the u.s. secretary of state still confident about syria's talks despite disagreement on who will represent the opposition coming up in the next half hour the u.n. demands access to the yemeni city of tiez to save tens of thousands who are suffering. a mammoth snow fall shuts down new york city as it spreads across the area.

the u.k. was getting google to pay what it owes in tax but critics say it's into the enough we begin the bulletin with diplomatic efforts by the u.s. to keep talks aimed at ending syria's war on track. u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, met with gulf foreign ministers in the saudi capital riyadh trying to agree on which opposition groups should be represented. he is also trying to ease their concerns about warming ties between the u.s. and iran which is a key backer of the syrian president. now kerry says that he is confident that gen evidence talks-- geneva talks will go ahead but couldn't confirm which day they would start >> one of the things that we did today which i thought was important is we set up a clarity for how to proceed forward in the initial steps of the negotiations on syria.

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 the appropriate manner to the proximity to us joe biden is in turkey which is also concerned about a key opposition group fighting against i.s.i.l. in syria. the kurdish pkk, now despite differences ankara and washington agree on a military solution against i.s.i.l. if a political settlement is not reached in syria. bernard smith has more from istanbul >> reporter: this was an opportunity unity

>> reporter: if it is not represented in any syrian peace talks, then those talks will fail a lecturer in middle east and north african relations. he says the visits of two top u.s. officials to saudi arabia and turkey are significant, particularly ahead of the syria talks. >> it is really in building bridges. bridges.

>> translation: i lost my leg. there is no treatment here for me in tiaz. more than 90% are closed and those still open are short of medicine electricity and supplies. people need specialistist treatments that they can't provide. they're warning that patients will ends up with lifelong disabilities unless they receive

the help that they need. >> translation: many of our patients need help abroad. they haven't been able to travel. we can't get medicine to aleave wrat their pain. >> reporter: almost six thousand people have died in yemen since the conflict began. the u.n. says almost half of those are civilians, with cities under siege, the u.s. government is calling on all sides of the conflict to room peak talks. it says attacks on the red sea port should stop immediately in order to allow aid in. >> a lot of people need the basic necessities to live. on top of that schools have been interrupted. children haven't been able to go back into school. a lot of them are being placed into fighting conditions. >> translation: there is a short supply of diesel and it is

very expensive on the black market. we have turned to using wood. >> reporter: after ten mites of fighting, the people want the war to end and fear that until it does their situation will continue to deteriorate two palestinian teenagers were shot dead in the occupied territories on saturday. a boy aged between 16 and 18 was killed by israeli forces at the entrance to a military base in a town east of jerusalem. in a separate incident a 13-year-old girl was shot and killed by a security guard. she allegedly tried to stab the guard outside a settlement in the occupied west bank. at least 163 palestinians and 25 israelis have been killed in violent incidents since october last year eastern u.s. cities are at a standstill after a blizzard brought a huge snow fall. these are live pictures out of time square in new york. this is a part of the city that

would normally be busy with tourists and traffic. a state of emergency has been declared there. in several other states, an update on the conditions from washington. >> reporter: the year may be young, but already this snow storm is being dubbed the blizzard of 2016. it is affecting 85 million people all the way from justice south of the capital washington dc up the north-eastern seaboard to well beyond new york city. as tom ackermann reports. >> reporter: from george and the carolinas, the fast moving blanket the snow has kept outdoor activity to a minimum. winds as high as 90 km/h persuaded motorists to stay off the roads. those who ventured out found the conditions more than they bargained for. in kentucky thousands of drivers were stranded during the night. the red cross set up a shelter

for those without heat in their vehicles. u if you run into the ditches we will run into the ditch to get you. >> reporter: washington done c's train service was shut down for only the third time in it's history. further north the storm caused major flooding on the atlantic coast >> there was significant water in the streets and ice that was floating up the streets. it had already gone over the wall that the residents in the government says is good enough to protect them from any storm. >> reporter: after the snow forecast for new york city was raised to 76 centimeters, officials there ordered a rare travel ban. >> so all vehicles that are not emergency vehicles or authorised vehicles are involved in direct urgent service, the 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. about 150,000 households were without electricity in north and south carolina. it is expected to worsen when ice builds up. in washington it was a snow boarders delight. at the soo one panda couldn't get enough of the snow. beginning sunday the airlines will have to start hoping with a huge backlog of passengers due to the cancelled flights. >> reporter: so now that the storm has passed, the clean up operation gets underway in earnest. in the major cities things should be back to normal reasonably quickly by the end of sunday or on monday morning ready for the great return to work. there will be towns and little villages all over the north-east of the country where things won't get back to normal for

