now the u.n. es enjoy sweeping immunity under creteys that establish the organization signed by all member states but victim's attorneys point out that the u.n. does have a responsibility to provide a mechanism for settling disputes and they claim that has not been done in this case. the u.n. is not responding to this lawsuit that has been filed in u.s. federal court. they're choosing to stress the work that they're using to alleviate cholera and to improve the water and sanitation systems in haiti. >> reporter: the difficulty in irradicating the epidemic has been compounded by the many people who lack access to a clean water supply. popular spots for bathing and collecting drinking water is the nation's streams. al jazeera's fault linu linum ld with families who expressed what should be done next. >> how many people here know someone who is dying of cholera? >> reporter: many are also still homeless living in tent cities after the nation's devastating earthquake four years ago. the number of peopl

the u.n.'s own scientists have been admitting it. back in early 2012, president bill clinton, the u.n. special envoy for haiti, conceded the u.n. was the approximate cause. our hurdle, as you mentioned, is jurisdictional. the u.n. is claiming immunity. he u.n. has immunity, for good reasons. it is conditioned on the u.n. keeping up its end of the bargain, which is providing alternative mechanisms for justice to people hurt by its operations. and in this case, the u.n. is refusing to provide those mechanisms. courts throughout the world -- and this is a developing, more and more every year, courts throughout the world are saying that if the u.n. does not uphold its end of the bargain, or if international organizations do not uphold their end of the bargain, then courts should not allow them to claim immunity. and so in this case, it's clear that the u.n. has not allowed the victims of its cholera to have an alternative mechanism for justice, and so we have now choice but to go into a national co

but the u.n. has got to look into it and it will have been questioning the conviction of that your report on that august attack what are your thoughts about that u.n. investigation well i don't want to trash the report bill but i think i'm very concerned about aspects of it for example you know it was done very quickly i mean what one site only spent two hours and that wasn't enough time they didn't look at samples of dead bodies there were no autopsies taken that was rather strange i think why did they look at autopsies to find evidence and of course there is the great danger that evidence was brought in in tampa with by rebel forces because this took place in gravel areas of course so it was scientific point of view there's great question marks about your report so i think i would like to see the spent longer time the time that they need to do it really knowing what i what why is it that people need convincing that there is indeed a chance that rebels could have been behind that chemical attack.

the u.n. be to blame. >>> and tom hanks, what made headlines within minutes. every year american students earn degrees in math and science. but only three in ten of them are women. to have enough graduates to fill 21st century jobs... ...we'll have to solve this gender divide. let's inspire more young women to pursue math and science. let's light the way for a new generation. join exxonmobil in advancing math and science education. let's solve this. afghanistan in 2009. on the u.s.s. saratoga in 1982. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. icaused by acid reflux disease, relieving heartburn, relief is at hand. for many, nexium provides 24-hour heartburn relief and may be available for

the u.n. has been powerless from stopping syria from killing its citizens, accused of making a ma cholera outbreak worse. in the outbreak, covered up widespread corruption the organization has made a concerted effort for more transparency. thanks in part to people like our next guest the u.n. office for project services, an assistant u.n. attorney general. the u.n. has faced all sorts of charges about ineffectiveness. hasn't been able to stop syria from killing its civilians and other scandals. >> the u.n. definitely doesn't exit in a vacuum. it is a reflection of what goes on in the outside world. it certainly has its own weaknesses and faults. but it's the kind of organization that is very relevant today and very much needed. if someone wakes up today and doesn't have a u.n, you would probably have to recreate it the next day because the need is very much there. >> what is the u.n. trying to do to make sure that that doesn't happen in the future and to make it clear that they are an open orga

the u.n. is now to blame. tonight, dr. nancy snyderman has the report. >>> and getting more dads involved in school. "nightly news" begins now. >>> good evening. the president and the speaker of the house fought back and forth verbally today. day eight of the government shutdown. mean chooil, all kinds of people are getting cheated out of salaries, benefits, medical treatment. and now we have learned of what may be the ultimate indignity, having to do with those that fought and died for this country. in the middle of the shutdown, the sad word that five americans were killed in afghanistan, but because of the shutdown, those 5 and 12 others killed in action since october 1st will not get the death benefit that their families are supposed to be guaranteed. we have two reports on this tonight, beginning with nbc's andrea mitchell who broke the story this morning, and is here with us in the studio tonight. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. we have been talking about the shutd

