joining us our news continues next live from london. >> this is the al jazeera news hour with me, david foster, good to have your company. these are stories we're looking at in detail in the next 60 minutes: >> isil says it carried out a suicide bombing at a mosque in saudi arabia that killed 15 soldiers. >> hundreds of refugees rescued from a boat that sank off the libyan coast on wednesday arrive in sicily. >> premises of mh370 relatives

with that many believe it hasn't been found. >> we look at suez canal's strategic importance to egypt. record breaking in wickets meaning grand remain in the action. >> news from isil claiming responsibility for suicide bombing that targeted personnel in saudi arabia. it was a town in the south of saudi arabia, very close to the border with yemen where there's been conflict, almost a state of war for months now.

nine soldiers were injured being treated in hole hospitals. isil becoming increasingly active in saudi arabia. we'll examine why later. it's claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a shia mosque in may which killed 21 people. explosions in the last few hours. we have this report. >> this is where the attack took place, a suicide bomber managed to get into this mosque in the southern city, blowing himself up and killing police trainees. >> the governor of the province visited the injured in a nearby hospital. fighters from the islamic state of iraq and the levant claimed responsibility for this attack after three others recently. they included the targeting of two shia muslim mosques in may in the eastern province. 25 worshipers were killed in the

hard land of saudi arabia's shia minorities. last month police arrested hundreds of suspected isil members and displayed several weapons which were confiscated. the sawed minister of interior said it stopped isil attacks on mosques, security forces and western diplomats. the kingdom has seen a surge in violence in the last two decades when al-qaeda launched nationwide attacks. security forces led a crackdown. al-qaeda's top leaders were either killed, arrested, or fled to yemen where they formed al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula six years ago. now, saudi arabia faces new challenges a fight at home against isil, and a military campaign in neighboring yemen against houthi militias. al jazeera. >> united nations is claiming that the number of refugees and

other migrants crossing into europe has hit 224,000. it was a figure released as almost 400 more survivors in this case of wednesday's ship wreck of the mediterranean were brought ashore. an irish navy vessel carrying the may go grants stopped in palermo. survivors were brought ashore. not only the survivors coming ashore but also the bodies of those who lost their lives. >> well, yes as you can see behind me, there are still heries lining up, about four or five right now, we see them coming and going the whole detail really, there of 25 bodies to put in makeshift coffins. we've seen the cough finance

barren made simple. they had a identify as many bodies as they could and they weren't successful in that in the sense that many of those the bodies, many of those who died were traveling with relatives or family who clearly had to identify them before disembarking here, some clearing distressing scene here. this is not the first and possibly not the last time when an italian port is turned into a morgue poor migrants. more and more migrants are dying out at sea as you were mentionings. new data is released in the past week saying that more than 2,000 migrants have died since january alone now. that is a lot more than 1,600 died in the same period in 2014. unfortunately, there's no real way in avoiding many of these

stems, even if the rescue ship arrives in time. this ship, the irish vessel that first acknowledged the distress call on wednesday when they got there, all the playing grants migrants were on the boat. they got very excited or were calling for help when they called the ship, causing it to capsize. we don't know how many drowned. the survivors there were as many as 200. >> 25 coffin, you say more still missing at sea. that is the irony they called for help, thought helped arrived and that made their situation so much worse. what happens now? do those people we can see in the pictures all go to reception centers or do some of them just sort of vanish into this what david cameron called a swarm of migrants now hitting europe?

>> we've been told that most of the 367 migrants that was rescued today are going to be taken to reception centers in the north of italy. usually, they don't want to wait for the very lengthee bureaucratic process they're supposed to go to to apply for asylum elsewhere. in europe, they just try to leaf and reach the countries of choice usually england or germany or scandinavia by their own means. this is another dangerous journey, as we've seen in the past, they are blocked at the borders, don't know how to get there and don't have the money because they spent most of their savings to try this life threatening journey to get to the gateway. >> thank you very much indeed. whatever happens to them, it's not easy. one of the smaller obstacles you

may think in this terrible journey they're making is the problem speaking a language. let's go to charles stratford now. he's gone to a school set up to teach french at one of the migrant camps in the north of france and calais. >> this tiny shelter maybe the beginning of a brighter future for some of the desperate people who come here. the makeshift school was set up in the so-called jungle camp in calais. the majority of people have given up hiding in the back of trucks or clicking to trains be to try to get to the u.k. many have applied for asylum in france. arriving in the camp four months ago, this man has a wife and four children in sudan.

