setback in syria. >> the department of defense has been forthright about the significant challenges that the operation faced. >> those trained by united states to fight i.s.i.l. - refusing to fight terror in fallujah. >> this is my daughter. she's dead now. what did she do to deserve this. >> civilians trapped between i.s.i.l. and the advancing iraqi army. >> the great egyptian dream. >> the new suez canal is not

just an engineering achievement, there's a great dimension to what has been done. what the expansion means for business in suez and egypt. >> when i can't come to school i get upset. i cry for days to get me socks and shoes. >> the sacrifices of a teenage girl in south sudan, overcoming overwhelming obstacles to get an education good evening, i'm antonio mora thiscm al jazeera. we begin in syria, where the obama administration suffered a major setback in a push to get moderate rebel forces to fight. military officials admitted that syrian troops trained by the u.s. at enormous expense refuse to go into battle. many of the new syrian forces fled after coming under attack

from other rebel factions. the news coming as the pentagon acknowledged that several of the trained fighters abducted by al nusra front. the u.s.-syria straining programme came under fire since it was announced last year. the white house pledging to train 5,000 a year to combats i.s.i.l. in syria. only 54 have been trained. jamie mcintyre has the latest. >> this video released on social media purports to show u.s.-trained fighters captured by al nusra front, after an attack north of aleppo. the pentagon acknowledged that five troops were detain and a sixth killed, aattack that the pentagon admits it never saw coming, and which al nusra, a group tied to al qaeda touted as a blow to the u.s.-backed syrian

forces. >> this unidentified fighter braggs... >> on this day al nusra front cut a hand to the west and the americans. somewhere the pentagon's decision to imbed the 54 graduates with division 30, was based on a faulty u.s. intelligence assessment that al nusra was unlikely to attack forces in the north. the official line is that the unexpected is always expect in car. we taj that there's challenges but the idea that we were caught flat-footed by the people kenning people into a war zone is not accurate. >> the u.s.-trained fighters were sent to this area with night vision equipment and laser target designators, allowing them to detect missiles.

the night vision helped them to repel the attack. the u.s. trained groups started to deport their post saying they signed up to fight i.s.i.l. not al nusra front. questions have been asked about what appears to have been failure. >> reporter: would you say that the white house is disappointed the president is disappointed. >> we forthright believe that the department of defense has been forthright about the changes that that operation faced. it has not significantly income en income -- encumbered other aspects. >> anti-i.s.i.l. forces moved in mile of the capital of raqqa. the progress has been made by u.s.-supported kurds who proved to be the most effective anti-i.s.i.l. forces on the

battlefield. the setback comes as i.s.i.l. seized control of a key town from the salvation army. the group captured a -- from the syrian army it captured a town the biggest advance since capturing palmyra. the advance bolsters i.s.i.l.'s ability to move supplies between palmyra and some territory that it controls near damascus. a senior fellow at the senior for american progress and former did not secretary of defense. good to see you. you heard the white house trying to play down a strategy in what appears to be moderates taking the fight to i.s.i.l. does the administration accept that this is a failure, and an expensive one? >> i think they do. they did not anticipate al-nusra coming in after them. this shows the mess you have in syria, you have bashar al-assad

he doesn't like al-nusra or i.s.i.l. al-nusra doesn't like i.s.i.l. and so it really becomes almost impossible to get people who used to be in syria want to get rid of bashar al-assad to go in there, and fight - fight al-nusra. >> earlier today i heard a democratic congresswoman argue that what happened with the american-trained fighters is evidence that the white house lacks a clear strategy in syria. is she right? >> i think the strategy basically is - and i think you have to differentiate syria and iraq. the strategy in syria is to prevent i.s.i.l. from taking over the country, and then hopefully you can get a negotiated solution with bashar al-assad. >> one of the good things that's happened for the white house in syria recently is that they have come in against i.s.i.l. the

turks. te previously they wanted to -- prefl they wanted to fight bashar al-assad, and are letting us use the base now making it more effective from the air as jamie mcintyre pointed out, the kurdz have been responsible for most of the gains against i.s.i.l. in syria, turk yip turkey, as you said is finally involved and giving the basis and targeting other kurds in turkey and iraq, more than i.s.i.l. and those kurds are allied with the syrian kurds. how big a problem will that be? >> no doubt that's a big problem, because for turks, the kurds, the p.k.k. the more radical kurds, they see as a threat to turkey before all this mess started with i.s.i.l. they have been fighting with them since turkey became an independent state after world war i. and i think that this shows how convoluted it is in terms of the threat from i.s.i.l.

