♪ new video suggests that a chemical weapons attack has taken place in syria, u.s.a. weighs its options for military action. >> hello. this is al jazeera live. also ahead, more evidence against the once powerful chinese politicians accused of embezzle of nearly $1 million. >> here afghan refugees, many who have lived in pakistan for years are preparing to return home to an uncertain future. and emerging from a jungle

in peru, why one of the most isolated tribes on earth has made an appearance. barack obama's security advisors will meet at the white house this weekend to discuss how to deal with syria. among the options is possible military action. the meeting follows an alleged chemical weapons attack earlier this week. as we hear next, more evidence of the attack has now emerged. >> reporter: there seems little doubt that some kind of chemical weapons killed these people. this video was shot by an independent journalist for britain's itv news as victims lie where they fell, men, women, some with children at their side, their faces contorted in pain and frozen in those moments that they died.

whatever killed them indiscriminately, a cat, sheep, a small crater just feet away surrounded by exploded metal, evidence say it is what deliveredded the end of these people's lives. >> we smelled a strange odor and people said we should go upstairs because it was a chemical gas and then shelling started, i fell unconscious and i was given injections and the next morning we discovered the families dead in their homes. just open the door. to see the whole family killed, with foam in their mouths, blood in their ears, the children died immediately, adults tried to resist it. >> reporter: this witness described how some people scrambled to escape. >> people heard the mosques telling everyone to go to higher floors but the people did not understand. they were discovered dead by

rescue teams. >> reporter: and another witness points to what he says are the remains of 12 missiles that fell on the area, saying that the exexplosions were not loud. syrian government has denied that it used chemical weapons but it has also refused a team of u.n. chemical weapons inspectors access and opposition activists say that a number of people who gave medical help to victims have subsequently died. chemical weapons experts say that evidence such as this could point to the possible use of a nerve agent. >> by looking at the videos, you can tell that some victims are suffering from asphyxiation and they do not have external wounds and so it is consistent with the use of a chemical agent but unless someone can get samples it will be difficult to say what happened. >> reporter: the longer that u.n. inspectors are kept out, the harder it is to gather evidence and to prove what

killed these people and who was responsible for the attack. one brigadier general a former deputy director of plans and strategy with u.s. central command and says that while the syrian government might have the missile no-how, chemical bombs could have been made by either side. >> they may be the only ones with the access to the missile technology that might be discovered at this time but these types of chemical weapons are not very, very difficult to manufacture. well, i think that all of us have questions about what really happened on the ground, where the source of the chemicals came from, where the attack came from and who promoted the attack. i think that what you are seeing in general it is a significant amount of caution in news reports and in official statements as to where those attacks came from and who actually conducted those attacks and so until those questions are answered i think that people are

very, very hesitant, not just to make official statements but also to suggest possible responses. now to other news, anti-caproatesters in egypt defy nighttime curfews in several cities, here south of cairo and there was also marches in other locales. the demonstrations have shrunk in size since a violent military crackdown earlier this month killed hundreds. in tunisia, opposition is calling for peaceful protests, opposition says that the government mismanaged the economy but negotiations continue to be on track. >> the dialogue continues with the representatives of ugtt about initiatives to end the crisis and i will reaffirm that the dialogue continues and that it is reaching discussions that require further negotiation.

we will meet soon. now a witness at the -- at a trial in china says that he helped the top official to embezzle sums of monies and the official denies charges of bribery, corruption and abuse of power. and we have the latest now from where that trial is taking place now and, what has been happening in court today in the bo trial. >> reporter: well, we are a hour into the post lunch session and yet another piece of extraordinary testimony, the exchanges in court has come out. as you are saying, all of this so far today centered on the embezzle allegation that bo was aware of the $800,000 steered by the head of a construction agency in one city to an account linked through friends to his

wife and the man charged with doing that, the head of the agency, the head of the agency has told the court that the wife of bo came to him and said that the expense of educating their son abroad was hurting the family financially and that is what led to this deal. and the official responded by saying, a, his wife would never have aired such private family matters in public and, p, by that stage she was the richest lawyer in china with a well-received book to her name and so there was no question that the family was not short of money and had the individual come to him, bo said that he would have slapped him across the face and earlier he said does he think that he would have phoned his wife with knowledge that the man might have been recording it and so, again, he is using vish -- is using

