vladimir pete inning meets with the iranian president in terrain. they promise quieter cooperation over syria ♪ ♪ you are watching al jazeera. coming up in the next half hour. schools and shops in brussels remain closed as the city's unprecedented lockdown continues. refugees in macedonia go on hunger strike to demand that europe open its borders. two men accused of bomb ago shrine in bangkok killing are killing 20 people face a military court. ♪ ♪

russian president vladimir putin has met with his iranian counterpart in teheran. the two countries who are both strong allies of bashar al-assad has pledge today to give more help. the syrian opposition feel that they are being abandoned. we have a report. >> reporter: it's a big operation for russian forces. 472 hits in syria this past weekend alone and not just against isil. most rebels fighting syrian president bashar al-assad are the targets. >> translator: today i have informed our iranian friends of these issues. we have exchanged views on the situation in syria. as to the action of his our military, it's a complicated operation involving a large group of forces. >> reporter: iran is also helping assad. second special forces and facilitating hezbollah fighters. and just days after putin announced a next phase of

operation in syria, his iranian counterpart seems ready to provide more assistance. >> translator: regarding orangish yous and fighting against terrorism, we have been cooperating and now we have decided to expand the cooperation. >> reporter: the war between anti-government forces and the army of president bashar al-assad has been going on for nearly five years. the two sides have been supported by various international powers turning the internal conflict for a multi-national proxy war. in teheran, russian president vladimir putin said the political process is what's needed and says only syrians should determine who runs their country. but the syrian opposition does not trust him. >> translator: we believe the political closeness being talked about by the russians is merely a way for them to conceal the crimes they are committing on syrian soil. which amount to war crimes. >> reporter: the future role of the syrian president remains a sticking point for any prospect of peace talks. russian al jazeera and iran say

he should, involved. many western countries say he needs to go. but right now are concentrating efforts on fighting isil, some analysts say that's a mistake. >> what's actually driving ahead cal saying in the region is the air campaign being mounted by the assad regime against its only people. russia and iran are engaged in a fundamentally different conflict. they are engaged in the syrian war in a conflict about syria' future. and i think the united states and its partners need to realize that you can't have a lasting [ inaudible ] >> reporter: the [ technical difficulties ]

and that the metro would be opened also after wednesday. it's possible that the opening of the metro may be progressive.

that everything will be done so we can open it as extensively as possible. >> reporter: the level four emergency status here in brussels means that an attack is being viewed eye immaterial imme rest of the country it's a level three. meaning that an attack is being viewed as probable. this with alert last to go several days now the question is how long can people live like them the security measures have seen the brussels underground metro system close for a third day. and schools shut across the capital. in the main stations, as people begin returning to work, staff try to direct people to alternative routes. the over ground transport system is running but the affect of the security clamp down is enormous. >> they say the buses drive normally, but i just asked and apparently they drive normally, but a lot of drivers didn't come to work out of -- because they are scared. >> i go to work in hospital, but

the metro -- no metro. so i take the tram and tram and tram. to go to the hospital for work. >> reporter: in the last for days place have mount aid series of raids in brussels, search and arrest operations were also mount ed in the cities. dozens retained, several remain in custody for questioning. police say one person has been charged with terror related offenses linked directly to the paris attacks, but still little progress in the manhunt for 26-year-old saleh ab salaam thought to be one of the gunmen, police believe that he may have been still wearing an explosive vest. the u.s. and canadian e embassis

have have closed. one bank told employs to work from home. the government promised open schools and university justs as soon as possible. it could be much longer before normality returns, neave barker, al jazeera, brussels. >> the united states has issued a worldwide travel alert for its citizens. the state department isn't stopping americans from travel ago broad but does say they should, more individual lent warning groupings like al qaeda and isil don't plan attacks. canada is expected to turn away single men as part of plans to resettle 25,000 syrian refugees. thethe plan to bring in refugees has faced growing criticism under a proposed resettlement plan, only well, children and families will be allowed in, an announcement setting up a new policy is expected right here tuesday.