yes, i.s.i.l. is a threat to people there, but it's a threat to al qaeda, which is a threat to us. and in syria you have to have some sort of negotiated solution. i think in iraq it's different, a different situation. >> right. talking about the negotiated solution. should at some point, the united states consider what some people have argued including the iranians what the iranians suggested all along, that we should find accommodation with bashar al-assad and his brutal dictatorship. is that realistic? at some point you need a negotiated isolation. whether you leave bashar al-assad in is irrelevant. if he stays he'll have a small part over on the mediterranean.

and i think at some point he'll have to step down and it will be the russians and the iranians working with us. basically nobody can win the war. >> they are the ones keeping him, you know standing. >> how much responsibility for the chaos in syria serves to be placed with the administration who chose to fellow in their lot with those that rebelled against bashar al-assad. >> our responsibility is we created i.s.i.l. we put abu bakr al-baghdadi in prison al qaeda came into iraq which morphed into i.s.i.s. so we have that responsibility. but we don't have responsibility for i.s.i.l. winning on the ground against the syrian army

or the syrians against bashar al-assad. that's not our responsibility. those that wanted to us get involved a couple of years ago caught to step back and say if we did, we are going after bashar al-assad do you want to fight them at the same time and deal with the p.k.k. iraq is different. you have a chance of prevailing. it's only us and the iranian on the same side there. >> former assistant secretary of defense, good to have you with us. >> the pentagon says suspected i.s.i.l. member has been handed over to the iraqi government. she is the widow of a late i.s.i.l. leader killed in may by u.s. special forces in syria. >> a group affiliated with

i.s.i.l. is claiming responsibility for a suicide bombing this morning at a mosque in south-western saudi arabia. authorities say the attack killed at least 15. 12 were members of saudi arabia's special forces. we have a report. >> this is where the attack took place. a suicide bomber getting into this mosque,blowing himself up. the facundo coria visited the injured in a nearby hospital. fight fighters from islamic state of iraq and levant claimed responsibility, after three others recently. it included the targetting of two shia mosques in may, in the eastern province. 25 worshippers were killed in the harl land of saudi arabia's minorities. -- heart land of saudi's

minorities. last month i.s.i.l. members displayed some of the weapons that were confiscated. the saudi minister said it stopped i.s.i.l. attacks on mosques. security forces and western diplomats. the king tom saw a surge in violence in the last two decades, when al qaeda launched attacks. >> security forces led a crackdown. the top leaders were killed arrested or fled to yemen, where they formed al qaeda in the arabian peninsula six years ago. now, saudi arabia faces challenges. a fight at home against i.s.i.l., and a military campaign in yemen, against houthi militias in iraq officials were investigating an overnight suicide attack in baghdad. it happened in a shia city

neighbourhood of sadr city. seven were killed and children after a mini bus detonated on a crowded street. no group claimed responsibility but shia often targeted groups including i.s.i.l. >> to the west battles heated up. forces are determined to claim the region from i.s.i.l. the fight is taking its toll on residents who can't leave and say children are caught in the crossfire. we go to baghdad for the latest. a warning - some of the images you are about to see are disturbing. >> reporter: in fallujah bullets and bombs don't discriminate. and the wounds have only grown deeper. residents say the young are just as likely a target as the old. but civilians of all ages are under siege from i.s.i.l. and the iraqi army.

