as leaders garth never geneva to try to find a way to end syria's war

in venezuela. the united nations special envoy on syria says he is optimistic and determined. the talks aimed at ending the war will succeed. he has held informal talks with the members of the opposition group, that is the higher national council. that group, though, is threatening to leave unless a number of demands are met. including the supply

the opposition were amateurs, not professionals. and he said he hadn't even been given a list of their delegation

members. >> we have not yet started the talks. we don't know yet who will be sitting with us on the other side. neither us nor the special envoy are aware of the names of the composition of the other delegations with whom we will have this dialogue. >> reporter: members of the opposition delegation have been having a meeting with the u.s. and the european envoys. afterwards they met to discuss the situation again together. they are still split on whether to join these negotiations. so that is where it stands right now. as i understand they have gone in to that next meeting. a meeting of the high negotiating committee, they have had them before, this is the latest one to decide their next step. and whether to proceed and whether to formally join those negotiations. not clear if this is the final

definitive meeting or not. let's get some idea of the thinking of individual opposition members. [ inaudible ] will be part of the negotiating team, the 17-strong negotiating team. eventually nexting with the syrian government if they decide to do that. i spoke to her earlier. >> we have come to because over the last weeks we have not seen any improvement of the humanitarian situation. what we know today and this is where the progress is, is that the international partners have all agreed that our demands on humanitarian issues are perfectly legitimate. that they are in inning police mentation of the resolution of the security council. and that these clauses, articles in the resolution are to be implemented before negotiations. >> reporter: the syrian government said today that you are coming up with preconditions, that's what he

described? >> nobody, anymore in the international community, still says these are preconditioned. not mr. de mistura, not the united states, not any of the european countries, not mr. ban ki-moon. so the regime delegations can say what it looks like, everybody recognizes that these are rights of the syrian people, basic rights and basic violations of international humanitarian law. >> reporter: the provenance member of the opposition speaking to me a little bit earlier, david, as key opposition members, she'll be around that meeting i am not sure she's in it. because the constant decisions of who is in what meet, but an important meeting, i am told possibly the most important meeting of the day of the opposition taking place right now. >> james, thank you very much indeed. it isn't going to be easy indeed. it has already proven to be the case, that it will be hard in geneva as we mentioned earlier, the trouble continues in syria. syria -- a series of blasts in

damascus, at least 60 people killed in those, paul brennan has more. >> reporter: the triple blast ripped apart nearby vehicles, shattered adjacent buildings and killed scores of people in the immediate vicinity. the attack's main target appeared to be a bus carrying shia militia men. it is a site of pilgrimage and home to syria's holiest shia site. militia men and syrian opposition soldiers operate road blocks around the shrine. lebanese groups and iraqi militias have a strong presence there. many fighters visits the shrine before heading in to combat. >> translator: i say mercy for the martyrs and a quick recovery for the injured. and i would like to these messages drenched in blood will is not stop us but make us more resistent and determined. >> reporter: syrian state agency said a car bomb had first been

detonated near a public transport garage and the two suicide bombers then blew themselves up nearby as people were being rescued. the explosions happened just as delegates began conveneing in geneva for the u.n.-meet 80ed peace talks in two years. ahead of the syrian government delegation claimed it showed a link between opposition and terrorism. isil, which follows the sunni branch of islam has claimed responsibility for the bombing. paul brennan, al jazeera. >> we saw in that report a number of young people are on the scene. many of them perhaps thinking it would be good to leave syria. well, it isn't necessarily that good for many of those who have left. more than 10,000 refugee children have gone missing in europe in the last two years. europe's police agency says the figures are for children that disappeared from the system after registering on their arrival. the agency says 5,000 have gone missing in italy alone. and it says they may have been kidnapped.

