their trial. >> catch more "faultlines" episodes on demand or at aljazeera.com/faultlines. >> a new tactic in the fight against isil, the u.s. and turkey agree on a buff enzone inside syria. hello and welcome. also to come, each side plays the other for a cease fire. trip to east africa continues.

natural world. >> knights and turkey agreed on a plan to fight isil within syrian territory. this is the area where the proposed buffer zone would be. from washington, patty culhain has more. >> reporter: turkey is talking to u.s. officials about creating an isil-free zone. it would cover 110-kilometer stretch. it will be a safe place for the millions of refugees in turkey. but the obama administration will not create a no fly zone.

experts say it's unlikely there will be enough u.s. trained syrian opposition to do it on their own. >> the opposition to the assad regime doesn't have the military capacity the turks would not want around their border. and the united states, european allies, are too far away providing that military presence. so it will come down to actually guaranteeded that a zone will be free of isis. >> reporter: they left some to question it. >> i understand the coincidence of all of this. it is just that. against the pkk.

>> reporter: the pentagon says they can have an agreement in the next few weeks. at the want to create a safe zone, but not what will do the fighting to create one. >> a kurdish group in syria known as the ypg. turkey is accused of attacking this group. the u.s. says turkey has every right to defend itself. >> i know information specifically about where the pkk may be inside syria in syria largely the counter isil members are members of the ypg and the attacks were against pkk not the ypg. >> but does that mean that you are telling the turks because now we have this complication inside syria, who is shooting at whom at this point?

>> you are talking about this recent claim of attack? >> right. >> fired on ypg. they are going to investigate that. they have reiterated and clarified that their purpose against isil or their purpose in syria is against isil, not the ypg. >> the ypg is the most effective fighting force against isil and the syrian government. recently it expanded its presence on the turkish border and that's making turkey just a tiny bit nervous. >> reporter: he says he has no plans to send troops across the border. it's cooperating with troops inside syria. they are not syria's kurds, they are opposition groups.

turkey's prime minister says the u.s. which leads the coalition against isil, has agreed those opposition groups should be protected. >> it's up to a certain level. i can't go into details. but, for example an important point was the air cover for the free syrian army. >> reporter: there has been no confirmation from washington, but it is an open secret that turkey is unhappy with the alliance between the coalition and the kurdish ypg force. the kurds have expanded their presence along syria's border areas with turkey. turkey is worried about this for many reasons. it doesn't want the kurds to create a state and inflamed separatist sentiments among its own kurdish population. it considers the ypg an offshoot of the pkk which it has declared war o more importantly it doesn't want the kurds to be the

only force on the ground, to be partners with the coalition. turkey has spelled out the conditions the ypg needs to meet before it can be part of the new syria. it will need to cut its links with the syrian government. so far the kurds have refused to join forces with the main rebel movement particularly those backed by turkey. that's not all. the ypg is now accusing turkey of repeatedly attacking their units across the border, an allegation turkey denies. they accused turkey of declaring war on isil as a coverup to launch war against the kurds in turkey and syria. >> they are trying to use the coalition against dash for the political parties and this is something unacceptable. because we have to differentiate between the terrorists and the

political movements that demand for humanitarian rights. >> turkey decided to engage isil a few days ago. but its decision to target the pkk is causing the most controversy. turkey is an active player where yet another front line seems to be emerging. >> meanwhile syrian military air strikes struck part of the countryside. six people were killed, several others were wounded. we are getting reports of an explosion in bahrain. it happened on the island of sitra. ministry of interior says two policemen were called in what it's call a terrorist bombings. we'll get you more details on that what looks to have been a bomb in bahrain.

stay with us here at al jazeera. the saudi led coalition and houthi rebels are accusing each other of breaching the cease fire. there has been heavy fighting on southern and central parts of the country. >> the markets have once again come to life. even though the saudi led coalition truce is barely holding. on the city's outskirts pro government fighters say houthis and saudi loyalists fight towards the airport. a saudi air strike targeted a launch pad. the houthis have not committed to the pause in the fighting and see it as a coalition ploy to reinforce government held areas. on the roads checkpoints have been accomplished to monitor all movement. but the relative calm in the fighting means much needed aid is arriving.

