pass hostages run in downtown sydney australia - others are still trapped inside a cafe held by a man believed to be armed. sydney's central business district has been locked down, major buildings have been evacuated. you're watching jazz rsh, i'm david foster, more on that -- al jazeera, i'm david foster, more on that developing story. in the next 30 minutes - south sudan a year on. we report from mallakal coming

back to life leaving thousands dead. the former vice president again defends the c.i.a.'s torture techniques now, the latest developments out of australia - hostages still held in a sydney cafe. and that and the security forces action and response to that brought much of the central business district to a stand still. in the last two hours, we have seen two hostages running from the building. not known if they escaped or were released. a little earlier three others made it out through the fire exit. no idea at the moment how many people are inside. police will not say. some have been seen with hands pressed against the windows. 9:45 in the morning when it was started. a man believed to be armed walked into the lindt cafe.

at one point a flag was put in the window, on it was written the islamic crede saying there's no god but one god, and mohammed is its messenger, and it's a common expression of faith for muslims. police surrounded the area. they are giving little away except to say negotiations are going on, and it's an extremely sensitive situation. >> we know that there are people who are being held in the building in martin place. and we are aware that there is a person who is armed also in the premises. what we are seeing now is this evolving as a negotiation that the new south wales police is undertaking with the person in the premises, we had five people emerge from the location. three a little earlier, and two more recently. those people are being assessed

to ensewer -- ensure that their health is okay and police will speak to them. >> count sydney, let's take a closer lock. the lindt cafe located near martin place, next door is the reserve bank of australia. opposite channel 7, and the new south wales parliament - that has been evacuated as well as the nearby supreme court building. the sydney opera house is close to the sydney harbour area. those that saw what happened have been talking. this man didn't want to be identified and described what he saw as he passed the door to the cafe while he was making a delivery. >> when i first ran into the building a lady was staring, knocking on the doors. i did three loads upstairs into

the lindt building, on the third run i wondered what her problem was, why she didn't go somewhere else, and obviously the gunman or the alleged offender opened a bag up and revealed a gun and she ran down the stairs saying "gun, gun, gun, gun in the blue bag", i saw the gun, yes. he was tall, probably late 40s. had a long-seized white shirt on. he was calm. he was pacing, looking out into the lift well. and i could see people and customers sitting at the tables. they were still drinking. i'm not sure how alert they were to what was going on, what was going to unfold. >> the australian prime minister tony abbott made a statement providing an update as to what is going on. >> this is a very disturbing incident. it is profoundly shocking that

innocent people should be held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation. obviously images have been beamed around our country and around the world. i have received messages of support from a number of international leaders and i thank them for their encouragement on this difficult day. yes, it has been a difficult day. yes, it is a day which has tested us, but so far, like australians in all sorts of situations, we have risen to the challenge tony abbott the australian prime minister as we go to andrew thomas, our correspondent in sydney - close to the cordoned off area. i know you have been on the story since it started. what more can you tell us? >> well, right now, not much, frankly. the siege has been going on for

a little over nine hours. this is macquarie street, one of the streets normally very busy in the middle of sydney c.b.c. certainly on a monday you'd expect it packed with people and traffic. this is it martin place, where it's going on. 150 meters down the road on the left-hand side. all the buildings around martin place were evacuated some hours ago. as far as we know the only people there are inside the lindt cafe. how many people is unclear. in an earlier press conference, the deputy police commissioner said some reports of as many as 30 people in the cafe - i'm dash. >> continue, we hear you, andrew. >> apologies, i had interference on my line. i was saying the square, inside the lindt cafe, about 15 people,

potentially are inside the cafe. that is according to channel 7 reporter. there has been about 15 people he saw. the police say only that they believe the number of 30 officers inside is too high. we don't know the number or the number of hostage takers. one of our camera crew got a shot of someone shuffled into a police vehicle. there was a shawl put over their head by police. it's unclear as to whether that perp was a hostage inside the cafe, other reporters told us they believes test a hostage. we have no more evidence on that though. right now, sydney c.b.d. in lockdown. sydney is a huge sprawling city. but the central business district is actually very

compact. so martin place is at the heart of it. it has a bunch of shops on it. it has a television station. it has a lot of officers all around, and this thing, 10 days before christmas, it's busy with shoppers and office workers, the iconic sites, the opera house, a couple of hundred meters behind martin place. this is a high-profile part of sydney. if someone is wanting to make a political statement as the prime minister suggested, you couldn't think of a more high profile spot in which to do so. the motivations at the moment are speculation. >> thank you. andrew thomas there in sydney. we'll be back as soon as we have anything more to report. for now, thank you very much indeed. monday marks a year since the beginning of south sudan's civil war. at least 10,000 people, we understand, have been killed. millions lost their homes. the conflict is unresolved.

katherine sawyer reports from mallet doc. >> mallet kau is coming back to life. one of the centers of the conflict. hundreds died, many displaced. malakal changed hands several times, each after intense battles. the town has been quiet for months. many are still afraid. this woman has family and friend, left their homes earlier in the year. going back is not an option right now. . >> translation: i blame the government and the nuer people. the quarrel started in juba, and now came to us. why? i don't know. >> a few, like this man, came back. he told us he had to leave the it's placement camp and start his life, no matter the risk. hundreds of miles from mere in ethiopia leaders held peace talks. there's not been any political settlement yet.

