gulf leaders accuse iran of escalating tensions with saudi arabia. this is al jazeera. live from our headquarters in doha. also on the program. a city divided as germany's chancellor has tougher laws for asylum seekers in cologne. a deal has been done to get aid to starving people in syria, but for some it could take days to arrive and for tens of thousands of others they're left out.

>> the situation of iraq is crisis that has been forgotten a plea for help aid workers say the world is ignoring the suffering of iraqis. gulf arab leaders are accusing regional rival iran of escalating tensions with saudi arabia and interfering with the kingdom's internal affairs. the gulf corporation council has been holding an emergency meeting over deteriorating relations with tehran. riyadh cut off diplomatic relations after protesters stormed its embassy and set fire to if. they were angry over a prominent shia cleric in saudi arabia last week. the secretary general of the corporation says saudi arabia has the organization's full

support. >> translation: the actions in iran do not serve peace and civility in the world. it is against all interests and interferes in the sovereignty of the state. it only leads to more hatred in the region. we stand hand-in-hand with saudi arabia in order to counter terrorism and we will bring those who create chaos to justice the chairman of the political science department at kuwait university joins us via skype. a united front. was that the aim of the meeting? >> the meeting warned a stern warning to iran a week after the intervention in saudi arabia. the language of the communication was very strong,

unprecedented, accusing iran of fanning the flame of sectarian, of interfering with saudi arabia, calling on iran to seize its intervention policy and calling on the united nations security council to play a role on trying to stop iran from its continuous belligerent attitude and policy that is really driving the region into this. this communication was very, very strong, was very unprecedented and it presents a united front from the gcc and from the saudi arabia that it is now clearly leading the counter iranian alliance. it is a classic example for cold war mentality that is really in the region i wonder whether it was the united front that saudi was wanting because we have a lot of countries that have cut relations with iran, but a number of others have recalled

their emwas fors and denounced their attacks. was it hoped that more countries in the gcc and in the arab league would take action against iran? >> i think this was forthcoming. what we have now is a solid front. the communication that was issued this afternoon states on behalf of all the gcc countries it was a very strong language. the iranians how are on the defensive and acting in a very irrational manner what exactly are the iranians doing at this stage that's irrational? >> they're accusing the gcc and other arab countries that they want their embassy. that was a rhetoric and everybody found out that was a false statement with the photos of the embassy was intact. what they are apologising for

the united nation security council for the attack on the saudi embassy in tehran and the consulate, but they never apologised foresaw depersonally and they never committed themselves for having that incident happen again or to pay compensation for the damages that they have caused. so what we have now is for the first time the iranians are on the defensive. for the first time we have a more coherent arab and gcc countries lining up against the iranian aggression. what we have now is a change of attitude and the beginning of a counter iranian project what exactly is going to happen? how far are the gcc and indeed maybe the arab league countries prepared to go in upsetting relations with tehran?

>> i think this will escalate the event further. the saudis have succeeded in lining up the arab countries. tomorrow they will have another session of critiquing the arab league and the 42 countries and presenting the arab league countries in cairo. they have issued now invitations to all 57 countries of the islamic league. what remember having now is a gcc arab and islamic front that is really now forming strongly to isolate iran, to put iran on a very tough position, to force iran to change its behaviour and to act more rationally and then in a more neighborly good relations because iran stands to lose more than it will gain if it will continue the politics because we have enough of iran

shinanigans and interfering it does remain to be see how iran will respond, indeed. thanks very much for taking the time >> thank you syrian state media says the government is ready to take part in talks with the opposition later this month. that's after a meeting between u.n. envoy and syrian foreign minister in damascus. it is understood he wanted a list of groups that will take part as in the government won't negotiate with what it calls terrorist organizations. the opposition wants an end to bombardment and block aids on rebel territories. staying in syria, aid agencies are trying to get food and medicines into besieged towns where tens of thousands of people are starving to death. in is an international outcry. in the former mountain holiday resort of madaya around 42,000 people have been cut off from aid since july.

