>> this is al jazeera. ♪ >> hello. this is the newshour live from london. lanka'sp, as sri leaders release more updates on the easter bombing attacks, fears of more attacks great the island nation. the military denies reports the foreign minister has been from prison. warnings of massive flooding over the next 10 days as a second powerful cyclone hits mozambique.

all eyes on spain's far right ahead of elections on sunday. >> i might in delhi with all of your sports. a comedy of errors forces the practice session to be canceled as -- at azerbaijan's grande -- grand prix. >> the fear of more attacks continues to play sri lanka. sunday masses have been canceled indefinitely. so far, more than 70 people have been arrested over the easter sunday attacks which killed more than 250 people. earlier a gunbattle broke out as security forces raided a in an east end city. a curfew has been imposed across the area.

authorities basically having a raid conducted in the east of sri lanka, about 350 kilometers from the capital, where there was an explosion, where they came upon a certain group they were closing in on. there was a gunbattle. we are hearing from the police spokesperson's office that this shooting did in soup for a certain amount of time and just about 30 kilometers away just before this, there had also been detection of a house which had had a number of things including a unifiform very simimilar to tt by the alleged suicide bombers that released a video claiming responsibility for the easter sunday attacks. also a banner with the isis lag was displayed in the background

of that particular video. than 100,000 metal ball bearings, notoriously used in suicide kits, so all of these things coming together and reflecting that the authorities on theseng in assailants that are on the run. earlier today, we had several .eople talking the head of the catholic church here in sri lanka, but also, we heard from the president. let's take a look. the 200-year-old st. anthony's shrine, called the church miracle. cameras are allowed in for the first time since the easter sunday attacks to see the extent of the damage. the head of the catholic church in sri lanka is struggling to comprehend the loss of life. >> many people's lives have been shattered. i have personally felt a great

loss for me personally because i have lost my community. the relatives of and survivors are heavily traumatized. rebuilding the church be a challenge but there has been an offer of help in the meantime. >> my mosque is open for them to do their prayers. i am inviting all. they want to do a mass, we are prepared to protect them. this is what islam says. >> religious leaders worked hard to keep their communities calm and united. the president says he will not shy away from responsibilities that was quick to point to what he says contributed to the intelligence lapse and the lack

of response to warnings of attack. >> the civil society figures have weakened the intelligence sectors. the intelligence services have been undermined by a plot to protect them against being jailed and weakened. >> for the families who lost loved ones in sunday's carnage, words are of little comfort. personnel hunt for dozens of remaining operatives still at large. fears of further attacks are foremost in people's minds. be some time before st. anthony's church reopens its doors. for families of victims, it will never be quite the same again. >> the easter sunday attacks have left many muslims fearing reprisals and worried, despite religious leaders' calls for unity and calm. one community of muslim refugees have been forced from their homes.

>> they fled persecution in pakistan and thought they had found refuge in sri lanka. some of these muslims have been here for seven years or more, but they are once again looking for a place to accept them. they say they no longer feel safe here after the easter sunday bombings. some people here blame them for the attacks. >> my door and windows all damaged. >> hundreds of them are a community center in a nearby town, but they will have to move again because the locals here do not want them, either, and moving back is not an option for now. emotions are still running high after sunday's suicide bomb attack on saint sebastian church

. white flags lined the streets, a .ymbol of mourning banners hang as a sign of remembrance for those who died. on the streets are reminders .hat security remains tight worried about reprisal attacks, the government has advised people not together for friday prayers at mosques. of a townthe heart which is normally busy and bustling. instead, many businesses are shut. people choosing to remain at home because of the fear of more attacks. town inostly christian buddhist majority sri lanka. for generations, muslims have lived here without incident and many want it to remain that way. >> we don't want to blame anyone. we only want peace and harmony. >> a think the government will

have to ensure security and peace. with that said, the between the -- so that the relationships between the two communities does not deteriorate. theo one can say how badly bombings may have damaged ties between the mix of communities here. >> the transitional military council is denying reports that former ministers and members of the ruling party have been freed from jail. any such release would anger thousands of protesters who held friday prayers outside army headquarters in their latest show of opposition to military rule. >> thousands of protesters gather outside the sudanese army headquarters in khartoum for friday prayers. political messages condemning the regime of the former president.

