♪ uchl n inspectors head to the site of an apparent chemical weapons attack near the syrian capital damascus. and western countries are reviewing options to respond to the attack. i'm elizabeth and you are watching al jazeera live from doha. sexual miss conduct allegations on the final day of bo xilai's trial. firefighters in california struggle to contain one of the worst wildfire in the state's history and are you suffering from nomophobia and that is a

fear of being without your mobile phone. un inspectors in syria left the otell for damascus and heading to the site where chemical weapons were allegedly used last week. the attack killed hundreds and thousands are severely ill. west enpowers blamed the syrian government and now they are weighing options for military actions in syria and french foreign minister says a response to the attack will be decided in the coming days. the british foreign secretary william hague said it was clear to be able to respond without the unanimous backing of the un and russia has deep concerns over the possibility of a military intervention and president bashir warned the u.s. to stay away saying it faces failure if it strikes.

speaking to a russian newspaper they dismissed allegations that they used chemical weapon, describing them as an insult to common sense. and we report from washington. >> reporter: un weapons inspectors will soon be at the scene of what appears to have been a chemical weapons attack outside damascus. the syrian government has agreed to cooperate and suspend fighting in the area while it continues to deny responsibility. >> we said it once, twice, we offer again our assurances that we have never used, not in gut or in syria no chemical weapons of any form. >> reporter: there is little doubt the syrian regime carried out the attack saying un inspectors are too late to be credible because evidence has been degraded or destroyed. >> we cannot in the 21st century allow the idea that chemical

weapons can be used with impunity and people can be killed in this way and there are no consequences for it. >> reporter: but russia says there is evidence syrian rebels were responsible for the attack and the foreign mill industry warns military response targeting the close ally the regime would be a mistake and inflame the volatile region but military action is an option being considered by the obama administration went couragement from some members of the u.s. congress. >> you can destroy the runways, asid's runway and the missions and destroy his fuel. and there are lots of things we can do and we can destroy the syrian airforce. >> it has to have support internationally but not just politically but militarily. >> reporter: u.s. representatives will meet with defense officials from european and middle eastern countries in

jordan on monday. that gathering was scheduled before the apparent chemical weapons attack but that event how to respond and prevent another is at the top of the agenda. al jazeera washington. >> let's get some comments from russia. joining us from moscow is a former diplomate and president of the russian friendship and business cooperation society. and very good to have you with us on al jazeera. we know the un inspectors are on their way, they have been given permission to inspect the site of the alleged attack on wednesday. if they do find that chemical weapons were used and that the government was behind this attack, if they were to find this, do you think that russia would change its stance and change its support for, syria? >> first of all the mix of the

united nation to check up, if it is used chemical weapon in the eastern guta are not. and the regista and the fact of using this prohibited way of fighting. but the second state is to find the responsible side for this. i reject fully and unconditionally the convention of the syrian government before any results of this mission can be published. that is one. because beforehand they blamed syrian government and if it is blamed oppositional but between opposition we know who can use it on the side of a position if

those, who against the government will use this. i want to hear reaction of the united states government because they are ready to wage war against syria but i'm not here the subject that they are ready to stop encouraging military elements through target or incorporate opposition. i remind you. >> reporter: western experts are saying about this attack, that it's either a grave miss calculation on the part of the syrian government or that it's an act of open defiance. it sounds like you don't think it is either, you don't think the syrian government is behind this. do you think then that the calls from western forces from william hague and from the french foreign minister do you think they are premature then? >> first of all, there is no results for this attack,

chemical attack except some people who doesn't know, send it through any other people to washington. that is first thing. and check up through united nations team. then russia reduced it, the attack at the same time, the same day that was considered to be attack a chemical attack and spread between security council members. 15 council members on wednesday received a photo from space that those rockets came from territories controlled by opposition and came to the territory controlled by the opposition. so there is no connection with

syrian government. why those military preparations and the united states declare about it. i can't hear any arguments. >> if i ask you about the russian response, what the russian response might look like following the foreign minister comments that intervention in syria is possible without the backing of the united nations if a coalition were to intervene in syria what would russia's response be? >> i think that even declaration of such kind, it is violation on international law. it is war against united nation's charter. united nation's charter absolutely clear, reduced it and only security council has the right, legitimate right to

interfere. if anyone wants to over throw other governments or authority he can make it under any, well, fabricated special for this occasion. i think better french minister and minister of defense of them to keep silence this way because it's better to listen to united nation's decision, not france and not great britain decide the question. it's not the zone of responsibility. >> reporter: thank you very much for that. former diplomate joining us from russia and giving us the russian perspective there. thank you. to other news on the trial and corruption trial for disgraced politician bo xilai ended with misconduct between his wife and former aid. bo is accused of bribery and

abuse of power when he was a governor and harry has the latest from outside the court in ginan. >> reporter: earlier in this trial bo xilai said he had something to reveal on the last day and he certainly did. it all centers around one ally and police chief in the city of chong-ching in february 2012 brought the chain of events and brought them down for the killing of the british man kneel hayward and they said that he and his wife were having an extremely special relationship and close as paint and glue and sick of it and described what seems to have been one incident in which one person came to his wife with a letter expressing love and slapped himself in the face 7-8 times and he said you are abnormal and he said no i used to be but i'm not now and enter bo xilai who takes the