federal court tomorrow. >> the u.n. is there to fight disease and poverty, but it is a major contributor to disease and poverty in haiti and refusing to take responsibility. >> reporter: what is the stance for the u.n. taking responsibility? >> i can't answer that question. >> reporter: she is one of the top officials in haiti. >> when there is blame to be made, isn't it inherent for an a organization to sometimes accept the blame, and in the case of the u.n. to say yes, it was us? >> well, unfortunately, i can't answer that question. i think here in haiti, what is more important is to deal with the situation that we're in. improving the health system in the water and sanitation, we're also improving other elements. >> reporter: little reassurance for dieumene, who says her family has received no help from the u.n. >> immunity can't mean impunity, and the victims are entitled to their day in national court if the u.n. won't give them justice within their country. >> reporter: dieumene and the other plaintiffs are countin

i mean if we don't trust the u.n. who can we trust but the trouble is the u.n. doesn't work in a vacuum it works in the real world and there's going to be pressure put on them by the u.s. and of course what's going to happen is we're going to get the neo cons the the warmongers coming out with any kind of mind of any kind of discretion discrepancy coming out to use as a pretext for war so i think we've got to be alert and alive to the fact that the u.n. inspectors will be put under enormous pressure they've got to be strong enough to withhold that pressure i'm afraid in an exclusive interview with r.t. spanish channel ecuador's president referral career condemned barack obama's exceptionalism and even compared his tone to that of the nazis here's a brief preview of what he had to say. you know i still think president obama is a good and smart man but only speeches remind you of the speeches the nazis made in the run up and during the second world war they considered themselves the selected supreme race such speeches and ideas pose an extreme threat. or george gal

. >> the u.n. ys the long drawn out battle between government troops and rebels in the democratic republic of congo is drawing to a close. congolese soldiers are launching an assault to retake the last town held by armed fighters known as the m23 rebels. a bit of background. the m23 are a group of tute si fighters who defected from the government. the conflicts forced 800,000 people to flee their homes. the push by the congolese troops has been largely successful because they are backed by a u.n. prevention brigade sent to crush the rebels. the m23 fighters abandoned their military positions in the east and are confined to a small down close to the ugandan border called rumanagabo. >> they have been fighting hard for days. they are getting ready to fight again. they are congolese government troops and have taken a string of towns back from the m23 rebels. the fighters hold a town on the ugandan border, a few kilometres from here. the congolese tanks are getting ready for what the army says is a fina

a president of the u.n. am notn -- i hope premature in saying that the latest polls there is growing support of the united nations as an organization. it is possible the syria development have played a role in this regard. of course, i wanted to say i spent -- i was not only an exchange student to this nation. i was an ambassador to this nation for five years. i have been working to the united states for so long. the commitment of the united states to the united nations is absolutely crucial for the health of our organization. therefore, i made the point strongly -- maybe i over did it -- i claim the work we do is in the national interest of every country, also the larger countries. the larger countries do not have to worry so much because they have enough power to create their own solutions, political and economic and in other areas. but i would say that also the by thecountries should, logic of the goal of these corporations, realize it is in the national interest. some of it is impossible to think of, lik

the u.n.'that the base had failed to properly dispose of its sewage which scientists believe is the source of the cholera bacteria now found in haiti's water supply. lawyers are filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of the haiti's cholera victims in a new york federal court but they face one monumental obstacle. the treaty that established the u.n. grants its sweeping immunity being are a treaty that has been signed by all member states including haiti. for two years, haitians sought justice through the u.n. les's internal leg system they denied their claims and continues to deny responsibilities. >> peacekeepers operate under a veil of immunity and in this cholera case i think it's challenging that on the civil side if one wants to sustain the criminally community, it's best to clean up messes and this one is a mess. >> reporter: lawyers for the cholera victims say the u.n. has a moral as well as a legal responsibility. >> u.n. of course is one of the world's leaders in promoting human right

a president of the u.n. foundation -- i hope i am not premature in saying that the latest polls there is growing support of the united nations as an organization. it is possible the syria development have played a role in this regard. of course, i wanted to say i spent -- i was not only an exchange student to this nation. i was an ambassador to this nation for five years. i have been working to the united states for so long. the commitment of the united states to the united nations is absolutely crucial for the health of our organization. therefore, i made the point strongly -- maybe i overdid it i claim the work we do is in the national interest of every country, also the larger countries. the larger countries do not have to worry so much because they have enough power to create their own solutions, political and economic and in other areas. but i would say that also the larger countries should, by the logic of the goal of these global corporations, realize it is in the national interest. some of it is impos