some have gone on hunger strike, several se wing their lips together. last week baldiris balkan countriecountries said they wouy open ware borders to those fleeing war in places such as syria, iraq and afghanistan. >> we should go amman, german, we haven't any choice. we didn't came back to iran. we don't have any way to come back to iran. >> please help us. we need helpful we immediate ne. >> but with all that resistence, some places are holding out a hand of friends hip. laurence lee visited two towns on either side of the austria-slovenia boarder and sent this report from the slovenian town. >> reporter: nowadays in this town church bells are the only thing i can hear. the river marks the border between slow convenient that and

all industry a it's location has helped define eights past and presence. in 1991, when ewin yugoslavia ws falling apart it was she would in an attempt to stop an independent slow vive vinnie. the church tower was hit. civilians were killed. for a few days it was urban warfare. 24 years on, it is on the refugees route. when syrians and iraqis began arriving people went out of their way to offer them food and clothing. people like this who during the shelling in 1991 was trying desperately to find somewhere for his wife and kids to hide. he says the town wants to help because they know just a little about what so many syrian have his gone through. >> translator: at that time, we were experiencing the same destiny as the refugees are now. we were being attacked by our own people. >> reporter: over the alps in to austria and hidden in the mountains is another expression of solidarity.

this group of men come from every possible conflict zone you can imagine. some have been here for many months. as their asylum claims are processed. it's set up so the men are in good physical as well as mental condition for a new life working here. and despite the dislocation, many refugees must feel it's as peaceful as anyone running away from war could hope for. >> you live with different people and you joke together. you speak together every time from gambia, from syria, afghanistan, somalia, iraq, it's real nice. the place is so nice. you are far from people. not many disturbance, nobody is disturbing you here. >> reporter: the driving force behind it is wolfgang after world war ii, aged just four he was a refugees himself. so he understands. >> i remember well as child how people met us, refugees people, in this space they did not like us to come.

of course at that time it was a little different. all germany was bombed out. people had been poor and even this little bit what they had they should divide. this was clear. so out of this maybe today i have an understanding for the situation of the people here. >> reporter: for all the raw hostility refugees face it's evident that there are people prepared to go out of their way to helpful the lesson from these two places seems to be that it's easy to sympathize if it's already happened to you. laurence lee, al jazeera, on the slovenia, austria border. in thigh land a many court hearing that is begun for two men accused of bombing a shrine in bangkok. 20 people were killed in the august blast and more than 100 others were injured. let's go now live to bangkok where our correspondent wayne hay is standing by. we know had the last hour or so the two men have been indicted. tell us what the charges are. >> reporter: yes, they have

arrived at the military court behind me to hear those charges. 10 charges have been laid against them including premed indicate tated murder, possession of illegal, unauthorized explosives. but interestingly, no mention of terrorism at all. no terrorism charges have been laid against these two men the police, the military they believe it was because of terrorism or religion so it's not terrorism. they have steered clear of using that word terrorism, presumably also out of concern about the affect that that may have on thailand's economy. the country relies heavily on tourism. 10 charges and they are being read them as we speak in the military court. >> are the authorities any closer to understanding the

motives for the bombing? >> reporter: well, the police believe that this was a revenge attack for a crack down on human trafficking that they have been undertaking for some time now. but there is a lot of speculation. a lot of concern in thailand that there are other motives behind this, that it can't just be about a revenge attack for human trafficking there are many people who believe that there is a domestic politics angle to this. there are some people who believe that this was a revenge attack for thailand deporting 100 muslims back to china in july, but, of course, if that were the case it would be a terrorist-related case and that is something like i say that the police and the military have been very keen to avoid using that word. and they have also only caught two men. they have only arrested two who are in that dropple behind me ce despite fact that early on they said it was carried out by a network of foreigners and thais,

some 15 people are still wanted by the police but so far they ever only managed to catch two of them. >> wayne, thank you. wayne hay there reporting on the indictment of the two bangkok bombing suspects. still to come here on al jazeera. nigeria's new president has promised to clean up corruption in the oil sector. why it may not be such an easy task. >> on i saw you. i don't know [ inaudible ] >> and selling seoul the city's efforts to rebound using k.o. nglis history is lost in trap layings. layings. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,

