see you online. >> welcome to the news hour. welcoming up in the next 60 images. syria agrees to take part in negotiations overnight by russia as forces continue to strike rebel-held areas. more than 1 oh hundred thousand people are displaced in the worst flooding to hit malaysia in decades. ukraine's president welcomes back prisoners of war. they were exchanged with pro-russia separatists. and massive oil demand

threatening the future of a much-loved cosmetic product. the syrian government has agreed to participate in negotiations to restart peace talks in moscow. russia's foreign ministry said that it hopes to host talks between bashar al-assad's government and syria's divided opposition in late january, but it's still unclear who will officially be taking part. we go to vice president of the building syria state party, in damascus. speaking by phone, he says that only a political solution will end the conflict. >> in is the situation in all of the syrian land, the regime is continuing to do bombardment on some areas, and also you have armed groups attacking the area. this is not something that should stop us from going to a

political solution. on the contrary, this should encourage everybody to go to a solution. because a political solution is the only step to prevent all this violence and all those killed. there is no result from any armed solution from the part of the regime or from the part of the armed groups. we should bring to attention we have a very real danger of isis. it is not seeing anyone with syria. it is dangerous for the regime, the opposition. it's danger for al the history of all of syria. >> we spoke about the likelihood of these talks helping to resolve the conflict.

>> syria is not agreeing to peace talks. russia does not have a plan for peace talks. this was just an attempt by russia to show that the syrian government is in interested in peace talks, knowing very well that no one credible in the syrian opposition would agree to this. therefore it will use this as a pretext to put the blame on the syrian opposition as opposed to the syrian government for why the conflict will grind on. there is a solution, which is to hold talks on impartial grounds and the talks should involve people within syria, the opposition within syria as well as the opposition abroad and these talks should go back to the principles of geneva one that call for the transfer imagination of a transitional government. that means bashar al-assad himself should go as a result of this process.

so far we're not seeing any positive indications that this will happen any time soon. however, i think external stake holders in the conflict are close to recognizing that this is the only way forward, and i think rush is simply buying time by trying to derail this process with its new moscow proposal. >> meanwhile, intense fighting continues as the syrian government keeps up its airstrikes in the northern province of aleppo. the attacks killed 39 people in the last three days. they're targeting areas controlled by isil fighters in the city of al-bab. helicopters and planes dropped barrel bombs. government forces bombarding the area of douma. air assaults have killed five people. rebel held towns, it's reported that five died after jets bombed a residential area.

>> in other news more than a dozen people have been killed in thailand and malaysia. thailand has declared eight of its southern provinces to be disaster zones. so far 13 people are confirmed dead. while in northern malaysia three states are submerged and five people have died. nearly 200,000 people are homeless. >> reporter: this corner of northeastern malaysia has not seen flooding like this for decades. people had to leave their homes in a hurry after days of rain turned roads into rivers. the government sent search and rescue teams to badly affected areas and sent up relief centers for the victims. but for some it's too little too late. they criticize the government for being toulouse to respond and for failing to declare a state of emergency in time.

>> they have come here after three days. we are without food. >> the prime minister has cut short his holiday to the u.s. to deal with the emergency. he had been in hawai'i visiting president barack obama when the rains began. it's monsoon season in this part of asia, but this year's rains have been particularly heavy, and many places have been affected by the worst flooding in more than 40 years. people in southern thailand have been told to brace themselves for more flash flooding right up in to the new year. for many the biggest worry is how to avoid the spread of disease. cases of cholera, and other diseases.

children and elderly are more at risk. officials monitoring the floods say that water levels have not peaked yet, and with more coming in the coming days, it will be a wet end to 2014 for thousands of people. >> tens of thousands have gathered in new york city for the funerals of two police officers killed by a gunman last week. mourners fill the church and nearby streets to pay their final respects to the officers. the gunman who killed the officers then took his own life. he said he was seeking revenge for the deaths of two unarmed black men killed by white officers in new york and ferguson, missouri. a highly sought after top leader of the somali group al-shabab has been captured. he was caught during an operation on saturday morning. the u.s. state department offered $3 million for information leading to his arrest.

