>> the u.s. reaches out to iran as part of a renewed diplomatic effort to end the syria conflict. hello again from doha everyone, i'm kamal santa maria, this is the world news from al jazeera. u.n. and french soldiers are deployed to control an outbreak of violence in africa. and a year has passed since

the disappearance of 43 students in mexico. and the pope in philadelphia. >> so we've got the euts autos d states and the european union, frederica mogherini discuss the issue, and will likely reach out to russia which has increased its military presence in syria. diplomatic editor james bays in new york. >> all eyes will be on russian president vladimir putin when he makes a whistle stop to new york spending less than a full day in the u.s. to attend the united nations general assembly. everyone wants to know what his intention are regarding syria. on one hand a russian military build justify, putin has sent marines, hepts and tank helicop.

when on "talk to al jazeera" i asked frederica mogherini if she has any idea what russia is doing. >> i have talked about these days and last time i talked to him about this, his fear was that of a complete collapse of the state structures in syria. this could be one of the reasons why russia is acting in this way, but it could also be a willingness to show the fact that russia is an important substantial player in this crisis. >> reporter: syria was on the agenda too when u.s. secretary of state john kerry met iranian foreign minister mohammed javad zarif in new york but neither

was willing to discuss what was said away from cameras. >> i'm not going to talk about that individually right now but i view this week as a major opportunity for any number of countries to play an important role in trying to resolve some very difficult issues of the middle east. >> reporter: president obama will address the general assembly on the same day as president putin monday. he'll be aware of some recent set backs for u.s. policy. the pentagon has admitted that some of those it's been training, so-called moderate rebels have handed over some of their equipment, vehicles and ammunition to the el nusra front. another development involves iraq a key member of the u.s. coalition against i.s.i.l. according to russia iraq will join it iran and controversial controversially, to be based in

baghdad. james bays, new york. >> "talk to al jazeera" screens at 1430 gmt on monday. ceasefire on the syrian lebanon border has seemed to broken down. vidges odown. villages of foa and dabalia, to withdraw to idlib province, in return, rebels from idlib, to leave those encircled villages. now at least 21 people have been killed and 100 others injured in an outbreak of violence in central african republic. muslims attacked a christian neighborhood, after a taxi driver was killed in bungi. we're going to talk to jonathan pednar now, a researcher for

amnesty international. we thank you for your time. we have this trigger incident of a muslim taxi driver being killed. that is what this incident is about, underlying tension, flash point and suddenly explodes into violence again. >> indeed. what we're seeing at the moment is a replay of what we were seeing last year in those tit-for-tat violence and attacks between communities. that really highlights the fact that in karr right now, the depth of the problem hasn't really improved so much. there is still an awful lot of tension between the two communities and that recent violence sadly illustrates that. >> remind us of those problems. remind us of the back story. where last it all stemmed from? >> well as some may remember back in 2013, a group of rebels

coming from the north, seleka coalition took powered in banghi and those rebels took over a number of exactions, which led to the creation of antibalaka militias, and these militia men were keen on dislodging. and in so doing they attacked the muslim community that was seen in favor of the selecka and supportive of them. through that process what we saw was waves of massive displacement of both the muslim and nonmuslim community leading to what we describe as ethnic cleansing especially in western karr of the muslim minority. now the situation has improved a little bit, of intervention of the french force and the u.n. peace keeping mission.

>> the u.n. force is not effective enough that there is violence like this which flares or are there not enough of them or what's your take on the u.n. force there? >> well there's certainly not a enough of them. karr is a very large territory. what we understand in bangi, what the u.n. has is only a police operation, the military side of the mission is presently outside of the capital. because no one was quite expecting this recent wave of violence, you know it took many people by surprise. and despite the underlying tension that still exists, but certainly the u.n. is -- the u.n. mission in the central african republic remains understaff, they don't have enough material, and we have seen a decrease in attention from the international community that hasn't been keen on funding and putting efforts to getting

the country back to a good path. >> jonathan appreciate your time. i know it's late there so thank you very much for your time. >> thank you, cheers. thousands are marking the one year anniversary of the disappearance of 43 students to local police. families reject the official investigation. this report from lucia newman. >> reporter: it's been exactly 12 months since 43 students depicted in these photographs disappeared without a trace. and their families supported by thousands of other mexicans are here to say that they will not rest until they get satisfaction. >> translator: i am so sad. i want my son returned to me, along with all the others. >> reporter: the students were attacked and abducted by police in league with drug traffickers and local authorities in igwala

