we're at war in isil as we are in al-qaeda. >> going after the islamic state of iraq and the levant, the u.s. says it will target the group in syria. ♪ hello you are watching al jazeera live from doha, i'm jane dunton. also a vaccination campaign gone wrong in syria. dozens of children affected. at least 15 have died. first steps towards peace. ukraine's parliament grants rebellious eastern regions greater autonomy. and we meet the businessmen

and women in ghana pay the high price for the country's economic slide. ♪ top security officials in washington have spoken on the u.s. plan's to take on the islamic state and say they will be prepared to go after isil in syria. this is the first time the pentagon has testified about the group before the senate armed services committee. the hearing hasn't gone smoothly. it was briefly interrupted by activists. among those speaks are the joint chiefs of staff general dempsey and chuck hagel. >> while isil clearly poses an immediate threat, we also know that thousands of foreign fighters have travelled to syria

with passports that give them relative freedom of movement, they can then plan, coordinate and carry out attacks against the united states and europe. >> the free syrian army units are attacked from the air by bashar al-assad, will we prevent fore attacks from taking place and take out bashar al-assad's arias sets, both helicopter and fixed wing that will be attacking the free syrian army units? >> well, we're first of all not there yet, but our focus is on isil, and that is the threat to our country and to our interests and to the people of the region. so what we are training these units for, yes, as a stabilizing force in syria as -- as an option, but the first focus is as i just said as the president laid out in his statement to the

country -- >> i take it from your answer, that we are now recruiting these young men to go and fight in syria against isil, but if they are attacked by bashar al-assad, we're not going to help them. >> they will defending themselves, senator. >> will they help them against assad's air -- >> we will help them and support them -- >> how -- will we repel bashar al-assad's air assets that will be attacking them? >> we will help them. >> rosiland jordan has more from washington, d.c. >> reporter: one point which the obama administration is now clearer on it is going to be sending in more u.s. troops to help the iraqi army and the peshmerga fight members of isil. what it is not clear on is how it is going to provide more support to members of the free syrian army as well as to those

moderate syrians who are not affiliated with the fsa. that is a problem for some members of the committee, one of the major advice and consent bodies here in the u.s. government. they want to know how it is that the u.s. is going to be able to fight the spread of a group which it considers a fundamental security threat without actually taking the opportunity to try to push back against the government of president bashar al-assad. assad has been in a civil war for nearly three years with members of he opposition who do not want him to be in power anymore. they have been suffering great losses at the syrian army's hands. these members of the u.s. senate believe that the obama administration should do more than simply ask for money to provide weapons to the free syrian army, that they should be taking the fight as it were to the syrian government as well, that is something which the

defense secretary as well as the top military officer, are not agrees to at least not right now. for the first time, people in parts of eastern ukraine, the center of the pro-russian rebelian will be able to decide their own future. it is one of three big decisions made by the kiev parliament in the midst of a shaky ceasefire. a new law gives special status to the separatists eastern region. in that means they will be allowed to govern themselves for three years. it's also approved an agreement which links ukraine politically and economically to the european union. robin is in donetsk in eastern ukraine, which has been held by pro-russian separatists, and i'm wondering how they are feeling about this new law, robin. >> reporter: yes, the ukrainians feel that they have made some

substantial concessions, a real attempt attempt compromise. but the reaction from here has been lukewarm at best, and very much flat rejection in the worse-case scenario, with the deputy prime of the self declared donetsk people's republic, saying any political union with ukraine was really absolutely unacceptable. they had already lost too much blood, too many had been killed, and that they had effectively won their right to self determinations all of those battles that had been felt and the territory the rebels held on to. they are saying we want to be part of the russian world. >> and those that don't necessarily want to be russian, are they viewing this in a different light? are they pleased that it looks like ukraine could be bumping its way along to some kind of

formality? >> reporter: i think that the ukrainian public may take a dim view of what has happened in parliament. people will be suing for peace. they will want very much a solution to be found for this. it's clear that the parliament who has got in behind the president, because he tabled this legislation, and it was presented to the media only yesterday and certainly today this vote happens, but there will certainly be a lot of people who will be critical of this, and we have been hearing some of those voices already. there is an election coming up here very soon, so people will be offering an alternative vision. poroshenko says this law is about legalizing occupation, because the ukrainians believe very much the russians are behind this, and some of those volunteer battalions the

ukrainians have joined, some of their leaders who were standing for parliament who are going to be candidates who want to be mp's, we spoke to one of them earlier who said this amounted to effectively unacceptable capitulation. >> thank you for that, robin fo forest er walker. fighting has continued in yemen. there have been protests against the government for more than a month. demonstrators have also been calling for fuel subsidies to be reinstated. the syrian military helicopter has crashed in the de facto capitol of the islamic state of iraq and the levant. it is unclear whether the plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire or experience adtech technical