called on the u.n. to refer that to the international criminal court. >>> barack obama has had a meeting with republicans to trailer raise the u.s -- temporarily raise the u.s. national debt. without that the u.s. with it default on the debt. >> the suggestion that discussions to raise america's debt limit are finally getting somewhere. >> the take away from the meeting was, our teams are going to be talking further tonight. we'll have more discussion. we'll come back to have more discussion, the president said that he would go and consult with the administration folks, and hopefully, we can see a way forward after that. >> republicans offered a short term deal, raise america's debt ceiling for six weeks in exchange for discussions on other financial issues. the white house didn't immediately dismiss the deal, wanted a longer deal with no strings attached. >> i think the president said if they were to send them a clean debt ceiling extension, no strings attached he would sign it. >> the meeting came just

the u.n. security council. >>> mixed reviews what americans like and don't like about the president's health care plan. >>> and san francisco's commute, finding a way to get to work after another strike. >> we begin with a diplomatic show of defiance. one of america's closest allies in the middle east has suddenly refused a seat at the security council. saudi arabia's surprise, directed at the united states. kristin saloomi at the u.n. >> saudi diplomats were all smiles after winning a seat on the security council. and the saudi ambassador gave every indication his country was eager to take on the high profile position. >> we look forward to working with the rest of the international community to help our syrian brothers achieve their objectives. but equally, is the palestinian issue because we believe the pal palestinian issue is the core issue of the difficulties in the middle east. >> but the same issues syria and palestine were cited friday when the kingdom suddenly announced it would not t

we start with the media beehive that is the u.n. headquarters in new york city. >> he's been in the job for two months but the gathering at the u.n. was for all intents and purposes hassan rouhani's debut on the world stage. it provided 25 minutes to deliver his speech unfiltered through whatever news outlet chose to carry it and what did he before and after the speech was part of the strategy. >> i think as expected really blitzed the media while he was here. he spoke with charlie rose. he spoke with cnn's correspondents. >> i want to ask you what some people call the "it" man of this unga. >> and he spoke on nbc on the eve of his visit as well as a number of newspaper interviews and engagements and casual meeting over breakfast during the trip here. all of that helped define the president as someone quite different than his predecessor. >> one fundamental difference between the rouhani team and the ahmadinejad team was their special attention to media. ahmadinejad used the media to make sure that his speeches were hurd in the gener

it prompted the u.n. skirt secuy council to consider intervention. >>> sudan's president has launched a stinging attack against opponents of economic reforms. cuts to fuel subsidies doubled costs overnight. we have reports from khartoum. >> reporter: the capital in the eastern state that the president chose to make his first public speech since eruptions last winter. >> each time there is a problem they wear their suits and ties and say this time the man it done. we clearly explained why prices have increased. they saw this as an opportunity to bring down the government. they have agents, thieves and bandits and declared that khartoum has fallen. khartoum will never fall. protesting. >> reporter: calls for freedom, peace and justice is growin gro, and they're having a hard time containing them. they announced that they would step up street pressure. >> we agree the revolution will continue. we've set guidelines for protests. we have new means for social disobedience and we're devicing a plan for a constitu

the u.n. rity council aims at ending the turmoil. >> and barbar in london, the stories we are following in europe, could a similar be pill be used to fight the degenerative brain diseases like alzheimerss. britain clamped down on migrant taxes to public services. >> with the sport one of the greatest ever we will have reaction and analysis out of india. later in the program. hello republicans say they are offering president obama a temporary deal. the measure would allow the government to borrow more money for a limited time. house of represents said the president must agree to negotiation over opening services can have been shut down for close to two weeks. >> over the course of the last ten days we have been trying to have conversations with our democrat colleagues. they don't want to talk. president doesn't want to talk. we tried to offer a bills only to have them rejected by our counter parts over in the united states senate. so what we want to do is offer the president today the ability to

