taking part in the talks, iran is invited to join russia and the u.s. in vienna to try to resolve the war in syria. hello there, i'm barbara sarah. this is al jazeera live from london. the palestinian president asks the u.n. for international protection as he says the situation is the worst it has been since 1948. paying the price of the emissions scandal, vw announced their first quarterly loss in 15 years. and we meet the bee keepers

of mexico, battling monsanto who they say is threatening their livelihood. ♪ loel there, thank you for joining us. well, it's one of the main backers of syrian leader bashar al-assad's regime, and now for the first time and amid ongoing violence, iran has accepted an invitation to attend talks aimed attending syria's civil war. iran, the united states, russia, turkey, and saudi arabia will all attend. we'll talk to peter sharp in moscow, and rosiland jordan who joins us from washington. but first this report. >> reporter: this is one of the funerals for iranian soldiers killed in syria. he is among the two dozen solders and generals who have

died while fighting there. the u.s. says nearly 2,000 iranian special forces are in syria fighting in support of the government. iranian generals have been assuring people that foreign military involvement is important. a commander had this to say during a funeral procession: but more countries getting involved in the conflict has not stopped the killing of civilians, and unlike previous years many feel iran is being forced to publicly acknowledge the deaths of its soldiers. >> not a single day goes by that we don't hear news about the death of at least one or two iranian soldiers or commanders in syria. the commanders and military advisors have been in syria from day one. if they are acknowledging it now, it is because they cannot

hide it from the international community or the public inside the country. the coffins aren't just arriving in tehran, lebanon's shia armed group, hezbollah has also been burying its fighters. in addition to iran and hezbollah, russia is providing syria's military with air cover. syrian rebels have come under increasing attack, but they say they are defending their areas. and some believe iran's setback in syria could be forcing it to support negotiations. >> i think if iran is accepting the dialogue now to sit at the same negotiating table with the rest of the international community to find a way out of the syrian crisis by dialogue and politics, i think that is because it doesn't want to lose anymore commanders. >> reporter: iran has been invited to take part in the talks about syria.

and until the talks actually sell .to ceasefire, soldiers from all sides will continue to be buried. >> let's go to moscow now where peter sharp joins us. i guess reaction there must be quite pleased. i guess the russians seeing iran's involvement in these talks as a bit of a queue for them. >> i think so. sergei lavrov has been very busy with his calls to his opposite numbers in tehran. and the russian president said he was delighted with the widening of the number of countries who are now going to be involved in the talks. there have been all international efforts have failed to bring peace in syria over the last five years, a quarter of a million people dead. 11 million displaced. and the key now, it is hoped is

the participation of russia and iran who are the key allies, virtually the only allies, bashar al-assad has got. and they are hoping that their presence will persuade other key international players to come to the table and try and reach some agreement, and the sticking point of course is what do you do with bashar al-assad? the -- russia and iran have been talking about him staying on for some while, while the transitional settlement goes into effect. but that's unacceptable to countries like saudi and turkey. >> peter thank you. and now let's get the latest reaction from the u.s. with rosiland jordan in washington, d.c. as we were hearing peter say there, ros, obviously all attempts to end the violence

have failed so far. the u.s. used to consider iran part of the problem, now they are inviting them to these talks. obviously a more pragmatic foreign policy, but how big of difference does the u.s. think having iran at the table will actually make? >> it is our understanding it is the russians who extended the formal invitation. but clearly that would not have happened without the u.s. agreeing that having the iranians at the bargaining table would be a useful thing. the u.s. us does consider iran very much a problem inside syria. they point to the ongoing deployment of igrc members of the elite military force supporting the assad government. they also point to the ongoing financial support that iran has provided to damascus during the four and a half years of this civil war. so they know that iran is not making it any easier to end the civil war.

