>> hello everyone, i'm felicity barr. you're watching the news hour live from london. coming up a matter of humanity. new plans to provide homes for thousands of refugees as the european crisis spirals. >> rebels in syria capture a key military base after a two-year long battle. after weeks of protests the lebanese government resolve on a plan to clean up the rubbish

crisis. >> and protests take place outside of congress over northbound's nucleairan's nuclear deal. >> and in sports prince hussein fires the first shot in his first effort to become fifa president. >> he didn't have the guts to run, but i did. >> launching for football's top job by criticizing his rivals. >> hello, tackling europe's humanity crisis. according to the president of the european commission, he's calling on member states to agree to provide homes for 160,000 refugees by next year. the critics say it won't be

enough. they warn that half a million refugees have entered europe this year. tens of thousands have made the dangerous journey across the mediterranean sea. those numbers pailing in comparison with the number of refugees in the region. 4million were living in turkey, lebanon, iraq and egypt. >> another group of weary people cross the border between greece and macedon gentleman. as they continue traveling north by foot or other means, the parliament is discussing how to help thousands of other refugee who is have made the dangerous journey. the president of the commission has a plan to sell across europe. >> we have to take charge, and

we have to tak take charge, and i hope that everyone will be on board. no retorics. action is what is needed for the time being. >> germany would take in more than 30,000 refugees. people like this family boarding the train. the german government is pushing hard for other countries to accept their quotas. for its part france said it will take 24 hours refugees. in a symbolic gesture it's already welcomed a small group who have come across the border from german. but there are other people in france who say that the government is encouraging illegal immigration. >> the clandestine immigrants should have access to jobs in france that has 7 million people out of work. it is a spit in the face of the

french you think employed. >> it is a debate testing the limits the idea of european unity. there is hostility in eastern europe towards these quotas, and some argue the influx from people from the middle east and africa will change the character of europe forever. but not everyone arriving on the shores of southern europe will be allowed to claim asylum. these new a rivals may be classed as economic migrants, not refugees. and the e.u. has said that people simply searching for work and for a better life will be sent home. jacky rowland, al jazeera, strasbourg. >> well in hungary refugees are facing an increasingly difficult journey forward. budapest has approved measures approving further movement into europe not only difficult but illegal. the crackdown is taking its toll, and we found on the border

town some refugee who is claim to be the subject of abuse with hearts as heavy as their spirits are weary they keep walking. for many the borders hardly matter any more. because it's their pain that can't be escaped. >> when my husband and i got to greece, he tell she tells me, the police there beat us. he hit my husband with a metal stick. he was three months pregnant. i lost my baby. >> the syrian refugee says for her every day is like torture. [ sobbing ] >> i just can't forget what happened, she says. i can't forget what happened to me and my husband. i don't know why he would hit us. why he would beat us. we came here to europe to feel

secure, she explained as she weeps. i want a home for me and my husband. i want to be able to take a shower. i want to sleep. on hungary's border with serbia it is fear and fatigue you encounter more than anything else. >> i try to make her feel better, but she does not understand, this man tells me about his young daughter. she's always asking me why we're sleeping in the cold. i don't know what to say except i'm trying to make a better future for her, make things better for us than we were in syria. >> the dozens of refugees here right now are lined up waiting to get on to buses. they had been told that they would be taken to a refugee camp a few miles down the road. but there is a lot of fear amongst the refugees that i've been speaking with today. they're just not sure what will happen next. if they're going to be processed, if they're going to

be asked to apply for asylum here. what they want is to be able to get to austria as quickly as possible. >> he tries to make sense of this for his son, but little boy is far too young to comprehend what is going on. >> my son keeps asking me why we're going to germany. i tell him so we can bring your mother and sister from lebanon. he keeps saying, i want my mother, i want my sister. it's very difficult. with few possessions and even fewer answers the refugees can only wait and wonder. when the bus finally arrives it's telling that spirits aren't lifted. and as it departs it becomes clearer than ever that this influx seems nowhere near over. al jazeera, hungary. >> denmark has suspended rail services and road links with

