of terrorist organizations and the recruitment of more terrorist fighters. over the past year libya has witnessed the witness of the islamic state or daesh, an outcome which asserts control over the towns with the view of taking these two towns to assert full control throughout libya, and in addition to the exploitation of libya's resources to finance the establishment of an extremist entity that refuses to recognize the state and fight democracy. they mak claim it with the rule of islam. this is rejected by the libyan power with all power available

under the leadership of the legitimate authorities represented in the elected house of representatives and the government emanating from it. these groups have been and still are an essential part of the militia alliance of libya. this alliance has seized the capital of tripoli and repeatedly announces that it will continue to supportal sharia in bengahzi while describing them as revolutionaries. we realize that all these terrorist and extremist groups are nothing but tools to implement policies of foreign countries which are still providing them with arms and ammunition. further, they also facilitated the arrival of foreign fighters in order to participate and to fight against the libyan army that is locked in the fierce war to rid libya of terrorism with

whatever modest means it has at its disposal. mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, the efforts of the fight in order to save libya from terrorist crimes is being hampered by external support for terror. in addition to the continuation of the arguments embargo as well as the insistence of the security council contradicting its decisions for the non-approval of the exemption of the arms embargo summited by the libyan government to arm the libyan army. unfortunately, some of the permanent members of the security council justify this as if to avoid the negative impact on the libyan political dialogue, which we know has led to address political agreements accepted by the legitimate authority after it had made significant concessions and initial by most of the parties involved on july 11th. however, the same agreement has

been rejected by the so-called general national congress, which presents the militias that occupy the capital of tripoli and are allied with al-qaeda and sharia, supporting them with arms and fighters in their war against the libyan army in the cities. the threat of terrorism of the islamic state or daesh and al qaeda as well asal sharia is not only limited to libya. terrorism sees libya as nothing by a base rich of substantial resources that could be exploited to finance its operations in north africa and the region as well as europe, if they control it. therefore, all united nations members should be aware of the gravity of the position taken by

the security council on the international peace and security exercise pressure for the lifting of arms embargo or speed up the approval from exemptions from the arms embargo and provide assistance in the area of security according to the provisions of security council resolution 2014 of 2015. ladies and gentlemen, i can assure you that nothing divides the libyan people and the vast majority is looking for any possible means to put an end to the unjustified fighting amongst brothers and to restore security and stability in the country. nonetheless, they have become hosts to the armed groups and are unable to express their views. hundreds of thousands of libyans have become internally displaced and refugees looking to return to their homes as soon as possible.

this could only be fulfilled by agreeing on a strong government enjoying the confidence of all libyans with its authority imposed all over libyan territory and supported by the international community. we appreciate the effort made by the united nations support mission in libya in order to facilitate the dialogue between the libyan parties for the formation of a government of national accord, that presents all libyans and puts the national interests above all considerations. the house of representatives-- >> you've been listening there to libya's acting head of state, making his address to the united nations general assembly in new york. he said we represent a fledgling democracy. there is a spread of weapons and armed groups that has weakened the central libya. he talks about isil and al sharia operating in his country,

and he urged the u.n. security council to lift the embargo on the libyan army. we're joined live now, he was very keen very early on to talk about what he calls terrorists operating in the country, a country that is ruled by two rival governments, james. >> yes, this is the representative of only one government. and remember, that the plan, the u.n. peace plan was to have a deal in place, a new national unity of government in place before the festival i can tell you that i've been told by libyan sources that in this speech he is going to express his misgivings by the deal put forward b. there was a deal, a plan from

when they met nine days in morocco. they were going to take the two sides and come back and have a final meeting here at the united nations. with that meeting is just penciled in. there was talk that it would take place on thursday. you u.n. is now hoping that it will take place on friday. but it seems that he does have some problems still with what was supposed to be the final draft. so the peace efforts in libya in some doubt. the final peace deal to be done here or agreed here in the united nations. then they were all going back to tripoli to sign it. >> now james, interesting that he started his speech almost immediately talking about humanitarian crisis in libya, and in surrounding countries. mentioning very early on the refugee crisis. we know that many refugees have traveled through libya to get into rickety old boats and

travel to europe. he was very keen to talk about that, to make it an international affair. >> well, yes, he knows there are lots of countries that care very much about that refugee problem. worth pointing out that the vast majority of those who go from libya's coast and make their way to europe, we've seen a steady flow of refugees, many of them not making it and dying at sea are not actually libyans. many of them transit through libya from other parts of africa or the middle east trying to make their way to europe. but it's clearly an issue on the agenda with the al jazeera america. we have lots of i assum other meetings taking place and the question is what to do with the refugee crisis. he knew that was an issue that many of the countries particularly now the european countries wanted to hear about.

