>> i'm david foster with you for the next 60 minutes. these are the news we're covering in detail. 1the car bombing outside of the mosque in damascus and at least is 100 people are now known to have died. intense fighting between rebels and the army in the democratic republic of congo.

>> and we have all your sport including the latest from the indian grand prix where rebel drivers are closing in on the fourth straight championship. >> the iranian government reportedly hanged 16 members of the separatist group. according to iran's official news agency that attack placed on friday night in the baluchestan province. it is on the border of pakistan. >> it appears it has been skirmishes fighting between the border guard police and the

smugglers, that they made ambush last night in the early hours of this morning. and it's very frequent this kind of skirmish between traffickers from afghanistan and pakistan, using iran as the root, as the root from that part of pakistan to europe. so we have frequent this kind of skirmishes between iranian forces and the smugglers. it's difficult to say better or not people who were hanged this morning. but it appears that the iranian authorities have made a point to try to demonstration their resolve and the fact that they will not back down from the fighting drug traffickers yes.

>> let's bring in live from tehran, do you hear much from the iranian authorities about the problem, the problems that have been faced in that part of the country? >> we do hear quite often from the iranian authorities, security officials about what is going on in that area of baluchestan. the attack during the night and 14 killed, reports of hostages taken but that later was confirmed to be untrue. but they did in fact injure or kill some of these attackers that came across the border from parfrompakistan. they executed 16 as you mentioned before in retaliation to these attacks that i will point out that piece people were arrested before the attacks took place. supposedly hung in retaliation

for connection to the group that took the attacks so they weren't directly involved, but they were connected. as we just heard, this is a very popular and notorious drug route from pakistan into iran and iran's border guard are on patrol constantly to stop illegal goods coming in iran but that's sorts of attacks which target military and police officers and sometimes mosques in the area as well. >> how much of a source of tension is this between iran and it's neighbors? >> well, specifically pakistan in relation to this attack, the iranians are very angry about what has happened. now as we heard these attacks are not so rare. they are, in fact, common, common on the police, common on the military, and sometimes bo

bombings on mosques as well, they're carried out by sunni fighters and it's a very long border and very difficult to patrol. so these talks are on iranian targets and shiite targets still. many of these groups are separatists, sunni groups. they want the border areas for themselves. some of them are baluch ethnic minority who live on the border of iran and pakistan. there are skirmishes between iran and pakistan, and the security situation in general as well. >> thank you very much, reporting live from tehran. an afghan soldier has been killed. several other people were hurt in the incident on the

outskirts. afghanistan's defense ministry said an argument between the afghan and foreign soldier got out of hand as they open fired on one another. the u.n. said iran must take part in talks. the inclusion of the iran of the conference has been rejected by the syrian opposition. within syria at least 100 people are now known to have died in that massive car bomb income damascus province outside of a mosque just after friday prayers. both of the government rebels have been blaming each other. rebels have been battling for control. they say that so far they've captured more than 20 government buildings. and this reportedly the scene, targeting fighters from al-qaeda-linked groups who are in control of the village of

asdad. taking control of the border post. all of this fighting in syria is having a terrible affect on the civilian population of that country. 5 million syrians are now displaced within their own country, and they're warning the war is preventing aid agencies reaching those people who are in dire need of help. >> reporter: syria's silver war is creating a nation of refugees. this was the aftermath of what activists say it was a government bombardment on friday. trying to escape the distraction around 5 million syrians are now refugees in their own country. many sheltering in empty buildings and schools. others are in more forme formalt

basic camps. but the deliveries have been reduced to a trick. >> well, as of much as we've seen some steps to provide better access to enclaves, there is not enough free movement of aid, so the parties on the ground are simply taking baby steps to allow aid to get from one area to another. >> reporter: the statement at the beginning of october urging increased humanitarian access has not made much difference. >> i have expressed my deep disappoint to the council that the situation on the ground has not changed fundamentally as a result of the statement. we are doing everything that we can to look at ways in which operationalization of the

