> hello from doha. this is the newshour on al jazeera. >> the peace summit in syria has just begun in switzerland, but already the tension is showing. >> i will finish one sentence. >> one sentence just keep your promise, one sentence. >> syria always keeps its promise. >> also ahead two people killed in the ukraine as police move in

to tear down protestors' barricades. >> the no-go. china champs down on journalists at an anticorruption campaigner. and business in afghanistan being taxed twice. how the taliban and afghanistan are cooperating over cash. >> it has taken eight months of planning and three years of devastating war to get them around the table. the peace talks on syria known as geneva ii has begun. the meeting has. the negotiations between the syria government and the opposition starts on friday. so far what we have had are the opening comments from all the main players - that includes the two syrian sides and ban ki-moon, the secretary-general who you see and major players from the u.s. and russia. as you'd expect, they are talking tough even at this early stage. >> translation: syria the

independent state shall do all that is necessary to defend itself as it deems appropriate. and that, without listening to all the cries, the statements, and the positions that have been announce the by many. such are pure syrian decisions. >> that was walid al-muallem the diplomatic foreign minister for syria. you had talked about mutual consent. the phrase that came own from geneva i. and you listen to the speeches, sergei lavrov, no sign of mutual consent there in all the speeches. >> no, and listening to the language ban ki-moon had said he wants constructive language, he wants them to try to find a way forward to save syria as he described it. we heard from the syrian opposition and government, and

both wanted to talk about the most brutal cases of what happened over the last three years. they want to talk about all the violence that has occurred in syria. not a lot of talk about the new syria and how you find a way forward. not a lot of common ground. i think also what was evident it some of the difficulties there'll be in negotiating between these parties. that was evident, i think, when the syrian foreign minister walid al-muallem was speaking. his speecheses are long and he went way over his allotted time. people were asked to speak for about seven minutes and his speech was well over half an hour. it's useful for us to listen to ban ki-moon trying to get him to stop speaking, trying to tell him that really, your time is up and you have to finish your speech. when you lisp listen to the clip

think how difficult it will be to chair the negotiations which are supposed to start here on friday. let's listen. >> can you just - 20 minutes, you have spoken longer than 20 minutes. >> minister secretary you spoke 25 minutes. i came here. >> no, no, no, please. >> i came hours in the airplane. a few minutes to end my speech. this is syria. >> i will give you another opportunity, okay. >> another 20 minutes, no. i will summarise, i will finish one innocence -- one sentence. >> one sentence, just to keep your promise. syria always keeps its promise. >> the next speech. the president of the syrian national coalition representing the main opposition groups. listen to what he said.

>> translation: when we say in the syrian delegation that we have come for a political solution, we have no time to waste. we are determined to exert every effort to reach the successful conclusion to this conference. therefore we believe that the u.n. resolution 2118. that was the basis of the geneva conference. based on geneva commune quay of 13 june 2012. this is a historic resolution and a real opportunity solution in syria that would avoid the bloodshed in syria. >> going back to james bays. can you explain something to me, james. moving forward, we are going to hear from a slew of world leaders today. and then the talks, as you point out, that lakhdar brahimi will chair will be an friday. will it matter what we hear from

the other players. it has to go down to the bilateral talks, don't they? yes, the reason for this big gathering, more than 40 countries, it's the british foreign secretly who is addressing the gathering, we'll go through a long list. the rest of the day they'll speak in the hotel in geneva. the idea is to get international support, to show the whole world is invested in the protest and this is the only deal in up to, that the two sides will have to come up with a transitional government. that has been brought into doubt by the speech by mr walid al-muallem that we heard in the last hour. he made two important points in his speech. he said, "yes, we come here to negotiate and we'll come and talk to the opposition and see what we achieve. he said if we come up with a deal we'll take it back to

syria, and he said, "we'll have a popular vote there. we'll put it to the people in syria in a referendum." worth noting, i think, in syria the assad family has been in family for 44 years, and no independent observers belief there has been a free election. the other thing continues if the talks continue and goes to a second round the syrian government insists it will not be in montro or geneva where the talks move on friday. talks then, any second round, further rounds have to take place inside syria. >> keep thinking about the phrase mutual consent. it will be interesting. james bay live recollects where ban ki-moon chairs the conference. first day, they'll take a day off then the talks between the government.

