dump >> >> heavy gunfire in the kenyan shopping mall as the military moves to end the siege. >> hello, this is the world news from al jazeera. also in the program - celebrations for angela merkel, but she appears just short of a majority in the german election. . at least 20 are killed after typhoon usagi slams into

southern china. and first there was hollywood, bollywood, and then nollywood. we'll tell you why china is getting a flash of showbiz glitz. >> there has been heavy and sustained gunfire at the westgate mall in nairobi. the military increased its presence around the mall in the early hours of monday. routers newsagency is reporting that somali rebels from al-shabab are threatening to kill all the remaining hostages if force is used. 68 people are known to have died in the siege, which has now entered its third day. our correspondent is standing by for us in nairobi. i believe you - you have been hearing that heavy gunfire about 40 minutes ago. tell us about that. >> that's really it.

about 30 minutes ago also we had heavy - a heavy round of gunshots. we had an explosion of sorts on the policeman there, who are manning a checkpoint closer to the mall. they have moved back. i have seen military reinforcements being brought in and the military, of course, is saying in this is the final assault, which siing niifies that there's a -- signifie, is that there's a tense operation going on at the wall. this is something we can't tell, because we are nowhere close to the mall. we can't see it, we don't know what is happening and we are not getting much information, because the military thinks this is an issue of national security and can't divulge that much. i was listening to the military spokesman early this morning who said the operation would end soon, possibly today. that is something we have to wait and see. the concern, really, is the

hostages still held in that mall, and the other people who are hiding in secured parts of the mall. >> of course, we don't know how many hostages remain in that mall, do we? >> yes. we don't know how many there are. the military has said that they have managed to rescue many of the hostages in the situation - that means many of the people who were hiding in the mall, but we can't be sure how many we are. the mall on saturday is very busy, and people ran in all directions. the police have said that they have managed to secure the second floor of that building, and parts of the first floor. the basement - which is a car park - and a ground floor are not secured. there could be people hiding on those floors. it's very difficult to verify how many hostages and how many

civilians are still hiding in that mall. >> thank you very much. that's katherine soile with the latest update from nairobi. >> let's look at how we got to the this point. peter greste reports. >> from the moment the gunmen launched their raid on the westgate mall shocking images of the attack filtered out. now this footage emerged from the supermarket, trying to find cover among the aisles. >> george. >> panicked families called out to one another as shots echoed through the halls. they dashed to the exit as gunfire grew louder and more frequent. >> elsewhere a mother and her children lay on the floor, pretending to be dead - unsure whether the man on the other side of the screen wants to till them or rescue them.

eventually he convinces them that he's a police officer, and guides them to safety. in another part of the mall police move from shop to shop, searching for others in hiding. constantly watching for attackers. they guide the survivors out, swiftly checking to see none are fighters trying to escape. on day two of the crisis, with at least 68 dead, kenya's president uhuru kenyetta stood with the former prime minister and told the nation that justice would be done. >> they shall not get away with their despicable and beastly acts, the cowardly people now in the building, we'll end things swiftly and, indeed, painfully. >> soon activity at the mall increased. military helicopters circled low over the building. reinforcements moved into place. it was part of what the kenyan military described as a major

operation. >> most of the hostages have been rescued and taken to safety. security forces have taken control of most parts of the building. >> the somali group, al-shabab, said it carried out the attack in what it said was rhettry beautive justice - retaliation for the kenyan military's occupation of parts of somalia. >> for two years our people suffered. they went through unspeakable horrors at the hands of your forces. there'll be no confusion and no surrender. they have gone in and achieved the aims and objectives they wanted. >> the security cordon surrounding the mall - a desperate man confronts the police. his wife and child are inside. he tries to break through to go and find them before the police drag him back. it may be some time before the crisis can be declared as over.

