. >> well, in the background sergei lavrov.e see bang can i moon with mahmood abbas, in the red tie. the turkish prime minister. we would be able to see u.n. secretary general if it weren't for the scrambling of the cameraman and the broad back of the gentleman in front. but i think we can probably hear him. >> foreign ministers, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen and friends, this is a day of pride for palestinians around the world. it is a day of hope. it is a reminder that symbols are important, and that the symbol can lead to action in the right direction. the symbolism of raising your flag at the united nations reflect the commitment of the palestinian authorities to pursue the long held agreement of the palestinian people for their own state. it also symbolizes the longstanding commitment of the united nations to support palestinian aspirations. we can be under no illusion that this ceremony represents the palestinian statehood that requires decisive action to balance national unity. insuring that the west bank in gaza in

sergei lavrov. we have some differences on the details. i think many of us would describe the detail of whether president assad can still be involved in the governance of syria is a little bit more than just a detail. they did say that although they don't agree on the fundamental point. that fundamental point, which is basically stopping or hindering the fight against isil, but also stopping the peace process, and any sort of transition in syria. they do say that they have some new ideas that they both propose that they want to take back to their capitals for consultation. i suspect one of those is an idea floated by the russians, by the u.n. by various other parties in the last week or so, which is the idea of some international contact group, international players and regional players getting together to continue discussing the situation in syria. i don't think we have any great break through, felicity. one interesting thing perhaps i should share with you. when you hang around the cor corridors of the united nations, you get to see thin

russian foreign minister sergei lavrov has started to speak.'s listen in. >> translator: sudden outbreak of terrorism in the middle east and northern africa. this situation has deteriorated further. one can now refer to the destruction of the political map of the region which was formed in those days. today one can claim that attempts to -- to deal in an isolated way, without linking it to the historic overall context of individual conflicts enjoys no prospects. in the past we have dealt like this with iraq, libya, lebanon, syria, every time trying to convince one another we're going to resolve this problem and everything will be fine. and the decisions in most cases or solutions were often sought in a change of venue cries of that or other regime, without caring about the consequences or without having a strategy. as a result of the euphoria which engulfed a great many following the arab spring war, [ inaudible ] faced with the expansion of horror and violence, and the shadow looming over the region, as well as terrorist threats. al-qaeda in t

doubt sergey lavrov about what he says, in terms of supplying military support and equipment. so that i think we are taking on face value their claims about what they are doing. the ultimate intent in goal, i think, still, is a little uncertain. >> on capitol hill, senate armed services committee john mccain said that russian vladimir putin is capitalizing on u.s. inaction, issuing a statement saying:. >> the russians are going to have to start getting a little smarter than they have been. they are threatening -- threatened in many ways by i.s.i.l. they have large muslim populations that historically have caused a lot of problems inside of russia. and the strategy that they are pursuing now, doubling down on bashar al-assad, i think is a big smag. >> so far to nighter planes or helicopters arrived at the base, only the russian t 90 fangs and sa 22 anti-aircraft missiles. the united states warned moscow that by propping up the regime of bashar al-assad, it risks making unstable an already unavailable situation. moscow says it's not doing anything new, simply supporting its long

in a telephone conversation with his russian counterpart sergey lavrov, the second in a few games, if the reports are true, pictures released by activists show russian fighters backing syrian forces and there are reports that russian military

before sergey lavrov's confirmation. the u.s. government has been concerned about an apparent build up of russian military personal and equipment inside syria. the russians have been allies of the government of bashar al-assad. but the u.n. has constantly warned moscow not to provide concrete support for bashar al-assad's government, as it fights a war. the u.s. is concerned that the presence of additional troops could be destabilizing. because of its ongoing fight against i.s.i.l. meant that the u.s. and the syrians agreed not to engage. the presence of a large and powerful military force in the form of the russian military could aggravate tensions and cause something that the u.s. does not want to the have to respond to. there's this. the russians have long had a longstanding military presence at a military installation. it's the russians only access to the mediterranean sea. the u.s. government has been concerned about anything that would help bashar al-assad stay in power and certainly the support of a very powerful nation's

you were just watching secretary kerry at the united states with the foreign minister of russia, sergei lavrov. russia backs u.s.-backed rebel strongholds in syria. backing up syrian leader bashar al assad. to set the table with breaking news from the region, let's look back. three years and a month ago, president obama said this about syria's use of chemical weapons. >> we have been very clear to the assad regime, but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons being moved around or being utilized. that would change my cal kuls that would change my equation. >> chemical weapons were used. in the weeks and months after that the president repeatedly insisted assad's days in power were numbered. >> i'm confident that assad's days are numbered. >> fast forward to this week and a day after president obama met with russia leader vladimir putin, russia acts on its own to start an attack. not on isis, but on syrian rebels who want to take assad out of power. including the u.s.-supported free syrian army. leaving u.s. officials today

