this is al jazeera. ♪ ♪ hello, i am lauren taylor, this is the news hour live from london. coming coupl up. syrian rebel groups join force to his turn the tide against government forces in the crucial aleppo province. pope francis calls africa the continent of hope. as he receives a rapturous welcome from ugandans. united states national security agency prepares to stop mass surveillance. so what now?

plus. >> reporter: president obama is heading to paris with a plan to drastically cut carbon he minutes. but not everyone back home is on board. i am kristen saloomey in west virginia, where there is strong opposition. hello there, i am robin adams with all of the sports news live from doha. another step towards a first title since 1936. and it's the murray brother who his put them in the position against belgium. details coming up. ♪ ♪ rebel fighters in syria say they have recaptured a town and several villages in the aleppo country side from government soldiers backed by shia militia and iranian forces. it reverses government gains made two weeks ago. crucially, several rebel groups joined fors including the al qaeda-affiliated nusra front. painful loss on his syrian traps in the area despite the

government getting help from airstrikes. aleppo has significant extra stc value as it sits along the border. it has been a key battle ground for the past three years. from the hoarder hashem reports. >> reporter: syrian rebels on the offensive. marred by divisions and short of weapons, they are advancing on the city of aleppo. many armed factions have establish aid joint command center. this video appears to show them attacking government military posts in southern aleppo. the armed group al-nusra front is taking part in the offensive. its fighters played a significant role in the push to' cure it the village. syrian rebels say government forces are backed by thousands of fighters from iran, iraq, and hezbollah. >> the strategic of the syrian army is to cut the highways.

not to take over aleppo. aleppo as a city, i think, is still divided. and they have to go to the eastern side. >> reporter: behind these mountains, is another major frontline. government troops have been shelling these peaks, which were recently captured by turkmen fighters. these mountains overlook the city. one of president bashar al-assad's strong holds. his trooped backed by russian planes are trying to secure the area. but if the fighting continues near the board we are turkey, there are growing fears of regional conflict. the russians and iran are staunch allies of president is al jazeera sad. while the turks western and gulf nations insist the syrian president must go. they use the russians as cover to increase assad's chance of

staying in power. and they believe it can only be defeated in assad steps aside. iranian media is reporting that a member of its elite revolutionary guards has good in syria. he is said to have died while fighting near the northern city of aleppo. at least 64 have been killed in syria while supporting president assad's forces. russian jets have reportedly attacked a town in northern syria close to the border with turkey. the air strikes targeted an area where several buses were parked. ness with his said the vehicles had been used to get food and aid surprise to people in need. syria's army says turkey has recently increased its supply of weapons and equipment for what it describes as terrorist in shipments disguised as hugh marv terriehumanitarian aid. joining me live. thanks very much indeed for

being with us this everything. how significant do you think the gains are in that area near aleppo? by the opposition fighters? >> you know, lauren, every town, every village is very significant. the reality is if you ask me about the big picture, the macro picture, no camp has been able to deliver a decisive blow. today you have two major reports, the rebels basically advance in southwestern aleppo and capture more cities and the syrian army captures major towns from isis. so you have two major developments, each side loses in one area, and the other side gains in another area. no camp, neither the syrian government and it's a allies, nor the opposition have been able to really have the upper hand. the reality is this is a war of attrition. five years in to the syrian conflict, this is basically the -- you have eye rough balance of power. the russian intervention has not dramatically changed the

strategic balance of power. nor the regional war by proxies. this is the reality. this is another major day, another bloody day in the syrian conflict. >> how do you see the spat between turkey and rush over the down of the russian plane affecting the fighting on the ground? do you think it will have any impact at all? >> oh, absolutely. now instead of focusing on isis, and al-nusra front basically now you have turkey and russia basically fighting each other. inside syria. russia is supporting russia and its allies supporting assad, the assad government and turkey basically is trying to deliver a hard blow against the syrian government. there is a real danger that the russian-turkish confrontation spirals out of control. that's why everyone is saying both sides calm down, sit down and talk to each other. it's a serious situation.

