syria, as well as retired u.s. counterterrorism officer malcolm nance. >> people did understand about isis, we have been fighting this group since 2003. this is not a new group. that is just a narrative the media has caught on to because they forgot former regime loyalists, al qaeda in iraq them all have come together and they now are isis. amy: then to louisiana where a federal judge has ordered the release of albert woodfox of the angola three. he is the longest serving u.s. prisoner in solitary confinement. will he actually be freed? we will speak with his attorney george kendall, as well as robert king, who spent 29 years in solitary confinement. he was released in 2001. and we will hear albert woodfox in his own words. >> i thought that my cause, then and now, was noble therefore they could never break me. they might end me a little bit and caused me a lot of pain, and even take my life, but there will never be able to break me. amy: all of that and more coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the obama administrati

coalition? >> i.s.i.l. now controls half of syria and syrian rebels blame the u.s. for not doing enough. a show of force. al jazeera captures russia's movement tanks and equipment near the ukrainian border. but russia says the smoovment onlymovement isonly for exercises. the new ceo of malaysia airms airlines rebrands the airline. unlocking the locks of love. >> we think there is a way to love him or her. >> the city is putting an end to a heart felt tradition. good evening and welcome to al jazeera america. i'm antonio mora. we're beginning tonight with breaking news of a ferry disaster in china carrying hundreds of people. rescue operations are underway this moment to find victims and the disaster. disaster happened in the ya yangtse river. >> the yangtse river this tour vessel it appears was on the trip to three gorgeous dam three gorgeous area of the dam. only reports that there are some 30 or so people have been rescued and this is what, some 12 hours since this ferry went down since the boat went down so obviously concerns are mounting for just what the number of fatalities

is going to be. >>> next on al jazeera a possible new front in syria's war as kurdish forces refuse the ethnic cleansing plus. >>> efforts by australian university to increase the pitiful numbers of students the aim may be good but are the right indigenous students being reached? ♪ ♪ welcome back, good to have you with us, i'm julie and remind of the headlines, in the last few minutes the president of the european commission defended the bailout package offered to greece and he says it's a demanding package but a fair one, share prices around europe tumbled as markets opened in reaction to the growing crisis in greece. burundi president zizi says it's a good day for country as people vote in parliamentary elections but they are not monitoring the vote saying it's not free or fair and boycotting the poll. and immediate public prosecutor injured in the attack in cairo, a bomb targeted his car behind the military academy and three others have been taken to the hospital. the syrian army says it captured territory from i.s.i.l. as fighting rages in the northeast and i.s.i.l. launched

syria attacking the curds and the government. deadlock talks on the debt crisis grind to a halt with greece and it's creditors. still, at logger heads. and striking taxi drivers bring traffic to a standstill in france, as they protest. >> finally the sports news, including the mystery of why hussein bolt didn't make the starting block at the jackman national trials. >> hello, after a three year wait, south africa's president has deliver add report into the deaths of 34 miners after police opened fire on them. during a strike in august 2012. the inquiry said the police plan to break up the strike at the americana mine was defective and police were wrong to do ahead with it. it recommended that a full investigation is needed to determine whether police are prosecuted for criminal liability. the commission said accusations against south africa's deputy president were groundless. he was on the board of the mine company at the time of the attack and was accused of using his influence to trigger action the commission also blamed the union for failing to respond to the threat of violence. a

syria, after bulldozing shrines in iraq. heritage experts feel there's nor cultural destruction to come in syria's ancient city of palmyra. zeina khodr reports. >> reporter: this is what many feared would happen when fighters from the islamic state of iraq and levant captured palmyra a few weeks ago. it was not the first time i.s.i.l. has destroyed ancient monuments. it's the first reported damage in the city in central syria. fighters blew up two ancient shrines they consider un-islamic. the shrines are not from the roman era. unlike other 2,000-year-old buildings in palmyra. there are concerns about the fate of the u.n.e.s.c.o. listed world heritage site. >> it's possible that the organization will destroy all the historical remnants of palmyra. they started with the shrines that have islamic residences, a shrine to a companion of the profit mohammed. a shrine to the medieval >> reporter: a few days ago syrian activists reported that i.s.i.l.'s fighters placed explosions in palmyra's ruins, but it was not clear whether it was around the shrines or the arc logical site. >> i think

