hello i'm maryam nemazee. coming up in the next 60 minutes minutes. >> these families have suffered enough. they should never feel ignored or victimized by their own government. >> 30 americans are being held hostage, and it changes policies to allow families to pay ransom. boston bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev

sentenced to death after apologizing for the lives that he took. thethere is continued support for somalia. plus a dutch court orders the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25% in an unprecedented ruling. >> to sports news, this formula one on the verge of a takeover. reportedly closing in on a multi billion dollar dill. deal. >> hello, the situation for more than 30 u.s. citizens being held hostage across the world could change drastically with the white house easing it's stance on families who pay ransoms. the u.s. government will now help facilitate talks following a series of high profile hostage

situations in the past 12 months. patty culhane reports from washington, d.c. >> the families of the hostages killed overseas at the hands of the islamicof the islamic state in iraq and the levant. >> we felt we were in the dark a lot. >> this is not just about the families who already lost loved ones overseas. they acknowledge that there are 30 americans being held hostage overseas. u.s. pratt barack obama acknowledged the problem. families ignored bullied and threated with prosecution if they paid ransom. instead he would only the say that no families have been prosecuted for it.

>> as president i also have to consider our larger national security. i firmly believe that the united states government paying ransom to terrorists risks endangering more americans and funding the very terrorism that we're trying to stop. i firmly believe that our policy morepolicy puts fewer americans at risk. >> by lifting that long-held principle you could be endangering more americans here and overseas. >> ultimately i think you're likely to marginally increase the incentive it's for people to kidnap americans. >> after incentivizeing hostage taking, they could not answer instead saying. >> message that we're sending is

that the government of united states of america stands squarely behind american families who are in the unthinkable position. >> changes that will come too late for those journalists and aid workers but with more than 30 americans held hostage their families now being promised they can focus on fighting to get their family member back and now fighting their own government. >> an assistant professor of political science at northeastern university joins me live from boston. good to have you with us. you said that you understand the rationale.

>> essentially they won't negotiate with them. we'll talk with them and communicate with them and facilitate that these captives took to maybe pay some ransom. it's the obvious reason in my opinion that's a bad strategy. what are the make counterterrorism strategies is to deny these groups the fund. the treasury department, for example, has a leading role when it comes to opportunity terrorism because allto counter terrorism. where there is a change in strategy we're making it easier for these kinds of groups like islamic state in iraq and the levant and al qaeda to enrich themselves and ultimately that money will be used against us. >> the crucial point here, the thing that the obama administration emphasizes is the

government's refusal to pay ransom or make any concessions to hostage takers, that has not changed. the only thing they have pledged to do is not prosecute families. the result of the situation no family has ever been prosecuted for doing so. in reality it was collated,al embassy yet quietly. >> i think this will enrich the terrorists. this will create additional opportunities. i think the government will help to link up the families with the terrorists and there by provide them with more money. i understand that the government is trying to make up a heart distinction between whether the u.s. government will be providing the money or whether the families will be providing the money. ultimately that's a distinction without a real difference. at the end of the day money is money. these groups are going to use it for the exact same purpose. it doesn't matter whether it

comes from government coffers or from the families. >> is it somewhat naive to say assume there are not any negotiations going on behind the scenes? i'm thinking about the swap of sergeant bowe bergdahl last year when his five years in taliban captivity came to an end after the u.s. secured his release in exchange to five guantanamo detainees. >> yes, we got back bergdahl, and in return we gave up high pretty high-level taliban guys. i think that's really senseless. however, there is the likelihood that different governments will negotiate with terrorists. the u.s. although it doesn't have a perfect record has a pretty clean record at not negotiating with terrorists. the u.k. has a solid record. other countries though like france qatar they're more

likely to negotiate with terrorists. i don't think it's a coincidence that their citizens seem to be more likely to be taken captive by groups like al-qaeda. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> the boston marathon bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev has been sentenced to death by an u.s. judge. tsarnaev addressed the court with a five-minute speech apologizing for the lives he took. in may a federal jury condemned him to die after being found guilty of all charges including using a weapon of mass destruction. three people died and many are injured when the bomb went off. breaking his silence for the first time in more than two years to the victims of his crime, tsarnaev said i'm sorry for the lives i've taken and the suffering that i've caused you