statement would help us. >> reporter: the security council resolution on syria's chemical weapons threaten consequences for non-compliance. the syrian government and rebel groups have largely ignored humanitarian appeal because it is non-binding. [ gunfire ] both sides are accused of daily indiscriminate attacks on schools, power plants and medical personnel. they say no one is taking seriously their obligations under international humanitarian law. bernard smith, al jazeera. >> a detained chinese journalist appears to confess on tv of a state owned company. the report has accepted he said taking bribes and making up stories. this being the latest in televised confessions. he said he's guilty and regrets

his mistakes. >> i definitely hope the entire journal industry can learn a lesson from me, for myself if given one more chance to be a journalist i would follow the basic journalist objectives. >> there has been heavy fighting between m 23 and rebel groups. congolese army using ar artilley just days after piece talks broke down. they refused to grant amnesty to rebel commanders. they say the they are assessinge situation. the french military has released payments of al-qaeda-linked fighters in mali. several hundred soldiers from

the u.n. are involved in the operation. after a suicide attack on wednesday which killed two peace keepers at an u.n. checkpoint thousands of french points arrive to force rebels from northern mali. the full extent of the surveillance program seems to be getting broader still, they may be listening to the phone calls of up to 35 world leaders. now there are suggestions that the u.s. government has intensified information to compleccollect data from its own people. >> reporter: every day here in the suburbs outside washington information gathered by 17 different u.s. intelligence agencies is collected, retained, and analyzed. this is the national counterterrorism center where even americans not suspected of terrorism come under scrutiny. that's something jasmine and isaac want stopped.

they're literally walking the halls of the u.s. congress to talk to any politician who will listen to their plea to stop domestic spying. >> for me this is obviously very personal. working for the arab-american institute our community is targeted by these post post-9/11 efforts. >> they're literally vacuuming everyone's information and combing through that. i think that is really alarming and contradicts fundamental principles of our constitution. >> reporter: that information isn't just being collected. it's also being stored. sometimes for decades. according to a new report the fbi is able to keep intelligence the longest. >> 20 to 30 years basically on the fear that it might be useful in the future. that information will only be gotten rid of if it's going to be of no use to the fbi or any

of the other 16 agencies that are in the american intelligence community. >> reporter: they can keep a person's phone use for five years even if they're never been suspected of a crime. they cope track of 14 billion on the internet. a massive new data center is under construction. when it opens next year it will hold 300,000 square meters of americans' personal information. privacy advocates say that kind of monitoring is a violation of u.s. civil liberties. despite those concernser the foreign intelligence surveillance court approved the government's application to continue it's "dragnet" surveillance, and it's changed

the way some americans go about their daily lives. >> you don't feel so free to say what you think. even in the most money day phone conversation about what you're going to have for dinner tonight, what is your child is doing, you're just wondering if someone is listening to you. >> reporter: it appears they are just this case what is said now becomes useful later. kimberly halkett, al jazeera washington. >> stay with us for the upcoming news hour. take look at the issue of no female drivers in this country. the campaign for women drivers in saudi arabia. and we head to thailand where tourists are told not to have a tattoo on a picker part of their body. and the el classco much spanish season.

>> argentina will hold congressional elections on sunday. ththe president's approval ratis have slumped. amid inflation and crime. we'll travel to central argentina, and this is what we found. >> reporter: what you see here are not dunes of sand but of soy. argentina's number one cash crop. billions of dollars worth is export from the port city the nation's third largest city. the city's large middle class is not happy. soaring crime, double digit inflation and restrictions on hard currency has put people in a foul mood. >> the middle class wants dollars to protect our savings from our depreciatating

currency. we want to also not live in fear of being robbed or assaulted. >> reporter: this is bad news for the ruling party ahead of sunday's mid elections. >> no one has won an election in argentina without the support of the middle class. their income is dropping but not their aspirations. >> reporter: and it's not just the middle class that's complaining. on the other side of the tracks, rosa is expecting her seventh child and is struggling to feed her family. the government's child subsidies are not enough for one meal a day. my older children want to work and can't find a job, neither can i. >> reporter: her husband is in prison for murder, and crimes are rampant in the slums that circle rosario.

