talks in syria, keep it here. >> this is al jazeera. judge hello there i'm al jazeera. , syria's opposition takes part in its first officially session, at peace talks in geneva. >> hello there i'm robyn adams,

live for you in doha. manchester city, action coming up later on in the program. >> syria's main opposition group has been in its first official session in u.n. backed talks aimed at ending the country's civil war. it says it's been given a positive response and insurances woulassurancesthat these humanis will be addressed. key syrian opposition figure mohammed aloush will be

attending peace talks aimed add ending the war. the humanitarian crisis in syrian is continuing. fleeing advances by pro-government forces backed by russian air strikes. let's cross live to geneva and speak to our dploi diplomatic es bays. when if likely are we to hear about it? >> the meetings are over. the 17 members who met mr mr. demistura, moments from now, they're going to come down the stairs of the unite united s

palais. yes they are prepared to talk but if they are going to stay here for any period of time, they need concrete measures on the ground, measures outlined in the united nations resolution, stopping the bombardment. and when you speak to the members they're not just talking about the bombardment by the syrian government but also by the russians. russia is one of the co-sponsors of this process. does more pressure have to be put on russia now? that's a point i put on the u.k. special representative. gareth bailey. >> let's take this one step at a time. should the negotiations here be put under some threat, then we'll have to review and take stock. but right now, for the first in a long time, in this war, i'm feeling positive, because i can

see a powerful team here with a credible voice ready to test the russians and their regime. >> my final question, you talked about the negotiations being under threat. >> we interrupt that interview to take you live to geneva, that meeting between staffan de mistura and the opposition had broken up. now lest listen into what is being said. >> i believe we received very positive messages from the special envoy. and tomorrow he will have a meeting with the regime side, and we will wait for a reply from him. i'll say it in arabic, yes. >> translator: we met the special envoy of the united nations, demistura, to discuss

what we came here to discuss. which is the subject of the u.n. resolution 2254. and the lifting of the siege on the towns in the bombardment of the civilians and release of prisoners and in order his response was very positive and we would like to see the limitation of this, and i believe there will be discussion with the regime delegate. and we will see. >> we heard that syrian regime decide to allow humanitarian aid into some besieged town, and can

you comment on that and the first outcome of syrian talks to be successful, thank you. >> see, implementing is important to us and this is the responsibility of the security council, the members, 15 members of the security council who signed this. we are here to see these are implemented because it's important to us, to see the suffer of our people you know, ends here. >> manuel. >> translator: the source please, name of the source.

what happened here from what you have been talking about, it was under the threat of arms. what happened when it has been agreed in some areas and then detaind some odetaind some ofde. reimplementation for the situation of the syrian people and also the besiege on all towns, there are 18 points which have been besieged. and the party is imposing this

embargo is the regime. >> question from reuters news, can you say please have you formally joined the peace process formally, and was the bottom line for humanitarian improvements you want to see in order to go ahead and have talks with the government and is prisoner release your priority? thank you. >> we stopped discussing the issues of resolution 2254, and it's important to us and that really proves that the international community is serious about implementing this, and ending the suffer of our people. you know, that's why we're here. we discuss this one before we start any negotiation. and the other -- you had two questions i believe. >> yes, if you formally joined the peace process and is the prisoner release your most important priority out of humanitarian issues?

>> i believe the three issues that were there in the resolution are important to us. siege, lifting the siege, and freeing you know releasing those hostages, you know those detainees, especially women and children. this is for us important and also starving these attacks by russian jet fighters and by the regime fighters. >> translator: we have spoken about the whole syrian people and we are proud of its existence. those who are represented among us today, were in this meeting. and this suffering of arabs and

the all the muslims, that's the way, we wanted syria for the whole, not division between the syrian people.is these meeting today, is the beginning of this discussion? today to discuss the issues of humanitarian aids and hope there is good intentions and goodwill, i will try to aim to succeed.