vitriol. >> it sounds like, harry, that bo is still coming out slight fighting here. >> that's right. it is extraordinary, a, that he is saying this kind of a thing and trying to humiliate witnesses, essentially trying to say that this whole case, brought by the highest level of the communist party is a fabrication and the fact that he says that in court and the fact that it is being relayed to us and the rest of the public here in china in what seems to be an open fashion, we believe that some of it is being selected for publication but we've seen so much already and there are competing theories about all of this, that all of this, potentially, serves the communist party's interests, that the more open it seems,

more that bo has its own say the more weight will be given to the final guilty verdict and the other theory is that they had not expected him to be so vitriolic in court and there is some evidence for that as officials we spoke with were not expecting to work throughout the weekend and so maybe there is a middle ground in between, yes, they need real exchanges in court but bo is being more vehement than they expected. >> another gripping day in this trial, harry, thank you for joining us. well, now to other news and u.s. soldier who killed 16 afghan villagers last year was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, thursday robert bales called the attack as an act of cowardise but victims do not

feel that they've received justice. >> it hurts. i saw his mother trying to cry but at least she could go and visit him. what about us? our family members are actually six feet under and there is no way that we can go and visit them. we were brought here from afghanistan to see if justice would be served but not in our way. justice was served american way, their way. and now for 30 years afghans have been taking refuge in pakistan but now they are increasingly returning home but to do that they have to cross dangerous areas and as part of our afghan challenge series we've followed the journey of one family making their way back and they took difficult road through this pass in the lawless tribal areas of pakistan and entered afghanistan through a border which is where our reporter picks this story up.

>> reporter: the khans coming to this u.n.-run repatriation center is a difficult decision, an afghan refugee who fled the soviet invasion called pakistan home for 30 years but over the next few hours he and his family of 11 will start the journey back to afghanistan to start a new life in an unstable country that none of his children have ever known. >> we love pakistan but life here has become so uncertain for afghans, my relatives tell me that the economy is better in afghanistan and so i want to give my country a chance and give my children a proper home. >> reporter: repatriation is voluntary and also an extensive process as returnees fill out paperwork and have their fingers and retinas scanned, all of this as a attempt to record how many

refugees are leaving pakistan to return home. this individual tells me why some afghans are choosing to return. >> security situation in pakistan, inflation in pakistan in the last five years, scarcity of jobs, job competitions, all of this together with improvements in certain parts of afghanistan. and so we should look at this repatriation from that angle. >> with the formalities complete, kahn and his family, along with their belongings start the journey by road to afghanistan, taking this pass which cuts through the lawless tribal areas of pakistan and it is a dangerous road and several armed groups including the taliban control nearby regions and they have frequently targeted trucks believed to be carrying goods destined for u.s.

and u.n. forces. >> what do you hope to achieve by moving to afghanistan and starting a life there? >> i feel that my children will have better education opportunities and i will have better business options. the government in kabul is looking after people. i know that there is danger. there is danger everywhere but thank god the situation has improved and, god willing, it will stay that way. >> reporter: after several hours, he and his family reach the border crossing where their time in pakistan comes to a end and their new life in afghanistan is about to begin. after crossing this border, there is no turning back for afghan refugees like this individual and his family but what lies ahead is far less certain than what they left behind. richard is here now with weather next and then russia struggles to reach people in the east affected by the worst floods in over a sentry and as

the u.s.a. marks 50 years since the iconic "i have a dream speech" of martin luther king we travel to a rural area attempting to make up for a history of discrimination.