>> the teachers have volunteered. >> in general they come with no french at all and some only basic english. that's very difficult for us. >> host don't intend to stay in front. >> the majority of people in this camp she still determined to get on trains and 20 to the u.k. >> riot police blocked people

trying to jump on to trucks. they have a new hope that their journey to a better life isn't over yet. >> part of an aircraft wing that washed up on reunion island is part of a malaysian flight mh370 that disappeared last year. we have reaction. >> for 16 months, their emotions have swung between despair and hope.

barging into the offices they may have felt they had nothing to lose. some even believe the wreckage was planted on reunion island. >> it's not true. a lot of things would have been easy to find, but they didn't find them, like the chairs, baggage and other stuff that's much larger. >> they want answers. this was not a protest against china's government, which is why it was allowed to happen. one placard appealed for help.

>> the next face is far from clear. analysis of ocean currents show search teams looking in the right area, but it's a vast area of ocean. australia's prime minister is hopeful. >> it suggests that for the first time, we might be a little closer to solving this baffling mystery. >> malaysia's prime minister is now animate that the wreckage found on a small french island did come from mh370. >> it is with a very heavy heart that i must tell you that annal team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on reunion island is from mh370.

>> we can say the flap arm clearly belonged to mh370. >> this people don't believe that. after a draining time, the psychological strain has more than taken its toll. >> it will be another emotional day for the families on friday, when their briefing is given. there will be many questions but undoubtedly not enough answers. al jazeera beijing. >> that was from china. let's go to india. this man's wife was a passenger on mh370. do you believe this explanation that the piece of metal that

what they called the flapper arm was from the aircraft onboard the flight which your wife was traveling? >> well, it's hard for me to believe what's being said or to be disbelieving of what's been said very simply because we have heard the prime minister of malaysia speak in fairly definitive terms and we haven't heard a similar tone taken bit the french authorities who held a press conference yesterday so the discordant note struck by the two leave me some doubts and hard for me to be certain. the second thing i think is that no basis no facts and reasoning was given to convince the families and anybody interested as to how they did make the

determination, so we are left to speculate as to what led them to take a view one way or another. >> where does your speculation lead you? >> that's a good question. it does or shall i say seems to suggest that there's a very high probability that it probably did belong to mh370 though i think the investigation has to in a sense establish that beyond doubt, so i will wait for a more detailed analysis. at this point in time, i don't wish to be swayed one point or another and intend to keep on open mind. >> so you aren't convinced. some in china believe that there is still or has been since the start, some kind of conspiracy

to cover up some kind of international -- well, i mean, a conspiracy, oh conspiracy to cover up a conspiracy. what do you make of those suggestions? >> again on the conspiracy, as well i think i have to say make a couple of points here. i think all the months, the authorities have completely lost credibility in the way they have conducted themselves. it's been hard to know what to believe and what to trust and in this inlinement, it is natural for people to believe there are deeper conspiracies at work. i do believe that transparency theories could push authorities to look at probable causes which are beyond the ordinary, and so

therefore might lead to a little more creative approaches to the whole investigation so i would say personally if you ask me, i like to believe there wasn't a major conspiracy, but i have very little basis to go and to believe either there was or there wasn't. all i know is that there have been enough hints of coverups and wrongdoing along the way over the months, and so one must be skeptical of any proclamations and claims. >> given everything you've heard and had to endure for the last 16 months, is there any way in which you believe still that there is some hope that your wife and others may still be alive? >> i've said this before that with so many months and well,

