>> announcer: this al jazeera. ♪ hello there, welcome to the news hour, live from doha. these are our top stories. it's not over yet. kenya says all of the hostages are free, but the al-shabab gunmen remain inside the mall. >> reporter: the kenyan government also says at least three of its soldiers have died in the fighting. the 68th session of the un

general assembly has just opened in new york. i'm james bays outside of the united nations, where in the next hour we'll hear the words of president obama, and then a few hours after that, the first speech here by the new iranian president. a new report accuses israel of using excessive force killing many palestinians in the west bank. ♪ kenya's government says it's troop have freed all of the hostages at a shopping mall in nairobi, but gunmen from the al-shabab group are still inside. here are the developments on tuesday, day four. around 6:30 in the morning, an exclusion and gunfire was heard coming from the mall. around three hours later, there was a minute-long burst of

automatic weapons fire. later in the morning a body was removed from the mall. a kenyan soldier was also seen leaving the building. the battle appears to be continuing against what are being described as one or two fighters near a casino on one of the upper floors of the building. >> reporter: the kenyan government believes there are no more hostages inside, but the siege isn't over. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: bursts of gunfire were heard again, as the crisis entered its fourth day. another body was removed from the scene. it had been an eerie quiet night as the rear west gate mall continued to burn. the government said special forces were sweeping the building floor by floor. it's a big complex, covering more than 32,000 square meters and includes more than 80 stores. it can't clear how many

attackers remain inside. kenyan's foreign minister says the attackers are foreigners. >> this is not just al-shabab, this is al qaeda. the way this thing was planned, i just told you that, you know, they have been talking to everybody, obviously. if it was just al-shabab, i don't know how much training and resources they would get this is definitely al qaeda. it's from somebody from another part of the world. >> reporter: a spokesman for al-shabab told al jazeera that special forces from israel, britain and the u.s. have taken part in the rescue mission. >> forces have attempted to storm the building, they were supported by the jewish, u.s. and britain allies. we have been in contact with [ inaudible ] throughout this

operation and they have confirmed that they have killed at least 13 of the [ inaudible ] forces, and four are believed to have been jewish. >> reporter: calls for calm in kenya continue to pour in. but these people are once again in shock. others fearing there could be more suffering and loss to come. that fear runs deep. it's hard to find anyone in nairobi right now who doesn't know someone caught up in the trauma of the attack. some recall the al qaeda bombing of the u.s. embassy back in 1998 when more than 200 people were killed. everyone here is still coping with the grief. it's fair to say they haven't even started to come to terms with it. andrew simmons, al jazeera, nairobi. peter is live at the scene for us, and the operation to

flush out the gunmen continues. tell us what has been happening. >> reporter: well, within the last few minutes or seconds in fact, there was a very loud crack of a gunshot behind us, which is why i had to put on the flak jacket. and we have heard explosions over the last hour or two. we don't know who caused them or who was responsible, but it all adds up to one conclusion, and that is that this operation in still not over. at least six of the gunmen are also now dead. we know there were at least a dozen that went in on saturday morning. perhaps even more than that, which suggests that there could be at least another half a dozen still alive and fighting. we don't have any more definitive information at this point except to say it is still

ongoing. >> information is obviously difficult to come by, but we are hearing reports of foreign fighters being involved with what is happening at the mall. some suggestion that some of those gunmen could be american or british. are you hearing anything at your end? >> we're hearing those reports, of course, and some of the governments have also said that they are investigating, and i think we need to be looking at the wording very carefully. no one has any definitive answer to whether or not foreign fighters have been involved. al-shabab is refusing to clarify. they haven't released any names or identities. governments have said they will investiga investigate. but we simply don't have a definitive answer to that. >> peter have you been talking

