announcer: this is al jazeera. welcome to the newshour live from our headquarters in doha. coming up in the next 60 minutes, afghan forces send reinforcements to retake kond us, the first major city captured by the taliban since 2001 the russian parliament approves vladimir putin's request to deploy troops aproid tens of thousands of protesters take part in anticorruption marches in south

africa and heated exchanges in the congress as the head of planned parenthood is grilled over the alleged selling of foetal tissue. we begin in afghanistan where n.a.t.o.'s special forces have been fighting the taliban near kunduz airport. early wednesday n.a.t.o.'s forces reached the northern city. the troops are to bolster the afghan army. fighting has been focused around the airport. "techknow" reports. >> reporter: there are no

>> reporter: there are no government troops left here, taliban fighters are in control of kunduz city. here they are symbolically raising their flag in the city square. >> the battle is not over. the afghan government has the afghan government has announced a major military announced a major military operation to recapture kunduz. >> in the first place we should take care of casualties. the enemy conceded heavy damages. i don't want to go into the detail of the operations. >> special forces have been brought in. the u.s. military will strike on the outskirts of the city. this has prison guilt yea because the taliban set up booby traps along the way. as part of the takeover taliban gunmen broke over the prison. releasing inmates. most of them former taliban fighters. taliban commanders convinced the president not to worry and go about their daily lives. it will be difficult with a major operation under way. it's a significant territorial gain that fighters made since 2001, when the government was deposed by the u.n. led invasion.

it coincides with ashraf ghani's first anniversary as president. and the first year afghan forces are facing the taliban alone. after u.s. and n.a.t.o. troops pulled out last year. >> a counterterrorism operation remains, but the recent news is the boldest in a long campaign by the taliban to take more control of the country, a strong message to whoever is watching that 14 years after being deposed and battling forces, the taliban can take control of a major city in less than 24 hours. >> why is kunduz a strategically important city? it's one of the largest cities. ? northern afghanistan. it's estimated around 300,000 live there. it's a strategically important transport hub. it's linked by highways to the south. and with tajikistan in the north. the border is porous, it's used for the smuggling of opium and heroin.

some of the drugs are then transported to europe. control of kunduz carries symbolic bayou, one of the last taliban enclaves to fall before the 2010 invasion. let's get the latest. we go to our correspond 45km south of kunduz. what is the latest you are hearing on the fight. >> n.a.t.o. issued a statement saying special forces reached the province. they are there to assist forces. now, in the plast few month. the taliban are little them leave the city. people are complaining about a

shortage of food, and there is no electricity. so life is miserable in the city. in the meantime the city of kunduz getting ready for an upcoming battle. >> are n.a.t.o. special forces engaging the taliban in kunduz. >> they are engaging. they would be with them. we heard in the morning they would fight taliban, but it was not easy. they are back in the airport trying to plan a bigger obligation. these are getting air support. they are trying to push further.

they are trying to get closer. they are attacked by taliban. what lacking for the army. as you say. by the u.s. air strikes, they have not managed to progress. what is not working out for the army? >> in the past two days, over 1,000 afghan security forces are well armed. and just in this election. whenever we talked with the commander, with the shoulder, they are saying lack of communication among the forces. it's a mixture of different forces, and a lack of leadership. no one wants to take the lead. they have set up an ambush and

are waiting for a battalion to come in and clear the road. then they need ta clear the villages around the highway, and then they'll advance. the villages under control of taliban. it's not been under control of taliban for some time now. >> thank you very much for the update. >> now the world news, an indian court is sentencing 5 million to death for planting bombs in 2006. the court sentenced to five people to death for planting the bombs. 189 were killed in the attack. several others sentence said to life in prison. more from new delhi. give us the details of the sentence. well, it's taking 9 years to take the conviction, because of a number of delays involved. the five people given the death sentence were accused of being

the ones planting the bombs themselves. but the prosecution itself lengthened the trial by calling 200 witnesses to the stand, and at one point the supreme court of india got involved after one the accused contested his rest under anti-terrorism laws, delaying the trial by about two years. a little while ago the lawyer for the convict says he'll appeal the conviction and if he needs to, the supreme court and the president of india - this is a process that will take days, but could take years to complete. >> so if it's going to take years to complete, are we to ensure the case is closed or will the appeal process go through, do you think? >> well, the appeals process will take time. 15 people they believe are at large, including the mastermind of the attack.

