47 people are reported killed in russian air strikes in the syrian city of deir az zor hello, this is al jazeera, live from doha, also on the programme. the u.n. seeks access to the city of taiz, where supplies are dwindling following a siege by houthi rebels. we are in moldova where protestas seeking elections say the prime minister is under control of business tycoons. >> and a massive clean up is under way after a winter storm sweeps through the u.s. coast.

bringing cities to a stand still. >> we begin in syria, where 47 people have been killed in deir az zor. carried out by russian plains. the observatory for human rights said a bus station was hit. 100 have been killed over the fast few days. >> they gathered to search for bodies, to sift through their belongings, and what is left of their homes. villages in the countryside of deir az zor say the air strikes on seat killed relatives and friends, ordinary citizens. this man could only muster a player are prayer, calling on god to muster people, saying

rights groups were mustering the strike. dozens are reported to have died. russia launched its military operation in syria at the request of syria's pratt alibaba. since then, russian planes have flown an estimated 5,700 missions. rights groups say more than 1,000 civilians have lost their lives in that time. moscow insists the campaign is rejected at i.s.i.l. and other groups, rejecting claims that aircraft has hit civilians, using claims to drop aid. >> i think that today there's not a single army in the world talking about military operations thoroughly, with facts and numbers as the russians have in syria. i would like to stress it's an provision against international terrorism in the rij jog.

i.s.i.l. cops most of the deir az zor province. it's kept the remaining pockets of government-held areas there under siege for the past year. this week has been on the push to capture the areas. the russians say the aerial bombardment are to counter the push by the fighters. the people say it's all been at their expense. gerald tan. al jazeera. >> syrian state media is reporting that pro government forces recaptured more territory na latakia. the offensive is backed by russian strikes. indirect talks have been planned for monday. the secretary of state john kerry is confident the talks will happen, he's been meeting the king of saudi arabia, in riyadh the u.s. is allies are trying to create a list of opposition groups that will join

the negotiations. >> one thing we did today which i think is important is we set up a clarity on the initial steps for negotiations on syria. we are confident with good initiative in the next day or so, those talks can get going and that the u.n. representative special envoy stefan de-mistura will be convening people in an appropriate man or for the proximity talks and now our diplomatic editor james bays in london. >> the talks were due to start on monday. it's certain that was not going to happen. the best we could get on monday is a news conference. and the fact that the envoy could send out the invitations. the controversial thing behind

the scenes is who will make up the opposition. john kerry hags been in riyadh meeting his saudi counterpart. moscow had problems with the list, and we understand mr kerry has been speaking by telephone to his russian counterpart. it will be up to the opposition to decide whether to the basis of the list agreed from the international community. i know they'll come under pressure. they'll be told in the syrian government is there and you are not there, it will like like the opposition doesn't want peace. it's more likely than not that some talks will take place later in the week. initially i'm told they'll bell proximity talks. the opposition in one room, and the syrian government in the other, with the u.n. envoy shuffling between the two. initially they'll look at possible ceasefires in syria, and trying to alleviate the humanitarian situation, in those

areas of syria under siege. >> in yemen, the u.n. is seeking unlimited access to taiz, where supplies of basic necessities are dwindling. the city as seen some of the worse conflicts between the rebels and forces loyal to the government. victoria gatenby reports. the u.n. says 200,000 civilians are living under a state of siege. houthi rebels are blocking aid into the city. doctors are saying they are stopping the sick and injured who are leaving to get medical treatment elsewhere. >> i was hit by a shell, i was in hospital for three months and need medical attention abroad. i lost my leg, there was no medical treatment for me here. tiaz. the city's hospitals are struggling to cope with demand. more than 90% are closed. those open are short of staff, medicine and electricity, doctors say around 5 thus

injured -- 5,000 injured people need treatment that they can't survive. >> reporter: many of our patients are in urgent medical care abroad and are not able to travel. the siege prevented medicine from entering the city to alleviate pain. the world health organisation said 6,000 people died in yemen since the conflict began, half of those are civilian. with cities under siege and restrictions on food and medical supplies, the u.n. government is calling on all sides to resume peace talks. and says that the attacks should stop, 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 to school. and a lot of them are recruited into militias to join the war. >> >> reporter: in the capital this

bakery is using wood instead of fuel to make bread. >> there's a shortage of diesel and it's expensive on the black market. the city is under siege. we have turned to using wood. >> after 10 months of fighting yemenis want the war to end. and until it does the situation will continue to deteriorate china's president xi jinping visit to iran is paying off. the two countries announce plans to strengthen ties worth up to $6 billion over 10 years. she is the first head of state to visit iran since decades-long sanctions were lifted. he and the iran president oversaw the signing of 17 new agreements large crowds protested in the moldovan capital gathering in front of buildings. protesters are demanding elections after the appointment of a prime minister who they

