all of our stories 24 hours a day by going to our website, aljazeera.com. the news there never stops. ♪ syria's government makes further gains from the opposition as the u.n. formally invites the opposing sides to talks in geneva. hello there, i'm fe fell -- felicity barr. as refugees continue to arrive in europe, denmark says those who reach its borders could have their valuables seized to pay for their stay. and in asia where temperatures plummet to record levels. and why scientists think the

end of the world could come sooner than we think. ♪ hello, the u.n. has sent out invitations to this week's planned talks in geneva on the war in syria. it follows weeks of dispute about which opposition groups should be asked to take part. james bayes is in geneva and has more on the diplomatic movements behind the talks. >> we knew 24 hours ago when stephane de mistura said he was going to go for the widest possible representation of the opposition. one country, saudi arabia, would go and find who the opposition were, who should be part of the opposition delegation. saudi arabia did that. they pulled together lots of opposition groups and pulled together what they called the

riyadh list. saudi arabia and those on that list, believe they should be the opposition that comes here. but russia objected to that reed a list, saying that there were too many fighting groups, too many jihadists, there weren't enough kurds and secular people on the list. and in the end under a u.n. resolution passed at the end of last year, the representations are going to be decided by the u.n., and he has clearly decided to include people not on the riyadh list. this will be very controversial among those on the list and also key players like the gulf countries and turkey. syrian government forces have recaptured a strategic town in the south of the country. it is the latest victory for president bashar al-assad's troops. gerald tan has more details. >> reporter: the syrian flag

flies again in this town. it's taken the army weeks of intense fighting with rebels to retake this town in the southwestern province of daraa. state television showed military forces entering the town center after securing supply lines. [ explosion ] >> reporter: battles are reported to be continuing on the outsquirts. the importance of the ruined town cannot be understated. government forces had given up much of this territory until russian armed forces began their military campaign last september. their intervention is being seen as a game changer. >> thanks have turned around 180 degrees for the regime since the russians came in. the al-nusra front was making gains in daraa province, and now

there's this significant reversal. >> reporter: russian jets have carried out thousands of missions, helping the syrian government regain control of territory nationwide. it's just recaptured the town that is a key base for rebels in the northern province of latakia. the russian aerial bombardment is being criticized for being indiscriminate. the kremlin insists isil and other armed groups are being targeted. some human rights groups say the air strikes have killed more civilians than fighters. gerald tan, al jazeera. >> let's speak now to bernard smith on the turkish syrian border, and to be fair, turkey itself with regards to talks on syria later this week, turkey has concerns about who is or might be on the invited list.

>> reporter: well, for a long time, now, felicity, turkey has been saying it doesn't want the largest kurdish political grouping in syria, the pyd involved in the talks on the opposition side in geneva. it said if they have to be there at all, they should be with the assad side, because they accuse them of colluding with the assad regime. the pyd has an armed wing -- this is the ypg, and turkey says they are allied to the pkk, a kurdish separatists group fighting in turkey. so turkey is very, very worried about any involvement of this major kurdish group in the talks. and it reiterated, the foreign minister has said if the pyd is invited to these talks in geneva, turkey will boycott them. but what seems to have happened is despite turkey's call for the

syrian kurds not to be invited, turkey has effectively been ignored by the u.s. particularly, but also by the russians and other major powers involved in bringing these groups together, because maybe they see it as more important to get all groups involved in these talks. >> this talk of a boycott, bernard, how serious is that with regards to these talks. turkey, as i understand it, was really there almost in an observer capacity. >> yeah, effective -- there's not an awful lot at the moment that turkey can do about this. it does of course have influence with what -- with some of the other groups in turkey. it supports -- it has supported along with qatar and saudi arabia, some of the fighting groups in turkey, so it can sort of have influence on them, and it might -- there's no indication of what it might do, but at the moment, really at