>> look at this. this happened as a result of artillery shelling by army look at this are we terrorists waging the war. this is my daughter she is dead. what did she do to deserve this? many parents who thought the hardest trial is surviving the war, are faced with a crueller fate - surviving their children. >> translation: we are in a dire situation here my son has a small daughter killed by the shelling. she was a year and two months old. this is our condition. we want medication and proper surgery. even hospitals are caught in the

crossfire. >> we are entering the second year of the crisis. we are not treating terrorists we are treating 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's corridors are lined with class, as smoke billows through the air. a medic searches for injured patients and wounded colleagues. homes are no longer safer. in this video, a man decis the killing of a family enraged officials are providing more destruction than protection. wand iring through a house caused by government bombing raids and he points out the raids. you can't find the kids under the rubble. where is i.s.i.l. in here. are young children affiliated

with i.s.i.l. more expressions of pain from the gave yard where two sisters mother and under are laid to rest. for residents of fallujah war is the scene. many civilians feel caught in a never ending conflict. leaders that vowed to defeat i.s.i.l. say they have arrived at the moment of truth. families worry that promise means they'll face more fighting and the reality will become far more harrowing. extinguish. >> the crackdown on europeans trying to support or fight for i.s.i.l. conditions. macedonian police arrested nine

suspects. police are looking for 27 more connected to the group. all arrested were macedonian nationals. eight died when a suicide car bomb exploded at a joint army base. the bomb went off injuring 20. officials expect the unanimous of dead and wounded to rise. many victims are women and children was it aggression or a reckless war. next a hint at the words the prime minister used to mark the sunni anniversary of the end of world war ii. egypt celebrates the opening of a new lane in its prised suez canal. canal.

almost 70 years after the end of world war ii japanese

government officials offered their view of japan's role advisors to shinzo abe issued a report saying japan waged a reckless war. some rejected using the word aggression which is how former enemies viewed the attacks and occupation. reports say critics exaggerated. >> by showing that we are facing history honestly we hope to wipe out the recidivism. >> the report compiled by survivors, made a preview from the prime minister's speech marking the end of war. israel's president says binyamin netanyahu should not antagonize others. the head of state is describing binyamin netanyahu's opposition as overzealous. river land says binyamin netanyahu opened a battle frowned with washington further isolating israel and urged

binyamin netanyahu to patch up relationships with obama. >> an israeli missile that was fired and did not detonate exploded killing four members of the same family. the missile blew up while palestinian rebels were clearing the area a u.n. draft resolution authorising an investigative panel has been great. syria has been accused of using chemical weapons against civilians. russia long blocked saying there's no proof. >> what we are trying to do is get beyond the finding of the fact that it may have been used and find out who used it. >> the security council will vote on the resolution tomorrow. >> in context, the newly expand said suez canal.

in addition to extra revenue, the egyptian government hopes the $8 billion project will serve as an champ that it -- champ that it will reunite shans. >> reporter: it's been called the great egyptian dream. kings, queens gathered on the bank of the suez canal through an organization rich and pomp and patriotism. the french president, francis hollande. the expansion is designed to double the number of ships sailing between europe and asia. it has great significance between abdul fatah al-sisi, who after years of unrest says he wants to unite the nation. >> translation: the new suez canal is not just an engineering achievement. there's a great dimension to what has been done. in one, we have given egyptians more confidence piece of mind

and less anxiety about the future. no one can harm egypt if we are united in the future. >> reporter: earlier in the day he travelled along the widened canal by presidential yacht. flanked by the egyptian navy. the 8 billion project greeted a 35km bypass along the route and deepened and widened the waterways. the original suez canal took 10 years to build. channels 12 months to dig, employing more than 40,000 workers and soldiers labouring around the clock. ahead of inauguration the egyptian government promoted the new-look canal, describing it has a channel of prosperity. some have celebrated the opening. only egyptians have been allowed to invest in the project and expect to see a share in the prospects. it could be more than a year

