>> deadly clashes. another day of rage led to more violence between palestinians and israelis. as the u.n. security council held an emergency meeting on the unrest. >> everybody needs to focus on making sure that innocent people aren't being killed. >> drone down. turkey takes out an unmanned aircraft over its territory and russia's military steps up attacks on anti-assad forces in

syria. >> it's clear he wants to stick his finger in the eye of the west. >> outrage, a big game hunter kills one of the biggest elephants in africa and it was legal. calling hunting laws into question. and cuban rhythm, to celebrate hispanic heritage month, the first act to play there in 50 years. ♪ >> good evening i'm antonio mora. this is al jazeera america. israel has rejebted a palestinian appeal for an international protection protectioforceand the al-aqsa mn jerusalem. president obama said today he is

sending secretary of state john kerry to meet with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> we condemn in the strongest possible terms violence directed against innocent people. and believe that israel has a right to maintain basic law and order and protect its citizens from knife attacks, and violence, on the streets. >> earlier today palestinian leader mawk mahmoud abbas conded violence in the area, u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon called it reprehensible. violence continued through the gaza and west bank areas.

protesters attempted to breach border fences in several places including the main crossing point into israel. elsewhere in gaza israeli police killed at least two palestinians when they fired on stone-throwing protesters. clashes also broke out across the occupied west bank. these in bethlehem. others in hebron where a palestinian man disguised as a adjournist with thjournalists, s emblaze oned across his chest was shot dead. tensions remain high with palestinians facing roadblocks checkpoints and searches that lengthen what are normally short journeys. nearby, palestinians prayed on the street after the israeli government restricted friday

prayers at the al-aqsa compound for people over 40. calling an emergency meeting of the united nations security council. more from kristin saloomey. >> the u.n. got a briefing from under secretary general, he welcomed comments from prime minister benjamin netanyahu that there would be no changes to access to the al-aqsa mosque. but he criticized what he described as the heavy handed response of israeli security forces. the palestinian ambassador said that his people had little trust that israel would live up to that promise to maintain the status quo. >> if there is an international presence, around al-aqsa mosque, in order to guarantee that the status quo to be maintained, i think that that is what is in the mind of members of the security council, that is in our mind.

>> the facts speak for themselves. for decades israel has maintained the status quo and will keep on doing so. let me be crystal clear. israel will not agree to any international presence on the temple mount. such a presence would be a change in the status quo. >> now there are many calls from security council members to end the violence and end provocative acts. but right now, there seems to be little appetite for implementing the kind of monitoring force that the palestinians have been talking about. >> kristin saloomey at the u.n. the palestinian cause got a strong show of support from demonstrators in the jordan. thousands mandatory in the capital a aman today, they were protesting on the israel -- gaza border.

turkey says it shot down a drone in its air space today, turkish officials say their military issued three warnings before attacking the aircraft. al jazeera's bernard smith has details. >> there were signs that the aircraft was three meters within the turkish air space. they gave warnings to move, and it didn't. it's not a particularly large aircraft, has a two meter or so wing span and doesn't have any identification. there are reports out of washington, d.c. that the americans believe the drone is russian. now earlier on this month russian jets have twice violated turkish air spaces. they fly combat missions over

syrian air space. they have apologized, trying to make sure it doesn't happen again but it violates the rules for all flying over this air space, russian and americans have been flying missions in this air space, keen to make sure they know what each other is doing so there isn't a risk of confrontation between nato and russian aircraft. >> bernard smith in istanbul. as many as two dozen fighters from hezbollah are backing an offensive, also receiving air support from russia. the kremlin said it has carried out more than 390 flights this week in syria. zeina khodr reports from beirut. >> russia's campaign is in its second space, it is not just

targeting command and control, air power is being used to assist syrian army to reclaim territories. >> it's clear putin wants to back assad, to put his finger in the eye of the united states. >> operations against the opposition are approving to be difficult. the rebels are fighting back. so far the syrian government and its allies appear to have made no significant gains on the ground. government forces are on the offensive in the country side of the northern promise of hama and idlib. the syrian government announced an operation in homs on thursday, on friday, moved south on the divided city of aleppo. the area being targeted is close

to a main road that would link aleppo to government areas further south. the latest offensive comes as russia's campaign enters, no longer threaten the government and its stronghold of latakia but vladimir putin, russian's president said a political solution is his goal. rebel groups as well as the main political government in exile are refusing to be engaged in any peace process. instead they are counting on their supporters to help them counter what they call russian aggression. >> the peaceful process to start but so far, there is a refusal from the syrian ribl sid rebel o take place in any talks. >> the counteroffensive that has now expanded is about eliminating threats.

