>> get the international news you need to know. al jazeera america. [ gunfire ] fierce fighting in ramadi as iraqi troops battle to retake a government compound from isil forces. ♪ hello, you are watching al jazeera live from london also coming up kept at sea, a boat full of migrants is stranded off of the coast of thailand with no country willing to take them in. calm on the streets of burundi's capitol as the president returns home after a failed coup. ♪

and singing the blues, legendary guitarist, b.b. king dies at age 89. ♪ a key strategic target in iraq has been taken by fighters from islamic state of iraq and the levant. isil have overrun the local government headquarters in ramadi, the capitol of iraq's largest province anbar. iraq yay army helicopters have been targeting fighters in the compound. governments still maintain control of two districts in that city. isil renewed their offensive on ramadi in april. more than 130,000 have fled their homes. zana hoda has the latest. [ gunfire ] the symbol of government authority in ramadi is now under the control of the islamic state of iraq and the levant. ramadi has long been a city that

has been fought over. it was also the iraqi government's main strong hold in anbar province. but isil fighters launched an all-out assault early friday taking over the ramadi compound which houses most of the city's government buildings. they managed to penetrate using suicide bombers. they were not able to stop isil's advance. many of the soldiers were killed. it is a strategic blow to the authorities. the assault on ramadi was part of large-scale attack on government forces on multiple fronts in the province. late thursday isil used 22 suicide bombers to target the barracks of security forces in the town of garma. it is clear that isil considers anbar strategic. it borders territory it controls in neighboring syria. it controlled most of the province before this latest

assault, now isil controls most of the capitol of the sunni heartland. people of ramadi were caught in the fighting and the fear is isil will punish those who cooperated with the authorities. council officials are blaming the central government in baghdad for isil's huge gains. sunni tribes allied with the government have been warning that isil would make gains if military reinforcements and weapons weren't sent. but the government won't give them weapons because they are suspicious of their loyally, and the regular forces are too weak to fight this war alone. >> for months we have been complaining and telling the security ministry and prime minister there at each part of the forces there working along with its own leadership. there's no coordination. there's no strengthening with

the tribal members by weapons or by either planning or training, but yet there's no solutions. >> reporter: after suffering setbacks in this other provinces, isil can now claim a victory just weeks after the government declared a military campaign to recapture anbar. al jazeera's jane arraf joins us live from anbar. how important is it that isil have managed to take control of the local government headquarter headquarters in ramadi and what does it tell us about their strength and capability in the province of anbar? >> it's important on a couple of fronts. this is the center of the provincial government. the government hasn't been there for sometime. the governor and governor council were not in the compound. but there were police and the police headquarters. this is a hugely fortified

compound that had big blast walls put up there from the american era. and that's what isil managed to break down. reports are that they used bulldozers with steel plates on them and then suicide bombers. they started with artillery now they have moved on to advanced equipment and an endly supply it seems of suicide bombers, so it does tell you something about how difficult the fight is in places like anbar and other places as well. >> as you say, jane they have the man power in the form of suicide bombers and the weapons as well to i guess maintain control of the territory they have taken in anbar and perhaps elsewhere. but what then the options for the baghdad government in fighting them? >> that is the big problem. isil has managed to make those gains including more than 80% of anbar, not only because it is using suicide bombers and other

tactics, but because it is faces quite weak resistance. iraqi forces are stretched very thin as the government spokesman said in our colleague's story just now, they are facing really -- they are using limited numbers of troops those special forces. highly trained. they are spread thin across the battleground and suffering large losses. now the iraqi government is trying to maintain a cohesive force involving the sunni tribes but the issue is in other areas shia militias have been involved in fighting with the iraqi government. in that is not something that is widely expected to work by any means in anbar, so they are really facing a big problem here. >> thanks very much jane arriff live for us in doha. ♪

