news any time. go to our website, al jazeera.com. have a great weekend. salvation as a weapon of war, 400,000 syrians under siege says the u.n. hello, this is al jazeera live from doha. also on the program south korea turns up the volume, propaganda broadcasts begin again across the border. there are many, little to celebrate in a birthday

celebration. reprinted in germany for the first time in 70 years. as winter tightens its grip on syria, 400,000 people are cut off from food and medical supplies. the united nations said both the syrian government and opposition are laying siege to towns and villages. roughly 227,000 people are trapped by syrian government forces in three key areas. east of damascus is a rebel stronghold, around 176,000 people are said to be cut off there. around 9,000 people are trapped in a damascus suburb and a western town. the south is under siege by allies of president assad's government since july. the u.n. said 42,000 people are stuck there. meanwhile, the u.n. says isil fighters have trapped 200,000

piece in an eastern city and al-nusra front have blocked towns. around 12.5000 residents are trapped there. as we mentioned, it's an incredibly grim and desperate situation in the besieged town of madaya. for a snapshot of just how much basic aid is neat, here's a firsthand look at a child who is stuck inside the town. muhammed says he hasn't eaten in more than a week. this 7-year-old is one of 40 those people here struggling to survive. even the leaves and plants they've been living on are no longer edible because of snowstorms. spokesman for the international committee of the red cross said they are working as fast as they can to deliver aid. >> the icrc yesterday evening alongside with the u.n. goals

granted the access to the areas of madaya and for kafrya. we expect the human operation, the joint operation madea we spoke earlier to a man living close to madaya. >> we've been under siege for more than six months. nothing has been allowed in during that time. people are hungry. so far, 30 people have died because of hunger and it's increasing day by day. >> give us an idea of the daily toll. when you say it's increasing daily, how many people are dying daily? >> it's come in stages. people have been losing consciousness one at a time then each day, it bottoms more and more. five or six have died in the last week.

>> you say you haven't had supplies for six months. what are people eating then? >> there is one united nations food truck which got access in the last three months approximately. this food is enough for one family for up to 10 days but if the family is big, then it's not enough. we are desperate to eat anything, even leaves off the trees and insects. >> when's the last time you had a normal meal? >> that was six months ago. >> are you hopeful now the news is the regime will allow supplies in to besieged areas? >> each week we've heard about it. each week we hear aid will come but nothing is seen. if i don't see the u.n. truck and i don't have my foot basks in my hand, i don't believe it. honestly, i've loft hope. >> who collects aid? do you see who is besieging your town and who knows them?

>> we are under siege for syrian forces and their allies, hezbollah. >> do you have any communication with these people? does anyone in your village talk to them? i'm curious to know what sort of contact you have with people you say are starving you to death. >> there is no contact with the people in charge of the siege. >> what would you say to people in the outside world who are perhaps listening to this interview? >> i have just one message. i just want to remind people that we are here, that we are human. if people don't care about us, i just want to tell them to get animal rights groups to care about us. honestly, we are starving and eating cats and dogs. >> what do you want the outside world to do? >> i want them to feel our pain. there are children hungry, crying all day, asking for food, even just one leaf. the children don't have any strength. they can't stand up from their beds because they're so hungry. they are saying i want to eat, i

want to eat, but the answer is the same, there is no understood. let's move on to other news. south korea resumed propaganda brad casts into north korea after north korea resumed hydrogen bomb tests this week. >> it's called an act are war, exactly at mid-day friday, south korea restarted its loud speaker propaganda broadcasts. a former north carolinaen military officer defected to the south 10 years ago. she said the broadcasts are effective. >> there are people who defect after listening to the broadcasting. it's the soldiers who are at the front lines listening to those loud speakers. soldiers equipped with fully armed weapons. these soldiers get education and now are exposed to the propaganda broadcasting.