in that said, they also understand that tehran has the ear of damascus, so they are really making a pragmatic call and so are the saudis for that matter, that they need to work with those who can act as intermediaries to try to persuade bashar al-assad to step aside, to allow a political transition to take place. it has taken some time and a lot of discussions between the u.s., russia, saudi arabia, france, other countries in the region to try to figure out what is the best way forward? and they have come to an agreement in recent days that iran does need to be at the table. it is worth pointing out, barbara who is not going to be taking part in the summit in vienna on friday, or in the prerounds of talks at least as far as we know on thursday also in vienna, and that would be members of the syrian political opposition. there's supposedly ongoing

discussions between the u.s. and these groups, but there is not going to be a formal set, you know, place at the table for these opposition groups, and one of the reasons is that at least according to the obama administration -- they are still not seeing the amount of unity, of coordination, of a sense of purpose or vision for a post-assad syria, and so without that sense of unity, nay aren't quite ready, they believe to have them at the table. >> rosiland jordan with the latest from washington, d.c. roslyn thank you. the war in syria has created millions of refugees and the world food program has announced it is resuming a food program that helps thousands of refugees living in jordan. they were forced to cut the vouchers last month because of a severe shortage of funds.

new donor support means each person will be given $14 a month until the end of the year. ♪ palestinians president abbas has warned that the situation between the israelis and palestinians is at its worst and most critical stage since 1948. he has urged the united states to step in and provide international protection. >> translator: we reaffirm that the security council has requested to shoulder its responsibility and establish a special regime of international protection for the palestinian people. we want your protection. we can no longer bare all of the sanctions and attacks perpetuated by the settlers and israeli army. >> witnesses say a palestinian

man was unarmed, but israeli forces say he was attempting to carry out an attack. the divisions of who can pray at the al-aqsa mosque compound has been fuelling the tensions. stephanie decker reports. >> reporter: fear, violence and suspicion have darkened this the last month at the al-aqsa mosque. the status quo agreed upon almost 50 years ago, this site has never been as contested as it is today. >> with the temple movements starting their campaign demanding jewish brar on the temple mount, and importantly backed up by strong political players inside the coalition.

since june 2014, police have started putting severe access restrictions for wide parts of the muslim population, according to age, according to gender. it was never before that the reason was in order to allow jews to enter the place. >> reporter: this issue of access is at the hereto of the recent violence. it began when muslims were prevented from accessing the site while jewish groups toured the compound. this proclamation signed by israel's chief rabbis prohits jews from entering the compound. but growing numbers of jewish activists have been doing just that. this is adding to the fear that israel is slowly changing the

parameters that only muslims can pray here. it's a message that palestinian say they have an issue with. >> translator: for us, non-muslims are allowed to visit with respect as guests. but this has changed and these extremist say we want to pray and this holy place is ours, and they say that we muslims should leave. >> reporter: the israeli prime minister issued a statement saying that jews will not be allowed to prayer at the al-aqsa mosque compound. israeli and jordanian officials say security cameras will stream live footage as a way to show what happens here. >> there is no agreement between israel and jordan and the palestinians on what is aggression on the temple mount. >> reporter: there is deep mistrust, many say it will take

more than words from an israeli prime minister and a few cameras to ensure palestinians that their rights at al aqsa are not being threatened. still lots more to come on al jazeera, including -- >> reporter: i'm reporting from south korea's rapidly emptying dam. people are worrying not just about a short-term drought but a long-term problem. >> reporter: and we'll find out how white farmers exiled from zimbabwe are successfully putting down roots in mozambique.

