♪ vienna conference. >> the question is: are the iranians willing to use ire their influence over the assad regime to compel them to engage in this discussion. >> as peace talks get underway to help solve the syrian conflict, saudi arabia has a strong message: assad must go. future generations. actually, we need more young

people, newborn babies to improve the demographic structure. >> after decades of population declines and some 400 million birth, china aband ons its controversial one child policy. >> dire prediction. the foreign minister raise as red flag warning israel may be offending more than a billion muslims as tensions continue to rise. >> a rare beauty. heavy storms caused chile's desert, one of the driest, to spring to life. >> this is al jazeera america.

i am randall pinkston. in just over 12 hours, diplomats from more than 12 nations will put their heads together in vienna to seek a political solution to end the 4-year-old war in syria. u.n. sec father bang ki-moon is asking all of the players to put aside their differences but earlier today, secretary of state john kerry and his sabren counterpart insisted bass arrest al-assad must leave office as part of any peace plan. secretary kerry also met privately with iranian foreign minister. meanwhile, doctors without borders says 12 syrian hospitals have been hit by airstrikes in the past month. state department officials say they have information suggesting russian strife hit civilian targets. al jazeera mohammed jamjoon has more. >> reporter: in vienna, the talks may be about syria but focus turned to another country.

we believe iran has been a defendant positive force in the region and cannot put conditions. no conditions were placed odd our attendance at knees talks, and if there had been, we would not have accepted that. >> in this latest round of diplomacy, zarif takes a seat at the negotiating table for the first time. the importance of his presence was made ever clearer when u.s. secretary of state john kerry walked from his hotel to hold a bilateral meeting. the renewed push to find a political solution is now in overdrive, the talks in the austrian capitol offer a juxtaposition to the realty on the ground in syria. russian intervention which has been a defendant game changer to the acceleration of the

political diplomatic turning, realizing without a parallel, political deal, goverance in syria, we will not be able to end the conflict and not be able to fight and win isis. >> where bombs continue to drop and displaced citizens continued to flee. >> i believe it is already rather than compromise, a relevant commitment for all of the sides to be here tonight and tomorrow to come together to work together. this is a very relevant starting point. only one week ago, it was very difficult to anticipate. >> the mood, one of extremely guarded optimism. >> the fact that regional arch rival saudi arabia and iran will be sitting across a negotiating table on friday is indeed a very big development.

what results that may yield is for now anybody's guess. mohammed jamjoon. the key players are supporting different groups in syria. an explanation of that now from al jazeera's osama binjavi. >> reporter: this is a town after hit by an airstrike, many civilians face this every day. this between opposition rebels and rockets, government forces dropping barrel bombs and drones and fighter planes in the sky above them. u.s., turkey, saudi arabia and other gulf states support opposition rebels. they have been fighting the syrian government backed by iran, russia and lebanon's hezbollah. the russian government makes little distinction between opposition fighters and isil. it's providing air support. the u.s. has been demanding president asad step down. it's support some rebels it

considers i'd loddeologically mt while conducting airstrikes against isil. saudi arabia insists assad must go or be removed by force. they have been calling for safe holds along the turkish border, a position that turkey supports. the most important ground support for the assad government comes from iran. the countries providing military and financial assistance. hezbollah are fighting with the syrian military. large parts of syria and its economy have been destroyed. hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions wounded and displaced in a conflict that's now in its 5th year. this cautious optimism about the direct talks in vienna which includes iran for the first time has all sides involved agree at least in public that continuing to fight is not the solution for syria. >> the view of the partners in this was that we should test the intentions of the iranians and

the russian about their seriousness in arriving at a political solution in syria which we all prefer. >> the stanchion on syria has not changed. from day one, what we've also said that a solution of the conflict lies in political solution through negotiations. >> them child said, don't worry. it's just a little blood. millions of other syrians can hope there is an end to all of the blood shed. >> some tension moments for u.s. fighter pilot in the pacific. the navy scrambled several fighter jets to intercept russian warplanes that flew near the uss ronald reagan during joint military exercises with south korea. officials say the russian planes flew within a mile of the carrier. >> there were four fa-18

fighters from carrier air wing 5 that were launched today intercept the bombers, and the u.s. navy aircraft did escort the russian aircraft until they departed the area where the carrier, the uus ronald reagan was operating. >> josh earnest said the incident did not result in significant confrontation. the u.s. and china are trying to mend fences over a similar incident in the south china sea this week. navy officials from both countries spoke by video conference today vowing to stick to iestablished military protocols to avoid misunderstandings. the u.s. has been conducting freedom of navigation missions in the region on tuesday . an american warship came within 12 [inaudible.] nautical miles of despite area claimed by china. >> china is abandoning the controversial program of one child.

