jazeera. ♪ hello welcome to another news hour from al jazeera in doha. the top stories, any friends of syria meet in london, hoping to help opposition leaders to back the un conference. hundreds of firefighters continue to battle bush fires threatening sydney. and beijing adopts a new plan to fight alarming air

pollution. and i'll report on libya on the poachers who have become helpers. talks are underway in london to try to lay the ground work for peace talks to end the conflict in syria. foreign ministers from the friends of syria group are pushing the opposition to attend a conference in geneva but the main coalition says it will not go unless assad will be removed as president. >> reporter: syrias war is now the battle for check points like this. in this town east of damascus, rebels break the offense, regime forces fight back, but the rebels prevail. it's impossible to say which

rebel group took this action, but these battles rage across the country. in the damascus countryside, in this bee sieged town, violence continues. even as the fighting continues a planned peace conference, dubbed geneva two finds itself enthralled in controversy. it says it would like to resume discussions outside of the talk. meanwhile the syrian president has said the planned peace conference still has much work to do before it becomes a reality. >> translator: there is no date or factors that help in holding it now if we wanted to succeed. meaning who are the parties

participating in geneva. are these forces representing the syrian people or forces representing the countries that made it. if this force wanted to suggest some suggestion later in which basis do we answer it as a country? who does it represent? >> reporter: with all sides trying to dominate the planned peace conference, it is likely that no one side will come out on top, particularly since the key players such as russia and iran haven't been included. all right. let's speak now to barnaby phillips who is outside of the talks in london. what is the position of the syrian opposition? >> well, we have just seen part of the text of the speech which the leader of the syrian national council within the national coalition will be giving -- or maybe he has

already given it in the building behind me. and essentially he has reiterated their position, which is that they will not attend geneva talks unless it is clear that president assad going is the objective of those talks. he says the syrian opposition risks losing all credibility if it backs down on that fundamental demand. that gives you an idea of the kind of difficulties which the so-called friends of syria are having in the talks how difficult it will be to get them to attend the perspective peace talks we believe may take place in late november. >> what sort of leverage do the friends of syria have over the opposition, and what are the

obstacles still standing in the way of geneva two? >> many obstacles, adrian, it does indeed -- [ technical difficulties ] -- beyond the pail if you would like, so far as the friends of syria are concerned hard-lined islamist groups, those linked to al-qaeda. and what we might call the more modern opposition, parts of it are being helped by some of the countries within the friends of syria, and i suppose that aid, that assistance gives some sort of leverage. but the other argument, certainly that william hague, the host of these talks will be pressing very hard is the following. he'll be saying, look you cannot win this war just as president assad cannot win this war. but the longer it goes on, the more your position is being

weakened. sectarian strife is growing, therefore it is in your interest to at ten these talks. it is definitely an uphill struggle. >> we'll be hearing from william hague a little later this hour as well as secretary of state john kerry. israeli soldiers have shot dead a palestinian man. it says he was a fight we are an islamic jihad group. they say that he helped to plan a bus bombing in tel-aviv last november in which 29 people were injured. in australia bush fires are now threatening the state capitol of sidney. residences are preparing for the worst. >> the conditions are going to

be worse than otherwise expected only this morning. they are getting worse to the point that the fire danger ratings across most of the greater sydney area, the hunter and the fire ground areas of blue mountains in the southern harlans are going to be wide-spread extreme fire danger warnings. >> andrew thomas went out with a fire crew last night. >> reporter: andrew smith is on the night shift for the third night in a row. >> yeah, it has been very busy. >> reporter: normally smith works as a chef almost a thousand kilometers from the town of litco. but tonight he is one of hundreds of volunteer firefighters who have flown in from all over australia to help protect the blue mountain towns near sydney. the hills above the town are