>> james bays with the latest there at the general assembly, thank you. >> russia has launched it's first airstrikes in syria. it's defense ministry said that 20 mission targeted fighters from the islamic state in iraq and the levant. there are, however, concerns that other groups fighting against president assad will hit. some of which may be allied to the u.s.-led coalition in syria. well, speaking at the pentagon u.s. defense secretary ashton carter questioned whether isil was operating in areas targeted by the russian air force. the kremlin said that it's military operation will be limited to airstrikes rather than troops on the ground and will continue as long as the offensive operation by president assad's forces last. we have more details. >> russian fighter jets flying around the city of homs. moscow said that it was

targeting isil fighters in and around the central syrian city. president obama vladimir putin said he was committed to helping his country's long-time ally defeat the group. >> we will support syrian army only in its legitimate fight specifically against terrorist groups. secondly, the support will be from the air without participation in ground operations. and third, such support will be limited in time as long as the syrian army is on offensive. >> the airstrikes started just one day after u.s. and russian military leaders agreed to hold so-called deconfliction talks as they both go after isil. but instead of talks what the u.s. got on wednesday was a verbal notice one hour before russian jets took off. the defense secretary was not pleased. >> fighting isil without pursuing a parallel political transition only risks escalating the civil war in syria.

and with it the very extremism and instability that moscow claims to be concerned about and aspire to fighting. so this approach, that approach is tantamount, as i said then, to pouring gasoline on the fire. >> but carter said he wasn't surprised. given the russian's recent build up of helicopters, fighter jets and troops at the air base in latakia. they have long suspected russia of doing so to help president bashar al-assad win a long-running civil war. the secretary of state warned russia not to use isil as an excuse to keep al-assad in power. >> assad has rarely chosen himself to fight isil. as the terrorists have made inroads throughout syria and iraq, raping, enslaving, murdering civilians along the

way. the syrian regimes did not try to stop them. instead, they focused all their military power on moderate opposition groups who were fighting for a voice in syria. >> it's not clear how quickly the u.s. will get the talks it wants with officials, and it's not clear what will it will do if future russian airstrikes do in the go after isil fighters but instead the fighters opposed to bashar al-assad. >> we're joined live from washington, d.c. ros, questions being asked as you would expect about who exactly these russian airstrikes are targeting. >> that's right, the real concern is that the russians are coming in to basically prop up the regime of bashar al-assad. in recent weeks the russians have been suggesting even as recently during the meeting between president obama and president putin on monday at the united nations in new york, that

more should be done to include bashar al-assad in the fight against isil. of course, that's a non-starter with the obama administration. they are, however, willing to look at possibly including him temperature rarely in some sort of political transition scheme, but as for being applied with him in the fight against isil, the obama administration says after more than for yours of civil war, and after their performance against isil in the past year or so, since isil first appeared on the scene, they say that there is really no--there is really nothing to talk about, felicity, and they believe that what russia is trying to do is to provide political cover for its long-time ally there in the region. >> ros, how much communication do you think there is likely to be going forward between russia and the u.s.? essentially, there are two, if you like, rival operations taking place in syria. the two needs to communicate.