in western mexico. even in this country so shell shocked by widespread violence it's a crime that's outraged mexicans, scandalized public opinion and embarrassed the government and it's become a symbol of the degree of impunity corruption and brutality for which defenseless mexicans suffer. >> this is symbolic of what's happened throughout mexico where 25,000 have disappeared in recent years. >> reporter: this was not just a popular to remember the missing students. it was the latest opportunity to express anger at mexico's government, accused of rushing to coughing up th cover up the . with an investigation that was flawed. >> it is unacceptable that this is happening. we cannot remain silent. any of our children could be next. >> reporter: president enrique

pena nieto who met earlier this week with the families agreed to reopen the investigation and vows to keep it open as long as necessary. but the parents do not trust authorities. and are demanding that independent investigators from the interamerican human rights commission really in mexico for as long as it takes to find the missing students. the commemoration of one year since this crime will continue over the weekend. underscoring the anger but also the impo impotence of millions f mexicans not knowing the whereabouts of the students. lucia newman, al jazeera, mexico city. pope francis made his remarks in philadelphia, allen fisher was there. >> reporter: for the

78-year-old pope the last leg of an exhausting trip to the americas, philadelphia, a greeting as warm as any. his first engagement in the city of brotherly love, a papal mass. this was about pomp and ceremony, a reminder of francis's role as the leader of the world's 1.2 billion catholics. but with this pope, politics is never far away. >> buenos tardes. >> the place where the constitution was founded. >> when a country determined to remain true to its founding principles, those principles which were foundational based on respect and human dignity, that country is strengthened and renewed. >> reporter: for some in the

crowd this was the francis they expected and revered. >> i think it was a deep message for us and knowing that the pope is actually talking about it, is giving us more hope and hopefully, it will make a lot more changes to us immigrants. >> i think it's wonderful and we can't hear it enough. immigrants have continually brought so much to this country and especially to our church and we continue to need to welcome immigrants who you know do so much for this country. >> reporter: but away from the smiling faces and some distance from the pope angry voices, angry that he has failed to adequately address the issue of child sex abuse in the church. some of which for some people is troubling. >> i don't think that is what a lot of folks would like to hear, i don't think he's addressing that. >> there are those who believe

this pope is too political, he hasn't been here before and doesn't fully understand the country but it is clear that pope francis will use the goodwill he enjoys to make political points about issues he believes are central to his faith. allen fisher, al jazeera, philadelphia. >> in the news ahead on al jazeera. >> i'm teresa vo, in argentina where a mother is hoping that the pope's visit will save her son's life. more and more in rural kenya are developing a thirst for success.

>> what do you want american's to understand? >> there's so much injustice. >> workers are being injured constantly.

>> tom stories for you here on al jazeera. the u.s. and the european union has approached iran to try to find a solution to the refugee crisis. discussing the issue with iran's foreign minister in new york. gunmen, violence between christians and muslims have killed thousands of people in the last two years and pope francis is in philadelphia, the last leg of his u.s. visit. gaifg ospeech agiving a speech c independence hall. in argentina, one woman's hope that the 78-year-old

pontiff's stand against capital punishment will help her son. >> reporter: lydia guerrero has been fighting for her son's life for 20 years. her son victor saldano was convicted of murder in 1976. now she's hoping that pope francis will help get her son off of death rose. >> translator: we traveled to the vat casino. we heard he was interested in pushing our case. >> reporter: saldano who had entered the country illegally, was accused of killing a aman while he was high on crack. but in 1992, the u.s. supreme court sent the case to a lower

court saying there was discrimination. >> when this kind of discrimination happens during a trial is the worst kind because what is at stake was life and freedom. the supreme court said we were right and annulled the first trial. >> reporter: a second trial took place and he was again found guilty. >> he had been on death row for nine years, he was crazy, they were judging a mentally unstable man and the reason was the treatment people receive while on death row which is inhumane and degrading. >> saldano spends 23 hours a day in solitary confinement. >> like most countries in america, argentina does not have capital punishment.

pressuring the country to abolish it. >> does not promote freedom but fosters vengeance. that's why saldano's family are pressuring the pope. teresa vo, al jazeera, cordova. yemenis, fears that prolonged fighting in yemen and the rising number of refugees could strain resources over in somalia. mohammad adow explains. >> this is all they will get today. those here are the latest to arrive. talal mohammed was one of them. >> he was injured in the yemeni

city of aden. >> i was driving ambulance when i got hit by a mortar. i feared for my family's safety and couldn't provide for them anymore. >> there is no let up of yemenis arrived in somalia. the town's only university is now their home. an official from the yemeni embassy comes to check on them. he is unwelcome, tempers are quickly lost here. is judge. >> translator: we want to be taken out of this country. somalia isn't safe. we can't live here when we don't feel secure enough. somalia has no capacity to care for us. >> reporter: among the refugees are unaccompanied children, separated from their

