serious doubts over planned talks to end the conflict in syria. moves to help refugees fleeing the war. you're with al jazeera live from doha. also to come on the program, ewe began danns recall-- ugandas recall the horror. angry protesters demand fresh elections in moldova after a

third prime minister is appointed in less than a year. up in smoke, malaysia will soon decide whether to ban the use of e-cigarettes first there are serious doubts over the talks to end the conflict in syria which are due to begin on monday. there's little agreement over who will attend the meeting as russian foreign minister and u.s. secretary of state discuss the upcoming talks. >> translation: we don't have any thoughts on moving the start of talks from january to february. this is the position of both russia and the united states. we are confident in the coming days in january these talks will begin the syrian opposition coordinator has accused russia of blocking the negotiations.

>> translation: there must be a clear agenda for negotiations to work towards a political transition and not to chat and waste time while syrian people die understand shelling and from hunger. this is unacceptable meanwhile democrats in the u.s. senate have blocked a bill that would have made it harder for syrian and iraqi refugees to enter the country. last september obama said the u.s. would accept 10,000 refugees within a year. >> reporter: the legislation if it had passed in the u.s. senate would have put additional restrictions on refugees from iraq as well as syria hoping to come to the united states. however, the legislation needed 60 votes in the u.s. senate to advance in the debate. it came up five votes short and as a result it has been blocked. critics of this legislation said that this would in many ways

would be very unfair and penalize those refugees in comparison to others who are trying to come to the united states from other countries. it would really penalize those coming from iraq as well as syria in that there is extentive vetting already taking place. supporters of this legislation pointed to some comments made by the director of international intelligence who said there have been indications that have been documented where individuals with ties to radical groups had used the u.s. refugee program to try and gain entry to the united states. as well there have been comments from the director of the f.b.i. as well as the homeland security secretary stating, in fact, that there was a feeling that the vetting process of refugees to the united states could be more robust. in the end, hour, the view was-- however, the view was that the u.s. has a long history of helping those who are fleeing war torn countries to come to

the u.s. and, in the end, this legislation was blocked dozens of refugees have been picked up by the greek coast guard from a small island near the turkish coast. they were taken to one of the most used points of refugees enter turkey. last year almost 120,000 people arrived there. >> translation: you understand that with bad weather conditions rescue operations are not easy. you may be able to locate them, but some of them might be in the sea and need to be pulled out or you may not be able to approach because there is a danger that you might drag them and hilt them with the boat's propelllars german police arrested five suspects and more in turkey. the operation was aimed at so-called ghost ship traffickers

who packed refugees into unsea worthy vessels and send them out to sea. almost 400,000 syrians have fled to neighboring lebanon. they are struggling to make a living. with too many people the pressure is on the population. a report from northern lebanon, there are few funds to help the situation. >> reporter: this is a 15-year-old refugee. she works in fields in lebanon near the syrian border earning just $10 a week. >> translation: i was in school in syria and i have to work because there is no-one to take care of us >> reporter: there are many working in agriculture and construction. >> translation: before of crisis in syria, there were lebanese and syrians working here, but after the crisis started, the number of syrians increased and they work for less. this put pressure on the

lebanese. >> reporter: there are 800,000 lebanese living in north lebanon, the country's poorest region. there have always been seasonal workers here, but 400 thousand syrians have moved here too. >> translation: we have here a large syrian population which puts huge pressure on the area. our car is already neglected. we have to put up with that. >> reporter: the lebanese host communities now share their limited space. many of the syrian refugee camps in lebanon are set upon land within villages such as this one, but the greater number of people puts pressure on the infrastructure, such aas water supply and waste collection. >> reporter: resources are even more as they can't afford to contribute to the systems. >> translation: many here don't have the means to put food on the table. as you see here, people are

