announcer: this is al jazeera. hello, welcome to the newshour, i'm martine dennis, we are live in doha. these are the top stories. [ explosion ] on the frontline with iraq's army as it battles i.s.i.l. for control of tikrit. they failed before, but say this time will be different in syria i.s.i.l. claims to have grabbed a u.s. airdrop full of weapons. we take a closer look at a video with a former colonel a pakistan cleric ends a

2-month sit in in the capital, to take his protest on the road ben bradley the newspaper editor that helped bring down richard nixon has died. brad we have an exclusive report from iraq, where the army is trying to take back tikrit from i.s.i.l. with the help of militia, iraqi forces managed to capture three villages north-east of tikrit. the army is trying to secure of the road to baghdad. tikrit is on the road and together with baiji is among the key goals. al jazeera obtained exclusive access to the operation which began on monday. imran khan reports from baghdad

battling i.s.i.l. requires patient and hitting odd targets. this is a makeshift road block booby trapped with explosives. it takes a lot of fire to clear it. this is the latest iraqi army offensive to secure the main highway between tikrit and baghdad. along the way they retook villages in street to street fighting with i.s.i.l., who have fallen back to positions closer to tikrit. >> i.s.i.l. can't go near a 5km radius around the villages that we control. we assure the people of the towns and villages that we are safe taking tikrit will not be easy. the hard core are forces that joined the group and know the area well. in a main city along the way, the army is held by shia

positions when the main shrine hit in 2006 they struck. >> translation: we support the army and the police forces. they are responsible for taking up the security across the areas. where i stand it should be lip rated areas. especially the perimeter. our main goal is to protect the holy shrine. >> the operation began here, went on and it will reach tikrit. the idea is they take control of up to s and villages on either side of that road in order to be able to deny i.s.i.l. ground. once they take tikrit, they'll move and draw an imaginary line from here and all the way down to here. what it will do is cut i.s.i.l. fighters off, they won't be able to resupply each other.

i.s.i.l. controls two parts of iraqi territory, parts of anbar and mosul in the north. taking control of the key highway in the areas that surround it may give the iraqi army the upper hand. >> if the operation is successful it delivers a blow to i.s.i.l.'s moving around the country. that will be key as i.s.i.l. improves linking roads and using it to devastating effect while this is going on, the iraqi prime minister is having important meetings in neighbouring iran. here is imran khan again. >> this was a key meeting for prime minister haider al-abadi to have with the ayatollah. they would have been talking about the idea of protecting the shrines in iraq. they are key. some of them were mentioned in

my report. they are important to shia'as across the world and for the iranians they represent a red line. the prime minister would have reassured the supreme leader that they are up to the job. that is a red line for iraq, they will send troops if they are attacked. there was a message delivered from the top shia cleric via haider al-abadi to the supreme leader there. there were several things to be discussed, and we are not privy to what those things were. they are about the political nature. that was a key meeting that was held between those two men. they met with security and political leaders, a key and important ally against iraq in the fight against i.s.i.l.

the fight against i.s.i.l. is taking place in neighbouring syria and i.s.i.l. claims to have rah cache of -- have a cache of weapons airdropped by the united states. it was intended for the kurdish fighters. the u.s. made an air drop over kobane, and the pentagon is investigating the the authentisty of the video. >> reporter: an i.s.i.l. fighter apparently showing off weapons. >> these are military aid dropped by american and kurdish fighters. >> the video proves it's in possession of a shipment intended for kurdish forces in kobane. here we see some of the parcel is aid. these are mortars. whether it's authentic is not known. it raises questions. these grenades are loosely piled

in a box. while in the same video a wooden grate opened showing tightly packed grenades in a sealed cannister the u.s. state department says it could be part of a proppa canneda campaign by i.s.i.l. >> we have seen the video, we can't confirm what was in it is accurate. this may fall into that category. we are seeking more information at this point. we can't confirm it. we are seeking further information. >> kurdish fighters defended the town for weeks, needing weapons and ammunition. the u.s. confirmed one. 27 pallets it delivered went missing, but said it was destroyed to prevent it falling into the wrong hands. >> to me a looks authentic.

it fits into a longer series of locations where we saw weapons delivered to others in syria or iraq have ended up in the hands of i.s.i.l. >> reporter: i.s.i.l. forces are said to control about a third of kobane, with site set on a strategic border crossing to the north of the town. they reportedly called in reinforcements with opponents restocked and the prospects of more fighters arriving to fight horizon joining me now is mon teef stuart, a former colonel, a military analyst and served in the nicaragua, haiti, and iraq. thank you for coming in, and going through the exercise. this is something that i imagine the pentagon and the rest of u.s. authorities are doing now. they'll go through the video frame by frame to ascertain the voracity of it. can we do the same.