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♪ ♪ welcome back. let's take a look at the top story on his al jazeera. and russia and iran say they will increase cooperation in syria. president vladimir putin and hassan rouhani met it teheran. both countries are strong allies of the syrian regime. the. the unprecedented lockdown in brussels has been extended. thousands of police and soldiers are patrolling the streets. schools and the metro rail network will remain shut until wednesday. and in thailand two men accused of bombing a shrine in bangkok have been charged with 10 offenses including premeditated murder at a military court hearing, 20 people were killed in the august blast and more than 100 others have been injured. french president francois hollande is seeking military and diplomatic support to detroit aisles. he met with british prime minister david cameron on monday

and he offered the use of a u.k. air base in cyprus and promise today seek permission from the british parliament for airstrikes in syria. washington, d.c. will be the next stop for president hollande and he's due to meet with president barack obama on tuesday. rosalind jordan has more. >> reporter: the attacks in paris shocked people in the u.s. and reminded them of september 11th. so the question for the u.s. president, from rival politicians and the president, isn't it time for the u.s. military to take out isil. >> the equation has clearly changed. isn't it time for your strategy to change? >> have you under estimated their abilities? >> why can't we take out these [ beep ]? >> given the fact that there are enormous sacrifices involved in any military action, it's best that we don't, you know, shoot first and aim later. it's important for us to get the strategy right. and the strategy that we are pursuing is the right one.

>> reporter: but there is appetite from the public to for sending in use i can ground troops. even before the par paris attacks, 54% supported the idea while 38% oppose it had. in another poll taken after the attacks, support jumped for 65%, but in a third poll results were split. 44% supported sending american troops while 45% were opposed. the mixed opinions are evident around the country. >> america sees itself as assumer power, then it's their duty and our responsibility. >> we could have our troops there for a year. and get rid of isis, great. but that's not going to be the case. >> we have tried that twice, right? didn't work out so well. especially in iraq. >> reporter: the obama administration says it had already been increasing its effort attacking isil oil surprise. offering rewards for those smuggling fighters in to syria. and increasing intelligence sharing with friends. >> as one capital breaks up a cell, as another capital breaks

up a cell, we have to connect the dots. >> reporter: on monday the u.s. secretary of state called for calm. >> what we need to do is not succumb to fear. people need to not panic. >> reporter: while there is speculation that president francois show land might ask for more military cooperation, analysts say it's not enough to defeat isil. >> the country have his to work together and undercut the instability that allows isil to flourish, where there are not civil wars or sectarian divide. these allows it to survive despite the u.s. bombing so far. >> reporter: for this more patient approach to work the u.s. may have to ignore the mogs of the moment. rosalind jordan, arching washington. >> the ceasefire agreement aimed at ending 14 months of fighting in southern libya has been sign ed in qatar, the agreement was struck between the leaders of the tribes.

so muammar qaddafi was toppled in 2011 there has been more tribal rivalry and violence over the struggling and control of trade routes. a 16-year-old palestinian girl has been shot dead. she tried to stab a man in a mark. the pair are thought to have attacked a 70-year-old palestinian with a pair of is a soars after my staying him for an israeli jew. in a separate i want defense a palestinian man has been shot dead eight petrol station in the occupied west bank, police say he stabbed an isreali man who died immediately and also injured a woman. nigeria's government is appealing to its citizens to report to corruption. the country's president has made tackling graft in the oil sector his top priority. nearly $30 billion has been stolen over the last three years. a report now there abuja on what's being done to lean up the industry.

>> reporter: the president promised voters he would fight corruption in the oil industry before he was elect ed in march. billions of dollars have been lost in the sector in the past three years, most it have by the government-run oil company the nigerian national petroleum cooperation. he is the new minister of the state for petroleum. >> there definitely was corruption the level of volume of it i can't tell. but just looking at the accounts, the lack of accounts, the number, in the press, the company had lost its profitability in terms of serve eightsbility. accountability and transparency. >> reporter: last month the former minister of petroleum was detain ed in london. she denies allegations of bribery and money laundering. last year, the form every governor of the central bank said $20 billion was miss from the state oil company. that was revised down to $1.5 billion by auditors in 2012

the government disputed $7 billion in fraudulent transactions was paid out by the state company. nationwide protest says took place when the government tried to increase the price of subdid subsidized fuel. [ inaudible ] fully funded and [ inaudible ] that infrastructure is poor and it's not working. >> reporter: the government believes some of the corrupt deals take place when companies are paid to import government subsidized oil. but stopping the imports will be controversial. >> it is not sustainable to continue to subsidize petrol. where among the poorest people, no matter how we pretend or flam point you take away the .00%, the bottom line is still very poor. no gdps, so you have inning up. >> reporter: the one of the government's main anti-corruption agency says says it has a solutions.