and this tells you what is happening in syria is no longer local. this is basically more about regional powers and global powers waging the war by proxies on the syrian front. >> tell me, you are in paris and we know that francois hollande has been trying to gather a big coalition against isil. what affect do you think that will have on the, well, on what you describe as a proxy war already? but what do you think the effect immediately on the ground will be? >> you know, really, lauren, what you have asked me about turkey and russia, the basic clashes now and after the downing of the russian jet fighter, you know, on the turkish-syrian borders. the french president would like a grand coalition, a grand coalition that includes the western powers and russia and regional powers against isis. what has happened in the last few days, even though the russians say they are willing to coordinate with france, i don't think that such a coalition,

grant coalition is possible. because you have basically differing interests inside syria. on the one hand, you have russia and iran supporting the assad government. on the other hand, you have turkey and the regional powers and the western powers want to get rid of assad. so how can you construct a grand coalition based on isis while the various powers have their own differing interests inside syria. i think the grand coalition, of president hollande, even though he is very genuine is more wishful thinking. there is no consensus on how to proceed, even though everyone wants to fight isis, the reality is most of the powers have their own interest inside syria and that's why isis time and again, lauren, has been able to exploit regional rivalries and global rivalries in order to consolidate its influence not only in syria, but also in iraq. >> and given that picture that you paint, what chances of any progress on the political front

toward resolving the crisis diplomatically? >> another major question, lauren. in fact, what has happened between turkey and russia hammered a deadly nail in the vienna process. the political process. we all were hopeful that the diplomatic process inaugurate ed in vienna one and vienna two would lead to the beginning of a transitional political process in basically in syria. what has happened in the last few days now, what happens now, i mean, we started the discussion by saying have the opposition forces made a breakthrough against the assad regime. everyone, everyone, both the local forces and the regional powers and the global powers are trying to basically achieve a military breakthrough as opposed to really focus on the political process inside syria. so the russian, turkish

confrontation has diverted the focus from the diplomatic, political front to the military front and it's all out war everywhere inside syria as you know today and, in fact, in the next few weeks, and next few months i am afraid. >> okay. on that, perhaps rather pressing note, thank you very much indeed. good for hear your thoughts. thank you. turkey's president has warned that while isil is a serious threat to syria, there are other players who are equally dang us. jamal has more from istanbul. >> reporter: turkey's president erdogan was trying to under several messages in his latest address. with regards to the international campaign to combat isis, what erdogan is trying to say is that, yes, isis is a threat, however the root cause to the problem is much greater than that organization. he says that actually the reason

behind the bloodshed, the reason behind the turmoil is the regime of president bashar al-assad. >> translator: there are no differences between the rpg, assad and isil organizations. what they do is commit crimes against humanity. let no one deceive anyone. we went to syria because they invited us. if someone kills 380,000 people, if someone kills his own people, are you obliged to accept their inning have i tailing? >> reporter: it goes to show the kind of fragmentation in this international co lynx country who his claim to be combating isis. for example, washington believes that they have a partner in the kurdish fighters, whereas russia, which claims to be attacking isis is actually a staunch supporter of the assad regime which itself has come under accusations through the u.s. treasury in the past few days of actually having indirect links by buying oil from isis. the other important message from erdogan was his reiteration that he would try to meet with russia's vladimir putin?

paris when the two arrive for this climate change summit. until now, the kremlin hasn't responded. either positively or negatively to erdogan's request for a meeting. but it's a sign that erdogan is trying to deescalator publically show that he is reaching out to his russian counterparts, russia says nothing short of an apology will do erdogan says his country didn't do anything wrong, it was merely defending its airspace. relations between turkey and russia show no sign of improving following the downing i've russian plane on tuesday. president putin has sign aid decree imposing economic sanction on his turkey which would affect imports of some turkish products and the operations of turkish countries. turkey, meanwhile has, warned its citizens against nonessential travel to russia. in his speech earlier president erdogan says he wished the incident had not happened. >> translator: the incident truly saddens us. we would never have want there had to happen, however it is not

possible for us to treat these as visits from guests. guest is come when they are invited. we hope this never is repeated. we are never on the side of pain and suffering. we seek peace, security and prosperity. a prominent pro-kurdish lawyer and human rights advocate has been shot dead in turkey's southeastern city, he had been speaking to the media in the predominantly kurdish city when he was fatality wounded. a police officer was also killed. [ gunshots ] >> he had previously been detained for saying the p.k.k. shouldn't be regarded as a tar orist organization. thousands of kurdish protesters rallied against the death. the march in the square was broken up by police who fired water cannon and tear gas at the crowds. turkey's government says it's determined to shed light on the

