continues on facebook, google+ >> hello, and welcome to this news hour, i'm in doha and these are the top stories. u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, is looking for plans to combat the islamic state group. and athlete, oscar pistorius, is found not guilty of killing his girlfriend. and european sanctions against russia come into effect.

plus, life in a slum, taking to the water where 1 million residents in nigeria. u.s. secretary of state meeting with top officials in turkey to support plans to take on the islamic state group. john kerry has been holding court with the turkish foreign minister and the president in the capital of ankora. kerry signed on u.s. allies in a meeting in saudi arabia on thursday, but turkey refused to embrace the plan. john kerry secured support from ten arab countries, and they include egypt, jordan, lebanon and iraq. plus the gulf countries of kuwait, bahrain, saudi arabia,

qasr. standing by in istanbul. turkey is a key u.s. ally, and why is kerry not having a very easy time in getting it onboard in this fight against isil? >> well, john kerry, he was there for longer than the 2 and a half hours. he was with the foreign minister, and he's just begun a meeting with the prime minister. so he's seeing all of the significant political leaders here in turkey. turkey is important of course because it's on the front line, it borders syria and iraq. the u.s., john kerry, the coalition needs turkey's support. and ideally, there's a nato base in turkey that the u.s.

would like to be able to use. starting isil fighters, and already ahead, the turkish leaders are saying that they are not going all out. but they're going to be allow the area to be used for humanitarian assistance and logistical support. turkey is worried about the 40 diplomats that are being held hostage by the islamic state. however, the u.s. and britain and other european countries have also been pressuring turkey to try to control its borders and try to stop aspiring foreign fighters from making their way into iraq and syria, and turkey has been trying to tighten it's borders. it's turkish soil b. it's a border town that looks to the middle east. it's a place of pilgrimage.

and now sometimes lingering among the pilgrims, they are taking them into syria and iraq to join the fighters of the group that calls itself the islamic state. turkey has made that a lot harder. >> ahead, it's syria. the smuggler told me that it's easy to get there, you just have to go through the border fence. not anymore. >> interpreter: the changes started 10 months ago, the turkish forces have been digging trenches along the border, guards and night vision goggles, and they have even shot at people. and it's much harder to get across. >> they have been across to fight anywhere east of the

euphrates river. they will be welcomed into an area controlled by groups linked to islamic state. turkey doesn't want the conflict spilling over here. but the is is holding more than 40 turks hostage. and the turkish government worries that playing an active role in a u.s.-led military campaign could relative in isil taking out brutal revenge on those hostages. the human conflict, like dozens of turkish towns and cities, it hosts hundreds if not thousands of those escaping from the fighting. >> there's no life, the people are tired. the islamic state took everything and controls everything inside of the city. there's no money, no work. >> the u.s. officials say that they understand turkey's unique position as the only muslim

majority country in nato, but being so close to the conflict, its discrete cooperation is essential if the campaign against the islamic state group is to have any chance of success. bernard smith, aljazeera, turkey. >> the international relations, he joins us live istanbul. now, turkey's cooperation is being called absolutely indispensability in this fight against the is. but how far do you think that get involved? >> it looks pretty -- at this point, given how many turks fight and how many sleeper cells there are in turkey. turkey, at this point, is quite

unlikely to yield support in a way that is visible, that's public. there may be other intelligence related or other support and supply related help that turkey can give, but given that it's mosul consulate was overrun by isis in the last month, turkey has lost one of its most important intelligence helps to the region. so at this point, it's unclear how much they are going to help with regard to the anti-isil coalition. >> given that it's got a huge american air base on its soil, is the u.s. going to accept it taking a back seat role? >> well, the air base has a negative history in turkey. back in the first gulf war in 1990, they allowed the nato bases to use that, and then in

backlash, saddam hussein at that point had punished turkey by basically creating a massive turkish refugee crisis. so it practically means that turkey is an active combatant. and that's not a back seat role. i think we'll witness the hardening negotiations, and at the end of the day, turkey will probably allow the air base to be used, not maybe for bombing missions but for supply and support missions. but the air base i think is more important then a lot of people give credit for. >> okay, and thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> well, the united states said that the islamic state group has almost three times more

fighters than previously estimated and they are responsible for the beheading of two u.s. journalists over the last months. how the group has been able to recruit so many fighters. >> they are well armed and financed. in syria and iraq, and it's their brutality that has made them notorious. now the american intelligence agency said that the group known as the islamic state is growing. their numbers were estimated at around 10,000, but now the cia says that more than 30,000 men could be fighting under their banner. despite several governments identifying them as an immediate threat, there appears to be little agreement or clarity as to how and why the is group has grown so quickly. some say the failure of american foreign policy in the middle east is to blame.

