bernard smith has been talking with refugees living on the turkish side of the board to see what they think about the piece plan. >> more than 40,000 syrians live around marden. just across the boar border in turkey. >> syrians are one people. there are no problems between us. we lived together for hundreds of year when the revolution came everyone joined it. the reason people rose up was the assad family. >> if a price for peace is letting bashar al-assad stay in power for now, then so about it. let the him stay. let us live in peace. we've had enough. >> if assad is allowed to stay in the country, what will be left? every family in syria has been split up because of him, and now we're expected to let him and his ugly regime stay? >> all of them want the fighting to end. >> can it get any worse? we're so scared for our children. >> isil control the territory on the other side of the border from marden, and no one here is thinking of going home until they have been cleared out. bernard smith, al jazeera, marden. >> 518 people have died ten of them children after a boat carrying refuge

bernard smith has the stoish. story. >> winter has arrived in syria. bringing with it a new set of challenges for people who have been displaced from their homes. >> translator: these heaters are dangerous to have in a tent. chairn can suffocate from the smoke. children can suffocate from the smoke. >> while fighting in the area continues and is perhaps the most intense, anywhere in syria in the central city of homs a u.n. administered ceasefire is holding. the u.n. chief steven o'brien met the residents, said lifesaving humanitarian aid had been delivered the first time in months. in southern damascus, iranian backed pro-government fighters have been tunneling towards government positions. antigovernment fighters say they are trying to cut a supply route to damascus airport. they say the proregime force does not recognize the truce signed by bashar al-assad's government. and more than 50 people have been killed on attacks in an opposition stronghold east of damascus. it happened after the u.n. chief wrapped up a three day visit to the area. >> this si

and elderly couple spoke to bernard smith. >> just 50 kilometers across the border open christian worship is now impossible. there, i.s.i.l. is in control. so shimon eonon yousef and hi se fahima is bedridden. >> when we came to turkey we stayed in the camp for almost four years but it was too crowded. they put us in this house. gave us blankets, clothes, a fridge, everything we needed. >> with little work in turkey two of their sons have gone to europe. >> translator: they were working here for just 15 liras a day. i.t. was not enough for phone credit let alone something to help us. so we sold our home and used the money to send the boys to europe. >> just 15 liras a day, how can you live on that? >> too sick to go to church, the priest now comes to yousef. >> i used to walk a little. now it's difficult. all i can do now is go to the bathroom and back with this frame. there's only us. we have no friends here and no family. >> reporter: a proud couple, the yousefs now face a retirement dependent on charity. >> we want to go back to our life as it was before but it's hard. >> translator: b

bernard smith, al jazeera. >> turkey has withdrawn about 1,000 troops stationed at a camp in northern iraq, near the city of mosul, the deployment had led to a spat between baghdad and ankara. sumsome soldiers were pulled out because of military necessity. al jazeera's been jask haalal as the store story. >> turkish officials say only 150 were sent here but trucks carrying not only tanks but other heavy military equipment back to turkey. the movement caused a rowd between the two governments. the prime of iraq used try to get these groups out of his taish tri. are the fight against i.s.i.l. also to try and take i.s.i.l. stronghold of mosul. cerk intense negotiation between baghdad and ankara and also the pressure from the u.n. we now know those troops are on their way out and turkey just insisting that this is a regular deployment of troops. >> are police fired tear gas and water cannon. group was demonstrating, against pk northern iraq. the police have placed curfews in many sections of the city. >> sergeant bow bug dald? in exchange for five tanls leaders. al jazeera oops rosiland j

