first aid to homs a convoy delivers supplies to the besieged syrian city despite coming under mortar fire. ♪ hello and welcome to al jazerra, live from doha with me elizabeth. the main stories on the program. turkish police fire tear gas and water cannon at crowds protesting against an internet crack down. no end to protests in ukraine after political unrest hits the value of its currency. and we follow the coal miners risking their lives underground to fuel the next generation of power stations in pakistan.

♪ ♪ >> it's the third day of the u.n. brokered seize fire in the syrian city of homs. saturday an aid convoy came under fire as it tried to enter the ba sieged city. one driver was injured and the convoy trapped for several hours, now here is the latest. >> reporter: it took most of the day for these aid convoys to get in to the besieged old city of homs. only to come under fire as soon as they arrived. 10s of civilians were injured. >> we got two trucks of aid and one car and some other cars for the u.n. team and mortars started to fall near the place where we supposedly were to deliver the aid material.

>> reporter: the syrian government says so-called terrorists inside the old city were responsible. opposition activists, however, say it was the work of syrian regime loyalists. it's hard to confirm who is responsible for this, but it appears the fragile seize fire was broken, it was agreed that the truce would be in place from six czech a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for three days, but throughout saturday it did not hold. >> i have to stress that parties should refrain from hindering the humanitarian deed and should not put people in jeopardy the human train year workers who aral -- their only aim is to help those people inside. >> reporter: the long awaited humanitarian mission is facing an immense challenge. it was hoped the operation would be manageable after the agreement was brokered by the united nations with pressure from the u.s. and russia on the

syrian government. 83 civilians were evacuated from the old city of homs on friday. to receive humanitarian relief under the agreement. but over 2,000 saville wednesday are stilcivilians arestill insi. the plan was for more to get out saturday. but the pictures show just how difficult the mission is. al jazerra, beirut. >> stephanie decker has more from beirut in neighboring lebanon. >> reporter: despite the challenges faced on saturday the u.n. says that this mission will go ahead, they are trying to find an alternative route in to the old city on saturday its aid workers were in there for around six hours trapped. they managed to identify 222 civilians ready to leave on sunday. they say that there is more aid that can go this today. they are talking about 250 food parcels, 500 bags of wheat. on saturday they did manage to get some aid in to syrian red crescent, says it managed to get 250-foot parcels, 190 hygiene

kits and much-needed medicine. the focus on sunday is saville waynescivilians, they didn't gen saturday and this is a real challenge they are all working as to how they can get in in a safer way and get these people out. now what this whole humanitarian mission has highlighted is the challenge of how to control the various factions and fighters on the ground. i can't kne neavegeneva will bee ground monday. but if anything gets decided at that table, how does that filter through on the ground to make sure that all sides lay down their weapons? new internet law has led to protests in turkey. police fired tear gas and water cannon, at crowds of demonstrators in istanbul. protesters say the new law will give the government greater control of the internet. while in an inter view al jazerra turkey's prime minister condemned the violence. >> translator: i am not saying two wrongs make one right. i am giving you examples.

if they believe in democracy and defends freedoms are they going to defend these by using petrol bombs? why are they burning people's shops. is this the way to achieve it? how could this be the way to fight for freedom. we oppose damage done to private property, our job is to take measures to establish peace and order. >> here is the latest from istanbul. >> reporter: once again, the square in the center of istanbul is the scene of violent clashes between anti-government protesters and riot police. this time the protesters are angered by what they claim is further attempt to curb freedom of expression by the government. what is at the center of this here is the latest internet legislation, a law passed by the parliament a fe few days ago and essentially they say it curbs freedom of expression and is further sign that the government

is trying to control the public through legislation, however, the government says that this will not curb freedom of expression, in fact it will protect it. and it is done in order to ensure that the internet is not misused in order to either expose people's private lives or used as a form of libel us accusations, the protests were very loud. but as soon as riot police entered they disbursed them quickly and ensuing small battles took place in the small alleyways and side streets adjacent to the square. so another sign that there is a segment of turkish society that isn't in favor of the way in which the government is doing business here. however, the prime minister, who spoke to al jazerra earlier