germany, the destination of many refugees after groups of people refused to be processed at the board on their way to sweden. alec forest is in copenhagen. >> they're trying toe walk to sweden. that's an incredibly long way. they don't want to be registered in denmark because they know that denmark is stuff on immigrants here. at the same time you put a group of refugee who is have been arriving throughout the week to a town in southern denmark on the copenhagen island, and they, too, have been saying they do not want to be registered here. they want to get to sweden, where they know they will be welcomed. but the danish authorities are saying we're not allowed to do that. we have to register you here. there is a stand off at the moment. >> well, thousands of people are making the dangerous sea crossing were turkey to the greek islands in a desperate bid to reach europe. bernard smith spent the night on

the coast with those preparing to make the journey. >> it is a deeply affecting sight. a family prepared to risk everything to make it to europe. children far too young to be doing something like this. a baby who will never remember this night, if he or she makes it. we counted 17 people from one afghan family. all to be squeezed into this dinghy. they're on turkey's i gean coast. about 12 kilometers from the greek island of kos. we're afraid of dying, of course, this woman says. some died recently. but the die something much better than starving here. >> but there is a problem. their motor won't start. they begin packing up. the family tells us that the shia muslim minority targeted by afghanistan's taliban.

they tried making a life in turkey for the last three years, they say, but apart from syrians turkey does not accept refugees. there is no way for them to settle legally here. >> i would go back to afghanistan if there is no work. i promise you. i love my country too much. my daughter is a student, and i cannot even pay her bus fair or give her pocket money.

>> clearly the trip has not gone well, and they're frustrated to be back in turkey. the syrians, they salvage their life vests, but their boat is left to drift off. >> what these people go through its impossible to be moved because they've been forced to back to turkey, they'll risk their lives again to try to make it to europe. with dawn we see another boat. it's packed and low in the water. it's passengers are battlin paddling furiously. others are bailing out water with their shoes.

they seem tantalizingly close, it seems they'll make it, but then the turkey coast guard appears and they're taken on board. their dreams to making it to europe are frustrated, for now. >> the u.s. secretary of state has a number of syrian refugees will be offered homes in the united states. al jazeera's ross long islan roslind jordan is in washington, d.c. >> this is what secretary of state john kerry had to say about the refugee problem on capitol hill. >> the united states has always

taken a leadership role with respect to humanitarian issues, particularly with refugees, we do what we can. i just met with members this morning. we're committed to increasing the number of refugees we can take, and we're looking hard at the number we can specifically manage with respect to the crisis in syria and europe and migration today. but that's being vetted, and i think at the appropriate time we'll release what that number could be. >> there is growing criticism of the handling of the syrian refugee crisis even though the united states sits for than 10,000 kilometers away from syria. the secretary of state also noted that no decisions had been made yet, but that there are active consultations under way on how the u.s. can best respond to the crisis. >> a camera woman has been caught on camera tripping

refugees as they fled. she's seen here in tripping and kicking a girl. she was released from her job because she behaved unacceptbly. a multi million dollars settlement. plus. >> i'm catherine soi. i'll be telling you why there is so much talk about a possible third term for president kagame. >> we'll hear from the athletes all too happy to take the plunge in this new sport.

>> but first syrian troops. capturing the military airport after a two-year battle. >> these are pictures of the military base in idlib after al nusra front fighters took it over. it was one of the last military strongholds in idlib province and had been under siege for two years. they've seized the city of idlib. bringing them closer to the

government-held areas in the capital of damascus. the death and destruction is stag offing. according to the u.n. an estimated 220,000 people have been killed. 3.5million people have fled from the county, and 7-point million have been internally displaced. 80% of the population now liv live in poverty, and children have not attended school for three years. >> and the u.k. foreign secretary sparked controversy after they said that keeping assad in power for a certain period. they insisted that the long-term

