>> saudi arabia announces anew alliance saying it will lead a group of 34 mainly muslim organizations against terrorism. hello, jane dutton. this is al jazeera, also ahead. ending the war in syria. a new attempt by u.s. and russia to find common ground is about to get underway. heading for europe, what the new eu strategy means for migration. plus.

>> the mining for bauxite. how it affects the people living here an their environment. >> saudi arabia has announced the form formation of a new coalition. the saudi government says it won't just confront i.s.i.l. but any group threatening its members. gerald italian has the details. >> it was a rare news conference from the saudi defense minister. the announcement was the coalition of a new alliance of mainly islamic nations. coordination and support of efforts to fight terrorism in many part of the islamic world. islamic world vigilance, so it can be a partner of a group of countries fighting this disease. the so-called disease is widespread. the alliance will confront

i.s.i.l.'s growing influence in iraq and syria. it also aims to combat the rise of armed groups from mali and nigeria to libya, pakistan and afghanistan among others. 34 nations are part of this coalition. it includes established military heavy weights such as pakistan and egypt as well as economic ones, qatar and uae, notably. iraq and syria both at the heart of the i.s.i.l. conflict are also not part of this. so how strong is the alliance? >> you got turkey i think is also significant. they're a very, very significant military power. they're a member of nato and so yes, i do think it sends a very, very crucial signal that the muslim world particularly the sunni muslim world is now united against this sunni led group

i.s.i.l. >> the saudi government is leading a separate military campaign in yemen. it's been engaged in a nine month operation against yemen. the latest coalition could very well be the first step. gerald tan, al jazeera. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is in russia, he's meeting for talks on the syrian conflict with the sophie ye soviet foreir sergey lavrov. you hear that russia is key to the diplomatic process. >> i think russia's very aware of how important its role is and they've considerably done a lot of effort to place themselves

now in syria in that role to exercise what authority they can. now lavrov and kerry sat down within the last hour and both much them spoke, gave encouraging diplomatic remarks about the talks ahead. they basically want to narrow the differences they have over the path ahead. this as you said involves assad's future role and also trying to get a collection of opposition political leaders together who are prepared to actually sit down and discuss the future. they've laid out their conditions and saying it's unacceptable that assad should be any part of that and they would like to see him be removed from the map before the transitional talks take place. at the moment there is a meeting penciled in for new york on friday. and i think the first result will find from that is whether that has survived this meeting

today, and that will, in fact, go ahead. but i think what both sides really agree on, that the momentum must be kept up. the latest statistics coming out of syria from the assistant general secretary of humanitarian affairs make very, very grim reading. 250,000 dead in four and a half years. 6 million displaced internally and another 4 million on the road the migrant crisis which we're so familiar with this these are pretty grim statistics. >> do you think the statistics help the popular support of putin? i'm wondering how much support he has there. >> it was set forth as a telegenics short term

engagement. gave him an 89.9% approval rating. but it's clear since that approval rating was taken, russia is increasingly getting itself bogged down and it has to bring in considerable reenforcements. they have 30 fighters, they've now brought in 25 supersonic bombers that can stand way off the coast way off syria and deliver their missiles. you've got iran submarine poised off the coast. and moving into two unused air bases in syria to try and project their military strength in syria. talking to politicians, political leaders, they say russia is at no danger of being overextended at the moment but there doesn't seem any thought out exit strategy.

>> thank you peter sharp. the ceasefire is expected to begin in yemen, to coincide the peace talks in geneva. it will halt the eight months conflict between are houthi rebels and saudi arabia. zeina khodr has the story. >> have deployed forces along the front lines close to the capital sanaa. that's where houthi rebels and their allies remain in power. the troop deployments in mareb province appear to be an attempt to make concessions at the talks in switzerland. people are not hopeful that had he will give up power without a fight. >> translator: i reject the geneva talks. the houthis and pro-saleh forces

want the government to give up some of its legitimacy. that is trees on. >> the human cost has been high. the united nations says yemen is facing one of the worst humanitarian crisis in the wor world. 21 million people are on the brink of famine. >> translator: it's time to end the humanitarian crisis. both sides are not honest enough and willing to end this war. >> backed by a saudi led coalition. it wants the iranian backed houthis and their allies to lay down their arms and withdraw from territories they captured with a u.n. resolution. they are unlikely to do that. they have long demanded broader discussions which would involve

