refugee rage. >> it is political power, is not taking the responsibility, our job will be a never-ending story. >> the frustrations of the refugees boil over, while e.u. states struggle to find a solution to the immigrant crisis. senators support -- >> i will support this measure.

>> more democrats on capitol hill close ranks on the iran nuclear deal giving president obama the numbers he needs. moment of silence. >> we strongly deplore the violence that took place in the aftermath of that vote. the u.s. condemning deadly clashes in ukraine as the country honors the officers killed. and a spiritual journey. one family's leap of faith, traveling more than 10,000 miles across 13 countries, just to get a chance to see pope francis in the u.s. ♪ good evening, i'm antonio mora. this is al jazeera america. we begin tonight with tensions on the streets of hungary.

hundreds of immigrants were not allowed to board trains after polices sealed off the train station. officials defending the action, claiming they were adhering to e.u. laws. refugees camped out at a major railway station demanding to be able to move freely inside the european union. the large influx of refugees is straining the system. hungary has been forced to manage the large number of refugees migrating on foot through the balkans and into the e.u. the country's prime minister is scheduled to meet with e.u. officials about the crisis on thursday in brussels. andrew simmons has the latest from budapest. >> reporter: the refugees had feared this would happen, and it did. >> tell us what is the solution. everyone can be in our

situation. everyone can have our road. please make it our solution. please fine for us a solution. >> reporter: such dramatic contrast to monday, now police are stopping them from getting access to the station, and look at the atmosphere, these sullen people just waiting with no word of what might happen, so many of them who have already bought tickets being barred from entry into the station. destations carried on right through the day, but perhaps the dilemma the refugees are in, is conveyed more by the sight of exhausted families who bought their tickets only to be turned away. they settled in the shade, refusing to move. once again the issue of free movement in europe and the biggest refugee crisis since the second word war is playing out right in front of people in a capitol city. >> it's a shame because normal

hungarian people we don't want it. we would just like to help them. so i came here to see, and maybe i can help. >> this is a complete failure of human rights in europe. this is what i have to say. massive human rights violations here. people sleeping on the streets for days and days and days, hardly any water or food. >> reporter: at the border town last week we met this 13 year old syrian boy. he has escaped with his sister. four days later we spot him in the crowd here, trying to get information, but he is frustrated. >> the police don't like the syrians. in serbia and hungary and macedonia, and greece. >> reporter: so what is your message then? >> my message, please help the syrians. the syrians need help now.

you -- you just saw the war, and we don't -- we don't want to go to europe. just stop the war in syria. just death. >> reporter: a young voice carrying a simple message, but words that seemed to carry little weight here. after the bodies of 71 refugees were found in a truck abandoned on a highway in austria, officials are stepping up inspections. the inspections have agree at itted gridlock with some traffic jams nearly 20 miles long. rob reynolds reports from the austria hungary border. >> reporter: austrian police stopped cars and trucks near a major border crossing. a hungarian taxi was stopped. inside a family of six, apparently from the middle east. officers checked papers and escorted the family into a police coast for questioning.

reporters were not allowed to speak with them. police also questioned the taxi driver. it's not known whether he will be charged. a senior police officer says refugees smuggling rings with large sophisticated and adapt quickly to police tactics. >> it's organized crime. it means that there are many different people working together in this kind of network, these criminal networks, for us it's the challenge to find out not only to arrest the driver, but to find the chiefs. >> reporter: the reason for the stepped up police scrutiny was parked just a few hundred meters away. this is the now infamous truck in which 71 refugees died of suffocation last week. forensics workers are still collecting evidence. austrian authorities say two more persons have been arrested

in connection with this case, one in hungary, the other in bore garia, they are thought to be part of a human smuggling ring that operated this truck and was responsible for the deaths that occurred in it. most refugees want to go to germany, the european union's wealthiest country with liberal asylum laws. 3,500, many from syria, crossed into southern germany from austria since monday. >> translator: quite honestly, i see no responsibility on germany's part. it has been said that those arriving in germany are most likely to receive asylum or the status of a refugee from a civil war country. that's no surprise. >> reporter: police on alert at border crossings like this one, might save some lives and may put some smugglers behind bars, but commanders admit more police won't solve europe's refugee problem. >> of course it is a big