death and has launched an investigation. hundreds of protesters have been out on the streets in london demanding that their government south international air campaign in syria. prime minister david cameron says bombing the group is a way to keep themselves. but people want a political solution first. politicians expected to vote next wednesday. >> reporter: outside downing street the first of what organizers say will be a tidal wave of protests. for now, the crowds are modest. but as parliament repairs for a crucial vote on syrian aircraft strikes next wednesday, these demonstrators including on politicians, musicians and film stars wants their say. >> in my lifetime i have not seen violence promote peace. we don't accept it in our families, workplace, we don't accept it between a man and his dog, we don't accept it between parents and children. why are we even contemplating the idea of violence -- that

violence is the solution to? >> we certainly should be tackling isis, but the way of doing it is not to go and bomb them. which is exactly what they want. and which will dignify their position. but to start trying to stifle the money that's going to them. >> reporter: the war coalition accused of government of having for clear strategy when it comes to syria. they say 14 cumulative years of bombs afghanistan, iraq and now what is happening in the middle east only they wants to inflame tensions even furtherer and bring more bloodshed to europe street. on thursday, the british prime minister launched a campaign of his own to persuade lawmakers of the neat to airstrikes. british bombers have already been hitting isil tagger nets iraq since last year. he says the fight against isil in syria shouldn't fall to other countries. >> we shouldn't be content with outsourcing our security to our allies. if we believe that action can help protect us, then with our allies, we should be part of that action, not stan standing e

from it. >> reporter: two years ago david cameron wanted to launch airstrikes to ou oust syrian president bashar al-assad by that was competed. the willing to destroy isil seen by many as posing a more direct threat to national security. this was the scene in 2003, when a different british government led by the former prime minister tony blair wanted to invade iraq. it was the biggest protest in british history against a war many saw as illegal. today the prime minister says air strikes are needed for self-defense. the growing number of people believe him. despite this opposition, it's a vote the british government thinks it can win. neave barker, al jazeera, london. still ahead, defying a travel ban, the coptic pope's trip to israel promotes outrage on social media.

could before keena faso be about to enter a new era? we speak to the candidates ahead of sunday's election. barcelona continue their rich vein of form in la liga. we'll have a round up of all the big leagues in europe coming up. saudi-led coalition has carried out airstrikes on boats they say were smuggling surprise to houthi rebels in yemen. weapons were being unloaded from two fishing vessel when they were hit killing three smugglers. the coalition has imposed a blockade on yemen to stop weapons reaching the houthis and troops loyal to the ousted president saleh. we have this update from the yemeni city. >> translator: the saudi-led coalition jets have carried out eight raids in the province

targeting a number of boats allegedly carrying arms, ammunition and fuel for the houthi rebels. the smugglers are alleged to be india and asian sailors. the operation was carried out in the port part of the long coastal strip stretching more than 200-kilometers. the yemeni army has not been able to maintain security there because it doesn't have sufficient marine capabilities and the area is quite vast. the saudi-led coalition had given previous warnings to the votes. also about 12-kilometer as way are all facilities where the majority of yemen's production is exported from. it's an area that the rudy rebels alongside fighters loyal to deposed president saleh have been trying to control since the start of the conflict. there are also reports that african mercenaries are being taken to yemen to identified along with the houthi rebels along the border with saudi arabia. last week the pro-government forces said they arrested 850 african fighters. >> at least four policemen have

been shot dead in egypt. masked attack ores a motorcycle bike are said to have opened fire at a security checkpoint in the cairo is bush the giza, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. an egyptian military helicopter has crashed due to what is described as a sudden tech knowledge failure northeast of cairo. it was on a reconnaissance mission and that crew members were injured, but did not specify the number hurt or the severity of the crash. the leader of egypt's coptic orthodox church has been to israel on the first visit of its kind in decades. he traveled there despite a ban on pilgrimages to israel issued by his predecessor. it was against the occupation of east jerusalem. he was there attending the funeral of a senior coptic official. there has been an outcry on social media with many posts accusing him of betrayal. let's get more now from stephanie deck who is in occupied east jerusalem. >> reporter: the on coptic charge is scene to stress this

is not an official visit. this is an extraordinary visit. this is a human visit because the two men were friends. the pope was a personal friend of the arch wish abraham. they went to university together and also the position that the arch wish you would held as the head of the coptic church in the holy land. he passed away on wednesday this is why he is here paying his respect and leading the funeral of the church does say that he will not be visiting any official, any religious places here. he will be finishing the funeral and then will be returning to egypt. because they know the sensitively of this issue. so certainly that's the message they say it hasn't changed not from the late pope when he it said 1979 when a reel and egypt signed the peace accords that cops and muslims should be entering jerusalem together he have. they say that's still the case, this is not to be seen as a change of policy. this is an extraordinary visit and it's once it is done he will be returning to egypt.

