>> diplomacy over dinner. the key speeches show divisions remain over i.s.i.l. and syria. hello i'm maryam nemazee. northeastern afghanistan. german prosecutors open a an

investigation into former ceo of volkswagen, martin wirt corn. winterkorn. and is there life on the red planet? tackling islamic state of iraq and the levant and ending the war in syria have dominated the first day of the united nations general assembly in new york. world leaders have taken turns to offer their solutions but there are clear divisions in approach between russia and the u.s. in the past half hour russian president vladimir putin has sat down for dinner with u.s. president barack obama and u.n. secretary-general, ban ki-moon. a new approach for targeting i.s.i.l, cannot include syrian president bashar al-assad. >> we think it is an enormous

mistake to refuse to cooperate with the syrian government and its armed forces fighting terrorism face to face. no one but bashar al-assad's armed forces are truly fighting islamic state of iraq and the levant and other terrorist organizations in syria. >> but while military power is necessary it is not sufficient to resolve the situation in syria. lasting stability can only take hold when the people of syria forge an agreement to live together peacefully. the united states is prepared to work with any nation, including russia and iran, to resolve the conflict. ra but we must recognize that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the pre-war status quo. >> iranian president hassan

rouhani says his country is willing to help in the armed fight against i.s.i.l. in syria and yemen. >> we propose that the fight against terrorism be incorporated into a binding international document and no country be allowed to use terrorism for the purpose of intervention in the affairs of another country. we are prepared to assist in the eradication of terrorism, and in paving the way for democracy, and ensuring that arms do not dictate the course of events in the region. as we aided the establishment of democracy in iraq and afghanistan, we are prepared to help bring about democracy in syria as well as yemen.

emir of qatar said under the shadow of assad's government. >> the syrian regime has manipulated the concept of terrorism by depicting peaceful demonstrations as terrorism, while it has been practicing actual acts of terrorism, when the shelling and killing of civilians brought together armed actions, broughting to organizations that are not committed to the demands of the syrian revolution without permission, syria has turned into a war stone. then the regime has attempted to scare the international communities of the alternative. it was incumbent upon the international community to stop the massacres at the right time and provide the conditions for the syrian people to put forward a rational, civil and fair alternatively. but is there a tyranny in the

world that could acknowledge an alternative? is it possible for a tyranny to allow an alternative to grow and develop under its shadow? >> london school of economics and political science joins us in the studio now. could we be looking at a new strategy in tackling the conflicts in syria? >> i wish i could say so. two clark narratives, america says assad is a terrorist, the russians say assad is a force of stability, the syrian army is the most likely force to engage i.s.i.s, while the americans say there is no way. so how do you bridge this divide? how do you really basically bring about a compromise between the americans, who cannot even

say that assad might stay because even if they believe it because there are some major consequences. and the russians are bent on challenging american power. not just in syria but in ukraine. the most important statement in the speech for president putin, he said we cannot accept an international system based on american hegemony, never. this tells me a great deal how he views the world. >> are the russians as committed to assad's permanent survival in syria as they perhaps were, have been in the past? is there some room to maneuver there? >> russia has been supporting assad for more than four years. without russian support assad would not have survived. now between assad and syria, whether you have 200 or 2,000, the fact is russia says we're here to stay, no one can intervene to topple assad.

>> things regime can't fine withousphiervesurvivewithout as. >> syria is not important for russia, syria is a bargaining card against the americans. putin basically is using syria vis-a-vis ukraine. the americans keep saying we're going to talk to putin about ukraine, russians say no no, ukraine is over, we're going to talk about syria. that tells you the difference in agendas of both sides. >> when you think about critics at home and allies in the gulf? >> you're absolutely right. barack obama has come within tremendous criticism, from within the right of the united states, they're walking all over

him, and they want him to assert american power. but the fact the initial part of your question the americans have no choice but to work with the iranians and russians, because for barack obama, the middle east is not a priority for barack obama. the europeans would like to invest strategic assets, russian moves in syria and elsewhere, and that's why they have accepted the russian fait accompli in syria. >> thank you very much for your analysis. now moving to afghanistan. the taliban has attacked and is said to be in control of half of a strategic northern city. kunduz was the taliban's northern stronghold until government was overthrown in 2001. afghan security force he are said to be fighting back against

a force of taliban fighters. eight police officers said to have been killed and more than 50 wounded. stefanie dekker reports. >> reporter: the moment taliban fighters broke open kunduz prison. jail atechnical is a string of attacks that has left open the majority of kundut city . >> monobody is in the streets or the city. they are worrying about the attacks. >> the afghan interior ministry has sent special air informs and ground attacks, fighters surrounded the city in the early morning hours of monday. government forces say the city will be retain. there have been casualties on both sides, bodies of taliban

