and syria has not changed and from day one they want it imposed and we have always said. and don't worry it's just a little blood and millions of other syrians can hope there is

an end to the blood shed, al jazeera. al jazeera's mohamed is in vienna following the talks and is live now and what do we know about the meetings that have already taken place today? >> mariam there is a four-way meeting between the u.s. and saudis and the russians and the turks and this is a meeting we have been expecting for several hours and it is finally happening now and we are told that a short while after that eu foreign policy chief will emerge and give a brief statement to the press and what has been interesting in the lead that is happening now is that both u.s. secretary of state john kerry and russian foreign minister sergei fedorov respectively went on a few hundred meters down the road to the bristol and met separate for two separate

bilateral meetings and goes how to show how a strategic important process they are for the talks and at one points we expected that the iranians would show up in vein that tomorrow and the first time they have been invited to join talks on the future of syria and they are here a day early by some people's estimation and two high level delegations have already met with them, it will be very interesting to see how this plays out tomorrow, that is the key day in a sense today has only been setting the scene and the stage for the very important talks tomorrow but it's going to be interesting to see what happens after this four-way meeting ends presumably within the next hour and if there will be a statement from the participants after that, mariam. >> very significant for the first time we are seeing regular opponents and particularly in saudi arabia coming together to discuss syria but i guess it also highlights the fact that their visions for the country

also are very different. what are the expectations then from these talks? >> that is really the key question nobody really knows how this is going to play out. it is very significant as you said just a moment ago that the i rackys and saudis are in the same room and the first time iran has been participating in the meetings over the fate of syria but you have the u.s., you have the turks and the saudis who very strongly back the syrian opposition and then you have the russians and the iran who block bashar al-assad including uae and lebanon and some say the iraq and the french and others, the fact they will all be gathering together role going to show how the dynamic has shifted in the middle east after the iranian nuclear deal which was pinned a few months ago and how it plays out is anybody's guest and kerry when

he emerged and asked if he was optimistic he said it will depend what happens tomorrow and sounded guardedly optimistic and the note that has been struck today, one of guarded op miss mission and there is a renewed effort to come up with a diplomatic solution, political process for a way forward in syria and as you heard in the report a few moments ago even with all this renewed push for negotiations over syria the fact of the matter on the ground the humanitarian crisis and fighting seems to be spiralling out of control more everyday and in the past few weeks the u.n. said at least 120,000 newly internally displaced people in syria because of renewed fighting and it's a desperate situation there and far removed from the ornate back drop in vein that and a lot will depends on what happens on the rooms at the hotel imperil tomorrow at the negotiating table. >> all eyes following the summit in vein that and thanks very

much. as we touched on the wheels of diplomacy are starting to turn but the civilian casualties still mounting in syria, al jazeera has learned that at least 15 people including children and medical staff have been killed after syrian regime forces shelled a makeshift hospital. a further 50 others were injured when the facility crumbled in the attack in duma which is just north of the capitol damascus. the area has come under intense shelling as they renew efforts to take on the strongholds controlled by opposition fighte fighters. the u k-base for syrian right says three were killed after barrel bombs were dropped on the town on wednesday. this video shows it was posted on the same day by the local activist media group the media center which allegedly shows an air strike by a government helicopter and claims a woman and her son were among those killed in the raids.

♪ now the chinese communist party announced the end of its controversial one-child policy. with all couples now allowed to have two children. introduced in 1979 with the aim of slowing population growth the policy is one of the largest ever social engineering experiments, that is estimated to prevent 400 million births and many families worry they will have more than one child provided they pay the fine and some estimates say the government made more than $314 billion in the fees since 1980. those who couldn't afford to pay were often subjected to forced abortions and sterilizations. the policy is seen as a contributing factor in china's gender imbalance which has estimated 33 million more men than women. as rob mcbride now reports from

beijing. >> the announcement came at the end of the communist party four-day gathering of its leadership mapping out the next five-year plan. the strategy sets broad economic goals for china developments but it's the change in the country's one child policy that has been the most anticipated by many families here. they had been partially relaxed allowing families where at least one parent is from a one child family themselves have two children and now that is extended to all couples. >> the importance of this measure is not so much demographic in terms of encouraging vast new numbers of children to be born but it is the lifting of a highly restrictive and at teams coersive policy as we have heard. >> reporter: brought in to control the population and its cancellation will be popular but a number of couples like sam cho

and ju-wong have not decided to have another child and career and living costs in beijing are the priority. >> my wife and i don't have any plan for the second child. >> reporter: their seven-year-old son henry is in no doubt he wants a sibling. >> i want a sister. >> reporter: problems associated with a generation of one child families is the longer term demographic imbalance and there is a growing number of elderly people who need to be supported by an ever shrinking working population, a one-child put in place 30 years ago to avoid a crisis and has to be abandon to avoid another in the future and rob mcbride al jazeera, beijing. israeli forces have shot dead two palestinians after separate attacks in hebron in the occupied west banks and in