alight. tonight's task is to stop the bush fires traveling towards the town. first an edge of town house needs protecting. >> we made a line of wet dirt so that if any embers do fall down on it, it is not going to catch alight. >> reporter: once the ground is wet, the [ inaudible ] is lit. and within seconds this. the idea is that these flames travel up the hill. the big wild bush fire coming down it. the wildfire can't reach that house or the town of littco. >> it's risky work. >> it is going up and the wind is going to start bringing it back. see these big ones there, if that drops back in here and ignites behind us, that house is

gone. >> reporter: there are hundreds of operations like this going on across new south wales, much of the work being done when it is coolest and the winds lightest at night. >> if we didn't do this tonight this would come straight down the hill into the town. >> reporter: so you are protecting the whole town. >> yes. >> reporter: the concern is already huge but separate bush fires could unite. that could create a mega fire. this is what is being done to stop it. andrew thomas, al jazeera, lithgo. beijing's municipal council has announced its plan to help air pollution. >> translator: our emergency measures to [ inaudible ] heavy air collusion include two major ways, the first is to remind the public of taking protective

measures. the second is to take strip meters to decrease air pollution. the forecast closed roads and airplanes in other cities. >> reporter: you can see it, and i have to breathe it, it's just dreadful, according to the official statistics, today is very unhealthy. that is not as had as it has been when it was hard ardous. they turned the central heating on over the weekend, and central heating like most things in china is powered by coal. they have announced a number of measures to try to control the growth, i.e., to build fewer cement factories and steel mills, and move four

coal-powered heating plants outside of beijing, and stop half of the cars from driving on the roads when things get out of control. these are serious measures, because a, it means cutting economic growth, and b, longer term, it's hard to see while this is going to get better while the country relies on coal for nearly 70% of its energy needs. that was in fact peter ford a journalist from the christian science monitor. here is that report now. >> reporter: autumn days in china never used to be this dark, but years of rapid industrialization means this has become the new normal. it's aggravated by the seasonal burning of crop stocks that are then used as fertilizer on agricultural land. in this city visit ability was

at less than 3 meters. the unhealthy fog also lead to schools being closed. public roads not being used and the airport stopping operations. the pollution levels in many areas are going beyond hazardous on international measuring scales. it isn't just a health and environmental issue, it's also a political one. the smog feeds into growing anger. information on pollution levels and its effect on health is now easily available. the government is pushing for a shift to cleaner energy and has introduced a regard program that allocate $800 million to priority regions that successfully reduce air pollution by the end of the

year. >> we have a lot of [ inaudible ] for instance in [ inaudible ] china and province of china. but reducing these kind of overcapacity, we actually save a lot of energy use. and then china has to have a lot of potential in energy efficiency, and that's another pollution. >> reporter: much has to change in china and change quickly. the world health organization reported that air pollution leads to cancer. the disease is already the here. it's a race against time now to try to turn things around. still to come here on the news hour from the stage to the courtroom where the trial of a ballet dancer accused of sets on the boss with acid.

golden dawn, what will happen to the party. plus we'll take a look ahead at champions league action a little later in sport. ♪ the ballet world is renounce for its artistry on stage and intense rivalry backstage, and no more so than russia's ballet. now one of the dancers is accused of orchestrating an acid attack against his boss. david reports from moscow. >> reporter: this ballet dancer was one of the star soloist. he faces a maximum of 12 years in prison if found guilty of masterminding the brutal attack back in january.

sergei was outside of his apartment when a mixture of urine and sulfuric acid hit him in the face. he had to undergo 22 operations. he can see nothing out of his right eye or make out faces with his left eye, just light and dark. >> first of all i want to tell everyone hello, and i'm really happy to see you. it's important for me. >> reporter:.com mitre was reported to be angry that his girlfriend has been denied any roles in the show. the trial will once again shine an uncomfortable spotlight on backstage intrigue on the company just when they were trying to put the whole affair behind them. two other men are also facing trial.

