russia sends missiles into syria from war ships hundreds of kilometers away. president obama apologizes for an air strike destroyed an aid agency hospital in afghanistan.

russia has fired cruise missiles at targets in syria in a major display of military fire power. war ships in the caspian sea hundreds of kilometers away. the u.s. defense secretary says the strategy is a fundamental mistake and that coalition forces would not cooperate with russia. peter sharp reports from moscow. >>reporter: from the caspian sea, russia opened a second front in the syrian war unleashing cruise missiles at isil positions. the missiles bearing the nato code name sizzler were launched without warning from the sea.

these images quickly broadcast on russian state television. the targets were well within reach. moscow said it obtained permission from iran and iraq to overfly their territory to enable the missiles to reach targets. russia released graphics showing the course of the missiles over iran and iraq but avoiding southeastern turkey. >> this morning we engaged the caspian flotilla ships. all targets were destroyed and no civilians were harmed. >> the strike was totally unexpected and it begs the question as to why russia would target isil positions 1,200 kilometers away when it has a large fighter bomber force on the ground in syria carrying out daily strikes against isil. well, it would go to remind the

west of russia's military reach in this conflict. and in rome, the u.s. secretary of defense, ash carter, formally ruled out any military cooperation with russia. >> i've said before that we believe 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 a mistaken strategy and hit these targets. >> a disappointment for president putin who hoped to persuade the u.s. to join his coalition against isil robert hunter is a former u.s. ambassador to nato. he says the russian president is achieving both military and political objectives in syria. >> mr. putin is trying to get the west to take its eye off

ukraine and realize from his perspective there are things russia can do that will be useful and incidentally you ought to be thinking more about what we're doing together rather than where we're separated. after all, the russians helped the united states get the deal with iran. russia rescued the american president when he said that he would act on the syrian use of chemical weapons. so mr. putin is saying i'm in the game. notice me. >> what's really going on here is political. russia is showing that they're back. russia attempting to show that the united states doesn't really have a game plan. russia pushing back against the united states and becoming more firmly engaged in the civil war within the arab world. the united states on the sunni side. so russians are saying all right, we'll be on the side of mr. assad and also work with

iran and other shiites saying in effect you want to work together to deal with the eh terrorist question, you can't keep us at bay. >> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has ordered police to prevent government ministers to enter the mosque compound in a move to reduce tension. fighting across the west bank has seen five palestinians and four israelis killed since sunday. the palestinian driver was also shot and wounded by israeli soldiers. officials say he tried to run over a policeman at a checkpoint. >>reporter: there were clashes in several areas around the west bank in jericho, bethlehem, and here in ramalla.

israeli forces once again used live ammunition to push back the protesters. one figure stands out at this stage and that's the number of wounded. according to both the red crescent and the palestinian health ministry since october 3rd, 1642, palestinians were wounded and among them, you have about 260 hit by live ammunition and about 650 that were wounded because of rubber coated steel bullets. that just gives you an idea of the amount of force israeli soldiers have been using to push back these protesters and to confront them meanwhile bill clinton has told al jazeera that they thinks benjamin netanyahu the still

make a deal. >> i would not be surprised if they made a megaeffort there because a lot of arab states are telling israel we'd like to join in this but we got to resolve this. now, how long do they have to provide peaceable, lawful, nonviolent government before they can get their state? mr. netanyahu's problem previously was that he had so many people on his right that were part of his coalition. the last election in israel, everybody talked about how well netanyahu did. true. but labor actually picked up two seats. he did well by collapsing the opposition on his right and having them come to him. so he is now in a better position than he's been in a long time to make some sort of more comprehensive agreement with the palestinians if and only if he can sell it as part

of an approach with people who will help them be secure against terror and iran. so, you know, it might happen. it wouldn't write it off barack obama has called the charity doctors without borders to apologize for the u.s. bombing of a hospital in afghanistan. aid group is continuing to press for an independent investigation into the incident which killed 22 people including 12 medical personnel. here's tom ackerman. >>reporter: the u.s. command has offered several conflicting explanations of the attack on the hospital which has been likened to a war crime. >> it's very important that somehow there's some clarity about what happened and that as a community we reaffirm that we are up holding the geneva convention. otherwise, as a humanitarian aid actor, it won't be possible to

continue to work. >>reporter: at the white house a spokesman said president obama called the president of msf to offer a personal apology and promised a thorough internal investigation. >> the united states when we make a mistake are honest about it, own up to it, apologize when necessary as the president did in this case. >>reporter: but the agency is saying only an independent investigation will be satisfactory >> we've asked to activate the commission and reassert the protected status of hospitals in conflict zones. >>reporter: but neither the u.s. and afghanistan are members of that group which has never been called into action. the administration has remained noncommittal. >> we all believe it's important to let the three investigations currentedly ongoing run their course. >>reporter: in the past the u.s. has admitted responsibility for

mistaken attacks on civilian targets in conflict zones but never accepted responsibility for war crimes. tom ackerman, al jazeera, washington >> houthi rebels in yemen have confirmed their commitment to a u.n. peace plan saying they're willing to commit to a cease fire and withdraw from captured territory including the capital. iraqi forces have retaken several areas north and south of the city of rhamadi in an operation involving 2,000 soldiers. they've been backed by u.s.

