a war of wards over who is responsible for starving civilians in syria as food finally arrives in the towns. you're watching al jazeera live from doha. also coming up the u.s. gets the green light to increase the military presence in the philippines as tensions rise in the south china sea. capturing joaquin guzman, the mexican government releases video on the raid.

how nigeria is educating those displaced by boko haram 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 reechld with the government an aid convoy arrived in madaya from damascus on monday. supplies have also been delivered to the pro-government villages of foua and kefraya. opposition groups are spounding these places, but there are many areas not included in the deal. around 176,000 people are said to be in need in another village. 9,000 people are also in dire straits. i.s.i.l. has cut off 200,000

people in parts of eastern city. >> reporter: trucks carrying food and medicine finally arrive in madaya, a town of 40,000 people where they have been eating their pets and after that vur vooifd on a diet of soup made from grass. >> translation: -- survived >> translation: we suffered a lot. people killed cats to eat them. others ate grass. we need to break the siege. >> reporter: it is reported that as many as 28 people have sdavshd to death but at the u.n. the syrian ambassador seemed to dispute all this. >> the information concerning the humanitarian situation in madaya is based on false information. >> reporter: we've seen reports of deaths, some in last few hours, we've seen pictures of starving people. are these fabrications? >> yes, indeed.

>> reporter: so reports of mass starvation issued by the united nations and our humanitarian agencies and these deeply disturbing pictures of the town's population, including children suffering from malnutrition are, he claims, fake. but he also has another explanation. >> the terrorists are stealing the humanitarian assistance and they are keeping these assistance in their warehouses and then they use it as a leverage of political and financial gain for them. >> reporter: the u.s. ambassador samantha power told the u.n. assembly she had no doubt who was to blame >> look at the grotesque, starve or surrender tactics the regime is using right now against its own people. look at the haunting pictures of civilian, including children,

even babies, in madaya syria. this is just the pictures we see, there are hundreds of thousands of people being deliberately siege add and starved, and these images remind us of world war ii. >> reporter: on the ground in madaya one women seemed to back the syrian ambassador's explanation. >> translation: the situation in madaya is so bad. before of the siege we used to live a proper life. the armed rebels when they entered the village and acted as we know, they revealed their true colours. at the beginning people were deceived but it has all become clear. they are nothing but trading in people's blood. >> reporter: getting to the truth in the chaos and turmoil of syria's long war is very difficulty. the cameras who took these were operating under syrian guidelines. >> reporter: it is a country that it is difficult to speak freely and the access to food is

being used as a weapon of war. the u.n. says it needs the urgent evacuation of 400 people from madaya who need life-saving treatment syria's foreign minister is in india to support for his government ahead of talks. india has opposed any regime change in syria by force. the three day visit follows trips to china as well as russian which is a key ally of the syrian government. the u.n. brokered talks on syria begin on 25 january. this is over weeks of agreement between the parties. the u.n. has an ambitious 18 month plan that includes ceasefire and inclusion of a transitional body within six months. the address doesn't say anything

on the future of bashar al-assad. india is unlikely to get involved in any alliance to overthrow the syrian government. >> the fact that there has been a position, that they oppose regime change, they see it will help them to maintain status quo. it is based that it won't join any coalition. there have been talks in the past. they have spoken with the u.s. and russia but they haven't joined any coalition. the only thing that they could do something like they did in 2013. if bashar al-assad goes on to a game plan materializing for post-bashar al-assad state, they wouldn't want to see any radical element. they don't want to see another

libya. i think they're concerned for india. the fact that the syrian conflict involves countries which has good relations, they wouldn't want to become an element in that russia's president has been talking about syria saying that work must begin on a new step to ending the war. he added that finding a peaceful solution will be made for difficult by saudi arabia's current diplomatic stand-off with iran. putin disputed reports that he is an ally of bashar al-assad saying that his forces are also helping armed opposition groups to battle i.s.i.l. nigeria's oil minister is calling for an emergency meeting because of falling oil prices. a barrel has fallen to the lowest price in more than 12 years at $30.60.

he says saudi arabia supported an emergency meeting if market conditions worsened. rescue workers in baghdad have been sorting through the rubble of a shopping center. that's where a suicide bomber and other attackers killed 18 people. the bomber set-off the device after gunmen stormed into the hall on monday in a mainly shia neighborhood. i.s.i.l. has claimed responsibility for that attack which saw 50 people injured. the commander of baghdad operations said the situation at the mall is now under control. >> translation: there was a cowardly terrorist attack. security forces killed two of the terrorists at the location and another terrorist detonated his suicide vest at another location. in 1 # 5 minutes we were immediately on-the-spot and the situation is under control. we will open the roads again

