>> refugee solidarity. >> no courage, no rhetoric, action is what is needed for the time being. >> the presidential of the european commission demands action making an emergency appeal for european countries to take in 160,000 refugees. refugee rejection. >> this is an unprecedented influx of refugees. and the european union was

ill-prepared for that. >> while some european nations refuse to accept refugees, germany's ambassador to the u.s. joins us to explain why his country is welcoming them. denouncing the deal. >> we are led by very, very stupid people. >> donald trump and ted cruz take to the capital steps to slam president obama over the iran nuclear agreement, while hillary clinton endorses it. >> and record reign. >> inevitably, many milestones, mine is no exception. >> longest living monarch, a look at elizabeth's importance and longevity. good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america. we begin with a major push by

the european union to deal with the flood of refugees. european commission jean claude junker revealed a quota system, it's the second attempt this year to help greece italy and hungary to contain their exploding populations of refugees. secretary of state john kerry told law makeers the u.s. will increase its u.s. quota from 5,000 from 70,000 to 75,000. only a fraction of those refugees would be from syria. thousands more refugees poured into western europe today. from france, they welcomed a bus load. jacky rowland reports from strassburg. >> another weary people cross from greece to macedonia, as

they continue their journey north, the european parliament has been trying to deal with the thousands who have already made the journey. for the commission president the task ahead is clear but he needs to sell it to politicians and people across europe. >> 160,000, that's the number of europeans have to take in charge and have to take in their arms. and i really hope that this time everyone will be on board. no poets, no rhetoric, action is what is needed for time being. >> germany would take in more than 30,000 refugees under the scheme. people like these families boarding a train in vienna station. the german government is pushing hard for other countries to accept their quotas. for its part, france says it

will take 24,000 refugees. in a symbolic gesture it's already welcomed a small group who have come across the border from germany but there are other people from france who say the government is encouraging illegal immigration. >> translator: to propose that clandestine immigrants, 7,000 people out of work is to spit in the faces of the french unemployed. >> reporter: it is a debate that is testing to the limits of european unity. a lot of hostility in eastern europe to these compulsory quotas, and an influx of people from 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 may ultimately be classed economic migrants and not

refugees, those searching for work and a better life will be sent home. jacky rowland, al jazeera, strassberg. >> publications are printing guides in arabic, a list of common german words, and as we reported germany expects to take on an unprecedented 800,000 asylum seekers this year. joining us is germany's ambassador to the united states, peter vitig, it is good for you to join us. the head of the eu tried to sell quotas, but only for half of those that may have arrived in europe this year. but most countries don't even want a share of that 160,000. with this internal conflict, do you think the eu can reach

agreement to help defuse this crisis? >> this is certainly a big test, a litmus test of solidarity for european union. but don't forget: this crisis has historic proportions. it is probably the greatest migration influx of refugees since the second world war. so this is big, it will change europe, it will change my country, too. germany will take in 800,000 alone, 800,000 refugees alone this year. if you put this into proportion to the united states, it would mean 3.5 million. that tells you something about the magnitude of this crisis. >> while germany is certainly stepping up to the challenge, eastern european and baltic countries are flat out rejecting quotas and we've seen how

harshly hungary has treated refugees. and u.s.a austria has shut down refugees. >> this is an unprecedented influx of refugees. the european union was ill prepared for that. one has to be honest, there were adverse reactions in countries, focht ifortunately, in my own c, there is really a lot of compassion for those people who flee war and civil war, and that's something i'm very proud of. but one last also to understand those countries that are maybe less economically strong and they all have their domestic politics. but we -- that is bottom line. we have to agree in the end to a

fair distribution of all the refugees in europe. >> now germany has struggled a bit in the past to immigrate refugees from the middle east. it's not quite the melting pot that the united states has been historically. can you really take in half a million asylum seekers every year even though you do need to grow your labor force? >> germany, that's a recent development, has become a country of immigrants. maybe not many people realize that in germany but 20% now of our population have an immigration background. so we are already a country of immigrants if you will. not all of them, but a huge percentage. and we need immigration. we are an aging society. and in the long run we need immigration. >> a final question. british prime minister david cameron is only talking about taking in 20,000 asylum seekers