to the somalia communities? are they worried about a backlash? >> reporter: oh, absolutely. and there are members who are -- sympathetic with al-shabab, but the community as a whole are deeply concerned. we have seen small attacks here in nairobi and closer to the border, we have seen a considerable backlash from the kenyan security services and the kenyan community at large. so they are worried that with an attack at this sort of scale, they are going to be punished. they are going to have to pay for the sins of a handful of fighters from somalia. so they are saying this is an attack not just on -- on kenyan

nationals -- or not just by somalis on kenya, they see themselves very much as part of the kenyan community. and they have been delivering supplies food, water, so on to the soldiers and press that are gathered here. they came to emphasize they do not support this attack. >> all right. peter thank you so much for that. of course exactly what is happening at the mall in nairobi is understandably the focus for everyone, but it is just one piece in a much wider geopolitical puzzle. it has been putting pressure on somalis living in kenya. and then al-shabab has indicated it is getting support from al qaeda. and what about the rumors that the u.s. and british people are involved in the attack. and then israel, the israeli

military advisors are reportedly taking a lead role in helping kenyan forces, but al-shabab says they have killed a number of jewish people. we're joined with a security consultant that works with government and companies. martin welcome back to the studio. >> thank you. >> let's talk about the links between al-shabab and al qaeda. how closely linked are they? >> they are closely linked, but al-shabab is calling the orders. what is commonly referred as the counter terrorism community, al qaeda central, that is a core group in pakistan and afghanistan, present the ideology, they have basically the brand name. when you talk and al-shabab, al qaeda in the peninsula, and

others, those are franchises for al qaeda. al-shabab is making their own decisions, all right? but they have sworn allegiance to al qaeda. >> do they share the same goals. >> they have the same ideology which is to create an islamic state. >> the suggestion that foreign nationals may be involved, how likely is that? >> it's a good possibility that foreign fighters are involved. when you look at the total number for al-shabab, that is a few thousand from several areas. >> what do you make of the possible israeli involvement. we have been told that israeli advisors have been speaking to kenyan forcing. we're now getting a report that al-shabab have killed four

israelis inside the shopping mall. what do you make of israeli involvement? >> there's a good chance israeli are involved. they have significant security interest in kenya, and in that region, they are the premier counter terrorism force, so it would make sense that advisors would be assisting in one capacity or another. >> geo politically, when it comes to international reaction, obviously the priority is to deal with the siege going on at the mall, but after that, what would you expect the international impact to be? >> once the attackers are identified, and they could have pass ports or other indications on them, cell phones, credit cards, whatever. as much intelligence will be extracted from that as possible. this is going to kind up going outside of that cell, it can

help identify the network that they come from, any ties to other governments. this is really going to open up the net for the investigation. so every country -- there's going to be quite a few countries, probably that have an interest in that, and i'm sure that kenyan security services are going to share that information. >> thank you very much indeed for that. >> thank you. now iran has pardoned 18 prisoners in what has been seen as a softer approach by the new president. the announcement was made on state television and comes just hours before his address at the un general assembly, later today. and iran is set to take part in talks on its nuclear program on the sidelines of the general

assembly. they have met the british and italian opposites in new york, and the u.s. isn't ruling out a meeting between president obama and rihani. so what is the view from inside iran? >> reporter: front page news in theron and across the world. what he has said in recent days means he is making headlines in a way an ironian leader has not done for decades. people want change. >> not only the persons that [ inaudible ] but also of the iranians expect him to fulfill his promises. so what promises? being peaceful, to show the other world that we have

peaceful and we want to have a peaceful nuclear program. >> reporter: he campaigned on the promise of fixing an ailing economy at home, but acknowledged that wouldn't happen until iran repaired its reputation overseas. >> translator: there is no need for a preliminary step. whoever has goodwill for talks and if we can fulfill our national interests through those talks, we have no problem, no matter who the other party is, even if it is the us. >> reporter: this willingness to talk, engage and potentially act is highlighted in reports that he will meet barack obama on the side lines of the general assembly. but the government's efforts don't stop there. the foreign minister already met to discuss the nuclear program. but there is syria, a stanch