william hague was the last speaker, the u.k. foreign minister. he is still speaking. around 40 counties attending. we'll hear from the different leaders throughout the day here on al jazeera. >> moving o other new, two protesters have been killed in ukraine. they refused to leave independence square despite a new law. the stand-off began in november after the country's president backed out in favour of the closer ties with russia. tell us about the two deaths, gen fer. >> the prosecutor general confirms to al jazeera that two men have been killed, one early this morning, one later. both have gunshot wounds. what kind of ammunition was used. in the last 24 hours or so, we saw the protesters move closer

to police. there used to be a stand-off area, a no-go zone between the police and prosecutors. bus, police lines and the protesters were right up against the police lines. the police are trying to push them back with their fields, working in concert. we were at the drim sight. we saw one of the bodies of the debt. those bodies are at the core nor's office waiting for an autopsy. the question will be what ammunition was used to kill two people at the clash fight. the question is will this escalate the situation. when we were at the site police were making broadcasts telling the people that if they move toward the police it would be considered an aggressive action. in response the people moved forward, climbed up and moved closer to the police station, and in the last hour or so they began to build new barricades.

a tense situation. the please and protesters on top of each other, and two anti-government protesters killed so far. >> the resolve of the protesters must be quite something. because seeing from you it looks freezing cold. there's snow and yet they go in respect. they are defying the law now, effectively. >> that's right, there were new laws going in effect that restrict the right to assembly, the freedom of speech, putting restrictions on mobile phones there were a number that received text messages saying they were taking part in an illegal demonstrations. the resolve is humbling when 8 o'clock this morning explosions began, heart here in independent square. hundreds of men swarmed to the

square armed with bats, armed with sticks, and protected all the barricades here. and as the news spreads that protesters have been killed at the clash site, that's a couple of hundred metres to the left of me here more people have swarmed here recollects and weapons, there's a lot of fire. we are not sure what they are firing, it looks like rubber bull elts. the protesters are against them, in their face, and they sang the national anthem. they talked about their rights despite the fact this could face arrest. >> thank you. live in kiev. >> in pakistan seven people have been killed in a bomb attack targetting a police van used for a polio vaccination drive. it happened in the north-west. the bomb was in a bicycle and was detonated when the van

passed by. three workers were killed in the southern city of karachi. there has been 30 attacks on polio vaccination teams. in october 2nd people were killed by a pom that went off near a hospital. >> in december gunmen shot dead two police men. in the same month unidentified gunmen opened fire. that killed one person. we have more from karachi. >> ever since the c.i.a. carried out the operation to get osama bin laden through vaccination, there has been widespread fair and receptment about these campaigns. when we visited polio workers they told us people open the doors and call them c.i.a. agents. there is is lot of resentment

among the people. >> having said that all concerned circles, including leaders put their weight behind a government campaign. pakistan is along the three countries where polio is endemic. we spoke to others in the tribal areas where workers have been targeted. various political agendas have been at play which are behind attacks in polio teams. three dozen workers have been killed. the government is doing all it can, but that's not enough. the government continues to fight the taliban and control of some areas. >> to keep businesses running smoothly many have to work with the government and tal back officials. they often end up paying taxes twice over. jane ferguson has that story. >> this is a government tax man at a mine in a remote area of warduck province, collecting

money. behind him are taliban tax men doing exactly the same. neither side seems phased. this is how things get done here. >> in these areas the taliban walk around with their guns, there's no government here, we are two people here from the government, don't pressure us, there's no problem for us. >> the miners have a difficult job gathering limestone in an atmosphere of compromise. both sides of the war are being paid. this taliban commander says he's collecting tax for the islamic emirate of afghanistan. this is what they called the taliban. >> translation: there are different people here in different trucks. depending on the weight we take different charges. >> the drivers say the taliban

tax is simpler. corrupt police officers are the main problem. to them legal tax and extortion from government police are one and the same. >> the taliban tax us once and don't stop us on the road. we pay tax to the government and they take more money from us. >> there's a strong taliban presence. for the group, the money it collects is as important as maintaining the semblance for its own government. provincial and national government officials didn't respond to the request for comment on the situation in war dock's mines. it's not clear how long the area has been operating under the kabul government and the taliban. what is clear is that both sides seemed willing to accept each other's presence.