over five years and only those in middle eastern camps not those that have made it to europe. he said it would send a wrong message, a deadly crossing of the mediterranean. does he make a point? >> as i said before this is a real litmus test for european solidarity. every country has to do its share according to the capacity and the domestic economic situation. but we all have to do more to absorb that stream of migrants, of refugees, of an epic proportion. this will no doubt about it, change our continent and our countries. and the earlier we realize that and the more welcoming we are, the better. >> ambassador peter vitig, germany's ambassador to the united states. very good to have you. >> it was opleasure, thank you.

>> the united nations high commissioner for refugees estimated more than 380,000 have crossed mediterranean to get to europe this year, of that, 121,000 in italy, more than 2800 are reported dead or missing. according to the u.n. 72% of the refugees heading towards europe are men, 13% women and 15% children. the numbers have spiked in the summer months. more than 259,000 played the trip in june, july and august and the flood of people is continuing this month. already more than 29,000 refugees have crossed, more than the entire month of september last year. most of the refugees who arrived in greece played the short trip from turkey to the greek islands. the islands are overwhelmed by the flood of people who keep coming. turkish coastal city of bodram.

>> 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 are on turkey's eag yean tn coast. >> we are afraid of dying, of course, this woman says, some died recently but dying is much better than starving hereby. bustarving here. but there's a problem. their outboard motor won't start. they are shia muslim hazahs.

they have tried to make a 45 turkey but aside from muslims, turkey doesn't accept refugees. there's no way for them to settle here. >> translator: even if i'm in the u.s.a. or england or elsewhere i will go back to afghanistan. i proposition you. if there is not war, i cannot give my daughter bus fare or pocket money. in europe they know about humanity. they will help us. so we'll try again and again. if they catch us 100 times we will try 100 times. >> reporter: the family is desperate to leave and decides to try and fix the engine. they're making their own way to koz to avoid being ripped off by smugglers but the engine won't start. the hidari family will sleep here tonight. then, a few minutes' drive along

the coast we find another group. they're wet, clearly, the trip hasn't gone well and they're frustrated to be back in turkey. they're syrians. they salvaged their life vests but their boat is left to drift off. to see what these people go through to try and make it to kos, well, it's impossible not to be moved, really. and you know that now that they've been forced to come back to turkey because they didn't make it this time, they'll risk it again, 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. its passengers are paddling furiously. some of them are bailing out water with shoes. kos is in the distance. it seems tantalizingly close. maybe these people will make it. but then, the turkish coast

guard appears and the refugees are taken on board. their dreams of a new life in europe are frustrated for now. bernard smith, al jazeera on turkey's aegean coast. >> the u.s. is coming under fire for not taking in more refugees from syria. secretary of state john kerry addressed the issue speaking to reporters. >> we are looking hard at the number we can manage in respect to europe and their migration today, that's been vetted fully right now and at the appropriate time i'll get a sense of exactly what that number can be. >> the administration has pointed out that it has pledged more than 4 billion in humanitarian aid more than any other country.

ausa expands its aerial campaign against i.s.i.l. tony abbott, says only persecuted minorities from those nations will be eligible. the abbott said the refugees worsening situation is one reason why australia will be launching strikes again i.s.i.l. >> there can be no end to suffering in the middle east until the daesh death cult is degraded and ultimately destroyed. >> abbott said president obama called him last month and made a personal campaign for australia to join the campaign against i.s.i.l. ayman al-swahiri said he would fight alongside the group of the u.s. coalition in iraq

and syria. destroying a stadium, key command and supply hub for group in the region. it was also being used to store large amounts of home made explosives weapons and ammunition. officials say destroying the base will disrupt i.s.i.l.'s ability to conduct operations and resupply its fighters in ramadi. the al qaeda-affiliated el nusra front, as abdalla al shami reports. >> these are pictures of military base in idlib after el nusra fighters took it over. one of the last remaining strongholds in idlib province and had been under siege for almost two years. the fall of the base means the

northwestern province of idlib is now completely controlled by opposition fighters. alongside other rebel groups they have see seized the city of idlib, bringing them closer to government areas, as the war in syria continues in its fifth year the death and destruction has been staggering. according to the u.n. an estimated 220,000 people have been killed and life expectancy has dropped to 50.5 years, an additional 7.6 million have been internally displaced. all school aid children haven't attended school in three years. the country has gone dark with 83% of electricity supplies cut. with no solution in sight it looks like syrians are running out of options.

abdalla al shami, al jazeera. >> speaking out to oppose the agreement. facing off on the streets of london, pro-israeli and pro-palestine demonstrators clash.