and the government hopes the channel will double the toll and refloat the economy. while deep social divisions remain in the country, the great egyptian theme may be wishful thinking when the original suez canal was built 150 years ago it link said the mediterranean to the arabian sea, before the canal was built ships had to travel around the horn of africa. the canal was under egyptian control until it was nationalized. our guest is a member of the rule of law association. is this as neave barker said - wishful thinking altogether or would it be a boom to the economy, not quite what abdul fatah al-sisi has been

promising. >> he's promising it will change the world and increase global commerce if you think of the technicalities of what it takes. the canal expanded from 10-15km, and reduced the bottle neck and so ships, for example, moving south - their wait time was 14 hours, now it's 11. though time is money in the shipping industry the major change is not significant. >> some estimates are waits are longer, and it will allow for 2-way traffic and larger ships so that all that can bring money to egypt. >> not the larger ships, but in terms of economic outfit it's based on a global economic growth in terms of trade of 9%. the world has not seen growth of 9% in one year. realistically speak, global

trade grows 2% a year. the projected revenue of moving canal's revenue from $5 billion to 13 billion is based on an inflated expectation. >> and has been little growth since 2008 in the suez canal revenues and the reality is part of the problem is that the united states is not importing as much oil. and a lot depends on the east asian economy, and china's economy. since 2008 there has been a reduction in the suez canal. for the regime to put all eggs in one basket when statistically speaking it's been in the opposite direction, it's looking for legitimacy in the wrong places. >> he's talking about how it could be security - that i don't understand, because it is right there on the sinai, and violence

has been increasing. >> yes, it has been increasing significantly, but what we see in the next couple of weeks is return of u.s. egyptian military exercises in the signa. the recent economic growth has been growing by 4%. a lot is because of money poured into the massive project and if the economy slows the in stability in egypt could be worse. >> absolutely and the growth because of the employment of tens of thousands, builds the expansion. before the resolution 40% of egyptians lived tonne less than $2. today 50% of egyptians live on less than $1.80. in terms of economic strife it's at a high. we see a lack of ability for

civilians to participate in the discourse of politics. >> that is why maybe abdul fatah al-sisi made a big deal out of this. will this help his image. >> it may today, but if it doesn't return the promises that we have been listening to economists say, they will not see economic return it night hurt his image in the short-term future. just because you build it doesn't mean that they will come. >> good point. the baseball people may disagree with you. thank you very much. >> thank you the state department work on human trafficking - was the report manipulated by the white house. allegations that malaysia's rating improved for political reasons, not because of changes on the part of the south-east asian nation former president goes on trial accused of interfering with an investigation in the 1994 bombing of a jewish center

in venezuela. venezuela.

joop welcome back to al jazeera america. coming up, prime suspects in hacking the white house, pentagon and state department

the administration is taking heat for a report on global human trafficking. critics accusing them of cooking the numbers for political purpose, rosalind jordan explains a republican led senate is opening fire. >> reporter: sara is a state department official overseeing the annual trafficking persons and tip report for 15 years. the report has been called a u.s. effort highlighting countries that don't do enough. now, legislators suspect the reports were manipulated for the white house's political agenda. >> several months ago he heard reports close to this process, that this year's report was under exceptional pressure to shape the rankings for political demands, not the facts on the ground. >> seoul tried to address the

concerns. >> there are complicity of use. the secretary takes them into account when making final decisions. >> reporter: but it didn't work she never denied the political charges. senators that called the hearing said they think there's too much evidence suggesting otherwise. >> the main argument the ranking of malaysia among the worst fornds called tier 3 in the 2014 report. senators suspect that states move up in the yankings so the u.s. can continue to negotiate with it in the ongoing partnership. if malaysia stayed into the three, the u.s. legally cannot negotiate with it. in kuala lumpur the secretary of state rejected suggestions that he was pressured to change malaysia's ranging to keep the talks on electric. >> i'm confident it's the right decision made without record to issues. >> the senators are unpersuaded.

