>> a german prosecutor releases ahmed mansour the al jazeera journalist detained at egypt's behest. i'm barbara sierra, you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up on the program greek concessions are welcomed bringing hopes of a deal later this week to stop a default. an u.n. report on last year's war in gaza says that both sides committed grave abuses which could amount to war crimes. the taliban launches a brazen

attack on the afghan parliament as it meets to endorse a new defense minister. and russia's prime minister orders retall orders retaliatory measures after extensions made in the ukraine. thank you for joining us. the al jazeera journalist detained in berlin at the request of the egyptian government has been released without charge after the german authorities reviewed his case. presenter ahmed mansour spent two days in custody. egypt had asked germany to extradite him but the state attorney general in berlin has ordered mansour's unconditional release. egypt sentenced mansour to 15 years in prison abstentia for allegations that he and al jazeera deny.

>> i extend my banks and appreciation to the justice of germany, and i appreciate your support. >> ahmed mansour's attorney said that it was politically motivated. >> the germans have arrested him, relying on some fabricated allegations. no one would believe them. ahmed mansour, no one would believe any of the allegations against him. two years after they have fabricated a retaliatory allegations by a regime who wanted to get away with it and to extend its jurisdiction of oppression.

the germans action raises suspension because they're engaged in huge infrastructure programs, and to it's a shame that western democracies are competing for business of egypt at the expense of basic human rights, which we keep talking about and preaching to other countries about them. >> al jazeera's paul brennan joins us from berlin. we're just hearing from ahmed mansour's lawyer that business could have been a part of why this happened. but we don't know why ahmed mansour was detained, and how it became came about. >> the circumstances of the

arrest are still confusing. earlier today we spoke to a spokesperson from the interior ministry here who sprained why the reason why ahmed mansour had been detained at the germany airport was because interpol had extended the notice and then withdrawn it but it had lane on the books of the general police all this time so that men ahmed mansour passed through the airport on saturday it set off an alert and he was taken into custody. what happened then was that it went from being a judicial issue to being a very hot political potato. and my understanding is that from one diplomatic source is that the decision to release ahmed mansour this afternoon went all the way up to the very highest levels of the german foreign ministry. this was not just left to the

state attorney general of the berlin area. this was being looked at, monitored if you like by the interior ministry and ultimately by the german foreign minute city whoministry. >> we're just watching as we're looking at pictures of ahmed mansour being released. quite a crowd out there. he addressed them briefly. will we hear from him again? >> we have been kept waiting. we were told two hours ago that he was a free man, but it took a couple of hours for him to collect his belongings, and emerge from that building. the gates of the prison there. he then gave some indistinct statements.

the microphone was not the best, and then he was bundled in to a car. he's due to give a news conference, and perhaps the most dignified statements in an hour's time and they're still setting up a venue for that. it's still up in the air for that timing and news conference that they're expecting. we're expecting to hear a little bit more from him about the circumstances of his detention his time behind bars, and perhaps some more thoughts from his point of view as to the reasons for his detention as well. >> paul brennan with the latest, thank you. >> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has rejected as bias the long awaited united nations report into last year's war in gaza.

it noted a sharp increase of firepower used by both sides compared to 2008 with israel firing 50,000 tank and artillery shells. palestinians armed groups fired 5,000 rockets and 1,550 mortars at israel. with 2,250 civilians died. 73 people, six of them civilians died on the israeli side. >> the attacks on homes and families which led to large numbers of families dying together when their homes were struck in the middle of the night or when gathering for their meal, these attacks had particular consequences for children 551 children died last summer in gaza during the fighting. >> well, we have more now from west jerusalem. >> it comes as little surprise that the israeli government has been so critical of this report.

a report in which it described as political motivated, morley flawed and notoriously biased. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu made a televised statement with with respect to this report. here's what he said. >> this committee was appointed by a council that calls itself human rights council but does anything but follow human rights. >> now hamas for its part has welcomed the report, particularly the assertion that israel has committed war crimes but criticized the suggestion that it may have committed war crimes during that 50-day conflict saying that israel was the aggressor and that they were simply trying to defend

themselves and to protect the people of gaza. now the palestinian chief negotiators has also released a statement saying that the palestinian authority and the palestinian leadership will be reviewing the contents of the u.n.'s report. however, he concluded by saying that the only way we can see or will ever see an end to the hostilities that we saw last year will be with the creation of a palestinian state. >> concessions by greece have been welcomed as a positive step ahead of the emergency talks in brussels over the country's debt. but a deal is not expected until later this week. prime minister alexis tsipras has talked about the talk talked about cuts before the payment looms.