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nuclear deal. congressional republicans looked for a way to move forward with a resolution rejecting the deal. mike viqueria joins us from washington. mike, the democrats say they have got the votes to block the resolution. what can republicans do? >> very little, not for lack of trying. the iran debate, the last 24 hours, since congress returned, this is their first full day back from six weeks ever recess. it took a turn into political theater. republicans are trying to find a way around president obama, and his solid wall of democrats. from what we understand from the latest information we have tonight, it's possible that the whole thing could be put to bed by friday. with the senate failing oact and the house therefore fable to move anything through their body and into the senate and have the congress pass it. but it looks now like a near

certain victory for president obama. when it comes to the vote in congress it may all be over but the shouting. >> this deal with iran is a disaster. >> reporter: but now the iran deal is a hot button in the presidential race and wednesday the campaign trail led straight to the capital steps. >> we are led by very, very stupid people. >> republican qurn concern. contender. donald trump. but they weren't the only presidential contenders to speak out. >> our capacity to sustain and

enforce sanctions will be severely diminished. we will be blamed. thought the iranians. >> inside the capital republicans are in disarray. though not one has come out in support of the deal they're divided over tactics how to bring it down. house republicans want to vote on a bill to prevent obama from lifting sanctions. the white house and the iaea have both repeatedly said that's a misleading campaign. emerging from a closed door meeting, republican john boehner the house speaker tried to put the best face on the discussions. >> i think president obama has lost the support of the american people. >> reporter: president obama has enough commitments from senate democrats to turn back the gop effort and likely enough for a filibuster stopping a direct vote on the deal from

happening at all. even so, the administration is taking no chances. secretary of state john kerry made another trip to the exalt l meeting behind closed doors with senate democrats. >> we lope the legislature would move rapidly not to do thing job of our party but of the nation. >> it gives nor money and ammunition and flexibility and power of the group that is the single greatest destabilizing factor in the middle east. >> antonio, september 17th that's the deadline. if congress doesn't act or republicans fail to muster enough votes it appears they won't be able to, to disapprove of the president's deal, the matter will become law.

>> if it does become law is there anything the republicans can do to repeal it? >> they could wait a year and a half until there's a new occupant in the warehouse and they would hope for a republican to repeal the law or at least pass another law. we also see house republicans over the balance of this week tomorrow in particular on the house floor, they're going to be debating a bill to pass more sanctions separate and apart from what's happening ofte on te iran deal now. again the math doesn't work for them with the senate, not enough votes in the senate to move that along. it appears they're not going to be able to stop the president at least not in the short term, even if there wasn't inevitable as early as friday antonio. >> mike viqueria in washington, thanks. the nuclear deal may not lead to further cooperation between iran and the u.s. iran's supreme leader says he will not allow more negotiations with what he calls the great

satan. ayatollah khamenei says he won't let pushed this satan out. while not directly threatening israel he predicted the jewish state would not exist in 25 years. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu reacted to khamenei's comments, netanyahu says the destruction of israel won't happen and the comments reflect the ayatollah's true feelings about israel and the u.s. he says europe must take israel's side on this and other mid eastern issues. >> europe should support israel, the only real shield that europe has against extremist islam on the rise. we are ready to fight extremist islam but this necessity a necea

change in attitude. >> causing more problems in the region. hundreds of pro-palestinian protesters squared off with pr pro-israeli demonstrators. a few minor scuffles broke out leading to at least one arrest. 100 thou britons called for netanyahu's arrest. 50 years ago, a strike of grape pickers led to the formation of united farm workers. we'll speak with dolores huerta, who helped form that union about the current state of unions in america. and rwanda, havns have elecd paul kigame once again