>> the two do need to communicate. the question really is how effectively can officials at the pentagon persuade their colleagues in the russian military to in essence pick up the phone and have these discussions or more important get into the same room and have these discussions? the u.s. has been very cool to the idea of setting up, as it were, a coordination center, similar to the kind it has right now in terms of running the air war against isil, both in syria as well as in iraq. but ideally at this appointment you would think that this is something that the u.s. would want to try to establish. the other question is going to be how much trust is there between the u.s. and the russians? while the defense secretary ash carter said on wednesday that he is taking the russians at their word, that they're going after isil, and perhaps other

extremist groups, there really is the proof of the actions that the russian take. and so it's really going to be some tense hours as they try to get this whole communication scheme ramped up, and are really trusting that the scheme they set up is going to be the only venue that they're going to see this kind of communication, and that the russians are not going to be doing something outside of that communications scheme. >> ros jordan with the latest in washington, d.c. thanks so much. al jazeera's peter sharp has this update from moscow. >> well, it's got to be said that the russian airstrikes were expected. they've been building up their military arsenal in the last 30 days, and there are nearly 60 aircraft on the tarmac near latakia, the air base. but it's not the kremlin who announced that the raid was taking place, it was u.s. central command who had been

given an hour's notice of russian intentions. they hit a communication base, arms and fuel dumps, and president putin was quick to respond after that by saying that the support from russia will only come from the air. he had a warning, a political warning for president assad, basically telling him what the price he'll have to pay for russian support. he said you're going to have to compromise. >> we proceed from the fact that a full and long-term settlement in syria is possible only through political reforms and dialogue between all healthy forces in the country. i know president assad understands that and is ready for this process. we hope that his position will be active and flexible, and he's ready to compromise for the sake of his country and his people. >> the military build up continues as the russian fleet is taking part in a week-long exercise in waters between cyprus and syria.

these are live fire exercises and civilian aircraft has been told to stay away from the area. according to the u.n. conventions in the sea, this exercise is legal, but it's worrying nato definitely. they're saying now they're getting more and more armed vessels in an area that is already militarized. that could upset stability in the middle east. >> still to come on this news hour from london. tens of protesters--tens of thousands of protesters march against corruption in south africa. death sentences for the man convicted of an indian train bombing that killed 180 people. making history, but probably not the kind that they'll be celebrating much about.

>> the 1993 agreement that fought to bring peace with israel. president mahmood abbas used his position at the u.n. general assembly to attack israel on the oslo accord. in the united nations, james bays reports. >> raised for the first time in the united nations. the flag of the state of palestine following a decision by the u.n. general assembly observe states there are two palestine and the holy sea are now allow to fly their national flags. the ceremony was attendanted by president mahmood abbas and the u.n. secretary general. >> i certainly hope that successful peace process will soon yield when we unfurl the

palestinian flag in its proper place. among the family of nations, as a sovereign member state of the united nations. [applause] >> however, the political process, in his speech general abbas put all the blame on the israelis. he said he needed to raise the alarm he said that israel had not been abiding by the oslo accord signs 22 years ago, and he wouldn't do so either. >> they leave us no choice to insist that we would be committed to the implementation of these agreements while israel continues to violate them. we therefore declare that we cannot continue to be bound by these agreements, and that israel must assume all of its responsibilities as an occupying

power. >> so is this the bombshell that president abbas said he would drop or just an empty process. how would he change the way that the authorities work on the ground in the west bank, and what would be the reaction from palestinians there and in gaza? al jazeera spoke to an official in hamas. >> i think it is just now just ones. it is just a speech. because all the time you're taking in the two-state solution, but now these things were being realized. >> the palestinian-israeli conflict will remain in the u.n. spotlight. prime minister benjamin netanyahu speaks to the general assembly on thursday. james bays, al jazeera, at the united nations. >> well, let's just remind you what the oslo accords were. they were signed by the then

leaders back at the white house in 1993. of the accords, israel and palestine recognized its existence for the first time. the accord set out a five-year transitional period in which israel would withdraw from occupied land and the palestinian authority would be set up. but the failure of both sides to implement key parts of the accord has seen the agreements ultimately fail. we're in ramallah and we have this update. >> ahead of the speech to the general assembly, president mahmood abbas said he was going to draw up what he described as a bombshell in that speech. ned wha instead--instead what we got was a warning, they would

