of i'm ray suarez. one of the world's heritage sites at risk of destruction, i.s.i.l. fighters gaining control of the ancient ruins of palmyra. welcome to al jazeera america live from headquarters in doha. coming up, malaysia's navy begins searching for boats full of migrants stranded at s california's governor declared a state of emergency after a pipeline dumps thousands of litres of oil into the pacific okay.

tunisia's president visiting washington promises economic and security aid fighters from the islamic state of iraq and levant have made significant advances in the military campaign in syria. ut u.k.-based syrian observatory for human rights says i.s.i.l. controls half of the country. i.s.i.l. says it has full control of the ancient city the fighting has forced 140,000 people to flee the city and those who stayed behind are living under i.s.i.l. rule. >> a threat to palmyra's ancient ruins captures headlines. control of the city gives direct access to the east and homs in the west. activists say that i.s.i.l. has taken over the last border crossing between iraq and syria. the armed group controls five major cities across syria and iraq including mosul, ramadi

fallujah and raqqa. we have this report. >> everyone in the station appears to have fled. showing that i.s.i.l. has been edging closer day by day. but with their own camera rolling, i.s.i.l. fighters are relentless in a destruction of a symbol of a syrian regime. palmyra is in the hands of these fighters just a few weeks ago i.s.i.l. was said to be on the run. in the same video, local people are shown to support one fighter. it's unclear whether that support is genuine. i.s.i.l. used fear and terror to control the fall. the fall of palmyra has caused alarm and fear for the thousands of people who are thought to be trapped inside. many had come here seeking sank tu urea from other -- sanctuary

from other parts of syria, i.s.i.l. struck at the heart of the ancient past with ruins under threat. >> we may have different beliefs, we may have different views, but we have to protect the incredible vestiges of human history, and i would appeal, indeed, that destroying her timing will not achieve -- heritage will not achieve anything. >> i.s.i.l. is intent on advancing further. with no clear strategy to fight back the group's momentum caused surprise. there'll be soul searching in syria and beyond about how to take more territory the prime minister in iraq is calling for volunteers east of ramadi. forces loyal to the government

are trying to prevent the armed group getting closer to a main base a few kilometres away. i.s.i.l. seized ramadi this week. >> with the fall of ramadi, there are calls for the u.s. to rethink strategy in battling i.s.i.l. in iraq. the obama administration insists that what it is doing is working. alan fisher reports from washington. >> the road to ramadi shocked the white house, provoking criticism of a plan for iraq. a day before the u.s. killed a senior commander in syria, that's part of the obreason strategy to degrade and destroy i.s.i.l. while providing training and equipment to the army. former republican presidential candidate, a senior senator says the loss of ramadi is a defeat. >> they seem unwilling to grasp

the significance as i.s.i.l. rann sacks ramadi. the pentagon's news page ran a story with a head line "strategy to defeat i.s.i.l. is working." >> reporter: the state department insists it is working. >> in a conflict like this is you have ebbs and flows, what matters is getting back on track, get the army on track. >> you are not degrading to the extent where they retake an important city. >> this is a process to degrade them. we have cut off the main source of funding, that is having an impact. we take fighters off the battlefield. the white house is rushing anti-tang missiles. president obama admitted the loss of ramadi was a tactical setback, adding:

senior officers back from training say they see improvements even if recent gains in tikrit are setting the bar low. >> no one ran away right. no one ran away - not that i know of. people fought. it's a big difference to what it was before. >> reporter: the white house insists on keeping the house understand review. after ramadi it's wondering what went wrong, and how to fix it. so the saudi-led coalition is continuing to target it. a military site responds in the early hours of friday. saudi arabia denied reports that it targeted a refugee camp in the north, killing five ethiopians on the fighting from riyadh. >> government troops gain ground