the ukrainian government and pro russian separatists have exchanged nearly 400 prisoners in the rebel-held area of do next tsk. it i donetsk. >> in the military airfield near kiev, the ukrainian president welcomes home these prisoners of war. they were exchanged with hundreds of pro russian fighters. this is a propaganda coup for petro poroshenko, a leader struggling to unite his divided country. >> i'm telling you that i as president and as an ordinary citizen have a heart full of happiness that you'll greet the new year, and that we'll do what we've been waiting for for so long. we're grateful again to have

you. >> there is relief, but sadness about those being held. >> it is a president who matters. thanks for what you have done to release us. we hope that our friends who are still being held as hostages will be released in the near future. >> this is where the exchange took place. in a secret place in the donetsk region. some of the prisoners are injured and have to be carried to freedom. there are international observers, armed separatists and ukrainian soldiers who watch on. they know this is a fragile cease-fire. >> there are several people on the list who are missing. they're from the luhansk region, they have not yet arrived yet, but they're already on the way, and we'll exchange tomorrow. >> kiev said its fighting what it calls russia's influence. russia has always denied backing and arming the separatists, the russian president recently signed a new military doctrine,

a nato expansion was among key external risks. and the latest twist in this crisis, ukraine's state rail company has suspended trains to crimea, blaming security concerns and leaving many passengers stranded and frustrated. >> it is very bad and will affect many people. people should not be affected by such decisions. they should not suffer because of politics. >> this prisoner exchange is a small step towards reconciliation. and to the families of the released prisoners it offers some hope in this bitter and deadly conflict. al jazeera. >> plenty more still ahead on the news hour. including colombia makes progress. but will it hit the target set by the u.n. to end extreme poverty by 2015? plus how businesses bordering

boko haram's territory are struggling to survive. and in sport we'll have the details from day two of the third test between australia and india as the the captain breaks more records in melbourne. >> pakistan's government has lifted a moratorium on the death penalty of those convicted of what it calls terror-related charges. but some say there are those who are innocent. >> they're at the mercy of the court. their brother has been in prison for many years. now he could be hanged in at any moment. >> we've been knocking at every door to bring justice for our brother. >> behind she one of the many

courts in pakistan that has issued death sentences for thousands of suspects across the country over the last few years. now with the lifting of the moratorium, those suspects are now facing execution. >> their brother was been selected for immediate execution. convicted for an act of terrorism in 2004 for killing a boy. but his family deny the came and say he was 13 years old at the time. >> he was a juvenile, and he was forced into a confession. it really goes to the government to lift the moratorium and resume executions of the most attention terro dangerous terrorists. but he was none of that, and he was only 13, he was just a

juvenile. >> the moratorium was lifted after the attacks of the taliban against a school in peshawar that killed 149 people, mostly children. >> i can't bear that my innocent brother will be hanged by the government without fair trial. and if they do so, i won't keep silent, and i'll take revenge for my brother. even if i have to join a terrorist group. >> if his brother has committed a crime and has been convicted he's not free to do this. there is a law, and islam is very clear on that. >> reporter: justice delayed, he tells me, is justice denied. but he also recognized that justice hurried is justice buried. between the two pakistan is facing hard choices at the moment. al jazeera. >> in the year 2000 the united nations gave itself 15 years to

end extreme poverty and hunger, promote primary education and reduce childhood mortality. as the deadline approaches we have reports on what has been achieved. >> reporter: at the dawn of the millennium in the year 2000 the then u.n. secretary general kofi annan had plans for the world's poor. >> within the next 15 years i believe we can have the people living in extreme poverty, and assure all children, girls and boys alike, and particularly girls, receive a full primary education and halt the spread of hiv/aids. >> that was 14 years ago. the targets he set became known as the millennium development goals and had a 15-year deadline. with one year to go it is a mixed picture. significant progress has been

made to reduce people living in extreme poverty, but work is still needed on mortality rates and feeding the world's most hungry. there is no doubt that it forced world leaders to take action to create progress, so now the u.n. is creating a new set of goals to pick up where the old ones left off. >> we think they have the right things in them. they commit to fighting inequality, that's very important. they're committed to tackling climate change. that's really important. the trick is because now they're grappling with today's real problems, they're much more complex and much more comprehensive than the original goals. that makes them harder to sell. >> reporter: that selling and diplomatic wrangling is in the final stage. the new targets known as sustainable goals will be adopted in september.