>> exactly. we can role the video. i have a couple of cuts from the video that tells us where we are at. first, you see a professionally packed parachute rig. as we role the video, you'll see it pan here. now you see where it was dropped. behind the pallet, you can see a trail where the parachute drop goes into the ground and dragged by the wind. it's difficult to fake. if it were faked you'd possible see more foot marks or truck marks. we can determine that a pallet was dropped on the ground $recently -- there recently. we determine that. as we roll on, we see who drops the pallet. if you look at the cargo right here. you see an - ordnants, hand grenades packed incorrectly, not

correctly. there's no pilot in the world - the u.s. or any pilot that would let that caringon on the back of -- cargo on the back of his plane. >> you are suggesting. >> loose hand grenades. >> were not part of what was in the earlier shot. >> right. >> which was the bundle that was parachuted down. >> yes. >> this is a separate consignment. >> exactly. >> maybe u.s. ordnants from a previous war given to iraqi fighters, that they captured as they mooed north. >> -- moved north. >> what is in there. >> humanitarian assistance from my looking at it. we see water packaged and a grate in the video. do you see a crate? >> no. no crates in the video. you see a fence lines of crates, it's the cut, the way they are using the camera angles. that is not unpacked. >> this is propaganda, not fact.

>> in my view it's propaganda, not fact. it was dropped by a coalition aircraft, in my view. >> we know the americans are dropping in weapons for the use of kurdish fighters defending kobane up to from i.s.i.l. forces. and now we are hearing that the tu turkish president recep tayyip erdogan says it's wrong for the united states to airdrop weapons in to the kurdish fighters. what does he mean? >> i'm not sure what he means. they are part of the coalition that president obama put together. he'll support the members as required to defeat i.s.i.s., that's the mission. >> essentially everywhere in the administration point out the fact that kobane is not central to their anti-i.s.i.l. policy. really and truly, as far as

americans are concerned, does it matter what is going on. >> it's a branch or sequel. imran khan moving into tikrit is critical to the battle. there'll be small branches, they'll need support. whether it's to drop hand grenades, relatively good hand grenades would be better than what you see there. >> that didn't go on an aircraft i assure you. >> again, it reinforces the picture we are getting every day of how sophisticated i.s.i.l. operatives are in terms of military strategy, technique and pr. >> sophistication, right. they have uplinked this to a video. they took a youtube and put it up. it's not sofist caution. as we look at the history, we look at the way osama bin laden

worked, he'd send messages through six or seven couriers. these guys uplink it straight. they can be found. when they uplink it straight, they can be found. >> thank you for coming in and talking to us, thank you. now, let's go to yemen - houthi fighters there stormed the interior ministry in sanaa much this is a deadline to form a new government has expired. rival parties can't decide how to divvy up the 34 ministerial portfolios. omar al saleh is there. it seems the houthis are not prepared to wait for the strategy, they have moved upon a key ministry, the interior ministerry which the pentagon had to keep for himself. >> well, yes, the houthis are

continuing on two paths, one is to pursue political dialogue to gape gains, and the other is to consolidate a grip on power and the capital. we understand that just shortly after midday, two vehicles loaded with armed men went to the compound. that has a number of buildings. they went straight to the building of finance and personnel. we are told the day before, on tuesday, that the houthis - houthi representatives this told the deputy minister not to issue or pay bonus us for the staff. the deputy minister did not hear them. they stormed it today. in a sse it's a clear message that the houthis want that to be heard loud and clear, they are the ones holding power in this country. to seize power, they want to nt

stop the corruption taking place in government institutions. >> omar al saleh live from the yemen capital. thank you very much now, we have a lot more to come on the al jazeera newshour, including new hope for those suffering ebola. an experimental serum that could be ready in weeks. >> the death of a news icon has the media taking a long hard look at itself. >> in sport, the san francisco leave the royals flushed as they take game one. world series. the red cross says the ebola virus could be contained in 4-of months.