families in the rush to escape. many still don't know the location of their relatives. eight-year-old kasem is one of them. >> i'm ready to go back to home but don't know how to find my family. >> added to that thousands of somalis are returning home to escape the war there. it's a situation made worse by more than a million people already displaced across somalia by conflict drought and hunger. the u.n. says at least three million people in somalia are in need of aid. but despite their own problems, the local community continues to give to the refugees. this tribal king has been leading the efforts to feed them. he has just brought them a fresh supply of food. >> reporter: what we give the refugees isn't enough. they require urgent and adequate

help, but most importantly shelter. >> reporter: most people here are happy to have survived. they said life in somalia is hard but it's still better than being shot in the violence in yemen. mohammad adow, al jazeera, northeastern somalia. >> volkswagen has stopped the sale of cars with outdated emissions systems. volkswagen replaced its ceo with mathias mueller. fines could top $18 billion. catalonia is preparing for its election on sunday. catalonia's president says he's planning a formal split with spain if the election achieves

enough votes. >> reporter: the culture of catalonia, distinct from the rest of spain, suppressed during decades of dictatorship. it's a region that still feels its voice is often ignored by mamadrid. would sunday's election change all that? >> i will be voting yes because i think it's a great opportunity for us the catalon people to be heard. >> reporter: the spanish state has thrown its full weight behind the opposition, warning of the dire consequences of catalan independence, possible expulsion from the european union. >> we don't want to leave the european union, we want our pensions to be guaranteed and we want a good home for our

children. >> catalon accounts for a fifth of spain's domestic product. is catalonia rich enough to survive as an independent state? >> the question is, would spain be able to exact high cost? the answer is yes. of course that would not be free for spain either because it has a large debt that would have hard times paying back without catalonia's contribution. >> if catalonia does become an independent state, maybe this will be its army in red and blue. barcelona football club, el barsa, for years the banned catalan language was spoken free

from general franco's police. the fans go wild, scream for their idols, like lionel messe, but they boo the spanish national anthem, they unfurl banners that say, ca catalonia s not spain. the spanish football federation says catalonia may be banned from la league, or an added layer of acrimony, jonah hull, al jazee, barcelona. the chinese president xi jinping has pledged $2 billion to aid poor countries. when he committed beijing to a total of $20 billion by 2030. follows a long standing criticism from the united states that china has not lived up to

its responsibilities in line with its irgs intos fo aspiratia greater role. gender equality, supporting women and girls, bring about improvements to entire societies. this is part of our women make change series. al jazeera spoke to rosie atenia. >> men do not feel the pinch of going to get water from the river. this is a village called odeso village. the only source of water here is this river, very dirty very contaminated. so every time we tested the water it was full of e. coli.

>> i had a problem of getting water in my facility. actually how i met rose, her mother was sick, she came to be treated, we told them if we get water in the facility it is a little better for the patients. >> water for women by the women. >> to me, water is life. once you have water in the house, other things are less. reduce water to the house, this development activities within the community entirely changes the county, then the county changes kenya, kenya changes the worlds. >> so while world leaders gather for the u.n. general assembly, top m musicians niche held a

concert. gabriel elizondo has this in new york. [♪ singing ] >> a free concert like no other. they packed new york's central park to listen to british rock band cold play and other top acts. but there was a catch. to secure a place in the lottery, fans first had to take action to end poverty. they had to call or write their government representatives, tweet about the cause and signings petitions. >> i tweeted, and sent messages to my m mfngs members of congress.

>> the event was strategically timed to make the biggest impact at the same time, on the other side of town more than 100 world leaders are meeting at the united nations to develop the sustainable development goals aimed at eliminating world poverty in the next 15 years. the best way they can contribute to that is mobilization from the ground up. the concert is in its fourth year. this year there were an estimated 60,000 people, organizers expecting no lead as social activists ready to spring into action. >> only thing i can say is the overwhelming number of people are continuing to take action long after the concert is gone.

>> gabriel elizondo, new york. >> check out the website, for the latest news and in depth articles, blogs, you name it, it's there, aljazeera.com. >> this week on talk to al jazeera - sonia manzano, otherwise known as maria on 'sesame street'. >> i can't believe i did it. if someone had suggested that this was gonna be my future, i would have suggested that they commit themselves to the nearest insane asylum. >> manzano also wrote for the children's television series and would share in 15 emmy awards. she was a trailblazer - the first leading latina on american television. but after 44 years, manzano is retired. >> it's very hard for me to get across to kids, or people who weren't around in