james bays at the united natio nations. >> john hillary is the executive director of war on want, the group helping to lesson poverty in the developing world. >> the crimina critical issue is power. who has power in the global economy. if you're always taking power away from local communities, away from societies and away from working people, and handing that power to elites then there is no chance of people being pulled out of poverty for the long term. that's what really is the key focus of the new 15-year program, which is going to come up. it has to look at those issues of power and economic development, not just the symptoms of education or health, which is what you can measure poverty by, but the underlying causes from generation to generation. the real concern we have is over the last 15-20, even 30 years we've had more and more power being handed over to big

business, and basically the west saying we need to have global economic environment where big business can thrive, and it doesn't really matter what happens to everybody else. yes, we'll give a little bit of aid money here and there. yes, we'll see if we can put more in to girl's education, but the fundamental development prospects of the most of the countries of the world have not been improved. >> well, colombia is one of those countries on track to achieve the millennium development goals. in the past decade public social programs have helped to reduce the extreme poverty rate from 17.7% to 9.1%. but as alessandro reports, not everyone has been benefiting from the government help. >> these chickens have changed this woman's life for the better. this family used to live in a garage without a kitchen or bathroom. neither she nor her sick husband had are a job, and not enough

food. >> sometimes we didn't have anything to eat. well now if we need to i can always kill a hen. >> reporter: four years ago she joined a government program to help the poorest of the poor. she received credits, training, and continuing assistance of specialized social workers to set up her small business. >> i learned what food to give to the chickens, how to give them an injection, if they were sick or not, how to manage them. then i moved on to training on accounting and how to save money. >> reporter: with the new income came a modest but more functioning house and more work. over 10,000 social workers have helped hundreds of thousands of families to start businesses, learn new skills, or simply get an idea of a novelty nine-step program.

>> main factors setting up the reduction has been the decision by the national government to convert to despaired extreme poverty reduction into a policy of the state, and bring you the state in direct contact with needy households. >> many hope an end to the country's war with the rebel group farc could allow the government to reach even more people. but for now 3.5 million people will be living in absolute misery next year. >> 3.5 million, upper middle income country with important political and social economic goals is still very worrisome. it is still a very high number of overall of people barely able to survive. >> back at the chicken farm, she has achieved all of her program's tasks. the new phase will be to open a

savings account, the first she has ever had. another step to make sure she is achieve a richer future her family deserves. al jazeera, colombia. >> as 2014 draws to a close, al jazeera is reflecting on the year through the eyes of four families caught up in major world events. malaysian national airline has been forced to deal with two disasters this year which together killed more than 500 people. the families of the victims continue to struggle with their loss, we have reports now from kuala almost pour. >> reporter: a daily ritual brings a measure of peace to a father whose son was killed. >> he's gone. whatever i have left, we're just

living our lives. it is very torturing. >> all 298 people were killed. access to the crash site, bodies had to be negotiated by government. the months that followed were painful for the families left behind. >> we went through hell. we have very bad memories, an for me and my wife. even though we had relatives coming to console, there were times we just wanted to be alone. >> it was the second major tragedy for malaysia's national carrier. still recovering from a passenger jet that had gone missing in march and still has not been found. the two disasters proofed too much for the company, which had been steadily losing money over

the years. >> less than a monday after the plane was shot down an investment company announced it will take the malaysian airline off the stock exchange and putting it under government control. the airline has essentially been nationalized. it may yet return to profit, perhaps in several years, but for the families, it's difficult to imagine recovering from something like this. his grandson, he says, has been deeply affected by the loss. >> now he's very quiet and he calls me da da. he says da da? i don't know. i don't have anything to talk now. >> their family is left with only memories and photos to hold on to. al jazeera, kuala lumpur. >> continuing the attacks in

