[ ♪ music ] kurdish forces in northern iraq recapture several villages from the islamic state of iraq and levant. i'm juton with the other stories making the news. protesters in hong kong threaten to expand their movement if demands are not met. the u.s. reports its first case of ebola, the patient in isolation in a hospital in texas. celebrating the bullet train. how japan's high-speed railway changed the way we travel.

kurdish peshawar forces say they have recaptured several villages from the islamic state of iraq and levant, or i.s.i.l., over the past 24 hours. in the north kurdish forces have retaken a strategic border crossing. the crossing is crucial in cutting off the supply lines and their ability to travel. in the north kurdish forces recap futured the town of basheer which fell to i.s.i.l. in june. the peshawar have stopped their charge whilst waiting for air strikes for coverage. thousands fled from there into turkey. bernard smith joins us from southern turkey. tell us about the fighting, the shelling that you are hearing about. >> well, i'm on the turkish side of the border with kobani.

it is behind me. it has been quiet overnight. there has been no advance as far as we understood by i.s.i.l. forces. just in the last 20 minutes or so - there's another explosion - there has been sustained gun fire and mortar exchanges between the two sides. we see explosions going off into the distance. this going off is an intensity that has not been here in the last few days or so. there's a stepping up of the fighting over there in kobani. it's a few hundred meters behind me. we have spoken to an activist in the town who says pretty much everybody who can has already left. there's few people that have left, just those that have absolutely no money, or no means to leave, or who are unable to leave. there's one or two families that stayed behind because their sons or husbands are fighting against

the i.s.i.l. force, but for the moment really step up in the campaign going on behind us there. >> what about the campaign about the turkish shrine in syria. we hear that i.s.i.l. may be advancing on that. what details do you have on that? >> well, that - inside syria, there's a funny little bit of turkish territory that contains the shrine to the grandfather of the founder of the otto man empire. it's almost like a house and a little bit of - a large garden area, was ceded to the turks by the french. it's been under turkish control, and has been occupied, protected by at least 25-odd turkish special forces. since march, that area has essentially been surrounded by i.s.i.l. forces.

but they have not moved on it. we are hearing reports from tribal village leaders in the area that there is increasing pressure on the turkish forces protecting the shrine. we hear about 11,000 i.s.i.l. forces -- 1,100 i.s.i.l. forces in the area surrounding it. the turkish government said an attack on the shrine would be considered an attack on turkish territory. as i say, since march it's been surrounded. it seems to be an increase in pressure on the turkish soldiers by the i.s.i.l. forces surrounding that area. >> thank you for that update. bernard smith telling us about the shelling in kobani. fighters from i.s.i.l. say they have taken over an army base in iraq, posting pictures of them apparently taking control of the base to the north of fallujah. it was the headquarters of the

brigade 300. imran khan is in baghdad. the day before u tuesday, we saw a lot of attacks, violence on baghdad. what is the feeling and concerns. particularly because there is no minister of defence, no minister of supervision. what is going on there? >> well, there is a political stalemate, as you have just rightly mentioned as the minister of interior and the minister of defence. the type of attacks we saw on tuesday night are cause for alarm in baghdad. we have seen car bombs here, a daily occurrence, blamed on different groups much the tactics we saw, there was shelling coming into the shia neighbourhoods, and car bombs, 27 different people in various neighbourhoods. that is cause for concern from the iraqis, what they are saying and what we are hearing on p

pro-i.s.i.l. social media strikes, there's a push to reach baghdad. i.s.i.l. have control of the west of the city, anbar province, they have a large amount of forces there. that is where they are coming into baghdad. all of this wouldn't be so much cause for alarm for baghdad residents, if not for the fact na the iraqi army are toughening up the ramparts around the city, defenses around the city, putting in brand new equipment. they are aware of intelligence reports, suggesting that i.s.i.l. are trying to make a push on the city. according to some reports, they are a few kilometres away. it doesn't mean they are about to come into the city. the few kilometres away makes up the iraqi army between the city and the fighters. they are as close as they have been before. the coalition air campaign that we are seeing, and the pressure on i.s.i.l. that we are seeing, is seemingly working in other areas. here in baghdad there's cause