continuestrations until the protesters achieve their goal. prayers are over, the now familiar chants filled the air. >> we need a civilian government to set up a foundation for a modern sudan followed by elections that have integrity and represent the will of the people. >> the former regime divided the people through segregation and racism and today we are united as one nation without tribe, creed, or color. we are ready to develop a progressive sudan. >> although the transitional military council has given into some of their demands, the protesters are still sticking in for a fight and refusing to respond. the feeling is that the council , hopingy buying time

the protesters will be disappointed and go home. >> a have so far resisted calls to transition to a civilian administration. they argue a temporary vacuum could propel sudan into a civil war. protest leaders say they represent the interest of publisher already. in the past few days, the numbers have risen with many people arriving from other parts of sudan to join the sit in. >> mohammed hall is live for us in khartoum. aboutoke to us earlier the military's denials that they

have released any memories of the former government. what is behind his confusion over who has or has not been released? jacada - released? >> because there were a list of names and the rumors earlier today and yesterday, according to the rumors, those senior members of the former regime, the former ruling party, were released. the statement came through a tweet from the military council and did notvening give many details. it mentioned some of those names in the earlier rumor and confirmed that they are still under house arrest or in jail. five people are confirmed to al jazeera by sources and by families of these people, five members who are not on that

list, as i mentioned, that were denied by the military council. these people have been released, except one of them who had been moved from prison to house , and that was the secretary-general of the islamic movement that has been ruling in sudan. others include the former head of parliament and two ministers .nd one businessman there were two node lists. one of them has been denied by the military council and one has not been mentioned. have not been included in that denial, and their families they have been released. the other accusation is that the military council does not want that information to be

disseminated so they chose a blank denial and they do not want to cause more anger among so they opted to arrest and put in jail all the members of the former regime because they are accused of being part of the crackdown, of of all theion problems that have been the setting sudan for the past few years. >> thank you very much for the .atest from khartoum meanwhile in algeria, protesters are keeping up the pressure on residents in the political .egime tens of thousands of people rallied in algiers on the 10th consecutive friday of protests demanding a departure of the ruling elite and an end to corruption. several figures close to the former president have been sacked or arrested over alleged corruption. >> all of them will be gone and they will be judged and the

money and properties will all go back to the people. that is what we are looking for. we do not want them just to leave. we want them to be judged. that is what we want. >> is corrupt system is playing a dangerous game. my dear brothers, algerian people, we must you -- remain united. i swear to god if we separate because of racism or regionalism, i swear this system will not only last for years but centuries and we will go back to marginalization, corruption, and the abuse of power. >> the united nations is saying rocket and mortar shells have hit residential neighborhoods in the bolivian capital -- in the libyan capital. almost 300 people have been killed and around 39,000 have been displaced. on thursday, the international committee of the red cross describe some residential areas as battle yields. battlefields. meanwhile, doctors without borders has released a video of

a raid on a detention center south of tripoli on tuesday were forces are accused of beating migrants and refugees. at least two people were killed and 20 injured. much more still ahead. we will be bringing you the latest that the detention center in mexico where hundreds of migrants staged a mass escape overnight. china's president seeks to ease fears over project connecting asia to europe in a forum attended by 37 world leaders. takes one step closer to yet another clay-court title in barcelona. ♪ united nations has warned of mozambiqueuggling in

over the next two days after a second massive storm hit the country. cyclone has the street homes and killed at least three people just six weeks after the country was smashed by a different cyclone. tens of thousands of people had already been evacuated from the worst hit areas. the united nations says it's the worst time in recorded history and african nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season. is the me now communications coordinator for the international federation of the red cross. he is on skype for russ -- four in northern mozambique. can i start by asking about conditions in the part of the country which was worst hit by the storm, the north? >> from what information we're are veryconditions bleak indeed.