back from an impassioned speech at the u.n. about the threat iran poses to the world israeli prime minister bibi netanyahu spoke to an audience in israel at bar ilan university shockingly though the speech wasn't a bunch of fear mongering about iran you know bibi actually took the time to talk about palestine but maybe not the way you hope. so using references to palestinian leadership in the early twentieth century bibi actually tried to link today's palestinians to the nazis of the one nine hundred forty s. and despite this harsh rhetoric in the abysmal conditions of palestinians living under israeli occupation america's political support for israel remains strong so here to help me break down this issue further i'm joined by max blumenthal a journalist who's been exploring the cultural and political shifts within israel the author of the bestselling new book the lie it life in loathing and greater israel max thanks so much for coming on thanks and just to clarify the new book isn't a bestseller yet but it will be if you're go

it came from nepal, as did the u.n. peacekeepers who they found moving the la teens in the weeks after the outbreak. they found that the base had failed to properly dispose of sewage, which scientists believe is the source of the cholera bacteria now found in haiti's water supply. lawyers are filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of haiti's cholera victims in a new york federal court, but they may a monumental obstacle. the treaty that established the u.n. grants it sweeping immunity, a treaty signed by all member states including haiti. for two years haitians sought justice through the u.n.'s internal legal system. the u. denied their claims and continues to deny responsibility. >> peacekeepers operate under a veil of immunity. this cholera case, i think, is challenging that on the civil side. if one wants to sustain the criminal immunity, it's best to clean up messes and this one's a mess. >> reporter: lawyers for the cholera victims says the u.n. has a moral as well as a legal responsibility. >> the u.n., of course,

we followed these images and rumors that the u.n. was to blame on a base of a town near the capital an capitol and saw . workers cleaning up a sewage spill and we if if i filmed thd asked the u.n. if they had anything to do with the out break. within months the investigation have been done and the scientistingscientist tisescientists have done surveye u.n. has refused to acknowledge the issue. >> they are not telling you anything about this. the lawsuit ghet gets filed and explain what it's asking for. >> it's the latest step in an ongoing process. the lawyers representing families of the victims who died from cholera started with legal claims against the u.n. in december of 2011. the u.n. refused to respond to those claims for a year and a half. finally responded and abruptly dismissed the claims out of hand. finally the this is the latest stage in the process and it's prep stifrepresentative of what. why are you going back to haiti. it's fallen from the head linings buheadlinesbut the disen impact. it's killing a thousand haitian as

president's speech and global attention every year the u.n. general assembly brings together world leaders the may never talk to other circumstances but do they hear each other on the honest about their intentions when the world is watching do they care about finding a solution or is their agenda the only things that matter with syria is a litmus test we can now see whether the u.n. still makes. our guest today is it that issue ok russia's and lloyd to the united nations mr churkin it's great to have you on the program with us today. now the resolution on syria is obviously so the resolution on syria is obviously a victory for russian diplomacy but the resolution has in a way also restored the u.s. credibility that was kind of lost in recent years so with the inability to make a joint decision it one time thing do you think or will we see more decisions like that well i hope we will i mean the most important thing about this resolution is that it's really paving the way for the implementation of this project of eliminating all chemical weapons.

the u.n. inspectors didn't even request to see not there of those bodies they didn't want to see the autopsies they didn't want to go to the morgue and. this is how this can explain the reasons why such a request from a. there were so many victims who were still alive that there was really no need to to exuma bodies and basically to tissue from them because there were so many victims who were alive but we had also complete case history meaning that the victims were able to tell how they were affected what they felt what the symptoms were which is much more powerful than taking tissue from from the from the body well. in my humble opinion autopsies are very very rich source of any sort of information and war over the u.n. inspector side a lot of stories about a lot of interviews about how many people were killed at some point and they report they say that. they were like. a family of forty people killed in them and yet for some reason they make absolutely no after it's you go and see those bodie

the u.n. security council is calling to allow immediate access for humanitarian aid. serious humanitarian is rapidly declining. we're live at the u.n. headquarters here in new york. kristin for two and a half years as you know the security council was silent on syria. now we have this statement on humanitarian situation. what has changed? >> reporter: well, tony, the situation has gotten increasingly desperate inside syria, very hard for the security council to ignore. we're talking 4 million people who don't have enough to eat, and by the u.n.'s estimates they haven't been able to get to about 2 million of those people to get them any aid whatsoever. so an increasingly desperate situation for the security council to deal with. humanitarian groups are lobbying very hard for the council to make some sort of a statement to put pressure on the syrian government to improve access. they say they've been denied access to these areas that they need to get to. the council on the heels of an historying