challenge for austrian police. there's no question. it's also big challenge of austria, i think. but solutions can only come from the politics and politicians from the government of course. >> reporter: political solutions that so far just haven't happened. rob reynolds, al jazeera, austria. according to the united nations high commissioner for refugees more than 583,000 people have legally sought asylum in europe between january and july of this year. germany received more applications than any other country. the next highest number has been in serbia and kosovo, where more than 66,000 fill have filled out applicationings, hungary follows, then turkey, sweden, and australia, where 27,000 asigh -- excuse me in austria

where 27,000 asylum seekers have filed applications. the united nations says these numbers are expected to spike in the next few months and only represent a fraction of the refugees who have rived in europe. steven wolf is a british nebraska of the european parliament and the u.k.'s independence party spokesperson. good to have you with us. polls show immigration is now seen by the british as the most important issue facing the country. in light of that, and how important it is for all of europe, why are you waiting for two weeks to have a summit to focus on something so important to the whole con next. >> i don't know why. i'm afraid most people have their heads in the sand about not only these people escaping terror, but also their own cow

try. >> your party wants britain to leave the e.u. but even if that were to happen, what responsibility to britain have to help the rest of the continent? >> we have a major responsibility, but because of an agreement called shangen which enables people to travel the whole of europe freely without any restrictions, no borders, you don't show your passport enabling people from all over africa, and asia and the middle east to say let's go to europe, because they will just accept us. and we can do wherever we want. >> what should europe and britain do? >> we should have a united nationsed conference. first of all how do we solve the cause of the problem. the cause of the problem is quite clear. many countries stepped into afghanistan, iraq, syria, and libya, and interfered in their nation state.

we now have to now deal with that problem. why do we put it all on europe? countries for example in the middle east, such as saudi arabia and dubai have had no refugees whatsoever. the world needs to come together here. >> you talked about the issues created by intervention in places like afghanistan and iraq, but doesn't britain have some responsibility for maybe not acting. your party opposed intervention, the civil war got worse and now we have this crisis now. >> what i was proud about was opposing the idea that we intervene in syria without knowing who we should be funding. and now we know we would have been funding the major terrorists that are making an impact across the whole of the middle east. >> let's be specific about the

hundreds of thousands of refugees coming into europe this year, what should be done about them? should they be distributed among european countries? >> it's not a distribution necessarily in europe, but how does the world come together as human beings, and a united group of people who says we care for individuals on our planet. >> are you advocating stopping the flow as well, and not allowing people to make it to europe's shores? >> absolutely. i agree we should do that. if you look at the australian's situation they understood that people were trying to get to strayia in boats and were dying in hundreds and thousands of people. and what i am suggesting is that the united nations as a whole organization should form late a group that stops people being able to get those boats across to the mediterranean, because that's the main cause of people dying. this isn't a short-term problem. we must be sitting there together as an organization,

thinking about how we can answer the long-term issues of major problems on economics, war, and just looking at people looking for a better life for themselves. >> but if you stop those people from leaving, maybe you'll save some from dying as we have seen many die in the mediterranean, but won't they continue to suffer and die in the countries where they are stuck? >> an enormous number of people are leaving syria and going into turkey and lebanon, and are trying to make their way to egypt, moving in turkey, which is the second port of call to get into europe. but if we have a united organization from the world, looking at this as a problem, we could help egypt set up camps, we could set up lebanon. turkey, we could then try to deal with the problem back home in syria and try to solve that. but in the short to medium term, we can deal with people who are

genuinely in need and looking after them. because we can say, hey, why don't you ask saudi arabia or dubai to accept a few people. what about canada, america, australia, other countries in south america. this is an issue about how the world comes together to solve a problem that many of us were involved in, in the first place. >> steven wolf, it is very good of you to join us. good to have your incites on this. thanks. >> thank you very much. a new report is putting a spotlight on the abuse of refugee children in australia. in response to the alarming report officials are now calling on the government to relocate the children and their families from an immigrant camp on the tiny island of nauru. three years ago al jazeera filmed what would become nauru's detention center as australia's

