>> russia steps up a military campaign against i.s.i.l. in syria. it's bn described as the heaviest bombardment since conflict began. hello from al jazeera's headquarters in doha. also ahead, witnesses speak of how they hid from gunmen in a motel in mali as police continue a hunt for suspects of an attack. >> thousands of police are deployed from cities after two opposition leaders are executed. a giant trail of sludge that is not stopping, mixed with mining

waste from brazil reaches the atlantic russia steps up a bombing campaign in syria, in what activists call the heaviest strikes since 2011. it's targetting the eastern region. most of the province, including the capital is held by i.s.i.l. russia's military actions have been so intense na on saturday lebanon re-routed flights over the eastern mediterranean, at moscow's request. we are joined from the syrian border. >> talk us through what the targets are, hashem ahelbarra. >> basically the russian fighter jets and cruise missiles filed from the sea, targeted i.s.i.l.,

oil and military installations in an i.s.i.l. stronghold. there were different factions in the area, but i.s.i.l. managed to expand in the eastern part of the country. it seems that the russians are trying now to step up the military campaign against i.s.i.l., and particularly target their oil installation. because i.s.i.l. has been managing over the last few years smuggle oil into different countries, get huge revenues, and with that they manage to recruit fighters and expand and take huge swathes of land in syria, and in iraq. the russians pounded areas in the south of aleppo. a while ago i was on the border with syria, and seen dozens of syrian families trying to get into syria. some of them received news that

relatives were killed in air strikes by the government and the russians. there has been heightened security measures at the crossing by the turkish government. and unfortunately some paid farewell to loved ones. >> i hear a few civilians have been affected by this, as is often the sayings. >> the russians have been saying in the past few days that they managed to kill 600 fighters in the area. reports from the syrian activist on the ground, and also from different factions say bofl that most of the casualties are basically women and children, particularly in latakia, and aleppo. and that the russian air strikes are more of a smokescreen, not intended to defeat i.s.i.l., but to pave the way of bashar al-assad to expand and gain more

territory. >> a few hours ago the syrian troops captured a strategic area in latakia, and this prompts some concern from the fact in this could be a sign of the government president obama has been speaking about the fight against i.s.i.l. at the a.s.e.a.n. area in malaysia, and wants the focus on i.s.i.l., not other groups. >> the principal is the moderate opposition. the goal appeared to be if you follow the strikes they took, to fortify the position of the bashar al-assad regime. that does not add to our efforts against i.s.i.l. in some ways it strengthens it because i.s.i.l.'s fighting many of those groups that the

russians were hitting. >> belgian security groups are meeting to extend a state of emergency, the streets of brussels are in lockdown for a second day. the warnings of an imminent attack. shops and transport systems are closed and people have been told to avoid large gatherings. belgium's president charles michel says there's the possibility of a paris style attack. mali's president has been visiting. we went to a hospital in the capital to meet survivors. 21 were killed, including two gunmen. a state of emergency is in force in mali. and police are looking for suspects. we have this report from bamako.

>> shaken and still in shock. survivors walk back into the felt in this part of the hostages. they are here to pick up the belongings. inside, the smell of gunpowder is in the air, too hard to bear for some. a delegate at a conference hid in room 333 for hours, praying that they wouldn't die. >> translation: i was in the room. i tried to hide under my bed. i was so scared i thought about jumping off the balcony. >> 170 people were held hostage before malian and french stormed the building. many are treated for gunshot wounds. forensic experts are continuing to identify the dead. many are foreign workers. mali's president declared a 10 day state of emergency and 3 days of national mourning >> translation: no city is safe. we are all at risk. it's affected all of us. >> reporter: this is the worst attack they have experienced. yet 24 hours after the attack,

it's as if bamako are back to normal. survivors are picking up the luggage at the hotel and going home. meanwhile investigations continue. security forces are after three suspects on the run. a splinter group in al qaeda used twitter to claim responsibility for the attack. >> the government wouldn't confirm this, saying the investigation is under way. eyewitnesss say the attackers spoke english, suggesting they may not be malian. but from neighbouring countries. >> i was hiding in the room. i was reassured. i knew that it was safe to come out. >> this attack is a blow to a country seeking foreign investment. monique and investors are unlikely to say, and mali can ill-afford to see them go

thousands of police had been sent across bangladesh after the executions of two people. the president rejected a last-minute appeal for clemency. a sentence for crimes dating back to the law of independence of pakistan. caroline malone looks at why some are questioning whether the trials were politically motivated. >> the men were executed as war criminals, and were opposition leaders. >> they were a senior member of the party. a war crimes tribunal found him guilty of genocide.

