>> the pontiff and the president. history is made in washington, when pope francis embraces president obama, a missionary is canonized and little sophia cruz gets her wish. east versus west. >> i think if the greeks cannot defend their borders, greece is a sovereign country, let the other countries of the european

union accept it. >> hungary calls the plan unrealizable and nonsense. fraud's fallout. >> there ought to be some progression accusations and corporate executives that knew this and had done it ought to be going to jail. >> volkswagen's embattled ceo resigns as calls grow for people behind the emissions scandal to face strong punishment. and massive mos moscow mosq. >> peupt wants tputin wants to . >> joining president putin for the opening of an elaborate mosque. but critics say putin is using it to gain influence on the world's stage.

good evening, i'm antonio mora, this is al jazeera america. pope francis has wrapped up his first full day in the u.s., sticking to a grueling schedule, and setting the tone for his message to americans. at the white house today the pontiff praised president obama's handling of climate change issues saying it's an urgent problem that cannot be left to future generations. in return the president thanked pope for his efforts in helping restore diplomatic relations between u.s. and cuba. pope francis brought up the issue of sex abuse by priests at a meeting with american bishops. he praised them for handling victims. they said bishops acted only when threatened with lawsuits. the pope elevated 18th century missionary junipero serra to sainthood but many americans took issue with

serra's role with indigenous culture. mike viqueria, with more on the pope's busy day in d.c, busy and joyful. >> when you consider pope benedict, the pope who pree pred him. the catholic church led by pope francis staunchly opposes abortion. but much like a laundry list, no talk of the moral strictures of the catholic church, the first words from pope francis whether he arrived, his first public speech in america, were about immigration. and climate change. and it's clear now after a day of ceremony, speeches and ritual this is a pope who's not going to shy away from controversy.

from the moment he left the vatican embassy in the morning to the indelible scene along his parade route when pope francis saw a young girl held back from the electronic, motioned to her. earlier there was a pomp and ceremony of a white house welcome. speaking publicly for first time in america the pope repeated a stance that has brought him scorn from conservatives. the need to act on climate change. >> humidity has the ability to alter weather, in our common home as christians we wish to commit ourselves to the conscious and responsible care of our common home. >> president obama spoke of

their shared concerns, including rights for migrants and refugees. and showered the pope with praise. >> you shake our conscious fromm slumber. you call us to rejoice in good news and give us confidence that we can come together in humility and service and pursue a world that is more loving, more just, and more free. >> reporter: the two leaders walked to the oval office spending 40 minutes there in what the white house described as a private meeting, offering no details. speaking to 300 bishops at st. joseph's cathedral. >> i realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you and i have supported jury generous commitment to bring healing to victims in knowledge that in healing we too are healed and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be

repeated. >> reporter: later in the day an estimated 26,000 greeted the pope at the national shrine of the immaculate conception. in ancient roots pope francis elevated junipero serra, an 18th century monk credited with bringing christianity to are california. statehood. >> for the source of our joy is an endless desire to show mercy. >> reporter: and antonio another first comes this morning. the first pontiff to address a joint meeting of congress. then back downtown to st. patrick's church to visit catholic charities, meeting with low income and homeless individuals before getting on a plane to go to new york city.

antonio. >> more than 20,000 turned out for that first canonization on u.s. soil, pope francis made a saint out of junipero serra, credited to bringing christianity to california some 200 year ago. but many say serra is no saint, resulted in tens of thousands of indian deaths. melissa chan joins us. what is it that native americans who said that serra's not to be celebrated? >> their conviction that st. serra is not a saint, but a sinner. the two sides are talking past each other, from the native american groups who have been upset ever since the announcement in the spring or actually earlier this year when

pope francis decided that he wanted to turn father junipero serra into a saint. the church is looking at it from a religious perspective, theological perspective, he left europe in the comforts of his home and came to california, very hostile, very far away, the journey itself must have been very dangerous. but from the impact of the mission system on the indigenous populations that's what the native americans are upset about, antonio. >> melissa has the american catholic church ever specifically addressed the concerns about serra? >> the american catholic church has and the vatican as well. pope francis in his trips to bolivia, faced a crowd of indigenous people and apologized