this man is accused of throwing the acid, and this man of driving him to the scene of the attack. ♪ >> reporter: the controlty has done nothing to dim the ambitions of these girls, dreaming that perhaps one day they toomey take their place on its famous stage. >> translator: we try not to pay attention to all of the skobls, the ballet is one of the brightest things that exist. drn more gruelling than the demands of russian ballet. al jazeera, moscow. parliament in greece is due to vote on whether to cut state funding for the far-right party

golden dawn. john reports now from athens. >> reporter: the resolution is a compromise agreed by the conservative-lead government and left-wig opposition. it parliament may suspend public funding if their leaders are indicted for organized crime or terrorism. >> reporter: it is absurd forys engaged in corrupt acts. this prosecution has been long over due. >> reporter: golden dawn's leader and another five mp's are accused of running an organization that is accused of beatings. a golden down supporter murdered a greek musician last month. it's designed to starve a political force, government and

opposition see as a threat to democracy. but one of the indicted mp's and the party's candidate to be mayor next year predicts it will keep going. >> translator: we can keep going. parties get a lot of money, we were quite shocked when we saw how much is spent parlry parties.creators. the lion's share of greek parties comes from state revenues. this year they got $95 million. golden dawn's share was just over $2 million, and the party says that's far too much in the current economic climate. it wants the state funding reduced by could become theres as

well. sudan's president is in south sudan for talks on the contested [ inaudible ] region. he'll be meeting with his southern counterpart to try to strike a deal. trade and security are among the other issues also on the agenda. in mozambique, a former rebel group says it has ended a 21-peace deal with the government. a military raid on one of its bases forced it to break the attack, it says. a million people are said to have died in mozambique in 1975. amnesty international says that u.s. drone attacks are illegal and could amount to war crimes. they invest gaited 45 drone strikes in pakistan between january and august of this year.

civilians were killed, including the death of a 14 year old boy. and documented rescuer attacks where those who ran to help the victims were killed in a follow-up attack. >> reporter: this is the family of [ inaudible ] they say the 68-year-old mother and grandmother was killed in u.s. drone strike in october of last year. her son says these x rays show the injuries sustained by his children when the u.s. drone fired its missile near their home. >> translator: everyone was working in the field where we have crops, and that's where the drone hit. i thought it was terrorists, and so when the missile struck, it was so powerful some of the

children tumbled down the steps. >> reporter: in a wide ranging report on drone strikes, the human rights organization expressed serious concerns over the death of the people like this. >> people who are clearly civilians, the u.s. must provide compensation and investigate those responsible for the killings. >> reporter: the u.s. has launched between 320 to 370 drone strikes in pakistan between 2004 and last month. the united nations says during that nine-year period, more than 2,000 people have been killed in drone attacks and at least 400 of those are believed to be civilians. it's difficult to get accurate figures because the drone program remains secretive, and journalists are prevented from entering the areas where drone

strikes occur. but that doesn't prevent him leading up the issue. >> pakistan can't afford picking up a rivalry with the united states, but if pakistan's requests are reasonable, the u.s. cannot simply just ignore them. >> reporter: earlier this year, president obama called the strikes lawful and part of a legitimate campaign against terrorism. relations between pakistan and the u.s. have been tense particularly since 2011 when osama bin laden was found living not far from the pakistanian capitol. but the obama administration has requested more than $1.5 billion in assistance for pakistan. and while drone strikes will continue to be a problem, it would appear this relationship is on the mend as the u.s.

prepares its exit from afghanistan by the end of next year. an early taste of winter for some in europe. let's get the details now from everton. >> yeah, that's right. a bit of a mix from weather coming in from the atlantic. big area coming in here, some big downpours on this particular band of cloud, but further inland that's when we see a bit of a wintery mix. further north in southern poland quite a good dumping of snow coming in here. but welcome, particularly because this is a lovely landscape, crisp and sunshine. but down towards sea level temperatures haven't been too bad.