army built it. but since the detainees have been held here, the media is not allowed in. that secrecy is one thing a report on the conditions in nauru says should change. the report details some of what is alleged, self harm by traumatized children, the sexual abuse of detainees by guards, even water boarding though the credibility of the former guard making that acquisition was questioned. >> no, i have not personally witnessed the actual event, but i haveness witnessed what i firmly believe to be the actions after. >> so you have seen people are water on them come from a building? >> and -- and water coming out of their mouth, coughing up water. >> okay. >> reporter: the report says conditions at the prison are not adequate, appropriate, or safe. it calls for a full audit to the allegations of abuse.

>> there are 67 allegations of both physical and sexual abuse against children, and that includes 30 concerning detention center staff. >> reporter: the report's recommendation include faster processing of claims and the removal of children from the prison. >> the minister has acknowledged this morning for the first time that things are not okay inside the nauru detention camp, but talk is cheap. the minister needs to act. >> reporter: australia's go accepts that sending its refugees to camps in other countries is tough, but as a deterrent it works. boats of asylum seekers like these have stopped coming to australia, but the policy is attracting international criticism. >> the united nations has said what is going on in nauru is tantamount to torture in some cases. >> it's brutal stuff, no question about it, but it is seen as a deterrent and a not of european governments are looking to the australian model. >> reporter: australia's

government has made it clear it has no plans to close the camp. the company running it was given a 5-year contract on monday to continue doing to. nauru is tiny. the millions it is given is a sizable part of the economy. but it is kept hidden just to apply for a visa, journalists have to pay $6,000 with no guarantee of getting one, and no access to the detention center even if they do. what this report makes clear is that in such a dark place, dark things are happening. president obama could soon have the votes to block congress from rejecting the iran nuclear deal. today two democratic senators, bob casey, and chris coon announced they would back the agreement. mike viqueira joins us now from washington. mike despite all of the opposition to the deal, the president does appear to be on

the verge of what would be a big foreign policy victory. >> reporter: you are absolutely right. 54 republicans, not one of them in the senate is going to vote for this deal. the same deal in the house with 2 -- some 246 republicans teamed up against that. so the president has been leaning hard on democrats. there has been a campaign throughout this six-week recess, trying to pressure them and now that campaign appears to be paying off. these two key democratic senators put the president on the verge of a major foreign policy victory, and he needs just one more vote to get the one-third plus one he needs in the senate to sustain the veto when as expected both the senate and house are going to vote to reject this deal, then the president would veto it. he needs 34, he has got 33. chris coonz from delaware says

he still has serious problems about this deal. he was thought to be a no, but after speaking to vice president biden, speak to a lot of experts, he says he concluded if the united states were to talk away -- if the congress were to reject this deal, the u.s. would be alone in the international community. >> i will support this agreement because it puts us on a known path of limiting iran's nuclear program for the next 15 years with the full support of the international community. the alternative is a scenario of uncertainty and likely isolation. >> reporter: as for bob casey, he put out a paper statement. he basically said the u.s. cannot afford to walk away. there's too much at stake. >> mike as you know some have come out against the deal, and it won't look great if the president has to veto an initial

congressional rejection. so the administration is still lobbying hard for support. >> it's a very low bar for the administration, and they won the rhetorical battle here in terms of expectations. there's no question that a majority is going to vote to reject this deal. what the white house has succeeded in doing is making this a debate, a perception about the override vote. it only takes less than one third of both the house and senate to sustain a veto that the president is sure to give. you know the rules of the senate, it would take 60 to get it to a vote. the democrats aren't going to have enough to beat back that effort. there is going to be a vote, but the president in the end is going to win. antonio. >> mike viqueira thanks. thrown without with the trash. protesters clash with riot police in beirut and call for

the minister of the environment to resign because of the major garbage crisis. and a proposal in ukraine is dividing the country even further after turning deadly.

