possible shift in the fight against i.s.i.l., russia says it could use its air power in support of u.s. backed fighters in syria. ♪ i'm david foster and you are watching al jazeera live from london and good to have your company and in the next 30 minutes fears of flooding after the pacific coast is hit by the strongest ever hurricane. vice president in the maldives arrested and accused of an attack on the president's boat last month and tanzania president campaigns with the man he hopes will succeed him and look at her record in power.

♪ there are signs small ones but signs nonetheless of a diplomatic shift over the war in syria, russia's foreign minister says moscow is ready to provide support to the free syrian army in its fight against aisle, until now russia referred to all groups fighting president assad as terrorists. moscow says it also has been in talks with the u.s. about launching a new political process between syria's government and the opposition. the u.s. secretary of state john kerry on the visit to saudi arabia where he will meet the country's foreign minister for talks on syria but whatever is being said diplomatically russia is still pursuing a very different military campaign from the u.s. in syria as jamal reports. >> reporter: syrian state t.v. continues its propaganda message to try and convince people that

is russian air strikes are targeting what the syrian and russia governments call terrorists. but the pictures on the ground tell a different story. this is what is left of the town on the outskirts of idlib after russian war planes bombed areas late on friday, it's unclear how many people were killed. in hama opposition fighters belonging to the army of conquest announced the capture of several villages after defeating government troops and forcing them to retreat. the aalliance of fighters launched the battle for hama after capturing idlib earlier this month. opposition fighters also say they have taken several towns and villages in the south of aleppo province. syria's armed opposition groups say they have been targeted by russian air strikes rather than

the islamic state group. on friday i.s.i.l. announced it was in control of the main road connecting aleppo to hama how russia reacts to this will demonstrate its military priorities, despite russian air strikes entering the fourth week i.s.i.l. fighters appear to be largely effected and armed groups apposed to the regime have suffered losses not only at the hands of the rsh u russians but in continuing battles with i.s.i.l., al jazeera. russian foreign minister sergei fedorov says moscow is ready now to support the free syrian army but that the united states unwillingness to cooperate is stopping that from happening at the moment. >> translator: the americans refusal to coordinate their antiterrorist campaign with us is a big mistake. we are seriously prepared for such a coordination. and we are ready to give air support to the opposition including the so called free

syrian army. but we need to get in contact with the people who have the authority to represent certain armed groups. >> reporter: let's hear from nickolay mladenov from the program at the london based think tank chatam house and explained the apparent change in russian strategy. previously they were considering all groups fighting assad as a terrorist grouping and came to an understanding for the solution in syria they need to deal with the military camp fighting and free syrian army is one of the choices. however, on the other hand one of the russian goals is also to weaken the opposition that is fighting assad so we may not exclude that the russians will continue their air strikes. >> it seems a bit odd if they try to weaken groups they will support the free syrian army and see how that translates in the

weeks to come but when you see previously viewed perhaps the free syrian army as a terror group and now doesn't a couple weeks ago it says it was a terror group and what has changed in the three weeks and why has it come to realize it needs to group with the people, does it have pressure perhaps by the u.s.? >> first of all we can see how the russian position on syria is changing so the they are changing their stance to find n compromise with the dialog with united states and syria. >> it's not gradual and has been very sudden this change. >> i wouldn't is a sudden because the signals about the readiness to deal with the free syrian army sent by the russian government for the last two months and the first time i heard of readyness to deal was in september and now we are more articulated and probably not in the negotiations with the united states, with that took place

yesterday, but it's probably also the russian experience that they acquired with the campaign in syria. ♪ also on the agenda for the u.s. secretary of state in his middle east atlanta tour is tensions over jerusalem's compound and speaking after meeting the pal stint minister in israel john kerry has the condition of muslims being able to pray at the mosque. >> today i hope we can begin to turn the page on this very difficult period. we have to join together in calling for an immediate end to violence. we must stress the importance of avoiding provocative actions and rhetoric and we must work cooperatively, it's the only way

to go forward. >> reporter: israeli forces have shot dead a palestinian teenager who they say tried to stab a soldier. the shooting was at the check point in northern occupied west bank. the 16-year-old can be seen running through traffic towards the crossing. israeli forces say he was carrying a knife. 56 palestinians and 8 israelis have been killed this month in a series of attacks in israel and the occupied territories. human rights activists in israel condemning the beating and the wrongful arrest of a palestinian man by israeli soldiers and has been caught on security camera. and he spent five days under arrest before his story checked out. stephanie decker went to meet him at the cleaning product factory where he was arrested in the occupied west bank. >> reporter: he is at work. outside in the street there is a standoff between young palestinians and israeli army so he stops in the doorway, what

