syria talks begin. the main opposition group says it will now go to geneva. live from doha also ahead on the program, france says it will recognise a palestinian state if a final push for talks for a two state solution fails fails. rescued after 36 days trapped underground. but will more chinese miners surface. plus >> >> no strength or energy, not to

even sit down. >> reporter: the symptoms of the zika virus. we talk to one woman who was infected talks aimed at ending the war in syria are off to a shaky start in geneva. delegates from the largest opposition group have agreed to come to geneva. >> reporter: the start of the syria talks, but on day one just one side was present. the syrian government delegation headed by the country's ambassador to the united nations, meeting with the u.n. special envoy staffan de mistura. it was during this meeting that news emerged that the main opposition group said it would now travel to geneva. mr staffan de mistura told are

reporters he had to wait for official confirmation, but he said he was optimistic. >> i have good reasons 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 syrian talks. >> reporter: 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. we're going to start discussing with u.n. about our two important fights, humanitarians and political detainees. this is what is important to us. so we're preparing the files. the team is coming tomorrow and you're going to hear all the details later. >> reporter: the decision to come to geneva has been a

difficult one for the high negotiating commission. they say they've been given assurances, not just by the u.n. but also by the u.s. and russia, that there will be measures soon to alleviate the humanitarian situation and some of the concerns that they've raised in the coming days. they say they will speak here to the special envoy and then take stock of the situation before actually joining any negotiations the president of the syrian commission for transitional justice, part of the syrian opposition, said last months u.n. resolution for attacks on civilians to end must be honoured. >> there is no guarantees that the things that the security council resolution 2254 talk about it will be respected by the bashar al-assad government. we have been five years. the bashar al-assad government

never care about the civilians. there are reasons to believe he is intensifying fighting on the areas. releasing prisoners has to be met, has to be respected before any negotiations can be undertaken. we cannot negotiate on the life of syrians if they can't be helped because of starvation, how can they impose a transition on the government, how can they be forced to release women and children. that is contradictory. this is why the syrians, they ask what many achieve in geneva if just taking pictures or give the bashar al-assad to speak against the syrian people,

against the opposition or achieve something on the ground in syria 15 people have been killed and dozens more injured in russian air strikes near the northern city of the aleppo. in the west fighters have taken control of several check points in and around h ashhaama. the palestinian liberation organization has welcomed a call for international involvement in ending the israeli occupation. france says it wants an international conference to revive talks between israelis and palestinians. they say they will recognise a palestinian state if final talks on two state solution fails. the discussions collapsed in 2014 over many issues. the third permanent peb member of the u.n. security council.

a substantial majority of the 193 member states of the u.n. have done the same. the vatican formally accepted palestinian as a state after an historic agreement earlier this month. in 2014 sweden became the first e.u. member to recognise palestinian. it has a nonmember observer status as well. a fellow at the institute for policy studies and says the recognition of a palestinian state is symbolic and there is much more that needs to be done. >> it's a very good thing if we're talking about negotiatess 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 that's the kind of negotiations we're talking

about, it won't do any good. if france were willing to say this should be based not on some new road map, not on oslo, not on something new, but on existing international law and human rights of the obligations of the parties, then you could have a two state arrangement where both states abuy by international law and the principles of equality for all, but it's going to be very difficult. the land which is fundamental here, the land has been stolen, the creation of settlements where you now have such enormous traps of land under the control of illegal israeli settlors with no indication that any peace agreement would be involving the movement of settlors after their land, then it's not viable. people don't live on symbolism.

they they under occupation and siege. a symbolic gesture would be important, useful, for a moment, but it doesn't change the situation by itself the ongoing violence in burundi is top of the agenda at the annual meeting of the african union in the ethiopian capital. leaders there will be talking about burundi's refusal to accept an africa peace keeping force. >> reporter: just like in 2015 security matters will be high on the agenda of this year's african union heads of state summit. peace and security council members meet here to discuss the growing threat of terrorism, formation of a traditional unity government in south sudan and the ongoing violence in burundi. this deputy chairperson of the au says much has been done to make africa a more peaceful continent. >> if you go back to the 90s, the number of regional, national

conflicts that were active were over 20/30. now we have only a few challenges in a few countries. why? the african union established a peace culture that has been effective. >> reporter: the au is seen by its critics as weak unable to deal with the country's problems or properly implement the decisions arrived at after lengthy discussions in skuch summits >> the leadership that many have been providing to attack the issues head on have been lacking of late. many countries have been looking inside or basically focusing mostly on regional issues rather than the other aspect of things. >> reporter: many officials will tell you that there needs to be more political will and financial commitment by member states. one of the main talking points