coalition air strikes. this video claims to show isil fighters striking back at government troops. the u.n. says the deal to form a unity government in libya is getting closer. the u.n.'s special representative has been tasked with bringing together libya's rival governments. he says talks to reach a final agreement are nearing a conclusion. >> after consultations with all the libyans participating in this national dialogue, i come here to tell you that despite the waiting for the gnc to make a decision today, unfortunately this decision has not been the one we were expecting in terms of proposal names for the national unity government. but we have decided to go on and

we will continue working on the formation of this unity government and hopefully tomorrow we will be able to propose this government when we come back, we report from pakistan. ten years after a massive earthquake devastated parts of the region plus, diamonds are not forever.

welcome back. a quick recap of the top stories

here. russia has fired cruise missiles at targets in syria in a major display of military fire power. war ships in the caspian sea were involved in the attack violence has continued across the occupied west bank and israel. a palestinian driver was shot and wounded by israeli soldiers at a checkpoint. u.s. president barack obama has called the charity doctors without borders to apologize for the bombing of one of its hospitals in afghanistan. the aid group is continuing to press for an independent investigation into the incident which killed 22 people. >> now more than a million hectors of forest -- experts say the government's approach is ineffective and too late.

>>reporter: borneo's forest, a may store supplier of the planet's oxygen is on fire emitting dangerous green house gases instead. the fires ranging inside the thick layers of peat are nearly impossible to stop and causing a haze of smoke which is causing tens of thousands to fall ill. the government has sent in the military but experts say it's all too little too late. it was known months ago that indonesia would be hit by drought because of el nino. >> it's about enforcement. the meaningful work should have been done before the fires happened, before the el nino year happened. >>reporter: to protect one of the last remaining rain forests,

this conservation company has hired villagers who traditionally practice slash and burn techniques instead of setting them on fire. loggers and farmers now guard the trees. >> every time we plant trees, they never get the chance to grow and be productive because they're always destroyed by fire. that's why i have decided to help stop the fire. >>reporter: it's not only borneo's farmers who burn to clear land. planation owners. more than 200 companies are suspected of causing fires. so far only one has lost its license. >> on the border of one of borneo's's remaining rain forests, this section is closing in. most of the haze is coming from here. although this one seems now to be under control, deep down, the

fire can range on for many months and flare up every minute. >>reporter: the president has instructed canals should be dug to keep the land wet to stop the fires but experts warn that actually drains water and increasing the fire risk. the government admits more should have been done to prevent this disaster. >> from the start of the year the president has already warned to prevent the fires. his orders were very clear. the fact is the fires did happen meaning our preventive measures have to be improved. >>reporter: government leaders have yet to involve the communities considered crucial to solve the crisis. the disaster agency hopes to stop the fires by the end of the month. a prediction many say is far too optimistic and we're live now in

indonesia. experts say this is one of the worst year for bush fires. just how bad is it this year? >>reporter: it's one of the worst i've seen. i've never seen this. air quality levels here are five times danger level. danger level is set at 300 and that refers to the dangerous particles in the air. right now here the levels are 1,500. so people who can afford, they leave. they go to safer areas where the area is cleaner. but obviously millions can't. they can't afford to leave. they're stuck here. many are sick. they're dealing with respiratory disease. lung cancer is definitely on the rise here. until now the government has refused to see this as an international problem.

they have refused any international aid although it's reaching singapore and even up to thailand. emissions are very dangerous of co2 right now. the impact that has on climate change you can definitely say this is an international problem. >> and of course many people there in indonesia and across the region places like singapore and malaysia say this happens every single year. so why isn't the government doing more to stop it? >>reporter: yes. of course. everyone is wondering the same thing. now that i'm here on the ground. i've been traveling for four days. it's very clear that the government only comes into action when the fire already has started which is obviously far too late. these are very particular fires. these are peatland fires which

burn for a long time so the government has sent in military troops who have no knowledge whatsoever of these fires. the knowledge is here at these local communities who have traditionally burnt this type of land and know how to stop it but the communities are not involved at all and that's considered to be the biggest mistake of the government. >> thank you. it's been ten years since one of the biggest earthquakes on record hit pakistan. more than 80,000 people died. >>reporter: it struck at ten to 9:00 in the morning and was felt across pakistan, afghanistan, and india. the regional capital sits on one side of the fault line. when the quake hit, the surface

