we agreed to the military should get in to contact with each other very soon. defense officials from the u.s. and russia could meet as early as thursday, after moscow launches airstrikes in see ya. ♪ hello, i am darren jordan in doha with the world news from al jazerra. also on the program. a symbolic moment. the pam skip vinnie flag is raised for the first time at the united nations. afghanistan says it's a forces have retaken the center of kunduz city from the taliban. a new spin on a board game

to help young people in south africa deal with some big issues. ♪ ♪ russia and the united states have agreed to talks over syria both sides said their military should get in touch after russia launched its first strikes outside the borders of the old soviet union since the edge of the cold war. moscow says it targeted isil. but the u.s. and nato have expressed concerns over its real intentions, ross lan jordan has this report. >> reporter: russian fighters jets flying around the city of hommes, moscow said it was targeting isil fighters in and around the central syrian city. press vladimir putin said that he was committed to helping his country's long-time ally defeat the group. >> translator: we will support the 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. >> reporter: the airstrikes started just one day after u.s. and russian military leaders agreed to hold so-called deconflicts talks to make sure neither side fired on the other by mistake as they both go after isil. but instead of talks, what the u.s. gotta wednesday was a verbal notice one hour before the 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 is spire to fighting. so this approach, that approach, is tantamount as i said then, to pouring gasoline on the fire. >> reporter: by carter said he

wasn't surprised given the russian's recent buildup of helicopters, fighter jets and troops at the air base. the obama administration has long suspected russia of doing so to help press bashar al-assad win a long-running civil war. at the united nations, the second of state warned russia not to use isil as an excuse to keep assad in power. >> assad has rarely chose inning himself to to fight isil. as the terrorist made inroads through eye rook, ranking, en slaving, murdering civilians along the way. the syrian regime didn't try to stop them. instead it focused all of its military power on moderate opposition groups who were fighting for a voice in syria. >> reporter: it's not clear what it will do if future russian airstrikes go not after isil fighters, but instead after the fighters opposed to bashar al-assad. rosalind jordan, al jazeera.

russian foreign minister sergei lavrov and u.s. second of state john -- secretary of state john kerry have both greed to further talks about syria. >> we all want syria, democratic, secular syria home for all ethnic groups whose rights are guaranteed but we have some differences as for the details on how to get there. >> we agreed on the imperative of as soon as possible, perhaps even as soon as tomorrow, but as soon as possible having a military to military deconflicts discussion, meeting, conference, whatever can be done as soon as possible. >> the russian parliament granted president vladimir putin permission to deploy the air force in syria. let's take a look at the at the targets that moscow says it carried out against eight

targets, most isil strong holds are in eastern syria. but it appears that raqqa was not hit the defecator capital. and the raids focused on command posts not held by isil. russia said that it did not hit civilian areas in those attacks but the head of the syrian opposition said 36 civilians were killed. >> translator: we courage urged before that the russians are intervening in syria the for fight isil they are intervene to go prolong life of bazar shall al jazerra assad and support kill of civilians on a daily basis. >> iraq's prime minister has told the u.n. development efforts bice his country are being hampered by terror groups. >> we in iraq achieved tangible progress in decreasing. [ inaudible ] and increasing school enrollment and gentser equality and living standards, however the ill will ther harboy

terrorist organizes al qaeda and isis and those that joined them ridiculous death and destruction on people and infrastructure. >> the united nations has raised the palestinian flag for the first time. it's a moment of symbolic importance but palestinian president mahmoud abbas used his speech at the u.n. general assembly to attack israel for what he saw as a breach the oslo accords, the agreement signed no 1993 were meant to provide a basis for peace, here is our diplomatic editor james bays. >> reporter: raised for the first time at the united natio nations. the flag of the state of palestine, following a decision by the u.n. general assembly, observer states, there are two, palestine and the holy sea, are now allowed to fly their national flags. the ceremony was attending by palestinian president mahmoud abbas and the u.n. secretary general. >> i sincerely hope that a successful peace process will

soon yield. but they -- when we unfold the palestinian flag in its proper place among the family the nations as a sovereign member of the state of the united nations. >> reporter: however, the political process to lead to that day is deadlocked. in his speech to the general assembly, president abbas put all the blame on the israelis. he said he needed to raise the alarm about recent violence in jerusalem which he said was caused by israel incursions around the al-aqsa mosque and told the chamber as israel had not been abiding by the oslo accord signed 22 years ago, he now wouldn't do so either. >> translator: they leave us no choice but to insist that we will not remain the only ones committed to the implementation of these agreements while israel continuously violates 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. >> reporter: so is this the bombshell that press abbas said he had dropped or just an empty promise? there are now more questions than answers. how will it change the way his palestinian authority working on in the west bank. and what will be the reaction from palestinians there and in gaza. al jazeera spoke to an official from hamas. >> i little it is just words. it is just a speech. because all the time you are talking about the okay take occ, palestinian, co ex-sit sense, peaceful negotiation. but they have reached the conclusion that all of these things are lies, illusion. >> reporter: the israeli-palestinian conflict will remain in the u.n. spotlight. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu speaks on the general assembly on thursday, james bays at the united nations. the israel i program minister has responded to president abbas' speech at the