getting aid to aden means getting supplies there. >> translator: over 9 million need urgent help. the immunization of the children has stopped immediately which present its a threat to their future. >> reporter: the mood is grim. many just want the war to be over. >> translator: we are entering the fifth month of war and destruction. yemen does not deserve this. the children don't deserve this. after all this destruction the war inside will sit down and negotiate and it's impossible to resolve this conflict except through dialogue. it's better if they just do it now. >> reporter: in areas where rebels are trying to take control, there's been no pause in the fighting. there are reports of shelling and pro government fighters say the houthis are sending reinforcements. on the border, they fired

missiles and they responded to the attack. even until areas where there is support for the government in exile, people don't have much faith in the pause. >> we hope that this will stop. something strange but as we can see here, as you can listen from people we do not trust the truce. we think that attacking houthis continuously is the key to peace peace. >> translator: truce? what truce? we didn't hear anything about it. we need electricity and water. >> reporter: in aden damaged infrastructure is a constant reminder of the fighting. people know it's not over yet. a verdict is to be delivered later. he faces charges ranging from

war crimes to corruption. the result of his alleged role in suppressing the 2011 uprising. dozens of other officials are facing charges. he's being held since his capture in 2011. the u.s. president barack obama is due to make a speech at the african union in an hour from now. he's the first american lead tore visit the headquarters of the continent and the eve that opennan capital. he is to focus on the civil war. >> reporter: later on monday president obama joined the leaders of ken yeah, uganda and ethiopia.

if the wars parties do not agree by august 17. it's the fourth visit by a sitting u.s. president to ethiopia. one aimed at strengthening relations established more than a century ago. the ties dominated the talks. president obama praised ethiopia as an out standing partner in the fight against terror. >> ethiopia faces serious threats. and its contribution has reduced areas under al-shabaab control. but yesterday's bombing reminds us that groups offer nothing but death and destruction and have to be stopped. >> he also wants to improve the human rights.

some have criticized his trip to ethiopia. the committee to project journal i haves, all the countries want, before obama arrived a number of journalists held on charges on terrorism. many others remain in custody. the ethiopian leader defended his country's commitment. >> our commitment to democracy is real, not skin deep. we have both noted we need to step up efforts to strengthen our institutions and view our capacity in various areas. we believe the u.s. support in this regard as age old democracy, will contribute to ensuring that our system becomes robust. we have agreed to continue our engagement despite minor

differences here and there with regard mainly to the speed with which our democratization process is moving. >> opposition figures have been reacting to president obama's visit. >> the problem is he never walked his talk. he never walked his talk. for the last six years. if you don't walk your talk, empty promises. say something in the dining, the wining. people don't believe you. we can go live to mohamed who is there. i was quite taken by the last bit of interview that we saw in your report, the opposition leader talking of president obama not walking the talk, wining and dining with dictators. he has not minced his words on this trip, has he, so far.

>> well, yes. the opposition in ethiopia is lived at the president of the united states, barack obama for not only not pressing the ethiopian government more on the issue of democracy and human rights but also in his address during the press conference after his talk with the prime minister calling the government democratically elected. they say the elections held in may were not democratic because the government took all of the 547 seats in parliament. this is something that the opposition really unhappy about. >> this is a historic trip, isn't it. 71st involved including later on today when president obama addresses the african union. >> well, i didn't hear your

question. i think it's about where we are right now. the africanen where president obama is expected to speak in an hour's time. president obama is expected to talk about the security situation in the continent and also the fight against terrorism. this is going to discuss with the commission of the african union led by the chairperson madam lizuma. they are going to brief him about the progress that has been achieved by the different peacekeeping missions the african union particularly somalia and the door foreregion. he will brief him on advances the african union mission in somalia has made. and the president when he comes on to the podium to address ambassadors, he's expected to paradespraise the african union.

they have outsourced the issue of peacekeeping to the african union and this has saved them a lot of money and a lot of lives in terms of losing their own forces. and the african union in time will be expected to ask for more funding particularly for somalia where the european union is cutting back funds. that has been given to the mission. the peace process is expected to pick up in the president's speech. yesterday, together with leaders from east africa, he met the mediators and parties in sudan. now there is a new deadline, august 17, in which if the parties do not sign an agreement, there will be more sanctions on them. >> for now, thank you very. of course, we'll be crossing back to mohamed later on as president obama addresses the

african union. a natural gas pipeline which stretches between turkey and iran has been attacked. it affects parts of the pipeline that lays inside turkey's border. a fire broke out which shut it down. the energy minister says it's been brought under control. still to come here at al-jazeera. >> i'm at one of new york's leading robotics lab where the octopus is inspiring a new generation of surgical technology.