and for the damage i've done. with every hardship i pray for your relief your well-being, and for your strength. >> the sentence was fair, but that tsarnaev was hiding his actions behind religion. >> he couched his comments in line with allah and allah's views which gives it a religious tone. there was nothing about this crime that was islamic associated. that's what i was struck by more. that is not what islam is all about. when individuals utilize that, it is a radicalized view its radical ideology which really isn't at the heart of what is

truly a peaceful. >> he said he was remorseful. i find that hard to believe as i've come to a lot of trials. i never saw that offered him. >> you i was happy that he made the statement. as i said in my personal impact statement i have forgiven him. i have come to a place of peace

and i genuinely hope that he does as well. and for me to hear him say that he's sorry that is enough for me. i hope because i still do have faith in humanity, including in him, i hope that his words were genuine. i hope that they were heartfelt. i hope that they were as honest as the statements that you heard today from the courts today in the victims and survivers. i obviously have no way of knowing that but i'll take it on faith that what he said was genuine. >> the body of south carolina senator clemente pinckney was lying in state. the governor of alabama has

ordered the confederate flag to be taken down from the capitol building. it was brandished as a symbol of hate. >> the claims that washington spied on three consecutive french presidents. >> i summoned the u.s. ambassador to tell her one this is unexcelible. and two if these practices have ceased and three to ask if these practices were only used in relation to the president or more generally. whale we understand that there might be surveillance concerning

terrorists that had nothing to do with listening in on allied heads of states and on friends. i ask for answers to be given rapidly. >> earlier in the day president françois hollande called an emergency meeting to discuss the revelations. they said that the country would not tolerate actions that would threaten national security. the claims reported in the french daily and wikileaks website said that the eavesdropping happened between 2006 and 2012. paris said it will send a special intelligence team to the u.s. to discuss the matters further. the country's prime minister promised to do everything possible to limit the diplomatic fallout. >> the united states must not only admit the danger that such acts have on our premiums but also it must do everything quickly to repair the damage

quickly between our countries the united states and france. >> many people feel that the new spying revelations are deliberately designed to coincide with the new surveillance law. devised to protect french citizens from the kind of homegrown violence witnessed in paris five months ago. but there is also now a concern that there is a blind spot in this law raising questions whether france needs more security to protect itself from its friends as well as it's enemies. u.s. president barack obama and hollande have reportedly spoken to each other by telephone. but with wikileaks promising more revelations to come, france made decide at a more cautious approach. neave barker, al jazeera, paris. >> much more to come on the full al jazeera news hour. [ cheering ] pakistan's government under fire

as a heatwave kills more than 150 people. isil blows up two historic cities branding them unislamic. and in sport how about this for multi tasking. how to feed a baby and catch a baseball at the same time. >> at least 12 people have been killed in the somali capital of mogadishu on the convoy of cars by al-shabab. one car was reportedly carrying officials from the united arab emirates. they have condemned the attack and will work to continue to support somalia. >> witnesses say there was a large explosion completely destroying a pickup truck carrying somali security forces. it was part of a convoy carrying

diplomats from the united arab emirates. a suicide-bomber rammed his car into the convoy. members of al-shabab are claiming responsibility for the attack. >> the uae donated military hardware and also pays some of the staff in bogey mogadishu. >> they're also getting support from the 22,000 african union force which is fighting al-shabab. it wants to overthrow the government and is behind many similar attacks. on sunday four al-shabab fight percent killed as they tried to detonate a car bomb and shoot their way through an agency training center. al-shabab has lost territory to government forces since an offensive began to push them out last year. >> opposition politicians are accusing the pakistani government of failling to respond to a severe heat crisis. more than 830 people have now

