>> turkey targeting u.s.-backed kurdish forces in syria as it continues its attacks against isil and the pkk. >> good to have you along. i'm david foster. live from london, in the next 30 minutes ethiopia's prime minister defends its country's democratic record against criticism from president obama. seven people are shot to death in india after an attack at a police station at the pakistan border. >> in one of europe's leading

robotics lab where the octopus is inspiring the latest generation of surgical technology. ♪ >> well, turkey appears to becoming increasingly involved in military operations in iraq and syria. following last week's bombing in suruc, which killed 32 people. the latest developments they are accused of shelling an area in northern syria. it's a stronghold for the ypg who are battling isil, the islamic state in iraq and the levant. but the government of turkey said it is not targeting syrian kurds and they are investigating the claims. these latest shellings come several days after turkish strikes against isil and. nato is going to an emergency meeting on tuesday to discuss all of this. at turkey's request.

let'slet's go to kilis in southern turkey on syria's border. >> the ypg the syrian kurdish fighting force accused the turkish military of attacking them inside syria an accusation that turkey denied. clearly tensions are worsening between these two players. turkey considers the y pg a terrorist organization, and it has not been happy with the recent territorial gains that the syrian kurds have been making. it now controls more than half of the syrian turkey border, and this really has raised a lot of suspicions in turkey. the government believes the syrian kurds want to create their own state inside syria. and at the same time we heard the syrian kurdish fighting force accuse turkey of declaring war on isil as a cover up.

to target the kurds instead. it's a very complicated situation, but turkish prime minister made clear he extended two the syrian kurds giving them a set of conditions for them to be part of what he's calling a new syria. but the ypg is just not interested according to the ypg the turks cannot tell us who we should cooperate with on the ground. we cooperate with all syrian parties. >> well, turkey's counterterrorism police have arrested 15 suspects in ankara. bernard myth are following those developments. >> 15 people have been arrested in ankara in this latest wave of raids. all of those arrest ready foreigners. they are part of a series of raids that have really been going on for the past weeks and months in turkey. they picked up steam after the suicide-bombing in sur uc in the

syrian border last weekend. they say they're targeting not just isil potential supporters, potential isil fighters, but members of the pkk and extreme left-wing groups. over the board the syrian kurds are claiming that the turkish military has shelled a town near kobane, a village near kobane twice in the last few days. once on friday that the ypg assumed was a mistake when they sheffield united ypg positions and then again on sunday. the turkish military said that it is investigating these claims but said it is not targeting ypg positions in syria. the turkish middle said that it's only interested in isil positions in they are airstrikes. and pkk bases there but the

turkish military said that it is investigating these claims of shelling of ypg positions in syria. >> yemen's conflict are accusing the other of breaking humanitarian cease-fire. there have been houthi attacks in the regions near the saudi border. they said that this latest response does not violate the five day halt to shelling that began on sunday. the truce is purely humanitarian and puts the burden on houthi fight tours allow in health for the 21 million yemeni who is still need assistance. >> as yemen's legitimate government we are with the humanitarian truce. we support a truss that is fully implemented. we would not support the

expansion or to change conditions on the ground. >> china's shares have had their biggest one-day drop in eight years. they're trying to prop up the share market earlier this month and buying shares using central bank cash. hong kong's benchmark also fell down by more than 3%. united states has taken malaysia and cuba off its blacklist of countries failing to combat human trafficking. in the annual trafficking report released by the state department malaysia was moved up a grade which means that the u.s. thinks it has made improvements in dealing with trafficking but it says it is not doing enough to fix the problem. cuba has gone up a tier, saying that it has increased the number of prosecutions in trafficking

cases. thailand remaining at the lowest level, tier three. the u.s. blaming the thai government of not doing enough about corruption, which it says is rife on both sides of the border. u.s. secretary of state john kerry unveiled the report in washington, d.c. >> we want to provide evidence and facts that are helping people to achieve reforms to alleviate suffering and hold people accountable. we want to provide a strong incentive for governments at every level to do all that they can to prosecute trafficking. and to shield at-risk populations. >> let's go to ros jordan who has been closely monitoring events in the u.s. in washington, d.c. i don't know if the they have said anything more after john kerry, but this is quite

controversial. >> it is quite controversial. in fact, we just got an e-mail from senator bob menendez, who claims some of the changes in this year's trafficking in persons report are politicized changes not made on the merit. and certainly when it comes to the countries of malaysia and cuba the two country that he is focusing on, there are many people raising similar concerns. the question is for one whether malaysia has received this boost from the bottom tier, tier three, to tier two watch, which is a little subcategory but just barely above tier three because the u.s. is trying to negotiate with it and other countries as part of the trans-pacific partnership and there are also questions about whether cuba has been moved from the bottom tier, tier three to that same level of malaysia tier two watch because of the ongoing efforts at normalization with

washington. officials here briefed reporters earlier on monday and said this has nothing to do with politics. this has to do with the performance that each country has made from year to year but not in comparison with any other country, and certainly not for political reasons. but the criticism is starting to take off david. >> you wonder whether in compiling this report they have a chat with these two people, even mcgrath from the i'll read one quote. what we're seeing here is one of the most important diplomatic instruments in the struggle against slavery being compromised. these people clearly did not have an input or if they did it wasn't lived to. >> well, certainly the state department would argue that people such as the two that you just cited are among the many thousands of people who are