ali was number two in the party. he was convicted of torture and murder. bangladesh's government says the soldiers killed $3 million in the war. helped by local accomplices. human rights groups says bringing them to justice is important. >> bangladesh has been cutting corners. >> if the evidence is there, and many believe it may be, going through a full free trial. historically recognised as being prosecutions of the highest standard. we are not seeing na from the i c.t. people. they are added to a litany of other. they have serious procedural problems in the prosecution of the cases. >> the war crimes tribunal was

set up in 2009. to investigate and charge those involved in killing civilians. there has been rallies in support of violent protests. continue have been convicted. most of them opposition groups. the executions are politically motivated. >> a mud flow thick with waste. the sludge has been flowing downstream since the dams burst. disas ears killed 11. 12 are missing. >> the river turned a murky orange, as far as the eye could see. the change in colour.

in two weeks. sludge travelled into the atlantic. all we expect it the death of the river. logistics will not solve problems. we need a solution. it agreed to pay quarter of a billion. the company insist it is not toxic. those say they are feeling the effects. >> i'm catching one or two fish a day. we used to catch seven. i can't say anything now. you can't throw the water on the cocoa plant. biologists are working to

contain the damage. enough to kill 25 thous pools. >> our objective is to use the damage, to mitigate the most we can. brazil's environment minister says it could take up to 30 years, calling it the worst environmental disaster history still to come on the programme - the fight against i.s.i.l. in northern iraq leaves orphan children with an uncertain future. plus... >> i'm in kenya, keep watching. wait until you see what all this will be turned into. d into.

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hello again, a reminder of the top stories, russia steps up a campaign in syria, in what russia calls heavy strikes. it's targetting the east region. mali's president visited people injured in the attack on friday at a luxury hotel. 21 were killed. three suspects are being searched for. there are fears of protests in the execution of two opposition leaders, guilty of war crimes.

>> hundreds of children in northern iraq have been orphaned by the fight. aid agencies say the final numbers could be in the thousands. imarat al-sahra reports from erbil. >> -- imran khan reports from erbil. >> these children's father was killed by i.s.i.l. when the armed group took control of sinjar. their mother saw the fighters kill her husbands and with that shot her life changed >> translation: after they killed my husband i.s.i.l. unloaded the women and children in pick-up trucks and put us in abandoned buildings. they came from time to time and selected the beautiful girls and took them away. we were in those buildings for two weeks. it was horrible. the kids were crying and were afraid. there was fighting and bombings around us, and air strikes hit the fighters and we escaped.

there was no one to look after us, everyone was desperate to look after themselves. >> in iraq, the definition of an orphan is a child that lost one or both parents. there's no accurate numbers, but the effect is immense. they live for from the. 712 orphans have been registered. the u.n.'s children agency, u.n.i.c.e.f., finding and recs tearing is a challenge. the work this they are doing is of violence.

they deny access to large portions of anbar. >> reporter: for the government, dealing with orphans is difficult. it doesn't have the experience needed. we lack the professional expertise from workers. we don't have the capability of dealing with children going through trauma. >> specialist care is needed. it is not available because government agencies say they don't have what they need, leaving an entire generation of orphans to deal with the trauma itself. egyptians begun to vote in phase two of an vection that could result -- an election that could result in the parliament parliament. in 2012 parliament was dissolved after it was decided that turn out was low as matheson reports.

>> reporter: egyptian president abdul fatah al-sisi cast his ballot in long-delayed parliamentary elections. stations in egypt have opened. >> a key question now is how many people will cast their votes. during the first round in october. turn out was under 22%. there are worries the numbers will be low this time, if few believe their vote matters. some voters complained there's little difference between the parties. >> translation: there are parties that joined forces with the current regime, that is my opinion. the parliament is not something they recognised. mubarak's regime, the political return once again. >> in 2012, with a turn out of roughly 46%. mohamed mursi, and the muslim brotherhood's freedom and justice party won what were regarded as free and fair elections. a little over 12 months later mohamed mursi was deposed in a

military coup. the military secured support, promising to hold parliamentary elections within months, it's taken two years for that to happen. tens of thousands of activists are in gaol and the media dozens of journalists behind bars and the military tightly controlled. several boycotted the vote, saying there's little chance for them to play a role in the politics. >> there's a sense of frustration and cynicism that the parliament will perform a serious role. the feeling is that the president wants a parliament to support him in the decisions that he makes. >> abdul fatah al-sisi faces criticism for cracking down on opponents. this is unlikely to change the face of egyptian policy.