follows is not often caught on camera. >> translator: he came to me without any questions. he hit me and i fell then around five soldiers came and they beat me without any questions. i was telling them i didn't throw rocks, i was at work. it's as if i wassen even speaking at this point, they were hitting me and trying to drag me outside. >> reporter: there is illegal israeli settlement a few hundred meters up the road and confrontations taking place around this area and he was working in this store room as a cc-tv shows when the israeli soldiers stormed in and started beating him. he was then handcuffed, blind folded and arrested. the next day he was taken to hospital to treat his wounds. he says it took three days until he was questioned, he still has bruising now more than two weeks later. israeli human rights group who released the video of the attack alleged the police refused to

check his alibi and it took six days for him to be released without charge. >> it's impunity that we are seeing here. the soldiers probably expect that consequences for violence, such violence against palestinians will be remote if even that. indeed one can imagine the other instances that suddenly take place all the time against palestinians but are not caught on video. >> reporter: israeli army says it is investigating the incident and its initial findings are the soldiers actions are unacceptable. >> hatred of tensions between us and jews and a person fees he is not a human being. this is not human treatment. if it was human then they wouldn't do that to a person. >> reporter: palestinians say these kinds of incidents and worse happen all the time. and that it's only rarely when this kind of hard evidence

surfaces that the world wakes up as to how they are treated. stephanie decker, al jazeera, in the occupied west bank. patricia caused flooding in parts of mexico has weakened to what they call a tropical depression. patricia's 450,000 people out of their homes, no casualties are reported and the damage has been less than feared. patricia has been described as the strongest hurricane to ever hit the western hemisphere. well, some kilometers away lucile newman is in next cocity and difficult to get there and get the pictures there but what are you hearing from people in the area where patricia came to shore? >> hello, david. we know that people had been bracing for a major catastrophe along the pacific coast particularly in puarte-villarte and the important part there but hurricanes can be fickle and

patricia did go in as a raging bull with extremely strong winds of over 250 kilometers an hour but it came in right to the middle of these two places i just mentioned and to a relatively unpopulated area and it did rip out trees, it sent light posts and telephone posts flying, it flooded streets. certainly that kind of damage was immediate, a lot of water impacted as well. farmers have lost their crops particularly in the area here but this storm was so quick it actually crashed in the mountains the pacific mountains and that has weakened patricia to a tropical depression right now. of course that doesn't mean that it's all over. it may not be catastrophic but it is still a very dangerous storm david. >> you talk about the vastly populated areas and those are quite difficult to get to to find out the extent of the damage there, there could be mudslides and so on.

>> absolutely, that why the president has issued a warning to everyone not to put down their guard, to be very, very vigilant particularly in these remote areas where rivers can break their banks, where mudslides are common even during the normal tropical storm and people there are extremely vulnerable. these are very small houses, huts that can be swept down the mountain by a strong storm. and as i say patricia is still is carrying a lot of water and, in fact, it has gone all the way to texas where it derailed a train. so that just kind of gives you an idea of what it's like. these people are living in isolated areas so it's still too early to tell whether there have been any fatalities in these remote areas. >> and good to talk to you, thank you very much indeed. let's take a look at what happened in texas. the western part has already seen flooding in low-lying areas. people told not to go outside and heavy rains expected to last

until sunday and i imagine that is the train that she was saying had been derailed. coming up, battling i.s.i.s. in iraq and broadening the air campaign across the syrian border. and why the world's biggest shipping fleet may be setting sail for different horizons. ♪ >> now we go for weeks without water. >> techknow's team of experts show you how the miracles of science... >> this is what innovation looks like. >> can affect and surprise us. >> i feel like we're making an impact. >> awesome! >> techknow - where technology meets humanity. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,

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>> governments secretly paying ransoms. >> we were told never to disclose that they actually paid. >> are they saving lives or putting more at risk? ♪ top stories for you almost four weeks into air campaign in syria and russia is ready to support the u.s. backed opposition if washington will agree to

coordinate with moscow. u.s. secretary of state john kerry says israel has agreed to continue the tradition that allows only muslims to pray at the mosque compound in east jerusalem. and hurricane patricia the strongest storm to hit the western hemisphere brings flooding to the coast of mexico but avoids damaging major cities. russia's intervention in syria is changing the face of the conflict and calls for it to get involved in iraq, prime men minister partners are complaining u.s. led air strikes have not been effective enough against i.s.i.l. and we report. >> reporter: this is what many across iraq want to see, russian air strikes against i.s.i.l. like these ones in syria. well it's too soon to say how successful moscow's aerial campaign against the group and other targets have been, there is growing frustration among my

rackys with the u.s. year long efforts to take the territory i.s.i.l. still controls across iraq and say russia's approach is what is needed here to win. he is the head of the government's parliamentary defense and security committee. he is one of the most vocal supporters of russian involvement of the fight against i.s.i.l. in iraq. >> translator: we know russia did not get involved in the middle east for our sake but rather for their interests but they are well matched with the russians. >> reporter: it's not just politicians who want to see moscow take a more meaningful role against i.s.i.l., so do the shia malitias which could perhaps explain why late last month russia and iraq signed an intelligent sharing agreement that also included syria and iran. washington has made it clear it does not want russian jets in iraqky space targeting i.s.i.l. and described putin's involvement in neighboring syria

as a historic mistake and finds himself in the delicate position of appeasing the political and security allies and trying to keep washington on his side. whatever the case it would appear that the threat of russian involved in iraq has already worked to his advantage. >> translator: the iraqi government has given assurances to the u.s. they will not ask for any help from are such russia and u.s. increased the coalition air strikes across iraq and give iraqi counter terrorism forces badly needed armored vehicles, tanks and advanced weapons in the coming days. >> reporter: u.s. says they are on course to degrade and destroy i.s.i.l., in resent days the coalition has intensified strikes on the north and ramadi in the west providing air cover for iraqi forces who have managed to retake some key areas. rarely has i.s.i.l. faced such multiple offenses that it has in the last month. it would appear that the threat

of a russian role in iraq stirred the u.s. into action but the question now is how long will it last and would it be enough to lead to any meaningful gains. al jazeera, baghdad. it is the final air campaigning before the people of tanzania go to the poles and presidential candidates say they are going to improve people's lives, they normally do. the president is being campaigning alongside the ruling party candidate john. constitution doesn't allow him to run for a third term. in ivory cost election the incumbent president is expected to win thanks to divided opposition of public support after economic improvement but supporters of the former president laurent gbagbo is a country accustom to violent election and tonya reports.

>> reporter: alassane ouattara is a hero to supporters and squeezed on to every available space and entertain everyone until he arrives and expected he will win a second term and he hopes without the blood shed that stained his rise to power. >> i can assure you it will go very well because people want to forget and forgive what happened in 27 and don't want to go killing each other anymore. >> reporter: 3,000 people were killed when laurent gbagbo refused to accept the 2010 election and eventually the forces over powered gbagbo by crimes on both sides but he has been held to account and war crimes start soon and violence in the build up to this election but all the presidential candidates are calling for calm.

he is widely expected to win but not leaving anything to chance campaigning right up until the last month and his opponents say he is influencing the election commission adding laurent gbagbo to the role and to intimidate the critics. he says he is the candidate who will bring reconciliation. he leads gbagbo's fbi party but have joined a boycott and incumbent says it irrelevant. >> that is because they know they cannot win. so they think that is okay. >> reporter: but he thinks the election is a joke and the result may not be accepted. >> translator: we are hearing there might be some trouble but this will be good if it happens, we have a serious problem of lack of leadership. now that gbagbo is in prison. we are only waiting for the right person. >> reporter: without someone to believe in gbagbo supporters say they simply won't vote but apathy is better than anger if

it means a peaceful election, tonya page, al jazeera, ivory coast. and in the republic of congo, a lot of referendum on changes to the constitution which would allow the president denise to seek reelection from the capitol harry reports. >> reporter: government officials in congo say the referendum on sunday is a good thing. they say this new constitution they are trying to push forward will help the poor and the residents of human rights example and there is a clause that does away with the death penalty but atmosphere in some parts of the capitol is tense, that is what you see on some major treats and heavy police presence and police vehicle stationed on major roads and water canons driving through the city and potential hot spots. across the road there are people milling around, waiting to see what happens next and you see those shops there, they were

looted during days of protests. some people took advantage of the chaos and stole some things. the opposition are saying that it's really difficult for them to come on to the streets because some admit they are scared. they are saying they are worried about being shot at by police and then they are saying it's hard because the internet has been blocked, they can't mobilize people on social media and can't send a message to tell people where to meet because the government has blocked that. the government denies this and saying they have nothing to do with cutting off the communication in the city and it's dramatic. that said the government has people who support the president and support the new constitution and the people who want to vote yes to it had been on the streets for a few days also marching and protesting with signs saying we want to vote the constitution in. opposition are concerned that they there could be violence and the president tried to hang on to power. but the government says the referendum will go ahead on sunday and then give as many people as possible to come out and vote.