not be bound to the oslo accord so long as israel does not abide by its agreements something that president abbas said that israel has failed to do for the last seven years. at this stage there is ambiguity here. does it mean that we'll see the end of a security cooperation. will we see an end to the palestinian authority? we don't know at this stage. but the message is clear to the israelis. mr. abbas is looking for a way forward. he's attuned to the anger on the street here in the occupied territories, in the occupied west bank in which a recent poll found more than two-thirds of palestinians want mr. abbas to step down and want a new leadership to move forward. so he finds himself in a very tricky situation. that's why we're perhaps hearing these strong comments. what it will mean practically we don't know at this stage. >> joining me now chief political correspondent and

analyst for the jerusalem post. thank you for being with us on the program. how much notice do you think israel is likely to take over what is seen as a warning? >> felicity the authorities are taking abbas' speech very seriously. the israeli leadership wants there to be a peace process. the israelis in particular are very dismayed by abbas saying that he wants to leave the oslo accords, which is what empowers the palestinian authority to be created, and it's the israeli army that's keeping him in power and preventing him from being overthrown by hamas. so israel would like to see a peace process despite his speech that was very disconcerting. >> isn't he more worried about the practicalities on the ground. the last thing that israel wants to do is to resume responsibility for what happens in the west bank. it doesn't want to be dealing

with the security, infrastructure, and all the things that go with responsibility there. >> you're absolutely right. israel does not want to be occupying. israel does not want to be dealing with palestinian civil affairs. the palestinian authority has been doing that now for 22 years and will continue to do that despite abbas' speech. this was a speech by a man on his way out. there is going to be a palestinian election eventually that the palestinian people deserve. they haven't had an election for the president in more than a decade. there are younger leaders who are willing to talk to israel who will hopefully make the sacrifice as necessary to help their own people that abbas was unfortunately unwilling to make. >> isn't the truth one of the reasons that abbas is on his way out, is the fight that he has been able to make no progress as far as the palestinian people are concerned whatsoever with moving things forward with israel. we've had the rebuild, the building of new settlements in the occupied west bank. his people are unhappy israel

does not appear to be the partner for peace that he thought he might be. >> i don't think you're giving abbas enough credit. in 2008 when he negotiated with israel, he met with our previous prime minister, who was a lot moderate than netanyahu. they met more than a hundred times. abbas was offered 100% of the land swaps. he was offered to become a palestinian state in the holy city internationalized under the control of five countries and to have thousands of palestinian refugees come from all over the world. and abbas did not accept that very generous offer that israel made. the conditions now-- >> is that not, though, that his people would not have accepted that because they didn't consider the conditions were fair? >> if the palestinian people

will not accept that there will be no palestinian state, that's as far as any israel government would ever go. now that was a time more hospitable to a peace process than now. >> what do you think is going to be the response now of israel now that president abbas said that he could pull the plug, essentially, on the oslo accord. we don't know what he meant by what he said in that speech, but it certainly a warning: >> netanyahu will give a speech tomorrow. in that speech he's going to say what he's going to do, which is basically to keep reaching out to the palestinian people, and the palestinian leadership. we don't give up hope here. hope is our national anthem. the israeli left wants a peace process and is very disappointed with the palestinian leadership, as i'm sure the palestinian people are. but there is still hope. >> very good to have you on the program. thanks so much.

we'll give a shot from the united nations in new york. the reason why we're looking at what is the stage effectively with the flags in front of it is in the next few minutes we're expecting a statement from the u.s. secretary of state john kerry. his russian counterpart, sergei lavrov, and the european union foreign affairs chief we'll bing you that live when they appear. now large numbers of people are leaving the northern afghan city of kunduz as the tap dan seize seize--the taliban seized control there. afghan security forces tell al jazeera that the fight is tougher than anticipate. >> as reinforcements arrive and heavy fighting continues, security forces struggle to gain control of kunduz from the

taliban. >> they put mines on the roads and they are full of mines. >> the captain and his fellow fighters have not been able to reach their target yet. insisting that because taliban fighters are hiding amongst civilians the fight so far has been much harder than anticipated. even here south of kunduz, these force have repeatedly been ambushed and hit by improvised bombs. afghan government forces now backed by government airstrikes and nato forces are desperate to gain patrol of the northern city by taliban fighters. the loss of kunduz is seen as a set back and one of the greatest