soon, all chinese couples will be permitted today have two children, but no more. obama administration today says the move was a positive step but looks forward to the day that birth limits in china are abandoned all together. al jazeera rob mcbride looks at the controversy in beijing. >> the announcement came at the ends of the communist party's four-day gathering it's leadership mapping out the next five-year plan. the strategy sets broad economic goals for china's development, but it's the change in the country's one-child policy that has been the most eager lee anticipated by many families here it had already been partially relaxed, allowing families where at least one parent is from a one-child family, themselves, to have a two children. now, that is being 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 a

lifting of a highly restrictive at, at times coercive policy as we have heard. >> the one child policy was brought in to control china's burgeoning population. its cancellation will be popular. a number of couples lie sam chou and ju wong haven't decided to have another child. for them, careers and living costs in beijing are the priority. >> my wife and i dpoint have plans. >> their certainly-year-old son is in doubt. he wants a sibling. >> i want a sister. >> as well as the social and relationship problems associated with a generation of one-child families is the longer term demographic imbalance. there is a growing number of elderly people who need to be supported by an ever shrinking population. a one-child policy put in place more than 30 years ago has to be

abandoned to avide another in the future. beijing many have an avenue birth rate of one child. economists say that is not enough to keep up with the demands of the workforce. john terrett is here. >> good evening. let's again in german, 8.4 children to every 1,000 inhabit apts is one of the lowest. the workforce will shrink by 6 million people over the next 15 years, seriously threatening the long-term vieability of europe's leading economic. it's one reason why german has been so opinion to welcoming many refugees from syria, iraq and afghanistan during the current triesz. japan's low birth rate, 7 adopt 9 for 1,000 people plus its aging population, has put a lot of pressure on the shrinking labor force and there are calls there for the government to improve job security for young people and encourage them to

mary and have children. the south koreans may have even more to worry about. a government study found they could be extinct by the year 2750 if the country doesn't raise its birth rate of 8.1 babies per 1,000 inhabit ants. the government announced baby making incentives including sta state-sponsored match making and more jobs for young people. russia has had more deaths than birth did since the end of the soviet era though the trend did flip in 2012 because in the year 2010 moscow began offering cash and prizes for proceed creating. $11,000 to more than one child and it may be if you are lucky, a new t.v. or a frig. it proved to be popular. but in nigeria, in west africa, there is the opposite problem. the birth rate is 37.6 children per 1,000 inhabit aren't. at this rate, 300 million

people, almost the same population that the united states has now will be living in an area the size roughly of arizona with an economy that is unlikely to be able to keep up randall? >> journalist may fong joins us from washington, d.c. she worked for the "wall street journal" in beijing and she is the author of the upkeeping book: one child, the past and future of china, radical experiment. thank you for joining us. in the 30-plus years the one child policy was in effect, china claims it reduced bly 400 medical. >> it was a success in prevent a population boom? >> well, first of all, randall, that 400 million figure has been actually vastly exaggerations and some experts conclude that number is closer to 100 to 200 million. now, that is a significant

figure like the population of brazil. that's a significant number. but it's not 400 million let's say that was hugely overstated. secondly, even though there is some argument as well that these numbers could have been reduced without having to go to the extreme measures that the one-child policy did, after all, i think of it a little bit like crash dieting. they wanted to reduce but they wanted to go about it so quickly and as a result, they are contend with these effects, a gender imbalance and too many old people. if you look at lots of country arrange the region, neighbors, taiwan or korea or singapore for example and turbo charge their economy without resorting to extreme measures.