>> given that the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov has said that the russian military is on the ground because the russian military is making good of its promise of military material, that presence cannot be carried out without the presence of the russian military. they'll have a discussion over who is exactly correct. that said, the obama administration is very concerned about what it says it is seeing at latakia. what intelligence it is using to confirm the presence of tanks among other pieces of equipment. there has been concerned whereas secretary of state john kerry has called sergey lavrov twice in the past weeks, to express his concerns about the apparent increase and a russian military presence in that country. and try to signal that the russians should dial it back. however the pentagon is saying on monday from what it can gather the russians are trying to establish what appears to be a forward operating air base and that's something you only see in combat operations. >> rosalyn jordan, with the latest in washington, d.c. thank you. >>> egyptian officials say eight mexi

but sergei lavrov is very forceful and forward.y seemed a little meek and on his heels today. almost like he was shocked by what was going on. do you expect anything different? and by the way, do we really want our secretary of state with sir gaye lavrov today, hours after they initiate strikes, that they didn't tell us about? >> i think you actually do want secretary kerry there face to face with lavrov. what you want, and this is what i'm not sure what the message is that he delivered privately. because publicly the message in the last 24 hours, even in the last 12 hours since we first reported about this russian demarche, this request for u.s. war planes and u.s. personnel to leave syria. ever since then, the public statements by the defense secretary here at the pentagon is that we will keep talking to the russians. that's the message being put out. there are no consequences that are being threatened at this point there are no sanctions being talked about. there are no -- the, i feel that from reading the tea leaves here and at

. >>> secretary of state john kerry discusses the matter with sergey lavrov. hassan rouhani, says it would make syria the haven for terrorists. >>> james bays jadiplomatic edis has this. >> france has been involved in strikes on i.s.i.l. targets in iraq for over a year. now for first time the french president has ordered his attacks in the defensive action. >> france struck genes training camp of islamic state of iraq and the levant, threatening the security of our country. this operation was to protect our territory to prevent further terror attacks to act in civil defense. the camp was totally destroyed. some other strikes could take place in the coming weeks if necessary. still, with the same goal. >> reporter: france is part of the u.s. led coalition against i.s.i.l. but in an interview with the u.s. network cbs and pbs, president putin said that and the training of opposition forces in syria is illegal because it's not authorized by assad's government which still holds the country's u.n. seat. >> translator: and it's my deep belief that any actions to the

sergei lavrov is hosting a counterterrorism meeting. for more on that, we go to new york to jessica. different sides of the fence. russia is still determined to work with it. how with that pan out in this meeting today? jessica: it is looking increasingly like russia versus the united states. we can expected a at the u.n. security meeting that, as is often the case, hosted by the russian foreign minister, sergei lavrov -- as you heard said earlier this week, president putin's call for a broad alliance, a coalition to fight the islamic state in syria and interact. -- and iraq. the russians are calling for a u.n. security council resolution, taking the moral the ground and saying that strikes that have been carried out over the last year by the u.s., and some more recent strikes by france, are a legal under international law. we can expect more finger-pointing and perhaps some efforts to work together as well. what is interesting is also to have a look at what is happening on the diplomatic front in terms of the political negotiations reg

. >> secretary of state john kerry called russian counterpart sergey lavrov about a russian build up of military support for the bashar al-assad regime. >> the u.s. secretary of state john kerry telephoned the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov, to express the united states concern with what it calls russia's enhanced military build up in syria. in recent days there has been what the u.s. sees worrisome activity, transport of housing units to syrian battlefield, as well as the fact that the they are having to transport an air traffic control to that syrian battlefield. if those reports are accurate, that this action by russia will, in fact, escalate the conflict inside syria, leading to a greater lose of innocent life and contribute to an increased flow of refugees and risk confrontation with the anti-i.s.i.l. coalition working inside of syria. as a result, john kerry pledging to call for further discussions with sergey lavrov, when the two will meet this month in new york city. where the two will hold a bilateral discussion on this, and other issues of concern, with regard to th

