>> welcome to al jazeera america, i'm del walters. these are the stories that we're following for you. pakistan pressed for an end to those u.s. drone strikes as members of both nations are meeting in washington. as u.s. prepares to leave afghanistan is that country now ready to defend itself. left to die, syrian refugees rescued at sea are now speaking out. >> the tense relationship between the u.s. and pakistan are going to be facing a key test this afternoon. that's when president obama and

pakistawillbe meeting to discusf drones. >> reporter: there are contentious issues between pakistan and the united states. it's been a rocky relationship for many years. particularly after u.s. forces raid deep in the party of pakistan that killed osama bin laden, and the continuing issue of drone strikes, which have increased dramatically under the obama administration. we saw amnesty report holding the united states responsible for civilian deaths and violating international laws. certainly those issues are going to be on the table. but what is also on the table for pakistan's prime minister,

regional stabilities, with trade, trying to stabilize the region and enhance pakistan economy. a lot of that will be discussed here in the oval office. we'll hear from the two leaders after the conclusion of the leaders. >> is there any expectation that the meetings will bring the meeting of the minds on the issue of drones in pakistan? >> reporter: we can say with some specificity and confidence that relations are improving over the course of the last few months. the united states has $1.6 billion in aid to pakistan, a few hundred million to be spent on infrastructure projects and domestic projects as well. so there is still a great deal of cooperate on the military and economic side and that will be near the top of the agenda along

with the contentious issues around the continuing drone strikes. >> mike viqueira at the white house, thank you very much. here are those drone strikes by the numbers. they begin under the bush administration but expanded under president obama. finding between 2004 and 2008 there were 4 strikes in pakist pakistan, and 2009 which was president obama's first year in office there were 56. then look at this, in 2011, 127 drone strikes. as the u.s. prepares to withdraw from afghanistan that country's first military academy open for business today. it's students will be the next generation of a began army officers. we take a closer look. >> reporter: these men hope to be the leaders of afghanistan staarmy but right now they haveo get through the training. they're the recruit of a

sustainable military. >> we needational institutions like this, which is the basis of the building of the country. >> reporter: the afghan army has the high attrition rate. most of the regular soldiers are illiterate and ethnic loyalties sometimes come before national ones, big challenges for any army officer. >> reporter: there they are about to start a 42-week course. instructors say the course will be rigorous intellectually and physically and some men won't make it. the recruits say they are ready. >> we'll rescue the children in this country from dark times. >> reporter: the academy is still under construction. and eventually 1350 men and 150 women are expected to graduate every year. with the help of international

mentors from five nations. >> we intend to be here until 2023 or until the afghan government decides that is enough. >> reporter: but n.a.t.o.'s future here depends on the agreement with the united states. that plan will be debated by a national gathering late next month. if it's rejected this academy and afghanistan's security forces could find themselves without international support at the end of 2014. years before planned. jennifer glass, al jazeera kabul. >> the academy said it hopes to better train and strengthen those afghan forces. here's why, more than 1,000 soldiers killed and 3,000 injured. the trial at guantanamo bay focusing on allegations of mistreatment in secret prisons. we have more. >> reporter: prosecutors and

defense attorneys were here to talk about a criminal issue which the defense hopes it can prevail on. it's a matter of bringing into evidence classified information about th the torture that defendants claimed they suffered. there is an international treaty the u.n. convention against torture. under that treaty people who say they were tortured can actually bring legal claims for relief to get some sort of compensation in the largest sense of the word. however because this is a military commission and because both sides have sworn to protect national security secrets operations method that sort of information, there is a big question about how this information can be brought into evidence if at all. there are some procedural motions that have been filed for