>> still ahead - fear in south sudan. churches become refugee centres as people flee fighting between the government and rebels. >> nepal's politicians get together to draft new constitutions. we'll tell you the problems they are facing. >> we are expecting to see the progress. >> a host city for the brazil world cup - exclusions have been threatened. >> in china a prom meant dissident is on trial. xu zhiyong faces five years in prison. a dozen people gathered outside of court to protest innocence.

journalists were forbidden to film. our correspondent and other journalists were physically moved by police. >> there's extreme sensitivity from the court case. normally they were about to stand for trial, and we are being pushed by local police. all the media here today are being heard and moved out of the area. an extremely sensitive case. this didn't happen to the court case. this shows how serious the central government is taking its place against xu zhiyong. he's charged with attempting to disrupt order. because of a campaign he started against edou eyeings clause in china. he was campaigning for the

right. he was detained in july, charged and arrested in caught. and during his detention made a bold statement about china's still right movement. he had this to stay. >> translation: however defeated and absurd this country is, we need citizens to stand up. i'm proud to put the word citizen in front of my name. >> we are 400m before the court. we are not going to be allowed to get near it. the court case will take a day. it's expected that he will receive a maximum sentence of about five years. it's a secret court case. om two members of his family will be allowed to attend. >> a senior pro-government

activist has been shot and wounded in thailand. a state of memory si has com -- emergency has been declared in ban cock. >> a pro-government red-shirt leader has been shot. he has a radio program, and was shot out front of that office. we know that at least 39 casings were found by police in front of the office. they said it was from an ak-47 rife the the police are investigating what happened. we spoke with a family member. he was hit in the arm and leg and is being treated. this is something we haven't seen, protests on the streets of bangkok and movements around the country, posterior or anti-government and that is targetting a leader. this is the first time we have seen that. the state of emergency - first

thing. the government, when they announced the extra powers, that they can disperse crowds. they said they won't do that just yet. down n the streets, we went through several of the protestor stages. it's just as it has been. if not, maybe a little more deviolent because of a state of emergency that has been enacted. they said they'll ignore that because they use the police to enforce the laws on the street. not the army. both sides don't want an escalation in violence. the mood on the streets is same as it has been in the aft couple of days. it will be interesting to see how the government enacts. >> the south sudan government recaptured an oil down from the

rebels. we have this report from the town at the center of the fighting. >> a mother and her five children gather around for their only meal. cramped outside in a courtyard of what was once a hospital, they are among thousands forced to flee because of fighting between rebel forces and south sudan government. hospitals, schools have been transformed into refugee camps. >> this elderly man tells us that he is blind in one eye and is unable to receive the medicine he needs and fears he will not be able to see at all. it has run out of medicine, in desperate need of splays. >> antibiotics, materials for wounded people.

iv fluids for people. >> on tuesday, less than 24 horse announced that the government had retain malay cow. the minister visited the town. he was keen to show it was safe for people to return to their homes. although government troops appeared in control - several rounds of life gunfire, a fear sign that the situation was continues. although malacow has not written, the signs of tef dags are clear. bodies lie on the streets, testament to a bloody and gruesome nature of the conflict. >> by the looks of it, someone used to make a living selling mobile phones and electronics. everything here is destroyed, everything here has been burnt down. it's the same scope as the other