many of them by sex traffickers. the international organization for migration says it is a relief that authorities are tracking down or at least trying to track the children. >> and the fact that they are paying attention to minors is important. because minors need protection. and there is a suggestion that there are up to 10,000 that many, or some at least could have fall then criminal hands or smugglers' hands and, we don't know frankly. i don't think the authorities know what the real situation is. but we do know that a very, very large number of those come across from afghanistan, from iraq, and from syria are minors. sometimes they are with parents, sometimes they are on their own. but they are definitely moving in great numbers in to europe and they need to be cared for. german politicians provoked outrage with comments that police should be allowed to shoot refugees trying to enter the country. the leader of the right wing afd party says the measures should be considered as a last resort. the police unions has called the

suggestion radical and inhumane. ♪ ♪ the saudi-led coalition which is fighting houthi rebels in yemen is to investigate the deaths of civilians killed in air strikes. it says it regrets civilian deaths and will appoint a committee to look at improving targeting to avoid further casualties. this was days after saudi arabia's ambassador to the united nations spoke to al jazeera and defended the accuracy of the coalition's raids, claiming the houthis were responsible for indiscriminate attacks. a recent u.n. report identified more than 100 coalition bombing raids that violated humanitarian law. at least 86 people have been killed in an attack in northeast nigeria. it was on saturday night five-kilometers from the of, the

armed group boko haram has responsible. suicide bombers targeted a crowd and fighters shot at residents and set home homes alight. our correspondent ahmad idris sent us up update from the cap knowledge bah pwaoupblg a. >> reporter: the attackers passed through the village while most of the attack took place, on reaching there they opened fire on residents setting homes on fire and in the process they burned a lot of women and children. they deployed three suicide bombers who detonated their devices as people were running for safety and nas what caused the most damage. the military confirmed, yes, it happened and they came in two cars and on two motorcycle cycles. they are sake they have boko haram on the back foot. what they say remain is his the mopping up operations in areas where boko haram are expectedded to be hiding. what the region is now dealing

with is a group that is so, so so deep in to the use of this kind of warfare in targeting its victims, we haven't seen a large-scale operations are or military establishments in the region over the last few months, but we have seen how boko haram has resort to the use of suicide female bombers to target soft targets like markets and other places of wore shipment. that's one of the most difficult things the authorities in the region will have to deal with. coming up in just a few minutes, palestinian police officer shot dead after wounding three israelis in an attack on a checkpoint in the occupied west bank. we will tell you why monday's caucus vote in the u.s. state of iowa is so important in the race for the white house.

♪ ♪ these are the top stories this hour. the u.n. special envoy on syria says he is optimistic that talks in geneva aimed at ending the war will succeed. that is despite the opposition delegation saying that they will leave in their demands aren't met. meanwhile, isil, which isn't represented at the talks, says it carried out a triple bomb attack in the syrian capital killing at least 60 people. and in the northeast of nigeria, at least 65 died in an attack, the military says boko haram has behind the tack. african leaders have decided against sending 5,000 peacekeeping soldiers for burundi unless they get the go

ahead from the country's government. burundi's president has previously warned he would consider any such deployment to be an invasion. catherine soi has the latest where the african union has been holding its summit. >> reporter: the decision by african union leaders to cancel plans to deploy troops to burundi was the biggest news to come out of the a.u. summit. leaders gathered here in ethiopia decided to push for a political solution. >> translator: the heads of state expressed satisfaction at media efforts by the pred of uganda who will continue in this dialogue which we want to be an inclusive dialogue. >> reporter: this followed days of discussion on what to do about the violence in burundi that has killed more than 400 people. it was triggered by the president's decision to seek and win a controversial third term. previous attempts at such political dialogue have not been successful. burundi's foreign affairs

minister says his government is committed, but will not negotiate with those it calls criminals and coup plotters. >> if the a.u. does not [ inaudible ] how then do you ask the members of the assembly who has agreed to those agreements to move way from that and start talking to the coup makers? >> reporter: a lie-level a.u. delegation will be sent to burundi to work out details for the talks and try to persuade the authorities to accept the deployment of troops. but some are critical of the a.u.'s failure to deploy the peace troops. >> a lot hinges on the leaders. 54 leader, a lot of them have issues around their own leadership in power and they would not want to see any decision that puts them in a bind as well. >> reporter: apart from burundi, the african heads of state demanded that south sudan leaders who failed to meet a deadline to form a transitional government to do so as soon as possible. africa's newest nation has been

in conflict for almost three years over a dispute that began between the president and his former vice president. leaders also made a resolution to increase support for african union troops in somalia and to deal with the increasing threat of attacks with better strategy. so the end of another african union summit, this year it's human rights week a focus on women's rights. some leaders here have often been accused of violating their people's rights. so the question is whether there will be enough political will to advance that and start action making changes, catherine soi, al jazeera. in iraq, troops have continued their advance on isil positions in ramadi. the capital of the anbar province. iraqi soldiers have been fighting with pockets of isil resistence after the city was recaptured at the end of last month. isil still hold significant parts of north and west as well as significant areas of neighboring syria.

