>> hello, welcome to the news. these are our top global news stories. >> we regret the statement that came out of the needin meeting y with regarding syria the attempt to breed new life into the peace process. >> as prime minister of australia, i wish him well now in the high office of prime

minister of this office. >> australian prime minister concedes to tony abbott's conservative party. >> in madrid, which is up against tokyo and istanbul for the 2020 olympics. >> welcome to al jazeera. the european union chief say the world cannot remain idle after chemical weapons use in syria. remarks were made after intense lobbying by secretary of state john kerry. >> in the face of the cynical use of chemical weapons the

united nations community cannot remain idle. a clear and strong response is crucial to make clear that such crimes are unacceptable, and there can be no impunity. >> we're very grateful for the statement that came out of the meeting with respect to syria, the strong statement of accountability, and i'm particularly grateful for the president's comments and the prime minister's support for the efforts to tol hold the assad re responsible for what it has done.

>> government forces want to revent rebels from entering damascus. [ gunfire ] >> armed opposition fighters. >> military action to give the rebels a chance t to enter damascus. [♪ singing ] >> the opposition is not an unified force. many are suspicious of washington's intentions. the u.s. has said.

>> it is so dominant power in damascus. >> the delay in reacting has given syria time. >> this has led some to question the effectiveness of taking out military targets especially as the army has been changing its tactic. >> for a long time they've been adopting to the resistence. if they want a fixed facility, they come bomb it because it will not be a major impact on them. >> the syrian army is not fighting a conventional war. commanders are increasingly relying on paramilitary groups,

and they could play an even greater role if army positions are targeted. >> the syrian opposition is not just demanding strikes against the regime, they're asking for action to topple it. obama administration has been asking fo for approval of limitd action, and what is clear, washington won't be using combat troops on the ground. >> reporter: the u.s. has said it does not want to get involved in syria's civil war taking out targets may help rebalance the opposition favor. al jazeera, beirut. >> we're joined now from beirut, it does seem there is very little talking on the ground regardless of what is going on internationally, and the fighting, as you said in your report, continues elevated. >> well, definitely. the government is pushing on with this offensive, making sure

that the rebels will not exploit any situation and enter the capital. capital. they said a plan is in place, they're hoping to take advantage if and when the u.s. decides to take any military action against the syrian regime. but those rebels are also saying that the west is not collaborating with them. at least this is what they're saying publicly. but on the ground the a very different picture because as we know the syrian opposition is fractured. it's divided. they have really a different vision for th syria. there are those who are fighting for a democratic syria, and there are those fighting for an islamic state. those fighting for an islamic state they feel they may be a target. as they hear john kerry speak of

the goo bad guys and good guys. most are saying that they're suspicious of the u.s. intentions, questioning the u.s. intentions, and they believe the u.s. has its own agenda, and it does not involved toppling the regime. >> as they speak leaders speak, what do ordinary syrians, those who are able to talk to you, who have come into bay root a bay b. >> they're afraid because many of the military assets are located in neighborhoods. so they're scared. others say the limited strike won't get rid of the regime, and

maybe the government will step up their stepssive and use--step up their offensive and use more against them. there are no troops on the ground. and both sides are armed. yes, you can take out fixed targets, but the regime has moved their assets to protect them, really precautionary measures so in the event of any strike it will not hurt the army as much as it was supposed to. >> for the moment we'll leave it there. thanks for joining us from beirut. let's go t meet our others. calling short of military action, one of the leaders pushing forward the strike is french president françois francs

hollande. we have neve. the situation has changed from one of striking position to that of gaining permission. and now the u.n. inspectors report. >> it does appear that after all the strong rhetoric made by the french leadership against the syrian government, the decision has been made now primarily under an kne an enormous domestc pressure to wait and hold back for the president. president ho lappe hollande wilt before france makes the absolute decision to interconvenient militarily. president hollande has been pushed into a corner. you have left wing factions

