>> battles between isil fighters and the iraqi army and anbar province with heavy casualties on both sides. scuffles break out between

protesters and police. ahead of the g 7 summit in southern germany. and the crowds come out in bosnia to hear the pope's message of reconciliation. >> i'm lee wellings with the sports news. in paris how well serena williams does to win the 20th grand slam single's title. >> let's start with breaking news now coming in from the mediterranean where the my grand crisis is brewing 25,000 people were rescued. a number that is expected to rise. rescue operations have been carried out in the last 4 hours with some still going on right now.

we understand that people rescued at sea are being taken to the italian ports. we've been following the mediterranean migrant crisis, we're live at the italian island of lampedusa. tell us what is happening right now. >> well, that number of 2500 has risen. we just got off the phone with the italian coast guard. so far it's 23,100. as you said there are several rescue operations still ongoing. it's not clear yet but that number will also rise in the next few hours. some of the migrants just arrived here in lampedusa in the port behind me, 106 of them. but the bulk will be arising tomorrow because it takes a long

time to sail really from the rescue area, which is about 200 to 300 nautical miles south of italy. so more close to the libyan coast and actually to italy still in international waters. we understand that 800 of them have been picked up by the germans, and they'll head to the port of palermo. it is a scramble for the italian authorities each time you have these large numbers they need to find not only ports of arrival, but also places where they can put these migrants who are so tired, places where they can at least spend their first night on land. >> are we seeing a pattern here of the numbers creeping up towards the weekend? >> well, last weekend you and i were talking about the numbers again. they were much higher. they were 4,000--more than 4,000

migrants picked up in less than 24 hours. by the end of that weekend the number had risen to 5500. the fact that over the weekend we've heard of migrants being rescued, but it was in the lower hundreds every day. i think over the weekend that it rises has to do with the situation in libya. the weekend starts there on thursday evening friday and saturday are weekends. that's the time that there is less people on the streets, less people along the beaches. it's much easier for the smugglers to move these hundreds of people towards these empty beaches where they leave from. that is something that the libyan authorities have told me. they're in libya about a month ago. certainly over the weekend there seems to be a better a bit of a pattern there. this tritan mission that e.u. members carry out next to the coast of libya.

they're coordinated by the italians who have been at the forefront of these search and rescues for several years now. we've been with the border police of italy also in charge of the maritime borders, and we have witnessed two rescue operations just a few days ago. >> their mission is to patrol and protect the borders of italy, including the maritime ones. for a few years now it goes well beyond that. at the forefront of the rescue operations of migrants making journeys across the mediterranean sea. >> saving human lives is really gratifying especially when there are children. once there was a baby who showed no sign of life. his head was tilted. one of my colleagues massaged his tiny stomach and he started crying. it was emotional. >> when the sea is rough we have

to keep them calm, bring them on board as quickly as possible. once they started singing they were thanking god we found them. all of them were singing old and young. >> the state of the art vessel, the newest in the fleet of border police. it's camera can zoom in 18 kilometers. but finely finding the tiny dinghies of people traffickers is much more difficult. other e.u. nations are also patrolling the seas and air. this is the ship from the british royal navy. we're 24 nautical miles off the coast in front of the tripoli area. this is where most of the migrants get rescued. any boat in the area has to identify itself or it gets

searched. >> the german navy is carrying out a rescue. later the dinghy was destroyed by fire. for a while the smoke dominated the horizon. they're all part of the recently established tritan mission. >> it consists of joint sea patrols by various european neighbors. there are days where 6,000 migrants reaches our areas in just a matter of hours. we had to call on commercial ships to help. there are no borders at sea so we'll go where we need to go even beyond the tritan area. >> beyond is this area on the map. here they're in charge of coordinating all search and rescue operations. it's here that we saw the crew rescue nearly 250 people in little more than an hour a few days ago. thousands more in the past. while the e.u. politicians talk

about how to deal with the never ended influx, unsung heroes continue to comb the sea in search of lives to save. al jazeera in the mediterranean sea. >> well, to iraq now. battles have been taking place between government forces and fighters between the islamic state in iraq and the levant as both sides try to gain the upper hand of owning the province. just an hour's drive west of baghdad, 22 iraqi shoulders and shia fighters were killed in an isil attack. meanwhile, iraqi forces say they have killed 55 isil fighters. we have reports from baghdad. >> the aftermath of an attack at the air base.