they give an agency as to how many is behind the president and the policies. . >> an associate professor of political science at the doha institute of studies, and he says low confidence has affected voters. >> one of the reasons behind this turn out in the first and second phase is that many thing the parliament will not reflect well, and there's not confidence this the elections will lead to something. there is no competition given the fact that the main opposition, the second thing many people, particularly those that participate in the coup, particularly the civilian parties, they are not part of the game. the competition is within the

pro-regime camp. it is within the camp. between those that are sorted by the intelligence and affected by the forces. there's competition. >> israeli security forces shot dead a palestinian woman in the occupied west banks, happening at a traffic junction. she tried to stab an israeli. a palestinian man was shot and killed by an israeli division near a settlement. he reportedly attempted to ram his car in the israelis. since the latest wave, 15 israelis and 90 palestinians have been killed. >> people in hong kong voted for the council members. it's the mass protest. a record number of candidates stand as sarah clarke reports from hong kong. >> with hours until the polling

booth closed. candidates were campaigning. a record number of people are competing in the election, in the wake of the protests that brought hong kong to a standstill. it's the younger generation turning up in high numbers to vote. >> people are more concerned about the political situation in hong kong. >> more people this time, because the umbrella movement last year. >> not only are voters younger, there's candidates challenging politicians. donald three years old. he joined a young inspiration parties. we want to make sure people have

new chaise. just all the people. not for our own purpose. >> the election may be a local event, dealing with the likes of traffic and complaints of residents. the importance of this election should not be underestimated. it's seen by many as a referendum on hong kong's political future. the chief executive cast his vote early. with the legislative council election, he and others know that this vote could reshape hong kong's political future. >> in a way, it would indicate whether or not the umbrella movement does have the support of voters in general. and also it can be a test for the degree of awakening of hong kong people. >> the pro-beijing party holds the majority in the local council at a time when people are divided over political

reform, this is the toughest test yet a landslide in myanmar killed 94 people, and around 100 others are missing. it happened near a jade mine in northern kachin state. emergency services are looking for survivors, it's not clear what caused the collapse. >> the 10 counties of the association of south-east asian nations, a.s.e.a.n., agreed to create a single economic community. trade barriers would be lifted and people within the block will be able to move around more freely. >> reporter: the motto is forging ahead together. the hope is that the agreement signed this weekend will improve the lives of 620 million people who live in the 10 asian member states. >> we have to ensure they create a single market and production base, with freer movement of

goods and services with common standards, far greater connectivity, and the removal of the barriers that make our borders a hindrance to growth and investment the bloc, which concluded an annual meeting with disagreement is the third largest economy in the region after china and japan. the aim, the aec, is to create a single economic market. one that is competitive in the region, and will attract foreveryone investment. >> it plans to phase out tariffs and taxes. >> since the blueprint for the ac was penned in 2007, it was envisaged that greater economic integration would be the ultimate tool. up to 2014, the economics blocks combined g.d.p. grew. and foreign investment by 16%.

much of the success is down to small and medium business enterprises. >> that man employs 100 people at a tire factory. the turn over is more than 3.5 million, and he has plans to expand and export more if trade barriers can be removed. and tech entrepreneurs have begun to trade beyond malaysia, the taxi booking app downloaded which 4 million customers. it's taken 27 years of negotiations to get this far. and this is the start of economic integration. a.s.e.a.n. will move forward, that's the reason it hasn't faced the problem that the e.u. is facing. it's keeping people with them. as governments keep the goal in mine and making it into a single market. there were gains to be made for

the people in a.s.e.a.n. >> they are in no rush. analysts say the steady cautious approach has been a strong point in a world of turbulent finance. >> recycled plastics has been given a new lease of lie in kenya, used to make polls. we have this report from nairobi. >> reporter: it doesn't matter how filthy the job is. in kenya, it's money. samuel gets $0.50 or every kill cram of money. as for what happened after the plastic is collected and it's sold... >> that i don't know. they make materials, but i don't know what materials they make. >> take a look at this. the plastic goes in here. it is then melted down and compressed in this machine. drop it in cold water, and here is what you get.

planks or poles made out of recycled plastic. an alternative to woods. >> i think it's something the world should explore, based on the current raw materials in the form of waste. >> you can use it to make fences, furniture and construction. manufacturers say they don't rot and won't be eaten by termites. >> you have different options. some like this. here is another version. they are actually quite heavy. they are more expensive. than aluminium ones, and that is because production is high. production costs are high. >> a lot of money are going into paying for electricity. the concept is new in kenya, the polls are changing the landscape. if kenyans stopped and looked. some would be surprised that more poles are made from

recycled plastic. waste that many would throw away that story ends the bulletin, i want to draw your attention to our website. we are leading with the lockdown in brussels. and the fact that security officials are due to meet to decide whether to extend a state of emergency. that story and so much more. [ ♪ ] hello i'm richard gizbert, and this is "listening post". here are some of the stories we