sergei lavrov is hosting meeting. he says it is a mistake for the u.s. others not to work with syria's leader assad to fight extremists. >> translator: isil practically creating extremist state which possesses a large oppressive potential. isil cells are fush flourishing in other countries, and they claim they plan on capturing other cities and spreading their evil. >> our john terrett has been covering all of the meetings at the united nations general assembly. john, what strikes me is yesterday president obama was focused on terrorism and isil. today we have the acting president or leader of the security council, russia -- it's a rotating leadership, doing the same thing. >> this is day three of leaders week at the u.n. general assembly, and going on in that great big hall, the general assembly is continuing with speakers coming up from a wide range of countries, including latvia, serbia, djibouti, we're going to hear from the president of the palestinians of course. >> in the assembly. >> in the assembly, but what you're looking at now is the chinese

the russian foreign minister sergey lavrov says the shipments are made alongside humanitarian aid in accordance with existing contracts. russian aircraft are flying into an airfield. around 100 russian soldiers have been spotted there. some construction work is taking place. several russian ships have been unloading equipment at the naval base. 100km to the south. russia backed the syrian president throughout the country's 4.5 years civil war. and says he must be included in a settlement. al jazeera's omar salah has more. >> reporter: there's a major russian military build up at an airfield and in latakia, it is said to help bashar al-assad and its forces. russian foreign minister sergey lavrov admitted russian aircraft are delivering military supplies and humanitarian aid, but denied military build up. >> reporter: we'll help and continue to aid the syrian government, in equipping the syrian army with all that is necessary to help those in the libyan scenario. and other events that occurred in this region, because of an obsession by western partners, with ideas of changing unwanted

and sergei lavrov has been speaking, and he wants to see more coordination against isil and more dialogueinst syrian parties. >> reporter: yes, he wants to see that, and that is something that is not very contentious in many ways, but he wants to see it in conjunction with the government of president assad, and this is the key sticking point between russia and the u.s. and the u.s.'s allies, is that russia would like a coalition of everyone, including assad, put your differences with assad down and fight -- everyone fight isil and others like the u.s. say, no assad is the problem, he bred the conditions that formed isil and in fact they claim that assad's forces with their aerial bombardment are killing more people than assad. you are hearing the general statements from everyone. but that's the key difference between these different countries around the security council table, still not heard from the u.s. yet. we heard a short time ago from the french foreign minister, he again, and it's something that the french have adopted in the last few days is talk about a turkish idea. the idea of

i can tell that you sergei lavrov said that they were talking about how they can have communication to avoid any unintended incidents in the air over syria. he said that he agreed that syria should be democratic, united and secular, but they had disagreements about how to get to that position. john kerry said that as soon as possible there would be a military-to-military meeting to avoid deconfliction that could take place as soon as tomorrow. russia launches airstrikes against targets in syria. >> hello there, i'm felicity barr. you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up. the palestinian flag is raised for the first time at the u.n. as the president says he no longer is bound by any agreement with israel. >>> afghan forces backed by u.s. and nato continue their fight for the control of the city of kunduz. the man

sergei lavrov is a very experienced diplomat and now the foreign minister for russia. he used to be the ambassador to the united nations here for about ten years. of course, top of their agenda today is going to be the fact that the upper house in moscow has just approved sending russian military hardware including jets and troops to syria. now, in a sense it's just a rubber stamping exercise, because we know the troops are already there, 500 marines and jets and tanks and all sorts of things over there. the key question and in many ways the only question is what is russia actually going to do with those troops and hardware? will they use it to fight isil, or will they use to bolster the opposition forces presently against russia's ally, president assad of syria? nobody knows. that's the key question and what the secretary wants to know of sergei lavrov whether they meet today. probably no firm outcome, but we should get a written statement from both of them. >> thank you. >>> 19 countries including the u.s. are now backing a new fund to help the united nations combat

john kerry making the second phone call in a week to his counterpart russian foreign minister sergei lavrovnd not getting complete answers. officials i have spoken to say they see evidence that the russians have unloaded military ships at syrian ports, offloading vehicles and troops and airfield equipment for temporary quarters. they believe the russians are laying the ground work for military operations in syria. now the u.s. is objecting to this in the strongest terms because they believe the russian plan may be to do all of this to try to bolster syrian president bashar al assad. he is in rough shape. the fighting has been very fierce and the theory is the russians want to strike the rebels that assad is battling so assad can stay in power. the u.s. problem with all of that is obviously the u.s. feels the violence needs to come to an end. assad needs to go and if assad stays in power as an agent or proxy of moscow, this will prolong the violence. u.s. satellites are watching russian airfields to see what comes next. the concern is if the russians move the fighter jets in syria. john, chr