for concern. >> key command of the syrian group has been led by an air strike in syria. a senior al qaeda operative. there was a $7 million reward. he fought alongside the taliban and al qaeda, and one of the few that knew about the 9/11 attacks against the u.s. in advance. the u.n.'s under secretary for humanitarian affairs is blaming i.s.i.l. for pushing tens of thousands out of their homes. valery amos said millions is needed to feed refugees and is pleading for cash. >> without additional funds, the world health organisation will be forced to end operations completely within two months. rations have been cut in order to continue to reach as many people as possible. winter is fast approaching. vital supplies are needed to protect people from the cold. neighbouring countries need

urgent support, so that they can continue to shelter millions of refugees. >> in afghanistan two suicide attacks have killed at least seven people and injured several more. attackers targeted afghan army buses near kabul university. the other near a police center. jennifer glasse has more from kabul. >> reporter: the twin suicide bombings had one target, the afghan army, going to work in buses in the morning. the attack comes a day after the new afghan government signed security agreements with n.a.t.o. and the united states, ensuring that the n.a.t.o. force stays for two years. it will be a sharply reduced force. over 11,000 soldiers who sprained and assists the forces. a challenge to the new government the the president was sworn in on monday. in his inauguration he called

for peace talks with the taliban. they have told al jazeera that there'll be no peace talks soon. they will not talk to the new government. they called them puppets of the west for signing the agreements. so not good news that peace talks that ashraf ghani is hoping for could happen at any point in time. these attacks by the taliban in kabul - not only the two suicide attacks today, but one carried out as the president was inaugurated, a challenge it the afghani president, ashraf ghani, as he works to deal with the security changes and to get the economy on its feet. afghanistan's new government has a lot of changes in its first days in power. protesters in hong kong are threatening to expand their campaign for full democracy as china celebrates national day.

these are live pictures of civic square, the main protest. activists promise wednesday's rallies will be the biggest - tens of thousands taking to the streets in the past three days. hong kong's chief executive has rejected calls to step down, saying beijing will not give in to protestors demands. we have two correspondents covering the story from both camps. we'll speak to a pro-beijing demonstration, but first, the camp calling for electoral reform, what is it going to be? >> they certainly are. they keep demanding and reiterating that demand - it doesn't seem to matter. >> let me step out of shot so you can see what is happening. which sum protesters dub as hong kong's democracy scare. the crowd are starting to come in now. the heat has gone down.

there are more friends, family, colleagues that have come into the square to try to show their solidarity calling for universal sufferage. today is the dead line that protesters have given to the government to meet their demands, and the resignation of the chief executive. they haven't said what they'll do if the demand are not met. we are expecting occupy central, one of the founders of occupy central, benny thai, to speak in the next hour or so, and outline the strategy as the group moves forward. as you mentioned to, it has been said that laong will not resign. beijing is quiet. yesterday president xi jinping in his national day of speech did not mention the hong kong protest but said he'd support a

1-country/2-system infrastructure, and hong kong belongs to china. >> we'll talk later and go to a rally where people are calling to keep elections as they are. what are their plans today? what is going on? >> i'm going to set the scene. these are national day celebrations billed as the anti-protest rally. if you talk to the people as we have been doing in the past hour. they are largely not political. most of the people are families coming on a day out. there are groups of elderly bussed in from their homes to have a day out. this day is meant to celebrate, and is held every year. national day for china. it's the 65th birthday of the founding of communist china. it's fun, games, and you can hear loud pop music. it's apolitical. what is interesting is the

demograph ecks. most of the people are young, they are students, young professionals. here it's mainly elderly, it will be hard to find anyone below the age of 50. unless they are with their families, and with small children. while the opposition leader will speak at a protest in an hour, over here, around the same time, the secretary of home affairs will be speaking over here, to commemorate what is national day. mostly a nonpolitical event is how they are treating it. >> okay. thank you. >> well, earlier china raised the flag over hong kong in a ceremony to celebrate the 56th anniversary of the founding of the people's republic. hong kong's chief executive was in attendance, and called for an end to the protest saying he thinks things are getting out of

hand. >> translation: it has been said several times if it is out of control it will be halted. i call on the protesters to end their protest. still a head - japan, home of the original bullet train - could electromagnetic trains be the way of the future.