russia then hopes it will convince the west to work with syrian president bashar al-assad, to bring about a political settlement. zeina khodr, al jazeera, beirut. joining us is joshua landis, the director for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma, and a daily newsletter on syria. josh nice to have you with us. let's start with the drone. the russians deny it was theirs, but it appears to be russian-built. and then they later apologized, saying it was an accident. what do you make of this? >> there are tons of areas to be deconflicted. if you are flying you have to go over turkish territory if you are flying along the border. that's going to be a constant

site of difficulty. we saw two turkish planes, two russian planes fly over turkish territory earlier on. turkey did not shoot at them but that could be an issue in the future. >> more near-misses this week, assuming it was a russian drone, if we keep seeing these transgressions could this ignite the powder keg further? >> it could. we saw secretary of state kerry this morning came out and said that he -- if russia is just going to help assad and is going to attack the moderate syrians, america would not accept this. so there's a sense, america's pushing back but at the same time, they offered a sort of peace -- they offered some kind of negotiation. it's clear that the americans want to negotiate with russia, over what's going to happen ne

next. the question is that russia's asked the americans to define who the moderate syrians are. that is the problem here, there's a rainbow spectrum going from al qaeda over to fairly liberal and moderate syrians. where make draws the line is very unclear. america doesn't want to make that distinction. it wants to be on the side of the sunni rebels more generally and not get into an an internal fight amongst them and russia is going to force that issue. >> some reports have said that russian intervention has led to significant territorial gains and others, that it has done little. what do you feel? it shows that syrians have gone on the offensive in lots of

occasions. >> they have taken a teeny bit of territory up north of aleppo but you know, the syrians that i've talked to inside syria have said government people have said in three months you're going to see. we're going to have aleppo back we're going to do this and this in idlib, we're going to make a dent in this situation. and that, they were very cocky when the russians first began obomb that their army was not weak, that they could make big strides in the country side. but you know the whole world seems to think that assad's military is ground-down. it's disspirited. the soldiers don't want to fight, particularly for territory that's almost overwhelmingly sunni territory. >> right. >> so that's really what's at stake here and it's clear that the rebels are pushing back with every ounce of their energy and fiber because this is a contest for eventual negotiations. and both sides know they have to

stay tough in order to get better position. >> the question becomes whether syria ends up being split up once some solution is reached. but as you know the obama administration has forcefully refused to cooperate with assad in any way but now you have richard haas, the council on foreign operations, that i.s.i.l. getting stronger maybe even having the seat of its caliphate in damascus. is he oversaitin overstating tho you think those things are possibilities? >> america does not want assad to fall. that's the irony here, because were he to fall i.s.i.s. and nusra, the al qaeda in syria would be two militias that would very likely gain an upper hand. the sant fsa, the militias haven weak from the beginning and every attempt that america has made, there have been three

major ones, to arm up the counterterrorists, america doesn't know what to do, they want to talk with the russians but they are not clear, it's a confusing situation, that's the problem. >> clearly, unfortunately it is leadings to a lot of confusion. joshua thank you for being with us. >> thank you. happened on the coastal city of sihot along the persian gulf, a new branch of i.s.i.l. is apparently claiming responsibility. one woman was among the dead another nine injured. the people who had gathered were all shia muslim. reporting the gunman was wearing an explosives belt but was killed before he could detonate. a man accused of stealing personal information from 1300 government workers.

accused of giving that data to i.s.i.l. the suspected hacker entered malaysia last summer to study exoour scienccomputer science a. russia forms a task force to protect their region from invasion. two countries force to counternorth korea's nuclear program.