in jov province. it borders sadr the power base of the houthis. if is falls into government hands. it will be the most significant lose. these were seized by fighters loyal to president abd-rabbu mansour hadi. fighting conditions across the country. in taiz the houthis backed by soldiers loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh intensified the campaign to capture yemen's third-largest city. >> we are ordered to defend the region the saudi-led ramped up positions. these are weapons air dropped to

the government troops in the southern provinces, as the fighting picks up international efforts are underway to bring together yemen's warring factions to start political talks in geneva. saudi arabia which backs president abd-rabbu mansour hadi said iran is not welcome at geneva. >> the last time i checked, iran was not a member of the g.c.c. not a member of the league of arab states not a contiguous neighbour to the sit of yemen, is not a permanent member of the security council, and i don't see the point why not invite brazil, others to the conference, there is no place for iran in the consultations in geneva they have not played a constructive role and assist such cannot be rewarded by having a seat at the table. >> the growing political divide could undermine the chances for a deal in geneva. international aid agencies warn

the ongoing crisis will not affect millions of people across the country. >> yemen's key factors welcome the talks, but are divided over the agenda. government loyalists want the talks to recognise abd-rabbu mansour hadi of yemen's leader. the houthis on the other hand insist the talks acknowledge the growing political influence. iran's foreign minister welcomed effort to stop the violence and supports u.n.-brokered peace talks. he met the u.n. special envoy yemen. he said the ceasefire should be the starting point of the peace process. u.n. is calling on all sides to attend the meeting, but it's still unclear as to who will show up malaysia has deployed four naviships to search for migrants

at sea. they discussed coordinating search and rescue efforts. the u.n. believes more than 3,000 asylum seekers are at sea, most are rohingya from myanmar. malaysian indonesians say they'll provide temporary shelter to the migrants that land on shores in thailand which is a major transit point refused to take in the refugees. >> let's go live to rob mcbride, who joins us from the island lang cow which -- lang kau which, any word on whether the malaysian navy boats spotted might ranked boats as yet. >> we are waiting for news of sightings from the navy there has been no sightings as they ramp up the search and rescue efforts. four ships are assigned to the task. they are supported by three helicopters with several other ships on standby, and it is only when they make contact with the

migrant vessels that are expected to be out there to get an idea of what the humanitarian need is and how many will be involved. we know that the government is estimating there are about 7,000 in need. and it along with indonesia committed itself to helping up to 7,000. the big question arises what happens once the figure of 7,000 is reached. what happens is more vessels are encouraged to set sail for myanmar and travels south. what's beyond that. this is a work in progress. the malaysian government accepts that there are loose ends unanswered questions, the most immediate thing is to get out there, find out how many are in need of assistance. myanmar has agreed to having talks with its neighbours over the migrant crisis is this a sign of them softening their position on the refugees.

>> this is scope as a major breakthrough here on the diplomatic side of the developing crisis. they have announced they'll take part in the important talks next week. there were meetings between the indonesian and malaysian foreign ministers with senior officials in myanmar, and the upshot was they agreed to take part in the talks. we don't know what was said but we can expect the talk was forth rite and frank. many here especially in malaysia are frustrated by what is seen as the ambivalence of myanmar authorities to the plight of the rohingya saying it's not their problem, distancing themselves from the responsibility of migrants leaving myanmar. the fact that they are a part of this, it's the source of the problem, part of the solution.

the fact that they are taking part both well for the talks. >> thank you. rob mcbride speaking to us from lang kau which in malaysia -- lang kau which in malaysia it's been a year since the government was taken over and we assess the state of play. it's pacman's game. it was launched [baseball crowd noise] ♪

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

>> al jazeera america, weekday mornings. catch up on what happened overnight with a full morning brief. get a first hand look with in-depth reports and investigations. start weekday mornings with al jazeera america. open your eyes to a world in motion. welcome back let's look at the top stories.