nigeria by the armed group of boko haram is now affecting the accompanying country niger. >> a commercial hub on the border of my jeer i can't. it is dubbed the perfume capitol of that region. but it has been hit hard. this woman is burning wood to make perfume. she makes a variety of traditional products and incense. she said that her perfume exports have dropped 75%. >> our perfumes are sold in niger and other countries as well. the money goes into the economy and we make money. we also export it to nigeria, but when boko haram controlled the border areas it's difficult for our goods to reach there. >> boko haram, a radical group, controls several areas in north

nigeria on the border of my ye niger. many border areas under its control are key routes for goods, traders, and raw material. the nigerian army has closed the border with niger. this annual gathering is normally the time for merchants to make money. they come from across the region to display their goods. >> there is a big difference were last year. it is effected by boko haram has control and border closure. there is confusion and people are not coming in or out of the city. >> it could be some time before business picks up again in this part of niger. it all depends on the nigeria government and it's military power to end boko haram attacks. al jazeera. >> a well-known cosmetic product that comes from morocco. but as it's popularity grow, there are concerns for local who

is have harvested the product for hundreds of years. >> reporter: it's a process labor intensive and time-consuming. everything hurts. every part of our bodies, but we are grateful. >> it's a hard nut to crack but its seed will produce oil that is known as morocco's gold. for countries it has been used by women in southwest morocco. the fruit comes from a small thorny tree. >> there was a time when all of this was covered by a thick forest. but worldwide demand for the plant and it's wood has put it at a point where it's at risk of

extinction. the oil is now something of a cult product around the world, it's popularity comes from its use as a cosmetic product. a market that companies are increasingly tapping in to. >> they buy it here and package it abroad and sell it at a much higher price. the land and trees are ours so we have to take control of the raw materials. it's what protects us. >> too much local demand, many women fear that this will men an end to their main source of income. more than 2 million people in this region live on oil production. >> if they bring in a machine we'll stop working. therthere will be nothing for us. all the rest of the process is done by machine now.

even pressing. >> but no machine so far has been able to crack the nut like these women, meaning this airport skill passed on from generation to generation will continue to provide work at least for now. al jazeera. southwest morocco. >> still to come on al jazeera. [ baby crying ] >> homes in china give hope to children with parents in prison. >> i'm in india where the national green tribunal has banned all vehicles in new delhi in an effort to curb pollution. >> and in sport, we'll explain why it has not been a very good month for the reigning nba champion.

>> we were talking to a young lady saying she just wanted her voice to get out there. >> by the thousands, they're sending their government a message. >> ahead of 'em is a humanitarian crisis where tens of thousands of people are without food, water, shelter. >> a special one hour look at global attacks on free press. monday 9:00 eastern. on al jazeera america.

al jazeera america gives you the total news experience

anytime, anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. >> i'm joie chen, i'm the host of america tonight, we're revolutionary because we're going back to doing best of storytelling. we have an ouportunity to really reach out and really talk to voices that we haven't heard before... i think al jazeera america is a watershed moment for american journalism >> welcome back. the syrian government has agreed to participate in negotiations aimed to restart the peace talks in moscow.

meanwhile, government forces are continuing their offensive against rebel-held areas. thousands of people have been displaced by flooding across southern thailand and northern ma lava. more heavy rain is forecast for the coming days. top leader offal ha of al-shabab has been captured. let's return to our top story on the proposed preliminary attacks in finding a resolution to the war in syria. >> up until now there is no official invitation that has been received.

we don't know what . >> according our experience with the talks, the regime came failing to negotiate anything during the negotiation taking place. >> peshmerga forces defending erbil say they need more heavy weapons to continue the fight against isil. we have reports now from the kurdish front line.

