hard earned only on al jazeera america >> part of our month long look at working in america. "hard earned". the white house hits out at what it calls an irresponsible lapse bite senate after continues very shall spy laws expire. ♪ ♪ hello, i am in doha and you are watching al jazerra. also on the program. malaysia airline is his to cut 6,000 jobs in a bid for survival after two fatal plane crashes. public smoking is banned in beijing as china introduces tough new laws to stamp out the habit. and we report on fears that cuba's organic revolution could be threat threatened by competition

from u.s. agriculture. hello, u.s. laws that allow security services to spy on american citizens have expired. the senate failed to pass legislation extending powers to monitor millions of telephone calls and e-mails. it's likely to be a temporary lapse and won't stop america spying on the rest of the world but there has been an angry response from the white house. from washington we explain. >> i object. >> reporter: senator rand paul is running from the republican presidential nomination, it was unlikely he would back down on his pledge to allow the patriot act to expire on midnight sunday. >> it's the tip of the iceberg what we are talking about here. and realize that they were dishonest about the program until we caught them. they kept saying over and over again, we are not doing this. we are not collecting your records and they were.

>> reporter: but he went further preventing the usa freedom act from passing in the den at, it has already passed in the house of representatives so president obama could have signed it in to law on sunday night. it allows the government a few more months of mass bulk data collection while a new system is prepared. leaving the records in the hands of the telecommunications companies, the government being allowed to file court orders, secret court orders for any information it feels it needs. however, there will be moreover site over the process. but rand paul and civil liberties groups argue that the usa freedom act still contain provisions that represented an unacceptable intrusion in to american privacy. early on sunday the administration warned if 215 was allowed to expired without any al certainly tiff being passed it would be a blow to counter terrorism efforts . >> these authorities are important. >> do you think that terrorist elements will take advantage of this? >> i think terrorist elements have watched very carefully what has happened here in the united states. >> reporter: the problem here is

several federal inquiries found that section 215 has not contributed to counter terrorism operations in any meaningful way and the government has plenty of other ways to keep collecting the data of americans . >> so there are other parts of the patriot act that can be used to pick up on some of the losses they might have under section 215. they also have another device called national security letters, which they can use to get some of this information. and there are all kind of other programs that we just don't even know about. >> reporter: the government's ability to spy on its citizens remains largely intact. a version of the freedom act may pass the senate later in the week. but further debate may be needed in the house and an agreement will be reached. in previous years 2155 passed without any debate at all. since the leaks from edward snowden, all of that has changed. it should be noted though, that none of this congressional scrutiny will have any impact on the u.s.' expansive mass surveillance of the rest of the world's communications as also

revealed by snow again, al jazerra, washington. privacy campaigners in the u.k. are demanding the government limit police access to private phone and e-mail records. a new report from big brother watch says police made more than 730,000 requests for data between 2012 and 2014. the report also says there were annual increases in requests from the police in each of those years. now, isil fighters say they have destroyed syria's infamous prison. this video can't be independently verified, but it claims to show the damaged compound at palmyra. thousands of syrian political prisoners were jailed there. further south syrian rebels say the opposition led down is being attacked on two front pro-assad air forces are reported to be bombing it from the air. isil rebels are advancing towards it, there are said to have been heavy civilian

casualties. iraq's prime minister has revealed that the military lost over 2,000 armored vehicles when isil overran mosul last year. in an interview with state tv, hider al-abadi said the military irrelevant lost a of weapons when the city fell. the iraqi army fled from mosul last june. imran kahn is live for us in baghdad. imran, just how much weaponry and material did isil gain in this? >> reporter: well, enough for a battalion, that's what was stationed up in mosul. so we are talking about a anybody of humvees prime minute officer al badi said 2000 vehicles. but we know that weapons cash as were stolen, communication military uniforms were stolen, anything that might have been in that base when isil took it over would have been fair game for them. however, there is some discrepancy about the figures.

i have spoken to a number of u.s. military contractors here in iraq who supply the iraqi army with spare parts for humvees and they feel that that 2,300 figure a little high. so there may well be some politics going on here prime minister al-abadi may be using it to try to put some pressure the americans to speed up delivery of military equipment that he says is absolutely necessary for them to fight isil. so there is some discrepancy about the figures but no doubt that the iraqi army just simply fled their positions just under a year ago when isil took mosul and left behind a number of weapons which is now isil are now, sorry using those weapons against iraqi security forces. >> all right imran kahn reporting live for us in baghdad. malaysia airlines is to cut thousands of jobs and change its name in a bid for survival. the revamp follows two disasters involving its planes and heavy financial losses but as we report from hong kong it's not