many days. it will take a while for the authorities to reach their villages and get the snow ploughs in and clear the snow. most people won't forget the start of the start of 2016 and what they're calling the blizzard of the year still ahead. >> reporter: i'm in haiti, a country facing a constitutional crisis. we will be asking what's next handing in arms, how nigeria is banking on an amnesty as it trials to deal with violent crime. crime. foreign

ministe ministers. doctors are warning the sick and injured there face lifelong disabilities because medicine and food supplies are being blocked. a blaze ard has parcel lived-- bringing force willing closure in new york until at least sunday morning. high coast waves are flooding parts of the cuban capital. waves several metres high have been pounding the city's famed

street front. streets are understand water. rescue workers are trying to help people reach higher ground. french president francois hollande begins a three-day visit to india on sunday. his main focus will be on how france can play a bigger role in india's growth and development. >> reporter: this café in new delhi has brought french deserts, pastries here for the last few years. the response has enabled him to own a dozen other branches of his chain. making a challenge of doing business on another continent worth it for him >> in india we do have a number of infrastructure problems. we have to take care of such basic questions like water supply, electricity supply, supply of ingredients, and also

of training our staff who need particular attention. >> reporter: he will be meeting the french president during his visit to india to tell him about the opportunities for france in india. french culture has been in india for centuries. they show the modern size of culture of. francois hollande wants to extend that and make france a larger player in their economy. it is worth billions of dollars. the smart city program is meant to change some of the city's into an efficient and clean places to live and work. it is something french companies are eager to share their expertise on, given their own growth within india. >> our relationship is long-term, built on trust, and the investment figures is not

for everybody, that the french companies are making huge investments. >> reporter: there have been stumbling blocks, including a stalled sale of fighters jets. >> france is a country-- >> reporter: this analyst government policy has been favorable towards france >> >> the nuclear tests, it was france and germany in the restaurant block which really came out in support of india. they did not go along with the u.s. putting sanctions on india. the relations is very good. >> reporter: the relationship that is set to develop stronger ties between india and france, community, economy and culture chinese president xi jinping's visit to iran appears to be paying off. the two countries announced plans to build economic ties worth up to 6 billion dollars in the next 10 years.

he is the first fish to visit iran since sanctions were lifted. 17 new agreements were signed. >> translation: we are delighted to see this trip taking place at the very appropriate time in the post-tensions era. we decided to increase mutual trade, up to 600 billion dollars. to ensure stability in the middle east we are offering help to countries which suffers from terrorism, like afghanistan, iraq, syria and yemen. we are also offering intelligence to fight terrorism i.s.i.l. says it has killed 72 iraqi soldiers in three separate suicide attacks as it fights to hold on to the city of ramadi. the iraqi army says the latest fighting against the armed group took place in the last stronghold in the city. government forces said that they

had recaptured ramadi from aisle. a senior afghan taliban member says the group is ready to rejoin talks with the government, but only if it is removed from the united nations black list. the afghan government along with leaders from pakistan, china and the u.s. urged the taliban to come to the negotiating table and meeting in kabul on monday. the group also wants the u.n. to cancel a resolution freezing their assets and limiting travel for senior figures. the u.n. and governments around the world are urging haiti's feuding leaders to solve a worsening political crisis. elections to choose the next president have been put on hold indefinitely. the decision has led to days of violence. our correspondent reports >> reporter: it was the threat of widespread violence that led to the haiti's planned election being called off. this is a nation in limbo. polling stations have been set