died. doctors fear the told will continue to climb as elderly patients are rushed to hospital. >> they sleep on the streets to stay cool. many residents in karachi are finding no reprieve from the heat and frequent power cuts mean they can't use fans or air conditioners. >> hourour houses are small. no one has taken care of the situation. no one has taken notice of the complaints. people are falling sick and being rushed to hospitals. >> hospitals are overwhelmed. the searing heat has stretched medical services in pakistan's commercial hub to their limit and more are filled to capacity. the army and paramilitary rangers have set up emergency camps croons across the city to hand out dehydration salts. >> we russiad here rushed here

because we were sure that the treatment here would be better than anywhere else. >> officials are urging everyone, including the elderly to drink more water. many are following the ramadan fasts, which means no food or water until sundown. >> the minister's responsibility in all of pakistan. >> but a dutch court has ordered its gas emissions by 25% in the next five year to help fight global warming. it comes after the government's environment targets were labeled inadequate and illegal.

>> the courts declare the dutch climate targets illegal. it told the government to cut its carbon emissions by 25% by by 2020 up from the current target of 17%. it was great news for supporters of the case. >> it's now obvious that the judges in the netherlands feel that liability has a role to play in addressing the climate problem. >> the landmark ruling says that the dutch government must protect its people from the effects of climate change and it's currently plans simply don't go far enough.

>> the case was brought by the agenda foundation which insists on the temperature rice of 2 degrees. greening technologies like wind power and solar farms have taken off here. but using law to force the government's hand is a breakthrough. >> we're the first in the world to do this. we're lookinged at how all the countries in the negotiations. everyone in the european union is watching. this will be helpful everything. >> the case would set precedence in other countries and e.u.'s targets cuts much 40% by 2030. the government said that it needs for time to study the verdict, and it does have the

ability to appeal. >> joining me in studio is an economist on the environment team at the new economic foundation. i'm sure that you are feeling very encouraged by this court ruling, the dutch government has been ordered to protect its people from climate change. why is this so important? >> i think this is a very strong signal at a very important time. later this year companies were coming together and this is a really really strong case right now to say look, people of the netherlands have wanted to take more actions. >> for the people of

netherlands, the area is very sensitive to the effects of climate change. >> the policies can take a long time to change, but i think it's really encouraging that solar prices have gone down. >> coal is getting cheaper too. >> yes, but coal is out of business in many countries. you still have goods capacity in other countries. in the long run they won't be able to compete with soler. >> in the long run they won't be able to compete with solar but this puts a change in government policy, are they going to try to cut dawn on coal and invest more

in wind and solar energies. >> i would expect so. there is a good potential in wind and solar. something to mention or that we forgot to mention. if you look beyond the costs sow rather is already cheaper. and saying look, this is not a huge cost. >> why is it not catching on? >> it is catching on in many countries. but what is happening there are entrenched interests. they haveinterest in the u.k. they have done a good job of who gets heard by ministers and they've found over the past with the government there were 200 meetings by--

>> i guess they would argue that you need a mix of energy. you need renewables and non-renewables to meet that energy demand. >> i think its just about being fair to the countries there and to give that ruling. >> does it set a precedence? >> yes, but there are three things that need to be in place. it has to be in law. you have to protect the environment. you have to have a strong civil society, and also you have to have a strong leader system that is truly independent. >> all right we'll watch this. thank you. >> thank you for having me. >> key talks aimed to keep greece from defaulting on its

debt has been halted until thursday. they expect the negotiations to go on late until the night. they criticized for demanding tougher tax reforms. we have reports from brussels. >> is this the moment that the future of greece is decided welcome prime minister tsipras arrived with barely a word. not a shred of warm the between him or the e.u. ministers. it has become clear that of all the concessions the there was not enough for his country's creditors for the international bank and imf. they wanted more, and there is no way on earth that mr. tsipras can sell that to those at home.

>> which measure thewe measure the value of agreement. i'd be surprised if we get a deal tonight. there has been back and forth on the political level. >> back in the country which gave the world the philosophy of stoicism, people think that things might end up okay, but then they've been used to things not okay at all so perhaps nothing shocks any more. >> i think the situation will improve, but we'll still go through a difficult time. >> it is better the way we are even if we are strapped. least this way there is a path that leads somewhere. there might an light at the end of the.

