>> isil claims responsible for twin suicide bombs that killed at least 33 people. this is al jazeera live from london, also coming up. kurdish fighters say isil did retreat after a major assault on it's supply lines from iraq and syria. the u.n. moves one step closer to sending peace keepers as the mood shed continues. >> south pacific islands

creating a buzz about solving the world's honey bee crisis. has claimed responsible for two suicide blasts which robbed beirut. 230 injured. the suburb is a strong hold of the lebanese armed group. reports from the scene of the blasts. >> a popular marketplace became a scene of carnage late on thursday, civilians were the ones killed and injuries and the ones targeted. this is a mainly shia neighborhood in the southern suburbs. it is also where supporters of the armed movement live. suicide bomber whose arrived on motorcycles detonated their exploits meters apart,

the second blast went off right outside a shrine. >> a large number of those injuries were severely wounded and a number died in hospital. there are also no body parts of the suspected bombers have been found. we may have escaped an extra receive, buzz the explosive belt of a third didn't go off. >> people here have seen scenes like this before. there was a time when similar attacks were frequent in this area of the lebanese capitol. >> people are angry, but there's also a sense of defiance. this is not the first time that beirut has been hit by an explosion. but the last time it happened was over a year ago. >> just like the attacks in the past, the people here believe this was a message to hezbollah, which has sent troops to syria to help the government there in the fight against the opposition. hezbollah has earned itself

enemies, one of those groups is isil, which claimed responsibility for the attack. >> they targeted this place, because they don't have any other way to fight us pack. they have run out of options, and let me be clear, they targeted this area because we are shia, but we won't be phased. >> pose boal la has long insists that it was a strategic choice, and just like in the previous round of attacks it is unlikely to change the position, and they say they back that stance. >> today before we keep following the same principle. a week or something like that, no, we are still like that. >> but behind the anger and the fear, this could be the beginning of another cycle of violence. >> joining us live now from our bureau in pay route,

later of course into the flight where you are right now, what is the latest? >> well, the lebanese government and international day of mourning yesterday, as you mentioned, more than 40 people killed, more than 200 injured it is one of the worst attacks in years, and remember monois not immune to violence, like i mentioned. it wasn't the first time that beirut southern suburbs was targeted by an explosion, but it's been over a year, and people that we met at the scene, they were worried. yes, there was anger, and defiance, but at the same time they are worried that they could see more of such attacks in the near future. now we understand, and many people believe that this attack is directly linked to the war in neighboring syria, some sort of a message to hezbollah, and we have -- hezbollah has enemies. but everybody those

politician condemn the attack, and said that this was a heinous crime, and it is unacceptable to target civilians. really, in a show of national unity, politicians are coming together, but there is little national unity in this country. politician are deeply divided, there are those that support the syrian government, there are those that support the syrian opposition. and it is not just a political divide in lebanon. it is also a sectarian divide. because those who support the government are mainly from the shoo shia community. and over the past years really there are a lot of fears that this sectarian divide could trigger violence between the different communities, and this is the real fear, if lebanese people don't come together, they are worried that it could just spell even more violence in the days to come. >> all right. thank you for that update there, thank you. >> kurdish forces say they have captured several

villages from isil after launching an offensive to retake the iraqi town. the town is of huge strategic importance in the battle against isil. it sits across the main highway between racca and mosul. the operation involves around 7.5000 forces. being supported by u.s. led air strikes. an isil captured the town in august last year, they killed thousands of men and kidnapped the women and girls. those who escaped fled to sinjar mountain. >> in the early hours the operation to take back sinjar began. which isil has controlled since august of last year, the operation is on three fronts, the south, the west, and the east. the curds are confident they will prevail. >> today it is our duty to

liberate from injustice, we are fully prepared to attack and liberate it soon god willing we will help the people return back to their homes. >> it is important has been underscored be arrival of the president on the front line, to monitor progress. >> he is considered kurdish territory, and success here will be seen as a victory, against isil. but isil fighters prove themselves resilient, and have bobby trapped houses and rigged car womans. it is important pause it is also home to the ha and it ty community. when they took control of the town and the surrounding area, it killed between three and 5,000 men according to human rights organizations. that pushed the u.s. to launch air strikes in arrack and then a month later in syria, which led to kurdish forces retaking the north.