call serious neighbor issues. isis in syria threatening to expand into lebanon. >> isis in many ways is something we have never really seen before. a really large well organized well equipped terrorist army. >> the country simply can't take any more. >> a quarter of lebanon's population is now syrian. that is the equivalent of the u.s. taking in 83 million syrians. >> the real fear is that violence cross the border now spilling into an already fragile area. >> beirut struggles to put a lid on the simmering sectarian tensions. ♪ >> the aftermath of beirut and some of the flashes. ♪ >> exchange for shia as two palestinian brothers were shot. ♪ >> here block by block you see the scars from the 15 year civil war that only ended in the 90s. but also nightclubs, discos, beaches, bikinis, where much of the arab world comes to let their hair down. it is an incongruous mix. >> the violence since the beginning. >> this neighborhood has long been the home to principally palestinian refugees but it has become an area for syrians fleeing isis. the camp saw heavy fighting, shelling and outri

dire. well over a year ago when isis was building its force in the desert in syria it wasn't bombed and devastated when it could have been. it should have been. many called for an effort at that point to have an air campaign by the u.s. and our partners to pummel isis as it moved across the desert in these long columns and begin the process to take city after city. it came out of syria and first it headed to fallujah and there was a call to use airpower to suppress and destroy isis then. that step was not taken and for 14 separate cities, city after city all the way to mosul we watched every time the request be made for airpower and that was turned down. well, we are where we are now and frankly the air campaign by the u.s. and our partners isn't pummeling the enemy now as it should. daily air strikes against the islamic state are 1/6 of what they were in the first campaign against the taliban back in 2001. u.s. special forces should be authorized to call in air strikes. most americans would be puzzled to learn the canadian special forces are doing this but we are not. pilots compla

troops into syria? >> i'm not telling you anything. the reason i'm not is because if i run and i win, i don't want them to know the game. >> but you have to -- if you want to hit them hard -- >> -- i'm probably going to have to say i have a way that would be very effective with respect to isis but, when i watch obama get up and talk about in two weeks we're doing this and in three weeks we're doing that. >> american ground troops in to chase them around? >> take back the oil. once you go back and take back that oil they have nothing. >> how do you -- >> -- you have to go in. >> with ground troops. >> you bomb the hell out of them and then you encircle it and then you go in and let mobile go in and great oil companies go. in once you take that oil, they have nothing left. >> you are going to have unintended consequences. you are going to have iraq not wanting you to do this. >> there is no iraq. >> you don't respect them? >> i don't have any respect for them, no. >> so they are out. syria, are you going to violate them. >> interestingly, syria is supposed to be our enemy. iran and russia

of iraq great transports of large vans were headed to syria which i think probably related to his program of biological warfare. .. wrong. but unfortunately, there was never any evidence, real evidence of him shipping anything to syria. the u.s. went in and didn't find anything and we were wrong. i wish you were right about syria. >> we have time for one more question in the front row. i would like you to address information about isis. you said the vast soldiers made up part of isis. where else are they coming from and why would iraqis drop all their equipment and run when they know they will be slaughtered. >> that's a great question. where did isis come question. where did isis come from? they have all sorts of names. where did they come from? they came from what was called al qaeda in iraq. they changed their name and will come to that insnd. >> >> for those who used to work at the iraqi government. t. they ended up fighting the u.s. for a long. of time and they ended up killing many american soldiers themselves. by the time the united states left iraq at the end of 2011, al q

this is al jazeera live from london. doctors give damning evidence to congress that syria is stepping up chemical attacks. north korea hit by its worst drought in a century. and warnings that greece's future in the e.u. is at risk. >>> welcome to patriot park, russia's military disneyland. >> the islamic state in iraq and the levant have claimed the responsibility for car bombings. two blasts targeted mosques. this during peace attacks talks for yemen. >> car bombs hit a houthi stronghold in the yemen capital as iraq. houthi headquarters were locate there had. this was not the only attack targeting the houthies since they took over sanaa last year. in march islamic state claimed responsibility targeting houthi mosques. more than 100 people were killed. the attacks come at a time when crucial talks to solve yemen's crisis are under way in geneva. the united nations has been urging the warring factions to agree on a humanitarian truce. but each party has pre-conditions, and there has been little or no progress. the houthis and forces loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh

be the iraqi government that wins this and later on something different in syria but we have to provide something more than just force and a military approach to this. it has to be governmental and informational and economic and diplomatic. >> you have confidence in this iraqi government right now? >> no. i don't have a lot of confidence. >> so what makes you think the u.s. can win? >> because you have to work that iraqi government and the tribal lead nerz anbar province and pull something together. what general hertling said about a broad approach, it is not just about kinetics. it is much bigger than kinetics. >> we have to force that to happen with the tribes and the kurds and everything in between. this are 11 different states within iraq and none of them have confidence in the central government. >> the prerequisite is the government of baghdad to convince the sunnis they have a stake in the future. >> hold on a moment. i want to stand by. i want to get a briefing on the current reach of isis,s extraordinary way the terror group has held its territory and has spread. our co