it's been described as human ping-pong, boat loads of migrants being forced back out to sea by asian countries who don't want them. the latest incidents have taken place to the east of the bay of bangal. the thai navy has pushed boats away. it has air dropped food parcels to the migrants. meanwhile off of indonesia fishermen rescued migrants after their boat was turned back by the navy. those on board say at least a hundred people died while fighting for food and water. >> reporter: this is not a rescue. the thai royal navy found this boat off of the coast. it is filled with around 380 men, women, and children from western myanmar and bangladesh. the people on board say the traffickers and the captain escapes and that they ran out of

rice and water about ten days ago. they say 12 people died during the trip. >> translator: the people are starving and suffering from diarrhea. we don't have food or clean water. nothing to keep us alive. two more people over there are dieing from starvation. yesterday one man jumped off of the boat and drowned because he went crazy. at least ten people have jumped ship. one died while some of the others made it to nearby fishing boats. >> translator: i don't have anything left and they killed my mother and relatives. the people in the village said they were going to malaysia so i made the decision to follow them. >> reporter: a few fishing boats pulled alongside the boat to provide water and a sack of rice. the navy was also trying to trace a phone signal coming from a passenger. >> dropping food packs is better than nothing, but it is not

enough. what should be done is thinking first and foremost about how lives can be saved. save the lives first give them medical care proper treatment and then take the next step. >> reporter: many on board said they wanted to go to malaysia. the thai navy said it spent the night fixing the engine and then let everyone go. there may be as many as 8,000 migrants in these seas but with every government in the region denying them the ability to land, they are just going nowhere slowly. >> indonesian fishermen have rescued more than 700 migrants trapped at sea. >> reporter: turned away by the navy. they were finally rescued by fishermen. these migrants accuse the indonesian and malaysia navy of sending them away.

many were in the hour for hours. they got into trouble after fight fighting on board over food and water. this person was on board, and said 12 of his relatives were killed. >> translator: they said you are rohingya we are going to kill you. >> reporter: people on board say the indonesian navy towed their boat out of the waters on monday and send them to malaysia. then they say the received the same treatment from malaysia. they survived a horrific boat journey but then started killing each other. this all happened after indonesia and malaysia refused to accept them.

if the international community doesn't act soon more tragedies at sea are bound to happen. the authorities had no choice but to give them medical aid. after three moshths at sea, they were very week. some had serious injuries. >> they kill -- they tell us to -- more money. give them more money. we -- we says i have no money. we are poor. our families they are very poor. we almost live. we are almost there. we have no money. so they kill us. they tell us go back to bangladesh. >> reporter: there was great relief when some of them managed to call their families to say they were alive. >> hello? pappa. >> reporter: this is the second boat carrying rohingya and bangladeshis that has made it to

land this week. but it is estimated that thousands are still stranded at sea. they say the migrants are the victims of a game of political ping-pong between thailand indonesia and malaysia. a game that is costing people their lives. burundi's president is back in the capitol for the first time since a coup was launched against him on wednesday. these are the latest pictures of his motorcade heading towards the presidential palace. the general who lead the plot to oust him has been arrested along with two other army officers and a police commander. but protesters have vowed to continue their demonstrations against pierre nkurunziza. >> reporter: president pierre nkurunziza is back here in the capitol bujumbura, and it seems now decisive that the attempted coup has failed. soldiers are in key locations

around the streets. people have tried again to start protesting against the bid for a third term in the presidential elections, but they were met with gunfire and had to run away. mr. activists are fleeing the country, they say they are fearing for their lives and are expecting a much more violent and ruthless response now from the government following the coup. the government says those connected with the coup will face justice and get fair trials. still to come this half hour we see somali migrants who escaped the war in yemen, but now find themselves with nowhere to go. plus -- >> this can only be moscow's unique metro system. this year it celebrates its 80th

birthday. i'm rory challands. keep watching toing find out more.

