>> hello, and welcome to the news hour, i'm here in doha with the top stories on aljazeera. u.s.-led airstrikes, kurdish forces are finally pushing isil back. and its getting work. ebola in west africa is rampant. a report inside of north north . it won't giving up it's nuclear

program. and overcome with relief, but this man spent 29 years in a u.s. prison for a murder he didn't commit. city. >> kurdish fighters in syria say that u.s.-led airstrikes are making a difference in and around kobane, close to the kurdish border. the tide is turning and they're pushing isil back. since monday, the u.s.-led coalition has hit isil in and around kobane with 53 airstrikes, and that's just six compared to iraq during that time period. it's interesting when you consider only on monday, the u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, said that kobane didn't define u.s. strategy and iraq is where we should be focusing first. we're going to our

correspondent who has the latest report from back bag. ba. >> there's real concern in the capital that the u.s.-led airstrikes are in syria and not in iraq. particularly in anbar province. and also part of the larger cities of romani and fallujah. but now it's being concentrated on the town of amaria, a crucial town. if that town falls and is taken over by isil, it gives isil a base to be able to attack baghdad. of particular concern are the abu ghraib area. the attack will have a massive impact on commercial traffic coming into the country, and it will have the affect of really scaring the residents. what the iraqis are doing, they say they're in control and they have the baghdad belt reinforced and that's the area

that surrounds it. it won't be able to be breached by isil fighters, but however, because of these airstrikes in syria and not in iraq, many people are wondering when the coalition will take seriously the iraqi demands for aid, having much closer support for troops into isil fighters, and also sunni politicians are saying that the only way we're going to win against isil is if there are international boots on the ground in places like anbar province helping the iraqis fight. >> in iraq, four car bomb attacks in the capital have killed 38 people. the attacks hit in and around the shiite area in northern iraq. and the attacks killed 23 people, including politicians. well, officials in iraq have tightened security in kirkuk. and that has prevented isil

from getting in. iraqi and kurdish forces on one of their operations. >> the federal police and british security forces cooperated in this corner of iraq. after all, they have a common enemy. they are looking for suspected supporters. the general, head of the iraqi police in kirkuk city, has led the operation. he leads his men toward a small village that doesn't just straddle a front line in northern iraq, but is at kirkuk's doorstep. >> they have repeatedly said that it intends to push into the city of kirkuk. this security operation is part of the ongoing efforts to prevent this group from a taking over this oil-rich region. it is not the first time that troops raid this village. isil controls territory less

than a kilometer away. the security forces say that the group uses it as a logistic space, but it's also a sunni-arab village, and many civilians find themselves caught in the middle of the conflict. some feel falsely targeted, because like is ill's members, they are sunni. >> he is a terrorist. we are operating and we don't detain those who are innocent. >> this man says that he has not done anything wrong, but his face does not match the foti. photo. >> and this is what the troops

have. uniforms used by the police and kurdish forces. in another house, they found gunmen with phone cards, and this isil pamphlet was in one of them. these crack downs are necessary for security. but they're causing tensions in the communities. the sunnis say that the arabsa being singled out. they say those innocent will be released. but for now, the evidence gather enough to take these men in for questions. aljazeera, south of kirkuk city. >> now back to where we have been report, the kurdish fighters in syria say that the u.s.-led coalition airstrikes are making a difference in pushing isil back from kobane. and i believe -- unfortunately, we were going to take you to the turkish-syrian border, and we'll try to get him back a

little later. with an update from kobane. meanwhile, the spread of the ebola virus is rampant in west africa, and that's the bleak assessment of the world health organization. several cases are being reported in sierra leone every day, and also in liberia and guinea. >> reporter: yet another ebola victim is taken away in a body bag. in this chinese-run hospital in sierra leone, the doctors say that one of the biggest problem is lack of phenomenal. most of the patients know nothing about the ebola virus. they go into the room where the workers have left. the world health organization is using the word rampant to describe ebola in sierra leone, there, along with liberia and guinea, the worst.

4 and a half thousand people have died from the outbreak since the beginning of the year, but many of the victims are being hidden away by scared relatives. w.h.o. said that the real it death toll is likely to be much higher. in the medical charity, doctors without borders, says that it has reached it's limits, and needs help to carry on. >> if you look at doctors without borders, they have regular alarm installs, and they are already starting to say that it's not the normal ebola outbreak. more needs to happen. w.h.o. needs to take this more serious, and more resources need to be allocated. and the message is more and more urgent up to the end where we're trying to more or less scream where things need to happen here. this is not something that you can watch. and it has an impact on the rest of the world. >> it's a major shortfall in supplies, and it's latest

