>> techknow, where technology meets humanity... saturday, 6:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> as more iranian soldiers fight and die in syria's war, iran's government prepares to join the united states and russia in talks to end the conflict. hello, you're watching al jazeera live from london. also coming up, as violence in israel and the occupied territories conditions, palestinians president asks the u.n. for international protection. the price of admission scandal, vw announce their first

quarterly loss in 15 years. and find out what an u.s. police department decided after investigating an officer who threw a student across a classroom. it's one of the main backers. now for the first time and amid i don't know going violence iran has accepted an invitation to talks aimed at ending syria's civil war. ross lend jordan now has more from washington, d.c. >> iran up until now has not been in the u.s.' view very helpful. they say by sending in rngc personnel, the elite military faction of the iranian government, they're basically helping bashar al-assad stay in power, which is something

that the u.s. does not want. they blame assad for the ongoing civil war and also for the isil in the northern part of that country as well as in iraq. but they also know that they have something that the u.s. does not have, and that is the ear of assad. as they start this new round of discussions on friday preceded by some bilateral meetings in vienna on thursday the u.s. is working to work with whoever could persuade assad that departing sooner than later is very good for him. >> as the war goes on, more are dying in the battlefield. >> this is one of the funerals for one the iranian soldier killed in syria.

he is one of dozen irans wh iranians who have died there. iranian generals have been assuring that iranian involvement is important. they had that to say during the funeral procession. more countries getting involved in the conflict has not stopped the killing of civilians. unlike previous years many feel iran is forced to publicly acknowledge the deaths of its soldiers. >> not a single day goes by that we don't hear news of deaths of one or two iranian soldiers or commanders in syria. the irgc hillsiders have been in syria from day one. if they're acknowledging it now, it is because they cannot hide it from the international

community or the public inside the country. >> the could have finishes are not just arriving in iran. hezbollah has been burying it's fighters who have been killed in syria. russia is providing military with air cover. syrian rebels who are supported by region in arab states have come under increasing attacks but they say they're defending their areas against a powerful coalition, and some believe that iran's set back 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 it is because it doesn't want to lose any more commanders. >> they're invited to take part in talks about the conflict in syria, until the talks help to

cease-fire, soldiers will continue to be buried. >> resuming a third voucher program that helps 239,000 vulnerable refugees living in jordan. they were forced to cut the vouchers to those living outside of camps last month because of the shortage of funds. now each person will be given $14 a month until the end of the year. >> what we've seen over the last month is that the international community recognizing that we are, and have been in desperate need of financial support to keep helping syrians, we have found the money to come forward and give this lifeline for the winter period. right now we can cover people through to january, but obviously after that it will get difficult again. but the most critical point

right now is during the really difficult winter months families can put food on the table for their children. >> how mahmood abbas has warned that the situation between israelis and palestinians is at its worst and most critical stage since 1948. he has asked the united nations to step in and provide international protection. >> we reaffirm that the security council to shoulder its responsibility and establish a special regime of protection for the palestinian people. we want your protection. we want the protection of the world. we can no longer bear all these sanctions only the attacks perpetuated by the settlers and

the israeli army. >> a man was shot dead by israeli forces at a checkpoint in hebron. israelis say that he was arme he was set to attack. fear violence and suspicion have darkened the last month in the holiest of cities. at its heart the al-aqsa compound and it's rules agreed upon 50 years ago, this site has never been as contested as it is today. >> well, the temple movements, demanding jewish prayer on the temple mounts and backed up by strong political players inside the coalition.

since june 2014 police have started putting severe access restrictions for 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. >> and this issue of access is at the heart of the recent violence. it began during two recent jewish holidays when muslims were prevented from accessing the site while right-wing jewish groups toured the compound, an act contested by religious authorities here. this proclamation signed by israel's chief rabbi prohibits jews from entering the temple mount as known to jews. but in defiance growing numbers of jewish activists have been doing that, stoking and inflaming tensions. it is adding to the fear that israel is slowly changing the agreed perimeter that only

muslims can pray here. it's the type of jewish visitor and their message that palestinians say they have an issue with. >> for us they are not allowed to visit without provocation or prayer, but this has changed, and these extremists say they want to pray, and that this holy place is ours and that we muslims should leave. >> the prime minister said that jews will not be allowed to pray at the al-aqsa mosque compound. israeli and jordanian officials say that security cameras will soon 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 an aggression on the temple mount. so we see the same picture, describe it in completely different words. >> there is deep mistrust. many say it will take more than

