starting with the main syrian owned channel. sanaa, the state-owned newsagency turned out pro-government. news from lebanon factors in. pro-bashar al-assad. iran and a syrian businessman and cousin of bashar al-assad. others are sympathetic to iran. out of south beirut and into syria. bashar al-assad does few television interviews. he did one with al-manar last year >>> on the olympics side. a group was made up of activists. it's in the u.s., and relies on konts. it had more than 2 million followers on facebook. and was founded by chir u. a political access turn war report. now operating out of southern turkey. syrian news broadcast into the rebel held areas of the north. two months ago it made headlines when it was reported from areas of aleppo. they disputed claims their bombs were only hit areas in i.s.i.l. >> reporter: then on the outskirts of damascus. before it was shut down by government forces, it moved to subturkey and claims to have a print run of papers. it is distributed inside syria. in aleppo, latakia and idlib. >>

to care for the syrians, it's not enough. jordanians say they are suffering. >>> vienna is hosting talks over the refugee crisis after hundreds of thousands crossed through europe this year. in the meantime in france, authorities are deliberating over evicting refugees in the calais camp. as nadim baba reports. belgium is tightening on the border to avoid a mass influx of people. >> belgium police are searching the back of a truck which comes from france. 60km down the road is the town of calais. and the fear is that if the junkle camp is partially -- jungle camp is partially evacuated. refugees and migrants will try to make their way northwards to the port where ferries leave for great britain. the belgium police have been stepping up their presence in anticipation much an evacuation in calais. that has been put on hold for the moment. on monday, the belgians arrested dozens of migrants, believing they were heading northwards to a place in belgium, where they could get to great britain. the government made it clear that they

in syrian he studied chemical engineering. he learned how to repair cell phones, but he couldn't do that either. >> translator: i couldn't find work, because first say they syrians are forbidden from working, and if you find someone who knows someone at the labor board, they say you have to have a full set of tools, and they are very expensive. >> reporter: he says one by one his friends have left. many heading for europe. he and achmed spend a lot of time walking around the streets. achmed still has a bullet in his shoulder after being shot in syria. he worked at a sweet shop for a while, but says he was put in jail for a week for working illegally. the economy is overwhelmed by so many refugees. it says if the west wants them to take in more syrians, including thousands stranded at the border, it has to do more to help. when syrians do work most earn much less than the legal minimum wage. with cuts in aid to refugees, more syrian children and older people are working illegally. abdul sits on the sidewalk eight hours a day, s

the syrian government, it appears, it is willing to go back to geneva. the main opposition reliance. we're not talking about face-to-face talks here. >> no, we're not. we get back to where we were earlier on in the year which is the idea of proximity talks. then we get, if it happens, the high negotiations committee of the opposition, the main opposition block meeting with mr. demestora and then after that you get meetings with the syrian government. interestingly the chief negotiator, he's also in the room where we're watching these live pictures because he's doing his main job at the moment as ambassador of the u.n. at the end of this meeting, after we've heard from all 15 ambassadors of the security council, we will hear from the syrian ambassador. clearly the syrian opposition will get a seat at this table. >> thank you very much. at at united nations where that 15-member council has unanimously endorsed the russi russia-u.s. brokered deal to bring a pause in the fighting in syria, and we heard from the u.n. syrian mediators saying if this works, if

scream out of aleppo driven out by a major government offensive as world leaders pledge $10 billion for syrians hit by the conflict. ♪ also saudi arabia says it is ready to send ground troops to syria to participate in any operation by the u.s. led coalition. i'm barbara and you are watching al jazeera live from london and also coming up, on the program italy summons the ambassador after a student disappeared turns up dead in cairo showing signs of torture. sweden says a u.n. panel decided that the founder assange is unlawfully detained in a london embassy. and scuffles in athens as greeks have the pressure of prime minister with a nationwide walk out over cuts. ♪ thank you for joining us we begin the program in syria where there have been two developing stories, in the last hour saudi arabia said it's ready to send ground troops to syria to take part in an operation by the u.s. led coalition against the islamic state of iraq and levante as tens of thousands are fleeing aleppo countryside and on the move after a three-day offensive by the syrian government which according to turkey's prime