an elderly couple spoke to bernard smith. >> reporter: just 50 kilometres from this church in turkey across the border, open christian worship is impossible. there i.s.i.l. is in control. so this man and his name fled here seeking refuge with its small community of fellow syrian christians. his wife is bed ridden. getting treatment is harder in a country where they don't speak the language. >> translation: when we came to turkey, we stayed in the monastry for four months. it was too crowded with refugees so they put us here, gave us blankets and a fridge and everything we need. >> reporter: like millions of syrians of all fades, they have been torn apart by the civil war. with little work in turkey, two of their sons have gone to europe. >> translation: they were working here for just 15 liras a day. it wasn't enough for the cigarettes and phone credit let alone something to help us. we sold our home and used the money to send the boys to europe. >> translation: every day just 15 lira, how can you live on that. >> translation: now they're in refugee camps somewhere. we're not sure wh

one elderly couple spoke to our correspondent burr northward smith doctor - bernard smith >> reporter: 50 kilometres from this church in turkey across the burr der open christian-- border, open christian worship is prohibited. so this family fled here. his wife is bed-ridden, getting treatment has been harder in a country where they don't speak the language. >> translation: when we came to turkey, we stayed in the monestry for nearly four months but it was too crowded with refugees so they put us in this house, gave us blankets, pillows, a fridge, everything we need. >> reporter: like millions of syrians of all faith, their lives have been torn apart by civil war. two of their sons have gone to europe. >> translation: they were working here for just 15 liras a day. it wasn't enough for the cigarettes and phone credit, let alone something to help us. so we sold our home and used the money to send the boys to europe. >> translation: every day just 15 lira, how can you live on that? >> translation: now they're in refugee camps somewhere we're not sure >> reporter: too sick to get to chur

bernard smith, al jazeera, marcheden. >> 69 prospective members of the kurdistan workers party knownthe pkk and two turkish soldiers have been killed in the fighting in southeast turkey. hundreds of people have been protesting against the government's latest operation against the pkk in the region. police fired water canon and tear gas. the pkk is fighting for more autonomy from turkey. talks collapsed in july bringing a two-year cease-fire to an end. more than 75 troops have been killed in fighting near yemen's border with saudi arabia in the last three days in spite of a cease-fire and peace talks that began on tuesday. yemeni secured forces say 40 rebels and 35 government troops were killed in the northwestern hija province. the capitol has, amalu has more. >> reporter: the cease-fire lasted all but a few days if it even began at all. here, an army of sorts made up of yemeni 10e8ds and trillion leaders are claiming a rare victory. >> we have taken control of the military base that we have been surrounding, and which was under the control of the houthis and their alleys. thank god,

bernard smith has the story of anker determine company. >> reporter: just 50-kilometers from this church across the border in syria, christian worship is now impossible. there isil is in control. so he and his family fled here. seeking refuge with its small community of fellow severe vinnie christians. his wife is bed writ en. getting treatment is getting harder in a place where they don't speak the language. >> when any came to turkey we stayed in the mon tear foy four months. but it was too crowded with refugees so they put us in this house. gave us blankets, pillows a fridge, everything we need. >> reporter: with little work in turkey two of their sons have gone to europe. >> translator: we were working here for just 15 euros a day. it wasn't enough for the cigarettes and phone credit. let alone something to help us. with so we sold our home and used the money to sends the boys to europe. >> translator: every day just 15 lira, how can you live on that. >> translator: now they are in a refugee camp somewhere, mor we e not sure where. >> reporter: too sick to get the priest he now comes

al jazeera's bernard smith reports. >> winter has arrived in syria. bringing with it a new set of challenges for people who have been displaced from their homes. >> these heaters are dangerous to have in a tent. children can suffocate from the smoke. >> 35,000 syrians live in this camp on the northern outskirts of aleppo. while fighting in the area continues and is perhaps the most intense, anywhere in syria, in the central city of homs a u.n. administered ceasefire between rebels and the government is holding. the u.n. humanitarian chief stephen o'brien met residents of ware neighborhood, humanitarian aid has reached it for the first time in 11 months. in southern damascus, iranian backed progovernment fighters have been tunneling towards opposition positions. antigovernment fighters say they are trying to cut a supply route to damascus airport. they say the pro regime forces don't recognize the ceasefire signed by bashar al-assad's government. and 50 people have been killed in attacks on an opposition stronghold east of damascus. it happened after t

