hostages run to safety in downtown sydney, australia, others are trapped in a cafe, held by an armed men. the city central business district is in lock down, major buildings have been evacuated. we'll be live in sydney for a moment. this is al jazeera live from do doha. also ahead - the battle for libya - 16 die in violence near the border with tunisia

no trains or planes, belgium grind to a stop as a 24 hour strike gets under way we begin in australia where an armed man is holding an unknown number of people hostage inside a cafe in central sydney. this is the scene in martin place, which has been in lock down since this siege started at 9:45am local time. it's 10 o'clock at night, and much of the area remains cordoned off. we'll be live in sydney with correspond andrew thomas in a moment. first a look at how the events unfolded. >> reporter: this woman is running from the scope of a hostage taking in sydney. a number of people have escaped from a cafe where they were held near martin place station. others were trapped inside, and have been all day. prime minister tony abbott says the hostage taker is politically

motivated. >> this is a disturbing incident. it is profoundly shocking that incident people should be held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation. >> reporter: here a hostage that escaped is taken away by police. the information the escaped hostages provide may be useful tore security forces, working to get all the people out safely. >> our plan, our only goal tonight, and for as long as this tangs is to get those -- takes is to get those people country caught this those building out of that safely. it started during the monday morning rush hour. >> a woman was summoning police, she had the phone to her ear. three police on motorcycles arrived and others on feet quickly. she told them she went to go inside the cafe, and the automatic class sliding doors

had been disabled and shut. she thought perhaps the cafe was closed and realised something was going on inside. she told police that she saw a man with a blue bag and what she saw was a shotgun. >> reporter: pictures show a man wearing a bandana, and carrying a ruck sack. at one stage a flag with a message of islam saying there was only one god, allah, and mohammed is his messages. >> we had a conference call with islamic leaders, and they expressed confidence and support with what the new south wales police are doing. i thank them for it. we are in this together. >> reporter: many people have left the area. the block around mart martin place has been cordoned off. >> the latest now with andrew thomas, joining us live from sydney. i know you don't have a visual on the cafe because of the

exclusion zone set up. we have heard reports that the lights have been turned off inside the cafe. can you give us a sense of what is happening, if you can? >> well, you are hearing the same reports as i am from people who do have a position where they can see the front of the cafe. we were told 45 minutes ago the lights in the cafe have been turned off. i can't confirm that. where i'm stood on macquarie street. this is it a thorough fair through the middle of sydney. martin place, 150 meters behind me on the left-hand side. the cafe is on that central square. it is one of the main thorough fares in the middle of sydney. it has many office blocks, banks, a big hotel, the television chase, channel 7, one. main commercial networks is directly opposite the cafe. in terms of a high profile location - it couldn't get any more high approach. it's a few hundred meters from

sydney's sydney opera house, the harbour, the shops, essential areas. the police have been updating the media every hour or two with a little bit of information. they have, for example, confirmed that five people got out of that cafe, whether they escaped or were released, nor would they say how many were held in the cafe or how many hostage takers there might be. mostly they talked. certainly the prime minister, when he talked about an armed hostage taker, he talked about it in the singular. we have not had it confirm that there is only one. police are keen to say they have the situation contained. they are confident they have it under control. and are determined to bring this to a peaceful resolution, however long it ends up taking. >> right, an ex-close zone has been -- exclusion zone has been set up. australian authorities told people and workers in the area

to go on with the normal day tomorrow, in a few hours, suggesting that this could go on for a long time. >> it absolutely does. i found that interesting as part of mike baird, the premier's statement, saying sydneysiders should get on with their tuesday as normal, not those westbound the exclusion zone -- within the exclusion zone, saying those should work from home. the assumption in the statement was nothing should have stayed, 8, 9, 10 hours compared to now. i found that interesting. that seemed to suggest they were in there for the long haul. whether they want the message heard by the hostage taker, whether they have an ultimate yore motive going on -- ultimator motive, but the message to the public, don't let this put you off plans.

finally, we don't know what the motivation is yet of this hostage taker. but muslims in australia condemned this incident, the grand musty said it has -- mus yi has said this is nothing to do with islam, there has been tensions with the muslim community in australia recently. >> there has. over the last few months a lot of legislation has worked through the canberra parliament, aiming to crack down on people who have sympathies with the islamic state, and the muslim community in australia felt that that is unduly impacted on their lives, and it's been growing incidence of attacks or verbal attacks, physical attacks on muslims in cities like sydney. a group of 50 muslim organizations a couple of hours ago published a letter condemning what is happening in the square. they are concerned that this

could cause a backlash of anti-muslim sentiment in australia. in the last few hours we saw a hashtag on social media, and it is "i'll walk with you", and the idea is if people are concerned wearing religious clothing or symbols and are getting abuse on public transport. others will walk with them. go with them. support them, already we heard a few anecdotely again, a few incidents on monday of people verbally attacked because they look muslim, and this sparked some of that kind of anti-muslim sentiment. as i say, a positive reaction on social media, saying that those people should not be afraid. they, too, should be able to go about their life, because it has nothing to do with muslims at all. >> thank you for the update. andrew thomas reporting there live from sydney on the hostage