-- 4-6 months. the world health organisation is working with partners to see if a blood serum could be used. this is how it would work. the blood of ebola survivors would be taken from them in the same way as blood is donated. the important thing is their blood contained antibodies to ebola. red and white blood cells and a number of other cells would be removed. the resulting serum would be given to patients with the virus. the antibodies could help them fight off the virus that the donors would need to be screened for help tight us and h.i.v. hospitals would make out the facilities and test and administer the blood product. many are struggling to provide basic supplies and personnel protective gear. here is more from the w.h.o. on how it would work. >> it's a procedure that needs to take into consideration the safety of a donor, as well as

the safety of a recipient. to great care must be taken in ensuring that the blood used for the transfusion is devoid of infection agents for ebola, and for help tight us and h.i.v. and important path gens. in terms of serum and collection of serum, they are past the ships that are starting to be put in place or to have the capacity in the three countries to safely extract plasma and make preparation that can be used for treatment of infected patients. >> we can talk to ian jones, a professor of virology at the university of redding. he joins us life from london. this is a tried and tested procedure, isn't it, the

administering of serum. why has this not been introduced earlier? >> you are right, it's an established procedure. effectively an individual who survives the infection, remember we normally focus on those that died. a reasonable number survive. like being vaccinated they contain anti-bodies, which can neutralize the virus and help recovery. the infrastructure was not in place previously to collect the serum and the number of patient was small. whether or not it would have been worthwhile with that number would have been unclear. >> we have highlighted the complexity of the clinical process and the kinds of requirements that are necessary for this to de successfully carried out. these are things like hospitals and facilities and trained staff.

things that the country doesn't have. >> absolutely. while this is a reasonable thing to put in place - why not if it helps some people - it would be wrong to see it as any way to stop the current situation. as you pointed out, the blood needs to be screened. plasma collected, and not least you have to get at the people infected and hopefully in time to give this type of transfusion. it's going to be suitable for a small number of people, but won't give rise to the end of this epidemic. >> i don't know if you are aware, the line coming out of the red cross we have been reporting. that's an optimistic note that they are striking, suggesting that within 4-6 months, that the crisis could be contained. is that something you share, the modicum of optimism? >> well, it can be contained. that's a message that needs

reenforcing. look at the nigerian situation. the same virus looking into the country is ebola free. what needs to happen is on the ground. whilst we consider sir ums and anti-bodies, these are not going to act the current situation, logistics need to be put in place k with the up up-grade of resources, it could happen. >> thank you very much indeed. now, the newspaper editor ben brad lee whose coverage of the watergate scandal helped force president nixon to resign died at the age of 93. tom ackerman looks at his career. ben bradlee capitalized on his ties to washington elite,

including friend john f. kennedy, to run the newsroom of the "the washington post." in 1972 under bradlee's supervision the reporters bob woodward and carl bernstein traced a burglary attempt at the democratic party's watergate offices to some of nixon's top aid. a key source was a top fbi official called deep throat. >> deep throat was right from beginning to end. so wood word and bernstein were not making mistakes. the accuracy was never called into question. >> crimes of obstructing justice led to the president's resignation. the only president to quit in office. bradlee called watergate a watershed matter in america's history. >> people don't tell the truth

in 100 different ways. it's become so easy to lie much no one recognises lies. >> bradley, backed by the post's owner had earlier fought nixon by winning a landmark supreme court ruling for freedom of the rest. the post published a damning history of the vietnam war, known as the pentagon papers. the newspapers argued that the public's right to now trumped the government's claim of damage to the nation's security. >> when the head of the c.i.a. tells you that publishing something will endanger the national security of the country, you can't tell them to jump in the labelling. >> reporter: another president, president obama awarded br bradaccommodation for challenging power

let's talk to the presenter of "the listen thing post." richard, the watergate scandal and the ensuing resignation will be a dim and murky episode. remind us how significant and what a huge event that was. >> well, it was hugely significant the first time an american president was brought down, by the media "the washington post." journalism schools exploded in size. thousands of journalists were sent out the door into the market every year. it's an interesting time. could it happen today, could the same journalism occur in america today as in 1972, "74? i'd say it's not impossible, but highly unlikely. journalist are only as good as their editors allow them to be.