investigators belief the same group that planned this attack were responsible. many are pleased with the convictions. but only feel the case will be resolved when all have been charged russia's upper house of parliament approved the use of military force abroad. this coming as moscow is in the process of building up military presence in syria, where it supports president bashar al-assad. let's get more from moscow. >> what does the decision mean, and will be see direct russian involvement in syria very soon? >> well, i think we are, in terms of air strikes. we have heard that between 40 and 60 attack aircraft and fighter bombers are now in the process of being deployed to the

base near latakia. they'll be joined by two battlians, 1600 men, support battalions, who will secure the perimeter of the airfield. now, vladimir putin's press secretary verl this morning said the targets of the attack would be i.s.i.l. fighters, they will not involve any syrian militant groups. and this will be - sorry, this will be coordinated by an intelligence committee, which has been set up in baghdad, involving specialists from the syrians, from the iranians, and from, of course, the russians. there's no time duration on this. there's a time limit. it will not go on forever. we won't know how long it will take. >> you have russian exercises off the coast of syria, what are

they about. is n.a.t.o. concerned about these exercises? >> this is it a major contention from the black sea fleet, in the process of deploying in waters between cypress and syria, off the cyprus coast. it involves the russian flag ship. missile cruises, amphibious and landing craft. now, it is, according to the un convention of the sea. it is not illegal for this to take place, but this will be a live fire zone and civilian aircraft van warned away from the area, causing concern to n.a.t.o. they are saying more armed vessels are moving into it, are highly militarized situation, which could threaten the stability of the middle east. >> peter sharp in moscow, thank you very much for that. >> meanwhile, israel's defence ministry ruled out coordination

with russia. that's after russian president vladimir putin expressed concern over israeli air strikes, and called for discussions on the matter. >> israel is a regional power in a sense, situated in this region. and we should respect interest in the state of israel. it is not indifferent to what is happening in this country. at the statement there are some questions that caused concerns. all this subject was discussion by the experts, and it will continue on a bilateral basis. prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation into french government accusations. the syrian observatory for human rights says 30 people have been killed in an i.s.i.l. training camp, these are casualties which

bygone on sunday. >> a vessel was topped off the coast of imam. the bite was manned by 14 iranians, and antitank shells. they are fighting the rebels in yemen. >> stay with us on the al jazeera newshour. still ahead, germany says thousands are syrian, we need some of them. >> a new wave of unrest. in sport. the not so handy decision this footballer quickly made.

first to south africa, where thousands are taking part in marches in pretoria and cape town. it cost the country millions, and affect the most vulnerable. some of the people most vulnerable to corruption in south africa are those desperate to stay in the country. before 6:00a.m. the cue of asylum seekers is already long. they are easy pray for officials and private citizens, seeking bribes and sampling those that paid. this young woman has been coming for days to get the papers extended, paying the equivalent of $10 to queue, and is likely it pay more inside. >> i pay 100, and today was it. >> can you get anywhere without paying money. >> no you can't.

a report of civil society found this. the most corrupt home affairs officers. the government has n trying to clean it up. it was easy to find people to pay bribes. corruption is deep and entrenched. in the last 20 years, government corruption cost sav jans $70 billions. in the 2013 to 2014 financial year. 14% received an order, and that was an improvement. the seem year it was 6. 6.5 million, an unauthorised and irregular spending. now he has paid bribes to get the paperwork necessary to apply. >> i think it's very wide. it's just a norm. there's no way you can get something for nothing.