in all fairness, argentina was far worse off in 2001 after it was forced to declare the world's largest sovereign debt default. but if people are again becoming disenchanted it's because today they are no longer convinced their leadership can guarantee a brighter tomorrow. argentina, al jazeera. >> protests of living costs and government corruption. one police officer was injured. we were in sao paulo when it began. >> reporter: certainly the number of protesters we're seeing is just a fact of what it was in june or july. hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of brazil. primarily because back then it was a national movement, and now it's been fractured into individual interest groups.

they are all taking up their individual causes. this is the free fair movement of sa sao paulo, and they called for the lowering of bus fairs and these are the people who really sparked of the protests back in the summer. now they're on the streets again trying to regain, and they're calling for better transport and absolute bus fares. on friday their president was here and she unveiled $3 billion in new funding just for the city of sao paulo to improve public transport. >> there is what has been described as a tense calm in bangladesh. protests turned violent there. six people were killed on friday and a hundred were hurt after.

>> reporter: it's been one of the most hyped up days in politics. across the country pundits, media and people on the streets have been wondering what would happen on october 25th. the opposition had plans for massive rally in which they will launch a movement to force the government out of power. as the rally began most people were worried that would mean large scale violence. we are here to bring down this government. this is an illegal government. we do not accept this legal government. >> reporter: at least 10,000 police officers were deployed. packed demonstrations have resulted and protesters resulted in fighting. >> actually there's always anxiety at large political rallies. the party will take advantage of it and try to create chaos. if such a thing happen we will

use unlimited amounts of force as necessary to make sure things don't get out of hand. >> reporter: there is a certain level of tension in the air. the opposition says there are going to be hundreds of thousands of people gathered for today's rallies. it may not be that large but there are thousands already. there is an expectation that this could get violent and ugly very fast. >> reporter: it did. dozens have been injured. it calls for a three day general strike starting on sunday. in previous strikes cars and bus versus been burned and businesses forced to shut down. with lie log unlikely, they will continue to see scenes like this for the days to come. al jazeera. >> time for the news hour weather. >> meteorologist: thanks, david. yes, we're going to have a look at the weather across europe because it's looking pretty bad as we head through the next couple of days.

let's take a look at the satellite picture. in the southern parts there is more in the way of dry bright weather here. but there is still heavy downpours here stretc stretchino parts of russia. there is going to be a break but then things will turn lively as we head into sunday and monday. on sunday the winds will be picking up and there willer showers around. some of those showers will be very, very heavy. the winds will increase as we head into sunday and monday. you can see them get squeezed closer and closer together. that's an indication that the winds are getting stronger and you can see how tightly packed they are around the parts of the u.k. that's where we see the most strongest and damaging of the winds. as we have a look at the chart we see where the worst of the winds are going to be. it will be up the channel. that's where we could see the winds around 140 if not stronger

kilometers per hour. there will be gusting to 100 kilometers per hour. that is enough to bring down trees and power lines as well. >> thank you very much, indeed. tunisia's ruling party began talks to steer the country towards new election and thereforthereby new government. many people are worried about the stability of their country. >> reporter: nobody here wanting to back to the days of dictatorship when most of these politicians were excluded from the system. southern california they set aside their ideological differences and get to work. >> we have no other choice but to make it in three to four weeks this will be behind us. this atmosphere of people being worn out, unhopeful will hopefully be changed.