time now for a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. iran has accepted an invitation to attend international talks in vienna aimed attending the conflict in syria. friday's meeting will include the u.s., russia, turkey, and saudi arabia. the world food program is resuming its program for refugees living in jordan. and palestinian president has asked the united nations for international protection as he warns the situation between israelis and palestinians is at its worst stage since 1948. in the swak of the volkswagen emissions scandal, the german car maker has posted its first quarterly loss in 15 years. the kompany lost $3.9 billion in the third quarter of this year. it set aside more than 7 billion to deal with fallout from the

scandal, but admits it may cost the company even more. >> reporter: it is dominated the skyline for decades, and while steam still pours from the headquarters, inside anxious times at vw embroiled in scandal as it endures its first quarterly loss for at least 15 years. >> the first and most important priority is helping our customers as quickly as possible, and as comprehensively as necessary. >> volkswagen is having to recall millions of cars around the world. after it admitted it had cheated on some emissions tests. for some of the 60,000 workers, it is business as usual, but there are worries. >> translator: it's a depressing atmosphere, we talk about it all the time. >> translator: the atmosphere is down. a lot of people are quite

cautious because they don't know how it is going to continue. the next year is going to be tough for vw, but surely vw will bounce back in the end. >> reporter: that's what many in this town are hoping for. vw has warned its profits for the whole year will be down. this quarterly loss is largely down to the huge amounts of money the company has put aside to pay for costs incurred in the scandal. it's repair bill will run into billions of dollars while the price of restoring consumer confidence is hard to quantify. the future of many of these workers now depends on how well vw can recover trust in its brand. a brand which had been built on reliability and trust. vw says an independent investigation will take place to try to understanding what happened. the company one of germany's biggest and one of the world's

leading car makers could face criminal charges. a long awaited african union report into south sudan's civil war has uncovered evidence of mass graves and forced c cannibali cannibalism. the report accuses both sides of human rights violations. south sudan's civil war began in 2013 over a political split. the report was meant to be released earlier this year, but was delayed to give peace negotiations a chance. since independence four years ago about 200,000 people have fled north to sudan to try toes cape the violence. caroline malone reports. >> reporter: this is the mother of six children. she is from south sudan and voted for independence four years ago. but she has been forced to leave her home and go back to where

she used to live in sudan. >> translator: i really regretted it. i will never go back to south sudan, if you saw how they killed of our loved ones, you could not imagine how we arrived in sudan. neighbors gave us beds. >> reporter: nearly 200,000 people have run away from violence in south sudan in the last four years. government forces are fighting rebel groups for control, with civilians often becoming the victims. five members of this family were among them. regina's relatives were attacked. her mother and sister were killed. >> translator: my mother and sister were hit in the head. other siblings were separated from us, and i don't know where they are now. >> reporter: four years ago it was a different story after years of conflict people voted to separate from sudan. the government helped to transport many of them back to

areas they called home, a new country of south sudan. they were hopeful of a new life and peace after independence but instead they got war. >> translator: death is everywhere. people were buried in a very large graveyard. the kids were not safe either, even a pregnant woman has not escaped death. we have seen many shocking things in the south. >> reporter: less than five years after leaving sudan, they are back. this time as refugees who have suffered a lot. caroline malone, al jazeera. the tanzanian opposition has called for a recount of the presidential vote. the opposition leader wants the electoral commission to halt the announcement of the winner which is expected on thursday. preliminary roults suggest that the candidate from the ruling party is ahead. meanwhile the presidential

results from the semi aon the mouse region have been scrapped. the move has created tension on the islands which are a base for opposition to the ruling party. a police officer in the u.s. state of south carolina has been sacked after throwing a black teenager across a classroom. the senior deputy was filmed throwing the teenager to the ground and then dragging her across the room after she refused to leave the classroom. south korea is suffering its worst drought in more than four decades. a key reservoir that supplies water to suns of thousands of people is at dangerously low levels. harry fawcett reports from the worst-effected area. >> reporter: the reservoir is

emptying by the day. it's water supplies nearly half a million people in this area. it's a slow motion crisis that has been coming for years, but accelerated this summer with rainfall just two-fifths of normal levels. the man from the water company briefs women's group members who want to spread the word about water use reduction. >> you i see how the problem is, we get the idea how serious it is. >> reporter: in a normal year, think reservoir should be 60% full, but standings at less than 20%. this drought is making worse the problems of previous dry years. in any normal year this area would be well underwater, but even if between now and next spring there were to be normal average rainfall it wouldn't make up the shortfall in