from what i know today, that's the towns which is besieged, the intent of the regime, they wanted to besiege other towns, they are actually attacking and destroying, there was a criminal act if all these areas, by the regime. you have spoken about the meeting it was very positive with demistura, especially the issue of humanitarian aid. the al jaffary say that the

humanitarian issue will be on the table. in the same day or the day before, he did say that this issue is not negotiable. so why, you can see that this meeting was today was positive. the humanitarian issue has been declared in the riyadh statement, the announcement in riyadh, and also in geneva. this is an international resolution which has been signed by all the members. unfortunately, some of the countries which have signed to the resolution are the ones that are committing these crimes. and attacking. we know all these issues which have been indicated by the -- >> hnc which is behind

negotiating committee syria's main opposition group which has been meeting with the u.n. envoy staffan de mistura, with those talks ending the civil war in syria. we can cross live to our correspondent, diplomatic editor james bays listening to saloman meslec there. they asked him point bed questions, whether they are officially part of the negotiations, he didn't exactly answer very clearly to many of those questions. >> reporter: absolutely and that's because he doesn't want to answer that question. because remember all of the things they said before they even got on the plane to come to geneva, initially they said we're not getting on the plane until these things are actually delivered, not assurances, not propositions but actually delivered, not joining the negotiations until some of the

items are delivered. meetings are taking place with the syrian government and opposition and we're hearing another meeting taking place on tuesday with the syrian government. in effect what is supposed to happen which is talks with both sides not in the same room but separate talks and getting the issues discussed between the sides is happening. and you heard, a short time ago, before we went to that news conference a bit of my interview with gareth bailey, the u.n. representative the talks have started. there is tension within their team, it seems they are discussing very specific things, discussing dwelting humanitarian aid to some of those besieged places, discussing a possible prisoner release and it sounds like the syrian government is prepared to discuss those as well. clearly none of those things have happened yet. until something is delivered i think those tensions will remain

in the opposition camp. >> there suddenly seems some momentum behind these talks. james we'll be crossing live to you when we get more developments from it. for the moment james bays, thank you. now at least 20 people have been killed and many others injured by a suicide bomber outside a police building in the afghan capital kabul. the afghan taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, days after talks for laying the groundwork for peace talks between the government and taliban fighters. jennifer london has thjennifer . >> after the explosion i saw three or four wounded people, do i not know any more.

>> reporter: dozens were wounded and killed. security forces raced to the scene and sealed off the area, a mainmainlymain thoroughfare in . doctors say there were superficial wounds as well as grave ones. family members gather outside waiting for news. >> translator: i was in the area when suddenly, an explosion happened, and some 20 people received injuries and were lying on the ground. the type of explosion was unclear. >> reporter: a nato statement said the attack shows the acontementd the talibacontempt r the government in the area. on saturday officials from afghanistan, pakistan, china and the united states are scheduled

to meet in islamabad to try restore the peace talks. to eventually give the taliban a berabetter bargaining position f and when they come to the bargaining table. jennifer glasse, al jazeera, kabul. the u.n. health agency has warned that zika virus is spreading fast across the americas. the illness is suspected of causing birth defects however no firm link has actually been established. there are searches for ways to control the disease but potential vaccines still years away, a company is trying another approach, aimed at controlling the mosquito which spreads the virus. >> this is the aedes aegypti

mosquito, how to scroll control and even eradicate an insect which numbers in the blz an bils and can reproduce so prolifically. one female is able to sprez the disease and the solution of the company oxitec is to breed in the infertility gene. in o oxford, scientists allow tm to create male mosquitos that don't bite or spread the disease. one spread the males can decimate the moivelgt population. >> as we release our males, the females can't determine the difference between our males.

