♪ >> hello, you're watching al jazeera live from london. coming up on the program, .

>> launching missiles into the war-torn country in warships. according to defense ministry, 26 cruise missiles were fired russia says the operation destroyed all 11 of those targets and no civilians were killed or injured. meanwhile, syrian government troops and their allies launched an offensive under russian air cover. they're targeting rebel fighters and not isil. peter sharp begins our coverage

from moscow. >> from the caspian sea 1200 kilometers from the fighting, russia opened the second front in the syrian war unleashing missiles at isil positions. the caliber bearing the code name sizzler were launched without warning by russia's powerful caspian sea flotilla. these images were broadcast on russian state television. with a range of 2500 kilometer, they were allowed to reach their targets. russia released graphics showing the missiles over iran and iraq but avoiding southeastern turk turkey. russian's defense minister briefed the president on the strike. this morning we engaged the ca

flotilla ships. they indicated that all targets were destroyed and no individuals were harmed. >> it begs the question why russia would target isil positions. well, it would go on to remind the west of russia's military reach in this conflict. and in rome the u.s. secretary of defense ash carterrer ruled out any cooperation with russia. >> i said before that we believe that russia has the wrong strategy. they continue to hit targets that are not isil. we believe this is a fundamental mistake. despite what the russians say we have not agreed to cooperate with russia, so long as they continue to pursue mistaken strategy and hit these targets. >> a disappointment for president putin.

who had hoped to persuade the u.s. to join his coalition against isil. peter sharp, al jazeera, moscow. >> well, this could be the first time that russia has used this type of missile in conflict. let's take a look at the capabilities. the missiles have a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. they can be fired from ships and submarines and reportedly able to carry nuclear and conventional war heads. they can fly at super sonic speeds let's than 50 meters above the ground. that makes them difficult if not impossible to shoot down. well, meanwhile the u.s. department of the defense said that one 6 its aircraft had to alter its flight path to avoid russia aircraft. >> they're trying to expand discussions on deconfliction to

include ways to end the civil war inside syria. the u.s. is insisting that that is a matter for the diplomats, not for the generals to discuss. they also say that it is very important in the short term to make certain that the air war such as it is, is aimed as isil, not at syrian rebels who are close to the government and president bashar al-assad. it said that ted to change the flight path of one of its aircraft. they suggested it was not the first time in the past week since the russians started their air war that this sort of near miss actually occurred. so they're pushing for some direct conversation in order to make certain that u.s. and russian aircraft do not get in

each other's way and lead to larger catastrophe. >> russian airstrikes have destroyed the mains weapon. it's not the power that moscow is displaying, there are ground reports too. we have that side of the story from beirut. >> a new phase of russia's intervention in syria. they've been targeting the opposition from the air. now that air power is being used to support a syrian army counter offensive on the ground. they're coming under fire. this battle is for control of an important corner situated along the may highway. and it seems that the government had informed the residents of the planned assault. >> after the syrian regime threatened the town, the

families fled from their homes and now this town is empty of civilians, and only rebels remain. >> people started fleeing on tuesday. tens of thousands listened in the town, it is not clear how many of them have already left. but the rebel factions in this region are promising to fight back. >> we'll defend our land. we'll now alou the murderous assad army to enter. we promise to burn them. >> the airstrike has been weakening the defenses of the opposition in front line areas surrounding the government's stronghold in the west. they stopped the rebel advances in this region. now they're helping the army recapture territory. >> the immediate objective of russia's intervention of the conflict is becoming clear. to change the balance of power on the ground. al jazeera, beirut.

>> tensions remain high between israelis and palestinians with three reported stabbings on wednesday and an increase in violence across israel and the occupied west bank. this was the scene where students from the university fought with israeli forces. one man was killed and several others injured. across the west bank they've seen five palestinians killed sin the beginning of the month, and we have more from ramallah. >> there were clashes in several areas around the west bank in jericho, in bethlehem, in hebron where one of the protesters died, and here where they called for the day of rage. now the clashes lasted for several hours with israeli forces using once again live ammunition to push back the protesters. now this has been going on for several days, and there is one

figure that really stands out at this stage, and that's the number of wounded. according to both the areas, 1,642 palestinians were wounded, and among them you have about 260 that were hit by live ammunition, and 650 that were wounded because of rubber-coated steel bullets. that gives you the idea of the amount of force the israeli forces have been using to push back these protesters and to confront them. >> fifa president sepp blatter looks set to be suspended by the ethics committee by football's governing body. the 79-year-old currently the subject of a swiss investigation including allegations of fraud. to get you more on the story we're joined via skype by gavin