that's how frequently the secretary of state john kerry has spoken to his russian counterpart sergei lavrov. on wednesday kerry said that lavrov suggested that programs a military-to-military contact between the two countries, contact has been called off since march 2014 because of russia's involvement in ukraine. while the secretary of state said no final decision had been made, he didn't dismiss the idea when it comes to trying to resolve the crisis in syria out of hand. >> words will not answer all of the questions here. it's actions. and it's what will be determined going forward in various specific ways, but you have to have a conversation in order to be able to do that. and it is vital to avoid misunderstandings, miscalculations not to put ourselves in a predicament where supposing something and s supposition is wrong. >> they're looking at the adviser and train assist program for rebels involved in the civil war against bashar al-assad. instead of trying to set up a full-fledge military force that would first go after isil and perhaps one day be part of the post assad government, the

sergey lavrov comments come after u.s. secretary of state john kerry expressed concerns about reports of increasing russian military activity in syria. let's go to moscow. talk us through this announcement and what russia involvement there is. >> going back 60 years, ruer's been supplying syria with arms and advisors and military equipment, and nothing much has really changed. between 2009 and 2011, russia was supplying 71% of syria's military needs, everything from jets to military equipment to air defense systems. sergey lavrov, the russian foreign minister said this continues to take place. russia has got a naval port, a base at tartas so obviously has advisors there. he did make a distinction that there has been addition air traffic coming into the air base there and now says that military equipment, as well as humanitarian aid are being taken in on those flights. as far as boosting up boots on the ground, he said russian military specialists are working on training the syrians to use our weapons, not taking additional

sunday, he met with his russian counterpart, sergey lavrov. speaking to reporters after the meeting, kerry's expressed concern over the military involvement in syria. >> all the efforts need to be coordinated. this is not yet coordinated. i think we have concerns about how we're going to go forward, that's precisely what we're immediating on to talk about now. this is the beginning of a genuine effort to see if there is a way to deconflict, but also to find a way forward to will be effective, keeping a united, secular syria that can be at piece and stable again without foreign troops present. >> u.s. officials say they were not consulted and caught off guard by russia's military moves in syria. this is all part of a diplomatic push that includes vladimir putin coming to the u.n. the kerry-lavrov meeting happened yesterday. leaders from around the globe will be listening to what putin has to say. >> russian president vladimir putin arrives in new york monday for his first address to the united nations in a decade and a sideline meeting with pre

sergei lavrov saying shipments are being made along with humanitarian aid.ircraft has been flying into the airfield in the syrian port city. several russian ships have also been unloading equipment at its naval base 100 kilometers south. russia of course has backed syrian president bashar al-assad throughout the country's four and a half year civil war, and says he must be included in any settlements. >> reporter: there is a major russian buildup in syria's western port and at an airfield in a province. it says it is to help syrian president assad and its forces. the foreign minister denies any military build up. >> translator: we have helped and will continue aiding the syrian government in equipping the syrian army with all that is necessary for it to prevent a repetition of the libyan scenario, because of an obsession by some of our western partners with ideas of changing unwanted regimes. >> reporter: the syrian opposition and u.s. officials say russian is sending ships, personnel carries, and naval infa try to syria. there are unconfirmed reports of rus

nations earlier today at a conference as it happened convened by russia and it's foreign minister sergei lavrov. he said that the coalition airstrikes will continue, notwithstanding what russia is doing militarily. >> along with the airstrikes, russia has asked the u.s. to avoid air space over syria, but th they're saying no. why is that? >> basically the u.s. is not saying no, richelle. they want to enter into talks with russia to insure there is no military to military conflict or contact between the united states aircraft and coalition aircraft and russian aircraft, much less thayn assets that may be on the ground. the white house admitting moments ago at that same briefing where josh earnest was speaking, while there were plans for talks to take place, they had not even gun yet. this is something that has taken washington by surprise. vladimir putin and russia continue their aggressive moves to back the assad regime. >> mike viqueira in washington. thank you so much. also at the u.n. the palestinian flag is flying for the first time. palestinians spoke. let's go to the united nations. about

is happening, according to the obama administration, we have heard from the foreign minister, sergey lavrov suggesting this is part of simply providing the equipment which the syrians had bought from the russians you would need military personnel to help them set it up. and you have the syrians saying no such thing is happening at all. it is not really clear just what exactly is happening here but raising concerns here in washington. >> all right, rosalyn jordan, with a live update from washington, d.c, thank you. >>> francois hollande will brief the french parliament on tuesday. after his government began surveillance flights over the war torn country. >> translator: we are part of the coalition in iraq against i.s.i.l. we started reconnaissance flights in syria to enable us to consider air strikes if they were necessary and they will be necessary in syria. >> still ahead in al jazeera, trying to steady troubled waters, sri lanka's new leader. >> plus. >> i'm sahil raman on the great wall of china. why 30% of the historic monument has gone missing and furthermore i'll tell where you it's g