the battle for this iraqi outpost is filmed by isil fighters. who are keen to show that their advance from ramadi is not slowing down. the mounting losses here suggest they're right. at least 22 people have been killed. most of them iraqi soldiers and shia militias who fled ramadi. the u.s. who has been carrying out airstrikes say even sow the strategy won't change. and so the plan continues to the west of samara it is entering what military commanders call the second face. iraqi soldiers and shia militia continue to regain control of pockets of terrain. >> we reached the most strategically important pocket of terrorists. we saw intense presence of terrorists. we've seized total control of the area we're standing in. we've secured the area and provided a security for the residents. we're backed up in the operation by army and jet fighters.

we managed the accomplish the mission in a few hours. >> the task now includes patrol, a dangerous mission in this barren land that borders anbar province. isil attacks have killed dozens in the past few days. isil has shown it's ability to advance on several fronts when the iraqi forces strike. so their bid is key before the focus is all on rahman any. in many case the current battle is one for control of its roads and smaller towns and villages. the iraqi security forces have had some success in taking back their roads in the smaller towns and villages. they're using those towns and villages as a staging post to retake ramadi. but the isil fighters have the advantage. they are using those to great affect for reinforcements. that's giving the iraqi security force a serious challenge. al jazeera.

baghdad. >> well, from all the situation in iraq i'm joined now in studio by a consultant fellow from the royal united institute. he was an officer in the royal air force and worked with counter intelligence and strategy. good to have you with us. the message we're having is that they're having a profound impact their airstrikes with a profound impact. if that's true how are we seeing isil repeatedly remain on the defensive? it seems today in many of the areas they were the ones attacking iraqi governments and allied militia forces. >> yes that's the nature of insurgency. isil will always be on the offensive. it will choose the time and place it wants to attack. that is how it can show that it is gaining. just by having the initiative.

it's demonstrating to its supporters and to the wider public that despite a year of preparation and despite a year of coalition airstrikes it can still attack. >> now the pentagon said it has killed 10,000 of the isil fighters. is that the best measure of the success of the air campaign? >> well, it's not the best measure. because as the americans found out when they were fighting insurgency in iraq, it isn't about a numbers game. >> how many people you kill? >> exactly. it's not an traditional warfare because they can always replace those fighters, and they are replacing those fighters all the time. >> what is the measure? i 13,000 bombs have been dropped. how do you measure them? >> well, each insurgency defines success in a particular way. the unique thing about isil or daesh is that it defines success through territory.

that's when having captured territory declared itself an islamic state. and so territory is important and if you can deny it territory, it ceases to be with what it claims to be. so in defeating isil what we need to do is to reduce this territorial control and eventually that way you can reduce it's following and also the number of people that support it. >> it looks like they mainly been able to secure areas where there are disgruntled sunnies in places like iraq. can isil be defeated without addressing some of those bigger political questions the concerns of sunnies in iraq, the regional struggle between saudi arabia and iran? >> well, those concerns are one of the reasons for isil's

success. it hijacked a lot of genuine grievances that the sunni tribes have had. however, if you solve those grievances it doesn't mean that they have the capacity to fight isil on their own. more necessary the confidence to fight. >> has the iraqi prime minister made any gains on some of the concerns about detainees release of female retainees the an anti-terror law that they want changed. >> it doesn't appear to be a great deal done by the government. they'll probably say that they're too busy fighting daesh. however, if they were to do this it is now too late. those things should have been done a decade ago. those things should have been addressed a long time ago. one of the things that the sunnies of anbar need to have converse that whenever daesh is