a power-sharing deal. for now neither side can dictate the terms of a political settlement since the balance of power on the ground is not clear. the u.n. is hoping the talks can lead to confidence building measures and at least ease the suffering of millions of yemenis. this would involve sieges of population centers guaranteed security and unfettered access aid agencies. the last time the warring sides agreed to sit on the negotiations table was in may, but that collapsed before it even started. they have agreed upon a ceasefire at least during the talks. this will determine whether the diplomatic process can succeed. zeina khodr, al jazeera. >> in response to the refugee crisis into europe under the proposal the eu will have the power to deploy forces to countries without their permission. some governments see this as a

violation of national sovereignty. they will have close to a thousand permanent staff, compared to 400 at the current border agency frontex. settled directly from the camps in turkey, to prevent groups making the dangerous journey by see. the majorities of those who do so do from the greek islands. jrpjohn siropolous has the stor. >> so far received from their eu partners through frontex, which operates on a purely voluntary basis. and the greeks too have insisted they are up to the task

acknowledge fingerprinting migrants. earlier this month the greeks invoked emergency assistance, to provide them with more aid than they have voluntarily done. but the greeks only did this after they were threatened with expulsion from the schengen agreement. the greeks have been eager to prove they can perform the tasks of a sovereign state. >> as formal as this crisis demands that the eu and its constituent member states stay divided. in order to overcome the challenges of that phenomenon. and i believe the potential of the eu is more than enough to absorb the divisive effects.

>> the greeks have traditionally been pro-europe. they support a european defense policy, they even prefer to stay in the eurozone, but they have lost fiscal responsibility and d appear to be reluctant. >> do stay with us, a threatened coup, amid violence. we report from burundi. >> divya gopalan. individualism and architect. architecture.

you i you eight eight i yo >> we have people who are desperately in need of jobs. >> hear from citizens caught in the crossfire... >> we want freedom, freedom! >>...and what america can learn from chicago's ongoing gun violence.

>> hello again here's a quick reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. saudi arabia has announced a new alliance of 34 countries with the aim of fighting what the kingdom calls terrorism. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is in russia for talks with the foreign secretary, sergey lavrov, about the syrian war. new plans for a border force and coast guard agency in response to the refugee crisis into europe. burundi there are concerns, political unrest is getting worse. the country saw its largest violence on friday, 87 were killed. more from the capitol, mohammed

adow has more from bujumbura. >> people are still reeling from events from last friday. 87 people the government says were killed in attacks on military victims in different part of the city. some of them were killed, hands tied behind their backs. some of them had bullet holes on top of their heads and police say they are looking for people who broke out in violence. residents say police came looking for revenge. the coup event which was triggering the violence we are witnessing in burundi right now. defense mints, five generals, others who are accused of having planned and trying to execute

that failed coup attempt have been charged with having carried out this coup. it's a very big case that has been very closely. >> details of a raid conducted by nigeria's army over the weekend which may have left dozens of people dead. the raid targeted a small shia sect. the military was plotting to kill the army chief of staff when they blocked his convoy on saturday. the leader of the group abraham zakazaki was arrested. >> given the recent violence in the city it was important that we bring him into protect itch custody. as of this morning, at about 0915 hours this morning we successfully executed that. i want to quay to yo convey to e

shiite leader a. zakzaki is safe and in protective custody. >> about half of nigeria's population is muslim and they are inspired by the 1979 islamic revolution in iran. iran is condemned the army raid and summoned nigeria's representative according to state media. south africa now has a third finance minister in less than a week, even when the country is under inflation and kay os. thchaos. the currency plunged. questions about jacob zuma's

leadership. catherine soy has more. >> finance minister nene had blocked the financing of an aviation deal and determined to curb government spending in other areas as well. >> the second reason is also that our former minister nene had expressed severe and sincere reservations about the nuclear deal that south africa is on the arbrink of signing with russia. for energy developed for this country. >> he was replaced by this man david von royan a former minister with very little financial experience and hardly any standing. within 48 hours of taking the job von royan was also let go.

>> credit rating is likely to receive a down grade. the rand has fallen by over 10%. that means that the inflation rate is going to rise by far more than people had anticipated. in turn, that means that interest rates will have to increase. >> it's now up to gordon to restore economic credibility. >> we are really serious when we say that good governance is nonnegotiable. it's time that individuals stop playing with socs or other government components as if it were a personal toy. >> reporter: the local currency the rand has seen some gains overnight. ruling party, the african national congress says it didn't push zuma to appoint the latest finance minister but that

decision came after zuma met over the weekend. the ans insists the decision was over public concern. the appointment of a third finance minister in less than a week will likely hurt president zuma. famida miller, al jazeera, johannesburg. lat latilatin american couns cop 21. >> continues to participate in actions that will help control deforestation, and the shifting of the amazonian soil. this is the main task. >> malaysia's in the midst of a mining boom after indonesia banned all exports this year.

