xt. cruz beats trudonald trump the iowa caucus. the democratic race is still too close to call. hello, this is al jazeera, live from doha, i'm adrian gin garrig. also on the programme, the world health organization declares a growing emergency over the zika virus. brazil says the game will go ahead the opposition taking part in the talks in syria hundreds of thousands in las

uty risks the -- lesotho risks the country running out of food as it faces its worst drought in decades. the nationwide process of selecting candidate to run in november is under way in the mid-western state of iowa. ted cruz won the republican race ahead the donald trump, who came second. democrat outsider martin o'malley bowed out of the race. suspending his campaign. with most of the votes counselled, bernie sanders and hillary clinton are neck and neck. republican ted cruz spoke to his supporters, shortly after victory was declared. >> tonight is a victory for the grassroots. tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives across iowa, and all across this great

nation. tonight the state of iowa has spoken jazz's kimberley hall -- al jazeera's kimberley halkett is following the republican candidates in the caucus. what does the victory mean for ted cruz and donald trump. >> he pointed out in his speech that we played a clip of, that this means that the establishment and the media that predicted he would not farewell in iowa has been proven wrong. that is something that was highlighted by the one who was leading in the polls for a long time. donald trump. instead coming in second place. ted cruz finishing with 27% of the vote. highlighting the fact that he says this is the most votes cast in any - but for any republican primary winner.

donald trump finishing 20, about 24%, saying that he also defied the odds, and boasted about the fact that the candidates - 17 republican candidates. people told him he would not finish in the top 10. he's proud and humbled that the iowans selected him to come in. in a third place finish is senator marco rubio, proud of how he did in the race. if he becomes the republican nominee promises to rebilled the military, something that he is promising supporters. there's a republican candidate who is not too happy with how he did in iowa. and that is governor mike huckabee, he had to pull out and suspend his campaign. >> for the moment, thank you, indeed. we'll go live now to somewhere else in des moines.

where democratic candidate bernie sanders is speaking to his supporters. the democratic race between bernie sanders and hillary clinton, too close to call. this is the tail end of the speech - i think we missed it. isn't that the way, always the way. i tell you what, let's bring in our correspond john hendren who is there at bernie sanders spds headquarters for the iowa caucus. i don't know if you can hear me. what is this neck and neck race between clinton and sanders mean for both candidates? well, it's pause for celebration, it's something close to an embarrassments for the clinton campaign, we don't know the final outcome. it's 0.2 percentage points.

she has been trailling. president obama took that away from her. bernie sanders came close to doing that. he walked out a moment ago, you can hear the music behind me. this is a political revolution, saying it's an average contribution of $27, compared to the superpacs, large funded organization that is are paying huge amounts to hillary clinton and other candidates. he said enough is enough. that is his call to start regulating wall street more strictly, and to get washington to raise the taxes on those people with higher incomes, particularly the income managers. this is a big deal for bernie sanders, he'll walk out, go to new hampshire where he is leading in the polls. the crowd was not happy, hillary clinton declares something like

victory before et votes were all in. the candidates are on their way to new hampshire, and then to south carolina. >> bernie sanders, in any case, whatever the final vote, whether he's number one or two, is declaring victory john hendren, the star man live in des moines iowa now, the world health organisation has declared the mosquito born zico virus a public health matter of international concern. they warned that the disease which is linked to birth defects is spreading across the americas at a larging wait. lucia newman reports from rio. hundreds, if not thousands of babies born with irreparable birth defects. all of this suspected to be caused by a mosquito-born virus, that has spread explosively throughout the americas, prompting the world health

organisation to take drastic action. >> i am now declaring that the recent cluster of microcephali and other neurological abnormalities reported in north american, following a cluster of french polynesia in 2014 constitutes a public health matter of international concern. >> reporter: here in brazil where it's hit hardest, the emergency is in place, as authorities come under fire for not acting fast enough. a week ago the brazilian government announced it would deploy a quarter of a million soldiers on to streets and into homes. so far in rio, there's no sign of them. instead, residents awoke to the news that as of now, municipal health workers with the help of police will be allowed to use

force to enter homes and detect still waters. >> the action produces numbers of mosquitos, but not eliminate the virus, which is why it is considered criminal. >> there were two surveillance, nor microcephali and other disorders needs to be standardized, and in areas where the zika virus is continuing. there needs to be research of new clusters of microselfally, and determine in case control whether there's a causative link. >> the increased scientific help cannot come past enough. many of the most impact countries are in the middle of an acute economic crisis, and as zika spreads to the united

states and perhaps beyond, the race to find a permanent solution is just beginning brazil says the upcoming olympics will not be cancelled in the international olympic committee will be confident the virus will not affect the games. president dilma rousseff's chief of staff urged pregnant women to stay away. >> translation: this is for pregnant women. it's not advisable to travel to the games, you don't want to take the risk talks between the syrian government are under way but the opposition say they'll withdraw if attacks are not made. an offensive has been continued.

