these that are in conflict with the security council and the united nations charter. they are in conflict with the solutions. every year we have resolutions and the general assembly of the united nations condemning the unilateral and just measures. this is the theme of the general assembly. again, the unilateral measures imposed beyond the scope of the resolutions handed down by the security council are unlawful. also during the meeting with him yesterday, we have suppressed our preparedness to work on the so-called syrian crisis so long as we were negotiating with genuine parties having a say

rather than waiting assurances, support or back up by foreign sides which will resulting nothing about exacerbating the issue. over the past five years, the syrian government, the syrian authorities, have been extending all what they can to lend a helping hands to the syrian people, including humanitarian aid. so a great deal of flexibility, the syrian government will have insisted on more than one occasion, we had welcomed the general and welcomed the delegation and today we are welcoming mr staffan de mistura. on every occasion our

cooperation and our will had been put to the test. we have proven our goodwill, we have proven our genuineness and we have demonstrated our bona fides. we have also demonstrated the positive position taken by the syrian government in line with international endeavours based on the u.n. measures. however, the problem was always with the other party and today as if these talks of the other party who delayed six days before reaching geneva, as if the spokesman is the prime

minister of saudi arabia, france, or the secretary of state. this does not prove any genuineness or credibility on the part of the opposition as they are genuinelily eager on solving their own problems, the problems of their own country. if they are genuine, they must come to geneva with a national agenda, meeting the requirements contained in the solution and the geneva agenda. to engage in syrian dialogue without any foreign influence. this particular issue was violated grossly by the other party. here i would like to share a very significant piece of

information with you. as we speak, the other party, including the special envoy, they do not, nor do we, have a final list of the names of the other parties. we have six days, we do not have a final list. there are more than one delegation representing the opposition. that's why we were referring to the opposition parties rather than the opposition party. we are met with a number of delegations. the final agenda is not clear. what is clear is that certain international neighboring layers

are repeating the same mistake-- players are repeating the same mistake where the coalition was forced to come into the negotiations with the syrian government. this has proven to be a failure and today the same mistake is made by certain capital cities, arab cities, who are willing to create a status quo where a delegation here, the delegation here is representing the interests of those capital cities, arab regimes, rather than the syrian people at the expense of the on 2254 solution, which is urging the special envoy to bring to the negotiations the widest spectrum of the syrian opposition. again, the same mistake committed in geneva 2 is being

repeat repeated. . 2254 calls for bringing together the widest scope, the widest spectrum of the opposition elected by the syrians. please, note it very carefully. elected by the syrians rather than being elected by other foreign ministers, but the solution stipulates to bring together-- resolution stipulates to bring together the wider spectrum of the syrians, not any other players. this stipulation has been also

violated. it is the result of this surprising standards and double measures. i will open the floor to questions now. please, in order to have a constructive positive press conferen conference, the person responsible for coordinating with the media person is my colleague. any question will be through him and it is him who will moderate this session. i will be prepared to answer all of your questions. i will try to brief you in english later on. i will do it while i'm answering

your questions. >> i represent the bbc. as we speak, we are not aware of the other party, as we speak there is not a list of the opposition names. we met by a number of delegatio delegations. some are demanding putting an end to the aerial bombardment. others are laying down three conditions and you said that there is no final list of the names. in the absence of this list, what is your next measure?

>> translation: it is early to answer. this question must be raised to mr staffan de mistura, the special envoy. the special envoy is concerned by forming the opposition teams. we are concerned with our affairs as representatives of the syrian government, according to the resolution 2254 this condition must be met. the widest spectrum of the opposition and this stipulation has not been honoured. as we speak, we are not aware who are we going to see against this or who are we going to talk to, who we are going to engage in dialogue with. all the matters mentioned by you and those were not mentioned will be on the negotiating table