up tos that have witnessed fighting. >> as government forces and rebels fought for control, people were left to fight for themselves. now the fighting subsided, they are left to bury the dead much there's a feeling that they are forced to pay the price for a conflict they have no interest in. >> translation: everyone has to un item and work togetherment we don't want tribal problems between us, we are all brothers. >> we are dying for no reason, this is not right. there's no president, no government, nothing. >> at the cathedral the pastor takes me warned what too is a refuge for the displaced. men, women and children whose lives have been destroyed. >> the question of looting is very big. then the other question is... >> the children are oblivious to what has happened, smiling at the camera, unaware of why they

are being filmed. like their young nation, their infant years are filled with challenges. >> we are going to get a check on the world weather. rain in australia in summer. surely not. >> well, yes, and it's been heavy and slipping south wards. let's look at the satellite picture. normally you expect the showers to be in the north. over the past few days they've been tracking further south wards. here is the area of low pressure. that's where the most intense rain is, it's given us heavy down pours and flooding. behind it there's yet more rain. across the north we see a lot of heavy rain. we see 171mm of rain in 24 hours. now, that's easily enough to give us some flooding. but for broomthe worst is over.

as we head through the next few days the wetter of the weather will be in far north. further south as well. for some of us in the southern parts of western australia, we'll see heavy rain not only on thursday, but as we head through friday. this can give some of us around 200mm of rain. that will give us flooding as well. for western australia, it looks like we'll see more heavy down pours as we head through the next few days, as we head to the north, there's within a lot of heavy showers. jakarta is under water practically. there's more heavy down poured to come over the northern parts of borneo. >> the family of an american man who disappeared in iran nearly seven years ago say they have new evidence to suggest he is held by the government. bob levinson is the longest-held american hostage in history. they hope president hassan

rouhani will find and release him. >> family photos of a happier time when dad was in the picture. christine has not seen her husband in person since 2007 when he disappeared whilst visiting iran. she halls evidence that could help to locating him. >> these documents are, in our belief documents that show bob was arrested on kooesh island and he had medical issues in the prison they held him in. >> the family admits they can't prove the document's authenticity with the proper language, in the proper form. an ex-fd amount employee was working under crack with the c.i.a. something the government has not admitted and something the family and news organizations new, and kept secret, fearing for levinson's safety and feel now is the right time to release these documents.

>> there's a positive development for us, we are hopeful that the hassan rouhani it administration is able to follow up on this. >> the family wants to pressure the u.s. government to step up efforts to save one of their own. >> they sent him, left him. that was a moral wrong. they need to fix that. >> i need the help. united states government. >> the last images the families saw of levinson game three years ago. >> i believe he is working as far as he can. >> christine and dan hope to travel to iran to talk to the officials, or at least to get more information on the whereabouts of robert levinson. >> well, last year was one of the hottest on record. in a moment on the newshour, a new report on global warming. >> and rafael nadal's square at

the australian open. details a little later.

>> you are on the newshour. we'll take you through the top stories. the syrian government and opposition sat down for the first time to talk about an end to the war. they are meeting in switzerland in part of the geneva ii conference. two anti-government protesters have been killed in the ukrainian capital as riot police took down barricades. they refused to leave independs

care. it banned dismoptions, a prominent human rights lawyer has gone on trial. he is charged with gathering crowds to disrupt public order. >> part of the campaign was a push to get government officials to reveal their wealth. >> a report reveals how close relatives of china have moved money to offshore accounts. we'll take you through some and what the report includes. a real estate company owned by the president's brother-in-law in the caribbean. companies in the british virgin outlined by the former premier or his son-in-law. and the daughter of the former premier was named as one of the most powerful business women in the world, is a director with

companies offshore. the use of establishing bank accounts makes it difficult to verify where the wealth came from. we'll talk to an assistant professor at the university of hong kong. is this a moral versus a legal argument. legally the companiesar legit. morally, should the leaders do this with this amount of money. >> hello. it's a complicated question much a lot of wires or transfers were by lyingal means. it's physically impossible for them to transfer illegal means. probably a lot are transferred through. procurement or investment. a lot of this offshore accounts are probably used to set up