>> among the anticorruption measures, it handled 16,000 cases. >> most of the type you find is once or when they report something at the end of the day they suffer detriment, and it's difficult to prove. >> corruption and the process means that may not be gen oun refugees can pay their way in. they have no choice but to pay. >> and we are joined live. protesters are demanding on end to corruption. how are they proposing that happens. >> they have a long list of demands. they want to know how key political appointments are made,

government protourments, big roading projects and other construction projects and projects to build schools. they want officials and businesses guilty of corruption to be black listed and a strengthening of the public service commission and office. they said that it was up to $2 million of wasteful expenditure on the private home, accusations that were rubbished. >> it's not just an issue in kav sea, it's a continent wide issue. >> exactly. not just africa, the no corruption is rife. it looks and is bad in south africa. it ranged well compared to other south african countries. it's 65. out of 174, it ranked near the bottom of corrupt countries. it came to a survey of people,

asked whether it had or hadn't paid bribes to officials. there's a big push at the african union to get to grips with chorus understandings. the former president is leading the push saying there's about $50 billion and illegals elicit financial flows of money, coming from big business. politically connected and powerful. it's money that could go into the government coffers and spent on lifting millions out of prove early and reducing inequality. >> tania j reporting from the anticorruption protest leaders meeting at the e.u. are saying a long-term plan is needed, but disagree on what it should be. russia believes bashar al-assad needs to stay in power to fight i.s.i.l. james bays reports from new

york. >> reporter: a special meeting at the u.n. to boost the coalition against i.s.i.l. >> i believe what we have here today is the emergence of a movement that is united by the mission of degrading and ultimately destroying i.s.i.l. >> reporter: but if you listen to the words the president chose, you see the problem, there's not as much progress on the ground as the u.s. would like. >> this is not an easy task. we have i.s.i.l. taking root. >> reporter: taking root across large swathes of syria and iraq, including the city of raqqa, and mosul in iraq. the iraq prime minister said the government was making progress. in the last year they retook tikrit but lost ramadi. all the while foreign fighters according to the turkish prime minister, have been streaming in. >> my government has reduced foreign terrorist fighters and

recorded 20,000 names from 100 countries. >> i.s.i.s. success is the reason for success, it's attracting people because it created the state-like entity and the inability of the united states and the coalition to dismantle that state is the biggest deficiency of the strategy. >> lack of progress is not the only problem. there's not unity among the international community. russia's foreign minister didn't take part in the meeting. iran was not invited. on wednesday, the u.n. security council will discuss very similar issues in a meeting organized by russia, and the current president of the council. two separate meetings, one central point of disagreement. the russians say everyone should join with president bashar al-assad to fight i.s.i.l. the u.s. says bashar al-assad is part of the problem not the solution. it's that one point hindering the fight against i.s.i.l., and complicating efforts to bring peace to syria. well, that u.s.-chaired

meeting coincides with a nu congressional report on i.s.i.l., saying nearly 30,000 foreigners travelled to iraq and syria to fight since 2011. kristen saloomey has the latest on this. >> as president obama appealed for help from abroad. a report at home finds that united states lacks a national strategy in dealing with this issue. a congressional committee estimates some 30,000 foreign fighters flew into syria and iraq since 2011, double the estimate we were hearing a year ago. it finds that the united states law enforcement is not keeping up with the pace of recruitment, that it lacks the proper tools, that it lacks the proper tools, given that i.s.i.l. is now using secure websites and apps to recruit americans and others. the report found 4500 of foreign fighters came from western countries t 250 of them falling from the united states.

and it calls for the united and it calls for the united nations and allies, no doubt one thing that president obama was looking for in convening the meeting at the united nations. yimen's president told leaders at the general assembly that the fighting could qualify as genocide. >> reporter: houthis undertook a military and political coup. occupying sanaa, wreaking hav on on institutions, mosques and homes. weapons were used from the yemeni army. this is a tragedy and could be qualified as a genocide. continues an attempt to impose the iranian model through the use of force. >> world leaders that gathered in new york pledged $2 billion. it has an initiative from syria

and other countries. refugee donors includes a g7 group, as well as other european countries and golf states. >> the foreign minister says the government will impose quotas. this will be raised at a high-end meeting on the crisis on wednesday. >> this is about a world photoa. because we understand that the major sources of this popular movement are countries which became unstable because of international decisions. >> the angela merkel wants to speed up the repatriation of people that arrived in germany, but failed the asylum seekers process, it's believed a third of those that say they are from syria are not. lawrence lee reports from

munich. >> reporter: they are arriving at munich train station in big groups and all. health workers are on hand to check temperatures. others are checking whether they are who they say they are. a few days ago we filmed a group in the slovenian town, moving as past as they could. along the number is this man in the red. he said he'd do an interview. >> where are you from. >> syria. >> which city. >> damascus. >> you came here where were - from the border with croatia. >> you aim here with... >> go to austria and germany. >> in the train station, they admitted that they were a hotel worker from tunisia. he was pretending because he knew he had no chance of asylum.

