>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello from al jazeera's headquarters in doha, this is the news hour. i'm jane dutton. reports that the u.s. will launch surveillance flights to track the islamic state. egypt denies it has carried out secret air strikes on anti-government militias in libya. trying to resolve tension in ukraine. a top-level meeting is underway,

but a break through is unlikely. >> the leading u.s. ballet company is trying to attract more minority groups to an art form traditionally dominated by white dancers. ♪ we begin in syria and reports the u.s. will fly spy planes over the region to gather intelligence on the islamic state. ice fighters are continuing to take ground there. on monday they said they had taken over the entire province. and while syria has said it will work with the international community to fight it's so-called terrorists, it says damascus must be asked permission first. in order for the u.s. to fly these spy planes over syria, we can assume that there must be

some kind of collusion between the u.s. and bashar al-assad's government. >> well, that's what the foreign minister says. the syrian foreign minister yesterday stressed that any kind of military act on syrian ground has to be coordinated withment damascus or else it will be considered an aggression. and syria's air defenses could be used. obviously what the syrian government is trying to do is trying to use the u.s.'s hit at the i.s. group to get recognition of the government in damascus. >> if these spy planes do go ahead, what do you think will follow that considering the gains that the i.s. fighters are making? >> well, the syrian air force had been targeting the islamic state group position, and that had not deterred the group, nor

had it stopped their expansion to take more control in syria. so this not going to have dramatic quick impact. it will probably weaken the group and limit partially it's ability to move heavy weapons, but many people doubt if the strikes alone will amount to a serious halt to the group's expansion and strength. >> because the u.s. has said all along that in order for anything to be successful, the region itself has to step in, the neighboring countries. what are the chances of that happening at the same time? >> yes, that is true. they understand that striking from the air is not enough, and they need people to act on the ground militarily and also to attack their base, and especially seem in syria and iraq, and they need support of the regional countries.

they need the support of the iraqi government and the collaboration of the iraqi government to have a comprehensive government that represents all factors. they need the syrian go to be able to offer some compromises to the syrian forces, and they need the collaboration of gulf states like qatar, and saudi arabia, countries like egypt and turkey, because all of these countries have a say in what is happening inside iraq and syria. >> thank you very much. inside syria, government forces are continuing to drop barrel bombs. sheila macvicar reports on the devastating impact they are having on syria's biggest city. >> reporter: the helicopters circle slowly, beyond the range

of any rebel guns. suddenly a black dot drops from its belly, tumbling towards the city below, then the explosion. [ explosion ] >> reporter: for a small group of volunteers, that sound means their work day has just begun. they call themselves the civil defense force or cdf, their self appointed mission, to help victims of bashar al-assad's barrel bombs. this is their commander. an increasing number of these cheap indiscriminate aerial ied's have been dropped by the regime on rebel held parts of aleppo in recent fonts. two barrel bombs have just exploded in this neighborhood. the volunteers manage to pull some from the rebel. for this 12-year-old boy, it's

too late. all the team can do is offer him some dignity in death. in its battle to retake the city, the assad regime has relied heavily on barrel bombs. the physical destruction and psychological terror has driven tens of thousands to flee the area, a tactic many say is deliberate. aleppo once a city of 3 million has fewer than 300,000 residents left. the barrel bombs have killed over 2,000 civilians in aleppo alone this year. in february the un passed a resolution condemning their use. the syrian air force responded by doubling the number dropped. what these people are trying to do is to save those caught in the cross-fire, a simple idea, so difficult to do.