editors are only as bray as openers allow them to be. "the washington post" was opened by katherine and philip graham, and they gave graham pt backing he needed. these days the opener of amazon has the post, and amazon has a $600 cloud computing contract with the c.i.a. if you want to look at the post's reporting look at it. if the post has a huge national security story implicating the c.i.a. in something, will the post or editor get the backing from the opener who has a $600 million contract with the same organization. things have changed. corporate media gets in the way. >> we'll have to leave it there. we'll have to leave it there. breaking news from the turkey-syria border where our correspondent - from where our correspondent is preparing to talk to us. there you can see the immediate

after math of an air strike on what we assume to be kobane, the town in northern syria, being defended by kurdish forces, the y.p.g. on the ground, as they fight off i.s.i.l. forces. our correspondent bernard smith is there in the region on the border. behind you we can see the pool of smoke. so this might have been a big attack. >> that was an air strike, marr teen, yes. we had a couple of those today. that is the aftermath of it. i can hear the fighter jets circling above - whether they are looking for another target, i don't know. that is typical of what an air strike looks like. there has been a lot of fighting in the town. a lot of consistent gun fire, and most of it is coming from

the east and with coordination from the kurds on the ground. that is when the air strikes come in and give the coordinates to the target, the u.s. >> what is the situation with regard to control of kobane up to. we had been led to believe the kurd made significant forward pushes and managed to dislodge some of the i.s.i.l. positions. is that still the case? >> well, there was a major assault by i.s.i.l. a couple of nights ago. the kurd held the line. there was fighting overnight. there's not been a great deal of change, the kurd regauped a couple of positions lost to i.s.i.l. but, in fact, there's a tight

battle going on in kobane for control. the kurd will have those weapons that the u.s. dropped 27 bundles of weapons, ammunition that came down, but they need morphous illegal support. the turkish fighters left in fighters from the free syrian army tuesday night. there's free syrian army fighters allied to the f.s.a. in kobane. more have gone in. now we are hearing the debate from the kurdish and regional government about how many peshawar are allowed in to join the battle. >> as we look at the moment, because we have got the moment of that enormous air strike. we are looking at it now. as you were suggesting, the re-enforcements coming from iraqi, kurdistan and from other areas, it's so dependent upon

the - pop the permission of the - or the cooperation of the turkish authorities. have the turks decided categorically that they will allow the transition through its territory of, friendships, the peshawar, from northern iraq? >> well, the turkish authorities, the foreign minister said that they'll allow that to happen. however - there's no indication that they'll change their mind. they are treading a fine line. they don't want to arm directly the syrian kurds in kobane. what they want to do is allow the free syrian army in instead. they'll allow the peshawar as well. in the last hour, in fact, turkish president recep tayyip erdogan had a bit of a dig at the united states. in the phone call he got from president obama, he told them that support that they are

giving in terms of the air drop to the kurds in kobane. recep tayyip erdogan says lock what has happened now, a box has gone astray. recep tayyip erdogan reiterating that he thinks the support should go to free syrian army fighters. he's not happy at all that weapons are in the hands of kurdish fighters. >> for now, thank you very much, indeed. so we have just got in. the news were erbil. the capital of northern iraq's kurdish region, that the kurdish regional government had approved the use of kurdish peshmerga forces to go into kobane, northern syria in order to assist kurdish fighters, who are defending kobane from the i.s.i.l. attack. this is the latest to come out. we'll go live to erbil in

nowhere iraq in a short while. that's the latest to have come from the kurdish regional government. we have a lot more to come here in al jazeera. it's a tale of two lub -- libyas. well look at the rivals protesters in hopping copping -- hong kong gobbing back to the streets after talks are deadlocked in sport, serena williams suffers one of the heaviest defeats in years.