[baseball crowd noise] ♪ ♪ [x1 chime] ♪ ♪ [crowd cheers] oh! i can't believe it! [cheering] hi, grandma! ♪

♪ welcome back. you are watching al jazeera. let's update you on the top stories. fierce fighting is going on in ramadi, a key strategic target and capitol of iraq's largest province anbar. troops are battling to retake a compound taken by fight frers the islamic state of iraq and the levant. a boat of migrants has been

pushed away from the southwestern coast. and the president of burundi has returned to the capitol for the first time since the coup was launched against him two days ago. the general who lead the plot to oust him has been arrested along with three other senior officers. the u.n. is calling or the saudi-lead coalition to help speed up the humanitarian aid to the people of yemen. according to the u.n. strict inspections of humanitarian goods is delaying the process. the aim was to deliver aid to 2.5 million yemenese in need food, fuel and medicine. residents of ta'izz say dozens have been killed in clashes. hashem ahelbarra has more for us now. >> reporter: international aid agencies are frustrated and concerned because they haven't been able to get to the areas

inside yemen because of the inspection considerations. and they are asking for a longer period to be able to travel throughout yemen. and tend to the needs of the population. the united nations envoy has described the humanitarian situation in yemen as catastrophic, and he has said that he would like to see the parties respect the ceasefire. now the saudis have accused the houthis of violating the ceasefire. saying their patience runs thin. the houthis are saying the saudi-lead coalition has violated the ceasefire. the international community is hoping to convince the saudis and the different yemeni factions to extend the ceasefire to pave the way for political talks but also to address the

worsening humanitarian situation in the country. >> many are using the five-day halt to leave the country. yemen hosted around 246,000 refugees. 95% were from sosa -- somalia, but now many are traveling back home. >> reporter: there is no letup in the stream of somali refugees out of yemen. at a makeshift camp some of the refugees wait to be transported home. it's the first time this man set foot in somalia since he fled the war in 1991. he said he had no intention of returning home. >> translator: there were air strikes in our area many people died. we feared for our safety and fled before ground troops came in and all roads got closed.

>> reporter: this 60 year old lived in a refugee camp in yemen. >> translator: i am saddened by the fate of the refugees still trapped in the camp. they have been abandoned by the u.n. and the aid agencies and have little food and water. they have also no money to pay for the journey back to somalia. >> reporter: most refugees say they are eager to go back to their towns and villages where they fled from initially. it's only those who don't have anywhere to go back to who will remain in this camp. aid agencies say there are now plans to build a proper refugee camp to help yemenis seek refuge

in sewomalia. every year [ inaudible ] and gulf states. at the port the ships that used to transport livestock to yemen are idol. >> translator: work has stopped all ports are closed. we have been here for the last one and a half months. we'll only start working again once the crisis is over. >> reporter: yemen is one of the poorest countries in the middle east. somalians are realizing that the hard way. the syrian opposition has raised concerns about talks being held in geneva. the political leadership in exile told the u.n. envoy that his attempts to include iran and other allies of bashar al-assad won't be help for peace. many people in rebel-controlled areas continue to suffer because of the fighting.

our correspondent reports. >> reporter: for many syrian children this is the only way to find something to eat. some parents help them rummage through the garbage. this woman lives here and her kitchen has looked like this for months. and she says she struggles every day to feed her children. >> translator: what can we do? we don't have fuel? neither electricity, even food. we don't have it. >> reporter: but that's not what you see on syrian state tv where it looks like everything is under control. in this segment, happy children are seen preparing for exams. there is no mention of the war that killed more than 200,000 people and continues to add to the 12 million who desperately need humanitarian assistance. activists say the conditions vemable those back in [ inaudible ]. in 2013 people in this town agreed to a truce in exchange

for a badly needed food aide but soldiers control everything. the assad government has sporadically allowed the red cross to distribute food but not enough to feed everyone. >> translator: we pray to god every single minute to send us food to feed our children. >> reporter: in geneva there is another round of talks. but the armed groups that control many parts of syria are not attending and assist the president cannot be part of any solution. and the syrian opposition in exile is not happy over the inclusion of iran. back here activists raise the flags of the revolution during a visit by state media. this child was asked about what happened to his school. he told the pro-government presenter about how his school was destroyed by the shells fired by assad forces. many here don't expect things to