trying to cover their own cost to solve his own problems. >> reporter: there is support from the international community through the u.n. new development projects may provide a lasting solution to the pressures in north lebanon. until then, communities have to balance the workforce of syrians on their doorstep the refugee crisis is in focus as day two of the world economic forum meetings gets underway in the swiss ski resort of davos. the u.s. stocks plunge to their lowest level in two years, so some of the participants are calling the recent events a market meltdown and things are being made worse by the continuing slide in the oil prils. the organization for economic cooperation and development, oecd, told al jazeera that global leaders need to rethink

their strategy. >> translation: we continue to rely on the central bankers doing more qe. they have run out of ammunition because they have been the heros of the last three or four years. it's time for the finance ministers, trade ministers, trade and education ministers, it's a time to go structural. it is a time to go green, go institutional, a time to go social a time to do all the structural measures that we did not take five former commanders in a rebel army in uganda is due to appear in the international criminal court. judges will decide whether there is enough evidence for one to stand trial for war crimes. our correspondent has been to a former refugee camp which was attacked by the resistance army. >> reporter: this woman 8 year old grandson was shot dead as

she ran for her life. that was in may 2004 right here. at the time it was a crowded camp for displaced people. rebel fighters from the lord's rans army attacked. she says a bullet entered one of her cheeks and blew off the other side of her jaw. she has had to eat by sucking her food ever since. >> translation: he and his soldiers killed the people here. i want him to be given a death sentence if he ever comes back he will kill us all. >> reporter: he had been an nra commander since the 1990s. he was brought to the international criminal court a year ago just after his surrender in the car. rebellion by the nra started nearly three decades before. many say it was in response to aatrocities committed by government forces, but the rebels turned against the people they claimed to represent, abducting tens of thousands of people forcing them to become

fighters, porters and sex slaves. at the time this whole area was full of huts and survivors say the rebels came from this direction setting them on fire, abducting some people and killing others. there's a memorial here for those who died, but the icc's prosecutor says he ordered the attack. an hour's drive away we met one of his wives and their children. he lived here until he was 14 and he shouldn't be on trial because he was abducted. his wife says she was abducted analed just nine and then married him. >> translation: the two people i want to see before the icc are the leader because he created the group and also the president of uganda because he failed to protect us. my parents and dominic's parents were killed. >> reporter: for many in

northern uganda justice has been slow if not absent. >> victims keep saying why only the lra is being prosecuted and why not the government. they cannot prosecute crimes retrospectively. they only look at crimes occurred after 2002. that is where the challenge has been in prosecuting other actors. >> reporter: there is interest in his pending trial because of what happened here. the court is now due to decide if there is enough evidence for the trial to go ahead the israeli government is expected to declare the largest seizure of palestinian land since 2014. israel plans to take nearly 150 hectares in jericho. it is awaiting final approval. almost 400 hectares of land was

seized following the killing of three israeli teenagers two years ago. sierra leone has reported yet another case of ebola in less than a week. the new patient is a 38-year-old woman, a relativive of another ebola victim who died last week. sierra leone had had officially declared itself free of the virus two months ago. the epidemic had killed more than 11,000 people in west africa in the last two years. hundreds of protesters have broken into moldova's parliament after it appointed a new prime minister. they say he is part of a staeblt riddled with corruption scandals and they want new elections. >> reporter: protesters break through police lines and force their way into parliament. police p couldn't stop them. the protesters are angry that members of parliament approved

the appointment of a new pro-european prime minister. they say he is part of the corrupt political elite. the protest inside parliament was the culmination of a day of demonstrations. earlier thousands of people had gathered outside parliament to make their feelings known. >> translation: we are not satisfied with the parliament and how it has been formed. >> translation: to form a government so quickly that will be responsible for our lives and destiny while seeing so many people outside the boindz and walls of the parliament is a mockery. they humiliated us. >> reporter: there have been months of political deadlock here. in october last year the government was removed through a no confidence vote. it followed a corruption scandal which involved one billion dollars going missing from three banks. the amount represented about 8%

of the country's budget. the newly appointed prime minister says the country needs a stable government. >> translation: i came here today with my team to take on a much more complex task than it may seem at first glance, to form a last chance government for moldova. it may sound pathetic, but that is what i felt when asked to take responsibility of forming the cabinet. >> reporter: the former soviet republic is one of the poorest countries in the area we have more to come here at al jazeera, including the latest on the tensions on the western tunisian city. >> reporter: i'm outside the labor court where workers complain that their shoes are

being worn out after having repeated visits here to get officials to do anything about their cases. their cases. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself, and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you.