pope francis has blessed hundreds of thousands at a youth rally in uganda. there's for an official tour. security has been beefed up in central african republic ahead of his visit on sunday. malcolm webb reports from uganda. >> reporter: 10s of thousands gathered to meet pope fran since around the shrine in the capital. 130 years ago some of uganda's first christians were killed here for their faith. they are now known as martyrs. it's the holiest site in uganda for its 14 million catholics. >> translator: dear brothers and sisters, this is the legacy which you have received from the ugandan martyrs. lives marked by the power of the holy spirit. lives which are witness, even now, to the transforming power of the gospel of jesus christ. >> reporter: he held a mass and

spoke of turning hate in to love. from argentina, he's the first noneuropean pope in 1300 years. he often speaks about inequality. and so he is seen as a champion of the poor and that resonates here where most are religious and many are jobless. across town, a crowd of thousands of young people steadily gathered at his next venue. people came from neighboring countries and from all over uganda. >> i feel good. i want to be here. for papa to bless the ugandans. i also want to meet to be here for him to embrace me. >> reporter: it's also a much-needed business opportunity for many. people selling food and & drin k and and auld kind of religious paraphernalia. many different items especially things with the pope on. these are selling very well the

traders say. when he fine arrived, people couldn't get close enough. some have been waiting hours hear his message but for many the excitement of seeing a religious leader who they admire and love was the highlight. >> people are so many and enjoying, everyone is happy. solidarity. [cheering and applause] >> reporter: malcolm webb, al jazeera, uganda. joining now in studio for more this is agnes an east africa political and economic comals. thanks for talking to us, we saw the happy reaction to the pope's visit. he's then headed onto the central african remember he can which has been violent reare re. >> i think his visit say career kline that, yo -- is aclear sign traveling in such countries. but him visiting there is to say this conflict is not forgoten

and that it draws attention. some of the challenges like car don't case. >> what about the torso far? what do you think the overriding message has been? >> it's incredible. that pope francis has highlighted of in the key challenges that we face in africa. climb at change ahead of the climate change sum knit paris next week, you know, urging the world leaders and citizen to his consult the environment and it's a gift. not just for us to consult for the next generation, and you also tackle corruption and also interfaith dialogue. you are well aware of the conflict that den i can't and yokenya and ugandahave faced be. highlighting the issue you that his we need to address and it's quite interesting. >> you mentioned corruption there and some of the difficult issues. do you think he is able to say the kind of things that other leaders can't say? >> you know, until our world, kenya and uganda, which has a huge population of catholic and the catholic faith is very huge

in our region, i think people welcome him. he's just -- he's seen as a messenger of god. people will take this message it's to be seen after he leaves africa if we can do some of the things that he's asked us to put a focus on. >> you mentioned interfaith dialogue as well. and as you were saying in the central african republic the huge problems with people associated with different faiths not necessarily officially if you like. but what do you think the interfaith dialogue message will actual lay chief? is it something that can make a difference having him go there and say -- talk about that? >> i think he can. and what is most -- i think one of the best steps to come out of this. when he left at least 25 religious leaders in cain i can't and what he said it's not an option. it's not a luxury for us to have this dialogue, we need to address issues and really a very strong message that, you know,

hatred against people based on faith is barbaric and i think a clear message to anybody who preaches religious hatred or a message that separates people is not welcome. and i think that was very clear in his message throughout. >> what about the issue you of youth radicalization, the kind of, you know, problems associated with that and did he tack that would in a way that was effective? >> lauren, africa has a growing young population, kenya and uganda are great examples and him appealing directly to the young people calling them to [ inaudible ] things that are valuable and asking them to take accountability. because he asked them to welcome and speak to those amongst us who would be militants. it was quite a clear message and also really poverty, which drives young people to join militants, he tackled it and said, you know, an equal society, you know, some of the stuff that are leading these young people to follow militants

and islamism. >> okay, agnes, thank you very much indeed for come coming to talk to us, thank you. to come in hour, violence in macedonia as the country begins building a metal fence along its border with greece. leading opposition figure is arrested on a day of anti-government protests. and some nba sport, wrigley great jonah lomu is given a traditional september off in new zealand.