>> translator: even though we lost a great deal of friends, acquaintances and family, we are staying, because our work is humanitarian. two palestinians have been still -- killed in the latest attack in gaza coming after air strikes destroyed one of gaza's tallest building. and housed 70 families. >> reporter: this building was known to locals as the italian towers. it was one of the best known in gaza city. the top 11 floors were residential apartments where another least 70 families were living inside. on the bottom two floors, there were mainly commercial properties, there was a pharmacy, coffee shop, as well as offices. there were some hamas offices in the building, which could be a clue as to why it was targeted. people were given warnings, they

were given three knocks on the roof as the israelis call it, then it was struck, we believe five times in the night. there was a break, however, as people came to the area. 20 were injured. this is part of a growing pattern across the gaza strip last night another high multi-story building was brought down after warnings were given for those inside to leave. 2,137 palestinians have died in the violence, including 577 children. more than 11,000 palestinians have been injured. the united nations said almost three quarters of the dead are civilians.

the death of a top liberian doctor from the ebola virus has struck another blow in the attempt to control the outbreak of the virus. health officials say it could a take many months to bring the virus under control. >> reporter: doctor abraham was the deputy chief medical officer, now he is another victim of the virus he was hoping to stop. he was one of three africans given an experimental drug, but it was unable to save him. >> he finished the full course. >> reporter: but what went wrong? >> he also had [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: what is that? he had other problems other than just ebola. >> reporter: the liberian president has been visiting vest point neighborhood. here tens of thousands of people

are being held in quarantine, relying on food aid. >> we are really getting collaboration from the communities and [ inaudible ] communities have been quarantined. >> reporter: many people are too afraid that to travel. the fear is affecting businessess specially the export of palm oil. >> translator: today there is no work, because everybody is afraid of ebola virus. before people used to come here to buy, but today, nobody. >> reporter: a number of airlines have stopped flying to affected countries. the un says the restrictions are making it difficult to treat the virus. >> the understandable decision of some airlines to not continue

to fly into free town or monrovia has enormous impact on our ability to bring in staff and bring in goods. so on the one hand, yes, we understand it. but on the other hand, it's making the job a whole lot harder. >> reporter: the u.n. says the ebola outbreak is still spreading, and to stop it all need to work together better, but with growing fear and infected communities becoming increasingly isolated that will be a continuing challenge. the presidents of ukraine and russia are holding talks. rory challands is live in minsk

for us now. >> reporter: the meetings have begun. there have been handshakes. it's not just putin and the ukrainian president here, there are also others including representatives from the eu, and from what we have heard coming out of these talks so far, it seems that poroshenko has brought his 15-point peace plan. he has been talking about this since june. what it involves is asking all of the militias in eastern ukraine to put down their arms and get out of eastern ukraine, establishing a buffer zone along the border, and restarting local government in eastern ukraine, and he's been saying that essentially peace in europe depends on ukraine. a couple of other comments

coming from poroshenko, he has come to prevent more bloodshed he has proposed an autumn peace conference. and defended the deal with eu which the previous president tore up and walked away from, which innighted the whole problem. he was saying that there might be more sanctions in place for ukraine unless it changes its tone. >> so the two enemies really need to get on with this considering the cold weather that's coming, the fighting, and the capture of russian troops? >> reporter: yeah, it is in ukraine's interest to try to wrap this war up as quickly as

possible. at the moment it is making gains against the separatists, but the longer the conflict goes on, the more powerful moscow becomes in this. and there's two reasons for that. one is that the separatists can count on further support from russia. they can get resupplies. they can get further weaponry, and that seems to be going on right now. the other thing that plays into moscow's hands as you say is that winter is coming and ukraine currently has no gas supply. the gas coming across the border is being passed on this europe, but ukraine it's a has no gas supply, so when the weather starts getting colder, that will be a serious problem, and if that is not sorted out, then essentially russia becomes a much much more powerful actor.