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>> the only live national news show at 11:00 eastern. >> we start with breaking news. >> let's take a closer look. welcome back. there are doubts over whether talks over syria's future will go ahead as planned on monday. russia's foreign minister met with u.s. counterpart in switzerland to try too sort out the differences, the disagreement over which opposition groups should attend. the first of five former commanders from a rebel army in

uganda is due to appear in the international criminal court. judges will decide whether there is enough evidence for the leader of the army to stands trial for war crimes. protesters have broken into moldova's parliament after a prime minister was appointed to the western tunisia city where one police man has been killed during violent protests. they're demanding jobs. they queues the government of turning its back-- accuse the government of turning its back on a region suffering from unemployment. our correspondent reports from kasserine >> reporter: security forces trying to break up an angry crowd firing tear gas and water cannon to pave the way for the police to advance while the

protesters run through alley ways regrout and stage a come back. thousands of young people mostly unemployed who say they have been marginalised by the government. >> this is because the government, for them this place, they don't do anything, just steal the money. >> translation: we have nothing here. we are completely abandoned. there are people who graduated six years ago but never managed to find a job. we are denied our basic rights. >> reporter: discontent is simmering, antis government sentiment is on the rise. local people accuse the government of favouring rich coastal areas and expanse of regions in the south and the center of the country. this is quite a delicate moment for the government which has imposed austerity measures because of the declining economy. there are thousands asking for

immediate solutions for the problems of poverty and unemployment. as violence continues, the governor tries to diffuse the tension, but this crowd hits back shouting we need acts, not words. >> translation: i have met with representatives of the protesters. we gave them guarantees and they were convinced. unfortunately, there is a minority on the streets still causings violence. >> reporter: this is the worst crisis facing the government in months. there are signs protests might spread across the country. a critical moment for security forces who not far from here face a major threat. they are on the offensive hunting down armed groups in the mountains egypt's highest court is due

to hear more evidence in the retrial of riad hijob of conspiring protesters who ended his 30 years rule. >> reporter: it has been a lengthy trial. the support yeers are coming to court over the only leader they have ever known. he led egypt for three decades and has been implicated several times during the revolution against him in 2011. such as this man shot. these demonstrators run down in cairo by a police vehicle. he is accused of giving the orders contrary to the argument by his lawyers that says he

wasn't even aware of the killings. >> translation: i come before you today. >> reporter: he was sentenced to life for kon stiring to murder 239 demonstrators. the life sentence was later over turned and a retrial ordered on appeal. to the disappointment of families of the dead, he was released from prison and put under house arrest in 2013. last year egypt's highest appeal court ruled that another trial about embezzlement didn't follow proper procedure. many egyptians say many who served under him have been cleared of criminal charges. critics are also raising questions about the rule of law as new legislation limits political freedom and thousands have been jailed.

that includes the elected president following the overthrow of barbak. for egyptian such as this man, justice has a completely different meaning the u.s. president has said it's inexcusable that families in flint, michigan, were not warned immediately that the city's water had dangerous amounts of led. obama met the mayor of police incident report to pledge his support to deal with the crisis. led levels rose in the city after it switched to a new supply source. elections in haiti are due to go ahead on sunday. that's despite a majority of senators calling for their suspension. the resolution was non-binding and doesn't have the power to stop the legislative and presidential run offs.