the count now 500 days, i personally believe that the possibility of my wife coming back to some heart warming homecoming is near zero, and i have personally held that view for many months now. however, the fact remains that i will continue to be interested to know what really happened, and i suppose until i quite know what happened, this chapter is going to stay wide open. >> thank you for talking so frankly to us. >> thank you. >> still ahead on this news hour why some food imports are being seized and then destroyed in russia. >> new tragedy in a country struggling with das r. disaster, the deadly floods that have affected nepal and these people

in particular. >> sport, four years after rioting in buenos aires res fans back on the streets or above them in some cases and this time, they're celebrating. >> in iraq is a terrible security situation there and civilians caught up in fighting. fighters from isil seized the capitol of the province, ramadi in may people in fallujah say they are living a nightmare and there's a chance you'll find some of the images in the report extremely disturbing.

>> in fallujah, bullets and bombs don't discriminate and the wounds have only grown deeper. residents say the young are now just as likely a target as the old, that civilians of all ages of under siege from both isil and the iraqi army. >> look at this, this happened as a result of artillery shelling by the army today. look at this, are we terrorists waging the war? are these innocent children waging war? this is my daughter. she's dead now. what did she do to serve this? >> many parents are surviving their children. >> we want medication and proper surgery.

>> even hospitals are caught in the crossfire. >> we are entering the second year of this crisis already. we are not treating terrorists, we're treating young babies, infants. we need proper attention and supplies. we need more doctors. >> instead, just days later, this sanctuary for the sick was turned into a casualty of war. here, moments after being shelled, the hospital corridor is lined with broken glass, as smoke billows through the air, a medic searches for injured patients and wounded colleagues. homes are no safer. in this video, a man decries the killing of an entire family, enraged at iraqi officials he says are providing them with more destruction than protection. walking through the house he says was destroyed by government

bombing raids, he points out all the blood stains. we can't even find the young kid under the rubble, he says. they say they are targeting isil. where is isil in here? are young children somehow now affiliated with isil? >> more expression of pain come from this grave yard where two sisters, their mother and aunt all killed because of air raised are laid to rest. >> while the anbar offensive may have officially started only a few weeks ago, for resident of the city of fallujah, many civilians there feel caught in a seemingly never-ending conflict. >> iraqi government leaders who vowed to defeat isil in fallujah and anbar province say they've arrived at the moment of truth. families in fallujah worry that promise only means they'll face more fighting and that their reality will become far more

harrowing. >> moving to syria you may remember the united states have been training syrian recruits to take on isil, training them elsewhere, moving them into syria. it's gone an bit wrong. jami macintyre is live for us at the pentagon. what's happened? >> the pentagon had to embarrassingly admit a few months ago to despite a plan to train thousands of these fighters they'd trained fewer than 60, turned out to be 54. now they have to concede when they sent them into northern syria, most of them now have fled the battlefield. what happened was these troops were trained specifically to and pledged to fight isil forces in northern syria but no sooner had they arrived to embed with a unit of syrian moderate

opposition fighters in the north, the so-called division 30, they were attacked by the al-nusra front which is linked to al-qaeda. this was totally unexpected, it was a miscalculation on the part of the pentagon who thought the al-nusra front was pretty much focused entirely on the regime in syria and wouldn't bother confronting the moderate opposition forces. that turned out to be a flawed assumption. a lot of those fighters the u.s. sent in decided that they were not there to fatal nusra and they left. some of them never even made it to the front before they decided that that was not the fight they wanted to take part in. the pentagon is now in the damage control mode, very defensive saying look, we still support this program it doesn't hinge on any particular battle or event but they have suffered what is really a serious setback in this whole idea of training up these forces and sending them in to fight isil, because this

