♪ held hostage in syria for nearly two years and now free, american journalist released. ♪ hello, this is headquarters in doha and coming up, in the next 30 minutes, islamic fighters in syria have been celebrating on the streets after taking control of an entire providence in one of the bloodiest battles yet and israel prime minister says gaza will continue as long as necessary as palestinians are killed in overnight air strikes.

we pay tribute to film great richard attenborough who died at the age of 90. welcome to the program, we begin with developments out of syria, the chairman of the u.s. joint chief of staff, martin dempsy says he will recommend the u.s. after islamic state fighters in syria if they become a direct threat to u.s. security and the comments come as they seized a major military base in northeast syria, the last stronghold and gives them complete control of the province, we will take a closer look at that in a moment and the latest on a u.s. journalist who has been freed in syria after spending nearly two years in captivity and curtis has been handed over to a u.n. repetitive in a deal by katar and patty has details. >> reporter: in this video

obtained by al jazeera boston-based journalist curtis appears to be reading from a script sending reassurances. >> i have everything i need, everything has been perfect, food and clothing and even friends now. >> reporter: his family is crediting katar for his release and do not know the terms of release but his mother says we were repeatedly told by the government they were mediating for his release on a humanitarian basis without the payment of money. he was taken captive almost two years ago the u.s. believes by the front who released him to the custody of the u.n. on the golden heights on sunday after almost two years in captivity. curtis was a new name and he changed it after publishing under cover muslim and a journey to yemen and his release came on the same day a mass was held for

james foley, the journalist be headed by the islamic state group. obama administration is working to find and free the other americans that are being held hostage while it fights the islamic state group from the air. a rare moment of success, celebrated for one american who is finally headed home. patty with al jazeera in washington. as we mentioned the top u.s. military commander says america will take action if the islamic state group in syria directly threatens the u.s. or europe. islamic state has taken control of strategic syrian air bases which was the last government stronghold in the northeast of the providence in the country and we report. >> reporter: these pictures appear to show what syrian military last remaining post in the province looked like before the attack and they were posted online by the islamic state group and we cannot independently verify them. they say the military withdraw

from the base after pitched battles and it is still carrying out strikes. but the islamic state group says it's now in control of the base in the 9 third brigade and the airport is strategically located between there and the resort. loudspeakers and mosques were used to declare victory and videos online show celebration in the town after the fall of the base. >> translator: islamic state group appears to be using professional combat operation and the video shows fighters planning with aerial maps and carrying out a suicide attack days before the final push and activists say the fierce fighting claimed more than 500 lives on both sides making it one of the bloodyist battles of control of a single base. >> translator: we are the islamic state. we are going to kill bashar al-assad i swear in front of

every one here. >> reporter: they have taken over three major military posts including division 17. their advance is being helped by surrender of others. the control of the province by the islamic state group shows them expanding and tighting grip under their crop and making gains in places like homs and propaganda from both sides is more extreme. these are bodies of islamic state fighters, and islamic state propaganda shows them kicking heads of soldiers and pictures too gruesome to air. they have a level of uncertainty but surely a much bloody future and calling for the assad regime are between the forces of the islamic state group, al jazeera. >> we will join northern lebanon

and for the region it's incredibly important and also significant about what's going on in syria because it can impact in any direction, that is a real worry for any of the authorities and governments in the region. >> reporter: yes, there is a sinking realization, realization thinking that the world cannot actually fight the is group in iraq if they don't fight them in syria. the presence are connected and it's going to be a factor if the group is not attacked inside syria as well. the trick is how do you fight inside syria. for a while the west and many regional countries were supporting the opposition groups inside syria to defeat president assad and now the government will hoping it will change and the world will have to operate in order to defeat them in syria and iraq. >> how do you think the syrians are going to react to statements

