[ ♪ ] still waiting and still starving. aid agencies say it will be monday at the earliest before help reaches besieged communities in syria. o hello, this assist al jazeera live from doha. saudi arabia tensions likely to dominate an emergency. worried about freedom of speech, dozens gather in hong kong to ask what happened to five missing booksellers. plus the french president attends a ceremony marking a year since the "charlie hebdo"

attacks in paris. tens of thousands are starving to death in three syrian downs. town. we'll have to wait a day for help. aid agencies hoped to supplies. the civilian suffering is threatening peace talks. aid agencies have supplies of food and medicine ready to leave the syrian capital damascus. and hope that the first trucks will arrive in maddaa. the supplies will be delivered some 250km away. >> opposition groups surround those towns. there are areas that are not included in the deal. around 176,000 people are said to be cut off. 9,000 are trapped and dalia and

in the western down of zab u darny. and i.s.i.l. fighters cut off 200,000 people in parts of the eastern city of deraa zor. caroline malone has the latest. >> the u.n. says it's ready to deliver aid. we are talking about mad yia that has been under siege by government and allied force, and for the villages 150 comes to the north, where people have been under siege by the rebel forces. the u.n. has been helping to negotiate the deal from back in september. when they hoped to agree on a ceasefire with the two differing sides. and last week the fighters were released from the area. it's taken until this stage, a

complicated process to help people that need aid in those areas. there are plenty of people that need humanitarian assistance. 400,000 people need a u.n. n.g.o. support. the u.n. wants to deliver aid, but only managed to get access to 10% of the areas. a proportion of people that need aid are in derazor, and that is held by i.s.i.l. fighters, and there's no current aid deliver plans for that region at the moment. >> the u.n. envoy to syria arrived in the iranian capital to lay the grounds for peace talks. saturday they met with the foreign minister. the government said that it's had talks, but expressed concern about who is invited and said so-called terrorist groups should be included. they will go on to meet opposition leaders in istanbul.

a member of the syrian coalition calls for an end to the attacks before the talks begin. >> this is what the opposition is asking, confidence building measures, basically the end of starvation sieges and halt the populated areas, and releasing of political prisons. they are areas mentioned in the latest consultation. the international law and geneva convention prints the starvation against civilians, and is considered has a crime. a war crime, and a graham against humanity.

this is basically not acceptable, even in an armed conflict like this. >> iraqi forces say they have taken more parts of the ramadi from i.s.i.l. control. dozens of troops and i.s.i.l. fighters have been killed in recent days, and the government declared that it has taken control of most of the ramadi two weeks ago. >> an arab league summit in cairo is expected to be dominated by tensions. richard -- riyadh requested the talks. saudi arabia cut diplomat, ties with rain after its em -- iran after its embassy in tehran was stormed by protesters, who were angry at the execution of a muslim cleric. our next guest spects most of the arab league to support saudi

arabia. >> i think they were trying to start the campaign after what happened to the embassy. after the g.c.c. supported saudi arabia with the position, the arab league discussions the same. saudi arabia has interests to see more arab states. they are not only attacking the embassy, but having support in the arab league will strengthen the saudi position. maybe we'll see lebanon, algeria, but the motion will be supported by 15 to 18 arab counties which is enough to support. there was expectation, as unusual between what has been done before iran and the united states. but it seems that they have a strong position. they have no interest to open a discussion with iran.

there are different areas. they want to make sure that iran is respecting the saudi position and arab interests. unless iranians show more flexibility, they seem to be behind the position. >> iran is denying that it fired several rockets near a fleet of u.n. warships. the u.s. navy released a video showing the incident. saying it happened as the warships sailed through a busy waterway in the gulf off the koist of iran. a revolutionary guard spokesman says the accusation is false, and similar to psych logical warfare egypt's flu parliament is con -- new parliament is convening for the first time in three years and is expected to elect a speaker. the previous parliament was dissolved in 2012. >> reporter: it was not too longs ago when egyptians couped

for hours to vote in the first free and fair elections. months after the january 5th uprising, these were the scenes in polling stations. by january 2012, the muslim brotherhood had an overwhelming majority, and the former president and his allies were tried in court. parliamentary sessions were aired live on tv. laws banning torture and long areas of detention were past. it appears that egypt's resolution was bearing fruit. that did not survive a year. the top court ruled that it should be dissolved. the following month the muslim brotherhood's mohamed mursi was voted in as the first democratically elected president. and he tried to reinstate the parliament. the courts overrule him. orn july 1st, mohamed mursi was