consulted as the department tries to put together this report every year. they made a point of stressing in fact that thanksgiving not only do they talk to governments but they talk with ngo that are very concerned with trafficking sexual exploitation, forced labor, and the mistreatment of migrant workers and that they have to put everything in and try to balance out all the particular concerns. but certainly the criticism was there even before this report came out on monday, and i don't think, david that the criticism is going to die down any time soon because of these concerns that countries perhaps aren't doing as much as they could be doing, and that they're not facing as much financial punishment as they ought to be facing because of the way that they're dealing with these problems within the borders. >> thank you. ross dined jordan there at the state department in washington, d.c.or washington, d.c. thank you.

>> the president bush said that attacks like the one on somalia on sunday where nine people are killed are a reminder that the fight is not over. u.s. president is speaking along ethiopia's prime minister on the first day of his visit. praising ethiopia's economic record saying that the country needed to do more of human rights. >> there is still more work to do. i think the prime minister is the first to acknowledge that there is more work to do. the way we think about these issues is we want to engage with governance on areas of mutual concern and interest. the same way we deal with china and deal with a range of other countries where the democratic practices or issues around

freedom of the press assembly are not ones thatry line with how we're thinking about it, but we continually bring it up. and we indicate that this is part of our core interest and concern in our foreign policy. that's true here as well. >> well, ethiopia's prime minister defending his country's commitment to democracy. >> expressing commitment to the democratic process in the country and human rights and governance. we agree once again that our commitment to the democracy is real, not skin deep. we have noted that we need to step up efforts to strengthen our initiations and review our

capacities in different areas. >> let's go to our correspondent in the country who has more on what mr. obama has been discussing while he has been in ethiopia. >> the u.s. president has praised african union peacekeeping missions in somalia taking key territory from al-shabab militias. he's referring to the retaking of towns from al-shabab. troops assisted by the ethiopian troops who are part of the african peacekeeping mission. but it does not mean that al-shabab is removed entirely as was shown on sunday when they attacked a hotel on sunday. they showed they still have the ability to attack in government-held territory. while on his tour of ethiopia,

the president is meeting with delegates from the south sudan peace forces. these are the negotiators from both sides in the conflict as well as mediators from the regional area. the president is hoping to add more impetus to the talks and add to the groups to come to a quick agreement kims say if they do in the agree by the 17th of august then there are sanctions on the table. this includes travel sanctions they are saying they do not expect a quick break through. >> still to come on al jazeera it is a race against the clock to get food and water to thousands of people in pakistan whose homes have been washed away by flooding.

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>> we have the headlines for you. turkey has been accused of shelling a kurdish village in northern syria. it is a stronghold for surrenderish fighters battling the islamic state in iraq and the levant. isil. chinese stocks have recorded their biggest one day fall in.

the benchmark shanghai composite closed out $.8 on 8.5 cents. >> burundi's opposition leaders will work with the president's win in elections. >> burundi's main opposition leader arrives at the national assembly. it's still early but it seems he may be willing to work with his rival president pierre nkurunziza after his recent and controversial re-election to a third term in power.

he said that he's not betraying his supporters. >> for those who feel that you are letting them down, letting selling out. >> no, i'm not letting down anybody. and perhaps this is a judgment to which comes from just emotional feelings. let them take some few days, they'll come to the conclusion that they're not betrayed. >> east african leaders are trying to persuade president pierre nkurunziza to form an unity government. it could take time and it won't be easy, but they say in a thanksgiving if it brings peace they're willing to tries. >> the police found a body in a shallow grave on monday. they suspect he may be an opposition leader killed earlier this month. leaders say that calm have been resoared is to. >> the situation in the country is no more. there is peace. there is security. but unfortunately there are people who are criminals.

who will try to destabilize things. there is peace and calm just like in other countries. >> no dates have been set yet for president pierre nkurunziza to be sworn in for his controversial third term despite the constitution saying that he can only rule for two. now he has to heal a deeply divided country. >> a 12-hour gun battle in northern india ended with seven people and three gunmen shot dead. group of armed men stormed a police station in the district on the border of pakistan. the police killed three of the attackers who pulled up to the station and began firing automatic weapons. indian officials are investigating whether the attackers came across the border from pakistan. >> well, flooding disrupting the lives of 300,000 people in pakistan, 51 have been killed.

the worse areas are in the northeast where people are stranded. here is caroline malone. >> the villages are deserted in some of the flood-hit parts of chitral. in other parts people are trying to dig themselves out of the republic. there have been days of heavy rain causing rivers to rise to dangerously high levels. bridges have been washed away as have flimsy buildings and cattle. harvest have been damaged and people are desperate. >> i have lost everything, but there is no help from the government. they're treating us like cattle. if there is no support in the coming days then there is no way for me except to commit suicide. >> military helicopters have delivered aid to some people stranded by the floods. bottled water has become more valuable because drinking water is running out. >> we're in dire need of food and water after we lost everything in the flood.