defeated that they will have security. they need the confidence that daesh will not come back. you know, we have the awakening when the forerunners of daesh aqi were supposedly defeated, they've come back in in a new guise. these people cannot be held ransom by these terror groups, and they are terror in every sense of the word. defeating daesh is a prerequisite to the political solution not the other way around now. >> interesting. thank you so much. for the past hour iraqi forces have said that 14 people have been killed by a car bomb. northeast of baghdad, no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, though. rebels with links to al nusra front and al qaeda have seized control in the countryside. they have also controlled parts of a motor way linking aleppo to

the mediterranean coast. we have the details. >> they call themselves army of conquest. they appear to be living up to their name. they have taken over a number of villages after intense fighting with regime forces. it gets the army of conquest up closer to the key port of latakia. the assaults began early in the morning with a barrage of firing by heavy weapons including artillery, tanks and machine guns. >> this map of northwestern syria shows why this battle is so important. the syrian regime has already lost control over parts of aleppo and now rebels control the motor way linking idlib with latakia, the ancestral home of bashar al-assad family and his alawite sect. >> the latest rebel gains consolidates their power in idlib.

the provincialal capital fell in march. the regime lost control of another key city last month. meanwhile, rebel groups regime forces and isil continue to fight each other in neighboring aleppo. that province remains divided. the syrian regime is on the back foot here. it will not give up the coastal province of latakia without a fight. the vival of the assad regime and the alawite sect to which he belongs is at stake. >> still ahead why a new report is painting a worrying picture about the consequences of violence in the west bank. taking matters into their own hands, why people are speaking out and taking action ahead of mexico's elections. and world number one djokovic takes another step towards open title. action coming up.

>> now thousands of people are protesting lady of sunday's g 7 summit. demonstrators demanding action and climate change on globalization. they're expected to disrupt talks between world leaders. 22,000 police officers were from around germany are on hand. dominickdominic kane joins me live. how is it shaping up. >> the weather has closed in around us here. and there is a suggestion of an electrical storm in the air. but the atmosphere is highly charged with expectation with thousands of people who are some to this bavarian town be it police security, protesters or the media all drawn by the viewer of the g 7 summit. nestling in the mountains of

bavaria he's seen as a retreat forre--it's seen as a retreat for germany's wealthiest. protected by many thousands of police and military personnel the g 7 will discuss several of the world's flash points. notably the conflict in ukraine. in recent weeks the fighting has intensified particularly near donetsk. the summit is the second such that russia has been excluded from. the g 7 group said that russia's role in ukraine makes a meaningful discussion impossible. one leading german political commentator says excluding russia is a strategic error. >> it's very dangerous indeed. russia has started a very serious offensive and i really mean the russians. it's not the donetsk people, the

wild men burdened men with cossack uniforms, no, nothing would happen there without the pushing of the kremlin. >> the continuing threat of the islamic state is also high on the g 7 agenda. the group has advanced further into iraq in recent months. the u.s. president barack obama is hoping to hold a series of bilateral meetings about isil on the fringes of the summit. >> there is no joint strategy to deal with isil. apart from the military campaign that may either be right or wrong. but politically what strategy do we have for syria? >> as host of the summit chancellor angela merkel is looking to agenda of climate change. some think this is a missed chance. >> this is a chance to get to

zero on infant mortality. this could be be a catalytic. they could put on the table strong commitments of what they're willing to do to see that this happens. that's what we hope will happen this week. >> then there are people who are hoping to disrupt the meetings as much as they can. they want to get as close to the g 7 summit as possible and demonstrate how strong their opposition to it is. >> somewheresome were involved with scuffles with the police. some hoped to put on a show of force, to make the issue and hope that this is what g 7 is remembered for. >> the authorities will be hoping fervently that this will dampen the the protesters.