aim would be to get him out of office. >> well, certainly there are clear change from what the u.k. has said in the past. because the u.k.'s position has been very firm, assad must go. now there is the talk that the u.k. might be prepared to let him stay during a transitional period. the reason why i think this is going on is they're trying to find a way to get some political movement in syria. in 2012 there was the geneva communicate, you may remember. that comes from a governing body that was going to run syria with full executive power. that transitional body is going to be decide by mutual consent

by opposition and assad government. the problem is the key issue president assad, would he be allowed to stay in transition. the government says yes, he has to say. he's president of syria and of course the opposition say that was not a fair election, and they say no way should he be allowed to be part of this. what we know is going on at the moment is that the special envoy has been taking soundings, and he'll take detail from this arrangement. the second part will president assad perhaps will be able to stay only in the ceremonial role. if they manage to finesse this, maybe they can get everyone on board. including all members of the u.n. security council where there has been so much division. that's what is going on behind the scenes.

that is what explains the new language for the u.k. >> thank you for that summation. now in lebanon, they have agreed to a plan reach during an emergency cabinet meeting called by the prime minister. plot testers began demonstrating that rubbish is not being collected, but then their complaints spread to political corruption. this new plan gives local municipalities more responsibilities for treating waste. tell us what has been happening at this cabinet meeting? what has been agreed? >> roar nan the central authority, and reach across

beirut and across the county. that is one of the smaller demands of the movement. they have much bigger aims and demands including the resignation of the environmental minister. as well as an investigation for the violence in the streets after several protests took place in the early weeks. we just spoke with the organizers who are trying to organize people. they say they're happy with the outcome. they need sometimes movement. it doesn't tell a lot more than

that. people are talking about the need for parliamentary election. it's mandate ran out two years ago and they are immune from mandates until they go to election the country has want to see new faces in the political speck rum and they want to see a different change. it's very unlikely that it's going to go to the extent of those to be appease those who are protesting.

>> a board from baltimore has greed to a multi million dollar settlement for the family of freddie gray. the officers charged with th his death are still awaiting trial. >> because the mayor had the foresight to take decisive action we have accomplished it without litigation, which is an extraordinary result. why? forcing grieving families to go through litigation is hell. >> we'll take to you washington, d.c. and speak with

prosecutor debra hines. why do you think that the city decided to settle this case right now before the police officers have even gone on trial? >> well, the civil case has no bearing to the criminal case. and one of the reasons is for the city it's all about money. it's all about evaluating their options and liabilities for the city. the reality is 90% of all cases that are civil cases in america, they actually do settle. in that regard there was nothing unusual about the case. but it puts the case where they know how much they're going have to pay out. >> it's basically about money. but surely settling a case with such a huge amount of money, does that prejudice the trial of the six police officers? >> well, that's a good yes, but recently here in north carolina there was a case who was charged

with killing. and that case just settle recently and then it went through the criminal case. and it settled very close to what the freddie gray case settled for and then in new york that case still settled in millions. so it is well within the two recent settlements that has been made against police officers here. >> and as i understand it, it means that the individual police officers could not be sued themselves at a future date, but is it the taxpayer right now who will pay out the money effectively? >> that is exactly correct. there is no deterrent i for the police officers because none of the money is coming out of their pocket. it's all coming out of the

taxpayer money from the city of baltimore. in reality the money being used to settle the case of freddie gray as well as other police brutality cases could be going into the city coffers to help the plights of the areas where freddie gray listens, an area that is in dire need of money. >> this was being paid to the family of freddie gray. does it do anything at all, do you think, to improve the relationship between the local police and the local community? >> i don't think it does anything absolutely at all. at the end of the day i will disagree with mr. murphy, the attorney for fredr freddie gray. justice is what happens in the criminal system. in the civil system it's only about money.

they want justice with regard to some action against the police officers. i don't think this civil settlement is going to do anything with respect to the city of baltimore in that regard. >> great to get your opinion. thanks for joining us. >> okay. >> 172 people had a lucky escape when the of a british aways in las vegas caught fire. an audio recording captured the moment the plane's captain calmly told air control about the fire. >> mayday, mayday.