for the sins of the church in the new world. he stopped short of changing his mind on sainthood, especially descendants of those mission indians are still uncomfortable with antonio. >> you have found some who support serra's canonization. >> what's interesting about the convocation ceremony, there were native americans who participated in that ceremony, there was one that carried the relicary. he is from northern california. from one of the missions here, a native american and also a cliblght. but wcatholic. we have vincent medina who read in the native language in that

ceremony, antonio. >> melissa chan in california, thank you. and stay with al jazeera, for the continuing visit of pope francis to congress and the joint address. longest running conflict in the americas, they've agreed to hold a special war crimes tribunal to form a truth commission and to form reparations for victims. first face to face meeting with rebel leaders, secretary of state john kerry called president santos to congratulate him on the deal. the coup in burkina faso is over after only a week. the interim president took back power in the capital, ouagadougo. overnight members of the presidential guard who were responsible for the coup signed a truce with the government. after being released by his

captors the president delivered a public address proclaiming his renewed authority and promising elections. >> translator: the popular reaction in particular that of our youth activists, the unanimous condemnation of this couqueuecuetake acoupdetat. >> demand payment for fighting houthi rebels. they burned tires and blocked streets near hadi's home. the men said they forced houthi rebels out of the city of aden and while some were compensated earlier that month, members of the resistance did not get

paid.. a deeply divided european union is holding an emergency summit on the refugee crisis. german chancellor angela merkel fpt francoifpt francoisfrench ps hollande, the money will be sent through the world food program and the united nations refugee agency to turkey, jordan and lebanon. nisreen shamal reports on that country's desperate need for aid. >> reporter: it was only a dollar and a half a day but it was enough for family to get by. now even that small amount has been cut off as of this month.

it's illegal for refugees to work in jordan but ahmed and abil have no choice. they take turns looking after fatima while the other works. >> we have no more fears for the future. we don't know how much worse off the situation can get. >> it now has to make life and death decisions about who to feed and who to cut off. ali and his family of 11 are the in the same position. he works illegally at a nearby farm. >> would i face all risks to return to syria. i'm being humiliated and enslaved here. i work 13 hours a day for only $14. is it enough for my family? >> the wbf say 70% of refugees in jordan live under the poverty

line. refugees here say they have lost fate in the international community. those who work for humanitarian agencies say they are also frustrated because they are no longer able to maintain their services and are worried that desperation will push some refugees either to go back to syria or to risk the treacherous journey to europe. for many refugees it is a fateful decision they must take in the coming weeks. >> people are now telling us that they have lost hope for a better future in the region. many are considering returning to war in syria and those in the wos situation havworst situatioe told us they will risk their lives to travel to europe. >> resources are drying up without any hem. al jazeera, amman.

xi jinping visited washington state, toured microsoft's headquarters just outside the city. publicly he has said china will remove barriers to foreign trade and worked to protect intellectual profit. allen schauffler joins us from seattle. what is president xi doing tonight allen? >> right now he's wrapping up a visit to a high school in the area. are he is the proud owner of a football jersey. addressing students south of seattle. was on the microsoft campus, by invitation only, a very short list of some very high rollers on the microsoft campus to greet president xi. how does this sound, mark zuckerberg ever facebook, satia

nadella ever microsoft. of microsoft. about two dozen in all business leaders from both america and china. hearing the president of china president xi jinping addressing their concerns about internet security. >> a secure stable and prosperous cyber space is of great significance for peace and development. for not only one country but for the whole world. therefore to study how to govern the internet and make good use of the internet has become an issue of interest to all countries and studied by all countries. no one can stay isolated from this course. >> reporter: and he moved from that meeting down to tacoma to the high school to address the students there. he will hold a private meeting

with members of the chinese american community somewhere tonight and head to the east coast on his first day of his state visit to president obama on thursday. >> and also the announcement of a deal with boeing, a big deal. >> the first really big deal announced in conjunction with this visit. the deal is china has pledged to buy 300 boeing airplanes, i don't have aan exact time frame on that, but 30 to 35 billion a plane at list price and the company is committed to building a plant in china, not an airplane manufacturing plant but what's known as a finishing plant, an area where interiors would be put in paint jobs finished, et cetera. boeing committed to building that plant somewhere in china. >> thanks allen. volkswagen's chief executive resigns and the board of directors vows it will discover

the origin of the cheating software found on a million of its vehicles. and two al jazeera journalists imprisoned for more than a year and a half have been pardoned.