within the parliament who are strongly opposed to intervention. you have the conservatives, the former president sarkozy very wary of entering into a military action without united nations' backing. and then according to this research, 68% of the french population are firmly against intervention. so if anything, president hollande is biding his time on it, at the same time trying to send an important clear message to bashar al-assad that something will be done, and should be done. >> we'll see what happens, and what the outcomes are from france later, thank you forgoi r joining us. a blast in somalia in an

area popular with government workers and near the presidential palace, and it's not the first time it has been targeted. seven taliban prisoners have been released in pakistan. one of them a senior commander, all aimed at providing a store of peace process. well, let's join kamal in the southern port city of karachi. let's see who he really is. >> just a correction. he is the younger brother of senior taliban commanders, who was killed in may 2007, and now he was arrested along the

pakistan years ago. they released in total seven, and that would bring 233 the total number of taliban who have been released so far. the taliban also released primarily because it might help in kick starting the talks with the taliban, the government, of course, would have watched barader who was arrested in this city in 2010, but so far the government has not said anything about that. the foreign ministry has said earlier that all the prisoners in the pakistani custody would be released now. importantly as you mentioned, they may not be happy that they were not handed over to the authorities, but the senior adviser on foreign affairs has gone to kabul to say the

modalities of such a release would be discussed. there is talk that this taliban might go to a third country where they could get into direct talks with them. >> for the moment, thank you for bringing us to speed on that and the events coming out of pakistan, thank you. >> now, four people have been killed in a shootout between gunman and police at a paramilitary camp. police say two gunmen were killed as well as two civilians. it happened in the northern district. no one has claimed responsibility. coming up still in the news are three months after a wave of mass protest brazil is bracing for more. we'll be live with the very latest. >> and they've been living in capers for years after fleeing post election kenya, but their lives are about to change for the better. plus serena williams roars into the final. we'll tell you who she'll face

for the title. >> party leader tony abbott will hold up the new government. in a speech within the last hour mr. abbott promised to restore political stability. >> my friend, my friend, thank you. thank you so much. i can inform you that the government of australia has changed. [ cheering ] >> with ten seats still in play, and i can inform you that the

australian party has won. >> abbott has won ass leader of the labour party. >> a short time ago i phoned tony abbott to concede these national elections. [ booing ] >> as prime minister of australia i wish him well now in the high office of prime minister of this country. to raise an ey aye to wish them well in the stresses and strains of the high office ahead. we know a little bit of what that is like. >> wlet's start with andrew, and

of course, jubilation there certainly for the which were. >> it was electric when tony abbott came on the stage a victory they've been waiting six years for when kevin rudd ceded. this was a comprehensive victory for the coalition party. tony abbott now leads both of the liberal party, and he went on to say that he was both proud and humbled to accept the job of prime minister. he said that his government will be one of no surprises. he went on to say as far as his

party winning this election, this is about the labour party losing it. and now in the last couple of hours result it's become very clear as they line up to say. there has been junealation, and they'll put six years of labor behind them and move forward for at least right of center move. >> what is the timeline now for the prime minister elect, and when can we expect him to start naming his cabinet? >> he'll be sworn in at some point in the next few days. it could be as early as tomorrow or as late as wednesday. he's not officially prime minister until that happens. he said he'll keep all those in his shadow as they have over the last few months and in some cases, years.

and you'll see them go to the former ministry rolls, and that will go for the latter part of the week. i was speaking a moment ago to the man who is likely to become financial minister. he was very clear there have been too many nasty surprises, as he described them, under the labor government, and there would be less of those in his government she made it a major part of their campaign such of their eyes that it has hurt the country, and they say they would scrap that and be one of the first moves of government. >> thank you. let's go over to brisbane, and peter, who is at a very disappointed headquarters for the labour party. how are they taking the news?