was ruptured and both cities were almost completely levelled. a thousand remote villages suffered major damage. homes, schools, hospitals, and roads were destroyed in addition to the more than 80,000 people who died and another 100,000 who were injured. outside aid poured in. more than $5 billion. but getting help to people in remote areas was difficult in an area plagued by aftershocks. and bad weather mountainous terrain, land slides and blocked roads hampered the aid. ten years on most has been rebuilt especially in the city but villagers far away say

they're still living in the rubble. >>reporter: the 2005 earthquake destroyed almost 60% of this city. pakistan asked for international help. billions of dollars poured in from around the world. but the government says it still needs more money to complete ongoing projects. already we have been able to see the school children studying under open skies. >> they also need just like our children, they need furniture, they need good classrooms, good atmosphere, good ground. they have that right. >>reporter: despite the fact that the government has put in considerable money to rebuild here, there are over a thousand schools that have yet to be rebuilt. these people have been sitting out in the open for at least ten years now. and of course classes here are subject to weather. the government now plans to build a brand new prime minister house and president's house here in the city but people say that

money should be spent on these children and rebuilding their schools. >> pakistan's supreme court has upheld the death sentence passed town to the killer of a provincial government. to avoid execution, many people are turning to tribal justice to solve long-running disputes. nicole johnson reports from pakistan. >>reporter: despite the death threats, he volunteers for a job few others want. mediating between families who hate each other. sometimes their disputes have festered for decades. >> from the moment the government decides to hang people, our work increased by 60 to 70%. many were in jail and the order had been given to hang them. time was ticking. >>reporter: every meeting starts

the same way, with a hug. these men have been feuding with their neighbor for 23 years. the disagreement started over a pond. one family wanted to fish in it. the other wanted to swim. 25 people have been killed since then. >> from my heart, i don't want to give guns to the young anymore. we made an agreement once but again the killing started. we have to find a way to mediate or we will destroy ourselves. >>reporter: these types of mediations are critical to ending disputes between families. if they went to court, they'd get a verdict. but the war and the hatred between the families would continue. so this is the only way to end the fighting once and for all. he manages to get both sides to compromise. his intervention has saved 45 people from death row this year. >> we appreciate the government.

they're truly implementing the punishment so people are starting to solve their problems. >>reporter: if a mediator gettings both sides to reach an agreement, it's submitted to the court and the case is withdrawn and anyone involved in the dispute who is in prison or on death row is freed. without a deal, the revenge killings could continue for generations. sometimes reaching agreement can be costly. this man's son is facing execution for murder. he's agreed to pay $40,000 to the victim's family to save his son. >> before people stayed enemies and wouldn't negotiate. now they're starting tribal councils because of fear of execution. they'll reach an agreement at any cost. >>reporter: another life spared. time to celebrate with rice and kabobs. with more than 8,000 pakistanis

on death row, he's busy. his condemned clients know now is the time to compromise if they want to avoid the hangman's noose. botswana's diamond industry is losing its sparkle. sales are now falling because there where too many of the precious stones are on the market and thousands working in the industry have lost their jobs. >>reporter: diamonds con tribute to more than 70% of its export income but sales are down as well as prices. >> clearly it's a challenging time for anyone in the pipeline. us as well, manufacturers and the retailers. that imbalance will pull through and we're working very hard to ensure that consumers still

desire diamonds. >>reporter: sales reached $80 billion for the first time this year but this year economic uncertainty and a slowdown in growth in china has damaged the industry. debeers says demand remains strong despite a more than 20% drop in sales in the first half of this year. >> we're investing heavily in the long term. >>reporter: jobs have been lost. a third of employees here have already lost their jobs. two companies have completely shut down. diamond suppliers hope the industry will recover over christmas. >>reporter: they're trying to improve the skills of its workforce so they can also cut and polish the precious stone sdmrs that's really the life blood of the economy of

botswana. we're talking about people in the government, employees, talking about people in hospitality, education. >>reporter: the trade union also says diamonds need to be marketed differently to appeal to local buyers. executives are urging government leaders to make concessions. >> they want to buy diamonds and ship them out of the country completely. they call that flexibility. want us to see if we could have different services. coming up with all sorts of things. those that we can help with, we have and those we can't we can't. >>reporter: botswana has cut this year's forecast to over half. current conditions are a wake up call for botswana to ensure it diversifies an economy heavily reliant on a single commodity.

and a quick reminder, you can keep up to date with all the news on our website, al jazeera.com. >> on "america tonight": the vug to stay struggle to stay aflowed. >> the titanic from the same time. >> our ship the most famous ship that didn't sink. >> america's gray lady, a vision of grander days and why her next journey may be her last. also, bull's eye, maine takes a second shot at juvenile justice. >> they're often more likely to