>> volkswagen ceo has resigned in the wake of an emissions cheating scandal. directors say they intend to find out who was responsible. france germany and south korea.

rob reynolds filed this report from volkswagen headquarters. in wostlesburg, germany any. >> company executive martin winterkorn was out. >> part of this new beginning is the offer by professor martin winterkorn to step down and the board acknowledges that with great respect. we want to excise dr. winterkorn had no knowledge of the eapplications issue. >> excused said they were pursuing an internal investigation into how software designed to deceive emissions testing results found its way into 11 million vehicles. >> translator: 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. >> reporter: germans including those who live in volkswagen's

headquarters city voltzberg are concerned about the scandal that has soiled their company's reputation. >> they all knew with it. that is scheming machination, that is criminal dealing if you ask me like a mafia. >> it just can't be true that such a global firm ruins their image like this. >> translator: i am disgusted because they should be rule models. just imagine this type of manipulation is happening at the very top and such huge extent. >> reporter: in the u.s. a chicago attorney is taking legal action on behalf of volkswagen owners. >> the allegation will be that the consumer has been harmed for the full purchase price. plus the consequently damages associateconsequential damage.t.

>> s i >> in germany, there is plan for criminal prosecution. >> there ought to be some prosecutions and corporate executives that knew this had done it ought to be going to jail. >> reporter: volkswagen has already paid a heavy price for the scandal. with its stock falling precipitously and billions in fines looming over it but the exact cost cannot be measured in dollars or euros, that is the loss of its reputation. rob reynolds, al jazeera, wolvesburg, germany. two men have been sentenced to life in prison, two men a tunisian national and a

palestinian were also convicted on four other terror charges. they allegedly received guidance from members of al qaeda in iran. the iranian government denies any involvement in the plot. the men could be eligible for parole in ten years. egypt has pardoned two al jazeera journalists, baher mohamed and mohamed fahmy. >> victoria gatenby reports. >> freedom. >> we're going to travel the world, celebrate, party and we just really hope that this is our families have suffered so much since the beginning of this trial. and we're very happy that president sisi took this action and released us. >> this whole nightmare is over. the whole nightmare is over. we can live like normal people and go back home, enjoy my life

and that's it. >> the pardon by president abdel fatah al-sisi is th the end of a long ordeal, whether they were arrested along with peter greste. he was appearing on a australian tv show. >> if he's got a pardon i hope that baher is out too. it's hard to imagine couple i'm feeling really -- >> exactly. we know. >> we have been fighting for past eight months for this. >> the three journalists face charges including aiding the now band muslim brotherhood. in june of this year a court sentenced them to seven to ten years in prison. then last january the court of castation threw out theirics requests and added ordered a nw

trial. greste was deported to his native australia but mohammed and fahmy were held in egypt. are. >> the issue of the al jazeera journalists in egypt we were clear publicly and privately that they should be released. >> last year the court returned mohammed and fahmy to prison. the retrial was supposed to grant them release but yet, that was denied. president sisi's pardon has allowed him to close this case without threatening the independence of egypt's judiciary. there are, though, other al jazeera staff who were convicted in absent ya at the original trial. >> at the moment we're not hearing that there is a pardon for the rest of us but it is a egyptian hold today. we're wondering whether the