those companies to avoid paying taxes to the government. >> does it sort of news provoke outrage, if i can say it in china. i view china as growing and rich. there's a lot of poor people as well. there's a wealth gap, if i can say that? >> absolutely. >> absolutely. so this is also one of the participation reasons. if this news flowing into china, arouse some complicated or sore rehabilitation from average people. actually, people might not be very surprised at this kind of news, as there has already been previous reports about this kind of - similar kind of news, and many of the names are not mentioned, but they have appeared in news in the past

few years. however, with this rising number equality in china, and corruption, for a lot of average people, they will feel disadvantaged when they read this news. >> there was a change in leadership in china, is corruption something which the new leadership talked about and wanting to deal with publicly? >> absolutely, this is what he is working hard on. on everything since he came into power. he has launched a large-scale anticorruption campaign, and so he has claimed that he will fight both tigers and fly, and people have hotly discussed this anticorruption now in china. and this news probably also

further arouse people's interest, this current anticorruption drive. >> thank you for your time today. >> we'll take you back to the top story, the syria peace talks. one group of people that are desperate for success, millions of people, syrians, who had to flee the war. we'll go to our correspondent in lebanon, home to many of the syrian refugees. >> right now we are standing outside a refugee registration center. as you can see behind me it's really busy. the u.n. refugee agencies registers around 11,000 new refugees every week. it's a huge number. with me to talk about this is nan et kelly, the unhcr representative in lebanon. thank you for talking to us today. firstly, my first question would be this conference is happening in geneva, it's a

much-anticipated conference. what is your message to the people meeting there. you are someone that works with the refugees and knows the scope of the disaster. >> the message is to keep front and center in the room, and in the negotiations and be animated by the great extent of human tragedy that is playing outside inside syria. you see if in the faces of little children to the older people. great sadness and lose. futures destroyed. >> you mentioned you are starting the new year 6% funded. that is very little. can you tell us about the funding problems you are facing with the refugees. >> funding is a challenge. we are raising funding throughout the year, and what we have right now and i'm talking for unhcr is enough to keep the programs running and that means

to provide basic food and necessities and through the registration exercise. the real challenge comes when you can't predict when the funding lasts, that's when you need to make the appeal to say please step up and support us so we were able to avert disaster in lebanon. some refugees i spoke to complaint that they are no longer receiving food coupons. i am sure it's a founding program. can you tell us why it's not. >> the world food program went to a blanket program focussing on persons in need of support. it's something we do across all sectors. it meant people who received food were no longer included, a percentage. 75% of reeve gees received food

assistance and what we are doing with world food programs is make sure we have an extensive outreach campaign. if there were persons included in the target, that they - that their needs are addressed. >> there you have it, that's the view interest the craigses refugee agency, which is working with the refugees. now there are arrangement 900,000 registered syrian refugees in lebanon. the number is increasing every day. >> thank you. live for us in lebanon. >> it is not often that military commanders gain widespread popularity. however the colonel's bravery won him the support of the people. his popularity led to rumours of his death may have been an assassination. we have had report from the eastern d.r.c. where the colonel

was kill. >> this stretch of road near benny in eastern congo looks calm and safe. that's what the esteemed army colonel thought when he set off from down. minutes later he was hit by a car and he was kill. his men were shocked and devastated. the convoy was coming from that direction. there were three cars. survivors say when they reached this point people hiding in the bushes fired rockets. they must have this inside information and known he was coming. the soldiers told us that the bushes from burnt by the flames of the attackers. survivors say there was one or two minutes of heavy gun fire and it was over. he was killed on the spoke and the government suspects adf residents were responsible.

we met him several times last year when he commanded groups against the m23. he was credited with their defeat and became a hero. he was deployed to lead commando fighting the adf. when he was killed, people were angry and took to the streets many don't believe he was killed by rebels. demonstrations were organised. he said it's impossible the rebels killed him inside army territory, and that the killers must be from within the army. >> that area has a lot of traffic. the congolese army is going up and down there. the area is under the control of the army. >> corruption is widespread. the east is lawless. the powerful profited in the disfunctional stat uts quo.

they were unique and skilled. many believe he was a threat by somebody more powerful. the army says it's conducting an investigation. >> they cannot conclude immediately, because there is no capture. we are waiting for the suggestion. we have the job. >> after the assassination printers made a commemorative poster. he was seen as brave and dedicated to make this country better. whether or not his killers faced justice, to people here, his death is a lose. >> parts of north america are in the middle of a polar vortex. however there is evidence that the temperatures around the world are rising.