taking situation in in australia. we'll bring you all the latest development as and when we have them let's move on to other news much libya's biggest oil terminal has been shut down due to violence putting the only significant source of revenue under threat. fighting has intensified near the border with tunisia. >> reporter: smoke rises in western libya. the sound of air strikes echos for kilometres. where the battle is fierce, close to the border with tunisia. the tribes army, aligned but not formally sided with the general. on the other side forces of libyan dawn. a loose collision of militias. >> today we lost 14 fighters, and 23 injured in the air strikes. that they targeted a residential area and a quarry.

we took the forces back to the area. >> with the country awash with militia, and rival governments in tripoli and tobruk, libya is in a state of lawlessness. at the heart of the fight is oil. in the east libyan dawn is advancing on the biggest oil terminal. fighting in this oil-rich region has forced the nearby terminals to close. >> translation: the attack on the oil region shows that libyan dawn wants to be fully in charge of oil resources that they need, in order to sponsor terrorist organizations just like has happened in other parts of the world. >> reporter: complicating groups is a council of the city has been formed, and plans to over help to libyan dawn fighters

nine members of the iraqi police force have been killed in ramadi in attacks by fighters in the islamic state of iraq and levant. the iraqi army has been engaged in fierce fighting as it tries to push i.s.i.l. out of anbar province, and there has been violence in haditha and the other border crossings. forces are backed by tribesman on the ground. >> in syria, rebels say they killed 50 government soldiers during an attack in idlib. the al qaeda liked al nusra front took part in the assault. they control 17 checkpoints in that area. in france police have launched raids targetting what they say is a network suspected of sending fighters to syria. elite police units moved in on about a dozen targets in the southern region of tal use.

it's not clear how many have been arrested. almost 1,000 nationals are thought to have left france to join fighters in iraq and syria. >> a nation wide strike in belgium brought parts of the country to a standstill. thousands of trade unionists are taking part in a 24 hour stoppage causing flights and rail services to be cancel. workers are angry at government policies that will cut spending in some areas and raise the age of pensions. >> reporter: this used to be an industrial heart land with coal mines and steal works. most of the factories closed half a century ago, and the economy went into decline. nowadays, it's one of the poorest parts of belgium with high unemployment. this instruction company, on the outskirts of the up to , is an example of how the region is trying to diversify

economically. it makes blast purpose ass and employs 60 people. the factory is not working during the general trike. the managers expect traffic chaos. they prefer to remain closed for the day. the technical director can see both points of view, the governments and the trade unions. >> i am between the two. like everywhere, i would like to work less. but i would still like to have a pension. the truth lies between the two. >> belgium's new confident which took office is trying to tackle the debt. plans to rage. pension age from 65 to 67 and scrap a pay rise. the government says it's facing economic realities, 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 movements going back 150 years. the trade unions of today have been the driving force behind the anti-austerity protests, which are culminating in the general strike. >> translation: we are moving away from one of the strongest social movements in the world, a system many countries envy. today we'll totally destroy the system of social security. >> this struggle to balance the budget and reduce debt is not exclusive to belgium, it's a dilemma playing out across the eurozone stay with us on al jazeera, more news coming up. roads are closed and protestors in the streets as the opposition

steps up the campaign against the government from chuck out to checkout. the supermarket that is putting food on plates and smiles on faces for some of london's poorest.

welcome back, a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera, a hostage siege in australia is entering its 14th hour after a man believed to be armed walked into a sydney cafe, five have been seen running from the building. others are still held inside. fighting between rival armed

groups in libya forced two oil fields to shut down. one of them is libya's largest oil terminal. and a nation-wide strike in belgium brought part of the country to a standstill. thousands of stage unionists are taking part in the 24 hour stoppages, causing flight and rail services to be cancel monday marks a year of the beginning of south sudan's civil war. at least 10,000 have been killed, millions does placed. aid agencies say up to 4 million people need humanitarian assistance. catherine soi reports from the upper nile state. >> reporter: malakal is slowly coming back to life. it was a center of conflict. hundreds died. many more displaced. it has changed hands several times, each after intense

battles. the town has been quiet for months, many are still afraid. this woman, family and friend left their homes earlier in the year. going back is not an option. >> translation: i blame the government and the nuer people. the quarrel started in juba, and now has come to us. why? i don't know. >> a few, like this man, came back. he told us he had to leave the camp, had to restart his life, no matter the risk. >> hundreds of miles from here in ethiopia, leaders have been holding peace talks. it's not been any political settlement. grand standing between rivals has hampered progress. negotiating teams agreed on a transformation government. with salva kiir as president and a prime minister to be nominated by riek machar's rebel group. other details need to be worked