>> men are desperate to get out of the worst-hit areas. some have made it on military helicopters sent by the government. more rain is expected and everyone is trying to do what they can to prepare for any more flash floods. caroline malone. al jazeera. >> french farmers are blocking roads in a protest against what they say is unfair competition from germany. farmers are inspecting trucks to stop german agricultural products reaching france. they say that german farmers have an unfair advantage because they employ cheap labor from eastern europe. fires have forced many to evacuate in a region of catalonia. 3,000 acres of forest has been destroyed since the fire started on sunday. the emergency services says that the blaze has now been contained the police in zimbabwe is

searching for the foreign hunt who are killed a famous lion. it had been shot dead with a cross bow and rival. he had been a major tourist attraction for the last 13 years. police are acting on reports that the spaniard bribed wildlife guides with more than $50,000. after being mortally wounded the lion was tracked for more than 40 hours before being beheaded and then skinned. there has been a dramatic decline in the reported number of endangered bengal tigers. a recent survey of the tigers found 100 of them living in the area down from 440. that appeared in the last census in 2004. there are those who believe that the difference in the figures is

because more accurate recording methoddings were used in this latest census. there were 100,000 bengal tigers 100 years ago. that number is now down to 3,200. let's hear from the bangladesh zoology professor who says that more help is needed to protect the future of these species. >> well, there are very few forest outposts and people guarding the area that is 600 square feet kilometers. i suggest that the police department increase its strength so that they can fight with the poachers because the poachers are all over. >> the term high tech evoke images of machines. but some technology developers say that they're striving to create friendly robots.

we're in london to see the softer side of some hardware. >> industrial robots like these are strong and powerful tools. they are also dangerous and a little menacing, cold hard arms, programmed to perform the same repetitive tasks largely oblivious to those around them. but now a team of researchers at kings college london are developing what is known as soft robots. >> so a soft robot is inherently safe because a soft robot when it comes in to you it will be soft. it will bounce off you. what we would like is to make systems that humans can collaborate with, people can work together with the robots, and you don't have to have the fear that the robot is going to crush somebody. >> and it's the natural world that's been the source of many of the ideas behind the teams new designs. these researchers took inspiration from the octopus, an animal that doesn't have a hard

skeleton but it's able to become stiff and rigid. it mimics its muscles using silicon small granules and pressurized air to produce an arm that is safer. >> if you have a rigid robot you can damage tissue or harm a patient. i'm moving away from that leaving that behind and exploring the idea of soft robots that now suddenly we have a robot that is not capable of ininjuring the patient even though we have close contact. >> we're looking at the hoofs of goats. there are looking at how agriculture robots can be made more mobile. >> most of the rot boots just have wheels which are not good for the land that we have in

agriculture. because we have rocks and hills and trunks that are not going to be able to work in that kind of area. . >> other members of the team are looking at human arm muscles to better understand how they control limbs. others are using the rot robotic finger that looks for lumps beneath the skin. these innovations are still years from being rolled out but the team believes they will former the basis of a new generation of softer and more friendly robots. al jazeera london. >> the u.s. now confirming that it is having talks with turkey about the creation of what is known as a safe zone in the north of syria. let's go to patty culhane just out of the briefing by u.s. officials. what have they said to you patty?

>> well, david, i can tell you that i've just been speaking with the senior administration official who tells me that the u.s. and turkey are talking about how to set up an isil-free zone working with local fighters on the ground. this administration ruling out a no-fly zone. we know that the u.s. is opposed to that, not backing down to that stance. they are not getting any details about how this would work. sometimes we see in these sorts of negotiations one of the sides tend to leak to the media to try to set up the perimeters of the public debate 37 one that we've seen reported is that they would work with the moderate oppositetation to secure this area. here's one of the flaws in the plan if that is the plan, they've only trained 60 of them. it seems from my perspective here in washington that government officials u.s. officials were taken a bit back by these leaks. they scrambled their delayed briefings to come up with talking points when it comes to this story.

>> i do believe that this border is 800 kilometers plus long. are you getting an idea of where this might be, and how much land would be involved in this isil-free zone? >> they are really not giving any sort of details opposite this and there has been a lot of debate about how far back it would go, and president barack obama and the turkish leadership are not on the same page of attacking the assad regime directly. president obama said that he's not going to do that, he wants to train fighters and they can take on the assad regime them to try to get on the same page with that is going to be very difficult because the u.s. has been very hesitant to go anywhere near anything engaging the assad airport. >> thank you very much, indeed. let me recap for our viewers before we go to the break. the united states cop firming

that there will be what it calls an isil-free zone. if it can set it up with the cooperation of turkey in northern syria. eventually it is suggesting that this could actually be a safe place for refugees. for more on that, www.aljazeera.com. www.aljazeera.com. >> we don't have a lot of time to wait. you know, the conditions on the ground are getting much, much worse. >> president obama pressing for humanitarian aid in south sudan during his historic trip to africa. nato calling an emergency meeting to discuss isil and syria while the u.s. enters talks to create a safe zone along the turkish border. the boy scouts of america preparing to allow gay scout leaders for the first time