>> al jazeera journalists mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed are pardoned in egypt. >> the whole nightmare is over. the whole nightmare is over. we can live lie normal people. go back home. enjoy my life, and that's it. that's it. >> hello there. i'm barbara serra. you're watching al jazeera. the e.u. nations pledge an extra billion dollars to the refugee crisis as leaders in brussels discuss the problem.

volkswagen ceo martin winterkon resigns as the fall out from the scandal conditions. and the catholic pope is welcomed by barack obama at the white house. >> jailed al jazeera journalists mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed have been pardoned by egyptian president el-sisi. they have been freed as part of a group of 100 prisoners who were also granted pardons. but none of the journalist who is were sentenced in abstentia were pardoned, including peter greste, who spent 13 months in an egyptian jail before being deported in february ahead of his retrial. >> freedom at last for al jazeera producer baher mohamed and freelance producer mohamed

fahmy. >> what are we going to do? travel the world, celebrate, party. we just really hope that our families have suffered so much since the beginning of this trial, and we're very happy that president sisi took this action. >> the whole nightmare is over. we can live like normal people, go home and enjoy my life. that's it. >> the pardon by president el-sisi is the end of a long ordeal which began in 2013 when they were arrested along with peter greste. he was appearing on an australian tv show. mohamed fahmy was pardoned. >> if he was pardoned, i hope that means that baher is out, too. sorry, i'm feeling-- >> no, no. >> i mean, we've been fighting--fighting for the past eight months for this. >> the three journalists faced charges including aiding the now

banned muslim brotherhood. in june of last year, a court sentenced them seven to ten years in prison. then last january the court threw out their convictions and ordered a retrial. in february peter peter peter was deported to his native australia. mohamed and fahmy were released later that month. last no month the court returned mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed to prison. theory trial was supposed to give them an opportunity to clear their names. instead they were denied once again. the arrest and at the detention of missouri and peter greste damaged egypt's image at home and abroad. there are, though, other al jazeera staff who were convicted in abstain i can't at the original trial.

at the moment we're not hearing that there is a pardon for the rest of us, but it is an egyptian holiday today. we're wondering whether the paperwork just has not been released. if that's not the case, and we're not actually going to be getting a pardon, then we'll be lobbying the u.n. general assembly to anyone who will listen to shout out that we were just journalists doing our jobs in cairo, and this pardon is long overdue. >> for now, though, the happy closure of one chapter. al jazeera. >> well, al jazeera is acting director general released the following statement:

>> european union nations are to give an extra $1 billion to u.n. agencies dealing with the refugee crisis. the news comes in a draft statement from an emergency meeting from e.u. leaders in brussels. the decision come a day after they pushed an agreement of how to relocate 120,000 refugees around the e.u. slovakia, one of the four countries who opposed the deal, is now threatening legal action. germany's chancellor said that europe must come up with a resolution. >> a fair destructio distribution throughout the european union, we can establish registration centers for hot spots and we'll suspect in finding a joint answer based

with a great challenge europe can't say that we can't handle this. that would be quite wrong. i say again and again we can do this. >> well, jackie roland has been following the day's developments in brussels. >> one thing that this meeting on wednesday is intended to do is to look at the practical measures that can be put into place to restrict the number of people entering the e.u. and install better controls of who is entering. there will be discussions about deploying new e.u. forces to help the police, the immigration in countries on the front line like greece and italy, who clearly have been struggling to cope with the number of people coming in. that is also controversial because it is a question of national sovereignty should the greeks and italians be policing their frontiers or should europe. a lot of controversial issues still to be discussed. another thing will be the desire to pledge more money to some of

the countries through whom the refugees travel in the balkans like macedonia and serbia, but also crucially to those front line countries, turkey, jordan and syria, who really have been carrying the biggest burdens so far in terms of sheltering the refugees. >> well, as the diplomacy continues, refugees are continuing to make the dangerous journey across the sea from turkey to greece. on wednesday around 50 rubber dinghies landed on the island of lesbos bringing 2500 people. the mediterranean is expected to be hit by storms as summer comes to an end. >> fall out from the volkswagen cheating scandal has begun.

thceo has resigned and the board director said it is time to get to the bottom of who was involved in the scheme to evade environmental regulations. >> ceo martin winterkorn is out. >> there was an offer by dr. winterkorn to step down. we want to stress the point that dr. winterkorn had no knowledge of the situation. >> he stepped down saying that volkswagen needed a fresh start. they'll look into the investigation to see how software found its way into 11 million vehicles. >> we have the impression that criminal acts have played a role

here. we will bring to light all the proceedings within the company and make sure that the people concerned will be prosecuted. >> germans including those who live in volkswagen's headquarters city wolfsburg. >> that is scheming machinations. that's criminal dealing. that's like a mafia. >> it just can't be true that sufficiently a global firm does this. >> in the u.s. a chicago attorney is taking legal action on what hav behalf of volkswagen owners.