mohammed jamjoom reports. >> reporter: with the arrival of the high negotiations committee, it seemed that at long last a breakthrough occurred. >> we had a one and two hour meeting. their arrival and initiating the discussion with us is the official beginning of the geneva talks. moments earlier, the spokesperson for the saudi backed group sounded less certain that any kind of substantive talks were eminent. >> we came here to discuss with the special envoy resolution 225, lifting the siege and stopping the crash done by the

russian aircraft in syria, and we received positive messages from the special envoy syrian opposition groups threatened to walk out of the talks also the government stops air strikes. the regime has been significant gains on the ground in recent weeks. >> today, with russia on the ground. forces are in favour. regime. we are trying to convince our friend that they must help us. >> as pressure mounted on the syrian opposition to start the talks in ernst, more members arrive. >> we came here with a clear message to the people, to tell the world the reality on the ground in our country. a continuous shell, daily

bombardment. siege and blockade. the starvation and deteriorating humanitarian conditions. >> with both sides of the syrian conflict at the u.n., shuttle diplomacy will begin with getting focus into besieged areas and a possible prisoner release. >> reporter: after days of the difficulties is the hardest part. trying to build on momentum achieved in the last several hours. the u.n. may be optimistic still to come on al jazeera - we'll take you inside a besieged syrian town where activists reveal what it's like living understand i.s.i.l. control. >> this is evacuation. >> we'll tell you why pilots in south korea are taking off in big numbers to work for other

airlines. airlines.

hello again. the top stories this hour on al jazeera, u.s. republican dehli candidate ted cruz says his win is a win for courageous conservatives. edging out donald trump for the first step, securing the nomination. hillary clinton and bernie sanders ended in a tied result. the world health organisation has declared a global health emergency in response to a growing number of birth defects

suspected of being linked to the zika virus. they warned that the virus is spreading across americas at an alarming rate. talks between the opposition and syria has begun, it hasn't stopped fighting on the ground where forces attacked rebel-held areas. more from the iowa caucus. joining us, laura brown from george washington university with her view. >> what do you make of the results in the republican and democratic camp. on the republican side, it showed that perhaps grassroots organising means more than media momentum, and on the democratic side, it shows that perhaps policies matter more than money. well, i would agree with you on the republican interpretation.

i think what you saw with ted couz and really marco rubio's stunning result is how important it is to do the hard work of campaigning, to identify voters, knock on the doors. turn them out in the caucuses, and you can't plug the air waves with earnt and paid media and expect voters to get to the polls. i think donald trump was a little surprised that the performance was not stronger than it was carry on. >> on the democratic side really what you have got is a very difficult, very tight race that came down to where martin o'malley's supporters reorganized. this is not just a story about bernie sanders's tremendous rise in iowa, it's a story about the process and procedure on the

democratic sigh. if a candidate doesn't reach viability at 15%, his or her supporters must disband and join with the other candidates. and so what you see in this situation was martin o'malley failed to get to 15% in many place, and those supporters reallocated the votes, and what was so interesting is that many of them were essentially as split as their neighbours. >> turn out was high across the state. this is not an election per se, it's the first step on the road to the presidential election. what do we make of the turn out figure, does it tell us that a lot of young people are engaged in the democratic process? >> well, it still is not anywhere near what we saw the turn out in 2008, you know, and the democratic side, at least, over 240,000 people turned out

in 2008, and you just don't see those kinds of numbers this time around. obviously this is an extraordinary turn out for the republicans, but yes had on unbelievable number of candidates, and usually competition is what drives turn out. we are looking at maybe 30% of those who are actually registered and active voters in the republican party who are getting to the polls. it's not anything, you know, baan-burning, you know, people getting there. but it's impressive. >> good to talk to you. thanks, indeed. laura brown from the graduate school of political management from george washington university half a million in syria are living in besieged areas. many lived under a siege imposed by i.s.i.l. al jazeera

al jazeera's zeina khodr has been telling us about the people of deir az zor, about how they are starving and living in fear. >> they are from deir az zor. it's the young men escaping. they hide their identities to protect activists back home, who helped them broadcast to the world what otherwise would not be seen. activists that call themselves deir az zor slotted provided images from the i.s.i.l. controlled province. al jazeera is not able to verify the videos. in deir az zor, the harsh rule is brutal, because it's facing resistance. >> translation: we don't feel safe because people are fighting back. there are sleeper cells targetting i.s.i.l. members. many join i.s.i.l., they are not loyal. they join out of fear or to get

a salary. >> reporter: life is just as hard in the province sal capital. people are poor and hungry. i.s.i.l. besieged areas where 200,000 live. food is scarce. there has been deaths from starvation. activists say they face a double blockade. the government says they bring in supplies through the military airport. the people are faced with two realities. if they leave, the only way out is through i.s.i.l. territories. there's no doubt they won't be killed by i.s.i.l. activists say they need to pay money. those close to the government are able to travel. the other way out was by food through i.s.i.l. territory, and that is a risk. activists say the armed group harassed and killed people accusing them of working with the government. much of deir az zor is in i.s.i.l.'s hands.