operation has turned out to be pretty much a disaster. >> suggestions tell me if i'm right or wrong on this that while some may have run away witness you've pointed out there are others perhaps who were kidnapped or have i got that wrong? >> no, that's absolutely right. what happened is these forces arrived with division 30. they came with u.s. equipment including sophisticated laser spotters to cull in airstrikes and then they were attacked by the al-nusra front. one of the trained u.s. forces was killed, five captured by the al-nusra front and the others seeing the outcome of the battle even though the attack was repelled, saw they were fighting al-nusra, the killing and the capturing of some of the forces is what apparently prompted the others to decide, you know, this isn't the battle we signed up for and to begin to take off for other parts. right now, the pentagon can't even account for where all of these 54 are. some of them are completely,

they just don't know where they are, but they have given every indication that they have essentially deserted their unit. >> good to hear from you with that story. jami macintyre our u.s. national security correspondent breaking that news here on al jazeera. >> there have been three battles in taiz after local resistance fighters broke into a prison and freed detainees there. militias in the area say it released those captured by houthi forces. taiz has been under houthi control since march. the city's airport is secured now, allowing in flights maybe to bring home refugees or fly in humanitarian aid. people you see here coming back from djibouti in the horn of

africa. >> still ahead, 21 years old and a court in argentina looks at aftermath of that shocking attack. >> a city that suffered massive destruction in war japan remembers hiroshima.

this is a great place to work. not because they have yoga meetings and a juice bar. because they're getting comcast business internet. comcast business offers convenient installation appointments that work around your schedule. and it takes- done. - about an hour. get reliable internet that's up to five times faster than dsl from the phone company. call 800-501-6000 to switch today. perks are nice. but the best thing you can give your business is comcast business. comcast business. built for business.

>> there's a line of police advancing toward the crowd here. >> ferguson: city under siege. >> it isn't easy to talk openly on this base. >> and america's war workers. >> it's human trafficking. >> watch these and other episodes online now at aljazeera.com/faultlines. >> what did you see when you went outside last year? >> there was a dead body in the middle of the street... for 5 hours.

>> there's a lot of work to be done. >> they need to quite talking about what should be done and do it. >> there's clearly an issue and we have to focus on how we bridge that. >> a lot of innocent lives are still being lost. >> these are the top stories in saudi arabia, a group affiliated to isil says it was behind an attack in which at least 15 people died. a suicide bomber targeting a mosque used by army personnel. >> survivors of wednesday's ship wreck in the mediterranean have been arriving in italy, more than 400 rescued but an estimated 200 people are thought to have drowned. >> disbelief from some chinese

families of the missing passengers from malaysian airlines flight 370. they don't believe that the missing jet has been found. >> let's look at what happened in saudi arabia just a few hours ago. a sawed affairs specialist joins us from saudi arabia. i mentioned this was a group that says it's affiliated to isil that ever posted this statement, saying it was behind what happened in this town in saudi arabia. you're not sure that that should be taken seriously. am i right? >> it has the foot print of

isil but it needs to be investigated more. when isil submitted this request to blind followers to basically attack shia mosques and from previously what had happened, they attacked actually the mosque in the eastern province of saudi arabia. this mosque is very close to the border between saudi arabia and yemen. it could be anything, but i think we need to investigate more before we make sure that it's confirmed from which party is actually responsible for this attack. >> it is more likely being a mosque used by the military it being an establishment close to the border that the victims are likely to be sunni rather than shia and shia have been the people that isil you have said they warrant targeted. if it were proven to be an isil affiliated group and it was going after sunni people in

saudi arabia, that would be a big shift wouldn't it? >> >> it will be a new tactic of their strategy. listen david, at the end of the day, it's the same ideology, same doctrine. nobody would do such an act except they are a group that we would take action to eliminate them. the cause is the same, whether they kill i will a saudi shia or saudi sunni, we are one country. if they change these attacked we need to take a stronger step.