>> why is it taking so long to come up with a decision. >> reporter: he spent most of his life in exile. without his blessing these talks never would have started. >> now the train that will take us out of this crisis is on track. this will get us to our station in the next few months. we'll crown our resolution with a fre democracy, the first in te arab world. >> reporter: most people here are not satisfied with a political solution. they want security, too. [ protesters ] >> in central t tunisia thousans demonstrated against the killing

of eight policemen. according to government they were targeted by an extremist group. this is the latest of a series of attacks around the country. all of this uncertainty has left shop keepers to wait for customers. tourism is down. tunisians don't want to spend money. he's counting the cost of the revolution. >> reporter: i blame the politicians for this. who else. they are not involved. >> reporter: outside of the office of the prime minister, a group protest against crisis. impossible just three years ago. whatever has gone wrong with the revolution, this is an example what have has gone right. al jazeera, t ustunis. >> tens of thousands of displaced people in myanmar are dependent on aid.

the world food programs calling for an extra $30 million to sustain food delivery. violence between muslims and buddhist have forced 140,000 people to flee from their homes since june of last year. >> and indian's government face constant challenge to provide for its food population for 1 billion. one of the reasons is that farming is in de clean although one particular state is trying to change that. we have more on the kerala's disciplined support for food security. >> reporter: these cadets are getting ready to plow the field of kerela. armed with practical skills and technical know how they'll soon join their comrades in help to go revival the local agriculture industry.

this is kerala's push to become more self-sufficient. >> the expansion through training, the training services with highly disciplined, highly committed. >> reporter: new recruits spend 20 days learning about everything from fertilizer to seeds to planting seasons and machinery. since the first session in 2003 more than 3,500 cadets known to their communities as service providers have been through this training. over the past 40 years the state of kerela has seen a steady decline in the number of people willing to work in the fields, but the food security army is trying to lure people back to the land. it's mission is to start a national movement to make sure all indians have enough food. >> reporter: one of the food

security armies first officers, a widow with few options she devoted herself to the land. she now supervisors more than 40 service providers and runs a business worth $130,000. >> my income has quadruppled since i started doing this. my life has changed a lot. now i own one acre of land and i also have savings. >> reporter: in the 1970s the state of kerela produced 1.5 million tons of rice. today it produces one-third of that. for farmers, a shortage of labor has been a consistent problem. >> compared to before production has increased many folds. other farmers in my village started using this services and has gone back to their land. >> reporter: this grassroots initiative has captured the

attention of the nation. and if the indian government looks to provide food for all of its citizens it could help to turn you policies into ground realities. al jazeera, kerela. >> 24 years after the so-called velvet revolution in the czech republic could the communist party play a role in the political future there? we're off to prague where preliminary results are expected very soon for parliamentary elections. and they say women should not be doing this in saudi arabia. what is supposed to be a day of defiance. plus all or nothing for the world championship as the title race hits japan.

into top stories here on al jazeera, the iranian government is reportedly behind 16 members of armed sunni separatist group just after iranian border guards were killed. they have called for an investigation. 4 hour100 people were killea massive car bomb explosion outside a mosque. [ gunfire ] the conga lease army is firing against rebels in the democratic republic of

congo. let'let's go to markham webb, du have much detail, markham o, of what is happening on the ground? okay, markham webb, we're going to try one more time. we have the bear bones of what is happennic in the democrat be republic of congo. do you have any more details? >> okay, we'll leave markham there. we can see him but he can't hear us. in the occupied west bank farmers have been driven off their land because it has been called a nature reserve by israel. and it has been hit with untreated sewage. >> reporter: the palestinian farmers here lives are becoming

increasingly difficult. this summer israeli officials marked with red paint more than 2,000 citrus trees for disruption. >> i was working on my land when officials from the israeli parks authority arrived. they marked trees that were younger than two years. i told them to leave my trees alone. they were planted more than ten years ago. >> reporter: they were told that this area was called a nature preserve and it is not possible to expand cultivation and grazing activity. israel's decision to declare this a nature preserve and frequent harassment of settlers, he used to own 25 cows but now it's down to seven. >> since they declared the area a nature reserve we can't get tractors in. we can't get fodder for our

