>> welcome to al jazeera. here are today's top stories. in kenya that deadly stand off at the shopping mall continues. >> world leaders gather in new york for the u.n. general assembly meeting which could mean a face-to-face meeting between president obam iran and. >> black smoke has been rising from the scene of the tense

stand off in nairobi, kenya, this morning. they say it's unclear how many members of hostages and members of al-shabab are still inside. we found out just how dangerous it is covering this story. earlier today there were several large explosions at the mall followed by gunfire. two attackers were killed there this more, and they were also saying 62 hostages have died during the two-day siege, those numbers lower than first reported, including dozens of people, and five americans among the hurt. >> reporter: from the moment the gunmen lost their raid on the westgate small shocking attacks have come out.

now bystanders are trying to find cover. families call out to one another as shots echoed throughout the halls. they dash for the exits as gunfire grew louder and more frequent. elsewhere a mother and her children lie on the floor pretending to be dead, unsure what the man on the other side of the screen wants to kill them or rescue them. 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 severers out, swiftly checking to see that none of the fighters are trying to escape. with 68 dead kenya's president stood with the former prime

minister and said that justice shall be done. >> they shall not get away with their despicable, we will punish the master minds swiftly and, indeed, very painfully. >> reporter: soon after the appearance activity at the mall increased. military helicopters circled low over the building, reinforcements moved into place. it was all part of kenyon military describe as a major operation. >> many have been rescued and taken to safety, and the military force versus have taken control of most of the area.

>> outside the security cordons surrounding the mall a desperate man confronts the police. his wife and child are still inside. he tries to break through to go and find them before the police drag him back. this crisis may still have a long time to go before it can truly be declared over. even once the military has caught all the attackers and freed all the survivors it will take time to declare that it is, indeed, over. >> reporter: oh only then can they questio review questions ok that they have long expected. >> not only are the security force there is trying to get the situation under control, but also for journalists.

this was the scene just moments ago. >> there are more attacks going on behind you. [ gunfire ] >> as you can see, she was ducking because the shots were being fired. joining us now by phone from nairobi is al jazeera's peter. what iwhat is happening at this. >> therwe haven't heard the kinf shooting that we've heard that kind of shooting in the last hour. there are helicopters above the building keeping an eye above, and a fire that still seems to be burning. i think it's too early to declare this crisis, but at

least two of the money again have been killed. and the original assessment of the number of attackers, we don't know yet what has happened to the rest of them. there is a chance that some of them will listen to negotiations but it's unlikely that many of them have been talked out. we're in the stage where people are talking about upping operations. >> peter, have you been given a sense of whether these hostages, whether these gunmen are barricaded at some spot inside this mall, and authorities just can't get to them? >> what you originally heard was that the authorities have pushed the attackers into one fairly small con, i, if confined spa.

most of the fighting appear to have been concentrated on the second floor. >> and peter, describe--go ahe ahead. >> describe for us determining the hostages that might still be inside in mall. >> this all took place on a busy saturday morning. there were literally thousands and thousands of shoppers, staff, and so on inside the small. they have no idea how many people had been captured by the attackers, and how many more were trying to hide. with cctv footage they were able

to get a pretty good idea of the number of attackers, but they weren't really sure how many attackers. the number that we were originaling hearing were ten or so. we don't know what the situation is, but we do understand that that there house stage there is are still inside. we don't know how many survivors there might be. >> peter greste, joining us by phone from nairobi kenya. president obama is flying to new york to take part of u.n.'s

general assembly. iran's president hassan rouhani will be there to discuss you iran's nuclear program. the gathering has grown now to 193 countries. >> reporter: for 60 years this is where world leaders made their speeches like kennedy, reagan, arafat, qaddafi and mandela were all heard in this building. now there are likely to be calls not just for the modern indication of u.n. buildings but of the whole system. when the united nations was first set up in the immediate aftermath of world war ii the main decisive power was given to the u.n. security council. it has 15 members but only five

of them are permanent. only five have the veto. those five are the countries that were on the winning side when the war ended. >> the world, things are changing, and it should rise to the occasion. the system that was developed at the time was a good one, but over the years things have changed, and those realities should be incorporated. >> reporter: the u.n. system works when the five major powers are in agreement. but when they disagree there is deadlock. for two and a half years there has been no progress at all on syria while over 100,000 people have died. it shows all the united nations that exist in the system. one of those voices is a former u.k. diplomat who now advises the syrian opposition. >> one of the odds things that i experienced with the one group of people you could guarantee would not be consulted on what was being discussed in the security council were the people most effected. so whether it's it's sudanese r