victories achieved by the taliban since the overthrow of the taliban government in 2001 raising questions once more about the strength and effecti effectiveness of afghanistan's army. now some politicians calling on president ashraf ghani to resign. >> we don't want to hear lies any more. the government keeps telling us that they're sending troops, but it's 72 hours that people inside the city have been suffering from lack of food, water and electricity. women and children are dying because of hunger. >> many residents are fleeing, fearing for their lives. while the number of dead and wounded in the fighting is still unclear, aid workers fear many more civilians may be killed or injured if fighting continues. al jazeera. >> still to come on the news hour, a lesson from german on how to manage tens of thousands of refugees.

and in sport, fighting to stay on top, south korea's national sport tai kwon do has a new martial arts rival.

>> hello again. here are the top stories here on al jazeera. russia has carried out 20 airstrikes against isil targets in syria. the u.s. believes that there were in areas where there were no isil. >> of afghan army battles to regain control of kunduz. it involves special forces from the u.s.-led co-alation engaging in clashes for the first time. >> well, let's turn now to syria because i'm joined now from baghdad, retired brigadier general in the u.s. army. he has served as secretary of state for military affairs during the presidency of george

w. thank you for being with us on the program. i want to start by having you explain militarily why it is that assad needs the support of russian airstrikes? >> well, quite simply the airstrikes that are being provided by the coalition are not sufficient to hold back either the isil forces or the rebel forces that are attacking his regime. i think he believes, assad believes by the assistance of the russians that will provide him the additional force that he needs to go back on the offensive. he has been on the defensive for months and months. >> essentially you now have t two rival operations in the air. you have the russians and the u.s.-led coalition. what are the chances of accidental clashes?

>> well, you answered the question itself. you have u.s. and iraqi forces. that is done constructively through communications in what we call tactical deconfriction. those same measures need to be set up by both the russians and the united states, and one would hope to see those discussions and procedures set up in the very near future to avoid the accidentals in calculations that you talk about. >> the u.s. of course, has been dubious as it has its doubts about whether these russian airstrikes are attacking areas that do contain isil fighters. but the secretary of state john kerry said that the u.s. is prepared to welcome russian action if it targets isil. that is a change of tone. kerry has been opposed to the idea that russians be involved at all. >> well, facts on the ground are

is a difficult thing. secretary kerry realizes that the russians are there. they're not going to be leaving simply by secretary kerry's rhetoric. he's now putting a different viewpoint on this and recognizing in fact, in may be an opportunity to work long side with the russians, a we have done so in other countries. >> i guess the biggest problem from the u.s. perspective is that it is difficult to accurately check or how difficult is it to accurately check what targets are hit by those russian airstrikes? >> there is a challenge, that's why it's so essential here in baghdad the russians have reached out to the iraqis and to the americans through the iraqis so that there can be shared intelligence, that there can be some intelligence gathering and intelligence sharing among all forces so that those targets that are attacked are the best targets to attack. they're not wasting either bombs or civilian lives by improperly

planned attacks. there can be great value in having the russians join the coalition as long as they're seeking the same thing as the rest of the coalition. >> thank you for being with us. >> men in india have been found guilty of the bombing of the indian train that killed 180 people. the train network carries 7 million people a day. >> five people have been sentenced to death for th bombs placed in pressure cooker and placed in commuter trains.

the prosecution itself called nearly 200 people to the witness stand which delayed the trial there. then the supreme court even got involved after one of the accused contested him being arrested under anti-terrorism laws, which delayed the trial almost two years. the convicts is "k" appeal to a higher court and even as a last ditch to the president of india, even though that could take years. police believe 15 accuse ready still at large including who they believe to be the mastermind, and many of the victims' families have said publicly until all those involved are caught and convicted, they won't feel that justice has been done. >> a man accused of destroying cultural sites in northern mali has appeared before the international criminal court in the hague. barnaby phillips reports. >> this man is accused of

destroying precious cultural heritage. he listened to the charges against him at the international court in the the hague and identified himself. >> i was born about 40 years ago, i'm a graduate of the teacher's institute in timbuktu, and i was a silve simple servant for the mali government beginning i in 2011. >> they set about destroying tombs and mosque hundreds of years of history smashed into dust. he was a zealous member. he could become the first man to