reports say that liberia needs almost 3,000 beds to treat patients, but it only has 620. guinea needs around 260 beds. but has just 150. and sierra leone needs 1,200. but right now, it only has about one quarter of that. that's concerning, because about there's no room in hospital, people are left to die at home where they can spread the virus. supplies are coming in from the international community, but it's stilled not enough. the w.h.o. has predicted that the number of new cases is likely to increase up to 10,000 a week by december. the world needs to act now or suffer the consequences later. erica woods, aljazeera. >> the w.h.o. has just held a briefing on how the countries can keep the disease from a spreading. >> coordination, and rapid

response teams, public awareness, and training on infection prevention and control. healthcare workers are on the front line, we can never say that enough. they need to be protected and well trained. and they need to identify a group of people who have the huge responsibility to take care of the first patient and make sure that the patient is treated correctly. and those taking care are also protected. proper case management, compact tracing, as i told you, we can not underestimate the importance of contact tracing. >> let's cross now to the turkey-syrian border, and we're going to talk to our correspondent, bernard, and he has been talking about the

battle for kobane. what's the update? >> well, doreen, there has been a series of u.s. coalition airstrikes on kobane in the last couple of hours or so. and that interrupted a very quiet day. no gunfire, and very little mortar fire. but now there has been some fighting. you can see behind me some of the smoke rising, and that tends to be from firing from both sides. it's creating a smoke screen, and it allows them to move around. so we know there's fighting going on. but isil fighters -- forgive me, syrian-kurdish fighters in kobane have been able to push back on the east and the south areas where isil had previously pen straighted. so the syrian kurdish fighters have gained ground there. but there of been attempts by isil to fight back a little bit. and that's why we have seen

more airstrikes go in. but still, the syrian kurdish fighters have seized some of the initiative, and certainly, the u.s. airstrikes have degraded some of isil's capability, they have been destroyed, and isil positions have been destroyed. and the kurdish fighters say that the airstrikes are helping them to regain lost ground. >> and do they think, westernish, that they can keep it going? with the fighters on the ground with the weapons they have now? >> well, they have been telling us in times past that they have been desperately short of weapons and they need more help. the mood amongst them in the last days has been more positive. and yes, they believe the airstrikes have been helping. we should caution the u.s. defense department spokesman himself, and the airstrikes on the ground might not be enough. there's still a risk that kobane might fall.

and what the u.s. did with bringing in the airstrikes, effectively allowing the kurdish fighters to regroup, reorganize themselves to try to weaken isil. and that seems to have happened, but the u.s. is cautioning airstrikes might not be enough. >> all right, bernard, reporting to us from the turkey-syria border. remaining unaccounted for following a series of blizzards which caused an avalanche. at least 27 people are already confirmed dead. most of them former trekkers. this is the season in napal. and it attracts a lot of climbers. it has been a bad year for the climbing industry. an avalanche on mount everest. >> [ unintelligible ] we

couldn't see anything in the snow. i was stuck in snow to here. and they asked me to -- he asked me to stay with him and really drug me. >> more on the rescue area in the an accord arrange. it's a very popular pass where a lot of people cross every day. in the last days, a massive snowstorm trapped a lot of people. and yesterday, 18 people were rescued alive. and four bodies were flown out of here. they have been coordinating and rescuing these people. the snowstorm didn't only happen here, but also in the entire region. the army is having a difficult time, because the weather is

very changeable. and rescuing at high altitude, and they're finding it difficult. they cannot bring it up because the wind has started picking up. >> russian president, vladimir putin, has arrived in the serbian capital, belgrade, for the 7th anniversary of serbia. right now, as you see, that first military parade that serbia has held in three decades. we're bringing in marco, who is joining us right now and telling us what is going on. they have been speaking and making comments.

>> the military parade, speaking about connections between serbia and russia, in the second world war, where two sides fight against nazi germany. with 30,000 russian soldiers, to liberate belgrade 70 years ago. so this is the first parade after the 30 years here in belgrade. and vladimir putin was cheered by the tens of thousands of people who are watching the parade. it's interesting, because serbia is between russia and moscow. and they only came to the country for the european union, sanctions from the russians, and sometimes they feel

pressure. it's the second time in five days that the serbian prime minister and putin are talking about probably vladimir putin and the visit and they will stay there, and vladimir putin says that moscow will not do anything to stop serbia from going to the european union. >> that's marco reporting from belgrade where that military parade is taking place, and vladimir putin is the guest of honor. here with the aljazeera news hour, and coming up, the main opposition party says that there are signs of fraud in the presidential election. and plus, the struggle to modernize it's military forces. and coming up, the kansas city

royals. all of the action later. >> . >> the first hong kong government says that it's ready for its new talks with students. the demonstrations are in the third week, occupying parts of the city, and they are hoping for free elections in 2017. seven police officers are being suspended. north and south korea have held their first high level military talks in seven years. the discussions took place in the border village. and today, granted access to film inside of the joint security area, the north korean side of the border just a few days before the meeting. >> on the road, the border

between the two koreas. >> the border between north and south korea, it's one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world. we were not allowed to film because of concerns. >> we came here to meet lieutenant colonel of the people's army. he gave his version of why there has been an exchange of fire at the border in the last few days. >> it's the atmosphere to lead to war. >> on wednesday, north and south korea met for the first time in nearly four years. it's made clear we can only film what we're told to.