animals. we can't farm here. our cattle cannot even graze on our own land. >> reporter: whether they have trees or graze cattle, they say the israeli authorities have called this a nature preserve to stop them from using the land and it's creating environmental problems. their own. above the valley two industrial settlements including this one pump their discharge down hill to areas where animals often graze. >> i think the waste water come from the faccoming from the facs contain chemicals. we've seen many cases 6 foo of d poisoning. >> reporter: there has been untreated sewage. wherever it comes from, they say this pollution is the real threat to the area's natural

beauty while they're simply struggling to make a living in a tough environment. al jazeera, the occupied west bank. >> a number of women in saudi arain why have been planning to drive cars on saturday to improve their rights. they are effectively but not officially banned from driving because the government won't give them driving licenses. campaigners set up this website the october 26th driving in hope to get more women on the road, but the site appears to have been hawked. it reads this site has been hawked because i'm begins women driving in this holy country. let's go back to the first major driving protest was in 1995. many women were jailed. they had their passports confiscated, they lost their jobs. which is the least of their problems. in the court of law the women's testimony was half that of a man. fathers have legal custody of a

children. if a woman divorce she loses custody of her children age 7 for boys and 9 for girls. let's talk about this. we'll go to a supporter of the campaign for women's driving rights. very good to have you with us on this news hour. are you encouraged by what you've seen on the roads of your country today? >> reporter: it is very encouraging. there have been a number of videos that have been sent to us of women driving all over, so it is very encouraging. >> and both you and your mother try to encourage other people to get on the roads. have you been driving today? >> i personally do not know how to drive. i wish i knew how to drive. i would have been on the roads. my mother was instructed not to drive, so she cannot.

i don't know how i can encourage women. i'm only a person behind the computer. i'm on twitter and i'm on instagram, and i'm doing interviews and whatnot, but if a person believes in something they're going to do it regardless due to my encouragement or not. >> i want to read something to you from the saudi ministry of the interior. it says: >> all a little bit vague but giving the impression that it is against changes although not condemning women on the road. is this more about social change across the board for women or

specifically about driving? >> well, i think on a general scale it's a very good time to start asking for more notice general, not just for women. the way we've been going about this is in a very calm, peaceful way. we're not having any types of gatherings or protests in that sort of way. it's just women, individual women in different parts of the country at different times driving to do their personal errands, and i think this has gotten a lot of people aware of the fact that, well, yes, you can ask for your rights, and it's okay to do that if you do it in a way that is, number one, it is respectful, peaceful, and not harmful to anyone in this country. the way this is happening it is not harming anyone in the

country. no one is at danger or anything. >> thank you. sara al haidar talking to us from saudi arabia. thank you very much. >> early results in the czech ch republic, the government collapsed in june. we're in prague for us and there is a possibility that the communist party could be part of any kind of coalition. how much would the country change if that were to be the case? >> in the first place let me say that nearly 60% of czechs voting on early parliamentary elections and the polls give the social democrats most chances. however, not the majority. they won't be able to form the new government by themselves. now the main question is who

they will form a coalition with. there is a possibility that they will form a coalition with communist which never reformed, which never gave up it's communist bolshevik ideas from the past. now one party sees crushing back with the past, an a deja vu mom, however, it has been heavily affected by the corruption affair which led to a fall of the government in june. meanwhile, the party once stood for the biggest, strongest party in this country, now can be the biggest loser in these elections. there is a lot of talk about the new populist party formed by czech billionaire andre babish,

the richest czech. the media refers to him as the czech scorning. it's a possibility that the social democrats may form a coalition with his party. in that case they told me here that that could be very dangerous, and the democracy itself could come under real question here in czech republic. >> it sounds extremely complicated which ever way it goes. thank you very much. people in georgia will vote for a president on sunday. opinion poles giving the candidate the lead. they suggest voters are frustrated by the slow pace of change since his coalition came to power a year ago. we go to the capital tblisi. >> reporter: access to peace and healthcare is concern for many