bernard smith, al jazeera, turkey. >>> most of the money is being reimbursed by the eu but the real costbhai come in the form of lost tourism. from the island of lesbos, john siropolous reports. >> used to be at the bottom of the hospitality industry. she parked her van and waited for occasional business. the refugee crisis has now put her in the top. >> in summer we made up to 2,000 euros a day. now about 500, before we made about 50 euros a day. >> here refugees can warm them by their stove. eat, recharge their cell phones. others have the opportunity. set up a tent city in the surrounding olive groves. those with money have moved in small hotels dotting the coast which would normally be closed in december. they eat with police and in town they buy credit for cell phones. here they can buy boat and bus tickets for their journey out of greece. the refugee windfall is evident all over town but city fathers worry there may prove a partial and temporary replacement of the tourism industry that migration seems to have chased away. an industry greece islanders spent decades building up. char

bernard smith, al jazeera. >> well, al jazeera's dominic kane is live in paris for us. hi there dominic. they were hoping for some kind of consensus. do we know if any progress was made? >> reporter: well, julie the meeting here broke up some time ago. and there's been no communique or statement from the french government following meeting. but one line that appears to be emerging is that the u.s. secretary of state john kerry has had a phone conversation with the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov on which both sides agreed on the need to set preconditions before any new meaningful talks to try resolve the syria crisis. that might be a reference to meetings that are scheduled to be held in the u.n. in new york on friday. it will it's important to point out that mr. kerry will be going to moscow for a meeting tomorrow morning with mr. lavrov but also vladimir putin, the russian president. the preconditions may be we certainly know that the russian government believes that president bashar al-assad still has a role to play in syria and needs to be part of a post-conf

bernard smith, al jazeera. >>> authorities in egypt say they have found no evidence of any foul playt brought down a russian jet over the sinai. 224 on board were killed when the airliner jet crashed. the initial egyptian report contradicts the russian investigator's findings. the kremlin believes a homemade bomb brought the plane down and isil claimed responsibility. >>> police in southern california are investigating vandalism at two mosques as hate crimes. the word jesus was spray painted on a fence, and a plastic replica of a hand grenade was left in the driveway of another mosque. >>> in baltimore, juries got the case in the freddie gray case after two weeks after testimony against police officer william porter. john we saw strong closing arguments today from prosecutors and defense lawyers. >> reporter: we certainly did, bisi. good evening to you from baltimore. the aim of the prosecution's closing arguments was to show that officer william porter lied on the stands that there were inci inconsistencies between what he told police and what he said in the court last week. they al

here is bernard smith from istanbul. >> we understand from turkish officials that there are four russian cargoes there. they say they're exercising their right to do this. normally they don't go to such length of searching vessels and prevented them from leaving the sport. the suggestion is that this is some tit-for-tat action in response to only russia inspecting and delaying turkish vessel but also because of the economic sanctions that russia is going to impose on turkey. they're not supposed to kick in until january first. but already we're hearing reports of cargoes and trucks containing fruits and vegetables being sent back, being turned back from russia border post. they'll have to come back here to turkey. >> triple suicide-bombings have killed 27 people on an island in lake chad. the attacks were on a busy market day and left another 80 people hurt. the bombers were all women, and they suspect the armed group boko haram to have been hyped the attack. chad's government said that the islands are a gathering point for the armed group as they fight the coalition from nigeria, camero

bernard smith is in istanbul, and rory challands is in moscow. rory let me start with you.hat proof, exactly does moscow have? >> reporter: this is a pretty n indarry briefing from the ministry. it is laying out what it says is proof of the claim it has been making for a while now. at least it has been banging its drums since turkey shot a russian bomber out of the sky over syria last week. the assure a -- assertion is there. russia says there are three main smuggling routes by which oil leaves syria and iraq and heads to turkey, and then the money is funneled back to isil in the form of mercenaries, weapons and ammunition, but the most controversial part of this claim is that this is not just some casual smuggling operation, this is something that turkish officials are directly involved in. even the president himself, and the president's entourage, the president's family. they didn't outline specific proof of that. what they did mainly was show these smuggling roots and where this all comes from, but of course this is not going to go down well in ankara at all. >> now russ