letter away. from that point on bo said he knew he harmed bo's family and feelings and new the character he was dealing with and that is why he ran away to the diplomates in chong-do. and this is the strategy of placing himself on the fridge of wrongdoing and perhaps he has responsibility of not being aware of it and not acting when he was made aware of it but never a main player in the allegations against him and doesn't carry legal weight, this is assertion in court and we understand the verdict will be announced sometime soon. >> reporter: now police say they restored order after a group of buddhist set fire to homes and shops and riots began after they would not hand over three men attempting to rape a

woman. 250 women and mostly muslims have been killed in religious violence over the year and he spoke about his recent visit there. >> i was on my way there and suddenly my car stopped at 10:30 p.m. by a crowd of 200 people that just started to punch and kicked the windows and the doors of my car, shouting abuse but what more concerned me is the police nearby that i saw just stood by without trying to stop this incident. and it was not only me there, it was a large convey including some of three un workers plus the un representative in myanmar and a lot of people suffering the incident. >> reporter: we have the weather next and the afghan president travels across the border in an attempt to revive peace talks with the taliban and we are live.

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islamabad. ♪ it's good to have you with us, these are top story on al jazeera, syria are travelling to the site of last wednesday's alleged chemical weapons attack. france said a proportionate response will be decided in the coming days. the corruption trial for disgraced chinese politician bo xilai ended with sexual misconduct between his wife and former aid. bo is accused of bribery and abuse of power when he was

governor. now afghan president hamid karzai urged them help the country with fighters who said are bent on destabilizing both countries and he met prime minister in islamabad and the trip across the border since may and we are joined from islamabad now and what has been said in this meeting? >> well, the two sides concluded a one on one meeting between the pakistan prime minister and the afghan president after which they spoke briefly to the media, both sides speaking very briefly, but touching upon important issues, the president saying there was a need for a joint campaign against the taliban and people who are destabilizing of pakistan. the pakistan prime minister

saying a number of agreements had been reached with the afghan government for the construction of the new road link the highway to get interest to work with them on a project on the river koonar and also the construction of railroad links to connect jal jal jalabad and the border town. so while there is progress and talks between the two, there are also serious differences because pakistan has been viewing with skepticism the growing relationship twen new deli and the president saying as far as religions with the rest of the world is concerned it would not affect the relationship with pakistan. >> reporter: what do you think of -- what do you think the new prime minister in pakistan kamal, will that make a

difference at all to this relationship that has been strained? >> well, as far as the prime minister is concerned, it must be understood that mr. karzai lived in pakistan and he has visited on numerous occasions. this is coming after 18 months, so the longest pause and a visitor and he embarked on a new foreign policy with the hope of having ties with the country because it's critical to pakistan's stability and pakistan said it wants it to be owned and led. >> reporter: thank you and we are joined from islamabad. now, egypt's muslim party agreed to join a committee appointed by the interim government to write

a new constitution and hundreds of people have been protesting against resent crack downs on antimilitary protests. this was the scene after the start of the overnight curfew in alexandria and protesters were calling to the end of military-led rule and this took place west of alexandria and also demonstrations in northern sinai and beni. they arrested more people from the muslim brotherhood and the minister of youth and sports and aids of the spiritual leader. many families are worried about relatives detained during the resent protests and we went to meet some of them in the capital cairo. >> the damage at the main site of the muslim brotherhood's protest is being cleaned up by the army and the crack down of supporters of the president morsi killed hundreds of people

and the sweeping powers handed to security forces under a state of emergency is also having an impact. so mohamed said her son was caught by police breaking the nighttime curfew and despite no politic politic politic political afiliation said he was caught by the police. >> they tied him up and beat him and asked him who he was and what he was doing. >> reporter: he is not alone and they estimate almost 2000 people are held without charge under the state of emergency. >> those in power have the right to detain anyone without prosecution and can put people in prison for a long time without any investigation. >> reporter: the interim government justifies the measures as crucial in the fight against terrorism, despite

arrests the anti-coup protests are continuing but the held away from sensitive areas where security remains tight. at the center of the prozest is the muslim brotherhood which is vowing to continue despite the arrest of its leaders. and her husband is the spokesman for the brotherhood and she says he was taken by heavily armed police who burst in their home in the middle of the night and said they will not be deterred. >> everyday all around egypt people are out on the streets protesting and not waiting for the leaders of the muslim brotherhood. >> reporter: there are many people who have supported the state of emergency and the presence of security forces on the streets. others worry that it's another sign of a return to a police state they fought so hard to dismantle. some speak of the culture of fear returning to egypt but at

the moment these protesters are ignoring that even if the numbers have been reduced. wayne with al jazeera cairo. >> reporter: united peace keepers are accused of killing protesters in congo and two were shot dead and four injured during the protest against a lack of un action and peace keepers allegedly fired on people who tried to storm the base but uraguai said they were not to blame and local police who opened fire. the un says it's investigating. meanwhile the united states is threatening to impose sanction on m-23 rebel leaders and supporters if they continue fighting. the statement followed reports of shelling across the border. hundreds of firefighters in the u.s. state of california are struggling to contain a giant blaze that reached yosemite park and it is threatening power to