and the syrian president has vladimir putin to thank for it. in september the russian leader deployed his fighter jets into syria's war and now months of russian air strikes coordinated with syrian government ground offenses are starting to pay off. rebel supply lines to turkey and jordan are being cut and if the government momentum continues world powers will be left with two stark choices in syria: bashar al-assad or i.s.i.l. that's why john kerry and others have now changed their tune about the need for assad to go. making it easier for the syrian president and his russian ally to entertain this cessation of hostilities on their terms. for more on this let's go to jamie mcintire. >> reporter: russian war planes continue to pound targets in syria just hours after the munich agreement was announced. in the northern province of homs more than a dozen people were reportedly killed as russia continue to provide air cover for forces loyal to syrian president bashar al-assad. under the agreement hashed out between russian form minister sphrofsergey

backed syrian kurdish y.p.g. ever gained ground in several areas at the expense of isil. >>> donald trump trump won the caucus vote in nevada cementing his lead in the nomination. senator marco rubio came in second, ted cruz a close third. >>> ires preparing for parliamentary elections on friday where voters will be electing the highest clerical council. it will be the first time elections are held on the same day for these two key institutions. >>> back to syria, the syrian observatory for home rights said more than a quarter million people have been killed since the war began five years ago. with some of the worst fighting now going on around aleppo, we have a report about the volunteers, the ones saving lives there. bernard smith has their story. >> many syrians have this as their only emergency service. where is it, they shout. these are the white helmets, volunteer rescue workers. like everybody else in aleppo, they spend a lot of their time looking up to work out where the next bomb will fall. there isn't m

want to eliminate the free syrian army. they want to say there is no free syrian army and no revolution and the choice between the regime or the terrorists. >> the battle has reached a crucial stage for aleppo. an opposition defeat here would be a major strategic loss and symbolic blow to the revolution. it is the latest stronghold for those who fight under the banner of the free syrian army. >>> while the fighting rages in aleppo, representatives of the government and opposition are in geneva for talks. we are live in geneva. any progress there? >> first i want to tell you about what we've just heard, confirmation from the u.n. special envoy for syria that no more meetings will happen today. really, we weren't sure about this john mccain just now. there had been a meeting scheduled for 5:00 p.m. local between syria's option be a the h.n.c. and mr. staffan de mistura, a follow up meeting yesterday after after mr. staffan de mistura announce add bit of optimism, saying as far as the u.n. are concerned, the talks had finally

the humanitarian crisis in syrian is continuing. fleeing advances by pro-government forces backed by russian air strikes. let's cross live to geneva and speak to our dploi diplomatic es bays. when if likely are we to hear about it? >> the meetings are over. the 17 members who met mr mr. demistura, moments from now, they're going to come down the stairs of the unite united s palais. yes they are prepared to talk but if they are going to stay here for any period of time, they need concrete measures on the ground, measures outlined in the united nations resolution, stopping the bombardment. and when you speak to the members they're not just talking about the bombardment by the syrian government but also by the russians. russia is one of the co-sponsors of this process. does more pressure have to be put on russia now? that's a point i put on the u.k. special representative. gareth bailey. >> let's take this one step at a time. should the negotiations here be put under some threat, then we'll have to review and take stock. but right now,

but most syrians who enter turkey end up staying there. there are some 20 registered refugee camps for syrians to stay in in the country. yet the overwhelming majority of them chose to live outside the camps and move to turkish cities. istanbul is now home to 300,000 syrian refugees many of them in a slum called uncapani, i traveled there last spring and met ali, here is what he told me. >> translator: we left against our will. of course we came here to turkey to raise these children away from the fighting and away from the war. we came here, and the children started to work, and help us survival here. if not much but at least here in turkey we are getting by now. it's better than the fighting.mean there ar fighting.i mean, there are rockd mortars flying, it came so bad we had to flee, sometimes by road sometimes by car until we reached the border. thank god we are living and getting by here now. there is no fighting and there's no killing here. >> does the turkish government give you refugee status? >> we smuggled ourselves into turkey wi

the syrian kurdish political leader has said, listen, if we base,rds didn't take that the syrian government forces would have captured it. that is what turkey wants. it is a fair point. the syrian kurds government forces are advancing towards that base and if they grab it they will probably turn it over to the russian air force and then turkey would have russian warplanes taking off stationed 15 kilometers, 10 miles, south of the southern border. does turkey really want that? catherine: how is turkey's increasing involvement playing out inside turkey itself? jasper: not well at all. today the largest opposition party called on the government to brief parliament about the bombardment in syria. a spokesman for the party said we don't want turkey to get involved in the syrian civil war. the republican people's party says that if it were in government, turkey would be taking a neutral stance on the syrian war and this would recognize bashar al-assad as being a legitimate. party-biggest opposition in parliament, the pro kurdish hdp party is totally opposed to what the government is doing in syri