>> those aren't just anti north korean government. they include global news, weather, even popular music from south korea. there are more than 10 speaker locations and some are mobile. the south korean government here says the broadcasts will continue indefinitely. british fortune as he can urged south korea to show restraint and said the broadcasts are simply rising to the bait. it's not clear how north korea might react. >> the north might take hostages towards tourists or n.g.o.'s. there are human groups that work in north korea. these guys are taken hostage and picked up for pseudocrimes against the state, so north korea might respond like that. >> for now, the military and people of south korea wait for the response from its northern neighbor, along with the rest of the world. scott heidler, al jazeera, south korea. there's been another

volatile day on china's stock market but without the panic that was seen on monday and thursday. beijing scrapped a system that automatically halts trading when shares fell too much. aidrian brown has this report from beijing. >> in china, red is a lucky color. it tells you shares are up. nine months ago, there was a lot of red. chinese investors were bouyant, the share market was at its highest level since 2007. but for now, that winning streak is over. the market's in a slump. since june, stocks have lost more than 40% of their value and some small investors are less than happy. >> don't film, we don't want to talk about it. we need to go back and play cards. >> they blame their problems on foreign speculators as well as a measure that was supposed to calm markets but actually had the reverse effect. >> the government is trying to protect individual investors but to be honest, the system is not

perfect. the system needs to be improved. >> the authorities have responded to their criticism, suspending the circuit breaker rule that halts trading when shares fall sharply, which happened twice this week. as a result, the market rose on friday, a partial recovery, panic was subsiding. the start of 2016 has set a pattern for what is expected to be a very difficult year for the world's second largest economy. >> we do think that there is a chance of a hard line of course just like in any economy. there's also a chance there's going to be a substantial showdown. in china we put it at one in four. >> it is an indicate but not the indicate of chinese economy. the leader has more pressing issues, namely growing public debt, a growing housing bubble and overcapacity in state controlled industries like coal and steel. then there's what china can't

control beyond its borders. in neighboring north korea, the military this week claimed to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. the markets worry about deepening diplomatic tensions between saudi arabia and china. last week, the nation was told that fruitful gains come with persistent efforts, the president's way of saying it's going to be a tough year. aidrian brown, al jazeera, beijing. investigators found an apartment in brussels that may have been used to make bombs for last year's paris attacks. belgian prosecutors say the apartment may have been used as a hideout by salem, who is still at large. jacky rowland is live for us in paris. what else have the police told

us? >> the important thing is these discovers were made on the 10th of december, nearly a month ago, only being made public now. the flat was in the scarebeck district of brussels. it was rented, according to the police, under a false name. now inside the apartment, investigators say they found three homemade belts that could have been used as explosive vests. also they found explosives and crucially a fingerprint they say matches that on file or the attacker still at large. >> how might this help the hunt for the main suspect? >> the trouble with fingers prints obviously is they indicate that a person was there but as one of the investigators himself said, the trouble with fingerprints is they don't come with a time and a date attached.

on the one hand, he could have been there before the attacks. police said the presence of these half made belts suggest this could have been a safe accused vest-making workshop. hover, it is possible that saleh abdeslam could have used the hideout after the attacks. we heard from investigators that apparently friends of saleh abdeslam drove the suspect from paris to brussels on the night of the attacks. he managed to pass through three police checks without being apprehended. also a suspect in custody in belgium told investigators he drove saleh abdeslam to the neighborhood on november 14. there is circumstantial evidence there that suggests that saleh abdeslam might have used the flat but police still can't be

sure. coming up here on al jazeera, we meet people in the u.s. president's hometown who is skeptical of his latest measures to curb gun violence. 30 years ago, this bill was worth more than $100. today, its equivalent is worth less. i'm virginia lopez in venezuela, the country with the highest inflation rate in the world.