claim is taking orders from business tycoons. opposition speakers at the demonstration are calling for the people to decide on moldova's future, not europe, russia or the united states. live to the moldovan capital. robin forrester walker is there. give us some background. what led to the protests? >> hello. it's bitterly cold. bear with me if i'm shivering a little bit and stuttering. yes, it has not stopped tens of thousands of people coming out right here, right now in front of the government offices, and there have been protests going on here all week really, culminating on wednesday night when a lot of people raided the parliament and, in fact. deputies had to make a hasty escape. the reason they did that is the

opposition and supporters of the opposition are so angry about the decision to appoint a prime minister, who is considered really to be a political light way but under the control of moldova's powerful oligarch, a man whop has four television channels working under him. a rich man indeed whom the opposition accuses of having defrauded the moldovan people of hundreds of millions of dollars. it's a staggering amount of money gone missing from the banging commission. it's created chaos with government resignations and four prime ministers in the previous year, and now the opposition is saying enough. they really hold this man responsible, the government, of course, saying no, we are legitimate. we were elected by the people in

2014. there's no legal basis for us to stand down and call tore elections which is what the opposition is demanding. >> what could be the outcome of the crisis if no compromise is reached? >> very difficult to predict. of course, always a concern at confrontations of violence. i spoke to the leader of the socialists who are in the opposition camp. they say that they'll have talks with the government. the government doesn't listen to their demands. they'll rasped up the pressure and try to suck down moldova with civil disobedience until their demands are met. and any outcome would have implications for the region. moldova is part of that tangle between russia and the european union. >> i'm cold looking at you, i'll let you seek some warmth.

live there from moldova more to come on al jazeera. milking the most of a bad situation. activist groups help young tunisians to create their own jobs after nationwide protests in relation to unemployment. and we are at the sundance film festival and we look at the creepy appeal of horror films.

hello again. the top stories on al jazeera.

40 people killed by russian aircraft. a village in the east in deir az zor was attacked. the u.n. is seeking unlimited access in jonathan toews where supplies of basic necessities are dwindling. the city has seen some of the worst fighting. large crowds have begun protesting in moldova's capital. gathering in the buildings. protesters are demanding elections after the appointment of a prime minister who they claim is taking orders from business tycoons. in iraq. i.s.i.l. says that it's killed 72 soldiers in three separate suicide attacks as it fight to hold on to the city of ramadi. the latest fighting happens in i.s.i.l.'s last stronghold in the area. in disease, government forces had retaken the town from

i.s.i.l. thousands in the u.s. will be digging themselves out with snow shovels. after the yeast coast was brought to a standstill. streets are cleared in new york and washington d.c. ahead of monday morning's commute. earlier a state of emergency was declared. tack reports on the impact the storm is having on the east coast. >> from georgia to the carolinas, the fast-moving blanket of snow kept activity to a minimum. winds persuaded motorists to stay off the road. many that ventured out found conditions more than they had bargained for. in kentucky, thousands were stranded along a highway that turned into a parking lot. >> the red cross set up a

shelter without people with vehicles. >> i can't stress enough, please, even wal-mart closed. >> washington d.c.'s metro train service shut for the third time in history. further north the storm caused flooding on new jersey's atlantic coast. >> there was water in the streets in margate and ice floating up the streets, going over the wall that the residents in the government market said was good enough to protect them from any storm. >> reporter: after the snow forecast for new york city was raised to 76 centimetres. officials ordered a travel ban. >> all vehicles that are not emergency vehicles involved in direct urgent service to people need to be off the streets. the n.y.p.d. will begin enforcing a travel ban at 2:30 today. that ban will remain in effect until further notice. >> 150,000 households were without electricity.

in north and south carolina. the outages were expected to worsen as ice builds up on powerlines. in washington. the weather turned treats in a snowboarders delight. >> one of the confinement banders couldn't get enough of the snow. >> since friday, 15% of commercial flights in the u.s. have been cancelled. meaning beginning sunday, airlines will have to cope with a backlog of passengers. tom ackerman, al jazeera, washington on the other side of the world, subtropical hong kong is not immune to the odd cold snap. the government warned many not to go out in freezing conditions. many have, in the hope of seeing know. rob mcbride reports.

>> reporter: in the run-up to the extreme weather. people in hong kong have been getting to grips with new terminology - polar vortex, taking some saying in here, what is a semitropical climate. this cold weather phenomenon is a blast of cold air blasted south across china, reaching as far as the south china coast. normally it never gets below 9 or 10 centigrade during the coldest days of winter. this meant temperatures are a few degrees above freezing. i'm here on the highest peak in hong kong it has been freezing. authorities put out weather warnings, telling people not to venture out. thousands of people have. many seeing frost for the first time. >> what everyone wants to see, of course, is snow. it is only ever officially snowed here four times, the last time was 1975. people are hoping that the blast of cold air will mean there'll be a fifth snow flurry for hong kong. people in south korea are feeling the freeze. the government issued a cold weather warning for seoul for

the first time in five years, temperatures falling to 18 degrees in the capital it's expected to be below minus 15. >> the u.n. and governments around the world urge haiti's feuding leaders to solve a worsening political crisis. a run off election scheduled for sunday is on hold indefinitely. there has been protests since accusations of fraud in the first round in the vote in october it was the threat of widespread violence that led to 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 haiti is heading to a crisis that threatens to destabilize a fragile nation. >> do you think it will be a struggle? >> yes, but we will find it.