>> china may be trying to smooth relations with neighboring countries over its disputed claims in the south china sea.

china is willing to hold joint drills including search and rescue. china has increasingly used its naval power, other countries like the philippines, malaysia claim rights in the area. high on the agenda, nuclear concerns, jamie mcintire has the story. >> antonio, north korea has been doing a lot of saber-rattling but tensions have eased a bit recently and today president obama indicated he's willing to negotiate with pyongyang but only if it's serious about giving up its nuclear weapons. the meeting between south korean park and president obama and his national security team comes as north korea has been issuing

increasingly aggressive statements and amid signs pyongyang may be planning a test launch the two presidents jointly expressed deep concern about the north's intentions. >> today president park and i are reaffirming that our nation is will never accept north korea as a nuclear weapons state. >> south korea's president raised eyebrows last month when she tenanted an event in beijing, but president park said her intention was to win chinese cooperation in pressuring north korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. >> so that was my message that i had for the leaders that i met with in beijing. they agree with me in terms of my remarks about north korea's nuclear problems and we all agree we needed to make efforts to resolve this issue. >> but park's overture to china

also made seoul reluctant to accept new u.s. missile defenses, given north korea says it has defenses that can fit aboard a missile, to give the u.s. military the ability to shoot down north korean missiles before they reach their highest speed. south korea has so if a are not agreed to the deployment but president obama insists there is no contradiction between the republic of korea having good relations with both the u.s. and china. >> i don't see any cracks in the relationship at all. i would argue that the u.s. rok relationship is stronger than it ever has been. >> the u.s. has almost 30,000 troops stationed in south korea and is duty bound to defend the south if it is ever attacked by

the north. because the war is not over ending as it did in 1953 with an armistice not a peace treaty. shows that he is willing to engage with countries that have in his words, a troubled history with the united states. so far there is not a shred of evidence that north korea's president kim jong-un has any interest in taking up president obama's offer. antonio. >> thank you. gordon chang joins us. he is author of north korea takes on the world. you heard about president park and president obama saying, they could not live with north korea becoming a nuclear state. >> we have really not imposed the cost on the north koreans that we could. and if we did that maybe there would be differences in opinion

in pyongyang about its nuclear program. >> you mean they could get kim jong-un to give up the pride of the north korean government? >> it is going to be hard but nonetheless, there are things we have not done. north korea has not been a priority in washington so therefore i don't think we are going to take those steps. but clearly you know for instance north korea sells a lot of ballistic missiles to iran. the one on sunday was basically a north korean missile that the iranians fired. we don't take steps to stop that. >> to allow missile defense systems in south korea, because north korea now has missiles that may be able to reach the united states but south korea is resisting that. so if the relationship's as strong as it ever has been why is that happening? >> that is an excellent question and that is a question both sides papered over. one thing that's important is

the nort north koreans have depd their plistles, and the south koreans wonder allow us to base their thad mifer missiles over . our missile defense seam in alaska and california unreliable. >> right and it's much better to be able to go after o of those missiles early on before it gains full speed. >> missiles that have arced across space down into the u.s., that's a much harder task. >> right. another reason the relationship has been questioned is whether president park is getting closer to china. the big ef evidence of this is,e pictures of her going to the big celebration last month in china,

this massive military parade that the chinese put on for the 70th anniversary of world war ii. >> she shouldn't have gone, it was a grotesque situation. but she can go because she knows her country is secure. there's 28,500 men and women who guard her country on korean soil. she knows that the u.s. will protect her. >> and if we are protecting her and if the united states is not happy that she went to this military parade then why ask she snubbing her nose at the ufs? u.s? >> because south korea is cloin's numbechina's trade part. that is the way it has been for six or 700 years. i don't mind her going to beijing to talk to xi jinping but i do mind her when she does

not lift a finger to protect the united states and i think that's what allies do and i think it's important for her to step up to the plate. >> could she have a good relationship with the ultimates and china at the same time? >> she can. we didn't want her to go to the september parade because that was really a militaristic show, of xi jinping not being up to any good at all. >> is there any chance the chinese who are north korea's main ally, is there any chance that the chinese could help denuclearizing north korea? >> that's always been the hope. that went back to the bush administration and the beginning of the six party talks in 2003. but the chinese haven't really helped that much and in the last three or four months we've seen the chinese move in the wrong direction in this.