>> the u.s. national oceanic and atmospheric administration pulled together millions of measurements from satellites recording air temperatures all over the globe. we have seen this 2013, as the fourth warmest year on earth. it means nine out of 10 of the warmest years have occurred since the year 2000. >> importantly the warming trend which is apparent in recent years is in evidence both on the land and in the lotion. >> average land temperatures were one degree above 20th sent jury. the oceans were warm i by half a degree. >> the last time they were this warm, it was due to elnino,

causing weather such as floods and droughts. 2013 didn't see elnino conditions. with oceans arm, it's feared the next elnino cycle could be more dramatic than last time. a warmer earth means a warmer atmosphere, meaning storms like last year, hotter land conditions and more drought and bushfires like these in australia. this shows the earth as a whole is warming. it will help those forced to adapt. >> not to debunk everything, the east coast is bracing for another spell of cold whether. teemp tours are dropping below the average. thousands of flights have been cancel. >> from new york city. john terrett with more.

>> 7th avenue and 31st street and it's like a fairytale as the snow comes down. this is pepz station, a major railroad terminals in the city and in the country. there is a very, very big storm barrelling down on the east coast of the united states. stretching all the way from virginia. all the way up to massachusetts and all points in between. we are expecting somewhere around about 30 centimetres of snow. we have seen around 3,000 flights cans eld for the text day, which will be wednesday. 700 flights have been cancel. if you were thinking of coming to the north-east of the united states. you better think again or your flight may be delayed. as far as state government is concerned. washington d.c. is closed. as you come up the country state

by state by state the governors were declaring states of emergency or they are telling people to stay where they are and not venture out until they have to. >> still to come australia creates kill zones for sharks, to protect popular swimming and surfing beaches. and real madrid take on elspan yol in the copa del rey competition. all the sport coming your way.

>> welcome back. nepal's health industry is

facing a crisis after doctors decided to continue their strike against alleged government interference in medical education. thousands of patients have been left without care as most doctors joined the strike. we have more from the capital kathmandu. >> for the third day in a row doctors across nepal strike, protesting against the splittizisation of the medical facilities. graduates do not have adequate training of the thousands of patients have been affected by the strike. >> translation: my aunt had to get her stitches cut. kathmandu is an expensive place. >> nonemergency services have been cut off the the hospital sees around 3,000 patients every day. >> doctors at the hospital provided outpatient service, but refused to do so inside the hospital. they say they are committed to

their patients, as long as the government does not mean demands, the protest will continue. >> the person behind the strike is dr casey, known for his work. he is on a hunger strike. dr casey began his fast on january the 10th. >> his body is starving. we should join hands and ask the government to do something. >> a quick calculation suggests that annual number from students is around $1.4 million. undergraduates are paid $45,000. graduate studies cost $135,000. government inaction is due to corruption, they say. we tried to contact dr sharma.

his phones were turned off. >> the governing body of all doctors threatened to resign on mass. this is about a boiling point. >> 200 doctors handed in their resignations. the man has been fighting to save the profession and patients - he's starving himself to death. >> politicians in the pile finished is meeting after several failed attempts. last november an assembly was elected to do the jobs. they finished the constitution within a year, but they haven't been able to agree on the government. >> fisheries officers in western australia will be allowed to kill sharks venturing into zones. one designed to protect swimmers and sushers at the popular

