talks aimed add earning the war in sya begin in geneva. the main opposition group thousand says ito yousays it wi. group says it now will be going. i'm fawazy ibrahim. >> people working for the united nations and the causes of peace and security feel. >> allegations of child sex abuse by european peace keepers in the central african republic, the youngest victim is a seven-year-old girl.

after 36 days trapped underground four chinese miners are rescued, more are missing. an ancient form of art is making a come back. talks aimed at ending the war in syria have finally started in switzerland. the main opposition group is on their way to geneva. jaibs lasjames bays has more. >> the start of the talks on day 1, just one side was rent. the syrian government delegation, headed by bashar al jaffray, greeted by staffan de

mistura. news emerged that the main opposition group said it would travel to geneva. mr. dee mistura said he was optimistic. >> i have good reasons to believe that they are actually considering this very seriously. and ther therefore, to be in a position on probably sunday to actually start the discussions with them, in order to be able to proceed with the intra-syrian talks. >> one opposition member already in geneva later confirmed that her colleagues would be here in a matter of hours. >> we just want to let you know that yes, they are coming discussindiscussing about the to important fights, the humanitarian aid, and you'll

hear all the details later. >> the decision has been a difficult one for the high negotiating excision. they say they have been given assurances thought just by the u.n. but by the u.s. and russia that there will be measures to alleviate the humanitarian situation and some of the concerns they've raised in the coming days. they say they'll speak to the special envoy and then take stock of the situation before actually joining any negotiations. james bays, al jazeera at the united nations in geneva. there are new claims of child abuse by u.n. peace keeping forces. identified by alleged victims, comes months after groups operating under the u.n. flag. gabriel elizondo reports.

from the u.n. in new york. >> a total of six new charges have surfaced of sexual misconduct against children in the central african republic. teelgd have taken play in bangui and the camp for displaced people in 2014. four girls between ages of 14 and 16 said they were sexually assaulted by european peace keepers, pr a georgia from a ge. >> she was sexually abused in exchange for bottle of water and a bag of cookies. >> it's urgent these cases are thuthoroughly investigated. we are heartened by the response from the countries concerned as

well as the european union, which show they take these allegation very seriously. we will continue to closely follow up on these cases and any others that emerge as the u.n. team on the ground continue its investigations. >> european forces arrived with a mandate to take care of a country in sectarian violence. five more allegations against their own peace keepers and police. >> it's hard to imagine that people working for united nations and for the causes of peace and security feel, when these kinds of allegations come to light. particularly involving minors which are so hard to understand. >> buwith it investigation

continuing and a report from u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon expected next month, more allegations come to light. now troops accused of criminal activity against very civilian population they were sent to protect. gabriel elizondo, al jazeera, central african republic. protestors say a vote was full of irregularities. on monday the court ruled there should be a rerun of the parliamentary elections, which were also held in november. protesters are demanding intervention. >> we are asking for the international community to not let their efforts go to waste, they will have to help us in order for the voice of the

people to be heard. >> four people killed, 18 others wounded on an attack of a shia mosque, in the eastern al assa region. two suicide bombers were involved, one arrested before he set off his bomb. for the saudi gazette gives us a recount. >> there was two shooters, one of them 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 caught him alive. the other one managed to get in and shoot at the people inside

the mosque. between the last sermon and they managed to also to warn him with the help of the people in the mosque, and 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 force to other leads. >> bahraini police have fired tear gas on protesters as they marched on a local police station. demonstrators, were celebrating the five year anniversary of the uprising, charges relating to the unrest that began in february of 2011. four chinese miners have been rescued after being trapped 200 meters underground.

their mine collapsed underground christmas day, for 36 days, richard martin has more. >> after more than a month of searching, a memo to celebrate. -- a moment to celebrate. as four miners are winched to the surface one by one in a specially made capsule, masks carefully placed over their eyes before taken to hospital. >> only one has suffered a broken leg but since they were trapped underground for 36 days there is still a lot of uncertainties. our hospital will work to make a treatment plan based on the development of their condition. >> the minors were found 200 meters underground. they had been working along with 25 others when their mine collapsed. since then the search has been closely followed by chinese

television networks. 11 colleagues had been rescued within hour of the collapse, another died. 13 miners are still unaccounted for. rescuers were spurred on after this break through. >> finally making contact with the trapped men. they have been sending down food clothes and lamps through a narrow bore hole. further collapse and rock falls are a constant fall. dangers associated with mining across china. collapses are common, four officials have already lost their jobs. the chairman of the company which owns the mine, drowned himself another casualty of an industry badly in need of reform and tough regulation. richard martin, al jazeera.