the only airline forced to rethink its image in an increasingly competitive industry. >> reporter: a smaller fleet with a new look and a new name. that's what is said to emerge from the restructuring of malaysia airlines. the expected cost is almost $2 billion. the transformation will be painful. it's overhaul includes laying off about a 30 of its 20,000 workforce. >> i think the only thing right now that we have to do is to evaluate the mistakes or the areas that we have made. because this is a very competitive industry right now. >> reporter: the changes follow the twin tragedies involving malaysia airlines aircraft within the past 14 months. analysts say the carrier has been racking up losses for years. >> this restructuring is driven by business imperatives and the need for it was identified long before last year. so i wouldn't put too much direct connection. it's the intensely competitive

marketplace that the airlines operate in that forces the airlines to undergo restructuring examinesrestructuring exercises this kind in order to remain competitive. >> reporter: airlines are having to reassess their operation to his meet passenger demands more people than ever are plying nowadays in fact, industry revenue has doubled in the past decade. but much of that growth has been driven by low-cost airlines, which now have 25% of the worldwide market. and that expected to get bigger as they are expanding at a much faster rate than major airlines. in the asia pacific region, there are nearly 50 budget airlines putting pressure traditional carriers such as congress hong's cafe pacific. its flight attendants are threatening to go on strike soon after cafe announced plans to cut pay and perks. >> there is actually lots of complaints that the three issues that we brought out right now are very basic ones. which is the first one is about the new allowance calculation. >> reporter: all airlines are

treading a fine line between maintaining standards and making money. record low fuel prices have helped this year the international air traffic association says 2015 is said to have one of the most profitable years for airlines this century. while other carriers pictures to make money malaysia airlines is fighting for its life and hopes its transformation will win back passenger trust. a smoking ban has come in to force in china's capital beijing, anyone caught lighting up in a public area will nowing fined $30. the only penalty was just $2, stricter laws were introduced because of a nationwide ban on public smoking already in place was widely ignored it is an attempt to discourage 300 million smokers across china. more than 1 million people die from smoking-related illnesses every year. our adrian brown is live for us in beijing. adrian let's talk more about just how tough this law is going to be for people in beijing.

>> reporter: well, this is some of the toughest anti-smoking legislation ever introduced by a local government in china. and those fines, you have just outlined really give a measure of how draw join the measures are by kind as standards, $1,500 for the owner of a calf bay bar or restaurants. who allows someone to smoke in his establish: that is, you know something that's never happened here before. fines in the past as you outlined in your introduction have been very low. the other issue, of course, is enforcement. china has passed strong anti-smoking legislation before it did so just before the olympic games and the problem was enforcement. the question remain to be seen if enforcement will be the

concern. we were filming nearby where there was a smoking ban and we were openly shown the door by the owner. so this gives you an early indication of whether the authorities are going to be able to comprehensively force this particular ban i think it very tough. but they are certainly up to what the world health organization believes is the right start. i think the government here now gets that the mood in china is slowly starting to change. although the rates of smoking here are certainly very high. more than 320 million smokers according to the world health organization. their big concern though, is passive smoking particularly spas i have smoking that affects children and they feel that perhaps as many as 780 million people could be affected by that. so it remains to be seen just how this ban is going to work. we'll know certainly in a few months time just how effective it has been. but the authorities are talking about employing something like 1300 government inspectors, but

this is a big city of more than 20 million. and you are going to need many more inspectors than that i think. >> and indeed, judging by the big anti-smoking sign behind you, there certainly does seem to be a big public awareness of this ban. but you mention there about just how many chinese people smoke on a regular basis. is there a feeling that this law could have gone further perhaps? >> reporter: well, i think the world health organization feels they have probably managed to push the government about as far as they can go at the moment. they know the government here has something of a dilemma which when it comes to tobacco. because the tobacco industry is a huge industry that generates you know, about 10% of all government revenue. so they know they can't squeeze it too tightly. the other problem you have in china is it's not a great incentive to give up smoking because the average price of a packet of cigarettes can range

from 40 cents to, you know, a dollar 50. so as i say not a huge amount of incentive to give up. but i think the world health organization feels something a start has been made today. and the hope is that other cities like shanghai will perhaps follow suit. >> adrian, thank you. adrian brown reporting to us there from the chinese capital beijing. stay with us here on al jazerra, lots more coming up. >> reporter: i am andrew simmons reporting from chernobyl where there is a funding crisis over this massive new structure that's known make this place safer. plus 88 years old and left to fends for herself. why many of mexico's elderly are seeing out their lives in poverty and isolation.

