wild fires spread across southeast australia, burning hundreds of homes. ♪ ♪ hello and welcome i am stephen cole this is al jazerra from doha. coming up in the next half hour. warpings of tougher times to come in china. and oasis in an arid land the discovery of new water supplies in drought stricken northern kenya. and searching for treasure, one man's dream has led to his search for $50 billion of gold. ♪ ♪

but first, more than 20 wild fires are burning out of control through the state of new south wales in australia. dozens of homes have been destroyed. hundreds of people have been evacuated. most severe fires are concentrated around the state capitol, sydney. they have been described as the worst in the state in a decade. katlyn mcgee has the story. >> reporter: the flames have no mercy. >> pretty much i was in the house and it came through pretty quick. you know, you gotta be prepared for those things. >> did you save your house? >> i don't know. i put a bit of water on it and did the best that i could. >> reporter: officials say almost 100 fires are burning, some of them completely out of control. >> we have got more than 2,000 -- well, multiple thousands of people out there fighting the fires. volunteers are coming in from around the state to deploy resources to tackle these issues. we have unclear yesterday as to how many properties have been

lost. but it's suspected that by the time we finish counting, it will bit willat least in this hundre. >> reporter: the smoke blankets the grounds an indication of how fierce the fires burn, sydney, too, suffocate bide smoke. the fires have been called the worst in years. and officials that were it could takofficials that it could taker control. >> in the blue mountains one of the worst his areas in now south wales and he's just sent us this update. >> reporter: in hour the blue mountains west of sydney has had fires in the past but crucially not for 10 years or more meaning the under growth has had a chance to grow back. the last few months here have been exceptionally dry that meant when the fires took hold on thursday, there really was a lot of fuel to keep them going. and you can see the under growth around. and the houses here really have been destroyed. and this one street about 15

houses went. i am afraid to say adam, your house was one them. i am obviously very, very sorry for what you have lost. but you did get back here in time. you just couldn't do much about it. >> that's right, yeah. i would have gotten back here maybe 1:00 or 2:00 and the fire brigade was at the front. but they were having water pressure issues i got one of name pumps and hoses got it in the back and put it the pool but the fire had already taken hold and we couldn't do anything about it. >> reporter: how does it mike to see this place like this? >> i feel terrible. it's been our family home for a long time and it's so sad to have it gone. >> reporter: i am very, very sorry for what you have lost. you can probably still mare the helicopters above. the fires aren't out yet and water is being dumbed on them and there are other fires as well further north of sydney and south. so this crisis in new south wales, these big fires aren't over yet. >> australia's prime minister

has offered co condolence to his people that lost their homes. >> today is a much quieter day than yesterday. but this is a fire emergency which could go on for quite sometime. there are hundreds of people who are grieving, the loss of property, tragically there has been, it seems, one life lost further north someone who was defending his house. we grieve for everyone impacted by these fires. syrian state television says opposition fighters have killed a military up it til intelligen. he was shot by shapers. he was part of the upper circle of assad. he was being investigated by the killing of the former lebanese prime minister. weaponweapons inspectors say the

been significant. they know half of the sites are on track to detroit them by next month. the canadian lawyer held captive for eight months in syria has escaped from rebel fighters he ran way when his guards left a door open. he was handed over to a u.n. official in damascus. it was thought he was being held hostage by rebels fighting against the president. in iraq a series of explosions across the country has killed at least 60 people. the bombs targeted residential areas, including a children's hospital. and playground. 12 car bombs in baghdad killed 48 people and injured more than 100 in northern iraq at least 12 people were killed when a lorie blew up from a residential area. the u.s. justice department has brought new charges against former blackwater security contractors who were working in iraq, the four men are accused

of carrying out an unprovoked attack in a busy baghdad street in 2007. 17 iraqi civilians were killed in a shooting spree. roslyn jordan explains. >> reporter: september 2007, baghdad square. u.s. security contractors allegedly opened fire on the crowd without provocation. now the u.s. justice department is going to put on trial four of those guards for multiple counts of voluntary man saluter and firearms violations the guards used to known for the company known as blackwater worldwide a company that had many close ties in the bush administration and for a time conducted nearly all of the security operation for his the u.s. military and the state department and iraq. however the justice department once it found out about the massacre in the square decided to charge six guards with the manslaughter and firearms charges however the case was

thrown out in 2009 because the justice department allegedly concealed evidence from the defense. however, a judge recently decided that that was in itself a mistake and so it gave the justice department a second chance to try to bring this case. now four of the men are going to be standing trial on these charges, including multiple counts of voluntary manslaughter if there is any long-term goal it's that it perhaps might improve relations between the united states and iraq. when the first case was dismissed it angered so many iraqi citizens as well as the government, that the vice president, joe biden had to offer an official apology, both to the government and to the people. no word yesterday on when these four former guards for blackwater will be arraigned or when they will go on trial. china's economic growth is spaoegd up again after increased investment by the government. the co machin economy section p.