they still have their nukes, they sell them in planes that cross chinese air space. the chinese don't stop those planes, but they encourage and permit it and the united states seems to be helpless. that's the reason we need to take really stiffer measures, not only against north koreans but to the chinese. as hillary clinton said during the democratic debate the number 1 security threat to the united states is the proliferation of nuclear missiles. >> gordon chang thank you for coming in today. >> thank you. >> taliban, group's defy afnt message about its strength and a warning for american forces. and hungary closes its borders with croatia, with another barbed wire fence. the ripple effect on refugees.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm antonio mora. coming up in this half hour of international news, two new ebola cases dash hopes the outbreak is coming to an end. but first a look at the stories making headlines across the u.s. in our american minute. >> crews near los angeles are still digging out hundreds of

cars and trucks swallowed by mud, flash flooding thursday night triggered flash floods, closing many roads, a 30 mile stretch of interstate 5 was shut down for hours. two former georgia sheriffs deputies have been acquitted for the most serious charges, of the death of 21-year-old matthew adubadi. one was convicted of cruelty to an inmate, the other of lying the a grand jury. adubadi died in a jail cell. one of the men who helped stop the astack on a french train has been released from a hospital in california. he was hailed as a hero in august after he and three other men helped restrain a terrorist

on a french train. thousands of troops in afghanistan indefinitely. one commander says the move kills any hope of reviving peace talks. as jennifer glasse reports, many afghans are also skeptical of america's plans to stay. >> killed in the u.s. air strikes on the doctors without borders hospital. his brother's feeling is that the u.s. troops are unwelcome. >> we demand that the united states and other foreign countries stop supporting the taliban and others who fight us. >> reporter: at the funeral realreel, the sentiment is the . taliban fighters held their city for three days.

afghan forces needed u.s. air and ground support to support them. >> the americans should support and qui equip our own weapons ad they should be equipped with modern weapons. >> reporter: the united states is helping train an afghan force. the afghans still rely on u.s. air support. ashraf ghani welcomed america's decision to retain force he here. the taliban says it will be an expensive war in terms of finances and casualties and called on the force to step up attacks. in this mosque in kabul there's not much hope that a continued american presence the deteriorating economy and security situation. >> translator: people are fleeing the country and in the past 13 years that america is here what have they done to help us?

now they keep more troops in afghanistan. i don't think it will help. it is for their own interest not ours. >> the mulla of the mosque says the decision is because they refused to come to the peace table. >> we should have worked for the peace process and then there would be no reason for foreign forces to say in this country. >> the u.s. will stay until 2017. jennifer glasse, al jazeera, be kabul. >> a poll conducted at the start of this year asked the afghan people if they thought they would be better or worse off with the u.s. withdrawal, 18% said better off, 29 said worse, 39% said about the same, 36% said it would lead to an increase in taliban presence.

the poll was conducted well before the u.s. bombing of the hospital in kunduz. russian president vladimir putin is urging a joint border protection force to respond to growing instability in afghanistan. former soviet states of uzbekistan, tajikistan and turkmenistan, comments came a day after president obama made the announcement that thousands of troops would stay in afghanistan to help fight the resurgent taliban. >> translator: it is particularly important to monitor the situation at the external borders of the commonwealth. terrorists of various kinds gain more and more influence and do not hide plans of further expansion. >> the move could put russian troops on afghanistan's border as part of the coalition defense

forces. al jazeera rory challands has more from moscow. >> two relevant documents have been signed on friday in kazakh stan. one tcass kazakhstan. this allows for the grouping of border forces and other institutions from cis member states designed to resolve crisis situations on the external borders. what this would allow the country to do is to react faster to any threats that come from outside. now, plenty of questions still remain about this. would it be a standing body of armed men, armed forces, troops ready, and waiting to repel any attack? or would it be more of a framework an agreement by which the countries can contribute to some kind of collective pool that is grouped together when the need arises? we don't know the answers to