>> the consumer has been harmed for the full purchase price plus damage in associated with that. it could be the entire purchase price, the impact is massive. >> german prosecutors plan a criminal evaluation, and in the u.s. also vw could face charges of wire fraud and lying to regulators. an u.s. lawmaker demandedsive punishment. >> there ought to be some prosecutions and corporate executives that knew this and had done it, and ought to be going to jail. >> volkswagen has already paid a heavy price for the scandal with its stock following sharply and potentially billions of dollars worth of fines looming over it. but the biggest cost of the company cannot be measured in dollars or euros. that is the loss of its reputation. rob reynolds, al jazeera,

wolfsburg, germany. >> let's go to long island, new york state. this is a p.r. disaster for volkswagen, but the chief executive has resigned relatively quickly. any way of rescuing the brand, do you think? >> i think that's a very good question. everybody, when there is trouble, wants a throat to choke, as it were, and winterkorn has taken it and resigned because of it. people's relationships with brands is not a rationale thing. it is emotional. that is based on trust, and that has been broken. that will damage its reputation not just with stake holders, investors, but customers might start to consider other brands whereas they never would have before. >> what do you think would make someone buy that particular brand of car over others, for

example? >> well, there is function. what we look for in brands is what we look for in friends. that's the decisions we'll make when we look at choices. yes, finances is important, but what car do you identify yourself with? and vw has a very distinct design and it's very unique in that way in its position in the market. in fact, i'm sure many people would not believe that it's the biggest carmaker in the world. >> because of that list you had great design, it drives well. do you think people will decide not to buy a volkswagen if there is particular war that they like, for example? >> i'm troubled to think that that would happen. i think we've seen enough chaos and strife happen with big considerations that it has not really changed their sales growth. toyota was a good example.

i think vw will do the right thing. tell all, do the witch-hunt. find the people who are responsible, prosecute them, and provide everything that everybody needs. that's exactly what vw needs to do so consumers can see that they're concerned about this, they're taking it seriously, and they're getting to the bottom of it. that if done right is why i won't look for another type of car. >> assuming that they do those things and they have the witch-hunt, find out what happened, how long does it take for a brand like this, and volkswagen is one of the top 40 brands in the world, correct me if i'm wrong, how long does it take for a brand like this to fully recover? >> quickly. i think again quality of product, quality of image, quality of reputation, which it has. it might be in taxes now but it was a powerful brand and people like that brand. to me, 12 to 18 months usually should be in the clip here.

i can't see them doing it sooner because they're still looking at the problem and who was involved. that might take a few months. but within 12 to 18 months they'll have righted the ship and they'll be all right. their business side might be effected by the cost of doing it, but it won't effect the brand if they do the right thing. >> brand consultant joining us from long island in new york state. thank you. >> thank you. >> now still to come on the program, ending colombia's long-time running civil war, peace talks will begin live in havana shortly. and in burkina faso, it's interim president returning to power after days in a coup. sure, tv has evolved over the years.

it's gotten squarer. brighter. bigger.

it's gotten thinner. even curvier. but what's next? for all binge watchers. movie geeks. sports freaks. x1 from xfinity will change the way you experience tv.

>> now a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. jailed journalists. >> e.u. leaders pledge an extra billion dollars for the refugee crisis as they gather in brussels to address the problem. and volkswagen chief executive martin winterkorn resign as the fall out from the emissions scandal continues. pope francis is on his first official trip to the united states. he's on day one of his six-day

visit in the capital washington, d.c. where he has been speaking with president barack obama. during the week he'll speak with the u.s. congress and the united nations. patty culhane is following this historic visit. >> it is clear that pope francis is going to take on controversial topics while in the united states bringing up the priest sex abuse scandals with u.s. bishops. >> and we have to hope the crimes never repeat themselves. >> that fell far short for some of the victims. still across the country this pope is overwhelmingly popular. that was clear by the welcome that greeted him as he began his day at the white house. 11,000 invited guests here to witness the pageantry. renown for humble living, he arrived in a fiat and not the traditional limousine. >> your humility, your embrace of simplicities, the gentleness

of your words, the generosity of your spirit, we see a living example of jesus' teachings, a leader whose moral authority comes not just through words but also through deeds. >> pope francis is going to try to use that authority focusing his remarks on climate change. >> when it comes to the care of our common home, we are living at a critical moment of history. we still have time to make the change needed to bring about sustainable and integral betterment. >> he doesn't need to convince the president. he already believes in chim climate change unlike those in

the opposition party. >> i don't see the pope's comments and the pope's visit in the neryer term having any effect on republican positions on immigration reform or climate change. mainly because republican members of congress, and frankly most republicans running for the presidency right now, they don't have any political incentive to shift. >> pope francis inned his first day in washington elevating junipero serra to saint hood. a day of pageantry and controversy for the pope's first-ever trip to the united states. patty culhane, al jazeera, washington. >> well, in the past hour or so pope francis has celebrated his first official mass in the united states. we can cross live to washington, d.c. an, and last time we spoke he just started

