. syria's president says there's no proof he used chemical weapons against his own people. the top stories here at al jazeera next. >> security forces battle muslim separatists who attack a town in the philippines. crying foul - russia's protest leader alexei navalny alleges vote rigging in the bid to select a mayor.

>> show me your dagger. >> the love for the blade in yemen, a report on why these dagsers are a symbol of social status. >> there's a continuing battle of words between the white house and the government of bashar al-assad as the u.s. prepares to vote on military action. in an interview with u.s. broadcaster cbs ass ard warns of retaliation by his allies if the u.s. attacks. he denies involvement in the chemical attack. secretary of state john kerry is in europe and is continuing his drive to get support for military action. following meetings with the arab league in paris, john kerry travels to london to meet william hague in london. >> the foreign minister of syria is in moscow, and is meeting with his foreign minister counterpart.

>> barnaby phillips is live for us in moscow. >> what do we expect to come out of that meeting? >> i would imagine that the syrians will be looking for reassurances of support. the regime doesn't have too many friends internationally, but a handful of them are extremely important to its continued survival. hezbollah, iran, and russia above all - politically, economically, diplomatically, militarily it is are support that bashar al-assad leaned on over the past two years. in the coming weeks more so than ever, it could make the difference to the long-term survival of his regime or next >> any indication -- regime or not. >> any indication that they may push for a weapon system to help the syrian regime to withstand a u.s. attack? >> i think that's an intelligent

line of speckulation would be the way to put it. there's no doubt the russians provided plenty of military hardware - small and not so small - over the past few years. president putin said so himself at the end of the recent g20 summit, and it's something that western intelligence sources have been leaking all sorts of information on. there has been a lot of talk about something that the syrians apparently don't have yet, and that is the s 300 antimissile defense system - something that, in the light - in the light of a possible american attack, obviously could be extremely important. the americans would be very concerned that this was a bit of kit that the syrians did not have. now, i have to say i'm not a military hardware expert, but my suspicion is that that kind of technology could not be transported, installed, that

syrian personnel could not be trained within a matter of days. is it likely to feature in the conversation - i would expect it probably is. >> all right. good stuff there. barnaby phillips from moscow. >> the u.s. president faces a difficult task convincing congress to support military strikes, the politicians returned from their summer break later and are set to vote this week. the plan in theory should have a fair chance to get through the democrat controlled senate. 25 senators say they would vote, but 18 are firmly against. there are 57 senators who are still undecided though. a vote will be held in the house of representatives where reb cans hold the major -- republicans hold the majority. there the numbers are stacked up against obama. 40 support the strikes, 153 are against. 211 are yet to design.

29 others haven't said how they'll vote. >> before the votes the white house is working hard to convince politicians and the public. kimberly halket reports from washington dc. >> these pictures a... >> making the rounds on u.s. sunday morning chat shows white house chief of staff dennis mcdonough making the case for why members of congress should authorise the u.s. president's request to carry out strikes on syria. >> how congress chooses to answer the question will be listened to clearly in damascus and tehran and among lebanese hezbollah. >> it's an issue of regional stability from israel, toll ally. >> the israelis sent a signal that they feel we have to act. if we don't it will encourage the use of these weapons. >> internet videos of the aftermath of the alleged chemical weapons afac in

damascus were -- attack in damascus were released by the senate intelligence committee to support the argument that the syrian president should be held accountable. in a soon-to-be-released interview with cbs, syrian president bashar al-assad dethighs he knew about the attack, suggesting that if the barack obama administration had evidence he used chemical weapons against syrians, it should be released. >> what should america expect... >> a prominent liberal activist group in the meantime time released a television ad urging congress to vote against the president's request to authorise military action. >> after 10 years of war in afghanistan and iraq, americas fear being drawn into syria's civil war. >> fire. >> it's that intense public pressure to oppose the president's measure that the white house must overcome. barack obama is making personal phone calls to members of con