today, seemed unfazed by these challenges and is confident that he enjoys large upon layer at this across the political spectrum. an investigation has been launched in to a hotel fire in saudi arabia that killed 15 people. the blaze left 130 others injured. many were egyptian pilgrims. >> the fire took more than two hours to put out. iran's supreme leader has defended president hassan rouhani against hard liners critical of talks about the country's nuclear program. he asked ey iranians to remain vigilant ideal was struck between iran and world leaders in november. the talks are set to continue. >> translator: no more than a few months aspased since the government took office, authority should be given the opportunity to fish forward strongly. critics should show tolerance toward the government. flood boughters don't rise in live i can't where heavy

rains cause rivers to burst their banks, 38 people killed across the country. nearly 47,000 families have been effected since the start of the rainy season in october. the military has delivered food eight and is moving families from the worst affected regions. vigilantes in mexico have helped federal police arrest more than 200 members of the drug cartel, wearing white shirts the legalized self-defense group rode into the groupings which has been under the gang's control. vigilantes have already forced them from several al other towns. anti-government protesters in ukraine are expected to holds another rally on sunday. they have been angered by months of opposition demonstrations. protests enter a third month. president victor is now back in kiev after meeting his russian counterpart vladimir

putin in sochi. details of the leaders' conversation were not released russian's finance minister has said russia will not give ukraine a $15 billion loan until it pays some of its debts. as neave barker explains from kiev that's not a good news from an economy devastated by months of protests. >> reporter: ukraine's national currency, here it is, it's about $50 also has been fluctuating wildly in value over the last few weeks, last week it plummeted to its last in four year old and it's having a knock on effect of the cost of things here, petrol prices have started to go up and the fear is other goods and services may become more expensive also. the russians have said that they will start offering again their $15 billion financial lifeline, providing, though, that ukraine are able to payback a $3 billion loan for gas. it's unclear whether kiev is, you know, considering its

political state able to do that right now. but other offers of financial aid have come from the united states and from the eeu, they say that they are prepared to offer a stability financial package to help the country, but only providing that lawmakers here bring about an end to this ongoing stand off. the fear there, though, is that this could well start some sort of bidding war between east and west over influence over ukraine's future. two owners of a bangladesh garment factory have surrendered after being charged with homicide relating to a fire two year old ago in which 112 workers died. an investigation found the building had no emergency exits and doors were locked from outside. the owners are among 13 people facing charges in the case. now there have been more protests against corruption and high unemployment in bosnia and hertz go convenient a little sign of the kind of rioting that

left buildings a blaze on friday. tim friends reports. >> reporter: the anger here is still growing. mainly aimed at politicians who the public blame for the country's economic crisis. >> we have had enough. for past 20 years, 25 years, we are suffering from our government. we are not doing anything, we just -- oh, my god we live in a bad country but nobody is do i go anything. >> reporter: unemployment is the a record high. the worst figures in the balance cans. while neighboring countries have made economic progress, bosnia has stagnated. overnight, violence erupted. the targets were government buildings and factories which had laid off thousands of workers. in central sarajevo, government archives and other important documents were destroyed in the blaze. protesters were out on the streets again on saturday. this time demonstrating

peacefully. sarajevo has not seen violence like this since the end of the war in 1995. some of these buildings have stood since the hungarian empire, but now they have been severely damaged by the anger of the crowd. some politicians admit that the public have been let down by an unwielding system of government. >> there is an out cry of the people of bosnia herzegovina no matter where they live to basically bring the judgement over the politics that has produced all of these problems over the last 20 years and and this is basically -- this has a revolutionary connotation in terms of that people are really dissatisfied, they want changes, and they are aware that if they don't go out on the streets and basically do something physically about their destinies, that these politicians won't do much for them. >> reporter: the government has

told some of the protesters hooligans, but even those who did not take part in the violence say they can understand why it happened. and pressure is growing on ministers to take immediate action to somehow revive the economy. tim friends, al jazerra, air area owe. still ahead on the program, suffering in silence, how urban living in isolation are taking a toll on millions of chinese. and the princess and the courthouse, we report on an unprecedented day for one member of the spanish royal family.