in iraq, 17 soldiers have been killed in a suicide attack in anbar province. security forces say isil fighters drove on bulldozer in to their base before detonating a bomb. it was in the neighborhood east of ramadi where there has been heavy fighting between the army and isil. the united nations has appealed for emergency funding to help iraq respond to a growing humanitarian crisis. the united nations humanitarian coordinator says $8,161,000,000 are needed to plug a shortfall in iraq's finances caused by the collapse in the price of oil. an estimated 3.3 million iraqis have been displaced by fighting between the iraqi armed forces and isil in the last two years. they are amongst 7.3 million people the u.n. says are in urgent need of helpful and it's warning that depends on this intensity of fighting in cities such as mosul, that number could rise to between 12 and 13 million by the end of the

year. imran kahn has more from the iraqi capital baghdad. >> reporter: with the fall in oil prices iraq is facing a real shortfall in the fund for this humanitarian cries. what the u.n. have said is they can raise -- they want to raise, sorry, $861 million. now, the iraqi government says they need 1.56 and have about 43% that have and are relying on the u.n. to raise the rest of it. however, what the u.n. have said is that they don't have that money, they need to ask international donors to give them ma money. there has been some real concern from the u.n. and from the iraqi government that the international community simply doesn't have the money. take a look at what's going on in europe, for example, you have the refugee crisis there, a lot of european countries now saying that we need the money to help people back home. also we have a funding shortfall not just in iraq being but in syria as well. and a lot of the u.n. programs simply aren't being funded. so although the u.n. have said we need this nearly $900 million to help iraq out with the

humanitarian crisis that money isn't there yesterday and it needs to be raised. also we haven't seen the fall of fallujah which will spark another crisis. also iraq's second largest city of mosul is still under occupation by isil. we will be seeing a -- perhaps a liberation of that city or at least an operation against that city at some point this year. according to iraqi sources, that will spark another humanitarian crisis and the u.n. will have to reassess their figures as will the iraqi government. palestinian police officer has been killed off he opened fire on an israeli checkpoint. he wounded three israelis during the attack in the occupied west bank near the illegal settlement there. palestinian officials say the man had worked as a body guard for a palestinian prosecutor. our correspondent stefanie dekker is in west jerusalem. >> reporter: this is the second time that a palestinian authority security officer opens

fire on israeli soldiers when it comes to the latest wave in violence, lets me just read what was paste odd his facebook page just before he carried out this a being at that. he said unfortunately i don't see anything worth living for as long as the on occupation will remain and is muscling our breath, killing our brothers and sisters, so this is a huge concern for israel and the palestinian authority because, of course, there is extremely close security coordination when it comes to israel and the palestinian security is services. so this is something extremely difficult to deal with and understand, even at the time of the last -- the first one which was december the 3rd. a lot of reports by the media here in israel how concerned the government was that this could happen again. we have seen it happen again, it is an individual action, however it does highlight the extreme frustration certainly if you look at the words that he posted on his facebook page that the impact of israel's occupation is having not just on ordinary

palestinians but also those who are supposedly there to help israel try and contain situations and keep the security and peace in the west bank which is, of course, also a cause of frustration for ordinary palestinians. so an incredibly complicated nuanced situation but one that is a concern to both israel and the palestinian authority. stefanie dekker reporting. three people have been arrested in central india after a thousand kilos of explosives were found. detectives also discovered 132 detonate132debtors. the explosives were being transported without proper documentation. the government is trying to crack down on illegally manufactured weapons. on monday the state of iowa will become the first in the country to hold a contest where each party nominates its presidential candidate. this one is known as a caucus. and for months presidential hopefuls have spent millions of