u.n. of the officer of benjamin netanyahu released a statement in part saying the speech was deceitful and encourages incitement and lawlessness in the middle east. the statement also said we expect and call on the palestinian authority and its leader to act responsibly. and: it's taken three days, but the afghan army says it's recaptured the center of kunduz city from the taliban, according to a statement from the interior ministry. afghan forces were supported by u.s. and nato air power. al jazeera joins us about 130-kilometers from kunduz, just bring us up-to-date with the latest on the fighting. >> reporter: darren, yes, afghan security forces now control certainty of kunduz city, some government buildings like police headquarters, governor's office, it's all under control of afghan

security forces. but local people in kunduz are telling us that taliban are not far away. they are hiding in the residential area around the city. because last night there was a heavy bombardment on them in kunduz city, that's why they pull out from the center and they are hiding there. and in some area, fighting is going on with afghan security forces. in kunduz city, now the hospital we talk to kunduz city hospital ter telling us at least 300 people were justified in the past two days and 50 killed and mainly they are civilian, women and children among them. >> and how much pressure is there on the afghan press and the afghan government to show that they can retake kunduz city from the taliban? >> reporter: we are in a

province just in this province, you would see people are panicking, people are not trusting the government anymore if the government can hold security for them. that's why people are leaving from this province to kabul. thithere is other lot of pressue normal local people, from afghan parliament house on afghan government to take the kunduz city as soon as pass and i believe sinatra how taliban to take any on major league city in the coming future. >> thank you. lots more still to come lear on al jazeera. we'll speak to a financial expert on why japan stimulus package has failed to boost economy. plus china and japan compete it a high-speed rail link in i understand near a we'll tell who you won the race. more on that, stay with us.

>> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's going on, not just in this country, but around the world. getting the news

from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target welcome back, a quick reminder of the top stories. russia and the united states have agreed to talks over syria. both sides said their militaries should get in touch after russia launched airstrikes, moscow says it targeted isil. but there is concern over its ruin tenses. the united nations has raced the palestinian flag for the first time. president mahmoud abbas used his speech at the u.n. general assembly to attack israel for what he said was a breach of the oslo accords. afghanistan says security forces are in control of kunduz after the taliban seized the city on monday, they are facing heavy

resistence from fighters in residential areas, over 300 people have been injured over the past two days. con beginconfidence in the e economy is slipping. the stimulus park inning is unpopular among some small businesses. >> reporter: this small family-owned company has been making light bulbs here for 77 years. they are switched on by companies in japan and exported arounded worm. the japanese company has managed to keep its doors open despite the market shift towards more modern leds and being left in the dark by the japanese government. >> translator: is there any support for us? there isn't, you have to two it all and friends for yourself. >> reporter: he also said the prime minister's economic stimulus package called abe

gnomics hasn't worked and businesses like his are feeling the pain. after a bruising couple of weeks in domestic politics, prime minister abe is trying to switch the focus of the economy. already the signs report too positive. there is speculation that flat growth figures could prompt the government to pass a supplementary budget later in the year in the hope of boosting the economy. >> given the recent week of unexpected growth, there is a chance that prime minister abe would think about the budget rising. >> reporter: last year's sales tax rise hit the japanese economy. after years of deflation, the sudden 3% rise kept shoppers away. setbacks for the chinese economy are also a factor. while china is cause something economic headaches for japan on the one hand, chinese tourists are keeping some sectors of

economy alive on the other. there las already been more than 3 million chineses tourists this year, each spending more than 2 1/2 thousand dollars. some department stores have set up tax-free shops indicator specifically for chinese tastes. as well as luxury hand bags and jewelry chinese visitors seek out high-quality household appliances such as rice cookers or take home high-tech toilet seats. while the shopping districts are doing well, in a northern suburb of tokyo, one company is hoping the japanese economy picks up more broadly before the lights go out. rachel, al jazeera, tokyo. joining us now is an economist and professor at the university in japan. according to the survey from the sen hal bank it says business confidence is down. what are these figures actually telling us? what does it mean? >> what it's telling you is that

most of these japanese companies are feeling a little bit twitchy. especially looking alex certainly factors like china as just reported. they can understand that the demands itself might be faltering and this is one of the worries that they have. unfortunately, that has been felt amid small institutions. they take a pair mid and goes down to smaller. >> how effective is prime minister abe's much-talked about stimulus package? and why is it so unpopular around small businesss? >> because it hasn't really sunk in yet. they are trying to first reelevate the economy my by the first two arrows. the third takes a long time for mature. so we have to rate. but what he was hoping was to see the kick start of the economy by the larger companies, especially the manufacturers which would increase or cap expenditure which was one of the

positive things that came out in the survey today. and then that will flourish in to investment. that would basically give a lot of benefit to institutions but we haven't seen the latter scenario yet. we haven't seen the real wager taking place yet here in japan. >> how do you -- how do you see the bank of japan reacting in the short to medium term? could we see more fiscal easing in the months ahead, do you think? >> i don't think so. i think it's not that big. as i said the expenditure plan is better than expected. as you pointed out earlier the index the sentiment is faltering because of external financial tours, from these two factors i can't see why the d.o.j. would be making haste and making moves in the short-term. of course if this continues that's a disk story. but at this points. i don't think they would be making a move as early as next month. >> all right, thank you for talking to al jazeera.