-- hate in some of the most brutal ways possible. mr. speaker, many not realize that iraq and syria are homes to dozens of religious and ethnic minorities with ancient cultures with very deep roots and these communities are under mortal threat in their ancestral homelands. the mass execution of men the enslavement of women and young girls as concubines, the destruction of religious sites is part of the isis effort to destroy these communities. their pran is to make it as if -- their plan is to make it as if those societies never existed, those religions in those regions never existed. in fact, isis maintains a special betalon, they call it the demolition battalion, charged with destroying religious sites and artifacts that it considers radical. and isis has used the virtual caliphate on the internet to recruit foreign fighters at an unprecedented rate. some 20,000 of their fighters are in fact from off-shore, are foreign fighters drawn to the area from some 90 countries and that is the numbers that now are swelling its ranks. according to intelligence estimates, this includes at least 1

syria and the fighting that is going on there? the kurds have made some progress into syria earlier this week. where does this state of play stand right now? guest: so, i think for the time being, our focus has to be primarily on iraq. if we get isis on the run in iraq and isolate their military leadership and the bulk of their forces in syria, then it frankly, makes syria in some ways easier to deal with. because then there israel pressure in the way that there isn't today on the assad government from isis, who now has only one place to look to gain territorial control. once that pressure mounts on a side, then you have the -- on assad, then you have the ability to bring the iranians to the table on a solution. but so long as they are spread out and can be an irritant to assad, then the political solution is not in hand as it would be if we push isis out of iraq. i don't claim there is a perfect solution here. we have screwed things up badly in this region, largely through our invasion and occupation of iraq. so i think anybody who sits at this table and tells you that they know ex

borders with the collapsing states of syria and iraq from which the so-called islamic state has been carved. just beyond looms iran with ambitions to dominate the region. standing against these currents is the thoroughly modern would be architect of the new middle east, jordan's king abdullah. a man who is comfortable joking with jon stewart and driving a helicopter. first, he says he'll visit ruin on the enemy's of his people. jordan is a nation besieged. surrounded by war, this moderate arab country has become in effect another casablanca like in the old humphrey bogart movie. a place where refugees can find temporary refuge. how to deal with the people in the here and now. it's a king sized problem. >> there are 1.5 million syrian refugees in our country. that's almost 21% of our population. >> i asked king abdullah about it. >> only 28%, 29% of the refugee budget is being covered by the whole national community. the rest we have to cover. it's pretty depressing quite, obviously. >> the king is quick to promote an economic vision of his nation. which he sees a the potential s

these countries are. charlie: that takes us to syria. michael: all of the exertions being made in iraq don't get at the problem in syria, where again, they are gaining ground. the coalition has come together and pretty much agrees on what needs to be done in iraq. but they have wildly divergent views on what needs to happen in syria. the saudi's and turks think thought has to go. the iraqis, who are -- think a ssad has to go. the iraqis, who are heavily dependent on assad don't think that. the problem has been managed primarily by deferring the syria problem, but it cannot be deferred for ever if the strategy is to destroy the islamic state. charlie: thank you. we will be right back. stay with us. ♪ charlie: more than 11 million people worldwide were uprooted from their homes last year. millions in syria and iraq have fled the country's as the conflict rages on stop the united nations has called it the worst migration crisis since world war ii. european leaders are seeking to address the flow of immigrants on their shores. many are stranded at sea seeking refuge in neighboring c

>> this is aljazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris. chemical warfare syria facing new accusations on capital for attacking civilians with chlorine. >>> and an uber driver is not a contractor. what decision could it mean for the multibillion-dollar demand industry. and running dry. nasa is seeing where huge underground supplies of fresh water are drying up. >>> and we begin with new accusations in the five-year long civil war in syria. today an international watchdog group reported that remnants of syria's stockpile had been destroyed, but on capitol hill. syrian and american doctors described how chlorine is now being used in barrel bomb attacks on civilians. kimberly has the story. >> reporter: they came at the invitation of the republican-led house foreign relations committee to show eyewitness accounts of chlorine gas attacks on syrian civilians. >> since this year, we have domed 31 attacks using poisonous gas in the province. where more than 380 syrian civilians why injured by it. ten of them died of suffocation. >> reporter: providing additional video evidence

harm u.s. interests. when one factors in the chaos in yemen and syria, the uncertain te about the future direction of turkey, the doubts about us from traditional allies such as egypt and the gulf nations as well as continuing threats to our ally israel, the plain hard facts show that the situation in the middle east has deteriorated substantially in the last six years. what's worse, there seems to be nothing coming from the white house to change that trajectory. we cannot expect our distinguished witnesses today to answer for all the failures of the administration's approach to the middle east over the last six years. we can and should expect, however, to hear the military component of a strategy to reverse this deteriorating trend and to protect american interests. my view is that there is no substitute for american leadership in the middle east or anywhere else. that does not mean it's up to us to solve age-old disputes, but it does mean we cannot afford for our own sake to simply stand back. we must be strong, especially militarily strong and we must be credible. i yield to th