10 degree celsius in kiev, but overtowards the west that's where we have the weather piling in from the atlantic. quite a bit of cloud, wind, and strong winds pushing it's way across france and the united kingdom. as we heard towards the weekend, that wild weather has started to make its way in those weatherern parts once again. make the most of it, because it does turn wetter, adrian. we told you about a disabling condition that devastates the lives of thousands of children. it is found in just a few african countries, and so far there is no cure. but workers in the united states are trying to find one. >> reporter: in the remote regions of southern sudan, uganda, and tanzania, there are

thousands of children like this little boy who are suffering from knotting disease. >> translator: there is nothing to do. the government does nothing. and no one is helping us. >> reporter: a world away in the u.s., the centers for disease control and prevention in atlanta has been studying this unexplained disease since 2009. >> it's a troubling disease it affects children ages 5 to 7 who are well before that, and they start getting progressive bobs of their heads, which gives it the name nodding disease. >> reporter: this doctor has been traveling to the 'em poff riched region for years. studies the symptoms of several

hundred children looking for a cure. there have been lots of studies including environmental toxins, exposures to chemicals during war. we have explored lots and lots of those clues, we still don't have the underlying cause. >> reporter: first discovered in the 1960s, nodding syndrome zins to spread. this little boy in uganda will most likely die soon. he suffers from seizures, his mind is slipping away. >> translator: three of my children already had the disease. two already died. he won't last much longer. >> reporter: it's not uncommon for parents to tie their children to a tree or in a house so they want wander away and

fall into a fire. >> these are children who either live in internally displaced personal camps. the concern is did something happen in the camp, so lots of people have been looking at trying to ask the right questions of what could have happened in the camp in terms of food source, water source, toxins munitions. >> reporter: as the children continue to melt away the best scientists are researching. the cdc have ruled out over 30 explanation for the origin of the disease. >> you can't help but be affected. >> reporter: the world health organization estimates over 7,000 children have already been effected. and that somebody ist. ♪

♪ good tthis hour. the friends of syria are currently meeting in london trying to encourage groups to attend the peace conference this geneva next month. fires are threatening the outskirts of sydney, residents are being told to prepare for the worse. and china is continuing to fight air pollution and smog, shutting down factories to cut emissions by some 30%. more now on our top story, the syrian peace talks. the opposition is to say the

least fractured. some are allied, but others are opposed to each other. the internal opposition is based in damascus and says they will attend geneva ten. then there is the main group, the syrian national coalition, supported by the syrian military council, the free syrian army, and a network of grass works activists. some but not all want toot tend geneva two. the syrian national council has threatened to quit the coalition if it takes part in the talks. and then of course there is the armed opposition. the free syrian army remains the largest group, but there could be as many as a thousand others with between 70 and 100,000 fighters between them. and they too aren't very united many are opposed to each other.

al jazeera has seen the text of a speech by the syrian national coalition president who is at the london meeting. he says the opposition will not attend the proposed peace talks unless the aim of the meeting is to remove president assad. they say they risk losing credibility if they go to geneva without its main goal in mind. joining us now is a member of the syrian national council what do you make of what he said? >> i think it sets the minimum for the consensus of the opposition. a few days ago he made the statement, and he said it was misinterpreted that he will go, and many in the opposition were upset that we're not going to go to geneva unless there is a

clear objection of removing assad. and that will help consulate the opposition. >> what will it take to get him to attend talks in geneva. >> well, there should be one point that the future syria that we're seeking to establish will not have assad or his close group playing any part. we want them completely out. what can happen in geneva two is the mechanism to achieve that goal. >> does it matter what the coalition thinks given that it wasn't represent a lot of rebels fighting on the ground in syria? >> you are right, but this statement i think help a lot consolidate the opposition. a -- big part of the opposition

is from the soft attitude that we will go no matter what. and they said no the objective of the revolution is to remove assad. if you don't go on that premise. we're not behind you. so i think what he said today will help a lot. >> so with such a disconnect. between these talks and those actually fighting on the ground in syria, what do you think will ultimately determine -- i mean at some point, all of the opposition groups are going to have to sit down and start talking, aren't they? >> right. >> is it ip -- diplomacy or fighting? >> both. every party now in syria is

