>> the envoy says talks to end the war will begin on friday after delays about who should be on the guest list. >> hello, i'm david foster, we're live from london. also on this program, as the refugees keep on coming, european leaders discuss whether to extend emergency border controls in the e.u.'s free travel zone. experts warn mosquitoes are likely to spread the zika virus throughout the americas, putting more babies at risk. freezing conditions in east asia kill 85 in taiwan.

as u.s. east coast trug struggles to get back to worst. and using aerobics to help the elderly to fight depression in south africa. >> they should already be under way, but the united nations-backed talks aimed at ending the war in syria stalled before they even began. they were pushed back after disagreements over who would take part. talks will now begin on friday and could last months. james bays live in geneva. it sounds good to say that they will start on friday, but that's been pretty optimistic, hasn't it? >> it is pretty optimistic. it's interesting i was just reading an analysis by an academic who describes the

syrian talks as fake it until you make it because they are trying to keep this process going trying to keep some momentum in this process, but still the problem is there, and the problem is who will offer the opposition. they will be sending invites out on tuesday. the question is whether all of those invites will come. the big question is over the fighting groups those that were on the list that were drawn up by saudi arabia because they don't like the fact that the invitations are now being widened to a wider group. they had some idea when they spoke to reporters earlier on how they intend to conduct the process. >> no pre-conditions at least to start the talks. the rest is open. it's going to be uphill. they're not in an agreement yet. but we are all feeling that what

has been happening in the past, and what is in the region and the main stake holders feel the time has come to at least try hard to produce an outcome. >> let us presume for one moment, james, if we may, that they will start within the next few days. what then? has anybody any idea how this will work? >> well, we've got more ideas on the process, and certainly the current thinking of the special envoy when they spoke to reporters, and i think how it's going to start to begin with is in this giant complex here, the u.n. headquarters in europe, in geneva, they're going to have different groups in different rooms, and they're going to shuffle between them, the government delegation may be different groups of the opposition in different rooms. and try and find some common ground. he gave us some ideas what they'll talk about, the agenda for the talks and it's very much

based on the security council resolution passed at the end of last year. but in his view the priorities to begin with, and what he wants to focus on to begin with is trying to get some cease fires in place, trying to get some humanitarian aid and access in particular to those besieged areas, and also trying to fight against isil in the areas they control, trying to get some common ground between all the groups, to try to push back isil. those, i think, he believes are the areas that will bring some immediate benefit to people in syria or get some buy in from the population maybe even some of those fighting in syria to continue this process. it is an ambitious plan, david. the talk he has is of talks going on here in geneva for six months. at the end of this come up with some sort of transitional government for the country that then would run syria for an 18-month period, then there would be, and this seems hard to

believe after all the bloodshed and the huge death toll of the last five years, then there would be elections. >> thank you, james bays there in geneva. >> european's law enforcement agency is warning that isil is planning a large scale attack in europe. they released a video reporting to show its fighters to train in syria before the pair riggs attacks last november. in response french president françois hollande said that he'll continue the state of emergency in france and continue airstrikes against the group. >> we will never be impressed by this. these publication also only magnify my resolves to protect the french. also to continue attacking this organization that threatens and kills our children. this is a reason we, president modi and myself have decided to

intensify our fight against terrorism. >> talks about tightening up controls, and reintroducing border controls within the schengen zone temporarily. that zone is made up of 26 countries, which agreed on a common visa policy making it easier for people to move backwards and forwards within that area. well, since the refugee crisis began six of those countries have put in emergency border controls in place and enforcing them until may at least. after that they can opt to leave those controls in place for up to two years or perhaps lift them. germany, sweden and denmark want that to continue. some are considering shutting out greece, the main entry point saying athens is not doing enough to stem the influx of people. we have more on the border.

barnaby phillips. >> here on the german-austrian border these temporary border controls have been in place since september. this is the main ough autobahn leading into southern germany. you can see every now and then a car is pulled off the auto juan, and the police check to see who is inside. this is not what open borders were meant to look like. it does reflect a continent where there is increasing popular pressure to bring the refugee and migrant crisis under control. that's what the anterior ministers' meeting in amsterdam will be discussing. germany would like these temporary border controls from norway to france, austria, denmark, for these temporary

controls to be extended int into 2017. they would like to have greater control in countries like greece, for example. the main inroute for refugees from syria and other countries. and some countries at the schengen meeting will express serious exasperation with greece, even proposing its suspension from the schengen zone. i don't expect that to happen, but it does show the way that european solidarity is creaking under the strain of the refugee crisis. >> a ne mural by banksy has appeared near th the capitol of , and it is the les miserables.

