russia carrys out a series of new air strikes in syria, questions still remain over just who they are targeting. ♪ ♪ from al jazeera's headquarters in doha, i am sammy zeidan, also ahead the future of europe at the top of the agenda. francois hollande and angela merkel are due to make a historic address. rallies calling for a boost to the minimum wage. and inmates take over a prison in brazil and threat taupe throw hostages from roof tops. ♪

♪ first to syria where russia has carried out more airstrikes as part of an air campaign it says is targeting isil. the strikes there are reports of civilian death. i understand this is part of quite a large military operation. what's going on? >> reporter: well, yes, the russian military intervention in syria has entered a new phase. what we saw over the last week is russian air strikes trying to weaken the defenses of the opposition to stop a rebel advance towards the country side. today that air power is being used to provide support to a ground operation on the ground. this is what we understand from activists.

there is intense military activity at this in the southern idlib province, northern country side of a very strategic corner in western syria. because it is situated on a main highway that links the southern city of damascus to the northern city of aleppo. now activists are reporting intense air strikes talking about surface to surface missiles, what we do understand is that the government did give a warn to go people in the village and we understand that thousands of people have started to flee as of yesterday. they told them this they are going to push in to this town as they push further north. so what is becoming clear is that the russian aerial campaign is helping the government recapture territory. and really, yes, russia is calling this, you know, a war against terrorism, but for them they are using isil as a blanket term for most of the opposition groups they believe most of the

opposition groupings on the ground are quote, unquote, terrorists. so the russian air strikes stopping the rebel advance, weakening the rebel defenses and now being used to help the government advance. the question is, will they succeed? will this ground operation succeed? it has just started and we have to watch the developments closely. i am sure we will do that. thank so much for now, zeina khodr. the world has failed to help syrians both inside and outside their war-torn countries rim that's according to international aid group oxfam which has released a damning report. the solidarity with syrians report says only a handful of countries have been providing their fair share th the of shor. several countries including iran, ca at that, saudi arabia, turkey and the u.s. are fueling violence through arms and ammunition transfers. and it says the aid response is faltering, many countries aren't sends throwing money they have

pledged. the author of the objection fan reports says evidence points to a deepening human tragedy. >> if you look at the number of people in need, 2 million more people displaced this years within million fled across international borders and there is less money this year than last year for the response. we have seen quite a drop off from some of the countries in the gulf so saudi arabia is providing a lot less than last year. i think the thing to emphasize behind the statistics and the report, is that this equates to a deepening human tragedy. this means less aid for -- less aid for refugees and those people inside syria. so i think that it's a combination like you say of potentially the lines of the crisis and other priorities on government's mind which is --

which is causing this crisis to deepen. the european union is launching a military operation to catch refugees smugglers in the mediterranean. european warships will start patrolling international warships. six have been placed where dangerous boats try to cross, thousands have been recued in crept days. europe's refugees crisis is just one of main issues that will be discussed in the european parliament in the coming hours, the german chancellor angela merkel and french president francois hollande are due to make an historic address. it will be the first joint german french speak since 1989. >> reporter: when they address, they face a continent under strain. the refugees crisis, greek debt sag and the conflict in ukraine, have created moral and constitutional dilemmas.

the last time the leaders gave a joints address was 1989, two weeks after the fall of the berlin wall when europe was celebrating new-found unity. now it faces deep divisions. nearly half a million refugees have arrived in europe this year. many heading for germany and other wealthy e.u. states, but a crisis has opened up fault lines between countries willing and able to accommodate refugees and those who want to keep them out. hungary responded by fortifying its borders. the government there says the influx in muslim ref yeas threatens the continent's christian identity. hungary the czech republic, romania and slovakia is have all objected to sharing refugees mucks, in greece already hit hard by economic hardship the authorities have found themselves overwhelmed. >> the syrian conflict, the lingering eurozone crisis, ram manned youth unemployment. still in southern european democracies. not to mention the pros spent

that one of the major players e.u. e. brit' is contemplating leaving but obviousl obviously. >> reporter: they'll want to put aside political difference to his champion european unity and reforms, including the possibility i've larger european budget to spur on growth. and changes to help reduce the differences between economies. but as germany and france push for greater i want greats, the limits of -- i want great the limits continue to be tested. holding marches in cities across the country. workers are demanding a raise to the minimum wage. a recent report by the