they say syrians cannot do work. and if you find someone that nose someone, they ask for a full set of tools, and it is expensive. >> reporter: it's hard to find work. one by one his friends left. many heading to europe. they spend a lot of time walking around the streets. window shopping for things they can't buy. akmed has a bullet in his shoulder after being shot in syria. in jordan he worked in a sweet shop, but was put in gaol for working illegally. >> jordan says the economy and infrastructure were overwhelmed by many refugees, and said that the west wants to take in more syrians, including thousands stranded at the border, it has to do more to help. not just the refugees, pore jordanians. they do work, most earning less than the legal minimum wade. with cuts in aid to refugees, more syrian children and older people are working illegally. abdul sits on the side walk, eight hours a day selling stuffed toys. two years ago they took toys away. he had to pay to get them back. jordanians also struggled to make a liv

you see the syrian opposition saying they completely distrust the syrian regime and wonder wipe the international community aren't pressing the regime to do more. they had a meeting with staffan de mistura, the head of the syrian delegation here for the government. he came out and essentially laid blame for the failure for anything to happen so far at the feet of the syrian opposition, saying that even simple procedural matters like getting a list of who exactly was representing the syrian opposition, that even that hadn't been cleared and nothing could proceed until even that happens. let's take a listen to a little more of what he told reporters after every exited his meeting with staffan de mistura. >> the other party is not genuine or serious enough. we have heard certain statements made by the representatives of the other party here. >> where do they go from here then? what happens next? >> that's really the question of the day. nobody would have thought this morning covering these talks after what happened last night, after what had seemingly been achieved that we would be back to square on

is that in your view the position of the syrian people and is there any hope among the syrian people? >> as we speak now, outside here, we have people saying the u.n. in the process next door, certainly the humanitarian effort has failed. we should work hand-in-hand, but i think the international community should put more trust and faith in us as syrians to work together to solve this. >> what is your message to those leaders who are here, some of them with their checkbooks. what would you say to them? >> i think i would say thank you so much for their pledges, but that we are watching, we are looking, are these pledges going to be met, followed through, how are they going to be implemented. we are the wash dogs and we'll be sure to make sure all is well. >> thank you for joining us. obviously it's worth watching those pledges and the fact that those come through. watching this over the last five years and in other crises around the world, people often pledge money, double pledge money they've pledged in the past. sometimes they pledge money and it takes an obviously long time to come

there are many turkish-syrian refugees. many refugees have fled from syria outnumbering the 90,000 locals. and more on the way. every day, thousands of syrian refugees head for the border. but turkey, which is already taken a 2.5 million refugees, has begun building camps on syrian soil. the syrian presence in police is very visible -- kelis is very visible. many have used their savings to create -- for a long time refugees were welcome here of the central square, turks have been donating blood for wounded syrians. but slowly, the mood is shifting. >> hello. there has been no hostile activity toward syrians. as more arrive, this can change. >> the relatives have arrived at the office or the official marriage. but once again, the couple is sent away because a signature is missing. they are told to come back next week. it has been like this for the last three years now. he currently earns his living as a taxi driver. two years ago, he lost his job at a textile company. >> i earned about 700 euros, then the syrians came. they

tens of thousands of syrians are again on the move. those who have arrived to the turkish border are not being allowed in. these people are from the northern country side of aleppo. many of them arrived on foot. many of them came with nothing. there is no safe area for these people, as the government pushes ahead with a major offensive in the province. >> translator: we left our homes because of the bombings by the russians, the iranians, the syrian government, we want them to let us in. >> reporter: for now, there is no indication that the gates will be opened. officially, turkey has an open door policy for the syrian refugees but strict restrictions have been put in place over the short past, due to the 2.5 million syrians in this country. but those trapped in the battle ground are also under pressure. villages and towns in the aleppo country side have become waste lands. there have been hundreds of russian air strikes since the government's ground assault began earlier this week. and there have been dozens of civilian casualties. th

thousands of syrians flee aleppo as they pledge more than $3 billion to help displaced civilians. hello there, you are watching al jazeera live from london, also coming up, italy summons the egyptian ambassador after a missing student turned up dead. showing signs of torture. sweden says a u.n. panel has decided that wikileaks founder is unlawfully detained in a london embassy. scuffles as greek pile on with a nationwide walk out over cuts. >> saudi arabia says it is ready to send ground troops to syria to take part in any operation by the u.s. led coalition military spokes man says the kingdom is willing to provide support on the ground in syria, alongside coalition air strikes which have been targeting for the past seven teen months. they did not say how many troops would be sent. >> . >> from the beginning of the operation in september 2014, the saudi kingdom was also committed to the international coalition and we stays the court despite our operations today the kingdom announced it's redness to participate with ground troops in syria. within the u.s. led coalition against isi