>> reporter: this man was running for president, and is part of a group of former candidates known as the g8, calling for sweeping change amid accusations of fraud, and voting irregularities, and is happy the presidential run-off has been postponed, and says haiti has serious challenges ahead. >> i have a good feeling. we made a big step in the right direction. it is not the end. we have a long way to go. this fight is a lot more complicated than people think. >> leadership struggles aside. the people are impatient with the electoral process. this student told us he's losing hope for haiti, and tells us most live in inhumane conditions. an opinion held on the streets of port-au-prince. others don't see a way out of the impasse. according to the constitution. the president has to be outside of office by the beginning of february.

it gives those in power little time to act decisively. >> we are until february 7th. there's no way to have another election before then. it will be up to the parliament, the political parties to agree on a transitional government. >> elections have never been an easy thing in haiti. for the past decade. the country enjoyed stability. all that slowly unravelled in the past few months. perhaps the most important thing for the future of the country is that the leader has legitimacy. >> there's more at stake than a smooth handover of power. haiti is struggling to overcome an earthquake, poverty and unemployment rampant. they can't run what the people see as free and fair elections. the nation's 50 million people that may pay the price.

tunisia's p.m. says the security situation in the country is under role after a week of nationwide protests. after an emergency cabinet meeting, they promised new thinking on tackling unemployment, which is running around 30%, especially among young people, the protests triggered by the death of a young man. he was electrocuted when he climbed a tower, losing out on a government job. some tunisians are fed up at the lack of opportunity, and created jobs by starting small businesses. they thing if success. they could inspire others. we have this report from bay rain in north western tunisia. >> reporter: this is how amen starts his day.

he collects milk from near farms and urges his workers to hurry up. after relentless job hunt, amen, who graduated with a masters degree in management abandoned hope for working for a government-owned company. he recently received funding and training in entrepreneurship from an international aid agency. with just about enough to start his business, he became a cheese maker. >> this is a dream come true. i was born in a family of farmers, it is the top producer of the milk in tunisia. one day i said to myself with milk i can start making cheese. if it works i can expand. amen's family around to support him. this is the launch day. as soon as work is finished amen joins those that helped him start his business. these are activists from the nearby city of persia. they were active during the pro-democracy uprising.

now they say they want to help build a new tunisia. >> our goal is to lead the country. we have democracy, we want to see the young in the higher echelons of government. we want to organise ourselves. >> reporter: they are active in a young council, n.g.o.s that are growing fast and whose influence is spreading. influence is spreading.c >> we are training the young to start businesses, so we develop poor areas. instead of waiting for the government, we chose action. we are not going to spend the rest of our lives waiting for action. >> reporter: a long way lies ahead. they are determined to offer hope to those frustrated over the lack of opportunities in tunisia.

>> tunisians expect tough years amid declining revenues and widening deficits. frustrating reality after so many risked their lives to denounce oppression and poverty under the former regime chinese president xi . >> protesters from nepal rejected the devised condisit use. demonstrators blocked the border crossing in india. causing shortages of fuel and other supplies much constitutional amendments don't go far enough. parties representing the group, according to more representation in government two volcanos in mexico rumbled into life. officials say the the colima vol cane sow erupted 12 times in 12 hours.

several eruptions were seen east near the city. the volcano roared into life again. >> the sundance film festival is asserted with the offbeet quirky side of cinema. there's a darker and scary side. from park city in utah. rob reynolds reports. >> midnight is when the horror begins at sundance. horror movies, it could be a cult classic. >> we want to be here first. >> these people lined up to see "the greasy strangler." >> it's a mixture of sweetness, tenderness and depraved weird innocence. >> reporter: rob zombie is back with a feature called "31", about carnival workers

kidnapped on halloween night. >> five from taken hostage to a remote location. for 12 hours it's a fight to the death against homicidal maniacs. >> reporter: horror appeals across languages, this is an iranian film about a mother going mad. convinced there's an evil spirit in her apartment. >> every culture has a version of horror. from down of men, people are fascinated at the stories that sort of like terrified them. horror movies are as old as film itself. throughout the decades, an assortment of ware wolves, vampires and demons became stars of the genre. >> that's what i'll do. >> besides frightening generations of movie goers, it is a money maker.

>> movies are a guaranteed profit for the most part. the fans are so dedicated. they rush out. >> "the blare witch project" premiering at sundance became the highest grossing independent film of all time. even for serious cinema fans, there's nothing like the guilty pleasure of sitting in a darkened theatre and getting scared out of your wits. horror films reflect undercurrents running for a culture and society. >> coming out of what we see in the news, everything from mortality. the idea of humans being terrible is the scariest thing of all. far scarier than satan. >> reporter: midnight after midnight the sundnace horror features creep on. it's hoped the work will be rewarded with a blood curdling

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