university of cape town found there are about 5.5 million people who work full time but still can't afford to keep their families out of poverty. police in australia have arrested five people in connection with the killing of a civilian police worker. the arrests were made when 200 officers raided homes in western sydney. on friday curtis change was shot dead by a 15-year-old iranian who was then killed by police. officials say they believe the murder was politically motivated and have now linked it two what they are are calling terrorism. prisoners at the state prison in southern brazil have overpowered guards, at least 10 people have been taken hostage during the riots, caroline malone reports. >> reporter: they are supposed to be serving time for crime but prisoners are in control of this unit at the state jail. they are armed with knives and sticks. and have threatened to throw

their hospital times, fellow inmates off the roof if their demands are not met. their complaints have been heard before. conditions are inhuman and prisons are notoriously overcrowded. nearly 600,000 people in prisons across the country in cells cels designed to hold less than 300,000, many haven't seen a judge and so have not been convicted of any crime. >> these prisons are full of people waiting for trials who are held together with convicted prisoners. and that's a violation of international law. >> reporter: the riots started on tuesday morning at a section that houses sexual offenders. prisoners sparked windows and set parts of the building on fire. other inmates were injured trying to runaway from the mob. fearing they, too, would be taken hostage. police and inmates family members are gathering outside while the riots and many other

major prison issues carry on inside. caroline malone, al jazeera. let's take you back to the story we have been telling you about the south african trade union is holding a march across the country today. tania page joins us from johannesburg. what exactly do they want? >> reporter: what they are demands on the ground world day for decent work is the implementation and enforcement of a national minimum wage of somewhere between 330 and $440. they say that's the minimum that someone should earn to be able to earn a decent living and to live in dignity and that is in line with the findings of a study conducted by the university of cape town which found that after an average worker to support an average family needs to earn about that lower level. that $330. they also want government to step in over planned retrench. s in many industries including

the mining industry with 10s of thousands of jobs have been threatened the main is bosses say by their rising wage bill. >> that's a big problem there south africa, plain is for your viewers, tania. >> reporter: yeah, it's a huge problem. and this was revealed by that university of cape town study which really coined the term, they say that there are five and a half million workers en employed and work 35 plus hours a beak, so full time and yet they can still not afford to support their families. they live from hand to mouth and i met a domestic work, he a cleaner, who works six days a week, well over 35 hours, she has a daughter to support, she is a solo parent. she earns $88 a month. it's not enough to get her through to the end of the month. she's need to borrow money from neighbors and friends from her employer as well and yet says she feels lucky that she has a nobody and this is the difficult situation workers and employers

are in one in four adults in it country i is unemployed. even though the money is not good many feel grateful just to have work. >> tania page from johannesburg. still to come on the show, violence in the occupied west bank. israel's prime minter denies he's trying to change rules over access to the al-aqsa mosque compound. plus while the economic outlook is grim for most countries in latin america, peru says it's feeling confidence.

i just had a horrible nightmare. my company's entire network went down, and i was home in bed, unaware. but that would never happen. comcast business monitors my company's network 24 hours a day and calls and e-mails me if something, like this scary storm, takes it offline. so i can rest easy. what. you don't have a desk bed? don't be left in the dark. get proactive alerts 24/7. comcast business. built for business.

>> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is.

♪ welcome back let's recap the headlines now, russia has carried out more airstrikes in syria as part of an air campaign it says is targeting isil. the strikes focused on areas, there are supports of civilian death. the european union is launching a military operation to catch left yi smugglers in the mediterranean. european warships will start patrolling the waters. rising prisoners at the state prison in southern brazil are threaten to go throw hostages off the roof if their demands are not met. they have overpowered guards during practice tests about poor conditions at the jail. toll jerusalem now where an israeli police spokesperson says a jewish man has been stabbed by a palestinian woman in the old city. the man pulled out a gun and shot the woman. she's been taken to hospital. the attack comes amid rising tensions.