under the auspices of the special envoy. this is a very important question. first of all, there is no negotiation. it is an indirect syrian-syrian dialogue without any conditions. i want you to memorise that. without any conditions. those who lay down conditions are simply violating the invitation given by mr staffan de mistura and also violating the stipulations of the 2254 solution and the geneva 2 communique. we have no precondition, we have no prohibitions. we are here open to all

discussions. we are here to engage in an indirect syrian-syrian dialogue without preconditions or foreign influence. the humanitarian issue combatting terrorism and the political process will all be part of the dialogue again the delegation of the government and the others. >> translation: we have been in a press conference for the opposition a while ago and they spoke about measures of goodwill, including to release women imprisond by the regime, and they have provided lists of the numbers of the persons kidnapp kidnapped. we have total coordinates of these substantial issues and

they will be part. the syrian government are not here to play games with the fate of the syrian people. we are not here to monger with the future of the syrian people. automatic those present are the concern of all the syrian people, including the government. we are the government exercising our authorities and we are part of the syrian people. those should specify and answer about the 400 kidnapped in the lataki latak latakia. from al jazeera and the others. the humanitarian concern is the

issue of all the syria people. those are providing and it means that we are concerned on resolving these critical issues, which are in the concern of the syrian people. >> translation: a while ago in the press conference claims that delegation of the syrian government are present here to fail the process and you are here to krip el - cripple the

process. what is your response? >> translation: we are official to whom an invitation was given. we answered timely and punctually and from the day one we were engaged in discussions with the special envoy. this proves that seriousness of the syrian government, especially because we are honoring the obligations placed. on the other hand, the opposition did not. they delayed six days. commitments were made on their behalf by arab and european foreign ministers and they lald down three conditions and spoke about the failure of the plan

before engaging. even before deciding to take part this proves how brave the political ideology and diplomatic experience of the other party and, above all, their inability to understand the contents of the 2254 resolution. >> translation: you said you're not here to start from scratch or wish to go back to square on one. >> accumulated history of the crisis in syria is still on a number of areas. it was before many. this is what i meant by saying

we are not here to start from square one. we should bank on the gains we in from the political and diplomatic process. today those are preconditions politically amateur, not professional. it is a living proof that they are here to veto the process. this is what i meant by the terrorist attacks that took place, one car bomb and two suicide attacks where dozens were killed and dozens were injured. what is noticeable here is that one of the officials of the

al-nusra front stated that he has carried out his attacks to support the opposition delegation taking part in the die -- dialogue together. this is a clear impression of how they operate. >> translation: do you have any objection if they take part in the dialogue? >> translation: first of all, it is not the syrian government delegations who have called the delegation of the opposition. we left this duty to the man in charge, the special envoy, in

consultation with other parties. what has happened is that those states sponsoring terrorism, and i think they entrusted two main tasks to two key sponsors of terrorism countries, saudi arabia and jordan. those two countries failed to agree on the final lists of the names to meet the requirements of the 2254 solution. saudi arabia failed to form the delegation and so did jordan. they failed to hold the delegation or specify which is which, which is true. that's why both the states who are terrorism have failed and it

is the result of what we're living now and as i speak, neither we nor mr staffan de mistura himself is aware of the final list of the names of the oppositi opposition. some of them are in geneva and others somewhere else. it is we have to bear and live with it. this is diplomacy and we have to live with it we will move away from the press questions for a moment. what you're listening to was the syrian ambassador addressing the press ahead of the so-called peace talks that are meant to start in geneva. he had strong words for the opposition. he blamed the opposition for the delay in starting the talks, saying it shows a lack of commitment to the peace process on their behalf.