>> we have more to come on the news hour. including which countries are the best and the worst to agree old, and why. reports suggesting a link between alzheimer's disease. and in sport, the italian who equaled the career best. protect our children?

>> i've been asked to keep my voice down cause we are so close to the isil position >> who is in charge, and are they going to be held to accout? >> but know we're following the research team into the fire >> they're learning how to practice democracy... >> ...just seen tear gas being thrown... >> ...glad sombody care about us man... >> several human workers were kidnapped... >> this is what's left of the hospital >> is a crime that's under reported... >> what do you think... >> we're making history right now... >> al jazeera america

>> welcome back. the top toys here on al jazeera. >> people continue to cross european borders. the lebanese government agrees on the crisis that has sparked weeks of protest in beirut. the londo rwandan supreme court

discuss the third term of its president. >> the election is in 2017. >> we respect the constitution, but if it's changed to allow him to run again, we'll agree with that. >> it's for us to decide, and we're help to change it. >> i don't see why the constitution needs to be chang changed. >> parliament is not in session now but it has started a process that could see a section of the constitution that limits the

president to two terms amended. 3.8million rwandans signed a petition asking for this change. there is going to be a commission set up. >> critics outside of rwanda say tha that the government's hand in all this. the president himself has publicly declared his intention and he insists that it's the people who want him. >> he would have to measure the pressure of the international community with what people want. >> but some don't agree. the green party has asked the supreme court to block the

process that has been started by parliament. the constitution only allows the referendum to change the duration of the presidential term, not the number of terms. >> this is clear evidence people from the parliament and senate, they were meet behind this move. >> the move is not widely supported here and chances for a victory are slim. but they say despite the few numbers they won't give up. catherine soi, al jazeera, rwanda. >> politicians in washington are debating the iran nuclear deal. on tuesday u.s. president barack obama got the support he needed to cover on any republican opposition to the deal an agreement would release frozen assets to iran in return to its

limiting it's nuclear program. >> several hundred people are gathered here outside of capitol hill to hear 50 speakers, politicians, former politicians. the two keynote speakers, two men running for the republican presidential nomination, ted cruz and donald trump. ted cruz's argument is that the lifting of sanctions will be used to kill americans and israelis and making president obama the foremost sponsor of radical terror in the world. donald trump was less specific on the deal, but his argument is that's better gos negotiator. >> it's worth remembering if this deal goes through we know to an absolute certainty people will die.

americans will die, israelis will die. european will die. >> so i've been doing deals for a long time. i've been making lots of wonderful deals, great deals. that's what i do. never ever, ever in my life have i seen any transaction more incompetently negotiated as our deal with iran. >> they have denied that some sort of secret deal has been negotiated between the agency and iran. denies aiea with these votes in the house. as having said that president

obama has the votes necessary to get this deal through. >> now new reports suggest that alzheimer's disease could be transmitted by surgery. the journal carries the controversial research. it says that it can be transferred from one person to another. they were researching another disease at the time. how does it work? well, wording to the lead scientist there are three ways that the proteins seeds of alzheimer's can develop in the brain. faulty gene, or exposure to the gene. the protein can stick to metal surfaces and can be resistant to

sterilization. the director of research at alzheimer's disease research, and he joins us now. thanks for being with us on the program. your initial thoughts about this research. it was a study very, very small initially, wasn't it? >> i think it's a very careful piece of work, and i've read the paper, and i've chatted with the author recording this work. and i think in terms of the media we have to be very careful to establish what the research says, and so that they ignore any potential information a small number of people who were injected with essentially brain extracts that contained human growth hormone for people of

short stature, in 4% of those people they developed a disease called jacob disease in the u.k. we know that is in beef as mad cow disease. 4% to date has developed that disease. if you look at the number of people who came to autopsy, and you look inside their brain they contain four to six of the brains that they contain the annaloid deposits. we know that many have analoid deposits but not all go on to develop alzheimer's disease. the comments regarding these plea ways that one might get alzheimer's disease, it's associated with age and something happens in the brain that we don't really know very