hamilton. thank you for joining us here on al jazeera. now please first of all explain to us exactly what is happening. there are two sections, if we will, of this ethics committee. there is the investigatory one and then the adjudicatory. >> they're going to recommend a 90-day suspension. the adjudicate side of the ethics committee will make a decision later in the week as to whether implement the suspension. it's unclear yet whether blatter will be suspended. it's a strange set up because the ethics committee was created under platter's presidency. and he's in charge of the appointees and it's very much

his baby. and yet it's now investigating him and it is now looking at a possible suspension of him. it's a strange situation, but i think blatter is slowly losing control of fifa, the net is closing in on him, and it's looking lightly that he'll be suspended. >> if he is suspended presumably that would take him to january, the election. he always said that he was going to stand down eventually. the election will be held in february. i guess fifa will be in more disarray than it is already because there is no successor, is there? >> no, the 90 day suspension would take him into january, and it would set the janet for the congress in february that will elect a new president. the other story that has submerged is that michel platini, the uefa president, and the favorite to win the election in february, will effect a

suspension. that would rule him out of the election, and blow the election wide open, and i think we'll see a number of the people emerging as candidates in place of michel platini. in the meantime blatter has controlled the organization so tightly, so long, we don't know what will happen if and when he leaves the building. >> the ethics proceeding with the claims that blatter missold tv rights, and made payments to michelle marriage. but what would happen, assuming the ethics committee would suspend him, there are things that should be lookinged into more deeply. would anything come out of that

investigation? >> this is a serious matter, and it is in the hands of the swiss prosecutors and investigators. that's being investigated by the criminal authorities in switzerlanswitzer switzerland, we've never had a fifa president under investigation like this. but if he's suspended, and i has to give up office, he has to leave the building, clear his office, empty his office, yes, we're completely on uncharted--in story in theory they would take charge but he has been the subject of a number of allegations. >> fifa has almost become a by-word for corruption. it has been going on for months,

it has been eye lighted to the world for months. has there been any impact in the world of football itself? >> no, the extraordinary thing is that football goes on. it makes its money from organizing the world cup, and the world cup is he would every four years, and prescriptions in rush are well advanced. that is ongoing. fee from a will--we don't know how it will reform itself, but it needs to reform itself. there needs to be a clear out of the organization. that will happen, and this has been organized by myself and other colleagues, it will only happen when blatter leaves the building, leaves the organization. it's only when you start new from zero that freeway i fifa zero for fifa.

>> gavin hamilton, thank you so much for having joined us. well, you're watching al jazeera. still to come. police in moldova stop gangs from selling nuclear materials to groups in the middle east. and discovering that these games are not so precious any more. we have a special report from botswana.

>> time now for a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. russia has fired 26 missiles

from its fleet of warships in the caspian sea. the targeted were associated with isil anda al nusra. there is heightened tension in israel, a palestinian attacker stabbed an israeli man to death outside of a mall. and a possible suspension following recommendation from the ethics committee in sepp blatter's mismanagement of fifa. in northern afghanistan 22 people were killed in an attack on saturday. doctors without borders are seeking to invoke a never-used body set up in the 1991 geneva convention to investigate the attack. suggesting that a war crime may have been committed. >> the u.s. command has offered

several conflicting explanations on the attack on the hospital, which has been likened to a war crime. >> it's very important that some how, something, there is clarity involved in what happened, and as a community we reaffirm that we are up holding to the geneva convention. other words as a military acto a humanitarian aid worker, it will not work the united states, we honest about it. we own up to it. we apologize, and the president did in this case. >> msf said that only an independent investigation would be satisfactory. >> we ask signatory states to activate and establish the truth

and reassert the status of hospitals in conflict zones. >> but neither the u.s. or afghanistan are members of that group, which has never been called into action. they asked president obama to consent to the outside administration. but they remain non-committal. >> we think that it's important to let the three investigations to run their course. >> in the past they have admi admitted to mistaken attack in conflict zones, but never accepted responsibility for a war crime. but after the shooting down of an airliner over the gulf, the u.s. reached a settlement in the international court of justice. it expressed deep regret over the loss of lives and paid out more than $60 million. >> police in eastern european country of moldova say that they stopped gangs from selling

nuclear materials. criminal organizations are driving a growing nuclear black market. emma hayward has more. >> it was no ordinary target as they apprehend a man who is alleged tol to belong to a--a case which has exposed moldova as a hub of illegal nuclear materials operating illegally. in the past five years moldova police together with the u.s.