and groups like isil did not exist in iraq prior to the u.s. invasion. >> it's much of a failure of the west and how they have been fighting terrorism for the last 13 years, and there, you do have to address those groups with disenfranchise. the sunnis in iraq. and it's the reason many of them have gone over to isis. but you have the same thing in north africa and syria, through the the middle east. >> another view is that the so-called islamic state group is the iraqi government's fault. that it arose only recently as a result of that government's failure t to be more inclusive. eliminating the sunni population within the country. they have cracked down on hundreds of thousands of iraqis as part of a government protest. and hundreds of protesters were killed then. the prime minister, maliki, said that terrorists were among

the demonstrators. and the islamic state group emerged from those same towns and cities. >> the root cause in iraq is one that has to be addressed, and that really is a challenge. with the previous iraqi government under prime minister maliki, the kurds felt disenfranchised. and they were. and now with the new prime minister, he said that they will be included. it's going to be a challenge to get the sunni tribes in western iraq to first trust the new central government. >> but it's not limited to iraq and now extends west to syria. for now, it appears that the international powers, including the u.s., have failed to come up with a plan on how to combat the group's presence in syria. many fear that dealing with the isis group will create many more conflicts. well, the french president has been meeting with iraqi

leaders in baghdad. baghdad at the presidential palace. it's the first by islamic state since the fighters began their offensive in the north. france said that it will join the international military coalition against the is group. >> we stand by you on the humanitarian level and the security level because you are facing an enemy which does not recognize borders between countries. this enemy is a terrorist group, and has formed a presence on the ground. this group has launched a war, not just against iraq, but against all who don't see things the way they do. a war based on terror. >> in the capital, baghdad, the coordinated explosions, a bus terminal and shopping district. and at least 12 people have been injured.

south african athlete, oscar pistorius, has been found not guilty of homicide for killing his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. it carries a maximum 15 year prison term. the judge did accept that he mistook her for an intruder. >> reporter: oscar pistorius was tense as he arrived at court. his freedom hanging in the balance, but first, the gauntlet of journalists and onlookers, and nothing could have prepared him for what awaited inside. >> section 51.1 of the criminal law amendment, 105 of 1997. the accused is found not guilty and is discharged. instead, he is found guilty of homicide. >> the paralympian was stunned. he could spend up to 15 years

in prison. reeva steenkamp's father listened impassively, and he didn't comment as he left. but oscar pistorius' uncle did. >> we would really like to show our deep gratitude for finding oscar not guilty of murder. it's a big burden. >> but many legal experts say that the not guilty verdict was wrong, while others agree. saying that the judge had to put herself in the athlete's mind. a man who feels vulnerable on his stumps, who felt there was an intruder in his bedroom. >> oscar isn't want to be shot and killed. and therefore, he was acting in self defense. at the same time, he did not have the intention to commit murder. >> the athlete had hero status

in south africa. a man who took on the disability and the world. but it was shootred when he shot and killed his girlfriend last year. >> many are unhappy, and experts say that with his knowledge of how small the cubicle was, by shooting into it four times, he could have killed whoever was on the other side of the door, but the judge said that it was based on purely circumstantial evidence. >> in a dramatic trial that captivated millions, the suspense only hinges on the sentencing now. it's scheduled for the 14th, but it's a controversial verdict that will be debated for many years to come. pretoria, sout south africa. >> still ahead. russia and china seek to cement

ties from the capital. and plus, [ roaring ] the biggest predatory dinosaur of all time. a giant fossil reveals spineosaurus. swam and feasted on massive sharks. >> and the semifinals of the world cup. >> the u.s. has announced more sanctions on russia, including defense contracts with energy companies. it comes hours after the european sanctions were enacted despite threats from moscow. eastern ukraine, the major defense companies will be denied access to finance in european markets.

the sanctions would be eased after review of the truce at the end of the no. the month. >> we have had reactions from russia's foreign minister, sergei lavrov, on friday, to the new positions on sanctions, he said that they threaten the sanctions in the ukraine, and he said that russia will take appropriate actions in the sanctions. we have already married from the russian prime minister, and he is hinting strongly that russia could close it's airspace to western airlines. cost factor would be huge, and it could actually, if this ban was imposed, it would bring about the bankruptcy of some of the smaller airline companies. winter is coming, and russia could suspend its gas supplies to the west. and let china take up the strain on the other side.