even when the kenyan military caught the attackers and freed survivors, it will take time for them to go through the building and search it and declare them to be at an end. >> only then will kenya face harsh reports of threats of attack that al-shabab warned them off. >> the war time-trial of kenyan vice president has been adjourned because of the host ige crisis in nairobi. judges in the hague returned the trial to allow him to return to deal with the siege. he is charged with master minding violence that left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. >> to other news. germany's chancellor led her party to an historic third term in the german elections, and looks to take over from margaret thatcher as europe's longest

serving european leader, winning 41.5% of the vote - the best result in 23 years. the opposition variable democrats took 25%. the fre democrats had a terrible night, winning less than 5% - meaning they'll have no seats in the next parliament. the greens and the left have cause for celebrations, taking more than 8% of the vote. >> let's go live to our correspondent nick spicer in berlin. it looks like there are big winners and losers in these results, doesn't it? >> angela merkel is a huge victor in this. the party ran a campaign basically built on her personality, the campaign placards that people held up said angie - her nickname - and it was a cricketry for the

christian democrats union which hadn't had a score since 1990, when there was german reunification, and germans were grateful and they won a bigger majority. angela merkel almost won an absolute majority which has not happened in half a century in germany. she fell short and will say later today what her plans are in terms of forming a coalition, which she'll need to do. her junior partners in the counter government have been eliminated, which you talked about when talking about the free democrats. what sort of coalitions are there. i'm joined by the european council on foreign relations. what is she likely to announce? >> that is a big question. it will be hard to find a coalition partner. the fdp was crushed. the former party cpd is

struggling after their loss four years ago. the green party is covered by internal things. there is big trouble inside the party between left and right wing politicians. therefore very hard to say, actually, what will be - who will be the coalition partner. >> the biggest number of germans would like to see a grand coalition with the spd, social democrats. what kind of direction would that take germany and europe - were this to be formed. >> for europe it would be a good decision. the social democrats backing angela merkel's crisis management and they are pro institutional reforms. they had a broad chapter in their manifesto on european affairs. that will be a good day for europe for the next four years. >> would it suffer austerity in places like greece? ? >> yes, they were specific parts

in the sdp. he made it clear that he disliked austerity. that will be a good time for more stimulation and growth in europe. >> thank you. that was the european council of former relations - talking about the coalitions that may be announced later in germany. >> at least 20 people have been killed in southern china after typhoon usagi made landfall. that makes it the deadliest storm so far this year. winds of up to 165kph grounded flights and forced the closure of roads across the region. typhoon usagi has been downgraded to a tropical storm. scott heidler has more. >> this is xinhua, the community that boarded the brunt when typhoon usagi came ashore sunday evening. about 20 were killed, 13 coming

from this community, despite the fact that 250,000 were evacuated, and that included 8,000 fishing vessels brought onshore when they heard the massive typhoon is coming assure. there's devastation north and east from the community. this faced the biggest, with 13 dead. the storm continues to track west through china. the concern is less devastation like we see here, but more about flooding and mud slides because of the infrastructure in the interior of china, there's a lot of concern because it's a massive storm, 1,000km wide. in communities like this, it's about the clean-up. >> leaders prepare to attend the u.n. general assembly. coming up - we ask the occasions is it in need of drastic reform. from deep oceans to tropical forests - challenges facing hundreds of scientists preparing a new climate change report.

good to have you with us. these are the top stories on al jazeera. there has been heavy gunfire at the westgate mall in nairobi. reuters newsagency reports that somali rebel group al-shabab is threatening to kill all remaining hostages if force is used. so far 68 are known to have died in the siege. >> the german chancellor is celebrating after leading her party to victory in the general

election. angela merkel returns to office for a record third term. >> at least 20 people have been killed and southern china after typhoon usagi made landfall. that makes it the deadliest storm there so far this year. >> syrian president bashar al-assad says he has given new evidence to russia on the use of chemical weapons by rebel fighters. in an interview with china's state-owned cctv channel bashar al-assad added that the rebels are working under foreign direct tifs and warned what he called terrorists could try to prevent inspectors reaching chemical weapons sites. >> translation: the only thing is that the security situation in some areas could put obstacles in the part of some inspectors. i mean areas where those want to hinder. the terrorists are obeying orders of other countries,