be tried for war crimes submitted against buildings and culture although human rights groups hope that courts will examine other allegations against him and his colleagues. >> these atrocities including rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage amongst others. we believe that it's important that the international criminal court to take in account the credible evidence provided within the national system about these further scopes of crimes. >> timbuktu in its day the center of islamic learning suffered badly during the occupation. he will next appear in court in january 2016. the icc hopes that the case against him might deter others who destroy cultural treasures in other parts of the world. >> thousands of people have been marching through the south african cities of pretoria and

cape town against the government who they say has failed fighting against corruption. the president is accused of using state funds to upgrade his house and undermining anti-corruption bodies. >> south africans marching against corruption, south africans everyone united. >> it's estimated that political corruption cost south africans up to $2.5 billion a year. >> the government does not take corruption seriously. corruption at the highest ranks, government of the high "e" ranks. when that corruption is not challenged. when people are not put into prison it sends a signal across

society. >> in this society it means that some of the must vulnerable people are at risk. asylum seekers are easy prey for corrupt officials and those looking for bribes. >> this woman has paid $10 just to queue. she will likely pay more once inside. >> i pay hundreds. >> can you get anywhere without paying money? >> no, you can't. >> but the government is not ignoring accusations of the corruption. the public service commission has handled 16,000 cases so far and runs a hotline for people to report corruption but said whistle blowers need better protection. >> because most of the time you find that once people disclose something or report something, at the end the day they will suffer occupational detriment. they will be victimized, and it's difficult to prove it. >> corruption touches the lives of nearly everyone in this country of 55 million.

>> this is just the beginning of a movement determined to bring out corruption. it has brought thousands of men and women on the streets. >> next month is the turn of south africa's powerful unions to take to the streets to unite against corruption. al jazeera, pretoria, south africa. >> the norwegian mask killer is threatening to starve himself to death in protest to conditions in prison. in an open letter in norway and sweden, he's kept in isolation for nearly a month. he killed 77 people four years ago when he bombed central oslo and went on a shooting spree. he is serving a 21 year prison sentence.

in the discussion of refugee crisis germany is leading the way a and authorities are talking about how to successfully manage thousands of new arrivals. we have reports in bavaria in southern germany. >> bavaria, perhaps the essence of germany where the rich come to play. driving through the south of this region it's all forests and lakes and perfectly kept small towns. the so-called family businesses that drive the economy. here around the corner in this tourist spot the authorities have put up a refugee camp for 128 people. these afghans told me it was great. they got $400 a month for food, heated tents for their own kitchens. this is their prize. for three months of cross country travel. the way the german quota system works means that by the end of the year this bit of bavaria will be home to refugees, the whole of hungary, more of

estonia, limited to airstrikes videlatvia and combined. >> this heart and minds approach means that they have begun building permanent accommodation up the road. they've already determine there had are enough school places for refugee children to mingle with the locals. but as well local employers have told the regional government that they're desperate for more workers to train. here there is almost no unalmo unemployment. what in other places could an crisis, here is an opportunity. >> this is a great opportunity and we recognize it. we started talks with employers. we should change some laws. it shouldn't take as long as it does for people to join the workforce. the main thing is for people to learn german. we have invested a lot in german courses and we need to push on

it. >> local volunteers took children to the circus and asked them to do a picture. what they came up with was a million miles away from the images of war so many other refugee children have painted, and this, they say, is no hardship for them. >> we're so rich, we can divide, we can help. if you see what they throw away, then we see how rich we are. and it's only a part of many millions of people in the country, and we're really able to help. >> no doubt everybody thinks the same way, but the positive message of yes we can is overwhelming. the refugee camp we saw these young men carrying suit cases. no they have not just arrived. they went to the church where they were given coats for the winter donated by locals.

it does not seem so hard to manage after all. >> argentina has launched two satellites into space from guiana. >> they're bringing new telecommunications access to australia and argentina. it will save the south american country millions of dollars that are currently paid to the u.s. still to come on the news hour, find out why this formula one driver is going nowhere fast.