iraqi troop and pro-government militia recaptured part of tikrit from i.s.i.l. the government is trying to take it back, because it lies on an important supply route for i.s.i.l. i.s.i.l. fighters in syria seized u.s. military supplies meant for kurdish forces in the besieged found of kobane. the u.s. confirmed that one of the 27 bundles of weapons and ammunition it dropped has gone missing. one of libya's rival prime minister's has been holding tacks with the envoy. the militias that back him took over the capital in august. the prime minister and cabinet he pushed out are in the east of the country, in tub ruck --

tobruk. >> reporter: well armed and fighting street-level battles. there are two governments pushing for supremacy in libya, and a town south-west of tripoli. they have chosen side. libya is a tribal nation, loyalties strong and demonstrated with passion. what is happening here is a confined example of what afflicted the country since the fall of muammar gaddafi. during the war leading to his death tribal militias were equipped with powerful weapons, and plenty of them. government that ruled since failed to convenience them to give up arms and develop a loyal military. in august armed groups who opposed the leadership took over tripoli. their own parliament was put in

place. the leadership was forced to move to tobruk. the weakened military benghazi. they have teamed up with forces of haider al-abadi. w -- khalifa haftar, who can carrying out his open campaign. forces are preparing to retake tripoli. loyal civilians have been called upon to join ranks with the soldiers. with two governments vying for power, the international community is concerned that oil-rich libya will descend into another war. the u.n. urged the rival militias and governments to talk saying it's the only way to solve the conflict now, the pakistani cleric tahir-ul-qadri has called off his 2-month sit-in in islamabad.

he said supporters will take the anti-government protest on the road to other major cities. scott heidler has more. >> reporter: in what is seen as a dramatic development, dr tahir-ul-qadri told supporters to pack their bags and leave the venue of the protest in front of parliament. he, himself left the venue and supporters are picturing their bags. they'll have to take care of the tension within which they were living for the past two months. importantly the city administration will be moving in to clean up this place, which looks more like a tented village. importantly the announcement came at a time when there was an expectation that the protest would continue for much longer. tahir-ul-qadri said he was entering a new phase of what he calls the revolution, saying in the second phase he'd take the

protest to other cities as well. there was speculation in the country that perhaps a deal had been done between the government and dr tahir-ul-qadri. tahir-ul-qadri on the other hand denying that there was a deal. saying "you can hang me if there was a deal with the government." . importantly, imran khan, who started his protest in conjunction with tahir-ul-qadri says that he'll continue to stay at this venue until the resignation of the prime minister, the pressure on, as far as the government is concerned. the president will be feeling relieved after the high drama and tension in front of parliament in hong kong 100 protesters marked to the home of the beijing-backed leader, calling for c.y. leung to step down. protesters wanted hong kong to

choose their own headers, without interference from beijing. sarah clarke reports. >> reporter: they arrived by the thousands. most, if not all, realitistic about their limited chances. trrmghts we all understand we can't really get concrete results, but an open dialogue tells everywhere why they are here. >> they've been here for weeks to demand free and fair elections. protests began after the chinese government decided to limit voting reforms by screening candidates for the 2017 elections. 2-hour talks between members of the government and leaders were meant as a first step. demonstration sites in the city were gathered around, to watch and listen to what was said. voice and demands of the students were heard loud and

clear by the hong kong government, community and central government the the chief secretary kerry lamb insists that the government was looking for a solution. she said electoral reform was possible after the election in 2017. student leaders questioned sincerity. they want greater voting rights now and a roadmap for upcoming elections. >> translation: why is it the people are so angry and willing to fight on the streets to tell the hong kong government they want a better society. >> throughout the meeting protesters were camped out in the street. many were significanted that no change was delivered. >> it just happened, no real surprise. >> the tone of the talks was

civil but emotional. describes bill all as a crucial step. the students are showing no signs of an imminent withdrawal from the streets right, let's take a look at the weather with everton. what is the latest on the storms battering europe? >> plenty of wet and windy weather. not out of the woods just yet. you see the massive cloud pulling across germany. austria - trees coming down. this is a cold front. colder air diving, coming in from north or north-west. bit of a squeeze in the isobars. a strong wind in pleas. we have of wind 80 k/hr around france. not just the wind. but there has been problems with the rain.