. mcgovern, for his constant and principled attention to the issue of military engagement in iraq and syria and the role of congress in making this decision and these are some of the most important and challenging issues that we face. that we struggle with as an institution. and i know the gentleman from massachusetts is frustrated. i have listened to him on the floor of the house. in many ways i share his frustrations. isis is making too many gains, critical cities have fallen, but this resolution i believe will take us in the opposite direction of where u.s. policy should be. if the united states were to remove all of our forces from the theater as this resolution calls for isis would surely grow stronger. isis would surely continue on a process -- accelerate on a process of decimating all in its path. placing women under brutal oppression. and i have no doubt further strengthening our -- their position and further threatening our european allies. and even the u.s. homeland. more battlefield victories would support isis propaganda, which would support its recruitment, which would make it

levant has attacked syria's cultural heritage blowing up two islamic shrines in pal ma in palmyra. they have explodeed other ruins with mines. >> this is what many feared would happen when the islamic state in iraq and the levant captured palmyra a few weeks ago. it was not the first time isil has destroyed ancient monuments but it's the first reported damage in the city in central syria. fighters blew up two ancient shrines they consider unislamic. the shrines are not from the roman era unlike other 2,000-year-old buildings in palmyra. there are concerns about the fate of the unesco world heritage site. >> it is entirely possible that the organization will destroy all the historical remnants of palmyra. they started with the shrines that have islamic residents a shrine to a companion of mohammed. >> a few days ago syrian activists reported that isil fighters have placed explosives in palmyra's ruins. it was not clear if they were placed around the shrines or in the actual archeological site. >> i think those photos were part of the original set that were associated with the blowi

syria after bulldozen and wrecking ancient mom -- monuments in iraq. it is hered there could be more destruction to come. zana hoda reports. >> reporter: this is what many feared would happen when fighters from islamic state of iraq and the levant captured palmyra a few weeks ago. it's the first reported damage in the city in central syria. fighters blew up two shrines they consider non-islamic. they are not from the roman era. there are concerns about the fate of the world heritage site. >> it's entirely possible the organization will destroy all of the historical remnants of palmyra. they started with the shrines that have islamic resonances a shrine to a companion of the prophet muhammad. >> reporter: it was reported that isil fighters placed explosives around the ruins. >> i think those photos were part of the original set that were associated with the blowing up of the shrines, but i have not seen any real photos that show mines being laid around the actual ruins themselves. >> reporter: isil has destroyed history both in syria and neighboring iraq dozens of shrines many be

, 8.3 million had to flee in 2014 along and the conflict in syria is seen as a major factor that is roughly 42 1/2 thousand people have been forced to abandon their homes every single day. worldwide one person in every 122 is a refugee internally displaced or seeking asylum and turkey hosts under 1.6 million refugees that is around 11% of the world's displaced people, more than any other country in the world. since the fighting began in syria in early 2011 nearly 3.9 million people have been forced out of the country. here is what u.n. high commissioner for refugees antonia said. >> u.n. agencies and ngo and society we do not have capacity and resources to respond to such a dramatic humanitarian needs in the world. countries are showing an enormous solidarity with the people fleeing and they need financial support because they are having a dramatic impact in their economies and their societies. >> reporter: well bernard smith is near the turkey/syria border. >> reporter: so turkey has over taken pakistan to be the world's largest refugee hosting country, almost 1.7 million syrian re

with the latest from washington, d.c. thank you. >>> kurdish fighters in syria have made significant gains from the islamic state in iraq and the levant or isil. they pushed isil out of the town about 50 kilometers north of the armed group's biggest stronghold. the kurds withheld from u.s. airstrikes has forced them to retreat from a base north of raqqa. that base called brigade 93 is important because it links to other outposts. >> this kurdish fighter said they have discovered a tunnel used by the islamic state in iraq and the levant on the syrian-turkish border. it's not clear yet if isil used the tunnels to smuggle people or material. they have been making gains on the border and have taken back territory from isil. now that the fight something over hundreds of families are over. turkish borders were reopened in but despite kurdish forces pushing back isil there are concerns over their advances. syria's main opposition group have accused the kurds of driving out sunni tribesmen. >> we were asked to communicate with the ypg forces, but they refused to allow members from the fact f