words from an israeli prime minister and a few cameras to assure palestinians of their rights over al-aqsa are not being threatened. stephanie dekker, occupied east jerusalem. >> the saudi-led military coalition is denying that it bombed a hospital in yemen run by doctors without borders. the airstrikes injured one staff member and completely destroyed the building. doctors without borders said that it provided hospital location coordinates two weeks ago. emergency teams in afghanistan and pakistan are desperately trying to reach people trapped after monday's earthquakes. survivor are facing another night without shelter. kamal hyder is in pakistan. >> help is beginning to arrive, but the most difficult thing

about that help is the fact that it should be arriving in time. now we have been able to see families still waiting to come out and get them out of this difficult situation. this old lady has been waiting for two days. she said no one has come to her house to try and give her reassurance that she will be able to rebuild this mud home. she's traumatized. [ . >> our house has collapsed. what will we do now? we're very poor and have this mud house but now we've lost everything. we won't be able to rebuild. no one is helping us, and there has been no aid from the government. we're sitting at the mercy of god. >> there are many other people like this who are still waiting. now the problem has become very complex because the destruction is over a large area. and it is in small pockets.

once again it is the poor who are hit hard. the government has to do something really fast if it wants to come through on its claim that it is always there to help its people. the calamity is not so large, but there needs to be some sensitivity. the prime minister and the chief minister and the politicians may be coming here for photo sessions, but this is a time for action. >> well, there is much more still ahead for you on al jazeera this half hour. exiled from zimbabwe, we meet one white farmer who managed to put down roots in neighboring mozambique. and mexican bee keepers battling the agro-chemical giant monsanto, who they say is threatening their livelihood. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,

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>> welcome back. a recap of your top stories now. iran has accepted an invitation to attend talks in vienna ending violence in syria. while food program is resuming its food voucher program for syrian refugees living in jordan it was forced to cut the scheme last month because of a shortage of funds. mahmood abbas asks for international protection saying that relations between israel and palestine is at its worst

since 1948. >> volkswagen reported it's worst quarterly loss in 15 years. >> it is dominated the volksberg skyline for decades. while steam still pours from the europe's biggest carmaker, inside anxious times at vw embroiled in scandal endures it's first quarterly loss for at least 15 years. >> the first and most important priority is helping our customers as quickly as possible, and as comprehendbly as necessary. >> volkswagen is having to recall millions of cars around the world. after it admitted it cheated on some admissions test. for some of the 60,000 workers

in volksberg it is business as usual. but there are worries. it is a depressing atmosphere. we talk about it all the time. >> 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 at the end. >> 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 brands. a brand which has been built on reliability and trust.

>> vw says an independent investigation will take place to try to understand what happened. the company one of germany's biggest and one of the world's leading car makers could face criminal charges. emma hayward, in berlin. >> ivory coast incumbent president has claimed victory in the country's presidential poll. the country's election commission received more than 80% of the vote. sunday's poll was a peaceful affair compared to the 2010 election which sparked violence that killed more than 3,000 people. they say the page has been turned after what he called the crisis years. the opposition has called for recount of the country's presidential vote saying there are irregularities in the count. meanwhile the presidential vote in zanzibar has been thrown out.

>> the election will be held again in three months. it is very tense there. the opposition presidential candidate there had declared himself winner of the election. there is a heavy military presence there as well. here, the main opposition coalition that supports the main candidate has rejected the results that are being a tallied, the amounts by the national electoral commission. they say that this results are being doctored. >> this opposition claims official provisional results they say the reforms prove just that.

>> the chairperson says there is no basis for postponement. not even zanzibar's presidential election. >> they have conducted and. >> the national election commission has also relieved the statement saying that the results being announced are factual, and they have been signed off by agents from all the major political parties. they are urging people to keep calm and stay patient as they await the final results. >> the poll's parliament has voted in the nation's first woman president. deputy leader of nepal's communist party and women's rights campaigner. her role will be a ceremonial one as nepal's prime minister is still the country's leader. she has played a leading role in politics ever since her husband was killed in an unsolved car accident. now to a significant development in the colombian

peace talks. president juan manuel santos will declare a cease-fire with the farc guerrillas january 1st. he insists the truce will be dependent on finalizing a deal on the disarmament of the rebel fighters. a police officer in the u.s. state of south carolina has been sacked after throwing a black teenager across a classroom. the officer was fired after this incident on monday where he's seen throwing a student to the ground and then across the room. field was called to the high school to deal with the student who had been disruptive and refused to leave the classroom. >> deputy fields did not follow proper training, did not follow proper procedure when he threw the student across the room. from the very beginning that's what caused me to be upset. when i first saw that video and