both instance they stabbed israeli soldiers before they opened fire and one servicemen suffered minor head injuries and 66 palestini palestinians and israelis have died since october. violence between them in the occupied territories could lead to a catastrophe. young palestinians told security forces not to interfere with their protests as we now report from ramallah. >> reporter: almost daily event in the occupied west bank but in this game of cat and mouse between the youths and the army the rules have changed. mohamed not his real name says areas like this under palestinian authority control the security forces are keeping a low profile. >> translator: now that the violence has increased and have killed and have killed people there is no way for them to stop us and if they try they would

turn their vote against the palestinian authority rather than against israel. >> reporter: in resent years scenes like this palestinian authorities security forces confronting protesters and stopping them from marching towards israeli checkpoints have angered many people. but in the last few weeks rather than being presents in large numbers the pa men in uniform have kept their distance. al jazeera tried to get an official to comment on the tactic but nobody was available. the palestinian security forces are still around. the protesters have told us people are still being monitored and sometimes arrested by the pa and it's just that with talk of a new one they don't want to be seen to be antagonizing a young generation of activists. there is another twist in the cycle of protests, university students are using social media for alternative demonstrations where the flags of the various palestinian factions are noticeably absent. >> something they are listening to are political leadership or

even for this and taking the ownership and trying to change the whole framework of what we struggle against the occupation. >> reporter: nobody knows when or how the latest up surge in violence will end but in the meantime there is no such frustration among protesters by and large they are being left to their devices, al jazeera, in the occupied west bank. much more still ahead for you on al jazeera, we will tell you why a saudi blogger has been awarded the eu's price for human rights. plus. i'm malcolm web in kenya where these corn husbandings are being turned into kilowatts of electricity which are going into the national power grid. ♪ the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,

and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around.

♪ welcome back, you are watching al jazeera, update of the top stories now u.s. secretary of state john kerry and iranian minister met in vein that ahead of international talks aimed at resolving the war in syria. china is abandoning its controversial one-child policy after more than three decades and two palestinians have been killed in separate incidents in the occupied west bank on thursday. now republican paul ryan has been elected the new speaker of the house of representatives one of the most powerful jobs in u.s. politics and ryan will replace john boehner forced to retire after the vote of conservative lawmakers and speaker of the house is second in line for the presidency and

ryan says it's an opportunity for a fresh start. >> let's be frank, the house is broken. we are not solving problems, we are adding to them. and i am not interested in laying blame. we are not settling scores. we are wiping the slate clean. >> reporter: greek coast guard is still searching for 38 people that went missing from a boat which sank off the island of lesbos in the sea. 242 refugees who were trying to cross were rescued overnight and seven confirmed dead but as john reports there is little hope more survivors will now be found. >> reporter: for these survivors a life in europe may become reality. but it comes at a high cost, dozens of their fellow passengers may never be found and children at the lesbos hospital are not yet out of

danger. three coast guard vessels and two helicopters looking for survivors and fishermen joined the search on thursday but anger runs high on the island ardisregard for human life. >> those people, those 2 1/2 thousand people that came yesterday in the island are criminals. they just get money to put those people on boats, to get -- to be dead. >> reporter: survivors say the boat capsized when the over crowded upper deck collapsed on people below and smugglers had already been taken off the boat by another vessel and they were left to steer by themselves in 60 kilometer an hour winds and the people donated clothes and some put refugees up overnight in their homes. the grim post scrip of this disaster is likely to be more bodies, not more survivors. john with al jazeera, on the island of lesbos in the east

sea. slovenia authorities struggling to maintain order as thousands of refugees gather on the border with austria and scuffles broke out trying to cross and lifting the number crossing austria and causing tempers to flair. many refugees in europe are from syria some are afghans and bangladesh and push to send them back to countries of origin on the austria-slovenia border we report. >> the other we found on the road in iran. >> reporter: friendships have been forged on this journey like he and his new family from afghanistan he is just 16 years old, aged by a conflict which returned to his hometown this

mon month. >> it was awful, awful situation, all the time with some people can't get inside and i don't have a school, i don't have anything, i lost my family on the way out of iran and afghanistan. >> reporter: getting inside may not be straightforward for him because the eu considers many afghans to be economic migrants and wants to make it easier to send them home. there is a war going on in afghanistan and yet there is intention to facilitate their return, that doesn't seem to make sense. >> there is at the moment a recognition wrath of 40% of afghans and of course this is an individual questioning to see in which situations they live, whether they can go back or not go back and see about what is happening in the war situation would be improving. >> reporter: most refugees are from syria but an estimated 25% of those entering australia are