paperwork just has not been released. if that is not the case and we are not actually going to be getting a pardon we will be lobbying at the u.n. general assembly to anyone who will thraifn we werlisten that this g we were doing our jobs and this should not be happening. >> victoria gatenby, al jazeera. a strong denunciation from iran and a warning from the palestinian president. the meaning of a massive new mosque in moscow. the gross number of muslims in rudd. russia.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm antonio mora. coming up in this half hour of international news a sudanese blogger talks about his view of islam and how it's changed over the years. iran's supreme leader is denouncing israel for its policing in east jerusalem. ayatollah khamenei are says the four most problems facing muslims. mahmoud abbas warned it is

breaking down into another intifada nearly two million muslims have gathered where the mohammed gave his final reading. eade el ada or the festival of context. russian president vladimir putin opened moscow's largest and most elaborate mosque today. peter sharp reports from moscow. >> reporter: the moscow cathedral mosque, sun splashed in golden marble. they say it's one of the largest mosques in europe. it can hold 10,000 of the faithful as they come to prayers. there are now nearly 2 million

muslims in moscow alone. hundreds of spiritual leaders from countries around the world attended the ceremony led by president punt putin. among them recep tayyip erdogan. , russian oil tycoon, also dmaid donated funds. the moscow cathedral mosque took ten years to come to fruition, but the grand mufti has a plan to build another one. low level insurgency against the takstate, represents russia's on efforts to develop muslim

education. hopes that monday's ceremony will also resonate in the middle east, the area that the kremlin is anxious to elevate its reputation. >> it is necessary for him because of the situation in the middle east, because of general political situation, global situation. >> appreciation of the cathedral will be just as important in moscow as the regions abroad where the kremlin is anxious to improve its standing. the new mosque helps russia reestablish itself in the middle east. it is a tool for negotiation, a sign of good intention as mr. putin tries to persuade other countries in the middle east to join his coalition against the common enemy,

i.s.i.l. peter sharp, al jazeera, moscow. >> joining us is shere rvetionn, hunter. >> good to be here. >> until this mosque was finished some 2 million muslims only had three official places to worship. >> well, exactly. that is one of the reasons i remember that i visited in the either 2000s is old mosque. and you know, even that was a quite reasonably large place but still was not sufficient for increasing number of muslims some of whom that have come from the countries in central asia and the caucasus and so on. when you have the friday prayer people had to go and pray outside of the mosque. so this is a very you know a

demand that many of moscow's muslims including the religious leadership had. and so this must be a very happy day for all of them. >> and vladimir putin sounded almost like president obama when speaking about islam today. now how much real meaning is there behind this grand gesture of building this very large mosque? >> well, i think that there are two factors involved in this. the first factor which i think frankly is more important than the international dimension is the domestic dimension. russia has alarg a large numberz lippmuslims, muslims have been e even before christianity arrived to russia. this is for political reasons and in order to get the muslim

vote and so on, obviously any russian leader has to make some gestures towards the country's muslim citizens. >> but mos moscow does have a history of animosity towards muslims. and opposes mosques. >> it's been a much more complex relationship. there has been in the past tensions particularly in the 1990s and certainly, the government in russia historically since the time of catherine and until these days, they have always wanted to have some kind of oversight and some kind of control over the activities of the muslim religious leadership. and so one way of achieving that is, has always been, historically, to make some gestures, to try oco-opt them

dom try oshow them that -- >> talking about that control, you know two of the biggest thorns in putin's sides was dagestan and chechnya. he believes 2400 russian ves joined i.s.i.l. is he having broader intentions with this move? >> i don't think so. i think some people are really reading too much into this mosque. certainly putin, like many other leaders of european countries that have large muslim communities although, unlike russia theirs are mostly immigrant, want to combat the influence of the extremist strand of islam among the muslim population. and you know one way of doing

that is to show some kind of concern towards the well-being of their muslim citizen. now, obviously, with doing what he is doing, putin is also showing look i'm going to give you the right to want, you don't need to go and join i.s.i.s. or al qaeda or some other. so yes, obviously, there is this kind of external policy dimension and also, as your reporter mentioned, russia is already an observer at the organization of islamic countries. and obviously, has always tried to use its muslim population as a way to spread its influence in the islamic countries. >> in the middle east and he has to be concerned about extremists, because even though it's been more than a decade,