al jazeera's bernard smith has this update from istanbul. >> we understand from turkish officials that they're expecting four russian cargo vessels in port. they said they're exercising their right to do so. normally they don't prevent them from leaving port. the suggestion is that this is some sort of tit-for-tat action not only for russia delaying a turkish vessel but also the economic sanctions that russia is going to impose on turkey. they're not supposed to kick in untillan 4th but we're hearing reports of cargoes and fruits and vegetables coming back here to turkey. chaz chad police say all the bombers were women, and boko haram are suspected to be behind that attack. a state of emergency is already in place in the region where the armed group carries out frequent attacks. well, three gunmen dressed in police uniforms have been killed in burundi's capital. it's the latest incident in a country hit by violence since the president said for a third term. catherine soi spoke with some of the armed men who say they're just protecting their neighborhoods. here are some of her exclusive

let's bring in now bernard smith.ks are keen to de-escalate the tensions with russia, but they are not going to apologize, they say. >> reporter: no, and while russia might ben't have ratcheting up the rhetoric, it is turkey that has been trying to extend some olive branches. the prime minister said he hoped -- turkey would never experience with russia such an incident again. he said he wants to re'em fie size reopening military communications to thwart any similar incidents and he said let's get diplomatic negotiations reopened. but russia is still planning to go ahead with economic sanctions with turkey. the turkish president and the prime minister also saying that turkey is not going to apologize for defending its borders. foley. >> thank you very much. let's speak to rory challands who is in the russian capitol for us. rory what do they make in moscow of what is happening at the nato summit? and why are the russians soed a dant that turkey must apologize? >> reporter: well, the shutters have come down on turkey, r

bernard smith >>> time for the sports news. >> reporter: thank you very much. there was a real christmas treat for nda fans as the warriors were in a repeat of last season's final series. six months ago it was them who were crowned nba champions for the first time. they were again in a similar pattern. they led by 10 at one stage. a lady rally cut that just three points going into the final minutes, but despite the best efforts of one, it was the warrers that took it 89 to 83. that is the best start in nba history. meanwhile, the miami heat won again. they hit 19 points who has an nba all time christmas record. bosh was the stand up performer with 30 points in ten rebounds. the pelicans pushed the heat and could have won it, but davis missed again. over time was needed to decide it with it was won by 94 to 88. in the other results on friday, the chicago bulls beat the oklahoma. the rockets beat the sturs. the clippers beat the lakers at 94 to 84. basketball is one of the sports that form part of the daily fantasy games industry or dfs as it is known in the u.s.

bernard smith, al jazeera. >> 18 people have died. ten of them children after a boat carrying refugees to greece sank. they alerted the turkish coast guard when they heard screaming. 14 horse from rescued and taken to hospital. many are in serious condition. almost 600 people have died taking the eastern mediterranean route this year alone. >>> still to come this half hour, yes, we can face, say supporters of spain's new left party. and u.s. debate coming up. >> the only live national news show at 11:00 eastern. >> we start with breaking news. >> let's take a closer look. >> a reminder of the top stories in al jazeera. a spokesman has told al jazeera he doesn't want african union troops to go into the country. the country is on the brink of civil war and threatens to send 5,000 peace keepers without burundi's consent. the they were envoy to syria will send out talks to january on u.n. backed peace plan for the country. >>> an as u.n. sponsored peace talks wrapped up on the day without a breakthrough, troops loyal to the president has

