on our website. you can see our top story there that the u.s. is to start military talks with russia over syria and over russia's increased military presence in syria. brand new information just confirmed by al jazeera on russia's military buildup in syria. plus an historic day for the era in u.s., cuban relations, we're in havana has president obama eases a trade embargo that has lasted for decades. staying silent. donald trump under fire for not stepping in when a supporter

called president obama a muslim. >> we know our current president is one. >> right. >> you know he's not even an american -- >> we need this question. ♪ this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm adam may. we are just getting new information about russia's military buildup in syria. jamie mcintyre is joining us now from home. jamie what are you finding out? >> adam it's not unexpected the pentagon has been waiting for this to happen. but a senior defense official confirms to al jazeera that this morning four russian su27 flanker fighter planes have arrived in western syria, they joined four helicopters that were already there, and then four more helicopters showed up as the russian military buildup

continues. this arrival has made it more urgent that moscow and washington coordinate what is going on in syria, and today moscow reached out to washington and said we need to talk about what is going on. we heard a little bit about this earlier today from secretary of state john kerry who talked about the need for cooperation with russia. >> the president believes that mill to mill conversation is important next step and i think hopefully will take place very shortly, and it will help to define some of the different options that are available to us, as we consider next steps in syria. >> reporter: so when he said it would take place shortly. it did. right after that ash carter

spoke to his russian counterpart, they talked about what was going on in western syria, where the russians are pouring men and material into that area. he assured carter that the russian military deployment was quote defensive in nature and were to honor commitments that russia had made to the regime of bashar al-assad and the discussion then progressed to the need to discuss what is called deconfliction. there is no indication of when russian military activity will start, but the fact that they have deployed these strike aircraft, indicates they probably will start flying missions soon. and the nature that it is quote, defensive in nature, really

underscores that what this is about is shoring up the regime and not so much about combatting isil. adam. >> all right. some fast-moving developments. jamie mcintyre reporting from the pentagon for us. >> reporter: the obama administration has further eased travel and commerce restrictions on cuba. these new regulations will allow u.s. companies to open offices there, and also make it easier for americans to visit that island nation, but the president's actions will not completely lift the embargo. david ariosto reports from havana, that move faces strong opposition in congress. >> reporter: the fruits of the change in relations starting to bare fruit here in havana, but today represents something different. the white house announcing one of the biggest shifts in investment and trade policy with cuba in really more than half a century.

essentially what it would mean is a further easing of restrictions when it comes to telecommunications, the ability of american businesses to partner with the cuban government and businesses to hire cuban employees. this is a seismic shift when it comes to u.s. cuba relations and is a full frontal assault on the u.s. treyed embargo that dates back to 1960. this of course all coming right on the eve of the visit of pope francis, the third visit of a pope here since 19 9d 8. and it was pope francis that many believe was instrumental in brokering this new relationship. obviously those two men meeting at the summit of the americas in april. and we're here waiting for the visit by the pope and waiting for the implementation of the new policy changes, you really get the sense that there is a

change in the works here in cuba. not just in terms of the dialogue, but of the economic realities of a closer symbiotic relationship that has always existed but now is being codified in u.s. trade policy. al jazeera america will have special coverage of pope francis's visit to cuba this weekend, and next week we'll be there with the pope traveling through his visit to the united states. now to capitol hill where the republican lead house had voted to cut federal funds for planned parenthood for one year. the vote was along party lines. conservative opposed to the organization are threatening to let the government shut down to prevent funding for planned parenthood. undercover video shot by anti-abortion activists appeared to show planned parenthood officials describing the sale of

tissue from aborted fetuses. planned parenthood has denied that it sells that tissue. some new developments today in the military hearing for sergeant bo burriwe bergdahl. it's the first step in determining whether he should be court marshalled for abandoning his post in afghanistan. our correspondent is in san antonio to tell us more about the recommendation for no jail time. tristan? >> reporter: that's correct. today we heard a lot about what was going through sergeant bergdahl mind when he was in afghanistan. a fellow soldier painted a picture of him being unable to adjust to army life. major general kenneth doll, the

officer in charge of the investigation did characterize bergdahl as unrealistically idealistic, and recommended that there should be no jail time in the case. >> i understand people were also talking during the court hearing about troubles he had prior to these allegations that he deserted his troop. what else happened in that hearing today? >> reporter: that is correct, they brought up his time in the coast guard when he essentially washed out, and then later went into the army. a lot of that was talking about how that sort of unrealistic idealalism math have lead him to make decisions without fully thinking them through and that was what lead him into the army and into the arms of the taliban perhaps. >> and no indication he will testify at this point? >> reporter: his lawyer said he will not testify and is