from afghanistan and many many instances i've seen people from different nationalitys coming together and noticed some resentment over who is most deserving of asylum. and a dentist from damascus asked me why i was interviewing afghans and eu wants to send afghans back they consider migrants. >> okay, that is the decision, yeah, because we are in need here and not afghans, they have to get back to their country actually. there is no more. >> reporter: he and his friends the idea of reaching safety only to face being sent home evokes hollow laughter. they have given up everything to make this journey and they say there will be no going back. robin walker with al jazeera, on the austria-slow -- slovania

worker. john michael fooley proclaimed president elect after the body dismissed opposition demands for a recount and samuel zanzabar vote annulled and claims they won and observer groups say the poll was credible. now saudi blogger has been awarded the eu prize for human rights in freedom of thought, and is currently serving a ten year jail sentence for writings on freedom of speech and received a number of prizes since his incarceration but the prize is the most high profile. as charlie angelo reports. >> reporter: the prize this year will go to the saudi arabia blogg blogger. >> translator: i call on the king of saudi arabia to immediately grant mercy on him and free him so he can accept the prize.

>> a standing ovation at the eu parliament for the 31-year-old who is online writing about free speech were met with a jail sentence and public flogging convicted in 2012 for insulting islam after he criticized senior religious figures and following death threat his wife and three children fled saudi arabia and living in canada they campaign for his release and his wife said she will tell him about the award in a weekly call. >> translator: prizes have an effect on his psychological well-being and hope it will have an impact on his legal case. life is in a very bad psychological and emotional situation and jailed three years from his kids and family and flogged in a public place and ten year prison sentence and ten year travel band. >> the first of 50 of the latches were carried out in

january. the remaining 950 have been postponed. and his wounds were slow to heal. his wife says the lashings could resume and support suffers hypertension and may not survive. there have been protests outside saudi embassys and demonstration and little criticism from western governments and says this prize will shine if light on saudi arabia human rights record and be a blow to its global image. >> there are people within the saudi arabia regime who recognize this is a very bad move what they are doing to him and other political prisoners and hopefully that may encourage them to push for change. >> reporter: the prize is awarded by the european parliament to individuals or organizations for their contribution to the fight for human rights and democracy. but despite pleas from the parliament's president and many others, it's unlikely he will be

free to receive it in person in december. charlie angelo, al jazeera. africa's first greek connected by a gas plant has come online, 6.5 million will consume 50,000 tons of organic waste from a neighboring farm and malcolm reports from the small town now. >> reporter: peter and his family never had electricity before but the connection costing kenya recently came down and finally paid to get power. and everyone is excited. >> translator: i'm very happy, i have waited for so long, there has been power in this neighborhood since 1985 but before i just couldn't afford it. >> reporter: it's among a steadily growing number of households connecting to electricity, the growing demand for energy is being met by various sources. just across town there is a new

one. these corn husbandings and broccoli leaves from a nearby farm a feeding a power plant, the first in africa to put electricity in a national grid and farm waste mixed with water in the tank and also with bacteria which come from the inside of cow's stomachs bought from the local slaughter house and makes quite a smell and next spends a day in the tank before being pumped in the digester and has the gas collected there and pumped to a power station just over here and meanwhile the liquid and solid waste goes in this tank and taken as compost and then used as fertilizer. the farms use half of the electricity generated here too and neighboring farm has shares in the power station and financial involvement guarantees supply and in six years they can make the plant's cost of nearly $7 million. >> because the low tarifs for

electricity but in our case because half is consumption and we are also selling energy from heat recovery. this helps the economics. >> reporter: it puts enough power into the national grid for about 8,000 homes. it's a tiny part of the electricity that kenya uses and about three quarters of the population still can't afford it. there is a long way to go but they are now among the families that can. ♪ and they are delighted. malcolm web, al jazeera, kenya. now one of the world's driest places has burst into bloom and has been transformed after rare august rain as rob matheson reports. >> reporter: a carpet of color spread over an arid land, chile's desert has sprung to life the most spectacular growth seen in nearly two decades.

>> translator: we have not had such large flowering in the past 18 years, in 2010 we had a large flowering but already this year has passed all the previous ones. >> reporter: this life comes from tragedy, torrential storms in august because mudslides and rivers were so swallowen they burst their banks and 28 people died and the rains watered the seeds of 200 exotic plants lying dormant for years and they in turn attracted birds, insects, lizards and rodents. for some locals it's an unforgettable experience. >> translator: for us it was a miracle because i'd never seen what the grass looks like until now. >> reporter: and it's fascinating tourists. >> so unusual, it's surreal, i'm having breakfast with the flowers. >> reporter: the flowers will

eventually die as the intense dry heat soaks up the remaining groundwater, until then the chile's desert is bursting with life, rob with al jazeera. more on everything we are covering right here al jazeera.com. >> is this pretty full for you guys? >> no, no this is just average, i guess you could say. >> okay. >> that's the population of los angeles and new york combined, booked into thousands of local jails. >> do you know how long some of these men have been held here? >> mmmm.