>> hello. time to get all the sport with robin. >> we'll start with football, and cristiano ronaldo. yet again scoring for the 2-0 win his scoring now stands at 501. everything is starting to look

more and more likely that bangladesh will not be called it on monday. now a shooting did take place in the capital of defense ash carter canof dakah. the security measures that are usually saved for heads of states, they are using for this incident. >> the 2004 winners failed qualification, and not making it into the top eight. a very poor round of form. to compound matters the coach is

still on suspension after criticizing the national selectors. instead it was pakistan who closed the last available spot in england. bangladesh will make a return to the competition as well. all of the big guns will be there. including australia, south africa and new zealand. now third round, the top seed could not complete the come back and losing. struggler struggling for liability and second blast of the championship, that is two

former world title holders behind the wheel. the national sport tai kwon do has been guaranteed an immediate future to the games. but the people around the world practicing the sport. harry fawcett explains. >> in the hills tai kwon do expert prepares himself. he does not teach the national sport these days. he has become a master of another martial art. >> it is very soft and looks like dancing. very comfortable. >> there was some argument about the history whether korean or

japanese has nearly wiped it out. but he said that it brings him closer to his country's heritage. tai kwon do has moved from martial arts to more of a point scoring sport. >> we interrupt to bring you sergei lavrov and john kerry. >> we will now engage in syria at the request of the syrian government. we'll establish channels of communication to avoid any unintended incidents. we agree that the military should be in contact with each

other very soon. number two, we also discussed what the president has told us about the promoting political process. we all want syria democratic, united, secular, syria a home for all ethnic groups, whose rights are guaranteed, but we have some differences as for the way to get there. but we agree on some steps, which we'll undertake very soon, and our experts will get together very sunn soon on creating conditions for options to be applied to promote the political process. i believe that this meeting as a discussions between the two presidents is a very useful occasion to promote constructive

and safe approaches to syria and surroundings. we're available for contact with each other. thank you very much. >> well, as sergei has described in the meeting we had, in which we would both concur was a constructive meeting. i relayed and reiterated the concerns i had from the supreme coursecurity council meeting led by russia today, concerns about the nature of the targets, the types of targets and need of clarity with respect to them, and it is one thing, obviously, to be targets isil. we're concerned if that's not what is happening.

so as sergei has said to you that we've agreed on the imperative as soon as possible perhaps even as soon as tomorrow, but as soon as possible having a military-to-military deconfliction discussion, meeting, conference, whatever can be done as soon as possible because we agree on the urgency of that deconfliction. secondly, we did discuss a number of different ways to try to address the conflict itself. and several options were agreed to be further discussed. i need to take those back to washington, to the president, and to our team. and i'm sure sergei will likewise discuss them with president putin and his team, and we'll follow up on that for certain because we also agreed that it is imperative to find a

solution to this conflict and avoid seeing it intensified by forces beyond anybody's control. and finally, the foreign minister and i agreed that there is, even as we don't have yet a resolution with respect to the political choices in that solution, we think we have very specific steps that may be able to lead in the right direction. that needs to be properly explored. we finally agreed, we have a lot of work to do. we're going to get to doing that work as rapidly as possible, understanding fully how urgent this is in the context of refugees, the impact on the region, and understanding that we need to see syria kept whole, unified, secular, democratic,

and those are big agreements in that regard, and we need to work on getting there. we'll stay in very close talk and thank you very much. >> the russian foreign minister sergei of a love, and secretary of state john kerry in a brief press conference, not taking any questions whatsoever from the media gathered there at the united nations. i can tell that you sergei lavrov said that they were talking about how they can have communication to avoid any unintended incidents in the air over syria. he said that he agreed that syria should be democratic, united and secular, but they had disagreements about how to get to that position. john kerry said that as soon as

possible there would be a military-to-military meeting to avoid deconfliction that could take place as soon as tomorrow.

russia launches airstrikes against targets in syria. >> hello there, i'm felicity barr. you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up. the palestinian flag is raised for the first time at the u.n. as the president says he no longer is bound by any agreement with israel. afghan forces backed by u.s. and nato continue their fight for the control of the city of kunduz. the man