russian suffered some of the terrorist, theater bombing, it's really a pleasure to have you with us. thank you for joining us. thank you. >> as millions of muslims make the hajj pilgrimage, a sudanese blogger wrote anonymously for years on politics society and religion in sudan and beyond. he has come out of shadows and had an interview. roxana saberi joins us. >> he's using it to share his views on the complexity of islam and how it relates to the world. >> clarity, a word he uses often, the destination of a journey across continents away from his faith and back. >> human rights as believed

deeply engrained in all of us. >> nasser was born in war torn sudan. a beautiful, mystical islam. he discovered a more complicated side, dogma tix. >> i used to blog anonymously. things i do but now with my name

on camera. >> two years later at 26, he finished his memoir. my islam how fundamentalism stole my mind and doubt freed my soul. the book was controversial about that nasser applied for and got political asylum in canada. with a sense of clarity now both about his faith and his purpose. >> and the story just has to be told. this is it, this is story. >> and earlier i sat down with nasser, asked him how thinks experiences have shaped how islam gets expressed throughout the world. >> islam gets expressthrough individual experience and culture. very traditionallallist, i have conservative culture, islam will be expressed tblai. in malaysia, it is a

multicultural country you get to live through that as well. here in america i would say the situation is even more different. you are in a secular democracy, it's an open society. you can have any kind of interpretation of islam from very conservative all the way to mosques which we have heard about that are lgbt friendly. that's possible here. so you have to look at the political context that people are operating in, you have to look at the culture that people are living with. that influences islam and how it's embodied in everyday life. >> you mentioned here, there are many interpretations of islam around the world. but islam is becoming a key issue in a republican presidential primary. ben carson has made remarks whether a muslim can be president of the united states. what do you makes of this discussion? >> i am going to go ahead and be blunt. it's a disgrace and rather falling what he said. ben carson i think believes what he says and i don't think he's

just pandering to his base and i find his comments very troublesome. the fact is before even america, god founded as a country, as we know it today, islam existed here. islam came and arrived with the arrival of the first african slaves some of whom were muslim, practicing and they brought islam with them. not 100 years, 200 years, way longer. that's a fact. as i said before, there's a multiplicity of interpretation. with him speaking about islam as a big monolith one thing, is troubling, he's suffering from a severe case of islamophobia, an exaggerated fear of islam and muslims which is not really founded and based in reality. >> yet ben carson and also donald trump, another candidate who has made is comments about

muslims, have been rising in the polls. do you find that troubling? >> not a at all. i think this is bringing up a lot of anxieties about the makeup of this country from a demographic perspective and what it marines to be an american. >> let's shift to europe. we have seen a fear on the part of some people that christianity can be threatened there, particularly with the huge influx of refugees to europe. >> it is one thing to have letting security concerns and worry about potential attacks. you know? we have to acknowledge that's a possibility. there's been an attack recently in france. but to worry that everyone entering is a potential threat that is the throwing away of responsibility. i think that is unhumane and is

rather not dignified. we need to respect people's dignity and these people are fleeing horrendous appalling circumstances. >> do you see a big role for internet in empoirg som empowerg rfs on the ground? >> some have been using social media, others, to bear witness to the plight of the refugees. we have gotten a lot of images that have gone viral, they have inspected and inspired the world to take action. >> that's err's books are banned in his birth place in sudan. antonio now that he has asylum in canada he feels free to speak out about his book. >> thank you, roxana. what the game of golf is doing

for myrtle beach, south carolina. >> we have upgraded for bigger ships. >> now we go for weeks without water. >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is what innovation looks like. >> can affect and surprise us. >> i feel like we're making an impact. >> awesome! >> techknow - where technology meets humanity.

>> before coming to the u.s. president xi jinping has been tackling corruption in china. one target on that list: golf. more than 600 golf courses were built in china over the last six years, some of them illegally. as patricia sabga explains from myrtle beach, south carolina, some american courses are looking to cash in.

