a war of words over who is responsible for starving civilians in syria as food finally arrives in besieged towns. you're watching al jazeera live from our headquarters in doha. soft target, i.s.i.l. said it attacked a shopping center in iraq's capital killing almost 20 people. the u.s. gets the green light to green its presence in the million feens. bringing the classroom to the children. now nigeria is educating those

displaced by boko haram war on learning the u.n. humanitarian chief says 400 people must be brought out of the syrian town of madaya for life-saving treatment. he made the call as food and medicine finally reached three besieged towns. under a deal reached with the government an aid convoy left damascus on monday bound for madaya. supplies have been delivered also to foua and kefraya. in eastern ghouta around 176,000 people are said to be in urgent need of help. 9,000 people are trapped in various towns. 200,000 people have been cut off

elsewhere. >> reporter: trucks carrying food and medicine final arrive in madaya, a town of more than 40,000 people where they have been eating their pets and after that survived on a diet of soup made from grass. >> translation: we witnessed a lot and suffered a lot. people killed cats to ee eat them. others eight grass. i saw people sitting on garage and eating it. >> reporter: it is reported as many as 28 people have sdavshd to death. in the u.n. the syrian ambassador disputed all this >> the information regarding the humanitarian situation in madaya is based on false information. >> we've seen reports of deaths, some in the last few hours. we have seen pictures of starving people, are they fabrications? >> yes, indeed. >> reporter: so reports of mass starvation issued by the u.n.

and other humanitarian agencies and these deeply disturbing pictures of the town's population, including children suffering nutrition are, he claims, fake. he also seemed to have a different explanation. >> the terrorists are stealing the humanitarian assistance from the syrian red crescent sent as well as from the united nations and they are keeping this assistance in their warehouses and then they use it as a leverage of political and financial gain for them. >> reporter: the u.s. ambassador sam an that power the u.n. general assembly she had her doubts who was to blame-- no doubt who was to blame: >> look at the tactics the syrian regime is using right now against its own people. look at the haunting pictures of civilians, children and babe

bees. -- babies. these are just the pictures we see. these are pa people being deliberately starved. they remind us of world war ii. >> reporter: on the ground in madaya one woman seemed to back the syrian ambassador's explanation >> translation: the situation in madaya is so bad, before the siege we used to live a proper life. the armed rebels when they entered the village, they revealed their true colors. at the beginning people were deceived but it has all become clear now. they are nothing but traders of people's blood >> reporter: getting to the truth in the chaos and turmoil in the long war is very difficult. the camera crew who filmed these pictures were operating under syrian government media guidelines. >> syria remains a country where it is difficult to speak freely and where basic humanitarian needs, the access to food, is being used as a weapon of war. the u.n. now says it needs the

urgent evacuation from 4000 people from madaya who need life saving treatment syria's foreign minister is in india. he is hoping to boost support for his government ahead of talks later this month to try and end the war. india has always opposed any regime change in syria by force, a poogs that favorable to the syrian government. the three-day visit follows trips to asia and russian. the u.n. talks on syria begin on 25 january after weeks of disagreement over who from the numerous opposition groups in syria may attend. the u.n. has desooifd as an-- devised an ambitious plan including a ceasefire and a transitional body within six months. it doesn't address bashar al-assad's role in the future of syria. let's speak to an associate

fellow at the observer research foundation where she focuses on asia's west asia policy. the former president visiting india, is this symbolic? >> i think it is significant in that they're lobbying to play an active role in the conflict. they have done this in the past. they want to have a resolution in the conflict. a regime change and they see it will maintain the status quo sorry, but how will it end the syrian conflict? it hasn't in the past >> i don't think it is likely. they have been staunch in the position that it will be under any sort of u.n. mandate, it won't join a coalition.

there have been talks in the past. they have spoken with the u.s. and russian but they haven't joined any coalition so it doesn't look like they will do anything major. the only thing is to have an initial like in 2013 what is at stake for syria if the war keeps going on? >> i think that if bashar al-assad goes, there doesn't seem to be a game plan for the syrian state. they wouldn't want to see any radical elements. they don't want to see another libya. i think extremism is a very big concern for india. also the fact that the syrian conflict now involves a lot of different countries all of which has very good relations. we wouldn't want the syrian conflict to become a conflict in their middle east extremism, if it is such a

big issue, then why has india refused to join the u.s. led coalition fighting i.s.i.l.? >> they have been very active on the terrorism front. we have gained a lot of intelligence. we have prevented most of our civilians joining i.s.i.l. we have apprehended a lot of them. so focus on anti terrorism. there is a u.s. coalition, a russian intervention and saudi. i don't think india thinks it's feasible to join any one of them the russian president has been talking about syria saying that work must begin on a new constitution as a first step to ending the war. he added that finding a peaceful solution will be made more difficult by saudi arabia's current standoff with iran.