>> the bill that athens is trying to pay now is less than a third of what it's supposed to pay this year. it's impossible really to see how they can conceivably do it. props the only cause of optimism is if the greek governments the majority of greek people and greek competitors all say they want greece to stay inside the euro zone but that's where it ends because countries like germany and the greek german thaty that wants more austerity and greece who say they can't give up any more. they'll keep trying again and again. >> more to come for you this hour. calls for top colombian generals

to be passed off as rebels. and in armenian protests against the hike of energy prices. and we have more in sports with lee later on. >> challenge the way you look at the world. >> talking about big subjects. >> telling human stories. >> rising waters taking their toll...

we go to the threatened marshall islands... to talk to the peole affected most >> is there a plan?

>> welcome back. you're watching the al jazeera news hour. let's take you through the top stories. the u.s. has changed it's hostage families so family who pay ransoms for the release of loved one will no longer face prosecution. the white house revealed that 30 americans are being held hostage abroad. tsarnaev addressed the court for suffering that he caused. the u.s. ambassador in pair race has been called to answer for the reports on wikileaks that the u.s. spied on the on

french president françois hollande and two previous presidents. this is thousands of yemenis gathered to the board to flee saudi arabia after army forces loyal to the exiled president seize the area. >> the marketplace is getting busy. yemenis are able to leave their homes. the towns seized by houthi fighters and those loyal to ali abdullah saleh now they control it after fighting back. but the enemy is persistent and still powerful. houthi fighters and their allies are targeting many places. >> it's strange that they take care of the prayer times and

that indicates that they are near. >> recruiting hundreds more volunteers who are preparing for a long battle. the houthis and their allies are keen to regain the upper town. the town is not from the potter city of aden and is considered controlling aden and other towns. in the center of aden houthi fighters and forces loyal to ali abdullah saleh killing some people and injuring many. the government says that the fight something going according to plan. >> the sawedy led coalition provide only aerial support. we thank you them for the efforts and successes they've achieveed. they're battling on the ground and coordinating their operations exactly as planned for them. it's. >> it's people are suffering

from lack of water.. >> we're running against a very limited time. the population is in need of cease-fire. therefore i think that they're keen to have a cease-fire agreement on the implications. therefore we could not wait. but now any way our plan is to go further. i'm going next week to intensify my interaction on my discussion and consultation with the two parties both in san in a and in riyadh to make sure that we can gray on a number of points. then we'll convene another meeting. >> well move to go another story that we're following the

gathering of iraqi sunni tribal leaders detonating a car bomb and killing 14 people. isil is saying that it was behind the attack. many at the meeting in the diyala province they destroyed homes and eight people died in the attacks. fallujah is in anbar province where isil fighters are battling government forces and their tribal lies. in other developments, the islamic state in iraq and the levant has grown up two blown up two shrines and it's feared that these attacks will be just the start. >> this is what many feared would happen when fighters from the islamic state in iraq and the levant captured palmyra a few weeks ago. it was not the first time isil

has destroyed ancient monument, but it's the first reported damage in the city. fighters blue up two ancient shrines they considered unislamic. the shrines are not from the roman era unlike other 2,000-year-old buildings in palmyra. there are concerns about the fate of the unesco-listed world her stage site. >> it's entirely possible that the organization will destroy all of the historical remnants of pal palmyra. they started with the shrines that have islamic residences. a a few days ago syrian activists reported that isil fighters have placed ex-plowsives inexplosives in the area. >> i think those photos were he associated with the shrines.