if she mates with them, the offspring will die. it's a numbers game. we need to put more males out there. every time the female mates with one of ours, she's not going to have viable offspring. you bring the population down. you can reduce the mosquito population by over 90% and that's in every case that we've done it. >> reporter: between april and november of last year in partnership with the authorities in the brazilian city, officials released 85% of the transgenic males. identified by a color mark he invisible upon normal light passed on to their larvae. simple matter of seeing how many of the larvae show up the red color. the company already have a

factory in brazil which is producing millions of the transgenic mosquitos every week and building a bigger facility to produce tens of millions ever mosquitos aweek in hopes of regulatory approval. last only short-lived effect on the overall mosquito population. introducing a self destruct gene appears to be a far more effective tool and u.s. regulators are now looking keenly at the transgenic mosquito with a field trial being considered in florida. paul brennan, al jazeera, oxford shier. oxfordshire. >> tell us a little bit about the reaction there because now we're hearing that it could be even worse than we had already thought. >> absolutely. and we've heard this from the world health organization.

which is precisel precisely whye discussing the possibility of a worldwide emergency because of this. it has spread very, very quickly. back in october most people had never even heard of it. the brazilian health minister says it's far worse than he had imagined, caught completely off guard, could have done more to prevent it from spreading so quickly. but you have to remember also that brazil is right now in the middle of a recession, an economic crisis. many states in fact have declared a public health state of emergency. so simply they are not very well prepared for sites now to deal with this kind of a health challenge. normal people are panicking in many places, they don't know what's going to happen to their children or unborn children, even though it has not been proven conclusively that the

zika virus causes microcephaly but a strong suspicion that it does barbara. >> thank you, lucia newman. , senior lecturist at the university of westminster. thank you very much for joining us. we are still waiting for an announcement by the w.h.o, just starting now, we are expecting perhaps w.h.o. to declare this a global emergency. do you think they should and if they should, why? how does it change? >> well i think general consensus of opinion is that they will. there are two big unknowns that we are dealing with, in this outbreak of the zika virus in brazil. first, why is it so big? why are we seeing 1 million, 1.5 million people who have become infected with this virus?

whereas previous decades we saw only tens of thousands. >> we knew the disease existed but didn't see it spread so quickly. >> we've known about it for 70 years. in the 1940s, first isolated in monkeys in uganda. >> forgive me, we can now go to the w.h.o. >> associated with the spread of zika virus in latin america and caribbean. the committee met today by teleconference in assessing the level of threat, 18 experts and advisors looked in particular at the strong association in time and in space between infection with the zika virus and a rise in detected cases of congenital malformations and neurological complications. the experts agree that a causal

relationship twe between the zia infection during pregnancy and microcephaly is strongly suspected though not scientifically proven. all agree on the urgent need to coordinate international efforts to investigate and understand this relationship better. the expert also considered patterns of recent spread and of broad geographical distribution of mosquito species that can transmit the virus. the lack of vaccines and reliable diagnostic tests and the absence of immunity in newly affected communities, increase concern. committee advises that the causes of microcephaly and other neurological complications

constitute an extraordinary event and a public health threat to other parts of the world. in their view, a coordinated international response is needed to minimize the threat in teacteinaffected countries and r reduce international spread. members of the committee agree that the situation immediacy the conditionmeets theconcerns. i am declaring the recent cluster of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in latin america, following a similar cluster of french polynesia in 2014, constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. as a precautionary measure, and because of the association, a

coordinated international response is needed to improve surveillance, the detection of infections, congel genital malformations -- congenital malformations and to expedite the development of diagnostic test and vaccines to protect people at risk especially during pregnancy. the committee found no public health justification for restrictions on travel or trade to prevent the spread of zika virus. at present, the most important protective measures are the control of mosquito populations, and the prevention of mosquito bites, in at-risk individuals, especially pregnant women, so thank you for that, and now let me invite the chair of the emergency committee professor david hayman to continue.