>> al jazeera america, weekday mornings. catch up on what happened overnight with a full morning brief. get a first hand look with in-depth reports and investigations. start weekday mornings with al jazeera america. open your eyes to a world in motion. >> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm antonio mora. coming up in this half hour of international news, how queen elisabeth ii has changed the monarchy. but first a look at the stories making headlines across

the u.s. in our american minute. >> in pasco washington, a prosecutor ruled out charges against police officers who shot antonio zambrano. evidence shows the officers used legal force. cincinnati fired its police chief after an independent review of the department. in a memo today the city manager explained jeffrey blackwell showed poor leadership at a time when cincinnati is showing a dangerous spike in violence. chief blackwell was facing a no confidence vote from the police union. public school teachers in seattle will walk picket lines again tomorrow. they walked out today on the first day of school. talks with the school board broke down over money. seattle teachers have gone six years without a cost of living increase. the school board says it may go to court to force teachers back

to work. 50 years ago grape pickers went on strike for better pay and working conditions. that strike led to a national boycott on grapes. but as tom ackerman reports, the farm union has lost much of its strength. >> reporter: pedro alvarez left his native mexico for california 30 years ago. tending the same vineyards that sprouted a landmark of farm worker history. farm workers walked off their jobs in 1965 to demand better pay and health conditions from the growers. chavez's nonviolent tactics gained him note right. millions of americans stopped buying grapes and even some wine

brands. but since chavez's death in 1993, alvarez says not much has happened. united farm workers is a shadow of what it once was, weakened by internal splits, competitions from rival unions and a more hostile environment for organized labor across the u.s. the union has lately claimed success, proactin protecting wom unking healthy heat conditions. one major california grower, many workers have been fighting to revoke the ufw's authority to represent them. meanwhile, the flow of mexican born farm workers has been

dropping. as a result wages have increased a bit. >> that does indicate that this shortage that we hear farmers talking about is actually occurring. that is also consistent with the data that we find, from rural mexico, fewer people are working in agriculture. >> a lot of my friends are going back to mexico and i would like to also. >> what's keeping him here is his seven children. tom arkman, al jazeera, california. >> dolores huerta, helped organize the 1965 grape strike and boycott, she joins us via skype from bakersfield, california. great to have you with us, ms. huerta. your efforts helped attain fair wages and working conditions for thousands of workers.

what do you think that the ufw now is only a shadow of what it once was? >> the strike actually in delano that happened in '65 have an incredible impact. we have been organizin organizir three years from 1962 to 1965 before that strike actually took place. the strike itself inspired so many people so many students, what we might call the cattle list for the chicano movement because so many young people saw what was happening in the fields that the farm workers were saying for themselves, then they went on to the communities of los angeles and throughout the southwest united states, were doing walkouts because of the way latinos were treated in the school systems, we saw them doing all kinds of demonstrations at the different schools and different colleges, they weren't opening the doors to latinos and african american students. such an impact on other labor unions that still today borrowed

many of the tactics that the united farm workers used, picketing with flags. >> numbers recently showing that union membership in general has plunged to levels not seen in 100 years. have unions failed to keep up with the times by sticking too much to the traditional models? >> labor management at the national level is because of all of these laws that have been passed to prevent unions from organizing. especially in republican leadership in california and throughout the country have been very anti-organized labor. we remind people the only organization that a worker has is his labor union to represent him or her on the job site and in the state legislature and in the u.s. congress. >> now donald trump as you know has called for the deportation of millions of undocumented

immigrants and a building of a wall between mexico and the united states. is there a rise of xenophobia? >> he is not leading in the polls of the are democratic party an in many states republicans are a minority, especially here in california. unfortunately there is a lot of ignorance out there. people don't understand why we have this mass migration from central america and mexico and things like nafta that were passed really took away many of the jobs of the people in central america and mexico. if we look at countries like gawt malguatemala, as long as we

the position of exploitation of other countries we will always have turmoil in the world and we will always have migration. >> dolores huerta very good to have you with us. thank you. >> thank you very much. lebanon has dealt with the garbage problem in beirut. demonstrators filled the streets again today in what's being called the you stink movement. they are outraged by the piles of the uncollected garbage in the streets of the lebanese capital. rwanda is sitting a hearing for later this month, opposition forces want to stop paul kagame from running for another term.