he also said that it's not clear who is on the opposition negotiating delegation, even the u.n. according to him doesn't have a final list. he said the opposition delegation are not serious and the spokesman for opposition seemed to be saudi french as well as u.s. foreign ministries. that's according to him. he did say that the purpose of these talks going on in gen eve are, meant to go on i should say, are engaged in direct syrian-syrian dialogue without preconditions and foreign intervention. he said those who are asking for preconditions are violating resolution 2254 as well as the geneva 2 communique. presumably, a message, jails bays-- jamess bays, to the opposition when he says that. >> reporter: absolutely. i think it is very interesting that he hasn't spoken until now,

but i think he saw the opposition coming out and speaking to the fres press and that's why he is speaking to the press and getting his side across saying that his government delegation, as he said, was here six days ago. the opposition wasn't and he said that was not honoring the invitation everyone was given. they have other things in it as well and they are not now in place. let me just update you on what has been going on while he has been speaking because we've in some more important developments, although what the syrian ambassador says is important, but going on with regard to the opposition delegation because we've had the crucial mean of the day. the u.n. envoy staffan de mistura staffan de mistura came to a motel and listened to the concerns. they raising the items in the resolution from the end of last

year about stopping the be that as it may borrowedment in syria, stopping the sieges in syria and releasing the prisoner. mr staffan de mistura said he listened to what they say. i asked him if he could deliver on the items that they raised. he said no, first he must listen to them. what has happened since then is the opposition members have been having their own meeting to decide what they think of what mr staffan de mistura said to them. the word we're going from the hotel is there seems to be some disagreement on what was said to them by mr staffan de mistura. while all this was going on, another group of opposition members were actually briefing the press at a press conference and, again, there at the press conference the opposition made their conditions clear. >> translation: we wish to see forward reaching the starving to

death women and children. we wish to see the women released from the regime's prisons. we wish to see the criminal murderous aerial bombardment by the russian jet fighters coming to an end james, seeing it's quite a fast-moving story on the ground where you are, but do we know if these demands are not met but the opposition are putting forward, then will they still negotiate? >> reporter: i think that's the big question. i'm joined by one of the hnc members. you've just come out of the meeting with another meeting, not staffan de mistura. what was it about? >> it was very positive. we are still consulting and

we're going to given you an official statement soon, but we're ready, we're looking forward, but especially we need to get the confidence-building measures especially in regard of the humanitarian issues and the women detainees. >> reporter: i will caulk about women in a moment-- talk about women in a moment, but what's your feeling, do you think you will enter into negotiations or not? >> my wishful thinking, yes, but i need some confident-building measures. we need to see something on the ground. we need to see the women detainees freed. we need them to be at home tonight. we need to see areas to be lifted. they are our children, we need to help them. >> reporter: you are one of the women here from the opposition side. do you feel that the women of syria's voice has been heard over five years of so much death and destruction, that half the

population of syria has been listened to? >> we're already there sitting side-by-side, we're in the high negotiation committee, we're in the delegations. we just have some women here. we're trying to help the negotiation team. we're having annex per tease, lawyers, doctors, judges. we are here and we're working on the humanitarian side which is very close to our heart since we are the mothers and daughters and we are the one who suffered. >> reporter: you are, obviously, speaking to those members that are still in saudi arabia, including the leader of the hnc >> of course >> reporter: you're also speaking to the people in syria. what are people in syria tell you? do they support you or do they say yet more negotiation that's not going to go anywhere? >> the truth is what can i tell the people who are starving to death, what can i tell the people that daughters and kids

are in prisons. they need a solution and we need to give them something. if we don't get anything from this process, we're going to be all of us finished. we need to give the people something. the people in syria are suffering. we are here to serving them and help them. we're not leaders. we are the servant of those people in syria who are suffering a lot. so, yes, we want to end their suffering and they understand this. >> reporter: i know you haven't heard it because he has been speaking while you've been in your meeting, but the syrian ambassador to the u.n. said you turned up late, you're amateurs not professionals and the attack today shows that you're also terrorists >> if this terrorists you just. i'm sorry, it is not about the negotiation, it's about ending the war. also yesterday did you know that the russian missiles killed people from the idp camps, how