grose to draw up support -- congress to draw up support. he's scheduled to give national interviews monday and an address to the nation on tuesday as he ramps up his campaign for syrian intervention, in anticipation of the vote here in the u.s. senate by the middle of the week. an italian war reporter and a belgium teacher kidnapped in syria five months ago have been killed. a correspondent for the turin newspaper and another have arrived. one entered syria from israel and disappeared whilst travelling to homs. >> people have been kidnapped. fighters from the moro international front want an independent homeland for the minority muslims. >> bernard smith reports. a shoot out in the heart of a

southern philippines city. government soldiers are exchanging fighters with the fighters from the moro liberation front. residents ran for cover. some were killed in the crossfire. >> translation: i saw them roaming around and knocking at the door to my master's house. they got the people inside and took them away. >> the mmlf wants self-rule forrist lambs. it's -- forrist lambs. it's broken away from the larger group. >> we can't to - the conclusion is we want to have our own government, we want independent nation >> police estimate that around 20 mlf fighters are holding up to 15 people hostage in the

crowded neighbourhood of rio hond. the done men fled after a night-time battle at sea where their flotilla was intercepted by a navy chrome. >> lieutenant colonel is here with us. is the hostage situation continuing? >> yes, it is. unfortunately there has been host inls held by the rogue -- hostages held by the rogue break away group. currently we are trying to contain, to prevent it from spilling over to other cities. >> while you are focused on preventing it spreading, are you in negotiations with the mill tants to end the situation?

>> to begin with, the chronology of event, we monitored this group of rogue - break away group entering the costal towns of santa barbara, kata leana and others. they will attempt to go to the city hall and raise their flag. last night the armed forces of the philippines deployed several troops in and around the city and prior to them arriving at at 1.45 in the morning, we engaged the small group, and as a result the encounter ensued for about 10 minutes. sips their arrival -- since their arrival they tried to push through the city to raise their

flag. we couldn't permit it to happen. >> if you could hear my, my question is are you in any negotiations with them to try and end the situation? >> well, the city convened crisis committee, led by the mayor. they tried to talk to them, to negotiate the release and peaceful resolution of the problem. unfortunately they refused to negotiate with us. >> all right. thanks so much ltcol zagala. >> russia's kremlin backed mare sergei sobyanin has been elected to another term. official show him with over 51% of a vote, enough to avoid a run-off. the main challenger, opposition leader alexei navalny got over 27%. alexei navalny refused to

concede defeat saying the vote must go to a second round. >> translation: we demand to cancel voting outside polling stations and hold a second round. if this is not done we'll analyse more information, find evidence and present is in detail and address citizens, telling them to come out to the moscow city office if it violates election rights of muscovites. >> we tell you how prices are affecting china's economy. plus, back on the match - wrestling knocks out its rivals to win back olympic status for 2020. conversation

chris toepfler >>

to remind you of the top stories - syria's president fears military strikes by international forces could degrade his military and tip the balance of the conflict. he denied he was using chemical weapons, in an interview with a u.s. television network. >> at least three have been killed in fighting between the army and muslim rebels in the southern philippines. the fighters took a number of people hostage in guangzhou. moscow's kremlin-backed mayor sergei sobyanin his been elected to another term. main challenger and critic alexei navalny is refusing to concede defeat. >> more on our top story. the u.s. secretary of state is on his way to london to try to cement further support for

military action in syria. the british parliament rejected the idea of strikes, john kerry will look for diplomatic backing. he can rely on the support of france. he's been in paris, meeting with the french foreign minister and representatives of the arab league. >> america's top diplomat came to paris to strengthen french support for a military strike on syria. he also came to seek help from members of the arab league. there's no military solution. what the united states is seeking, together with others - not alone, but with others, an increasing number - what we are seeking is to enforce the standard with respect to the use of chemical weapons. we are not seek something to become engaged in or party to or take over syria's civil war. >> the arab league has