was the one child policiness. >> you referenced extreme measures. can you give us age example of some of the extreme measures that we use to affect that one child policy? >> sure. forced abortion. sterlizations. in a year alone, they sterilized as many people as there are in, you know, the major cities in america in just one year, eth 1994/1995. >> how does the government decide who to steri lyze? >> everybody. you know, i mean what they decided is an area has a certain population target. they will make that target happen no matter what. and so, you know, you cannot employ such a strict measure without resorting with harsh measures. people don't want to deal with such an unpopular program. only way they could make it work was in many ways by force and coercion. they wanted to do it quick and fast and they had to do it ugly. >> why do you think that they have rescinded the policy to allow now families to have two

children? >> they need it for about 10 to 15 years, experts have been warning china they are headed for this big demographic disaster. they could see from that period you will have these issues with too many men. 30 million plus men more than william. that's the whole population ofcapped. numbers men who will never be and i find a bride unless china decides to i ampot 30 million women to come in. that's unlikely to happen. depending upon a very small workforce to support that population. these are all issues they could seagoing ahead. they know they have to replenish the population, but the chinese government has been dragging its heels for years to end this policy. >> one more question, then, quickly. you have said the policy altered the fabric of china easy

society. would you explain the impact it had on the chinese psyche? >> the chinese society traditionally in the past has been very family centered. there is this whole taxonomy of chinese words that relate to words of your uncle on mother, side, older uncle, younger. all of that has gone away. you don't have those words anymore. they might as well be latin, a dead language. you can't use them anymore. they are no words to describe what you don't have, uncles and aunts. now, it's a first generation of the one child policy going in to the second generation of the one-child policy. en though they are loosened it, there are doubts as to see whether a lot of people want to have two children. for better or worse, that whole big family of chinese in the past, that's gone. that's gone. >> may fong, the author of. one child, the 3569 and future of china's most radical experiment. thank you for joining us?

>> thank you, randall. >> the king's reign. saudi arabia's king has only been in office since january. the european parliament has taken a surprising stand on edward snowden. 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.

the mean union has chosen a blogger for the prize for humanrights. sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for insulting islam. his case has drawn international attention with calls for saudi arabia's team to pardon him.

the eu says his fight for freedom of speech makes him the perfect recipient. his canned is living in calendar. who says it gives him a message for hope and courage. policy and procedu president obama called the king to discuss with the king and they vowed today maintain a strategic partnership. the king has been the head of the house of saud for less than a year. in our in context segment, al jazeera's courtney keeley looks at some of his royal troubles. pilgrims began pushing each other and pushed people to the ground. i was about to die. saudi arabia's royal family has had to defend itself from intention criticism for handling of the stampede during the haaj pilgrimage in late september, one the deadliest incidents of the haaj.?

>> i think they are trying to make political capitol out of this which is unfortunate as our foreign minister said, human suffering should not be a tool for political sheninagans. >> less than two weeks before, a construction crane collapsed in meca. more than 100 pilgrims died in what was apparently a freak accident. the two disasters are especially embarrassing for king salma salman bin abdullah who carries the title of custodian of two horribly mosques. he took the throne in january. >> we are going to continue with the approach of father, king abdullah aziz who built the state and is followed by has son. >> after the death of his half brother, the 79-year-old king began his rein against a

backdrop offedas advance of isil and conflict in neighboring yemen. his saudi-led coalition launched its 3w078ing campaign in march. more than six months later, the houthis still control yemen's capital and saudi-led coalition forces remain embroiled with battles with the houthis for control over the whole country. the united nations says more than 2,3 civilians have died so far in the conflict. one saudi-led airstrike in september killed at least 130 wedding guests. it only amended to criticism piling up against the house of saad. courtney keeley, al jazeera. >> pleased to be joined by a middle east analyst and senior fellow for the king faisal research center. >> what do you think one who

says he is in the house of the royal family that the king is being asked to step down by many members of the royal family? >> there are rumors that are going around, and no one really knows the truth in terms of what's going on within the family. this is not the first time that they have had internal differences that have surfaced in the public eye. in 1964, there was a major change where king saud had to leave office and was replaced by king faisal at that time. rumblings are fremtquently occurring within the ruling family. whether or not this time around it is true or merits the extent to which people are speaking of the king is intooifl different. >> one part says the former interior minister might be named crowned prince and take over the effective operation of the kingdom. what do you think about that possibility? >> there are lots of