beaches. this from andrew thomas. >> we are the fish we love to fear, go to any australian beach and the conversation turns to the chance of being attacked given that the chance is also he mote than it was. in western australia, of the 20 fatal attacks. seven are in the past three years. to direct tourism, the state government is taking action, baiting big hooks with meet, authorising the killing of any shark. we are talking about destroying the large shark that have proven to be a direct threat. there has been big protests. at an aquarium in sydney experts lined up against the policy. >> anything looking at

targetting apex predators could end poorly. >> if we remove sharks from the picture we'll have huge impacts. >> protesters threaten legal action and direct disruption? a. with those threats attempts to get melbourne fisherman have been abandoned. government employees will do the job. but they are reluctant. more benign action is taken. a computer sends out a tweet when the sharks are picked up. and people can make an informed decision about whether to join them in the sea. that is less reliable than moving the sharks entirely. the chances of being close to a

shark and bitten is small. there is a chance, and one that the government says it has a duty to do something about. >> the icebreaker that rescued dozens of people has returned to australia. the "aurora australis" rescued many. the rescues efforts faced difficulties. a chinas icebreaker got stuck during the rescue mission. >> let's check the sport. what is happening in the tennis. >> good news for rafael nadal. he survived a scare to meet the violence of the australian open. he avoided becoming a victim as he took on grigor dimitrov of bulgaria. the spaniard struggled with blisters on his hand. despite that rafa fought back taking the next two on a tie break and saved three set points in the third to wrap up the

match in four sets, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2 the final so far. rafael nadal faces andy murray or roger federer. both players are battling it out. roger federer is leading by two sets. the third set has gone to a tie breaker. >> the big shock came in the women's when azarenka judges impossibled out. azarenka's defeat ends her 18-match run at melbourne park, dating back to 2012. >> i didn't have the focus on finishing the point so accurate. so definitely changed the momentum. she took advantage of that. it was hard to come back. i know my came was not there

today. it's hard to play someone from so many times before. i knew she was a great player. on the other hand, i would have nothing to use. i was trying to play my best. go for every shot. i'm happy, i was playing great tennis. >> world number 20. winning the last eight games in an hour. against 11th seed. 6-1, 6-0 the final score. >> a stadium struggling to get ready has been told no stadium, no match. they've been given a february 18th deadline. >> we have this report.

>> under six months until the world cup and the stadium in the city here is one giant construction zone. a flurry of vehicles and activity. the $160 million stadium is so far behind schedule f.i.f.a. secretary gave an ultimate mate 'em to speed things up or risk having the world cup pulled. >> on the 18th of february we, meaning the local organising committee, the government, the city here will have to despite if... >> apologies to interrupting the sports bull fin. this is the saudi arabia foreign minister. >> translation: courage to start a new business. we have a saying in korea, peace

enough. >> apologies for that. looks like we are struggling to get a translation of the saudi foreign ministers speech at the moment. we'll stay with it for now and remind you we are looking at geneva ii in montro. this is the opening day where we'll here 40-odd speakers or 40 countries are there, to make

their points. and on friday there's a discussion. we have heard from a lot of the major players. he spoke to sergei lavrov. we had ban ki-moon and representatives of both sides as well. is number of speakers making their points. they are given a 7 minute limit, we are told at speechers. >> testy times earlier between ban ki-moon and the syrian foreign minister. >> whel we wait for the translation to come through, i hope to check in with james bays, who i can see on a monitor. a quick word on what we have seen so far? >> we have seen a pretty

dramatic exchange and the cas between the two sides. there's a slight translation problem, not provided by al jazeera, but the jagss who are organising all of this. seems to be a problem. it will be interesting of what he'll say. the syrian foreign minister walid al-muallem said there were others in the room who had blood on their hands, spending their pet roe dollars on trying to destroy his country. i think we can now listen to the saudi arabia foreign minister. >> without any conscience or any international laws that prohibit the use of such weaponsment yet the king come of saudi arabia exerted a lot of efforts together with the cultures in

the arab league and the international organization of islamic conference and

>> the north-east gets slammed by snow. a strong storm bringing icy cold temperatures to the midwest dumping a foot of snow along the east coast bustling i-95 corridor. >> secretary of state john kerry saying syria's president can't