>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ welcome to the al jazeera news hour. i'm in doha, coming up in the next 60 minutes. >> we can renew the international system that has enabled so much progress, or we can allow ourselves to be pulled back by an undertow of instability. >> president obama sets out his

vision of global american leadership to the opening session of the u.n. general assembly. on the run, rebel groups in syria, evacuate as us-lead air strikes hit close to their bases. yemen cuts fuel prices as the government tries to appease rebels who control much of the capitol. >> we have gone beyond the boundaries of human enterprise and imagination. >> mission accomplished. india joins an elite club of countries who put a satellite into orbit around mars. ♪ well the united nations general assembly has opened in new york with u.s. president barack obama setting out the

american vision. >> there can be no reasoning, no negotiation with this brand of evil. the only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. so the united nations will work with a brood coalition of countries to dismantle this network of death. in this effort we do not act alone. for do we intend to send u.s. troops to occupy lands. instead we will support iraqis and syrians fighting to reclaim their communities. we will use our military might to roll back isil. we will train and equip forces fighting on the grown. we will work to cut off their financing and to stop the flow of fighters into and out of the

region, and already over 40 nations have offered to join this coalition. today i ask the world to join in this effort. those who have joined isil should leave the battlefield while they can. those who continue to fight for a hateful cause will find they are increasingly alone. for we will not succumb to threats, and we will demonstrate that the future belongs to those two build, not those who destroy. so that's an immediate challenge, a first challenge that we must meet. the second, it is time for the world, especially muslim communities to explicitly, forcefully, and consistently reject the ideology of

organizations like al-qaeda and isil. >> let's go to james bayes live for us at the united nations in new york. james you have been watching that speech as well. much of the speech seemed to be about the need to fight terrorism, the global need to fight terrorism, and isil was foremost. >> reporter: absolutely. i think that was the main part of the speech, clearly when the president addresses the undergeneral assembly, addresses the world every single year, he needs to talk about the state of the world, but clear from the amount of time that he devoted to the middle east and particularly to isil that that is his key priority. the buzz word around these parts, around the united nations for sometime now, since the rise of isil and its control of parts of iraq has been the phrase countering violent extremism. that is the buzz word from the

experts, and that, i think, was really what this was all about. it was trying to appeal to the youth. it was one of those visionary speeches that the president of the united states is so known for, very well crafted words of prose, but what actually did we learn new in terms of concrete action? i don't think we learned very much. and that's because in some ways the action has taken place in the last couple of days with air strikes inside of syria, the u.s. and five of its arab allies. and the speech is just the curtain raiser in some ways. because in just a few hour's time president obama is going to chair the security council and instead of there being ambassadors around the seats, most seats will be taken by world leaders, so i think in many ways that is the main event, and that's where things could get controversial.

there is a bit of interaction there, and they talk about each other, and we need to see what the russians and chinese are going to say about the action that took place in syria. >> indeed, and we will certainly watch that. but i want to broaden it out a little bit. he didn't just talk about terrorism, or isil, but he also had a message to russia, and he used the recent ceasefire in ukraine as a way for russia to take the path of diplomacy and peace. he said if russia takes that path then we would lift our sanctions and welcome russia's role in addressing challenges. will the message be heeded? >> reporter: again, with we need to hear what the russians have to say. i think there is one instant thing to say about this, and i think it shows what russia

thinks of all of this, is russia very rarely sends its president to the u.n. general assembly. we have leaders from so many countries. we have speeches continuing right now, but you are not going to see president putin on this podium in this renovated u.n. general assembly chamber. he is staying away again. his long period involved in the governance of russia, he has only been to new york for the u.n. general assembly twice in that period. so we'll hear from sergei lavrov, and it will be interesting to see how he responds. >> james he also had a message for the people of iran saying do not let this opportunity pass. he was of course talking about the ongoing negotiations over

terran's nuclear program. how do you see that going down in the iranian camp? >> reporter: well, i think the important thing to mention there is those negotiations have been going on for some considerable time, they couldn't get an agreement in geneva. but with so much going on in the world, actually going on right now, concurrently with the u.n. general assembly here in new york just around the corner from here, in the european union mission in new york, there are in the next stage of those talks. they are actually negotiating here in new york. so i think that passage of the speech was aimed at just nudging a bit. >> indeed. it will be very interesting to see what comes out of that meeting. james bayes thank you very much. we move on now, and fighters

from two of syria's main opposition groups are evacuating their bases and hiding heavy weapons as us-lead air strikes continue. al-qaeda linked groups have been fighting the main target of those strikes. now the islamic state of iraq and the levant that is for weeks now. zana reports. >> reporter: god promised us victory, obama promised us defeat. this is what syrians in the northwestern province want to tell the world. they took to the streets to protest the us-lead military campaign against isil. it is not because they support isil, they say they don't trust the administration. obama our revolution is an

islamic one, and we want an islamic state was what they chanted. >> translator: we condemn the air strikes again. they killed civilians. the coalition is with the regime and they are not just targeting isil. >> nasra is a serious al-qaeda branch, and activists say its bases were targeted as well in the air strikes. they ordered their fighters to leave their bases in anticipation of more attacks. the u.s. said it did target the al-qaeda group khorasan. taking the might to syria was the most controversial part of president obama's strategy. now many syrians, including so-called rebel commanders say they will help the assad regime.