the candidate is boycotting the run off alleging fraud. sufficient leads to identify the gunman who attacked a university. wednesday's attack killed 20 students and a professor. the pakistan taliban says it's not behind the attack and has condemned a splinter group which claimed responsibility. the collapse of the plaza factory in 2013 in bangladesh's capital killed over 1100 people. the tragedy highlighted the poor conditions of workers in the garment industry. since then not much has changed and workers wanting to challenge the conditions are still waiting for the labor courts to hear their cases. >> reporter: at the end of the harrowing two weeks, this woman returned to work exhausted from a miscarriage. the garment worker found little sympathy among her bosses.

she was fired for taking time off. since then her days have been spent in court. few of these hearings have been in the labor court where she is suing her former employers for wrongful termination. instead she has been named as a defendant in multiple cases from kidnapping to financial fraud, part of a strategy, she says, to intimidate her. >> translation: they accuse me of kidnapping babies. they went to my village and told my parents in an effort to scare me. they accused me, high husband and my brother. they put false charges against us in court >> reporter: meanwhile her labor court case remains stuck with little sign of progress. they have a, i don't own enough shows to go to the labor court. it's a reference to how their shoes get worn out from something to get repeated visits to get officials to do anything about their case. the garment industry has been under international spotlight.

more than a thousand workers were killed in april 2013 when a factory collapsed. activists here say the courts slow process give owners impunity to relief. >> translation: they said go ahead, sue us. they know the case will get stuck for years. they know the workers won't have the energy to continue the case. we have seven-year long cases. >> reporter: court officials declined several requests for an interview. they told us they're under instructions to not talk to the media. employers deny they are behind the allegations made against her. >> translation: there is a domestic and international conspiracy going on to destroy bangladesh's garment sector. i can't say for sure if this woman is involved in it, but it

is certainly a possibility. >> reporter: meanwhile, her fight serves as a warning to other garment workers to think twice before entering a battle they might not have the resources to win communist party members in vietnam are choosing their leaders for the next five years in the capital. the current communist party has elected to keep his job. smoking e-cigarettes in malaysia could soon be outlawed because of concerns from health experts and religious leaders. >> reporter: it is a smoking alternative that is marketed as a healthier way to give up the habit, but e-cigarettes or vapes as they are known, are creating a health issue. many are asking whether it is a safer way to smoke or not.

this man opened his vape store five months ago and business is booming. all of his customers have given up tar-based cigarettes and now vape. it is not illegal, but he is concerned about the future. >> from what i observe, they do not know what will happen in the future. whether it will be banned. some of them start to sell it, the product below market price. >> reporter: the liquid is cheaper to buy. it's not taxed like cigarettes and according to customers it lastss alonger when the tanks are filled with a variety of flavors. >> i will definitely stop smoking and continue vaping. >> reporter: it is not safe according to several states across mall asia who have banned the sales or distribution of the e-cigarettes and the e-liquid. some states are conducting

forums between health officials and the vaping industry to discuss these concerns. this is a closed-door session. the media have not been invited. it allows all the parties to have a free and frank discussion. the state here and the government itself are expected to make their final decisions very soon. others continue to voice their concern. a group of over 40 consisting mainly of medical institutions have written to the government pushing for a total ban or tougher regulation. >> you need the scientific knowledge and data over a period of time, but then that needs to translate to convincing policy makers that something needs to be done and that will take a long time and that's a process that is evolving, is dynamic and unfortunately there is no fixed time scale to that. >> reporter: he is one of the quarter million vapers across

the country. the government says it will decide soon whether to regulate the industry or extinguish it altogether you can find out more about vaping and, indeed, the rest of the day's news on our website, aljazeera.com >> welcome to "america tonight." i'm sheila macvicar. joie chen is on assignment. it is the faces of refugees fleeing violence in syria or the butchering of the islamic state group in iraq that has captured much of the world's attention this year. but there are others fleeing poverty or lesser known wars who