supporter of president bashar al-assad, the u.s. and its allies are on opposite sides. and then there is hi support of hezbollah. iran's nuclear program has always left the country isolated. but rohani can change all of that. >> it means that mr. rohani has many problems. >> reporter: and that mandate means for the first time in more than three decades instead of pessimism, there is a degree of optimism as an iranian leader prepares to speak to the world

at the un. >> james bays is at the un now, and james a lot of interest and excitement over whether he will be meeting obama. will he know when it happens or will we just see it when we see it? >> no, we won't know, and we know there's no former sitdown substantial meeting scheduled. if there is some sort of meeting, it is going to be a very quick encounter, a very quick handshake, and i don't think we're going to know about that until it happens at the united nations. president obama

[ technical difficulties ] >> yeah, you can just imagine all of those analysts pouring over every nuance in that speech, and also a lot of interested in obama's speech as you say. we're expecting that very shortly. he is probably going to talk about syria, isn't he? are we going to see any developments on that front? >> yeah, there will be a mention of iran, and definitely a lot on syria, and i think we'll be watching his words very closely on syria. there is a lot of diplomatic activity underway here in syria. the ones that are expected the attacks that are going place, they are going back into syria in the coming hours.

there is also all the work diplomatically to start trying to take control of assads chemical weapons arsenal. they will have to come up with a mechanism. the latest i'm hearing from diplomats is that maybe there will be some sort of meeting in the hague in the next day or two, and then possibly a resolution here at the security council. and the other issue is the scale of the crisis in syria, trying to bring both sides together and get more humanitarian access. when we gathered here a year ago, the if i recall death toll was about 20,000. now the death toll, and we know it underreports the reality is over 100,000. >> james thanks very much indeed for that. i'm sure we will be speaking to james a little later on.

as james was saying the 68th session now underway. ban ki-moon is speaking at the moment. but a lot of the attention will be on president obama's speech. he is due to take the stand very shortly and deliver his address, and a few hours after that, president rouhani, the new iranian president will be addressing the general assembly for the first time. as we said syria is going to be high on the discussions. meanwhile fighting continues in syria. the united nations says the israeli army is deliberately violating international law by using excessive force in the

occupied west banks. israeli forces have killed 22 palestinian youngsters this year. peter meets one teenager who lived to tell his story. >> reporter: this 15-year-old found himself caught up in a confrontation. he was shot in the head and the bullet remains embedded in his skull. >> i wanted to go home. that was the only way. otherwise i would have had to take a much longer root. i passed through and was shot. >> reporter: this is where he was shot. it's a frequent flash point. the un report says there has been a significant increase in the number of palestinians stilled and wounded in the west bank, and the report says that is due to the use of excess sieve force by the israeli

military. the all to regular violent confrontations between young palestinians and the well armed israeli forces accounted for most of the deaths. 22 this year alone and nearly 3,000 injured. the human rights report say acts of violence by israeli settlers in the west bank continues to be care rid out against palestinians. 98 palestinians were injured in skirmishes, and more than 40 israelis were hurt with one killed. along the check points along the west bank in gaza, the restriction of movement of the palestinians continues to pose a major concern. this boy suffered major brain

damage. >> translator: may god have mercy on him so he can at least walk on him. his grandfather and i won't live forever. >> reporter: grandson and grandparents sharing a tragedy that spans the generations on the west bank. peter sharp, al jazeera, bethlehem. >> we received this statement from the foreign ministry of israeli . . . at least eight people have been killed in attacks on two police stations in iraq. the incidents happened in two towns northeast of bagdad. the towns are on the main highway linking the capitol to the syrian border.

seven killed were policemen. the muslim brotherhood says it is appealing the ruling to suspend its activities has hand over its assets. the court decision could destroy the organization. >> the muslim brotherhood has been under threat of decapitation since the removal of mohammed morsi. and this new -- this new ban really affects its ability to build the organization for the future, to use charities as a means of doing outreach, of reaching out to the public and r recruiting new members. so this effectively shuts down the organization completely.