this was the scoop in the netherlands over -- screen in the netherlands overnight going into the morning. the rain stretching. big rain fouls. 137mm of rain in the balkans. convert it to snow fall - similar amounts, a meter of snow over the alps. heavy snow in pleas, cold air diving its way in behind. the temperature will struggle. 11 for vienna. brighter skies on friday thank you everton now, the number of australian parents choosing to educate their children at home, taking them out of school is on the rise. this is a trend worrying some politicians who think the kids are losing out on some valuable

life lessons. andrew thomas explains. >> reporter: for this family the living room is the classroom. ruben, odette and their brother learns from home. >> learning who i am is good. >> reporter: for lindy, home schooling is a way to spend more time with her children. >> when you put testing into education, you create a competitive spirit and it removes the joy. >> the children mix with others. on wednesday lindsay organised a get together for a group of home-skilled children and others. with music, dance and drama. it's less formal than school would be, and children of different ages take part. >> i used to hang out with kids who are 18. if i went to school i wouldn't have this, i wouldn't wear this,

i would be wearing a uniform. you feel free. >> about 90 home school children get together here each book. that's a number gone up. that fits part of a broader trend. >> in the state of new south wales home schooling is going up by 10% each year. there's more than 10,000 children registered for home school. home schooling covers everything from unschooled children with no lessons, learning through experience, to children following the same curriculum at school, but at home. >> what is wrong with this school? a new south wales inquiry is under way, saying some feel schools don't meet needs or some want more control over the content of when their children were fought. >> i am concerned about the

narrowness of education. some parents treat it as an opportunity to cloister their children away from the rest of society. >> the united states has the biggest proportion of the home-schooled children. some countries ban home school. australia leads the country where it's legal, rare, but becoming more common. >> coming up here at al jazeera - hindus around the world start to enjoy the festival of light. diwali. >> and in sport, bayern munich - it had on its sunday best.

>> today they will be arrested... >> ground breaking... they're firing canisters of gas at us... award winning investigative documentary series... opioid wars only on al jazeera america

i know you are desperate to find out. here is farah with the sport news. >> san francisco giants ended the royals perfect post season, destroying them 7-1 in game 1. the giants took a 3-0 lead in the first i'mings, never looking back. >> kansas city starting pitcher james shield on the mound for the final series of the year. royals expectation - it was the giants with their noses in front. this is the first score of many. pablo with a hit. blanco scores 1-0. this was the beginning. same inning, and the giants

followed their lead. tents on the money. >> 3-0 lead. >> repulsed from the royals, to the fourth. michael moore hits the center. and that murmur was turning into a boo. kc taking a gaining. they knew the chances of the home team turning it around from here were slim, and still in the fourth, but soon to become 5-0. danny duffy pitching, for whom things were about to get worth. top of the 7th. second base panic. haricika can't reach it. bango around for six. san francisco were not done yet,

the scoreboard taking on a lopsided fill. panic allowed. seven down for the septembersed inning, they waited 30 years for this, not for is to be like this. >> makes it easier on you when you can go out and know our guys scored three runs. makes it easier to go out there. and try to get ahead. >> giant ran out 7-1 victors. the team that took game 1 took the series and the best of seven tennis world number one serena williams suffered a heavy defeat at the wta files in singapore. she lost 6-0, 6-2 to a rome apian.

18 grand slam winner served 7 double faults. williams won two games, something not done since 1998 when she was 16. she'll make it though to the semifinals if she wins a gapes a canadian on thursday. ana ivanovic beat bouchard. losing the owing match, the victory puts the serb back in the running to are a semifinal berth. >> real madrid will be without injured gareth bale. real lost are 4-0 on the last visit in twin. on that occasion they didn't have cristiano ronaldo in their team. he scored 15 goals in the owing games of the spanish season. >> the figure produced for manchester united were very good. his game has gone to another

level. i think now he's arguably the best player in the world. he's impressed. the numbers and coals scored set new records and has taken the game to a new level. other matches, including olympiakos. benfica are yet to get off the marks. they are at monicco. the german side plays in turkey. bayern munich put in a performance, hammering roma 7-is 1. when in -- 7-1. when in rome what better than a trip to the vatican. the pope greeted them. he said it would be better if he didn't comment on the match the previous evening. he was presented with a shirt. capping three wins out of three in the champion's league the man in charge of