benjamin netanyahu is dismissing allegations his government is trying to change the status quo of the al-aqsa mosque compound in jerusalem. juice are allowed to visits but not pray at the site. israel has also imposed severe restriction on his muslim men under 50 from entering the area. >> they are using additional security forces, they have clear instructions to act against any danger to life, their own and to innocent people. we are taking other steps and unfortunately a lot of this goes back to the incitement from hamas, from the palestinian authority. from the islamist movement in israel itself which spread a lie that israel is trying to change the stat up quo in the temple mount that israel wants in any way to hurt the sake et cetera sites of islam. we are the guarantors of the sacred sites of islam. we are the reason that the sake residence sites of islam, or christianity and judaism do not

look like palmyra. >> netanyahu has imposed severe security restrict no, sir the occupied west banca after a series after at with death on his both sides. mike hannah reports. >> reporter: the crack down resumed before dawn, the israeli i'm ransacking several houses and arresting two people. the resistence was fierce but limited to stones. then the homes of two men were demolish go ahead. neighbors say this is an act of calculated cruelty given that the attacks occurred nearly a year ago that they were blade for. the p.l.o. describes it the as a another act of illegal punishment. >> army forces came and raided the houses and assaulted the residents, they started hitting people and ordered us to evacuate immediately.

without in i prewarping, we were evacuate today the street. >> reporter: while in bethlehem the funeral of 13-year-old abdul, who was shot if & killed by the israeli army at a nearby refugees camp. his family adamant that there were no protests taking place at the time of the shooting. >> translator: my son went to school like all the other kids and firns school and never came back home, they shot him and there are no clashes underway inside the camp. >> reporter: and protesters repeatedly disbursed by rusher coated steel bullets and tear gas, gunshots were also fired. as palestinian frustration mounts, so too does political pressure palestinian leader mahmoud abbas, there are questions from the hamas leadership over cooperation with israel and questions with his own pl on. factions as to whether or not he intends to ban done the oslo

accord or not. the fund. think framework who for whatever relationship with israel exists. mahmoud abbas made clear his belief that under occupation palestinians are forced to defends themselves. >> when a group of settlers come and attack a village what, do you expect our response to be? leave us alone, we are not the ones who started it. israel has to stop and accept our hand is reached out for a political solution in a peaceful way. >> reporter: another day of rage. another day of israeli okay ta take. mike hannas, al jazeera. houthi rebels in generally have confirmed their commit to him a u.n. peace plan, they have written to the u.n. secretary general saying that they are willing to commit to a she's fire and withdraw from captured territory including the capital sanaa. they made a verbal agreement to the plan last mom the yemeni government insist the houthis must withdraw from sanaa before

lie dialogue can take place. doctors without borders are calling for i a u.n. fact finding mission to find out what happened. a top u.s. official admitted it was a mistake. general john campbell says changes are being made to avoid a similar situation, 22 patients and staff were killed saturday. afghan forces are struggling to control kunduz, they have been fighting the taliban forces which are in the residential areas on the outskirts. >> reporter: it is very fragile situation. no one knows who is going to be in control of where and when. afghan residents who are stuck there they are telling us like every five minutes it change. now afghan residents are out to do shopping. i asked some of them why they are taking the risk to go out.

they are telling us they don't have a choice. they run out of food, water, no electricity. they have to take and go and find an open shop to buy something to survive. volkswagen will recall cars affected by the emission scandal from january. vw's new chief executive says they'll all be fixed by the end of the next year up to 11 million diesel cars are said to contain software to cheat he missions tests. the international monetary fund predicts economic growth in latin america will shrink .3 of a%, but while the economic outlook may be grim for most countries, peru says its economy is strong, so strong in fact it's taken part in the trans pacific partnership the world's biggest free straight deal. a report from lima now. >> reporter: it's the first recession in latin america and the caribbean in six years after years of growth decline the

international monetary fund says this region and other emergeing economies are at their lowest point. >> commodity price falls are having their most intense effect there. and these runs is, of course, are more than half of world gdp and the try un's shower of world gdp growth. 2015 is projected to be the fifth straight year in which emerging and low in him growth declines. >> reporter: peru is recovering from last year's slow down the economy is expected to grow six times the average in latin america. the i.m.f. says it has the lowest inflation in the region. poverty has reduce fived teen% and the gap between rich and poor has that retur return. they are celebrating the up lunges in the trans fa surfing

partnership. many say it wilhelm peru expand its exports commons commodity. >> translator: we celebrate with two other country rips in the region which have agreed to a very ambitious treaty that will contract to open and diverse new markets. >> reporter: critic says believe peru already has free trade agreements with seven countries and a new one will not turn in to an engine to reactivate commerce. >> translator: the president said it would be got for diversifying production, we have many free trade agreements if them have been a panacea we would not be in a crisis. i am not against them, but they are not the panacea. >> reporter: some believe the policies are not strong enough to prevent economic conditions to worsen. and the improvements in the livelihoods of thousands of peru vinnies gained in a decade of financial prosperity may be lo

lost. >> the u.s. secretary of state has stopped in haiti. he said there was no place for violence are intimidation in the vote on october 25th i've vote in august was disruptinged by disorder and voter intimidation. u.s. prosecutors have charged the former president of the united nations general assembly with corruption. john ashe is accused of taking hundredhundreds of thousands ofs in bribes from a chinese property dealer. five other u.n. and business people have been charged. global sports gambling is a $500 billion a year industry. one particular kind of online sports gambleing in the u.s. is coming under scrutiny after allegations of insider trading. more from new york.