san francisco and melissa chan reports from just outside the park. >> lovely clouds but it's actually smoke over the mountains. this is as close to the fire line as we could get. we watched teams battle the flames both on the ground and with help from above. we are just west of yosemite park and firefighters have been trying to fight the flames but they will pull back down the road. the fire jumped the highway. steep, tough tur rain and dry conditions transformed the fire into one of the biggest in california history. firefighters and metrologists say it's so immense it possesses weather and able to generate wind, rain and lightning, making it unpredictable. >> we are worried about the fire getting larger and pouring resources into it and aircraft and firefighters and across california and the country. it's the number one fire priority in the nation and hoping to get it out. >> reporter: teams from across

the country are here. mapping out plans to evacuate residence if necessary and more help arrives by the hour to relieve those who worked for days. a typical shift lasts 24 hours. >> we spent the first probably 30 hours protecting the subdivision by the fire and air dropping around us. >> out on structure protection trying to prevent the fire from moving from the forest to residential neighborhoods themselves. >> reporter: the fire moves north and they will build containment lines ahead of flames to stop it towards home and what is known as the rim fire left charred evidence of its path cutting a line across the green. leaving blackened oak and pine and smoky desolation and in the spring plans will sprout but decades before the trees will stand mighty once again. melissa chan al jazeera west of

yosemite park, california. >> six are dead after the train derailed in southern mexico. the train known as the beast had at least 250 my grants on board hitching a ride to the u.s. border and we report on that. >> reporter: this train has long been the only way many undocumented migrants could hope to start a new life, nicknamed the beast the train is meant to transport goods but over the years hundreds of undocumented my grants are on board using it as a vehicle to a new life in the united states. for some those dreams have now been lost. >> the train was going very fast. when he started to brake it went off the rails and people began to jump. and it was right there and another one under the train. >> reporter: the beast was travelling through the state of tabesco when it came off the

rails and it's a remote part of mexico and ambulance could not get through on the road until rescue teams arrived by helicopter. >> we found bodies on the sides. we think that we will find 8, maybe 10 more bodies under the train carriage. >> reporter: this route is already a dangerous journey. at times several hundred high grants cram in freight cars or sit on top but it's territory operated by the drug cartel and they are kidnapped and forced to sell drugs in the u.s. the overwhelming desire to reach the united states, it's unlikely this accident will deter everyone from hitching a ride once the train gets back on track. al jazeera. >> reporter: 20,000 people have been evacuated in russia's far east after the worst floods in a century. water levels have already hit

record highs but they are not expected to reach the peaks until next week and peter sharp has more. >> reporter: looking across the flooded plain the landscape here has changed beyond recognition. only two weeks ago the river which was 600 meters wide ran through acre after acre of land and harvested crops. well, no longer. and the people who lived in this region for 12000 years who finished in these waters and harvested the fields now have absolutely nothing. the future looks bleak. the fields are gone and the fishermen say the fishing grounds will move when the waters recede. and the tourists who used to come here in droves to see the prehistor prehistoric carve ings are under water and in moscow 6,000

kilometers away said it would be cutting any compensation to these people and no fields, no fish, winter is going to be a struggle. >> reporter: many people say they cannot live without their phones. now research in the uk identified a new phobia, among those who fear missing out on something if they leave their phones aside for a moment and phil explains. >> reporter: it's an all too familiar feeling you realize something is missing, forgetfulness and absent mindedness and call it what you will but there is an official name nomophobia and on the rise and you may need a smartphone to do so and there in lies the problem. more than half of the uk has apparently experienced this. it's the feeling, the anxiety you get when you realize you don't have your mobile phone with you. it's that disconnection from a constant connection, not just telephone calls but text, e-mails, internets, games apps and camera and for some it

doesn't bear thinking about. such is the fear of missing out that 17% of us will work on our phones when we are in bed. very restful and hardly romantic and women will look at theirs on a date. half of the uk will take theirs to the beach when the weather is good enough to go. it's not just this country. much of the world appears to share this cellular obsession and tell the experts who say we need to look at the past and don't make manners like they used to. >> reporter: you wake up and you see if anybody has been getting a hold of me or saying good night or wants me to speak. it needs to be a discipline introduced so people aren't living for a mobile phone. they are living their lives. >> reporter: so addicted to your phone, there is an app for that and several for when you can't switch off and you really can't

switch your phone off. we live in an ever connected world, the question is at what cost? and phil with al jazeera london. >> reporter: that story and the rest of the day's news can all be found on our website that you can see on your screen there. >> obama is going to fundamentally change the way you receive healthcare and real money is going to be your best source to find out how, and first i will take you to the state with the fewest doctors per capita and a place obamacare may not help and college has sky rocketed and so has the salaries of president and one man who has not turned his back on detroit and they see opportunity where others see a dying city and this is real money.