much about that predisposes this pr teen protein that you nicely described. the third possibility which he alluded to, that's purely hypothetical. that's been demonstrated in animal species, in laboratory animals. there is no evidence whatsoever that that occurs for alzheimer's disease either in terms of surgery, in terms of blood transfusion, or anything else that we currently know about. >> so at the moment it's a hypothetical risk, but i assume it's a risk that needs to be researched even more, is that right? >> that's exactly what i was advocating, and i, indeed, i think that is one of the conclusion having made this finding it's a very intriguing finding. as all good scientists when you look at the way the paper is

written, the discovery of this finding is the easy part. they go through a great deal of time and trouble to root out our causes that might have resulted in this result. they don't find other causes. it's a reasonable conclusion that it was the injection of human brain material or extracts containing human brain material that may have predisposed them to these alzheimer's disease. like fosses. you're right, i think this provoke in the community is that we need to do more research into this finding. >> all right, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. >> a pleasure. thank you. >> now, venezuela's sudden decision to close another major border crossing with colombia has left many stranded and created tensions between the neighboring countries. president nicolás maduro ordered

the most popular border crossing to close. we're live now in colombia over the border. tensions rising again with another closure. update us with the latest situation. >> well, felicity, the tensions have never really gone down since the beginning of this crisis. now almost a month ago although this, as you were saying, was the last major crossing between the two countries that was still open. just when the diplomatic efforts seem to be gaining ground to resolve this issue, that's when president maduro announced this closure. behind me you should be able to see some venezuelans who have been trying for hours to go back

home. but the soldiers are not letting them through. president maduro is sending more soldiers to this part of the border between the two countries. this is also a very porous border. it's a border where smuggling and contraband has played. so far at this point we have not seen the mass deportations that we've seen at other borders. but more families, more colombian families are moving back to colombia. 77 people have crossed here or through routes through the desert close to this border. the government here is trying to do their best to find them shelter, or move them back to families in other parts of the

family. >> thank you very much, indeed. now a global index showing the best and worst places to live as an older person. switzerland tops the best country for older people to live in. the worst country is afghanistan. it is ranked at last place at number 96. the index shows the difference of life expectancies grew from 5.7 years in 1990 to 7.3 years in 2012. and it hit those over 60 years of age particularly hard. greece has scored 21 in the rankings for the past two years. john is in athens with more details. [singing] >> it is the music of their youth, and while they're no

longer young, the members of this community center are once again carefree. they're more concerned for their children and grand children, who face unemployment and low wage its. this man's sons live at home and drive a taxi netting $1,000 a month. his pension brings in another $1,200. >> if we weren't all living together i wouldn't be making ends meet because i'm repaying a business europe. we have doubt. we have food on the tape today, but tomorrow i don't accept this. we used to have enough to have a plan. >> on the greece's third bail out they've lost enough bail out. >> the elderly are insecure about their income. not only is it falling, but they

have less access to it, and all this has lowered their around around that of living. but they are quality of life. >> many here pay rent. most of all its easy to find coffee and company, and sharing in the problems of the age has brought them closer to their families. so many here are skeptical of statistics. >> they--it depends on how much hundre money you're carrying. you can have a good time without money, exchanging views, it's quality of life, it is not measured. our parents were happier than we are. they were penniless, and they had the opportunity. >> these measures say they

cannot measure happy. >> britain's queen has become the country's longers serving monarch. she took over for her great, great grandmother queen victoria. the 89-year-old said that the title of longest reigning monarch is not one to which she ever aspired. >> still ahead on the news hour we've got all the sports including: we're going to hear from floyd mayweather jr. and what he said will be his final fight.