>> thanks very much director general. the committee had a very interesting discussion this afternoon. because we had very good input from countries that are affected with zika outbreaks and also with these clusters of microcephaly and disorders and neurological disorders and also had a very good group of advisors who were advised on questions that were asked. it was a very difficult decision -- >> living to the news conference from the world health organization, margaret chan, director and ceo announcing that the virus has been declared a public health emergency on a global crisis. the statement expected has been made by margaret chan of the w.h.o. we are here with dr. edward rice, listening in to margaret rice, global emergency meaning there's a coordinated

international response in practical terms what does that mean? >> two major questions need to be answered, why is the outbreak in brazil so big and is the possible link between zika virus and microcephaly is that real, will scientific link support that. >> she still didn't say it was proven. >> no she did not. there's no statistically proven study that links the infection of zika virus to microcephaly but this is what's declaring an emergency will lou, releases resources so people can study and answer these questions that we really need to answer. >> the other thing that was interesting is the focus on basically trying to control the mosquito population and trying to not get stung by one. so forgive me edward wright we're going to have to leave it

there on the zika virus because we have to go back to geneva and listen to staffan de mistura, the u.n. envoy to syria. >> spokesperson for the agency. we had a one and two hours meeting with the agency, as far as we are concerned, their arrival to the palais de nation he, is the official beginning of the geneva talks. of course we do respect very much and we heard very clearly their very clear position. they feel, and they told you, that there is a priority from their point of view, and probably you must have heard it, of having successful talks, to

reach what has been indicated in the geneva communique and in the resolution 2254. at the same time, they are insisting and they are not the only ones, that the syrian people, while we are having a syrian talks on the future of a political solution, they deserve to hear and see facts on the ground in reduction the violence, in the fact of the detainees and the fact of the besieged areas. we feel that they have a very strong point, because this is the voice of the syrian people asking for that. when i meet the syrian people, they tell me please don't just have a conference. have also something that we can see and touch while you are meeting in geneva. we are going to meet tomorrow

morning, the government, and i'm planning to invite again, tomorrow afternoon, the hnc, in order to go deeper into the issue they have raised and their own concerns. let me simply say one thing: the wall in vienna some very special momen memento. is going to be different and needs to be different from the previous ones. one, because we are in 2016. two, because the people have been suffering enough. and three, that they need to see something concrete apart from a long painful difficult negotiation. and there was one point that came out in vienna and i would like the indicate it clearly.

there was a message in the vienna meetings, that when the geneva talks will actually start, in parallel, there should be a beginning of a sears a sers discussion about ceasefire. that is not something i can discuss. it needs to be discussed at the level of the isg and those countries who have been involved in saying that. so here comes the challenge. we are starting officially the geneva talks. we are actually listening with attention to the concerns of hnc and we are going to tomorrow discuss and listen to the concerns of the government. the discussions are starting but meanwhile the challenge is now let's also have those who have the capacity of discussing this at a different level, time to discuss about ceasefire. tomorrow, we will have another

day. we will go deeper and following that, i will be able to update you. meanwhile, the talks have started. >> thank you sir. we will take one question at a time, please. introduce yourself. one question at a time. >> i'm delegating at this time to my colleague because i prefer to do it through professional assistance. >> i'm from syrian center news. spoken about insuranc assurancee syrians. >> translator: wants only dialogue but they wanted facts on the ground. concrete. all these facts should be borne by the international community that should be lifting the

embargo on syria and its people, all these countries who are sponsoring the peace process. and this should be by all the parties. >> it is a question. >> translator: so what is your question? >> translator: you know you convince the syrian people that this dialogue is very real, by lifting and also the embar goes on the syrian people. >> that's exactly why we need these talks which are taking place amongst syrians but in fact we know the whole international community is connected to it, it is the security council resolution and the issg, the sponsoring of it going to be convened very soon, in order to make sure that what

we are doing here have the international support and not simply leaving the syrians alone on it. >> mr. demistura after you have said, are you going to ask the security council to define the ceasefire in syria? >> thank you, that's a very pertinent question. what i'm simply saying is reminding the issg members of what they actually indicated that when the actual talks would start, they themself will start helping and ensuring that there would be a discussion about an overall ceasefire in the syrian conflict. if that takes place, that would be the strongest message for all syrian people, wherever they are, about changes. because that affects ceasefires,