i'm speaking to you from some 400 kilometers south of where the cyclone made landfall. in one district, for example, crosscal mozambique red volunteers said something like 90% of houses had been destroyed and there was an urgent need for tense, for food, for water. nine district in the northernmost province of mozambique are without power. updating what little damage has hit, but, yeah , i mean the first news and the first indication is not good for the area. >> can i ask you -- i mean, obviously, conditions are still very difficult. there is the risk of flooding. infrastructure and roads have been severely damaged. have your teams on the ground managed to access the area? >> it is sketchy information at the minute.

local volunteers on the ground have accessed many districts in the northernmost province of mozambique, but i could not tell they have accessed every area. in fact, they likely have not been able to get to every area. these volunteers are often members of their local communities. in the days before and leading up to the cyclone, they were going around giving early warning signals where possible to their communities, and now they are there doing the assessments. veteran to get the international iteration of the red cross to support that effort. have obviously spent time in mozambique. there are already eight groups ofthe ground there because the cyclone which sadly hit the

.ountry just weeks ago what sort of challenges does this new storm present? how major could the humanitarian ? eration be now >> the risk is that resources are already stretched and will become too stretched. it is completely unprecedented for mozambique to have two such in such ae cyclones short time. the aid community of the red cross are here responding, as you said, in central mozambique. the red cross has some 120 international staff on the ground supporting the work of the mozambique red cross. is risk in the short term shelter, but the forecast is for long periods of heavy rains over

mozambique and what we worry about most is landslides, flooding i in the short-term and waterborne disease, which we saw -- we saw cholera after the .irst cyclone >> indeed, a remarkable set of short and long-term challenges in one of the world's poorest countries. thank you for shedding light on it for us. matthew carter from the international federation of the red cross. mainly cuban migrants have staged the biggest mass escape in modern history from a mexican detainment center. complained of overcrowding, insufficient food, and unsanitary conditions. half of them return voluntarily with about 600 reported to still be on the loose. this is the third time since october that migrants at the

center have rioted against conditions. manny, what is the situation there now? >> things have certainly called down compared to what the scene must have been like in the late hours of last night outside of this migrant detention center, owned or operated by the national migration institute of mexico. what we can tell you is this is a detention center, that when it was built, it was designed to house some 1000 migrants. 1300 migrants is skate last night and we know that not everybody left, so what we can assume from that, what we can gather from that is that this detention center was at least at twice capacity as it would normally be. as you mentioned already, it is not the first time we have seen unrest happen at this detention center. with the events that took place in the late hours of last night, all without precedent, but there have in protests -- there has

past.rotest in the there have been borderline rioted do the living conditions and overcrowded space at this specific detention center, but we are talking about predominantly cuban migrants that were being held here. some have been here for days, others for several weeks waiting to be processed, and in that time growing impatient and frustrated over the living conditions over the overcrowded this of the living facility itself, but i feel as though this is implemented of the larger problem mexico has to deal with, which is the influx of migrants not only from central america but from other regions. we know of the migrants from cuba that are being held here. there's migrants just behind me from haiti that are great -- waiting for relatives inside. we know of migrants from other parts of the world are arriving in unprecedented numbers, none compared to the numbers we are seeing arrive from the caravans of central america -- guatemala, el salvador, predominantly honduras. theof this could be one of reasons why we are seeing such a

drastic shift in the attitude that the mexican government has toward migrants, specifically from central america. let's take a look. >> these central america and migrants are being chased by mexican immigration agents. immigration officials now appear to be adopting a more aggressive approach toward migrants crossing mexico's southern border. she is traveling from honduras. she at her family were among a group of thousands of central america and migrants that was recently rounded up. >> they came and started rounding people up. it was very violent. mothers ran screaming and children were crying. >> some 375 people were captured during a raid. many who managed to escape ran off into the surrounding countryside. over the next few days, migrants were forced to move about in

secret under the scorching mexican sun and with very little food or water. numbered asich had many 3000 people has since split up. mexico's president has maintained that his immigration policy has not changed, saying instead that mexico's national migration institute is trying to achieve a more orderly and safe movement of people, but the reality on the ground here in southern mexico is very different. checkpoints like this one along the highway leading north from the mexico-guatemala border have seen an increase in federal police officers interviewing motorists and searching vehicles for undocumented migrants. the growing criminalization of migrants traveling through mexico could mean the mexican government has caved to pressure from u.s. president donald trump. >> mexico is now stopping people coming in through mexico. let's see if they keep it done. if they keep doing that.

