♪ >> twin trials in egypt for the muslim brotherhood spiritual leader and deposed president mubarak. hello. you are watching al jazeera live from doha. also ahead, the u.s. reviews its military options in syria following a suspected chemical weapons attack on civilians. >> and uncertain return home, we follow the journey of an afghan refugee to a land that none of his children have ever known. >> from cambodia, a new bird species has been discovered. fantastic news in a region with

so many endangered species. coming up, i will tell you the surprising location of where it was found. the trial of the muslim brotherhood spiritual leader is due to begin shortly in cairo in the egyptian supreme court and the retrial of former president mubarak is also set to begin, both are related to charges of the death of protesters but, first, we explain the background to both cases. >> reporter: the egyptian governments had repressed the muslim brotherhood and once considered untouchable, those days have changed as the leader of the muslim brotherhood face a

series of charges including insight to kill protesters. the pressure will be on the prosecution to provide evidence that will stand up in court. >> under mubarak there was always the possibility to assign specific judges through the ministry of justice, okay? but the judiciary resisted this. we have a movement of independents which was in 2005, 2006. confronted by mubarak. that spirit remained within the judiciary. while the system for the judiciary never allowed it to be independent but the great majority of judges managed to retain independence, certain judges had cooperated and i'm sure that some of those still exist but there has been no information on manipulation and trying to assign specific judges in order to give specific

sentences. >> reporter: and former president mubarak will face charges of insight and in this case for failing to stop the killing of protesters during the 2011 revolution which forced him from office, these are two similar trials involving two foes, and popular protests which occurred here at this square has seen the battle move from the streets to the courts with scrutiny now of the independence of the country's judicial system. >> and now mike joins us from the cairo bureau. what is expected to happen today, mike? >> reporter: well, in the supreme court in cairo, in the downtown part of the city there will be six senior members of muslim brotherhood appearing in the court, including the general guide as had been reported there. now it is not certain that the

accused will physically appear in court. but what it known is that charges will be presented before the judge. and these charges are in connection with the demonstrations that happened outside of muslim brotherhood headquarters on the night of june 30th following overthrow of the elected government by the military and so these charges stemming from what the prosecution calls insightment of these six for the processters to kill or attack certain targets and so that is the case that will be getting started and the prosecutor acting unusually quickly to bring these charges. >> the muslim brotherhood suffered another blow overnight, did they not? >> yes. there have been ongoing arrests of brotherhood members and those connected to the organization, the latest person arrested overnight seen here, a senior

advisor to then-president morrissey and -- president morsi. it seems to be a well-coordinated attempt to crack down on the muslim brotherhood. >> mike, let's change slightly now and talk about the mubarak retrial which is due to get underway. what do we expect today from that retrial? >> once again it is not certain that hosni mubarak will appear in court along with his two sons and former senior advisor and other aids, it is a retrial, the sixth session, and it is described as procedural and

whether or not any new developments will be introduced, that is not clear at this particular stage but it is an ongoing process that could last a few minutes, just to register the fact that there were new charges filed or some other process within the court proceedings but not clear just how long that will last but it is, as i said, the sixth session of this trial of hosni mubarak on those charges of insightment. >> and how important is it, mike, and what is the public perception around mubarak now? >> well, the public reception has generally remained unchanged. when he is released from prison, it was ordered by a judge on the grounds that he had spent longer than the allowed two-year period awaiting conclusion of the trial, there was a muted public reaction. there was an awareness that he is still facing charges on a number -- in a number of legal

proceedings, and this trial, which is resuming today, is just one of a number of separate trials that mubarak is a part of. and so for the public, it is, in a way, business as usual. the former president is back in court. he is facing charges that could carry the life sentence, if not worse. and so very much little has changed. the fact is for the bulk of the egyptian public they are still seeing what they believe is justice being done in that court. >> thank you very much, mike, from our cairo bureau on both of these very important trials getting underway. thank you, mike. well, egypt's interim government has shortened the nighttime curfew in some areas, now it starts two hows later at 9:00 p.m. every day except for friday in 14 provinces. a curfew was imposed ten days ago following a crackdown on anti-coup protesters but some have defied the band, this march

was held in suez overnight and protesters had also blocked some roads and demonstrators were out in a locale south of the capital as well. now to other news in, as the united states says that they are ready to carry out military options against syria if need be, this in response to a chemical weapons attack last wednesday and the syrian military deny that they were behind the attack which left hundreds dead. u.s. president barack obama has met his national security advisors to review what is described as a range of options and the secretary of defense hagel says that the military is ready to act and in a phone call with david cameron of britain, both leaders agreed that the use of chemical weapons would require a serious response and

the secretary of state, john kerry, called other nations rallying support. and the syrian foreign minister had been called by secretary of state kerry who asked for u.n. inspectors to be allowed access to the site. more now from washington. >> reporter: the national security officials met president barack obama at the white house to discuss what to do about this. the sounds of grief, the pictures of tragedy, bodies of children and some adults, victims of what appears to be a chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of damascus and doctors without borders says that three hospitals reported receiving 3600 patients, 355 died. >> pinpoint pupils, excess saliva, respiratory distress,