possibilities out there. we should not jump the gun. principle ahmed is a senior femp member of the family, obviously has his place. before we reach that point, i think the family must reach a conclusion that the king, in fact, the current king, king salman has failed in his duties. i do not see any indication to highlight the fact that king salman has failed and ought to be replaced. >> there are some people who are looking at two event did in particular. first of all, the disaster in mecca, when the people were trampled and before that, the construction company that had been hired, the cranes fell and there was a tragedy there. then, the intervention in yemen which has not exactly borne success. both of those under his leadership. they could be diamond as failures. >> it stops with the highest ranking member of the family. what happened in mecca was a

tragedy. there have been previous tragedies that occurred. when you put two to 3 million people in a space of 5 days in a very limited area chances are situations like this will occur. the yemen situation is different because it is being conducted by defense minister, king salman's son. lots of people are unhappy with him. therefore, this whole move, if you would like, to accelerate the changes might be due to the fact that people are upset with the defense minister. how much of of it is true depends upon what happens on the war, it's solv. if the war goes well fo-saudi arabia, obviously, we have not hear these complaints. if the war to go back, we had hear more complaints. >> to the point of appointing his son as a defense minister when there were other experienced senior military roim families doing the job. certainly the team must have

taken some static from that decision. right? >> he probably has but this is a monarchi. previous royals have appointed their children to positions of importance. i don't think we should read too much in to this, although the criticism is fair that there are lots of other qualified individuals in the kingdom that could at least fill some of the posts that he occupies today. this is gist of the criticism if you ask me. we will have to wait and sigh whether or not this young man can in fact achieve the objects i have set for himself. >> a final question going forward. what's your best guess about the success of this king? i think it's too early to tell. he has only been in power since january 23rd of this year, 2015. chances are he will probably remain in power for a conditionable longer period of time, enough time for his son to

acquire the kind of skills and experience that a potential ruler may need. i think it's too early, too soon to jump the gun. >> the center of the king faisal center, thank you for being with us. lost at sea, an update on a disastrous attempt to cross the aegean sea from turkey to greece. after their own desperate journey, refugees from afghanistan may be facing deportation from germany. ermany.

>> ali velshi, lifting the lid... >> cameras in place for money and not safety. >> on the red light controversy. >> they don't give two cent about your safety. >> there's an increase in rear

end accidents. >> ali velshi on target: hitting the breaks. welcome back to "al jazeera america." i am randall pinkston in for antonio mora. controversy over whether afghan asylum seekers are fleeing for their lives or seeking better financial situations. but first, a look at the stories making headlines across the u.s. in our american minute. a historic day on capitol hill as paul ryan was elected the youngest house speaker in nearly 150 years. the 45-year-old succeeds john boehner. he says he wants to unify the house and change how it operates. a man who spent 13 years in guatemala bay is now back in his

home country of moratania six years after he was first cleared for release. age medium adil aziz held since 2002. no charges were ever brought against him. there are still 113 prisoners being held at guatemala bay. at least 15 people are recovering from injuries after the plane they were on burst into flames today. it happened at an airport in fort lauderdale, florida, the boeing 767 was preparing for takeoff when the fire began reportedly after an engine began leaking fuel. federal aviation authorities are investigating the fire. authorities are searching for four boats that sank in the aegean sea yesterday killing 10 refugees. they capsized near the island of lesbos. refugee did are arrive okay that island by thousands every day after crossing sea from turkey. smugglers have been packing boats with thousands of people making accidents much more

likely. >> those people, those two and a half thousand people who came yesterday on the island. they are criminals. they just get money to put those people on boats to get -- to be dead. >> survivors from one of the boats say the smugglers had already left when the upper deck collapsed understand the weight of the passengers causing the boat to sink. mourn 70 children have drowned trying to reach grease. the charity safe t save the children says more deaths are going to rise and risk of hypo they rememberia. refugee camps lack proper shelter, blankets every day. 8,000 refugee did arriving in greece, 23%. >> they tried to push their way