now it's six years since the creation of the people's republic of china. but another key date being commemorated in the far west of the country. but not everyone is celebrating. >> reporter: a sense at this ants anniversary in a troubled corner of china. the streets decaded trumping the communist party's a chief little. on you side. city little celebration, people we met in this village were all ethnic muslim, some old enough to remember when the people amounts liberation i'm marched in. >> translator: when i first saw the soldiers, i was sewing young, i was so scared. i cried. >> reporter: but she says her life is far better now. >> translator: we have enough to eat and enough clothes. life was really hard before.

>> reporter: talking to foreign journalists carries risks and so none wanted to give their names. this man complains of discrimination by chinese. >> translator: my boss khabibulin was hun but he stopped heyering after the attacks by week as. >> reporter: the government says they are treated equally but rules ban week amman from growing belong beers and women from wearing a veil. >> translator: wearing face veils and gown is his not a traditional of wega people or other muslims it's the course assume of extremism. >> reporter: 60 years on they have little to celebrate say their he can side leaders. >> it represent occupation, colonization, repression. they will be forced to

participate in festivities that celebrate china's national day. they have no choice. >> reporter: a difficult place for journalists to operate. we were detained several times. and warned not to talk to anyone. the police roadblocks reflex the official nervousness. it follows a series of attacks in the region including one a week ago, the government games groups that want an independent homelands. china's government appears to have a twin strategy for in region, continues the campaign against those groups it blames for much of the recent violence, while at the same time, promoting this area as the bridge head for a new silk road. revival the fabled trade routes linking thine a with central asia and europe. this region is very strategic. the size of western europe, but with the population of just 11 million. and bordering eight ru countrie. the government denies repressing

the culture, 60 years ago, they made up 90% of the population. today it is less than half that. some worry that the silk road project will lead to even more chinese settlers and so altering the balance still further. adrian brown, al jazeera. more than a dozen letter bombs have exploded a is who the southern chinese region since wednesday. seven have been killed and more than 50 people injured so far. the mailed explosives have targeted residential buildings, banks and hospitals. police say the blasts were a criminal case and not a terrorist act. reports say a suspect is now in custody. they are both known for building the fastest trains in the world. chicago china has beat japan to a $5 billion contract to build a high-speed rail link in i want near a it will contact the capital jakarta. step vaessen has the story.

>> reporter: the train journey between jakarta now takes three hours and 15 minutes, that will be cut to around one hour when the new high-speed line is expected to open in three year's time. >> for businesses it will be more efficient. and also for the region. tourists will have the tops take the high-speed train. >> reporter: this is an embarrassing loss to japan. they expected to win, but i indonesia says china bass chosen because of the cheaper cost. business known for textiles and cheap clothes hope this will attract more indonesian visito visitors. >> maybe people from all over indonesian will come to see the high-speed train because it's

something new. they have never seen before. this could be it will be profiting a lot. >> reporter: but the project has already raised questions about what is more important, a super fast train or connections in other parts of the country that until now are even lacking roads. the indonesian government insist no, sir state money will be used for the project. but many are questioning the government's decision. >> for people in indonesia, this train is not a priority. more importantly, we need the train to other areas, section between island. all kind of public infrastructure which is more productive. it's a lot more needed. >> reporter: i understand near i can't says it needs $450 billion to build infrastructure nationwide and revive an economy at its lowest point for six years. step vaessen, al jazeera. the brazilian oil company

has announced it will sale gas line at international prices for years the government subsidized the place to control inflation they will raise petro price is by 6% and diesel. a group of protesters has set two police officers on fire in northwest argentina. this mobile phon footage showede moment demonstrators confront is riot police. both policemen suffered significant burns in the incidents. british prime minister david cameron has ruled out paying reparations for britain's role in the caribbean slave trade. he made the remarks during his visit to gentleman make actual the first for a british prime minister in 14 years. the caribbean countries say european governments are responsible for conducting slavery and genocide and also imposed 100 years of racial

apartheid. the calls for reparation have overshadowed his visit.

>> i'm ali velshi. "on target" tonight, how innocent americans tonight could end up labeled terrorists, turning their lives and livelihoods yum side down. upside down. the united states announced sanctions against five groups of people across the globe, connected to i.s.i.l, at a counterterrorism summit in new york, president obama said, part of america's commitment to use me