in yemen peace talks appear to be falling apart. rebels announced they are forming their own cabinet in ten days. the move comes as negotiations have stalled with yemen's internationalally recognized

government which is in exile in saudi arabia. the government called the plan by the rebels a suicidal move then added stricter conditions for peace, while the politicians posture, civilians are paying the price. 95 civilians were killed just in ta'izz, yemen's third largest city in the last two weeks. in lebanon, members of the you stink movement stormed a government building in beirut today demanding a solution to the trash crisis. but as jamal reports, the protesters did not get what they wanted. >> reporter: hours before the deadline, activists from the hashtag you stink movement occupied the environment ministry in downtown beirut, calling for the minister to resign. for weeks now, people have been protesting against the government, angered at the inability to deal with the rubbish crisis that has left

beirut's streets filthier than ever. activists decided to escalate their acts of civil disobedience to get their voices heard. the standoff lasted more than nine hours. throughout that time the minister himself was holed up inside of his office. security forces beating a protester after they sealed off all of the entrances and exits to the building. then just before the sunsets they began to remove the activists from inside the ministry. at least three people were carried away on stretchers. >> yeah, they -- they used batons and hitting and especially down the stairs and in breaking us apart. >> reporter: this 15 year old activist described how riot

police first beat journalists before they kicked him out. he told me despite being detained during last week's protest, he will continue to take to the streets. as night fell, hundreds of people gathered in the square outside of the ministry, in solidarity with the few who managed to remain inside. chants against the government and the security forces rang out as the crowd got angrier. what started off as protests against the government's inability to deal with the count country rush beneficiary crisis has now been transformed into an anti government movement. the more these standoffs take place and the security forces meet the protesters with force, the larger it appears this protest is becoming.

al-shabab says it has been killed 50 people in somalia. it happened when members of the group used a car bomb to storm the base. witnesses say they saw more than 20 bodies. the african union released a statement saying it is in full control of the base. police in thailand have arrested a second foreign suspect in last month's bomb attack in bangkok. officials say they believe the man played an important role in the attack on the shrine. the first suspect was arrested in a raid over the weekend. police say they found explosives during that arrest. calls for a real ceasefire in eastern ukraine today to coincide with the beginning of the new school year. a look at whether there is hope it can extend beyond this one pay. and the officials are cracking down on cocaine production in peru.

♪ welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm antonio mora. coming up in this half hour of international news an end of an era in japan as an iconic hotel that has hosted everyone from move i have stars to president obama gets a controversial makeover.

but first police in northern illinois are on a manhunt tonight for a man who killed an officer. the fbi and u.s. marshalls are assisting with the search. in san antonio, texas, authorities are reviewing two videos that show a police shooting. the man appears to have his hands up just before he shot. two officers responded to a domestic disturbance report, they said he was armed with a knife and that they made non-lethal attempts to resolve the situation before they fired the shots. a clerk in kentucky has been ordered to grant marriage licenses. the american civil liberties union says davis should be found in contempt of court which could

lead to jail time. a third soldier died in kiev today. the president paid tribute to the fallen servicemen and visited the wounded in the hospital. he has condemned the violence. hoda abdel hamid reports from kiev. >> reporter: a day after and details of what went wrong at the protest in front of the parliament building are still emerging. a grenade and several petrol bombs were lobbed at police by demonstrators, mainly from far-right groups. three died and more than a hundred were injured. the ward at this hospital is filled with anger. >> translator: we were surprised. we thought the most that would happen was pushing around and shouting. it is shocking this happened in a peaceful city. it was organized for sure. >> reporter: the clashes happened as ukraine's parliament was voting on measures giving

greater autonomy to the east. for the president they were preplanned. >> unfortunately we provide in the constitutional changes in the election campaign, and in any country, unfortunately, the politics try to play this game to gain additional [ inaudible ] to the election, have nothing to do with the interest of the country. >> reporter: ukraine is heading towards municipal elections at the end of october. this city hasn't seen any violence since the ousting of the former president nearly 18 monks ago. the fact that the clashes happened here makes many wonder if the infighting inside the building will once again spill out on the streets. many have come to bring flowers and cannedels. some are visibly worried.