>> the air of suspension prompted the government to higher 45 linguistic experts in 80s different languages. anyone that arrives here has to give a sample to analyse, to verify who they were. they were at pains to point out that fake syrians will not have claims rejected. you have to assume it will make life more difficult. >> we heard similar things from refugees in slovenia. >> the arguments in favour of asking the questions is that people not in fear of their lives should not get in the way of people who are. others say the system shut not discriminate. >> to go on this strenuous travel to europe, to maybe cross illegally and in small boats over the me terrainian, and -- mediterranean, and tors yourself

through barbed wire, you have a reason to flee. i don't understand why they shouldn't be refugees. >> inside the hewn yn which is in many places. the idea that some are getting through by pretending on a hardened attitude. they should hardly have to prove they are running for their lives. >> chinese leaders paid tribute to those that died in the struggle for independence. >> the president was at the ceremony, beijing's teuvo teravainen, the newly created commemoration, a day before the day was approved last year. it's been the 66th year before the founding of the people's republic of china. >> the typhoon assist now made land falls on tuesday. it hit with winds of more than 100 k/hr, causing flooding and

landslides. more than 320,000 people were evacuated from their homes. three people were killed, and more than 300 injured when it passed through neighbouring taiwan. >> the first heavy snow fall led authorities to issue a flawed warning. the weather service said some areas received 15-30 centimetres of snow. a cold weather system from siberia, and a warm sting from the north could be responsible for the know fall. now let's bridge in our own expert. there's more to come. >> probably the worst of it has gone. you are getting into october time, and you would expect snow to start to fall. there is a mass of cloud associated with all of that heavy snow fall that went through. as we look at the forecast, you can see it's beginning to clear

away. there's another system. at lower levels it will result in rain rather than snow in the following days. let's look at the wider picture across the united states and canada. we also have a circulation. this is tropical storm which is likely to become a hurricane. things are happening on the eastern sea board. there has been flooding in the carolinas. we had the super moon, and after the super moon you get high tides. this is what caused the flooding in some coastal parts of the carolinas. we are going to see this active weather system continue to give heavy rain over the next day or so. we have them in across the bahamas. it gives them heavy rain further north as it weakens. notice the temperatures, cooling, pushing in towards

washington. hint of autumn in the air. >> thank you very much indeed. >> still ahead on the al jazeera newshour. burkina faso's capital is under lock down as they continue a hunt for forces beyond the coup plus, digging and diving for gold. the philippines is accused of failing to protect children who risk their lives in the rush to mine the valuable metal. fighting to stay on touch. taekwondo has a new marital arts competition. do stay with us, we are back after the break.

welcome back, you are watching the newshour. a reminder of the top stories. n.a.t.o.'s special forces have been fighting the taliban. early on wednesday, n.a.t.o. troops reached troops that helped bolster the army. russia's upper house of parliament approved the use of military force abroad, the photo as moscow builds up a military presence in syria. the kremlin says the involvement is limited to air strikes. the syrian president asked russia for military help. >> thousands of protesters take part in marches across major cities of south africa. it has cost the country billion, it's demanding more accountability. for more on this, let's speak to a legal researcher at the african center for migration and

society of the university. and joins us via skype. thank you for your time. corruption was the propose of all organizations tell us what you found and why asylum seekers suffer the most from corruption. the interview stretched to many at the refugee camps, and close to a third reported reporting some corruption, and many of them, an average of over four times. i think the reason that asylum seekers are susceptible is two fold. one is that because it's a problem affecting foreigners, there's less center among south africans in this problem. and the second is that the department of home affairs and