through barriers after waiting for hours to cross the border. things calmed down after several hundred refugees were allowed to pass through. austria says it is going to build a fence along that border. many of those now seeking refuge in europe are from afghanistan, but as robin forriester walker reports, european union is warning afghans they will be september back home. >> i found him in kabul. >> friendships have been forged on this journey like halik and his new family. from afghanistan, he is just 16 years old, aged by a conflict which returned to his hometown this month. >> awful situation. all the time. i don't have a spoon. i don't have anything. i lost my family on the way from after gangstan. >> getting asylum might not be

straightforward because the eu considers many afghans to be economic migrants and wants to make it easier to sends them home. >> there is a war going on afghanist afghanistan. there is an intention to facilitate their return. >> doesn't seem to make sense. >> there is at the moment a recognition rate of 40% among the afghans. so, of course, this would be an individual questioning to see in which situations they live, whether they can go bab or not go back to see about what's happening in the war situation. will it be improving? >> most refugees are from syria, but an estimated 25% of those entering austria are from afghanistan. now n many instances, i have seen people of different nationalities coming together, but i have also noticed some resentment over who is most deserving of asylum. >> osama, a deptist from

damascus asked me why i was interviewing afghans. >> the eu wants to send back after grantsz it considers migrants. they have to go back to their country actually. there is no war. >> halik and his friends, the idea of reaching safety only to face being sent home e volks hollow laster. they have given up everything to make this journey, and they say there will be no going back. robin foriester walker, on the austria-slovenian border. >> the only hope for a better life for some is to leave the country. now, german's interior minister is saying the number of afghan asylum seekers in his country is unacceptable and plans to start deporting them. jennifer glass spoke to one family that's worried about being deported. >> for a month, hamyda shagri didn't know whether her

16-year-old son was dead or alive. in june, he left his home in kunduz until northern afghanistan hoping to get to germany. it was a dangerous trip. >> translator: he almost drowned. he told me the boat was sinking. the water was up to his neck. after difficulties, he reached land. they stayed in grease for a couple of days and went to serbia. a smuggler locked them in a room with only a small hole in the ceiling. he said they only if he had them once a dayfed them once a day. he reached berlin where his aunt lives. the name says they miss him. but they were forced today send him after a man who say say might have been the talibor isi worked with them. >> we sentence our son because we had no choice. we didn't send our son because we wanted to. far zed's father, a shopkeeper had to borrow neil $70,000 for

the trip. he promised to pay the money back when his son got to germany. l last month, the taliban captured the city. that i have are home and shop have destroyed. now they say there is no way to pay their debt. she said her son in germany is the only hope. >> we want him to be accepted there and study there and bring us there to join him. three are there is no home. now we hear they are deporting people. if they deport him, what will happen to us? >> i feel very sad. not only my son. all of these people we want there with the hope that they would be accepted they have taken all of this risk. now, why are they going to deport them? >> the sookuris say there is nothing left for them. they know the risks of the journey and have small children. hamida said she would rather take the chance at giving her children a future because they won't have one here. >> thousands of after gans continues to make the dangerous trip to europe.

german's latest warning that afghans might be 70 back here isn't likely to change the minds of those determined to leave. jennifer glasse, al jazeera, kabul. >> the european parliament is demanding all criminal charges against edward snowden now living in russia be dropped calling him a human rights defender. in a resolution passed today, members of parliament asked the eu to offer snowden protection and raised concerns about european surveillance laws. the group said not enough has been done sense the secret surveillance program in the u.s. was revealedtoday. israel said it happened in hebron after the palestinians tried to stab israeli soldiers. one israeli border guard was injured. the palestinian attacker shot dead. 9 israelis have been killed. dozens more injured since early october when this recent wave of violence began. more than 60 palestinians have been killed.