the defense to get as much if not all of the information possible. the prosecution as you might expect is pushing back because not all may not be relevant. they will decide exactly how to strike the balance about giving the defense everything that it says to need in order to defend its clients and to address the prosecution concerns that national security methods and operations not be violated, not be made public and put the u.s. national security at risk. it's a matter that could dominate this pretrial hearing for the rest of the week. >> rosalind jordan. the lawyer for al-liby said he needs more information to prepare for the case. he's accused of being part of

the bombings that killed 250 people. the u.s. and israel are holding talks about iran's nuclear program. john kerry and benjamin netanyahu meeting in rome to discuss the issue. they're negotiating with their eyes wide open. >> words are no substitute for actions. and what we will need, all of us, in order to be satisfied with respect to the united nations sanctions to the demands of the iaea as well as our own security requirements we'll need to know that actions are being taken which make it crystal clear, undenybly clear, fail safe to the world that whatever program is pursued is, indeed, a peaceful program. >> and rome is the last stop of kerry's european tour.

it began on monday. never before seen video of mainly syrian refugees who say they were left to drown in the mediterranean sea were released. it highlights a growing refugee crisis in the mediterranean region. stephanie decker has more. >> reporter: what where you are seeing are monies of people, men, women, and young children trying to stay afloat in a cold mediterranean waters. their boat has capsized and many cannot swim. these are mostly syrian refugees trying to escape from the war only to end up like this. on this instance they're spotted and a maltese vessel comes to their rescue, offering a frank glimpse of why they say the mediterranean is in danger of becoming a cold, wet graveyard. even the youngest are not spared.

one small rubber dinghy manages to make its way. on board a father pulls the soaked clothes off his little girl. while in the distance more float in the water waiting to be rescued. the first time something like this has happened. and it won't be the last. but when boats like these packed full of people run into trouble a rescue like this is rare. stevie deckter, al jazeera. >> a massachusetts high school student is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges that he killed a math teacher. police say the 24-year-old body was found in the woods behind the high school that is just north of boston. the investigators have not said how she died. the student has not been identified and the police have

not said what may have led to her death. an ohio man who confessed to a deadly drunk driving accident in an online video has been sentenced. the judge ordered the 22-year-old to six and a half years in prison for the june crash near columbus. his driving privileges were revoked for good. it was recorded on youtube when he admitted to being drunk when he hit an crash. [[voiceover]] no doubt about it, innovation changes our lives. opening doors ... opening possibilities. taking the impossible from lab ... to life. on techknow, our scientists bring you a sneak-peak of the

future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life.

al jazeera america - a new voice in american journalism - >> introduces america tonight. >> in egypt, police fired teargas at supporters of the ... >> a fresh take on the stories that connect to you. [[voiceover]] they risk never returning to the united states. >> grounded. >> real. >> unconventional. [[voiceover]] we spent time with some members of the gangster disciples. >> an escape from the expected. >> i'm a cancer survivor. not only cancer, but brain cancer. america tonight 9 eastern on al jazeera america >> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are your headlines. s secretary of state john kerry

is in rome today. there he is meeting with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, discussions focusing on both negotiations with the palestinians and iran's nuclear ambition. and this video showing refugees being rescued off the shores of malta. there were 400 people on board the boat, and it's believed 200 of them drowned. it's a make and break day in a battle of what could be the largest municipal bankruptcy in history. they're trying to convince a federal judge to accept or reject that city's bankruptcy filing. bisi onile-ere, set the scene for us. >> reporter: well, i can tell that you we learned this morning, del, that michigan governor rick snyder has agreed to testify in this bankruptcy trial. he's expected to take the stand

on monday and among many of the questions he will be asked is how he allowed th the appointed city manager to file bankruptcy in the first place. bankruptcy has been the talk of the down in detroit, but the city is showing signs of renewal. this is the detroit most of the world knows. high crime, blighted neighborhoods and poor city services. not this. new stores, restaurant, growth and small business. >> i've never seen it this busy in detroit. >> reporter: mark with the economic growth corporation said right now economic development in the city is thriving. tax start ups and small creative base companies are looking past detroit's problems and finding opportunity. shinola detroit, a luxury wrist watch factory could be based