keeping the government on track to me it's official target of 7.5% growth per year. the numbers look impressive by western standards the world's second largest economy is growing in its slowest rate in 23 years,. >> reporter: the exhibit halls of china's largest trade fair aren't as busy as they used to be. this biannual event is usually a game for how the country kreu'ss economy is doing, there are less exhibitors and many say they expect to make less mon. >> i business hasn't been too good but we have to adjust and make ourselves competitive by adapt to go market needs and lower our costs. >> reporter: there is little doubt, though, that china's economy in i growing of the drop in the export figures is reflective of a slow down, coming just as the government is putting reforms in place.

the leadership wants to increase domestic consumption and is test-driving new policies in a free trade zone that just opened in shanghai. here regular layingses repor res tight. particular any in financial services. >> china is going to, you know, follow the standards earn has set and we are trying to move this great economy in to this great world and trying to be part of that. >> reporter: back at the canton trade ferrets a china's consumption that has attracted some foreign exhibitors to bring in new products. >> we feel this market, regardless of the economic situation, there is demand from the effluent community, so we feel there is a great opportunity here in china. >> reporter: china is, indeed, getting richer, but the wealth remains in the hands of a few. if the gap in distribution isn't worked out the widening disparity could force the government to deal with social issues that may bring with them

political costs. >> margo has more on that story now and she joined me from southern china. western countries would give their left arms for a growth rate of 7.5, 7.8. but there is dispayment i disapn china as not figures, why is that? >> reporter: well, there is actually more hope as it were. china was on a [inaudible] over last month and indeed the last few year old, so the fact that the growth rate has gone up to that point is being portrayed here by the government as still an optimistic sign. that that down slope may, indeed, be over. in some way the economy here is beginning to stabilize what they are hoping to do is further encourage small, and medium enterprise to his thrive also lessening the influence of the larger state-run corporations. now what is disappointing obviously china has been really driven by export industry as well there is a very small dip

in that, but, again, reflective of the global slow down and the fact that the demand and the wider market is still really not as big as they would like it to be because of the difficulty still be experienced by the he emergencying markets which are big buyers of chinese products and the western world. the government here optimistic that this is just for now and things will only get better from here. >> thank you. the philippine government says emergency slice are slowly reaching towns that have been cut off by the earthquake. residents had been camped out in tents waiting for help to arrive. death toll now stand at more than 160. a powerful earthquake hit the island on tuesday. rob mcbride is on a neighboring island. >> reporter: here things are gradually returning to normal. businesses restarting. in this very important commercial center and last night was the first night for several when there were very few

aftershocks. respiration work has now begun on some of the buildings here, especially the older antiquities like the church, the philippines' older church. this building as with others, people are trying to see what can be salvaged what needs to be restored. more immediate relief aid is needed in neighbors islands where there are still communities three days after the quake that are waiting to be reached, waiting for help. there has been some criticism of the authorities on whether they have been quick enough to get the help to these communities. for their part, the authorities say look, these are remote areas in the best of times with the damage from the quiet to infrastructure, roads are out, bridges are down, this is difficult to reach them. and still there are thousands of people, thousands of families living in temporary accommodations, waiting until they feel it's safe enough for them to return to their permanent homes. >> coming up on this program, teetering on the brink, the world bank also warning about the lebanese economy as it

struggles to home with a huge influx of syrian refugees. plus a report from scotland where the ruling party is holding its annual conference less than a year before a vote on possible caesarian. ♪ ♪ on inside story, we bring together unexpected voices closest to the story, invite hard-hitting debate and desenting views and always explore issues relevant to you. [[voiceover]] every day, events sweep across our country. and with them, a storm of views. how can you fully understand the impact unless you've heard angles you hadn't considered? antonio mora brings you smart conversation that challenges

the status quo with unexpected opinions and a fresh outlook. including yours. >> every morning from 6 to 10am al jazeera america brings you more us and global news than any other american news channel. find out what happened and what to expect. >> start every morning, every day, 6am to 10 eastern with al jazeera america.