>> i have to say that. >> we'll start again. we missed the top of what you said. perhaps how disappointed the labour party are with this defeat with this election. >> what i was say something that the party over here at the party ahead years, the campaign headquarters everybody has left, and they've gone to lick their won. we were speaking to people earlier who were acknowledging this as a comprehensive defeat for them but it was not the political slaughter that a lot of people had predicted, certainly a lot of party members had feared. they consistently told us that they were pleased that most of the key leaders had managed to

retain their seats, and that they had--they all felt that they were able to survive to fight on another direction in about three years time. >> of course, they've got a lot of soul searching to do with changes at the top, they will rae have to find a new leader to bring them all back together and somebody that the public has confidence in. >> that's right. i think it will be difficult for them to get through because everyone will be knowledging that the leadership struggles of the past few years has really damaged the party's credibility, and a lot of voters were talking about how the labor leadership appeared to be in disarray. i think there was a degree of gratitude when kevin rudd decided to step down and he decided he was not going to

contest the leadership in defe defeat. and this will allow them to find a leader that the whole party can unite-- >> we have a few problems from brisbane, but we'll be following what is happening in australia over the next few days as they swear in the new prime minister. in a thilet's go to africa. in nigeria there has been a recent series of attacks after vigilantes formed a civilian form task force in june to oppose the group. almost six years ago many kenyans were forced to three their homes. now the government has began the

final resettlement of those living in replacement camps. we have this report. >> for the thousands of people still living in this place will receive checks of $4,500. i spoke with people living in camps and they say they're tired of living in squalor. they say the money is not enough to buy lapped and it's not enough to mr. build a house, bt is better than living in a tent. thethe government will tell that you this plan was in the works, and the previous government failed to help the displaced people. they say this is a charm offensive, the deputy president

will begin his trial on tuesday, and it's from here where he has been planning activities that led to murder, force d depourtation an and rape. >> found guilty in arizona of killing her four-year-old son. her conviction was overturned this year because of lack of evidence. the appeal court rejected the testimony of a detective as he was found to have lied in other cases. brazilians markedde marked k from portugal. and many are planning to prote protests against government corruption and slow reform. we're joined by adam in rio

de janeiro. >> they were expecting upwards of a half million people across the country and 1 million in 70 cities to come out and fill the streets on saturday. what you might see behind me is a military parade, an independent parade on one side. and behind me you have people milling around on the other side. just a few moments ago you had people running past me as police were firing tear gas canisters to keep people from going to parade sites. they have been actin blocking as to protesters who want to show their anger with modern day brazil with too much spending on things like the world cup football tournament next year

and it's a bit of a di cognizant dissonance, and you have people who want to disrupt this proud day of honor, and they're using these public activities to change the movement that has not died down. >> we see groups across the country complaining about a whole host of issues. did they hope to achieve something today? is it achievable, the complaints that they have, and will the government actually listen to them. >> well, you had the president giving a speech who said people have a right to call on their government for better services, but it's unclear what this large movement including many sectors

of society, what they'll accept as a god enough ponce from the government. the government keeps saying we'll do this, we'll do that, we'll provide more doctors and launching a program where they call on cuban doctors to fill in the gap here. it's unclear, the government can just stop it's take of movement of its own through media sites and people who are disenchanted, and people who are upset and they're not stopping. there is not one member of this protest moment who will tell us we will stop if x happens, but it do the matter. they're doing much more than presidents in other countries do. >> we seem to have lost the connection with adam. we'll go back to him throughout the day because those demonstrations and those

independent marchs will continue for the foreseeable time. now delegates from the istanbul olympic committee have made their final push for the olympic games in 2020. now the decision will be announced later on saturday. here are the delegates. these are life pictures coming out of buenos aires. and in sports, we'll have the latest from there a little later. but before all of that let's go to steff. with the worldwide weather. >> we're going to look at what is going on over mexico. first of all there is this area of cloud in the east. this was not strong enough to

become a tropical storm, but tropical depression 8. and then we have tropical depression lorena. it was a storm but its starting to disintegrate now as the we are one. you would expect tropical storm 8 to dissipate because it's over land and it makes a mess over many parts of mexico and brought many of us heavy heavy downpours. now over to lorena, and that also caused a problem. here are the flooding pictures that we've got out of baja, california. you can see how bad the flooding situation is there. it looks like it will stay more or less dry as we head through the next couple of days. the wetter weather is further to the east. this massive area of cloud and rain here. this is not really a direct results of either of those two systems but it was intensified

by tropical depression 8. this area here will see a couple of millimeters of rain, and there could be a problem of flash flooding. >> we report on the storm of protests around the global beauty pageant being held by indonesia. and ca cambodia's december dispd selection results.