trying to establish better position on the ground so when you go to the talks in geneva you have more and -- and stronger cards in your hand. and i think that's the strategy of both sides the assad and opposition. >> what sort of leverage do you think the friends of syria have over the opposition groups meeting in london at the moment. >> they have diplomatic support. >> what sort of support? >> financial support, and also the mayor issue here is the weapons support, which this is the -- the issue that frustrated the brigades inside. they are not getting the quality of weapons that they are seeking and quantity also. >> so if the friends of syria said we're going to start arming the groups on the ground, would that make the geneva 2 more realistic, or if they threatened to take funding away?

>> well, they may. the goal of the geneva two should be the removal of the assad regime. whether it takes one month, two months, six months, that can be discussed on the table, but the goal should be very, very clear. >> good to talk to you. >> all right. a roadside bomb has exploded in egypt. it hit an armored personnel carrier. four soldiers were injured in the explosion. while in the city of the portside a retrial is prepared to get underway of football fans convicted of inciting a riot. the convictions family say, are politically motivated. sue reports now. >> reporter: a family wedding video. the bride, the groom and all of

the guests. nothing very striking you might think apart from the shot of this young man, a shot that could prove his innocence because this wedding took place on february 1st, 2012. a day of violence between football fans that killed 74 people and injured over a thousand. this man was arrested nine days later. he told the police that he left the match at halftime, stopping for a haircut before heading to the wedding. >> translator: he sat in the middle chair. when we finished washing his hair, the second half kicked off. it was a bit unprofessional cutting his hair while watching the match. >> reporter: the barbara testified at his trial, but he was sentenced to ten years in prison. he is one of dozens of fans now being retried.

his mother said he used to trust egyptian justice but not anymore. >> translator: i thought that there was justice in egypt. i thought i was going to bring my son back home. there is no evidence against him, so how did they find him guilty? we went with his lawyer to all of the sessions. they had no pictures of my son at the scene, not in the first or second half. >> reporter: there is an egyptian phrase you hear here a lot, roughly translated the prisons are full of innocent peopl people. >> i think they will go crazy. things will go crazy, and i don't think with the current political situation that we can afford to re -- to restart the investigations so i think

the -- the army are much more smarter than -- than opening one more issue this time. >> reporter: fans from both sides believe the authorities had a hand in the violence by failing to keep them apart, this was pay back for the fan's part in the 2011 revolution. the families of many of those found guilty said the pressure on the police was just as political. now they say it is time to investigate who is responsible and who is innocent. workers across the united states awaiting a campaign to raise the minimum wage. many are in the service industry and they say what they are paid is just not enough to make ends meet. one employer in the fast-food business agrees.

>> reporter: chick chicken, bur and fries, the standard menu. at this fast-food place the food is custom made. and the motto is better food fast. >> it's a great burger. the quality is excellent. it's good quality greed yens. and my 5-year-old daughter loves it too. >> reporter: in a city's who's jobless rate is 16% in a state where the minimum page is $7.20 an hour, the starting wage here is $12 an hour. >> it makes us want to come in and work harder with them and succeed with them. >> reporter: while service industry workers at food giants like mcdonald's and wendy's are walking off of the job, moo

cluck moo believes a living wage is sound business practice. >> we don't have disgruntled employees, we like to keep them happy and challenge them, and we feel if we get a better worker, and we pay them a little more, we feel we'll get out of it what we're put going it. >> reporter: another key part of the business model, building ties to the local community. >> it is trying to bring back to this city people who are entrepreneurs, people thinking out of the box and meeting the needs of the people who live and work here. >> reporter: but they have much wider ambitions. >> the future is world.c world.com -- domination. i just really believe rapid expansion is in the works for

moo cluck moo. give us 50 years and see what happens. >> reporter: maybe they will now be known as moo cluck moo town rather than mo town. all right. coming up we'll pay tribute to one of the greatest football managers. ♪ on august 20th, al j

