>> hello and welcome to al jazeera. i'm del walters in new york. here are your headlines at this hour. back on the hill and ha the whie house. and president bashar al-assad saying that a strike would only help al-qaeda. >> and a new van do you unveiled. and where to find the happiest people in the world.

syria should transfer its chemical weapons to safe sites where they can be stored and destroyed. this is the new idea being put forth by russia now with possible backing by u.n. secretary general. so let's take a look at these latest developments happening today. russia saying it could urge syria to put chemical weapons under international control if that would avert military strikes. just two hours from now congress goes back to work in washington will limited debate could begin with a first vote possible concerning those strikes on wednesday. and tonight president obama makes his case in six tv interviews. meanwhile syria's president bashar al-assad is saying if president obama strikes syria he will only be helping the terrorist. assad denying that his regime launched a chemical attack. >> our military, our police police, our institutions, don't

exist. how can you talk about what has happened if you don't have evidence. we are the government that deals with reality. >> this war is against the interests of the united states, why? because this is the war that is going to support al-qaeda and the same people that killed americans in 11th of september. >> we have team coverage from washington on the latest developments coming out of syria. paul is at capitol hill but first we're go to the white house where mike viqueira is covering the white house. is there reaction to that assad interview? >> there certainly is, and it might not surprise to you learn that the white house is unimpressed. this is the same individual that secretary kerry called a thug and a murderer. the president has high confidence that this is the individual or his regime carried out the attack on august 21st.

here is the official reaction from the spokeswoman. it doesn't surprise us that someone who would kill thousands of his own people including hundreds of children with poisoned gas would lie about it. bashar al-assad unlikely to get traction in the administration here if in fact, he gets any among the public at all. >> and mike, it just seems to indicate that is gaining traction on several fronts now. you heard minutes ago that russia has now entered the fray saying that th the assad shouldt aside its chemical weapons. >> it might be too late. u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon spoke last friday in st. petersburg, rush russia, alf these proposals were put forth.

president obama was asked about some of the proposals that were similar although not ideal that were put forwarthat--although nt forth in congress. he said he has not heard anything that will bring about what he's trying to accomplish here: keep in mind the fact that the president is starting this game, if you will, well behind in points. last night he began saying here in washington he had a surprise drop-by visit two miles north of here, you know it well, to the vice president's residence. he dropped in there where the presidenvice president was hosta dinner with senators. tomorrow the president will take a trip in person to capitol hill to their weekly closed door luncheon. he has a speech tomorrow night, but before that a bunch of camera crews. i have to say i have not seen this much camera equipment since

the last election, certainly a full court press both privately and publicly. >> mike viqueira joins us live from the white house. mike, thank you very much. we now turn to paul bebin. the house and the senate back in session today. what do you expect to hear from them. >> it looks like a steep climb for the administration right now. the numbers in the house and senate not looking favorable for a military strike. we will be expecting to hear on the senate floor this afternoon speeches on syria with minority leader senator reid with votes by the end of the week. >> we hear votes could take place as early as wednesday in

the senate, is that on track? >> there is going to be a lot of back and forth, and this could drag out based on the fact that all these law make verse been away from washington. this is the first time to get back on the record with their opinions about the resolution passed last week by the senate foreign relations committee for action on syria. between now and witness this could drag on a little bit. >> paul, the members on the hill have to feel like they're very popular these days. they're getting a lot of attention from the white house, but they also received a lot of attention, a lot of it negative, while they were back home. >> that's right. that's right. many lawmakers holding multiple town hall meetings where they got a lot of push back. a lot of those meetings tense and testy, a lot of questions from their constituents. some of them saying 98% to 99% of their voters do not want action in syria, making it very difficult to support the white house. >> you heard mike viqueira saying he is seeing a lot of activity around the white house.

are you seeing that same level of activity around capitol hill? >> absolutely. you can feel it in the air here, waiting for everyone to come back and certainly more cameras than we've seen in days. and it's been busy as it is. yes definitely the pace picking up. >> some how i think it's going to get worse. paul beban from capitol hill. thank you very much. meanwhile are russia said it's going to urge syria to put its chemical weapons under international control if that could lead to strikes being averted. all of this coming out of a meet with with meeting. we're live in london, phil, what else has come out of this meeting today? >> well, del, you know that headline there the russians saying that they would support the chemical weapons stock pile being put in the hands of the international communities is quite significant because the russians haven't really

heretofore admitted that the assad regime has a large stock pile of chemical weapons. that in and of itself is interesting. and we also heard from the foreign minister as saying that if the strike does go ahead, it will basically destroy any opportunity for a diplomatic or political solution to the civil war in syria, something that all sides are saying is the only way for the bloodshed to end. so the russians saying if you strike, america, you will ruin any kind of chance of a political settlement. >> phil, what can you tell us about this new report coming out of germany that basically said assad may not have granted permission for the use of chemical weapons. do you know any details that have report? >> that's a particularly interesting report we're hearing out of a german newspaper. they're quoting unname german intelligence officers who say they've been monitoring communications between the presidential palace and generals