they are going to go after the bank accounts of well-known muslim brothers, the well-known businessmen. i think they will go after any kinds of accounts that are traced to a brotherhood linked charity or their central bank accounts, but really it is just going to keep the muslim brotherhood on the run. if you don't have that hierarchy or the financing, you don't have the muslim brotherhood. at least 20 people have been killed in floods and landslides in the philippines. more heavy rain is expected. rescue workers in villages are searching for at least seven people missing. >> reporter: the province is still under a state of calamity. over 20 people have died and

over 200 homes have been destroyed due to landslides. it's unsure when the residents can go back to their homes. many of the roads are still unpassable and recovery efforts are still underway. the province is one of the center of illegal small scale mining operations here in the philippines. the supreme court has ordered the halt of all operations here. many environmentalists have warned of damage to the environment because of those operations. but many residents say they don't have an option for live i willhood. many of them rely on fishing or to work in mining operations. so it's unsure exactly when it can recover, but many here are worried that it may take some

time before they can go back to their normal lives again. now here is steph with the weather details. >> the philippines certainly has been very, very wet recently. firstly the typhoon who has now moved away, but this time of near we have the monsoon with us. you can see this belt of cloud we have got with us. it has been with us for the past few days, and this has given us our renewed area of very heavy rain. yesterday we reported 406 millimeters of rain in some places. towards the north, though, we have this huge area of clouds here. this swallowed up the storm and took up what was left of it, and really intensified it because it did that. we're seeing very heavy rain across this front. we're seeing heavy rainfall totals up in to north korea as well. this system is causing quite a

new problems with flooding across china and the korean presence la, but it is going to do a favor as well. because we have this typhoon to the south of us. because this front is here it won't be able to go quite as far north as i would like, so japan shouldn't see the worst of that storm shuli. >> thank you for that. still to come on this news hour, we'll be waiting to hear from president obama in just a few moments. also the kenyan mall attacks. somalia's president rejects claims of blame in that. plus . . . if you think running

a marathon is hard, try doing it backwards while juggling.

♪ welcome back. you are with al jazeera. reminder of our top stories now. more gunfire explosions have been heard from the westgate shopping mall in nairobi. keny kenyan's government says all hostages have been freed but thu gunmen are still inside the building. the 68th session of the un

general assembly has just opened in new york. u.s. president barack obama is expected to speak shortly. and it is say that the israeli army is guilty of using excessive force in the west bank. the israeli foreign ministry says it can't comment on specific cases. now back to our top story, the shopping mall siege? kenya. the somali government is asking for more international help to deal with al-shabab, but not everyone agrees. >> reporter: thankry protesters heckled somali's president in the u.s. state of ohio where the somali leader was due to speak at a university. the demonstrators outraged over the attack on a shopping mall in

kenya. mohammed expressed his con condolences to the people. >> there is a threat of al-shabab and to the kenyan people. >> reporter: the u.s. president made his first public comments on the shopping mall attack. >> we stand with them, against this -- this terrible outbreak that has occurred. we will provide them with whatever law enforcement force that is necessary, and we are confident that kenya which has been a pillar of stability in eastern africa will rebuild. >> reporter: meeting with nigerian president, obama called it an outrage. >> all of us as an international

community have to stand against the kind of senseless violence that these kinds of groups represent. and the united states will continue to work with the entire continent of africa and around the world to make sure we are dismantling these networks of destruction. >> reporter: the kenyan government believes at least three of the attackers are from the us. rob reynolds, al jazeera. the kenyan foreign minister has confirmed it has been receiving advice from israel. she spoke to james bays. >> came in first was the support of israelis. but right now our intelligence is being shed across the board. resources are being shared across the board, so i think there are others that are -- are helping, other than the kennance