welcome back. top stories on al jazerra. more than 20 wild fires are burning out of control through the state of new south wales in australia. it's feared hundreds of homes have been destroyed. hundreds of people have been evacuated. syrian state television says opposition fighters have killed the country's military

intelligence chief. he was reportedly shot in the head by a sniper. china's economic growth is speeding up again. the economy expanded by 7.8% in the third quarter the fastest pace this year. world bank says lebanon's economy is feederring on the brink because of a huge flu inng tphraubgs of refugeeses from syria. one in four people is either sirasyrian orin inning ref 1kwr50e6789 syrians some been escaping not just in search of safety but work, many are too scared to tell their stories because some are here illegally or don't have work permits but shop owners at times prefer to hire them because syrians are willing to work for lower wages. >> we can hire two syrians instead of one lebanese. syrians accept lower wages and

it's better for us since we are already facing difficult financial situations. >> reporter: this reality has caused resentment. >> the lebanese can't find jobs. there will be a lot of unemployed people and our men will continue to my great there has been an invasion of syrians. >> reporter: this tiny nation hosts over a million syrians according to the government here. lebanon's economy is under strain. 20% of the nation's 4 million people are now unemployed. he is among them. and official statistics show average wages have dropped. >> we work for around 600 to $800 a month. syrians work for $300 or less. >> reporter: next year, the world bank says an additional 170,000 lebanese will not find jobs, adding to the already 1 million who live below the poverty line. lebanon has been hurt by these syrian crisis, it is mainly the middle class and the lower income workers who have been hit

especially hard. but even before the mass migration of syrians being lebanon already had a weak labor market. among the thousands of qualified lebanese who can't find work, he is a biochemist graduate who doesn't blame syrians for the country's economic ills. >> there was an economic problem even before the syrians came. the problem is the government, it needs to find solutions. >> reporter: undoubtedly however, lebanon is a casualty of the war in neighboring syria and it's people are just as much victims as the syrians themselves. al jazerra, beirut. two large aquifers have been discovered in kenya's dry and food insecure northern region and detected pie via satellite bringing hope to a country where 17 million people lack access to safe drinking water. katherine reports from the northwestern country. >> reporter: she has children and grandchildren on their daily

walk for water in the dry and harsh county. there is a drought in some parts and that means that they have to go farther and dig deep forget the water. when they find the water, it does not matter how dirty it is. they have to make due. water-born diseases here are common. >> she has not heard about the discover of a large volume of water 30-kilometers from her home. >> getting food and water has always been a struggle for my family and i. if what you are saying is true, then our life will change. i just hope it's not just another false promise. >> reporter: this is on markinge one of the aquifers that has been discovered. it may be enough to supply the country we rhode island with without fore 70 years, people knew there was water undergrounds. this area is called the land of water. it's where different rivers meet

before head on the ground to feed a lake, a lifeline for thousands. drought-related deaths are common in this ring yo region ss us her brother's grave and tells us at the time of his death he have severely mall nor i should. such deaths are what the the government wants to stop. the water will be crucial for irrigation. with a good supply of water, they can produce enough food to sustain its 1 million people. >> our first priority now is to ensure that the people, commune aat thises can benefit from the water. there after he can see how the rest of the country can also enjoy these resources. >> reporter: but it will take a while before the water finally reaches each person. this family on hearing about the discovery moved closer to the aquifer which has been sealed for now. after a couple of days they decided to move on. they head to the border with

sudan, maybe even in to sudan itself. a two-day journey. they hope that by the time they come back, they won't have to move again. al jazerra. >> joining me life from nairobi is a water engineer and adviser of the global water partnership. welcome, same up. what will the discovery of these aquifers mean for local people? >> well, first of all to put it on a national scale, about 85% of kenya is arid and semi arid. most of the people depend on the food that comes from just about 10% of the land. so this can be enormous consequences on food security across the whole country. so for the local people it's also an enormous opportunities to transform desert to productive land and looking at the food security situation in the rest the world and the very high food prices it is an enormous opportunity. >> an opportunity. so how easily or how accessible

is this opportunity as you describe it? >> well, on one hand you have the opportunity, but there is so much water. but on the other hand you have a lot of challenges here. the infrastructure does not exist and in order to move the water being particularly ground water to productive use you have to use a lot of energy, electricity will be needed to pump the water to the irrigation -- for the irrigation system. but at the same time, the irrigation infrastructure also is not in place. so you have a resource, but it is very difficult to utilize it adequately without adequate institutions and infrastructure and information on how to sustainably harvest and utilize the resource of water. any idea at all at this moment how much water is in those aquifers? >> if i could put it in terms of, you know, the kenyans would

understand it, revising the floor of kenya's biggest river for 50 years and, you know, pushing it in for a particular reservoir, that's the amount of water there is. in another measure, it's -- kenyan uses about 3 billion cubic meters a year, this would be the amount of water that kenya could use in 70 years. so it is a lot of water. very good news. let's hope it's accessible soon. thanks for joining us, simon. >> okay, thank you. archeologist in india are digging for gold beneath a 19 account century fort. it follows a hindu holy man's claim there are vest riches buried there. he says a form he king told him in a dream about an underground stash. stash. worth $50 billion. live from outside the fort. well, how close are you from the alleged treasure, stash as it's