this stage of the game, there is not much more turkey can do apart from complain about the fact that the pyd have been invited if that is the case. >> bernard smith thank you for that. at least 24 people have died in this a bombing in the syrian city of homs. state media says more than 100 others were injured in the attack which has been claimed by isil. a security check point was targeted by a car bomb and then a fighter wearing a suicide vest. and the u.n. humanitarian coordinator says warring factions are seriously effecting aid delivery to the besieged areas. >> a lot of unease about the fact that siege and denial of access is a tactic of war in syria. i have a lot of unease about that, as do all of us. security council resolution 2165 allowed us to reach more people cross border, because until july 2014, the u.n. was not able

to do so. have we been able to reach all people in need? no. we have less than 4.5 million today despite the resolutions that we are not able to reach because of the actions of the parties to this conflict. ♪ just wanted to bring you some developing news out of the united states. police in san diego are investigating reports of a gunman at a military hospital in san diego. we're showing live pictures from outside of that military hospital in san diego. an active shooter reported to be in the facility, and people inside warned to take cover or fight back. more on that story if and when we get it. now the last remaining pockets of isil fighters are

proving to be a problem for iraqi security forces in ramadi. despite this, the military says it is control of the rest of the city. >> reporter: iraq's police forces say they have opened police stations within some of the areas of ramadi city itself. this is a significant development because these police stations will be the first line of defense against isil fighters if they come back, or if they try and come back to the city. these police stations are key in order to be able to try to secure the city of ramadi itself. they are going to open more in the next few days. at a ceremony at the opening of one of these police stations, the police force were given weapons by the americans. american-made machine guns. very public show of support by the americans for iraq's police forces. now whilst all of this was happening, the iraqi security forces have announced a halt of operations to try to clear the last remaining neighborhood of isil fighters.

now they say that this is a tactical decision that they are still going to go into the neighborhoods and once they have taken that, that will be the whole of ramadi city free of isil fighters. the reason they haven't and this operation has been ongoing for about a week now, is there a real fear there are civilians trapped within the area itself. there has been heavy shelling, u.s. and iraqi air strikes as well into that neighborhood, but those air strikes are only so effective when there are civilians trapped in there, you really need to go in, in large number into that neighborhood to take it back. so what is going on is a halt to the operations against the last remaining pockets of isil fighters within ramadi. it says iraqi security forces are now getting back in charge of ramadi. despite the cold weather hundreds of refugees and

migrants continue to arrive on the greek island of lesvos. at least 60 people have died trying to make that journey this month alone. the refugees seeking asylum in denmark will have their valuables seized by police to pay for their stay. it's among the measures in a new law being passed by the dane initial parliament. under the rules asylum seekers will have to hand over any valuables worth more than $1,500 to help cover the cost of housing while being processed. >> this misconception that authorities would take personal valuables is so wrong. we're asking when they come with enough means to pay for themselves, then following exactly the same rules for dane initial citizens wishing to be on unemployment benefits, if you can pay for yourself you should

pay for yourself before the dane -- danish government pays for you. dutch authorities also require asylum seekers to declare valuables they bring into the country. deductions can be made if they amount to a specific amount. switzerland requires refugees to hand in any amount above 360 euros, although this can be claimed back if they leave the country within seven months. and two german states have also announced plans to claim amounts of cash under a thousand euros from refugees as they arrive number denmark's decision has been criticized by human rights groups and the u.n. >> the decision to give danish police the authority to search and confiscate valuables from asylum seekers sends damaging

messages in our view, it runs the risk of fuelling sentimentses of fear and discrimination rather than promoting solidarity. a cold snap has been blamed for the deaths of dozens of people in asia. temperatures in hong kong fell to their lowest level in six decades. florence looi reports from beijing. >> reporter: asia is freezing. plummeting temperatures and heavy snowfalls in japan are blocking roads. cancellations and delays means public transport is in chaos. businesses are grinding to a halt because staff are struggling to get to work. >> translator: i was supposed to board the 2:00 train, but i'm thinking of going home, since i don't know when the trains will arrive. >> reporter: in taiwan, dozens of people, many frail and elderly have died. the sudden drop in temperature strains their heart and lungs.