the problem is the amount of power the u.n. general assembly has over other countries, which is not big at all. >> that is a good point that you bring up. as i understand it, the resolution would be nonbinding. so how effective will it really be? x that is true. that is the biggest problem, because the u.n. general assembly does not have the kind of power to be binding on any kind of document that we seek him out of it. critics of this are saying it is pointless because it won't really affect the u.s.. it is also a strong message, because first of all, this is the first time many countries in the international community come together to voice their outrage. it is also a big body and certainly there could be further steps where this could be taken if the document is generally -- is passed through the general assembly. there could be pushes to update the international legislation that all these countries are signed up to. that would certainly have some kind of impact on the u.s. if he chooses to follow its own international treati

computer experts are working to fix the bugs. >>> the u.n. humanitarian council is claiming that syrian government is impeding relief efforts. the syrian government said all aid must go through the government. >>> pope francis said it's focused on servicing itself than it's followers. he made the comments in a magazine, and recalled that many of the church narcissists are not doing the work of god. it's the second widely publicized interview the pontiff has granted this week. he has called for tolerance on abortion, contraception and homosexuality. he's meeting with cardinals to discuss church reforms energy >>> today we travel to sri lanka where the boo book tear has doc. reading is popular in the country but the old fashion book is receiving a rival in technology. >> eager for more this mobile library service for children is very popular. she has borrowed it's books for almost ten years. >> i've enjoyed books since i was very young. books are nice and meaningful. >> the project run by the public library comes to the area every two weeks. the

the u.n. chemical weapons convention. the opcw hopes the prize and the additional attention on serial will encourage the regime and others to join the nearly universal accord. >> the associate press is reporting that the un security council has authorized a joint mission by the opcw and the u.n. to destroy syria's chemical weapons. it is seen as a necessary final step to the unprecedented mission. staying in syria, human rights watch has accused rebels of killing at least 190 civilians in august. it rains more than 200 hostages were also taken during the offensive in the let hockey a -- the latakia province. we have this report. >> syrian rebels systematically executed civilians and took hostages, so says humans right -- human rights watch. some 20 groups took part in the predawn strike. in some cases, entire families were gunned down as they fled. >> you conceivable of holes where my son was killed. here is the blood. look here. you conceivable it marks here and here. >> human rights watch say

like i suggest we listen to one of the sound bites from the interview that i did with angela kane the u.n. high representative for disarmament affairs i think that would read things into perspective they did prove that and was evident in the samples they found but on the other hand if they did not find samples in the environmental in the environmental samples if they did not find certain the environmental samples it just testifies to the honesty of the reinspection so they're saying this is what we found this is what we took now of course it's interesting. miskin would talk about the almost you know the inspectors i think we would expect nothing less from the year the personnel but. you need to understand what actually happened whenever of the investigators had a chance to do the job whenever they had the freedom to go around and collect samples none of them test positively and yet whenever they tried to get from tissue samples from people who were reflected by the opposition they all test positively and this is statistically it's simply impossible i mean there are just two possible expla

the world program and the u.n. hird of rural households are hungry with nearly 10 million more at risk. the recent swarms first appeared in 2009, but a political and economical crisis that has gripped the country since a coup that year has led officials helpless too. >> all the conditions were ripe for locust to swarm and at the time our political social and economic crisis heat so the fight against the locust was too slow. the locust grew out of control because there was not enough money. >> reporter: an irradication program starts in november. 2 million-hectares of land will be sprayed with pesticides but they still need to raise about a quarter of the $41 million needed for the three-year plan. this is the best time of year to start the irradication program because the insects are on the ground. reproducing and laying eggs. the reduced harvest means staple foods are my expensive so there are more demands atrophieding programs like this. they feed merely a quarter million children every day. it could be their only

security council which measures will be taken and those could be various measures under chapter seven of the u.n. charter including various measures with regard to the opposition groups of position figures which could be. could be. making problems for the implementation of this of this resolution and also what i think is important and encouraging is that it's not just. the united states it's the international community who is interested in having this project of the elimination of chemical weapons and syria succeed clearly israel has a lot to gain from that because they have been regarding the chemical arsenal in syria as something which can really have a very dramatic impact on the security of israel i think the countries of the region should be interested in that because their mission of chemical weapons in syria would pave the way into tackling the very difficult problem of creating in the middle east is own free of chemical of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery and then there is another incentive for this thing to succeed and this is that it will create a political momen