>> all right. rory if you hear more let us know. coming up, this giant dam takes shape on the nile dispipe objections from countries downstream. and later the new york dancers leading the way for african-americans into the world of ballet. we'll have all of the events from new york as a bee interrupts the u.s. open. ♪ egypt is denying it carried out air strikes on anti-government militias. militia leaders have also condemned the alleged air strikes, calling on the two countries to stop meddling. >> any kind of foreign

[ inaudible ] won't help libya to get out of the current chaos, so what is important is to support libyans who want to fight chaos and who want to go through the political process. >> one expert says foreign air strikes in libya could set a dangerous precedent. >> it has certainly taken away the mystique of this being a proxy war, and it's the first time since 2011 when a member of the international community has played a role in the conflict. so in that respect it's a precarious new chapter we're opening up. the renegade general declared depreciation dignity in mid-may

of this year, and since then has found backing from sisi in egypt, due to him being at odds with terrorist organizations, but i think a very wide mandate to also destroy the muslim brotherhood. the muslim brotherhood has found backing from revolutionary brigades and who also feel that he has a power struggle and grab for power, and so the [ inaudible ] backing the [ inaudible ] operation. further than that though, sisi doesn't like that perhaps the libyan muslim brotherhood is the last man standing in the arab spring. but i think egypt finds it embarrassing to be implicated and found on this stage, so it's quite a strange scenario. demonstrators in yemen's

capitol have gathered to support the government. here is the latest from the capitol. >> reporter: it was another show of support for the government, tribesmen and government loyalists calling for the rule of law. fighters and security officials were also present at the gathering. they are all anti-houthis. >> translator: civilians and members of the army are all united behind the president. we want all of the houthi fighters out of the country. >> reporter: these people say they are ready to fight. this rhetoric is dividing yemen and raising fears of a surge of violence. >> translator: i'm here to support the roop -- republican. we are a ma sure nation, and we know our real enemies.

>> reporter: security forces are on high alert. these are extraordinary times in a divided city, where tension is exacerbated by the power struggle. two years ago, many of these protesters were the same people that took to the streets calling for democracy. now they are disappointed. yemen is now a country on the verge of sectarian violence. kurdish forces are continuing to battle fighters from the islamic state group in western and northern iraq. they hold the city of mosul and other towns and villages. the humanitarian situation in iraq remains serious as i.s. fighters continue their advance in the northern town, iraqi forces have rescued a group of

women and children. the town has been under siege for two months. >> reporter: the iraqi government is only able to reach this area by air. the land below is under the control of the islamic state group and other factions. it's a besieged town where the united nations is warning of a possible massacre. the iraqi defense military released this video. some 12,000 shiite turkmen live in this town. the u.n. says the situation is desperate. people have been without electricity and are running low on food and medical supplies. they are among the many minority groups who have been forced from their homes. some found their way here.

>> translator: i have six children. life is very difficult for us. we would like to be back home. that is what we want. >> reporter: the fate of iraq's minorities just like the country is uncertain, and people no longer feel safe unless they are among their own communities. this is a transit center where internally displaced families are waiting to be repatriated, but they are waiting to be blown to bagdad and other shiite areas where they say they will feel safe. but life in the capitol is violent, a series of car bombings over the past few days killed dozens of people. the attacks keep happening despite the tight security in and around the city. >> translator: i saw fire near a house. the fire entered our home. god protect us. only poor people are suffering from such continued violence. >> reporter: and that violence is also continuing in sunni

areas outside of the control of the government. the government has been largely relying on air power to fight the islamic state group. but more often than not civilians are dying. and with less than two weeks before a constitutional deadline to form a government, there are growing concerns that iraq is desending into all out violence. . in afghanistan one of the two candidates hoping to succeed, is threatening to pull out of the process. he says the process is a joke. his rival seems to have won the election. jennifer glasse has more from kaboul. >> reporter: this is another wrinkle in the already complicated process to decide who will be the next president.

after the runoff election in june, abdullah, abdullah alleged widespread fraud. john kerry has been here twice in the last few weeks trying to broker a decision. but after the election commission only threw out a small fraction of the votes, dr. abdullah is now calling the process a joke. they would like to see a few technical commands met by wednesday morning, and if they are not met, they say they will pull out of the process all together. for more than a month hundreds of international observers and representatives are have been on the outskirts of kaboul looking at almost every single ballot cast as afghanistan waits to see who will be their next

president. this process has paralyzed the afghan economy, and afghans would like to see this process finished very soon. they would like the outgoing president would like to see his successor inaugurated on september 2nd, but the objections by dr. abdullah's team makes that unlikely. so i hear there is severe flooding in south korea? >> yes, that's correct. flooding across asia at this time of year is no surprise. but probably a little bit late on to see the really heavy rain that we have seen. just trains of rain pushing along this system. 209 millimeters of rain in parts of south korea, and that's more than a month's worth of rain. and this is what we have been seeing.