bernard smith. al jazeera. >> joining us now from washington, d.c. is former u.s.epartment official and middle east expert david mack, thank you very much for speaking to us. and just listening to that report there looking at the plight of syrians on the turkish side of the border, of course, this is really nothing new. given the desperation of their situation. how realistic tick i is it thaty will get some respite from this plan put in place bite the u.n.? >> well, it's always the easiest thing to be negative about negotiations in the middle east. so many times they start off well and then don't end nearly as well. however this time there has been considerable amount groundwork done date back to the geneva conference three years ago when basic elements for a political evolution in syria were agreed upon. the u.n. security vote pass. we have had months of intense involvement of russian foreign minister lavrov and secon second carey. they pulled together others from the regional actors, people who seldom sit together and talk like the saudis and the iranians and the

bernard smith, al jazeera. >> and there are correspondent dominic smith live for news paris. it is right that we report this, but what is the import of it? in effect what they're doing, they're assessing what has previously been discussed in saudi arabia before further meeting in new york, or is there more to it? >> well, that is the question, david. certainly we know the foreign ministers of ten different countries will be here. in the course of the next hour or so to come together, to discuss the situation. we can surmise, as you say, the meeting in riyadh in rein days which was held to discuss the way forward, the future of syria, whether that should be with bashar al-assad involved in it or not. that is likely to be on the agenda. as, indeed, the humanitaria hue humanitarian crisis. whether or not there will be any progress remains to be seen. we know for example there is unlikely to be a news conference at this meeting here today. we also know, as you say, the russians are not here, the iranians are not here. so the question will be whether real progress can be made at t

bernard smith, al jazeera, marden. >> 18 people have died. ten of them children after a boat carrying refugees to greece sank. local fishermen alerted the local coast guard when they heard screaming. 14 horse were rescued and taken to opt. many in serious condition. many are said to be from iraq, pakistan and syria. 600 people have died taking the mediterranean sea route this year alone. >>> still to come this half hour, yes, we can says sporters of spain's new left party. is it time for the prime minister to leave the stage? >> and the high price to pay for changing economic landscape. a community in iraq being affected by the loss of its river. >> hello, a reminder of the top stories. spokesman for burundi's president has told al jazeera he does not want african troops deployed to the country. the a.u. believes the nation is on the brink of civil war and is prepared to send 5,000 peace keepers without burundi's accident. >> the. >> as u.n. sponsored peace talks in yemen wrapped up, troops loyal to the president has gained control of an impo

we'll get reaction from bernard smith from istanbul, but first rory challands from moscow. >> reporterntially what it was doing was laying out what it says is the evidence supporting claims that it has been making for some days now. the claim is this, that isil is involved in a $2 billion a year trade in illegal oil. oil that it steals from the territories it occupies in syria and iraq. turkey according to russia is the principal buyer of this oil, and it gets into turkey by three main smuggling routes, and after that it's then sold on. the revenues from this are then channelled back to isil in the form of mercenaries and ammunition and weapons, but the main controversial plank of its allegation is not this. the main controversial plank is this is not some casual smuggling operation, this is something that the turkish state is involved in and the president and his family directly profit from. erdogan recently has said that if it's proven that turkey is involved in this trade, then he will resign. russia says it's not actually trying to get that to happen. what it is doing here, it insi

bernard smith, al jazeera on turkey's aegean coast. >>> north and south korea are holding talks aimed at improving their strained relations. ministers from both countries are meeting near the demilitarized zone. relations worsened in august when north korea leader kim jong-un ordered his troops on to a war footing. he we have more from seoul. >> these talks have their jen resist from the heightened tensions in august including fire across the demilitarized zone and a deal on august 25 that mandated regular senior level communications between the governments of north and south korea. we thought it would be in seoul or pyongyang, instead it is in the industrial complex. we've had word of initial pleasantries and initial greetings during which the north korea head delegate said during the last eight years or so, there had only been a handful of high level talks usually in response to some kind of emergency in relations. this, he said could be the start of the real effort to try and improve the situation on the peninsula in terms of the relationship between the two governments. as for the