getting them to commit acts that could be blamed on the syrian government. >> the annual u.n. general assembly begins this week. does the u.n. reflect modern reality. >> for 60 years this is where world leaders made their speeches. the words of figures like kennedy, christoph, castro, regan, arafat, mandela were heard in this room. this is the temporary building where this year's meeting will take place - a conference room converted into an un chamber, where there are likely to be calls not just for the modernisation of u.n. buildings, but the whole system. when the united nations was first set up in the aftermath of world war ii, the main decisive power was given to the un security council. it has 15 members, but five of

them only are permanent. only five have the veto. those are the countries on the winning side when the war ended. >> the world should be dynamic. things are changing and we should rise to the occasion. the system that was developed at the time was a good one. but over the years things have changed. those realities should be incorporated 6789 >> the u.n. system works when the five major powers are in agreement. where they disagree there's deadlock. for 2.5 years there has been no progress at all on syria, while over 100,000 died. it shows the flaws in the system. one is a u.k. diplomat that advises the syrian opposition. >> an odd thing i experienced on the council is one group of people you could guarantee would not be consulted on what was discussed in the security council were the people most

affected. whether it's iraqis, kosovos, syrian - their representatives never have a chance to have a say on what they thought the world should do. >> world leaders have been arriving in new york. there'll be much talk over the next week-about reform of the u.n. system, there's little chance of concrete progress and what many say are much-needed changes. >> an israeli soldier died after being shot in the neck in hebron in the occupied west bank. the israeli army is searching the area for the gunman. hebron contains the tomb of abraham, and is a holy site for jews and muslims. >> relatives and friends of those killed in a suicide attack in pakistan gathered to bury the dead after two bombers detonated

their explosives outside a peshawar church. hundreds were injured. hundreds of pakistani christians took to the streets in protest against the violence. >> this is a country which has seen numerous attacks in mosques, on funeral - at funeral prayers. no one is spared - the muslims, shi'as, christian communities have been torghted. it's not -- targeted. it's not come as a surprise. there is confusion as to who conducted the attack. it appears whoever did so wanted to se, with the seeds of dis -- so, with the seeds of discord. the christian community is angry because they say there was no security at the church, there were only two police men. it was now that the interior

minister is saying he's going to revisit the security plans for places of worship. >> we are getting conflicting reports about the fate of teachers and students caught up in the fighting in the southern philippines. there were reports from a school had been taken hostage by separatist fighters from the islamic freedom fighters, but they may just be trapped. the bisc is said to be linked to the mnlf which has been fighting the army in zamboagna. >> the arms struggle is nearly half a century old, despite a peace agreement signed with the government in 1996. we look at the struggle that's lead to the 2-week-old siege in the southern city of zamboagna. >> it was supposed to be a glorious day for peace in the southern philippines. after an almost 30-year struggle the muslim separatist moro

liberation front signed an great with the government in 1996. that brought on more problems. >> it was an experiment. not only because the law is not comprehensive, but in the implementation of that law - whether in terms of its functionality or structure or leadership. >> the mnlf was not the only group claiming to speak for the moro. the moro islamic front or mif broke away and is on the verge of signing a more comprehensive deal. many in the mlf are not happy, indeed neither a number of mif. they have broken away creating a new movement. many factions are seen to be behind space of violence. >> the fighters behind the zamboagna siege have been called

renae gads or mislead rebels. more muslims are wondering why the armed struggle lasted this long in the first place, led by people they did not select. >> this is a multicultural community with christians, muslims and other trades. the war was brought to them when muslim separatists came to declare independence. >> i never felt the need to do out and fight and be cop assumed by so much hate. -- consumed by so much hate and fear. we live in a culture of peace. that's our struggle. >> as the government continues to talk peace none of the armed group had their weapons decommissioned. parts of philippines are miltarised keeping communities poor and underdeveloped.