meanwhile the u.s. commander in iraq has asked the city of ramadi to leave-- people within ramadi to leave within the next 36 hours. the announcement was made as coalition forces and the iraqi army prepared to target specific neighborhoods were air strikes and artillery. fighting has broken out in the center of ramadi. the armed group resists efforts to push it out. 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 supreme court in manilla. the decision comes at a crucial time with rising tensions in the south china sea. our correspondent has the latest from manilla >> reporter: the presence of foreign troops in the philippines is a rather divisive issue. there were u.s. military bases here up until 1992 when the lease was no longer extended. since then the visiting forces

agreement was signed between the philippines and the u.s. which has allowed for u.s. troops to come through here in the small hundreds. however, this enhanced agreement will allow for more u.s. forces to spend time here and give them greater access to philippine military bases. it will also allow the americans to store equipment in the country. now, this is a development that filipinos are not happy with. they see this as something that could potentially incure the ire of china. the philippines is already in a dispute with china or portions of the south china sea. china has itself conducted flights in those areas. some filipinos see the presence of the americans now as actually a good thing. they see it as a way by which their own defense forces can be backed up and have more of a power to then stand up against any threats imposed.

what will happen from here now that the supreme court has deemed this enhanced agreement, is still something to be seen. as many filipinos say, they will take to the streets in protest still ahead, samsung apologises and greece for a workplace safety plan for its employees. a cleric appeals his conviction. viction.

the top stories are al

jazeera. the u.n. humanitarian chief says at least 400 people need to be moved from madaya to receive life-saving treatment. food and medical relief has finally reached trapped people in three towns. the u.s. will be allowed to increase their military presence in the philippines after a deal was approved by a supreme court in manilla. nigeria's oil minister has called for an emergency opec meeting to address the falling prices of crude. that comes as global benchmark plunged to $30.60 a barrel. that is the lowest it has been in more than 12 years. chinese stock markets are volatile. the shanghai composite index rose when it opened but quickly fell below the 3,000 mark for the first time in months. the state of the chinese economy

is affecting others. hong kong and south korea opened higher, but are showing loss elizabeth by noon. australian share prices fell for the eighth straight step. samsung has apologised and settled a battle with workers who are cancer. they are promising to improve health and safety in their factories. some workers are refusing to accept the deal. >> reporter: the five families together marks the end of an eight year battle with south korea's biggest company. >> translation: i am looking at it from a comprehensive point of view. in that context i'm generally happy with the deal. >> reporter: mr song worked in a plant in 1990s. he lost in court trying to prove a lenk to workplace conditions. he apologises for his and his

colleagues suffering and provides with an undisclosed settlement. the company continues to deny any link between its factory environment and the diseases in question. >> translation: i find it very meaningful that this issue that had been on the table for a long time has been resolved through dialogue. i hope that all parties stick to the spirit of the agreement reached today. >> reporter: samsung says studies show its factories comply with the appropriate guide leans. the company has settled more than 100 individual cases. samsung had been challenging claimants assisting the government's battle against its suit, but last year deciding to offer an apology and set up a compensation fund. some are still holding out. this man has been wanting them to recognise a link between the

factory environment and the death of his daughter, a link that was made in her case and three others. he and his fellow campaigners have signed up in support of their measures but are not accepting the money or the apology. >> translation: until samsung consulted us about the apology and compensation, we're going to continue to protest outside samsung's headquarters. >> reporter: they may wish to see this as the final chapter in a damaging battle. for in this man who has become very much the public face of that fight, it's not over yet lawyers in indonesia have called for the release of a muslim cleric who was jailed for supporting what prosecutors say was a terrorist training camp. a judicial review has been opened and adjourned into the case of this man. the spiritual leader is serving a 15-year prison sentence. a reporter is outside the

supreme court. >> reporter: at the court the appeal is being held, a leader of a group. he was donating money to a military training camp in 2010. hundreds of supporters have gathered here at the court, very angry supporters, who are demanding his imminent release. he himself has just made a statement about this whole case using very fierce and angry language at the prosecutors and police for jailing him for something that he thought was an obligation for all muslims to defend islam. he has been endorsing the military camp and that the money donated was actually going elsewhere. there will be a few more hearings of this case and a

verdict will be expected by the supreme court in february a canadian hostage has been released six years after he was captured. this man appeared in this video released by the taliban in 2011. canadian government leaders have thanked katar for helping with the his freedom. it could be up to a year to extradite joaquin guzman to the u.s. a video of his capture has been released. >> reporter: a deadly rain by marine. gunfire from both sides. at one point a man is down and a voice can be heard saying, "we have an injured man". grenades, bullets, five people killed in the raid. joaquin guzman, though, wasn't to be found. marines call out, "where is he?