deposted in a military coup. he and dozens of m.p.s were thrown in gaol. when the coup was announced general abdul fatah al-sisi promised to hold elections within months. the polls didn't take place until two years later. by then, abdul fatah al-sisi had become president. new parliamentary elections were held last year, and the new legislature began its work on sunday. it's similar to the parliament of 2010. which has ended the mubarak regime, and the wars, one of the main reasons of 25 january revolution. >> president abdul fatah al-sisi supporters say this is the right step in enshrining a long-promised democracy in egypt. critics say a parliament dominated only strengthened the president. egypt's new parliament must ratify dozens of laws put in

place bit the interim leader, and the president abdul fatah al-sisi, including those restricting street protests and an anti-terror law limiting press freedoms and giving police vast powers an associate professor of political science of the doha institute says that this parliament isn't really representative of the egyptian people. >> there are many doubt in this parliament that it would have an impact or be affected legislative body. first of all, the parliament does not reflect the will of the people. if you look at the turn out in the elections, it's very low. 10% of the official numbers. the second point is then the majority of the parliament is pro-abdul fatah al-sisi. it's nothing more than a rubber-stamp for the government. >> it's coming to power. abdul fatah al-sisi is ruling by

presidential decree. is the parliament necessary? >> on theory, it is. the president should be part of what has been called a couple of 2013. and it is supposed to be the third test in the roadmap. >> it's an important step for abdul fatah al-sisi, enhancing legitimacy. particularly internationally. >> will it play any great role politically in the future of egypt. >> i don't think so, as i said before, this parliament is nothing more than a rubber-stamp for the government. the majority of members came through a process that was designed and constructed by state authorities, particularly the intelligence. so the loyalty of members of the parliament is not for the people, but for the state.

the disappearance of five book publishers provoked a mass march and fears. chinese government is not confirming that thing men are detained in china. the publishing executives are connected to a shop which sells political books on the party leaders. bribe has more from the protest. >> reporter: the demonstration ended at the chinese central government's liaison office, where thousands of demonstrators have been filing pa., attaching yellow ribbons to the barricades. bringing here their demands and fears that china releases the five booksellers immediately, and the fears about what this means for the so-called one country, two system. the system by which hong kong allows a certain amount of autonomy. groups believe that is

undermined and these are blatant examples of this. they see it as an attack op media independence. for their part, authorities made no comment or confirming that the five have been detained. >> still ahead, ethiopia cracks down on dissent, where security is accused of killing dozens of protesters. >> we are in northern iraq where an art project is helping syrian refugee children deal with the trauma of war. pass pass

hello again the the top stories on al jazeera, aid meant for 40,000 has not reached those who need it. a deal was made on saturday to allow aid agencies inside three besieged areas, it was hoped that supplies would arrive on sunday. it looks like it will be monday at the earliest. >> an emergency arab league meeting is due to begin in cairo, and was called by saudi arabia to discuss the attack on the embassy. protesters stormed the site after saudi arabia executed a shia cleric. thousands march in hong kong demanding answers over political prisoners. they were thinglinged to a shop

a b-52 bomber has been flying over south korea days after north korea announced a new bomb test despite relative calm in ooeth your, security forces -- ethiopia, security is on high alert in some areas. protesters fear that development projects will take away their land. charles stratford is there. >> reporter: we spoke to the government here, and they admit that security forces killed dozens in the crackdown on the protests. they are claiming the violence on what was described as elements within the protesters, who they say are encouraged and funded by what they say are foreign terrorist organizations. they had an investigation into deaths and into the looting and burning of parliament. now, the region is this

country's largest reason. the roma are the largest ethnic group. we travelled 50km to the west to an area that is anti-government. >> reporter: a member. ooeth i don't know yn security forces shot this mother in the neck during the recent protests. when the conditions deteriorated in hospital. she insisted her father take her back to her village so she could see her children. >> translation: we went to demonstrate. they allowed us to pass the first checkpoint. at the second checkpoint, someone threw a stone. security forces took action. people threw themselves on the ground. >> people are afraid to talk. this man insisted we hide his identity, saying police in his town arrest men that gather in groups of more than two. >> our future is uncertain. we don't know whether we'll be detained or killed.

we are so afraid we don't like walking on the streets. >> the government admits security killed dozens in the crackdown, and promised to launch an investigation into who is responsible for those deaths. the people living here said they have little hope that they will get justice, or the longstanding political demands will be met. this is the largest ethnic group in ethiopia, long complaining that the government ignored economic and cultural rights. al jazeera has no way of independently verifying the video uploaded on the internet. protests were sparked by opposition to the government integrated development plan. the government says it's aimed at improving the services and developing the region around the capital. but many of the roma call it unconstitutional.