flooding -- these shots come from busan. and several people have lost their lives. it's really quite frightening. as we look at the forecast, then things aren't looking quite so bad. there is still some rain, but south korea is looking somewhat dry. you see more rain coming across the yellow sea. meanwhile over in south asia, we still have a lot of heavy rain across parts of west bangoal. we have seen 100 millimeters of rain. more than 1500 villages in these scenes with heavy rain coming. and there could be more rain to come, jane. >> thank you, richard. one of the most revered priests may become a saint.

but the rules have changed. >> reporter: it was in this small chapel, a sunday mass like any other, hundreds had come again to hear this priest, but as he stood at this alter, as he celebrated mass, he was gunned down by a right-wing death squad. in the three years before his death, he used the pulpit to speak out against government repression and killings of the poor. he gave a voice to thousands of salvadorians. in a recording of his last sermon, he pleaded for the military, he said i beg you, i order you, in the name of god, stop the repression. the bishop had no doubt what that would mean. >> translator: i thought in that moment, he signed his death sentence. >> reporter: his murder was one

of the sparks which ignited the civil war. 75,000 people died in 12 years. for decades many salvadorians have hoped he would be made a saint. and now pope francis has finally lifted a ban in the vatican on doing so. >> translator: there were divisions in our country but also in the church's hierarchy, and that blocked the process. >> reporter: people come here every day to pay their respects. many salvadorians already consider him a saint. but many remember him as a divisive figure. they question the political views of a man revered by so many. >> translator: his sermons distorted reality. he is not a martyr. he is part of our history.

>> reporter: the bishop says the church must promote peace now just as ramirez did then to counter a wave of gang killings that has turned one of the most violent countries in the world. >> translator: he would be attentive to the people suffering today. he would say what is needed to come up with solutions. >> reporter: many hope if he is made a saint, he will be a much-needed role model for the next generation. still ahead -- >> they cannot stop us from using the phone. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: a boost for scotland's independence, supporters in the final tv debate. and also protecting parliament is a dangerous job in somalia.

♪ you are watching the al jazeera news hour. a reminder of our top stories. there have been reports the u.s. will fly spy planes over syria to gather intelligence on the islamic state group. i.s. fighters are continuing to take ground there and in a neighboring iraq. egypt is denying air strikes in

libya. the uae isn't commenting. russia's president is meeting his ukrainian counterpart in belarus. katherine ashton is also in ninsk. talking are underway over ethiopia's controversial dam project. when the dam is completed in 2017, the project will cost the ethiopian government $4.2 billion, and already it is said to be 30% complete. but that is worrying egypt and sudan which lie downstream. ethiopia says the dam will not affect the countries, the other countries rely heavily on the river for hydro power and irrigation.

we have a consultant on water issues, and was co-chairman of the israel jordan water committee. i should imagine this meeting is pretty important considering how many people are affected by this issue. >> i totally agree. this is a very important meeting. it should have happened sometime ago, but -- and unfortunately should have happened before ethiopia started building the dam. the two countries had the platform to discuss this, along with the other eight countries of the nile. now there is a dam being constructed? [ overlapping speakers ] >> i cannot predict what would happen, but i think both countries have reasons for these talks not to fail. >> there was talk just a couple of months ago about possibly