this is parallel 38, the front land in a six-year long conflict. north korea, there are other south korean dogs, wearing the helmets of the opposite side. >> the north korean soldiers facing the off with their long-time enemy. south korea and its ally, the united states. so this is for south korea, on the other side, we were supposed to go inside of this blue building, but apparently the doors are closed. >there are 40,000 troops on the other side, and 1,000 weapons. and in fact, want u.s. has 30,000 troops deployed in the southern part of the peninsula. and there of not been weapons in the south for 20 years. west is always saying that north korea cannot have nuclear

weapons, what would it take? >> we will only give unour nuclear weapons when the countries threatening us give up there's. >> it's the nuclear question that continues to keep north korea isolated and under international sanctions. they agree, it's unlikely that the north will dismantle it's nuclear program any time soon. >> it's the only power for our society. the reason why the nort north koreans -- i mean that's the only way that kim jong can rule the society. >> the latest military talks are a step forward, but clearly, the road to peace is not.

divided by the korea decades ago. aljazeera, north korea. >> well, efforts to make taiwan's military from a force to a volunteer one has a number of setbacks. as taiwan pushes through with its ambitious plan, it remains one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints. our correspondent has this exclusive report. >> to see the current fails of taiwan's armed forces, you only need to spend the day with constricts. since 1949 when it began, all young men have to serve time in the military. but after decades of relative

peace, the marshal spirit is gone, and rather preparing to battle an enemy, many recruits are battling the bulge. >> few people in taiwan are having children these days, and the kids they do have are frankly, spoiled. >> taiwan is ditching the draft. and turning it's military into a smaller volunteer one. the soldiers will be forced to play a larger roll. these are trying to become frog men, the taiwan version of the u.s. navy seals. 140 have applied. but only ten have gotten this far, and even those are struggling. the military is having trouble finding enough able-bodied men for an army. and part of the reason is it's own image. last year, drafty, chung chung chiu, was caught taking a smart

phone onto a base. and he had to do endless drills until he collapsed of heat exhaustion. his death had mass protests. and the government had to delay until this year, 2017. but still, the president said that taiwan has no choice but to modernize it's forces. the all-volunteer force, the officers and the military will receive more training than before. and it will be much more effective. i'm very confident in that regard. >> but back with the special force trainees, we still see challenges. it's a final night of the triumph. exhausted. some are struggling to stay awake. when it comes to world power, this force is not as strong as earlier generations. they are highly indecisive, and some of them are not solid. >> some tell us that they have

been easing the requirements for soldiers to become frog men. while it's not as punishing as in years past, it taxes the soldiers from the physical to the mental. what the trainers are looking for at this late stage of the game, is whether these recruits have the will to go on. ready or not, the defense will be on the shoulders of this new volunteer force. success or failure could ultimately decide the future of taiwan. steve chow, aljazeera, taiwan. >> you can see more of the story on thursday. there have been more violent protests in mexico, the dozens of students with the disappearance three weeks ago. crowds in mexico city started fires and smashed windows in the attorney general's office, and the protesters are

demanding more government action to find the 43 students and bring them back alive. more from mexico city. >> the protests outside of mexico's attorney general's office. and the attention is being focused more and more on the individuality and the humanity of the 43 students. protesters are carrying pictures of them and reading their names out, these are individuals, and 43 is not just a number that can be forgotten or put out of mind. they're trying to put attention on their humanity to put pressure on the president to find the students and find the people responsible and bring them to justice. for the second day in a row, the president spoke publicly about the case to bring those responsible to justice. people here don't have faith in him.

and they don't have faith in the institution. they said they live in a narcostate, where critical organizations and political officials are one and the same. guerrero, where the students went missing, have seen hundreds of people found in mass graves in past months, and the attorney general said that he couldn't confirm the identity of the people in the mass graves, has led the students to more uncertainty and more of a lack of faith and trust in the government. these people will not stop protesting until the students are returned, and until the government does indeed bring those responsible for it to justice. >> still ahead on the aljazeera news hour, floating, we'll take you to bangladesh where the farmer are uses floodwaters for their crops. and said to lead the formula one team. blue where is he heading? find out soon.

>> it's a chilling and draconian sentence... it simply cannot stand. >> its disgraceful... the only crime they really

committed is journalism... >> 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. >> texas' new i.d. rules for voters will be allowed to stand. the court said it's too close to election day to change it. in wisconsin the exact opposite. the court said it's too close to election day to allow new rules to go into effect. confused? that's why we're her