his homily. what did he mention in it? >> right, and of course we were all listening not only was it his first mass in the u.s. but his first canonization in the u.s. of junipero serra who oversaw a brutal time over the california coast. he said mistreatment and wrong that is today still trouble us because of the hurt which she cost in the lives of many people. that's very much the line we heard from the catholic church ever since the controversy began when it was announced that junipero serra would be canonized. he said that he was a good man in bad times. native american tribes said that

it was not true and that he ran the system that as we now know and as the church even accepts that these were not lovely you to bean fortresses where native americans were baptized. they were forcebly removed from their tribes by soldiers, tied together, women and men were separated. there was rape, violence, and indentured slaves and forced labor to work the fields. having said that in the end this is an evangelical church, he talked about how great it was how the mission to convert native americans was such a great thing. there was a huge round of applause. in the end, there were bad things that happened, but in the end we were saving their souls. that's not an argument that native americans have accepted, and they say they'll continue their fight to get the sainthood

removed. >> that is the latest from washington, d.c. thank you. peace talks between the colombian government and the revolutionary armed forces of colombia have taken a major step back after the colombian president traveled to cuba to meet rebel leaders. the two sides in talks saying ending the long-running conflict. the apparent break through comes days after pope francis visited cuba, where he called for reconciliation. now, for the latest news let's go straight t live to bogot bogota. as far as we know what are the details of this deal? >> well, barbara, the issue of justice had been one of the biggest obstacles to moving forward in these peace talks. now finally this break through

is happening. we're seeing the negotiators and the president of colombia and the head of the farc gathering in the same room to present this plan. we don't have all the details yet. we know that they will announce the creation of a special jurisdiction for peace that will be alternative to the colombian normal justice system. a special tribunal that will investigate and then eventually sentence and punish the farc rebels that are responsible for the most gross human rights violations. but also they will investigate and then sentence colombian soldiers or other parts of the armed forces here that might have also committed crimes throughout this very long conflict. another point that we know is that the kind of confinement that the rebels are now willing

to accept. there will be something different from a regular prison. the press here is talking about possibly confining them into farms or rural locations where they will essentially see some restrictions to their liberty, but for example, they will still have the right to run for elections. so the details that will come up, but this definitely is expected to be one of the most exciting moments in this peace negotiation, and definitely an historic day for colombia. >> we'll be checking in with you as we get more developments from those peace talks at the moment. live for us in bogota, thank you. now the leader of a coup in burkina faso said that he has given up, and the coup has come to an end. a ceremony has been held for the interim president whose return to power after being taken hostage last week.

the coupe leader said that he realized did he not have the support of the people of burkina faso. >> the popular reaction in particular of our militant youth, the disapproval of the international community, the unanimous condemnation of the coup all reassert our certainty that we're on the right track and that our cause is just. >> china has signed a huge deal with the u.s. civil aircraft manufacturer boeing, which includes building a boeing factory in china. they're buying 300 airliners with list price of $38 billion. the deal has been finalized from the first state visit to the u.s. by chinese president xi jinping, who visited headquarters in seattle. fears of an outbreak of cholera in iraq has caused

authorities to close down elementary schools 200 cases have been registered in the last week, but it is those who live in displacement camps that have most to fear. >> this widow, her husband was killed when isil took over their house in fallujah. >> three days ago my son was someties and had diarrhea. we're living in terrible conditions. i'm afraid he might get it again and it might be fatal. >> clean water and sanitizization is critical. >> people are using tanks like

these and filling it with water and adding chlorine tablets to them. but the tablets are in short supply. >> authorities say they have enough resources to keep it in control. >> we have mobile health clinics that operate 24 hours a day, and we check water cleanliness. >> but with conditions in the camps becoming ever more desperate few here trust or take comfort in what the authorities are saying. [ baby crying ] >> thousands of muslim are gathering in saudi arabia for the hajj. the pilgrimage is a central pillar of islam. the followers of islam must move together through a set of rituals in different sites around the holy city of mecca. two million will take part from all around the world. the final hajj ritual also begin

on tuesday and will last for five days. we have this update. >> the essence of hajj. those who are here, he or she will have their hajj invalidated. this is considered the pillar of hajj. we have 2 million pilgrims who will be asking god for forgiveness, blessings, and repentance. by the end of the day around sunset the pilgrims will leave, and they'll have to continue the rituals of hajj. now having 2 million people in one place poses a security threat for the authorities. we understand that they deployed 50,000 security troops to secure the area, not only here but other areas which is considered the rituals of hajj. we also have a health hazard by

2 million people. they need to deploy a lot of medics. we understand 15,000 medical teams are deployed, and they hope that the hajj season will go smooth and well. >> and you can find out much more on our website www.aljazeera.com. >> it's a week of big visits. the leader of one fifth of the world's people, xi jinping has arrived on the world trade center, and the leader of one fifth of the world's people, pope francis, is on the east coast. we'll look west to east, and america's complicated relationship with an ambitious world power.