activist and opposition members say security killed around 140 people. hundreds of others have been wounded, arrested and detained. >> the problem with the government is simply the government is trying to avoid it. many are fed up. especially of the young people. they lost hope. >> the government admits the roma people have legitimate concerns that it needs to address, and says it has suspended the integrated development plan, and blames the violence on individuals with links to what it describes as a terrorist organization. >> the implementation of the plan is basically a question which only the people have the finance of. back at the home. her son is too young to have any say in his future. he hopes his mother doesn't die

. >> it's important to recognise that we contacted the government this morning and asked them to try to supply medical help to the lady in that package. the government told us that they are, indeed, trying to do that, and have ensured us that she will get the necessary medical treatment. this comes as a massive embarrassment for the ethiopian government when it's been getting p.r., global recognition for the economic success story, what is described as great economic growth. double digit growth over the last 10 years, a fastest growing economy. and the president of the united states, president obama was here last year giving a huge endorsement. praising ethiopia for economic growth and support against al-shabab militants. the fact of the matter is, and

the government admits this, there is a long way to go on the path to gem okay rahsy and admits mistakes are being made. it comes as a huge embarrassment to them, and something that they promise to look into, and give the roma people more of a say in their economic social and political rights. >> are. >> the president of transattended another ceremony. the place de la republique was a rallying point after the attack as parisians rally in support of free speech, an oak tree will be planted. francois holland unveiled plaques crass prize. the muslim counsel in france wants mosques to open this weekend for visits by non-muslim

members of the public. this report from the grand mosque in paris. >> the why the of an open door weekend is to demystify what happens in the mosques and combat negative expectations. which has thrown into disarray the attacks against the supermarket and the magazine. and the attacks in which 130 were killed. the idea is that ordinary people can come into the mosques taking part. we have seen a couple of women living in the neighbourhood, curious to see what it is like inside. and there was a man in another mosque that said when someone offers you his hand, you accept

it. we spoke to a man that said he used to go to the mask, but doesn't any more, the atmosphere changed, there's a lot of intolerance and there's extreme views expressed. it's this perception aimed at countering and portraying a more positive and less threatening image. >> ethnic albanion protesters set fire to the building. thousands of protesters - the demonstrators suppose an e.u. brokered deal gives more power. we have more. >> reporter: they are thinking that the serbian state will be back at the back door in kosovo. they fear with the finance from

belgrade and the local authorities connected to serbia, will be something like a joint community in serbia connected to syria. opposition leaders say they are not completely against the brussels agreement, and say that the first of the agreement are okay with them. but they say that the serbian majority will cause more tension, and that the government is not working well and they will not give up until the prime minister of kosovo resigns. >> muslim growls call on donald trump to resign after a woman was heckled and escorted from

the rally. she soed silently at a rally of trump calling for muslims to be banned. she wore a t-shirt saying salam, i come in peace. mexico's government said it knew hollywood actor sean penn was about to interview drug lord joaquin guzman. sean penn interviewed him hat a secret location in mexico. the interviews was a factor that led to el chapo's recapture on friday, six months after tunnelling his way out of prison. >> some syrian refugees have been attacked bay a man using pepper spray after attending a welcoming ept. a man on a bicycle sprayed the refugees. police are searching for the suspect.

>> this is like as comedians, we should not welcome them in this kind of way. they are very upset and people need to understand that. this is not what they deserve, and they should be treated better. >> an art project in northern iraq is helping ethiopia children. we have more from northern iraq. >> for this person, who is more familiar with conflict than anyone of her age should be, the beauty helps the most. she is thankful in her imagination that peace will one day booment. >> i wanted to be part of the poent so i would forget the war. i wanted to draw with my friend.

>> it priffedz her and a dozen others with a unique outless. through donated supplies. they paint over the bars of this former prison. transformed the drab and depressing walls into a vibrant kansas. i start feeling better. we were only ming about the war in syria. we were drawing i.s.i.l. fighters killing each other with knives. she and her family fled from the fighting. >> when this project began, most of the artwork was similar to what you see in the mural.

full of sadness and fear. just across the courtyard, there's this pointing where a child sits sad and alone. we miss this area. >> this is the project's coordinator and a refugee from syria. she says volunteers here decided early on they had to do something to help. it's a form of therapy, she assures me that, is working. >> we tried to change their mind to encourage them to think about beautiful things, more beautiful things. now the children impart happier impression, and painting elicits laughter, instead of tears. against all odds, people are reminded through this large mural that love wins.

and a landscape reminiscent of dark days is getting brighter all the time. more news, comment, analysis at the website aljazeera.com. [ ♪ ] hello i'm richard gizbert, and you are at "the listening post". here are some of the media stories we are looking at. a diplomatic crisis