made by the u.s. considering we are expecting the syrian foreign minister to speak shortly? >> reporter: yes, he is going to be speaking shortly and the line the syrian government has been using and what they are fighting is terrorist groups, it's not a popular up rising and they think it's time to hammer the point and want to say syria operation without operation from the syrian government is going to be very hard to defeat i.s. the other point is even for u.s. officials it's a dilemma, how do you strike the islamic state group positions and targets inside syria, i mean if the u.s. is going to use drones the syrian government has airplanes and have missiles and antiaircraft missiles and they can bring these drones down if they don't approve the tribes. at the same time it's very hard for the government, for the u.s. government and for the european government even regional government to operate and

working against them for so many years now to try to bring it down. so the syrian government wants to invest in this resent development in terms of the threat it's posing in order to solidified its position. politically they are on the ground but on the ground for taking over of the airport. islamic state group is becoming very powerful. the momentum it gained in iraq is helping it a lot on the ground in syria not only in fighting president assad but other groups with more weapons and money and in the past two months they have more recruits whether syrians or foreigners. >> we will see what the prime minister has to say and ann -- analyze that later. they reportedly left tehran for saudi arabia on a visit and the media reported hussein is scheduled to meet the foreign

minister. ties between i ran and saudi arabia is tense and on sides of regular conflicts including syria. israel says it has 16 air raids on gaza on sunday night and three were killed. these are the pictures from those strikes, israeli prime minister says it will continue until its military aims are achieved. since israel began the assault on gaza on july the 8th, 64 soldiers and 4 civilians have been killed, 2123 palestinians have died in the violence, 577 of those are children. 7,000 palestinians injured. the u.n. says 71% of the dead are civilians and we have more from gaza. >> reporter: advance continues on the gaza strip, overnight a number of places were targeted. we understand that at least 11

homes were struck by israeli missile as well as two mosques but perhaps most significantly is the rafa border crossing and we understand at least three missiles were fired at this border crossing and it's very sensitive and separates the gaza strip and egypt. this of course length to the discussions or the communication that is going on between world leaders trying to get both the palestinian factions and the israelis back into cairo for those indirect talks, those talks which broke down around a week ago and of course it caused this most resent wave of violence but whatever the case the gulf between the israelis and the palestinians remains very wide. people are still dying and people are being injured and various areas are still being targeted. >> reporter: to europe where there is a government

resignation an ordered them to form a new cabinet consistent with the direction he set for the country. this is regarded as a centralist and fighting over the policy and attacking measures and accusing germany of imposing the writ across the government. sergei fedorov says moscow wants to send a second humanitarian aid go east ukraine and the government criticized moscow for sending the first cargo without permission and they are fighting a pro-russian rebellion and the troops made major gains in resent weeks and sergei fedorov said they are ready to help them to agree among themselves. the award-winning british actor and director has died at the age of 90, over a career that stretched more than 60 years. he appeared in several

blockbuster hollywood movies but his work in the director's chair which brought his greatest success winning him two oscars for his film, gandhi and dominick cain looks back on his life. >> reporter: defining moment in the career, directing gandhi was a mission that took richard attenborough 20 years to achieve. the film won eight oscars including best director and best actor, the life of gandhi was a topic very close to attenborough's heart. >> i can say the film has captured absolutely the spirit of gandhi and that is as a nice a complement as i would wish to have. >> reporter: but it was as an actor that his career began,

starting in the 1940s with bit parts. as he grew he would appear in movies about the second world war. >> i'm going to cause such a terrible stink in this third right of theirs. >> reporter: the leader of what history remembers as the great escape from a german prisoner of war camp. >> putting more men out of this perfect camp of theirs that ever escaped before and 200, 300 and scatter them all over germany. >> reporter: he was a prominent campaigner for civil rights and liberties, something he would bring to the films he directed. he returned to acting in the 1990s taking on the role of the creator of hollywood's jurassic park, in recent years he became increasingly frail but his commitment to film endured. >> to work in the movies torques be allowed to express my feelings and hopes and

aspirations and so on in the movies, in the cinema is it for me. >> reporter: for his epic films and starring roles and his place in the movies is assured. >> he sadly died at the age of 90 and much more still to come on al jazeera including. >> a dog get hit and pick him off the street right away and they left the baby lay there for 4 1/2 hours sglfrn african/americans believe they are targeted by police as ferguson prepares to lay michael brown to rest plus. andrew thomas and deep in australia land i join australians to reconnect them with history, culture and ancestor art. ♪ presents... labor day marathons >> our government is allowing an invasion >> our most acclaimed series....