.'s takeover of iraq and northern syria in 2014 created response, obama administration created a multinational affairs which blew up i.s.i.l. buildings and killed i.s.i.l. fighters. in nigeria, boko haram continued its attacks on the government and civilians most notably kidnapping some 300 schoolgirl school school girls from the town of chibok. much more difficult problem of lone wolves. people inspired by these groups who then attack civilians. the shootings in ottawa and quebec and a hostage crisis in sydney are three of the more serious incidents this year. one analyst says it's really a balancing act. >> i they think that we are articulating this idea that americans need to be engaged but understand that we don't hold the key to the solution. that it's others that hold the keys to the solution and we need to be engaged and help empower them. that has not been so fully understood. >> the model they put together to fight i.s.i.l. is a good model for confronting enemy groups but it's going to take a lot of time to neutralize these threats and they admit some threats can't be el

surrendering to your sweet tooth may not be so bad for you after all. ♪ ♪ >>> hello, we begin in syria where the government forces are being accused of using improvised weapons against civilians. at least 27 people have been killed in a so-called elephant rocket attack in douma. that's on the outskirts of the capital damascus. president bashar al-assad's regime has already been condemned for using barrel bombs bombs and chlorine gas on saville cells. just a warning that you may find some of the images in the report disturbing. >> reporter: it's a desperate scramble to rescue a brother and sister trapped in the rubble i've building destroyed in dual arm the rebel strong hold has been under attack byes loyal to assailed for the last three years, his palace in duh damascus is only 12-kilometer as way this time assad's forces used elephant rockets named after the distinctive face they make when they launched the weapon is made by attacking rocket motors to much larger bombs increasing its destructive effect. the effects on people are clear in the local hospital where children are among the wound

in syria. the defeat of the regime would have vindicated strategic interests in principles. president obama has given token support to the opposition. no doubt he had many decisive reasons for his indecision. he concedes the survival is in the interest of iran. as he reportedly reassured the ayatollah last year. the results have been catastrophic. over 220,000 killed. over 7 million displaced. syrian christians and other religious and ethnic minorities endangered. as we have watched syria become a failed state, the islamic state chief among them are locked into being -- are allowed to incubate and has interests in the region and our safety at home. the reset with pressure is the third example of the presidents exercise in retreat. they pulled back from policies that offended but couldn't. the administration overlooked the invasion of georgia. they acquiesced to russian demands, and even lobbied congress to scuttle human rights legislation aimed at thugs in the kremlin. all that was done with hopes of reaping cooperation. the opposite proved true. as vladimir putin sees conc

in iraq and in syria and we talk with two of our best war correspondents, michael gordon of the "new york times" and dexter filkins of the "new yorker" magazine. >> i keep coming back to -- you know it's been a year since mosul fell to i.s.i.s., and you go into the iraqi army barracks and the iraqi army we trained and built at unbelievable expense over many, many years it disintegrated in like, one night, you know, and i.s.i.s. they took whole towns with just taxicabs and a guy with a bullhorn. i mean, they all ran away and that's not -- i mean that's not a problem you can fix by just adjusting your policy in washington, you know. that goes to the heart of what these countries are. >> rose: we continue this evening with the global refugee crisis and talk to matt dillon, michel gabaudan, kenneth roth and david david miliband. >> i was grateful, because it's a migrant crisis. i was glad when they said i'm going to the champ to see what's happening. it is a crisis that has the roots in the treatment of people in burma. >> rose: we conclude with bjarke ingels, the danish architect, desig

, increase in somalia. >> thank you. ♪ >>> the islamic state of iraq and the levant has attacked syria's cultural heritage blowing up two islamic shrines in the ancient city of palmyra. it's feared the destruction may be only the start with isil fighters reported to have planted other explosives and mines around the ruins on friday. a few months ago isil destroyed monuments in the iraqi city of mosul. >> reporter: this is what many feared would happen when fighters from islamic state of iraq and the levant captured palmyra a few weeks ago. it was not the first time they have destroyed ancient monuments. fighters blew up two ancient shrines they consider unislamic. the shrines are not from the roman era. there are concerns about the fate of the unesco listed world heritage site. >> it's entirely possible they are destroy all of the historical remnants of palmyra, they started with the shrines that have islamic resonances a shrine to a companion of the prophet muhammad and a medieval mystic. >> reporter: activists reported that isil fighters had placed explosives around the ruins. >> i thi