we know that there will be a bilateral meeting and then it will get down to the nitty-gritty as it were, as the seven leaders represent the european union get down to discussing the issues on the agenda that we heard about in my piece, and also perhaps those who hope that there will be some attention to some issues that aren't so clearly in the agenda in the media agenda so far. that's to be seen and we'll be following it tomorrow. >> getting down to the real issues of substance that everyone wants to see. thank you so much, dominick kane. let's bring you breaking news here in al jazeera. the united nations has announced that peace talks between the warring parties to the yemen conflict will take place in geneva on june 14th. the talks of course were supposed to be held but were postponed last month with different sides laying down

pre-conditions. apparently those obstacles seem to be overcome after heavy duty diplomacy. just a recap there the u.n. saying that those peace talks on the conflict in yemen are to be held in geneva on june 14th. elections this week are to take place in mexico. the government is sending troops and extra police to the south because of escalating violence there. teachers have threatened to block and attack political parties. meanwhile vigilante leaders took up arms against drug cartels are now fighting for a seat in congress. from micoacan, we have reports. >> his days battling the brute knights templar cartel which took over swaths of southwest mexico. he rows to prominence with his

sombrero and high-powered rifle. now he has found a knew job as a candidate for congress in up coming elections. he doesn't think much about politicians. >> they're a bunch of crooks who lie to everyone. >> but he sees himself as an outsider infiltrateing the authorities after recently getting out of jail for a shootout in which his son and ten others have died. >> i talked to vigilante groups and said we need to attack from both sides. we need to get into the politician's circle ask's circle as well. >> many see this now as the moment to move in politics. >> they have gradually been absorbed by the authorities into a new entity that they call the rural police force complete are uniforms vehicles and salaries.

but the problems that provoked the vigilantes still remain. crime, murder, and a sense of government neglect. >> planning to swap the consulting room for a congressional run. she's close to the vigilante movement. her brother was one of the leaders until he was put in jail. she said she's continuing her brother's struggle by challenging the government in its own arena. >> i want what we live for, the bloodshed, the widows and the orphans with no income because their relatives were in prison to act as a base for change and to help us decide what we want for ourselves. not through killing our armed up rising but through reasoning work and mutual help. >> the killing has continued throughout the elections. vigilantes turned candidates are targeted for local gangs. only last month one was shot dead. and in the morning of our

interview mora abruptly called off the campaign in a nearby town after being warned of an planned ambush. instead, he would speak with others in the village and who warned him to keep his word and not become like the politicians. >> the country's new multi million dollar education drive. and there's a party atmosphere in berlin ahead of the champions league final. lee will have the latest as barcelona and juventus both chase the trophy. trophy.

to be associated with such atrocities only on al jazeera america

>> on hard earned, inspiring new beginnings... >> these workers got the fight in them, they just don't know it. >> facing up to old demons... >> i am really really nervous... >> lives hanging in the balance... >> it's make or break... i got past the class... >> hard earned pride... hard earned respect... hard earned future... a real look at the american dream hard earned only on al jazeera america >> 3,100 people have been picked up in in up in the mediterranean

sea in the last 4 hours. >> over to the war in yemen now the united nations is saying it will hold peace talks between yemen's warring factions in geneva on john 14th. plans for talks were postponed because of objections because of the exiled yemeni government. meanwhile, state tv said it was fired by houthi rebels by their stronghold. three saudi soldiers were killed in an attack by houthis on the border. we're joined by adam baron visiting fellow low on foreign relations. good to have you with us. is everybody on board and

everybody will be there? >> this is the closest things thing we've seen to a breakthrough since the conflict began. but at this point it looks like we'll have representatives from the exiled government and representatives from houthis on the other side. that does not include the fighters on the ground. it's key to remember that fighters in the south refuse to acknowledge hadi. and that's one of the things that will lead to trouble in these talks. the fact that as we speak of a two-sided conflict. >> if we can come back to the main "fault line" sort of the houthis and their allies and the pro forces on the one side verse president hadi and their international backers there is a question here about the conditions that were demanded,

the houthi withdraw from sanaa for them to lay down their weapons. what's happened to those conditions? >> it appears that the conditions have been sheffield for now. i mean, it's important to remember that these aren't even negotiations per se. what we're talking about now is consultations to pave the way for negotiations. >> talks about more talks? >> talks about talks perhaps talks about talks. it's still unclear. this is really a very tentative first step. that being said, i think anything i mean, it's been hard to find anything, any sort of cope of yemen. this is the slowest sign of something that could potentially-- >> if this is to set the groundwork of perhaps proper talks coming up, is this why we've seen an upsurge in the fighting? we've heard from the republican guards trying to launch his way through into saudi arabia. >> oh, yes absolutely.