many civilians they're killing. you tell the ambassador that there is 18 villages and sieges areas are starving to death. no. we are organized and we are looking forward to the negotiation, but we need to end and stop the killing. >> reporter: thank you very much for joining us live on al jazeera. so the view from one member of the hnc there is worth telling you though that the hnc's discussions continue and i'm sure i'm not revealing any secrets by saying there are differences of opinion on some aspects of this so they will continue their discussion. mr staffan de mistura saying it was an optimistic meeting. he is saying he is hopeful that he will get the opposition delegation actually to go to the u.n. headquarters. of course, the plan is not for them to meet face-to-face with the government. initially if that does happen, there will be proximity talks

but we're not there yet thank you, james, for that update from geneva. while that is all taking place over in geneva on the ground in syria up to 400,000 people are trapped and they need emergency assistance. many have died trying to escape to a better life in europe. >> reporter: when you talked to people who live in opposition controlled areas, they do not expect the syrian government to make any concessions. the government really has not made any concessions over the past four or five years and now it is in a stronger position since russia military intervened. there's very little faith in this process. russia's intervention has shifted the balance of power in favor of bashar al-assad. they feel that u.s. has changed

their stances. we no longer her them calm on bashar al-assad to step aside. they're backing a plan which allows him to have involvement in the process. counter terrorism is their priority and it is no longer regime change but regime stability. they have little faith and they believe that the - and really what is happening on the ground is that the russia-syrian campaign are ongoing. the opposition hasn't been defeated, but it is now on the defensive. >> reporter: this is the reality in syria. the government backed by russian air power is on the offensive. their focus now ask on the suburbs south-west of the capital. they are tightening the siege after opposition rebels rejected

to leave the area. the area here is also under a government blockade. >> translation: when the regime entered the area, their strategy is to blockade and get the people and fighters into submission. while geneva is happening, they have increased air strikes. >> reporter: many syrians opposed to the government are opposed to the decision not to gaej in talks with the government. the committee wants goodwill gestures, including an end to the bombardments and blockades and release of detainees before it attends negotiations. >> translation: the regime is not serious about the talks. it is bombarding us while they're there. >> reporter: people inside opposition held territories are also concerned about what they see is a shift in u.s. policy. they believe washington is

cooperating with the main backer russia. the two powers are behind a u.n. peace plan that could see bashar al-assad stay in office at least during the transition period. >> translation: at the beginning the u.s. stood against bashar al-assad. they kept making false promises to the opposition and now their true position is out in the open. the u.s. is not against bashar al-assad. they no longer hide the fact that they consider him the leader. >> reporter: bashar al-assad has always been an obstacle to peace. recent battle field gains has made the regime stronger. that is why the opposition believes it has little to gain by negotiating. it is one of the reasons why it is pushing for concessions before agreeing to talks. diplomacy has so far seen any failures in this conflict which has become an international and

regional war by pox ee and many people feel their voices have become irrelevant-- proxies. >> translation: syrians should decide their fate but big powers are intervening syrian state media says 45 people have been killed and 40 injured in three blasts in damascus. syrian authorities say that attack happened in a mainly shia area of the capital. it is unclear who is behind the bombings. a palestinian police officer has been killed after he opened fired in a check point. he injured israelis in the attack. our correspondent is at west jerusalemment we know it was a palestinian police officer who has been killed.

what else do we know about him and the motive behind the attac attack? >> reporter: we know his name, he was 34 years old and he worked in the office of the attorney-general. he was part of the security forces. a few hours before this attack he posted on his facebook page, and i am read part of it, he said unfortunately i don't see anything worth living for as long as the occupation will remain. this is something he posted shortly before he got out of his car close to the dco check point, a vip check point, and opened fire. he has now been shot dead. it is extremely concerning both for israel and the palestinian authority. this is the second time that a member of the palestinian authority security forces have opened fire at an israeli army check point.

