day he can. >> hello, and welcome to the aljazeera news hour. i'm in doha, and coming up in the next 60 minutes, the fight for northern syria, control of the town near the turkish border as isis forces advance. demonstrations in hong kong turn violent. the president ahead of the

presidential election. and in london, low-income families struggle to afford a home in one of the world's most expensive cities. we start in northern syria, where there's a fierce battle now over the town of kobane. the fighters in isil are trying to take over the kurdish-held area. group has already taken over large areas of iraq and syria, and it wants to establish in the region. the town lies on syria's border with turkey, and turkey itself is considering sending forces to fight isil, but syria said any such move would be considered aggression. there's heavy artillery around the town, landing east and west. the kurdish official haven't

entered the town, but they're advancing from the southeast, using armored vehicles and tanks. we go live now to bernard smith, on the turkish/syrian border, and you're very close to kobani, and what have you witnessed in the day? >> well, there have been constant barrages throughout the day, and they shook the ground beneath us. we have seen from the west, gunfire, and mortar fire, and it has been relentless. they have been trying to fetched the town earlier today. the held of the turkish forces defending kobane, he said we're

operating from a small besieged area, and my expectation is for general killing, massacres and destruction if isil make it into the town. so there's an enormous amount of pressure on the syrian/kurdish fighters today, trying to defend kobane. >> meanwhile, the warnings are coming from damascus to anchor itself. the turkish capital warning them about anything that they might be doing. given that the turkish capital has just passed legislation that could pave the way for more robust help on the part of the turkish authority. >> the syrian foreign minute it industry on television said turkish intervention in syrian territories is deemed an aggression. and i think this is because one

of the things that the president has been calling for is a safe zone within syrian territory. and that's what he believes this fight is not just about isil. but it's also against syria, the regime of bashar al-assad. and he hasn't fallen but syria and turkey would like to see him go. so the safe zone that turkey is calling for would-be on syrian territory. and it would be a no-fly zone. the americans have shown no particular interest to back that idea. but nevertheless, the very suggestion that they might try to create a zone in syrian territory has prompt this response from the syrian foreign ministry. >> on the turkish side of the border with syria. meanwhile in iraq, government forces and militia are continuing to battle isil. the police say eight fighters

from she app militias were killed northwest of baghdad. and another 37 were in tikrit. they have recaptured several villages from isil ill to the east of baghdad, and the iraqi defense ministry said that it also took control of 30 villages in the province. in the iraqi town, turkish peshmerga forces have driven isil out. rabiha is close to iraq's border with syria. u.s. gem john allen is leading this fight with the coalition in isil. and he's currently in the region. >> reporter: general john allen's visit here has been seen by many to really reassure iraqis about points that they're very concerned about. he is said to have met with the

highest levels of security. but what's interesting, he has also met with the religious figures here. he met with one of the key shia religious clerics, with assurances from general john allen that there wouldn't be american troops on the ground here. and that the americans would be backing up the iraqi forces to take the fight to isil. and that civilian casualties would be kept to a minimum. that's something that a lot of iraqis are very worried about, and the government is worried about it, and in the public, it does welcome the coalition airstrikes, with the provinces that we have seen in recent days. the islamic state of iraq and lavant have issued a statement. they are saying to return back

to their homes, and otherwise, their property would be confiscated and destroyed. and the assets would be destroyed. this is seen by many saying that it's isil flexing their muscles. we're the authority in the area that we control. and we are trying to run this as an islamic state. and using islam as our guide. it's effectively saying to the international community. you might be able to bomb us and have us on the run in other areas, but where we exist, they say is where we are in complete control. and this is a message, really to the international community, saying that yes, you might be able to get rid of us in places, and you might be able to bomb us, but we're still here, and we're still in control. >> all right, well that's the situation in iraq, and in neighboring syria, 30 people have been killed. and dozens more from been injured in two airstrikes by

government jets. they said that the attacks are in the rebel-held area northeast of dam affec damascus. and the syrian government said that it has taken control of three airstrikes in aleppo. they destroyed dozens of cars. meanwhile, protesters have been marching flu the streets of aleppo, holding the flag of the revolution, and calling for an end to president assad's regime. to hong kong now. the police are telling demonstrators to leave protest sites that they have been occupying. the demonstrations have shut down major parts of the city. earlier, hundreds of hong kong residents tried to force the crowd from the streets at a protest site in the district. >> after spending the night, hundreds of protesters waited