bernard smith is live in istanbul. what is the purpose of carter's middle east tour? >> good morning. ash carter kicked off his tour here in turkey. he went to the air base in southeastern turkey. that was opened up in the summer to the u.s. military, allowed the turks after a lot of arm twisting, pressure, allowing u.s. military to use that base to launch airstrikes on isil targets in syria about that what ash carter wants is repeating a call from the u.s. administration that turkey and the gulf states particularly do more in the fight against isil. , turkey says opened another base, but most of turkish airstrikes have been aimed at separatist p.k.k. targets, not isil. the u.s. wants turkey to do more in the fight against isil. in the gulf, there are navy and air bases, but it wants the states to use their own militaries, using their own resource he is. he's pushing that message that he wants the gulf and turkey to do more. >> bernard, this is a controversial topic here in the u.s. does accelerating the campaign mean more of the same or is there something new about t

bernard smith has more from istanbul. >> isil release heavily on oil income produced in regions under its control in iraq and syria. it's believed it makes about a million dollars a day from the production and sale of oil. however, in december, it's believed there's been a 30% reduction in production from those fields under isil's control mainly because of airstrikes by the u.s. led coalition on oil producing facilities and also from airstrikes by the russians on the tankers and transportation used to move the oil around syria and iraq. some of it is still making its way across the border, but the u.s. wreck consist smuggling on a very small scale partly because of market forces. the price of oil is so cheap, that it's no longer profitable to muggle across the borders. the smuggling routes are being cracked down on by the turks. there are pipes buried between there and turkey on the river border with syria. sometimes oil is put on little boats coming across the border. that's being cracked down on and oil is carried in jerry cans over the border through remote terrain. difficult to co

bernard smith is live for us in istanbul. we're thinking tit for tat. >> exactly, and we've not got any official comment from the government. all we can get is out of the port shorts who say they're exercising an around wrath that they have in fdr so do this. they don't normally delay russian cargo ships from leaving point. it is on the black sea for russian cargo ships that we believe are given the extended inspection treatment. it is essential lay gentle reminder, i suppose, to russia from turkey that it, too, can make life difficult for russia like russia is making life difficult for it turkey with its economic sanctions speed. >> why would they feel the need to do this. it's a busy theater of operations involving the russians and the turks in and around the border between turkey and syria, what is to be gained by doing this? >> first they have fried to calm things down. it was turkish prime minister with lavrov on the sides of the meet negotiation belgrade. turkey want to try to normalize things. russia at the moment main

bernard smith, al jazeera, marden. >> 18 people have died, ten of them carrying refugees to greece, sank off the coast. local fishermen alerted the coast guard when they heard screaming. 14 others were rescued and taken. many are in serious condition. the refugee who is died are said to be from iraq, pakistan and syria. 600 people have died taking the eastern mediterranean sea route alone. 69 suspected members of the kurdistan workers party known as the pkk and two turkish soldiers have been killed in four days of fighting in southeast turkey. hundreds of people have been protesting against the government's latest operation against the pkk. the police fired water canon and tear gas. the pkk is fighting for more autonomy from turkey. talks between the two parties collapsed in july bringing a two-year cease-fire to an end. >>> iraq has opened an investigation into an u.s.-led coalition airstrike on fallujah which killed nine iraqi soldiers. the coalition jets targeting isil fighters in the center of the city on friday. forces advancing on targets when an airstrike hot to be carried out by

bernard smith, al jazeera. >> humanitarian chief stephen o'brien, who you just saw in the report, join us now. you just concluded your visit to homs. what did people tell you. >> in the neighborhood just on the edge of homs city, we have community leaders and those who have been part--helping to bring about a local cease-fire. local reconciliation. this brings in the necessary supplies to help them build their lives and some hope to stay in their own homes. it was a very significant moment. i was very pleased that was the case. i hope we can use this as an example of how to use this whether it's a grave needs, the absolute transparency that they need. we need to bring in humanitarian supplies. getting humanitarian access to people in need is the fundamental that we need to work on. there are so many people in grave need in many parts of syria, as you know. >> is there a potential for a cease-fire in other parts of the country as well. >> thethere are hostilities that make it difficult to get humanitarian aid in, there is very little getting through for long periods of time, and familie