out, including the power of the prime minister, and how and when the two armies will be integrated. >> the government has been flex icial. sitting with someone trying to make a coup is a great compromise, you don't usually get coup members sitting with the democratically elected government. >> reporter: many believe this is a power struggle that may not yield much in the long run. leadership in government and the opposition. i think we will not have peace if the only condition is if one sustains the current position. >> both salva kiir and riek machar say they want piece. but many suffering in their makeshift homes are not sure. >> catherine soi joins us from juba. a year op, has progress been

made towards achieving anything in south sudan. >> the situation a dire. there has been peace talks going on in ethiopia. politicians from both sides of the conflict say they are making progress, but people are skeptical. 1.9 million people have been displaced. 10,000 killed. the united nations is struggling to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people here in south sudan, and neighbouring countries. here so discuss this is the acting spokesperson for the united nations mission here in souds. perhaps tell us how concerned

are you if the situation is not resolved quickly. >> if the fighting continues and political leaders insist in not reaching a censive and sustainable -- comprehensive and sustainable settlement, the humanitarian situation that is it dire, is bad to worsen. you mentioned 1.9 million people displaced by the last 12 months of fighting. the united nations office with the coordination of humanitarian affairs expects it to rise to 2.7 million in 2015 if the fighting is not brought to a quick end. for that reason, a humanitarian response plan is not finalized for sued in 2016, seeking $1.8 million to corrections to attend to needs of people that can no lodger afford to house themselves. >> with all the other crisis, what do you think.

>> we are concerned about that factor. there's no secret that there are dire humanitarian problems in ukraine in syria. however, we are optimistic that international community will spring for donations for south sudan. we got a good response for 2014 and e with have proof that the funds wept for a good end. we averted a fam yin in south sudan, we are curtailed a cholera outbreak and housed 100,000 of these in united nations compounds. lastly, there has been calls by the government to have people return to their homes to close the displacement camps is it too

stoon to talk about people return to home, is it safe. >> we leave it to the individuals, to the civilians that came in search of shelter. if they feel they can go home and be safe and secure, the gates are open. in the case of other states, we have seen exodus of 16,000 people. they are staying in the compound, and saying it was safe in secure. it is vltry and safe and security. >> people here in south sudan, they want the conflict to end. they are tired of it, hoping to get a political settlement by now. that has not happened. they were hoping to be home by chris. that has not happened. they hope to get a dole that is not only binding, but they want a commitment from the leaders

that this country will be safe. >> thank you catherine soi in juba in pakistan anti-government protesters shut major roads in the city of lahore. supporters of the opposition are statementing sit-ins in 18 locations, and is led by former cricketer imran khan, and is demanding an independent audit of elections. scott heidler is in lahore with more. >> pakistan's second largest city is at a stand still. after imran khan announced he'd bridge the city to a halt. he will be holding a protest in islamabad, and is demanding nor the setting you have of a judicial commission to probe allegations of massive rigging. he wanted the prime minister to resign earlier, but says that he

is willing to call off his nationwide process of shutting down the country if the government agrees to the formation of a judicial commission. the government has shown determination not to buck under demand of p g.i. imran khan has krl support in lahore police in hong kong arrested more than sa dozen people as they cleared the last remaining protest site for monday. the camps blocked the streets for two months. protests are calling for free leadership elections. >> al jazeera continues to demand the release of our three journalists who have been imprisoned in egypt. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy and baher mohamed were

gaoled on false charges of helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they are appealing against their convictions. now, millions of tonnes of food are wasted in the u.k. every year, much is fine, but discarded by supermarkets with too much stock. now, one news start-up chain is snapping it up for next to nothing and selling it for less, to help the increasing numbers of people struggling to afford to eat. >> reporter: a whole chicken reduced from £4 to 2.40. you don't see that often. this beef down from six pounds to one. the whole lot, in fact, for a little over $5. special over, no, standard fare at a new supermarket trying to combat food waste and poverty. 15 million tonnes of supermarket food end up in the bin in the u.k. every year, bypassing checkout for chuck out.

straight to landfill, even though it's fine to eat. the box may be damaged, the store may have over ordered. 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 in crowds. the point behind this place is the doors will be closed to all but members. to become a member customers have to meet a number of requirements. they have to love locally in an area classed by the government as deprived. they have to receive a form of benefit like income support, and they have to agree to go on what is called a development programme, effectively a number of classes run by this place on 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 more. >> if they are motivated and

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

to supermarkets for pennies, and customers were little more, putting food on plates and smiles on faces. more news on the website aljazeera.com. the latest on the sydney cafe siege, which is now in its 14th hour. hour. consumers are loving the cheap oil prices, but the u.s. fracking boom is in danger of coming to a halt. the dirty truth about cheaper oil. what is next about police shooting - a civil suit against the city - we look at the cost. >> forget about mars, companies are racing to get to the moon. not for the reason you think. >> i'm david shuster in for ali velshi, and this is "real money".