a diplomatic push to end the war in syria with leaders from turkey and the gulf state holding meetings you're watching al jazeera. also coming up, tunisia's prime minister calls for calm after days of protests. his challenge now to find a solution to growing discontent. new york implements a travel ban as a monster blizzard hits the u.s. plus. >> reporter: it's singapore art week. i'm on the island state. later on al jazeera i will be telling you why not every piece

of art is a papting on a wall-- painting on a wall, but it's being displaced in all shapes and sizes across the city the u.s. is making a renewed diplomatic push to find a resolution to end the war in syria. secretary of state john kerry is in saudi arabia meeting leaders from the gulf to try to ease their concerns about warming relations with iran. kerry says he is confident peace talks on syria shelled scheduled for next week will go ahead. >> one of the things that we did today which i think i think is is very important is to set up a clarity on how to proceed forward on the initial steps on the negotiations on syria, and we are confident that with good initiative in the next day or so

those talks can get going and that the u.n. representative special envoy will be convening people in an appropriate manner for the proximity talks that will be the first meeting in geneva to begin to lay down the process to try very hard to implement the geneva communication and have a transition that takes place according to the u.n. security council resolutions as well as the vienna communications of the syria international support group meanwhile u.s. vice president joe biden is meeting turkey's prime minister. the war in syria ask in its fifth year and forcing millions of people from their homes. turkey ask hosting a million syrians. the united states and turkey are

prepared for a military solution against i.s.i.l. if a political settlement is not possible. al jazeera's bernard smith has more from istanbul. >> reporter: this was an opportunity for turkey's prime minister to remind the u.s. vice president biden of turkey's concern, opposition really, to any involvement of the syrian kurds in any discussions on the final settlement, any final settlement to the syrian crisis. indeed. turkish view is that they should be with the regime, they should be sitting with bashar al-assad, not with the opposition. >> translation: the pkk is just like i.s.i.l. the syrian kurdish ypg is directly connected to the pkk and is becoming a larger threat to turkey from syria. >> reporter: while he acknowledged that the separatist pkk is as much as a threat as

i.s.i.l. and alnews, he didn't draw a connection between the pkk and the syrian kurds the ypg. that is because on the ground in syria near the most effective partner with the u.s. in fighting against i.s.i.l. >> there is a thorough understanding that i.s.i.l. presents a clear present danger, not only to europe, to the neighborhood, but particularly to turkey, and we have shown robust cooperation and a commitment to defeat i.s.i.l. >> reporter: for their part the largest syrian kurdish political group has said that if it is not represented in any syrian peace talks, then those talks will fail tunisia's prime minister is calling on people to be patient after a waive of protests against unemployment and poverty. he cut short a trip to france to deal with the crisis. a night-time curfew is still in

place. there have been no firm measures to tackle the unrest. a report from the capital of tunis. >> reporter: the prime minister faces the toughest challenge yet to his government. he has been in power for almost a year but miss authority has been challenged by this week's unrest which has seen angry protests across the country. some of these protests turned into looting and attacks on security forces and government buildings. >> translation: many enemies do not wish to see tunisia or the tunisians successful. they feel undermined by the democratic process. they are doing all they can to disturb the harmony of our democracy and the historic transition period tunisia has seen. the transition is inevitable. the transition is irreversible. >> reporter: the opposition blames the government for the unrest.

saying it has failed to implement genuine reforms. on the streets people remain divided over how to solve tunts's simmering discontent-- tunisia's simmer discontent. >> translation: i'm opposed with the curfew. there are people working at night. you compromise their future. i want this government to go >> translation: we have heard many promises in the past. now it is time for major decisions. the government must take concrete steps to find jobs for the people. i do not know how but that is their job >> reporter: calls for a government wifor new steps. the elections were last held in october 2014. many fear it could lead to more instability. for the time being, life here will be punctuated by a curfew that starts at 8 p.m. each