>> "inside story" takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. we're giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. hello again, here's a quick reminder of our top stories this hour. the u.n. said 400,000 people are

living under siege in syria. they are completely cut off from aid, food and medicine. the international committee of the red cross told al jazeera that aid won't arrive until sunday at least. south korea resumed propaganda brought costs into north korea after kim jong un's hydrogen bomb test. it includes news and music. the november attacks on paris left 130 people dead. saudi arabia's state owned oil giant is planning a public listing of its shares. it has crude reserves of 265 billion barrels. more than 15% of global deposits. with oil prices falling to just $34 a barrel, it will raise

revenues. the lower oil prices have had a major impact on countries like venezuela. virginia lopez reports from caracas. >> this shop in downtown caracas specializes in selling old bills. some are carefully kept, almost as if fresh from the mint, while others he carelessly stocked. he said he loves old and new alike but and would milts that the story his collection tells is grim. >> it reflects the loss of the current power that venezuelans suffer. this bill in 1981 was equivalent to $116. now equal to only 50 cents, which isn't even good enough for a canned. >> i. >> a recent report leaked from within venezuela central bank puts the oil rich country's inflation rate at 270%. according to economists, it is

the worst crisis in the country's modern history. >> venezuela is in the process of hyper inflation, huge fiscal deficit financed by money printing, lack of foreign reserve and the only commodity of importance in its foreign trade, oil falling at levels below over the last 11 years, so it's the perfect storm. >> hardship is being widely felt by venezuelans, who according to recent am democratic study, poverty has increased from 25% to almost 70% in just one year. >> because it depends almost exclusively on oil, venezuela's economy is affected by dropping oil price. the economy is left in free-fall with shortages of the most basic goods. many fear this could bring on a wave of social upheaval.

>> a food vendor who works night shifts in a bank said even two jobs aren't enough. >> this situation affects us deeply. on top of it, we can't find what we need. we can't standly have to find new ways to make things work. >> experts fear the magnitude of this economic crisis could affect people as more and more people are deeply affected by the recession. an armed group occupying government buildings in the u.s. state of oregon reject a police offer to end the standoff. the ranchers took control of the site in the town of burns last week. they're in dispute with the government over land rights. they were offered free passage if they ended their protest. the u.s. president held a televised meeting to explain his executive actions on gun sales. barack obama out lined his order

to close loopholes. the measures might not have much effect in places like obama's hometown. we have this report from chicago. >> first came the executive action. now, the campaign to persuade americans to support it. >> there is a way for us to set up a system where you, a responsible gun owner, can have a firearm to protect yourself, but where it is much harder for somebody to fill up a car with guns and sell them to 13-year-old kids on the streets. >> the epidemic of gun violence in the u.s. is perhaps at its worst in president obama's hometown. >> by the way, it happens on the streets of chicago every day. >> in chicago, on average, someone is shot every three hours. last year, 487 people were

killed in nearly 3,000 shootings. >> my son, ricky pike was gunned down on august 3, 2012. when he passed, the church was overrun. there were people standing outside, and they were all young people. >> what i'm hearing, they just can't be safe. >> she is a member to a group to which no one wants to belong. >> how we see ourselves, you hear about a murder, especially when it's attainagers. >> a group that gross less exclusive each day. >> my job is to make sure that nobody else joins my club, but they do. >> many of the gunmen in the mat shootings that inspired president obama to require background collection for every gun sale in the u.s. bath their guns legally. in chicago, most guns are bought elsewhere illegally.

>> i just feel something hot in my leg like and i realize i got shot. >> chicago laws are so strict, there are no gun stores in the city. >> are they legal guns? >> illegal. illegal. they're mainly coming from indiana to these streets of chicago. >> so the laws here don't really matter. >> they don't. it don't. >> activists on chicago's violent and mostly black south and west sides say gangsters have no problem bringing weapons into the city. >> everybody's focusing on background checks. that's a good measure, but you have to stop the flow of illegal guns. >> many of the victims end up here. each day on average at least one patient arrives with a gunshot wound here in stroger hospital in chick. they treated 550 for gunshot wounds last year. many of saved. one last night died before making it through the front door.