volunteers are handing out the if you supplies they have left. >> translation: are we not arabs as well? i swear to god, we are arabs. these children what wrong have they done. this child, what wrong did he commit? antidepressant agencies have supplies of food and medicine ready to leave damascus and they hope the first trucks will arrive in madaya on monday. the regime has agreed to let aid in as part of a deal which will also see supplies delivered to people in foua and kefraya. they have been blockaded by rebel groups but there are thousands more who need help. around 106,000 people are said to be cut off further and nine thousand are trapped in the other towns. u.n. says i.s.i.l. fighters have cut off 200,000 people in parts of deir as zor.

they need help but it's not clear when they will get it. a spokes woman for the world food program in the middle east, she hopes aid will get to civilians soon >> we expect that tomorrow, sunday, we will have the first aid trucks going to madaya carrying food for the 47,000 people who are besieged in the town. in addition, there will be other humanitarian supplies on this convoy. by monday or hopefully also sunday we will be reaching for kafrayaa. throughout the week more convoys carrying humanitarian supplies will be reaching these besieged areas which will include food, baby food, blankets, children's winter clothing, water, water purifiers, medical supplies united nations is also

trying to help more than a million syrian refugees who fled the war to lebanon. many of them are living in poverty despite support from aid groups. our correspondent has more from a refugee camp in the back avalley. -- back avalley-- beqaa valley. >> reporter: this child has a burn on his head. sometimes these materials that are put in the fires have toxic fumes and the embers burn out of control. >> translation: i had put nylon and plastic shoes into the furnace over night while we were sleeping to keep us warm and the tent was on fire. my baby was burnt >> reporter: part of the problem means syrians in lebian can't earn for themselves. they can't get jobs unless they're sponsored by a lebanese national. >> translation: we are displaced around have absolutely no human rights.

look and see. where are my human rights. look at these kids. no proper clothes. i have ten people to take care of and i'm old. how can i feed them and keep them alive. >> reporter: the up nighted nation appeals for international donations to help syrian refugees every year. last year it received half of what it asked for, which means many refugees here are having to go without >> reporter: it's people in the refugee camps like this that are most vulnerable. they don't even have the most basic things they need to the run-up to winter. they need things like wood and fuel for the fire and plastic sheeting to water proof their tents. the syrian refugee family needs around four to five hundred dollars a month to survive. many are getting about a third of that. >> translation: it's cold and water is leaking into the tents. look at the tarps, we don't have plastic to cover it for the rain. yesterday an ngo brought us one tarp. what can that do to stop the leaking? the u.n. gives us some aid.

in a month we get $150 but it's not enough. >> reporter: the u.n. said it has launched a new aappeal for 2.48 billion dollars to help refugees in lebanon >> we are concerned about people in exposed areas like beqaa valley. we know that 55% of refugees live in insecure dwellings, such as garages, warehouses and tents. all of them need our help and support. >> reporter: but there are more than one million refugees here who may need help. most of them living below the poverty line. back at the baby's tent, his mother who has been in lebanon for three years can only hope things will get better, especially during these long winter days in neighboring iraq people who have fled conflict are facing a harsh winter. more than four thousand people are living in a camp for displaced in the north-west

offer bill. our correspondent spoke to union self unicef who said it is a dire situation. >> we are calling it a forgotten crisis crisis because we are surrounded by other countries with much higher profile. we have 3.2 million displaced population. on top of that, we have nearly 250,000 refugees that are also in iraq. out of the 3.2 million in iraq, majority of them are children. those children are going through difficult situation, getting them to school is hard and the majority of them, at least 700,000 of them miss at least one year of their schooling. there is no problem hygiene, there is no water, there is no