failure. children are paying a heavy price from the war in syria. fighters didn't hide the fact that they used children as soldiers even suicide bombers, and now a vaccination campaign had killed at least 15 children and if dozens needing hospital treatment. the measles vaccinations were being carried out by a medical aid organization. the vaccines had come from the world health organization. it is thought they might have been out of date. >> reporter: it is not yet clear why a complain that was supposed to protect the children of syria ended up killing so many of them. it's not clear if these vaccines were expired or had they not been stored properly. the project was run by the opposition interim government. they have started an investigation to try to determine what exactly happened

as a result of mismanagement, corruption, they are not clear. they promise they will give a definite answer when they conclude the investigation, but the incident did highlight the challenges and difficulties all of these aid sees are facing. it's chaos, violence is threatening all of these aid workers. the rebel-held areas are changing hands constantly. many people are displaced more than once. all of these highlight the long-term effect of the population in syria, especially on its children. >> violence has broken up between activists and police as police try to evict about 800 squatters from a hotel. the protesters reacted by throwing furniture and homemade bombs. the 20-store building was occupied by an estimated 200

families including women and children. some of the squatters are carrying homemade shields and have reportedly vandalized nearby businesses. fresh warning about the seriousness about the ebola virus in west africa. and how an independent scotland would britain's nuclear defense. it's your chance to join the conversation the stream, only on al jazeera america >> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> its disgraceful... the only crime they really committed is journalism...

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top security officials in washington have spoken about the plan to take on the islamic state. they say they are prepared to go after isil in syria. defense secretary chuck hagel and the joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey were speaking before a senate committee. at least 15 children in syria have been killed by vaccines. the measles vaccinations were being carried out by a medical aid organization. the vaccines might have been out of date. ukraine has signed a landmark deal on politicians and trade with europe. kiev also says eastern parts of ukraine can vote to decide their own future. the iraqi parliament has adjourned until thursday without selecting the cruci of minister of interior, and minister of defense. the prime minister has chosen his nominees, but they have yet to be approved by parliament.

the positions are seen as crucial to his promise of an incollusive government and political stability. imran khan has more from bagdad. >> reporter: iraq's parliament has postponed the crucial vote on the ministers for defense and interior until thursday. this is a very big blow to the prime minister. he want today get his names through into parliament, but his choices have been seen as controversial by some particularly for me ministry of interior who comes from the same party as he does. that is a really issue for many sunni politicians who say this is a return to the government of maliki. so expect a lot of back room dealing as they try to come up with a consensus candidate. this isn't necessarily about the best person for the job this is who is acceptable to all of the

political blocks. the shiites, the sunnis and the kurds. the ministry of defense has been promised. there is one man who has been put forward, but he might not be acceptable to the shias, however, if they can get one of their candidates into the ministry of the interior, then maybe they can hamstring a deal. the prime minister will want this to get done and get done quickly. so hopefully on thursday he can press forward with the forming of this national unity government, and get on with the things that the iraq eye people want, which include energy, dealing with the rising price of food, and also with the battle against the islamic state of iraq and the levant. two just two days until scotland votes whether or not to

believe the united kingdom. lawrence lee reports, scotland is home to britain's nuclear arsenal. >> reporter: what on earth does the u.k. do with this nuclear fleet if it's a yes vote. exactly how dong do you think it would take the u.k. to move the fleet from here? >> well, the range of different time lines. so -- in a technical sense it could be moved very quickly. in a political sense it would need to take much longer. so yes, we could move it out very quickly, something like two years, in political reality, we are would that go? >> reporter: so what is the answer to that question? would it be the united states? the south coast of england? >> well, there have been a few ideas discusses. i think it would be in the

interest of the u.k. that it would be in england. i don't think there's much appetite for it to go elsewhere. >> reporter: can we take it for granted that the [ inaudible ] particularly if they can't find anywhere to put it? >> i think that's a very good question, and that's why the scottish government would be right to say the rest of the u.k. would have time to talk about this. so there is an awful lot of money that could be spent on welfare for soldiers and convention weapons that other people in the military might think actually we can do better [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: thank you very much. the u.n. is warning $1 billion is needed to fight

the ebola outbreak in west africa, fearing cases could double every three weeks. close to half of all of those inflected, the world health organization says there have been more than 2,000 new cases in the past three weeks. it is now warning of an unparalleled crisis. >> deaths at 2,461, and an important i hadn't made is of that 4,985 cases, fully 50% of them occurred in the last 21 days, and that reflects the concern and escalation of the cases. the numbers can be kept in the tens of thousands, but that is going to require a much faster escalation of the response. the u.s. is stepping up its response to ebola. president obama is said to unveil new measures to tackle

the disease in the coming hours. at least 3,000 military personnel will be sent to monrovia to help coordinate relief efforts and help train health-care workers. it's part of a huge global effort to tackle the disease. china is sending more medics to sla. that brings the number of chinese experts there 274. cuba is sending dozens of nurses and doctors, and the e.u. has committed $194 million to fight ebola. liberia has been worst hit by the outbreak, and it is having a devastating effect on the economy. >> reporter: motorbike taxis in the liberiian capitol are the preferred way to travel. but many are staying in doors