grandstanding between rivals hampered progress. >> reporter: negotiating teams agreed on the formation of a transition government with sal vac air as president and others from machar's group. other things have to be worked out. such as powers of the prime minister and how and when the two will integrate. >> the government is comprom its, sitting with someone that is going to make a coup - you don't get the coup makers sitting with the democratic government. >> reporter: many analysts, including this man, believe it's a power struggle that may not yield much in the lodge run. >> the leadership in government and the opposition. i think we will not have peace. >> if the only condition for peace is that one sustains his

current position. >> both salwa car and machar say they want peace. but many suffer in their makeshift homes are not sure in many ways peace seems as far off as ever. what is the situation regarding talks? . pt the talks are very long. i spoke to both sides. they say they have made progress. it is delicate, all parties have to scrutinise the proposal on the table. people here are tired, tired of the conflict. they thought there would be a political settlement by now, thinking they'd be home by christmas. that is not happening. these are people traumatized not just from this conflict, but from decade of a separatist war.

joining me is a bishop part of a religious leader's team appointed by the president to head a national healing peace and reconciliation committee. is it too soon to talk about reconciliation with the conflict very much active? >> yes, and no. yes in that you have to prepare for a conciliation after the talks. and no, we don't expect it before the war stops. >> how difficult will it be. it's been decades of conflict. people so traumatized, fragmented. >> we should not expect it to take a short time. in south africa, it's almost 20 years. between 15 and 20 years. >> how about justice? everywhere is talking about peaceful revolution, that peace must be the priority how about

holding to lent those committing these atrocities. >> i know it's been agreed that there may be two committees one for those to try committed crimes, and another for reconciliation. >> you have been attending these talks. why has it taken so long. there seems to be a lot of headline positions. what needs to be done. >> it is a power struggle. we'll under take as much as they can. it takes time with the leaders and supporters. it needs to be taken account in the process. >> are you hopeful of a binding police settlement? >> i think it should be included - should be expanded to include interparty dialogue. and also dialogue within the ruling party. as well as the dialogue among the military themselves.

>> thank you very much bishop. and i must say that the seventh round of talks in ethiopia, which may be the last round of talks, are being called soon. they may resume in the coming days, maybe coming weeks. it will be interesting to see what deal is eventually signed, how binding it will be, and, more importantly. the reforms thereafter. reforms that people say should be implemented, making sure that south sudanees are not going forward, put in the position they are in today. >> we'll be back with you later. catherine soi in the capital of south sudan. also coming up. we'll report from rome, where efforts to break is system of corruption barely touched the surface. >> putting food on plates and smiles on faces for some of london's poorest.

time to go over the global headlines. a seem in australia is in its 11th hour. a man believed to be armed walk understood a sydney cafe, took a number of hostages. five people have been seen running from the building. others remain inside. police will not say how many they think are being held captive the siege brought sydney's central business district to a stand still. thousands of workers have been evacuated from officers within the perimeter of the cafe. it is after working hours. police say they are maintaining

a cordon in that part of sydney in pak staint government pro -- pakistan government protesters shut down the city. it's part of the party staging sit-ins in 18 different locations. it's the party led by former cricketer imran khan, and it wants an independent audit, a check of general election results last year. scott heidler is in lahore, and this is what he sent us. >> importantly what they have done is they choked the city at 18 points. even though the administration of the city is now saying that it is more than that, at least two dozen choke points have been blocked. i'm now standing at liberty square, which is the center of town, normally a place jam-packed with traffic on a moipd. as you can see. everything is at a stand still. a population of almost 10 million.

people are not able to come out, go to schools, and imran khan will be addressing a large crowd. this is a city in which they say there was massive rigging. they wanted a recount in all constituenci constituencies. imran wants a larger audit. >> scott heidler there in pakistan. now to egypt. where state media is reporting that security forces raided a university to break up anti-government protests. these are picture taken by some, interest their mobile phones, said to show demonstrators marking through the university. at least seven students, it is claimed, were reportedly arrested falling oil prices have dealt a blow to egypt's economy. the country's stock market lost more than 3 billion in value on

sunday. local and foreign investors sold out. it was a benchmark index falling 5.23%, the lowest value for a month and a half. this is after o.p.e.c., the oil producing country's decision not to cut production in the face of weaker demand. al jazeera continues to demand the release of three journalists. they've been imprisoned in egypt for 352 days. the names may be familiar, peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed. they were gaoled on charms of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they have lodged appeals against their convictions. italian police - a criminal gang sucked hundreds of millions out of italy's near bankrupt capital. this report from rome. >> reporter: romans complain about the poor state of public services. now they have spun to blame.

city hall infiltrated by a mafia style syndicate. in recent days the police made dozens of arrests. this is the alleged ringleader. hundreds more are under investigation. the group known as mafia capitale used contacts to steal hundreds of millions from the public purse. utility yits were a favourite and -- utility yits were a favourite and the camps. listen to the words of butsi recorded in a telephonic intercept. we visited one roma camp implicated in the scandal. many of these people are italian citizens, but they live in squalor. >> translation: we have been here for 10 years, we have not had any help.