evening and ends by dawn. a few months ago a state of emergency was implemented following an attack that took the lives of 38 holiday makers in the resort. zuez. the security forces have extensive powers in curbing unrest and tackling the rise of armed groups. the state of emergency also puts restrictions on public gatherings. by imposing a curfew nationwide, the government hopes to contain the vines that has been threatening to spin out of control, but it will hardly solve the country's deep-rooted problems and for the people trust in their political leaders seems to be wearing thin a travel ban is in place in

new york as a blizzard dumps snow across the area. much of the subway has ground to a halt. at least 11 people have died in the country in weather-related incidents. tom ackerman reports >> reporter: from georgia to massechusetts, the blanket of snow has kept outdoor activity to a minimum. winds as high as 90 km/h persuaded motorists to stay off the roads but many who did venture out found the conditions more than they had bargaind for. some were stranded over night. red cross set up a shelter for those without heat in their vehicles >> if your running into the ditch, we will probably run into the ditch. >> reporter: the metro train service was shut down for only the third time in its history. further north it caused flooding

on new jersey's coast. >> there was significant water and ice that was floating up the streets. that are gone over the wall that the res government-- that the government said was good enough to stop this from happening. >> reporter: a rare travel ban. >> all vehicles that are not emergency vehicles or authorised vehicles that are involved in direct urgent service to people need to be off the streets. the nypd will begin enforcing the travel ban at 2.30 today and that ban will remain in effect until further notice. >> reporter: about 150,000 households were without electricity in north and south carl in a-- carolina. in washington the weather turned streets bare of traffic into a snow boarder's delight.

at the national announcer: one of the giant pannedas couldn't get enough of the snow we speak to tom live now. the forecasts around this town have been daunting. we know that large parts of the u.s. east coast have effectively ground to a halt, but just tell us what does it feel like to be there in the city right now? >> reporter: what you can see, i just see a skier going through a major thoroughfare just past me, but what you don't see is cars. there's no ban here, but nevertheless people are being serious about keeping their vehicles off the roads. in new york they are serious on enforcing this ban. the mayor reports that in the hour and a half since the ban went into effect they've had 300 toes, they've also had 200 accidents and the police say that they will be fining people and towing those cars, of

course, as well. right now we do expect that this kind of driving snow will continue up the atlantic coast all the way to new york and even possibly further north a bit for the next 12 hours or so. the authorities say that if the - the mayor in new york, of course, said that if the snow does, indeed, stop by the early hours of sunday, then there's a good chance that they can get back - the city back into operation, normal operation, in time for the regular business week beginning on monday, but if for some reason the forecast is off and this kind of snow continues in new york through the early morning hours of sunday, then it might be cause for major disruptions in new york city thanks very much. we can just see the scene right

now live in time square, new york city there. you can see a few people mil meddling around, but really large parts of this city that you would expect to be busy at this time pretty much deserted as people have been told to stay off the streets as there say travel ban in place. the subway is not working and people are urged to stay indoors because that is the safest place to be right now. much more to come to you on this hassle hour, the mosquito born virus that have triggered travel warnings for women. >> reporter: okay. google. how much tax are you going to pay here in the u.k.? the u.k. gets what it was searching for. google greece to pay almost 200 million to the tax man, but some say it's way too little.

welcome back. you're with al jazeera. the top stories. u.s. secretary of state john kerry says he is confident talks on syria will go ahead despite disagreement on who will represent the opposition. tunisia's prime minister has held an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss this week's wave of protests over unemployment. a travel ban is in place in new york. a major blizzard has dumped huge amounts of snow right across the u.s. east coast. a 13 yeared girl has been shot dead after appear alleged stabbing attack on israeli security forces. it happened near the settlement in the occupied west bank. officers say the girl had

previously had a fight with her family before leaving her house with a knife and walking towards security forces. 162 palestinians and 25 israelis have been killed in the latest wave of violence which started at the beginning of october. the united nations is seeking unconditional access to the besieged yemeni city of ties. they're saying they are suffering from a lack of water. delivery of aid has been blocked. medical services are struggling to cope. only a few shops remain open. i.s.i.l. says it has killed 72 iraqi soldiers in three separate suicide attacks as it fights to hold on to its last territory in ramadi. iraqi army is battling to eradicate the final i.s.i.l. strongholds after capturing the city in december.