bombing the dam. that seems to have been shoved fortunately. so what can be said now to make progress here? to try to alleviate the water problems facing that area? >> now practically what happened before, and early in the last century, the british along with others -- super powers then after world war, concentrated on cultivating say different crops and -- including, say, cotton. in egypt that's why they gave them the best or the most majority of water shares. there are other countries that are claiming they have the right. it really has to have an integrated plan where all people can share the waters. there are enough waters, and there are enough reasons for these countries not to go to war

or bomb each other for that purpose. now ethiopia had started with the -- had started with the first phase. they have to stop a bit and discuss with their countries the impact of that phase on other -- say, countries like egypt and sudan. and definitely there are impacting. and i think the ethiopians are ready to listen, and that's why they joined the meeting. >> so you say they should talk, obviously. and what about swapping effective management insides, because that has been one of the biggest problems hasn't it? affecting all of the countries there, mismanagement of the water. >> they -- they better do. because this is not the end of talks actually. other countries in the nile base will come also to the table later say in one year, two years, or five years. it demands that these countries would discuss the water shares of each country, how much each

country is entitled to, and best methodology for integrated water management. the water management is almost -- if not weak is negligible at the moment. they demand better studies and plans to get to the best plan possible. but i think it's a win-win case if they reach that. if they don't, then, yes, all evil and negative doors are open. >> thank you very much for talking to us. let's take you to france now where a new government is expected to be announced. the president dissolved the government as some criticized the ah -- s and terty measures. >> jane, we expect to hear the

announcement of a new cabinet lineup, that will be minus the descenting foreign ministers. in the view of the decenters it will be back to business as before, toeing the economic line of brussels and berlin, working to boost growth in the economy. and the message will have gone out very strongly that open decent isn't going to be tolerated in the government of france. but just ahead of that, even in the short-term, there are still problems, and that's because a great many french people if not a overwhelming majority are extremely unhappy about the slow pace of economic recovery in this country. and people blame the president for that, even before this particular crisis, there has been predictions of an autumn of

strikes and protests over the economy, well, with nothing happening here with the new cabin cabinet toeing the old line is likely to put many at ease. >> thank you very much. in less than a month scotland will decide whether to split. among the key issues in the debate, whether scotland could keep the pound and the economic viability of scotland's oil supplies. >> what you can't get away from is once it's gone, it is gone. slowly but surely every barrel we take out of the north sea there is one barrel less.

i don't want to see my country so dependent on something that is so volatile that in one year alone last year, you last more revenues than all of the schools in scotland. >> he admitted we could use the pound. we didn't need permission. shortly different from what the chancellor said only a few months ago, which was if you walk out of the uk, you walk out of the pound. they cannot stop us from using the pound. [ cheers and applause ] a riot and hostage crisis at a state prison in southern brazil has ended. police were able to transfer all of the inmates to regional yales. the transfer was part of an agreement reached to free proprison guards. the inmates say they started the

uprising to protest poor conditions. asylum seekers are suing the australian government for failure to provide them with adequate health care. they are being held on christmas island, the australian government regularly comes under fire with human rights groups with the way they deal with asylum seekers. those being held are suffering from physical and mental health problems which are not being properly addressed. >> we cannot give people back the years they have lost in detention, and we certainly can't give children back their childhoods. what we do hope is compensation will provide something with which people can rebuild their lives once and if they are given back their freedoms. somalian african forces say

they have seized control of a town al-shabab group. they warn they will continue to assassinate leaders as a result. >> reporter: in ruins this is the building that house somalia's parliament, heavily militarized, it has been battleground between government forces and al-shabab fighters. members of parliament have been the target of al-shabab guns. this man survived many attempts. >> assassination is the last ditch effort by some terrorist groups, but the key to the whole issue is we must also from our

end have some type of a national policy in combatting this type of terrorism. >> reporter: as the chairman, he is charged with responsibility of developing somalia's defense policy. he says somalia forces are doing what they can. >> some die while they are defending us, and we will never forget that, and this is why our armed forces become fully equipped. >> reporter: the targeting of members of parliament is a new strategy by al-shabab. despite its challenges, parliament here is seen as a key symbol of the country's slow recovery from lawlessness. it has been a dangerous year for somali lawmakers. five were killed, among them a senior politician. the vehicle she was in was sprayed with bullets.