they'll take a closer look at how the report is put together. >> i'm putting you on notice. any destruction of emails phone records or letters from 11.19 am on could have significant consequences. >> if there was any confirmation through the hearing, the senator reatured that they would blame her, and they promised they'll find out who is responsible for undermining a report once considered above reproach 400 survivors of yesterday's migrant boat sinking were brought to the port of pal 'emmo. 200 migrants are still missing. italian and irish navy ships saved the migrants after the boat capsized. a dramatic rescue came when

workers from doctors without borders pulled people from a speed boat out of the water. they transferred to a waiting vessel. search and rescue are continuing. former argentine president and several others are on trial. they are accused of obstructing on investigation into who was responsible for the 1994 bombing of a jewish center. 85 people were killed in the attack. the first case was thrown out of court after a witness was influenced to change his testimony. >> translation: we suffered from the lies. they looked us in the eyes and lied to us making us part of this relying on the fact that we were relatives in order to lie to everyone the intelligence chief, two prosecutors and a judge are facing charges. it raised suspicions around the world with people saying the corruption which is the highest level of government. as reported the families hope the trial will bring the piece.

>> for 21 years, they have been trying to find out who killed his son. >> translation: every day i'm here and ask myself why, who was behind the bombing. someone has to be responsible. >> he died in an attack against a jewish center. 85 people were killed and hundreds of others injured. it was argentina's deadly attack and the authorities were clear calling it terrorism. until now, no suspects for the attack at the jewish center 21 years ago. even if the government has been behind the bombing, the investigation into what facilitated the attack has been filled with incompetence and allegations of cover up.

now, the former president and chief of intelligence was on trial for corrupting the investigation. this person has been researching the attack for years, and says that the argentine state is responsible for covering up what is known here as the local connection. >> this attack was not possible without the help of police or intelligence services. iran has denied its involvement in the bombing. last year prosecutor accused the president kirchner of changing the government strategy and conspireing to cover up a probe into iran's involvement in the attack. >> on the day he had to present his case in congress he was found dead in his apartment. an investigation into whether he killed himself continues. >> the way that it follows up a bombing ends after the explosion. the real ends up when you put

behind bars those responsible. the wave continues, no one knows what happened. >> i believe this man died because of that. [ siren ] >> reporter: even though the trial is supposed to begin in february kirchner urged the judiciary to speed up the process. some say they attempt to try results. in spied of these, people are thank. they believe that this trial could bring them closer to the truth. >> an analyst and c.e.o. and founder of bubble an argentine digital media company joins us from buenos aires. it's incredible that more than 20 years later, we don't know for sure who carried out the horrific attacks, and there's all these cover ups. let's start with the trial of former president.

he is accused of possibly covering up syrian involvement in the massacre. >> that's he's currently being accused of abuse of power, and accused of covering up so-called syrian lead. now, it's very important that we make very clear to the audience that this case this trial is not about the investigation of the attack itself this is an investigation, a first investigation that took place in 1994 and 2004, after it - after that it was dismissed by a federal court, and it started from scratch. it's important to know that this is not in order to find out who bombed the area but to know why the president and the judge in the case covered up. >> now, i know that it is a syrian descent, he improved relations with israel and the

united states why would he cover up a syrian role? >> your guess is as good as mine. according to many witnesses, including president kirchner who was a wit innocence during the first -- witness during the first trial before the case was dismissed, she accused the then president of having ties to a syrian arms dealer and that is why he was called or ordered to divert attention to a different lead, to divert attention to a syrian lead and focus on iran, an alleged iranian involvement. that is what we are trying to find out now, why, exactly is it that they decided to cover it up. >> it is not popular in argentina, and he's arguing that kirchner and her government - this is political persecution. >> absolutely. no carlos is one of the most unpopular political figures in

argentina. he's a senator, and he is going to serve in congress until 2017. but there's no love for them here. he's linked to the lidderal policies of the 9 0es in argentina, leading to the 2001 crisis. a lot of people believe there was involvement, that he had involvement and they want to see him stand trial, go to gaol. unfortunately today was the beginning of the trial and he missed the first day. lawyers said he was not feeling well. he's suffering health issues he's 85. we'll have to wait and see what happens. >> where does it stand where the prosecutor was about to levy against counter president, that she conspired to cover up iran's role? correct. that case was dismissed.