turkish-syria border. >> the ypg has reacted to those accusations saying they're baseless. it has been saying that arabs are welcome to return, and that it is accusing the syrian national coalition of trying to complicate the situation and try trying to create strife between ethnic arabs and kurds. they say they're trying to make this war a war between arabs and kurds instead of kurds against the islamic state in iraq and the levant. these accusations have dangerous implications. there could be yet another layer of conflict in syria's war. >> across turkish border towns many arabs are choosing to live in these conditions rather than return. they are scared to reveal their identities. they came here when syrian kurdish forces launched an offense against the islamic state in iraq and the levant in early june. isil has since been forced out of the surrounding towns but these people are afraid of the new authority on the ground. >> we don't trust the kurds. we're afraid of them. we heard reports that the kurds are arresting arabs and burning their homes. they will kill us dog we're su

-israeli conflict in 2014 and syria. almost scant mention about iran and the nuclear program but when we asked people how important was the challenge versus how effective was the u.s. response this is what they said about is real/palestine. this is what they said about ending the conflict in syria. really important u.s. response limited. the nuclear program with iran not a factor at all and yet that is how effective we were. we were good at doing what they didn't really care much about and not good at doing what they cared most about. important to maintain good relations with the u.s. very important in almost every country we polled. how effective is the u.s. that maintaining good relations? we get credit for trying, not very effective but we are trying which is not a bad sign, better than the other way. let's look at a couple individual issues. syria for example. what are the policies of the u.s. should pursue in syria? humanitarian aid for refugees, pursuing negotiations and leaving syria alone. look at the blue, leaving syria alone atop the issue. what they didn't want us to do was

the next 30 minutes. more government air strikes stranded syria so turkey will open its border crossings now that the election is over. >>> the u.n. accuses eritrea of widespread human abuses. >>> and hong kong, we witness the campaign to get kids coding. hello there thank you for joining us. turkey faces weeks of uncertainty and political instability after voters stripped the ruling ak party of its parliamentary majority in sunday's election. turkey's president recep tayyip erdogan concedes he needs a coalition to form the new government. >> the morning after historic parliamentary elections in turkey for the first time sing since coming to power in 2002, the ak party found itself without enough votes to form a government on its own. but its leadership and supporters call sunday a victory not only for them but for turkish democracy. >> translator: the decision of our thaition is the final decision. the -- our nation is the final decision. here i am addressing you from the balcony of the ak party the platform of democracy in turkey and the will of the nation will be put into pr

kingdom sits in the cross hairs of isis sharing borders with syria and iraq from which the so-called islamic state has been carved. just beyond looms iran with ambitions to dominate the region. standing against these current is the thoroughly modern would be architect of the new middle east, jordan's king abdel-llah a man who is as comfortable joking with john stewart as he is at the controls of a cobra attack helicopter. he promises a jordan that is a model of enlightened opportunity and stability, but first he says he will visit ruins on the enemies of his people. >> jordan is a nation ceased surrounded by war. this moderate arab country has become in effect another casablanca like in the old humphrey bogart movement a weigh station where refugees can find temporary sanctuary and either plan to return home some day or move on. but how to deal with these people in the here and now, it's a king sized problem. >> there are 1.5 million syrian refugees in our country that is almost 20, 21 percent of our population. >> so i asked king abdullah the second about it. >> 20 to 20 percent of

in syria and iraq and it has been blocked and resort to violence is justified with repression from these very groups. >> reporter: the most senior official to have been killed since egypt military ousted the former president mohamed morsi two years ago. states in transition face tremendous challenges but many rights activists say the egyptian government increasingly tight grip on all sections of society may only feed more violent attacks, victoria with al jazeera. >>> the government is claiming gains against i.s.i.l. and state television says soldiers have taken a residential area north of the city days after it was captured by i.s.i.l. forces and taking the city would allow the government to push on to raqqa which it says it's the capitol and 60,000 have fled the city. security council meant to discuss what it calls a growing kurdish threat on the border with syria and promised to take quote all necessary measures to ensure security and turkey is concerned after continued gains by gains in syria against i.s.i.l. the kurdish ypg force a terrorist organization and we have more now f