we sat down with al atia and discussed qatar's role in the ongoing conflict betweenitsis and palestine. >> we didn't have any peace process yet. so i don't think we are in a position to have any cooperation at this stage. >> has the recently violence impacted on your decision making in what's going on right now in jerusalem and elsewhere? >> this is a provocation not only for the gcc, offending 1.5 billion muslims when you talk about the mosque in palestine. you are provoking the whole muslims. we have raised the flag before. we have raised the flag saying it's very dangerous that the west bank start to defend antifada. >> do you think this is a third intafada? >> i believe so. if the if it is still there, if the settlement is still spreading, then we are going to

see one of the worst intifada bearing in mind these people who went to the streets are not belonging -- they do not belong to any party. they just -- they were after the oslo treat couple. they see there is no hope. you could just imagine what would happen. >> joining us from washington, d.c. is medi hassan, the host of up front on al jazeera english: we are not in a position to have any cooperation with israel says foreign minister atiyah, so did you get the impression that he is, perhaps, thinking about how to you have an opening? >> no. not at all. i think right now, the foreign minister of qatar like of many arab countries is not the time to do any outreach to jerusalem. he used very strong language, talked not just about a third intafadah. he said this would be the worst ever, not juv defending gulf

countries, iezzo potentially offending 1.5 billion muslims and theitsii police -- these are strong remarks. he stressed the syrian civil war. last week, foreign minister atiyah mentioned direct military intervention bye-bye qatar against theatsad regime. did he discuss a possible time frame? he ruled out beats on the ground. he ruled out the possibility of air strooikdz. how he defines greater intervention is giving greater support to various rebel groups on the ground. now qatar is being accused by some of its critics, especially in the west of having given money to groups like isil oral nusra, the al-qaeda affiliate 09 ground. he denied those claims. but he did ad mitt to supporting alsh ha rma syrian rebel group.

we had a very likely discussion about the appropriateness or not of whether he should be supporting groups like that. >> fascinating discussion. thank you, host of "upfront" on access english. thank you for joining us. watch the full interview tomorrow on aljazeera.com/upfront. a divided nation in a restive region. turks going back to the polls this saturday, but things have changed dramatically in the five months since the last election. and new concerns about the civility of myanmar after its upcoming elections.

police in japan dragged protest orders out of the way as construction resumed. the u.s. air base is being relocated from one area to another. japanese officials have overridden vigorous protests. residents and local government officials want the base moved away from okinawa. a group of turkish activists say the president is sensoring the country's independent journalists. police raided the offices of a media company in istanbul yesterday. erduan says it has ties to an exile living in the united states. they used pepper spray. activists say it is a ploy to

silence erduoan's crittims? >> he has controlled or pressured many media organizations before and this is simply the latest step in trying to control all of the media in turkey. he has knowledge stomac for criticism. he does not tolerate criticism at all. this is one of the few remaining media outlets under control of erduoan's supporters. >> opposition groups say turkey's president is trying to control the information that gets out so that he will not face public scrutiny. they are calling it a threat to turkish democracy. the issue is heighten,000 because turkish citizens head to the polls this week. on sunday, they will vote in early parliament elections. bernard smith is in est alan bull with more. >> for the send time in five months, turkish politicians are looking for votes. campaigning this time around is more subdued: second in command of the secular opposition

republican people's party, along with the pro-kurdish hdp, both parties have cancelled their set peace rally did because of security fears. every day we don't know what sort of sad news will be brought to us. these are not occurred tanks early this month, the worst attack in turkish history killed 102 people when two suicide bombers attacked a peace rally in the capitol, arrangeara. the political divisions are so deep in turkey, the political parties couldn't evenoun ite for a period of mourning. it was one of three attacks in a violent five months. 37 people died at bombings at two occur public gather did. a cease fire has broken down between the government and pkk kurdish separatists. more than 300 civilians and

security personnel have been killed swells hundreds of pkk fighters. >> for the first time in 13 years, terror and security moving up to be the main issue before the elections economy is still important as it was in the last elections. it's not the main issue anymore. despite everything that has under, the latest results could be broadly similar to june's election which means a coalition government looks inevitable. there are less than 5% of the voters who are undecided. it seems like the politicians are just going through the motions. tushy looks like a polarized country. political views are en trench. the only thing turks seem to be able to agree on is that they have never been more divided. bernard smith, al jazeera, istanbul. >> a warning to officials in

myanmar about legislative elections in the country next month. the united nations says the elections must be seen as free and fair or instability could follow a u.n. investigator sackses myanmar of discriminating against minorities and disqualifying many from running. she demands the country take immediate action to allow minorities to vote. two people were wounded in a machete attack in yangoon. the first serious incidents of violence connected not campaign. the national league of democracy party led by an su chi. opposition candidates told they lost the election in tans an e a are demanding a recount of votes. the electoral commission says he won 8. million votes.