al jazeera's catherine soy reports from kigale. >> it is hard to imagine rwanda without president paul kagame. he seemed to bring order to the area. >> if it's changed to allow him to run again we'll agree with that. >> translator: it's for us to decide and we are happy to change it. >> translator: i don't see why the constitution needs to be changed. >> reporter: parliament is not in session now but it has started a processing that could see a section of the constitution that limits a presidential mandate to two years, amended. members of parliament say that 3.8 million rwandans signed a

petition asking for this change. parliament is just a start of a long process. there's going to be a commission set up to look into parts of the constitution that deal with presidential term limits and eventually there must be a referendum where rwandans get to decide for themselves. critics, many of them outside rwanda, seek kagame's hand in this. the president himself hasn't declared his intention but the mp nimp insist that the people t him. >> he would have to measure the pressures of the international community with what his people want. >> reporter: but some don't agree. the opposition democratic green party has asked the supreme court to block the process that has been started by parliament. their petition reads that the constitution only allows a referendum to change the

duration of a presidential term, not the number of terms. >> if it was said by the people, the process is clear evidence that people from the government people from within the cabinet, parliament and from the senate, they are the ones that have been behind this move. >> the move to court is not openly or widely supported here and chances of a victory is slim but despite the few numbers they won't give up. catherine soy, al jazeera, kigale, rwanda. >> convene elizabeth has become the longest serving monarch. a chinese tour for rocker john bon jovi and his band is abruptly cancelled. coming up about

a. >> a new royal record. queen elizabeth ii, spent the day opening a new railway in scotland. >> many including you first minister, have kindly announced a new significance attaching otoday. although it is not one to which i have ever aspired. inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones.

my own is no exception. but i thank you all and the many others at home and overseas. >> emma hayward puts the queen's record breaking rei breaking ren context. >> it was a promise made over 63 years ago by a 25-year-old princess soon to be queen. she would eventually be recognized the world over and who's been a constant presence in british life against a backdrop of constant change. >> in a sense the queen is the social glue of britain. she is the pin that holds the whole class system together. and of course, she is very important, not just as a symbol, but actually, she has real

constitutional importance. >> reporter: at the time of the coronation, the british empire had begun to crumble. since then, other world leaders have come and gone. there have been royal weddings, divorce and scandal. but despite everything, there's still interest globally in the head of britain's most famous family. >> you might hear some negative things about you know her son or her -- some of the other royalty but never about the queen. it's always positive. >> i don't think she is very useful in the 21st century. >> on any given day you're likely to get this. people peering through gates of buckingham palace. polls suggest the majority of the people living here want to keep the monarchy, for now at least. there are those who are indifferent to it or some that want the current we ento be th e

last. convincing the public to give up a thousand-year institution, though, is far from easy. >> the fact that she's been head of state that long is an irrelevance, really, without a democratic process, what's the point? just living a long time is no -- means nothing, really. >> and that pledge made by the queen to serve for a lifetime is likely to be kept. her legacy perhaps so far is that the old institution of monarchy abandoned by so many nations is still intact and has been steered into a new era of popularity. emma hayward, al jazeera in london. >> british royal commentator and journalist victoria arbiter joins us. thank you. >> thank you. >> your dad was a close aide to

the queen for a long time. it's hard to forget, when she became queen more than 63 years ago, the monarchy was more medieval than modern. she has changed what it means to be a royal in england. >> she personally hasn't change. she's adapted and involved the monarchy and that's how they stay relevant. when queen victoria was on the throne, the monarchy was in the height of its success. when she came on the throne, it was in its wane. >> that really happened mostly under her watch. >> i would say so, when she came under the monarchy it was an eight-country membership. those world leaders have all said that they stick together because of a mutual affection for the queen. >> officially her duties are ceremonial. how much influence does she