syria's government is stepping up chemical attacks. >>> supporters rally against greece's creditors amid warnings that the country's future in the e.u. is at risk. >>> tiger escapeed from a zoo in georgia is shot dead after killing a man. >>> and welcome to patriot park, russia's military disneyland. >> hello there welcome to the program. the group linked to the islamic state in iraq and the levant has claimed responsibility in an online statement for a series of car bombings across yemen's capital. there are reports that dozens of people have been killed and injured about. at least two of the blasts targeted mosques. another hit the political headquarters of the rebel houthi movement. earlier a saudi-led airstrikes was reportedly to hit a convoy killing 31 people as they let the southern city of aden. well the latest attacks happened as peace talks were extended until friday. those attending the u.n.-sponsored negotiations have been struggling to make progress. yemen's foreign minister has claimed the houthi rebels are just sitting around in hotel rooms in geneva, and this follows three

kurdish fighters in northern eastern syria put isil on the back foot. doctors overwhelmed in pakistan where severe heatwave has killed at least 700 people. a symbol of eight tread or hatred or pride? the division caused by flag. we begin with breaking news this hour. document its released by the whistle blowing website wikileaks said that the security agency has spied on three presidents including france's current leader franÇois hollande saying that the u.s. spied on the president from 2006 to 2012. the french president security council will hold more in a meeting. we have more, what more what more details do we have? >> well, wikileaks hasped out a release of elected extracts of highlights of some of these cables, the most recent one is three years old. it relates that hollande has ordered or approved a secret meeting with members of germany opposition without the knowledge of germany chancellor angela merkel to talk about the eurozone crisis. that's was three years ago. another earlier won from 2010, that the ambassador to the united states had a discussion with the diplomatic adv

evidence of the growing arsenal of improvise the weapon syria's government is accused of using on its own people. ♪ ♪ >>> hello, welcome once again to al jazerra. live from our headquarters in doha. also coming up. a protest in hong kong as politicians debate how the city's next leader should be elected. >> the only thing that really counts is have we stopped the boats? and the answer is a resounding yes. >>> australia's prime spinster evades questions over a bribery scandal despite growing evidence evidence. >>> and we'll tell you why venderring to your sweet tooth may not be so bad for you after all. ♪ ♪ >>> we begin in syria where the government has used so-called elephant rockets in an attack on a suburb of damascus killing at least 27 people. the rock set a recent addition to the government's arsenal of improvised weapons. they have already been condemned for losing barrel bombs and chlorine gas on civilians i warning you my feigned some of the images in caroline malone's report upsetting. >> reporter: it's a desperate scramble to rescue a brother and sister trapped i

expand. >>> harrowing evidence emerged of gas attacks in syria. it's coming from doctors that worked there and have n testifying before the u.s. congress. bashar al-assad's forces are carrying out the attacks. >> reporter: they came at the invitation at the republican led house committee to share accounts of repeated chlorine gas attacks against syrian civilians. >> since march 16th of this year we have documented 31 attacks using poisonous gas in idlib province. where more than 380 syrian civilians were injured by it. 10 of them died of suffocation. >>> providing additional video evidence, the doctors told lawmakers the attacks intensified 10 days after a u.n. security council resolution condemned weaponization of chlorine and threatened action if the resolution was breached. >> i'm a doctor and very familiar with death. i have never seen a more obscene way to kill children. i have never watched so many suffer in an obscene manner. >> the doctors say only the syrian government has access to the helicopters responsible for dropping the chlorine-filled barrels on to civilian areas it

. shelling. turkey is worried about the kurdish advance in syria and held a national security council to discuss what it calls a growing kurdish threat on the border of syria and promising to take all necessary measures to insure security and includes sending more troops to the southern border and erdiwan says he will never allow the formation of a kurdish state in the area and turkish government calls ypg force a terrorist organization and the group now controls 400 kilometers along turkey's border and that is where dana reports from now. >> reporter: turkey is concerned about the growing strength of its neighbor the syrian kurdish ypg made dramatic territorial gains in northeastern syria controlling 400 kilometers from the border from iraq to the town of kobani further west and air strikes helped the kurds, the only partner on the ground in syria, capture territory from islamic state of iraq and levante and believe the ypg which it considers a terrorist organization lurked to the workers party or pkk has another agenda. >> translator: the u.s. led coalition is doing ypg a lot of hel

does happen, mohamed thank you very much. into he canning to he >>> now in, syria kurdish forces have cut off a main supply lines of isil. they say they have retaken the town. this is isil's only direct link to itself declared capital rah ca. raqqa. thousands of people have fled the violence there and headed to the turkish border town from where bernard smith reports from. now, bernard as we have seen her, the town of tal abyad has been retaken tell us about the significance of this success on the kurdish side. >> reporter: really for the syrian kurdish fight percent a significant victory over isil really. they manage to take this town in about 20 days, a fear some assault on this town it needed of course help there u.s. coalition air strikes and wouldn't have imagined without it. they have inflict odd isil their most significant defeat in the 40 months or so when they swept through northern syria. pushing them right back, pushing them back to their self declared their effective capital of raqqa. the border crossing here between the turkish side and the syrian side, much quieter this