>> online streaming sites like netflix, apple and amazon are creating their own tv dramas. netflix has acquired its first feature films. from venice we have reports. >> like the ancient city itself, the venice film festival has had a sinking feeling that cinema is dying. this year they're riding the wave of change welcoming films from netflix. the film "beast of no nation" is

the harrowing tale of a child story in an unnamed african country, and it's a strong contender for a prize. the other, a documentary charting change in ukraine. when released the films will be seen on screen and online at the same day. >> when i'm on a train with young people watching a movie on the iphone it makes me upset. they're missing something that is very important. what the cinema experience is since we've had since 1895. >> how people watch films is changing, and they don't want to be left behind.

crowd funding is changing how films are financed. >> the film's producer said that the funding model provided endless possibilities. >> we asked for $200,000, and we under up with $406,000, which was, yeah, it was a miracle for us, and we chose to go this way because we have a specific vision and it's our job to protect these guys, their stories, their ideas, and their dreams for this knowledge the feature is one where audiences choose when and wear they see movies and dictate if they get made at all. al jazeera, venice. >> all right, time to catch up with the latest sporting action.

>> prince hussein of jordan has confirmed his intention to stand for fifa president. the prince was beaten by blatter in a vote back in may, but blatter is the subject of two criminal investigations, he said he would be resigning next year. new elections are scheduled for february. but football boss michel platini, is the early favorite to win. >> i ran because i believe that fifa needs change. i have the courage to fight for change. i conceded that candidate not because i didn't feel i would win but because they were using the run.

federer will be in quarterfina quarterfinals. it's just resumed after a rain delay, and the forecast is not great. halep is taking on azarenka. the players are back on court now. the winner of that match will face italy's pennetta. pennetta would recover to win in three. and it's the first time two italian women have reached the semis of the same grand slam. tuesday night saw serena williams suffering her toughest match of the tournament so far. it came from her sister venus.

>> yeah, i think i'll look back on it fondly. it means a lot to me. obviously we're very tough competitors on the court. but once the match is over, and the second it's done, we're sisters, we're roommates, and we're all that. >> one of australian crickets most combative players has announced his retirement for test messages. playing 66 times for his country the 37-year-old lost his place on the team in a recent series against england. >> i want at a fight to continue. i'll continue to make myself better every time i walked out into the paddock, i probably lost that hunger. >> last time floyd mayweather

jr. stepped into a ring it was billed as the fight of the century. you that was his bout with manny pacquiao. >> mayweather will fight the unknown in las vegas on saturday. >> very tough competitor. my job is to go out there and be the best that i can be. >> considerinthere is a new discipline in sweden that is gaining a reputation for being one of the toughest in the world. it is called swim-run.

>> crossing this finish line could be one of the most endurance sports. racing between 26 islands in stockholm's archipelago 75 kilometers. in its tenth year the sport is rapidly becoming a crazy. >> it's so amazing and so beautiful. but it's love-hate. it is so long. >> yeah, the swimming today was so brutal. it was so cold and it just never ended. >> with ten kilometers of choppy waters between the islands this is tougher than an ironman or marathon. the running part of this race is 65 kilometers. that's in a whet suit over slippery rocks.

when you look at the distance between the 26 islands, you can see why it's considered one of the extreme races in the world. >> the first in 2006 had just nine teams. now there are 240 people competing with the waiting list of a thousand. final preparations are just before dawn so the athletes have a chance to reach the finish line before nightfall even if 26 of the different nationalities are not used to the conditions. >> i'm really happy just to finish without any record-breaking. >> going from one la gone to another, the running in a wetsuit. >> the swim run began between two drunken friends who made a bet if they can get around the archipelago. >> we've seen a change in the

last three years where it became a sport in the last three years. but before that it was just a race. >> the new swedish canadians finishing in 8.5 hours. but there is a price to pay in pain. >> okay, that is how the sport is looking for now. we'll hand you back to felicity in london. >> thank you very much. it looks absolutely horrific. you can find out more about sporting news on our website. that's showing you what it's looking like in a moment. the reports of syrian fighters have seized the air base in idlib. and you can have in-depth analysis in europe. the top story we've been leading on in this news hour. we'll have more in a couple of minutes time. we'll see you then.

>> a matter of humanity. new plans to provide homes to thousands refugees as the european crisis goes even further. they believe, i'm felicity barr. this is al jazeera live from london. rebels in syria capture a key military base. after weeks of protest the lebanese government agrees on a plan to solve the rubbish crisis.