anywhere in the country. >> we came to detroit and met fantastic people in the business community and found the amazing energy about moving forward and less about the past. >> reporter: $11 billion have been invested in business here. the downtown landscape has seen a resurgence. buildings with vacant office space is filling up and residents are moving in from the suburbs. >> so i came down thinking i would spend two or three years having a decent job and then move out, and you move down here and there is so much more to the city than you imagined. >> reporter: some here even think of bankrupt detroit might help the city's revival. >> bankruptcy is a process that at the end of it will only improve city government and it's ability to deliver services. better services will be more attractive to long-term investors and to businesses, and more importantly residents.

>> reporter: while the bankruptcy judge may decide the city's larger fate, small business versus already started writing detroit's future. joining me live is an attorney representing, and you're about to go before the judge here. what is your argument? basically it is these pensions, the retiree pensions are off limits. >> our view is that the retiree benefits are vested which means they belong to the retirees and they have $18,000 a year in pension benefits should not suffer as a result of detroit's bankruptcy. they can't afford it. the detroit city recognizes the constitution, but the emergency manager came in and we believe in violation of the state constitution is trying to take away those pension benefits. >> reporter: tell me, what is the mood like for you in there? where do you see the judge?

do you see that he's leaning one way or another? >> well, the judge has been very sympathetic. he's reading everything and he's very concerned. frankly one of the issues we're concerned about is detroit has serious problems. even with these serious problems we do believe that it's important to follow the constitution so there is a little bit of a struggle going on we think in the judge's mind with regard to whether or not he's going to be outcome determinative and rule the way he thinks he should be ruling regardless of what the law says. we don't think he can trample on the constitution because it's expedient to do so. >> reporter: during the hearing before the break we heard a lot whether the city negotiated in good faith, and you're saying there really was no negotiating. >> we don't believe there was any negotiation prior to the bankruptcy filing. there were a couple of meetings where they gave handouts. there was short period of time

for those questions but we never got to sit down across the table to try to work through these issues constructively. >> reporter: considering the magnitude of what's going on here in detroit personally how does it feel to be a part of this, and representing the people. >> it's important. we hear all the time from retiree who is are sitting from their kitchen table deciding whether or not they can pay their rent, pay for their food, are they going to lose their house? it's important work and nobody is sleeping all that much. >> reporter: i can imagine. thank you for joining us, i appreciate it. this trial is expected to last about five days. rick snyder will take the stand on monday, and just to give you an idea of how significant this day is, a decision isn't expected to be made by the judge today, but still hundreds of people came out here, stood outside the federal courthouse protesting and just making sure their foists were heard. >> bisi, i know people who live in detroit.

they spent 30 years working for these companies thinking when they retired their benefits were going to be there. now half the street lights don't work. the city is being boarded up. what is the anger level in the motor city? >> reporter: well, i can tell you that you hear anger with differing opinions on both sides. you hear people who feel that bankruptcy was inevitable after years of corruption and mismanagement. and then you hear the other side who say, yes, we understand that things are bad but it could be worse. they feel that the city should look at other options to avoid a bankruptcy. so everyone kind of going every which way at this point, bisi onile-ere. >> joining us live from detroit. thank you very much. pope francis removed a german bishop from his diocese. he was expelled because of a scandal over $42 million project to build new housing for

bishops. that is earning the title of bishop of bling. we talked about the controversy. >> reporter: the bishop of lindberg had blown the budget on his residents which includes a museum and conference rooms as well as residents for nuns. by a factor of six. the factor went from $7 million to around $42 million. now this is coming during a papacy led by a pope who said he wants the catholic church to be a poor church so that it's more welcoming of the poor. there is a bit of a message disconnect between the vatican and what's going on here in germany with th the man nicknamd as the bishop of bling. as a consequence he was made to wait eight days before being granted an audience by the pope. he has been sent out of his