unanimously condemned the syrian leadership for its use of chemical weapons. qatar is among a cannedful of nations -- handful of arab nations supporting military intervention, but failed to answer what help it was prepared to give. >> translation: when it comes to syria and what qatar can do. we are examining and studying with friends and the u.s. what qatar can do to protect and save the syrian people. >> because of warnings like this from japan's foreign minister during a visit on sunday. >> translation: we are trying to prevent a war on syria. once it starts the warmongers will not be able to end it on his own. the u.s. president is trapped because he talked of going to war even though he doesn't want to. we hope he gets out of the trap and doesn't set fire to the region. john kerry said the number of countries wishing to join a

coalition is in the double digit. the list will not be made public until monday. manier wary entering into a con -- many are wary of entering into a conflict without the un's support. >> john kerry will go to london. after the u.k. parliament voted no to u.s. intervention, the u.s. knows it will have to build the case for war out the help of some traditional allies. >> gunman opened fire on the main street of a town near the gata mallan capital killing 11 people. most were sitting in a bar. police blame the attack on gang violence. residents say corrupt police are responsible. >> >> translation: i don't know what is think, you can no longer live calmly and peacefully. it happens everywhere, but not here before. it never happened before because this is a humble town. >> thousands of mexicans have

been protesting over government plans to raise taxes and open the energy sector to private vestment. they say the president is putting big business first. >> david mercer has this report from mexico city. >> three weeks of demonstrations and no end in sight. it started with mexican teachers opposing the government plan to introduce competency tests. soon the protest took to the national stage, creating havoc in the capital. now people are turning their attention to president enrique pena nieto's proposed changes to the tax system and the nationalised oil industry. >> translation: in reality what they are trying to do is increase taxes by all mexicans to replace revenue lost by selling the oil to foreigners >> pro-test leader called on mexicans to come out in force, to express their opposition, and tens of thousands of people

showed up. >> translation: we are against the structural reforms, the et u kags and -- education and energy reformsment the administration tells us about the good parts. they'll only benefit politicians and big business. >> few things give mexicans pride than pemex. it provides security and gives jobs to 160,000 people. for this reason people are afraid of what opening up the oil industry to private enterprise could do. >> the government argues transformational changes are needed to reverse the declining oil production. the president says partnering with foreign countries is the best way to achieve it. and to buoy an economy, enrique pena nieto plans to restructure a tax system known for its inequalities.

>> translation: with this tax reform there would be no privileges. the object of the proposal is all the taxpayers without exception will contribute to the nation according to capacity. >> it remains to be seen if enrique pena nieto will be able to steer his agenda through congress. >> with demonstrations planned for the coming weeks, the road ahead will not be easy. >> more than 20 people have been killed in two days of fighting between hinned use and muslims in an indian northern state. hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to the region to restore order. >> armed and alert - indian soldiers guide the streets after communal violence claimed more than 20 lives over the past few days. a curfew has been imposed to prevent further clashes between

hinned use and muslims. >> translation: we held a meeting with rely ig use leaders, specially those belonging to the hindu community, and the muslim leaders. >> more than 50 people including local politicians have been detained. the violence started after three men were murdered in a nearby village. an amateur video showing who men being lynched by a mob fuelled intention. >> translation: the video that has been circulated in social media is notlinged to an -- not linked to an incident here. the clip is two years old. it is an incident happening in another country. >> there is a history of communal problems. in 1992, 2,000 were killed in

religious riots. >> inflation in the world's second biggest economy is slowing down. prices in china rose 2.5%, lower an july, is seen as a sign of improvement in the economy. food price inflation is higher. scott hyde ler reports. >> china released its latest inflation figures, the cpi, consumer price figures. it's up 2.65%. why are we talking about this? it's one of the largest industrial pig farms. that's because of pork-flation - they've been the biggest driver for inflation. it's a concern that the government created a pork reserve. there's a connection between prices and social unrest. >> translation: pork prices have an influence on inflation. the higher the pork price the higher the cpi number, because