i have not yet seen any substantiated evidences, any real photos that show mines being laid around the actual archeological ruins themselves. >> isil has destroyed history both in syria and neighboring iraq. dozens of shrines many belonging to the sofi sect have been blown up. they destroyed a 3,000-year-old syrian city in northern iraq. and also smashing artifacts in the museum. they're not just destroying monuments precious antiquities are also being sold. >> they're destroying syria and selling artifacts. >> isil fighters are the only one targeting ancient sites in syria. it's best known museum was hit by barrel bombs dropped by

government helicopters earlier this month. the structure was seriously damaged. the walls once covered in panels are now republic. so many of the archeological treasures in syria and iraq are long gone. it is not clear what the international community can do to protect whatever remains. al jazeera. >> move to go colombia now where army officers were indicated to be involved in the killing of civilians to be brought back for justice. >> thethe current head of the

armed forces pictured here and general jaime the army's top commander. >> false positive killings amount to one of the worst episodes of mass atrocity in the western hemisphere in recent year. there is mounting evidence that many senior army officers bear responsibility for these atrocities. yet the army officials in charge at the time of the executions have managed to escape justice and even ascended to the top of the military command including the heads of the army and armed forces. >> now, the u.s. senate has approved special fast-tracking powers to president obama giving him the authority to negotiate trade deals and send them straight to congress without the need of fumble debate. the decision came as the u.s. and china held trade talks in washington. factwashington.

critics say that the tpp is shrouded in too much secrecy. tom ackerman with the latest from washington, d.c. tom, how close a vote was it? >> well, it was not close at all. what was significant was the way that the two parties were basically crossing over each other. the vote was 60-38 nearly all of the republicans voted with obama, and nearly all the democrats with the exception of 14 or so voted against obama. that included the senate leader harry reid as well as last week the house minority leader nancy pelosi, who had voted against the measure as well. so obama had a very tough going in convincing enough democrats rather to go along with it. in the end he was successful, and this has to be noted as a significant achievement of his

second term. however, it must be noted that this only provides him with authority to negotiate a treaty, and then send it for an up or down vote without any kind of amendments or any way of stalling it in the senate. that gives him up to--him or his successor up to six years. >> how does that impact the trans-pacific partnership deal? >> this would effect the trading relations with 11 pacific rim countries. that institutes about 40% of the total global trade and what is specific to the measure which were the strong points was simply that it would provide open markets in areas that the u.s. and previously been closed to and at the same time would provide intellectual property

guarantees and investment protections for american investors. however, the labor unions, which lost big on this vote today had fought this tooth and nail in the event that it does go through they predict that this will mean millions of more jobs lost to pacific rim countries and that, of course, is what the administration was fighting against, arguing that in the end it would be advantageous to all americans. >> still some controversy surrounding this deal. thank you very much, tom ackerman in washington, d.c. now the last of hong kong street to tester camps have been cleared away demonstrations for electoral reforms. it would have given the for the first time the chance to pick their candidates. >> in armenia protests against

raising electricity prices goes into a third day. armenian's power network is owned by a russian company. because of the close borders armenia relies on russia for its main trade. >> this is not about a protest against russia. this is a protest against the russian company which has gone too far. it has a monopoly on electricity supplied here and 16% price hike is too much for ordinary people. a third of the armenian population live below the poverty line. >> the shouting here.

now the. >> still to come for you on al jazeera. >> i'm catherine soi where scientists and researchers are focusing on communities like this one to help reduce malaria. i'll be telling you how. >> and in sport in the bag. the winner in the build up to wimbledon. ban

>> welcome back. now fight against ebola looks like it's far from over with the news of a fresh outbreak in sierra leone's capital free town. it confirmed three new cases 18 days after the last known infections. liberia was declared ebola free in may, but the ebola is on the rise in guinea. many people who suffered malaria stayed away from clinics because they were afraid of catching ebola. malaria is carried by mosquito so nets and insecticide is used to stop it. but scientists are now turn to go new technology.

>> it's strange not to find people not suffering from malaria in this part of the country. in western kenya one of the highest malaria prevalence rates. scientists and researchers have been here for decades. >> this team of health workers from the international control for insect and ecology is here to install a solar powered mosquito trap. it's one of 4,200 that have been installed in the past three years. this has nylon laced with a human scent that attracts mosquitoes before they get into the house.