continue to upset me when i see that video is the fact that he picked this student up, and he threw the student across the room. that is not a proper technique and should not be use in law enforcement. >> tech giant apple has reported the biggest yearly profit in corporate history. $53billion over the last year, clipsing the previous record set by ex-e exxonmobil in 2008. bee keepers accuse monsanto of polluting their honey and threatening their livelihood. >> it is called the mayan's greatest treasure. the same color but more valuable

than gold. it's called mayan honey. produced here in tree trunks by tiny bees. they don't sting, and they make the most prized honey in the you can tan pen yukatan inningel. >> the ancient mayans even mixed honey with dirt as cement for their famous pyramid. >> the honey produced here is extremely sought after and fetches a very high price on the european market. but the livelihood of families who produce this depends not only on exquisite state and arm but the ability to keep the honey pure. that's why these nearby soy

plantations have become the enemy, genetically modified and sprayed with herb sides both sold by the agro-chemical company monsanto. >> they're deforesting our jungle. the european won't buy genetically modified honey treated with herbicide. >> yucatan bee keepers and supporters made an appeal to the supreme court court on the eve of its ruling. >> the court has the power to limit transjettic crops that impact health, the environment and cultural heritage of the mayan communities. >> a culture closely linked to what some call the nectar of the gods. >> today pitted against arguebly the world's most powerful

agro-chemical corporation. >> now we're getting reports of a boat accident rolfing refugees off the coast of greece, which may have involved significant loss of life. let's speak to our reporter on the island of lesbos, greece. john, what more do we know? >> we know that on lesbos 242 people hav from a single incident. that means one boat carrying hundreds of people which sank under circumstances which have not been verified. three people have been pulled from the water drowned from that same i want. the operation is ongoing. so those numbers are going to change overnight. >> john, do we know anything else about the response from the coast guard from the greek authorities. the boat with over 200 people on board, can you give us an idea

of the sort of forces they've deployed to deal with this? >> we know that they've got several boats out in the area, and they're supported by the european border controls. we know they've been trying to pinpoint bodies or people floating in the water with their life jackets. it's a very you have roughly winds off lesbos and is probably a contributing factor, and probably a contributing factor to an incident in earlier in the day in which a three-year-old girl was drowned and another child in critical condition. those incidents were involved rubber dinghies, but this one involved a large wooden boat, a different type of scale and

transport than what we're used to seeing in these waters between greece and turkey. at the moment i think the cost guard is focusing all of its resources on this particular area which is to the north of the island. >> thanks very much. reporting there on an incident involving a boat which may have sunk off the coast of greece with over 200 people on board. three pulled from the water, but the operation continuing to try to rescue those on board. moving out to another story. dozens of white farmers forced off their properties in zimbabwe in president robert mugabe's reform. >> kevin left zimbabwe more than ten years ago. he said he was supposed to move after his farm was seized when robert mugabe started his land reform program. it was a scheme that took land

from white owners and gave it to black zimbabwes. he said starting from scratch in mozambique was not easy, but he's doing well now. >> from having nothing being produced here, we have a farm of 460 hectares, and with that 460 hectares we grow 220 hectares a year. we employ anywhere between 175 to 350 workers here at any one time. >> over the last 15 years more than 200 farmers have moved to this part of mozambique. they were attracted not only by the safety this country offered but cheap land leases and promises of bank loans. the farmers say they've been treated well so far. >> i do feel welcomed in mozambique. mozambique has been very good to us. it started with the president inviting us to come and hope develop its country. and they have been very proactive on that. of course we've had our problems. everybody does. but yeah, i'm comfortable here.

>> two hours drive down the road is the tomato farm. he, too, came to mozambique with little. >> we started small, and now we grow 12 hectares of water culture. it doesn't sound much, but in terms of tonnage it's quite big. >> it seems the new wealth is trickling down to locals in a region with high unemployment rate these foreign-owned farms have given the local economy a much-needed boost. hundreds of many young mozambiqueen men who had no jobs before now work on these farms. the farm workers know why their employers are here. they say they want more of them to come. >> what happened in zimbabwe, if it happens here it will be sad because they're helping us a lot. >> back at his farm kevin said

he will would like to return to zimbabwe one day but right now he mass bigger concerns like finding more markets for his produce. >> this is where you need to go to find more on everything that we're covering. www.aljazeera.com. >> this week on talk to al jazeera - the first prosecutor of the international criminal court luis moreno-ocampo. >> massive atrocitiies are not commited by evil persons. they are committed by people who say "they are protecting their own communities". >> under his direction, the first permanent international legal body sought justice for some of the most serious atrocities of this century. the icc presented charges ai