at the time last time december 3, israeli media yoeting concern amongst the government here that led to them rejecting a recommendation from the israeli army that because of the tight security coordination between the forces and israel, that they should be handing over more weapons and ammunition to try and control the issues in the west bank. that was rejected. we have to remember this is the second time. i think we can't dismiss that there is also frustration within the palestinian security forces, certainly when it comes to, for example, israeli soldiers raiding areas that are under full palestinian call, called area a, they often have to stand back and do nothing. it is extremely disturbing for israeli and the palestinian authorities thank you for that update. in iraq 17 soldiers have been killed during a suicide attack

in anbar province. security forces say i.s.i.l. fighters drove' bulldozer into their base detonating a bomb. it happened in the neighborhood east of ramadi where heavy fighting continues between the army and i.s.i.l. fighters. meanwhile, this is what the u.n. is saying. they say iraq needs nearly 900 million dollars to deal with the humanitarian crisis caused by the war against i.s.i.l. the iraqi government saying it could only raise half of that amount that is needed. imran, with offensive plans to take on areas like mosul later in the year, do we expect the humanitarian needs to get even worse for iraqis and for that figure to go up that the u.n. is asking for? >> reporter: the u.n. has asked for something like 861 million dollars. that is what it needs for the current humanitarian crisis. it says that that's something like 7.73 million people that it

needs to help. that's a lot of people, but like you say, fallujah hasn't fallen, nor mosul. once we see operations in those areas, we can expect that figure to go up as well. the u.n. doesn't have 8.61 million at hand. it needs to ask for that from international community, which is suffering from donor fatigue. they're saying that they need this money for their own backyard and there's a lot of concern, particularly here in iraq. although they said they need the money, they might not be able to raise this money. particularly when you look at the crisis in the region, in syria and iraq. the funding crisis has been going on for two years. these programs are not funded enough. they said they need this amount of money but where is that going to come from yes. that is the question.

what happened in the anbar province. what do you know? >> reporter: these attacks will continue once the iraqi army continue to move into the last remaining neighborhood in eastern ramadi. they currently control about 95% of the city. they have replaced a lot of the iraqi units with police units for long-term security. there's about 2500 police forces within the city itself, but as they move closer and closer to the neighborhood, we are likely to see more i.s.i.l. attacks. what is of real concern particularly within the province, not ramadi itself, the iraqi army are confident that they will be able to defeat i.s.i.l. there. it's fallujah, at least ten thousand families are trapped within this city and they can't get out because of i.s.i.l.

occupation. we're also hearing from people inside the city that they're running out of things like medicine and baby milk. they're saying that there are no vegetables in the markets. they are saying i.s.i.l. are distributing wheat so they can make bread but nothing else. we're looking at very very series humanitarian crisis unfolding in that city. the two things are linked. you have the military operation and i.s.i.l. fight back but also the humanitarian crisis unfolding within the city of fallujah thank you. at least 37 refugees mostly syrians drowned on saturday when their boat hit rocks and then capsized. they were attempting to reach lesbos. 25 refugees including ten children drowned off the greek island.

the boat can be seen 50 metres offshore. one of the jets violated airspace. the rift between the two countries since the jut was shot down. >> translation: if russia continues to violate turkey's sovereignty, they will bear the consequences. such irresponsible behaviour will not contribute to helping the neighborhood for peace in the region. it will do harm the commander of yemen's popular resistance armed group has been assassinated. he was killed in the neighborhood in the southern port city of aden. he was part of a group fighting against houthi rebels two weeks ago. you're with the al jazeera news

hour. still to come, how muslim women in senegal are trying to influence their country that there is nothing to fear from hijab. in sport nicaragua has been crowned the australian champion. -- novak djokovic first, african leaders have decided not to send 5,000 soldiers to burundi without the government's consent. the political crisis there has dominated proceedings at the african union summit in ethiopia. burundi's president had previously warned that his country will fight any foreign forces entering his country. >> reporter: the heads of state have decided to suspend any deployment of a.u. troops to burundi without the consent of the government. it decided to press more