hello, again. the top stories on al jazeera - kurdish forces say they have

recaptured several villages south of kirkuk, saying they have stopped the advance and are awaiting coalition air strikes. campaign for full democracy to be stepped up in hong kong. they are demanding the resignation of the hong kong chief executive. they promise wednesday's rally will be the biggest. two suicide attacks in afghanistan has killed 17, injuring 15. it targeted a university and the other was near a police center. the united states confirmed its first case of ebola, diagnosed in the country. the center for disease control says the man travelled to the u.s. from liberia on september the 19th, he's critically ill in a texas hospital. >> good afternoon everybody ... >> translation: a top public health official confirming the

fears. >> that an individual travelling from liberia has been diagnosed with ebola. >> reporter: the diagnosis was made on tuesday, after doctors at a hospital in dallas texas began to suspect a patient was presenting signs of disease. the patient was not infectious leaving west africa. inside the united states he developed a fever and became gravely ill. based on the patient's travel history authorities sent blood samples for testing and confirmed the diagnosis. health officials stressed there's no need for public alarm. >> the bottom line here is i have no doubt that we'll control this importation or this case of ebola, so it does not spread in this country. it is certainly possible that someone who had contact with this individual, a family member or other individual could develop ebola in the coming weeks, there's no doubt in my

mind that we'll stop it here. >> it's not the first time patients have been treated in the u.s. for ebola. it is the first time a diagnosis has been made on u.s. soil. previous cases involving health care workers who contracted the disease whilst working with patients in west africa. they were flown to the u.s. for treatment and recovered from the disease. as for the latest case, health officials stressed the chaps of residents attracting ebola is low. it can only be spread through close contact of bodily fluid. health officials are working to identify everyone that may have been exposed to the new ebola patient. >> schools are closed in sierra leone to curb the spread of ebola, so the government came up with a temporary solution. >> ebola is here. >> students will listen to lessons over the radio. educational programs will be broadcast to students at home. india's prime minister is on

his way home after a 5-day trip to the united states, crowds at the air force base in washington d.c. grooeted narendra modi and cheered as he bordered the air graft. narendra modi met president obama and they agreed to expand cooperation on maritime security. >> translation: during the last four days in the u.s., i have seen extraordinary interests and excitement about india. and india-u.s. partnership among the people of our two countries. >> we have had an outstanding discussion around a range of issues, and we - during our discussions reaffirm that as two of the world's largest democracies, vibrant people to people contacts, india and the united states, including

incredible indian american population contributing so much that we have so much in common it is critical for us to continue to deepen and broaden the framework partnership and friendship that already exists. the head of the u.s. secret service has taken full responsibility for a security breach at the white house in september. patty culhane reports. >> reporter: the white house with fences, snipers and top secret security, it is supposed to be one of the safest places on earth. it clearly is not. the secret service tried to conceal the evidence of that. less than two weeks ago, this person jumped the offense pt the dogs are not released. officers did not stop him at the front door. the secret service said they stopped him inside the door. they didn't. we know an alarm had been turned off, the guard unaware of what

happened was tackled by gonzalez. he made it back the first stairway, bast the first family's living quartiers, and through the east room. an off-duty officer stopped him at the door to the green room. he was unarmed they said. he had a knife. the director of the secret service julia pearson was asked did the secret service put out false information. >> i can't speak for conversations i was not a part of or the presses interest in this. >> reporter: did you read the press release before it went out? >> i read the press release before it went out. >> we know about an incident in 2011. seven shots were fired into the building. shots were reported, the boss said it was a car backfiring. the rifle was left behind blocks away. the secret service still didn't make the connection.