>> translator: i don't want bombs and grenades in my city. the people who work in parliament need to know that it's not us living for them, it's them living for us. our children must stop dying whether here on in the east, this nightmare should end. >> reporter: decentralization is a necessary step to the full implementation of the minsk agreement, but both the separatists in the east and russia, say it falls short. and on the ukrainian side some fear it will lead to loss of sovereignty. >> it is said very clearly that their [ inaudible ] are now with state bodies, with state administrations, you will be transferred to local councils and their executive bodies. it is not aimed at any domino effect, because existing premises of the constitution say that any city which have a right for special status. >> reporter: the bill still has to go through a second reading

with the current underlying tensions that will be postponed until after the october elections. hoda abdel hamid, al jazeera, kiev. meanwhile ukraine's prime minister had harsh words for russia today. he clearly defined moscow as the enemy. >> translator: for the first time in the history of independence, there is a clearly identified enemy and aggressor in the draft doctrine, and it is the russian federation. >> he went on to the say the doctrine and joint military exercises would act as a warning to russia. a fragile truce between the ukrainian government and pro-russian separatists appeared to be holding today. both sides were attempting to mark the first day of school by keeping it free from violence.

the two sides blame each other for regular violation of a ceasefire reached in february. for more let's bring in former u.s. ambassador to ukraine william tailor, good to see you, ambassador. let's start with this new ukrainian military doctrine identifying russia as an enemy and aggressor. will declaring it that way be counterproductive, further provoking the russians? >> apparently the russians don't need to be provoked. they act with or without provocation. but this new doctrine just says what it is. it says that there is an aggressor who has occupied illegally occupied part of european territory, crimea, has further invaded the southeastern part of ukraine, sending in weapons and special forces and

equipment, in order to stir unrest in that part of the country. so this new doctrine just names the problem, and the problem of course is mr. putin's russia. >> what about the internal split in ukrainian government where far-right groups are opposing giving the provinces more autonomy. because things turned ugly outside of parliament and three officers were killed. >> this shows the depth of political feelings that are going to be associated with the changes to the constitution that have been agreed to in principal, in the minsk ceasefire agreement. the problem is that the ceasefire agreement mixes two things. it mixes the actual ceasefire, which is barely holding as you have indicated, with political steps that take some time, take some effort, take some political compromise, and are causing great unrest and great

discomfort in ukraine. so these debates on how to change the constitution, need to take place, of course take place peacefully, and there's no excuse for the violence that we saw today and yesterday, but they need to take place. at the same time, the ceasefire needs to be adhered to. so the ceasefire needs to be separated from these political instructions that will dead to a healthy decentralization in most cases in the constitution. >> aren't these right-wing groups playing into the kremlin narrative that argues that the far right in ukraine wants to purge the country of its russian minority? >> these right-wing groups do not help the ukrainian country. the ukrainian nation. they do play into the narrative that the russians have tried to foist that -- that ukraine is run by fascists and by the

right-wingers. we see that that's clearly not the case. we see that this is a small minority, that has turned violent, that gets very little support in the polls, and in the elections, but that can cause great damage. but there's no doubt that the right-wing violence does damage to the ukrainian interest. >> we heard how the prime minister said he hopes these military exercises will draw ukraine closer to nato. that's precisely what vladimir putin doesn't want. how do you expect he will react if those ties get closer? >> the ukrainians like all sovereign countries get to choose their allies. they get to choose their economic partners. ukrainians will get to choose if they want to join nato. if they want to draw closer to nato. what mr. putin has done has been

to unite the ukrainian people against the russians. it used to be that many people in the eastern part of ukraine were somewhat sympathetic to the russians. now that's changed. mr. putin has -- has united the ukrainian people against him, so the -- if they decide -- if the ukrainian people decide they want to move closer to nato, and -- and they make the argument that mr. putin has not invaded a nato country, and that nato means peace for that part of the world, and not being in nato leaves them vulnerable. so it's a choice that the ukrainians get to make not the russians. >> let's hope this new truce holds. ambassador always good to have you with us, thanks. parades filled with pomp and circumstance are underway on what is already wednesday morning in the vietnamese capitol. they are marking 70 years of