precipitation. people here increasingly aren't just worried about a one-off drought, rather a long-term problem. >> translator: usually south korea sees more than 70% of its annual precipitation in summer. the lack of rain is bound to lead to a draut. we have had autumn droughts for the last ten years. and it is getting worse. >> reporter: the shortage has hit hardest on coastal rice paddyes reclaimed from the sea. farmers say they have lost between 30 and 100% of their crops, without double the usual rainfall, they say they won't be able to plant the next crop. >> translator: we need the government to bring in water from somewhere else to create conditions for farming. >> reporter: the government is promising by february to put in place a pipeline to divert water

to the region. but with a pattern emerging of consistently drier weather over the whole country, bigger solutions are sure to be needed. harry fawcett, al jazeera, south korea. dozens of white farmers that were forced from their properties in zimbabwe under the president's land reform program have ended up in mozambique. >> reporter: kevin gifford left zimbabwe more than ten years ago. he says he was forced to move when his farm was seized by armed youth when the president region his land reform program. it was a scheme that took land from white owners and gave it to black zimbabweans. he says restarting wasn't easy, but he is doing well now. >> we have a farm of 460 hectares, and that -- we grow

about 250 hectares a year. we employ anywhere between 175 to 350 workers here at any one time. >> reporter: more than 200 white zimbabwe farmers have moved here. they were attracted by the safety this country offered and cheap land leases and promises of bank loans. >> i do feel welcome in mow some beak. i think mow some beak has been very good to us. it started with the president inviting us to come and help develop his country. of course we have had our problems. everybody does. but, yeah, i'm comfortable here. >> reporter: 2 hour's drive down the ride is bill's tomato farm. he too came here with little. >> we started initially very small and we now grow 12 hectares of horticulture, in terms of tonnage it is quite big. >> reporter: but it's not only

the new farmers who are doing well. it seems the new wealth is trickling down to locals. in a region with high unemployment rate these farms have given the local economy a much-needed boost. hundreds of mainly young mozambique an men now work on these farms. the farm workers know why they zimbabwe an employer are here. >> translator: what happened in zimbabwe, if it happens here it will be sad for us, because it is helping us a lot. >> reporter: kevin says he would love to return to zimbabwe one day, but for now he has bigger concerns like finding new markets for his produce. beekeepers in mexico are going against the agree chemical

giant monsanto. >> reporter: this beekeeper calls it the mayan's greatest treasure, the same color but more valuable than gold. it's called [ inaudible ] mayan for honey. produced here in tree trunks by tiny bees. they don't sting and they make the most prized honey in the jungle. >> translator: we use it for ceremonies to can for rain. but it also has medicinal properties. >> reporter: they even mixed honey with dirt to make their famous pyramids. today this man uses smoke to keep his bees from attacking. the honey produced here is extremely sought after and fetches a very high price on the european market, but the livelihood of the families depends not just on its

exquisite taste and aroma but on the ability to keep their honey pure. and that's why these plantations have become the enemy. genetically modified and sprayed with herbicides sold by monsanto, the crops are providing bees with what beekeepers describe as contaminated pollen. >> translator: they are defor kesing our wrinkle and threatening to close our market, because the europeans won't buy the genetically modified honey. >> reporter: yucatan peninsula beekeepers and supports made a final appeal to the supreme court this week on the eve of its ruling. >> translator: the court has the power to limit these crops that have the potential to impact health, the environment, and the cultural heritage of the mayan communities. >> reporter: a culture closely

linked to what some call the necker of the gods. today pitted against arguably the world's most powerfuling a -- ago row chemical company. >> more on the website, aljazeera.com. ♪ finding a replacement for john boehner. house republicans meeting behind closed doors to vote on their nominee. protecting the palestinian, the president has a request for the united nations. plus the south carolina officer who threw that teenage girl to the ground now finds out if he still has a job.