that affects also the areas which have been besieged, affects accessibility for the food and so on. thank you. relying on my colleagues today. >> from the new york times. what are your immediate short term objectives in these first round of talks, and specifically, can you say if you've received a list of women and children who are detained and whether there's any possibility of make some progress on that. >> first of all, the first immediate objective is to make sure that the talks continue and that everyone is on board. it's crucial that no one should be feeling secluded. and that everyone should be concretely and constructivity, but also, effectively of part of

it. as you know very much the tendency is then when people disagree they then leave the room. we need everyone to continue to be in the room, in order to make sure that we have concrete discussion. >> from reuters. >> you had a second point. which is a very important one. i'm not yet received at least i offer it and i want it because i think a list of the names, particularly of women and children detained, should be the first among the analysis that in fact there is something different happening. once i get it i will certainly use it in our discussions regarding signals to the syrian people. >> from reuters please. >> tom miles from reuters. how much progress do you think you can make on the near term on

the humanitarian issues, three things the opposition is asking for. when you said no one's secluded i have to ask what the about the kurds, thanks. >> regarding the expectations on the humanitarian side, that is exactly what will be the subject not only between us and the different groups, which we are going to meet, but also, frankly, what is going to be the actual involvement and pressure and commitment by those countries who have an influence on it. what we are doing is, we are hearing the voice of the syrian people. we are hearing it and we are sharing it. the syrian people want everyone who has got the capacity of influencing this conflict, should see that during the talks there is incremental improvement in order to prove that these talks are not just about talks but about facts.

>> do you expect this round to continue until the 11th of february or beyond this date in the presence of the two delegations? >> are you making private plans? (laughing) i can imagine that there is a concern of all of you. well, i can't tell you anything, because the period of the talks and it depends on the capacity and the willingness of the sides to be engaged. it is certainly my intention that these talks go deeper and more deeper into the real discussions. i do see a willingness by everyone to want to go into those discussions. if, by the 11th, we will have achieved as i hope something, or if we had not achieved something that will be something that i will certainly raise with the international support group which apparently has been planned for that. and then with the security council.

they all need to be engaged and accountable together with us in making sure that she i these art just another geneva talks. >> thank you i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm from the syrian tv. mr. demistura i really need to hear something about that from you pickup when the opposition say that they are proud that mohammed alouvh one of them. mohammed aloushe, i think everyone here see the photos. what we can say to the syrian people they see these photos. what can we do say to them please sir. >> at this stage i'm a mediator, negotiator and mediator. i'm not discussing the people i'm seeing in front of me. what i'm discussing is what they will tell me and whether they will deliver something for the syrian people. that's why i'm not being

discussing who is representing the government, or who's representing the opposition on this. >> this is the last question please. this is the last question. >> mr. demistura, [ in french ] >> translator: conditions, it is which is expected from the united states in order to continue with this negotiation. for everyone, the line which has been taken, it is not to be any preconditions for these discussions. preoccupation very serious, the opposition indicated today at

another time what they want a response from the counterpart the syrians. negotiation and discussion has started today at 5:00 this afternoon. that is the two parts in principle have only started to talk, which is complicated and difficult but it has started. >> we've been listening to the u.n. envoy to syria staffan de mistura. first time able to speak to the members of the syrian opposition, which ended about half hour ago. diplomatic editor james bays listening, to mr. demistura he did sound quite invigorated,

certainly by the fact that the talks have starterred and there seems to be some kind of momentum behind them. >> yes, he considers that now he has had the opposition come through the gates of the palais here and meet him in the united nations. similar meetings to the one that took place on friday. in his view that is the start of this talks process. and it's clear he's had other meetings already with the opposition. he's meeting the government again in a few hours, clearly a talks process has started. that is not i don't think how the opposition side would characterize it itself. they have set some standard before they would actually negotiate when they were in riyadh and in geneva. there is negotiation underway. i think there were interesting lines there on some of the things that were being discussed. humanitarian access, we understand from the humanitarian

part of the united nations, that syrian government seems to have given the go head for aid to be delivered to a number of places in syria. areas, madaya, remember the pictures of the starving people, we are hearing from the humanitarian part of the united nations, syrian government will allow aid to go into madaya and also areas surrounding the opposition. these are things that the u.n. have been pressing for, for some weeks after the first lot of add it went into madaya and two other smaller towns. and now it seems that the syrian government is saying yes to that. he also said he would like movement on getting women and children released who are being held in the damascus regime in their jails. he is asking on the opposition side for a list so he could present that list to the government on their meeting.