of the african union is alternative sources of funding. almost 70% of its budget comes from partners like the u.s. and the european union. the idea is for the au to look towards the private sector in africa and to put more pressure on states to pay their membership fees. last year only 19 of the 54 member states made their contributions to the au's roughly half a billion dollar annual budget. that's only 2% of the entire budget. >> how committed are members to the discourse and to the idea of the movement that the african union symbolizes and how determined are they to walk the talk. >> reporter: this year more resolutions will be passed, but without the goodwill and commitment for the states to move the positions forward, we

may still be telling this same story come next january nor with in update on the african union gathering. >> reporter: security in the region has been a big part of the agendas at this african union summit. leaders, african heads of state have been talking about terrorism, the growing threat of terrorism in africa, ways of working together, better cooperation, sharing intelligence as well. south sudan has also been on the agenda in the formation of a transitional government. the deadline has come and gone there. the biggest issue is burundi and the situation there. the chairperson of the commission has tabled a report on this issue. the head of state will be discussing and, perhaps, voting on the deployment of troops to burundi with or without the government's consent. we know the government has rejected any such more. many heads of state will be

reluctant to endorse such a move because burundi is a sovereign state, it has an elected government, it has an elected president. even if that election is contested. burundi is also a contributing country. it is very important. it is a very delicate matter. a lot of people are also saying that, perhaps, what will happy is that the heads of state will push for a political solution, a political dialogue, bringing together all warring parties so the country will be able to move forward. the president is not here, but he sent a high-level delegation led by the foreign affairs minister who has been lobbying and trying to get the support of member states plenty more still ahead here on al jazeera. we will tell you why the bank of japan has sent interest rates into negative territory for the

first time. the changing funs of american politi politics, is america leaning towards socialism.

welcome back. the top stories. talks aimed apt ending the war in syria are off to a shaky start. the opposition have agreed to come to geneva. a call for international involvement in ending the israeli occupation. france says it wants an

international conference to revive talks between the israelis and palestinians. violence in burundi is top of the agenda at the annual meeting of the african union in the ethiopian capital taking place right now. leaders will be discussing burundi's refusal to accept an african peace keeping force along with the widers issues of security there. there are new claims of child sexual abuse by peace keeping troops in the central african republic. alleged victims have identified soldiers from france and georgia who were there under an e.u. mission. this comes months after allegations of troops acting directly under the u.n. flag. >> reporter: embroiled in scandal once again, a total of six new allegations have surfaced of sexual misconduct against children by foreign peace keeping troops in the central african republic. the incidents are alleged to

have taken place in the capital at a camp for displaced people in 2014. fourteen age girls between the ages of 14 and 16 say they were sexually assaulted by european union peacekeepers. three said their abusers were from a georgian contingent taking part in an e.u. mission. troubling against were made against french troops. the youngest was a seven year old girl who said she was sexually abused for a bag of cookies and a bottle of water >> these are extreme accusations it is crucial that they are thoroughly investigated. we are heart and at the initial response. we have received from the country's concerned as well as from the european union which show that 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. >> reporter: french and e.u. forces arrived in central african republic with a mandate to protect people in a country mired in sectarian violence. on friday the u.n. also revealed five new allegations against their own peacekeepers and police. >> it's hard to imagine the outrage that people working for the 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. >> reporter: with the investigation continuing a report by secretary general ban ki-moon expected next month, officials here are bracing for the possibility of more allegations coming to light, but now troops accused of criminal

activities against the very civilian population they were sent to protect the opposition protesters in central african republic have called for the cancellation of results from last month's presidential election. >> reporter: they say the vote was full of irregularities and should be a nulled by the constitutional court. on monday the kurt ruled there should be a rerun of presidential elections which were also held in december. protesters are demanding for international intervention >> translation: we ask for the international community to help us in order for the voices of the people to be heard four people have been killed and 18 wounded in an attack on a shia mosque in saudi arabia. it happened during friday prayers at the imam rofk in the

eastern region. two suicide bombers were involved. one was arrested before he detonated his explosives. the other set-off his bomb after a gun battle a man accused of converting people to the christian faith has been humiliated by members of a right wing hindi group. he had his head shaved and paraded on a donkey. 1.2 billion people are predominantly hindi there. four mine yoers who were trapped have been rescued. their mine collapsed on christmas day. it is in the province of pingyi where at least 30 people are still missing >> reporter: after more than a month of searching, a moment to

celebrate. four miners are whinched to the surface one-by-one in a specially-made capsule. masks were quickly placed over their eyes before taken to hospital. >> translation: at the moment the four miners are all in a stable conditions and they are conscious. only one of them has suffered a broken leg, but there are still a lot of uncertainties. we are working on a treatment plan based on the development of their conditions. >> reporter: the miners were found 200 metres 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 of their colleagues had been rescued within hours of the collapse. another died. 13 miners are still unaccounted for. rescuers were spurred on by this break through finally making