asylum seekers in the country has not put resources into addressing the problem. it focused on keeping people on. >> there are too many migrants. >> what are the asylum seekers paying for. how much money are we talking here? >> they are paying it every step of the process, beginning with queueing outside of the office in order to get into the office. once they are inside, paying for documents, paying to renew documents, paying to obtain refugee status. the amounts paid can vary from a few into the thousands of ram. >> you mentioned the department of moment affairs. south african authorities, are they complicit and involved. are they going anything to fight the corruption. our research shows it's multiple

access. and home affairs officials who are working in the offices. the department acknowledged this is the problem. the prepare, so far, it's limited. focused on targetting corrupt individuals. the broader problems that are allowing corruption to continue. if you get rid of a car upt executived up -- corrupt individual here and there, the fundamental problem continues. >> what do you think should be done to rule out corruption, and make the asylum seekers process more transparent? >> there's a few steps that the department can take. one is addressing the service issues. part of the problem is there's high demand, and the more demand, the more opportunities for corruption. rather than increasing service, the department has, in fact,

closed three offices which exacerbated the problem, and put in measures to increase accounts ability. right now it's not functioning properly, and you have a system where people getting refugee status are not the people in need of protection. there's no review or accountability of the process. >> ronny from the african center of migration, joining us there from cape down. thank you stay with africa, 37 people have been killed in gun battles between u.n. peacekeepers and groups in the central african republic, the u.n. human rights group says it could be catastrophic for the country. let's look back. in 2012, a coalition of muslim groups known as seleka took over towns in the north and central regions, in 2013 the president,

a christian, was overthrown by sell abbinga rebels, sparking clashes between his forces, the forces and fighters. a u.n. peacekeeping force has been struggling to cope with violence, forcing 400,000 from their homes. the latest fighting comes weeks ahead of elections the u.n. is not welcome in parts of bangui. all day on tuesday residents put up roadblocks to keep peacekeepers out of their neighbourhoods, and u.n. troops took them down. >> the population is desperate. and doesn't believe in the forces any more. >> we want the departure of international forces, we have those that committed crime to be tracked down by the justice system. >> a u.n. spokesman told al

jazeera they could do more, but it was fully engaged. the spokesman says the u.n. was working with community leaders. over the weekend, the taxi yip driver was killed. that set off days of fighting in the street, leaving 40 dead, scores injured, and tens of thousands leaving the capital. in the play-off, some 500 prisoners escaped from the gaol. >> as pad as thinks are in bangui, it pails to what is happening in the middle east. they were only scratching the surface and documenting that. we are travelling out in the bush, and we are coming across villages in which civilians have been killed. homes burned and stuff is not documented. >> on monday, protesters marched to the presidential palace. demanding the president resign and the central african army be

armed and deployed. >> they have accused former president and his allies of trying to take her power away. but they said when rebels took over the government in 2013, they assassinated democracy, and the country is reeling from the consequences. government forces in burkina faso are forcing areas beyond a short-lived coup. the army accuses the presidential quart of not laying down a piece deal. >> thets got more from the senegalese capital. >> what are we hearing about the situation right now. >> the tryings is ongoing. the military is trying to flush out the remaining presidential guards who have not surrendered.

this is an operation that started last night, when the military brought out artillery tanks to flush out the guards that remained at the presidential barics. 1800 including the families, and know that 300 have surgeoneded. >> many are out. the general last night in the statement said he feared many were dead. there's no tally quote. how many died. this operation, as you said is ongoing. >> so the operation is ongoing. regional powers were mediating the end to the crisis. this has not worked at the moment since the situation was uncertain. what do we expect to see from the regional powers in the next

few days. >> the deal that what you put in place last week was not something that the civil society in burkina faso is ready to sign. what happens, an agreement was made by the spiritual leader. he's the traditional leader. in that agreement the presidential guards accepted to lay down their arms, but it's unclear if this is going through, because the crisis is ongoing. we don't know where the general is, there's more than 1,000 presidential guards. they have not surrendered their arms. >> thank you for the moment. thank you for updating the situation. we'll keep an eye on the events we want to take you to the philippines where thousands of children are risking their lives in a goild mine.