aggressively for a political solution for all political dialogue. they're sending a high level of delegation to burundi to talk to officials and others to try and convince him to say yes to a deployment of troops to that country basically to help the local authorities in the disarmament efforts and also in the protection of civilians, the heads of state note that a complaint by burundi against its neighbor has always criticized rwanda of arming and training rebel groups in refugee camps there, but officials have always denies this in senegal fashion is important there as anyone else. as attacks increase around the region, there is a growing movement to ban the full-face

veil. >> reporter: designing clothes for the muslim woman. for this designer it is a business opportunity that can't be ignored. after working for lagerfeld in paris, she started her own brand. she is adapting her designs to the latest trends. customers no longer want short skirts and sleeveless tops but ask for long dresses and even a full veil. >> translation: people wear respected when they wear the veil. >> reporter: they're showing their selections to show case the diversity and fashion of diverse women. it is called hallal fashion, but some of the outfits could soon

be banned. hijabs are banned in certain areas. organisers of this event say they're promoting fashion, not violence. >> i think it's a debate that is focusing on the wrong people. i don't have to follow the global trend. actually, it is saying in a way let's create an alternative trend, let's create this new clothing trend, let's show people that i can be fashionable, that i can be open minded, that i can smart and entrepreneurial, that i can dare without having to show my body if i don't want to. that's the message we're trying to get across. >> reporter: the fashion is a

growing market. last year alone it was estimated to be worth 230 billion dollars globally. >> reporter: it is not just these shops, but big brands are making clothes for muslim women. they too see an opportunity in hallal fashion. so despite the security threats, debates around the veil, this woman and others believe that the demand for clothing like this is only going to grow the weather with rob and news of a new storm. >> reporter: this is a different storm. in fact, the wall of snow that still exists from what happened in new england. in fact, even as far north as new york is this heights. something like 6 metres outside

the airport. this is effectively a thing of the past because temperatures in new york itself are well above freezing and it shouldn't be anything like this. all states up to new york and beyond are five to ten degrees above what they should be. it's a contrast between the cold to the warmth. that will be enhanced as the cold heads south. you will see a drop in temperature for some places, but it's the contrast that metres, the difference between the blue and the yellow, that's where the snow will fall. it's not this line growing through the great lakes. look at what is happening in the poorer states and high plain states in the west. that's massive snow. if you consider the scale of this, it starts to spread across the plain states to the upper mid-west over the following 24

hours. the amount possible is up to a metre thank you. authorities in el salvador say more than 6,000 people could have the zika virus, the disease suspected of causing birth defects. it made the government the measure of advising the-- government given the warning of pregnant to not to get pregnant. >> reporter: these women worrying about the zika virus, spreading fast. if the mother is infected, it could cause brain damage to the unborn child. the link is yet to be proved, but el salvador's government has already taken the extraordinary step of warning women not to get pregnant for at least the next year. that's too late for this woman who is suffering from the fever and rash that came from zika. eight months into the pregnancy,

the risk to her baby is lower, but she is still sick with worry. >> translation: i wouldn't have got pregnant. i would have waited for the outbreak to have finished. >> reporter: the vice minister of health says this is just the tip of the iceberg. authorities only recently detected the virus here, but they're already getting ready for the brain damaged children they think could be born in around 7 months times. >> translation: we started to sgus this to look at what resources the system needs to give support to these children, looking at other countries who have had the problem to strengthen our institutions. >> reporter: the emphasis is on prevention, but while contraception is widely used one option this women don't have is terminating their pregnancy, even if the foetus is brain damaged. the congress man for the city believes no tolerance abortion laws need to be discussed in

light of the zika threat. >> translation: it is a debate we should take more seriously without the subjective with religious myths and the church can generate in our country. >> reporter: for now the government is concentrating on the roolt cause, the mosquitos carrying the virus. they're fumigating houses and public spaces over the capital but there are already 6,000 suspected cases already. >> reporter: the biggest worry is not for now but what the future may bring we're going back to the talks. what has been happening in geneva is that the main syrian opposition group has met staffan