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hello, you are watching al jazeera and i'm robin and a reminder of the top stories, fighters from islamic group seized a base in northeastern syria and the last stronghold in the area and more than 500 people were killed in fighting over the base in the province. a u.s. journalist has been freed after nearly two years in captivity in syria, peter curtis was captured in october 2012 and seized by an al-qaeda affiliate in syria. french prime minister has been asked to form a new government by the president, the cabinet revamp comes after they

criticize austerity policies and accuse girl any of imposing writ across europe. human rights groups are examining allegations of genicide by islamic state fighters against the yazidi people and others who are in a grave threat and we have the story. >> reporter: here on the northern edge of iraq fighting has uprooted some of the most vulnerable people. these are a religious minority from the plains near mozel and fewer than 20,000 of them in total. their religion has elements of islam as well as christianity. when they took over mosel and moved through surrounding towns, all of the people fled to the kurdish region. there are religions with deep roots and iraq is the land of profits but with fighters from the islamic state group and

threats for religious minorities to convert or die there is no room left for any of them. along with other groups from the same area they ended up in a camp near the kurdish capitol erbil and it's iraq and ancient traditions. she is an arab but her husband is a kurd and when they came everyone was under threat. >> christians and muslims and yazidis all left together. >> reporter: the sam family is kaki and known here as the kakia and it's an off shoot of islam with roots in ancient persia. he is a school teacher and says a lot of things that are written about kaki are wrong and the important thing is they believe god is everywhere. >> translator: we believe in

all religions no matter which religion or which sect we would never accuse someone being a pegan, an atheist and respect all religions. >> reporter: none of these minorities have malitias. they rely on others for protection. his father says what they are suffering is historic. >> translator: we've seen hunger and seen thirst and drought and national disasters but never encountered loss and catastrophe such as this. >> reporter: iraqi minorities have been dis-speared before and many expelled from their land but this time they fear their exile might be permanent, jane with al jazeera. now the parents of michael brown, the unarmed black teenager shot dead by a white police officer two weeks ago called for calm ahead of his

funeral and he will be buried in st. louis later on monday and his parents called for a day of silence and he led two days of violence and protest where he was shot and it increased racial tensions. now police in riot gear are no longer on the streets of ferguson and protests have been peaceful in the past two days but arrest for the police officer who killed michael brown were as loud as ever and john reports. >> reporter: ricky nelson has the notion as many young black men here, it might have been him. >> it could be anyone of us any day, everybody know who he is. the young man was shot. so it's no different. black men in america it's cut and dry grew up with the same circumstances, same opportunities. >> reporter: the protests have

gone from sometimes violent to somber but the facts of what happen remain foggy. many say the shooting of unarmed michael brown by police officer darren say that is how they are treated by authorities. >> a dog get hit they pick him off the street right away. they let that baby lay there for 4 1/2 hours and that is unconscionable on the hot concrete with blood splattering out of his head. >> reporter: on monday brown will be laid to rest but what happened will not and thousands are expected to attend and so many they are likely to spill out the street, a sign of just how deep by the killing has effected the community. brown is only the latest to die at the hands of police, police shoot a black man in america twice a week by a study of usa

today and they want to make a difference at least here. >> people will not forget but learn from this tragedy. maybe it will promote more change with the police department. >> reporter: ricky nelson also has a hope. what do you think is going to come of all this? >> aside this man being prosecuted and going to jail the rest of his life, they will stop shooting young black boys in the street is my goal. >> reporter: as the funeral marks an end of sorts to his story, investigation into what happened here could decide whether a new sense of quiet remains on the city streets. john henderson in ferguson, missouri. >> reporter: la grange demands the release of three journalists jailed and have been in prison for 240 days and falsely accused of helping the muslim brotherhood and in june they were given seven year sentences