continuing to push for the testimony that he gave to general doll to be released to the public. >> how long will this whole thing last until we find out more of bergdahl's fate? >> reporter: it's unclear right now. the hearing is still going on as we speak, and it could take days. it could take weeks, i'm unclear at this point. >> reporter: all right. thank you so much for that update. donald trump under fire from critics on both sides of the aisle today, followed from a campaign event gone awry last night. the front runner declined to interrupt a member of the audience who made some very racist remarks and called president obama a muslim. randall pinkston reports. >> we're going to have some fun now, because instead of making a speech, i want to take questions. >> reporter: donald trump was taking questions from the audience, one of the questions

is now making headlines. >> this man. i like this guy. >> one problem in this country is called muslims. we know our current plt is one. >> right. >> you know he's not even an american -- >> we need this question -- >> trump tried to reflect the question by chuckling, but the unidentified man continued. >> we have training camps where they want to kill us. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: that's my question when can we get rid of them? >> we're going to be looking at a lot of different things. and a lot of people are saying bad things are happening out there. >> reporter: trump responded with an answer, though, somewhat vague instead of interrupting the man. >> reporter: hillary clinton wrote on twitter: republican arizona senator john

mccain encountered a similar incident during his 2008 campaign for president, but handled it a different way. >> i can't trust obama. i have read about him, and he's not -- he's a -- he's an arab. he is not -- [ laughter ] >> no, ma'am. >> no? >> no, ma'am. no, ma'am. he's a decent family man, citizen that i just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that's what this campaign is all about. he's not. thank you. [ laughter ] >> reporter: the question also brings back memories of 2011 when trump very publicly questioned president obama's citizenship. he demanded that he release his birth certificate to prove he was born in the united states. president obama eventually did, but trump continued to dispute its authenticity. randall pinkston, al jazeera. >> trump's campaign spokesman released a statement saying the

candidate did not hear the question. they also said another statement here that is attributed to mr. trump: that's from the trump camp. the steady stream of people crossing europe on foot, now creating more conflict between neighboring nations in that region, why hungary is accusing croatia of breaking international law. plus the refugee crisis is coming at an especially bad time for greece.

>> we're tracking a developing story out of japan with the parliament has just passed a controversial military bill despite strong public opposition. the law will allow japanese troops to fight abroad for the very first time since world war ii. unbelievable seen here. the opposition lead to scuffles in the parliament on thursday, and protests all across the country earlier week. demonstrators say it goes against that country's peace-based constitution. the conservative prime minister does support the bill. after accepting thousands of refugees in recent days croatia

is now bussing people to the hungary border where authorities are letting small groups cross into the country. the hungarian foreign minister says there is not an organized plan between the countries. the huge influx of refugees has jammed up border crossings. lawrence lee has more from the serbian croatian border. >> reporter: it's all relative and no doubt this miserable line of people waiting for someone to take them further looks absolutely desperate. but in relative terms it's certainly better than being tear gassed by the hungarians. and as the day wore on, the buses came regularly, shipping them north towards the capitol. so the untrained eye the idea of this three year old thinking this was anything but a

nightmare would be impossible. but her family told her it is a great big game. these european countries that say they don't want you. what do you say to them? >> i don't want them also. >> reporter: which country do you want? >> i don't care. i just told you i want to be peace place. i hope to find this place. >> reporter: croatia had said the borders might close yet from first light they continued in from serbia. but just one road border remained open a pointless exercise where no refugees were there anyway, because they were all here shelterings from 40 degree heat and droeming, hoping. >> the boat was sinking two times before and the third time we reached safety -- >> reporter: as he was talking everybody got up and ran to the railway line. a train was coming. could this be salvation?

no, it wasn't. and then an indication of how vulnerable they are to exploitation. a man on the ground in plain. what has happened here, the man turned out to have been taking money from some of the refugees and promising them that they would go to hungary. one of them apparently just looked on his phone and realized they weren't in hungary, that they were in croatia, and somebody punched him in the face. the croatian government says it can't put up with this much more but will allow people through who don't want to stay here, and that is basically everybody. the problem is the other countries won't allow that. lawrence lee al jazeera, in southern croatia. >> reporter: the u.s. says it will take in 10,000 syrian refugees next year, but many americans want to do more and they are trying to find other ways to help.