>> reporter: it's an online sports betting company called draft kings, television commercial craft people with the chance to win big money. >> everyone knows draft kings makes more millionaires than anyone else. >> reporter: it's called fantasy sports. here is how it works. fans pay an online entry fee anywhere from 1 dollar do $1,000 to join a pool. fans pick players, assemble a hypothetical or imaginary team and then win or lose based on how well the players perform each week. lots of money is involved. it's a $2.5 billion a year industry, and expected to grow to $14 billion by 2020. but fantasy sports leagues now face a big scandal after accusations that an employee from draft kings won hundreds of thousands of dollars betting on american football with a rival company enlargedly based on information not available to the public. it's being called a case akin to

insider trading. or cheating. >> when you play poker you figure nobody else has access to see your cards. that's what is at question here, is what data and what information could people have access to and what kind of protections are on that. >> reporter: draft kings and fan duel the other major industry company issue a joint statement denying employs had insider information that helped them win and said, quote, nothing is more important than the integrity of the games we off tore fans both companies have put a ban on employees participating in online fantasy sports contests while internal investigations continues. in america unlike casino gambling aura on line poker fantasy sports betting leagues are not regulated by federal law. the latest controversy has many reassessing if they should be. >> they are basically trusting draft kings and fan duel to run the games themselves. there is no third party. no government oversight.

so i think that's where the question comes in. and that's why people want answers about what is going on at these daily fantasy sites. fantasy sports fans expecting to go be betting on a level playing field now wondering if that wasn't fantasy in itself. gabriel elizondo, al jazeera, new york. >> bot swan's dime up industry is losing its sparkle there are too many of the precious stones on the market and sales are falling. thousands of people working in the industry have lost their jobs as we explain. >> reporter: botswana's bread and butter. diamonds contribute more than 70% of its export income. but with too many polished diamonds on the market, sales are down and so are prizes. >> clearly it's a challenging period for everybody in the pipeline. you know, us as well. the manufacturers and retailers, as i say that imbalance will pull through and you know, we are working very hard to insure that consumers still desire diamonds.

>> reporter: sales reached $80 billion for the first time last year. but this year's economic uncertainty in many countries and a slow down in growth and shape a are damaging the industry. deboers which says it's the world's leading diamond company says demands remains strong despite a more than 20% drop in sales in the first half of this year. >> we are investing heavily in the long-term, we have about $3 billion invest ed in future projects. >> reporter: but jobs have been lost in botswana and other countries which out and polish diamonds ape third of employees in the diamond cutting and polishing sector here have already lost their jobs. two company have his completely shutdown with many others cutting back production. but diamond supplyers hope this year's christmas period will hope the industry recover. traditionally if has mined and sold raw diamonds. now it's trying to improve its workforce to cut and polish the precious stones. >> it's the life blood of the economy of botswana. a lot of lives are in the

diamond industry, the off spin of it we are talking about people in the government employees, talking about the people in hospitality, talking about edge case. >> reporter: the trade union also says diamonds need to be marketed differently to appeal for younger buyers. executives at local diamond polishing factories are urging government leaders to make concessions. >> they want to buy diamonds from dtcb and ship them out of the country completely calling that flexibility. wanted us to see if we could have other services removed from the dipped ups, the diamonds, wn with all sorts of things. >> reporter: they have cut the economic growth forecast to almost five to two-point sick 4%, many say eights wake up call for up sure that they did i versiodiversify.which looks like spark poll some just now. al jazeera, bot swan at that a.

a reminds are that you can keep up to date with all the news that we have been telling but if you head over to our website aljazeera.com is the address, you can see our front page there with our lead story the situation in syria. vo: visitors to london could be forgiven for thinking they are seeing a quintessentially british town. the imperial architecture. the iconic black taxis and red phone boxes. but