>> tech know every saturday go where science meets humanity >> sharks like affection >> spot on... >> don't try this at home... >> tech know, only on al jazeera america >> a british aid worker and father-of-two beheaded by the islamic state group. david cameron calls it an act of evil. also ahead - more fighting in eastern ukraine, despite a week-long ceasefire. thousands of people stranded by floods in pakistan, we'll have the latest. scotland prepares to vote at independence. we look back at a famous battle with the english, centuries ago.

welcome to the program, the islamic state group has beheaded another hostage, this time 44-year-old aid worker david haines from the u.k. more on his killing in a moment. the u.s. secretary of state is in france. francis hollande is holding a summit to coordinate 20 countries willing to fight the i.s. group. australia is sending fighter jets and 600 troops to the u.a.e. to help battle the troops. let's focus on the kitting of the u.k. aid workers, and a video apparently has been sent of the beheading of the father-of-two. president obama said:

britain's prime called it fewer evil, saying they would do everything in their power to face justice, however long it takes. we go to erbil in iraq, first to emma haywood outside the british parliament. david cameron called the killing an act of evil. what is happening there in terms of snons. >> well, david cameron welcome back to doungt, issuing the statement, calling the act despicable and an appalling act of evil. it was echoed by others. barack obama called it a barbaric murder. islamic groups condemned it. including the society in britain, here, david cameron will host an emergency meeting

with advisors and ministers to decide how to respond. it will be interesting whether we see a shift in policy towards iraq, coming out of that meeting. britain has donated arms to the north of iraq. we expect more words to come out of the meeting that will take place in downing street. let's cross to northern roying and talk to john hendren. john, what reason did david haines killers give for beheading him? >> in the video the executioner says, "this man has to pay the price, david cameron, for your promise to arm the kurdish peshmerga against the islamic state", it is the act of arming the troops fighting the islamic state fighters in northern iraq.

i recently visited the front line where the kurdish peshmerga are, and i tell you they say that they need the weapons in order to continue a push towards mosul. they have captured a strategic high ground. we spent a day with them, this is what we found. from a strategic mountain above villages held by a kurdish state group, peshmerga forces are poised for a push to mosul. islamic state fighters don't fire back. movements are punished by mortar strikes, like this in this village. peshmerga troops in a 3-hour battle captured the mountain, and bombarded the villages below, left empty by christians and yazidi who fled. >> translation: these are the villages, and this is the i.s.,

armed i.s. in the village. they bombarded here. they no longer have the capability, peshmerga are on the front line, feeling great. >> a city of 2 million, mosul is the iraqi capital of the islamic state. as mosul goes, commanders say so goes the war for iraq. >> this is the forward-most point for the peshmerga in iraq facing mosul. in the near ground is bartela, a christian town held by the islamic state, and beyond it is mosul itself. >> commanders say they are waiting on an order to push to the most fortified bastion. first, the kurdish troops want the backing of kurdish and shia forces, they want more american air strikes and arms. >> translation: we need weapons, support, outside help. we need every kind of help. we are poor people. tell them.

>> translation: the islamic state is a cancer. they'll take every country if you don't purr them out. they'll take everything. it's better to destroy them. the peshmerga say they are nearly ready for the battle with the war of the yate, or dash. >> translation: it's just a matter of time before it is thrown out of iraq. >> with mosul in their sights, islamic state fighters a few hours from syria, time is one commodity peshmerga have in short supply. australia is sending 600 troops and fighter jets to the united arab emirates to help the international coalition combat the islamic state group. the australian prime minister has this to say about the latest beheading. >> the beheading of a british aid worker is further demonstration that this

particular terrorist group does not just do evil, but exults in doing evil. i can advise within the last this hours we have received a specific request from the united states government to contribute supportses to possible military action in iraq. i can further advise on friday night i had a conversation with the new prime minister of iraq, who indicated to me that he would welcome an australian military contribution to the restoration of order and security inside iraq. now, despite a ceasefire, fighting is ongoing in the eastern ukraine. hopes of a political solution seems more unlikely as the war on words between the u.s., ukraine and russia worsens. from donetsk, we have this

report. gungun [ explosion ] >> reporter: this is what the ceasefire sounds like on the outskirts of donetsk. [ explosion ] >> reporter: pro-russian rebels would not show their faces, but showed ordnances they claim ukranian forces are using to fire on them and the city. >> this is as close as we can get to the airport. a kilometre behind me, where small arms, artillery tank rounds have been raining down on the strong hold that the ukranian forces maintained for months, this is an important price strategically that the dpr rebels want to take control of. >> in kiev, the prime minister maintained the ceasefire was flimsy. >> let me put it bluntly, we are in a war, and the key aggressor

is the russian federation. until we get the peace, it will be difficult to have real changes. russia continues to deny a military involvement, and sent a second convoy on saturday. residents need food and support. >> translation: today we have received humanitarian aid from the russian federation. until now we have unloaded eight cars with rice, sugar, canned fish and meat. it will be gip to people -- begiven to people with luhansk pass parts. >> rebels distribute the aid. it may win them trust. like wise in donetsk, they must assure they can keep the peace. these are traffic police, with the new insignia of the donetsk

people's republic. the rebel authorities want to show the public that order has returned. though some, in this car, are beyond. for others, the war may not be over, but it's time to get on with their lives. a pakistani military has been using helicopters and boats to rescue people marooned by floodwaters. 280 people have been killed. military engineers have been blowing up dykes in central pakistan to divert rivers. the cities are multan. we have this report. >> this is a village on the outskirts of the city. as you can see, for the last several days, almost 30 families from 30 homes are now seeking refuge on dry land. they have been able to bring out essential supplies with them. most of the stock laying in the home is washed away.