in a conference on anti-terrorism, as it happens, chaired by russia and their foreign minister sergei lavrov. kerry made no bones about it saying this is an alarming development. here is more of what he had to say. >> we also made clear that we would have grave concerns should russia strike areas where isil and al qaeda affiliated targets are now operating, are not operating. strikes that have kind would question russia's real intentions fighting isil or protecting the assad regime. >> the other problem, deconfriction, insuring that u.s.-led warplanes, coalition warplanes do not come in military contact with russian planes flying in defense of the assad regime. and here is the third problem, a major problem here richelle carey. that is face to face when vladimir putin and president obama met on the margins of the united nations assembly on monday afternoon, you remember that tense and awkward handshake at the on set of their 90-minute meeting, one of the topics was deconfriction, to make sure that these forces do not strike each other. but the problem is that the talks never got under way. t

>> meantime, amid uncertainty surrounding russia's military buildup in syria foreign minister sergey lavrov has proposed military to military contact between russia and united states, secretary of state isn't ruling it out. >> words will not answer all of the questions here. it's actions. and it's what will be determined going forward in very specific ways but you have to have a conversation in order to be able to do that. >> reporter: but the white house isn't commenting on whether reestablishing military contacts is a good idea. meaning there won't be a quick resolution to the crisis. rosalyn jordan, al jazeera, washington. >> the white house has announced that president obama will meet israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in november, obama and netanyahu are expected to discuss the deal. >>> japan's upper house will vote on the proposed legislation that could see an end to its 70 years of pacifism. the opposition's trying to delay the passage of the bill which has already been passed in the lower house. prime minister shinzo abe enjoys a clear majority in the upper house, if the bil

the foreign minister got together with his russian counterpart sergey lavrov in moscow. he drew attention to territorial dispute. he expressed regret over a series of visits by russian ministers to four islands called the northern territory. russia controls the islands. japan claims them. the japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of japan's territory. it says the islands were illegally occupied after world war ii. he said the visits are contrary to japan's position. he said the countries should discuss a solution that is acceptable to both sides and should base it on a statement issued at a 2013 summit by japan's prime minister shinzo abe and vladimir putin. they agreed to arrange a summit. they pledged to hold more working level consultations. >> israel's prime minister fears russian involvement in a nearby conflict could have disastrous results for his own country. benjamin netanyahu told vladimir putin russian arms flowing through syria could end up in the wrong hands. the leaders got together in moscow to discuss the crisis. netanyahu took to

sergei lavrov met his japanese count part fumio kishida in moscow. lavrov suggested russia, then the soviet union, made japan's northern territory its territory as a consequence of world war ii. russia controls the four islands. japan claims them. japan maintains the islands are an inherent part of its territory. it says they were illegally occupied after the war. the two agreed to resume vice ministerial level talks on a peace treaty on october 8. >> translator: japan would like to resolve the territorial issue with the four islands and we'd like to keep negotiating to find a solution that can satisfy both sides under basic policy which is a conclusion of the peace treaty. >> lavrov referred to kishida's use of the term "northern territories." >> translator: first of all, as far as the russian delegation is concerned, we did not discuss the northern territories. neither the northern territories of japan nor those of russia are the subject of our dialogue. >> lavrov says the issue under discussion was the signing of a peace treaty. on the economic fr

secretary of state john kerry called sergey lavrov over the weekend.ressing concern about reports moscow is moving military infrastructure into the war-torn country to support its ally the al assad reveal. kerry's point is if it is true it will only make the misery worse. let's bring in matthew chance who joins us live from moscow. explain what we know about what is possibly happening here. >> reporter: rosemary, first of all, the reports that we're referring for are unconfirmed and denied by the kremlin. vladimir putin saying it's premature to speak of any russian engagement militarily in syria against islamic state. nevertheless, social media has been full of reports of russia stepping up its military presence there. those reports given credibility by the fact that john kerry voiced his concern to his russia counterpart, sergey lavrov on friday talking about how if they're true these reports could lead to all sorts of complications including escalating the conflict, increase loss of life, increased refugee flows. and also a concern expressed by john