dollars trying to get the iowa vote ores their side. but with a population of less than 3 million many are asking why iowa is so important? from des moines, in iowa, al jazeera's kimberly halkett explains. >> reporter: it's in homes like this that the united states will hold its first official votes in its presidential nominating contest. so where is this caucus going to be held? where are the people going to be? >> right here in the living room. >> reporter: this is where the caucus is? >> right here, yep. >> reporter: it means for to gather soft any iowa's caucus you won't so polling booths or voting machines, instead people meet by political party in homes, community centers and churches. the state of just 3 million people became prominent in the u.s. election cycle through historical accident. >> in 1972 there were a series of changes in out each of our political parties would select their nominee to be president of the united states. and iowa happened to go first that year.

so iowa has been first ever since. >> we'll be passing out slips of paper for you to vote on. >> reporter: the republican caucus in iowa is simple. supporters vote by secret ballot toss ed in a hat or basket. the candidate with the most votes wins delegates to go onto national conventions. where nominees for both parties are officially elected. the democratic caucus is a little bit more complicated. supporters gather in the center of the room and then break off in to groups. behind the candidate they support. and that is where things get a little intense. >> one faction will coming and visiting or a representative coming from visiting with the represent tiff of another faction and trying to swing people to their side. >> he's more committed to the party itself. >> reporter: the debate between caucus goers. can be heated. [speaking at the same time] >> reporter: still the results serve as important purpose. >> the iowa caucus is special

because it's the first litmus test of what americans, feeling about the people that want to be commander in chief. >> reporter: but the process has one big challenge. >> because everybody has to be in one place at one time, it means that if the weather is bad it makes it harder for people to come out and get to their caucus locations. and, of course, it's iowa, it's cold, there is a good chance of snow. >> reporter: so despite months of candidates courting iowa voters the results of the iowa caucus could come down to the weather. and whether supporters show up on a cold, winter night. kimberly halkett, al jazeera, des moines, iowa. venezuela is hosting one of the south america's largest tattoo and body art conventions. al jazeera's virginia lopez went to check out some extremely unusual designs. >> reporter: it's a convention that attracts people who love both tattoos and body piercings. for 400 artists and enthusiasts

from around the world are in the venezuelan capital caracas. they are here to show off some of their best work. and in some cases, well, you decide. >> i attract a lot of attention. people point at me or stair. especially kids. but i don't feel like a freak. it's art. >> reporter: more than 450,000 people are expected to attend the four-day event, the largest of its kind in the region. for event organizers, emilio gonzales, the size of the convention especially in a city that suffers from chronic shortages of anything from milk to syringes and is also considered the most dangerous in the world, it's a clear sign that tattooing is here to stay. >> translator: in venezuela tattooing arrived 30 years ago it's not a fad it's part of the culture so although the country is going through a difficult patch, it doesn't mean the culture stops. >> reporter: from warriors in new zealand to gang members in el salvador, tattooing has been

practiced throughout the world for both sacred and esthetic reasons. for many here, it is the permanent and the pain of having an image engraved on their bodies that makes tattooing so special. at first, bod -- as far as body art goes i think i might be sticking to pedicures. for others, the commercial success of tattooing and its acceptance in to mainstream culture, has stripped this ancient art of its true essence. >> translator: i believe tattooing is something very mystical in not only stenciling an image i spend along time studying so i can advice what symbol best represents what you are looking for. >> reporter: according to the organizers an hour at to at somf these tattoo parlors can cost $400 more than 20 times the monthly wage in venezuela. some might, it's not that much for something you will be wearing for the rest of your lives. in a city like caracas it's one

of the few things that can't be stolen. virginia lopez, al jazeera, caracas. okay. aljazeera.com for all of the global headlines. and a great more besides behind the headlines as well. aljazeera.com. i'm ali velshi. on target tonight. countering i.s.i.l. how did they get so powerful so fast and what can america do to protect its people from their threat you know that a small but steady stream of muslims are hell-bent on attacking america. the san bernadino shooting was perpetrated by americans inspired by groups such as al-qaeda and i.s.i.l. after every attack americans