now, if they don't or if we don't make a deal with congress, the border is going to be closed. 100%. along with a crackdown on migrants, mexico is also no longer issuing humanitarian visas, but despite efforts to dissuade central americans from leaving their countries, the flow of migration shows no signs of easing. official estimates suggest 3000 migrants have transited through mexico so far this year. vanessa's whoike are fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries and are unwilling to return to central america, the only choice is to continue their journey north through mexico toward a country whose president has repeatedly said they are not welcome. ofwe were saying that some the migrants voluntarily returned to the detention center, but there's still hundreds on the loose. what's going to happen to them?

>> that's a good question. we know that there are still somewhere between 600 and 700 individuals who managed to escape. their names are registered in a database here with the national migration institute, so it would be safe to assume that if they -- if and when they do get captured, they could be queued for immediate deportation, but we simply do not know exactly what their fate will be. there are thousands of migrants here in southern mexico who for the most part, everyone we have spoken to tells us overwhelmingly that they have no intentions of staying in mexico. there ultimate goal -- they seem determined to reach the southern border of the united states. >> thank you very much. united states has ramped up its pressure on venezuela by imposing sanctions on the country's foreign minister. the u.s. treasury department says his american assets will be blocked as well as those of a

venezuelan judge. it is the latest move by washington aimed at ousting president nicolas maduro and his government. a venezuelan opposition politician has been arrested in caracas. the opposition controlled national assembly said he was detained by intelligence agents for violating parliamentary immunity. 2017, also arrested in accused of plotting an arms revolt against madero. on the lots more program. -- accused of plotting an arms revolt against maduro. there's lots more on the program. with brexit dominating the u.k. campaign ahead of the u.k. election, we meet the citizens angry they will not be allowed to take part in what could be a vital vote. and five-time champion san antonio spurs avoid a first round exit from the nba playoffs and force a decisive game seven. al jazeer

>> for those of you off to germany and poland, all these clouds drifting slowly from behind me in this general direction, something like 10 degrees in germany, broken down cloud and rain, rather more widespread than in the last few days. you u can see thisis spinning tp over england, which drifted down to the nororth sea. , down to a isles good part of france as well. spain and portugal come back into this with weather more typical of spring. all this is happening over the european mainland, which means

it's looking fine. 20 in tripoli at the moment. sunshine, goese up to 27, inducing a bit of clouds in the sky. , acrossut west africa toward somalia, there are showers, big ones, mostly near ghana. ♪ ♪ >> welcome back. a quick look at our top stories. a gun battle has broken out in sri lanka as police continue to look for suspects involved in easter sunday's bomb attack that killed more than 250 people. is denyingy council reports that former members of

the ruling party have been freed from jail. it's the latest show of opposition to military rule. areesters in algeria keeping up the pressure on the remnants of the political regime of the former president and thousands of people rallied in algiers demanding an end to corruption. arether stories we following, top united nations officials say more international support is desperately needed to help refugees in myanmar. they have been visiting camps where hundreds of thousands fled in 2016 during a brutal crackdown. the u.s. is hoping to raise nearly a billion dollars in aid. -- in a new series,

life displaced, we take a closer look at the lives of refugees around the world and we begin in jordan. the camp is home to 80,000 refugees from the war in neighboring syria. more than half of them are children. to thel is adjusting light. he is just a few minutes old, the latest refugee to arrive in the camp. around 18 babies are born here every week. his mother is 20 years old. this is her third child. are supposed to have 10 babies or more, my husband once more. give birth to this large number of babies.