a group monitoring the war in syria says i.s.i.l. controls almost half of the country. in the latest advance the armed group has now taken over the an sent syrian city of palmyra. >> a saudi-led coalition continues to target houthi positions. a military site was bombed in the early hours of friday. earlier saudi arabia denied reports that it had targeted a houthi controlled camp in the north, killing five ethiopia. >> malaysia deployed four naviships to search for stranded migrants at sea. the united nations believes more than 3,000 asylum seekers were at sea, many are rohingya muslim flying persecution. there's another migrant cries circumstances a body of a migrant has been found. it's believed he suffocated in a fishing boat carrying 290 people

from eritrea. more than 10,000 have been rescued from the mediterranean sea in recent weeks. many of the migrant boats leave from ports in syria the foreign minister asked for help to stop the flow. >> europe matters to us just like libya matters to us. in the end, libya is not a security guard for europe. this does not mean that we don't carry out responsibility, we do the evidence of that is in more than 16,000 migrants in detention centers. they cost us huge suls of money, we are -- sums of money, we are in need of that money. >> president obama is promising economic and security assistance to tunisia. obama made the announcement after meeting the president in washington. a white house correspondent

patty culhane has more. >> this is how obama administration shows a country respect - a personal visit with the u.s. president. the% let in to see it. u.s. president obama made it clear why he invited the president. >> it is important to recognise the place where the arab spring began, is the place where we have seen the most extraordinary progress in allowing all parties and all ports of the population including women and minorities participating in the civic and political life of the nation. >> and you gave them more than kind words, but announced he's designating tunisia an ally of the united states. a status 15 other countries have. >> as a practical matter the biggest benefit is that it gives the countries the ability to buy

certain defense systems, material, that others don't have access to. it let's them engage in technological cooperation with the u.s. defense kept. mostly it's a way of saying we see you as a long-term important partner. >> the state department says since the 2011 revolution they have given tunisia 511 million, the majority geared towards economic growth. 179 million has gone towards improving security and 80 million to governance. the tunisian government messaged that he is making progress. >> however important the milestone that tunisia has reached, we are midway. we have a long way ahead of us. >> with the war on libya in perth, he came looking for aid. the u.s. says he'll get it. they have asked congress to double the budget for security in the coming year. >> freed al jazeera journalist

peter greste wants to testify at his retrial set to take place in egypt, but is suggesting he do it via video link from australia. in an opinion peace published in the "sydney morning herald," he wants the chance to defend himself, showing that he is not a fugitive from justice. he was deported and his colleagues mohamed fadel fahmy and mohammed badr were released on became weeks later. all three are accused of collaborating with the muslim brotherhood, charges they and al jazeera deny. >> no one really wants a conviction based on a technicality. the technicality is if i'm in egypt - i'm not allowed to be in egypt because the president kicked me out. the court is demanding i appear. if i don't appear upped rules i'll be convicted. this is the only which i can think of that i can demonstrate to the court, the egyptian government, the people that i'm not a fugitive i'm not afraid

of justice, i'm prepared to go through a cross-examination and defend myself as i said earlier, there's no evidence against us we weren't doing anything criminal, we were not guilty of charges laid against us. a south korean appeals court called for the release of an airline executive. heather cho was convicted after an out burst. she is the daughter of the airline's chairman was sentenced to one year in prison it's been a year since the military toppled the democratically elected government. the takeover was prompted by street protests. scott heidler takes a look at the political divisions that remain. >> when the military staged its take over dismissing the elected government. army chief said they had to do it. thailand was divided, edging close to civil war. >> bringing the sides together

was a top priority for the military government. the political divide between the red shirts and the yellow shirts loyalists opposing programs launched by her brother thaksin shinawatra. one year on the reconciliation programme is not working. >> i can say you want a reconciliation, but you want to persecute, demonize and terrorize the opponent. >> the government says it's following a reconciliation roadmap roadmap, preventing violence and faving the yellow shirts. the political subdivision is so deep rooted. it didn't just happen over the last two years. when someone chooses one side of the political divide they often

