that the situation is civilized and taken to a military hospital also inside damascus one of his body guards has died because of injuries he sustained during the explosion of the clashes that followed.

also as you reported there were civilian casualties in the explosion. >> reporter: saudi arabia has denied sending any forces into yemen to fight houthi rebels. earlier on sunday witnesses in the port city of aiden said they had seen arab special forces there. mohamed ball has more from the saudi capitol, riyadh. >> reporter: sources in aiden say these men are not what they appear to be. although their clothing is similar to the attire worn in this area, they are said to be arab coalition troops in aiden to help pro-government forces in the fighting against houthi malitia and local fighters usually do not have access to the weapons seen in the exclusive video. >> antitank weapon that is years by light, infantry troops and typical weapon used by special

operation forces but at the end of the day you have to define your objective and then find the best way to achieve it so going with this would not be the best way to do it because it would be very costly. >> reporter: local sources agree these are special forces in a mission but the saudi-led coalition spokesman denies having sent any troops. >> translator: i assure you if troops were brought into aiden from the sea we would have confirmed it through the daily briefing as was the practice during the practice of resolve storm, all options open. the coalition will not spare any effort backing the resistance and achieve positive outcomes on the ground. i reiterate today no troop landings were made into yemen. >> reporter: ground troops in yemen would be major escalation in the war and a move that saudi arabia doesn't seem to be committed to at the moment. that's because one a ground operation starts heavy

casualties are inevitable as is a protracted conflict. ambiguous comments when asked about future operations. saudi arabia and its allies have repeatedly suggested there may be a ground invasion but appeared optimistic. and it wouldn't be necessary. the coalition has said air strikes would be enough to take down houthi military capabilities. but fighting is still raging in the southern city. forces loyal to president abd rabbuh mansur hadi seem to be making gains but are not in complete control. there doesn't seem to be a unified central command to coordinate the war effort of these pro-hadi malitia. mohamed with al jazeera, riyadh saudi arabia. saudi-led coalition denied using cluster bombs in the campaign in yemen and on sunday human rights said there is evidence indicating use of cluster weapons by the u.s. and

they are prohibited by a 2008 treated by 16 countries and not saudi arabia yemen or the u.s. coming up, on al jazeera, the challenges facing nepal and distributing aids to the earthquake hit area. ♪

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♪ let's look at our top stories on al jazeera, 877 migrants arrived in the italian port after being rescued from people smuggling

boats in the mediterranean sea and more than 5,000 people have been saved in the past 48 hours. the syrian military head of logistics has escaped a rebel attack on his life in damascus and injured in a suicide bomb attack, two body guards and to civilians are also wounded. [gunfire] israeli riot police have fought with black israelis during a protest against police brutality and race racism and says the protests exposed an open bleeding wound and that the country must respond to the grievances. to nepal now where more than 7300 people have died following that earthquake. local volunteers and police have recovered 100 bodies of people buried in an avalanche triggered by the quake and how the aid effort to reach survivors is

beginning to pick up. >> reporter: the international aid effort is in full swing at kathmandu airport, it's working at full capacity. much needed tents and medical supplies are on their way to victims of the quake. >> we set up a hospital and 20 bed capacity or so for general care or so and to have some mobile activity near the mountain. >> reporter: nepal's government is under pressure accused of taxing aid coming in lack of coordination and a continuing slow response to get help to the victims. >> translator: we will be free of that. >> reporter: back at the airport nepal soldiers are loading more aid. many planes are ready to fly to areas, these tents have arrived from china. what we have seen here is that as soon as that cargo seems to

land it's offloaded and registered to know what it is and reloaded on to aircraft like this. while aid to nepal by air is getting easier the major problem is not every victim lives near an airport. >> a commitment from the government that the challenges that we experience in the early days of the crisis that resulted in limited access to the commodities coming out of the airport and getting out to the communities, that those problems were resolving. >> reporter: disaster zone is huge majority of victims live in small, isolated areas, many unreachable by road. this is where local aid organizations are playing a crucial role in the relief effort. and ngo of course working around the clock to fill the sacks and in the stacks is perishable items, you have kilos oof rice

and sugar and lentil and soap and matches and candles and sanitary products and blankets and clothe force a lady and some small items of clothing for children. there are 6,000 ngos across nepal and they are coordinating their efforts alongside the government the international agency as well to make sure the aid that people really need gets to them and gets to them on time. the people of nepal are also helping each other. and the coming monsoon, the heavy rain is expected in six weeks time six weeks to save and get help to those that need it most, al jazeera, kathmandu. 101-year-old man in rural nepal is the oldest survivor of the earthquake and he was buried under the rubble of his own house and we spoke to the man as he is recovering in the hospital. >> reporter: at 101 years old

he is the oldest survivor of the earthquake and at home when the ground began to shake and the walls of his house came down. >> translator: the walls around me collapsed. the ceiling came down too. some of it fell on my chest as well. i was trapped inside. i received injuries to my foot and my arm. >> reporter: he was alive during the last major earthquake in 1934 but says this one was much worse. >> translator: everyone of my family is alive. we were just two of us there but seven other died in the village. >> reporter: he is bothered by attention his story is receiving but sparked remote that in the rural villages that people may still be alive. >> remarkable. one person has died in a taliban suicide bomb attack in afghanistan. the explosion happened early on monday in the capitol kabul. the bomber targeted a bus carrying staff from the attorney general's office, 13 others were

injured. now to the tussle over territory in the south china sea, china is building a runway on the disputed islands which are also claimed by a vietnam, malaysia and the philippines and we report from one of the islands where philippines say they are being harassed by chinese fishermen. >> reporter: this is one of the largest islands in the south china sea, the philippine government controls it along with eight other disputed islands. in 1956 a philippine national discovered this island. he was later thrown in jail by former philippine president and was forced to hand over the island in 1974. around 200 people have been living here since the early 70s. it's a community that is relatively self sustaining. there is a health center a school a police station and even an air strip and residents say they have been living