erika pitzi has some information on the best ways to do that. >> there are hundreds of refugees who are dpes rate -- >> people are pleading to soldiers -- >> reporter: the crisis has been dire for months now, but it was this devastating image of the body of a two-year-old syrian childing washing ashore on a turkish beach that galvanized these people to help. >> they were going for a better life. it shouldn't happen. >> reporter: the photo brought the crisis to light in a way that had not happened before. >> for the first time we woke up and he said these are children. we can do something. we have to do something. we can't have children washing up on our beaches. >> reporter: carol is the ceo of the u.s. fund for unicef. >> they are children on the run from war, poverty, violence -- >> reporter: the non-profit organization has been helping

the relief efforts since the syrian war began. when the photo of the child went viral, the organization said it saw a boost in donations by more than 600%. unicef's u.s. fund brought in about a million dollars in donations but that's nowhere near the response other crises got initially. after the earthquake in haiti unicef said it received nearly $50 million. >> this is a progressive crisis, and people don't always understand what that is, and so i have been out there screaming at the top of my lungs, look at what is happening, and people are just not hearing it. >> reporter: some americans are listening, members of the islamic cultural center of new york donated truckloads of clothes shoes, and food. but most organization say it is not cost effective to ship donations. the best way to help is to go

green. >> it comes in quickly and we can readily get it out to our call leagues. >> reporter: without more money these non-profit leaders agree the future is grim, particularly for the children. >> they are going to freeze to death in the winter, because they left home in the summer. they have no shoes, no hats, no mittens no winter coats. those are all deliverable good if we get the financial wherewithal to do it. >> reporter: the estimated need is another half billion dollars. erika pitzi, al jazeera. be sure to join us for an al jazeera america special report this sunday. it's airing at 9:00 pm eastern. greece is also bearing the brunt of the refugee flood into europe at the same time athens

is also dealing with an economic crisis, and that country is set to hold a national election on sunday. this is a campaign rally happening right there in athens. the former prime minister is leading a rally for the left-wing syriza party. very large crowds there right in front of the parliament building. barnaby phillips has more on the overlapping issues. >> reporter: they watch bemused as desperate people arrive every day in their city. in a square in central athens, elderly greeks outnumbered by hundreds of afghans. most plan to move on, but a few will stay in greece and build new lives here, like this man who came 14 years ago. he says greeks are generous, but he worries that political and economic instability will change that. >> we are afraid because of this election and also because of this crisis, maybe this climate

will be changed, maybe some extremist parties, extremist groups will use this condition on benefit of themselves for the votes. that's why we are afraid. >> reporter: this is what he fears, the neo-nazi gold dawn who have gathered just a few blocks away. foreigners out of greece they chat. according to opinion polls they are now the third most popular party in greece. for them the refugee crisis is an opportunity. he says it is a disgrace, thousands cross the sea into greece whilst all our politicians can do is dream about who will lead the country. >> you cannot stop the refugees. >> reporter: this doctor is temporarily the minister of refugees, until greece gets a new government. he says nobody should use the

refugee crisis to get more votes. >> translator: it could be used in this political battle, but that would be a mistake, because it is a refugee crisis and not an immigration crisis. it's above party politics. greece's obligations are clearly defined by international law. we have to accept these refugees. >> reporter: the greeks have plenty of things to worry about apart from the refugee crisis. unemployment, rising taxes, falling living standards. they don't have great expectations of these elections, but desperately hope for government that will somehow address their country's economic problems. volunteers sort through donated clothes for refugees and poor greeks alike. most greeks feel sympathy for all of these destitute people in

their midst. they know whatever happens there will be many challenges for years to come. boko haram attacks have forced 500,000 children in west africa to flee their homes in the last month. this is according to a new report. the numbers also show an upswing in attacks in nigeria, cameroon, chad, and niger this year. 1.5 million children are homeless. it's blamed on boko haram. well as you probably already know, pope francis is a big soccer fan, and that's great news for a group of young soccer players who are about to share their love of the game with the holy father.

a group of young grants in new york left everything they have ever known behind to start a new life in america. part of that new life involves their love of soccer and as roxana saberi reports they are about to share their love of the game with the pope himself. >> reporter: soccer is helping these teenagers remember where they came from, what they loved, but also why they left. >> translator: i used to play in my country every day, just like i'm playing with these guys today. it hurt me to have to leave my country, but i had to come because it was too dangerous. >> reporter: he and most of his soccer team in the bronx fled central america without their parents. they are part of the recent wave of children who have crossed into the u.s. illegally in the past two years. he grew up in honduras and left

because he feared for his life and wanted to join his mother in the u.s. >> translator: you can't be caught alone on the street there. if you run into issues ju could get killed or kidnapped or forced into a gang. if you refuse, they will kill you. >> reporter: if you get sent back, would you try to come to america the same way you did before? >> translator: i would try. even if i had to do it illegally. >> reporter: many are waiting for immigration hearings to see if they can stay in the u.s. in the meantime 11 now have their chance to share stories with another soccer fan, pope francis. we'll meet them next friday. tonight we'll tell you what these teenagers want to tell the hope and how they hope he can help them. she is not bad with that ball. it should be quite an experience for those kids.

thanks for joining us. i'm adam may. the news continues next live from london. have a great afternoon.