actually wield? >> she's a symbolic head of state but the influence comes to her impressive diplomatic skills. twiiv2011 she was able to visite republic of ireland for the first time. she wore green, spoke gal gaeli, she didn't visit south africa as queen until apartheid had been obliterated. >> does she exper concert exertn meetings of parliament? >> she's not supposed to. she asks very wise questions and in doing so that perhaps gives them the guidance they need. >> now the nadir of her popularity happened after

princess diana died, her popularity dropped and that also came at a time when the british family had seen scandal after scandal. she just rebounded in popularity, and it's as high as it's ever been. >> she definitely took a dip in popularity after the death of diana but the media recognizes that that was the only time in her rein that she chos reign thy over country. she said no, i'm going to take care of my grandsons. >> emma hayward brought us as people ignored those who came to asking to abolish the monarchy.

nickola sturgeon is adamantly in favor of this form of government. >> this speaks to the queen's brilliant diplomatic skills. ardently she's untouchable. she's fighting for independence but at the same time she wants to keep the queen as head of state. >> that's despite the fact that the monarchy costs an awful lot of money. some estimates, half a billion. but they actually get their money's worth from the royals. >> it cost every taxpayer 60 pence. moalmost people have that hidinn their sofa cushions. i don't know how the figure was

calculated but those types of numbers, the this year alone they're estimating 150 if billion pounds. we're getting value for our money. >> things she's done during those years is certainly impressive. vick yah arbiter, thank you for being here. >> thank you very much. longest verifiable reign of anyone in history, king of swasiland, a reign of 82 years. rama 9, a reign of 69 years so far. holding the record for the sho shortest reign, allowist the third of france, abdicated after 30 minutes.

a land and water race on baltic islands that competitors say is atough as iron man competition. next.

>> now our global view segment with a look at how news outlets across the world are reacting to various events. >> the sydney morning herald reports that prime minister tony abbott's plan to welcome middle eastern refugees is a great

start. but greater valuation to their fight. the guardian, under the headline, nastiness evident, it writes that targeted killings aren't legitimate unless the threat is immediate and the british citizens killed last month were not an immediate danger. editorial cartoon of a roller coaster rider saying, didn't i tell you things would be look up soon? >> an endurance competition in sweden, competitors say it's harder than iron man triathlon. in our off the rails segment, how it started with a barroom bet. >> crossing this finish line can soon become one of the biggest prices in endurance racing.

urkula, swedish for island to island, teams of two swim between and run over islands in sweden arc pe archapelago. >> the water was so cold and so wavy it never ended. >> ten kilometers between the islands, swimmers reckon this to be much tougher than an ironman or ultramarathon. just the running part is 65 kilometers, one and a half marathons over slippery rocks. disadges between two of these 16 islands, you can see where urkula is considered one of the most extreme races in the world.

now in the beginning were nine teams, now 240 people competing with a waiting list of over a thousand. final preparations are before dawn. 26 nationalities are not used to the conditions. >> really, just to finish, we don't do record-breaking or something. >> hopping from one lagoon to another, to another island, the fishermen say what are these guys doing swimming in their shoes and running in a wet suit? >> swim-run began with a drunken bet between friends, to see if they could get around without a boat. more and more people are jumping on board. >> we've seen a lot of change in the last three years really, it became osport in the last three years, before that it was just race. >> a new swedish canadian world

champions completing their island-hopping in just short of eight and a half hoirs but just like in every endurance sport there's a price to pay in pain. paul reese, on the stockholm arc archeepelago . >> promoter aeg live asia unexpectedly called off the performance. the financial times says chinese officials cancelled the tour because the band included an image of the dalai lama in video during a concert in taiwan in 2010. that's this edition of al jazeera america news. i'm antonio mora. we end with a bit of convene

elizabeth's golden jubilee performance. ♪ ♪ >> on "america tonight," the latest battle front in a fight against vaccine. >> nobody is going to put a needle in my arm or my daughter's arm. thank you. >> what could be a deadly swealz transmitted disease. "america tonight's" adam may. >> and an