>> half a million fields will lie fallow. >> if we had another year of this severe drought, i'd say all bets are off. ♪ ♪ held going, reminder of the top stories here on al jazeera. syrian opposition forces say they have gained ground against the government in aleppo province. al-nusra front has help ed in the fighting. turkish president erdogan has expressed remorse over the shooting down i've russian airplane near turkey's board we are syria but says his country must defend their border. a prominent pro kurdish lawyer has been shot dead. a policeman was also killed when a gunman fired on a media

conference. at least two u.n. peace keepers and a civilian have been killed on a rocket attack on a u.n. base in mali. another 20 people were injured in a predawn attack. a u.n. spokesman says mortar shells were used and fired shots and fled. this comes eight days after a deadly siege after a western hotel in the capital in which 20 people were killed. earlier we spoke to owe live salgado the spokesman for the u.n. peacekeeping mission in mali. he said the attack is a an attet to end the peace agreement signed in june. >> we are doing everything for this. it's difficult. it's extremely difficult missi mission. we are in the implementation phase. we know some militant forces

don't want peace to happen. but our job is to make it happen and we will do everything so it can happen. the u.s. the national security agency is shutting down its mass phone surveillance and replacing it with more targeted efforts. it will end its daily monitoring of i millions of americans phone records on sunday. it comes two and a half years after the controversial program was exposed by edward snowden: >> reporter: the u.s. government no longer has the legal authority to hoover up the metadata of american's telephone calls in the u.s., the call duration, who they are calling, where they are calling from and so on. instead the telephone companies themselves will hold that data and under the usa freedom act the government will now request information on a case-by-case basis. supposedly there are now safeguards that might take another whistle blower to tell us if they are work being but there remain plenty of other

ways with which the government can hoover up that information. there is executive order at 12333 shrouded in secrecies. the usa freedom act expand the ability of the nsa to get information from i want and telephone providers. and of course the other revelation from edward snowden how the u.s. has ability to investigate everything we do on the internet. how it hoovers up texts every day. that all isn't being reformed. anybody it has to be stressed for everyone not in the united states, none of this makes any difference. the nsa feels you are fair game. it's up to your government to protect you as far as it's concerned. it can look at whatever you are doing. any communications you make, but as edward snowden did show, many governments are not protecting their citizens and helping the u.s. nation spy. the family of the syrian boy whose drowning off the coast of turkey triggered an international outcry will be resettled in canada. the aunt of the three yearly

alan says the canadian government has approved this think cog her organization application was rejected which led to the ill fated attempt to crossed mediterranean to the greece. refugees demanding passage through to western europe. were hit with stun grenades. scuffles broke out on saturday and police were pented with rocks, coming after macedonian authorities were building a metal fence along the border of greece. they are stopping only some groups saying they are economic migrants. >> we will stop here. we will stop here without eating. we will die in the same. we are the same. we will die there or here. it's the same. nothing change. joining us now on skype for more is the head of europe's u.n. refugees agency. thank you very much for nba deed for being with us, tensions have

been fairly high on the board never macedonia, tell us about the humanitarian situation and how you think it's progressing. >> first of all it's getting very cold. so there are more risks for the people crossing to those borders. the tension mounting at the border between greece and the former ewing slough i can republic of macedonia. when the macedonian police started erecting a fence, people start throwing stones at the police. 18 policemen unde were injured. they reply in tear gas, 10 migrants or refugees were injured. the problem is the no the border. the problem should be solved at the greek border where proper screening should be established. >> what about more generally, i mean, the whole flow of refugees has been less in the news than it was. what are the numbers like at the moment as we go in to the kind of depths of winter? >> well, yesterday i was in croatia and slow convenient yeah. it was a trickle of people. about a thousand people crossing

the border. because the sea under the conditions were not favorable between turkey and greece, less people arrive over last week. over the laugh two days the flow resumes, you had more than 3,000 people arriving to greece, so the problem is still there. but, again, the situation should be at risk both in turkey and greece, in greece there has to be a proper registration between the people in need of international protection and thize. this dream about seeking asylum in three countries in europe, gergermany and swede sen just nt sustainable. >> you edges inned the systems in place and how they need to improve of after the paris attacks which some of the attackers were linked through the refugees route through greece and the balkans, how has europe reacted against that issue? has that changed the way the systems are being looked at or not in your experience?