nigeria's emergency management agency says one person died, ten were hurt if a suicide blast in the northeast of country. it's understood four women suicide bombers blew themselves up when guards stopped them entering the city maiduguri and stopped on the outskirts of the city. 15 died in an explosion at a mosque in maiduguri and the numbers related by self-defense fighter who helped remove bodies and 27 more were killed during friday afternoon prayers at a mosque in the city of yola and boko haram is being blamed for those attacks. vice president of the maldives arrested over alled plot to as nate the president and he is being questioned after an explosion on president's boat last month. the president wasn't injured but his wife, aid and a body guard were. so let's hear from the editor at the newspaper of the maldives independence and the police have

not disclosed any evidence if any they have against the vice president. >> reporter: so the vice president landed in mali at the international airport at mali at midday today. the police arrested him from the tarmac and held a press conference right afterwards and they did not despite repeated inquiries tell us why the vice president is a suspect in the boat blast. so we do not know the police have not told us what evidence they have found linking the vice president to the boat blast yet. shia muslims in pakistan demanding the government leaders tighten security after the latest suicide bombing there. friday night's explosion on a shia procession in the place killed children and 22 and hundreds of minority shia in pakistan have died in sectarian attacks in the last decade. shia muslims have been targeted in bangladesh with a group

linked to i.s.i.l. claiming responsibility. homemade bombs were thrown at about 25,000 people who gathered for the traditional recession and the capitol said a teenage boy was killed and more than 100 people were hurt. there have been millions of people apparently out on the streets of the iraqi city of kobala to mark it there, event warns the death of the profit mohamed's grandson. bulgaria, serbia and romaine yeah will shut their borders to refugees if germany and austria do the same according to the prime minister and insisted the balkin states will not be bef buffer zones for refugees after they had talks on saturday. the potential move to close borders is at the same time as these refugees and thousands of others try to enter and cross

the european union. there have been scuffles between police and opposition politicians in kosovo's parliament and friday session suspended after opposition let off tear gas canisters inside the chamber. they wanted the government to backtrack over deals with serbia. almost one in five of the world's ships is greek registered. but there are fears the country's ship owners may now take their business elsewhere because greece's hard hit government is threatening to raise taxes and john has more from the greek port. >> reporter: greeks own the largest merchant fleet in the world 15% of global shipping capacity and much of the fleet is managed and chartered from the port generating an estimated 7 percent of the greek economy. but shipping normally pays little tax here because most of the greek fleet sails under foreign flags of convenience,

two years ago ship owners were forced to pay an additional greek tax and last year they agreed to double this for a period of four years. the latest bailout means that the shipping industry is being asked to pay more again but that could be a miscalculated risk. >> is there a danger? there is always a danger. today, yesterday, tomorrow if the structure within which we operate is effected in such a way that we are put to a disadvantage and it's very important to look at it this way, what we are discussing is not losing an advantage, it's being placed at a disadvantage compared to our european counterparts first of all and global competitors, then naturally any self-respecting business has to make its move. >> reporter: the latest change is an additional 8% solidarity tax paid on the $9 billion in foreign currency that ship owners currently bring into the economy each year. all these measures are supposed to raise $700 million over six

years, over and above regular tax revenue from shipping. but some of them are voluntary and all are supposed to be temporary. what worries ship owners is that they may become permanent. global trade has fallen during the economic crisis as international competition has risen. but taxes remain constant. sensing an opportunity dubai, singapore and cyprus are wooing owners with promises of tax havens and free offices and the government hopes to keep ship owners here attracting more shipping related business like finance, insurance, ship building and repair. >> translator: until now the data shows some companies have chosen to open supplementary offices abroad, we have not observed any mass flights from there. shipping is not contained in national boundaries but we plan to reenforce the industry here. >> reporter: ship owners have in the past endowed greece with hospitals and scholarships and lately the new national library

and they say these voluntary contributions help greece much more than taxes that could ruin the shipping industry, taxes they say ultimately will make little difference to government debt. >> and plenty more at al jazeera clo jazeera.com, that is al jazeera.com. >> in 2009 peace came to sri lanka after 26 years of civil war. >> government troops had crushed the tamil tigers - a guerrilla force which had waged a brutal insurgency seeking self-rule for the tamils c a minority making up about 12 percent of sri