the trapped mosquitoes eventually die of hunger and dehydration. >> this woman is more excited about the new life in their house after a layoff lifetime of using kerosene lamps. this light is an bonus to entice people to help with the scientists. >> i don't have much energy any more and all of my ten children have died. >> not far from where she lives. the fishermen on the shores of lake victoria have just returned from a night of fishing. that's when when the chance of contracting malaria is highest. many people here get infected

after being bitten by mosquitoes while away from their homes either out fishing at night or just going about their other daily business. the malaria is constantly mutating and so scientists have to be a step ahead monitoring and learning more about this fly. they are slowly winning the war but there is to more to go. >> time now for your sport. >> very interesting. now according to the financial times there former one could see

a takeover. former are a bun is the world's most watched annual sports series with 425 million television viewers but recently the audiences have declined. qatar's interest in hosting a race late last year when neighboring bahrain held a planned project to bring f 1 race to go qatar. well we spoke to simon chadwick professor of sports science. he said qatar owning formula one makes sense. >> i think it's highly likely we'll see formula one racing in qatar. they're investing heavily in

sport. they've invested before and this is a growing portfolio. but qatar has a presence in sports through the international rallying in qatar and i'm sure you know people in qatar love cars and love motorsports. this is an opportunity for him to cash in his chips and walk away. it's been threatening for some time that there would be various buyouts of formula one. the other issue there have been issue about the governance of formula one. the fact that berni is set to walk away may herald in a new era. >> in sport roberto firmino. the 33-year-old becomes the most expensive player in the club's

history. he has four goals in nine internationals including the winning goal on sunday. now players have been in chile for copa america. but >> ten teams from south america plus invited guests mexico and jamaica have been battling for the copa america. a fiesta for fans and players. ecuador and peru fought three wars over disputed territory. bolivia and peru have taken chile to international tribunals. and argentina and chile also have unresolved issues.

>> in south america there have always been rivalries between us. usually between countries who share a border. i've got lots of peruvian friends. >> a legend in chilean football. one of the stadiums in copa america america is named after him. spreading the word of the joys of the beautiful game. >> we've always got that 90 minutes in which we shall we in which equal forget about everything. >> before we have internet, people would ask me about the teams. who had won championships. which clubs did player play for. the great players. they always asked me and i knew

how it was. thanks to the albums. >> the shadow hanging over the tournament has been the fifa corruption crimesfiafiefifa corruption scandals. the only conflicts that count are those on the pitch. >> fans from 11 other countries are in chile to support their teams. glorifying their national characteristics and celebrating their regional solidarity. in the face of the many problems to be tackled off the pitch perhaps some of the answers lie here. al jazeera santiago. >> to the women's world cup where the quarterfinal is complete after the defending champions japan.

they led 2-0 after a brilliant gill late in the second half. how about that. but in stoppage time, they would pull back from the dutch and in three minutes they japan held on for that 2-1 win and will play australia in the last eight in edmonton. the quarterfinals gun on monday. then china will face usa in ottawa. and the final match in the quarterfinals see hosts canada facing england in vancouver. >> retiring from a match with an abdominal injury. she was traveling 6-4 3-love, but the canadian said she's determined to play in wimbledon next week even if it's on one leg, she said. nadal has been in the warm up

event, and he followed that up by taking out the german teenage er. the draw is second round in the quarterfinals, 6-4 6-1, india has beaten bangladesh in third and final cricket national but it was too late to save the series. it's too much for bangladesh this time as they're all out for 240 in 47 over but they do win the series, 2-1. finally fathers are much more hands on these days. this father is a multi tasker

bottle feeding his baby when he took an amazing one-handed catch out of the hands of the dodgers playoff. it was a catch that a professional player would be proud of. it does make you wins a bit. he says he was protecting his son. >> does the player look irritated by the fact-- >> as long as the baby is okay. that's the thing. >> glad that dad has his mind on the important thing while he's feeding the baby. a serious baseball fan. so we're used to seeing pictures of the northern lights bordering on the arctic circle, but on tuesday night over minnesota, a solar flair that was emitted earlier this week. it would bring a repeat performance a few hours from now. i'll be back in a moment.

stay with us.

>> these families have suffered enough. they should never field ignored or victimized by their own government. >> the white house reveals more than 30 americans are being held hostage as it changes policy to allow families to pay ransoms. hello, you're watching ankle live from london. also coming up, boston bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev apologies apologizes for the lives he took as he is