the u.n. or awaiting registration. in syria the arabic groups are to arrive in damascus for talks, to meet the president and foreign minister. lakhdar brahimi is trying to build support for peace talks planned for geneva next month. the main rebel groups refused to take part. >> lakhdar brahimi's visit to damascus is part of a regional tour. he's visited iraq, egypt, kuwait, imam and kata and met the king of jordan in a country that hosts over half a million syrian refugees. on thursday he held talks with leaders of the free syrian army and others fighting against the government. on sunday he met iran's president telling him this his country's presence is necessary for the geneva talks to succeed. >> abdul ham eed joins us from beirut. what are we expecting from lakhdar brahimi's visit to damascus? >> well, it will be a difficult visit, if you read the state controlled media in syria. they are saying lakhdar brahimi is welcome, but should not represent particular parties, he should be impartial

the u.n.'al is to cut the numbers in half by 2015, but the agencies warned some regions may fall short. the us. supreme court took no action today on petitions to review the obama administration's rules aimed at climate change. none of the nine legal petitions were mentioned on a list of new cases that the justices agreed to hear. the supreme court's new term begins on monday. still ahead on the newshour: stuart rothenberg and susan page on the shutdown; day one on the new health insurance exchanges; we have a primer on how they work; israel's prime minister condemned iran's president at the u.n.; two marine generals fired for not protecting a base in afghanistan; and entertainment legend rita moreno. >> ifill: we return to our lead story, the government shutdown. the policy has gotten all tangled up with the politics in a giant game of chicken, and each side is claiming the high ground. but haven't we been here before? let's ask stuart rothenberg of the rothenberg political report and roll cal

the u.n. league arrived for talks with the syrian government planned in geneva next month and he has been touring the region in the past week talking to all sides involved in the conflict and been to countries that support it like turkey and kanta and talks with groups against fighting with the government and met iran's new president who is a supporter in the region telling him the country's presence is vital for the geneva talks to succeed. and let's bring bill joining us live from beirut and i understand he drove from beirut to damascus and he is there, what is he going to do? >> well, he is due to meet with the syrian president bashir assad and foreign minister and this will be a very difficult mission, as difficult as it was in the past simply because the positions on either side have not changed much. the opposition still says it would not go to geneva unless it is to find a mechanism to basically get rid of bashir assad as president of syria and pave the way for a transitional government

. >>> and the head of the u.n. united nations wants to increase the number of inspectors in syria who are working to eliminate the country's chemical weapons arsenal. >>> two scientists who developed a theory 50 years ago about a tiny particle have won the biggest award in their field, the nobel prize in physics. the higgs boson gives mass to all things. its existence was confirmed last year. >> the nobel prize in physics to professor francois anger, and professor peter higgs. >> they predicted the component of the higgs boson. they said the discovery of the particle was confirmed in july of 2012 by research conducted at an underground lab in switzerland. about 6,000 scientists from around the world participated in the project using a huge particle accelerator. the nobel committee said the higgs boson theory is a key element to how our society is constructed. they said without it there would be no gravity or universe. here is some background. >> reporter: the universe was created in the big bang, about 13.8 billion

the u.n. have consistently accused rwanda and uganda of supporting the rebels, although both of those countries deny it. in the recent days in the fighting when the m 23, it looks like they haven't been getting much support at all because the congolese army has just taken one town after the next. it was originally quite some heavy fighting, but it looks like the m 23 just got weaker and weaker. as we move forward today with government soldiers several times we came under fire but it was only fire of light weapons and m 23 was armed to the teeth with mortars and rockets. today they didn't have any of those kinds of weapons left, it seems. just some rifles and machine guns. >> to syria now where the red cross has brokered a deal to allow some people to leave a besieged suburb. the area is surrounded by government forces and thousands face starvation. the u.n. said there are still a million people trapped without aid across the country. >> reporter: this is a rare movement of relief and cooperatio

that's right. ( applause ) i tell you, this first week, the opening week of the u.n. sembly, there was a lot of tension, a lot of anger, a lot of discord, but everybody from the nearly 200 nations gathered at the united nations agreed on one thing: cher looks fantastic. ( laughter ) >> paul: yes! we agree. >> dave: and even though it's the end of the first week, there's still a lot going on at the u.n. take a look at this schedule. >> dave: well, there's a lot to look forward to. ( applause ) now, the united states government october 1 runs out of money. the united states government. out of money october 1. this country needs a brother-in- law, that's what it needs. ( laughter ) how about that crazy texas senator ted cruz. yeah. he's a lot of fun, isn't he? right now he's through his 21- hour rant about ben affleck. oh, the post office is raising the price of stamps again. did you realize that? i heard that and said to myself if there was only an inexpensive electronic way of communicating... ( laughter ) if there was just... ( applause ) they passed the macarthur geni