it's about syrian refugees and how we help them. and i think we have gone a long way to raising the money that is going to be needed this year in advance of what we hope is a political solution. i think the second question is from the german media. i think from [ inaudible ]. >> translator: miss merkel whatever was decided today, is this going to help the germans? and is this a kind of liberating coup, where we saw how people in syria suffer, and how difficult it is for the refugees to leave their home country and how they find refuge in the neighboring countries, and therefore that's the top priority for me. but nobody leaves the country without thinking about it. there are 6.5 million people, at least who have been displaced within syria, who have to move. there are more than 5 million outside of syria who have been displaced. and we do everything possible to make sure that they don't need to be away from their home country, and the conference here made a significant contribution to this. nevertheless it does not replace the human

our correspondent on the turkish side of the syrian border. what are your sources say? >> reporter: there was no diplomatic break through in geneva but a break through for the syrian government on the ground. pictures broadcast from the pro-government towns, you can see people celebrating in the streets, the syrian army and their allies, militias from hezbollah and iraqi fighters. they are in the center of the town celebrating. undoubtedly this is a set-back for the opposition. the government has been able to achieve in three days what it has been trying to achieve for more than three years, but what we understand from our sources on the ground was that this offensive really unleeshd heavy fire power. the opposition was not able to confront this assault. the syrian organization sydney there were many casuals-- organization says there were many casualties. the assault is to lift the siege which will give the government an advantage because these towns can be used as launching pads to launch further advances in the aleppo countryside. the other objective was to sever the

also ahead - fear in the syrian city of aleppo. many believe a plan is to starve people into submission. >>> far right protesters stage a demonstration in germany calling for tougher immigration rules. and on the road with a man, one of millions, taking part in the world's biggest mass migration. >>> first to taiwan, where more than 100 people are missing after a powerful earthquake truck the country. 14 are known to have died. thousands of rescue workers are combing through the rubble looking for survivors. rob mcbride reports from the hardest hit city. >> reporter: with the night came more teams to join in the rescue effort. reports of contacts made with survivors still waiting for rescue added to the sense of urgency. and every now and then a success. after hours laying in the rubble, this woman is safe - injured and in pain, clearly alive. like other survivors rushed away to a waiting ambulance. as the rescue operation continued, equipment is being brought in to carefully move away some of the debris as the rescue teams continu

indirect talks between the syrian government and opposition members are officially underway in geneva. >>> you're watching al jazeera. the top stories. the race for the white house has begun in the state of iowa. delegates have been casting their votes to choose their presidential candidates with most of the votes counted rivals bernie sanders and hillary clinton are still neck and neck. meanwhile the republican presidential candidate ted cruz says his win at the iowa caucus is a win for courageous kon stefshtives. he has-- conservatives. the world health organisation has declared a global health emergency in response to a growing number of birth defects in brazil and their possible link to the zika virus. indirect talks between the syrian government and opposition members are officially underway in geneva. the opposition is demanding humanitarian relief to civilians as well as the release of political prisoner. it is condemning a new offensive of the government. >> reporter: with the arrival of the high negotiations committee at the u.n. it seemed at long last that a break through ha

a syrian refugee shot this video. he spent an hour there. >> there is maybe four or five military and there is a lot of people, refugee. they didn't give us anything, just they told us that wait to the boat. there is no place to sleep or anything >> reporter: it is a different game altogether. migrants play afternoon soccer with the volunteers who care for them. organizations like the solidarity network run shelters in buildings loaned by the municipality. it is an entirely volunteer-based effort. here too the military is acquiring a role. as europe becomes increasingly weary of new rivals, this is the new center days away from completion. the government has been trying to get it built for five months. the military has taken over and done it in three weeks. the spawns of this camp is not just that it can house a thousand people, which could be vitally important in the months to come. it is that here fingerprinting will happen quickly. so will deportation of economic migrants as opposed to refugees. a clear sign of eur