contact with the trapped men. they had been sending down food, clothes and lamps through a narrow bore hole, but getting them out was a much tougher job. further collapses and rock falls a constant fear. it is a reminder of the dangers associated with mining across china. collapses are common. safety regulations are often ignored. four initials have already lost their jobs. the chairman of the company which owned the mine drowned himself. another casualty of an industry badly in need of reform and tough regulation japan's central bank has introduced negative interest rates for the first time as it tries to boost the economy. the surprising move means banks will now be charged when they deposit some of their money with the central bank. this is hoped to encourage them to lend to businesses rather

than sit on their cash. william black ask an associate professor of economics and law at the university of missouri our ee, 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 will make more loans, but the reason the banks aren't making loans is that businesses aren't selling things. if businesses don't sell enough things, they don't have demand. so that's the rationale. lots of economists don't think it will work. i don't think there's a real plan in japan, it's just a series of whole actions that fail and that are replaced by other things. so far they have kept japan right around recession levels,

which really what is going on is the inter connectedness is the chinese economy. as china slows you sell fewer things. even though you would think japan would be helped a great deal since it is an entirely oil importing nation, as the price of oil fell sharply, net it appears to be losing the zika virus is spreading rapidly. several new cases have been confirmed now with more suspected outside of the americas. one in new zealand. >> christmas eve i was scratching. my family saw my chest and they were like wow. you could see bumps in my lips, eyes, ears >> reporter: this woman is feeling healthy now, but while visiting family in el salvador over christmas she contracted the zika virus from a mosquito

bilt >> you have to strength or energy to do anything. not even to sit down. you just want to lay down and sleep. >> reporter: since then 30 cases have been confirmed in 11 states in the district of colombia. on friday a top u.s. health official said americans shouldn't panic >> having said that, you don't want to walk away and be cavalier and say not a problem. we aring getting vaccines and everything else. >> reporter: the virus has spread fast, mainly through the americas since last year, prompting the cdc to warn pregnant women to against travel to 22 countries in the region. the virus causes a mild illness in most people. but there is growing evidence linking it to a birth defect called microcephaly, babies born with abnormally small medz and brains-- heads and brains.

cases are surging in brazil. on friday brazil's president said her country launched nationwide efforts to eliminate breeding areas for the specific mosquitos. >> translation: we're losing the battle against the mosquito. why? because if the mosquito keeps breeding, we are all losing the battle against it, so we have to mobilize to win this war. >> reporter: brazil is waging the battle as the country prepares for the olympics in august. on friday the international olympic committee assured teams travelling there that the games would be safe from the virus, but it also urged visitors to protect themselves by using mosquito repeopleant and wearing long sleeves and pants. >> we will do everything we can in the u.s. polls are showing bernie sanders running next and neck with hillary clinton for the democratic

nomination for president. bernie sanders is proving to be popular. >> reporter: the time worn rhythms of american politics are changing. for the first time in u.s. history american socialist a standard. >> we need an economy that works for working people >> reporter: a major candidate for president >> if it takes a socialist to show us a way, then god bless. >> this system hasn't worked for a very long time. so for me it's not so much of a taboo or the s word because i've seen what the c word has done. >> reporter: in the heart land in this is signs of new times >> with iowa is picking their nominations on monday, with billionaire donald trump leading

the republican field iowa could set up an epic rivalry asocialist versus the ultimate capitalist >> that's what's happening >> reporter: donald trump is attacking bernie sanders >> this socialist/communist, nobody wants to say it. >> reporter: until recent bernie sanders european style socialism was a hard sell in a country that has lange acquitted it with communism. >> i want to say. >> reporter: joseph mcarthury >> have you no sense of decency. >> reporter: to the campaign against socialised medicine.

>> reporter: that program for the elderly now called medicare has become popular along with the socialised retirement program, social security >> on one level we hate socialism, as it were, or democratic socialism, but on another level we like a lot of what it does. >> come on in >> reporter: the door is being opened by growing young people. >> they hear socialist and they see europe today. they see all the benefits to socialism and they don't see the iron curtain and stallin and the negatives that might be associated with it. >> reporter: the campaign trail is long and torturous. for bernie sanders to go from here to history he will have to carry his brand of american some time socialism-- style socialism

there's more on our website, aljazeera.com. get the news, analysis, perspective. it's all there for you, aljazeera.com this week on talk to al jazeera musician and activist, moby. >> glamorous dating, going to the right parties, et cetera, these can be fun, but they're not. they won't sustain you. it's like junk food or cocaine. >> he went from being a relative unknown to one of the most important electronic dance music pioneers. moby has made more than a dozen albums. the singer-songwriter has another set to come out in 2016. >> quite electronic,