the biggest change will be how will the people sustain themselves through this ci sis. even though some of the -- crisis. even though some of the farmers are bringing out the livestock, most of the food stocks are gone. what you find is the women and children are sitting on the top, waiting for someone to come and help them. they say that they cannot go back to the villages, because they are still - there is still water there. and the fact that the foundations of the houses is now very weak, and so these people are not able to return soon. the most important will be that after the flood has swept through the region, there has to be rehabilitation, and to resettle the people back into their villages. lots more to come in al jazeera. including... ..the few remaining jews in yemen tell how they have lost

everything, after being driven from their villages. a young american man goes on trial in north korea. more on that. stay with us.

welcome back. the top stories on al jazeera. the islamic state group released a video which appears to show the beheading of a british aid worker, and father of two. david haines was kidnapped in syria. david cameron is threatening to hunt down his killers for what he called an act of pure evil. u.s. secretary of state john

kerry touched down in france to gain support against the i.s. group. he's in paris. 40 nations agreed to bring down the militants in iraq and syria. australia prime minister tony abbott leant his country's weight to the international coalition combatting the islamic state group. he's sending 600 troops and fighter jets to the united arab emirates and condemned the beheading of a british aid worker. iran's parliamentary speaker dismissed the u.s. effort to build a coalition against the i.s. group, saying any action against the is without u.n. approval is a violation of international law. >> translation: they say the u.s. and its allies will form a coalition and attack syria and iraq, regardless of the u.n. security council. this is a disaster. if you wanted to attack, why create the united nations then. opposition fighters in syria captured several towns in the

area where the fighting began. the gains allowed some civilians to get to safer grounds. the struggle is far from over. we have this report. >> in the countryside around deraa, the rebels are making progress, albeit slowly, retaking territory one hill at a time. regime soldiers abandoned their position. in this war of attrition, the rebels are grateful for each small victory. >> the syrian rebel front clairs the liberation of the hill at around 9:45 this morning. we thank god for that. >> in this area, the forces appear to be routed. opposition fighters continue to gain and hold territory around the area. >> translation: after controlling the area, we moved people to safer areas, and sewer

public places in the town. >> reporter: this was the birthplace of the uprising of the regime, and the start of the still war in 2011. thousands have been killed since then. many millions of others throughout syria are living in refugee camps like this one. here at the camp on the turkish boarder, people are living in conditions that are getting worse. >> life is hard here. especially during the summer when there are water shortages. each family barely gets a bucket of water this day. with the misery the people make the most of the mystery they have. this school has dozens of children and a teacher working for free. >> translation: we ask people to come to see the children and provide them with what they need. >> reporter: the refugees are

intent on staying here, they must be wondering how long they can carry on like this. >> the palestinian authorities coming under pressure from hamas under a stran investigation into war crimes. it's been found that than international criminal court investigation has there been approved. dozens of israelis were killed amidst fighting with gaza. the pa has been called on to explain itself. >> an american man has gone on trial in north korea. matthew mitchell was arrested. it's not known what he was charged with. the 24-year-old is believed to have torn up his visa demand asylum. for more, we are joined by andre, a professor of korean studies at a university in seoul. >> matthew miller was arrested,

allegedly for violating his tourist region. are we clearer to understanding what he is charged with and what punishment he'll face? >> it's not clear what he is charged with. it seems to be the case that he did cross the border, and then immediately applied for asylum seekers in north korea. whether - was it a joke, or whether he really wanted asylum or not. as a matter of fact, if you look at the past, and say a number of the educated people came to the soviet union and stalin in the 1930s, asking for asylum seekers. many were arrested and executed. by definition, they were seen as spies. however, in this case i would not expect any - anything that dramatic. because most likely, most

koreans want to remind the western tourists, whose number has about increased slightly that they should behave themselves and should not be eccentric. >> how much is north korea using the case as leverage to try to reopen dialogue with the united states? >> of course they did try to use it. he'll be given a lengthy prison sentence, but not in the normal regular prison. but most likely to some kind of special foreigners, where conditions are relatively understood. the north koreans will stop demanding a high level delegation to come. i'm sounding certain about it. because this is what we have seen many, many times before. foreign tourists, american tourists are arrested for misconduct, and then they demand