the group is able to move freely. it is rich in oil. the u.s.-led coalition targeted oil fields in the area to cut the main source of revenue. activists say it caused more suffering for the people. >> yes, the strikes cut i.s.i.l. revenues, but they are selling oil, and the price increased. civilians suffer because they need oil, especially during the winter. >> it is dangerous to send messages out from i.s.i.l. or government-held areas. those that do so want to remind the world about the forgotten corner of syria at least 20 people have been killed, and dozens injured in a suicide bombing outside a police building in the afghan capital kabul. the taliban it said carried out the attacks, most killed were thought to be police officers.

police ferried refugees from the main island to a port. the refugees were trapped due to a fairy workers site. it comes amid athen's failure to control the arrivals there a government of the lesotho declares an emergency as the draught ravages communities. hundreds of thousands will need aid by this year. we have this report from the leleva district. >> reporter: this woman packs away empty corn bags. a continuing drought means the crops have failed and she has run out of food. >> it will be difficult to live in this situation. i don't know what i will feed my children. >> her village relies on the food it grows. despite months of no rain. they plant maize hoping for a successful harvest.

it is unlikely. by now, the plants should have been five times the height. >> the world food programme says the drought will hit 80% of lesotho's nation hardest. most depend on subsistence farming and a shortage. water is making the situation worse. farmers are recovering from two successive crop failures and drought in 2013. according to the world food program, malnutrition and diseegs is increasing -- . >> the worse is if we do not react now, we have people that lost their asset. their cows, their sheep. they are selling what little asset they have. they'll foul into a bigger poverty. >> more than a third of the population will need food assistance. the government will pledge

$10 million for drought relief, they are waiting for that money. >> they are talking about delays. it goes without saying that we are a bit behind. >> this dam is the largest in the country and the second biggest, and is at its lowest levels in decades. it's parts of a water project, which exports water to south africa, bringing in income. across the mountains, farmers say any rain will be too late. as winter approaches, communities worry about the road ahead plenty of south korea's pilots are taking flight, leaving the bigger airlines for better pay in china and elsewhere. those left behind are threatening to strike at this korean training

center. flight centers are busy, this crew inside the replica 747 practices an emergency landing. it's a prestigious job, so why are many leaving? >> the first reason is the korean system cannot provide hope for the pilots. the second reason is that there's a huge gap in salary compared to that of neighbouring countries, especially china. >> last year 122 pilots left the company, more than seven times from the year before. a third joined the aviation boom for double, triple the pay. korean air says the pilots research $116,000. >> the staff have an increase of

1.9% this year. the gap is too big for us. right now numbers we are acting for is unacceptable. union leaders say the flood of deart tours is creating a safety issue. the proportion of the pilots is going up. many do not have the necessary experience. korean air says concerns about safety are unfounded that they have the ability to train up pilots. the current situation is far from ideal. the other issue is a geographical one. pilots on domestic rules, flying the same number of hours are in command of more individual flights. >> in this case, the labour intensity and the stress could be doubled up for, you know, more frequent flight pilot.

so when we investigate. they don't count the frequency effect. >> whether it's for more money, less stress or both, a growing in of pilots opt for a one way ticket. many bound for china police in china arrested 21 people connected to an investment scheme that defrauded people of 7.6 billion. executives from online finance company are accused of stealing from around $900,000 investors. more from florence louie in beijing. >> in is it a large financial scam. the company ran an online financing platform in china, and connected borrowers with lenders, without them going through a financial institution such as a bank. it's what is known as peer to peer lending. it manageled to lure customers by offering high returns on their investment products. in just 1.5 years alone, it

persuaded 900,000 investors to part with 7.6 billion. this is according to a state media report. chinese internet financing is popular in china in the last few years as consumers discover how easy it is to o borrow and make money, using the mobile phone and a laptop. there's 2,000 online lenders in china, officials promised to crack down on a peer to peer lending industry. as the case shows, it's difficult to regulate and to supervise this fast-growing internet based financing activities. >> apple is no longer the world's most valuable company in terms of stock market value. it's alphabet. google said parent company, topping earnings.

it's worth $558 million. apple has a value of the $535 million. the apple iphone experienced a downturn in sales since the launch eight years ago. more news from al jazeera and analysis and comment and video on the website. aljazeera.com. thanks for joining us for a special america tonight. decision 2016 is in full swing. the candidates are is chris-crossing the country vowing to bring change, improve our lives, make a difference. for some another campaign just means another round of promises made and broken.