but it is clear now there has been a flurry of meets between secretary of state jon kerry, sergei lavrovthe white house clearly admits it was caught flat footed they are still trying to determine exactly what vladimir putin and russia's goals are. during the meeting that they are in fact first and foremost interesting in defeating isil, however, there is very -- one very large area of disagreement, and that is the posture or towards bashar al asaad, the policy towards him. vladimir putin said it publicly, and elsewhere, he has a stay the only viable alternative in syria, the president was on the opposed other side of that argument, be ever the general assembly yesterday. washington correspondent live for us, thank you. we will continue to bring you speeches throughout the day, here on al jazeera america. the president of planned parent hood is testified right now before a house committee on capitol hill lawmakers questioning cecil richards over her organization use of taxpayer dollars federal funding for planned parenthood has been central to a heated debate surrounding to keep it funded

. >> reporter: sergei lavrov, the foreign minister is making really this case for -- for giving these-- this heavy arm's shipment to syria, solely to fight the threat from isil. his spokesman said the threat is evidence and the only force capable of stopping that threat on the ground is -- is syria. he is saying that air strikes alone won't be enough, and this is why this -- this hardware, this military hardware is going in that direction, but it does really beg the question, how is russia going to ensure that those weapons are being used against isil and not being used in this four and a half year civil car -- war that has cost the lives of 200,000 people. lavrov is also saying that the pentagon has suspended its cooperation -- operational corroboration with russia at the moment, and the kremlin and the foreign ministry especially are asking that that be renewed, because at the moment there are u.s. and russian forces operating in, around, and above syria. >>> the polls have closed in singapore, after the most competitive lobing shun ever. the ruling party has been in power for the l

that will be hosted by sergei lavrov, the russian foreign minister. we will have to look closely at how they present the situation in syria. genie: come back to today. it will be described as an exceptional opening day. a lot of things are happening at the unit -- at the u.n. general assembly. the big ones, so to speak, addressing the general assembly today. brazil gets the first address. then u.s. president barack obama will come directly after. vladimir putin is speaking today as well. the first time he has been at the u.n. general assembly in 10 years, so that is something everyone will have their eyes on. the chinese president, xi jinping, will also be speaking today. a big peacekeeping summit this afternoon. peacekeeping is a crisis. we will be expecting some pledges. we will be expecting some other announcements regarding that. other issues, such as the sex abuse scandal in central africa republic, and other peacekeeping missions in africa. genie: thanks for that, jessica. leaders were already in new york on sunday to try and come up with some s

. >>> sergey lavrov's comments regarding the assad regime. >>> severe flooding in yap has prompted prime minister abe to hold an emergency meeting of the parliament. >> japan's 18th typhoon of the year continued its destructive path. as it moved up the island of honshu it dumped an unprecedented amount of rain. >> it was awful but i'm happy i've been rescued. >> the self defense force led the rescue effort from the air as two rivers burst their banks in miagi prefecture. unleashed its fury on the city of josso. several days of rain saw the river burst and take everything with it. >> translator: we were preparing to evacuate when the firefighters rushed to tell us that the river bank had collapsed so we hurriedly got into our car to escape the flood but by that time water was up to our knees. >> it's worse that i'd expected. i was once again reminded of the energy of water disasters. >> evacuation centers have been set up. assistance from volunteers. >> we decided to help out the victims of the flood as they go through this tough time. >> reporter: this was some of the worst flooding japa

even so, even though sergei lavrov raised the possibility that the secretary of state speaking on wednesday didn't dismiss the idea out of hand. >> words will not answer all of their questions here. it's actions and it's what will be determined going forward in very specific ways but you have to have a conversation in order to be able to do that. it is vital to avoid misunderstandings, miscalculations, not to put ourselves in a predicament where supposing something and supply significancthe supply supposition is wrong. >> there seems to be a possibility of trying to resolve the overall crisis inside syria, not just the ongoing civil war where so many people have been fleeing, trying to find refugee in neighboring countries or in europe, but also dealing with the ongoing fight against isil. which has tried to establish in northern sir gentleman. >> thank you. the situation al aqsa compound has calmed after three days of violence. it says that it is connected to keeping the laws of preventing non-muslims were praying inside the mosque. but there is pressure to change the law. scott haidler ha

we'll see if sergei lavrov, his russian counterpart joins him. showed you a clip of hillary clinton talking to reverend al sharpton, he has a brand new interview with secretary clinton. we got a little bit more from that, her responding to a benghazi issue. stay tuned. any way you want it... sweet, buttery, and creamy. like new pineapple habanero coconut shrimp bites... ...and teriyaki grilled shrimp. and yeah, it's endless, but it won't last forever. awe believe active management can protect capital long term. active management can tap global insights. active management can take calculated risks. active management can seek to outperform. because active investment management isn't reactive. it's active. that's the power of active management. rheumatoid arthritis like me... and you're talking to a rheumatologist about a biologic, this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. this is humira helping me reach for more. doctors have been prescribing humira for more than 10 years. humira works for