♪ it is good two you with us. these are the top stories on al jazeera. the security advisors of u.s. president barack obama will meet at the white house this weekend to discuss how to deal with syria, this following an alleged chemical weapons attack earlier this the week. a witness at the bo trial in china tells the court that the former politician embezzled $800,000 in government money. the trial is into its third day as the official denies the charges. and the u.s. soldier who killed 16 afghan villagers has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release. back now to our main story, the aftermath of the supposed chemical weapons attack near

damascus, as we look next at how world leaders are perceiving events. >> reporter: what will the world do about this? the dying and the dead, over 1,000 killed according to activists and so many of them children in what world leaders say appears to be a chemical weapons attack in syria. u.s. president barack obama has been dealing with domestic interviews but in an interview he called this a big event of grave concern but mr. obama says that the u.s. will not respond on its own, saying that the world needs proof of what happened and who is responsible. u.n. inspectors are in sir why right now, attempting to access to the site of the attack and experts say that they do not have much time. >> these are non-persistent agents which in effect kill people quickly and then dissipate quickly and so that evidence will not remain on the ground for very long, usually

hours, possibly days at the most a week or two. >> reporter: russia, a alley of the syrian president urges them to allow u.n. inspectors to the site. >> what we are asking for is u.n. inspectors to go there, we are guaranteeing their safety, we will do whatever it takes in terms of protection to get them there. >> reporter: many western leaders says that they do not feel that the syrian government will allow a inspection and only the french have spoken of responding with force but the uk says that that is not the next step. >> now we're focused on getting u.n. team there, if that does not happen, we need to go back to the security council. that is the sequence of steps in the coming days and i will not speculate about after that at the moment. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: the u.n. security council has yet to agree on anything to do with syria but officials announced that now

there are 1 million syrian children that are refugees and here in jordan, anger and frustration that the world has yet to respond to the latest attack. >> the arab league and international community will bear the responsibility for any crime in the future because they know that assad will commit more crimes because of the international community's weakness. >> reporter: president barack obama warned president assad that the world is watching and it remains an open question if it will do any more than that. and now computer problems could halt further hearings of the guantanamo bay commission until next year as they look at the 9/11 attackses family from some of the victims for the fifth pro-trial hearing that ended friday. more on that story now. >> reporter: gathered before a microphone in guantanamo bay several men and women who lost relatives on 9/11, saying that

they put aside their fear so that they could see for themselves those men accused of plotting the attacks. >> i've waited 12, and i am getting old but i think that i can do 12 more and so i am waiting and, you know, i just want, as was said, i want it to be done right. i do not want all of the appeals. >> reporter: the relatives watched prosecutors and defense lawyers haggle over what some call the core issues. could prosecutors pursue the death penalty if terrorism was dropped as a charge against the five defendants including the alleged mastermind. >> attacking civilians, terrorism in light of the hijacking, given that death occurred and so there are other charges certainly. >> reporter: and another central question, what will the defense lawyers do if they do not get all of the classified evidence that they are supposed to receive from prosecutors? >> i will fight for the rights

of our clients and press for a just system. i'm not going to sit on my hands and in the hope that something will work out later. >> reporter: and there is the possibility that the judge might pause the pirate process so that the military can fix the defense's computer network problems. does it worry these families? >> we do not want anything overturned and so make sure that you cover your bases and make sure that everything is very clear and very, i will use the word that we've heard for the last five days, transparent. >> reporter: a wait for justice as long as the time is spent on mourning the loss of a loved one. and now tens of thousands of people gather in washington for a week of celebrations marking 50 years since martin luther king's "i have a dream" speech, widely seen as an important moment for civil rights in the

united states. but the fight for equal rights was fiercely resisted in many southern states and one virginia county went further than most in rejecting integration. >> reporter: it was back to class this week at the only public high school in prince edward county, a peaceful, rural part of virginia and few of these students, black or white, are aware of the role that their county played in the civil rights struggle in 1951 when the students at the black-only high school walked out for two weeks to protest inferior conditions there, after the u.s. supreme court ordered school integration southern politicians responded with a policy they called massive resistance which failed but the last bastion of resistance was this county whose officials decided to shut down all public schools for four years and private academies, financed by public taxes were