over the past few days syrians in their tens of thousands have escaped aleppo since the syrian government and its russian allies began a new offensive in the province. >> translation: under pressure like never before, rebels issue a call for general mobilization, to descend their positions in aleppo. the countryside here is the last remaining base in the north for groups allied with the secular free syrian army. parts are also held by governments allines led by the al-nusra front. for the past three and a half years aleppo city has been divide. the opposition controls the east and the government forces the west. the regime is trying to be siege rebel held districts and cut the rebel supply line from turkey's border to the north. the development is raising new concerns. >> we're trying to end the siege of a number of besieged areas across syria and yet what is being done by russian and syrian forces could create a new siege. so this is incredibly hurtful in terms of real lives. it is a major obstacle to the pursuit of the political solution and it needs to stop. >> reporter: another siege

fighters from a number of rebel groups are fighting the syrian democratic forces dominated by the syrian kurdish fighters known as ypg. monstering developments closely is turkey. it regards the ypg as a terrorist group operating under the outlawed kurdistan turkeyish party, the pkk. >> translator: chaos in syria provides an atmosphere for terror organizations like daesh, al-nusra, the pyd, and the ypg to grow and spread. turkey is the country suffering the most from the threats, and being effected from the attacks routed in syria. >> reporter: now there is a chance that a deal reached between the u.s. and russia will bring some kind of ceasefire by saturday. that idea excludes isil and al-nusra front and all rebel groups that do not commit to a cessation of hostilities. the syrian opposition wants international guarantees that the government in damascus and russia will not target rebel groups under the pretext of operations against isil and al-nusra. while the government says it will accept the partial troops, it has warned rebel groups not to attempt to strengthen their positions during

>> a major offensive by syrian troops and russian airstrikes on aleppo. but the opposition said that it's undermining talks in geneva. hello there, i'm barbara and you're watching aljazeera live from london. and also, the race to be the presidential candidate. and it's not donald trump. and yemen's national museum is destroyed by fire after two days of heavy shelling. and how the world health organization is stepping up in the fight against the zika virus. thank you for joining us. syrian government forces have launched a major offensive from the north of aleppo and captured several strategically important towns. they're trying to cut rebel supply lines to aleppo and also to the turkish border. with the support of russian strikes, they have captured. the aim is to break through territory north of aleppo to reach the village. they would cut off the fighters in the north and prevent the reinforcement from getting through. reporting from northern turkey, close to the syrian border. >> reporter: this battle can change the balance of power in the strategic cor

want to eliminate the free syrian army. they want to say there is no free syrian army and no revolution and the choice will be between the regime or the terrorists. >> the battle has reached a crucial stage for aleppo. an opposition defeat here would be a major strategic loss and symbolic blow to the revolution. it is the latest stronghold for armed groups in the north who fight under the banner of the free syrian army. >>> while the fighting rages in aleppo, representatives of the government and opposition are in geneva for talks. we are live in geneva. how are those events on the ground in syria affecting prospects of those talks? >> they are certainly calling into question the commitment of the international community to actually. one of the things that we've heard so much from the opposition here in the past few days is that they don't trust the syrian regime are calling into question very much the international communities commitment to peace in syria and help for the syrian people. today, really, the whole idea of the

thousands of syrians will have no choice but to leave. stefanie dekker, al jazeera, on the turkey, syrians border. >>> border crossing with turkey have moved closer to the stronghold of tel rafad. the people there preparing themselves for the possibility of a siege. as zeina khodr reports. >> reporter: there is a fuel shortage in syria. so the people living in the opposition controlled east of aleppo city have begun to ration. they are preparing for possibility of a seeng. siege. fuel is needed in a city without electricity and a city that relies on pumping wells for water. >> translator: there has been a rise in the price of basic goods because roads are cut and merchants are profiting. supplies are coming from the western country side but our supplies are low. we don't have enough supplies. what we have is only enough for a few days. >> reporter: it is not known how many of the 300,000 in the east have left, some are too poor to even pay for a ride out. a city devastated by years of war. the syrian government and its allies have still n

turkish officials promised to protect it which is home for thousands of displaced syrians. for now, ankara has few options, because russia controls the skies. >>> saudi arabia's foreign minister once again accused the syrian government of bombing civilians. riyadh offered to send in ground forces into syria to take on isil but has left the final decision on when that will happen to the u.s. led coalition. >> the syrian regime has to open the way for the humanitarian support and aid immediately, and the syrian regime has to stop the military attacks against the civilians, including the bomb barrels that are being used. this has to be stopped immediately. the syrian regime has to be involved in the political process in order to start the political transitional period in syria. >>> while syria's opposition coordinator called for an end to the violence to allow real change to happen in syria, according to him, the former syrian prime minister was speaking at a conference in munich. >> we have gotten used to conferences and words put into hope, but what we need is action, and ac