syrians, their representatives would never get a chance to have a say on what they thought the world should do. >> world leaders are all arriving in new york. there will again be much talk of reform of the u.n. system, but there is very little chance of progress on what so many say are much needed changes. >> and joining us now from the u.n. is john terra. what can you tell us about this weekend, the most pressing issue facing those there? >> most pressing issue, the chemical weapons crisis. they'll be looking for an resolution on that issue. the new star of the show, iranian president hassan rouhani, and then the israelis and palestinians getting into

deeper peace negotiations, and libya and pakistan getting over the old sore of kashmir. we'll see. >> so much of this is a political dance, who will show up, who won't. are we expecting the sudanese president to attend? >> very interesting regarding him. he's wanted for crimes against humanity, war crimes and other charge leveled at him from the international criminal court. the united states is not a signatory of the icc. it's under no obligation to arrest him if he comes here but it is under obligation to smooth his passage from the airport should he decide to come. if he comes his delegation will be sitting right in front of that of the united states. >> mr. terrett, joining us live from the u.n. thank you very much. once again a government shutdown is looming large.

if that deal is not reached social security and medicare payments could be delayed and government workers could be forced to take an unpaid vacation. we're on capitol hill. mike, is congress doing anything to keep this from happening? >> the bottom line is the clock is going to tick as the senate and congress muddle through this. next tuesday, the beginning of the fiscal year if congress has not passed a spending bill to cover it, yes, a government shutdown will happen. i don't want to get into the senate process, it numbs the mind. but what we're going to have is senate democratic leader harry reid, they would couple the funding with defunding of obamacare. harry reid will introduce a motion to move that bill.

the clock starts ticking on a series of votes in the week on various steps throughout the process. the bottom line it will will take us into the weekend, sunday, perhaps, then they hit that ping-pong ball back over to the house to john boehner. will he just try to pass it over the objections of conservatives, or will he alter that and almost certainly send us over that clip and shut down the government. >> mike, i'm sure you've done this dance many times before. >> oh, yes, very familiar. this time it looks like there is not a lot of light at the end of the tunnel. >> thanks, mike. when we come back we'll be talking more about that situation in nairobi, kenya. we're going to discuss the scope of al-shabab's threa threat in e region and perhaps worldwide.

of

>> heavy gunfire continuing inside my rebi's westgate shopping mall where the kenyan military is still fighting against al-shabaab forces that have gathered inside. earlier today kenyon officials said they had control, and we go to a security terrorist analyst for us, and she joins us live from london. can you tell us if the concern we're seeing in nairobi, kenya, could one day be exported to the united states? >> well, al-shabab, you know, it's have much still regional. especially because it has been suffering significant setbacks

in recent moss, so they're definitely trying to regroup in somalia. there is an intent and possibly the ability for the group to strike in neighboring countries as we're seeing tragically in kenya. in terms of the international outreach of the group. the group really does not have the capability to directly launch an attack in the likes of u.s. or european countries, but what is significant is that the group has recruited in recent years many westerners. many western nationals across the u.s. u.k. and other european countries. there is a link in that sense of individuals coming and going from somalia and fighting along side the group. >> this time things are different. this time they attacked a soft target, meaning a shopping mall. how does this change, this

twist? >> well to talk of a change, maybe it's not necessarily entirely correct. i mean, the group is, of course, has been focusing on targeting government--striking government targets especially in mogadishu in the capital. but in terms of the actual intention of attacks against more soft targets, restaurants, shopping malls, cinemas, there was really a similar plot to carry out attacks against shopping malls and restaurant and other locations popular with western tourists in mumbai two years ago, and that plot was d destroyed in time. so by definition, their target

are nor vulnerable. >> thank you for joining us in london. in the philippines seven students and teachers are still being held hostage. troops attacking another southern city zamboanga where rebels have been holding hostages since the beginning of the month. it's not clear if two attacks have been related. there has been a ruling to suspend all activities in association with the muslim brotherhood. the court decision coming two months after the brotherhood protested president mohamed morsi was ousted. and replaced by an interim government. vice president biden and wife dr. jill biden are

surveying colorado where flooding has occurred. thousands of gallons of oil has spilled and deadly e. coli has been found in the water supply. to make matters worse it rained in colorado. >> meteorologist: the cold front on the move across the west right now, in fact we have snow in the colorado rockies and rain in denver. you can see the spin in the atmosphere. this will continue to push towards the east and we'll see that rain push into nebraska and kansas as we travel into the next 24 to 48 hours. luckily the rain will come to an end, but we could see a bit more flooding. the it has cleared out of utah, but as i said it will continue pushing in colorado and in the rocky mountains. we had a bit of snow in the higher elevations just to the west of denver. we'll continue to see that rain, as i said, push towards the east. as we look at temperatures across the southwest. cooler because of that cold front pushing through.