and israelis who were the first ones in. >> reporter: you mentioned israelis. doesn't that you think, create the danger that kenya might be targeted again? because these militants the country they hate most is israel. >> in 1998 we were targeted because we were very, very close to the united states. and the u.s. embassy was targeted. you remember that right? we have been targeted before. [ inaudible ] people believed housed [ inaudible ] had the majority of the occupants have been targeted as well, and really if you are facing a tragedy of that magnitude, you know, anybody who comes in -- i know that others from the world have also provided support. i know we will be talking to them. so when you are facing a tragedy of that magnitude, right, your

friends come in and -- and they help. in thailand a synthetic drug called yaba is causing major problems. ♪ >> reporter: bangkok's bright lights, party people from all over the world, having fun is a way of life in thailand and no one wants to be left behind. more and more people are turning to synthetic drugs to stay awake, and feel good. this is thailand's leading hospital for treatment of drug-related problems. has been a steady rise of admissions here, and particularly in young people. even children younger than 11 are coming in for help because they have been making methamphetamine in his pill

tomorrow. >> translator: i hang out with bad people so i became a drug addict. it began with a cigarette, and then weed, and then yaba. my family couldn't stand it anymore, and sent me here. i thought about leaving, but after my parents visited a few times, i realized that i messed up. >> reporter: it's a huge problem across the region in terms of scale and impact. these are health probleming -- practitioners from cambodia, and myanmar hoping to learn. methamphetamine sales are worth $15 billion in east asia and the pacific. authorities haven't made much of a dent in the business. meth labs can be put together in small spaces. they are highly portable and

easy to dismantle. the epicenter of meth production is going to get easier as the region's economy grows in myanmar. >> i believe that this kind of regional development will be huge threat to the -- i mean, drug countering efforts. >> reporter: the problem is that governments and police just can't keep up with the pace of changes of the drug trade, the speed of life on southeast ash streets. costa rica wants to become the first carbon neutral nation in the world by 2021. and to reach this goal, the government is promoting projects to reduce greenhouse gases.

>> reporter: this is not just any pig farm. pigs and cattle are among the animal producers of greenhouse gases. but at this form, they are contributing to save the planet. the farm is converting the waste into a product that will be stored and used as fuel. >> biogas is a source of energy. it is used for heat and lighting. >> reporter: the solids are turned into organic fertilizers in only one month. they improve the quality of the soil. the project includes a bamboo forest. bamboo is one of the best natural absorbers of carbon

dioxide. but these are small projects. corporations like the giant standard fruit company are the ones that contaminate the most, but they are now taking small steps by recycling the bags that protect the fruit. >> >> translator: the bags are transformed into these boxes for the palates that help to protect the fruit. >> reporter: one of the challenges they have is to reduce the greenhouse gases producer by transport of their product. in costa rica, small farmers are taking boldin initiatives, since 2007, this woman has been teaching hundreds of neighbors to use natural fertilizers.

she mixes organic waste with ash. she says it is time consuming but inexpensive. costa rica has pledged to become a carbon neutral nation in 2021. al jazeera, costa rica. snakes are associated with evil and witchcraft in many african communities, but south african women are trying to change them being killed, by keeping the reptiles in their home. >> reporter: it took a lot of courage for these south africans to do this. even though they have been told similar bah is harmless. despite the experience, he

hasn't lost his fear of snakes, but he does say people should have a more open mind about them. >> i think they should come here and learn more about snakes. >> reporter: the snake belongs to momma cecil, the snake woman. people grow up reading and hearing stories about snakes, and usually they are evil or associated with witchcraft. in some communities being this close to a snake is unheard of. she and her 19-year-old daughter started raising snakes three years ago after going to see a snake show that really impressed them. they advice meme to be careful when approaching snakes, because some are dangerous, but others like this brown house snake help get rid of rats. >> this is all about educating the community. because what i have noticed again, people are coming here

for the show, no. seven out of ten say i kill the snake. what kind of a snake? what it was brown. it was a brown house snake. lot of people killed brown house snakes. >> reporter: tourists are also curious. she charges a small fee and uses the money to care for her animals. the mother and daughter team say many of her neighbors still believe the only good snake is a dead one. they have been called witches several times, but that won't stop them from doing their work. now as we're on air with the 68th general assembly of the united nations has started its meeting. president obama was expected to