fighters and civilians. caught up in the battle for the city. it is the first time the taliban has taken such control of kunduz since the u.s. led invasion in 2001. the former northern stronghold before their government was overthrown 14 years ago. taliban fighters still hold some of the province which lies in the north of the country with plain roads connecting it to the rest of afghanistan and the capital kabul. the u.s. and nato left afghanistan last year leaving afghan forces to fight the forces alone. the question is can they do it again, stefanie dekker acknowledge al jazeera. >> air strike on a wedding party on yemen that killed at least 38 people. yemeni government forces say it happened in a village near al

moja. dozens of people have also been injured. while six months into the war in yemen, the second city aden is in ruins. the government is trying to unite forces, but further north the fighting rages on. hashem ahelbarra has more. >> reporter: the city of aden is under government control, entire areas were destroyed during months of fighting between shia houthi rebels and government is troops. security forces patrol neighborhoods. most of these fighters are members of the secessionist movement, a group of armed southerners who want the south to break away from the north. >> we are at the palace which the houthis keep taking over. they are the ones that ousted the rebels from the palace,

getting stability to return to aden. >> reporter: president abd rabbu mansour hadi last the task of reuniting the forces. his security for aden and the south, hadi's government has so far rejected calls for talks with his rivals, insisting the houthis must surrender. >> the publish yah group has too comply fully, to with stan violence and to recognize that there is no solution in yemen, unless they return back to where we started before, the 21st of september last year. >> ta'izz is another major battle front. these are government fighters

trying to push the rebels out of districts they control. backed by elite army units loyal to former president ali abdullah saleh, the houthis still hold ground. hashem ahelbarra, al jazeera. now there have been more clashes at the al-aqsa mosque compound in occupied east jerusalem. israeli military fired stun grenades. more to come for you after break including tens of thousands of people are without power in taiwan as a powerful typhoon batters the island. and a spectacular lunar event that is amazing sky-watchers across the worlds. >> what do you want american's to understand? >> there's so much injustice.

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stories >> welcome back to al jazeera. a recap of the top stories for you now. working with russia to find a resolution to the conflict in syria. new way to deal with islamic state of iraq and the levant, he said that a broad anti-terror coalition was needed to deal with i.s.i.l, in syria and the middle east. the emir of qatar, has been the strongest statement calling

it a tyranny. german prosecutors have launched an investigation into the former chief executive of volkswagen. the investigation into martin winterkorn is focusing on fraud. wurntwinterkorn resigned last wednesday. volkswagen subsidiary audi has admitted that 2.1 million of its cars were fitted with the emissions software. rob reynolds from berlin. >> the public prosecutor's office in the city of browns schweig has nowfnsed tha announs investigating martin winterkorn. the focus of the probe will be

volkswagen's now admitted scheme to cheat emissions testing by implanting special software into 11 million of its vehicles that make their diesel engines appear when tested to be less polluting when in fact they were much more polluting, driven on the highway under conditions. it was less than a week ago that winterkorn was a highly respected executive with nearly unlimited ambitions, the country that sold more cars than any other car maker in the world. today he is in disgrace and out of a job and facing potential criminal charges. there is news that the audi division of volkswagen has announced that it has more than 2.1 million of its vehicles are involved in this emissions testing cheating scandal as

well. german authorities have given volkswagen a little bit over a week to come up with a timetable to describe how the company will bring these polluting vehicles back up to national standards for emissions. as far as winterkorn is concerned when he resigned last week he made a point of saying he had no knowledge of this scheme to cheat the emissions test, and the board of directors of volkswagen, as they accepted winterkorn's resignation also said there was no evidence that they had, that he had any such knowledge. now, the new ceo of volkswagen group is from their porsche division, his name is matteas mueller, he has been with the company a number of years and obviously he has a very large job to do. volkswagen faces more than $18 billion in potential fines in the united states alone. and since news of the scandal

broke it's share price has fallen off a cliff. >> sepp blatter says he will remain fifa president until february despite criminal investigations being opened against him. he says he has done nothing illegal or improper. the 79-year-old has been accused of making an illegal payment to uefa, but defended the payment as valid compensation for the organization as advisor. researchers analyzed dark streaks that can be seen on the surface of mars. they believe those streaks are the periodic flow of salty water, the historic findings set the groundwork for research into signs of life on mars. >> when you look at earth, the

water is a central ingredient in just about, not just about, everywhere we go where there's liquid water whether it's deep in the eart or in th earth or id regions we find life. this is tremendously exciting. we haven't been able to answer the question does life exist beyond earth. but that is a critical element. we now have great opportunities to be in the right locations on mars to thoroughly investigate that. now spain's prime minister has addressed the country for calm. after the broad coalition might prove difficult to unite. jonah hull is in barcelona where he asks what's next for independence agenda. >> reporter: on sunday night catalans partied like freedom had arrived but morning brought more sober analysis.

in madrid the prime minister called for calm. he held out the prospect of talks and promised to use the constitutional court to block any reports of independence. spanish press they won the election but lost the referendum. the majority of catalans don't want to go. >> they have a national majority but they have failed to get 50% of the vote. that was actually very difficult, but had they done that then they would have an extra legitimate meas tha mease. >> that absolute majority in parliament depends on a far left party joining the coalition, a citizens unit that has already called for acts of civil disobedience against the government had madrid.