look for him". they is a woman and she says, "i don't know". he had slipped into the sewers and crawled for a few hundred metres before surfacing and stealing a car from a woman driving by. mexican authorities soon caught up with him. he is now under heavy guard at the same maximum security prison he escaped from in july. the latest turn in the story, mexican officials now say it could take at least a year to extradite him to the u.s. where he faces charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and murder. his lawyers will file as many motions as they can to delay the process. mexican authorities are keen to get joaquin guzman into the u.s. authorities hands as soon as they can. there is pressure on mexico to hold on to him as long as it takes to make sure that the extradition is successful in germany four foreigners

have been injured in gang attacks in cologne. the chancellor says she wants to reduce the number of refugees coming into the country. >> reporter: it's more than a week since the events of new year's eve in cologne, but the political storm raised by the attacks shows no sign of episoding. more than 500 people have now come forward to complain of being attacked on the night. police say 40% of the allegations relate to sexual assaults. whe where-- the minister says foreigners were to blame and this was not acknowledged soon enough. >> translation: i support a couple tour which means that if mistakes were made, the mistakes are named, and if this happens,

it should be honest and transparent, the analysis does hit others. this has nothing to do with deportations, but rather to honestly say where the reasons for that night lie. >> reporter: the question of how to deal with the issue is while the numbers of refugees who have come to germany in recent years is growing ever louder. on saturday rival demonstrations were immediately in cologne's city center. one of around 300 supporters of the anti-islamic group, one of around 1300 of the far right group. then on monday night another rally was held, this time in the eastern city. although the numbers of followers has is small, there are increasing numbers of people were more moderate views, questioning the government's policy on refugees. the chancellor angela merkel has

been on the forefront calling for tolerance and for both germans and refugees to embreakings integration. she has also said that refugees who commit crimes should face the fullness of the law. >> translation: since the terrible night in cologne, the integration we need in openness in the society, but the refugees need to be willing to follow our rules as well. >> reporter: if there are tougher measures for the refugees, they will be have to be agreed here at the federal level. we understand that they're already discussing what practical solutions can be founfound spain has warned catalonia it will consider the politicsal issues.

the candidate set to lead the regional government has pledged to breakaway from spain within 18 months. seven former inmates of guantanamo bay have come together to demand a closure of the u.s. prison camp. it opened 14 years ago. despite plans set out by obama to close it, it is still open. high profiles held a protest outside the u.s. embassy in london. >> reporter: over the past 14 years the register of those detained at guantanamo bay has included the names of nearly 80 men. for the first time, seven of those men gathered on monday. along them, this man freed just last october to guantanamo bay, and these other men >> i think it is something that

i can't forget. it saddens me that people are still in guantanamo although they are not guilty of a crime and america has made a massive mistake. >> reporter: guantanamo bay became synonymous with so-called enhanced interrogation which human rights lawyers said amounted to torture. the prisoner language issued in custody. even those cleared for released were trapped in a legal and diplomatic limbo >> there are a whole bunch of people who you have shn cleared and only a few charged. >> reporter: with just a year of his presidency remaining, obama knows he is running out of time to fulfil his promise on closure. 17 minimum mates are expected to be released during january. >> it doesn't make sense for us to be spending an extra

hundred/200/500 or a million or a billion dollars to have a secure setting for 50/60/70 people. >> reporter: in an interview with al jazeera, former detainee urged the president to end it once and for all >> it takes a strong man to say i'm closing it and i'm sending these people where i believe it is safe. i believe people if they go back to where they belong and they go back to close where their family is, they will settle down. >> reporter: one in ten of the remaining detain yess are actively facing charges or awaiting sentence. the remainder appear to be prisoners of the slow pace of u.s. bu object res and international dip diplomacy. it comes just nine days before the next president in 2017.

the hope is that by then guantanamo bay will have closed > university students in south africa are protesting the high cost of education. they say tuition is too expensive and they're demanding fees be scrapped. although the government provides financial assistance to some students, protesters are saying that's not good enough. boko haram in nigeria has displaced many in the last six year. many have been robld of an education. 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 from his village after boko haram occupied it. the armed group is opposed to western education and has killed tens of thousands in nigeria's

north-east. >> translation: they want us not to go to school. if we do, the punishment is death. in the camp we ged food and education >> reporter: the government and its development partners are providing mobile classrooms like these to help children displaced by the violence catch up on their education >> in collaboration, we have established mobile which is a classroom fully equipped with furniture and even generators and wash facilities. it is really a fully equipped classroom that can host for 40 children which is the standard student and teacher ratio. >> reporter: even with these classes running in the morning and afternoon, the facilities

are simply not enough. as many as 70% children were in school before the boko haram violence. after two million people have been displaced. most schools have been destroyed and teachers killed. this offers children a new start. this little girl has been around violence since she was born. the mobile classrooms are offering her a chance to chase her dream. something 11 million out of school other nigerian children are not allowed to do fans of the late musician david bowie has been holding street parties to farewell the pop icon. >> changes

hundreds of people congregated, singing and dancing late into the night. david bowie who was 69 had been battling cancer for 18-months. >> the top of the world - the arctic circle. an environment that is at the same time hostile and fragile. warming temperatures are warming ice at historic rates... adding to its distress, man's unquenchable desire for fossil fuel. the quest to retrieve arctic oil is underway, but how prepared is the world to handle a