pork is the main meat in chinese dining culture and the choice of meat for most. >> there's a transition in the industry in china, mogg away from -- moving away from family-run pig farms to industrial complexes. there are 60,000 pigs here. china's largest meat producer is in the works to buy smith field, an american company that is the largest pork producer. that's good news for the pork eaters, but increases the reliance on imported goods. >> in southern china two people have been killed and more than a dozen injured in an explosion outside a school. the blast happened in a resort city. according to state media it happened when a motorcycle caught fire and exploded outside a primary school. >> a thai airways plane skidded off the run way at bangkok's

main airport. 14 passengers were injured. the airline said the landing gear malfunctioned causing the nose wheel to collapse. the aircraft carried 288 passengers. north korea celebrates the 65th anniversary of its founding. a military parade led by kim jong un occurred on friday. >> britain's duke of york, prince andrew accepted an apology from london police after being mistaken for a trespasser in the gardens of buckingham palace. security was red-faced after failing to recognise the queen's son, ordering him to get on the ground with his hands in the air. this happened two days after a man was arrested after suspicion of burgling in the palace.

wrestling got the nod in a secret ballot at an international olympic committee meeting, beating baseball, softball and squash. wrestling was dropped this year, and officials responded by introducing reforms and rule changes to make the sport easy to follow. >> we have more from buenos aires. >> wees lipping has been an -- wrestling has been an important sport. easterly it was dumped for braxing rules. it was a wake-up calm. steps have been taken to transform the sport making it more tv friendly and giving women a bigger role. we know that vladimir putin - russia's president - met with the president of the ioc jaques rogge, and asked him that the voting that takes place this sunday was fair and equal. all of those effort obviously paid off. there was lots of disappointment among the confederation of

baseball, softball, they only got 24 votes - two more votes than squash. fidel castro's son came to convince the judges. the state of 60 million children were at stake. obviously that was not enough. >> many senturies ago the dagger was used as a weapon in conflict and self-defence in yemen. over a period of time they acquired a traditional value, becoming part of the address of yemeni men. the blades are a status symbol, passed on from one gern i suggest to the -- generation to the next. the special knives don't come cheap. >> this may be one of the first things that attract the attention of visitor to yemen. yemenis in their waste bands. daggers existed for senturies in

yemen. they have outlived dine afties, and despite urbanisation they refuse to disappear. this man comes from a family that has been making families for more than 1,000 years. he does not see it as a business, but a passion passed from one generation to the next. >> this is not just a symbol of the old days when used for self-defence. it's a symbol of social status. here instead of the type of car you drive or the house you live - it's the knife you carry, "show me your dagger, i'll tell tell you who you are". the ornate blade reveals where the person belongs. >> >> translation: it's a symbol of man hood. it shows you are a genuine yemeni. we don't look at the dress, but the knife to tell whether you are an important person.

>> they can be expensive, costing more than a million dollars. this is the reason. the handle is made of ryan oserrous horn, despite a ban. ryano horns are smuggled into yemen. an old handle alone can go forum to a quarter of a million dollars in yemen. the. >> the rhino horn is special, it has a mir abling u louse -- miraculous healing power and protects you from poison. >> this man is in need of cash and wants to sell his dagger for $4,000 us. the handle is made from rhino horn and decc rated with rare -- decorated with rare gold pieces. this man has no option but to sell, to pay his debts. >> for the time being most yemenies prefer to keep their daggers tucked in their robes, paying tribute to an ancient

tradition. >> let's just remind you, of course, to keep up to date with the stories we've been following. if you head to al jazeera.com you can see the front page and the lead story - the situation in syria. back with a full bulletin of news later. china's one child policy has quoted controversy, from accusations of the state confiscating children, to forced abortions. today it is being blamed for a declining fertility rate and a major gender imbalance, with more than 30 million men, to women by 2020. i'm steve chow on this edition of 101 east, we ask if the days of china's one child polices is comio