>> you plan to bring in the far left, the anticapitalists, how in the world do you plan to agree with one another let alone declare independence? >> it is called democracy. we are living in an exceptional moment and we're going to manage the situation according to the polls. obviously, the diversity of the society is clear but we are in the transitional period and we'll manage this the best way we can. >> they are making a good show of these plans but really this is the broadest most opportunistic of arrangements. you can't help but a little bit the hopes of independence are being planted here in slightly shaky political ground. but the triumph of democracy is seldom a victory for everyone. >> translator: i hope it ends with an agreement and that catalans get a better deal than this. i hope it doesn't end in a big

confrontation with catalans, i hope it turns out well. >> reporter: there, in those words lie the hope of everyone jonah hull, al jazeera. hundreds of thousands of homes are without leverage after typhoon dujuan hits. jamilla alle allen allendogan he story. >> taiwan is home to almost 3 million people, more than a thousand soldiers are helping people leave their homes to reach iforreach safety. the mayor of taipei says the city is as safe as it can be.

>> according to our check lest, one by one, this way everyone is better prepared. >> reporter: taiwan is still repairing damage from over a month ago. at least eight people were killed. dujuan is forecast to be stronger than last month's typhoon. >> the waves and the wind are so big today but the coast is blocked so i couldn't see very much. just staying here to take a look would be just great. >> reporter: waves are expected to swell to five meters. thousands have already been evacuated from taiwan's outlying islands. the typhoon has disrupted plans here, real stations are operating double today in order to accommodates those who are trying to come home because the typhoon has come ashore ashore r than earlier predicted.

high wind speeds and driving rain. taiwan's weather office says dujuan has stronger winds than in 20 years. dujuan threatens to be worse than many have seen before. the true damage is still being assessed. protesters are on the streets in hong kong demanding political change. a year ago, tens of thousands rallied to demand democratic reform and the right to choose their next leader, without the interruption of the chinese government. shut down key operations for 79 days but failed to receive concessions from beijing. rob mcbride has more. >> they came to the spot where a year ago, thousands forced their way through police cordons to

start the occupy movement. in a carnival atmosphere, it was a chance to remember the community that flourished for 79 days. >> to think about what we should learn from the past experience. >> just to remember what happened last year this time. >> reporter: more radical groups had called for another attempt to take over the streets. and start a surge towards the barricades it was clear that thousands of police would not allow a repeat. there was little appetite from the protesters themselves. 12 months ago, i.t. was a it waa different story when a sea of umbrellas brought central hong kong to a standstill. an exhibition of artifacts and what they present provides a reminder of the movement that drew tens of thousands of people onto the streets. >> we hope people will reflect on some muchs of the issues we've raised for movement.

to start a discussion and continue the dialogue. >> for hong kong's democracy groups this is a work in progress. >> doesn't mean that we have to give up. we have failed the democratic movement already. we have to do what we can. >> reporter: even the occupy organizers themselves admit it did not work, that china did not make any concessions on how hong kong chooses its leaders but these protesters insist it did empower a whole generation and events like this help keep the spirit alive. rob mcbride, al jazeera, hong kong. >> it's a special time to gaze at the skies. jerald tan has the details. >> a rare celestial show. when the skylights up with a blood moon. a total lunar eclipse and a

super-moon. that's when a full moon is at its closest distance from the erlt, appearinearth, and appeard brighter than usual. >> it is spectacular. >> the moon cast a reddish glow over rio's epanema beach. the event was visible from the americas to africa, western asia and europe. in the french capital those seeking the best seats in the house headed to mon montmarte, e highest part of paris. >> it's very beautiful. >> beautiful and exceptionally uncommon. this double-lunar treat was last

observed in 1982. it won't happen again until 2033. jerald tan, al jazeera. >> remember more on that story and everything else we're covering on our website. this is where you need to go, aljazeera.com. hello, i'm dominique gisin, and you are at the -- richard gizbert, and you are at "the listening post". among the stories, syria - television soldiers on. >> egypt - abdul fatah al-sisi intervenes finally in the case of the al jazeera 3. and the kremlin backed news channel in trouble with british