human rights says children as young as nine is working cross the country. the government is failing to protect them. 80% comes from the mines. the government is addressing reports and in a statement it says the fight is continuing, and it is our responsibility to win the war for the sake of our children. we took the crucial steps, we made progress to solve the matter. >> let's bring in the report and associate director of children's rights at human rights watch, she joins us live from manila. before we talk about what the philippines government has down, how widespread is the use of children in gold mining in the philippines. >> there are thousands of children working in the

philippines goldmines. they dive under water at risk of drowning. they dig in pits that may collapse. and they process gold sometimes with america -- mercury. it may be thousands, over 10,000. >> small scale mining - why are the laws not being enforced? right, there are laws, good laws on small scale mining and hazardous child labour. it is prohibited for anyone under the age of 18. we think for several reasons. there's a lack of capacity and of training and funding on the ground. the national government puts a lot of burden for action on the level of the local authorities and require action. they don't have the capacity to

do so either. in addition, we think that there's a lack of political will. on the local level, authorities don't always want to act. it's unpopular with business people to do this, to regulate mining, and, in fact, sometimes local officials have a stake in mining. there's a conflict of interest. what we want to see from the government, a stronger commitment and action on the ground. >> when you speak to the government, they say we have made progress, that they are taking action to solve the problem, and yet you say that the conditions are not getting better for the children. >> yes. it's true that the government has done some of the right things. the legal framework is good. there are efforts under way, for example, to create child labour, districts around guides in the philippines. the efforts are very good. there's a programme to support vulnerable families, to give them small cash transfers per

month to survive and send their children to school, rather than to work. they are good first steps. when you look at the situation on the ground. in the underwater mines, and the deep pits, children are working there. children's health is at risk. we documented the death of a boy who died in an underground mine a year ago. basically the government is accused of turning a blind eye to these issues. it's not doing enough to regulate the mining sector. and is not doing enough to make sure that state support reaches the vulnerable children, in a hazardous type of work there is for children. >> more needs to be done. julien from human rights watch, thank you for shedding lights on this issue. thank you for joining us. in the united states the leading family planning agency that provide women cheap access

to health care and abortion is fighting to keep funding. protesters have been speaking out for planned parenthood after funding kids from threatened. >> reporter: the president of planned parenthood, cecil richards, faced off with lawmakers as she justified why she believes the organization, a network of health clinics, who provides abortions should retain and receive more than $450 million in federal funds. this organization became the target as of late because of videos that surfaced recently, that purport to show executives offer baby parts or foetal tissue for sale. potentially profiting from that. it is outraging lawmakers who are already opposed to planned parenthood. because it supplies abortions in violation of many religious belief. as a result, cecil richards as

she made the argument, faced tough questioning. arguing that they do more than providing abortion. >> reporter: they came to capitol hill with a message for congress, don't defund planned parenthoods. they say for many working class americans, it's the only access to health care. courtney was in graduate school suffering endometriosis. she turned to planned parenthood to preserve her fertility when she couldn't afford the medication. >> i worked hard to get into the graduation programme. and then i had to look at getting a job and not study. planned parenthood helped. i was able to get the medication. >> reporter: not everyone in congress sees them as a ben esso lanted organization. the health clinics provide abortions, violating the religious belief of some members. and the comfort of others. after reports showed the openly

discussed sale of aborted fetal tissues for profits. >> many are incensed and are threatening to cut the more than $450 million in federal funding to the clinics, and are demanding answers. from the president of planned parenthood, appearing before a congressional commit eye. >> the outrageous accusations levelled against planned parenthood based on heavily doctored videos are offensive and categorically untrue. the taxpayers have a right to know how this money is being - spent and how taxpayer dollars are used to free up services that you provide that are aberrant. >> others in congress say the hearing is nothing more than political theatre and an attack of women's reproductive choices going on since abortion was

legalized in the u.s. in 1973. >> what is under attack is the right of women to control their own bodies, their own reproduction. >> reporter: courtenay agrees, which is why she has come to tell congress it is a small part of what they do. because of that her chance of motherhood would never have happened without its support. this debate is unlikely to end. it is an ongoing debate over how the federal government spends its money. it's a partisan debate that has been going on for many years. democrats are favouring more for funding for domestic programs, republicans favour spending on defense. as a result, planned parenthood is the latest target in this wider debate. i can tell you that currently 65% of americans believe that planned parenthood should receive funding as opposed to