if the operation is successful it can cut off in iraq, denying them a vital supply rout. right now the peshmerga are on the outskirts of the town. but it is not clear if that will happen. they have dug themselves in and are prepared for a long fight. al jazeera. >> russia's olympic committee says it recommended that the former head of the athletic federation resign as a member of the committee executive. it follows monday's report by the world's anti-doping agency which accused of state sponsors doping. russia has denied the accusations and president putin has ordered an internal investigation. put as athletes still face being suspended, al jazeera has been following that story in moscow. if he does fall on his sword, it will be the second

resignation since this crisis started in the beginning of the week. the first person to go was the director of the moscow anti-doping laboratory. the laboratory that was right at the heart of the report into doping in russian sport. he is a bigger fish. for more than two decades he was the president of the russian athletics federation. he began his job in 1991, he resigned in february of 2015. just after and gentleman broadcaster put out a documentary, the one that kick started the investigation. he resigned as the president, but he kept a position on the executive committee, of the russian olympic committee, and that's the position that he is now being asked to resign from. interestingly, though, he is also the treasurer of the i.a.a.f.

that's a position that performs duties for, he also resigned from the athletics federation, it is also the organization that on friday, is going to make the very very difficult decision, about whether or not russian athletes should be banned from international competitions. >> the u.n. has adopted a resolution that could see peace keepers sent to ba ruin di. al jazeera and the capitol and sent this update. >> this is a joint military and police operation that began last sunday. soldiers standard, surrounding this neighborhood, in h the capitol the zone is one of several, but the government sees weapons are being heated by unknown rebels. many here have fled.

a few are coming back, after this, they are stealing lots of things. >> the government saying it is just trying to deal with a rebellion, and leave the country of illegal weapons but many people here are accusing of high handedness, of arrests and torture. >> they found on 6th avenue, they put their feet on my neck and beat me with guns. >> the crisis begun when the president ran and won a third term in office. there were violent protests, and accusations of killings on all sides. but police tell us the main focus now is recover weapons. and this day, this is what they say they found. guns ammunition and police uniforms hidden inside homes and even buried under ground.

some of those arrests say they have nothing to do with the weapons. this man told us that a gun was found on the road near his home, but he was arrested anyway, and now he is afraid of what may happen to him. al jazeera. still to come, a tense subject, ends with european and african leaders approving a $2 billion plan, to stop the flow of refugees from africa. and violence returns to the streets of athens during the first general strike.

>> explorer and environmentalist jean-michel cousteau. >> we are visitors and we need to respect that. >> surprising secrets of the ocean. >> if it wasn't for the ocean, we would have a lot of problems today. >> and the harsh reality facing our planet. >> enough is enough. >> i lived that character. >> we will be able to see change.

reminder of the stop stories on al jazeera. at least four people have been killed in a double suicide bomb attack in the lebanese capitol. isil has claimed responsibility. a huge offensive is being launched to retake the isil held iraqi town of sinjar. and there's more fall out from the russian athletic doping scandal, as the country's olympic committee recommends that the former russian athletic federation. value tin resign as a member. a palestinian man has been shot dead by undercover israeli soldiers at a hospital. that's according to health officials in the west bank. security camera footage apparently shows forces entering the hospital. a warning some images in the report are disturbing.