he is an ally of bashar al-assad saying his force are helping armed opposition groups to battle islamic state in iraq and the levant. rescue workers in baghdad have been sorting through the rebel of a shopping center. that's with a suicide bomber killed 18 people. the bomber set-off the device after gunmen stormed into the mall on monday. it's in a mainly shia neighborhood. i.s.i.l. has claimed responsibility for that attack and left 50 people injured. the u.s. will be allowed to increase its military presence in the philippines after a deal between the two countries was approved by the government. the decision comes at a crucial time with rising tensions in the south china sea. what do we make of the timing of this announcement? >> it depends on how you look at

it. for many of the people it is a necessary move. they want more troops here feeling it is boosting their own forces. china has been expanding its muscle in the south china sea. there have been a lot of fly bys and ships in the area. they cannot hold a candle to how large the chinese fleet is. with america on its side it feels more confident. they see this u.s. presence as very unnecessary and feels it makes matters even more tense in the region. they would rather that the philippines deal with any disputes with china on its own without american backing because they feel this only increases the tension in the region because it brings in another player whose military might is also one that filipinos see as a little too dangerous to have too close to home thank you for that update

from manilla. still ahead on al jazeera, samsung apologises and agrees on a deal on work safe policy for its workers. plus. >> changes thousands of david bowie fans hold a street party in the london neighborhood where he was born celebrating the light rock star's life. star's life. >> and after the address...

when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call, a small business expert will answer you in about 30 seconds. no annoying hold music. just a real person, real fast. whenever you need them. so your business can get back to business. sounds like my ride's ready. don't get stuck on hold. reach an expert fast. comcast business. built for business.

>> the only live national news show at 11:00 eastern. >> we start with breaking news. >> let's take a closer look. hello again. the top stories on al jazeera.

the u.n. humanitarian chief says at least 400 people need to leaf the besieged town of madaya to receive life-saving treatment. food and medical relief has reached three people in three blockaded towns. a suicide bomber attacked a shopping center which many were killed. the u.s. will be allowed to increase its military presence in the philippines a deal between the two countries was approved by the supreme court of manilla. the decision comes at a crucial time with rising tensions in the south china sea lawyers in indonesia have called for the release of a preacher jailed for a terrorist training camp. a judicial review has been

opened into the case. the spirit leader is serving a 15-year sentence. he said donations were meant for humanitarian purposes. the review is expected to resume in two weeks time. nigeria's oil minister has called for an emergency opec meeting to address the falling prices of crude oil. that comes as crude plunged to $35 a barrel. the lowest in 12 years. saudi arabia previously supported an emergency meeting if market conditions worsened. chinese stock markets were volatile on tuesday. it fell below the 3000 mark for the first time in months. share prices in tokyo are down as markets opened after a holiday. hong kong and south korea

opening higher and were showing losses by noon. one of the biggest company has apologised and settled a long running battle with workers who have cancer. samsung is promising to improve health and safety in their factories. >> reporter: a long running legal battle by five families of five former employees of employees have has to an end. they signed the deal here accepting samsung's policy, not taking any responsibility for the diseases in question, but apologising for the kind of suffering that they had been through during the long legal battle, not having settled it earlier. also accepting a compensation

deal which is confidential and accepting that sam song is putting in preventive measures in to stop any further matters at his plants. the case had always been that they said that the chemicals around in that environment had created the diseases. there were some 150 cases that were live that were being fought in this battle. samsung has been gradually compensating those people and settling those cases in turn having made a real about face in may of last year making an apology, as i say, for the suffering of these people the in the process. not apologising or accepting any liability for the diseases in question. however, some family members are still holding out. there are two families who are also in that room behind me who say that they are not accepting either the apology or the compensation deal on offer. one man who lost his daughter back in 2007 says that his fight

will continue south africa's currency plunged to a record low on monday. investors are worried over economic constraints and the economy. it has struggled with the change of finance ministers within the period of one week. >> reporter: this woman needs to buy a new pair of schools for her daughter. she cannot afford them after paying school fees for her children. she earns $150 a month. $30 goes to school fees, $50 to school uniforms and books. what is left over goes to food and transport. she said prices have doubled in south africa since last year. >> here in south africa, we are suffering now, really suffering. where has this come from? >> reporter: on monday the currency fell to the lowest in

11 years. people are told that they will have to limit spending as items increase. the rand lost 25% against the u.s. dollar last year. specialists say things will get harder the currency slide as well as increasing the cost of basic imports reflects facilitiering confidence in how well the economy is being managed. >> it is the rest of the world sending south africa a message, get your house into order. you can't have a solution when people are losing confidence in south africa >> reporter: the under-perfo under-performing economy could

see some areas. >> it seems to be blaming the private sector for manipulating the currency for money of the economy to undermine the administration. that level of trust between the party and the private sector makes it very difficult for one to imagine a solution to alleviate the problem. >> reporter: government ministers are under pressure to find solutions fast in the economic crisis. whatever long-term issue can be made it is the short term that interests people violence blamed on boko haram in nigeria has displaced more than a million truering during the past six years. the armed group has targeted schools, robbing many of an education. so now the government is setting up mobile classrooms as our