in front of chief executive's office, hoping to block him from going to work. he was a no-show. and he and many other to government officials it simply worked from other locations. government complex was temporarily closed. 3,000 civil servants were told to stay home or work from other locations. there were fewer protesters across the city on friday, but those in the district were able to maintain their blockade of the main government buildings. the police and he protesters tussled and an officer who collapsed needed to be taken away in an ambulance. but the protesters blocked the exit. and forced their way out. once the ambulance got through, they retreated across the barricade. the police accused of protesters of being inhumane, but they required sacrifice from all people in hong kong. >> they have to look at the live picture. if your only concern about what

impacts your own. >> some other people in the city outside of the protest zone feel those blocking the streets are imposing their goals on others. >> it's a kidnapping for their own cause. they don't like to have their free choice. >> without protesters in sight, they remain on the firs fringe f the blocked off area of the financial district. the first day of business after a two-day holiday. it means that fewer traders are able to make their way to the hong kong stock exchange. but some analysts say that any negative impact will be short lived. the market has faced crises before, and has been able to shake off the losses, but the chief executive acknowledged

that this could drag on. no one knows how long this crisis could last, nor the scale on the economy or the city's reputation. aljazeera, hong kong. >> two brothers, senior members of the taliban, are due to be released from pakistan. the new level between afghanistan, pakistan and the taliban. mohammed arga rows to prominence. and his brothers were arrested six months ago. britain's prime minister has made an unannounced visit to afghanistan to meet withort new government there. david cameron gave a joint press conference with the new afghan president, in cabal and he met british troops. in kabul. >> ashraf ghani said what a

good partner britain has been since 2001 here in afghanistan. and david cameron said that there's one british base left in afghanistan. next morning all british combat portions will leave. and he outlined some of the accomplishments that brit has made here. >> this is an unstable world. but continued engagement by britain and the rest of the international community, we can make sure that it doesn't become again the haven for terrorism, which is why we came here in the first place. >> britain will continue to have 74 officers here at the academy, helping to train the future officers, and he said

that he's confident that afghanistan will be able to stand on its own in part because of the training. >> the security officers need to be supported until they can become self-sustaining, and the officer academy, which is something that they specifically asked britain to do, and we're proud to do, and we're glad that it's up and running. but they will be part of a mission, a trade mission, and support in helping afghanistan with its development. >> it's one thing that david cameron did while speaking at the presidential pass with ash-hawithashraf ghani. he said that he has met with business leaders and security leaders to try to get two of his biggest problems under control with the committee and the security. he knows that the challenges

ahead will be great. but he knows that the rewards are worth all of the work that it's going to take. >> fromocable, we're going back to events in hong kong. and this is the scene. it is now quarter passed 11:00 in the night. and people are there a little bit longer. and people have actually had enough now. >> they are, the chief executive of hong kong has made an impassioned plea tonight from protesters from both sides to end their occupation here, he doesn't want to see more people injured. more than 100 people have been

taken to the hospital today. and some are serious, and that means that it would has, in a sense, been a turning point. what we have here tonight is a stand off between groups who support hong kong's protest amongment. and those who don't. if what we have seen here are attitudes on both sides. this is normally a very densely populated part of hong kong, and you would normally see this teaming with tourists, but this would be a hong kong that they wouldn't recognize tonight. over the weekend, they accused the government of turning a

blind eye on the attacks that were carried out today. attacks that they blamed on prior groups, and groups that are linked to beijing. so a polarization on the streets of hong kong, and i think that we're seeing the early signs of what could be the battle axe that many feared. many say that it's fine for the students to protest for a few days, but now they want their lives to get back to normal. normality is not what you're seeing in this particular part of hong kong for the moment. but it should be pointed out that these scenes are only in a few areas of hong kong. but here in mong kok, in the tourist district, it's virtual anarchy. >> from the streets of hong kong, and of course he and the rest of our team will keep abreast of all developments in hong kong.

much more to come on the program, including fearing the worst. taken away by the mexican police. and a 17-year-old breaks the record for the youngest driver ever to take part in a race. the full details coming up. >> nine united nations peace keepers in mali have been killed in an ambush. they were apparently killed by gunmen on motorbikes. james is in new york, and so james, can you confirm that this is the worst attack against u.n. peace keepers?

