barnaby fhillips has more. >> welcome back to barnaby fhillips -- we'll go back to barnaby fhillips inoment. stay with us. more coming up, "escape routes" 8 o'clock eastern and 11:00 pm eastern time. 54,000 people were projected to sign up for mississippi's health coverage, and just ahead - why only dozens have done it so far. >> rock ledgened lou reed dies at the age of 71. next we talk to a senior editor of "rolling stones" magazine about his life and legacy. >>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at the top stories this hour: columbia's farc group releases an american hostage. army pilot kevin scott sutay was handed over to the red cross. he was captured on 20 june. >> 54 people were killed in iraq after two shiite neighbourhoods were hit by a dozen car bombs. hundreds were injured. a group of soldiers were also attacked >> rock icon lou reed and founder of velvet underground died today at the age of 71. he had a flourishing career including the hit "walk on the wild side", no condition has been announced but he had a liver transplant in may. >> christian from "rolli

barnaby fhillips has more. >> it's been noted the most beautiful beach in europe.the drama and tragedy playing out a. >> the italian navy sent one of its biggest ships to help with the crisis. >> we were allowed on board. in the hold found a pathetic cargo. 318 people picked up at sea the previous night. most of the africans are young men. many are eritreans, paying smugglers thousands to flee their country. >> it is very dangerous. so many young persons are dead. >> then there are the syrians. of all ages. none of them know what will happen next. some are too young to understand where they are. they are registered straight away. the navy will take them to sicily, because lampedusa is struggling with the migrants it already has. this is not just an italian problem. >> definitely not. the biggest part of these immigrants - they wish to go to germany, norway, other parts of europe. at this moment there's a more flourishing economy. this is an historical situation in which people are leaving their home lands because of the change of the climate. because of wars, it's