pregnant women are being told to avoid travelling to parts of the world being affected by the zika virus. it has existed for years in africa and south-east asia but has recently surfaced in brazil as our correspondent reports. >> reporter: the mosquito born zika virus has been around for years in africa and south-east asia. in that time it barely registered as a problem. that was until it turned up in brazil. in just nine months there have been half a million case of contagion with the virus and a suspected link to a dramatic rise in birth defects in babies. >> normally zika is not a dangerous disease. it is self-limiting with mild symptoms. with what we see in brazil right now is that in lots of the areas where bee have zika infections,

women have born babies with microcephaly. >> reporter: microcephaly is a condition in which a bay ee's brain and head don't fully develop: back in 2014 before the virus arrived in brazil there were 150 known cases in the country. since october that has jumped to 4,000. the linked to the zika virus still hasn't been confirmed, but it is enough to prompt senior u.s. health officials to act as if there is one. >> we are quite concerned about the potential complications to the foetus of a zika virus infection in pregnant women. so we are advising that pregnant seriously considering postponing travel to these areas if possible. >> reporter: those areas cover 20 different countries throughout latin america and the caribbean. there have already been a handful of cases in the u.s. health officials are still not understanding why it has become

an epidemic. their worry is that the olympic games next august could provide conditions to spread it further. >> translation: it's the olympic games and tourists from all over the world will arrive. they will be exposed to the risk of getting the virus. so zika has consequences not just for the brazilian's health but health worldwide >> reporter: as yet there is no vaccine or treatment for the virus. countries have taken the step of advising pregnant waem not to get pregnant for now. mosquitos thrive and breathe in small amounts of water-- breed in small amounts of water. mosquito raid indication programs like these are all the more important

britain's finance minister says it has achieved a major success after google offered to pay 185 million dollars in backdated taxes and change how it calculates tax in the u.k. it comes over dispute over how much it was to pay. >> reporter: how much tax are you going to pay here in the u.k. google? that is something google can answer in a heart beat. 130 million pounds. that is $185 million, money many people feel is long over due. the question is. >> reporter: is it enough? google thinks so. it has reached an agreement with the tax man after a long open audit. that is to cover a decade of underpayments. the company is going to pay more in the future saying it will change it calculates its taxes based on revenue from u.k.-based advertisers which reflects the size and scope of its u.k.

business. which leads to the question. >> reporter: okay google, how big exactly is that business? >> reporter: the firm's turn over was 642 million pounds in the u.k. in 2013. that is nearer to 915 million if we're talking dollar. then look at the figures filed in the u.s. where google had revenues of 5.6 billion that year. and 6.5 billion a year later in 2014. quite a discrepancy. that's revenue and revenue isn't taxable profit. there are costs to bear in mind. it shows google earns a lot in britain that doesn't go through its british accounts. it is all pretty confusing and complex and it's all perfectly legal. this was the boss of google u.k. appearing in front of parliament back in 2013 to defend it. just listen to the firy words directed at him. >> how do you do you think they feel every time they switch on

to google and they remember, and it reminds them of your rather devious, if i may say so, calculated and, in my view, unethical behaviour? >> i think if ordinary people listen to that statement they would rightly be concerned, but i think that statement is not a fair representation of how we operate. >> reporter: okay google, why pay now? >> either they see the way the world is changing and they want to be seen as being paying their fair share, but at the same time they're under pressure that has been an audit and governments want to get more tax out of companies like google. >> reporter: so the tax man gets his cash, google solves it's pr problem and everybody is happy. right? wrong. this is already causing anger amongst opposition politicians here in the u.k. who say google should pay a lot more. it is a paultry amount. in france authorities are negotiating with google for