>> one of the people we had on earlier you may have heard said people sues this group this have to be tackled at source. the source for an awful lot funding that is going to groups such as this appear to be coming from countries which are your neighbors, other gulf countries or in fact from saudi arabia itself from certain individuals there. what do you do about trying to end that? >> well, david, you know, the saudi arabia and m.o.i., ministry of interior affairs ministry of defense are doing everything possible to do to help this count rip not to be targeted by foreign countries or regional countries whether by funding, by giving messaging by interpreting region. i think what is need to be done in saudi arabia, first of all

the people need to be the first line of defense for this country, so everybody that actually feels like there's anybody who is subject to loyal to isis or he is with isil or with any terrorist group they need to come up to the authorities and talk to the authorities. saudi arabia established numerous phone calls linked identity will be private to come up and show those people. the g.c.c. countries need to work with saudi arabia. the whole region needs to work with saudi arabia, since 9/11, they are the most country got terrorist attacks, they are the first country who is fighting terrorism and the first country hurt from terrorism. to be honest with you with the coalition that is happening right now with the coalition against daish in the north, we have now over 5,000 to 6,000 strikes on this area. we actually did not hit a vital targets in these kind of lands

to eliminate daish. is the coalition actually doing what it's supposed to do in eliminating this group or just putting surveillance cameras on them and targeting some walking cow or walking guide over in these areas. i think the whole game is going to be changed next time, because this has really been on going attacks on saudi arabia that we can't afford to have. >> we have to leave it there. very interesting, thank you very much indeed, talking to us. appreciate your time. >> the first vessel passed through the newly widened suez canal with egypt marking the occasion with a lavish ceremony, president sisi and attended by a

delegation from other countries. they hope traffic will increase through the canal doubling revenues within eight years. pretty bold, pretty big. >> egyptian government leaders call it the great egyptian dream, gathering on the banks of the improved suez canal for an inauguration rich in porch and patriotism. leaders from across the arab world attended. the french president hollande attended. it has great political significance for egyptian president al sisi, who after years of unrest says he now wants to unite the nation. >> the new suez canal is not just an engineering achievement. in one year, we've given egyptians more confidence, more peace of mind and less anxiety

about the future. no one can ever harm egypt as long as the egypt people are united. >> earlier in the day he traveled along the widened canal by presidential yacht flanked by the egyptian navy. the $8 billion project created a 35-kilometer by pass along the original route and deepened and widened the waterways. the orange canal took 10 years to build. the new channels have taken 12 months to dig employing 40,000 workers and soldiers laboring around the clock. ahead of the inauguration, the egyptian government heavily promoted the new look canal describing it as a channel of prosperity. on the streets of cairo some have publicly celebrate its opening. only egyptians have been allowed to invest in the project. they expect to see a share in its profits. it could be many years before

ordinary egyptians feel any benefits. the government hopes the channel will double toll revenue and help refloat egyptian's ailing economy. while deep, social and political divisions remain in the country the so-called great egyptian dream may be wishful thinking. al jazeera. >> take a look at where it all came from. the modern canal built under french control in 1869. the suez canal company had financial troubles. britain got full control in 1882. in 1956, the egyptian president taking control by nationalizing it led to the crisis where the u.k. france and israel invaded egypt. it was all sorted out by the united nation and it still

remains a site of huge strategic importance. it remains the most important link between asia and europe. let's bring in a doctor of middle east history. despite all the advances in space travel, electronics and the high tech where we are now you look at this stretch of water and think this is still incredibly important. >> yes it's of crucial importance. i think it's been very important to egypt both in terms of how basically in terms of how their -- what their position on the world stage is. for instance, the suez canal has been the reason for basically 150 years or has been a key point in 150 years of imperial involvement and intervention in egypt. it also has been used by different egyptian rulers to

really make a statement about what egypt is and what they would like it to be on the world stage. >> is it the reason why perhaps so many international leaders called egypt when things are going on that you would not want to upset the man with the only toll over the river because you might have to go 10,000 miles out of your way to make the other journey. >> that is the strategic importance of the canal. it has factored into international affairs in the region in a wide range of ways, but it also is one of the significant factors behind the british invasion of egypt in 1882 and throughout the interwar period so from after world war i through to the 1950's, it was a focal point for egyptian