she has just left town after years of exile in the united states. her return to somalia after living in california for nearly 40 years. but she grew up in mogadishu. >> i had a fantastic childhood in this beautiful city, metropolitan mogadishu, and my dream is to make sure the young generation and future generations enjoy the kind of childhood i enjoyed. >> reporter: it's perhaps that vision that keeps everyone here moving forward, the dream of a peaceful somalia that for now remains elusive. just ahead in the news hour: we'll go to myanmar where school children are preserving and promoting their own language

again. my view of the events are very different. >> and formula one championship leader responds after crashing with his teammate lewis hamilton.

♪ the languages of minority groups in myanmar are making a come back. for more than 50 years the military allowed only burmese to be taught in schools. traditional languages are now being revived in classrooms. >> reporter: this teacher is

teaching children to read and write in their mort tongue. most of these children are from an ethnic minority. this is the first time they are learning the written script in school. >> translator: in addition to teaching i'm a farmer. >> reporter: she learned how to read and write in a monastery. it hasn't been all that easy finding people for this program. the culture and literacy committee which trains teacher for about a week before sending them out to schools has only managed to recruit about 30 people. burmese was the only language taught in state schools, but the 2008 constitution ensured that ethnic minorities could learn their own language and cultures. and change is taking place.

language lessons start at down at go on for 90 minutes. the children get a break before regular schooling resumes. they are also here on weekends, but don't seem to mind the extra hours. >> translator: i want to master my own language. also this is an honor for my community. >> reporter: the culture and literature committee, a self funded organization runs the program. >> translator: our duty is not just to preserve our language, but also to promote it. we strive towards that. it is the mission of our ethnic group. >> reporter: there are more than 130 ethnic groups in myanmar, so for two only groups have reintroduced traditional language in schools. the old view that being multi-lingual could threaten

national unity is losing ground in the country. well, it's time for the sports news. >> thank you very much. we'll start with tennis. the world number 1 looks like he has rediscovered his form at the u.s. open. having only won twice since simil women eblton. >> reporter: he has reached the last four finals at flushing meadows. he began this campaign by beating his u.s. opponent 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. >> i have had many things that happened in my private life as well in the last two months, so i was probably not mentally ready to compete at this high level. but now it's different. i feel emotionally recharged and

ready to go. >> reporter: andy murray had to overcome cramps to complete his second round. and he ended upbeating his opponent in four sets. >> a cramp early on in the stage where sometimes nerves can bring on. i certainly wasn't nervous, after just winning a tough second set, so yeah, it was -- it was tough. >> reporter: the australian open champ uni champion has always progressed, defeating his czech opponent. maria returns to the u.s. open after missing last year's event due to a shoulder injury. she won the last ten games against her fellow russian, so in 6-4, 6-0. under the lights. >> i have certainly learned a lot, and just know what to expect. and i know the waiting game a

little bit better than i did when i was a young teenager. but now i really enjoy it. i think it's -- you feel the goose bumps when you go out. >> reporter: french open finalist is seeded second in the women's draw. she came from a set down to beat danielle roast collins and aby interrupted this match. williams ended up being the queen bee by winning the match in three sets. formula one's governing body has decided not to investigation the crash with lewis hamilton. hamilton claims his teammate said he made the collision on purpose. here is his response. >> all i can say is that -- my -- my view of the events were -- are very

different, but the thing is, it's just better that -- that i don't now, you know, give all of the details of my opinion and things like that. i hope you respect that, and i need to -- i prefer to -- to just keep it internal, you know. we had a very important discussion after the race. as when such things occur, we must sit down and review them, and that's what we did. and everybody gave their opinion and now we need to move forward. the reigning world champion has become the first f-1 driver to test out the new track for the russian sochi. and he seemed pleased. a race will take place on october 12th. >> i think it's a great experience, obviously you are looking forward to see how much russian people come to watch, see how the reception will be. i think everything is set and