bernard smith, al jazeera, in southeastern turkey. >> greece estimates it could end up spending half a billion dollars on the refugee crisis this year. most of that money is reimbursed by the e.u. but the may cost may come in the form of lost tourism. we have this report from the island ever lesbos. >> this woman used to be at the bottom of the food hospitality. she would park her food van and wait for business. but now the crisis has put her to the top. >> in summer we would make 200 euros a day. now 500. before we used to make 50 euros a day. >> her van is one of several outside of the refugee camp. hierarchals can warm themselves by her stove, eat, and resarge their cellphones. refugees and migrants have set up a tent city in the surrounding olive groves. those with money have moved into hotels that would normally be closed in december. the in town they buy credit for cell phones. >> the refugee windfall is evidence all over town but some worry that this may prove to be a partial and temporary replacement of the tourist industry, an industry that the greek islands spent decades bu

they'll have to come back to turkey >>> bernard smith in istanbul >>> next - a deep ever look at the international battle against global warming. >> climate change is a massive problem. it is a generational problem. >> some progress at the summit in paris today. and later, donald trump up in nepal. some say it's because he does not hold back, but who are the supporters, and what do they really want? >>> it's that time on saturday night when we take a deeper look. tonight, the climate summit in paris. nearly 200 world leaders agreed on a draft blueprint to fight climate change, environmental and foreign ministers have until friday to negotiate a final agreement. 10 democratic senators are among those at the conference in support of president obama's climate agenda. france's foreign minister stressed the importance of reaching a climate deal now. i6789d this negotiation, this agreement. you can't postpone it until tomorrow. while we talk, greenhouse gases are efitted. after a while it will be irreversible. we must succeed here. >> with economic concerns, the process of reaching the agr

but as bernard smith reports it appears to be having the opposite effect. >> reporter: smuggling people has just become a lot harder along this stretch of the turkish coast. military reinforcements have arrived while from the air and sea the coast guard watches for us ispy house activity. on land, the security forces tell us they are as busy now as they were in summer. these refugees didn't want to talk. they didn't need to. their exprengss say everything. aren't you ashamed of human trafficking? you will kill these people the officers shout to the bus driver. you can see the fifth and skwaler refugees were forced to wait in, sometimes for several days. but in the endless game of cat and mouse with the turkish authorities there are endless launching off points all along this coast. the european union desperation to reach a deal with turkey, may for now have helped increase traffic. >> translator: one smugglers we reached on the phone says he has never been busier. our work is double that of the summer, he says, because people are scared the deal with the e.u. will close the border, so p

let's go live to istanbul and bernard smith is there and what else did the prime minister have to sayrnard? >> reporter: well, adrian and while russia seems to be cranking up rhetoric turkey is trying to it seems dial it down a bit and rebuild and reestablish relationships with the russia it wants to reenforcing a call he made while he was in paris to reestablish military lines of communications with russia to avoid this happening again and says let's open diplomatic channels to reestablish relations. also turkey's president erdogan had an hour long meeting this morning with barack obama and in that meeting, excuse me, obama said he supported turkey's right to defend itself and said in the meeting he and erdogan discussed with turkey how turkey and russia could work together he said to deescalate tensions but at the moment what russia is asking for is apology from turkey and we know turkey is not going to apologize for shooting down the russian jet and said it was doing its job and not going to apologize for doing its job and russia said it's going to go ahead with sanctions in retali