and convulses pointing to the use of a neuro toxic agent. >> reporter: the coalition said it was time for action, not words. >> the role of the international community must go beyond sympathy. we need to put an end to the killing of syrian people and help those forced to flee. >> reporter: the international community wants proof that the assad regime is responsible for the alleged attack but the syrian government is so far refusing to give u.n. inspectors access to the area. it denies using chemical weapons but claims that syrian rebels are and syrian state media showed protective masks and vials that they say were from a rebel site but these images of the dead is pressuring the white house, there is potentially the movement of a fourth warship

armed with ballistic missiles into the eastern mediterranean. >> i think that what you might see is what was commonly practiced under the previous democratic administration, long-range, tomahawk missile strikes from far off the coast which are very accurate. >> after the meeting of president barack obama with the national security council, a statement was released saying that the u.s. is continuing to coordinate with international partners and consider options but there is no indication that decisions have been made about syria and the tragedy that continues to unfold there. and we have more now from washington, d.c. >> reporter: well, in the they days since the chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of damascus the national security council here at the white house has met two times, a renewed urgency here. it seems to be a game changer not just because of the deploy of chemical weapons crosses red

line but those horrific images are having such an impact around the world american credibility appears to be at stake at this point, three hours today's meeting with the national security council and america's top defense intelligence and cabinet officials meeting with the president in the west wing of the white house and a statement says that they reviewed a range of potential options for the united states and the international community and they note that the gathered group is mindful of the symptoms exhibited on many of those images that wee's seen coming out in the wake of that chemical attack. the red line has been crossed and the president, his rhetoric has toughened and he has spoken about a core national interest in keeping those weapons from being deployed by the assad regime and it is important to remember that the goal should the united states and their alleys pursue a military option, they are not looking to enter the war on one side or another, goal is to prevent those chemical weapons from boeing deployed.

six people have been killed by a bomb attack on a yemen air force bus. 26 others were injured. our local correspondent joining us next, what do you know about this blast? >> reporter: well, what we know so far from the security forces that the bus carrying aviation cadets and air force officers, it was on its way to a military base when the blast took off according to many sources, it was a bomb which was planted inside the bus. they are talking about at least six people killed and dozens injured. this is a severe blow to the government and also definitely a security breach which comes against the backdrop of heightened security here in the capital and also increased fears

of more attacks by some groups and what we get so far from the government, they described the attack as a terrorist attack, and all of the government thinks al qaida in the arabian peninsula, the most aggressive of the al qaida offshoots outside of pakistan and it comes just two days after a speech by the country's president who said that he vowed to continue the fight until al qaida is defeated and that comes also a day after a visit by the united states' chief of the centcom where he met with the president and the situation remains quite chance here in the capital amidst calls by the people for the government to step up its operations and to maintain security here in in the capital. >> thank you for this. just ahead, disgraced

chinese politician bo xilai accuses a former aid of lying in court, the latest from the trial gripping china. monitoring nuclear fallout, how those who live near the if you plant in japan are coping with radiation.

♪ it is good to have you with us. here now are the top stories on al jazeera. the trial of senior members of the egyptian muslim brotherhood is due to start in cairo and among them the spiritual leader.

in a separate case the retrial of former president mubarak is set to start. at least six people were killed by a bomb attack on a yemen air force bus. the vehicle carrying personnel to their base in the yemen capital. 26 others were injured. the u.s. says that it is ready to carry out military action against syria if it needs to, this in response to increasing signs of the use of chemical weapons on civilians. now the colombian government announced that peace talks with farc rebels will resume monday, this coming after rebel fighters killed 13 soldiers in an ambush near the border with venezuela. the leaders of farc are unhappy with the president for proposing that any agreement should be put to a referendum. farmers in colombia are blocking roads and demanning subsidies to help them to

compete against imports and there truckers have joined the pro tests as well. one disgraced chinese politician bo xilai is accused of bribery, abuse of power and he admitted that he made mistakes but he said that he did not embezzle state funds. >> for a second day longtime friends and alleys appeared in the courtroom together as adversaries. the day after a statement that a killing had taken place, bo was said to have punched an individual and then he was dismissed and the prosecution says that that evidence demonstrates that bo xilai did abuse his power in trying to cover up the police investigation into his wife's

involvement in the killing of neil heyward and she was sentenced to a suspended death sentence for that murder last year and bo xilai responded trying to undermine the veracity of what was being said, saying that he had never had martial arts training and he could not have punched anyone in that manner because he lacked the strength to inflict injuries like that but he does admit to having slapped someone in the presence of two police officers and says too that she was convicted for a flight to the u.s. consulate in the wake of those incidents and it shows that he is a liar and that his testimony cannot be trusted. a lot of this serves the interests of bo xilai allowing him to put on a strong defense and potentially serving the interests of the communist party but there are no more proceedings expected today and tomorrow, monday, we expect the final summings up in this case to begin. those who live around the