>> not really. it was a meeting of the justice and ministers in luxembourg recently. that adopted a number of conclusions but the screening in greece again needs to be improved. i met recently with some syrian refugees in syria -- sorry? serbia and when i asked them about the sort of controls and questions they are being asked in greece in the former ewing slougyugoslavia republic of macedonia. they say why are you not asking this question? it's bad for your security, it's bad for our zone security. the screens are inadequate. but that's what we kept telling them. thank you very much indeed. >> reporter: thank you. e.u.'s 28 leaders will host turkey for an extraordinary summit on sunday with the ongoing refugees and migrant crisis top of the agenda.

turkey has agreed in principal to the e.u. plan which see them take in more refugees in exchange for $3 billion freer travel for turks to the e.u. from berlin laurence lee reports. >> reporter: spring turned to summer and autumn winter and still they haven't stormed through all he had we are on miserable trip. the e.u. has all year been accused of doing too little to make the journeys less dangerous. but while european leaders were full of sympathy when the body of three-year-old alan was washed up on the beach, the main preoccupation has for months been thousand stop refugees coming from turkey to greece at all. the government is usually in the driver's seat presenting this as an attempt at regaining control. >> i think it is not a fair humanitarian solution to induce people to risk their lives and the lives of their children in cross mediterranean or going on the balkan route on the trek, we

have to offer perspective for legal entry in to the european union. but at the same time improving the situation of refugees in turkey. >> reporter: this is the quart every berlin known as little istanbul. germany has for years maining turkish migrant workers and the deal means it may have to take in a lot more. as well as a spent up entry process to the e.u., turkey is also demanding visa-free access to europe for its 75 million people. suddenly for turkey, the refugees crisis is an opportunity. turkey has been trying to join the european union since before the berlin wall came down in 1989. and yet for all of that time, germany has blocked it on the grounds that turkey's human rights record isn't good enough. yet suddenly all of the talk of repressionrepressions and abuses vanishing on the wind because the european union wants to pay turkey to keep the refugees out. given how many european politicians describe the refugees as economic migrants, that sounds to some to be a

highly hypocritical position for the european union to take. >> the european union is ready to give up human rights. its own values. why the european union actually exists and it is doing this on the back of the most vulnerable people, the refugees. >> reporter: so more than $3 billion will be found and given to turkey from more camps and presumably more barbed wire. perhaps it wilkens toot a life for the refugees, perhaps not. but clearly europe's new fences have not worked so they are pushing them even furthe further towards syria and iraq. laurence lee, al jazeera in berlin. a leading opposition member has been arrested on al jazeera long with 86 members of his party.

opposition leader is wanted by the police for throw tear gas in to parliament. he was take then to custody after appearing in public to speak to the crowds. we have this update. >> reporter: thousands of kosovo aalbanians gathered in the capital on flag day a celebration of the independent state of i'll pain i can't. the gathering organized by opposition parties was peaceful, unlike their recent frequent disruptions in the kosovo parliament. the main reason for disruptions and the protest is the disapproval of the agreement reached with serbia on forming the association offe of serb knw municipalities they see it as a backdoor to getting them back in to government. the protests and delivered a speech police have searched for him for sometime now. with a war end for his arrest for throwing tear gas in the

parliament on several occasions, but choose not to arrest him at the bath gathering. they did so after the protest at the self determination party's head quarters. altogether 87 members of the party were arrested in different locations, it remains to be seen whether this will break the resolve the opposition who was determined to obstruct the work of the parliament until the government annulled the agreement with serbia. activists in southern ukraine say they will keep blocking the repair of power lines to crimea. which has left them without pure power for a week. they are camped out in tents and say they won't allow crews to the downed pylons until rush crush a agrees to demands, including the release of prisoner. moscow has accused them of torture by not fixing the lines.