. >> reporter: russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov admits russian aircrafts are delivering militaryplies and humanitarian aid, but denies any military build up. >> translator: we have helped and will continue aiding the syrian government in equipping the syrian army with all that is necessary to prevent a repetition in syria of the libyan scenario, and other vennes that have occurred in this reagain, because of an obsession with some of our western partners with ideas of changing unwanted regimes. >> reporter: officials say rur russia is sending ships, and naval material to syria. russia is also sending more naval vessels to the mediterranean. russia has maintained a military presence here since the 1970s, and after the collapse of the soviet union, it was eager not to lose that spot. meanwhile in eastern syria, fighters from the islamic state of iraq and the levant say they are making gains. there's video from isil shows the group overrunning a small base. it also took control of military positions, including a rocket regiment close to the airport. isil fought government forces in

. >> i was talking about that with our russian friends, with sergey lavrov in those days and last time i talked to him about this, his fear was that of a complete collapse of the state structures in syria. this could be one of the reasons why russia is acting in this way. but it could also be a willingness to... ..to support. >> syria was on the agenda too when the u.s. secretary of state john kerry met iranian foreign minister in new york, but neither was prepared to discuss what was said away from the cameras. >> i view this week as a major opportunity for any number of countries. to play an important role in trying to resolve some difficult issues. >> president obama will address the general assembly on the same day as vladimir putin on monday. he'll be aware of recent setbacks with u.s. policy. the pent rr admitted that -- pentagon admitted that some of those they are training, moderate rebels have handed over equipment, to the al nusra front. another development involves iraq, a key member to i.s.i.l. iraq will join it, iran, and controversially, the bashar al-assad regime in sett

secretary of state john kerry called his russian counterpart sergei lavrov today to discuss reports oftary buildup. kerry made clear that if the reports are accurate, it could further escalate the conflict. here's what cnn global affairs corresponde co

everyone's mind, and there were some meetings taking place with john kerry and his russian counterpart, sergei lavrovi have to say in recent weeks, again, the situation has soured. i think ever since the news that russia was sending extra military forces to syria, and the u.s. not quite sure what russia was planning with regard to those forces. i can tell you, russia as the president of security council is planning a big security council meeting on counter terrorism, wednesday next week. now they were planning, the russians, to have some sort of statement from the security council, but i'm afraid there was very heated arguments behind the scenes, not just about the statement, but about the situation in syria. diplomats tell me there were two occupations where the russian ambassador, and the u.s. ambassador had heated exchanges. the russian ambassador saying that everyone needs to come on the same side to fight isil. and the u.s. ambassador says there can be no assad present. >> it will be interesting to see what comes out of that meeting. james thank you. >>> lots more still to come on al jazeera, in

considerable alarm here in washington and when the secretary of state noted day before yesterday that sergei lavrov russian foreign minister had suggested that perhaps some level of military to military contact should be resumed in order to try to deal with the problems of both the syrian civil and the presence of isil in that country, the secretary of state then indicated that he didn't think it was a bad idea, and now what he is saying after meeting with the former british prime minister tony blare and with the foreign minister, that the president, barack obama, also thinks that this might be useful. so what we need to find out now is exactly under what circumstances these contacts would take place, and perhaps more important, what would be the parameters of this military to military contact, and what is it they would be trying to achieve. now it does not mean that you are going to see a full resumption of that military to military relationship again, because the obama administration does not want to, so to speak, let russia off of the hook for its behavior in ukraine, but given the gravity insid

what is interesting, though, is that the foreign ministry -- minister, sergei lavrov has said that flightsave been stepped up, and they are not just taking humanitarian aid. they are also bringing in military equipment. as a result of those flights, russia's neighbors have been busy shutting down their air space. bulgaria has closed its air space, a few hours ago, ukraine closed its air space, and russia is very reluctant to fly over turkey. turkey grounded one of its aircraft in 2012 when it was carrying radar spares to syria. but in the last hour or so, we have heard from the russian spokesman in tehran that iran has agreed to allow its air space to stay open, which would live the russian flights a clear run into syria, without crossing turkey or the other countries that have banned their air space. >> thank you for that. >>> europe is continuing to struggle with a huge number of refugees. there are reports of chaos at budapest train station after austria canceled trains to and from hungary. austrian police had been organizing trains to take people to austria, but it is now organizing it