football in north and central america says it's time for the world cup to return there. jeffrey webb wants the 2026 to reach that agreement. >> if you look at the landscape of the world cup, and you realise the hosts, various confederations reported it. every other federation would have focussed it. definitely it's time that conka caf should have the legitimate right to 2026. >> the fall for next year included five mount ape top finishes. including a trek on july the 4th. there'll be two stages n netherlands. the race will have time bonuses since 2008. the total distance, 3,334km,

with the finish in champs elysees in paris. people, institutions, companies are aware that something is ilnet, which can only be described as once in a lifetime. you can be sure that we'll great the tour de france with all our hospitality. with all our creativity and professionalism, with all our heart the australian rugby yup confirmed michael checa as the new coach. he let the waratahs to a title. he takes over from ewan mckenzie. >> he's the third national coach in the last 15 moths. -- 15 months. >> to have the opportunity on

behalf of supporters, it is touching for me. it inspires me to want to do the best that i can all the time. and be top class because that's what that position disshes. deserves. >> that's all the support. >> thank you very much indeed. now, the battle for kobane - that town, the besieged up to in northern syria continues. let's look at this. the latest of u.s.-led coalition air strikes on kobane. that is the few from the turkish side of the border. and this comes on a day when we hear that the kurdish regional government is a semiautonomous authorities in northern iraq having agreed to send some of their own kurdish forces which

are known as peshawar to go to this place in northern syria in order to help the local kurdish forces to defend the position. we can now talk to our correspondent charles stratford, in erbil, the capital of this semiautonomous region in the north of iraq. one would have thought that the kurds had enough on their plate trying to defend their own territory, and it advanced for u.s. help in kirkuk and agreed to september peshawar across the border into syria. >> that's right. there's a lot of pressure on the peshawar in northern iraq. we have a border of 1050km. every day the peshawar in nowhere iraq struggled to defend the border. yesterday's reporting, we heard the plea for more weapons, and

it continues for more weapons and support for the international community to defend the area of northern iraq. we speak of a vote that happened after a 3-hour debate. they had all the parties here voting to send peshawar and weaponry through to tomas kopecky -- kobane to help the kurdish forces. we go not know as yet the details of how many peshawar will be sent through the corridor. we spoke to a spokesperson for the ministry who says that they are expecting to send heavy weapons, described as artillery, armoured vehicles, and various outer heavy weapons, we do not have numbers or know how many forces will be let through or when it will happen. this is yet to be signed off by the president.

that vote was unanimously voted a resounding yes for sending peshawar from northern iraq to that town kobane, to help the syrian kurds defend themselves against i.s.i.l. charles stratford live from erbil. they have agreed to send peshawar forces across the border to syria. thank you rite, the annual hindu festival of rights begins on thursday. as reported from india, it's a time of prayer and fun. it's a busy time for the police and doctors. the last-minute rush is on to make this diwali bright and memorable. and provide statues that plect their homes. security of citizens is our prime concern.

we are making efforts to prevent everything. but the police can only do so much. at one of new delhi's main hospital, this centre is expecting a surge in patients. diwali is not complete without fire crackers. the irresponsible use will lead to more nap 300 people coming from his burns unit alone. >> 75% of patients had children below. they are not taught how to use this. and they face the problems. doctors, politicians and the supreme court have rules about who should light fire crackers where. >>. >> translation: my children have

been buying firecrackers on their own and bring them home. keeping people safe in a country as big and densely populated as india is no small challenge, not least during diwali. hundred of millions of hyped use will welcome in the new year. authorities are confident the security measures in place will ensure that the celebrations will be peaceful the u.s. citizen who was released from north korea after spending six months there arrived back in the u.s. state of ohio. this is not long ago. now, he was in north korea for six months and left a bible at a nightclub. that was his crime. secretary of state john kerry says there were no concessions made to north korea to north korea in order to get him out.

that's it, another full bull tonne in a little while. nightclub.

i'm lisa fletcher in for antonio mora, this is "consider this", those stories and more. >> the department of homeland security announcing new rules.