>> tehran's president hasan are a hhassan rouhani is visiting italy and will visit france will there are talks that iran will buy 100 planes from airbus. we have more talks from roam. >> this visit is largely about money. what france stands to gain and other european nations stand to gain. with the former lifting of sanctions against iran, the country can see $100 billion in

frozen assets being released, money that iran will now be free to spend on western technology to upgrade its oil and energy sector and to upgrade its aging commercial airline fleet. great business opportunities there for european countries operating in those sectors also in consumer goods, electronics, luxury goods, consumer markets, the sophisticated markets in iran are hungry to get their hands on those products. there is this mechanism called snap back, which means if at any stage international monitors say that iran is not complying with every aspect of the nuclear deal then those sanctions could snap right back into place, which could, of course, have an impact on any western nation which invested heavily in the iranian market. >> well, health organizations warn that the zika virus could spread right across north,

south, and central america. the latest outbreak of the mosquito-born virus, which could be linked to brain damage in babies has been found in 21 countries mainly in south america. speaking at the "world health organization" in geneva, almost every country in the americas is now at risk. >> the politics self spread of zika virus to areas with little immunity is another cause of concern, especially given the possible link between infection during pregnancy and babies born with small heads. >> coming up here on al jazeera . [ gunfire ] >> some defy a crackdown during the anniversary of the revolution. plus... >> near the epicenter of april's

earthquake where survivors are now facing a very cold winter.

>> the only live national news show at 11:00 eastern. >> we start with breaking news. >> let's take a closer look. >> timing to through the top stories. the u.n. envoy to syria say that delayed talks between the syrian government an opposition groups will now start on friday. the indirect negotiations have been pushed back after disagreements over who would take part. the yawnen president hasan rue than any is on the firstture since the lifting of the

international sanctions on tehran this month. and the "world health organization" is warning that the zika virus, which is linked in many cases, some believe, to brain damage in babies, is likely to spread to almost every country in the americas. three people have been reportedly killed in confrontations with egyptian security forces during protest near the capital of cairo. despite the big security crackdown there have been demonstrations in the country to mark five years since the up rising that toppled hosni mubarak. security forces reportedly used tear gas near alexandria and gas bombs. el revolution of 2011 was driven largely by egypt's young, but five years on many feel letdown by what's happened since. >> it was supposed to be a new dawn. as millions of egyptians came together. people from all faiths,

backgrounds and ages united in the call for change. nearly 50% of egypt's population is less than 24 years old, so the youth were the driving force of the revolution. even opposing football fans joined the protests. and it started with the tech-savvy generation that galvanized crowds through social media and mobile phones. >> we were not really into politics. we really didn't care or know much about politics. we just knew this was wrong and we should speak up to that. that's exactly what happened. >> it was a period of demanding political freedom even walls became van casss. it was much later that groups joined the protesters all calling to the end of tyranny. within 18 days that it forced

hosni mubarak to step down hundreds of protesters were killed. since then analect the government has been replaced by the military, and new stricter laws are in protest. many of those who became icons of the revolution are in jail. some feel the very outrage that fueled the resolution deflated it. >> the same tour who united us eventually tore us apart. >> the nobel peace prize winner and vice president of th now lives in exile outside of the country. a blogger has been in jail for five years. despite feeling betrayed, he said he has a sense of accomplishment. >> we always blame the previous generation of how they never really moved up to what is going on.

they never talked about the all the corruption of the regime and all of that. >> i think that the revolution is happening within the next five years. that will happen. >> five years on, a bloodstained chapter in egypt's history continues to overshadow what many egyptians saw as the people's revolution. al jazeera. >> south sudan's rebel leaders say that a deal to form an unity government has collapsed. they said that is because the president wants to nearly treble the number of states in south sudan and appoint their governors. that runs counter to their power-sharing deal under which he was set to retake his old position as vice president. conflict in south sudan began december 2013 when the president accused the deputy of plot to go overthrow him. thousands were killed and many were forced to leave their homes. a cease-fire was signed the next

month, but that failed within hours. in may of the same year the u.s. said that more than a million people were displaced by the fighting. and in june of 2015 violence was continuing. >> to really understand the root of this problem it is important to go back to august of last year when the president signed this peace agreement. he did so under extreme international pressure, and he made it clear that was the reason why he was signing it, not because he supported it's content. two months after he signed it he had changed the ten states into 28. something which inflamed the opposition. they said they couldn't possibly accept it. now the question that everybody is asking, did either side really have any intention of making peace, were they ready to

form a peace agreement or was it outside pressure that forced them to do so. now the head of the negotiating team who has been overseeing these discussions the former president of botswana said that he knew even before the deadline had passed the creation of 28 states would be very disruptive to the process. however, did he say that it ought to be implemented any way because it acted in the spirit of the agreement. but it does look like at the moment that that is happening. and it looks like the peace process has been put on hold, and it may be necessary to go back to the negotiating table. >> awful weather swept across east asia and killed 65 people in taiwan. it's caused major disruptions. we see northern china that went down to minus 40 degrees.