nationalists intervention and protest. >> does it make the people of egypt feel that their country is more significant in many ways than without it? >> well, i mean, it's a significant -- >> is it a matter of national pride? >> yes, it is, essential. it has fact, egyptian rulers have used it in different ways. for instance, the 1869 opening ceremonies were used by the rulers at the time to really showcase the modernization projects undergone or that were promoted in egypt. he'd built a whole new section of cairo. his goal was to make cairo paris on the nile, and the opening of the canal gave him an excuse to have it leaders from all over europe to cairo and highlight this. >> let me ask you this. unfortunately we can't talk

about this for very much longer. it would be fascinating to do so but when the claims made the revenues brought in by the widening of the canal could double that is important to egypt. do you think this is people making grandiose statements because it's there and they're proud of it or do you think that's realistic? >> i think that obviously the revenue is important but i also think that it is a key factor in egypt's position nationally and it has been for 150 years and a source of tension in years to come or has that all gone away? >> i'm a historian. i get a get out of jail free card on that. it has a significant potential. its history shows that it has been a point of conflict, an excuse for international intervention, as well as for statements of egyptian nationalism. >> as historians always tell you, you can only judge what might happen in the future by taking a look back at what has already happened. >> of course.

of course. >> thank you very much. >> seven people have been killed during shelling by the egyptian army in the northern sinai peninsula. there's been a lot of trouble there in recent months. 26 were hurt, mostly women and children. the area has seen a rise in civilian casualties caught in the crossfire fighting against armed groups there not far from the canal which we have been talking about. >> russias cracking down on food importers who have been ignoring an embargo on western produce. moscow banned the stuff in retaliation for sanctions slapped on it by western countries after russian annexed crimea. produce is going to be destroyed where it's found or at border crossings. >> argentina's former president is on trial in buenos aires accused with several former officials of trying to obstruct the investigation into the bombing 21 years ago.

no one has been convicted of an attack which killed 85 people. >> after the terrible earthquake in april floods and land slides have now killed more than 90 people and another 35 are missing. aid agencies say it's getting extremely difficult to get to those people who need help in villages which were originally affected by that earthquake. as al jazeera discovered, the people in the district of the latest disaster say it could have been avoided. >> shocked by the death of loved ones mourners in the village in west nepal line up for a memory service. in the early hours villagers woke up to a rumbling sound. by the time they walked out of their homes, part of their village had already been 20 away by a massive landslide. 27 died, one is still missing

feared dead. >> our entire village is in grief. >> when coming back from visiting relatives she found she had lost everyone, mom brothers sisters all six of them. neighbors hope that her dad a migrant worker in qatar comes back soon. i asked her if she needed anything. the sick smell of death of rotting flesh is heavy here. all the cattle that were buried under debris have not been pulled out. >> this area of nepal gets the highest amount of rain. now a study said section of this mountain are made of very loose soil and when rain water percolates in, it makes the mountainside fragile increasing the risk of landslides. >> 35 hectares of forest were swept away.

a major cause of the disaster is a haphazard believe of new roads. >> development activities have to be done keeping possible disasters in mind making sure they don't happen. here even though environmentalist assessment it is are done for infrastructure development, suggestions are not carried through risking people's lives. >> more areas are in danger in the district, where at least 35 people have died. across nepal floods and landslides have killed more than 90 people already this monsoon and as usual people were unprepared. on the day of the landslide, he was busy pulling out the injured. >> we never knew this area was dangerous. now we are told this entire village is in danger. it is not like asking one family to move, the whole village has to move. where will we go now?

we are grieving here, everything is here. >> houses next to the landslides are perched precar i couldn't saily. there was heavy rain the night the disaster struck, more rain than in decades. locals say had there been a warning system, this tragedy could have been avoided. al jazeera nepal. >> lee has the sport he wants to talk about this, the country that's hoping to net basketball's biggest tournament. i want to talk about cricket in australia. see you soon.

>> why lee why do i want to talk contradict? >> some of the most extraordinary cricket that has been played. england are in position to regain the ashes after a record breaking opening day. the scorecard will be talked about for many years australia bowled out for just 60, thanks to an astonishing opening taking 8-15. england close on 274-4. bairstow scoring 74. 111 balls england would take a winning lead with a complete victory in this match.

the fastest five wicket hole ever. the first spell was 300. he's now on 307 making it england highest wicket. >> argentina beat mexican side 3-0. we have this report.