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♪ held going, the top stories on al jazerra. u.s. laws that allow security services to spy on american citizens have expired. senate failed to pass ladies and legislation extending powers to monitor millions of telephone calls and e-mails. malaysia airlines is to cut over 6,000 jobs and change its name in a bid for survival. the revamp follows two disasters involving its planes and heavy financial losses. smoking in public in china's capital beijing is now bans. tougher regulations been lighting up in restaurant, offs and public transport. thousands of en specters will enforce the rules. east african leaders are

urging burundi's president to delay june's elections. more than 90,000 people have fled burundi because of violence ahead of the thousands. and the president is not attending the summit in tanzania where east african leaders are meeting. we have more from burundi's capital. >> reporter: african leaders chose their words very carefully. some people here feel they weren't tough enough. they urged him to delay the elections by at least a month and a half. they have urged him to disarm militia, these are young people in the ruling party the youth wing accused by opposition leaders of victimizing them. the presidency denies this. and he's also been urged by all sides government and opposition to meet and agree to a dialogue and find a peaceful solution out of the crisis. the opposition say they are not happy. they say delaying the polls was not the issues. >> the african leaders are just prolonging a crisis saying the issue you was they don't want him to run for a third term

because it say violates the contusion, they are going back on the streets monday to protest because they are not happy despite there being a heavy security presence on the ground. goodluck jonathan's p.d.p. party once dominated nigeria politics it had control of the presidency parliament and most states recent elections saw them kicked out of power at almost every level. so is the p.d.p. ready to play its role as an opposition. >> reporter: a party now trying to reinvents itself. after 16 years in power nigeria's former ruling party is adjusting to its new role as opposition. they have not only lost the presidency and pardon me parliament it also lost control of most seats? crucial state lex state elects. mechanics of the party said they were not prepared for defeat and to play the role in opposition, and people believe it's not

healthy for the country. >> if they don't check such crisis i don't think they'll be able to monitor control and check the new government that was elected recently. there could be the possibility of a one party state. it will be undemocratic and unconstitutional. >> reporter: but the new rulers say they will provide the country with credible rule. the p.d.p. falls to the powerful state governors who in the past. bank roled the country. >> we will do our best like the p.t.b. has been doing in the last 16 years to keep the flag flying and to also compete neighborbly. and so optimistic that the party will be there. i am so positive that with problemmer planning and

strategizing. >> reporter: nigeria's opposition has a challenging task ahead. observers hope it will play its part and keep democracy alive. a hope shared by many nigerians who voted for change in the last elections. al jazerra nigeria. a major climate change meeting is taking place in germany. delegates from nearly 200 countries are looking to lay down the foundations for a global deal to be signed in paris this december. huge obstacles remain, though, including how to help nations most affected by global warming. nick clark reports from cuba. >> reporter: 56 rainy seasons have come and gone since the revolution and much has changed. back in the day when sugar was gold even the likes of shea ga vera would set an example. today in havana harbor the sugar ships bound for the soviet union

are long gone and with them a chemical-laced system of big agriculture. on the outskirts of the capital an urban farm, on wholly organic supplying the local community for artificial fertilizers worms processing animal maneuver. crops like mayor gold and corn. it's not that the cuban government was enlightened about the government or agriculture it's just that farmers were forced to be more sustainable because of the years of isolation and lack of resources. the sevenning of the soviet supply line meant the big scale culture had to be replaced by small multi-crop farms and cubans became expert organic growers. miguel says it's lessons the world can learn moving towards sustainable methods of food production. >> translator: it's a myth that organic farming can't feed the would. it's only 70 years ago there were no chemicals and 70 years

in the time span of humanity is nothing. but organic farming is more labor intensive. we need to pay farmers better to encourage people to come out of the cities back to the country side. >> reporter: two hours outside havana where the sustainable approach has blossomed in in to a bio sphere reserve here cubans come to enjoy the weekend and tourists can feast on locally produced organic food. but there is a threat looming on the small family-run farms it's tough to deliver decent crops and make a good living. >> translator: there are a lot of things we grow that would be a lot more productive if we had chemicals. make the quality wouldn't be the same but we lose a lot by not being able to apply artificial fertilizers. >> reporter: the fear is now that as diplomatic relations are change is as fast at the weather a new and open cuba will mean a renewed supply of fest sides and chemical fertilizers. farmers may be tempted to return to the old ways threatening cuba's long-time organic