this was the first syrian army-link army-linked brigade to react. what opposition fighters want is weapons and air strikes to target regime positions. the u.s. may have said it plans to arm and train rebels, but it is still not clear who they will be. >> the free syrian army is not enough mature, is not enough big, if we talk about that organization like the islamic front for example, i don't know exactly they are united, but there are many questions about their future, if some of them -- they may join isis. >> reporter: there is that possibility. already anti-american protests are spreading. these people don't necessarily support isil but many support nusra, and the conservative

group. if the u.s. and the coalition adopt expand their fight to include the regime, they risk creating more enemies on the ground. the u.s. has carried out more air strikes against isil fighters in syria and iraq. the u.s. central command says they have targeted sites in syria, and carried out two strikes southeast of erbil, and two west of bagdad. well kurds and isil fighters are battling for control over a town on the turkish syrian border, but as stephanie decker reports, syrians who have fled now want to go back to defend g defending -- defending their homes. >> reporter: there people are among more than 140,000 kurds who came to turkey hearing isil's advance. >> translator: i'm going back to fight. isil fighters are not human.

>> reporter: many people crossing back are from the kurdish town which is just around 50 meters behind where we are now, but there are also others here returning to different villages. but they say they have no choice but to return. >> translator: i'm 70 years old, and i'm still alive. isil forced our entire village to leave after they stole everything and beheaded some of the young men. but we prefer to go back and be killed at home. >> reporter: there have been reports of strikes on isil positions, but people here don't think it's making a difference. these images appear to show, kurdish forces trying to push isil back from the kurdish areas. but we are told they need support. >> they are fighting, but there is no weapon, there is no weapon to help them to fight dash.

dash is using heavy weapons. >> reporter: even though there are families here crossing back into syria, the majority are men who say they are determined to protect their homes and their land. people here say no one is helping them, so many civilians are taking matters into their own hands. they say they have been left with no other choice. still to come on the al jazeera news hour, thousands of people live on the riverbeds of pakistan's mighty river, even though it floods every few years. and ten days into a strike by pilots from air france. is the government bowing to pressure from the unions? and the asian games are hit by a head scarf controversy. jo will be here to explain in sport. ♪

yemen's government has cut fuel prices in a bid to ease unrest in the capitol sana'a. shia houthi rebels have occupied the capitol since sunday. the president has warned of a civil war if the houthi's do not leave the capitol. let's get more from a houthi activist. he joins us via skype from sana'a. thank you for being with us. as we have seen the houthi rebels have overrun the capitol. what does this actually mean for the peace deal that was signed just recently on sunday? >> thank you for having me. the deal that was signed on sunday -- it will be implied as it says. we want national dialogue, and

then through that a government will be formed. and the government will be responsible for security every in yemen. the houthi have to just guard the street and to spread [ inaudible ] because they are not responsible or of the security in sana'a. >> they certainly are in charge of the security in sana'a, but some people would say the capitol is being held ransom. the houthis are a minority group that has basically taken over the capitol. how much support to the houthis have the majority of yemenese. >> they have total support from most here. because the demands that they were asking for, which was to reduce the fuel price, and to form a new government, those demands have been fulfilled by this new agreement -- >> so why the need to overrun the capitol then?

why the need to ransack homes of politicians and take over go buildings, this is almost, basically a coup. >> no, it's not a coup, but they were attacked in many places in sana'a, they were attacked in the outskirt of sana'a in a village, of houthi loyalists were killed there, and they were dragged into sana'a so so they have to respond to the source of fire. so they didn't come without -- [ inaudible ] because he want to split [ inaudible ] he want to damage their -- or as you call them, houthi [ inaudible ]. they were protesting peacefully. they killed two protesters in this -- >> but at the same time, hussein, can i just stop you there. yemen's government has warned that there will be a civil war because the houthi rebels have overrun the capitol and taken

over government buildings. they don't seem to be in the mood to negotiate any sort of peace deal. >> no, they have to. there is an agreement that has been signed. a new prime minister will be chosen within two or three days, and a government will be formed within a month. this is an agreement that has been signed, so to say the houthi doesn't want to -- how say -- to have a -- a good government, because they do. and if they really like you said doesn't want to do that, they will -- what was the point of them signing a agreement with the government. they signed agreement. and he said we want to -- to unite, and he said we want to talk all together to build a government. if they want to control the whole thing, they wouldn't sign this agreement, but they want to share the whole government with everybody else in yemen. >> hussein we're going to have to leave it there. thank you so much for joining us

on the show. a houthi activist speaking to us from sana'a. >> thank you very much. the jordanian cleric has been cleared in the last case against him bringing an end to a 15-year legal battle. he was accused of planning to attack tourists during jordan's celebrations in 2000. he spent years detained in britain without charge and was then deported to jordan last year. in june he was cleared of planning an attack on an american school. we have more. >> reporter: he is now a free man. and he has been acquitted of all charges for lack of evidence. in the particular case we heard about today, he was charged with conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks against jordanians during the new year's eve celebrations in the year 2000. he was found not guilty last