described? what does it look like? >> reporter: well, i am as close as anyone can get. it's actually just i don't understand that temple structure behind me where the digging is taking place, place have core denned off the area so can he can't get closer there are several meters of dirt and ridiculous to get to so to find anything in i take time. officials told us a few moments ago it may be up to a month. that hasn't stopped the crowds it's almost a carnival atmosphere, hundreds of locals are gathered around on all the hills and dozens of media. they think the gold is really here. >> they obviously do have at a t of faith there is a lot of people behind you because i suppose get-rich quick schemes will never go out of the fashion, do they really believe this priest's dream?

>> reporter: well, they do and apparently so do sections of the government that's why this dig is happening at all. the priest wrote to several ministers and the state minister of state for archeology responded and did a test dig earlier this month and that's when they found something. now, they don't know what this is. but it's something that seals to be man-made. and the archeological and geological surveys of india have come under fire because they are basing this dig complete low superstition. there is no scientific merit or data to back up having this dig. but all of the people that you can see behind me and even more people over here that you can't see, they all firmly believe more faith they have in this priest than the government. their only hope is that he get some of their share to help develop this area. so maybe not get rich quick, but everybody wants their take. >> they are probably right to believe in the priest more than the politicians. makes a lot of sense to a lot of people. but was the priest descriptive about what is down there, what

is hidden? >> reporter: he just said that the king came to him in a dream and that there is a thousand tons of gold. 1,000-tons of gold. and he wants that in the dream the king says he wants it to go to the country. go to the country to help with the -- you know, the economy is slowing down he wants all that gold to go to the country to really help india gets its might back in the world and the priest is also insisting that someone of the money stay here in the area to help develop the region. so as -- if you are going to say who people trust, people trust the priest much more than the government. >> indeed. very wise. thanks for joining us. in less than a year people in scotland will vote on whether do secede from the rest of the united kingdom the ruling scott i can national party is holding its annual conference writs a continue its push for independent. lawrence reports.

>> reporter: at this church they do their best to console each other through hard times given the lives that some people v easy to see why any need a shoulder hold on. after the service eight church leader took us to a hut that shelves food for the poor. this storks he told us, will disappear in a single day. >> people basically are starving. people are coming up to me in the streets, people are coming to the church on a sunday saying, do you hav do you have ? i have been in people's homes where the mother or the father have manage today feed the children, but they haven't eaten all weekend. >> reporter: that story could be told anywhere in britain but what aggravates the nationalists so much is it's taking place in scott slant this is the capsule of europe where the gas workers are fortunate and the display of wealth are obvious. the scotts don't see the profits fairly they argue. they have argued consist live that this country would

genuinely strug i economically if it were to go it alone. they say scotland would have to put up with years of al austeriy the stattish nationalists argue the opposite is true, they say this country is naturally very wealthy three to make that case they are looking to the evidence not from their neighbors to the south but there their neighbors to the north. ♪ >> reporter: turn right at the north sea from aberdeen and you get to copenhagen the capital of denmark is a sorts of model from what the search np sees scotland's future as, green energy as well as oil, tourism by the plane load, a society that spends a lot less on defense, and a lot more on keeping people happy. scotland and denmark have almost identical population sizes, and there is not much evidence of food banks here. the snp's most senior politician in london is a regular visitor. the entire political philosophy points scotland way from the trans atlantic relationship by london and toward a different

new zest friends. >> one of the best examples of that is the next generation of weapons of mass did he truck which will cost the best part of 100 billion pounds and through life cost. that's what we are not going to spends money on and by freeing up those resoars we wilsoar soun invests in the nation went scott land to become. >> reporter: for all of that, many scotts remain unconvinced that they are more darrennish and british and the independence campaign support bide all the main london parties continues to stay ahead in the pole polls. but the food banks tell quality think the worse it gets the better it is for the nationalists. after 80 years together and raising eight children and 50 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren, a paraguan couple have fine by decided to get married. the couple had entered a civil union 40 years ago but finally members of the 103-year-old man

and 99 year olds woman wanted a catholic marriage. the priest who took the ceremony said it's the first time he's married a couple of this i think age, but will it last? [laughter] >> that's the home page of our website. year. new jersey and virginia. we'll look at the candidates and the issues and the national implications. you are watching "inside story" from washington. hello every one i'm david david shuster. election day is one month away. in the garden state thst