>> still ahead on al jazeera, the changing tunes of american politics. is the united states leaning towards socialism? and protecting china's wildlife, a proposed change in law is actually worrying.

>> welcome back. the top stories here on al jazeera. talks a aimed at ending the warn syria, no guarantees it will take part in direct talks.

the united nations is promising a full investigation into new claims of child abuse in the central african republic. six allegations of sexual misconduct by foreign peace keepers have surfaced, apparently occurring add a camp for displaced people in bangui in 2014. 13 people are still missing after their mine caved in in the area of ping ye in china's east. it is estimated that nearly 2 million people in syria are trapped, the aid agency doctors without borders is denouncing those block much needed supplies. paul tradergian has more. >> ratification of the city of memadaya are still starving to

death. the valley where madaya is located has been cut off since last summer. government forces control the region to the east. its ally hezbollah controls the lebanese side. the syrian government called images of starving kids and adults nothing but lies and propaganda. doctors without borders says 32 people have died from severe acute ma malnutrition. 320 are suffering from malnutrition, 33 are critically ill. the town urgently needs emergency aid and a permanent medical staff. these exclusive al jazeera pictures show hezbollah and assad forces shelling madaya, fighters have been trying to

secure the lebanese syrian border ever since. people in the district say they have been ordered to leave their homes by hezbollah and the starving are all around. 40 kilometers away outside damascus. doctors say this man is one of nine who died from malflish in n in two weeks. doctors without borders estimates up to 2 million syrians are trapped in seizures by the government or by opposition groups. paul tradergian, al jazeera. human rights watch says iran is sending thousands of afghan refugees to fight in syria. alongside forces loyal to president assad. some afghans were tee ported for refusing to fight.

syria hosts many afghans. france says it will recognize the palestinian state if final push for talks for two state solution fails. laurent fabius says, france will look to hold an international conference soon over the issue. brokered peace talks failed in 2014, since then there have been no moves to resume talks between the two parties. if israel were to accept palestinian statehood it would be the third member to do so, substantial majority of the 193 member states of the u.n. earlier this month, the vatican formally accepted palestine as a state after an historic agreement. in 2014 sweede sweden became tht

european state to recognize palestine. the recognition of a palestinian state is symbolic but there's more that needs to be done. >> it's a very good thing if we're talking about negotiations that are based on international law and human rights. if we're talking about a repeat of the 23-year-long history of u.s. led negotiations that were based essentially on maintaining israeli power, enabling the occupation, enabling israeli apartheid, if those are the kind of negotiations we're talking about it dwoil n do no good. if they are willing to say this should be based on some new road

map, not often oslo but on something new, but on existing international law and obligation he of the parties, then i think there is hope, where both states abide by international law and the principles of equality for all but it is going to be very, very difficult. the land which is fundamental here, the land has been stolen. the creation of settlements where you have enormous tracts of land under the control of illegal israeli settlers with no indication that peace would include movement of settlers off their land then it's not a viable option. people don't live on symbolism. they die under occupation, they die under siege. a symbolic gesture would be important but not a solution in

itself. >> japan is trying to institute negative inflation. rather than sitting on cash. william black is an associates professional of economics and law at the university of missouri. kansas city. he says the rate cut won't boost the economy. >> the argument is that banks are sitting on very large amounts of liquidity. if you charge them for that, maybe they'll make more loans. but the reason the banks aren't making loans is that businesses aren't selling things. and if businesses don't sell enough things they don't have demand. so that's the rationale, lots of economists don't think it's going to work and i don't think there is any real plan in japan. it's just a whole series of actions that fail and that are