south korea and thousands of people were left stranded as their flights were canceled. in japan travel chaos, the cold front dumping snow all across the country. snow storms and plummeting temperatures are making life miserable. despite 4 billion u.s. dollars pledged for reconstruction thousands of people are still living in tents. we met some of them. >> the weather is unpredictable. the earthquake took the lives of 9,000 people last april. the entire village had to be moved 1,000 meters uphill on to this plot of government lands. surveyors gave it a red certificate meaning it was in danger of being swept away by landslides. the snow storms have brought

biting cold and made the lives of the villagers miserable. a primary schoolteacher worries about her five-month-old daughter. >> i can't sleep at night because my feet get really cold. some nights i have to keep massaging my feet to keep them warm. we may just die this winter. >> the dies of this shelter are startling. there is nothing to shield those inside from the bitter cold. >> she sleeps with her daughter on this bed, and this is where she sleeps. it's--it feels quite damp. the--as you can see there is a blank that separates the ground from the mattress, and if you put your hands beneath this mattress, it becomes wet. >> as night false people huddle besides fires and desperately rub on oil in an attempt to warm themselves up. she is scared that her daughter will catch pneumonia. many children and old people have been getting sick.

[ coughing ] the morning brings the sun and the snow and the ice start melting. a local activist tells us that villagers are being forced between the cold and the risk of landslides. >> just last week the government gave the final nod to allow us to relocate on this plot of land. if we've given approval a few months ago we would have built ourselves warmer houses. some of the older people are going to our old village and staying there in the ruins. the cold can be unbearable here. >> billions of dollars have been pledged to rebuild the country. but there have been delays in deciding what land is available to relocate the families away from risky areas. and reconstruction has not started yet. many here told us that they want government officials responsible for reconstruction to come in and experience the cold. perhaps then they say they will be serious about rebuilding their lives. al jazeera, northwest nepal.

>> in the united states they are now trying to get back to normal along the east coast after a massive snowstorm there over the weekend. millions of commuters have struggled to work. they're slowed down by icy roads and crippled train lines. flights have been canceled, and washington, d.c. is staying closed on monday. nearly 90% of alaska's budget comes from royalty and taxes on the oil industry. and the worldwide oil price dr drops that taken its toll on the state. >> very drastically but let's see what happens. we spin this. oh, my god it stopped at 50, which means we get $1.2 billion in oil revenues.

>> it may look like fun. but the economist is deadly serious as he uses toys to demonstrate alaska's fiscal dilemma. he tours the state alaska to balance the books moving around blocks representing oil ref news, taxes and costly government programs on either side of the scale. >> we have an expensive state government that provides a wide variety of services. we pay essentially no taxes. that's been life as usual for three decades. >> if we continue on, the dividend program would end i in 2020. >> it's changing. alaskans may soon have to start paying income tax said their governor. they haven't for 35 years. there may even be cuts in the annual checks they receive as dividends from oil wealth. and even more government services will be slashed. >> when oil was $100 or $120 a

barely it was easy. the legislature lost the power to say no. they said yes to every project that came along. now they'll have to say no and now they'll have to cut some of those programs back. >> once they produced most of the u.s. petroleum. revenues from the high arctic crude that flows through this pipeline has made this a wealthy, genius stat, generous state for those who live here. but now that is all on the table. >> here is where the pipeline ends a. even here there is talk of change, moving beyond oil and giving up the benefits that it once brought. >> we have lots of other minerals within the ground. we're twice the size of texas. we have vast fisheries going on,

tourism, i mean, we just have to start tearing ourselves away from the oil and not making that the number one income for the state. >> for now alaskans are dependent on the oil they ship south to the rest of the country. but they'll also have to start paying for their government services or start giving some of them up if the state is isn't to run out of money some time soon. >> a british explorer who is trying to become the first person to cros cross antarctica has died. he was airlifted to chile where he died of organ failure due to bacterial disease. now south africans can w depression has access for help. but now an exercise program is

meant to help. >> it's not you're usual aerobic includes. these participates are between 60 and 80 years old. some of them have a little trouble keeping up, but they say that's not going to stop them. >> i'm finished. >> finished? >> i can't run. >> so you exercise. >> yes, exercise. i can't run. >> the depression and anxiety group say that one in five south africans have mental health problems. this class helps to fight depression. >> sometimes we persist in ge getting out. >> group leaders say as many as 90% of depressed people over 65 don't get help. many come from poor communities. >> doctors say that many elderly

patients don't recognize the mental health problems. it's one reason why depression in older people is often under diagnosed and many countries. >> sometimes exercise alone isn't enough. >> some say enough is enough. maybe i would feel better if i die. this is the very last stage of depression where you need to get attention immediately. you have to b get help immediately. >> for the class here meeting five days a week for four ourselves seems to be what the doctor ordered. >> we have to exercise a lot. sometimes with other people. >> even after their work out some still want to keep going. the classes are not just a

chance to catch up with friends and make new ones. it's helping some senior citizens to fight depression and maintain a healthy body as well as a healthy mind. >> www.aljazeera.com for all the global headlines. www.aljazeera.com. >> the fall out from this weekend's snowfall still being felt up and down the east coast. gown without a trace. california officials search for three men who made a daring escape from jail. the push for peace in syria. high level talks could resume later this week. and the fight for voter rights, north carolina's new laws tested in federal court a week before the