and you often when you look at conflicts whether in yemen or the rest of the region or the rest of the world for that matter you often see an upsurge in violence before parties head to the negotiating table as if they signal they still maintain some upper hand. it's important to remember that this upsurge in violence also suggests that not everyone has control of the people they're supposed to have control over. even these attacks being launched over the saudi border. when we speak of ali abdullah saleh and the houthis align but sa laaleh is not aligned with houthis and the houthis are not necessarily aligned with saleh. >> there is a question about what sort of future there is for saleh. he's definitely trying to keep a political future, but i thought that was an issue for the saudis

and many others that was definitely off the table. >> yes saleh continues to stun all of us all the time. when it comes down-- >> is he going to be at the talks? >> i would be shock first degree he doesn't have representatives at the talks. but i would be surprise first degree he went himself. >> not personally-- >> his party will be represented at the talks and he'll have representatives at the hawks. unfortunately, when you look at it he's one of the main powers on the ground. you can't really look at some negotiation without him being represented there. >> all right thanks so much for your thoughts. >> well, most investigation noose israeli settlers are accuse of palestinians abuses do not result convictions of crimes. we have reports from the occupied west bank. >> he says he lives in near

constant agony. just over a year ago he was attacked by a group of men who he says are israeli citizens who live in an illegal settlement not far from his home in the occupied west bank. he shows me the x-rays taken after he received extensive surgery for the 14 fractures to his leg and two to his arm. >> i was harvesting olives when settlers started throwing stones at us. i tried to run away, but i fell. that's when they beat me with a metal rod. none of them have been charged or arrested for assaulting me. >> according to human rights groups, 85% of police investigations are closed because israeli investigators fail to find the suspects or enough evidence to lay charges. the cases that are investigated only 7% ever lead to an indictment. and only around a third of those ever lead to a full or partial

conviction. >> with the organization behind the research, she says that the reason crimes against palestinians by israeli citizen who is live in illegal settlements routinely go unpunished is because some senior security officials appear to condone it. >> it all starts from above. there is simply no will by some command tours see these perpetrators as outlaws who should be punished. there are those who believe the motivation behind the offenses serve the country by expanding the control over the territory. >> violence against palestinians in the occupied west bank is well documented. according to the u.n. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in 2014 there were 399 assaults. al jazeera requested and interview with the israeli police officials to comment on the findings of the latest report but they've declineed. >> he says he's not surprised police officials are unwilling

to talk about the facts that settlers are rarely punished for . he said after a year of near constant pain he's certain that his attackers will never be brought to justice. al jazeera the occupied west bank. >> well, it's the final day of election campaigning in turkey ahead of a parliamentary vote widely seen as a performance test for the ruling ak party. president erdogan has been campaigning hard for the ruling party, a large majority would allow erdogan to change the constitution and transfer the prime minister's powers to the president. let's have a look at the parties running in sunday's polls then. the most challenging election for the members of the ruling justice and development party. the parties run a campaign on the importance of identity. they're pushing for 330 seats in parliament so they can ask for a

national referendum on changing the constitution. the main opposition the republican people's party is focusing on the economy. they're proposed a higher minimum wage bonus pension and mega city to create economic growth. they need to win 267 seats in parliament to create a single party government. and the people's democratic party or hdp has been trying to change its reputation as the kurdish party. well, it's focusing on minority and gender rights targeting young urban and secular voters. they have been critical of president erdogan and the ruling ak party. well joining us live from istanbul is european price winner and turkish columnist good to have you with us. first of all, do you think the ak party can pull this off? can they get the two-thirds majority in parliament?