♪ hello again. cuba is to ask the un to condemn the trade embargo of the island by the united states. that's the 22nd year in a row that cuba has made the request. cuba estimates that the embargo

has cost more than $1 trillion in damage to its economy, and has stunted the growth of its coffee industry. >> reporter: cuban coffee is liked around the world. we have good quality coffee produced in cuba, and the blockade has had an effect because we can't sell to the united states which is a big coffee consumer. . in peru flooding has killed one person and forced thousands of others to flee their homes. more than a thousand homes have been abandoned. a proposed auction of brazil's largest offshore oil field has lead to violent protests in rio dee ja narrow. many people it is not worth the cost of putting their oil in the hands of foreign investors.

>> reporter: the protests have been loud, and colorful. the workers trying to get to the hotel where the auction was being held. in their way police firing rubber bullets. the protesters made their own arrangements for protection as they pushed forward. >> translator: this is unbelievable. since morning they have been attacking without reason just people in general. there were old people and children, and they are shooting tear gas. >> translator: we understand that the government instead of helping out is helping out the multi-nationals and big business. >> reporter: demonstrators want to halt the auction of the oil field. the rest of the block could be hiding more than 100 billion,

exploiting that would make brazil one of the top oil exporters. but protesters say by letting foreignsed by, the government is selling the country's ticket to health. an accusation the president says is baseless. >> translator: the results of the auction mean that 85% of all income will belong to the brazilian state. >> reporter: meanwhile the justice minister denies the policing has been heavy handed. >> translator: it's clear that the right to protest exists. >> reporter: the winning consortium includes shell, two brazil firms, and [ inaudible ]. the government says petro baz will be the soul operator of the field and everyone will benefit,

but not everyone agrees. the global price of coffee beans has hit a four-year low due to a bumper crop. >> if drinking a cup of coffee is part of your daily grind, it could become an increasingly cheap habit. production of beans will exceed demand. the packed warehouses are driving prices down. on monday the price of coffee tumbled to $1.12 per pound. that's the lowest it has been since march 2009. at the store one might expect to pay around $10 for a kilo gram. a kilo averages 80 to 100 cups a

drink. for the home drawer that means $0.10 a shot. a cappuccino and latte can cost upwards of $3 per cup. starbucks is facing scrutiny, because state media is accusing of it of overprizing. logistical costs and rent often contribute to the price of designer coffee. it is likely at supermarkets where one is likely to get more brew per buck. international attention has been earned thanks to a unique program. tanya paige reports. >> reporter: these tourists are on the trail of a rhino.

they used to be a rare site in th nanibia, but former poachers have been turned into conservationists. last year, only one rhino was poached. compared to 668 slaughtered in south africa. >> translator: i will not repeat that mistake, because conservancy has given me a job. i have settled down now and won't hunt anymore. >> reporter: he works at the ranch owned and operated at the conservancy. they vote on how to spend the profits, either on improvements or beyond the large walls. a soup kitchen for the ellerly, and fuel for water pumps.

the only thing outsourced is the marketing, and although the view really does sell itself three community members are being trained to take over that role as well. but some people feel they haven't benefited enough, and because there is more wildlife, there is more conflict between people and animals. >> translator: there are lots of animals. -- [ technical difficulties ] >> reporter: community. >> sorry to interrupt that report, but we're going to cross live to london where william hague is speaking after that friends of syria meeting held in london. >> people of syria are using tanks torture, artillery scud

missiles and providing over the creation of a humanitarian catastrophe. and members of the coalition have spoken powerfully in our meetings about people starving, women and children in detention, and the record of utter abuse and oppression to which the people of syria are subjected. the only sustainable way to end the conflict is through a political transition in syria, and the purpose of our meeting today has been to send a signal of our resolve, our unity, and our determination in bringing that about, building on the diplomatic progress made during the un general assembly last month. we having a agreed a number of important steps today. first we agreed that we would put our united and collective weight behind the un-led geneva