>> it is, it's the highest death toll since the u.n. started their peace-keeping operation in mali last year. in many ways, it's a forgotten war, and the amount of attacks have been growing. the report from ban ki-moon about the growing number of attacks, this is in a 3-month period. but since the report, 26 peace keepers have died. i spoke to the officials here who are concerned about the latest incident. and in fact, that concern goes all the way to the 38th floor of the united nations headquarters of ban ki-moon's own office, and one of the other things that they have been telling me is that these soldiers were from niger. from west africa. if they were western soldiers, probably the soldiers wouldn't

have died because western soldiers would come with armored vehicles and proper equipment. and these soldiers don't have that sort of equipment. >> james t. thank you for that. the editor, live in new york. now, to southern mexico where thousands of protesters have blocked the main highway to the coastal city of acapulco. it marks the anniversary of the 1968 massacre of students by the army of students in mexico city. and protesters, 43 students have been missing since the weekend. >> reporter: victims from the past and 9 present. the present. thousands marched in the western mexican state of guerrero. they were honoring students killed in 1968 as they do every year. but this year was different. they're calling for justice for six students killed a weeks ago, and for 43 others whose

whereabouts are unknown. they have not been seen since september 26th, since things became violate. [ chanting ] parents shouted, they took them alive, and we want them back alive. pensions have risen as authorities continue to fail top find the missing. >> the local police took them away. we know where our children are, and we want them back in the same condition they were taken. >> the incident in 1968 was the worst massacre in mexican history. army snipers opened fire on protesting students. the final death toll is still unknown. >> just like every year, thousands of people come to march in mexico city to pay tribute to those killed in 1968. but this year, they see a connection between the

repression of what happened those times and the students in guerrero. >> people are being being disappeared. and students are stilling killed. the government keeps responding with oppression. >> 46 years after that massacre, fundamental questions remain. how many were killed? who gave the order to shoot down the students? questions about the 43 who have been missing for a week, and with each passing day, the belief that those questions will be answered. >> aljazeera, mexico city. >> the top three presidential candidates are taking part in the final debate ahead of the election on sunday. the president was criticized for her record on the economy. four years ago, it was growing at 7 had the 5% a year, but this gross is unlikely to exceed 1 point perfection.

the government says that despite the recession, unemployment has fallen to the lowest in brazil's history. but her opponents say that the request belongs to her. and they blame the government for intervening too much in economic affairs. as i mentioned, it's unlikely to exceed 1%. let's go live now to correspondent, gabrielle, who is there in sau paolo, and we have to ask you, how far, the fact that the brazil's economy has gone into a recession, the 7th largest in the world, how nar is this going to have an impact on the elections on sunday? >> well, certainly, the economy is one of della rusa's week puppets, and they are pounding

her on the campaign trail endlessly, but she's fighting back, saying that unemployment is low, which is key for her, and many of the supporters behind me now who are waiting for her to arrive for her last campaign rally, you can get a they are waiting for dill ma rousseff to arrive. it's for working class people and union members. but roussef is hoping that the numbers will help her when 37 million go to the polls to cast their ballots. >> she's still ahead, isn't

she? at this stage, do we think that the worker party can fend off the encroachment in the opinion polls by the sensationalists? >> yes, that's right. dill a ruse hthat's right dilmad most impartial analysts say that it would be tough for dilma roussef to to do that. because she's facing candidates in the polls, the environmentalists. and the environmental minister, who is a world refound person, and the center and the right party. they have been pulling strong, and eating away from dilma roussef's support. but clearly, her numbers have stabilized in the last week or so. but she's hoping that ta last

minute push, rallies like this, but it could go to a runoff in october. we'll have to wait and see. >> gabrielle. thank you very much. and he'll keep us across the developments in brazil as that important election takes place on sunday. much more to come on this news hour, people are commemorating one of the worst ship wrecks off of the coast of italy city. >> and one of the worst countries in the world for road accidents finally makes seatbelts compulsory. [ music ] >> after 90 years, it was hidden in an attic, but now rare footage of the 1924 world series is being discovered. more on that are later.

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and al jazeera america is doing just that. boys are being killed by high school football. boys are being crippled by the college game, far more often than the rest of us. how badly do we want to play football? it is inside story. hello, i am ray swarez. the president of the united states convened a meeting hoping to he