independence from france. back then they declared independence where the familiar words of the u.s. declaration saying that all men are created equal, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. peru is one of the world's top producers of cocaine, and the u.s. funds efforts to reduce trafficking from there. police are targeting the region in south central peru, but those efforts could be hurting the local population. families have become economically dependent on harvesting coca plants. >> reporter: the move is swift and calculated. in just over five minutes, a small plane lands on a clandestine airstrip, on average 300 kilos of coca paste or cocaine are loaded. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: there's hardly an exchange of fire with police or the army. for the most part traffickers ship drugs out of peru by plane,

nearly 270 tons each year officials say. and it mainly comes from this region, an area the size of puerto rico. peru's fight against the drug trade is tough. it says it eradicated nearly 10,000 hectares of crops. it is destroying landing strips and processing labs. despite thef forts, peru remains the world's top kosuke paste and cocaine producer. >> translator: the drug traffickers pay the population to quickly repair the airfields and labs. it's no longer a way to mitigate success, but the traffickers have improved the leaf quality and make cocaine using the same leaves two or three times. >> reporter: critics say the war on drugs has not been

successful, farmers in the area will not allow the government to destroy their crops. >> translator: if they begin forced eradication, the cocoa farmers will die defending their fields. it is the only crop that sustains their families and allows us to survive. >> reporter: this mother of four is one of thousands of farmers who say they will continue to sell coca to whoever buys it. >> translator: i try to sell oranges in the market, but sometimes no one buys them, but coca leaves sell like hot cakes. >> reporter: critics say there is hardly any state presence in the region, there aren't good schools or hospitals, the people are very, very poor, their only option for a better future is to continue working in the coca lef business. experts say when interdiction

begins less drugs will be exported, the prices will fall and farmers will have a tougher time making a living, then new roots will pave the way for the drugs to flow again. the president of guatemala is no longer immune to prosecution as has been barred from leaving the country. investigators say officials took bribes from companies in exchange for lower taxes. they say the president lead the scheme. thousands have protested in recent days demanding his removal. the pope's growing efforts to pull people back into the church. this time he has taken a controversial move to allow absolution for women who have had an abortion. and the pilgrimage to see pope francis that brought this family to the u.s. after six

months on the road.

pope francis made a surprise announcement today about abortion. the pope says that all priests will be able to resolve women who are looking to repent during the up coming holy year of mercy. he did not mention people who perform the procedure. right now only high ranking clergy can give the absolvement. >> i hope in pope will continue to do those things who make the church in generally, i think a

little bit more attractive for many people and for many young people. >> i think we are 21st century, and church has to change like people change. >> according to catholic teaching abortion is so grave a sin it can lead to automatic excommunication. the move comes three weeks before the pope comes to the u.s. jennifer london met with one family who's journey has taken them across the americas. ♪ >> reporter: this girl is a long way from home. weary after six months on the road. >> translator: we thought it was a beautiful name because of the pope. it's like a small honor we do for him. ♪ >> reporter: with a drive for adventure, francis ka, a 1980

volkswagon bus will meet her namesake later this month. on board a devout family. >> the visit of pope francis gave it like a deeper meaning to this road trip, and it was like thing that made us say okay this is it. >> reporter: the adventure began back many march when the family left their home in buenos aires and drove across argentina, chile, ecuador, and columbia. it drove the length of south america across mexico with hopes of the crossing the border into texas. we met with noel, her husband, and their four young children in montrae, mexico. they had only been in town for a few days but were already front page news.

>> we are on the front page. >> reporter: in the papers and on tv. >> the big challenge was to leave. >> yeah. >> once we left, it was a lot easier. >> reporter: the family's pilgrimage to see the pope has taken them on a cross continent adventure from the peaks of the andies to the waters of the pacific, sometimes sleeping under the stars or with host families eager to share the experience. this practicing buddhist opened her home to the catholic family. >> it touched my heart, because i'm going to visit the dolly lam ma in india next year, so i know how you feel when you need to meet your spiritual leader. >> for us it's the best experience of the trip. >> reporter: staying with host families? >> yeah. >> reporter: why is that?