>> in general opinion of the constitution is that it is broad and comprehensive. but they need to look at it to see if it as up in fiscal terms whether the reforms are comprehensive enough. >> it's a welcomed step, and we consider it a step in the positive direction. so i think it is a positive opportunity to get that deal this week. that's what we'll work for. >> so what is greece offering? well, the concessions are believed to include limited tax reforms and gradually raising the retirement age. greece is trying to secure another $8.1 billion of bail out funding. but it's creditors are unwilling to release the money unless it increases tax and cuts pensions further. greece must pay $1.8 billion back to the international monetary fund by june 30th or of

risk defaulting out of the eurozone and ultimately out of the european union. in all greece owes $362 billion. let's go to athens with the latest from phil lavelle in brussels. explain what is going on in brussels right now. when are we likely to get any kind of decision? >> well, that's the $1 million question, you could say. the thing is that it's been a very bizarre day here. there have been a lot of different feelings. we started the day with a feeling of optimism. the greeks put forward these proposals and filled people with optimism with a feeling that things might be about to change. but as the morning went on that optimism turned to anger. there is frustration towards the greeks. the feeling was that the proposals were slab dash,

unorganized and not put together the prime minister showing up 45 minutes late. there were two copies put forward, one last night and one this morning although they were quite similar. the detail was not there. the creditors said they got it too late the finance ministers said we can't come to an agreement based on this. we need more time. and then the press conference from a moment ago, which is a lot more optimistic anidous and positive saying we're going to look at these figures take a few days to analyze them and then meet on thursday. today is seen as one of the last opportunities for a deal to be reached. that has now passed. yes, leaders are going to be here tonight. they're going to be having dinner, but they're not going to talk about the terms of the agreement because no agreement has been reached. having said that there is a summit on thursday, a meeting of the euro group. that's when another deal could

potentially be put forward or at least the deal put forward this morning could be accepted once the finance ministers have had a chance to go through the fine print. they had reams and reams of paper and it was too much to make sense of it in a short period of time. greece still has search or eight days for its payment, but thursday is the final opportunity. if that deal is rejected, then the greek government has to go back in a space of four or five days and hope that is accepted. >> phil lavelle with the latest from brussels. let's now go to athens to speak with john u.s. s john. what kind of action in greece from the people who could soon be facing the reality of being outside of the euro?

>> well, greeks very much want a deal to be reached. they do did not want a complete brake up with the eurozone. this is good news that we're now on a much better track and there is more positive noise coming out of brussels from creditors. up until now we've only see the greek side making positive remarks only to be refuted by brussels creditors saying that these are not acceptable. this is the first time we've heard them say that three positive words about the greek proposal. he called them comprehensive and they were a welcomed step, and said that they were going in the right direction. that's more positive rhetoric in a ten-minute press conference than we've had in the last five months frankly. this is all encouraging to the greeks however the devil will be in the details. if as some stories leaked out of brussels suggests, these greek proposals could generate another 1% of gdp from the pension and

another 1% are true, then a lot of people in greece are going to be unhappy. particularly on the left where the parties have promised not to bring any more taxes either on consumers or on businesses, indeed we're also hearing word of a 10% levy on larger businesses. they're particularly onerous on the economy which has labored six years under recession and many businesses have closed in that period. there are going to be negative reactions. some of them have started to trickle out. we need to see what the final mix is going to be, the final deal is going to be, and how greek businesses and employees and the state receive this, and whether they feel this is a proposal that will carry grease forward. >> john with the latest from @tins. thank you. >> and still to come in this

half hour, pakistan declares an emergency as a heatwave kills more than 180 people in the south. plus. >> i'm nick clark in cuba and the challenge of resisting endless development as the country opens its doors. >> farm workers striking in mexico... >> all that tension is about what's happening right now. >> unlivable wages... >> you can work very hard and you will remain poor. >> what's the cost of harvesting america's food? >> do you see how it will be hard to get by on their salary? >> yeah >> fault lines al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking... they're firing canisters of gas at us... emmy award winning just because i'm

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>> welcome back. here's a reminder of the top stories in al jazeera. al jazeera journalist ahmed mansour has been released without charge after german authorities reviewed his case.

he was asked to be detained by the egyptian government. a report in last year's war in gaza that said that both israel and the palestinian armed groups may have committed war crimes. and concessions by greece has been welcomed. there is a positive step ahead of emergency talks in brussels. any deal is expected until later this week. taliban fighters have attacked the parliament building in afghanistan's kabul. it happened while politicians were still in session. five people died and 31 others from injured. afghan police say that seven of the attackers were also killed. jennifer glass glasses that had report from kabul. >> the parliamentary session was under way when this happened. there is confusion. it's just anally trical problem

electrical problems. but cars were on fire across the street. >> today there were two specific agenda. one was the intersection of the defense minister and the other about money laundering. that's what we were discussing, the minister of defense was also in the parliament at this time and wanted to come to the session when the explosion happened. >> police and special forces quickly arrived to move the mps and from the building and fight the attackers while people looked on. >> a car bomb came into the streets south of the parliament and detonated. when the car bomb exploded parliament security forces pushed back and they couldn't get in. all six attackers were killed. >> in northern afghanistan the

armed group now controls two districts, just outside of the provincial capital. thousands of taliban fighters are involved and the government has sent in 7,000 soldiers and police. tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced in two months of fighting. that's when the taliban so-called spring offensive started. it has launched assaults all over afghanistan. the afghanistan security forces are struggling without the nato air power heavy weapons and logistical support they had last year. the attack on parliament seemed to be a direct challenge to the afghan government, which was scheduled to introduce its nominee for defense minister. jennifer glasse, al jazeera, kabul. >> 180 people have died in an intense heatwave in pakistan's province. most of the casualties in can karachi where the temperatures