but mohamed received extra three years because he had a spent bullet in his possession, one he picked up at a protest and lawyers filed appeals against convictions. nigeria government rejected boko haram statement that has a counter fate in the north and the armed group made announcement in video release on sunday and shows fighters taking over a town in the northeast state here and boko haram attacked a security training facility in borno, 35 policemen there are still missing. democratic republic of congo confirmed two ebola deaths in the province but the health ministry say it's unrelated to the out break in west africa and there is an ebola epidemic in parts of the promise where the world health organization said an out break of with entiritis

killed people in the resent weeks and not known if it is related to ebola. the general received the king's formal endorsement and he led the toppling of the elected civilian government led by chinwat in may and he will press ahead with political reforms and says elections will take place by late next year. zimbobwai is helping the community, the regional block which he now leads and monica has more. >> reporter: people in zimbobwai said when the west turned away china stepped in and government corruption made their lives difficult.

the president seized farms owned by foreigners and crushed political opponents, but china lured by the country's natural resources like diamonds and platinum has stepped in a big way. the investment has helped their country and china should not be criticized. >> i can talk to the investment bank and talk to i.m.f. and he has been with them and so people were saying that this or that about him and no blind economies, they have an axe to ground and can't look at things objective. >> reporter: invested in africa last year, $100 billion more than the united states. today the chinese is widely exchanged on the streets of the capitol, an indication of the high level of chinese trade and

investment in zimbobwai and continent and the visit is chairman of the southern development community and expected to ask beijing for a bailout package. with high unemployment analysts say his country desperately needs the cash to avoid a total economic meltdown. but for now people here are seeing a spike in chinese restaurants and shops. china says the number is likely to rise because it will promote this as a tourist destinations for its citizens. monica with al jazeera. >> reporter: australia rock art which may date back 20,000 years is rediscovered and an expedition is going on in the out back and andrew thomas reports from the north of the country. >> reporter: lillie bennett does not fish as often as she would like, turtle is a treat, something she only gets to barbecue when she goes out bush.

it's not just the taste. it's what this represents, connection with her history and culture. is it important for you to come back here? >> yeah, it is. >> reporter: why? >> my dad and grandfather used to roam in the area and lived here when my father was a little boy. >> reporter: no one now lives in this remote part of the land but for thousands of years people roamed, now their decedents are coming back. announcing their arrival for calls to the ancestor spirits. >> ancestor or family has been here before, see. that is a very special to come. >> reporter: the focus of this trip is to look for ancient rock art. in 1967 an expedition discovered dozens of pictures some thought to be 20,000 years old but the area was so tough to reach over land the trip wasn't repeated until now.

this time with the help of a helicopter. it's bringing decendents to areas of art to see if they can spot what the 1967 experts missed and what stories they can read in the pictures they find because as much as an art expedition, this is a cultural one. the idea of the trip is to give people who have for generations been separated from history and culture the chance to reconnect. for decades australian government policy took the people away from their traditional lands and house them in permanent village's but breaking ties with the heritage has done little to pull many out of poverty and independence and some think it has been part of the problem. >> people visit the land sometimes for the first time and gives him a great sense of belonging and identity and i think that really helps with their life in general. >> reporter: this expedition will last two weeks and it is

hope more art will be found but more important that people looking can find links with their past and those a better future, andrew thomas, al jazeera, in australia. >> you can follow the stories logging on to her website at al jazeera.com. aljazeera.com. don't look now, here comes britain's economy. the uk's economy is powering forward and could take over as europe's strongest economy. we'll look at what britain is doing right. also, reading, writing and red ink, a step that a school system is taking to open the school for the kids. living in a box - going inside what could be the apartments of the future to see how they stack up - literally - i'm ali velshi, and this is "real money".