the u.n. has called on spain to overturn a law that pardons crimes committed during the dictatorship of general franco. hundreds of thousands of people disappeared during the spanish civil war. the killings remain unsolved because of an amnesty passed after franco's death. toldsraeli prime minister the u.n. general assembly that his country will never allow iran to develop nuclear weapons than me even if it has to act alone. he dismissed what he called the recent charm offensive of the new president. he described him as a wolf in sheep's clothing. our middle east editor reports from new york. prime minister's motorcade was relatively low- key. his message was not. he compared the rulers of iran to the nazis, claiming that the uranian's are developing nuclear weapons to give them the power to annihilate israel. to counteracts last week's charm offensive by iran's new offensive -- new president, rouhani. deals here to negotiate a on the future of the nuclear program. >> the assembly will hear a s

the u.n. has called on spain to overturn a law that pardons crimes committed during the dictatorship of general franco. hundreds of thousands of people disappeared during the spanish civil war. the killings remain unsolved because of an amnesty passed after franco's death. toldsraeli prime minister the u.n. general assembly that his country will never allow iran to develop nuclear weapons than me even if it has to act alone. he dismissed what he called the recent charm offensive of the new president. he described him as a wolf in sheep's clothing. our middle east editor reports from new york. prime minister's motorcade was relatively low- key. his message was not. he compared the rulers of iran to the nazis, claiming that the uranian's are developing nuclear weapons to give them the power to annihilate israel. to counteracts last week's charm offensive by iran's new offensive -- new president, rouhani. deals here to negotiate a on the future of the nuclear program. >> the assembly will hear a s

that's the first major step in a u.n. security council resolution to eliminate all of syria's chemical weapons by june of next year. >> soldiers in the democratic republic of congo have retaken the last town held by rebels. people in bunagana celebrated with troops after flushing out the m23 fighters, following an 18-month rebellion. >> in the last few minutes the results of an unofficial referendum in the abeyei region of sudan has been announced. the region straddles sudan and south suedan. only one of the people took part in the referendum on whether the region should join the north or south. peter greste is there. explain the significance of the vote for us? >> well, let me first give you the result of the referred ument. it was 99.9% in favour of unity with the south. that figure was never in result. this is because, as you mentioned, only one of the two big communities that live here, that call the place home, was involved in the referendum. it was long-promised - first in the comprehensive peace agreement signed in

the yrnlings government is helping in providing that, the u.n. has got some security in there it's not over yet, and i don't know whether we'll actually get to those sites splongs the war continues. -- as long as the war continues. but that raises the other truly significant political question. i'm sure john knew and i'm sure other people reading reports in recent days have been just as report as i have been about the state of affairs at the consequence of the war, the emergence of polio and so on. what is desperately needed is to build on this weapons agreements, get that peace schedule underway and see if an end can be brought to the true sears seersyrian questions. >> we have talked to a journalist in syria who has been bringing us reports and pictures of the devastation and frustration going on during the civil war. as someone who has been part of the u.n, what can the u.n. do to address that problem? because the weapons inspections clearly hasn't addressed that problem. >> no, it hadn't and it's not designed to do so. the agreement on the wea

the u.n. asks for immediate access to send in aid. >>> the leader of greece's far right golden dawn party is jailed as his second in command appears in court. >>> blackhawk down 20 years on. we look at how a falled u.s. mission in somalia still affects washington's thinking. >>> we start with news that a boat sunk off the coast of italy. at least 60 people have been killed and 250 are still missing. the vessel went down about half a mile from lampedusa. it's thought to have carried illegal migrants. what more do we know, sonya? >> reporter: we know the latest figure that has just come out. we hear that at least 80 have been found dead and still 250 missing. from the sea rescue workers are describing scening of horror with bodies being found in the sea. this is an enormous death toll for this boat. now, they described how many of these people have been in the water since the early hours of the morning, and emergency workers have been really racing against time to try and rescue as many of the su