>> trauma surgeons say the violence is growing worse. >> you get a lot of patients, up to 30, 40 patients in a 24 hour period. they've gotten younger and they've gotten older and the middle is not necessarily shrinking. >> after returning to dangerous neighborhoods, some patients come back to the hospital again and again. they are victims of gunshots in a black market that funnels a never ending supply of legal weapons into the president's hometown. john hen drin, al jazeera, chicago. south africa is celebrating 104 years as a political party but 2016 could be a difficult year for the oldest liberation movement and its president zuma. we have this report from johannesburg. >> south africa's leading african national promise promises homes, jobs, better services and a better life when it came into power in 1994.

since then, she says nothing has changed for more than 20 years. >> we thought a.n.c. would change things when they took over. we thought apartheid is gone now and people will think of us, but look at the way we're living now. >> the government that built these temporary homes in some places to try and appease an increasingly agitated poor black majority waiting for decent accommodations. they face another difficult year. >> the a.n.c. won't want to lose key commons pats to the opposition. president stamina could face more attempts to remove him. still struggle to recover after two finance ministers were sacked. >> the agency has to lot to the prove to the citizens of south africa as well as to the world that it knows what it's doing

and that that it was a brief moment be a an accident, let's put it that way. that's what it has to prove. that is the very big challenge it is faced with. >> the living standards of the majority black population were inferior to whites. more than 2 million homes have been built since 1994 and a lot more people have access to running water and electricity but millions don't have basic service was. the a.n.c. said delivering them is a huge task. >> our economy is not growing and we cannot create jobs. i think the a.n.c. will find ourselves in 2016 at a time when we need to apply austerity measures, but to spend what we have and not worry about megaprojects. we must give hope to our people. >> residents want the president to resign over and would corruption and the underperformingion economy. the a.n.c. enjoys much support

because it helped end apartheid, but growing protests were showing that perhaps the oldest growing movement is in trouble if it doesn't deliver on promises made. al jazeera, johannesburg. a wildfire in western australia is threatening another town. it's destroyed more than 100 homes south of perth. the blaze is now moving towards nearby harvey. last year, australia had its fifth hottest year on record. >> i've heard this morning that just how often bad things have gone. even our home and my neighbor's, our community, it's all gone. japanese interior ministry said 18 refugees have been questioned over attacks on women during new year's eve in cologne. police are investigating 121

complaints, including sexual harassment and rape allegations. they say a group of around 1,000 men attacked people who were celebrating. two arrests have been made. adolf hitler's manifesto is going on sale in germany for the first time since world war ii. the reprint contains critics of the dictator's views. some germans worry it could aid the spread of right wing ideology. dominic cain reports from munich. >> its author is long dead also is the party he created, but adolf hitler's book remains. in more than 700 pages of mine camp of, he puts forward his desire to cite a german dominated europe and venom and you say anti-semitism.

the copyright has expired and a new on nope today version is to btobe published. >> yes, the copyright has expired. so what, do i have to republish all garbage, remote all people in a negative way. i'm at a loss for worst why the stupid book is being republished. >> the nazi party used films, books and other devices to project their views and to drawn out dissenting voices. >> people were proud to have it and that was part of the propaganda. it made an unimportant person, hitler, important. >> the legacy of national socialism is so long that it can still be seen on the streets of

germany today. stumbling blocks have been laid across germany to commemorate the victims of naziism. at this one address, a family is remembered. they were murdered in 1944 in auschwitz. such public reminders of the dark past illustrate the gulf between the evils of massey germany and the liberal values of modern democratic germany. >> germany is a multi-cultural society. germany is used to foreigners and very well aware of their past and everything that's been done wrong with the regime of of the third reich and all the cruelties. >> nevertheless, in recent times, right wing movements such as the anti islamic group pagida stage regular rallies. in this context, the institute

of contemporary history believeles it is important to publish its annotated version of mine camp of so that future generations are educate about the evils of national socialism. of course you can keep up to date with all the news on aljazeera.com. economic optimism, a payroll surge in december giving new north korea to the markets after a rough week. under siege and in the cold, desperate syrians starve. revisiting a dark past, hitler's manifesto goes on sale in germany for the first time in decades.