>> hello again, you are with al jazeera. these are our top stories. the u.s. and turkey agreed to create a buffer zone inside syria. turkey has been bombing isil targets inside syria since friday. the latest raids took place just north. the saudi led coalition and houthi rebels are blaming each other for breaking a five day cease fire. there's been heavy fighting. president obama is due to make a speech at the african union focusing on security in east africa. he's already threatened more sanctions on south sudan if a peace deal isn't reached. greece's government started

bailout negotiations with its creditors in athens. the prime minister has urged the party to unite over the bailout measures. earlier this month a quarter of the party mps rebelled over those bailout proposals. parliament eventually approved the measures. an important suspect in the death of the former russian security agent has refused to give evidence at a british inquest. dimitri is one of two men suspected of adding radioactive palodium in tea. he denies any involvement in the death. north korea says it has no interest in a nuclear

disarmament deal similar to the one with iran. north korea's weapons program is essential for sovereignty and protection from u.s. aggress. his comments came after the u.s. said the deal with iran shows washington can be flexible in negotiations if they decide it wants talks. >> the iran deal demonstrates the value and the possibilities that negotiations bring. it demonstrates, again our willingness when we have a willing counterpart. and it demonstrates our flexibility. >> translator: we are not interested at all in the dialogue to discuss the issue of dismantling our nuclear program. the situation of north korea is different from iran. north korea is a nuclear weapon state in name and reality. india's former president kalam has died at the age of 83. he was known as the people's

president. kalam was a scientist and played a key role in india's space and missile development programs. philippines president took office, he promised to reduce national poverty but five years along, many say he's failed. his final state of the nation address is overshadowed by street protests. >> reporter: violence outside the philippine congress. hours before the president's final state of the nation address. an estimated 15,000 protesters gathered from different provinces across the country. unrest that has not been seen in recent years. this was meant to be a peaceful rally. now hundreds of protesters have managed to break the police barrier. this is the last speech.

>> what happened was corruption remained our sovereignty was undermined human rights violations persisted and government neglect. >> reporter: for young people who say they are faced with agonizing decisions over the future, the government is a disappointment. in his speech to congress, he highlighted government achievements. the economy has grown foreign direct investment has more than doubled. much of its economic reforms has been held back by corruption. >> translator: this is a referendum for the strike. you decide if the improvement we are enjoying will become permanent or will be considered a momentary recovery. >> reporter: the philippine government's negotiations with the most powerful rebel group in

southeast group may finally bring an end to the insurgencicy in the south which lasted for decades. government statistics show poverty levels have risen to more than 25%. with no marked improvement in the delivery of social services. more than half of filipinos die without having had access to medical care. >> translator: he did not address the fundamental issues and job security. both public and private sectors. public hospitals and other social services are being privatized and corruption is rampant. >> reporter: election season has begun. and the race to replace him is under way. these are devicive times. on the history will be the

judge. scientists are going back to nature for inspiration for its new generation of robots. our technology editor is in london seeing the softer side of hardware. >> reporter: industrial robots like these are strong and powerful tools. they are also dangerous and a little menacing, cold, hard arms programmed to repeat the same tasks. now a team of researchers are developing what's known as soft robots. >> so soft robot is inherently safe because a soft robot, when it bumps into it, it will be soft it will bounce off you. we would like to be able 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 if the robot is soft. >> it's the natural world that's been the source of many of the ideas behind the seem's new

designs. these researchers took inspiration from the octopus. it doesn't have a hard skeleton, but it's able to become rigged. it could make robotic surgery safer. >> if you have a rigid robot you can damage tissue, harm a patient. moving away from that and really exploring the idea of soft robots will make an enormous difference. we have a robot that is not capable of injuring the patient even though we have a close contact between the robot and the patient. >> you are also looking at the hooves of goats. they look at how agricultural robots could be mailed more

mobile. >> most robots they have wheels which are not suitable for the land because we have farms in hills and we also have obstacles like rocks. so they are not going to be able to work in that kind of area. >> others are looking at human arm muscles to understand how they work with tendons to control limbs. others are using a robotic finishing tore mimic the way doctors feel for lumps beneath the skin. these innovations and techniques are still years from being rolled out. the team believe they will form the basis of a new generation of softer and more friendly robots. don't forget here at al jazeera today we are going to be focusing on president obama's

talk on ethiopia. he will be addressing the african union in about 45 minutes or so we'll have it live here on al jazeera. in the meantime, go to www.aljazeera.com and get the latest and a lot of background as well.