ablaze across the country with many fearing it is heading towards a crisis that threatens to destabilize an already fragile nation. so you think it will be a struggle? >> yes, but we will find, we are fighters >> reporter: this man was running for president. he is now part of a group noun as the g8 who have been calling for sweeping changes amid accusations of fraud and voting irregularities. he is happy it has been postponed. >> translation: i have a good feeling. we made a big step in the right direction, but it is not the end. we still have a long way to go because this fight is a lot more complicated than people think. >> reporter: leadership struggles aside, the people of haiti are growing increasingly impatient with the process. >> reporter: this student and musician told us he is rapidly losing hope for haiti. he tells us most here live in

inhumane conditions. it is an opinion widely held on the streets here. other observers don't see an easy way out from the political impa pass. according to the constitution, the president has to be out of the office by the beginning of february. it gives them little time to act. >> translation: we have less than two weeks until his end. we have no way to have an election before then. it will be up to the parliament and the political parties to agree on a transitional government. >> reporter: elections have never been an easy thing in haiti, but for the past decade this country has enjoyed relative political stability, but all that has slowly begun to unravel in the past few months. perhaps the most important thing for the future of this country is that it's next leader has le jet mays. -- legitimacy. >> reporter: there is more at stake than a smooth handover of

power. they're still as this nation's 50 million people who may ultimately pay the price > an initiative for illegal weapons being handed in without being charged. the amnesty isn't enough to stop offenders. hundreds of people dead have been left dead. >> reporter: hundreds of illegally owned rifles, ingredient aids and home-made bombs surrendered to police. their owners won't be charged of any offence in the continuing arms amnesty aimed at cutting crime. fighting started here during last year's election. on and off tribal and ethnic tensions over landownership have

plagued the state for years. many have acquired weapons to defend themselves. hundreds have been killed. the husband and son of this woman were shot and killed in separate politically motivated attacks. >> translation: when high husband was murdered i was in the bedroom. i heard boom boom twice, i got scared. the shots continued for a while. when it went quiet i went out screaming. >> reporter: she says the amnesty has greatly improved the violence. this man has handed over 84 rifles. >> translation: violence has escalated because people were attacking communities, my community. so i was protecting my people. now i am protecting all people. >> reporter: many victims are worried that criminals are not being punished and will re-offend. many of the communities affected by vials here say the government

needs to do more than the amnesty program. they need help doing with the impact of crime >> this program stops. for me i think the best thing is jail them. they don't show any remorse. you can't do that. >> reporter: state government leaders defend the amnesty. >> the security council that give the money to do this amnesty, they take charge of the status there. we are working together, we are finding how we can make life more meaningful and better for our people. >> reporter: the state government says it has reduced the crime here by 70%. training and education programs will be provided for anyone who is given a pardon. victims of crime say the priority should be giving them compensation so they can rebuild their lives greek protesters are

planning to march towards the militarized border with turkey to demand easier transit rules for refugees. a similar protest is expected on the other side of the fence. it is the second day of demonstrations opposition politicians say that the figure is nowhere near what is really owed. the government, though, says it is satisfied. the story now from london.

>> reporter: okay google, how much tax are you actually going to pay here some the u.k.? >> reporter: that's something google can answer in a heart beat. the firm is going to shell out 130 million pounds. that is 185 million dollars, money many people feel is long over due. the question is, is it much? >> reporter: google thinks so. it has reached an agreement with the tax man after a long open audit. that is to cover a decade of under payments and the company is going to pay more in the future saying it will change the way 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? well, the firm's turn over was 642 million pounds in the u.k. in 2013. that is nearer to 950 million if we're talking dollars.

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. but it shows google earns a lot in britain that doesn't go through its british accounts. it is all pretty confusing and all pretty complex and 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 think they feel every time they switch on to google and they remember, and just it reminds them of your rather devious, in 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? >> they say that 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 its pr problem and everybody is hap. right? wrong. in has already causing anger amongst opposition politicians here in the u.k. who say google should pay a lot more, that it is a small amount. authorities are negotiating with google for their settlement in france and they may demand much, much more. for google at least this is not an issue that is going away soon finally, in mexico two volume contain yoes-- volcanoes have rumbled into life.

it erupted 12 times in 12 hours on saturday. erl eruptions were seen east near the city where the volcano roared to life. all the news in an hour or on the website at 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 don't make the