revolution. nick clark, al jazerra cuba. they are noble was the scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster back in 1980 circumstance now nearly 30 years on a new structure is being built to replace the aging concrete that en casses the destroyed reactor. but money and time are running out. >> reporter: looming above a town where no one lives anymore a newark of-like structure now dominates the skyline. it's meant to offer fresh hope in the long wake of nuclear tragedy left by its next door neighbor reactor number four. but although the structure is heralded as a feat of engineering, it's missed several deadlines and still isn't finishes. you have to walk a good distance back to take in its enormity. this is the biggest movable structure on earth. eventually it will be maneuvered slow low rails to totally encase

reactor number four. the question is, when that will happen. completion though, isn't the only issue. a massive funding shortfall has also hindered progress, a project manager says it's hardly surprising the budget has been colossal with it being such a complex and hazardous challenge. >> we have got a huge amount of radioactive waste when we removed from this site because it was very dangerous. >> reporter: but the danger doesn't end there because there is no guarantee the concrete sarcophagus built by the soviet to his box in reactor number four's lethal contents will keep doing its job. scientists assign today monitor safety are worried. >> translator: the longer the sarcophagus exists the higher the chance it will collapse. its lifetime was only meant to be 25 years that's already past. the evening nears can't guarantee its stability anymore.

>> reporter: it's likely that anyone doubting the urgency of this situation would change their view with a walk around the nearby town. this used to be a school in one of many areas evacuated. like the rest of the town, it's abandoned. 50,000 people had lived here. now it's the center of a nuclear exclusion zone. it all happened in a few minutes. one explosion. then three decades as one of the world's most contaminated places. there isn't an end insight. with no one sure how many lives were taken by chernobyl. more than 4,000 documented cases of terminal illness with thousands more suspected. it's a town frozen in time. where an amusements park was about to open. no one got to use it. 29 years on, it's spring and taking over everywhere trees in

bud that look like the only living things. there is stillness and silence. andrew simmons, al jazerra inside the chernobyl exclusion zone. australian's political opposition has proposed allow thata -- alaw that would recognize same-sex marriages. backing a bill to overturn a national ban on game marriage, thousands of people in sydney held a rally in support of game marriage. hundreds of people have marched in mexico city marking eight months since 43 students disappeared in guerrero state. the families of those missing say the police aren't telling the truth about what happened to the students. they are calling for the creation of an independent body to take charge of searching for disappeared people. and staying in mexico, the country's can he lining agricultural industry has led

many young people to abandon the countryside in search of work in the cities. what about the people left behind? john reports from southwestern mexico. >> reporter: 88 years old francisca starts and end her day fending for herself. her only son is left looking for work which simply doesn't exist in her small village. >> translator: i am forced to provide the food because there is no one else but i can't go. my foot really hurts me and i am sick and weak. >> reporter: traditionally in mexico the family cares for the elderly at home. but those of working age have been streaming out of the failing mexican countryside for years. heading to the city or the u.s. and leaving the old behind. >> translator: i don't sleep at night thinking about my sick sister where we will get the money and worrying about my son. he has left and hasn't come back to me. what will happen if i die? i am already sick myself.

>> reporter: government support is limited in these isolated rural areas. francisca gets a state pension of $35 a month. not enough to cover her basic needs. in some regions the problem is worse than in others, but here in this area in southwest mexico many older people are living out their lives in poverty. and isolation. >> basically elders are not in communication with their family members because they don't have cell phones, they don't have describe and they can't even express their needs migration has left them basically to their own devices without the family support that they would have usually had. >> reporter: a local charity gives out blankets, clothes and food to the elderly in the villages. they also organize regular activity to get elders elders moving against and expressing themselves. most importantly they know they are not alone.

>> translator: i didn't go out to speak to people and make friends i was just in my house now i i am happy because i have people to chat to, to laugh with. >> reporter: mexico's rural population is growing older still. the average age of those working in the countryside is now 55. without more support from their families or the government, many are unlikely to enjoy their retirement. john hulman, al jazerra mexico. brazilian football legends pele is in havana to kickoff a new era in sporting relations between the u.s. and cuba. pele's former team the new york cosmos will play a friendly against cuba's national team on tuesday. they'll be the first american sports team in 16 years to play in the communist-ruled island. the u.s. removed cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism earlier this week. >> translator: i always offer myself for moments of peace. moments of brotherhood. and once more, we are here with

sock tore create peace and happiness for the people. lots more on our website as always aljazerra.com. get the latest on all of the stories worth following there. aljazerra.com. >> this is "techknow". a show about innovations that can change lives. >> the science of fighting a wildfire. >> we're going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity, but we're doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science... >> oh! >> oh my god! >> by scientists. >> tonight, saving the macaw. >> i'm in the peruvian amazon and we're on the search for endangered macaws. >> now techknow is on a on