these yet but we do know that russia is considering at the moment sending its troops back into tajikistan, to patrol the border, it was doing this until 2005 but the agreement ran out and they went home. they are considering sending troops back there. what's going on south of that border is very worrying to russia and its neighboring countries in the cis.. the taliban push into kunduz is worrying them greatly. putin says they should expect that fighters should push through the border into tajikistan. putin says some 7,000 people from russia and from the cis states are currently fighting for i.s.i.l. and the fear that they have is that at some point they might try oinsti to in8th e

unrest. >> rocket propelled grenades and machine guns. just a little while ago, hungary closed its border with croatia after shutting its border with serbia a few weeks ago. the borders are closed with razor wire. most refugees will be forced to go through austria. >> $3 billion needed under a draft agreement the money would be used in part to help turkey take on people-smugglers and

prevent syrian refugees crossing to urine by sea. why the death of an elephant is sparking new international outrage. also the financial and environmental concerns surrounding the construction of the nicaragua canal meant to compete with the newly enlarged panama canal.

judge the killing of cecil the

lion sparked outrage worldwide. but an elephant, not just any elephant but an enormous one, the largest shot in africa in 50 years. the majestic pachyderm was shot outside a conservation park. may have wandered outside of the area where hunting is not allowed. found dismembered bodies of elephants, poachers kill animals for their tusks but some elephants were so young they didn't even have tusks. guinea has more cases of ebola, second patient flames a treatment center.

officials aren't sure how he contracted the virus since he had no contact with any known ebola patients. osama ben javid has the story. >> two new studies suggested the disease with exist in the semen ever male survivors. u.s. and lye bees lye we'rian . >> we do want to really make sure that this is something that

is really addressed, as much as we possibly can, because any new case of ebola could spark another epidemic. >> the study is ongoing and more conclusive results are expected later. researchers can't say how long cases of ebola exist. they also cannot answer if survivors can carry the virus. >> we are looking at ought l these different fluids to be able to understand if virus might be present in them after a person has recovered from ebola virus disease. >> there's been growing concern about relapse after a british nurse who survived the ebola virus in sierra leone fell critically ill again. >> i was definitely frightened. >> pauline's case has been treated as an exceptional case.

the ebola emdemmic killed more e than 11,000 people. osama ben javid, al jazeera. opposition leader arrived home from self imposed compile. flew from aruba to marakaipo yesterday. served as growth of zulia state after he was charged with corruption. he said the charges were politically motivated. he returned home hoping to run for election in december. environmentalists are concerned about a new shipping canal in nicaragua. daniel schweimler has more in

tonight's off the radar segment. >> there's growing concern in nicaragua over the future of the grand canal project after its main backer lost 85% of his $10 billion net worth. >> the most, he has caused concern in the nicaraguan community. >> the opponents were already questioning why the canal is needed with the newly enlarged panama canal just a few hundred kilometers to the south and they're concerned of the environmental threat to lake nicaragua, that perhaps tens of thousands of people will have to be displaced. living on the proposed routes of the canal, said they don't need a canal, that it will only

promote investors. >> the estimated $50 billion of cost is coming from. >> the nicaraguan government says building will not begin until a full environmental assessment will be carried out. appropriate financing will be in place. >> translator: what's important here is that the investors and we're not just talking about faith in one person have confidence and certainty that the project is important, is necessary, and will bring benefits to every country in the world that transports cargo and also to the world's consumers. >> reporter: the $50 billion canal linking the atlantic and pacific oceans will be deeper wider and longer than the panama canal accommodating the largest cargo ships, boosting china's trade with latin america. its detractors fear an

environmental and financial disaster. waiting for questions to be answered. daniel schweimler, al jazeera. >> manny pacquaio has filed for political office. >> my oath to the filipino people for a new beginning, my response to the challenge of poverty and hopelessness. >> his journey from poverty in the southern philippines to becoming an eight time champion and one of the richest athletes has made him a folk hee ro at home. allegation reported in the news magazine der spiegel is that a 10.3 million slush fund was used to land the tournament. the german soccer federation calls the report completely

baseless however fifa says it is investigating the claim. the suspended president of soccer's governing body says he intends to return to office. sepp blatter said he was to hand over power to his successor who will be elected at a special fifa session in february. if you want to visit greece's ancient wonders it is going to cost you more than ever. greece's attempt to help pay off its debt by using its history. and the musical celebration that's the latest in the warming relations between the u.s. and cuba.