many homes don't have central heating. in vietnam, farmers are helplessly watching their crops freeze and their animals die. >> translator: since i was born, i have never seen anything like this. this weather is badly effecting our society and my family's economy. >> reporter: the south korean island has had its heaviest snowfall in more than 30 years. airports were shut over the weekend. leaving many travelers stranded. >> translator: staying in the airport is really exhausting and i really want to get out of here. i have been at the airport for 12 hours. >> reporter: hong kong experienced its coldest day in nearly 06 years. in other parts of northern china temperatures dropped severely. temperatures are predicted to creep back up to normal. this will come as a relief to

many. still to come on the program, malaysia's prime minister cleared of corruption, although $60 million remain unaccounted for. and the iranian prime minister's tour of europe continues as he meets the catholic pope in rome. ♪ 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.

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♪ welcome back, and a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. the u.n. has sent out invitations to friday's planned talks in geneva, aimed attending the war in syria. it follows weeks of dispute

about which opposition groups should be asked to take part. denmark's parliament has adopted measures allowing police to valuables from refugees to help fund their stay. and a cold snap has been blamed for the deaths of dozens of people across asia, as large swathes of snow and freezing conditions set in. more than 300,000 syrian children who are refugees in turkey don't go to school. many work illegally to help their families. al jazeera's andrew simmons is near the turkish syrian border where a local initiative is trying to ensure some children do get an education. >> reporter: they should be in school, but instead they are turning out whatever the weather to forage for anything that might make them money. these boys move on with empty bags. in turkey now the u.n. estimates

more than 660,000 of syrian refugees are of schoolage, but well over half don't go to school. here there is a ray of light for these children, some warmth and some hope in a dismal situation. it may be a small building, but a group of volunteers with so much effort and enthusiasm are using just two rooms to try to educate 65 children, with very little money indeed. this english teacher says most of her pupils are street kids or parents who can't afford to get them to schools. she says it is difficult trying to cope with the children's behavioral and learning problems. >> we are not a very much educated to do this type of stuff. we are trying to do our best. we are looking for information.

trying to deal with them, with love, and with passion. and to do our best. >> reporter: the children get a snack before leaving at midday. it's the youngest of the pupils who are the most receptive to the teachers. this girl says i love this school. and i come every day. it's called the rainbow center and no one here is paid to teach. there's no religious instruction, and no reference to politics. >> translator: the children who don't go to school because they have to work in the streets or wherever, they lost their rights to a childhood and especially an education. it has all been taken away by the war. ♪ >> reporter: a tragic mix of poverty and conflict have left the children in this way. it doesn't pretend to be a school, more a temporary prop for these young lives. the children and their teachers can only dream of a permanent

solution. andrew simmons, al jazeera, turkey. sweden's prime minister has visited the town where an asylum center employee was stabbed to death. she was allegedly killed bay 15-year-old boy at a home for unaccompanied minors. the prime minister says the attack has raised concerns that authorities are being overwhelmed by the number of asylum seekers in the country. >> translator: i believe quite a few people here in sweden now feel a great worry that there will be more similar cases as sweden accepts so many minors. many of those who come here have had traumatic experiences and there are no simple answer as to how it should be death with, but there are important principals that apply. the iranian president has meat pope francis at the vatican. he met the pontiff for 40

minutes and asked the pope to pray for him. jacky rowland sent this update from rome. >> reporter: this visit to rome has been primarily about reestablishing political and economic links between iran and italy. italy historically has been an important trading partner for iran and this period of sanctions viewed in that perspective was really only a brief interruption, and italian companies are keen to getting back to doing business in iran once again. italy possibly a messenger between the west and has good relations with russia, so an opportunity there for the italians to play a pivotal role. president rouhani next is due to go on to paris. the french may be slightly