was atari seven years syrian border. today, it is home to nearly 80,000 refugees. 40% of them are under 11 years old. they have known no other life. the syrian civil war helps explain the particularly high birth rate. some of the women have lost people in the bombing and fighting. conflict has left people here uncertain of the future, and that, say the doctors, means many more women being married off in their teens as families look for stability. they have put in a lot of effort trying to promote birth control. child and thatrd will do for now, she says. dream of a better quality

of life for me and my children. i don't want anymore now, but years, will after 3-5 and i dream to have them in syria. >> i want my children to learn, to be educated, to have a quality of life other than mine, and i want to take them back to syria. >> but syria could take years to rebuild, so he will well grow up here. he will be safe, fed, and get an education, but like everyone else, his life will be led in limbo, unable to live, unable to make a life elsewhere. >> china's president has been beltding his controversial and road initiative at a major summit. xi jinping has come under fire withaddling countries unsustainable levels of debt to

project.orly managed katrina you has more. >> one of the world's most in his openings would work toe ensure the controversial project connects asia, europe, africa, see.eyond by road and it will be sustainable. >> the new initiative will help people and create more opportunities for prosperity. rejected the premise that the cost involved would lower some company -- countries into debt they would find impossible to pay back. the infrastructure project is nearly $1 trillion. there are pipelines, ports, bridges, railways, all designed

to improve trade. will adopt rules and standards and encourage companies to follow international rules and standards in project development. attending were vladimir putin and the pakistani prime minister. the united states has not sent a delegation. washington officials say the belt and road initiative is a vanity project which comes with too many strings attached. china dismissed the u.s.'s resistance western to china's growth. chinans question whether and develop -- a developing country itself -- can really afford to be spending so much money abroad. says 141 billion dollars has so far been loaned out to

support development. analysts say the scheme is a long-term investment for china. >> we need to make money and we need new markets. it's wrong to say we are giving aid to other countries. that is not the case. this money is an investment. >> government backed videos dominated social media in 2017. but now, selling the scheme is no longer that simple. eyes are on president xi jinping to see how he will deliver on his promise to ensure the project benefits not just china but all involved. al jazeera, beijing. the u.n. secretary-general has come in for criticism during a trip to beijing. human rights watch accused him of letting china off the hook. our diplomatic editor reports.

>> the u.n. secretary-general for a summit -- at a summit marking china's belt and road initiative, an ambitious infrastructure project linking to china. speech ine a public china but there was no mention of the community in she and jane, a glaring omission groupsng to human rights who claim more than one million people could be held in detention. the director of human rights watch detects a pattern. he writes, iteris trade show that he can fulfill the full scope of his responsibility as you and secretary-general. his diplomacy is selling short position. the secretary-general has only once spoken about the issue this year and that was too declined

to answer a question. .> i know there is a dialogue i am not in a position to give any details. talking about it will probably make it more difficult for it to succeed. >> china has considerable clout at the u.n. is one of the five permanent members of the security council. is that why the secretary-general is pulling his punches? hashis secretary-general been anything but quiet on his defense of human rights globally. i would refer you to an number of speeches he has delivered to human rights councils in the way also that he has really mainstreamed the role of human rights and all of the united nations work. >> does he make a different calculation on speaking out on human rights issues that involve permanent members? >> i don't think there is that

calculation. his goal is to promote human rights. he will do it differently at different times. >> of the united nations says the secretary-general brought up all relevant issues when he was in beijing. willll -- he says he provide all the details in the coming days. al jazeera at the united nations. >> u.s. president donald trump has denied claims that he paid north korea to million dollars for the return of american student auto wonder -- for an american student. the student entered a coma in north korea after being detained and tortured for removing a propaganda poster from a wall. trump wrote on twitter that he had never paid money for any hostage. woman who admitted to being a kremlin spy has been