looks brand new. now we just need to bring the cars and the spectators. the head coach for tel-aviv has quit his job because of the current security situation in the count industry. he only returned in june for his second spell at the club. the former liverpool assist important will now take over. >> you cannot go as if nothing is happening. all of the israeli teams have had to play outside of israel, so don't hide the fact. be honest also with yourself when you ask this question, that there is an obvious reason that there is a situation in israel. england's frank lampart has decided to retire from international football. in a statement he said:

lampart's new club manchester city put down an early marker on monday. the defending champions have beaten last year's runners up, liverpool 3-1. former man city player was in the standing for this one. he may not have liked what he saw, as two goals, and another from this man gave city the convincing victory. that's two wins out of two for city. defending spanish league's champions, athletico madrid could only draw 0-0 in their round. this man opened the scoring for

real who's starting lineup included the new arrivals, and it renaldo added a late second. the day after the death of the striker who was hit by a stone thrown by fans during algearian league match, football has once more showed its ugly side. this time in south america, rioters clashed with police. according to local media, a gang known as [ inaudible ] were to blame. and that's it for me, jane. >> thanks very much for that. we have been waiting for this for a long time, it seems we might have some sort of ceasefire agreement this news coming there the egyptian capitol cairo. we believe there will be an official announcement in the next couple of hours or so.

it couldn't have come at a better time. it is hoped that a longer ceasefire will be a prelude eventually to some sort of baes peace talks. from the hamas spokesman we know that an agreement has been reached, and they are awaiting to hear from cairo to determine the zero hour. apparently there has been no comment from benjamin netenyahu. but that news that apparently a ceasefire has been agreed between the israelis and the palestinians. we'll have more on that in the next half an hour. classical ballet in the united states has a problem. there are very few african-americans. dancers at the top companies are almost entirely white. but that is something the american ballet theater is trying to change. daniel lack reports.

>> reporter: change doesn't come easily to ballet. just ask mystery, a soloist at new york's american ballet theater. she is one of very few african-americans ever to be at the top of her art form. >> as an african american ballerina in the 21st century, it is still rare to see us, so i think it's about opening up people's eyes to understanding that we can all be a part of the classical ballet world. >> reporter: in the past african-americans have gone to europe to dance where their skin color mattered less. some blame racism, others the time and demands on training for working american class families. >> i feel like people aren't used to seeing african-americans in the white art. you know, they are used to us in

hip hop or modern, which is like -- i don't want to do it, because it's too cliche. it's too expected from this black person. >> reporter: at the school, they are explicitly searching for young dancers. mystery is the force behind project plie. in less than a year there was a 10% rise in minority students. >> people who are in the audience want to see people who look like them on stage, and as long as we don't have that representation, i don't expect there to be diverse audience. >> reporter: soon misty will dance the lead in swan lake. the first time on african american has done so at this level. >> i think that he has definitely set the bar for change, president obama, and it's nice that we have someone like that to set an example that

african-americans, hispanics, minorities are capable of being leaders in our communities. >> reporter: art it is said reflects life, if that's true, then this art form at least is well on its way to looking a lot more like the society around it. i just want to let you know before we go, we are waiting on the palestinian leader to make the official announcement of the ceasefire that apparently has been agreed to between the israelis and the palestinians in the egyptian capitol cairo. a relief for all sides considering there has been over thousands of people killed, particularly palestinians. we don't know the details of the ceasefire or how long it will hold, but as soon as we know, we'll let you know. for me jane dutton and the rest

of the news hour team, thank you very much for watching.

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>> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy, let the journalists live. the islamic state group seizes an air base in syria, despite the air strikes against them. how likely is statehood for is. leading economist mohammad al-ariane. i'm ali velshi in for antonio mora. those stories and more ahead. this is "consider this". >> u.n. says the islamic state group committed crimes against humanity. >> cold-blooded, systematic