correspondent reports. >> reporter: this boy is finally attending school. like everyone in his class, he fled his village after boko haram attacked and occupied it. the armed group is opposed to western education and there are still tens of thousands in nigerian's northest. >> translation: they want us not to go to school and if anyone disobeys, the punishment is death. now in the camp we get food and education >> reporter: the nigerian government and partners are providing plans to help children displaced by the violence catch up on their education. >> we have established mobile units which is a classroom that is fully equipped with furniture and even generators and electricity and solar panel and

wash facilities. it is an quality classroom that can host 40 children, which is the standardised ratio in terms of students and teacher ratio. >> reporter: even with these classes running in the morning and afternoon, the facilities in the camp are simply not enough. as many as 70% of children here attended school before the boko haram violence. that figure has significantly increased over the last six years after more than two million people have been displaced. most schools have been destroyed and hundreds of teachers killed. although the mobile classrooms may not be enough, they offer children a new start. this girl has been around violence since a young child. the mobile classrooms are offering her a chance to chase

her dream, something thousands of other children are not able to do venezuela's supreme court has ordered the opposition congressional assembly to remove three politicians. it ruled any act passed by the assembly will be void. that's until an investigation is carried out. it has been accused of irrelevants during last month's election. >> reporter: we have just seen the supreme court rule that any decision that the national assembly takes or has taken in the past will be considered null. the supreme court considers the national assembly to be in contempt of court after the assembly decided to go ahead and swear in three of the legislators that the court had decided that they needed to investigate further following allegations that there had been fraud during their election in the december polls. the national assembly had insisted in swearing in these

three legislators because it is thanks to them that they occupied two-thirds of the super majority of this newly sworn in opposition-led assembly. it is also the first time in 17 years that the assembly is ruled by the opposition so this is clearly what many here think could be the beginning after a change and one that the government is trying to minimise or neutralize through different measures, this being the latest of it. one of the possible consequences that this decision might have is that the president will now be addressing the country in his yearly state of the union speech, not from the opposition dominated national assembly but, rather, from the supreme court spain has warned catalona's new government that it will challenge any legislation that it considers to be unconstitutional. the candidate set to lead the government has pledged to

breakaway from spain within 18 months. foor the first time a song entirely in arabic has topped the charts in israel. the band gives traditional rhythms from yemen a hip hop sound. >> reporter: it has been viewed on line more than two million tim times. it stormed to the top of israel's pop music charts. the love of my heart is their first single. the success is an impressive feet for any group, but it's almost unheard of for a jewish band that sings traditional sound in a nearly extinct dialogue of arabic.

>> reporter: music is a language in itself, so i don't think it should have any borders or something. we just want people to enjoy our music, no matter where they come from. >> reporter: the sisters are descendants of yemeni juice who moved moved. like many, they grew up singing the songs of their homeland. around 20% of israeli citizens are arabic speaking palestinians. they have been among the most poorest in israel. on the surface it seems a given that an arabic language song should achieve commercial success in israel given the majority of the population comes

from arabic-speaking countries, but there is another reason why it is the first arabic language song to top the music charts. for decades after the creation of israel arabic music was rarely played on israeli radio. the leaders of israel were european or juice and their culture dominated. that slowly started to change in the 1970s with a select few artists achieving commercial access. they either blended arabic with hue brew and english or gave their music an israeli flair. either the system made it clear from the get go, from the very early 50s that you need to work twice as harder to prove to them that you are not that kind of

arab. >> reporter: frthey hope to continue to transcend the race politics and history with their music, sell records and packing dance floors while doing so fans of the late musician david bowie have been holding street parties to farewell the pop icon. >> changes hundreds of people gathered in south london where david bowie was born in 1947. others laid flowers, singing and dancing late into the night. he had been battling cancer. he released his final album black star on friday. it now appears that his final album was conceived as a parting gift for fans. even his death was carefully

coreographiced. it was the natural show man's way of saying goodbye. >> i feel black star, which came out on friday, that seems to be the last most amazing piece of performance that he did, the way in which he passed away. it's almost like you can't plan these things to the nth degree but it was almost like that, it was perfect, pitch perfect and a perfect performance right to the end. there will be days of this. this is not a flash in the pan. the tributes are not an easy way to get twitter information. everything you've heard today, everyone is shedding tears the best footballer in the world has been announced for the fifth time in his career. >> it goes to this man.

the 28-year-old picked up the award in a ceremony in zurich. it is the first time since he won the title since 2012. more on that story and others on our website aljazeera.com on "america tonight": breaking the flood gates the desperation crossing european borders and how refugees seeking shelter find themselves facing new exploitation. >> i don't see anything i don't hear anything i don't say anything. typical attitude. >> "america tonight's" sheila macvicar on germany in crisis and what the new year will bring. thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. tensions are rising in central