his party has been in power for 50 years. rain in the high desert, a rare look at chile's region coming to life and how a group of african artists are working to capture the experience of my grants in their work.

in zimbabwe, an art exhibit educating visit orders on the plight of regu gees and my

grasped. al jazeera's harrah mutasa has our off-the-radar report from the capital of harare. >> the goodall family has come to see an exhibition about the problems refugees face all over the world. before coming to africa on holiday, the children helped the school in the u.k. collect foot food and clothes for refugees escaping. >> there is a war in their country. it's difficult for them to live there. so they have to go and cross the occasions to get to other places. >> 40 zimbabwen artists are showing is through art. parents wants these children to know more about the problem. >> it's part of their world. they need to know that it's happening, and we live in london, a global city, so people from all over the world there. they are at school with children from these nations.

it's really important they understand. >> as the peace to display show the anguish, confusion, chaos and desperation, zimbabwens show thousands looking for work. some crawl under the border fence to escape poverty. many get into trucks. >> a lot of people ask us why we migrate to tory countries because we have graduates. there is no employment. the industry is practically dead here so that's how things are. that's what drives you to go out because nobody else that strong ties with zimbabwe anymore. not that we don't love it. we love our country but the situation is just stagnant. >> this painting called scat stowaway" shows people hiding,

hoping they are not caught by border officials. >> it's depressing. yeah. it's so depressing. people are desperate to that extent. >> zimbabwen artists hope they tell their stories well. caroline and john hope their children learn something, too. >> i can see it's very interesting. >> hara matasa. a look at how news outlets are reacting to various events. this headline in the lebanon daily star, enough blood shed. it says syria has been a defendant deadly game of ches played by outsiders. he points to the fact that there are no syrians attending the talks in viena this week and says the interests of the syrian people need to be the foundation of any agreement. israeli writes that the israel's prime minister's comments indicate he wants complete control of the palestinian tear toets. he writes apartite i'd is the

only term for two groups in the same area, one with rights and t the other under occupation. >> the rights of the voyage of the u.s. sdroirer says beijing is determined to expand influence and washington is intend on main taining the status quo so the tension is here to stay. one of the world's driest landscapes has burst into bloom. some rare late season storms and floods turn a chilean desert into an o assess. >> the transformation. >> the desert has sprung to life, the most spectacular growth seen in nearly two decades. >> west not had such a large flowering in the past 18 years. in 2010, we had a large flowering but this year has passed all of the previous ones

this comes from tragedy. torrential storms devastated chile's northern region in august, caused mudslides and rivers were so swollen, they burst their banks. 28 people died the rains have watered seeds of dormant seeds they have attracted birds, insects, lizards and rodents. for some locals like cortez, it's an un40 gettable experience. >> it was a miracle because i had never seen what the grass looks like until now. >> it's fascinating tourists? >> so unusual, it's surreal. having breakfast with the flowers. >> the flowers will eventually die as the intense dry heat seconds up the ground water. until then, chile's desert is bursting with life. rob mathson, al jazeera.

>> a decision impacting 10,000 species tomorrow night. tomorrow, the commission decides if it will proeblth 850 square miles of marcheen area off of the coast of ant artka by turning it into safrminguaries. scientist in spain discuss an area that may gives insight on apes. a pry meat who lived about 6 million years ago, a nearly complete skull. the remains have similarities to modern and primitive apes. they have any more named the specimen laya. this is that's it. i am randall pinkston. thank you for watching. america tonight is next. i will see you again in one hour.

on "america tonight" - stopping syria's downward spiral. is the u.s.-led effort working. >> in fact, it hasn't turned the war around it's simply stabilized the situation more or less for the moment. >> for the love of the game he gave aum. did he sacrifices his life. >> he would say mum, something is wrong with me, my brain is not