>> as night false on the kurdish countryside peshmerga fighters pick up their positions. it's under the cover of darkness that isil attacks, and they can't afford to lower their guard. this is perhaps their most important front line in their fight against isil. erbil, the capital of the kurdish region, is only 60 kilometers away. >> we'll continue to defend because erbil, that's our big city. and we must be safe. >> reporter: but protecting erbil is a dangerous task. isil carried out its most tearindaring attack on this area. with suicide-bombers and tanks laden with explosives they took over the area before peshmerga

recaptured it. >> the tactics are getting more desperate. it's the first time that isil fighters have used a tank for suicide-bombing, and it's the isil's ability to hit deep in kurdish territory that is concerning. >> this is a first time to have the tanks with the tnt and suicide people. they're coming to our front line. they're trying to have a chance of how to push the peshmerga back, but they can't do. >> their inhabitants have long been displaced by the fighting. their weapons, they say are old and no match for their opponen opponents. >> we need heavy machine guns,

of course, because what we're use something very old. it's from the iraq and iran war. it's very old. the newest one is 25 years old. but still the ammunition is good. >> as international calls for more action against isil grows, the peshmerga remains the groups most formidable opponent on the ground. they say they need meaningful help or isil could come charging across northern europe. >> the iraqi army has been fighting isil i. they say some areas have been cleared of isil fighters, but the area is still in the group's hands. al jazeera call for the

release of three of the journalists missouri who have been imprisoned. all three are appealing against their convictions. children of convicted criminals in china have often faced hardships. >> it's called sun village providing a refuge for children of convicted criminals. for some the only home they've known for their short lives. these twins were rescu rescued as babies from their drug-trafficking parents, who had been using their baby carrier to smuggle drugs. this seven-year-old witnessed her mother strangle her father after years of violent abuse. many of these children face not seeing their parents for their entire childhood. >> it's estimated that there are

600,000 children in china who have at least one parent in prison. they're caught in limbo. they're not orphaned or disabled they do not qualified for government programs. >> nine centers like this one operate across the country thanks to her. they provide not only a home but also help against prejudice. >> they're definitely discriminated against. many parents want their children to stay away from these kids because they think that they are dangerous as children of criminals. >> selling donated items and also fresh produce grown themselves, they help support their communities.

>> i like these days because there are always a lot of people, and we can make money for ourselves. >> in the process getting the chance to have a childhood that crimes of their parents nearly took away. ron mcbride, al jazeera, beijing. >> a chinese court has sentenced two employers for their roles in a factory fire in a chicken plant last year. 121 people were killed, and 76 others were injured. the fire caused electrical shortages and was china's worst industrial accident in five years. some say that they were not able to open exit doors to escape. for the first time people are casting ballots. some have criticized the vote as flawed casting a shadow on next year's landmark election.

only one person per household is able to vote in yangon. limiting the vote to 4,000 people. a a new budget endorsed by prime minister shinzo abe, he's facing strong pressure to help restore growth in the world's third largest economy. in india a fire in a timber shot has killed eight people on the outskirts of mumbai. the victims were acreep in the build at the time. it took a dozen fire engines several hours to extinguish the blaze. the indian government has indianed vehicles older than 15 years old from the roads in new delhi. it is an attempt to combat pollution after a study found india has the dirtiest air in

the world. >> reporter: this man loves his scooter. it has been a proud part of his family since he married anita 25 years ago, and he says it has never let him down. >> i have driven around my kids after they were born. i've taken my wife and my sister-in-law for a ride, even my mother, when she was sick, and we had to take her to the doctor, we went on this. >> reporter: but india's green tribunal is forcing him to retire his trusty two wheeler in a bid to clean up new delhi's notorious pollution. the city has been singled out by the "world health organization" as having the world's worst air quality. and a recent study by an university of california scientist suggest pollution

levels on these roads could be eight times higher than previously reported. >> one of the most important pollutants for your health is partikulant matter. and these have major consequences, globally and also in india. >> reporter: with increasing risks to public health authorities are under pressure to clean up the air. delhi's government estimate three-quarters of the air pollution is caused by vehicle emissions. but environmentalityists sabaning all cars and scooters is not going to make much different. what is needed, they say is stringent monitoring of emissions, and tougher fines for polluting vehicles. >> the average age of vehicles in new delhi is four to seven years. we don't expect many vehicles in the age bracket of 15 years. if we get rid of them, i don't