replaced by new promises of vig so they to vigorous things and so far, they've kept japan right around recession levels. what's really going on in japan recently is the interconnectedness with the chinese economy. this is who japan has to sell things to. and as china slows, you sell fewer things. so even though japan would be helped a great deal since it's an entirely oil-importing nation as the price of oil fell sharply, net, it appears to be losing. >> china is amending its law on wildlife protection. the amendment outlines beijing's policies but conservationists are not very happy about it. florence looi reports. >> one running free now in captivity, the siberian tiger

used to room china, but only two of these subspecies are estimated to live in the wild. now the first time in 26 years, china is revising its law. in particular, the provision that allows wildlife be hunted for captive breeding and other special purposes. >> the training for wild animals is not natural at first also they are going to probably going to influence and damage the white population of the white animals. >> captive animals cannot contribute to a healthy gene pool. there is also pressure to supplement from the wild, conservationists are also concerned about the wording in the draft law that would allow the commercial use of wildlife

resources. existing law makes it a crime to declare wild and dangerous species. but a black market already exists. wild animal parts are sought after as use in traditional medicine, any legal loopholes in the new law. conservationists that are allowing for wildlife sources will only increase demand an worse. wildlife organizations say there are good points in the haw, that habitats are to be protected but it's vague and unhelpful, could leave some species even more vulnerable than before. florence looi, al jazeera.

dzhokhar tsarnaev was sentenced to death after the boston marathon bombings. his brother was killed after the siege. polls in iowa are showing bernie sanders is head to head with hillary clinton. john hendren has the story on the surprising rise of american socialism. >> reporter: the time worn rhythms of american politics are changing. for the first time in u.s. history american socialists have a standard-bearer. >> we need an economy that works for working people. >> who is a major candidate. >> if it needs a socialist, god bless it. >> for me it's not so much of a

taboo or the s word i have seen what the c word or capitalism has done. >> these are signs of new times. from iowa planning to pick its first candidate, polls showed are bernie sanders in a dead heat or leading hillary clinton. and a socialist versus the ultimate capitalist. >> this socialist versus communist, nobody wants to say it. >> until recently, sanders european hard sell was hard to fat okay, from world war ii patriotic marches. >> and i want to say mr. welch -- >> to red-baiting senator joseph

mccarthy. >> have you no sense of decency sir at long last? >> ronald reagan. >> we do not want socialized medicine. one day we will awake to find that we have socialism. >> that program for the elderly now called medicare has become e universally popular. >> at another level we like a lot of the things that democratic socialism does. >> to a growing group of young liberals. >> they hear social it's and they see europe today. they see all these benefits to socialism and they don't see the iron curtain and stalin, and the

negative repercussions that might be associated with it. >> he'll have to carry his style of american socialism from iowa to washington. john hendren, al jazeera, des moines, iowa. >> for decades felite has been on the edge of disappearing. unesco is trying to maintain the age of paintin painting. >> it's a way of painting that is part of argentina's history. felipe originally died out. >> congo with in the 1940ss

they were very popular then started disappearing. >> this type of art uses an ornamental design, it's the typical art of buenos aires, created in the 19th century by european immigrants who brought some sense of art, addressing a unique style. it was a way of decorating sweet carages. decorating sweet carriages. it was banned by the military government in the 1970s. ful say it was an attack by the junta against art.

felipe has managed a bus company. >> when they appeared a few years ago everyone wanted the best bus. the. >> military government's stand was in part responsible for it not being used but also that buses became more universal. >> the buses don't belong to the drivers anymore so that chairchghtd everything. >> this year the u.s. has declared felipe. >> this is the way of putting the step of us out there again. it certainty hopes no overlook. >> felipe can be seyne on the streets and furniture and

demonstrates most everything else acknowledge teresa vo, al jazeera, buenos aires. >> you can always get the latest open our website, the result is on our screen acknowledge aljazeera.com. >> thanks for joining us for "america tonight." i'm joie chen. a new threat has emerged with international health care workers warning of the possibility of devastating consequences. as more and more cases of the zika virus emerge across the globe even in the united states. but just how great is the danger and who is most at risk? we get