agreement according to the spokesman for the main syrian opposition. they say the al-qaeda linked group must be part of any deal if russia and the syrian government are serious. a ceasefire has been agreed by the u.s. and russia for syria to come into effect on saturday but the fighting is ongoing in several areas especially around the city of aleppo. this is pictures of rebels fighting kurdish forces. james bays has more. >> reporter: for almost five years the death toll has mounted. every day there has been bloodshed and atrocities. now the latest attempt to end all that. this document released jointly by the u.s. and russia. the two countries have been working on plans on a lull in the violence since a meeting in munich earlier this month. russian foreign minister had wanted a ceasefire from march 1. u.s. secretary of state john kerry argued that will allow russia more time for bombing to change the situation on the ground, but ever since that meeting there has been delay and so in the end russia has got its way. >> russia will work with damascus. t

already, according to the syrian research center, 470,000 syrian dead, 1.3 million injured, syria is burning as the americans and russia are talking hitch critically about syria. saudi arabia is definitely in a bind. it is still involved in yemen. we are not seeing any end to that question there, so saudi arabia among an arab coalition is involved in yemen, and now it's committing forces and committing the kind of strategy needed to fight isil on the ground. what does it mean by that? well, to a large degree, the saudis are calling washington's bluff, because for a long time, the obama administration has said we cannot go on the ground, we are not going to fight any further bombing, because regional powers needs to step in, now the saudis and turks are saying we are ready to step in, what are you going to do with us to fight isil. that, the united states has to answer. >> thank you, very much for that. >> now, iraqi militias involved in renewed fighting outside of tikrit, a town that was controlled by isil. the fight is concentrated on neighboring oil fields and iraqi forces say they

a syrian refugee shot this video. this man spent an hour on the island before being ferried to a nearby island. >> there is maybe four or five military, and a lot of people, refugees. they didn't give us anything. just they told us wait to the boat. there is no place to -- to sleep or anything. >> reporter: here it is a different game all together. migrants play afternoon soccer with the volunteers who care for them. organizations like this network, run shelters in buildings loaned by the municipality. it's an entirely volunteer-based effort. but here too, the military is acquiring a role. as europe becomes increasingly wary of new arrivals, its response is increasingly military. this is the new reception center. the government has been trying to get it built for five months. now the military has taken over and done it in just three weeks. the importance of this camp is not just that it can house a thousand people, which could be vitally important in the months to come, it's that here fingerprinting will happen quickl

. >> syrian government forces have launched a major offensive from the north of aleppo and captur ed several strategically important towns. they're trying to cut supply lines to aleppo. they've captured the aim is to break through rebel-held territory to reach the pro government villages. by doing this the government would cut off rebel fighters in the north and prevent reinforcements from getting through. we have reports from southern turkey close to the syrian border. >> this battle can change the balance of power. the syrian army and it's allies are taking it town by town in the northern countryside of aleppo. with the help of russian air power the government is advancing. civilians are caught in the cross fire and the heavy bombardment is forcing many families to leave. >> look at the situation. look at those people who are arriving. all the roads are closed. they're surrounded by the regime and isil. where should people go? there are no homes, and no camps. >> thonce a free syrian army commander in aleppo explained the objective from the campaign. the army he said is pushing nor

report accused the syrian regime of quote inhumane actions. against sir ran civilians on a scale the u.n.'s words amount to exeter my nation. with the destruction of two main hospitals in aleppo by russia and regime attacks over 50,000 syrians are now without any access to life-saving assistance. humanitarian organizations are responding but ongoing military actions by russia and the syrian regime as well as pro regime forces are making access to populations in need increasingly difficult. isil is virtually non-exist jents. russia can no longer claim its air strikes there are doing anything other than supporting regime forces. as they mount what the united nations has called a systematic and widespread attack on civilians. they forced tens of thousands of innocent syrians to flee for their lives. with that i'll take questions. >> we'll start here. >> since there's a map on aleppo, what is being done to help the rebels near that area that are fighting daesh. there's a big long solid line i can see with the red rebels and purple daesh could be u

they are attacking syrian rebels. it is believed there is a great deal of concern that there is particularly many suffering malnutrition. brent: i have to ask you go, we are reporting that the machine is using to its advantage right now and being supported by these airstrikes. considering the not so good relations between turkey and russia. >> the turkish prime minister has condemned these. they are looking towards the european union. they are warned that turkey will not do anything until the europeans put pressure to and these airstrikes. rather than just a simpson. brent: thousands are stranded, waiting to continue their journey. that number has skyrocketed in the space of just a year. many of those migrants will be hoping to come here. germany. the office that processes asylum applications has been heavily criticized in recent months. the process is slow and unwieldy. they have announced new steps to improve the system. >> things are simply taking too long. authorities just aren't set up to register and process so