two process, which lead to establishing a transitional governing body with full executive powers. by definition mutual consent means that it can only be agreed with the consent of the syria national coalition, so assad would play no role in that future government of syria. second, despite the enormous challenges faced by the syrian opposition, we urge the national coalition to commit itself fully to the geneva two process, and lead and form the heart of any opposition delegation. geneva offers the syrian people the best hope to improve their lives. third we agreed with them that we will provide the intensive political and practical support that will be required to give the geneva two process the best chance of success, and forth we agree to a set of principals

attached to today's communique, which has just been issued that underline the unity of our approach as the friends of syrian core group. we agreed to syrian opposition, including moderate armed groups, moderate opposition, and represented by the syrian national coalition, continue to need our strong collective backing. there can be no peaceful settlement without the participation of the moderate opposition, so we pledged our further support to them. and president al-jabra of the syrian national coalition attended our luncheon. he made clear his support for the geneva two process, but of course has to carry others with him by the time of his first of november general assembly meeting, next week, he'll be

able to speak to that later. we are clear as he is, that assad has no role in a new syria. and has asked our help to ensure that women and children who are being detained are achieved in the run upto geneva. these are things restrongly support and ask for support of other nations in the world including allies and supporters of the assad regime to bring these things about. the united kingdom will continue to support theco in addition in its efforts to protect the syrian people through the more than 20 million pounds in support to the opposition we have provided this year. this provides services to the syrian population, including search and rescue training,

power operations, between now and geneva two conference, we plan to announce a further package of uk support, including substantial non-lethal support to the national coalition and working with the general of the free syrian army supreme council. and this is likely to take the form of communications medical, and logistics equipments, and will help them to save lives on the ground. none of us have lost site of the deetening humanitarian disaster. nearly 7 million syrians are in need. the un emergency relief coordinator said yesterday that the un continues to be denied access on the ground to those in need of humanitarian assistance by obstacles placed be the

syrian regime. in suburbs of damascus many syrians remain trapped. this is unacceptable and full access to humanitarian need must be allowed. we have intensified our humanitarian support, including from the 11 countries that met today, and we encourage others to do the same, and we'll be pressing the case for humanitarian access as called for by the un security council on the 2nd of november. the ukhas donated over 500 million pounds of aid to the syria. including food and clothing for people in need of urgent help.

11 countries will continue to work closely together in the weeks leading up to the geneva conference, to ensure it has the best possible chance of success, and the people of syria finally get the political transition that they so desperately need and deserve. thank you very much. we have time for a few questions. >> reporter: thank you very much [ inaudible ] i was struck by what you said this morning when you said if the opposition don't have a role in these talks all they will be left with it is assad or the extremists. you just said that the national coalition spoke of assads record of utter abuse and oppression. so failure is very high, success is very slim, and you are seriously saying that the syrian people will be left with a brutal dictator or a bunch of

g jihadists. >> that's what we have to avoid. the we have to back the moderate opposition, who are committed to democracy, against secretaryism, committed to a peaceful future for all communities in syria. really, what i was arguing this morning is that you can't have a peaceful solution, a political settlement in syria, without a big role for people like that, who believe in a non-sectarian democratic syria. that's why it's important to try to convene a peace process in a conflict that is still worsening, and that is beating extremism. and that's why it is important that we work so closely with them, that we don't abandon them. >> that was william hague speaking after the friends of

syria meeting in london today. sorry about the sport which we missed because of that speech. you can get more sport on aljazeera.com. we'll get to analysis on what we just heard in the next few hours. stay with us. ♪ [[voiceover]] every day, events sweep across our country. and with them, a storm of views. how can you fully understand the impact unless you've heard angles you hadn't considered? antonio mora brings you smart conversation that challenges the status quo with unexpected opinions and a fresh outlook. including yours.