and also, russia is the major exporter of rare metals, including titanium, and they have lucrative contracts with airbus and boeing, and russia could in effect scrap those contracts, which would leave both companies struggling. >> in ukraine, they exchanged more than 60 prisoners on friday, and a fragile peace continues to hold. people are still worried that the war will flare up again. >> in a little village south of luhansk more evidence of the war. tanks rolled in and stayed for two weeks, and the impresent on this community will last for years. while the locals blame the ukrainian forces for turning their homes into targets, the local soldiers said that they tried to get civilians out so their vehicles would not be hit

by mines. >> 17 people died here, everybody from this street died. from this house, from this house and from that house. >> this is one episode in the chaotic withdrawal from luhansk. the rebelled weren't able to do this kind of damage. you see the crater northbound this tank, and it gives you the idea of the firepower raining down on this village. from what the kiev government said is the result of russian reinforcement. in luhansk itself, a testament to the weeks of shelling from the ukrainian airport. sources say that 500 people died around the area, and the numbers are expected to rise. the power has been out for a month. >> there's an expectation of

more war to come. they have not been shooting since the ceasefire. >> just six of luhansk's 50 schools opened for the academic year. >> our school open. on the 14th, it was destroyed. and the other one in the neighborhood was bombed as well. >> reporter: after what these families have lived through, its hard to let go, even for a day. >> interpreter: there's no guarantee they won't start firing again, so i stay close by, just in case. >> reporter: inside, elena and catiana, whose classes have been swelled by children in the city. elena teaches the russian language in a town controlled by separatists. >> interpreter: we're not far from ukraine, but it absolutely doesn't make a difference. people are important. it's not nationality that defines them.

>> reporter: this battered city does what it can to repair itself, ahead of the annual festival on sunday. the 50 cables need to be replaced before it can restore its power supply. infrom a structure everywhere needs to be rebuilt. and everywhere, the fighting would begin again. >> leaders from russia, iran and china are meeting for a security simultaneous. drawing down forces in afghanistan this year. and the crisis in ukraine is high on the agenda. we report from the capital. >> reporter: coming together in times of trouble, with their respective relationships with the rest becoming increasingly difficult, countries like iran

are looking to strengthen the trade partners. 20 years after the fall of the receive yet union, vladimir putin turned to help for a region that his country once governed. >> our organization has demonstrated the ability to react in a strong and fast way, to keep us safe and secure, and to make our countries prosperous. this task is more and more difficult. >> the members agreed to increase security and trade. and vladimir putin talked about the impact of new sanctions by the europe, aimed at stopping the flow of money to russian banks and energy companies was being felt, all the more reason, some are saying for moscow to look east. but russia isn't the only country eyeing central asia as a new strategic powerplay base. the president is making sure that the president is being

felt from several deals. and looking to local businesses. but for all of these leaders, the growing instability and containing the ideological extremism are key factors. members of the countries of this group represents hundreds of millions of people around the world. individually and collectively, the leaders gathered here, have the potential to affect the outcome of global crises from syria to ukraine, and some of them will be hoping that the strength in numbers that can evolve into a force that's able to stand up to what they describe as increasing western aggression. >> joining us now live from moscow, and it's a pretty weighty show of leaders there. and what is the significance of the shanghai corporation. and what are it's main goals? >> well, the core mission, for

which it was formed is to stabilize former central asia, the stan republics with their authoritarian, but secular regimes, which no one wants to see to crumble and be replaced by some kind of revolutionary islamic regimes, and of course central asia is a very mineral rich country. the region, china, has been buying up this mineral wealth. and gas and oil pipelines, and of course for china and for russia. especially for china now, now, everyone agrees, including the west. >> do you think that it's looking to expand that? shakeup the global order and

the other organizations such as the u.n., the ims and the world bank, and maybe nato? >> well, russia was promoting the expanded role for the organization, and being right now an increasingly bitter prospect with the united states and it's allies, if russia wants to counter weight that with going east and establishing better relations with china, with other countries, and of course maybe using the organization too, the problem is that neither china nor the centralization an republics are really interested in such an agenda. they don't seek right now any confrontation with the west or with europe, and they're not really very -- they're luke warm if their support for russia over ukraine, and so the change is turning this into an alliance, a military alliance is not really fully working out

as russia would wish. >> explaining the package, it's going to be quite a formidable force to be reckoned with, especially if it's expanding it's alliance, and why has it received little or so little attention in western media? >> well, china, which is the main power together with russia in this organization, has always been stressing very hard that this is not a military alliance, that yes, it deals with security, yes, it deals with economic operation, and the main field of economic operation is to prevent development and promote development in central asia, and prevent radicalism that's coming to power there. so this right now, russia is pressing for increased membership of the organization,

bringing in pakistan or iran, and up to now, they have vetoed iran. but you can see a military alliance composed of iran, pakistan and india and china at the same time as russia, i don't think that will work as a military alliance at all. >> okay. thank you very much for joining us from moscow. >> thank you. >> injured in egypt after scuffles with the police. at least one person was killed in protests in cairo and alexandria. demonstrating against the july 18th overthrow of president mohamed morsi. and the aljazeera journalists, they have been held for 158 days. accused of aiding the muslim brotherhood, and they are

appealing against that conviction. still to come on the news hour. waiting for help. hundreds of thousands are still stranded by floods in south asia. plus, too close to call. less than a week out from the scottish independence referendum. and in florida, a baseball player is struck in the face by a fastball.

president obama told the american public while he believes the islamic state must be destroyed and explains how he wants to do it, now they are taking a closer look on if it can work.