malaysia is the top exporter to china. impact on health and environme environment. sah inkl rah maahil raman repor. >> his idea of a stress free retirement was shattered. the instruction start arriving early in the day and finish late at night. long says they've ruined the road, tranquility and air quality he had hoped for. >> translator: it's been anything but peaceful. we complained to the higher authorities the. they came to visit but no one helps. we have to bear the cost. >> the process for mining for bauxite, government and some private land owners have allowed access to companies willing to excavate. it's estimated that over 15

million tons are sent to china, the world's largest importer at $60 a ton. no consolation tha consolation y has to leave every day because of the noise. rebuilt at a cost of $1,000 a small fortune for him hoping his customers will return. all roads carrying bauxite lead to malaysia's port. stockpiled until it's ready to be sent abroad but the journey from land to ship comes at a cost according to some members of the public. for ali akbar and his community, there is a real concern about contamination of fresh water sources. >> the bauxite is in the river that flows to the sea. we are concerned about the long term effects on sea life and the people who depend on it for a living. >> confirmed that mining

activities in the area have led to various environmental contamination. but it's the man in charge of the state who says he's sympathetic to the environmental concerns but rules out banning the trade. >> i can't close it because many people are getting benefit from this activity. but in the final analysis, we'll give concern to the welfare of the people at large. >> back at his house he continues to worry about the impact of mining for bauxite and the unknown effects it will have on his community and the region. salil raman, al jazeera, malaysia. what they think the city will look like in 35 years. divya gopalan reports how the celebration was inspired by last

year's events. >> a colonial past merging with an uncertain future. the participants were asked to visualize 2050, three years after hong kong fully integrates with mainland china, and it loses its system of one country two systems. >> a way to communicate their thoughts and thinking. >> reporter: some thoughts needing interpretation such as casey wong's exhibit features mint plants, a disco ball and mohitos. >> this shows what we're going on through government censorship. this is really really chaotic. i can project from now it might get worse.

>> the artist based his vision on the transform bar, an escape from reality. other projects were not so abstract in depicting the yellow umbrella protest movement. the create of architecture protests spent nearly two months on the streets with demonstrators. >> the core that you see, chaotic fragments, like the structures, the constructions made by the protesters on the street. so i wanted to recreate that ambience so people can feel the same situation and think about what they were doing on the street. >> reporter: other exhibits stayed away from politics. this structure was made by 3d metal printing. it's creators believe the new technology using light weight metal, designing living spaces according to what the homeowner

envisions. stacked aluminum pods. predicts the most straightforward future for city. a growing urban jungle with a skyline that keeps going upwards. divya gopalan, al jazeera, hong kong. >> the new star wars movie premiered in hollywood. it is one of the biggest film openings los angeles has ever seen. rob reynolds reports from hollywood. >> stars from the original and newest versions of one of film land's most durable and lucrative franchises marched do you the red carpet in hollywood. attended by droid, jedi. star wars episode 7. hundreds of diehard fans have

been camping out in unusually cold los angeles to be part of opening night. these folks have been here off and on for over a week. >> i'm from l.a., it doesn't bother me. >> people say people who do that must be crazy. >> we're not crazy, we're just fans. >> to be part of this, to see it to feel it, i'm in it. this is awesome. this is busing. >> how excited are you to be here tonight? >> is a excited, oh my gngs. >> it could be possibly the biggest in cinema history. three hollywood theaters are designated to air the premier. >> this is what we've waited for for a year, several years. everyone cares about this movie. >> the dark side.

>> the movie is expected to earn one and a half to $2 billion in global returns. but a much larger cash cow from difs any which bought the rights to star wars from lucasfilm for $4 billion. star wars experiences in its global chain of theme parks. >> i think $25 billion is a very safe guess for the entire universe they're creating, between the toys and the games and the movies themselves. i mean, i think it's sort of beyond what we can imagine for how big this could get. >> reporter: at a toy store in swanky beverly hills, a truckload have been unloaded. >> honestly they are selling out the roof. they are hot cakes now. >> four-year-old ripley has definitely got her eye on some

star wars toys. >> what do you want? >> light savers. >> she is hope o part of what dy hope is for years to come. rob reynolds, al jazeera, hollywood. >> the escape isn't too far away, it can all be found on aljazeera.com. >> it is a place where the exotic is normal. >> it's really disturbing actually. >> but deep inside this market begins a trail of tears. endangered animals, bought and sold for big bucks. >> get it, get it lockett, get it! >> what can be done to stop this illegal trade? >> he'd actually built a secret compartment within his prosthetic leg and that is where he concealed the baby iguanas. >> in the proset