the other thing he said which is i think important that he threw down the gauntlet to all the international and regional players who are involved in you heard the reference there, the issg, international syrian support group, to arrange a ceasefire in syria. he says there needs to be a ceasefire at this age. >> diplomatic editor james bays, thank you. donald trump has been attacking his republican opponent ted cruz saying he would act for his donors. the iowa vote is being held where people choose w.h.o. on who they think should be the party's candidate for the november election. trump told supporters in iowa if he won the presidency he would sort out the nation's problems very quickly. >> i put out a tweet this morning, i said we're going to take back our country. this is when we start, this is day 1, we're going to take back

our country from these incompetent politicians that don't know what they are doing. they don't know what they're doing and if they did know, i will tell you some of it's worse than what you think about not knowing. many times they do things that you say oh they're not very smart, they can't be doing this, they have to be totally incompetent. the truth is they do things for people that give them the money. >> donald trump there. we have two correspondents in iowa. john hendren, and kimberly halkett. kimberly, what can we expect from the candidates? it's not just republicans, it's democrats as well. >> indeed. they're all still campaigning. donald trump is continuing to look for supporters. it's not limited to just the republicans. marco rubio was also out, and ted cruz, hillary clinton and bernie sanders still.

we know over the weekend the top two candidates were going door to door. hillary clinton apparently her campaign hitting 125,000 households looking for the support. bernie sanders in the neighborhood of 76,000. they're also spending an awful lot of money. they are in a very tight race. hillary clinton is within the margin of error, competing head to head. but hillary clinton is spending an awful plot more to do it, spending $74 million going through the money very, very quickly. bernie sanders average donation is $26. hillary clinton worried this would be a lot like 2008 where she looked like the inevitable candidate only to lose to barack obama. working very hard to try win there win for the iowa caucus. >> kimberly halkett, and now to

john hendren, the nonestablishment candidates are doing very, very well and better than the establishment ones. how would turnout for example affect the vote? >> well, those nonestablishment candidates are bringing in a lot of new voters. at least places like the cafe, the candidates are trying to get them to go out to vote because they're trying to increase the turnout and that's particularly important for people like donald trump and bernie sanders on the democratic side. because a lot of their supporters are people without a long track record of rote is hing. they're people who are not involved in the system some of them. so the thinking is if we had high turnout in 2008 when barack obama brought a lot of youth in here and got an upset victory over hillary clinton, there were 230,000 people that came there. if that happens again it's

likely to be good news for people like trump and sanders. if it's 135,000 which is what happened in 2004, then we're likely to see establishment candidates like hillary clinton and ted cruz to do better. >> john hendren thank you. hundreds of politicians have been sworn into parliament in myanmar. aung san suu kyi party has won control, as rob mcbride reports the military will still have a significant role. >> reporter: members of parliament from myanmar's national league for democracy or nld finally take power but it is a power shared. after half a century in control the military will still retain a firm hold. they get a quarter of all seats in parliament, keep control of important ministries and can block any constitutional change.

analysts say that will make it difficult for the nld to govern. >> i think as long as the military appointments are sitting in the parliament, thenld government cannot govern effectively. >> the military themselves were not saying too much. >> is it going to be a good governmental a workable government? hello? >> during the years of military rule, nld supporter wintin was constantly in and out of detention. reconciliation will take efforts. >> translator: it is a very sensitive time. negotiations need to take place to build up trust. >> this is a country in need of 7effective government. often referred to as government on a leash, there's no doubt who's handling the leash.