in the field for over four behalf months. not one single time have the generals asked for use of chemical weapons that it was granted by the palace, and perhaps those weapons were used without assad's consent, however, possibly anticipating this development the white house has come out saying they have intelligence that the chemical weapons stock pile is tightly controlled by an inner circle of president bashar al-assad, and here in london secretary of state kerry said he still stands by the intelligence and evidence that the white house has collected. >> this is a man whose just killed through his regime over a thousand of his own citizens, over i 100,000 or about 100,000 have been killed in the last months. he sends scud missiles into schools.

he sends airplanes to napalm children. this is a man without credibility. i'll happily stand anywhere in the world with the evidence that we have against his words and his deception and his pants. >> and british foreign secretary says the world really can't take him at his word, that's in response to that interview con be ducted with charlie rose that was released today. so secretary of state kerry returns to america today. this was his last stop. he comes back from europe with some successes getting support from the european union. some also from the airplane league, but he does not return to america having swayed public opinion here in europe. the europeans still very skeptical about any u.s.-led military strikes. >> ill itner joining us live from london. thank you very much. the u.n. still talking about moving those weapons, moving

syria's chemical weapons to a safe site. secretary general ban ki-moon speaking out just a short time ago. james bay, this is shaping up to be a battle between east and west. >> yes, it's very interesting, and fast-moving developments in the last couple of hours which really change the diplomatic situation. the idea now that russia is supporting that syria hand over its chemical weapons to the u.n. community. and we hear from the words from ban ki-moon, it is now not a russian proposal but a russia russian-u.n. proposal. ban ki-moon saying he supports the idea of the weapons being controlled over to the international community and eventually destroyed. there are big problems, though, no one knows exactly how much chemical weapons assad has. only the regime has a picture of

what they currently hold. intelligence agency versus estimates but they don't know the exact figure. the other problem is that the assad regime, if it does agree to this, could use it as a stalling tactic. if the u.n. goes in supervising the handover, i can tell you that it will not take days, it will will take months. >> it seems we're playing a high-stake game of chess. something that needs to be asked of the diplomatic community, can the people of syria now looking at 100,000 casualties, can they afford to wait? >> no, they can't afford to wait. if i were to estimate the real death toll because we know they under report in those figures, it's probably over 150,000. we saw the number of refugees in syria past the 2 million mark in the last few days. i think the people of syria wanted some sort of

international response a long time ago. >> james, before you go one question, and if you don't know the answer simply say i don't know, but is there a sense in the united nations what the international community thinks if the white house decides to go ahead and strike even without congressional or u.n. approval? >> i know it's a complicated answer because it depends on which part of the international community you're talking about. it's not, though, as clear as russia and china against all the others. even on the security council which has 15 members. we know there are other nations that currently have a seat. nations like pakistan and argentina that would not necessarily support the u.s. if is not it's a case of most of the countries and russia and china. it's not as clearcut as that. >> thank you very much. ahead on al jazeera gadget gurus, get ready, it's a nerd alert. apple preparing to show of its latest iphone. and we take you to yemen where a

dagger is much more than just a knife.

>> welcome back to al jazeera. i'm del walters. the u.s.-led war in iraq lasted eight years and devastated that country's infrastructure. today the group that is in charge of iraq's reconstruction is releasing it's final report. it's previous reports detail cost mismanagement and contract abuses. roslyn is in washington with the a findings. given the increasing sectarian violence in iraq over the past few months. what are the reports of how the u.s. has spent millions of taxpayer dollars. >> it's not just millions of dollars.

we're talking nearly $60 billion that were spent to stabilize and then to rebuild iraq after the invasion ten years ago. however, the report goes on to say that what needed to be done from the very beginning was very close oversight of those dollars, mostly u.s.-taxpayer dollars, in order to make certain that that money was not wasted. $2.8 billion to this date cannot be accounted for. they're recommending that there be a strengthening of u.s. laws where any time the u.s. government is trying to stabilize and rebuild another country, that way people who are accused of stealing from the u.s. government, who are stealing from the host countries' funds can be held liable for taking the money, and also be put in prison if that

needs to be the case. it's a very thorough report, but it's just one of more than 240 reports that this panel put together during it's ten-year life span, and it really wants to drive home the point that if the u.s. is going to be involved in any sort of post-war reconstruction, that there needs to be accountability from day one. >> joining us live from washington, it's safe to say that $8 billion is a lot of missing money. thank you very much. >> time warner said it is planning to move it's retired workers off it's health wear plan to private insurance exchanges. the government said it will subsidize part of the cost, though. also that ibm will be making a similar change to its pension holders.