>> because we love to see the city and the history of the city, but the thing we love more is to -- to live with other people and understand how they live. >> reporter: photographs from every city and every country chronicle their ups and downs. these structures on the back of the van, tell the story of where they have been. you both quit your jobs, taking all of this time off, traveling across continents in a 1980 bus, there is a certain leap of faith that goes along with that, right? >> yes. >> yes, of course. because we say in spanish [ speaking spanish ] like to dive into the pool. it's like you say, okay, go -- >> reporter: just jump into the deepen. >> yes. >> reporter: we said good-bye to the family many mexico, and plan to reconnect in texas. they asked that we not follow them with our cameras on this

road, because they have been told this stretch of road can be dangerous and they didn't want to call unnecessary attention to themselves. a few hours later they safely rolled into the u.s. [ cheers ] ♪ >> woo-hoo! >> reporter: 13 countries, 10,000 miles, four breakdowns, bit birthdays and more than 4,000 photographs, memories to last a lifetime driven by a leap of faith. you can follow the family's journey on their twitter page. you can also check out their website. making way for progress, an iconic hotel in tokyo is being torn down after decades of

inspiring writers, artists, and filmmakers and why officials in japan have scrapped plans for their olympic logo.

now our global view segment, a look at how news outlet rsz reacting to various events. the times asks will russia and china beat the u.s. in the arctic. it praises president obama for gathering world leaders in alaska, but criticizes officials.

the currier mail from brisbane asks does australia have the solution to america's gun problem. it goes on to blame the u.s. gun lobby for preventing any changes in america and suggests that teaching respect for weapons one way to curb future massacres. and the bangkok post had this editorial. the article looks at the august 17th massacre and the arrest of what are now two foreign suspects. the writer says it has propelled thailand into the modern era of terrorism, and the police need to work closely with foreign governments to prevent future attacks. olympic organizers in brazil have promised to start viral testing in the bay. they said only bacterial testing was required. a recent ap report found

dangerously high levels of viruses caused by human sewage. and a setback for the 2020 olympic organizers in tokyo, they are getting rid of their logo. but officials say their decision had nothing to do with a lawsuit from a belgian artist. a redevelopment project ahead of the 2020 olympics means a beloved tokyo hotel will soon face the wrecking ball. for years it has been a must-see stop for travelers with an eye for design and for vips including president obama and princess diana. but as harry fawcett reports guests and staff are now bidding farewell to the main building. ♪ >> reporter: for more than half a century, the hotel okura has welcomed guests from around the world. but this time they weren't

coming to stay, rather to say good-bye. >> translator: there is something unchanging about this hotel. we feel as though we have come back home. like going home to your parents and grandparents. it was loved by its regulars who included presidents and film stars for its stylish preservation of modernism and traditional japanese craftsmanship and design. this was the obvious hotel for james bond. more than a time capsule, for many it had become an important piece of history. >> translator: there is so much amazing craftsmanship here. i am sad that it is going to be lost, but i hope the new hotel will have a lobby just like this. >> reporter: the lobby was the star from the beginning. an arrangement preserved virtually unchanged for more than 50 years. >> translator: no one would say anything no matter how long you spent sitting there by yourself.

please do make yourself at home in such a spectacular space where you see japanese culture coming together in one place. >> reporter: but for campaigners like this professor, what is happening to the okura is also quintessentially japanese. it's to be replaced by a 38-story sky scraper in time for the olympics. >> buildings are seen as commodities, not as cultural icons. not as markers of the state of civilization at any given point in time in this society. >> reporter: the okura's owners say 53 years is too old. it plumbing, air conditioning, earthquake standards aren't up to scratch. fans say those issues could have

been fixed, instead they are left to mourn what was a piece of history as it's finally extinguished. that's it for this addition of al jazeera america. "america tonight" is next. i'll see you again in an hour. ♪ >> [ ♪ ] on "america tonight" - don't mess with you mum. >> every won want a sandwich, get over here. >> just as mothers keep things understand control in their home, i figured we can do in our community sara hoy in chicago, with the women warriors, keeping trouble off their streets. >> alaska - baked. a fiery season and warning about what may