set up to educate the white children while thousands of blacks like rita were forced to leave the county or went without schooling at all, in her case for two years. >> it was a very sad time because i have always loved school, as i do today, and we were without a school, at first we played but after a while you realize that, where is school? you know? where is your education? you know? you just realize that you do not have it. >> reporter: the county apologized for its pass, symbolized by a light of reconciliation that burns atop its courthouse, night and day. but apologies alone were not enough for kenwoodly, a local newspaper editor recalling that it had once been a massive voice for resistance. >> many, including the white community, wanted to sweep it under the rug and education was stolen from these people and an education opportunity needed to be given back. >> reporter: and so he started

to award state funded scholarships to those students who did not go on to college and since the start of program, 9 0 men and women have taken advantage of that chance including rita who earned a bachelor's degree and then a masters at the age of 66. >> reporter: you could not wait to get back? >> i couldn't. >> reporter: and today the old black's only high school is a newly restored museum dedicated to telling the story of the county's racial history, to remind younger generations and many others to come. california's governor has declared a state of emergency for san francisco, saying that a wildfire on the edge of yosemite national park threatens the powerlines to the city. san francisco is 250 kilometers away from the park and the fire is largely unchecked and now covers an area of over 320 square kilometers.

water levels are still rising after some of the worst flooding in more than a century in eastern russia. tens of thousands of people have been affected. we have more now from the site. >> reporter: there have not been floods like these in over 100 years and its sheer scale, stretching across more than 2,000 kilometers of the russian far east is simply unprecedented. it is only from the air that emergency officials are able to monitor the rising waters. and it is not good news. no sign of the water residing. on -- receding. on the contrary. >> i just went to the shop for rubber boots and they do not hit. >> reporter: this is the worst hit city as a nearby river burst banks and water is threatening residential and business areas and lapping at the very heart of the city. and more than 30,000 people have been mobilized to fight the rising tide of water but the

forecast does not look encouraging. >> the hydrologists expect the peak of the floods to be around the 25th of august. it was level for a while. but only after that will it slowly start to fall. >> reporter: and thousands have been forced from their homes as the flood zone is steadily widened during the downpour of the last ten days and with these filthy waters comes disease as there are fears of an outbreak of typhoid and hepatitis. and the worst-case scenario? wealth, they warn here that up to 100,000 people could be forced to be moved from their homes which would be a mass evacuation which would stretch emergency services to its very limits and then add to that power blackouts as more electrical substations go underwater and these next few days will be difficult ones here. the government negotiators

of colombia are being flown home after the farc rebel leaders suspended talks, looking instead to put the president's peace deal to a national vote. the at least 30 -- at least 30 people have been killed in a riot at a prison in bolivia, a fire broke out during the violence and that was what killed most of the victims. it took hours to restore order. 60 others were injured. they have lived in isolation for decades but a food shortage forces an amazonian tribe to come out of hiding. we have the story next of a peruvian tribe interacting with the 21st century. >> reporter: on the banks of a river deep in the amazon rain forest they appeared, first the men, around 30, and then the

women and the children. for three days in late july, nearly 100 members of this tribe made this unusual appearance. they live near the border with brazil but have hardly ever been seen before and a guard from a nearby watch post recorded the moment. the tribe lives in isolation and the peru law pro hibs anyone from getting close to them. they were armed with arrows and spears. they seemed cautious, distrustful and apparently hungry. like the other 15 tribes in the region, they are nomads, traveling over areas rich in gas reserves. and this anthropologist says that logging, mining and oil exploration projects are

affecting the ecosystem crucial to their survival. >> the ecosystem is so fragile in the area, if a helicopter overflies, it scares away the animals meaning that the tribe will not have food. >> reporter: peru has five lan reserves where extraction efforts are forbidden but companies were also authorized to exploit reserves in some of these areas and the then-president said that what benefits the many needs to be followed up and one community leader thinks that the sighting here was a message. >> it is a clear message. they are saying that this is our territory and you have no right to be here. they want to live how they have chosen to live.

>> reporter: the anthropologists say that this sighting is a warning because these communities have survived centuries of intrusion from western man but that could be changing. >> the rest of this day's news is on our website.