disappointed that they were not chosen as the first stop on this tour, since sanctions were lifted. obviously french companies as well looking forward to doing business in iran and already an announcement from the iranians that they intend to buy more than 100 airbus planes, which will be very good for french jobs and the french economy. ten policemen have been killed in afghanistan. the police were poisoned and then shot dead. the taliban have claimed responsibility. ammunitions and weapons were also stolen. malaysia's prime minister has been cleared of wrongdoing in a long-running corruption scandal. more than $680 million were transferred to his personal account. but it was determined it was a

private donation from the saudi royal family. more than 8,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands more are still homeless in nepal. reconstruction has been slow. our correspondent reports. >> reporter: this man has come from the united kingdom to repair his house here in the foothills of the himalayas. he is a soldier from the british army, and has been living in britain for almost two decades. >> my house this one is built by my father. it's complain of it [ inaudible ] time to come around to [ inaudible ] all of the rubble and everything down here. >> reporter: like most people here, he does not want to do too much right now. >> the government planning to plant proper building houses and everything here.

so i'm waiting until that come out, i am not going to do anything. >> reporter: waiting is not something villagers usually like to do. for generations locals have joined the british army. they say they don't need the government to rebuild their homes, but what they do want is earthquake resistant designs. back in october the national planning commission said it has drawn up plans for earthquake resistant homes. but they are still waiting for the details. locals have decided to go ahead with basic improvements. roads have been widened. plans for water and sanitation have been laid out. people here say they now need skilled help. not other forms of charity. >> translator: right after the

quake, we needed enough rice, oil, blankets, everything, and we are very grateful for it. but if people give charity to us all the time, we will get spoiled. if people want to help, they can give us building materials. we don't have enough human resources, carpenters. we need to rebuild houses. instead of charity, we want to receive training. men and women are both ready for training. >> reporter: villagers here have already been to the local authority to push for action, even though they have been given assurances they say not much as happened since. without official guidance, they are moving ahead to rebuilt their homes as best as they can for now. chinese shares have fallen to their lowest in 14 months, and that is further undermining investor confidence, leading

stock markets dropped by more than 6%. shares across all industries including commodities and technology. new footage has shown the moment in which at least 40 inmates escaped a prison in brazil f after an explosion destroyed a wall in the prison. 37 inmates were recaptured by officers, while two others were killed by police fire. police are still on the hunt for the one remaining escapeee. police in san diego are investigating reports of a gunman in a military medical site. they posted the following on its facebook: it has asked people who aren't emergency services personnel to stay away from the area.

now scientists in charge of the so-called booms day clock are due to announce whether the world is closer to catastrophe. the clock is a symbolic countdown. tarek bazley explains. >> reporter: the clock was established in 1947 to gage the threat of nuclear war. scientists put the time at seven minutes to 12:00, and in the nearly 70 years since then, the clock has been adjusted more than 20 times. in 1953 in response to the successful testing of hydrogen bombs, the clock hand was moved to just 2 minutes to 12:00. the closest it has ever stood to midnight. following a ban on nuclear tests in 1963 the threat eased and the clock hand retreated to 12 minutes to midnight. the 1980s saw the threat level

again rise as the soviet union inv invat -- invaded afghanistan. in 1984 the clock was set to 3 minutes to midnight. soon to change, with the fall of the berlin wall in 1998, followed by the break up of the soviet union. in 1991 the clock hand was moved back to 17 minutes to midnight, reflecting unprecedented peace and kwoop ration. since the 1990s the clocks hands have moved largely in one direction, arriving last year to 11:57, the reason continuing threat of nuclear proliferation, climate change, and new technology. last year we have seen north korea resume a nuclear bomb test and confirmation that 2015 was

the hottest year on record, both of those factors have the potential to move the clock's hands once again closer to midnight. much more on our website. the address to click on to, is aljazeera.com. aljazeera.com for your news and sport. ♪ reports of a shooting at the naval medical center. about an hour ago, the center tweeted a warning that an active shooter was many the building. the tweet advised that recall nonemergency personnel are being asked to stay away. there are three