u.s. president obama is headed to lime at talks with the aim o of reducing car gone he minutes in the u.s. by 26%. but back homers facing legal challenges from half of the states. kristen saloomey explains. >> reporter: the machines that make and refurbish coal mining equipment at phillips machine services are quiet. company down to a four-day working week. co own or tom curb man has laid off more than 2/3 of his workforce in the past three years. >> we used to do maybe as many as 30 of these in a year. and as you can see, we are not very business right know. >> reporter: he blames competition from natural gas. and president obama's clean power plan. federal regulations meant to drastically reduce carbon emissions. >> when you take an ax to a problem rather than a small pairing knife you tend to hurt

whole segments of the society. >> reporter: beckly west virginia is coal country. mining's deep roots or display here, at a museum replicating a coal camp. where retired miners like roger jarel lead tours through a mine from the 1800s. >> i want kids to understand what this is really like. >> reporter: he says coal companies are not only making and hiring less, they are paying less in taxes and that means less money for local schools. >> if we got a leader that people thinks is trying to take their bread and butter off the table, wouldn't you fight back? >> reporter: west virginia gets 95% of its power from coal. so perhaps it's not surprising that the state is leading the fight against president obama's kline poweclean power plan. but west virginia is not alone, some 27 states in total have filed legal action to his stop the plan from moving forward. but experts say the united states can't reach its goal of

reducing emission buys at least 26% without tougher standards for the coal industry. >> clean power plan is the single most important piece of climate change regulation that e.p.a. has promulgated to date. because it takes -- seeks to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector which is the largest sorts of greenhouse gas emissions in the united states. >> reporter: democrats in coal states have asked the president to do more to promote carbon capture technology, which they say would allow for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while still using coal to preserve their way of life as well as the planet for future generations. kristen saloomey, al jazeera, beckly, west virginia. 24 environmental activist have his been placed under house arrest in france. accused of planning violent protests at the upcoming u.n. climate talks in paris, demonstrations are banned you remember the state of emergency enforced after the pair ace at

two week ags, greenpeace has been allowed to float a small hot air balloon to raise the climate issues. voters in burkina faso will head to the polls on sunday in a closely-watched election that could mark the beginning after i new chapter in the country's political history. the vote was delayed after a failed coup in september. it comes a year after a popular uprising toppled the country's long-standing president. mohamed a doug adow talked to te candidates. >> reporter: a last minute hunt for voters political campaigns in burkina faso draw to a close. with three-quarters of the country's population of 17 million under the age of the 30 years, the youth vote will prove disease enough these elections. music and mega phones are the weapons of choice for the candidates who are pushing for a high turn out. he served as prime minute under former prison is a front runner.

he left government just a year ago after opposing plan to his extend come par a's rule. a businessman and former finance minister is the other formidably candidate. for some people the front runner's ties to the former regime is a disappointment. >> translator: it's a miss concession to suggest that we don't represent change. we served under blaze with honesty and in the interest of our people. we have nothing to be ashamed of. >> reporter: burkina faso is one of the poorest country on his earth. its ailing economy was further affected by the crisis. more than anything else, what the people want is for the official to his bring to an end the crisis that has engulfed their country over the past 20 years. no representatives of the former ruling party are a throughout stand for the presidency.

yellow visuals of the congress for democracy party have been lobbying traditional others for support. a majority in parliament will give them the right to choose the crucial posts of prime minister and speaker. >> translator: we are not happy at all. it's very unfair because we would have won if we had been able to run for president, now we want to take over parliament. >> reporter: the election is still hopeful. >> we are experiencing a new democracy that, we have this kind of uncertainty about the result of elects and this is a sign and an indication huh we are moving for a more democracy. >> reporter: if the elects are successful, they will mark the first democratic handover the power in the history of burkina faso, whose name means the land of honest people. mohamed adow, al jazeera. still ahead. could the valley of the kings be home to one of egypt's great

queens? the search for the legendary nefratity enters a new phase. and robin with sport, including top flight football returns to paris for the first time since the attacks in the french capital.

♪ ♪ archeologists say they are 90% sure the tomb of egypt's boy king has passengers to another chamber and could be final resting place of queen nefertiti. she died in the 14th century

b.c. the new find could be egypt's greatest this century. >> scanned revealed closed doorways. a storeroom labeled "x" in the cut away bottom left here. and that on the north, to a corridor can't action of the tomb labeled "y." the proposal that i put forward was that the burial was actually a tomb within a tomb. >> now with all the sport here is robin. lauren, thank you very much. another great britain taking the 2-1 lead in the davis cup final against belgium of the doubles. world enough two andy murray playing alongside his brother jamie. taking on the bell yu belgium p.