find they are not happy when they don't get what they want. >> for some it's more than not getting what they won. this is a red shirt village, according to organizers there are 20,000. most in the north-east. many say that the reconciliation programme is nonexistence. they started the village concept. they lead supporters. the military summonsed him for questioning. >> reconciliation has not happened. this is a lie. we can see one side is treated badly. the general should not have been a prime minister. he said he won't state the coup and he did. he said he didn't want power, and he became prime minister. >> as the prime minister moved into the second series. reconciliation is just one. it faces questions from the

international community on the commitment to clampdown on human trafficking. this as it refuses to give shelter to the thousands drifting off the coast in migrant boats. back in the heartland they are waiting for the day when they can hold gatherings as big as pick niftengs a grand jury in baltimore confirmed charges against six police officers, the african-american man died in april after suffering a spinal cord injury. his death led to mass protests. a policeman has been charged with second degree murder. >> california's local government is deploying a crew to clean up

a spill. the company has apologised for the spill. >> this is a beach outside the coastline. this would, on the eve of memorial day weekend be filled with voters. they are especially equipped rescue boats skimming oil off the surface. the only people allowed is federal officials. the beach is not just ruined it's dangerous to human being. >> it's disappoint i spent my whole career for the public to recreate and protect places like this and to see it impact in a short period of time. making a decision to close the camp grounds is nothing any superintendent wants to do. the region goes to lengths to attract people to the beaches, they are warning them away.

not only are untrained volunteers a danger to wildlife it's because of 1,500 gallons that spills here and the 24,000 that reach the pacific, all of that is dangerous to people. the beach smells like gasoline it gives you a headache. that's why there's a unified, federal local and state response. >> to measure the breath and spread of pollution, we use the daily overflight of spills and best director assets. >> humpback whales sea loins and pore possess go to areas they -- porpoises go to areas they feed. they'll feel this. all of that will be absorbing this toxic substance for years to come. a team of scientists say there's a link between the massive b.p. oil spill in 2010

and a record number of dolphin deaths. the study found large numbers of dead and bottle-nosed dolphins suffered lung and adenyl legions. bp rejected the information saying it was likely caused by respiratory illnesses. >> teams condition their work. 83 people have been confirmed to have been killed in and around the northern town. 80 are missing. rain slowed down the rescue mission, raising fears of land slide. >> finally, it's pacman's birthday. the iconic game was launched 35 years ago and became a highest grossing video game. the game's main target audience was women to counter the male dominance of the industry. here is technology editor. >> in 1980, the video games world was dominated by games

like space invaders. that was until this man set out to design a game to appeal to women. the inspiration, he was eating a pizza, two supplies in the idea of pacman occurred to him. the name - it was pacuman from the sound your mouth makes when opening and closing. later it was changed to pacman and became a hit. 350,000 arcade machines were sold. in the years that followed, they brought in there 2.5 million rev few. >> this was the first game that had artificial characters hunting you down there was music, fun a lot of fun. >> reporter: pacman was the first original gaming mascot

and the first of many to be set in a maize. it was the first video game licensing success with merchandise worth more than a billion in the u.s. alone. >> there was a pack mania in the '80s, where pacman had a cartoon, christmas special and a can of tomato sauce. toys, everything you made. it was the first video game to take off and become a successful property making billions of dollars. and it paved the way for a lot of video game stuff we see today. >> the success of pacman turned the game into a cultural icon a symbol of a generation that grew up. it looks like it's set to live on. >> in july films are due to come out for aliens experimenting arcade games as a declaration of war. >> the creator of pacman.

>> reporter: the real ipp vendor may have retired in 2007. in the film he's invited back to rein in the monster he created. a quick reminder you can keep up to date with all the news on the website. on "america tonight" - he was on board before decriminalizing was cool. correspondent adam may with the smoak. >> how do you think the war on baltimore? >> i think that the way in which the country conducted the war on good. is cutting class a crime? it is in texas, where "america tonight"s lori jane gliha found more than 100,000 kids landed in