as their attention turns to this election. there is a new fleet of ambulances since the government swept power in october. healthcare power has doubled. >> making a big entrance at his closing rally. the government's chosen candidate has been the frontrunner in this campaign. two of the candidates pose a challenge, the closest rival but is consistently behind the polls. but he's associated with outgoing incumbent who is packing his bags after his final term in office. after reforms he showed his

anger at the ballot box last year. the country's ailments include chronic poverty and unemployment. in a recent poll 31% of respondents said they were jobless and looking for work. health care came at the top of the list for priorities for the reform. >> this is also involved whether we have divided power. >> reporter: the governing coalition chosen candidates owes his popularity less to his experience, he's a political newcomer, and more among the perception of the georgians that electing him may give this government a greater mandate to fulfill its promises. back on the streets the paramedics tend to a woman who refuses to go to hospital. they have to let her go. >> i would have to cover 50% of

the cost for my treatment, and i don't have any money. the government doesn't take care of us. sometimes i don't even have enough money for food. >> reporter: whoever ends up driving georgia after this election, there is still much work to be done. al jazeera. >> still to come in this news a cattle cannot graze, and olive farmers struggle as israel makes a nature reserve on palestinian-occupied land. and a trophy, we'll have more on sport in just a few minutes.

>> formeformer yugoslav leader l be bury. she will be buried next to her husband who died in 1980. time for sport. >> reporter: sebastian vettle will begin at home portion. the german will have the racer beside him from mercedes. and fernando a lanzo could only

manager eighth. vettel will neat to finish fifth or better on sunday. >> i like the corner of the track, for sure it's not a secret if you can't behave the way you wan you want, you're goo enjoy that a lot. i think we did that today with great result for the team, and we'll see what the race brings tomorrow. >> reporter: the world title could be decided at the japanese grand prix. the yamaha rider was faster than mark maarquez who will be secon. and hayden will be third. real madrid takes on arch rival barcelona on saturday. it will be the first clash for

ancelotti and eric and gareth . mesi who has played in a few el classcos will have to sit because of thigh injury. >> we'll fly for the lied until the end of the season, but it is a very important game. i think it's too early to decide in this moment the final result. >> this is the first time i've had the opportunity of coaching in such an important institution here in europe. carlo ancelotti has much more

experience than me in this sense but we have the best expectation and we'll try to do as well as possible. >> reporter: english league leaders arsenal against crystal palace. manchester united takes on stoke after having failed to take it's last two home games. >> there will be a lot left to say about the teams at the end of the season. >> well, to southampton and the late kick off. therthey will have a busy leagun england with their team playing sunday. >> reporter: the nfl has a

significant fan base in england, and increasingly england is appeal together businessmen who want sports franchises in america. the jaguars have signed up to play one game a year in london until 2016, the latest against the san francisco 49ers on sunday. their owner wants to build a giant fan base in england. >> i think the nfl needs to grow. there are fans who would like to see nfl games, and we would like to be part of it. jacksonville jaguars, we need more fans. >> is there a prospect that you would move the jaguars here to london permanently. >> i don't think you can rule anything out or in at this point. i think this is a very exploratory experimental stage to see what the fans want, and what the league can provide. >> reporter: now mr. connor's move into english football becoming the sixth american owner of a premiere league club

of a cost of $250 million. the club is full ham, traditionally a small friendly club in southwest london but crucially they have a place among english football's 20 elite clubs. fullham may not have the global appeal of chelsea, but they are not to be under estimated. he built a fortune of $3 billion, now he's behind the wheel of fullham. >> i think this is a special place. i looked at premiere league as still if it would make sense for us to have a relationship, some kind of a relationship. and when it was all said and done there was really only one club that kind of fit the bill. >> reporter: he says manager martin young's job is safe after a shaky start to the season. the jaguars have had a worst start. seven defeats. they have appreciated the chance