speak about half an hour ago, clearly he is running a little bit late, but we'll be dipping into that speech live as we get it he'll be talking mostly about syria, but also having some words on iran, it is expected. we have been hearing from ban ki-moon the secretary general of the united nations. coming up next we have the president of brazil. president obama due to speak, and then a little later on, very exciting speech everyone is looking to read signs from it, the first address to the general assembly by the iranian president -- the new iranian president hasan rouhani, who appears to be taking a more conciliatory approach towards the west and iran's nuclear program. the kenyan shopping mall

siege has now claimed 68 lives and is in its fourth day. let's take a look back now at some of the images of the last few days. [ gunfire ] >> george! [ shouting ] [ sirens blaring ] >> some police [ inaudible ]. [ gunfire ] [ sirens blaring ] ♪

on august 20th, al jazeera america introduced

♪ welcome back. now the united nations general assembly is meeting in new york. coming up soon, we're expecting to hear from president obama who will be delivering his speech in a short while. of course one of the things that is a priority here is getting an agreement on syria, and how to deal with its chemical weapons. there will be a meeting on thursday between sergey lavrov and john kerry on the issue. you see the president of brazil just starting to speak. the issue, then, syria, and

whether agreement can be reached on resolution over its chemical weapons. let's go to a former chemical weapons inspector for the united nations. thanks for joining us. so clearly, what everyone is hoping for is that some kind of agreement can be reached on the words of a resolution dealing with syria's chemical weapons. are you optimistic that that will be able to happen? >> i think it is an excellent proposal. i think it is doable. i think if it passes, it is possible to do. it is viable, and that's should be marked. >> you are a former un weapons inspector, how set up with un inspectors for finding, and

destroying these stockpiles? >> well, you are having an enormous stockpile, but the u.s. and russia are pretty much in agreement, and it's under the control of al-assad's military. as far as [ inaudible ] goes, they did pretty much 80% of the weaponry in iraq in about 18 months when they first started up, so if you have full and final compliance by the syrian military, this is certainly a way to go. >> there have been some acquisitions from the opposition that some of the chemical weapons are being transferred to hezbollah so they escape detection. given we don't know exactly how many weapons are in syria, can we actually say they have all been handed over?

>> this is one of the issues that inspectors are dealing with. can we prove a negative? let's say how can bedeal with things that we pretty much can't prove. that has a lot to do with time and the intensity of the inspection efforts. put it that way. we know the ballpark, pretty much close to 100% is under the wings of assad's military. that is pretty much not disputed. if there is something else, that needs to be handled. but if you can handle what is under assad's control, we have come a really far way. >> assuming a resolution is agreed on, and it does get through the un security council, what kind of time line are we then looking at? >> well, we had a tough time line there, it was set up half a year, basically. well, again, that's -- that's -- that might be defined as a stretch, and

certainly so depending on whether you are going to do it fast and dirty, or in different way, but by pushing this time line, you get a major momentum behind it. and then, well, if you are comparing the iraqi story, if you are on the way and you are talking about full, final and complete decorations, we are getting there. >> jorn thank you for joining us. voting has been delayed in guinea's first parliamentary election. [ shouting ] >> reporter: supporters of guinea's ruling party are out complaining in the capitol. they are confident that they will win the upcoming parliament

elementary election, and they are not put off by news that the election has been postponed from tuesday to saturday. >> translator: we were supposed to do this election a long time ago, the delay is because of the way the opposition is behaving. they want to do everything possible to spoil and postpone the election. >> reporter: this will be the first parliamentary election in guinea since 1958. but the opposition may decide to boycott the vote. their leader says hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters are angry because they have not been able to register to vote, and there are not enough polling stations in opposition areas. >> translator: what we want is a free and fair election. if the election is not free and fair, we know the election