de mistura and ahead of that there was a meeting between the syrian government officials and staffan de mistura all in the hopes of trying to find some sort of solution to the war that's going on in syria. we did hear from the u.n. ambassador and the opposition spokesperson. both trading accusations to one another. is this setting the tone for the next few dansdz what we expect to happen? >> yeah. this is the circus that will proceed what everyone now hopes will be some sort of proximity talks between the syrian government and the opposition. clearly just judging from what you hear, the regime's ambassador at the u.n. has laid out his sound bites. so did the representative's opposition. clearly no-one is trying to make

any point. they're trying to score points. by scoring i mean the opposition is talking about the oppression, bombardment and the humanitarian rights and the regime is talking about how it sounds like it's not syrian. the more point scoring we will be hearing but making the point until things really start rolling later on one thing that he said is that the first point to help syrians is to stop what he is saying turkey, jordan and saudi arabia from sending what he calls terrorists into syria. what do you make of that statement? >> certainly the syrian opposition has been helped not on the ground, there are no jordanian troops, government troops or turkish groups on the ground. this is definitely a false statement. what is clear is that i.s.i.s., of course, does function on

syrian territory and this is condemned by all the countries you mentioned. on the other hand, clearly instead of being on the offensive for hosting iranian, russian and hezbollah forces in syria we don't know if they're going to start any negotiations. they're saying that the syrian opposition delegation may walk out of peace talks if the government and its allies continue to escalate this bombing campaign he is referring to. >> apparently the six-member delegation that met with mr staffan de mistura outside the buildings have focussed on one point. that is paragraph 12 and paragraph 13 of the u.n. council resolution 2254 which talks about the conditions or the

preconditions necessary to start the talks which is to stop starving syrian towns, to stop the bombardment and getting prisoners out. if they don't get those basic demands that are enshrined in the security council resolution, then i think they would not be in a position to continue the talks thank you for that. you're watching the news hour on al jazeera. we have all the sports news coming up, including the toronto raptors equal a very unique record. that's coming up. 's coming up.

now for sports. >> reporter: world number one novak djokovic beat and ee murray in straight sets to win his 6th australian open title. the serb started good. murray showed some resistance in the second. it was a tight decider but he sealed the win on a tie break. he has now won four of the five major tournaments including three in a row. new women's champion kerber has been reflecting on her shock victory over williams. she revealing that she has received a message of congratulations from germany's last grand slam and her idol

steffi graff. >> reporter: she needs more practice when it comes to opening champagne bottles, but following her performances this last two weeks, being the center of attention is something she harris scarfe has to get used to >> i was always dreaming to win one day the grand slam. i think i had a really crazy week with the first round, but the best weeks of my life. >> reporter: her two sets to one victory over top seed will go down as one of the biggest upsets in recent times. kerber becoming the first german woman since steffi graff. >> i had so many emotions but positive things. i'm getting in my mind that i'm

making history as well in germany and everybody is supporting me. so it was an incredible feeling, one that i will never forget. >> reporter: she was not the only one to win of the last grand slam, but her 22 total grands slam titles is still to be broken. she is expected to rise to a career high no.2 when the new world rankings are released on monday. she will have to deal with the pressure of being the newest grand slam champion. >> reporter: too football now. chelsea are getting ready to take on their rivals.

everyton are in action right now. they started half an hour ago and they're already two nil up against carlisle. in the nba the golden state warriors won with only 0.2 seconds left on the clock. the toronto raptors one 111 to 107. it was their 11th win in a row. they have the best winning streak of a sports team from toronto. that's all the sport for me okay for now. thank you very much for that update and thanks for watching the news hour on al jazeera. back in a moment with more news. we will see you in a minute.

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shaky start to the geneva talks. syrian government and opposition dell allegations accuse each other of not being serious. you're watching al jazeera live from doha. also ahead, african union leaders decide against sending peacekeeping troops to burundi unless invited. >> the u.n. appeals