they don't exercise their powers. the list of priorities for new mps is long. getting all ethnic groups to sign up to a national ceasefire after years of conflict. ending the marginalization and per accusation of the minority rohingya. and then there's the economy after years of stagnation, there are signs ever recovery. of recovery. tuntun used to have a road side stalls, selling fuel from bottles. now he has ofilling station. >> translator: you hardly saw a car or motor bike but now nearly every house has at least one motor bike. >> and among all the other priorities of this new parliament, the business of a new president. nld leader aung san suu kyi is blocked by a constitutional cause that would need to be changed with agreement from the military. in this new atmosphere of change even that seems possible.

rob mcbride, al jazeera, myanmar pitch. time to get all the sports here, robyn. >> thank you barbara. agreed to take over as the manager for next season, on manchester united. beat hoffenheivem in the bundusleig. managed having previously coached the barcelona, at the two clubs the current manager manuel pelligrini. >> not only speculation, they are done -- not doing anything behind me, i know this from a month ago, but i don't think it's good to speculation over different things, i prefer to finish today, i told the press, the players, i told two weeks

ago that i would do it. former barcelona, one of their star players will appear on a spanish court on tuesday to answer questions about his 2013 transfer, joseph maria bartomeo, gave evidence that the spanish high court in madrid. being investigated for not paying enough tax on the transfer, having originally claimed it was worth $74 million. it was more like $90 million. also requested alongside his father who is also his agent. news, novak djokovic says he would like to become the best ever player. melbourne on monday a day after beating andy murray in straight sets.

djokovic will set his sights on a wimbledon crown in may. >> being at the peak of my abilities, i feel i can achieve much more. how far i can go i don't know. it's an individual sport, so a lot can happen. and everything depends on you, so i hope that i'm able to still respect and live this kind of lifestyle that helped me to reach this point of my career and my life, and i have a great support of my family and my team of people. and if it stays that way i don't think anything is unreachable. >> women's australian open winner, win over serena williams on saturday, grand slam singles title from steffi graf in 1999. her most important piece of

silverware back. >> the trophy will be sent back home because it weighs over 10 kilos. they have promised to send it to my home. >> in the recent years the nhl's grand game suffered from a lack of interest. that wasn't the way this year, splitting just three, 20-minute mini games, aside from the league's four division, the game more accessible to a new audience. as part of that campaign the league refused to invite veteran enforcer john scott in, despite being too, fearful, scott was played mvp, capture the pacific division to a $1 million first prize. and that's where we'll leave it now. back to barbara in london.

>> thank you robyn. an investment scheme allegedly defrauded investors to 7.1 million. peer to peer lending company are accused of stealing from about 900,000 people. according to state media, the suspects scanned the people online using funds from new investors to pay old debts. al jazeera, florence looi has more from beijing. interone of the largest financial scams in china. the company ran an online financing platform in china. it connected borrowers with lenders without them having to go through a traditional financial institution such as a bang and what's known as peer to peer lending. now it managed to lure very many customers by offering high investment on their products. in just a year and a half it

prayeprayedpersuaded 9 million . chinese internet financing has become extremely popular as consumers discovered just how easy it is to not only borrow money but to make money using their mobile phones and their laptop. it's estimated there are some 2,000 onlinen lenders in china. chinese officials have promised to crack down on the peer to peer lending industry. it's extremely difficult to regulate and to supervise this fast growing internet based activities. >> until reporting there. you can find more on our website, there it is. the w.h.o. has declared the zika virus an international emergency. that happened a half hour or so ago. we'll see you th in the next haf

hour, hope you will be able to join us then, bye-bye.

>> only on al jazeera america. >> zika virus outbreak in the last hour the world health organization declares it a public health emergency of international concern. hello there i'm barbara serra. you're watching the al jazeera newshour. a new era in myanmar politics, hundreds of politicians take their seats after decades of military rule. and the first rea