>> welcome back to watching al jazeera news hour. news secretary of state john kerry welcomed united nations statement on syria. the clear and strong response is needed to prevent chemical attacks but they stop short of calling on military action. pakistan has released taliban prisoners. australia's ton new prime minister. most turks say they do not

want to see involvement in the war across the border. >> reporter: this strong demonstration has new e impetus. they are not happy with the reports of u.s. striking syrian targets. >> people are scared everywhere because of this war. >> the prime minister shouldn't be like this. we shouldn't enter a war. what problem is there between us and syria? >> the majority of the turkish people are against this operation. i don't think the president can resist his own people. >> reporter: polls show since the beginning of the syrian revolution in 2011 a clear majority of turks oppose taking part in any intervention unless turkey's territory and people

are directly threatened. >> turkey's main concern is their own survival and their own well-being. when there is a risk, then they say stop. >> despite being a n.a.t.o. member, turkey's military is not mobilized without an u.n. resolution. many are concerned that turkey's geography will make turkey a target if there is retaliation. and some still feel for humanitarian reasons turkey has to do something. >> they are like our brothers. we can't stand by and let them be doctortured. >> turkey prime minister said he has resolution, but that mandate was given after syrian shells landed inside the turkish

border. now some turks are saying that resolution was for turkey's offense and anything more needs a new vote in apartment just like britain and america. >> reporter: in 2013 turkish mps, the turkish people may pull the brakes on this one, too. >> the military strike on syria, let's bring in th in more. can you just paint a picture for us of what is going on in beirut and the indigenous population who have strong ties to syria. >> there are three or four things coming in to create quite

steady and sometimes mounting tension. somewhere close to 800,000 to 900,000 of them, maybe more. you have the tension over the anticipated strike against syria by americans, french, and possibly others, and you have a deteriorating stress at home because of the lack of consensus on a new government which creates mounting pressures. civil servants are afraid that they're not going to be paid in the next month or two. many are worried, and they extend their families out of the country for a couple of weeksish and the repercussions are unknown. all of these things together are really quite stressful, but lebanon has been through this before, an it's something that they've experienced. they've gotten through it, and they expect to get through it again. >> let's talk about the conversation that has been happening internationally, and

the french could have a strong influence over lebanon and syria for over 100 years in one form and another, and how the president has been conducting itself in the eu and with the united states. >> they drew the borders and helped to put in place governments that they like and maintained a close relationship with them ever since, kind of a post colonial obligation. so the attitude to the french here has always been a combination some people resent the way these countries were created and how they were founded a century ago, but others rely on france as a big

brother to protect them. it was only five or six years ago that former president sarkozy would help the syrians break the kind of political block saiblockade and siege, anw france is ready to bomb syria. they're very concerned here in lebanon about the repercussions of any kind of attack. they're clearly talking about the french influence on the americans to shape this bombing campaign in a way that may nape it's impact on lebanon. there could really be serious problems including all-out warfare between lebanese, syrians, parties on both sides, and possibly israelis and iranians if things get out of

hand. france is the main party that lebanese look to, and then the united states also. then you look at iran and saudi arabia, and that's what makes it so complicated. >> how do you think on the ground they will look at and consider what is going on in the lithuania capital where foreign ministers have gathered to listen to john kerry and formulate a response of their own. >> well, the e.u. statement is particularly strong but not so interesting. like other statements we've had from concerned groups and important parties in this conflict and the region here. rhetoric is heightened to compensate for the lack of actual action. europeans don't want to get involved in any kind of attack on syria except for the french