proper health care system. the entire life of the children is affected and their future is crashing on their head and we are actually watching a situation that we will see quite large number of children that lost their future. so we are dealing with a situation that is so dire that getting resources to support children, put them in school and put them in protection enters, put them into a life with dignity where they get proper water, hygiene and appropriate toilet is becoming difficult because getting resources in iraq is not as easy as it is maybe in other places. >> reporter: what are the particular challenges right now with the onset of such cold weather worsening, winter weather conditions as far as getting the type of aid that these people desperately need right now to camps in this inner bill and beyond - erbil and

beyond. >> imagine being a child going into the tent. there is no heating system. we are wearing layers and layers of clothes and we are feeling miserable. it goes to subzero and children do not have warm houses, warm water to take shower, they do not have warm clothes to wear, warm school to go, they do not have a warm shelter to go. this is the peak of the winter and it's going to stay this kind of condition for a while. and not going to see situation improving unless we get resources we need to address those many children. agencies are trying their best. unicef is putting the best we could to address the winter situation that we're dealing with, but kerosene heating in the schools, but it is small. it is a small and it's absolutely very small portion of what children need. we are in this difficult situation where i would hope the

world will understand the situation of iraq is crisis that has been forgotten. it has been forgotten crisis that needs a lot of support from the international community still to come here on al jazeera, ireland needs you. the government's new push to convince those who left that the grass is greener back home. here is one way to fly across the world. a british adventurer completes an epic journey to australia. stralia.

hello again.

the top stories here on al jazeera. gulf leaders have condemned what they're calling iranian interference in vau de's internal affairs. gcc ministers meeting in riyadh add saying the attack is only going to lead to more hatred in the region. saudi executed a prominent shia cleric. the syrian government has told the u.n. that it is ready to take part in talks with the opposition later this month. meanwhile aid agencies say the first food and immediately sin trucks should be a riving in syria on-- arriving in syria on monday. aid woeshgers have described-- work ye workers have described a poor situation. egyptian president has had his appeal against the corruption case rejected. the former prime minister and hi

sons were imprisoned. they were accused of stealing millions of dollars in public funds to upgrade their properties. the sons were released in october having served time. the prime minister remains in a military hospital. angela merkel has called for tougher laws on asylum seekers after attacks on women in cologne. the police force has been-- the chief of police force has been suspended. rival rallies are being held in the city. >> reporter: this is the city's area just outside the main station. behind me is taking place the rally of the far right group and there are, perhaps, 500 people who have come for the demonstration, but off camera there is another rally taking place of considerably more people from the left wing, from the party which is in government

with angela merkel's christian democrats. there are other demonstrations going on, but, in fact, the greater prepond rans of people is at the left wing rally. so far at least the rallies have been peaceful. certainly vocal, the rally behind me has been very voc a.m., sirens going out, chants, but it has been peaceful. that's something that the police, and there are very much police on the streets, that's what they have been trying to do, to have a peaceful element. it's worth reporting that the government has been talking today about toughening up the measures to deal with asylum seekers who commit crimes. certainly that may be welcomed by some in the demonstration behind me mexican police have recaptured the drug lord joaquin guzman after a shoot out in which six people are reported to have been killed. he has been on the run since

escaping from prison through a tunnel six months ago >> reporter: for a third time the world's drug lord was arrested by mexican security forces. it ends a six month embarrassment for the mexican government. >> translation: from criminal investigation work, it was to pull apart the network of influence and protection that surrounded this criminal. today mexico confirms that its institutions have the necessary capabilities to overcome those who threat enthe stability of mexican families. its success demonstrates that when we work together, there is no adversity that we cannot overcome the government says joaquin guzman was arrested in had his home state on friday morning-- in his home state on friday morning. someone called to complain about armed men holed up in a hotel.