>> have a look at the second row, what looks like a man dressed and in the next row someone else disguised as a pregnant woman. believed doctors says that's the ploy the israeli unit used to get in. >> so what do you think when a unit of undercover security raid a hospital. it came undercover, not even as soldiers to arrest one of the patients that was lying injured in his bed. the crime even became uglier when they surprised the companion and shot him with five bullets and executed him many the hospital. the companion was the patient's cousin. he died of his wounds. the suspect is then wheeled out to the surgical unit, he is accused of stabbing an israeli man, whose brother was in the room at the time. >> the first thing did was to

handcuff my hands to the bed. he was walking out of the bathroom as he was preparing to pray. the undercover security man asked him to stand, and as he was looking at them, they shot him. >> but that version differs from earlier reports. which say abdullah was trying to stop the arrest, at the time he was shot. emotions in the city are already very strained. the last few weeks have been marked by protests and attacks from both sides. separating facts from opinions, or even emotions, isn't straight forward. news of the raid is spreading. there's been a somewhat mooted response from the israeli side, although it has confirmed that the arrests did take place. al jazeera. >> sweden has become the latest country to introduce border checks in the face of

the refugee crisis. and dozens of people hoping to travel to the country are stuck in germany. the prime minister says sweden needs to bring order the system, to stop people from staying in italy. african and european leaders have agreed with a plan to deal with the huge number of people trying to find a better life. lawrence lee has been following developments at that summit. welcome to the signing ceremony of the agreement -- >> so this europe's offer to africa, two. dollars in cash, about a 10th s in aid every year, signed sol lemnly by the e.u. leaders in return, they expect african nations to help repatriate many thousands who europe sees as economic migrants. rather than refugees. even the europe's prime minister signed it even with something of a smirk, but he had already made clear what many think, africans should

be made to stay out of europe. >> migration -- for those countries. from where they are coming and the arrival in the situation, and we don't speak openly about it, so we should change the language of the discussions and do not consider migration as a positive thing, because it is against the european citizens. it palm clear how large the gap was between what europe is offering and what africa says it needs. later on entire reform of the economic relationship between the two continents on crucial issues like agriculture, in which western giants have undermined local economies. based on that, 2 billion euros look to many like chicken feed. it is not enough, 1.8 billion euros is far from enough. the needs are far greater, that's why we have requested our partners to participate many money, and before that

we don't just want aid, we want reform. >> it has become clear how differently europe and africa see the crisis. while europeans increasingly make no distinction between asylum seekers and economic migrants afterleaders have reminded their hosts how much of the world europeans colonized for money. in a way, holding out against europe on all this, look as little like revenges. >> the african delegations here knew this was not a crisis for africa, but a crisis for europe, and that seems to have given them courage to demand more. >> there was scant mention of what the europeans wanted most, african help in repatriations. africa, was getting it's own back. >> i think they are hoping this would be a start, a start of a longer term

engangment, where europe gives something, and gets something in return. but no, one cannot say that they have achieved this goal, and this goal was definitely one of the main mans of what european negotiators came here for today. >> perhaps you could say this is the start of something better, perhaps some hope might come out of all the tragedies, put if europe is genuine about wanting africans not to come, it will take more than what was offered here. lawrence lee, al jazeera. >> in the u.s. dozens of wild fires continue to burn in california with warnings that the risk of more fires is set to increase over the coming days. the valley had seen widespread damage. five warnings remain in place, including los angeles. a reputed new york mobster has been found not guilty of a role in an airport heist that took place more than three decades ago.

thats with inspiration to the film good fellas. prosecutors alleged eh waited in a decoy car, and he robbed $6 million worth of money and jewelry from a building at j.f.k. airport. >> police fired tier gas at protestors in agrees that threw bombs during demonstrations. thousands gathers outside the parliament angry about budget cuts from the left wing party. reports. >> it is a wake up call, a first general strike since it came to power results in violence with police, a sign of continuing anger. >> many people believe the party ignored workers on the left when it reverses the policy three months ago. unemployment is stuck at just under 25%, and many don't believe the parties promises to reduce poverty, caesar is

cutting $5 billion from the budget next year as the economy continues to shrink. half of that was to come from pensions. and no group of pensioners is more worried than the self-employed because their fund is bankrupt. >> the problem is broader policy. when professionals find themselves on the street, the fund can't gather enough. >> the burden on contributors is already heavy, there are 1.4 workers to each pensioner in the self-employed fund, almost 60% of their pay goes to taxes and social security. the highest margin in the developed world. like many self-employed people, sophia has fallen behind in payments. and is trying to catch up. >> i don't know if i will ever have a reward for the money i am paying now, if there were a choice i would opt for private insurance without question. >> they are both at this march, unhappy in work and in