the brits took the first set. the belgians the second. the murray brothers would take the next two sets to win the match. britain hasn't won't cup since 1936. the singles will be on sunday. that will decide the best of five final. >> it's obviously fantastic to win the match. it's the same thing against australia and against france, but i am not -- i don't feel that sort of high right now. i feel pretty calm. i know there is a long way to go. and i will probably reflect that at the end of the tie. but obviously it's to play in a davis cup final with your brother and to win a point for your country is obviously great and we may never get the chance to do that again. so i have to enjoy that. >> lester city striker jamie vardy has become the first player in english premier history to score in 11 matches in a row.

he broke rude' ru. d's record. only three years ago he was a nonleague play. this goal canceled out. 1-1 the final score. >> i asked to my players in the meeting session to think, one, win the match, and second, help jamie to achieve the record. we draw the match and i am pleased because the performance was good. >> i am very happy with the record of jamie vardy, great achievement. >> plenty of goals elsewhere on saturday. wad ford defeated a ann aston villa. crystal palace up to sixth after they thumped newcastle 5-1. manchester city tied at the top with lester. they both are on 29 points, city were 3-1 winners over south half

southampton. >> it was not an easy week, especially talking about the premier league. we just won one wouldn't out of the last six, it was very important to win here at home against a difficult team this was unbeaten playing awaying so i am very happy about the per foopts and the three points. >> top flight football has returned to pair toss the first time since at at in the french capital two weeks ago. a moment of silence was held before the paris st. german 4-1 league victory over troy. there were no away fans due to the lack of police forces available while the country is still in a state of emergency. 130 people died on november 13th it is there were three suicide bombs outside the stade de france where the national team were playing germany. barcelona continued to lead the way in the spanish premiera liga. barcelona enjoyed another easy day out. their victim this is time, real sociedad. a goal from luis suarez and a

double from neymar, 26 wins now this season. lionel messi was making his first league start since a leg injury added another in the 4-0 win. barcelona has a full wouldn't advantage over second place atletico madrid who beat espanyol 1-0. malaga and gray ahead applied to a draw. two games right now. still going. both leading their respective matches. but back to sports news. on pole for the final race of the formula one season on sunday, the abu dhabi grand prix, it's the sixth race. the mercedes drive has been quick in qualifying. his teammate lewis hamilton in his final match. rosburg was on the .300 seconds fatter than hamilton. >> before it was close in the other direction, now it's close in this direction. you know, i am quicker in the moment and just very pleased about that.

and then enjoying the moment. and happy to be on pole again. >> mine, i generally have been struggling with the car a little bit. but we have been work really hard to make some changes. we have had to take something off the car, but, no, nico was just really quick today. >> golf. a three-shot lead going to the final round in south africa. the leopard creek country club is on the edge of the national parking. not surprising to see animal on his the outskirts as well. continue to go enjoy seeing birdies on the course as well in the third round of 70. he's affidavit french pair of benjamin herbert and sebastian on 13 under. jordan spieth is three shots off the lead after the third round of golf's australian open. the world number one produced the shock of the day on the 17th at the australian golf club in sydney. this eagle helping him to a round of 67. putting them on seven under overall. but it's local matthew jones that leads at 10 under par,

third down including six birdi birdies. jonah lomu has been mourned at the traditional pacific island sends off in auckland. lomu's wife and children were joined by the governor general and former teammates for the traditional day of the family event. a former morning wil mourning wd on monday. he died 10 days ago. vladimir klischko defends his title in deucal dork, we'll bring you that result in the next news hour, but that is your sport now, back to london. robin, thank you very much indeed. a quick reminder that you can always catch up with all the sport and news we are covering by check out our website the address for that is aljazeera.com. and you can watch us now by watching the watch now i cone. that's it. we'll have another full roundup of the days news in a cup minutes, thanks indeed to watching, see you soon.

>> al jazeera america brings you independent reporting without spin. >> not everybody is asking the questions you're asking me today. >> we give you more perspectives >> the separatists took control a few days ago. >> and a global view. >> now everybody in this country can hear them. >> getting the story first-hand. >> they have travelled for weeks, sometimes months. >> what's your message then? >> we need help now. >> you're watching al jazeera america. >> we always have strikes. people should never be alarmed. >> what started as a peaceful protest... >> police seem to stick to the self-defense story. >> became a horrific moment in south african history. >> i don't think any organization in this country could ever anticipate this type of violence. >> what really happened that tragic day. >> it is the time to point a finger at those whose fingers pulled the trigger.