their settlement and they may demand much, much more. for google at least this is an issue that is not going away soon iran and china have agreed to increase bilateral trade to 600 billion dollars in the next decade. president xi jinping is the first to visit the country. the two countries said they would increase cooperation in security and the fight against armed groups. >> translation: terrorism, the war on terrorism, extremism and violence, these were the topics which came up for discussion and were emphasised on. to ensure security and stability in the middle east, consultations actually with countries, and also offering intelligence which is required for fighting terrorism were among the other issues we

discussed today the pakistani army has arrested five suspects over a deadly university attack that killed at least 21 people mostly students. the suspects allegedly provided the attackers with shelter, transport and weapons. gunmen stormed the university killing students and teachers on wednesday. around 200 refugees and migrants broke into calais in france on saturday briefly disrupting operations there. 50 refugees boarded a ferry bound for britain before being taken away by police. the port was reopened later that day. opposition parties in moldova say they expect tens of thousands to converge in the capital. they are angry at the government who they say is controlled by the richest man.

>> reporter: things have gone from bad to worse here. joblessness, a weakening currency, fuel and food prices on the rise. nobody has anything good to say about the situation. >> translation: come here and see how much we pay for pasta and sugar. >> reporter: nobody we spoke to has anything positive to say about their politicians >> translation: i pray to god for help. i don't trust anyone any more. i've lost all faith joochlt the people here are disillusioned and that's in part because this country has been suffering from political paralysis. there have been four prime ministers in the past 12 months and since october no government until this week. on wednesday angry crowds stormed parliament incensed by the appointment of a new prime minister. he, standing on the right, is a close ally of the man doing the

talking, the most powerful man turned politician. the opposition wants immediate elections. they queues the president of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the banks. >> translation: since independence we have suffered and suffered and suffered and now we're in the verge of having moldova in a criminal dictatorship. we have to oppose that at any cost >> reporter: the new government has the backing of brussels and washington and says there will be no new elections. >> translation: we believe that only elections are not the selection for the country now. we're in a difficult fishl fishl situation and we have to find urgent solutions. >> reporter:-- financial. >> reporter: protesting here are a number from across the political spectrum.

they're hoping tens of thousands of ordinary people are ready to join them regardless of their geopolitical persuasion singapore has transformed itself into a giant art gallery for its international art week. works by leading artists around the world are being showcased there. local artists are also hoping to use the event to make their break through. >> reporter: you can't walk anywhere in singapore without bumping into a work of art. some recognizable, some not. the national gallery is the focal point for this years's international art week. this used to be the supreme court of singapore and city hall. here the old meets the new >> i think the building is beautiful and it's a very lovely space to be in. >> reporter: the merger of on the two sites created a large

space and a new life to the chief's justice's chambers has been one of the many challenges. there were many issues to be resolved by project director and her teams. >> these buildings were office buildings. they're not designed in any shape or form for an art gallery. so the consideration that we had to look through were things like foundation, floor loading, bringing it up to modern day standards in terms of air conditioning, lighting, and it cabling >> reporter: the whole event is spread across the island. it is not just established names that are showing their work here. local artists are also featured in some very unusual locations. inside these shipping containers visitors can see and meet singapore's emerging talent. this man is a fine arts graduate and his contemporary observations on society show how old and modern techniques can tell the same story

>> so from my work i'm not here to say what is right and what is wrong, but a reminder for people to watch their mouth before they speak, to watch their action before they do anything. >> reporter: it's a start for him. he hopes to join british artists such as damien hurst. names such as his are raising the profile of this festival. >> asia is still very, very emerging. don't forget the history of contemporary art is not so old here. so it is on ht not possible to compare it with london and paris and new york. it is the future. the world is moving towards asia. singapore becomes more and more as well as hong kong and china a center for contemporary art >> reporter: there is something for everyone and there's debate about what they like and what they don't

there's more to be found on everything we've been covering in this bulletin and much more right here. aljazeera.com. that's it for this bulletin, but we will have more news a bit later on, including a round up of the headlines in a second. genetic modification, incredible science in the lab usually means this. it can be controversial, it can also be extremely beneficial. >> just like that, i'm genetically modified the mosquitos that carry two deadly diseases, malaria and dengue fe