commission is not clean. >> reporter: these elections have been counseled five times before, but there is a lot of pressure to make sure the vote goes ahead. the european i don't know i don't know will observe the election and says the decision to delay the vote until saturday is a minor setback. >> i hope, really, we can have the opportunity to follow the process until saturday in exactly the same situation. >> reporter: but things have not be so calm in parts of the capitol, and there are signs there could be more violence. supporters of the ruling party set fire to this bus. and in the run-up to these elections at least 50 people have died. running battles between opposition supporters and security forces have been taking place, but everyone is hoping

and praying that the vote will be free, fair, and peaceful, when it eventually takes place. at least 25 people have been killed in an earthquake in pakistan. the magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit in a province that was just 10 kilometers deep. it was felt as far away as new delhi and dubai. the secretary general of the world players union believes there are more immediate problems at next year's world cup in brazil than the 2022 event in cutta. they are concerned with the heat in brazil with matches kicking off as early as 1:00 pm and also how the players will cope with the long travel schedules.

talk about the heat he said . . . well according to our senior meteorologist it is brazil's site that will affect the players the most. . >> in the north it's very tropical, and if you look at the 12 locations, many are in the north but some of them are in the far cooler south. in the north the temperatures don't drop too much, and it is hot, humid, and that's where it is tropical. but june and july is winter in this part of the world, so in the south it will be very different. 19 degrees will be the maximum

in the south, and at night you drop down to 19 degrees. and sometimes we have been known to drop below freezing, so the main problem is going from the north to the south. 25 years after winning and losing the 100-meters olympic gold medal, ben johnson has returned to soul. it has been called the olympic's dirtiest race after six out of eight runners were linked to doping. the canadian is now fighting to eradicate drugs from sport. >> reporter: back on the track, back at the scene of the crime. ben johnson took his time strolling the 100 meters, his briefly held and then erased world record. the face so indelibly associated

with drugs in sports, now the face to eradicate them. >> i believe what we're doing is right. i'm not doing this because i'm trying to clear my name or looking for media attention, i'm trying to make some changes in the sport. >> reporter: a race watched around the world was forever tainted by johnson's positive drugs test. he has always maintained his own cheating was simply to keep pace with other cheaters; that it was impossible to compete at the highest level without drugs. >> testing gets better and better and better, and the drugs is more advanced, so technology have changed over the last 25 years. >> reporter: the man behind the campaign says this isn't a one-off publicity tour, it's part of a long-term effort. >> these things take time, and

you have got to start somewhere, and it is constantly drip drip drip and matter of pressure. it doesn't stop us. we know what we're doing is right, and we're going to continue to do it. >> reporter: the campaign's directive is to achieve better support for athletes who want to come clean. ben johnson still believes his victory achieved here 25 years ago should still stand. that he was just one of the athletes on performance-enhancing drugs. the depressing fact remains that he now believes the situation has gotten worse in the quarter century since. the pirates have clenched their first major league baseball playoff place in 21 years with a win against the chicago cubs.

starling martin hit a home run to win the game. it will be their first time to the post season since winning a title in 1990 and 1992. finally running a marathon is hard enough, but one man wanted to go for a world record, so he decided to do something different. he ran the 42 kilometers, in illinois, backwards, while juggling with three balls. he hopes to set a world record, but to qualify every second of his run needed to be recorded, unfortunately one section of the race did not get recorded. thanks very much in need for that. we're waiting for president obama to speak at though un, and we have the latest details on

the shopping mall siege in kenya. stay with us. ♪ faultlines investigates the epidemic of overcrowding in women's prisons. >> the system is setup to do exactly what it's doing - to break people and to keep them broken.

♪ >> this is an al jazeera special, our coverage of the un general assembly coming to you live from new york. i'm del walters. ♪ you are looking live now at the scene at the united nations, that is where more than 100 heads of state and various government leaders have descended upon the city of new york. among those addressing the assembly right now, president obama, this is though, the brazilian president who has been