it's no longer being investigated. many hoped that it would make its way to the supreme court, but if didn't. it's just a case that even though many pushed for it to happen most of the federal courts decided that there basically was no evidence or relevant evidence to sustain what they said was a conspiracy between the president and iran to let iran off the hook for any involvement in the attack against them here we are 20 years later and the families have no closure. good of you to join us much thank you. >> reporter: as the mystery of malaysia airlines flight 370 deepens, relatives of the victims feel confusion and despair over the latest reports. >> these young women are on the hunt for embargoed goods. it's been a year since the import was blocked. now it seems they were getting serious.

i'm rory challands with more. h more.

malaysian authorities say more plane debris has watched up on reunion island where part of a wing was found. they say the flapper on was confirmed to be from missing flight 370, and other objects turned up but as adrian brown reports, families of the 370 victims are skeptical. >> reporter: for are 16 months emotions have swung between despair and hope.

so by barging into the offices of malaysia airlines they may have felt they had nothing to lose. the announcement from the government brings neither closure or comfort to families or relatives frt chinese victims. some believe the wreckage was planted on reunion island. >> it's not true a lot of things would have been easy to fine and they didn't find them like pt chairs baggage and stuff that is lighter. >> during this time we cannot leave anything because aircraft had a g.p.s. the airline doesn't want us to close the truth, that's why we cannot leave them. >> they want answers, this was not a protest against the government which was why it was allowed to happen. one placard appealed for help. by coincidence the foreign

minister is in max asia attending the regional conference. >> research should continue. at the same time we agree with malaysia that we should find out the truth. >> reporter: quite what the next phase is is far from clear. analysis of ocean currents shows search teams looking in the right area. australia prime minister is hopeful. it suggests for the first time we might be a little closer to solving this baffling mystery the pentagon suspects russia is behind a cyber attack against one of its computer networks. it classified the joint chiefs in july. the defense department responded by taking the network offline. military officials say the sophistication suggests the sponsor fits the pattern of

russian acts. by american is a slogan in the united states off and on for decades. a similar slogan eat russian is heard as moscow is destroying imported food. they were panned a year ago in retaliation of the annexation of crimea. rory challands files this report from moscow. >> reporter: these people are on a mission. a year on from the moscow embargo on western foods, it's possible to find banned product in the shops. an offending pack much nuts is discovered and the manager is given a lecture on patriotic retail ethics. >> this item is banned by origin and production. >> reprimand finished the nuts are tagged. selling them is not a tag, importing them is. they can only mark them with

tickers. this one says sanctioned and has a picture of the stars and stripes of the united states the golden stars of the european union and standing in front of them. the russian set up to promote the consumption of produce has the appearance of grassroots pressure group. critics say such organizations are carefully nurtured. >> the deputies public champions supported us. it's importance that customers must be behind us. they have raids on russian supermarkets. they have coincided. they get tough. the presidential decree orders destruction of the food. this was filmed by the custom

service and shows 550 tonnes of crossing the border. 800 embargoed violations have been registered. this is a food industry entrepreneur nose the tricks to allows the embargoed products to get in. >> there's three ways to bring in food. first food is prepared in serbia. second it's something that other countries lose. third, the documents are fake. finding goods is an exception, rather than the rule. in the main banned products are replaced with russian foot for imports from non-embargoed countries. for now, price increases triggered by the process appear to tail off. little consolation for those

mourning the choice that the cheese counter offers in a country torn by violent conflicts, you have to go to extraordinary links to get an education. one girl's amazing story from south sudan. from the streets of manila to the professional league. why basketball is king in the philippines. philippines.