retirement. >> a year ago, labor unions were behind, they thought the left was the best chance of breaking the vicious cycle of spending cuts. and it is not just about pensions, caesar promised no new taxes. and said it would restore minimum wage to 800-dollar as month, now that it has caved in the unions are turns. >> social security analyst say pensions have already fallen by 45%. he thinks the government should crack down on labor. >> you can't cut pensions and allow $6 billion to go uncollected. that's decisive contribution right now. businesses are in arrears to the system. if someone works 25 day as month, but declare 15 days worth of contributions. >> but penalizing employers can lead to severity without justice, pushing further down the spiral that bankruptcies and unemployment, al jazeera,

athens. >> the indian prime minister is in the u.k. for three day official visit. the british prime minister described the trip as a historic opportunity. but the two governments expected to sign billions of dollars worth of deals. reports not everyone is happy with the visit. >> it is the first visit by an indian prime minister in more than a decade. he has been praised for modernizing the democracy, but faces harsh criticism for his beliefs. >> although he is in india's head of state, his arrival was welcomed with nearly all the pomp and ceremony of a presidential or royal visit. all part of a very british charm offensive and what they hope will be a chance to cash in on trade deals. british companies are expected to announce

$15 billion in deals, including the sale of 20 military aircraft. and with 1.5 million people from india or india decent living in the u.k., it is also a chance to deepen cultural ties. i am delighted to visit the united kingdom. this is a relationship of immense importance. extraordinary people to people ties and our shared values give it special character. >> we out to forge a more ambitious modern partnership, harnesses our strengths and working together for the long term to help shape our porches at home and abroad. >> but not everyone is welcomed the prime minister arrival, thousands gather close to downing street to condemn his record of free speech and human rights. there's a wide number of

slogans render as a hindu nationalist as accused of fostering religious intolerance, of putting hindu matters above anything else. >> since he came into power, there's a culture of violence, against minorities religious communities. >> prime minister is also accused of failing to stop anti-muslim riots in 2002, when he was chief minister of the indian state. the british government responded to the violence by impose also ten year travel ban, that ended only three years ago. as the indian prime minister stood to address both houses past droves were off the agenda, for india the visit is a major boost for the quest for greater international acceptance. al jazeera, london. >> there's an urgent race to

save the world's honey bees, poll lynn nateing a third of the world's food, but disease and pest sized are killing them off. one beekeeper there thinks he may have found a solution to the loom crisis. >> east it is a small nation home to 1200 people. hidden away in the forest a hive of honey. the local beekeeper says these colonies are the cleanest bees in the world. >> 99% of beekeepers would cry to see these bees like this. they would be envious of beautiful hives like this. >> see how calm they are. >> i am not going to do that, western a mask on that's crazy. >> he is producing a range of organic honey product to fund his dream. a pacific bee sanctuary to

combat diseases plaguing the world's bees. he says nuia has the perfect climate to breed calm bees all year long. >> you have to get the right size, if you go too small, you can't get the scale up. if you go too big, it is hard to manage, this is the perfect size island for this project. >> nuia is isolated the nearest country from here is 300-kilometers away, which is why a bee sanctuary could work. >> it is a struggle to make money from agriculture here due to a small work force and long shipping routs. >> if we need to borrow money to make sure we can accelerate the process we will do that, i think will be a possibility to become partners. >> critics say it is cyclone prone, and it could kill the

bees easily when they are exported. but they want scientists to come here to experience the buzz, for themselves. >> al jazeera, nuia. >> there's much more news over on our website, the address is aljazeera.com. it's our choice. >> he spent more time under water than any living person. as the son of the legendary jacques cousteau, he was drawn to the ocean at tan early age. >> i would take my bag and i would go to the coastline, almost everyday, on my way to school. and one of the things