>> it is feared that is the problem. she is working to feed the tens of thousands displaced by the fighting. hopes voices like hers will be heard above the sounds of guns. >> cam bodia's parliament convened for the first time since a disputed election in july. the opposition is boycotting the opening session in pyongyang, accusing the ruling party of vote rigging in the election that returned the prime minister to power. the protest is in north-western cam bodia. ? the world's leading climate scientists are meeting to put the finishing touches on a u.n. report on climate change. the last report established that the evidence of global warming was unequivocal and said it was likely to be the result of human

activity. >> from the suns rays to the pal or ice caps. from the keepest oceans to the vast tropical forests. the earth's climate is complex and dynamic. measuring changes and understanding what is driving them is important and challenging. it is why every six years the united nations brings together hundreds of climate scientists. >> this is an extensive international review of the climate science. what the reports have done is provide compelling evidence about the scale of the changes that human activities, such a burn fossil fuels and defor itation has on the world's climate. >> it is considered a mess of scientific research relating to climate change. more than 850 experts have been working on its 14 chapters. the document comes in at more than 2,000 pages. the last revision received more than 30,000 comments from

contributors. chapters focus on the atmosphere, clouds and sea levels. they looked at climate models and predicted long and near-term change. >> the last report from the international panel on climate change in 2007 concluded that climate change is occurring, and that human activity in particular, the emission of green house gases was likely to be the cause. a small number of errors were used by skeptics to cast doubt on the report. they said it overplayed warming predictions, sea level rise and the role played by green house gases. the last u.n. report flagged up significant risks to a broad range of human and natural systems. this report has expected to build on that, taking in more scientific data to give the world's government, businesses and citizens the best possible idea of what is happening to the earth, and what is likely to

happen in the years ahead. >> the captain of the "costa cordia" cruise ship that ran aground off italy is due in court. he is charged with manslaughter for causing the shipp wreck and faces charges of abandoning the vessel with thousands of passengers on board. if convicted he could receive 20 years in prison. the hearing a day after the vessel was pulled upright aufr the italian island of giglio. >> inspectors from the international montry fund, the european central bank and europe commission known as the troika are checking to see if greece's reforms are on track. another installment of $1 billion is due in october. >> the world's richest man is

announcing a big project. >> a splash of showbiz glitz courtesy of hollywood a list's flown into qingdao or the event. the launch of the oriental movie metropolis, the biggest investment in the tv industry. >> >> translation: i'm happy wanda chose the city of qingdao. there'll be many here to make films and attend the film festival. >> the man behind the project is china's richest man, wang jianlin, his company brought out america's richest entertainment company. >> translation: in the west the development has slowed down. in china it's a sunrise industry

that is starting. we have great hope. >> the project, which will incorporate 20 sound stages, hotels, shopping malls and an amusement park is his biggest move into the entertainment industry and further evidence of the growing importance of the chinese market to the world's film makers. enough to make stars like nicole kidman say, "hi", in chinese. >> one of the world's most iconic vehicles, the volkswagen camper ban was a symbol of flower power and the "60s. it's production is being put on hold. the company built millions, but the last one will leave the factory in brazil in december.

>> now, a tiny snake found on board a bowing 747 grounded a flight in sydney. the quoint sydney to tokyo flight was cancelled when the rep tile was discovered near the aircraft doorway. the 20 centimetre unidentified snake is in quarnt een. -- quarantine. the ghosts of men and women fill the wards of government hospitals across india. they stare silently - suspended in limbo between the living and the dead. these patients are the infected - victims of a contagion so lethal it kills almost one and a half million people globally every year, and infects a