68 in denver, and albuquerque, 75. it's 66 in new york city, and philadelphia 68. we're looking at a couple of clouds looking across pennsylvania. and it will heat up a bit into tuesday, wednesday, and thursday, but if you're in florida today, we have heavier rainfall on the way around panama city all the way down into miami. so be careful on the roadways. back to you, del. >> thank you very much. well ford hopes it has a better idea. the ford motor company experimenting with a new health program, one that hopes to keep its employees healthy and its bottom line smaller. here is our story. >> this would be a lunch plate showing how you can have your salad, tuna, bread. >> reporter: 56-year-old regina walker, the wife of a motor

motor employee is receiving health and medical advice that is changing her life. >> i went from a size 14-16, to a size 10. >> reporter: she's enrolled in an experimental two-year health program that has been offered 200 hourly ford workers. they are offering proactive personalized wellness medical care now to head off complicated and expensive treatment later. like region i regina, they theyt health providers as often as they need at no cost. >> the types of patients we're seeing from diabetic, cholesterol problems, obesity. >> over the past two months,

sheryl miller has offered nutrition and healthy living advice to dozens in the program. >> i feel fortunate now that i can catch people when they're starting to show red flags of problems, whether they just got diabetes or just got hypertension. i'm able to say, you know, you can stop this. >> reporter: regina has given up fast food and cigarettes and has adapadopted a healthier lifesty. they hope that this could lower the bottom line because they'll be in constant contact with their health providers. >> the motivation that's provided, and the care that it's provided and the understanding that it has provided is just irreplaceable for me. >> reporter: a similar program at boeing led to a 20% savings

on healthcare. ford said it will evaluate the program in two years and decide if it's the right prescription company-wide to enhance people's lives while reducing costs. bisi onile-ere. al jazeera, detroit. >> and stay with al jazeera. we'll have much more of today's top stories next. the most important money stories

>> welcome back to al jazeera. here are today's top stories. black smoke still pouring out of the nairobi, kenya, mall where rebels have been killed over the weekend.

al-shabab fighters are burning mattresses inside. president obama is head to go new york for the u.n. general assembly meetings. iran's president hasan had a rai is expected to attend the meeting as well. and congress has until october 1st to reach a deal to dodge any interruption in government services. if that deal is not reached social security and medicare payments to millions of americans could be put on hold. the captain of the costa concordia cruise liner that sunk off the coast of italy is back in court. prosecutors say the captain steered the luxury liner on to the rocky coast and then abandoned ship with thousands of people still on board. he denies the charges. if convicted he's facing up to

20 years behind bars. the u.s. employment rate is at a five-year low in part because some of the displaced workers are dropping out of the job market all together. many of those are elderly people, oh workers who find a tough time finding employment because of their age. >> at this club displaced workers share their resumés. >> i'm a training development manager. if it lives, breathes walks or talks i've trained it. >> and they talk about their job search. >> besides being unemployed most of these club members share something else. >> if i could just see a show of hands who here is over the age of 50. >> most here have been out of work for more than six months. for workers over 50 and jobless, it has been especially rigorous.

last year the average length of unemployment for ages 55-65 it was over 50 weeks. for workers in their 30s it was 30 weeks. the job search is taking longer because many of have not updated their skills and looked for work in years. also age bias. >> are they going to stay for very long? are they going to have less energy? are they going to cost too much, healthcare costs are too high. wilthere are all kinds of bias perceptions. >> the unemployment for older workers is a full percentage point than the over all national rate. challengers say it's older because older workers have given up looking for jobs and have retired early. part time work at a library is helping barbara keep

financially afloat since she lost her management position in the healthcare industry nine months ago. she is over 55, but says she might retire early because she doesn't want to because she would receive less. >> i'll lose two-thirds of what i worked for. it's a hard decision to make. >> reporter: back at the job club, they tell members to stay positive, update their wardrobes to look younger and emphasize how their skills will provide value to potential employers. >> i'm optimistic. >> many think they'll eventually find work again, but it could take time and a much stronger economy until they do. >> good luck. >> al jazeera, chicago. >> and thank you for watching al jazeera. i'm del walters. remember, you can always watch us 24/7 at www.aljazeera.com.