earlier john kerry held talks with russian foreign minister sergei lavrov. the mosque compound israeli security forces. some of whom barricaded themselves inside. fighting between pro government forces and houthi rebels continue in yemen. despite the u.n.'s effort to negotiation a peace deal the authority rebels and seven soldiers loyal to president hadi will killed in street to street fighting. seven rebels were killed when saudi jets stuck. you have covered this conflict extensively and the situation in yemen, where is the fighting leaving some of. key places now like taiz? >> reporter: the reason we have fighting concentrated in taiz is obviously for one reason it's on the highway that links the southern city of aden and the capital is now and it's crucial for both parties fox, hadi if he captures taiz he can easily push forward. >> on the road to sanaa. >> exactly. the former president saleh and the houthis are still entrenched they have deployed many fighters there, with advanced weapons and they would like to continue the fight because for them, mainta

the foreign minister got together with his russian counterpart sergey lavrov in moscow. he drew attention to territorial dispute. he expressed regret over a

russian foreign minister sergei lavrov said today russia is sending more weapons to the syrian government and advisers to train his army soldiers how to use them. russia has remained an ally of president assad during the country's civil war. the u.s. opposes assad and has warned russia that arming him will only escalate the war and increase loss of life. in the west african nation of cameroon, the islamic militant group boko haram is suspected of carrying out two suicide bombings today. the first bombing killed two people in a town near cameroon's border with nigeria, the second bombing near a church killed four. cameroon has been repeatedly attacked by boko haram, which is based in nigeria, and has contributed troops to a five- nation coalition fighting the terror group. a fast-moving wildfire in northern california has forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes. the fire has grown from 10,000 to 40,000 acres since it began yesterday and has caused heavy damage in and around middletown, california. the fire, in lake and napa counties, 100 miles north of san francisco, has dest

. >> meanwhile, russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov says his country will continue to send military supplies to syria. russia is facing increased pressures over concerns of a russian military buildup in syria, including possibly building a base. moscow says its assistance is in line with claims of international law and members of the military were in the country they say long before the start of the syrian civil war. russian president vladimir putin has supported syrian president bashar al assad during the horrible four and a half year conflict that's created such an amazing and tremendous human catastrophe. putin expected to talk about syria and the other issues during the u.n. general assembly meeting, that as ambassador bolton indicated, is occurring here at the end of the month in new york. >> eric, desperate migrants are still going to extreme measures to escape chaos in their countries and the middle east. police in austria finding 42 people in a refrigerated truck this morning near the border with germany. both germany and austria becoming sanctuaries for migrants fleeing vio

is considering an offer of military to military talks proposed by russian counterpart sergey lavrov.urope's largest refugee crisis since the second world war took a violent turn yesterday in hungary. where migrants and refugees desperate to break through the now-closed border with serbia were met with tear gas, pepper spray, water cannons, and handcuffs after hungarian officials deployed riot police to stop them. nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel was on the ground and has this report. >> reporter: the frustration and disappointment that these people feel, because they are not allowed to go further, has now just boiled over. this woman just collapsing in front of me. this woman just collapsed. she is breathing. they're calling to bring her some water. she is breathing. she's waking up. she's waking up. i try to keep her head up. leaning her against her bag. it's clear she's pregnant. people carry her off to a makeshift infirmary. aid workers try to help. >> get some air around her. >> reporter: but as she comes around, tear gas wafts into the infirmary. volunteers take the

>> meantime, amid uncertainty surrounding russia's military buildup in syria, foreign minister sergey lavrov proposed resuming might go tear to military contact with the united states. the u.s. suspended those ties in march, 2014 because of russia's incursion in ukraine. the secretary of state isn't ruling it out. >> words will not answer all of the questions here. it's actions, and it's what will be determined going forward in very specific ways but you have to have to conversation in order to be able to do that. >> the white house isn't commenting on whether reestablishing military contact is a good idea, meaning that there won't be a quick resolution to the crisis. rosalyn jordan, al jazeera, washington. >> joining me is director for iraq at national security council during the george w. bush and obama administration, currently a senior fellow at the new american foundation. thank you for joining us this morning, sir. that congressional testimony yesterday was pretty shocking. the u.s. commander of the forces of middle east admitting that the u.s. has only trained about 50 fighters to tak