>> we have a corruption risk assessment. where they identify these processes and put them through the processes. >> reporter: there are also other challenges. pipeline vandalism causes thefts every day. government leaders say they are depending on citizens to report corruption to government agencies. they also say corruption has been substantially reduced since the government took over six months ago. al jazeera, abuja, nigeria. ukraine has halted the delivery of goods to crimea amid a spike in tension with moscow, people in the an ex-s peninsula are spending another day without electricity after power lines were sabbath town odd friday. a state of emergency has been declared in crimea and many shops and banks are closed. bomb in athens it targeted the huh len i can federation of

henterprises an organization tht lobbies on behalf of the european union. the u.s. drug giant pfizer has sealed a dealing to buy european based group allegan, the $160 billion deal will be the largest pharmaceutical take over in history. it will allow identifies tore movies a head quarters to ireland to escape high u.s. corporate taxes. alan fisher reports on how the move has been criticized by some. >> reporter: it's the biggest deal of eights kind worth $160 billion. >> we need to say what life are we touching today and making matter. >> reporter: the u.s.-based identifieser is taking over botox maker allegan. >> the way the deal is structured, ireland-based allergan is buying the bigger company allowing it to be headquartered in dublin saving millions of dollars in corporate tax, it's known as an inversion. >> which is another way of saying it is going to basically pay a lower tax rate in ireland than in the united states

presently which will allow it to report higher quarterly earnings going forward. so this is really a deal about optimize be or minimizing corporate tax rates from pfizer's perspective. >> reporter: yes, president obama has in the past promise today close the loophole he called it unpatriotic. >> a small but growing group of big corporations are fleeing the country to get out of paying taxes. they are keeping most of their business inside the united states, but they are basically renouncing their citizenship and declaring that they are based someplace else just to avoid paying their fair share. 79 the tax rate for businesses in the u.s. is 35%. one of the highest in the world. in ireland it will be just 15%. pfizer's ceo insists this is still a good deal for the u.s. >> it gives it growth, brider portfolio. it's a really strategic deal from that point of view. it enables us to incorporate brands, open science, open two. , the philosophy. we get overlaps, we get some

overlaps and there are benefits from tax. >> reporter: pfizer says it expects to complete the deal in the second half of next year. and it could generate $2 billin of savings in the first two years it, will be the biggest drug company in terms of sales but the deal still needs approval from regulate nurse the u.s. and europe before it can be approved by share holders. south korea's capital has embarked on a re-branding venture. an on loan vote decided which slogan with capture the essence of seoul. there is just one problem, nobody really knows what it all means. harry fawcett has the story. >> reporter: seoul really look better than on a beautiful late autumn day. down there is a nas nateing mega city right not exploring, but there is no sydney opera house no, empire state identifying a seoul brand has for years been a bit of a headache. so this year the city government decided seoul's new brand would

be crowd sourced the winner from thousands of submissions chosen by a panel of experts and a public vote. and this is it. i seoul u proposed by a philosophy student, voted in by a wide margin, understood by few and ridiculed by many. it's a particularly awkwarding example of congress litsch the mashing up of english and kore korean. seoul says the meaning littleness of the praise could allow it to last longer, perhaps more for those whose first language isn't english are lurk we are come here toll see this if he sold i seoul u. what do you make that have? did you know what it means? >> i seoul u. >> i don't know what it's it's supposed to be. practice get it. is this a joke? >> it's a good logo.

>> happy. >> yes, i see. >> kind. >> reporter: very kind. it's not hard to list seoul's attractions, k-pop draws in the crowns from around asia a spectacular outdoor festivals. the night life buzzes the barbecues blaze. and it can sometimes feel like every second shop front is a design are cafe. so does i seoul u really sell all of this? >> i came out on my facebook feed and said this is the dumbest thing but then i started noticing all my ex-pat friends were sharing it, including myself. were sharing it left and right. and people were meming it up and it was going armed, i think probably more than had it been just a decent slogan. >> reporter: the city government is getting in on the joke, lawn. inlaunching a competition for te best parody.

by producing a slogan that doesn't mean anything they might is have stumble odd one that works. as always for all the latest news, analysis and features you can heap head to our website at aljazeera.com. >> on "america tonight": hard lessons. a rising voice of protest on campus. ithaca college scene of the latest faceoff as students say ud latest faceoff as students say the school isn't all it seems. >> there were so many stories, so many tears in that room of black and brown students who said, i don't feel welcomed here. >> "america tonight's" adam may visits a campus torn by anger. thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen.