>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ it's good to have your company. i'm david shuster you are watching the al jazeera news hour live from london, and these are some of the stories we'll be examining in the next hour. the syrian government team begin talks with the u.n. in geneva, but opposition representatives are refusing so far to take part. [ explosion ] four people are killed in an attack on a shiite mosque in eastern saudi arabia. brazil's president declares war on the e the catastrophic

fighting. one obstacle has been deciding who will represent the syrian opposition. dozens of different groups there, often with conflicting interests and aims. let's go to james bayes in geneva. i know we're waiting for the syrian u.n. envoy to turn up for some kind of statement having had a chat with various officials there. what are you hearing? >> reporter: well that meeting has been going on, we think, for almost two hours. two hours ago, we saw the syrian ambassador to the u.n. in new york, but he is also the head of the syrian government delegation, or at least the chief negotiator at these talks. he is here with staffan de

mistura, the u.n. special envoy. reporters are gathered waiting for the syrian ambassador and the syrian chief negotiator, that's the capacity he is in here to come to speak to reporters at that microphone, and lay out his position. clearly it is probably a pr opportunity for him and the syrian government, and he is a very media savvy man. i have seen him multiple times giving news conferences in new york and he doesn't miss on a good sound bite, and i'm sure he will make the case that he is here representing the syrian government, while the main grouping of the opposition are not here, and so far have not been talking to anyone or negotiating with anyone. the main opposition grouping is the grouping that is based in saudi arabia in riyadh, that was formed in riyadh.

they say they can't come -- or can't take part in the negotiations at this stage, because they say that the u.n. resolution passed at the end of last year had certain conditions in it, and they say those conditions haven't been met, and those include lifting the sieges of communities in syria, and stopping the bombardment, including the bombardment of some of the opposition forces in their delegation planning to come here and talk peace. we have had a very confusing picture throughout the day from the opposition side and from riyadh. we were told at one point the plane had taken off, then we were told it had nth. we are now hearing that there are at least two members of the high-negotiating commission in geneva and we're expecting to hear from them in the next 20 minutes or so, not here in the united nations but elsewhere to

explain that position. >> james one question i have is if certain conditions haven't been met, and that would be the lifting of sieges, it is in the document that was agreed, how come the talks in some form or another between the syrian ambassador and the u.n. envoy to syria, how come they have started in some form or another? >> reporter: because i think the u.n. and those who are trying to get this process going, and remember this process is different from the one two years ago, because we have the international syria support group. what does that mean? well, it's all the regional and international actors coming together. the sir -- series in vienna and then again in new york, pushing forth this agenda. some will point to the russians who say they are directly

involved in bombardment of some of the opposition groups who want to come here and talk peace. and they say it's wrong one of the sponsors of this whole process is involved in bombarding some of the participants who want to come here and talk peace. so that's one of the main points from the opposition and why they say at this stage, they are not prepared to at tend. i think it's worth saying, though, david. they are saying all of this to the united nations. the united nations isn't bombarding anyone or besieging anyone, and i think they are aware the u.n. can't actually deliver their conditions. so i think there may be room for compromise, and it's interesting now, that two members from that commission are in geneva going to meet the press and brief the press in advanced party. but they are not going to negotiate yet. >> james thanks very much

indeed. james talking about the possibility of some kind of message from the syrian opposition. let's bring in al jazeera's senior political analyst who is in doha. does this constitute the start of some kind of peace talks? >> well, i guess so. it's quite -- it's quite a bad start following quite a bad resolution, actually the u.n. security council resolution after a bad oman if you will between the united states and russia, and the division between saudi arabia and iran, and the syrian dictatorship. we have layers upon layers upon layers of national and global confliction between theio would like.

>> well, look, certainly the regimes backers in moscow understood that back in -- last year, and certainly the oppositions' sponsors in the region and in washington, paris, also realize that. and now they are all trying to realign towards the war against isil. so in so many ways this so-called peace process is meant to steer away everyone in the region against isil. and i think a lot of people in the syrian opposition feel they have been held hostage, and they want to work now towards stability under assad to fight isil. that's why we're going towards the talks. now back to -- another aspect of your question. the international diplomacy, david there are three kinds of pieces. the peace we have seen between the united states and japanneed.

i think they are right in demanding these things, because they are in the u.n. security council resolution. >> for now thank you very much indeed. our senior political analyst. well these are the crowds of reporters and i think a few security men off camera, waiting for the arrival of the u.n. envoy for syria, bashar aljafry. that have come down having talks with staffan de mistura to dress the cameras and those broadcasters taking this live as we will when he comes to the podium. a squadron of six dutch fighter jets is currently targeting isil in iraq.

the dutch prime minister says four planes will now be deployed to syria until at least july 1st. 96 degrees and migrants have been rescued from an uninhabited greek island after their dingy collided with rocks and sank. they contain many families with young children. they waded ashore and spent the night on the beach. we were then rescued by boat and taken to the greek border. it has been the deadliest week in the aegean sea since the refugee camp began with 80 people dying in just the last few days. >> as a point of reference there weren't this many deaths on the aegean side last year until september. so already 218 deaths on that route, and also deaths in the central mediterranean, libya to sicily have been picking up

rapidly in the last few days. germany's chancellor has been meeting italy's prime minister to talk about the refugee crisis in europe. mrs. merkel was pushing for the rapid implementation of a proposed e.u. payment to turkey so that that country can deal with more refugees. the payment is being blocked by italy. >> translator: we spoke about the agenda which must be implemented urgently. i have pointed out that 2,000 refugees are on the way daily. members of organized crime are profiting, and we have to fight this illegality. public opinion in germany has become markedly less welcoming to refugees. an increasing focus on how well the people of germany -- or the refugees are able to integrate

with german people. dominic kane went to a language class in berlin to look at some of the challenges. >> reporter: their struggle to get to germany is over. now the main task is to learn a new language, safely installed in a classroom, these syrians are glad to have left their country's troubles behind. >> translator: i came here to have a peaceful life. it feels good. i have security. and i have the peace i have been longing for. but it was hard to leave home and family. >> reporter: the teacher came to germany herself 12 years ago from dubai. she says her experiences made her want to help these people integrate. but in recent months things have got much tougher. she says the attacks on women in cologne on new year's eve have changed everything. >> there were a lot more german

people that were excited in the beginning than they are now. telling a german nowadays that more refugees are coming is like slapping them in the face. >> reporter: a recent opinion poll seems to bare this out. the majority of germans believe their country cannot cope with the refugee influx. more than two-thirds expect crime to rise as a result. that is a par concern for social workers like this man. he gives advice to new refugees in migrants in one area of berlin. he believes one problem is that though most of the recent arrivals are looking to integrate into society, other new arrivals want to prey on it. >> translator: there are people that want to live here and enrich our society, and we have

people that are hostile through their actions. it's not only that money plays a role, but also that they are hostile and dishonest. >> reporter: angela merkel's view on refugee policy has long within we can do it. but now several senior members of her own party are openly disagreeing and demanding radical changes, whether they get them, may well depend on public opinion, and the first key test of that will come in six week's time when three states hold parliamentary elections. dominic kane, al jazeera, at the headquarters in berlin. you are watching the al jazeera news hour. i'm david foster, and this is some of what we have coming up in the next 40 minutes or so. the african union talk about sending peace keepers to burundi. and paul lori is set to make

some history if he can keep up his form in the qatar open. robin has got your sport. ♪ united nations is looking into new allegations of child abuse by european soldiers in central african republic. the cases are said to involve minors between the ages of 7 and 16. some of theel edged victims identified french and georgian troops as their abusers. the troops were there to control violence. a spokesman for the u.n. commission, says there will be an investigation. >> these are extremely concerning. we are heartened at the initial response we have received from the countries concerned, as well

as from the european union, which show they take these terrible allegations very seriously. we will continue to closely follow up on these cases, and any others which emerge as the u.n. team on the ground continues its investigations. >> with the caveat we may be interviewing gabriel elizondo to go to the building in geneva to talk about syria, i will now ask you about this alleged abuse, gabriel, and this has been going on, suggestions of abuse by u.n. peace keepers for sometime in a number of different countries. just fill us in on that. >> reporter: that's right, david, unfortunately for the u.n. and their peace keeping operations, this is another scandal that has hit the central african republic when it comes to their peace-keeping forces there, or foreign troops operating in the central african republic. this is not the first time that there have been allegations of

foreign troops or peace keepers that have participated in allegedly sexual misconduct with minors. it first came out in 2014. we heard it last year as well, and even earlier this month there were allegations as well. but it's important to point out these newest allegations and why they are so shocking and critical to understand. there is a lot going on here. they are the allegations against french and e.u. peace keeping troops that date back to 2014, but that just came to light this month, and that's what these allegations are about. really the details are very difficult details. it's involving french troops involved in misconduct with a boy and girl age 7 and 9 years old. it goes to european peace keeping troops that were only in

the central african republic for about a year and then left. there, there are four teenage girls that all said they were victims of sexual abuse. three of them thought it was georgian troops. those are not u.n. peace keepers, though, they were in the central african republic on the auspices of a u.n. security council agreement. however, what we also heard from on friday was the u.n. admitting that there are new cases of alleged sexual abuse by u.n. peace keepers that have come to light as well. there are five cases involving u.n. peace keepers involving several countries. >> but i have had to use the world alleged. you have used the word alleged on a number of occasions. has anybody proved that these cases are anything more than

claims made by people which may be true, may not be true? >> reporter: short answer, is on these claims, no. however, like we have -- like we have talked about here, these are not the first-such claims. u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon was so concerned about this, previous claims of last year, he actually fired the head of his mission centralfrican republic last year. also ban ki-moon appointed an independent council to look into these claims, and the u.n.'s response to them, that independent panel released their report last december, and the headline of that was that the report said, quote, gross institutional failure by though u.n. so not necessarily all of these allegations have been proven, but certainly the u.n. is not the organization that is going to prove it.

all they can do is send peace keepers back to their home country. when it comes to the french and the europeans, they are not peace keepers so all the u.n. can do there is tell the countries about the allegations and then it's up to those countries to decide to investigate or not. in this case, all three of those countries, france, georgia, and the e.u. have reportedly started an investigation. >> all right thank you for that. at least four people have been killed in an attack on a shiite mosque in saudi arabia. it was during friday prayers in the eastern region. 18 people we understand were hurt. witnesses said that a suicide bomber blew himself up outside of the mosque. a second person exchanged gunfire and was arrested. he was said to be wearing a

suicide vest. no group has said it was behind the attacks. a journalist with the saudi gazette told us this. >> there were two shooters. one was trying to get into the mosque, but was stopped by the security officers, and when they found he had something wrong about him, they tried to capture him, so he run away, and they cut him. they wounded him and cut him alive. the other one managed to get in and shoot at the -- at the -- at the people inside the mosque. between the last sermon and [ inaudible ]. and they managed to also to warn him with the help of the people in the mosque, and they -- they -- they killed him at the end.

so one of the shooters was killed. the other was captured, wounded, and hopefully he will lead to the security forces other leads. four chinese minors who were trapped underground for 36 days after a cave-in have rescued. it took two hours to haul the men to the surface. the four were among the 29 that were initially caught up in the collapse. 13 people are still unaccounted for. the african union's peace and security council is having a meeting right now in ethiopia to talk about all sorts of things affecting the continent. african heads of state will investigate the potential need to send peace keepers to burundi. catherine soi sent us this update on the talks in the

ethiopian capitol. >> reporter: the heads of state who will be meeting in this hall will be considering a report that will be tabled by the chairperson of the a.u. on the situation in burundi, and that is going to determine a lot of decisions they are going to make. they are going to talk about the deployment and a.u. peace keepers to burundi. the burundi government has rejected such a move. so they will consider different possibilities, including sending in troops without the consent of burundi's government. then for that to happen, the heads of state have to endorse certain moves that have to be approved by the u.n. security council. a lot of people who follow burundi and a.u. affairs will tell you that the heads of state will be reluctant to

[ inaudible ]. burundi is a sovereign country. it has an elected government and elected president, even if those elections are contested. so perhaps what the heads of state will do is call for all-inclusive talks, a political dialogue that will be able to move the country forward. lobby groups and human rights groups as well, are calling for targeted sanctions, perhaps suspension from the a.u., and suspension from certain bodies. it will be very interesting to see what kind of positions come from this meeting. burundian security forces have been accused of killing dozens of people last month and then burying them in mass graves. amnesty international releasing these pictures. they say locals also told them

about police and other officials taking bodies to undisclosed locations. joining us in the studio from amnesty is joanne mariner. when you say there may be other places you haven't found yet. have you got any idea how many people may have been killed in this manner? >> when we were there in december, we visited several neighborhoods that were attacked, and we estimated dozens at the time, others estimated more than a hundred. one of the reasons it's important to exhume these mass graves not only to return the bodies to their families, and also know how many were killed. >> how did you find them? >> we were in touch with people who were involved in burying the bodies, and who visited the site, so we have obtained actually video footage. and with that we were able to

g geo locate the sites and get before and after images >> video footage of what, of the murders or of the digging? in >> no, of the site itself. the photography that you are seeing. >> these pictures here. did you take those -- or did somebody who was involved in this burying these people take those pictures. >> somebody who learned of it from another person. >> i see, and you say this is becoming -- this is much more of an ethnic dimension to it. who is trying to put an ethnic angle on the unrest in burundi? >> well, it started as a political conflict, where you had a multi-ethnic group, tutsis and hutu who were opposed to the president's third term and carried out protests. since april, there has been ongoing repression and that repression has taken on an

ethnic dimension. in that, for example, these killings took place in neighborhoods known as tutsi neighborhoods. the victims were majority tutsi, and there were reports of ethnic rhetoric being used during the killings. >> and for those people who aren't aware of the makeup of the burundi security forces or the government, is that largely hutu? this >> it is mixed. but we have interviewed members of the police who are tutsi who are feeling more and more marginallized. they are feeling that they are mistrusted by the hierarchy. there is conflict within the institutions and violent conflict we're seeing on the streets. >> when one talks about the conflicts, one's mind goes back to the millions killed in news

pakistan's biggest city is in the middle of a power outage. and we will fining out why there are proposed changes to china's wildlife law. we have the sport too. and find out what happened to this player after he did that.

>> a critical first step on the road to the white house. >> you have to find common ground. >> i'm doing what's right for you. >> that's the kind of debate that we need to have. >> stay with al jazeera america for... >> it's going to be about getting people out to the caucus, which is not an easy thing to do.

>> comprehensive coverage that's... >> the focus will be on south carolina tonight. ♪ a good idea to go through the top stories for you. talks aimed attending the conflict in syria have begun in some fashion in switzerland without key opposition figures. at the moment they say they won't turn up untair strikes an besieges stop. four people are killed in an attack on a shiite mosque in saudi arabia. and the u.n. is promising a full investigation following claims again of sexual abuse think european soldiers in central african republic. more than a year after sri

lanka's president unexpectedly gained power. militarily-occupied land is being returned to displaced people. this is after criticism of his predecessor who ignored some sort of reconciliation following the bloody civil war with the tamil tigers. >> reporter: it's a bittersweet moment. this woman and her brother had not seen their family home since 1990. during the war, the area had been designated a high-security zone. everyone living here was expelled and the sri lanka army moved in. now both barely recognize the house they grew up in. >> translator: we were really sad the first time we saw it. we kept on looking and then we left. this was the a sitting room. visitors used to come here. it was always live and nice. the only thing left is this

painting. everything else is gone. everything is broken. >> reporter: six years after the war with the tamil tigers ended the soldiers are gradually pulling back. about 70 hectares were returned to their owners over the past year. people won't be able to live here anymore soon. the land is overgrown and needed to be cleared and then there is no water. the wells are either contaminated or destroyed. still they are glad they got their property back. a first steps towards national reconciliation, even though many say the government needs to do much more. many members of the tamil tigers are still in jail. others like this woman's husband were detained after the war ended. his is going through a government-sponsored rehabilitation course, but she doesn't know when he'll be back home. >> translator: all of this time my husband hasn't been with me.

. if you are alone, society doesn't accept you. there are many females like me who are alone and isolated. >> reporter: the war has affected everyone here. the tamil tigers demanded that one member of each family join their ranks. so this woman was drafted one day after she turned 18. she was injured and detained at the end of the conflict in 2009. >> translator: life under the tamils was not different. we were in the same situation, but because we were injured in the fighting. i wonder if they would have taken better care of us now. there is still work to be done if they want to reach real peace. it will take time for things to settle. >> reporter: hundreds remain stranded in camps. some have been here for 25 years. for them, the pledges made by the president to restore sri lanka's tattered democracy and

unite the country will only come true once they finally end their lives as displaced people. we will be giving you a chance to examine this a little bit further in a special talk to al jazeera. that is an interview with the president. you can see that at a number of times, you can probably find it on our website as well, but specific you can see it on saturday at 430 gmt. 430 gmt. brazil's president said she is declaring war on the mosquito that can spreading the zika virus. it's a virus which has been linked by some people to severe brain defects in thousands of baby's born in brazil. the virus started in

brazil -- in fact i think it began in africa, but then moved to brazil and has spread to 23 countries across the americas. brazil says cases of micro -- microcephaly are being studied. medical researchers in this south america are sounding a little cautious, arguing that heightened aware of the virus may have lead to suspected cases of microcephaly being reported that previously would not have been. only 270 of the 4,180 cases recorded since october have actually been confirmed with 462 rejected as false diagnosis. i should add a rider to that. that is that of those 4,000

cases, it was only 700 that they paid particular attention to. rejecting about two-thirds of them. natalie mcdermott is with us, a pediatrician in london. doctor is the evidence grow that this is linked to zika? >> i think the answer is we still don't know. we know there seems to be an increased incident of m mic -- microcephaly in brazil. >> when are we going to know? >> i think there needs to be further studies to determine that. and we can't put a definitive time line on that. there needs to be animal studies of infected animals, and there

needs to be prospective studies of what happens when we see women who are pregnant and infected with the zika virus and what happens to their infants. >> two thirds of those cases were thrown out because the zika virus was not involved. but that leaves around 15, 1600 cases. is that abnormally high? >> yes. i'm not sure that those 400 cases were thrown without because they weren't linked to the zika virus, but they weren't actually definitive definition varies around the world, the accepted definition at the moment is a head circumference that is less than two standard deations below the mean. but these experts claim the

definition should be three standard deviations below the mean. >> but i understand the way of working it out. but it doesn't alter the fact that 15 to 1600 cases of definite microcephaly that could be linked to zika is high? >> it's definitely high. but we're seeing 4,000 reported cases that vice president necessarily been assessed yet. so these are reported cases by either parents or healthcare professionals to the government saying we believe this case is microcephaly, but they haven't been formally assessed to meet that definition. >> if it doesn't come from this mosquito, if it's not coming from the zika virus, that means it could be linked to something that we have no idea of at the moment. and in many ways that would be

perhaps more worrying. >> that's true but what needs to be determined is are these 4,000 cases actually microcephaly. we may be looking at a much smaller number of microcephaly, and then we need to say what is causing these cases. >> but given the sample at the moment, we're talking about one-third of the 4,000 could well be, and if you don't know what is causing that, that is perhaps even more worrying. >> that's true. and i think we need to do studies to see is there an association with the zika virus. is that the cause? or is there something else causing this. or is there just increased reporting as is being reported by these offices. >> i wish we did know. and i'm sure you do too.

thank you very much indeed. >> thank you. i'm going to bring you some news we have -- breaking news coming in about those syrian talks in geneva, the main opposition group, very fragmented, but a lot of people pulled together under the auspices of the saudi direction. they have agreed to take part, and we'll bring you more on that as we get it. we are expecting the u.n. envoy to speak pretty soon, and also possibly syria's u.n. envoy who has been involved in talks in geneva. we'll bring you that when we can. high temperatures have lead to a blackout in pakistan's biggest city. it's the third failure of the aging electricity grid in just a month. the power had returned to 90% of the city by early afternoon. our correspondent is in

islamabad, but kamal you can tell me what life is like there in the biggest city in pakistan with no lights. >> reporter: well, definitely, this was a [ inaudible ] lines which is providing the bulk of the electricity [ inaudible ]. >> yeah, i'm afraid it is not working. and i'm sure that has nothing to do with the blackout, or the power outage, it's just one of those things with come communications to islamabad. we'll try to get more from him later on. an unarmed drone flew over one of its aircraft carriers in the arabian gulf. the u.s. says the incident happened on january 12th when american and french carriers were operating in international

waters. a proposed change to china's wildlife laws raising the e eye -- eyre of conservationists. >> reporter: one is running free, now in captivity, the sigh breerian tiger and the south china tiger used to roam china in much larger numbers, but only dozens of these subspecies are now estimated to be in the wile. now china is revising its law on wildlife protection. but conservationists say some of the proposed amendments are worrying? particular a provision that allows wildlife to be hunted for captive breeding and other special purposes. >> captive breeding is not natural, first. and also they are going to probably influence and damage

the wild population of the wild animals. >> reporter: captive animals cannot contribute to a healthy gene pool. there is also pressure to poach from the wild. conservationists are also -- this is the u.n. representative to syria, staffan de mistura, talking to reporters in geneva. >> -- having an idea about what are the next steps. now the issue is obviously, that any type of ceasefire discussions which is obviously something that we are aiming at apart from substantive discussions on the future of syr syria, need [ inaudible ] you need a ceasefire between those who are firing. that's why it is very important to have an indication on where we are on the presence of the

[ inaudible ]. you are more aware than i am, because i have been sitting in a room, that the agency has been going through now three, four days of internal discussion about their own decision to come to geneva for this intersyrian talks. they have raised an important point of their concern. they would like to see a gesture from the government authorities regarding some type of improvement for the people in syria during the talks. for instance, release the prisoners. for instance some lifting of sieges. our [ inaudible ] its humanitarian rights point is not even an issue to negotiate, and it is part of paragraph 12 and 13 of the security council resolution 2254. at the same time, we have been strongly suggesting to them that

the best way to actually discuss the implementation of such type of discussion and therefore of improvement is to be done here, and to do it with us. as proxy talks or directly, whatever is the format. now i have good reason to believe that they are actually considering this very seriously, and therefore, to be in a position on probably sunday to actually start the discussions with them and in order to be able to proceed with the intersyrian talks. i was considering monday as an important day to reassess the situation, but my feeling is -- i may be wrong -- that in fact their discussion -- internal discussion is leading towards accepting our suggestion. the best way to actually discuss

the implementation of important signals towards the population of syria is to come to geneva, and of course, the occasion of talking about what we call the political process. if there are any questions in arabic, of course madame will be helping. otherwise i'm ready for points. yes? can i give privilege to a lady first? yes, and then -- yes, i saw you. i saw you. >> reporter: thank you mr. de mistura. i want to ask about lift of the [ inaudible ] the -- do you decide something or you have the right what the government speak about who is that [ inaudible ] what do you have? >> i got the point. thank you, madam. okay. we -- the government delegation

raised the issue about the list of terrorists. i leave it to them to make their comments on that. i reminded them that this time our priority is actually talking about what the security council resolution instructed me on the 1st of january, so we have been quite patient up to the 25th, and you too, now we are on the 29th, in order to give time to every delegation to feel comfortable in coming, but the issue is about governance, new constitution, and new elections, and of course the issue of counter terrorism is something that can be and should be discussed in the security council environment. there are many avenues for that. >> please identify yourself, sir. >> james bayes from al jazeera -- >> you will get your chance, please. >> special envoy, james bayes from al jazeera. what did the syrian government say to you about those parts of

the resolution that the opposition wants acted on now, like lifting the sieges? and what is your message to the russian government? it is supposed to be a sponsor of this process, and yet it is bombarding groups that want to come to these peace talks. >> you see, james, that's why we are in need of these talks. so we can address the issue of not only the future of syria, but as we said, any type of demonstration of improvement for the people of syria, which means reduction of violence, reduction of bombing, lifting of ceasefires and so on, so i think you should give a chance for these talks to start in order to be able to discuss exactly, that the implementation of those concerned. i made yesterday as you probably know, a short video for

addressing the syrian people. it was certainly not me who should be addressing the syrian people, but my appeal was raise your voice. we heard yours. and these talks cannot just be about politics. they need to be about some evidence of improvement for their own people during the talks. i'm sorry, just for a time. i saw the lady there, and please. >> reporter: while -- >> in english? in arabic. >> reporter: i'm from [ inaudible ] news channel. during your meeting, the opposition declared they are coming to geneva to participate. so i'm just telling you that. [ laughter ] >> she is giving me an information, as you can imagine, i have been hearing rumors and information already. we heard them many times.

what i will react to -- that's why i said i have reasons to believe. i will only react when i get a formal indication of that. but that is a good signal. now let me turn on that. i'm sorry, just one second. the gentlemen with the beard there. yes, don't worry. >> reporter: yes, yes. okay. mr. mistura, please, can you tell me the evaluation of the humanitarian aid and both paths i know your convoys went to madaya for more than five times, but for [ inaudible ] and [ inaudible ] not even one time. your -- your -- guess what the -- of united nations [ inaudible ] al-nusra, and they let the convoys to go into the madaya, 46 trucks, but then 45

trucks, then 10,000 liters of diesel oil. but the same parties are forbidding you to go to [ inaudible ] and [ inaudible ] also. can you explain the situation? >> of course. thank you for your statement slash comment. [ laughter ] >> and the truth is that we are going, obviously to use these talks -- i can commit myself on that. because we have been saying it more than once, to ensure that actually the access issue, the access to reach every besieged area should be implemented. there are 14 of them. 14. some of them by the government. some by the opposition, and one by isis. so you can see how much the syrian people are suffering from one side and the other, and these talks need to be addressing that point. yes? madame? >> reporter: [ inaudible ] al

jazeera arabic. you mentioned that governance is going to be one of the issues discussed here. there is discussion of having a national government. is this really an issue that is going to be talked about? i mean are we going to go from where we left thing during geneva 1 and geneva 2? or what is going to happen regarding this issue, please? >> let me not prejudge. i'm the mediator, not the negotiator here. i am not the negotiator, so we should not prejudge what the sides will be discussing. what i can tell you is that the agenda is very clear. the agenda is extremely clear in what the security council is instructing me to facilitate and all sides have accepted. one is governance. we are talking about an

governance which is all inclusive, a governance which is obviously of a special type of nature, oerwise we would not need to talk about it. secondly, a new constitution, not just what it is already, and three, new elections and the u.n. -- and the u.n. supervision. that is the agenda. now let's allow the sides when they sit together or through us by proxy talks to be able to negotiate that. i will not prejudge it. i have got -- i have -- i don't have hundred [ inaudible ] i see a gentlemen down there, and then i have to be a little bit flexible here. over to you. [ speaking in arabic ]

>> okay. okay. please translate. please translate. >> what is the name of the delegation where [ inaudible ] will participate in? >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. well, we have as you know, invited the government, and the government has replied and has shown up. we have invited the agency and it is up to them to have their own delegation when they come and we are hearing indications in the right direction, and we look forward to welcome them here. and then we have been sending individual letters to various individuals whose voices we believe are usefully important for me to hear in order to be

able to be better guided in our discussions. that's all i can say at this stage. [ inaudible ] >> okay. okay. as you know at the moment, these are the invitations we have been issuing. now let me see if i'm missing anyone? no. i would like to say good-bye. there will be many other occasions. i'm sorry it's too early. okay. well, as we approach 7:00 pm here in london, 1900 gmt the headline would appear to be here on al jazeera that there are suggestions at least that members of the syrian opposition may be prepared to take part in talks in this geneva. this was relayed to the man you see on your screen, the u.n. special envoy on syria by a number of correspondent there, and he said yes, he had heard

this rumor too. and we had also heard what is unconfirmed at the moment here, from my colleague james bayes. what did you make of what he had to say in that there may be a little bit of give in what the syrian opposition may be appears to do at this stage? >> reporter: ah, i think he sounded optimistic and even suggesting that maybe he could be speaking to them on the ground here on geneva. very careful with his words. but the fact he is saying that, i think suggests that believes they are leaning towards that decision. i want a add a little bit of a caveat, because i have been trying to follow the different news coming out of riyadh all week, and every single person you speak to there, they will all tell you different things. so we need to get the official confirmation. we're certainly hearing from sources that they have