the only thing we see is lies and tricks. >> reporter: and yet mr butsy is bragging about a $50 million profit from fake service contracts for migrant camps. >> the truth is, of course, that the system of organised corruption has been going on for years. no one knows how long, no one knows how deep it runs inside city hall or other public institutions. there's a suingz that no one really wants to know. if you rooted out all the corrupt public officials, there would be hardly anyone left. >> there's one man said to be beyond approach, the surgeon, mayor of rome since last june. >> we are really cleaning house, and we are doing that, you know, in an expedited way, and i'm happy that the general prosecutor of rome is helping us in doing so. >> i have heard it said you, yourself, may be too clean, too

straight to effectively run this city. >> yes, i heard this argument before. you know, i don't think if there is anybody that could do that better than i can, but certainly i will make any possible effort as i did, as a transplant surgeon, i would do new transplants of - and new vision in this up to. >> roman complaints about public services are grounded in the truth that resources are sucked dry. efforts to break the strangle hold barely grasped the surface. in mexico dozens of people have been hurt after confrontation between police and protesters in guerrero state, from where 43 university students were taken in september. they've been missing ever since.

the government says they were taken by local splits and killed by a drugs cartel. there are reports of mexico's federal police playing the part in the disappearance thousands of people have been on the streets of the hungarian capital. complaining about spending cuts and corruptions. demonstrations against the prime minister are common on the streets of budapest. many people does trust his close economic ties with russia, and say that there is fraud committed by top officials. moscow - protests about planned cuts to education and health care. 28 hospitals are set to close, leaving 10,000 medical staff out of work. it's happening everywhere more austerity protests in belgium. they are expected to come pretty much to a stand still on monday as thousands of trade unionist go on strict.

jackie rowlands is there. >> reporter: this used to be an industrial town, most closed and the economy went into decline. nowadays it's a poor part of the belgium with high unemployment. this construction company on the outskirts of the town, an example of how the region is trying to diversify. it makes blast furnaces and employs 50 people. the factory is not working during the general strike. the managers expect traffic chaos, so they prefer to remain closed for the day. the technical director can see both points of view - the governments and the trade union. >> i am between the two. like everyone i would like to work less. but i would like a pension. the truth is between the two. >> reporter: belgium's new g.s.t. is trying to tackle the

huge debt. it plans to raise the state pension age from 65 to 67 and scrap an inflation-linked pay rise due next year. the government says it's facing up to economic reality. the spending cuts are necessary and unavoidable. those who oppose the austerity programme say it risks tearing apart the fabric of belgium society. >> there has been a strong labour movement going back 150 years. the trade unions of today have been the driving force behind the anti-austerity protests, culminating in a general strike. >> we are moving away from a strong social model in europe and the world. a system many envy. today with the war waged. we are going to destroy the system of social security. >> this struggle to balance the

budget and the reduce national debt is not exclusive to belgium, it is playing out across the eurozone loads of food wasted in the u.k. every year, thrown away about supermarkets who have too much. one start-up snapping it up for next to nothing, helping those without much money. >> a whole chicken reduced from £4 to 2.40. you don't see that. that beef down from £6 to one. the whole lot for a little over $5. suspiciously offer - no, standard fare at a new-type of supermarket trying to combat waste and poverty. 15 tonnes of supermarket food ends up in the bin, straight to

landfill, even though it's fine to eat. the box may be damaged, the store may have overordered. much of it will go to social supermarkets like this one. and be resold for next to nothing. >> the promise of cheap food will lure crowds in. the point behind this place is the doors will remain closed to all but members. to become a member customers have to meet a number of requirements. they have to live locally in an area classed as deprived and receive a benefit like income support, and thirdly they have to agree to go on a development programme, effectively a number of classes run by this class on things like debt management, confidence building and how to apply for jobs. on top of that, the membership will not last forever, six months max. after that time it has to be reviewed to see if somebody else needs it mar.

>> enthusiastic about changing lists in the words they decide, this is the right place for them. if all they are looking for is cheap food, there's a few places on the high street you can find it from without needing other intervention. >> reporter: this is the first large community supermarket to open, and is based in london. a trial store proved so popular in northern england that 20 more are due to open their doors, and mavis is something of a regular. >> it's a supermarket. you are paying for the goods and its, however small, or reduction, but you feel that there's some dignity about it. last year one of the britain's biggest supermarket tracked the top 25 selling product. it found that 40% of apples are wasted. as for bananas, 20% are never eaten. half of its bakery goods end up in the bin. much of this stuff will be sold to social supermarkets for

pepies, and then -- pennies, then to customers for little more. putting food on faces and smiles on faces you can stay up to date with the global headlines. aljazeera.com. and the stories behind the head lines. aljazeera.com. hi i'm lisa fletcher and you are in the stream. from sharing your car to an extra room in your house, an industry is exploding. put it's cutting out the middleman. we discuss the rise of the sharing economy right now. ♪