sentenced to 18 months in prison in the united states. maria butina pleaded guilty in december to conspiracy and infiltrating the nra gun lobby to influence republicans and conservative activists. the judge also wanted bettina to be deported back to russia after beplete -- butina to deported back to russia after completing her prison term. on sunday, spain will vote for its third parliament in less than five years. no single party is expected to secure a majority but all eyes are on the far right. notidates are urging voters to support the far right party. the rulingst socialist will win the biggest share of the votes with 120 nine seats. second is the conservative people's party, which was ousted by a corruption scandal last

year with 78 seats. that would be its worst result ever. the populist centrist party which has shifted to the right is projected to get 46 seats. ox 30 seats, but with many voters undecided, there has become speculation about last-minute shifts in voting intentions. and it could become a king monger -- kingmaker in a right-wing coalition. al jazeera has more from seville on the rise of spain's far right. >> bursting onto the political aree, vox and its leader spain's answer to a surgeon far right populism elsewhere in europe. often seen as mainstream media shy, the party prefers to communicate with its supporters in person and online. the major themes, immigration

and nationalism. his grandmother explains that as a child, he was bullied by basque separatists on the playground. today, it is separatism in that goes against the most passionate call for the unity of spain. >> he is using very pro-spanish feeling unsentimental. they are using this to gain votes and have been very successful with that. >> one frequent promise is to make spain great again. he recognizes this might be why. steve bannon, donald trump's former strategist, is a strong supporter, seen here with an official. there is also a nostalgic appeal

to the traditions of the past. among policies, restoring bullfighting to what it says is its rightful place as a grand spanish institution. >> it bears the hallmarks of far right populism. those are labels you reject. how do you see vox? how does it see itself? of commonthe party sense. we are a necessary party for one main reason. we are the only party to openly confront catalonian separatism, the only party that opposes divisions created by regional autonomy, and the only party that confronts the ideology of the left. they emergeder, from political obscurity winning a surprise 12 seats in parliament and becoming kingmaker in a three-way coalition of the political right and regional government. many people wonder whether they can do it again, only this time

at the national level. spain everything for comes the cry from the podium. hull, al jazeera, seville. unionusands of trade members have rallied outside the european union headquarters in brussels demanding better working conditions. demonstrators across europe say the current eu rulebook gives too much power to employers and not enough to ordinary workers. this comes a month before european parliament elections where the u.k. will be playing an unscheduled part due to the delay of brags that. >> close battle lines are be -- it.brex >> close battle lines are being drawn. party demands leaving the eus soon as possible. whichever side gets the ghost share of votes with claimant --

gets the biggest share of votes will claim it has a mandate. ais group in portugal once vote to stay in the eu, but now it appears the option may not be open to them. many have received identical letters from authorities like this one advising that ballot papers will be sent out before may 10. people may not be able to return their ballots in time. we havehe short notice been given to arrange these elections, it will not be possible with the timetable and reliance on printers to provide supplies for the postal packs for them to be mailed earlier than this date. i think given the enormity of , how it is meant to be , how british citizens actually feel in the u.k. toward brexit, if we are not allowed to

vote, it's devastating. >> the majority of ex-pats support e.u. membership. not being able to vote in time would hurt the parties that t.n't want braggs it -- brexi in the u.k., the election is being seen by many as a sort of second referendum on whether the country should leave the european union, putting nigel faraj's party against others who want to stop brexit at all cost. major difference if british a distance on the continent can't vote. thee want to take part in election. many were not allowed to take part in the referendum three years ago. this is the opportunity to have their say on whether they think it.should stop brex if they are going to miss out simply because it takes too long

to issue ballot papers or the postal system in their respective countries don't work very -- doesn't work very effectively or because they have to proxy vote in the united kingdom, that could skew the results. remainders may have already made up their minds what they want to vote for, but if people abroad are not able to exercise their choice, it will be seen as controversial. >> the british and irish government are soon to reserve talks that have been in political limbo for more than two years. they were spurred by the death of a journalist, shot during rioting in the city of london. theresame minister may and her irish counterpart attended the funeral on wednesday. they put out a statement calling for action from political leaders. pictures ofreleased

the gunman suspected of killing the journalist. they say it is likely to be a teenager and are urging the local community to identify him. more still ahead on the program. players expected to earn millions after the nfl draft in america. the game remains one of survival for others. we have that story and more. ♪