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♪ goods to have you with us, these are the top stories a al jazerra. the third day of the u.n. brokered seize fire in the syrian city of homs. on saturday an aid convoy came under mortar fire as they fired to entered the old part of the see sieged city. one driver injured and the convoy trapped for hours. police fired tear gas and water canyons at crowds of demonstrators in istanbul. the legislation gives authorities the power to block some websites. and anti-government protest nurse ukraine are preparing for another opposition rally in the capitol kiev on saturday thousands of government supporters converged near one of the pair indicates. athlete two people died when a tourist train did he trade in the fen of apls after being hit by a falling rock.

the train was left precariously perched on the mountain side. athlete nine people were injured. spain's prison he cesc christina has been questioned over an alleged fraud at a company co owned with her husband. it's the first time a member of the spanish royal family has appeared in court since the respiration of the monarchy nearly 40 years ago. sonya reports. >> reporter: no royal fanfare for the princess. she was calm, almost cheerful as she entered the courthouse greeting the press on her way inside. on the other side of the building there was little sympathy for her plight. republican demonstrators gathered outside. this is one scandal that has fueled anti-monarchy feeling in the country. >> translator: what spaniards are living say comedy. we are being defrauded by the

monarchy, what we need is food and jobs. we as citizens need to take some responsibility. because corruption is a symptom of society's failure to deal with this. >> reporter: this is the outcome of a second attempt to question the duchess about her finances. she is suspected the tax fraud and money laundering at the company she co owned with her husband, he's accused of using his nonprofit organization to em embezzle public funds. investigators have allegedly uncovered payments billed for mayor mansion and private dance classes at their home. her lawyer said she had been looking forward this day to prove her innocence. but one of the groups filing a criminal complaint against the princess criticized her for balky vase i have during questioning. >> translator: we are all listening to i don't know, i can't recall, i wasn't in charge of that. and then in other occasions just incredible. >> reporter: the involvements of

princess cross cristina is one of the most high profile corruption scandals has been a blow for the monarchy, even though the royal household has tried to maintain a distance between the activities and the rest of the royal family, there is no doubt that the damage has been done and it will take an enormous amount of effort to try to reverse that. >> translator: the public doesn't tolerate corruption, stealing funds or tax fraud. and all of this has been reflected on the duke of parma. this is why this case has left the public disenchanted with the royal family. >> reporter: with saturday's questioning over, many will be looking to see how this saga will play out. al jazerra, parma. now, people in the southwest of england are being told to leave their homes as a threat of more stormy weather looms. villages have been cut off and farms under water after weeks of heavy rain. alexi o'brien has more from somerset. >> reporter: i am here which is one of the front lines of floods and the community is planning to

put another layer of sands bag defenses to help protect the houses and the pubs that run along the side of the river. because what's happening is the water keeps creeping up and more bad weather is forecast and more heavy rain and that is a problem for the area. if you look around here, you can see the rise in water. it's raising at five millimeters an hour, it doesn't sound like much, but it makes a difference because just a few meters back there it's well over my head. and further along down the side here, across the water only accessible by boat just now, is the village. 16 families have chosen to stay there, they say it is too much to walkway from their properties right now. hundreds of other families have been evacuated they are now staying with friends and families in areas around here. and the people say, though, it's nit'snot just about their houset livelihoods, they are farmers and farm hands, some of them haven't been able to work since december when some of the flooding first swept through this area. >> increasingly residents are,

you know, as resilient as they are, it's becoming quite difficult for a number of residents, people here obviously very concerned about their village going under water. and so we are very, very keen to insure that we provide as much support as we can as a multi agency response and it's the polices job to lead that response. >> reporter: in coastal areas it's not the flood waters but the wind that is a problem. and forecasts over the next 24 hours some high winds 60 to 80 miles an hour that's more than 100-kilometers an hour and that is going to bring with it somewhats i have waves thanks to an atlantic storm pushing in and that is threatening products across the whole of the southwestern coast the england. now norway leads the medals table after the first full day of competition at the winter olympics. with an estimated cost of $50 billion the games in sochi are the most expensive ever. the black sea resort has a subtropical climate making it popular with russian leaders past and presence as rory has

been finding out. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: in the cool wooded hills above sochi, star lesion camouflaged homes out of sight. russia's most fear some leader loved in region and came here when the pressures of moscow got too much. so does the man country occupying the kremlin. vladimir putin has such a soft spot for russia's summer resort capital that he chose to for the winter olympics. >> it is a great honor for me to address you today and to present the bid of so my to host the winter olympic games in 2014. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: his vision is now a reality but one that has come with a price tag of $51 billion. the most castly orals everythi everything. for one that question why such an expense, this kremlin insider

has an answer. >> olympic games are so important for the russian publ public. but it assures that russia finish its social [inaudible] after the collapse of the soviet union and the period of crisis is over. and now russia able to conduct big international events on the [inaudible] >> reporter: in short, this is about brand russia. and the way countries try to make themselves look attractive on a global stage has a widely used new name, soft power. monocle magazine produces an index of soft power around the world. >> we are living in a world now where soft power has become increasingly important. where the way that people view you, is just as important as the