bullet holes were not found for four days. until a housekeeper found damage. >> can you explain why a housekeeper found evidence of the shooting and your agency did not? >> the original shooting was at 9:30 at night. >> this is disgraceful. >> the director agreed, and promised it won't happen again. many responded that they don't believe it, not now. many are questioning if she'll be on the job to make any changes. closing arguments are being heard in the trial of a former bosnia serb leader. he's charged with 11 crimes committed during the bosnia war, including genocide. m lada vich is accused of the veb neeza genocide.

prosecutors want him to get life in any event. he's been on trial at the hague for five years. three mexican soldiers have been charged with the homicide of 23. the three took part in a gunfight and opened fire affidavits, no justification whatsoever at that time. the army said all the suspects had died in a shoot-out with troops. almost immediately the u.n. raised concerns that the incident could be a case of summary execution. the dispute between argentina and the u.s. worsened. argentina's president kirchner - a country ruled they were in contempt because of money. shimano explains from buenos aires. >> these respect some of the strongest words in a dispute between argentina and the united states, over how and where argentina should pay its debts.

>> translation: now they don't use missiles to attack us, but the market. economic strengths and speculation to make the task of governing more difficult. >> reporter: the president showed a u.s. state department report questioning argentina security was a provocation, and called the new york judge seen il. on monday he declared argentina in contempt of court for bypassing his rulings. he said it should pay all its debtors under conditions stipulated by him. argentina said it will pay debtors under its own conditions. >> they want to overturn the restructuring of the argentine set to leave us further in debt, and having to pay hundreds of thousands. >> the argentine government deposited $170 million into a buenos aires bank, to pay interests on its debts. u.s. courts were preventing them

meeting their debt obligations in new york, by insisting they pay hedge funds. argentina calls them vultures. >> this is a show of force, an act of defines by the argentine government. it's a dispute against a bitter adversary. they have invited people in to the government palace. they are doing that. >> translation: we want to make it clear to the vulture funds, that they can't come to argentina, and walk all over us as though they are nothing. >> translation: argentina will pay its debts, but defend its sovereignty, our interests, and not play with people's hunger. >> argentina enacted new laws to enable them to pay on home soil and took their case to the united nations and beyond, saying they should not be held to ransom by wealthy hedge funds

backed by foreign courts. argentina is gambling a long way from the u.s. courts. it is a dispute that they think they can win. it was 50 years ago that japan first introduced the world to the bullet train, and to showcase how far they have come, japanese rail officials waved off the fastest service which hums along at 300 k/hr. the high-speed rail network helped to transport japan to the top tier of world economies, as wayne hay reports. >> reporter: when the first bullet train entered service it signalled the departure of the old, and the arrive of the new. it was launched 20 years since japan's release. it provided a sign of having plans to become the big power.

>> this is the first that rolled out of the station in 1964. it was more than the start of a new rail service. it was an event that would have far-reaching socioeconomic effects. today's bullet trains have evolved into slaker machines, and travel times have been reduced. >> the three metropolitan areas are connected. many travel for business and pleasure. i think we are playing a role for the japanese economy and the tour. industry. >> reporter: some long for the slower days. the seaside si is popular with domestic tourists, who come to see among other things gay she performances. it didn't change with the introduction of high-speed rail, but the type of tourism did. >> there are good and bad things, from tokyo to here takes 30-40 minutes, and they have the

ocean, mountains and hot springs. visitors used to stay overnight. >> things may be about to get quicker, thanks to a magneting lef takes train, reach -- lef takes train reaching a top speed. construction on the first line may begin before the end of the year. it has opponents. who say even though japan rail is a private company, it's inevitable government money will be needed, and japan can't afford it. >> japan's major development projects are 2-4 times more than the budget. if there is not enough money, how will they afford it. it's possible that tax money may be used. >> given the poor state of the economy and ageing population, there is pessimism about future in japan. the pioneering rail spirit

continues, it's unlikely to have the same experience as when a train nick nicked "the super dreams" was launched. if you want a high speed tour through the website - that's the address, aljazeera.com. the lead story, the protests in hong kong. headlines in the next couple of minutes. iranians iranians iranians iranians the leaders of the world's two largest democracies are getting together, the prime minister is still pretty new to the job and has plenty of challenges. it is inside story. hello. i am ray swarez. india is in a new place, among the top tonies in the world is measured