>> as promised, here is more with leah. >> thank you so much. liverpool got the result they needed to keep their hopes alive in the english premier race. they went top of the table by winning 5-0. got a goal that proved -- goal. that proved to be an all african scoresheet.

liverpool is chasing their first league title since 1990. clear of go to points manchester city, but their rivals have a game in hand against burnley on sunday. with two matches left in the season after that, liverpool needs city to drop points if they are to have a chance of taking home the trophy. the montenegro football association has been ordered to play its next competitive match between close to doors following racist abuse by fans against english players. tottenham and manchester players were targeted by the abuse on march 25. montenegro was also ordered to pay a fine of $22,000 and #equalgameanner with when they play at home. incident formula one at the azerbaijan grand prix. a british driver, george russell, checking under his car after pulling over.

it hit a loose drain cover causing serious damage, which you can see here. the recovery truck it later took a chunk out of a bridge. race organizers decided to abandon the session after just 10 minutes to check the safety of the rest. the second session did go ahead. is in the barcelona semi finals as he tries to win a 12 title in catalonia. on the spaniard struggled friday. this is the first time these two have ever played together and it proved to be a memorable debut. nadal taking the second by the same score to set up a semifinal .gainst dominic team -- thiem for many american football players, the journey to turning pro starts in high school. one coach in new orleans has his hands full managing talented young athletes, trying to keep

them on the field and out of the streets. >> the winningest coach in louisiana says football is not his calling. that's just a job. , he says,cation is to get his players out of new orleans alive. >> i think about basic survival. we are talking about gun violence, drug violence. that's the kind of stuff we are trying to keep our kids away from. >> is it working? ask ronnie action jackson, the teams star running back. >> if it weren't for his program, i don't know where i would be right now. i would not be alive. >> he grew up on the streets of the city they call the big easy, breaking into homes at age eight. two cousins were fatally shot, his uncle wounded. >> he saved my life.

>> and assistant coach once rescued him from a drug den, two guns -- with guns and narcotics lying on a table. he tried to quit football 20 times but the coach refuses to give up on his players. >> he teaches you about life. there is always a lesson on life, how to be a great person, a great friend. orleans is one of the most dangerous cities in the u.s., some months, the deadliest on a per capita basis. a lot of teams pride themselves on leaving it all on the field. it's what they do off the field that matters most. >> putting football second, putting football third, putting academics first, we study every day before we hit the field. >> after practice, coach bryce and his staff call every player every day to make sure they are safe and still alive.

>> what happens if you don't answer? has he ever been to your house? lexi i, he is going to pop up. -- >> yeah, he is going to pop up. make sure everything is good. >> louisiana was state champion -- they became louisiana's state champion for the third year straight. >> we can do that well. but are we saving lives? are we touching souls? like so it isn't just about football. no, no sir. if we get consumed by the football part, we will start losing. >> this fall, ronnie jackson will play first string at the university of san antonio on a full scholarship. coach rice got another one out. al jazeera, new orleans. >> love that. five-time nba champion san antonio has stayed alive in the playoffs, forcing a game 7 against the denver nuggets. >> when you have a 43 point

game, you can usually pick the winning side. in game six, denver needed just one more win. but despite impressive form, there is no quit in five-time nba championship coach gregg popovich and his san antonio spurs. while he doesn't have the likes of tim duncan, he does have marcus and gerard. both have shown they have the hunger. game six was a tight set for the most part. the spurs did eventually pull away. he scored 12 of his 25 points in the penultimate quarter. they went into the fourth five points ahead. from there, they didn't look back.

the spurs went on to force a decisive game 7, hoping to bring bringingheir hopes of home a championship to san antonio still very much alive. >> that wraps up newshour. i will be back with much more of the days news.