rivals in south sudan resumed peace talks, meeting in the ethiopian capital. they are under pressure to strike a deal ending the civil war. tens of thousands have been killed during the conflict. sudan probing away four years ago. hoping it would mean a better education for the children. as reported that is far from what happened. >> reporter: a pair of socks and shoes - this girl's most

precious possessions. when they fall apart and she doesn't have the money to replace them she walked the four hours to and from the primary school aring in juba. when i can't come to school. i get upset. acrid for days for my mum to get me socks and shoes. at 17, she is the oldest classmate due to interruptions in schooling. her mother is supported. she works with her mother in the market in the morning and attend school for three lawyers in the afternoon. >> i'm only focussing on ensuring that our mum's efforts are not in feign. if they can finish primary school it will be an accomplishment moth never achieve. u.n.i.c.e.f. says less than 10%

of children will complete primary school. getting families to enrol their girls remains an obstacle. 35% of students in the country are girls. >> they look at girls as bred so it's meaningless to educate them. getting the girl is forgetting the nation. deputy headmaster says after south sudan seceded, the government made promises to improve the educational system. there were hopes of the curriculum schools, supplies and training. the students centre no stepbooks, and they struggle with lap dated schools, overcrowded classrooms. u.n.i.c.e.f. says the civil war erased the small gains head. the battle a personal. each school day she's fighting to get an education

now our global view section, a look at how news outlets are reacting. japan's paper wrote about allegations made by wiki leeks that the united states interaccepted phone calls from japanese government agencies under the headlines n.s.a. spying allegations should not fake trust in japanese allies. it writes japanese agents need to strengthen communications security measures brazil - they write about a european migrant crisis saying a lack of a strong government in europe led to individual countries pushing off the problem. humanitarian crisis highlights the bickering between france and britain, and the inability on reaching an agreement on where

arriving rev disease remain. the danish newspaper writes under the headline russia and the north pole. the agreements on what controls what parts of the arctic circle will be easy. russia resubmitted claims if denmark wants the world to take this arctic territorial claim seriously, it needs to do more than control the region. >> the first basketball game was played in massachusetts in 1891. it has become a toddler support. americans brought basketball with them. now filipinos hope the compassion helps them to come the host. >> reporter: for the villagers here, nothing gets in the way of basketball. it's the most popular sport in the country, and it's said that there's a hoop and game played

around every street corner and village. the young boys say there's nothing like it. and many of them dream of making a career in the sport on sunday. i want to be famous. the only thing i like to play. >> professional basketball players are national superstars. they are the highest paid athletes and with a sport, a national obsession, basketball games are among the watched programs on tv. the sport has a long history dating back in the early 1900s produced by american colonisers the professional league is the oldest in the world outside the united states. >> many commentators tried to explain why basketball was popular in philippines where people small of stature might be considered detrimental in sport.

it's seen as an equalizer. rich or poor can play or watch side by side. the philippines was a leading player, but lagged behind since the 1960s. >> when countries of bigger players with more money for training came in. despite that no asian country has been more successful in the olympics or the world cup. >> it's a religion you know. if you arriving anybody any questions about basketball. if it's local or an mba, everyone is drawn to it. it's a big thing here. >> it's that passion and relationship with the sport that filipinos hope will win them the honour of hosting the 2019 basketball world cup. and the national team's coach agrees. >> it will generate huge crowds and those crowds will be unlike

crowds in the world. they'll be gigantic and passionate. there's no place else that it can be created, in the world. it can't be done. >> the philippines is seen as the underdog. filipinos never let the image stop them. through victory or defeat on this or another court, they are buoyed by passion and determination and heart tomorrow night, a sport known as murder ball makes a debut in toronto. for the first time wheelchair rugby will be feature at a para-pan am games, and we look at how competitors with disabilities play a fast paced and violent game. >> the swimming world championships occur in russia all eyes on the skill for an 88 foot final. in this photo, a competitor of the czech republic appears to sail above the city with the

minor et cetera of the mosque as a backdrop. >> that's it for this edition of al jazeera america, i'm antonio mora thank you for watching. "america tonight" is next. see you again in an hour. hour. on "america tonight" - speaking out for a sister and for justice. >> the emotional, your feelings. you are like why aren't they saying my sister's name? women and the law. when they are victims of excessive force, why the silence. >> what has defined the ultimate frame of racism has been