it is a move from providing traditional benefits for r refireries. another luxury retailer being sold, neiman marcus being sold. the deal comes a month after s aks was sold for than $2 billion. to comtomorrow has the tech buz. apple's i-s. the company is expected to unveil a cheaper version of the iphone exclusive to the chinese market and it will sell the phone to some 7.45 million customers in that country. visit tours yemevisitors toe surprised to see how many wear

knives, a new and popular trend. >> this may be one of the first things that attract the attention of visitors to yemen. the curved knife knife yemenis t in their waistband, and daggers known as janbiyas refuse to disappear. coming from a family that has been making daggers for more than 1,000 years. he does not see it as a business but a passion passed on from one generation to the next. this is not just a symbol of the old days when yeme yemenis used daggers for self defense, here it's not the type of car or house you live in. it's the type of knife you

carry. show me your knife, i know who you are. >> it's a symbol of manhood, it shows you're a genuine yemen. without a janbiya, i'm a nobody. we don't look at people's dress but their janbiya to know whether or not a person is important. >> janbiyas are expensive. costing up to $1 million. and this is the reason, the rhinoceros horn. >> it has miraculous healing power. it protect you from poison. it is the best antidote to poison. >> this man is in knead of cash. he wants to sell his dagger for $4,000 u.s. hiit's handle is rhino decorated

with rare gold pieces. he said he feels his man hood is being taken away but he needs the money to pay his debt. they the daggers in the front of their robes paying tribute to their tradition. >> we'll tell what you collectors found inside an attic. >> and just where can you find happiness? a new survey out today has the exact location. >> the exact location of the heat and where it's headed. that's coming up next in the forecast.

>> congress is back on capitol hill today. the white house expected to hold briefings with loft members pressing for military action in syria. meanwhile syrian president bashar al-assad is warning of retaliation if the u.s. strikes his country it willing cbs news that a strike would only help al-qaeda. and one democratic congressman said that his office has been overwelcomed with calls

and e-mails from washington state resident. we go to a town hall meeting in seattle. >> i think it's very important that we listen to one another. >> reporter: jim mcdermott stood before a packed church, people eagle for share their opinions, to have their thoughts about a strike in syria considered. >> we go into iraq, then we make a mess in iraq. then we go into libya. we make a mess in libya. now we want to go in syria. >> syria is sick and bashar al-assad is cancer. he needs to be stopped at all costs. >> this is a very complicated situation. i think we would be better to think more about it and not be so certain. [applause] >> mcdermott said he will likely vote against an airstrike. >> sending people to war to die or to kill other people is probably the most difficult thing--it is the most difficult

thing i do. >> although thinks constituents are clear on his past record of voting on war, his crowd urged him to weigh all of the factors. >> i want him to really think it through because i think it's so very, very complex. there is n no good way to go forward. >> several iraqis and several service men and women lost their lives. we're done. >> he said he will take all these opinions back with him to washington. al jazeera, seattle. >> now the story of diana nyad winning worldwide praise is being criticized. now members of the marathon

swimmers community are debating whether she got help from the boat that traveled along side her and they question whether she violated the so-called english channel rules by wearing a special mask and suit to keep her from stings of jelly fish. she said she was not helped by her support group and said she never claimed she would follow the english channel rules. >> and we are joined now with dave warren in our national forecast, hey, dave? >> meteorologist: there are things happening in the heat as it's building up here in the northern plains and midwest. temperatures look like record high temperatures around minneapolis possible today. schools have been canceled because it's so ho hot and heat builds up each and every day. the temperatures are head there had, 90 in omaha. cool in minneapolis because of

showers passing by the area. the number will climb 20 dres 2s from where it is now. 95 would tie a record. we could see a few degrees more than that and get more sunshine as the record heat in minneapolis, but then it cools over the next few days with sunshine and dry weather. we're back in the 70s and 80th there. 80s there. in new england they're dealing with heat for one or two days. it's in the five-day forecast. it warms up today, tomorrow, and by wednesday, 91 degrees after a morning low of 76. after a storm on thursday it cools off on friday back into the mid 70s. >> europe is home to the world's happiest countries. this according to a new report from the united nations and columbia university. now of those countries denmark is the happiest followed by norway, switzerland, the

netherlands and sweden. the u.s. makes the top of the list at number 17. the least happy of nations are located in the sub-saharan african region including rwanda and burundi and taking a look at the middle east where political unrest is rampant egypt and syria are in the bottom 17%. an european museum has discovered a priceless painting. it was hidden in an attic for years. unveil for the word today. it's been years stored away because it was once thought painted by someone else. but this time the art world got it wrong and then got it right. thank you for joining us the at al jazeera. we join you at the top of the hour including the latest developments regarding syria. but first techno is next.

>> undercover and now she's taking us to new york city where some of the toughest put it to the test. >> the engineer who designed the bionic eye. he takes us to colorado to meet the man who created the 3d bionic hand.