that they have to agree on. >> james thank you. >>> syria's government says it has made gain against isil in one area. soldiers have taken a residential area in north of the city days after it was captured by isil forces. kurdish forces control other areas of the city and have come under renewed shelling. >>> turkey is concerned about the advances in syria. they held a meeting to discuss the growing threat along the border with syria. they are sending more troops to the southern border. the president says he will never allow the formation of a kurdish state in the area. the turkish government calls the kurdish ypg force a terrorist organization. the group now controls 400 kilometers along turkey's border, where from zana hoda now reports. >> reporter: turkey is concerned about the growing strength of its neighborhood. the syrian kurdish ypg has made dramatic gains in northeastern syria. u.s.-lead coalition air strikes, helped the kurds, their only partner on the ground in syria capture territory. but turkish officials believe the ypg, which it considers a terrorist organization, has

emerge as we saw in the '90s and in syria and iraq. it's very worrying. the democratic process has been fake an way and. >> reporter: the most senior official to have been killed cincy i didn't want's military ousted former president mohamed morsi two years ago. states in transition face tremendous challenges. but many rights activists say the egyptian government's increasingly tight grip on all sections of society may only feed more violent attacks. victoria gatenby, al jazerra. >>> turkey's national security council has met to discuss what it calls a growing kurdish threat along its border with syria. it's promised to take, quote all necessary measures to insure security. turkey is concerned after continued gains by kurdish fighters in syria against isil. >>> the government calls the kurdish y.p.g. force a terrorist organization. the group has made big gain as long turkey's border. zeina khodr has more from the syrian turkish border. >> reporter: turkey is concerned about the growing strength of its neighbor. the syrian kurdish y.p.g. has made dramatic territorial gains in northeaster

came from syria between five to 6,000 men joined the group. [ inaudible ] many of the people were once locked up in jails and opposed the government. >> reporter: while some did join isil, he was among those who chose to leave instead. he hides his identities because his daughters are still there. he is a map who couldn't accept isil's brutality but also against the government which he says is no different from the new rulers. >> translator: in the beginning people are happy to be liberated from the iraqi authorities. the army and maliki treated us all liar terrorists. there is no government. it's a militia no different from isis. >> reporter: they have a long history of opposition to the shia led government in baghdad. a year ago this was a battle ground many people were killed and arrested by the army. like many predominantly sunni towns there were months of protests accusing the government of neglect and pursuing a second sectarian general. isil exploits what sunnis say are legitimate demands. it's not clear if the tribes who did pledge allegiance to isil did so out of convicti

>> more evidence of the growing arsenal of improvised weapons syria's government is accused of using on its own people. >>> hello there welcome to al jazeera, live from our headquarters live in doha. also coming up. a protest in hong kong as politician debate how the city's next leader should be elected. >> the only thing that counts is have we stopped the boats and the answer is a resounding yes. >> australia's prime minister evades a bribery scandal over entrants. immigrants. we begin in syria where the government use so-called elephant markets killing at least 25 people. the rocket is an additional weapon are be bashar. bashar al-assad is already accused of using barrel bombs. >> under astack by the regime of bashar al-assad for the last four years. this time assad's weapons were elephant rockets named for their distinct sound. scores of children are among the injured. secretary of state john kerry summed up what the international community thinks of such attacks. >> i think everybody's patience is wearing thin with respect to the extraordinary depravity, of the weaponry and

today, there was mention of syria at the end of the day when the french foreign minister added that in syria, everybody at the conference was calling for a political solution in syria. >> mohammed thank you. in paris there. >>> in china, relatives of more than 400 passengers who are missing after their river boat capsized are demanding explanations from the government. rescuers have heard cries for help from the sunken hull. 14 were rescued. rob mcbride has more. >> reporter: china's mighty river has seen tragedies before. what is uncommon in this case is the expected loss of life. hundreds of tourists were taking the trip of a lifetime to the popular three gorges dam area. the captain who was rescued soon after it went down said it was struck by a freak storm, what he described as a tornado. most passengers were asleep and had little chance to escape as the vessel sank in just two minutes. as other vessels and rescue teamed rushed to the area hopes were raised and sounds and shouts for help were heard coming from inside the hull. >> translator: the next step is to continue strengtheni