29% believing it should be defunded. president obama is backing planned parenthood. he said any legislation coming out of capitol hill, either chamber, making it to his death, he will veto the only woman on death state in u.s. has been elected. kelly died by lethal injection, after clemency was denied, despite a letter from the pope. she was convicted of orchestrating her husband's murder 20 years ago thousands of people mark the human holiday, with many attending a ceremony at the western wall in jerusalem. it celebrates the harvest and the israel why is wandered the desert for 40 years after liberation from slavery.

you can see from the pictures some worshippers hold a palm branch, it's one of four its representing god's presence in all directions coming up on the newshour we have sport. find out in namibia could end their losing streak.

time for sport with andy. >> thank you. barcelona scored two goals in two minutes to show they can win games in the absence of lionel

messi. they go top of the group, barca. in inan -- an injury picked up. luis suarez saw barca winning 2-1. >> second game without lionel messi, a unique player, as we have all said. it's the second game, and today it was against a team that fought for every ball that has pressured didn'tly. we knew it would be that way. sne played well. the goal scored was thanks to a good strategy a polish striker scored a hat-trick, scoring 10 goals in this last three games. the great brought to an end zagreb's 45 match unbeaten run by the top of that group. >> english teams struggle. arsenal lost the second straight

game. chelsea were beaten 2-1 by porto. >> it was a good performance with two ridiculous makes. sometimes you make that mistake and you are not punished. we were punished. >> the asian champion's league is at the semifinal stage. and it was not made easy in the first leg of their time. this game played na saudi arabia. and a defender deciding to pick the ball up. when he thought it had gone out of play. it hadn't. and the penalty was awarded. thankfully for him and his team, the spot quick was missed and the game finished 1-1. now, namibia are waiting for the first win at the rugby world cup, the latest defeat against conga. their winless run stretches back to 1999. they scored three tries in the game.

tonga bouncing back from the opening game loft to record a bonus point win 35-21 the final score. >> we knew we had to come out and put on a performance, you know. we are happy to get the win, the points. we know we'll have to be better, we play argentina this week. >> south korea's ty condo received -- ty kwonnedo secured core gain. but at home it is on the decline. harry fawcett explains. >> reporter: in the hills above south korea's capital a ty kwonnedo expert prepares himself. he is a master of another korean martial art. >> it is quick, strong. but movement is soft and looks like dancing.

so very comfortable. it is natural find. >> there is some argument over the history, whether it began as a village game, whether korean or japanese rulers wiped it out. proponents say it is rooted in its history, at a time when ty kwonnedo moved from martial art to more of a point-scoring sport. >> taekwondo says it's both, a martial art to be practised in the studio and a support securitied. >> the sport helped to extend the reach, but the use of points registering pressure pads also stumped the flowing kicks of the martial arts, a problem the sports president wants to kix.

>> martial arts taekwondo knowned be changed -- cannot be changed. we have to respect and keep the older traditions. as a sport, especially on olympic sport, we have to change. >> tai kwonnedo's spiritual home, the championship is under way. >> it brings me closer to my friends, and it's good for my future as well. i'm working harder. >> but these kids are something of an exception. the numbers of korean children keeping up the practice is declining. >> junior high and high school, they are more focused to study, and to go to - get into good universities. so i think that's why the junior high in high school take on this not very popular as an elementary school. they can't compete with better

known cousins, but fans praise a set of rules, no pads or replays, just a kick to the head or a throw to the floor and it's over. baseball has been paying tribute to hall of famer yogi berer who died last week, a memorial service was held in new jersey. a gold catchers mitt a poignant reminder. he is was an 18-time all-star and 10-time champion. more on that and the sport, the top story in the champion's league. check it out. plenty more sport from meal about how it's looking for now. stay with us on al jazeera.

plenty more after the break.

. >> the russian parliament votes to allow military deployment in syria, paving the way for air strikes. you're watching al jazeera, live from doha. also ahead. afghan forces send reinforcements to retake kond us, the first major city captured by the taliban since 2001 the u.n. high commissioner on refugees speaks to al jazeera on why europe needs to take in more refugees plus, warnings that a new wave of