while others are forced to go out to work. >> translator: it is very bad [ inaudible ] because we're not moving like before. >> reporter: liberiians are being advised to stay at home because of the inflection. liberia's government has spent an inadequate am to fight the disease. >> reporter: analysts say the last thing liberia needs is an economy in recession. the country has a population of 4 million, but fewer than 50 doctors, and health care facilities are overwhelmed. the u.s. has pledged more money and resources. >> the trend line in this crisis

are grave. and without immediate international action, we are facing a public health crisis that could claim lives on a scale much worst than previously estimated. >> reporter: this crisis can lost an estimated $600 million u.s. dollars. egyptian security forces have kill at least six suspected rebels in raids targeting homes and vehicles. in another incident six policemen have been killed by a roadside blast in the north. the bomb hit a police car traveling between the capitol and the restaurant of rafa. al jazeera continues to demand the release of its three journalists imprisoned in egypt. they have now been detained for 262 days. they are faultily accused of aiding the outlawed muslim

brotherhood. they are appealing against their conviction. the pakistani army has stepped up efforts to help people affected by flood waters. boats are being used to rescue villages in parts of the pri vince while bags of supplies are being dropped by the air from helicopters. a typhoon has hit china's southern most island. 90,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. the typhoon is now heading towards vietnam. chinese president is in sri lanka for the first visit by a chinese leader in almost 30 years. bay

ghana is widely considered to be the most policely stable african nation, but it is battling a ailing economy. from the capitol, here is our report. >> reporter: daniel has been in business for 22 years. he and his wife import clothing and shoes from turkey and china. he makes his money in local currency, but has to pay for his goods in u.s. dollars. the city depreciated by about 40% against the dollar in the first eight months of this year. and it has had a huge impact on his business. >> it has affected me dearly. for 10,000, and now i'm taking 9,000 for the same 10,000 dollars. so you can imagine. >> reporter: and people are so frustrated that they have even taken to the streets in protest.

everywhere you go, people are talking about the rising cost of living. fuel has gone up more than 50% so far this year, and the cost of basic goods is also rocketing. in this market, business is down. the market women say people just aren't spending. >> it's really [ inaudible ] because when they come the person has planned from their house to buy maybe one or two, when it comes the price has changed, she don't even buy at all. >> reporter: the country imports far more than it exports. so there is a massive demand for u.s. dollars. that is depleting the foreign currency reserves. the government also has a huge public sector wage bill. the country was reluck tanth to seek help from the international monitor fund, but one economist says it is the right decision. >> we have introduced a new pay structure. that is consuming 70% of

government revenue, for instance. so we don't have much for [ inaudible ]. and then somehow, the government then change the whole [ inaudible ] of subsidies. you know. now it has been argued that that is not efficient. the imf is going to help them put in place, this short-term stabilization measures, but over the long run also, we need to, you know, try to address the -- as i said the weak economic fundamentals. >> reporter: ghana has traditionally relied on cocoa and gold experts to prop up the economy, but global commodity prices have fallen. experts say the country needs to diversify and grow its manufacturing sector. in the short-term the government also needs to cut spending and that is likely to be unpopular. people like this man just want things to get better, but it is going to be a difficult journey.

more details are emerging about a boat full of migrants allegedly rammed by people smugglers. at least 500 migrants are said to have been killed after the trafficker's wrecked the flimsy rubber boat they were in. the boat was damaged after the migrants refused to transfer to a boat they believed to be too small to carry them. leonard doyle joins me from geneva. what have you foub out? >> we have had testimony from two sets of survivors. they were rescued separately, and their stories come together. both say they took -- they were helped by smugglers, in one case two palestinians from gaza, they

paid $2,000 a trip. they shipped up near alexandria. they got on to an overcrowded vessel, and transferred from ship to ship towards malta. then as they were being transferred to a fourth vessel, there was an argument with the xhug -- smugglers. and they rammed the vote. several were clings to life rafts, and over two days they stayed in the water, and it seemed only about nine survived. >> do you know who these smugglers are, and have you come to a conclusion through this

investigation, what are you going to do about putting a stop to this kind of incident? >> well, in terms of who they are, the witnesses have told our staff in crete, that they are palestinians and egyptians mostly. as regards doing something about it, that's for the legal authorities. and they need to apprehend them. but the smugglers are long gone. the money they make is just extraordina extraordinary. there are big sums of money involved. these are criminal gangs, and it's organized crime. and unfortunately the very people they are exploiting are some of the most vulnerable on the planet. people fleeing war, really vulnerable people. >> very good to find out from you what is going on.

thank you very much. thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in central philippines over fears of possible volcanic reception. there have been a number of quakes in recent weeks. the headlines are coming up. ♪ >> thousands are dead with no end in site. the latest on the ebola including concerns that the virus could mew tate and become air born. has the world's response been adequate? my co-host is