>> four years ago river plate fans rioted on the streets of beeps airs after their team were relegated from argentina's top division for the first time in their history. wednesday, the club completed a dramatic turnaround. after a goalless first leg they took the lead just before half time with their recent signing. with just over a quarter hour left carlos sanchez was brought down to earn river a penalty. he then shows he was better at scoring than he is at taking his shirt off. just a few minutes later a header sealed river's third title with a 3-0 victory. >> we believe in what we do, because we're a team that

doesn't take shelter in past accomplishments. we keep believing that we could win things on the basis of work, of humility, of football. >> river now holds bolt of south america's top club titles after winning in december. now on the streets of buenos aires, their fans are reveling rather than rioting. al jazeera. >> manchester united signed him last summer, but the argentine star had a rough season. he was reportedly sold for just under $70 million.

>> the barca striker having a small i want. he was never sent off in his career. he went on to soar. his teammate netted a goal of the game coming up. >> the host of the basketball world cup will be announced friday after the philippines or china will be chosen. the philippine bid rest on the fact that they have the largest indoor stadium in the world with a seating capacity of 55,000, along with their passion for the sport. >> for the villagers nothing gets in the way of basketball. it's the most popular sport in the country, and the it's said that there's a hoop and a game being played around every street corner in every village across the philippines. these young boys say there's nothing like it and many dream of making a career in the sport

someday. >> i want to be famous. it's the only thing i like to play. >> professional basketball players are national superstars. they are the highest paid athletes earning up to 30 times the minimum wage. with the sport a national obsession, basketball games are broadcast litsch and among the most watched programs on t.v. it dates back to the early 1900s when it was first introduced by american colonizers. the professional league here is the oldest in the world outside of the united states. >> many commentators have tried to explain why basketball is so popular in the philippines where people's small erstadure might be considered detrimental to the sport but the game is seen as a great equalizer br owl social backgrounds together, rich or poor can play or watch side by side. >> the philippines was a leading

player in international basketball during the sport's first 50 years but has lagged behind since the 1960's when countries with bigger players and more money for training came in. despite that, no other asian country has been more successful in either the olympics or world cups. >> it's a religion. you know, if you are, you know, ask anybody any questions about basketball if it's local or an nba, everybody's drown to it. it's just the biggest thing here. >> it's that passion and deep relationship with the sport that filipinos hope will win them the honor of hosting the 2019 basketball world cup. the national team's fortune coach agrees. >> it can generate huge crowds and they will be unlike any in the world. they'll be gigantic and passionate. there's nobody else in the world to recreate that. it can't be done.

>> filipinos have never let the image of being the underdog stop them. on no and any other court, they are buoyed by passion determination and heart. >> when that decision is in, of course we'll let you know whether the philippines or china have got the basketball world cup. >> there have been thousands was people marking the 70th 70th anniversary of the nuclear attack on hiroshima. these lanterns were lit and sent down the river to commemorate the deaths. there was a moment of silence and that a call to completely abolish nuclear weapons. >> from all of us who have helped you with this news hour, thank you for watching.

urgent method that stops the killing. >> now fighting back with a revolutionary new science. >> this radio carbon dating method can tell us if trade of ivory is legal. >> it could save a species... >> i feel like we're making an impact >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> i'm standing in a tropcal wind storm... >> ...can effect and surprise us... >> wow, these are amazing... >> techknow, where technology meets humanity! only on al jazeera america

>> isil said it carried out a suicide bombing in saudi arabia that killed 15 soldiers. hello, this is the al jazeera live from london. also coming up. burying the dead in fallujah, the civilians victims caught up in the fight for iraq's anbar province. >> hundreds of reef gees rescued from a boat that sank off the libyan coast wednesday arrive in sicily. >> no closure relatives of mh370 protest in