today there is no city where we don't have syrians. in a town next door to syria. 60 persons of the population are syrians. only 40 persons are turkish citizens. you can imagine which type of social economy with the consequences we are having today. those in the camp, we can give all the facilities. and these conferences are timely. because we have to take care of all the children. we spent $10 billion only for those who are in the camps. for the rest -- in other cities, there are several calculations, additional social costs, economic costs. recently i am very proud of my nation that throughout these five years crisis there has not been any anti-syrian refugee or ant antimigration demonstration in church. we opened our houses universities and hospitals. if they have a certificate from syria, they have any university, or any entrance exam. if a syrian in his or her hand has a card saying he or semi is from syria, can get any aid. why in church they have to have additional certificates. last week, with the decision, we have decided to h

it is home to tens of thousands of displaced syrians.

syrians nowlion homeless. more than half the country is homeless, outside the country, refugees inside, like the people you show trying to flee the vicious fighting, and the indiscriminate bombing of the russian air force, iranian troops closing in, a terrible situation. there aren't a lot of good options, but we in the west need to do more to help these people. >> you have accused the white house of a lack of purpose and military strength in the face of this iranian-russian-syrian axis. what more would you want the u.s. to do? in a washington post op-ed adds that i've published last week that i published with jim jefferies, we have enormous respect for president obama. this is a difficult situation, but we are not meeting with strategic clarity and purpose. we are giving a lot of money to refugee relief, we and europe and canada, but not using our political and military weight to try to bring about the creation of humanitarian corridor sponsored by the united nations into the cities. there is starvation and s

the syrian airstrikes have helped the syrian army to make major inroad. not all of it strategic but the reality is the balance of power has changed. the opposition is losing in the north and in the south, and that's why, if you listen carefully to what they're saying in the delegation in did geneva, aggressive. at this particular moment they have a sense they're winning and things are going their own way. >> they've been claiming before these talks because there what is a whole confusion saying they had started, opposition wants the stopping of bombing of certain areas and in a sense they are panicking now because they're seeing these advances on the ground. there had been no condition of a cease-fire for these talks. what options are really on the table not just to attend the talks? >> very limited. if the opposition is in a very difficult place between the hard anthe rock and a hard place. what is happening the armed rebels are saying look what the airstrikes and the syrian army are doing. i don't expect the opposition to talk to the syrian government b

this comes after yesterday's roundup from the main syrian opposition group, the syrian national coalition which say it's listed at least 15 violations by the syrian regime. accusations leveled against russia on the first day, however the second day, sunday, there have been a few that have been listed, so politicians, while leaders are saying it's largely holding, however on the ground, it is a relative thing. although violence decreased, there are these violations and people are questions is it something that you can say relatively that this is largely holding or is it breached or not breached and that's what it comes down to. >> we know there have been momses was humanitarian aid once the ceasefire had started. do you know if that aid has been delivered as yet? >> we're so unsure with regards to that, because the places where the aid is needed most are places that are either under the control of isil fighters and there are nobody is able to reach them, neither the syrian regime, the russians or the u.n. or the opposition, or they are areas that are under the control of the russian regime

government and he use the phrase of syrian republic and syrian army and i think this reflects the real orientation of russia and means that russia did not change its opposition and it is still in the same position. >> i'm going to have to interrupt you sir for which i apologize and have many other stories we want to get to on the news hour and thank you for your time. >> lebanon's prime minister says he will visit golf states soon after saudi arabia cancelled 4 billion aid payment to the lebanese military and they will continue to keep out of regional conflicts and saudi arabia accuses lebanon of failing to back it in its on going dispute with regional rival iran. one area where saudi and iran found common ground is around oil and riyadh is trying to stabilize it at a ten year low and the state of texas they will see what other solutions can be found and john is in houston. >> reporter: the storm clouds over houston are a fitting back drop for the brain trust here and the world oil leaders agree on one point there is no hope of a quick fix for oil prices and international energy agency