threat that you can pose. so a lot of countries don't necessarily want to use military might, and they want to be able to rely on other things to either influence other countries, or indeed improve their image in other countries around the world. >> reporter: the much-reported stories of crumbs, human rights abuses and wanton spending have made many doubt of reputational benefits of so my. sochi. however it's probably much too soon to make that final assessment. >> it's difficult to know for sure, of course. it's likely this man here would have been just as enthusiastic about the sochi games as vladimir putin is, but times have changed and of course, russia has changed too, in many ways that's exactly what these games are for. they are an attempt to convince the world that we are in a modern, confident russian era. this country may still like hard

men as leaders, but in these days, even hard then need to know when to be soft. depression is a global problem affecting people from all walks of life. and china is estimated that more than 30 million are being treated but the true figure could be much higher. as part of our hidden hurt series rob mcbride reports. >> reporter: at a mental health facility in the city, staff and patients attend one of the daily exercise sessions. along with counseling and drugs designedded to treat stress and depression, these patients can counts themselves lucky. for every one patient being treated here, it is estimated that there are up to 20 others who should be. college student lee has been here for five months. >> translator: before i came in to hospital, i was unable to communicate with anyone. i was in a terrible state and felt close to collapse

emotionally. i thought about committing suicide. >> reporter: as one of china's leading experts on stress, professor jang ming has seen an alarming rise in the number of patients suffering from work-related mental illness. >> translator: in the past 30 years, the opening up of chinas been very rapid and people feel the pressure and it's unprecedented and i have been paying a lot of attention to occupational burn out which happens among white collar workers and high achievers. >> reporter: the development of china in to a more competition driven economy has resulted in the kind of pressures until now associated with more developed societies. the pressures of the modern urban environment it seems are taking a toll and as with so many other new challenges for china, the potential for growth is astounding one report from shanghai suggests more than 80% of depressed people are currently going untreated.

and this china smaller cities are reached by the same combination of urban pressure and a greater awareness of what stress is, the problem is likely to get bigger. rob mcbride, al jazerra. pakistan has a crippling shortage of electricity lead to go frequent power cuts. the government hopes new coal-fired power stations will helpful but as this report states, coal miners are leaving the industry because of dangerous conditions underground and the threat of kidnap. >> reporter: this is what pakistan's government expects to bring it much needed energy and cash. the coal-rich mountains have hundreds of millions of tons of coal. but 70% of it remains untapped. and those digging out this natural resource don't have any support for the dangers that they face. >> translator: it's very difficult to work. but it's a matter of survival for my children.

that's why i have to take the risks for $300 a month. >> reporter: his children go a sparsely equipped school and there is no proper hospital nearby. the coal industry is struggling with decades-old methods of extraction, limited investment, and poor infrastructure, the only source of light is the lamps on their heads. and oxygen is supplied through a network of air shafts. at the moment, we are 6,000 feet below ground level. and this shaft takes you down a further 2,000 feet. we have been told that we can't access that area due to safety reasons, but more than two dozen workers are currently extracting coal from there. the government insists it's providing some training, but says miners and mine owners ignore the dangers. >> the mine owners don't care about the safety measures, they will have -- they will be personal sized through the courts. we have restles rescue and traig centers at different places,

they rush to the area and take action immediately. >> reporter: but the biggest hurdle in exploring further coal reserves is the deteriorating law and order situation, out of an estimated 60,000 miners, a third have left the province. hundreds have had to pay ransoms and dozens have been killed by kidnappers. separatist fighters have carried out most of the attacks. the industry is in desperate need of skilled labor and so far the government's assurances have just been political statements. >> translator: there is no one to protect us when the separatists kidnap us. security forces are complacent in their crimes. they ask for hundreds of thousands in ransom if we had that kind of money why would would we drive trucks. >> reporter: for the thousands who face the dangers of coal dust and worse there seems to be no real incentive to keep going, but for many, giving yo is up nt an option. al jazerra:

and that story and the rest of the day's news including much more on our top story of the ceasefire in the syrian ship of homs and a live blog out of syrian can be found on our website aljazerra.com. balloo to a slow start this new year. we will look at the good and bad spots. a new report seems to brand obamacare as a job killer. hold on. it's not that simple. i will break down the numbers in question. plus many people are now convinced that twitter can help them make money in the stockmarket. we'll explain. i am ali velshi. this is "real money."