peacefully here for many, many years but that is slowly starting to change. these are troubled times. he says fishermen like him are being harassed by bigger vessels from china and they are inching ever closer. >> translator: they use cyanide so there is no more fish in the area and cannot go out far because we are afraid of them. >> reporter: the south china sea is believed to be home to rich oil and gas reserves. it's worth billions of u.s. dollars in annual trade, several countries claim it. but it's china's actions that are seen to be the most aggressive. it claimed at least seven reefs in the area and patrols and blockades of vessels are deemed provocative. >> i do not expect an imminent of military force but they can do exactly the implementation of what the chinese call their cabbage strategy to make it more difficult to have more ships, fishing boats and patrol

boats go around the area and this is like a trap the chinese basically are trying to achieve their objective without firing a single shot. this is something they learned from an ancient chinese strategy. >> reporter: the philippines is building closer relations with the united states which continues to be the biggest navel power in asia the government has also filed a land mark case against china seeking to have china's claims invalid under the convention of the law of the sea. >> we must get a favorable ruling in the arbitration case and, second we must maintain a credible detors fence force. >> reporter: this means hope and people like larry hoping for a peaceful coexist in a world of

claims, in the south china sea. u.s. secretary of state john kerry arrived in kenya where he is expected to discuss the fight against al-shabab, 147 students were killed in kenya when gunmen from that somali based group stormed the university a month ago and kerry is paving the way for a visit by president barack obama in july. the nigerian airforce released new video showing what appears to be boko haram fighters fleeing stronghold in the forest, this followed a major operation to push the group out of the northeast, more than 200 women and children held captive by boko haram were able to escape. nearly 700 people have been rescued just since tuesday. >> translator: they took me so i could marry one of their commanders, when they realized i was pregnant they said i was pregnant by an intadile and killed him and said once you deliver in a week's time we will marry you to our commander and i

delivered at night and soldiers rescued us in the morning. >> reporter: central african republican factions gathering for a national peace conference and discuss how to bring stability to the troubled country as well as the elections due to take place later this year and meanwhile the u.n. warned that sectarian tensions continue to simmer and the humanitarian crisis is worsening with 2.7 million people in need of aid. and barnabie phillips reports. >> reporter: for two years the central african republic in chaos and fighting between the muslim seleka and anti-balaka and mainly christian malitia spread to the capitol bongi and tens of thousands of muslims fled and now after many months of peace keeping by french and african forces the u.n. says a degree of stability has returned. >> you look at bongi, it is bustling with activity small shops and sellers everywhere

people moving around at any time you know and not really citizens recently. >> reporter: this is the central african republic interim president and she supports this peace forum forum but has little power to take on war lords and militia and u.n. arrested 300 powerful individuals and some suspected of major human rights i s and if they are brought to this they will end impunity that has been such a problem in the c.a.r. >> people with troubles knew there was going to be a law of amnesty or something and that after a while they would be in a position to start again. now, this is not going to happen this time and we have caught quite a few big fish and people in the country know the terrible role these people have played so we have to bring them to justice and that will by think a very

strong signal also for the future of the country. >> reporter: the peace forum is men to discuss elections due to be held later this year but this is a country where almost 900,000 people are still displaced, millions depend on foreign aid where infrastructure is broken communities torn apart, the eyes of the world have turned away but life the central african republic is still very precurious for most, the peace forum will at least give an idea whether the country's leaders are committed to working together al jazeera. police in the dallas areas in the u.s. state of texas shot and killed two gunmen who opened fire outside of a mohamed cartoon and also an anti-islamic campaigner among the speakers at the event, the cause of the controversial nature of the events there was a heavy presence of police before the shooting. 15 million people suffer a stroke every year and it's a major cause of disability around the world. for those fortunate enough to

have access to rehabilitation it can be slow and frustrating which is why a hospital in london drafted in a team of robots to help. our technology editor todd has the story. >> reporter: eight years ago amanda suffered a stroke and managed to relearn how to walk and never regained the full use of her arm and hand. she is now under going a treatment which uses robots to help patients relearn physical movements with exo skeleton and video games they can do precise and repetitive exercises. >> your mind is kind of taken off the arm but you still have to use the arm so the machine actually guides you through the program and it's a lovely feeling because naturally you can maneuver it in a way that your left hand works. >> reporter: the team says at least 500 repetitions of a movement are needed and each session to make lasting change.

the robots allow them to achieve this in a more focused way. >> being able to do a high number of repetitions we get dose and intensity and know from animal studies you need hundreds of repetitions to get the benefits. >> reporter: the hand and arm muscles of stroke sufferers frequently fight enthrough lack of use and makes everyday movements difficult and the robot treatment system can help loosen and strengthen some muscles but unlikely to entirely replace conventional treatment. >> it's not to be all and end all and couldn't just buy six robots and have no therapists or nobody to do the hands on stuff because a robot won't lengthen tight muscles, it won't know which specifically weak muscles need strengthening. >> reporter: early and effective rehabilitation produces the best recovery and a number of hospitals around the

world are looking at using stroke rehab robots and patients appear to get all the help they can. i'm with al jazeera. all right for an update on all the stories we have been following throughout the day, go to al jazeera.com, al jazeera.com. >> new questions in texas this morning after two gunman open fire outside an art contest the event showing images of the prophet mohammed. >> baltimore hopes to move forward, a curfew lifted, but the city is in a state of emergency still. >> violence in israel as thousands of black israelis protest police treatment calling