and one or two others, and i wouldn't put too much emphasis on that statement. both obama and kerry now attended two meet negotiation europe and russia hoping to get stronger, clear, explicit support in militar military act. >> thank you so much for joining us. now a bomb has gone off in central cairo. it happened, and no injuries have been reported and no one has been arrested. this comes two days after egypt's interior minister survived a car bomb attack in the capital. now the latest accusation is that mohamed morsi insulted the judiciary saying that judges rigged the election in 2005. he is accused of inciting

violence that resulting in killings last december. there were a number of explosives found on a railway station between suez. investigators have been sent to the region. many say they want world peace but the 63rd holding will be they would indonesia, and many want the event canceled. >> public anger of the local organizer of ms. world. many come out to protest exclusively sending a clear message to the company's owner.

>> our main focus here is to protest against the local organizer of miss world, and to ask him to stop the event as it violates the constitution and law of indonesia. >> more than 85 pierce of people in indonesia are muslim, but it is heavily reliant on tourism. >> i'm from chinese taipei, which is taiwan. >> there would b be a boost from such a high profile event. they have replaced the bikini round with the more traditional sarong. >> the opening ceremony is on sunday, and despite the opposition, organizers say the show will go on. al jazeera. >> more than 15,000 people are

been protesting in phnom penh accusing the government of vote rigging. it's been more than six weeks since ballots were cast. >> the figure of cambodia's political opposition sips he returned this year after living in exile in france. >> there has been a dictatorship in this country for nearly 40 years. but now i think there will be a democratic change. >> but that might not come any time soon. he's poised to lead the majority of the parliament yet again. the opposition is calling on the government to form an independent committee that will investigate allegations of massive vote rigging when ballots were cast six weeks ago. but that might be too late.

in the coming days the national election committee is expected to announce the ruling cambodi cambodia's people's party as winner of this election. the prime minister is the longest serving leader in southeast asia. he seems to have firm control over the army, the police and nearly every institution in the country. but for th foes who live in numr phnom penh, they believe it's grip is in power. >> i'm disappointed with the government. they promised many things, but they didn't deliver. >> more than 70% of the cambodians here are below 30 years old, they want job security, education and justice. they say they want states. and the prime minister is the

politics of a bygone era. >> described by many as a cambodia spring. raincy's party has gained support in his election. the only question, how long can the group maintain its momentum. >> well still ahead on the news hour. [♪ music ] >> chasing the golden lion. we take a look at the front runners for the venice film festival. >> i'm in tokyo where i join the japanese as they wait to find out if the city is picked for the 2020 summer olympics will also be the winner.

>> welcome back to the news. tokyo, istanbul and madrid will find out on saturday who will be successful to hold the 2020 olympic games. >> it's a big day for world sports and the focus will be on buenos aires later. of those three candidates each has it's pros and cons. tokyo has emerged as the frontrunner in the last two weeks. tokyo has held it before. do you think that will help or hinder their chances this time around? >> well, in a way it plays into

tokyo's campaign which emphasizes the point that this city would be a safe and reliable choice for the games because it's got the experience, and this is not a country that just hopes that one summer olympics, but its hosted two olympics. they know this country can deliver big sporting events without a hitch. and put on top of that it has world class infrastructure, transportation, advance technology, low crime rates. no wonder it's a favorite. and this is really tokyo's to lose. but those odds have narrowed because of the ongoing nuclear crisis that has been brought by a slew of damaging disclosures. >> how have the bid officials tried to move to calm the fears over that nuclear plant?