change. and as all warring sides insist on being right, the fighting goes on and more naikd -- neighboring countriesings continue to be turned to rubble. 110 people died in this week's aftershock in nepal. three weeks after 8,000 were killed in the first. faiz jamil is in kathmandu. >> reporter: these green army tents are now home to some of nepal's government. after the major earthquake the government was scrambling to respond. but after the major aftershock on may 12th many workers are afraid to go inside the buildings. >> translator: we have to face a lot of pressure from the people. the nepali people have to feel that the government still exists. we'll fix the buildings as soon as possible.

>> reporter: the total extend of the damage is still unclear. as teams are busy assessing people's homes and other buildings. but with the monsoon rains fast approaching, many in nepal are still wondering where the government will operate in the near future. moscow's metro system is celebrating its 80th birthday. it started during stalin's rule and is known for his ornate decoration, but it is also one of the busiest metros in the world. rory challands went underground for this report. >> reporter: deep beneath russian streets a lavish subterranean world of mosaics, chandeliers, grand architecture and people in a hurry, lots of them. because however beautiful all of this is it's not a museum it's

a transport network. 196 stations, 10,000 strains per day, 12 lines, 327 kilometers of track and an on average working day, 8 million passengers are carried. moscow has one of the world's greatest metro systems. by the time the first train started rolling, may 15th, 1935 there were already 15 other underground networks in europe. moscow's may have been late but this was stalin's project executed in his grandiose style. expansion pushed on even while they were hiding from world war ii bombs. >> translator: every station has its history, especially those that existed for 80 years. everyone carries a layer of

energy put into it. >> reporter: in cent years, like many transport systems, the moscow metro has proven a soft target. suicide bombers riled 40 people in 2010 and last year's fatal underground derailment have tan initialled another wise pretty good safety record but the main challenge in the 21st century is how to cope with the overcrowding and financial constraints of a meg ka city holding between 13 and 17 million people. >> we have great plans for the development of the moscow metro. up to 2020 we have a plan to increase our metro system and double plus 50% of our lines, metro lines. >> reporter: the metro built to display the ussr's world beating [ inaudible ] is moving with the times so as not to be beaten by the modern world.

rory challands, al jazeera. blues legend b.b. king has died in his home in las vegas at age 89. he became an icon of blues. kim vinnell reports. ♪ >> reporter: with his fluttering fingers and res nant soulful voice. bbking's sound is unmistakable. ♪ >> reporter: we began by playing on street corners in the u.s. state of mississippi where he was born. ♪ everybody ♪ >> reporter: and in a career spanning half a century, rose to become the king of blues. ♪ >> reporter: his name synonymous with the genre itself. >> i like to do what i'm doing, and would do it for nothing if somebody would pay my bills, but they are paying for something i

like to do anyway. >> reporter: king rewrote the book of blues. ♪ >> reporter: complex string bends inspiring thousands. for many his music became a soundtrack for the soul. >> b.b. king that's his legacy. he has given us his life. he has given us the songs that we have cried on the songs that we have suffered through. he has understood our problems and plights. >> reporter: the king always gave his trademark gibson guitars the same name. lucille. the name comes from one of his early shows where two men got into a find and accidentally started a fire. bb ran inside to save his gat -- guitar from a fire. he was in both of blues and rock of roll halls of fame but

remained humble. >> i have never met a king before. [ laughter ] >> so i'm a bit nervous, but also grateful. ♪ so give me one ♪ >> reporter: b.b. king died in his sleep, age 89. [ applause ] u.s. military finds a helicopter lost in nepal while helping the nation deal with a devastating earthquake. the last amtrak car pulled from the crash site in philadelphia. today one of the victims is laid to rest. ♪ and saying good-bye to a blues legend, b.b.