high level american politician. ideally a former president to come and to get the american tourist back, and then it's presented domestically as a propaganda victory, as a show of force. they tell people look. this mighty american imperialists before the country, more powerful than the enemy. on the other hand they use it. >> thank you very much for your time. >> now, an air and sea mission is looking for survivors from a ferry that sank in the philippines. two are known to have died. a hundred rescued. the ferry reported problems during heavy rain and strong winds. >> there were thousands of jews in yemen. most left for israel in the 1950s. these days 200 remain, they are

facing a choice to stay or leave. we have this story from the yemeni capital senna. >> this rabbi teaches his relatives. they are members of yemen's last jews. misrata jews lived in yemen for more than 2,000 years. numbers have dwindled over the last decade to a few dozen now. this is the patriarch, the chief rabbi in the northern regions of sadder. but in 2006, they were evicted by the shia houthis, from their villages. his wife says they lost their lands and businesses. >> we were very happy in sadder. now we have lost everything, and i'm scared to go back there. i want to die at yemen.

>> the children go to government schools. they don't feel comfortable revealing their jewishness in public. but the rabbi remains confident yemen is a place for them to live. >> i want our congregation to live with the muslim community, go to the same schools, have a social life, so they respect each other. i hate to see them divided. >> the jews will move to a government compound in sanaa. some left for israel. this man wants to stay. he spends time with his relatives, farming in the backyard, a hobby reminding him of the days when they were flourishing farmers in northern yemen. >> few families that choose to stay here are concerned about their safety. yemen faces a delicate situation. al qaeda in the south, and a

send off of the government, and the minority in the north. a delicate situation, that one day they may force the last jews to leave a country they called home for hundreds of years. >> al jazeera continues to demand the release of its three journalists imprisoned in egypt. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed have now been detained for 260 days. they are accused of aiding the muslim brotherhood, charges seen as politically motivated. they are all appealing against their conviction. a faction of the pakistani taliban has announced that it will suspend its armed campaign against the army. it's believed the leader of the punjab wing has fallen out with the chief mullah fasuala. in a statement the punjabi taliban urged leaders of other factions to stop fighting and

resume peace talks. >> pilgrims to the hajj are being screened for the ebola virus. 3 million visitors are expected in the kingdom. including travellers from nigeria. saudis imposed a ban on pilgrims from sierra leone, guinea and others. >> a manhunt is continuing across three u.s. states after a gunman shot and killed a state trooper. they were wounded when ambushed outside barracks on friday night. officers in new york and jersey are on the look out. a gunman is involved in what appears to be an attack on law enforcement. >> in california, wildfires are forcing home owners to move to safety. hundreds of firefighters are busy. heatwaves and draught are fuelling the flames, spread

across the cleveland national forest. now, scottish voters have four days left to decide whether to choose independence or stay part of the u.k. the story is one of warfare and wound na have not heeled. this report from the highlands of scotland. >> reporter: 16 april, 1746, two armies deployed, facing each other here on on the moor. the tortured relationship between the english and the scots goes back hundreds of years. the fascination remains. this is a moor where 40 years after the active union between the two countries was signed, there was a terrible battle over the years that followed. the english army set about

destroying communities to break the will of the rebels. this was the beginning of the policy, pacification of the highlands. it reculminated and was a systematic dismantling of the hyland way of life. >> the crushing defeat of the forces of the scottish prince charles was the beginning of the end of the nationalist struggle. people say now that it is clear that the union of england and scotland was by no means a marriage of like minds, and the guerilla war against english rule carried on for half a century. it was, absolutely in the interests of the english arist okay rahsy, who wanted to protect its protestant culture against a takeover by europe, at any cost. >> over the centuries, the people and economies merged. scottish nationalists say it is the english, not they, who have

betrayed the principals of the union. >> there is a sentiment that wouldn't deny it. at the same time there's increasing feeling that unions are no longer delivering, when the unions don't deliver, it's seen as an agreement which can be renegotiated, changed or ended. i think the rest of the u.k. see it as the state of things. >> fancy signing here, here we go. thank you. >> down south many are horrified that so many scots want to turn their backs on the campaigners. these people have been travelling around the city. imploring scots not to drift away. >> is it better when you live on an island, is it better to join with each other, making decisions jointly that affect you. or is it better to reanimate an arbitrary line placed across the island in the 14th century, and people on different sides of the line are parts of a different

politics. whether the scots see themselves as scottish or british is a key part of the decision. the old enemies are never far away. after all, the scottish anthem, nour of scotland remembers those that beat the english army, and every scott knows the words. a bull-spearing contest led to protests by animal right protesters. spearing a bull to death was said to be animal abuse. it was due to start tuesday. it prefates the bull fight at the end of the 17th century. 60 years after ernst hem i'ming way won the nobel -- hemingway won the nobel prize for literature, his grandsons travel told cuba to see the prize.

he lived there for 20 years and wrote "the old man and the sea", and "for whom the bells toll", it's a museum nor his other literary gems. keep up to date with the news on the website. there it is - aljazeera.com. that's aljazeera.com. >> i'm in africa where a project >> set to start.