have risen. >> it was a sudden loss for the family whose relative died over the weekend. >> he fell as a result of extreme heat. we shifted him to the room on the first floor to rest. we found him dead. >> the extreme heat that contributed to the death is also effecting many over in pakistan. many are fasting for ramadan manying they don't eat or drink during the day. it's been one of the hottest summers in years and hundreds of people have been brought to hospitals. doctors say many have suddenly collapsed and suffered from breathing problems. >> patients are heat stroke are brought to the hospital. since the weather was bad and the temperatures is high we expect in order patients today and also patients kept pooing

in. >> many of the heat stroke patients did not make it. 150 bodies were brought to this morgue. most of those who died were working outside in the heat or were from impoverished neighborhoods. people suffering from the spike in temperatures are facing frequent power outages. many are reported long hours with no electricity. there have been protests against persistent black outside and the opposition seems united against the government. they have criticized the government for not keeping its promises to bridge power gaps. meteorologists say that heat is a regular occurrence during the pre-monsoon season. but people are being advised to avoid unnecessary exposure to the sun in the coming days. al jazeera. >> russia is preparing to extend its embargo on western food

imports in retaliation of continued e.u. sanctions. certain foreign trade transactions will also be targeted. the european union continued it's sanctions in january due to russia's military actions in crimea and ukraine. laurence lee reports from london london. >> the list of people subject to sanctions in the united kingdom. sum are russian government ministers accused in involvement in ukraine. some solvedsome involve the separatist movement in crimea. people like this corporate lawyer who has had a long look at how sanctions are enforced hearsay that their apple has been a warning shot against russian advancement in ukraine.

>> the point, and president obama said it several times, to change calculous to make the rationale in russia to consider the economic cost will be outweighed by whatever benefits could be seen either by destabilizing ukraine gaining crimea gaining new provinces. >> this year is set to see record amounts of russian money investmented in london. many see little risk of seeing their own assets frozen. london's banking system is useful for russian who is want to move their wealth through offshore tax havens, many which are directly link to the u.k. meanwhile, the biggest russian companies continues to be listed on the london stock market without any apparent threat. the sort of thing that would really hurt moscow. it was clear from the points when the government started constructing it's sanctions

program that really big russian money was not going to be affected. that's partly to have been designed to protect british interests in russia against retaliation and one assumes in the interest of the financial industry as well. the question is whether the right people, the more important people have been targeted by these sanctions. the u.s. has taken a tougher line. in is a herding cat problem. you have too many voices. then you add onto that the corruption problem, and the corruption problem being that there are certain people in you wereeurope in the parliament and governments that are on the payroll of russia. >> in recent months france and germany have suggested more sanctions might worsen the

collapsing relations with russia leaving the u.k. as a supposed hawk, but given the easy way in which russian money washes through london, europe europe-sanctioned programs does not look particularly threatening. >> in cuba and a new era in new relations with the u.s. cubans look to benefit from the changing times. >> it has a faded grandeur. it's architecture is stunning. there is a picture wherever you turn. it's still chasing the modern world. not havana, but a town more than hundred kilometers to the south. this is another gem in cube's rich diverse heritage. not surprisingly it draws in tourists thousands of them.

and then you have this, what they call the cancun of cuba, a strip of tourist resorts that grow by the day. and many fear that they will be swallowed by this in what they believe is the wrong time of development. >> united states can be more of a threat to cuba as it's friend than ever an as it's enemy. millions of us want to come and enjoy this place and thatcracy pressure on cuba to build hotels accommodations, tourist resorts and all of that. >> here a new marina waiting for the american yacht that will surely come. this all presents a very real problem by cuba. how to maximize the tourist dollar while preserving its heritage. >> there is good economics here. there is good business in doing as well and a different form of tourism than what we see in other parts of this region,

cancun or the dominican republic. >> the argument is that cuba's integral uniqueness draws the visitor in the first place. >> we have the privilege to be the largest cuban caribbean island. when other caribbean islands can only offer beach and sun we can offer museum, theaters, high quality ballet, high quality opera. we can offer many things that the rest of the caribbean islands cannot offer. >> one thing is clear, the country does not have enough infrastructure to cope with the sheer numbers of american tourists but are expected to arrive. the way forward has to be slowly and carefully negotiated if cuba is to preserve it's unique identify while allowing cubans themselves to benefit from this new era of reconciliation. nick clark al jazeera, cuba.

>> now those are harry moments on a routine flight in french guiana. a minute after the plane left the ground they found a stowaway on board. a cat, it was if a bit scared. more on the website. bye bye. >> the decision that could impact how much you pay for food at the grocery store. but no ruling yet on healthcare or same-sex marriage. [♪ singing ♪] >> a time for healing. charleston's emmanuel ame church reopens and remembers the nine members gunned down during a prayer meeting.