fukushima nuclear plant are worried by what they see as an ongoing cover up. we have a report from the site now. >> reporter: there was a story going around fukushima that sunflowers could absorb radiation. this individual patrols his neighborhood looking for hot spots with a counter showing radiation over the safe limit. there are plenty of them after three of the six reactors had gone into meltdown 2.5 years ago at fukushima. >> every day there is radiation. we cannot see it spreading into the air or ocean. one day the world will sue japan for this. >> reporter: he has records for every household and believes that the area should not be

lived in, that the government is not being serious about the cleanup but the locals are crisis fatigued. >> it has been nearly three years and nothing really bad has happened to people here and so they've started to think that there isn't a problem but radiation takes 20 years to become a problem. >> reporter: and at the nearby beaches, despite news that highly radioactive waters leaching into the sea, locals are cooling off and they told us that they were philosophical. everywhere now was radioactive. they cannot escape it. the stricken nuclear plant is 35 kilometers up the coast that way and this beach only opened to the public in july. then authorities said that radiation in the seawater had fallen to acceptably low levels but when the individual had taken sand samples for analysis he found levels there were far higher.

no one here know what is a safe background level is anymore. the japanese are now part of a massive condra seen actual experiment on radiation exposure. this man worked at the plant for over 20 years, and says that no one really knows how bad the situation is in the reactors because it is now deadly to go inside them. >> i personally believe that nuclear power and humans cannot coexist. >> reporter: the workers at the plant have been strictly forbidden from talking to the media. >> the government is playing down the accident so that it can continue to export the technologies. >> reporter: shrine here seen as the protector of this community. the government these days is not. and now a fourth person has been arrested in the latest case

of gang rape in india, the police already have three people in custody. five men allegedly attacked a photo journalist in mumbai three days ago. the 22-year-old is now recovering in hospital. the attack has led to more public outrage over sexual violence against women. and now when the former soviet union invaded afghanistan in 1979, there were refugees pouring into pakistan and three decades leader the pakistani government encourages those refugees to return home but that journey can be dangerous and as part of our afghan's challenges series we've followed one family who has been entering afghanistan through a border following travers through dangerous areas and now they've entered afghanistan. >> reporter: these are the first

few moments of his family's new life. they have just crossed the border in afghanistan after living as refugees in pakistan for many years. afghan forces are clearly in charge here and flying high across the crossing is the flag of this government and the ancestralvillage that he plans to settle in is still a few hours away but first they will come to an u.n.-run processing center and most of those here are registered as residents and they get polio drops and receive measles vaccinations and welcome videos are shown to the adults and other lessons are given on how to live that, for many in his family, is foreign and in a stark reminder of how precarious the situation is, upon arriving

in the country returnees are taught how to detect mines and ied's and both of them among the biggest killers in afghanistan and are a threat that everyone here takes seriously and then after filling out a final round of paperwork, he receives a $150 allowance and an additional $30 for each member of his family, money that he will use to rebuild their lives in a country that he has not called home for nearly three decades. >> i'm very happy to be back and proud to be an afghan, living here will be good to my family and praise to god we made it back safely and my plan now is to open up a shot and i will would be day and night to macour life better. >> reporter: to help with the long-term success of repatriation is the u.n. whose workers promise to stay in close contact with the family.

>> we visit them on a regular basis. >> reporter: but for now he and his family are content to settle in the village that he was born in and start their new lives in a very different, often unpredictable afghanistan. the russian government is promising to build new barriers to protect its far eastern region from floods, the area hit by waters reaching their highest levels in 120 years and thousands of people have already been forced to leave their homes. one of the region's largest cities is under threat. staying in russia the president vladimir putin signed a decree banning all protests during the olympic games for next winter as gay rights activists had been planning protests after the new russian law making so-called gay propaganda illegal.

aboard -- a border patrol vessel found a vessel stranded at sea and a group of women and children were rescued. a new bird has been discovered in cambodia and scott reports from there. >> reporter: he is very small, very quick and he has a distinctive orange cap, the cambodian taylor bird, a new species discovered through collaboration of three wildlife scientists. it started out when one tested his camera. >> how we found the bird in january of 2012 at this site, did not know what it was and then another individual saw the same bird in early june and again he did not know what it was but he got good photographs which really piqued my interest. >> reporter: and then simon determined that the bird was not

an anomaly of an existing species and the scientists visited other areas, finding a population proving it is a new species. we're near the country's largest city and this is where the burr was first spotted and this is not a remote area which is why this is such an interesting discovery. the undiscovered bird hiding in plain site can be drawn out by playing a recording of its song on a smartphone and so why hadn't it been discovered before? >> the main reason is that the places that it lives are not interesting, it lives in conditions scrub and most of those birds are very common birds that no one would pay any attention to. >> reporter: but thanks to some scientists who did pay attention the new bird will draw in more tourists. >> already we get hundreds of bird-watchers every year coming through cambodia but this is a new thing and no one has ever seen this before.

>> reporter: and so many more people can see it and the scientists asked that the bird be classified as near threatened so that the building boom of the city does not swallow its habitat. that story and the rest of the day's news is on our website.