>> the volcano in calima mexico was at it again, spewing gas and ashes, no evacuations were ordered. volcano has been active since the start of july and is many of the ring of fire. greece is looking for ways to pay off its enormous debt. one solution, its ancient sites. trips to acropolis is set to skyrocket by 500%. john siropolous has the tire.

>> tickets to the acropolis in athens are set to rise. coming into effect across greece next year. some visitors dismissed the rise saying it's negligible, once they spend a lot to get here. >> i won't see this again in my lifetime so it's worth it. >> others won't pay. >> you want to have tourists to see it? you keep it affordable. >> the coliseum in rome costs $14, the eiffel tower is $20, the u.k. museum is $38. last year, 58 million visitors generated $62 million for the

state. with these new ticket prices the government hopes to bring revenue closer to the $100 million in 2016. but what about the greeks, minimum wage is $665 a month. many could end up priced out of their own heritage. the culture minister says he's thought of that. >> in the winter months prices will be cut by half so greeks will have the opportunity to visit. museums are free on the first sunday of every month. prices are subsidized for those below the poverty line. >> he says he wants to market greece more effectively. tickets aren't the only thing going up. greece has now 23% consumer tax on eating out and transport. there is a danger that the entire cost of coming here would deter tourists. but greece has little choice, it is already taxing individuals and are companies heavily.

the splendor of the rebuilt parthenon, could not become a symbol of greek indebtedness. john siropolous, al jazeera, athens. >> ancient city of pompeii, brought an end to the city, a thousand bodies were found covered in hardened ash. a scientist used plaster to create casts of the bodies. >> from the study we discovered absence of cavities in the teeth. this is very interesting, it is not completely surprising, we know about the mediterranean diet and its positive aspects but these aspects have really been shown up by this recent analysis. >> research found that victims

died from falling debris rather than suffocating from the flow. now to our global view segment with a look at how news outlets across the world are reacting to various events. the moscow times takes a look at the rich between oil and production. wons if russia's current action in syria is to drive prices back up. it's accompanied by an illustration of president putin, holding handles of a rocket taking off. turkey's president erdogan on the phone with his doctor. he's telling him that his oversized hand grabs power squeezes opponents and threatens media. the doctor says if he wants it surgically removed, and erdogan says i was hoping you could make it bigger. evolution of terror, it shows a line of rebels and as

they get younger the weapons get bigger, the youngest is wearing a diaper and holding a rocket launcher. musicians from cuba, the concert featured the famed buena vista social club. as al jazeera's tom ackerman reports, the restoration of u.s. and cuban economic and cultural ties. >> more than 500 invited dignitaries, swayed to the rhythms as it opened with the signature tune. the group's farewell tour. >> for nearly two decades this group has been a symbol of the strong bonds between the american and cuban people, the bonds of friendship and culture

and of course music. so i just hope they enjoy their stay and i hope i look as good as they do in a few years. >> the group got international recognition sparking the revival of cuba's golden age that predated the 1959 revolution. since then the group has performed several times in the u.s. not without attracting anti-castro protesters and bomb threats. follows last july's restoration of full diplomatic relations and the opening of embassies in washington and havana. penn any pritzger led a group to havana, nine u.s. governors from both parties, backed obama by urging congress to lift the half century old trade embargo for

the benefit of american farmers. meanwhile the havana government has signed a deal allowing sony to demonstrate including buena vista's catalog for worldwide sale. tom ackerman, al jazeera, washington. >> a record has been broken. never before, has anyone gone so far on a slip and slide. the sliders threw themselves down an inflatable chute, 32 feet longer than the old record in vernon new jersey. today's feat took place on the in jordan on the other side of the dead sea. we'll take a deeper look at just how entrenched our military is on the continent and the reasons why it is strategically important. that's it for this edition of al jazeera america news, i'm

antonio mora, thanks for watching, "america tonight" is up next. i'm see you again in an hour. >> on "america tonight": a view from the other side of the world. and the other side of life. >> the filipinos who live here are known by many derogatory names, skeletons, zombies, the cemetery people, but the cemetery is the only place they can afford to live. >> an