fbi have stopped four attempts by russian-linked gangs selling nuclear material. when they raided the home of a former kgb informant, they found blueprints on how to build a dirty bomb. >> they can make one of those dirty bombs. have you heard of such a thing? the level of readation would be high. >> but this was all part of a strip. he believed when he went to pick up hundreds of thousands of dollars, if had come from a genuine buyer, but the police were about to pounce. the substances discovered were potentially dangerous in the wrong hands. >> these types of materials, you can't produce, but what they're

warning it is slightly less dangerous. >> moldovan officials say that some of those allegedly involved have faced justice. but the tenses have been short. the danger posed by many others in this murky dangerous world still exist. >> police in belgium have used tear gas and water canons on protesters taking part in an anti-austerity march. the demonstration which was paned by around 1,000 people got out of hand. protesters confronted riot police who responded with tear gas and water canon. diamonds are central to the economy of botswana. but the oversupply of the

precious stone are hitting the diamond industry. thousands of people are losing their jobs. >> botswana's bread and butter. diamonds contribute more than 70% of its export income but for too many polished market sales are down. >> it's a challenging period for everybody in the pipeline, us as well. the manufacturers and the retailers. as i say, that imbalance will pull through, and you know, we're working very hard to insure that consumers still desire diamonds. >> this

>> jobs have been lost in botswana and other countries which cut and polish diamonds. >> diamond cutting has already lost their jobs. two companies have shut down with many cutting back production. but diamond suppliers hope this will help the industry recover. >> traditionally they have mined and sold raw diamonds. now it's time to improve the skills of their workforce so they can cut and polish the precious stones. >> the diamonds are the lifeblood of the economy of botswana. not only in the diamond industry, the off-spin of it, we're thinking about the government employees, people in hospitality, education. >> the trade union also says diamonds need to be marketed differently to appeal to younger buyers. executives of diamond polishing factories are urging government leaders to make concessions.

>> if they want them to buy diamonds, ship them out of the country completely. they're called flexibility. they come up with all sorts of things. >> botswana has cut to the growth forecast to half, 2.6%. many say that current conditions are a wake-up call to insure it's diversified economy heavily reliant on a single commodity. >> the world of fashion is always looking for the next big thing. and perhaps iraqi designs will become next season's new look. look at that. that's what five young iraqi designers are hoping after showcasing their creations. it's the first time since the

70s that a fashion show of its kind has been held there. now there has been a surprising find in the waters of hong kong where land reclamation and pollution are prolific in an area where scientists thought that coral reefs would struggle and they're actually thriving. >> cranes and construction sites circle the harbor it front. land is slowly devouring these waters as the city expands its footprint. these scientists are keeping a close watch on what is happening on land, but even closer watch on what is happening beneath the water and what might be happening to the coral. >> we have pollution that derives from development, particularly from sewage. heavy metal contamination. we have sedimentation, and so all of these things synergistic

effect coral in a negative way. >> david baker is leading this international research team. the group is diving at key spots logging carl species and how they're fearing in the house of these tough conditions, and no one was expecting this. >> this is pretty skied. we do have the numbers of the water equality. >> just a few naught mall miles, major construction sites and 7 million people the divers have found coral not just alive but thriving. >> it's remarkable. we could dive in places where you think no coral could survive, polluted harbors, marinas, areas near waste water discharges, and you can still find all coral relatives. >> so far the team has documented 80 different species

of hard corral, something that is new to see. >> we have seen school of vicious today. it was a pretty nice day today. >> like any other marine environment, this region is feeling the impact of climate change and development. but the stronger types of coral species here are holding on despite the unrelenting conditions. and scientists are trying to establish how they survive. on each dive the scientists collect fragments of coral to monitor and activate. >> we can grow them, create baby coles. the goal is to put the sites where they came from. >> the fact that these coles are thriving are leaving scientists baffled. >> we could make a hypothesis that the corals here are only the strongest. only the strongest survive.

it could be that the coles that we have here today are super corals and hold secrets to the future. >> it's an underwater mystery offering a glimmer of hope for a habitat under threat. >> i can find out more on our website. www.aljazeera.com. ♪ ♪ after years of negotiation the united states and a big group of pacific rim trading partners agreed to a new set of rules for international trade. americans are of many minds about trade deals, what should they know about this one? and as we proceed into the presidential cycle does the trans specific partnership have the makings of a campaign issue? are you down with tpp?