of a team bonding in the u.k. but what if it was more permanent. >> moving everybody out here, i wouldn't want to be someone out here unless you moved my whole family out, but i wouldn't be--i wouldn't doubt it if it did happen. >> reporter: whether it's basketball, hockey, soccer or nfl, the link between american franchises and english sport continues to grow. they have not ruled out the prospect but one day that wembley stadium in london won't be a big day out but it will be home. al jazeera london. >> fc seoul needed a big goal against every grand. ling had given the visitors a 2-1 lead on the power. jankovic scored in the 83rd minute for seoul. they play china in two week's time. serena williams in the

semifinals of the championships in istanbul later on saturday. on friday williams was presented a trophy for ending the year as the world's number one. the american is the oldest woman to hold the top ranking at 32. this year williams won both the french open and the u.s. open. right now china's li na is ahead of the final. she's one up. the 17-grand slam champion will play in the semifinals in the swiss indoors. federer wins in straight sets. demetriov has been in a winning streak. south africaen signed half

of his match fee after he has been found guilty of ball tampering. south africa has sealed the test victory on day four and pakistan can only manage 326. that means south africa win by innings of 92 runs. bellow is now tied for the lead at the shanghai master. the spaniard with a 5 under par third round. roy mcilroy chances are fading away. he's six shots behind. to the france champion chris vroom has won in japan the event staged by the tour de france organizers in a bid to build popularity for cycling in the country. the race consisted of 20 lapse

of the circuit. vroom finished first. sydney crossby to put his team 2-1 up. and stanley capped it off to give new york the 4-3 win. there is much more sport on our website. for all the latest check out www.aljazeera.com/sport. that's it for me for now. david, back to you. >> indeed, thank you very much, indeed. now a story about egypt's most popular tv channel are back on the screen after four months absence. egypt's jon stewart with pro test in the country.

as any thailand tourist knows there are buddhist everywhere. buddha statues, buddha paintings, everywhere you look you can see the image of the buddha but maybe not so much longer. >> reporter: for visitors arriving in thailand it is a giant billboard that is difficult to miss, and with a message to match. don't disrespect buddhism. paid for by knowing buddha, a group that campaigns against offensive use of buddha's image. it says from the top of french toilet seats to advertisements and exploitation knowingly or unknowingly causes offense to millions of buddhist worldwide. >> we want to address the issue and bring people aware to this campaign. we believe we can make the world listen to us. it is time to speak out. >> reporter: and if the offenders don't listen to

petitions their products are boycotted. with 95% of thailand's population being buddhist, images of the buddha were synonymous with thai culture often finding its way into tourist trinkets. for devout buddhist misuse of the buddha image is highly offensive, no more so when that image is tattooed on the human body. with the approach of peak holiday season the tattoo parlors are gearing up for travelers seeking to etch their bodies. and the face of buddha is becoming increasingly popular. tattoo polar owner said there is nothing wrong with that. >> i think the buddha's image is more about art, but it has to be placed in the appropriate location. if the tattoo is below the

waistline no matter what the religion we will refuse to do it. >> reporter: but some say that is not enough. >> that is the worst obvious case. it should never at all have it on to the body. >> reporter: so far the thai government has resisted calls to legislate against tattooing, but it might sound an alarm for those concerned about how to implement such a law. >> they have the tattoo coming in, to bangkok and authorities arrest them and put them, harass them, whatever. what are you going to do with this? it's going to be very serious. >> reporter: almost completely buddhist with a secular government for many religious tolerance is one of thailand's greatest assets. a virtue worthy of buddha himself. >> from the news hour, thank you very much.

[[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.

>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm richelle carey with a look at today's top stories. a delegation from the european union will arrive in washington, they want answers about the revelation of repeated u.s. spying against citizens and government. germany's chancellor is wants the u.s. to sign an agreement similar to what they have with great britain. a coalition of groups include the american civil liberties unit and lib tea libertarian pa. the