diocese. we don't know what will happen to him until an inquiry conducted by the church is completed. >> do we know how this is going to effect the diocese itself? the diocese of lindberg? >> reporter: they have someone who will come in and step in for the administrative duties. i think there has been a serious rupture in the life of the church in the life of the faithful and the flock being led by the bishop, many in the region of lindberg have left the church and many have left as a consequence of this scandal across the country. in germany when you pay your taxes a big part of those taxes goes to religious organizations, which means that the catholic and protestant churches and a few synagogues here in germany are very well financed, the

catholic church gettings $7 billion a year from the government, not parishioners which makes it the second largest employer after the german government. >> could this scandal lead to criminal charges? >> there is no discussion of that yet at this point. i don't think that the german authorities are keen on judging something that th the church is judging itself. it has its own judiciary. it has its own canon law and they like to do these things on their own if they can. however, this bishop of bling, as he has been nicknamed does have another problem which does involve the law, and that involves a story of whether or not he took first-class tickets to go to india to visit the slums there. he signed an affidavit saying he

didn't. the prosecutor maintains that those affidavits are wrong. that he did buy first-class tickets. now that could go before the court, and that could have legal implications and an further embarrassment to the church here in germany. >> in news happy days is not here today. wall street hitting a speed bump at this hour. stocks are down on disappointing corporate earnings reports but there are concerns about the chinese economy and the european bank. as you can see the dow now down 64-plus points. the banks think twitter is a good investment. the social media giant just got a billion dollar credit line to underwrite its stock offering. twitter is following the lead of other it caother tech companies.

and the amazon.com raising requirements for the minimum requirement order for free shipping. it comes ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season when online shopping and package activities soars, and when amazon makes most of its money. a cold front hitting parts of the north west. bring you a sneak-peak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. techknow - ideas, invention, life.

re# #a# #d# #y# ##fo# #r# ## >> those 30 activists from greenpeace are off the hook. they're no longer facing charges of piracy. they were arrested after boarding an oil platform last month in the arctic. the kremlin has charged them with hooliganism. >> meteorologist: and i'm dave warren. a storm is developing across the northeast and eastern canada

that will impact our weather over the next few days bringing in colder air. as some of the colder air comes across the warmer water and the great lakes. the cold air coming down at 51. not quite down to houston where it's 65 degrees. the storm moving across the mid-atlantic states and developing off the coast intensifying. the rain will continue in new jersey and delaware. heavy rain expected starting to get heavy there in southern delaware. it looks like rain all day before it finally begins to clear out. now as it moves out tonight the temperatures will drop clear skies and a light breeze will leave the numbers dropping down below freezing. a number of freeze watches in affect. this is the first time this is the end of the growing season. the freeze watch in ohio. freeze watch and warnings in pennsylvania and a frost advisory, the lighter color indicating that the temperatures may not get to freezing but you

can get to frost on these surfaces. there's that northwest wind. cold air moving down from canada. look at the lighter shade of green near the great lakes. that's the warmer air coming off the great lakes there as the cold air goes over the warmer water. you also get the lake affect snow there in new york and northwest pennsylvania, even closer to a foot possible. yes, it's the time of year that we see these lake effect snows just to start. get ready for the cooler temperatures and snows across the east. >> that great pumpkin lin linuss searching for is in new york. the world's largest ever, a master carver turning it into a giant sculpture with a venus three trap over head. thanks for watching al jazeera

america. i'm del walters. techno is next. >> welcome. i'll phil torres, here to talk about innovations can change lives. we are going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity. this is a show about science, by scientists. let's check out our team of hard core nerds. lindsay moran is an ex-cia operative. tonight she has a real drama, a face transplant that almost ended in death, and an invasion that saved a woman's life. tonight she is in the mountains of california where condors are making a come back, thanks to a simple use of technology.