see it having a massive impact on air quality. >> about 1500 new vehicles roll on the capitol's roads every year, and environmentalists say if authorities are serious, they need to invest in public transport. al jazeera, new delhi. >> a team of researchers in the netherlands is developing a new and cheaper way of harnessing energy from the wind. by flying one height they're able to produce enough electricity to power ten homes. >> reporter: last-minute adjustments before the test launch of a new high-tech kite. these dutch researchers believe

if technology takes off it could change the way we generate electricity. the system use as lightweight kite. a controller just beneath the kite communicating with the ground station. and as the kite pulls a wench on the ground slowly let's the kite out and at the same time generates a pulling force to generate electricity. >> we can generation electricity as the kite is reeling out. when we're done with reeling out, we'll reel it back in until it's just on top of us, and then it can dive into the next power cycle, and we have positive power balance. >> this produces enough electricity to power 10 to 20 homes. but the team wants to make it five times larger. >> you don't need a heavy crane. we can just be in our trailer, drop it, also in remote

locations it seems like an ideal location for these generators. >> but like many test flights this one does not go as planned, and a problem with the steering brings it down. flying at 200 meters, well above the convention of wind turbines, indicts like these enjoy stronger and sustained wind conditions. they're working on a computer system to regulate its movement as it flies. so when this is achieved kite power could provide efficient, reliable source of renewable energy. >> this is a very difficult task, even for a human rater. you need some kite-surfing skills so you can feel how the kite reacts. it's a very dynamic system, and the kite moves in all directions. from a control point of view also a hard challenge.

>> reporter: the team said it has taken years to develop. and it's still in its infancy. it has much more potential. >> still ahead on al jazeera. >> in berlin more than ever the go-to place for young classical musicians. >> and the head coach of asian football champions defends himself against allegations of match fixing. details coming up next.

we need their support to take the asian cup. >> he took over six months ago with his side sleeping further and further down the table. 3-1 defeat on boxing day.

>> arson wengar wa--the striker will be suspended. >> a thrilling cycling race in belgium. the race champion was involved in a three-way battle. took advantage on the slips of the muddy steps. >> well, leading the 70th annual yacht race. it had been chasing american boat since the race started on friday, looking for their eighth title while they took the lead

off the halfway mark of the race. that's it from me. >> sana. thank you very much. berlin is famous for electronic music of the techno scene, but it's also drawing in young classical musicians from around the world. nick spicer reports. [ opera singing ] >> reporter: a mozart aria. she said she has had some success back home, but she moved to berlin last summer. that's where you go now to make it big in opera. >> there is a choice of ten classical concerts to see every night of the week. so as a performer the education side of that, the learning that i get from seeing these amazing performances every night is huge. >> this is the deutsche symphony

orchestra. if berlin has caught up to new york, paris and london as a music capitol, it's largely because of money. [music] >> public subsidies keep the classical music scene in berlin and the rest of germany flourishing when many countries have slashed spending in the name of austerity. but there is a quirk the history. berlin was a divided city east and west in the cold war with east and west germany outspending each other on concert halls and orchestras. >> when germany was unified in 1990, the city was unified as well. all of a sudden there was

basically two sometimes even three, if you look at the opera houses of everything. >> this woman's company promotes the careers of young artist who is come to berlin. she said it's the ideal place for them to grow as musicians. >> you have to study. you have to have higher education. you have the academies of orchestras and you have the ability to find comparatively cheap space to live compared to london, paris or new york. [♪ singing ] >> rachel fenlon is hoping for a breakthrough in auditions here. the german capitol is like what was said of new york, if you can make it here, you can probably make it anywhere. nick spicer, al jazeera, berlin. >> lovely. stay with us on al jazeera. more news straight ahead.

>> syria agrees to negotiations about restarting peace talks in moscow. the fighting rages on. hello, watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up, tens of thousands displaced and dozens dead as the worst flooding in more than 40 years sweeps across southeast asia. new yorkers pack the streets for the funeral of a policeman killed by a gn