bernard smith. marden >>> the u.s. and iraq are investigating a friendly fire incident that killed ten iraqi soldiers. speaking to reporters during a visit to the aircraft carrier in the persianful gulf, ash cart jeer said-- carter said it appears to be a mistake that involved both sides. >> we agreed that this was an event that we both regretted and that there would be an investigation of it, but that these kinds of things happen when you're fighting side-by-side >>> a u.s. military statement says the air strikes were requested by iraqi security forces fighting i.s.i.l. near the town of falugia. a warning from the center for disease control tonight. the united states is experiencing an epidemic of deaths from drawing overdoses. -- drug overdoses. >> i lost my daughter sue to heroin on august 62013. >> reporter: from 2014 nearly half a million people in the united states have died from drug overdoses. but in 2014, the cdc says more people died from drug overdoses than during any previous craver on record. there was a s

bernard smith >>> a top religious official in syria has welcomed the u.n. counsel unanimous resolution on a road map for peace in syria. caution has to be translated into reality. >> translation: i hope that what has been said is converted into action and is not just words on paper that we do see its good results on the ground. we want the ultimate decision made by the syrian people and not those from outside >>> 69 suspected members of the occurred stan workers party known as the pkk and two turkish soldiers have been killed in four days of fighting in south-east turkey. hundreds of people have been protesting against the government's latest operation, against the pkk in the region. police fired water cannons and tear gas to stop this march in the province. the pkk is fighting for more autonomy from turkey. talks between the two parties collapsed in july bringing a two year ceasefire to an end. more than 75 people have been killed in fighting on yemen's border on the last three days. despite the peace talks that that began on tuesday. 40 rebels and 35 gove

bernard smith also covering the story for us.ficult to imagine there's any potential for positive movement on this? >> reporter: well, earlier on today, turkey's prime minister called what the russians have been saying about turkey's involvement with this illegal selling of oil from syria to turkey, called it lies, and he said this has been lied produced by the cold war era soviet propaganda machine, but he said everybody should calm down and called for a deescalation. it is the turks that seem to be stretching out the olive branches to try to calm things down a little bit. it's the turkish foreign minister that sought this meeting with lavrov his russian counterpart, but it seems difficult with what vladimir putin has said today that things will calm down a little bit. at least we don't know what economic sanctions will be, there are reports of trucks laden with produce, fruit, that sort of thing not being able to get beyond ukraine. so perhaps some of these sanctions are already beginning to bite. >> thank you. >>> meanwhile th

al jazeera's bernard smith has all the details from istanbul where carter first stopped on tuesday. >> u.s. defense secretary ash carter kicked off his tour in the middle east with a stop here en route in turkey for a message he is taking across the region, that is with that he wants turkey and gulf countries to do more to help the fight against isil. the u.s. wants turkey to do more to target isil. they may have naval and air bases in the duffel region but wants the gulf countries to do more in terms of manpower, in terms of military hardware. also while in iraq, he's been offering the administration in iraq a patchy helicopters to help bring the fight against the control for rimadi to help the iraqi's consolidate the push against isil in rimadi. the iraqi's have not said whether they'll take that help. the iraqi prime minister under pressure from shia groups not to accept that help but iraq may need extra help from apache helicopters to tang the city from isil. >>> two men arrested in austria for last week month's paris attacks. officials say both arrived in europe from the middle e

smith, thank you very much. and we're going to talk to bernard parks the former l.a. police chief out there. you may recall him from several high-profile cases. we'll talk to him by phone in a few short moments. >> but right now, let's go to our correspondent on the phone. dena, how and when were parents notified that the schools were closed this morning? >> reporter: good morning, patty, the parents were notified roughly around the same time that the schooled were closed which was around 7:00 local time. the threat came in around 5:00. and parents were notified one the threat was found to be real. we are told that buses were being turned around in the middle of the morning on their way to pick kids up. so some students are already in schools right now. those students are told to sit tight. when evacuations start to happen, they are told to meet with their patients at the various reunion gates. there are 900 schools being affected, and 187 charter schools. everybody is waiting to hear from law enforcement and the school district itself at what point they are going to meet up with the childre