june as well. he was also acquitted of charges for conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks against foreign targets inside jordan in 1998, including the american school. before this trial in jordan, and before he was deported from the u.k. to jordan in july 2013, he was sentenced to life in prison in absentia, but faced a retrial as soon as he arrived in jordan. he was in the u.k. on political asylum where the government there spent almost a decade trying to extradite him to face trial, because the secret service saw him as a threat, and some judges even described him as a truly dangerous individual, and i think his release at this time is very significant, because jordan is now fully engaged in a war against isil with the global coalition to try to defeat it and is even sending its own fighter jets to syria to

shell isil targets. it is also concerned not only about its borders but with threats within. now he is an influential cleric, very influential to his followers and he has openly criticized isil and said they have committed atrocities, and i think jordan is trying to send a message that those who are not promoting isil, not trying to recruit for isil, and are not isil sympathizers are welcome in the country, but those who try to do otherwise, try to promote isil will come under a heavy crackdown. thousands of people at tended the funerals of two palestinians shot dead by israeli forces. they were killed in a raid on tuesday. israel accused them of killing three jewish teenagers in june. at the time hundreds of palestinians were detained in the search for the killers. those arrests increased tensions shortly before the seven-week

conflict in gaza. it has been a month since israel and palestinian fighters agreed to a ceasefire in gaza. representatives from both israel and palestine are due to hold talks in cairo, to try to create a more permanent trust, but as charles stratford reports many doubt these negotiations will be successful. >> reporter: the green flags of hamas flutter in the wind above the rubble. thousands of families used to live in this gaza neighborhood. it has been a month since the truce began. little if nothing has been achieved to rebuild the lives. as permanent ceasefire talks begin again, there isn't much hope among people here. >> translator: there's no hope. fattah, hamas and egypt don't give us hope. life just gets more miserable. >> translator: we understand we had to suffer during the war. but after the war the suffering

has gotten worse. >> reporter: the palestinian government wants israel to lift his land, air, and sea blockage of gaza. this is the crossing which israel closed in 2007. it has partially opened only one of its five borders with gaza to allow aid and essential food stuffs in. but has banned rebuilding materials such as cement. the palestinians also want an airport. they once had one. this is all that remains of the airport here in gaza. it was destroyed by the israelis in 2001, and having it rebuilt is one of the key demanding having made by the palestinians, but that is very unlikely to happen, because hamas and the other armed factions are refusing to disarm. this may look like a dusty quarry, but it's the site where palestinians want a port.

yasser arafat laid the first stone here in 1999, and nothing has been done since. the fisherman are banned from fishing further than 10 kilometers from the coast. there have been few people living gaza through this crossing. the only palestinians allowed into egypt must have permits to receive emergency medical treatment, duel citizenship or a work visa. israel describes hamas as terrorists. hamas says it is a resistance group, fighting for independence just as others have done out there history. the people here say they are living in the world's largest open prison, a place they say that makes the headlines only when the bombs are falling. al jazeera continues to demand the release of its

journalists imprisoned in egypt. they have now been detained for 270 days. they are falsely accused of aiding the outlawed muslim brotherhood. peter greste and mohammed fahmy received an seven year sentence each. and baher mohamed received an additional three years for having a spent bull it will casing which he picked up at a protest. al-sisi has spoken to charlie rose who asked them about the journalists. >> the al jazeera journalists. now i realize you believe it is in the courts, in the judiciary. john kerry spoke to you about this. i have asked this question often. you shouldn't be imprisoning journalists. they are not a threat to the state. and they are in prison in egypt.

and you could do something about that. why haven't you? >> translator: i will -- i will again be honest with you. i wish egypt had not been facing such a situation in egypt. regardless of -- regardless of their indictment or that they are innocent or guilty or innocent. the best thing was to get them out of the country. but at that time when they were arrested, i was not responsible for the country at that time. i was only the minister of defense. this is one point. the second point is that the judicial formalities are still in process. any state -- any state understands that if there is even anything -- any vial layol

on the part of the journalists, no country would like to imprison journalists. i hope that i'm clear and understood, i wish they hadn't -- hadn't been arrested on -- or even stand in a court. much more ahead on al jazeera. >> we have gone beyond the boundaries of human enterprise and imagination. >> mission accomplished. india joins an elite club of countries becoming the latest to put a satellite into orbit around mars. and how south korea rose to gold in front of a home crowd and an emotional finish. details coming up with jo in sport. ♪

>> it's a chilling and draconian

sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> this trial was a sham... >> they are truth seekers... >> all they really wanna do is find out what's happening, so they can tell people... >> governments around the world all united to condemn this... >> as you can see, it's still a very much volatile situation... >> the government is prepared to carry out mass array... >> if you want free press in the new democracy, let the journalists live. >> once again scientists and politicians are streaming from across the globe for a science fest on climate change. can new york 2014 escape the fate? it's inside story.