>> well, the prime minister shinzo abe said that he understands there were concerns about the nuclear radiation crisis, but he due says by 2020 japan will have overcome this problem. they gave a plan of how it would deal with the leaking of the plant. they said they would put $500 million towards the radiation leaks. they said that the radiation levels in tokyo is no higher and in, in fact, is lower than other

cities across the world. >> now one of the selling points for istanbul is that it would be the first olympics held across two continents. >> if istanbul wins, this stadium was built 11 years ago and turkish government is proposing to invest more than $19 million for the olympics and it's much more hype than tokyo propose. there are many officials for istanbul to overcome, for instance, it's traffic. and of course the war in neighboring syria, turkish government is trying to calm the waters that it is not a security

threat since the border is more than 1,000 kilometers away from istanbul. but in this city there were violent clasheses. but despite istanbul has much to offer the olympics, but also many obstacles to overcome. >> lee, my drie madrid missed on in 2012, 2016, what is different this time around. >> madrid failed in those bids. it doesn't mean that they had a bad bid. they were third in 2012 and second in 2016. there is a lot that the ooc like about madrid.

the bid is relatively cheap, $5 billion. the cheapest of the three that have been bidding now in argentina. they've done that by utilizing existing venues. 27 of the 36 are pretty much there. it certainly is doing convincing work with the ioc. they've come in and they seem to be second to tokyo. >> now we see people gathering behind you for the announcements. what do people in madrid think about bidding for the games. are they powered at all about the cost? >> i think it's not that they were skeptical. people were worried in london before the 2012 games. it was more of the concern of where could they find the money to bid let alone staging the games. as we have gotten closer to the

announcement people realize what a great affect it could have on madrid. the same affect we've seen in barcelona, and it could do the same thing for madrid, it could help the economy. it could create new jobs and get something going that madrid needs. they're more optimistic that they have a genuine chance now. >> we're live in madrid, one of the three candidate cities hoping to host the 2020 olympic games. of course the next big world sporting event is the 2014 world cup. teams will work to qualify for the event. great goal coming up from tony cruz. it made it 2-0, germany remained five points clear at the top of the group with just three

matches remaining. >> well, the netherlands took t wasn't until an jur injury thate netherlands would remain unbeaten. in costa rica won 2-1. they sealed the points and ended the usa's 12-match winning streak. in italian's grand prix the driver is in ominous form.

the three-time world champion is joined on the front row and would take the third grid position. defending champion serena williams at flushing meadows. the world number one needed seven match points to wrap up the win, and will lead to a rematch of the 2012 finals. >> the world's number two eventually came through in straight sets. >> carter has become the first man to reach 1 test points as he helped his team win over the

rugby championship. the penalty kick five minutes later saw the mark. they headed added a second hal. that's sports for now. >> thank you very much. the world's oldest film festival has come roaring to an old as filmmakers compete for the golden lion. we have reports from the canals of venice. >> lights, camera, as for the action, give it a few hours. venice's red carpet is about to get well-worn. saturday night is award night. who will take the golden lion?

how about "philemina." it's a british movie as is "under the skin." it may very well be the british battling the french here. "la jealousy" exploring relationships. and the competition here described as the toughest in many years, although not necessarily the best. that from a man who has covered this festival every year for half his life. >> it's not how it was in the 80s and 70s. there is less international appeal for--especially for the

importance. >> johnny amelio wants his tail of an unemployed man who takes on other people's jobs to take the top prize. when in rome, do as the romans do, and when in venice, it's the best. there are 22 movies being considered among the four main categories. the movies have all been screened, the jury has retired to consider their verdict. in all probability they've been reached already. now the crews and staff will have to wait a little bit longer before they find out how this one ends. al jazeera, at the venice film festival. >> and you've been watching the al jazeera news hour. we'll have more news shortly after the break. do stay with us.

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(vo) every sunday night gripping films from the world's top documentary directors. >> this is just the beginning of something much bigger. >> i am now in this place where you should never come. (vo) tomorrow night, the premiere of skydancer. >> there's this myth out there that mohawks don't get scared. (vo) how do mohawk iron workers balance work in the sky with life on the reservation? >> it's two different lives he's leading.

>> i'm richelle carey. here are the latest headlines. john kerry arrived in lithuania this morning to discuss intervention in syria. e.u.'s chief policy cleave said a clear and strong response is crucial in syria. kerry is now headed to france where he'll give a joint news conference with the french foreign minister. millions of americans are still unemployed. yesterday's august jobs report was called discouraging. this morning tokyo is taking its pitch to the