>> it doesn't seem likely according to the polls. if you take the average of the polls that say about ten polls seven polls, all indicate a side from akp side. the average indications are about 43%-44% at best at moment. of course it's up to the voters tomorrow but the 330 seats necessary for taking presidential system change amendments constitutional amendments to referendum seems very very low possibility indeed. >> even if the ak party don't get two-thirds even if they don't get a majority and they're forced into a coalition what will that mean for institutional reform? it needs to go ahead in one shape or another doesn't it? >> well, the constitution

according to many senior constitutional experts in this country being in suspension, that seems to be the agreement because of the repetitious breaches of the constitution. because the clause for the president makes it very clear that the president should be impartial with equal distance to the parties. but that has been very easybly challenged by president erdogan during the election campaign. taking part for the akp along side the president means that the crisis only promises to deepen after monday if akp fails to get enough seats. coalition or not coalition if akp even gets number of seats between 276 through 330, which is not enough for a referendum. still the constitutional crisis

will be a fact to be faced for turkey. that means a lot of hard times for erdogan to deal with because in that case most of the opposition parties the leaders will start challenging the situation that if is sustainable, that something has to be done about this, and it also depends whether or not judicially itself is encouraged and emboldened enough to take the matter in its own hands. we are no matter what the outcome of the elections tomorrow as turkey heading for crisis even that party wins big again with the sliding over the landslide that will be another type of crisis because this would mean challenging the constitution by way of majorityism. or if akp loses there would be a slide. again, turkey would be faced

with a constitutional crisis. >> it looks like a difficult period. why are the democratic people's party, why are they rising? turkey has already several parties, usually seen as the strong opposition party what has made it rise now? if you're asking about the htp it has risen somewhat because of the tactical involved inclinations in general throughout the nation. if this tactical voting, which means if you want to say no to erdogan, you should work for htp that will be a parliament with four parties not three, so the balances will still be in favor of some sort of

consensus-seeking, some sort of slowing down what they see as an accelerateing towards democracy. htp is counting on ten-plus ten-plus--er--10%-plus which seems to be on the agenda, and according to the polls. it's a possibility. >> thank you for your thoughts. south sudan's equatorial state has launched the countries' first back to learning campaign. it's a $42 million initiative to try to get some 400,000 children who have dropped out of school to go back. >> students from across the town come together for a celebration. and a call to action. marching through the streets of the provincial capital these young people are carving out a

new path to south sudan. in a country of poverty and violence education comes first. >> i feel that education will prosper and we'll grow better. but of course still there is insecurity in the country. education will fall apart. >> western equatorial state has seen states of violence in recent weeks although officials maintain that the attacks are random. the united nations' children's fund back to learning campaign said that education will be key to achieving future peace. >> we have very ambitious plans to get 40,000 children back into school in western equatorial. indeed in every state in the whole country to total 400,000. so far we've reached about 80,000 we opened more than 100 schools. but we still have some way to go. >> and the odds they know are stacked against them. ten years ago a girl here would

have been more likely to die in childbirth than to finish primary school. schools remain under resourced and under staffed due to a lack of funding. scenes like these have been few and far between in this young country. the 22-year silver war ended with independence from the north, but violence broke out in 2013 with those loyal to the president against those who backed his former deputy. those hearsay the right for education must endure if these students hold the hope of a more stable future. >> well, still ahead no more war, the pope's message. and in sports, the drought to one of the biggest prizes in

sport could end on saturday. plan

>> the country's bosnian country to leave behind them their troubled past and the barbarity of war. >> catholics from across the balkans to hear a call for peace

and haw moan with harmony with their muslim neighbors. the throne was give to him made by a bosnian muslim carpenter. >> it means destroyed houses, streets and factories it means above all countless shattered lives. you know this well, and having experienced it here how much suffering, how much destruction how much pain. >> in the beautiful town, they have had good reasons to reflect on the importance of this papal visit. a muslim, he was forced to dig trenches for soldiers in the hills around the town as they attacked the muslim majority. yet his marriage to his catholic

wife did not fail. it's a love story that would make the pope's heart burst with joy. >> we gain strength from staying together through the war. today we live happily together despite our ethnic differences. >> all the people from bosnia are thrilled the pope has come to visit. his message of peace will make things much better. >> now president of the local association for hundreds of survivors of the war camps. it's the only one in bosnia which caters for victims of all ethnic groups. look at the condition of it. they have not received a penny from any political party. >> all of the old ethnic divisions still hold the country back. there are three presidents here. oneone serb, one c at croate