>> deceptively complicated, nowhere is arnold palmer's observation more felt than in china. president xi jinping's 18th-corruptioxi jinping'santic. left many middle class enthusiasts nowhere to swing. >> in china they closed almost 100 golf courses. >> that's where they hope to generate green. by enticing chinese golfers to the course-saturated coastline of myrtle beach, south carolina. >> if we need to be seaside, there's only los angeles and myrtle beach, so we chose myrtle

beach. >> snapped up 22 debt laiden golf courses for $100 million in cash. >> we built too many golf courses in the '80s and '90s and supply got out of sink. when the recession hit one of the first vacations to go was the golf package. >> reporter: so when nick and dan blew into town you must have been, like, c can a kaching! >> chinese golfers don't just bring a passion, they also bring big wallets. in fact the chamber of commerce in myrtle beach estimate that chinese tourists spent five times more than their american counterparts. money that move into local but

if it all comes together, do and liu tell us. they haven't won everyone over yet. >> i know the southern culture. outside people come with a lot of money, change something, they're a bit nervous. >> a mission liu is taking so seriously, he moved his family to myrtle beach and threw his wedding there. >> we have over 200 people,. >> how many were from china? >> 60. >> a charm offensive for a plan that attracted 20 chinese golfers to myrtle beach in september. >> we heard myrtle beach has world class golf courses and

many golf courses. in china we just started getting interested in golf. >> reporter: but getting chinese golfers to flock to myrtle beach in steady droves could prove challenging because there are no direct flights from china. but with no debt hanging over their golf courses, do and liu can sit back, wait to turn a profit and work on their game. sudan, do you play golf? >> a little. i'm a beginning. >> patricia sabga, al jazeera, myrtle beach, south carolina. >> ethiopia has a fast growing economy and its government has turned to ethiopians some who have left the country some in the u.s., to build on that progress. the foundation and the challenges it faces.

>> every saturday night.

>> mexico's kolima volcano erupted twice today, the volcano is part of the pacific's ring of fire and has been kitchen since the start of july. while mexico has more than 3,000 volume cane owes, only 14 is active. now to our global view segment with a look at how news outlets across the world are reacting to various events. >> the australian writes that four and a half weeks of active

opened the way for russia to intervene. russia could play a role against i.s.i.l. the jordan times also writes about the deployment of russian jets in syria. washington is submitting conflicting signals,. and the times of london offers this simple editorial cartoon take on volkswagen's emissions test rigging scandal. and overturned vw beetle. off the radar tonight, ethiopia is one of the fastest growing economies in africa. charldchaferredz charles

stratford has this story. somewhere. >> come back to ethiopia and opened a night club in addis ababa. >> attracting people from all over the world and in my experience, working in the service industry, it was an easy decision for me, very exciting. >> reporter: ethiopians left in the a.m. 70s and '80s whether the communist junta came in. but yoach ethiopi ethiopia has e fastest growing economies in the world. but it has to attract investment

from the estimated 2.5 million ethiopians living abroad. it is estimated the ethiopian didiaspora contributes 2.5 billn to the economy, through remittances. the government continues to encourage the help of ethiopians laifnsliving abroad. many help fund the political opposition. >> they have to take part in investment in trade, in technology transfer, maybe. in looking f markets for ethiopian commodities, and that is what those in the diaspora are doing now. we are brick by brick building a new democratic system. we cannot say this is perfect because this is a process. >> reporter: analysts say the

diaspora's experience is vital. >> the knowledge the know how and the global exposure. and the world class way of doing things that they bring to an emerging economy like ethiopia. you have to look at it from two aspects. growth of the ethiopian economy over the last ten years, when you see foreign direct investment coming in large volumes and a concerted effort to attract these people and showing them what's going on i think is starting to resonate. >> reporter: that's certainly true for sammy and dee. a growth to a country they always called home. charles stratford, al jazeera, ethiopia. >> that's it for al jazeera

news, i will see you again in an hour. >> on "america tonight": keeping the faith even when his love was rejected. >> the problem is that he is a hole owe sexual. >> this is in big capital letters. >> why is this permitted. >> "america tonight" merrit mers lori jane gliha. >> and the pope's words offer comfort. is he askin