members of the syrian support group also agreed to ramp up humanitarian aid in the country. in cuba at this hour, a historic first meeting ever between the leaders of the two biggest christian religions. cuban tv is broadcasting these images, pope francis and the russian orthodox patriarch kirill meeting at havana's airport moments after pope francis disembarked from his flight. many expect them to issue a joint statement calling for peace in the middle east. pope francis will be in cuba for only a few hours before he heads on to mexico for a five-day visit. those pictures, amazing. martin is here at the big table with me, i religious affairs correspondent. that is something that the world has not seen for 1000 years, right? >> this particular meeting, the russian patriarch and the pope, no. there has been occasional meetings between different patriarchs, particularly patriarch constant opel -- to the throne of st. peter's, but this is actually -- it's a much larger community, but more importantly so much more the russian community.community, >> let's talk about why this not

another correspondent is on the turkish side of the syrian border. with all the activities or almost collapse of the talks in geneva, what's happening there on the ground? >> reporter: no diplomatic break through in geneva, but one here for the syrian government. they have managed to cut through rebel-held territory. they really unleashed heavy fire power. what they achieved in the past three days, really, is what they have been trying to achieve for the past three and a half years. the opposition has told us that they were no match to what was unleashed because according to the syrian organization for human rights is more than 500 air strikes. there were civilian casualties and hundreds of families have fled to the turkish border. this operation is just the first phase. the offensive, the aim was to reach the pro-government towns of cutting through rebel held territory. they have separate opposition controlled cities from the aleppo countryside which means from the aleppo border, they've cut their supply line. by lifting the siege of nubul zahraa, t

the collapse of the syrian i can't talks in just two days. while further attacks are under way in aleppo. we will have the latest on the fight from near the border but first from our can't in geneva. >> reporter: date after peace talks broke down in geneva it is becoming clearer how harder it will be to get all the parties back to geneva on 25 february. he said it was just a temporary pause in these peace talks. we heard many times since last night from the hnc, that's the main opposition party here, they will be departing today. they say they have no intention of coming back on 25 february until they actually see some of their demands being met. until, they say, that the lifting the siege has happened in syria and that there's more humanitarian aid getting in and some political prisoners are released. these are the conditions that over the past several days they've insisted needed to be met before formal negotiations could happen. on the syrian regime side, that's going to be very difficult for staffan de mistura to convince them to do that.

million syrians. the london conference goal is to give all these countries financial support, hoping to stabilize the refugee situation where they are to keep them from fleeing to the eu. ki-moontary general ban says leaders gathered in london not only to get money, but to show solidarity. >> the crisis in syria -- the international community bears a heavy responsibility for failing to end it. $8.5 billionleast are necessary to assist were victims -- war victims. norway has pledged more than $1 billion over the next four years. if world powers do not step up now, the world -- refugee crisis could get worse. genie: for more on the conference today, let's bring in lucy fielder in london. what more can you tell us? lucy: this has been a day of somelarge pledges so far,s 8 billion euros required. merkel has said this could be a day of hope everyone contributed their share. unhcr has warned that last year its projects were funded by just 50%. there was a shortfall in funding. a lot of the funding came in a

. >>> russia says it has started ceasefire negotiations with rebel groups in five syrian provinces. ♪ >>> i'm lauren taylor this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up. final day of campaigning in iran as people get ready to go to the polls in two elections. documents show a european telecoms giant sold surveillance equipment to a secret branch of the egyptian government. >>> plus -- >> i'm phil lavelle in los angeles where we are days away from the oscars, but it is who was not nominated that people are talking about this year. >>> hello, russia says it has started ceasefire negotiations with rebel groups in syria. it follows an agreement between russia and the u.s. for cessation of hostilities that is set to begin on saturday. let's bring in james bayes at the united nations in new york. james what more do you know? >> reporter: well, this is happening at the same time as other things are happening here at the united nations. and what i think they are try doing is put all of the pieces in place to try to give this idea of a cessation of hostilities the best chance it could h

>> making its first air drop in we seniored syrian towns. you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up on the program, iran prepares to go to the polls for its first elections since agreeing a nuclear treaty. kuwait becomes the latest country to ban its citizens from traveling to lebanon. and calling ahead of the future the material which could revolutionize. >> hello, welcome to the program. the u.n. says it's dropped its biggest air drop of aid. trucks are unable to reach the town last week because it was surrounded by isil territory. but moscow confirming it started negotiations with rebel groups in the country. meanwhile, the british government said that there is evidence that the syrian kurdish fighters, the ypg, are coordinating with the syrian government and russian air force. the group had previously been helped to push isil forces out of territory in northern syria. our diplomatic editor james bays with the latest developments. >> as a meeting of the u.n. security council to discuss the humanitarian situation in syria