and one bosnian president. and despite that all bosnians say they're ready for greater reconciliation the question is whether their politicians have caught up with them. >> the pope met with the three presidents echoing the call for greater understanding. they'll be meeting with former president clinton next year to mark the anniversary of the massacre. in some places you never would have known there ever was a war. and the children will have a chance to build on what has been accomplished. but it won't be easy, the forces of political division has not gone away. >> we'll go to all the football. here is lee. >> the champions league final is underway in berlin. barcelona and juventus going head to head be crowned

champion. they're both looking to claim the trophy treble for their league and cup titles. no goal as yet early in the game. it's important defender, the man bitten in the world cup he's out injured. and they're having to cope with neymar and messi. more than a billion viewers are expected to watch the women's world cup in canada. it will be broadcasting in 187 territories, and it's hope that the increase of broadcasters and captive audience will boost ratings. host canada opened the tournament against china in just a few hours' time. >> it's the ceremony of the world cup. you want to kick this tournament off the way it should be kicked off in canada. you know, 55,000 people will be there. i imagine the country will

partially stop for people to tune in. we have to win this game. >> serena williams has won the french open for her 20th grand slam singles title. but this was a tough one to win afghani been unwell the last couple of days. in the third she showed her champion quality. >> if ever there was a chance for the underdog this was it. the chance against the best in the world. having gone through the semi passing on practice and press sessions flu left serena williams fragile. but she quickly underlined her status as favorite. pepperpering her opponent, her problems seemed to evac evaporate.

the second set started in similar fashion as serena proved her placing second to none. with defeat seemingly moments away she gave serena a taste of her own medicine. her perfectly judgeed forehands were giving her hope. breaking back at 5-all serena seemed to have the tight in her sights. but safarova would force this tie break. and she raced to level the match and push it to an unexpected third set. with momentum firmly in her favor, safarova continued to make serena suffer as she took the lead in the final set. against any other player this might have been enough, instead

it shook serena into action. all signs of fatigue forgotten a champion came to the fore the power to a third french open title. that victory etches her name once more in the history books as only the third player, male or female, to win 20 singles titles. >> i can tell you in that champions league final in berlin barcelona have taken the lead. which of their strikers? it was rakotic the midfielder. now in the men's final of the tennis djokovic held off andy murray in the semi final. he was beaten 2-11 on saturday. although forced a fifth and decisive set djokovic took it 6-1 to remain on course for a

career grand slam. the french open the only title he has never won. >> it was really tough match all four hours all together. no different from any other match that we played against each other. it's always a marathon. i'm very glad that i managed to finish. this match is a winner. >> physically, i felt like i was doing really well yesterday. you know, i don't know how good nowak was feeling but i felt like i was in a good position at that stage. so that was the most positive thing for me physically i was right there. >> olympic champion mofara is worried that his reputation is being ruined. the 5,000 and 10,000-meter

champion said that there is no evidence to prove allegations. he has denied the claims. >> i'm really angry at this situation. it's not fair, it's not right yet i haven't done anything but my name is getting dragged through the mud. it's something that is not in my control, but i want answers. i need to know what's going on. what's what. if these things are true, are they not true, if they turn out to be true, that's crossed the line. i'm the first person to leave. it's just not right. something i've worked so hard for for everything that i've achieved. >> winning the english derby on, it's been 37 years since the horse won the prestigious crown

in the united states. but that drought might be about to end. the american pharaoh has won the kentucky derby and the preakness stakes. the triple crown was last won in 1978. >> he looks great. i feel confident when we lead him up there as long as he breaks well, the gate, the gate is going to be very important. this track is deep, it can be a little loose. >> finally hamilton won the grand prix. thank you so much for now. you can get more about all the stories we've been telling about if you head over to our website. www.aljazeera.com is the name of the game. you can see our front page there with the main story we've been following today. the fighting that has been raging in iraq and anbar area.

stay with us.

>> a huge operation in the mediterranean, thousands of migrants have been rescued. >> hello this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up. heavy casualties reported as isil fighters and the iraqi army clash in anbar province. scuffles break out between protesters and police ahead of the g-7 summit in southern germany. and the crowds come out as