in a shoot out five criminals were killed and some arrested. joaquin guzman has taken on mythical status here in mexico. his multi billion dollar drug cartel is believed to provide a significant amount of the drugs that end up in the u.s. twice he has escaped from prison. that may be why people we spoke with reacted to his recapture with a blase attitude saying he will escape again. for the president it was an opportunity to reclaim the upper hand after his escape from mexico's most secure prison last july. joaquin guzman's escape from his prison cell was global news. he escoped from a hole in the shower of his prison sell which connected to a one mile long tunnel. it had hair conditioning and a motorcycle. he head in 1993 by hiding in a

laundry cart. it took 13 years to recapture him. one analyst told al jazeera he thinks this time he will be sent to the states to face charges where an escape is considered less likely ireland is now the fastest growing economy in the e.u. and the dramatic reversal of fortunes in the country's finances is dhanging the population-- changing the population. as the country changes, the country and the government want many who left to return. a report on those making the move back home. >> reporter: rebuilding the irish economy. the country is putting its near bankruptcy in 2009 behind it and many of those who went abroad looking for work are coming

home. people like paul o'brien who spent five years in sydney. >> a year ago i came home and talking to people, when you step off the aeroplane, it was a lot more enthusiastic and promising. >> reporter: how can we get those young talented immigrants who have left ireland to consider ireland again. >> reporter: ireland now has the highest gdp growth in the european union, but one vital commodity is missing. those skilled professionals abroad and the government wants them back. as do employers like the bogs of engineering firm ethos, greg a done. >> we started in the height of the celtic tiger and then the crash happened. we went on three-day weeks. we reduced salaries. and we in to let people go.

they got superb experience abroad. they have a lot to offer when they come home here. i thought it was a good thing to tap into. >> reporter: so as ireland picks itself up as life particularly here in the capital dublin begins to return to pre-crisis levels of prosperity, the return of the workers that left is a welcome biproduct. the government expects 2016 to be the first year in seven in which those returning outnumbers those leaving. it wants to attract 70 thousand home by 2020. >> the skilled, the graduates, it specialists, engineers, there is a significant labor shortage. how long that labor shortage will last and how long this up swing of the economy will last is a guess. >> i suppose it's peppered with

caution as well because although time can be a great healer, i certainly remember the reasons why i went in the first place because there was to work. >> reporter: a more diverse tied economy. the watch word now is caution-- die fers tied police in brazil with a march. it turned violent when some people burned objects to block vehicles. venezuela's president has condemned the removal of pictures of late leader from the national assembly. they were taken down after the opposition's landslide victory in last month's parliamentary elections. they're calling for his portrait now to be put up on every street

corner. >> reporter: down town woke up with scenes like this. in response to the recent removal of his portrait from the walls of the national assembly. also graffiti athat says the opposition has the assembly, the people have the street. on wednesday, a day after the first opposition led parliament, in close to 17 years, the new president said the aimages have no room under the new administration. the spiriting of these paintings have hit a raw nerve in this deeply polarized country. people have been gathering in the square to protest what they say is an affront to their larger than life leader and the country's history. also the president suffered a crushing defeat, his predecessor and mentor is still reveered in

an almost cult-like fashion. the movement spear headed suffered a loss, but most of the government institutions remain firmly under loyalist camp a british pilot has completed her three-month journey from the united kingdom to australia in an open cockpit biplane. tracey kurtise-tailor braved rough weather through 23 countries with 15 fuelling stops. she was retracing the 1930 flight of pioneer aim region son. >> that's why you do it. to try something like this, hassle way around the world,

seeing all the iconic landscapes, geology, vegetation. just the best view in the world. very few people get to fly it like i do a reminder you can always keep up-to-date with the latest news on our website aljazeera.com >> this is "techknow". a show about innovations that can change lives. >> the science of fighting a wildfire. >> we're going to explore the intersection of hardware and humanity, but we're doing it in a unique way. this is a show about science... >> oh! >> oh my god! >> by scientists. tonight: techknow's journey to the arctic. 13 days... subfreezing temperatures...